There Are No Words.....

I jokingly call my pets my children, but I know that it is not the same. So I don’t write this post from the perspective of a mother who will get off work and go spend time with her children. I won’t pretend to know what it is like to carry and give birth to a child, or to have that special bond that people talk about, because I have not experienced that in my life yet. Therefore, I really do not know what the parents of Connecticut are feeling today.

 I can only imagine….and I pray that I never have to experience the hell they are going through right now.

Friday was a busy work-day for me. I didn’t have the chance to go online and check the news or to check Facebook. It was one in the afternoon before I heard what had happened….and at that time the word was that only one adult and one child had died. The rumors were many and spread like wildfire…..the shooter had a child of his own in the school…..there were multiple shooters…..the shooter was dead….the shooter had been arrested…..twelve children had died…..the shooter had a mother that worked in the school…..sixteen children had died…..an entire class was unaccounted for….

Twenty children.

Six adults.

With Christmas just one week away, I’m sure that gifts had already been bought, wrapped, and placed under the tree. I can’t imagine what that must feel like……to stare at your Christmas tree with all of those presents and want so bad for your child to be there to open them on Christmas morning….only to have to go to your child’s funeral today instead.

I can’t imagine running to a fire station….hoping with every fiber of your being that your child is waiting for you there…..only to read your child’s name on a list and later have to identify their body.

I can’t imagine returning to an empty house, or having to explain to your other children why they can’t play with their brother or sister anymore.

I can’t imagine the grief. The pain. The anger. The chaos. The reporters everywhere wanting a statement….the phone calls from concerned neighbors and extended family members. All the while wondering how in the world a twenty year old man could walk into a school and murder an entire classroom of innocent children along with several staff members.

What happened on Friday was terrible. A special kind of evil visited that school on Friday morning. Our nation has been rocked by a tragedy.

This morning, Fox News had little to say about the victims, but a lot to say about the shooter. Was he mentally ill? Where did he get the weapons? What was his home life like? Should guns be illegal? Politicians are arguing over our right to bear arms. The United Nations thinks we are too liberal with our gun rights. Texas thinks the teachers should be allowed to carry weapons. Gun sales spiked on Friday afternoon and Saturday.

Not that this stuff isn’t important, but I really hope that in the midst of all of this, the American people remember those suffering families. I hope that we take the time to grieve with them. To support them. To pray for them. To remember their loss…long after the reporters have left and the attention is moved to another world crisis.

Sunday morning, our little church did what we Christians are called to do: we wept with those who are weeping. It was a somber worship service, as our Pastor took the stage and talked about what happened on Friday morning. We sang songs as the Holy Spirit led us to. We cried together. We prayed over the families that are so lost in their grief right now. We prayed over the pastors who are trying to lead funeral services and make house calls. We prayed for the service men and women who responded on that day and saw haunting images that will stick in their minds for the rest of their lives.

This is why we are here…..to be God’s hands and feet. To lift one another up in prayer, and to comfort those who are in need. I hope that as we move forward with our individual lives, that we take some time to pray for others as well. As Christmas quickly approaches, followed by New Years, the “fiscal cliff”, and tax season….I hope that we don’t forget the lives that were lost on Friday. I hope that we remember to pray for our nation…..that our country would turn back to God…..that we never have to experience this again…….that the families are comforted as birthdays pass by uncelebrated and holidays pass by with empty seats at the table.

In the midst of this tragedy, we can give thanks that we have a healing Father. A Father who loves us and wants the best for us. A Father who mourns with us in times like this. A Father who is just and wise and directs our path. And we can certainly give thanks that if we call ourselves His, we will see these precious children once more….alive and well.

Lysa Terkeurst wrote a very moving article on how to pray for the families here.

Roo from NiceGirlNotes lives just a few towns away from Newtown. She wrote a very touching article and included links at the end for those who would like to financially support the victims’ families here.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.”   ~Romans 12:15

We Like Cats Too

I write about our dog, Duke, a lot. But I rarely write about our two cats, Ralph and Lauren. Get it? Ralph Lauren? Yea, I know....kinda lame in a cute way.

We *ahem* acquired Ralph just one month after we got married. We actually had seen him around our neighborhood while we were moving in and thought he was just like all the other strays. I jokingly named him Ralph because when he meowed that's what it sounded like he was saying. Roman didn't want me naming him because that meant I might want to keep him. One month later, he was living in our house and sleeping on our pillows. Note taken: you really shouldn't name stray animals.....you wind up getting attached.

Ralph is a big cat....not big as in fat, big as in really tall and long. He also thinks he is a mountain cat and can jump onto my shoulder from a sitting position. And oh yea, he hates Duke with every fiber of his being. Duke finds this amusing and tries his hardest to find new ways to "connect" with this stubborn kitty....which only deepens Ralph's hatred.

But Lauren is totally different.....in every way. She was dumped on my parent's property when she was still a kitten. I think her brain got deprived of nutrients because....well, she's not very cat like. Example: she tries hard to jump on the counter tops. Sometimes she makes it.....other times she just kind of...doesn't. Her problem is, she has the body of a full sized cat, but her legs are still the length of a kitten's. Which means she stinks at jumping and when she runs I always giggle a little bit. I admit that is sort of mean.....but then you've never seen her run. Trust me, it's funny.

Saturday night though, she made a successful jump onto the counter and ate an entire square of Hershey's milk chocolate. Me, being the panicky person that I am, immediately searched Google. You should never do that. Because Googling stuff like that just gives you all sorts or irrational fears. Apparently chocolate is not only bad for dogs, but is also really bad for cats as well. If she had eaten too much of it, it could apparently give her a heart attack or stroke. Or she could start violently throwing up and die of dehydration. Awesome. But the article didn't say how much was too much.....so of course I was freaking out all night long wondering if she would die or not.

She didn't die. She didn't even throw up. Stupid cat. Note taken: Google doesn't have all the answers. And one square of chocolate will not kill your cat. Although it is still toxic, so you shouldn't just give it to them for dessert. Not that i would ever volunteer my chocolate to my pets. I love them....but i love chocolate too. There are some things i just won't share. Ahem.

Oh and one more fun fact about my pet children....Ralph is an escape artist. So if you ever come to my house, I will demand that you enter the door quickly lest he escape. And if you ever see me creeping around my own front yard with a container of cat food, it's because the $($(#*-&" cat got out again. Maybe I should just feed him a bunch of chocolate so I won't have to worry about it anymore.

KIDDING PETA. I would never waste chocolate like that.

.....oh yea, I would never poison my cat-child either.

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among people with whom He is pleased!" ~Luke 2:14

Christmas 2012

Note: I wrote this the Monday after Thanksgiving and then forgot to post it. Oops.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, me, Roman and Duke drove out to the Christmas tree farm. Usually we don’t get a tree until after December 1st, but this year we decided to go on and get ours a little bit early. (Here’s hoping we remember to water it and it makes it to Christmas day….note: since I wrote this, we have forgotten to water the tree several times. Needless to say, it is looking quite droopy.....) Last year we went just two weeks after we adopted our precious Dukey-face from the pound. It was his first major outing…other than to the vet. This year, he was much bigger….but still the cutest dog I’ve ever seen.

I had absolutely no intentions of fully decorating my house after church that night, but once we started decorating the tree, things just got a little out of hand. Suddenly it was two in the morning, my house had been Christma-fied, we had put up two baskets of clean clothes, vacuumed the house, and done a load of dishes in the dishwasher. 

Was I exhausted? Absolutely. Was I late to work the next day? You betcha. But was I super excited to go home that afternoon to a fully clean and decorated house? Dang right I was!

Anyways, I really am trying to make a much larger effort to be thankful this holiday season. Because most years I am one of those who go around grumbling “do I REALLY have to listen to Jingle Bells one million and five times again this year??!!??” And normally once you get to Thanksgiving, life turns into a whirlwind of decorating, gift-buying, giving, receiving, eating, more eating, singing Jingle Bells and just general craziness. Suddenly, you blink and you find yourself watching the ball drop in New York City on television and telling everyone Happy New Year.  And then you continue to write 2012 on all of your checks for the next month because there is just no way it’s 2013 already.

This year, I’m trying to make a conscious effort to take things a little more slow and actually enjoy Christmas this year. I know right? Novel idea.

Yes, I went shopping on Black Friday. But I didn’t charge a whole bunch of stuff to my credit card or stand in a line for ten hours just to buy a TV. I had an enjoyable time with my mom holding up funny dresses in Belk’s and teasing some of America’s latest fashion trends. And she bought me new clothes, which was an added plus. (YAY!!) And we also didn’t go shopping until after 7:30 in the morning, so most of the crazies had cleared out. Shablam.

My point is, it makes no sense for us to be running around yelling and screaming JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON, if we are spending all of our time worrying about whose house we’re going to go to for Christmas dinner this year and piling up huge amounts of debt just to try and give the “perfect” gifts.  Yes we will still “do” Christmas this year with all of the eating and gift-giving and all that, but my main focus is going to be gratefulness instead of stress.

This year, I’m opting out of all the craziness. In one night I cleaned my whole house and I put out all of my Christmas decorations. But you know what? I enjoyed every minute of it. I set up my multiple nativity scenes around the house and paused to contemplate the birth of Jesus each time I pulled one of them out of its box. And I walked around the house thanking God that He had so much mercy to send His Son to our broken little world to hang on a cross for us. I thanked God that He gave me such a beautiful house to put a Christmas tree in and to live my life in.

I don’t know about you guys, but I have a whole lot to be thankful for.

I married the best man I could ever dream of. He loves me and takes care of me. He is faithful to me. He is a man of God that truly desires to see our family run after His heart.

My Dad turned 65 years old two days after thanksgiving. I’m thankful for the time I’ve had with him and I’m thankful that he is still a healthy man that dearly loves his children and his wife.

My nephew and his wife have orders to return to Georgia this December. I get to see my nephew after three years, and I finally get to meet his wife for the first time. After two tours overseas, this is truly exciting for me and my family to see his face again…..alive and well and home in time for Christmas.

I have a wonderful job that more than provides for Roman and me. I love working here. I love the people I work with here. I love knowing that what I do makes a difference. And Roman has a wonderful job as well that he truly enjoys and gives us the flexibility to do the things we enjoy. Most families in America cannot say that they enjoy their jobs…..or that both adults are even gainfully employed. So we are beyond blessed with our jobs.

My little brother hit a deer on Thanksgiving morning. But he is totally okay. Hallelujah.

My house is amazing. My dishwasher is still the coolest thing since sliced bread. The fact that the heater works and I can take a hot shower for over an hour if I want to is the second coolest thing since sliced bread.

Roman and I get to do ministry in the best church in the universe with the best people in the universe. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. I seriously love our church and our Pastor and the leadership team there. I can’t imagine where we would be in life if it weren’t for our church, but I can assure you we wouldn’t be who we are today.

We have great friends. Great family. A great dog. And two stupid cats that try to escape every time we open the dang-blasted door, but we still love them too. 

There are probably a zillion and five other things that I could list off, but you people probably don’t want to read them all, so I won’t. But more than anything, I’m thankful for my God. Because if it weren’t for Him, I wouldn’t have any of this. He blesses me and Roman more than we can handle sometimes, and in the year of 2012 we have definitely been hit with some for-real blessings. From job promotions, to a new house, to going on an amazing cruise, to physical healings, to graduating college….God has really pulled off some big stuff for us this year. We don’t deserve for Him to heap so much goodness on our heads, but for some reason He just really enjoys making us say “WOW”.

And so over the next few weeks, I’m making a big, huge effort to say thanks. Because that’s the best I have to offer Him in return for all He has done for us this year…my feeble offering of “Thank You.” I’m sure that everyone reading this has some big things to be thankful for as well. Maybe 2012 hasn’t been such a great year for you….but you know what? You’ve at least got the Internet to be reading this post, which means you have electricity, which means you have a roof over your head, so there are three things right there that you can be thankful for. Unless you’re a homeless person using the free Internet in the library just so you can read my blog. Which is quite doubtful. And slightly disturbing. #creeper

Seriously folks, as America hustles and bustles and swipes their credit cards and argues over whether we should say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”, let us make it our first priority to pause and give thanks. Because Jesus truly is the reason for the season. He did so much for us 2,000 years ago, and He still works on our behalf today. I hope we can all put on an attitude of thankfulness this holiday season…because God so deserves for His people to give Him thanks.

“Wish that I was there, on that silent night, when Your tiny heart started beating for mine. I wish I could’ve seen, the star in David's town, when You turned a stable into Holy ground. I sing along, the angel’s song:

Noel, Noel, Jesus is alive. Emanuel, hope is here tonight. So go, and tell, the world that death has died. 'Cause Jesus is alive. Yea, Jesus is alive.

The God who made us all, with these two little hands, is bringing us His kingdom, quiet as a lamb. Oh such Amazing Grace! A divine conspiracy, this Savior in a manger changes everything, that's why we sing:

Noel, Noel, Jesus is alive. Emanuel, hope is here tonight. So go, and tell, the world that death has died. 'Cause Jesus is alive. Yea, Jesus is alive.

Sin you have no sting. Hell you have no power. Curse you are no more. This is your final hour. Because the Son of God has not left us alone; He'll live and die and rise again, and then He'll bring us home. The old will pass away, and we will become new. This baby Boy is making all sad things untrue.”      
~Jesus is Alive by Josh Wilson

“And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”         ~Matthew 1:21

The Awkward Moment When....

Everyone who has a Facebook has probably seen some of those “the awkward moment when….” statements. Some of them are funny, like “The awkward moment when your chair makes a farting noise and you can’t make the noise again to prove you didn’t fart” or “The awkward moment when you predict the end of the world and nothing happens”. Others of them are lame like, “The awkward moment when I couldn’t come up with something awkward to say” or “The awkward moment when you log onto Facebook and you have no new notifications”. Lame. *womp womp*

In the spirit of giving into peer pressure, I have two of my own for you. Unfortunately, these are from real life experiences….also, both events happened today, actually within ten minutes of each other….

The awkward moment when you reach for the door handle and miss….so you run straight into the door.

The awkward moment when you are fixing your hair in the bathroom and someone walks out of the stall, looks in the mirror, and says, “**&*%^&$&(*(*!! My &*^% boobs are too big for this dress! *(*&-$@@*!!!!!”

First of all, for all of those concerned, my face is fine. And THANK THE GOOD LORD no one saw me. Except for God. And I’m pretty sure He had a good laugh. I know I did.

Second of all, what in the world am I supposed to say to that? I thought of some possible replies….

“Maybe you shouldn’t have gotten a boob job” (am I allowed to say this??!?)

“Darn those genetics!” (I guess this is better than assuming she got a boob job)

“It’s really not that bad….” (kindof a creepy/stalker thing to say because, you know, I’d have to look at her boobs to say it)

“Do you not know how to try on clothes before you purchase them?” (sarcastic, but true)

“Lucky you, I never have that problem!!” (um….TMI?)

“Maybe you had a recent growth spurt?...” (just dumb. This was an old-ish woman….so it would have been dumb if I said it. Thankfully I didn’t say it.)

“Oh my! Did the dress shrink or something?” (probably the best response (??), but super fake concern would have been expressed)

I could tell I was expected to say something though, as she continued to make weird noises, throw out some more profanity, and tug and pull on her dress in a weird, rough way. Thankfully, just as she became more agitated and I felt like I had no choice but to comment on this woman’s boob dilemma (who I have never met, by the way) someone else walked in. Someone else that boob-lady knew. Soon afterwards I made my escape, but I feel 99% certain that the expression of boob-overflow continued. Probably with more tugging and cussing.

All I know is, I’m grateful to have made it out of the bathroom without having to comment on a stranger’s boob issue. And I also remembered to grab the door handle prior to walking into the door when I returned to my office. An added plus, no doubt.

And if you would like another chuckle, head over to The Life With The Casterlines’ Facebook page (or don’t, I’m not the boss of you). Short run down: After the door and the bathroom incident, I went to a staff meeting….where a manager called someone else an Information Monster. Which was weird….but also kind of funny. Thankfully I covered up my grin with my hand and managed not to laugh out loud. You people probably don’t think it’s funny….guess you had to be there. Anyways, if you want to see it, click here: The Information Monster

The awkward moment when someone calls someone else an Information Monster in a meeting…and you decide to draw it and post it to your Facebook.   ….Oh wait, that’s not awkward. Lame. *womp womp*

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”. ~Proverbs 17:22

Something To Get Excited About!!

Today I am super duper excited to tell all of my married readers about a book I've been reading....

31 Days to Great Sex is an ebook written by Sheila Gregoire. Sheila has a passion for healthy sex within marriages. Check out what she has to say about the book below:

"Last year I published The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex, and leading up to its release I wrote the 29 Days to Great Sex in February as a blog series. That was so successful, and garnered me tens of thousands of new readers. And so I've finally put it in an ebook, thoroughly rewritten for couples rather than just for women.
Here's why I'm passionate about sex (if you're allowed to say that): God created sex to unite us on three levels--physical, spiritual, and emotional. When we feel truly intimate on those three levels, our marriages soar. And that's when we're able to impact our churches and communities for Him.
But if we're not connecting in our marriages, we lose out on a great strength that God gave us in this life. And we threaten our families and our children's future.
The church doesn't like to talk about sex, and so we leave it to our culture. And our culture has turned it into something perverse and disgusting. I'm not willing to stand for that anymore. I think the church needs to step up and fight back and start redeeming sex.
And that's what this ebook does. It takes couples through exercises about improving their communication, their friendship, their outlook on sex, and yes, even the mechanics of sex, so that their marriage can rock!"

I totally agree with Sheila's statement: the church mostly does not like to address the subject of sex. We tend to keep silent on something so "personal" and this has resulted in Christian couples getting their view of what a healthy sex life should look like from our culture. And our culture definitely does not reflect sex in the way that God created it. 

I remember earlier this year when one of my friends pulled me off to the side about a week before her wedding. "How often do you and Roman have sex??", she asked. "I just want to know what normal is, and you guys seem to have a good marriage." She and her future husband had already gone through pre-marital counseling with the pastor of their church, but he did not even address sex at all in any of their sessions. She had a ton of questions, and didn't know who to turn to for answers. 

This should not be so! We need to stand up as Christians and start living a life of passion with our spouse like God created us to. And we should be encouraging and teaching newlyweds how to live that life as well. Can you imagine how different things would be in our churches and our families if we stopped letting our culture tell us what marriage and passion should look like?

So if you are married and feel like intimacy is lacking with your spouse, you have a negative outlook on sex, or would just like to improve on something that is already great, I encourage you to check out 31 Days to Great Sex. No matter how lacking or how wonderful your physical relationship is with your spouse, this book is for you! After all, what do you have to lose? 

I also encourage you to check out Sheila's blog: To Love Honor and Vacuum. I have religiously checked her blog every morning for over a year now, and her insight has made such a huge impact on me and Roman's marriage. ;)

I have two links over on the right side of my blog:

If you click the cover photo for 31 Days to Great Sex, it will take you to Sheila's site so you can purchase the book. You can download it in your eReader or as a .pdf file. Now wouldn't that make an interesting Christmas present for you and your spouse? ;)

I also have a link to Sheila's blog. Just click "To Love Honor and Vacuum" and it will take you to her blog where you can read all sorts of marriage and parenting advice. (I also have links to all of the other blogs I follow....some are marriage related, and others are not.)

Get a copy of 31 Days to Great Sex today and start reconnecting with your spouse in a way that would make honeymooners jealous! ;)

"Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine. Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the young women love you! Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers." ~Song of Solomon 1:2-4

PS: For the folks in the back, I am an affiliate through the 31 Days to Great Sex affiliate program. This post is to promote the book, but the opinions written are all mine.

Puppy Love

Around this time exactly one year ago today, Roman and I were at the Humane Society to adopt a puppy. We found “Jabo” online and thought he was about the cutest puppy in the whole entire world. After calling the humane society and them telling us “yes, we still have him…but you’re the third person who’s called to ask about him today”, Roman waited for me in the parking lot until I got off work and then we drove way faster than what is legally permitted, prepared to get in a fight over a cute puppy.

Thankfully, “Jabo” was still there and we were the only ones in the shelter…so no fights ensued following our arrival. They brought him out into the lobby for us to see him, and our hearts immediately melted. They told us we could take him outside for a walk if we wanted to. Just as soon as we got outside, he got so excited that he plopped down onto his belly and scooted around using his back legs while his stubby tail wagged as fast as it could. Roman looked at me and said “yup, I want him.” And I quickly responded, “yup….he’s ours.”

Just twenty minutes later we had filled out the paperwork, paid the $80, gotten the shots and jumped in the car with our new family member. Cue the endless amount of pictures we’ve taken since then. Haha.

Jabo got renamed Duke, and then Duke acquired ten zillion nicknames….Dukey-face….Dukey-butt….waggy face….waggy butt….silly puppy….all of which he responds to. I also wrote him a song. I can’t sing it to you because, you know, this is just a blog post and not a web conference, but it goes like this:

I HAS A PUPPY DOG AND HIS NAME IS DUKE. AND HIS NAME IS DUKE. AND HIS NAME IS DUKE. I HAS A PUPPY DOG AND HIS NAME IS DUKE. AND HIS NAME IS DUUUUUUUUKE. HIS NAME IS DUUUUKE. HIS NAME IS DUUUUKE. HIS NAME IS DUKEY-DUKEY-DUKEY-DUKEY-DUKE.

I put that in all caps because it is required that you yell that song as loud as possible while scratching his butt. And no, that was not a joke. Every time I start to sing that song to him, he picks up a toy and runs to me, shoves his body between my legs and stands there while I scratch the top of his tail. Then he goes running through the house like a crazy person, ahem….dog. And it’s only truly effective if I sing it. If Roman sings it, Duke just looks around for me because he knows that it’s our song. And Roman just doesn’t get excited enough when he sings it. You have to be really super excited….

Yes, I am one of those crazy people who loves her dog way beyond what psychologists would probably accept as “normal”. Although I don’t dress him up and he doesn’t have his own room, so maybe I’m not THAT bad. (Right? RIGHT??!!!??)

Anyways….when he was exactly three months old, we adopted Duke. He has eaten at least eight pillows since then and still chases Ralph down the hallway every single day. He likes to chew on empty plastic bottles and is strong enough to pull your arm out of socket while playing tug-of-war. I know this because he’s almost done it to me…thankfully I let go in time. He’s my running buddy, he hates it when me and Roman hug, and he steals the covers off of me every. stinking. night. He goes with us to church and pretty much anywhere else he can. Shoot….if they let us we probably would have taken him on our cruise this past May. (And yes, I did cry when we left him to go on the cruise, in case you were wondering.) He loves to chase flies (or any living creature, for that matter) and can’t stand it when we play any sort of musical instrument. And he loves every type of “people” food in the whole entire universe….unless there’s a pill wrapped up inside. Then he hates all food. Then we shove the pill down his throat and he gets mad at us. So we give him some of our food as an apology. Ahem.  

Today marks exactly one year that Roman and I took home a “shelter puppy”. He was the best $80 we’ve ever spent. I truly believe God sent that dog to be a part of me and Roman’s lives…..to bring a smile to our faces when we’re in the middle of an argument…..to be a comfort when we’re feeling down…..to have a friend with unconditional love that will never betray you (although he will eat your cookie if you’re not looking).

I could continue my love-fest of my dog….but I’m pretty sure you people get the point by now. But if you’re thinking of getting a pet, I greatly encourage you to consider adopting from a local shelter. It’s much cheaper than buying a pure-bred animal, and I promise you that “mixed breeds” certainly don’t decrease the amount of affection you get in return.

Okay….I’m going home now. I miss my dog. And he wants me to sing to him.

“God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.”                      ~Genesis 1:25

Beware the Mop Eating Alligator

I have been sick all week. Like really sick. And with not even a full day’s sick leave, that means I have had to go to work this week as well….while sick. Hopefully my coworkers don’t think I look this bad all the time, but since no one has said “dang girl, you look like you don’t feel good” that means one of two things: 1) I am awesome at make-up and should quit my day job and become a make-up artist. Seriously, if I can make myself look un-sick when I feel this bad, then I’ve got some potential. Right??!?? 2) I need to step up my game in the make-myself-look-presentable-for-work department. Because if I look as bad as I feel right now, and no one is taking notice, then does that mean I always look this bad??? ……yowzers. So if anyone wants to volunteer to buy me some new outfits and give me a make-over, I’d be 100% okay with it. And apparently my co-workers would be totally cool with it as well….

In other news….. I really hate alligators. They scare the bejeezers out of me. I think out of all of God’s creation, I am most afraid of alligators. Pretty sure. Last night I dreamed about an alligator in my house trying to eat me and my dog. It all started when I was trying to build a barricade in my house, because suddenly my living room had turned into a swamp and the laundry room/guest bathroom/ guest bedroom  area had turned into an ocean. So I felt like building a wall out of a mop, some suitcases, a chair, and some old purses was the right thing to do to protect me and Duke from this new burst of wildlife. No idea where Roman was. Or Ralph. Or Lauren. Suddenly, a huge alligator came up out of the swamp and bit off the mop part of my mop.

Dude. I needed that to clean. What were you thinking?

Then he started burrowing under the chair and totally made it past my awesome barricade in about 2.7 seconds. At first he just sat there sniffing Duke, while I stood in the sink and freaked out. Then he headed towards me! I started screaming for Dad but he couldn’t hear me because he was scuba diving in my house-ocean, looking for a giant octopus.

Then I woke up. The end.

Thankfully my living room was not a swamp when I opened my bedroom door, there was not a crazy mop-eating alligator in my kitchen and my dad was not in the guest bedroom scuba diving for a monster octopus.

I wish I could tell you that my dream was a result of the antibiotics I’m taking right now, or extreme mental and physical exhaustion, or that I watched a wildlife show last night, but that is unfortunately not the case. That dream is actually normal compared to some other things my sleeping self has come up with.

Also, me and Roman may be buying a new couch tomorrow. At the very least, we are going on a couch hunting expedition. Which is totally not the same thing as hunting for an octopus…but equally as exciting and much less dangerous.

Would it be lame to end this post with “See ya later alligators!” Yes? Good. Some days I strive to be as lame as humanly possible. Ask Roman, he can verify this claim. Anyways……see ya later alligators! Shablam.

“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.”                                                                                   ~Proverbs 29:18