A lovely weekend

Georgie is back to her old self and is as spunky as ever. She lived in our guest bathroom for a few weeks, and she loved to plunk down on the towel we laid on the floor for her. This is her "I'm dead" pose. Freaks me out every time. I look to make sure her belly is rising and falling, making sure she's still breathing. Who knew rabbits were such fragile animals?


She is loving her increased greens diet: a large handful of kale, romaine lettuce, flat leaf parsley, curly parsley, and cilantro. Thank heavens it's all pretty cheap at Target. She also has enjoyed a new part of her diet: power cables. Our new scanner/printer/fax had a particularly tasty power cord. Brad had to splice it back together. Not cute, Bunny.


And she has been affectionate as ever. She loves to be pet and loves to be close by us. If I'm at my desk, chances are she's under my feet. If Brad is reading on the couch, she's probably less than 6 feet away, supervising him. She loves it when we get down on the floor with her, and she'll put her nose down low on the ground, under our hand, under our foot, under our nose, so we'll pet her. Whoever's nose is lower to the ground gets the pets, so if mine is lower, she'll lick my nose and groom me. It's a little gross, but a little cute, too.


In other news, Brad ate a burrito!


Since we bought the Miata three years ago we've been saying, "This is the perfect car for a road trip to the Keys." Well, we finally went. (And stopped at Chipotle in Miami.) It's about a 6-hour drive, which is heavenly with overcast skies and an open convertible top. It was a great drive. We basically drove from the west coast of the state, to the east coast of the state, so we could pick up Route 1 and drive as far back west as possible. Not exactly direct, but one can't be choosy when there is only one road and the alternative involves driving through the Everglades. When we arrived at Key West we checked into our motel. Chickens and roosters run wild on the island, and this little guy was right outside our window. Thank goodness we brought fans to drown out his singing at 3 am.


Most of our pictures are on the other camera, so I'll have to download them this weekend while Brad's at school. We drove around, saw a state park, a big ship, the Navy base, the southernmost point in the US, crazy Duval Street with its touristy shops with lewd t-shirts, and ate well. One of my favorite moments was when we went out to the pier at the Navy base to see the sunset. It was overcast so it was a bit hidden, but still beautiful. While we were there, a few fishing guys and their buddy took out a guitar and put on a little impromptu concert. It was really a fun moment!

More good things

It's another Friday, and I have more good things to say! I could get used to having good news... it's lots more fun than complaining!

After three months and three weeks, I finally came to an agreement with my former job about how much money they owe me. The first reply to my request (in early January) said "We do not owe you anything." Then a few weeks later they admitted that they owed me at least mileage reimbursement. Then a few weeks later they actually looked at their books and realized that they had not paid me my salary since mid-November. Then we haggled over overtime pay, none of which they felt they owed me. Out of everything I felt they owed me, I got about 3/4ths. We picked up the check last night and dropped off all of the stuff I had from them-- printer, cell phone, office supplies, etc.

And here's more information than you wanted to know: I was sick to my stomach all day. My body decided at quite inopportune times during the day that I needed to make a dash. It was puzzling, as I hadn't eaten anything even remotely upsetting the day before. Normally I wouldn't share all this, but I do have a point: during my second little episode I felt God nudge me and say, "This is you getting rid of that toxic job." Today I've never felt better. God is so funny sometimes.

In other happy news, Georgie the Bunny is doing great. We're weaning her off of her medication and she should be off it by Monday. She has taken over the guest bathroom as her home and grunts at us and lunges at our feet when we come in to visit her. We call her our little pig.

Speaking of pigs, and other barnyard animals, last night we tried bison! We went to Ted's Montana Grill which features burgers, both beef and bison. I felt adventurous just being in the presence of weird meat; Brad impressed me and actually ordered a bison burger! And it was good! It's very lean, with less than half the calories of beef and lots less fat. It's a chain, so if there is one near you, give it a try!

Else this week: our kind landlord is doing a short sale on the house we're living in, which we knew when we moved in. On Wednesday we had the first showing of the house. It went quite well, and we hope for our landlord's sake that it sells quickly. But it was also a reminder of how crazy our lives are about to become. In the next month Brad will finish his program... which means we have no ties to Florida any longer. We could move at the drop of a hat, if a job presented itself. However, he is swamped with school work so the job hunt is a bit slow. It looks like we'll be here through June, maybe. I've taken on some summer school courses at the university for extra money and those end in mid-June. I also interviewed for a summer school position somewhere on the East Coast (there are numerous sites) which would be June 20-August 8. I'm considering taking a few summer school classes in New York, which are mid July through mid August. Oh, and perhaps the house will be sold and we'll have to move out. Maybe in a short time. Or maybe not. Maybe we'll move in with Ralph and Chris for a little while. Maybe we'll move up north. Maybe we'll road trip all summer and visit all of you we haven't seen in ages.

None of these things really line up in a pretty way, so I'm just throwing my name out there and waiting to see which doors open. Many of you know how much I like to plan ahead (or control things, if we're all going to be honest about it), and I am learning to let go more and more. And thank God, I am the least stressed I've been in a long time! I feel like my faith, my trust that God will orchestrate if I'll just let go, has grown. Even in the midst of chaos, things are good.

I'll take it as a compliment

I've recently decided to take up running. I need to exercise, but am too impatient for walking. After my SECOND RUN this week (so very proud), I jumped in the shower before Brad got home to take me out to dinner. I came upon this little peeping tom on our window:



Now that our days in Florida are numbered (we don't know the exact number yet) I'm taking more notice of things we won't see up north. Like geckos on the bathroom window.

Here she is, on the mend

Nom, nom, nom. Parsley is to rabbits what chicken soup is to humans. So soothing.


I like to hide in the corner so I can't be picked up and force-fed medicine. But I don't want cold paws from the tile. A towel, folded, please.

I forgot to mention three other things:

1.) My tooth issue is much, much better! I went to a new, competent dentist who told me that my jaw muscles are "whacked." He's right. I've now been consciously relaxing my jaw during the day and at night, and it has made a huge difference. I'm about 95% better and the pain is nearly gone. Hooray!

2.) My old second job has conceded that they do owe me some money. It's less than half of what I think they owe me (they're refusing to pay me overtime) but it's at least something. I'm encouraged.

3.) We got a letter in the mail from our former mortgage lender, dated 19 days post-closing. It states that the sale has not been approved and that they are going to foreclose on our house. Well, the house we NO LONGER OWN. Such a riot. Never borrow from Countrywide. They are so inefficient I swear they use carrier pigeons instead of email. No one knows what they're talking about there. We're not concerned. But it was a little funny.

Goodness!

Goodness everywhere, I'm happy to announce!

Here's the catch-up: Mom arrived on February 28th for a visit. The first few days were chilly and not good beach days, so we did our little day trips on those days. We went antiquing in Naples, we visited Louise and Jay in St. Pete,


we went to the Lee County Fair to see the rabbits, we went to Sarasota to see an antique market, got seafood, seafood, and more seafood, and did even more I can't remember. By Wednesday things were heating up, so we got outside a bit. We had a beach day at Sanibel and then Thursday was more beach time at Barefoot Beach in Bonita and a sunset dinner at Doc's on the beach.


On Friday we visited Sandi and Allen at South Seas on Captiva and went parasailing together!


While we were up in the air we saw two groups of dolphins in the water! It was a short 15 minutes, but felt like a hour of good therapy!


It was very peaceful and relaxing. For the weekend we rested and recovered from our busyness. It was jam-packed with fun and relaxation. So good.

But on Saturday night little Georgie stopped eating and pooping. By Sunday she was cranky and grinding her teeth, indicating pain. No vets are open on Sunday except for the emergency vet, so we thought we'd just hang in there until Monday morning. By Sunday night George was miserable and I wasn't sure she'd make it through the night. At one point she flopped over and looked dead! Brad and I shrieked and she sat up, but we decided to take her into the emergency vet. Costs be damned, the poor things was suffering so. The vet felt a mass in her stomach, but due to his unfriendly and unprofessional nature, we asked just for some pain medication and decided we'd wait until the morning to get an x-ray.

She survived the night, although we didn't sleep well, worrying about her. It gave us a little taste of what parents go through when their little ones are suffering. It's so hard! And we felt so inadequate, not ever having been bunny parents before. On Monday I took her to a good vet who x-rayed her and found lots of gas (painful) and a stomach impacted with lots of food-- a blockage. He was not hopeful that she would survive, and said that it was a formidable task to help her recover. This kind of thing can kill bunnies in 12 hours, due to the pain and blockage.

He gave me a handful of medications and I spent the day caring for Georgie in the bathroom. We moved her to the bathroom for now as it's easier to catch her come medicine-time. The meds have to be force-fed by syringe which is no easy task! When Brad got home we gave her a syringe of laxative, a syringe of pain medication, three syringes of water (she's not drinking), and a few other things to help with digestion and nutrition. The poor thing fought and fought, but calmed down once we started the prescribed tummy massage. We felt things gurgling around and took hope that they might work themselves out over time.

By morning she had made a few deposits. We made over them and praised her for a few good poops. She seemed quite proud, and less umcomfortable. We had hope! By later in the day she had made many more deposits. I took her in to the vet again on Tuesday for a second dose of sub-cutaneous fluids to keep her hydrated, and he was pleased with her progress.

Throughout the week it has been up and down, with moments of hope and moments of worry. I've been working hard to give it up and trust God will have his way, but it just tears my heart to shreds when I see another creature in pain.

We knew things might be ok when we took Georgie out on the lanai the other day and she invented a game of hide-and-seek! She has three hiding places: behind the firepit, behind the plant stand, and behind the nordic-track. She runs, wagging her tail, to one spot: waits for me to find her and say "I FOUND YOU!!!", and then dashes off to spot number two. Repeat, repeat, repeat. We must have circled the lanai ten times! This is now a daily occurence, and is terribly cute. Although this bout of GI stasis has not been a party, it has bonded the three of us together and she seems to trust us more. We'll go back to the vet on Monday for another x-ray to see if things are truly ok. Who knew that bunnies could be such fragile creatures!

In other good news, Brad is applying for jobs up north and is finding many viable options. The one he applied for last night seemed to be a perfect fit for him! It's so exciting to see him walking forward in this new career path, and it energizes him, too.

In still other good news, I got a phone call yesterday from the scholarship committee at Columbia. I was awarded a massive, unexpected sum of money that we consider to be straight from heaven. We had been a little concerned at how the math was going to work out as the financial aid packages just aren't very generous and the costs are outrageous. This windfall of scholarship money will more than make up for what we needed. Remember how I said to sit and wait for the miracle? Well, you can do your rejoicing now. It's just so humbling, and exciting to know that I'm on the right path, and God is making a way. It's faith-building, that's for sure.

So things are going well! It's a new thing for us, this onslaught of goodness, and we're thrilled for a new season of life. These past four years have been trying, as you've read, and we are so thankful to see more goodness these days.

Getting Ready for a Visitor!

Georgie is working hard to shred any piece of cardboard she can find in order to build a proper nest for our upcoming visitor! I don't have the heart to tell her that Mom isn't going to stay with her in her cage.

Just in case you were wondering...

Georgie does NOT like her harness. Going outside with a leash is no longer an option. It was not a pretty sight.

She has also been making bad choices. Yesterday she hopped up on the couch and promptly chewed a button off of the TV remote control. We will have trouble using the Sleep function from now on. Remotes are now stored button-side down.

Ah, it's the weekend and I couldn't be more glad. This and next week are midterms and the material I'm teaching is just grueling. I'm super exhausted every night and have been crashing with CSI or Law and Order and vegging out. But next week I'll have some breaks as we don't have lab the week after midterms, and then spring break comes the first week of March. There is hope!

Tomorrow is a fun day of garage sale-ing as many neighborhoods are holding multi-family sales. We don't really have anything to buy as we're paring down, but it's fun to look, and plus, it's a high of 76. I owe it to you to be outside enjoying the gorgeous weather.

But I'll wear sunscreen, unlike my little reading break last Sunday. I went outside to catch a few rays by the pool since my white legs were matching my light khaki shorts. I was out there for one hour... and am still paying for it. The sun is just so much closer down here. I have been just fried all week. Lesson learned.

It has been a little bit of a rough day today. I only had to teach one class, hooray, but I think I just felt the weight of everything going on in our lives. Lots of uncertainty, yes, lots of hope!, but all the uncertainty gets to me. Heavenly Father is gently convincing me that he is, indeed, sovereign and good. It just is hard sometimes for me to let go and just let him work. And we got a bit of bad news-- nothing hurtful to us directly, but does the evil in the world ever just overwhelm you? That's where I'm at.

Our former pastor, who is our age and has four young kids, shared that his dear young wife has been given three months to live. Her breast cancer has spread to her brain. So unspeakably tragic.

This morning the news had a story about the top five most wanted fugitives in Fort Myers... one is my former student. I remember him so clearly as he was one of the primary reasons I left that school midyear. He would terrorize students in class, and one day I had had enough-- I made him call his mom on the phone in the middle of class. And she reamed ME out. I'm sad to see that at 18 he is right where I thought he would be. It really breaks my heart.

Chris and Ralph lost a friend last week and attended services today. Young guy, only 66, vibrant, in great health... so they thought. So very sad.

And this morning I finally heard back from my former second job-- the $4000+ that they owe me isn't coming. They just don't think they owe me anything. Whammo.

Oh, and that achy tooth where I got a crown last summer, the one that I haven't been able to chew on since July? Yeah, it's fine now, amazingly, as of two days ago. I can chew on it. But the pain has shifted three teeth down into my jaw. It's swollen and very painful to the point where I can't yawn or even tilt my head back without sharp pains. Joy.

Blech. It's enough to get me down. God, you have a big to-do list this weekend!

But in happy news, we sold the Passat. Yes, the same one we've been trying to sell for, oh, a year. And it went to just the perfect buyer-- a VW fan who knows the car inside and out. We got cash and deposited it today. Hooray!

Have a happy weekend, all, and remember to be grateful for the good things. Or maybe just remind me to be grateful.

Just a teaser... our new blog is getting ready for you...

Whoooo are you? Who who? Who who?

We've been watching CSI like crazy lately as it's always on cable. If I told you how many episodes I've watched in the last month you wouldn't believe me, so I won't. But it's a really fun show and is like crack for my problem-solving brain. We've even branched out and now watch CSI: NY, but not CSI: Miami. The Miami one is just too dorky.

Speaking of New York, this week I've been taking care of financial aid and housing details for this fall. In preparation I had to do our taxes, and I finally have them about done. We only owe about $1800. Boo. And I looked at the financial aid package they gave me last year (when I thought we were going last fall). It assumes a personal contribution of about $23,000. Not including the loans. I don't usually talk money here (or maybe I do), but whoa. One thing I am very grateful for about our time in Florida: I have truly learned to let God worry about money. He gives, he takes away. It's all his anyway. I'm sharing these figures with you so that when he provides for these things, we can all rejoice together. This is not a solicitation in any way-- just a mention so that we can praise God all the more when he does his work.

Also speaking of New York, it appears we'll be downsizing a bit. Our Lehigh house was about 1600 square feet; our current house is about 1400. We looked at the floorplans of the apartment options we have: the new building, with newer amenities, has apartments that are less than 400 square feet. That's not a typo: four hundred. Last night Brad said, "What's that thing, next to the kitchen?" I said, "That's the door swing for the front door. It's about the same size as the kitchen." And much hilarity ensued. The older buildings are much more spacious, nearly double the space of the newer building. Always being suckers for charm and history over modern amenities, we've chosen the older buildings. Now we actually have space for the rabbit.

And speaking of Georgie, she is now allowed back on the couch. Originally she was leaving us presents on the couch and was thus banned. But now she's tamer, more used to us and also to her surroundings, and has had no accidents outside of her cage. When she's happy she does these happy jumps where she jumps up and lands facing the other direction. They're quite funny. Her new trick is to test out the bounciness of the couch by patting the cushions with her front feet. If you watch this video a few times you'll catch her doing it:

Weekend update

This weekend Brad had school, so I was Little Suzy Homemaker, as my mother would say. I did the grocery-ing on Friday night, and then on Saturday and Sunday did some cooking. I got a batch of crepes and scones made and into the freezer and got the kitchen cleaned up a bit, too. My niece Bethany came over to help me with some projects; mostly we chatted and played together and had a really great time. On Sunday I trimmed and portioned the six chicken breasts and skinned and deboned the ten chicken thighs. I don't care if I never see a chicken thigh again, although when tossed into the crockpot with onion and barbecue sauce, the result is quite delicious. I've been enjoying it for the past two days. I also made a recipe of fluffy new potatoes from The Pioneer Woman Cooks website. Somehow I misread the recipe and bought ten POUNDS of red potatoes, instead of ten potatoes. We have a lot of potatoes. Thank goodness they were on sale! The freezer is full of these little cherubs.

Yesterday I visited the nearby schools to hand out my resume in hopes of getting called to substitute on my Mondays off. The extra money would be really helpful as I did our taxes last night. Boo. Somehow I didn't realize two things: 1.) my teaching job, since it is adjunct, doesn't pay social security tax. There's $3000 I owe the IRS. Second, I messed things up when we worked at Apple and thought that if you have one deduction it takes more taxes out-- wrong. So we owe taxes on that income as well. Wasn't so fun to see our savings pretty much fly out the window last night! Argh. And the house hasn't closed yet-- thank goodness I wasn't holding my breath. I keep checking in with the title company every morning, but no funds have been released yet. We have until Friday and then the paperwork expires. Please take a moment to pray for us with this situation! We need you!

In happy news, Georgie has been a doll lately. It was fun to be home most of the weekend and have her out and about, hopping around, nudging our hands and feet to ask for affection. We've also started feeding her salads-- romaine lettuce, raisins, carrots, and parsley. And she eats them in that order. She is warming up to us day by day and now has begun licking our hands as much as she can. I hear it's supposed to mean affection, but as aggressive as she is I can't help but wonder if she's just getting us ready for the kill... if every there is a long drought of posts on this blog, come looking for us.

Friends, we need your help in praying this house closing through. I haven't felt stressed about it consciously, but my body let me know this morning that it is sensing it. I woke up with itchy hives all over, and my joints are beginning to ache already. Last time this happened was November of 05, when the stress was unbearable and my body gave out; I had to go to urgent care and get a cortisone shot. Please pray for this closing-- for all the details to be tied up, for money to come through, for the closing to happen by Friday. We need your support here! Thank you very much!

Two out of three isn't bad...

In an effort to minimize our grocery bill, I've been reading a few money-saving blogs to get ideas. One idea is to look through stores' circular advertisements before shopping, assuming you're willing to make a few stops. The second idea is to clip coupons voraciously, even printing them out from various sources online. The third person actually spends only $40 a week to feed a family of four! I've been chewing on these ideas for a few weeks and tried to pull them all together tonight while Brad was at school.

Albertson's had a great circular-- lots of items we needed for 88 cents! Publix only had one or two items. CVS and Walgreens each had about one or two items each as well. Target is the fall-back, but it's not always the cheapest. And I also needed rabbit food. I started at Albertson's. When I was through there, I realized I had coupons for a few items, had found all the sales, but with a full cart, there was no way I was going to stay under the $40 I had hoped to pay. Oops.

Brad's in school tomorrow so I'm running around a bit, and then picking up my niece for an afternoon of baking. The blogger who spends $40 a week has a baking day each month where she bakes breakfast foods (waffles, pancakes, muffins, etc.), bread for sandwiches, and casseroles and side dishes for dinners, and then freezes them. I'm going to attempt to make cookies for dessert food, scones, pancakes, and waffles for breakfast food, and then prep all the chicken I got on sale. I keep seeing chicken thighs as the main ingredient in slow-cooking chicken dishes, so when I saw them for 88 cents a pound, I jumped. Too bad it's a family pack. Anyone have good chicken thigh recipes?

Attitude Adjustment

I forgot my work keys today.
The bunny stinks a lot.
I need to clean out her cage. But it's cold out.
I found what I thought was a bunny pellet in the bedroom.
It turned out to be a roach.
The roach was alive.
The lightbulb is out in the bathroom.
It's really cold (for Florida) here.
The house was 62 when we woke up.
I have a cut on my foot.
I snoozed too long and didn't have time for a warm breakfast at home.
Forgetting my keys is a pain.
The sun was in my eyes when I was walking this morning.
The tile floors are cold when it's 62 in the house.
I was barefoot.
I only have one good fleece to wear in this weather.
I had to wait in line in front of a pushy person at the ATM.
When we turned on the heat this morning, it spat a hefty layer of dust over everything.
I got an email that was annoying from my former second job.
I have to do the taxes this weekend.
Forgetting my keys means hoping that the classrooms are unlocked.
Forgetting my keys means I have to ask Tina the office manager to let me into my office. I feel embarrassed, even though Tina's as nice as can be.

After unlocking my door, we chat a minute. Tina tells me she's battling cancer. She found out in October that it's in her stomach and intestine, twenty years after surviving colon cancer. So that's why she got that really short buzz haircut in the fall. Tina's taking "the burning pills," called that because they burn up her insides. One of the tumors is shrinking. But they just found two spots on her breast. I hug her, offer to go with her to appointments, bring food, cover for her at work. She declines. I tell her I will pray for her often, and if there's anything I can do...

Suddenly I am flooded with gratefulness. A little dab of conviction, and lots of gratefulness.

Not holding our breath, but maintaining optimism...

Our closing didn't happen last Thursday, as I mentioned. The buyers' loan is a USDA Rural loan, and the USDA Rural program only gets so much funding. When the money runs out, the loans have to wait. This particular program gets re-funded in late MARCH, I just learned, although there was hope that it would get more money on Inauguration Day. Haven't heard of that money actually coming through, so we shall see. In the meantime, we alerted our mortgage guy Ron who has found an intermediary to loan the money until the USDA money comes through. I have no idea if this will work or not, but Ron seems to think it will. So we are scheduled to go sign our closing papers tonight. Not holding my breath, but maintaining optimism.

My second job last semester came to a close, as I mentioned. I failed to submit overtime each month as I didn't even make time to do that, I was working for them so much. I've always been bad at that sort of thing, and I've learned my lesson. They're balking at my invoice of about $3300 in time I'm owed. I don't blame them for balking, but they can't say they didn't know I was working that many hours. I told them that all along. So I finally heard back this morning regarding how much and when I'll be paid, and the email just said that they need more information. Not holding my breath, but maintaining optimism.

Once we close on the house for good, we'll start looking for jobs in New York. This semester my classes are very small as attendance is no longer mandatory (thank you, GOD!). This means that only students who want my help are in class. No talkers, no behavior issues. It's a dream. But I only have about 9 students showing up on average, meaning I could leave mid-semester and the students could be absorbed into other labs easily. It's likely we'll stay through at least the beginning of the summer, but I'm hoping to leave around April 1. Not holding my breath, but maintaining optimism.

We had a lovely, lovely time in Chicago this past weekend. It started off being a quiet visit between my mother and myself. Then Brad's class schedule changed, his weekend opened up, and he got to come, too! We arrived late Friday night on a nearly empty plane (who wants to leave 70 degree Florida for 8 degree Chicago?) and saw our breath for the first time in about three years. On Saturday Brad and I woke up early and went for a drive in the lightly-falling snow. It was beautiful and refreshing to us, and reminded us visually that seasons change and God renews. After our drive we visited with Mom a bit until we decided to go for an impromptu lunch at Max and Erma's, Brad's favorite place. On the way there I suggested we go to Wildfire instead for a good steak, and everyone agreed to it. When we arrived, Mom's friend Sandi from Minnesota was there along with Steph! Mom was very surprised, and we had a lovely birthday lunch!

After lunch we rested at Mom's for the afternoon. We planned to play games and just relax for the evening, when at 5 p.m. who should appear at Mom's door but her brother, Allen, his wife, Mary Ann, and Grandparents! They drove up to surprise her for her birthday! She was shocked at this double surprise and we all sat down to visit for a bit.

After and hour or so I suggested we go grab a bite for dinner at Panera down the street. When we arrived, Mom ran into her housegroup friends from church. And then more friends just kept on coming! On her brother's initiative, we planned a surprise drop-in party at Panera and invited over 40 people. We were excited to see at least 25 come by despite the snow and cold!

The day was full of surprises and I think Mom is still recovering. On Sunday we met the family at a pancake house for an amazing breakfast, and then we all dispersed. It was a memorable, fun weekend and we're so glad we got to go! Happy big birthday, Mom! (I won't say which one.)

Stay warm, northern readers!

Edited to add: I just spoke with Ron the mortgage guy... the funding for the buyers is miraculously in place. The buyers are signing papers by Monday... still not holding my breath, but gasping a little... 3:30 p.m. cannot come fast enough!

Happy Birthday, Sis! And other updates.

It's my beautiful sister's 27th birthday today! This pic was taken just before my cousin's wedding this summer. Funny thing-- my mother, sister, and I all wore black or black and white dresses. Mom taught us everything we know about fashion, it would seem. Steph is celebrating in frigid weather up in Chicago today. I can't imagine. I won't have to imagine soon... we're flying up tomorrow night for the weekend. I'm scared. But it's so worth it to get face-to-face time with my family.


In other news, a few weeks ago Brad and I visited the Edison-Ford Winter Estates which are in Fort Myers. The houses were decorated for the holidays and it was a really neat experience. We went on the last night and were thinking it would be jam-packed. Instead it was quite quiet and peaceful, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The Edison house has been restored and was just beautiful. We also saw his laboratory and Mrs. Edison's gardens. It is really beautiful. Here is one of the largest banyan trees in the world, and the first planted in the US by Edison. It was a gift from Henry Firestone, one of the three buddies who hung out in Fort Myers. It's sort of like if the CEOs of Apple, Microsoft, and Ron Popeil (inventor of practically every kitchen gadget) all hung out together-- quite a social group:


Here's what it looks like in the daytime. It's really a sight to behold:


(pic thanks to this random person.)

The semester started up on the 5th and we've been adjusting to the routine. Last semester things were nuts-- Brad was working full time and juggling two grad classes, and I was teaching and also doing the tutor-coordinator job-from-hades. I prayed for deliverance from that nuttiness, and God answered. I was laid off from the tutoring thing on Monday the 5th, just before my classes started. Money will be a little tighter, but we'll be fine. And I am SO relieved to not be working there. The people mean well, but have little business sense and are severely understaffed. Not a recipe for long-term success. That's all I have to say about that.

We've been spending our quiet evenings watching CSI and Law and Order, my new favorite TV shows. Don't know what took me so long to catch on as they're both in their zillionth season. We come home, let Georgie out of her cage, and eat dinner while watching episodes. It has been a lovely transition back into the semester.

George, we learned from the vet last week, is a she. But we like the name so we're keeping it. We're learning all sorts of fun things about being bunny parents. If you put a bunny on it's back, it falls into a trance like this:




Georgie doesn't love it, but she'll tolerate me holding her. She usually hops around the living room, sometimes the lanai when we let her, and then plops down on the floor in front of the TV. She also loves it when we sit on the floor near her. She'll nuzzle our hands a little and then poke her nose down near the floor, about an inch under our hand, as if to say, "It's time to pet me." She loves the lanai especially on the cool days we've had lately. Yesterday we were all sitting out there when she sensed the next door neighbor's cat approaching. The big grey fat cat loves to lay under the palm tree in our yard in the sun. Georgie saw the kitty and gave out a warning of danger-- she thumped her foot! Apparently that's what bunnies do to warn other bunnies of danger. It sounded like someone slapped a shoe on the ground! Then she dashed into the house as fast as she could, peeling out on the tile floor that provides zero traction. Quite a comical sight. I'll try to video these things as they really are funny.

We also learned at the vet that her little cage was too small for her. We did some research online and found some options. Apparently it's all the bunny rage to build cages out of these storage cubes, zip-tying them together to form the cage. We bought the storage cubes at Target, assembled the cage, and Georgie loves it.


Here she is exploring. See how there are two different sizes of grates? One with little holes and one with big holes? We finished this around 10 p.m. on Friday night. We sat and watched her explore as it was clear she was overjoyed. She kept jumping from the shelf to the floor, running back into her old cage, etc. We asked each other, "Do you think she can fit through those big grates?" "No, she'll be fine. Do YOU think she can?" etc. After one hour and seventeen minutes, she answered that question for us and made a diving escape from her little shelf. On Saturday we went back to Target to get another set so we'd have enough little grates. Argh.


After a while she just plopped down on the shelf. She loved the kleenex box and tears off strips to build a nest. She also tried to get into it, which was a sight to behold. I just love her little cottontail, and she lets me wiggle it for her sometimes.


I had originally begun this post this morning with the intent to tell you we were closing on our house today. Unfortunately, mid-post I received a call that the closing will not happen today. The buyers' loan is a USDA government loan, and occasionally they run out of money, which has happened in this case. I'm told they will be funded on Tuesday and we'll be able to close next week. Guess who's not holding her breath. This $%^&*( house has been a pain in the neck, and despite the fact that I'd like to be done, that's not what God has in mind. So we will continue to be patient and lean on our faith to get us through. Argh, patience.

Our George

How George Came To Us

A few weeks ago we were stopped on one of our nightly walks by some neighbors we'd never met. These neighbors live three doors down from us (we'll call them the Threes). They had a caged rabbit with them which they were delivering to Andy, our next-door neighbor. They said that the two-doors-down neighbors (the Twos) were foreclosed upon and let all their pets go wild about a year ago. We'd seen the white rabbit hopping around the neighborhood before but didn't know what to do about it. Andy had seen the rabbit and mentioned to the Threes that he wanted to catch it for his kids to keep as a pet, and Mrs. Two said that she fed it white bread every day and she'd catch it for Andy.

So they caught the rabbit for Andy, but Andy wasn't home to take delivery. We offered to keep the rabbit on our lanai until Andy got home, and in the meantime we got to play with it a little... which started a little rabbit-itch in me. Not the allergic kind of itch, the I-want-a-pet itch.

We handed over the rabbit to Andy later that night and mentioned how much we liked the rabbit. And then life happened and we didn't get a rabbit.

Two days before we were to move, Andy came over and let us know that he was getting rid of the rabbit because his kids aren't cleaning the cage enough, and it has become his job. He asked if we wanted the rabbit... and we said yes.

And so George came to live with us. He came with a free cage and water bottle, but I have since spent about $50 on litter, food, and a better litter box (prevents stinky pee from being sprayed out of the cage). He is a bit of work and not as interactive as a cat would be (I'd give my right arm for a cat!), but he will do. He does like to be pet, and when we let him out of his cage he first gets his energy out with some crazy kicks (his favorite moves are bucking bronco and scared cat-- all four paws off the ground at the same time) and then he comes over to us to be pet. He's getting used to me picking him up and is truly a sweet rabbit. We're not so sure of his gender and don't care, really. To us he is George!

This is for Martha!

I got the kindest email today from a reader and was compelled to do a quick post to let her and everyone else know what's going on. (Thank you, Martha, for your nice email. It was a blessing to me today!)

We are doing very well! We got word in early December that our house sale was going to actually happen! We got a copy of the paperwork on December 16th which makes it a for sure thing! So we moved! We moved out of the old house on December 22 and are loving life in our new, charming place. Life is crazy, disorganized, and full of unpacking and organizing. Oh, and celebrating holidays. And getting to know our new pet bunny, George.

I promise to fill in the details soon! For now I'm settling in for a long, relaxed night of CSI marathons and thinking happy thoughts about what 2009 has in store for us.

Love and Happy New Year wishes to you all! (Especially you, Martha!)

I'm not quite sure what to say here

This ad popped up on a blog post in my google reader. Apparently pigment is extremely heavy...? Or if you lose weight you'll change your skin color?

Edited to add: I thought of the punchline: I bet she feels like a whole new woman.

And we were very thankful

Mom arrived last Saturday night for a week-long visit. Having recently been laid off, with plenty of options on the horizon, a Florida vacation was in order. First stop from the airport: Shrimp Shack.


Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are a bit of a blur. I worked, Mom read novels, we rested. But on Wednesday we took the convertible down to the beach. First stop: Gramma Dot's for shrimp.



Then the beach, for some reading. We thought for sure we'd be cool as the air was cool. But the sun was quite warm and Mom got some sun. I just got more freckles.


Thursday was Brad's birthday. We started out the day by eating chocolate cake for breakfast.



Then we went and surprised twin sister Shelley at the Emergency Room where she works. Surprise! (And we were told by the other nurses to be careful... the bathroom has two exits. Go out the wrong one and you'll be in the morgue. Yum.)


The birthday kids.


Then it was off to Gramma Dot's again for seafood. Our excuse: it was one of the few restaurants open on Thanksgiving.


Then we went to see a movie and vegged the rest of the lazy day. On Friday we had the family Thanksgiving at Ralph and Chris's house. We celebrated birthdays there, too!


On Saturday Mom, Steph, and I went back to the beach to catch some sun. This smarty was throwing bread upwards and the birds were all catching it!


And on Sunday it rained. We ran a few errands, lazed, and Steph and Brad worked on school work. And then it was time to bundle up again for the trip home to Chicago. Which was delayed and delayed. Poor Mom and Steph got home at awful hours.


It was a lovely time and I can't wait to do it again! I took quite a few days off of second-job and LOVED the break. So nice.

This past week second-job had a big meeting, so after a particularly rough day (14 hours away from home), I came home to this:


Vases are packed up, so a water bottle is the vase. :) The hot chocolate mix is from Norman Love, the gourmet chocolatier here. I married so well. Thank you, love.

We're still waiting on house news to tell you. At this point we have a tentative closing date of December 15th (!!! 10 days away!!!) but that's not certain yet. I'm going a little crazy trying to stay sane with this process. All our paperwork is in, and now the buyers are getting their stuff in order. Eesh. But at least there are steps forward.

This weekend is Brad's last school weekend for the semester. He'll have a month off until the spring semester starts up... hooray! Have a lovely weekend, everyone!

Meow

After a long week dinner out is in order. Brad's cottage cheese came in the shape of a cat food can.

You know it's time for a weekend when...

..you teach the lesson you taught last week without realizing it. The students were too gracious to correct me, though many wondered afterward why we were having a review session of last week's homework. So they got a double-lesson today. Dur.

Underdressed, au naturale, and lots of fighting

It is official. It is cold here. We woke up to mid 30's this morning and actually turned the heat on yesterday. Yes, that is cold. And I keep thinking that I'm midwestern, so I only need a couple of layers to brave the cold while walking from car to class. Um, no. The wind (yes, there is a windchill this morning) cut right through my long-sleeved t-shirt and sweatshirt, and I shivered across campus. I forget that my midwestern blood bid me sayonara when the first Florida summer hit, and now my thin blood thinks I should be snuggled up in bed with an electric blanket. Underdressed indeed.

In other news, I've started a new hair-care regimen. I read about in a few blogs I read, and it intrigued me. Instead of using shampoo and conditioner (do you know what's in there? chemicals that are toxic and harmful! so they say) I'm using a baking soda solution for shampoo and an apple cider vinegar solution for conditioner. The benefits I've read about online are astounding-- no product buildup, more volume and life in my hair... sounds good to me! It's week one of this experiment, and so far, so good I think. Although Brad did ask if I was going to stop shaving my legs and armpits, since I'm getting all natural and hippy on him. (The answer was no.) The only downfall is that the apple cider vinegar solution, weak as it may be, stinks to high heaven and makes me gag from the smell. Not a great way to start the day. We shall see how this goes. At least it's super cheap!


Things have been ultra-hectic in the Bressler household lately. We're still happy campers, as evidenced above. Since I complain a lot, I thought I'd prove with a picture that we do smile sometimes. :) We've been keeping up with our neighborhood walks a few nights a week and have been meeting the neighborhood animals. The burrowing owls are back and fatter than ever (babies coming soon?), and we met a few cats around the corner. There are two healthy, friendly ones, Wendell and Gizmo, and then one we see around that is terribly mangy whom we affectionately call Mangy Kitty. Turns out the owner of the healthy kitties feeds the mangy kitty and calls him Big Head, since he does have a disproportionately large head... anyway, this has been a nice diversion from the crazy.

This semester Brad has two concurrent classes, which is a mistake made by his program but has been un-fixable. He is supposed to have one class for the first half of the semester, and then a second class for the second half. Well, no one told the professor of the first class he had only half a semester to cram everything in, so he planned for the whole semester. Weekly online postings, huge term paper, etc. The second class started up in late October, so Brad has been doing all the first class's regular stuff plus all the new stuff for the second class (readings, homework, test preparation). Nearly every spare moment that he's not at his regular job, Brad can be found researching for his paper, reading about forensic accounting, posting online, or doing homework questions. This has been a nutty month! The happy news is that after muuuuuch writing, many vacation days taken and spent working on his paper, Brad finished the 21 page draft last week. We spent some time this weekend editing and learning APA style, and Brad expects to turn it in by the end of the week. Much rejoicing is in order!

My tutor-coordinator job has been out of control as well. The end of October was the close of the first month of tutoring... and the first round of monthly paperwork turned in from our 30-some tutors. Since prior proper planning did not occur (though I tried, I was resisted), many teachers were not properly trained, and I have been cleaining up messes and putting out fires and doing data entry until my fingers bleed. Not really bleed, but until the battery on my computer runs out.

We will be happy when the holidays arrrive. Our university semester ends around December 11 and we will be glad to have a break from school.

Speaking of school, this past weekend we had a lovely date!


The university had a fundraiser night at the Everblades hockey game! Real pro hockey! That was a surprise as we thought we were going to a game of the school's club team. Driving into the huge arena we were in awe of all the cars... until we saw the marquee and realized it was a pro game. It was fun and replete with lots of fighting and an interesting first half-time show in which two people were put in hamster balls and raced down the ice. Oww.


This weekend Mom comes in town on Saturday night for a week (yay!!!) and then Sis arrives on Wednesday night right before Thanksgiving. Brad's birthday is on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, which we'll actually celebrate by eating seafood (chicken for me) and sitting out on the beach. Shelley works Thanksgiving in the ER which allows her to have Christmas off, so we'll have the family Thanksgiving and birthday celebration on Friday. Hooray for family time, for time to focus on the things for which we're grateful, and a break from chaos. Happy Thanksgiving!

So sad

It's terribly depressing around here, which is no surprise considering that Southwest Florida's economy has been built on the housing market for years. I just saw on the news that we're averaging about 2,500 foreclosures per month! In our county alone!!! Brad and I have been taking our neighborhood walks and counting how many vacant houses there are... and how many have their air conditioners stolen. It's so sad.

It's been bugging me...

Two things I forgot to mention when they happened: (these are posted with Shanel in mind, as I know she's due on Tuesday with baby #2 and could use a laugh):

1.) A few weeks ago I heard a little click-thud. Very little, not loud, barely perceptible except that in Florida any noises I did not myself make are cause for concern. And I was right. An inch-long roach fell out of our recessed can light onto the floor. Not even kidding.

2.) Last weekend we experienced something not unlike fireworks. In our garage. I went outside to run errands and in the middle of the garage floor was a big old wolf spider. I gasped and Brad came to my rescue. He stepped on it and just like fireworks, little bitty spiders spat out in all directions. We got out the spray and gave them all a good shower. But it was really gross.

Happy (?) Halloween.

We're not big participators in Halloween festivities other than scarfing down as many mini-Twix candy bars as we can find. This year we ramped it up a bit. A few weeks ago as we sorted through our itunes mess we found that Brad had a soundtrack of scary sounds. So to participate in our neighborhood festivities, Brad went big.


He pulled out his big bass amp, plugged in the ipod, and pretty much all of southwest Florida could hear the scary sounds. Titles like "Cats in Hell", "Stabs and Splats", and "Scary Dentist" reverberated throughout Lehigh, competing with the joyful sounds of the high school marching band at the football game down the street. After about, oh, ten minutes, I just couldn't take it any more. The Scary Dentist was pretty much the deal breaker; loud dentist drills with maniacal laughter (presumably by the dentist) and moans and screams (presumably from the patient) just didn't spell "restful evening" to me. But it was funny while it lasted, sort of. I felt all naughty doing it, too, since we never do anything Halloween-related.

A little later the kiddies came over, dressed as a kitty cat and a clone trooper or something. They came straight from the big harvest party at their church and snuggled with Brad and watched cartoons while Shelley and I caught up.


In other news, we're doing everything we can to increase our health these days, eating more healthily, walking regularly, and today started taking vitamins. I was told if we put the fish oil pills in the freezer and take them with food, we wouldn't get fish burps. Um, no. You know how I gag really easily, especially on my uncle's boat, when I smell fish? Yeah, I just lost my breakfast. Poor Brad hasn't lost his yet, but is wishing he could. No more fish oil for us. This has to be a practical joke put on by doctors. "Ingest fish oil? No, that won't be gross. You'll love it!" And the moment we walk out the door, the maniacal laughter begins.

I'm pretty sure it's alcoholic

Granted, it says SHC, for Signature Hot Chocolate. And there's a shot of hazelnut in there, too. But man, it tastes so decadent, so sinful, I'm pretty sure there are laws against drinking this stuff in the morning, especially on the job. Divine.

And to do his part to celebrate this first chilly morning (it's about 55 right now! yikes!) Brad indulged in a caramel apple cider. Which makes me think of Jenny since she introduced me to that lovely beverage. Until then I felt like an outsider at Starbucks since I'm not a coffee drinker. I wonder how Jenny and Rich and their 2.5 girls are doing.

Top Ten Reasons I Loved This Weekend

1.) Due to midterm-week, I didn't have to teach on Friday. Time to get caught up with second job stuff.

2.) Time to veg with Brad on Friday night, watching Kath & Kim, The Office, and SNL on VHS, taped from a busy Thursday night. While eating cake that Brad made for me, for my birthday. He made it. All by himself. And it was good.

3.) Sleeping in on Saturday morning, but waking up early enough to work on my current crafty project before Brad woke up.

4.) Garage-sale-ing with Brad, being adventurous and trying breakfast at Chick Fil A (better sausage than McDonald's, no surprise), driving in and out of rainstorms... all in the same neighborhood (very cool skies!).


5.) More time to work on crafty project for fun. And time to catch up and chat with my sister. Despite both having flexible schedules this semester, they never seem to match up and it's frustrating sometimes.

6.) Good conversations with Brad about hard-to-say things. We don't have many conflicts, thank God, but that makes it even more hard to talk about things when they come up. I'm so blessed to have a husband who talks and even more importantly, listens with both ears and open heart as well. What could have been a tough conversation was just so easy.

7.) Fun time celebrating my b-day with the family. We brought Pizza Mias from Pizza Hut (advertising works!). I wanted to try them, but you have to buy three to get them for $5 each. So we brought them to dinner, and they were good! (And I found out that you can buy them individually for about $7. Love a bargain.) Also featured Saturday night: oreo ice cream pie, homemade by Chris. Amazing. Skype-ing with the little girls and Beth and Rico in Michigan, so cute and fun to see them. And generous gifts-- gift cards for Target, plus the beginning of my Fiesta-ware collection in gorgeous red. So fun!

8.) A super-productive Sunday! For October and November my focus at my second job has shifted to data-entry big time. I got about 40 files entered today! Only 260-some to go!

9.) My husband's creativity blossoming! After a discussion about omelets with Chris last night (I don't know how to make them since I don't like eggs), Brad decided to experiment and make an omelet this morning! He chopped up some red pepper and added some sharp cheddar cheese. And he said it was good.


10.) A free haircut! I haven't had one since August and my ends were getting a bit split... and in the interest of schedule and finances, recruited who else, my dear husband to cut my hair! And he did a great job!

Maybe this post should be named Top Ten Reasons I Love My Multi-Talented Husband.

Friends don't let friends bake in Florida

There are corn muffins from the Jiffy box. Seriously. I blame the sea level. But I'm so puzzled. I couldn't have created sombrero-looking corn muffins if I had tried!

He got me!

Tuesday night was the final night of our Theo class at church, and we had a pot-luck party at a couple's house in Fort Myers. I brought, as requested, the apple dumplings from this site. It pains me to present these as a home-made item as the ingredients are apples, crescent rolls, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and Mountain Dew. It is embarrassingly caloric and far too easy to make to accept any praise. But they are go-od.

Brad had work to do on his school work so he stayed at home.

Or so I thought. While I was out, Sneaky Pete ran to the store, purchased a cake mix and eggs, came home and made me a CAKE! He even threw in some chocolate chips and a big scoop of peanut butter just for fun! But while it was baking he realized that frosting doesn't come in the box, so he had to dash back out and pick up frosting!

When I came home, the house smelled amazing, Brad had completed his reading for school, and we got to party a little. (No, Court, that's not a euphemism.)

Lighting the candles... (see the wall of boxes in the background?)


Four times eight = 32. Clever man. The birthday candles are packed, but the tealights are still out!


"How do I frost this?"


I am so very proud... and so full of cake. We nibbled on the cake pretty much all week, and also took it to family night on Saturday where it received high praise. I'm so proud of my sweet, adventurous, thoughtful man!

We also broke the rules and opened presents on Tuesday night. I received a darling box from my mother with stickers all over it-- very festive and appreciated, Mom! Inside were real! autumn! leaves! and a sweet Susan Branch calendar. And a check that will go toward some fun shoes, I'm pretty sure. I also opened Grandparents' card and check-- thank you both so much! My present from Brad was a necklace I've been wanting for a while--


My mother gave me the pearl, and I wanted it re-set and strung on a chain. We shopped around until we found a mom-and-pop place that would do it for less than $50-- much less, actually, and they were terribly accomodating and kind. So nice to find shops with a personal touch. (P.S. You can also sort of see my homemade haircut, too! I'm thrilled with it! Somehow I convinced Brad to try it on Sunday, and he did a wonderful job. Straight across the bottom, plus long layers! Impressive. I just noticed that it looks crooked in the picture, but I'm leaning. I promise it all lines up and doesn't look weird.)

Such a lovely birthday week I had.