Miscellany Monday

{one}

Good Starbucks Karma

I went ahead and bought the coffee of the person behind me in the drive-thru at Starbucks on Friday. Nothing spectacular came from it. Until today. I was forcing Diddy to help me stuff a mailing today and told him that I would bring him coffee to entice him. So I stopped by a Starbucks and ordered both of us a coffee. The barista was chatting with me while making my drink and then she looked down and said, "Oh my, I gave you four espresso shots instead of two. I'm sorry." 

I'm certainly not sorry.

{two}

Crafts and Such'n'such

I was up in Flagstaff again at the end of last week. I stayed with Such'n'such like I often do - and we had a freaking blast! We were watching Center Stage (yes, O'Dub it is one of the greatest movies ever made! Just watch the clip below) and Such pulled out a friendship bracelet making kit. All of the sudden I was back in the summers of my high school years...

Apparently it is one of those skills you don't forget - and I'm still REAL good at it!

We also found some remnants of our IC trip to Vegas a couple of years ago.

Unfortunately, this picture was not successful in getting Ritzy to text us back.

{three}

First Round Choke Hold

Cagefighter had another fight this weekend!

You may remember that back in July he fought in Martial Combat and won. Well, he fought again on Friday, challenging a guy he previously lost to.

Watch the video - it is totally worth it!

Click here, search Ray Elbe, watch the fight vs. Ritch.

{four}
Let's Roll

Tiny Smalls was keeping the family tradition alive with his new t-shirt on Sunday.

Yeah, that kid is ADORABLE!

Nephews

I know I owe you all a funny story or two, but I'm SO tired I can't be funny.

In the interim, please enjoy the adorableness that is my nephews:

I was up in Flagstaff with Such'n'such last week and we stopped by the toy store after breakfast because she needed some post-breakfast taffy and I found these wax teeth. We got a set for each of the boys, but Tiny didn't really know what to do with them.

I took both of the boys to get their hair cut and at the barber shop they get lollipops when we pay. So Biggie picked a lollipop, but told me that he was going to save it because I already bought him the best treats.

Included in his package with the fangs/lips were poprocks and gum cigarettes.

Tiny enjoyed his first hair cut a little more than I expected.

How adorable is he? 

Never mind the drool running down his smock - apparently Italians produce more saliva. Or at least that is what Sissy tells herself to feel better about herself.

On that same day, Biggie asked me, "Wo (that's what he calls me), does God really love all our worship?"

Seriously, those words came out of his mouth - he is so cute!

Miscellany Monday

I did it!! I made Miscellany Monday before Monday ended!

one.

I have a new thing. I am going to not (ok, try really hard not to) buy Starbucks all during the week. Then, on Friday I will treat myself to a Starbucks from the drive-thru and as a good deed, I will buy the order of the car behind me as well.

I'm hoping that it will start a chain reaction of nice, but if not, at least I'll feel good about doing something nice for a stranger.

two.

One thing about campaigns that really doesn't fit my personality is the "fly by the seat of your pants" nature of schedules. You can make schedules on campaigns, but you have to be ready and willing for them to change at a moment's notice.

Today was one of those days.

I started with boot camp this morning and no intention of leaving my office once I arrived. By 4:30pm, I had driven over 250 miles and was picking up a US Congressman from the side of an interstate.

three.

Speaking of boot camp - the contest started this morning and I almost had a throw-down with the substitute teacher. He yelled at me for running faster than my partner. Umm - this is a contest - if she doesn't want to push herself like I do - I'll do squats without her.

This is going to be another random post.

I feel like I have a lot to say and no real organization to my thoughts. 

So bear with me, please.

I REALLY meant to do Miscellany Monday this week - and the time just slipped away from me, so you are going to get a little of that here.

I have to make it a list - I don't know why.

1. I think Match.mom was right. (I know, it's hard for me to say that as well.) Back in the dark ages when Sissy got engaged, Match said to me, "You're going to marry an older man." We had a whole random conversation about it, and I didn't really want to believe her, but I'm starting to think she was right.

I'm not kidding you when I say that I attract older men. I'm not talking grandpa aged, but upwards of 16 years older than me. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you I'm repulsed, because I'm most certainly not. There is a certain cowboy who is flirting with the age difference mentioned above that makes my tummy flutter. I'm just saying - I think she was right when she said that it was likely going to take an older man to deal with my personality.

2. I may have mentioned before that I am a tad bit impatient. Maybe a little more than that. I like things to happen on my timeline and I REALLY don't like to wait. This particular characteristic puts me at odds with God sometimes. I'm trying to get better about going along to get along, but it's a daily struggle. 

I was reminded this week of that lack of control. And it made me remember that things happen for a reason and we don't always get what we want. (Just typing that makes me want to sing.) But sometimes the beauty that comes from the pain is more overwhelming than you could ever imagine!

A good example of that:

3. I have been on the road an INSANE amount of time in the last two weeks. Just ask Dirty - I think she may have forgotten what I look like.

This week has been travelling alone - last week it was with my boss. But travelling around the state of Arizona has been a blast! The district that I am working in has very diverse scenery and it is awesome to see all of it!

I have been reminded why I live in this great state!

I apologize for the quality of these pictures - my camera battery died and I had to use my cell phone camera. Also, as I mentioned, I was travelling alone and was driving while taking these pictures - don't tell.

If you look closely in the picture above you can see the wind towers on the only wind farm in Arizona. A pretty cool sight - and something that may become a lot more prominent in my world sometime soon.

The view above is standing on the patio of a friend's house. He was hosting an event for my candidate and I thought the view was so amazing that I couldn't leave without a picture.

This picture was taken in the Gila Valley - the mountains are amazing down there!

Go ahead and laugh at me, but today as I was driving through the Sitgreaves National Forest, I was listening to my iPod and "Brothers" came on and I was reminded of the beauty of the land and I got a little verklempt. 

4. At the beginning of this week, we experienced a MASSIVE storm in Arizona. I'm talking tornadoes, flooding, and utter chaos.

It took me two hours to get home - a 40 mile drive.

I was not a happy camper.

I tried to take a picture to show you what the flooding was like on the roads, but I don't think it came out as good as I would have liked. 

Just trust me - the sidewalks are completely covered with water and I'm pretty sure that Tyler almost floated away.

5. I joined a competition with boot camp. It starts on Monday - it's time to get serious! I'm not allowing this campaign to put weight on and it's time to take some off.

So - here we go! Wish me luck!