Post It Note Tuesday

If you want to play along with That One Mom, click here or above!

It's Just Wrong

A nice girl I work out with made a comment that didn't sit with me well the other day.  She said she pays homeless men to stand in line for her for those black Friday door buster deals.  At first I thought she was kidding. 

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yeah.  I just go up to a homeless and tell him I have a favor to ask him."

(A homeless?)

"And then what?" I asked.

"I ask him to stand in line for me.  I give him a pillow, blanket, 10 bucks, and something to eat."

"What does he say?"

"He says, "Sure"."

Apparently she did this 3 times last year and got an Ipod for $40, among other things.

On one hand, she is kind of giving a homeless person a job, so it could be considered a win-win situation.  But on the other hand, it seems, well, icky.

I think she should just give a homeless person a pillow, blanket, 10 bucks, and some food and stand in her own line.

-Lela

My Black Friday Confession - Warm & Cozy

Don't judge me - but I don't do Black Friday. Sure, there are probably some great deals. But is JC Penney really going to have something on sale that they won't have on sale sometime in the next four weeks? Or sometime in the last 48 weeks?

In fact the JCP ad is kind of a standing joke in our house. Each week when the ad arrives in the Sunday paper, whoever sees it first will hold it up and exclaim, "Hey look JC Penney is having a sale!" in a really super excited voice, like it's the rarest occurrence ever. We rarely even shop there. Yeah, we're weird like that.

Anyshopper. I'll admit, that I have those moments where I think, "It'll be fun!" "I should go just once!" "I could maybe get all my holiday shopping done!" And then I think of the 632 other people trying to grab one of the 15 sets of super sale sheets they have in stock, shoving their carts in front of me, blocking my way to the items I want, arguing about sales prices at the check out counter, and racing for that one open parking spot... and then I think about the feel of my warm bed, the dark sky, the cold air outside.

And yeah. I stay in bed, shop any one of the thousands of other sales that will happen over the next four weeks, and most importantly, I stay relaxed and happy. In fact, I was on the sofa in my PJ's until 11:30am. I had extra coffee just so I could put some of the leftover whipped cream on top.

HOWEVER, if you went shopping on Black Friday - kudos to you! Seriously, I'm secretly in awe of you. You are a stronger shopper than I.

***Ally

$40 Pie And Pocket Pool

My husband's sweet 92-year-old grandma passed away last week.  I offered to bring something to his aunt's house following the service, but she said she didn't need anything.  The following conversation with my husband ensued:
 
Me:  "What should I bring to your aunt's house?"
Husband:  "Nothing."
Me:  "I am not going empty-handed."
Husband:  "Didn't she say she didn't need anything?"
Me:  "Should I bring flowers or brownies?"
Husband:  "You should bring nothing.  That's what she wanted."
Me:  "Men are so unthoughtful!"

And so, the night before the funeral I decided to make a homemade apple pie.  But I couldn't find my nice pie plate.  I also couldn't find apples, flour, or sugar in my house.

I called my mom for her pie recipe, then called some friends to borrow a pie plate.  No one was home and it was getting dark outside so I drove to the grocery store.

The good news is they had a Pyrex pie plate on sale for $4.99, but by the time I bought apples, sugar, frozen rolled pie crusts (don't judge me), and wine, the total came up to forty dollars!

Grandma's funeral was lovely and we made it to Aunt Carol's house with a huge bouquet of flowers.   We got out of the car and my son and I handed the flowers to my husband to carry with two hands, then we forgot something in the car.

"Reach in my pocket and grab the keys for me," my husband said.

As I reached (innocently) in his front pocket he yelled, "Woo hoo!"  In front of our teenage son!

Disclaimer to mortified teenage son:  I am sorry you had to witness your mom playing pocket pool with your dad after your great-grandma's funeral.

At least the $40 pie was delicious.

-Lela

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a quick wish that you and your families have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have much to be grateful for, including YOU! Without you, we would be the only ones reading our posts!

Wishing you health, happiness and blessings 
***Ally & Lela

Baby Santa Returns... Or Does He?

Last year through the holidays, our blog had a visitor. You may remember Baby Santa. You can reminisce here, here, here, here and here. Or not. Besides, that's a lot of "here" to click on. That's okay, I'll give you a quick review:

My mother-in-law had passed away, and while going through the house, my husband stumbled upon a nostalgic childhood.... thing. It's a little scary. Don't say I didn't warn you...

THAT, is "Baby Santa". It threatened to give me nightmares, and my husband refused to part with his childhood memory. Baby Santa then started stalking accompanying me as the month of December ticked by. And I posted his pictures from our activities.

Well, that time of year is approaching, and the box he's stored in has been making some strange noises.

I'm wondering, do you think I should let him out of solitary confinement bring him out again? Do I dare threaten my peaceful dreams with his scary little face on his little red teddy bear body? Hmmmmm....

***Ally

Post It Note Tuesday

If you want to play along with That One Mom, click here or above!

Simple Things That Rock My World (or a few of my favorite things)

Sometimes it's not the big things, or the new things that make you happy.

No, sometimes it's the small things, the old things, the simple things that make me happy.

I no apparent order, I've included some of my favorites.

 My favorite slippers! I wear them all the time at home. Toasty warm, supportive sole - love them! (Okay, showing my age when a "supportive sole" makes me happy!)

My grandmother's cast iron skillet. Many a meal from my childhood has been cooked in this pan. She handed it down to me a couple of years ago. I use it for everything. Seasoned with years of use, it's absolutely perfect!

My running shoes. They offer me health, escape, peace, and challenge. Yes, I really do use them - these are brand spanking new, but an exact replica of my old ones. Soon they will show the miles.

We have a set of four of these canisters. I love the retro feel! They were my mother-in-law's at one time. They used to have black lids, but the paint has been scraped off. My husband remembers them from his childhood. After taking this pic, we took the handles off and finish cleaning off the black, shined them up, and they are looking great!

My current favorite wine. (Subject to change on a whim.) It's local, smooth and yummy!

 

So what are your favorite, simple things? What little thing makes you happy?

***Ally

Making Memories

Eating whipped cream from the can is one of my favorite pasttimes, and something I have passed down to my son.  Shocking, I know, since I am usually Miss Manners.  Just last night I ran to the store with my son to return a movie and pick up milk. Bringing a kid with you is good when you don't want to get out of the car.

"Hey, Mom," he said. "Can I get some Cool Whip for the pumpkin pie?"

"Sure."

He came out of the store minutes later holding a gallon of milk in one hand and shaking a can of whipped cream in the other. 

Oh yeah.

We sat in the dark parking lot of the grocery taking hits until I said, "That's enough!  We look like white trash."

"Mom, you can't be white trash in a Dodge Magnum."

I don't know about that.

"Just save some for your dad."

-Lela

Nice Try

My son had a busy day.  His school hosted a soccer tournament and he got to volunteer at the event.  The last thing I said to him before he walked out the door was, "Don't forget sunscreen and your lunch money."

What a waste of breath.

He returned 6 hours later with one half of his face sunburned and the color of a ripe tomato.  Just the one side.

"Did you get my text?" he asked as he threw his backpack on the floor and flopped into the chair.

"No."

"Mom, I am STARVING!  I was busy shagging balls all day and didn't eat."

"Go make something.  We have food."

Insert huge, dramatic sigh here.  "Mom, my text asked you to go buy me a pizza."

"Nick, I am tired and have a headache.  I have been running around all day and I am not going to buy you a pizza.  Go make a sandwich."

"I don't want a sandwich." 

By now he had gotten up and was leaning on the opened refrigerator door, which only I am allowed to do.  Then he opened the pantry doors and leaned on those.  Everything I suggested, including his favorite foods, he rejected with an attitude.  This little game went on for a while with me completely calm and composed and he getting very agitated, probably from the early stages of starvation.

Then he said the most moronic thing.

"Will you make me a sandwich?"

I don't understand teenagers.

-Lela

P.S.  I did NOT make him a sandwich!

Winter Yum!

Do you like comfort food?

Mexican food?

Then this recipe is for you. Enjoy.
(It only looks like a lot of ingredients - it's super easy, I promise!)

Mexican Chicken & Dumplings

1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 green pepper, stemmed, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, peeled & minced (or a dab from a jar of minced garlic if you are lazy like me)
3 lbs skinned chicken thighs (yeah, yeah, you can use breasts, but the thighs rock this dish!)
1 can (15 oz) fat-skimmed chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 can (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (I prefer fine or medium grind)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs chopped pickled jalapenos (I use the nacho jalapenos because we always have them)
3 Tbs butter, melted
3/4 cup milk (I've used rice milk - makes no difference in taste)

1. Pour oil into 5-6 quart pan over medium-high heat - when hot add onion, bell pepper & garlic - stir until limp, 5-7 minutes

2. Rinse chicken. Add broth, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, and chicken to pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer (stirring occasionally) until chicken is no longer pink at bone - about 40 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt & jalapenos. In a small bowl whisk butter into milk, then add to flour mixture and stir until well blended. Drop batter in tablespoon portions into simmering chicken mixture. Cover and simmer gently until dumplings are cooked through. About 10-12 minutes. (No one can wait past 10 minutes - you're good there.)

4. Ladle chicken, dumplings & sauce into wide, shallow bowls and serve immediately. (Seriously? Wide, shallow bowls? Who am I, Martha Stewart? I don't think I ever read the recipe all the way to that sentence before - ha!)

Um, I suppose I should have taken photos along the way. Or before I served it. But this is what it looks like half eaten. Those balls are the dumplings and they are DELICIOUS. Under them is the chicken. And the broth-y goodness they cooked in. Seriously, there is never a drop of this meal left in my house. Last time I made it, I made enough for leftovers for a second night. I had to stand guard to make sure it didn't all get eaten the first night!


 And to give credit where credit is due, the recipe cam from a Reader's Recipe article in Sunset Magazine years ago...

Let me know if you give it a try!

***Ally

Post It Note Tuesday

If you want to play along with That One Mom, click here or above!

Ally's World

I drug my husband to the grocery store this weekend. Why? Because I hate the grocery store. Especially on the weekend. And misery loves company.

The catch was, I wanted coffee and I have a Starbucks' gift card burning a hole in my wallet. So we stopped at the smaller, more expensive store first, just to run into Starbucks. We pulled into the completely full parking lot, where people were driving around and waiting for spots to open. I suppose I could have just left, but I wanted coffee, and besides, by that time, I was boxed in. The scene was ridiculous - cars trying to back out, pedestrians walking behind them, other cars trying to drive around and dodge the pedestrians and the backing up cars. Chaos.

I made a comment to my husband wondering that in my world, all these people would stay out of my way. (I was joking. Sort of.) He decided that was hilarious, and asked what it was like in "Ally's World". For the rest of the shopping trip (and really the weekend), he kept commenting on what life was like in Ally's World.

In Ally's World:

• there is always an open spot close to the door in the parking lot
• there is never an empty cart threatening to dent my door
• when going down the aisle of the grocery store, another person NEVER stops dead center, absently gazing at 4 brands of sliced cheese while the rest of us can't get by, around, or reach the cheese
• there is never an empty shelf where the product I need is supposed to be
• the checker always knows how to pack my reusable bags efficiently
• the checker does not spend 5 unnecessary minutes talking to the person in line ahead of me  
• the person in line ahead of me does not try to use coupons for items they didn't buy
• everybody is cheerful

Ahhhh, Ally's World... it's a great place to be... at least on grocery day!

Rub In Those Holiday Greetings, Blog About It & Get Free Cards!

Who are we kidding, really? We love those photo holiday cards. Not just so we can show off pictures of our ever changing, every growing, absolutely gorgeous children. Or the best-dog-in-the-whole-world. I mean, yeah, we do that. But we also get to rub it in a little.

Oh, now don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. You know. That picture that clearly shows your family on the beach in Maui. (unspoken message: Ha! We got to go to Hawaii! A-looooo-ha!) Or the two of you drinking margaritas in Mexico. (Hola!) Or hiking the Grand Canyon. (We are outdoors-y and awesome) Or skiing in Vail... you get the idea.

But it's all in good spirits, warmest wishes, and happy times. Shutterfly makes it SO easy! I've used them for the last several years. The hardest part for me? Deciding which design to use. I'm bad at decisions that way. But eventually I narrow it down to two and flip a coin... and go with the other one. Like I said, I'm bad at decisions.

This year, as much as I want to use that picture from Maui, it was taken waaaay back in February and I like to use something a little more recent. So we're heading to the mountains this weekend. And taking family pictures in the SNOW! Can't wait to order my cards. I know, it's not Thanksgiving yet, but I am going to be early FOR REAL this year. (I've even already bought a few gifts!! Obnoxious, I know.)

I'm thinking of using one of these two designs. I like the elegance of the one, and the simplicity of the other. Of course, I have to imagine it with MY family, in the snowy mountain background. Alright, I better wait until after this weekend when I have the picture to work with!

They have different styles of cards to choose from:  Folded stationery, flat stationery & photo cards

And if you are anything like my good friend K, who NEVER gets Christmas cards out... you can send out New Year's cards, like she does! I actually look forward to her cards after the hustle and bustle dies down each year.

And I spied their Canvas Art, and seriously considering a gift for the grandparents... hmmm, maybe that picture from Maui...

And check this out... Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

 Enjoy, Bloggers!

***Ally

Never The Same

I know. I don't really have a sports blog. But this is more than that. The facts won't mean anything to you, (unless you happen to be a Seattle fan) but hopefully the sentiment, the emotion, the heart, will. Please bear with me.

You see, I married a baseball fan. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs. A die hard Cubs fan. You don't have to know much about baseball to understand that to be a true Cubs fan, you must love your team through good and bad. And sometimes it feels like a lot more bad than good.

I didn't like baseball. I thought it was sooo boring. But then I found my future husband. I had two choices. Continue to dislike baseball, and forever have that gap between us, or learn to like baseball. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I say. Good thing, because our son is a serious baseball fan and player.

When we moved to Seattle (my home town), my husband took the Seattle Mariners into his heart. He taught me to love baseball, too, and he taught me to be a true fan, not a fair-weather fan who only shows up when they're winning.

And in learning to love the Mariners, I learned to love Dave Niehaus. The "Voice of the Mariners". The club's radio broadcaster. He was with the Mariners since their inception back in 1977. He had a style that won the hearts of every baseball fan in the Seattle fan base, and a grandfatherly manner that would win the hearts of non-baseball fans.

At 3 or 4 years old, my son could name a handful of players on the team by sight, and echoed Dave's notorious "My Oh My" during big plays. My son has a ball, addressed to him, that says, "My Oh My", signed by Dave Niehaus. It's one of his favorite autographs.

Last season, I got a bit of a chuckle as I listened to Dave. I realized that he wasn't quite as good at judging those long balls. Sometimes he needed a few extra seconds to call the play. But he was still Dave. He could call a game like nobody's business. He could make you see in your head what was happening on the field. He could entertain you during the low times and take you high during the good times.

Wednesday, Dave Niehaus, Indiana native, Hall of Fame Broadcaster, Ford C. Frick Award recipient,  passed away of a heart attack at age 75. Grown men cried. Retired players cried. Even I shed a tear. He had recently, during an interview, laughed off the idea of retiring and had plans to work the 2011 season just like all those seasons before.

Seattle baseball will never be the same. There will be a void. There will be that sense of discomfort when we hear someone else calling the game from the broadcast booth.

Grand slams brought this from him: "Get out the rye bread and mustard, Grandma, it's Grand Salami time!" Take a listen: (even if you don't listen to the whole thing, you'll catch the Grand Salami call during the first 45 seconds)

RIP Dave Niehaus. You will be greatly missed.

If you read this through, I thank you. I realize that reading about a "celebrity" you don't know is a little hard. Back to our usual next time!

***Ally

Broken Home

A couple days ago I noticed a small hole in my fake hardwood floor.  Someone probably dropped their keys, but guess what?  No one did it.  

Last night I saw a fresh hole in the wall where morons people open the door too hard, causing the door handle to slam against the drywall.  I have repaired and patched that hole about 5 times since we have lived here.  And yes, we have one of those thingies (a door stop?) that is supposed to prevent the aforementioned "accident", but it obviously needs to be returned to Home Depot for the 99 cents it probably cost.  I know I could go buy a better door stop and install it, which my husband has actually suggested, but I refuse.  Oh, and no one did it.

You know how they say bad things come in threes? 

My house now has a broken window.  The only good news is that I know who did it.  While I was attending the P.T.O. meeting at my son's school, he was at home alone playing lacrosse against the patio wall.  Where, since the age of 5, he has been told not to "play ball" because it is too close to a  frigging window.

And the ants are back.

I give up.

-Lela

Do You Know The Secret Password?

Do you? Because I don't know about you, but I've got what seems like 500 accounts, emails, websites, etc that require a password.

 

pcmag.com

After my husband's recent experience with a virus on his computer, and Lela having her private AOL email account hacked and all contacts wiped clean, I'm being a little cautious.

So we decided to start beefing up our passwords. I started with our old AOL account that we don't use for much, except those sites that demand it, that you just know are going to fill your inbox with junk mail. It was the first email account we ever had, and I guess we've been a little too nostalgic to just let it go.

So, I logged on and clicked that I wanted to change the password. But it wasn't going to let me do that without verifying my identity. So it asked me a security question I had set up when we opened the account 15 years ago (we were very cutting edge with what I'm sure was an AOL floppy disc): What is your pet's name?

 failads.com

Are you serious? It was 15 years ago. I had three pets back then. Two dogs and a cat. And we'd used any variation of those three names in passwords, etc. Or had we changed it in years more recent to our current dog's name?

Was this one of those times where you only get three tries and they lock you out for who knows how long? Craptastic. Okay, start with the most common? Nope. Okay, how about our current pet? Nada. Alright, I had two choices left for my third try. (And I really don't know if they'd have kicked me out after three, but it makes it a tad more dramatic to think they would have.) Let's try the cat. YES!!!

After getting it right on the third try, my husband commented, "It's a good thing we don't keep fish."

Amen.

***Ally

I'm Pretty Sure My House Value Just Dropped 10K

And no, I'm not talking about the ever-spiraling-out-of-control housing market. But I could. Cause we have a house for sale in Hot Springs Village, AR. Not familiar with the housing market there? I won't bore you, but just think of a waterfall. A really tall one. The market is tumbling oooooovvvvveeeeerrr.......

Okay, back to the subject. Why did MY house lose $10,000 value out here on the west coast in a Seattle suburb? BECAUSE MY NEIGHBORS HAVE NO TASTE. That's why.

You see, 10 years ago, we bought this house in a cookie cutter tract neighborhood. Nice, boring, middle class houses. New construction. We all picked our colors from a very limited selection of safe, neutral-ish, siding colors. That's right, siding colors. Because it's vinyl siding. No need to scrape, paint, stain, seal or otherwise. Wash and go. Yeah, people think that's weird, and I'm not sure it caught on too well, even here. It'll be one of those things that "dates" the houses to the era they were built. Kind of like bell-bottoms or skinny jeans.

Sooooo, the neighbor. Make that neighbors. Obviously in 10 years there's been some turn over in the neighborhood. And somewhere along the line, the Architectural Committee that the builders established because Centex was too damn cheap and lazy to establish a Home Owner's Association fizzled and died. And apparently so did all the covenants that outlined what you could and could not do to your house and yard. I mean, really, even we laughed at them, because who is going to enforce them? And does anyone really want a committee of neighbors telling them that their fence is two feet farther forward than it's supposed to be? Well, yes, in hindsight, I do want that.

So they decided to paint. Their vinyl siding. Two different neighbors. Apparently the second one thought the first one's idea was so grand that they'd do the same. The first one went with tans and brown accents. Unfortunately, not from the same color family. And the best description I can give you of the tan that is the house color is this: Newborn Baby Poop - Dirty Mustard Tan. Pretty, no?

Oh, but wait for the second one. I'm hoping (praying, really) that they were going for a beige-y/tan color but it just looked different on the paint swatch. BECAUSE IT IS PINK-Y/PEACH. Gross, fakey PEACH. And they aren't finished yet! There's some clashing brown accents. And the newest addition? BRICK RED eaves under the front porch - and apparently the gutters, but since they were painting in the rain, it streaked off. And more brick red around the side windows.

Don't get me wrong. There's a place for brightly colored homes. But I promise you, it's not in this boring neighborhood.

Now, these folks both are one street over from me, so I don't see them from my house. But the Giant Peach? It's the FIRST HOUSE YOU SEE WHEN YOU DRIVE INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD! What the heck?

Never mind that vinyl siding overlaps, and can shift. Like in a heavy wind. Which we get a lot of in the winter.

Sigh. I guess it's better than lime green. Or Pepto pink. Or purple.

Neither of these are in my neighborhood. Just a reminder that I guess it could be worse.

***Ally

Arizona or Hawaii. Yeah, Hawaii Will Do.

I know everyone has talked about it. Fall back. Change your clocks. Gain an hour. (ha) And on the longest day of the year, when it's light in my backyard until almost 10pm, I love it. But that's it. The rest of the time it's dumb.

All this Spring Forward, Fall Back, mess with your body clock, your kid's body clock, your dog's body clock. Dumb.

Half the world observes, half the world doesn't, and half of Africa never did.

And then you have Arizona and Hawaii. They don't observe Daylight Savings either. Both places where I have friends and family. And have to try to remember what the time difference is.

I guess I'm just tired. And when we change the clocks, it gives me something to blame.

I know. How about I just sleep for a week. That way when I wake up, I won't care what time it is! I LIKE that idea!

***Ally

Teenage Angst

My son is only 13 but he has already had 2 girlfriends.  I found out about the first one the way most parents do.  While spying  checking on his Facebook page, I noticed he was "in a relationship".  First I laughed, then my heart sank a little.  What does he know about relationships?  And why didn't he tell me?  Thankfully, it didn't last the summer.  I know because his Facebook status soon read, "single".

I found out about the second one when he asked me if he could go to a high school football game.

"Sure," I said.  "Who are you going with?"

"My girlfriend and her parents," he said nonchalantly, in a very deep voice.

"Have you met her parents?!" I asked, trying to keep my voice from sounding too shrill.

"No."  Whew.

And so it goes.  He shares nothing about his love life with me.  Oh, I inquire periodically, but he just responds with, "It's my own private business," or "Mom, I'm not going to tell you".

Yesterday I received a text from my neighbor, whose son is friends with my son.  It said:

"Heads up.  Emily broke up with your son today.  During lunch.  With an audience."

My poor baby!  He must be devastated!  Then I checked the date on the text.  Believe it or not, I don't always have my phone turned on or even with me.  The text was dated the day before.  That means "the incident" happened the day before yesterday.  How was my son acting that day?  Devastated?  No.  Happy?  Yes.  Yeah, he came home from school in a good mood, excited about his first lacrosse practice.

Or was he putting on a show for us?

I will never know, but I am glad I am not in the eighth grade.

-Lela

Wrapped In Love

I have a vision of my mother-in-law, puttering around the house with an old, too-big, cardigan sweater on. Probably there was a tissue stuffed up the sleeve. (Lord knows, when we went through her clothes after she passed away, there was a tissue in the pocket of nearly every item in the closet - which still makes me smile).

As she grew sicker, I went to stay with her on a couple of different occasions. I would wear that big cardigan sweater over my pj's in the mornings when the house was still chilly.

It wasn't her best sweater. It wasn't high quality material. But there was something decidedly comfy about it.

After she died, I brought that sweater home, intent on making a clever throw pillow cover out of it. As a memory that could stay with me.  It has some large buttons down the front and I pondered how to incorporate those. I emailed Lela a picture, asking her opinion. She is my incredibly creative BFF, after all.

Somehow I didn't expect her response. She told me to keep that sweater and wear it over my pj's. It's funny that I never thought of just wearing it. And it's perfect, because I'm not really a robe person anyway - I usually grab a sweatshirt to wear over my pajamas.

It's kind of like it's something just between my mother-in-law and me. Something just she and I share. No one looking at me would say, "Oh, that's your mother-in-law's sweater". Her own daughter didn't get it, as she tossed the sweater aside and chose other things, for her own personal reasons to hold on to.

So today, I sit in my pajamas, with the sweater on. I'm warm, I'm comfy, and I have good memories. I can feel her love wrapped around me, and it feels good.

Thanks Lela. Your advice always rocks.
(That's me in my pink Athleta flannel pj bottoms! >>>)

***Ally

PS. As an afterthought, I have realized that my husband has an old quilted flannel shirt that belonged to his dad. Nothing pretty to look at, but decidedly his dad. And I have an old flannel lined denim shirt that belonged to my grandfather. Again, decidedly him. Apparently, we like to wrap ourselves in our loved ones memories!

Don't Be A Douche Bag

My Facebook page is pretty boring.  I do not constantly update my status or publish all of the stupid quizzes that I secretly take when I should be cleaning the toilets.  I keep a pretty low profile by Facebook standards.  But I am proud to say that I am a member of the group,  "Don't Be A Douche Bag.  Return Your Shopping Cart".

I once loaded a shopping cart into the back of my car and returned it to the local drugstore.  You see, some D-bag thought it would be cool to steal it and leave it stranded, upside down, in my church's parking lot.

And don't get me started on the dents and scratches on my car due to the D-bags in sunny California who are too lazy to return their carts.  Maybe they are afraid of the sun damage they will sustain going the extra 10 feet, because it sure isn't the fear of getting rained on.

I used to wish they would charge money for the use of shopping carts, like they do for the luggage carts at airports.  Put in 25 or 50 cents, get your cart, then get your money back when you return it. 

Like my mama always says, "Be careful what you wish for."

I went to JoAnns Craft Store today and all the shopping carts were chained up with locks on them.  Signs everywhere gave instructions on how to insert your quarter, unlock your cart, and shop.  I was irritated.  Insulted.  Inconvenienced.  How dare they not trust me to return their stupid cart!  Didn't they know I was a member of, "Don't Be A Douche Bag.  Return Your Shopping Cart"?

Did I have quarters in my purse?  Yes.  Was I going to dig one out and free a cart?  No.

So I left and went to another JoAnns where I knew the carts were free.

-Lela

Post It Note Tuesday - It's A Numbers Game

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Five Things I Learned This Weekend (The Hard Way)

I never want to stop learning, because life would get boring awfully fast. But some "lessons" seem far more random than others. Five things I learned this weekend are:

1) Sunday morning drivers kind of assume they are the only ones out and about. They like to cheat those stop signs with rolling stops. Not really a lesson I want to learn while out for a run. I scared the crap out of two of them that were totally not paying attention. Luckily, I am very cautious.

2) I am weak. No matter how good I am the rest of the time (and really, I am good - I eat very, very little sugar), when there is a bowl of candy sitting in my house, my resistance goes waaaaaay down.

3) Peanut butter M&M's are really good. See #2.

4) Rehab exercises really do work eventually. Or maybe it was the cortisone shot I ran three miles without pain - the farthest I've been able to go in 2+ months since developing Runner's Knee. WooHoo!!! I am cautiously optimistic!

5) Taking care of your spouse post shoulder surgery is exhausting! I miss his cooking and dishwashing skills. However, making three awesome dinners, in three days, puts you somewhere in the level of *Hero* status. Especially when your family has been in a dinner rut of late.


***Ally