Knock-Knock

The picture above is from the outside of my house, looking in. Behind those white cabinet doors in the corner is my water heater. (Oh, as you can see, Sophie wanted to be in the pic). Try to look past the cute dog to the doors covering up the heater. I know, I know, what a creative way to cover up an eye sorer right? Well the location of this water heater is NOT ideal for many reasons.

One of the first times I took a shower in my new house, I got out and was toweling off when I heard a "knock-knock" coming from my back door. "CRAP!" I threw on some dirty clothes and went to see who my inconvenient visitor was. No one was there. I was so confused. Was it a knock-and-run trick from the neighbor kids? I was puzzled. I go back to my room, take off the dirty clothes and hear a "knock-knock" again. WHAT? Are they doing to actually show themselves this time? So I again throw on something appropriate real quick and go to the back door to find no one.

As I'm standing there perplexed, looking out in my back yard, I hear the same knocking noise from behind me. I realized then that I have a water heater that throws a fit any time it is used. Seriously, I took a shower 30 minutes ago and it is still making all sorts of clanking, knocking, rumbling noises. After a few months, I've finally gotten used to the sound. Problem is, if someone does actually knock on my back door with in 30 minutes of me using the dishwasher, shower or washing machine, they are going to be ignored. I will not be made a fool again by my water heater!

The Drive by Shopper

I had a garage sale today. They are a lot of work. Got up at 6:20 to go put up signs. Dragged stuff out my house and the garage around 7:00am. People started showing the minute we put stuff in the front lawn. Here are some stats of the day.

Assistants to the sale: Janny Drover and Amanda Hanson
First purchase: Dishes
Last Purchase: Picture Frame
Biggest money maker: Austin's dresser
Cheapest Item: The stuff in the Free Box
Moment I feel bad about: Selling a desk I knew would fall apart soon. (I warned her!)
Money made: $330!!
Embarrassing moment: Sophie growling and snapping at a stranger who approached her
AND
Me wearing a fanny pack all day. It's true.

Most Memorable Shopper:
This one deserves a story. I saw an older lady driving by very very slowly. Almost stopping to look. She passes, only to return for another slow drive-by. She then motions me over to her car. and asks me how much the dog kennels are. I tell her and she says she'll take them. I realized then she was expecting me to get them for her and take them to her car so I told her to pull over closer to the curb. She halfway did- still sticking out into West blvd-a very busy street. As she was stayed put, she explained that she couldn't walk but loved to garage sale. I softened.
The shopping continued.
And the traffic slowed.
She asked how much one of my mirrors was. I told her $15.00. She gave a sour face and asked about another mirror. Still too expensive. She explained that she was looking for a mirror for her friend in the nursing home who doesn't have on in her room. I'm a sucker so I told her she could have it to give away. She was delighted.
Meanwhile traffic is backing up because this lady's car is sticking into the street. I try to hurry her along but she continued to tell me stories about her nursing home friend.
We said our goodbyes finally. I realized then she had completely backed traffic up. People were getting angry. She was clueless.
Two minutes later, a slow moving mini-van drives past again. Stops again. motions me over again. Begins shopping again. She ended up buying a sweatshirt, bookcase, cooking dish and something else. Each time, we would bring the object to her car, she would examine, we would put it in the back of her car if she wanted it. It was quite humorous. But she was my favorite.
By noon, we had sold almost everything. It was a huge success!!
Now begins the debate between Austin and I on how to spend the money. Patio Furniture vs. Honeymoon money. Bet you can guess who wants what...

Special Thanks to my mom and Amanda. It would not have happened without them.

It's a cruel world for women

This makes me want a child

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUzJA9cccJI

Something Shady Went Down...

...right outside my door!

So a few nights ago, I was sleeping soundly in my bed with Sophie underneath on her little pallet. I woke up at 2 am to a sskkkrreeeeeaaaaaachhh- BAMMM.

I realized I had just heard a car accident right in front of my house. There was an eerie silence outside as I tried to figure out what to do. Sophie heightened the dramatic feel of the night by her barking and growling.

Well I get up, peek out and see the collision. It was pretty significant. There were a bunch of guys standing around it on their phones so I assumed nobody was seriously hurt. As I watched- as best I could without my contacts-I saw that some of them were obviously angry with the others. One was trying to calm two men down from fighting. At this point I felt like I was going to be a witness to something so I peeked through the blades of my shade as sneaky as I possibly could. I decided I needed a better look so I went to get my glasses. I stumbled over Sophie, a box of hangers, and some other things in the process. For some reason I felt like I needed to be really quiet so the angry men didn't hear me. (2 am mental processing...)

After finally finding my glasses- I went to another window for a better view. Again, being as sneaky as I can- making sure no lights are on. (Again, for some reason I thought they would come threaten me or something worse if they knew I was watching...) So in my stealthy way, I continued to spy.

When I looked through the blind, I realized they had moved the cars down the street to a different location... why? I'm not sure. Shady.
Then, I saw about five of the men make a decision to leave the scene. So this group of guys just walks away down West Blvd in the rain. Real Shady.
Following that, one of the two cars leaves! Really Shady.
The other car was too messed up to drive away so 3 of the men stayed with that. I watched for a little longer until I realized the drama was over. Then went back to bed.

So many questions... So few answers.

After a really awkward start of the shower, it ended up being pretty fun... and fruitful as you can see by the picture!

However, I have really seen my sin come out in all this. As I look at this pile in my room, I groan at the idea of getting it all put away, taken back, moved around, etc. So much work to be done.

It's ridiculous that I am not jumping for joy over all the fabulous gifts people gave us. Don't get me wrong- I am So SO thankful and blessed by all of these. I just see how fast I twist a good thing into a sinful reaction.

I am so blessed.
Seriously.

As I’m entering a new stage in life, I am coming to terms that I am nowhere close to the woman God calls me to be. The amazing thing is, the qualities that I lack are present in the different women all around me. I wish I could soak up different traits and qualities from each woman in my life.

I wish I could have:

Bissy’s love

Sara Jaeger’s humor

My sister’s adaptability

Bonnie’s spiritual hunger

My mom’s creativity

Carly’s integrity

Quinn’s honesty

Jen Garrett’s gentleness

Mary Kate’s endurance

Molly Cover’s servanthood

Sarah Phillip’s passion

Rachel Tiemeyer’s zeal

Lynn’s wisdom

Kylie’s loyalty

Heather Young’s beauty

Abbie Walden’s passion

Emily Lewis’ delightfulness

Emily Camp’s fun spirit

Kaitlin Rulon’s steadfastness

Kelley Wampler’s aliveness

Kristen Vogel’s freedom

Jeanna’s drive and hunger to grow

Noelle’s quiet strength

Lindsey Patton’s uniqueness

Megan Webel’s humility

Molly Mulcahy’s joy

Colleen's thoughtfulness

Megan Birum’s ambition

Kathleen’s quiet humor

Hattie’s combination of humility and strength

I could go on and on. I didn’t even dive into past Young Life girls or small group gals.

I want to look at people and see the evidence of God in them. I want to be a learner of these amazing women in my life and soak up the gifts and qualities that they have.

Thank you, Jesus, for the blessing of women in my life.

Tonight...

About a week ago I had some of the best red-velvet cake I have ever had in my life. I have considered myself on a mission to recreate this piece of heaven.

My first attempt:












Pretty good but nothing like the glory that I experienced in last week's cake. I also cheated on the icing...I just bought the kind that is pre-made in the can rather than the kind from scratch.
I'm also a little bitter I had to buy an entire bottle of white vinegar for just a teaspoon for the recipe. As you can see though, my small group girls enjoyed the cake. They had nothing but good things to say. That's because they have not experienced the delight and goodness that a true red velvet cake can amount to.

On a different note.
Funniest part of the evening was when one of my small group girls was reading about "The Gentiles." However, instead of saying "Gentiles" she pronounced it as "The Genitals." There was an awkward silence but after I saw about 7 girls peeking up to see how I would respond, I busted out laughing. It was even funnier when the next verse was about circumcision.

It was a small group to remember.

And watch out, delicious red-velvet cake. I will find you.

Man Shower

Last weekend Austin and I had a shower in Glen Carbon, IL. It was a co-ed outdoor themed shower.

It was pretty fun. Except slightly awkward when we were opening presents and I didn't know who the giver was to look at and thank. Even more awkward when the person was a family member. There were tons of second cousins and extended relatives that I have seen all my life but never really known who they are. Busted.

One of the highlights was getting a new grill. The one I had was 8 yeas old, had holes from hail, and was rusting in the middle. Oh, and the ignition button didn't work so I felt endangered every time I had to stick a lighter in the middle of it and crank on the propane gas.

The new grill came in about 100 pieces though. It took Austin and I 1.5 hours to put it together. We did it though. No fights. No throwing of the tools. Only one minor mistake. We considered it a victory.

On a different note, I got to have some quality girl-hang time yesterday. Every girl in the room had their own blog and the conversation often drifted back to blogging. It kind of inspired me to write more. So you may being seeing more of Polly Wolly Doodle all the Day.