Really Julie?

Ever had one of those moments when you have a thought and because you have time to think about it without confirmation of facts you let your mind run and run and run until you have worked yourself into a little crazy behavior??? That was me on Monday night.

I was driving home from work and I usually give Kirk a call when I get close to the house to see what the plan for dinner is. I was about to make that call when the twin called me and told me that they were down at our local sandwich place and we should meet them for dinner. From there I called Kirk.

I called his office...no answer
I called his cell...no answer
I called the house...no answer
I waited a little bit, called all 3 again...no answers

I called Wendy back and she said his truck was in the driveway when they left for the sandwich place, so they knew he was home. I knew he did not ride his motorcycle that morning. He is home...why isn't he answering?

He always answers, or calls me back in a few minutes after the missed call. He thinks it is super annoying when he can't get a hold of me, so he does his best to be available. For whatever reason I started to go down the rabbit hole...

Maybe he is just out in the backyard or garage...but why does he not hear either of the phones?
Maybe he is taking a nap, he has been tired lately?
Maybe he is sick and can't get to the phone?
Maybe he somehow passed out and is laying unconscious?
Maybe someone broke into the house and stabbed him and he is laying there alone and hurt?
Maybe that person is still in the house....

I pulled up to the house, saw his car in the driveway, no lights in the house were on.

I got out of the car and pulled out my pepper spray...turned the nozzle to "spray"...I even did a test spray on the lawn to make sure I knew how far it would reach. I walk in the front door slowly, pepper spray in hand and I hear Kirk's voice coming from the bedroom. I walk into the bedroom and there is the husbro...talking on his cell phone to his best friend Omari.

I put the pepper spray back in my purse before he could see it.

I am such a dork.

Book Review: What I Thought I Knew

I have been reading memoirs lately and am loving it. There is something great about true stories, learning from other people's experiences and hearing how people tell their own story.

It only took me 2 days to read What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen - it made the car ride to Vegas much more tolerable. I learned about the book while reading an Anne Lamott interview. She listed it as one of her favorite books and I figured since Lamott is one of my favorite authors, I would probably like her book recommendations. I was right - I really liked this book!

And because I tend to ramble, here is the set up from her website about the book: "Alice Cohen was happy for the first time in years. After a difficult divorce, she was engaged to a wonderful man, she was raising a beloved adopted daughter; and her career was blossoming. Then she started experiencing mysterious symptoms. After months of tests, X-rays, and hormone treatments, Alice was diagnosed with an abdominal tumor and sent for an emergency CAT scan that revealed the cause of her symptoms. She was six months pregnant. At age 44, with no prenatal care and no insurance coverage for a high-risk pregnancy, Alice was inundated with opinions from doctors and friends telling her what was ethical, what was loving, what was right. With the suspense of a thriller and the intimacy of a diary, Cohen describes her unexpected odyssey through doubt, a broken medical system, and the complexities of motherhood and family in today's world. Ruefully funny, wickedly candid, What I Thought I Knew is a mystery, a love story, a philosophical quest and a personal tour de force."

What I loved most about the book? Her BRUTAL honesty about her situation. Although there were times when I adamantly disagreed with her, it was such a good read! It gets a little dark at parts, but pretty funny at others too. I would recommend it for sure.

Life's a Beach

Another friend enters the land of the 30's!

Saturday we got up early and headed to Huntington for a day at the beach to celebrate Dave's birthday with a ton of friends. Although the weather could have been better, we still had such a great time.

Happy 30th Dave!

THE GAME!!!

David W. came back from Indiana with the goal of playing this new frisbee game he learned while he was out there. David, Dave & Kirk hit up Home Depot Friday night to get the materials to make it happen...and below are the results.

There were some injuries, but all well worth it.

I don't think Dave caught the bottle, but valiant effort friend!

The cutest darn game watcher around...ELSIE!!!

One of them is supposed to be trying to catch the frisbee.

Waiting to get back in the game.

Some of the ladies...and Isaac!

Izie playing ball with mom...I think the ball ended up hitting him back in the face.

David found these in the sand. I think they look awesome...Wendy thought they were not awesome enough to risk getting some sort of eye infection from, so he did not wear them long. Can you get the clap from sunglasses?

One of my favorite kids of all time!

Into the late afternoon, the beach got incredibly windy, Carrie found a way around that below...but since there were not enough blankets to go around, we nixed the bonfire and headed for Surf City Tacos for dinner.

Book Review: Sh*t My Dad Says

There are quite a few gems that Ragin' Roge has said to me and the sisters while growing up...stuff that will stick with us until we are old, gray and wrinkled. "Julie!...You better have some beaver cheaters on under that tiny skirt!" and so on.

Reading Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern made it very clear that although my dad was pretty memorable, there are much more "colorful" parents out there. Some so colorful, you can start a twitter account with their quotes which can become so popular you write a book about them and then have that book picked up and turned into a comedy coming to tv this fall.

This book was a fun little departure from my normal reading which sometimes tends to be void of a ton of laughter. What can I say...I have a dark side, and I feed that dark depressing side through books and movies usually.

Basically, Justin gets dumped by his girlfriend and moves back in with his parents at age 28. The book goes back through memories of his childhood and adolescence up through him moving back home. His dad Sam is 73 years old and does not mince his words or hide his feelings...about anything! Warning to possible readers of this book, cuss words galore when you get to his actual quotes - But as a wise friend once told me "It's ok if you're quoting!" - - - Right Troy?

In the book Justin tells a super funny and at times a surprisingly touching memoir around the best of his quotes.

Here are a few of my faves (cursing removed or &*%$)

ON MY BLOODY NOSE...
"What happened? Did somebody punch you in the face?!... The what? The air is dry? Do me a favor and tell people you got punched in the face."

ON LYING...
"The worst thing you can be is a liar. . . . Okay, fine, yes, the worst thing you can be is a Nazi, but then number two is liar. Nazi one, liar two."

ON SHOPPING FOR PRESENTS FOR HIS BIRTHDAY...
"If it's not bourbon or sweatpants, it's going in the garbage... No, don't get creative. Now is not a creative time. Now is a bourbon and sweatpants time."

ON BUILT UP EXPECTATIONS...
"Your brother brought his baby over this morning. He told me it could stand, it couldn't stand for sh*t. Just sat there...BIG let down!"

ON MY 1st DAY OF KINDERGARTEN...
"You thought it was hard? If kindergarten is busting your ass, I got some bad news for you about the rest of life."

ON ACCIDENTS...
"I don't care how it happened!...The window is broken...wait, why is there syrup everywhere? Okay, now I do care how it happened! Let's hear it."

ON FEELING COMFORTABLE IN YOUR OWN SKIN...
"It's my house, I'll wear clothes when I want to wear clothes and I'll be naked when I want to be naked. The fact that your friends are coming over shortly is inconsequential to that!"

ON GETTING IN TROUBLE AT SCHOOL...
"Why would you throw a ball at someones face?...Huh?...That's a pretty good reason. Well, I can't do much about your teacher being pissed, but me and you are good!"

ON YARD WORK...
"What are you doing with that rake?...No, that is not raking...What? Different styles of raking? No, there's one style, and then there's bullsh*t. Guess which one you're doing?"