Friday, May 4, 2012

Random Musings Friday

Well, here we are again...another Friday and I am not sitting at Thumbs Up Diner in the ghetto-ish section of Atlanta, enjoying a goat cheese/onion/mushroom/spinach/tomato omelette, cheese grits, and delightful conversation with Shana (as well as the occasional big hair sighting...I mean big). I'm splitting my time this morning between tying up loose ends on a ton of custom orders and preparing for my Kentucky Derby party that I will be hosting tomorrow for all of my Georgia peaches and packing the car for a mini-vacay to the beach. I have to say, I wish it was last Friday, but this one ain't half-bad, either. So, I'm parked for a minute to share some Random from the week and then it's on to the next task!


1. I finally sat down about 3 weeks ago and finished my business taxes (mostly because I file within our personal taxes and Neal was getting really itchy for that tax return...and also because there's a deadline). I owed $100 for my business license fee. No surprise there. That happens every year. But I also owed public school taxes because I made a profit in 2011. How much did I owe, you may ask?

Two pennies.

But I am not one to screw the US government (or the county) out of even one penny. So, I wrote a check, hesitantly because I had never written one for under $1.00, for 2 pennies. And guess what? They cashed it. As Mama Virgo said, I hope that helps keep them afloat for another year.

2. The skyrocketing temperatures here in the deep south have caused the girls to start shedding their winter coats. All over the house. Fur tumbleweeds blow down the hallway and petting them causing the fur to fly. I try to keep them brushed but it's sort of like cleaning up the kitchen during a party. What's the point? Except that Lulu has started puking hairballs every morning. This is an event that only a cat-lover can appreciate as dogs don't make this lovely gagging sound, followed by a projectile chunk of semi-digested fur. And because Poppy is a bit....rotund...Lulu often cleans her, too, because Poppy can't reach a lot of the parts of her body. So, it only makes the whole situation worse.

Also, she has started sleeping under the ottoman. Probably because it's cooler. But it calls to mind the comment Neal made once that when the girls die, they will probably go hide somewhere to do it...so that it takes me awhile to find them. I poked her for about 5 seconds yesterday before she finally moved under there. I am almost certain that my heart stopped, thinking that my beloved cat had died under the ottoman after vomiting hairballs for 3 consecutive days. Thanks, Neal.

3. Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby. If you live in Kentucky, it's kind of a big deal. If you are from Kentucky, it's kind of a big deal. While I've never had the patience to make my own Derby hat, I do love an excuse to gather friends, eat Derby pie (basically pecan pie with walnuts and chocolate chips, but...um...without the pecans), drink mojitos, and bet on the horsies. So, tomorrow I will be doing just that. All my rowdy friends will come over and we'll make friendly wagers amongst ourselves while gorging on Kentucky foods and drinking minty cocktails. And so the preparations have begun...

I realized this morning that my Kentucky B&B cookbook is actually in Kentucky, so "Catering to Charleston" will have to work. It's basically the same thing.

4. Finally, I went to the commissary last night for some milk and noticed that a Lincoln towncar with a sticker that said, "Warning: No Smoking. Oxygen in Use" was parked in the "Expectant Mother" parking space. There are 2 "Expectant Mother" parking spaces and about a dozen handicapped spaces at the commissary. My first thought was, "Oh yeah, I'm SO sure the woman driving that car is an expectant mother." But my second thought was, "HEY! Don't be so judgy! Her life may be really hard...she's 8 months pregnant and having to chauffeur her very ill, oxygen-dependent mother to the commissary for some eggs and bacon! At least you don't have that going on!"

The owner of the O2-mobile happened to be at the trunk, watching the bagger load his groceries, as I walked by. He was not expectant, nor a mother. I am both the daughter and the wife of Rule Followers. (I am also the daughter of a Rules-Are-Merely-Suggestions thinker. As in "speed limits are suggestions of how fast you should be going.") So, I gave the unoxygenated, non-expectant, non-mother the stink eye and managed to not ask him when he's due as I walked by. I'm sorry dude but if all of the handicapped spaces are taken (for the record, I've never seen that happen), and you don't have a handicapped parking sticker or tag anyway, "Expectant Mother" parking is not your plan B.

I hope you all have lovely rain-free, sunshine-filled, relaxing weekends. And if you happen to be home around 6ish tomorrow, tune in to the Derby and pick a horse. It really is the most exciting 2 minutes in sports!

Got your own random goin' on? Grab the button and link up with Shana. She's all about a good party, so the more, the merrier!

Cheers!

6 comments:

  1. Matt nearly lost his mind when I read him the bit about the O2 mobile. We are SO grateful for the expectant mom spaces, and they really make a difference for me. Matt would have gone all Iraq War Veteran on his ass.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wish I was there for the Derby party. But at least I got my pie last week. Have fun tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  3. TWO CENTS!?! Don't you all have a rule that if its under a certain amount of money you don't have to pay? I guess that's another one in the "Canada" column...
    Maverick used to have a lot of hairballs too, but since he got the asthma, the hairballs have mostly stopped...though I wouldn't recommend that as a form of treatment.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Everytime the commercial airs for THE Derby... yes THE... I think of you... and then I say how I have always wanted to go. Mike never seems to make a comment about it... then I say after it. It seems like so much fun and way classier than Preakness... still no comment. I'm pretty sure he'd enjoy the in field at Preakness way more ;) One day we'll have to set a Derby Date!

    As for the govt. at least you were able to give them your Two Cents... ;)

    Lastly... Ugh our pets are shedding EVERYWHERE too... I brush them a lot but it doesn't help... thankfully I haven't heard Angus do his "hairball issue" noise... however that being said Mike does a GREAT cat impression... I really wish I had a video camera to youtube it! ;)

    Happy weekend lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I called out an old (not in his reproductive years) man (def not female) at Randall's several years ago. He was sitting in his car--in a "stork spot"--and I asked him if he was pregnant. "I might be" was his response. Mine, to him: "Dude, if you're pregnant, I'm calling Channel 11 b/c I want credit for THIS story!" As I continued through the front doors, the security guy said "He must think you're serious--he's actually moving his car!" I turned around and waved at him. (Note: I was not even pregnant at the time--just female and sassy.)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ain't even gonna think about commenting on fur balls ... there are reasons to be a dog person. But, on behalf of tax payers everywhere, thanks for paying your fair share! And, kudos on making enough to need to!

    Will be with you in spirit starting at 4:30 or so. Save a piece of pie - a big one - for me!!

    ReplyDelete

That's it, let it all out....