Pages

Monday, November 25, 2013

"Gobble Gobble Flush"

"Gobble Gobble Flush", says the Turkey Toilet.

Turkey Toilet.
My newest Thanksgiving decoration.
My most visited bathroom.
My new thankful place.

Catalogs...lots of them are filling my mailbox. They go right from the mailbox to the trash. As I was throwing away a pile of them, one dropped and opened to something I had never seen before. A Thanksgiving toilet seat and tank set cover. That had my attention.

For $12.95 it is packed with Thanksgiving features.  The seat is covered in pilgrim clothes and the tank front has a big smiling turkey face. There is a Kleenex dispenser built into the black pilgrim hat on the tank. Cute. But that's not all...when you lift the lid it gobbles. Yes.....you heard me right... the battery operated sound effect goes off each time the lid is raised or lowered. Really.

This Turkey Toilet really says, "Gobble Gobble Flush!"

Seriously...who really buys this stuff?
I did.
My powder room got a Thanksgiving makeover. 
The reactions to this newest decoration have been priceless.



My intentions were really to have it for my nephew and niece when they visited. 

Lincoln and Emma. 

They are 5 and 3 years old...this would be a fun surprise for them. 

They did totally enjoy it. 


Emma went to the bathroom every 10 minutes. 
Great for potty training! 

Lincoln got a kick out of raising the lid just a little and closing it fast making it start and stop. Each time it half gobbled he laughed louder. 

I am not sure if that is teaching him to close the lid or leave it up??! oh well...


But...I forgot to tell my family about this new bathroom addition.

I received this text from Kristen, "Thanks mom for scaring me with the toilet!" 

Lynn's comment, "Why can't we live in a normal house?"

Cassidy, "Mom you paid for that?"

My sister Steph said her office had seen this in a catalog and got a big laugh over it. She was thrilled to experience it in person.

My mom... I heard her chuckling in the bathroom. I wonder why?

Our cats come flying out of the bathroom after setting off the gobbles by trying to drink out of the toilet but finding the lid down.

Eric just grinned BIG.

We had our small group over last night and I had forgotten about the turkey toilet until an older woman whispered in my ear, "I love your Turkey Toilet."  Big Smile!

Best part is you always know when someone in the bathroom. We all grin when the gobbles go off!
I never thought a toilet could bring so much joy :-). Each time I go into that bathroom it now reminds me to be thankful for the simple things and the people God has blessed me with to share in those simple joys.
What simple thing will you be thankful for that has brought you joy today? 
"The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me."  
Psalm 16:6
Thanks for following my blog. Each one of your comments are great gifts to me. Keep them coming. Sign up above for a free subscription to my blog and get an email each time I post. Your email is only used for my posts. 

Monday, November 18, 2013

"A shot in the arm..."

"A shot in the arm...," says Sugar.

Sugar.
My once very unwanted pet.
My 7 year old fluffy puffy Ragdoll cat.
My BFF (Best Fluffy Feline).

Sugar aka: Fluffy, Puffy, Precious, Sweetie, Friendly, Fluffa, Fluf-e-Nuf, Nuffy, Shooggie-Booggie, Boog, Shug...need I go on? She is definitely a rag-DOLL. But not so much when she arrived at our house 7 years ago.

Sugar was a surprise birthday gift to me from my family. I did not want her. at. all. We already had 2 cats and a dog (plus many past rabbits and hamsters). They also all came to our house in the same way...I did not choose to have them...any of them...my family chose them. They always got the best of the deal...they got the pet...I got the poop!

They knew I would never agree to another pet. So...by making Sugar a birthday gift to me they thought I would keep her. I vaguely remember doing this pet gifting to my father with a kitten named Goober. What goes around had come around this time...back to me :-).

I made it known...for weeks...that I did not want to keep this little pooping ball of fur. I would not pet her, hold her, feed her or even look at her. I asked for the gift receipt...I was taking her back! Kristen begged me early on to just hold her once. just once. She knew that would be all it would take to get me to want/keep this kitty. I refused to hold her and I was informed that she was 'not returnable'. Sugar was staying whether I wanted her or not. My family was informed by me that I would no longer be the zoo keeper. They were now in charge of feeding and cleaning up after THEIR pets. I was not buying food, feeding pets or scooping poop anymore! The animals were all theirs-not mine.

Sugar didn't seem to care about all that drama. She followed me everywhere hoping for that one first pat on the head. She patiently waited and waited and waited and waited. She pursued me 24/7... even in the bathroom. Where ever I was - she was.

One day her baby blue eyes caught mine...and...I did it.
It happened.

When no one was around...I petted her. The little unwanted fluffball crawled onto my lap and into my heart. For a few days, I continued to pet her when no one was looking. One day I was secretly petting her and my husband Lynn caught me in the act. He said, "What are you doing? You can't pet her...she is NOT yours!" It was then I had to 'fess up and ask for forgiveness for rejecting such a special gift.

I did want this cat. She has become a really sweet cat to me. She is definitely mine.

Fast forward 6 years...I developed asthma last year and had some allergy testing. Guess what I am allergic to? Dogs and cats! The options were to get rid of pets, to move out or to get allergy shots. Getting rid of the pets was...let's say...not received well...not happening. I offered to move out of the zoo and get my own pet-free house on a lake nearby...not happening either. Sugar stepped in and said, "A shot in the arm...do it for me...I am worth it!" For 6 months I went every week for that shot in the arm. I am now on the 5 year maintenance of 'once a month softball sized welt giving shots' in the arm.

How did all that happen?
I realized that I really did love this cat...but it really happened because...She loved me first!

What did I learn?
I will take a shot in the arm for a new BFF anytime. There is blessing in forgiveness and sometimes life gives us circumstances we do not want. But God is always there waiting for us to see his love and his best in the situation. It is always worth the cost.

"We love because HE first loved us."
1 John 4:19

What gift (circumstance) do you want to return?
Where has God shown you his best in a bad situation?

Your comments are gifts to me! Share yours below by clicking on 'comment'.
(Use the name/URL option...just type your name there...if the other options are not your thing.)

Monday, November 11, 2013

"Don't Floss..."

"Don't Floss...", says my dentist.

Dr. John Sinclair Jr.
My mouth's best friend.
My always there tooth expert.
My smile maker.

As a dental hygienist, I always preach and endorse flossing at every opportunity. I never thought I would hear those words. "Don't floss..." from my dentist! 

I have made it over 50 years without any major dental work. I have prided myself in my nice smile because I do take good care of my teeth. Even though some of my body parts are failing me as I age..I counted on my great teeth to never fail me.

That all changed last month over a tiny blackberry seed. I bit hard on it not knowing it was there in my yogurt. Pain. Intense and instant.

My trusty dentist discovered a crack which led to a root canal and days later a chunk of tooth cracked off leaving behind a jagged sharp canyon in my tooth. Then my overly curious tongue became my cut up ulcerated tongue...and in all this ...my oral surgeon husband sarcastically kept saying he could easily extract it and save me all this pain...(he is kidding but it was an option.)

I opted to save the tooth...so today was my crowning day :-).. guess I really am royalty now! After my dentist placed the temporary crown, his words were..."Don't Floss...THAT tooth until you get the permanent crown."

Made me smile to be given a little grace in this big ordeal. Made me grateful for a caring dentist who is always there for routine visits and unexpected problems too. Made me also think of the many everyday routine things I take for granted until life has an unexpected problem.

My smile just got bigger knowing I can count on God always being there in the good and bad. I need to watch for the little graces he gives to keep me smiling through all these temporary problems  ...until I get my real crown in heaven. :-)

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:17-18

What little thing made you smile today?
Share your smiles by commenting below. I love getting your comments!
(Use the name/URL  option...just type your name there.. disregard the URL and Google stuff if that isn't your thing.)

Monday, November 4, 2013

"Having flowers is like having babies!"

"Having flowers is like having babies!" said Granny (Ruth Hayes)

Granny.
My Grandmother.
My mom - Ruth Short's mother.
My 'make you think and smile with her many wise words' grandma.

My mom loves to garden and so did her mom. Me...not so much. Gardening is just work to me. So it was a good deal when my parents moved into a condo without a yard to take care of...my mom began digging in my yard. She has created some beautiful flower gardens over the years.


My dad is my mom's garden assistant and our dog Jewel would always be right there with them. Jewel loved being outside with my parents. She would get so excited when they came because she knew she could be outside a long time with them. My parents and Jewel became good gardening buddies over the years.
So...when Jewel passed on to dog glory a few weeks ago 
("It's a no wagging day.") my mom wanted to remember her in a special way.

A Jewel garden. 

I have a back yard garden below my kitchen windows. It is at the top of a retaining wall making it really hard to get to it and... it had turned into a jungle of weeds. Of course this is the garden she wants to plant for Jewel. Not just a plant 'a few flowers' garden...oh...no...It was going to be a bulb garden and... not just a few bulbs...200 bulbs. So if and when we ever finished this big work... we would not be able to enjoy our work until the Spring - when the the bulbs came up.

About 10 minutes into the huge weeding/bulb planting project, I made some comment about it being WAY too much work. My mom was quick to reply, "Granny always said, 'Having flowers is like having babies...they are lots of work but so worth it later!' "

Made me smile. I could so relate with my own 3 grown babies....in some ways I have enjoyed the laters and in so many other ways...I am still waiting for the laters. :-) This is the same grandma who also said 'only give a baby as much food as you want to clean up off the floor'. She was wise in such a fun way by always making the work fun with something to look forward to or to think about.
1983

Our Jewel garden took 4 hours to weed and plant. We worked hard and I can't wait for the later...to see it come to life next Spring. It will be a beautiful memory garden that I made with my mom. Not just to remember Jewel but Granny too. She passed away over 20 years ago...and her wise and fun words are still at work today.

Makes me wonder....
     What words of mine will be remembered? and...
          What work will I enjoy today because it will be worth it later?


"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, 
    and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, 
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 
   so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, 
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." 
Isaiah 55: 10-11