Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

First, a reminder! Next week I will just be posting Monday through Thursday, and it will be on how to plan a City Adventure. The following week, we will be back on schedule with parties, recipes, dates, traditions, books, etc. I will NOT be posting next Friday because of the holidays.

This weekend, we were tentatively planning a late, late fall camping trip, but with our mountain trip looming for Thursday through Sunday of next week, I decided to take my own advice and make things more simple.

Mikie and Roxie are going on a movie date tomorrow night (Madagascar 2). Josh and one of his buddies are getting together tomorrow night. Austin and Melia are going on a date Saturday night. We're all going to Mike's parent's home in Oxford for an early Thanksgiving with them on Sunday, and then Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday we'll be cooking, packing and getting ready for our 11th annual trip to the mountains.

We've always taken this trip with my parents and my sister and her family beginning in 1998, and we started it on a Thanksgiving. Even though we went in February of this year, we wanted the tenth anniversary of the trip to be on Thanksgiving again. Thus, we get to have two mountain trips in the year 2008. We'll talk more about the mountain trip in the next couple of weeks.

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for...

Goal Number Two:

I don't think my second goal could be considered as silly as my first one. I have never gotten a speeding ticket or a parking ticket, and my goal is to make it until I'm 50 years old (only three years to go) without one. I was bragging about this goal to someone the other day, and he asked me, "You've never been stopped for a ticket?"

"I didn't say I've never been stopped. I've been stopped several times... well, at least eight or nine times (which isn't that many times considering I've been driving 31 years). But that doesn't count. It's not on any record. Being stopped is not the same as receiving a ticket," I pointed out.

"What did you get stopped for?" he asked.

"Well, the normal stuff. Not making a complete stop at a stop sign a couple of times. Speeding... but just five to ten miles over the speed limit. Not anything reckless." And in my defense, a couple of those times, I really needed to get to a bathroom because I had been drinking a two liter of Dr. Pepper on the way home!

"Why didn't they give you tickets if they stopped you," he persisted.

"Uh... because I get really, really upset when I get pulled over," I explained thinking that would stop the conversation and answer his questions.

"What does that mean?"

He was not getting it! "I cry! All right... I cry! And not just a little tear or two. I mean, I am sobbing like I just had a really bad haircut... or something!" I stopped talking, because he was looking at me strangely.

"So you make yourself cry to get out of getting a ticket?"

"I don't make myself cry. I'm really, really upset that I might be getting a ticket. And I'm really, really upset that the lights are flashing and people might see me, especially now that I drive my big gold van. No, my tears are very real, and I am genuinely upset."

"That means you have warnings on your record," he said.

"Well, warnings aren't tickets. If the goal was not to have a warning, then I would have to say I didn't meet that goal. The goal is not to have a ticket... and I don't!" I was ready for this conversation to end.

In October of this year, I had my first "official" wreck. I also had a goal to not have a wreck before I turned 50. It was a fender bender, and it was my fault, and it hurt the person's bumper and tail light. It did not hurt the big gold van. (I love my big gold van!) I called the police and the paramedics and they came immediately. I stayed with the women until the police arrived, and then stepped back to my van. They were not hurt, and everyone had insurance and the policemen came back to me.

"Are you okay?" the police officer asked me.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. I'm just glad they're okay," I responded quietly.

"They are okay. They're going on to lunch. This happens all the time. This is not a bad thing at all."

"Yeah. But officially, this is a wreck, right?" I asked.

"Well, yes. But everyone's okay and it's just a little body work, and everyone has insurance, so it's not a big deal," he reassured me.

"Okay," I said again, quietly.

The other police officer came over. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked. "You didn't get jarred or anything? Do you need the paramedics to look at you?"

"No, no, I'm fine." They weren't buying it!

"Okay. To be honest, I had this goal where I wasn't going to have a ticket or a wreck until I reached 50... and then I was going to extend the goal."

"Well, how old are you?" one of the officers asked.

"I'm 47," I sighed.

"Wow, you almost made it," the other officer said. I could tell they were just trying to cheer me up. "You still have that ticket goal thing."

"Yeah. About that. Could you tell the other officers to be a little 'understanding' the next three years? I'm not talking about letting me run wild or anything... but if they see me going five or six mph over the limit, if they could just turn the other way... well, that would be really great."

"You know, we really can't do that. But you just be careful and abide by the law, and you'll make your goal." With that they walked away.

It's a good thing I get so upset when I get pulled over... I may still need to have a good cry sometime in the next couple of years!

The goals just keep getting better, guys! Monday's goal makes as much sense as the last two... but by sharing it with you, I bet I can meet Goal Number Three this Christmas! Don't worry.. you don't have to buy me a present! I mean, you can if you want to... but that doesn't really have anything to do with that goal.

Now for our Book of the Week!

Books

The book series for this week is the Redwall books written by Brian Jacques. There are nineteen books in this series so far. A new one came out this past month. They are large books, but they are exciting, interesting and fun to read. They are about wars and battles, but you have to keep in mind, the main characters are woodland creatures. (I'm talking rabbits, badgers, etc.) They are entertaining and even if you have a young teen (or an older one -- Austin is 17 and still enjoys reading them) that may not be a big reader, you could try one of these to see if it keeps his interest. They have humor, drama and plot twists galore. You don't HAVE to read them in sequence, but the stories flow much better if you do. You'll be familiar with characters from previous books, etc.

They come out in hardback first, but some are available in paperback now. Also, the public libraries carry these books, and except for the newest one, they are not hard to find.

Again, the series is excellent, and Mr. Jacques' storytelling skills will keep even adults interested in these books. If you have sons ages ten to 12, it might even be a good read aloud book during the holidays or summer when there isn't any homework to get in the way. I've read three of them, and although I'm a "girl," I can definitely see the appeal to the masculine gender. I highly recommend these books for the guys in your family.

I hope you have a great weekend! Do something meaningful with your spouse or your family or your friends. Be thankful for the special people in your life... not just on Thanksgiving, but every day!