perfectionism

i have been thinking.

i think that to be a perfectionist is pride. God's word does not dictate that one strives toward perfectionism. it clearly says "If you want to be great in God's kingdom, learn to be the servant of all". Not "learn to do everything just right so that you can be ultimately satisfied with your work". if you are endeavoring to do something to perfection, I think it is often to satisfy yourself. on the other hand, if you are serving someone who *wants* a job done perfectly, that is different, then you are honoring God be honoring that person's wishes. but if you are a perfectionist to the extent of which it frustrates people around you, at times when they just want your help, not your criticism, then you are not SERVING them. you are serving yourself, thereby being prideful. i also don't think we are called to do things sloppily, either. we are also told - "whatsoever you do, work it is heartily as unto the Lord". I would interpret that as "do your best". if you are doing it as unto the lord, it will be your best. remember the woman with two mites? that was her best. that was not perfection by even her standards, but she knew it was the very best she could do, and God honored that. The little boy with fish and bread gave his best. not a FEAST (like I would like to do for Easter...shame on me), but all he had, and it is still spoken of thousands of years later. then there is the little drummer boy. I KNOW, not in the bible, but still - he makes a good point. "I have no gift to bring, pa-rump-pa-pum-pum...so I shall play for him, pa-rum-pa-pum-pum"...

YOUR best is what God wants, not your obsessive best. I need to stop obsessing.


oh, and sorry if you have the little drummer boy song stuck in your head today.

~ just something to chew on...

i am here.

hello. i am here. had family visiting for a time. had a little family drama, but that is settling down now.

trying still to move into my house,

and take advantage of the "salt lake freecycle" group...which I LOVE...and recently I got two armchairs for the living room, as well as an armoire!! it was brown veneered wood-wannabe, with a mirror on the inside of one door, and one lone rod at the top for hanging clothes. 6 feet tall, woohoo! I needed something to conceal the television. so, my sweet husband drove 25 minutes to go pick it up, sanded, primed, and painted it black, added a sliding shelf with a turntable to hold the tv, as well as a stationary shelf for the other media components. it is SOOO cool!! did I mention it was free? that is - if you don't count the $2,000 he spent on spray paint, but that is another thing.

i painted the dining room, which took about 3 days. it is now my favorite room. i will be putting pictures up one of these days.

I taped off the entire mantle so ben could spray-paint it, but I don't like it, so i am changing that tonight.

I have been at meetings.
a meeting for a school carnival,
a school talent show,
a church women's group girls night out (affectionately known as GAB - Grace And Beauty)
as well as planning and pricing for catering and party favors for an upcoming mother-daughter event at church.
we have been having company CONSTANTLY, which is awesome, as we see so clearly that God is honoring us by opening our home to others so we can be a light for Him.
we have had overnight guests...not adults, but children, to bless our friends, which is fine, and everyone has fun, but when it is not your own infant...you are not quite as used to that routine! one weekend there were 9 children here. i told ben the next day "that was not so bad". he just turned on his heels and left the room.
the kids have been on the trampoline. the apparatus was LEFT at our house by the previous owners. we were told someone would come and get it, but after 2 months, you know they won't, so ben, with my family's help set it up! it has a net. we did not add the net right away - it is a LOT of work to put those darn things together!!

the kids play a game on there...someone is on their hands and knees, crawling around with their EYES SHUT. the other 1-2 kids hop around, and the "blind" person has to find them. during the pre-net era, well, both girls, so innocent and not inclined to cheat yet, crawled to the edge with their EYES SHUT, and stuck their hands through the space between the springs, smacking faces and nose on the metal framework of the tramp.
blood.
little girls and blood do not mix well.
now the little wall of netting is up all around, and it is much more safe and fun. and NO STITCHES!! YAHOO!

what else? i don't know. isn't that enough? i am still fighting that mentality..."i am busy, therefore i am important".

it is more like "i am busy, therefore I am busy". (or "...thereforeIamnotpostingmuchonmyblog")

okay. time for a nap!

pet food.

take a look at this . Or perhaps, THIS !Do you know, that there are a number of pet food producers who include parts of CATS AND DOGS in their products?!?!? okay. so... my poor new kitty, PEARL, who is refusing to eat her new store-bought X and O and fish-shaped hard, dry morsels, is doing so in good conscience! of course she has not done anyonline research, but I just KNEW it was crummy....soy protein, atifical colors and additives, "reject" animals containing the antibiotics and hormones that were supposed to make them plump and marketable...I would not feed her a handful of red dye #492, so why would I pour it into her bowl? For the first week, I had been preparing her food, and someone told me "Oh, NO! You HAVE to feed her regular kitten food" so, my prohibitive conscience forced me to go to the store. UGH! it is so nasty! Gabe even kindly comfirmed this, by tasting a piece! twelve year olds!

so...for those of you interested, I am including a new kind of recipe! KITTY FOOD!!


%60 chicken
%25 slightly cooked vegetables
%15 brown rice
a sprinkle of Pet_Tabs granules for cats
a crushed up Tums tablet for calcium

I also substitute salmon if we have had it for dinner, or a small portion of a raw, thawed tilapia filet. We encourage her to drink water, and she is a very healthy, shiny, happy little kitten!

~ a lot of popular brands, including some that have a reputation for quality, use spoiled meat and chicken body parts like beaks and claws -- things you would never want to feed a cat. I like the idea of preparing the food myself, because now I know I am using fresh, quality food, and no nasty chemicals.

as for drinks, If you believe CATS need COW'S milk... even though they love it...you should really never give your cat cows milk. Cows milk can cause stomach upset and diarrhea in cats, and should be avoided. There are some kitten formulas that may have milk as an ingredient, but these are specially formulated to simulate the mother cat's milk- and are only used when there isn't a mother cat available to feed the kitten. When in nature will a kitten drink from a COW?

okay. said my piece....need to go help a little Pearl!