Toes, Cement, A Car Wreak, Extreme Fitness, Brain Cramps And MORE!!!

Have you ever wanted to stick your toes or a hand or write something with a stick in freshly laid cement? It definitely brings out the child in me.

This is my village this morning. 

Who the heck thinks we need to keep beautifying this one block town? Look at it! That’s all there is. But it’s in a constant state of rearranging on our taxpayer dollars.

I bring this up because you can see my coffee shop in the forefront. This morning, right outside, the cement mason was putting his final touches on a decorative circle before my eyes. The ONLY thing I could think of was taking off my flip-flops and digging my toes in. Leaving my mark. Childish, right?

My sensibility kicked in. I thought about the bill we’d receive from the village and the ‘splaining I’d have to do…

Speaking of ‘splaining…

It came to my attention this weekend (from my daughter), and as clever as I thought I’d been, my husband knows about a fender bender I may or may not have gotten in with her car recently. I immediately took it to “my guy” for a cheap repair (doesn’t everyone have a guy on hand for such things?) and had it fixed fairly well for 50 bucks. The alternative was a much more costly replaced wheel well and quarter panel. Plus it wasn’t on the driver’s side which is the side mostly seen from our driveway. I thought I made a good decision here. Funny, my husband has never mentioned a thing to me even though he has seen it, inspected it (no doubt), mentioned it to my daughter and knows who the culprit was. And he knows I know he's seen it. Patient man.

It’s been one week to the day since my little monsters left for school. Need I say more? AHHHHHHHHHHH…..

People who have been following me for the last 4-5 months know I get a bit wigged out over exercise. I always need to have a fitness goal or challenge dangling in front of me. If you live in the Chicago area, are going to be in the area OR want to be in the area and you like fitness challenges (Hey! Think along the lines of the writing challenges for which we are all so fond!), sign up for STORM THE STADIUM on September 22nd and do it with my friends and me!!! Check out the website. It should be a blast and I will be talking about it as it gets closer...A LOT! And it’s not about how fast you can do those 6000 stairs; it’s about just doing it. And who can resist a Survivor hunk or hunkette?

I love participating in Trifecta and Yeah Write writing challenges. However, I’m suffering from an extreme lack of ideas. Anyone out there have any suggestions for a writer’s brain cramp? Jack, I know you’ll say there is no such thing and to just keep writing and it takes practice and…

And I need sleep aids because I’m not doing it. Sleeping much. And I'm staying up way too late. And I’m thinking instead of sleeping. Counted back from 100 about 100 times last night and thought about Trifecta topic way too much. Sleep is overrated but I need just a little, pretty please!

I’ve been told the third book of The Hunger Games series isn’t as good as the first two. True? I should finish the series, don’t you think?

I always like to thank Stacy on Tuesdays for letting have a place to just be….Random!

And Seriously Shawn and Impulsive Addict for indulging our impulses to write whatever comes to mind.

And this is a train I’ve never been on before, Tuesday Train. I’m a nubee so I’m looking forward to an adventure.

Things That Happen When You Go Out Of Town

If you’ve been a parent long enough, this will happen to you too.

Imagine enjoying a leisurely vacation morning spent working out then digging a fork into your favorite breakfast, huevos rancheros, while slowly sipping your much anticipated first cup of delicious, golden brown and hot coffee.  You are with your closest friends and you can’t, at the moment, fathom being any happier. You are having the best morning ever, almost.

My friend, Susie, is never without her cell phone and sometimes that bothers me particularly when it rings during a peaceful, quiet meal together. That is exactly what disrupted our breakfast Friday morning.

Sue’s eyes flew wide open as she listened. I could almost hear what the girl on the other end of the phone was saying but I definitely could tell she was worked up. I assumed it was Sue’s daughter until she handed the phone across the table to ME!

“Mom, I’ve called you and Dad like seven times. Why don’t you have your phone with you (because I didn’t anticipate needing it)? I’ve been in an accident.”

OH CRAP!

My question is this. What’s with kids wanting us to be immediately accessible to them at all hours of the day or night? Parents out there with young kids, listen up! This doesn’t change as they get older. The problems just get bigger and more difficult to work out. This, I can promise you!!!

As soon as she heard my voice, she calmed down. Although, she’s not the kid that gets her undies in a bunch often; that’s the other one! She’s generally calm, cool and collected. I wonder whom she takes after?

Here were my immediate questions….

Where? On the Eisenhower Expressway heading into the city (which is one of Chicago’s biggies).

When? Friday afternoon just before rush hour. Oh, oh!

How? A five-car chain reaction.

Are you hurts, is anyone hurt? Thank God for a sturdy SUV and only one injury. Addy was in the car too? Poor girl!

Which car? MY CAR! Why were you in my car? This question has lots of it’s own questions.

What's the damage? Scraped bumpers and a few broken reflectors. No harm done and drivable (none of the other cars were so lucky!).  Again, thank God for a big and safe SUV!

WHOSE FAULT? Phewwwwww! The lady behind you started the whole thing. My girl does not need any more driving issues!

(The car that hit her and started the whole chain reaction. Not good!)

I do believe this made the news!

A pile up on one of Chicago’s major expressways that closed down all four lanes with five cars, three police cars, two ambulances, and two fire truck for two hours just before rush hour. YIKES!

If I were a motorist on the Eisenhower Friday afternoon, I’d be fit to be tied. If you’re unfortunate to be “stuck” between exits, you’re totally hosed until the accident is cleaned up! Oh, and it was about 95 degrees, too.

You also always hope you DON'T get a call when you're out of town.

AND you always hope your children never make the paper (sports and academics being the exceptions) because, in our community, it’s usually the Police Blotter for unsavory behavior.

AND I’m so happy my kids have my best friend’s phone number, too!

AND that Sue is never without it! I will never mention it again.

As a side note: I find it very interesting that whenever my kids are in a pickle or they’re having a problem and no matter who answers the phone (meaning dad), they always say, “Can I talk to Mom?” 

Talk To Us Tuesday