Dull Moments

and my husband would probably agree with you. Alas, this week has been full. of. baking. I made our weekly cookies on Sunday (like normal). I did chocolate cookies with white chips. Not only are these Robert's favorite, by they are my nod to the Indy 500 - black and white cookies (like the flag. get it?!). On Monday, Robert asked for some cookies to take to his friends at the car dealership that majorly helped him out with getting his truck fixed post-accident... so I made my peanut butter cookies, too! They turned out beautifully . Not to brag, but they were gorgeous . Tuesday, I made a birthday cake for the doctor at my office. His birthday is on Thursday. I got up early on Wednesday to ice it and cut the strawberries for the top.The cake is a white cake with a light almond flavor topped with a simple vanilla icing. It is incredibly minimal work for how good it is. The strawberries (his request) are simple, seasonal, fun way to make it special. Wednesday, I got home from work and...

This is not the zoo. This is my house. And I am in charge here. I seem to have inherited both of my parents feelings towards animals. I hate pets. I HATE THEM. I hate the hair, the slobber, the food, the mess, the hassle. The throwing up. The smells. I get that from my mom. Animals should be in zoos or eaten. End of story. Then I love my dog. I love being a doggie-momma. I've been begging Robert for a miniature dachshund for over a year. I loved playing with my brother and sister-in-law's little cats (they are adorable) and called them my "cat nieces". I get that from my dad. It makes no sense. It is a total contradiction. Well, as my mother would tell you, "Mice do not come alone." Yes, Mighty Mouse 1 was captured and killed. His friend drowned trying to drink anti-freeze in our garage. We found their third friend yesterday. He somehow had fallen to his death in our downstairs bathroom sink. Don't ask me how or why or even what it was like. Robert di...

We have been battling a mouse. I hope it is singular, a mouse, and not plural, mice. We live in the middle of farm fields, so it's to be expected. For some reason, the mouse decided that burrowing under the bathroom vanity was a good location. Probably because it could use my fallen hairs to make a nest. We have been keeping the bathroom door shut so that we can trap it. Around 8:30am I was reading in bed and start to hear it scampering around the bathroom. Avoiding the traps. Chewing at the door. Running around some more. So I wake up Robert. If you know anything about my husband, you know that you DO NOT WAKE ROBERT up on Saturday mornings. But it was driving me nuts . Robert went in after it to no avail. The mouse continued to eat away at the door frame. Robert decided to out smart it so that our landlord would not get mad when the bathroom door frame was missing when we moved out (whoops?). After some pretty stealthy hunter moves, Robert trapped the mouse, stuck with a glue tra...

...about so many things that would make most people terrified. I do not fear international travel. I do not fear bugs or diseases from the corners of the earth. I don't fear the water (or drinking it) in Mexico. I love public speaking . But I woke up this morning with a pit in my stomach. A nasty, surly, dreaded feeling. The kind that almost took over and made me drive right now to Indianapolis to give hugs and hold people I love tightly and to share a bed with Abram for the next couple of weeks. Because I am so big . I am so in control. I can so magically protect and make things happen. Yeah, right. For someone who has as much as experience as I do with what is currently causing my distress, I should know two things. 1. Oh, come on. It'll be fine. You are more likely to get run over in Meijer's parking lot on a busy day then have something bad happen while traveling. 2. Nothing good comes from me. We all know where all the Good and Perfect Things come from and I am ver...

Our pastor preached today all about these things. -The church is God's plan for local outreach (and therefore global) -Life is a short term missions trip This is something that my friend Lori and I have been going back and forth about since we were teenagers. This is something that comes up in every conversation I have with my friend Jen. (btw you two, you may tell me to shut up if you are unable to have this conversation ONE MORE TIME with me) This is something I think is very easy to get wrong. This is why you never tell a missionary "you could never do what they do", because they would say the same thing to you . We are all supposed to be doing this all the time, and it's always hard. Right? Note: there is no way I have that down. And I'd much rather be "over there" than "here", but I must keep reminding myself that it is actually the same. With clean water. It's the same when one more patient needs a "favor" because of their ...

Super Easy Sugar Cookies. I made these cookies over Easter and they were devoured. This is, by far, one of the easiest sugar cookie recipes I have tried. Considering how easy they are, they are some of the best tasting. These aren't my fancy-smancy cut-out-to-die-for-ones. These are the tasty, quick, we've-got-to-get-going-ones. I also like these because, unlike my fancy cut-out ones, the bake/taste/function well with my cheap ingredients from Aldi and Kroger. If you want fancy desserts, seriously, check out my sister's blog. I scoop them with my small cookie scoop to bake to approx. 2-2 1/2 inch wide cookies. I have also made big ones by rolling them with my hands. The one time I put this recipe in the fridge and rolled the dough for cut-outs, the cookies baked thin and didn't hold their shape very well. But they tasted great. Easy Sugar Cookies Ingredients 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour ...

This is going to be a kind of sad post with a happy ending. We have a patient who is very sweet. I really like her. Her husband is... a total asshole. You know he's bad if I'm willing to say that on a blog that my mother reads. He acts like he knows more than the doctor (he doesn't). He acts like his wife's opinion about her pregnancy does not matter (it does). And he hates women. He hates that some times they have to get instructions from the nurse and not the doctor, and that the doctor respects his nurse (and all female staff). He hates that I have to tell him what to do, when the appointments are, how much to pay. He threw a fit over copays and co-insurance today. As his wife was sobbing. Why was she sobbing? They found out their baby most likely has down syndrome. And he was being a complete ass about it. Oh yeah, and he gave her herpes. She was really stressed out. So as I'm explaining to him how it works between his insurance company and our office, he in...

Jamie the Very Worst Missionary spoke in her last post about how people say, "God is good" when things work out well. [So Leah gets to keep her job, and we say, "God is good". And we rejoice greatly in the work God is doing through her and around her.] Jamie then comments on how God is still good, when the report says it is cancer. When your child is sick. When the news is the job isn't there. When what you love is taken away from you. Much of this blog is a joke - it's tongue-in-cheek. Because I think my life is really just too funny at times. These "exciting" moments are really a source of amusement. They don't really upset me or anything like that, a skill that apparently means that I was made to be a Brack (or so the Bracks tell me...) I was made keenly aware of much goodness is in my life this week. And of how hard it would be to call it goodness if it were to change (oh, and we all know, it will change around here ). So to those that ha...

My office manager is in a mood today / this week/last week. It's not my fault she and her boyfriend broke up for the fifth time. He was a loser, anyway. That's why you broke up with him the previous 4 times. Here are the great convos: "Can't you move up any yearly exams to this week?" (think about it -- they yearly -- which means that date is... yearly) ---------- Her: Where are the old collections boxes? Me: With the other collections boxes? Her: Can you check the other old files? And call and see if [the person that used to have your job] knows where they are? Me: Sure. Are you sure they weren't with the boxes sent to storage? The ones from the closet? Her: No. No charts where in there. Later - after looking through all new and old charts... Me: She said they were in a box with the other collections charts in your office. Her: She is LYING. They are NOT THERE. Maybe she doesn't know where they are, but that isn't true. (starts slamming open and di...