Ugh!!!

It's Real Raggin Wednesday over at Staci's Heart, and I was remiss last week, so here goes! :)

Today I will rag on . . . GNATS!!! Those pesky things are everywhere this year, and they are driving me to distraction! I cannot recall ever in my short yet full life having a season so utterly teeming with the nasty little buggers! Last night while on the shopper route, I looked across a field and it was literally like a fog of gnats! And they're not just in the fields out in the "country" either - everywhere in town is inundated with them as well! It's enough to make you want to hibernate through the one of the four most beautiful seasons of them all! :)

I suspect that the abnormally large gnat population has something to do with the remaining flood waters. Now that they are receding in most areas (thank the Lord), what's left are gigantic puddles (mini-lakes) in fields that have nowhere to go because the drainage isn't set up for such volume. So, the water sits stagnantly becoming a breeding ground for the disgusting pests!!!

This unexpected phenomenon has the general populace rushing to the various grocery/convenience/drug stores for the following items: vanilla extract (like for baking a cake, or chocolate chip cookies), Absorbene Jr. (as in the arthritis pain medication), and Listerene (such as one would use to combat chronic halitosis). They say that putting vanilla or the A.J. behind your ears, on your wrists, and on your ankles is better than bug spray, and putting the Listerene in a spray bottle and spraying around your deck, porch, patio, or dog run is like fogging! Who knew?

Another thing I never knew is that gnats bite! Seriously! I am currently suffering from a rather painful bite on my right ring finger, very annoying.

As per Staci's rules, I must now forgive the gnats. Gnats, I forgive you, I know that you cannot help but be pesky, it's your nature. I do not pretend to understand the purpose for which you were created, but I do not doubt that there was one. (The Creator's pretty cool like that :) )

Thanks for reading! What do you want to rag on today?

Flood update, a tag, and an award!

Happy Saturday everyone!


Hope you all are enjoying your weekend! This morning's post is going to be busy, so hold onto your hats!


Quick update on the floods - our little town is now an island (well peninsula is more correct at the moment I suppose). The only way to leave town is to head North as the highways to the East, West and South have all been closed because of flooding. They had crews sandbagging our water department (which is nearly under water) and a small town to the south of us all day yesterday, and the National Guard is here in force. I have taken many, many pictures, and will hopefully have an all-pic post up sometime this weekend.



The last we heard, they were planning on letting water out of the dam to the extent that it will raise the river by 2 feet every day for the next nine days, so we are likely to be without running water for awhile (there is no way that the sandbags at our water department will withstand a total of 18 feet more water - aren't you proud of my math skills). We continue to covet your prayers as we wait for the waters to recede! Thanks again to everyone who has been praying for us and all of the sweet comments you have left! Sorry to be a downer :)

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I've been tagged by Donna over at An Enchanted Cottage!

Here are the rules for her game:

1. link back to the person who tagged you.
2. post these rules on your blog.
3. share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. tag people at the end of your entry.


Six unimportant facts about myself:

• I can touch my nose with my toes



• I would eat honey plain if I didn't feel like such a pig when I did so



• My family makes fun of the way I pronounce the words "green" and "cotton"



• I have a calendar on my office wall that is taller than I am



• I usually walk on my tippy toes (an apparent side affect of my undying love for high heels?)



• One of my shoulders is higher than the other, and the same is true, but opposite for my hips (did that make sense?)

TAG!

I tag Sarah, Barb, Ashley, and Chelsea!

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And I am honored to have received an award from Sarah Mae at Like a warm cup of coffee!

This award is "dedicated to many who nourish and enrich the spirit and creativity. They see dedication, creativity, camaraderie, joy and above all, ART, much art. I wish that this prize is entertaining to all those bloggers and to bloggers who day by day share this space and enrich it a little more each day." ~Arte Y Pico

Thank you so much Sarah Mae! I am deeply touched that you would present me with this honor :)

I would in turn like to present the award to the following people:

• 
  
  Donna at An Enchanted Cottage


• 
  
  Cora at Hidden Riches from Secret Places


• 
  
  Kathy at Mama's Losin' It


• 
  
  Stephanie at Live.Laugh.Love.


• 
  
  Staci at Staci's Heart

These women make me laugh, and cry (sometimes in the same post). They are beautiful, talented, and loads of fun! Thank you ladies for brightening my days :)

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. You need to choose 5 blogs you consider deserving of this award for their creativity,design, interesting material, and contribution to the blogging community regardless of the language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented him/her with the award. I know it says this is a rule but I also know that not everyone likes to do this. I won't be hurt if you don't.

4. The award winner and the one who has given the award have to show the Arte Y Pico blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. To show these rules.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading this insanely long post! :)

2-post morning :)

Okay - this is the post I was going to write last night, so for all intents and purposes, think of this as Thursday :)

We had our friends Tyler & Emma over for supper this evening and then went out "flood-watching" (hence, no blogging). Thank you all for your concern and your sweet comments about our weather. Several towns have been evacuated including one 15 minutes away from where we live. The news is reporting that the Des Moines river is higher than it has ever been before (even in the floods of '93). We appreciate all your prayers and look forward to a break in the weather on Saturday!

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I'm participating in 31 Days to Clean, and our "assignment" yesterday was to write our clean home mission statement. Mine is as follows:

I will strive to keep a clean and organized home in order to create

a peaceful and inviting retreat where Austin and I
can enjoy our time together and with our family and friends. Staying on top of
my homemaking responsibilities is a practical reflection of my love
and respect for Austin. Making my routines a daily priority
will free up time that is otherwise spent "crisis cleaning," and will
release me from the stress and guilt I feel when our home is a disaster area.
Conquering the sins of selfishness and laziness in my life
will bring glory to God and harmony to our home

Thanks for reading!

beautiful sunset

Even in the midst of all of our crazy weather of late, God gives us something to smile about! Austin took these great pictures while we were running our Shopper route yesterday evening!

Please pray for everyone affected by the tornadoes and all of the flooding thus far and yet to come here in Iowa. It's gonna be a rainy week!

We have been very blessed!

Thanks for reading!

"Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you're alive, it isn't."
~Richard Bach~