The Ants Go Marching...

...but there ain't no 'hurrah' about it.

I looked at my bedroom floor last week Wednesday, and I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. It was an ant. So I killed it.

Then I looked again, and realized that the ant I just killed had some friends. About 15, actually. So I went around my room, slapping my carpet to kill the ants (and I probably looked like a crazy person who sees things that nobody else can because those things aren't really there). But I assure you, they were.

So I went upstairs and promptly told my mom: I have ants!!! Where did they come from? Why are they in my room??

Then I went on the internet to look for a homemade solution to my ant problem (because it was evening, so we couldn't go out and buy ant traps, and also, I wanted them gone NOW). I found a recommendation for vinegar mixed with water, apple cider vinegar to be exact. Just fill a spray bottle with water, add a bit of vinegar, and spray the baseboards and wherever you see ants.

Well, it actually seemed to work! I went back downstairs, saw twice as many ants as I had before, and started spraying. It smelled a little bit, but I was feeling very positive about my efforts until I lifted something off of my floor.

You may remember my post about my birthday, and how my mom bought me some frying pans. They have been sitting on my floor (but out of the way) this whole time, still in their original packaging, until I move out.

So as I was lifting things to spray my carpet, I picked up my pans, and behold, the creepy-crawliest sight I have ever encountered in my own bedroom: a hundred ants, swarming about, right where my pans had been sitting. Whey they picked that spot, I have NO idea.

It was gross, I screamed, and then I attacked with a vengeance using my potent vinegar mixture. Well, they disappeared in an awful hurry. But then so did I, because the scent was starting to be too much. I let my room air out, and the next day my mom bought me some ant traps.

The combination of my homemade treatment plus ant traps seems to be working, but I still see a few ants here and there everyday. I guess I have to wait longer than a week before all the ants are gone. So if any of you ever have trouble with ants, remember to give them a hearty does of vinegar water.

I also read that a mixture of baking soda and powdered sugar works. Or cinnamon. Just sprinkle those around the edges of rooms. And if all your sprinkling and spraying doesn't work, well, I suppose you could mix all those things in a large bowl and bake something instead!

Plane Ticket Prayers

Well it's that time again: the time when I'm thinking about my next vacation, and looking to book my flights. I'm going out west in early September (that's right, no summer vacation for me, I'm saving it all up for the fall).

I have to clear my vacation with my supervisor and be able to announce it for sure to the rest of the staff at least 2 weeks before I leave, because I have to find people who can cover for me every minute. (The one downside to being a receptionist; I can't even go to the bathroom without someone covering for me).

So anyway. The date I would like to book my flights is Tuesday, August 21st.

Now I've been looking at flights and prices, and it's ridiculous! Why can't they have great low prices for evening flights? Not all of us are going to leave at 1:00 in the afternoon. And another thing: Air Canada's great low rate used to be $149, which I've still seen on a few flights. But for whatever reason, the return flight I want costs $289!!!!! Who comes up with these prices?!

Anyway, I am NOT paying that much for a flight. So you can all join me in praying that I can get some decent prices. We have 3 weeks. Get your prayers on!!



And thank you. :)

Filling Up My Spiritual Trust Fund

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength. ~Corrie Ten Boom.

I was reading my friend Ruth's blog, and she was talking about walking into the unknown, and being able to trust God completely. I really needed to read that today. And it would have done my soul good had I read it yesterday. Or even last week.

The fact is: I'm worried. I've been worried for a while. Like, at least a month. And I don't know how that happened. Two months ago I was trusting God as I have never trusted Him before. I was walking in complete peace. And it felt so good. And then just like that, it was gone. But lately God has been calling (loudly) for me to return to Him and rest in the assurance of His provision.

I was having a pity party yesterday, and I was crying and pouting, and at one point I thought angrily to myself, "why can't I be a blade of grass? Life would be so much easier if I were a blade of grass!!!" Thinking back to that now, it's pretty funny. But in that moment of frustration, I'm pretty sure I meant it.

And then God's voice gently broke through the storm in my mind. "Jenene, if you were a blade of grass, you would most certainly be taken care of. And if you were more than grass, say, a flower (perhaps a lily?), I would say of you 'good' and 'beautiful', and I would care for you. And if you were more than a flower, perhaps a bird, I would look after you. (Matt. 6:25-30) \

But you are SO FAR above those things, how much MORE am I going to take care of you?! You are My child, My princess, made in My very image, I value you more than My own life. Everything is going to be OK."

Well God, feel free to repeat those words to me as often as You like. I desperately need to hear them. What's worse is that I'm worried about things that MAY happen in the distant future. I mean, we're not talking about later today, sometime tomorrow, or even next week. I'm worried about potential problems that could arise one year from now.

Now, it's good to think and plan ahead, but getting worked up like this is so pointless. So I'm making it my mission to become a prayer warrior for at least these next 12 months. I'll be an expert at trust after this. ;)