My oldest and dearest friend, Tamara tagged me to write a 6 word sentence that encompasses my life, so here goes: Life will always work out, eventually.
I find that no matter how broke I think we are, how irritated I am with my family, or how lousy things are in my life (and really, they are never that bad), change comes and we continue on our merry way.
Por ejemplo(also for Tamara), the car that wrecked our hedge? We will be receiving some money from the car's insurance carrier for our damages. This weekend, our AC died. So instead of going back with 10 foot hedges, we are going to get something smaller and use the extra money for a new AC. See how that all worked out.
Here's another one. Larry has been bugging me to buy a boat for years. We don't need a boat. I know that. We have nowhere to store it and they are expensive. Larry knows it too, but he wants one anyway. Sunday, we went out with some friends who just bought a new boat. We had great fun, but after Larry helped him clean the boat for an hour afterwards, he said, "maybe we don't need a boat." And the clouds parted as sunlight fell on my head.
I could go on and on, but that's the gist of it.
Just keep on keeping on.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Happy Birthday, Peyton
My baby turned 6 yesterday. 6!! It just seems so old. I took white frosted cupcakes up the school with the little tubes of frosting, so the kids could decorate them. Then Peyton and I went to see Speed Racer. (The races and graphics were cool. The dialogue, not so much. I would rent so you can fast forward.) Tomorrow, we are having some friends over for a pool party.
Happy Birthday, baby!
Happy Birthday, baby!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Labor Day in May
Our company had Labor Day in May. A Nationwide effort to help out in our communities, and a day "off" work. Here's the write up I wrote for the company blog.
When the Powers that Be announced Labor Day in May, the Coral Springs office immediately decided they wanted to contribute to a region specific cause. Cleaning the beach would have been an easy option (looking at you, Boston!); however, we opted for a more challenging and very sweaty endeavor: The Everglades Restoration Movement.
The crew, bright and early, before the 90 degree heat and 1000 percent humidity set in. From left to right: Breann, Denise, Cindy, Tyler (Jim’s son), Larry, Erika, Rob and David.
The Melaleuca Tree was introduced to the Florida Everglades over 50 years ago to dry out the land for the progress of civilization. Little did our Floridian ancestors know, they were also sucking up a major source of water and the Melaleuca took over hundreds of thousands of acres. The Melaleuca virtually eliminated the natural vegetation.
This is Breann and Rob. We were given machetes (!!) and herbicide. The trees were cut at the base and then sprayed with the herbicide to inhibit further growth.
The trees were then hauled to a central location and piled. Each tree can release hundreds of spores which make more trees. The Melaleuca are better at producing than rabbits.
This is what happens when you take one too many breaks. Off with her head!
We were out in the boondocks, folks and lucky to have gotten back. See what happened to the last group?
Jim’s son, Tyler, is a freshman in high school and about 10 feet tall. He’s also pretty good at welding a machete and mastered the art of chopping the Melaleuca with a single blow.
We went through 40 bottles of water and gatorade, 10 bottles or so of herbicide and about a bucket full of sweat.
The Coral Springs crew made at least five piles of trees this size and a ton of smaller ones throughout the glades.
Larry, Cindy and Denise taking a much needed break.
Larry. There’s not much else I can say about that.
Oh yeah, we’re getting dirty now. Next year, we are doing Labor Day in May in January.
The trees and the debris and the hauling and the cutting was never ending. We would clear out a section, look to the left and see more trees, look to the right, even more trees, behind us, yep MORE TREES!
This is why Denise is our best Liability adjuster. Watch out!
Where’s David?
There was no distinction between the men and the women out in the glades. We were all busting tail!
Sawgrass is nothing to mess with. All of our arms were cut up, David lost the sole of his shoe, Tyler had a larva stuck to his back and I saw two stick bugs mating. On my arm!
Oh, and there was the Red Rat Snake our guide caught.
Dirty David.
Afterwards, we were still smiling, just a little grungier. Hey, it’s nothing a beer can’t fix.
When the Powers that Be announced Labor Day in May, the Coral Springs office immediately decided they wanted to contribute to a region specific cause. Cleaning the beach would have been an easy option (looking at you, Boston!); however, we opted for a more challenging and very sweaty endeavor: The Everglades Restoration Movement.
The crew, bright and early, before the 90 degree heat and 1000 percent humidity set in. From left to right: Breann, Denise, Cindy, Tyler (Jim’s son), Larry, Erika, Rob and David.
The Melaleuca Tree was introduced to the Florida Everglades over 50 years ago to dry out the land for the progress of civilization. Little did our Floridian ancestors know, they were also sucking up a major source of water and the Melaleuca took over hundreds of thousands of acres. The Melaleuca virtually eliminated the natural vegetation.
This is Breann and Rob. We were given machetes (!!) and herbicide. The trees were cut at the base and then sprayed with the herbicide to inhibit further growth.
The trees were then hauled to a central location and piled. Each tree can release hundreds of spores which make more trees. The Melaleuca are better at producing than rabbits.
This is what happens when you take one too many breaks. Off with her head!
We were out in the boondocks, folks and lucky to have gotten back. See what happened to the last group?
Jim’s son, Tyler, is a freshman in high school and about 10 feet tall. He’s also pretty good at welding a machete and mastered the art of chopping the Melaleuca with a single blow.
We went through 40 bottles of water and gatorade, 10 bottles or so of herbicide and about a bucket full of sweat.
The Coral Springs crew made at least five piles of trees this size and a ton of smaller ones throughout the glades.
Larry, Cindy and Denise taking a much needed break.
Larry. There’s not much else I can say about that.
Oh yeah, we’re getting dirty now. Next year, we are doing Labor Day in May in January.
The trees and the debris and the hauling and the cutting was never ending. We would clear out a section, look to the left and see more trees, look to the right, even more trees, behind us, yep MORE TREES!
This is why Denise is our best Liability adjuster. Watch out!
Where’s David?
There was no distinction between the men and the women out in the glades. We were all busting tail!
Sawgrass is nothing to mess with. All of our arms were cut up, David lost the sole of his shoe, Tyler had a larva stuck to his back and I saw two stick bugs mating. On my arm!
Oh, and there was the Red Rat Snake our guide caught.
Dirty David.
Afterwards, we were still smiling, just a little grungier. Hey, it’s nothing a beer can’t fix.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Crash, Boom, Bah
Larry, the kids and I spend Saturday night at a friend's condo only to come home Sunday morning to this.
Further inspection revealed, (that is such a phrase I use in work reports all the time) that a car with four drunken teenagers careened through about 40 feet of our eight foot hedge.
We learned through the neighbors that our cul-de-sac was full of cop and fire rescue vehicles and there were about 15-20 personnel in our yard. The kids tried to run from the accident, but being woozy and drunk, they were caught pretty quickly. Did you know if you get into a drunken accident if you are not in the car when the police arrive, they can't really charge you because they can't prove you were driving?
Thankfully, all four of the kids involved are ok, well, at least until their parents get a hold of them. (Hopefully) We are filing a claim through the driver's auto policy. Wheee! If it's not one thing, it's another.
Further inspection revealed, (that is such a phrase I use in work reports all the time) that a car with four drunken teenagers careened through about 40 feet of our eight foot hedge.
We learned through the neighbors that our cul-de-sac was full of cop and fire rescue vehicles and there were about 15-20 personnel in our yard. The kids tried to run from the accident, but being woozy and drunk, they were caught pretty quickly. Did you know if you get into a drunken accident if you are not in the car when the police arrive, they can't really charge you because they can't prove you were driving?
Thankfully, all four of the kids involved are ok, well, at least until their parents get a hold of them. (Hopefully) We are filing a claim through the driver's auto policy. Wheee! If it's not one thing, it's another.
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