As I sit here watching the summer snow float across the yard landing on anything and everything, I wonder even as I had longed for it through the cold winter, how fast summer came. One by one my girls have finished school. Emily is now to be a 10th grader, Abby in kindergarten. In a couple of days Ashley will be done and leaving 3rd grade behind her. A tired phrase, but still true, how fast they grow up.
It is so great to see a smile on their faces, the sparkle in their eyes. When they laugh I think of innocence. I wonder if I ever felt that way, laughed that way. So free. I try to record it in my memory for when they are grown up. As much stress and frustration as I feel as we experience the growing pains, it is these precious moments when they aren't fighting and they are just being kids who enjoy life.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Couponing 101
I have just created a new blog about couponing. It is just basic info about couponing for anyone interested in learning more about it. I have included links to some of the sites I go to for matchups and to find printable coupons and also use the database if I am looking for a specific coupon from the Sunday paper inserts. I hope you will find it helpful, and I may post some matchups myself at some point.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Sad day
It was a beautiful day out yesterday. It was still morning when I headed out to the store. I hadn't gotten a mile down the road when a dog ran out in front of me. I tried to stop and not hit it, but I couldn't. As soon as I stopped, I threw it in park and ran out leaving the door open, dinging furiously at me. The owner and I were both running frantically to the dog who was lying on the road.
It was a beautiful German Shepard. And he looked like he was hurting. I was in shock, mortified that I had hit the dog. I stayed with him while the woman went to call her husband. I looked at him lying there in the road. He looked like Jimmy, our dog who died a couple of years ago. I think it made it even worse than it already was. I was telling the dog to please be OK. I am sorry! The woman came back from calling her husband. She thanked me for stopping. Of course I would stop. Who wouldn't stop?!?! To me it was like hitting a child.
A neighbor across the street had come out to see if the dog was OK too. She and I helped the woman to drag the dog gently out of the road. The woman thanked me for helping and told me I could go. I hesitated, because I didn't want to just leave her and the injured dog. But she assured me it was OK and I slowly walked to my car. I turned around and headed back to my house shaking and feeling numb.. As I drove past the woman and the dog, I stopped the car and asked the woman if she was sure I couldn't take them to the Animal Hospital. She said her husband was on the way. So I started to put my pedal on the gas and drive back home.
I was afraid to drive anywhere now. I didn't want to go to the store. I was very upset about hitting that poor dog. I'm sure I looked a sight as Bob turned to me out by the camper parked right behind our house. I burst into tears and Bob came over and hugged me. I told him what had happened. Then I went inside and unable to sit down went out and washed the dishes. After I had gotten myself calmed down I resolved that I would go see how the dog was doing in the next day our two. I was afraid that it would be bad.
Later we headed in to the store with Bob driving and the kids in the back. I was still hesitant about driving. I had calmed down, but I kept seeing that dog coming out into the road and trying to avoid hitting him. Bob dropped me off at Walmart and the kids and I shopped for the items on our list while he went to take back brakes or something. By the time Bob had gotten back we were almost finished.
As we were looking for something in the grocery section a couple of women asked me if I was the woman who had hit the dog on Albion Road. I froze. I waited to be called a terrible person. I sort of recognized the one, but not the other. She told me she just wanted to let me know the dog was going to be fine. It was just a broken leg. A sense of relief washed over me. I thanked her for letting me know. That I was so glad to hear the dog would be OK.
I know this story may be trivial to some. It was just a dog, they would say. But to me, it was not just a dog. I got upset when I hit a deer once. Luckily he seemed OK as he darted off. But I was shaking. Animals are not just things. And a dog or a cat.... they are a part of our lives. To me it is like hitting a child. I know how it felt when we lost Jimmy. And I know how I would feel if anything happened to our dog Zoey.
It was a beautiful German Shepard. And he looked like he was hurting. I was in shock, mortified that I had hit the dog. I stayed with him while the woman went to call her husband. I looked at him lying there in the road. He looked like Jimmy, our dog who died a couple of years ago. I think it made it even worse than it already was. I was telling the dog to please be OK. I am sorry! The woman came back from calling her husband. She thanked me for stopping. Of course I would stop. Who wouldn't stop?!?! To me it was like hitting a child.
A neighbor across the street had come out to see if the dog was OK too. She and I helped the woman to drag the dog gently out of the road. The woman thanked me for helping and told me I could go. I hesitated, because I didn't want to just leave her and the injured dog. But she assured me it was OK and I slowly walked to my car. I turned around and headed back to my house shaking and feeling numb.. As I drove past the woman and the dog, I stopped the car and asked the woman if she was sure I couldn't take them to the Animal Hospital. She said her husband was on the way. So I started to put my pedal on the gas and drive back home.
I was afraid to drive anywhere now. I didn't want to go to the store. I was very upset about hitting that poor dog. I'm sure I looked a sight as Bob turned to me out by the camper parked right behind our house. I burst into tears and Bob came over and hugged me. I told him what had happened. Then I went inside and unable to sit down went out and washed the dishes. After I had gotten myself calmed down I resolved that I would go see how the dog was doing in the next day our two. I was afraid that it would be bad.
Later we headed in to the store with Bob driving and the kids in the back. I was still hesitant about driving. I had calmed down, but I kept seeing that dog coming out into the road and trying to avoid hitting him. Bob dropped me off at Walmart and the kids and I shopped for the items on our list while he went to take back brakes or something. By the time Bob had gotten back we were almost finished.
As we were looking for something in the grocery section a couple of women asked me if I was the woman who had hit the dog on Albion Road. I froze. I waited to be called a terrible person. I sort of recognized the one, but not the other. She told me she just wanted to let me know the dog was going to be fine. It was just a broken leg. A sense of relief washed over me. I thanked her for letting me know. That I was so glad to hear the dog would be OK.
I know this story may be trivial to some. It was just a dog, they would say. But to me, it was not just a dog. I got upset when I hit a deer once. Luckily he seemed OK as he darted off. But I was shaking. Animals are not just things. And a dog or a cat.... they are a part of our lives. To me it is like hitting a child. I know how it felt when we lost Jimmy. And I know how I would feel if anything happened to our dog Zoey.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Remembering Reinhart's
There are pieces of our childhood that exist in ou9r memories. Maybe we don't even think of them unless there is a specific reason to do so. A moment frozen in time that comes to the forefront once in awhile.
Reinhardt's is one of those places for me. It is a part of my childhood that I have rarely thought of since, unless I happened to find myself out that way for some reason. It brings me back to Sundays after church when I would get my $5 allowance to take to the store and spend. Don't be judging my $5. It was a lot back then.
So, I would take my $5 and head into Reinhart's. I would stand in front of the wall of candy and stare, trying to figure out what I would buy. There were so many choices... too many for me. I would stand there until I was told it was time to go. Then I would usually grab a Whatchamacallit and maybe a Big Chew or maybe Bubblegum cigarettes. After standing there that whole time, I would usually get the same thing every time.
Maybe that's why a place like that holds such a precious place in our hearts. A representation of the innocence of childhood. A place where I didn't have to think about all the things I struggle with today.
When you watch a part of your past disappear in a deluge of flames, only to become a pile of rubble, you feel a sense of lass, and ache that you may not even understand. As if that physical representation of your childhood has been relegated to the memories of so many, only to become something that fades eventually.
Yes, it is, or was a building. A store like so many that have come and gone throughout the years. But for so many it was so much more than that. It was a place that was part of so many pieces of our past.
I am 41. It has been decades since I was in that store. I would imagine so many of us have not walked its aisles in many years. Yet we watched those flames engulfing it with sadness. As if we'd lost an old friend.
I apologize if I misspelled Reinhart's. I tried to look it up but was unable to find it.
Reinhardt's is one of those places for me. It is a part of my childhood that I have rarely thought of since, unless I happened to find myself out that way for some reason. It brings me back to Sundays after church when I would get my $5 allowance to take to the store and spend. Don't be judging my $5. It was a lot back then.
So, I would take my $5 and head into Reinhart's. I would stand in front of the wall of candy and stare, trying to figure out what I would buy. There were so many choices... too many for me. I would stand there until I was told it was time to go. Then I would usually grab a Whatchamacallit and maybe a Big Chew or maybe Bubblegum cigarettes. After standing there that whole time, I would usually get the same thing every time.
Maybe that's why a place like that holds such a precious place in our hearts. A representation of the innocence of childhood. A place where I didn't have to think about all the things I struggle with today.
When you watch a part of your past disappear in a deluge of flames, only to become a pile of rubble, you feel a sense of lass, and ache that you may not even understand. As if that physical representation of your childhood has been relegated to the memories of so many, only to become something that fades eventually.
Yes, it is, or was a building. A store like so many that have come and gone throughout the years. But for so many it was so much more than that. It was a place that was part of so many pieces of our past.
I am 41. It has been decades since I was in that store. I would imagine so many of us have not walked its aisles in many years. Yet we watched those flames engulfing it with sadness. As if we'd lost an old friend.
I apologize if I misspelled Reinhart's. I tried to look it up but was unable to find it.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Some people just seem to have the ability to find their way around. They can go somewhere once or twice and remember how to get there from then on. My husband has that ability. I don't. I get lost going anywhere new without my navigation on my phone.
I got lost just yesterday trying to find a house on some side street. I looked at the map online and thought I could easily get there. I confidently followed my directions from my memory of the map driving down main street looking for the street I knew should be there but it wasn't. I turned around and drove back by looking at the street names. My gas light was on, so I ended up pulling over and turning on my navigation.
I guess I don't know how to read a map. Harvester Ave is a street I am very familiar with. You know something..... there was another side to that street! and the street I was looking for was over on that other side of Harvester. I guess I didn't know that street as well as I thought I did.
I would have probably never found it anyway because my navigation took me this way and that. One good thing was that I saw a street view of the house, so I knew it when I saw it. I did what I was there to do and then stubbornly refused to use the navigation to get out of there. So I drove way out of my way until I found a street I knew and then prayed I had turned the right way. With my gas light on. It's ok, I had plenty of gas left. I did however need to get to the school to pick up my daughter. Which I did with time to spare, thankfully.
No, I am not a person who can get around without getting myself lost. Before the GPS I would call my husband to help me after I got lost. He would ask me what street I was on and be able to give me directions including businesses and roads nearby etc. Man, he sure has a great memory for things like that. I get lost going straight. It took me a long time to realize I could at least use the East/West to have a general idea which way to go. No, I'll never be good at directions. That is just one of those things. I am glad, I suppose, that I at least have a GPS and my husband to help me get unlost.
I got lost just yesterday trying to find a house on some side street. I looked at the map online and thought I could easily get there. I confidently followed my directions from my memory of the map driving down main street looking for the street I knew should be there but it wasn't. I turned around and drove back by looking at the street names. My gas light was on, so I ended up pulling over and turning on my navigation.
I guess I don't know how to read a map. Harvester Ave is a street I am very familiar with. You know something..... there was another side to that street! and the street I was looking for was over on that other side of Harvester. I guess I didn't know that street as well as I thought I did.
I would have probably never found it anyway because my navigation took me this way and that. One good thing was that I saw a street view of the house, so I knew it when I saw it. I did what I was there to do and then stubbornly refused to use the navigation to get out of there. So I drove way out of my way until I found a street I knew and then prayed I had turned the right way. With my gas light on. It's ok, I had plenty of gas left. I did however need to get to the school to pick up my daughter. Which I did with time to spare, thankfully.
No, I am not a person who can get around without getting myself lost. Before the GPS I would call my husband to help me after I got lost. He would ask me what street I was on and be able to give me directions including businesses and roads nearby etc. Man, he sure has a great memory for things like that. I get lost going straight. It took me a long time to realize I could at least use the East/West to have a general idea which way to go. No, I'll never be good at directions. That is just one of those things. I am glad, I suppose, that I at least have a GPS and my husband to help me get unlost.
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