I really hate to bother you Ma’am…..

That’s what the policeman said the first time he came to the door. “I really hate to bother you, but is that your red car out there?” He said this as he pointed to Doug’s red Torino that was parked in the cul-de-sac. Yes, Doug’s red Torino….. that is…one of Doug’s 1975 red and white Torinos…..one of his 1975 "not a Starsky and Hutch red and white Torino" but more like a Huggy Bear "looks like a pimp drives it" red and white Torino. Yes, one of the 1975 red and white Torinos that he bid on on ebay and won and flew across the country to get this fall.

“Yes, it is,officer,” I reply. “Well, one of your neighbors has complained that it is parked in the wrong direction and has been that way for weeks.” I’m sure the expression on my face gave away my disbelief. The officer apologized thoroughly for having to come to my house about such a petty thing. I told him I would move it and he left. So I turned it the other direction.

I, of course immediately called Doug to let him know someone in the neighborhood undoubtedly did not share his appreciation for cars made in 1975, especially ones that are red and white and look like they belong to people with un-reputable professions.

This happened about four or five weeks ago. Since then we have regularly joked about it considering half the cars on the cul-de-sac are parked the wrong direction. But last night as Doug and I joked about it again I decided we needed to just let it go….we needed to get over it and love our petty neighbors no matter what. He agreed……until today.

“I really hate to bother you ma’am.” That’s what the policeman said this morning, the second time he’s come to the door. “Is that your red car parked out there?” You’ve got to be kidding, right! Nope. “Someone has complained that your car never moves from the cul-de-sac, does it run?” Wow, I’m thinking what kind of neighborhood did we move into? The officer was very apologetic again and said as long as it runs and we drive it occasionally then it can stay on the cul-de-sac. Wow. I was pretty stunned. I mean,I know my husband is crazy and I know that car is ugly but hey, that's for me to say...not my neighbors.

Ok, so it's really time to catch up....don't you think.

I haven't blogged in a while because all my blogging energy the last few months has been sunk into my first graduate course, "The Integration of Psychology and Theology". I did manage to get a couple of blurbs up on MySpace but nothing much. To catch up here, I'll start with Mother/Daughter activities.

In September, Ashly and I had our first Mother/Daughter trip. We went to St. Louis. Because Joyce Meyer is one of my heroes and she was being joined by such greats as Lisa Bevere, Darlene Zschech, and John Maxwell, I wanted to go to her Annual Women's Convention. I wanted to take both girls with me but Sarah was afraid she would get bored. She opted out. Ashly, on the other hand, could not pass up an all expense paid trip so she and I went. We had a great time. In addition to laughing hysterically at Lisa Bevere and enjoying all the conferences, we managed to cram in some sight-seeing. We walked under the Arch but did not go to the top. Doug thought it was a crime that we didn't go up but she and I decided it was one of those things like bungee jumping or going to DollyWood..we were pretty sure we would be ok if we never got to do it..(for me it was never got to do it again..I've been). We also ate some good St. Louis BBQ and went to the Zoo but the best thing we did was go to Historic St. Charles. It is a cute little town with cobble stone streets and little old houses converted into gift shops. We went during an Irish Festival so all the shops stayed open late and there was Irish music and such. Lots of horse and buggies, too. It was great fun.
Also, she and I learned something about each other on this trip. I learned that she suffers from lilapsophobia and she learned that I have macrophobia. (I'll make this interactive by letting everyone look those up for themselves). HA.

Ok so I had another Mother/Daughter activity in October. This time it was with Sarah. This activity was nothing I anticipated, planned, or particularly wanted to do, but I did it anyway because I'm good like that.
Sarah and I hold a common admiration for the Christian poppish-punkish rock band, Relient K. She of course loves them enough to want to see them in concert whenever she can. I prefer to listen to them from afar. Well, about the third week of October she found out, quite by accident(it was not well advertised), that they would be in Seattle on Halloween night.
When she discovered they would be here, she immediately bought two tickets without even knowing who she would bring. Now it was only a week before the concert date and the concert was on Halloween, do you really think she could find someone without plans...she's 19. Of course not. Guess who she chose for a backup date. That's right, me. Now, I don't mind seeing people like Jars of Clay in concert..they're pretty benign but Relient K with four other rock bands...That was another one of those things I was pretty sure I would be ok if I never got to do...But, got to do, I did. And even though two of the bands were extreme (heavy-metal, screaming, head-banging, jumping into the crowd kind of guys) I did survive. I don't know if it was because the venue was small (as well as the crowd) or that I just underestimated my ability to tolerate loud music and chaos but it really wasn't that bad. (I was also very grateful that I was not the only old person there...there were at least several moms and a couple of dads). Yeah, so the whole thing was not all that bad.

Ok, well that is all the news I have for now....