Change...

Shannon and Sean have resigned...or, were they forced to leave? Either way, tonight is their last night as the worship leaders at my old church - an old church with a new name. There will be no replacing them. God, help us.

Jim is no longer at Spirit. He has moved on to work at a new station as the Sales Manager there.

Connie is no longer working at Center Stage. I'm sorry to hear that, Connie...I still haven't heard why, but the change is sad to me.

I can't imagine these three places without these people. How things change. God, have mercy on these, and so many other changes.

I keep expecting something to stay the same. When will I learn?

Happy St. Patrick's Day

All this mouse talk, I didn't even get to wish you a happy St. Patrick's Day. I hope the weekend was happy, safe, and spent with those you love.

It Took a Village - Mouse in My House Part III

Five baited mouse traps, four trays of d-Con, three sticky mouse pads, two freak-out calls to my parents and grandparents, and one visit from Karl of Quik Auto Center to fill the holes under my sink with spray-foam was all it took to take care of my little mouse situation.
All that, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Who would have known what a community-building exercise a mouse-infested house could be? My boss, the on-air talent I work with, Derk from Pest Control, Pat of Kelly's Hardware, Graig from the Red Apple Market, Karl of Quik Auto, my grandparents and parents all took part in helping me take care of my rampant rodent issue.

Those mice had some good moves, but, in the end, they didn't know what they were up against. They thought they were facing one wimpy little P. They were really facing a village.

Thank you, village.

Mouse in My House Part II

...
I couldn't sleep last night.

As I was writing about my mouse just before bed, he ran out from under my bed and scurried out of my room. Gross.
I prayed that God would help me with my mouse situation; that he would give me the courage and strength to step out of bed to close my bedroom door so I wouldn't have to sleep with the fear that he'd be joining me later. One giant hop to the door to slam it shut and a dive back into bed was the best I could do.

I woke up at 2 o'clock in the morning to a sound I wasn't sure about. It took me a bit to come to my senses, but when I did, I was mortified to find that my door was open. I prayed to Jesus that it was a robber, not the mouse.

I couldn't sleep for two hours after that. I closed my eyes and felt my heart beating all the way into my throat from mouse-attack anxiety. I opened my eyes and stared at my door, cracked a quarter of the way open, wishing I had it in me to get up and close it one more time. I couldn't do that, though. What if the mouse was in my room? I'd just close him in! Gross.

My alert imagination began to drift about the mouse; my sleepy dreams battled for my attention, too. I'm not sure if I was half asleep or half awake when I thought, "I wonder if Walmart has stilts for sale? I think tomorrow I need to go buy some stilts to strap on when I come home so I don't have to worry about my mouse. Stilts rhymes with quilts. That's what the mice in my livingroom are pooping on right now. My quilts. They're probably throwing a party. Party poopers."

I could write a children's book about my mouse experience someday. For now, it's not a laughing matter. For now, I'm being held hostage in my own home by a 3.5 inch animal with over-active bowels. Gross.

Mouse in My House

There are mice in my house. Alot. Of mice. In fact, I just discovered that I'm looking at two mouse poops on my bed right now. That does NOT make Pauline happy. At all.

I put out three traps and two big trays of d-Con yesterday. I dreaded getting home from work today to find out whether I had caught anything. Either way, I felt like it would be a bad thing. If I didn't catch anything, it meant they were still running around, pooping on bed spreads and stuff. If I did catch something, that meant I had to pick up a dead mouse and throw him away...possibly with guts hanging out or splattered all over my carpet.

I had put a trap under the sink where I think they're coming from, baited with peanut butter. I wished I hadn't, because that meant I actually had to open a door to find out whether I had a dead mouse or not. What if he was hiding in there and when I opened the door, he ran over my little bare feet?

Solved that problem by getting a chair to stand on and the long PVC pipe that holds the back door shut to open the cupboard. I opened it cautiously to find that I hadn't caught anything, and, under closer inspection, that the mouse had still somehow eaten all the bait off the trap. Cute. I was impressed and disgusted, all at once. But this poop on my bed spread is a whole new low. Maybe I should sleep in the guest room tonight. I do NOT want to wake up to a mouse climbing up on my bed!

Tomorrow, I'm pulling out all the stops. I don't know what they are yet, but they're comin' out.

Lite Brite, Lessons Learned

I got a Lite Brite from my dad for Valentine's Day. Last night, I sat down and created a very pretty flower picture. It was quite theraputic!

Why did dad get me a Lite Brite for Valentine's Day, you ask? I don't know. But, I'm glad he did. My Lite Brite flower picture, at this very moment, is still brightening up the entire space by my window-side coffee table. Valentine flowers would have brightened up my living room, maybe until February 20th. Flowers never last a full week under my care. My Lite Brite? I haven't had to water it once.

This short entry is dense with life lessons we all can and should apply to daily living. These are just a few:

1. Do not be afraid to be creative in gift giving.

2. Do not neglect to water your Valentine's flowers.

3. Do neglect to water your Lite Brite. It will be just fine. It actually works better if you don't.

4. Do not eat alligator at non-coastal restaurants.

I have only scratched the surface here, I know. Feel free to share what life lessons you've taken away from reading this meaningful entry.

Quizzes for my Health?

Not sure why no one is taking my quizzes and posting their results. Though my index finger is showing some attractive new curve and tone from pushing the multiple-choice answer buttons, more official quiz-taking research indicates that quizzes don't offer much toward overall health or cognitive conditioning.
So please, please make me feel better about wasting time doing them. Let me know what you took some time to waste time doing them, too. :)
And hey, have fun with it!

Cause She's Got...Personality

Your Personality is Very Rare (INFP)

Your personality type is dreamy, romantic, elegant, and expressive. Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 6% of all women and 4% of all men You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Three Question Personality Quiz

You've got to try this one! Answering three questions can tell me all this? It's pretty darn accurate, too. Cool!

Your Personality Is

Guardian (SJ) You are sensible, down to earth, and goal oriented. Bottom line, you are good at playing by the rules. You tend to be dominant - and you are a natural leader. You are interested in rules and order. Morals are important to you. A hard worker, you give your all at whatever you do. You're very serious, and people often tell you to lighten up. In love, you tend to take things carefully and slowly. At work, you are suited to almost any career - but you excel in leadership positions. With others, you tend to be polite and formal. As far as looks go, you are traditionally attractive. You take good care of yourself. On weekends, you tend to like to do organized activities. In fact, you often organize them!

The Three Question Personality Test