The Rest Of The Story

For those of you who do not know, the girls and I were hit by a drunk driver last February. The drunk driver (B) is a 21 year old Coast Guard Sailor. He slammed into the back of our Suburban going about 90 mph while we were in the Midtown tunnel in downtown Norfolk. No one was hurt.
Today we finally appeared in court for B's sentencing. He was charged with DUI, Reckless Driving and driving without a license. The police officer who wrote the accident report was fired from the force not too long after the accident. Therefore, his testimony was no longer valid and they were unable to prove that B was the driver, at the scene and intoxicated at the time. The prosecuting attorney was able to track down an eye witness that could identify him and testify that he was driving and that he was drunk. Before we went into the court room the attorney went over what we'd be asked and how we should respond. I was so nervous having never been in that kind of situation before. Literally seconds before we went in B's attorney came out and the two attorneys had a little powwow. They made a deal that the DUI charge would be dropped if B would plead guilty to the reckless driving and driving without a license. 
In the courtroom I was called up to stand with the prosecuting attorney while B was sentenced. I never had to say one word because the DUI charge was dropped. The other witness never had to say anything either. It all seemed like such a waste. B was given a $2000 fine, $1500 of which was suspended, Another $150 in fees, 180 days in jail, 175 of which was suspended and he must go through Virginias alcohol abuse program. The Coast Guard has punished him just shy of kicking him out. His boat deploys tomorrow for 2 months and he will have to report to jail as soon as they return. 
The car B was driving was not his and he did not have permission to be driving it. So immediately after he was done in our case he had to report to a courtroom next door. His ex-friend, the owner of the car, was going after him for damages which amounted to more than $17,000. 
Now you know the rest of the story and I am very thankful to have reached the end.

Snickerpoodles

Holly and Gracie have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately. They've researched recipes, selected the finest ingredients, mixed, molded, rolled, cut and baked.  They've given their utmost attention to producing a delicious and nutritious finished product. Sounds yummy huh? Sure, if you're a dog!

This is the shape they call the doggy donut. The donut's are for Hobbes and the holes are for Wrigley and Snickers.

Hobbes is the quality control manager. He somehow knows that when Holly is in the kitchen, the treats are for him.

The taste testing committee approves of the final recipe.

Nothing beats a freshly baked cookie right out of the oven. 

What you don't see in this picture are all 3 of the doggies happily munching on a cookie at Holly's feet.

Doggy Donuts anyone?

Friday Funny

Cake or Death?

This is a clip that my girls have been giggling about for 2 weeks. Originally they found it on www.cakewrecks.com   I suppose you must get a kick out of British humor. It also helps to watch the whole comedy routine about the Church of England. I found it on YouTube, while it is quite funny, I cannot endorse it for the language that the comedian uses.
Yesterday Lee's ship was treated to tickets for a noon game at Harbor Park. The Captain of the ship gave the crew an option of work or baseball. Holly chimed in with " Sounds like cake or death to me!"

The Grill Masters

Lee got one of his Fathers Day gifts early this year.  It was actually more of a Mothers Day gift seeing as how it will save my meal prep time and efforts exponentially.  Plus we bought it back in May when the weather began to warm up and grill season was getting into full swing. I supposed you've guessed that the gift was a grill.  I'm pretty sure I know how Lee feels about it (he's a little protective of his shiny new toy) and I LOVE the thing!!

If you know anything about our Gracie girl (AKA little Martha) then you know that she would never let the chance to assemble something slip through her fingers. She basically told her daddy " I got this".  He had ZERO choice in whether or not he would have a helper in the grill assembly process.

Here they are counting nuts and bolts.  They may look like they are on the same page but believe me it was all Lee could do to keep her from grabbing that screwdriver 

and getting right down to business. "Who cares if some screws are missing! C'mon Daddy lets get this thing knocked out!"  I'm a little afraid that miss Gracie and I are cut from the same cloth in that regard.

Her little hands turned out to be quite a benefit when trying to fit into those tight little spaces.

Here's a prime example of two opposite personalities at work. Gracie is busily putting pieces together, just working away like a little beaver. Lee on the other hand is a page behind her in the direction booklet checking to make sure she's done it correctly.

Both of them were troopers though and worked together very well for the couple hours it took to get it finished. 

The delicious, end results are a very happy mom and two proud grill masters!

Nothing beats nicely grilled food on the table that I did not have to cook.

Summer Swim Begins

The girls are swimming again! Hooray!

We just had our first meet on the Suffolk Gators swim team.  The girls did GREAT!

It took us a little while to convince the Daddy to wear a shirt that says Gators on it.  BUT you know how good daddies are, they'll do almost anything for their little girls.

Here's the Super Swim Mom at work with her trusty stopwatch.

Ab's takes off

Gracie readies herself for her anchor spot on the relay team

Holly set to fly

There's the beautiful swimmers in their Gator suits. Gracie was finished with her races and got changed into warmer clothes. Believe it or not, it was cold a few nights ago.

Packing the swim bag after a huge victory.  

Friday Funny

I do believe these office workers had a little too much time on their hands. I hope their boss had a sense of humor!

Fairy Bread

Fairy Bread, ever heard of it? Me either. That is until earlier this week when I learned of this nifty little snack that Australian children have been enjoying for years.  No Australian child's birthday party would be complete without it so I'm told.  When I first heard about Fairy Bread from a friend I thought "my children CANNOT go into adulthood without having tried Fairy Bread".  Like any good homeschooling mommy would do I went right out and bought the ingredients. We had a "cultural" lesson today.  That's what we'll call it... cultural.

Fairy Bread calls for 3 items. 

1. Very fresh, fluffy white bread

2. Butter

3. Millions of Hundreds and Thousands 

(those tiny, colorful balls that you sprinkle on cakes and cookies)

I was told that the more outlandish the colors the better.

 

You cut the bread into shapes with cookie cutters. Spread it with soft butter and sprinkle it with the colorful Hundreds and Thousands.  We went about it the easy way and poured the sprinkles into a plate then turned the buttered bread over onto the sprinkles.  

That's when the girls got crazy and decided to use marshmallow fluff instead of butter.  In the end it looked like a herd of sticky fairies had buzzed through my kitchen!

We decided that this treat might be a little too girly for boys, so we came up with another idea.  You could use peanut butter or Nutella instead of butter and call it Fairies Stuck in the Mud Bread.

As for the taste of this Australian delicacy?  Let's just say that a lot more fun was had in the making than the eating.

The Name

Caitlin finally chose a name for her truck.  Drum roll please...................

It's Roger.  Last name Dodger

Roger Dodger

Friday Funny

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This is exactly the way Fraidycat feels about Hobbes.

Old Friend

This is probably the best family picture we've had made in a long time.  The funny thing is that is was done in the dark, in a 7-11 parking lot in front of an 18 wheeler and it was taken with a cell phone camera.  Who needs Olin Mills?!  

Why the 18 wheeler?  Our friend Dan that we met MANY moons ago way back at Toccoa Falls College drives this big rig.  He is an over the road truck driver and just happened to be passing through our corner of the world a few weeks ago.  He surprised us by stopping in while we were at church.  It was good to share a meal and a sermon with an old friend. Dan let the girls climb up in the truck and have a look around.  Ever since then we have had a newfound respect for the truck drivers. Now when we pass a red one on the road we say a little prayer for Mr Dan. 

Where O Where Have The Scholars Gone?

I just have to rant for a few minutes.  Here's the story: I'm trying to sell a few used items on Craigslist.  I've been getting responses from people who are interested in buying our items by way of email.  Let me just tell you that I have been dumbfounded by the lack of English language skills these people have.  I have not had one single email yet that has not been rife with grammar mistakes and/or spelling mistakes.  Most of them have not used as much as one comma in punctuation.  Periods and question marks have evidently gone the way of the 8 track cassette player.  What baffles me is that these people are probably high school graduates, maybe even college graduates. Maybe I should not be so judgmental but am I the only one who makes assumptions about someone's overall intelligence based on the way they write or speak? Here are a couple of grammar mistakes that I have seen a lot of lately.  I don't know why exactly but these two particular mistakes just get on my nerves.  I know, I know... I need to get over it and move on.  

The first mistake is the misuse of the words past and pass.  

My mom-in-law actually had an email notice go around the office where she worked announcing that a co-worker's relative had past.  We are guessing they meant the person passed away. As in died.  Mom-in-law was not the author of said email, she's way smarter than that.  We did have a good chuckle over the obvious and funny mistake.

 I was recently given directions to a specific location telling me to go pass the 7-11 on the right. Pass it where or to whom should I pass it?  Maybe the 7-11 took a test and I should go give it a passing grade?  

A friend of mine sent photos of her pass for me to look at.  I saw lots of pictures from when she was a child (her past) but not a single one of her pass.  

Why is this so difficult?! If you don't see the mistakes here then please go crack open a fourth grade grammar book.  

OK, the second little grammar peeve I have is the misuse of the words then and than.  I cannot tell you how many times I read the word "then" when it should be "than".

Incorrect: I have better language skills then the average Craigslist user.

Correct: I have better language skills than the average Craigslist user.

Incorrect: If you want to appear intelligent than you should work on your language skills.

Correct: If you want to appear intelligent then you should work on your language skills.  

Maybe English is just too difficult for some folks? I can understand that.  It isn't exactly an easy language to master.  The fact of the matter is though that MOST of us spend 12-13 years learning the ins and outs of the English language.  So I'm trying to figure out who failed.  Are the teachers no longer teaching or are the students no longer learning?

I'm done with my rant now.  I better run this post through spell check to make sure I have all my words spelled correctly.   I don't want to end up with egg on my face.

Friday Funny

You have to click on the link below and go see this little gal. She takes herself very seriously! Watch her little hands. She's a girl with something to say, just can't quite figure out how to get others to understand. When she does though, watch out world! Lee says he totally feels her daddy's pain. I wonder why?

http://www.snotr.com/video/2630

Garden News

God watered our garden for us yesterday and today.  This picture was taken about 2 weeks ago. The plants have nearly doubled in size since then.  So from left to right we are growing pom-poms and bricks, okra,  bricks, bush beans, summer squash and pop-poms, zucchini squash, bricks and pom-poms, and carrots.  There's also some marigolds growing in there but you can't see them in the picture.  Ok I'm guessing that if you're normal and have ANY gardening skills you are wondering why there are pom-poms and bricks "growing" our garden.  The pom-poms are deer, bunny and racoon repellants.....of course.  Makes perfect sense right? It was Gracie's idea....of course. The bricks are for throwing at the pesky critters that can't resist the pretty pom-poms.

The Fly On My Wall

I just took a personality test online and below are the results. How did these people get in my house and figure me out so well?  It's like they have been watching me for years.  Weird I tell ya!  I won't publish the Weakness list because it's a little too correct also.  It told me that one of those weaknesses was a "quiet will of iron".  Ummmm.... is that just a nice way of saying I'm stubborn?  It also said that I tend to be messy. Inconceivable! I think I'll go check my email now, or maybe pay bills or should I go outside and weed the garden?  Wait, have I eaten breakfast yet? What to do... Busch Gardens anyone? Let me check, nope, decisiveness is not on that Strength list.  

Take the test and let me know how it turns out!

Strengths of a Phlegmatic

The Introvert | The Watcher | The Pessimist

The Phlegmatic's Emotions

• Low-key personality
• Easygoing and relaxed
• Calm, cool and collected
• Patient well balanced
• Consistent life
• Quiet but witty
• Sympathetic and kind
• Keeps emotions hidden
• Happily reconciled to life
• All-purpose person

The Phlegmatic As A Parent

• Makes a good parent
• Takes time for the children
• Is not in a hurry
• Can take the good with the bad
• Doesn't get upset easily

The Phlegmatic At Work

• Competent and steady
• Peaceful and agreeable
• Has administrative ability
• Mediates problems
• Avoids conflicts
• Good under pressure
• Finds the easy way

The Phlegmatic As a Friend

• Easy to get along with
• Pleasant and enjoyable
• Inoffensive
• Good listener
• Dry sense of humor
• Enjoys watching people
• Has many friends
• Has compassion and concern

Free Personality/Temperament Test

Take the Free Personality/Temperament test online now.