Pet peeve #487

Yes, I have a lot of pet peeves. I get annoyed often. This is not my pet peeve, but right now Twitter isn't working and that annoys me. I always start my work day with Twitter, so the fact that my day is now screwed up is pet peeve #512.
Back to pet peeve #487 and the reason for this post. I hate when people say "Call me back at this number." And you call them back and they aren't there, but that's not all - there is no answering machine. How the hell am I supposed to get you the answer you so desperately needed right away if no one & nothing answers the phone. In this great day of technology how do you not have voice mail or an answering machine. I realize you probably have caller id, but I don't want you calling me back at your convenience. I have a life, too. I want the option of not answering my work phone at 10 p.m. Of course since I didn't get a hold of you because of your lack of technology I now have to answer when you find that I did call you back, because phone tag is my pet peeve #346. I just can't win.

Favorite Friday

The top two pictures are from our trip to the beach in California. Trinity loves the beach and is still begging to go back. The bottom one is Trinity and Lunden, her newest cousin.

As much as Trinity hates having me take her picture right now, I just love capturing her on film, because I love how expressive she can be.

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I've figured it out!

I've figured out why men think women are bad drivers. It has nothing to do with our ability to handle a vehicle. I'm actually a much better driver than my husband (thank goodness he doesn't read my blog). I've never been in an accident. I have only received a couple speeding tickets and the one rolling a stop sign ticket I received was overturned by a judge. And the illegal tint ticket I got doesn't count, because the state trooper only gave it to me because I was in a foul mood and told him off (he had nothing else he could give me a ticket for). Overall, I am a better than average driver. However, I have begun to notice that while I'm driving with Trinity in the car my attention gets divided. She asks me questions about what she is looking at out the window or wants me to sing along to her CDs or she is having a meltdown and my attention is taken away from driving momentarily. I try to remind her that I'm driving and she will have to be patient until we reach our destination, but she's four and sometimes the dog on the sidewalk just cannot wait. Thus far, we have avoided catastrophe, but I can understand how accidents happen. So, to all those men out there who think we are bad drivers I say - maybe, but mostly we are just good moms.

I'm on vacation.

Writing that line makes me think of the movie 'City Slickers.'
We arrived safe and sound and everything is good. Trinity traveled well, with a small exception of the 90 minute flight from Minneapolis to Cincinnati. How dare I as parent discipline my child on an airplane. Okay, all I did was take her straws away, since she was tipping her Sprite and spilling down her shirt, but in her eyes I ruined her life. Then when we arrived in Cincinnati, she was tired and had a small meltdown in the airport. This consisted of her sitting in the middle of the hallway screaming "You won't leave me here!" While she was correct, I did walk away towards the escalator. Needless to say she ran to catch up. Thankfully the Cincinnati airport has a childrens play area inside the airport. What a lifesaver. The rest of the trip she was fantastic, of course she slept most of it.
I am a bit frustrated, though. Why is it that DH thinks that by sleeping and working the whole trip it is a vacation for me? Trinity still needs to be watched, played with, fed, etc. While I love being a Mom, for me a vacation is having someone help me with my mom duties. How do I get him to understand that? Sigh.
Favorite Friday is going to be delayed a little as we are driving to California tomorrow and I have no idea what the itinerary is yet. Chances are good it will either be Lunden or Trinity as they are the only people I've shot this week.

The day before vacation

I hate the day before leaving on vacation. I always feel flustered, unorganized and in need of a large stiff drink. Today is no different except that I have to be at work to make sure everything is done and I have a doctor appointment this afternoon. Argh! When I made the appointment (last September) I had no idea we would be leaving tomorrow. I can't reschedule the appointment because it takes 9 months to get in to my doctor for my annual exam. Oh, and I have to fight with my accountant to get my taxes finished up today as we won't make it back to file before the deadline. I also have to mail my mother's taxes, mail out some contracts and run to Wal-Mart for last minute travel needs (a new toothbrush for everyone). I cannot no matter how hard I try take my old toothbrush on a trip. I have to get everyone a new one. I like the fact that they are sealed until we get to where we are going. Who knows who is going through your luggage and touching your toothbrush. Ack - thinking about it makes me want to gag. Anyway, new toothbrushes for everyone. I will probably have lots to blog about while gone seeing as I'm going to try to take lots of photos. Well, I'm off to run errands then then go visit my lovely gynecologist.

Favorite Friday

This is Cassie. She's a local high school senior. I also did her older sisters pictures a few years ago. They are both beautiful and very photogenic.

Vacation countdown - 1 week to go

We leave for Vegas a week from today. I am very excited to see the new baby. Lunden is the whole reason we are going, but I have to admit I'm looking forward to some down time. I learned today the my MIL is leaving today for Vegas and staying until after we get there. She said she wanted to make sure she saw us - um, because it is easier to fly 4 hours instead of driving the 1 hour it takes to get to our house. I'm confused. I love my MIL, but I love her more from a distance.
So, I think I'm more excited to be leaving, because it is snowing today and next week is supposed to be in the 80s in Vegas. Good thing I shaved my legs this weekend.
Speaking of leg shaving, I hosted 'Ladies Night In' on Friday for some good friends. We got wild and crazy while we played Super Scrabble and ate mesquite chicken wings, broccoli salad, pretzels and cheesecake. But we started talking about shaving our legs. P commented it had been a month since she shaved, but her hair is pretty light and wasn't too noticeable. I admitted I hadn't shaved in 2008 and it was long enough to braid (literally), plus I have dark black hair on my legs and I looked like a sasquatch. And A looked horrified and said she shaves daily. Now, as a mother of a 4 year old I don't always get to shower daily, so shaving my legs daily is just not going to happen, but even if I had the time, I still would not shave daily. Granted in the summer I shave at a minimum once a week and probably closer to 3 times a week. We ski on a water ski team, so I'm in shorts and swimsuits nightly. I have no desire to scare people, so I shave. But how often is often enough? I live in Minnesota and no one sees my legs for the majority of the winter and if I need to wear a dress or skirt, I will shave. Do women 'have' to shave on a regular basis? Who are we shaving for - ourselves, our health, our husbands, each other, society? Should I care that the person I don't know seated behind me at church can see that I have hair on my legs? Should it matter? I will admit that in the end, I shaved my legs on Saturday because of shame. I was shamed into shaving my legs. I am weak, but my husband liked it.