Sometimes there should be a witness…

I have a mouse in my house again. I dealt with this a year ago too. When I resolved it that time I disposed of the intruder in the yard and thought, let this be a warning to the rest of you!! Apparently this mouse is a young adventurer who hasn't heard of my wrath. He's most active during the evening, which is when I decided to politely share a favorite snack, honey roasted peanuts. I allowed the quiet little mouse one peanut, free and clear placed on the floor. Enjoy it you little rascal because the next one, in the trap, will be your last!
The next morning I hear the usually nocturnal beast quietly munching away on something across the room. I'm busy so I decide not to hunt but instead try to shoo him away by stomping my feet. The chewing came to a halt, but I didn't see the perpetrator leave the scene. A few moments later the chewing resumes. Agghhhh… Since I know it's not long till he find the peanut buffet I can tolerate a little noise but geezzz, cut it out! In a fit of aggravation I grab the closest thing and chuck it across the room. With a very soft brush of the curtains the violently thrown finger nail file falls near the intended target who apparently took enough time to chuckle. Finally I've had enough and leap across the room where my first stop is the peanut meal I laid out the night before. I lift the curtain to find the peanut buffet gone. I could only imagine this was a Mission Impossible peanut extraction operation. Both the appetizer and the main course that had been delicately placed in the contraption have been removed with expert precision, leaving the jaws of the mouse trap wide open and clueless of their failure to act.
That's it! With a greater sense of determination I place one new peanut back in the trap with the alluring stickiness of peanut butter holding it on. No appetizer this time buddy!
In a continued effort to find the perpetrator I throw the curtains back to the left, no mouse. I climb on top of the chest and peer behind, no mouse. I step back on the floor and sweep the rest of the curtains off to the right and still no mouse! As I continue to ponder the whereabouts of the rodent I lightly brush a plastic bag on the floor. Suddenly the ferocious beast that's been lying in wait leaps forward in a fierce and threatening manner and darts across my barefoot as if to say "ha you foolish giant, where's the rest of my food!!"
I don't startle easily, but I will say someone in that room screamed like a little girl.

I'm OK With It...

Over the years we learn to accept things about ourselves. For me there are a couple things that come to mind... for example, my hair. I've tried to straighten it and it doesn't work so well. I've tried perms and those were never good for anyone involved. What I know is this, I do have a lot of hair (thanks dad), I also have a lot of waves, not curls, just waves which are really just cowlicks gone wild (again, thanks dad!). So the answer to the problem, I try to work with my hair, not against it. It wants to part to the left on Thursdays and Tuesdays, and down the middle on Friday, that's ok, I can work with it!
Secondly, many times, I can be a lot more emotional than I'd prefer. When my feelings get hurt, I get very frustrated, or something sad happens.. I've been known to shed a tear or twenty. Something funny happens, you'll know it 5 counties away. For the sad stuff it can be kind of easy, just avoid them. You can tell when a movie is a tearjerker, so why pay money to see something that's going to make you feed like crap two hours later. As for the funny stuff I've learned to work with it too. Some people are known for their great hair, legs, clothes.... blah blah blah. Turns out none of that works well for radio anyway!! But a laugh, apparently people get a kick out of it on occasion. Silly and loud, yes, but I'm ok with it.
What brings me to this blog is that I'm also not so good with pain. If someone else cuts a finger or breaks a leg, I can at least be useful. This week, Debbie, our office manager had two wisdom teeth pulled then came to work. Crazy woman! If that was me, not only would I not be at work, but neither would she because she may need to take care of me. I I know this because of previous experience. While working in Little Rock, I learned I had two wisdom teeth coming in. The doctor set the appointment to pull one of them for the following week which gave me 7 days to anticipate the tooth extraction fun. On appointment day I'm sitting in the chair. As the assistant gives me the shots I decide it's a good idea to let her know these things (surgeries) don't always go well for me.
"Hon, I'm glad you said so, how are you doing now?"
With a shallow breath I answer.. "Not so well"
The next thing I know, I'm in a horizontal position with an oxygen mask on my face. First thought "they knocked me out and pulled it already, hot dog!" I soon realized the tooth was, sadly, still intact.
In an effort to return color to my face the dentist says "just keep breathing, and relax. We can take it out next week just as easy as we could this week so don't worry."
Don't worry? Don't worry?! Hah you crazy man. If you think I'm coming back here willingly you really are crazy.
I have extra wisdom in my head, and yes, I'm ok with it.

A New Mode of Transportation….

I found a car. Yes, a car instead of another Jeep. I'll be back in the Jeep world sometime in the future, but for the time being I'll drive a little red Jetta and keep some gas money in my own pocket. The Jetta has a few extra rattles and years, but so far so good. Let's hope she keeps on ticking. To make that happen I'm afraid I will have to adjust my driving a little. You see, I believe you drive a car the way it wants to be driven and I believe most cars want to be 4-wheel drive. In college it was the Topaz, a white bolt of gas efficient lightening who met a few curbs, hills and gullies in its day (one curb my friends seem to remember all to well). There was also the Thunderbird. Turns out the ol' bird could seat more than five, but couldn't fly over railroad tracks...General Lee, she was not. So you see, my move to taller vehicles was sensible, and a leading reason was to get further away from the ground. Hopefully the little red Jetta is up to the challenge, though maybe the challenge won't be as extreme.
In other transportation excitement, sunny weather and a Sunday created the perfect day for horseback riding this weekend. Luckily some friends around here have a few equine on hand and allowed me to borrow a steed and tag along.
During life in Texas County, I spent many a day on horseback. Sometimes I'd even come in for lunch then change horses for the afternoon. That was pre-college of course. In college the apartment people frowned at the idea of a horse in the courtyard.
This weekend, we met in Waverly Sunday morning and hauled the herd to an area around Marshall. We had a great ride and enjoyed the Missouri scenery. By the end of the day, we'd been riding for around 6 hours. I'm ready to go again, but don't let me forget the Aspirin and Icy Hot!

Dear Mr. Corner Lot Car Guy...

I won't be back to south KC to look at that other hunk of metal you call a great deal. You keep it and have a fun with the spring sticking through the seat!

By the way, just a tip from me to you... shower!

The Search is Underway....

Vehicle shopping can be a lot of fun. Test drive anything and everything, wish big, then look in the purse to see very little funds to get the next big toy. Made a trip to Kansas City last night to do a little shopping for a car and found one I really liked but is more than I want to spend at this time of course. Oh well, that's the way it goes so the search will continue. In the meantime, this is another wedding weekend. A college friend is getting married then heading to a beach in a far off place to spend time with her betrothed. I wonder if she needs a car sitter...

It's 2008, do you know where you are?

It was a fun weekend visiting with the girls. We gathered at a winery near Rolla for Amy's personal wedding shower. Those are interesting because the bride receives gifts that are more for the honeymoon than the blissful life of love and roses.
That evening -- bachlorette party! I've been to a few of those and that's always a good time. This party was too. We had a great time. However, during our girl chat on the drive to dinner, I realized something.... we're in a minivan.........
WE ARE IN A FREAKIN MINIVAN!!!
Holy crap! Where did the last decade go?

Hurry Up and Wait!

"We'll have more information for you tomorrow.... or the day after" Aggghhhhh!! Not knowing what's going to happen regarding the Jeep is very frustrating. I received word yesterday that they, I'm sad to say, totaled the Jeep. I'm pretty attached to that little 4-wheel drive, sometimes topless, show me the road not to take and we'll go there, piece of driving technology. I'm sure my world and driving experience will never be the same! I guess the delay from insurance is giving me time to just get over it and move on. However, my heart is sad and without wheels. Well not really, I have a rental for now, but it sounds more dramatic in my mind.
I've spent the last few days searching the www seeking out the next wonder of the automotive world that will work within my nonexistent budget. I'll keep you posted.... I did see an ol' 90's Mercury Topaz.... haven't I seen one of those before? Ahh college.... On the upside I could drive that thing for 3 days after the low fuel light came on!!