Bye Bye Butterfly

You asked for pictures...And here you go!

1. Still having camera issues regarding chewed cord/lost charger but I took some pictures with my phone.

2. These are pictures of the room that will eventually be the office. It will be the office for a few years and then it will slowly and NOT ANYTIME SOON become the nursery.

3. We are painting this room tomorrow. I decided not to leave it as the previous owners had it. The pictures below explain that decision.

I do love all of God's creatures. Especially ladybugs, bumblebees, dragonflies and butterflies. But they do not belong on our office wall!! :)

That's Amazing That You Do That But I Am Not Going To

There are some things that other people do that I really, truly admire. And sometimes I like to sit and ponder that it would probably be very beneficial for me to do the same thing, but then, I realize that I am a realistic girl and know that I would never follow through. Again, these are not things I am mocking or dissing. These are things I wish I had in me to do as well. But I'm throwing idealism to the wind and recognizing the fact that there are some things I will never do. Let's explore this:

Marathons. Running in general. I feel like running is kind of "in" right now and I am so impressed with these women that can just run and run without stopping. I admire these people. I covet their toned legs and slender physique. I, too, would like to be toned and slender. But, let's face it, I can never be a runner. The reason for this is three-fold. Firstly, there are too many things bouncing when I run and I feel like a Saturday Night Live sketch. Secondly, I have mild asthma that is triggered by running. I get all wheezy and then I'm all "hey, there is no breathing going on with me right now". Thirdly, I have better things to do with my time than run for extended periods of time.

Working Out Before Work. Unless my work day starts at noon, this is not going to happen for me. Believe me, I wish I could do it this way. I definitely see the benefit. Sometimes I've even set my alarm for the butt-crack of dawn in order to attempt this. It ain't happenin'. I need sleep. And, if I do get up early, I can sit quietly and pray and spend time with Jesus. I don't need to be all sweaty and dying first thing in the morning.

Going to Olive Garden and ordering a salad. Honestly, this one I don't even admire. This one I'm just feeling sorry for you. There is no benefit to doing this and you are stupid.

Scrapbooking. It is adorable and fun. I love looking at other people's and sometimes I wish someone would make one for me. As creative as I am, I am just not a scrapbooker. Time. Money. Patience. A variety of scissors and special glue.

Cooking breakfast before work. Again, with the mornings. No. No. No. The real biggie here is that I'm not much of a breakfast person to begin with. Now, here at the house I will from time to time make myself a bowl of cereal, or, if I'm feeling especially fancy, a piece of toast/waffle with peanut butter on it. And, if he's out of bed yet, I will make one for Grant because I'm very wifely like that. But in general, he is on his own for breakfast.

Giving up the Diet Cokes. Okay, I feel like I have been bombarded with this one lately. I know, I know, I know. I know about the sugars. I know that they are saying it makes you gain weight. I also know that some meals require a Diet Coke with it (pizza, popcorn, burger and fries, chips and queso, and other healthy assortments). I need carbonated caffiene and I need it to taste good.

IN MY DEFENSE, and so y'all don't think I'm a Lazy Lucy...there is one thing that I said I would never do that I am now doing:

Coupons- Oh yes, I clip coupons. Mind you, I'm not one of those spazzy coupon people that double up and walk in the store with an accordian file full of coupons, but they did save me over $9 from HEB yesterday!

What about you, friend? Is there something that other people do that you wish you could do but you know that it is just never gonna happen? Or is there something that you always scoffed at that you are now happily participating in?

You Might Call Me a Hero

I've always been a fan of neighbors. Growing up, we were always friendly with ours and helped each other out. When Grant and I lived in our first apartment in Louisiana, we became good enough friends with several of our neighbors that we had them over for dinner and sometimes went out for a night on the town!

Our apartment in Houston didn't provide as many options but there was a sweet couple across the hall from us that we often talked with and we looked out for each other when one of us went out of town.

In the short 2 weeks that we have lived in our house, we have been "loved on" by our neighbors! The very night we moved in, we got a knock on the door and met some very sweet people who brought over an apple pie and a "if you need anything just come on over!" Those same people watched our house for us while we were in New Orleans for New Years.

Well, last night, around 11:00, I had been hearing some pretty constant "meowing" at our front door. There was a kitty that for some reason felt that we were his owners. Grant was getting irritated... but I turned on the porch light and then we made eye contact. Now, in general I am not really a "cat person". I don't hate cats or anything but I'm much more prone to dogs. But this cat looked well-kept and very much like an inside cat. He also looked young and had a cute face. And, more importantly, he had a collar.

So, amidst the moaning and groaning of my husband, I stepped outside and tried to read kitty's collar. "Freedom - 281-XXX-XXXX- REWARD"

Then I felt sad... this is someone's pet. So I grabbed my phone and called the number. "Hi, Sorry, we're not home right now, leave a message and we'll call you back!" So I left a message saying I had found their cat and to call me back. They didn't call back.... but i couldn't just LEAVE HIM out there! It is so COLD! But I couldn't let him in the house because Moxie was going to go bonkers.

So, I brought him into the house and sat with him in the utility room, waiting for a phone call that just was not coming. Then I had the idea to google the phone number and see if it was listed. Sure enough, the address that pulled up was just down the street.

"Let's go for a drive!". Grant, very irritated at this point, got dressed in warm clothes (because it was stupid cold outside) and we all (Grant, Freedom and I) drove around trying to read people's addresses.

We finally found the house... both cars in the driveway had "Sav-A-Pet" bumper stickers. When I approached the house (at 11:30 at night, mind you) I was semi-afraid that someone was going to shoot me. All the lights were off in the house. I knocked lightly which of course did nothing. So then I rang the doorbell and all the dogs inside started barking like crazy. After a few minutes, a very scared woman started inching her way towards the door. I held the cat up to the window so she wouldn't shoot. I knew that she wouldn't shoot an animal!

Then her eyes lit up and she ran right to the door... opened it and yelled "FREEDOM!!!!" just like William Wallace did in Braveheart. I handed him over and kept saying "I'm so sorry it's so late... I am so so sorry, he was at my door, It's so late I'm so sorry". I could tell she had kids and it was a school night!

She then said thank you about 48 times in rapid succession and then shut the door cause it was stupid cold. I ran back to the car and was greeted by my husband saying "did she give you a reward?"

I then lectured him on "what if that had been Moxie?!" and "we did a good thing!" and "I wouldn't take a reward even if she offered it!".

I was just being neighborly.

And this has been a very long story that could've been summed up in "I found a cat and I returned it". But then again, everytime I see this giant scratch on my arm, I'm reminded of Freedom.

Unless the reward was like $500. Cause I totally would've taken that.

A Very Brief Hello

I don't have alot of time to blog right now because I have very important things to do such as cook dinner and watch "The Bachelor".... but I took a few minutes to come say hi!! I feel as if I have abandoned you.... so here are a few things I'd like to say.

1. I HAVE THE INTERNET AND TELEVISION IN MY HOUSE AS OF THIS MORNING. PRAISE THE LORD :)

2. Happy New Year to you! It is now 2010, hot darn! We had a great time celebrating the New Year in New Orleans with Grant's family.

3. I've missed all my blogland peoples.

4. YES I KNOW, I need to post pictures of my house. I am working on it!!

5. Okay I'm off to make some jambalaya with sausage and cornbread!