Perils of Parallel Parking....

My lunch date with the hubby was so nice. The weather was sunny and warm, around 75 degrees. We sat outside at a trendy lunch place in the ritzy little town of San Marco. Now, dh and I are neither trendy nor ritzy, so it made for some very interesting people watching.

San Marco is a cute little town made up of a main street, with the old storefronts, brick streets, etc. I would say that 90% of the people that live there are doctors or lawyers, and all of the cars that park along the way are of the Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes make. (I, however, parked my Dodge Caravan on a side street....)

As we were enjoying our $7 salads, we noticed a woman trying to parallel park just across the street from us. She was driving a new Murano, and trying to maneuver it between a brand spankin new Hummer and a mid sized sedan. She would back-up, turn the wheel, pull forward....back-up, turn the wheel, pull forward. Being a former truck driver, I heard my dh mumble, "Cut the wheels lady, you aren't driving a Freightliner!" Chuckling, we watched her try time and time again to get into the spot. Soon, she had made her way near the curb, and decided to back up further. Inch by agonizing inch she slllooooowwwwlllyyy went. I sat, fork poised in mid air thinking, surely she will look in her mirror and stop....come on lady, that's far enough, for Pete's sake STOP. And she did. Of course by this time her bumper had made contact with the Hummer, which was at this point rocking to and fro....

Then, she pulls a bit forward, gets out of the car, and is on her way to lunch without even a glance at her bumper or the Hummer. Amazing. I was not surprised, however, when she walked past our table, got halfway down the street and turned around, realizing she had missed the door to the restaurant. Sheesh! I know money doesn't buy happiness....apparently it doesn't buy common sense either.

 

I have a date....

My husband called me as I was walking out the door to take wee one to the bus stop. He wants me to meet him for lunch. My first thought was, "Great. I have my day all planned, now I have to stop and get cleaned up and go alllll the way out there for lunch."

Then I talked to a gal from the bus stop who is having a bit of marital trouble. She doesn't get any intamacy from her husband, he is adhd as well as their three boys. Her life is so messed up. She goes to counseling and tells me she has two choices; stick with him and be miserable but have happy kids, or leave and try to make it on her own with three adhd kids. She has a husband, but not a partner. She needs to feel loved and appreciated and cared for, but gets none of that. She is in constant turmoil, her life is like a snowglobe that is always being shaken.

I called my dh and told him I'd love to go to lunch with him.

Good morning....

I thought chocolate chip pancakes sounded good this morning. Not for the kids (bad mommy!), but for me. I made myself clean up the house first, mop the kitchen, etc., probably to ease that little bit of nagging guilt in the back of my head....since I had not sent my children off to school with a homemade breakfast. Okay, technically wee-one had a homemade breakfast, since she wanted warmed-up lasagna from last night. Her two favorite breakfast foods are chicken noodle soup or ramen noodles. Ick.

Anyhoo, I finished my guilt cleaning and made my pancakes....and ate roughly a third of them. I just wasn't hungry. So why did I make them? I think I just like the comfort of cooking and smelling them, and the memories they envoke. I do that with coffee. I will brew a pot, have a half a cup, and just enjoy the smell that lingers in the air. It reminds me of breakfasts as a child, going on vacation and sitting in restaurants, cold winter mornings watching the snow fall outside my window. I think this might be a key to weight loss. I have recently begun enjoying the task of cooking, the smells, the memories, and then actually saying to myself that I don't really want to eat it. And you know what? It has been working. I wonder what Dr. Phil would say about my new discovery? How's it working for me? Just fine.

I am going to work on my sewing today. I need to get a few orders out so that I can have some fun money. I saw a commercial for SeaWorld in Orlando, and they are running vacation specials. I would love to go there and see the marine life, and I'm sure the girls would too. I remember going to the one in Ohio as a kid. You could actually pet the dolphins. They had them in these little tanks and kids would just run up and touch them. Of course, that was before it was considered politically incorrect to boil a lobster, so I am sure things have changed. Still, I think it would be a fun thing to do....especially since the polar ice caps are going to melt and drown us down here in Fl. Better get that boat ready!

Monday morning....

There is something about a rainy morning at the bus stop that makes me feel good. I suppose it's the coziness of sitting in the car, surrounded by the raindrops on the windshield while my wee-one chatters away. She is so funny. She was practicing her signature on the back of a battery package (they are perfecting cursive writing at school), and noticed the "Made in America" stamp on the back. She said to me, "You know mom, if I were the person who stamped these packages, I'd do them really fast." Then she told me that she would love to have the job where you put the prizes in the cereal boxes. She showed me how she would put them in quickly, to keep the line moving....oh, and if they need someone to lick the boxes shut (I assume she meant the tops of the boxes that are glued shut), she could do it, although a dog would be much quicker. I absolutely love the way that kids minds work. So innocent and honest. I wish I could look at things through her eyes....to be excited that one day you could possibly hold the exciting job of factory line worker!

She is turning in her solar system report today. It turned out wonderfully. She told me she wanted to decorate the title page herself, and not use an image found online because it was more fun to "draw it myself and use my imagination." So, she sat here at my desk, drawing planets and comets and asteroids while I typed the report. A bit later on that evening, she told me how much fun it was to learn with me instead of her teacher. She said she understood things better when I taught her, and over the summer could we have "school" every day so that she can be ready for 4th grade. Okay....someone pass me the Kleenex....how sweet is that????

On the other front, oldest is having issues with her boyfriend. Not serious ones, just typical teen things. I don't want to go into it, as I think some of her friends read this and I don't want to say anything I shouldn't. Yes, Bets, I respect your privacy! Talk about a shift in gears, going from 3rd grade issues to 9th grade issues. I wonder if Bets wants me to set up school for her with me this summer as well? Somehow, I doubt it!

Anyhoo, it's after 8 and the house isn't cleaning itself. I've got tons of fun ahead of me....and the phone is ringing....which means Mom is up. Have a great one....

Tired of cleaning....

Have you seen the episode of the Simpsons, where no one will take out the garbage? The rule in their house is the person who throws the last piece of trash in at the top of the can, has to take it out. They end up stapling banana peels to the side....well, that is what is happening at my house. I have gone into the kitchen twice in the last three days, and the can is overflowing....yet no one but me seems to notice. What is up with that? How hard is it to tie the handles (none of those time consuming twisty ties in this house), pull it out, take it outside, and put a new bag in? Oh, wait....there were more than two steps involved. That must be it.

Now, I know I have gone on the laundry tyrade before....but I am still finding light clothes in the dark basket, and darks in the light. How many times do I have to ask them to LOOK at the color of the sock/underwear/shirt and place it into the corresponding basket?!  Why oh why is this such a hard concept to grasp? Perhaps if I began putting their tooth brushes into the toilet brush holder? "Hey, they are both holders of brushes....what's the difference?" 

Wee one and I have finished her solar system report....thank the good Lord. It turned out beautifully, and if she doesn't get an A, I'm going to be mighty angry. I typed it for her, since her "hunt and peck" method would have lasted well into the early morning hours....but she did the actual report and drawings herself.

This week is "teacher appreciation week" at school. I suppose I should look in her bookbag immediately after she gets home on Friday, as this afternoon I found the letter that listed what she needed to bring each day of the week. Tomorrow is a flower (which they will all put together for a boquet), then a piece of fruit for a fruit basket (she got a coconut), a snack such as trail mix (not sure what that is for), a book to donate to her classroomlibrary, and a homemade card. I just got back from Publix with flowers, fruit and snacks. I tell ya!  I reminded wee-one that she only has three Mondays left of school....God help me.

I can't believe summer is coming so quickly! What am I going to do with these kids? Actually, I shouldn't say kids, as Bets is going to be 16 in July. Hopefully she will be gainfully employed for the summer. She is going to apply at grocery stores, ice cream shops (crossing fingers for that one), and various other establishments. I'm going to have to give in and let her get her permit as well. *Sigh. There goes what's left of my nerves.

Well, dh and wee one are going for a dip in the pool, and I just heard thunder.....

Rainy day project....

Well, we started at 9:30 am and finished after 2:00. The photos show only part of what we did....the other side of the lawn was done after....and we ran out of sod. *Sigh. I guess that means more in the weeks to come. But I am so thrilled at how it turned out! We haven't had grass in the backyard for over a year now. It has rained and rained and rained ever since we finished, which has been nice....our water bill won't be so high! We were going to water the lawn, but God did it for us. There is rain in the forecast for the next 7 days, so that will give the grass a chance to grow.

Wee-one went to her pool party, which ended up being a pool-patio-pool-house party since it rained on and off the entire time. After we picked her up we headed out for the Super Wal-Mart in Orange Park. Let me tell you, crossing the St. John's river over the huge Buckman Bridge was quite intimidating in the pouring rain. You could barely see the car lights in front of you. And there was some sort of sail boat thing going on....probably 30+ sailboats getting completely drenched. We made it home in time to take the oldest to her boyfriends house for his birthday party. I have been in the car for 2 hours straight~!

Well, I am sore and tired from my day of lifting, planting and chauffering about, so I will say goodnight. Have a good one!

*I have no idea what happened to picture #2....apparently all the rain shrank it! ;o)

Memories in May....

Gretchen from Living in Savannah, reminded me that today is May Day. I have wonderful memories of this day, and the people who made it special for us.

I had never really thought anything of "May Day", until we met Pete and Carol Plimpton. They were an older couple from the church we attended as kids. The were the kind of people that you wanted for grandparents. He was tall, white hair, kind eyes....could have been Santa's thinner, younger brother. He always had a smile and a hug for you. She was slight with short silver hair.....and I do mean silver, like the crayon! I was always intrigued by her hair. She wore it almost slicked back, but it suited her personality. Smart as a whip and so worldly.  The word I would use to describe her would be sassy. They lived in a gorgeous ranch home on a wooded lot at the end of their neighborhood. They had a basket that was hung on their door with candy for the neighborhood kids. There was a sign about taking one piece and leaving the rest for the others that hung above it.

I remember the first May Day that they knew us, they brought my sisters and I homemade May Day baskets. They were made of colored construction paper that was folded into a cone. At the top and bottom, they cut out fringe and glued it on. Inside was popcorn and jelly bellies....I remember this because I had never had jelly beans that tasted so good (I didn't know what jelly bellies were). Sometimes a coloring book would accompany the basket, or a balloon. I just remember what an impact that made on us as kids. These sweet people would take the time to make these gifts, and bring them to us. It was quite a lesson in giving, one that I will not forget.

As time went on, our family adopted them as surrogate grandparents. We even invited them to be in our "family portrait" for our church directory. Time went on and they had to move from their home, and enter an assisted living place. They thoroughly enjoyed it, and took full advantage of the services. They would write letters to let us know what was going on (as they were a few hours away), telling us how they enjoyed helping the "older folks" with crafting and such. They were in there 80's by now. I remember going to visit them and how proud they were, showing us around their new home. Carol gave me 5 "Far Side" books, which I still have, because she remembered that I liked that comic. Not long after, Pete succomed to cancer and Carol was left on her own. She lived there for a while, and then began traveling. She would go between her kids homes in the lower 48 states, to her daughter in Alaska. She was still traveling alone in her 90's, back and forth. She kept in touch, writing letters and sending "warm fuzzies", her words for hugs. When she passed away, she left behind a legacy of caring and giving and proof that age is only a number. She loved life, embraced it and lived it every day. My life was blessed a thousandfold, knowing these people.

So, in memory of my wonderful Pete and Carol, I wish you all a very happy May Day!