The Maine Event

Saturday morning sunrise

   Anticipation is half the fun. Or so they say. It's been looked forward to for almost a year. It's been dreamed of, thought out, planned. Now it has already been here & it's over...But what a wonderful time it was. ;)
  We left in the early hours of Saturday morning (9/10) and headed out on our week long adventure to Maine. We went with friends of ours Lisa & Brent & their son William. We filled our week with quaint towns, lighthouses, hiking, beach-combing, good food, games, great memories, and lots of pictures.

At the Portland Head Light

The Goddard Mansion at Williams State Park in Portland

Weathered Building Scrumptious-ness

Our attempt at Pasta & Fresh Mussels

Lovely sunset views from the back yard.

boats - water - happiness

small town bakery

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. The one on the Maine State Quarter

Handsome husband

Went to the docks to get some "lobstah" for supper the one night.

our house

Our Last Maine Sunset

The boot at L.L. Bean

 We had an absolutely amazing time. A week that I will never forget.

Hello, my name is Susie Housewife, & I'm a multi-tasker

You know those days when you feel pretty good about yourself? Well, today just might be one of them.
I slept in. (dont worry, that wasn't part of the multitasking)
The kind of sleeping in where you sleep solid. Not the listen-to-the-neighbor-mow-his-yard, or the-dog-barking-loudly, but I'm still sleeping, kind of sleep.
Then, I ate breakfast. A healthy bowl of Quaker oats with raw milk. And yes, the cereal was healthy, cause Bob Harper eats it.

Now, on to the Susie Housewife part. I would say Donna Reed, but what I had for lunch (cold pizza) puts me below her league. I'm pretty sure. Plus she would do it in heels & pearls instead of twisted up bed-head, and bare feet.

 

Marinara Sauce

Like I said. Susie Housewife. After breakfast I started Marinara Sauce to can. I also started the washer. I currently have my eye on the canner, wherein sits 20-some pints of sauce, with more next to it waiting to go in. plus, i was working on these little guys...

Eggplant headband

They are going to single-handedly (along with many other that look very much like them) get me & C to Ireland for an anniversary trip. Not saying which anniversary. Might be the 5th, or it might be the 50th. We're not sure yet. Regardless of if they sell or not., It is so good to be able to create.
I guess thats what canning is too. If you want to call it that.
Really though I think this is pretty too. And it will taste good later on. Pretty & functional & I'm all about that! ;)

Last weeks peaches.

Bedtime Prayers...

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I snore while my wife's awake.

 I pray the Lord, dont let my life be at stake.

This should be C's prayer tonight...

I'm not particularly mad or annoyed at him. At least I hadn't been. He has this thing he does. You know "I'm not even really tired" then head hits pillow & he's asleep before I even finish brushing my teeth. And belive me I am not the kind of  stand-in-front-of-the-sink-forever-brushing-your-teeth type of girl.
 I am however the type of girl that lays in bed thinking of ways she could wake up her husband.
I feel like I'm 12 again. I feel like i did every Sunday afternoon when my sister decided to take a nap & I didn't want to. I would whine & complain that this is the only time I get to hang out with her & try to put her on a guilt trip. (yeah I did that at 12)
That's how I feel.
If I cant sleep why should he.
So my list of ways to wake him....

• I'll start out subtle. Lay on my back with my knees bent & let them "fall over" on him in my sleep....

• Flail my arms, moan & groan, pretending I am having a nightmare till he wakes up & "wake's me" from my horrible dream.

• Use my cell phone to call the house phone. Answer the house phone & say "I think you have the wrong number"

• Scream at the top of my lungs, then try to convince him he was dreaming.

• Point the laser beam out the window at the dog pen to make Jack bark. Hop back in bed, & convince Curt to go out & see what his problem is. Turn off the laser before Curt gets out there.

• Change the time on the clock, make the alarm go off & try to convince him it really is morning, it's just dark cause there is a thunderstorm brewing

• Repeat number two, adding in some kicking & punching.

• Turn his pager up the whole way & call in an emotional problem at our address. Cause that's what is gonna happen if I cant sleep soon!

And tell me why is it when I finally roll the whole way around & finally get comfortable, that he feels the urge to interrupt his snoring, roll on his side & breath on me?


Disclaimer: I do not have homicidal tendencies,  am not in the practice of making crank 911 calls,, & I do love my husband dearly :)

Is it strange...

Is it strange that I am particularly aware of my arm hair when it storms? They say before you get struck by lightning the hair on your arms stands up.Yes its storming, & yes I hate storms.
Something woke me up. I'm not sure what exactly, but as I was drifting back to sleep, I saw it lightning....through my eyelids. So now I'm awake.
Our bedroom basically has two walls of windows, so yeah it lights up in here. It's really quiet outside. I hear the jangle of Jack's dog license. I guess the stillness woke him up too.
My husband however is preparing wood for this coming winter. It's apparently gonna be a long cold one.
Every time it lightnings it illuminates the ceiling fan. For some reason it looks kinda creepy, & if I let my imagination go, I'll be up all night squeezing the life out of a  meat tenderizer to use as protection from the mass murderer that is outside my deck doors.
Its starting to rain.
I can hear it on the tin roof of the garage.
I'm suddenly rethinking the placement of our pool only a couple yards from our bedroom. Doesn't lightning strike water faster?
Its in an all out pour now.
How's this for a middle of the night weather report?
I guess the storms not too bad. I haven't woken C up yet. I'm liking the idea of blogging on the laptop in a pitch black room during a thunderstorm. The screen is pretty blinding. Makes me not see the lightning.
Storms are such a mixed thing for me.
I hate thunderstorms. They scare me. Probably cause I'm too worried about my hair standing on end. Maybe because lightning can cause fires, and fire scares me ever since I was a little girl.
Childhood is so intriguing.
So many misconceptions turn into lasting fears.
A strike started a barn fire when I was little. My dad was a fireman. He was gone most the night. I've hated storms ever since, that's probably when I started hating fires too. I used to have recurring dreams that as punishment i had to sit on a chair while my mom was working at the desk. There would be fire creeping towards me (from a log that fell from the wood stove) and she would make me sit there as it crept closer & closer. 
My mom is not mean, I don't remember actually having to sit in that chair as punishment, but I did hate the wood stove for as long as I can remember. If I was home alone, the stove would go out and I would freeze before even thinking of putting more wood in it.
Sometimes misconceptions are placed in our childhood minds by others.
One of my friends was really into hockey when he was little. His dad told him that the lightning was when God scored a shot, & the thunder was all the angels applauding. He also was told that God was rearranging the living room furniture. Guess God has lots of sofas cause its really rumbling.
On the other side of hating storms...
They also amaze me. I can just see God reaching out and touching the sky and lightning streaking away from his touch. Kinda like over-sized static electricity when I touch the metal file cabinet at work. When I'm not alone, or awoken from sleep.
Speaking of waking up, C just rolled over and mumbled something about using black powder to kill a black bear and left out a little chortle. Think it's safe to say he's not waking up anytime soon.
Think I'll try to put in my earbuds and call it a night...or whatever time it is...

In no certain order...

Things that annoy me, disturb me, or generally amuse me...


1. People who do a year's worth of banking at the drive thru. It is a drive THRU not a park & STAY
2. Registration stickers on all 4 corners of a liscense plate. If they were meant to be in all 4 corners, there would be an indentation on all 4 corners.
3. Following a truck, or being followed by a truck.
4. People who leave their turn signals on when they have no intention of turning
5. Meeting people I know when I am shopping. Not because I dont like the people, just because it feels weird to have little half conversations in the middle of shopping.
6. Backseat drivers. When I'm driving or even if I am a passenger.
7.The fact that I am simply incapable of using a hot glue gun without burning my fingers.
8. Matching socks. I'm gonna throw out all my socks & buy ones that are all the same brand.
9.Unflushed public toilets
10. Putting something somewhere so you'll know where it is when you need it, & then forgeting where you put it.
11. The fact that my husband can fall asleep the moment his head hits the pillow.
12. When you get disconnected mid phone conversation. Do you call them or wait till they call you?
13. Bluetooth headsets - I just cant get used to people walking around in the store looking like they are talking to themselves
14. "floppy fish" handshakes.
15. The scan button on the radio/constantly flipping channels
16. comb-overs
17. mocking birds that copy car alarms
18. people that dominate conversations & can always make it pertain to 1 certain topic
19. roadkill
20. talking, laughing, or walking in one's sleep

It's May 22nd...

and the world is still here.
No rapture. Not that I was expecting it at 6pm as Mr Harold Camping predicted.
The world didnt end; but someone's world ended today.
Someone died today.
Actually about 154,138 someones died today. Their world ended. Were they ready?
So maybe like me you weren't looking for Christ to return at 6pm, but are you looking for Him to return?
He's coming back.
Not at 6pm on May 21 2001, but maybe May 22,2011. Or maybe it wont be for another 100 years.
We dont know when, but it will happen.
Ready or not. He's coming.

I have not yet begun to fight...

His name was John Paul
He had two first names - that always intrigues me
He was born in Scotland
There is something I love about the Scottish brogue
He deserted the slave trade industry because it disgusted him
He didn't let the money mold his morals
When a case of yellow fever claimed the lives of both the ship captain & the second in command, he stepped up.
He took on the responsibility.
Somewhere along the way, he added a last name of Jones.

And although the above things would give me plenty of reason to think he's pretty cool, that is not what I like about him.

But despite the good, the bad or the ugly, we remember him for something else.

"I have not yet begun to fight"

These words were said in the midst of battle when a British sailor was taunting him to surrender.

Those words I decided need to be my creed. So many people; me as well. We fight, but not for the right things. 

We fight 

-out of selfishness. 

-because we think our way is right & their way is wrong.

-to hide the fact that we are really fighting ourselves

-just for the sake of fighting

But I want to fight

-for relationships

-against injustice

-for the lost soul

-against the power of Satan

-for the person who has no voice

-for what is right.

When everyone else thinks it would be reasonable to give up. I want to say "I have not yet begun to fight" When all within us & without is begging us to give up, taunting us that it's not worth it; I want to fight. And I want to fight strong. Never giving up. Not being content to sit back when the there is a fight worth fighting. But to be there full force. Fighting for the right thing, fighting against self.