Yesterday morning I came home and was talking to Mom on the phone. I was standing in the kitchen and happen to look down and was startled to find a little mouse sitting right by my foot looking up at me! I screamed and it went under the refrigerator. I pulled the fridge out looking for it, but it had apparently crawled up inside. I had to go to my interview, so I thought I would just deal with it later.

When I came home from my interview, the dogs were going nuts with excitement on my arrival (like they hadn't just seen me a couple hours ago). Through the chaos, I looked over and there was that little mouse sitting in the midst of everything looking at me. I grabbed the broom and clobbered it, picked it up and threw it outside.

When Gary came out later, I was telling him about it and boy did he tease me. He said that here is this little friendly mouse just stopping in to get warm and say hi to me, and I clobber it. He said it could have been someone I knew from a past life just checking in on me, and I clobbered it! He was having way too much fun at my expense. So here is to the little mouse I clobbered: Sorry I wronged you, next time call first, or just leave a note! :-)

Ms. Bungle Strikes Again!

After being on the job for 4 weeks now, I reluctantly reported to work. It had been what I consider probably the worst job I have ever had. As I sat through the Monday morning meeting, my head kept telling me, "Just give them your notice today....you can't do this anymore!" After the meeting, the big boss asked if he could speak to me in private. He was obviously painstaking in what he was about to say to me. He finally got it out that "they were letting me go.....today." My reaction caught him totally by surprise as I busted out laughing as I exclaimed, "OH! THANK GOD!!! I have never been so happy to be let go from a job!" I then proceeded to let him know that I was planning to give him my notice. We both sat and laughed and he agreed that this was the best "firing session" he has ever had.
Where being unemployed with bills to pay is not an ideal situation, I trust that God will lead me in the right direction. I just have to keep putting in the footwork. I have an interview this afternoon. Hopefully, this will be the answer. :-)

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY TYLER!!! - October 1, 1987

Happy birthday to my one and only favorite son! Its hard to believe that it has been 21 years since the earth moved (literally, as we lived in California and you decided to arrive 30 minutes after an earthquake hit) and you came into the world. Although there have been challenging times, being your mom is the best job I've ever had. :-) I'm very proud of you. Love you buckets Sweetie! Happy 21st birthday. Mom.

A fence bulider does not a visionary make.....

Well, it was Monday...I was to start my new job on Tuesday and was panicking because I did not have a fenced in yard for the dogs. I could not imagine leaving all three of them locked up in their kennels in the house day in, day out, all week long.

So, in my panic mode, I went to Menard's and purchased ten 12 ft. long chain link panels for quick and easy assembly (wink wink). When I got home, I quickly realized that in order to get the panels up where I needed them, I would have to trim back some of the Evergreen trees out front. Repeating over and over to myself, "Work smarter, not harder", I headed to the garage to find a hand saw to trim the branches back. Things were going well and I was progressing proudly when I came across a pretty thick branch on the bottom of one of the trees. This is when I got to learn a very important lesson about leverage.

Still repeating to myself, "Work smarter, not harder", I stepped on the end of the branch and pushed it to the ground and once again, proudly started sawing the branch half way up the middle. To put that extra oomph on it, I leaned over and picked up the speed. Things were going impressively well, when all of the sudden it felt like someone stepped in and punched me directly in the nose! When I was able to make sense of what had just happened, I realized that I had been sawing on the wrong side of where I had placed my foot for leverage. When I cut through the branch, it had popped up approximately three feet and poked me in my nose! At first I thought it was broken as it went numb and I could feel it running. Fortunately, no blood, just immediate bruising and swelling. This should look great for my first day on the new job!

After collecting myself and repeating again, "Work smarter, not harder", my next step was to support the fence with T-posts. I have put in hundreds of these things using a post driver (see picture for reference).

My post driver weighs approximately 25 lbs. and has been a life saver out here at the farm. Well, I was holding onto the post driver pounding away driving the T-post into the ground when I suddenly realized that the post driver was no longer in my hands. Before I could even put together what happened, it came down and beaned me right in the noggin! Knocked me silly, I tell you. I was leaning on the trash bin stomping my foot trying to make the stars and pain go away. I couldn't help but laugh as it is yet another confirmation of "Miss Bungle".

Looking to the sky with my arms held up, I exclaimed , "Okay God, what is it I'm not getting?" The thought crossed my mind that I definitely should not operate any power tools! (But quickly left as I needed to trim more bushes and resorted to the reciprocating saw.)

All in all, it was a day of reckoning (I reckon I'm a little too self-willed and prideful to ask for help-mmm-hmm). The fence is up. The dogs are happy. And I have yet more opportunities to laugh at myself. :-)