A Bug's Life: Part 1

I love my bed. We have a beautiful bed and a wonderful pillow top mattress. I also love my bed linens and the person that sleeps next to me, so really, I never have any reason to not want to get into my bed.

Until two nights ago, that is. That was when something happened in my bed that still makes me shudder. I only felt as if it was appropriate to share it with you all.

Let me set the stage for you...

It's dark and cool in my bedroom. It is about 5:15 am. I am fast asleep as is the man next to me. (Clarification: the man I speak of is my husband. Thank you.) I am sleeping so soundly because I know that it is summer time and I can wake up whenever I want. Life is good.

As I am sleeping, something awakens me. Is it a sound? No. It is a feeling. A feeling of something scurrying up my arm. Now, let me give you a disclaimer. I often feel as if something is "on me". The sheets touching me often make me think that I have bugs on me, so this is nothing new. However, this scurrying thing woke me up. That has never happened before. After waking up and feeling this, I laid there and thought, "Was that really what I thought it was?"

It was. The thing scurried Back. Down. My. Arm.

Please stop and let the weight of the previous statement sink in.

I grabbed the thing and absolutely booked it into the bathroom to throw it into the toilet. After throwing it in the toilet, I turned on the light. I did not turn on the light before it was out of my hand because I knew that if I saw what it was, I would probably scream bloody murder and drop it. Not okay. The thing needed to die.

When I made my way back over to the toilet to see the scuttling culprit, all I found was a single antennae-- still wiggling. I knew it was still wiggling because I had dropped it on the toilet lid. The best worst part? The rest of the bug was nowhere to be found.

I then did what any self-respecting bug catcher would do. I woke up my husband, turned on the lights, and searched for the bug for twenty minutes. Nothing. I peeled back the sheets and blankets and pillows. Nothing. I looked everywhere. Nothing.

Naturally, I could not go back to bed. Couldn't. Wouldn't. So I sat in the family room and googled things like, "What kind of bug has a yellow and black striped antennae" and "wriggling antennae on dead bug". I got nothing.

Finally, I did go back to bed. I know, I know. But I was so tired. I got in bed and I prayed. Seriously, I did. I prayed, "Lord, please let me either find the bug already dead or let me find it alive so I can kill it."

And I fell back asleep.

To be continued...

Grocery Store Rant.

Tonight, I made a trip to the grocery store. I needed a few things, like ice cream and nail polish (yes, my grocery store sells nail polish!). I also needed to return a movie at the RedBox. If there are three things I love it is ice cream, nail polish, and a $1 new release! Oh, and chips and salsa. And Paula's Party, which I am watching right now. However, Rosie O'Donnell is a guest and I'm not such a fan, so I may be changing the station soon to a deliriously entertaining Lifetime movie.

But, I digress.

I am home now and I am disturbed. Truly disturbed, not sarcastic disturbed. As I was walking out with my cart full of groceries, two high school aged girls walked in. One of them dropped her sunglasses, and do you know what came loudly spewing forth from her mouth? One of the loudest "f-bombs" I have ever experienced. Just like that. Loudly. In an establishment where mothers regularly bring their small and impressionable children. Loudly. In front of many, many people, simply because she dropped her sunglasses. And have I happened to mention that the word was said loudly? I was shocked and saddened by this. How long has this girl been saying this word in order for it to come out of her mouth so freely and naturally?

You'd hope that's the end of my story. But it's not.

I walked my groceries out to the car and realized that I had forgotten to return the movie. No biggie. I walked in, returned my movie, and as I was walking out, two gentlemen were walking in. I would peg them as about 30 or so. They were apparently carrying on a conversation because as I walked past them, I heard the one guy say (again, loudly!), "It's okay. I'll be the cart b*t*h." WHAT? Clearly, those asterisks are mine. All this within a span of probably 3-4 minutes.

I have no words.

It really made me stop and think, "Do I seriously want to bring children into this world?" A world where my babies could learn expletives from complete strangers who we pass in the supermarket. A world where even though my children might go to a Christian school, they learn at a young age what certain slang words mean for body parts and what a middle finger being held up means.

A world that was not meant for this.

But as I was pondering all of these things, a verse came to mind. John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (Emphasis mine.)

Praise Him. I have nothing to fear as long as I take heart and find my peace in Him.

He's got the whole world in His hands. Now there's one phrase that my children will know.

How much would you have to hate someone?

This is quite contrary to my normal posts, but I felt so compelled to share.

My dear friend (and boss), Donna, told me about this video many months ago. However, I came across it only this morning and it blew me away.

Penn (from the magic act Penn & Teller) is a self-proclaimed atheist, but in this video, he shares a powerful experience from after one of his shows. It was such an incredible reminder of why I share my faith.

I had never thought about it this way and I don't think I will ever forget it.Please take five
minutes to stop and watch.

What a Steal!

I have fallen in love with clothing from Tulle. They have such darling items and they have incredible sales. Also, I saw Whitney Port from The City wearing a coat from Tulle in US Weekly, so I feel really famous when I wear my Tulle clothes. Pretend I didn't say that. Anyway, about a month about, I got six clothing items for $37-- and that was shipping included! I really like what they sell, but considering who I am married to being who I am, I don't spend a whole lot on clothes. Their regular priced items are pretty steep, so I get so tickled when I can buy something I like on sale! Check out this adorable tie cardigan that I just picked up for $15 (shipping included).

I got it in this banana color.

I think that this will be so cute on one of those cooler evenings this summer, paired with my black shorts and a black top. Just as long as no one makes a comment on how I look like a bumblebee, I'll be happy!

Grace in Small Things: 6

Michigan Edition!

1. Eating at Sonic on the way to Michigan and getting a big old Cherry Limeade to enjoy... mmmm.
2. My dad's barbecue chicken. Holy delicious.

3. Two wins for the RedWings! Woo hoo!

4. Seeing two of my best girlfriends for coffee on Sunday morning-- such an unexpected, delightful blessing! Thank you, Jesus!

5. Loving on sweet, sleeping Avery Lynn Prisk for many hours on Saturday night while catching up with her wonderful momma, Michelle, who is one of my dearest friends.

What a great weekend!

Show Us Where You Live Friday!

I have been following Kelly since her sweet Harper was born. I prayed for Harper's healing and God blessed Kelly and her husband and Harper is whole and well! She does something called "Show Us Where You Live Friday" and I haven't participated by now, mostly because I can't figure out how to get pictures onto my Mac from my camera. I'm technologically slow, really, I am.

Today, I am participating for the first time, but there is a catch. Today, she is showcasing nurseries. Let's be clear, I have no children nor am I expecting to have any in the near future. However, I will be thrilled when that day comes and I have decided to share with you my top two picks for boy, girl, and unisex nurseries. Glenna Jean has such beautifully themed nurseries and I just could look at them for days. I would like to think that when we do have a baby, we will have unlimited funds (HA!), but for now, I will just dream about possibilities! I also love the personalized tiles from Polka Tot Designs. So darling. Look for those at the bottom of my post.

So, without further suspense, my top choices.

The Ashley design would be my top choice for a girl. I love toile and I love the soft colors. I am all about bright colors, but for some reason, I love softer tones for a baby room. I also adore that chandelier.
This design just makes me want to swoon. The Olivia room is so feminine and delicate and my word, wouldn't another chandelier look fabulous in here as well? Now, I do realize that babies are messy, but for now, please don't crush my vision. ;)

Could you not just die when you look at this? I about fell out of my chair when I came across this picture. Can you imagine going to get a sweet baby boy in that Central Park room? Maybe I actually want this to be my room. Hmmm... I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Again, how cute can this be? I actually love the crib (bed? Does it have a side? Do any of these cribs have sides?). That shelf at the end would come in nice and handy. I do love the color scheme in the Metro. All those blues and browns and creams just blend so nicely! And I do love that little fake TV on the end of the crib-- precious!

I love this Leap Frog room for either a boy or a girl. I am also a little partial to frogs in a nursery seeing as though Miss Malia has a frog room and I just adore the child. I love the brown damask in the bedding, pillows, and lamp. What a beautiful touch!

Well, this Green Acres theme just slays me. How darling can one nursery even get? This would be great for TWINS. I think the idea of having twin babies is maybe a bit easier than actually having twin babies, but whatever. I could also just eat up that little stuffed lamb on the bedside table. Lord, have mercy. Lambs and babies, two of my favorite things.

These may be my new favorite gift for friends who are expecting or who have just had a baby. I love this combination! I also love the name Emery... hmm. I have so many crafty friends who could probably just make these, but I am not one of those people. These are just darling.

I love the green and the brown and the bows and, well, everything about these. I would love some green bows on the "Emery" sign above as well. I am all about personalizing and monogramming, so these would be a good choice for me.

If any of you have ever purchased from either one of these design companies, I would love to know what your experience was like and if you are satisfied. I can't imagine you wouldn't be, but it never hurts to ask!

I hope that you enjoyed me being overly obsessive about what my child's nursery may look like someday. It was fun for me and hopefully, this will be helpful for me to look back on someday when I really need it.

Have a great weekend!

Favorites

Have any of you ever purchased or browsed on Etsy? I had heard of it, but really hadn't ventured onto the website much. Every time I did, I got a little overwhelmed. However, let me state that it doesn't take much to overwhelm me, so that's not saying much. Krysta and Jenni (both of whom I know from home) had Twittered (Tweeted?) about some purchases they had made, so one day, I decided to peruse the website a little further.

Big mistake.

The initial feeling of being overwhelmed turned into a full blown addiction. However, to my credit, I have only actually purchased two things, both of which I use frequently. I used this fabulous zebra striped tote by MaReRi in Florida and I use my adorable owl coupon holder from Austin Artisan almost everyday. I would highly recommend either of these sellers.

In true Rachel fashion, my wish-list grows longer everyday. I wish to the high heavens that I had unlimited funds because there are so many wonderful things and I really enjoy supporting independent sellers. Krysta wrote an awesome post on some of her favorite things from Etsy last week and I have been wanting to do the same ever since. What a GREAT idea. Sometimes I have a lot little bit of trouble being original, but I want to give credit where credit is due. So go over and check out the great things she showcased and then come back here and finish.

1. I love these canisters from Romy and Claire Designs. Not only are the bright, cheerful, and just so fun, but they match my proposed color scheme for my future kitchen. I hope they are around long enough for me to snatch them up. There are also other matching pieces... a girl could get in some serious trouble.

2. Now, let me state the obvious: I realize that I do not have a child. However, I have many friends who do have children and I love this tutu (for a girl, OF COURSE). It even comes with a matching headband. Oh. My. Cuteness. Trinity's Tutus are so stinking precious. Every time I look at that outfit, I think of what Malia might look like in it with a little monogrammed shirt. Oh, heavens, I can barely stand it. On another note, I don't think Small Fry is a fan of her tutu lately. But, sweet mercy, is that picture precious or what?

3. This pillow from be still is so serene and would be a great addition to any couch. Our current couches are black (we live in a fully furnished apartment) but whenever we get a house, I am hoping to get a very neutral colored couch. These would be such a lovely touch. I am one for bright colors, but the uniqueness of this pillow is just irresistible.

4. I am a sucker for pretty stationary. Heck, I'm a sucker for any stationary. I also love the color combination of soft pinks and a deep brown. This personalized stationary would make a great gift for me any girl! Whisker Graphics has a lot of beautiful stationary, note cards, and paper products. I could spend scads of money on paper, but we won't get into that.

What are some thing from Etsy that you love?