Bath Time

This afternoon when we got back, I gave Elvira a much-needed bath. After our lunch and candy shopping spree, we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few items we needed for the week. We also picked up some dog treats (for the encouragement of potty-training), a collar and leash, a puppy tote, and some dog shampoo.

The bath did not go as well here as it did previously at home. At home, our older bathtub provides higher tub walls that make it more difficult for Elvira to jump out while bathing her. Here - not the case. As soon as I poured water on her she was halfway out of the tub. Jeff had to come hold her down while I finished shampooing her, otherwise me and the entire bathroom were going to get a bath as well.

Respite

Jeff, Elvira and I are on the first day of a much-needed vacation. I was trying to think of a word to describe exactly what this is that we needed: respite.

res·pite

a delay or cessation for a time, esp. of anything distressing or trying; an interval of relief

Over the past few months, our life has become increasingly busy, stressful and busy. (Did I mention busy?) There isn't a day that goes by that we don't have something to do, or somewhere to be. Even though most everything we do is positive in nature, it can become very tiring. So, when Jeff's spring break came around and my parents condo in the Smoky's was open, we hit the streets and got out of town for a few days.

As of yet we have no plans for the week. I can't think of the last time we woke up and didn't have a clue what the day had in store. Even the days that started out with a clean slate didn't end up that way - something always comes up. We're enjoying doing absolutely nothing. Jeff is winding down quite well, and it makes me happy to see him relax. I think it's taking me longer to unwind - but I'm trying :)

Today we decided to get in the car and just see where it took us. We ate lunch at a restaurant called the "Sagebrush." It's sort of like a Texas Roadhouse. Jeff ejoyed a giant serving of banana pudding for dessert. After that, we headed into the small town of Valle Crucis, which is home to the original "Mast General Store" and a wonderful store called the "Candy Barrel." The "Mast General Store" is your typical small town, original general store. The "Candy Barrel" however, is what I think heaven will be like ;) It's a room full of old-fashioned candy, the stuff I remember from when I was a kid.

We filled up a bag - everything from candy cigarettes, Cow Tales, and Cry Babies to Pop Rocks.

And we, of course, had a sampling of our purchases in the car! Don't worry...there is plenty left for Zeke and Yana.

Photobucket

I hate it.

I uploaded photos to it that I want as my blog header and it says they aren't there. Whatever.

Potty Training and Stomach Flu

So...here is an update on the past two days.

Wednesday morning I woke up nauseous. I wasn't sure why (and no it's not what the general public out there is thinking...) so I got in the shower, brushed my teeth and then puked. Good times.

I went back upstairs and sat for about 15 minutes trying to decided if I really should go to work or not. I decided that I would not, called my boss and laid back down. Jeff laughed about the fact that I sounded not sick at all. Whatever.

He left for school at 10 and that began the madness. I was sick at my stomach all day. Nothing stayed down and what did came out in not so fun ways. The few oyster crackers and ginger ale that I ate for lunch came up all over the bathroom. I finally decided to call the doctor who told me to take Imodium and sent me phenegren. I was knocked out for the next hours or so, and today I'm feeling better. Although, I feel like I've run a marathon every time I climb a flight of stairs.

On top of it all, Elvira does not want to be potty trained. She pees everywhere BUT the potty pad, and when you put her on it she lays down for a nap. If anyone had any suggestions on how this could work better, please let me know!

That's all I have for today - check back later!

Elvira

On Monday night, the McCarty household gained a new family member - Elvira.

Elvira is an Imperial Shih Tzu (tiny toy). She is from Campbellsville, KY, and has 3 siblings. Jeff attends nursing school with a girl who knew someone (who knows someone, who knows someone - you get the point) that had a litter and she was trying to get rid of the last one. She mentioned something to him, and after looking at pictures of them online I was sold.

Elvira was originally supposed to be "Violet." But, when I saw her she just didn't look like a "Violet." She is mostly black with some brindle running through her fur. Brindle a bronze-brown color. She has a white stripe running from her chest all the way down her stomach. On the way home, Jeff suggested Elvira and I knew that was the right name for her. She is definetely a daddy's girl.

No, she doesn't drink Diet Coke.

Humor

Man gets probation for threatening to blow up city with TV controller

CANBERRA, Australia - A drunken man's threat to blow up half a city with his television remote control forced Australian police to declare a state of emergency at a luxury golf resort, a local court heard Thursday.

"One push of the button will blow up half of Brisbane," Fryatt shouted in the standoff last May before police in the Queensland state capital opened fire with rubber bullets.

Stay Tuned...

For the past two or three days, I've been sorting through my digital picture catalog.

Here is your warning: if you are currently friends with me, have ever been friends with me, or have even on some occasion hung out with me sometime since December 2004 - you're about to become a victim.

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting various pcitures from the past 3 1/2 years or so. I realized that I've got some good stuff, and it's time to share it with the world...

It's okay. Don't be skeered :)

Humor

GOVERNMENT HEALTH WARNING

Don't swallow gum.

Humor

Artist plans to unveil controversial Barbaro statue near Central Park

January 24, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) -- An art gallery wants to unveil a memorial depicting fallen Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro near Central Park this spring, close to where a carriage horse died after it was spooked by a street musician's drum and ran into a tree.

Humor

Arachibutyrophobia, is a fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth.

Meet Baby Harrison

After four boys, Heather has FINALLY had a girl. Check her out on my AWESOME wedding photographer's blog here.

Humor

After finding this hilarious video, I've decided to start a section of my blog called "Humor." We all love it. We all need it. Here it is. Enjoy :)

Reworking

Incase you haven't noticed, I'm reworking the layout of my blog a little. I got bored with it.

For those of you who frequent The McQuirky's - the neighbors driveway is FULL of cars. However, there do not appear to be any in the yard.

Later...

The weather outside is frightful...

It's snowing outside.

I'm bored.

This makes me laugh.

Therefore...it's on my blog. Enjoy.

Do You Believe in Magic?

I love, love, LOVE the Magic Eraser. I had to let it be known. It is the ONLY thing I have found so far that has gotten rid of the hard water stains in my bathroom. It doesn't take much for me to be exicted.

Just a daily rambling...

A blog...

"...is a website where entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

"...blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs."

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For 15 years now, people all over the world have been blogging. It may not have been on Blogger. It may not have even been on any popular website dedicated to bloggers and their ramblings. Point being - it's out there and the last time I checked there were no rules.

Many of you probably don't realize, as I didn't, that the modern blog actually dates back to 1994. Those folks used a sort of online diary or personal websites to keep a daily log, personal observations or rantings, etc. It wasn't until around 10 years later that we would begin to see sites like these, dedicated to blogging. And here I sit.

Recently, Jeff stumbled upon a blog entry by a former colleague of his. Many of you know him. Many of you don't. (Either way - this is my rant.) To continue on with the rest of my blog, you'll want to take note of the two following links, in order.

Entry 1

Entry 2

If there is anything I've learned in the past year or so, it's that you can't hold people accountable. People will be people. People who do not want to be held accountable won't be. We as a people, as humans and as a society want justice. We want people to pay for their wrongdoings. We want them to be accountable. BUT, it isn't our job to hold them accountable - it's God's, and He will.

It seems the responder wants the writer in Entry 1 to be accountable. Why? Because the writer in Entry 1 wants someone else to be accountable. You see the vicious cycle.

I will repeat myself: For 15 years now, people all over the world have been blogging. It may not have been on Blogger. It may not have even been on any popular website dedicated to bloggers and their ramblings. Point being - it's out there and the last time I checked there were no rules.

If the blogosphere is going to continue to be a place where we can express our thoughts and opinions regardless of anyone else's opinon about them, we cannot (and should not) waste our time trying to hold them accountable or convince others that they are wrong. Seeing as how anonymous followed the food chain of power in order to make his issues known and obviously had the door slammed in his face, it is only right that he be allowed to publicly express his thoughts. Ask the employee who has expressed his opinion in the "biblical manner" and has then been suspended from his job; ask the person who makes a few flip statements about an institution that he is a part of and then finds himself looking for a new place in life - tell me again that you think "going public" is always the best thing as opposed to just getting something off your chest.

Go Elf Yourself

If you get bored, you may want to check out my husband's blog. You may notice something different - he's been blogging :) You'll also notice that he's become addicted to the Elf Yourself application on the Office Max website. Try it for yourself - it's highly entertaining.

Samantha Fiona

Meet Samantha Fiona Alster

Samantha is around 10 years old. My family got her from our vet's office when she was about 5 years old. "Catsy" (you understand the name change) belonged to an older lady who had to be put on a walker. She was afraid the she would hurt "Catsy" and also worried that she wouldn't be able to properly take care of her. So...they asked us if we wanted her. She was completely house trained, never bites or scratches. She enjoys cuddling just about anything - cardboard boxes, tennis shoes, warm dryers, floor steamers, purses, suitcases - even a fresh basket of clean laundry. Often times, Sam was the only "person" in my household that I got along with. I will miss her.

Random

This morning I woke up about 4am. Now, Jeff will tell you it was because he got up to go to the bathroom. I am sure, however, that it was because at 4am, my non-touch-sensitive-have-to-flip-the-switch-manually-lamp turned itself on.

Decide for yourself.

Reflection

For the past few years of the OCC trip, our group has traveled about an hour and a half away to Jackson, Alabama to visit Keith Warren's family and attend his home church. Jeff and I had tossed around the idea last year of attending First Baptist Atlanta where Charles Stanley pastors. After checking online, we found that he was not going to be preaching that weekend. Before leaving this year, we checked again and found that he would in fact be preaching this past weekend, and we saw a good opportunity.


After seeing Shannon, Katrina, Cynthia and Jeanette off Sunday morning, we left for First Baptist, which was about a 15 minute drive from our hotel. As we sat in the sanctuary waiting for the service to begin, we were greeted by a deacon who had lived in Louisville, KY for a number of years. He talked to us until the service began promptly at 10:45 am. Even though we were disappointed to find out that Dr. Stanley would not be preaching due to a sudden ankle injury we were both very blessed by the service we attended.


One of the associate pastors at First Baptist spoke in Dr. Stanley's place. While he went a little long (which Jeff will tell you irritates me) he gave a very good sermon - one that I felt like I needed to hear. The baisc point was this: all of us live in constant limbo between fear and trust in God. In Ephesians 1, Paul tells us that God has adopted us, redeemed us, offered salvation and lavishly poured out many spiritual blessings on us. Why then, would it not seem like the easy thing for us to put all of our trust in Him?


God has blessed me in many ways over the past year. I have a wonderful family, good friends and most of all He has given me a wonderful husband and two beautiful stepkids. Jeff loves me more than anyone could ever love me, and I know that love grows everyday. However, with the many blessings I have received over the past year have also come times of trial. As we listened to the message, I couldn't help but think about all of the times I have feared a situation instead of trusting God - and all of the times in the future that I will have the same dilemma.


Over the past year, Jeff and I have faced many trials. Although we have so many things to be thankful for and so many blessings, we still have a lot to face ahead. There are some tough things in life that are never going to go away. But we also have to remember that God has given us many, many things to be thankful for. We are always going to face tough things in life - sometimes God places hard things and hard people in our life to teach us, or to help us grow. He has a plan for us, and He never leaves us.


I don't know what God has ahead for us, or what any of the outcomes will be. All I know is that life is not perfect and never will be - all I can do is trust God to get me through those times.