Five Question Friday!

I’m baa-ack! Yeah, I know. Still a bit hit or miss. Here’s the deal, apparently, kidney stones really hurt. I’ve heard from a number of you who’ve been there, done that, and feel pretty bad for Big Daddy. Having never had a stone, I don’t really have any idea of the pain, but I get it.

So, after spending Monday morning in the ER, we had a follow-up with a urologist on Wednesday, who was a little concerned that the stone, which really wasn’t a “big” one, hadn’t passed. That led to yesterday, which was “Removal” day. The doc went and fished that baby out. That creates a whole new type of discomfort! As a result, I’ve spent much of this week trying to keep my husband comfortable, and my kids entertained or out of the way. Thank HEAVENS my mom lives so close, and as a teacher, is able to take my kids more or less at the drop of a hat.

This week has also involved some baseball and some family visits, which have been great. my boys’ are now at the point in their season where the tournament has begun, and game one was last night- we won! AND J’s batting slump ended. He hadn’t had a hit in several games, and last night, he managed not one but two good hits. That was great for him. Wasn’t as good for E, who played in the outfield the first inning, and then ended up in tears with a bellyache. He never complains about not feeling well, so we took it pretty seriously, and ended up pulling him from the game. He seems much better today, so he should be good to go tomorrow morning for our 9am game!

So, on to Five Question Friday! I haven’t played in forever, it feels like, so it’s good to be getting back into the swing of it! 5QF is hosted by the illustrious Mama M., and is a ton of fun- we answer the 5 questions, link up, and check out what the others had to say for their answers!

1. What is your favorite thing about summertime?

Oh, that’s a hard hard question for me, ‘cause I love me some summertime. I love when my kids give me a hug after being outside, and they smell like sunshine, I love wearing my flip flops everywhere I go, I love not being in my office all the time. I love mowing the grass, then grabbing a cold beer and sitting on the porch looking at how nice my yard looks. I love running around with my family, visiting with friends, playing in the pool, doing some traveling. I love good summer thunderstorms, and watching the kids play in the sprinkler. Love the way a crisp salad tastes at lunchtime, and the lazy ways we spend our days! Love it.

2. What is your ideal retirement location (if money didn’t matter)?

Well, since money is no matter, and that means I can afford to either bring my family with me, or go at the drop of a hat to them, I’m going right on back to Hawai’i. Kauai. Hanalei Bay. Seriously. Lots of great, outdoor things to do, and even the winter feels like summer. That being said, right here where I live is a well-ranked place to retire based on lots of national input! We have wineries, golf, theater, sports, arts, activities, it’s pretty fabulous right here. And while I’m not a huge fan of winter, ours are typically not to bad- we usually get just enough snow to make it feel like winter, but not so much that it’s impossible to move for weeks on end. So, home is a pretty good back-up plan!

3. Do you live in the same town you grew up in?

Yes. And since money DOES matter, it probably really is where I’ll retire, too. ‘Cause I was born in a small town… Educated in a small town. Living basically in that same small town as the guy who sang this song… (You know you were. You were singing it as soon as I started, weren’t you!? I really do live very close to Mr. Mellencamp, and have bumped into him, and his fabulous wife and their sons, on several occasions. )

4. What nervous habit did you have as a child that you kicked to the curb before becoming an adult?

I was a nail biter. Gnawed off until my cuticles bled nail biter. Now my nails are the most feminine thing about me! They’re long, and strong, and healthy. I even use them as screwdrivers periodically.

5. What is the most embarrassing thing that happened to you while on the job?

Ohmygreatgoogliemooglie (Hi Kate!). This one was only hard for a second! When I was in high school, my friend’s parents owned a little mom and pop video store. We didn’t have a Blockbuster or anything over in the area of town where we were, and we did pretty good business. We sold theater-style popcorn, and 2-liters of soda, and candy, and lottery tickets, and we rented out movies.

Lots of kinds of movies.

Including ones that had their own, special, you had to be 18 to go into it room.

Yep. THOSE movies. Which was not a big deal to me, I didn’t have to deal with it, ‘cause I wasn’t 18 yet, people would bring me the tag, I would check the movie out, they’d go on their way, we didn’t sweat it. If someone returned something, I’d check it back in, and just make a stack of tags for the next 18+ person coming in to put back with the movie boxes.

So one day, there I am, working alone, and it’s pretty quiet. A teacher from my high school walked in with a movie box in hand. I smiled all big and said “Well hi Mr. So-and-So!* I didn’t know you were one of our customers, how are you!?” to which I got a mumbled hi back, had the movie box practically thrown at me as he scrambled to get out the door as quickly as possible. Yep. It was a movie from the room. Poor man couldn’t meet my gaze at school for months. I guess it really was more embarrassing for him than it was for me, but it ranked right up there on both sides I think!

(*Name changed to protect his not so innocence! What? You didn’t really think his name was So-and-So, did you?!)

So there you have it! Please, please PLEASE come play along! Just pop on over to Mama M.’s and link up!

KLoveYaByeBye!