Babbling On...

Yikes! I'm home alone! Well, sort of. Yumi and the birds are with me, but my children went over to a cousin's house to hang out and drool over his X-box.

Why is it I dream of having the place to myself, yet when that comes true, I freeze, not knowing how to best enjoy it?

Wait....let me go put on my music and grab a Dandy Blend Latte.

I should be cleaning and packing for our Minnesota trip, but that's no fun. I should be re-drafting training documents for work, but I'm not feeling it.

Instead, I'd rather sit here, by the breezy window and let my thoughts wander.

Last night I had to ask a little girl's parents to not allow her to dance and jump in the windowsill. You would think that would be a no brainer. She was dancing and jumping in the window like it was a stage. They had actually moved a chair so she could climb up into the window to perform. They completely failed to see the danger in allowing your child to jump inches from a glass window. Sometimes I feel like I'm surrounded by morons. The little diva threw a temper tantrum, and I received dirty looks from her parents. Of course you know if this child would have fallen through the window, we would have been sued.

Got my feet wonderfully muddy this morning, picking cucumbers for my mommy. She wants to make "pick-a-lily" (don't know how to spell it but that's how it sounds.) I'm not a fan of relish, but I do love farm fields. I was very grateful the farmer allowed me to self pick and even more surprised when he wouldn't take any money for the cucumbers. He also invited me to pick all the Romas I wanted no charge, but I told him I was waiting for ours to ripen. I hope I don't regret that decision. A part of me wanted to pick them though just to bring to a food pantry somewhere. I can't believe how much food is wasted not even harvested!

Made my Mamma Jama Boob Squish appointment. I'm just a little overdue. The death of a home schooling mom I knew pushed me to pick up the phone. She lost her battle with breast cancer and my heart is breaking for her two children who must go on without her now.

Parents shouldn't have to leave their children until those children are old and grown themselves. Not that there is ever a good time to lose a parent, but it seems so unfair she was called to heaven before her children were ready to be without her. So please bring those cold metal plates down on me and pinch away. I'd rather have a head start if I ever have to run the cancer race.

Better get moving. Maybe its the tunes or the fact I just realized, I could be dancing around like a crazy lady since no one is home to see me! :)

Blind Melon Tour- CLOG!

It feels good to be home, but out there, in my alternate universe, I'm driving to Winnipeg, Canada for tomorrow's slice of Blind Melon. Oh, but the gas money has run out, and there's children to unschool here at home.

Friday we shared Melon... family style. We all drove to Lafayette, IN, where we discovered there is a Chick-Fil- A! The only other Chick-Fil-A we Yankees have been able to enjoy has been in the mall in Racine, Wi. Lafayette's Chick-Fil-A is sublime! They have all you can eat nuggets the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. Its a good thing we don't live there! Apparently, I'm fat enough according to Lafayette standards.

We stopped at a Wendy's to use the restroom. (We ate at Chick-Fil-A but doors to the Blind Melon show didn't open until 6:00pm.) While waiting for my family, I sat down with my bottle of water. Through my sunglasses, I noticed I was being stared at by an older woman sitting nearby. She put down her chili and approached me.

Placing her chili warmed hand on my arm, she asked, "Are you recovering from gastric bypass surgery?"

The horror on my face made her back pedal.

"Its just you are only drinking a bottle of water. That's a sign you've had gastric bypass surgery."

She quickly retreated, and I sat there not knowing whether to laugh or cry. I know I'm obese but is this a question a total stranger should ask another person? And why would I be sitting in a Wendy's torturing myself if I was recovering from gastric bypass??!

DH helped me see the humor in this, and I chose to laugh it off and enjoy our pending evening's activities. Lucky's bar is not family friendly but Nel Hoon, the mom of late lead singer Shannon Hoon, had requested this special vigil show be all ages so families could attend. We got right in and took pole positions at the rail. The boys were excited, and DH and I were buzzing as well, (not literally- we don't drink or take recreational substances. The music alone brings me to a happy place.)

The show did start late, as expected, and for the most part, it was incredible. DSalmost13 kept his best- I'm almost 13, too cool to smile face on, but DS9 was rocking out with us. That is until the drunk moron showed up.

He pushed my cub aside to try and steal his spot. My Mother lion came out and roaring in his face, I scared the moron away, but it still freaked out DS9 a little. He made it to the end of the show though.

Driving home through the star filled night, DS9 saw a UFO! Personally I thought it was a triangle shaped light on top of a cell phone tower, but DH & DS assure me, it was a UFO.

Saturday we left the boys in the care of my sister, and we headed to Mankato, Mn. Maybe I haven't said it enough, but I LOVE WISCONSIN! The fall colors were so romantic, and the bluffs in the LaCrosse area breathtaking.

Southern Minnesota I wasn't too impressed with. It looked too much like home, lots of soybeans and corn and windmills. The gas price in Owatana though was awesome! $3.29!! It's been $3.69-$3.99 by us.

We arrived in Mankato, picked up our tickets and even though I saw the tour bus, I refrained from crossing that line from devoted fan to OBSESSED, STALKING, FANATIC. Although I admit that line is a bit blurry to me.

Once again, our talent for being punctual paid off. We were stage front, this time no rail! Brad, CT and Travis were right in front of me. The downside was it was homecoming weekend in the college town of Mankato. The drunken frat boys with their drunk gal pal were directly behind us screaming stupid stuff like, "Is this a cover band?" "Where's Shannon?" "Old people suck!"

Technically, I'm the same age as 3 out of the 5 band members. Being older and wiser, I know it doesn't pay to get drunk at the bar, but to instead, stake out your concert space well before hand. Even after they started playing with my hair, (thankfully no scissors were involved), I didn't budge. Being fat and 40 does have its benefits.

We received much Melon love, lots of eye contact, hand shakes and high fives from band members! (Check out the photo of Travis' sweaty towel in my Blind Melon album! LOL)  I did see people taping. I'll be checking You Tube the next several days to see if we show up.

All aglow, DH & I enjoyed a 1:00am supper/breakfast of pancakes at Perkins after the show. We crashed at a hotel but not for long. DH was up at 5:30am saying he was ready to drive home. I was also missing the boys, so armed with pillow and blankies, we started for home in the dark early morning hours.

So here I am now, 4 states in 2 days, 2 incredible Blind Melon shows with ringing ear drums to prove it!! I'm kicking back tonight.

I think there's a show in Fort Wayne, Indiana in November. My Blind Melon withdrawal should be ripe again by then!

Why must I share this world with MORONS!!

Have you heard about this story? 

I have to wonder if Joe Horn wasn't white, would he have gotten away with it?

Those men may have been commiting a crime but Mr. Horn commited one too. Murder!

I believe Mr. Horn is an insecure, racist. So is the Texas grand jury!

Now there are people praising him, saying we have the right to defend our property, blah, blah, blah...

It comes down to this- Do you value your possessions more than God's command to love one another?

Are you kidding me!!

I just have to vent. Every now and then I'm reminded how many morons they are. I work at a swimming school. A few weeks ago we began our fall session. One of our teachers taught 2 classes and then called in sick. With a doctor's ok note, she came back to work for a few more classes, then one day she didn't show up- no phone call. We couldn't reach her for 3 days and we were legitimately concerned for her. We eventually had no choice but to replace her. When you are dealing with young children, you need reliability and consistency!

Last night she called me at work and asked if she could pick up her paycheck. I told her I didn't see a check for her, but if she wanted to stop by, I'd look in the boss's office. The boss came in and I told her this ex-employee was stopping by for her check. My boss wanted to speak with her before giving her last paycheck. She wanted an explanation as to why she completely ditched us along with all her young students. Well Moron girl never showed. She probably saw Ms. Boss lady's car in the parking lot.

As soon as the boss left, in walks Moron girl. I told her she had to make an appointment to pick up her last paycheck with the owner (boss). She freaked out saying, "She can't do that! Everyone else is getting paid! I need that money to pay bills!!" I wanted to remind her all our other instructors haven't walked out on their students and if she needed to pay bills, maybe she should have tried to keep her job! I kept my mouth shut and simply told her, "If you want your check, call K.." 

I realize we all make mistakes, especially when we are young, but this girl had no clue. Maybe my boss shouldn't have held her check like that, but she deserves an explanation.