Anniversary

Tomorrow will be fourteen years since I began work for my employer. It's hard to believe. In another 14 year chunk of my life, I did high school, college, law school, and my short stint in the Army, including my first year of marriage.

What do I have to show for this 14 years? A big thick handful of pay stubs [336 of 'em if they hadn't turned to electronic record keeping a couple years ago] and a mountain of reviewed documents. Most importantly, I have a sense of gratitude for a decent job with good benefits that allow my family excellent medical care and flexible hours.

Welcome to the World, Wally!

Just got the tremendous news that Annie's physical therapist, Miss Ashley, and her husband welcomed their first child into the world. Going old school, they waited until he was born to see the wee of he. His name is Walton Lyle, and I'm told he's going to be known as "Wally". This wonderful young couple will make tremendous parents. We're glad that Wally is not an April Fool. Congratulations, Ashley and William!

Misheard on the Elevator

I got on the elevator tonight, 10th floor, heading home for the weekend.

It stops on the 9th floor and picks up a gentlman headed for the 5th.

By about 7, I blurted, 'You have great hair!', and he did...thick well-groomed, blonde-gray.

He turned to look at me, weirdly, and I added, 'I bet people tell you that all the time,' and smiled nervously.

'Yep, it's gray' he said as the doors opened on 5.

Grabbing at my miscommunication like Wile E. Coyote grabs for an overhanging limb, I reblurted 'Great hair...you have great hair.'

Felonious Spunk - Part II

The kiddy bedtime routine was disrupted tonight when Dave's business partner called to tell him that their office was broken into tonight. Dave went to the office and was met by the local constabulary and his partner. They discovered broken glass, things tampered with, and things missing. He's off now to get some plywood to board up the window for the night. It's been a good long while since my robbery, but it hasn't been so long as to forget.

There was an eye witness who called the police while the robbery was in progress. The witness got a description of them from a somewhat safe vantage point. No one got physically hurt. But I think when the concept of 'personal property' is violently violated, we as a culture are indeed hurt. Pissed off at least.

Perspective

My husband accuses me of being Mario Andretti when it comes to changing lanes and driving fast. Tonight, the blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror affirmed his assessment. The County officer, driving in an unmarked car ['cept for that blue light, natch], wearing plain clothes, approached on the passenger side which I'd never seen before. I had the driver's license ready for him and was fishing out the registration when he asked me how fast I thought I was going. Acknowledging speeding, but within 10 miles, I asked him, "55?" If I had given an answer like that in law school, my crim law professor would've barked at me, "If you're making a statement, don't end it with a question! Stop talking like a female!" [true story, first day]. But, as I wasn't in my 1L Crim Law seminar, I opted for non-threatening female answer. I was offering the I'm trying to get home to my husband and children as the cop was walking back to the prowler.

For the amount of time he made me wait, I'm sure he could've Googled my name, called up my blog and figured out all he needed to know. I called Dave while I was waiting. I was much calmer than in previous pull-overs [experience will do that] and mentally ticking off whether the last 'faulty equipment' violation had fallen off my record yet and wondering if I'd have to hire a local lawyer or try this one pro se. Then I thought that it might've been good to be pulled over. Sometimes a little nudge like that keeps you within reason. Oh, crap. I guess I had it coming.

He sauntered back up to the car and handed me the carbon copy of the ticket. I don't know why, but he gave me a written warning. For which I thanked him.

Where Was...

...this guy when I needed him?

Hat tip: Tammy Bruce.

Cartesian Dualism and the Massage

I'm still enjoying part of the Valentine's gift from earlier this year--a dozen one hour sessions of all-over body massage. I enjoy my masseuse, Jennifer, as she is a terrifically skilled therapist, and also a very good conversationalist. Over the years, we've gotten to know a lot about each other and we keep up with each other's doings. The problem, however, is that when I spend a whole session chatting it up, I seem to miss out on the full enjoyment of the massage. Last time, we resolved that we wouldn't chat so much. Today, we made the concerted effort to hush in the middle.

The verdict? My mind and body are connected and they influence each other. When I hush and focus my mind on my body, the experience improved greatly. I hush, therefore I am massaged.

Date Night: Santa's Little Helpers

Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group at church, we dropped the kids off at the "Santa's Workshop" and evaporated for a couple hours. We ate at The Loop [Pizza Place] and shopped at Bed, Bath and Beyond for a Christmas gift for Dave's side of the family. We returned to pick up our charges. They had been well fed and were doing crafts and watching movies when we got back. All of them had temporary tattoos which fascinated them up 'til bedtime when they had to be scoured OFF! or no one would get to sleep. It was a lovely freebie for us and a kind gesture from the church group. We will probably do it again next year.

Tuesday

The cousins got on the road at 7:30 this morning. The travel update is there was some bad traffic around Baltimore that required rerouting and delays.

We had a busy day. Zeke and I ran errands and had a nice lunch out together at his favorite [Applebee's] and even had a chance to stop by the church and pay a visit to Our Lord. Zeke was happy to go everywhere else, but was resistent to go into church. I promised it would only be a short visit and if he didn't comply, there would be a lost privilege. While there, I let him ring the bells up near the tabernacle. He rang them like an altar server with passion. He talked to Jesus and thanked Him for our nice day. And then home for a little jungle gym/swinging with the girls. Annie is climbing now with her prosthesis and doing mighty fine. We have physical therapy tomorrow and then only one more time this year.

Tomorrow, in addition to the PT, Dave and I have a date to his annual company dinner at a high-end steak house. It's always a great meal and a nice time to be with my man.

Memory Lane

My cousin and her husband and I ventured out this afternoon for a little local sight-seeing. We went to the Moravian cookie "factory" and also Dave's family homestead and a local vineyard [which was closed]. We finished with a trip to the teacher's supply store--a place that's very close, but I've never been to in the twelve years I've been in this town. As a schoolteacher, Anna was quite content to shop with me for some school items for the children.

It's not everyday you get to be a tourist in your own town. We hope it's not the last time they visit. Perhaps we'll visit Old Salem next time and spend a day in the colonial historical site downtown.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

...I woke up at 4 a.m., which is about the same time my cousin and her husband were supposed to be setting out. Can hardly wait until they arrive. It's tempered by all the little crap I have to do to spruce up for them...still. Jittery and anxious.

UPDATE: 3:00ish--They arrived in good condition. Let the fun begin!

Chai? *sigh* Aye!

My girlfriend of too-many-years-to-recall, Kathie, told me about a drink called "Chai Latte." She loves it and encouraged me to try it. She told me that it's sorta like drinking a slice of creamy pumpkin pie.

I called my favorite coffee joint on the way home. The barrista was not too busy and answered my questions.

Does it have a lot of caffeine? --Much less than regular coffee.
Does it really taste like a slice of pumpkin pie run through the bass-o-matic [mmm! that's great bass!]? --You can select vanilla or spice. Spice seems to be the favorite flavor.
Can I get curb service? --You bet!

Thumbs up, Kathie. [But, then again, she rarely steers me wrong].

No Harm/No Foul

I was in a little collision today. And when I say "little," I mean just that. I inspected the rear bumper --twice!-- and couldn't detect even the smallest scratch.

Here's what happened: I was on the on-ramp to the highway-to-work this afternoon. The highway is down to one lane [why? I saw no workers, but only orange barrels] as it has been for several days. I knew not to accelerate. Unfortunately, the driver behind me didn't see the slow-down, or my brake lights until she hit me. I signalled to get off on the right, put on my hazards, and she did, too. I got out of the van and met her. She was Hispanic, spoke decent English, and looked mortified. I asked a couple times [smiling pleasantly at her] if she was alright. She said yes and asked if there were any children in the van. Nope. I looked at both my rear bumper and the front of her truck. Nothing. Nada. I didn't even offer her my name or any info. I gave her a hug and said, "Don't worry. People make mistakes all the time."

I happily went on my way to work, smelling of her very sweet perfume, thinking how badly that could have been and thanking God that it wasn't.

Preparation Ache

Tomorrow is "prep day" for our vacation. That means laundry, packing, and those usual things, but also, we're having some painting and work done in the house next week while we're away. We promised the contractor we'd clean out our big honkin' entertainment center so he'd only have to move an empty piece of furniture. I'm not looking forward to this all. Plus, Zeke has a live dinosaur show tomorrow afternoon and Daddy and I are taking him to it. Oh, yeah. And our usual Saturday morning trip to the Y. Zoiks.

Fair Day

It seems that everyone is in the Fair spirit around here. At the YMCA, there was a Family Fair where the kids got goody bags and Dave did, too. Then, there's the local Dixie Classic Fair [the 2nd largest fair in our fair state], which Dave took the kids to with their Aunt and cousin. Everyone did well, but the local constabulary failed to direct traffic at all and they were gridlocked for almost an hour getting home. [Thank God for onboard DVD!] And I had the Stewardship Fair at church tonight, and again tomorrow. My fingers are tired from all the balloons and I'll inflate them again tomorrow early. How do I feel about all this? Fair.

Positively Giddy

The girls turn 4 on Friday. I'm taking that day off as my "floating holiday" that my company allows me to use in conjunction with another holiday. Tomorrow, I'm taking a vacation day to take Mom to lunch, go shopping for the party, pick up the cakes, and prepare for the Princess Birthday. I really enjoy making a big deal about the kids' birthdays and it's fun for me to take days off to languidly prepare.

The feeling I have when leaving work for a self-imposed 5 day exile, knowing that my work is done and anything undone can just wait while I mark this milestone, is borderline euphoric, but positively giddy.

How Being an Optimist Got Me Out of Philly

I'm back and have been for hours. The plane I was supposed to take has just left Philadelphia. How did I time warp ahead several hours?

It rained in Philadelphia so much that the airport stopped all flights today for a short while. [I was drenched in that downpour whilst returning my rental car. I looked silly, but it was cooling.] Weather affects all flights. I did my routine...checked in, checked my bag, went through the obligatory TSA indignity and straight to the kiosk. All flights to Greensboro were posted. Mine was delayed, but the 11:30 flight was loading.

So I thought, "Why not?"

I went to that flight's gate and waited for the harried agent. I smiled. I told her I just checked in for the next flight. Any chance I could get on this one? She told me the change fee would be $25 and that I would have to make arrangements to pick up my own bag, once it arrived on the flight after me. I saw the plane at the end of the jetway. Hmmm. Bird-in-the-hand. I agreed to her terms and she placed me on the flight [which was half-way through seating. Er, I mean the plane was half-full] and I even scored a window seat in the exit row! [She never did take my credit card and swipe it for the change fee. So that was a $25 gut check question. And the question was, "Is it worth $25 for you to leave this city two hours early?" A bargain at twice the price!] It took quite a while to get aloft as planes were backed up everywhere.

Now....if I could only get my bag. Dave already made one round-trip to arrive empty-handed. We checked online for a departure. Oh, it departed all right, but was called back. Too bad I didn't call him back en route. That plane won't be in until 11:00 p.m. as of this post. Whew! I'm glad I'm home, but want to be reunited with my possessions.

Fortunately, I have redundancies in my toiletry selection.

UPDATE: According to the airline's official website, it arrived at 11:54 p.m. About 8 hours late.

ANOTHER UPDATE: I have said luggage.

Off I Go into the Wild Blue Yonder

In these days since having children, it seems that I only travel by air when there's a wedding or a funeral. I'm off early tomorrow for my cousin Anna's wedding tomorrow afternoon. I love to travel, but because of the home fires, this trip will be short. I'll be back again Sunday. It'll be a chance to rendezvous with my mom and brother, who are already there. Can't wait. I have cousins by the dozens on this side of the family [I'm one of about 50 first cousins] and this wedding celebration will also include all the aunties and the one uncle who are still alive. I don't relish being in Yankee-land, but for Anna, I'll gladly go.

Witness to a Baptism

7/11 was a special day. My friend's newest child [her eighth!] was baptized at our church. I offered to do a 'stealth reception' for them. Channeling my inner Martha, [the sister of Mary, not Stewart, though that might be apt, too], I brought in a large cake, a few balloons, flowers, tableware, drinks and set up in the concourse at church as if I owned the place [hey! I contributed to the capital campaign!].

A dear friend of theirs is a priest from the Vatican-approved order which promulgates the ancient Latin rites. He knew them back in high school...before he was even a Catholic, much less a priest. He did the 'bilingual' service [Latin/English], hit on all the lovely rituals [to include putting salt on the baby's tongue and the churching blessing ] and even had a vestment change midway [he wore the purple stole for the 'exorcism' and when that was complete, he donned the white stole for baptism]. Many of the young boys, including mine, thought that baptismal font was just about the coolest thing to splash around in. Fortunately, it was high enough that they could only dangle their little sticky fingertips in it. The priest didn't seem to mind one bit. It was, after all, holy water.

Being related to a great photographer, I was given picture-taking duties. I tried to be unobtrusive and ready for the moments that need capturing. I know I caught the pouring of the water over his little head. I had three chances for that and I was ready.

The reception happened and the children devoured most of the cake. I was feeling magnanimous and if they wanted it, they got it. I knew I'd need Nanny's help and she kept my three in tow quite well. Mary Jo and Annie, mimicking the Spratts, ate one piece of cake. Annie got the frosting; Joey got the cake.

I thought this thought: I belong to a Church upon which the sun never sets. For the briefest of moments, little Anthony James was the newest Catholic Christian in the world. He now has his name on the reservation list at God's Pearly Gates Cafe. Let's hope he has a long, long wait and an abundant life of grace in the Sacraments before his name is called on high.

It Really Felt Like Monday

I returned to work today after 5 days away. It felt like Monday. I've heard it called 'reentry' when you experience the shock of gravity after weightlessness. Yup. That's pretty much what it was like.