On my side of the family, I have a niece and a nephew who've both graduated from high school and a niece and a nephew who are still in high school. To say that high school is or was a struggle for them is an understatement. Some of that is due to the school work and some of that is due to the drama that comes from student or teacher conflicts. To my niece and nephew still in school I find myself offering up advice on how to survive. Advice that, ...
Ordinary Me
Has NASCAR Called Yet?
There are very few times in my life when I have felt like my life was in danger. As a rule I try to avoid anything that is dangerous, questionable or even just taxing, so to fear for my very life is a rare experience. And yet, wouldn't you know, I have a story to share about that very thing. In the years B.C. (Before Children), MC and I lived here in TX. While he would go off to his construction work every day, I would drive the 45 minutes to an ...
The Creepy Crawlies
I can't believe I'm going to admit this...okay, I can. I mean, what DON'T I share in a public forum...Anyways. We just had to de-louse everyone. That's right...head lice. We've all heard the same lecture about how it doesn't matter how clean you are and it's just highly contagious, blah, blah, blah. But you know when you hear someone has head lice you get all creeped out like they've just crawled out from a sewer somewhere and are just waiting to ...
Where, Oh Where Has Our Daughter Gone?
An incident occurred on Sunday that reminded me that no matter how hard we try to avoid it, we grow up to be just like our parents. Deny it all you want, but it's true. Sunday was an interesting day in our house. In the morning, Sassy and Bubba stayed home from church with me because they had both had low fevers the night before. They were dealing with the tail end of a week long battle with nasty germs but were getting better. I thought it ...
She Chutes, She Scores!
Today's blog is sponsored by my frequent partner in crime, my younger sister--who I am fond of calling Sissy. We have been through many adventures together--road trips, raising babies, car accidents, etc.--and if there's one thing we can count on, it's that things are never dull. Even the mundane can be made exciting when the two of us get together. Example? One time we were hired by an associate of our mother's to come and pack up his house ...
Arrested Development
Why are my recent Flashbacks so painful? I literally have a list of all the incidents I could blog about. When it comes time to write one, I look over the list and write about whatever stands out that day. The one I chose for today is one I've debated about actually telling, but not for any reason you might think. It's not that it is embarrassing (although it is), or paints me in a bad light, or further reveals my selective poor judgment. I hate ...
Finders Keepers
Today's Flashback pains me to tell. It happened about 16 years ago, during our first year of marriage, but it still causes me grief. Perhaps because it not only proves how much Murphy loves us, but it also reflects so poorly on our neighbors--both children and adults. MC was working with his dad in their construction business. His typical work uniform consisted of a t-shirt and cotton shorts with an elastic waist--the kind you would wear to the ...
The Things I Do For Attention
My history of bad luck isn't confined to disasters. Some of the more...interesting moments of my life just fall under the category of "It could only happen to me". These are the things that, really, could only happen to me. That's just the way my luck falls. Today's Flashback is one of these incidents. When you are pregnant, you joke around with your friends about what would happen if your water broke in the middle of Walmart or while you ...
Baby It’s Cold Outside
I got an estimate on fixing some of the problems with Suzy and was informed that it would cost a small fortune to get her running right again. Big surprise there. It was to be expected after all. I am a serial auto mutilator. I go through cars faster than most people go through cellphones. I have shoes that I've owned longer than I've owned any one particular car. Heck, I have underwear that outlasts my cars. But, again, it's not my fault. I ...
The Honeymoon
It's Friday again, time for me to share with you another moment of my disaster-prone life. Today's episode takes place on my honeymoon. For those of you that don't know, MC and I got married twice. While living in TX and planning our wedding in WA, it soon became apparent that most of MC's family would miss out on the event because it was just too expensive to fly up there for a weekend. So we decided to have a small ceremony here first. MC's ...