Don't push me

Cerveza

I don't remember the conversation exactly, but it went something like this:

I went to a Mexican restaurant with my friend and her 2-year-old daughter to eat dinner. Said daughter's name begins with an "A" and the daughter recognized the letter on the table cloth.

Then the 2-year-old recognized the letter "A" all over the table cloth.

My comment: Congratulations, friend. Your kid is going to learn to spell "cerveza" before her name.

Then, the inevitable struggle to get a 2-year-old to eat started. There were threats made that if she didn't eat, she wouldn't get a candy and a ball. (In the end, she got a piece of candy and a ball.) There were negotiations and more threats.

I tried to keep my mouth shut and not laugh at the struggle between Mom and daughter.

Good luck when she's a teenager, Mom and Dad!

We talked about sentences we say to kids that make no sense. Friend's example: Yesterday I told her to not put milk on her foot.

It happens.

At the end of dinner, my friend made two comments.

First, she told her 2-year-old that she just gave Monica a blog post.

Second, she told her 2-year-old to tell Monica thank you for sitting with them and watching them fight over food.

2-year-old: Thank you.
Me: You're welcome. Anytime.

When I got to work this morning, I got a text message. Kid had tacos and rice for lunch, and apparently was not interested in eating the same thing for dinner.

At least she got a ball and a piece of candy out of it.

Hallelujah

If I remember right, the story goes something like this:

My favorite musician started his tour off with the song 'Hallelujah' because after a performance at Red Rocks, he listened to that song under the stars long after fans had left his concert that night.

I thought about that moment he had in that particular place. I visited that particular state this week, and I cannot possibly describe how beautiful it is.

At one point along the drive up the mountain in Colorado, I pulled off to the side of the road, got out of the car, and stood at the edge of the road.

My mouth dropped in awe.

I thought of how I could describe the scenery to someone who has never seen it before. I thought about that the entire trip. If someone never makes it to this particular place, how could I explain it to them? What words could I use?

I decided I cannot explain it. I can't explain how it feels to breathe in mountain air, or how it feels to put your hands in a cold mountain stream.

I don't know how to describe how it feels to be in untouched scenery in a world where we communicate, oftentimes not very well and not very nice, through a screen.

Some days and some moments are perfect.

I took photos, but they still don't show the beauty that I saw.

The only word I can think of to describe this place: Hallelujah.

Well I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya
She tied you to her kitchen chair
And she broke your throne and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

But baby I've been here before
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor
You know, I used to live alone before I knew ya
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
And love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Well there was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below
But now you never show that to me do ya
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Maybe there's a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya

And it's not a cry that you hear at night
It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Hallelujah

All the pretty colors.

I am a lot of things, but patient is not one of them.

I'm also not a quitter.

Last week, I decided to travel an hour west because I was craving my favorite restaurant. I really thought I would have enough time to get home before the storms hit.

I was wrong.

I am grateful there were no tornadoes or hail in this storm. There was a lot of wind and rain, and it was kind of fun to see the vehicles chicken out and pull over.

A line of us crawled all the way home without quitting, at a whopping 45 miles an hour.

In the photo below, I was going east, and I had already driven through the colorful stuff. Why stop to let a storm pass when you just drove through the worst of it?

I decided to keep going.

I needed gas, though. That proved difficult in Cimarron because there were cars underneath the gas station awning.

Guys, let's think about this for a second. Look at the pretty colors in the photo below. A gas station awning will not protect you from rain when the rain is horizontal.

Move so I can gas up, people!

It wasn't the smartest decision I've ever made, but it was kind of fun.

Peak 2018

From Twitter:

Binge-watching an entire 13 episode true crime documentary into the wee hours of the morning, only to discover afterward on Twitter that an owl might have done it is peak 2018. #TheStaircase

Dream in my eye and a prayer in my heart

Should've Been a Cowboy

Toby Keith

I bet you've never heard ole Marshall Dillion say
Miss Kitty have you ever thought of running away
Settling down will you marry me
If I asked you twice and begged you pretty please
She'd of said, "Yes in a New York minute"
They never tied the knot
His heart wasn't in it
Stole a kiss as he road away
He never hung his hat up at Kitty's place

I should've been a Cowboy
I should'be learned to rope and ride
Wearing my six-shooter riding by pony on a cattle drive
Stealing the young girl's hearts
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs
I should've been a cowboy

I might of had a side kick with a funny name
Running wild through the hills chasing Jesse James
Ending up on the brink of danger
Riding shotgun for the Texas Rangers
Go west young man, haven't you been told
California's full of whiskey, women and gold
Sleeping out all night beneath the dessert stars
Dream in my eye and a prayer in my heart

I should've been a Cowboy
I should'be learned to rope and ride
Wearing my six-shooter riding by pony on a cattle drive
Stealing the young girl's hearts
Just like Gene and Roy
Singing those campfire songs
I should've been a cowboy

Tornado kisses from Pickles

I've lived in Kansas for all but six months of my life. 

Yesterday was the first time I've ever seen a tornado.

It went something like this:

I was getting ready to shut my brain and my computer down for the day at work. My phone was buzzing with weather warnings for a few minutes, and finally I saw that we were in a tornado warning.

I walked into a co-workers office, and asked if this tornado warning was something we needed to be worried about.

Sometimes, we'll have warnings, even though a tornado is in the same county but moving away from town.

My co-worker looked out her office window: "Oh, do you mean that tornado?"

Why yes, yes I do mean that tornado. And the fact that I can see it means I'm worried about it.

I did what any other normal Kansan would do in that situation - I went outside and looked at it. In the span of a few minutes, the tornado grew in size. (See the photo above vs. the photo below)

As someone else outside pointed out, it was getting bigger and heading straight towards us. 

At that point, I noped out of there, went home, threw my dogs and my purse in the basement, and decided I had enough time to put my car in the garage. 

While I was doing this, I got a frantic phone call from my aunt: "Get your dogs and go to your basement now."

It wasn't so much a request, as it was a warning. My aunt works in the south part of town, just as I do, and she watched the tornado grow just like I did. 

That tornado fizzled out, which made me laugh later in the night. I went from OH MY GOD to dude, let's chill out and watch the rain in a matter of minutes.

It's one thing to go into your basement because of radar indicated rotation; it's quite another thing to go into your basement because you see a tornado coming for your part of town. 

The only thing the tornado did was scare the poop out of my dogs. (Literally.)

Sorry, dogs. I would have left you out longer at noon had I known there would be a tornado at 5 p.m. which would interrupt your afternoon poop break.

We lived. 

Penny's "Seriously, a tornado?" face after we came upstairs.

Tornado kisses from Pickles in the basement.