Before I write about our neighbors I have to show off the most kick ass tshirt you have ever seen that I wore yesterday with pride.
As you can see I love donuts.
And now on to our neighbors. We have neighbors with kids, cue the Hallelujah chorus. They have a little boy and a little girl and they play and play and play with our kids. And when our kids come home they show up happy and say, "where were you guys?" and when they come home our kids show up over there and say, "where were you guys?" and then they play some more. And the funny thing is, we don't even really know the neighbors very well - we just know that our kids love them and their kids love us and that is all that counts.
And they get muddy and dirty and scream and yell and run around some more and ride bikes and scooters and skateboards and play in the drain ditch and throw rocks and it makes me so happy to watch! I wish upon you all, neighbor kids to play with and no crazy property managers that shut it all down or helicopter parents that can't stand letting kids just play or nut job dirt freaks - you know who you are.
Yet another reason to love owning your own house and property surrounding your house!
runlikejoy
Displaced Stay At Home Californian in rural N. Carolina
The Many Faces of Joy
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Its SNOW joke
Yesterday, after 3 or 4 false alarms about gigantic snow storms that would dump tons of snow and ice and make things miserable for days, the girls and I headed out to the grocery store in Chapel Hill because we hadn't seen a single snowflake and I was needing to get out of the house because one of my kids was getting squirrely. At the last minute I decided to detour to a thrift store to buy some books. As we were getting in our car to go to the grocery store the first flakes started to fall but they were tiny and small.
Fast forward to 4 hours later and we are still in the car and now trapped in a long line of cars that were inching about 50 feet every hour or so. We had gone literally 2 miles in 4 hours. It was terrible. So I took a detour and hoped that my gamble would be worth it. And did I mention I had very little gas in the car and after 3 hours I started to worry that I might not make it home.
I don't usually get rattled by Mother Nature but she really had it out for someone yesterday because there were abandoned cars all over the roadway from people who started to slide, just got out and left their car and walked home. There were cars in ditches and sideways and I even saw one that was fallen on its side. Don't ask me how that happened.
I had some really nice young men push me twice when my car wouldn't get up a steep hill but finally I made it out to a main thoroughfare and after 5 hours I made it the 10 miles or so to my house. Luckily I had 2 pieces of pizza and some soda water in the car so the girls had something to eat. And luckily they were dressed warmly. and luckily we had bought books at the thrift shop so they had something to do for 5 hours. And I kept my cool - and I made it home by going slowly and not braking too fast and sticking to the middle of the road. And a kind neighbor picked up Gabe and they came out to find me and followed me home.
Next I'll tell you about the day we decided to head out to get flu shots on the day of the tornado warning. Crazy West Coasters!!
Fast forward to 4 hours later and we are still in the car and now trapped in a long line of cars that were inching about 50 feet every hour or so. We had gone literally 2 miles in 4 hours. It was terrible. So I took a detour and hoped that my gamble would be worth it. And did I mention I had very little gas in the car and after 3 hours I started to worry that I might not make it home.
I don't usually get rattled by Mother Nature but she really had it out for someone yesterday because there were abandoned cars all over the roadway from people who started to slide, just got out and left their car and walked home. There were cars in ditches and sideways and I even saw one that was fallen on its side. Don't ask me how that happened.
I had some really nice young men push me twice when my car wouldn't get up a steep hill but finally I made it out to a main thoroughfare and after 5 hours I made it the 10 miles or so to my house. Luckily I had 2 pieces of pizza and some soda water in the car so the girls had something to eat. And luckily they were dressed warmly. and luckily we had bought books at the thrift shop so they had something to do for 5 hours. And I kept my cool - and I made it home by going slowly and not braking too fast and sticking to the middle of the road. And a kind neighbor picked up Gabe and they came out to find me and followed me home.
Next I'll tell you about the day we decided to head out to get flu shots on the day of the tornado warning. Crazy West Coasters!!
Monday, February 10, 2014
Interview
I have a proper job interview today. The kind where you put on the crisp white shirt and your pressed black pants and you wear tasteful but professional earrings and not too much black eye liner and you wear the flats that are both comfortable but dressy. No perfume but a little extra deodorant for the flashy sweats that can come in waves due to nerves that haven't been exercised in a very long time. A little lip gloss but no lipstick because you don't want to get it on your teeth. Not too many "You Knows" and no "Yeahs".
I used to interview people. I used to do it a lot. I knew all the right questions to ask and all the wrong answers to give. I knew what was allowed by law and what was illegal. I loved meeting the people that wanted to work for my company and seeing what they looked like, how they brought their A game and how they failed miserably. I knew all the right things to do and all the right things to say. And I hired people based on whether or not they knew the right things to do or say.
But now the tables have turned. The last time I sat in an interviewing chair was 2002 and I was fleeing a terrible job working for a crazy person and just hoping anyone would give me a job and that no one was crazy. And now I'm looking for something that will ease me back into the working world and take me away from my 9 year Stay-At-Home-Mom stint. It is all very exciting and exhilarating but in a totally different way that being a SAHM was exciting and exhilarating.
And I'm so happy that I got to spend 9 years with my kids - helping them grow, helping them learn and teaching them things that they will rely on throughout their entire lives. I just wish we hadn't had chilli last night.
I used to interview people. I used to do it a lot. I knew all the right questions to ask and all the wrong answers to give. I knew what was allowed by law and what was illegal. I loved meeting the people that wanted to work for my company and seeing what they looked like, how they brought their A game and how they failed miserably. I knew all the right things to do and all the right things to say. And I hired people based on whether or not they knew the right things to do or say.
But now the tables have turned. The last time I sat in an interviewing chair was 2002 and I was fleeing a terrible job working for a crazy person and just hoping anyone would give me a job and that no one was crazy. And now I'm looking for something that will ease me back into the working world and take me away from my 9 year Stay-At-Home-Mom stint. It is all very exciting and exhilarating but in a totally different way that being a SAHM was exciting and exhilarating.
And I'm so happy that I got to spend 9 years with my kids - helping them grow, helping them learn and teaching them things that they will rely on throughout their entire lives. I just wish we hadn't had chilli last night.
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Sugar Sugar
If you read my last blog post you saw that I started a 21 day sugar fast. That lasted 6 days and while I appreciated the efforts of the people participating to get me back on that horse, it turns out that THAT horse had already galloped away.
As a rule I don't eat a lot of sugar anyway but faced with the prospect of not being allowed to eat any sugar for 21 days and my inner reserve crumbles and crashes to the ground and disintegrates. Oh, And, I do not like being told what to do. So, typically when that happens I do exactly what I want to do. We can analyze the reasons why I failed at the 21 days sugar fast - after all I was a vegan for months and was a vegetarian for at least 18 years but in the end, I wasn't able to hack it and so my record is 6 days.
What it did do was renewed my efforts at watching what I eat, how much I exercise and getting through February which in my opinion now that we live on the East Coast, is the worst month ever. Now I know why people bail and go to Florida and the Caribbean out here. It is just to see the sun. Our winter starts earlier and lasts longer and the entire month of January and February feel grey - and it gets oppressive.
And while I can't do anything about my tan or lack of tan, what I can do is stay in fighting shape so that when that sun starts to peek out and the weather heads back up to warmer temps I will be sundress, shorts and tank top ready. Because lets face it, bikinis are for other girls.
As a rule I don't eat a lot of sugar anyway but faced with the prospect of not being allowed to eat any sugar for 21 days and my inner reserve crumbles and crashes to the ground and disintegrates. Oh, And, I do not like being told what to do. So, typically when that happens I do exactly what I want to do. We can analyze the reasons why I failed at the 21 days sugar fast - after all I was a vegan for months and was a vegetarian for at least 18 years but in the end, I wasn't able to hack it and so my record is 6 days.
What it did do was renewed my efforts at watching what I eat, how much I exercise and getting through February which in my opinion now that we live on the East Coast, is the worst month ever. Now I know why people bail and go to Florida and the Caribbean out here. It is just to see the sun. Our winter starts earlier and lasts longer and the entire month of January and February feel grey - and it gets oppressive.
And while I can't do anything about my tan or lack of tan, what I can do is stay in fighting shape so that when that sun starts to peek out and the weather heads back up to warmer temps I will be sundress, shorts and tank top ready. Because lets face it, bikinis are for other girls.
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