The Mystery Glove

Last night after Collin's hockey game and following late dinner out, we came home and found the above pictured item on our floor. It was originally wadded up more into an unrecognizable shape and we had to pull it all apart to finally decipher what it actually was--a chewed up glove. The part on the right that is still intact appears to be the lining portion of the glove and the chewed up part is what probably covered it. There are fragments of leather, probably from a leather palm and a tag that advertises "Thinsulate lining". One (or more if it started as a game of tug-o-war) of the dogs obviously decided it smelled good and was working on it while we were out of the house.

But here's the weird part--no one in our house recognizes the glove. I only have two pairs of black gloves and I was wearing one of them at the hockey game. Besides, my other pair isn't made from these materials. My husband didn't recognize it and when I quizzed the boys through text messages (they were currently out on Collin's Great Flower Hunt for Valentine's Day) they didn't lay claim to it either. And after looking around the house I don't see a match for it either. (Don't gloves usually come in pairs??)

My mind has gone wild with all kinds of crazy theories...Perhaps while we were gone a nasty burglar tried to break in through an unnoticeable window and the dogs scared him off after snatching one of his gloves off his hand. Should I have the police put out an APB for a burglar sporting one glove? Hmmmmm, not likely since there are no signs of break-in anywhere.

More than likely it is just a forgotten glove stashed somewhere that only the dogs and their keen noses could find it and root it out to use as their chew toy. I'm sure someone in the house will remember it when they need it....

It's Lonely Here....

Really? I have only one follower? And I don't even know who the heck they are......
......and why doesn't someone post a comment once in awhile? Huh?

The Best Intentions....

A friend of mine (hi Scott!) posted something in his Facebook notes last night about New Years resolutions. He said he was going to call them "intentions" instead of resolutions because resolutions are so easy to break. I like that idea. Thinking back, when have I ever really kept a resolution and then not felt guilty when I slipped up? Who needs the pressure?

My friend Scott asked if you've ever felt like you were treading water while holding a medicine ball above your head. He said, "2010 is not about getting organized, saving money, losing weight or any of that trite. 2010 is about getting out of the pool, digging in my heels and pushing that damn medicine ball towards tomorrow."
Seriously...when I read that it just hit straight to my heart. After the crappy year we've had, I have to believe that all I can do is point towards the future and start walking. Or....crawling. ....Maybe just dragging that medicine ball along, stopping to rest every feet or so.

But I guess first I've got to find my way to the side of the pool so I can get out...

A Plain Jane's Helpful Tips for Surviving a Bad Economy--Tip #1

Looking back at this past year, it was pretty rough. As I mentioned in my previous post, with the economy going as badly as it did, we had to learn new habits and do things differently than we ever had to before in order to keep afloat. This got me thinking--I bet if I thought hard enough and got creative, I could come up with some really great ideas for saving money (or at least not spending too much money) during these hard times.....

Tip #1: Don't Buy Windshield Wiper Fluid!
Here in Idaho, during the winter months your car can get extremely dirty. Melted snow mixed with sand put down on the roadways can coat your car and make you look like you've been out off-roading in the desert.
Yesterday as I was driving home from work the late afternoon sun was glaring onto my windshield and making it hard to see with all of the grime that had built up from the morning drive to work. I pulled on the lever to spray windshield wiper fluid & get the wipers in motion....
All I got was a whining noise and dry wipers smearing the dirt across the windshield.
Oh great....
As I was hurdling along the freeway, trying to squint through the hazy glass, I noticed that the snow had melted and the cars were all kicking up copious amounts of fresh water off their back tires. An idea started forming. I looked around and quickly found the biggest jacked-up 4x4 truck on the freeway and jockeyed for position behind it.
(Now this is where it gets tricky...) To pull this off correctly, you need to get close enough to receive the spray from the donor vehicle in front of you without getting close enough to be considered tailgating or put yourself in danger. As soon as the spray hit my windshield I immediately threw the wiper lever into high gear, greedily swiping the water back & forth across the glass. Success!! A sparkly clean windshield and clear vision!
Obviously this won't work all the time--it can only work when there is rain or melted snow on the freeway or roadways. But in a pinch and with the right conditions, you could cut back on your windshield fluid use by at least half!

You can thank me later...

Can It Really Be Six Months Away?

I took this picture at the end of the evening on Christmas. A boy....his dog.....Christmas tree lights twinkling in the background...makes me a little sad.
I know, strange reaction to such a sweet holiday-spirit type picture. But what makes me a little sad is realizing this is the last time I'll be seeing this Christmas-y scene with my son as a "child". Six months from now he'll be turning 18. That big, magical number that says "that's not your child anymore...now he's a man." (Or at least considered an "adult". I think it takes more than an age to make a man, although I don't doubt my son will seize the opportunity with gusto and prove himself worthy of the title in no time.)
At this point, we're fretting about grades and panicking about whether that cap & gown we ordered for him will actually be used at the end of May. Not that he's not a bright kid....in fact, he's very bright and extremely intelligent. It's just that he picks & chooses what he wants to act intelligently about. Such as a lot of teenagers do. I've recently heard him rattle off information about economics, spending & investing with remarkable knowledge. But ask him the answer to one of his geometry problems and you get a blank stare. He can pick up any music beat after hearing just a few bars, tapping them out on whatever surface is available. But ask him if he turned in his government class assignment and you get a shrug. We opened up his first checking account for him at our credit union as a Christmas gift and I was intrigued to watch him studiously reading over the terms and conditions of the account Christmas morning after opening the box.
If we can just get through these next five months of school okay, then I have no problem seeing him striking out as a new adult. But I can still admit that it will make me a little sad. Because it means he won't be my little boy any more....

Collin showing off his dog, shortly after getting him from the Humane Society.