Bunny Trails

Wordless Wednesday - Zombie Cats

2009-11-04T14:42:00.004-07:00

For more wordlessness, go here and here.

Left Hanging?

2009-11-01T09:26:00.000-07:00

I suppose I should answer the question from my last post. But first, a story.

Last Thursday, it was very cold and many of the roads were icy or snow packed. It was a great day to stay home. Until 7:30 at night. When you decide that you really don't want leftovers and you know that you have a free meal at Noodles. Which expires in one day and there will be no other opportunity to use the coupon. And it would be a travesty to allow an entire Noodles meal to go to waste. Right? So you call the restaurant to see if they're even open, which they are, although they're closing 2 hours early - at 8:00. So we hustled on out of here, picked up some dinner at Noodles, and popped in at Game Stop real quick across the street before heading home.

While sitting at Game Stop, you look at the tasty dinner in to-go dishes awaiting you on the dash and think, "Hmmm . . . interesting picture!" And it is.

To be more specific, there was a dish of macaroni & cheese, buttered, seasoned noodles, mushroom stroganoff, and pesto cavatapi. It was most delicious. And one of them was free. Bonus.

It's a Mystery

2009-10-29T23:21:00.003-06:00

What is it?

Wordless Wednesday - Pond Reflection

2009-10-27T19:38:00.007-06:00

To see what others aren't saying, go here, here, and here.

The Ladle Story

2009-10-27T19:04:00.001-06:00

I just realized I forgot to come back and share the rest of the story about the very long ladles from last week's Wordless Wednesday.

In biology, the boys were required to collect pond water for some cultures. They were instructed to go down a little deeper into the pond rather than right at the edge. We have four jars that have various types of food in them - rice, egg yolk (hard boiled), dried grass, and dirt. We'll be preparing slides to take a look at what grew in our cultures probably tomorrow. I'll be sure and get some photos to share.

So the ladle was duct-taped onto a broom (actually Swiffer) handle. Some people looked at us a little funny while at the park. Doesn't everyone take very long-handled ladles to the pond?

Wordless Wednesday - Ladling Long

2009-10-20T22:40:00.001-06:00

As ever, to see what others aren't saying, go here and here.

Happy Birthday to ClayGuy

2009-10-20T10:52:00.005-06:00

This morning I was thinking about 16 years ago when I was sitting in a hospital bed, hooked up to an ever-increasing pitocin drip, awaiting the arrival of my very first son (although I didn't know he was going to be a son at the time). Hubby was flipping channels on the tv and he began to watch Groundhog Day. I'd never seen the movie before and I didn't really know the premise. However, at this point in my pregnancy, my attention span had dropped to that of a two year old. It made life rather difficult. But every time I looked at the tv, I kept thinking, "Didn't they just do that?!?" Of course, with no attention span, I couldn't focus long enough to get the theme of the movie. I just found it annoying.

Here we are, 16 years later, with an amazing young man in our house. He's creative, generous, kind, and caring. It has been a wonderful adventure so far, and I look forward to all that God has planned for him.

Happy Birthday, sweetie!!

love,
Mom

Wordless Wednesday - Cheer Up!

2009-10-13T21:51:00.008-06:00

Go here and
here for more wordlessness.

Frosty

2009-10-12T11:27:00.003-06:00

Wordless Wednesday - Aspen

2009-10-07T17:45:00.004-06:00

For more wordlessness, go here and here.

Fall Colors

2009-10-05T23:52:00.005-06:00

While we're on the downhill side of the colors this year, I still found some lovely, sparkling-gold aspen to photograph. Apparently the week before we took our Sunday drive (on Saturday) was the best week. Oh well. We had a wonderful time anyway. And that's what really counts, isn't it?

Find Your Strongest Life - Book Review

2009-10-05T02:02:00.001-06:00

Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham

I’m rather torn in writing this review. One part of me says that this book was a well-written book with some good and useful information. The other part says that I need to stand for the truth of Jesus Christ and that just isn’t present. In fact, He seems to be completely left out of the picture.

Before agreeing to review Find Your Strongest Life, I searched a bit on Marcus Buckingham, having not heard of him. I found the site of his organization, along with a number of YouTube videos and it appeared that this book would fit the category of self-help. As a follower of Jesus, I’m not called to self-help. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13

Yes, I read books that aren’t faith-based and learn things from them as well. But I was surprised to find that this was in the Thomas Nelson repertoire. Their original goal was to “honor God and serve people.” As an example, Marcus repeatedly says that children do not bring happiness. Research shows this to be true. Of course, I think that you could find research to support just about any opinion you have. But I also think that if you’re having children to find happiness, you’re already on the wrong path. God says they’re a gift and a blessing, but He doesn’t say they’re the source of happiness.

The book is definitely geared toward career and working women. Since God’s mission for me at this time in life is to be a stay-at-home, homeschool mom, much of the material wasn’t applicable. It offers a fairly humanistic, take control, and make-your-life-better perspective. Yet I came away with some nuggets that I believe may be quite beneficial in my life.

You see the paradox here? It’s good, but not completely good. It’s bad, but not completely bad. Neither is exactly what I want to say and I’m struggling with the words to share.

If you are a career woman (or man – it’s not as gender-specific as it may sound), if you aren’t concerned with God’s role in your life, and if you want to effect change in your life, read this book.

If you’re a Jesus-loving woman, particularly one who stays home with (or without) her children, it will probably not be very beneficial to you.

If you’d like to get a flavor for what this book has to offer so you can make an better decision, you can access a very generous, 47-page sample of the book here. For more information from Thomas Nelson go here.

ps - in light of this, I want to let you know that I was provided a free copy of the aforementioned book by Thomas Nelson.

The House, Part 4

2009-10-03T21:58:00.017-06:00

"I'll finish this up with Part 4. Sooner than Part 3 arrived. Really."

Did I actually say that?!? Like back in December of last year?! Hold on a moment while I get some salt & pepper for these words I'm about to eat.

I'll just blame it on colander brain. Or a lack of sleep. Or dork jeans. For anyone who wasn't around last year when I began this story, here's your chance to catch up. Go here for Part 1, here for Part 2, and here for Part 3.

After all the craziness of the previous nine years or so, we just went on with life, living somewhat contentedly (at least some of the time) in our little house. We switched rooms around, painted them, and brought all that stuff out of storage along the way.

Every year, hubby had to snake out the toilet plumbing two or three times. The pipes were clay/tile and ran somewhere underground. With numerous years of drought, the tree roots hunted for any possible moisture - including our plumbing. Not a great option when you only have one bathroom, but we managed (sometimes with the help of our sweet neighbors who let us use theirs).

Then came 2005. That spring, the back corner of our house dropped. It didn't just shift like it had in the past. Hubby also mentioned that the house was sitting down onto the duct work. While it wasn't a visible problem, how long would it be until the house dropped far enough to break the plumbing? Then we'd be responsible for raw sewage underground. To top it off, one of the main beams under the house was deteriorating and sagging. Unfortunately, the gas line coming into the house went through the center of the beam and it was pulling the gas meter in toward the house.

We called our utility company to check the line and ask if it was a danger, but since it was on our side of the meter, it wasn't something they would check or for which they'd have any responsibility.

So the List of Risks looked something like this:

Possible broken gas line. Blow up the neighborhood. Ourselves. Friends.

Crushed plumbing lines and raw sewage in the ground

With the house dropping, even more significant damage to it

To top it all off, we had exactly no funds to fix any of these problems. We felt that just living there was a risk we didn't want for our family. With what we owed on the house (we'd refinanced a few times over the years) and the condition, we knew we couldn't sell it and get any profit. But we decided that we were willing to walk away with nothing, start over, and go rent somewhere. We tried talking to our mortgage company to see if we could work something out, but that was a no-go. We contacted anyone and everyone we could think of to try and sell the house, like contractors, people who buy old houses and fix them. Again, no such luck.

Conditions just got worse and we felt that we were keeping our family and neighbors at risk. So we reached a decision. Not one we really wanted to make, but we didn't see any other option. We filed bankruptcy so we could dump the house. Not because we couldn't pay our bills. Not because we were over-extended. But because we had to get rid of the house. If we just bailed on the mortgage without bankruptcy, they could come after us for the difference in our loan and what it could be auctioned for. We could well have ended up owing a bunch of money on the house that we couldn't have afforded. We didn't know what else to do.

So we filed in early September, found another house to rent, and moved out. Because this story has gone on so long, I'll wrap it up here. God did a lot of amazing things through the entire process, but that's not to say it was all easy. But it ended up being a wonderful blessing. We spent three years at that house and then bought our current house a year ago.

There you go. The somewhat long, yet condensed version of that crazy old house we had. We've come a long way.

Kudos to anyone who actually read this entire saga. Sorry there are no photos. I didn't have a digital camera in those days. Maybe I'll go take a couple just because.

Wordless Wednesday - Orange

2009-09-29T22:20:00.004-06:00

For more wordlessness, check out Gabriel's place and the WW hub.

The Red Wall

2009-09-28T22:19:00.011-06:00

Ever since we moved into this house a year ago, I've pondered about adding some major color to our living room. Like one or two green walls. Maybe. For whatever reason, I just couldn't nail down a specific color, no matter how much I wanted to get this project done.

But this weekend, I learned why I couldn't make this happen. Because I'm a BUNNY TRAIL kind of gal. I'm not very adept at getting from point A to point B in a direct line. Thanks to this colander brain in my head, I'm easily . . . SQUIRREL!

Anyway, awhile back, we decided to move our plain old brown bookshelf from the living room up to the end of the hallway (just outside my studio) to accommodate homeschool books and such. Then we would stain the unfinished bookshelf with lower cupboards and put it in the living room instead. We bought the stain some time ago and finally got around to that project on Sunday.

We emptied the brown bookshelf and hauled it upstairs. Oh, I guess it actually started back another day. On Saturday, I began cleaning up the studio and getting rid of things. I realized that I desperately need a bookshelf for all the homeschool books, so we needed to get that brown shelf moved and soon.

So, back to staining and moving the shelf. Once that space was vacant along the big wall (aka the "blank slate"), I felt the need to paint it.

While green was the original color of choice, I became concerned that we wouldn't find one that worked with the green curtains, the freshly stained green bookshelf, and the green in the furniture. Never fear, we have all these groovy colors in our rug, so let's go with burgundy. Or more specifically, Deep Garnet by Glidden.

The color chip is a dark burgundy with NO hint of pink. But when we opened the can, it was looking rather magenta-ish. This freaked me out just a bit.

Yikes!!

Looks much too pink to me!

We painted a square on the wall and it was definitely more pink-magenta than it was supposed to be. This color definitely doesn't cover very well. Two coats will not cut it. So I painted two or three more coats on that square and it began to appear that with drying and probably four coats, we really would have Deep Garnet.

After the first coat. Did I say this paint doesn't cover very well?

Half way through the second coat.

My helper, the Comedian.

The wall does have a third coat, but no photos yet. I was planning on a fourth coat before bed tonight, but my SI joint said, "No stinkin' way!" So I complied. But I will get some third and fourth coat pix up. Hopefully it doesn't require even more paint. Because that gallon will be empty by then.

Wordless Wednesday - Intense

2009-09-22T19:16:00.004-06:00

Go here and here to see what others aren't saying.

Joy of Giving

2009-09-21T09:40:00.011-06:00

I've been a part of the FreeCycle e-loop for quite some time, but I really haven't participated much. Usually it's because I don't have what people need or don't want what they're getting rid of.

But on Saturday, someone posted a request for a refrigerator. We've had a second frig in our garage for a few years now, which is handy, but not necessary. My honey was out of town for the day, so I asked him on Sunday if he was okay with us giving away our refrigerator. Of course, he said that was fine.

A quick email and yes, they still needed a refrigerator. So we spent Sunday afternoon combining our frozen and refrigerated foods into one and cleaning up both refrigerators. They came over that afternoon and picked it up, happy to have a frig in their new home.

And the coolest thing of all? While I was sorting food, cleaning the frig, and reloading it in a more orderly fashion, I was filled with joy and thanking God for the privilege of giving away our refrigerator.

...and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

Wordless Wednesday - O'Henry

2009-09-15T22:55:00.002-06:00

For more wordlessness, go here and here.

Harvest

2009-09-14T16:48:00.004-06:00

Here it is. The big tomato harvest.

Aren't you impressed? It's the first and only tomato from my garden. In all fairness, however, there are quite a few more green tomatoes out there. Hopefully they ripen before the weather gets too cold, though. We were down in the 40s the other night and more of that is on its way.

Amazing Maize Maze

2009-09-11T23:29:00.010-06:00

At last - the year we would finally make it to the corn maze at the Denver Botanic Gardens. This year's creation? A T-Rex carved into eight acres of corn. Totally awesome!

The aerial view. Walk on the black lines. The green is the corn.

My sister, her husband, and their two daughters joined us. It was a long trip to get there. Not because of the distance we live from the gardens, but we had some delays. I believe it took us around three and a half hours to make a one hour trip. But the kids were all troopers. Well, courtesy of a little electronic entertainment - my five year old niece had the mini DVD player and the other three had DS Lites.

No, this is not a DS in his hands. It's the ticket. With a picture of the aerial view of the maze. It could also be construed to be a map, small as it is.

It was nice and light with a few clouds overhead when we arrived. There weren't many people and the weather was absolutely perfect. However, it was about 6:30 p.m. And we were nestled in near the foothills, so it didn't take long for daylight to pass on by.

I'll wait up here until you figure it out.

Isn't my niece pretty?

I don't often use flash, but people move much too quickly for a 1 - 2 second shutter speed. And it was getting quite dark.

Glad Mr Rex didn't eat her with this enormous tooth!

Then it was off to Rubio's for a late dinner of awesomely wonderful Baja goodness. It was a great day all the way around.

Wordless Wednesday - Golf Hazard

2009-09-08T21:38:00.004-06:00

For more wordlessness, go here and here.

Fearless

2009-09-08T00:05:00.006-06:00

Most, if not all of us, live with some sort of fear in our lives. Our current national and world conditions certainly provide us with plenty of reasons for fear: job loss, disappearing savings and retirement accounts, loss of freedom to our government, terrorism, cancer, and the list goes on. Yet, as believers in Christ, we are never advised nor commanded to succumb to these fears. In fact, God tells us NOT to fear more than any other admonishment in the Bible. He knew how much we’d need to hear those words.

Whether your fears are tiny, enormous, or fall somewhere in between, doesn’t matter. When we live in fear, our eyes are off of God and onto the circumstances. Remember what happened to Peter when he took his eyes off Jesus as he walked across the water? That’s exactly what happens to us – we sink. Yet if we take God’s word seriously, there truly is no reason that we should ever be afraid. There's no fear bigger than the God we serve.

In his latest book, Fearless, author Max Lucado invites you to consider Jesus’ invitation to courage. This isn’t about pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and mustering up your own courage; rather he shows you the way to trust in God Almighty, who has all power to overcome any and every fear you encounter. Imagine taking the strong hand of our Lord and walking in faith, freed from the fears which sap so much of your life. Such a life of liberty and joy is available to you.

I don’t think there is a fear that Lucado doesn’t touch upon in his book. I suspect that this will become a well-worn book over the years, one that will retain a very visible position on my bookshelf (when it's not being read).

Fear of Not Mattering

Fear of Disappointing God

Fear of Running Out

Fear of Not Protecting My Kids

Fear of Overwhelming Challenges

Fear of Worst-Case Scenarios

Fear of Violence

Fear of the Coming Winter

Fear of Life’s Final Moments

Fear of What’s Next

Fear That God is Not Real

Fear of Global Calamity

Fear of God Getting Out of My Box

I strongly encourage you to read this book. I anticipate that God will do wonderful things in your life through it. Check out the The Fearless Times for an interactive experience. It's a place where you can ask Max a question, find encouragement, see and read photos and stores shared by others, and even order the book.

Wordless Wednesday - Corvette Wishes

2009-09-01T21:28:00.007-06:00

To see what others aren't saying, go here and here.

Monday, Monday

2009-08-31T11:43:00.005-06:00

Remember hot air corn poppers? They had the clear (or yellowish) container atop the motor and once your kernels heated up, you could watch it all twirl and fly around as it exploded into soft, tasty popcorn. Just imagine that scene and you will totally understand how my thoughts are functioning today. If only I had some melted butter to pour onto them. I'm sure that would somehow help. Doesn't melted butter just help everything? Okay, maybe not bacon.

Instead of a holiday next Monday, we're taking one today. Except I'm working. Tasks, errands, chores, whatever - I have things to do today. I started out off-track and am praying that God gets me back on His path.

"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps." Proverb 16:9

I thought I was meeting a friend at Starbucks early this morning, so I drug my tired self out of bed, got ready, and zipped on over there. Fortunately, I can access Facebook through my cell phone, so when she wasn't showing up, I checked on my account. Sure enough, she sweetly reminded me that we're meeting on Thursday. Oops. Although the boys were incredibly grateful to have me come home early with double chocolate chip blended cream frappes with a squirt o'mint. Can you say SUGAR for breakfast?!? Woo hoo!

Once home, a list of things needing to be done began to run through my head. Uh oh. I knew there was no way that I could take care of all those items and have a successful day of homeschooling. What to do, what to do?

Time out to inquire of the One with the answers. GOD.

So today, I'm walking around with a pen and pad of paper so I can jot down every little thought that pops into my head - a task to do, a phone call to make, something to tell my hubby, or a phone message. The goal is to accomplish the tasks at home in the morning and then do the out-and-about errands after lunch. So far, so good.

Oh right, what's a post without pictures? This just made me laugh:

On the door? A tag telling us that our delivery driver left a package.

See where the package is?

On the step, in front of the door, just below the label.

I suppose if the package were gone, at least we'd know the driver did his or her job, and now someone else had taken our package. I'm not sure why else you'd leave a note that essentially says, "We left a package - right beneath this note."

It was good for a giggle.

Wordless Wednesday - My Reflection (x3)

2009-08-26T18:45:00.002-06:00

For more wordlessness, go here and here.