Friday

$600 later, I can smile about it...

Tarzan and I are on a very strict budget!!!

We each have a Paypal card with spending money on it. If we run out of money on our Paypal, we have to wait until the next payday to get more.

So, today, Tarzan had several packages to mail to the grandchildren (okay I had a couple also) and I very generously said, "I'll take them by the UPS store on my way to work." To which he expressed his deep and profound gratitude, but did not offer to help pay the postage. Actually, this strict budget thing is so new to us that I didn't think of it either until...

Mr. Brown (aka the UPS man) rang up the total and it was $5 more than I had in my Paypal account, yikes. Mr. Brown put my order on hold and I drove off to work with the promise that I would stop by after work and pay for the shipping.

Just as I passed the CVS Pharmacy, I reached for my cell phone to tell Tarzan how picked on I was because my allowance was smaller than his when I misjudged how close I was to the curb and ran over -- oh, how can I explain this, there were 4 cement thingys with a sidewalk in between and I ran over all of them...

Can you say blow out?

There was a hole big enough for my fist to fit in on the right front tire.

I called:

1. AAA
2. Work
3. Tarzan

Tarzan laughed at me.
I hung up on him.
Tarzan called back and made me feel better.

I called my crazy sister--she always helps me see the humor in any situation and after I got through telling her with both of us laughing until we were out of breath, she said, "well it could have been worse..."

It seems she got in her car once, in a huff, and backed up and hit a pole--she hit it so hard her wig fell off. Now, that would be worse. At least, I still had my dignity.

Wednesday

I read NieNie today

I am grateful,
  • I can still take the stairs two at a time, even though I don't very often
  • I can switch my mouse to the left side simply because my right hand is tired
  • I can see when I put my glasses on and sometimes when I don't
  • I am not in constant pain
  • I don't live in the snow right now
  • I can dance
  • I can move my head with ease
  • I have hair

These are all things that in my simple, small way I tend to complain about -- thank you NieNie for reminding me how blessed I am, I pray for you.

Sunday

What is Your Intent

We had beautiful talks today in Sacrament Meeting. All were inspiring, however, Bishop Miller said something that made me stop and really think. He said, "The intent of my life is to build a kingdom." Wow! I have had abstract thought about why I'm here, what good I'm doing, if I serve any puruse, but that simple statement made me stop and really think.

What is the inent of my life?

I can think of no greater intent than to "build a kingdom." I have much to do and lots of bridges to build. It is a daunting task, but with the help of my Heavenly Father, I can do it.

Sister Miller gave me a little packet of uplifting saying for Christmas. The one I read yesterday said, something to the effect that no other phrase is stated in so many ways in the scripture more than "ask and ye shall receive."

And so I ask for help in building a kingdom. That is my intent for this life. Thank you Bishop.

Friday

So, here’s the deal. Tarzan and I went to Whole Foods and Lee Lee’s market this past weekend. During this shopping “extravaganza” I purchased 2 Asian Pears. They were hard as rocks so I put them in the fruit basket to ripen.

It has been a few days now, so I figured they were ripe and wanted fruit for breakfast. I took one of the pears out of the basket—it was still hard and I complained that it still wasn’t ripe. Tarzan took the pear, smelled it, squeezed it and assured me it was ripe. I indicated he was wrong :-) and he stated, “Believe me it is ripe, I know pears, if you bite into it your mouth will be filled with pear juice.”

I then washed the pear, got out the apple slicer, put the pear on a plate and pushed the slicer down over it—believe me, when I say push, I mean it. The fruit was not soft inside it was just as firm and hard as an apple.

I then took a section of the pear and took a bite expecting a mouth full of pear juice. Not so. It was hard, had a slight pear taste and I was sorely disappointed. Tarzan asked, “Is it ripe?” I told him that it was not and put (read threw) my piece of pear back on the plate. Tarzan took a piece and ate it and the following conversation ensued:

Tarzan: This isn’t a pear

Me: The sign in the store said it was a pear

Tarzan: Well, it’s not a pear

Me: If it’s not a pear, what is it

Tarzan: I tell you it’s not a pear

Me: I bought pears, if it is not a pear, WHAT IS IT

Tarzan: It’s an ASIAN pear

Me: Oh, so it IS a pear

Tarzan: No, it’s an ASIAN Pear, that is a whole different kind of fruit

Me, but it is a pear, right

Tarzan: (reluctantly) Okay, it is a pear

If I couldn’t have something healthy for breakfast, then I would have something good, I reached for a bag of biscuits left over from last night’s dinner. Tarzan had sealed them in a seal-a-meal bag. I reached in the drawer for the kitchen scissors, it wasn’t there. At that point, I slammed the drawer shut, gave Tarzan a kiss good-bye and stormed out the door as I said over my shoulder “I can’t even find a stupid pair of scissors so I can get a @#$% biscuit.” (sorry Tiana)
Tarzan was holding his sides and rolling on the floor laughing.
Then I was driving down the road to work and the after taste of the PEAR was pretty good and I wished I had eaten more of it.

So, if you have read this far, answer these two questions for me.
1. Why did I have to get so dramatic and make my point by refusing to finish the pear that was not nasty, just not what I expected?
AND
2. Why did I forget my resolve to not swear even if I am being dramatic, clever or angry?

I should have know it was going to be one of those days when I washed my hair this morning and forgot to rinse out the crème rinse and had to get back in the shower….it can only get better, right?

Camera Woes

We just got back from a really fun road trip. I have some pictures to share but alas and alack, I cannot get the pictures to download onto my computer.

We drove from Phoenix to Colorado Springs in one day. Tarzan drove most of the way and I went through the homework exercises for the new Dreamweaver class I am teaching. We got a power supply for the laptop that ran out of that thing that used to be a cigarette lighter.

We stopped frequently, ate a lot, visited with Rachel and saw the Air Force Academy. Then we went out to eat at a restaurant overlooking the town, it was great.

Next, a visit to my daughter and her husband, Celia and Richard, in Denver. We ate way too much. Went downtown Denver--one word--awesome. Tarzan and I drove around and happened upon Columbine High School, that was a strange feeling. Then we bought Tarzan a new Blackberry Curve for MY birthday and ate a traditional Puerto Rico dinner. Yummmmm. It was prepared by Celia and included some special things sent by Richard's mom from Puerto Rico. Sorry, I don't know the names of all the dishes, but it sure was good.

We took two days to come home, stopping in Santa Fe, NM. We really liked Santa Fe and stayed at a fantastic hotel, the Inn of the Governor. We plan to go back there for a leisurely weekend sometime. I highly recommend it for you.

So, if I get my camera to talk to my computer, I will share pictures later.

Happy New Year.

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