~ Like I Said . . .

See!!!! It's perfectly normal that I have a spider phobia!!

This morning I had an email from a Ya Ya ~ she had 3 things to say about my spider blog . . . .

1. iiiiisssssshhhhhhhh

2. Never ever leave your car windows open

3. Can't the bug guy spray for those things????

See, even Debi understands. This is why I love her as much as I do!

I have to agree with her ~ that spider was just wrong in every single way.

I not only keep my windows in the car rolled up, but I keep the doors locked, too! Hell, those things are HUGE ~ you just never know what they're capable of . . . . .

And my bug guy and I are gonna have a little chit chat.

Good thing he's really easy on the eyes . . .

~ Creepy Crawlies

I have a serious phobia when it comes to creepy crawlies and critters. The one phobia that really gives me the heebie jeebies......spiders. Now, you would think that growing up in Oklahoma with it's plethora of tarantulas, big hairy spiders wouldn't creep me out. Wrong!

This is what California has ~ it’s called a Sun Spider and the sight of one can have me screaming like a little girl at a circus freak show. Besides the fact that they are loaded with all kinds of creepy and ick, they’re the size of a freaking Buick!

A few weeks ago, I walked out into the garage to toss some trash in the garbage can. There, on the garage floor was one of these bad boys. I totally freaked, went screaming into the house for KJ, dragged his butt out there and what does he do? Stares at it and says, “Cool. Wow, it’s big.” Cool?? What the hell was so cool about it? Big, he says?? The sucker was as big as my SUV. Okay, so maybe not THAT big, but you get my point.

When I went to dinner a few nights later with Linda, I’m telling her about this spider. “COOL” she says. (She’s a total spider freak ~ go figure) Well hell, I want to know what is so cool and fascinating about this spider that is not only a beast of a spider but it’s ugly as hell!!! She said to me, “Was it dead?” Well, duh!! Thank God my favorite person had just been to the house a few days before ~ my bug guy! God, I love that man!! The way he swaggers around the outside of the house with his chemicals and sprayer. (Sorry, got a little carried away) Then she says the worst thing she could possibly say....’That was probably just the skin (yeah, skin like a snake) and the spider is probably still in the garage.’

Well, isn’t she just a ray of freakin’ sunshine???

So, last night I go out to the garage to again put trash in the garbage can. Are we starting to see a pattern here? Like maybe I’m the one always taking out the trash? Anyway, I flip the light on and there, sitting in front of the garbage can was this spider. Sitting there like he was some kind of garbage can guardian. *RME’s*

Holy Mother of God!!! I went running back into the house and then I remembered what Linda told me about how they shed their skin. Crap!! So, out I go again, armed with something to smash it with. A shovel. Hey, I don’t know what you use your shovels for, but me? I now use mine, which, by the way, is kept right next to the door, to kill the spiders and the scorpions.

So, I sneak over to this spider and it’s not moving so it must be dead. But, I can’t tell if it’s DEAD or if it’s the skin. For all I know, the damn thing is slinking around out in the garage trying to figure out how to get in the house.

I swear, if it’s not the scorpions, it’s the spiders. Either way, I’m sleeping with my shovel tonight!

~ Go Big Red

You can take the girl out of Nebraska, but you can't take Nebraska out of the girl.

Sept 5th ~ the first Nebraska game is about a month away and I can already hear the tunnel walk music in my mind.

and the countdown begins . . . .

~ Because . . . .

. . . . she always makes me smile ~ I love you, Stinkerbell.

~ Today, I Fell In Love

Today . . . I fell in love. Briefly.

No, not the “deep in my soul, can’t live without you” love, but love nonetheless.

It was the type of love that makes your heart go pitter patter a little faster. The type of love that makes us sigh deeply and longingly. The type of love that we feel for all of 3 minutes when we encounter a man who is also a gentleman. The kind of man who somewhere, has a mother I would like to meet.

A man who, walking behind me as I was walking into the store today, reached for the door before I got to it, held it open as I walked in and said, “ After you.” It was at that moment that I fell in love with him. If only for a brief moment in time.

Admittedly, I gave him my flirtiest smile as I said thank you. It’s allowed, right? When falling in love, if only for a brief moment, you can give your flirtiest, most brightest smile? If I knew how to bat my eyes, I would have done that, too. If it wasn’t for that pesky piece of paper that says I’m already married, I would have given the man my phone number, asked him out to dinner and then proposed before the dessert tray was brought out. Okay, not really, but falling in love for a brief moment does allow us the opportunity to let our minds wander. If only for a second. Or two.

It’s not every day a woman falls in love for a brief moment. But then again, it’s not every day when we encounter a man who still opens doors for a woman.

(this is where we’re allowed to sigh deeply and longingly)

~ Charlie, The Mighty Dog

Since Lynsay & Charlie moved in with Raf, Sue and the girls last November, they have both faced some changes. On the upside, Lynsay is enveloped in the love and comfort that being part of a family can bring. She has a place to go where she feels comfortable and safe and she knows that if she needs anything, Raf and Sue are right there. On the downside, she has to drive a bit further to get where she needs to go.

Charlie, however, has become even more spoiled than he was before I moved. If that's even remotely possible. He goes on daily walks with Raf. He goes back and forth from home to TJ's ~ at both houses, he has another dog to contend with. Or maybe I should say, the other dogs have to contend with him! From what I understand, Charlie is all kinds of fierce.

I've heard how he goes nose to nose with a big dog in Raf & Sue's neighborhood and how he doesn't back down. When I came aross this picture, it reminded me of Charlie.

I tell everyone that my Murphy is 11 pounds of fierce but from the stories I've heard, Charlie is the true mighty dog....lol.

That picture even looks like Charlie!!

~ Prayers

This blog is for my Glenna ~ my Gem, my ladybug. A few weeks ago, one of my Omaha Ya Ya’s called to let me know that the west coast prayers were desperately needed in Omaha.

Long story short ~ Gem’s husband Dave had gone to the doctor for what he thought was something that could easily be taken care of with meds. Instead, his doctor immediately admitted him to the hospital. That was 3 weeks and 2 surgeries ago.

At the time of Mary’s phone call, things did not look good. Dave was in ICU and was on various machines and had tubes everywhere. He was basically at death’s door. I hung up in tears and started looking for flights back home.

However, the power of prayer, the power of love and the will to live has once again prevailed. Dave is improving daily. Eye movement here, recognition there. They’re baby steps but baby steps are good, it means he’s still with us.

When you say your prayers tonight, send one up for my Gem and Dave ~ he’s not quite out of the woods yet. He’s one of the good guys and we want him to be with us for a long time to come.