This morning started in a mad rush as JD came running into the bedroom yelling, “It’s 7:30! We’ve got to GO, GO, GO!” I dressed the MoonPie while she was still asleep in two minutes flat, sent her to the bathroom to brush her teeth, handed her a bag of muffins and pushed her out the door. School starts promptly at 7:50. Normally we’d just take our tardy slip and call it a day, but the school was doing CogAT testing and anyone arriving after 7:50 would be LOCKED OUT of the room. Nothing like beginning your day in a mad panic. Who needs coffee?

Later, I went to meet my prayer ladies at church, ran an errand, and headed back home to work. Except that I sat in traffic at THREE different intersections watching road crews spend our stimulus dollars. Until the STIMULUS, I had no idea that EVERY single road upon which I traveled needed extensive work done.

What do I know? Exect that you shouldn’t drink a large diet Coke before driving anywhere in Cobb County.

You’re welcome.

No, it’s not another post about my family. BAHAHAHAHA.

When I was growing up, we lived next door to some interesting people. A rather large lady named Kathleen was one of them. She died several years ago, so I don’t think she’d mind being mentioned on this blog. Kathleen lived in a tar-paper shack. Do you know what that is?

Kathleen’s was not this nice. It was her father’s house, but after he died, she lived there with her husband and her mentally challenged brother. Truthfully, they might have all been a bit challenged. They didn’t have indoor toilets and I remember hearing a story about how her husband was cleaning hot peppers, got some on his hands, then when outside to use the bathroom. I don’t know if Kathleen told us or if we just heard the screaming.

Anyway, I was only inside the house a couple of times. Surprisingly enough, I found it kinda creepy. I know that’s shocking – the child who thought her father was trying to kill her, finding a old shack inhabited by mentally challenged people scary, but I did. I remember very little about the house except that it was the first time I ever saw fly strips.

Do you know what that is?

Ewww. And they had several of these animal-torturing devices hanging around their house. Why was I even there? Were you that hard up for baby-sitters, Mother??

It totally grossed me out at the time. But since then I’ve matured, and realized that people have pests, and I shouldn’t be so judgemental.

Did I mention that I have gnats? Not that I would ever hang tacky, fly strips.

Not when Walmart sells these beautiful, DECORATIVE fly strips. At first the gnats weren’t attracted to it, but then I poured some apple-cider vinegar in the bottom and they came swarming. So now my kitchen not only looks good, but it SMELLS good.

Whatever. At least there are no mentally challenged people here. Feel free NOT to comment.

*JD finally had the “Do you have to TELL everything?” talk with me. To which I responded, “Oh, but there’s so much more! Muh-ha-ha.”

And besides, the gnats are dead. Isn’t that worth sharing? The Internet needs to know!

My mother complains that this blog no longer has enough photos. My brother complains that it doesn’t have enough words. I complain that I don’t have enough time to ensure it has EITHER on a regular basis.

Today for instance, I jumped out of bed, no time to SHOWER, and headed to church. After I’d finished molding the minds of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade girls, I raced to Zaxby’s where I choked down a salad, then hurried over to Old Navy to buy my daughter tennis shoes. Whew, doesn’t that sound exhausting?

Exactly. Which is why I then came home and climbed into bed and read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for 4 hours. It was raining, after all, and everyone I know has already read the book so it wouldn’t do if I didn’t finish it.

After I forced myself out of bed, I moved to the couch where I began to do our taxes. Our 2009 taxes. I think they’re due in a few days, so it was important that I get started. Not as important as finishing my book, but important.

And then I did some work, which I’m pretty sure is against one of the ten commandments, but Monday was looming and all of the emails in my In-Box were freaking me out.

By the time I get around to working on the blog, I’m too tired to write a lot, or find previously, unpublished photographs. There are just not enough hours in the day.

It’s not looking good for tomorrow either. The The Girl who Played with Fire is on sale at Walmart.

I don’t care what my mother says. Or my sister. Or all of the other people in my life. I went camping from the time I was six until I left for college and there was not one moment of it I didn’t LOVE. Okay, I didn’t love that one night my mother had to come find me because I might or might not have been under the influence of fermented wheat. (Sidebar: Thanks, Ginger – way to go back to the camper WITHOUT me and wake up all of the parents.)

Where was I? Oh yeah, this is going to be great. We have a tent!

JD and the MoonPie have got this under control. Even though we’re a family of three, we decided on the 10 person tent, just in case people wanted to join us. I expect a crowd.

I wanted to get the Coleman Instant-Tent that goes up in 60 seconds. (It’s TRUE, I saw it on YouTube.) But JD wanted to go “old school”.  They had been working on it about 30 minutes when I decided to leave for my bridge ministry. Someone has to play cards with retirees!

Awesome – MP has plenty of room. The center portion is our “stationing” area. That’s where all of our stuff will sit, nicely folded, labeled clearly – ready to use at a moment’s notice.

Awwww, doesn’t that look comfortable? One side room will be for us, and the other for our guests. And the dogs. By the way, this tent comes with a PET DOOR! How awesome is that? It’s like camping at the Ritz.

It’s the Taj Mahal of camping gear! This camping thing is going to be wonderful.

So I’ve been thinking lately about a Dudley Moore movie I saw in the mid-eighties. It was called Unfaithfully Yours, and I remember thinking it was HIGHlarious. Dudley Moore is married to a much younger woman, and through miscommunication, begins to believe she is cheating on him. You know, it doesn’t sound as funny when I put it that way. Anyway, he plots his revenge, which I am pretty sure culminated in killing them. HAHAHAHA. The FUNNY part is that you see the plan in his mind. It goes so smoothly when he’s imagining it, but then as it actually unfolds, it’s a total farce.

I haven’t thought about that movie in years. I’ve got no idea where that came from. Weird.