West Texas Mama

Travel seems to never be a smooth endeavor anymore. I was scheduled to leave for Nashville this past week, El Hubbo was headed for Borger, Tx, and the kids would be left to their own devices. Ok, not really. The kids would be packed off to their grandparents in Floydada. We'd arranged for Rocky to go to the kennel, Mab (the cat) and Soosie (the fish) really would be left to their own devices. See what I mean? This situation called for massive coordination similar to that of most covert military operations. The first sign that things were simply not going to go according to plan was Rocky. Having been kennel led the week before while we took a quick trip to Austin, he managed to get Kennel Cough. Despite having been vaccinated. Great. We could not now kennel him, do now what? El Hubbo begged his sister to come over and play nurse to Rocky. I wasn't sure that he was going to make that happen as my sister-in-law is not really much of an animal person, and is especial...

Our standard Friday night conversation begins like this: Me-Where do you want me to buy you dinner tonight? El Hubbo knows that by Friday, especially a Friday of a week he has been gone and left me without reinforcement in the continuing battle for domination with his offspring, I am in no mood to plan and prepare a dinner. Friday is a day to harken back to the time honored tradition of hunting or gathering our food at the nearest restaurant, take out, or delivery business available. El Hubbo's normal reply- I don't know. What are you in the mood for? Me-Hmmmm. Not Italian. Not Mexican. Not Chinese. At this point in tonight's Friday conversation, Jake pipes up. Jake- How about Texan? Me-Huh? What are you talking about? Jake-Texan! You know, hamburgers, hot dogs, cheese fries, chicken fried steak. It's good to know that we are raising a true Texan with grease and gravy flowing through his veins!

Jake made his first foray into running a business as part of the Lubbock Lemonade Day event on last Saturday.  How did we find out about this opportunity?  Well, it was hard to miss as the event was very highly marketed throughout the media. We attended the Lubbock Arts Festival, and Jake was attracted to the Lubbock Lemonade Day booth like his mama is to a purse display.  All the representatives were ready and waiting for him in their neon-yellow shirts.  He gave them the first degree about everything regarding lemonade and then came running back to find me to sign him up.  So, as you can see, I was not given much of a chance to consider the pros and cons involved in having a kindergartner who shows signs of being a criminal mastermind learn the finer points of running a business. Five minutes, five dollars for a t-shirt, and a Lemonade Day backpack later, we were committed.  And Jake immediately informed me he was "the boss", and I had to take orders ...

Anyone who knows me, knows that I LOVE FREE STUFF.  It doesn't matter what it is.  If it is free, I feel I need it.  I went to the Lubbock Business Expo, and by the time I walked out, I needed a five foot clearance radius due to the number of bags and paraphernalia I was hauling around.  Probably should have worn a back up beeper and had an escort vehicle.  I'm pretty sure I knocked a few people off their feet when I turned around and made a mad dash for the "spin-to-win" game at the Chick-Fil-A booth.  Needless to say, it's been years since I've bought office supplies.  And, as vendors get more and more creative, I should be fairly well stocked in some cleaning supplies as well.  Don't even get me started on how much this saves me on toys for the kids.  They love to color with hi-liters and play with light-up keychains!  Lest you doubt anything I've stated above as being absolutely factual, here is a listing of the "free s...

I've always heard that "beauty comes at a price".  Recent experiences have proven that statement true.  I was "given" a "free" facial.  Who could turn that down?  Great!  SIGN ME UP!  I agree to a time with the very kind lady who called, and then she told me to bring friends. My friends were all busy that night (and, perhaps a little quicker to pick up on the fact that nothing in life is "free") so, I went to the appointment by myself.  Doing things by myself is not that unusual for me, as many of my friends over the years can attest, however, it did seem to come as a disappointment to the kind facial lady.  We were placed in a little room, and we started my nice, quiet, self-applied facial.  (What do you expect for free?) My facial went well, but then before I knew it, the products were paraded in front of me, and I was purchasing, and my facial was no longer free.  The evil siren, pardon me, I mean kind facial lady, quickly ha...

Dear Administrators of Jake's School: I wanted to thank you for the Monterey Plainsman Award you bestowed upon my son.  I concur that there could be no finer honoree than MY son.  (Please note, he belongs to his father when you are trying to determine who to contact when the little rascal has led a mutiny in his classroom.) I do, however, wish to alert you to a couple issues associated more with the communication and organization (or perhaps lack of) associated with the notice you have given us to celebrate said offspring.  I was quite excited to receive the note in his backpack last Monday.  I was a little concerned that the note indicated that the award ceremony would be on Friday.  I am certain I am not the only parent who's busy workdays are filled with pre-scheduled meetings.  I was quite distraught that I was scheduled to be out of town that morning at a conference.  I immediately contacted the airline and discovered that I could change my ...

OK, Ok, I know.  It's been awhile.  But I've been busy.  Since we last reported on the everyday goings-on of my life, I've been to Vegas, baby!  I had a conference for work that I had to go to.  I mentioned to El Hubbo a couple months ago that I would be gone for almost a week.  "Where?" he asks.  "Vegas."  I replied.  "When do we go?" he asked while pulling out his calendar.  So, there would be no wild solo trip for me - had to take the hall monitor with me.  (Yeah, right.)  Much coordination was required and Muzzy and Oso were contracted to act as wardens for the kids.  They arrived on Saturday and after a quick orientation, I wished them luck and peeled out of the driveway on my way to the airport.  El Hubbo would not join me until the next day since he had students at contests and felt that perhaps he should take care of some of his own work responsibilities.  I'm sure he had a lovely time with his in-laws,...