2018 - A Year in Review

It's always nice to take a few moments and look back at how scary  how much fun you had during the year.

I thought I would list some high lights of 2018 here on Scary Journey.

After several million visits to the car dealer, I ended up having to leave my car there and was given a loaner for a week.  The loaner provided quite a bit of excitement at our house, including running out of gas on a really cold night.

We had another visit from our dear, old friend, It Wasn't Me.  I would like to say it's great when he/she visits, but, honestly, these visits create headaches and most importantly, messes that need to be cleaned up.  A fight usually breaks out.   Let's just hope that It Wasn't Me decides to go elsewhere in 2019.

Alexa came to live with us.  Of course, it's the deaf Alexa.  Her hearing has somewhat improved, but, she does have a little attitude now.

You learned about my hoarding abundance of dental floss.   I'm slowly trying to work through my supply.  Let's just say there will not be any dental floss purchases in 2019.

I talked a lot about Random Acts of Kindness.  I even brought up a little Pay it Forward.  Of course, I couldn't leave it on a nice note.  I had to include RT's story about paying it forward that occurred many years ago.

We had some losses during the year.  RIP

Free Freddie
the can opener
Larry, the Laundry Basket

We will miss all of you.

We talked about Famous Birthdays.  Which famous celebrity shares your birthday?  We all know who shares mine.....

We learned a lot about My Weird Dog.  Me escorting him out to the yard so he can do his business.  Not realizing that he will be this weird because he is born on the Ides of March.  I think I might be the one who needs help.  I'm the weird one because I support all of these things that Pippen does and accept them as normal.

Alex graduated High School  I almost didn't make it.  I mean, first getting all choked up, remembering him growing up.  Oh, and the numerous rides to and from the high school due to someone missing the bus......

We learned about my

Texting
Pet
Peeve.
It still drives
Me
crazy!

Oh, and my other pet peeve.  RT keeping his phone on silent.  Gotta love that when you are trying to get a hold of him!

By the way, the paper towels have been granted some freedom.  There was quite a bit of discussion prior to their release.  So far, things are going OK.  I don't think they will have to go back into the federal protection system.   I'll keep you posted.

I gave you a little taste of the Top 10 things I can't live without.  My first (and only) Top 10 List.  The list still stands.  Maybe I'll come up with another Top Ten List for 2019?  My Favorite Pens.  Or, even better,  My Favorite Hotel Pens.

We learned that RT "accidentally" blocked my texts on his phone.  I think I'm still blocked on his phone because not all of my texts get answered.

We also learned about my families fear of the grocery store.  They complain that there's no food in the house, but, no one wants to take that big step and actually step foot in a grocery store and purchase some food.  Maybe 2019 will be the year where they take that leap and put "go to the grocery store" on their list of things to try.

I enlightened you about RT's love of doing yard work in 90F heat.  Why do all that strenuous work when it's a little cooler out?  Wait until it's so hot that they issue a warning telling you to stay inside, where it's cooler.

I put together a little "How To" for chip clips.   Of course my family is probably waiting for a video.   I'll have RT work on that right after he completes the "How to Make Ice" video.

Who could forget my numerous trips to the DMV?  Thanks to my brother (I won't mention your name here....) I had to go hang out at the DMV several times just to get my Drivers License renewed.  I was there so much, that we all became friends.  I'm having lunch with them next week!  (I'm just kidding on that last part)

I took you along on my many adventures at work.  Making Ice Cream, making Moon Dough and my retail problem stories.  Who can forget me, dumpster diving?  Yea.....it's time.

I filled you in on my Large Print Book reading.  I CAN SEE (AND HEAR).  It's just easier to find the book you want to read in the Large Print section.

You enjoyed hearing about RT's Pokemon addiction.  He has sold the majority of the cards and does not lock himself up in the office anymore searching for new ones.  Well, not that I know of?  Has anyone seen him, lately?

We now have a Family Shirt.  You're welcome, everyone.  I do have plans for a new shirt.  One that all the kids will enjoy wearing.  What will it say?    "I'm only here for the pizza."

We made some great food this year!  Well, I made some great food.

Here's what I made this year:

Vegan Meatballs
Waffles
Chickpea and Dumpling Soup
Thai Coconut Curry Soup
Cauliflower Fried Rice
Vegan Jambalaya
Vegan Chocolate Chip Blondies
Chick Pea Salad Sandwich
Vegan Brownies
Kale Chips (and Tom's recipe is in there, too!)
Chia Pudding
Blueberry Pie
Blueberry Muffins
Mushroom Green Bean Stir Fry
Black Bean Brownies
Tasty Lentil Tacos
Cuban Style Black Beans
Deep Dish Cookie Pie
Moroccan Couscous and Roasted Vegetables
Grilled Moroccan Chicken
Classic Hummus

When I type it all out, I guess we did cover quite a bit this year!

Thanks for sticking around.  It's been a scary  crazy  fun year!  Looking forward to see what 2019 has in store for me.


Happy New Year!



By the way, I didn't hand write this post.  I couldn't find a pen.

Retail Problems

The scary thing is, these could just be a regular post around here.  I'm sure I could write quite a few from my experiences over the years.  Not sure if I'll keep it around, some of these stories, though, are priceless, and should be shared.

This one is from holiday time (within the last few weeks).

I was ringing out a customer, she only had one small item.  She was so excited about the store and said she was coming back to do more shopping.  I told her the total of her purchase.  She said she didn't want a bag for the item.  She takes out her money, then turns and coughs right onto it, then hands it to me.

If you could see my face when this all happened, I wouldn't need to write anything else.  My face would explain everything.  

The thoughts going through my head.

I could just quit right there.  Walk out.  Explain that I couldn't touch money that was coughed on.  I'm sure everyone would understand.

I could just go get my wallet and pay for the item myself.  It was about $5, and I wouldn't have to touch the infected money.  Well worth it, in my opinion.

I could take the money and bathe in hand sanitizer after she leaves.

I went with Door #3.  Take the money and then bathe in hand sanitizer.

As I'm giving her change, she tells me that she is now heading to the Emergency Care.

After washing up in the bathroom, I completely immersed myself in the huge bottle of hand sanitizer.

Yea.  You can't make this stuff up, folks.

My Weird Dog

I keep writing these "Weird Dog" posts thinking it should be my last, but, then Pippen surprises me with another story to tell.  Well, I guess at this point, it's really not a surprise.

I have been letting Pippen out front the last couple of weeks before I go to bed.  The only problem is, I have to stand outside with him while he does his business.  Sometimes he just stands and stares at me.  When this happens, I have to tell him to go do his business.

One night, I had some cleaning up to do, so I asked RT to let him out.  Pippen did not even get up when RT called him.  I had to coax him to get up and tell him to go outside.  After a few minutes, they are both back and RT tells me that Pippen didn't have to go.  He just stood there and stared at RT.  (His way of saying, "Why are you doing this?  I can only go outside with mom.")

So, obviously, I had to take him outside.  And, yes.  He did go....

Retail Problems

I thought I would share some  fun  crazy  weird  interesting retail problems that I unfortunately experience.  I'm sure I could write a book about all of my experiences.  It's always nice to know that there are people out there that are scarier than you.

I had to ring up a customer who was waiting in line.  I could tell that she wasn't in the best of moods.  I offered to wrap the item that she was purchasing.  She said, "Just put it in one of those plastic gift bags."

I went to work and nicely wrapped her gift.  I went to put the gift into a plastic shopping bag.  And that, folks, is when all hell broke loose.  The customer started to tell me that plastic bags are not good for the environment and that they end up in the ocean and wreak havoc on our marine life and eco system.  Apparently, it's all my fault that our eco system and environment is damaged.

She ended up grabbing her gift and leaving in a huff.

Meanwhile, I'm holding the plastic bag, staring at her thinking, "You just asked me to wrap your gift in a plastic bag?"

Jesus Handle

You know that bar/handle in your car that sits above the passenger window?  It's where the passenger can grab when the driver slams on the brakes.  The passenger then yells, "Jeeezus!"

The Jesus handle gets a lot of use in our cars.  Mainly by RT.  He is not the best passenger.  He claims it's because of being in a couple of accidents 30-40 years ago while he was in the passenger seat.

I can see him grabbing the handle when the boys were starting to drive.  They are  a lot more experienced now, but, RT still feels the need to grab hold of the handle as the child is driving.  The kids can't figure out why he grabs hold of it and complains about their driving.

I've been with RT for 27 years and (knocks on wood) have not been in an accident.  When I first started driving, my parents always told me that "If someone is in the car with you, make sure to drive carefully.  If you are by yourself, then you can do whatever you want."  Of course, I took that last part to mean, "I can drive like a maniac by myself."  I'm always with my kids, or someone else in the car, so, I'm very careful when I drive.

So, I was not surprised when RT climbed in my car the other day, grabbed the Jesus handle and did not let go until we got safely home.  I don't ask him about it.  And, honestly, it doesn't bother me.  I guess after all of these years, I'm used to it.

I do have to admit that I chuckled a little to myself.

Found

I just thought I would let everyone know that RT has found his sweatpants that he "lost."  I know everyone was losing sleep over the loss of these sweatpants, so, I felt the need to announce their homecoming.

RT claims that the sweatpants were last seen in the laundry room and somehow they went missing.  He "looked" for the sweatpants and was unable to find them.  At which point, he was about to state that said sweatpants were stolen.  I did have to remind him that there are not a lot of burglars on the lookout for tall sweatpants.

After I located the tape dispenser that he claimed someone stole (it was in the hallway by the kids' bedrooms), I told him to look in the basement for his sweatpants.

I am happy to report that the sweatpants were miraculously found and, well, all is right in the world.

It's funny, as the kids grow older, your conversations with them become more in depth, but, they still have that sense of weirdness.

We were sitting around after dinner, and the subject of a clean bathroom came up.  Cleaning the bathroom (and keeping it clean) is a sore subject in our house.  Somehow the topic of missing the toilet came up.  My stance is to clean up after yourself.  One child said that if they leave it, it will eventually evaporate...to which another child replied, "Because someone else cleaned it up for you!"

1st child:  No, really!  Think about it.  Urine is just water and water evaporates.  So, if I urinate on the floor, I don't have to clean it up.  It will just evaporate.

It's fun to see how your children can come up with ideas and back them up with scientific facts.

Unfortunately, I had to ruin all the fun and state that urine will not completely evaporate.  And that there are to be no scientific experiments on this subject in their bathroom.

A couple of nights ago, we were eating dinner and RT brought up the fun asparagus fact.  You know, how it changes the odor of your urine.  I said, now we will know who pees on the floor.

It's weird.  Everyone ate asparagus that night.

Holiday Gifts and Crafts

It's that crazy time of year again!

I thought I would put some links up to easy Holiday Crafts and Gifts that you can make yourself, with kids or a Girl Scout Troop.

Christmas
Animal Ornaments 
Brazilian Holiday Flower  (great children's craft)
Candy Cane Sleigh 
Christmas Cards and tags
Felt Heart Ornament 
Foam Gingerbread House  (children's craft)
Foam Ornament Gift Tag 
Jingle Bell Bracelet (children's craft)
Mitten Gift Tags 
Mosaic Christmas Tree (children's craft)
Picture Frame
Snowman Ornament 
Stocking (out of construction paper) (children's craft)
Winter Scene (children's craft)
Snowman Ornament
Snowman Winter Craft (children and adult craft)
Ugly Christmas Sweater Felt Banner


Gifts
Homemade Bubbles
Bath Bombs
Laundry Detergent (powder)
Homemade Hair Detangler
Homemade Liquid Hand Soap
Homemade Lip Balm
Homemade Lotion


Miscellaneous Crafts/Gifts
Bangle Bracelet (wrapped)
Blank Books 
Bubbles (homemade)
Book Mark
Bottle cap necklace
Cork Board using Old Picture Frame
Decorative Wrapping Paper 
Dryer Balls
Fun Scrapbooks
Gift Box
Paint Chip Monthly Calendar
Pumpkin Soap Recipe
Twine Napkin Holders 
Note cards  
Homemade Sidewalk Paint 
Sit upon (a cushion to sit on)
Wrapped Bangle Bracelet