bubbles and birthdays....

Wyatt, the birthday boy!

It was another beautiful day on the planet here yesterday! I sure wish it was just a little warmer at night, though, as Rob and I are getting a little weary of the traveling flower circus.  It’s still too cold at night to plant the darn flowers so we’ve been carting flats of flowers and veggies out to the sunshine every morning and back into the house every night. I’ve run out of room to hang flower baskets inside, too, so I can’t fill any more until the weather starts cooperating.

Our morning yesterday started out with a funny bang.  I think I told you that my car died last week.  I went to start it one morning and nothing happened.  I knew this was coming as the folks at the Oil Barn had told me that I had a lot of corrosion on my battery and I needed to get all of it off or it was going to eat through and cause problems.  Well, I had been faithfully scrubbing all that blue goo off the battery (when I thought of it).  So, yesterday, we were supposed to take the car to Michelena’s to get the battery taken care of and I also needed a tune-up while they had it.  Rob and I went out and hooked up the cables to get it started and…..nothing.  Turns out it had eaten right through and disconnected the battery connection.  Rob, in his infinite wisdom, figured out what was going on and had to jury rig a pair of locking pliers to hold the connection until we could get to the car place.  Of course, he had to wrap the pliers in duct tape, to keep them from shorting out on the way down the hill.  I would have never known to do that!  Sometimes, my little nerd (and I say that lovingly) really surprises me.  He’s not usually much help in the car or construction area, so I was really impressed! Rob is awesome on all things computer but domestic, not so much.

Turns out the battery acid had indeed eaten through and I’m going to need a new cable.  Also, we found out that in order to change the spark plugs in my car, they have to remove something weird and replace it, too (I can’t remember what it was) so my car won’t be ready until sometime today.  That’s okay, I’m perfectly happy with another carless day.

I spent most of the rest of yesterday outside again, raking up the clumps of wet grass left behind by the mower.  You’d think when you have a bag on your mower, it would pick everything up.  If I don’t get it all up, Thistle will snatch those yucky clumps and bring them proudly into the house!  I already have to deal with all the other disgusting things she decides are worthy of bringing in the house, like tree roots she’s dug up or big rocks she’s taken a fancy to.  I got most of them up and then I was just exhausted, I think I did too much the day before. So, Thistle and I spent the rest of the morning in her fenced in part of the back yard, playing and soaking up some sun. 

In the afternoon, I had a nice phone conversation with my Aunt Becca about our impending visit down to Alabama.  Turns out, now my other cousin, Rick and his wife, are also going to be coming for the visit!  It’s been ages since I’ve seen him!  I think his kids were still toddlers the last time I saw them.  His oldest is now in college and living down in Florida, that’s how long it’s been!  I’m starting to get really excited about seeing everyone.  We now have pretty much the whole darn family showing up.  Even my mother has decided to drive down from Maryland to join us. I think this will be the first birthday that I’ve spent with my whole family since I was a little kid!  This is going to be a lot of fun.  I have a feeling we won’t be getting a lot of sleep as we’ll all have lots to catch up on.  Of the folks coming, I haven’t seen my Uncle Kip for about 18 years, I know it’s been longer than that since I’ve seen my cousin, Chuck, who is Rick’s brother and I can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve seen cousin Camille, although I talk with her on the phone.  I’ve also not seen Becca’s boys since they were pretty young, I think Zander was about 10, the last time I was in Alabama (He’s in his late twenties, now). 

We are pretty much scattered all over now, although I definitely live the furthest away.  Rick and Mom are in Maryland, Chuck is in North Carolina, Kip is in southern Georgia and Camille is in north Georgia.  Libbie, in Ohio, is the only one unable to make the festivities, except for my dear Aunt Dotty, who also lives in North Carolina, but I think she’s just getting a little too old to travel.  I told Becca I might just have to throw my medical diet out the window while I’m down there, too!  There’s going to be too many good darn cooks all in one house to be worrying about a couple of days of what I eat!  Becca was a cook in the Army for years before she retired, so you know she knows how to put out some food! I hear Zander has turned into quite the chef, as well. Southern food is something I really miss!

Last night, after Rob got home, we went over to Jim and Breean’s for little Wyatt’s 5^th birthday party.  Oh my goodness, what a riot!  He had invited a bunch of little kids and we all had a nice cookout in the backyard with kebobs, which the little ones rushed through because Breean had made cupcakes for them with Avenger action figures on them and that’s all they could think about.  When we went in for Wyatt to open his presents, he was hilarious.  He tore through all of them in no time flat, tearing each one open, just enough to see what it was before hitting the next present.  He didn’t go back to play with any until everything was all open.  Of course, a lot of it was Avenger related, surprise, surprise!  I got him a little air hockey game so he can have something to play with his sister, Wylie and a gigantic bubble wand.  I have to admit, when I was buying the bubble wand, I almost threw one in for myself.  I just love bubbles!  I’m still thinking I may go back and get one because it would be hilarious to watch Thistle chase bubbles….yes, that’s a good excuse, right? The wand was a hit with all of the kids, too.  This wand is as long as a sword and makes huge bubbles! There’s just something about bubbles, I swear.  Did you know that when it’s really cold, like below 10 degrees, you can go outside and blow bubbles and they will turn to glass?  I keep a box of those little wedding bubbles in the house just so I can do that every winter, I’m such a kid.

Today will be another easy day, nothing is really planned at all and I’m looking forward to that. Breean and Wyatt are going to stop by sometime, as Bree and I really didn’t have a lot of time to visit, herding kids last night.  She starts her new job tomorrow so this will be our last chance to relax and talk without everyone around for awhile. The only outside work I can really do is digging out the massive weeds that have sprouted up in the veggie garden. It’s going to take a shovel and a lot of sweat to get that job done.  Hopefully, I’m rested enough that I can get a lot of that done for Rob as he’s still recovering from mowing the lawn.  His knee did not like that chore at all.

I’m doing okay on my strict diet again although I feel like no matter how much I eat of the stuff I’m allowed, I’m practically starving all the time right now.  It’s so weird because I’m actually eating more than I usually do.  I guess it’s because it’s all fruit and veggies, it just doesn’t seem to make me feel full.  I’m hoping that my system will calm down soon and realize that the days of bacon and other no-no’s aren’t coming back! If I remember correctly from the last time I started this, it will take about a week.  I’m still really having a problem with the coffee part, though.  Dang, that stuff’s addicting!

Well, we made it to hump day again!  I hope you have an absolutely wonderful day and that everything runs smoothly in your life.  If it doesn’t, no worries, there’s always tomorrow to start all over again.  That’s what so wonderful about life, you have the opportunity to change it every waking moment of your life.  And, if you can’t change your life, you can change how you view it and learn to laugh and roll with the punches.  Now, get out there and go conquer the world!