An Unwelcome Visitor in the House, My Giveaway & (Late) Faithful Fridays!

This past Saturday, I had an unpleasant experience that involved an unwelcome visitor in my house! I was sitting at the dining room table, working on my laptop, when a slight movement caught my eye at my right shoulder level. I looked down at my shoulder to see (what appeared to be) a striped lizard come rest on my shoulder! My instant reaction was to flick it off with my fingers......being unsure that was what I was actually seeing and not wanting to take ANY chances! I jumped up, looking around on the dining room table and floor to see where it landed. After looking, and looking, everywhere, there wasn't a lizard in sight! I sat back down and this overwhelming creepy feeling came all over me.....I knew that WAS a lizard I had seen and if it wasn't anywhere to be seen....just where was it? I had this feeling it might be hiding ON ME somewhere! I yelled for Joy (who was upstairs) to come down. I asked her to look and see if anything was on me anywhere.....like a lizard....on my back....anywhere! She came pretty close to observe and as I turned around, I got my answer! She screamed, "It's on your back...." and went running back upstairs! I yelled, "Get it off, PLEASE"! She yelled back, "I'm sorry mom....I just can't." There was lots of yelling going on! As a matter of fact, one of Joy's friends was holding on the phone and her entire family heard this whole thing taking place! (I learned this the next morning in church when her mom came in asking if I had any lizards in my purse)! lol! Anyway....I'm glad Joy refused to help in the house anyway, after I thought about it, because had she knocked it off in my house, I would be searching for the lizard.....afraid I'd turn my bedcovers back and there it would be! I was sure that lizard was trying to traumatize me. I might be a country girl, but let me make one thing clear.....I don't like lizards or snakes or anything that even slightly resembles one! I am thankful, though, it wasn't a snake...they probably would have been calling an ambulance for me!

On with the story....I was holding my shirt tight around my neck to keep it from crawling down my shirt. (I have the creepy crawlies just remembering this and writing it). I ran outside and told Joy to knock it off with a stick. It seemed like forever....her looking for a stick and all....then I saw my hero.....Jason....next door....in sight in my mom and dad's yard! About the same time, Joy and I both yelled for him! He came running (it seemed like in slow motion to me), not knowing what to expect by the looks (and sounds) coming from us! I turned around again screaming, "Get it off, get it off." He did. And I have to say that lizard's life was cut short by Jason's shoe. (He did that for me, otherwise he would have just let the little fellow go). Sorry if you love lizards....Jason just knew me well enough to know I wouldn't have been satisfied knowing that lizard was still alive....capable of making his way back in to my house. Sorry but when they invade MY space, they cross the line! And besides they just shouldn't look so much like a snake! These days, I'm really paranoid....looking over my shoulder...literally!

It also didn't help that a visit recently to Richie and Missy's house (my brother and SIL), Jason and I had my nephew's room (Kemper). He shares his room with Paco......an iguana! Paco does live in his own big enclosed habitat in Kemper's room, but there's nothing like going to bed and have Paco staring at you! I think he knew Joy and I didn't really like him all that much! We rushed by when we had to pass by "his place". I also put Jason on the side of the bed near Paco...I was as far as I could get from Paco on the other! And believe me, I just left there very thankful that our son, Colt, never asked for an iguana growing up and that Joy doesn't like them either. (Hey that's part of my Faithful Friday post....what I'm thankful for)! :)

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But lizards aside (hopefully far, far away), it's time to tell you about my giveaway! Instead of focusing on fall, I decided to give away something that Jason made and we painted. It's a pegboard with star cuts and rusty old screw pegs.



Here it is shown sitting on the little ledge at our chair rail level next to the red wall. It is 32 1/2" long and 8 1/4" wide. It is painted black distressed with barn red.



I am opening this to bloggers and non-bloggers. If you're a non-blogger, leave your email address, so I can contact you if you win! Leave a comment letting me know you'd like to enter, and you'll get an entry, and if you have a funny or scary lizard story, I'd love to hear that too! If you are a follower, you get two extra entries. Like so many others have expressed, I really don't like the term follower, because I don't like to sound like a cult or anything! lol! Why couldn't blogger come up with a better term, like fellow bloggers or bloggin buddies? Anyway, I'll have Miss Joy draw out a name on Wednesday, September 9th at 9:30 p.m. Oh, and because of the cost of shipping, this giveaway is open to the lower 48 continental US residents only. Good luck!



And one more thing before I go, since I missed Faithful Fridays yesterday. I'd like to give a little praise report. We are actually out of town right now at our friends house (Betty & Richard). If you remember, I asked prayer for Richard. He did have prostate cancer, but he received a good report that it hasn't spread and surgery is scheduled in about 2 weeks to remove it with a good prognosis. Thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for him! We give the glory to God!

And oh yeah, I am really thankful that Colt never asked for an iguana!

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Thanks again, my friends, for stopping by! Have a great Labor Day weekend! :)