The Intruder

It's been about 4 years since we have had an intruder in our home but it's happened again. 

 It's been traumatic!!

 There has been alot of screaming and sleepless nights and 

I'm not sure that the problem is over but for now we are okay. 

I'm a little worried that we havent seen the 

end of these creepy intruders!!

But its so hard to talk about that I just decided to re-post a post about this situation that I put on here several years ago when we had our first intruder.  It pretty much explains the current situation too!

I have a little dog that only barks when someone, that she doesn't know, comes to our house.  Other than that she is pretty quiet.  But a couple of days ago she barked, and barked and barked ALL day.  She was driving me crazy.  After a couple days of this I finally found out why she was acting so upset.  I'm sure that she was trying to tell me that we had an unwanted and uninvited intruder.

I was putting some clothes away in my husband's drawer when I saw the evidence that we had been violated!  After I jumped up and down, screamed and ran around the house yelling, "Ew. . .yuck. . .gross. . .@#*%," I went back into the bedroom to look again to see if I really had seen what I thought I saw.   Yes it was there, proof of an intruder, staring me in the face, as if to say to me, "Ha ha. . .Catch me if you can!!"  Stratigically sitting on my husband's WHITE t-shirt and WHITE socks were several. . .yeah you got it. . . MOUSE droppings!  How disgusting!  How could this happen. . .well I guess it does happen when you live in a place surrounded by grain and potato fields.  Where's the neighborhood cat when you need one?  My dog may be a barker but she's not a hunter!  Anyway all of a sudden the detective, CSI  investigator and "cleanliness" patrol in me kicked in gear.  "I'll show you"  I thought.  Nothing invades my home with out a fight!

  (Okay he wasn't this cute)

Anyway. . . after I got my composure I jumped in my car and ran to get an arsenal of weaponry.  I was gonna take that baby out!!  So after setting up several traps with yummy cheese and peanut butter and putting out lots and lots of DeCon, I sat and waited.  And waited and waited.  
24 hours went by. . . and nothin. . .that little devil was playing games with me.  And then it happened. . . last night when all was calm . . . I was reading a good book and I heard it. . . SNAP!   What a joyous sound.  But I couldn't look so I sent Joe in to check.  VICTORY!  (Ok all of you animal lovers don't write me hate mail) Don't get me wrong. . . I love some mice. . .Mickey and Minnie, Jerry, Fieval, Stuart Little and even the 3 blind mice.  But when they break in and go into places in my house that they shouldn't be. . .they've crossed the line.
Anyway. . .the mystery is solved, the dog has calmed down, the clothes have been washed and we are back to normal.  But the weapons are still in place, protecting our home, just in case he has a relative who comes looking for him.

Update on current situation:

We've captured four........ yes you heard me right........

FOUR. . . 4. . . uno, dos, tres, CUATRO!

Four stinkin MICE!!!

A whole family of mice!!!!!

Maybe I need to get a cat!  I dont want a cat!

Can you feel my pain?

Easy Chicken Parmesan

Ok I'm sharing this again. This is one of my favorite recipes. We LOVE it!!!

It is easy and yummy. I posted it before a couple of years ago but thought

that I would share it again for my newer blogger friends.

Enjoy!

Easy Chicken Parmesan

1 jar (14 oz.) spaghetti sauce (about 1-1/2 cups)

1-1/2 cups KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend, divided

1/3 cup Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs

6-8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted

6 cups hot cooked spaghetti

PREHEAT oven to 375°F.

Pour spaghetti sauce into 13x9-inch baking dish; set aside.

MIX 1/2 cup of the cheese and the bread crumbs in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken in butter, then in cheese mixture, turning to evenly coat both sides. Place over spaghetti sauce in baking dish.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is cooked through; sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake an additional 5 min. or until cheese is melted. Serve over spaghetti.

Keep your Sunnyside UP!!!!

We had a great Relief Society activity the other night. We had a Dr come and talk to us about depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder which is very prevalent this time of year.

Do you feel sad or down in the dumps more in the winter?

You may have Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD which is caused from a lack of sunlight.

It has been calculated that January is the most depressing month of the year. Even more specifically, this week, the third week of January, is the most depressing week of the year.

The calculation is based on weather, debt, time since Christmas, time since failing

our New Year's resolutions, as well as low motivation, and that puts the

most depressing day of the year at about the third Monday in January.

If you are wondering if you have Seasonal Affective Disorder here is a

good article in LDS Living that talks about causes,

symptoms as well as things you can do to combat SAD.

The Dr that talked to us obviously gave us information about the medical side of recognising and treating depression. But then he focused on the spiritual side of how to be happy and about turning to the Lord for help when we have these "blue" kinds of days in our lives.

He recommended a good book to read about being happy in spite of our trials and difficult things in our lives. He said that he felt like this is one of the best books out there on this subject. So I went right out and bought it. It is really uplifting and I recommend it as well.

It is called "Love Life and See Good Days" by Emily Freeman.

You can find it at any Deseret Book or order it HERE online.

We had a little handout (that was attached to a can of 7-up) with some good advice that I wanted to share with you.

7 UPLIFTING ways to keep your sunny side UP!

1- Wake UP -Decide to have a good day.

"This is the day which the LORD hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

2 - Dress UP -The best way to dress is to put on a smile.

A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

3 - Shush UP -Say nice things and learn to listen.

"Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou

mayest be wise in the latter end." Proverbs 19:20

4 - Stand UP - For what you believe in! Stand for

something or you will fall for anything!

5 - Look UP - To the Lord. "I can do all things through

Christ which strengtheneth me." Phillippians 4:13

6 - Reach UP -For something higher. As Jimminy Cricket sings,"High Hopes," always try to better yourself. Have FAITH!!

7 - Lift UP - Your prayers. Do not worry about anything;

instead PRAY about Everything!