cleaning before the cleaning lady arrives....

Good Morning.

So I have a couple of things to chat about here today, and a question for some of you.  

Update:  It seems that there is a 100% agreement that HWW should carry on.  I enjoyed hosting it here on my blog and I think leaving the prayer request in the comment box worked out great. It gave everyone the opportunity to put the prayer needs in their own words.  I want everyone to know that I read each and every one of them, and personally prayed for each and everyone. 

Additionally, I received several emails (you guys are good with the emails, wow!).  I read all the prayer request in the emails as well, and wanted to let you know that several sent emails thanking me for keeping HWW open and said they were willing to help, as well read over and pray for everyone with me.  You guys rock!

Isn't that a comforting feeling, knowing that so many are praying for YOU?  For the first day I thought it had a great turn out, and feel 100% assured that this will grow and will become a safe place for people to post their needs in prayer, as well, allow others to pray for you.

HOWEVER.....

Another blogger decided to do the same thing, but instead of hosting it on her blog, decided to make a His Will Wednesday BLOG.  Using the old HWW button and everything.  You can click here if you are interested in checking it out.  Basically, in my opinion either place is a good place to post your prayer, because as long as people are praying, that is all that matters.

I can't garantee that I will check there every Wednesday for prayers, but I can promise you that any prayers left here, will not go with out prayer before I am off to bed. Sometimes its eases people to know who they are leaving their prayer request to.  Here you know its me, my friends, my family and my followers....and we are a power house of prayer worriers.  

I only say that because I am not in competition with the other blog host for HWW.  I say that because, although I am providing her and that blog info here in this post.  I want to make it clear that I don't know her, but I may get to know her. Ill for sure check her out.  At this time, I don't, and with all this April Rose stuff, people are walking on edge right now.  Instead of tossing you off to anther blog that I don't even know, because I didn't want to host HWW each week here or something. I decided it had a pretty good turn out and that its worth keeping it here each week.  Because my blog has been around for awhile. It does have a long reputation and one that can be trusted.  I don't take peoples lives, hardships and struggles or PRAYER request lightly.  My heart bleeds for hurting people.  

With that being said, the other HWW Blog is also using the old button. I think maybe it would be best to create my own unique HWW button for this blog, just to keep the two unrelated at this time.  I had a couple of buttons emailed to me as suggestions and I have a couple of bloggy friends that are masters at these kinds of things that have also offered to help with the buttons.  I will take a look and see what button I think would be the new HWW button for my blog here.  Cool! 

Also, if any of you have suggestions or thoughts about how else to do HWW let me know.  I am always willing to listen.  Thanks.

Now for that QUESTION I have for you.  

Photobucket.  

As of yesterday I had to upgrade to "pro" and when they say "pro" they only mean that you now pay about $40 bucks for the year to open more space for your pictures.  And get this, when they come and give you that warning that you need to upgrade to pro, they don't mess around.  Instead, they shut down your account, in which shuts down your pictures anywhere you have them posted (i.e. BLOGS). 

In truth, I DON'T like that at all.  Is Flickr the same way? Anyone know of any other way to post larger photos to your blog post without having to use some hosting site such as Photobucket or Flickr? 

I don't like the idea of someone else having control over my pictures, and also having the power to shut them down as they did yesterday.  Can you tell I was not happy about dishing out that $40 bucks yesterday?  I almost feel as if they "hoaxed" me.  They wheel you in with all this free stuff, and then when they see you have 'enough' saved pictures, videos or whatever...they attack you for money.  Thinking, by now, you have so many photos in use, that you will give in and pay them.  In which as I did, I am sure everyone else probably does the same thing also.  That is why I am always skeptical of these little free sites anyways.  Similar situation was the Scrapblog site.  I stopped using them when they started asking for money.  Anyways, I like being able to post pictures in larger format on my blog.  Oh and another thing I don't like about using this photobucket as a host.  If I want to go in and delete a photo from my account, once that photo is removed, it removes that photo from where ever else it is sitting.  

Any other way to do this besides a hosting site?

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As my Pastor (also my BFF's husband) always likes to say in church.

"I can tell you need to laugh today, or you need a visual."  Do you all need a laugh and a visual today on my blog?  Tired of reading all these rambling wordful post?  

I read your minds and have granted you your wish.  How about this for a laugh? 

I have recently been reading my book "Learning Exposer" while playing with my new camera.  Oh and $300 bucks later, I get to go pick up my first baby camera today at some point.  The camera was not broken, the lens was not broken, but something holding the lens and the camera together broke inside. The front body part of my camera had to be taken apart to remove the lens, and then a new part that goes on the lens had to be order and replaced.  But at least I still have my old camera and lens now that I can use for my family use stuff and keep my new mac-daddy camera for work use. 

As I was saying, I have been reading this book and in it said "to never put your camera away, until you are done shooting completely. Because if you put your camera away you are likely to miss the best opportunities to photograph." 

In this case Tuesday, it proved to be true.  

Morgan has a toy box (a.k.a. A plastic bucket) that we place her bigger toy items and stuffed animals in, near her play area in the living room. Tuesday, Morgan was trying to reach something in her box and all of the sudden I hear moaning and fussing.  I come out to look, and sure enough I see this.

Is it bad that instead of grabbing her out and letting her know that mommy was there to rescue her, I instead ran for the camera sitting on the table and started snapping away? 

While quietly laughing, and clicking away on the camera.  I am also talking to her, so she hears my voice, telling her she is okay.  With her hearing my voice, she stops the fussing and starts to figure out how to get out of what she just got herself into. 

I was laughing so hard, I am surprised any of these pictures came out clearly focused.  Oh to be a little person again.  Gotta love kids.  They are just too delicious. 

When she popped her head up and tried to gather her composer, as if she meant to do that.  I again start cracking up because all you see is this little head pop up out of the bucket, her hair is all a mess and her bow is now turned upside down and laying on the opposite side of her head from where it started.  (I'm laughing again, now.)

Once she sees me taking her picture, you can tell she is trying to play it cool and give me a "its all good" smile.  

In this last picture, can you kind of see that she has that half smile, with a slight chuckle, as to say "okay, I'm not hurt, I'm good....and I think that was kind of fun", kind of smile?  

Hope you enjoyed that little fun today, and we were able to put a smile on your face this beautiful SUNNY (no rain YET) morning.  At lest here in this part of Florida anyways. 

Awe.... and while I was making this post I received an email from Hunter.   I miss you too buddy, and so does 3 of the 4 cats, one sister and one dots and blanky.  Hurry up and come back home already.

By the way, man seriously shut me up this morning.  

I have to tell you this story, also.  

Last night Mark and I watched "Faith Like Potatoes". I hadn't heard of it and he just thought the previews looked good.  As it turns out, I believe it was directed by the same company as "Fireproof". It was a pretty good movie, and it was about believing in God and having faith, thus the name of "Faith like Potatoes".  It was based on a true story and at the end they showed the real family behind the story. I love true stories like that.  Without giving too much away, I suggest that you rent it. If you liked "Fireproof" then you will like this one.

After the movie was over, it was time to get Morgan in the bath before going to bed.  I stripped her down of her already soggy diaper, in the living room, so daddy could go give her a bath.  As he is checking the Yankees vs Red Sox game, Morgan stands in the middle of the floor and begins to pee.  I am in shock, not because she is peeing, but because she is peeing and its coming out like a rainbow like boys do.  LOL.  I have never seen this before.  I know she will be embarrassed to read this later one day, but that's okay baby girl. You are just a baby, you have no idea what you are doing and it gave daddy and mommy a great laugh.  As the saying goes "anything boys can do, girls can do better." LOL Okay, not entirely and surely not when it comes to peeing standing up, but baby girl sure would have been an impressive challenge. 

Okay, seriously I must get off this thing this morning and get started with my busy day.  You know, like cleaning my house BEFORE the cleaner arrives.  Yea, I am so one of those.  

ARE YOU?  

Do you clean the house before the cleaner arrives in the same day? 

Here is a stack of my husbands books.  Can you tell what his obsession is, ahem, besides books on trading and the Yankees ME? 

If you look at the 3rd book down from the top of the stack, you will see "The New Psycho-Cybernetics".  We love this stuff.  Mark also listens to the CD's of this book in his car ride to and from work. I of course get to hear them on the weekends when we are out and about.  This stuff is great. I highly recommend you either reading the book and or listening to the CD's. 

Anyways, a couple of days ago, Mark is sitting on the couch reading and he starts laughing.  I ask him what was so funny, and his response was to read me a part of the chapter he was reading in which the guy telling the story in the books says "I never understood why my wife on the day the cleaners would be coming, she would stress herself out and clean the house up herself." I can't recall all or exactly what he shared, and I can't seem to find it in the book as I glance through it.  

But just as Mark read that line, I then started laughing.  I said "um, honey, I am one of those girls." He again starts laughing and asks "why?".  

He said "is it because you don't want the cleaner to think we are as much of slobs as we really are?"  LOL

Me:  "No, well, maybe.  I mean, NO! We are not slobs, honey.  It's more like the feeling of just having my house organized the way I like it, so all the cleaner then has to do is come in and clean. If she has to clean and put things away, you know 'organize'; I not only spend weeks trying to find something she put away, I feel that it takes away from the time of cleaning when she is here." 

Mark: "If it where me, man I would have fun and let loose, like I just had a party or something. Who cares, there is no way I would clean before the cleaners arrived." 

Me: "That's the difference in men and women honey.  Almost, all my friends do the same thing and to be honest, its almost as if the house gets a double dose of cleaning in one day and that just makes me feel really good." 

Okay, Mark just texted me and its page 116 in the book.   It says...

"My wife Anne had the, to me, odd habit of cleaning the house before the cleaning-person arrived on Wednesdays.  I'm told Anne shares this habit with a great many women.  The reason I say it is odd is that we have two people doing the same work.  I wouldn't hire a driver to chauffeur me through the congested streets of Manhattan, then have him sit in the passenger seat while I drive myself.  Why would you clean your house, then hire a cleaning person to clean what you've just cleaned? I urge you, don't "hire" your servo-mechanism to act on an imperative, then run around getting it it's way trying to do its work before, during and after it does."

I'll try to work on that 'servo-mechanism', but try to get in my way of cleaning before the cleaning person arrives, it may cause a war that you wont want to battle with.  Right ladies?  LOL

Have a great day! 

PS:  I have a hand-me-down giveaway coming up. Sorry, its only for little girls under 12 months this time. So if that is for you, be sure to keep an eye out for that post.