Jalapeños are a Lifestyle

It’s that time of the year. Pat me on the back. I have just finished putting the year’s financial records in order. All of the stupid little dividend transactions are recorded in Quicken. (I know that eventually those micro transactions add up but they are SUCH a pain to record.) The receipts are in order and filed. I recovered a missing checking account statement from on-line. (LOVE internet banking.) I have printed out the necessary reports for our deductions and installed TurboTax. The non-essential receipts have been shredded. (Thank you identity theft creeps for making a shredder an office necessity.) One of our financial companies got special papal dispensation to mail out our forms late…or is that an IRS waiver? I always mix those two up….so we can’t file quite yet. But my part is done!

The most amazing accomplishment of all is that nobody is dead. Not even the cats that ran through my piles and messed them up.

So there we were, listening to a book on tape for our daily “read-aloud.” and I was working on my newest cross-stitch project. My children (all of them) looked at me and said “WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT TOO!” So, I said (in a moment of utter, complete, and TOTAL insanity) “Would you like to make an afghan?” (They love afghans.)

Yes. They would like to make an afghan very much thank you. So we are now learning to crochet. The boys have taken to it almost like ducks to water. My daughter on the other hand has taken it as a personal insult on the part of the universe that her older brothers are able to crochet better than her. Many tantrums. Much drama.

Stan took her aside this evening and sat her on his lap and cuddled her and told her how it didn’t matter if she could crochet or not but we did care that she was respectful and kept trying and that he loved her and wanted her to be the best that she could be but not perfect.  Have I mentioned how much I love that man?

Life has overwhelmed me. I can’t share why but keeping a public blog is currently unwise. Check back in about 6 months for an update…perhaps I will be able to post the things that are waiting as drafts then.

I’ve finally uploaded a good number of our pictures from the Disney trip to www.picturetrail.com/tavallone.

Why would you want to miss pictures like this?

And it’s all fixed.

Two new hot water heaters. ($3000)

A new pump and new heating element for the dishwasher. (On the extended warranty.)

New glass in Stan’s truck because some creep smashed his window and stole the computer hiding under his jacket. (The company is providing a new computer and the glass replacement was less than our deductible.)

Meditating on the face of the thief (who was clearly identified, including description and license plate number) when he realizes he has stolen a computer that is so old it runs Windows 95. Priceless.

So there we are on a boat in Disney World heading from the Magic Kingdom to the Fort Wilderness campground for the Hoop De Doo Revue and my youngest is having a conversation with my husband in the seat behind me. The next thing I know I hear “MOM!” in the you-are-not-telling-me-the-truth voice and I know that this is my cue to debunk some outlandish daddy-lie that my husband has concocted to disturb the peace of my home. So she looks at me and says in the most incredulous voice I have heard in a long time. “Mom!! Is it TRUE that some people CAMP OUT instead of spending the night in a hotel?!?”

I am not exagerating when I say that it took me a good five minutes complete with crossing my heart and hoping to die that it was true that some people CAMPED instead of spending the night in the hotel. Is this a high maintenance city girl or what?

I spent the day doing laundry, cleaning the car, and otherwise making preparations for our family vacation in DisneyWorld. (Yes, the car must be clean before you go. Otherwise the mommy-initial-stress level is entirely too high.) When Stan came home from work I asked him for a copy of The Schedule so that I could know where our dinner reservations were for the days before he arrived. He asked me if I wanted a laminated or unlaminated copy. I laughed…funny joke…and said that an unlaminated copy would be sufficient.

So here I sit next to Stan while he is working on something quite diligently and it hits me…..HE IS LAMINATING THE DISNEYWORLD SCHEDULE!! I thought he was joking. I should have known better. If I could make stuff like this up, I could have a career writing for a sitcom.

I don’t know what to say or how to say it. It’s been brought to my attention that I am very likely suffering from clinical depression. Yes I know that it is not some kind of sign of weakness. Yes I know it isn’t anything to be ashamed of. I really DO know all of that but you know….I had enough wrong with me already. I didn’t need to add another label. Nevertheless, I don’t get anything out of living in denial and then course, I have an obligation to my family to be the best that I can be. I will be taking active steps to correct the problem so you don’t need to worry about me too much, but I would appreciate your prayers. So by this point you’re likely wondering why on earth I have this titled the way that I do? Well, because just like God had the caravan set out to pick up Joseph long before he was in the pit, He has used not one, not two, but THREE people to deliver actual snail mail messages of encouragement to me today and they were all in the mail long before I had the epiphany regarding my mental health. I don’t remember the last time I had three actual handwritten letters in the mail on one day! I think we’ve forgotten what joy a message with a stamp on it can bring to others. I know I am going to try to remember to send more myself.

The WDW fanatics are running wild through the house. Less than a week to go….

My youngest has conquered riding a bike and is now daily engaged in racing her older brothers. The fact that she is smaller, has a smaller bike, with smaller wheels….none of that stops her from her pursuit of victory.

My oldest has been packed for DisneyWorld for about a week now. (In answer to your next question….next month.) A story like that speaks for itself. How could I possibly embellish it?