Throw Back Thursday

There was that time that my sister Marilyn and I were taking a road trip to Disney World with our daughters and their friend. And although we were driving a minivan, we decided it would be a great idea to put all the bags on top of the car in the roof rack. And we really had no idea of what we were doing, just that we had a lot of rope-like material. And we thought everything was dandy until a neighboring car started honking at us as we traveled down the interstate, indicating that one of our carefully placed bags was now hanging on the side of the car. And that didn't deter us, since we were a few hours down the road and about to pass a rest stop where we could reconfigure the bags (hence the photo above). We didn't realize that this would be the first of several of such stops (hence our happy expressions) and that we would eventually toss the offending bag into the car, to be held by whichever daughter and/or friend happened to be closest to the door...  At least we had plenty of rope-like material (which we also didn't realize that would stretch, mainly because it was rope-like material).

Oh well, at least we didn't have to stop for someone to throw up (or was that this trip?). I know this wasn't the trip when we ran out of gas.  Or got lost (wait - I think that happened every trip).

Road trips - not for the faint of heart, if you're traveling with the Lewis sisters!!

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Thankful today for: fun memories ; travel plans made

My Assistants ...

I am not sure if Maggie Cat and Minnie Cat think (a) they are Emmatha's day care helpers, or (b) they will get the remainder of Emmatha's bottle, should Emmatha not want it all, or (c) they are just jealous because Emmatha gets to cuddle while drinking her bottle and they don't, or (d) they are extremely jealous of each other and after one jumped up on the recliner, the other one jumped up just to prove a point. At any rate, today they have decided that they don't want to miss out on anything, and therefore must sit as close as possible.

Of course, it's also possible I might have overthunk the entire minds of these cats ...

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Thankful today for: "together time" with Emmatha and Maggie and Minnie; a few successful attempts at getting things accomplished while also experiencing "together time" with Emmatha and Maggie and Minnie

It Takes A Village

Back in the Dark Ages, we had to go to "town" to get things. Of course, nothing was open on Sundays for shopping purposes. Most of the shopping that I was privy to consisted of having a purpose and going to said stores to achieve that purpose. In the town where I grew up, there was no mall. And it was a big day when Wal-Mart opened up in town. My, how times have changed.

Maribeth has currently schooled me in the modern art of shopping. Which means that there is no "going" to get stuff - it can all be delivered to you. As in your front door. Which is fine by me, since I am not a shopper. But in case you are unaware of your shopping opportunities (based on your locale), let me share my knowledge ...

Shipt. This is a service that will go to the local Publix grocery store (at least here in Nashville), select your desired products, bag them up, and bring them to your front door. All you have to do is sign up, order your stuff online (and include a tip), and it is delivered to you. You can order a bag of flour AND fried chicken. You just have to pick a delivery time (which if it's around dinner time, the fried chicken will be quite handy) and create your shopping list. There have been times that Maribeth's shopper has texted with questions or substitutions. And when you have a new baby and a four-year-old and a job and a husband deployed in Cuba, having someone shop and bring in your groceries is quite nice!

Gas. Okay, so I don't exactly know the exact name of this company. Since I drive a Prius roller skate and only drive places in the radius of about five miles, I only have to put gas in my care about once a month. But Maribeth has to drive a ways to work and drives a mini-van, so her fill-ups are more frequent. Again, with her current life, finding time to stop and gas up the car while the kids are content and not having meltdowns is sometimes a bit difficult. So she found a company that will COME TO HER HOUSE AND GAS UP HER CAR. Sure, there's a small fee, but worth it for the time saved. The same company will clean out/wash her car for an additional fee.

Amazon Prime Now. You should be aware of Amazon, the internet super store. If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can get your purchases fast. But now there's a Amazon Prime Now that will get your purchases to you within an hour or so. Sure, the item you want has to be in their inventory, but so far I've had delivered a mini-frig, diapers and pull-ups, and toilet paper, just to mention a few. Sure, I could have gotten out and gone to the store, but at the time, this was a lot easier than packing up the car with whichever child I was entertaining at the moment.

So, what's the final verdict? Lazy or convenient? I guess it all depends on your perspective. And whether or not you've got the time and energy to shop. I personally think of it as time management. And helping the economy by giving people a job to do and money to earn. I still pump my own gas and visit the grocery store and Target/Wal-Mart on a regular basis. But it's certainly nice to know that if I needed it, there would be somebody to help me out by doing it for me!

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Thankful today for: Shipt delivery person bringing dinner and other groceries

Two of My Favorites

Yes, I know. They are quite wonderful!!

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Thankful today for: quiet Monday at home

Letting Go Of That One ...

In 2016, I was going to wog/walk/crawl 2016 miles. I had a plan and it looked doable. And then Maribeth had a baby and my IT band decided to revolt and trying to keep up with exactly how many miles I accomplished became impossible. And so I have had to admit defeat. However many miles I will manage to do in 2016 shall remain unknown, mainly because I just don't have the motivation to try to figure it out.

I hate to admit defeat. I hated having to admit that I would not be able to do the Tinkerbell half marathon earlier this month. But there comes a time that you have to admit that something's not going to happen and let it go. And by letting it go, you have to really let it go and not beat yourself up about it. Because letting it go is not the end of the world.

Sure, you have to decide what you're going to keep going at (like getting this blog back on track) and what you're not (like 2016 miles). But in the end, I think you know which thing is which. Sometimes it takes more courage to admit that something is not going to happen than it does to keep dogging something attempting to make it happen. You just have to know and admit which is which.

So I won't be doing 2016 miles this year. Maybe next year. But I am going to get this blog back to where it should be. Seriously.

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Thankful today for: quiet Monday at home; accomplishing a few tasks; Emmatha time