double click

I love my computer, but it drives me crazy. It's a good computer, and fairly new, but . . .

1) Sometimes when I command a certain function, it overrides what I ask and does some random project I have no interest in, and . . .

2) It takes too long to process information. For example, when I am downloading photographs or making a video, it takes SEVERAL minutes to complete these projects, which leads to the fact that . . .

3) It won't let me start another project to work on while it is finishing the first project which causes me to want to double-click and triple-click in an effort to speed it up, which means. . .

4) It gets overloaded with the stress to handle multiple projects, so its solution is to lock up and shut down. Also . . .

Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Hold everything.

I love it, but it drives me crazy.
It ignores what I want and does its own thing.
It takes too long to process information.
It can't multi-task.
It shuts down when it can't deal with the stress.


My computer is a man.

It all makes so much sense now.

june 23

Today marks the day my sister died. I don't really feel the need to blog about it, so we'll just leave it at that.

speaking of pee . . .

Today, the cowboy met our son's alterego.

See, this morning my husband had to go pick up a piece of farm equipment. (I would tell you what it was, but I don't know, so you can just assume it has something to do with hay or manure or tractors or something equally fascinating.) But for whatever reason, he needed to pick this thing up at 7:30 this morning. Now, since he was just coming off a 12-hour midnight shift, he decided to take Kevin with him for company . . . you know, to help him stay awake while he was driving.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

So he woke Kevin, who rousted himself enthusiastically out of bed, said "GOOD MORNING DAD, WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU THIS FINE DAY?", jumped into the nearest phone booth, and became (da da da da!): NARCOLEPSY BOY!

Apparently, Kevin managed to stay awake for about 15 minutes before he crashed and slept through the stop to get gas, the trip to the parts store, and the drive out to the trailer sales place.

Once they got home, however, Kevin did manage to wake up long enough to walk from the truck back into the house, hug me "goodnight" and go back to bed for a couple of hours.

I, on the other hand, had a VERY productive morning. Between 8:30 and noon I got on facebook, hung up the mountain of clothes that had mysteriously collected at the end of my bed, read 7 chapters in 3 different books (you know, because I'm a woman and I can do that), and then, being so exhausted from all the page-turning, went back to bed for a "power nap". I didn't get my power nap, however, because as soon as I got into bed I realized I needed to pee. My brain and my bladder began to converse.
BRAIN: "Just hold it and let me rest!"
BLADDER: "I can't. I'm full."
BRAIN: "But this is a "one facility" household and the potty is like 38 feet away. Deal with it."
BLADDER: "I can't. I'm full."

I didn't say it was an interesting conversation.

Anyway, continuing to think that somehow this urge would magically disappear, I just stayed in bed growing more and more uncomfortable. Besides, with the exception of my bladder, the rest of me was quite cozy. Why should one tiny little body part get to overrule what the rest of me wants to do? After 45 minutes of ridiculous procrastination, the brain caved and the bladder won out.

I can't wait to see what fascinating events occur in the second half of this day.

sunrise, sunset

Children grow up. It happens so gradually that, as a parent, you sometimes don't even realize it until one day they are married and living in Indiana and you can't get the words to "Sunrise, Sunset" out of your head.

Other times they seem to grow up right in front of your eyes. That's what happened this past week with Kevin. Yes, his bass voice has been deepening for some time, and he surpassed me in height about a year ago, but I'm talking about the stuff that is more than physical. I'm talking about the stuff you hope and pray for. The stuff like: Taking middle-schoolers under his wing to make sure they feel accepted in our youth group (especially the 6th grade boys). Taking steps to go above and beyond to be helpful, at home and elsewhere (like last Friday when I came home from work to find the yard mowed, the kitchen cleaned, floors swept, laundry and dishes done, and the entire house vacuumed & dusted). Taking steps, with a friend, to start his own business (he and Deecke are detailing cars). Taking a little more care to say say nice things and not ALWAYS go for the cheap joke. Taking a leadership role among his peers (like initiating the Cabin 1 devo at camp this week with a prayer, song & opening question). Taking note of little acts of kindness and following through (like clearing away other people's trays after dinner this past week, and being more concerned with the little kids on his team getting a chance to participate more than being concerned about winning). Taking a big brother role with a 7-year-old who thinks he is something special (Micah - Kevin carried him on his shoulders for 2 days and cried for a half hour when he left). Taking on the responsibility of helping out with the tech stuff during the camp talent show (even though he really wanted to be sitting with his friends). Taking time to thank those who are making a difference in his life. Taking his faith to a deeper level.

At least 7 staff members made a point to brag on him to me this week, and even though he was only the "Camper of the Week" runner up, in my book he wins, hands down.

Thank you, God, for allowing me to watch my boy, my son, my baby, my Kevie-poo become a man right in front of my eyes. I could not ask for a greater blessing.

friday five

5 things I do when I can't sleep:
pray
blog
dream about the "what ifs"
listen to music
get on the computer

5 things that scare me:
losing my sight
heights (occasionally)
down escalators
losing relationships
not ever becoming who I was meant to be

5 things I don't like to spend money on:
haircuts
anything medical
cars
shoes
jewelry

5 things I would like to do more:
play games
be outside
cook
read
spend time with the people I love

5 things that annoy me:
rude drivers
invasive children
people who don't do what they say they are going to do
my own forgetfulness
selfishness

5 things I can't do that I wish I could:
bob my head (to the side)
whistle
speak a foreign language
tan
sing soprano

5 songs I ALWAYS crank up when I hear them:
Flood, Jars of Clay
Me and Julio, Simon and Garfunkel
The Remedy, Jason Mraz
Shackles, Mary Mary
Entertaining Angels, Newsboys

Home from camp tomorrow! Have a GREAT weekend!

love language . . . ???

I really think my love language is "Physical Touch". I am definitely a touchy, feely, huggy kinda gal. My daughter, however, has taken great issue with this ever since I posted a Facebook quiz that she basically failed. :o)

So, in fairness to her, I found 3 or 4 "love language" quizzes and took them. Turns out, she may be right. I discovered that my love language is somewhat different, depending on the person expressing themselves to me. Overall, my scores showed "Words of Affirmation" (42%) ranking slightly higher than "Physical Touch" (37%). Not surprisingly, "Quality Time", "Acts of Service", and "Receiving Gifts" all stayed in the 7% range.

So maybe, in some ways, Kacey knows me better than I know myself.

What this really means is, when you hug me, just go ahead and tell me I'm wonderful.

It's a win-win.

. . . which caused me to ask myself:

Be the donkey
A few days ago while I was driving, I popped in one of Mike's old sermons. It began playing somewhere in the middle, and the first words he spoke were, "Surely the Messiah would come riding on the back of a stallion."

*Which caused me to ask myself:
Who, exactly, is "Shirley the Messiah"?

Beware of falling hares
Lately Kevin and I have been noticing quite a few rabbits hopping across our road. Occasionally we see the little cotton-tail critters scampering across the part of our road that passes over the interstate. I'm talking straight across the road on the overpass. Perpendicular, if you will . . . AND at rapid speed. Right over the interstate. And I mean, bunnies are pretty zippy little hoppers. Kevin and I keep wondering, "Where do they go when they hop under the guard railing?"

*Which caused me to ask myself:
Do we need to post one of these on the interstate below?

Coffee la Pew
Finally, my friend Jessica does not like coffee. Doesn't even like the smell of coffee. Or so she says. Now, I have not always been a coffee lover either, but I have always thought it smelled yummy. Jessica, however, says that coffee smells like skunk. When she said this, I gave her my best "YOU SO CRAZY!" look. She then told me to find out for myself. She said the next time we drive past a dead skunk, we should breathe deeply, exhale slowly and see if the last whiff doesn't smell like coffee.

So yesterday Kevin and I encountered a roadkill Peppy la Pew and decided to test her theory. We each took a deep breath of the putrid stench, exhaled with our faces all cinched up, and agreed: COFFEE does NOT smell like skunk. GROSS! Wait a minute . . . Jessica just got us to willingly and deeply inhale skunk-scent.

*Which caused me to ask myself:
Were we just the victims of a brilliantly understated practical joke?