The Joy of Dead Batteries

This morning I was awoken by my wonderful husband, Todd. Though I was happy to hear his voice his reason for calling soon darkened my mood. It seemed that it the midst of quickly exiting his car last night, I failed to turn off the car completely AND withdraw my keys from the ignition. In my defense- I had just returned from taking Caleb's friend to his dad, filled up the gas tank for Todd and made a quick stop into Rite aid to get some last minute drinks for our friends who were on their way over.

All excuses aside, Todd had gotten into his car at 5:00 am and upon discovering that his car was dead, he left me a note and took off to work in my car instead.

If I had only planned to stay around the house today, it would have been okay. Unfortunately, I had made plans to meet a friend from high school and her four kids at Stony Creek Park. So, I did what any woman would do, I called my dad.

My awesome Dad, who was thankfully home, came over within 30 minutes and not only brought a battery charger, but he cleaned off the battery, stuck around and watched the news with me while we waited and then stayed for a few minutes after we got the car started to make sure it stayed running.

I was only about 20 minutes late for our park "date" and in the end, my friend still arrived after us. I did have to pay to enter the park because Todd does not have a metro park pass, but I figure the four dollars I had to pay was worth being able to spend a nice afternoon catching up with an old friend and allowing our children to make new friends as well.

How to deal with Phone Solicitors

At work, one of my jobs is to field calls for my father in law. We have this "code" that indicates when a phone solicitor is calling. You see, my father in law does not go by his first name. Instead, he uses his middle name. So, when ever someone asks for "Harold", I automatically tell them no one is there by that name, or that he is not available and ask them if they'd like to leave a message. Yesterday, however, the conversation went a little funny. Here's what happened...

"Banner Broach, this is Kim speaking. How may I help you?"

"Yes, is Harold there please?"

"There is no one here by that name. (pause) Would you like to leave a message?"

(LONG pause)

"Uh, no..thanks." (phone disconnects)

I immediately realized what I had said to her and burst out in uncontrollable laughter! My brother in law was in the other office and at first I thought maybe he did not hear what I had said but then he came out and said "OH MY GOSH! That was the best line ever! I have to remember that next time!"

I wish it had been on purpose, but still it was most certainly a good way to stump anyone calling just to "bug" my father in law!

Salon Woes

I do not like to spend a lot on my hair. Only until about two years ago did I even start doing more to it than washing and letting it air dry. The last hair cut I had was on my birthday (January) and I went to my favorite salon called Total Salon and Spa. I spent over $50 dollars and walked out feeling amazing. It was my birthday present to myself.

It had been eight months since that glorious day and I had not had a hair cut since. I am cheap so I will wait 6 to 8 months just so that I can justify spending a chunk of money on a great hair cut. Last week, I found a coupon for a different salon right around the corner and I thought "BONUS! I can get a great cut and save $$$".

Well, it didn't quite work out that way.

I told the hair stylist I needed an inch or so off the bottom and that I wanted to keep my layers. I also told her I blow dry it straight often to get out the waves. She proceeded to cut my hair almost to my shoulders (which once reached the middle of my back), then decided that my hair was much nicer wavy and began putting mouse in my hair and scrunching it. THEN, she took a comb and RATTED my roots, pulled out a blow dryer and dried it while continuing to scrunch. For the finale', she took a round brush and "straightened" the front of my hair. Then came the hairspray.

By the time she was done, my daughter, Hannah could not even look straight at me. When I paid the cashier, she asked if I "liked it". Being the ridiculously polite person that I am, I said something like, "well, it will be nice to have a fresh hair cut."

As soon as we got around the corner of the salon, I pulled over in the car and searched frantically for a rubber band, clip ANYTHING! I had to walk around Meijer in that haircut and I did not feel like looking like someone from a heavy metal band. Of course, I had nothing, so I tried to smooth it out as much as possible and as soon as we got home, I headed straight for the sink.

Needless to say, once I was able to wash it out and style it, my hair looked fine. I have certainly learned that its always better to be safe and spend a little more.

Oh well, lesson learned.

A Day at Greenfield Village

Recently, our friends, Adam and Kristen passed along tickets to Greenfield Village they had not been able to use. We have not been there as a family since we took Caleb to see Thomas the Tank Engine when he was only 3 or 4. The day was perfect, despite a few down pours here and there. Fortunately, one of them occurred while we were in the school house for a "lesson". I love visiting the historical homes and seeing how simply people used to live. I honestly, would love to live without the distractions we are surrounded by now. The thing I enjoyed the most was watching our kids learn so much about history. There is so much more to learn when you can touch and experience the life of those that came before us. Hannah decided that she would love to work there someday. It was most certainly a day to treasure!

The Fruits of my Labor

I have always wanted a garden and this year, with the help of my friend, Mary, my dream finally came true. She brought over her handy rototiller and within 15 minutes I had freshly turned soil. She also gave me several tomato plants, a squash plant and four green pepper plants. I went to a local farmer up the road and purchased strawberry, green bean and sugar snap pea plants and happily got to work planting. It seems like the wait has been forever but we are beginning to enjoy the veggies and fruit more and more. The strawberries are usually claimed by some sort of insect before we can eat them, but we have had several handfuls of green beans, a green pepper (that our 4 yr old neighbor was given), a handful of pea pods and even our first cucumber. The tomatoes and squash are still green but we will have a bounty full when they finish ripening.

Here are the things I have learned with my rookie gardening experience:

- Never plant a squash plant in a small area. It will take over EVERYTHING!

- Keep the weed barrier far away from the strawberries so they can naturally spread.

- Daily watering is an essential to lots of produce.

- The fruits and vegetables always taste much better right off the plant. Warm strawberries especially!