I am WOMAN, hear me Roar!

My morning started with my husband coming in the bedroom and saying that his car wouldn't start. The battery cables have been corroded for months...he cleans them frequently...they corrode again.


It's supposed to be in the 90's today with an Ozone Warning. It's going on 9:00 and already 84 outside. Time to get moving!





I do a bit of internet research and find that most people think that a corroded battery cable means the battery is bad. This is not true. After some google work and finding real Mechanic sites, (insert Tim Taylor howl here), I find the facts.

Here is what it looked like, via google images...

My fact finding mission taught me that the corrosion comes from the cables. They needed replaced. Further research lead me to the fact that it will cost between $79 and $139 to have this done by a mechanic. They also would replace the battery. Which isn't necessary, but I am a female, so they would know better. ;)

I decided to check out some DIY sites. LO AND BEHOLD, you can find out how to do it. I begin to gather my tools. We don't have what I need. My sister does though, so does my mom. I decide to borrow theirs. Hi ho, hi ho..cable changing I go.

It wasn't terribly difficult. I have to admit that I went and got a chair. Bending over that short car is back breaking. I managed to remove the cables and take out the battery to avoid curling my hair. Then I start on the wires. Snip snip. Ok. Off to Auto Zone. Shameless plug but since dad works there, I get a nice discount!

I took the cable connectors and the battery, just in case. They test batteries for FREE! The battery is fine...I knew that, remember? They also clean the top posts of the battery for you. Less crud for me, yay!

I leave having spent $7 on electrical tape and top-mount cable connectors. I return home, clip the wires, insert them, tape them, put the battery back, connect the wires, and have a diet coke with mom.

Now for the test. I am completely confident in my work. I get in, and start it right up! What joy! What elation! What savings! It's 11:00 and all's well!

My first stop is AutoZone to show the grease monkeys what a wonderful job I did. Ok, so I had them look it over for major errors, too. They said "Ya done good!" hehe

I proudly text my husband telling him to meet me outside his office with my minivan keys. When I pull up, there is my love. I pop the hood, he giggles. I made him see my handy work. I think he was genuinely impressed....I know I was!

What a great day! I'm CHARGED!

Spectrums of Light and Life

In the last few days I have witnessed some new perspectives on life.

I have learned that the hourly break at the public swimming pool means so many different things, depending on your age. For those between age 6 and 17, it means you are starving and must consume as many snacks as fifteen minutes will allow. If you are under six, it means go find your super cool Aunt Kristi and have her tread water for fifteen minutes so you can go off the diving board. :) If you are a daycare member you need to spend this time reapplying your sunscreen. Lifeguards get to go in the shaded building. Some parents, that spend way too much time laying in the sun, get to swim without being splashed.



Tonight, I went with Eric to the nursing home. I do this a few times a month and take notes for him as he rounds on his patients. Let me tell you, like in Forest Gump, the minute you walk into a nursing home, it's like a box of chocolates, you NEVER know what you are gonna get.

It makes me laugh to say that. The first thing that came to mind is those chocolate laxatives!

Anyway, I love to visit with most of the residents. One particular patient that isn't... let's just say as sharp as she used to be, was in a very good mood tonight. She was talking up a storm about this and that, randomly making sense and not. She asked my husband how old he was. Now, think about being in your 80's or more and finding out your doctor is 37. It took her aback. Then she regrouped and said "you must have a family, a wife?". He said yes. He better have, I was standing right there. Then she said "are you happy"? Again, I'm standing RIGHT THERE! He said "yes". I said "I'm his wife". He moved on to her neighbor that was beckoning for him. I stood there for a second. She pointed to her photos on the wall. She said "the woman in red is my mother"...it was an OLD picture, obviously. She said she didn't have a picture of her husband up there because he drove her nuts her entire life. Continuing on, she said, "but oh, how I miss my mother, I can't wait to see her again". Now, I happen to know this woman's family. I know that her and her husband were married, til death did they part. I can't help but wonder even without all of her mental facilities, was she always closer to her mother than her spouse? Is this just a return to childlike behavior? Did she even know what she was saying to me? I won't ever know the answers. It sure does make one wonder what goes on in an aged brain. I'm sure that in many opinions this was the babbling of an old woman. I wonder just what her message was.

Father's Day

In a short post, I would like to say Happy Father's Day! My own husband is a wonderful father, I am so blessed!
There are many ways to describe a father. There are the obvious ones: biological, adoptive, step, and grand. (We'll keep it positive and leave out deadbeat.) Then there are those men in our lives that somehow make an impact: teachers, law enforcement/DARE, coaches, pastors, leaders, guides, and mentors. There are historical "Founding Fathers" that have gone before us. There is my favorite, The Heavenly Father.
I found a quote that makes many men that aren't necessarily biological dads come into the fold.

He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland

To all the men that have made a difference in a child's life. My hat is off to you! I thank you for your contribution to society.

A Bum Knee, Sunburnt Armpit, And a Zit The SIZE of Texas

I never know how to start this. Hi, howdy, hello again? I will just write.
My day started off normal, HA. That means, I woke up with plans and tried to initiate them. Life's what you make it, right? No, Hannah Montana, life is what everyone else throws in...and how you deal with it.

The day started with going to check out a new store in our small town. A ladies boutique. We need it, we need anything. I took mom and my girls. The stock is great if you are a size 2 or 4 and like sparkly things and plaids. I didn't last long there but mom has hopes of finding a
Mother of the Bride dress through this lady. We will see. The wedding is in November, by the way, and I am a bridesmaid. *gasp

When we left there, I was famished. No breakfast and looking at those sizes really made me want fast food. BK here we come. Now, maybe it's me, I'm not sure. I have never been a snobby sort, but seeing really dirty kids without shoes while I try to order my ginormous chicken sandwich is somewhat distracting. Why don't people wash their children? Why do I let my children play in similar places with these kids? Oh well....mine looked cleaner today.

Next stop, the nursing home. My oldest daughter, Ali, volunteers there. Today was the day she was to help take residents to garage sales. She was really excited. She had to be there by noon. They left at 10. Nice. Kids that are serious enough to volunteer, taking time out of their summer, to spend at a nursing home don't really cope well with being left behind. A phone call would have been simple, right?

SUPERMOM will fix it, we will go to the pool. Which is my way of saying, 'screw the housework, it's a nice day to do nothing!' Grandpa wants to join us. He looks like a lobster. Seriously, he takes off his shirt and people burst out in laughter. He got a major sunburn yesterday, except that one spot where he must have wiped Abby's sunscreen off on his shoulder. HILARIOUS! Ok, it's not funny anymore. I have a sunburn in my armpit. Well, that little part of tender skin that is not quite under your arm, but not exactly your shoulder. Yeah, that bites. I think it's from my "relaxing with a good book". It is really going to hurt later.

I get home for my next adventure, my husband, the World of Warcrafter, has a non-working computer. WOW is a long blog for another day. The issue at hand is to fix this sucker fast. It's Father's Day Weekend and he looks like someone kicked his puppy. I was planning on getting him a new hammock. I guess he got a new power supply. It could have been worse, the hard drive survived. If that just sounded like I know what I am talking about, that is really funny. The guy at the computer repair place was very unnerved by me. It was mutual. His name is Patrick. Not to be confused with anything less formal. He kept clicking his tongue and saying "um huh, hum, uh hum". If you have ever seen Big Bang Theory, I was the girl...he was Sheldon.

Tonight brought an outing with Alison and her friend. The orthodontist that Ali goes to has parties and FREE outings. That is why braces are like $5000, right? Free outings? Anyway, we go to Ohio for miniature golf and prizes on a 95 degree day. It was fun, just us girls. We danced and sang on our way. Why does it embarrass our kids that we can actually be fun?

On my way home, I get a text from a friend who is newly in love. This is a wonderful thing. It makes me truly happy for her. However, the text made me nearly drive off the road. It said "I have a ZIT on my nose the size of Texas!" I am trying to think of an appropriate response but the best I have whilst driving a tad fast on a country road is ROFL. Lame, but honest. She was a bit offended so I had my daughter text for me ( I was DRIVING), "I have a sunburned armpit, wanna trade?" I think that made her re prioritize. She didn't seem to be interested in my ailment and I also shared that I still get zits in my mid 30's. See, perspective is everything.

I get home and find on facebook that one of my new, very dear friends is hurt. She has a bum knee. She's over an hour away and I can't help. I HATE that! I am trying to advise her the best I can to help it feel better. Ice and heat. She said she has neither. Now, I'm not always "girl scout prepared", but no ice? This really confuses me. She said that she put the water in the tray and it has somehow evaporated. There is no ice. She does have frozen veggies. I told her that is really an ice pack. Who wants to eat frozen veggies anyway?

Life is great! Friends are so much fun!

Seven Year old STRESS ;)

I know this is complete reverse order but I am going to talk about my youngest first. Abigail is her name, Abby is better, she says "it's shorter to write".
As we sit here this morning, just the two of us, she's telling me her life "stresses". The older two are upstairs obsessing over the new kitten. She is playing on the computer with the volume all the way up and telling me about her day to come. She feels as though it will be her job to entertain Grandpa today by accompanying him to the pool. He is off work and has already told her that he will be taking her. She will oblige him, she feels "she has no other option". I find this HILARIOUS! She is telling me that she is "stressed". It's hard work to take Grandpa, he swims a lot, and he's not very good at putting on her sunscreen. Therefore, her arms are still sore from yesterday.
Abby is a bonus. She is God's gift to us. She was not planned, nor prevented, she just happened to our lives. Believe me, God knew that we needed her in our life.
She is bright and sunny, spicy and moody. She drives her siblings nuts and keeps me sane. She is intelligent, but a sleeper. She cannot go to bed at night without telling her daddy and I to "sleep well, I love you". This is her routine. If she forgets, she can't sleep and will cry to come back and say it.
She is an amazing test taker but doesn't really care much for mundane learning..."Just tell me what I need to know".
She will be entering 3rd grade in the fall...I already pray for her teacher.

So Soon?

OK, so I am back already. I just realized that I missed a 4H meeting tonight for my kids. Why would I have missed it? Could it be because I have not been wearing my watch for the last 3 days? It bugs me when we go to the pool. Maybe it's because I had a house full of family. We decided to get Taco Bell and hangout while Jared (sister's hubby to be) fixed the mower. Quite possibly it was the fact that daddy brought home the new kitty. When I woke up this morning my plan was that it was going to rain all day, so I was going to relax. This evening my plan (prior to finding out about 4H) was to take the kids to see a play. The sun came out. I ended up mowing the yard, having an evening with family and a new pet. I washed the sheets for my bed to soothe my sunburn only to find them in the washer when I wanted to go to bed.
I just took a brilliant quiz on facebook that says I am only "3% stressed". That's interesting. Either I don't care enough about things or my most brilliant deduction is that some 15 year old wrote that quiz.
Life is fun! Have some!

Starting Out

Obviously, from the title, I am new to this. I have so much to say it's a fabulous idea. I figure this way, if you care, you can read it....if you don't care, don't. That's simple enough.

First off, I don't claim to be a grammar queen. I am sure that will make my English teacher friends shudder. They can critique me, it's fine. I love reading blogs. I find humor in knowing that life is what we make it. It's our own passions and character combined with the ingredients that other people throw in. Boy, do I have my share of people throwing stuff in.

First off, I am a wife. I have been married since 1993 to the love of my life. He's crazy about me...no, I make him crazy...no, well ask him. He is a Family Doctor and we live in a small town. That is an entire blog subject in and of itself. We have a son circa. 1996, and two daughters that came in 1998 and 2001. Again, more to blog about there! I am a daughter to great parents that live across the street and a Daughter-in-law to parents that live across the country. I'm thinking I'm going to be typing a lot. Hehe.

I am the second of four children. Boy, girl, boy, girl....all with the same first initial....lame. I am close to my sister and her son and soon to be new husband. We live in the same town/bubble. I love my life. I wouldn't change much...I don't have to. If I wait about 10 minutes, someone changes it for me.

To add just a little more intro, I am substitute teacher. This is a gift I have been given. I truly feel that this fulfills me. I stumbled into it this past school year and can't believe I have missed it for so long. I enjoy being with special needs kids of all degree/label/ability. I also oddly enjoy middle schoolers....yes, I am crazy.

I have a house FULL of pets. I am NOT an animal lover. I am simply a wife and mom that is vastly outnumbered by animal lovers. As of today, we have Winnie, Ernie, and Angel....the Norwegian Elkhounds. We have Cosmo, our Yorkie. We have Spooky, the black cat with extra toes. Buckeye is also a cat that has long gray and represents my husbands Alma mater OSU! We have a house rabbit named Thumper and as of TODAY we have a as-yet-unnamed orphan kitten that is cream with long hair. Again, plenty to write about later.

I have a multitude of friends. One of which really encouraged this writing after stating that I am great "birth control". Exactly how to charge her for this service is up for suggestion. After all, a little summer spending money would be nice, right?

How is that for starters? I think this could go on forever.....