Burnt Tongue

I hate having a burnt tongue. I just finished making homemade chicken and noodles for Rod and Linda (will take it over soon) and in my zeal to taste it, I royally burned my tongue.

Here's what I've noticed today:
1. The Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is fabulous for cleaning tub scum out of your bathtub.
2. Ethan's fingernails need to be trimmed.
3. Seeing a toilet being cleaned is apparently quite fascinating to toddlers/preschoolers.
4. I can really get a lot done in a day if I decide I want to.
5. There is an odd smell in our bedroom.
6. Folding laundry is a good time to pray.

Labor Day

Happy Labor Day to one and all! I spent all day and evening yesterday crocheting and I'm almost ready to start putting the fringe on the shawl I'm making. I don't think I'm going to keep it, though. We'll see. Now that I see how it looks on me, I'm thinking I'd like one that is either longer (so I could literally wrap it, toss one end over my shoulder) or one that is a bit more shaped (perhaps even a poncho?). Who knows?

My exciting plans for today include getting groceries (never did that at the end of the week), going to JoAnn's for some fabric and yarn, and more crocheting.

Here's my list of six things that I noticed today:

1. My eyes are red. (probably from not getting enough sleep)
2. The MDA telethon seems to be pushed aside this Labor Day weekend. (understandable, but still sad for them)
3. There are five pizza boxes stacked in my kitchen, waiting to be taken to the recycling bin.
4. JoAnn's Etc has terrible lighting in the yarn/needlework department.
5. The new WalMart Neighborhood Market has a really pretty stained concrete floor.
6. Gas prices went down since Saturday.

Noticing

I was reading my beloved Guideposts magazine last night (I loves Guideposts) and saw something that I thought would be good to do. It was in a story about Ted Kooser, America's poet laureate. Here's a little excerpt that explains both my new daily blogging prompt and the reasoning behind it:

"'You drive home from work, find yourself in the garage and can't remember a thing that's happened between when you left and when you arrived,' Ted says. 'To really participate in life we have to figure out ways of being aware of what's around us.' Sure, I think. But how do you do that with a busy life, work, family? 'The poet Linda Gregg has her students notice six things a day. Lots of days I don't notice six things. I'm not always successful,' Ted admits. 'But I like paying attention to ordinary things.'"

So there you go. My challenge to myself is to notice six things every day and post them here in my blog. I'll update the list when I can:

1. Natalie's hair is getting darker.
2. Carnation dry milk smells really nasty.
3. There are a lot of cobwebs in my house that I never noticed and should probably get rid of. (no offense spiders)
4. Noticing six things is harder than anticipated when you spend all day in your house.
5. The bathroom ceiling needs to be wiped down with bleach again.
6. Water has collected under the crisper drawers in the fridge again and has started to overflow.

Sunday morning pancakes

That's what I'm making right now. Not from scratch...don't get too excited. Just good ol' Jiffy baking mix, with chocolate chips thrown in for good measure. I don't make them very often, but we're out of waffles for the kids, so I didn't have anything else to offer them for breakfast. Made a few plain ones for Ethan - what he doesn't know won't hurt him.

Church was really good last night. Steve made a very good point in talking about what has happened in the Gulf states. He talked about how some Christians will jump up and say what happened was all God's judgment, while others will say that God allowed it to happen. At the end of the day, it's not up to us to discern. Either stand really makes an assumption about God that we can't possibly know. The Bible clearly shows that sometimes God is a God of judgment, sometimes a God of mercy, a jealous God, a loving God, a compassionate God...He is ALL of those things. Steve reminded us that we must let Him be ALL of those things, ALL of the time, without making any assumptions about His motives.

Steve also talked about what Belmont (our church) is doing to help and what we can do. We are partnering with Operation Blessing and Hope Force Intl. Our church has a longstanding partnership with Operation Blessing and the couple who founded Hope Force are members of Belmont. I guess it has been officially "sanctioned" or partnered with the Salvation Army and is doing all kinds of things to help. They asked Steve if he could round up at least 5 ordained ministers that could go be chaplains at the Astrodome. One of those will be Doug Mann. We're so excited that he can go be part of this effort and we're praying that God will use him in amazing ways. Knowing Doug, these people at the Astrodome have NO idea what they're in for, LOL!

No plans for the holiday weekend. Lazy day today and tomorrow will be just another Monday, minus tumbling and Bible study (both off for the holiday). I'm thinking of going to JoAnn's to get fabric, since they have a sale and I actually saved my coupons. Cori asked me to make her a baby carrier and I need to get on it.

Last weekend I taught myself how to crochet and yesterday I finished my first project! I made a baby afghan for Rod and Linda's new baby. I plan to take a picture of it today and will post when I can. Oh, that was the other thing I did this week - go to the hospital to see the new baby! Katherine Michelle (Katie). I gave them the baby album I made and told them the other part of their gift would come soon. Now I'll be able to take it whenever I take them a meal this week. I'm praying Linda has a quick and easy recovery (c-section) and that Katie has gotten more interested in nursing. I hope that works out better for them this time, too.

I do have a new idea for something to blog about every day and will start it tonight...