Day 5 of my Aha and Ha ha Moments: That's not what I meant

Aha:  "I said I wanted frozen yogurt, not I-scream"
I find the mere fact that a yogurt shop recently opened in my town as a blessing in and of itself.  However, even better than that is eating the frozen goodness.  I had such an opportunity to do so tonight with some of my gal pals.  After some good laughs and some rounded-out tummies, it was time to head back home.  By the time I left it was dark outside.  I got in my car, pulled out of my space and pulled up to the driveway of the parking lot to leave.  My ma and pa always taught me to look both ways and then look again--I did this and the way was clear.  As I began to drive into the street, I decided to look again and saw a biker come flying down the hill.  I put on my breaks as he cut me off then flew through the intersection on his way to what could be an early death, if he keeps stunts like that up!  I'm thankful it wasn't an early homicide on my part either!  If I want something creamed, I'll stick with the iced kind, not the smashed-biker kind, thank you!

Ha ha:  "Button, button...Who's got a button?"
Clinton and I were sitting on the couch watching the news.  He has an annoying habit of blowing in my face.  He knows I can't stand it, hence his joy in doing it all the time.  A long time ago I told him that any time he blew in my face, I got to slap his.  Those were the terms and we have stuck to 'em!  Anyway, I was feeling fairly patient and generous this evening and didn't punch him.  I asked him to stop and he breathily asked, "What?" right in my face.  I looked him straight in the eye and said, "You are really pushing your luck and my buttons!"  He cowered away and I laughed in eloquent triumph!  Actually, what I really said was, "You are really pressing my luck button."  I hoped he hadn't caught on to my mix-up of "pushing my buttons" and "pressing your luck".   He was quiet for a moment before he busted up laughing at my rather obvious flub-up!  I couldn't help myself so I joined right in!

Day 4 of my Aha and Ha ha Moments: God Bless You

Aha:  This will be short and sweet, but I was very busy at work today because I was responsible for arranging and supervising a retirement reception for one of our faculty members.  I was pretty overwhelmed and was wondering how I was going to squeeze my daily 30-minute run over to the Corporate Office to distribute/pick-up interoffice mail.  I found a small gap in the reception and ran over to my office to announce I'd (literally) be running over to Corporate.  My coworker turned to me and said, "Oh.  Don't worry about it.  Christine stopped by on her way back from the retirement reception and asked if there was anything she could take to the Corporate Center for you.  It's all done."  I began to worry about needing to go get what might be meant for us from Corporate, but then I remembered that another staff member had already brought over what was there earlier in the day, just because.  What a small, but very meaningful miracle in my very busy day!!

Ha ha:  After my long day at work, my husband took me out to dinner at the local Applebees.  Applebees is kinda it's own meltingpot.  You really are exposed to all walks of life in there, so we always come away with a story.  Today as we entered, there was this weird snotting sound.  I don't know how else to describe it.  Kinda like, a small explosion.  At first, I thought it was maybe someone throwing up.  I looked toward the sound and noticed a woman with a tissue to her face.  I didn't comprehend.  I saw her sneeze, but surely THAT sound was not coming from her...was it?  I thought about shouting, "Quick.  Everybody, duck and cover!  There's a terrorist trying to bomb up the joint!"  Again, (sneezing motion) "ka-BLAMO" (wipe nose).  Over and over, probably at least eight times!   I made a conclusion--the sound WAS in fact her sneezing and not some crazy uni-bomber trying to take out the local Applebees. 
I do wonder if she has any relation to the Big Bad Wolf, for her sneeze could surely blow down a house of sticks!

Day 3 of my Aha and Ha ha Moments: Gifts

Aha:  "Gift of Gab" 
My boss called me yesterday to schedule my annual review (due at the beginning of March) for this morning (short notice, but I didn't dare risk having another 4 months without my review).  I was to come prepared with goals and comments about my performance over the last 12+ months.  This caused my heart to beat a little faster than normal.  How was I going to speak eloquently about something I had less than one business day to think about??  I asked one of my coworkers for some ideas and she, thankfully, obliged.  I thought and prayed about it yesterday and again today at work as to what I could talk about.  The time quickly came for my meeting.  As I sat down with my supervisor, I felt quite calm and as prepared as I could possibly be.  My meeting lasted about 45 minutes and we literally just visited (nothing work-related whatsoever) for the first 25 minutes and then she briefly went over my review (all improvements from my first 6 months).  She was very complimentary!  She asked if I had anything I wanted to add.  What?  I thought I had to have all my strengths/weaknesses, goals/ambitions, and deep reflective insights ready for this meeting?  All she asked for was if I have anything I want to add?  So, I kinda chuckled and said, "I wasn't sure what you expected from me, so I kinda prepared "the usual" review stuff."  She seemed very impressed and was grateful I had prepared myself so well!  Woohoo!  I had worried about nothing and ended up only impressing her further. :)

Haha:  "Giver of Gifts"
I drink a lot of water during the day and as a result, I tend to frequent the nearest restroom.  During one of my announcements that I would be going to the restroom my coworker responded, "Ok, but be sure to bring me something back!"  I told her she was gross and proceeded to leave.  However, after finishing my "business transaction" and while washing my hands, I looked into the mirror and was struck with the perfect gift idea for my needy coworker.  I dried my hands, pulled off a large section of toilet paper and pulled the lever on the "Free Maxi Pad" dispenser (one of the many "benefits" for working at the college, however, for someone who rarely has a period, this isn't something I use very often :).  Anyway, I wrapped up the little box in the toilet paper and tied it with what T.P. I had left.  I brought it to her and set it on her desk.  She looked at it for half a second before recognizing exactly what it is.  We all had a great laugh!

I'm sorry...what?!

Day 2 of noticing the Lord's hand in my life and the funny things from my day...

Aha:  I returned to work today from a week's vacation and needless to say I was swamped.  When it was time to sort the faxes I was greeted by an absolute mess.  (Thank you Wisconsin humidity!!)

This isn't the first time I've seen this so I combat it with a sense of humor and go about my now more-than-normal detailed sorting.  Whilst sorting I came across some faxes that did not belong to any one of our physicians so I gathered them up and called the sender to inform them of this error.  While talking with the sender it happened to come up that although the documents should be shredded to be safe, they had worked with one of our docs in the past.  I noted this and thought I should save the faxes until I could just double check with that physician that they weren't, by chance, meant to go to her.  Long story short--I continue to plunge through my very busy morning only to have it interrupted by a very angry physician looking for the very faxes I had so thoughtfully held aside.  I held them up triumphantly and declared I had saved them from a sure-shredding for her, just in case.  She proceeds to tell me I've created a big mess because I didn't come find her the second they came across the machine (how was I to do this if I didn't know who they belonged to??)  Anyway, she leaves but comes back a few minutes later to tell me I've missed the first eight pages.  I told her that because of the above disaster, I had to take extra time to go through each sheet that came through and I gave her exactly what we got.  She continued her unusual form of gratitude for my thoughtfulness by questioning my ability to read faxes and put them in the right order off the machine.  I began to feel a bit frustrated that she was turning my kindness into an opportunity to yell at me in front of my coworkers.  This is where the "aha" came into play.  At that moment, I felt a total clarity of mind and emotion and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand why you are upset with me.  These faxes were saved for you as a favor."  She continued to complain and I responded, "Your name was not on the fax so I contacted the sender who only happened to mention your name in a different part of the conversation.  As a favor, I set these forms aside for you just in case.  I also did not know these were a priority and I have been very busy taking care of other time-sensitive issues this morning.  Would you like me to call the sender to see where the first eight pages went?"  She was still angry, so I said, "I'm happy to help in this situation, but I don't understand what you want me to do."  I could tell she was running out of steam because I wasn't giving in to her bullying.  She said that wasn't good enough and huffed off like a three-year-old and I returned to my work.  A moment later, my coworker's phone rang.  Dr. Cranky (name has been changed to spare the insolent) asked her to call the sender and locate the missing pages.  Lo and behold...they did not send them because they were being sent by another sender entirely.  Turns out not only can I read and distribute faxes properly, but I can defend myself and my capabilities as an administrative assistant to a huffety-puffety doctor with an aggressive attitude to boot!  Go me and thank the Lord for a quick mind and a peaceful demeanor in the face of adversity!!

Ha ha:  I listen to talk radio in the morning while I get ready for work.  It is always filled with news and information, but today I was greeted with an unexpected but especially welcome little nuggety-treat.  The story was on coconut water and how prices are becoming burdensome to vendors who use it in their drink mixes.  Seemingly innocent story right?  Well, as talk shows usually do, they consulted with a nutrition/food economist specialist named...Harry Balzer.  Say it out loud my friends if you must.  Not only was his name Harry Balzer, but they kept shortening the topic of coconuts to just "nuts".  Harry Balzer, a specialist on nuts.  Clinton and I promptly began laughing, as any sane person with a sense of humor would do and continued to do so throughout the entire 5-minute segment!  I believe Clinton summed the story up best as he declared, "Harry Balzer really knows his nuts."

We're Funny and Spiritual!

So, I've desperately been wanting to blog, but have found myself wanting when it came to what the heck I should write about.  During a talk on recording our memories a blogging bulb turned on...I could write about the blessings I notice in my life each day.  I became very excited about this and felt some hope at being able to again contribute to the blogging world.  Then I realized I had even more to give...we are hilarious!  Why couldn't I write a blog post each day which contains something spiritual and something outright funny from our day?  Genius!  "I shall do it!", I proclaimed.  I will record our "aha" and "ha ha" moments.

So, first things first--Aha.  I have been praying a lot lately for understanding and encouragement regarding this adoption process.  I have asked the Lord to know if there is anything else I could/should be doing to ensure I have done all I can to help this work along.  I wanted to know if there was anything else I could do.  I haven't been feeling like an answer came until I listened to one of the speakers at church today.  She was talking about living our lives in such a way that we can hear and follow the spirit when it prompts us to do something.  She said that it is our responsibility to remember that the Lord is in control and that if we are doing our part, He will always bless us and will do so at the right time and in the right way for us.  His way is always better than our way and we need to trust Him.  I totally knew this already, but I needed to hear it again.  I've heard it many times and said it to others many times in my life, but it was so refreshing to hear those words again today.  They were meant for me but they can apply to any one of us in every situation of our lives.

Ha ha--I have a few to list, which I will do over the next few days, but here is a brief one from this afternoon.  Clinton and I had both fallen asleep in the living room this afternoon, I on the couch and he on the floor.  Anyway, when I woke up I was looking at him and admiring his cute sleeping self.  He woke and asked me why I was staring.
Me:  You're cute.
He:  (Shakes his head)
Me:  What, I can't think you're cute?
He:  Nope.
Me:  Why not?
He:  I'm trouble.  I'll break your heart.

That kid cracks me up!  I don't know how or where he comes up with some of this stuff, but he makes me laugh everyday!