A Simple Country Mouse

I am in awe bloggers. How is it that so many of you want to read this quirky little blog about the odd stuff in life? It will never cease to amaze me. Perhaps it's time to tell you all why I started this blog. I was originally inspired by Author. She had come home from a writer's conference, and had been inspired to start one. So, I thought "What the heck, why not have a place to write down all of my random thoughts and things going on in life?" I never believed when I got 5 hits. Then it started getting 6, 7, 8 everyday. Next thing I knew it was getting hits from all over the world. And then it was hitting 15, 20 hits a day. I kept writing, thinking this was a blast, and fun to see how many hits, and where they were coming from. Now, everyday when I check I find 40 to 50, and sometimes even 60 hits. That's so far beyond what attention I thought this little blog would ever get. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. How you found me, or why you continue to ...

The sun is out Bloggers!!!! While it may only be a break of just a day in the consistently cold and deary world around me, I'm still thankful for each moment it is here. Here the rain starts and then doesn't stop (unless it decides to snow) for several months. So each day of little bit of sunshine here is amazing! It certainly makes you appreciate the good weather when you have it. The one thing I do enjoy about the rain is the fact that the clouds act like a big blanket and help to keep some of the warmth of the earth closer to home. When there are no clouds the temperature takes a nose dive because the heat takes a high flying adventure to the tip top of the skies. So, bundle up if you are having a sunny day in the middle of winter. It's going to be chilly. With Liddy meowing around in hopes of extra food and attention, and Scientist doing dishes, it looks to be a day to relax and get some house cleaning in. As I haven't been home much this weekend, and when I have I...

As you all know, I love a good cup of coffee. So, when I was in this little coffee shop down the street (not Starbucks for the record, though I do like their coffee), I got to enjoy a great espresso. One of my favorite drinks is known as, wait for it and don't laugh, a "French Kiss". Basically it consists of french vanilla, white chocolate, and caramel. I prefer a double or triple shot with balanced pumps of flavor, but that's just me. Depending on the day I may go with extra sweet. I felt a little bad for the guy behind the bar, but not to bad. When he called out my drink it went something like this. "The French Kiss is ready, and I hope I never have to say that out loud again." "Aww come on, you have to admit that was entertaining." "Well, yeah. I suppose." I think the entire coffee shop chuckled under their breath. Poor guy....well, maybe not. Another one of my favorites is a little coffee shop downtown that serves the local apple cid...

"Good morning, good morning, it's great to stay up late, good morning, good morning to you." Ever hear this little wake up song? If not, hear's another one for you. "Good morning to you, good morning to you, we're all in our places with bright shining faces, good morning to you, good morning to you." No? Ok, how about this one. A classic VeggieTales song. "Good morning George, how are you? I hope your feeling fine, I'd love to stay and talk but it's almost 8 o'clock and I haven't got the time." Ahh, one you remember! Oh good, good. I do so love a good song in the morning. Then again, I love music in general. Music is a passion of mine that very rarely gets let out of the closet. I have a healthy appreciation for music as I used to play brass. For those of you who don't speak instruments, brass is known as the instruments that were made of brass. Trumpets, trombones, and tubas are all good examples of brass. There's some...

Well bloggers, the rain is in full swing here at the Sound Castle, and the air is chilling to a wintery feel. With the holidays in the near future and the things gearing up for craziness, I feel the need to stop and mention a few things. For starters, this holiday season, make sure you take time to drink a cup of coffee (or tea, cocoa, or whatever it is that is warm you drink) with a friend, or with family. You never realize how important family is until it is gone. You never realize that friends are so needed in your life until they no longer are there. So in the midst of all the chaos of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, make sure you take the time to be with those you love. Secondly, don't let everyone else tell you that the gifts and the food is all that is important. I promise, in the span of things, the gifts and food are really not that big of a deal. What people will remember the most are the memories you make. The ones like Aunt Matilda spilled all the green bea...

Remember how some time ago I mentioned I am not a morning person? Here's another fun fact. I don't like taking my showers in the morning. In college I would take them as late at night as I possibly could. I found that the community bathroom was as quiet as can be at midnight, and that the hot water was on an endless supply. I would wait until curfew (as ours you just had to be in the dorm, but you could be wandering the dorm) and then go take a shower just after everyone cleared out of our community bathroom. Our bathroom was shared with 4 other rooms, and each contained 2-4 people in them. I think there was a total of 11 or 12 of us. The bathroom itself contained three toilet stalls, three shower stalls, and a long, wrap around counter with three sinks. There was a small closet where some people kept their stuff, and the extra toilet paper and paper towels were kept there. The bonus to having a community bathroom, unlike the other dorms which had bathrooms built into each room...

With our niece over today, I realized how excited I am for kids of my own. Putting Little One down, and hearing her cry was so sad, but it gave me an excuse to pick her up and hold her for an hour or so while she slept in my arms. I finally put her in her play pen which is where she is right now sleeping. All the lights in the house are off except the kitchen light, which Scientist is using to make himself breakfast. I'm sitting here mostly in the dark blogging watching Little One sleep. It's such a pleasure to see babies and toddlers sleep. They are so relaxed and comfortable, it makes you want to curl in a ball and snuggle up in some blankets yourself. They are so cute. The soft cadence of their breathing is a lullaby in itself, because you know they are safe and sleeping. In my opinion, there is nothing more peaceful than the soft sound of a little one's breathing. Liddy is curious as to what this littler person in the little box is. As Liddy has never really spent much...

As I haven't posted about our cat Liddy for a while I decided it was only fair to devote an entire post just to her. Granted, this is probably one of the few times I will post about her, let alone an entire post. But needless to say, this one's for you Liddy. Liddy is our long haired black (or Scientist is determined she is brown but she must be so dark brown everyone thinks she's black) ball of fluff. Her unusual meow is a constant source of amusement for us all. With it's purring quality and her constant chattering with us, we all find that we worry when she is quiet. That typically means she's got something up her sleeve...or shall we say furry paw. ;) She has seems to have decided that we live for her entertainment and needs. Oh, and apparently she owns the house as well, including all of our beds. You know how most cats seem to find the most comfortable place in the entire house and stake it out as theirs? Yeah, no, not Liddy. She hates anything to comfortabl...

You know how you always here the old saying "What are you doing for the holidays?" Me? My answer is usually something like "hopefully spending it with family and friends." I won't lie, I love the holidays. The scents of Thanksgiving, and the whirl of Christmas. The lights, the music, and the general happiness in the air. Around Thanksgiving and Christmas everyone seems to be kinder, and less grumpy. The cheer seems to light up any room, and places like the mall don't seem quite as bad as they normally do. With Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas on everyone's lips, and music ringing through the air, the whole world seems right, even just for a little while. I can't wait. So with the holidays just around the corner, we are gearing up for them. I love to spend time with my family and to hear what they have been up to since the last holiday. I have most of my Christmas shopping done, but still have to shop for Gamer, Author, and Scientist. Beyond tha...

Sometimes in our world we have to say goodbye before we even get a chance to say hello. When a life is lost before it is even begun to really live is one of the hardest things about our world. So many lives are lost, but the ones that are yet to be born and are lost are some of the saddest. Watching the people deal with the loss can be heartbreaking. What do you do? How do you help? These are some of the questions that run on a constant loop through your head. The silent tears that fall from your eyes as you hold them while they cry, run deeper than just the surface. Wondering what will happen next, and how you are going to help them get through can be questions that you don't know the answer to. Sometimes, the constant worry about them and the heartache of having to sit back and let them go through it can bring you down. It can seem like it will never end, and that one thing after the next just keeps happening, with no end in sight. The sorrow and hurt can be overwhelming, but do...

This little phrase is what I heard this morning when I told Author she could take the rest of the mint chocolate bar to work today. The rest of the conversation went something like this: "Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate. Ponies and chocolate! Chocolate ponies! Like chocolate bunnies, but they are shaped like ponies. You eat them while you ride a pony!" Yeah, she was a little excited. I promise, this is a normal conversation for our little family. Every once in a while when Author is sitting on her bed in the living room we hear a random little something from over there. One of my favorites was "I know you! You are president Ulysses S. Grant and the snowman, and your here because it's Armor Day and there aren't enough zippers to go around." Another was something along the lines of "Yes, because trusting your uncle who just killed your mother is a completely normal and great thing to do...moron." The funny thing about all this is we won't here a ...

So deciding to go into work in a kitchen on a sprained ankle probably wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. No idea why that sounded like a good idea. Well, other than I can only take 4 hours of sick leave a day, and I had a 9 hour day on the schedule. With a lunch and a dinner on the event list, fortunately, my boss had sent me a text that night and I called her to let her know about my....fall. She decided that she had enough help for the first event so I was to come in for the second event. Then if my ankle hurt, I was supposed to go home and put it up. I'm a stubborn brat, so I stuck it out until I couldn't handle it anymore and then, and only then, did I go home. My boss followed shortly. I got home, and sat and chilled to take it easy. My poor little foot was ready to be done. It was definitely a "I'm done, I'm going HOME!" kinda days. The next morning I got up, totally spaced on having a sprained ankle, that is until I stood up and hit the ...

You know how when you wear those adorable heels, and someone says, "How do you walk in those? I would break my ankle." I really think that all those people should shush it, as it always seems to jinx anyone wearing heels. So help me heaven, the next time I hear that phrase I think I will scream. The reason for this rant is that I love heels. I have probably somewhere in between 25-30 pairs. In all colors and shapes, I love them all. So today when I was in the parking lot and fell, well you can imagine what happened. Yup sprained ankle. Again. I have never fell in heels, but I have sprained my ankles several times. So, tonight's post is short, but that's because I'm in a mood. Yes, I'm ticked off that I fell. And I'm the one in the family with the balance of a cat. Hopefully tomorrow's post will be brighter. Hope all of your days were much better than mine. Goodnight!

You know those days when you get a call and the conversation goes something like this: "Hey, this is so and so, I was thinking we should do dinner sometime?" You answer, "Yes, of course, we should catch up. When should we go?" You continue to have a conversation until you both come to an agreement on when, where, and what time you should meet. Sometimes you are even really looking forward to going and hanging out with this person, and sometimes, you are already beginning to wonder how you can pull and dine and run. Well, as I have much experience in the dine and run area, here are a few ideas. Idea Number One: Show up with a date. Seriously, pick some random person that you sort of know-ish, and invite them to dinner. Then proceed to call and ask if it's ok if you bring them along. Truly it works. They feel obligated to let them come, and usually dinner is cut short as the person you intended on meeting doesn't really want to hang out with random person. I...

Yup, yesterday was that time of year again. The time of year when you pull out all those itchy costumes, and greasy face paint. Just kidding. Not all the costumes are itchy (though I'm sure there are some) and not all the face paint is greasy, but it can be hard to get off. Here at Sound Castle we dressed up, and headed out for dinner and a movie. Ender's Game and Applebees to be specific. Both were wonderful. Author was in a full evening gown, white mask, and rhinestone tiara to turn her into the perfect princess. She stayed warm in her black cape which looked awesome over her deep blue dress. Scientist was, well, a mad scientist. Armed with a lab coat, glasses, and some frizzy hair, he looked the part to be sure. Gamer was debonair in his classy vampire costume, right down to his waistcoat, and cravat. Yup, even did the touch of mascara and eye liner to make him look a little mysterious. Surprisingly the make up made him look even more manly, rather than feminine. Lastly, but...