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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Not crazy. Just scared of pointing out other people's mistakes.

Recently, I ordered Dan two pairs of shoes for work from Kohls.com.  The shoes arrived and one pair fit perfectly and the other was too big. 

Tuesday evening I glanced at my calendar and decided that Wednesday would be the perfect day to return them.  There was nothing going on and the kids would be out of school for teacher development days on Thursday and Friday, and the kids loathe shopping if it doesn't involve toys or games for them, so off I went.

As soon as I arrived at Kohls, I headed straight for the the men's shoe department. I held my breath as I searched for the same style in the smaller size.

It was my lucky day! I found two pairs in the style and size I was looking for!  I opened the first box and examined the shoes. I was saddened to see that there was a very large imperfection in the toe of the left shoe.  I put that pair back on the shelf, held my breath, and opened the next box.

They looked perfect! I headed to the returns counter ready to make my exchange.

An woman in her 60s was working at the customer service counter.  I handed her the shoes I wanted to return and the new pair. 

She opened the box and inspected the old pair to confirm the sizes and put them on the counter behind her.  Then she opened the new pair and lifted up the flap that covers the top of the foot to locate the shoe size on the inside of the shoe.

As she did this my eyes widened in horror!

Have you ever noticed how older ladies sometimes have really thick hard nails, and when they do they file them into points as if they couldn't quite achieve the lovely oval shape I assume they were probably going for? Well, they do, and hers were like this.

She placed her thumb inside the upper part of the shoe and placed the remaining four fingers on the top of the shoe to turn the shoe material so that she could find the size. 

When she did this she made four pointy-nail marks in the lovely perfect shoes. 

My heart started pounding as I stopped myself from screaming look what you did !

Before I could even figure out what to do, she grabbed the other shoe and did the exact same thing.

I can't take these shoes home, I thought. They are ruined.

But instead of acting like the mature 43-year-old that I pretend to be and telling her that she just ruined the shoes, I stood there wide-eyed with a dazed expression on my face and let her finish the transaction.  She put the shoes in a bag, handed me my new receipt and my ruined shoes and said, "Have a great day!"

In a daze, with my heart still pounding, I carried the bag into the restroom and thought that perhaps since the marks went into the shoes so easily, maybe the would rub out just as easily.

Wrong!  Those pointy nails had permanently marked up those shoes and I just stood there and watched and then returned her "Have a great day!" with a "You too!" and a dopey smile.

I came out of the bathroom, did two slow laps around the store while I pondered my options and berated myself for not speaking up as she was ruining the shoes. I headed back to the returns counter and waited patiently in line. When it was my turn, I smiled my dopey smile and said in a shrill and sing-songy voice, "I changed my mind! I'll just take a refund!"

She cocked her head to one side, looked at my like I was completely crazy, and gave me the refund.

I immediately headed home and quietly ordered the shoes from Kohls.com.



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Photobombed! (Well, sort of.)

So you all know what photobombing is right?  That's when someone purposefully ruins a picture you are about to take by suddenly appearing in the shot. That's my paraphrased version of the Oxford Dictionary definition anyway.

But lately, photobombed has taken on a looser definition and basically is any picture that is ruined by someone else being included it (whether on purpose or by mistake).

This morning I was downloading all the pictures from my phone when I came across this one that the kids took of me and Dan while we were at dinner one night at the beach.  I think this is a really cute shot and was going to save it.

Until I noticed the creepy looking guy staring at us in the background.


Friday, September 21, 2012

7 really, really Quick Takes Friday


1.  Sarah has spent the last three weeks talking about her Halloween costume.  She has already gone from Angel to Zombie to Witch to Frankenstein.  Yesterday she was looking on a costume website and found a vampiress dress she just had to order right then.  She got a a little huffy when I told her she wasn't buying anythng until closer to Halloween.  "And besides," I said, "I thought you wanted to be Frankenstein not a vampiress." 

"Mom," she said in her duh-you-so-dumb-voice, "I'm going to be Frankenstein but I want to wear that dress while I'm being Frankenstein."

Well, duh, of course!  Why didn't I know that?

So imagine my surprise when I walked into my church's consignment sale this morning and found a $3 dress that looked very similar to the $30 dress she was eyeing online.  I also scored several other costumes for a few bucks each. 

2. I went to Mass at the kid's school this morning.  Peter's class led the liturgy and Peter was responsible for saying part of the prayer.  Peter also had to recite a poem in front of his class today.  He had it memorized very well.  I just hope he recites it without mumbling.  I also hope he wore his deodorant today!  That's a lot of public speaking for one day. 

3.  As soon as I saw Peter coming into Mass this morning I knew he was in trouble.  He only gave me a halfhearted wave.  And I was correct.  As we were leaving Mass he told me he forgot to bring home his spelling book home last night and thus had a homework miss this morning.  His teacher only allows 3 homework misses a week before you have to go to detention.  Luckily it's Friday and he can start fresh on Monday!

Okay, this is a really quick 7 Quick Takes because it's time to go pick up the kids from school.  Where has the day gone? Oh that's right!  I went to Mass, a consignment sale, the dump, Sheetz for coffee and the grocery store.  Time flies when you are getting things done!

Visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes.  She always writes seven Quick Takes even though she is writing a book, has 5 children, is a speaker at women's conferences and has just wrapped up filming for a reality show. 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

You've got to have something with that bedtime glass of milk.

Yesterday I ran three miles and had a salad for lunch. I then proceeded to eat 10 chocolate chip cookies with frosting.

Or maybe it was 11.

You may think I'm joking but sadly, I am not. And 6 of those 10 or 11 cookies was at bedtime.  Bedtime.  The absolute worst time to eat anything much less 6 chocolate chip cookies with frosting.

I stepped on the scales this morning and realized that those 11 cookies had already translated themselves into extra poundage.  Apparently while I was sleeping soundly, those cookies were working hard, making their way to my rear end and my muffin top.

So this morning I decided to run as fast as I could for three miles.  I guess this was my attempt to outrun those 11 cookies.

And according to my fancy Garmin watch I ran the first mile in 10:20, the second mile in 11:25 and the third mile in 11:16 making my average pace 11.05. 


This summer I was running a 12 - 13 minute mile but when the kids went back to school, I decided if I ever wanted to run a 10k I needed to start running faster.  So that has been my focus for the last few weeks.

And this morning, I ran my fastest yet!  Under 11 minutes for a mile.  And my knees aren't screaming.

Not bad for an old lady who likes cookies.

And frosting.

At bedtime.

Perhaps I should have more tonight?

This little cookie looks so innocent, doesn't it?

Monday, September 17, 2012

The rest of the week will surely be a breeze!

A few weeks ago I got a post card in the mail reminding me I needed to schedule my mammogram.  I dutifully got one on the books and began to recall that normally I have a pap smear right around the same time. 

Hmmm...seems like it's been more than  a year since my last one, I thought.  Probably closer to a year and a half.  I guess I should call them to see when I need to come in.

I called and spoke to a really nice nurse who wanted to know if I had been anywhere else since my last appointment with them in TWO THOUSAND AND NINE!

Y'all!  Where did the time go?  I could have sworn I was just there last September. 

Anyway, I went this morning.  Nothing says "hello, Monday morning" like a pap smear at 8:30 am.

I was in the exam room and the doctor came in, along with a med student who was observing him on his rounds, and a nurse. 

I almost asked him if the janitor and one of the other women in the waiting area wanted to come in as well because there was a little more space left in the exam room.  But I didn't because my doctor is the nicest doctor ever and I didn't want to embarrass him or the 14-year-old med student that was observing him.

I think the pair of underwear that I had neatly hidden under my other clothes was older than this girl!

So that and a trip to Wal-mart for groceries has been my Monday morning.  I figure it's all down hill from here!

Friday, September 14, 2012

7 Quick Takes Friday


It's been awhile since I've done a 7 Quick Takes and it's not because I haven't had good intentions.  Every Monday I think to myself, "don't forget to write down things to put in your Quick Takes so you can have it ready to go on Friday.  And then every Friday I wake up thinking, "Is it Friday already?  Where's my list of Quick Takes?  Oh, that's right.  I never wrote anything down.  Maybe I can write something down right quick." And then I sit down at the computer, my mind goes blank and next thing I know, it's Saturday.

I'm really proud of myself for starting this on Thursday morning. So there's a real good chance that by Friday morning, I'll have something to post. Or not.  I guess we'll see how it goes.

1.  I was doing sit-ups the other night and my husband said, "You could gain 300 pounds and I would love you anyway so you don't have to kill yourself doing all those sit-ups."  Awwww...what a sweet thing for him to say.  But I told him that if I gained 300 pounds I wouldn't love myself so I was really doing it for me and not for him. Awwww...I can really ruin a sweet moment, can't I?

2.  I found a recipe on Pinterest for making your own Biore Pore Strips at home and gave it a try.  It was definitely quick and easy and cheap and it did the trick. I'll be using this often. It also works as a waxer so make sure you keep it off any hairs you want to keep. Visit Petit  Elefant for the lowdown.

Photo courtesy of Petit Elefant
3. It's starting to feel like fall around here and I don't like it one bit.  I am happy in my shorts and flip flops.  The thought of putting on jeans, shoes and jackets annoys me.  And knowing that the kids and I all need new clothes annoys me too.   Most people love to shop, but I missed that gene.  The "walking-around-Target-browsing-while-sipping-on-coffee-gene" I got plenty of however.

4. I just heard a lot of little-dog yipping and went outside to see what was going on. My first thought was that someone had dropped a dog off in front of our house.  And a poodle at that! Apparently this poodel was in the middle of our very busy road and someone had stop to get him out of the road.  The person that stopped was a kind man who was afraid the dog was going to be killed which was a very likely possibilty since the dog appeared to have never seen a busy road before much less a car barrelling down it doing 65 mph.  The dog had a collar with a phone number and within minutes the dog was reunited with it's owner.

Kudos to the kind man that stopped and kudos to the owner for having their number on the tag. And me?  Well I sighed a big sigh of relief that yet another pet didn't join my household thanks to being dropped off in front of my home. You don't think I actually went out and purchased the two crazy cats that live here, did you?

5.  And speaking of pets, Peter continues to beg for a dog.  Beg with tears and everything.  Sometimes I feel like the world's worst mom for not letting him have one but usually I'm okay when I tell him he can get whatever animal he wants when he is paying the rent/mortgage and all the bills associated with said pet.  And he wants a pug!?  If we were to get a dog, a pug would be at the very bottom of the list of acceptable breeds.  A pug??!!  No, thanks!

6.Has anyone else seen Here Comes Honey Boo Boo on TLC?  I shamefully admit to having watched several episode.  This family has me laughing out loud. Do people really live like that?

7. Well, I need to read my Bible, get the kids up, go for a run and get this day started.  I hope you enjoyed my 7 Quick Takes because I started on Thursday and am finally done on Friday morning.  Next week, I think I am going to start on Monday.  Maybe...

For more Quick Takes visit Grace at Camp Paton.  Jen, our normal hostess is of 7 Quick Takes is filming a little Catholic reality show about getting her book published. And I'm pretty sure it won't be anything like Here Comes Honey Boo Boo.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos (Or burritos if you prefer.)

I've been meaning to share this recipe for awhile now and never got around to it.  And now, here it is in all of it's glory - Lime Chicken Soft Tacos.

I came across this recipe on AllRecipes.com right before Sarah was born and made it several times after that.  But for some reason I stopped making it.  I think I thought it would be too hard for toddlers to eat and just kept it filed away in my recipe binder.

Several months ago I came across it again and remembered how much Dan and I enjoyed it so I thought I would give it a try and see what the kids (my picky, finicky kids) thought about it.

And what do you know?!  They loved it!  This is one of the very few recipes that I have that we all four really enjoy eating.  I have plenty of recipes that we will all tolerate but this one - we all really dig!

Lime Chicken Soft Tacos

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast meat - cubed
  • 1/8 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/2 lime, juiced
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 10 (6 inch) flour tortillas
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1/4 cup shredded lettuce
  • 1/4 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
  • 1/4 cup salsa

Directions

  1. Saute chicken in a medium saucepan over medium high heat for about 20 minutes. Add vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, pepper, green onion, garlic and oregano. Simmer for an extra 10 minutes.
  2. Heat an iron skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the pan, warm, and turn over to heat the other side. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Serve lime chicken mixture in warm tortillas topped with tomato, lettuce, cheese and salsa.


This is what the delicious chicken filling looks like cooking in the pan.  I failed to take a picture of the finished product.  I was too busy eating it.  Just imagine this with cheese, sour cream and salsa tucked inside of a burrito shell and you will be good to go.

When we have these for dinner, my husband loves to give the kids a burrito wrapping lesson.  I think that's half the fun for them - trying to see who can wrap the best burrito. I guess I should rename these Lime Chicken Burritos!

**Please note, I usually double up on the sauce ingredients.  We really like the limey/vinegary taste of this chicken!

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

A good mom like that.

Monday afternoon, I dropped Sarah off at her piano teacher's house for her weekly lesson.  As usual, she asked for me to walk her to the door.  I'm not sure why she always wants me to do that but she always asks, so I always oblige. I'm a good mom like that.

We walked up to the door, she told me good-bye and she walked into the house.  We could still hear the student that goes before her banging away on the baby grand.  That always makes Sarah happy when she hears that.  She never wants to be late for her lesson and we always seem to be running out the door in a frenzy but we are never late.  I'm a good mom like that.

I drove the 2 tenths of a mile back to our house and my cell phone started ringing as I walked in the door.  It was Sarah's piano teacher.

"Ummmm, can Sarah not make her Tuesday lesson?  Is that why you dropped her off today?" she hesitantly questioned.

Apparently I dropped my kid off for her Tuesday piano lesson on Monday.  I'm a good mom like that.

But it worked out fine because the girl that normally takes her lesson on Monday couldn't come so Sarah took her lesson a day early. And I don't feel too horrible about it because last year, we used to take lessons on Tuesday but switched to Monday when track practice started and now we've switched back so I sort of had a good excuse for my mix-up. Sort of.

But don't worry.  I don't think it will happen again because when  I picked Sarah up from her lesson she put her hand on her hip, shook her finger at me, gave me a stern look and a good talking-to.

Because she's a good mom like that.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

The only one.

One morning last week as we were getting dressed, my husband peered at himself in the mirror and started jiggling the skin on his neck. "Look at my neck!  I've got turkey neck!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, don't worry honey.  I've got turkey knees," I said as I turned to show him all of the excess skin on my knees.  We both paused a moment while taking in all of the many wrinkles that seemed to suddenly be taking over. I smiled and thought to myself, thank goodness we are growing old together.

Happy 12th Anniversary to the smartest, sweetest, kindest, funniest, bravest, strongest, and definitely cutest man I have ever known.

Dan, you are the only one I want to get old and wrinkled with!


Thursday, September 6, 2012

5 short months.

The email from the 3rd Grade Room Mom went out late on Tuesday evening.  By early Wednesday morning it had been answered by almost every mom in the class except me. 

Sweet snacks, salty snacks, paper products, juice boxes had all been claimed for all three of the third grade class parties.  I have a PC, a laptop and a smart phone.  Why did I not act sooner?  Why did I decide to go to bed and answer the email in the morning?

The only items that were left unclaimed on the list?  The dreaded "activity".

So I took a deep breath and signed up for the party farthest away from today - Valentine's Day.  That gives me 5 months to come up with a grade/age appropriate activity that is pleasing to both genders, makes little to no mess and most of all - makes Sarah's mom look like a rock star. 

I don't think 5 months is going to enough time.


Wednesday, September 5, 2012

September - Bring It On!

Dan has been very stressed out at work lately.  Things just aren't going the way they are supposed to be going.

The kids have a ton of homework each night and that makes them grumpy and stresses me out. 

So the long Labor Day weekend could not have come at a better time.  We spent it with my parents at Oak Island Beach.

After a weekend of playing in the waves and relaxing on the beach we are ready for September and all that it may bring!