Ever had one of those lives?

You know how some people ask, "Ever had one of those days?" Well, it seems perennial around here (and I am shocked that spell check says I spelled perennial correctly!). For us "one of those days" means nothing catastrophic happens, we all live happily, and all is well with the world. I remember once when the girls were quite young, after month after month of feeling like I'd never be able to do anything but watch them constantly, that we had a REALLY good day. I was able to do a craft for my mom, while watching my darlings play nicely. I STILL remember thinking, "At last, I have a glimpse of hope for the future. There IS a light at the end of this tunnel." Come to find out that old saying was right. It was the headlight of the oncoming train!

So, today's adventure. I worked to get lots of paperwork stuff ready to mail out, but didn't quite finish. Then, I took Natalie shopping while Phil & Bethany stayed here, then later left to drive to a town about an hour or so away (I think) named Comfort. When Phil was riding his motorcycle he stumbled upon a bat cave where they have seats you can pay to sit in & watch the bats fly out. I am a bargain hunter & it takes me SO long to shop because I am comparing prices. Not because I'm super cheap or thrifty or really good at saving money, but because we no longer own credit cards & I absolutely HAVE to be careful! Thus, it took us nearly 2 hrs. to shop 2 stores. Bethany would have been bonkers by then. We pulled out of the Target parking lot & drove down a bit, then I stopped at Party City, on a whim. Not really a total whim, but kind of a surprise to Natalie. I wanted to see if they had a certain kind of kid's wig that she could use as a costume. Good thing she didn't really like them because I THEN looked at the price: $20! I can buy a can of hair coloring spray for less than that & save us big bucks! She decided she'd just wear a poodle skirt we already had & just needed a white shirt that fit. Phew. $4.00 at Wal-Mart is way better! This is for a costume party they are going to tomorrow.

On the way to Party City (which is very close to Target), it sounded like I had a low tire. I knew the passenger side rear tire had a slow leak, so I went to look, but no, it didn't look THAT low. I'd felt this a tiny bit yesterday, too, but decided I just needed to air up the tire & hadn't had time to do that. So, I pulled out of that parking lot & headed to a nearby restaurant. I could tell something was really wrong, and was driving very slowly. Another driver started pointing to me to let me know something was wrong with my tired. I waved & pulled into the restaurant. I looked again & that back tire wasn't flat. Then I looked at the FRONT! It was FLAT! TOTALLY FLAT!

I haven't changed a tire since I was 17 years old. (Don't ask, the math isn't worth it). As God would have it, this restaurant was right next to a National Tire & Battery store! We prefer Discount Tire Store, but beggars can't be choosers! I called Phil while we ate to ask for advice. Oh, if you haven't heard, he won't let the girls ride in the van on a daily basis. They trashed it out with their food & toys, so he said we have to use the old car. Yeah, go figure. So HE drives the big van with just one person in it, while we use the Buick, which is 12 years old. After this incident, I am about to have a custody battle over cars! Phil said to see if we had a can of fix a flat in the trunk & if not, to see if NTB would fill it for us. We finished eating in record time, then crept down the hill to the store next door. I got in about 15 minutes before closing. The guy said he'd see what they could do. I watched them take the tire off & look. They said the side part (is that firewall? I'm getting confused with computer lingo!) was worn out & couldn't be fixed. So, Natalie & I sat down in the waiting area while they put on a new tire.

The benefit to this was that there was a TV with a remote & I found Food Network! Paula's Party was on (Paula Dean who has those handsome sons---LOL!) & she was making Fair Food. She made apples dipped in chocolate! Oh, yum! Natalie & I decided right then at our next stop, we'd pick up apples & chocolate!

We did get to Wal-Mart where we found a $4 shirt & paid far too much for groceries (I hate grocery shopping at W-M except that they are good about having gluten-free on labels & that I like). We made it home with the car only dying once on the way home. Oh, didn't I mention it does that? It starts right back up.

Other than the flat tire incident, and the fact that I ate bad eggs today, it was a pretty normal day. HA! HA! If you made it this far, you must be crazier than I am! Gotta love my friends who put up with my ramblings!