GUESS WHAT I GOT!!!

Can you guess? Can you huh??? I got a cast iron skillet for Christmas!! Yeah....the Parsons (that I stayed with while I was "homeless") got it for me. Isn't that nice. Mrs. P and I were shopping one day and talking about stuff and I saw those and was like "oh!! I've been wanting a cast iron skillet!". Lo and behold....that's what I got.....YESSS!!!

Oh...and I also got a vacuum cleaner for Christmas from my mom. LOL Talk about practical

My New Place

So here are some pics of my new place. Enjoy!!

More Adventures

Well, it's been about a week and a half. Things are going well in the house. I've had a couple of snags, but for the most part things are going well. The living room, kitchen and bathroom are officially done. I still need to do some work in my room, but it's coming along. There are some other things that have taken priority. For example, there is the adventure I had last night with sealing the windows.

Since the house is older, the windows are drafty. So, to fix it I got this plastic stuff. IT has a sticky strip that you stick to the window frame and then this plastic stuff that goes on top. So then you take the hairdryer (yes!!) and the plastic stuff shrink-wraps, so you have a nice, tight seal. SO I was working away last night and all of a sudden the hairdryer stopped working and the light went out. Yeah. I blew a fuse. Nice! But no worries....I fixed it and got the windows sealed. My bedroom isn't drafty anymore, and the living room is much cozier, too. Yay!!!

In other news, I'm still having fights with the fireplace. I'm still not very good at starting fires, but I'm getting better at it. The one I started this morning was much faster than some of the other ones I've done. Yay!!! But that firewood....it goes much faster than I was hoping. Plus, I loose a lot of heat up the chimney. ...it's better than not having any heat, though.

And speaking of which, I finally got the guaranteer form for the gas in the mail today....so now the people just have to mail it in and then I'll get gas. Yay!!! Who knew I'd be so happy to have gas???

I also got a couple of boxes this week. My friend Silvia made me a BEAUTIFUL picture to go on my wall. You can check out her blog, and the pics, HERE. And my friend Kathy sent a HUGE box of Christmas decorations....all kinds of stuff. I put some of it on the tree an I acutally made a wreath with some of it....turned out really pretty!!

As soon as I find my batteries, I am going to take some pictures to put up. Maybe I will work on that tonight.

The Case of the Noisy Neighbors

So I was all comfy cozy in my bed last night and I heard all of this noise. I was like "what in the world??" Well, aparently, the people who live in the basement of my house were having a fight or something. I could hear them loud and clear....a little too muffled to really understand what they were saying, but it kept me awake for quite some time. It was like 11:30pm. Sheesh!! I hope they don't keep that up. I thought about stomping on the floor or something, but I figured that would probably make them even madder. Sheesh!! I hope this doesn't keep up.


But in other news, the house is coming together quite nicely. We put up the Christmas tree this week, and it's really pretty. My bedroom still looks like the moving truck threw up in there, but I plan to rectify that this weekend. :o)

Monday

Nothing much to report for Monday. Ben and Tiffany came over for supper. Tiffany and I put the garland and lights on the Christmas tree. Elena and I are going to decorate it tonight. My bedroom is still a wreck. I'm going to work on it tonight. I hope. The cable guy is coming on Saturday and then I will have internet.....and I will post some pictures then. You will like my house. It's super cute!

Da Move, and such adventures are are related thereunto

Well, I have all of my junk moved into the new house. I say moved in because I'm not all settled in YET. The kitchen, living room and bathroom are (for the most part) pretty much put together. My bedroom, on the other hand, looks like a moving truck threw up in there. But let me go back.

When the previous tenants moved out, they didn't really clean anything. And the landlord didn't really have a chance to do any cleaning yet....so it's up to me. I'm ok with that, though, because he's not making me pay the deposit. So, Thursday night I went in and cleaned the carpets. Friday, Elena (my roomie for about 6 months or so) and I moved our stuff in and slept there. Now there was a small-ish problem with this. There was a bathroom adventure. Yeah -- the toilet wouldn't flush right. I have a plunger, but it was in storage at the moment. So I made an emergency trip to Wal-Mart and got one. Fortunately, now the toilet works. The gas heat hasn't been turned on yet.....so there was no heat in the house. There is a fireplace, but we didn't have any wood yet. Elena had a space heater, so she was fine. Melinda was NOT fine. Melinda was freeeeezing cold! Yeah. I had on two pairs of flannel pants, a flannel shirt, hoodie (I slept with the hood up b/c you know heat escapes mostly through your head), four fleece blankets, flannel sheets, big fuzzy socks, my comfortor and I put a heating pad at my feet. And I put the covers over my head. Brrrr.....It was ccc-oooo-llll-ddd in my room that night!! What an adventure!! But I survived.

Saturday morning, my church people helped me get stuff moved in. I bribed them with donuts. LOL There were about 5 guys -- and all comedians. We were packing the stuff up and Stacey (he's the main dude at my church) was like "ok this truck is full. Let's fill the empty spaces up with incidentals." I was like "Seriously none of these things are INCIDENTAL. I need them all to live. I love my stuff. I even visited them a couple of times (note: my junk was living in the basement of some people from church's house) ." So then Stacey said "Let's fill up these holes with some of the valuable things Melinda has". It was realy quite amusing. Anyways, the comedians got my stuff loaded up in the trucks and we carovaned it over to the new place and unloaded everything. Then, they were rewarded with the afore-mentioned donut bribe. Unfortuantely, all of my furniture wouldn't fit in the living room. I was going to put the table in the kitchen, but it's too big....and Elena and I wanted the table in the living room anyways, since the kitchen is kinda small-ish with the table there too. So I made an executive decision and had the guys haul one of the couches (I had two...both hand-me-downs, but one was pretty delapidated) out to the road so someone could come and take it away.

So, I spent all of Saturday morning and most of the afternoon (until about 4pm or so) cleaning the kitchen and bathroom and generally trying to get things arranged. SO I had a CD playing and all of a sudden I hear this noise. And I looked out the back door and Andrew (someone from church, who sells firewood) and his brother (who I don't remember the name of, but it might be Peter or something) were there with --you guessed it-- my firewood. Yesss!! So they dumped it all of and I started my very-first-ever fire in my fireplace. That was kinda fun. And if you were wondering, I am loving the fireplace so far. I took a lunch break about 1pm and went to Sonic (yessss!!). While I was there, Will and Sara (a couple from church, and they have THE CUTEST little boy who is about 10 months old, Liam) called me and asked if they could come help. So they got there maybe around 3 or so. Will and I stacked the firewood on the porch and Sara washed some pots and pans that had been packed up.

Elena got home around 4:30 or so and we went out on a shopping excursion. First, we stopped at the Parsons and picked up the Christmas tree we are borrowing from them, and a few things that I had to leave there overnight. Then we went to Aldi, Sam's Club, the Dollar Store, Target and Wal-Mart. Holy Shopping Trip, Batman!! -- we had the car PACKED FULL of stuff! When I brought the groceries in (yeah it was close to 10 before we got home!!) the stuff almost covered the kitchen floor. I took pictures. I got some Christmas decorations at Target, and they are sooo pretty!! My colors are silver, bronze, green, red, fuschia (kind of), and turquoise/teal. The garland is white and I got white twinkle lights. And there is tinsle, of course. OH- and we got stockings for our fireplace. They are red with some embossed Christmas trees and fuzzy white tops with silver cording on it. Very pretty, and hey -- they were only $1 each!! SO we got everything unpacked and the groceries put away and went to bed. Saturday was a long, busy day!!!

Sunday morning was an adventure. There are people who live in the basement apartment, and one of them took a REEEEALY LONG shower. Elena didn't have any hot water for her shower. And when she got done, the bathtub wouldn't drain. Eeek! I tried plunging it, but to no avail. Hmm...maybe I should have tried the OTHER plunger. LOL Anyways, I was kickin' it old style and took a bird bath and washed my hair in the sink. Fun stuff. After lunch (I went with everyone to BJU and had yummy Sunday chicken!!) I went home and vacuumed. Talked to the landlord - he ended up coming over and trying a pipe snake, but the bathtub still won't drain. So he said we can shower at his house (he lives right up the hill...takes about 1 minute to get there). After night church, I went home and got my stuff out of the front porch. I was gonna leave it there because I didn't want a big mess in the house, but I think it's supposed to rain today. The porch is screened in and there is a big overhang on it, but still..... Anyways, that is why my bedroom looks like a moving truck threw up in it, but it was actually the front porch and not a truck that threw up in my bedrom. LOL

When Elena got home, she brought Gregory (her man-friend) with her and they invited Greg (a friend of theirs whom I had never met before) too. I made a yummy salad and some crescent rolls for supper. Elena and I got a spring green salad mix at Sam's Club. I put chicken, mandrin oranges, Feta cheese, and pecans with it. Tastyfull!! The guys helped us put up the Christmas tree, but it was late when we got done with that so it didn't get decorated last night....but soon...probably tonight we will do it. Yay!!!

And so this morning, I got up and went to the landlord's house to shower. LOL -- kinda funny. Hopefully the plumber will come today. I made eggs in a basket for breakfast, since I got up INSANELY early -- I wasn't sure how long it would take me to go "next door" and shower.

SO there you have it. I'm at work now....I had to come to WORK to get some rest. But I still have about a million things to do at home. Oh well....c'est la vie.......

Torture

So I was plucking my eyebrows this morning (yes...ouchies!!) and thinking - why IN THE WORLD do I do these things to myself? I don't even have a man to look beautiful for.....of course you never know when you'll bump into "Mr. Right" (snort!!) so we'd better just be immaculate all the time, huh, but I digress..... It's either plucking those little hairy-hairs or going to the mall. Then, you can pay $15 to some punk chick. She will cover your eybrows with BOILING HOT WAX and yank them all out at once. Personally, I prefer the hot wax method. They have Witch-hazel there that soothes the pain.

And then there's the hair. If you have curly hair it needs to be straightened. If you have strait hair you get a perm. And no one should EVER have hairy legs. And who invented pantyhose anyways? Personally, I think all of these things were concocted by men. And they complain about ties. SHEESH!!

But then I was also thinking (yes I was a busy girl this morning....I got up earlier than normal) that our beauty rituals are much better than some others. I'm glad, for example, that I'm not Japanese and have to bind my feet so the bones break and I can't walk. Or there's that South Asian tribe where the women put rings around their necks and can't support their heads b/c they have no bone structure. I think the worst one I've seen is this remote African tribe that puts facial tattoos on their women. Yeah...they take a thorn or needle or something and stab their faces over and over and create these TOTALLY elaborate patterns. And they repeat it every day for like a week or something. With no type of pain relievers or anything. The article I saw on it said that it is excruciatingly painful and life-threatening.

So after all that, I guess waxing eyebrows isn't so bad. Can someone please pass the tweezers? I missed a spot!!

What Love Means

It was about this time last year that my dad had his heart attack and his heart surgery was on Dec. 31st (I think....maybe it was the 30th but I'm pretty sure it was the 31st). I am so thankful for my mom and dad. They sacrificed so much when we were growing up, so we could go to Christian school and college. A lot of times, Daddy worked a full time job, as well as pastoring a church. I am so thankful for parents who love me enough to tell me when I'm doing wrong or making a mistake. I really don't know what I would have done if Dad had died last year, and I'm glad he is still around. I love you, Daddy!!!

He sent me this e-mail, and I think it's worth passing along. Some of it is realy cute.

What Love means to a 4-8 year old....

'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8

'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4

'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5

'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6

'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4

'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7

'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8

'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)

'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6 (we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)

'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7

'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6

'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8

'My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6

'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt.'
Chris - age 7

'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.'
Mary Ann - age 4

'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4

'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7

'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.'
Mark - age 6

'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8

And the final one the winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

What in the...???!!!

The gas company wants $412 to turn the gas on. Guess another prayer request I thought I'd throw out there....

**Update....some friends are helping me out by linking my account with theirs, so I don't have to pay anything to get it turnd on. Yay!!

Suh-weet-ness!!

I found a new place!! It's a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house out in the country-ish (kind of....it's still technically in the city but there are four acres of land around it). Some of the things I'm not super excited about are that it's gas heat and there is no central air, but the landlord does put a window air conditioner in each room. The bathroom is a little small-ish, but I can deal with that. It' s not like I spend a lot of time there. LOL Some things I am SUPER excited about are that there is lots and lots of cabinet space, and even a lazy susan. I love those!! There's a dishwasher (kind of elderly, but it works so I can't complain) and garbage disposal. The oven is self-cleaning (yesssss!!!) with a start/stop timer (yesssss!!!), so that makes getting Sunday dinner together EVER SO MUCH easier....seriously!! And since Sundays are my biggest social day, I'm pumped about that, too. And the kitchen is painted kind of a rusty red color. It actually matches my dishes almost exactly, so that's pretty sweet! The way the kitchen is set up, I'm not sure if my table will fit or not. It may get be banished to the livingroom. Speaking of which, the livingroom is big. And there is a woodburning fireplace. Whoo-hootie!! I'm planning to use the fireplace quite a bit, since natural gas is so expensive, and really it doesn't get THAT cold here. The landlord said I can plant flowers and stuff in the yard. Actually, what he said is "there are four acres here....plant to your heart's content (or something like that). So, I'm going to have a little garden this summer. Probably I will do tomatoes, corn, okra, squash (I love summer squash!!), zuchini, and green beans. Maybe peas. Hmm......I'm gonna have to get a little freezer to put all that stuff in, but I'm good with that. I was planning on getting a little freezer anyways. Sothere. :o) There is a pecan tree in the front yard (yesss!!!) and a muscadine vine in the back of the property. For those of you non-Southerners who don't know what a muscadine is, check out THIS LINK to look at the Wiki. They are a wild vine similar to grapes, but have a really thick skin, and make EXCELLENT jelly!! Yummies. You can also have musccadine-hull-spitting contests....but I warn you, Mom is the champion hull spitter right now. The landlord already said I can come up this fall and help them make jelly. LOL Did I mention that there is a screened in porch off the living room? Yeah, that's really nice, huh? I think so! And I may see about digging a fire pit in the back yard. And there is a washer/dryer in the basement. Oh yeah. There is a basement apartment that someone else rents, and I'll share the washer/dryer with them....but that isn't uncommon for someone renting a house.

So there you have it. I'm happy to have a place to live. I'm excited about some of the stuff, and not so excited about some, but overall I think it'll be a good deal. And the rent reasonable. Mostly, I am thankful that the Lord provided me a place to stay. I knew that He would and He did. Yay!!

Frustrations

I am so mad that I could spit. I called the landlord today and asked when I can sign the lease and move in....Elena wants to move on Friday, since it's her day off. Well, he left me a VM stating that the ppl aren't move out (they had to go out of town for sick parents or something) until Friday. One of them isn't getting back until Thursday.

SO I called him and left a message that said that's not acceptable. Either they need to be out so I can move in by Friday or else he can put me up in a motel room until the apartment is ready.

But here's the deal -- I was supposed to move into the apartment on October 1. It's been first one thing and then another with the people who are living there now....and NOW THIS!! The landlord assured me that I would be in the apartment by the 15th. And there was a small miscommunication with the people I'm staying with now. They thought I said that I need to be out by the 12th, but I told them the 15th (that's payday....can't move without money, right?).

Something will work out....it always does, but I appreciate your prayers that I have wisdom to know what that something is. Ugh!

Comfy Cozy

When Cynthia was born, I made an afghan for her and decided to make one for each of my nieces and nephews. Here is the one I made for Mark and Krystina's baby, "Bobby Jo" for now. I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the one for Molly.

Enjoy!!