March 31st

I love to watch my man work. Something about mowing a lawn, or fixing a car, or ripping out a toilet, screams masculinity!!! And as you can see, he is loving every second of this!!! As the husband went to go mow, I said I was going to get a shower, but when I got up there, a snuggle with the daughter sounded much better. The lawn mower started….it sounded awful. More like someone was gunning the weed eater, but I tried hard not to pay attention, and called the daughter to see if she would like to snuggle with me. Of course, she said yes, because 1. my bed is huge, 2. my bed is soft, and 3. I have fluffier covers! The lawnmower is sounding worse, and I said to the daughter “that lawnmower sounds sick”. She agreed, and we laid down and began chatting like moms and daughters do. Then all of a sudden, the lawnmower just stopped. Now you must understand that my husband is not mechanically inclined, and whenever something breaks, he immediately comes to me. I grew up with a mechanical father, and he taught me some things, but I think my kids drained every last drop of it all out through the womb! So, I looked at the daughter and said “dad will come in here and say the lawnmower is broken, and I will tell him that the gas has water in it and he needs to put an additive in it. Sure enough, we heard footsteps on the porch, and the door opened. I gave her a knowing smile. Up the stairs he came, and the daughter grinned back at me. However, what proceeded out of his mouth was not what I was expecting. He said “dear, ~~I tossed the daughter another smile~~ where is the blade for the mower?” I said “what???”just a bit bewildered. He said “I have been mowing for 20 minutes and I noticed that the grass didn’t look any different, so I wondered if there was something wrong with the mower. I looked under the deck and there isn’t a blade under there” at this point he is miffed because I am laughing. It seems that the last time the boy went over to his grandpa’s, he took the mower blade to be sharpened, and just hadn’t put it back on yet because he didn’t want it to rust.

Have you mowed your lawn yet?  if not, you just might want to check your blade.

March 30th

The boy got his first paycheck today. He was so cute/funny with it. He said to me “it feels so good to work again” and I asked him if he enjoyed getting a paycheck. He said yes he did. And the first thing that he has purchased with it………..a cell phone!  

I have been    all day.  I have been taking Zicam like clockwork, and it hasn’t gone to my head, just my throat.  I really sound awful.  How do I know?  Because my loving family has told me so!

We are going to mom and dad’s for Easter.   They always hide the kids Easter baskets in the house, and it is something that they always look forward to, every year.  Truth be told, so do I.   Do you have any special traditions for Easter?

March 29th

Today….

Today I find myself totally, firmly, and wholeheartedly  in possession

of

a

cold!

I don’t want it!

I am not thankful!!!

I didn’t ask for it, and I want to give it back to the person responsible for giving it to me.  If I knew who it was, believe me I would give it back!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day today, and the daughter and I took a nap outside on our back deck in the sun.  I could have definitely slept longer.  The daughter went out later and slept for another hour.   This was after our tea party.  She is so enamored with tea, tea parties, tea cakes, tea pots and tea cups.

Have you ever been to a proper tea?

March 28th

The daughter and I attended a lecture on tea this afternoon.  It was lovely.  I sat there bemoaning the fact that I forgot my camera.  If I hadn’t, then I could have gotten pictures of the daughter putting leftover scones in her purse.  Yes, you heard correctly.  My daughter pocketed 3 mini scones.   They were ours, but she was hilarious!  She said to me “do you dare me to pocket ’em” I said “I double-dog dare you!” so into her purse they went.  Here is what we had….

~avocado bacon on rye toast points {we scraped off the avocado/bacon filling and ate it.  Rye bread= }

~chicken salad on whole grain bread {yummy!}

~cherry cream cheese on cinnamon bread{this was good except there was raisins in the bread }

~cucumber tea hearts {yummy~}

~assorted mini-pastries

~mini-muffins

~petite scones with Devonshire cream and lemon curd {the daughter just eats the lemon curd right out of the container! }

~Green Country tea {this tasted like grass~}

~Strawberry/Raspberry tea

~Macadamia Vanilla tea{my favorite}

~Serene Dream tea

We really had a great time.  It wore the daughter out, but I am glad that we went.

March 27th

A friend of mine called today. It was so very good to hear from her. It was wonderful to chat with her and just to forget about my worries for a bit. Thanks for calling!!!
School is going better than I thought for the boy. I was concerned that since his job is during the morning and early afternoon, that we might struggle to get school done, or that he wouldn’t have enough brain left to do school with after work, but he is doing really well, and I am very proud of him.

The boy took another picture for me. I photoshopped this one too. I have been spending way to much time photoshopping pictures. I wish I knew more about it.

***edited to say that the picture decided to run off to cyberspace with the dish and the spoon, never to be seen again!***

Isn’t spring the most wonderful time of the year? Have you started your spring cleaning yet?

March 26th

Spring has sprung in my yard. The boy went out and took this picture for me.

Today was a boring, normal day. Everyone needs a boring, normal day every so often. I need them more often than not.
I figured up today that we have about 4-7 weeks left for school of this year. 4 weeks in most subjects, except that most beloved subject….

algebra will go on and on and on for 7 horrendous more weeks. I always liked school growing up. My sister and I would play school in the summer, and I couldn’t wait to get new pencils, paper and notebooks for the coming year. Everything was all fresh and clean and new. What was your favorite subject?

Last night

What I did….

What I should have done.

March 25th

So, the boy comes to me this afternoon and asks if I would please allow him to change the oil in my car. OH! Yeah!!! You betcha, I’ll let him! It has been needing it for quite some time, but the husband just doesn’t have the time. I feel guilt for asking him to change the oil when he is so exhausted all the time, but it needs done.

Pure bliss……..aside from the Hershey Kiss that I let melt in my mouth, there is another thing that sends me almost into the very same state of pure bliss. What is it that sends my face to smiling and my insides jumping for joy??? Very simply it is hanging laundry outside, barefooted for the first time of the year. To have the sun shining down, the grass tickling your ankles, and the earth…..slightly squishy under your feet. To hear the birds song, and to know that your laundry will be dry in hours instead of days……..ahhhh the wonder……the glory of it all.

Whilst I frittered my time away in stuff mart this evening, I didn’t walk down any special isle, I sat on a bench and people watched. Did you know that there are 3 predominant ways to push a cart? yep! There sure is . 1. Regular pushing, 2. The Lean, and 3. The Pull-Along. There are a few variations within these categories, but these are the 3 main ones. In the regular pushing, you can push with 1 hand, or gripping one side and barely using the other hand. In the Lean, you either have the full hunched over lean or the partial lean. With the pull-along, you can either walk beside the cart, or walk in front of it, dragging it behind you. How do you drive your cart around stuff mart???

March 24th

My friend Melaine was talking on her blog the other day about washing dishes. This morning the boy had to work, so I washed dishes for him. It is his week to wash. It really reminded the reason WHY I totally INSISTED on getting a dishwasher! I didn’t day dream, I didn’t fantasize, I didn’t do anything but curse myself for using so many dishes to make breakfast!

Today I went back to Aldi because they had trees for $15. Around here trees are at least $100, so I got a Japanese flowering cherry tree and a clump birch. Since I do mostly inside work and the guys do all the heavy outside work, I was the foreman….I spent most of my time here.

I have put the husband to work digging holes for said trees!

Ewwwwwwww!!! Slimy, creepy crawlies……and it is HUGE!!!

How do you know when you have dug deep enough? When you hit water!

The foreman must show the slav….err husband where to put the tree!  Notice also how fashionable she looks in pink!

Forget the shovel, hands are better!

Doing a jig because another worker has arrived.

2 shovels are better than 1.

After planting 24 little Rose of Sharron hedges~~without the foreman’s attention~~this is the end result!

Showers… I take them every day, but Saturday’s showers are different. Saturdays I don’t have breakfast, laundry and school to do…..Saturday, the day is an open book! After I have washed everything, I then take the time to exfoliate, and make my body smell really good. But most importantly, I shave my legs. I don’t do that during the week for 2 reasons…1. I don’t have the time, and 2. I am just plain old lazy. How often do you shave your legs? and which leg do you start with first?

Oh….one other thing…..make sure if you are using a salt scrub on your back, do it before you shave your legs. Trust me on this one!

March 23rd

Today was shopping day, and the boy stated rightly when he said “the rain takes all the fun out of shopping.”  It was rather dreary, but I am glad for it, because of all the things that are turning green.   

Today, the girl and I watched Sense and Sensibility.  I think she wanted to get it just to torture her brother.  He wanted Fists of Fury with some karati guy…….but it was dubbed and I watched as much as I could then I had to turn it off.  There is just something about watching the mouths move and no words coming out.   It kind of weirds my brain out!

Laughter……I love the sound of it. I don’t think that there is anything I would rather hear; from the sound of a baby gurgling, to friends intimate giggles, to children’s joyous laughter,  it is all wonderful.   I love that our house is full of laughter…most of the time…and I am sad when it isn’t.   What is your favorite sound?

March 22nd

One of the things that I look forward to in the winter time is to peel the plastic off the windows.  It is just fun!  Then we throw open all the windows and let the fresh air in.  That is what we did this morning. It is so wonderful to bring the outdoors inside.  To hear the wind blowing, the birds chirping, and  ….a lawnmower starting?  Sugar was happy too!

The daughter and I had begun~~before the boy got his job~to go out and get a pot of tea on Thursday’s at the Serenity Tea House.  We didn’t go last week because we didn’t want to fluster the boy, but we went today.  I took my camera along.  

When you walk into the store, immediately to your left,  there is room for about 3 small~read 2 person~ tables on a raised platform.  This is where we were sitting.  You can see the boy getting our water.    I then took a picture of the rest of the store…if you look to the very left of the picture, that will be the very right of the next picture.  It is a very narrow and long place, but it is nice and cozy. 

 Oh…look, do you see the boy walking toward the back.  I didn’t realize that I had gotten him in both pictures.

Since we are talking tea today, I must ask……what is your favorite flavor of tea?  Now I know that many of you are staunch “coffee only” drinkers…….but you have to at least like Lipton.

March 21st

The first day of spring……….it was lovely outside, but I spent the first half of it inside a waiting room.  My daughter had a barium upper GI this morning, and in solidarity with her, I refused to eat till she could.  I called the hospital last night to see about how long the test would take, the man answered 1/2 an hour.  I thought 1/2 an hour…….no problem.  The test lasted 4 hours.  It was a very long 4 hours.  Poor girl……it was awful, but she was a trooper.    The tests came back normal.   I am tired of normal!  I want some answers.  I am tired of not getting anywhere!  ~~incert tantrum throwing smilie~~

We came home and watched Pride and Prejudice………….sigh……….what a lovely movie!!!  I wish that people would think/talk/act like that now.  People having a sense of propriety, order, morality and manners.   I could also handle balls………lots of lovely partys and fancy dresses!!!  Yep!  I was born in the wrong era!

What color of car do you drive?  My car is white……..well, right now it is more of a road grime color, but underneath it all is white…..if you don’t look at the rust spots!

March 20th

I made the best pork tenderloin tonight.   Even my picky eater thought it was wonderful

Caramelized Pork Slices

1 pound pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch slices

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. orange juice

1 tbsp. molasses

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Lightly drizzle 1-2 tsp. olive oil in a non-stick skillet.  Over medium high heat cook pork 8-10 minutes.  Drain if necessary.  Whisk remaining ingredients together and pour over cooked pork.  Cook till mixture thickens and coats pork.  About 8-10 more minutes.  I served this over brown basmati rice.  

The boy did much better today, and said that he could handle tables by himself today.  He was much more comfortable with everything.  I knew that he would do wonderful today.  As my friend Melanie says, He is marvelous!

For all of my fabulous readers, a question….what do you do while you are surfing the net?  munch on chocolate? pick your nose?  file your nails?  What????  Let me know, I am curious!

Now for our last lesson on the tongue.

29.  The Indiscreet Tongue

Indiscretion can be costly.  Some subject matters should simply be off limits for discussion.  One who is discreet shows prudence and wise self-restraint in speech AND behavior.  It always reaps a positive consequence.

Proverbs 2:11~~Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

30.  The Silent Tongue

Silence is not golden when one uses it as a pay-back to express ones anger or displeasure with a person or situation.  Silence is not golden when we refust to defend someone against the unwarranted criticism or vicious rumors.  We can not let our fear of alienation or rejection cause us to allow slander or character assassinations whe we are well aware of facts to the contrary.  Slience is not golden when it results in us making an undesirable decision by default.  After all, silence can indicate consent.  We must be willing to speak up for what is right and Godly.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1,7~~There is a time for everythign, and a season for every activity under heaven…a time to be silent and a time to speak.

March 19th

I am scum! Truly! For the last 4 years or so, I have upped the “gentleman” training for the boy. Opening doors, car doors, carrying in groceries, heavy loads, etc. He does very well. Today is the boy’s first day at work, and  he is working the early shift, so I had to carry down a load of laundry! I know it is just a load of laundry!!! I can carry it down, ~~and I did~~ I am a big girl! but I don’t wanna!!! I am wimp scum!!!

The truffles flopped. The boy threw away the recipe and didn’t make them right. They are still~~even in the frozen state~~the consistency of hot fudge. That’s ok…….we will just eat it with spoons, and he can make another batch! AFTER we find the recipe!

The blood work came back normal for the daughter. I am so happy she doesn’t have Celiacs. So, now they have ordered a barium upper GI with a bowel follow though. That is scheduled for Wednesday morning at 8:30AM. Then I need to give them a call Friday. The doctor seems to think it is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. I know it isn’t. I have that. She doesn’t have the hershey squirts, she isn’t constipated…she is just in pain…I pray that this gives us some answers.

This is my favorite picture of my daughter. It shows the woman that is living inside the girl.

The boy had a pretty good day at work today.  He learned all sorts of new stuff…..like how to properly carry a tray with a tea pot, 2 cups and saucers,  and strainers without spilling anything.  They got so busy that he had 5 tables all by himself…..on his first day of work…..but he got so backed up, that he ended with 3.   He got $13 in tips, so that isn’t bad at all….not for 2 hours of work all by himself.  I hope that he gets the hang of it.  I know he will.  He had a lot of information thrown at him today.  I hope that they extend him a measure of grace.

Now for the second to the last of the tongue lessons.

27.  The Doubting Tongue

If we ever hope to tame a doubting tongue, we must become familiar with the promises of God.  We must hide God’s word in our hearts.  Words of doubt come out of an unbeliving heart.  Of course, merely knowing the promises of God is not enough; we must become proficient at declaring them.  Learn to declare your faith rather than discussing your doubts.

Romans 10:17~~Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

28.  The Motor Mouth Tongue

Have you ever talked to someone who seemed to have diarrhea of the mouth?  On and on she goes, from one topic to the next.  When I am in the presence of an incessant talker, I often wonder if that person is lonely, has few opportunities to talk to others, or just plain loves the sound of her how voice.  Whatever it is, it tends not to glorify God and shows the selfishness of the one talking.

Proverbs 10:19~~When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.

March 18th

Tonight whilst I was frittering away time at  stuff mart, I chose 2 isles to meander down. The first one was the bra isle. Why I chose that? Well the daughter needed some smaller ones so, since I was already there, I thought that I would see how far that section had come in the last 10 years or so that I had purchased them at stuffmart. They have come a long way. Bra’s in every color known to man….wired, stuffed, embroidered, laced and plain. You name it, they had it. I was particularly drawn to one brand called “sweet nothings” This tickled me because they were all padded.

The second isle that I was drawn to was the frozen food isle. I have been craving ice cream, but to get to the ice cream, I had to go down the frozen veggies. I want to know why white corn costs $2 more than yellow corn? Also, they have these new things out that you take the bag out of the freezer, throw it….bag and all…into the microwave and it steams them for you. All for the low….low price of $3 for 2 servings. Talk about a rip off!!!! Buy a steamer insert! They are only $4. Get a Pampered Chef steamer….they are $9. Then do your own. They also had this wonderful looking lasagna in a 9×7″ box. Do you know what it said??? 5 servings!!! 5???? I could eat half the box myself……without a second thought! sheesh! Back to the ice cream. I generally make my own or get the $1.69 half gallon at Aldi……did you know that stuffmart doesn’t have $1.69 half gallons of ice cream? They do have peppermint fudge, coffee fudge, caramel swirl, candy cone, fruity stuff, and then they have more varieties of vanilla than I could comprehend! I didn’t get any, but it sure was fun looking!

Saturday, the daughter and I went to Peebles. She had a gift card from Christmas for there….and they were having a red dot sale~~read 60% off. So in we went. She tried on skirt after skirt. She settled on this one. ok…ok!! You can’t see the skirt. It is a tan corduroy skirt. Guess the size…….just guess!!! 0….it is a size 0!

The boy starts his job tomorrow. He is so happy to have a job. Saturday morning he got his bike down from the hooks in the storage closet, and greased the chain, let all the “stale” air out of the tires and pumped “fresh” back in.

Now for our tongue lesson….ugh! This is so convicting!

25. The accusing Tongue

Have you ever charged someone with wrongdoing before you established evidence of his guilt? We certainly don’t like that done to us, do we? When you do charge someone wrongly, without proper evidence, you fall into the same pattern as Satan, the official accuser of God’s Children. Emotional and spiritual maturity dictates that you must seek first to understand, rather than making an accusation.

Matthew 18:15~~Moreover if a brother shall trespass against you, go and tell HIM his fault between you and him alone; if he hears you, then you have gained a brother

26. The Discouraging Tongue

Have you ever dampened someone’s hope, confidence, or enthusiasm by raising objections th his proposed plans? An untold number of people have missed their potential because of someone’s discouraging words. Make a conscious effort to always speak sincere words of affirmation, support and inspiration to those with whom you speak.

Job 29:24~~When they were discourage, I smiled at them; my look of approval was precious to them.

March 17th

Not much to really report.

I am boring, but you already knew that.

I did laundry today, but you already knew that too!

See!  I told you I am boring!

March 16th

Have you ever heard of wood wick candles? They are wonderful! It has a wooden reed as the wick, and it sounds delightful as it burns!  The husband got me one for Christmas.  It is caramel scented, and I love it.  This is the first candle that I have ever burnt that smells just as good 1/2 way through the candle as it did in the beginning.   It makes the entire house smell good…….even the other floors.   Just delicious!!!

We are learning about table settings, the proper way to set a table, how to make a menu, table linens, flat ware, etc.  in home ec  right now.  I am learning things that I have never been taught.   I am really enjoying this.   The culmination of this is an evening dinner lab.  The kids will set the menu, type it, set the table all fancy-schmancy,  cook it and serve it.  The daughter wants to invite people over as a dinner party type thing.  The boy says an emphatic “NO!”

While I was outside today, I noticed that my , , and my hyacinth have all popped up.  I can not wait till they bloom.  Generally by Easter I have lovely color back in my yard.   The daughter’s lavender made it though the winter as well.   A new seed catalog came in the mail today, and she has already marked it up with all the flowers she wants to plant.

Speaking of Easter, the daughter and I went window shopping for a dress for her for Easter.  None of the shops that we went in had Easter dresses.  They had little old lady dresses, and dress pants.   What is up with that???  Don’t people dress up anymore?

Now for my lesson…

23.  The Complaining Tongue

A legitimate complaint can only be resolved if you direct it to the one who can change your situation.  Only a few people who are dissatisfied, annoyed or upset by an experience actually take steps to officially complain about it to the person with whom they are complaining about.  They prefer to waste time soliciting others to grumble with them.  Because complaining is contagious, this is a hard habit to cure.  If you are a complainer, you must start to resist the constant “ain’t it awful” party.  Trust me; others will be glad you did too.

Psalm 142:1-2~~I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord; I make supplication with my voice to the Lord, I pour out my complaint before Him; I declare my trouble before Him.

24.  The Retaliating Tongue

There is nothing as easy as verbal retaliation.  Of course, the thrill of it is only a fleeting pleasure fo those who love God; the remorse for giving in to sin tends to linger.

1 Peter 3:9~~Never repay evil with evil.  Never repay insult with insult.  Instead pay them back with a blessing.  That is what God wants you to do, and He will bless you for it.

March 15th

Ladies……….the weather man is so confused.  I just know he is, and I can do a much better job!!!  Why do I say these things?  Yesterday, yes it was raining, but it was warm.  I was walking around in short sleeves!  Today, well……. today it snowed!!!    Please join me in my letter writing campaign to my local weather man, letting him know that it should not have snowed today….that it should have been much warmer, and I am not happy about it!   Thank you for your kind support!

Growing up as a preacher’s kid, there was never enough to eat.  Especially when we lived in Houston.  Dad went to college, and worked on campus.  Ma worked 3 jobs, and we were always hungry……at least I was.  I rarely remember being full.  I do remember that ma always made wonderful meals out of what we did have, and tonight, I made her cheesy potato soup.    It always says comfort to me.  I will put the recipe in my recipes.

I got The King Arthur’s Cookie Companion from the library.  The boy seems to think I need to purchase it for him….silly boy!  Anyway, both kiddos have  gone through the book marking special  pages of recipes that they INSIST they can not live without!  Tonight the daughter and I made Vintage Butterscotch Bars on page 190.  They boy said it best “who knew non-chocolate brownies could taste that good!”  These are BY FAR THE BEST blond brownies that I have ever tasted.   It calls for walnuts, but I find that pecans go much better with butterscotch, so we used pecans instead.   Good choice!

The boy is also making truffles.  He put toffee bits in this batch.  We will be sending some to a friend’s husband who is stationed on the USS John C. Stennis.  She said that it is hot over there, and it will end up as a truffle blob, but who cares………..it’s chocolate!!!   The boy wants it to be surprised, so Tressa, if you haven’t told him yet, please don’t.

I hope everyone is getting something out of these lessons on the tongue.  I sure have.  Although I am not enjoying how convicting it is…

21.  The Self-Absorbed Tongue

Are most of your conversations with others centered on you and your issues?  A self-absorbed tongue will surely alienate others as almost everyone desires to be the focus of attention occasionally.  I had a friend who whom I spoke regularly to, with the hope of mutually sharing our individual concerns.  It didn’t take long before I realized that there was nothing mutual about our exchange.  The minute I would mention one of my personal concerns, she would immediately identify with it through her own experience and suddenly the focus of the discussion was all about her.

Philippians 2:4~~Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

22.  The Cursing Tongue

Using profane, obscene, or vulgar language is unbecoming to a child of God and ruins His witness.  Understanding that profanity resides in the heart helps us to reject the idea that a curse word “slipped” out of our mouth.  The reality is that it slipped our of the heart.  Only God can cleanse a person’s heart.  We must practice the mental discipline of casting down profane thoughts in our hearts and minds as well as our mouths.

James 3:10~~Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing.  My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

March 14th

  Rain…rain…rain!!!  Mud…mud…mud!!!

Today was yet another wonky day!  I took the daughter up to Akron to see a specialist. It was uneventful driving.  I am soooooooo glad that I google earthed the directions.  It helped tremendously!!! The doc  was very nice, but ONLY wanted the facts.  He got very impatient when he got more than the facts.   He ordered blood work done, which we did there.  I have to call back next week to see what the results are.  I have not ever had to do that before.  Always the doctor’s office called me.

The daughter fell asleep in the back seat, and the boy and I were trying to carry on a conversation, but I was having to raise my voice so he could hear me over the rain and the traffic, so he climbed up front with me.  We had such a great time chatting. 

I am tired.  Emotionally, physically and mentally.

Now to the tongue.

19.  The Rude Tongue

Rude people do not even have time to think about others.  They are totally absorbed with their own agendas.  What has made us so rude?  Is it the overbooked schedules, demanding bosses, spoiled children and the stress of daily living?   Perhaps our lack of patience can be attributed to the modern conveniences that allow us to do almost anything in seconds.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5~~Love is patient and kind.  Love is not rude, love does not demand its own way.

20.  The Judgmental Tongue

Judgmental people engage in a critical, fault-finding assessment of another person’s behavior.  What is amazing is that they judge others by their actions but judge themselves by their intentions.   Jesus bases His judgment of people’s behavior on nothing other than God’s standard.  This is the ONLY basis  from which we can righteously judge.  We would do well to focus more on judging ourselves than for hunting for specks in the matters of others.

John 8:15-16~~You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.  But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone.  I stand with the Father, who sent me.

March 13th

What a glorious day! It was 76º, and I felt like Laundry was hung on the line, and we had hamburgers on the grill. Nothing could be better when you are longing for spring!!! The smell of fresh air, and the earth beginning to warm……..ahh!!!!

We stopped at the Serenity Tea House today, and the boy starts his job Monday at 7AM. I am not happy with that time, but she said that she wants him to learn how to open and close, but the other 2 shifts will be his primary. We got all his paperwork and we went to the Good Will and found some very nice shirts. They had one pair of black pants, but they were to small.

Math was a disaster today. The boy was on the verge of tears the entire time, and so was I. I finally called it quits half way though the lesson. I don’t think either of us could have taken any more.

Tomorrow we leave bright and early for Akron. I Looked on Google Earth for directions. Sooooo much better than map quest…….tons better! Now I feel more confident about driving up there. I think before I leave, I will look at it again, just to refresh.

Now….for the tongue lesson. For those of you reading these, these lessons are coming from the book called 30 Days to Taming Your Tongue.

17.  The Tactless Tongue

We will always get more mileage from diplomacy than tactlessness.  One of the most important skills we can develop is the ability to deal with others with sensitivity and to speak inoffensively when we find ourselves in difficult or problematic situations.  It  is never necessary to be brutally honest.  After all, can’t we be honest without being brutal?

Colossians 4:6~~Let your conversation be gracious and effective so that you will not offend another.

18.  The Intimidating Tongue

The intimidater counts on his victim to wilt in the face of verbal attack.  God has never meant for anyone to oppress or dominate another person.  If you are an intimidater, it is time to get in touch with why you feel you need to gain power or control over others.  Maybe you need a good counselor.

1 Samuel 17:44~~The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”