My weight loss journey begins...

Today I made the decision that I am going to lose this extra weight and keep it off. I know that there is no secret to losing weight-- you just take in less than you need to maintain your body weight and the pounds should come off. I've tried cutting calories and swimming, and walking and nothing seems to be helping. So today I called a dietician, and she says she thinks she can help me. That's good, because at 62, my weight is an issue. I have what seems to be arthritis in my hips and knees (from riding horses all my life?) and high blood pressure, too. I have a family history of diabetes, and I don't want to go down that lane. One of my aunts lost both her legs to diabetes before she died, and with the chronic pain I have in my legs, I don't want to be next!

So here's the thing. I'm going to get my husband to take a full-body picture of me today, which I will post here, along with my dimensions and weight. I'll chronicle the changes made in my diet and lifestyle and what I go through, physically and emotionally, as I seek to return to a healthy weight. And YOU get to come along for the ride! Hooray! (Misery loves company, or so I've heard!)

Here's what I think I'd like my goal to be: 150 lbs. I don't know if that's reasonable or doable or what. I guess I'll see!

Starting weight: 215.6
Height: 5'7"
Waist: 37"
Bust:43"
Hips: 49.5"

I have an appointment to see a Registered Nutritionist on Saturday, March 7. So I really am only trying to eat less and stay away from junk until then. That's when my regimen will really start. Which is good, because my grocery shopping day is early Sunday morning while everyone is at church (we attend church on Saturday night). So until then, I probably won't be posting much, except for struggles. See ya then! 

Well, Valentine's Day weekend didn't go precisely as planned. But I'm not complaining. My paper mâché dog still isn't finished, but Jeff loved his concealed gun coupon! Remy got sick and threw up, but she was fine after that. We didn't do all our crafts because we ran out of time. Jeff took Monday off and we just hung out all day. That is really, really a rarity!

And now, on Tuesday, it's 4:12 and the kids are still asleep! I thought I'd get a head start on my blog entry for the week while they're still napping. And I even got about an hour myself! Ah, sometimes life is good!

I've lately been fascinated by an organization that raises and trains miniature horses for use as therapy animals in hospitals, nursing homes, and the like. There are a few such organizations, but the one that caught my eye and engaged my heart is called Gentle Carousel Miniature Therapy Horses, and has locations in California, Florida, and Greece. You'll often see their adorable little horses gracing the posts on my Facebook page, because I simply am captivated by them. So I've decided to contact them about doing a children's book that features the little bitty equines and explains how they are trained and what they do. So I thought that today I'd begin an outline and contact them tomorrow. So here goes.

The Gentle Carousel

The horses
The people who work with them
The people they help
How they are trained

Perhaps told from the point of view of a child who is ill and loves horses b ut thinks she can never see a real one close up because of her illness.

I guess a phone call to the owner/manager of the horses is in order. Meanwhile, enjoy this little one's beautiful face.

Valentine's Day plans

WEll, tomorrow is my second "dose" of chemo to keep my bladder cancer from coming back, but tonight I've been huddled on the bathroom floor up chucking my toenails. Yuck! I didn't feel at all well today, which made it hard to concentrate on my littles, who were extremely good (praise the good Lord!). But even though I feel so lousy, I'm looking forward to the next five days. After my chemo treatment, I'll go on a tiny shopping spree and get a few craft items I need to make the paper mâché dog I hope to have finished by Friday night when I transfer myself and our two dogs over to my son's house to babysit over the weekend with our littles. Son and wife are going out of town for a Valentine's getaway and husband and I are having a weekend of crafts and cookie making with Remy and Liam. Then I have Monday off (as well as this Thursday and Friday). It will give me time to work on my book while the paper mâché dog dries. The dog is a Valentine's Day gift for my beloved, who always loves the whimsical things I make and is my largest collector. The other gift I got him is a Groupon coupon to take a concealed carry permit course. What normally costs $150 only cost me $30!

Here are some pictures of the last time we did cookies and crafts. (Note the horse show going on on TV in the background!)

Averting disaster (after the horse got out)

After my three year old granddaughter took a tumble down the very steep stairs at my son's house, he and my husband got together and put up a second rail that the little ones can reach. Now they have no trouble holding on going up and down the stairs! They bought two 10' lengths of railing and matched the hardware on the original rail. Then, by using a plumb line to make sure the rail was fastened in the same vertical placement as the original, it was easy to make this staircase a whole lot safer for the toddlers in our lives.

Liam and Remy using their new hand rail.

Back from the deep

For the last eight months, I've been lost in a very dark, very deep depression. I had no desire to create at all. Not in my crafts and certainly not on my blog. But the good news is that I'm back now. My doctor got my meds regulated and I feel 100% better, full of energy and positive, despite the state our world is in.

In fact, if you are, like I am, a Christian, you realize that the state of affairs we find ourselves in globally means that Christ will soon be returning to snatch away His bride! How exciting that is! If you want to know more about these end days, or you aren't (yet) a Christian, just take a look at my page called End of Days.

But for now, I am told to "occupy until He comes." Therefore, I'm back on my blog, designing, crafting, writing, cooking... and still taking care of my precious two youngest grandchildren. R is 3-1/2 and L is 18 months. They are what kept me going through my depression. Hallelujah! Jesus is seen in the eyes of a small child!

To bring you up to speed (whoever you are--I really don't think I have any followers), here are some pictures of what's been going on in my life.

Liam vacuuming. Notice he has Remy's princess shoe on his right foot! LOL! (Left)

Remy making cookies. (above)

Me with long(ish) blonde hair. Blonde is my natural color, but Jeff prefers it red and short, so.....

Me with short, red hair, as requested. I still need to add highlights.















And just for fun, here's a video I took of my fur babies just chillin' on this rainy Sunday morning, Superbowl day, and one day before my 62nd birthday.

Handmade Gift Exchange summer 2014

I love Craftaholics gift exchanges! It's fun to have a "secret pal" to send something handmade to. It's also fun to get to know that person through posts and answers to questions you ask about them, like: what is your favorite color, what is your favorite season, do you have a specific style you like, what is your favorite holiday, etc. I learned enough about Cassie Fuller to know that she collects Christmas stuff year 'round, and that she has little kids with a new baby on the way. So I sent her a pillow that said "JOY" on it, a Christmas star made from clothespins, a white totebag with a pink polka-dot interior, and a lamb hand puppet, all of which I made specifically for her and her little brood. She sent me a Christmas sign on a 10"x12" tile, a set of Americana blocks that says God Bless America, and a set of calendar blocks that has a huge array of occasions with it. Here, let me show you:

I'm positively thrilled with my gifts and hope she is likewise with mine (she says she is). Unfortunately, I neglected to photograph my gifts to her before I mailed them. Hopefully, she will photograph them and I can get them from her. Meanwhile, if you're interested in getting in on the next exchange, just go to http://www.craftaholicsanonymous.net/gift-exchanges. The next one will be in the fall (I think). Maybe you and I will be partners!

Have you participated in handmade gift exchanges? Did you have fun? What did you make/receive?

Update on personal goals

Lest I forget them, I go back and periodically read my goals again. And I'm shocked at how much time has already past since I first posted them. So here's a brief update:

1-6 month goals

• Develop statements of purpose, value, and mission. DONE

• Find a group that is doing important work and contribute to it CONTINUING

• Join or start a small group for discussion.

• Get training in Prophetic Ministry. DONE

• Begin blogging about my journey. CONTINUING

1 year goals

• Seek teaching and/or curriculum development assignment

• Begin Russian language study CONTINUING

• Get involved in Prophetic Ministry CONTINUING

3-5 year goals

• Speak Russian fluently

• Advocate for Russian speaking victims of trafficking

• Publish a book about Human Trafficking (from blog posts)

I have two upcoming events in my anti-human-trafficking ministry, both in July. One is a craft day with some girls saved from slavery and one is a full day of teaching kids about who God is and how He has planned for their lives, if only they will follow Him. What a marvelous adventure, finding out what God's plan and purpose for one's life is!

Last week I volunteered at a "My Gateway" event, where we are beta-testing an application being developed in our church for use by other churches around the world. If your church is using the "Table" app, you already have an earlier version of it.

The week before I volunteered at an Access Life event where I helped handicapped people of all ages make sun visors at the expo. Lots of fun, but when I got home from being in the sun all day I slept for four hours straight! Boy the hot weather here in Texas really wears me out!

I packaged up a sheep toy I sold from my Etsy store and my gifts for my Craftaholics Handmade Gift Exchange partner and got them ready to mail tomorrow.

One more thing happened today. I received test swatches from Spoonflower on three of my designs, and ordered a yard of another of my designs. Here's what they look like:

This is the one I ordered a yard of. My next piggy will be wearing a dress made of this material.

A story of three little pigs

This is a story of three little pigs. All girls. And dressed up to meet you. The first little pig is Daisy. She was my foray into making pig dolls with paper mache heads. And a bear's body. (All my pigs have paper mache heads and bear's bodies.) So who's judging? They like their shape.

Daisy taught me a lot, like pigs have double chins and fat cheeks. And smiles. Really. They do.

The second pig was Petunia.

Petunia taught me a lot, too. Like if you make the sleeves too tight on her dress, her arms will stick up.

The third little pig was Rose.

Rose's contribution to the story is that there is a better way to attach heads than with tying them on with string. Hot glue. Much better. She also taught me to varnish the hands and feet before sewing the clothing on. Or she reminded me after her clothing was already sewn on. But hey, what's an experience for if not to learn?

These little pigs aren't afraid of any big, bad wolf. I'm not going to make one of those, although I did once make a sheep in wolf's clothing!

Here are some pictures of Rose in the making:

Sorry for the poor light and the blurry pictures. It's raining today (so no natural light) and I'm using my iphone because my real camera is on the blink. Yeah. That's the story and I'm sticking to it!

3 Things That Rock

It's a Friday afternoon, and although it's only 4:15, I've been home for half an hour. That's super-cool, because my work day lasts from 7:00am to 7:00pm, five days a week. Then I try to work in crafting and blogging (and—shudder_ housekeeping). I wish I could say I was a crack housekeeper, but that would be lying. We're lucky if I get the downstairs presentable everyday. At least my kitchen stays relatively clean. I say relatively because I don't think Martha would approve. But then, I don't really care if she does. Or not.

But, oh, my studio! What a mess! I simply have to get a handle on it. I have projects in all stages of completeness all over the place and piles of supplies everywhere I look. Organization is not my strong suit. But I'm determined to get it all under control this summer, revamping the whole mess and posting as I go. I'm embarrassed to post pictures of it in its disarray right now, but once I get things a little put away, I promise to do that. You can come along for the ride!

I think my first project for the studio revamp will be to refurbish my desk. It's where my computer is and where I do small projects while I watch my latest tv-addiction  on my computer. We don't have tv service, so I have to watch online.

(An aside. My fingernails have gotten so long I can hardly type. I think I'll give myself a manicure and shorten them this weekend. Not tomorrow, though. Jeff and I are volunteering at our church at an event tomorrow. Leaving me even less time to get stuff done.)

But the title of this post was three things that rock. So here they are:

1) I've nearly finished pig number three. The head just needs to have polyurethane painted on and I can get to making the body. The body takes me about an hour to sew, stuff, and attach the head. Then comes the process of "aging" it with tea, coffee, and/or paint. Finally the clothing takes about another hour. With drying time, she should be finished by Monday or Tuesday (depending on how much housework I'm willing to skip this weekend).

 

2) I finished making a Christmas pillow for my craft-exchange partner (along with a tote bag and a sheep puppet for her kids) and have only one more thing to make for her before I ship it all out on Monday or Tuesday. I'll include a tutorial for the pillow at a later date. The word and stripes are felted on, not sewn or glued. It's simple, lasting, and makes a more pleasing finish, in my opinion.

3)Also finished is my youngest grandson's blanket, which I made with a pretty gray and yellow chevron patterned flannel on one side, and some brownish-gray minky on the other side. He loves it, being still just one year old and into "blankies."

So that makes three projects done and done. Well, except the pig. And the last little thing for the exchange box. But those should be finished in the next three or four days. And that rocks!

How Can God Be Good In A World With Slavery?

God is good. Always and forever. And His will for mankind is good, too. So how can He be all-knowing, all good and all-powerful and still allow slavery? Why doesn't He step in and set the captives free?

To answer that question, we have to go back in time. A long, long way back. To real people in a real garden at the very beginning of time. To Adam and Eve, and the saddest story ever told. (Even sadder than the Easter story!)

See, God, who was perfect in His triune state (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) decided to make man in His image. So He made man.  And then He said it was "not good" that man should be alone, so He made woman. Together, they were "very good."

Of all the gifts God gave to Adam and Eve, the greatest (other than life itself) was free will. He knew that for love to be love, man had to have a choice. He couldn't "program" love into man, because that wouldn't be love, which must be given in freedom.

Then God told Adam not to eat of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. There were an abundance of other just as tasty trees, and of them man could eat freely. But the serpent deceived Eve by twisting what God said oh, so subtly. Just enough to make Eve question the Lord's goodness. Then she chose to eat from the tree, and she gave some to Adam and he ate, too.

This is the saddest part of the story, because of what Adam and Eve gave up for a taste of forbidden fruit. The first and most important thing was spiritual life. Where before, in their unfallen state, Adam and Eve had fellowship with God, now they could no longer enter His presence. And not they alone, but all of humanity who was to come after them, too. Adam and Eve were no longer capable of passing on a perfect spirit to their children, but only a dead one. And with the loss of spiritual life came loss of intimacy with God.

Now God's heart breaks over the slaves of today. It did not have to be that way, but sin entered into the world through one man, and all have sinned because of him. God's will is for all to be free (look at the number of times I've used the word free in this post).

But along with the saddest story is the greatest one, too. And that is the Easter story. Jesus, unable to atone for our sin without becoming a man born under the curse of sin, became a man. He freely (there's that word again!) gave up His god-nature to become man-nature. Then He lived a sinless life so that He was found worthy of becoming a sacrifice for us. (Without the shedding of  blood, there is no remission of sin.) If you want to know how that all turned out for Jesus, watch Mel Gibson's film The Passion of the Christ.

The point is, man's freewill is the cause of slavery, not God. God remains good, always good, and man remains sinful. But hope is the evidence of things not seen. Continue to help and to hope! When He returns, He will wipe away every tear. Meanwhile, please pray for those who are enslaved and for those who are doing the enslaving. Both need Jesus.

Change in direction and an action plan.

I'm not very good at keeping a blog when there isn't a specific point to it, so I'm changing the direction of this one from just everyday happenings to my ministry blog. It will have posts on anti-human trafficking and on prophecy, as those are my two ministries. Today I'll share my action plan for them, and then I'll keep updated with how things are progressing.

First, though, I'll share what my ID coach, Michael, told me. He said that he rarely sees anyone with as concise a vision and plan for achieving that vision. That was good to hear (and a little bit flattering to my ego). I guess I am pretty focused. And that's a good thing, because it's easier to see where I need to go and how I'm doing on the road.

So here's my action plan:

Suzi Wollman  

Personal Value Statement*

“To glorify God in all I say and do through developing the character traits of compassion, faith, honesty, integrity, kindness, love and truth as befits a follower of Jesus Christ. It is the standard by which I measure success.”

Personal Purpose Statement*

“To utilize the strengths (strategy, belief, learning, intellection, and ideation) and gifts (teaching, faith, and prophecy) which God has so graciously given me to achieve His goals and purpose for my life.”

Personal Mission Statement*

“To provide freedom from slavery for trafficked children through illumination of the problem and belief in God’s provision, and to help victims reach a place of forgiveness.”

_____________________________________________________________

Action Plan

Overarching goal: “To Glorify God by putting the spotlight on Him and leveraging everything I can in my life to lift Him up so others can see Him. To maximize all that I have been given to show and tell others about Him. To use my money, skills, talents and passions, and all that I am, for Christ.”

1-6 month goals

• Develop statements of purpose, value, and mission. DONE

• Find a group that is doing important work and contribute to it. BEGUN

• Join or start a small group for discussion.

• Get training in Prophetic Ministry. BEGUN

• Begin blogging about my journey. BEGUN

1 year goals

• Seek teaching and/or curriculum development assignment

• Begin Russian language study

• Get involved in Prophetic Ministry

3-5 year goals

• Speak Russian fluently

• Advocate for Russian speaking victims of trafficking

• Publish a book about Human Trafficking (from blog posts)

_____________________________________________________________

[*Value: something intrinsically desirable. / purpose: the reason why something is done or used. / mission: a specific task with which a person or group is charged.]

Writing prompt: Magic in the Details

The night breeze ruffles the small hairs on the back of my neck, wet from sweat despite the cool air. A shiver runs down my spine. I hear the snapping of a twig and think someone is sneaking up on me. Turning quickly, terrified of what I might see, I strain to see through the thick blanket of darkness that smothers me. No one there. An owl who-whoots somewhere above me. The tall pine trees have left a carpet of pine needles that smell pungent when my boots crush them underfoot. In the pale moonlight, I can see what seems to be a human shape, facing me, standing stock-still. My heart skips a beat and drops of fear-smelling sweat run into my eyes. I squeeze my eyes shut and open them again, hoping against hope that whoever—or whatever—is standing there watching me will be gone. Is it? No. It doesn't move. My heart beats loudly in my ears as I hold my breath.

Then the moon breaks through the clouds and its light shows me... a statue.

I am alone in the garden of good and evil.

UnResolutions

i'm no good at resolutions. like so many others, i make them only to break them in a week or so. or when the enthusiasm of an idea disappears in the reality of actually putting that idea into action. so these are un-resolutions. things i want to do with my life this year (way too many things). they fall into several categories: health and wellbeing; creative juices; finances; homemaking; relationships; spiritual, self-improvement.

here's what my ideal would be:
spiritual - read a chapter in my bible every day. do a daily devotional. pray more.
health - lose weight. eat more veggies and less sugar. exercise at least 5 days a week. get more sleep.
creative - write every day. keep an art journal. develop my own line of prim patterns. make a scrapbook (not a digital one!)
finances - get (and keep) my business books in order.
homemaking - make and maintain a cleaning schedule. redo craft studio.
relationships - call loved ones every week. have fun with my hubby. develop some girl friends.
self-improvement (physical) - let hair grow out. get a new wardrobe (a few pieces at a time as I lose weight. maintain my nails.

obviously i can't implement those all at once! so tomorrow, i add a chapter a day to my bible reading and devotionals, and spending more time in prayer. keep a prayer list in a notebook with room to write down when and how God answers.

start keeping a food journal so that i can see what i'm eating (i'm using "lose it"). also include an exercise log. go to bed by 10:00.

writing in the blog everyday, if only a line or two.

set up new bookkeeping system online.

follow my cleaning schedule.

call jenny and each of my children as well as mom and dad every week.

do my nails.

Potty training

I've started to train REMY, now while I still have two weeks before I start potty training my new puppy. What possessed me to think that I could train a puppy while I have two still in diapers? Probably because I've done it before (but I was much younger!).

Labor Day -- A Day of Love

To honor our working force, we didn't have a barbecue or a party, and we didn't go to the local rodeo; we worked. We have a little dog, and for the last three weeks, we've been fighting fleas. We washed him and sprayed the house and laundered the bedding (ours and his), yet still the fleas came back. So today—after visiting our new puppy who is not yet old enough to come home with us — we washed the dog again, and vacuumed, vacuumed, vacuumed everything in the house, and washed all the bedding again. Tomorrow morning, we'll give him a Capstar pill (neat, safe pill guaranteed to kill all the fleas on him) and take him and our birds to our son's house while we flea bomb the house and get rid of all the fleas for good (as well as any other hapless bug in our home). It was a day of love because the love of my life, my wonderful husband, did most of the work. That's what you call love!

Visiting our puppy—Sadie—was a nice hour-long drive into the country out to the J Bar T Ranch in Blue Ridge, Texas, where the kind people raise Toy and Miniature Australian Shepherds. Sadie is the result of a breeding between a red-tri-color female (Princess) and a blue merle male (Cinnamon). She is one of three  pups in the litter, all of whom ended up red tris. She, of course, is the cutest one. Here's her picture:

Doesn't she look like a little teddy bear? She is typically puppy-sweet, with razor sharp teeth and puppy-breath. We played with her on the grass; it was her first time on grass and she didn't know what to do at first. She tried to eat it, then decided it felt good to roll and drag her tummy in it, and then best of all to run in it.

Even though it was only 86° today, she is used to being in air-conditioning, so she got hot pretty fast and whined to go back inside. When we took her in, she stretched out on the cold floor and immediately was asleep. So cute.

So that was my day. How was yours?

Early morning ramblings

Every morning I get up at 6:00 and read my Bible and pray. Then I get a shower and get ready for my day. (So far, it sounds like a poem!) And tonight I need to go get my hair cut. The rest of the day is spent caring for Remy and Liam, my youngest son's children. They are the light of my life, and I LOVE taking care of them, although I return home at about 6:30 exhausted. How can such tiny little people make me so tired?? (And for that matter, why am I so sleepy? I had 7-1/2 hours sleep last night.)

Then the love of my life comes home, we eat dinner and watch an episode of whichever serial we happen to be watching, and then we spend the rest of the evening unwinding, doing things we enjoy, and getting ready for bed. Bedtime comes rather early—no later than 10:30 at the outside—and often more like 8:30 or 9:00. (And I'm still sleepy the next morning!)

Right now it's 7:13, and I have about 15 minutes until I have to leave to walk to their house. I need to finish this post, get everything ready to go—don't forget the needle and thread to fix Bunny—and restrain Mac while he goes nuts on the end of his leash, so excited to be going to a house with kids in it. I guess not many people get to take their dog to work with them!

After the loss of Tosh, my sweet little friend, I've decided to get another dog. This time it will be a Toy Aussie (Australian Shepherd), and her name is Sadie. I can't bring her home for 17 more days, but who's counting? (Me! I am! I can't wait to get her home!)

Well, I guess I should go downstairs and get my day ready to go. Just wanted to drop in on my way to work this morning.

A good day to all!

Until next time!

Where does the time go?

Well, it's been months since I last looked at this blog. My other blogs are taking the time, and I've not had any time left for this one.

Where does the time go?

We have daylight savings time, and I think after all these years we should have quite a little account somewhere. If I could figure out where we're actually saving time, I'd make a withdrawal when things get so busy that some get pushed to the back burner.

Speaking of the back burner— I've discovered something to rid my dog of fleas that sits on the back burner, turned to low. Go outside to where someone planted a lot of rosemary and cut a handful of stems. Take it into the kitchen and curl it around into a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then turn it down to low to simmer for awhile. How long depends on how much rosemary you've used. You want to simmer it until the water is a nice tea color, and by that I mean some really brewed tea. You want it dark. Let it cool and then work it through your dog's coat, starting with his head and working backwards. You want to completely saturate the dog, between his toes and everything. Now let him air-dry and then comb him with a flea comb, which is a comb with very close teeth. It will catch the fleas and pull them out of his coat. Comb all the way down to the skin. If any of the fleas are still moving, drop them into a cup of the dip and watch them drown. This stuff is amazing! Apparently fleas don't like the essential oils that leach out when you boil the rosemary. You can also add mint to the mix, or try tea-tree oil if your dog is not sensitive to it. (Mine is.)

A note of caution: Never use essential oils of any kind on cats. Their systems are very sensitive to environmental elements, and they can make your cat really sick.

A sad note. We had to put our faithful old miniature pinscher, Tosh, down last week. She had a lot of health issues and had recently developed seizures that made her cry. I really miss her, and now our other min-pin is all alone. His name is Mac. (Get it? Mac and Tosh.)

Until next time, then.

Joyfully yours,
Susannah

Homeschooling and crickets

Remy is almost two. At least she'll be two in July. And she's beginning to need more structure in her day. That's where my having been a teacher of two-year-olds comes in handy, not to mention homeschooling five kiddos all the way through high school!

I'm rather excited about homeschooling again. For this summer, though, we're just going to start establishing more routines. Right now, we have a movie in the morning when she wants to cuddle, then nap time, then whatever she wants to do in the afternoon. Sometimes that means playing with her Veggie Tales toys, or her shape sorter, or her peg board, or reading a book. I try to play with her so that she has some interaction in her play.

But for now, I think I'll direct her play a bit more. Like today I gave her a whole bunch of almonds and some scoops and boxes and let her scoop and dump from one box to the other until she was tired of it. And she kept eating the almonds, too, which is okay by me since she's a somewhat picky eater.

It got me all keyed up to start "doing" homeschool, but I need to slow it down and not go overboard. I tend to jump in with both feet instead of feeling the temperature one toe at a time. Moderation in everything, I always say. (I don't believe it, I just say it!)

Heard in the family:

Annie and Sarah (2 years old)

"So we found a "pet" cricket earlier today, and Sarah is delighted. She watched it jump around for awhile and then said, "I take it my fwoggie to da swimmin' poo!" So we all cracked up and tried to convince her it's called a cricket, not a froggie. So tonight she happened upon the cricket again, and came squealing into the living room, shouting, "I FOUND IT DA CRICK!" :D"

Did you ever wonder what the differences among crickets, grasshoppers, locusts and katydids are? I wondered, so I researched it and here are the main differences:

Characteristic	Grasshoppers & Locusts	Crickets & Katydids
Antennae	short	long
Auditory Organs	on the abdomen	on the forelegs
Stridulation	rubbing the hind leg against the forewing	rubbing forewings together
Ovipositors	short	long, extended
Activity	diurnal	nocturnal
Feeding Habits	herbivorous	predatory, omnivorous, or herbivorous

Now aren't you glad you know this?

Bird's eye view

I'm out of makeup. Both my foundation and my blush have run out, and I can't go to the store until tomorrow. }(

I don't know why I wear makeup during the week anyway, since it's usually just Remy and me. I guess it just makes me feel better about myself. Which is weird, because makeup is a kind of mask, I think. It brightens my face, enhances my eyes, and makes my lips dewy.

[New dwarves: Dewy, Scrawny, Sleezy, Beauty, Crabby, Bitchy and Nursey. Their wives, I suspect.]

I have five little finches in a cage and they chirp and sing all day long. I love it. One of them is a brave little fellow and will almost sit on my hand. But not quite. (He got out once, and he was really easy to catch. I don't think that would have been the case with any of the others.) I love to hear them sing. It inspires me to live each moment with joy in my heart, for they sing rain or shine.

We had a hummer at our feeder last night. First one of the season. I hope we have a lot more! I need to change the syrup in their feeder today.

But right now I have more important things to do! My birds need fresh water!

Baby's almost here, and I have a lot still to do.

Liam is due on June 6th, but he's at nearly eight pounds now. Bri says her cervix is neither effaced nor dilated, so she could easily go three more weeks. I'm so excited about this baby! You'd think that at grandchild eleven, the excitement would have worn off by now, but it never does. (I think if we hadn't done something to prevent it, I would have happily gone on having babies until menopause!) As it is, I have five kids and Liam makes eleven grands. Only our oldest is unmarried and has no children. He'd love for that to be different, though, so who knows?

I'm making big sister (almost 2 years old) Remy a Waldorf doll and all the necessaries so she'll have her own baby when she has to contend with mommy's new baby. She does love babies so!

I've gotten Bri and sling, a carseat canopy, and a diaper bag thus far, and have made a delightful blanket for Liam. So now I'm focusing on Remy. She'll have the new doll, some diapers, a diaper bag, some burp cloths, a sling, and a blanket or two. And only three weeks to make them! Ah, well, it is a labor of love.

On a sadder note, my oldest daughter informs me that her soldier/chaplain husband has been assigned to Ft. Knox in Kentucky, so they'll be leaving in a little over a month. I'm going to miss her and her four kiddos, not to mention her husband. They are wonderful people and always so hospitable. They'll be gone at least two years. So I have to suck it up and be happy for the adventure that they will have being army brats! At least I know that we'll go visit them, and I love Kentucky. (All those horses!)

As far as inspiration goes, it was hard to be inspired today, because my fibromyalgia is acting up. But I appreciated the breeze that blew in my window and cooled off my  Texas home today. It makes me think of a commercial I see every now and then that starts out, "The wind is a billowing, arrogant bully..."

But it inspires me because of the sounds I can hear and the aromas I can smell as it sings its wandering song to me. So I close my eyes and bask in its caresses...