Saturday, July 12, 2014

We Interrupt Packing For Ten Things Of Thankful

I'm in the midst of finishing up laundry and trying to persuade everyone to pack their suitcases TONIGHT for our vacay to the beach, because we are leaving at 6 A.M. PEOPLE, and there will be no time for it in the morning.

No one has packed a thing.

I, on the other hand, have done about a thousand loads of laundry, bought groceries for the trip, taken the cats to Camp Grandma an hour away, cleaned the downstairs in case something happens to us and my mother in law has to come inside my house while we're gone (and hoping there is no reason for her to go upstairs to the Inner Sanctum, as it is a disaster). I am now taking a breather, lying on the living room couch, having a hot flash that seems to be endless, and missing my Ruby.

1. I guess I'll start my Ten Things of Thankful with that: I'm thankful my downstairs is clean enough for a mother in law.

2. One of Ruby's favorite games is to run up the stairs ahead of me, stop on the landing 3/4 of the way up, and try to grab me from around the newel post. I was trying to capture this fun game on my camera, and I got a picture that I just adore.


Oh, Ruby....


3. My son has decided he is not going to die from his tick bite, so I was able to throw away the tick in my freezer. Hamsters remain status quo.

4. Picked a few more blueberries this week. The season will be over by the time we get back from vacation, so this was my last chance to pick them for the freezer. Once again, I talked my son into going with me, making the deal that whoever picked the least amount would buy the other person breakfast. Guess who got a free breakfast? That's right, MEEEEE! When we finished picking (and he set the time we would finish), I clearly had the most, which was confirmed when our berries were weighed when we checked out. "I don't get it," my son said, shaking his head. "You eat berries constantly as you pick, you take selfies, you text, you answer emails, you check facebook, and I just stand there and pick blueberries. And yet, you pick more than me every time." That's right, College Boy, because I'm a mom and I can multi-task. That's my superpower. 

5. I'm extremely thankful for my parents. We drive two old cars, which is not the way you should do it. You should have one newish car and one oldish car, so you always have a decent one. One has definitely been better than the other for some time, but it recently got bumped to second place by the one we think of as the bad car. Then the bad car, which had been upgraded to the good car, started acting up (as in dying while driving it, which is not a good thing at all) and got demoted again to bad car. So now, instead of one good car and one bad car, we have two bad cars. My parents stepped in and told us we could borrow one of their cars for the trip, so we now know we not only can make it to our destination, we can also return, which would have been an iffy proposition with either of our own cars.

6. Another thankful for my parents is they have opened Camp Grandma for the week so our cats have a place to stay while we're gone. The College Boy and I dropped them off there today. Fletcher and Ruby were hiding under the couch when we left, but Pete had flopped down in a chair and made himself at home. 


Unhappy campers.




Pete, making himself at home.

7. I received a gift certificate for a pedicure recently. Some of you might recall that pedicures were on my list of things I've never done, because the whole idea of it kind of weirded me out, but I decided to take a deep breath and go for it. I took my daughter with me, and we bumbled through the whole thing together. I will say that I did not know there was such a learning curve to getting a pedicure, and that I am really, really, REALLY bad at understanding anyone who speaks with an accent of any kind, particularly Vietnamese, as it turns out. I can't say I loved the pedicure, especially the part where she trimmed my nails, which, to me, was the equivalent of the dental hygienist scraping my teeth with that evil hook-thing. Nor did I care much for the scalding hot towels she wrapped around my legs. But all the massage stuff was nice. And my piggy toes look beach worthy!




8. I took both of my kids to lunch ("Welcome to Moe's!"), and my son called driver and my daughter called shotgun, and I was left to sit in the backseat. I took full advantage of my position by backseat driving the entire way FROM THE ACTUAL BACKSEAT.


Pilot and co-pilot

Backseat driiiiiving.


9. This one is hot off the press, but I had to relay this thing of thankful. My husband has gotten himself hooked on a British reality show called "Come Dine With Us" or something like that, and he had a couple of questions for Lizzi. I sent them to her via Facebook, and I just got the most delightful message back from her, done as a voice message, with her drunk as a runaway bicycle and having what sounded like a fabulous time with friends. It makes me smile ear to ear to hear that message (and all the subsequent ones)!

10. As we get ready to embark on a family vacation, I want to express how thankful I am for my little family. After almost 21 years of marriage, my husband and I still enjoy being with each other and with our funny, smart kids. We've been through some pretty crappy stuff since the very end of December, but I can now say that it's finally OVER. And we deserve to have a fantastic beach vacation. And if we don't kill each other before the week is over, I'll be back next weekend to tell you all about it.

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32 comments:

  1. Oh, enjoy your vacation! I love the photo of Ruby. Am I FRIST?

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    1. FRIST, Kristi! And thank you! As soon as we get to the beach, I plan to sit in a chair under an umbrella and read and not do much else.

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  2. I'm such a sucker for a happy ending... your last thankful choked me up...have a super fabulous time at the beach enjoy and have fun! :)

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    1. Thank you, Marisa! So glad the crappy stuff is over and life can go on. And starting that with a week at the beach seems like a great plan!

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  3. Have a great time at the beach and may the sun shine everyday for you while you're there.

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  4. Your first paragraph made me chuckle. Why vacations are so often not a vacation for Moms! The kitty pictures are adorable, both of them. Have fun at the beach! I'm sure it will all be worth it once you're there. Or when you get home and have the memories.

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    1. Sometimes, I think it's more work than it's worth to go ANYWHERE. My cats are characters, all three of them. If we don't kill each other (and it's currently not looking good for that), then it should be a fun week!

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  5. Loved your list but my favorite was the one about picking blueberries "That's right, College Boy, because I'm a mom and I can multi-task. That's my superpower." Awesome, because it's true. :)

    Hope you have a fabulous trip! :)

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  6. "...drunk as a runaway bicycle" lol… this expression (which I hadn't heard before) makes my day, very good!
    I have blog-envy for your vacation, nothing more post generating than a vacation away from home ('cept maybe major holidays)
    have fun

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    1. Her messages were hilarious! Almost makes me wish I drank, just so I could send drunk messages....
      I'll take pictures for you, so you can vacation vicariously.

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  7. SUCH a great list! And like Clark I love the bicycle comment!
    And Ruby's "HANG IN THERE" picture! Too funny.
    Nice you have Camp Grandpa for the cats, that's great.
    Your talk of blueberries inspired us, when we were in Michigan last week we found a U-Pick place and had at it! We ate our weight while there, and came away with 2 big buckets full, for $6.44! It's been blueberry muffins and pancakes ALL THE THINGS ever since! I don't think we have a single free radical in our bodies hahahaha :)

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    1. I calls 'em as I sees 'em.
      If you look closely, you can see a blur that was Ruby's head.
      I'd probably have to pay someone to come take care of the kittehs if I didn't have Camp Grandma for them.
      Wasn't picking blueberries easy and fun? Unless it's super hot, then maybe not so much. Bring on the antioxidants!

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  8. Have a wonderful time at the beach and here's to getting to do more backseat driving during the trip! LOVE the photo of kitty hugging the railing on the stairs - priceless. HEHE to Lizzi giving you drunk messages - I love when she records those little snippets for me but don't think I've ever gotten a drunk one! Must work on that.
    I hope your vacation is amazing beyond belief!

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    1. Plenty of backseat driving has been done by all, and now everyone's mad at everyone else. Good times!
      I love hearing Lizzi's voice messages, drunk or not. Her accent is darling!
      Thank you! Sun, sand, and reading material, and I'm good to go!

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  9. By now you should be on the road and the kids should be in full grouch mode if they are going to be grouchy. I pray they aren't. :) Unless of course, no one ever packed, and you are sitting in the car stewing while everyone gets their stuff together. We'll pray that didn't happen either. :)

    The photo of Ruby on the stairs is disconcerting. The explanation helped, but still...no. That's one odd cat. Hope she's good for the grandparents.

    Love, love college boy's reaction to you still having more blueberries than him, but more so that you actually DO all of those things while picking blueberries.

    Nice toes! Can't believe we both posted photos of our toes this week, though for very different reasons. I like yours better. :)

    Can't wait to hear all about the fun you have on your trip!

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    1. We have stopped for the night, a stone's throw from NASA, and I'm seriously thinking of donating my kids for space research.
      Look closely at the picture and you can see an orangey blur that is Ruby's head.
      It completely flabbergasts him that I've beaten him at picking both times.
      I haven't looked at one entry yet this week. You have a toe pic, too? Proof once again that we were separated at birth!
      I'm sure the fun part will start soon....

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  10. YAY! I'm so glad you got free breakfast. And I loved the pics of you eating blueberries. And your back-seat driver pic is precious. And I cannot BELIEVE that you grassed me up for drunk messages (wow was I ever lit up though) but DOOOOOO enjoy Come Dine With Me - it's hysterical :D

    Have a lovely, lovely time away.

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    1. Beat him by half a pound on the blueberry picking.
      I think it's kind of cute when the kids sit in the front seat together like that.
      You were totally lit, and I loved it! I'll have to watch Come Dine With Me, too.
      Thank youuuuu!

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  11. Hurray for beach vacations!
    Listen, I'm with you on #7. I'll paint my own toenails thank you very much lol. But like you, I went once to have a pedicure. Ick.
    You are a lucky woman Dyanne to have such a wonderful family unit. Be safe and enjoy the beach!!.

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    1. Hitting the beach by noon tomorrow, and I am sooooo looking forward to it!
      I can't decide if I would do the pedicure again. Not sure if the good parts outweighed the bad parts.
      Thanks, Denise! I have a pretty good life.

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  12. Enjoy your vacation. I love the photo of RUby the best ! Glad you got a reliable vehicle to use... I am thinking about an 8 or so hour trip in my current piece of poop car ( still has crank windows!)... we will see... HAVE A BLAST!

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    1. Thanks, Zoe. I love that picture, too! She's such a goofy cat! Our minivan is a notch above your crank window car, but JUST a notch. It's nice to know there are other educated adults out there who drive crappy cars. We know so many people whose cars cost almost as much as a house (well, a crappy house).

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  13. I think you and I wrote our posts in similar moments. I have now arrived and am relaxed. I hope the same is true for you. I love that you beat College Boy and his wonderment over it. So funny!

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    1. I'm so glad you have made it to your destination and are also relaxed! I'm hoping relaxation kicks in about the time I hit the sand!

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  14. AW!!! I'm so glad you are at a place now where you are okay and glad to celebrate a beautiful vacation with your family!! That pic of the kids in front and you in the back is HILARIOUS!!

    I am predicting a panic stricken family in the wee hours of the morning... packing frantically and you hopefully sitting SHOTGUN reading a book smiling...simply waiting for them to catch up.

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    1. Thanks, Chris. It was rough for awhile. Being at the beach is certainly a great way to help put any ugliness behind us! My kids think they're pretty funny when they take over the front seat.

      Everyone was ready by 6 a.m. Sunday morning, believe it or not.

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  15. Can't wait to read about your trip next week! Have a WONDERFUL time!!

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  16. Multi-tasking for the win! I hope your week at the beach is awesome. Sounds like you are a happy family and that in it's self is worth all the thankfuls!

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  17. Since I'm late, late, late with this you might not see it but I hope you are having a lovely time at the beach!! I still love little Ruby. That kitty has the greatest personality ever. And I'm not a cat person so that's saying something. I would gladly Ruby-sit!
    I love pedicures and get them as often as possible. As a matter of fact, I could use one now. Your piggies look fantastic.
    I love the response to your son when you out-picked him in the blueberry patch. Perfect! And true!

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