Hello, My Name is Stupid...

We all do stupid things. It's part of life. But, to what degree we take our stupidity is another animal.

When I decided to cut my own bangs, that was mildly stupid. I knew better. Did it anyway. And, they looked awful.

When I smashed my hand with a piece of office equipment and had to have xrays to rule out a broken pinky finger--that was moderately stupid. Yes, it was an accident. But, I picked the binding machine up wrong. I'm the poster child for what not to do in our office.

My latest dose of stupid---not backing up the thousands of pictures on the computer. And, now our computer has crashed. My pictures may be gone forever. This is extremely stupid. Our computer guru isn't sure if he'll be able to save the pictures or not. It's not looking good. I've tried not to think about it, but I know I need to face reality and admit that my stupidity may have lost something very valuable.

Counting our blessings

 Yesterday, I wrote about how we had severe weather warnings, tornadoes coming, etc. As the day progressed, the weather alerts kept getting upgraded. Our weather alert went to a level 9. Level 10 is the highest. The schools started dismissing classes early, businesses started closing early. We closed county government at three o'clock. I picked up Hankadoo from after-school, and ran into Big Lots for flashlights, then we came home and settled in for what could be a very scary afternoon/night. I turned the TV on, put the batteries in the flashlight, and made space in the laundry room in case we needed to seek shelter. We sat and watched the weather, we looked out the doors and windows, we heard the warning sirens several times. We had rain and wind. After a few minutes of regular spring weather, the skies cleared, and we had a beautiful rainbow over our town.

A small town an hour and a half north of here wasn't so lucky.

This is a picture of the tornado that struck Henryville, Indiana. It pretty much wiped the town off the map. Houses were leveled, businesses blown off their foundations. The destuction is everywhere. My heart breaks for this community. And, I know that it could have been very well been us. It could have been our high school gym destroyed. It could have been my friends who died in the storm. It could have been my loved ones who lost their homes.

As I sit and drink my coffee this morning, I'm counting my blessings. As well as everyone else in our area.

In like a lion....

I haven’t blogged much lately. I don’t know if I didn’t have anything to say, or if I was being lazy. Maybe, a little of both.

March is here. I keep thinking of the old weather saying, “in like a lion, out like a lamb”…. And I’m afraid that’s how it’s going to be this year. On Wednesday, we had four tornadoes touchdown in our county and the neighboring county. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. Homes were destroyed and buildings damaged. But, it could have been much, much worse. We lost power at work for over an hour, and spent the time on the first floor watching the sky go from cloudy to dark gray to black and back to daylight. It was a little eerie. We were going to pass the time by playing a game of Charades. But, that fell through when I suggested ‘Gone w/the Wind’ as a movie title to act out. Hey—I thought it was funny! The kids were at school and on tornado lockdown the majority of the morning. We’re expecting another round of storms later today. The projected time line is from 4 to 7—right when everyone is getting off work or leaving school and heading home. I told the big boys to keep me posted on their whereabouts this afternoon. I believe everyone in our area has said a little prayer that it doesn’t get bad. I’m typically not a ‘Nervous Nellie’ when it comes to weather, but I have to admit, I’m a little worried about what could come later on this afternoon.

Our weather isn’t the only thing coming in like a lion this month. The list of ‘Things to Do’ is getting rather fierce, too. Spring sports are starting. That means Hank will be at the soccer field two or three days a week until games start. PJ has had track practice every day since wrestling ended, and his track meets will start up soon, also. Besides sports, we have several birthdays, and family celebrations.  March will roll into April with more sports, more birthdays, and more family celebrations. At the end of April, Austin’s end-of-Senior-year festivities will start. He’ll have prom, the Senior trip to Chicago, and graduation all within five weeks of each other.  I believe we’ll have something every weekend from now until Memorial Day.

I hope everyone has a great Friday. Keep your fingers crossed that these storms bring nothing but rain.

That's Amore...

"When the moon hits you eye like a big pizza pie
That's amore"

When you have six weddings come in your office in a two-hour time frame
That's amore!

The second verse was my own little version.

I never know how many weddings we'll have on Valentine's Day. One year, we had around thirty. The next, three. Today, we had six. You have to love the silly, romantic fools that rush to the courthouse to get married on Valentine's Day :)

Last year, on Valentine's Day, I wrote about an older couple that came in to get married, and how sweet it was to see. It warmed my heart. It made me smile. This year, I'm going in the opposite direction.

Today a magistrate and myself had a case of, "Oh holy hell, what do we do?"
Here's the story: I was filling out a marriage license, when I recognized the groom's name. Sure enough, I knew the kid. Well, he's not a kid, he's 24. I don't know him as well as I know his parents. The groom grew up with my nephews, and his parents are very good friends of my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. I've been around him and his family for many years. AND--the groom and his parents live next door to one of the magistrates that serve on Fiscal Court. Yes, the plot thickens. I finished the marriage license, and asked my friend, the magistrate, "Isn't that so-and-so's son?"

"Well, yes. Yes, it is!"

Oh, crap. Where are his parents? Do they even know he's here to get married? What do we do? Luckily, my magistrate-friend was not the magistrate that was to perform the wedding!

The look on the groom's face when he saw his next door neighbor standing in the court room was priceless. The poor thing looked as if he was going to puke. And, I can't say that I blame him. Here he's being sneaky and getting married without telling his parents, and there's his neighbor. Wow, small world. Even smaller world that the lady filling out your marriage license knows your parents, too!

He begged, and I mean begged for his neighbor not to tell his parents. The magistrates are not clergy, they aren't sworn to keep information to themselves. I think the conversation ended with the magistrate giving him two days to tell his parents, and then the secret was out. They've been neighbors and friends for many, many years and I understand not wanting to damage that.

I hope he comes clean with his parents before they hear it via the grapevine, or worse yet, read it Sunday's paper.

I guess love makes you do crazy things.

That's Amore---

Baby, it's cold outside....

Kentucky weather is very unpredictable.  It can be 34 degrees and blowing snow one day and a sunny 67 degrees the next. This winter has been unusually mild, and we all became spoiled with the good temps, and lack of snow. So now that it's cold, we're all freezing and complaining. Myself included! I hate cold weather. I kinda liked wearing my flipflops in January!

I have a date later  with Hank, Austin and Joe. We're going to see "Journey 2 The Mysterious Island"....which stars The Rock, so I'm not complaining one bit about the movie choice. He has always been one of my most favoritest of eye candy. He has the great smile with the pearly white teeth, the big tattooed arms. Sigh.

Our movie date was supposed to be a family affair, but PJ is supporting the wrestling team at the regional tournament today (Go Bruins!!) and he and Austin both have to work tomorrow. Hank was a little upset that one of his brothers couldn't go with us, until I told him that the next movie he wanted to see PJ could take him, and they'd have a brother date. 

We have friends coming over for dinner, and I'm making a yummy calzone recipe that I found on pinterest (my newest internet addiction!!)

So overall, I think it will be a good Saturday. Despite the cold weather!

Are you ready for some football?

Whoohoo, it's Superbowl Sunday! It's almost like a holiday. It's a time to gather with family and friends, eat way too much, and be happy. And, that's exactly my plan!

We're having a Superbowl Party at Mom & Dad's today, and I'm excited. I love my crazy family, and any time that we can get together is a good day. The only downside is that PJ has to work until 8, and Austin has to work until 9. I hate that they'll miss most of the fun, but I'm proud of them for having a job and responsibilities.
The sisters (and their hubbies) are coming down. And, that means that I'll get to love on my sweet little niece. I haven't seen her in about three weeks, and I'm having major withdrawls. I'm ready to smooch on her little cheeks. My friend and her daughter may join us at Mom's. And, I know that "the other son" will be there. Alex is best friends with Austin and PJ. He's just part of the family, and it's a given that he's included in anything we do.

Thanks to my crazy addiction to Pinterest, I have some yummy recipes to make. Slutty brownies, anyone? Individual pizza pockets, perhaps?

What a great weekend this has been. I enjoyed my day off from work on Friday. Yesterday, Joe and I went to Louisville for our anniversary date. We did a little shopping, had lunch at a great little restaurant, and topped off the day with some killer Apple/Caramel Pie that I'm certain added five pounds to my thighs. But, oh so worth it! (Side note: Must go to the gym later!) And, today I'm spending time with my favorite people. Life is good.

A Day Off.....

The original plan for today: Joe and I were going to take the day off from work. We were going to Louisville to do a little shopping, grab lunch, and then be back in time to pick Hank up from after-school.

That didn't happen.

He somehow got screwed out of his day off, and had to work. Which stinks.

But even though my day off didn't go as planned, I still had a great (and much needed) day off.

After the boys left for school this morning, I cuddled up on the couch with my favorite quilt, and my Diet Coke. Then it hit me-- I had complete control over the remote! I could watch anything I wanted. This never happens! I had a hard time choosing between my beloved 'Golden Girls' and the classic movie, 'An Affair to Remember'....as much as I love Rose and Sophia, Cary Grant won that battle.

After my movie, I gave myself a pedicure. I'm happy to say I no longer have ugly, dry, lizard feet! My toes are a pretty red, and if the weather holds out, I WILL wear flipflops tomorrow!

I had a delicious lunch with my good friend that I haven't seen in forever.

I came home in time to meet Hank getting off the school bus. After a snack, I took a nap on the couch while he played the Wii.

I think I need a day off more often!