Whatever Wednesday- Where has common courtesy gone?

I was taught in school that since we drive on the right side of the road, to walk on the right side of the hall, stairway, go into the right door- right, right, right, right.  I am constantly run over by people walking on the wrong side, or slowed by a group four deep, taking up the entire walk way.  UM, move!  There are people trying to get around you and a group four deep should yield to faster singletons.  And it doesn’t help that Walmart’s entrance doors are on the left!  No wonder we’re screwed up.

Call me old fashioned, or just call me old now that I am in my thirties ;), but what happened to men letting women onto the elevator first, or opening doors, or even anyone holding the door open for the person behind them?  I have to give Jeffro credit, although he doesn’t always open the car door for me anyone due to getting children out of car seats, he does always open the door for me, pull out my chair when we go out to eat, and lets me go first with whatever we are doing.

And what about phone etiquette?  I can not tell you how many times I am on a conference call and there are people walking up and down the halls talking loudly.  Or hanging out at the copier in front of my cube and using their outside voices.  I’m not a quiet person, but I try to respect those working around me.  I am occasionally guilty of speaking to my director across cubes, but I try to make sure no one is on a call or at their desk.  Never at busy times of the day or when someone is on a call.  Pay attention to your surroundings!  Use your inside voice!

I think I’ll save my traffic rant for another day.  Traffic is enough to send me over the wall.  But, not as much as being hung up on for no reason.  If I ever hang up on someone it is to prevent myself from saying something I’d regret, or because I was beaten down and cussed at.  There’s no need for that.  The only person who can get heated with me is Jeff, and that is because we always right it immediately and we know that we can’t always fly off the handle for no reason.  We find that balance.  And, any emotions are usually justified.  We don’t lose it for no reason and we don’t scream at each other at work.  Common courtesy, right?

Tomorrow- yes I’ll be back!  Thoughtful Thursday

Family Friday- the family bed

My Daily Prayer- Thank you God for healing misunderstandings, removing resentments, and repairing relationships.  Thank you for helping us to let go of our own resentments, forgiving others and seeing our own faults and correcting them.  AMEN!

Tuesday Book (and more) Club- Your First Place Texas Rangers

I am not quite through this book, but I can’t wait to review Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He is a brilliant writer, however some of his techniques are show boated much like Mariah Carrey shows off her vocal talents by over singing. Brilliant, great singer, but just sing the dang song and don’t do all of those vocal exercises in the middle! That is how I feel about this book. Sometimes it is okay to just tell the story. But, most of the time I am jealous of the skill and wit of the author.

So, since it is summer, I have no shows on. There are a few of my guilty pleasures, like the Kardashians. But, mostly we watch sports over the summer. Almost every night there is a Texas Ranger game. And we listen to them on the radio, go to the games, but always watch on TV. What’s funny is that growing up it bored me to tears and I could not even understand what the radio announcers were saying because it was SSSSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOO boring. Now I love it. And, not just because the team I’ve seen at least once a year every year of my life, except when I lived outside of the Metroplex, so I am not a bandwagoner. I always enjoyed seeing them live, but now I enjoy them on TV and even on the radio. I probably won’t go out of my way to turn either on just for myself, until post season, but I am not annoyed that they are on. It was quite obnoxious that all my grandfather watched was baseball. But, then I married someone who is just as passionate about football, college and pro, basketball and fortunately just March Madness for college. He won’t turn down going to minor league baseball games, hockey or soccer, but they are fortunately not a televised event in our home.

So now, I compete with Disney Junior, Nick JR, and baseball. No problem, I’d rather read! Summer is when I catch up on all of my reading, go swimming, and bake for my new part-time job. Have I mentioned http://www.makingwhoopieplano.com, lately? You can click the button up in the banner, next to my face, to check it out. But, I digress…

So, although I enjoy baseball, I am SO thankful Jeffro only follows the Rangers. During football season, we have every TV tuned into a different game. College and NFL! He’s toned down, some, but it is a good thing that I don’t mind sports. I try to get into them so that I can enjoy them, but mostly so that Jeff and I will have something to talk about. Unfortunately, I could care less about the Mavs right now, so I don’t have much to say about who all we lost on the team and who we won’t be signing. Even if we had an all-star team, I’m in mommy mode and consumed by baking. I will probably have the same attitude about the Cowboys this year. If they’re on, great, but don’t expect me to know the third String Wide receiver this year. Or even the second. I am out of the loop, and going to enjoy just being a girl. I will make some dips and snacks, but I am not getting invested into the Cowboys. We’ll see how that goes! I will jump in the basketball and football bandwagon when their seasons start, but right now, out of site out of mind. I don’t follow the drafts or trades outside their regular season.

My Daily Prayer: God, please help me to live in the manner in which you command. Help me to stay on your path, help others do the same, and continue to smile because the destination is glorious. AMEN!

Daily Thanksgiving: I am thankful that Q has no food allergies and that I will fill up her belly with some homemade baby food and that she’ll sleep through the night again! I am also thankful that Easton is mostly potty trained. I am looking forward to Syd’s 11th birthday, and I am thankful for how she changed my life in the biggest way. Jeff definitely changed my life, but the Sydster changed it the most dramatically, and I would not be where I am without her.

When I have Kardashian Kash: I will have a wine cellar of epic proportion. It will be a cave that you access under my pool house. My outdoor kitchen will enable me to keep a kickin tan, watch the kiddos all while constantly improving my culinary techniques. And, I will be able to see the peacocks and llamas all while grilling and tanning. Serenity now!

Manic Monday- Papa Murphy’s

Papa Murphy’s is probably the best pleasant surprise I’ve had in a LONG time.  I usually expect greatness (i.e. Zerorez debacle),  but I went in with no expectations and came out a happy camper.  The salads are $5 for a HUGE salad with bacon, Canadian bacon, tomatoes, cheese, and romaine (Club Salad) and very tasty dill Ranch and yummy croutons. The cookies are delish, too.  (I had a coupon for free cookie dough, I know- weird order for a baker).

I printed off a $3 off coupon from their website and for a family sized pizza that barely fit in my oven, huge salad that fed us all and a 2 liter soda, my total was $12.  And, we had left overs!  We never have leftovers.  Everyone is going through a growth spurt and Q-Bone thinks she needs what we eat and usually grabs one of our meals and throws it on the floor.

The pizza that I am stuck on is the Bacon Chicken Artichoke on their thin crust- deLite.  OMG- so delish.  The pizza has an Alfredo sauce instead of marinara, fresh spinach, chicken, bacon, artichoke, and mozzarella.  It tastes like an artisan pizza and not a $12 value menu deal.  I will never order from a chain pizza joint again.  I love our neighborhood pizza joint, but for a cheapie dinner night, and something tasty and delicious, Papa Murphy’s it is!

My Daily Prayer:  Thank you God for new adventures, past experiences, and future endeavors.  Thank you for being with me every step of the way.  AMEN!

Daily Thanksgiving:  I am thankful for a family who will try anything, eat almost everything and enjoys doing new things together.

When I have Kardashian Kash:  I will pay Sydster to go noodling.  Just cause.

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Family Friday- teething buttheads

Teething babies confirm my feeling of not wanting to do this a fourth time. I love babies. I love kids. I love having a big family. But, I really love my sanity and so does my family. I hate being cranky and short of patience. I learned long ago not to ask for help with patience because this is exactly what I would be given!

Q is the most laid back baby. If she were either my first or second, I would have hurried up and had a few more within just a couple of years of each other. Right now, she is as needy as the first two were! She wants to eat every two hours, 24/7, she doesn’t want to be put down, and she is whiny. But, when you’re at your breaking point, she starts laughing and smiling or crawling toward someone’s pizza trying to eat it. She knows how to make everything okay.

Easton is going through a testing phase. He tests me by calling people butthead to see if I really will take away his swimming privilege. And I did, two days in a row. So he started calling people poopoo head. Yeah, not butthead, but still calling names. That will get swimming taken away, too! Hopefully, he will quickly see that I am serious and that he needs to stop the name calling. How’s that for a reaction, buddy? Not as good as Sydster’s shrieks of protest, but hey. And, we’ve been accident free for awhile!

Then there’s the Sydster. I have to say, she is getting better and better. She is handling the hormones of tweendom better than expected. She still frowns when we ask about chores, but in general, she has a good attitude and follows her routine. Her bedroom is our biggest battle ground, but it is far cleaner than mine ever was at her age. I want her to learn now how to put everything in its place. I want her to be better equipped than I was, but it is still a struggle sometimes. We went up to the church to help out a program where some homeless families stayed up there for the week. We did a day shift where we helped with lunch and played with the kids. When we left, she said, “well, they don’t have chores, huh? Lucky”. Yep, that’s the Sydster! Always seeing the positive. Kind of.

Fortunately, Jeffro and I aren’t generally cranky at the same time. He had a rough Saturday and Sunday was tough on me. Saturday, I tried to keep the kids entertained and did the bathing and nighttime routines so he could chill. On Sunday, he took Q grocery shopping while Easton and Syd napped/lay down so I could chill. He is pretty good about knowing when I need extra help and really steps it up. He has been extra good about getting Q at night and bringing her to me so that I don’t have to fully wake up twice. I can put her back down and try to fall back to sleep until the next round. Easton has been waking up too, but normally wakes up while I’m feeding Q, so Jeff gets to take care of him, too. I am very thankful for him and don’t know how I ever survived Sydney’s infancy without similar help. I am extremely grateful, even if I am quite tired and cranky.

My Daily Prayer: Thank you, God, for giving me only what I can handle. Thank you for your lessons and guiding me down your path. Thank you for the people in my life that help me when I can only do so much. AMEN!

Daily Thanksgiving: I am thankful for healthy children, with VERY healthy appetites. I am thankful for Jeff stepping in when I am not 100%. He truly completes me.

When I have Kardashian Kash: I will pursue every one of my compulsive hair-brained ideas. I will start my tater-truck, run my Whoopie and More Bakery, make films, write a book, rescue animals, become a certified natural child-birth teacher, and learn how to cook from a professional. The next week, I am not sure where I’ll start, maybe rehabbing junk into treasure for my antique store.