"Spell-check Won't Catch That"

I hate those words!!! Well, to be fare, I really only hate them when someone udders them as an excuse for hideous spelling errors. Don't get me wrong, spell-check is a grate tulle for catching typos. But when people become so dependent on it that if it doesn't show any misspellings, everything MUST be write, then it drives me crazy.

Four example: a flier advertising a presentation being given by one of the doctors I work four reads "Diabetes and How It Can Effect Your Vision"! (This flier was not designed and printed by the doctor, nor by our practice, but by the Assisted Living Facility where the talk would be held.)

I went to the store yesterday and saw this sine:















An edition to your home? Please! WTF?

Buy the weigh, I ran this post threw spellcheck, so I no everything is spelled rite!!!
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Here's a truly heartwarming story about the bond formed between a little 5-year-old girl and some construction workers that will make you believe that we all can make a difference when we give a child the gift of our time.

A young family moved into a house, next to a vacant lot. One day, a>construction crew began to build a house on t he empty lot. The young>family's 5-year-old daughter naturally took an interest in the goings-on >and>spent much of each day observing the workers.

Eventually the construction crew, all of the 'gems-in-the-rough,' more or>less, adopted her as a kind of project mascot. They chatted with her >during>coffee and lunch breaks and gave her little jobs to do here and there to>make her feel important. At the end of the first week, they even presented>her with a pay envelope containing ten dollars. The little girl took this>home to her mother who suggested that she take her ten dollars 'pay' she'd>received to the bank the next day to start a savings account.

When the girl and her mom got to the bank, the teller was equally impressed>and asked the little girl how she had come by her very own pay check at >such>a young age. The little girl proudly replied, 'I worked last week with a>real construction crew building the new house next door to us.'

'Oh my goodness gracious,' said the teller, 'and will you be working on the>house again this week, too?' The little girl replied, 'I will, if those>assholes at Home Depot ever deliver the f---ckin' sheet rock!"

Kind of brings a tear to the eye - doesn't it?

"c'est la vie" said the old folks

Sorry no post for a while. Last weekend we went to Key Largo, and while we were there Trevor got sick. I'm sure it's something he probably picked up in preschool. Anyway, needless to say I got it too. I am now recovering and much better. I know this happens when they go to school/preschool/daycare, whatever.
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Regarding the yard...well, all that has changed. We just found out that we have to move. The owner of the property we are renting decided to take it off the market. Why? I have no idea. Anyway, we are looking at a place that's only about 1/4 mile from where we live now. Moving is a pain inthe butt, but I'm trying to look at the positive aspects. I always enjoy starting over in a new place. The new house is bigger and cheaper (rentwise) than the old one.
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Trevor's first few days of preschool have gone well. He seems to be comfortable with the other kids and to be adjusting well to the routine. His best skill so far - he learned how to drink from a water fountain!















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This pretty much cracked me up!

REDNECK TANK TOP:

I'm Back!

I have (obviously) taken a hiatus from blogging, but I have decided to take it back up again. Lucky you!!!!! (ha ha)

What have I been up to lately? My latest project is improving my lawn. Whe I moved into this house a year ago, the grass wasn't that great and there were lots of weeds. We kept them trimmed, but this being a rental house, I didn't feel the need to do any more than maintain the yard the same as it was when we moved in.

This year however, I decided I wanted a nice yard. We renewed our lease so we will be here a minimum of another year. My first task was to pull out as many of the weeds as I could. I have finished about 75% of the back yard, which means about 50% of my back yard is now bare dirt. I told you there were lots of weeds.

Eventually I will add some lawn starter soil in areas and plant grass seeds all over the whole lawn. I have never done this before, so I have no idea how long it will take to grow in nicely. I don't intend to even start on the front yard until the back yard is finished. Some people might say I should have done the front yard first because that's the one that people see, but I don't care. We spend a lot more time in the back yard than in the front!

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My baby is going to be 3 years old in a week. I can't believe it! He starts his first preschool next week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He is very excited about going to "school" like a big boy.










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When a retiree has too much time on his hands:

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting. Well, for example, the other day I went downtown and into a shop. I was only there for about 5 minutes and when I came out there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.

I said to him, 'Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break?'

He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. I called him a 'Nazi.'

He glared at me and wrote another ticket for having worn tires. So I called him a 'doughnut eating Gestapo.' He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he wrote a third ticket.

This went on for about 20 minutes.
The more I abused him the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, I didn't care.

I came downtown on the bus, and the car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said 'Clinton in '08.'

I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. It's important to my health.

I'm Still Alive...

Wow, it's been a while. I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! (Those who celebrate it anyway).

We went down to Key Largo for Thanksgiving weekend. It's about a 5-6 hour drive. Had a good time, but came home tired, than a couple days later I got sick.

I'm better, but now hubby has it. So far, the kid is the only one who hasn't been sick, and I really hope he doesn't get this. Quite frankly, I felt like shit for a few days there.

I will try to get a real post up soon. I haven't been able to do much more than go through the motions lately.

Take care!


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Trick or Treat and Drywall Repair

Halloween was fun this year. I tried to dress my kid up last year and he wanted NOTHING to do with it. It was all I could do to get a few pictures , and nobody was smiling.

This year, however, at 2 1/2, he has some favorite characters. He loves Tigger and Pooh, and Mickey Mouse and all his friends. Last year a coworker gave me a little Tigger outfit that was too big for Trevor then. It fit perfect this year.

I dressed him up in the Tigger suit, painted a nose and whiskers on him, and safety pinned a stuffed Winnie the Pooh to his shirt. He ran straight to the mirror and just loved it.

Trick or treating, though, was a different story. He said "trick or treat" nonstop at home, but as soon as we got to a house he wouldn't say anything.

It was his first time. Next year he will be a pro!

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The Jimmy Buffett concert was great. As always, it was like going to a huge party and hanging out with friends you've never met before.

I highly recommend Jimmy Buffett - if you ever get a chance to see him, do it!

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We had some excitement at work on Tuesday. (If you don't know, I work as a tech in an ophthalmology office).

Anyway, I was in a room with a patient, prepping her to see the doctor. I was just finishing up with her, when I heard a loud crunching, crashing sound. A second or two later there was a second crash and the building shook a little.

I thought we were under attack. I ran out of that room expecting to see major damage, thinking "somebody must be hurt after that!" I saw a bunch of shocked looking people, a framed picture lying on the floor, and a hole in the wall that looked like someone outside tried to punch a hole in it.

I (and everyone else) ran to the front window. As soon as I looked out, I realized that a car had crashed into the side of our building. I ran outside and saw an elderly lady behind the wheel, mostly covered by her airbag. Some other people were already talking to her and she seemed to be responding.

Several people called 911, and the situation was quickly brought under control. Once we pieced together what had happened, I realized how very fortunate we were that no one was seriously injured.

The lady, for some unknown reason, had lost control of her car and accelerated very rapidly. She jumped a curb in the parking lot and slammed into the side of a parked Cadillac, moving it a few feet over.

She then hit another parked car, parked in front of the building. She knocked this car forward over a curb and into a handicapped parking sign. The sign is what came through our wall. (That was the crunch-crash)

She bounced off the second car and finally hit the building herself. (That was the second crash). All her airbags deployed. She go a little banged up, and had no clue what had really happened. Paramedics took her to the hospital for evaluation. The Cadillac that was hit belonged to one of our patients and had to be towed away.

I just thank God no one was driving or walking in her path.

I hope the rest of the week is less exciting.

To Everything (turn, turn, turn)

There is a season (turn, turn, turn)...

I can't believe it is almost the end of another year already. I doesn't seem like it's been 8 years since my hubby proposed to me at midnight on Y2K. Remember what a big deal Y2K was? A lot of people thought the world as we know it was going to end because computers couldn't figure out the year "00".

This year has brought about a lot of changes in my life, most all of them positive this time! With me, every year brings change. I am very rarely in the same circumstances at the end of any given year as I was at the beginning. Whether this be job, place of residence, in trouble, out of trouble, family situation, financial status...you name it. Life is truly never boring.

In 2007, I have undergone a drastic improvement in financial status, started (yet another) new job, and moved into a new house. I wonder what will change between now and the end of 2008? This is one of the rare times when I actually hope that nothing changes too much - I like where I am right now. But, you never know! And it's funny, but even unwelcome changes seem to be for the best in hindsight.

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We are looking forward to seeing Jimmy Buffett in concert next weekend. This will be my third time to see him, and hubby's second. Buffett concerts are always fun. It's more like a huge party than a show.

I love concerts. You may ask, "Why pay exorbitant amounts of money to see a band play live (probably from the back of the auditorium) when you can buy the CD for $20 and listen to it whenever you want?" It's a whole different exzperience to actually be there, see the band in person, breathe the same air, etc. And you're sitting with hundreds of other people who are excited for the same reasons. It's a huge energy, and I just love it.

I was lying in bed this morning wishing I could go back to sleep. I hate getting up early when I don't have to. Anyway, no such luck. So I lay there reminiscing about concerts I have been to. Let's see...Steve Miller (twice), The Doobie Brothers, Poison, Jimmy Buffett (twice so far), KISS, Aerosmith, Neil Young, John Prine, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones (twice), The Who, The Police, The Eagles...there may be more, that's all I can think of right now.

There are some people, like my mom, who don't enjoy loud noise and high energy crowds. These folks would not appreciate a good concert. That's OK - if we all liked the same things, the world would get boring.

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A Scotsman moves to Canada and attends his first baseball game.

The first batter approaches the batters' box, takes a few swings and then hits a double.

Everyone is on their feet screaming 'Run!!!'

The next batter hits a single. The Scotsman listens as the crowd again Cheers 'RUN!! RUN!!'

The next batter also hits a single.The Scotsman listens as the crowd roars as a run scores, and cheers 'RUN!! RUN!!'

The Scotsman is enjoying the game and begins screaming with the fans.

The fourth batter comes up and four balls go by.The Umpire calls: 'Walk.'

The batter starts his slow trot to first base.The Scot stands up and screams, 'Run ye lazy basta*d - rrrun!'

The people around him begin laughing. Embarrassed, the Scot sits backDown.

A friendly fan notes the man's embarrassment, leans over and explains, 'HeCan't run -- he has four balls.'

The Scot stands up and screams: 'Walk with pride, Laddie!'

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Have a good day, everyone!

Special Day

Today is the birthday of a very spectacular lady, whom some of you may know through blogging. Her name is Olive Riley and she turns 108 years old today. Check out her blog - just click the link "The Life of Riley" on my blogroll.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OLLIE!!!!

Home Improvement

I guess.

We had some friends staying with us a couple weekends ago. We asked one of them to stay on a bit longer and offered to pay him to help with some work we wanted to do. Specifically, some miscellaneous stuff on the motor home, and building a new cage for our iguanas.

We have 2 iguanas, each measuring between 4 1/2 and 5 feet long, including tail. We had a pretty decent cage for them, but they were just getting too big for it. They were in and enclosure about 7 feet long, 2 1/2 feet wide and about 5 feet high. They now have 8 feet long by 5 1/2 feet wide by about 6 1/2 feet high.

I was quite pleased with the final outcome of the cage. It is very spacious and much better suited for our iguanas. I still have to put some finishing touches on it, though.

New Story:

Last night I put Trevor in the bathtub. (Trevor is 2 1/2 if you didn't know). I have had issues before with him "making a mess" in the bathroom while in the bath. (read: flooding the bathroom floor). He has been reprimanded and punished and is now generally very good. The one thing I do have problems with is that he loves to flush the toilet, which he can reach from the tub.

After Trevor flushing a couple times and being scolded, I decided to put an end to the whole nonsense. I took the cover off the toilet tank and unhooked the rubber thingy from the arm attached to the flush handle. I looked at Trevor and said, "Ha! Now you can flip that handle all you want and nothing will happen. I win!"

I went in the living room and a few minutes later hubby says, "why do I still hear water running?" I said, "I dunno" and went to check on Trevor. When I walked into the bathroom the entire floor was completely flooded with water. I immediately scream, "TREVOR!!! What did you dooooooooo?!?"

Trevor looks at me innocently and I hear gushing water, but don't immediately see the source. Did I mention that I have one of those cabinet things over my toilet tank? It is one that you buy and put together and it sits right over the toilet - there is a shelf, then a cabinet with doors, then another shelf - one of those practical plus decorative type things. Anyway it initially appeared that the water was spewing out of that thing.

I knew water couldn't spew from a piece of furniture, so my first thought was that the pipes in the wall had burst, and I imagined the worst. I yelled for hubby to "Get in here NOOOWWWW!" Hubby, having sprained his ankle the day before, came hobbling in, Asking, "what's wrong? what happened?"

Me: "I DON'T KNOW!"

Hubby: "Where is it coming from"?

Me: "I DON"T KNOW! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

Hubby: "I DON'T EITHER!"

Me: "WHAT DO I DO?"

Hubby: "I DON'T KNOW!"

After about 3-4 seconds of this, I realized that water was coming from the toilet. I had left the top off the tank, and pipe where the water comes in to fill the tank was spewing water like there was no tomorrow. Think Old Faithful.

So I covered the spewing pipe with my hand while hubby started yelling, "Turn off the water to the toilet!" I reached down for the knob, but it was stuck and wouldn't turn. Hubby managed to make his way in with the sprained ankle and an inch of water on the floor and got it turned off.

Meanwhile, Trevor is sitting the bathtub laughing his butt off.

After work today I stopped by the hardware store, picked up the parts, and learned all about the inside of toilet tanks.

What will tomorrow bring?

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Goes Around, Comes Around

The weather hasn't been so great here this weekend.

So instead of doing the beach, we just "did stuff around the house". This means my husband sat on the couch and watched TV all weekend and I did projects.

Stuff like hanging a new towel rack, assembling a piece of furniture, installing shelves and rearranging electronics in two rooms...it seems like I did some other stuff too.

Oh, yeah. I cleaned the house, did the shopping and the laundry, cooked meals, etc.

I really don't begrudge my husband the time he spent sitting on his you-know-what. I can't stand doing that for very long. I have to have something to do, to keep me busy.

Lately it seems like it's one project after another. my house is looking really good, but I fear I may be turning into my mother.

Holy shit, right after I typed that, I turned around and said something my mother said to me countless times.

My son was saying "doggy, kitty cat, doggy, kitty cat..." ad nauseum.

I said, "You have a cat. When you are old enough to feed a dog and pick up the dog poop, you might get a doggy. And if you don't take care of it, it's going to the pound."

I can't remember how many times I heard that last bit about my first dog, named Hurricane.

Scary.

Scary.

He never did go to the pound though...

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A Good Visit

My mom and dad came for a visit last weekend. Anyone who reads my dad's blog knows that they take an annual road trip encompassing visits to me (Tampa) and my sister (Chicago) as well a week in Georgia playing golf.

Well, this was their first opportunity to see their grandson since February, and boy has he changed a lot! I must say, I was quite proud (and relieved) that he was on his best behavior while they were here.

Grammy and Grampa brought Trevor a gift - a little tricycle/bigwheel type thing. Trevor loves it, but can't figure out how to push the pedals to make it go. It has a lot of buttons on the "dashboard" which make various noises when pushed, and Trev is convinced that one of those buttons must make it go. See, he has a little 4 wheeler with a button that makes it go, and he hasn't figured out the difference yet.

Another accomplishment of last weekend - I have been working on fixing up the gate to my backyard. I have collected dozens of seashells from our beach, and I made a trim of thin boards painted aqua, with shells glued on to them. I then attached the painted boards around the frame of the gate. The crowning touch, though, is a painted sign that my dad got us at a little street fair we went to:

This weekend we are back to our normal routine - which means off to the beach this afternoon! Have a great weekend!

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Every Nap Has Its Consequences

As is my usual routine, I got up this morning when Trevor refused to play quietly in his room anymore. I fed him breakfast, straightened up the house a little, put his cartoons on and lay down on the couch to be lazy and observe Trevor.

I must have dozed off, because next thing I knew, something was poking my leg repeatedly. The "something" in question looked like this:

At first I couldn't figure out what he had gotten into. I looked around and nothing seemed out of place. That's when I walked into his room and found my purse, wide open and emptied on the floor.

Most of what you see on his angelic little face is mascara. There is also some lipstick and ink from a ballpoint pen. It just doen't show up that good in the pictures. His body, arms and legs are covered too.

This is what just about every page in my checkbook now looks like:

Oh, the joys of parenting a toddler!

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Karma

OR

What Goes Around, Comes Around

If you read my last post, you will know that I recently changed wireless providers. Got brand new phones with the leather covers and everything. Really nice.

After having the new phone for approximately a week....

Well, let me go back a little.

About 1 1/2 to 2 years ago, when we were living in Zephyrhills, Florida and struggling financially, we found a cell phone in our front yard. I opened it up and looked at the "contacts" list. I picked the number labeled "home" and called it. The owner of the cell phone was ecstatic that soemone had found it, and made arrangements to come by and pick it up. Turns out he was a taxi driver.

He offered me $20 for returning his phone. I thanked him, but turned it down. He made me take a card good for a free taxi ride instead. I never used it, but that doesn't matter.

Anyway, after having my new phone for approximately a week, we went to the beach and I lost it. It must have fallen out of our stuff when we were carrying everything out to the car. I didn't realize it was missing until we got everything inside and I started looking for it.

It was late and I had to get Trevor fed and ready for bed. When he was just about finished eating, my house phone rang. The caller ID showed my name and cell phone number! It was a guy wanting to know if I was missing a cell phone. I said I was, but I couldn't get back over there tonight, could I call him the next day?

He said sure, and gave me his number, informing me that he would turn my phone off right away. I called him back the next day (today) and got his voice mail. I left a message and waited. A couple hours later I called back but didn't leave a message. I decided I would call again at 2:00 pm.

Right at 2:00 pm the phone rang. It was him. I made arrangemants to meet him, and we decided to head back over to the beach and pick up the phone on the way. The guy that found my phone met us where and when he said he would, he had removed the leather cover and carefully cleaned all the sand out of the phone and wrapped everything up securely to return it to me.

This guy was maybe in his mid 20's and covered in tatoos. Very nice, well mannered guy. You should never judge a book by its cover, etc.

Point is, if you have a chance to do a good deed, a favor for someone you don't even know, don't pass it up. It makes you feel good, it helps someone else have a better day, and you never know when the shoe will be on the other foot!

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Don't Keep It Bottled Up Inside

Do you ever get so aggravated by a large company, you just wish there was something, anything, you could do to show them your disgust? I remember when I was growing up, my grandmother's answer to just about every such situation was, "write a letter". Sometimes she got results, too!

After having been Sprint PCS (a wireless phone company) customers for almost 10 years, this recent fiasco was simply the last straw. Following is a copy of the nice letter I wrote to Sprint, hoping it gets passed along to someone in authority. Even though I don't expect anything, it sometimes helps just to write it all down, mail it away and get it off your chest.


August 9, 2007

To Whom it May Concern,

We recently had a mishap with one of our phones, causing us to request a replacement. We pay monthly to insure our phones, so we were able to get a new one for $50. The phone enclosed with this letter is the one that we replaced.

When we received the replacement phone, it did not come with a user’s manual. The last time we got a replacement phone due to damage, we paid the $50 and got a new phone and user’s manual. This time, the phone that was damaged was not available, so Sprint sent us the most comparable upgrade, a different phone altogether with NO instruction manual. We called to question this and were told that the insurance we pay each month only covers the phone, not the manual. This is absolutely ridiculous. When someone gets a new phone with which they are unfamiliar, they really need the manual. Not everyone has the capability to download the manual on a computer.

To top it off, the new phone did not have the same type of internet connection, so we ended up having to pay $5 a month more, plus Sprint counted this as a change in our service and locked us in to a new contract starting when we got the new phone. Even though we did not want the new service, we were told we had no choice. This is nothing but an underhanded method of keeping customers because most people don’t want to pay the exorbitant amount to break their contract.

We have been Sprint customers since May of 1998 and have spent a lot of money on phones and phone services through Sprint. When we called to ask about the manual, we were told we could buy one from a Sprint store. We thought it was absurd that we should have to pay extra for it, but we were willing to do so. When we started calling Sprint stores, we were told that they only had manuals packaged with new phones and could not sell them separately. No two people we spoke to would give us the same answer. This demonstrates either total incompetence on the part of Sprint employees, or Sprint’s unwillingness to help and satisfy their customers. Talk about getting the runaround!

A few years ago, Sprint had the best customer service out there, but recently it has really gone to hell. Try to get a person on the phone and you will be on hold for a minimum of 30 minutes. We have tried at all different times of day. When you finally get a person, they are reading a script and cannot comprehend or answer any questions that are not included on said script. This is not a one time occurrence, it is every time. Maybe Sprint is saving money by hiring imbeciles, but it doesn’t do much for customer service.

In conclusion, we will be terminating our contract with Sprint. No amount of money is worth the bullshit we have had to tolerate at this point. Sprint had better straighten up its act or it will be losing customers left and right. We will never recommend Sprint to anyone ever again.


In TOTAL Disgust,

(our names here)


Actually, I DO feel better now!


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Pulling My Hair Out

Potty training.

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!

Some mornings the kid wakes up bone dry and goes right to the potty and pees in it. once he even woke up in the middle of the night and called for me because he had to go. Then went again in the morning. I thought we had to be almost there!

Then there are the other days. He acts like he has to pee, then when you get him to the potty, you find out he has just gone in his diaper. You sit him on the potty and make him sit there 5 minutes and nothing happens. As soon as you put the diaper back on, 5 minutes after that he's totally wet, and has probably pooped too.

Finally there are the days like today. If I so much as ask, "Trevor, do you need to pee-pee potty?", he runs away and hides, then races into the bathroom and tries to flush the toilet without being caught, then races back out. Laughing wildly the entire time. I honestly think he's doing it on purpose. You know, playing games with me.

Well, I already knew he has selective hearing and very selective memory, so I guess selective wetting his pants is to be expected.

Insight anyone?

Deep Thoughts

Do you ever just wonder about random, insignificat little things until they drive you crazy? I do. Let me give you an example.

Recently, I was driving home from work and listening to the radio. A song by the Eagles came on, and as I sang along (don't worry, I was by myself), it triggered something that has bugged me for well over a decade. It bugs me every time I hear the song.

The song in question is "Lyin' Eyes". There is a part that goes:

She rushes to his arms, they fall together/ she whispers that it's only for a while/ she swears that soon she'll be comin' back forever/ she pulls away and leaves him with a smile.

Now, does she pull away and leave with a smile on her face, or does she pull away and leave him with a smile on his face. When you listen to the way they actually sing that line, with the emphasis, it really could go either way

Opinions anyone?


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A Very Proliferative Little Town.


I'm referring to a little town in Texas called Dumas. So you will understand what I am talking about, here's the back story:

http://cherishauthor.blogspot.com/2006/08/small-world-sometimes.html

I went to a local McDonald's the other day and, as is my norm, I used the drive-thru. I ordered a chicken caesar salad with extra croutons and extra dressing. The girl asked me if I wanted the chicked grilled or crispy (read: fried). I told her I would like it grilled.

On the little "confirm your order" screen appears: "Bacon Ranch Salad Crispy, 2 Croutons"

I said, "Excuse me, but I ordered a caesar salad with grilled chicken, extra croutons and extra dressing."

"Oh." Pause. "OK."

After a couple seconds the little screen changed to read "Caesar Salad Grilled, 2 Croutons, 2 Dressing"

I thought, "Great! Now we're getting somewhere."

I drove around and paid. When they handed me the bag with the salad in it, I looked inside. I saw 2 crouton packs, one pack of ranch dressing, and a salad in a plastic container with a lid on it. The girl at the window (a different girl, mind you) said, "Oh wait, I think I gave you the wrong salad." I agreed and gave it back.

She took it somewhere inside where all 4 or 5 employees on duty proceeded to have a discussion about it. I heard bits like "what's that?", "what'd she order?" , "Is this a caesar salad?", "it's grilled chicken", "that IS what she ordered, see?", and other snippets along that line.

Girl #2 came back to the window and asked, "Ma'am, did you order a caesar salad?"

I said, "yeeeeeesssss." (in a tone that hinted, ever so slightly, "you moron!")

She smiled sweetly at me and said real nice, like I was the stupid one, "Well, this is a caesar salad."

I took a deep breath and said, "That may well be. I didn't examine the salad itself. But the dressing in there is ranch, and I wanted caesar dressing. Plus, I ordered 2 of them, not just 1."

She said, "I'll just switch out the dressing!" She removed the one packet of ranch dressing, then proceeded to dig around in my bag for a couple more minutes. She finally looked up and said, "Where's the other one?" I patiently explained that there was only one in the bag - that was, in fact, part of the problem.

I can't imagine a crew of random strangers each being that dumb. They must have migrated from Dumas as a group and somehow taken over a fast food franchise.

Watch out, your town could be next!



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The Luck of the Drawbridge

We went to the beach this past Saturday and Sunday, as is our usual habit. Saturday entailed no mishaps, so we left the sailboat loaded up and decided to go back Sunday. We had a great day on the water, and when it was time to go, we loaded up and headed out.

The sailboat I mentioned is a 14 foot inflatable catamaran. It is just wide enough to carry on top of a car easily, so we load it onto the roof of my minivan and tie it down to the luggage rack. I drive the van to the beach, and Hubby follows in the motor home. We have a mini-motor home/camper, and since the beach is only a few miles away we like to take it. It gives us a nice place to sit out of the sun if we want, room to change and feed Trevor if necessary, a portable bathroom, etc.

Our local beach here is actually on an island and there is only one bridge onto that island. It is a drawbridge. We were the 4th and 5th cars back from where the bridge opens. We watched it go up, stay for a few minutes while a boat went under, then go back down again...almost.

The other side had stopped about 3 feet above our side. So close, yet so far away. We sat for a few minutes, then I got out of my car, locked it and joined Johnny and Trevor in the motor home. We had a couple beers and a bottle of water in the cooler. Nothing to eat. Word came back that "they" had no idea how long it might be, but the same thing had happened yesterday and it took over 3 hours to get it unstuck.

We must have departed the day before just in time to miss the bridge getting stuck. Anyway, we used to live in the Florida Keys and had experienced drawbridges being stuck for hours, even overnight or all day. We waited a while, and nothing happened. Trevor started to fuss, as it was past his dinnertime. I had a little milk left and gave him that. Six ounces of milk doesn't hold him for long. A lady knocked on our door and asked if we had a bathroom, because her little boy really needed to pee. We let him come in and use the facilities, then debated charging people a fee to use the toilet. Depending on how long we were stuck there, we could have really made some money! Unfortunately, we ended up deciding not to. (ha ha!)

Finally after almost an hour, no word and a hungry, fussy kid, I realized that the sun would be going down soon. I knew there was a convenience store not far on the other side of the bridge, where I could get milk, food and water. I decided to go for it. The risk of being stuck there for several hours or more hungry and thirsty and listening to Trevor (2 yr. old) outweighed any risk involved in climbing up 3 feet and walking over the bridge to the store.

The man running the drawbridge kind of yelled at me for climbing up, but I just ignored him. The store turned out to be a mile away, so I walked there, bought supplies, and walked back. Just before I got around that last corner to the bridge, my cell phone rings. It's Johnny. "They got the bridge down. This guy is gonna drive your car over, stay right there."

At first I thought I had wasted a 2 mile trip to the store on foot, but then Johnny explained that if I hadn't gone, we probably would have been stuck there overnight. It's called Murphy's Law and it almost never fails!


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Who Does He Look like?

When my son was first born, a little over 2 years ago (gawd, time flies!) the answer was pretty much unanimous: "He looks just like his dad!"

The older he gets, more and more people are starting to say he looks just like me. Hmmmm.

This debate triggered me to go back and look at some baby pictures of myself and hubby. I see resemblances to both of us, but can't say that he looks "just like" either of us. I'm interested to see what non-family members think.

Glance over these pics and let me know who you think he resembles more strongly!


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This is Trevor's dad.









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This is (obviously) me.

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And this is our little stinker!






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"To-may-to" or "To-mah-to"

My 2 year old son.

My dad used the word "determined". I just say "stubborn".

What do you think? (note: video quality is not great, but you will get the idea)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2f0f2dkVsE




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