Alberto how I loath thee....

Yes, you guessed it. It's not even two weeks into official "Hurricane Season" and Alberto is already ringing in the new year. Thanks me amigo. I drove to work in a torrential down pour today, but made it safely to work - for which I am thankful. One thing I have become accustomed to since my relocation to Florida is Hurricanes. Once they were only things to be flipped through on the national news, now they stare at me June - October when I look out my front door.
You know what I love about this increase in hurricane activity? It brings out the wack jobs. Now, I'm not saying we aren't all wack jobs in our own special way, but in this case, I am referring to the ones who's wackiness is exemplified by the extreme weather. To begin my list of favorite hurricane wackos (from now on referred to as "HW's") are the ones who think that the escalated hurricane activity indicates that the world is coming to an end - Armageddon is near! Run around screaming! Frighten small children! Etc. I say that isn't something to be bothered by. If Jesus is coming, I'm ready to be taken home - I'd love to see my brother again as well (today would have been his 22nd birthday - lucky him, it's his 5th birthday with Jesus!). Another favorite HW's are the idiots, whom live on the coast that is predicted to be a direct hit, that voluntarily decide to "ride it out". Why, why do these people challenge/ignore the inherent danger? Ahhhh for many reasons:
-They have lived in the house for 30 years and they aren't going to leave it
-It will be cool - Yea, getting killed by the brute force of nature will be "cool".
-The government can't tell me what I can and can't do. Yes government, why do you insist on looking out for us? That sure is rude of you to try and protect us from our own stupidity. How dare you.
Lastly, in my list of HW are the aftermathers who just can't find enough people to blame. Blame FEMA. Blame the governor. Blame the president. People - hurricanes are no one's fault. We can have nice little plans, but when D-day comes, those nice made plans might not be feasible to the situation. So stop your griping and go help your neighbor!
Well kids, this concludes my ranting and raving over the current hurricane season. Thoughts?

All about Charles..........

First of all you must be thinking.....two posts in one day!!!???!!! I know, I'm full of surprises. But I thought I needed to write about the other man in my life. :)

First of all he goes by Many different names. Some are not appropriate to publish, but here are a few:
Noogs/Noogsy
Woody
My boy
Woonin

You would think that all theses names would confuse the poor fellow, but that's the great thing about animals - as long as you talk to them in that high-pitched pet talk, they will answer to just about anything. It's a proven fact, I've had pets my whole life, and I've never called them by their "given" name. They still come when you call them, though.

He is certainly something else, pets are just too fun. Everyone should have one for entertainment purposes. Here are some of his quirks.....
*He's a food slinger. I don't understand how something that small can make such a mess with dried food! Here's how it all plays out. I put the food in his bowl and he stares at me........like I'm going to give him something else. Hello, you've been getting the same food for the past 623 days. Don't look so shocked! Seriously. Then he proceeds to eat his food. After he begins chowing down, he starts purring and realizes how much he really does like the food. So he eats, and shakes his head. This causes bits of food to scatter across the floor, on the wall by his bowl, and in his water dish dirtying up his water. I've never seen anything quite like it. The wall behind his bowl looks like abstract art. Which gets me thinking - maybe I can just start hanging pieces of paper back there and sell the "art" on E-bay making millions. Hey, they did it with monkeys and elephants, why not a domestic tabby cat?
*He is not a lap cat, but is very affectionate....go figure. He would not stay in your lap if his life depended on it, but he will let you pet him all day long.
*He seems to be frightened of beds. If you try to put him on one, he immediately jumps off and runs out of the room. He's nuts.
*He can sit in the middle of an ant hill and not get eaten alive. This, to me, has to be the eighth wonder of the world. Cats must be immune to ants. I never knew that, did you?
*He knows just how to piss off Nick (this is the most entertaining thing of all)! Have you ever seen a grown man yell at a cat? It's pretty hilarious.

I could go on and on, but I suppose you have better things to do with your day than read about my weird cat. Hope it gave you a few chuckles, anyway. If it didn't and you are a visual person, feel free to drop by our house anytime for free amusement!

VBS Update, and Insights from Life's Friction

Things are beginning to wind down on the VBS front! Yea! I am so proud of my husband. Only the Lord knows how he made it through. He has certainly been equipped with amazing talents (though he would never admit it or take any credit).

Looking around at the people in my life leads me to think of a conversation I had with my sister yesterday. She said, "People are different, Candace." and I said, "Yes they are, Courtney, and there's The God who made us and loves us all just the same." Each person that I know and love has been made very different and unique. I am very thankful for that....most of the time :). Nick and I, as you all know, are very different, but I tell you, God certainly knew what he was doing when he brought us together. He knows how to calm me down (after he has pressed all my buttons!)and he always gives me something to think about. He is the greatest listener anyone could hope to find, which is great for a talker such as myself.

You know, it's life's friction that helps us to grow. That darn "pruning" can be painful, though, but, in the end, I want to yield good fruit, so I better roll with the punches, right?

O.K. Enough of the deep thinking stuff.....Peety (I named the parrot from two entries ago) is no where to be found. He has either found another back yard to perch in, or he is now in that big margaritaville in the sky. Either way, all the best to you Peety, all the best.....

Down with VBS!

That's right, you heard me. This is absolutely the worst week out of the year, and I'm not even directly involved! Yeah yeah, it's great for the kids...blah blah blah, but I do not like what it does to my husband. He gets this crazed look in his eye, and is extremely irritable. I try to be understanding......really I do, but I can only take so much. I see where he is coming from. He is working 80 hours this week, and when it's all said and done, 12 days in a row - a feat that few are able to push through. I admire him for his sticktuidiveness (sp?).
So any prayers this week would be greatly appreciated. 1 1/2 days down, 4 1/2 more to go. Sunday afternoon, the peasants will be rejoicing and Candace and Nick will be on the beach recovering from the effects of all that encompasses VBS.