Oh great.......

I am not happy. A few weeks ago I posted about my blatant dislike for anything that flies. As a matter of fact, the very first post on this blog was about such an incident in my life. I don't like moths, flies, gnats, butterflies, flying beetles, birds (but thats a whole 'nother story), and bees. I found out today that Arizona has a problem with Africanized Bee's, more commonly known as killer bees. Anything that has the word "Killer" in their name disturbs me, but Killer Bees are things that horror movies are made of. They basically swarm you if you get to close and sting you until you die. Really nice. They actually have companies here whose sole purpose in existing is to remove killer bee colonies from peoples houses............ Let me reiterate....I am NOT happy right now.

Not better

Okay - so my mom isn't over the pneumonia yet.....not as bad as it was, but still her work won't let her come back yet. Please pray for her, thanks!

:)

good days...

So many cool things going on right now. 1. I'm currently at our administrative office going through the process to go from temp to permanent employee! Yay! That means I'll have insurance again! 2. I lost more weight this week for total weight loss of 18.6 ponuds - most 20!! 3. My mom is almost over her pneumonia (by the way - my mom has pneumonia...) 4. Our church building is nearly complete! 5. My aunt Katie is moving here this weekend (she is recently widowed). 6. Jesus is Risen!
Yeah - there are not so good things too - but let's focus on the good stuff!! Miss everyone!

Devil bug

I love animals. I do - dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, snakes......sloths. I just love most of God's creatures. There are a few things God created that I am not too fond of. Pretty much anything with wings - but (those of you who know me can attest) I cannot stand....................... moths. I hate them. I wouldn't really say that I'm afraid of them, really. I know they can't hurt me - but just the thought of those little winged devil bugs is enough to make me want to shed my own skin. In Colorado, there are two months out of the year when we would get infested with moths. My 7th grade year was an especially bad year, and those suckers were everywhere! They'd fall out of the front door in the morning when you'd open the door (cause they were cold, and not warm enough to fly), they'd be in your car in the morning (even though there was not one in there when you got out of the car the night before). I swear, it was like one of the plagues of God, and it happened twice per year. They're Miller Moths, and we used to call them Killer Millers......that name didn't really help at all.... That was the one thing about Colorado that I hated. Well, I didn't know it didn't happen every where until I moved to Michigan. I remember driving down a mountain pass at night - seeing there was a moth in the car, and panicing because I couldn't pull over, and shaking when it would come near (right, Tara? Oh yeah, Tara said she doesn't read this blog....I can say whatever I want about her....maybe another post...) ANYWAY - after our womens bible study tonight I get out to my car....get inside....start 'er up.....and what do I see on my windshield wiper?

The Demon Beast from Hades! I swear he held on to that wiper for dear life - all while I'm driving 80 MPH just to get him to lose his grip. I think he had velcro on his little devil legs or something...anyway. I did risk my life (and the lives of countless others) by trying to capture a picture of him holding on WHILE I was driving 80 MPH.....but it didn't turn out. At some point in the journey one of the other demons must have needed him, because he just vanished....... You may think I'm exaggerating.....I'm not........

Well, maybe a little.

Week 6, I think..

I think it is week 6 of weight watchers....I've sort of lost track...Anyway... this week was pretty good. Especially having been on vacation last week, and off the program a bit. So, for two weeks I lost (drum roll please) 3.8 pounds for a total weight loss of 15.6 pounds. Not too shabby, I reckon. See you Tuesday! :)

Why?

Okay, so you all know that I have struggled with anxiety in the past. And a struggle that is in the past should STAY in the past. But, alas, here I am struggling with it again. There are some things going on at my work that is causing me to....well, I haven't had a full fledged freak out yet - but I'm close. Please be in prayer for me. Its too early to know what all is going to happen - but I really like this job and don't want to lose it!

Keep praying for Anna too (see next post)!! Thanks!

Prayer Request

Hey there everyone,

I know I've told you all about my church, and how much I love it. Also I've written about my bible study. Well, one of the ladies in my bible study has an 11 year old daughter, Anna, who is fighting cancer. They are in Houston right now going through treatment. I am asking you if you would pray for Anna's healing and for her mom Dawna while they are away from the rest of their family. I am not sure why, but Anna's story has touched my heart so deeply from the moment I heard that the cancer was back. See God already healed Anna from this cancer last year, and in January, I believe, the tumor came back. We have out church praying for her, and I know they would appreciate all the prayers they can get!

Here is her website that is detailing what the family is going through right now. Thanks everyone!!

http://www.caringbridge.com/visit/annawilkerson

What a freak I am....

Have you ever watched the Antiques Roadshow? When I lived in Detroit - for many months I didn't have cable - and so my favorite channel became PBS. Well the two shows I'd watch were History Detectives and Antiques Roadshow. Come to think of it - I didn't have cable in Colorado Springs, either...Dara and I used to watch Antiques Roadshow (we loved Leigh and Leslie Keno!). We loved it when someone who brought in something that I'd never even think to bring in...and the appraiser is like, "Well, the good thing about this piece is that even though it looks fake, I can tell its not..." You can see the owner going "cha-ching!" Or when the owner is all excited about some expensive piece that they bought and the appraiser goes, "Well, I see a few problems here in the dove tails...." or something like that. (okay, we didn't really enjoy watching peoples items turn out being fake or something...)

So, I'm at a garage sale a few weeks ago, and it was one of the last ones we were going to go to that morning, and I come across some paintings. I really liked them, the detail was incredible. I asked the lady how much she wanted for them - she wanted $50. I've never paid $50 for something that wasn't a gadget or something I could eat....but I really like these paintings. I talked her down to $40 for the paintings and I bought them! She had said they bought them in the 1970's in the Netherlands. Cool.

They are, I believe Oil on Board, and are signed by P.C. Steenhouwer. All I can find on the artist is that he was a Dutch painter that passed away in 1972. I thought I'd bring this all to your attention for one very important reason - they are filming Antiques Roadshow in Palm Springs in June and I have signed up for tickets. According to Google, Palm Springs is only 4 hours away. I'm such a freak. Mostly, I just want to go to see the Keno brothers....but it would be cool too learn more about these paintings. I won't know if I will get tickets until May. It does give me something to look forward to, at least. You too - I may be one of those people on the show where the appraiser says, "Well, unfortunately, there are some condition problems......"

Week 4

Hey all - I realized (thanks to Becca) that my update for this week hasn't been posted yet. There is a good reason for it - really, there is. The reason is.......I didn't go for my weigh in this week. Now before you comment on how big a loser I am - let me tell you why:

This past weekend I was in Colorado Springs. (I didn't get to see everyone I wanted, but I knew I'd be going back in a month or so anyway, and I would see those of you I didn't see this time, then...) It was sort of a whirlwind trip flying in on Friday evening, staying the weekend with my wonderful hosts Greg and Elaina Gipson and spending Monday at Compassion and flying home Monday evening.

So, after an awesome day at Compassion we left and headed for the airport. One of my many little quirks is that I like to be at the airport at least 2 hours before my flight leaves, so I was there pretty early. I've also been sick, and so before I went through security I went into the gift shop to buy some cough drops. I'm in the gift shop, looking around when I hear a message over the intercom. I couldn't quite make it out, but I did hear something about a flight being cancelled. Ha ha ha, I thought, suckers! I continue browsing through the store when I hear the announcement again, only this time more clearly: US Airways flight 2725 to Phoenix has been cancelled... I thought, weird, that flight number sounds familiar. Sure enough, when I pulled out my ticket I was on flight 2725. Panicked, I ran out of the gift store and toward the ticket counter. It wasn't until I was about halfway to the ticket counter that I realized that I still had the cough drops in my hand...and I hadn't paid for them. I raced back to the shop - paid for my stolen cough drops and got to the ticket counter, which by now had many people there trying to get other flights out. There were no other flights out. Colorado Springs is not a huge airport, and so I was stuck. While in the non-moving line, I decide to just call US Airways...get the lady on the phone and she's telling me they can't get me back to Phoenix until Wednesday. No, that wouldn't do. By then, I was next in line, and the ticket counter lady gave me my options...I could wait until Wednesday and get a flight out from the Springs, or I could wait until Tuesday the next day) and catch a flight from Denver. Mind you - she was not offering me a connecting flight to Denver...she was offering me a cab ride to Denver, and then my flight. Whatever...I took it. I took the cab. It was free (except for the $36 tip I gave the driver for driving me all that way...) I finally got back Tuesday evening.... and missed my weigh in. Which is probably a good thing. Its hard to stay on the Weight Watchers plan when you're on vacation...

My next weigh in will be this coming Tuesday, and I'll let you know how I'm doing then!

I'll take what I can get...

Thats what I said last week about my weight loss when I only lost 1.6 pounds. "I'll take what I can get." Well, this week I only lost 0.6 pounds...I want what I took last week! Ha ha ha - no, I slacked this week, I'll admit it. PLUS - they had a membership class at my church where they served an awesome lunch...I had to eat it - I didn't want to be RUDE! :) This weekend I'm on vacation - so who knows where I'll be next week, weight wise!!

Okay, well I better go, I'm a little under the weather and my mom hooked me up with some awesome cough syrup that I think is making me drowsy........................*snore*