So, let’s start out with a couple of Maren’s blunders as of late..

A couple Sundays ago, we had made plans to go to my friend’s house for lunch.  I was responsible for making 2 hot side dishes.  Now, I am ashamed to admit that although I’m not afraid of cooking, time bake is another issue.  Visions of burning the house down dance through my head when I try to contemplate the whole process.  I know that ovens are designed for that feature, but when I envision how the process will work, it terrifies me.  Some how, I envision black smoke billowing out of the oven, my dog and cat rolling over dead, and the charred remains of my turkey dinner and my house as the only thing left standing.  Maybe there’s a name for this phobia, I just don’t know the name.  So, mustering up all of my timebakeaphobia, I had my father-in-law help me with the settings, and off we went to church, cool side dishes in the oven awaiting the GREAT TIME BAKE.  There was little time to ponder the ‘what-if’s of a time-bake disaster during church because on that particular morning, my duty was in the kid’s classroom and I found myself running around like a crazy woman doing the best I can with what is NOT my passion but my duty at hand.  SO…  It wasn’t until after church that I spoke with the lady whose home we were going to for lunch.  Wanna know what she said to me? 

“How about 5:00 for dinner?” 

HAHAHAHHAHA  major miscommunication on my part–because my dishes were piping HOT and ready to go for LUNCH and I was 5 hours early!  Thankfully, they reheated beautifully and it allotted me the extra time in the afternoon for a very pleasant, VERY long, nap!  HIP HIP HORRAY!  (And whooya for time bake!)

Another blunder…

Last week, my friend’s father passed away.  This week, I attended the funeral.  After the burial, and on the way back into the church, I was talking with my friend.  Her mom goes to another church, and so I was just trying to make sure that meals had been lined up her family that day.  I was trying to help, but the question I asked came out all wrong when I questioned, “Do you have food?”  Appalled, she looked at me wondering why I would ask such a thing as she replied with uncertainty in her voice, “We have cookies and coffee…??”  SHE THOUGHT I WAS ASKING IF THEY WERE FEEDING ME AND IF THERE WAS TO BE A MEAL!!!!  Immediately, I felt my doofus-ness grow greater as I tried to explain my way out of the idiot I had made of myself.

Happy weekend!

I love the great deals that Redbox offers (dvd rental vending machines, for those of you who may not have them in your area).  However, tonight, while returning our redbox movie, Michael and I drove up to the station where there wasn’t anyone around–I love it when there are no lines!!!  I had my hand on the door handle to swing my door open as Michael gave me a precautionary warning about a SUV flying around us to park on my side– The lady was literally trying to RACE me and BEAT me to the box–If I had stepped out of my car any sooner, I AM NOT EXAGGERATING WHEN I SAY THAT I’d have been flatter than flat!!!  All I had to do was return the movie– As I stepped out of my car, both the passenger’s door and driver’s door of my competition’s car swung open (and were left open in haste) as the husband and wife in the Explorer ran forth to beat me to the redbox.  She, however, wasn’t fast enough, and I easily managed ahead of her, pushed the “Return the DVD” button, slid in my dvd in the appropriate spot and left–I guess the tragedy of it all is that I made her wait an 15 extra seconds.  What is this world coming to when you get ran over at Redboxes because people can’t wait their turn????????  sigh.  Hmmmm… My love has waned.

So… Apparently, I’m too late with my great idea.  Thanks, Allison!  Very interesting– COMING SOON!  Learn to play the Guitar, Guitar Hero Style!  Who knew???

In other news, It’s nasty outside today… There was a beautiful snow covering the ground when I went to bed last night, and when I woke up this morning, it has been covered over by sleet & rain.  It’s the kind of stuff that would be painful to ski on—ouch!  Special recognition goes to my husband for taking me in to work .  He’s great to me! I do not like to drive in this type of weather.  Why, you may ask? 

Flash back to Fall Quarter, Cedarville, 2000.  It was right before winter break, and i lived in Xenia.  I was approaching the end of my student teaching experience, and it was the morning of THE DAY OF CRAZINESS.  That night in particular was to be the teacher appreciation meal, where Cedarville thanked the teachers/principals for allowing us to student teach.

Enter: THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE.  The particular day I am recalling was a day much like today-ick!

Part One of ‘THE BAD DAY’
I’m not by nature a punctual person.  I try to work on it, but mostly, it works on me.  I rush, rush, rush, and often am still late.  Because of the nastiness, I just KNEW it would be a snow day.  Schools were pouring across the bottom of the tv screen with cancelations.  Any minute, my school would be added to the list, I was certain!  I waited with anticipation, feeling again like a child anxiously checking the tv for his school to magically appear to indicating the forthcoming day of ultra relaxation and video games.  I stayed at home for too long waiting to see this cancellation or delay–which never happened.  I grabbed my things and left in a hurry to make it to school.  The snow was falling steadily as I drove through my neighborhood & approached a stop sign.  I hit my brakes but didn’t stop until an SUV stopped me!  I can still remember the nasty smell of the airbag deploying and the collision if I think of it–it also lingered on my coat for months.  Thankfully no one was hurt, only damage to the vehicles: I blew out the headlight of the other car… and totalled my dad’s Toyota Corella.    It was awful.  I called my dad in hysterics: he was not happy, but gracious.  I called Michael in hysterics, too, he was comforting.  Enter: The mean policewoman.  She arrived on the scene & was no nonsense.  She wrote me a ticket for running a stop sign , and the car was towed.  Again, hysterics.

Part Two of ‘THE BAD DAY’
First, to get to the teacher appreciation banquet, I had to call my field supervisor (who lived in Xenia) and beg a ride off of him.  Hello, embarrassing!?!?!  Secondly, I was responsible for a skit at the teacher appreciation banquet that evening. My mom had generously written a humorous skit to help me out.  The problem was that for the skit, one of the main characters canceled right before the meal. Again, hysterics. When you’ve got like an hour before ‘show time’ and it’s on your shoulders to make something a success, a last minute cancelation can mean death!  Thankfully, someone stepped up to the plate and helped fill the shoes of the missing gal, and it turned out okay.  It was just another life lesson in the area of: Things truly do work out.

There were a couple of other things that happened that day but these 2 circumstances take precedence in the ‘Bad Day’ memory banks.  Even though everything ‘worked out,’ I can easily say that I would not want to relive this particular, terrible day for the life of me.

And so that my friends, is why I don’t drive in the snow.  It’s the forecast for a terrible day.