ROSIE was a NOT SO good sewing machine....

Rosie 2006 ~ 2008

If you have been keeping up with my posts you will know that I broke Rosie out of her box this past week and booted her up to prepare to make fleece hats for a service project for sorority. Bright and early Saturday morning we headed out of town to a cabin to sew for 5 hours. The thought of getting out of town for awhile to relax was great!

The problem arose early in the afternoon, sometime after lunch. I was zoom, zoom, zooming along with a straight stitch and KAbAM!!!, Amber screams which makes my heart skip a beat, there was a thread jam and my needle was torqued....ya, not so good! I spent about an hour trying to fix my machine only to find out the bobbin case was cracked - ya, these new fangled machines are GENUINE PLASTIC parts! So, I packed Rosie up and brought her on home. I was a little concerned about returning her because I had bought her in Hillsboro, OR in November of 2006 as the COSTCO MAN told me today....(uh ya....2006, and she has been in a box until last week - does that explain how much I sew?). Anyhow, they refunded my money in a genuine PLASTIC Costco gift card...which is fine...at least they refunded my moolah. I had done some researach last night on the net and for a new bobbin case it is between $40 and $50...that is 1/3 of what the machine cost - am I being stupid or does that seem like a lot for a replacement?

At any rate, Rosie was returned with a broken bobbin case...cracked and marred from the needle. We did get 29 hats sewed up and ready to donate along with 11 more cut out that Amber-dini is going to finish up with her Brother sewing machine...I figured yesterday - she and I both had Brothers and it probably averaged between the two of us with the machine problems we had - one machine running full time! She had her load of problems with her's too!

Anyhow, it was a fruitful day with lots of laughter and aside from the Amber scream which made my heart skip and Penny turning on the stereo which was on full blast but not on a station - so just imagine the sound that blasted out of the speakers! Penny screamed and sat down as fast as she could on the sofa - only to tell all of us later that this was the closest she has ever came to peeing her pants from being scared! The rest of us either screamed or jumped! Loads of funnnnn always with these girls!

OH and yaaaaaaaaaaa....IF ANYone out there has a good recommendation for a new machine can you send me your opinion....I am looking into getting a new one!

So SEW...puking has stopped....

For those who care....the dog's on the mend, she is still a little down and depressed but she is using her leg a little now. No puking and I almost have everything caught up wash-wise that had been used to clean up or been puked on....seems there was a lot more puking going on than I was aware of! Not so much of a good day in my life! I honestly did feel like running, don't know where, don't know for how long but I needed an escape and I was stuck....that is the worst part knowing you are HERE and have to be responsible!

So in looking to the not so distant future, on Saturday the ladies from the sorority I am involved in are heading to a cabin for a few hours to work on a service project. We are making hats from fleece for the cancer center here locally. When patients lose their hair from chemo their heads tend to get cold so there is a need for hats and we are fulfilling it. Here is the part where the sewing comes in, I have had a brand new stinking sewing machine still in the box for 1.5 years...I have no room to set it up and use it so it has stayed safe in the box until this morning. I broke Rosie (that is her name - How is that for a name "Ice Woman"?) out of her confinement in the box, styrafoam and plastic packing and got her out so she could breath. She is a lightweight which is good to carry but scares me about how she is going to stand up to my craftiness. She has a bunch of additional add ons (walking feet, quilting feet, screwdrivers, needles...she is HOT!)- I hope she isn't to hard to talk in to working for me! With any luck I will have a few minutes and a few inches of space to put her out tonight on the table and sew something up and see how she works, that way she will be all ready for Saturday when she takes her first road trip to the cabin! I can see in the future that she could embellish my scrapbooking pages too, as well as sew that shirt I have been wanting to make and just bought the material for....oh baby, she is going to do so much for me if I just can make the time for her to be a part of my life!

Okay enough for now - gotta get some stuff done so I have time to take Rosie for a test drive!

Injured Dog & anti-inflammatories....

Okay - so last night ended on a great note.....

The kid was playing next door with the neighbor kids last night until dusk and apparently Luci (our freak of nature dog) aced out the gate when he left......this is a normal for her! She loves to run and be chased and was playing with the kids. Right before the kid decided to come home at dusk the neighbor's dog (which is 3-4 times bigger than her) leaped on her and they started at each other - she screeched and came home with an injured leg....

I figured it wasn't broke because I felt from her paw up and she didn't growl until I got to the joint where her leg joints into her body.....she wouldn't walk on it and just laid around all last night and early this morning.

So I waited until the vets office opened and went in to get her treated knowing that we really cannot afford a HUGE vet bill. He felt around and couldn't find any breaks but offered us the option of an $80 x-ray or we could be conservative and wait it out and use anti-inflammatories (the drug from hell). I made the decision to do drugs and not an x-ray, even though the kid was cheering from the sideline that he wanted an x-ray so he could see it....uh, NOOOO, not for $80.00 - I will check one out of myself from the people hospital and bring one home for you kid!

So after a few minutes waiting in the waiting room for the orders to get written I pay the $50 vet bill....they hand me a green bottle of anti-inflammatories (drugs from hell) to feed the dog.....

It is now 10:29 a.m. and I think, gee, for the most part the kid has been helpful other than nonstop talking at the vet....why the young vet just smiled....ya, just wait dude - you probably don't have a human kid to call your own....just wait bud! I decide to work on my MOM OF THE YEAR award and race to McD's to get the kid a McGriddle that he whines about all the time....We barely make the 10:30 cut off for a McGriddle, but we get it and then the kid wants Purell or hand sanitizer to clean his hands off with (my blood pressure is rising but I am still working on Mom of the YEAR here) - NEVER has he asked to wash his hands before prior to eating but what the heck - so I ask the McD's lady for a hand cleaner and she says they are out til the truck delivers. I take the kid around the other side of the drive-in to let him run in and wash his hands so he can eat his McGriddle.....

He jumps out and I decide to feed the dog a 1/2 pill (the drug from hell) which was the order, 1/2 pill once a day or 1/4 pill twice a day - well, if anyone knows me the 1/2 pill is the best idea because that is a 1 time deal a day - I do good if I remember one time rather than twice....trust me! Luci eats the pill because it is a chewable....which amazingly were less expensive than the capsules! WOW that was EASY (just like the STAPLES ADDs).

The kid gets back in, I drive off and immediately upon getting his sandwich out he starts complaining about Luci's hair being all over the sandwich.....I about blow a cork (screw my Mom of the YEAR award, I have just spent nearly $5 on a sandwich that he has been whining about).....I have lost my patience in less than 3.75 hours of being awake.....that was the first short circuit for me today! I grab his sandwich and throw it in the bag and tell him to eat it when we get home....he quickly calms down gets the sandwich back out and starts eating it!

Things were pretty much "quiet" for a few hours until early this afternoon when Luci starts vomiting (UH YA, the drug from hell has reclaimed itself)....I clean it up after she does it all over the kids bed and the kid informs me that Luci is eating her own puke....GREAT - YA just gotta love dogs, you wouldn't find me eating my urp up! BLUCK! It gets cleaned up! Things are pretty quiet for a few hours...I mean the dogs are wandering wanderers but things are quiet! I am typing along - that is my job....typing doctor's notes so my ears are pretty much occupied daily! About 3:30 I hear the dog under my desk and she is gagging and ready to hurl (you got it, the drug from HELL again)...I get her out and move my chair back and step in another pile of slimey puke...CHIT....I get up to get something to clean that pile up and find two more slimey piles in the bedroom...DAMN, DAMN, DAMN!

I get it cleaned up, sit back down and wonder why the HELL do I have dogs again? Remind me? Oh ya, they are cute and cuddly and company when you are lounging around!

So, after I work my shift for work - making up the vet visit time away this morning to obtain the drug from HELL...I get to wash the items the dog has messed up and bone the chicken out for soup and be happy when my darling husband calls, he never gets it when I am cranky when he calls me at night before he comes home? Do I have reason to be a little on the nasty side tonight? I mean seriously! I just want to run away.......

Weekend at a glance....

Where does the time go? The weekends blow by and the week days drag onnnn....WHINING reallly LOUD!

I finished a 300+ page book, it was a great book, a memoir! I had started to read it in Salt Lake at B&N on vacation but I didn't want to shell out big bucks to buy a book I would read once - it was like 15.00 - so it just wasn't a 6.95 novel! "JesusLand" was the name of it! Very sad but true story. I checked it out of the library Thursday evening and had it read by Saturday morning. YEH MEEE!

Saturday we had a birthday party to go to for our friends little boy - he turned
"1" - it was a nice little party in the park with a BBQ. Fun to relax and visit with people. We came back home after the party and rested in the air conditioned home and headed out at 5:30 to meet friends for dinner and go to see our favorite little singer....apparently she had laryngitis so another singer was there in place of her. Had a great evening of laughter and visiting with friends. I don't have to to have a drink to have a good time, no-no....maybe that was "You don't have to take your clothes off to have a good time, no, no"! Sorry - tunes just seem to flip in to my brain at any given time! I tasted a Grape Nehi which was a new drink for me - I just tasted it - that stuff could be very dangerous - tasted like grape Kool-Aid....

Yesterday we had to pick up the kid at G&Gs house early. We left there and went to Sears to check on some lawn mower parts and a parts for a BBQ grill but of course, the repair shop handles that and they are only open 9:00 - 5:00 M-F and 10:00 - 3:00 on Saturday - so that narrows it right down to next Saturday when I am out of town. What a joke!

We had to go pick up some SI because I had one scoop left....oohhh-la-la! I took the SI home pronto because it was MELTING....it was so hot out! We lounged around most of the day. I cleaned up the kitchen, made macaroni salad, chocolate zucchini cake and zucchini patties for dinner and watched Charlie & the Chocolate Factory - the old one and then Big Brother and called it a day!

Exciting huh? I betcha all wished you had my life!

OH NOOOOO.....X2

First off - tragedy for today - I am one glass short of being out of SI! Off to the store tonight or tomorrow for some moe SI! This is all your fault James....although it is a good thing (as Martha S. would say)!

Secondly, we all loaded up and went to Costco last night for a restock the cupboard and fridge night. My idea of going there is more like a man would have....go in, conquer (get the stuff you need) and GET OUT! It is never that way with my husband, he enjoys reading the labels, looking things over and visiting with everyone he may run in to. Not that I don't like visiting with people but it seems he knows everyone in this town and has to stop and chit-chat. As I have said earlier in my blogs....if I send him in to the grocery store for a couple of items I can usually count on the parking lot spaces having three changes of cars in them before he comes out! YEESH!

We had two cars as I met him at his work and we rode together in one car so I had to drop him back off at his car and Ang chose to ride with me. The change of schools this year has really been burning in my heart. I know that in my mind I am pretty set on him going to a different school for various reasons. So I decide to try to talk to him about it because the last time was a meltdown for him. Unfortunately, it went into meltdown again last night....he first expressed his denial that we were going to do that to him and thought we were only kidding him. Then it was "I BEG OF YOU, if you do ANYTHING in your LIFE please don't take me away from my friends" and then he named 3 friends that he said he would NEVER see again. Okay, so it broke my heart.....but I know Joe is set on him not going back to private school, I am 80% set on sending him to public school.

Life just plain is hard sometimes! I hate that we have to move him but I also hate some of the things that he has went through there...not saying a different school is perfect but I really feel that the school has not done anything to promote his advanced reading & math skills and I am hoping that he hasn't "lost" that ability in his brain from 4 years of not being challenged in school and allowing him to "just be".

On a side note today is Friday and that means at 5:00 tonight - I have 2 days of weekend! YIPPEE! Plans include a Birthday Party for a 1-year-old tomorrow at the park and going out Saturday night to see "I-EEEE"....a.k.a. Blue Healer - she is an awesome little singer! Any plans up your sleeve for the weekend?

I met a fellow BSP Sister...

Last night I am out with my family and some friends. We are enjoying dinner (yep, I folded and went out - but it was cheap eats & drinks)....so anyhow, I am watching this group of three ladies as they are visiting and seem to be enjoying the evening as well as one another's company. They take a few pictures and then left. A few minutes goes by and one of the ladies in the group comes back in and approaches our table, she asks if one of us has a silver truck in the parking lot....I am think O CRAP, she hit our friend's truck.....we all just kind of go blank and she then goes on to say....it has a black purse in the front seat of it, again I think O CRAP someone broke in to her vehicle, we all just sit there until our friend says she does and the lady goes on to say that she saw her window cling with Beta Sigma Phi on it and she just HAD to come back in to meet the person. So we actually both say we are members and start visiting with her - she is President this upcoming year in her chapter, as the two of us are in our sororities. We go on to visit and find out she is from California, somewhere by Yosemite (something with the name Angel in it - that is what I can remember anyhow). She is also in an on-line chapter. How cool is that? I mean it was fun to meet a fellow sister and visit for a few minutes and laugh! She would have fit in our group here perfectly - she was a crazy lady! Anyhow, we did the funky handshake because I brought it up! A bright spot in my day! Yeh for Beta Sigma Phi and fellow sisters!

Not much happening....

Just working away this week.....not too much excitement going on in the house! I have really made a committment to myself and my family to cook at home more and have really been trying. We went out to breakfast on Saturday and that is all the eating out we have done. With the exception of Saturday night with the scrapbooking we ordered pizza as a group. Last week for cheap eats we went to Costco one night and for the three of us to eat at their little venue was $9.47. We did go to Starbucks on Saturday (Joe & I) and had plain iced tea which I believe is the cheapest thing on their menu next to water. Pretty trivial, I know, but I am proud that we have been committed to doing this - Joe even cooked the entire meal on Monday night which was nice to get off work and clean up a little around the house and not worry about the cooking part - his Italian stew was good too - lots of fresh vegies from my mom's garden. I made stuffed peppers last night with the left over rice from Joe's dinner the night before and green peppers from my mom's garden. They turned out the best, I would even say they were the best I have made, simple too!

I did catch Big Brother last night - I missed the first show but I am really not into it...seems they are all the same stuff - different people same stuff. Joe's workplace always has a bet going on, they draw for characters and each chip in $10 and whoever has the last man standing wins the pot - well, it ain't looking so hot for Joe....he drew Brian and he was put up for nomination.....

The dogs have been pretty quiet - other than Daisy has a new fascination with one of Ang's old toys - a little tiny Tigger that he got in his Happy Meal at McDonalds sometime in the last 9 years.....she carries it around like it is her baby. Twinkie and her get in some huge wrestling matches lately over this little stuffed animal...it is pretty comical to watch. Daisy will get so frustrated there are times when she just stands and stares at Twink and barks, nonstop until I scold her. Last night Daisy even took a nose dive off the sofa to get her baby, I couldn't figure out what the heck she was doing and she jumps back up with us with her baby Tigger in tow. Then she just plopped down and rested her head on it. This morning I woke up with tigger on the bed with me - it is pretty cute, at least I think so. And...yes, for all you people who gross out over the thought of dogs in bed with you....my dogs do sleep in my bed - I like to call them my personal heaters...Twinkie gets under the covers and sleeps next to my legs and Daisy-Dog sleeps at my feet usually on top of the covers.

Pretty boring household this week so far but I am okay with it! I don't want more drama right now, "Mama can't take no more drama" is my feeling!

RE: Mom O Matic: Into The Wild

I had to post this link - this was just what I needed for my day - I laughed until I cried....OMG! This is so funny!

Mom O Matic: Into The Wild

Oh...and most importantly....

Though SI can't fix EVERYTHING....
Today, SI is comforting me....
and to think just a few weeks ago,
I would have been without SI to comfort my aching heart!

Thanks James!

Stunned by actions.....

I was having a perfectly good day on Saturday and it is amazing how one phone call can put a knot in your stomach and get adrenaline pumping....

I can't really write about the situation that we had occur on Saturday but it is a bad thing.....police are involved.....families are upset but we are okay! It is just the fact that you have been violated and it is out of your hands, nothing you can do except rely on the system to make it right or slap hands!

So, instead of being upset about a violation against us I should be happy that we are safe and good thinking was used by certain people and they deserve solid gold stars for thinking!

So I am rather dreary and down today, kind of nervous and sick to my stomach feeling!

I feel much better with a night's sleep....

WHEW - I posted the message last night about school - it really troubles me that I make the "right" decisions for my son. I do feel better this a.m., maybe I just needed to vent and blow some steam....I had already vented earlier in the evening to my husband and a friend - it felt good but I needed to do it again...kind of like a volcano I guess!

So tomorrow is Friday and I have plans....YIPPEEE! A night out with friends and laughter - I am so looking forward to it! I am bringing Mike along....perhaps his friend Smirnoff...he is a grape guy, fun loving, lets ya loosen up and relax. Hopefully we will have SI there! Mike and Smirnoff are pretty well mannered, pretty quiet until you let them out of their bottles - that is when things start happening!

Again.....wear your waterproof mascara because I had a friend once who had some makeup failure and all I am going to say is Mike was involved! So - grab your waterproof mascara!

Big decisions.........

It has again been one of those days.....maybe it is mid week when everything builds up on my plate.....I feel like I need to vent tonight - so read on if you want and if you can't handle some bitchin' then wander on.....

As most of you know we have had Angelo in Catholic School since he started school. We are very seriously considering pulling him out this next year! We have been so frustrated with his schooling, the phone calls, the treatment. I hurt for my child to be torn away from his friends and put in public school but yet I am so tired of some of the things that have gone on the past four years! Four years of garbage that I have recently been mulling over in my brain....

Perhaps it was kindergarten when our child was ahead in class and he was placed with a child who was having trouble listening, sitting still, concentrating.....was it then that you started putting his fire out? I know most people think their children are "smart" and you should. I just want to say when he started kindergarten he could read and was above 1st grade in his reading level...ya...that was then, he could also do simple times tables....in kindergarten! Grandma and grandpa had worked with him to add money and taught him these things. I am not angry about him being placed with the child who was having a hard time...what I am angry about is not feeding his mind and being the start of putting his fire out...or what I like to say is "dumbing him up" - ya, making him an "average" student instead of challenging him....

Maybe it was 1st grade when you were frustrated with him because he was so literal, you expressed it to us in teacher conferences....ummm....an example would be is if you said something was glass and it was actually plastic - he would say "actually that is plastic?", is there something wrong with that? He was really an innocent child at the time - not trying to be a smart mouth.... Was it when you put him in the hall multiple times throughout the year because you didn't want to deal with him....where he missed out on making his Thanksgiving project and the day you watched Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and you had put him in the cafeteria and forgot about him and another employee at the school found him sleeping at the table....alone to boot? Did you dim his fire then? When I asked where his Thanksgiving project was and he said "I didn't get to make one because I was in the hall"! Uh ya, 1st grade, special project and he is in the hall - Saweeeet of you! Thanks! Ya...I am pissed!!! You betcha!!!! I hurt for my son....I wasn't treated this way in school nor were any of the other 30+ students I went to school with....
Still no challenge for him - could all these so called problems be related to no stimulation of his mind that wants so badly to learn and explore - did you dim his fire more?

I know that I shouldn't be so angry and I should forgive and forget but that is the hard part....forgetting/forgiving, this is my son, my only child.....as every parent you want the best for him, you expect the best for him.....

His 3rd grade year has actually been the best....his teachers understood him, they worked with him and challenged him and tried to re-ignite his fire. Both were awesome teachers! One of his teachers actually had worked with him in kindergarten and knew how advanced he was and expressed that to us - thanks for that confirmation! I actually shed tears this year when the year was over because "WOW" they worked with him and they worked with us and they understood and most of all "they listened to him and reached to try to gain him back" - now that is what a "Christian" school should do in my mind and heart!

And yes there is the cruelty of other kids....I know kids can say cruel and hurtful things but I guess I expect more from, yes, again, a so called "CATHOLIC" school. Maybe for teachers and employees to perhaps listen to what is going on between kids....and not tolerate unkind behavior. I am still mulling over the last day of school and the two boys telling him he couldn't play the game with him because he didn't have a family...because he was adopted! What do you do as a parent, the last day of school....like you call and say something and what is the teacher/principal going to do --- NADA, it is the "LAST" day of school!

So, I just kind of threw up all over my blog with the above - but I am just so unsure of what to do with him for next year.....do I go in to the partially unknown at Catholic school with a new 4th grade teacher and knowing what has happened for the past 4 years there! It is so hard as a parent to know what is the answer, you want the best for your child - will we damage him by changing schools in the 4th grade and putting him in public school and having him go through culture shock at that age? Will we have more problems at public school? He would be challenged I know in public school because they have programs for kids that are behind or ahead.....I don't know....Catholic school has no programs for kids that are advanced in areas or are falling behind - it is made for the "average" child.....I know parents who left the school because their child was having problem in a specific area and the teacher just left them behind in the dust and went on with the rest of the kids.....huh?, yep it really happened!

Oh and besides the fact that we are paying for this treatment too...uh ya! Cold hard cash flowing out the pocketbook.....

If the school has did anything it has caused me to grow inside and become momma bear and she is starting to come out of her den more often lately! I had a mom that stood back and for the most part years ago life was good - parents didn't HAVE to step in but not now - you got step in, dust of your cleats and warm up because you WILL be going to bat for your child!

Any advice for decision making would be greatly appreciated! It really does burden my heart and makes me sad that he will change schools - there are some very positive things about the school......

So....

I posted a picture below of my latest creations, I thought they turned out rather cute! Nothing spectacular but cute and fun!



So, the weekend was kind of a calm weekend. On the 4th we ended up going to Johnson, WA for the parade which was okay....entertaining to say the least and wet - there are always tons of water guns - however, I stay back and out of range. I thought we may be getting wet from Mother Nature on the way up as it was spitting rain on us as we drove up. Afterwards we headed back to L-town and home to get our swimming supplies for the picnic at my uncle's new home. He has a spectacular view and it was fun to watch the kids swim - I thought Angelo was going to be the only child but it ended up that my cousin brought her sister's kids (yes, the sister is also my cousin but apparently she is fighting fires in California so the kids are here in this exciting town). Anyhow, so Ang had a few cousins to hang out with for part of the afternoon in the pool - lots of splashing and dunking off the air mattresses going on. Ang amazes me how well he swims and can stay underwater.

Which leads to the next photo - my uncle is a jokester and he threw this rubber snake in the pool in the midst of all the kids and the oldest girl flipped out over it, started screaming and practically walked on water getting out of the pool. Then of course Angelo grabbed the snake and put it on Grandpa's hat - what do you think? I am thinking Crocodile Hunter II. That wasn't the only joking going on - it was so hot in the afternoon that Joe and I put ice on top of my dad's hat without him knowing...we loaded that top up and then he wanted to know who was sitting behind him and told me he felt like he had water dripping down his back.....who me, do something like that? I just told him he was crazy!



This last photo is of the sunset on July 4th....I took quite a few pics as the sun was setting - nothing like a beautiful signature sunset from the maker above!



Not to much else went down this weekend....I spent a couple hours hangin' with Savan at CPS and Kristi - that is always relaxing and fun! I played around with some of my new stamp sets, washed some clothes, cleaned up the kitchen, made some cookies last night and a couple of pies for Joe's work. Put in 3 or 4 naps throughout Saturday and Sunday...oh and one trip to Joanne Fabric just to get a pattern and there you have it - my weekend in a coconut shell!

Let the FIREWORKS begin....

Okay - so I mean the good kind that go up in the air - not the bad kind that means a fight is about to start....

What are your plans for tomorrow - to celebrate our INDEPENDENCE:

I will go to the parade in Johnson and then return home to go to my uncle's home to spend the day....swimming - ya right - me in my string bikini! WAHAHA! We will watch fireworks from his home which overlooks the river. Angelo is excited for the "swimming" portion....hmmm, I shall strategically place myself next to the drink table....ya that is a great idea!



SOOOOOOO....what are your plans?

In the meantime, I am thinking about O-I, the ocean and the ICEHOLE who happens to be there right now, ya we all know who that one is....she has been awfully quiet, I hope she didn't overindulge on SI and choke herself! This weekend I shall get SI for my palate...SI and diet Pepsi, SI and something fruity, SI....ya....refreshing SI!

vacation pics....

This picture is for Mrs. D....the picture explains itself!


The fam on our drive up to Snowbird..


The beauty & snow.....




Mr. A at The Gateway in the fountain! He had a great time!

National DA Day....and I joined in!

So - I am back to blowing some steam this a.m.

I had to run an errand early this a.m. probably while the rest of you were possibly thinking about crawling outta bed I was racing through town in my minivan.

I delivered my work and was heading from Clarkston back in to the Orchards knowing I wanted to hit Mickey D's for the backseat passenger - you see he has a small addiction to McGriddles (personally the idea of syrup inside bread and then add egg/sausage to it makes me want to hurl). Normally I wouldn't take him there but it was a bribe to get him up and moving this a.m.

So anyway, I see on the way to Clarkston heading down the freakway that there is road construction on 4th Street so I am thinking ahead and trying to figure out HOW to get to the Orchards McD's quickly and painlessly. I take the exit and head up the grapevine only to get stopped in a line of cars because of chip sealing. Now, this is where I become frustrated....you see if you haven't noticed gasoline is about $4 a gallon and I am sitting in a line of traffic waiting for a dump truck to back up and when he finally gets where he is going then the 1st car in line rolls down his window to talk to the flagger. My assumption is that he is wanting to go up 4th Street to get to the physician/dentist offices or Life Care Center and since 4th Street is closed he wants to know HOW - again only an assumption - I could handle the first car doing it.....then the second vehicle stops and rolls down their window and again assumption is they want directions - by this time my BP is rising and I am thinking "HELLOOOO, how long you lived here?" After two cars pass the flagger flips the sign back to STOP - what the hell? So again, slight rise in BP, gas is $4 a gallon remember. Then the flagger starts directing people through again and by now there are only 3 cars in front of me and I kid you not, every one of them stopped to ask directions....by this time I knew that because I could see the flagger pointing this way and that way.....I had to question how these people function in society and who directs them around by hand at their jobs, how do they find their way to work each day and back home let alone to the gas station or grocery store?

I had to do something STUPID so no one would suspect that I was of higher intelligence than the rest...besides the people behind me were probably steaming tooo....

so you guessed it....I rolled my window down and stopped at the flagger.

Brenda: "Hey, I just wanted to say have a great day."

Flagger (Smiling but confused): "Do you need directions because 4th Street is closed."

Brenda: "NOPE, I know where I am going, I just wanted to say have a great day!"

Flagger: "4th Street is closed."

Brenda: "Yep, that is apparent since there is a sign that states road closed ahead and there is another one of you standing in the middle of the road on 4th Street."

I drive away laughing to myself - YEP, I can be as big of a DA as the rest of the world! Happy Tuesday you confused people who can't find their way in this GIANT CITY! YEESH!