The kids from our Community Group Halloween party last night!! 

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Why I put my career on hold....

I just finished reading Dr. Dobson's "Bringing Up Boys". Dave got it for his birthday and I stole it because it's been on my reading list since April 2004 (when we found out Daniel was a boy!). Other than scaring the pants off me with the warnings about predators, our culture and man-bashing, and the public school situation, it was an inspiring book. In the last chapter there were several quotes that validated a lot of the decisions Dave and I have made this last year. Here's one that sums up why I have put my career on hold:

...I believe the two career family during the child-rearing years creates a level of stress that is tearing people apart. And it often deprives children of something that they will search for for the rest of their lives. We can only hope that a significant segment of the population will awaken someday from the nightmare of overcommitment and say, "this is a crazy way to live. There has to be a better way than this to raise our kids. We will make the financial sacrifices necessary to slow the pace of living."

...project to the end of your days...Temporal sucesses and accomplishments will not be very gratifying in that moment of destiny. I believe the greatest sense of fulfillment as you prepare to close the final chapter will be in knowing that you lived by a consistent standard of holiness before God and that you invested yourself unselfishly in the lives of your family members and friends. Most important, knowing that you led your children to the Lord and will be with them in eternity will outrank every other achievement.... why not determine to live according to that value system now, while you still have the oppportunity to influence the impressionable kids who look up to you? This may be the most important question you as a mother or father will ever be asked to answer!

Well said, Dr. Dobson, and just what I needed to hear in this moment as I continue to struggle daily with making the right choices to put our family first.

Oops! I wasn't supposed to get this out of the trash! 

Helping with Daddy's birthday cake : ) 

Gotcha! 

I love being outside! 

Small town politics

The town where we live is actually pretty small. I was reminded of this last night when I went to vote for alderman (think city councilman). I'm kind of into voting, especially in local elections where no one else really cares, but the issues tend to affect things we really do care about, like property values. One of the candidiates (the one I planned to vote for because she lives in our neighborhood) was hanging out in the parking lot in case anyone wanted to meet her or had any questions. How convenient. Good news this morning- she won by 24 votes (628 total votes for all three candidates).

The Monster Mulch

I have not been able to write or post pictures because we are so SORE from all the work on Saturday. We re-did and mulched all of the front beds and moved a lot of miscellaneous plants to beds in the backyard. We used about half of the mulch so far. We hope to finish next weekend!

Daniel was outside most of the day and had a grand time wandering around. He loves to play outdoors so much he will go get his shoes and bring them to me. And he will bang on the back door to say he wants out. Only a few more years until we turn the yardwork over to him...

In Dispute

So, the landscaper has come and we will post pictures after Dave has spread the million pounds of mulch this weekend. It looks great so far!

On Wednesday, the landscaper was planting trees and marking the ground again, and he was approached by Eva. It seems she had a problem with one of the beds he had marked and claimed it was over her property line. She told him this 12 times (he counted) in a row. So, we re-arranged the bed (see picture). It would seem that most people would not have a problem with a bed paid for by their neighbors that improves their property value. As you can see, the area in dispute is about 12 inches.

I tried to go over to talk to her about it yesterday before the bed was cut, but no one was home except a guy I've never seen before who claims to live there but to know nothing about the property. I really didn't have time to run to city hall to get our plot map, but I probably should get one for future reference (disputes).

My other neighbor told me I should remind her that my mailbox is on my property line, not hers, in case she decides to knock it over again.

The disputed property line. 

Yes, this is # 2 of 2 pallets of mulch! 

Dave is going to be busy this weekend! 

Recommendations

We have been celebrating Dave's birthday early, with a dinner at Bonefish Grill on Sunday night. Very yummy!

What we're Reading/Watching/Listening to:

Reading: Dave just finished "The Last Juror" by John Grisham and is studying Consumer Reports (for new cameras). This morning he took a Stuart Woods book with him on his business trip.

I've been alternating between 9/11 Report, a Karen Kingsbury book (Christian fiction is too cheesy- I'm taking it back to the library), and I'm about to start Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge. It's supposed to unveil the mysteries of a woman's soul. I'm not sure I want to know what's in there...

Julie's supposed to be sending me Life of Pi and Kite Runner - or just bring it at Thanksgiving... The Secret Life of Bees was cute but a little odd.

Watching: We rented "Sahara" because Dave had read the book, and it was good. I've been taping lots of stuff that we don't have time to watch: West Wing, Apprentice, Oprah, This Old House, etc. I set the DVR to get Commander in Chief tonight because of all the buzz.

Listening: We finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix last night. We're ready for book #6 so we can get caught up with the rest of the world. My new music love is Toby Mac (formerly of DC Talk). I bought Momentum on half.com and a friend gave me Welcome to Diverse City and Toby Mac's address in Franklin. It's actually in a prominent location and I had wondered who lived there.

And, we're looking forward to this in November....

Another (alleged) murder

Dave has been telling me for weeks our three year old digital camera is "ancient" and "not fast enough". I agree, but it works fine so I can't justify a new one. So last night, while Daniel is taking a bath in my parents tub, I hand the camera to Dave and it "drops" in the tub. Accident? I think not! He must have been practicing for weeks to make that hand off look effortless yet fruitless. Even my parents were convinced it was an accident. The ancient camera is drying out, and I'm trying to decide whether or not to press charges.

The Odyssey of the Odyssey continues... on Friday night the trunk locked itself shut. I could not open it automatically or manually and I kept getting the "check trunk" message. An hour later, it opened fine for Dave. But then the Parking Sensors malfunctioned again last night.

We did get new tires for the GM yesterday and the wheel locks were not a problem... because they were gone! I guess they were STOLEN by Tires Plus. Thanks, guys.

What do you mean I don't get to keep these toys? 

The Landscaper Cometh

I know he was here today because there are spray painted marks for the utility lines. I went and took a bunch of "before" pictures. I would post them, but they're horrid. Sorry, you'll just have to wait....

All Locked up

Dave needs new tires on his car. The only problem is we can't get the existing tires off. He proudly drives a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis. Yes, this is a grandpa car and that's exactly where it came from. Grandpa was proud of his car and there was no eating, drinking or playing the radio inside it. Now Dave eats breakfast in there every morning on the way to work. I'm glad Grandpa can't see it now, although I do manage to vacuum it out about once a year.

We have been taking it to Tires Plus for maintenance the last few years and we always gave them the wheel lock to rotate the tires. Then one day we didn't get it back and didn't notice until the next service. They rigged something and got the tires off anyway. My questions are 1) who would want to steal tires from a Grand Marquis? and 2) what's the purpose of a wheel lock if any Joe can get them off anyway?

I think we're in trouble if we get a flat tire and we want to buy some new tires from Sam's anyway, so I called a dealership about getting a new wheel lock. Just FYI, Ford/Mercury doesn't make them, doesn't stock them and doesn't sell them. If we take the car to the dealership, they might be able to figure out which key # it is, so we can order it from the original manufacturer. And I'm sure it will be a low low price. Could this be any more complicated? Oh wait, it could be if there were some malfunctioning parking sensors involved....

Promenade your Partner

Last night Dave and I went square dancing at church. I haven't squared danced since a wedding rehearsal dinner about 10 years ago, and Dave vaguely remembers something like it from PE in elementary school. It was a lot of fun! It was a social for all of the community group leaders and wives from our part of town (about 30 group leaders). It was a nice outing, and many thanks to P&L for providing the babysitting of sweet little Daniel.

Lost

Two nights ago, Dave was out in the yard doing some prep work before the landscaper comes. He's in the front yard near Eva's house, and Eva is out wandering around. Eva comes up to Dave and asks him what he is doing. He explains he is just doing some yardwork. Then she asks Dave if he is the man her son has hired to do her yardwork. Dave explains this is his yard and he actually lives in the house behind it. Oh.

We are definitely paying for the mailbox repair.

This Week...

1. We almost had a heatstroke at the Titans game on Sunday.
2. I almost had a heatstroke walking to the Publix on Monday.
3. We're wondering if cool weather got lost on its way to October.
4. We hired a landscaper (this is the third attempt) to plant some trees.
5. The parking sensors malfunction anytime a car gets too close to the rear bumper of the van.
6. Dave has gotten home noticeably earlier in the evenings because of his new parking spot.
7. Daniel decided he wanted to play at 2:30 am and 3:30 am this morning.
8. We are tired.

Just saying HI to everyone out there!