Expectations

Today was Lindley's first visit to the zoo. There were many families who were at the zoo and kids of all ages. Some were there for the first time like Lindley, and some were probably there for their regularly scheduled visit.

Of course there were a few meltdowns, like the two little boys who were taking turns screaming, "I HATE YOU," to each other. There were little kids having fun in the water spouts and others riding the carousel. There were adults pushing babies in single strollers and siblings in double strollers and grandparents in wheelchairs. There were mommies still carrying babies in utero. It was a nice holiday to be out and about at the zoo.

As we took Lindley around the zoo, of course I wanted her to be amazed at all the animals. But most of the time, she was amazed at the other kids, or her dad's camera, or the tree she was next to. She did look at the elephant and the giraffe and the zebra and she really liked the petting zoo animals. For a nearly 6-month old, she had a great time at the zoo.

Everyone at the zoo today had different expectations for their experience. Maybe some wanted to see every animal. Maybe some just wanted to play on the playground. Maybe some planned to spend every minute there from opening to closing. But as long as everyone kept their expectations in line with who they are, then a good time was had by all.

Sometimes it's hard for me to keep my expectations in line. I want to lose 50 pounds by tomorrow, or develop six-pack abs by the weekend, or learn to say "NO" to chocolate-dipped chocolate ice cream cones. Inevitably I am disappointed. So maybe I'll just adjust those expectations. Maybe I'll just work on trying to do more crunches, or steer clear of Bobbie's Dairy Dip, or try to stick to the diet - for today.

Lindley will return to the zoo and every trip will be different as she grows. Expectations of her zoo experiences will change. So maybe my expectations will start small and grow.

After all, you have to start somewhere!

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Things that make today great: Zoo with Steve, Sam, Lynnette, and Lindley; Calypso Cafe with Lindley, Sam, and Lynnette; seeing Molly in her car on her way to the movies; Steve's Bubba burgers for dinner with pimento cheese

What Grannies Do on July 4 Instead Of Watching Fireworks

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

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Things that make today great: Donut family brunch; moving furniture with Sam; appliance shopping with Molly; pimento cheese sandwich via Steve

Diet?

This is what I had for dessert after dinner tonight - a chocolate dipped chocolate soft-serve ice cream cone. I would have provided a picture of my actual cone, but there was no time between the point of the cone being handed to me and my wolfing it down. In a word, deliciocity.

I chased it down with a fountain diet Coke, evidenced by the "burn" that can only be achieved through a fountain drink. I can only hope the negative calories in the diet Coke balanced out the high octane calories in the CDC cone.

As far as my diet, I cannot even begin to attempt to justify this. So I won't try, mainly because I am about to fall asleep from the sugar coma. Until tomorrow - just be jealous!

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Things that make today great: lazy Saturday morning; Steve's delivery of chicken salad sandwich for lunch; babysitting Lindley while her parents saw Toy Store 3; dinner with Steve, Sam, Lindley, Lynette, and Molly; phone chat with Maribeth

Live and Not Learn

There were many things I hoped to accomplish today, but didn't. However, there were many things that I did accomplish. By this evening, I was pretty tired, and took Steve up on his offer to bring dinner to Molly's house (where we were cleaning and arranging). I had my choice of dinner, and chose a Sonic cheeseburger.

Hours later, it's still digesting - at least I suppose what the gurgling is all about. I just hope it is done by tomorrow's poor meal choice - probably from Sonic!

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Things that make today great: paying bills; great day to open the windows and let the outside in; getting Molly's new kitchen sink; U-haul dudes; moving furniture from Molly's house to our house; cutting my leg on the exhaust pipe of the truck; Steve bringing dinner

Voices

Yes, I hear voices. Usually it's the chocolate ice cream in the freezer, or the leftover Halloween candy. But since I've consumed all of that, I guess they had to say other stuff today. Let me elaborate ...

This morning I had custody of Molly's car because there was a nail in the rear left tire. The plan was for me to take it to the tire store down the street and get it fixed. During the ride to the tire store, a voice kept saying, "Just pass the tire store and go to the dealership." But I refused to listen and pulled into the tire store parking lot. They were a little busy since it was just after the 7am opening time. I didn't have an appointment and was told that it would be about 45 minutes before they could look at the tire. About that time, Tire Dude came over to tell me that the nail was in a bad place in the tire and couldn't be fixed. They didn't have that particular tire, but could sell me one of theirs. Since I figured Molly would prefer matching tires, I thanked him and decided to head on to the dealership, WHERE I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ANYWAY, HAD I LISTENED TO THE VOICE!!

Anyhow, I got to the dealership and they said they had the tire in stock. However, since I didn't have an appointment, they would have to "fit me in." In other words, I sat in the customer lounge for the next 3 hours. The ac was set on a sub-zero setting, and since I was in my "I'll just run out for a quick errand and nobody will see me" outfit (the jogging shorts I slept in and a fresh t-shirt), I was rather chilly. Add no-makeup and my frizzy hair shoved into a pony-tail holder, and I was quite lovely. After three hours, I was also getting quite hungry, since it was past time I should be eating my "mid-morning diet meal." I decided I would get some peanuts from the vending machine. The voice said, "IF YOU GET THOSE, THE CAR WILL BE READY, SO DON'T GET THEM." But I did anyhow, and as I got ready to punch the buttons, they pulled up the car. I got the peanuts anyway.

As I got ready to drive away, the voice said, "DON'T EAT THOSE PEANUTS - YOU WILL MESS UP YOUR DIET AND YOU WILL BE SORRY." I ate them anyway. And promptly chased them down with a Starbucks. And then a tuna sandwich when I got home. And then more stuff that I'd rather not mention. And yes, the diet was shot for today.

Finally, after picking up Lindley at day care and shopping with Molly, we decided to stop by Sonic. I was eyeing the foot-long Coney dog. The voice said, "NOOOOOOOO." But I did anyway. And now, a few hours later, I finally understand the reasoning behind the voice.

So, today's lesson is to listen to those little voices - at least when they seem to be making good sense. Maybe tomorrow my hearing will improve!

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Things that make today great: Molly's new tire; waiting for Molly's new tire; Lindley at Molly's; home remodel shopping with Molly; Sonic supper; Molly's bedroom furniture buyers