Happy Memorial Day

Remembering those who gave their lives in military service...

Honoring those who are serving today...

Sunday Scripture

Psalm 139 verses 17 & part of 18

How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.

(If that isn't mind-boggling, I don't know what is!)  ♥♥♥

Voracious and Insatiable

No, I’m not describing my appetite lately!  I’m describing the *itching* that accompanies my latest bug bite! Aarrrggghhh!!

I woke up with it yesterday. A simple red bite on my wrist, and I have no idea what bit me or when. Great.

Sometimes I wake up with a mosquito bite from the day before, which I know is weird--to have such a delayed reaction, but this doesn’t really look like that. And I don’t even want to think about a spider crawling on me at night, biting me. Horrors and yuk!!! J

Now, if you do get a mosquito bite and you know it right away, you can do the Heloise trick: hot water.

You dab a washcloth in VERY hot water, as hot as you can stand without burning yourself, and press it onto the bite for as long as you can tolerate without burning yourself. (At first, you dab lightning fast, and then you can press longer and longer.) Do this for a few minutes, and the bite, and its itch, promptly goes away.

I have made up that the heat and subsequent blood flow dissipate the proteins deposited by the mosquito, so the reaction isn’t localized. But I don’t really know that. I do know that it works. As long as the bite is fresh, that is. It doesn’t work on bites that you discover the next day, but I may be the only one who has that happen.

As for this bite, it was itching so much, I got out all my anti-itching creams and lotions. (I even got out some for pain relief. When you’re desperate, you try anything.) Nothing worked, as usual. Duh.

I know, I know, I have all the usual creams from the pharmacy, and none of them do anything. Ditto for all the home remedies I’ve tried. I guess I’m just lucky to have such extreme reactions.

I did buy something new this year, a neat gel from the compounding pharmacy that has hydrocortisone, aloe vera, lidocaine, and a Benadryl-type antihistamine in it. It sounded *wonderful*! But after I used it, I couldn’t even tell that I had even put it on.  :(  Of course, I’ve even had Rx steroid creams that didn’t work for me.

Then I finally remembered what I learned *last* summer:

(drumroll, please…..)

Duct tape!

Yup, good ol’ duct tape. Okay, technically it’s Gorilla tape.
But even scotch tape may work. Sweet, instant relief!!! Yay!

If I had to make up why it works, I’d say it was a counter-irritant, fooling the nerve endings. But who cares?? Relief from itching is a beautiful thing. Being able to sleep at night is, too.

Ahhhhh…..
Sweet dreams, everyone!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Bribery

Here's a photo of the little dog the night we met him at the foster home. He really seemed to love the treats I brought with us.

That reminds me, I need to buy some more. He LOVES them. They're made by Purina and called Carver's.

(They are also Lover Boy approved.)

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Spring Blooms

I have no idea what these blooms are, but they kinda look
out-of-this-world to me! Very alien! haha

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

“There is no greater burden than great potential.”

-- Charles Schulz

Sunday Scripture

Isaiah 26 verse 3

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.

Okie Meteorology Lesson

I’ve learned so much about weather since moving to Oklahoma! You can’t be up here for more than a storm season or two without learning a lot more about weather and meteorology than you ever thought you would.

And the weathermen have a whole ‘nother language up here!

I mean, they say things so "technical". (Now I know that should read: "technically", but that just doesn't cut it for some reason.)

Thank goodness one learns how to interpret these things.
For example:

“Severe” really means “Life-threatening”! (Well, almost!!!) J

“PDS” (Particularily Dangerous Situation) really means
“Purty Darn Serious”!

“Take your tornado precautions” means:
Run for your storm shelter!

“A possibility of tornadic activity” means: tornadoes!!!

“Large Hail, Damaging Winds, Frequent Lightning”, well, now, that’s just business as usual.

(In the Winter this is known as: “Slick, hazardous”.)

Also, terms like wall cloud, significant lowerings, and hook echo become as normal to you as cat and dog.

What kind of weather terminology did we hear in Texas??
Hot, Cold, Dry, and Wet. Mainly just Hot. And usually, Hotter.

But ya know, I think living in Tornado Alley really keeps people grounded up here. We live with the possibility that all our worldly goods could literally blow away and we would be thrilled and thankful just to escape with our lives. It’s all relative in Life, ya know, and we are reminded of that with every tornado.

Also, I think living so close to the violence of Nature, and realizing how helpless we really are, keeps people deeply rooted in their faith. We sit in our storm shelter and can’t do anything but pray for safety and no damage, or watch TV and see a tornado hit a neighborhood of a loved one and pray for them and their families.

Lastly, the outpouring of generous people after every storm gives me hope that people aren’t like TV would have us think. America is still full of good people. And they are kind, helpful, neighborly souls that go out of their way to help others in the midst of tragedy. Oklahomans are famous for that and should be.

Hmmmm…… Well, at least something good comes outa all this!

TGIF everybody!!!!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Washday

Who says doing the laundry isn’t fun?!  :)

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

“Go first class. Your heirs will.”

-- sign on a building in Santa Fe

The Bloody Flux!

You know how last week I mentioned my grandmother, and her brother dying of consumption from eating too close to the watermelon rind??

Well, Mr. Man’s memory is better than mine, because he reminded me that it wasn’t consumption that he died of. Noooooooo. It was “the bloody flux”!

The bloody flux?!?!?

Good grief, I have no idea what that is! I have never heard anyone else EVER say those words together in my life except for my grandmother! Hahaha!!  But it is kinda fun to say out loud over and over again. The bloody flux. The bloody flux.  Hahaha!

Okay, just for you, my viewing audience, I googled “the bloody flux”, and ya know what? It actually exists. We would know it as Dysentery. Did you know that? I didn’t. Although I seriously doubt they got it from eating too close to the watermelon rind, but then again, I’m obviously no bloody flux expert!

And consumption? I believe we would know that as tuberculosis.

Here ends your lesson on diseases for the day.

(Thank goodness and let’s go use some Purell!)

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

James 1 verse 5

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God,

who gives to all generously and without reproach,

and it will be given to him.

[Free wisdom! Guaranteed!!

How cool is that??]   ♥♥♥

Cat Card

You know those funny greeting cards of dog's faces, taken really up close?? Here is my cat version.  :)

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"You have to do like the little hen do: when ya haven't got any britches, ya have to make your skin do."

-- my own grandmother, on Inflation

My grandmother was originally from Mississippi, and had the most unique quotations and stories. Along with telling me about how they used to make chewing gum from “stretchberries”, she spoke of how one of her brothers died of “slippery shoes” (he worked on the train trestle and had new shoes on, slipped and broke his neck), or the brother that died of consumption because he ate watermelon too close to the rind. (!!)

She was beyond colorful & wonderful, and I miss her terribly.

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

The Aftermath

Houses and buildings destroyed, trees uprooted, semi trucks blown over, boats and planes tossed around like tinker toys… This is the aftermath of a tornado.

I took a couple of photos of the TV last night of the tornado coverage…

As deadly and destructive as tornadoes are, I thought this shot was spectacular.

And this was wild: a truck stop got hit by the tornado and lost its roof. Here is a photo of it doing business (not as usual) afterwards. I think the cashier is ringing up a purchase!

They said that 75 people took cover in that truck stop’s cooler. Amazing…

And if you click on that photo to see it bigger, check out the gum display, to the right of the chopper 4 banner. All the gum is still in place! Tornadoes are weird that way.

I heard of a house destroyed yesterday, and yet a wine glass sat in the kitchen undisturbed.

Despite the 2 lives lost, and the horrible amount of destruction, I think we may have dodged a bullet yesterday. I truly believe that the weathermen were half-expecting another May 3^rd scenario, so we may have gotten off light. (Of course, try telling that to the families of those lost or to someone whose house was destroyed!)  :(

Hopefully, that was the worst of the season, and we’ll just have regular ol’ thunderstorms from now on.

To all the volunteers, firemen, policemen and everyone else working so hard out there…  thank you, thank you!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

PDS

It’s a significant weather event day in Oklahoma…

In fact, they’re using an acronym I’ve never heard before: PDS.
Potentially Dangerous Situation.

Hopefully, any tornadoes will just go through some farmland.

Stay safe, everybody!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Romans 2 verse 4

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness
and tolerance and patience, not knowing that
the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Quote o' the Day

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes.
Art is knowing which ones to keep."

-- Scott Adams

Pins and Needles

Well, I’ve entered into a new world today: the world of Acupuncture! I am no longer a needle virgin. haha

I went to a new doctor today for my tennis elbow, and got 2 different kinds of therapies: acupuncture and a compression-ice treatment.

Oh, and the doctor said no more heat treatments. Aarrrggghhh! Leave it to me to be doing everything wrong!  :)

And I sooooo wished I had my camera with me… I wanted to take a photo of the needles hanging right outa my arm for you! Hahaha Maybe next time. I have another appointment next week.

But in the meantime I am supposed to rest my arm and be as left-handed as possible. Oy. (And I am NOT left-handed!)

Seriously, my computer mouse is now a left-handed mouse. It feels weird at first, but, hey, whatever works, right? And I probably shouldn’t even be typing, although that doesn’t hurt like a lot of mousing does.

Now… what can I do that doesn’t involve my right hand?????

Hmmmmm…. I may have to get back to you on that one.

Okay, so, ‘Later!!

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Quote o' the Day

"May the host always make their guest feel that they are at home; May the guest always realize they aren't."

-- Unknown

Money Matters

Well, our retirement account was a little down this past Friday compared to the week before.  :(   And this, despite the fact that the Dow went over 11,000 last week. Bummer.

You see, I have started checking our bank accounts every Friday lately, so I noticed. This is where the Internet and having access to account balances with a few clicks of the mouse is soooo handy!!  :)

It all started with The Suze Orman Show, and her financial snapshots of people when they’re wanting permission to buy something in her “Can I Afford It” segment of her TV show. (I love that segment. It’s so funny!)  Anyway, that started me wondering what our snapshot would look like.

Basically, that snapshot is a quick view of your finances consisting of the financial figures for your Monthly Income, Monthly Expenses, Debt, Savings, Investments, and Retirement Plan. It’s a bottom-line inventory of where you stand financially, 1-2-3.

I like it. And it has helped me get into this new habit of checking our account balances and running a total every week. Hey, whatever helps, right?

And I like knowing what is, money-wise, and this has been an easy way to find that out. It’s also helped me be a little prompter in balancing the checkbook, too. (oops)

We’re also trying something else new this year, just for a few months: I’m keeping a list of monies In and Out for the month, aside from the checkbook, complete with a Running Net Total.

I list on a sheet of paper any $ item in date order: any checks or debits (out) and any deposits (in), and then I keep a Running Net Total column on the far right. That is the only way we could really see clearly if we are saving money that month and how much. Otherwise, it all just tends to blend and blur together.

And while we’re on the subject of money, let me be sure to mention how much we love Dave Ramsey. (!) Does everyone here love Dave already?? Well, just in case, I’ll mention his website: www.daveramsey.com, his radio and TV shows, endorse his Financial Peace University class and his books, and encourage anyone to go and get your house in order, if it isn’t already.

Dave Ramsey’s Baby Steps are the place where everyone should start, and you do them in order.

For more info, check out his website: http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/

Okay, here are Dave’s 7 Baby Steps:

First,
#1. Get $1000 in savings in an Emergency Fund.
(Tip:  liquidate some of your assets by having a garage sale, etc.)

After you’ve done that,
#2. Pay off your debt using the “debt snowball”.
(see website for details)

(Now you’re debt-free except for the house!)

After you’ve done that,
#3. Get 3-6 months of expenses in savings.

After you’ve done that,
#4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs
and pre-tax retirement plans.

After you’ve done that,
#5. Save for college for your children.

After you’ve done that,
#6. Pay off your house early.

(Now you’re 100% debt-free!)

After you’ve done that,
#7. Build wealth, give, and be a blessing to others!

See how I highlighted that phrase? "After you've done that."  That’s because it’s a sequential list. You don’t do it all at once. Dave has prioritized all this for us, so all we have to do is concentrate on just the one baby step we’re on right now. And you may be busy on Step 2 for a few years, or on step 6. No problem! Where you are is just where you are. At least you know what to do now and what to do next.

See, before Dave Ramsey, money matters seemed way more complicated than necessary. The whole world of Investing kept trying to jump in before its time. And doing his 7 Baby Steps keeps you busy for awhile, and outa trouble.  :)

And now, checking our accounts weekly just helps to keep things front and center for me.

Okay. That’s it. For what it’s worth. Now you know.

As Dave says, sometimes free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it! Ha-ha! So that’s my disclaimer for today, although I truly believe his course of action is solid.

To financial peace for all of us…

XOXO,
Lucky Dog
♥

Sunday Scripture

Daniel 12 verse 3

Men and women who have lived
wisely and well will shine brilliantly,
like the cloudless, star-strewn night skies.

And those who put others on the right path
to life will glow like stars forever.