The Perils of being a Mechanic's Wife

After school today, the girls and I headed out to the car to run errands and then head home. When I started the car up, it seemed like it couldn't get enough gas. It was shaking and chugging. I thought maybe it would clear up on its own, but it just didn't. I tried giving it more gas, but it couldn't get much past 20 miles per hour. I was surprised to make it up the little hill headed to the high school.

Having listened to many stories of "How am I supposed to fix something if I've never seen it act that way?", I headed to the baseball field to find Ryan.

Not there yet. And the car is still running poorly.

As we are driving by the hardware store, Syd spots his truck. (Which is another trait she inherited from him).

We track him down in the paint aisle. Like the dutiful car owner that I am, I tell him, "Something is really wrong with the car. Come listen to it!"

He starts laughing. "Well it should be running poorly, I took a part out of it at lunch to fix a customer's car. They couldn't wait for the part to come in, so I took yours."

So now, I sit here and wait for my part to come in....tomorrow... Good thing for the used car lot that we call our front drive.

A little of this and that

Lauren thinks that I don't put enough pictures of her on my blog. So this one is for her... She just informed me that I chose the wrong one...

I made Ryan and Cade pose together so I could see if they looked alike. You decide...

Cade contemplating a home run.

Poor Syd is too busy to have her picture taken. Actually, I wish I could take a picture of her and Ryan's personalities. They are SO much alike. Today, I sat down in the front room where she was watching TV. I asked her what she wanted for dinner. "Whatever" was her reply. What are you watching? I asked. "Just a show." It was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "I think I'll go upstairs." Why? I asked. "I don't feel like talking to anyone right now, sorry". And off she went. And just like Ryan, it isn't moodiness or anger. She just truly needs her alone time. A couple hours later she came downstairs and chatted up a storm. She is one of a kind. Or at least one of a very unique pair.

The Weather

ODE TO THE WIND

Or

St. Johns in the Spring

The Wind is blowing again today,

Just like it did before.

It's blown and blown for two months now,

And I'm afraid it'll keep blowing some more!

My flowers I planted in April,

Are growing in New Mexico today.

And the dirt that they were growing in,

Has settled on San Francisco Bay.

The kids on the playground have started

To fly UP the slides, rather than down,

And the kids who want to be swinging

Are soaring over some Texas town.

Last night I went to a baseball game,

The pitcher threw the ball,

Back and forth it was thrown by the wind,

Strike 1, 2, AND 3! Was the umpire's call.

So if you venture to St. Johns

And want to give this place a try,

Put two large rocks in your pockets,

Or the wind will just blow you on by!

AND it is now snowing, AGAIN. Ugh.

But on a side note, we beat Round Valley in baseball today. Whoooohoooo!

The Ox in the Mire

I unexpectedly started my period yesterday with not a single tampon in the house.

I mean really?!

While Lauren was searching the house for Easter eggs, I'm searching for tampons. She was a lot more successful than me.

A while back I bought 3 mega boxes from Sam's Club. I mean those dang things are expensive, so I thought that I'd stock up. I forgot that I'm not the only one using them these days. We go through them pretty quickly. I had to say a quick "thank you" in my head to my mom for all the boxes she must have bought raising three girls.

So what to do? My dear friend that I borrow things from is in church. I figure I could go search her house, but that may be overstepping the bounds of friendship. Not only is it Sunday, but it's also Easter, so the grocery store isn't open. One of the perils of living in SJ is a lack of shopping options. I'm dreading the thought of searching Circle K for a box. Luckily, the Dollar General is open.

As I'm walking in, I'm considering the "Ox in the Mire" story, and figure this one fits the bill. But then there is that nagging embarrassment of "just" buying a box of tampons. My heck, I'm thirty-five years old, it is probably time to get over that one. But not today. So I also purchase Pepsi, chips and chocolate (plus the tampons). As if that's disguising the issue! I also figure that throws me complete out of the "ox in the mire" umbrella and right under the "sinner" one.

To be perfectly honest I'm always under the "sinner" umbrella when it comes to not shopping on Sunday. But I really had been trying to do better.

Sooooooooooo

To make a really pointless and long story even longer, here is a little bit of trivia that I learned. If you buy the Kotex brand, it even has a box top for education.

So I'm also giving a little back to the schools. By shopping on Sunday.

Easter Bunny S'mores

I can't claim an ounce of credit for these-but they are really cute. And they are one of the few things I've made that actually looks like the picture. I'm giving these to my visiting teaching ladies. (I am the WORST visiting teacher, but I decided to try to turn the corner. . .)

INGREDIENTS AND DIRECTIONS:

1. Reduce 1 sleeve graham crackers to crumbs.
2. Layer 2/3 of the crumbs in a 1 quart jar.
3. Place 8 marshmallow bunny peeps standing up, facing out around the inside of the jar.
4. Press them up against the glass, but don't squash them.
5. Carefully spoon remaining crumbs in the center of the jar to support the bunnies, pressing down to keep it snug.
6. On top of this pour 1-1/4 cup Easter M&M's.
7. Spoon 1/3 cup brown sugar into center of M&M's, gently pressing with a spoon.
My changes: I did M&M's first, then Peeps, then put combined brown sugar and graham cracker crumbs in baggie. I didn't like how the crumbs made a mess in the jar.

Attach a gift tag giving the following instructions:

1. Empty the jar contents into a bowl. Snip the bunnies into bits with kitchen sheers or cut up with a knife. Return the bunny bits to the mixture. Mix well.
2. Melt 1/2 cup butter; add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour this over the dry ingredients, mixing well. Pat into a greased 9" square pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.
(Makes 9 to 12 bars.)

*Option - leave bunnies whole; combine remaining ingredients and place the bunnies on top; then bake as directed.

*This gift jar may be created to suit any holiday for which marshmallow candies are available.

The girls and I also tried them out to see what they tasted like...they are cuter than they taste (in my opinion) but they are so cute. . .

I got the idea from this blog. It is full of cool stuff.
http://creativeholidaygiftideas.blogspot.com/

Test Anxiety

Last night I dreamt that I was back back in high school, competing in the academic decathalon again. As we pulled into the competition parking lot, a lady met us and told us we had to get to our interviews "on the double". When we arrived she clucked her tongue and said, "Most people make it in 12-18 seconds, your 30 seconds is pretty weak." During the interview, the lady kept asking me crazy questions like "What did you see in Customs while you were in the airport?" and "Which of these items would be best as an engagement present?" Huh?!? Then one of our team memebers left the testing area resulting in the warning that our scores would be invalid if that happened again. The next insult came when I saw our program of study. . .among the items were pig terminology and advanced mathematics!?! The final straw was when I realized that I did not have a speech prepared. Not only that, but I knew there was no way I could get up and wing it. All the while, I'm thinking, Risa is going to kill me.

Luckily, my alarm rang right then.

My first thought was, "What in the world? Where did that come from?"

My second thought was, "Oh yeah, AIMS testing starts today!"

I guess even the teachers get nervous.

My Lucky Day

Whooohooooo!

I didn't draw out for any hunts this year! Every year, Ryan puts me in for a hunt or two in hopes that I will share his love of the sport.

It hasn't worked. . .

Bless his heart, I do try. But really, hiking around in camo just doesn't do it for me. Truth be told, I think that girls who hunt are pretty dang tough. I'd love to be one of them. But I just don't have it. I have no problem camping. Short hikes are OK. But I just don't have the attention span for hour upon hour of fruitless searching and hunting.

The whole processes of hunting and scouting and hiking and looking and walking and stalking are deeply satisfying to Ryan. Actually killing something is just icing on the cake. Me, I'm lazy. I just want to shoot something big, get my picture taken with it and head back into Arby's by lunchtime. Yeah, I kinda have a rough time with fishing too.

So, this year I have hit the jackpot. I get brownie points for letting him put me in for hunts, but "dang" I guess I just won't be able to hunt this year. "Shucks".

As a bonus, Ryan, Cade and Syd all got elk hunts. Lauren and I are just going to plan a trip to Disneyland...