Typical Tuesday

Today was our periodic playdate at the Children's Museum...and our visit to the local muffler shop to have a $175 new muffler put on Toby's 4-Runner. State vehicle inspections are a bitch for people who drive older model vehicles.

We had some time to pass before we had to pick up his truck from the muffler shop so we ventured along the strip searching for something interesting to do. It was lunchtime so the first stop we made was to a very eccentric looking restaurant.





The restaurant had a fun and intriguing atmosphere typical of Austin, but the food will not be missed.

After we ate we trekked on down to a museum we had passed earlier. Unfortunately it was only open on the weekends but I did get a pic of a few odd looking structures on the outside of the building...





Attached on the other side of the museum building was a place called Planet K Gifts. Well let me tell you folks there were some "gifts" in there allright. :-) It's a good thing Toby and I liberated parents. Summer learned everything she needed to know about sex toys and drug paraphernalia in the 5 minutes that we were in this "gift shop" None of the workers even blinked an eye or gave us any warning when we walked through the door with her either. I think they were all high. :-)

There was also a post office attached to this same building. It was a odd combination in my opinion...a museum, a head shop, and a post office. All I can say is "That's Austin for ya.".

By far, this was my oddest pic of the day. As we were leaving the odd building and heading out to our car I spotted this odd colored squirrel. I have never seen a squirrel this particular color before. I guess he has been hanging around the strange building for so long that he also became strange. :-)



$175 later we picked up the truck and headed to the mechanic shop to get his inspection sticker and an estimate for my car a/c. I was very disappointed in my car a/c estimate. I was imagining at least $400-$500, but when Toby told me they gave him a $1200 estimate I thought he was joking. $1200!!! My car is not even worth $1200! So far my future for this Summer is looking very, very hot...

We had our monthly 4-H meeting to top our night off. By 8:30p.m I was glad to sit down and relax. Whew!! What a day.

ATTENTION SHOPPERS

This particular post is all about giving my dear friend Angela a little bump. She has been creating some adorable little clothes for children. I just wanted to share her shop with you here on Etsy.

If you are interested or know anyone that is, make sure you check back often for new items.

Girls Gone Wild

I am sitting here in my "office" hiding out at the moment. Hiding out from 3 females ranging in the ages of 9 to 11 years. I almost can't take it.

My son always had friends over. I don't ever remember feeling frazzled when they were over. Thinking back, I don't ever recall ever seeing any of them when they were all together for a sleepover or whatever.

These girls are driving me crazy with screaming, dramatics, and overall annoyance. I suggested maybe they play a board game or watch a movie.....I guess that's not what kids do these days...

Let me give you a little backround. Summer knows that I don't allow sleepovers for her yet. That rule is just biding my time with her. I did allow my son sleepovers at her age and younger. There is a reason for this....

........my son was public school educated and I worked a full time job. I delighted in the time I was with him. Kid annoyance didn't bother me back then because I wasn't around kids 24/7 like I am with Summer. There is a big difference between spending all day long with your child as opposed to 3 or 4 hours.

Nowadays by the time 7:00 p.m hits I am DONE with kids...kids of every color and shape.

While raising my son I had the luxury of being at work for 8 hours a day. Let's face it folks, there is a reason the general population doesn't mind shipping their kids off to school daily. Working a full time job will ALWAYS be less stressful than than enduring kids all day long. That is, unless you are truly a kid person...

My point is, I don't mind being with my daughter 24/7. I am used to that and rather enjoy it most of the time. But after being with her round the clock I don't feel like dealing with somebody elses kids "after hours". I am ready to be "off duty" with my offspring by 10:00p.m.

I know this may sound selfish. I even think it's selfish but...

So tonight, knowing the sleepover rule, she asked if her neighborhood friends could stay over until 10:00p.m. Reluctantly for her sake I agreed. After all, I know she needs to feel like a "normal" kid sometimes.

Growing up, I can remember my mom being the same way. I never felt comfortable inviting my friends over and very rarely had sleepovers. When I did have friends over I always felt uncomfortable...as if I were walking on eggshells. My family liked their privacy...and so do I.

Although I am hating on this whole thing, I know that her friends will be my demise from this day on. The days are numbered that I will be able to keep our household friend free.

Just yesterday I realized my little girl is growing up. She no longer is interested in the toy section at Walmart nor does she play with any of her "toys". I did a "spring cleaning" of her bedroom yesterday and realized that she has not played with any of her "toys" in over a year.

We are slowly changing as a family. It's a bittersweet thing. Toby and I look forward to the day we can be an "us" again. Even so, I will miss the "us" as Summer goes from being an "us" into a "her".

A Little of the White Stuff

Every so often the weather can give us a little surprise. Today in our little Central Texas corner of the world we got snow...actual SNOW. I knew snow was in the forecast for today when I went to bed last night, but I have learned that what the forecasters say may or may not manifest.

I awoke around 7:00a.m this morning to the sound of tiny ice balls hitting the windows. I was not impressed. If the weather was going to ruin my outdoor activity for the day I at least wanted it to be noteworthy.

Today was Toby's day off and we usually have errands or have fun stuff planned. Before the snow even started I had already decided that Austinites drive bad enough in good weather conditions. Seeing all the ice on the street made me decide I would rather stay indoors all day long than be rear-ended by a speed demon not fathomed by the weather conditions.

Around 10:00a.m I glanced out the window and saw those big pretty fluffy flakes we had been promised. I have to say I was impressed.

While living in Alabama I had experienced snow once or twice but nothing as spectacular as what I witnessed today. The snow fell continually for 4 or 5 hours. I probably would not have been so much impressed other than the fact those flurries stayed with us all day long. Considering the part of the U.S. I live, it felt kinda weird to look out my window and see snowflakes falling from the sky.

We spent a good bit of time outside in the middle of it. I wasn't about to let the day go by without plenty of evidence of Summer's first snow experience and my first real snow experience in years.

We were all soaked to the bone. We don't own winter gear. Summer was wearing socks as gloves and her shoes are canvas. Toby and I don't even own a pair of gloves and our jackets are fairly lightweight...certainly not extreme weather apparel.

Here are some snowy pics....








Ordinarily I would have been freezing my ass off roaming around outside in "frozen water". I guess the adrenaline of taking pics and basking in snow flurries kept my inner body warm.

I enjoyed the experience and took at as an "experience". I do have to say that after today I am looking forward to the warmer dryer temps forecasted for tomorrow.

For today...I will mark it as an enjoyable memory in my large filing cabinet of memories. :-)

Observing The "Lord Jesus"

It was a beautiful day today....temps in the mid 70's, sun shining brightly. Summer and I took a bike ride to the school park and hung out for awhile. After a little while our tummies started to rumble.

We decided to take a trip up the road to the local Subway. $5 footlongs sounded like a good deal to me.

Even though it was way past lunch time there seemed to be an unusual amount of "traffic" in the Subway. Ahead of us in line was a black family that obviously had just been "released" of their Sunday morning service. It was 1:30p.m.....that was a longer service than I would have liked to have to endure.

Anyway, they were obviously very pumped up about their morning sermon. I eavesdropped on their lively banter as they stood in line in front of me.

They spoke about how wonderful "God" and "Jesus" were. About how "Jesus" would "save" them. About how "God" is wonderful and how "he" "tells" them what they need to do to be "righteous".

The whole time they were "Amening" each other they made sure they were taking time out to holler and curse their many kids that were obviously trying to exert some of their pent up energy from having to sit still in a pew for hours on end.

Watching this family made me realize how the majority of humankind practice religion, yet so few of us practice spirituality....

Execution Style

I bought a Sunday newspaper today. I hardly ever read the newspaper and rarely watch the evening news unless I am inquiring about the weather. I am just not a news person. I find the news media to be dramatic and mostly only half-true.

The purpose in my Sunday newspaper purchase was for the weekly coupons. I just can't seem to make the couponing thing worth my while. I bought a Sunday paper for $2 and only clipped a couple of coupons. According to my calculations my savings was zilch because by the time I bought the paper and clipped the coupons they didn't add up to much more than what I had bought the paper for.

Anyway, I figured since I had spent my $2 I was going to make use and read the newspaper.

Not much interesting stuff in there. I read about the guy flying his plane into the IRS building in Austin and his reasons for it. You can check it out here if you like. I have no opinion on that one but was a bit intrigued....

There was one thing I saw that sticks out in my mind. There was an article on a lawyer from Texas that has wrote a book on Capital Punishment in Texas. As an inset in the article there was a picture of an execution room...



If you notice in the pic there is a pillow on the execution table. I found it to be very odd there would be a pillow on the table. If you are about to electrocute someone to death why in the world are you going to make them comfortable enough for a pillow????

I have no strong opinions on Capital Punishment - other than I think the Universe balances out right and wrongs and it's not up to us to be the vigilantes - but I did find it odd to have a comforting object like a pillow on the table of someone that was just about to be singed to death....

You Teach People How to Treat You

For the past couple of weeks I have been thinking about relationships. All sorts of relationships...marriage, sibling, parent, friendship, etc.

My recent contact with my extended family got me to thinking about family relationships. What is it that makes a family close??? What gives a family the desire and commitment to keep in contact and maintain a meaningful relationship outside of special occasions???

I can remember growing up we would get together with grandparent's, cousins, aunts and uncles but as we kids got older those times seemed to be fewer and fewer. Even so, our family was never the close-nit type.

Only in the past few years have I been able to get close to my brother. We grew up in the same household and only now 40 years later have we maintained a real relationship. My youngest brother is still hit and miss...we may talk on the phone once a year only at my initiation.

On a more personal level this is more what I was thinking about. As my mother was weakening with cancer and on her death bed I can remember not being comfortable at all with touching her or showing my emotion. I wanted to. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and cry. I wanted wipe her tears of physical pain. I wanted to get in her bed with her and snuggle up and tell her how much I loved her and how much I hated seeing her in pain. Instead, I stood around looking dumb not knowing what to do.

I WANTED to do all those things a daughter should be able to do for her dying mother but I couldn't. It was not the sort of relationship my mother and I had. It's not the sort of way she taught me to treat her. She may have even wanted me to do that and didn't know how to ask.....I don't know.

Growing up I can't ever remember my mother embracing me. As I got older she did manage to give me a stiff hug and a pat on the back every so often. Only in extreme circumstances did I ever hear the word "I love you"...as she did hours before her death.

I never doubted that my mother loved me. I don't think she was ever all that crazy about me, but she did love me as I did her.

When I had my son 21 years ago I decided I didn't want that cold distant relationship that I had with my parents. I wanted my kids to feel physical affection from me. I wanted them to feel natural and comfortable with me. I don't want to be on my death bed and my kids to feel distant...as if I am a stranger.

After all is said, I think back on my mom and I am glad that she was the way she was. If she were not, I could not be the mom I am today..

THANKS MOM