Thursday, August 30, 2007

Pranksters

Now, let it be known I'm not real keen on pranks. But this prank hurt no one and took a lot of time to figure out and put together. I think it's kind of funny. The kids that did it got suspended for three days.

I don't know what I think of that, because it wasn't good spirit, yet no one was hurt. ???



Well, shoot

It's still here, gracing my driveway. The Bronco, that is. The scrap/junkyard man was supposed to tow it out yesterday. Bob called today and his wife said he was out mowing the lawn. He never returned the call.

Why, oh why, after waiting four years for my husband to part with this thing, why does the only junk man in town not come and get it?

I'm banging my head on the wall here.

In other news, I have a bad case of I-don't-wanna-start-school-itis. The books are all here, I have a general plan mapped out in my mind, but I just don't want to do school! I want to be carefree. I want to stay up late, sleep in late and not worry about school. I have the fourth-year itch, I guess. I keep reminding myself of the alternative and that psychs me up for a second, until, that is, I walk in the school room.

Bob and I talked about it tonight while he was grilling. He told me to take the first two days very easy. That I can do -- and will do.

Public school starts next Thursday. It actually "officially" starts Tuesday, but Tuesday and Wednesday are back-to-school conferences. That's one of the really great things our school district does. Kids got to see their classroom and meet the teacher before the first day of school. Moms and dads got to meet the teacher and see the classroom. We got to take in the hundreds of dollars' worth of school supplies in at conference, too. Okay, I'm kidding, but we used to spend $75-$100 including the tennis shoes that are only to be worn in the gym.

Anyway, we'll be starting up Thursday. In lite mode. I still haven't figured out how to replace the annual Hardee's biscuit and gravy run for breakfast. Thomas doesn't like Burger King's b&g. I could actually MAKE biscuits and gravy, but then I'd be starting the day with a mess that needed cleaning. I'd have to start the day cooking, which I hate. It's just so much easier to get in the car and drive through.

Maybe we'll do Subway for lunch instead.

Do we have to start school again? (Said in a BIG, whiny voice!!!)

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

This is so STUPID

What's stupid? ME.

In the late 80s, when DH and I got together and got married, he bought a used Bronco. We rode in the Bronco from the chapel to the reception. We've had that Bronco forever.

That Bronco has a history with us. The first time ever in my life that I wrote a check for a car payment was that Bronco. My beloved judge that I worked with rode in it. That Bronco broke down when Thomas and I drove to Minnesota to visit Bob. We were stuck at the Minnesota/South Dakota rest area for an hour and a half waiting for Bob to show up. I hated the thing that day.

We put a new engine in the Bronco in the late 90s. We had planned on keeping it forever. (Yeah, it screams red-neck white trash, but we loved the Bronco.)

A few years ago I bought a new car and Bob started driving the old Subaru. The Bronco got parked in the driveway and forgotten. Not long after my new car, we bought my dad's old mini-van. I never in my life thought I'd have a mini-van. Anyway, four years ago we suddenly had four cars.

I told Bob it could not be. There were only two adults and four cars. Sad as it was, we had to say goodbye to the Bronco and the Subaru.

Four years later, they're still sitting in my driveway. We have fought over this. I have cried, begged, screamed, given the silent treatment, asked nicely *several* times to no avail. I have showed Bob how much money we were wasting on insurance and licensing.

A few weeks ago Bob made a snide remark about my love of eating out and how much money that wastes. I looked him in the eye and said, "Don't you DARE talk to me about wasting money, because you throw money away every month with those cars."

I think that stung, and I know it was the catalyst. Today a man is coming to tow the Bronco away. See, it sat so long that it won't even start. Thomas burst into tears when Bob told him that today was the last day. I was thrilled.

Then I got sad. Goodbye memories, goodbye Bronco.

Bob has assured me the Subaru is next. I think it will take a few days to recover from the Bronco, though.

It's just SO STUPID that I feel melancholy about this! I've wanted my driveway free of clutter for four years, and NOW I'm sad?

At least the neighbors will be happy.

And the kicker: I called Bob and told him I was very sad today and could we please go out to dinner. Bob actually laughed at that and as warped as my request was, he agreed that we needed to get out of the house tonight.

Goodbye Bronco.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Beep, Beep, Beep

Beep=Beep=Beep

I sat straight up in bed, horrified. What was that ungodly sound? Oh, the alarm clock, something that I rarely use. It was 4:15 am.

Shut the &*(^ thing off, got up and made a pot of coffee. Went outside to check on our best view. Awoke Thomas. Three different times.

We were groggy. Our vision was blurred due to the early-morning hours. We made it, though. Each with a patio chair in our hands, we settled in on the front lawn to watch the lunar eclipse.

I really don't make it a habit to parade around in my front yard at 4:30 in the morning in my bathrobe, but that was the only place we could see the moon. We sat there for just a little more than a half hour and watched the sky.

Thomas thought it was beautiful. I was thinking that sleep is beautiful. I kept losing focus, staring at my house. It's not often I'm in the front staring at my house. If I were rich, I'd get a new light fixture and a new front door and screen door. The south window needs a new coat of paint. We desperately need new plantings in the front. Oh, yeah, we're watching the eclipse. Look how much it's moved! It's finally becoming orange.

We need a new lawn. Ours is patchy and weedy. The tree Bob planted is growing nicely and now looks like a miniature tree as opposed to a stick in the ground. I find it amazing that the lights are on in the house but I can't tell. I love my Gila window clings. Love, love, love, love, love. Guaranteed to keep Gladys Kravitz scratching her head, the blaring and glaring sun out of the house, yet still providing a nice light in the home.

Thomas grabs my attention back to the task at hand. We now have a full eclipse. We talk about the eclipse, reminisce about the time we watched the meteor shower at 3:30 am in the back yard and then Thomas finally decides he has had enough and wants to go to bed.

THANK YOU, Thomas.

He is asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow. Me? I'm up, might as well check the internet and have another cup of coffee. I figure I'm good for at least another 15 minutes.

I don't enjoy getting up in the middle of the night. When I fall asleep, I prefer to wake naturally. Oh, the things a mother does for her child. I could have been an actress, because I projected a happy and cheerful attitude this morning even though I was groggy, tired and crabby. It does make me happy making my son happy, though.

Well, it's 5:15 and time fore bed.