Currituck Beach Lighthouse

Only 214 steps to the top. Once again, the teens were excited to be there taking in a little history.

Yes, I'm actually paying an entrance fee so you can climb the stairs.

Beryl

If this gets close to us, I'm blaming Quinn, who wished for a storm by writing "HURICANE" in the sand last night. Fortunately, he spelled it wrong, so it looks like it will only be a tropical storm.

Day Three - Early

Sunrise and shell searching, then the girls went back to bed. Quinn declined the dawn-breaking activities.

Day Two

Only about five hours of driving. Antilock breaks work. Mandatory stop at Colonial Williamsburg to see the drummers on parade. Teenagers grumbled, so I put them in the stocks. Outerbanks in time to catch some Atlantic Ocean waves before sunset.

Day One

No pictures. 656 miles. Three teenagers. More swearing from the back seat than I care to mention. Destination tomorrow: Outerbanks, North Carolina.

Have You Ever?

Have you ever looked for your sunglasses while they were on your head? Or searched for your cell phone while talking on it? Once, my friend searched frantically for her toddler before remembering that she had left him at home with his dad. But that was more sleep deprivation than stupidity. I've been there.

I had a meeting with someone yesterday where I thought I was asking fairly simple questions. Even many yes/no questions. Unfortunately, the answers made almost as much sense as this one. Ready for summer vacation!

Mom, I'm Pregnant

That's how a friend of mine started the conversation with her mother one evening. Actually, she wasn't pregnant, but had been in a minor fender bender. I told her she was rotten for doing that to her mom. She told me that it helped put the car incident into perspective. Tonight, Rachel whispered, "Mom's gonna kill me!" As she tells the story, "I looked right, I looked left, then it just came out of nowhere and I ran over it!" After several minutes of questioning, we learned that she ran over a pedestrian crosswalk sign that is BOLTED to the street near the university.

The Iron Lady

We rented Meryl Streep's Oscar-winning portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady. I expected history. I expected drama. I did not expect the heart-wrenching scenes of a once-powerful woman dealing with dementia/Alzheimers or the love story unfolding between Margaret and Denis, her husband. I did not expect tears to pour down my face in the scene where she finally lets go of her Denis hallucinations. You must see it. I must see it again. Here is a link to the trailer.

Braces Off - again

The second and (hopefully) final set of braces came off today unexpectedly. At a routine adjustment, I noticed the orthodontist sort of searching for something to tweak. I told him that everything looked fine to me and if he wanted to take them off, he should just do it. So, he did it. Don't you think Quinn did a nice job on the "before picture?"

Sinfully Delicious

Bacon-wrapped tater tots with jalapeno. Thank you, Travel Channel. We opted to bake them at 450 degrees instead of deep-frying. And I'm pretty darn sure they tasted better that way because all the bacon grease soaked right into the tots. Not for the faint of heart.

Stupid Switch

Most fourteen-year-old boys have the switch. It's to blame for saying stupid things, doing stupid things, and making stupid noises. Quinn's seems to be stuck in the "on" position. This evening for example, we were visiting with a gentleman from the neighborhood, when I looked up to see Quinn staring at him from the door (and wearing a black ski mask). Later, I scolded him for "showing up in a ski mask like a crazy person!" Quinn corrected me. "I appeared, Mom. I appeared to him through the window while wearing a black ski mask."

My Keeper Scores

Rachel has finally been released to play goalie for her soccer team (That's layman's term for "keeper"). Today however, she played forward instead and scored a goal during the first regional game! Do you know how to score in a breakaway? I've looked up the basics and linked them here for you. The result was much better than last year's breakaway attempt, though much less funny.

Money

Quinn wants to buy a new gaming system. He needs $50. He keeps talking about it and talking about it and talking about it. I keep offering to pay him to do various jobs around the house. He keeps declining. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, MOM! I DON'T WANT TO DO WORK - I JUST WANT TO GET MONEY!!!" Yeah, that's a pretty good line for your first job interview, buddy. Let me know how it works out.

BTW

I've been hearing a lot of BTWs this week. "BTW, did I tell you we think he has autism?" "BTW, he is a good boy except when he gets in one of his 'punching' moods." "BTW, I don't really think he has a speech problem. He must only talk like that with you." I believe it was a similar comment that preceded the ocular migraine.

Ocular Migraine

I had one today. Weird. Time for a summer vacation.

Ten Minute Job

(NOT!) I removed the doorbell from the front of the house in order to repair it. No luck. But I noticed the aluminum siding was awfully dirty, so I borrowed the neighbor's pressure washer to clean the area. Then I decided to take off the shutters to wash behind them. Then I noticed that the paint was pretty faded. So I decided to paint the house before replacing the doorbell. And then the shutters needed painted to better "pop" from the freshly painted house. Now that doorbell looks just right!

9 . . . 1 . . . ?

I kept my finger hovering over the "1" on my cell phone as I watched in horror and amusement at Mr. Backdoor Neighbor's rainstorm antics. Perhaps annoyed that his second-story gutter was not draining properly, he donned a Carhart hooded jacket, put up his extension ladder against the side of the house, and despite the wind and rain, climbed to the level of his first story roof. There he found the end of the clogged downspout from the second-story gutter and poked his electric leaf blower into it. The burst of air from the leaf blower forced water and debris to spout upward and out of that downspout. It took three blasts of air to do the trick before Mr. Backdoor Neighbor descended the ladder to a safer and drier location. I can only wonder why he couldn't wait for the storm to end before using an electric power tool in the rain. Mr. Rellim says you can't judge a man until you've lived with his wife. So, I guess you shouldn't really judge a man.

Say What?

Quinn didn't help prepare lunch today. He announced that "working in the kitchen is women's work" and that he had more important things to do. Mr. Rellim proclaimed, "No more Dick Van Dyke for you, young man!" Funny. I would rather have him spouting gender-specific roles in a non-PC manner, than repeating the disrespectful musings of current TV sitcoms.

Kicking Myself

I can't believe I didn't buy this antique brass floor lamp at the garage sale down the street. It was only one dollar. A SINGLE BUCK!! Why didn't I buy this??