Slug Bug Championship

Hubby I took off Friday for a weekend trip that we have been looking forward to for a while.  Hubby wanted to visit his former student/Marine, Lnc Corporal Jonathan Stephenson at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio before we headed to the Hill Country.  This young man is AMAZING.  He is a Wounded Warrior from Afghanistan and is a Hero in my book.  He won my heart as soon as he “Ma’am”ed me, as only a soldier can do.  The rest of our weekend was spent in the Hill Country with our “forever friends” eating at some great places and laughing as only we can do. 

To start the trip Hubby and I agreed that we were going to have our own World Champion Slug Bug competition in honor of the Olympics.  Here are the highlights…

·      *After considering a tiered point system, we decided on one point per car.

·      *I got off to a roaring start being up 5-1 before we ever hit Hillsboro.

·      *Hubby tried to catch up in one sweep with a yard of about 5-7 cars, but I quickly started calling them too; we ended with a 3-2 decision in Hubby’s favor.

·      *Guess who found the VW sales lot? That’s me.  I only managed 3 before we passed it beyond what I could see.

·      *The next VW lot did not have ONE Bug in sight.

·      *The dang wall splitting the lanes on 35 is too high.  You have to sit up super straight in your seat to keep from making false calls.

·      *Speaking of false calls, I had to institute the 3 strike rule. You make 3 false calls and you lose a point on the next one.  That slowed Hubby’s finger pointing, Bug calling WAY down.

·      *Hubby says it is much easier to drive while NOT looking.

·      *Hubby says he has never driven so far without seeing a single thing in FRONT of him. (he was too busy trying to see over the wall)

·      *To maintain some semblance of fairness since I wasn’t having to drive and look at the same time, we/I suggested we call a moratorium through Austin. I did not want the zoom zoom getting bent up while Hubby was searching.

·      *He is a competitor. 

·      *Almost to the extent of crashing.

·      *Was this the smartest game to play???

·      *If you haven’t checked out the 2012 version, the one Oprah so famously gave away on her last season, it is REALLY hard to spot.  It is much more sleek in the front.  Almost Sedan looking.

·      *Back to the “moratorium”.  We used it more than once.  It took a handshake to put it in place and a fist bump to call it off.

·      *When you are as competitive as Hubby and I are, it’s hard not to call Bugs even during the break.  I couldn’t help myself.  I just casually pointed them out.  Then Hubby casually pointed some out.  We couldn’t stop ourselves.

·      *This led to “moratorium” scoring.  It started out as casual sightings.  It was meant to be non-competitive.  Hubby was supposed to be concentrating on the traffic. 

·      *That was all thrown out the window when we simultaneously yelled “gray” “silver” “slug bugggggg”.  So much for the handshake.

·      *Best “moratorium” point… Hubby pulling up to a parking space in front of a Bug and me casually calling it as we got out of the car.  Yeah, he was kicking himself.  How can you NOT see it if you park in front of it?  Giggle.

·     * By the end of our trip the final score was 23-15 in the real game and 10-4 in the “moratorium” game. 

·      Both won by me!

·      *I am the Slug Bug Champion of the Family.

·    *  We are NOT playing on the way home.

Last days of summer...

Well, I don't have an official number of days left in summer, but I do know this it is slipping away.  I go back to work on the 20th and I do know that next week sees August showing up on my calendar.  I feel pretty good about the way most of this summer has gone.  Last summer was rough.  I was in the midst of a CFS episode and had little to no energy to do anything.  I had some goals to get some projects done this summer, and for the most part, they are checked off of my list.  There is one big one left.  I have procrastinated about this for the past several summers.  I need to organize my pictures.  I have 2 hall closets stuffed with pictures and empty picture boxes that need to be introduced to each other.  I will get there.  I can sometimes feel myself falling into my dark place and I had a few moments days this week where I stayed in the dark all day long.  It was easy to do so.  Hubby was out of town and Boy was at work.  To make it easier, I didn't have a car to allow me to get out and do anything.   All of those things have been fixed now.  Hubby is home.  Boy is back in his ride.  And I can zoom zoom wherever my heart desires.  Here is a list of things that I am going to try and accomplish in these last days of summer...

*Road trip to the Hill Country.  My FF had a very important birthday earlier this summer and we are just now going to get a chance to go down and celebrate.  We are going a day early in order for Hubby to go for another visit with his former student/Marine.  This young man is recovering from serious wounds received in Afghanistan.  He is a hero.  I am honored to be able to meet him.

*Organize those pictures.  It has to be done.  Boy is a Senior this year.  (insert tears here) I will need pictures for his ad  in the yearbook and for the Senior Send Off slide show.  I can put this off no longer.

*Getting a massage.  Hubby bought me a certificate for a one hour massage for Christmas.  I kept thinking I would use it after Dad was through with his treatments.  What I have learned is our timing is not God's timing.  So....I am going to use it as a  Back to School treat in a couple of weeks.  The appointment was made this morning.

*Hurricane Harbor - I have an unprocessed Season Pass for both Hurricane/Six Flags that was bought last December.  Really?  Juju and I intended to use it on Wednesdays, her flex day, but life got in the way.   Me lounging around the Wave Pool was not in the cards this year.  Hopefully we can get there at least once in the next 3 weeks. I won't be making that purchase again this December.  With Boy working full time my built in water park buddy is usually booked.   I don't like to fight weekend crowds.

*Camp CommUNITY meeting.  We are in discussions about the idea of an Adult Camp, which would be amazing.  I am meeting in a couple of weeks to talk about what it would look like, etc... I will definitely keep you posted.  This would be an awesome opportunity.

*Dad's treatments - We start up again next Tuesday with his first intrathecal chemo.  I don't even know if I got that word right.  It's the chemo they were suppose to put in his Ommaya pump in his head.  Now it's going in his spine.  I am not happy about all of this.  Dad's body has been "beaten to a bloody pulp".  Figuratively.  Not literally.  I don't think I would have been able to process the idea of poisoning your body to make it better until watching Dad and Mom go through this.  But that is exactly what you do to try and beat cancer.  Whether it is chemo or radiation, it's nasty stuff. And it does nasty things.  We, as a family, are jumping up and down, hollering at anybody that will listen, and trying to find ways to build Pops body/strength back up.  If I am not careful, I let it drag me to a dark place.  Juju is my faith touchstone.  She keeps me positive.   I wish I could be more like her. And Mom.  People listen up.  Just let me say that Mom is an angel here on this earth.  We could never repay her or reward her for the care she has given Dad.  And all the while she is still doing all of the things that make her an awesome Mom and Grandma to her daughters and grandsons.  She is so generous.  So caring.  I thank God for her every day.  Back to treatments.  Dad is doing somewhere between 1 and 8 of them.  About every 2 weeks.  I am prayerful that we are done with chemo and in remission by November.  Which would be a fitting end since that's when this journey started last year.  Stay strong Pops!  We YOU are kicking cancer's butt! Slowly but surely!

And with that, bring on the last days of summer!

Back to school shopping

My love for shopping has never been a question.  I love a bargain.  I love shoes. I love boots.   Now take that love for fashion and it is the only one of the things that I enjoy about going back to work (of course I love my kiddos). You are never too old to enjoy  "new school clothes".  I do not have the cash flow to go out and get a new wardrobe each year so I like to pick out a few basic pieces to purchase and mix them up with things I already have.  Throw in some accessories and it's just like a new wardrobe.   To sweeten the pot, Mom gets a retired employee discount at JCP.  I love a bargain. (Mom didn't retire from JCP.  She retired from Eckerds, before she retired from Dr Ellis, and Eckerds owned/use to own JCP.  Anyway, she gets a discount and I don't argue.)

Mom and I headed to JCP and I found some skirts (shocking because skirts and dresses have not been staples in my wardrobe since 1995) that I really liked and got 3 of them.  I also found a couple of tops and brought them home and set to work with the mixing and the matching.    I am so giddy about the outcome, I decided to share with you.  Enjoy my mix-a-palooza.  (the basis of the mixing is the same skirt with two different looks.)

This is a "dressy" denim skirt $10 (don't know why it looks different colors).  I had the gold shoes, $14 Target,  on the left and they are a perfect match to my $8 sweater.  The look on the right is with a shirt, belt, shoes and necklace that I already owned.

It is hard to see the detail on this skirt.  It is high-waisted and has kick pleats in the back. $14 JCP.  The hot pink shirt was a new purchase, $10 JCP, the shoes and belt were already in my closet.  The beads on the belt are a perfect match to the pink shirt/shoes.  On the right is a black silky top with a waist band.  It has a really cool zipper detail on the back.  Necklace and shoes already in the closet.

Another $14 skirt from JCP.  It is high waisted but has a slit instead of the kick pleats.  It is a short slit, it does not go too far up.  That is the same shirt from the denim skit ensemble.  The red heels, belt and cross were already in the closet.  On the right, I used the pink shirt again and used a patent black belt.  While I slipped the pink pumps back in, I am actually going to alter this look with a new pair of black patent, peep-toe pumps that were ordered today from JCP. $14, free shipping to store.

As we go through the school year, I may make this a semi-regular feature on my blog and maybe it will inspire you to go dig into your closet and make something old seem new.  I know I was really excited about the possibilities when putting up the new clothes and looking at what already existed.  In fact, I know that you will see these skirts again because they are all lined and will be "fabulous" when I pair them with my boots!

*those prices do not reflect the 30% discount Mom shares.  I do love me a bargain!  And anything that I didn't price was on sale at JCP or Dillard's but I am not sure of the final cost.  They all had pink clearance stickers, but I usually buy clearance when it is an additional % off at the register.  Nothing was over $25. 

Now, go dig in your closets and come up with something wonderful!

It could have been worse...

It seems that Wednesday's theme was "it could have been worse"...  Here is a quick rundown of the Wednesday that I hope to never see again...

*Juju and I decided to do a movie day.  Magic Mike baby!  So excited to see some of my favorite actors, Matthew Mc and Matt Bomer (love the series White Collar).  It. Was. Awful.  I need to go back and find my fb friends that said it was good and correct them.  If you have not seen the movie.  Save your cash.  Save your movie candy calories.  Do not see the movie.  Ugh!  Even Channing's dance moves and six pack could not undo the horrible acting and barely there story line.  Major disappointment.

*Juju and I move on to shopping. Trying to shake the images of the last two hours out of our mind when I got a phone call.  It was one of those phone calls that every parent dreads, but unless you are super lucky,  it's a call that you know you will eventually get.  The "your son has been in an accident" call.  This one came from Too Tall.  He was meeting Boy to go shopping and witnessed the accident.  Everybody is ok.  Boy was alone in the car.  And I really don't give a flying flip that the flag pole he hit didn't survive.  It's flag pole family will just have to grieve in their own way.  Too Tall waited about 2 hours after impact to call me.  He knew I would flip.  I only half-flipped.  I think I handled it pretty well.   Juju and I were headed to the mall later so we decided to head on over and see what was up. (it took the cops 3 hours to get there to do a report.  Apparently there was a bank robbery down the road and they got a little busy) Boy was indeed fine.  His beautiful, shiny, always clean, just filled up with gas H3... not so much.  It's in the shop as we speak getting repaired.   If I could undo that day so Boy wouldn't be having to go through this, I would in a heartbeat.  I immediately told him the same thing my mom told me after every wreck/fender bender I have had ~ you can borrow my car to get to work.  I don't have anything I HAVE to do and he is still working full time.  It's a hard lesson that most of us have learned, but daggum it.... I wish he would have had a little more time behind the wheel before having to do so.

SIDEBAR~when trying to help Boy understand that this happens to the best of us, it brought back memories of my first accident.  Dad had bought me a beautiful, charcoal gray Thunderbird to drive.  It was only about 4 years old when I got it.  Nicer than I deserved.  Dad spoiled us.  He was so proud of that car.  I had only had it about a month.  One afternoon I went to fill up with gas.  I went to the gas station that my mom always used and got a Full Service fill up.  Yeah, they still had full service back in the day.  What I didn't realize was that full service cost more.  Ugh!  I was really bummed that the fill up took nearly all of my paycheck.  I immediately wanted a do-over.  Life lesson learned #1.  I head home and when I go to make a turn onto our block, I look across the intersection and saw RP... a guy, good looking guy, in my class.  He was headed to two-a-days and our house was right behind the school. I look over and wave while making my turn and BOOM!  I hit a car head on.  (there was a car parked on the curb that I was having to maneuver around and the car coming up to the intersection didn't see me swing wide.  This meant that I was in the wrong and got the ticket. Life lesson #2)  Back to the accident.  RP graciously stopped to check on me and went down the ONE BLOCK to my house to get my parents.  ONE BLOCK.  I was ONE BLOCK away from home.  In the meantime, every other football player was driving by on their way to two-a-days.  Totally embarrassing.  I wish there had been a rock to crawl under.  It would have been two-fold: hide from the football players who all gave a friendly wave and to hide from Dad.   I knew the disappointment I had just unleashed.  It all turned out ok.  Nobody was hurt.  Cars can be fixed.  It's ok if the football team jokes with you about your driving skills.  Life goes on.  In fact, it was because of this accident that Boy is even around.  I went to Defensive Driving to deal with the ticket.  I met Too Tall.  We married.  Had Boy.  BAM,  you never saw that coming did you?  LOL  some accidents are a good thing!  Wait, I just reread that. Boy was not an accident.  We were married 4 years before he came along. :)  SIDEBAR over.

*Juju and I finished our shopping and then headed over to Mom and Dad's.  When we get there, Mom asks Juju to help set up some new technology.  We decided that until Dad gets his strength back, we need back up.  It's one of those "help" systems that you can contact if you find yourself immobilized.  It's peace of mind, but certainly not something you "want" to have.   And on that note, Dad is getting ready to start his next round of chemotherapy.  Just waiting to hear from the clinic for a start date.

*Boy and I headed home and stopped for dinner.  I am not sure he had much of an appetite but I didn't want to end the day with a depressing ride home.  We had Chik-Fil-A and it was a really quiet meal.  He just needed to have some time to process.  While we were sitting there, he received a text from his Aunt that there was a birthday dinner at the farm the next night for his cousin.  It gave me a perfect opportunity to remind him that doing nice thing for others can help alleviate the sorrow we sometimes feel for ourselves.   We head up to Target to shop for a gift.  I call his Aunt to get sizes for clothes (it's a rare opportunity for me to shop for a little girl and I love it!) and she informed me that the family horse had passed.   Well, this Wednesday is going for the record of being the worst day ever.  After we parked, I handed the phone to Boy and I wanted to wrap him up in rainbows and cotton balls to keep him from experiencing any more pain.  We bought the gift.  I saw some hints of a smile and we finish the journey home.

Wednesday, thank you for going away.  And when you show up next week, I expect better from you!

Road tripping...the pictures

This is on top of Mt Nebo at Sunset Point... probably my favorite place on the mountain.  Even on cloudy days, you get a magnificent display  of God's artistic handiwork.  

That's Boy talking to his Great Aunt Sena Bell.  She's 92 and a firecracker.  

Technology is a great thing.  Since Mom couldn't be with us,  Juju arranged some FaceTime with Mom.  I think she really enjoyed getting to chat with everyone who stopped by the table.  It was a little emotional for all of us (be sure to check out the link to my sister's blog at the bottom of the page) but it was the next best thing to actually having her there.

Trying to imitate that "look, I am holding the sun" picture trick.  We got close.

This is Dad's pride and joy that he keeps at the farm.  We drove by to check on things and snapped some pics for him. 

There is never a lack of deer on the mountain.  Usually you can buy corn at the visitor center to put out and then watch them feed in the early morning or evening.  This time there was no corn to buy.  A BEAR had been spotted and feeding the animals was frowned upon.  We saw plenty of deer without the corn and never saw the bear. Thank goodness.

I posted this one on Facebook.  It's my fave from the trip.  It was the second evening and it had been cloudy and rainy all day but you still get that gorgeous sunset.  Life is good.

I was going to write a post about the reunion but my sister, fellow blogger, wrote one yesterday and there is no way I could improve on it.  Please humor me and click on the following link to go read about the reunion.  They are her words, but all I have to add is "Ditto!"     Reunion, Regrets and a Refund please!   

Road tripping...getting there

Last weekend we packed up the car and headed to Arkansas for our annual "Whorton Kin and Friends" reunion.  I am pretty sure I have blogged about this before but am too lazy to provide the hyperlink for you to click to see what happened last year.   Know this, Juju and I are professionals at making this trip.  We have made it at least twice a year since we were born.  We didn't get summer vacations to Disney World, the Grand Canyon, or Destin.  We got camping in Oklahoma. Arbuckle before it was Arbuckle and Broken Bow before the cabins.  We got a week, sometimes two, at Mama/Papa's and Grandmother/Granddad's house.  The latter without air conditioning. And only a tub. No shower.  And a well that you had to go pull your drinking water up from. And a garden with potatoes to be dug and purple hulled peas to be shelled.  And according to Juju, one piece of bacon at breakfast, but all the sawmill biscuits you could eat.  I wouldn't trade ONE SINGLE MINUTE of those vacations. (We had grand times at Mama/Papa's too.  That was where I learned to drive in a black Chevy truck with maroon vinyl interior while my Papa told my Dad that I threw gravel into the neighbor's pasture while taking corners.  We were allowed to fill a poke sack full of candy at the store that Papa bought for us. And maybe best of all was the chocolate gravy Mama made to go with the biscuits and homemade pickles.  Not at the same time of course.)  So maybe Juju and I never made it to Disney World or the Grand Canyon but we have memories that are oh so precious and a devotion to family that cannot be explained in mere words.  Our Momma taught us what family means with actions.    I guess some people might think it silly to make as many trips to Arkansas that I have made in my lifetime but to me it equals love.  Often times the trips are short notice.  A family member passes and we are there to show our love and respect.  Sometimes we plan our vacation around a big event such as a wedding or big anniversary celebration.  Either way, our family, immediate and extended is important and our actions have always backed that up.

All of that to say...this trip was a little different and a lot more difficult.  Mom and Dad didn't get to go with us.  It would be the first time that Juju and I have been in Arkansas without at least one of them there with us.  It wasn't easy. I didn't like it.  And I don't ever want it to happen again.  I know the reality is that it will happen again, but today, I don't have to face reality.  Well, I can share some reality of what happened on the trip and some of it might make you laugh.  I know that it provided hours of entertainment for those on the trip.  Here goes road tripping...

I have always been a little weak when it comes to riding in the back seat of cars.  I easily get car sick.  As a young un, Mom would have a paper grocery sack and a wet wash cloth handy for me.    It's been a long time since I was relegated to the back seat but with both Hubby and Boy going and both over 6 feet tall, I thought it was the generous thing to do.  So I came up with a plan.  I was going to buy some of that old fashioned stuff called Dramamine.  I went to the store and it comes in 2 doses; 25 or 50mg, both of which  have directions stating 'take 1-2 tablets' AND both packages said "New Less Drowsy Formula" which really ticked me off.  I want the drowsy.  I don't want to be all alert to feel the queasy.  What to do? What to do? Well, here is what you do.  You buy the 50mg and take 2 tablets because you want the drowsy.  Get all settled into the back seat.   Head out of the driveway on the way to meet Juju and family in Gainseville to begin the caravan to Mt Nebo.  BAM! Halfway up I35 you start slurring your words.  After meeting up with Juju and family, you put your head on the pillow and the next thing you know you are halfway to Arkansas stopping at the usual place to fill up with gas.  I seriously had a WTF  moment. How did we get from Gainseville to McAllester in what felt like 20 minutes.  Hubby and Boy were cracking up.  I had to explain to Juju that I was feeling kind of funny and not sure about making it to the potty and back on my own.  Note to self...One Dramamine will do in the future.  The second half of the trip was about the same with one exception.  Apparently I started playing Dramamine Karaoke with Hubby and Boy while they were jamming to songs on the iPod.  Rumor has it, but no video has surfaced to prove it that, that from my Dramamine induced coma, I would randomly sing out the tag line to whatever song was playing.  And if I am 100% honest here, which I always have been, I do have a slight recollection of opening my eyes to bust out "trying to catch me riding dirty" then zonking back out.  This led to my new nickname..."Drammy".  Has a nice ring to it doesn't it?  Good times, good times.

We made it to Arkansas safe and sound.  Boy drove/chauffeured us all the way there.  The only part he didn't drive was up the mountain.  We will save that for October.  He did a great job!  Or at least that is what Hubby says since I was unconscious for a majority of the trip.

I'll be back with pictures and details of the reunion.  In the mean time, go be sweet to someone in your family.  FAMILY is everything.

Catching up...summer randomness

Well, summer is somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 over.  I don't want to do the math. Ignorance is bliss.  I go back to work on August 20th.  I have only had to work 2 3/4 days this summer.  Not bad.  It's been a long time since I blogged.  As you know there has been some pretty heavy stuff going on in my life.  I have been pretty honest about that stuff but I have also been holding back.  And the only reason that I haven't put all of my feelings in my writing is out of respect for my parents.  Mom and Dad are in the trenches of this monster called CANCER and it's not fair to them for me to project my fears on them.  I love them and we are in this fight as a FAMILY and we will beat it as a family.  My sister has totally kicked my butt on the blogging front.  She is so sweet and inspirational and her faith is amazing.  I am so glad that we have her record of the journey that we have been on.   I love her.   To catch up on the rest of life I am going to use my dear friend the bullet point. Some of them will be long bullet points, but if I try to write this out long form, it will NEVER get done. 

* Family Reunion is this weekend.  BITTERSWEET!  This is the first time that we are going to Arkansas and Mom is not going.  She is staying home with Dad.  Julie and I both offered to stay back so she could visit with her sisters, but she has her reasons for not going and we respect that.  Honestly, we aren't long for the reunion.  We are staying on Mt Nebo and we are going to play and have fun with our FAMILIES.  Boy is taking off Friday and going with us.  This will be the only vacay the three of us have this summer.

* Speaking of Boy...he is a full-time employ of a the big car dealership up in Decatur.  He is loving it and loving that little thing called a paycheck even more.  He is growing up, becoming independent and very responsible.  He is my pride and joy!  My 'former student-fellow blogger-friend' has posted recently about people bragging on the behavior of her boys.  I LOVE IT!  I hope that she shares those compliments with her boys.  I have had the same thing happen with Boy over the past few months.  His teachers have bragged on him and there is nothing that brings a smile to a Mother's Heart than to hear that your efforts to raise a polite young man have paid off.  The kicker came a few days ago while I was getting a pedicure and my tech told me how much she liked Boy. What? He's only been here about 4 or 5 times.  She told me how polite he was and how he made her feel calm and peaceful.  Too sweet!  Mommas - love your kids, sprinkle them with hugs and kisses, and never forget that discipline matters.  Those tears from the consequences will end up as compliments later and are totally worth it!

* Getting older is not really fun.  I turn 42 next month.  That is an UGLY number.  I don't really mind getting older, but it doesn't come with a lot of perks.  It seems that the reality has smacked me in the face that as we get older, so do our parents and that reality is not comforting.  I have a dear friend-fellow blogger that just lost her mom to cancer.  I am sure I was not as supportive as I should have been.  I had conflicts with the visitation and funeral.  I sent a message but it is hard to find the words to comfort someone when you are in the trenches fighting the same nasty disease with your own parent.  Hopefully sometime in the future I can express my sympathy in an appropriate manner, like my Momma raised me.  I also have a friend who lives in GA who came home to be with her Mom during a surgery, spent the week here, drove home and before she even settled in was back on the road because  there were complications.  Getting older is really not fun.

* I started tanning and using my treadmill again.  I know how bad the tanning bed is but all I can say is that when I tan, I feel better about me, I have energy that I can get nowhere else.  You would think the giant hole in my Dad's head from having skin cancer removed would be a deterrent... Julie busted me at Sunday dinner and I thought a major lecture from Mom was forthcoming, but she didn't.  Her plate is full.  I'm 42. If I want to be an idiot, she's letting me.  I love my Momma. 

Hope your summer is going well.  I will be back to blogging on a more regular basis and I hope to have some great pics from the reunion/Mt Nebo.