Y’all remember how I used to frequently find zucchini on my windshield after Taekwondo? There was also that one library incident.
Since I don’t see Sensei any more, the zucchini well has dried.
Or has it?
I’ve been Blog-AWOL (BAWOL?) for several weeks. First, I was prepping for a trip, then on a trip, then recovering from the build-up of work post-trip, then I got sick.
I’m nearly recovered from all of that, so let me give you the highlights, primarily, meeting two Blog Buddies!
I’ll start with Bijoux. The funny thing, as she noted too, is that in a recent post I asked people if they have or would meet Blog Buddies in real life. She said she hadn’t, but knowing we were from the same area, if I were to come home for a visit, she would like to meet me. Little did we know at that time…
I left a comment on her blog letting her know I was in the area. Any chance she could meet, say… Thursday morning? It worked out perfectly that she could! And not only was she nearby, she lives in the town next door to the one I grew up in!
We met at a cute cafe on the border of our towns. My mom and sister joined us. My sister then proceeded to scandalize her with all manner of stories, and yet Bijoux still hung around. What a great lady! (I was honestly worried for her.) I’m so proud to have been her first Blog Buddy meet-up. It was a great pleasure to meet her!
The other BB lived much farther away and required more forethought and planning.
I finally had an opportunity to meet potentially/probably my longest running Blog Buddy, one whose recent retiring from the blog community made me cry. That is…
Long-time readers know this person. Some may have read the title and known right away who this post would be about. (If you did, let me know in the comments. Now I’m curious.)
I was doing a free gym trial, figuring it would be a good way to rebuild leg muscle, when I ran into an old friend.
I hadn’t seen the Chex Mix Guy in more than a year. He was smaller than I remembered, in every way.
Gone was the cheerful, funny man who brought us twelve posts-worth of entertainment. Heartbreak had made him cynical, filled with career ambition and little else.
One thing I’ll note for my future self: When I told him about falling to the bottom in my martial arts classes, he said, “That gives you a goal to aim for. Work your way back to the top.” That was thoughtful of him.
When we were through catching up, he grabbed his phone to choose the next song for his air buds. I took two steps and turned back around.
“This is weird,” I said.
“What is?”
“This is the last time I will ever see or speak to you.”
A man in a parking lot complimented Hubby on this t-shirt. I stepped back out of the car to say, “I got him that shirt!”
The man looked at Hubby and said, “Hold her close.”
I may have pulled off an excellent prank. But I’ll likely never know.
Neighbor asked what I wanted to do for my birthday. I suggested we get coffee and do our usual shopping trips. She responded “YES! and YES!” That alone wins her the title of my favorite person ever. Actually, just asking what I wanted to do on my birthday was enough. But it got even better.
We first arranged to go to brunch with another friend. Neighbor picked me up, which is sort of funny, since we’re two houses apart, but then I saw the side of her car.
I walked inside from the garage and called to my son, “Oh, Joooo-sepppphhh.”
“Yes?”
“Who’s you’re favorite moooo-mmmyyyy?”
His response, I kid you not: “Is it Chex Mix?”
First of all, no, he does not think CM is his mommy. He just surmised (as a four-year-old!) that I had gone to the store and bought him CM. I didn’t tell anyone I was going to the store. This child is just that good at sniffing the stuff out.
That and he’s been asking for it for days, to the point where, last night, after tucking him in bed, Hubby says to me, “Joe asked for Chex Mix again. You should probably pick some up.”
Finally I did. He’s lucky it was on sale, because you know that’s how I roll. So, in response to the above question from Joe, I laughed and said, “Yes!” more out of amazement that he guessed the reason for the sing-song voice than out of excitement for having the stuff in my home again.
I have clearly passed the CM torch onto my son.
He said, “Could you bring me a bowl?” But as I had other groceries to put away and did not bring him a bowl of the golden deliciousness in less than 60 seconds, he came to get it himself.
If only I could get him that excited about bed time.
The last time I brought CM home, he saw the bag on the counter, grabbed it, and literally tried to tear it open with his teeth.
Monster officially created.
That time, btw, was when I had gone to that other store where I’d seen new flavors. I had asked your advice. Remember these?
My mom nearly forgot my daughter’s birthday. Her card arrived a few days late, but she was prepared with her excuse.
Here’s what came in the envelope:
And so, the enclosed letter from “Harold Postman”:
That’s how you write an excuse with flair.
A blogger who knows who he is, has talked about Dot’s pretzels and how superb they are (probably even erroneously claiming their superiority to my beloved Chex Mix). I didn’t give much thought to Dot’s, as they seemed to be local to his area.
But, lo and behold:
Now, now, folks, let’s not assume Dot’s has superiority based on perceived value due to cost and shelf placement. Yes, Mark, I was tempted, but, no, I didn’t buy your favored over-priced snack of choice.
I will, however, keep an eye on it in case it goes on sale to something reasonable! Then I’ll give it a try. Maybe. Perhaps. Probably.
Anyone eat anything new and interesting lately?
What’s the best excuse you’ve ever given or received?
Is my Mom great, or what? (Yes, Mom, I can see you beaming from here.)
Look! I made a slideshow!
Image 1: What’s Darth Vader holding?
Image 2: Oh, that’s nice. It’s a flower.
Image 3: Joe: “It’s not a flower. It’s a bomb that explodes people.”
Yep. That’s my son, folks.
I recently visited a larger version of the store where I normally buy Chex Mix. Curious, I wandered into the snack aisle to see what varieties of Chex Mix there might be.
Behold! Varieties I didn’t even know existed!
Did you know Chex Mix made these flavors? Would you try the Buffalo Ranch with “Flavor Blasted Spicy Buffalo Chex Pieces + Ranch Chex Mix” or the “Hot and Spicy” (ya think?) Ghost Pepper with “Danger” and “Scary Hot” written on the packaging?
Look! I made a poll!
These two are writing a book together in a google doc. Because they can see what the other is typing, as she’s typing it, when one misspelled a word on her computer, the other corrected it on her own. Then the first wrote in the doc, “Show off,” and they both started laughing.
While they were washing dishes earlier, I heard them discussing what hair color to give a particular character.
“Red hair.”
“But James has red hair.”
“What about black?”
“Eww.”
I chimed in with, “How about strawberry blond?”
“Oooh, let’s do that,” said one.
“Yes,” agreed the other.
“You know why?” I said.
In the check-out line at Costco, a young employee asked with a completely straight face:
“The item at the top of your cart–will that be to purchase or for return?”
“I didn’t realize returns were an option on those,” I said.
Again, with nary a mouth twitch, he said, “If you have the original receipt.”
Writing and Martial Arts 