Random bits of life....

My van is possessed. No joke. It really is straight from some hellish movie that shows some vehicle attempting to kill its owners. Or at least drive you insane. It really is THAT bad. It must have sensed we are trading it in for a 8 seater before the baby arrives.

For example, when you try to open the back hatch, it will move just high enough for you to lean in and then suddenly and unexpectedly it will quickly close trying to decapitate you in the process. Nice.

The interior lights will NOT turn off. Period. Thankfully I can use the master switch and shut them all off for good. At first I was tricked into thinking my sweet, yet crazy, girls had been the cause of this problem during one of their "trips" (playing like they are driving while safely parked in a closed garage). What a fool I was.

Next, the driver side door has started to stick, trapping you inside. There have more than a few times when I have literally had to push the dang thing open with my leg and brute force. And that is not easy being pregnant.

And the worst started this morning on the way to school. See the eerie red light should have been a signal to me. I didn't get it until I started to drive. You see the car has decided to make us all hearing impaired, topped off with a whopping migraine headache. The silly thing thinks one of the doors is ajar- at all times. Once you put that puppy out of park, good luck finding any peace until you put it in park again, because there is a non-stop BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. Yup. No break. Period.

The boys were dying during their 3 minute ride to school. I was dying when I ran a few errands while Trey was at piano. And we all are dying the repair shop can't take a look until Thursday. Looks like we'll be staying put until then.

I really didn't think we could top the time years ago when one small free ice water from Wendy's spilled under the drivers seat in our Isuzu Rodeo and frazzled our car alarm. The only way you could stop that one was by detaching the battery. What memories driving that thing to the dealership next to the Mall of St. Matthews with the alarm blaring at top decibel. But, at least we got it fixed that day. $350 later, it proved to be the most expensive cup of ice water, EVER!

So, weep for me. Please. And send some Tylenol our way. It's our only hope....
If you think driving around with a James Bond van that sounds like a bomb is counting down to detonate is bad enough, then you'll really think we are freaks when you know this above photo is on display in our front yard as I type. And it's staying put, until at least Thursday.

My sweet little Japanese Maple's leaves came out last week and the weather has turned bitter cold. Well, down to 26 at night. Two years ago, just one day after Easter, we had a snow fall and hard freeze that killed 1/2 the tree. I had to nearly chop the thing down.

Well, Mother Nature, just try to kill it this year! No way. I found blankets, and rugs and garbage bags and tarps and wrapped it up tight with handy packing tape (I love that stuff!).

Yes, my neighbor did call this morning and comment on its strange appearance, but I don't care. Maybe the van really did make me a bit nuts, but I am going to save my tree, one way or another.

After I told my mom about my tender loving care for my little Maple, she thought it sounded a bit cooky. I was very pleased when I drove to Trey's lesson to see other nutty folks around here (yeah, I know I live in Kentucky....) that had blankets and sheets over plants and bushes in their front yards. I am not alone in my quest.And while Brynn was NOT dressed for the cold weather todayI hope Momma Robin is. She laid 3 eggs in the nest under our deck last week (When it was 70 degrees). Something else I can worry about.... I'm a sucker for babies....even if they have feathers.Happy Birthday today to my sweet Grandma Nance. 82 years young. I had a good laugh when she told me during our phone visit that she enjoys watching American Idol. As Randy Jackson would say, "Dawg, young and hip, baby! Young and hip!"

Then I asked her who she is rooting for. She said, "The professional guy. He's by far the best and very different." Holy Cow, my Grandma is rooting for the craziest of the bunch: Adam Lambert. She then said, "He really is quite good looking." I followed up with, "If you look past the large black earrings, eyeliner and black nail polish." I do like him and think he is very talented and he probably will win, but I surprised that my grandma liked him so much. What a lady!

I have to admit that hearing what years the contestants were born in tonight made me feel just a tiny bit, well, OLD. Crazy how time catches up to all of us.And last, but not least, Congrats to the North Carolina Tar Heels (I know Rich's brothers are giddy for their favorite team) on their NCAA National Championship Title they won over Michigan State last night. What a few weeks of basketball ball. I enjoyed it all. And man, One Shining Moment gives me chills every single time. Which brings me to Tyler Hansbrough, I mean Josh. Seriously, can't you see it? For years we have said Josh looks like Tyler. Even my mom who is not a sports junkie sees the resemblance and told me today she saved the newspaper clipping of Tyler for Josh. Josh loves it. He's all sports, all the time. The second he woke up this morning, he asked if UNC won. He picked them in his brackets. He had been trying to sneak in bits of the game on Monday night, but a 9:21 PM EST tip off just isn't feasible when you have a 6:45 AM alarm clock set. He was the first one showered and dressed (which is always the case) and had the DVR up and running and paused on One Shining Moment so he and his brothers could watch it while they ate breakfast. I love it.
Who knows, maybe one day it'll be Josh on the TV where Tyler was today. We'll just have to wait and see....