The perfect gift for the OCD Weirdo.

Happy Birthday to Me! 

It is 1:00 a.m. on December 14, 2014.  I have been 44-years-old for 1 hour now.  I must say, this is starting out to be a great birthday.  No, seriously.  Right now, the house is quiet and I am dusting off my Simplicity Uber blog.  A quiet house and time to write truly brings joy to my soul.  

I owe this opportunity of tranquility to my husband, the Mr., of 25 years.  Over the weekend, he has given me an amazing gift.  He helped me "spring clean" our house. And? And, nothing! Helping me "spring clean" is an amazing gift for one simple reason: I have OCD.  Let me explain.  The type of OCD I have is "all-or-nothing."  I am also a fanatic about making lists. 

Anyway, if you know anything about OCD and the "all or nothing" affects it has on folks like me, then you will understand why his gift is so perfect.  Because he helped me spring clean, my laundry is done, my dishes are done, my kitchen counters are c-l-e-a-r (yes!!!), house is vacuumed, bathrooms are scrubbed... Because my house is in order, I feel free to be able to work on some projects that are noted on one of my many lists.  When things are out of order, particularly things in my visual field, it can be crippling at times.  For example, this spring cleaning all started a few days ago when I had expressed a desire to start walking around the neighborhood everyday for exercise.  The Mr said, then just do it.  Just do it?  Is he nuts?  I said, "hello, do you see my kitchen counters? There is just too much stuff in my kitchen and I need to clean it and get rid of some clutter."  There was quite an intense discussion about how "it is o.k. to walk away from disorganization and go focus entirely on another task."  He was not hearing me when I was explaining, "I want to go walk.  I need to go walk.  I would love to go walk, but I can't go walk until I have everything in order that is around me."  After much debate, I reluctantly agreed to walk away from the kitchen.  I put on my walking shoes, grabbed my earphones, a leash, one of the dogs and I was out the door.  Getting ready to go walk felt tense, but once I was outside breathing fresh air and enjoying a nice walk, my anxiety settled.  The walk was refreshing and felt so good.  The crisp Georgia air was perfect.  Buckley, one of our boxers, really enjoyed strutting his handsome self around the neighborhood. I have two boxers, but at nearly 100 lbs each, I took only one with me.  The other had his turn the following day.  When I walked back into the house and entered the kitchen, I froze. My counter tops were clear and the kitchen was sparkling clean. My first reaction was panic thinking "where's my stuff?"  But looking at clear counter tops also brought relief.  I find comfort when everything around me is clear and simple without clutter.  The Mr started a chain of events that would flow through the weekend; spring cleaning.  Now, my laundry is all caught up, my kitchen is clear without clutter, my bathrooms are scrubbed, almost everything is in its own place. Almost.  Without the visual distraction of things out of place, I feel free to tackle some projects on my lists; one of which is writing, so here I am.  

So, its my birthday and the Mr gave me the gift of an almost de-cluttered house.  The perfect gift for an OCD weirdo like me.  That Mr, he is a good egg.  Oh and did I mention that he gave me a vacuum cleaner for my birthday? A Dyson at that.  I love it.  Yep, he is definitely a good egg.  

It feels nice having my house in order on my birthday.  Now I can really enjoy my day.  I am really looking forward to my birthday dinner.  A small group of family and friends will be going to eat on the north side of Atlanta for Korean BBQ.  I am so exited.  I love Korean BBQ.

Happy birthday to me! Yum Yum.  

Meet Buckley and Wilson

I love dogs! I do.  They are full of soul.  They have a deep unconditional love for their human that I believe is just a glimpse of how our creator has unconditional love for us.  During our 24 years of marriage, we loved a medium size Sheltie with tons of fur for 9 years, a tiny short haired miniature dachshund for 13 years.  There were things about both the medium size dog and the tiny little guy that I loved, but finding myself in a home without a pup I was ready to venture new ground with the large lovable lap dog. 

We took a little time to do our research and explore just the right breed.  We made a day trip up to North Georgia to visit breeder/trainer Eric Winstead  of Absolute K-9 Services with his manly world class Belgian Malinois'.  Eric spent the morning with us patiently answering our questions, allowing us to cuddle with the tiny puppies, and gave a demonstration of the power behind these beautiful dogs.  The Belgian is a beauty and I loved watching how obedient he was when Eric gave each command.  Very impressive.  Because I had never owned any type of med/lg dog of this type before, I had so many questions.  I know my husband would love to spend time training and working with the pup but I was also looking for that lap dog that would love to cuddle and snuggle.  While I was very impressed with this beauty, I wasn't sure that the Belgian was exactly what I was looking for.  To tell you the truth, I think maybe it was too much dog for me to handle.  If you are interested in a manly working dog then you will enjoy checking out his website. 

http://www.absolutek-9services.com/Profile.html

After visiting with the top dog, the Belgian Malinois, I was able to define more of what I was looking for or what I could handle.  We wanted a large breed, a manly dog, something for protection, a lot of energy for sports activities such as ball or frisbee, a cuddler, and gentle and patient with children.  We definitely had to consider our 2 year old granddaughter when selecting this new family member.  After several discussions and more research we became interested in the masculine Boxer.  The boxer is high-spirited, energetic, affectionate, and good with children.  We messaged and spoke with several breeders.  We found a breeder in Macon, Ga.  She sent me pictures of the last two she had in her most recent (and last) litter.  When you pray about something, God has such a warm way of saying "this is your answer."  When I saw the picture, I knew.  I knew immediately that "this is the one."  I found my boy.  I chose one of the two.  But I couldn't stop thinking about that last boy in the litter.   Call me crazy, but I told my husband..."I think we have to have both."   And so we did.  I asked the breeder if I could have them both and she was delighted that they would stay together, as was I. 

My daughter, granddaughter and I made the trip to Macon on a beautiful Sunday in February of this year.  When she walked out of the barn with those two boys, I thought "oh my word they are huge."  And I instantly fell in love.  They looked so much alike that for awhile we had to use the markings on the crown of their head to tell them apart.  Buckley and Wilson are now 7 months old and, though they are a handful to say the least, they have blended into our crazy family beautifully.  

They may look alot alike, being brothers and all, but they have very different personalities. 

Meet Buckley:  Golden Fawn in color with "flashy" markings.  In boxer language, that simply means they are not solid in color and have markings all the way around from the chest to around the neck.   Buckley is the protector.  If he sees anyone walking through the neighborhood, the hair on his back stands up and he belts out deep loud barks.  He loves my husband and follows him around and even sits in his lap, which is a funny sight.  He is bold and almost has a defiance about his attitude.  He listens to me, but certainly lets me know he doesn't like me being in charge.  When he gets into something like putting paws up on the counter, I tell him no very sternly, and he will get down but does it as if in slow motion.  I'm thinking obedience training class may be in store for Mr. Buck very soon.  But don't let that fool you, he is so sweet and so patient with my granddaughter.  When she is here visiting, Buckley is the one that lets her literally lay on him.  He loves to chase her in the house or play tug with a rope.  She says "Buck love me," and he does.  He may be the protector of the yard, but he mellows out and becomes the babies playmate inside.  I have to watch him closely inside because Buck seems to enjoy eating "everything."  Toilet paper, napkins, rubber gloves... you name it / he will eat it.  If I see Buckley's jaws moving, I know it is time to pry jaws open and dig through those slobbery salivating jawls.  I can usually find something in the back of his throat he is attempting to swallow.  He has absolutely provided the manly dog syndrome we were looking for. Also, he is smart as a whip! He is always the first to learn a new trick.  We have cow bells on doorknobs.  Yes, when Buckley says it is time for he and his brother to go out, he rings the doorbell.  Highly intelligent, confident, leader, protector, gentle, loving, loyal...just a few words to describe this amazing animal.  He is my big boy and I love giving him scratches on his chest when he puts his paws on my knee and bows up.  King of the house, he thinks he is.  And I love him to pieces.

Meet Wilson:  Mohagony Fawn in color with "flashy" markings.  Wilson is the silly cuddler.  The wee baby. I can't imagine the thought of almost leaving him behind.  I see him as the baby, even though they came from the same litter, because Wilson cried all the way home in the car.  At night, he did not want to go in his crate so I had to rock him like a baby and cuddle with him before putting him in the crate with his brother.  After a little cuddle time he seemed to calm down.  He is a wiggle butt.  Boxer owners know what that means.  He doesn't give a flip about people walking through the neighborhood, but if Buckley is throwing out some warning barks, Wilson stands close by on alert and only joins in if it looks serious.  While his brother is in and out of the house constantly ringing the doorbell, Wilson never rings the bell and much prefers to be following the hem of my skirt.  He will go out several times a day but not as often as his brother.  He loves to play ball.  He will play ball anytime and all day if you are up to it.  He is also my present giver.  He constantly looks for shoes or other objects around the house to present to us while wiggling his behind ferociously.  "Look mama, I found your shoe that you just took off."  He is my silly boy.  With my granddaughter he takes on the opposite personality of Buckley with her.  Outside, he follows the baby around everywhere like he is hearding her and making sure she is staying out of trouble, where his brother could care less because he is busy protecting the yard.  Inside the house, Wilson doesn't want to be bothered where his brother mellows out and wants to play with the baby.  If my grand tries to lay on Wilson, Wilson kindly lets her know, I really don't want you to climb on me.  He gives her a very very gentle warning nudge.  Although Wilson is gentle, I still correct him so that he understands that he doesn't have a choice but to tolerate the baby.  But I also teach the grand that Wilson doesn't like it and for her to be gentle with him.  They both have to learn to live together.   Silly, loyal, gentle, high-spirited...are just a few words that I would use to describe my wee wee Wilson.  He is a big baby.  And I love him equally to pieces.

So these two guys have been bonding with us for the past six months and it has been a joy.  I will post more pictures and stories as they develop.

We have an even newer family member since Buckley and Wilson.  My daughter and her husband have rescued an adorable Beagle from the pound in Atlanta.  She is a doll baby at 3 years old.  And so far Ella the Beagle has been bonding well with my granddaughter and the family at their place.  I will also share some Beagle love with you guys as well. 

What a joy it is to care for an animal.  Such precious souls they are.  

Buckley and Wilson

People Watching

It is Tuesday afternoon and I am spread out with books, computer, and lunch in a comfy corner at school.  I have been studying here for several hours so I thought I would take a mental break and do something different.  I haven't given an update since last week which may be typical.  I enjoying writing, but given that my major falls under a science degree, I have to spend most of my spare time studying microorganisms, osmosis, diffusion, action potentials, axons, and such.  It is fascinating, studying the minute details that describe how the body functions on the smallest cell level, to the largest body system. Most of the basics learned in high school have been long forgotten and resting under a dusty lump in my brain, and new material is like learning a foreign language.  Once the fog is lifted and new and old material come together, understanding the functions of life is simply fascinating. 

It is not always easy getting the fog to lift.  Distractions are everywhere.  I am aware of my limitations and try to avoid studying in areas where there is constant traffic.  People watching can be just as fascinating as listening to my recording of Dr. Burnett's lecture on "Transduction, Generation, and Transmission."  People watching makes me think of my Sociology class last summer.  I wonder what were the circumstances in a person's life growing up that allows their brain to tell them that it is o.k. to wear the things they do in public, or the way they respond to strangers. 

I was at the store a few days ago waiting for assistance in capturing a beautiful fat belly fish that I wanted to take home and plop in my tank.  There was one customer ahead of me who appeared well dressed and reserved.  When the employee in charge of the pet department failed to show up, I flagged down another employee by the name of Phil.  Phil met us with a grin and said, "this is not my area so I may not be able to answer many questions about the fish, but if you know what you want I will be more than happy to bag them for you."  Now, Phil could have walked away and said he would get someone to come help us, but he chose to help so that we could get what we needed and get home.  The customer ahead of me was so rude to Phil.  I was taken back just listening in disbelief that a person could intentionally insult (numerous times) another person that they had just met.  What environment was this man raised in, or what events took place in his life that turned on a switch in his brain that says "it is o.k. to say things to other people that are insulting."   Have I ever insulting anyone, been rude, short, or irritated with anyone?  I have, but I can't recall doing so intentionally and never multiple times.  I am a sinner just like everyone else in this world.  But I hope and pray that if and when I am ever rude to anyone in the future, that I recognize it so that I can apologize.  The customer ahead of me spoke to Phil using language insinuating that Phil was "only a Wal-Mart employee."  The customer and Phil were both male, appeared to be the same age, and of the same race.  I looked at each to see how the customer and Phil were so different, and then it came to me...

Phil just continued to smile and ask the customer if he could be of further assistance after bagging his fish, and even informed the customer that a "free" fish jumped in his bag. At one point, Phil did say "this is not my only job" but even then he said it with a smile.  The truth is, Phil did not owe the customer an explanation.  It is not the title of our job that defines who we are.  It is what comes from our heart, what is spoken with our mouth..... Gal 5:22 (for those that like Bible verses) says "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness."   If you take this verse and apply it to life in general (not just Christians), it says that the fruit (how we act / speak) is evidence of who we are deep down inside.   People watching can be fascinating, and distracting, but it always tells a story.  I hope that my story that people read is one of compassion and kindness.  What does your story say to strangers?

August 11th and 12th

It is Sunday evening Aug 12th and I am reflecting back on a nice productive weekend.  Well, I say productive.  Maybe I should change that to the start of productivity.  We are currently getting a little relief from what was 100 degree weather a week or so ago and upper 90's following that.  First order of productivity involved cleaning and reorganizing the garage.  I should specify because we actually have two; one for cars and my storage and one for him.  They are both the same size, his maybe a bit larger, and yet I get the one where the cars are parked with less storage room.  His garage houses all the yard tools, lawn mowers, rakes, our kayaks, hunting and camping gear.  Now that I think about it, maybe I got the better end of the deal.  His garage may be larger but it is full of dirty stuff and lots of spiders.  Because we use my garage everyday with coming and going and having items on shelves for storage, it gets disorganized pretty quick.  I usually take time between semesters to gut it out, reorganize and throw away junk. So the weekend was not productive yet, it is still a job in progress.  Tomorrow it should be back to a nice neat organized happy room. When a room has everything in it's place, it is a happy room, which makes me happy.

Other productive tasks included getting my school calendar organized.  Yes I said school. I am a granny in college, so what's it to ya?  Anyway, the new semester begins this week.  Yay! I am such a nerd.  At the beginning of every semester, I always take the syllabus and schedule from all of my classes and merge the schedules into one calendar.  That way, I can look at one calendar and know what I need to study each day and what the focus in class will be in all my classes.  With "some" things, I tend to be somewhat of an over achiever.  That is a nice way to describe someone who has OCD tendencies and just doesn't know when to quit, lol.  So... I worked on my calendar this weekend which I thoroughly enjoyed (maybe too much).  It is an expression of creativity...creating my own calendar on the computer, making columns, changing the landscape, adding graphics which correlate with the season, changing out the font to my liking (curly and cute), highlighting where I have exams scheduled, printing, slicing with my paper cutter for perfect lines, and lining up the hole puncher. A creation that brings much satisfaction. Are you currently giving me a diagnosis?  Well, if only I could get paid for creating things like that.  Oh wait...yes...I did have a job doing just that.  A great job working for a CEO for about 5 years making very good money.  I enjoyed it, but I left and went to work elsewhere thinking the grass is greener on the other side.  It wasn't by a long shot, but what did happen is God was paving a path to where I am now, and I couldn't be happier. I will be even happier when I finish school so that I can start working as a nurse and helping people, and the Mr. will be even happier to have another paycheck coming in.  Almost there.  Sometimes it is hard to see the future, we doubt, we become afraid, we try to take things and make them work for what we think is the right plan; but talking to Him and asking for His guidance (you know, the big guy who knows your future already) definitely makes getting to the goal a much happier ride. 

The other productive thing we did this weekend involved rubbing down a couple of very large juicy butts and smoking all day.  What's that? ..... Bbq people! My word! Bbq!  As I mentioned before, I am all about finding a bargain.  I typically shop at Ingles for basic necessities.  Lately I have been shopping at a local fruit and veggie stand as well as the State Farmers Market.  Inside the Farmer's Market, they have a wide selection of fresh fruits and veggies as well as a market that carries dairy and meat products.  Long story short, the Boston Butts were a very good price, so I snatched up about $30.00 worth of pig yesterday, rubbed it down with Barry's secret bbq rub recipe which he has shared with only the dog and I, and the dog isn't talking.  For a price, I have a hard time keeping secrets.  So the butts got rubbed, wrapped, and refrigerated overnight.  My alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. to pull them out and to allow them to begin to come to a room temperature.  At that point, I was seriously thinking that this was a stupid idea.  It was my idea, I know, but my eyes don't focus at 4:00 a.m.  After my work was done, I went back to bed and the Mr. got up around 6 a.m. to get the smoker started.  The aroma of smoked oinker filled the air all day (exactly 10 1/2 hours for my folks that like it concrete).   While the pig smoked, I started the process of making what turned out to be a giant pot of Brunswick Stew.  I don't have a secret recipe for this, but I am very picky about how I like it.  I Googled a few recipes and decided to tweak several recipes to make my own.   Now that we have all this bbq and stew, I won't have to cook as much this week and I can put some in the freezer for another time. 

So Friday was a relaxing ME day where Saturday and Sunday was productive days so that I can have more of those relaxing ME days in the future.  I guess it is true, if you work hard, good things happen.  If you don't work, you don't eat.  All that bbqing and cleaning this weekend was alot of work, but now I get to enjoy the fruits of the labor.  Now if you will excuse me, I hear forks and spoons rattling in the kitchen.  That means it's time to eat.  

Have a wonderful night, and don't forget to talk to Him (you know who, we have already covered this).

Nighty night. 

August 10, 2012

 

Today turned out to be an unexpected ME day.   It is important to occasionally have a date with one's self.  I started out the day by sleeping in.  I have a set of new sheets on the bed which feel ahhh-mazing.  Before leaving my comfy heaven of pillows and blanky, I had a call from a wonderful girlfriend, Cyndi who I love with all my heart.  Then after a lazy morning, I hit the streets.  My travels took me to Dunkin Donuts where I had intended to purchase one donut and a coffee for the road.  It was an impulse purchase that required me to make a sudden u-turn after the DD sign caught my eye as I passed by.  The impulse purchase got even worse as I left the store with a dozen assorted yummy fattening donuts.  I figured I would take some home to share with the fam.  Wasn't that sweet of me?  After leaving the donut store with an eminent sugar rush and a little shame, I headed to a local nail salon.  A fresh set of french manicured nails and painfully sculptured eyebrows always makes one feel pretty.  After leaving the nail salon, I made another impulse decision.  I decided on a whim to check out the local thrift stores.  No harm in that, right?  I am not addicted to shopping.  I am addicted to the thrill of the hunt for an awesome bargain.  The difference is, I don't buy a lot, but I enjoy the hunt.  It was a good decision.  I landed a brand new pair of very cute Bass wedge shoes in my size for only $5.00.  Heck yeah! I also purchased a handful of books (novels that caught my eye) which were tax free due to the tax free weekend.  A $12.00 total spend and I think I got an awesome bargain.  After a few hours of feeling pretty with freshly manicured nails and throbbing eyebrows (thanks to Kim from Vietnam who smiled as she ripped the waxy strip from my forehead), I traded the thrift store digging for a somewhat higher class of clientele; Wal-Mart.  Why? Why is it so easy to spend $100 in a flash at WM? One can go in intending to purchase a pack of gum and come out with a buggy full of nonsense.  Fortunately I was armed with a list so I was able to stay somewhat in control.  I purchased a few things for dinner, a lamp for Brian's room ($7), light bulbs (geez Louise, they are expensive),  laundry stain remover, and ink for the printer (a whopping $43 for 3 cartridges!!).  I don't know about you, but who ever is behind the mixing and packaging of printer ink is a big fat thief.  Or maybe I'm just jealous because I didn't think of it first.  $43.00 for ink! Aye karomba!

Well, I left Wal-Mart and headed home to finish off my ME day with a little bit of nothing except hanging out with the family and eating a BLT for dinner using fresh tomatoes from our garden.  All in all, it was an unexpected, relaxing, no rush, do whatever I want....ME day.