Recent Adventures with Edna

Meet Edna.

Well, that isn't exactly Edna, but it does hold her hostage.  I have one of those cool, modern phones, that no one over 12 can operate half the time.  Inside this phone is a GPS program.  Or as the cool people call it, a GPS App. 

The first time I met Edna, I had a dentist appointment, and wasn't familiar with exactly where I was going, so I plugged the address into the GPS and this pleasant female voice guided me right to my location.  I'm pretty sure that was just to get me hooked.  Then the pleasant person who guided me the first time was replaced by some grump, with a really sucky sense of direction.  Meet Edna.

I'm not sure why I named her Edna, she is slightly nasal, and she sure whines a lot.  If you have to stop at a stop light, she gets all pissed off and announces repeatedly that she is "adjusting" arrival time, since you are a moron who is stopped in the middle of the road.  And I'm pretty sure that the more she has to "adjust" the more she develops an attitude and gets really pissy, because apparently she doesn't believe in stopping for any reason.

She also gives you bad directions, and then is pissed, when there isn't a road going through the middle of a house, or a bank in order to get you to the location you so desire.  Then she starts her whole re-routing speech.  That's pretty much the straw that broke the camel's back in Edna's world.  She becomes short, and terse, and you can almost hear what she is thinking, "This moron can't drive, first she has to stop at intersections, I mean seriously, who does that?  Now, she is all pissed off because there isn't some road here.  Hello?!?  She drives a truck, hasn't she heard of off-roading?!?!  What a moron!  I guess I'll re-route the bimbo, because obviously she doesn't know how to drive, and she thinks that she has to keep her precious truck on the road.  I mean, c'mon, where is her sense of adventure?"

By this point, Edna isn't the only one is perturbed.  I have usually given her the #1 driver award several times, as well as called her names, that I'm only slightly ashamed of.  So Edna, although reluctantly, does give me an alternate direction, she doesn't like it, and she voices her displeasure with her clipped words, and sighs.

So this Christmas I'm on the lookout for a new person to man my GPS App.  I'm thinking Goofy, or perhaps Donald Duck, because surely they wouldn't get mad at you for stopping at stop lights and not driving through buildings, would they?

Thanks to the Parade of Homes Tour, Edna and I aren't currently on speaking terms.  So any comments for her will have to be directed to her attention, because I'm still pissed at her for wanting me to drive through 2 brand new houses, instead of around the block.  Then she has the gall to tell me that I'm not on a marked road.  Yet, she had already directed me down that particular road twice today.

Adventures in Black Friday Shopping

Each year as September draws near, I usually manage to finish up my Christmas shopping.  I know, I'm weird.

The stores are always so crowded the closer it gets to Thanksgiving and Christmas, and patience is always stretched so very thin. So I try to avoid all last minute shopping, just to save my sanity, and to avoid my name on the chalk board for too many curse words.

Unfortunately, I have gone Black Friday shopping, but only for myself and my husband.  One  year we bought a Nintendo DS.  Best investment I ever made.  It comes in handy when you are expected to wait, or when you are stuck at home sick, and are tired of watching TV.  Another year I bought a TV and DVD player for our bedroom.  Last year I bought a camera, but thankfully I didn't get up in the middle of the night to do that.  And this year.  Well, I went hunting for a TV.  We still had the "old" TV's, not flat panel type, until September, then in an effort to eliminate some clutter, we sold our 2 TV's on Craigslist.  We found an amazing deal on a 37" for our bedroom and have already replaced it.  So in preparation for when we move out and live on our own again, we decided to take advantage and purchase a new TV.  There was a local retail store that had a 42" TV for less than my truck payment.  So I opted to get up at 3am in order to stand in line in 19* weather for a cheap TV. 

I'm pretty sure that was my 2nd mistake.  My first was ever deciding that we really needed a 2nd TV.  I mean, you would think after almost 11 years of marriage my husband would just sit in the corner and let me watch what I want on TV and not complain, but Ohhhhh Noooooooo, he can't do that.  He wants to watch wrestling, and football, and (shudders) baseball.  So we really need 2 TV's, otherwise one of us might be in a lot of trouble with the other.

I'm pretty sure that I temporarily lost my mind, temporarily insane, crazy, not in my right mind.  I'm not really sure, but I shouldn't be allowed out of bed before noon, let alone at 3am.  I'm pretty sure some old lady grabbed my butt, hoping to startle me into dropping my purchases.  I just kicked her walker to the end of the aisle, and she gave me the finger, so I'm guessing we are even now, and that was just the beginning.  I got to see two grown women tugging on a video game console, screaming "Mine!", "No, Mine!". 

I got out of a nice warm bed for this?  Is 3am to early for a margarita?

There are always great deals to be had, but next year, I'm pretty sure that I'm just going to stay in bed and avoid the crazy people.  That's the best deal out there.  Cheaper too!

5 Question Friday

I went shopping with the rest of the people in West Texas at Midnight last night.  It was a unique experience.  One I hope I never have to do again.  My husband and I are exhausted, but today we are going back for more.  But not much, some of today's activities involve errands.  Yuck!

Enjoy Today's Thanksgiving Theme!

1. What is your favorite part of a Thanksgiving meal?


I don't really have a favorite part.  My grandmother usually cooks and she does an amazing job.  She is an amazing cook year round.  I think that the best part, is just spending the day with my family.  Some of whom we don't see as often as I would like too.

2. Are you a host or a guest for Thanksgiving this year?

Always a guest.  My grandmother does Thanksgiving, and on any typical year there are 16-25 people in her house.  My mom and I usually offer to make something, and I usually make cookies.  But this year I skipped out, I have just been so busy with work and school that I didn't want to add to the stress.  Or our waistlines by making thousands of cookies.

3. When you think of one Thanksgiving tradition, what comes to mind?

I don't guess that we really have any die-hard traditions for the day.  Usually after lunch the "boys" go out to the farm and target practice and talk guns.  This year some of the family skipped out on the festivities and went to a Dallas Cowboy's football game.  But we still love them.  Even though they went.  And they didn't even invite me.  But it's OK.  I'll try to keep that in mind when I buy their lumps of coal Christmas presents.

4. You have two pieces of pie in front of you and you HAVE to eat one...do you choose pumpkin or pecan?

PECAN!!!  I'm not a big fan of pumpkin, unless it's the recipe that I make.  But pecan pie.  Oh my.  The oowey, gooey wonderfulness.  And I like mine straight up.  No whipped cream, no nothing.  Just pecans and goo. 

5. Are you a Black Friday Shopper?

Not if I can help it.  I am one of those people who has their Christmas shopping done in July.  But I'm a little behind this year.  I only lack 5 gifts.  Two of which are generic for a party.  So it's not so bad.  The only Black Friday Shopping I do, is usually something my husband and I want for ourselves.  This year, we took care of each other's gifts, although, we are getting them today.  We know what they are, no point in waiting a month while they sit under the tree.  I have bought TVs, DVD players, stereos, computers, and video game accessories.  I have never bought Black Friday Gifts, for someone other than myself or my husband.
 
 
Thanks Mama!  I'm off to do a little more shopping, pick up some fabric for a couple of aprons.  Then I'm staying at home and hibernating until I go back to work on Monday.  Read more about my Black Friday shopping adventures on Monday!
 

Thankful

Thanks a lot Bob Perks.  This wasn't the post that I had planned on for Thanksgiving.  So consider this a bonus.

I decided that I would work on cleaning out my email at work yesterday afternoon.  The phones were quiet, as most other offices had let their employees go home early.  Since I went back to school, I'm not the best about staying on top of the email I receive. I get so many cooking newsletters, crocheting newsletters, cross stitch newsletters, and forwards from friends and family that it's enough to drive a  person to drink.  Yet somehow today was the day that I was going to whittle the number of unread messages in my inbox down into the triple ok maybe double digits.

Over the years, since I have "known" Bob, I have been moved by his messages.  He wrote the message that inspired me to actually get up and go back to school instead of just dreaming about it.  It's also mentioned in the very first post I ever made when I started this blog.  I guess I can think him for the no homework and no life. 

Today's message was especially profound.  I have spent the last 10 days coming up with things that I'm thankful for.  They were all so obvious, and a few not so obvious.  Some required more thought than others, and some were simply a matter of telling you, my readers, what exactly it was that I was and am thankful for.  However, today I want to print a retraction. 

Today, I am simply thankful for nothing.

-I worry about money, yet I have money in the bank.  I have a savings account.  There are so many who don't have a job.
-I worry about my application to TTU.  There are so many kids who would like to go to college, but know that they can't because they have a family to raise.
-I'm thankful for grouchy in-laws.  There are those who are single and long to be in a relationship.
-I'm thankful for the children in my life - there are people who have none, or worse, they are losing their child.
-I'm thankful that my husband spent the night out of town and made it back home safely.  There were those who leave home everyday, and don't make it back. 
-I'm thankful that recent test results showed - nothing.
-I'm thankful for the mess at home, because it means that I want for nothing.

Read Bob's story.  Then find your own nothing to be thankful for.

Today I'm thankful for nothing!

Thanks Bob for reminding me of all that I truly have and to be thankful for the nothings.

Happy Thanksgiving

Today, find something to be thankful for.  The last 10 days I have found things that I am thankful for in my own life.  What's important is to remember that these things should be appreciated each and every day, not just one day a year.  Enjoy today with your family and friends, and remember that even in the worst of times there is a blessing, you just have to see the beauty.

~Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude. ~E.P. Powell

~As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

~Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~Theodore Roosevelt

~God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

~We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. ~Cynthia Ozick

1 Day of Thanksgiving

Today, I am thankful for my husband.

I'm always thankful that he is my husband, and that he puts up with my sarcasm and odd questions without much complaint.  I'm thankful that he loves to spend time with me, and that he loves to be around me. 

I'm thankful that we have a good marriage, and that I can talk to him about anything.  I'm thankful for his patience with me.  Sometimes I'm grouchy, irritable, annoying, mean, and he manages to not choke me (even though he probably should) 

I'm thankful that he makes any activity fun, even cleaning.  When I have had a day full of "the suck" he holds me and lets me vent, or cry and tells me that it will all work out.  Then he finds out whose ass he needs to kick to make it all work out.  It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

I'm thankful that he goes shopping with me, and doesn't complain, I'm thankful that he doesn't drag me to Academy and Gander Mountain absolutely more than necessary.

I'm thankful that he lays in bed at night and listens to me verbalize how worried or stressed I am about whatever is bothering me.  Even though he has to get up early, he never complains. 

I'm thankful that he is a wonderful person, and that I get to spend the next 100 years with him.  I'm thankful that almost 11 years ago, I married him, and even though we have had our ups and downs, I'm glad that we both wanted this to work out so badly, that we refused to give up on ourselves, or on each other.

I love you.

~I love being married. It's so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life. ~Rita Rudner


~Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate. ~Barnett R. Brickner


~For you see, each day I love you more; Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow.~Rosemonde Gerard

2 Days of Thanksgiving

Today I am thankful that I am almost done writing these posts.  Today, I'm thankful that I can write these posts.

Today I'm thankful for our government and our politicians. 

I'm not saying that I agree with every choice and decision that they make, and I complain frequently about their harebrained schemes.  Thankfully, I live in a country where I can complain, and protest, and write about what a crappy job they are doing on my blog and not worry about persecution. 

I can drive to Starbucks and order my overpriced latte and I don't have to have a man with me, or be completely covered.  I can wear shorts and a sleeveless shirt and I don't have to worry about repercussions, other than sunburn.  I

Yes, our government and politicians need a lot of work.  A complete overhaul.  But, it is better than some places, and today I'm thankful that I live in a country where I can honor those who have fought and died for my freedoms, for my right to wear shorts, and to go to Starbucks for the overpriced latte.  That I have the right to complain and live my life with freedoms that we, as Americans, take for granted.  I often wonder, do we realize how lucky we really are?

~Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason. ~Author Unknown



~I think it's about time we voted for senators with breasts.  After all, we've been voting for boobs long enough.  ~Clarie Sargent  
 
~George Washington is the only president who didn't blame the previous administration for his troubles. ~Author Unknown



~ Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide. ~Napoleon Bonaparte


~Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. ~Thomas Paine