Miss Independent vs. Spider

So I think you all know I don't like spiders, read: I'm terrified of them.  My legs are still shaking.  This spider was on my couch tonight.  It is thick and about the size of a half dollar.  It is now suffering a slow death by suffocation in a cup covered with a bag and secured with a hair tie in the garage.  My independent woman skills are really coming along...  I handled the situation without freaking out...  I only screamed once...

I am independent and a PA resident with a PA registered, inspected, and license plated car.  I think that makes me a real grown up.  I'm not sure.  I spend money like one, that's for sure...  I just had to pay for all the PA car requirements...goodbye paycheck.  Literally.  And I may have gotten into a minor accident awhile back---me, some icy roads, a snowbank, and a guardrail--so I have to pay my insurance deductible and get the car fixed whenever I get the insurance check... And my computer cord broke this morning so I had to buy a new one of those...and I am going to have to have no computer at home until it comes...what will I do without hulu? hahaha!

Lets see, what else is new...I have mice in my house, so I have been fighting a war against them...and kind of like our war on terror...when I don't know what to do, I just throw money at the problem and buy weapons of "mouse" destruction (rather than "mass" destruction--get it?  haha, clever, I know)...I have poison and traps and I'm getting another kind of trap tomorrow, because I just found out that the poison might cause the mice to die in my walls and make my house smell.  And by house, I mean my two bedroom apartment above a garage.  Its actually a really sweet deal. 

I am still selling office supplies by night and that job has given me friends, haha.  My job at Novocell has picked up considerably and so I finally feel very productive and busy most days. 

I think thats about it for what's new in my life.  Brace yourself, I am going to say something that I don't think I have ever told you before, There are NO men in my life.  Can you believe it?  I understand why everyone panics at college about finding a spouse.  There are no men in the real world.  Or at least not in Western PA.  Oh well.  I'm actually too busy right now to be in a relationship.  I am trying to get involved in a church...I am volunteering at a women's conference this weekend.  Its a Beth Moore study, Loving Well.  Then I am going to start coaching soccer with a girl from Staples at the Y starting in the middle of April.  I think we are going to get U10s.  We'll see.

Mice Invasion

I now fully understand the search for a "better mousetrap" in the most literal sense.  Ever since "the sighting" last night, I have been debating what to do about the situation.  Options: 1) live and let live, so far he hasn't bothered me, except for the "ugh" feeling and the shudder that went through me when I saw him in my kitchen; 2) Deal with the problem and get rid of the mouse.  Obviously Option 2 is the only option.  Then I began brainstorming possible solutions--1) begin dating again immediately and allow new bf to show off his manliness and get rid of the mouse for me; 2) find a way to convince Dad to come visit and then allow him to fix the problem in the name of helping his oldest daughter who lives on her own survive; (this is not a really viable option, because he is already aware of the situation and told me I needed a trap and I needed to take care of the problem myself because I was a grown-up--but it was worth thinking of); 3) Pray it will just go away; 4) Woman up and take care of the problem.  While solution 1 or 2 are perhaps the most appealing, due to time constraints they are more wishful thinking.  Solution 3, yes, I believe God is all-powerful and can do anything, however, I have a feeling this is one of those things he puts in your life to teach you that you can handle it and that He will help you through it, however unappealing the task may be. 

That leaves us with option 4, let the Woman-ing Up commence!!  (By the way, there is a mantra for womaning up, in case you were unaware...I am repeating it in my head as we speak...)  I have found the perfect solution: http://www.d-conproducts.com/traps/nvnt.html.  (I might have googled "mouse traps for the squeamish" but that's beside the point).  How awesome is this?  I don't have to see, smell, or touch the dead mouse...and there's no pain, he is killed instantly!  Wouldn't PETA be proud that I am thinking of our furry friend's (or invader, but "friend" sounds more PETA) comfort while trying to rid myself of him?  So after work today and before church (I'm trying a new church tonight), I will be searching the greater Hermitage area for the No view, no touch mouse trap.  There's even an indicator light with a message that tells you when you have caught the mouse!!  (Of course when I shared this with my dad, he did warn me that it is much more satisfying to see their dead little bodies after you capture them...but I really don't think that is necessary).  Btw, did I tell you his analogy for me when he told me to go to war with the mouse?  It is slightly inappropriate, but funny.  It has to do with terrorists.  I think rather than risk being offensive (wow, look I'm actually going to hold my tongue/well my fingers).