Tuesday Thoughts About...

...stink bugs! They are so disgusting! 

We never had a problem until about 15 or 20 years ago. In fact, I had never even seen one stink bug the first 15 or 20 years we've lived here. But once they started coming, they have multiplied like crazy. Actually, I say that, but I don't think I've ever seen even one outside. I was certain that they came from a bad load of wood and we literally carried them in the house. 

Once the weather starts getting cold, they come inside. It's awful! I can smell them long before I can see them. Even at night when I'm sleeping. I'll smell one, jump out of bed and turn on the overhead lights. Of course that wakes Butch and he's not too crazy about that. But, I just cannot stand it. I have to track down every single one! I'm a fan of flushing. 

So, in case you are wondering why I'm mentioning this, I have a story! Of course I do!

The other night, we were watching tv. I always have a drink on my table--mostly iced tea. I also use a lid and a straw in case of spills. Anyway, I reached for my drink and started to take a sip. All of a sudden--A STINK BUG WAS IN MY MOUTH!! I guess it was on the straw. I immediately spit it out and started freaking out. It landed on my robe and I was going crazy for Butch to get it!! I cannot tell you how disgusting this was. 

I will say one thing about this, well, actually two.

1. It didn't have a taste--although it couldn't have been in my mouth longer than a second.

2. It didn't smell. Butch was able to get it and flush it right away. My heart raced a good half hour afterwards. I was so jumpy! 

I had to look up how to get rid of them. I learned a lot. 

Stink bugs like the brown marmorated stink bug are native to East Asia and were introduced to the United States by accident, likely via shipping containers in 1998. From their initial point of entry, they have spread across the country and become a nuisance and agricultural pest. They seek shelter in buildings during the winter, which is why they become a problem inside homes. 

Just posting this picture is freaking me out! I further learned that they are a problem

in Pennsylvania, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and West Virginia. 

Kinda makes me think I need to move back home to Missouri!!

The night I almost "swallowed" a stink bug, I was afraid to go to bed. I read in bed and they are attracted to the light from my Kindle. I made Butch go with me. I usually go in earlier than him to read. I didn't get much sleep that night. I can hear them buzzing, causing me to jump out of bed and hit the overhead lights. I've taken to leaving the tv on all night so they'll be attracted to that light instead of my little one.

I know I am making this sound much worse than it is. I'd say that on average, I find and flush about 3 or 4 a night in my bedroom and another 3 or 4 during the day in other parts of the house. There are always a couple days where there are more. Plus, we'll find plenty of dead ones. This onslaught should end soon. At least I hope so.

It reminds me of when we first moved to Nashville, I was sitting in the "hook-up" line at school. Mindy was an infant and sound asleep in her carseat. All of a sudden, she started screaming. I looked back and a huge locust was in her mouth!! I started freaking out, jumped out of the car and got to her as quickly as I could. I got that gross thing out. Little did I know that we arrived in Nashville in the year of the emergence of the 17 year locusts. Just our luck!

I know I'm sounding like a baby. I'm not really scared of bugs--even spiders don't bother me. But, I am fanatical about "getting" them. I don't want them going off somewhere and having babies! 

You might recall this picture from 2019:

You can read about it here. I thought spiders laid eggs. I'll admit, those tiny spiders were really pretty cute. But I washed them down the drain and ran the garbage disposal without a second thought!

As far as I'm concerned--the only good insects are dead ones! I do not want them in my house! And especially NOT IN MY MOUTH! 

Me on Monday

Okay, I am so proud of myself! 

Here's the story:

On Wednesday, I had to go to the dermatologist as a follow up to the "age related warts" I had removed the month before. I go once a year for a "mole" check where basically you stand in front of the doctor (thank goodness she's a woman) in your underwear while she checks you! I believe in preventive maintenance when it comes to health care. Plus, Medicare pays for it--well, who am I kidding--WE pay for it!

Anyway, everything was great. Then I told her that I forgot to have her remove this little white pimple at the base of my nose. It was just bugging me because of how it looked. She gave me the medical term--which I cannot recall--for basically a "clogged pore." Why she can't just lead with that I don't know. Oh wait, yes I do. Maybe she's like I am with my flowers. I prefer to use their Latin names--not to show off (okay, maybe a little), but more so that I don't forget them. You just never know when a question like this comes up on Jeopardy:

$100 for the Latin name of the foamflower. 

Me: What is tiarella cordifolia, Alex? Ding, ding, ding!

Yeah, that's it, my doctor just wants to keep her brain fresh for whenever she's at a medical convention and finds herself in the middle of a Jeopardy round! 

Anyhoo, the doc proceeds to tell me that this is a cosmetic procedure and will not be covered by Medicare. I asked her how much. She replied, "$75.00. I'll have to numb you since this is a very sensitive area. Then I'll extract it and depending on how deep it is, it might have to be cauterized."

Not to be dissuaded, I asked, "Well, what if I don't have it numbed and you just do it?" I'm thinking of all the times I've pinched and squeezed pimples and was able to manage the pain. 

To which the doctor replied, "Well, I can do that, but depending on how deep it is, it could be pretty painful--especially if it needs cauterizing."

I asked if it hurt too much if I could just stop at any point. She said "yes." I said, "Let's do it!" 

She grabbed whatever she was going to use to pierce it and said, "To be clear, you are certain that you do not want anything to numb it?" Now I'm thinking that maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Still, I wanted to proceed. I'm not a baby and have a pretty high pain tolerance--at least I think I do.

She sterilized the area with alcohol and the next thing I knew, it was over when I heard her say, "Well, that was easy. It wasn't very deep at all! It practically just popped out. Let me just make sure I got it all" 

Honest to god, I barely felt it!! 

On my way out, I stopped to pay. There was NO charge!! I guess that numbing stuff must be pretty expensive! It was the best FREE procedure I've ever had!

Come on, seriously, it was basically a pimple. And we've all popped those! Next time I have one, I'll know what to do and do it myself. On second thought, maybe I'll just have the doc do it for FREE!

Yeah, I'm one tough broad!

Something for Sunday

Well, I have a confession to make. 

A little background for those of you who weren’t there. At book club on Monday night, I was telling my friends about a book I just finished by Jennifer Ashton called Self-Care. She gave herself a different challenge every month of the year to promote health and well-being in every aspect of her life. One month the challenge was reducing her phone usage. She said that the average person does something on their phone 80 times a day!!! (300,000 times a year!) OMGosh!! No way!

I said there was no way that I used my phone that much. And then went on to say all the ways I do NOT use my phone—not really thinking of all the ways that I DO. 

Well, I started to think about it. Actually, I might have to try to track it. I’m pretty sure I DO interact with my phone 80 times—or MORE a day!

Here’s just a sample of what I discovered:

1. When I wake up in the morning, before I even get out of bed, I ask Siri what time it is. Then I ask her what the weather is (that’s how I determine whether I’m walking outside or on the treadmill (under 50 degrees).

2. I use my phone to check the time a lot because I’m not always wearing my watch. In fact, I remember years ago reading that checking the time was the biggest thing people used their phone for.

3. I take pictures just about every day for one reason or another and sometimes more than once a day--at least several times a week.

4. People text me and I respond. Sometimes I’m the initiator. I mentioned how I don't like texting because I'm so slow at it. Unlike everyone else, it is not my favorite way to communicate.

5. I play games a lot—while I’m watching tv or listening to a book. Never without doing something else at the same time.

6. I listen to podcasts while walking.

7. I don’t talk on the phone much—probably 2 or 3 times a week. I’ll stand by this and pay attention to see if it’s true.

8. I ask Siri all sorts of questions throughout the day—like, “What did Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo get paid for Wicked?” She usually answers me.

9. I’ll check on the weather for the next day.

10. I check my heart app to find out how many steps/miles I’ve walked.

11. I might check my plant identification app.

12. I might use my calculator.

13. I probably check my Regal app every day to check on movies and times. 

14. I access our Sonos sound system and Spotify app to play music just about everyday and sometimes more than once.

15. I use my Starbucks app and Panera app a couple times a week.

16. I read my book on the Kindle app while waiting anywhere.

17. I’ll check the Libby app to see if any of my books have come in or to put a new one on the list.

18. I probably check my calendar for one reason or another at least once a day.

19. I add appointments to my calendar a couple times a week when I'm out.

20. I might have theater and event tickets in my wallet on my phone.

21. I might have airline boarding passes in my wallet.

22. We have a bird buddy which alerts us when a bird visits the feeder. I don’t really check it much because the bird that visits the most is a squirrel! 

23. My friend, Diane from England contacts me through the “What’s App”.

24. When I’m alerted by the “ring” app, I’ll look to see who’s at the house.

25. I might send or receive money through Venmo.

You get the idea, the list goes on and on. My phone is invaluable to me. It’s ridiculous that I ever thought I didn’t use my phone all that much!! All of this to say that I am as addicted to my phone as much—if not more—than everyone else around me!

Oh, and one more thing that Jennifer Ashton mentioned in her book. She talked about a derogatory term called "phubbing." It's what the action of checking your phone is called while you are with someone. Personally, I think it's rude. It sends the message that "you are not important enough to spend time with without checking my phone." It really is out-of-hand. I'm certainly no saint when it comes to this, but I do try to remember to turn off my phone if I'm having lunch with someone. If I forget and my phone rings or dings, it's pretty hard not to look at it.

Okay, I've just wasted a lot of your time with this post. Go ahead and check your phone! 

Scrapbook Saturday

I've still be working on my "December Daily" class with Ali Edwards. I'm loving it!

I've been doing so many fun things.

This class was on creating a vellum pocket with a fold-out inside. It's about 6"x5"--but can really be adjusted to any size.

I laid it on top of red just so you could see it better. Next time, I'm going to stitch around the window rather than use a marker. Also, I could create the window on my computer with a red outline and then just cut it out. It would look much better if it were more precise. 

In this class, we were working with mixed media--paint and modeling paste. Didn't love it so much. I'm not artsy enough to enjoy messy things.

What I liked the best was making the stars, punching them, stamping them and attaching them to paper clips. Love that. I don't love embossing, but I decided when I started the class that I was going to be open to all of the projects. Sometimes in life, you have to do something to know you never want to do it again!

This project has been my favorite so far.

I learned a really simple way to make a page with a double pocket and added assorted homemade tags.

Adding a transparency with stars over the top just added a little pizzazz! I'll be filling all of these tags today or tomorrow. I'll share it when it's completed.

You might remember that I was struggling with the DEC and how to attach the letters a few weeks ago.

It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I ended up sewing it together with a zigzag stitch on my sewing machine. That 25 is covering up a spot where the stitching kind of messed up. Still, this will work perfectly in my album. I'm happy with how it turned out.

I am enjoying this class so much. I'm glad I'm doing it. I still love memory keeping with a passion!

But, there is one problem when I'm working in my room.

I have so much stuff everywhere! It's a lot of chaos and basically a trip hazard for myself. At least I'm pretty disciplined to clean up after each work session. Kind of like my house. I make sure it's straightened as I don't want to come back to a mess. There's nothing worse than having to clean up before you can begin the fun again!

Friday Funnies

For my dog lovin' friends!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I hope you all have a great day with your family!!

Words of Wisdom Wednesday

Keep this in mind as you are doing some last minute grocery shopping for Thanksgiving!! Happy cooking!