Thursday, January 2, 2014

Rapid Recap

Welcome, 2014!
 
In a way, I can't believe 2013 is over. It sometimes felt like it would last f-o-r-e-v-e-r... and then sometimes it felt like time was slipping right through my fingers. It was a year of growth. A hard year. A good year. I'm a little sorry to see it go; on the other hand, I'm pretty excited about what 2014 will bring me!
 
So, before we move on to making memories in this new year, it's time for a quick recap! Ready? :)
 
My Favorite Posts & Pictures
 
Tickets to see Les Miserable with Maggie made a fun date (if terrifying drive!)
January - "Full"
 
We saw several double rainbows from Abby's front porch this year - always special!
 
 
I purchased my 27-foot Jayco trailer in March and spent the next eight weeks remodeling it before taking the plunge and becoming a full-time RVer
 
March - "New Digs" & "On New Life"
 
In April, my BFF walked down the aisle to become a Mrs!
 
 
Maggie and I took the twins on their first roller coasters this spring :)
 
May - "In Memoriam"
 
Our VBS drama this year may have been the best yet; the chain mail that Sam (second from the left) is wearing was handmade and the links would reach over 1/2 mile if laid out!
 
 
Abby was as happy that I got pets as I was!
 
 
Abigail started Kindergarten this fall - a painful experience for both of us LOL!
 
 
I spent a lot of time being tired this year lol
 
September - "On Not Being Alone"
 
My crochet skills really got honed this year as I paid my heating bill by selling handmade crocheted items at local craft fairs. I also made the hat I'm wearing!
 
 
Crisy and I enjoyed a whirlwind trip to Alabama this fall and hit the scenic overlook just as the sun was coming up!
 
 
My and my Z-girls, ready for Christmas!
 
December - "Loves of Lately"
 
 
My Favorite Status Updates
 
January
 (19) Today in Lowes an old lady ran up to me and wished me "Happy New Year!" I had the sudden irrational thought that, since my year so far has not been a good one, maybe she was fairy godmother who had come to magically "reboot" it...
 
(2) Abby saw a nature special over the holidays about Venus Fly Traps, and this morning she was telling me, in graphic detail, all about how they eat insects. When she started to mention seals being eaten, I gently pointed out that Venus Fly Traps cannot eat seals. Abby looked at me like I was crazy and replied, ''Sarah, we're talking about KILLER WHALES now. Try to pay attention...''
 
February
 
(21) I was working on a story, thought the word "gruff," and instead wrote "grough."  ???  It's times like these that I wonder - did I REALLY study English in college?!
 
(24) On the road again! (We passed a sign that I swore was advertising a forklift museum, but it ended up being a folklife sign in need of repainting.)
 
(27) Abby laid down for her nap; a few minutes later I heard her talking on the baby monitor so I turned it up to listen. Turns out she was praying. She thanked God that Lilly was feeling better, that she got to have fun at school, that it wasn't raining anymore, for her mommy and daddy, and asked Him to keep her mommy and daddy safe, to watch over her kitty, to keep her dog from running away, to help her be a good friend to Lilly, and to help her be good and make mommy and daddy happy. These are the moments wherein I am amazed that this is my life...
 
March
(4) Awkward: going to see a potential trailor, walking into the back bedroom, and finding it plastered in "objectionable pictures". Somehow, I feel that deserved more of a warning than "needs new wallpaper."
 
(7) (Abigail, ''reading'' the Christmas story)
Joseph: Mary, you can not have Baby Jesus in a STABLE! There are ANIMALS all around!
Mary: I know, Joseph, but Jesus MADE all the animals... so... I think it will be okay.
 
(15) ... and the words, repeating over and over again; this loop is all I've ever known.
Suddenly, from afar off I hear a different tune, and a Voice whispers, "Come, child, here's a new song..."
 
(20) Dear God -
THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU for creating sunshine.
Of all the ways your grace is manifested in my life, this might be my favorite! :)
 
(26) This time of year I'm pretty sure it's actually possible to get drunk on the heady perfume of daffodils and hyacinths.

April
(5) Chicken-fried steak for breakfast. Only when I'm down South.
 
(6) "That makes me laugh. In a stressed-out, sleep-deprived, slightly hysterical kinda way." ;)
 
(8) I just wrote a long, angsty ranty status about why I'm so ticked off at certain people right now, then took the higher road and didn't post it.
 
(11) Sooo... I had to redye my hair, and since the last couple of times it's turned out a bit lighter I decided to go one shade darker. First mistake..
I may also have bought the cheap hairdye figuring how different could it be? Second mistake.
Suffice to say, while I've always admired Abby from NCIS, I've NEVER coveted her haircolor.
Cue late-night drive to get new (expensive) box of hairdye...
 
(13) It's probably part nostalgia, part spring fever, but I REALLY want to make a midnight run for a "Moons Over My Hammy" sandwich at Dennys.
 
(24) In the fifteen minutes that Abby and I have been at the park, I have been crawled on by two caterpillars, a spider, and a beetle of some kind. O.o
 
(25) Three years as a nanny, and you know what? I'm rarely as angered by the behavior of children as much as by the behavior of their caretakers. >:(
 
(29) Legendarium. Excellent word of the day.
 
(30) Ruth wandered into my room, saw "Journey To The Center of The Earth," and excitedly exclaimed, "This is a REAL book? I thought it was just a movie!" *sigh*

May
(5) Dear man sitting by himself at Cracker Barrel, enjoying a leisurely breakfast while reading Faust:
I love you. You epitomize all that is right in the world. :)
 
(6) The bright side to a 4yo who thinks that ketchup goes on anything: when the plate tilts and the strawberries slide into the ketchup, she doesn't really care.
 
(7) In an alternate reality, Rebekah Patterson and I have an apartment together, and are spending this dreary, rainy, glecky day watching a Back To The Future marathon and eating mac-n-cheese. :)
 
(8) When my seedlings got too big for their peat pods, I moved them to larger pots. At the time, they were still too small (for my admittedly amateur eye) to see any differences between them, but now that they've grown a bit one of them is clearly different. The problem is, is doesn't look like ANY of my other seedlings. I strongly suspect I've been lavishing my care and attention on a weed. O.o
 
(9) I woke in the middle of the night to hear thumping downstairs. As I'm turning on the light and contemplating investigating myself versus waking my dad, I knock my tablet off the nightstand, which wakes my father. I relay the thumping, and he goes downstairs to investigate. When he doesn't return, I get worried and go after him. Turns out he got hungry investigating and decided to fix something to eat. I get a glass of water. He hands me another glass of water and asks me to take it to my mom on my way up. I go to do this and frighten my mom, who thought I was a burglar, come to burgle clutching two glasses of water.
We're thinking the original bump in the night was our neighbor's cat on the front porch.
  I am going back to bed now...

(17) So... Aerosol sunscreen melts nail polish. True story.

(21) Coaxing a four year old to eat dinner is sort of like I imagine putting mittens on a set of octopus triplets feels like. :)

(22) Abby's cousin Lilly is spending the afternoon with us; I realized I had "arrived" as a nanny when I caught myself digging around in the box of dinosaur nuggets for a brontosaurus, so that the girls' plates would be exactly. identical.

(24) I'm having bok choy and brussell sprouts for dinner. Apparently today is "eat foods starting with B" day.

(30) Abigail is so sad whenever a sock loses its "friend" in the wash. Oh, the heartache of being an empathetic child... ;)

 June
(3) Summertime: a time when snakes masquerade as sticks, and sticks masquerade as snakes. O.O
 
(4) The upside to living in St. Mary's County? Chatting with the friendly cashier at the grocery store. The downside? Skinned frog's legs in the deli case. Hmm. :/
 
(5) Oh, don't worry, person-who-almost-hit-me, I totally get it. Attempting to back into a parking space WHILE ON YOUR CELLQHONE is legit hard.
Sheesh...
 
(5) As we were cleaning up from dinner tonight, my mother sadly commented that the salad had been the worst thing she'd ever made. Some of my younger siblings assured her that was not true... then proceeded to recount all the things she's made that were much, much worse. Fail, guys. EPIC fail.
 
(12) Can't decide what I want more - a double espresso or a Red Bull. Maybe both? (What's the emoticon for reallyreallyreally tired?)
 
(12) Went to turn my propane on and found a wasp's nest on my tank. Dad was all excited to show me how to kill them. Silly men. (I'm watching from the window)
 
(12) When playing Hearts using Star Wars cards, you just HAVE to hum the Imperial March ominously when you dump the queen of spades on someone.
 
(17) Stuck in traffic, in someone else's vehicle that THEY didn't fill with gas, with a peanut gallery criticizing in the backyard. I'm going to kill someone. :/
 
(19) My bank just sent me an alert, informing me that they will no longer allow transactions of amounts greater than $100,000, and that in the future, I will have to split my transactions into multiple transactions of $99,000 or less.
Oh, to have such problems...
 
(20) "Sarah, I have to tell you the WORSTEST THING EVER - I have a HOLE IN MY SOCK!!!" - Abby  :)
 
(22) When you have bread, but no toaster... Pancake mix but no syrup... Milk but no cereal... You have strawberry yogurt for breakfast. :)
 
(24) It's hot and sticky and about to be violently stormy outside... but inside, it's cool and dry and I'm about to make pad thai for dinner. :)
 
(25) My 12 year old sister, Ruth, pointing to the 20-something goalie at Maggie and Liz's soccer game: "Isn't he HOT?"
Me (shocked and disturbed): ''WHAT?!''
Ruth: ''The goalie. He's wearing sweatpants AND a jersey AND a goalkeeper jersey. Won't he get hot?''
Me (relieved): ''OH! Oh. Oooh. Um... Maybe?''
 
(28) The trampoline is literally steaming in the rain. That's how hot it is. I'm moving to Antarctica.
 
(30) What an awesome, fun, fulfilling, crazy-busy week. I'm glad it happened. I'm equally glad it's OVER! I need a nap.
 
July
(5) Dear guys - whatever happened to ma'am? THAT is the proper way to address a female you don't know. Not lady, girlie, honey, sweetie, etc.
 
(8) Dear God:
I really wish you'd just have decided to keep my radiator intact for awhile, but if you HAD to let it die, it WAS pretty funny, making the replacement radiator cost EXACTLY as much as I had in my checking account. #eyeroll
 
(12) So, I'm now the proud "mommy" to two ADORABLE rat babies. Zhiva's a little shy and not quite sure about this whole "pet" business - she executed a clever bit of acrobatery when I tried to hold her earlier (although she didn't try to bite me, which encouraged me). And Zinnia is my adventure girl - she's happily snuggled with me, Maggie, Liz, Ruth, and Allen (who proclaimed that there's no such thing as a cute rat, then spent the next hour snuggling and cooing to her ;))
 
(15) Rats do not like being held when the holder has the hiccups. True story.
 
(18) Oh, summer! I know we have an on again, off again relationship, but today. you. rock.
 
(18) "[A thing is] only impossible until it's not." - Jean-Luc Picard
 
(19) I pulled up to a stop sign behind an SUV being driven by a teenager barely old enough to drive. Traffic on the road ahead of us was heavy with no break in sight, so, figuring we'd be waiting awhile, I twisted in my seat to reach something on the other side of the cabin. As I did, I accidentally bumped the horn with my elbow, and before I had a chance to react, the kid lunged forward into traffic, narrowly missing (and being missed by) cars before finally, safely, merging into traffic. I. FEEL. SO. BAD.
 
(19) Me: Oh, Maggie, I have money for you.
Maggie: (Excitedly) Oh! ... Oh. (Sadly) I thought you said you had a bunny for me.
 
(21) I'm watching Star Trek TNG, and Picard stops the transporter mid-way to have a private talk with Dr. Fletcher. Wonder if the NCIS writers are trekkies...
 
(23) Watching Star Trek TNG, listening to my girls play on their new wheel, and cooking turkey tenderloin and saffron rice (using the new spice mix my BFF gave me for my birthday :)). Earlier, I put in about a gazillion applications for different positions. Already got back several optimistic replies. When I think of all the various possible directions my life might take in the next six weeks, my head spins... and I'm glad I rest in the arms of Someone with whom there is no shadow of turning.
 
(28) Maggie came over for afternoon playtime with the girls. WZinnia ran around like a crazy rat, played tag and tug-of-war, and climbed al over her. Zhiva snuggled in her lap and gave a "manicure" to the hand that wasn't playing with Zinnia. When playtime was over, Zhiva went back in inside their cage with no fuss, while Zinnia stood on her hind legs and "scolded" Maggie for putting her back. This pretty much sums up my girls - I've got a snuggler and a spitfire. them both!
 
(30) For Bean, per our recent conversation : Abby is getting dressed and we're talking and everything is fine... until suddenly, Abby - fully dressed - throws herself down on the floor sobbing. I scoop her up, extremely concerned, and ask, "What's wrong? Did you get hurt? ARE YOU OKAY?!" To which she hysterically cries, "MY LEGGINGS. ARE. TOO. SMALL."
It's not just you.
And Chris... I'm banning leggings.
 
(30) Potential employers call as I'm fixing dinner and my hands are full of raw turkey. I frantically rush to rinse off my fingers, fumble to turn my music down, and reach for my phone. Except, in doing so, I knock it off the table, so it bounces from table to bench to chair before the battery pops out, disconnecting us. These people are NEVER going to hire me! #epicfail #facepalm
 
August
(2) That awkward moment when you're done showering and you reach for a towel, only to remember that you did a massive load of laundry today, including all the towels... and haven't run it through the dryer yet. (This is only eclipsed by the realization that all your clean underwear is in there, too.) #awkward #hmmnowwhat?
 
(3) I'm so sick of hearing "Happy, happy, happy"... Can you say "Stupid, stupid, stupid"?
 
(5) The weather today is glorious - cool and breezy and sunny and vaguely autumnal. I would be perfectly happy if we had an early arriving, long lasting Fall.
 
(7) Lately I have become altogether too chummy with my snooze button...
 
(7) Me: I love you!
Abigail: I KNOW. Cuz you tell me OVER and OVER and OVER and I get TIRED OF HEARING IT!
  You know what kiddo? I'm perfectly ok with that.
 
(10) Or COURSE I didn't rent Certain Prey JUST because Mark Harmon was in it. I did it for the... original storyline... and... stellar storytelling... *guilty look*
 
(12) About halfway through a mega-deep-clean of my place... I'm hungry and I want to stop for dinner, but cooking is impossible until I move my cleaning supplies off the table and counter. But at that point it seems a waste to put them away only to get them out again later, so... I guess I should finish cleaning.
 
(16) Quote of the night: "Why are people always naked when they fall into a cactus?"
 
(18) The girls have gotten into my DVDs and are having the absolute time of their lives cracking open each case and removing the disks inside. I think they think they're the biggest nuts they've ever seen. I'd stop them but I'm having way too much fun watching.
 
(24) I NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me" show. Except for the fact that when I listen to it while driving, I almost have an accident cuz I'm laughing. so hard.
 
(27) A faint but persistent rainbow
  stretches its arc across the sky
  and I marvel
at how both rain and sunshine
are required
to create this phenomenon of beauty.
An apt reminder.
 
September
(2) When I tried to get into the pool area tonight, I discovered all the doors were locked. I went around to the front desk and explained that I was one of the swim instructors, and the guy said no problem, he'd give me a temp key. He then handed me a board about 2 feet by 6 inches with an embedded access chip. Apparently key means something different than I thought...
 
(9) Last night I had a dream that there was a rift in the time-space continuum and Zhivas and Zinnias from parallel universes kept showing up. Knowing how sad I'D be if MY Z-girls slipped through a space-time continuum rift, I was doing my best to round them all up so they could be returned to their respective me's, while also trying to track down a theoretical astrophysicist to fix the rift and send the girls back home. I woke up feeling exhausted; time to take a break from scifi shows.
 
(25) This morning, Abby tried to recruit me into a complicated scheme involving me kidnapping her from school, spending the day together, and then returning her just before the closing bell so mommy and daddy would be none the wiser. The sad part is, I ALMOST agreed.
 
October
(3) I was about to post about how amazing and awesome thrift-shopping is. Then I got to the checkout, and they refused to sell me the pair of goblets I was so excited over, because they only sell them in sets of 4, and they insisted that SOMEWHERE in the store there were 2 more (even though I'm positive that if there were, I would have found them - I loved them!). To say I was peeved would be a major understatement.
 
(4) Dear Zinnia -
You know I love you DEARLY, and I really don't mind that you like to run around under/behind the TV (because, unlike your sister Zhiva, all I have to do to get you to come out is shake a bag of Cheerios )... but if you continue to amuse yourself by unplugging all the connections between my TV and DVD player, just watch how fast that will change. This is your last warning, ma'am.
 
(15) Is Zinnia perfectly capable of carrying a whole saltine cracker back to her house? Of course. Is it tons more fun to break the cracker into a dozen pieces and watch her try to carry them all at once? Oh my gosh, YES! (Think that scene in Cinderella where Gus-gus is trying to carry the corn. Except 100 times funnier.)
 
November
(3) I was going to post something I was thankful for each day in November, but in between traveling I've missed the first two days! It occurs to me however, that I could have posted the same thing these past two days and it would be just as true: I am so, so grateful for the 'created family' that God has given me, those special people whose lives at one point became tangled with mine, and who decided to leave them that way. Our friendship has become a sort of web, drawing in others and holding us all secure.. Family isn't just a blood thing - sometimes it's a soul thing, too, and I'm thankful to be a part of this one.
 
(12) A minute ago, a bunch of snowflakes started falling. But then I freaked out and they all ran away, so it's all good again.
 
(12) Long, long, long day. I came home to be informed by my brother (on his way out the driveway) that Mom had fallen and was lying on the basement floor, unable to get up. (Lest anyone think Allen is completely insensitive, Mom INSISTED that Allen take Ruth to her doctor's appointment (for a rash... only my mother O.o)). Long story short... one ambulance ride, three hours in the ER, and a splint later, Mom has only one broken arm (not two, as we originally thought!) and is home now, resting more or less comfortably. What a day.
 
(14) I don't usually post about politics, but here'S the thing: the more everyone on both sides talk, the more Ayn Rand-ian they sound... and there's no John Galt in sight. #whoisjohngalt
 
(16) Although I'm practically comatose with exhaustion tonight, I'm keenly aware of God's gifts of grace in my life. Maybe especially so, when my attitude and behavior have not been particularly worthy of merit lately. Truly, I am His child. — feeling loved.
 
(23) I bought candy canes to crochet covers for as gifts, and then somehow... I ate them.
 
(24) On especially chilly nights, I contemplate how absurd it is that my sleeping compartment is the coolest place in my trailer because I'm ridiculously worried that two small rats might get cold...
 
(25) Struggling tonight. My heart wants to protest, to say "This is not enough." He gently responds, "It IS. My grace is sufficient." The problem with being human isn't that God doesn't send the manna, but that we so quickly tire of angel's food. — feeling defeated.
 
December
(4) Took Mom shopping today (her arms are still healing from her fall) and as we walked into BJ's, Bing Crosby's "I've Got Plenty To Be Thankful For" began playing over the sound system. Such an upbeat song and one I REALLY needed to hear today, a day when I'm feeling a bit unthankful. Thanks, Bing.
 
(11) Update on my Whovian conversion: So far I've seen about a dozen episodes, all featuring David Tenant (the eleventh doctor?) and I can't imagine liking a different doctor more. Of the two companions I've seen, Rose and Donna, I ADORE Donna! So far my fav episode is the one with the adipose babies.
 
(18) I'm too busy loving the ones who love me to worry about the ones who don't.
 
(21) People. I have a smartphone.
Thus armed, I might just take over the world...
 
(21) I'm at a job; in the interview, my client specifically showed me the twin trashcans and said one was for trash, the other recycleables. So I go to throw something out tonight: one has a paper napkin, a plastic wrapper, and shreds.of what might be cucumber. The other has a tin can, a glass bottle, and a loaf of moldy bread. Help me out here, folks - WHICH ONE IS RECYCLEABLES?!
 
(27) It's been an incredibly busy and full holiday season, and PLEASE don't think I haven't enjoyed every activity, gathering, and ministry... but my soul is craving some downtime. I've been blessed to have been able to book child-care jobs for various clients almost every day for the last couple of weeks, but today is my last workday of the week - small sigh of relief; I'm EXHAUSTED - then I'm making a conscious effort to make the next week a time of spiritual, physical, and mental rest. — feeling EXHAUSTED.


 
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