Categories
Life in general

One of Those Days

I was all set to write a different post, but THEN.  I just couldn’t have a day like today and not write about it.

First thing this morning, I had an appointment to get my Live Scan Fingerprinting done for our new corporate license.  So I dropped Alison at school, passed Blythe over to my mom, and drove to the courthouse 15 minutes away.  The lady’s first question was, Do you have your paperwork? and the answer was No.  So I drove back home, got the paperwork, and drove back.  I handed it over, and the lady’s second question was, Do you have cash or a check?  The answer to that was: All I have is $11 and a credit card.  Nor do I have an ATM card to go grab some cash, and our bank is not only another 20 minute drive away, it isn’t even open yet.  So back I went, for my checkbook.  My third time through security, I swear the guard was muffling a laugh.  At least they know for sure that I don’t have anything dangerous in my purse.

Finally, my paperwork turned in and my fee paid, I stepped up to the fingerprinting machine.  There was a WARNING! after each of my prints was scanned.  Because, guess what?  Apparently I have old, man hands.  My fingerprints have nearly been worn away and besides, they are all covered in creases and cracks.  So I’ll probably have to go back in again to get them re-done, manually, by some sort of fingerprinting expert.

That task finally done, I made my way back to the car.  Suddenly, from out of nowhere, I was attacked by a bird.  It dropped down and pecked me right on the head!  I tried whacking my purse at it, but I had just my little tiny wallet (Ok – honestly? I didn’t want the security people to see how messy the inside of my purse was so I carried just the necessities) but the bird was not impressed.  The rest of the way to the car, the bird kept dive bombing me and doing fake-out swooping motions like it was Muhammad Ali of the bird kingdom.  All I could do was wave my arms over my head and run.

In the midst of all this, I got a phone call from our accountant’s office.  Our taxes were done (we filed an extension and paid our overinflated  unreasonable estimated taxes April 15th, as you may recall) and they needed signing.  Since we want our Big Fat Refund as soon as possible, I had to get down there right away.  Which wouldn’t be a problem, except that the accountant’s office was an hour away, my mom was leaving for the weekend in just a few short hours but couldn’t get ready until I returned for Blythe, and Alison had to be picked up from school at 11:00.  Are you following this?

I made arrangements for the kids and headed up to the accountant’s office, stopped by and picked up a prescription, and made it home in just a couple of hours.  Once inside I went to change my shoes and realized I didn’t have to, because I had been wearing my house shoes the whole dang time.

Categories
Home and Garden

A Deal is a Deal

My husband is the type of person who’s always looking for a deal.  In fact, if he can’t get a deal on something, it’s pretty much not worth purchasing.  Conversely, we may not have a desire for a particular thing, but if there’s a deal to be had… well, maybe we just need to have that.  Much of this comes from being cheap frugal, but it also comes from knowing someone from just about every trade known to man.

Take, for example, the phone call I received this morning:  

J: “Hey, they’re sending a guy over to put in a shower door.  Are you home?”

Me: “Um, yeah.  Ok.”

See, Jeremy was talking to this guy he knows, whose family owns a door company.  The End.  

This is how our shower has looked for the past 6 years, give or take a few shampoo bottles:

This is how it looked once I viewed the prior photo and realized how dang dirty the grout was.  Oh, and removed the stuff.


And then dude showed up, and explained how installing a shower door was a three step process.

Step One, The Frame:


Step Two, The Doors:


Step Three, The Caulk:



Don’t you just love the word caulk?

So what do you think?  



Not about the green sponge paint. 
I know.  It seemed like such a good idea at the time.

Categories
Kids Products and Reviews

Dou dou et Compagnie

Meet Dou-dou bunny.


 <— Dou-dou, 2008

Dou-dou has seen better days. 

 <— Alison & Dou-dou, 2004

There was a time when leaving the house without her was reason enough to turn back.  More often these days, though, she stays home.  Yes, Alison is getting to the point where she can handle new situations without her sidekick.  But the more common reason for leaving her behind is the fact that, frankly, she’s falling apart.  I’ve sewn her half of a new rear end, mended more holes than I can count, and reattached her feet a few times.  But she is so threadbare in some places that no amount of stitching is going to repair her. 

All Alison wanted for Christmas last year was for Dou-dou to be new again.  She wishes the same thing on stars and penny fountains.  I’ve searched ebay, craigslist, and every online boutique I can find.  She was part of the Spring 2004 line and, sadly, there are no more to be found.  So she hangs on, our little dou-dou bunny, gracing family photos and riding in the basket of Alison’s scooter.  She’s beyond washing, so we put her in the freezer for 15 minutes once a week to kill any germs she might have.  If this were the story of The Velveteen Rabbit, she would be as real as you or me.  She is that loved.

Categories
Entertainment Kids Travel

Serenity Now

This past weekend was so jam-packed that you could have played a tune on my back, that’s how high strung I was, leading up to it.  But there’s something about seeing this:



that makes a girl’s shoulders relax.  I mean, who can look at Lake Tahoe in all its splendor and still be uptight?  Not me.  Especially after ordering a bottle of wine with dinner, and hardly having to share.  

Before the arm wrestling tournament started, my mom and dad went with me and the girls to check out the lake.  The water is freezing year round, because, hello, those are snow-capped mountains in the background.  Luckily my dad was willing to risk losing his pinkie toes in order to allow the girls a chance to splash around, while my mom and I watched from the warm sand.


I figured we would just roll up our pant legs to play, regardless of how warm it was outside.  But my girls took “splashing around” to a whole new level, and pretty soon I had to change them into their swim suits. 


Yes, they played in that frigid water without complaint – but the adults had to drag them out every few minutes so that everyone’s feet could thaw. 



I was so caught up in capturing Blythe’s first trip to the beach, I didn’t realize until later that it was also Alison’s first.



What kind of parent am I that my 4 1/2 year old has lived her whole life in California, yet has never been to a beach of any kind?  A parent with a swimming pool, that’s what.  Since leaving, Alison has added about 50 things to her list of things to bring to the beach next time.  On my list?  Warmer water.  And maybe a fruity drink with an umbrella in it.

Categories
Products and Reviews

Fuzzy Creatures

My uber-talented sister created these lovely pillows for Blythe:

                

There’s this cute noise Blythe makes when she finds something particularly lovable – I can’t begin to describe it, so I won’t even try.  Anyway, she makes that sound with each of these pillows, and buries her face in them.  Needless to say, I had to fight her off as I arranged them for their own little photo shoot.  And I would have posted a close up of each of them, as well, but  all I could see through my camera lens was the back of Blythe’s head.
               


There are a number of amazing pieces in Sheasy’s etsy shop.  Each one is hand made.  Take a look, you might find something you just can’t live without!