Quiet as a Mouse?

Not sure where that phrase came from or why but I know first hand they aren't so quiet after all.

I think a mouse epidemic is happening in our little house here in Thailand. We have suspected that there might be something a little larger than ants in our house. About two months ago I was in my room and heard a noise. I tip toed down the hall to Brookie's room and had her come out in the hall to listen. We were leaning over the bannister....whatever it was it sounded big. We snuck downstairs and turned on the kitchen light...the noise stopped. Then I saw this small flash of black run from the fridge to the stove...... "Ahhhhhhhhhh" pointing to it I said "mouse!!!" Brookie and I were completely grossed out but that is the last that we saw of it...or so we thought.

Now, two months later, there have been other sightings!  We are realizing that this could become a huge problem. The other night I was in my room and I heard Brooke screaming from downstairs. I go down and find her on the second step peaking into the kitchen. She has walked over to the cabinet to put the bread away so the mouse couldn't get to it. As she looked up there was a mouse in mid chew on the end of our loaf of bread!!! UUUGGGG!!!! It was probably more scared of the screeching girl then the girl of the mouse! It leaped off the counter onto the screened window then down to the floor where it hid. Yuck....and I had just bought that loaf hours prior to that.

A couple of times since I have been back we have all been down stairs cooking or sitting or talking and all of a sudden a mouse jets across the floor. There is just something eery and "hair standing on the back of your neck" type feeling you get from seeing that in your own home! Today I was sitting on the second step and Brookie was sitting on a trunk across from me. We were catching on on each other's day and she got this weird look in her eye as she said "don't scream but there is a mouse right near your foot".....I inched up a couple of steps. Tonight we were sitting at the dinner table and we heard them squeaking back and forth to each other....creepy.....so we made a rash decision..."no more...no longer...no more tolerance!!!!!" We jumped into the car and I drove us to the store. In search of poison, traps, gas....something and everything to get rid of these vermins.


Which shall we choose?

A whole isle dedicated to killing bugs and rodents...

So we left the store with green apples and three sticky strips (traps) for the mice. Kelly was home so we all bonded over this moment, placing the food in the middle of the gunk.
Setting up our little traps...bread in the middle.

A trap set near the little hole under the door where they sneak in.



This task was completed and set at 9:30 tonight. I now sit upstairs waiting for the first victim in the pasty mess! We shall see how many casualties there are in the morning.....

           

THE BEFORE SHOT

The Next Morning...

It must have been five something in the morning when I awake to squealing.  My bedroom is upstairs and I had the door closed!  I was completely grossed out.  I had to turn on my Air-Con in my room to flush out the sounds.  At 6:30 Brookie came into my room to wake me up.  Kelly popped her head out of her door and stated, "Come on girls!  It's like Christmas!"  So we all tip toed down the stairs in the dark.  Kelly reached for the light switch and flipped it.  Investing the damage....  There were definitely two stuck by the door but we couldn't see the other one.  Kelly was getting  a better look.

Seconds after I took this pictures we heard a screeching mouse and then a screeching Kelly who jumped up and ran to the stairs where I was standing!  It was hilarious!

THE AFTER SHOT

Can I say it "GROOOOOOOOOSSSSSSS"
We all freaked out and didn't know what to do.  Every single mouse was alive and twitching and making noises.  So Brookie called, Uncle David but he had been up sick all night.  So his wife came instead.  Sadly, and I mean this, I wasn't out of the shower yet when she showed up in her PJs and a HAMMER!!!!!  By the time I got out she had already done her dead and left back to her house.  Apparently, she said that all it took was a little tap.  Yep that is right, she made her way around our house, tapping the little heads of each mouse and then departed!  She is AMAZING!  Kelly has deemed her "MC Hammer."  HA!  Though she killed them we still had the problem of getting rid of them.
TRAP ONE

  MC Hammer had apparently just stunned the biggest of them all, he was back to squeaking and twitching. Kelly was freaking out so she didn't want to pick up the second trap. Brookie offered since I wasn't speaking up.  I took the bag and Kelly took the camera where she stood safe on the stairs.  Brookie stooped down and pinched the siding of the trap and turned to put in in the very small bag we had.  I meanwhile was trying to open it wide enough and realized in Brooke's mid turn that the math wasn't adding up!  The rat was going to touch my arm!  I started backing up and freaking out yelling "my hand, my hand, the rat, the rat" while Brookie, with an out stretched arm replied at my same volume, "open the bag, open the bag! ahldkadhaadklhfaldk (it was high pitch and incomprehensible)  Then she added "just close your freakin' eyes!  Just close your eyes!!!!!"   Simultaneously the rat was yelling.  This lasted for a long minute until she caught on to what I was trying to say and turned the trap so the rat would go in first and not touch my hand!  Meanwhile behind us, Kelly was laughing so hard.

TRAP TWO
We all laughed of course but we were freaked out,  goose bumps, and jumpy girls!  Brookie and I could barely eat anything for breakfast.  We set two more traps up since we would be gone during the day but left the back door closed.  No casualties yet....but we will leave up the traps and keep the door closed until the little hole in the door is fixed.  

YUCK!

So, I just posted then and I hear Brookie downstairs, "Ewwwww there is another day!!!"  Another one bites the dust!

Total: 7

Oh Technology

Last week my roommates and I were invited to a "family dinner" to celebrate Michal Anns birthday.  As our entertainment we to the neighbors house and played their wee.  For those of you who have not done this....you are missing out.  I couldn't see how it would be fun to always play this....but I can't figure out if it is more fun watching others play or playing yourself.  We decided to play the boxing game.  Up against each other, the roommates.  Kelly versus Staci.

Kelly the Champ and Staci the Amateur.  Who won? you ask.  Well that would be me!!!!  Kelly wasn't too pleased.  The next day you can fell it in your arms.  Then Michal Ann played against Kelly.    Kelly gets really into playing!

Present Day Thailand a Year from Now......GREECE!

Background:
I couple of months of ago I ran across this girl who was talking about this program in Greece and sailing. My interest was sparked and I searched online for a bit until I finally found it. Torchbearers! I read up on the organization and the options and instantly knew it was something I would like to shot for. I thought and prayed about it for a while and frequently found myself back at that site reading up on it and pondering the possibility. I had a friend help me figure out how much I would have to save in over a years time and found out it was something that I could budget. So.....I decided to fill out a application and send it in. What hurt could come from that? I have been praying about it and asking God to open and close the doors. Well......

I GOT ACCEPTED! THIS LITTLE LADY IS GOING TO GREECE IN THE SUMMER OF 09!!!!!

For those of you who are interested in more info on this you can visit www.kingfisherproject.org

I am really excited about this opportunity. If you think of me please start to pray that my heart will be opened to His teaching and that He will challenge and stretch me into the woman He desires me to be!

Too Many Leggs on this Trip....

Crystal took me to the main hub in town and I got on a transit van with all my luggage. I made my way to the airport and checked in. I got to fly an hour earlier then I thought and made my way to Taipei, Taiwan. From there I boarded my flight, the 12 hour flight, back to the US. I was headed to LAX (by the way I hate that airport).

Minus some turbulence the flight wasn't all that bad. I didn't sleep but a few winks. After about 5 hours I start to lose all feeling in my rear!!! I watched several movies and read some of my book. I got into LAX and found my next gate, it was 6:45AM. I found a Starbucks and got a latte and a blueberry muffin that made up for me being so tired! I felt nasty, stinky, greasy, and just really tired! I boarded my next flight. I talked this guy, Justin, for our whole flight, six hours, to Atlanta, GA. Now I only have one more flight. I boarder my flight to Chicago just ready to be there already. This is how one feels after 30 hours of travel:


This was my first view of Chicago as I was coming in! Oh the snow...I wasn't looking forward to it.

I arrived into O'Hare at 9:30AM, completely tired from my hours of flight. I picked up all my luggage from the belt and followed the signs for the shuttle bus. Thankfully I didn't have to wait to long before my bus arrived. Yet another 3 hours drive to Waukesha, WI. There was just me and another guy on the bus.

Tony, my brother met me at the bus stop. It was so good to see him after a year! I finally got to bed that night at 10:30pm; around 42 hours of not sleeping....I was tired!

My days at Tony's house were filled with remolding his bathroom, stripping wallpaper, moving desks, thrift store shopping, lots of snow, taking the dog out, ballet performance, shoveling snow, and just hanging out.
Ethan helping out

This is how Tony and I felt after watching a two hour ballet show

Tony taking his dog out in his back yard (it snowed 10 inches that day)

I had done this about an hour earlier but it was already needing to be done again. We were on our way out to shop...

Me and a whole bunch of snow

Danae and I


I left my brother's house and headed south (4 hours) to meet up with my friend Andrew (childhood friend) It was so good to see him again but it wasn't long enough.

Goodbye dear friend....


The next day I left Andrew's and headed down to my cousins house in Lousiville, KY. I sadly forgot to get a picture with them! Next time. I spend the night there and headed out the next day to Evansville, IN. I was going to see Amanda and her husband, Ryan.


This is Amanda and I. We were roommates back in 2002 at Bible School. Good times...


The bridge connecting Indiana to Kentucky




I was getting excited! Blue skies, sunshine and the temp was going up!!!


my excited face


From Amanda's I left and drove south west to Serverville, TN. I went to see Opal who I hadn't seen in over a year. I stayed with her and Brad. It was good to see her again. I forgot to get a picture with her as well. The next day I headed out to my brother Pav's house. I heard of a short cut road through the Smokies that I could take. My friend told me the road to go on I looked at a map and headed on my way.

The drive was great back road and very beautiful! Soon though I realized that I had taken the wrong back road. I was thinking time wise I should already be there but I was still in the middle of a mountain range. I was pretty much the only car in around. The road was so curvy that i was making myself car sick. I soon realized I was on the alleged "Dragon Tail" road. Or otherwise known as Hwy 129. It was really dark by this point so when I came upon this sign I at least knew I was going in the right direction.


Once I arrived at my brother's house it was really relaxing. I sure had missed them and I got to meet my little nephew for the first time. It took all of 3 seconds for my niece to warm up to me. She is so cute and so much fun to play with. However cute she may be I still had to get used to her waking me up every morning and crawling in bed with me. I mean look at her....precious!








CHRISTMAS DAY
It was good to be with family. I loved being with them all and had a relaxing time!





I got Ever a hill tribe skirt and Sawyer got some Muay Thai boxing shorts!

I did his hair...little punk



Now I do realize that this next part is really gross...but however gross it is it is that much more interesting....so sorry for those with week stomachs.
So I have heard of these ear candles before and I thought I would try them since I sometimes feel like my ears are "foggy". And I did..and this is the out come!


It does work for any of you who want to try it.

Next I went down to Birmingham, AL. I was excited to see old friends who have become like family to me down there. I felt like I didn't have enough time down there but what time I did spend I had a great time. I forgot to take pictures with some people (Jason, Memo and Craig, Mrs Wimberly)




Kurt took me out for dinner and a movie, so good to see him again. He is a friend from church and we were in small group together. He is also my very tall friend...



From Bham I headed back up north. I stopped in Chattanooga and spent the night at my Aunt and Uncle's house. It was good to catch up with them and I stayed up talking with my Aunt. I headed out the next morning back to my brother Pav's. I had to get packed up and ready to leave. We woke up at 4:30 in the morning and Pav and I headed down to Atlanta so I could catch my plane. It was a great time to talk with him and catch up more.
Pav and I moments before I went beyond security. I got a little teary eyed....sad

From Atlanta I flew out to San Francisco, where I sat in the airport for 12 hours till my next flight. Man, I wish I knew someone in SF that I could have visited. I found a museum/library on airplanes in the airport so I bunkered down there for several hours and watched some movies on my computer.




And then I made my way to the Reflection Room, a segregated place that is quiet where I finish my show I was watching. I then went to eat and walk around a bit, which I didn't do much of since I had to lug my suitcase around with me. Finally.....I was able to check in and get to my gate. I ended up meeting some people I knew who were also flying back to Thailand. We were on the same flight. We flew into Taipei 45 minutes late and all got lost. My first time I have gotten lost in an airport...the signs weren't good and no one was around to help us. But we finally made it to our gate and met up with another family I knew all headed back to Chiang Mai. The last leg of the trip....and then rest. I was so tired by this point.

Here is down town CM

And here is the smog...already
mountain smog city


Thus ended my Christmas Break. I was met by Kelly at the airport. So good to be back and with my roommates again!