The Mouse Whisperer

This morning Justin declared himself the Mouse Whisperer.

This weekend he discovered that a mouse had been into a bag of fertilizer we had recently purchased. This discovery verified that Justin was right, and we did have a mouse in the garage. (I was convinced that any sane mouse would have run out when the garage door opened.) .

So on Saturday, Justin gathered all his mouse "sticky pads" and put them by the fertilizer. When we left for church Sunday morning, we found 3 mice who had gone to the great cheese wheel in the sky. They were very small mice, and I thought they were kinda cute. Justin was pumped up about his victory but swore there was a bigger mouse running around somewhere.

Sure enough, this morning, he was thrilled to find a 4th "big daddy" mouse stuck on the pad and dying. I called him Kevorkian, but he declared himself "the mouse whisperer" and "the exterminator." What a crazy husband I have, but that's the way I like 'em.

Shout-out to Jessica Simpson

For years I have thought Jessica Simpson was the village idiot for calling it quits with Nick Lachey (gotta love him), but I'm starting to change my mind. A friend at work turned me on to her new VH1 show, The Price of Beauty. It is actually very interesting to watch as she travels to different countries to find out what the native women consider beautiful.

In Thailand, the women bleach their faces with harmful chemicals, because pale is considered beautiful. In a remote village in Thailand, the women wear gold rings up and down their necks. In France, high fashion and self-confidence is beautiful. I still need to watch the one where being overweight is considered beautiful. (I can't fathom that one.)

Along her journey around the world, Jessica is apparently coming to some conclusions of her own about beauty. She recently decided to do a photo shoot for Marie Claire magazine without makeup or any retouching. I get this mag, so I can't wait to get it in and check out the pictures for myself. I say, good for her.

I am definitely a girly girl, but it's always good to evaluate why I do all my girly stuff. Do I wear makeup because I feel pressured to or because I like to put it on and like myself in it? Do I workout like crazy because I feel the need to be a size 4 or because I love the way I feel afterward? To be honest, it probably varies for me.

Fishermen drop everything

My daily bible study this morning was Matthew 4. I have read the story of Jesus calling Peter, Andrew, James and John to be "fishers of men" a million times, but apparently, I've never read it.

This morning I started thinking about what caused these men to leave everything (family, friends, jobs, etc.) immediately to follow Jesus. These men had been taught to take care of their families. Peter lived with his wife and mother-in-law, for goodness sake. And they were the original crew of the Deadliest Catch. Yet, when Jesus said come, they didn't hesitate.

Quite honestly, I would have asked Jesus to give me all the details and let me get back to him in a couple of days. I started thinking of the people I admire. Is there anyone's invitation that would cause me to drop everything and follow them? It just doesn't seem human to be able to do that.

I'll probably stay stumped about that one, but regardless, Jesus must have been magnetic. There has never been, nor will there ever be, anyone like Him. I pray that I come to love Jesus enough to figuratively abandon everything to follow Him.

Being married to Dale Carnegie

Justin has been taking a Dale Carnegie class this year as something that was suggested by his manager. As we were having one of our usual talks on the way to church Sunday morning, Justin advised me to start living in "daytime compartments."

At first, I was amused by his ability to reference Dale Carnegie in a normal conversation, but I thought about it the rest of the day and did some research on the principle this morning.

"So let's be content to live the only time we can possibly live: from now until bedtime. 'Anyone can carry his burden, however hard, from now until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, till the sun goes down. And this is all that life really means." Dale Carnegie, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

I must admit, I have a bad habit of always looking ahead. This weekend was great, counting the days until the next one. Today is okay, can't wait until it's over. Can't wait to figure out what my career should be, can't wait til I get there. Justin is right; living in the present is not my strength. Never has been.

I'm challenging myself to make the best I can out of today. Work is light, so what can I do today to live it to the fullest. I'm about to go find out.