Happy Birthday Grace!

Grace,

You are an absolutely amazing blogger and friend! I wish you many, many happy years!!

Oh, and I got you this for your birthday:

Adam Wants a Laptop... Sort Of.....

I swear. It all started off innocently enough.

In just one week the nest will not be empty. Our youngest is coming home for the summer instead of working the job she has the past two years 3 hours from home. I don't mind but it will be an adjustment. Adam and I have gotten used to being on our own.

I recently said to my child "If I install a wireless router will you stay off MY computer and just use your own?"

It's not that I'm selfish.

Well, okay. It is that I'm selfish. In the summer I like to check my mail. Clean the kitchen. Read some blogs. Clean the bathroom. Check my mail again. Throw a load of wash in. Play a game of cards online, etc.

In other words, when I want my computer, I want my computer. And that's that.

But when there are kids living here you can imagine how it goes. The minute I get up to clean the kitchen my computer gets hijacked by someone under 30 and it drives me nuts.

Wireless internet, the solution of all solutions, yes?

Suffice it to say that the youngest is THRILLED to oblige.

But now here's another issue.

Remember the road trip? We had a blast last year BUT ... it's not a big deal but I am an early riser. Adam likes to sleep later than me. I like letting him sleep however I am very bored waiting in a hotel room for him to wake up.

Boy a laptop of my own would sure be nice. I love my desktop computer. It's fast but not at all portable.

I thought maybe I'd convince the child to swap me machines for the 2 weeks we're gone but then I got to thinking.....

And thinking...

Visions of sitting out on the deck with my morning coffee and laptop were becoming quite desirable. And this from me, someone who swore she'd never ever buy a laptop. I don't like typing on them. I hate those .... what do you call them.... thinkpads? You know. The mouse.

So anyhow, I emailed PK this morning. I told her "I think I want a laptop. I just have to convince Adam that he wants one, too."

I fixed him an awesome breakfast of a fresh asparagus/fresh basil/swiss cheese omelet, hash browns, and fresh fruit this morning. Over breakfast I said "honey, I think you need a laptop."

"Me? I think YOU want a laptop."

"I can't deny it. It would be great for the trip and then when we get back it would be all yours for work."

"The trip? You are NOT spending the whole trip on a computer. The computer is what we go to get away from."

"I know that silly. I would just check mail in the morning and at night and maybe read blogs while you sleep in."

He then decided he was going to take the pup out. I went back and emailed PK again. This time I told her "He's wearing down. I'll have my laptop by the end of the day."

He came back in and said I needed spanked. "For what?"

"That whole laptop thing. It's not for me. It's you who wants one."

"Okay fine. You get a laptop and I get spanked. Deal."

"No deal. I'm going to get a shower."

Hmmmmmmm........ I did the only thing I could at that point. I stripped down and climbed in the shower with him.

There was actually more to the conversation. He was considering the fact that it would be a tax deduction. We joked about who it would belong to and of course agreed that it would be both of ours.

As I climbed in the shower, he laughed. He knew EXACTLY why I was there.

I ran my finger around on his chest a couple times and then looked at him, trying to make my eyes as big and as pleading as possible.

"Don't you look at me like that."

"Why not?"

"Because the last time you looked at me like that we ended up with children."

Man. He doesn't forget a thing.


Then he said to me, "I'm not saying I want a laptop but if we were to get one and take it on the road trip we could upload pictures to it as we go huh? We could take a lot more pictures."

Far be it from me to tell him it would be cheaper to just buy an extra card for the camera. They are small and could be lost easily. You know?

So anyhow....

Yup. We got the laptop. I bought a cheap mouse to go with it so I don't have to use that thinkpad thingie.

And honestly if Adam was that against it he would have said so.

Honest.

Now about that spanking...............

A Tribute to Life and Living

Yesterday I had one of those moments. You've probably had them a time or two before, also. There was a situation that I dropped my jaw on at first.

Later, as I relayed the story for the second time, it started to hit me. This was more than just a jaw dropped.

Let me explain. I might have to go in a few directions to get to the point.

First direction: Adam's sick.

He'll be fine. In fact I see a lot of improvement today over yesterday. He's on antibiotics so hopefully the worst is behind us. In the meantime he hasn't worked since Monday which has left me worrying throughout my own work day, going home to tend to him, the pup, my grad class, etc.

Yesterday I was in the eye of the storm; an oasis of sorts. On my drive home from work I was talking with PK as we do about once a week. I was relaxed and enjoying the drive as well as the conversation. My entire drive is a two lane state route and I often get caught in slow moving traffic.

School buses are the main cause of slow downs. Tractors would be the second cause. Sure enough, traffic was slowing.

As I looked ahead I saw a little one crossing the road so I knew there was a school bus up ahead. I couldn't tell exactly how far ahead because I had a semi-truck in front of me.

I wasn't paying attention to much around me. I was just driving along yacking with PK. I don't even remember stopping for the next school bus stop. I was on auto pilot.

Everything was going smoothly or as smoothly as it could be considering the bus and trucks ahead of me.

Then it happened.

I think I said, "What the heck?" Or something like that.

PK asked what was going on.

"I am on a two lane state route and a semi truck just came barreling past me. I'm sitting here at a dead stop waiting on a school bus."

I honestly don't know how fast it was going but it came to a stop by the time its back end reached the front end of the truck in front of me. As traffic began to move it sat there blocking the oncoming lane while we all filed past on its right side.

I checked my mirror. He fell in behind us all. I told PK "I think he wasn't paying attention and couldn't get stopped."

Well duh. Obviously.

We went on with our talk and I didn't give it much thought until we hung up and a real life friend called. I was telling her what had happened and then it hit me.

Oh, my dear God.

What if...... What if the trucker hadn't seen the situation in time to go around in the other lane? What if there had been anything oncoming? What if....

I told my friend "I was stopped right on the tail of one semi while this other one went into the wrong lane. If he had hit me, you wouldn't have been able to view the body at my funeral."

I'm fairly certain that I would have been unrecognizable and PK wouldn't have known what hit me.

At least it would have been over with quickly.

Anyhow.... all is well but the could haves really bothered me. Oh, and by the way, I didn't tell Adam what had happened. I was kind of shook and just wanted to forget it. It affected my whole mood last night but he was too out of it to comprehend it anyhow. He found out though from my real life friend.

She works in his doctor's office and mentioned it when he was in there today. He realized right away that he was entirely too out of it last night and that was probably why I had not told him.

A little bit ago I was helping him take the trash out. Usually he doesn't ask for my help but since he's not feeling too swift he did this time. While we were out there he said to me "why don't we check your brake lights while we're out here?"

I went and got my keys. I got in. Started the engine. Pushed the brake. He said "They're fine. Jerk. Hope he pays attention next time."

Yep. Me, too.

Did you know that today is a National Day of Prayer? As I have prayed off and on all day I have started and closed every prayer thanking Him for intervening and not allowing it to be a catastrophe.

As much as I tell myself to quit thinking about it because nothing happened, I can't help but wonder just how many more seconds of this guy not noticing before it would have been too late.

Ouch.

So as a result I've had a thought provoking day. I've noticed things I don't normally notice. For instance, I noticed that all the summer time flowers are out for sale. They had a sidewalk full of them outside the store I was entering to get Adam's prescriptions for him. I always (lovingly of course) joke with Adam about flowers. He loves them and always comments on them so don't tell him this but I actually smiled today when I saw all those flowers today and and thought about what they stand for.

They stand for Adam just because they make me think of him.

They stand for life just because it's spring and life is new right now.

They stand for living because there's nothing else to do once life is given.

And they even stand for death... but not yet. They still have a lot of life ahead.

And so do I.

I believe in God. I believe in heaven. I believe in Jesus dying to set the captive free.

I want to die. I want to go to heaven. I want to see Jesus face to face.

Just not yet. I still have some living to do so on this national day of prayer for those of you who believe and are praying thank Him for not letting me die just yet.

After all, I don't think Adam is done with me yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a couple shots I took of this route for those of you who have expressed concern over my talking on the phone while driving. I've been driving this route for over 10 years. It's not a busy one. Talking is not a distraction in the traffic you see here. And please don't come down on me for shooting a couple quick shots as I was driving. It was not a distraction. :)

Happy Birthday!!!

Hey!!! I heard it here.....

A certain redhead is having a birthday!!!!

Happy, happy Birthday!!!!

I Love Memes

Question number 1: What are three of the stupidest things you've done in your life.

1. Bought a KIA vehicle. That car was nothing but trouble. I will never buy another KIA.

2. Dared Adam to spank me. No wait. That was a smart thing. Ummmm... How about trying to change lanes at the last minute when I was 16 and causing a three car accident.

3. And the very most stupidest dumbest thing I ever did was light up my first cigarette that lead to thousands and thousands more.

Question number 2: At the current moment, who has the most influence on your life?

The pup. He determines when I get up, when I get to go to bed, what time I have to be home by, etc. etc. etc.

Question number 3: If you were given a time machine that functioned, and you were allowed to only pick five people to dine with, who would you pick?

Jesus, my mother, my father, Helen Keller, Eleanor Roosevelt

Question number 4: If you had three wishes that were not supernatural, what would they be?

(1) That my children would all live nearby

(2) That Adam and I got more time to play

(3) That spanking would become a very acceptable practice in adult relationships.

Question number 5: Someone is visiting your hometown/place where you live at the moment. Name two things you regret your city not having, and two things people should avoid.

City? What city? This is smalltown USA for sure. I don't regret a thing. It's a nice, little town. If we want some city life we just have to travel a short distance. Stay out of the bars and alleys though. You never know what's living there.

Question number 6: Name one event that has changed your life.

Marrying Adam. It's a long story but life sucked before he came along. It had been filled with death and abuse. I'm thankful God sent him to me. I don't know where I'd be without him.

Question number 7: Is not a question. It's a command. Tag five other people.

Oh, Okay...if I must. I tag PK, Grace, Paul, Theresa, and you!

In Honor of VT

Yes, I joked with Tigs about my dating my last post for Monday in order to drag it out but now I've changed the date to Sunday because that was before I knew about this:

I will see you on Tuesday.

He's Making Threats

New purse.

Road Trip.

No new purse.

No road trip.

Are you kidding me?

That is the actual threat that Adam made.

I had no choice. I bought a new purse and here it is.



Keep scrolling.....











And scrolling.....





















Like it?

Me neither.

I figured it would have Adam begging me to just go ahead and use my old one.

Sigh. It didn't quite go that way.

I didn't really buy that one but did laugh hysterically when Adam picked it up and showed it to me. Yes you can actually see a tiny bit of his arm in the picture.

Anyhow, I found another one WAY up high on display that Adam said he liked. It was almost to the ceiling which had to have been at least 20 feet in the air if not more.

I told Adam I would buy it if he could knock it down with just one jump.

He smacked my butt.

Right there.

In public.

Geeze.

I finally convinced him that we weren't going to find one that we both like.

Actually it needs to be one that I like because I'm the one who's stuck with it for the next five or more years.

Now, now. No comments on that remark. If I get 5 years out of a purse, I'm thrilled. I'm happy. I like it that way. Purses get comfortable, you know? I see no need to keep buying new ones and changing them etc. With my A.D.D. if I were to go out with a group how would I ever recognize MY purse if I kept changing to a different one?

Anyhow, I do like this new one because the straps are a braided leather cord and they are already soft. Doesn't get any better than that. It almost feels broken in already. We found it at the last minute as we headed to the front of the store. They had a display of some pretty nice ones near the registers.

Rats. I almost escaped.

So anyhow, as I sat at the dining room table last night cleaning out the old one and fixing up the new one Adam says "You have to admit, it was time for a new one."

I very calm, cool, collected, and nonchalantly said, "Oh, I know" and kept right on transferring and sorting.

He started laughing... "you mean to tell me this has all been... oh, you are so gonna get it."

Really? I'm waiting, Adam.

Bring it on, babe.

You know you want to.