For Sabrina and LaRonda (I spose the rest of you could read as well if you want)

For Sabrina -- I thought I'd add a mouse story of my own since I've been so entertained by yours lately and can so identify with the terror of sharing living quarters with lice infested, demon-possessed vermin. I'm shuddering at reliving the memories. Sadly, there are many tales to tell... It seems that a couple of my older siblings are involved in a diabolical "let's-see-if-Rachel-really-will-have-an-early-heart-attack" scheme. Since they're all older and there's so many of them, hopefully I won't incriminate anyone. haha. Here's one story. And let me tell you, there are MANY similar stories from BOTH of these folks. One night I lay on the couch in older siblings house, trying to sleep. It was the night time. Everyone in the house was fast asleep. I believe I had slept a little while when suddenly, I awoke, with the sinking feeling in my stomach that indeed, I was not alone in that room. You know when you wake up just knowing? My heart is pounding out of my chest, I'm trying so hard to tell myself it's all in my head. And then I heard it. Scurrying. The pitter patter of tiny feet running around, sounded like it was across the room. I wanted to SCREAM. I'm now slightly raised on couch, waiting for the attack, wondering what to do, when, I kid you not, the little vermin came out from behind the entertainment center and started running RIGHT TOWARDS ME! I thought I might pass out. He ran under the couch. There was no way in blue blazes I was staying on that couch. So when I mustered the courage, I DASHED for the kitchen, barely touching the floor, and on my tip toes the whole time. It somehow seems more safe, the less of your body that touches the same floor that the rat is on. So, now what do I do? I'm in the kitchen, the rat is in the living room, where to go? So I sat on the chair in the kitchen for awhile. Pretty soon, oh terror of terrors, the wretched creature shows up AGAIN - he comes right to the edge of the kitchen and stares at me with his beady, evil little eyes. NOOOOOOO!!! What was I to do now? In case the little beast decides to try to charge me in the kitchen and crawl in my ear and eat my brains, or worse, lay eggs in my head so... anyway... I do what any respectable woman would do, and jumped up on the chair. So it's in the middle of the night, I'm standing on a chair in the kitchen, covering my mouth so as not to scream... praying for the rapture, and knowing I'm in for a very long night. I did indeed spend the rest of that night on the chair in the kitchen, alternating between standing on, sitting on, standing on, sitting on, depending on where the little demon was and how intently he was staring at me, plotting to make his move. When FINALLY, someone in the house awoke, I sputtered out the whole sordid tale, and he (brother or brother in law, so as not to incriminate anyone) so casually said, oh yeah, him, he's been around here for awhile... AHHHHHHHH!!!!! Such a casual attitude to the great deal of mental and emotional anguish I endured that night. The end. Thank God, the END! But like I said, there's more. One time, I was actually wearing this heart monitor thing because long ago the doc said I had a heart murmur and wanted it checked out. (It turned out to be nothing but a slight murmur, in case you're wondering) So I'm sound asleep late in the night, when what sounded like a stampede of vermin came charging into my room. I FLEW out of bed, forgetting of course, that I was full of stickers and wires. My heart was thumping as though it would burst. stickers and wires are dangling about me... what do I do now? ugh. I think found somewhere else to sleep, although I don't think I got a lot more. Okay, I'm going to stop now with the mice stories, not that my skin is crawling and I'm jumping at every noise... If anyone has an appetite anymore, LaRonda wanted these cookies, so here they are:

(ooo, I've never done this before... I feel all hilda-the-houswifey)

1 cup butter, melted (yeah, they're not exactly low fat = ( )
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs, beaten

1 cup ww flour
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda

mix wet ingredients, add the dry ones (I added choc. chips to some of them and that was fabulous), mix until smooth, bake 15ish min. at 350. You might be able to add a bit more flour or oats to this - they were pretty soft, but tasty. Oh, and if you care, the original recipe called for 1.25 cups white flour, 1 cup wheat bran (which they apparently don't sell in the south) and .75 cup rolled oats.