Random Thoughts

Stupid things I have been thinking about:

* The alarm clock. My alarm clock is set for 5:00am. During the week, it goes off and I roll over and hit the snooze, get up out of bed to wake up Natalie, climb back into bed, and pull the covers up and go back to sleep. Approximately 10 minutes later, the alarm goes off again. Again, I get out of bed, this time to make sure Natalie is up, and then get back into bed, pull the covers up, and go back to sleep. I hit snooze one more time (sometimes two more times, but I hate myself on days like this)then I am up, exercising, in the shower, and starting my day. On Saturday, I do not have to get up at 5... in fact, I do not have to get up at all! But every once in a while, I will forget to turn the alarm off and it will go off at it's regular time. I will roll over and shut it off. I can never go back to sleep. Why is that?

* Football. I am a football fan...not a crazy fan, but a fan. I enjoy watching it and if my team is playing, I may give a hoot and a holler when a good play has been made. When a commercial is on or when a timeout has been called, I will switch the television to another station. Why is it that I never get back in time and miss a great play?

* Grocery bags. Why is it that I will carry 150 pounds of groceries into the house all at once so I do not have to make more than one trip to the car?

* Laundry. I live in a two story house. The bedrooms are all upstairs. Two bathrooms are upstairs. All of our closets are upstairs. All of our drawers are upstairs. Why in the washing machine and dryer downstairs?

* Turn signals. There is this great invention now in most vehicles...a turn signal. You can use this when you are changing lanes or when you are turning a corner. They make a cute little noise to let you know that it has been activated. Why do some people drive in a straight line with no intention if turning right with their right turn signal on?

* Yellow lights. Speed up or slow down? I think the answer to that question says a lot about a person.

* Speed limits. Above, below, or right at? Again, I think this says a lot about a person.

* Grocery stores. Why is it that you always, always, always forget something and you remember it as soon as you walk in the front door of your house?

* Books. You can always tell when you have just read a great book because you turn that last blank page just to see if anything else was written.

* Finding something. Isn't it great to find something that you did not even know was lost? Isn't it even better to find someone (or have them find you) that you knew was lost?

* Laundry (I know, different random thought). I wonder if they will ever come up with the invention of a washer and dryer in the same machine? Is it too much for ask for one that maybe folds too? I wont even dare ask for one that puts it all away too!

* Deal making. Have you ever made a deal with someone and they accepted the offer right away and you thought that maybe you offered too much?

Just a few things going through my head. Busy brain! Or actually just a lazy person not wanting to work! It is fun every once in a while to just let the brain wander...it's funner, however, to see where it ends up.

Legal age to buy alcohol - 21, cigarettes - 18, Nyquil -50?

So, the other day Trent and I went to Target to get me some Nyquil. I had the start of a cold (terrible neck pain for over a week, sore throat, headache, etc.) so I had decided to nip it with sleep! While Natalie was at mutual, we went into Target (of course, going to Target with Trent is no trip to the candy store! I wanted to look at the new scarfs (keep in mind, this was the night of the big storm), maybe look at umbrellas because I am sure I need a new one...oh, and the gloves were out too -- Trent was not in a looky-loo mood) and straight to the medications. I decided that I would spend the extra money on the name brand Nyquil because I really needed this medication to work! Carrying only our Nyquil to the check out (I know, what a waste of checking out standing in line time!) we waited in line. It was finally our turn and the checker said that she would need to see some ID. Okay, this is kinda funny because I am 41 and Trent is 47, I am pretty sure that we are both old enough to buy Nyquil. Trent pipes off with some wisecrack remark about having to be 50 to buy drugs. The checker lady (girl actually) was not impressed with Trent, AT ALL! I said that it probably had to do with being able to make crack or something. Trent, egging on the poor checkout girl, said that he was a chemist, he could certainly make crack out of Nyquil if there were a way. Again, the girl just looked at Trent and then told him that he needed to take his license out of the wallet because she had to scan it. This started a whole new conversation about tracking and what if the whole family needed to use the Nyquil for a few days and we ran out, if he were to buy some more later in the week would he be on some list?!?! The "Nyquil Abuser List?" Again, the girl just looked at Trent, with a disgusted look on her face, scanned the license, and quickly gave it back to him. He then preceded on to hand her cash for the purchase, in which he nicely asked if she needed ID for the use of cash.

Oh, the story only gets better....we had friends of ours come up behind us ready to check out. She asked us if we had fared the storm without incident. We explained that a tree branch from next door was in our front yard but for the most part, our fence was still standing and our trees were still firmly implanted! She said that she wished a tree had fallen on her old van! Trent laughed and said she if she would have called, he would have been happy to push a tree on the van for her. She laughed and said that actually a branch had fallen on the van once and it broke the branch in two, leaving the van unscathed. I piped off something like well, it might not have with the aid of a sledgehammer! Our friend gasped and pretended to be shocked and then asked Trent how he fared in swinging a sledgehammer!! Trent flexed and told her he indeed could make it look like an accident! The poor check out girl...I think she was wishing she had photocopied Trent's license for his name and address!!!

If the Insurance Fraud Department people or the DEA come knocking on my door....well, lets just say my response will be, "Trent who?"

Judge much?

So, I had an interesting experience at the grocery store the other day. I really don't like going to the store and I try not to go on the weekend when I do go because it is always too busy and too crowded and too noisy and just...too everything I guess. Trent and I had stopped by a roadside produce stand on Saturday and bought some wonderful strawberries. Well, of course, strawberries are not any good without Cool Whip and little angel food cakes. So, we got home and Trent decided to mow the lawn while I quickly went to the store. Of course, the quickly part was all a pipe dream!

So, I get there, get the things a need and a few extras (sour gummy worms, yummmmmm)and then make my way to the express lane which has about 45 people in it. Okay, maybe not 45, but there was a lot of people. The other lanes, however, also had a lot of people in them with full carts, so I proceeded to the express lane. A few moments later, a women with a cart comes up behind me with her children. She had 3, maybe 4, children with her, one of whom was in the cart. After I quickly counted every ones items in front of me to make sure there were no rule breakers (oh c'mon now, you all do it too!!), I looked behind me to count hers. Just because, well frankly, there was little else to do. At this point (man, my little story is turning into a novel...I will hurry), she takes a big bottle of wine (maybe it was just regular size, I don't know, I don't buy wine, but the bottle looked rather big to me) and hands it to one of the older kids outside of the cart and says, "I don't need this sh*t, take it back." The child does as she is told. We advance one space up, then another, then another when I overhear the lady ask the child to please go back and get the wine, she has changed her mind. Finally, I get to the check out place where I can place my items from my arms onto the belt, I so very graciously, put up one of those separator bars after my stuff so the lady behind me can start putting her stuff on the belt. We advance forward and it is finally my turn (in my head I am doing a jig!), I pay for my stuff and move forward to bag the few items I got. In the meantime, the lady behind me has checked out all of her stuff and lo and behold, does not have enough cash, she forgot to grab the $20 on the table. So, she tells the checker to please take the 3-pack of Capri Suns off, her kids don't need those anyway, but keeps the wine.

This story is why I find it hard not to judge people. I am the first to admit that I am very judgmental. Lately, however, I have tried not to be as much and have tried to look at things at a different aspect. But, this lady had said once that she did not need the wine and then changed her mind (just aside note here, I think standing in long grocery lines have nearly brought me to the bottle as well!). When it comes down to it, she chooses her needs, wants, addictions, whatever, to her childrens needs. Okay, Capri Suns may not be a total need, it could have been a treat for her kids, but nonetheless, it is juice and it will probably count as one fruit serving! This reminded me of a story when I lived in New Mexico - bear with me, this one is short. I was behind a lady at a grocery store and she had a lot of groceries and was paying with food stamps. At the end, the checker tells her that the dog food she has purchased is not covered under the food stamp thing, so the lady says - and I quote - "Okay, put the dog food back and give me a family pack of hamburger instead." Now, whether or not the lady planned to feed the dog the hamburger or not, I don't know, I just found it a rather curious trade. As I found the juice/wine trade also curious.

"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye met, it shall be measured to you again." Okay, with that, I will try not to judge again. But sometimes people just make it too darn easy!

Uncertainty

Who knows what will tomorrow will bring? Next week? Next month? Next year? The unknown. The uncertainty. I am one of those people who dwell on tomorrow. I wonder what will happen. Obviously, there is not a lot I can do about it, I certainly cannot change my destiny, my fate. In my mind, if I think about it long enough, I can expect the worst yet hope for the best. I can play out different scenarios in my head and know what I would do in any situation. The problem is, this never works. Any scenario I have in my head is really never the same as how it actually is. The worst thing is never really ever the worst thing. I don't generally think of myself as being negative or always looking for the wrong; in fact, I am a very positive person and my cup, well, it is always half full. "That which does not kill me, makes me stronger." Even though I dwell on tomorrow and wonder what will happen and perhaps have sleepless nights, I know what will happen, will happen. The only thing I can change about tomorrow is how I choose to look at it. If something bad unexpected happens, I eat a couple of cookies and look for a solution. Not always easy, in fact, hardly ever an easy solution is found. But, I have to keep looking for that golden lining to come through. The search is probably the solution in and of itself. The search is what keeps me focused and keeps my head in the game. If something good unexpected happens...well, I eat a couple of cookies and thank my Heavenly Father. Sometimes I may let myself dwell on what could have happened, but this takes only a few moments and then I look forward; to dwell on tomorrow for yet another day.

Memories

I have been a bit...melancholy, if you will, lately. Not depressed, not really sad, just a lot on my mind I guess. My daughter informed me a couple of days ago that she will be 18 next year. Indeed she will, next December, still over a year away, but nonetheless my sweet, baby girl will be 18 next year. This makes my sweet, baby boy (no wonder they wont grow up!) 21 next year! But, alas, I remain young! I don't feel a day over 25 myself, until I look in the mirror and see that 40+-year-old woman looking back at me or until I go to stand up after sitting all day and my back hurts just a little or I find (or one of my lovely family members points out) a gray hair.

So, I have had a couple of memories of my childhood lately. I find this interesting on many levels, but mainly because I don't have a lot of childhood memories. Repressed? Dementia? Who know, but I don't really have a lot that I remember about being young. But I would like to share those couple of things that I have remembered in the last few weeks.

First, the smell of lilacs. My grandmother used to (probably still does, I don't know) have a lilac bush just outside of her house. It used to bloom in the spring and you could smell the lilac blossoms for miles. They were special to my grandmother because of the smell and because of the color of the flowers - her favorite, purple.

Secondly, I heard a song on the radio a few weeks ago, "Nobody does it better" and this reminded me of my aunt and uncle. Okay, pay attention here -- My aunt (my mother's half sister) and my uncle (my mother's half brother) are not related. They are roughly the same age, born just months apart. My uncle had been in a car accident (now that I look back, it was a rather bad accident and my aunt and I should have been a little bit more concerned over his well being, but we were not) and we dedicated that song to him. We thought it was funny and we laughed! It still brings a smile upon my face when I think about it.

Another memory, a rather odd one, is about toys that I used to have. Natalie and I were shopping and saw this shirt:



I remember playing with those little people! I don't remember what they were called - they are not Weebles. But we used to have like planes and cars and houses that they used to play in. I remember the dog and the mean kid in the hat!

Another thing, I was reading on one of my friend's Facebook that they used to have a dog named Snoopy! Oh my gosh, my uncle (the one named above) also had a dog named Snoopy. We watched Snoopy die at the hands, or tires as the case may be, of the garbage truck. I don't remember crying, but I remember my uncle, who probably was only 4 or 5 at the time, bawling his eyes out. I feel bad for him now.

There have been a few more memories, but I am boring myself! I guess it just takes a smell or a sound to remind you of something or someone. People go in and out of your life, I think it is the ones that you remember with a smile upon your face that have made the biggest impact. The ones that are in your heart as well as your mind.