sleeping.

we all do it. some more than others. there are those who last through the night. others don't move a muscle. i've heard incoherent babble or even complete conversations. majority choose to be on their side and then others on their back. no one will admit to snoring while partners point the finger of blame.

getting ready for bed is my favorite time of the day. some mornings i wake up knowing i can do it all over again later that night. i have defined myself as a light sleeper and only lay on my back with my arms at my side. when i lived with my friend tiffany she told me she had to place a mirror under my nose to make certain i was still breathing. (which is hard to believe since i know i am a light sleeper) i can honestly say i have never had a nightmare and hardly every remember my dreams. i tend to zone out when people tell me their dreams in detail. that's something for you to keep to yourself.
my dog, delsie, runs in her sleep. people say she is chasing rabbits- how do they know?! sometimes she snores or even yelps.

from the conversation that i had with tiffany today, her mom was chasing rabbits too. but instead of yelping, she was repeating at the top of her lungs...OOOOOooooooOOOOooooOOOOooooOOOO...high then low. i can't wait to watch it on YouTube!

anxious to climb in bed. my favorite time of the day.

it only takes a spark, to get a fire going...

Passions. God gives them to us, we have the responsibility of figuring out how we are to use them to glorify Him.

On Friday, I felt like I witnessed first hand my friend Mary Jo doing just that. In return, I came away with some very cool items to decorate my home.

Jo opened up her store (seedlings) for an evening and 100% of the sales went to friends who feel lead to the mission field.

If you stop and think about it something incredible happened...Jo's passion of altered art fueled our friends passion for missions which sparked my passion of making my house a home!

Um, mine sounds the most selfish!







Here's some of the great finds....








I love to be around people who encourage me to find my passions...I'm getting closer.

the good, the bad, the ugly of Friedrich's Ataxia.

the good: I always get the good parking spaces.

the bad: Falling on my bathroom tile while trying to do the simple task of standing.

the ugly: My forehead after it caught my fall on Saturday.

once again, I am soooooooooooooooo blessed with all the people in my life and the love and encouragement they show me.

this photo doesn't do it justice. i look like a character from startrek and can't move my neck.
but other than that, I am fine.
it could have been so much worse.

dog days

It was the first night in my new bedroom. Along with the move came a white shabby chic comforter. I stress the word WHITE. With a black dog that sheds like there is no tomorrow and her habit to sleep on the majority of my bed, I bit the bullet. The vanity of a new comforter has won out. I was searching high and low for the perfect bed for Delsie- mainly to help with my guilt.
The search ended when I was at my sisters garage sale this weekend. I spotted her toddler bed that she used in raising her three boys. Although I haven't given birth to her, the bed is now being put to good use as Delsie aka Princess, is breaking it in.
The poor dog on the floor (at least I found a cute blanket for her) is Jasper- my parents dog. She is great. Although she lifts her leg when she goes #1...can't figure that out.

the end of an era

I have no idea what would define an era but this remodeling thing is in the home stretch. I hope I don't enter a time of depression as the outlet to make decisions and decorate is coming to an end. It has been a blast. Even the drywalling at 7 in the morning...(okay, that's a lie but I made it to the other side) Poor Jeremy came to visit on the WORST weekend of this project. He has got to come back and see the completed version.
Today the floor was installed-the last of the big projects!
...I moved in February 6 and 7 months later the only thing that remains is the back splash in the kitchen!
I'll be doing laundry again soon and quite frankly, am excited about that!

...in the genes.

Before you think I am the cruelest person for posting this photo of my mom, allow me to explain.
We were on our way from Detroit- we picked my grandma up to get some R & R in Holland for a few days. Gram was sitting in the front of the Le Blano van, gabbing away with my dad while I fell asleep next to my mom. I knew that during my cat nap I was catching flies as when I woke my mouth did not have one ounce of saliva. Not only did I awake with cotton mouth but the sounds of snickering from my mom as she told me that my mouth was wide open when I was sleeping. I knew she wasn't exaggerating as I found it nearly impossible to swallow until I took a few sips of my water.
It was only a few minutes after I wiped the sleepers from my eyes that I noticed my mom reclining her chair, closing her eyes and you guessed it...catching the flies that I missed.
Not only could my mom hear me snickering but she could feel the flash of my camera.
Th acorn doesn't fall far from the tree. What goes around, comes around.

It's the life?

The evening involved seven people crammed in a booth at Applebee's. After I lowered the handle on Delsie's harness, I watched my friends squirm as D-dog found just the right spot between the huge supporting metal bar in the middle of the table and the 14 hot, smelly feet packed underneath the booth.

Heaven forbid she is an inconvenience to someone and their space while she digs her harness into their shin bone or shakes while her 85 lb. paw steps on the middle of your bare foot...I've gotten the dirty looks for Delsie over the years. And their dirty cuz they are from friends.
People can glare at me all they want...I got your back, D, don't worry.

It took her a minute to find her spot underneath the table at Applebee's and a few glares while she positioned herself just right. As we ate our meal, I forgot about her. Upon conclusion of my mozzarella sticks, I glanced down to see my cute service dog doin' her thing...enjoying her life.

Man, I love this dog.
Yes, my shins are bruised and I am not thinking the nicest things when she steps on my foot, but it is so worth it.

LOOK AT THE MOON!

One night I went to the movies with my sister and brother-in-law and when we were driving home, my brother said in a really odd, low, drawn out voice, "LOOK AT THE MOON!" It scared the pants off my sister and I. And became a common quote among the three of us.

The other night I was sitting out on my deck and repeated the phrase, "LOOK AT THE MOON!" Delsie looked at me as oddly as my sister and I must have looked at my brother-in-law when he saw the moon as crisp and bright as I did the other evening.

I snapped these photos and realized they don't do justice with the moment I had with nature that night. And the revelation that the photography class with Tiff can't come soon enough. The check mark IS the moon but taken with the "night" setting. Nice, huh?