Bubbles

No, Bubbles wasn't a stripper. For some reason, it's the name I decided to give my first car. It was a 1987 Honda Accord, and I loved that car. If I remember correctly, the technical color of the car was "Champagne", so I'm pretty sure that's what led to the name Bubbles. I did not have this car, which was previously my Dad's car, until I was going into my sophomore year in college. That means that it was already 10 years old when I started driving it. Most of my high school driving experiences were done in my mom's awesome minivan. Although this wasn't an ideal ride for a high school student, I could always fit my friends in it, and it never hindered us from having fun! We, of course, had to call it the Party Wagon. One of the memories in that car that sticks out the most is when I was riding in the passenger seat as my brother was driving one day. He told me to watch out and then proceeded to spit a lugi over me and out my window. However, he didn't quite make it out the window. Instead, it attached just above the window and then just dangled. EWWWW!

Back to my girl, Bubbles. I think the previous owner smoked some sort of pipe or something, because that car had a sweet and distinct smell. And I liked it. The tint was bubbling, the paint was coming off in spots, and the sunroof leaked if the car wasn't parked on a downhill slope when it was raining. But she was a great car. After I graduated from college and actually had a steady and decent income, I purchased a newer version of the same car... but in red and with a spoiler. My dad still goes on about how ridiculous of a splurge that spoiler was. :) Or actually, I think it's the fact that I let on to salesman that a spoiler was a must. I think my dad saw that as dollar signs just flying right out of my mouth! When we sold Bubbles, she was 13 years old and had traveled over 200,000 miles. What a great car!

amelia

Stan

My first car! So many memories. It was a maroon 1988 Nissan Stanza. It was the first car my mom ever bought entirely on her own after she and my dad got divorced. She was so proud, and it was a pretty nice car. It had tinted windows and a sunroof and power locks and windows - that was high living to us at the time! I always thought the coolest thing was that the back seat folded down for access into the trunk. By the time I turned 16, my mom had remarried. She and my stepdad bought a minivan and the Stanza was "mine"! Like Beth's Gray Ghost, Stan had a manual transmission. It took a little getting used to, but in the end I thought that was pretty fun (so fun, in fact, that my current car is manual!). For some reason, boys were often impressed to learn that I could drive a stick shift, and I was all about impressing boys! :) (Beth - did you find this to be true?). I drove that car until I graduated from college - I got in one fender-bender, got 3 tickets, ran out of gas once, and had at least 3 flat tires. I remember my stepdad, Greg, put me through a little test before he let me drive the car by myself for the first time - I had to check the oil, change a tire, and know how to jump-start a dead battery. I didn't realize at the time how handy that knowledge would be! Thanks, Greg! I cried in that car after breakups, sang at the top of my lungs, took lots of road trips, and packed it from top to bottom moving back and forth from school.

After college graduation, it was determined that I should get something a little newer and more reliable since I would be footing the bill on repairs and maintenance from then on. We sold Stan to a girl who really needed it, which I was happy about, and I ended up getting a Dodge Intrepid...I won't even start on that car. Many times I lamented selling Stan when I started having major major problems with that dumb Dodge.

You don't see Stanzas on the road much anymore, but when I do, I always smile. Love ya, Stan!

Erica

The Gray Ghost

So this week we are all going to talk about our first car.

My first car was a 1987 gray 2 door Cheverolet Cavalier with blue interior. I remember the day I got the car. I was 16 years old and had recently received my drivers license. I was working at Discovery Zone as a birthday party hostess and when my shift was over my dad pulled up in this car. I was so excited, because my best friend at the time had just gotten her new car and it was a hoopty to say the least! The only downside to the car was it would be a while before I could fully drive it being that it was a stick shift and I had no idea how to drive a stick. My dad started teaching me right away and it wasn't an easy task. I remember one of the first times I drove it on my own. I had my sister and her friend and one of my friends in the car and I was stopped at a light and when the light turned green and went and then the car stalled in the middle of the intersection and I couldn't figure out why and couldn't get it to start and all I could do was laugh hysterically. I finally did get it to go. Another time I was parked in the high school parking lot and leaving for the day and I couldn't get the stick into the back up position so I had to go ask this older guy to put my car in reverse. Yea I felt pretty stupid! Oh but we had some fun times in that car! Do you remember your first car?

These are the Days of My Life

Monday through Friday are typical days for me...Saturday and Sunday are like mini-vacation days from work. So here we go:

My alarm goes off at 6:00 a.m. every morning, Monday through Friday. I usually hit the snooze button twice (ten minutes each) and then there's another 10 minutes or so that I just lay there. On this particular morning this week, I got up at:

















As I'm getting ready, my dogs take over my side of the bed now that I'm gone:














Finally leave the house.
















And this is my lovely drive...there's always a lot of traffic.














Surprisingly, I actually get to work a few minutes early.















Here's me at my desk.












Work, work, work until about 10:45ish, then I take a break and pump.



Here's my pumping room a/k/a the conference room:
















Lunchtime varies...it depends on if I bring my lunch or not. If I bring my lunch then I'll eat at my desk while working and then later on I'll take a break to run errands or sleep in my car (I've done this several times). On this particular day I go to Target:
















I love the $1 aisle at Target. My finds for the day were all for Jackson: 3 little books, a little Halloween bucket, and this cute hat for Thanksgiving.

The afternoon consists of more working, another pump break, and then:



5:00 BABY!!!














My drive home is pretty much like my drive to work, traffic.














I do a lot of this on my drive home:











I get home anywhere between 5:45 and 6:00. My evenings consist of transporting the pumped milk to baggies, getting dinner ready, cleaning up, and then getting ready for the next day. My favorite time of day though is getting Jackson ready for bed. I put his pajamas on, nurse him, sing a few songs, sometimes read a book, and then kiss him goodnight. A perfect way to wind down from the day.
















Cass

Day after Day after Day

This is when my alarm goes off:

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This is when I actually start paying attention to it:
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This is a happy morning moment:
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This is 6:40 a.m.:
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This is my office:
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This is my view:
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These are invisible walls:
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These are creepy shrunken head ladies:
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This is the magnet that makes me laugh when I'm cranky - 10 points if you know why, 20 if you refrain from leaving it in the comments:
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This is a plant with a secret:
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The secret's name is Seamus:
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This is page 1 of a censored to-do list:
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This is the cookie the to-do list made me eat:
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This was going to be lunch, as a result of the aforementioned cookie:
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This is God's way of saying, "Stop being such a headcase and just eat a sandwich woman":
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This is lunch in the ghetto:
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This is my fabulous lunch date:
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This is what happens when you work late and share a communal light switch:
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This is the end of a long day at work:
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This is my entertainment for the drive home:
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This is someone who is happy to see me:
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This is another someone who agrees:
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This is chasing a sock thief around the coffee table:
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This is finally relaxing while the husband plays racquetball:
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This is my stockpile of bedtime TV:
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This is the end:
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It's a beautiful day!

I woke up, we'll actually, I got woken up today at about 6:30 by my sweet baby boy, Chase. I had a few minutes to snuggle on him until my sweet girl, Allie was up for the day. We all migrated to the kitchen where I plopped Chase in his bouncy seat, and Allie and I(she likes to sit on the counter and help me) made some scrambled eggs and toast, and then I got her situated in her booster seat for breakfast. We all sat at the table, where I nursed Chase and visited with Allie as she finished her breakfast. We got all cleaned up from breakfast, then Allie watched some Dora the Explorer, and Chase played by himself for a while on the play mat. I took a minute to eat breakfast and then clean up dishes from the morning.

After breakfast, we all moved in to Allie's room and spent about an hour doing our little quiet time/prayer time, reading books , and playing Allie's instruments, and having a tea party. Chase isn't quite sure what to do with the all this activity, but seems to be content with it. We went to Chase's room, and Allie and I played with Chase and his toys- Allie likes to play with him-it's cute! Then Chase had some tummy time, and Allie sat at the table and colored- while I got dressed for the day. Chase then took a nap, and I made out a grocery list, washed some diapers, and made my bed. I got Allie changed/dressed for the day, and then after Chase's nap I got him changed/dressed for the day. Allie had a quick snack of avacados and cheese, while I packed up the diaper bags for the day, and then we headed out the door to go run a few errands.

I went to Target, the cleaners, and Kroger. Home after my errands, unloaded the groceries from the car and then I made PB&J's and cut up carrots and bananas for lunch for me and my girl. Nursed Chase while Allie played for a little bit, then put Allie down for a nap. Chase played for a while and I was able to talk to our realtor about house stuff(we are selling our house and trying to buy another house)...checked my email, then put Chase down for a nap- and I took a 45 min nap. Ahhhhh! Chase woke me up from my nap, nursed him, Randy got home early- so we visited for a while about house stuff- then Allie was up. I cut up some grapes for Allie's snack and let her watch a Dora, while Randy and I continued to discuss house stuff, played with Chase, had a dance party with Allie and we played airplane for a while, then I started getting dinner ready. I got all ingredients together to make Beef Stroganoff, sliced some top sirloin into thin pieces, then cooked the meal. Allie and I set the table for dinner(she helps with napkins), then we all sat down to eat. After dinner, nursed Chase while Allie and Randy played, then I cleaned up the kitchen. At about 6:45, Randy and I started getting the kids ready for bed. He bathed Allie, while I was getting Chase in his jammies- Randy put Allie to bed and I got Chase to bed about the same time...then Randy and I looked at our budget to see if we could afford another house we are looking at to buy...ate some Blue Bell banana pudding ice cream, talked to my sis in law, Jen for about an hour, then watched tv in DVR mode(the Office, Outsourced and Grey's), made Randy's lunch, bed.

Now sprinkled throughout my day are many time outs for my 2yr old, and lots of diaper changing for both kids...but couldn't remember exactly when I did those things...

A Day in the Life

I decided to do my day in the life by video today. And by the end of the day, I don't have it in me to even watch it back or edit anything... Hopefully I didn't say anything I'll regret!! So here it is... totally unedited and choppy, just like my typical day. And a few things I left out... talked to my mom, Ashley, and Emily, did some laundry, dishes, went to the bathroom a couple of times, changed a few diapers... you know, the usual.

And an award should go to anyone who watches that entire thing. I really didn't think it would be this long when all was said and done!

Amelia

A day in the life of Beth Harris

This week each of us will describe our day!

So my day started about 6:30am. That's when my little munchkin Reagan woke up. So I got up and we ate breakfast (bananas and pancakes), I took our two pups out and then we watched Handy Manny. I seriously get into these shows. It's funny! Then I got Reagan dressed and then got myself dressed, which usually consists of saying No Reagan don't do this or don't do that in between putting on my makeup, doing my hair and getting dressed. I guess I could get up early and do this, but every moment of sleep is precious when you are a mom! Then Reagan and I headed to one of our favorite places, Target! Had to grab a few things and saw a couple of friends there. Home for a snack and playtime. We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and then Reagan colored while I peeled apples for a dessert I was making for after dinner. At 1pm it was nap time so I laid Reagan down for her nap. I got busy doing laundry and then worked on my Daniel Bible study and then did some Greek homework (my husband is a Greek scholar and is teaching about 35 of us on Wednesday nights at our church). Reagan got up and we had a tea party and then played with baby dolls. We read some books and sang. We had an a afternoon snack and I started making a pot of Taco Soup for dinner. My husband John got home from school (he goes to Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary every Monday for his PhD seminars). We ate dinner, I cleaned the kitchen and then we all played in the den. Reagan goes to bed at 8pm so at 7:30 I gave her a bath, we read Biscuit (Reagan calls it Beebee, it's a cute book series about a dog named Biscuit. I think I read it about 4 or 5 times everyday). Then John and I ate some Apple Brown Betty and watched the season premiers of our Monday night shows including the new remake of Hawaii 5-0. It was really good and all I can say is "book em Danno"! Now it's time for bed and then I get to do it all over again tomorrow! Good night blogland!


- Beth

Serve Others

We are all given various gifts/talents, and it is God's desire that we use those gifts/talents to reach out to those around us, whether it be in church or in our community. I encourage you to think about what you enjoying doing and then find something in your church or in your community and get involved. For example, I like working with younger kids, so I will help out on Sundays in my church's Preschool Ministry. I also recently started helping out in a program our church started up for 3-5 year olds called Faith Builders. I signed up to tell the Bible story to the 3-year-olds and also help our coordinator, but as God would have it, our coordinator had to move off and so now I am taking on that role. It fits my personality though, so I don't mind one bit.

I am also involved in my community, through the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. I previously shared my experience with the Relay for Life in this blog before, which you can find here, so I won't go into detail. I just want to say that I got involved with this event because I wanted to find a way to honor my Grandad Moseley and Mema, who both died of cancer. The Relay was a way for me to remember them and also raise money in the fight against cancer. I'm excited as preparations are underway for the 2011 Relay and this year I'll have a more active role on the committee. If you're interested in participating in the Relay, let me know as I'd love to have you on my team...or you can form your own!

So really, serving is just finding something you're good at or finding a cause that's important to you and then getting involved in some way.

"Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10

Cass

Playing Catch(up)

I've missed a few weeks due to...life, I guess. I know I'm tromping all over Staci's blog day (again), but maybe she'll forgive me once again! I have a spare minute or two and want to respond to the last few topics!!!

So, POST ONE: five things that annoy me. Strangely enough, I already covered this in my very first post:
1. Cursing
2. Bad drivers
3. Losing things
4. Soggy bread
5. People who talk in the theatre during movies

Five things about me that annoy others...let's see...
1. I roll my eyes a lot, so much so that I don't always realize when I do it. Usually it's in a joking way, but sometimes not so much (just ask my husband!).
2. I chew gum really loudly. Again, I usually don't realize it while I'm doing it unless someone points it out. I wonder if Cass has ever noticed it since she hates loud eating noises. Any comments on this one, C?
3. I'm not very good about returning phone calls, or even answering my phone, especially when I'm at home. My phone is usually in my purse, which inevitably is in a different room. Or the ring volume is too low and I don't hear it. I'm honestly working on this one. Since my cell phone is my ONLY phone, I know people need to be able to get in touch with me in case of an emergency or something. However, for the record, if it's an emergency and I don't answer the phone, call Adam! He's rarely far from his phone.
4. I sometimes tend to finish people's sentences in conversation. I had someone do this to me several times recently and realized how jarring it is, so I'm trying to be more mindful of it.
5. I correct people's grammar and vocabulary a lot. If I were using a word or phrase incorrectly, I would want someone to tell me, but I'm pretty sure not everyone is like that.
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POST TWO: Service
Even though I grew up in church, I was never really that plugged in to service opportunities. I remember a few times, like when our school choir would visit a retirement home around Christmas or something, but it wasn't an ongoing priority by any means. When Adam and I moved to Austin, we started going to our church, Immanuel (see this post). Immanuel places, rightly, a high degree of importance on service, both in the community and worldwide. A portion of the church's tithes is donated each month to blood:water mission, an organization that raises awareness and the necessary funds for the provision of clean blood and clean water in sub-Saharan Africa. For a long time, our church volunteered at a local food pantry called Micah 6 on Saturday mornings, but they were blessed enough to have so many people commit their time that they actually ended up with too many volunteers. So our church is currently researching new opportunities. One of the possibilities is Church Under the Bridge. The description on the website says: "Church Under the Bridge (CUB) takes place at 7th St and IH-35 on Sunday mornings. You will find live music, testimonies of changes lives, and a down-to-earth message for Austin's street population. Church Under the Bridge is a place where the Body of Christ in Austin can build relationships with those living on the streets. Volunteers at CUB tangibly demonstrate the love of God to others through a corporate worship time, the provision of hot meals, clothing, blankets and sleeping bags." We have a group planning to attend next Sunday, so I'll be sure to update about how it went! The experience of getting involved has been hard at times, and it's taken a little getting used to, but it's also been unbelievably rewarding. I am finding that to be true more and more as I strive to be obedient to God.

Erica

Just Do It

First - a rant:

Can someone please tell me why Blogger sucks so much?  It should not be this hard to make a post show up with correct formatting.  I kind of expect to just be able to type, format, and post, and then have it show up on the screen just like I did it in the editor.  Or maybe hit return, and actually have the cursor move down a line.  CALL ME CRAZY.  Seriously, Blogger, you. are. making. me. crazy.  And a little cranky.  Obviously.

And on to our topic.

Being something of a shy bird on the outside, I sometimes have trouble finding ways to serve.  I head up the Charitable Events Committee at work - but that's part of my job, so I don't really feel like it counts.  It's also kind of a beating (because of the whole work aspect of it) and that pretty much takes the right attitude out of the equation.  In spite of that, I have been lucky to work with several great organizations over the past few years (Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, JDRF, Habitat for Humanity), and it has opened my eyes and increased my gratitude.  It's crucial to look outside of yourself from time to time, and see that your particular set of problems may not be quite as challenging as you think.  To see people walking through a difficult set of circumstances with grace can be a great attitude adjuster.    

I've been giving a lot of thought to other ways I can serve outside of my required service at work. Mark & I joined a new church a few months ago, and I've been keeping an eye out for ways that I can get involved there.  It's hard for me to walk into a situation where I don't know anyone and offer to help.  That's probably true for a lot of people, but what I've realized is that I just need to get over myself.  I know I've already missed some great opportunities by second guessing myself.  The first time may be uncomfortable, but it's not going to kill me, and eventually, I may even get to know a few people that way.  What a novel idea.

As far as serving in the community, I've thought about volunteering at the new animal shelter by my house, but I decided that would be disastrous.  The types of things I'm drawn to do are often the things that would emotionally suck the life out of me.  We would end up with 8 dogs (minimum) if I started working with homeless animals.  Either that or I would come home crying every time I volunteered!  

So what's a girl to do?  I found a couple of great websites that just might have the answer to that question.  Volunteer Match, United We Serve, and the Volunteer Center of North Texas (for you local peeps), can help you find volunteer opportunities in your area.  I was amazed to see how many different ways I could get involved, all within 15 miles of my house.  Stay tuned, I'm excited to see where this takes me.  And I'd love to hear of ways our readers get involved too, so come out of the woodwork and comment!

Mary

Serving

When I found out what we were writing about this week, I was like hmmm. I could tell you about how I do all of the laundry, wash all of the dishes, cook (or at least heat up!) all of the food, clean the house (sometimes), etc... I do believe all of those things are very important, apparently so important that nobody else who lives here even knows how those things are done! Amazing. But I won't bore you with all of that. I do have to say, though, that all of those things can be done with many different attitudes (trust me, I have many different ones), but when I have an attitude of service, it is a much more pleasant "job."

I believe we are all called to serve in some form or fashion. Right now, although I am able to do small things here and there, I do not have the ability to serve outside my home in a steady (i.e. weekly) commitment. I worked with the student ministry at our church shortly after I graduated from college (2000 or 2001-ish), and that was probably the most rewarding "service" I have ever done. That wasn't the reason for doing it, but it turned out to be a pretty awesome thing for me in return. I started out with a small group of eighth graders, and now they have almost all graduated from college. Although this fact makes me feel quite old, it brings me so much joy to see these girls walking with the Lord and still striving to grow in their walks with Him. I admire these incredible women so much. This group grew from four to plenty more over the years, and I was able to lead that group up until we moved to Oklahoma City in 2005, right around the time most of them graduated high school. I learned so much from them, and hopefully they learned something from me. I believe the Lord knew exactly what He was doing (He is God and all - duh.) when He put our group together. I am blessed to still be tight with many of these girls, and I love that all of these friendships are a result of me saying, "Sure, God. I'll try that if you want me to." I would love to be able to serve with high school students or even college students in the near future. I pray that the Lord will show me His timing in this, because I really do miss it.

Here's the original gang...

And a couple others. I have a big group picture that has EVERYBODY in it, but I couldn't find it on my backup drive to post it. So if you're reading this and don't see your picture, just know that you are special enough to be on the wall in my house. :)

And now for my random note: It has been brought to my attention that those who subscribe to our RSS feeds (I say that like I actually understand how that works!?!) and view the blog on their iphone cannot see the label to know who actually wrote the post. So, for Courtney (and maybe two other people), we will start signing our posts again. You're welcome. :)

Ameeeeeeeeelia

Serving

And no I don't mean in tennis! I mean serving in our homes, community, or churches. Over the years I have served at church in many different capacities. I have found that it is so rewarding to serve others. Christ even spoke many times on service and He was the ultimate servant having laid down His life for us! Currently I am the MOPs coordinator at our church. What is MOPs you ask? MOPs stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. It is an amazing ministry that exists internationally! Moms of all nations are meeting together with other moms in their local church. We meet once a month and also have play dates, moms night out and craft nights. Being a mom is the hardest and most rewarding job their is and it helps to get together with other moms to bounce ideas off and just have support. Someone that knows exactly what we are going through. If you are a mother of a preschooler I encourage you to try and find a local MOPs group in your area!

www.mops.org

Overload

Lately I've been feeling a little twitchy.  The phone rings...twitch; a new email pops up on my screen...twitch, twitch; the television is a little too loud...twitch, twitch, twitch; a co-worker passes yet another project off on me...twitch, twitch, twitch, TWITCH. 

Work has been pretty unbearable lately, and its tentacles have worked their way around things I usually enjoy and squeezed the life right out of them.  For instance, I cannot seem to make myself respond to my personal emails this week.  I open my inbox, I read the emails from my favorite people and acquaint myself with what their days have been like.  I hit reply, and type maybe two words, then delete it and close my email.  It's like my brain is closed for business and it's too much effort to even try to explain it.  No more in, no more out, please.  I'm tired of saying "work is so busy" and complaining about the mundane.  Even I don't want to hear it anymore.  I mean, it's just work, right?

I've been functioning at maximum capacity for several weeks now, but even though my workload is finally beginning to ease up a little bit, I still can't relax.  I'm attacking the backlog, and it feels just as suffocating as everything that's been barreling down on me on a daily basis.  I even had a full-out breakdown in front of one of my bosses last Friday, complete with barely contained tears.  I had scheduled to leave a few hours early to kick off the three day weekend and give myself a break from the long hours I've been working, but from 7:01 a.m. everything had been going wrong.  So at 2:45 p.m. when I finally dragged out of the building an hour and 15 minutes early (though technically only 15 minutes early, since I hadn't even stopped to eat lunch - not that I was counting - ahem), I was undone.  The three day weekend helped, but it had it's own stresses.  So here I am a week post-breakdown and I'm still not right.

I think I need some time off work.  (Ladies and Gentlemen, I have provided you with the understatement of the year!)  Unfortunately, now is just not the time to take it.  I want to turn off the computer, the phone, the tv, the noise, the lights, and just have a little peace.  I want to get in my car and just keep driving; past home, past work, past the state line.  But I guess this little venting session is as good as it's going to get for awhile.  So readers, thanks for reading.  The outlet, though small, is much appreciated.

Things that make you go "Hmmm"

Or "AAAAGGGGHHH"

A few things that drive me crazy:

1. Chewing or talking with your mouth open...I don't need to see your food!

2. Crunching ice.

3. Honestly, any kind of loud eating drives me crazy! (just ask my family)

4. People who can't drive...those who weave in and out of traffic like they own the road. And don't even get me started on those that own what I'd like to call 'crotch rockets.'

5. Laziness. I could get on a soap box with this one, so I'm just going to leave it at that.



I had to dig down deep for things that probably drive people crazy about me:


1. Inability to make a decision. I'm not talking about really big decisions either. I'm talking about small, insignificant decisions such as where to go eat or what to do. My husband can't stand it, and I'm sure others can't either. There are rare times when I can tell you exactly what I want though, or what I don't want for that matter. I'll try to work on it.


2. Putting my makeup on while driving. Yes, I realize this can be dangerous, but I only put makeup on while traffic is stopped. Not an excuse though. I'm sure people around me are shaking their heads or cursing at me. Sorry!


3. Punctuality, or lack thereof. I know my employer would appreciate me being on time to work I love sleep. I can't help it. I DO! (this would explain #2 above.) This one actually drives me crazy too. I hate being late. Now I have a little person to get ready as well, so you can only imagine how late we are now. It all comes down to this: GET UP EARLY, CASSANDRA!


4. I don't have a lot of mercy. I know I need to work on this.

5. And really, I don't have a lot of compassion sometimes either (just ask Scott when he's sick). Again, something I should work on and will probably have a greater chance now that I have a child.

So there we have it. Whew, that wasn't too hard!
Cass

Me, annoying? Never.

And now, for your reading pleasure, a random selection of things that drive me bonkers:

1.  Procrastination - I think this is a particularly agitating pet peeve for two reasons. 1) My job partly revolves around assisting people, and many times this requires those dear people to fill out mandatory forms that must be returned by a specific deadline.  I think I spend half my life figuring out who hasn't turned in their form yet.  This often makes me want to punch people.  2)  See item 1 in the list below.  I also often want to punch myself.

2. The sound of non-carbonated liquid being poured into a glass/container/etc.  (Carbonation fizzes, which drowns out the noise I hate, so thank you carbonation)  I don't know why, but this makes my skin crawl.

3.  Arrogance - If I find someone to be primarily arrogant in nature, I have a hard time seeing past it.  Ever.  Please get over yourself and act like a normal human being.  Thanks.

4.  Insane drivers - Did you seriously just pull around me, just to cut me off, when I am already exceeding the speed limit?  Again, get over yourself.  This is the worst, because I'm not about to flip somebody off, and there's just nothing you can do but say angry things to yourself in your car like a crazy person.

5.  Mean people - This one just makes me sick.  If I see/hear you being blatantly mean to someone/about someone/etc.  I feel their pain.  Literally, it's like a kick in the gut.  I've become one of those people who has to hold their tongue when I'm in a grocery store and someone says something really ugly to their checker/child/spouse.  I most likely couldn't actually come up with anything effective to say on the spot, which is probably better.  Mean people suck.

WAIT - I have to do six.  Amelia just wouldn't have it if I left this one off.

6.  People touching my face.  Don't. touch. my. face.  I can make exceptions if you're doing it lovingly.  But if you're doing it to annoy me?  Stop it.  Now.  Also?  Don't hit me in the head.  Even playfully.  I do not like to be hit in the head.

Although I'm sure it's hard to believe that I could ever annoy anyone (ahem), here's the good stuff:

1.  I'm a procrastinator.  Big time.  If I get overwhelmed at the thought of a task, obviously the best thing to do is to leave it for the absolute last minute possible, right?  Even worse, I do great work under pressure.  This vicious cycle started back in school, when I realized I could put something off until the last minute, work on it all night, and still get an A.  This killed my roommates in college.  I specifically remember a conversation about an English Lit/Comp class that four of us were taking together.  I missed more class than they did, waited until the last minute to do everything, and was hanging in right at the top grade-wise.  And the professor loved me.  This little trait is horrible for my mental health though.  Like I don't stress out enough on a regular basis.  Which leads us to...

2.  I'm a worrier.  That would be the understatement of the year.  I try to keep it to myself, I really do, but that's fairly impossible, as it helps me take the worry down a notch if I talk about it.  (Also, keeping it to myself is highly ineffective.  I'll have to tell you the story sometime about the paddle boats.  The word implosion comes to mind.  Geesh.)  I know it wears on people, and trust me - I hate that probably more than they do.  I'm lucky to have a lot of patient, wonderful friends.

3.  I'm wordy.  No, really Mary?  We've never noticed that your blog posts are twice as long as everyone else's on a regular basis. :)

4.  I'm an introvert.  I think my friends are used to this after a decade (or two), but my husband hasn't had quite as long to adjust.  My job requires extroversion, and I fake it really well.  However, I think that doubles my introvert tendencies at home.  Mark is an extrovert all the way, so I know how annoying it must be to him when my brain shifts to quiet mode and I just don't want to leave the house for an entire weekend. 

5.  I chew ice.  Sorry Cass!  I also apparently breathe loudly.  Sorry everyone who talks to me on the phone!  I'm going to blame my merciless allergies for that one.

And since I said 6 things about other people, it's only fair...

6.  I talk about my dogs like they're my children.  I even commiserate with people's stories about their toddlers with stories about Milo (because we all know Max is the good child).  See?  See what I did there?  Yes, I'm that girl.  I apologize.  I try to stop myself, really, I do. 

Just six?  There are so many more annoying things about me.  I guess I'm thankful we aren't going to ten.  Everyone needs a little mystery in life.

Annoyances???

My top 5 annoyances would have to be:

1) Unattended children in public places.

Last time I went to the movies (to see Iron Man 2), there were toddlers and kids running up an down the theatre and the parents didn't seem to care that their children were disturbing everyone else there. Plus, why do they have their young children at a very grown up movie?? Maybe that should be an another annoyance...young babies/children at grown up movies or at late movies when they should be in bed...

2) The sound of smacking.

It just makes my skin crawl to hear someone smacking, or even a dog/animal smacking from licking themselves. It drives me NUTS!

3) REALLY negative people.

4) People who have too many dogs and don't play with/take care of them. So sad to see!

5) Seeing someone at the grocery store loading up their basket with junk food(cookies, sodas, chips, sugar cereals) and then seeing them pay for it with Food Stamps/Lonestar card. I am all for helping others in need, but I hard time having my tax $$ I am required to pay be put towards paying for others junk food.

6) This is just a personal annoyance, that is, it is annoying that I have to floss every day...I hate doing it, but I know it's necessary.

Things that may annoy others:

1) I can talk too much- I realize this and have tried working on this through the years, but some times I still get too wordy!

2) saying "I'm fine" when I am really not fine

3) this annoys my hubby, when I pick out my flaws in a picture

4) this also annoys my hubby, when I like to open up all the blinds in the house and let a bunch of light in the house- he would live in a dark cave if possible-maybe he's a vampire?

That's all I can think of for now...it's funny stuff to think about! :-)

Buggin' Me

1. My Husband - As I sat down to type this, I asked my husband what he would say were the top 5 things that annoy me. And his first three responses began with, "When I..." So he came to the conclusion that he annoys me. And I suppose he does. But I love him and am so thankful for him!

2. The outside rim of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup - This part is just completely unnecessary. Have you ever made a homemade Blizzard with these? You go to take a bite and all you get is a hunk of hard chocolate with NO peanut butter. Maybe it's plain chocolate that annoys me? So sometimes I will cut the outside edge off before using the cup... and this sends my husband into a ranting on my weird food ways (there are lots), and then that annoys me.

3. Sales Calls - And I will also include in this category the creditor calls for someone who apparently formerly had our phone number. This is SOOOO annoying.

4. Junk Mail

5. Watching a show with the commercials - The DVR has spoiled me, and I can hardly stand to watch a show without being able to hit the fast forward button during commercials. I'm impatient that way.

6. The noise of the windshield wipers when there's no water on the windshield - This one has bugged me for years.

7. When people spell my children's names incorrectly - I realize this is silly. But it bugs me. And so I'm letting you in on my silly secret.

8. People who drive in the fast lane and aren't going faster than the other lanes.

9. When people are so narrow minded that they think their way is the only "right" way - And don't worry, I'm not talking about anything that's black and white in Scripture.

10. When people don't take responsibility for their own actions - Just fess up and let's get past it already.

I know I was only supposed to do 5, but I pretty quickly came up with 10. I guess I'm annoyed about a lot of things! I can only list one thing I do that annoys people right now and that's me making my husband leave the lights on so I can finish this post. He really wants to turn them off to watch a show (on the DVR, thank goodness), so I will have to save my annoyances for another time. Plus, I probably need some time to think about that one.