“Hang up and drive!”

Jim and I saw a bumper sticker a few weeks ago that said that “Hang up and drive!” It cracked us up! We thought, geez, could you show just a little more anger?

But lately, I’m starting to think maybe that bumper sticker would actually be a good idea for me. I’m thinking I might even have to put one on the FRONT of my car, as well as on the back. Although, clearly, the people I’d be addressing it to are already too distracted… I don’t want to be responsible for any more accidents than those folks are already causing! Sheesh!

Today, I was headed down a side street near my house. This street is near a small college, so the street is populated by little businesses. It’s considered a “quaint” neighborhood. It had snowed, and it was, in fact, still snowing pretty hard at the time. I saw someone starting to back out of a parking place on my right, just as I was approaching them. I didn’t want to honk at them, but I was paying close attention to them, as well as noticing that the light up ahead was red. I hoped to get past the reversing vehicle before getting to the light. Suddenly I saw a man (I won’t say “older” man, because that makes one thing “OLD” man, but this guy was in his fifties, I’d say… no college dude, anyway) walking across the middle of the street, rather than using the crosswalk a few feet further up. He was, of course, on his cell phone and oblivious of the traffic. I stepped on my brakes and the anti-lock mechanism kicked in. (It’s a nice feature, but it won’t let you ‘tap the break’, so you just have to hope for the best.) I also started honking a few short honks—beep! beep! beep!—at the guy. He finally stopped just a few feet from where I was about to run him over, and he just looked at me like, “What! Fine, go ahead, then, if you must!” I swear, I about wanted to strangle the guy! (Naturally, the car pulling out of the parking spot—whose driver was NOT on the phone—saw me in plenty of time and waited for me to pass.)

I guess I’m curious: Does this make me bitter? Am I an angry person? I use my cell phone, from time to time, in the car. I try to be careful and pay close attention to my surroundings. I try to use the phone minimally in the car… I honestly don’t like driving and talking on it at the same time. So am I feeling superior? Or am I just mad because I almost ran someone over who acted like it was MY fault that he was jaywalking in a snowstorm AND not paying attention to the traffic around him!?  Grrrr…. I’m thinking my front bumper sticker should actually say, “Hang up and WALK!” J

"These are a few of my favorite things"

-My computer--duh! (Although I'm always wanting to upgrade... I do have a great love affair with my current computer--and now that I've got a new & improved printer, things are nearly perfect!)
-Chocolate filled Oreos
-Diet Coke
-A brand new toothbrush
-Eye drops (my contacts make my eyes feel dry sometimes)
-Naps!
-80's music
-Fun make-up shopping with a girlfriend (my friend JB and I used to do this every now and then, and I miss it!)
-Jim
-Lindsay
-Josie
-Donovan
-Being involved in Brownies again
-Ice cream!
-Sweating from a good workout
-Achy muscles from a good workout
-New car smell
-Red Vines licorice
-Chipotle's veggie fajita burrito
-Songs that make me think of my childhood (e.g. "Wild Night" by Van Morrison, "My Girl" by The Temptations, "Help!" by the Beatles, "Mockingbird" by James Taylor and Carly Simon, etc.)
-Making someone laugh (on purpose is best, but if I can by just being my goofy self, that's fine,too)
-My big brother's smile
-Cinnamon imperials (Red Hots)
-Sleeping in
-Christmas morning
-Going to Church on Easter Sunday
-Coloring a fresh page in a coloring book
-Dancing

Oh Tannenbaum!

We put up our tree the other day. Y’know, that’s something I always do the day after Thanksgiving. I like to put on a Christmas CD and get the tree put together, then string up the lights and put on all the ornaments, etc. The girls are able to help me actually put the tree together now. I do the lights by myself, as that’s something I’m a little picky about. But then they do the ornaments with me. This year, we were putting the tree together in a different spot than usual—Jim said last year the tree blocked his view of the TV. Okay, so we moved it over behind the recliner, closer to the dining room table. As we were putting it together, Lindsay was struggling with a branch. She was trying to force it in, and I said, “Honey, if it doesn’t slide right in, you have it at the wrong angle.” This is what I’ve been telling them, over and over. Anyway… SNAP! She pushed the whole tree to one side, forcing that branch, and the base on that side of the tree broke. I said, “Lindsay, dangit! You forced it! Now look what happened!” (Nice parenting, Trace.) I tried tilting the tree back a bit, so I could see the damage to the base, and… SNAP! I broke the opposite side of the base. So now the tree was wobbly on both sides, instead of just leaning to one side. I had the girls continue with the tree, while I went to tell Jim about it. He looked at it and said, “It’s fine. It’ll be fine for now. Maybe we can get a new tree after Christmas, when they go on sale. It IS nine years old, y’know. We’ve gotten a lot of use out of it.” So okay, we continued on our decorating journey. I’d gotten some new ornaments to put on there--our old bulbs were even older than the tree. Sunday morning, Jim was up before the rest of us, and he moved the tree a bit because it was crowding his spot by the dining room table. When he moved it, he accidentally knocked off one of my new ornaments, breaking it. (Josie was sure to tell me right away when I woke up! Tee! Hee!) Later, he went to the Y for a workout. The girls and Dono were watching TV, and I was downstairs working on laundry, when… CRASH! JINGLE! SMASH!!! I ran upstairs, and all three kids were staring at the tree with their jaws on the floor. The tree was lying on my dining room table! It had to have been due to Jim moving it earlier in the day. I plucked up all the bits and pieces of my new ornaments off the table and floor (after sending my barefoot children—barefoot in December?!?—downstairs), and I took the rest of the ornaments and lights off the tree. I was just finishing taking it all apart (no tears this whole time, but they were always threatening) when Jim finally got home from his workout. Josie goes, “Look what Mom did.” And I just about screamed at her, “You’ll recall, I was DOWNSTAIRS when this happened!!! It just FELL on its OWN!!!” She’s stammering, “Oh, oh yeah, I uh, I forgot.” Continuing on with my lovely parenting skills, I said through clenched teeth, “You just remember that YOU didn’t do it, right?” Geez, I’m a peach. Well, at this point, I got the kids lunch, grabbed a quick lunch myself, looked online and found the cheapest base at Lowe’s, and I told Jim about it. I went with my neighbor to Anne’s class at the Y, planning on running out with Jim when I got home, to buy the new base. When I returned home—much less stressed after a strenuous work out—I walked in the house to hear Jim say, “Oh, hi, how’s it going?” Mr. Nonchalant. There, by the window, where it BELONGS (blocking the TV or not), was my tree, all put back together, standing in a new base! The decorations weren’t up yet, as Jim a) knew I’d rather do that or supervise, at least, myself, and b) he didn’t have time to get them up before I got home (not to mention c) he doesn’t really like doing that stuff). What a great guy!!!

A Lesson in E-Mail Etiquette: Undisclosed Recipients or Blind Carbon Copying (BCC)

I used to grow frustrated with my older brother's somewhat preachy tones in some of the e-mails he'd write, especially when he would throw in " (sigh) ". It got a little irritating. And yet, I'm the one who is BURDENED with the need for such a HEAVY SIGH, I can barely stand it!!!

I am seriously considering looking up, on the Internet, ways to sell people's e-mail addresses for money. Y'know, for people who want to SPAM. No joke! Do you have any idea how many people's addresses I could sell? All the time, I'm getting e-mail forwards from friends, acquaintances, relatives, all who just forward the e-mail from the last schmuck--never taking the time to erase all the previous e-mail addresses in that got sent along with the e-mail, never taking the time to Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) all the addressees .... So not only am I gaining access to ALL SORTS of e-mail addresses, but there are jerks out there who now have access to mine!!!

Please, PLEASE, do yourself and your friends a HUGE favor: Part One would be to erase all the e-mail addresses when you forward your joke or spiritually uplifting message or political witticism.... Once you hit "forward", you can do anything you want to the message, including hitting the delete button over the addresses or backspace button, or (here's a tough one) holding your mouse down and highlighting all those addresses, then deleting them all at once! Part Two would be to either put your own name in the "To" line and then everyone else's in the BCC line, or you can create an Undisclosed Recipients address (go to Contacts, select "New", type in Undisclosed Recipients in the name area, then fill in your own e-mail address), and use that in the "To" line--again, put everyone else's address in the BCC line.

Folks, if you want to help me and everyone else out by doing this, that'd be great! If you don't know how to use or find your BCC line, comment on this blog, or e-mail me, and I'll help you find it.

This has been a Public Service Message from one very irate e-mail recipient.
Thank you!

New Pictures--Halloween, etc.

I haven't been on my blog for AGES, and I really need to do some personal writing. However, I feel like I ought to catch up on pictures first. So hopefully tonight I can post some recent pictures, and then I'd like to come back in another day or two and update my thoughts. (I really do feel like blogging helps keep me grounded, and I REALLY need that right now!)

We got to go to Vala's Pumpkin Patch during the day on Halloween. The girls and I were there for our third time, but Jim had never been there before, and I honestly don't think I took Donovan last year. (If I did, I've blissfully forgotten the event!)

Look at the bunnies, Donovan!

I didn't do it, I swear! You can't prove anything!

Lindsay, Jim, Donovan and Josie in a GIANT rocking chair.

Okay, trick-or-treating pix. Lindsay and Josie were easily talked into being witches, using last year's costumes, plus new hats and brooms and make-up. Donovan was easy--he LOVES Elmo and the costume was right in front of me one day at Target. It was about $16 and that's about as cheap as I can ever find them. Too perfect!

Scary faces!

Donovan doesn't like the "hood" up.

Okay, hood up, as long as I've got candy!

Lindsay, Josie and Donovan--Halloween '08.

Now, the last thing I need to update on, real quick, is camp. Josie's troop (which includes me as one of its four co-leaders--there are 16-ish girls in the troop) went to Camp Catron last weekend. Catron is just outside of Nebraska City--it's a Girl Scout owned location, and they often have sponsored weekends or day-camps there. However, as the troop went (sans Josie and me--we were in Riverside, CA at the time) this summer for a sponsored event and nearly starved to death, we decided to go it "alone" this time. We brought our own food, drinks, snacks, etc. and planned our own activities. We barely had a moment to spare for potty breaks--it was that jam-packed of a weekend. And did we ever eat! Josie loved it so much, she cried off and on for about two hours when we got home--"I miss Camp Catron! When can we go back?" (Not until we raise more money, dear! After we sell cookies in the spring--hint! hint!)

Making "Hobo Meals" for supper.

Eating s'mores.

Troop 159, "crazy pose".

"A circle's round, but has no end, that's how long I'm going to be your friend."

My "sub-group" within the troop. Elisabeth, Brady, Austen & Ciera (and me).

The "sub-group" Josie is in. Aaliyah, Jordyn, Eileen, and Katie (and Josie).

We didn't take any pictures while we were outside--it was super cold. But we did go on two hikes, and on one of those, some of us even got to see a WHITE SQUIRREL!!! It was the neatest thing ever--he had brown hands and feet, face and tail, but his body was completely white! Bizarre! Anyway, Camp Catron was really beautiful and fun, and we'll be sure to go back again soon!