Did I really buy this...

I was kind of watching Dr. Phil the yesterday while I was working out at Gold's.  He had an episode about risky teen behavior and the big deal was this drug called Salvia. Salvia is completely legal in most of the US but is as highly dangerous as heroin or LSD. And hundreds of thousands of people abuse this drug. All of a sudden this rang a little bell in my head...

This summer while Michael and I were in Cinque Terre, Italy, I was in a tiny shop on the coast picking out goodies to bring home. I found these precious little pieces of pottery that had herbs and spices painting on them and even contained some inside! I picked out two - a red one and a blue one - thinking I'd keep one and give one to Mom. The red was "Timo" or thyme and the

 blue was "Salvia" and I didn't know what that meant in english. I was delighted with my

 pleasant purchase and kept them wrapped up for safe keeping until we set foot again on American soil. 

We returned to the states and distributed gifts to all our loved ones. I let Mom pick between the blue and the red, knowing full well she'd pick the blue. She didn't know what "Salvia" was either.  Up until yesterday I hadn't thought much more of our little italian herbs. And the more I listened to Dr. Phil, the more I began to think, "Oh my word. I gave my mom heroin!" Now that I think about it, the "spices" are packaged in a peculiar fashion. 

Here is the product that captured my affection in the little italian village. See? So cute!:

And above is the oddly packaged spice.

Now, I know this is a picture of my thyme but that is because the Heroin is sitting on top of my mother's kitchen sink!?!? There has been a terrible drug just sitting in her house for months and we didn't even know it. I shall leave no temptation sitting in my family's house - especially with a teenage brother!  Can I get in trouble for this? Did I break the law? I smuggled in drugs to the Americas and I wasn't even aware of it. I gave it to my sweet mom as a gift!  We can't burn it cause then someone may get high. We can't just throw it away for fear of others finding it. We can't bury it in our yard because then an entire Salvia tree will bust out of the ground! Dear me. What have I gotten us into?

No ordinary Monday

This morning a giant hot air balloon almost ran into our next door neighbors house. Michael got home from the gym and said "hey, did you see the hot air balloon?" I said "No? Where is it?" Then I heard the scary sound of the fire blowing, which I think resembles a transformer, and I looked up in the sky lights in our bed room and saw big orange and blue stripes. The air balloon was actually landing in the parking lot of our townhomes! Had our neighbors been home, their cars would have been crushed. 

I thought it was so neat to see the huge thing land right next to us. Seeing a perfect blog image, I ran to get my camera - but the battery died immediately. I ran to get Michael's camera - but his wouldn't even turn on. So then I got the video camera. That worked just fine, but I still don't know how to share the footage with you all.  The balloon men then began to deflate the huge sphere. It was so crazy looking because the balloon was sweeping up against our house and all you could see through the windows were the blues and oranges stripes! I felt like I was a child in a tumbling class playing inside a parachute. I ended up being late for work, but I felt great because I saw a hot air balloon up close! 

Why is gasoline in Charlottesville so expensive? In comparison to every other city in the US, we have such high gas prices. $2.03 is the cheapest price I have seen here. We were in Harrisonburg on Saturday and their prices were $1.95. I ain't tryin' to be greedy, but I do like to see gas be $1.something. 

Michael and I split a Peppermint Chocolate Chip Chic-fil-a Milkshake tonight. It was so good. I felt like Christmas. What's so wrong with wanting to decorate for Christmas already? I can't wait to put lights up, and wreathes, candles, trees, holly, snowmen, etc. But Michael adamently insists that we cannot decorate until after Thanksgiving. So I shall withhold my eagerness. Michael's Crafts Store just ushers in the season so well....

Update

A few months ago I wrote about needing to find a job. Well, I'm back in the arena again. Ethan Alllen of Charlottesville announced to us on Friday that they were closing our store. We didn't know that was coming. They are consolidating to just the Richmond/Short Pump store and closing ours within the next month.

Not only do I loose my job at the Allen, but I'm afraid that I will have to give up preschool because who else will hire me for the same hours? Unfortunately, I will have to find another job to make up for loss. I have no thoughts so far as to where to even begin looking. 

But I do know that this is all for a reason and the outcome is in Christ's hands. I have peace about it, I'm just a little sad.  So thank you for your prayers and keep your ears open for something!

Claustrophobia

We've been a little busy this past month. I haven't had much time for blogging and internet use. So I apologize for the "boring" site. I hope that you have not been classically conditioned to not check Los Dos Daubertos blog. 

Many things have gone to the wayside....I hate to admit it. House work is one of the hardest things for me to keep up. I'm pretty much gone from 8am till 5:45pm each day which doesn't leave much energy to prep food, cook, wash dishes, throw in a few loads of laundry, vacuum the floors, clean the baths, change the sheets, and on and on and on. 

Changing my sheets can be difficult to do. We have a duvet cover on our bed, which means we also have the down comforter insert. I like to wash the duvet every so often (A fabulous wedding gift from the bedding line of Tommy Bahama) to keep it looking great. However, can anyone offer a better way to stuff a king size down comforter back into a king size duvet??? If you've ever done it, you can imagine the drama that it entails.  I spread the duvet out as good as I can on top of our bed, crawl under the opening at the foot of the bed and drag the huge insert in  behind me.  I struggle inside the duvet cover fighting against static electricity, an uncooperative down comforter, and unmarked trails of where the corner of the duvet actually is located from the inside out. Even if I manage to get the whole down insert in the duvet, I now have a mangled duvet cover to spread out.  

This time I am completely inside the duvet cover in the midst of a struggle to pull the down insert up while I hop in the air on all fours. I hear Michael walk in the room talking to himself then realize, no, he's video taping me. I must look ridiculous when I do this, like a child playing inside her sleeping bag. As far as I know, though, it's the only way to put our comforter together. Maybe next time, I will opt for a normal, non-duvet comforter.

I would put the video clip on here if I knew how, just to show you how frustrating it is. So it's house work like this that keeps me away from the blogosphere. But at least we have a clean bed.

Joke

My favorite blonde joke of all time:

A blonde girl opened a box of Cheerios and yelled, "Look Daddy! Donut seeds!"

I'm laughing right now it's so cute, and I get blonde highlights.

Park Here

Over the past four years UVA home games have been quite the "to-do" with my family. The parents have 4 season tickets, in a fantastic section of the stadium I might add, and with a sports fanatic Father, Brother and Husband every game is a big deal. But the best part about home football games is the money making opportunity. In the back of my parents UVA house, "The Chateau," is a huge gravel lot. Why is that important? Because you can craftily fit 35 cars in the space and at the rate of $25 a car - that is a beautiful sight. Yes folks, football fans will indeed pay twenty-five dollars to park. 

We have quite a system worked out and I will venture to say we have the hottest venue on Price Avenue. My dad is the parking facilitator, money collector, friend maker, tailgate overseer. Preston and Michael stand at the bottom of the driveway sporting the hot pink sign I made that reads "PARK HERE." Competition with the neighbors has increased this year so their role is vital these days. And I, well, I work the corner. 

Four years and counting I have stood on the corner of Maury Ave and Price Ave holding my neon orange poster that says "PARK" with an arrow pointing towards our house.  I might be a bit prideful in saying this but I do believe that I am famous among the football regulars. No no it's not all glamour and sunburn, I deal with my fair share

 of drunk rednecks. The following are a brief sampling of comments hurled my way - every UVA home game:

-"Hey there! Can I park next to you?"

-"How much hunny?"

-"Park? Where's the park?"

-"I bet if you hike up them shorts you might get more people."

-"I like your boots." 

-" So that's how y'all do it! Send a pretty girl to hold the sign." 

-"Why don't you put a bikini on?"

-"Wanna come drink some moonshine?"

-"Hey hunny! Haven't seen you in forever" (Mind you I am there every week.)

-"Woo Woo Hey girl!"

Here's a pic of some of the Hoo Crew in 2005:

#1 Fan

Sunday has been a beautiful day here in Charlottesville although unusually hot for October. Michael plays on a local adult soccer league and had a game this afternoon. He's been out of sports for a few months because of knee issues and was therefore really excited to play today. I, being the supportive wife, went to watch. I took pictures and video footage of the boys playing because I thought it'd be nice to document their youth and agility. Here are some fun shots from the day, he's in the green:

Michael the goalie
  

Brad's Booty