There's a Mouse in my House

**warning--graphic photos ahead**

Anyone who knows me has probably had to endure my stories of the mice in our condo...at least twice. I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about it, but just in case I haven't mentioned it...I HATE MICE. I'm not afraid of them; I just think they're nasty little bacteria laden vermin. Yuck. And they really like our downstairs bathroom, laundry area, and kitchen.

Last year we had a major infestation. We caught/killed like 16 in a matter of a few months. Mimi the wonder hunter even caught a couple. We always know when they're around because Mimi is on the hunt. Literally. She tries really hard to catch them. It's actually somewhat funny to watch her - she's just so darn cute. But then, you realize just what it is she's hunting, and you're brought back to the disgusting reality. There are mice in my house!!!

Last year we finally got rid of the mice when the exterminator came out. Yep, you read that right, we exterminated them. And I didn't feel one bit of bad about it. We set out bait boxes laden with poison and for awhile, we were mouseless (or at least I didn't see/hear them). But of course, the poison dried up, and the mice retured. And the exterminator did not. During our mouseless months, our exterminator went out of business and another had to be found. Once we had them, getting them out to the house was tough. Finally, last week they came and put out more bait boxes. Mice Be Gone!

Today, I went downstairs to make some lunch. It was already 2:00, and I was starving. And what to my dismay did I see? A dead mouse in the middle of the floor. Yep. Right there. I don't know if it was due to the poison or the Mimi, but there he was. Mimi had to have played with him, he was awfully flat (and Scooby was upstairs with me). I called Chris and promptly informed him that I, of all people, should not have to clean up a dead mouse. He suggested I use a bunch of paper towels. Sorry, ain't gonna happen. If I don't have to, I'm not touching one of those nasty little buggers - in life or death.

As I am wont to do, I took pictures of it and emailed it to him so he'd know just what I was dealing with here. Of course, I called him to make sure he saw the email. He laughed at me. "You took pictures of it?" You thought I wouldn't? You underestimate me, my love!

So, the dogs went into their houses and off I went to my mom's where I made my lunch (we were traveling to the panhandle of OK today, so I had to go over anyway). No cooking just inches away from the dead mouse for me. Hopefully Chris has the corpse all cleaned up and it doesn't stink too bad. And, upon my return there'd better not be any mouse in my house!!! 

I gave in

It's true, I'll admit it. I gave in. Last week (or maybe the week before), Ali Edwards posted a challenge to take self-portraits. She suggested sitting in front of a window and getting some "natural light" shots of yourself. This is somewhat difficult considering we have just about no natural light in our house. I've never seen anything like it before, but the light from the 3 windows we do have (yep, only 3 little ones) just gets eaten up by the crazy architecture of the place. The other day, I went ahead and tried anyway. It would help if I knew my camera better, but I still managed to get a couple I liked. As per usual, though, my faves ended up being of the babies. (notice the dog over my shoulder - I couldn't get them to leave me alone!)

   

I am really glad I partook in this challenge. I have never been one to shy away from pictures, but over the last couple of months, I just didn't want any pictures of myself. I felt so fat and ugly and just didn't want to see myself like that. I had to remind myself that it doesn't matter how I feel, this is me, who I am now. I don't want to miss out on remembering this time of my life because I felt crummy. So, I stopped saying no to pics. And, I started Weight Watchers. That's definitely helped too! I've only lost 5 pounds so far, but man, even that little bit makes a difference!!

Pens. I rejoice in pens!

I have an unnatural love of office supplies. Yep, it's true. I'm dangerous in an Office Depot. Don't let me loose in a Staples. Now, my love of office supplies has been coupled with my love (obssession) of scrapbooking. I'm using lots of things from the office supply store in my SBs. Royal paper clips, cool fasteners (the kind in the doctor has in the file folder to keep all your info together), and now pens.

Pilot now has a pen called the Permaball. It writes like a ball point pen and can write on plastic (hello transparencies). I've been dying to get some, but wouldn't you know, they aren't in stores yet. Why does it seem the things I want are never in stores yet? I made the Office Depot guy earn his money one day. He searched their entire system and finally found them. They could order them through their website for me......but I had to buy 16. Um, hello? 16? What do I need with 16 of them? 2 maybe, but 16?

I finally found a site that sold them individually and of course, ordered them right away. After I purchased, they told me it would take at least 10 business days to get them to me. We're talking over 2 weeks here. After more than 3 weeks, we got a notice that they'd been returned to sender.  Duh! I'd combined my address with my mom's and included some crazy zip code. They finally rehipped them (priority, yay!). They arrived today. I can't tell you how excited I am. Over pens. I'm constantly telling Chris what a dork he is. Maybe I deserve it this time. Nevertheless, I am seriously rejoicing in my pens.

Who? Who I say...Who?

Who designs running shorts? No, really. Who? Is there some group of sadists sitting around a table (a la the Triumverate in So I Married an Axe Murderer) designing these things saying, "Ha ha ha! This pair is going to do a number on everyone." Let's disect running shorts. They are often ugly, made of crazy patterned fabrics, and always, always, always ride up resulting in the constant battle of the tug! And, why would you ever design running shorts without a little key pocket inside? Someone's gotta be filming us as we struggle with such things & getting a good laugh at our expense!

I do, of course, have a theory. They (ever wondered who "they" are?) design running shorts for the "typical runner". These days, there's more and more atypical runners, but as a rule, the "typical" female runner has always been super skinny and about a size two and a half. Now, anyone who's ever met me in person knows I'm in no way, shape, or form a size two and a half. So, I wear the larger sizes of said shorts. Doesn't bother me any, BUT I think that rather than designing the shorts for the larger bodies that will be wearing them, they simply take those size 2.5 and make them bigger. No biggie, right? Ha!!! See, those skinny little people don't have the friction problem that some of us larger folks have. When thighs get bigger, they touch, and then when you run, they rub, causing friction. You may know my term for it....chub rub. Really, can't they design a pair of shorts that doesn't ride up and facilitate the rubbing of the chub? I mean, really?

When I finally win the Lotto (I'm buying tickets every day I'm in Iowa next month), I'm going to design running shorts for normal people. That and shirts for people with a chest. Let's not get me started on that topic, but suffice it to say, can someone actually design an XL shirt that fits over my XL chest? Hello??

Habemus Papan

I saw the white smoke today. Soon after, I heard the bells of St. Peter's ringing, signifying the selection of a new Pope. I was thrilled. I'm not Catholic, but really, does it matter? All of the believers, people to whom faith is of great import, gathered together, now celebrating a new leader. Wow. It moved me to tears. Two days in a row. Awesome! No, really, I am full of awe!

Today is also the 10 year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. I remember that day like it was yesterday. I was in college in Iowa, but I can remember the words that were said to me and the picture on the tv. I started thinking about life and history. I'm living history. Right now, right here, I'm living through it. 50 years from now (or maybe even 5), what I'm experiencing right now, today will be history to someone else. What moments in history do you remeber?

• the shuttle explosion



• Reagan's re-election (my first political rally)



• the fall of the Berlin Wall



• Tieneman Square



• the fall of the USSR/the end of the Cold War



• Impeachment proceedings against the President



• the President who almost wasn't



• the OKC bombing



• Sept. 11, 2001



• Sadaam Hussein's capture



• free elections in Iraq



• the selection of a new Pope

I'm sure there are more, but that's the list off the top of my head. It's amazing how many of those things are sad. Bombings, explosions, etc. But they aren't all - Iraqi elections, the fall of Communism, etc.

I think often of the OKC bombing and the people involved. I've been to the memorial several times. It breaks my heart. We visited the site before the building was imploded. It was something so foreign. This was so wrong. I'm standing in the city I live in looking at half of a building. How could this be? I still don't understand it, and I don't think I'm alone. My heart goes out to the survivors and the families of those who didn't. Yeah, I knew a few. I don't know how they've made it through. My mom was supposed to be there that day. Right there. Across the street. In a room with walls of windows facing the Murrah building. I thank God that she wasn't. Her class was cancelled. I don't know what I'd do without her. Thank you, God. The stories of conspiracy theories have resurfaced. We've always heard stories. If others were involved, I want them to be found. They deserve to have their faces splashed across the TV screens and the newspapers as the doers of this evil. I'm not talking revenge here, but I think we deserve to know the whole story. Those families who are missing husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, and especially children deserve to know.

Perception

Look at this picture.  What do you see? A birdhouse, right. Are you sure it's not a lunchbox? For a couple of years, I've been saying, "Your perception is your reality." I stole it from someone much smarter than I, but I truly believe it. The way you perceive something may not be someone else's reality, but to you, it is reality. It is your reality. I may not understand it, but I don't have to. I'm not seeing it from your perspective.

Chris and I were at one of our favorite place, the other day...Lowe's. We seem to go there a lot. We decided to start some seeds from scratch, so we had to get the supplies. As we headed outside, we passed the birdhouses and were both interested. We found a decent looking one we both liked, and were happy. Driving home, Chris was in the passenger seat with the birdhouse in his lap. He said he felt like a kid going to school with his lunch box in his lap, and immediately decided it was a Sponge Bob lunchbox. (What is this strange fascination grown men have with SB?) The rest of the trip, I got (including our Barnes & Noble pit stop), I got to hear about his new SB lunchbox.

"Do you like my new lunchbox?"
"What do you think, should I bring my SB lunchbox into B&N with me?"
"Hey mom, it's the first day of school, and I'm ready, I've got my SB lunchbox."
"Don't you love SB? I do, I have a new SB lunchbox."

By the time we got home, I never wanted to hear the words sponge, bob, or lunchbox ever again in my life. But, it made me think...how cool is it that I'm married to this man who is willing to make a total (and I mean TOTAL) fool of himself in front of me and then laugh at himself. I love this man of mine.

I am truly blessed.

I am full of pride

I am so full of pride today. It's just spilling out of me. Literally. I'm watching the live coverage of the Boston Marathon on the OLN, and a few minutes ago, I found myself in tears. I am so proud of all of the men and women out there. Last year's winner, Catherine Ndereba is making a push to win again. She would be the first female four time winner of Boston. Wow!

Forty-some-odd years ago, women weren't even allowed to run the marathon! I'm so inspired and awed. It makes me proud. I thought I was emotional over that! The wheelchair winners crossed the line and recieved their trophies, and I thought I would loose it completely. These folks lost the ability to use their legs, but yet they continue on. WOW! I'm not sure I have the words to express how I feel. I am so proud of them for not giving up. I need to keep them in mind when I feel down or like I can't do something. My trials seem so trivial compared to what they do.

Then, as if that weren't enough, OLN also has live coverage of the Boston Marathon in Iraq. They're calling it the Freedom Run. Sixty+ men and women completed their own version of Boston through the desert. They left the safety of their bases and ran 26.2 miles through the city/countryside. Another huge WOW! They had to have security details to make sure nothing happened to the runners. No matter, they went out and did it. I've never cried so many tears of pride before in my life.