One step closer to being a Black Belt..

We are so proud of our little ninja!

I said "Just a little off the top, please" ...

...and this is what I got

Take a Whiff of That Puppy Smell

This young fellow had the good luck to be sitting with his brothers in a shopping cart outside of Albertsons when Sarah (aka Sucker!) came by. Meet my new grand dog. The boys are at their Dad's house, so they haven't met him yet...not until after school on Monday. C-Monkey, who is a lover of all things beastie, will flip.

No name yet; Bill suggested Otis. I suggested Max. C-Monk will probably go for Cookie Dog. Robbie will want to go with something exotic, like Montana. Or Guitar Hero. What would you name a big old black dog?

Oh, by the way, he's half Labrador Retriever and half Newfoundland. Gonna be a BIG boy!

The Inmates Are In Charge...

We have an employee (we'll call her Posey) who has given us nothing but grief for over a year. She has been rude to customers, employees and managers. We suspect her of having "keyed" a manager's car because he wrote her up. She hit-and-ran another employee's truck, but eventually owned up to it...refused to pay for it, though. Now she was caught tagging 3 other employees' cars with bright orange paint. The police are now involved, and the 3 employees each have restraining orders against Posey. So I fired her Friday. She's going to fight it. She says I can't fire her for tagging the cars, because it didn't happen on the store property. She says I can't fire her for being rude because I don't have written reports for each of the many, many times I talked to her about it. She says I can't fire her for sexual harassment (she grabbed another employee's backside, and made a suggestive comment to him) because I don't have his complaint in writing. She says her lawyer will want to see all the documentation I have. Oh, and she says I have to build her a schedule around the restraining orders so she can still work here.

Some questions:
1. Why on EARTH would you want to work in a place where the other employees don't like you, the management team doesn't want you on their shifts, and the customers complain about you all the time?
2. How can a nineteen-year-old afford a lawyer?
3. Since when does an employer have to put up with such nonsense from a worker with poor work habits? California used to be an at-will state. What happened to that?

Meet my current best friend.

May God bless and keep the creator of this elixer; may he suffer only good health; may great riches cross his palm; may his children rise up and call him blessed.

chirp

My little house has nine smoke detectors. Nine. We do not, as recommended, change all the batteries twice a year. In fact, because it is such an ordeal with these 10 ft ceilings, we only change them on an as-needed basis.

I believe this cricket is in my house. It has been chirping since about 6:30 a.m. Every 30 seconds. For 3 hours. The Exterminator is not home, but as soon as he gets here, I'll drag in the ladder and hand him a new 9 volt battery so he can STOP. THAT. NOISE.

Down for the count...

Going on 5 days. Still feeling scratchy, stuffy etc. Sleeping in the guest room so I don't cough/sneeze/breathe on the the huz, and transfer this disease to him. Because a sick man in the house -- ladies, can I get a witness? -- is a far greater calamity than any other discomfort a head cold can bring.

By the way, I don't think QVC offers these handy gadgets...

Just a-ponderin'

It occurs to me that the time on the clock in Sarah's living room will more likely be corrected again by the turn of the calendar than by her actually setting it to DST. Hang in there, Sarah. We'll be "springing ahead" again real soon.

It occurs to me that Paul Carcamo, Poly High School Class of 1999, will soon turn 7 years old. Happy birthyear, Paul.

It occurs to me that the beauty of the Fake Christmas Tree is largely offset by the HUGE pain in the patoot it becomes each January to get it back into that box. It might be a whole lot simpler to buy a live tree and let the city haul it away when I'm sick of the whole mess and just want it gone.

It occurs to me that none of the Lukes I know are of the same particular temperature, although they have their own designator: Luke warm. Is there a different temperature for Matthew, Mark and John?

meh.

A few cute moments. Cameron loved it...especially the princess's butler. Apparently, he'd never heard that word before. He spent 85 minutes saying "BUTT-ler" and laughing.

If my girls were still babies....

When my girls were little, the child-rearing experts told us parents that playing Mozart for them would build their brains, and they would develop into incredible thinkers who would grow up to cure cancer, travel to Pluto, and bring about world peace. Yeah, not so much. This cockamamie theory was eventually debunked, and we all went back to You Are My Sunshine and Hush, Little Baby.

I wonder what social changes we would see if we immersed our kids in this? Among the choices are Baby Metallica, Baby Coldplay, Baby Stones, Baby Nirvana, Baby Pink Floyd, Baby The Cure, Baby Smashing Pumpkins, Baby Beatles, Baby Ramones, Baby Eagles, and yes,boys...Baby U2. You can even download some Baby Radiohead on itunes.

Give it a try, parents. I'll be expecting some earth changing stuff from your kids. Failing that, there's always The Wheels on the Bus.

As promised...

I told you that if the item purchased during a sleep-deprived, what-the-heck-am-I-doing-up-at-this-hour moment was a good one, I'd share with you. It is, so I will.

Meet The H2O mop. It heats up the water so you're cleaning with steam. And my floors haven't felt this good to my (perpetually) bare feet since we first moved in. It even eliminated that "Stinky Little Boys Who Can't Aim" bathroom smell. Sadly, the laminate flooring still streaks -- if anyone has a sure-fire way to mop laminate without leaving streaks, you'll be in the will -- though it didn't streak as much, probably because the hot water evaporates so quickly.

Suggestion: don't look at the mop cover when you're done. Just toss it in the washer, and hope the Tide does what it's supposed to do.

Have you been following this?

This is the compelling true story of a young couple who are fighting her cystic fibrosis. Tonight she underwent a C-section to deliver their daughter Gwyneth Rose. She weighs 1 pound, 2 ounces. Read their story, and pray for them.

Tuesdays at 8

I haven't watched this for a couple of years, but I'm back. This year, the contestants are all couples: married, siblings, friends, parent/child, even one pair of strangers. I can guarantee I'll be sobbing through the weigh-ins each week. And cringing through the workout sessions.

Next week, American Idol begins. I'll be sobbing through the selection process, and cringing through the auditions.

At Last, A Really Helpful Kids' Site

Rockin' Robbie has been struggling with memorizing his times tables. Tonight I found this on-line video game designed by actual PS gamers, so the graphics are great, and the critters run the gamult from cute enough for girls to creepy enough for boys. My favorite part: nobody dies; if you run out of time, the ogre bops you with his club, and you start over. It's a little tricky to maneuver, because you have to use the keyboard and mouse simultaneously...it didn't seem to slow Robs down much.

Bottom line: my little guy told me last week that he hates math because multiplication is so hard. Tonight I had to drag him away from this game, and by the time I did, he had mastered some tough facts.

Oh, I forgot to mention one thing; you can download one version for FREE!

PS. Next morning, I quizzed Robbers on the problems he had encountered the night before, and he knew every single one. Plus, he was grinning and excited to give me those answers with absolutely NO hesitation! I think this one may be a winner.

SOAP...because cleanliness is next to Godliness

My girlfriends and I have decided to do our daily Bible reading together-ish. We read the same scripture, mull, chew, then email each other with the lesson God has for us. Our beloved Carol has made this much more do-able by suggesting that instead of trying to read for a specific length of time, or a prescribed number of verses, that we take a section of scripture, as divided by the editors. Some days that can be 15 or 20 verses; other days it might be only 5. But we have found that each section holds a complete truth to ponder. For us in this distracting, busy life, it's what we can do. And for us, it's working.

Here's a little how-to I found on another blog (sorry; I don't remember who to give credit to, so we'll just say it was God inspired, and leave it at that)

S for Scripture
Open your Bible to the section we're reading today. Take time reading and allow God to speak to you. Highlight, underline or place a mark in the margin of your Bible, next to the scriptures that stand out. When you are done, reread the verses you marked, look for one that particularly spoke to you that day, and write it in your journal.
O for Observation
What do you think God is saying to you in this scripture? Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and reveal Jesus to you. Paraphrase and write this scripture down in your own words, in your journal.
A for Application
Personalize what you have read, by asking yourself how it applies to your life right now. Perhaps it is instruction, encouragement, revelation of a new promise, or corrections for a particular area of your life. Write how this scripture can apply to you today.
P for Prayer
This can be as simple as asking God to help you use this scripture, or it may be a greater insight on what He may be revealing to you. Remember, prayer is a two way conversation, so be sure to listen to what God has to say! Now, write it out.

With that, it's on to Acts 4 for me and my gals. Kay and Diane, I'll "e" you later this morning.

Heart of Worship

We have labeled those who stand on the stage with instruments or microphones and lead a song service "The Worship Team". The title makes me squirm a bit.

What makes a Worship Team? How about the pastors of each department, spending hours and hours preparing for the weekend. Isn't that a Worship Team? How about the guys in the orange vests standing in the drizzle with big smiles and waves, welcoming every person as they come to church? How about the snack bar crew, arriving at church while it's still dark to make coffee for the early birds? And those angels who lovingly rock screaming babies, willingly change icky diapers? Definitly a Worship Team.

And the people -- babies, children, youth, adults -- coming to church to learn about God, inviting Him to change who they are, lifting hands and hearts and lives to Him -- isn't that truly The Worship Team? Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as though unto God. Because YOU are the Worship Team.

When the music fades, all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring something that's of worth
That will bless Your heart,
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You, Jesus

Midnight Train to Georgia...but not yet!

I have always described myself as a Pip; happy to be singing, contented to stand behind and a little to the left of Gladys. Today that life-long avocation will be kicked up a notch. My Team will be singing back-up for Sylvia Lange, a wonderfully talented vocalist. And I...humble Pip that I am...will be singing the alto part with her on one of her songs.

Now, we all know Gladys shot to stardom, (and random appearances on reality shows and various Expert Judge panels) apparently leaving the Pips back in ATL. And Sylvia will certainly leave me after this weekend. My brief taste of fame over, I'll happily switch to my true Gladys. (oh, Adam; you'll always be my Number One!)

But here's what I have learned: The Pips worked really really hard for Gladys. They wanted to sing only the correct notes, knowing their part well enough to enable them to sing it well, while smiling (and dancing a bit, which I will certainly NOT be doing.) I, too, have been working hard to learn my part well, so I can back up Sylvia, and have fun doing it.

Do I work this hard on my music for any "regular" Team weekend? Do I work this hard on the songs for our weekly Women's Bible Studies? Do I put in enough time and effort to be a good Pip in any task God calls me to?

Do you?