Guess Who I Met?

I’m so delighted you can’t even see my eyes!

You’re probably scratching your heads (metaphorically, of course, unless you have some skin condition), wondering, “Should I know her? Is that someone famous?”  To me, she is. It’s aj1965!

I was just flopped in my recliner, laptop in it’s well-named place, debating what to do with my day when the phone rang. 

Mary?  This is aj1965. (She actually said her real name.)
Oh my gosh!
We happen to be in Pennsylvania and were wondering if we could come visit you today.
YES!!!!

So, aj1965 and her family drove several hours out of their way just to spend a few hours with me.  I talked too much and too fast (har har, B.), but I so enjoyed meeting her and her family and giving her as many garden plants and seeds as I could shove in their car. As they pulled out, Little Miss and C. called to each other, “Tomorrow, 2:00, yellow!” (which is some sort of Webkins thing really unknown to me)  In other words, I was not the only one who enjoyed herself.

This makes the fourth person I have known only from Xanga whom I have met. AimeeAnne, LadyoftheManse, and sportsgoddess were the other three. (Am I missing anyone? I’d hate to think I’d forgotten someone.)   Such fun! 

I Should Have More to Say

Did you ever eat a donut for breakfast and regret it? Yeah, me too. Today. 

I am hoping to write a nice entry about our last two trips in England–Wales and Bath.  Perhaps an August Armchair Vacation is just the thing. But that would require my actually making the effort to write.  I’m such a slug.

So, instead, I’ll mop the kitchen floor and go to lunch at Olive Garden where I can make regretful lunch choices.

May your day be free from remorse!

Can one really lurk at her own site? I feel like I have been lately.  I sneak in, see if anyone posted anything, and sneak away.  I’m not sure why I’ve not been much interested in posting all those wonderful details of my life of late. Ah, well. 

I am home, and I feel like a very loved person thanks to all the email and cards you sent. What an emotionally draining week, such needy kids: sexual abuse by parents, cutting, suicide thoughts, drugs, drinking, and more. Oh, my.  But thanks to the grace of God and all your prayers, I was able to minister and encourage all week long without feeling worn out.

Just know, every email and card was like a chocolate chip cookie, a bowl of Jax, and a handful of peanut M-n-M’s all mixed together in a most delightful way.

Future Cajoling Post

Deja Vu?

I am going to be heading to camp to be a counselor Sunday through Friday at a Christian camp about a half an hour from my house. I would LOVE to have mail if you care to write to me.  Even if you think, “Oh, she doesn’t want mail from me. I don’t know her that well/haven’t talked to her in a while/some other reason,” you would be wrong. I would dearly love your message!

Wait, wait. Hold the phone. Didn’t you JUST post this entry?  Well, yeah, I did. But, since the need was great and I was able to go, I’m going again. 

Go HERE and click the link to the right for “One Way Camper Email” or just send an email to camper@kanesatake.org. Put “For Mary Sellers, Cabin 7″ in the subject line.

I’ll be a counselor for Youth Quest, grades 7 to 12. I’d appreciate prayers in addition to mail.

Yes, once again, I brave the teens, the bugs, the rain, waking up to someone else’s schedule…Oh, the not-so-horror!  Last time, your messages were such a huge ray of sunshine in my day, like a Hershey bar with almonds all for me.  I know it’s asking a lot to beg for more mail, but I will, shameless mendicant that I am.

Please write! Copy your own Xanga entries and email them to me! Send me a message a day!  Send me jokes and those annoying forwards of forwards so that I can read them to my girls!  And, if you are so inclined, send Zebra Cakes. Mmmmmm!

RugRat

Or a drowned rat in all this rain.  I spent all day this rainy Wednesday tackling the mangy carpets in the house. You’d think that two rooms and the stairs wouldn’t take ALL DAY, but they did.  I wanted them clean, really clean, so I washed, sucked up the water, washed with bleach (pale tan carpets–it works), sucked up the water, and then rinsed, rinsed, rinsed.

Now I’m exhausted and have blisters. (Feel free to say, “Poor wittle yoooou!” at any time.)

But, tonight, TGD took the kids to VBS, and I am HOME ALONE! With eight chocolate chip muffins! And tea! And lots of Diet Coke! And a novel!  Whooo!  (Feel free to take back the “Poor wittle you at any time.)

The Great Race

Every year for the past however-many, the Lion’s Club has held a 10K run/5K walk race on the Saturday of Curwensville Days. And every year while we sat on the porch chowing down on the Rotary Club’s chicken barbecue dinner, we say, “We should do that.”  Well, this year, we did.

PapaJohn was all set to join us with his cane and broken foot, but he had to go flip chickens at the barbecue.

Of all of us, LibbyK was the most excited to be there.

Or maybe the most excited one was Gockle. 
(We just couldn’t get Grammy Peep to stop stretching!)

We boarded the busses to take us to the start of the race. Gockle was running, so he got in one and the three women got in the other.

Homeschool boy panics on a yellow school bus.

The race went well for the women.  LibbyK came in first in the under-14 walking category.  Gockle stepped in a pothole about 1.5 miles into the race and wrenched his leg. He walked the remaining 4 miles and finished the race, earning second place in his age division.

Libby was really excited to win first place.

 

And, Yours Truly got third place in walking in her age division.  I am old woman, hear me roar!

But, I got beat out by a bunch of 50 year olds when you looked at the time sheets. And LibbyK beat me, too.  Oh, well. We’ll pretend you didn’t know that.

Since the 50 year old competition was so stiff, Grammy Peep didn’t get a trophy. She fixed that by making her own.

A used cigarette found on the ground placed on a stick–quite a wonderful trophy for a race non-winner.

There were door prizes, and our lucky Libby won an oscillating sprinkler! 

After a healthy post-race snack of no-bake cookies, muffins, and chocolate chip cookies, it was time to go back home.

Hooray for the Curwensville Lion’s Club Race!

Back Home…for a Moment

Thank you so, so much for all your emails and cards.  One special friend even mailed me a box of Little Debbie cakes to share with the girls in my cabin! Every day, it was such a treat to go to the mail and see a big pile.  I loved every message, from the short “hope you are well,” to the jokes and comments, to the Xanga posts. Thank you!

I had intended to write a nice, long entry about my time as a counselor of the seven teenage girls under my charge, but I find I am exhausted.  On Sunday, I came down with a horrible cold and headed off to camp. God was very gracious and gave me strength to get through the week, but now that I am home and no longer running on adrenaline, I’m wiped out.  And I’m still sick.

It was a great week, though. I really enjoyed my girls. I enjoyed them so much that I’m planning to go to counsel again the last week of July! (The need is great for counselors, all ye who live in the area.)

Tomorrow, we head out for a five-day family camping trip and then a three-day visit to my mom’s.  I wanted to thank all of you individually for your emails while I was at camp, but there just won’t be the time tonight.  Just know that I am grateful.

PS–How to do a future post:
Type up your entry. Then, before you post it, click on “Edit” under “Time” which is just above the “Save Changes” button.  You can then choose the time and day you want your entry to post.