Would You Really?

Our JP has leave!  It's been more than 18 months since we've seen him and are excited he's coming home.  Consequently, he is looking for a plane ticket home. While on speaker phone he and I were searching internet travel sites.   As I was reeling from sticker shock, OG & EJ walked into the office.  The ensuing conversation went something like this:

OG - How much is JP's ticket?
Me - So, far $902 is the cheapest we've found.
EJ - $902.00 DOLLARS?!!
Me - Yup.

OG & EJ leave the room for a few seconds while I continue our search.  When they return:

OG - Mom, JP, I have $300.00 I could give you.
EJ - And I have $30.00!
Me - Are you serious?  Would you really give up your i-pod savings and your dog treat money so that JP could come home?
OG - Of course, I can always earn more money.
EJ - Yeah.
JP - Well, that's very nice but I could NEVER take y'alls money.

Political Action

I just finished contacting my congressman and two senators regarding 2 separate issues.  Their e-mail pages are on my favorites bar, which makes the task VERY simple and VERY fast.

When was the last time you contacted your local, state or federal representatives?

... "ye have done it unto me."

How does one say thank you?  Do we quickly utter the words?  Do we send a note?  Do we "pay it forward"?

I suppose each situation warrants our response.  Today, I am thankful to several people, unknown to each other, and through the course of several years.  I believe our Lord placed them directly in my path, for very specific reasons, and at just the right times.  These folks were only passing ships in my life, but each one of them threw me and my young sons  life buoys when we needed them most.  Thus, the very short times they were in our lives were very important.

I have found myself in a situation that brings about an opportunity to minister to a young mother, my own children and my husband.  I have not been called to minister verbally, but through my actions - just as the various folks referenced above did for me 25+ years ago.  I don't know all the details of this young mother's life, but I do know that I've walked in shoes very similar to hers.  I pray that my actions will be an example to my children and bless Mr.B's heart.

I am so grateful for the individuals who, so briefly, stepped into my and my boys lives at key moments.  In hind-sight, I see the Lord's hands working through theirs.  I pray that the Lord uses my hands to do His work today.

The following verses from Matthew are my prayer for all the "lifeguards" who acted quickly, saving me and the big boys from calamity. 
"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world:  For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me:  I was in prison, and ye came unto me.  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave the drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily, I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."  Matthew 25:34-40

1st Batch



EJ is a new father!  No, he didn't get another puppy ... He has baby chicks!  So far, 15 have hatched.  Here's a few photos of the fruits of his labors.

 



 



21 days in the incubator.

Peck, Peck, Peck

Kiddie pool, starter, water & heat lamp.

Close up of the new chicks.

Tickle Your Funny Bone Tuesday

"Someone recently told me I was delusional ... I almost fell off my unicorn."
                                                                                         - by unknown

I can TOTALLY relate ...

4 Things I'd Change About Me ...

1.  I'd be witty &  funny.  But alas, large doses of humor are just not in my genes.  Occasionally, something funny & witty comes out of my mouth, but not as often as I'd like.

2.  I'd be a better blogger.  You know the sort I'm thinking of ... she has 17 million followers and at least as many comments praising her wittiness, humor and insight.  (see above)

3.  I'd have more energy to get more done.  I'm still trying to figure this one out ... during the past 4 years my days just seem to get shorter and shorter.  Is that happening to you too?

4.  I'm a huge foodie - but not a skinny foodie.  I love to grow food, read about food, gaze upon photos of food, cook food and, of course, eat food.  If I had my way I'd still be a skinny foodie - like back in the 80's & 90's when I could eat like a ranch hand and still weigh only 105 lbs. soaking wet.  Hmm, two decades of skinny ... why am I complaining?

Can You Belive It?

After the computer hacker / downloaded fishing program fiasco, we discovered that our old desk top, that came with pre-loaded programs, was too old and not compatible for any recent programs.  So, OG's telephone mistake has cost me quite a bit of stress, valuable time - its also cost us the expense of a new computer and printer, as our 2 yr. old printer's technology is obsolete and not compatible with the new computer.  In my world this communication era & its technology is nothing but a  HUGE money pit.  One can not imagine how often I wish for the days of  land line telephones and snail mail - it certainly was cheaper.
Can you believe that as I sat down at my computer, my telephone rang and it was another one of those computer hacking/fishing calls?  The same kind OG received!  He said he was from Microsoft and they'd been receiving numerous error messages from my computer.  I thought, "Oh really?"  Upon the moment that I hung up on the caller, I was really, really wishing for the old fashioned land-line telephone - only so I could SLAM the receiver down on this crooks ear.

There are many things I'd like to post and share (if OG's ever finds her camera charger, I'll post some photos too), but alas it is planting season.  It seems to be taking us forever to get all our planting in.  Hopefully, we'll be done soon and I'll be back to share it all with you.

Blessings,
Mrs.B

WARNING ... Computer Safety

Hello fellow bloggers and faithful readers.  The new look and layout for Her Peculiar Life has been interrupted by a professional computer hacker.

Today, I am posting from the public library because while home alone our OG accepted an unsolicited telephone call from a "fishing hacker".  This criminal preyed upon her youthful inexperience and literally guided her through the steps necessary to install a "fishing program" from his web-site onto our home computer and she unknowingly gave him all information necessary for remote access to our home computer. 

We are now having our entire computer hard-drive "wiped out" and all programs re-installed, just like a brand new computer.  The admissions clerk at our computer repair shop informed me that by 9:00 AM this morning she'd had 3 other phone calls regarding the same scenario.  It appears these criminals are targeting our area.

Please warn your children, teens and elderly parents to NEVER accept any phone calls or e-mails from companies contracted by or claiming to be Microsoft.  Made sure they understand that Microsoft will NEVER phone your home.  Microsoft will never contract or outsource to any company that would phone your home.  Please educate them on safeguarding all access to your computer.  Inform them that they are to NEVER allow anyone remote access to your computer(s) nor should they ever download, run, or install any programs or systems to "help" or "improve" your home computer's function.

If you do find yourself a victim of this type of activity.  Please do the following IMMEDIATELY.

DO NOT CONTACT THE FOLLOWING VIA YOUR HOME COMPUTER - a fishing program has been installed and any new account numbers, PIN's or passwords will be "fished" off by these criminals.

1.  Contact your banking institution(s) via telephone to notify them that your debit card(s), account number(s), routing number(s) have been compromised.  Ask them to issue you new debit card(s), new PIN's, and new passwords.

2.  Contact ALL your credit card companies via telephone and report your credit cards lost or stolen.  Ask for new cards with new account numbers.  Ask your credit card representative to verify that all charges up to the time of your call are yours and only yours.

3.  Contact ALL vendors via telephone with whom you do on-line business.  Explain what has happened and ask for new account numbers AND PIN's.

4.  From your office computer, the library, a neighbor's computer, etc. change ALL your on-line account passwords. (ie, e-mail, blogs, Face Book, twitter, etc.)  Do not use your home computer OR your home's modem and router to make these changes.

5.  If you used your home computer to file your taxes, contact your local social security office and place a FRAUD alert on yours, your spouse's, and dependent's social security numbers.

6.  For any documents or photos you MUST retrieve from your computer take the following steps:
a.  unplug your modem and router from the electrical socket (these fishing programs use your home internet connection to send and receive info.  These programs are disguised and your hard-drive must be wiped clean in order to extricate it.)
b.  open and print all documents, photos, etc. that you do not want or can not loose forever.

7.  Take your computer in and have the hard-drive wiped out and all your programs re-installed.  This may be an opportunity to upgrade to newer versions of your programs.

8.  After you've retrieved all necessary information and your home computer is disconnected from your internet service.  Contact your internet provider and set up a NEW user ID and password for your service.  DO NOT reconnect your computer until the hard drive has been "cleaned". 

9.  You may also consider obtaining identity theft insurance.  Why?  Because the "helpful" professional on the other end of the phone just stole your and every member of your household identities.