The Not-So-Prodigal Son

Living in Redlands is full of adventure.

At the top of Smiley Road, overlooking Redlands.

Carolyn's, the best breakfast place in town.

Hangar 24, the local brewery (try the Double IPA, but bring your own 5lb bag of peanuts!).

But tonight.. Tonight I got to sit in the backseat of a police car this fine evening.

It was great.

As I strolled out the fine establishment that is Target, I noticed that the tail-lights on my freshly-washed, oil-changed, finally-working-stereo-system, recovered-from-being-stolen-from-Fontana-not-even-two-weeks-prior Honda Accord suddenly clicked on.

"That's strange, I don't have remote startup on this 1995."

And pulling away.

I thought it must have been the sugar rush from the German Chocolate Cake Signature Ice Cream from Coldstone finally kicking in.

But no, my luxurious whip was screeching out of the parking lot.

You know what the best part is about having a loving, compassionate, trusting mother?

Me neither :]

At least I got to sit in the back of a police car.

But if I'm to be brutally honest, the seats back there are plastic and there ain't no leg room man, so it wasn't as cool as I thought.

At least I still got this whip to cruise around on.

Till next time, y'all. Go show your car some love.

Matt

Absolutely UNBELIEVABLE.

 Saturday afternoon, I roasted some chickens.  Nothing special...just stuffed them with fresh herbs and lemon and let them roast in a really hot oven for a little over an hour.  It was just an ordinary Saturday...me, that guy that I like so much and our two cats in our little house on our little street.

There was supposed to be another here with us, but at the last minute Brian was invited over to a friends for dinner and since it was a Saturday, I said yes.  I cut up the chickens and served them along with some roasted potatoes and roasted cauliflower and broccoli.  We sat in the garden and shared a bottle of wine.

And all was peaceful.

Our boy in the middle was at an all day concert and kept sending us fun pictures throughout the afternoon.  I love how happy he is.  And I'm not supposed to say nuthin'...but isn't she beautiful?

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Anyway, in the midst of my happy place, our neighbors came over and my happy place became even happier.  I fed them the remnants of our supper and we were laughing and telling stories and just having a really nice time in the garden.

And then, in true Busch form, a story decided to bloom.

Matthew begins to text me, telling me he's in the back of a police car.  I, of course,  don't believe him, until the pictures start coming.  Turns out he really was in the back of police car.

My oldest.  The easy one.  In a police car.

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My son was in the book store on Friday night and came out just in time to see a guy in a hooded sweatshirt jump into his car and take off.  

The car that was stolen (and found again) 5 weeks ago.  The car that is, quite obviously, one of the most stolen cars in America.  The car that we chose, because we are cheap, to not install a kill switch in when it was recovered last time.  The car that Matthew, who was standing in the parking lot with the keys in his hand, watched being driven away.

Here. We. Go. Again.

He called 911 and they responded immediately.  They have it on surveillance video from the store's parking lot.  They spotted it with helicopters on the freeway before losing it.  They told him that if the car is recovered (which they highly doubt will happen) to sell it and buy something else.

And then they offered him a ride home, which he accepted..in the back of the cop car, where he proceeded to document via social media.  Gotta love him.

So tomorrow morning at 9:00am,  I will be on the phone to the insurance company to tell them the same car was stolen AGAIN.  Think they'll believe me????

Instead of dwelling on it, we...ummmm....had cocktails.  A few of them.  

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So this morning, just like we did a month ago, we drove to where Matthew lives to drop off our extra car.  It's almost funny...but then again it's not.  I mean, it's just a car...but how many people have the same car stolen twice????

My family, that's who.

I'll let you know how this one pans out, but I'm telling you this....if it turns up in the impound in Fontana, I'm NOT going to pick it up.  Juan or no Juan...it's NOT happening.  

Ten Things

1.  My middle born.  Love him.  He is solely responsible for 97% of the gray hairs on my head and more sleepless nights than I can count, but man, has he been worth it.  The best part?  Gray hairs can be covered for $7.50 and sleep does indeed come again.  Houston, he's growing up.

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2.  Grilled veggies.  Can't get enough of them.  Great on their own...even better tossed with some homemade pesto and pasta the next day.

3. Steaks.  For Mother's Day.  I often say that I would be a vegetarian if it wasn't for beef.  Give me a steak or a pot roast or a rib.  Please.

4. A little whipped cream, shaped like a flower, on some strawberries and shortcake.  Pretty...and tasty. And pretty tasty!

5. Excel spreadsheets, multiple phones, papers and papers and more papers.  My office can't be beat, though.  I watch the sun wake up my little street five mornings out of the week.  This weeks creamer choice?  Coconut cream.  Not bad....not bad at all.

6. Chili in a bread cone at Flo's.  Dear Cars Land....I love thee.  So much so that we renewed our annual passes.  What can I say...it's our favorite date place, we both got some birthday dollars and so we splurged.  

7. Best ride ever.  EVER.  And check out my hair!!!!  Too funny!  The three ladies in front were downright weird.  What's up with smoking an electric cigarette in line? 

8. Fritto Misto.  All good until I ate a HUGE mussel, thinking it was an artichoke.  Icky phooey blech.  Until then, perfect.  After then, perfect.  During the chewing of said mussel...NO BUENO.

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Oops.  That's all I've got.  Eight things, but I'm too lazy to even change the title.  

That guy that I like so much fixed my computer (I guess you're supposed to do regular updates and not hit ignore over and over and over) so now I'll be up and running again.  

He was a leetle perturbed...but in true guy that I like so much form, hid it well. He's a keeper.

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Mother's Day

I am just now recuperating from my birthday and boom!  I get another holiday.

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I have been so tired lately...a combination of working really, really early in the morning along with working really, really long hours (and still having piles of work just sitting and waiting for me to get to it) and I am just beat.

But this weekend?

Felt like a weekend.  A real, what weekends are supposed to feel like, weekend.

 It all began with Friday night. I made a huge bowl of pasta with shrimp in a garlicky, spicy tomatoey sauce and served it with a big loaf of sourdough bread.  It was chilly, but we sat in the garden under the heaters and enjoyed the quiet.  

I was exhausted...exhausted to the point where I couldn't move.  I just sat and played on my iPad and sipped wine and talked, quietly, with that guy that I like so much.  

And by 9:00pm?  I was sound asleep.

Saturday morning the alarm went off at the blissfully late hour of 7:00am.  For me...well, that felt like noon.  This new job of mine...have I talked about how exhausting it is?  And have I talked about how many people are mad at me and complain at me and are just downright rude to me?

No...I haven't.  I understand their frustration.  I listen.  I calm them down.  But by Friday afternoons I am just done with it all.

Hmmm....where was I?

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Saturday morning I slept in.  Brian had a game at 9:00am, so that guy that I like so much and I dropped him off, grabbed a coffee and then cheered on our favorite high school ball player.

Always, always fun.

The rest of Saturday involved lunch out with friends (Pei Wei...YUM!) followed by a stroll through Wholesome Choice where we spent a ton of money on some really great stuff (olives and feta and artichokes and some more stuff that I can't remember) followed by a long night at home.  Matthew came home and, well, all was well in my little world.

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Sunday?  Mama's Day.  Church and a big lunch and an afternoon spent watching movies and napping.

Couldn't have asked for a better day.

I'm pretty easy in that department.  I don't need a lot of the fancy stuff.  What I do need is for everyone to be home for a meal.  Now that 2/3 of my crew are adults....well, that's a special treat.  They're loud.  They're rather obnoxious.  They're big.

But they're mine.

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By last night, well into my 4th movie of the day, I began to breathe again.  I felt rested.  Not necessarily ready for the week to begin, but not dreading it either...and that's an ok place to be.

For the most part, I just felt thankful.  Thankful for these boys...mine and all the others who I've been blessed to mother in some way or another.  Thankful for those that have mothered my boys and loved them as one of their own.  Thankful for the two mothers I have in my own life...one by birth and another by marriage.  Thankful for the women in my life who've loved me as one of their own.

Just thankful.  For lots.

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No Good Pictures

My photos lately have been...lacking.  And strange.  And, well, down right horrible.

Let's just say that I'm working too much and when I'm not working too much I'm spending every moment just being a mom.

So here you go.  All the photos from my phone since last Sunday.

First up...salsa.  Not just any salsa, though.  My neighbors fabulous-o salsa.  I had some on Sunday.  I had some on Monday.  I had some on Tuesday.  And you know what?  I'll probably have some tomorrow, too.  

Exciting, eh?

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Last night at 7:00pm, we decided to go see Iron Man3 , in 3D...on a school night.  Late.  Brian is reaping the  benefits of being a 3rd child with parents who have apparently lost all sense of good decision making.  BUT...a memory was made.  It was late, we were silly in our glasses, we ate popcorn and candy and had sodas and then crawled into bed way past bedtime.  This morning was hard...very hard, but last night was very fun.

And the movie?  Thumbs up from the three of us.  

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I usually give my name as 'Alex' at coffee places...it just bugs me that my name, which was on my work shirt, is continually spelled a different way than how I spell it.  And then I looked at my work shirt and my name is spelled wrong on it.

Oops.

Oh well...yet another work meeting at Starbucks with one of the supervisors who works for me.  It had an extremely high chance of being an ugly meeting...I had to be the boss, which I don't like having to do.  All was well, though.  I spent a lot of time praying over this situation and felt I had a lot of clarity.

God is good.

After a really yummy supper tonight (a big bowl of pasta with roasted chicken, caramelized onions and mushrooms in a creamy marsala sauce) we dreamed and planned.  It seems to be a nightly thing round these parts.  The funnest part?  Looks like that dream is becoming a reality.

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And now...it's 3:00am and I have insomnia.  (And no more pictures...sigh.) What's up with that?  So much going on in my brain and I just can't seem to shut it down...I'm hoping the tea will kick in soon.  My caffeine intake has been out of control...until now.  Done, done, done.

Yawn.

My Birthday...and a Weekend

Last Thursday was my birthday.

I like birthdays...mainly because I figure we have such a limited number of them to begin with, so why waste one?  

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This year my birthday was spread out over quite a few days...that guy that I like so much and I spent a lovely day at California Adventure together earlier in the week,  the night before my birthday he cooked my favorite pasta and on the actual day I was kept busy with lots of girlfriends scattered over the course of a big work day. 

By that night I was in my PJ's on my couch, watching a movie with Brian while eating carrot cake.

Perfection.

I did something kinda fun this year...I had saved a gift card from Christmas and along with a 25% off Macy's coupon, I went a shoppin'.  It was so much fun and happened to be one of those days where everything I tried on fit.  I ended up coming home with 2 bags full of clothes and one pair of really impractical but gosh darnly cute (and from the clearance rack, to boot!) shoes.

And it was all free.

Happy Birthday to me.

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Facebook is so much fun on your birthday...and so is Instagram.  My boys...each and every one of them, are the bomb.  I really, really like them.  I was blessed with beautiful, thoughtful gifts from friends and family...and flowers.  Oh, the flowers. 

Love.

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I made it through week 1 of my new big work project and while I didn't throw in the towel, it was hard.  Complicated.  Busy.  Chaotic.  

It's seriously a one woman show and there is so much riding on my shoulders.  My bosses are trusting me to get this thing up and running successfully and yowza....am I ever overwhelmed.  But at the same time,  I know it's short term and I do like what I do...and there is an end date in sight.

The weather this week was in the high 80's, so I moved my 'office' outside and worked in the garden.  That's a big plus...being able to work from home, in my garden.  Big plus.

Saturday I was back in the gym, cheering on my #15.  My achy shoulder isn't thrilled with bleachers but the rest of me is...and we all win out.  Besides, that's why we have things like advil...and beer.

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As is tradition, following graduation at that guy that I like so much's school, we had a lovely little garden party.  Old friends, great margaritas, fun stories.  Summer is closer than ever...though our temps are expected to dip back into the 60's for the next week.  

That warm weather was just a teaser.

Sigh.

Sunday morning was church and I, for the life of me, could not keep my eyes open.  I tried and tried and even ended up taking notes during the sermon...and that didn't even help.   It also didn't help that the sermon was being given by someone long winded....but you didn't hear that from me.

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After...lunch for the boys at In n Out and the ever present wrestling matches that seem to happen daily. What is it with boys who can't keep their hands off each other?  Do they ever out grow that?  

I'm beginning to doubt that they will.

Sunday supper...two roasted chickens stuffed with lemon and garlic and thyme, gravy, roasted potatoes and carrots and rolls with homemade cinnamon honey butter.   Comfort food 101.  It's one of those meals that cooks long and slow over the course of the afternoon, making the house smell heavenly...which then prompts my crew to go slightly crazy.  I, personally, love that.  Makes me feel powerful.  The payback is that they sit down to eat, pray, and inhale every morsel over the course of approximately 90 seconds and are then done.

Oh well.

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Looking For the Good

I was asked today why I only write about the good...why I only only write about the fun stuff.

And here's the deal.  I write about my life.  Our life.  The life I share with people I really, really like.  I write about the fun stuff and the not so fun stuff...but in the end, it's mainly the fun stuff because that's how I choose to live.  I choose to find the good in every day.  Does it always come easy?  No...but then I change my thinking and look for the good.  The simple.  The ordinary.

What's special to me isn't to anyone else...and that's ok.

That guy that I like so much and I both took the morning off on Tuesday.  We drove to California Adventure for breakfast (we shared a salted caramel banana french toast and a chicken tamale with scrambled eggs from Flo's) and then strolled the park, riding California Screamin' in the front car before sampling some port and blue cheese in Wine Country.

There was nothing special about any of it...but yet there was.  We were together...and boyless.  The sun was shining.  We actually had a few dollars in our checking account.  The park was quiet.  The food was yummy.

Life...it's just good.

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 I am not always a glass is half full kind of girl...but I am most of the time.

I like life.  I like who I'm married to.  I like my boys.

There are many, many who have more than we do...bigger houses and more money and nicer cars and healthier family relationships.  But us?  That guy that I like so much and me?  We have everything, too.  It might not seem like everything to others...we don't own a garage, for goodness sake, but it's plenty.  God has given us plenty.  And plenty is just enough.

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That being said...I am currently living in a house where the amount of testosterone is, quite simply, at toxic levels.  So many males per cubic foot....and, well, I'm the only female.  And that, my friends, is not the easiest.  But then again, life would be quite boring without them.

And who wants boring?

So, basically, I choose to keep the good parts front and center and the icky parts pushed aside.  Is that the healthiest thing to do?  Who knows...but it works for me.  

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Other hump day news...that guy that I like so much is almost done for the school year.  My big work project is up and running.  Boys are in...and out.  Cats are in...and out.  Laundry is in...and out.

All good.  All normal.  All ok.

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