Mom of Great-Bull-Shihtzu
Welcome!
Tuesday, August 5, 2025
🐌 Snail Mail: Care Instructions
“Feed me, Seymour!”
Welcome to your baby snail care guide! Whether you’re brand new to snails or a seasoned shell-raiser, this page has everything you need to keep your tiny tank friends happy, healthy, and growing strong. From feeding tips to reordering food, it’s all right here—no MYSTERY about it! 😄 🐌
COMING SOON!
Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Green Doesn’t Mean Go!
This weekend, I stepped way outside my comfort zone — I took motorcycle driving lessons. It was mentally and physically exhausting, stretching me in ways I didn’t expect. But I pushed through, dug deep, talked myself off a few mental ledges, and…I passed! (WHOOT WHOOT!)
Now, I’ll be honest: the thrill only came after it was over. Learning to ride, in the middle of the hottest two days of summer in Florida, on blacktop for six hours a day? Not exactly a spa day. The internal dialogue was constant and dramatic:
“Why am I doing this? This is insane. It’s sooo hot. I can’t do it.”
“Stop it. You can do this. You are strong! You do not quit. You do hard things.”
“The ground truly is lava and I think my feet are melting into the pavement” “There are only 4 hours left, you made it this far, keep going!”
And I prayed. I used every moment I had — waiting my turn, trying not to confuse the throttle with the brake — to pray for strength, endurance, clarity…for myself and the other student and for a breeze.
Final test score: 100%
Relief: 1000%
Gratitude: 10,000%
At the end of the course, the instructors went over traffic rules and riding tips. One tip stuck with me: “A green light gives you permission to go, not proof that it’s safe to go.” As a motorcyclist, you pause even at a green light. You scan the intersection. You decide if it’s safe.
At 3 AM (thanks, menopause), that principle was still on my mind. And it reminded me of something from church that morning: “All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial." (1 Corinthians 10:23)
It’s easy to think, “It’s my right. The light’s green. I’m going to go.” Just because I can go doesn’t mean I should, all the “right of way” in the world won’t protect you from someone barreling through a red light. we do not want to make decisions based on entitlement but instead use wisdom.
A real-life example: I am an adult, I want to relax and have a drink, I’m legally allowed to drink. But if I’m with someone who struggles with their sobriety, would I want to make their battle harder just because I have the right? Is that love?
A work example: Let’s say you're a leader with a great idea — something you're passionate about and fully capable of executing. You’ve got the green light from your upline, the resources are available, and technically, you could launch today. But maybe your team is in the middle of a big transition. If you move forward just because you can, you might unintentionally cause stress, resentment, or poor implementation.
Freedom in Christ isn’t reckless, we read “Prov 22:3, “The prudent see danger and take refuge.” and Philippians 1:9-10, “Discern what is best.”
Prudence and Discernment take precedence over entitlement.
The Bible reminds us: not everything that’s allowed is wise, loving, or life-giving; our words and actions are meant to build up, not tear down — even when we have the right to speak or act freely. "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." Ephesians 4:29
So, before I speak or act, I ask: Will this build up? Will it give grace? Will it reflect Christ? Is it safe for others? This kind of wisdom, restraint, and consideration isn’t weakness. It’s strength under the guidance of the Spirit. It’s love in action. It’s emotional intelligence shaped by the Gospel. Sometimes, the most prudent and discerning move at a green light… is to wait.
LOOK Before You GO (Yes, I love a good acronym, Bible school habits die hard!)
L – Listen for the Spirit. He’s your internal guide.
O – Observe what’s happening around you.
O – Own your part. Do the right thing with integrity.
K – Keep others in mind. Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should.
After you LOOK, then GO —
Let’s be people who don’t just go because we can — but go because it’s good, wise, loving, and right.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Loaches, Lids and Life Lessons
They were… unsettling at first. Long and snaky, with sudden movements that caught me off guard. I’m always reaching into the tank to adjust things, so I knew this could be a problem for me and I’d need to work through my discomfort. At first, every time they came near me, I’d jerk my hand out and squeal. But over time? I got used to them and now they don’t faze me anymore—in fact, just last week, I bought two more.
It doesn’t usually knock down the door. It prowls. It creeps in quietly—a compromise here, a justification there. What once convicted us begins to feel normal. Harmless. We “get used to it.”
That’s when something unsafe, unwise, or unholy becomes our new normal—because small compromises stack up without correction.
- · Check your “used to” list. Ask: What have I gotten used to that I would’ve questioned before?
- · Talk to someone wise. Community keeps our perspective sharp.
- · Pray simply and often. Ask: “God, show me what I’ve stopped noticing.”
- · Pause when you feel unbothered. If something should convict you and doesn’t, that’s worth some reflection.
Because when we drift or leap, His wings are still wide enough to catch us.
Friday, May 23, 2025
Noodle Ninjas
Austin just came into our room and exclaimed, “The chances of stepping out of the shower onto a dry spaghetti noodle are low…but never zero.”
– Austin, philosopher and pasta survivor. 😂😆
Johnny (box destroyer Great Dane) and Vinnie (noodle enthusiast Pit Bull) got together and launched another surfing event. That makes three boxes of pasta they’ve snuck off the counter in as many months. I thought I cleaned it all up. I was wrong.
Lesson learned: In this house, carbs aren’t safe, and neither are bare feet.
#NoodleNinjas #JohnnyAndVinnieStrikeAgain
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Snailmates! Love at 0.03 mph
There are a lot of serious things happening in the world.
This is not one of them.
Let me tell you about the time (today) when I became a snail matchmaker.
Britt and I each have large home tank but also a little fish tank in our offices at work—because apparently we can’t go anywhere without building a tiny ecosystem.
One of my Mystery Snails laid a clutch in one of my home tanks (clutch that’s snail-speak for a gooey pile of eggs), and after some expert FB advice, several YouTube’s on incubating and zero emotional preparation, I ended up successfully hatching them….twenty-five…and counting baby snails. I mean, I could start my very own TLC show!
What started as what I thought was “just one survivor” turned into a full-blown —a booming colony of slow-moving, algae-scraping freeloaders.
Meanwhile, Britt’s giant mystery snail, at work, has been laying unfertilized clutches like clockwork. Girl was out here working overtime—with nothing to show for it.
So naturally, I decide if we’re getting eggs we need more babies! So, I did what any rational, reasonable, and responsible adult would do, I transported my male snail to work in a Panera cup.
Yes. A Panera cup.
Because what screams “romantic gesture” more than being delivered, for some SNEXY-time, in a container formerly filled with ice tea?
Anyway, I introduced him to Britt’s love-starved snail, and named them Sheldon and Shelldonna. It took them half a day to find each other—which I think was actually super fast in snail-time! And once they did?
Magic.
There they are under a leaf, and I’m telling you, it was the most awkwardly beautiful love scene you’ve ever seen. I told Britt to cue the mood lighting, so we turned on the tank’s color-changing feature. Then I made her play Barry White but even better she come up with….“Let’s Get It On.”
And I took a video.
Because what is snail intimacy if not meant to be shared on TikTok?!! lol!
To honor this sacred moment, I hung a sign on her tank that read:
DO NOT DISTURB
Mystery Snail Love in Progress.
Please respect the privacy of Sheldon & Shelldonna
as they embark on their underwater honeymoon.
Mood lighting active.
Romantic playlist engaged.
Panera cup origins: classified.
#SnailLove
We cackled. We think we are hilarious! And we are so proud that we will soon be grandparents!!!
I don’t know what the baby count will be, but if we’re judging by technique…let’s just say Britt better start prepping her own nursery tank.
—————————
So yeah. The world is a lot.
But sometimes in the middle of all the stress, heartache, and unread emails, you get to witness something ridiculous and beautiful—like two snails finding each other under a leaf.
And in that moment, nothing else matters.
Slow down. Laugh often.
And remember:
Love always finds a way… even if it takes all day to cross the gravel.
——————————
I love you. Pass it on.
Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Grace & Grit
I’ve wanted a custom license plate for the front of my car for a while now. I designed a few different versions and finally landed on one. It’s not really a vanity plate—more like a tiny billboard on my 20 year old car that reads:
Grace & Grit
Fueled by Faith.
Grounded in Grit.
This is why…
Grace is one of God’s greatest gifts.
It teaches me to respond with compassion, even when the world invites me to react.
It’s choosing kindness when I could choose control.
It’s letting people be human—including myself.
It’s the soft answer when—honestly—I want to bite back. The deep breath before I react. The prayer in the parking lot.
Grit is what keeps me standing when grace feels impossible. It’s the stubborn, sacred kind of resilience that says: I will still show up.
Even when it’s hard.
Even when I’m tired.
Even when the path forward feels more like a cracked sidewalk than a yellow brick road.
The flower on the plate is a reminder—to myself—of resilience and beauty in the midst of the messy. Through concrete, gravel, and broken places…
That’s me.
I will bloom anyway.
But it’s not just about growth—it’s about beauty.
The crack in the sidewalk is a story in itself.
It’s the part we’d usually cover up, pave over, or avoid. But that’s exactly where God shows up. Not in polished perfection, but in the broken places.
This is where His grace takes root. This is where He grows beauty out of what feels hopeless.
Not just resilience—but redemption.
Not just surviving—but thriving.
This plate isn’t about being perfect.
It’s about being real.
Because although my word for 2025 is thrive… I’m not always feeling it.
I am not strong on my own. God meets me in the mess. He gives me grace when I run out, and grit when I want to give up.
Yep—every ounce of softness and strength I have comes from Him.
So if you see my plate, you’ll know…you are looking at someone who’s still growing. Still going. Still believing in the One who gives both Grace & Grit.