This irritates me to no end!

The thing is, the guy looked at my name on my check, and STILL typed "Daisy". This isn't the first time either!
At least the UPS man dropped it at the right house, because it's the darned pump for the washing machine!


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I love this!

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Noses

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A Life Too Ordinary

(Jay and Harley kissing before Jay leaves for work.)

My first kiss was in Indiana. Eric from down the street liked me, I knew, but had no idea how much. On this day, he had just asked me out to play and we were about to make a plan for the afternoon. As we walked out the back porch door, I dropped my quarter machine ring down the top of the washing machine that my dad had placed outside the back door to be carried away. I was ticked off, but figured that it would not be a big deal. I leaned over the top of the machine, which had had the top pulled off so that the drum was exposed. My ring had fallen between the drum and the wall of the machine, so I had to stretch my arm as far as it would go. I couldn't quite grab it, so I pulled myself up with a grunt, and leaning forward to contemplate my next move, I placed my little seven year old hands on the sides of the washer. While I was trying to figure out what I could use to extend my arm reach, Eric leaned forward really quickly, hesitated ever so briefly near my face, but sped past my lips to my hand. I pulled my hand back, not knowing what to say. I was a tomboy sort, always digging in the mud, climbing our apple trees, defending the neighborhood weaklings from Joey Herring, and playing swords and cops and robbers with my baby brother. I was not even aware of boys except as playmates, and Eric was the boy that followed me around everywhere, had a little bit of a speech impediment, and rough housed with us in the swimming pool. He was not really someone I would have ever considered kissable. I pulled my hand back gently, while looking at him with incredulity. I paused for just a second before asking him if he thought we could reach my ring with a stick, and we went back to problem solving.



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A Life Too Ordinary

If you've ever wondered how short I am...I can't reach the floor!

     I've been blogging for five years now.  It's incredible to think of all the changes that have come and been accepted in that amount of time.  We have moved twice, our beloved dog Chet died, I've taken a semi-permanent break for volunteering, Laurel is half done with High school, Miah has grown up considerably and made astounding progress in school, Jay has been home more than he hasn't....too many things to number.  I haven't been the constant blogger.  There have been long stretches of time where nothing of note really happened, and facebook has turned into a daily accounting of my life.  It's funny though.  The in-betweens are my life.  All of the stuff that is too dull to mention, the little irritations that are more fitting for a facebook rant than a full blown blog...
     I have thought of putting hands to keyboard several times this past year, only to get distracted by life.  I did finally get around to posting my New Orleans pictures, but never got around to writing about what we did.  Now that I think about it, its probably not interesting enough to get into.  The basics are that Jay and I found a beautiful spot to renew our vows to each other on our 13th anniversary, just like we had planed since we first got married.  We both spent almost an entire year writing those vows, and it turns out, we were on the same wavelength the entire time.  I got to see a gator up close and personal, and we had time alone together.  The heat was miserable, the parking was expensive, and I won't be going back, but it was more about being in the same space together, and not about the space we were in.
     I wanted to cheer a few months ago when I found out that Sara is moving back to KY.  I had to hold on to that bit of news for a bit though.  I can't believe how much time has already passed since I saw her last.  I am so excited to have her closer to me I just can't stand it.  There just aren't words!  I just hope Jay is prepared for how much driving he'll be doing.
The other wonderful, exciting thing is that we are going on vacation with Sheila and Scotty this year.  We haven't gotten a lot of chances to spend this much time together since Jay and I got married, and I can't wait for June to roll around.  We will be in a cabin in the woods for Miah's 13th birthday, and I hope we don't disappoint her too much.
     This year the girls both have major milestone birthdays, 13 and 16.  I am beside myself with disbelief. Where did all that time go? I find myself thinking that more and more these days.  As Laurel approaches the age I was when I got pregnant with her, my paranoia grows.  She did have a boyfriend that I was getting nervous about, but she decided against pursuing that relationship.  I surprisingly did not breath a sigh of relief though.  I am very fond of this particular young man.  We even spent the evening with his entire family one night, and while it was awkward, I did really enjoy meeting his grandmother in particular. She struck me as a "Me in 30 years" type of person.  He still walks Laurel to the car though, so I think he hasn't yet given up hope.  Me either, kid.  He reminds me very much of Jay when he was that age, and we all know what great potential that has.  He is going to be a good man one day.
     Jay and the girls have added a new tradition to Pancake Day.  The three of them have started playing D&D together.  Now, before you roll your eyes (I did that already) I have to say that it is the most adorable thing I have ever seen.  I had a grown up male friend that I watched play this game in the back of his store, and it was ridiculous...but when it's Daddy and his too little girls  it rivals the cutest kitty on Reddit.  Seriously, you have not lived until you hear them slay a dragon together.
     I got Jay to join Weight Watchers with me. He has lost almost 18lbs already, and we have started walking 9 miles a week together, on top of the 30 minutes of stationary bike I do every morning, and the PT he does.  I'm almost at my 10% goal, and the exercise is getting easier.  I'm not terribly fond of the meeting leader, she is several years younger than me, and complains about not being able to drink enough...but thankfully I am still friends with my favorite leader from Georgia. I just can't see me relying on help from someone who is so much younger than me...and I have been going to meetings off an on for more years than I'd care to count.  I could be a leader myself if I had the inclination.  I don't think I have enough enthusiasm to be a good leader though.  I have seen good leaders, and I have seen bad ones, and I know how much of a difference a good one can make. I refuse to be half good at anything.
     Jay bought me an IPad for my birthday last year.  I tried to get him to take it back, because I already had an IPod, but he refused.  I reluctantly fell in love with it.  It has ruined my ability to type, and it does not have a blogger ap, so it's not perfect, BUT I spend a lot of time on it. Part of the reason that I haven't blogged much has been the IPad.  I really need to establish a routine so that I don't have to force myself to sit a the computer.  The whole point of the blog was to communicate with my friends and family, and to document our lives together.  Facebook is a good communication tool, but not a good way to record a life.
     Speaking of which, I have that life that I need to get back to.  Washing machine repairmen are on the way, Jay's car needs to be taken care of, the bills are due soon, and I swear I think I just heard my IPad alert me to a facebook message....

Finally!

There is finally an app for blogging from my IPad. This will make things on the go so much easier!


The other day, Jay was telling me about a game he used to play in New Hampshire with his mom. It's a card game that is somehow a car racing game, and it's in French. Just a few days later we were at Goodwill, and he found it on a shelf! What a strange and funny coincidence! I grabbed it, of course, and put it in the cart. Later, Jay changed his mind and was going back and forth about spending money on it, since he didn't remember the French. He was bugging me, so I took the deck out and put it on a shelf. Still later, Jay snuck back and sheepishly placed it back into the cart. I didn't say anything, but I giggled a little in the inside. I mean, it was just a dollar!
The Miahs found the directions in English online, and have been playing it at almost every opportunity. I thought it was really cool. It's not like Jay has a lot to share with the kids from his childhood.

13 Days Until my 5th Blogoversary

Jay spoiled me for almost the entire week for Valentines Day.

We woke up to snow one day last week, but after the sun came up it only lasted a couple of hours.

It was beautiful for a while though.

I remember Laurel hating the blue hair. I had to talk her into it, and that was just for one day!

Now Laurel has opted for permanent blue AND black hair. Strangely, the same week she also had her first babysitting  job.