Misc Monday

Not a lot going on around here, as per usual.  Mom and I are taking off for St Louis after work for the Blues game.  Blues v Vancouver.  Should be a good one.  Last time Blues played Vancouver it was a really good game.  Lots of fights.  Lots of goals.

I found this this morning and it is soooo apt.  A little harsh, but apt.

Thursday I got a call at 7:30p from work, I had to go in at 1:00a.  That.....sucked.  But all was right with the world when I got home twelve hours later.  Frankfurter gave me cuddles.  Such a sweet boy.

Fatty is living the dream--squashing my nice leather chair.  If he's happy, I'm happy.

Odin

I'm not on Facebook.  I don't Tweet.  As a result, I am woefully behind on the goings on around the nation.  The other day I came across a human interest piece (a few days late) and it really struck a chord with me.  It's about Odin, a thirteen year old boy from I-forget-where, who was the recipient of one of the worst cases of douche baggery I've ever seen.  Odin, who has Asperger's, sent out an invite to all of his classmates for his thirteenth birthday.  Not one classmate RSVP'd.  Not.....one.  No one was coming to his birthday party.  His mom posted something on Facebook asking people to text or call Odin on his birthday, to make him feel special.  Social media to the rescue---it went viral.  People from all over the country Tweeted or Facebooked (I know that's not correct, but I don't know what else to call it) Odin to wish him a happy birthday.  They called, texted.  One sweet girl made him a birthday cake.  Hundreds of well wishers showed up for his party, being held at a local bowling alley.

Those parents had a wonderful opportunity to teach their children about compassion and understanding for those who are different.  Those who are handicapped or, for whatever reason, outside the norm.  They had an opportunity to teach their children that we have an obligation to look after those who may need our help.  Why did the parents not tell their children that Odin is just like every other boy?  He has likes and dislikes.  He has hobbies, activities in which he excels.  He is just a boy who wanted his friends to come to his birthday party. 

Instead, the parents taught their children that Odin was not worth their time.  Odin, because of his autism, is different.  And because he's different, Odin doesn't matter.  It's okay to overlook the Odin's of the world, because they are not like you and I.  That's what the parents taught their kids that day.  Thankfully, not everyone is like that.  The outpouring of support for Odin and his mother was overwhelming.  I'm not sure how much of it Odin understood, but I'm sure it meant the world to his mom.  She simply wanted her boy to have a party for his birthday.  And he got one.  Here is the link if anyone is interested:

http://thechive.com/2015/03/23/when-nobody-showed-up-to-this-boys-birthday-party-his-mom-and-the-internet-came-to-the-rescue-14-photos/

Happy Birthday, Odin.

Hike

We are waving the white flag on hikes, for now anyway.  The ground where we hike is completely saturated, I'm assuming because of all the snowfall.  It is so muddy and soupy.  It's so difficult to hike when it's like that.  The mud sucks at my boots, I slide all over the place and I have to wade through the little creeks.  The last time we were there I tore my pants on a sticky bush and I fell down a hill.  I didn't really "fall" so much.  I was walking down a hill and both feet slipped in the mud and I landed right on my bottom.  It's like I just got tired and sat down really really quick.  I'm taking that as a warning, as the next time I slip and fall I might not be so lucky.  So we're waving the white flag, until it dries up a little which might be awhile as we're now in the rainy season. 

The ranger people were there about a week ago and set the whole forest on fire.  I'm not really sure why.  There was a lot of leaf cover, so I'm guessing that was why.  It did clear out a lot of debris but now it looks like crap. 

My torn pants and muddy boots

Birthday Flowers

My family is the best family, in my opinion.  My aunt and cousin sent me the prettiest flowers today. They are the best. My mom and dad sent me a candle, some sort of springy scent. It's burning as we speak. My family is the best family. 

Thank you, Aleta and Angie for the beautiful flowers!  Frankie thought they were delicious!!

Misc Monday

First things first--Today is my birthday!  There's nothing quite like getting up several hours before dawn to spend my birthday at work.  I hate being a grown up.   I did get a birthday breakfast today, biscuits and gravy, natch.  I wish every day was my birthday.  Or just that I could have biscuits and gravy every day.  Whichever. 

Close enough...

Our hikes have been brutal lately.  The snow has melted and now the ground is a big sloppy, soupy mess.  The trails are muddy and it's nearly impossible to walk.  The mud sucks at your shoes and we slip all the time.  The last two days have been better.  The ground has dried out a little, just in time for the rain we are supposed to get the next two days.

Our town is building a new elementary school.  It's huge, and I mean huge.  There's no way the little kindergarteners are going to be able to find their way around.  A friend from work, we'll call her "Shawn", because it rhymes with Dawn (hi, Dawn!), and I took a tour of the new school.  It's still under construction, but one of our other work friends was on guard duty that night, so he showed us around.  It's state of the art---sinks with no faucets.  The water comes on when you stick your hand in the sink.  Special water fountains to fill up water bottles.  A vault, a room just to house all the copiers, two gyms, skylights.  It's really nice and all, but, unfortunately, it won't make the kids any smarter.  Nice school, though. 

I know the feeling...

I literally cannot even

Monday Mom and I went to the bank to set up a special savings account.  We made a substantial down payment on our trip to Great Britain.  I am so excited I literally cannot even.  Not right now:)  I've wanted to go to the UK for as long as I can remember.  I watch British TV.  I subscribe to British magazines.  I have British guidebooks, travel shows.  I have a lot of places on my travel wish list, but Great Britain has always been numero uno.  We're shooting for next fall, which seems like a lifetime away but it'll be here before we know it.  And we need that much time to save money.  It ain't cheap.  I want to have enough saved that we don't have to worry about money while we're there.  I want to be able to do what I want, buy what I want.  That will take a LOT of money but it'll be worth it.  Donations are gladly accepted.
 
I've gotten Mom to watch Criminal Minds.  It's a really good show, farfetched at times, but I like it.  I'm up to season nine on Netflix, but it's in season ten now.  I don't know what to do about season ten.  Mom texted me this morning to tell me that she'd watched a good episode.  This is why you should always text with your glasses on.

Fresh Air!

I opened the front door for the boys today. They do so love the doors and windows open. All the sounds and scents. It only lasted a few minutes because it's still pretty cold out, but it was so nice to get a little fresh air. Come on,spring!

Misc Monday

The roads are terrible. All slushy and icy. My car has that little light on the dash that comes on when there is no traction. I'll end up sideways in the middle of the road and then that little light comes on. I'm completely sideways in the road, but, thank you Car for telling me it's slick out. Cracks me up every time. 

Apparently Frankie's head fell off.  He's fine, I assure you.

I finally got a day off yesterday.  A coworker has been under the weather, so we've had to fill in.  I worked two weeks straight with no time off.  Awful, I know, but I was off yesterday and I did nothing.  All day.  It was amazeballs.

The snow is really pretty, but it can go away now.  I'm over it.  My mom got stuck in my driveway and I just got snow up to my knees--inside my pants.

Mammy and Pappy's neighborhood

 

The kids were out of school today and they have made the most of it.  There are snowmen and snowfamilies everywhere.  We drove out by the park and there were a ton of kids sledding down the one decent hill we have.  They were having a ball.  The little girls would sit politely on their sled and hold on, hands at ten and two.  The boys took off as hard as they could go and intentionally flip halfway down and then roll the rest of the way.

Snow

We received eight inches of snow last night, on top of the six we got a week or

two ago. We're certainly not up to Boston amounts of snow, but this is a lot for us.  There are cars off in the ditches because we can't just say home, kids will be out of school for awhile, businesses close, etc but it sure is pretty to look at.