FF: No Frontal Lobe

A student told me yesterday that I looked good. Since my belt couldn't even touch end to end before work and I had to go back to my fat belt, his comment made me smile.

In the oops category goes the comment that I made to a completely bald man this week.  "I like your hair cut."

My youngest child has been streamlining his morning routine.  For a while now, he's been sleeping in his school clothes and there have been times when he has slept with his school folder.  Last night he slept in his jacket.  Are the shoes next?

Yesterday I was on a road with a speed limit of 50 MPH. The woman behind me was talking into a cell phone in her left hand and was texting with another cell phone in her right hand.

I met a woman recently who said she is going to push me to go back to work full time, and I realized that I am ready for that. That she works at a university where I want to work is convenient. Now if she could only really get me a job!

My newest quest? Non-pilling, non-shrinking sheets that won't leave my husband swimming in a sea of perspiration by 3 a.m.  If they could be less than a mortgage payment, I would love them even more.

Dolly Parton is a brilliant business woman and some of her lyrics are just wonderful, but I think she should have refused to record "Stairway to Heaven." Have you heard it? Go on!! YouTube it. I dare you!

On Wednesday, while in a waiting room, I listened as two elderly women had a conversation. They spoke exceedingly loudly and were quite conciliatory toward each other, but although they took turns in speaking, neither woman was involved in the other's conversation. They were in parallel conversations - just taking turns talking. If this post is any indication, I am well on my way to joining them. Fortunately there are those who understand. 

All Better

The Happiness Project: Soaking

Every morning, before the sun crests the neighbors' house, these two stumble down their bed ladders and drag themselves to this ancient hot tub.  They slowly awaken and warm-up and what begins as a quiet journey to the backyard soon becomes a laughing fest. That old vessel was a good investment after all.

Caution's Cooking Conquest

I cannot believe how many recipes people carry around in their heads!  It seems that any time I

• sit at a ball game
• sit through a scouting event
• sit through a church-related event
• stand in line at the grocery store

people begin to talk food, and that talk turns to recipes.  And that is when people say, "I have the greatest way to make ..."

I love to hear those recipes, but I never remember them. 

Okay, there is one exception.  Years ago while we waited for our young daughters to sell Girl Scout cookies at Kroger, a woman said,

"Put a couple of pounds of beef stew, a couple of cans of tomatoes, and a couple of cans of Bush's Chili Magic into a crock pot.  Voila! Dinner will be served eight hours later."

I love that recipe and love doctoring it with different things. As a matter of fact, it's what's for dinner tonight.

A couple of weeks ago my family went to a party ~ a grand party with the most gracious hosts who know how to cook.  Among the DOZENS of dishes they put out, one held ribs and that prompted me to admit that I cannot cook ribs to save my life.

You should have heard the chorus around that room:

• use vinegar!
• use beer!
• Make Checkered cook!

The woman next to me quietly said that she had the best method ever! Then she told me to do three things, but I knew that was two things too many to remember, so she scrounged up paper and a pen and wrote those things down.  I stuffed that paper into my pocket and found it a few day later.

 She was right:  KILLER ribs !! 

I was going to call and thank her, but my son now says I've been mispronouncing the woman's name for a year (he couldn't have told me months ago????)  I think an email thank-you will suffice; don't you?



FF: Embracing Life

I decided to take a break from blogging and it lasted one Friday.   Here's what you may have missed in my absence:

I bought an old computer from a student.  He included the stale cigarette smoke in the tower as a bonus.  Every time I use that computer now, I think I'm in a Motel 6 or Super 8.

A couple of days ago, I was using the very cool mouse which was totally messed up and working backward.   I was annoyed at: 1. the mouse, 2. the student, 3. the cigarette smoke.  It took me a while to realize that I was holding the mouse upside down.

Michigan drivers are exhausting me.  This morning I stopped to allow a middle school student to cross in front of me.  The mom behind me immediately blew her horn.  You can imagine how gracious they are to a new driver, so I ordered some of these for our cars. Let's hope they help.

But WHY when I Googled  "student driver sign" did breastfeeding signs come up?  The correlation is lost on me.

Never before have I have a semester where so many students have buried a parent or a sibling.  Their essays are breaking my heart.

My flower bulbs, which arrived weeks ago, are still unplanted.

The child in this family assigned to feeding the dog has NOT been giving her water.  "Why would I do that when we have a toilet?"

My youngest child was very sad when he learned that 8 year olds cannot vote.  He had been watching the ads and reading the mail and had picked out his candidate.  It was some guy named Jack.  Checkered and I both voted for Jack to make our son happy.  We're deep political thinkers.

Jack won.

NO MORE BULLYING!

I don't always expect my children to be popular, but I certainly hope they will have a friend or two.  My son thought he had one -just one.  Last night that friend joined two other kids and pelted my child with rocks and sticks.  When my child told them to stop, they held him and stuffed his shirt with leaves.  When he tried to run away, they threw basketballs, and soccer balls, and even a baseball at his head.  When his face turned red from the effort of holding back tears, they told him he was a wus. 

Thank God for cell phones.  "Come get me.  Now!" 

My child needs a real friend.  His dad and I need wisdom so that we don't exacerbate the situation. 

Sweetness in there Somewhere

He may be closer to his eleventh birthday than his tenth, and he may be closer to the attitude of a sixteen year old than to that of a ten year old, BUT put this boy in the presence of  beautiful symphonic and choral music, and he's all love.  His lucky, lucky dad got to sit next to him for the concert.