Weekend Happenings

Good Friday morning!

Weekend Happenings

Busy weekend for the Faulkner Five. Friday will be quiet, but Saturday... WATCH OUT! We're going tubing! We're looking forward to spending the day with Mikie's family on the lake (especially great-nephew, Matthew). Sunday is for Mikie and we have a couple of surprises for him late Sunday evening (since we don't have church Sunday night). It should be a fun, family-filled weekend. The best kind.

Addition to Weekend Family Fun

If you live in the Gardendale area, there is a Free Movie Night at the Gardendale Civic Center Amphitheater. This week they are playing Nancy Drew. It begins at 7:30. Chick-Fil-A will be there with food for snacks or dinner (not free... but good). You can take your lawn chairs, blankets and bug spray and enjoy a movie under the stars. (And Nancy Drew is a very good movie. Roxie and I loved it when it came out a couple of years ago.)

TV Review

Jon & Kate - I'm going to give it one more try next Monday night, and then I think I'm going to have to let Jon & Kate go. It's not "real" anymore. While there wasn't any palpable tension Monday night, there was no feeling of family either. The entire show was about Jon and Kate getting motorcycles. They brought in another TLC show (American Chopper... is that right?). It's almost as if they are trying to distract everyone about what's going on with Jon and Kate by bringing in a lot of surprise guest stars. (Last week, they brought in the Ace of Cakes cast.)

Anyway, I miss seeing the kids. They are there, but more in the background than the forefront. Like I said, one more week and unless something major changes, I'm going to have to let this one go.

Vacation Mishap #5 - Food Poisoning From a 5-Star Restaurant

I may have told this story before, but in case I haven't (or you've forgotten), this one definitely falls in the Mishap category.

Mike and I celebrated our 20th anniversary 18 months ago. We decided to spend a few days in Charleston, South Carolina. It had something for both of us. History and plaques galore for my plaque reader and beautiful homes, scenery, etc. for me. It is definitely a "walking" city, which we both love, too.

We stayed in a very old and beautiful bed and breakfast on the edge of downtown Charleston. Gorgeous. We were very pleased with our accommodations. This was definitely going to be an anniversary we would never forget. (Boy, were we right!) The first full day in Charleston, we put on our walking shoes and we walked... and walked and walked and walked. We had chosen two restaurants we wanted to try while we were there, but for some reason, instead of stretching it out over two or three days, we had lunch at our first pick and dinner at our second pick on the first day. Both restaurants were five star and the food was delicious. However, on our leisurely walk back to the bed and breakfast, Mike mentioned he wasn't feeling quite right.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I don't know. My stomach is a little upset," he said.

We walked a little faster and made it back to our room. Within 30 minutes, Mikie was sick. And I don't mean a "little bit" sick. I mean "throwing up a lung" sick. After a couple of hours, it wasn't getting any better. He didn't have a fever, so we had to conclude it must be food poisoning.

He had eaten shrimp and grits (a famous Charleston staple) for lunch, and then for supper he had done something we both had questioned when talking to the waiter. He had ordered the pork.

"How would you like that cooked, sir?" the waiter had asked.

"What do you mean? I want pork cooked well. Very well," he responded.

The waiter then gave us a five minute description of this particular pig and how it had been raised, killed and later prepared for this particular five star restaurant. "Most people eat this dish medium rare," he finished.

I looked at Mikie and shook my head ever so slightly to indicate, "If you eat pork medium rare, you will die." We had been married 20 years. He knew exactly what I was thinking... mainly because he was thinking the same thing.

"Well, I'll have it prepared medium well," he compromised.

The snooty waiter left, his suggestion having been tossed, and I leaned over to Mikie. "Are you sure?"

"Medium well should be fine for pork. It will be delicious, I'm sure," he said, sounding very convinced.

When the meal was brought to our table a little later, it was beautiful. Mike declared the medium well pork fabulous, and we enjoyed our dinner. Little did we know two hours later he would be so very, very sick... and so very, very loud.

Something I learned about Mikie soon after we got married was he was not a quiet sick person. He wanted to be heard. Something else I learned soon after Mikie and I got married (and excuse me if you're eating... which you shouldn't be doing so close to a computer anyway), before he gets sick (like food poisoning) he yells. "She must have meant to type 'moans loudly,'" you're probably thinking to yourself. Nope. He yells. And then he gets sick. It's really quite awful. I've been known to leave the house when he has been sick before because the yelling is so incredibly loud it gives ME a headache... and there's no sense in both of us feeling badly.

But I was in Charleston, South Carolina, and it was the middle of the night, and we were in a tiny, thin-walled bed and breakfast (next door to honeymooners, I might add). There was nowhere to run. Finally, around dawn, the sickness subsided. The yelling stopped and the moaning took over.

"Could you please go downstairs and ask them to fix me a piece of toast with coffee and water?" he asked.

"Of course, Babe. As soon as the other guests have finished breakfast and left the dining area I'll slip on down there," I said sweetly.

"I'm pretty sure I'm totally dehydrated. I really need the fluids."

"Of course you do. And as soon as everyone clears out, I'll run downstairs to the dining room and get you everything you need."

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to die soon. I think I need it NOW," he declared.

"Mikie, I love you. However, you kept this whole bed and breakfast awake last night yelling every time you got sick. They're going to know I'm your wife. It's going to be totally embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than me crawling down the stairs and into the dining room on my hands and knees... and telling them my wife WOULDN'T get me a cup of coffee," he threatened.

"Okay. Okay. I'll go," I said, albeit begrudgingly.

I went out the door. In the hallway before I headed down the stairs, I heard my name being whispered, "Belinda... Belinda."

I walked over to the window where my name was being called. "Hey, Mikie. Are you whispering?"

"Yes," he whispered again. "Could you hear that?"

"Oh, yeah," I said. "So I imagine the pre-sickness yelling and the post-sickness moaning is definitely the topic of discussion downstairs right about now."

"I'm sorry," he whispered, and I made my way to the dining room.

As I walked in, the conversation died and everyone turned to look at me. I smiled weakly, walked over to the lady in charge of breakfast and asked for water, coffee and toast.

"Is your husband okay?" one of the guests asked me.

"Oh, yes. It was just a little food poisoning," I responded. "He's much better this morning."

"We thought he was dying," one of the honeymooners said.

"Well, if you asked him, he would agree with you," I said, trying to appear cheerful and failing miserably.

The eight people sitting around the breakfast table looked tired, but they were kind and concerned. True southerners. As they filed past me on their way to a "fun day in Charleston," they each offered their condolences and told me to tell Mikie they hoped he felt better soon. I was touched.

The woman in charge of the kitchen brought me what she thought I had asked for... orange juice, hot tea and a toasted English muffin. I didn't want to push it, but I knew I had to take up at least ONE thing Mike had actually requested. I decided to keep the English muffin, traded the orange juice for water and poured a cup of coffee while she was in the back getting the water.

"An English muffin," Mikie whined. "I don't think I like English muffins."

Did I mention after the pre-yelling and post-moaning comes the eternal whining. Yep... Mikie's a keeper! NOTE: And I need to mention, he's a much better nurse than I am!

And that, my friends, is my last Vacation Mishap for the week. Aren't you glad?

New National Holiday #6 - My final National Holiday is a good one, I think. There were times when the kids were babies (and sick) that I actually did this. From now on, June 19 will be known as "National Stay in Your PJs All Day... Day." As I said above, there were definitely times when I had babies that none of the family made it out of their pajamas (during stomach viruses, etc.). However, I can't really say it was a fun time. It was more of a survival time.

This holiday would be all about fun though. Movies, games, junk food galore... no grass cutting, no dropping off or picking up, no work schedules to worry about. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it?

No, no, no. Don't thank me. It's been my pleasure to fill June with these fun, easy holidays. But as much fun as it has been to make your June even more wonderful, I must now retire from creating new National Holidays. It's time to move on to something else. Enjoy... and don't worry. I'll remind you next year when these holidays roll around again. I'm pretty sure there won't be a Hallmark Card display to help you remember!

Book

Today's book for Dad is Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. Mike has read this book two times, and has really enjoyed it. He is planning on giving Austin a copy of the book before he leaves for college. Since I haven't read it (yet), I'll give you a little snippet from the book cover.

"Every man was once a boy. And every little boy has dreams, big dreams: dreams of being the hero, of beating the bad guys, of doing daring feats and rescuing the damsel in distress. Every little girl has dreams, too: of being rescued by her prince and swept up into a great adventure, knowing that she is the beauty.

"But what happens to those dreams when we grow up? Walk into most churches, have a look around, and ask yourself: What is a Christian man? Without listening to what is said, look at what you find there. Most Christian mean are... bored.

"In Wild at Heart, John Eldredge invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God. And he invites women to discover the secret of a man's soul and to delight in the strength and wildness men were created to offer."

Wow! Whether you and your husband have daughters, or you have sons, too, this is a book for Dad for Father's Day. (And after Dad finishes the book, Moms with sons should read it, too. I'm starting it tomorrow!)

Have a fun Friday and a wonderful Father's Day weekend. I'll be back Monday with new pics, a few new ideas and some random thoughts here and there. Be sure to make Dad feel loved and appreciated.

Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.