E: Embarrassing Moment

Who doesn't love to hear about the misadventures of others?

While I don't have anything super juicy to share off the top of my head, I will share a moment from just today.

The whole reason I moved up to Idaho was to be a Bible Worker for two churches in this area. Although they're about an hour apart, they're still in the same district, which means they share the same pastor and everything. Well, about 5 months into my term, my housing situation fell apart. My houseparents in both towns decided that they couldn't have me staying with them anymore (it wasn't anything to do with me, it was just life and other things happening). In one town, I rented a duplex from a couple for one month. After that, I ended up living in the other town (with my current family) and commuting for the rest of the time I was Bible Working.

I cut the owners of the duplex a check for the rent and utilities for that month, but they never cashed it, to my puzzlement. Since they live in California, I wasn't really in contact with them, and it was never really resolved.

Today, while unpacking my things from the summer and sorting through my other belongings, I came across my old check book... with the rent check still inside.

D. U. M. B.

So I just shot off an email to them, apologizing for never sending it, and asking if they still wanted their rent money. (I'm sure they will-- what sane person would say no? But I need to have my conscience clear.)

The funny thing is, though, while writing the email, I got a rather nagging sense that I had sent them a check of some sort... Huh. I'm not sure. We'll see what they say. They're honest folks, so they'll correct me if I'm wrong... I hope!

D: Day in the life of Me

Well, that's kind of hard to figure right now, since I'm still in transition mode, settling into the routine that will more or less carry me through the next year, at least.

Usually, I wake up around 6:30 or 7, whereupon I sit up and grab my Bible and devotional book for this year, Jesus Calling. I usually have worship for half an hour or so, then it'll be time to eat breakfast. If it's my turn to cook breakfast, I roll out of bed around 6:30, just in time to start the meal :) (That means I have my worship time a little later in the day.)

After breakfast comes Family Worship time, followed by cleanup (if I'm not the one that cooked) and getting ready for the day (insert personal worship after Family Worship if I'm the one that cooked).

The actual day's activities vary by weekday. Mondays are spent preparing produce and other things for Market the next day. Tuesday afternoons and evenings are spent at Farmer's Market. Wednesday is kind of up in the air for me right now, but since I'm back home to learn gardening, I imagine I'll be spending it helping D, my "dad". Thursdays will be the same, with racquetball in the evening. Friday is cleaning and laundry day, and whatever other preparations we need to make for Sabbath. Saturday, Sabbath, is church, perhaps potluck lunch at the church, or maybe invite someone over for lunch after church. Sundays are, well, Sunday... anything could happen, from a youth group activity to a community event to working in the garden or working on a project at home...

Somewhere, I'm going to be fitting in my support group, but I don't know what days or times or whatever any of that will be. I'm still praying for a facility to hold the meetings in.

Depending on the day, I may have lunch prep or cleanup. Then comes evening, and we gather for Family Worship again, usually just before bedtime. We sing, pray, read a little bit of a book, etc. (Lately we've just been praying and going to bed, really.)

My life... mundane, compared to some, but happy. I believe I'm where God wants me, and that lights everything up with peace.

Oh, yes, and scattered throughout the day are phone calls and letters/emails to and from friends and family. That's always nice.

Well, delayed leaving by a day because R checked out my car and my brake pads are worn down. It's not *bad*, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, you know? Plus, I'll get to learn how to install brake pads on my car! Hello, Proverbs 31 points! :)

Plus this'll give me an extra day to prepare and pack, and I won't be hurried and rushed (as I was this morning. Sabbath ends late, and I didn't have much time to prepare before I was overwhelmed with sleepiness.)

C: Cars... talk about your first car, the car you have now, any accidents, driving pet peeves, etc.


I've only had two cars, and I still have the second one. My first car was Betsey, the "Google" car. (She was a Pontiac 6000LE, but my friend misread the name, thinking it said "Google"!)

I got her my first year at Bible college, when I needed a car to do door-to-door work for one of our practicums. I affectionately called her "the tank", because she never broke down and never gave up. Even when other people ran into her, there was nary a dent or a scratch.

Inside, though, she wasn't exactly the ideal car... The driver's seat did not recline anymore, but was permanently stuck. Since it was reclined back farther than I liked, I simply rode around with a pillow between my back and the seat. The AC didn't work, which wasn't usually a problem, except when I was driving around in the desert. (I almost got heat stroke one time coming home on break.) At least the heater worked! (...constantly ^_^) The seatbelts in the back were rusted to the point of uselessness, and there was a giant hole in the seat from some acid of some sort. I just kept it covered with a blanket. Oh, and the dome light didn't work, because my great uncle had tinkered with it and tried to rewire it somehow.

Outside of that, she's cherry. Not bad for a first car, and great for a free car! (She was a direct answer to prayer.)

Then came Shenandoah.

Quite the upgrade, no? Betsey got sold down in Mexico. I hope they enjoy her. (The lack of AC could prove to be problematic...) Shenandoah was part of God's preparations to send me to Idaho. He knew Betsey would never make it.

This is the car I have now, I and I really enjoy her. Did I mention that Betsey didn't have a cd player? She did have a tape deck, but Shenandoah has both! It's nice to have music when I travel.

As far as accidents go... I haven't had any in Shenandoah, nor did I have any in Betsey. I did, however, have one in C's truck once. (That's a funny, slightly embarrassing story...) I was trying to park in a parking garage so that I could go and have an interview with the Sheriff's Department. I was nervous, I was still a new driver, and I wasn't very used to the truck yet. The spot I chose was too tight, but I didn't realize it, and I got hung up on the huge white truck to the right. I carved a huge dent into the side of C's truck, but the other truck was okay. To further the exasperation of the situation, I locked my keys in the truck as I was trying to brush my paint off the other truck's bumper. (The interview went okay, though.) I called C, and his dad gave him a ride over. Turns out his dad (a Sheriff's Dept. employee) works with Sgt. M, and knew that it was his truck right off the bat. Sgt. M is the guy that would be administering the polygraph test as I got farther into the hiring process for the Sheriff's Dept. Great.

Sgt. M's truck was fine, and it was all off the record, but that was highly embarrassing for me. (A few months later, while I was a waitress, two Sheriff's Dept. guys came in for supper, and as I was serving them, they figured out who I was by our small talk-- "You're the girl who hit Sgt. M's truck!!" Embarrassing much?)

Oh, and one other time, I borrowed J's car, and as I was parking, the wheel slipped in my hand, and I dinged the car next to me. I ended up paying out of pocket so my friend's insurance wouldn't take the hit.

Hmm... Pet peeves.... Oh, yes. Use your blinkers, people!! That's what they're there for! How am I supposed to work harmoniously with you if you won't let me know what you're doing?

Another pet peeve is driving under the speed limit... in the passing lane. I'm here because I want to pass someone else who is going under the speed limit. Blurgh. 

I think that's it. I'm sure I'll realize something that annoys me when someone does it. :)

I'm going to go pack, now. I want to be ready for tomorrow morning when I have to roll out bright and early.

B: Best Friend

You know, I've never been exclusive in my best-friendicity. I've not had that BFF that some have- my best friends have changed over the years.

There is one person, JF, who I've been friends with since I was about one. She was my babysitter, and after we moved away from Washington, she kept in touch by phone and letter, even coming down to visit me on my birthdays throughout the years. Once I got old enough, I went up to see her a couple of years in a row, but we've both been too poor to make it the past few years. I did get to see her on my way up to Idaho last year, though. When we see each other, we pick up right where we left off, even though we don't do much upkeep on the relationship.

Then, around 3 1/2, I met JD. We were inseparable for the next 8 years, and we're still friends, but the tumultuous teen years have a way of growing distance between some people. Our moms hoped desperately that we would fall in love and get married, but we've since broken the news to them that it's a pretty unlikely future.

Throughout grade school, LL and I were best friends for a long time. OG, a kid from the neighborhood, was my best buddy outside of school hours. He was practically a part of the family. Actually, our family is one of the big reasons he learned English!

I had some "best friends" that weren't good for me- manipulative, controlling, etc. I didn't know any better. I just wanted to be liked.

In high school, I didn't have a best friend until about sophomore year, when I met C through a good-not-quite-best friend M. He (C) became my very best friend in the world, and his best friend B became my other best friend. We were a friendly triangle :)

B and I are still good buddies, but C and I no longer talk on a regular basis. I still see him when I visit Y, but that's about it. (And the lack of communication is for obvious reasons... you can't remain best friends with your ex-fiance.)

Throughout canvassing, my year at academy, and my two years at Bible college, AG and I became quite close, and she was definitely a best friend, although I can't quite consider her that now. We're still good friends, but... you know how those things go.

Bible college brought a lot of good friends, and out of those years came my roomie JR, who is definitely a "bestie", even currently. Then came Idaho, with the S's, H, J, and now D.

I am blessed with many, many friends; many good friends; and several best friends.

I've been packing and preparing all day, and I'm taking a break. Just a few minutes until I run to the store for some GF oats, so that I can make granola.

A: Animals. Talk about any animals you have, had, or want.

The first pet I ever had was Gonzo the hermit crab. I was probably 3 or 4.

Photo Credit

I thought he was pretty cute. He'd climb around on my hand and it tickled like crazy!

My mom was a substitute teacher at our church's school, so we ended up loaning him to the school as a class pet. I remember the day I came traipsing in, asking for Gonzo, only to find out that they killed him! Yes! They killed my hermit crab! What's more, he didn't even get a proper burial-- they flushed him down the toilet.

Needless to say, I was heartbroken.

I've wanted a constrictor snake ever since I got to hold an albino burmese python at the county fair around age 7 or 8.

Photo Credit

My mom was always afraid it'd get out and eat the cat, though... or the kids. I couldn't stand the thought of losing my cat, so I held off. (The kids? Eh, not so much. ^_^)

I bought a couple of zebra finches with my birthday money one year.

Photo Credit

I named them Donny and Marie. (Yes, after the Osmonds. What can I say?) Our neighbor girl opened the cage and Marie flew away, and then I accidentally killed Donny by leaving him in the summer sun some time later.

However, it was Donny outside in the cage (while he was still alive!) that brought around my beautiful kitten, Autumn.

Photo Credit

I had her for several years. Not long after she joined our family, she presented us with three kittens- Jade, Jasmine, and Panther, all as pitch black as she. When we left Mom to go into foster care and Mom moved in with her boyfriend, they all kind of went feral and disappeared. Panther made a reappearance for a time, but he, too, finally succumbed to the call of the wild.

When K and I rejoined Mom, we settled into our more permanent apartment home, where another black cat, Inkadink (Inky for short) adopted us. He hung around for years, but the family had to give him to the  pound when they moved across the country. He was set for euthanasia, but C worked at the shelter at that time, and told me he escaped. I figured he would. He was a wiley one. Lazy, but smart.

While I was at Bible college, I had a plant named Harvey. He was the best. Very sturdy. I don't know what kind of plant he was, but he was sure happy to see me. He bloomed constantly, even out of season. One day, though, he was tragically snapped in half by my friend's crazy driving. Even though I tried to heal his wounds, he was never the same, and I put him out of his misery after a while.

About six months after moving to Idaho, I found the current love of my life, Juneaux, on the side of the road. He's my baby boy. Unfortunately, he suffers from severe radius curvus, but I simply don't have the means to get it fixed (several thousand dollars). When he's not going through a growth spurt, it doesn't really bother him. He'll never be an outdoors cat, though, because of this. It puts him at a distinct disadvantage for hunting and defending himself. I'll just coddle him indoors. :)

The week after I found him. 

Intently staring at a spider... 

  He pretty much likes chewing on anything of mine.    

     

Playing "Goalie"-- one of our favorite games there at the beginning.

  

"Torpedo"-- definitely his favorite game. (a.k.a. "Crazed Attack Monster")

 

 I taught him to be a regular gentleman ;)

"Helping" me pack for my trip south (Thanks, son. Sure appreciate that.)

Then there's Emily, who isn't mine, but the family's. I insisted that Juneaux needed a sister when we got the phone call about a stray kitten found in the area. She's cute, but a few fries short of a Happy Meal. At least they get along (now).

I know I'll be on the road for the next week or two, but now that I have my computer back, I'm totally ready to blog again. However, with all the recent emotional stuff going on, I find myself totally zapped and not wanting to blog about feelings or circumstances or anything else going on right now, really. So what else to do but distract myself? :) Emily is doing this right now, and I thought it looked liked fun. It may not be consistent (again, because of the Road Trip), but I'll do one every time I decide to post.


A: Animals... talk about any pets you have, had, or want.
B: Best Friend
C: Cars... talk about your first car, the car you have now, any accidents, driving pet peeves, etc.
D: Day in the Life of Me
E: Embarrassing Moment
F: Faith... where are you now?
G: Growing Up... share a few childhood photos and stories.
H: Hairstyles... what your hair looks like now, ugliest haircut, haircut you want, etc.
I: Interesting Facts About You
J: Jokes
K: Kicking the Bucket... share your bucket list.
L: Love... what are you looking for in a significant other?
M: Music
N: Nothing... talk about something entirely random for a day.
O: Old... what kind of old person do you want to be?
P: Poem
Q: Questions and Answers... have a Q&A with some of your readers.
R: Reading... what are you reading?
S: Smile... five reasons YOU smile.
T: Typing... take a typing test and share it.
U: Underdog... what's an underdog you can't help but stand up for?
V: Vacations... vacations you've taken or dream vacations.
W: Wearing... what is your favorite outfit?
X: X-Treme... something crazy you've done.
Y: Youth... in what ways are you still a kid at heart?
Z: Zen... what calms you down?


This oughta be good. :)