Farm Life- But not on a Farm

I am used to my dogs barking at things in the middle of the night. I think they are upholding some kind of guard-dog rules or something, because anything that moves near my house after it's dark is fair game for chase. I like to tell my students that they bark AND bite strangers after dark, even though I know they don't, because I would rather not have student visitors after dark.
This morning, however, we were awoken at 3 AM by my dogs incessant, worried, barking. If they had been using words, I would have woken up to phrases such as, "Get away from my house! You don't belong here! Get away from my food! I'm gonna bite you! Listen to me, sucker, I'm only gonna warn you once!"

Needless to say, I woke up a little worried. My worry was compounded when I heard loud thuds in between barks. My husband woke up to the barking, too, and immediately went for his gun, while I went to the window to see what the fuss was all about. When I looked outside, I saw a huge shadow, and I had to look again.

It was our neighbor's horses. They had busted the fence next to our house and had come to eat our grass instead of their pasture grass. The biggest problem was that only three of the five horses had gotten out, so the two that were still behind the fence were feeling jipped. So, the two inside and the three outside the fence raced each other up and down the length of the fence on one side of our house, one taunting the other.

Knowing that these horses were very valuable to my neighbor, I had to call him and wake him up and tell him that his horses were in my front yard. Luckily, without any other major incident, all three horses were returned back home, and put away with the other two into the barn.

Now, my yard has been aerated in horseshoe patterns, and there is a little bit of extra fertilizer in my grass. I just hope that this isn't an occurence that happens very often. My neighbor and I are great neighbors. He stays at his house and we stay at ours. We like living out in the middle of nowhere. I just hope he forgives me for waking him up so early.

Twenty-five...plus two

I think that birthdays make you worse than the year before. My body isn't the same as it was a year ago, my mind isn't the same, and my attitude isn't the same. So, I have decided to do like everyone else does. I am going to just count one birthday from now on. And then celebrate the anniversary of it every year after that. So, I choose to celebrate the anniversary of my twenty-fifth birthday.

Last night I decided to take Micheal into downtown, so that we could go to Scare on the Square. Jonathan was supposed to get off work at six, which was coincidentally the same time the fun started. My only problem was that I didn't plan on going to this event, nor have I planned on taking a seventeen-month old trick-or-treating, so I didn't get him a costume this year. We had a little policeman last year, and this year, he still doesn't understand the idea of dressing up, so I decided to save myself the money on a costume. Luckily, we have a wonderful grandma who knows that his favorite character is Elmo, so she bought him a windsuit covered with Elmo's face. So, we wore that downtown, and it was just as good as any other $35 Elmo costume we might have bought.

The part that wasn't good was the stupid-ness called Scare on the Square. There were multitudes of people there, of varying ages, with varying degrees of appropriateness in costume choices. Jonathan called and had to work an extra two hours, my sister was out with her friends, and my other friends had their own family and a Halloween party to attend (as New Orleans looters!) So, Micheal and I decided to go anyway. Glad we did, so now I know that we really don't have to go again. It was a bunch of "booths" with candy-crazed midgets pushing their way to the front, trying to get to the candy that each group was passing out. Needless to say, I left my little Elmo in his stroller, and we didn't push our way through to get any candy that he couldn't eat. We did, however, get a balloon, the only thing he really wanted anyway. :)
So, now I know that next year, unless he begs, we don't need to go. Maybe when he's old enough to walk around without acting like a fool. But by the way others there were acting, that may be longer than a year.

Love Is...

Having an ice-free windshield when it is frigidly cold outside... because he started your car and defrosted it before he left for work.
Isn't that nice!?!

Changing of the Guard

Every year, I change purses twice a year, sometimes more if the mood strikes me, or if one breaks before it's time. Usually, I go out and buy a new one, but I knew that this time, I had one that was still in good condition that I still like. So, today I switched purses. I know, I know, you're thinking, are you kidding me? This is what your post is about? Well, in a way, yes.
I just wanted to give the outgoing purse it's proper respectful shout-out for a job well done.
I found this purse at Belk while on an extended lunch break from our Master's classes one weekend. While I was debating about buying the $40 purse or the $10 purse, my better judgment got the best of me and I went for budget instead of coming fashion trends. When I went to pay for it, the surprise was that it rang up for $1.99!! NO JOKE!!
So, I have carried this purse around for a couple months, using it as a mini diaper bag sometimes, as a snack-hider for movie-going, and countless other things that one would think a $2 purse just couldn't handle.

So, I am changing out purses, and wallets, and all other things in my purse, kind of like a spring cleaning, only it's not spring. And I can only hope that this next Holder-Of-All-Things "holds up" as well to the demands of my lifestyle as the outgoing HOAT.

Maybe this time I'll use the purse for good instead of evil. Or maybe it will make me a super mom like every other mom's purse I've ever seen.

Hmmmm... maybe that's a lot to ask from a fashion accessory.

Fashion Follower...

I succumbed to comfort.

I know, this isn't always the idea that you're supposed to follow, but in this case, it was all I could do. When the school took away my carpet and replaced it with this yucky tile, my knees immediately starting disagreeing with their decision. I am not an old woman, but my legs would make me think that I was. After waiting tables for six years, and now teaching, because I'm not smart enough to get a job where you sit down all day, my legs have the spider veins like a fifty year old woman. So, when I borrowed this girl's shoes one day, because she swore they were the most comfortable shoe she owned, I found one that didn't make me ache, and I had to have them.
So, she told me she could get them cheap, and I put in an order. I just got them this week, have already worn them to school, and have noticed a definite difference in the pains in my knees. YEAH! The only problem is that they're just not that attractive, as far as a shoe goes. But, now that I am a year older, I just don't care.

It's all about being comfortable!