12 Year Old Black Boy Makes My Day

I have so much going on that I have failed to blog about all my events. Something happened to me today just made my day.

I drove to the little country store in my country-hick town. It's the only grocery store nearby. I go there often to buy items in between our big monthly Walmart shopping. The employees are awesome and everywhere you turn one says hello and how are you.

As I was looking for the aisle I needed I saw this group of 5 black young boys. The oldest who seemed to be doing the shopping was about 16-17 years old. The others seemed to be between the ages of 5-12. The two youngest ones was rambunctious running and jumping around the area.

We incidentally ended up on the same aisle. I was searching for what I needed and at the same time keeping an eye on the little kids because even if they just pass by me I can lose my balance and either fall or knock down a display. Both has happened to me before.

I noticed the 12 year old intently watching me. I turned my head and our eyes met. He smiled and said, "Hello Ma'am!" I said, "Hello." 

He corralled the other two so I could pass. I thanked him. Politely, he told me "your welcome."

We both had smiles during our exchange.

After I checked out I was grabbing my bags and the same 12-year old came out of nowhere and asked if I needed help. After a glance of my surroundings I noticed the others were checking out.

I told him it was okay, I had this. I then told him how sweet it was for him to ask and thanked him and told him to have a blessed day. He reciprocated.

I don't know why this affected me so much but it just reconfirms to me that not ALL kids are bad. There are plenty who are well-mannered, polite and willing to help.

It seems like I have seen him before but can not place him.

Of course, after I got home I started thinking. I didn't have any cash on me but if I had I could have bought him a little something or given him money. 

I hate when I think of things I could have done after the fact.

I hope this boy has an inkling how much I appreciated his offer. He just warmed my heart. God Bless Him

I Must Look Lost

Every time I am alone in a store searching for something on a shelf or passing the aisles looking at the signs or even just browsing I am asked if I need help.

It does not happen when I am with someone.

So I wonder, is it that they see my disability and assume I need help or I just look that LOST?

It's probably that I just look lost!

What do you think? Have you had same experience?

How We Celebrated Our 2nd Anniversary

Yesterday as you know, if you read yesterday's post, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary.

I want to share with you how we spent it.

We started by swinging by the main library we us to finally pick Once Upon A Time Season II that we have been waiting months for. We continued on our journey to UL College to meet BabyGirl to give her some money she needed. It was a quick stop and go. But I got to see her. She is still alive and beautiful.

I have a simple request. Say a little prayer that she gets through finals this and next week. After this semester she has one left and then she goes to grad school or however she tends to pursue her lifelong career. She keeps changing her mind so your guess is just as good as mine.

Then we made our way to another library on that end of the city to pick up a movie Hubby had requested there.

Leaving there, we weaved through the crazy traffic and arrived at our destination--Rooms to Go. Our plan was to reacquaint ourselves to what was available. We have ideas of what we want.

We want a small dining table to fit 4 chairs. We already have the four chairs his mother is giving us, They were re-stained and in process of putting fabric seating. It is hard to match the stain and find a small table. A lot of the tables we saw were for 6-8 people or pub style that were high. Also the few small ones we saw were glass. I am not keen on glass. Hubby says it may be a good idea as it is easier to match. He has a point. But I am still thinking about it and looking.

We also needed a bed and two bedside tables with mattress which I am happy to say we found what we wanted. The bed is so cool! The mattress will be so comfy. You can check out the bed frame here.

We were also looking at consoles and media room chairs. I am tired of the wall unit we have. It was a nice wall unit my parents had given me as a new home gift when BabyGirl's father and I had bought a new home years ago.  I am tired of it.  We found a cool console but we weren't sure about the measurements.

Note: I had mentioned to Hubby that maybe we need to take measurements before we left. But he sorta shrugged it off saying we were just going to look. Shall I say more? I was the good little wife that didn't utter "I told you so."

We're having our differences in the height of the console. I keep telling myself it is mainly his man cave so I need to let him make his own decision. I did voice it but he said I will be in it just as much as him as that's where our television is.

We also want sofa-type theater seats with two seats with the cup holders on each end. However, all we find is the cup holders in the middle. We do want to snuggle on the couch! Also, the ones we saw are leather. He doesn't necessarily like the leather. I suspect we will be looking some more for this.

We didn't buy anything because if we get the console, we want to buy it all together. We are going back Thursday to at least buy the bedroom set!

The salesman, James who waited on us was so nice and gave no pressure although he always around when we had questions. He asked us when we would be going back. Randal said maybe tomorrow. He gave us his card and cell phone number because he is off Wednesday but he would come in for us. Now how sweet was that?  I need to remember to write a complimentary note after our transactions are done. However, we know how precious days off are so we will go Thursday instead.

After spending about 1 hour there we moseyed onto Basset Furniture. They can customize our two media chairs the way we want them in fabric…for double the price of our whole bedroom set.  We are contemplating.

We will be looking around some more for the items we are still iffy on. The bed was one of the most important items we really needed. We accomplished it.

By that time, I felt my tendinitis becoming irritated and I was getting tired. It was time to take a breather.

We went eat at one of our favorite places, Logan's Steakhouse. Hubby had the grilled Salmon with sauteed mushrooms and rice pilaf. I had the 6 oz Angus beef sirloin with a loaded potato and skewered grilled mushrooms. They have also started serving my favorite drink DR PEPPER!! Everything was delicious and I have been stuffed since :).

In the middle of lunch  he asked if I wanted to go the movies. Just out of the blue. We had discussed maybe seeing a movie this week since he is on vacation but wasn't expecting that day. LOL.

We went see Hunger Games II. We had just seen Hunger Games I and I loved it. I am not going to give any spoilers. But being that it is a trilogy it has to have cliffhanger. The first open ender wasn't so bad but this one I dislike. Otherwise, great movie. A lot of violence but love the story.

 I almost want to read the books. But history has shown if I read a book then watch the movie, I am disappointed in the movie. I always rather the books than the movie.

For example, lets take the Harry Potter Books and movies. BabyGirl and I read every Harry Potter book. We were one of the 1000's in line at Barnes and Nobles the night they came out at midnight. It was our tradition. BabyGirl read each Harry Potter at least 10 times, some more than that. So she knew the books very well. You can ask her if you don't believe me. She started reading it the moment we got into the car and didn't stop until she was finished. Thank God it was always on a weekend night.

We anticipated the movies. They were a let down for me. The movies were longer than any other movie at the time. As I watched I was confused because they had cut some out. I thought it ruined the story. But it is only my opinion.

So that's why I am conflicted if I should read the books or not. I probably won't. I 'll get over the disappointing ending.

The movie ended our day and we made it back home in one piece.

I consider that a great Anniversary outing!

A Picture With 2 stories

The first story is I am ready for some LSU football. Hubby gave me the socks for my birthday. We don't usually give gifts as we are getting older and we eventually get what we want ourselves. I love my socks!

The second story is the ridiculously long CVS receipt for about 8 items. If they would give shorter receipts they would save lots of money. And what is irritating is there are coupons for things I don't need or bought at that time and the expiration date is usually one or two weeks.

But on a good note. When I was checking out the girl told me it was 5.43. My meds don't cost no less than $35, it is usually $35-$78 depending on which meds I refill.

I asked her if she was sure and she said yes. I was dumbfounded.

I suggested there was something wrong because it is usually more than that. She said, "No, it says 5.43"

I persisted asking her if she was absolutely sure. She said, "Yes, that is it."

I paid my 5.43.

I thought afterwards its either she made a huge mistake or maybe my account was tagged to not charge me because of the inconvenience they gave me for my flu shot a few weeks ago. You can read about that fiasco here.

I guess I may find out when I get my EOB from my insurance.

Now I am ready for some LSU FOOTBALL! Hope they do better this week than last week! GEAUX TIGERS!

Why I Rather Be a Homebody For the Most Part

Driving is one of the least likable things I do. If I can help it I don't go anywhere.  But there are times I have to drive like go shopping. visit friends and family, doctor appointments etc. 

Yesterday, I drove to Baton Rouge to see an old college friend which I enjoyed the visit so much and the long drive was worthwhile. Even the chaotic traffic was worthwhile.

As I was driving on the freeway I tend to stay in the lane where the sign of my destination  is posted. I was on the far left hand lane going the speed limit. Then a white SUV comes up behind me tailgating me. All of a sudden I see a blue light flash on the dashboard. Of course, my heart started pumping faster. But I looked again and didn't see any signs on the vehicle indicating it was a cop. I had no where to stop an wasn't sure if I was suppose to stop. So I switched lanes and the idiot flew by. I noticed when he got a head of me he was doing the same thing to all other drivers in that lane. 

Why couldn't he have passed me on the lane I switched to? Oh right..He was a complete asshole.

Then today I ventured out. I was supposed to go buy a gift, pick up meds, dropped off a movie at the library, go to the local produce store to get my fresh veggies and fruit and grocery shopped. I did everything except grocery shopped. 

I ended up doing everything except grocery shopped because to put it bluntly my legs were tired and I'm pooped.

When I went to the Produce store I waited for someone to back out of the parking space that is right in front of the entrance. I parked and as I was getting out of the car, I noticed a black male walking towards me with an angry tone but I didn't know what he was saying. I finally saw the Chihuahua in his hands. I guess since I was trying to figure out what he was saying I was sorta staring. As he passes by me he asks, "What are you looking at BITCH?" 

I guess I looked confused. A friendlier black male walking behind the meaner smiled at me and said, "He is ticked off because the dogs ran away and we had to catch them." I said, "OH'.  I was shocked and confused.

But after the nicer guy passed by I made my way into the store and a lady asks me what was his problem. I told her obviously the dogs ran away and he was ticked off. I thought he was talking to me and asked what I was staring at. 

She said she noticed him walking directly towards me cursing and she had her phone out to call 911. I thanked her for her concern. So I am not totally crazy thinking he was talking to me.

Folks, that is why I am more of a homebody vs going out.

Have a great weekend.

New Home: Furniture shopping

When we were planning to move, we knew eventually we would need to get some furniture but since it is the two of us, we don't do much entertaining and we have a limited budget we decided to just live in the home for a while to get a feel of what we want.

First, this is what we have. For the bedroom, we have a bed and dresser drawers. We have nothing for the living room because what we had in the living room is now in the entertainment room which is only a Pampasan chair. I also have a recliner but it is so big and can't fit through the entertainment room door where we spend most of the time in.  Also, it has a big stain from my daughter leaving a hair chi on leaving burns. Right now it is sitting in the living room all alone with unpacked boxes. I had wanted to give it away but Hubby said we may still use it. It is so heavy its crazy. We have two bar stools Hubby acquired from his first marriage that were packed away when we were in the apartment because there was no where to put them. We are using them at our kitchen bar but the kitchen bar is really not meant to eat at. We eat mostly at a card table with four chairs in the dining area. We have a few shelves, an entertainment center I've had for years, two desks and two office chairs. Also, I took a black ottoman stool my child had that she didn't know what she was going to do with.

So what we need for the dining room is a small dining table with chairs. As we have been browsing, I feel we have a few options. We can replace the two bar stools and card table with chairs with a small dining table and chairs.  Or we can keep the stools and buy a table that fits the height of the stools but the dilemma is there are only 2 stools, I would like four and I highly doubt we'll find two more exactly like the ones we have.

For the bedroom, we would like a new queen or king sized bed and some bedside tables. We would like a shelf headboard and then it could eliminate the bedside tables.

For the entertainment room, eventually we would like to get a new entertainment center to replace what we have. The one we have was a wedding gift to my ex from my parents. That entertainment center traveled many miles with me through the years. We also would like theater seats with recliners. My thought is we would put the Papasan chair  in the living room with whatever additional furniture we purchase.

The living room is the least important and I don't want that much in it. As a matter of fact I don't want that much furniture and 'stuff" I want to keep the wide open spaces and not be cramped like we were in the apartment. We need only enough for when we have company to sit. I have considered putting a slip cover on the recliner but as someone mentioned it may be hard to get one that really fits it.  Hubby's mother offered us a love seat and I think it would match the recliner but we're still deciding.

And I need something for my reading nook I want to have in our library/office. It is a very small area between a book shelf and the door.  I measured the area and it was 32" by the windows.  At first I wanted a cool chaise lounge chair. But as I saw how small the area is and what we have in the room I don't think it is going to fit. 

As we shopped I found a round chair which I thought was so cool.  Some actually swivel. I figured I could use the ottoman with it as I do need to elevate my feet if I am sitting for a long time. We also saw these chairs with ottoman. My brother-in-law has one and they are so comftie. I have entertained putting the Papasan chair in my nook but I have a hard time getting in and out of it as it tilts. I've fallen with it on top of me too many times.

While shopping and looking online we realizedt there is so much to choose from. Hubby's style is Rooms To GO for the most part. He says everything matches so we don't have to worry about buying one piece having to match another.  He knows how I want everything to match. I sorta agree with him but nothing has caught our eye.

I don't know if it is me but the prices on some are outrageous. We have no clue what brand is better than the other. We want to pay as less as we have to but we want quality. We need to do some research.

So that is where we are as far as furniture is concerned. Right now I am sitting on a office chair with my feet propped up until we buy more furniture. When Hubby is here, he shares his Papasan with me when we watch TV. Or he'll hold it if I wanna get in it and he doesn't want to sit there for the moment.

We take a day every weekend and pick one or two furniture stores to browse. After that we're about done.  But it is exciting and interesting. We have similar tastes thank goodness!

If anyone has any ideas etc I am opened for suggestions. I do plan on taking pictures because some of you have requested.  I just want the areas in a more organized way before I do.

As always, I appreciate all of you reading and following my blog. I love comments too. (Hint Hint LOL!)

Grocery Shopping With My BabyGirl

This is the continuation of yesterday's blog, Salvage Yard with My BabyGirl.

We get to Wallyworld and ate lunch at Subway as we were starving  Then her grocery shopping began. She had her list and we proceeded. As we went along, I noticed how she compared prices. She is a health nut and was comparing prices. Once she was debating on something and she said to herself that one was cheaper and grabbed the cheaper product. I had to grin to myself but not a word I  uttered..She had to get some college supplies and I showed her how inexpensive if you got that bigger box of copy paper then the little pack. The case of paper (2500 pages) should last her through the semester!.

As we made our way to the register, I said, "It feels so nice to grocery shop and not have to pay anything." The cashier laughed. As My BabyGirl was looking at the register, and saw the total, she got excited and exclaimed, "Wow its 30 dollars less than I thought!  I was sure it was going to be $100." I said, "Now you know why I got excited!"

It was just fun to see My BabyGIrl shopping, thinking, comparing prices and watching that expression of delightful surprise when she discovered she'll have 30 more bucks than she thought.

But It Fits the Bun!

That's what an 80ish distinguished  gentleman was telling his same age petite wife as they were looking at the Bun-length wieners at Wallyworld today.

The wife exclaims, "It is more expensive!'

Adamantly, the man says, "IT FITS THE BUN!"

As adamant as her loved one, "It is more expensive! Let's go over there!"

They talk back and forth, trying to persuade the other. Some heated French was also spoken that I couldn't understand.

Standing his ground, the man says, "But you won't just eat bread, its  BUN-LENGTH."

The lady shakes her head mumbling, " NO...." I could not hear the rest..

Then the lady stomps away. The man continues to stare at the bun lenght wieners like a child who was just reprimanded.  THEN...

He looks around, presumably to see where his wife was. The coast was clear! He hurriedly, as his old body could, grabbed two packs of Bun Length wieners. Gripping them, he looked around again..Coast was still clear! He walks around the basket and picks up a back of chips and some toiletries, places the wieners then covers them with the items he had just picked up.  He stands there placing items around the wieners for a good minute or two. When he seemed to feel confident that his wieners were safe, he started walking pushing the basket.

I saw them once again during my shopping. They were talking and laughing.

Every time I think about it, I smile. It was just too darn cute.