I'll never be the same again

Hello my friends.

It is I, Bonnie.

I am a changed person.

I am trying to get a grip.

5:00 am this morning I heard a sound.

I checked the hallway...nothing.

I looked downstairs...nothing.

I went back to bed.

Ok, let's rewind a minute here.

My 9 year old son came into our room at about 4:45 am.

He told us he heard noises.

Ok, it's nothing, go to sleep.

He stayed in our bed for a little while.

Fine.

This is not too unusual...

He is usually telling us there might be an alien outside his window.

or

What if Big Foot is real.

oh

and the latest...

Apocalyptic zombies might really exist.

ok

So...this is par for the course around here.

Ok, back to the story.

I heard a crinkle of a plastic grocery bag.

Turned on the light....checked the bag...nothing.

Turned off the light.

Heard a bump on the wall.

Turned on the light...nothing.

Wait...not nothing!!!!

A bat is flying around my room!"

Holy Crap!

I scream "It's a bat!"

My husband hops out of bed.

He says "stay calm, stay calm."

I get down on the floor and cover my head with the blanket.

Sure enough the damn thing LANDS ON THE BLANKET ON THE BACK OF MY HEAD!

I say "I think he landed on me! I think he landed on me!"

My husband comes around the side of the bed...

wait....

He can't see a thing without his glasses!

He goes back around the bed to get his glasses.

I can hear my 9 year old son saying

"Oh! Hi bat! Awesome! Hey bat! That's cool!"

I then see my hubby coming towards me with a T-shirt.

He says "Don't move, don't move, don't move."

He throws the T-shirt over the bat..

the bat screeches in my ear!!!!!!!!!!!

Not a sound I ever planned on hearing in my lifetime!

More of "don't move, don't move."

I can't take it any longer!

I wriggle out from under the blanket...

I try to stand and run, but sorta stumble to the floor.

I proceed to crawl and and basically scratch and claw my way

to the bathroom looking exactly like someone in a horror movie

trying to escape the masked chain saw murderer!

I make my way to the bathroom on all fours and close the door.

I do not move from that spot.

I am in the dark, on the floor, eyes wide as saucers!

Hubby folds bat up inside blanket, takes blanket downstairs and throws it outside.

Bat flies away into the darkness.

Hubby comes back upstairs into bathroom to console me.

I ask him several questions...none of which I can even remember right now.

He says "I'm sorry, but I'm trying so hard not to laugh, but I can't help it!"

He starts to laugh but tries not to.

I am not offended by his laughter.
My hubby loves me so much, but he is not easily shaken.
He knows I am a spazz.

Hubby continues to console me and eventually we go back to bed.

I don't sleep.

I cry a little...

and think...a bat landed on me.

:(

Seriously!
Did I really have to go through that?

I keep asking God..

"God, why did the bat have to land on me?"

"What are you trying to teach me?"

P.S. No animals were harmed in the horrifying-ness of this situation!
My hubby even said he tried to be delicate while folding the blanket over the bat so it's wings did not get damaged.

P.S.S. No one was bit by the bat...no one was hurt...thank goodness!
And my 9 year old son had an awesome story to tell at school!

 :)

just an update

The kids are back to school and the weather has cooled...54 degrees this morning with a steady downpour of rain. However, I'm snug as a bug in a rug on the living room floor...large mug of coffee to my right. I've got one window open just a bit...fresh air flow and the sound of rain drops are SO therapeutic.

On Saturday, the hubs and I..as well as the boys, wandered through IKEA...inspiration for a living space in our master bedroom. I've got some great ideas a'brewin in this little head of mine. Thank goodness for my husband...he is very creative and can carry out any idea we come up with. By the way...have you ever had the $1.00 cinnamon rolls from IKEA?? HoLy CoW, they are crazy good!

Sunday afternoon found our family perusing Barnes & Noble. Man do I love that place. I really, really LOVE a really, really good book store! I only wish there wasn't a toy section to distract my kids from enriching their minds with reading. Don't get me wrong...Barnes& Noble has THE BEST toy selection ever! In fact, I already have my nephew's 1 year birthday gift picked out! It's just hard to get the kids interested in looking at books when in the corner of their eye they spy the coolest doo-dad you've ever seen! Once they've spied the toy section, it's all over.

Sigh.

I've been working on cleaning up and cleaning out. More specifically...my master bedroom. Over a period of 2 days, I hauled out 3 bags of trash and 3 bags to give to the thrift store. I have plenty of room in our master to have a "living area". This will be what you all know as "decorating on a dime"...but I am still excited as my hubby and I have come up with some great ideas.

Until next time....I'll be sewing up a storm...I bought fabric for curtains for the master bath.

:)

Farmer's Wife

Trying my hand at charcoal sketching.
My second drawing.

She's a tired old girl.
She rises early to make biscuits and gravy for the Mr.

:)

Tomato Sausage Pie

Hello all!

If any of you are overflowing with tomatoes from your garden or your neighbors keep giving you more and more tomatoes...this is an awesome recipe! I ate the entire pie myself over a period of 4 days. I had it for dinner the first night...fell in love...and then had 2 slices for lunch every day until it was gone! No one else in my house is into tomatoes, so it was my pleasure to eat the entire thing! Man that really makes me sound like a hog..that's a little embarrassing! LOL! Well, it's not like I ate the entire thing in one sitting! Ha Ha!

INGREDIENTS:
1 - 9 inch uncooked pie shell, 1/2 pound sausage, 1 c. chopped onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 egg, 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, 1/2 c. light cream, 2 c. shredded mozzarella, about 3 tomatoes sliced.

DIRECTIONS:
Cook sausage in fry pan in small amount of olive oil. Chunk sausage into pieces. Add onion and garlic. Careful to not burn garlic.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, 1 egg and 1/2 cup light cream. {I used half n half.} Stir into cooled sausage mixture.

Sprinkle 1 cup shredded mozzarella in bottom of uncooked pie pastry shell. Pour sausage and egg mixture on top of mozzarella.

Make a layer of sliced tomatoes covering the entire top of sausage/egg mixture. Sprinkle with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle top of pie with a bit of dried basil and oregano.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes in 375 degree oven. Let stand 20 minutes before slicing.

Enjoy!

Locust or Cicada?

Why do I love finding these ugly, little, lifeless, fragile skins of a bug?

I guess it's because it's reminds me of childhood when I thought they were the coolest thing ever!

I grew up calling them locust shells...but in doing some research, I've found that they actually belong to that of the cicada!

It is true that people often refer to cicadas as locusts. I've heard people say "Aren't they the same thing?"

Locusts are actually a member of the grasshopper family, and look very much like a grasshopper. They are quite destructive, swarming and eating their way through crops, sometimes causing such devastation that leads to famine and starvation.

On the other hand, cicadas aren't really destructive like locusts. Here's a little information about cicadas. They have a stout body, broad head and beautifully clear membrane wings. Their distinct large, shiny eyes bulge from the sides of their head.


I love the sound that cicadas make! The males vibrate their abdomen producing a buzzing, clicking sound. To me, it's a rather soothing, hypnotizing sound to fall asleep to on a hot summer night.

Here's an amazing fact...there are over 2,500 species of cicadas!! Holy cow!

I'm sure all of you have heard of the "17 year cicadas", living in their nymph stage, in the earth and then emerging in force. These are known as "periodical" cicadas, but they aren't destructive like locusts. Although, it is true that locusts can cause some damage to crops, shrubs or trees...but only by way of "scarring" left on tree branches while females lay their eggs deep in the branches.

The most common cicada that most of us are familiar with is the "dog day cicada" that reappears every year, mid-summer. They are what's known as "annual" cicadas. To me, it just wouldn't be summer without these little critters singing their songs in the trees. That sound is a key essential to summertime!

Do you find empty, shed cicada skins in your neck of the woods??