A Young Maiden, an Ogre, and a Prince

Once upon a time there was a young maiden, and she had a very special affinity for clothes. Born with short legs, she was stumped for most of her life when the time came for pant and trouser shopping, and often she would be seen as the royal seamstress having them hemmed.

But, hark! One day she came across such places as Petite Sophisticate, Ann Taylor Loft, and other clothes shops which catered to people such as herself. The pants not only fit, but they were the right length as well! She entered into a world of professional clothing, and her credit card balances soared, up, up, up into the clouds.

She was blissfully happy with her new wardrobe, and she had quite the plans for her suits, dresses, skirts, blouses, and slacks. But, alas, after only a short while, she found that she had no need for her fancy clothes. She was the director of a local daycare, and although she wanted to dress professionally, her clothes, which required special cleaning, did not find favor with playgrounds, nurseries, and small grubby hands. Loving the children that she worked with, and wanting to play with them, forced the young maiden to lock her clothes away in the depths of her closet...until one day they might be of use again.

The years passed, and the young maiden had a new adventure on the horizon. Becoming an apprentice teacher at a local school meant that yet again she would have use for her long forgotten clothes. But, her happily ever after is yet to be attainable.

Food, another love in her life, has interfered! The dreaded cellulite ogre has cursed her with such atrocities as the muffin top, back bulge, and flabby thighs! Whatever shall she do? Her wardrobe now does not fit, and it is nearing time for her apprenticeship.

What's that? What do I see on the horizon? It is prince charming, on his noble white steed! Ye gads, it seems that he has been visited by the cellulite ogre as well!

There is but one choice, remove temptations from the castle. Gone are the delicacies from the master baker, and in come the fruits of the royal gardener. A trip to the local thrift store brings in new wardrobe items (a size larger) to help the maiden along on her journey. She and prince charming will embark on a journey together. Not only into a new beginnings this fall, but also into a world of healthy eating, exercise, and moderation.

And if all goes as planned, they will live happily ever after.

Keep in touch.

I probably said that about fifty times today as I said goodbye to my workers. Today was my last day at work, and although I'll still be training my replacement on Sunday, this was the day that felt like my last.

I've discovered several things about myself in this process.

1) Although I'm often very hard on myself, and I don't feel like I meet up with my own expectations, I have lots of people out there who love me and look to me as a spiritual leader. Jesus tells us to be meek and humble, and although even I have my proud moments, I think part of my "take" on things may be a bit of what it's all about. If I thought I was fully capable of always handling the job, and I didn't think I did anything wrong, what would I have to aspire to? And how annoying of a boss would I have been? I always considered those around me to be better than me because if I could honor those around me as my teachers, then that helped me to be the leader I am.

2) It is possible to develop a very deep, agape love for those around you. As I reflected on leaving and what made me so sad, I realized it was how much I cared for my staff. I said this a lot, "I'm not going to miss the job, but I'm definitely going to miss the people." You see, I've noticed in the two instances now that I've had teachers who worked under my directorship that after a while I would start using the possessive pronoun, "my." I have thought on this before, and I realize that in order to create a supporting, loving, and effective working environment that you have to care very much about the well being of those who work under your leadership. As director, I have become very protective of my entire staff because I care so deeply about them and their lives. And, as long as I know them, I will still always be very protective of them because of the friendships we share.

3) When I am following God's will, I feel a peace about where He is sending me, and I don't have to worry about the unknowns that lie ahead for me. I'm super excited about starting student teaching next week, and I know the God is going to provide for me as I travel down the path He has placed ahead of me.

4) It all comes back to prayer. It's kind of funny in a way, but as I feel a peace about where I'm being sent, I feel the need to petition the Lord with prayer all the more. I can handle burdens myself more often than I can handle those that I have placed upon others. I can feel Satan attacking my thoughts as I think of all the people I have left behind who now have a BIG transition to adjust to. I am seeking His face to give comfort and peace to everyone.

5) I know the end of the story. I remember a sermon once, where the speaker was talking about not knowing all the details about the end of our time, but he did say this. "I know this. In the end, we win." You see, as much love as I have for those around me, I know someone who has an even greater love for those He created. And, for my fellow Christians, I know that even though I might not see you daily in this life, that one day we will be spending eternity worshipping our Lord, Protector, Creator, and Redeemer. I have a very cherished friend at the daycare remind me today that there are lifetimes and there are seasons in our lifetimes. And, for me this is just a season of my life. We will be friends for a lifetime, and if I may extend it, we'll be sisters in Christ for eternity. I thank God that one day there will be no tears, no pain, no dying, no suffering and NO GOODBYES! Because once we get to Heaven we will rejoice in His presence. And, I pray that each and every one of you in my life will be in Heaven with me that day! And, if you don't know how to experience that joy, I'd love to tell you how.

I'll leave you on a much, much, much, less serious note. As I have said my goodbyes, I had some very kind teachers and parents who gave me gifts, kind words, food, and fellowship. I thought I would share some pictures of some of the presents I received today.

Name that landmark!

And for a bonus question, what looks different about this Polk County landmark than on a typical summer day?

More pictures to come later. I'm busy with housework & homework this evening. Plus, I've been printing off educational resources to use in my classroom one day. Check out this website for some great folder games. I was really excited when I came across it. They're free, and the site was started by a Christian homeschool mom.

Since I only have 1 1/2 weeks left at my current job, I have left cards out with contact information for me so that I can keep in touch with everyone. So, welcome to any new blog readers! :)

Saturday

My morning began with sleeping in...very much anticipated & appreciated. I enjoy Saturdays for many reasons, with sleeping in being one of them. :)

Josh doesn't feel well today. The "allergies" that I had last week must have been a cold because Josh is sick today with the same symptoms. Bless his heart. He's felt crummy most of the day.

While the sun was on the other side of the house, I got out in the watermelon bed & did some weeding. I checked up on my watermelons.

Here's another emerging melon:

Here's the one from the other day...Coming along rather nicely. :)

After doing some weeding I set to planting. When Josh bought the 2 hanging tomato holders several weeks ago I started his tomato plant seedlings. We ended up with way too many so I took the rest of what was meant for this...

And planted them in the watermelon bed. It's an experiment to see if tomato plants do better in the evening sun on this side of the house instead of the morning sun on the other. His current tomato plants are quite puny looking, and we think it might not have enough sunlight.

So...

There are some bare spots where the watermelon plants have decided to grow the other way, so I'm taking advantage of that space to put the tomato plants. As you can see, I circled them to make it a little easier to see. We'll see what happens!

I'm going to go do some housework, homework, and play with my jewelry making. I don't plan to do much more outside today except walk to the mailbox & water the plants later. Have a great weekend!

Garden Updates

I'm the proud mama of some bouncing, baby....

Watermelons!
The largest one so far is only about the size of a lemon! So adorable.
Here's our bed with the bell pepper plants & cayenne pepper plant. We had our first bell pepper this evening.

Cucumbers ripe for the pickin'.

Cucumber plants. About 8 in all.

Carrots slowly coming along.

Close-up of the cayennes. Just waiting for them to turn red.

A bit of an experiment. Josh got a "Topsy Turvy" & "Upsy Downsy" & we're going to see which one grows tomatoes best.

Close-up of Cantaloupe blossoms.

A long view of the entire melon bed.

I am LOVING gardening. I'm already looking forward to starting my seedlings late next winter. lol.

Long weekend

Last weekend Josh came across a little bunny, and we took the time to pet it for a moment, and then we released it back into the wild.

I hope everyone has had a great 4th of July. Josh & I went to church yesterday morning, hung out at his parents in the afternoon, and then went to his former church for potluck picnic fellowship & fireworks.

Today Josh & I are both off of work. I'm hoping to make some earrings & clear some clutter. I have class this afternoon, so I unfortunately I won't get to enjoy staying home the full day. I plan to do a little shopping once I'm out of class. I'll definitely stop by Wal-Mart, but I'm toying with the ideas of Goodwill & Hobby Lobby.

I've been fighting off an allergy attack this weekend, so I have taken it easy best I can. I'm hoping to be able to wean myself off of Sudafed, Benadryl, & Mucinex soon. Right now I'm just happy that the meds help me breathe.

I have two bits of good news to share:

1) My sister-in-law, Jenny, found out this past week that she's going to have a girl. We're so excited! She is due mid-November.

2) I got my official letter accepting me as an exhibitor at Nillie Bipper this fall. I'm looking forward to having my Adore Creations books at the TriState Exhibition Center on October 2 & 3. If you live in the Cleveland area, I hope that you'll be able to swing by!

I'm off to finish up some housework since I need to leave in about 2 hours. Have a blessed day.

Miss Isis

We lost our precious Isis on Tuesday night. It started like any other evening with her greeting us at the door, staring at me while I ate (hoping for a scrap from my plate), and following us around our tasks. Josh & I both were busy with outdoor activities for part of the night. He has been pressure washing the house & treating it with oil. I tended to the weeds around my watermelon plants. After a while, I came in and got started on some indoor activities. I heard Isis growl at Homer, again nothing out of the ordinary. A minute or two later she growled a few times more, so I got up from what I was doing to go see if he was pestering her.

He was just sitting and staring at her, which I thought was strange, and she was laying in the floor rolling around. I called her name as I walked closer. I looked, and she was panting, she started crying, and she was moving around oddly. I came to the horrible realization that she wasn't using her back legs & I went to get Josh from the front porch. I said, "I think there's something really wrong with Isis. She won't get up. She's either hurt or acting really weird. Please come look at her."

When we came back she had scooted somewhere else. She was still rolling, panting, & crying. As we got a good look at her we realized that her back legs were completely paralyzed. She was completely panicked and in pain. I was a crying mess at the point. Josh was saying, "I'm so sorry girl." She kept trying to get up, and get away from the pain, and she was so very confused. It was like an invisible hit and run, with no one to blame.

We called around for an emergency vet & got the general idea that she might have released a blood clot which caused the paralysis. The woman on the other side of the phone let me know that most cats don't come back from that. (My research a few days later showed me that Isis most likely suffered from heart disease, when into cardiac distress, and had a blood clot which lodged in the branch of her aorta which feeds the blood supply to the back legs; she had an aortic thromboembolism.) Josh & I came to terms with what was happening and tried to comfort her best we could.

We loved her too much to let her continue in that pain. Long story short, our precious Isis, after writing in pain, legs growing cold, left us forever. I miss her so much.

I appreciate the prayers of those of you who knew when it happened. I was inconsolable Tuesday and most of Wednesday. The shock of it happening so quickly, the horrible way she died, plus just the fact that I missed her had me so emotional & physically ill. I got to pet her to try to soothe her, and I got to love on her to try to say goodbye, but by the time the pain took over she wasn't our Isis anymore. We made sure Homer & Athena got close enough to see & hear her so they realized what was going on. They have adjusted well.

I told Josh yesterday that there is a sheer irony in the situation. Isis was such a pest, that now that she isn't her being a nuisance I miss her so much more.

Isis was a pest. Her claws were a little too long so she picked everything & had a tendency to accidentally scratch you on occasion (especially when she decided to knead you or bat you with her paw to let you know she wanted to be petted). When she wanted in a room with the door shut she would scratch incessantly at the door until acknowledged. She would steal socks, underwear, stuffed animals, or anything else she could lift, and carry it around in her mouth making the strangest noises (and she liked to do this at about bedtime). She drooled when she was happy. She didn't know how to sit beside you, but rather on you. She would use the litter box right after Josh changed it. She followed you everywhere....EVERYWHERE...in the house & outside. She would constantly rub on your legs no matter what you were doing, having a tendency to trip you up if you were not paying attention. She begged for table food (which she never got). She slept on the towels, causing us to have to wash & rewash the fur off of them. She was STUBBORN. If I woke up in the middle of the night, and she was crowding me, a simple nudge wasn't enough to move her. It would take two hands & a lift to somewhere else. She couldn't take no for an answer. She had an awful habit of getting into territory wars with Homer on the bed, and she'd take off out of the room across Josh (leaving scratches in her wake.)

Isis was quirky. She loved to sleep in the window & would practically climb the blinds in excitement if she was one of our own cats outside. She liked to stay in the bathroom when we took showers (We think she liked the humidity.) When getting out of the shower she would do her usual trying to rub against your legs, which would result in fur everywhere. She had a bear that she especially liked to carry around that we had to put up out of reach to keep her away from it. She was allowed to carry it during the daytime (We tried to soothe her by putting it near her before she died). No matter where that bear got tossed in the house, it would always end up back in the bathroom. We called her Mama Isis because she was always very protective of the other two cats. You could bug her to death by messing with her, but she would always come back immediately to be petted. She liked to be on you, but she didn't like to be picked up. She liked to be in control.

Isis was one of the most unconditionally loving cats I've known. Her being a quirky pest is what made her Isis. And that's what makes me miss her so much. I know that I'll never ever have a cat like her, and it will take a while to get over her. Because she was everywhere that I was, I think about her everywhere I look at home. A lot of her peskiness was what helped her be endearing.

I compiled some pictures of Isis to remember her as she was before her pain. I've come leaps and bounds since Tuesday night, and if it weren't for my wanting to blog about her so badly, I would have made it today without crying about her...(My poor husband. He's had a hormonal wife who gets way too emotional about her cats. And may I say he's been so incredibly sweet.)

Here's one of the 1st pictures I ever took of Isis. I had taken a trip up to the cabin on Valentine's Day 2008. Josh & I weren't engaged yet, but we were talking marriage. I wanted to take pictures of cats that would eventually be mine too. Isis was the most accepting of me at first. She was social by nature, so I spent the most time petting her. Which she loved.
Outside exploring. She never got far from the house unless following me or Josh.

Trying to figure out why I was taking a picture of her with my phone...

And then not caring...

Coming to see what I was up to outside. Taking pictures, of course.

Athena also follows around, so Isis thought she would say hello.

Slightly annoyed that I had the camera in her face yet again.

Under the shed resting after following me around while I picked berries.

Looking for berries herself...or maybe a bunny rabbit.

Putting up with my camera yet again.

Too comfortable to come over to ruin my shot, like she liked to do as well.

Sleeping later on.

On the front porch enjoying the good life.

Annoyed with Athena getting in her personal space.

Sleeping in one of her absolutely favorite places. If she wasn't on the love seat with me or Josh, wasn't on the bed with us, or wasn't eating, she was probably on one of the shelves on this rack. She also enjoyed the green futon she was sleeping on in a previous picture.

This was one of her "love me" poses. If she exposed her belly, it meant "Pet me!"

Giving me a happy face because I did pet her. She liked to set her chin on me while she purred. I just wasn't close enough.

Ready for her closeup? Look at the calico spots on her nose. :)

Starting to suffer from her weird ear curling skin cancer. It never got worse. I told Josh after she died that at least we didn't have to watch her ears fall off. We only did sunscreen for a few days because it seemed to make her sick.

Being quite daring one day! She was too curious for her own good.

The last time I had my camera out for photos. I went around taking pictures of weeds & wildflowers, and true to character she & Athena both came to join me.

Again, I've appreciated your prayers, and I appreciate them still. I can talk about her and think about her without tears now. Sorting through pictures, retelling what happened, and putting down her qualities were something I wanted to do as quickly as possible so I can remember her always. It was quite difficult, but now that I've done it I think I can put her a little farther out of my mind so that I can fondly remember her and not think of what happened.

We love you Isis, and we will never forget you.