Food from above....a stormy party

Stu and Lu at the "pond"....beautiful place!

Another weekend is upon us, isn’t it? First day of summer and all, huh? I worked Friday night as usual (long, boring, lonely) but couldn’t go to bed right aware Saturday morning as I had to go collect some food I had ordered. There is something called Angel Food Ministries around here that provides food at a reduced cost. My friend and I had seen the flyer and decided to try it out. I think this is mostly for lower income families but as the flyer said "if you eat, you’re eligible". So, what the heck I thought. I ordered an extra "special" of 8 steaks and hamburgers, so the whole thing cost $50, which I thought was pretty reasonable for the amount of food you supposedly get. Stu had to work early Saturday and I didn’t want to ask my mother to go get my charity food, so I stayed up until 9:00 AM when they opened. I was instructed to bring a laundry basket or a cooler to collect my food in, so I dumped the dirty clothes out of my best, newest, most expensive-looking laundry basket and headed down to the church. There were many cars there and people standing around and I waited in my car because I didn’t want to look like a fool with a laundry basket if no one else was. Finally, I decided to suck it up and head inside. I was met by a very lovely lady who took my receipt and directed me to the end of the line. I was then met by one of the doctors I work with at the hospital, (Dr. G.) He was very nice too and as we don’t know each other personally, I didn’t feel too weird. We began to stop at each food station to fill up my basket. As we were going around, I began to realize that I recognized A LOT of the volunteers and I began to feel a little strange. These people know that I work and I do not actually qualify for charity food, but I kept telling myself that I had PAID for this food, dammit. I kept running into people I knew thought and feeling more and more sheepish about things. The food was not name brand by any means and looked suspiciously like surplus government food. I began to feel like I was taking food away from people who could have really used it. Finally having reached the end of the line, another volunteer came to carry my basket to the car (my 2005 large SUV, which was probably nicer than the volunteer’s car!). Again, though, he couldn’t have been nicer and wished me well. I suddenly felt very dirty for some reason and resolved that I would NOT be ordering more food next month. I called my friend, who had not yet picked up her food, to warn her that it most likely would be her former gynecologist that would gather her food for her…and to tell her how weird it all was. My mother was AGHAST that I had done this but again, the food wasn’t free, and I am not sure how happy I am to pay $50 for food that is nowhere near the quality of the name brand foods I usually buy. So, my experience with Angel Food Ministries, while overall a positive one, will most likely be my last, although I wouldn’t be opposed to volunteering there as I feel it is definitely a worthwhile cause.

I came home bleary-eyed with tiredness as I unloaded my goodies. There was a lot of frozen foodstuff and I had a heck of a problem jamming everything into my freezer. Finally, I said "good night" to the kids and asked Lulabell to wake me about 2 PM. I turned on the air conditioner (more to drown out noises than because it was hot) and fell asleep. I woke up 3 hours later absolutely drenched in sweat and feeling shaky. Determining that my blood sugar had bottomed out, I made my way downstairs to fix something quick to eat. I sat there waiting for the sugar to hit my bloodstream and was absolutely pouring sweat. At one point I put my head between my knees because I felt faint and the sweat literally dripped off my head and soaked the carpet at my feet. Finally, finally, I was starting to feel better, but I was suddenly very, very tired. It’s kind of like when people have a seizure they have to immediately sleep to recover. That is what it is like for me when my blood sugar gets too low. I have to immediately sleep and so, not having the strength to make it back upstairs, I just collapsed on the sofa and basically p assed out. I finally woke up at 2:45, feeling a little better, although my eye still felt like they need to sleep, you know, kind of blurry and burning. I jumped into the shower to wash off all the dried sweat (ew) and wake up more. I had to hurry up and fix a pasta salad for a birthday party we were going to that evening. I made the pasta but it really needed to sit in the fridge for awhile. Unfortunately, Grammy was coming to pick us up at 4:30 and there really wasn’t time. There was no WAY I could have jammed that bowl into my over-stuffed freezer either. Finally, Stu got home from work and we waited for Grammy to pick us up. We finally were on our way to our friend’s house, where we would celebrate her 60th birthday. We arrived and found about 50 other people there or so, but she has a huge property with a big pond that kids were swimming in. Fortunately, Lulabell brought her swimsuit and excitedly got changed. Peaches had opted NOT to bring his suit and was regretting his decision about that pretty quick. We settled in and began to eat all the delicious food people had brought. I stuck my pasta salad in the fridge for while, hoping to perk it up. (It never perked up and I took home an almost full bowl). They were cooking about 6 turkeys and a beef roast on a pit and everything smelled wonderful. There were several dogs running around, including the cutest little Australian cattle dog, with no tail. His name was Duncan and he was the friendliest, cutest thing! Then, there was Coco who must have weighed close to 200 pounds. A MASSIVE dog who didn’t walk, she lumbered around the yard. She was quite friendly though. Fetta (like the cheese) is another lab whose greatest desire is to dive for rocks at the bottom of the pond and carry them out so that you can throw them back in and she can retrieve them once again. This dog will stand for hour at a puddle, pushing rocks around with her nose, arranging and rearranging rocks for hours…it’s the funniest thing! We continued to eat and eat and played some games with the kids. Lulabell, after swimming for about an hour, decided to get out because she said she finally realized the pond smelled and she couldn’t stand it anymore! The sky to the west was getting ominously dark and the wind started to blow. I was excited because obviously we were expecting a storm soon. The men hurriedly disassembled the barbecue pit and took down the tarp just as the storm it with a bang of thunder and the partygoers huddled in the barn to watch the storm. It was very exciting and fun with lots of lightning and thunder and then the rain. We sat in the barn and ate birthday cake and picked at the turkey and roast beef. Finally by about 8 we decided to head on home. When we arrived, I saw the pool that I had just vacuumed was FILLED with leaves and I wanted to cry. Stu had to leave right away for ANOTHER party, this one a bachelor’s party, out in Mercer. I had downloaded a map for him and he headed out. The kids and I settled in for a nice evening at home and Lulabell and I got to cuddle on my bed for while before passing out. Stu got home early (the rest of the men were heading to the local girly bar and Stu had to get up early for work and so didn’t join them). Sunday I plan to work, work, work as I did not do ANY of my home typing yet…ugh! So, that’s it….how was YOUR weekend?

A bowl full of Peaches...

Just a few quickies in between my typing and cooking dinner (salsbury steaks and mashed potatoes, yum!) Last night after a trip to the mall we decided to grab a quick bite at a favorite local diner. As we were sitting there waiting for our food, we were just chatting about various things. Suddenly, Lulabell pops up with "oh, by the way, SOMEBODY has been pooping in my room!" Well, this was a bit of a thunderbolt and both Stu and I immediately thought one of the cats was the culprit. Peaches, however, announced with certainty, "Well, I didn’t do it…." to the stunned silence of his family. Then I burst out laughing because he sounded SO sincere about it! Wow!

Later that night, Peaches called me at work to report that SOMEBODY had peed on his bed! Well, obviously we are having some cat issues, but I had noticed earlier that he had left his wet bathing suit and towel on his bed and asked if it was possible that the wetness could be due to that. "Mom", said in the tone of voice indicating that I am an idiot, "of course not! It was the damn cat….the whole bed smells like…like....COCAINE!"

WHAATTTT???? Cocaine? First of all, how does cat pe smell like cocaine and second of all, what the hell does cocaine smell like? I am 43 years old and have never even SEEN cocaine, much less smelled it, and how the hell does my 16 year old son know what cocaine smells like (does it have a smell?). His comment was just so "out there", you know? Well, his daddy helped him change his bed and all was well. Bedrooms are now obviously off limits to the little kitties, what the heck is going on with them? Not good. So, just a couple of fun Peaches items for you….

Calmer days....

Lulabell trying out for the part of the new "Pocahontas"....

Stu enjoying his Father's Day dinner....

This is Stu trying to get the hang of his new hammock!

Well, hope you all had a lovely Father’s Day weekend…we certainly did around here. The weather was hot and pleasant and we spent Saturday in and around the pool. Saturday night we headed to the movies to watch the Incredible Hulk, which was not quite incredible, although it was entertaining (doesn’t even come CLOSE to Ironman in my book though…). Lulabell spent most of the movie pissed off because she would have PREFERRED to see Kung Fu Panda and wanted to be able to see that movie by herself in the theater right next door but daddy said nope, although he promised he would take her to it next weekend. Then she spent the rest of the movie cowering in her seat as we were assaulted by the sheer NOISE of the movie. I swear, that was the LOUDEST movie I have ever seen…man…..Sunday had Stu enjoying a nice sleep-in and then up for coffee with Peaches, just the two of them. They made the coffee rounds and then headed over to the car show that blocks our main street every year on Father’s day. Lulabell and I opted out of the car show this year for two main reasons:
HOT!!!
BORING!!!
Really, I have ZERO interest in cars, new or old, and I don’t really need to walk around on hot asphalt for a couple of hours, blowing my money on junk food, which is all there is to do there. So, letting the boys have their fun, Lulabell and I (well, just I) worked on the yard and the pool. I got all the trimming done and then decided I needed to figure out a way to vacuum the pool. We bought a pool vacuum last year but couldn’t quite figure it out and then subsequently lost some important parts over the winter. So, I decided to improvise. I had a relatively short piece of hose and I used those plastic ties to attach it to my long skimmer handle. Then, taking a big breath, I sucked and sucked on the end of the hose (the other end was under water) until water started coming out. WALLAH! Pool vacuum is born! (I’m a really good sucker….) I then spent the next hour getting sunburned but was happy with my invention as it really, really worked! I got all the dirt off the floor of the pool and it is SPARKLING clean now! I was so proud…..Stu hung out in his hammock enjoy some new music I downloaded to his Ipod. We then got dressed and headed out to dinner at La Isla and sat on the patio in the very fine evening weather. Lulabell was pushing for ice cream but mom vetoed it as we had perfectly good ice cream at home. So, all in all, a lovely weekend, much less dramatic than last weekend! Shout out to my friend Nancy M. Thanks for stopping by! Hey ….let’s actually TALK to each other soon, okay? Shout out also to my own Dad B in Florida who had to work on HIS father’s day…..bummer. More soon….

David Cook - 06.06.08 - Wal-Mart Concert

Two of my fave songs from David....enjoy!

S'mores ina storm....vandalism is a drag

Well, what a week it’s been! Hope yours has been just as much fun as mine was. Last Friday started off bad as when I got home from work I noticed that the van, as it was parked in the driveway, was listing to the left rather oddly. I drove around and saw to my horror that both tires on the left side were complete flat! WTF????? Apparently, our local juvenile delinquents had struck and punctured both the tires….I wonder if it was the same A**holes that broke our van window several years ago. CRAP! I dragged myself to bed and informed my slumbering husband about the trouble. I went blissfully off to sleep, confident that my hubby would handle everything. When I got up about six hours later, my daughter had me call my hubby at work to get the info on the van. He told me that he had managed to get the van to our buddy who is a mechanic across town. The van was fixed and all we needed to do was pay the money ($250!) and we could get the van back. Stu told me he would come pick me up at the house and we would then go get the van and he would go back to work. Sounded good to me so Lulabell and I sat down on the porch to wait for Stu who said he would be there “shortly”. Now, in Stu-time, this could be 10 minutes or 30 minutes. Usually, when he says he will be somewhere in 10 minutes, it is best to just double that estimate. So, for 45 minutes, Lulabell and I cooled our heels waiting and phoning Stu who did not answer. Finally, he called in a panic to report that he was in the parking lot walking to the car but realized all of a sudden that HE DID NOT HAVE HIS KEYS! They were with the mechanic and the van……GOD! We had been waiting there ALL THAT TIME for nothing. My mind whirled as I tried to think of a way I could get to Lowe’s to give Stu my keys…..most people I knew were working, except my friend Killerbee, who may or may not have been working at her second job as a babysitter. I took a chance and called her. She answered and said she had just arrived at her job. I quickly ran down the problem for her and she came up with the brilliant idea of asking her employer, who was just on her way to work, if she could swing by (they live just 3 blocks down) and drop me off on her way to work. Incredibly, she agreed and I was thrilled that I had solved our problem so quickly. I called Stu back, who was still wandering around the parking lot at Lowe’s trying to come up with a solution. I quickly told him of the plan and he agreed. Lulabell and I walked out to the alley to wait for our ride and nearly walked into……..our car, sitting quietly in the driveway….my mind went blank for a minute as I had thought that Stu had the car at work. Now, who is parking in my driveway? I thought incredulously….finally, as I stared at the car, it dawned on me that this was MY CAR, and that it had been sitting here the WHOLE TIME (now about 50 minutes into the situation). My ride showed up at that moment and I ran over to explain to her how I didn’t need the ride anymore. I think I said something like “my car!....it’s here….my husband…..thank you!....I can’t believe it…..how stupid……that’s my car…..what was I thinking?” Anyhow, she slowly rolled up the window, as you might do when there is a crazy person standing babbling at you nonsensically. I was still in disbelief that I could have been so stupid and not thinking. Oh, wait, in the middle of all this craziness, as I was trying to call people for a ride and talking to my husband, my cell phone died. I had to borrow my son’s phone, which of course didn’t have any of my phone numbers in it, so I was running back and forth to where my phone was plugged in to get the phone numbers….CRAZY! I finally called my hubby back to REMIND him that he was running around the parking lot looking for a car THAT WAS NOT THERE! The silence that followed confirmed my belief that we had both lost our minds for a while. He finally got a coworker to give him a ride to the van so he could just pick it up and I really didn’t have to do a damn thing at all! So, that is the story of my crazy Friday and how my hubby and I really aren’t stupid, just crazed.

Saturday we had decided to put the pool up after never-ending prompting from our daughter. Since we have a slight tilt to the backyard, and there were several pits and holes in the yard where the pool would go, I determined that we needed to purchase some topsoil to “even things out” so that the pool wouldn’t tilt and it would be smooth on the bottom. I figured, oh, about 10 bags of dirt (40 pounds each). Dirt is pretty cheap (literally!) about $1 a bag, so Stu brought home the dirt and the kids turned into pack horses as we brought the dirt into the yard. It was pretty easy to see that we didn’t have NEAR enough dirt, so I sent Stu and Peaches off to Lowe’s for LOTS more dirt. Lulabell and I figured out a pretty cool way to figure out where to place the dirt. We determined the center of the yard and from there used a 6 foot rope anchored in the middle to circumscribe a 12 foot circle, using spray paint to mark the edges of the circle. I thought we were pretty clever actually. This way, when Peaches and Stu brought back the dirt (20 more bags) we were able to dump out the bags and rake the dirt within the circle, adding more at one end to counteract the tilt. I was pretty damn happy with the way I figured that out! Peaches’ friends, D&C were over and they helped us to get the pool put up and cleaned out and FINALLY we started to fill. It took about 4 hours total to fill the pool and Lulabell couldn’t contain her excitement! We promised she could swim Sunday morning after I added the chemicals and such. Really, it went pretty easily and Sunday dawned hot and glorious, perfect for swimming. The kids inaugurated the 2008 swimming season bright and early (the boys had spent the night) and by 10 AM were splashing and yelling. We pretty much were in and out of the pool all day and barbecued our dinner. Even Stu and I got in for awhile and we had a bang up game of ring toss of which I was the ULTIMATE CHAMPION! We looked up into the sky and noticed that it was getting kinda dark in the west. We had hauled out the fire pit and had promised the kids S’mores and so I got a fire started. Almost immediately, the wind started to blow, pushing the fire alarmingly all over the place. Still, even when the rain started, the fire pit is pretty protected by all the foliage overhead and so while a mini-tornado raged, the kids fought back the flames to sear their marshmallows. I had the Hershey bars, which I had unfortunately NOT put in the fridge and were tubes of chocolate goo by then. I just cut off the ends of the bars and squeezed chocolate onto graham crackers for everybody. Finally, the storm died down just as we were finishing up the S’Mores. It was kinda crazy there for awhile though…. So that’s the story of our crazy weekend….more soon.