Better Than Email!

Wednesdays are always exciting at our house.
They are the days that Garrett gets to email us from the Missionary Training Center!!!


While the boys are on missions, they have one day a week that is considered "Preparation Day" or P-Day as it is affectionately known.
It's the day to do laundry, sitesee, go to the grocery store and WRITE YOUR FAMILY!
While they are in the Missionary Training Center, they have P-Day and it's much the same as when you are out on your mission except for the siteseeing and grocery store going.
There's nothing they need to see in Provo, UT and they eat in a cafeteria.
So you would think that would leave them more time to WRITE!!!
But NO!
They have 30 minutes.  That's it!
But I wait by my computer with bated breath.


About the only thing MORE EXCITING than the weekly email is IF we receive a BONUS handwritten letter in the mail - the REAL mail box!
It's such a wonderful surprise.
Last week, we received a letter AND something EVEN BETTER!

Someone......and Garrett.

I don't know if this is his companion because I can't read his name tag.

At the famous MTC map.........pointing to where they are going.

Maybe this is his companion.  I don't know since I can't see his tag!

In the classroom.

I know the girl to Garrett's left ISN'T his companion......and I don't need to read her tag to figure that out.

At the temple

Garrett.........and someone else.

Posers!

So even more fun that "hearing" from them is "seeing" them!

To Be RaNDoM or Not To Be

Do I even have any RaNDoM?
To blog or NOT to blog....that is the question.


Keely's NOT doing it.
But Stacy is.
Bless Stacy's heart!  She's continuing the RaNDoM tradition over at her place.
Click the linky thingy above and go pay her a visit.

* Oh, okay.  I'll play along too.
We're going to Seattle Thursday for a wedding, so I'll be gone toward the end of the week.
It's going to be SO much fun!
I'm really looking forward to SLEEPING and EATING...........two things I don't get enough of at home!

* We're off to the park today.
Yeah - it's going to be a beautiful 99 degree day with winds gusting to 50.
Who doesn't want to be outside?

* The park is a childhood favorite!
There is a little petting zoo, a miniature train, a tiny creek - really tiny, like 4 inches deep and 2 feet across,
and there is a giant airplane you can climb on and a big grassy hill you can roll down.
I'm going with a bunch of 16-18 year olds.
They'll LOVE it!

* Saturday, in preparation for THE PIONEER TREK,
we spent three hours with a committee of people, dividing all the teenagers into "families."
There are 10 kids in each family and we wanted it divided evenly with boys and girls and a nice mix of ages in each family.
Only three hours!  Amazing!!
Everyone will find out which family they are in in about 10 days to 2 weeks.
People are offering me money to tell them what family they are in!

* People are offering Parker MORE money to go ahead and get on my computer and rearrange families for them!
Why wouldn't they come to me with MORE money?

* Update on my mom -
She received her stem cell transplant last week.
The deal was that she would feel okay Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then slowly start feeling crummy on Thursday and be pretty miserable by Saturday and Sunday with nausea, total hair loss, zero white blood cells, exhaustion and mouth sores.  Jealous?

So far, she only has a few mouth sores (and they aren't stopping her from eating like they do with most cancer patients) and she is bored as heck.
She is doing miraculously well!
She can't have ANY visitors except for my dad and my brother since she has NO white blood cells and she's in isolation for 3-5 weeks while her body starts reproducing healthy white blood cells.
No one can send any gifts or packages into isolation, so she's hanging out with the TV, her IPad and laptop.
That was as of yesterday.
We'll see how she is feeling today.

* We went to see Cars2 this weekend.
Well, we didn't go to see the movie.
We went to see my nephew, Gabriel see the movie.

He sat in the middle and there were 13 of us craning our necks to see his expression as he watched the show.  It was fun!!!!

That's it!
I'm out.
I'm going to get the trash to the curb and clean the house before we take off for our park adventure!
You all have a great Tuesday!

A Generous Father's Day Gift

Parker is such a kind young man.
He had his father's best interests at heart when he came up with THIS Father's Day gift!

Did Parker just "allow" his father to "bet" his car? 

And if Brian wins that "bet," what exactly does he get out of it?  He "gets" to keep his own car? 

And who is paying for the dinner at Maggianos or the weekend in Beaver Creek should Brian "bet" that and lose?

I'm no dummy.  I asked, "Who will pay for these bets?"

Parker responded, "I will.............with my credit card."

Oh yes, HIS credit card.

Who pays that credit card bill?

Oh and wait! Read the fine print at the bottom of the certificate -

This certificate is non transferable. Rules and regulations subject to change by creator only. All bets requiring money can be redeemed by cash or credit based on losers choice. Cheating will result in sudden loss and loser must fulfill all bets. Parker is the best. You agree that you will pay for all products you purchase through the Services, and that Apple may charge your credit card or PayPal account for any products purchased and for any additional amounts (including any taxes and late fees, as applicable) that may be accrued by or in connection with your Account. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TIMELY PAYMENT OF ALL FEES AND FOR PROVIDING APPLE WITH A VALID CREDIT CARD OR PAYPAL ACCOUNT DETAILS FOR PAYMENT OF ALL FEES. All fees will be billed to the credit card or PayPal account you designate during the registration process. If you want to designate a different credit card or if there is a change in your credit card or PayPal account status, you must change your information online in the Account Information section of iTunes; this may temporarily disrupt your access to the Services while Apple verifies your new payment information.

Did this just turn into an I-Tunes disclaimer?

Who wants Parker to give them a "gift" next holiday?

Talk Talk

Overheard......okay maybe I said some of it.

*Someone: "If more Americans ate like me, they would be healthier."
Parker: "Oh really?"
Someone: "Yeah.  I don't just eat to eat.  I don't eat to live.  I eat for pleasure.  Once I've had 'enough,' I don't just keep eating because the food is there."
Parker: "Yeah. You eat stupidly."

*While clearing dishes from the dinner table,
I hear a dinner guest ask Brian,
"So what is your church calling now?  What do they have you doing."

As I hear Brian kindly answer, "Oh, Gina and I are in charge of planning the Pioneer Trek for 400 youth......" 

I mumble under my breath.
"Tour guides to hell."
Yep.........that's where I'm going with THAT kind of attitude!

*Brian: "So I hear you guys shot eggs over to the school with the slingshot."
Parker: "Yeah, we wanted to see how far they'd go."
Brian: "Why didn't you use golf balls?"
Parker: Yeah, we could have but I didn't think of it."
Brian: "Well, if you're going to get arrested for vandalism, go big."

What?  Who let HIM be a parent?????

*Trammell is down in Little Rock knocking on doors and selling security systems ALL DAY LONG!
And when I say all day, I'm talking from 11:30 am to 9:30 pm.

And sometimes I get text messages like this:
"Did I just leave a house with a huge statue of Jesus in it? Yes.  Yes, I did.  And was that statue of Jesus black? Yes. Yes, He was."

Notice "He" was capitalized.  Black, white, purple, green....always show respect!

*Another text I received from someone else who shall remain nameless to protect her guilt.
"I just broke in ur house and stole some salad dressing.  Sorry. But I put a sour cream in ur frig to replace the one I borrowed yesterday."

What a polite thief!

* One more convo that took place with my 2-year-old nephew.  Really!  He is 28 months and he really did say this!
Me: "Where did you go today?"
G: "Time out!"
Me: "You went to time out?"
G: "Yes."  He says "yes" soooo sweetly and happily!
Me: "Hmmmm.......what did you do?"
G: "Skweeming."
Me: "You were screaming?"
G: "Yes."
Me: "Is screaming good or naughty?"
G: "Good!"
Me: "Ohhhh.................."
G: "Naughty."
Me: "Yes. Screaming is naughty!"
G: "And mommy say, 'knock it off!' "

Did she now?  What else did Mommy say?

Another BORING Day!

Where was "Wee Bit of Wednesday" yesterday?
MyLeighAshley never posted the 10 questions!
What?  You expect me to make up my own questions?

It doesn't matter.
Yesterday was a "little" crazy anyway.

Do you ever wonder what I am doing when I CHOOSE to skip blogging?
Do you think maybe I am sick, or sad, or don't have anything to say?
You don't really care?

I will give you a glimpse into my life
and this is not a plea for sympathy or tranquilizers.
It's just my life
which although completely CRAZY, it's "normal" for me and most the time I LOVE it.
Most of the time.
A lot of the time.
Some days.

So, we got up at 5 am and went to McDonalds.  Woo Hoo!  Highlight!
Then we went to the church and picked up Parker's cohorts and drove to Turquoise Lake.

No, I didn't take this picture but it really looks like this.  I had to hightail it out of there.
It's 2 1/2-3 hours away.
Parker was going on a High Adventure.
They are backpacking 25 miles.

It was gorgeous up there.  Gorgeous!!!

I flew down the hill and went to Costco for Brian's company.
Those guys no how to drink!
They go through a million cases of bottled water and a forest of paper every week.

I made a pan of blonde brownies and a pan of regular brownies.
Then my niece came over and we worked on her college registration.
She's going to be a freshman and surprise, all the classes were taken.

I talked to my mom for 30 seconds.
She had her stem cell transplant yesterday and she's in isolation at the hospital for the next 3-5 weeks.
It went well and she won't start feeling really crummy until...........today.

While all of this was going on,
I was printing out documents and agendas for our Pioneer Trek meeting.

Twenty five people came over at 6 pm to discuss every aspect of the logoistics for the trek.
Every last detail - water, transportation, who is bringing the 120 dutch ovens, how they are being transported, who is driving the trucks with the water buffalos - big plastic bladders that hold 250 gallons of water.
I mean it was THREE HOURS of down and dirty talk about propane and tents and food and medical supplies and generators.

At 10 pm, I realized that I had thrown the Sausage biscuit out that I purchase for breakfast.  I skipped lunch and I hadn't eaten dinner.

Brian took me to Wendy's.
That's the only thing that sounded good.
Wendy's chili and frnech fries in the drive-thru.
But they gave me no straw or spoon.
I came home and ate it and then...........the day was over and I hadn't blogged.

Happy Random Birthday!

Stacy is still playing Queen of Random.
Click on the lovely picture and go say "hi!"


It's RaNDoM THouGHT TueSDaY AND it's Bri Bri's Birthday!

Let's celebrate both with some awesome RaNDoM about my best friend and love of my life!

* First, it's his 29th birthday AGAIN and he shares it with my way cool, beautiful sister-in-law who also turning 29 but is like 12 years younger.

(She's the one in the back)

* Brian is celebrating his birthday by.........going to work!  He has always been a hard worker!  At a young age (like 8 or something ridiculous), he and his brother would fill their wagon with "fire starters" and go up and down the street selling them.  He also sold greeting cards door-to-door. He got his first "real" job when he was 12.  He would mow and trim and sweep the grass at a shopping center.  it would take all week to work his way around the center and then......it was time to start again.  When he was 14, he hung up ladies dresses at Loehmans.  He's worked since birth!

* Brian likes to hunt, fish, ski, hike and golf.  At least he used to.....until he got really busy with work, family and church service.  But he was really good at all of them.  He can still out-ski most people.

* Brian is a casual collector - meaning he doesn't catalog or go to shows or spend time hunting down items, but he likes to collect nice pens, tools, guns, knives, and watches.

* He is generous!  Really generous.  He is happy to let people borrow whatever he has. So his collection of tools has diminished over the years.  If you need a screwdriver or hammer or extension cord, come on over.  If you need a cordless drill, his collection of 7 or 8 is down to 3 or 4, but you can still borrow one!

* He is accomplished!  He has achieved much!  He is an Eagle Scout and earned the Boy Scout Medal of Heroism (for saving a family from a fire on his way home from a date with me!)  He was Student Body President of the Universe (okay not quite, but he did organize a national student council conference).  He graduated from BYU.  He has won several professional awards.  But most importantly, he has won the hearts of his family and friends and is widely admired!

* He loves God!  He always tries to do the right thing.  He always serves!  He went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Milan, Italy.  He has served in a variety of church callings and boy scout positions, professional boards and community organizations.  Almost every Saturday morning, he is can be found helping someone move in or out of their house or apartment.



* Brian is compassionate.  He had a brain tumor when he was 14 and after brain surgery, had to go to school completely bald.  It was back in the day when your value as a high schooler was determined by the length of your hair.  He has a wonderful ability to seek out those in need either physically, emotionally or spiritually and lift them up.  He always tries to do what Jesus would do.

* He is a great husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend. Everyone loves him!

(Brian and our sister-in-law Stephanie)

Happy, Happy Birthday to the best husband ever!

I'm Brilliant!

I grew up with all boys.
I'm the mom of all boys.
Not a lot gets by me.

Saturday night at 9 pm, I went to the store and bought a carton of 18 eggs.
Sunday morning at 9 am, I got the eggs out and scratched my head.

I ALWAYS check my eggs.  And I know I did Saturday night because I actually had to open 4 boxes before I found one without cracked eggs.

Hmmmm...........

Parker was at a church dance when I got home from the store.

He came home at 11 and said that friends were coming over to have a fire in the firepit and make s'mores.

We got out the marshmallows, chocolate bars and graham crackers.

Everyone left around midnight.

It's not uncommon for Parker to decide he is hungry at midnight and whip up something ridiculous in the kitchen.

But no.  That just didn't sound right to me.

While contemplating the missing eggs, I looked out the kitchen window.

Mystery solved.

"Parker, why were you and your friends launching eggs with the slingshot at midnight?"

"We wanted to see how far we could launch them."

Of course!  It makes ALL the sense in the world!

Mystery solved.

Moments That Matter Most

Love This!

Wee Bit of Me Wednesday

For a girl who isn't a morning person, I sure get up early in the summer!
Yep - I was showered, totally dressed, bed made and sitting at my desk paying bills at 7:15.
Then, I took a break for breakfast- one of those Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars and an icy Coke.
That's livin'!


Today is the day we all go over to My Leigh Ashley's and join in the fun!



{one} what color best describes you + why?

Easy!  Pink - light pink, birght pink, hot pink, pink, pink, pink!
Why?  It just does.

{two} how have you changed in the past year?
Well, I'm older and I hope I am wiser.  I would like to say that I am more patient and understanding and compassionate but that would be a lie.  But, maybe I AM a little bit kinder.  Maybe I give people the benefit of the doubt more and try to realize that everyone has a different background ...that's not mine.

{three} have you ever had any surgeries?
Yes.  I had tubes put in my ears when I was younger and even though it was a quick, easy and successful procedure, it was traumatic in that we discovered I am allergic to anesthesia.  Not fun!!!  I don't plan on having surgery again.

{four} why did you start your blog?

For fun.  I like to write and it's a nice outlet

{five} what are you looking forward to this summer?

Living each day!  I love summer!  I don't like to "wish" my life away.
Okay.....I AM looking forward to the Pioneer Trek BEING OVER!

{six} do you have any family traditions for the 4th of July?
When the kids were little, we would go to our church breakfast, rush home to the neighborhood parade, go to the neighborhood pool party, have friends over for a BBQ and then go watch fireworks.
Now, we do NOTHING!

{seven} what’s something new that you’ve tried in the past few months?

Hmmm......I'm not adventurous.  Surely there is something new.
Nope.

{eight} what is the perfect a/c temperature?
75

{nine} what was the last movie you saw in the theater?

Pirates of the Caribbean 
We did stop by the movie theater last weekend.  I ran in and purchased movie theater popcorn. (I KNOW! ripoff!) and then we came home and watched "Just Go With It."

{ten} what song do you think everyone should hear at least once?
Ava Maria played on the violin.
I used to make Garrett play it over and over for me.

RTT: Flag Day Style!

Happy FLAG Day!
Happy Tuesday!
Happy RaNDoM!


That's a LOT to be HAPPY about!
So get on over to Stacy's and tell her how HAPPY you are that she is standing in for Keely!




On with the RaNDoM!

* Sunday, Parker and I made these -

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars
I got the idea from the funeral I was serving lunch at on Saturday.
Yummy!!!
Guess what I am having for breakfast?

* Mary Kate Olson (of Mary Kate & Ashley) is "dating" Kanye West.
Ummmm........I don't really see hip hop singers or rappers "dating" ANYONE.
She should be grounded.

* Parker had the day off yesterday.
He made the most of it.
He left the house at 7:30 am and golfed 22 holes.
Yeah - after 18, he golfed four more.  The person he was golfing with was too slow, and he had other stuff he wanted to do, so he called it a day.
Then he went long boarding with friends.
Then he went to a Leadership "Welcome to Leadership Freshmen" bowling party.
And then he went to a friend's house for a little bonfire.
Remember when you were 16?
Yeah, my life wasn't like that either.

* But before we all covet Parker's life,
I will tell you that today he gets to go to the DUMP.
Oh and not just go there............take a loaded pickup and empty it there.
But I told him he can litter while he's there.
Yeah - drink a can of pop and just throw the can down.
Or stop for lunch and then just throw the wrappers carelessly on the ground.
See! I can make ANY chore fun!

* In honor of Flag Day, youu can go to tasteofhome.com

and click on the flag cake on the right side of the page and Taste of Home will donate 10 cents to the USO.

Come on!  Just do it!  It's way better than actually making the cake.

* To celebrate Flag Day, I ordered these -

This isn't just a regular boar shoe.  No!  It's covered in clear sequins!  It's a sequinned boat shoe! Aren't I patriotic???? Okay, it has NOTHING to do with Flag Day but still.

* That's it!  That's all I got.

Plus besides Flag Day, it's trash day,

and I've got to get the trash cans and bags of cut grass to the curb.

I really know how to CELEBRATE!

SUMMERTIME!

I LOVE all of the seasons!
I celebrate them all!

Here's what I like about summer -

No school!  I know, I haven't been in school for 25 years, but I don't like hounding my kids about papers and tests anymore than they like me hounding them.

Going outside in the coolness of morning to get the paper and being the ONLY one outside

Watermelon

Food on the grill

Frozen Lemonade

Reading

The neighborhood pool (I've been there ONCE so far, but that beats last year's record of 0)

Sitting on the patio in the evening

Sunsets

Green grass

Leaves rustling in the breeze

Crickets at night

Peaches

Cherries

Coleslaw, Potato Salad, Baked Beans - so much of my life revolves around food!

A slower schedule - bahahaha.  Good one!  That's funny!

YOU Are a Child of God

Happy, Happy Sunday!

I NEVER GET WHAT I WANT!

It's Friday!
Yippee!
I LOVE Friday for no real reason other than it's Friday and we GET to hang out with Mrs. 4444 and FRAGMENT!

Go over and say "hi" and defragment yourself!  Everyone's doing it!

* For weeks, I have been receiving emails about renting a private island and flying places on a private jet.  I don't know why their sponsors thought I was a good candidate.  But now after weeks of not taking anyone up on their offers for private islands and jets, I am getting emails about MOTOR HOMES.  I have been demoted down the social chain by random emailers.

* I swear I am the only person who STILL reads a newspaper.  I MUST be the ONLY subscriber in town.
Every Friday, the newspaper sends an email: "Gina click on the treasure box to see if you have won $25 to...."  I NEVER win!  I think the winners are made up people.  I go outside and look up and down the street.  No one else has a newspaper on their driveway.  I AM the ONLY reader!  Therefore, I SHOULD be the WINNER!

* Parker starts work at the country club today.  Don't ask what he is doing. I don't know.  He's underage, so he's not serving cocktails.  He's working in the golf department, area,  division, whatever.  I think he'll be cleaning out golf carts, bringing them up for patrons, working in the pro shop and I don't know what else.  He is 5'6" and weighs 125.  The manager gave him two men's LARGE golf shirts.  Just don't ask him to raise his arms.  As long as he keeps his arms by his sides, you won't see the extra foot of sleeve.  Oh, and did you know that golf is for fat men?  Okay, maybe not fat, but they (Golf clothing manufacturers) don't make pants below a 32" waist.  Really!

* I'll be working on "loading" the excel spread sheet with Youth Trek Participants.  All the forms were due June 1.  There are a total of 420 kids going.  I am responsible for 200 of them.  So far, I have 17 forms.  To the kids' credit, most of the forms are in the hands of church leaders.......who just haven't given them to me.

* Garrett and his companion had to/got to accompany another missionary OUT of the Mission Training Center to the doctor.  A "stranger" insisted on taking their picture and sending it to their moms.  It was so fun to receive a random texted picture.  How cool is that?  I would share it with you but I am the only person on the block who doesn't have a smart phone (and still reads the newspaper) so it can't be shared.  He looks cute though!

Wait.....I am brilliant!  I sent the pic to Tram on HIS IPhone and he sent it back to me as an email.  I'm brilliant!

* Remember my "goal" to sit outside in the sun and read everyday for 1 (ONE) hour?  Well, I did sit outside for an a cumulative hour this week.  So, it wasn't an hour every day and it wasn't every day, but on a couple of days I got out there for a few minutes.

* Every night, the "What's for dinner" question comes up.  All week, I have been saying, "I want pizza."  No one else wants pizza.  No one would let me get pizza!  What kind of family is this??  Finally, last night, I made Parker come with me to get pizza.  He had chicken wings and a salad.  What is WRONG with kids these days?

* Wow, this is kind of whiny!  And let's be real.  I usually, always get my way.
In fact, I never told you about this...........Just a few, short days before Mother's Day, Garrett and I were walking down the mall and I saw this

in the window of Williams-Sonoma.  Yeah, it's NOT the professional one I have.  Yeah, it has 25 less whats of power than my current one.  But it's PINK!  I didn't say a word to anyone.  Okay, I might of hopped on one foot and pointed and squealed like a 3 year old, but guess what was in my kitchen on Mother's Day.  Uh huh!  Hot pink!!!  Life isn't THAT bad.  It will get a lot more use than one of those stupid private islands or private jets anyway.

Have a great Friday!

Wee Bit of Me Wednesday

How did it get to be Wednesday again?


Today -
After spending his first day of summer break at the school cleaning out the Leadership closet,

(Yeah, all that STUFF covering all the desks came out of ONE closet) Parker left today for an Officer's Retreat.


I am going to Brian's work to work on assorted projects (and steal a piece of day old birthday cake from yesterday's June Birthday Celebration)


It's Garrett's preparation day, so we'll get an email from him later this afternoon.
And Trammell will be out pounding the streets in Arkansas selling security systems.


But I'll also share a Wee Bit of Me!



 {one} how many times have you been a bridesmaid/maid of honor?None.  Exactly none.{two} what’s the last thing your do before you fall asleep at night?Pray{three} you just won your dream vacation, all expenses paid. where are you going?Italy - Florence, Rome, Amalfi Coast, Venice, Lake Como{four} what is your favorite outdoor activity?Watching my kids play lacrosse.Sitting......sitting outside in the sun reading a book.{five} as a child, what did you want to “be when you grew up”? did you end up there?I wanted to have 10 children.  Thank heavens THAT didn't happen.I wanted to be a teacher.  I didn't become an official certified teacher, but I did teach early morning scripture study to teenagers for five years.  Loved it!{six} what are 3 things your dream home would have that you don’t currently have?Oooo.......tough one.I think I would like more finish work and better quality cabinets and built-ins throughout.Oh wait........a better pantry and laundry room.{seven} what’s for dinner tonight?I don't know, but I'm not making anything.{eight} if someone stopped by your house unannounced on a typical Saturday night, what would they find you doing?We would probably be sitting on our bed watching mindless TV, but our big is bed and you could hop on up with us and watch too!{nine} what’s your average monthly water bill?In the Winter - $75In the summer - $200{ten} what do you do to relax?Read 

School's OUT for the Summer!

It's Tuesday!!!
Yippee!
Even though Keely has deserted us, Stacy has picked up the slack.
Let the party continue!

Now's your chance to get RaNDoM!

* Today is the first official day of summer for Parker!
Last night, the high school's auto-call system called to tell me that he failed to show up for class yesterday.
Duh!  Remember!  He refused to go back to school after the weekend and arranged to take his finals early so he wouldn't have to go on Monday.
I am NOT calling the school to re-excuse him or to argue.
School's over.  He has straight A's.  What do I care?

* He had to go to school yesterday just to turn in his Senior Spirit Wear order.
So much for refusing to go back to school!

* Parker has to go BACK to school today to the EMPTY school today and clean out the Leadership closet with all the other student body officers.
So much for refusing to go back to school!

* Parker has to go BACK to school tomorrow to go on an Officer's Retreat. 
I find it funny that they had to get a "special" male chaperone because the class sponsor is female and all of the officers except Parker are female and because Parker is the ONE male, they will have to have a male chaperone go along.

So much for refusing to go back to school!

* One of my friends died unexpectedly yesterday.
I guess if you are 76, it's not entirely unexpected....but then again, it is.
I have been her visiting teacher for years.
I was lucky and was able to make it to the hospital and see her.

* I went to Party City to buy some candy to put in a box for Garrett.
He likes all the wacky, super sour stuff like Toxic Waste War Heads.
As I ws checking out, the cashier suddenly stopped ringing me up, came from behind the counter, walked down the aisle and came back with two - 4 pound bags of Tootsie Rolls.
"Would like this for $2?"
"$2?"
"Yeah, they normally sell for $12.99, but we are discontinuing them and are selling them for $2."

Why?  Parker wanted to know why I didn't buy TWO bags.

* Here is the tree that our friends planted in our backyard in my brother's memory.  It's an Austrian Juniper shaped into a bonsai.  Isn't it a sweet little tree?  The nursery man came and planted it and told us how to take care of it.  I can see it from my kitchen window.  The plaque will arrive later.  Isn't that cool???

* Well I'm off to the office to work on the employee handbook and deliver a cake for all of the June birthdays.  Fun times!!!

The Speed of Light

Some of the people in our neighborhood are quite concerned about people speeding through the neighborhood.  First, let me tell you that it is a LARGE neighborhood.  There are about 250 homes and each home sits on about 1 1/2 acres.  From my house to the entrance of the neighborhood is 1.8 miles.  In general, people don't drive through our neighborhood to cut through to anywhere.  There is no where to go except to someone's house.

So yes, most of the speed offenders are residents.

Over the years, people have suggested speed bumps, additional stop signs and all kinds of speed abatement idiocies.

The concern about speeders is largely over deer.  Yeah....deer.  Some people feel really, really sorry for the poor deer who forget to look both ways and run out in front of cars.  Never mind the damage that is done to cars or the fact that speed has little to do with it.  It's not like the deer is standing by the side of the road playing "chicken" with the cars and then gets hit all because some race demon speeds up from 25 to 32.  Really?  The deer?

How about children?

Anyway, someone recently installed a couple of these -

in key places around our neighborhood.

Honestly people, did you think that we were speeding because we didn't KNOW the speed limit?

I am fully aware that the speed limit is 25.

I am fully aware that I am exceeding it.

It's blatant disrespect for the law.

Yeah.  I'm saying it.

I don't care.

I speed because I want to get the heck out of the neighborhood and get going on my errands.

Do you know how long it takes to drive 1.8 miles?
Holy Cow!  I could be stuck in the neighborhood ALL DAY just trying to get out!

I watch for children.  I purposely don't drive the bus route when I know there are busses and school children in the neighborhood (because then I would have to drive 15 and stop every 10 yards.)

I watch for wildlife - deer, fox, coyotes and teenagers.  Sorry, I don't care about the bunnies.

I watch for the walkers, joggers, bikers, and the moms whose kids got on the bus at 8:45 but like to stand in the MIDDLE of the road and visit until 10.

But seriously, do you think that people don't KNOW the speed limit is 25?
Do you think those stupid signs are going to slow people down.

They're not.

Well, I've wasted enough time venting about these stupid signs.

I have to go run errands - driving 32 in a 25 to get out of the neighborhood.

Have a great day!

PS - The highest those signs go is 40 and then it just blinks at you.  In case you were wondering.