Have you heard of the Yellow Car Game? My kids taught this one to me. Granted, we don't take long car trips much anymore, but with all the traffic in our area, it's a way to pass the time while in the car.
Obviously, you're searching for yellow vehicles. Cars, trucks, jeeps and vans all get one point. Yellow Hummers earn you two points, and yellow motorcycles (yes, they exist!!) will get you three points. Yellow scooters, which are different from motorcycles, will still earn you the same three points. (Edited to add: yellow commercial vehicles (cabs, busses, construction, etc.) DON'T count. Just wanted to clarify!)
My drive to work over the same roads, at a total of 14 miles, will see a varied number of yellow cars - today's tally was a stellar 14! All from the one-point category.
And on a sad note, the entertainment industry lost one of the greats today - Elizabeth Taylor passed away at the age of 79. Makes me just a little more aware of my own mortality, and that of my mother, who will achieve the esteemed age of 80 later this year.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Cheese Whiz
So, I learned the hard way (as if I didn't already know) last night that it's not a good idea to indulge in a Caribou coffee drink at close to 5 pm, especially after drinking a Dr. Pepper just an hour prior to that! Oh, and then I was a fool and got another Dr. Pepper when I got dinner for Snark-Boy and myself at Mac's. See what happens when I don't get my coffee at home before heading out to church??
All this is to say that last night found me still up (buzzing about - although to be honest, I WAS waiting on a load of laundry to finish in the dryer so I could fold it) reading my KindleDX at 1 am, followed by multiple awakenings throughout the rest of the (short!) night at 1:45, 2:45, 4 and 5:45 am, at which point I was up for the day.
Let's see if I can put yesterday's lesson to good use - I'm already halfway through my first cup of coffee, and I'm going to try not to drink any caffeine at ALL after lunch today. We'll see how well I do. Especially since they're calling for rain and thunder today, so I won't have the sunlight to help me stay awake.
All this is to say that last night found me still up (buzzing about - although to be honest, I WAS waiting on a load of laundry to finish in the dryer so I could fold it) reading my KindleDX at 1 am, followed by multiple awakenings throughout the rest of the (short!) night at 1:45, 2:45, 4 and 5:45 am, at which point I was up for the day.
Let's see if I can put yesterday's lesson to good use - I'm already halfway through my first cup of coffee, and I'm going to try not to drink any caffeine at ALL after lunch today. We'll see how well I do. Especially since they're calling for rain and thunder today, so I won't have the sunlight to help me stay awake.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
On My Way Home Last Night .....
I don't know what it is about me, but I seem to draw the loony drivers around me like flies. On my way home last night, I got stuck behind an SUV/CUV with diplomatic tags - first indicator. The driver, a female (and we wonder where all those stories about bad female drivers come from?), was giving plenty of room in front of her - second indicator. This is something that absolutely sets my teeth on edge, as I have been driving this route to and from work and home for at least 15 years, and unfortunately for me, expect the same level of competency from all the other drivers around me as I have. It is a sign of driving weakness to leave vast amounts of room in front of your car - it's practically an invitation to constantly be cut off - and is a major source of annoyance to me when I get behind one of these drivers. (No, I don't suffer from road rage, thankyouverymuch.)
As we crept around the on-ramp towards the highway, she continued to leave loads of space. Once up on the highway, you're expected to ramp your speed up to that of other drivers/the posted speed for the highway. Not only does she not speed up, she's still leaving all that space!!! This woman is driving 35 mph in a 55-60 mph area. Ay-yi-yi! I was stuck for a bit, but did manage to get past her before too much steam erupted from my ears and perma-fogged the inside of my vehicle.
Next encounter was with a younger female driver. She seemed to be having trouble determining where she was supposed to be on the highway (guess she had no GPS to help her out) - had her right turn indicator on perma-blink. She also was driving below the posted speed, which can cause an accident all by itself. But she did all that one better, she not only cut someone off in the right lane as she realized she was about to pass her exit, she then got stuck in no-man's land between the highway and the exit lanes, and then she proceeded to cut someone else off as she darted her car in front of them - I'm not sure if she looked before she did this or not. I witnesed all this from about 3 cars behind her, and one exit prior to mine.
Maybe it's the vehicle I drive (an older mini-van) - people always are trying to get in front of me. I don't drive slow, I don't cart around a horde of kids to distract me, and I'm not on my cell phone (although I do have a bluetooth for when I do get a call (rarely)). 3 guesses - it's my van. I know my trip home will take a certain amount of time, and usually I'm okay with letting things just happen around me, but sometimes they're above and beyond the usual, and just bear sharing.
As we crept around the on-ramp towards the highway, she continued to leave loads of space. Once up on the highway, you're expected to ramp your speed up to that of other drivers/the posted speed for the highway. Not only does she not speed up, she's still leaving all that space!!! This woman is driving 35 mph in a 55-60 mph area. Ay-yi-yi! I was stuck for a bit, but did manage to get past her before too much steam erupted from my ears and perma-fogged the inside of my vehicle.
Next encounter was with a younger female driver. She seemed to be having trouble determining where she was supposed to be on the highway (guess she had no GPS to help her out) - had her right turn indicator on perma-blink. She also was driving below the posted speed, which can cause an accident all by itself. But she did all that one better, she not only cut someone off in the right lane as she realized she was about to pass her exit, she then got stuck in no-man's land between the highway and the exit lanes, and then she proceeded to cut someone else off as she darted her car in front of them - I'm not sure if she looked before she did this or not. I witnesed all this from about 3 cars behind her, and one exit prior to mine.
Maybe it's the vehicle I drive (an older mini-van) - people always are trying to get in front of me. I don't drive slow, I don't cart around a horde of kids to distract me, and I'm not on my cell phone (although I do have a bluetooth for when I do get a call (rarely)). 3 guesses - it's my van. I know my trip home will take a certain amount of time, and usually I'm okay with letting things just happen around me, but sometimes they're above and beyond the usual, and just bear sharing.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Daylight Saving Time
Daylight Saving Time is seriously kicking my tail. This year seems to be worse than any previous. While I've always been a night owl, far preferring to see the new day in (midnight) rather than watch the sun rise, I'm having a difficult time regulating my sleep so that I can feel any semblance of functional at my job and on the drive to and from. (Perhaps just another lame excuse for why it's taken me a week to even attempt a post?)
This past weekend was cram-jammed full of life and all the "stuff" that goes along with it. Our big church youth fundraiser was Saturday Night - a little thing called Mama Mia's. It's a spaghetti dinner, followed by a themed talent show (of sorts). Snark-Girl was involved with the event in two big ways - she was both lead server (maitre-de?) and one of the techs involved with the lighting for the show. I was merely involved in one of the 15-18 acts that made up the show - the ladies who sing alto in the church choir have routinely done a skit and song/dance routine for Mama Mia's, with the exception of one year. We returned this year with a rendition of Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds are a Girls' Best Friend". While it was good, and received some laughs (as we intended), the best was saved for last - we had a synchronized swimming act, believe it or not! 6 of our men (with 2 more holding up a long, blue "water" curtain) found a hilarious skit on YouTube that they performed and received a standing ovation.
The serious fun and games was after the show was over! Then, all the lights,cables and stage props needed to be dismantled, packed and stored so we could have our regular church service the next morning. Believe it or not, all of the take-down was accomplished in about 45 minutes - many hands make light work. But then we lost that infernal hour that messed me ALL up. I'm having a hard time even remembering what-all I actually did do on Sunday following church. Ah, the hazy remembrances of an age-addled mind.
I finally feel, with last night's sleep, that I'm back on the right track, having gotten between 6-7 hours of fairly restful sleep. And with the Mr. slated to be gone for the next 3 nights, I can really catch up on my sleep this weekend! That, and get some massive laundry done and more general picking and putting all over the house, not to mention a huge run at paperwork and potential shredding. While having him gone is hard in some respects, it also is easier to do things without him pulling me away to help him on one of his "priority" projects(?) or question me as to just why I'm doing what I'm doing, or how I'm doing it. Everyone thinks their way is always the best!
Later!
This past weekend was cram-jammed full of life and all the "stuff" that goes along with it. Our big church youth fundraiser was Saturday Night - a little thing called Mama Mia's. It's a spaghetti dinner, followed by a themed talent show (of sorts). Snark-Girl was involved with the event in two big ways - she was both lead server (maitre-de?) and one of the techs involved with the lighting for the show. I was merely involved in one of the 15-18 acts that made up the show - the ladies who sing alto in the church choir have routinely done a skit and song/dance routine for Mama Mia's, with the exception of one year. We returned this year with a rendition of Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds are a Girls' Best Friend". While it was good, and received some laughs (as we intended), the best was saved for last - we had a synchronized swimming act, believe it or not! 6 of our men (with 2 more holding up a long, blue "water" curtain) found a hilarious skit on YouTube that they performed and received a standing ovation.
The serious fun and games was after the show was over! Then, all the lights,cables and stage props needed to be dismantled, packed and stored so we could have our regular church service the next morning. Believe it or not, all of the take-down was accomplished in about 45 minutes - many hands make light work. But then we lost that infernal hour that messed me ALL up. I'm having a hard time even remembering what-all I actually did do on Sunday following church. Ah, the hazy remembrances of an age-addled mind.
I finally feel, with last night's sleep, that I'm back on the right track, having gotten between 6-7 hours of fairly restful sleep. And with the Mr. slated to be gone for the next 3 nights, I can really catch up on my sleep this weekend! That, and get some massive laundry done and more general picking and putting all over the house, not to mention a huge run at paperwork and potential shredding. While having him gone is hard in some respects, it also is easier to do things without him pulling me away to help him on one of his "priority" projects(?) or question me as to just why I'm doing what I'm doing, or how I'm doing it. Everyone thinks their way is always the best!
Later!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Give It Up
Did any of you give up anything for Lent? I hadn't really intended to go along with this, until my boss put out a plate of Godiva chocolates he'd been gifted with for his birthday. Offering one to me, I replied "I've given up chocolate"!
I have no idea where that statement came from, but once uttered, I decided to stick with it. Snark-Girl has also decided to go along with the giving up of something meaningful to her - so she's doing without coffee. Currently, she's down for the count at home with a caffeine-withdrawal headache - I'm told they take about 3 days to run their course!
Wish us (and those others doing without) well in this endeavor. I can report, however, that just finding a snack in a vending machine is a major temptation, until you look at just what's left once chocolate is ruled out. Maybe this will be the jump-start I need to drop several pounds!
I have no idea where that statement came from, but once uttered, I decided to stick with it. Snark-Girl has also decided to go along with the giving up of something meaningful to her - so she's doing without coffee. Currently, she's down for the count at home with a caffeine-withdrawal headache - I'm told they take about 3 days to run their course!
Wish us (and those others doing without) well in this endeavor. I can report, however, that just finding a snack in a vending machine is a major temptation, until you look at just what's left once chocolate is ruled out. Maybe this will be the jump-start I need to drop several pounds!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Traffic Rant
What is it with people on the Beltway? The weather forecast from last night was for heavy rain through today, with the possibility of flooding in low-lying areas, and even chances of flash flooding if the rain becomes heavy enough. So why would anyone in their right mind be driving to work this morning with their wipers on, yet their headlights OFF? Come on, people! This has been a law in Virginia for several years now! If your wipers are on, your headlights need to be on! Just because you can see out of your car well, does not mean that others driving can see you! Weather like this can cause enough accidents without thoughtless drivers being tossed into the mix.
It's too bad there aren't enough police out to be pulling over these idiots and handing out some well-deserved tickets.
That is all.
It's too bad there aren't enough police out to be pulling over these idiots and handing out some well-deserved tickets.
That is all.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Absent, and Apologizing
Sorry, friends - I dropped off the face of Snark-It for a while. Life got a bit hectic around these parts, and this new enterprise of mine was what took last place.
There've been sooo many things going on lately. The Mr. returned from his trip, and noticed some of the things I accomplished while he was gone, but completely missed others. We had a H-U-G-E blow-up at each other just days later, and I ran off and spent the night away from home, getting very little sleep in the process, but cooling off my well-known temper. (While this site will remain "clean" in the language category, let's just say that at home I am more relaxed, and when my temper took hold I went off the deep end and turned the air blue with some horrible, no-good, very bad cursewords.) Had an out-of-state visitor at my job for a week, and enjoyed very much getting to know this person better, and also very much appreciated all the things they accomplished for my boss while they were here! I took last Friday off from work for a doctor's appointment, and to ready myself and Snark-Girl to leave for a weekend youth retreat with several other churches in the hills of West Virginia. (Possibly a post later about this experience!)
While on the aforementioned retreat I also got very little sleep due to plastic-covered mattresses - so noisy! - which were uncomfortable, and there were very late curfews for the kids. Also, far too few bathrooms for people to use for cleaning up and showering. But, I DID accomplish doing the low-ropes course that was there as a team-building exercise - me and two other moms (I was the oldest), plus 3 girls. We six were coming together from two different churches, having just met the evening before - briefly. We had to learn to trust the team, that you are not held back by physical limitations (one of the moms had a broken tailbone!), that you can do more than you think you can, how to work as a unit even when you've just met, that support need not be physical, to listen to all ideas - some might just surprise you, and that famous cliche' of thinking outside the box.
Once we returned home on Sunday afternoon - during a torrential rainstorm that had cars winding up in the median of a major interstate - I got involved in playing catch-up at home on laundry and planning a grocery run. I didn't make it out Sunday due to all the rain - I'm not that much of a glutton! Found out that Snark-Boy DOES have an appetite when the Mr. forgets to give him his ADHD meds for two days running! But man, is he one mass of movement and bounce and talk when he's not dosed!
I've spent the last few nights trying to catch up on laundry, dishes, shopping, cooking for a larger-than-normal family gathering on Monday, and sleep. Still wanting to accomplish MORE in the sleep category. And the Mr. is asking me if I've done any more looking for a job - when? In my spare time?
Enough said - I'm back!
There've been sooo many things going on lately. The Mr. returned from his trip, and noticed some of the things I accomplished while he was gone, but completely missed others. We had a H-U-G-E blow-up at each other just days later, and I ran off and spent the night away from home, getting very little sleep in the process, but cooling off my well-known temper. (While this site will remain "clean" in the language category, let's just say that at home I am more relaxed, and when my temper took hold I went off the deep end and turned the air blue with some horrible, no-good, very bad cursewords.) Had an out-of-state visitor at my job for a week, and enjoyed very much getting to know this person better, and also very much appreciated all the things they accomplished for my boss while they were here! I took last Friday off from work for a doctor's appointment, and to ready myself and Snark-Girl to leave for a weekend youth retreat with several other churches in the hills of West Virginia. (Possibly a post later about this experience!)
While on the aforementioned retreat I also got very little sleep due to plastic-covered mattresses - so noisy! - which were uncomfortable, and there were very late curfews for the kids. Also, far too few bathrooms for people to use for cleaning up and showering. But, I DID accomplish doing the low-ropes course that was there as a team-building exercise - me and two other moms (I was the oldest), plus 3 girls. We six were coming together from two different churches, having just met the evening before - briefly. We had to learn to trust the team, that you are not held back by physical limitations (one of the moms had a broken tailbone!), that you can do more than you think you can, how to work as a unit even when you've just met, that support need not be physical, to listen to all ideas - some might just surprise you, and that famous cliche' of thinking outside the box.
Once we returned home on Sunday afternoon - during a torrential rainstorm that had cars winding up in the median of a major interstate - I got involved in playing catch-up at home on laundry and planning a grocery run. I didn't make it out Sunday due to all the rain - I'm not that much of a glutton! Found out that Snark-Boy DOES have an appetite when the Mr. forgets to give him his ADHD meds for two days running! But man, is he one mass of movement and bounce and talk when he's not dosed!
I've spent the last few nights trying to catch up on laundry, dishes, shopping, cooking for a larger-than-normal family gathering on Monday, and sleep. Still wanting to accomplish MORE in the sleep category. And the Mr. is asking me if I've done any more looking for a job - when? In my spare time?
Enough said - I'm back!
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