No More Puppies On The Bed!

I do not like it at all when dogs are allowed to sleep in their owner's beds. (No offense if you let your dog in your bed, this is just my own personal opinion :]) Nope. Nope. Sadie knows that my bed is off limits to her. 

Before she was house broken I blocked off the spare room with a baby gate, and she stayed in there while I was at work or at night time. I figured if she made any messes while I was gone at least it wouldn't be all over the house. 

The past 2 weeks I slept in the spare room while my Dad and Suzanne were visiting from the other Coast, and yes, that is the bed that Sadie sleeps on at night. (a twin size bed is huge for a 7 lb dog lol )

So I figured I'd just deal with a dog in the bed for a couple of weeks. But gee, for such a small dog she sure does take up a lot of space!

Anyway, she has been doing so well with not leaving me any stinky surprises around that house that I decided not to block her in the spare room at night anymore.

I went to bed last night and she was all curled up on her little pillow on the floor beside my bed. Well she must have gotten used to sleeping in a bed with me, and figured that it was now ok to jump up on my big bed, because I woke up in the middle of the night last night and felt something heavy on my feet. Now, I like to sleep with lots of pillows, and occasionally I'll end up kicking a few onto the floor during the night. So I figured that this heavy thing laying on my feet was a pillow....so I kicked it off the bed. 

Nope.

Not a pillow.

Yup, it was Sadie.

It didn't take her long to forgive me :] and I crawled back in bed, thinking surely that had reminded her that she wasn't allowed on my bed.

Nope, again.

A few hours later I woke up and there she was sitting on the pillows right by my head just staring at me. 

So I guess it's back to the spare room for Sadie until she remembers the rules. It's for her safety of course.....I don't want to kick the poor pup off the bed again!

 

Yes, I'd like to refill my 'stupid' pills, please.

It's been one of those weeks when the alarm clock goes off in the morning and I hit snooze...and then hit it again...and then again. Obviously this has me rushing around when I finally do pull myself out of bed and makes me want to curse the 25 mph speed limit that is 95% of the trip to work.

Why? Why can't I get out of bed this week? Why am I so exhausted? I'm not staying up any later than normal.

Well, I'm a big dummy.

Along with my 'once a day every day' medicine that I take, my doctor prescribed me a once a week little green pill that is basically jam packed full of vitamins... "You need more energy, Kristin!" he says. "Your Vitamin D level is drastically low! It's the worst I've seen for a long time...how do you have energy to do ANYTHING?"

Guess who forgot to refill that prescription last week? And guess who hasn't taken that cute little green 'energy' pill this week?

Yup, that'd be me...the girl who can't get out of bed!

Man, my doctor knows what he's talking about! haha That makes me feel good :]

Finding Humor in the Sadness...

...the sadness of gas prices, that is!

I was on my way home from my sister's home this evening when I looked at my gas needle and realized that I needed gas...like RIGHT now! Thankfully I made it to Sheetz, reached for my purse, and opened my wallet. 

Now, I don't know why I always expect to find more cash in my wallet than I do, but I'm usually quite disappointed :]

I pull out the lone 10 dollar bill, look at the neon red sign that reads:

REG 3.98

Oh dear.

Well, I think, thankfully I live really close to where I work, and $10 will be plenty to get me back and forth for the week.

So I walk inside to prepay. Thy guy behind the counter looks like he'd rather be anywhere else but there. I smile and walk up to him, hand him the ten dollar bill, and in a moment of pure goofiness I say, "Hi, I'd like 2 gallons on pump 8, please".

Blank stare from bored cashier guy.

Confused look from the bored cashier guy.

Then, the funniest part of all: he pulls out a calculator and starts figuring out how much 2 gallons of gas costs. He thinks I'm serious!

I laugh, "Oh, I was just joking because I gave you $10, and gas is so expensive! That $10 is only going to give me a little over 2 gallons."

"Oh, haha" he says, "that makes more sense."

I walked in Sheetz tonight depressed about the numbers on that neon red sign, and walked out laughing. Oh, and I made that bored cashier guys night a little less...well...boring :]

Try to find a reason to laugh everyday. I found it to be very helpful in times like these. 

A bellyful of laughter helps the gas prices go down.....or at least makes them less depressing for a moment or two!

Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down....... 

I'm a -green bug drivin' - suv lovin' - shoulda been an Astronaut- kind of girl

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

--C.S. Lewis--

I love to hear kids say, When I grow up I wanna be...

I asked several kids this week what they want to be when they grow up and I received these answers:

• An Artist
• A Cooker aka Chef
• Superman
• A Cowboy
• The mail guy
• The pet fixer aka Veterinarian

Well, 6 year old Kristin (aka me) wanted to be an astronaut! But I discovered that dreams change as you get older. Because now, 23 year old Kristin does NOT want to be an astronaut. 23 year old Kristin has to take a double dose of anxiety meds before getting on an airplane :] I still love astronomy, and love to sit out late into the summer nights staring at the sky, counting how many constellations I can still identify. However I prefer both feet firmly planted on planet earth.

As I grew up, around age 12 I declared that when I grew up I wanted to:

• Get married
• Homeschool my kids
• Be a dance teacher
• Own a shiny black SUV

Ask any of my family. They will confirm that I repeated this over and over.

While I'm not married with kids, I am still hopeful :] And I'm not a dance teacher to the degree I had hoped, but there are little girls out there who know me as, Miss Kristin, the dance teacher.

But in September 2010 when I drove off that car lot in my shiny black SUV, nothing else mattered. I was in love.

And oh do I still love that shiny black SUV.

However, as the gas prices started to get higher and higher, and my gas needle started dropping faster and faster, it quickly turned into a love-hate relationship. 

There came a day when I finally had to tell myself that I simply couldn't afford my shiny black SUV anymore. Yes, I cried.

 So over the course of several months, I started looking at some other options, but kept stalling so I wouldn't have to part with my childhood dream car. But the bank account is now saying No more stalling!

So I began my search again. And after only a few days I found a dealership who is giving me an awesome deal on a trade in. A trade in on what, you may ask?

A bright green, Volkswagen Turbo Beetle. 32 mpg beetle vs. 16 mpg SUV. hmm.

I wasn't convinced at first. In fact I left the dealership only to return later in the day when realizing this was the best deal I was going to get. So I test drove that beetle.

Oh. My. Gosh.

Is that thing ever fun to drive! Don't get me wrong, its no SUV, but thats the most fun CAR I've ever driven :] I drove it back onto the lot with a smile on my face and the saleswoman said, I told you you'd like it.

So, hopefully I'll know for sure on Monday if the deal is going through.

As I think about driving away leaving my shiny black SUV behind, I feel like crying; but then I remember that green VW Beetle and can't wait to drive it again!

So even though my dream of being an Astronaut changed, my dream of that shiny black SUV is still there. And I thank God for the 18 months I got to live out that dream. Who knows, maybe one day I'll have a shiny black SUV again.

So, here's where you can help. I name my cars. Yes, I'm that kind of person. 

My first car was Lucy, my second Ethel, and my SUV was given a name by my grandfather that I can't write on here because it would probably get me in trouble :]

So...any name suggestions for a green VW Turbo Beetle? No, Herbie is NOT an option! lol

Sorry Brittany, I can't give it to you as a birthday-christmas-wedding gift, but I'll let you take it for a spin :] 

The Tale of the Traveling Rug

I love my apartment. I really do! At first I wasn't so sure, but my family was right; once I moved all MY stuff in it wasn't as bad as it seemed at first. You see, the carpet in my apartment is...well...I guess you could say less than desirable. It's downright ugly. Some of it is yellow, some of it is orange, and the worst is orange and brown speckled. (My apologies if you have carpet in your home like this and love it. It's just not my cup of tea.)

So, thanks to my Dad and his wife and an apartment warming party, I have lots of big area rugs and smaller rugs to cover most of the nasty carpet.

Now, these rugs travel a lot; and it doesn't happen from me walking on them. No, I'm not talking about moving a few inches over time, I'm talking about traveling all over the apartment in a matter of a few minutes. Let me explain

Maybe if I stand really still she won't notice me beside the messed up rug.

What rug? I don't see a rug.

Don't look at me. I don't know how it got there.

Let me sniff it a little. Maybe I can catch the scent of the cat that is messing up your rugs!

In my expert opinion I would say it was definitely a cat!

What? You don't believe me?

GASP! Some cat is trying to set me up!

Look at my adorable face...do you really think I would do a thing like this? What's that you say? We don't own a cat? I could have swore I saw one around here somewhere.

And It's Only Day Two

I've mentioned my new job on Facebook, but to my readers who are not connected with me through Facebook: I'm a Nanny again! Started on Monday!

I feel so blessed to be working as a Nanny again and only 2 days into it I already know that this is going to be awesome! 

I never thought I'd be able to say this, but I feel like I'm 15 years old again...back before all my health problems started and I felt like a 'normal' human being. This new doctor has been great, and I really do feel like my old young-self again :]

Tomorrow is day 3 of my new job, and already I've rediscovered some 

Telltale signs that I'm a Nanny!

• I walked around all afternoon/evening after work wondering why I could still smell baby puke. When I got home from the market I caught a glimpse of the back of my shirt...yes, dried up baby puke alllll down the back of my shirt.

• I have mastered the art of getting a 6.5 month old to open his mouth to eat his food. You spin in a circle, make a funny face, and say "Ta-da". He then laughs just long enough for you to slip the spoon in his mouth and dump the nasty sme...I mean, yummy smelling baby food on his tongue. 

 

• Toddler-talk is now my second language. 

 

• On my way home from work today I wasn't listening to my favorite Adele CD. No, I was singing the Bubble Guppies song.

 

• An afternoon snack of Goldfish and a juice box are now part of the daily routine. 

  

Somthin' from Nothin'

Today I took...

...a $5 flat bed sheet...

...a scrap of fun red fabric...

...and made new curtains!

Booya!

Take that $20-a-panel-curtains-from-Walmart! These actually match the room and didn't cost $40 :]

Make A Joyful Noise

There are many things that I enjoy spending time on in life. Some things I enjoy because I'm actually good at it, and others I'm not so good at but enjoy anyway.

One of these is cleaning. Yeah, I know. Crazy, Looney, Nuts, call me what you want...I've been called it before :] I love taking a horribly messy space and turning it into an organized, clean, and relaxing environment.  I believe I'm fairly good at this, and enjoy keeping my apartment 'company ready'.


Another thing I enjoy is singing. Unfortunately, at this I'm not so great. I don't think I'm horrible, but I'm not trying out for American Idol either. But I still find myself singing everyday, simply because I find it fun!


Well, I like to mix these two things. Almost the entire time I'm cleaning my apartment I'm singing away! (yes, this also includes dancing with the broom and sliding across the kitchen floor :] ) Sometimes I'm singing along to music from a CD while other times I'm just singing to the music in my head :]


Well, last week on cleaning day I was singing away to the music in my head...which just so happened to be a song from Cinderella haha

Cinderelly, Cinderelly
Night and day it's Cinderelly
Make the fire, fix the breakfast
Wash the dishes, do the mopping

I was just going about my business scrubbing the shower and must not have realized exactly how loud I was singing, so imagine my surprise when suddenly another voice joins in! Yes, that would be one of my apartment building neighbors. 

They seemed quite happy to be singing along, so I wasn't sure if I should do a  

and that's the end of the show folks

 or  

thank you, thank you, I'll be here all night

So even though I'm not the next contestant on The Voice, singing brought joy and laughter to my day. (and hopefully my neighbor's too) I've found that to make it through each day I need to find some little piece of joy! It's funny how this usually comes from doing something dumb and laughing at myself :]


What brings joy to your day? Do you find reasons for laughter?

Dear Aunts --- I Mean ANTS.

Dear Ants that have over taken my bathroom,

   I believe you may have read the memo wrong; this is an apartment for 1 Aunt...not Many Ants. You are not welcome here. Please go away, or you will inevitably be squished by my shoe, a rolled up newspaper, or yes...even eaten by my dog. This is your last warning.

   Sincerely,

       The Aunt in charge of Apartment #3.

 

 

 

Down The Drain

This is my bathroom sink

As you can see, it lacks on of these things (I obviously had no idea what this thing was called, but if you type in sink pop up plug in Google it does the trick :] )

Because my bathroom sink is lacking a pop up plug, in the 6 months that I have lived in my apartment I have lost the following down the drain.

The cap to this bottle

The match to this earring

A couple of these

The cap to this tube of miracle worker :]

One of these (thank you Noah)

As you can imagine I was beginning to get a little nervous about the state of my bathroom sink drain.

I tried one of these numbers with no luck. Diving under the sink and opening up that drain scares me a little, so I was avoiding it as long as possible. As long as it's still draining, I'm good! However...

...today, when my darn eyeliner slipped through my fingers and down the drain, I knew I couldn't ignore it any longer.

You see, this scares me a little

Alas, I guess this will be me very shortly. Pray for me. I'm scared. :]

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Spending time with my nieces and nephews always results in one of them saying something that makes me either laugh, cry, or become totally speechless.

Tonight, a 20 second conversation at the dinner table made me do just about all three.

Cosette: Aunt Kristin, do you think a boy will ever love you?

Me (aka Aunt Kristin): Well, *pause, wondering what kind of mean trick God is playing on me. Do all 7 year olds ask questions like this?*

Noah: (interrupting my pause and sounding very 'matter of fact') Cosette! Pappy Shaun loves her! 

Oh. My. Gosh.

Also Eli, who sometimes has trouble remembering what he's supposed to call me, used the following names to get my attention:

Grandma
Grandma Karen
Sunshine (the cat)
Leanna
and the names of two of their cousins, one being a boys name.

Eli: Oh wait, that's not your name! Sorry Sunshine....I mean Aunt Kristin! 

 Seriously love these little people!

The Cocoa Saga

For those of my blog readers who are also connected with me on Facebook, the first part of this post will be a repeat of one of my status' from last week. However, keep reading because it gets even better!

For my blog readers who are not connected with me of Facebook, I'll catch you up on the story! 

This was my status on Facebook one day last week, and I think it explains the beginning of this story pretty well!

"Here's my piece of advice for the day: Whatever you do, don't store your cocoa powder on the top shelf of your kitchen cabinet. When you open the cabinet, it will inevitably fall out, bouncing off the counter and onto the floor. On it's (what seems to be slow motion) trip to the floor, it will cover everything...including you...with cocoa powder; the floor, the cabinet, the counter, your poor little puppy, etc.You will end up with cocoa power in your ears, up your nose, and in the pockets of your pants. On the plus side, however, your whole kitchen will smell like chocolate!"

I received many comments with people laughing, making jokes about it, etc. One of my favorite comments was from my friend Connie. She said:

"I know, throw some flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla, etc. into the mix and make some chocolate chip cookies! ; } LIFE IS GOOD!!"

My misfortune gave everyone a good laugh so when it continued this evening, I knew I had to tell you all about it!

So here it goes.....

Tuesday is trash day in our neighborhood, so I always sit my trash out Monday night just to make sure I don't forget the next morning. Now, last week as I was cleaning up all the cocoa, I was able to suck a lot of it up in the vacuum, (which wasn't a great idea after all, because I then had to clean it all out of the vacuum!), but the majority of it ended up in the trash. That was on Tuesday, so it was dumped into a clean empty trash bag and ended up all the way on the bottom.

 Well, as I was rounding up my trash to sit out tonight, something in the bottom of that darn trash bag ripped a penny size hole in it! Just as I pull the bag out of the trash can every little itsy bitsy teeny tiny micro size flake of cocoa powder spills right out of that penny size hole. This once again happened in slow motion.

So there it was again. A pile of cocoa powder the size of Mount Everest on my kitchen floor. 

*insert stopping of a foot and "are you kidding me?!*

So, please laugh, because at first I felt like crying :-] Do you know how hard it is to clean up cocoa powder? I already learned its a horrible idea to vacuum it up, and a wet rag just turns it into a sticky mess! 

Call me brilliant though, because I discovered that a spatula and a piece of paper are awesome cocoa powder cleaner uppers!

So once again people, I say: 

Don't store your cocoa powder on the top shelf!

Apartment Living 101

As of yesterday, January 11th, I have been living in my apartment for 5 months. My goodness, how time flies! So what have I learned since being out of my parents house and in the 'real world'? Well..

• When I lived at home, milk never went bad...there were so many people living in the house we never had to worry about the milk not being used. However, on more than one occasion in the past 5 months, I have found myself chugging down half a gallon of milk for breakfast because its expiration date was, um...2 days ago...

 
 

• When it's storming outside, carry around your flashlight all night. Oh, and don't decide that its a good time to straighten up the attic...its not a fun place to be when the electric goes out.

 
 

•  Even though he may live all the way on the other coast, Dad is never too far away when you blow a breaker in the kitchen. "Hey Dad, where's the breaker box in my apartment?".

 
 

•  Remember that your laundry room is also shared with the nice lady in the adjoining apartment; she may be in there on occasion when you open the door. Try not to scream in her face when you're not expecting her to be in there.

 
 

• When your smoke alarm in beeping due to a low battery, don't waste time checking your TV remotes and clocks for the right size battery; they are all the wrong size, and the constant beeping will drive you crazy. Immediately drive to Dollar General and buy the right size battery. 

 
 

•  Try not to fall asleep on the couch with the TV on at night. When you wake up at 3am there will most definitely be a creepy show playing that will inevitably give you nightmares the rest of the night.

• Making a 9x13 of your favorite dish is an easy way to assure that you will have a nice warm and easy dinner ready for the rest or the week. However, by the end of that week, it will no longer be your favorite dish.

 I hope I may have given some insight to those of you who may be ready to move out on your own. If you ever need to know what not to do when your kitchen sink over flows just give me a call...I can help you out :-]

We're Not In Kansas Anymore, Toto

There are a few things I have learned this first month in my apartment. (Yes, it's been 32 days already!) I knew it would be different living on my own, and I prepared myself for all the major changes. However, there are a few little things that as they occur I think, "If I was still living at home, this probably wouldn't have just happened". And some of these things are just plain stupidity on my part.....but I hope you laugh.....when I do silly things I prefer people to laugh along with me :)

• On your first morning in your new apartment (when you're still weaving your way through boxes) when you can't seem to remember where you put your keys the night before, check the front door. Chances are you left them hanging in the doorknob. Yeah, go ahead, test the security of your new neighborhood and say, "Attention all robbers and creeps, I'm leaving my keys in the door just for you!" 

• When you live at home with your parents and come across a big hairy nasty spider in the living room it is very beneficial to jump onto the couch and yell, "DAD! Come kill this spider! Hurry!" However, when living on your own, this technique does no good. Believe me, I tried it. Apparently Dad couldn' hear me from the other side of the country. You now must be brave and pull yourself off the couch, run to the front door and grab a shoe, and become the heroine by squishing the spider yourself. Reward yourself with a chocolate chip cookie.

• Sorry, oh last born, but there is now nobody to blame messes on but you. You spent the first *insert personal number* years of your life passing the blame to your siblings, but now it is all your fault.

• Making real pancakes is just too much work when only one person is going to be eating them. Make sure to purchase the 'just add water' box mix from the market. Add some blueberries and King Syrup and you will hardly notice the difference. 

• It is very beneficial to change the channel when a commercial for a creepy movie comes on.....especially late at night. Of course, if you are not easily scared by such things its not such a big deal....then again, when you're in the apartment all by yourself, this may change. Check behind the shower curtain before going to bed :)

• Try not to forget the Trash day is on Tuesday. If you do and wake up to the sound of the garbage truck outside, it's probably too late to take out the trash. It's a bit difficult getting used to living in town.

I'm sure there will be more posts like this soon. It seems everyday brings new and exciting adventures when you're living on your own.

Grandma.....Kristin?

When my oldest niece, Cosette, first started talking she decided Kristin was too hard to say, so she somehow turned it into Deka (pronounced DEE-ka). I was (and still am) quite proud of that nickname. 

Although Cosette doesn't use it as often now, there are many other people who picked up the habit, and I love it! One of these people happens to be my Grandfather (the one I am currently living with) so I hear my cool nickname everyday now.

Within the past few months Cosette has given my a new name: Auntie Mabel. Hmmm. She said she got it from a Little House On The Prairie episode. She doesn't use it all the time, but quite often she will refer to me as Auntie Mabel.

I was playing with the kids one day last week, and we started giving each other nicknames. Eli's was our favorite...he was Clifford (as in the big red dog) because he had on his big red Clifford slippers...oh yes, we're very creative :) 

Anyway, Cosette reminded me that I already had a nickname, Auntie Mabel. After reminding her of Deka, she promised she would try to remember my preference of names. However, two minutes later I was Auntie Mabel again.

So, today at the lunch table (yes, my Sister and Brother-in-law's house has become my source for Family Meals since I had to move out of our house in January. Thanks guys!), Eli was talking to me....this is how our conversation went:

Eli: Hey Grandma, the other day when I was outside I went...

Me: (interrupting) Eli? What did you just call me?

Eli: Grandma.

Me: Oh. Why did you do that?

Eli: I dunno, Grandma.

Me: Whats my real name?

Eli: Aunt Kristin.

Me: That's better, bud. Now what were you telling me?

Eli: Well yesterday when I was outside, Grandma, I went over to the swing set and.....etc.

Don't know what's up with that! He was quite serious, though.

Those two crack me up :)

Although I love the nickname Deka, I could deal with Auntie Mabel as long as it's ONLY Cosette who uses it! But Grandma? I dunno how I feel about that in my 20's :)

Gettin' Outta Dodge

Summer 2009

"Kristin, wake up. We need to Get Outta Dodge!" , I heard my Mom say in her mischievous voice that usually meant she was up to no good.

I opened one eyelid just enough to see the clock sitting on my bedside table. 6:00am. Yuck, way too early for a Saturday morning.

Mom started shaking my bed in attempts to hurry my waking up.

"Mom!", I said as I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head, "What is so horrible that we need to Get Outta Dodge at 6:00am?"

"Just trust me Kristin, and get ready to go! You have 30 minutes before our ride is leaving town." she said while pulling the covers to the foot of my bed.

"Hey! I don't wanna Get Outta Dodge at 6:00am! What is going on?"

"Well," she said with a smirk on her face, "if you want to spend all day helping Dad and Wray cut the grass and work in the yard, then please....stay in bed. I, however, am Gettin' Outta Dodge and headed to the Prime Outlets! Really, the choice is yours; but Dad will be up in 30 minutes, so decide quickly!"

I was on my feet in the blink of an eye.

We quietly got ourselves ready, and left the house without waking my Dad or brother. They called around 8am to see where in the world we were. We didn't tell them we were spending the day shopping, but we did tell them this..."We Got Outta Dodge!" Oh how much fun we had that day knowing we ran off and let all the work for someone else :)

We were very nice when we got home though, full of compliments.

"Wow, doesn't the yard look nice?"

"I really like how you trimmed that tree."

"Did you move all those rock by yourself?"

I don't think Dad and Wray were quite as amused as we were :)



For the past week I've had the urge to 'Get Outta Dodge'. I need to run off and have some fun! To look at my phone as a call comes through a few hours later and realize that somebody is wondering where I am :) But now that I've told you all about it, I guess nobody will be suprised when I leave town for the day. Ah well :)

My brain is racing now.....where can I go next?

Junebugophobia

Last night I found myself standing in my bathroom getting ready for bed. I was brushing my teeth, although I wasn't really aware of my arm moving back and forth to make the brush stroke over my teeth. Instead, I was staring into the mirror above the sink, past the reflecting image of myself, and into the image of my dream from the night before.

In the past few months there have not been many nights that I haven't dreamt about Mom.

Half of the time they are good dreams; dreams of trips we took, conversation we had, times we spent just having fun.....all good memories. These kinds of dreams are so real that I spend the next day hanging on to every detail of them, hoping to discover yet another hidden memory in the dream's contents.

And then, there are the other 50% of my dreams about Mom. They are not like the good dreams I described above. No, these dreams are quite different. They are never the same, and never reflect anything that actually happened in Mom's lifetime. However, they all end the same way. They all end with my Moms death.

Sometimes its a car accident.

Sometimes its a fire.

Sometimes its a heart attack.

I once even dreamed she was struck by lightening.

Yes, I was standing there, trapped in the memory of the horrible dream I had had the night before, where my Mom had died on a camping trip. When my mind gets stuck thinking about these dreams I automatically end up thinking about the real reason my Mom died which leads to me dreaming it all over again the next night. 

My thoughts were headed there just as I heard 

*Click*

on the bathroom window.

(No, it was not prince charming throwing pebbles at my window :) )

I was jolted from my daze, and my toothbrush stopped mid-brush so I could listen.

*Click*

There it was again. Such a familiar sounding *click*.

*Click*


*Click*

I quickly spit my mouthful of toothpaste into the sink, rinsed my brush and mouth, and stood on the toilet so I could see out the window.

Just as my eyes focused on the darkness outside my window, I saw a little black spot moving towards my face, and I jumped back on reflex as it *Clicked* on the window right in front of my face.

A huge smile crossed my face as I realized why that *Click* sounded so familiar.

It was a June Bug!

The house my family had lived in for the past 11 years seemed to attract June bugs. They were always hitting our windows, making the same noise that had caught my attention just a few minutes before.

My mind was immediately pulled away from the horrible dream, and sent flying with the June bugs to a funny memory.

My Mom hated June bugs! Hated them. She hated the noise they made when they flew into things. She hated the crunching sound they make when you step on them. She honestly thought they were God's yuckiest creation.

The depressing images of the dream were replaced with images of Mom running down the sidewalk trying to escape the path of a June bug.....images of her face curling up in disgust when she accidently stepped on one.

*CRUNCH*

I then remembered my favorite June bug story with Mom. As soon as I thought about it I laughed out loud, and quickly covered my mouth in fear of waking up Pap and Grandma.

In the memory, we had friends over at our house, and had just come in from outside. Just as Mom walked in the door, my sister and I noticed that she had a June bug on her back. We looked at each other, and silently agreed it was best not to tell her about the creepy crawler on her back. I was about to go over and quickly flick the thing off her back (hopefully unnoticed by Mom) when a friend also saw the bug.

"Oh Karen," she said, "you have a..."

Jaime and I started frantically waving our arms trying to ger her attention. She got the hint, and stopped before uttering the words 'June Bug'.

She finished, "Oh never mind. Just hold very still."

She removed the bug and threw it out the door before Mom had a chance to see it.

Later that night when all our company was gone, Mom asked what had been on her back earlier. Jaime and I glance at each other again, and decided it was ok to tell her now since she was "out of danger" :)

Wrong.

As soon as the words left our lips, Mom gave a little shudder, shook her body as if she was trying to remove the bug that was no longer there, and yes -- she screamed.

*Click*

Another June bug hit the window in front of my face, and again jolted my out of a daze. I smiled at the memory, turned off the lights, and crawled into bed. I lay there listening to the *clicking* of my Mom's biggest fear on the bathroom window.

I rolled over, knowing that I wouldn't have to fall asleep worrying about what kind of dream I was going to have.

I already knew.

I was going to dream about June bugs.