Ms. Pac-man Goes to Wal-mart

The subdivision that we live is a relatively new one, opening I believe in '04. While we aren't a huge neighbourhood, there is still a good several open lots without anything on them. A few months or so ago, they had started doing some work on 2 of the 3 lots left on my street. Dirt was brought in and the beginnings of the beginnings were done. Time passed and nothing more had been accomplished, until this week that is. More and more work has been done on these two lots and today, the foundation and driveway of one of the houses was poured today.

Needless to say my street was bombarded with cement trucks, though much to the delight of the little critter. I wouldn't have had much of a problem with them, if we hadn't had the need to make a trip to Wal-mart this morning. Three cement trucks were blocking our usual route so we opted (like we had a choice) to head the other way when we met up with another cement truck at the OTHER end of the street..trying to back up around cars. I have no idea what he was doing, but he about ran us over. Turning the corner, up ahead was another concrete truck pulled over slightly blocking the intersection I needed to turn at. At that moment I was feeling a bit like Ms. Pac-man trying to out run the ghosts or something. Finally, the truck moved out of the way just as another one was pulling up to the corner I was turning at..on my side no less. I started to get a little peeved at that point. It had already been a week of dealing with big trucks and the fact that they seem to have little respect for the smaller cars on the road (a whole other story).

So, to make a long story short, I'm tired of seeing the construction trucks on my street and it's only just begun really.

Strange and Unusual

I, Muffy, must admit that I am fascinated by strange and unusual things. I don't know why, I just..am. So when I read this title on msnbc, I had to follow the link and take a look: "Python stalks, eats family dog in front of kids". When I clicked on the link, up popped the story and a video. Surely the family didn't tape the snake ingesting the poor dog?!

Link to the story

After reading it I was slightly disappointed (that the story wasn't as strange or as unusual as I thought it was going to be), in awe (that a 16 ft python eats what it eats - though I guess a tiny little rat wouldn't cut it for such a large snake..logical enough), yet relieved (that the parents of the children didn't video the certainly horrific [for the kids] event).

But come on folks..you see this huge snake stalking your dog for 3 days..on your property, you've got little kids, your other animals have gone missing, and you do nothing until the dang thing eats your pet..right in front of you no less?! We may not have any wild pythons where I live, but we have big cats and coyotes roaming around these here parts. If these guys get caught stalking animals on your property..or are even simply caught on your property..bye bye. I know I wouldn't mess around with a potentially dangerous animal. That to me is strange and unusual.

A Little R&R for Mama

Today is a Mama day. A day in which I get to do whatever I want without having to worry what my toddler or my husband is up to. It's so quiet here right now that I almost hate to spoil my blissful silence and make me some breakfast..a little late, but I'm lounging. It's MY day after all. Critter and Big Daddy have gone out for the morning, to where..I don't know..or care. I do know however that Big Daddy is in good hands. When they return, the little critter will nap and Big Daddy will do his own thing which means more time for me to just..be.

Things I plan to do today: do a couple of loads of laundry (not my idea of fun and relaxation, but hey they need to be done), sort through pictures, soak in my tub, read, putter around out in the garage..tidying, watch the second part of Gone With The Wind, make a list of house projects I want to do, go for a walk around my neighbourhood, and take some pictures.

Photograph Pack Rat

Tonight I've been going through all of the photographs I've taken over the years. I'm looking for pictures to put up on the walls, now that we've been here a year and I'm finally confident that we aren't moving any time soon (It's funny what 10 years of moving around a lot will do to a person's mindset). But, all that really isn't the point. I noticed something about all of the pictures I've kept..most of them aren't that good. It doesn't have anything to do with not being a master photographer or getting a studio quality, posed picture. While many are doable for a family photo album, most should be deleted. I haven't been selective at all in what I've kept. I couldn't even keep count of how many were blurry or simply..not a good shot to begin with. How sad.

While I'm not a pack rat when it comes to having all sorts of knick knacks and clutter in my house (in fact I'm quite the opposite), I seem to be a photograph pack rat..keeping almost everything that I shoot. I've been so afraid that I won't have enough shots in that particular set if I get rid of the sub par ones. Don't ask me why.

Tonight it's all about purging, being subjective, and letting go. It's quality..not quantity. Perhaps I'll share some with y'all once I have.

Busted!

New Window - $340

New Side Mirror - $227

Total of Damage Done - $2000 (Not including the damage done to your car)

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Look on husband's face when you tell him you hit his car backing out of the garage (after a fight no less) -

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

I love this time of year. The weather has moved on from the cool wintery weather and into the sunny and mild spring. It's this time of year (and the fall) that we really push the critter to get outside - hardly a difficult task. We aren't into the intolerable heat, where you don't dare play outside until 7pm when it cools down a little. Nor is it too cool or rainy this time of year either (typically speaking - I say that, but last year was one of the wettest springs on record).

O and I have been very fortunate to be able to play out of doors these last couple of weeks. Today we took advantage of the sun and went to the park. We had great fun sliding and chasing each other around. We were also very fortunate to make some new friends while we visited the park today. We met a lovely little boy who just happened to be a few months younger than O, his 10 month-old sister, and mother. They just moved to town a month and a half ago from Houston. It was wonderful to make the connection and we're looking forward to future play dates!

Mother, being the ever observant and somewhat critical woman that she is (bless her heart), made a comment while she was here that very few people in our neighbourhood are outside much. She's right and Big Daddy and I had noticed that a bit ago. I don't know if it's because of the way we were all raised, but we find it hard to believe..and well..odd. It has been gorgeous weather here with very few rainy days. I'm no sun bunny but you can't keep me indoors when the weather is nice. The same goes with my family. We loath being inside. Perhaps it has something to do with school still being in. Perhaps other families are too busy. I don't have any clue, but the only other people we see outside are our friends next door. There are lots of kids and young children in our neighbourhood - a few stay-at-home moms too, but you rarely see them outside. To be frank, I'm baffled by this sort of thing. Anyone else out there find it odd?

Feeling particularly inspired today, I think I'm going to share my gratitudes:

Spring - I love this time of year; the buds on the trees, the smell of wet dirt, all the gardening I get to do, and the great weather.

Making New Friends - Once I get over my initial shyness, I love meeting new people. It's lonely sometimes living away from family and the friends I have back in Canada.

Growing up Outside - I was inside to sleep, eat, and go to the bathroom (all if I was made to), otherwise I lived outside. I spent hours and hours and hours playing outside with the neighbourhood kids. I LIVED for those times. Even vacations when I was younger, was planned around being outdoors. We hiked, camped, canoed, fished, and swam. When we weren't goofing off outside then we were riding our bikes or playing sports like soft ball and soccer. Even in the winter we were outside. Back in the day we had fantastic snow falls which of course made for great sledding, snow ball fights, snow forts, skiing (down hill and cross country), skating. Again..you name it, we did it ALL outside.

O Having Good Days - The critter has been having some real good days here. His moods have been tolerable..pretty good even and it's made for some much more pleasant time spent together. The screaming and crying has been at a minimum and Big Daddy and I are both pumped about that.

My Grandparents - While all dead and gone now, I'm grateful for the love, nurturing, and life lessons they gave to me while they were alive. My Mama's Father and my Father's Mama, along with my two great-grandmas on my Mama's side were all that I ever really knew. They were great people and I miss them dearly. My love and support goes out to my brother-in-law, Yo, who lost his grandaddy yesterday.

Inspired

My kid is a wonderous, funny, and odd little creature.

Today he and I went to the car wash to..well, wash the car. He's been asking to do it now for a couple of days, ever since Big Daddy took him in his car to get it washed. It wasn't the first time that he's been. In fact I've taken about four or five times in the past few months, but you'd never know it from Critter's reaction.
I always do the automatic car wash when I have the critter with me. I've always felt uncomfortable with getting out of the vehicle while he is still strapped in. You just never know what could happen.

So there we are driving down the street and as we near the car wash, Critter starts getting excited and talking about going to the car wash, "Mama wash car. Wash car Mama now". I had no idea he'd be this excited about washing the car (I'm hoping that the desire will last a few years until we're able to get a couple of manual car washes out of him at least). So we pull in. I pay and pull on in. As I turn off the car, I take a look in my rear view mirror and I recognize the look on my son's face. Suddenly the machines all start and the looks grow, but he doesn't say a word. Not a peep. His eyes get all big and wide. His mouth forms a tiny circle and he begins to shake. You'd almost think that the boy was having a seizure or something, but no. Critter was sitting there..terrified! This from the boy crying out for the car wash. I'd ask if he was okay, he'd smile and then go back to making the scared expression. I tried to get him to pretend with me that we were fishes in the ocean having a bath, but I hardly got a response from him. He was too caught up in what was going on outside the car.

It was silent inside the car, if you took away the loud whirling noises of the brushes cleaning my vehicle and me periodically asking the little critter if he was okay. Not a word came from the back seat until we had pulled out of the car wash. By then, my boy had come out of his little lull and was again asking to go wash the car. I had to chuckle a bit. I was amazed that my child, though certainly affraid of the machines, loved to get the car washed regardless. I found it inspiring to be perfectly honest. I hope that the next time I am faced with one of my fears, that I will be able to handle myself as my son has, and perservere. I love it when my son teaches me something. What a great day.

What a Morning

I awoke this morning to the sound of objects bouncing of the window of my bedroom. I jumped up with a bit of a start because Big Daddy was away working this weekend and it was just critter and I all alone. I'm typically not paranoid about possible intruders, but this morning I was a little frightened. We have an alarm system that I keep armed when Big Daddy isn't home, so I figured if it was someone trying to get into the house, the alarm would scare them off quite possibly.

The sound started getting louder and louder and I realized after a couple of seconds of rubbing my eyes and really focusing, that it was hailing and the house was being bombarded with pea to ping pong sized missiles. As soon as the hail started so did the thunder and lightning! Usually that isn't a good sign here in tornado alley, but I knew that we hadn't had warm enough weather the last day or so to make the storm really threatening. So I did what any stupid person would do and grabbed my camera and headed for the front porch. In my excitement, I forgot to turn off the alarm so within a second's time the thunder, lightning, and pounding of the hail was joined by the deafening sound the house alarm going off. I was a touch embarrassed as you can hear the siren throught the neighbourhood. It's a good thing no one was home next door. I'm sure I would have woken up Superstar and his folks.
So..again like idiot, I get the alarm turned off, talk to the alarm company..reassuring them that I'm the only person dumb enough to be outside during this storm and not needing any assistance. I grab my camera once more and head for the door. I went to front porch first because it has the most coverage and it was semi dry, which means that my camera and I weren't going to get pounded by the hail. I didn't take the lightning into account and so I didn't last long out there. I'm scared of the lightning here in the mid-south. It's different then the lightning that we had in Canada. It's bigger, brighter, faster, and closer. Big Daddy says the same thing (he grew up in Ohio). So..well..I got a few pictures, but nothing that really turned out as it was only 7am and I was pretty jumpy. I know..if I were a really photographer, I would have gotten the shot. But hey! Not giving up, though I probably should have, I tried the back porch instead. The conditions weren't favourable their either, but I managed to get a couple of pictures (see above).

All this time, Critter continued to sleep. I was amazed! I wish I could have been so lucky! Thankfully the rest of the morning was a great deal less eventful and I went back to sleep myself. At least Critter picked a good morning to sleep in. Maybe I'll get lucky tomorrow as well?! Who knows.

Love Stinks

I'm a romantic. I want to be swept off my feet every now and again. I want to be surprised with flowers, cards, caring gestures that say I am cherished and appreciated. I don't want to have to remind anyone that it's Valentine's Day or Mother's Day, anniversary or birthday. I don't want to give my gift and have my partner say "Oh, I didn't think we were getting each other anything this year" with this dumb, deer in the headlights, stunned look on his face. I don't want lame presents like a crockpot, iron, kettle, or pair of tongs. So why is it that I marry a man that doesn't know the first thing about romance?

In case you didn't read between the lines or "hear" a certain bitterness in my words..Valentines Day was a bust, again. I'm not sure why I expect a better/different response from Big Daddy each year. He is the way he is or at least that's what he tells me when I ask him why he can't be just a little bit more romantic.."I was this way when you married me, you know that" (that's his response for everything). It's a response I find completely lacking in validity, but he's an old dog and I'm not about to teach him new tricks. If he hasn't learned after 11 years what it means to romance me, he's never going to learn.

But Big Daddy is a good man with plenty of fine qualities and I love the big lug. I just wish he would make an effort once in a while to make the embers burn a little brighter if you know what I mean.

There is 2 months to our 6th wedding anniversary. Anyone want to bet that it will be a similar situation then too? Oh well. I can always dream I suppose.

Desperately Seeking Sleep

Desperate sick SAHM of one precocious and energetic toddler, wife to a not so energetic and less than tidy man seeks at least 8 full hours of uninterrupted sleep. Is tired of endless nights spent waking up in a coughing fit, runny noses, and days of being congested. Takes medication and goes to bed early. Wears warm jams, keeps the room at appropriate temp, and isn't too hard on herself. Looking for at least one night of 8 full and continuous hours of sweet, blissful, heavy, uninterrupted sleep.

Finally..

Big Daddy has a "confirmed" date for his departure to China. I hesitate to even mention it really because when I do, something seems to happen and he is delayed yet again. As it stands now, he is scheduled to leave March 2nd but I'm holding my breath until he is actually on the plane.
There have been so many delays. He was originally slated to leave in July of last year, but that was an overly ambitious guess by his company. Then it was September/October..again too ambitious. Shortly after Christmas Big Daddy got the call that said it would likely be the second week in Janurary. No more then a week later it was again delayed for another week and the next day it became the end of January. The day after that..it became a "well, we don't think you should go because of Chinese New Year. It could be too dangerous. Give it a couple of weeks". I'm very grateful that they were concerned about my husband's safety, but come on people..we are trying to have a life here. Make up your dang minds already! During this lull, the Bejing area had it's worst winter storm in history! It dumped tons of snow in the region and the new office that Big Daddy's company had just built, had the roof cave in because of the weight of the snow. So that delayed things yet AGAIN. Do you see a pattern here?

So here we are. They are finally ready for Big Daddy and his co-worker; Chinese New Year is over and they should be safe; and the weather has improved from what I hear. I'm holding my breath, but today..everything is still a go. We'll see what tomorrow holds.

To Whom It May Concern..aka Nintendo Company

I'd like to take a moment and thank you for all of your help (ya right) in resolving my Nintendo Wii situation.

By the grace of God and a set of eagle eyes on Mother, I was able to obtain my very own Wii system! It is a terrific day in my house. I'm finally at peace (that is until the neighbours come over for game night)! Thanks for nothing

Sincerely,
Muffy in Texas

My Very Dearest Nintendo Company

Guess who?!

I know that y'all must be very busy people there at Nintendo headquarters. You have your little jobs to do all day long and then you spend time with your families (probably playing Wii) at night. I get that, I do! But I want a Wii too darn it! I just want to play Wii with my family and friends toooooo! Help a lady out would you please?????

What if I said my grandmother was on her death bed and all she wanted to do was play Wii (on my Wii console only), would you send me one then? What if I said I would do anything..well almost anything? Okay..so I won't do almost anything even, but what if I DID say that?

Please? Please? Please?

Your Forever Best Friend,
Muffy

All Is Not Well

I'm sick! Have I mentioned I hate being sick? Well I do, which is why I try to avoid getting sick at all costs. No luck escaping it this time.

Would someone rub my head please? I'm pitiful, I know.