21 years

Today we celebrate our 21st anniversary.  It won't be quite as big as last year's trip to Italy.  We plan on seeing Star Trek tonight.  Tomorrow night will be a night out on the town.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

I love you Brian!  Thanks for the many years of love, laughter and letting me lose many games.

One of the perks of working retail

Image source

Something interesting happened at work on Tuesday night.  It certainly was a first for me.  Let me break it down.

Most of Tuesday night was quiet.  We were in process of putting away a delivery when a disheveled man walked in the door.  This is not unusual for us because we are one of the first stores that people can see when they're walking to or from the transit center.  We're used to getting people who are a little "different."

I was behind the front counter and the man walked up to me.  He asked for a safety pin because his belt had broken.  He also mentioned that he couldn't walk like "most guys" with low pants because he didn't have any underwear on.  Nice.  Immediately I wanted to get him out of the store, so I offered him some tape or a paper clip so he could be on his way.  However, he decided he needed to stay there to try to fix his pants.

Let me just also mention that while he was trying to fix his pants he said, "Well, it's not like you won't see much.  I don't have an erection or anything." Ewww.....!

He then decided to walk around to the other side of the counter where both my co-worker and I could see him.  I caught an impressive look of long butt crack at that point and turned around.  I told him I wasn't going to watch him.  He asked for help holding up his shirt and I told him, "No.  Not gonna do that."

He asked to use the bathroom so he could fix the problem without being a bother.  I took him back there.  Looking back now, I should have made him leave the store.  But, you know, I was trying to be nice and I try to see the good in people (until the ugly bad comes out).

By this point (he's in the bathroom), we had a family come in - a couple with four kids.  He came out of the bathroom and stopped close to my co-worker.  He asked me for help again.  I told him no.  He asked my co-worker for help.  She told him no.  As she stood up from a unpacking a box, and turned around, he had his pants down at his knees and was standing at attention.  She rolled her eyes and told him, "Ummm...no." (This is where I laugh every time.  Her response was brilliant.  Plus, she said there wasn't much to see.)

At that point he walked to the back of the store to get his pants up.  My co-worker saw the security guard walk by and went to talk with him.  He bolted out the door and headed to the transit center.  This all happened within 5-10 minutes.

We later found out that we were the third store that he had been to.  I called the manager at the Starbucks where the guy did the exact same thing he did in our store.  Obviously this guy has a pattern.  The manager went to work at filing a police report.  They have security cameras, so they may have captured an image of him.  Wednesday night I gave my statement to the police officer.

My co-worker and laughed about it the rest of the night.  Honestly, if it would have remained to be just us in the store, I could have brushed it off.  However, the guy was pretty bold to drop his pants with a big guy standing 10-15 feet away from him and a bunch of kids not even further than that. All of the red flags were there and I should have acted upon it sooner.  It was a bit comforting to know that we were not the only place he targeted.  Hopefully they'll be able to catch this guy so that he doesn't decide to go farther with his problem.

Yarn along

The weather has been cool and rainy over the past week, which really makes me want to work on something warm.  I have another project in mind but don't have the needles for it, and the sweater that I was so interested in making still sits in a bag.

Instead, I have decided that it is time to finally get a pair of socks finished.  Which means that I have one done.

And I immediately cast-on for the second sock to avoid second sock syndrome.

For school we're reading Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.  Personal reading is still The Princess Bride.

Link up at Yarn Along!

Of naps and Tums

This morning has been rough for all of us.

By 6:40 a.m., Brianna still was not up.  She had to be at the bus stop at 7:10.

I woke Alex up at 7:00.  He fell back asleep.  I woke him up again at 8:00.

Brian and I are both tired.  I feel like I have extra weight loading me down.  However, that may just be last night's Mexican meal.

Why are we all so exhausted?

It may be because Brianna went to a concert on Friday night for her birthday.  Brian stayed out all night waiting to do pick up - and got them access to meeting the band's lead singer.

While they were out all night, I stayed up as late as I could and watched as much mindless tv as possible.  It was a lot.  And, I think that there is no more motivating way to clean out your house than watching multiple episodes of Horders.

We may also be tired because over the course of 18 hours between Saturday and Sunday we hosted up to 9 kids at different hours for Alex's birthday party.

Including roller skating from 9-11 p.m.

Maybe we're all exhausted because on Sunday we finished out birthday celebrations at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and topped that off with Dairy Queen blizzards.  See what I mean by that extra heavy feeling?

All-in-all it was a fun and exhausting weekend celebrating two wonderful lives.  We have one more up coming weekend celebrating for our anniversary on Friday.  It will be a little more low-key than this past weekend, and not as extravagant as last year's trip to Italy.  But, worth celebrating none-the-less.

Happy 12th Birthday Alex!

Today is Alex's 12th birthday!  Hip, hip hooray!

This kid is something else.  He has a very creative imagination.  He has mad Lego building skillz and could probably be the only one that I know who can talk your ear off.

This is his hobo assault tank.  You have heard of the hobo apocalypse, haven't you?

He is silly and is always scheming up something.

He is kind and caring and always sticks up for the little guy.

I love this kid like crazy too!

This is Alex's year for a party, and it happens that his birthday falls on a Saturday, so tonight will be his party.  We're having a handful of boys, plus a few girls too, over for pizza and roller skating.  Then, a sleep over (minus the sleep part) for the boys.  I'm happy to help celebrate this great kid's life!

Happy Sweet 16 Brianna!

Today's the day!  My oldest turns 16!  Honestly, this birthday is a bit hard for me.  This day means that in only two more short  years, she'll be an adult.  *Sigh*

But, this day is not about me, it's about my lovely daughter.

She has some mad, goofy skillz.

Do you know anyone who can touch their tongue to their elbow?

Not only is she beautiful and talented on the outside,

But she is equally beautiful on the inside.

Photo credit to her friend, Anthony Gallardo

She'll spend the day at one of her most favorite places...school.  Then, tonight she's going to see a concert with a friend.  Yes, we're there already.  She'd rather go to a concert on her birthday than spend the night with her family.

That's ok.  I get it.  And, I love this girl like crazy!

Yarn along

When I was a sophomore in high school, we had a Japanese foreign exchange student live with us for a year.   It was such a great experience for the two of us - we had a great time together.  To this day, she still calls me her American sister.

My friend married a year or two ago and she is having her first baby.  At the age of 46!  I'm so happy for her and I decided that I needed to send her a little baby gift.

So, off to Japan will go this adorable baby kimono sweater.
  

I found this online a couple of years ago.  It has a little tie inside the bottom right and a button on the bottom outside left.  The yarn is Plymouth Yarn's Dream Baby DK and it looks like it has pieces of pink, blue, yellow and purple confetti in it.

Since I had enough yarn left over I made a pair of booties too.

I love this little baby set.  Since the baby is due in June, I am hoping that the size will be just right for fall.  Since she lives in the northern part of Japan, warm clothes are a necessity.

As far as reading goes, for school we're reading The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis.  This is an interesting story of a family living in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban.  For my own personal reading, I'm in the middle of The Princess Bride.  I've only seen the movie, but I am thoroughly enjoying the book.  It has me chuckling at all of the familiar scenes.

Link up to Yarn Along!

Just another rainy Sunday

Another Mother's Day has come and gone.  What did I do most of the day?  Well, since my regular shift is on Sundays, I worked.  Just doing my part to help out the family.  Although, I do admit that I would have rather stayed home to knit and watch Gordon Ramsay or Arrested Development on Netflix all day.

Honestly, Mother's Day has changed a bit for me over the years.  While I don't mind the thought of a day to honor and celebrate mothers, for me it just isn't all that important any more.  I find that the day has become a bit too commercialized.  Buy her jewelry!  She wants a new car!  That over-priced card says all you wish you could say out loud!  I even heard a radio commercial that threw in free botox when a spa package was purchased.  Nothing says "Happy Mother's Day!" better than free botox.

When we were going to church, the mothers were requested to stand up so everyone could applaud us.  I always hated that.  I never liked the attention.  Of course, there were carnations handed out to everyone at the end.  Over the past few years my eyes have been opened to the women who find Mother's Day at church to be one of the most painful times of year to attend.  There were those who wanted desperately to have a child and were unable to get pregnant.  There were those who had a horrible relationship with their mother or their mother had passed, so they didn't find the day celebratory at all.  Then there were the single women who were reminded that they were on the margins.  I think that the church tends to make an idol out of the family, and these women feel the pain of that the most, especially when you're one of the few women walking around without a carnation.

Do I think we should stop celebrating Mother's Day?  No, not necessarily.  I just think that we Americans tend to turn something that could be done in a small, intimate way, into something very big.  I would think that most mothers would be happy with eating a meal together, getting a phone call, or just relaxing at home.

I did take advantage of the day.  My only request was that I not have to make dinner when I got home from work.  My request was granted.

He even included mushrooms, just for me!  Oh how he loves me!

I think I could get used to that every Sunday!