The 'Smells' of Spring

Spring time in Minnesota is supposed to be beautiful.  Fresh air, new grass, clean lovely smells right?  Yeah, well, thus far we've had some plain old stank around here.  Things are thawing for sure...but that's not always such a good thing...

 For the past two weeks or so everytime I'd open my back porch door to go out to the deck or head to  the garage I'd catch a whiff of something kind of unpleasant.  "Kind of unpleasant "really did describe it at first. Not highly offensive, just stinky.   I chalked it up to the sneakers (boy sneakers more specifically) and the steady stream of gym bags we keep out there. (boy gym bags more specifically)  Anyway....I took the gym bags to the deck, and sprayed the shoes, but said smell only seemed to worsen over the next few days.  It went from unpleasant to that  "OH NO,  SOMETHING DIED UNDER THE FREEZER" kind of smell. 

Meanwhile...let me take you to our van. Something was also "kind of unpleasant" in there too.  We are a family of five and we carpool with lots of our extended family to sporting events all year round.  We also carpool with friends and haul kids to church, to camp, to the Y, to Grandmas, to yonder and back. And we eat in there.  Burgers, turkey sandwhiches, granola bars, popcorn, hotdogs, apples, ice cream,  leftover hotdish (in little individual containers) carrot sticks (with ranch in a baggie) you name it we've taken it along on a road trip.  We honestly do clear out our garbage and  try to keep it somewhat decent. But I'll be honest, after an entire basketball season with a van full of  8 people eating hotdish and popcorn it needs a solid two day cleaning.  We did that....it looked sparkly clean....except for that....smell. And just like our porch,  it went from unpleasant to "OH NO, SOMETHING DIED UNDER THE SEAT kind of smell.

Cut to the chase. 

 The porch: A large chunk of ham wrapped in foil, hidden on a shelf.  (the porch serves as a great freezer in the winter)  Obviously I missed this piece of piggy as the warm weather hit.  I apologized profusely to the boy in my house I had been blaming.  Afterall, I was sure he and his gear were the culprit.  (Secretly I was very relieved it wasn't him...I mean,  if you have a kid who smells like rotting pork that's a problem bigger than odor eaters can fix)

The van: Taco Johns.  More specifically a half eaten beef burrito that was still in the wrapper but tucked into the pocket  (deep down in the pocket)  on the back of one of the seats.  Of course NO ONE did it.  It was the "Taco Johns Burrito Bandit" playing a bad joke on us.  I didn't push the issue.  I figure I had already wrongly accused one of my children for  the bad pig,   I wouldn't try and blame anyone for the equally bad beef.  In actuality it could have been one of my many carpooling relatives who left us that present.  And do I really want to start accusing my father in law of such things?


I hope you are all enjoying spring wherever you are...the sights and smells of new grass, new leaves, and birds chirping a new song.  The warm sunshine that greets you on your deck in the morning as you have a cup of coffee...ah...there is nothing like spring.  But, I also give you this Spring  Thaw Warning .......if you start to smell something "unpleasant" don't automatically go blaming your father in law....you might just need to check under the passenger seat for a container of hotdish.     Carry on...and tiptoe through the tulips!!!

Deep Thoughts on Snow by Jen

Whew!  Haven't posted in a while.  Strange how 2 weeks goes by in a blink.  Of course it's not that I haven't thought of some stuff to write, but life just moves too quickly sometimes.  I started a new job in the last 2 weeks...so that's been keeping me very busy.  I'll be working from home for the most part, writing ads, editing/proofing websites for a friend's business.  It's a big task...his business is crazy busy and growing by leaps and bounds.  It's a great opportunity that came knocking at my door and I'm thrilled...and thankful.. God is always so faithful....I love how even when we're not neccesarily looking for something He can just bring it right to us. 

So that's my little life update, but in reality I just wanted to share with you about a four letter word today.  ~SNOW~ I know, I know...the weather...it's a dull topic...talked about WAAAY too much on Facebook and used as conversation filler all the time.  So I won't lament and complain and whine on and on about how much I hate it...about how SICK AND TIRED I am of it...nope I won't do that.  I'm just going to very quickly give you my top 9 reasons why I love snow in April.

Here they are...

~TOP 9 Reasons I LOVE Snow in April~

1. It will melt.

2. It will melt sooner rather than later.

3. I like melting snow.

4. MELT is a much better four letter word than SNOW

5. It's not December snow, so it will melt quicker.

6. April is the rainy month, and that causes snow to melt.

7. I like Patty Melts...and snow melts in April, so that's another good one.

8. Melting snow is better than deep drifts of non-melting snow.

9. I can see brown grass.  And that's becasue the snow is melting.

I know these reasons are complex.  Very deep.  I tend to wax philisophical when I talk about snow, so I hope this isn't over your heads.  But just try and comprehend what I've said.  Meditate on these 9 reasons and see if they speak to you.  Carry them with you in your heart. 

Put away your shovels... have a patty melt.....and celebrate April!!!