Living La Vida Loca

We are here, Grainiacs, and what a whirlwind move it has been!

Sunday, November 18 was Rev. Hubby's last sermon in the Rural USA pulpit.  The church celebrated its annual Thanksgiving luncheon after church and had a farewell celebration for us.  It was a bittersweet day.  We were loaded and ready to leave for Sun Town USA but had to pick up the fur-mily back at the manse.  I don't think they'd look too kindly on us if we left 2 dogs and 2 cats especially if they didn't check on the house for weeks.  P-U!!!  Plus God wouldn't look too kindly on us either and I know YOU wouldn't look too kindly on us.

That evening we had a celebration dinner with our college kids.  It was fun to see them but again, time to hit the road.  Halfway between Rural Town and Sun Town, Strawberry got sleepy.  So we spent the night in Temple, TX..fitting since MY temples were aching and I needed sleepy-time medicine.  Not really easy to sleep soundly with 2 cats and 2 dogs and 3 people occupying 2 double beds!  But we managed and thanked God for the respite (truth be told Hubby wanted to make the whole 800 miles in one trip....of course he had plants in his vehicle and I had 2 cats/ 2 dogs/ and Boy!).

Monday afternoon, we arrived in Sun Town, USA (also will be known as Cucaracha-ville....everything is bigger in Texas...even the cockroaches!).  By Tuesday afternoon the movers came and dumped all our worldly belongings (aka crap) and by Thursday morning 2 a.m. the college kids + friends and OK Girl (aka Career Girl, the Eldest) were home.  By Thursday afternoon the in-laws were at our house for Thanksgiving lunch and Hubby, Boy, and I were content....REALLY.  We were among family and friends and had many reasons to give thanks. 

Saturday we were excited to receive more guests: my mom and step-dad.  Life is good.

Sunday, Nov. 25th was Rev. Hubby's first Sunday in Sun Town pulpit.  It was a joyous occasion with a baptism and 288 people in attendance.  There are 3 sections of pews and Hubby remarked it is truly a panoramic view.  The music was outstanding and we felt the love (even with all the Aggies in attendance!  Hook 'em, Horns! =)  ).

Hubby is "supposed" to be on vacation but he is too excited to stay home and unpack boxes.  His office is right across the parking lot from our house.  The church has internet so he stays connected with the outside world.  I am still in honeymoon state so I don't want to look at clocks or have to be somewhere at a certain time or (horrors) c-l-e-a-n!!!!

Life is good in Sun Town.  We still don't have internet.  Boy is still schooling at home. And our fur-mily is happy as little cats and dogs could be!  So many new sights and sounds and smells to bark at and pee on.  Kitzilla is still a terror.  Cosmos is still wreaking havoc on everyone and Brooks is tearing his hair out on his hind quarters.  Ollie is still King of the Roost.  Yep, we're living la vida loca.

Help! My clutter is trying to attack me!

Ah my beautiful grainiacs,

Life is grand; life is beautiful; life is stress-free in the strawberry patch.  NOT!!!  I am meeting myself coming and going.  I have cleared, de-cluttered, and cleaned and it is still overwhelmingly a pig's sty and not a rosy beautiful strawberry patch.

This is a post to let you know you probably won't be hearing from me for a week or two.  I have to concentrate on packing-- and oh yeah, that reading and paper I have to turn in this Friday for my seminary class.  Is it wrong to pray for a tornado to sweep the stuff away so I don't have to deal with it????  I know; be careful what you pray for.  I'm a sinner; I confess.  I really don't want my treasures to be destroyed in a tornado but I'm upset that stuff means more to me than worshiping and giving thanks to a benevolent God who is there for me always and in all situations.  I do not want my stuff to rule me but it is feeling that way right now.  Do you know what I mean?

Yesterday was a productive day.  Hubby was home from work and he boxed up video tapes and books and I boxed and cleaned and it doesn't even look like we made a dent in the packing.  THAT is what upsets me, truth be told.  We still have...too.....much......stuff!


On the brighter side, I bought a wonderful gadget and cleaner to "deep" clean the rugs before I roll them up and pack them.  This little gizmo is wonderful and works like a charm.  I wanted to share it with you.

Wonderful product to clean and get animal fur out of the rug

I don't know if you'll be able to see the difference in these photos, but here goes....

junk piled in old dining room

Yesterday I moved the junk and got rid or packed it up and decided to clean the rug.  Can you see how dull the flowers are?


Now look:

Nice clean rug

How about this photo?

Even if you can't see the difference, I can!  Now it's time to get back to work.

Oliver says "Gloom, despair, and agony on me."

Check back next week.  I'll upload a picture gallery of the move!

Blue Thursday...No Way

This is the time of year when more people become s.a.d.  The first time I heard this acronym was while Hubby was in seminary.  I told a friend that I just didn't feel right.  I couldn't pinpoint a pain or ache so I felt reasonably sure it was not physical.  It just seemed to be a general all around feeling of yuck....blue....lethargy...and she told me "you know there is a name for that.  Seasonal Affective Disorder."  Another name for it is winter blues.  I can feel this blue depression coming on with the time change.  It gets darker outside a lot faster.  It also gets darker inside my home.  We don't have the best winterized window treatment at the little strawberry bungalow so we tend to keep the curtains drawn.  This is really a no-no if you suffer from SAD.

Today I'm feeling a double whammy because not only is seasonal change happening but life is changing at the strawberry patch.  Going through storage and deciding what stays and what goes is just too much.  I'm ready to get rid of all of it and start all over.  Don't get me wrong!  I'm excited as excited can be!!!  I really am.  I'm leaping for joy on one side of my big belly but the other side (like the animals in yesterday's post) is sensing something is going on...inside the bungalow and outside.

So to combat my inner SAD coming on, I opened all the window shades and have let the light shine in.  There is nothing like sunshine.  You know I'll have plenty of it where I'm going!  I'm so thankful I'm in tune with my seasonal cycles.  I can be proactive.  Now if I could just be proactive with the weight loss again!  Good grief.

One another note:  Someone who always makes me smile is waiting patiently to send you a message  too.

Ready?

What a theologian that Mickey is!

Did you ask me....

The animals are restless in the strawberry patch.  They are asking "And did you ask US about this move?"  Oliver isn't happy at all that we took away both of his dining room tables.  They have been his perch since the day we brought him home.  Ask any of the students staying in this house!  If they dared to leave paperwork, drinks, pencils, laptops on his table, they were scooted off the table by morning.

Yesterday I made an appointment for all 4 four-legged babies.  They will have an adventure to the boarding house for the two days the movers will be here.  I would be heartbroken if anything happened to them.  Actually I just don't want the hassle of trying to find Kitzilla.  The dogs...especially Brooks would be under-foot making sure the movers were doing it right.  When the church calls the plumber or the handyman (not being sexist; he IS a man), Brooks wants his undivided attention!  You'd think we ignored that dog (right, Rat Mom?)!!!

So next week, they will be visiting their vet/ boarder for two days and getting beautified for the move.  They are kind of scraggly.

We need a haircut; we'll be snowbirds too!

I took yesterday and today off (personal days....Gee, I love those days) and really got a lot done even though I was on FB a lot too!  Cosmos decided to help get packing.  What a helper!

I'm ready, Momma!  I've packed my rooster toy and my dog bowl.

And just in case, I'll sit here on a packing tub so you don't forget me!!!

 

Ch-ch-ch-changes

I've mentioned the Flylady program.  One statement she preaches that has stuck with me is get rid of those things you don't use or don't love.  Quit holding onto them and let them bless someone else.  It is that wonderful sentiment that the great theologian Dolly Levi tells Horace Vandergelder about money....or in my case....stuff: pardon the expression, is like manure. It's not worth a thing unless it's spread around, encouraging...

This past week Hubby and I had an exciting experience by letting loose (get your mind out of the gutter, I'm talking about stuff still!).  A co-worker's mother is a single lady taking care of her quadriplegic 50+ year old son.  My co-worker happened to mention the other day that her Mom is looking to buy a dining room table with sturdy chairs.  She lamented that when her family gets together they can't all sit around the dining room table and especially her wheelchair-bound brother.  Hubby and I have an extra dining room table!  The manse we are moving to already had a dining room table.  To take a step back, when Hubby and I first moved to Rural USA we were in desperate need of a china cabinet.  We went shopping and we found the perfect china cabinet.  It was cheaper to buy the whole dining set rather than just that cabinet so for six years we've enjoyed "the extras."  On Monday, my co-worker gave me a smile that let me know our old dining room table was a true blessing to someone.  My heart danced a happy dance as we smiled at each other not saying a word but knowing that God is Good All the Time.

As the days move forward and change, I'll keep a photo diary.  If you've ever moved, you know these pictures won't be pretty but then beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  You might see a mess; I see progress.  You might see empty; I see blessings.

The "old" dining room....

 

Present dining room....

Future dining room minus the Strawberry touch!

 

I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  Isaiah 43:19

Yes, LORD, I perceive it...now may I have a little help???  ;)

It's Official

It is official: they voted yes....no, I'm not talking about the upcoming elections although Hubby had an election of his own.  Yesterday, a congregation in Texas voted to call Hubby as their next installed pastor.  Can I just say "YIPEE!!!!"  Especially since we are coming into the brrrr c-c-c-cold weather here in Rural, USA.  Hubby and I are going to be snowbirds-- we're flying south for the winter and not returning.

For seminary I'm reading the assigned book for the week called "Transforming Congregational Culture."  It's an excellent book if you've ever wondered what's happening in the mainline Protestant denominations.  We're shrinking and it's going to take more than an evangelism workshop to change the tide.  The author, Anthony B. Robinson, sets up the book in a "from/to" format.  That got me thinking about my own from/ to situation.

• turning in my snow boots and ear muffs to flip flops and sunscreen

•  missing the beautiful changing colors of the leaves to just green and brown

• leaving behind many friends to delight in God's tapestry of new

• leaving a basically one color community and moving to a wonderful community that is more representative of God's world

I could come up with more but I have to eat and get to work.

Sometimes you wonder if you've made a difference.  I'm sure Hubby has thought that, too.  I will leave you with a quote from one of our younger (in the 20's age bracket!!!) new members.  It is a personal message but I don't think the author will mind since he posted this onto Hubby's FB page!!  =)

"I am very thankful to have had you as a pastor Eric. When I first started attending church at first Presbyterian, I had very little faith. You spoke the word and made me want to grow my faith, more and more. You married and counciled (wife's name) and I, you even baptized our kids. I consider you and your family as my own. I will miss our in depth conversations about the word, life and everything else. We all will miss you guys, and we look foward to visiting you."

Personal Days

Yesterday I took a "personal" day or a mental health day or a slacker-ed day.  I had all these plans lined up of what I wanted to do.  I began the day getting a project done that I'd promised Hubby.  When it was complete I called to let him know.

Did I include WHAT? No, I didn't remember to do that!

I have to tell you, I was pretty pissed on my personal day.  I can see how the phrase going postal came about.  I was ready to post somebody.  Unfortunately Boy was in the car and got to hear a litany of choice words.  He's a smart Boy.  He kept his mouth shut and nodded as my tirade went on and on as we drove to Sonic to get a nice Big 44 oz of Coke (for him) and Diet Limeade for me.....hello, I'm still not drinking dark colas!  Yay, Me!!!

Last night as I lay in bed thinking about the day's activities, it dawned on me: I've forgotten to take my thyroid medicine.  THAT's why I'm ready to deck somebody (ahem, Hubby yesterday!).  So today I'm ready to tackle the day; thyroid meds and all and get my seminary paper written!

P.S.  I'm getting better at bowling!  Not great....just improving...except for my second game....damn ball wouldn't go where I was looking.  Now if I could get that hand/ eye/ ball coordination going, I'd go all postal on those pins!!