What a Day

If you would have told me this morning that today would have been so eventful, I wouldn't have believed it for a second.  Just a plain ol' Monday morning, struggling to get myself out of bed early, wake the kiddos for school and get to work.

It drizzled a bit last night, so the morning smelled fresh just like I like it.

Got the kids to school on time.

Made it to work early.

I work in a hardware store.  Mostly I do the Accounts Payable and price changes.  Today, after I printed my weekly statement and matched all the invoices to our PO's, I went out on the floor to get some price changes done.  Only had about 1 hour left on my shift and I was working in the Tool department.  In the next aisle, I hear a lot of shuffling around, so I climb down from my stool and turn the corner to help a customer.  What do I find?  A scruffy looking young man, in a trench coat, trying to stuff a boxed tool in his coat!  Not like a little one.  A reciprocating saw.  It is BIG and it was totally obvious what he was doing, but he dropped it out of his jacket real quick and acts like nothing.  I ask if I can help him, he asks for some random thing.  I call over my radio for some extra assistance and than as I walk away let everyone on the floor know that something not right is going down.

The guys keep an eye on him.  I go up to the registers to cover the cashier's lunch, and here he comes.  With the tool.  He would like to return it, there is a part missing.  Yeah, right, buddy.  First of all, the tape is all on the box perfectly, so you wouldn't know if it is missing or not.  And, don't you remember me?  I just saw you sticking the thing in your jacket.

Now, I am freaking out a bit, because I don't like confrontation.  At all.  I ask for the manager over my radio, which happens to be my husband.  He has another employee check the video to make sure he really didn't have it when he came in.  Duh!  In the meantime, here I am up at the registers with a weirdo.  He says he'll just leave and wants to take the tool.  Seriously?  I don't think so.  How about if you put it right up here on the counter and we will just wait for the manager?  I thought for sure he would be smart enough to leave the store before a manager came up front, but no.  So, finally, after what seemed like 14 years at least, here comes my husband and tells him.  "You didn't walk in with that tool, so I think it is time you leave the store."  He just stands there.  You never know what someone is going to do.  My husband says, "You can either leave the store now or I can call the police."  Well, that lit a fire under his hiney and he left, while Andy tells him, "And I think you better not come in this store again!"  One theft averted!

That. Was. Not. Fun.  I do not want to have to do that again.  I think it took a good 15 minutes for my heart to quit beating like hummingbird wings in my chest.  Didn't like that either.

Only had to work for a half an hour more, and home I went.  Got home and ate some lunch, let the dogs out, and Bronco is going mad.  He wants in the pool area.  So, whatever, go ahead. He makes a beeline for the garden, where I see this cute little bird.  He is lucky he made it over the fence with just some extra slobber on his wings!  That wasn't even enough to keep him away.  He came back.  Crazy bird!

Sherbert, that's what the girls and I named him, sure doesn't look like any kind of wild bird we have had in our yard before.  So, I start wondering if he is a pet.  We walked down the street asking our neighbors if they were missing a bird.  Plenty of weird looks we got, by the way.  But no, nobody was missing a bird.  He is still in our yard.  He looks cold, it is raining outside.

And, now as I sit here, a stray cat is in my yard and the dog is about bonkers.  He wants that cat!

When did I leave my normal life and enter the Animal Kingdom?

Please, Tuesday, be uneventful!

Update.... 5:50 p.m.  My neighbor came back tonight.  She thought originally that the bird was a wild one.  So, when she told me, I wasn't too worried.  She came back and said.  Do you still have the bird, it is a ....... I can't remember what she said.  But it isn't a wild bird.  So, we go to my backyard.  There he is laying on the ground.  Oh no, we think he is dead.  She picks him up and he isn't moving.  But then.... he starts moving his beak and head!  It is a REALLY, REALLY cold day.  Maybe just the warmth from her hand is warming him up.  She rushed home.  I'll keep you updated!

Cupcake Disaster

Abby wanted to make cupcakes today.  She has brand new pans from Grandma that have two different parts.  A bottom part with a little pocket to put cream and then a top part to make it look like a cupcake.

Bottom cup

Top of the cupcake

Instead, I ended we ended up with a cupcake disaster.

Yessss.  I greased the pan.
Yessss.  I floured the pan.
I don't know why they broke all apart.  Although I think it is because the finished cake was really airy and fluffy and not very sturdy cupcakes.  Abby was not happy, but I convinced her we could fix it.

Dessert Genius

Layers of messed up cupcake and creamy filling.  I think it will be delish.

I think that this has been a bad month for cakes.  Read here for another story about another Abbey and her cake disaster!

Oh dear!

Really, that is all I can say about the newest developments.

It wasn't really that long ago that shopping had no meaning to Amy whatsoever.  Even just six months ago shopping was less than appealing to her.  But now, she is all about the shopping.  Today we made an excursion to the mall with her friend Kerrie.  She had money just burnin' a whole in her pocket!

It at least is her money.  I recently started paying my kids an allowance.  Amy is 12, a lot of her friends have been getting an allowance for a long time.  Some of her friends get paid big money just to get good grades.  I have always held the belief that chores are something that you are responsible for simply because you are part of the family.  (Mamma ain't gettin' paid to do the dishes!)  And, if I paid my kids for their good grades, they would send me to the poor house!

So, what I started doing is paying them each $5 a week.  I know, not a lot.  I made $3 a week nearly 30 years ago.  Apparently, I haven't figured any inflation into the picture.  Poor kids!  (Ha, see what I did!)  But this was a test to see how they would do managing their money.  I pay them every two weeks.  And because they have their own money that also means that they are responsible for extra things during the week.  Jamba Juice after school, gum at the grocery store, toys they want other than at Christmas and their birthdays, and clothes that they don't NEED.

It has only been a few weeks.  Abby has just about all of her money, and Amy has spent just about all of hers.  Could be an indication of their spending habits, their sense of how much they really NEED something.  And then, I think, it could be the age difference. Amy is 12 and Abby is 9.  Maybe it is just a pre-teen thing.  Time will tell.

Anyway, leads us to where I was today.  Following 2 girls around the mall.  Did I mention 2 giggling girls?  Girls that spritzed themselves with every perfume or smelly body mist, which led to sneezing and itchy throat all the way home.  Somewhat a right of passage for any pre-teen girl.  I just can't believe it happened so soon.  Where did all that time go?

Random Thought Thursday

1.  If you live somewhere in the Valley of the Sun, did you see the moon this morning?  Wasn't it amazing? The sky in the East was orange.  The sky in the West was purple and blue and the moon was ginormous in the sky.  Of course I didn't have my camera, I even looked at it this morning and thought, I should take my camera today, but I passed it up.  But you know, I would have taken a picture and it would not have compared to what I witnessed in the morning light.


2.  Received a notice from my HOA yesterday that my neighbors called to complain about my dogs barking.  Well, let's just say I was less than happy.  I know my dogs bark, that is why they are locked inside all day long until I come home.  All day every day, except one day last week, I came home and let them out to stay outside for 1 hour while I took my kids to get a haircut.  One hour that my dogs may have barked, but certainly not the entire hour.  AND, for that matter the notice said excessive barking.  Is one hour, on one day, over the course of an entire year, excessive?  And, not only that, I have a neighbor that acts like a 6 year old on the playground tattling to his teacher instead of coming to me like an adult and saying, "Hey, I don't know if you know or not, but your dogs were causing quite a lot of noise while you were gone today."  Remember what I said about decency last week.  Just another example of no decency in people anymore.  This happened yesterday and I am still fuming mad!!!


3.  Time to start getting your little seeds planted for Spring and early Summer Veggies.  Today I started 2 kinds of tomatoes, jalapenos and zucchini.  


4.  My husband doesn't read my blog.  He didn't even know I had one.  Doesn't bother me.  In fact I probably prefer total strangers reading my blog instead of knowing people I know might read my thoughts.  He asked why I even wrote one.  It is kind of silly, but it is therapeutic in a way.  I have a tendency to look at the negative in things, but when I write a blog post, I make sure that it is positive and so I have to find the positive in just about everything.  Well, unless I am talking about #2.


5.  I think it is very important for everyone to show gratitude in their life.  And by that I mean actually telling people you are grateful to them and why.  It doesn't even have to be for something specific.  Maybe you are just grateful for a person because they make you feel good about yourself or smile when you think about them.  Tell someone everyday "Thanks"  even if just for a tiny thing.  The more you tell people about your gratitude, the more things you find you are truly grateful for.  (Too many grateful words in that thought! Note to self, find a new word for grateful.)


6.  I said so on Facebook.  I love leftovers.  Like fast food without the drive-thru and all the fat, I said.  So, tonight is night #3 this week of leftovers.  They sure do make life easier!


7.  How many times do you go to the grocery store in a week?  I have been planning my meals and shopping so well that I have not been to the grocery store since last Thursday.  A whole week.  I have to do my shopping tomorrow.  I hope I can stretch out my next shopping day for 10 days.  I'll let you know how I do.

Pimples and Yogurt

You may think that this post is a two parter.  One part about pimples (gross) and one part about yogurt.  But no, it is one in the same.  Because....

I finally found a natural cure for you know whats.  Well, at least kind of.  I found it somewhere on the internet, I don't remember where.  But, the article suggested using plain yogurt at night after washing your face.  You don't need a lot, just about a pea size dollop on your fingers.  Rub it all over your face until it is all soaked in and leave it on overnight.  It worked.  It may not be miracle cure, but the redness went away and no new ones showed up in the morning.  My skin wasn't dry and scaly like it is after using medicated acne medications.  In fact my skin was super soft and silky.

The catch, you have to use it every night, or more pop up the next morning.  For me, anyway.  Oh, and the smell of plain yogurt kinda reminds me of baby throw up.  But you get used to it!  The best part for me is that it is a simple, CHEAP and a non-chemical alternative to all those costly creams and gels that may work for a while, but not forever.

Bronco ! Bronco

He's not a guppy
not a puppy
He's a Bronco
dooda dooda

He's not very bright
he doesn't always get the answers right
He's not a guppy
not a puppy
He's a Bronco
dooda dooda

This is the song that Abby wrote about our dog Bronco today.  Love it!!  She had him sign the paper when she was done with his slobber!

Random Thought Tuesday

No real topic today, but some random thoughts


1.  What is happening with people.  I live in Arizona, and the recent events in Tucson have me just plain angry.  Violence isn't anything new. Oldest thing in the book. And you know what, we are all responsible because nobody ever does anything about it. And the people that are supposed to be leaders; politicians, athletes, business people, everyone has lost good old common decency.  That is what it amounts to.  Just be decent to each other.  The great thing about being an American is that we have freedoms to live how we desire, believe in the God that we choose, vote for the leaders we want, so many things we take for granted.  And the simplest thing, being decent to each other, we are incapable of.  I don't get it.  Just be nice.  You know, you don't have to like what I believe, you don't even have to like me, not even a little bit.  But violence, what does that really prove?  What does it solve?  I could go on and on, and it wouldn't even matter.  When are we going to stop accepting this behavior from people?  When will it stop?  Uggggghhh!


2.  No braces yet for Amy.  A few more months, thank goodness.  Soon enough, my little pretty, soon enough!


3.  Cold.  It is just cold.  And I am tired of it.  I know I will regret these words in July when it is like 1000 degrees, but just a tiny bit of warmth would be greatly appreciated.


4.  I don't really know where these 5 pounds came from.  A friend of mine recently lost 9, and I apparently found some of them.  Let's be clear, I am not REALLY worried about a couple pounds, accept that these really worry me.  I am working out, eating healthy like always, even drove past a certain Fast Food Restaurant and denied myself a favorite burger in exchange for a salad made at home.  I only allow myself one Dr. Pepper a week.  So, why all of a sudden are these extra LB's showing up?


5.  Motivation.  Having a really hard time finding any recently.  I have a TON of projects lined up ready to be done with, except I can't even get started.  My office/workout room/junk room is a mess but I hardly have the patience to clean it.  My dining room table and chairs is just waiting for a fresh coat of paint, but I just can't get myself sanding and painting.  So many projects, so not enough time.


6.  Making Amy try out for the Honor Band at school at the recommendation of her Band Director.  She is not happy about it, but that is just too bad.  I told her, opportunity  doesn't always present itself so you have to take advantage of every opportunity you are given. You never know what other doors will be open if you just open this one first.  


7.  Really wish I had some homemade potato soup for dinner.  Maybe tomorrow night.


Happy Tuesday!  

Writer's Block

I have been thinking and thinking and thinking some more about what I am going to write about.  Still thinking, and I got nothing, so I will share some photos and little thoughts from the last couple weeks...

I think I may have a small problem.  Discovered the Mesa Home Fabric Store.  Addicted to buying cheap fabric, and by cheap I mean 50 cents a yard.  WHAAAAT!  Seriously!  Okay, I should clarify, it isn't all that cheap, but sometimes you get super lucky.  Even regular priced it is a STEAL!

I love sharing new experiences with my family.  I always want them to feel like they can do anything.

Abby is such a strong little girl.  She doesn't see it or even feel it, but she uses every ounce of herself to always be strong, do the right things and show the world the best that she is.

Amy is a fierce competitor.  It just is who she is.   She is always doing her best, because she wants to be the best.  Her quest to be the best is what drives her in school and athletics.

This is just pretty!

Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindnesses and small obligations, given habitually, are what win and preserve the heart, and secure comfort.

Sir Humphry Davy