All good things must come to an end

And for now, that thing is summer vacation. This is my last week off; I go back to school Monday.

I know - it's awfully early for summer vacation to be ending. After all, it's still summer. Heck - it's still going to be summer for a LONG time.

I grew up in New Jersey. We used to be out of school for the summer. School ended around June 20 (+/-) and we did not return until after Labor Day. We were not out all summer, but most of it. Now, I live in the South. The kids get out of school before Memorial Day and return very early in August. It's not summer break, but spring/summer break. Most years, it's only warm during "summer" break. Other years (like this one) it's hot the whole time. Oftentimes, it's hot when the kids go back to school. There is no sense in buying jeans and such for 'back to school' because the kids won't be wearing them for another few months! Last year, The Boy wore shorts to school every day through winter finals. (Most people did not; they turned to their jeans around Mid-October or so.) When kids grow as frequently as mine do, I cannot buy jeans at the start of the school year because they won't fit when they actually need them (which happened with The Boy two years ago).

I don't really understand this timing. As I said, it is typically hotter in August than in June. Why spend the extra money to cool the schools when it is hotter out? Buses do not have air conditioning and there are students who ride the buses for an hour each way. It's insane. Additionally, kids from around here don't have the same opportunity to go to national camps and such because they typically hold sessions in July and August. To go away for the month of July is cutting it awfully close around here, and I even have a friend not far from me whose children will begin school tomorrow, JULY 28!

There is a group/movement called Save Tennessee Summers that is trying to make some changes. Hopefully, their changes will take hold. And, not that I think tourism should dictate school calendars, but other states have ordinances that dictate the start and end of schools. North Carolina, for example, has an ordinance (brought up by the tourism industry, I believe) that states school cannot begin before August 25, nor can it end after June 10. I'm not saying it has to be that strict, but it would be nice if summer break were, indeed, in the summer.

INSURANCE

I know; the title alone makes you want to run away screaming! It does me too. *sigh*

This is not a post about the health care system. It is what it is. It's broken, yes, but I have no idea how to fix it and am not even going to pretend I have a clue!

This post is about a stupid insurance policy or rule. (Wait...aren't most of their policies stupid? But I digress...) This particular rule is pretty dumb.

The Boy and The Girl both need physicals for sports and school. Sports begin this summer. Last year, when I called (in June) to make their appointments for their physicals, the earliest they could be seen was THE END OF AUGUST! Whoa! I was pissed, but what could I do? They started school (and sports) with a note saying they had an appointment scheduled.

This year, I decided to call in May to make their appointment. I was told by the receptionist they cannot come in until AFTER August 20! When I pressed for a reason, she explained the insurance required 366 days to pass before they could have another physical. The stupidity of this rule is immeasurable. I explained that with this sort of rule, there would be a time when my kids would have to wait until October to get their appointments! The receptionist seemed to understand that, but, alas, there was nothing she could do.

I offered to pay out of pocket for the physicals so we could get them in July, hence getting the kids back on track. The same receptionist first warned it could cost as much as $200 or more per child. I told her neither needs shots. She said that would be the cost without shots! Then, she said she wasn't sure there was a physician on staff who would even *do* a physical prior to the 366th day...they don't like to do that.

WTF? Seriously?! What is the reason behind this? Aren't we told over and over that preventative care is the most cost-effective health care? If that is the case, why can't annual physicals be given less than a year apart? I understand the desire not to have too many 'check-ups' I guess, but to open the window just a little bit and say you can have a physical ten months after the last one makes a lot of sense...especially when we are talking about school-aged children.

And so, both The Boy and The Girl will have to wait until the very end of August this year for their physicals. Next year, they will have to wait till September, a month after school starts!

A not-so-popular topic

I don't normally get political AT ALL here; in fact, I'm not sure I have ever written anything about politics, but this has to be said.

I was on my way to work yesterday morning and I was listening to NPR, which I do nearly every morning. Yesterday, they were discussing the upcoming Chicago Mayoral Election. The reporter was discussing two of the main front-runners, Rahm Emanuel and Carol Moseley Braun. He then asked two people on the street who they favored for the job.

The first person, a woman, said (and I am totally paraphrasing because I cannot recall the exact words) that she was in favor of whichever candidate would do the best job for the city. The second person, a man, said (again, I am totally paraphrasing because I cannot recall the exact words) that it was time for a black person and he was in favor of Braun.

WTF?

Why does this man believe that a candidate's color makes a difference as to how he or she will perform a job? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. In all that he said, not once did he mention a word about Braun's qualifications or what he thought she'd do that was better than what Emanuel would do.

I cannot speak to the race as I don't know a whole lot about either candidate, but you can believe whole-heartedly that I don't care if the best candidate is PURPLE, as long as he or she was, in my opinion, the most qualified and best person for the job.

I just don't understand why people have to see color when they look at one another. Why can't they simply see PEOPLE?!

How many trips does it take to get to the center of the DMV?!

WAY back in December of 2004, I purchased a new vehicle. It was a minivan. I was not particularly interested in the minivan, but it was the perfect vehicle for me at the time, so it is what I bought. We got a good price for it and, since they were offering 0% financing, we went ahead and financed it.

I live near the border of my state. I purchased said minivan in the next state. People plate their vehicles in either state and it is OK. The dealer sent off and did the paperwork; my minivan was plated in the other state. No problem. After a year, I tried to re-plate the van in my state. They wanted me to pay all the sales tax for our state to do this. I said nevermind and kept the vehicle plated in the other state.

Fast forward to this year. I sent off the stuff to renew my plate. It came back with a note saying I was missing one paper. I did not have time to resend it and really didn't want to drive to the county clerk, so I decided to plate it here.

Trip #1: Monday. Office closed.
Trip #2: Tuesday morning. Didn't bring title, can't get plate.
Trip #3: Tuesday afternoon. Brought title, but didn't bring proof vehicle had no lien. No plate.
Trip #4: Going today...I better get a plate! I have only until Saturday, and the offices are closed Friday!!!

The annoying part, of course, is that when I was there Tuesday morning, the woman asked if the vehicle was paid off. I said yes. She said to bring the title, but she never mentioned I needed proof from the financing company that the lien was released. ARGH!!

The end of an era...or "free at last"

The Girl began gymnastics when she began 3rd grade. She went all through that year and began competing in the middle of 4th grade. We moved at the end of 4th grade and she moved right into a new gym. She competed through 5th grade and here we are, approaching the middle of 6th grade.

The Girl has been "done" with gymnastics for a month or two now. She does not feel as though she is treated well at the gym. She is not one of the "it" girls, and it shows. Her love for the sport has wavered...a lot. In fact, she no longer likes it. Still, we would not allow her to quit; she made a commitment and she was going to finish it. We paid for it and she was going to finish right.

Until...

Until I got angry about something. I wrote a letter to the coach expressing my frustration. Rather than sit down and talk about it, the coach kicked The Girl off the team. Because she was mad at me. Incredibly immature and totally ridiculous.

Today, The Girl came home from school. I asked her how she'd feel if I told her she never had to go to the gym again.

She cried.

TEARS OF JOY.

She was elated.

In an attempt to "hurt" us, the coach did us a favor. Not only did she kick The Girl off the team, she is actually sending us all our money back.

Life is good! The Girl is happy. We have our life back. The Girl is already making social plans!

Only in America...

Today, The Boy had football practice. While they were doing their warm-ups, The Boy's neck went stiff. It was pretty bad; he could not raise his head up level, and I could *see* how tight the muscle was. You really could have bounced a coin off that puppy! I've tweaked my neck before, but never so badly that I really couldn't move it at all. It scared the crap out of The Boy, which, in turn, got him completely worked up. The more upset he got, the stiffer he became. I tried to get him to relax, but he couldn't. I called our neighbor, who happens to be a nurse, and then decided a quick trip to the urgent care doctor couldn't hurt.

By now, The Boy is starting to calm down and is reasonable. He isn't sure he wants to go to any doctor because he does not want a shot. That being said, he really wanted the pain to go away! (Luckily, his helmet was not on when he got hurt, but taking off the shoulder pads was not fun!) We walked into the urgent care clinic and were about to fill out the paperwork when the woman tells me they don't exactly take our insurance.

What? What do you mean "not exactly"?

It turns out, they *do* have a doctor on staff who takes our insurance, but not our level; he hasn't been "trained" in our level of care yet.

What? WTH does THAT mean? Medical care is medical care...one would assume (and there is the mistake, I guess) that each patient would be medically treated equally and that there wouldn't be different levels of care based on a patent's insurance.

I was told The Boy *could* be seen, but we'd have to pay out of pocket and that fee started just under $150. If there were any tests run or x-rays or anything else (to include medication, etc) it would all be extra.

Now, I would like to interject here that if I had gone directly to the ER (as I've done before), there would be NO out of pocket expense. My insurance (which, btw, is pretty good insurance, even if it *is* a PITA some days) is really good insurance. So I put this question to the nurse at the urgent care. I asked if she thought it made sense that, for us, it would actually be cheaper to go to the ER (which bills at a higher rate) than to go to this urgent care facility. She simply looked at me as though I'd suddenly sprouted an arm from my forehead.

I walked The Boy back to the car and headed for the hospital. By the time we got there, The Boy had managed to calm himself so much he was able to move his head quite a bit. We chatted with a nurse for a bit and decided to come home. The Boy iced his neck and took some ibuprofen. He is resting now...he's got a big game on Saturday!

Chivalry is dead

Well, not totally, but it's well on its way out.

When I left work today, I noticed, much to my chagrin, that I had a flat. My left rear tire was dead. There were three men in the parking lot as I noticed this, so I yelled (pretty loudly), "Hey! Anyone want to help me change a tire?"

I was kidding of course. I knew no one wanted to help, but at no time did I expect those gentlemen to get into their respective vehicles and drive off! I was a bit shocked. One of my female co-workers, upon seeing my van, drove back around the parking lot to check that I was OK and had the help I needed. Women 1; Men 0.

I had to go back into the building and ask someone for help. I could not believe it.

Now I'm certain I could have changed the tire myself; I've done it before; however, I was totally going for the damsel in distress today and it was SO not working. And - I was wearing white pants! As it happens, I did help quite a bit. I drive a minivan and my spare tire is under the middle of my van. I lowered the spare and released it while my co-worker jacked up the van and removed the flat tire. Women 2; Men 1.

I really am surprised by the behavior of the men who literally scurried to their vehicles so they would not have to help!

Why I don't like impulse shopping

I mentioned that the other day was our 15th wedding anniversary. It was a week day and The Husband had to work late, so we did not do anything to celebrate. Our plan was to go on a date Saturday night.

Originally, we had planned to try to go on a mini-vacation (sans kids) but neither of our work schedules lent themselves to such fun or adventure. A standard date was all we were going to get!

I don't remember our 5th anniversary much. It was quite a while ago. I remember The Husband was out of town, but I don't recall what we did when he got home. I can't recall what we exchanged for gifts. It is entirely possible we did not exchange gifts at all, since I was not working and we had two small children.

For our 10th anniversary, we (impulsively) bought a 1965 Mustang fastback. Our plan was to restore it. We both love old cars (he more than I, but still). We kept that Mustang for a couple of years, but had to get rid of it. The Husband was unexpectedly transferred and we had no place to keep the car (at this point, it had no longer had an engine). We sold it to a friend.

For our 15th anniversary, we bought a Polaris Ranger. With nearly 80 acres, we knew we would need it on the farm. We have so much work to do there that this guy is going to be worth his weight in gold!

We purchased this on Saturday. The Girl had gymnastics, so we went to look while she was at gym. Then, after we picked her up, we went up to purchase it. The process was incredibly easy and stress-free...until the end! We have a trailer that we'd swung by the house to grab before heading up to the dealership. Once all the paperwork was finalized, we went to load the UTV onto the trailer...except it didn't fit! I could not believe it. The salesman was not concerned; many people simply load them in the beds of their pick-up trucks. They got the forklift and lifted the UTV.

Guess what didn't fit. Go ahead. Guess. I've got time!

The salesman was really nice and offered to loan us a 6 x 10 trailer for the weekend so we could get home. Since we knew our 5 x 8 wasn't going to help us get the UTV to the farm, we realized we had to buy the trailer. The Husband was planning on getting rid of our smaller trailer, but I pointed out that the Ranger has the capability and power to tow the smaller trailer and we will DEFINITELY use it on the farm, so we now own TWO trailers.

See why I'm not such a fan of the impulse shopping?! All the same, the Ranger is cool as hell and super fun to drive!

Taking the Fun out of the Fourth

For as long as I can remember, Independence Day was celebrated with much fanfare, food, friends, family, and fireworks. And, to the best of my knowledge, that all occured on the FOURTH of July. Makes sense, especially since fourth begins with an F, as do all the other words. Right? Right.

So what's up with all the festivities occurring on the THIRD of July? Third begins with a T, not an F, although, in some cases, they look similar, which is why, when I give a True/False quiz, I make my students write out the words true and false.

But I digress.

So here, in our town, all festivities for this holiday occurred yesterday. There was a fair, food, and, of course, fireworks. Last night. On the third. Of July.

NOT Independence Day.

Why is it we think we can just *change* holidays to fit our needs. Yes, the 4th falling on a Sunday is inconvenient to many who have to work on Monday morning; however, that is the day it is. Period. Deal with it. If you can't stay up to get drunk and watch fireworks, then get over it. You're a grown-up. You have responsibilities.

The same thing happened here on Halloween a few years ago. It fell on a Wednesday (in 2007) and so Trick-or-Treating was done the Saturday night before Halloween. WHAT? That makes no sense. All Saints' Day is November 1. All Hallows' Eve (aka Halloween) is October 31. You can't *move* the holiday for convenience sake! This year, Halloween will fall on a Sunday. I'll bet you Trick-or-Treating will be "held" on October 30th.

Is NOTHING sacred anymore?! Next thing you know, they'll move New Year's to the first SATURDAY in January!

Open letter to the woman in the car next to me yesterday...

Dear Crazy, Stupid Woman,

It does not bother me in the least that you choose to smoke cigarettes while you drive. It is your life and you are welcome to kill yourself if you choose. Since I was driving with my windows closed, I do not believe any of your second-hand smoke permeated into my car. Have fun with your demise.

It is my concern, however, that you choose to text while driving. The fact that you so deftly laid your wrists atop your steering wheel while texting reiterated to me that this is not the first time you've done this, and, in fact, you probably do it frequently. THIS is where I draw the line. Again, it is your prerogative to make stupid decisions that endanger your life, but when you endanger my life and the lives of my children, I have to do something about it.

So...next time you see me and I honk at you and tell you to stop, don't get pissy and swear at me. Stop texting and drive...or pull over and text.

Thankyouverymuch.

Boy Genius

And no, I don't mean MY Boy.

Yesterday, I was driving The Girl to gymnastics. We travel along a very busy road to get to the gym. It is 6 lanes with a turn lane in the middle. At one point, it crosses another busy road (a 4-lane) and the intersection was so bad that there is now an overpass to cut down on the number of accidents.

The first oddity I noticed yesterday was that there was a kid (read: college aged) riding a bike on this major road (through the above mentioned intersection - under the overpass). What caught my attention more than the kid on the bike was that HE WAS TEXTING!!

Boy...on a bike...texting...while on a busy road. It's a wonder he was not killed in a horrible accident!!

*sigh*

Credit Card woes

We have credit cards; they are a necessity. Once upon a time, we were stupid with them. We ran up some serious debt. We have long since paid it off and are all the more intelligent for our mistakes.

Now, we keep two major credit cards. Our card of choice is Discover. We love the whole 'cash back' thing. Yes, other companies have their reward systems, but we're happy with Discover and, to be honest, I've had the card since college, and that was a LONG time ago! Unfortunately, not all places take Discover, and for that reason, we also have a Visa card. We have had that card for a good 6 years. Still, we use the Discover all the time (and pay it off in full every month).

With the convenience of debit cards, I have come to rely less and less on the Visa card. (Can you already see where this one is going?)

Last week, The Husband wanted to order something from a company that does not take Discover. We don't use our debit cards online, so I gave him the Visa card. Last night, I went to register The Girl for camp. The camp does not take Discover, so I grabbed the trusty Visa again. I type in my information and hit "submit." The screen comes back with a 'deny' message. Knowing I must have made a typo, I try again. Same thing. I try a third time. Then, for good measure, I try a fourth time. (I'm persistent like that!)

Confused, I log on to my Visa account only to discover that I have a $200 credit limit and an available balance of about $140 (due to The Husband's purchase last week). WHAT?! This card, when issued, had a limit of several thousand dollars. WHAT HAPPENED?!

I phoned the credit card company and learned that my account had been slated to be closed due to inactivity. Um...HELLO...a letter in the mail warning me would have been nice! So I tell the nice gentleman on the phone (hi, Mike, if you happen to read my blog) that clearly, this is an error, as I just used the card last week, and can he please fix the account now. He says he'd be happy to fix it. The account review board will take care of it. I ask how long that will take. He says they meet once a month...on the 9th of the month!

WHAT?! I can't wait that long! I need my account working NOW!

I ask to be transferred to the account review department, but I'm informed it is a committee and there is no way to reach them. There is nothing Mike can do except note on my account that I do NOT want it closed and would like my credit limit reinstated.

I managed to take care of camp registration (which would not have waited) through other means and am now waiting to have the credit card issue resolved.

I also made sure to use the card *again* earlier today!

***Note to self: Use Visa card AT LEAST once a month from now on!

Books-A-Messy

So, I went to Books-A-Million today and I don't even know why I bothered! Really...I can't stand the place. Every time I go there for something specific, they don't have it. For a while, though, they were the only large bookstore in town. I thought, once they had some competition, they'd become a better store.

Not so much.

So, today, I was on a mission of sorts. I needed to buy a bunch of books and Borders only had one of the first and eight of the second. I was looking for twenty of each. I had hoped to at least be able to get ten of each at each store.

I went into BAM and decided to head toward the Young Adult section...except there isn't one. At least not one named as such. There was a Teen Fiction section, though. I started looking for the books I needed.

While looking down the shelves, I came across some picture books. Hmmm....not what I would call Teen Fiction but whatever. I look up to see there was only one section of Teen Fiction and it was surrounded by Bargain Books and Kids' Books.

I walk to the other side of the shelf. I see a whole line of Teen Fiction. I peruse the authors' names only to learn they are in absolutely NO logical order whatsoever. The books were neither alphabetical by author's last name, nor by title. They may have been alphabetical by author's middle name, but I didn't bother to check into that. Also, in the middle of the Teen Fiction section were a bunch of pregnancy books. That, I assure you, is NOT Teen Fiction, but sadly, Teen Reality!

The entire store was a mess. Books were not neatly shelved and there was just *stuff* everywhere. I walked out of the store, but not without voicing my disgust. A patron on the other side of the bookshelf voiced his agreement and frustration. While we agreed people don't always get a book in its exact "home spot" when reshelving them, it is not usually the mess we saw!

I will not return.

Trouble with insurance!

I have the flu...and believe me when I tell you, it sucks. Badly. Really badly. It might not be so bad if The Husband wasn't out of town this week, but he is and so I am left to single parent and do my best not to die. And...to be honest, I'm not sure which is easier!

I woke up sick on Sunday. Ironically, I received a call Sunday evening from The Mother-in-Law telling me my brother-in-law and my nephew both had the flu. She called again last night to check on me and tell me both she and her husband have it as well. Maybe that turkey was tainted!

I stayed home from work yesterday and today. I decided to go ahead and make a doctor's appointment for today to make sure it is just the flu and not h1n1. I also want to be sure I'm doing all I can to make sure The Boy and The Girl stay healthy. I don't want this to develop into anything more serious either.

I called the doctor at 8am to make an appointment. Since it is my first appointment with this doctor, I need a "first-time" appointment. They have one for December 18. Um...that is NOT going to help me! The receptionist says she can get me in today, but not until 4:20pm and I have to be there 30 minutes early.

Remember when I just said that The Husband is not home right now? Who is supposed to get The Girl from school? Who is supposed to get her to the gym at 5pm? Who is supposed to deal with The Boy and his basketball game (he is to be there by 4:30pm)? I was so pissed off. And - the kicker is, when I said this to the receptionist, SHE HUNG UP ON ME!!! WTF?!

And so, I will either NOT go to the doctor or I will go to the ER (which, luckily, my insurance will pay for). Knowing me, I will not go anywhere. I feel great from the shoulders up. It's from the shoulders DOWN that I feel like hell...achy, sore, etc. Mornings are better than evenings and I know I will tough it out and hope no one else ends up sick!

UGH!

Punishment

Remember when I posted yesterday about the football game The Boy's team lost on Saturday? Apparently, the head coach thought the team could have and should have done better. He punished the crap out of the team at practice today.

It was pretty bad.

I will never understand some people.

"Stupid Kid!"

Last night, I had to drive The Girl to the gym for gymnastics. I left about two minutes later than usual, but it only takes about 10 minutes to get to the gym and I typically leave 15 minutes before practice, so those two minutes didn't really matter.

About three-quarters of the way to the gym, traffic came to a screeching halt. I could not see, from where I was, if there was an accident or if it was just traffic. We inched along for a bit and I saw the blue flashing lights. They were toward the middle of the road, so I decided the far right lane was, in fact, the preferred lane. Besides, I had to make a right turn to get to the gym.

We inched along for a while. Actually, we inched along for a lot of whiles, but that is beside the point. While inching along, I was playing with my phone. I do that sometimes. I don't text and drive, but I might answer a text or something if I am stopped...and I was stopped A LOT during this time frame.

Finally, I've lost my patience. I am about 150 yards from where I am turning. Two cars pass me on the shoulder, so I decide to do the same, WHICH IS WRONG - I KNOW, I GET IT, but still, I did it. Again - I am going to turn right...eventually!

So I pass several cars and finally have to stop because there is a woman in a car who has decided NO ONE is going to pass her on the shoulder, and to that end, she is making sure to straddle the white line with her car. And when I say straddle, I mean she literally had HALF her car in the lane and half on the shoulder. The man in the truck I had just passed thought I was an idiot (and, to be fair, I was, but again, that is beside the point. This is MY story, not his.) There was a young man (I'd guess my age, but apparently, I'm really bad at that and I've found that not many people are my age...most are a good 5+ years younger. Who knew?!). For argument's sake, I'm going to say this guy was in his 30s. His passenger (who I'm guessing was his father) was significantly older...like older than my parents.

The bald, old man is the one who was unhappy with me. He was so unhappy with my actions that he felt the need to yell at me. "STUPID KID!"

Me? Kid? Really? Because I don't think you are trying to compliment me, but you are.

Then, to make sure I knew he meant business, this old man flipped me the bird! I chuckled and flipped him back. I guess that wasn't enough for him. The rest of the 30 some-odd yards we creeped along, he had his son repeatedly honk the horn so he could flip me off more. Now, I'm laughing out loud, which he can totally see in my side view mirror. He was unimpressed at best.

I made my turn and left him. It was truly a funny evening!


**disclaimer** I do NOT make a practice of driving on the shoulder of the road, nor do I mess with my phone while driving. I will answer my phone if it rings and I will call someone whose number is programmed (I can't dial and drive!).

Burning Bridges

Whoa - sorry there! Didn't mean to be gone so long; I lost my footing.

Yeah - I burned a bridge.

I didn't mean to do it, but at the same time, something had to be said and I went ahead and said it. It's not like it was a sturdy bridge or anything...it was VERY wobbly. In fact, it was not even as strong as that one in the Indiana Jones movie (really...does it matter which one? There's a wobbly bridge in all the movies, isn't there?!). To be frank, it was more of a thread than a bridge anyway!

Am I proud? Well, yes, actually. I am proud of standing up for something. I am not proud of burning that thread bridge, and, to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I damaged anything. It's just that sometimes, we have to stand up for people who don't have a voice. Sometimes doing that bites us in the ass. My ass is big enough to have a bite taken...I won't miss it!

So here I am...standing on the other side. Hope the powers that be will see that what I did was for the right reasons.

Go ahead and wave if you walk by. I promise to wave back!

Fast-food fowl-ups

The kids had doctor appointments this morning...nothing is wrong, but they both needed check-ups and physicals. Of course, the doctor does not *do* check-ups after school. No. Those are done only during school hours. Whatever.

Both kids are very healthy. The doctor made a point of telling me it was his pleasure to say that because it is not often he gets to do so around here. Apparently, there are a lot of overweight kids around here. Mine are the furthest thing from overweight; on the contrary, The Girl, at almost 11-years-old, still does not weigh 70 lbs!

The Boy had to get 4 shots. He was pretty good about it, I must say. He tried so hard not to cry, but darn it, they hurt! I was proud of him. The Girl...well, that was another story. Once I finally wrestled her onto the table, I had to lie on her while two other nurses pinned her down! They gave her shots in the thigh because we all knew NOTHING was going in her arms!

After the doctor, I dropped the kids at school. I had almost exactly three hours before they'd be home. I had on high heels, I was hungry, and, if I didn't go to the grocery, we would have to go yet another day without eating. The problem with going to the grocery when you are hungry is that you buy more. I didn't want that. So, I decided to stop somewhere for a quick bite.

I should mention here that I do not like fast food. In fact, if I never visit the golden arches again in my life, that will be OK. Really. It's that bad. My dislike of fast food goes beyond those arches, though. I really don't like any of it. I will go with subs from time to time, but in general, I'm just not a fan.

Today, I was driving by Sonic. I decided I'd rather suffer through a mediocre sandwich than buy EVERYTHING in the grocery store. Remember...I'm wearing high heels. The quicker the grocery trip is, the happier my feet are! I pull into the drive through and order a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo and no tomato. Not one member of my family eats tomato. None of us are mayo fans either, but The Girl and I will both eat it if it is in something. I also order a mocha coffee shake thing. (A girl's gotta have her coffee drinks!) I get my sandwich and drive away. At the traffic light, I look at my sandwich. It is grilled chicken with LOTS of mayo and tomato. Really? REALLY? Ugh.

I cannot go to the grocery starving, so I turn around and head back to Sonic. I tell them of their error and drive around. I say "Let me check this" but I only do a cursory check to be sure there is no tomato or mayo. I pull out of the parking lot and onto the road. Only then do I discover that I now have a breaded chicken sandwich...and it's really two chicken tenders, some lettuce, and a bun. I resign myself to the fact that this is what I get for eating fast food, pull the tenders off the sandwich and eat them, and go on my merry way.

Reminds me of one of The Husband's favorite saying..."They fuck you at the drive thru!"

By the way...the grocery trip was relatively short, but my feet were killing me by the time I got home!

Situational Awareness

I have a cell phone. Most of us do. What many of us don't seem to have is any sense of cell phone etiquette. It's bad enough I have to listen to any and everyone's phone calls, but the whole cell phone thing is getting out of hand.

I have a texting package on my phone. Again, many of us do. Texting is pretty popular; ask any teenager. They don't use minutes. They text. The big push, now, is to ban texting and driving. It is a good idea. One should not take one's eyes off the road for that long! It's one thing to grab a tissue out of a box next to you or to change the radio station, but to text? while driving? Big no-no.

For many people, there should be a movement to ban texting while walking. It seems many people are incapable of doing both and for pretty much the same reason. It is not a good idea to not look where one is going.

Today, I was at a department store. I was walking along the aisle and saw a woman and a small child coming toward me. Generally speaking, in a wide aisle, people walk on the right. This woman and her child were walking on the left, so they were in my direct path. Being only one person, I was the narrower of the two of us; however, I had to walk around her and her child because she was too busy texting with one hand (holding her son's hand with the other) to even look up and see we were going to collide.

Why? What was she texting that was so important that she couldn't be bothered to look where she was going?

The Boy has a Nintendo DS (The Girl does as well) and we have caught him trying to walk and play. It drives us batty. He pays no attention and has nearly walked into people, shopping carts, and even cars! We have banned The Boy from playing the DS while walking.

I know we are not the only people out there with situational awareness and common sense...!

The post in which I explain how NOT to mow the lawn

Sunday afternoon, I was home alone and I had to mow the lawn. It'd been over a week since it'd been mowed and it was pretty long. I slathered myself in sunscreen (I was taking those antibiotics on which one should avoid exposure to the sun) and hopped on the mower. Except, it didn't start. Great. I'd seen The Husband put the mower on the charger before so I thought "How hard can this be?"

I plugged in the charger and went to put the leads on the mower. Except there is no black/red on the mower battery. The leads were black and red, but how was I supposed to know which lead went on which terminal. I swear there was no writing. I took a deep breath thinking the worst that could happen is that I blow up my house, and attached the leads. Nothing happened. I was so happy. Then, I turned the charger on. The light went on and the needles did their thing. Well, I was already slathered in sunscreen and didn't want to wait hours for the charger so I figured I could flip the switch and jump start the mower. Again...worst case scenario is that I blow up the house. Yeah, the kids would miss me, but I'm kind of impatient when I decide to do something!

I got on the mower and started it. It started, but then I was stuck. If I got off the mower, the engine would cut off. Safety feature. Except at that moment, it sucked. I decided to carefully reach up and unhook the leads. Then, I had to put them down...except I knew they shouldn't touch each other; the charger was still plugged into the wall and turned on...and I couldn't reach it from the seat of the mower. I carefully threw the leads down and backed out of the garage.

So far, so good! Off I go to mow the yard.

Remember the fence the renters put up? I'd link to it but I can't find where I posted and it's not under the label 'stupidity' although it should be! Anyway, they set the fence posts in cement, which was stupid. When The Husband pulled the posts, he learned of the cement. Needless to say there are large holes in our yard. The Husband had warned me to be careful mowing and NOT to drive the mower into a hole.

Guess who drove the mower into a hole? Yep! BUT…I was able to drive out of it after a tiny bit of coaxing back and forth. PHEW!

Feeling really good about myself, I attacked the rest of the yard. I was doing a great job, too. Then, I decided that the grass under the trailer behind the shed was entirely too long and should be mowed as well. I hopped off the mower and proceeded to move the trailer. It is light, so not a big deal to move. Except if you maneuver it into one of those holes. One of the deepest holes in the yard.

By now, my dad is at the house. I get him to help me move the trailer. OK – I get him to help me TRY to move the trailer. No dice. Then, we get The Boy to help. Still, nothing. Someone gets the brilliant idea to get the floor jack, lift the trailer, and push it out of the hole. Except for the fact that the trailer pivots on the wheels, it’d have been a great idea. We jacked the front of the trailer up but it only pushed the back further down. DUH!

Finally, we managed to put the jack right under the axle (and not in the hole) and we lifted the trailer just enough to slide a piece of wood under the wheel covering the hole. It worked! We moved the trailer out of the way and I finished mowing. I went to put the trailer back but couldn’t even move it. Why? Because I’m 40 and I was exhausted! I got my dad to help and we put the trailer back (but left plenty of room for the mower all around it).

Luckily, the rest of the job mowing was uneventful. I don’t think I could have taken any more excitement!