It's the Thursday before Christmas ... and life has been hectic!
John's been on break from school, so he's been looking for projects to complete around the house. Meanwhile, I'm still working and then I volunteered us to dog-sit over my vacation break, so I invited that family over for dinner tonight so that their dog can meet Honey and get used to us before actually being left here for several days.
So, John decided yesterday afternoon was the perfect time to rip out the pantry and re-do it.
I got home from work yesterday and the entire contents of my pantry were strewn all over my kitchen cabinets (John reassured me that we'd get a pizza so I didn't have to try and cook). He'd torn out all the shelves in the pantry and did some dry-wall repair in there.
Tip: Did you know that Lowe's will cut your wood for you? Seriously - John bought this long strip of wood to use for shelves in our new pantry, and Lowe's cut that long strip down to the exact sizes we needed for the shelves. Normally it costs $0.25 per cut, but they didn't charge us for it. So much easier than trying to do it outselves!
So ... last night we went to Lowes and wandered around a bit, then picked up our pizza. After dinner, John started sanding the dry wall down and then painted the first coat of white in the pantry. I started going through all the food from the pantry and getting rid of stuff that was either expired or I knew that we'd never use (most likely because we'd had it for over a year).
Biggest surprise of the night? Finding 10 cans of black beans - an ingredient I only use in 1 recipe that I make maybe 2-3 times a year.
Grossest surprise of the night? Finding an unopened container of balsamic vinaigrette dressing that looked like things were growing in it. Surprisingly, it was not past the expiration date. We threw it out anyway.
So now John is painting a second coat in the pantry and trying to install the shelves before we have company tonight. I'm making a lamb roast with steamed vegetables and rolls. My guests are bringing dessert and a tiny dog that will probably get into a fight or something with Honey.
Yay!
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Monday, December 17, 2012
Tragedy and Mental Illness
If you've been anywhere in the US the past few days, you've heard about the school shooting in Sandy Hook, CT. We don't really have a tv, so the majority of my information about the shooting comes from facebook posts and online articles. I just wanted to share a few thoughts about it.
For future reference ... or for those who haven't heard about the shooting ... on Friday, December 14th, a man entered a Sandy Hook Elementary school classroom and shot and killed 20 first graders and 6 adults. This is an unspeakable tragedy - honestly no words come to me. I cannot even fathom the pain and the loss that the families and friends of everyone involved must be feeling.
Within hours of the shooting, people started debating whether we should be allowed to carry guns or not. Some people argue that the shooting would not have happened or been nearly as bad is someone within the school had been armed. Others argue for stricter gun laws that may have prevented the shooter from getting a gun in the first place.
By the next day, people were pointing fingers - saying that these things only happen because God was taken out of schools and there's no prayer in the classrooms. They are saying that if we still prayed to God and taught the Bible in public schools then maybe this shooter wouldn't have done this.
(Of course, there's also the radical groups such as Westboro Baptist Church who claim that this whole tragedy is God's judgement on this nation, and they are planning on picketing the children's funerals.)
My reaction to all these? Shame. Frustration. Even a bit of anger.
Over two dozen people died needlessly - most of them young children - and you're using their deaths to get on your soapbox and promote your own belief system? How incredibly callous and unfeeling.
Now is a time for mourning - for grieving and for supporting the families and friends of the victims. Not for politics or religious battles or grand-standing.
After that ... then we can figure out how to prevent this from happening again. Not because of this shooting, but because it should never have happened at all.
***********
Now I'm going to go against what many of the people in my circles believe. I grew up hearing the belief that there was no such thing as a "mental illness". That anything that was wrong in the brain was either demon possession or the results of a sinful life; the only cure was God.
There were some grey areas - mental disabilities such as Down Syndrome or Autism were regarded as sympathetic. But illnesses such as depression, asbergers, bi-polar, etc. did not exist.
And that is something that I disagree with. Every other part of our bodies can get sick or fail us - why should our brain be any different? All it takes is an imbalance in chemicals and hormones to mess us up horribly in the head.
Thankfully, this is not something I've had to experience; neither John nor I suffer from any of this. But I've read up on a lot of it. And while there is help out there (once you get past the sometimes-crushing stigma of having a mental illness), that help is often only available for people with "normal" mental illnesses. And often can only be available if people want help - which many people who are not well think they don't need.
Article: "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" by Liza Long
Currently, in the US, there are no real options available for people whose mental health may cause them to injure themselves or others. The way things are now, we have to wait until they "snap" so that we can put them in jail. At which point it may be too late.
I hardly think that that's a good policy. For anyone.
************
You might think I'm being a bit hypocritical - condemning others for using this tragedy, and then speaking up myself. And maybe I am.
Nothing can justify the taking of lives. I mourn for each of the people who died ... and I mourn that someone felt that there was no other way to ease his own pain than to cause so much pain for others.
Article: "Tragic Violence and Empathy" Nurshable blog
But surely, if we wanted to prevent things like this happening in the future - shouldn't we spend our energy trying to help people so they never get this desperate? That we see that they get the help that they need?
For future reference ... or for those who haven't heard about the shooting ... on Friday, December 14th, a man entered a Sandy Hook Elementary school classroom and shot and killed 20 first graders and 6 adults. This is an unspeakable tragedy - honestly no words come to me. I cannot even fathom the pain and the loss that the families and friends of everyone involved must be feeling.
Within hours of the shooting, people started debating whether we should be allowed to carry guns or not. Some people argue that the shooting would not have happened or been nearly as bad is someone within the school had been armed. Others argue for stricter gun laws that may have prevented the shooter from getting a gun in the first place.
By the next day, people were pointing fingers - saying that these things only happen because God was taken out of schools and there's no prayer in the classrooms. They are saying that if we still prayed to God and taught the Bible in public schools then maybe this shooter wouldn't have done this.
(Of course, there's also the radical groups such as Westboro Baptist Church who claim that this whole tragedy is God's judgement on this nation, and they are planning on picketing the children's funerals.)
My reaction to all these? Shame. Frustration. Even a bit of anger.
Over two dozen people died needlessly - most of them young children - and you're using their deaths to get on your soapbox and promote your own belief system? How incredibly callous and unfeeling.
Now is a time for mourning - for grieving and for supporting the families and friends of the victims. Not for politics or religious battles or grand-standing.
After that ... then we can figure out how to prevent this from happening again. Not because of this shooting, but because it should never have happened at all.
***********
Now I'm going to go against what many of the people in my circles believe. I grew up hearing the belief that there was no such thing as a "mental illness". That anything that was wrong in the brain was either demon possession or the results of a sinful life; the only cure was God.
There were some grey areas - mental disabilities such as Down Syndrome or Autism were regarded as sympathetic. But illnesses such as depression, asbergers, bi-polar, etc. did not exist.
And that is something that I disagree with. Every other part of our bodies can get sick or fail us - why should our brain be any different? All it takes is an imbalance in chemicals and hormones to mess us up horribly in the head.
Thankfully, this is not something I've had to experience; neither John nor I suffer from any of this. But I've read up on a lot of it. And while there is help out there (once you get past the sometimes-crushing stigma of having a mental illness), that help is often only available for people with "normal" mental illnesses. And often can only be available if people want help - which many people who are not well think they don't need.
Article: "I am Adam Lanza's Mother" by Liza Long
Currently, in the US, there are no real options available for people whose mental health may cause them to injure themselves or others. The way things are now, we have to wait until they "snap" so that we can put them in jail. At which point it may be too late.
I hardly think that that's a good policy. For anyone.
************
You might think I'm being a bit hypocritical - condemning others for using this tragedy, and then speaking up myself. And maybe I am.
Nothing can justify the taking of lives. I mourn for each of the people who died ... and I mourn that someone felt that there was no other way to ease his own pain than to cause so much pain for others.
Article: "Tragic Violence and Empathy" Nurshable blog
But surely, if we wanted to prevent things like this happening in the future - shouldn't we spend our energy trying to help people so they never get this desperate? That we see that they get the help that they need?
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Feeling better ... Honest! *Cough Cough*
Sorry for being MIA the past several days ... I'm blaming the flu. I've been sick with the flu for exactly a week now - my house is a mess and I'm back at work even though I keep coughing and sniffling and sneezing.
But I'm better! Honest!
And my new favorite medicine (whenever I'm actually able to *swallow* the horse pills) is Robitussin Nightime Cold and Flu. It's like the exact same thing as Nyquil, but cheaper. I'm all for cheaper.
The nicest thing about getting better is the possibility of moving back into the bedroom. I've been avoiding the bedroom completely, since the last thing I want to do is get John sick - he's had finals for the past week! My MIL said that doing that was very sweet of me, but I told her it was a completely selfish decision. I can hardly bear to get off the couch ... the very last thing I wanted was to have to take care of a sick John too!
Still, some rather major things came up while I was sick. John took his finals ... he doesn't think he did as well on his first two finals - even though he didn't get sick, I think he was fighting something off. Plus, they scheduled the tests horribly. He then studied all weekend for his final exam on Monday - which he thinks went really well.
After the exam, he emailed the course director about some of his classmates cheating. Two or three of his classmates have been cheating periodically throughout the semester, and during the final they were blatant enough that - when the teacher stepped out of the room - they started talking to each other and passing papers back and forth between them. John found it all very distracting, which helped him to decide to turn them in. It's also incredibly frustrating when John and his other classmates work so hard to have a handful decide they shouldn't have to work as much.
As for me ... I've got big news possibly coming up. But I don't want to jinx it, so I think it can wait for a few weeks (and before anyone asks, no, I'm not pregnant. I wish that were it!).
And finally, I want to link to one of my favorite blogs: Filing Jointly ... finally. Lauren has the talent to keep her blog both real and hilarious! I think her recent post The Day Santa Claus Came to Town did more to put me in the holiday spirit than anything else this season!
But I'm better! Honest!
And my new favorite medicine (whenever I'm actually able to *swallow* the horse pills) is Robitussin Nightime Cold and Flu. It's like the exact same thing as Nyquil, but cheaper. I'm all for cheaper.
The nicest thing about getting better is the possibility of moving back into the bedroom. I've been avoiding the bedroom completely, since the last thing I want to do is get John sick - he's had finals for the past week! My MIL said that doing that was very sweet of me, but I told her it was a completely selfish decision. I can hardly bear to get off the couch ... the very last thing I wanted was to have to take care of a sick John too!
Still, some rather major things came up while I was sick. John took his finals ... he doesn't think he did as well on his first two finals - even though he didn't get sick, I think he was fighting something off. Plus, they scheduled the tests horribly. He then studied all weekend for his final exam on Monday - which he thinks went really well.
After the exam, he emailed the course director about some of his classmates cheating. Two or three of his classmates have been cheating periodically throughout the semester, and during the final they were blatant enough that - when the teacher stepped out of the room - they started talking to each other and passing papers back and forth between them. John found it all very distracting, which helped him to decide to turn them in. It's also incredibly frustrating when John and his other classmates work so hard to have a handful decide they shouldn't have to work as much.
As for me ... I've got big news possibly coming up. But I don't want to jinx it, so I think it can wait for a few weeks (and before anyone asks, no, I'm not pregnant. I wish that were it!).
And finally, I want to link to one of my favorite blogs: Filing Jointly ... finally. Lauren has the talent to keep her blog both real and hilarious! I think her recent post The Day Santa Claus Came to Town did more to put me in the holiday spirit than anything else this season!
Thursday, December 6, 2012
cute cat pictures cure everything, don't they?
About all I can say is that I'm here.
John's taking tests this week. He had one yesterday afternoon from about 3:00 pm until 5:30 pm ... and then one this morning from 8:30 am until .... well, it's still going, so I don't know how long it will be.
I probably should have stayed home another day.
At least I don't have the flu! I think.
And because I can't think of anything else ... and because this is kinda a downer post ...
here's something to make you smile!
Enjoy!
John's taking tests this week. He had one yesterday afternoon from about 3:00 pm until 5:30 pm ... and then one this morning from 8:30 am until .... well, it's still going, so I don't know how long it will be.
I probably should have stayed home another day.
At least I don't have the flu! I think.
And because I can't think of anything else ... and because this is kinda a downer post ...
here's something to make you smile!
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Thanksgiving Drama - Part Three
Just a quick note - I may be mia for the next few days. I can feel the most awful cold coming down on me, and if it weren't for the fact that I have an event to work today, then I'd totally still be home in bed. Not sure if I'll feel up to logging onto my computer while I'm sick. We'll see.
This series feels like its gone on forever - perhaps because there are other things I want to talk about! But this is the part everyone's been waiting for (and by everyone, I mean me because I want to remember this in 20 years)!
You can begin reading this epic storyline here ....
My MIL came back up from the chickens at 3:30 AM, planning to get a little bit of sleep before getting up at 5 AM to meet the catch crew at 6 AM. She lay on the living room floor (so as to not wake up anyone else - and so she wouldn't oversleep), and at 3:44 AM set her alarm for 5 AM.
The catch crew arrived at 3:45 AM.
Making them simultaneously both hours late and several hours early. MIL jumped up, and rushed back down to the chickens to meet them.
The entire catch crew was Hispanic, and most didn't speak any English. They were upset with my MIL because the chickens weren't ready for them, and my MIL was upset for everything that had happened previously! But, knowing that the chickens weren't ready to leave for another 2-3 hours, she started very slowly prepping the houses and the chickens for the catch. The crew would just have to wait on her.
She finally finished up in house one, and left the catch crew to begin setting up, while she went and prepped house two. Once she was finished with that, she took her tools out to their Mule, passing one of the Hispanic men on his way to their van. She returned to house one to watch and help the crew. Shortly afterward, the Hispanic man she'd passed came up to her and asked, "Did you take our bags?"
She was startled. "No, I didn't take anything. I've been here working."
Apparently, while they were working on the farm (a good 30+ minutes from town) someone had snuck onto the farm, and stolen all the workers backpacks out of their van! Their backpacks which each contained: hundreds of dollars, iphones, driver's licenses, and green cards.
Work completely stopped. The men talked among themselves for a few moments, and then about 4-5 of them jumped in their van, and took off down the driveway as fast as they could - trying to catch up with the thief. As they reached the end of the driveway, they saw a large black truck take off down the road; they gave chase! Next thing we know - there's a van full of Hispanics in a high-speed chase after a Black Truck down country roads at 4:30 in the morning!
I don't know what would have happened if they had caught the truck. But once the truck turned onto a main road, the van turned around and came back to the farm; they probably didn't want to get caught without their licenses and green cards!
Meanwhile, my FIL heard all the commotion from up at the house, and got down there to catch the end of all this. He immediately called the police (who took about 45 minutes to get there). They arrived and took down everyone's names and interviewed everyone and got a complete listing of everything that was stolen.
After the police left, someone (I'm not sure who) got the idea to go take a closer look where they had seen the black truck sitting. When they went down there, they found all the backpacks in the pasture - everything was there except for one iphone. All the workers spread out through the pasture, combing the fields looking for that iphone. My MIL had the idea that maybe the phone had been in the thief's pocket, and he perhaps threw it out the window once he was in the truck. The searchers moved up the road a little, and they found the iphone!!
Needless to say, by the time the actual catch was over and the crew left, it was 9:00 AM. Both my MIL and FIL went back to the house, took quick showers, and went to bed for a few hours. John and I got up, and made lunch for everyone. We all ate lunch at 12:30 PM, and then John's Dad left for work. He had another 10 hours of work to go to.
While MIL got ready for the day (I think she should have gone back to bed!), John and I drove to a local mattress store and bought a mattress. Upon returning, MIL and John surprised me with a trip to Ikea - I had no idea that they were planning on going! I agreed, on the condition that we stop by my aunt's house on the way home. I had picked up gifts for my aunt's family the night before, and wanted to be able to deliver them. About that time I realized that all my phones (I have three!) were completely dead - and I didn't have my aunt's phone number.
Once we got to Ikea, I realized why they had been so insistent to go that day - even though I though my MIL needed to rest after the crazy Thanksgiving! She was completely intent on buying us a Poang chair for Christmas - and wanted us to pick out something that we liked.
By the time we left Ikea, it was 8:30 PM - meaning it would have been 9:30 PM before we could get to my aunt's house. Since I didn't have her phone number, I couldn't call to see if that was okay, and I thought that 9:30 PM was too late to stop by unannounced. So, we just drove straight home.
Just in time to almost hit a cow in the driveway! One of the cows had gotten out, and we spent the next 45 minutes running all over the farm at 10:00 PM trying to chase this cow back into the pasture.
So, that was Thanksgiving and all its drama. Certainly more interesting than any Thanksgiving I'd ever had previously!
This series feels like its gone on forever - perhaps because there are other things I want to talk about! But this is the part everyone's been waiting for (and by everyone, I mean me because I want to remember this in 20 years)!
You can begin reading this epic storyline here ....
My MIL came back up from the chickens at 3:30 AM, planning to get a little bit of sleep before getting up at 5 AM to meet the catch crew at 6 AM. She lay on the living room floor (so as to not wake up anyone else - and so she wouldn't oversleep), and at 3:44 AM set her alarm for 5 AM.
The catch crew arrived at 3:45 AM.
Making them simultaneously both hours late and several hours early. MIL jumped up, and rushed back down to the chickens to meet them.
The entire catch crew was Hispanic, and most didn't speak any English. They were upset with my MIL because the chickens weren't ready for them, and my MIL was upset for everything that had happened previously! But, knowing that the chickens weren't ready to leave for another 2-3 hours, she started very slowly prepping the houses and the chickens for the catch. The crew would just have to wait on her.
She finally finished up in house one, and left the catch crew to begin setting up, while she went and prepped house two. Once she was finished with that, she took her tools out to their Mule, passing one of the Hispanic men on his way to their van. She returned to house one to watch and help the crew. Shortly afterward, the Hispanic man she'd passed came up to her and asked, "Did you take our bags?"
She was startled. "No, I didn't take anything. I've been here working."
Apparently, while they were working on the farm (a good 30+ minutes from town) someone had snuck onto the farm, and stolen all the workers backpacks out of their van! Their backpacks which each contained: hundreds of dollars, iphones, driver's licenses, and green cards.
Work completely stopped. The men talked among themselves for a few moments, and then about 4-5 of them jumped in their van, and took off down the driveway as fast as they could - trying to catch up with the thief. As they reached the end of the driveway, they saw a large black truck take off down the road; they gave chase! Next thing we know - there's a van full of Hispanics in a high-speed chase after a Black Truck down country roads at 4:30 in the morning!
I don't know what would have happened if they had caught the truck. But once the truck turned onto a main road, the van turned around and came back to the farm; they probably didn't want to get caught without their licenses and green cards!
Meanwhile, my FIL heard all the commotion from up at the house, and got down there to catch the end of all this. He immediately called the police (who took about 45 minutes to get there). They arrived and took down everyone's names and interviewed everyone and got a complete listing of everything that was stolen.
After the police left, someone (I'm not sure who) got the idea to go take a closer look where they had seen the black truck sitting. When they went down there, they found all the backpacks in the pasture - everything was there except for one iphone. All the workers spread out through the pasture, combing the fields looking for that iphone. My MIL had the idea that maybe the phone had been in the thief's pocket, and he perhaps threw it out the window once he was in the truck. The searchers moved up the road a little, and they found the iphone!!
Needless to say, by the time the actual catch was over and the crew left, it was 9:00 AM. Both my MIL and FIL went back to the house, took quick showers, and went to bed for a few hours. John and I got up, and made lunch for everyone. We all ate lunch at 12:30 PM, and then John's Dad left for work. He had another 10 hours of work to go to.
While MIL got ready for the day (I think she should have gone back to bed!), John and I drove to a local mattress store and bought a mattress. Upon returning, MIL and John surprised me with a trip to Ikea - I had no idea that they were planning on going! I agreed, on the condition that we stop by my aunt's house on the way home. I had picked up gifts for my aunt's family the night before, and wanted to be able to deliver them. About that time I realized that all my phones (I have three!) were completely dead - and I didn't have my aunt's phone number.
Once we got to Ikea, I realized why they had been so insistent to go that day - even though I though my MIL needed to rest after the crazy Thanksgiving! She was completely intent on buying us a Poang chair for Christmas - and wanted us to pick out something that we liked.
By the time we left Ikea, it was 8:30 PM - meaning it would have been 9:30 PM before we could get to my aunt's house. Since I didn't have her phone number, I couldn't call to see if that was okay, and I thought that 9:30 PM was too late to stop by unannounced. So, we just drove straight home.
Just in time to almost hit a cow in the driveway! One of the cows had gotten out, and we spent the next 45 minutes running all over the farm at 10:00 PM trying to chase this cow back into the pasture.
So, that was Thanksgiving and all its drama. Certainly more interesting than any Thanksgiving I'd ever had previously!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Thanksgiving Drama ... Part Two
Last time I ended the story with us getting in the car and driving to the factory to hopefully find someone to help us save the chickens.
We were hoping to pass the catch crew on the road - even though they'd be late, at least we would know where they were. But we made it through the 30-minute drive into the nearest town without a glimpse of them. By the time we pulled into the factory parking lot, it was nearing 10 PM Thanksgiving night. we drove around trying to decide where to park and where would be the most likely place to find someone ... when we actually saw someone!
A man was sitting in his 18-wheeler truck working on paperwork, or something. John and I stayed in the car, while MIL went to go talk to him. It was amazing. Downright miraculous, even.
The man in the truck was only supposed to be at the factory for a total of about 5 minutes (we had caught him in that time span!) and had the cell phone numbers of the people we needed to call!! He made a few calls, and let my MIL talk to some people on his phone, before giving her the phone numbers for her reference.
Apparently, someone had changed the schedule, so the chicken catch was meant for 6AM instead of 8 PM - without telling anyone about the change. With that change in place ... the birds were supposed to be coming off their feed Now ... even though they'd already been off their feed for hours. My in-laws made some quick decisions - they decided to let hte birds eat and drink for 1-2 hours, and then take them off their feed.
By the time we got home, it was nearing 11 PM. My MIL rushed down to the chickens to help my FIL.
About 11:45 she came back to the house, got cleaned up, and my MIL, John, and I all went Black Friday shopping; a developing holiday tradition.
Since we normally go about 10 PM - this was the latest we'd been out shopping, and as we got closer to the stores (Tanger Outlets) we saw cars parked out at least a mile from the stores. We were seriously thinking about turning around and going home - who wants to walk a mile just to get to the stores? But previous years had shown us that sometimes there are spots in the parking lot that people never seem to take (they give up and just park before they get to the middle of the parking lot!), so we decided to try and find a spot closer to the stores. If we couldn't, then we'd go home.
We found a parking spot not 10 feet away from Bath and Body Works. It was astonishing. Even more astonishing than the line outside of Bath and Body Works (we did not go in that store!)
So, we checked to make sure we all had our cell phones, and then split up to get our shopping done quickly - we had to get back to farm to get the chickens ready for their 6AM catch. We got their about midnight, and left about 1:30 AM - so we were quick about it. John and I got all our Christmas shopping done, as well as a few things for ourselves. (Here's a plug: I got an amazing new wool peacoat at Wilson's Leather for $45.)
When we got home, my FIL was already in bed - he'd left a note with instructions about the chickens for my MIL. She rushed down to the birds, and John went to bed. I was still awake, so I read a while before turning the light out at approximately 3 AM.
And this is another long post, so I'm breaking it off here. I PROMISE I'll get to the car chase and the police in the next part!
We were hoping to pass the catch crew on the road - even though they'd be late, at least we would know where they were. But we made it through the 30-minute drive into the nearest town without a glimpse of them. By the time we pulled into the factory parking lot, it was nearing 10 PM Thanksgiving night. we drove around trying to decide where to park and where would be the most likely place to find someone ... when we actually saw someone!
A man was sitting in his 18-wheeler truck working on paperwork, or something. John and I stayed in the car, while MIL went to go talk to him. It was amazing. Downright miraculous, even.
The man in the truck was only supposed to be at the factory for a total of about 5 minutes (we had caught him in that time span!) and had the cell phone numbers of the people we needed to call!! He made a few calls, and let my MIL talk to some people on his phone, before giving her the phone numbers for her reference.
Apparently, someone had changed the schedule, so the chicken catch was meant for 6AM instead of 8 PM - without telling anyone about the change. With that change in place ... the birds were supposed to be coming off their feed Now ... even though they'd already been off their feed for hours. My in-laws made some quick decisions - they decided to let hte birds eat and drink for 1-2 hours, and then take them off their feed.
By the time we got home, it was nearing 11 PM. My MIL rushed down to the chickens to help my FIL.
About 11:45 she came back to the house, got cleaned up, and my MIL, John, and I all went Black Friday shopping; a developing holiday tradition.
Since we normally go about 10 PM - this was the latest we'd been out shopping, and as we got closer to the stores (Tanger Outlets) we saw cars parked out at least a mile from the stores. We were seriously thinking about turning around and going home - who wants to walk a mile just to get to the stores? But previous years had shown us that sometimes there are spots in the parking lot that people never seem to take (they give up and just park before they get to the middle of the parking lot!), so we decided to try and find a spot closer to the stores. If we couldn't, then we'd go home.
We found a parking spot not 10 feet away from Bath and Body Works. It was astonishing. Even more astonishing than the line outside of Bath and Body Works (we did not go in that store!)
So, we checked to make sure we all had our cell phones, and then split up to get our shopping done quickly - we had to get back to farm to get the chickens ready for their 6AM catch. We got their about midnight, and left about 1:30 AM - so we were quick about it. John and I got all our Christmas shopping done, as well as a few things for ourselves. (Here's a plug: I got an amazing new wool peacoat at Wilson's Leather for $45.)
When we got home, my FIL was already in bed - he'd left a note with instructions about the chickens for my MIL. She rushed down to the birds, and John went to bed. I was still awake, so I read a while before turning the light out at approximately 3 AM.
And this is another long post, so I'm breaking it off here. I PROMISE I'll get to the car chase and the police in the next part!
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