Friday, January 29, 2010

Shopping for banks....

Remember my post a couple back, regarding my banker daughter?

Brian normally rides his bike to work. However, after an unfortunate soccer accident, he has hurt his knee and can no longer ride and has been taking the bus to the ferry. It's a small time bus operation and you have to have exact change ($2). The other morning, he only had a $5 bill and needed change. I asked Kate if she could make change.

"See! I told you. You use me like a bank."
"Well, that's because you nicely save your money. I'm not asking to borrow any money, I simply asked if you could make change for a $5 bill."
"You are so mean."
"So, would you rather have Dad overpay for his bus ride? If so, that's $3 less we will have to spend for your birthday." (I know I was being mean, and hitting below the belt.)

She held her ground and didn't make the change. Now, to her defense, it was early in the morning and she was walking out the door for school. Brian should have figured out his money situation earlier, but what part of doing favors for each other does my daughter not grasp?

I am tired of the customer service I have been received at Bank of Katherine. It's time for me to shop around and find a new bank. Maybe I can get a free toaster out of this.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

12!



12 years have passed since my little guy was born. 12 years since that long weekend in January when I went into the hospital to be induced on a Friday morning and Brock finally decided to join the party, just in time for the Super Bowl, on Sunday afternoon.

The time has flown by and while he isn't a little boy any more, there are still little boy things about him that make my heart soar. Like when he's tired and we are cozy on the couch. He will reach up and play with my hair, just like he did when he was little. Or when he'll asked to be tucked in to bed. It may be laziness on his part. His covers are always such a mess. But I'll take it. I'm sure by the time he's 16, he won't asked to be tucked in.

The little boy things are getting fewer and fewer. Now he's constantly texting or chatting online. Sometimes he puts on a bit of cologne. I once overheard a conversation with a friend and the two of them would make a sailor blush with all of their cussing.

No matter how old and how big, he will always be my Little Brockie Boy.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

2010 So far....

2010 has been off to a busy and good start.

The biggest news around here has been that we found out the Brock needed glasses for reading/computer/note taking, etc. He is also "color deficient" which is basically color blind. We picked up his new glasses yesterday. I think they make him look older and very handsome.


We've been busy attending a lot of these:

(that's him in the white jersey, center court)

Brock is growing like a weed and needed some new jeans. He talked me into this shirt, which I am not crazy about. But, according to him, he needs a shirt to wear when he's ready to ask out a girl.

I tried to talk him into this sweater instead but he said it wasn't cool enough. I guess my taste has truly aged.


Speaking of aging, I celebrated my 37th birthday this weekend. Brian wins the thoughtful husband award. He made (from SCRATCH, not a box, and even bought Cake Flour) a German Chocolate Cake for me. It was three layers tall and had the most delicious frosting.

(no, the dogs didn't get into the cake, part of it fell when Brian was icing it....tasted yummy anyway!)

Kate-isms:

And in case you have thought that I've forgotten Kate, I haven't. She's currently (and yet again) going through the "I don't want my picture taken" phase. For Christmas, my brothers gave Kate a gift certificate for two pedicures. She (nicely?) decided to take me with her as my birthday treat. I question "nicely" because after asking me to go and scheduling the pedicures, she came to the realization that perhaps it wasn't quite "fair" to use part of her Christmas gift on me. She tried to barter with me saying that she'd take me, if I'd buy her a pair of earrings.

That didn't fly. I told I would cancel my half the appointment and then she could have another pedicure in a few months. She finally came to grips that what she was asking for was wrong. She definitely has some lawyer/contract negotiation/banker skills.

The other day I needed to borrow $25 from her. If I couldn't, then we would have to go out of our way to stop by the bank. I pleaded with her. She finally agreed once I signed a note stating that if I was delinquent in my repayment, I would owe her 25 cents per day.

And last but not least.....K was invited to a slumber party and didn't want to go. She finally agreed but when it came time to purchase a gift for the birthday girl, K claimed: "My presence at the party is gift enough." What? How my dear, did you get on that high pedestal of yours? And how quickly can I knock you off?

All these funny and annoying stories don't capture her true heart. She can be very generous and caring and loving (as long as borrowing money isn't involved). I have boxes of sweet letters she writes me "just because".


And lastly, I spent the afternoon making ribbon belts for me and Kate. Just a regular old Martha over here.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Glass half full....

I'm a glass half empty gal by nature. When I can switch to half full, that's called progress. I recently progressed in one area.....

Our house is nearby a busy street. It's one of the ways we could afford it....I have gotten used to the car noises and sometimes when it's raining, I can trick my self into thinking it's the sound of surf. But it can still bug me.

There are a lot of good things about our house though. It has lots of character. Big trees. Modern lines. Unique. Good close-in location.

And another one I recently discovered.

People think of us when they drive by our house/street. Frequently people say, "I drove by your house today, and I thought of you." I think of all the warm fuzzies that people send to us as they drive by. One friend says whenever she drives by, she gives us a little wave.

That gives me comfort.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Staking out my 3x3 space.



I realize that I haven't written for awhile and will try and catch up later....for now here's what I've been working on:
Our house isn't big but it isn't small....and most of the time it's just right for us. One would think that somewhere in this house I could find a space to call my own. For seven years I have searched for my space and I claimed it this weekend. We moved Lucy's dog crate from the mudroom and put up a make-shift desk for me under the metal stairs. I LOVE IT. It may be cozy, but I have a big window to gaze out at and being under the stairs makes it seem airy. An added bonus is that because the stairs are metal, I have a built in magnetic board.

For my birthday I'm ordering a small desk to replace the rickety card table. It's amazing how this nine feet square space is making me so happy.