There is a guy my husband works with who is getting married (for the second time). He and his ex-wife were almost divorced when the young woman he was dating got pregnant. They have since had the baby and are now ready to walk down the aisle.

When I asked my husband about their upcoming wedding, he laughed and stated that they were registering for items and planning to return them for cash. I was puzzled. They included a note card that said they were registered at Target and when I looked online they had certainly registered for what looked like reasonable items.

When we were married (October 7, 2000) we had one bridal shower (with mostly my family). Having both lived for several years in apartments at college, we had a lot of items newly married couples ask for. Granted they didn’t all match, but they worked. For our wedding we ended up deciding that the focus shouldn’t be on gifts. We were celebrating with family and friends that we felt fortunate to have in our lives. Instead we asked that if they felt the need to give something, that they make a donation to a local charity that provides children with Christmas.

I admit, it wasn’t my idea, it was my mom’s. Who were we to argue? After all, they were paying for the wedding and had given us the freedom to choose and plan most of what we wanted. It was a beautiful, simple wedding. Nothing fancy, but yet it felt like an elegant evening.

That idea was met with some resistance. Many guests felt the need to both donate to the charity and give us a small gift, which was fine. I can remember only returning one item that we received - a George Foreman Grill - because we already had one. Although it wasn’t for cash, I believe we exchanged it for something else.

Personally I rarely use gift registries to buy gifts. Whether it be for a wedding or a baby. My biggest reason is it’s no fun. I know you register for things you need and getting a bunch of duplicate or useless items is basically worthless. BUT…I don’t like you telling me what to buy for you and then knowing the price.

So is this the new thing to do? Register for items you don’t want or need, but hope people will buy so you can return them for cash? Shouldn’t they just come out and ask for cash? I know it’s tacky, but you’re just wasting the guests time.

I took one year of Spanish in high school. How I passed that I am still unsure. This is probably the only phrase I learned (and remember). My Spanish teacher hated me with a spirited passion. I couldn’t seem to grasp the language and since I didn’t understand it I just made up my own Spanish.

I’d add “El” to the beginning of a word and “O” to the end. So the word “desk” became “eldesko.” I’m fairly certain that she cussed me out in Spanish on more than one occassion. I thought I was being creative, besides my Spanish made more sense.

That’s alright because now I have blog bling! I don’t know that I’ve ever received a blogger award in the long short 7 months since I’ve joined this cult world.

Many thanks to Jodi & Jail Diet for the “Rocking Blogger Award“! They just love handing out the bling. Go pay them a visit. I think you’re both pretty special too. By the way, does this come with a check?

And thanks to Shelly for the “Thinking Blogger Award” - which wait…maybe I have received before?? I’m not good at keeping track of stuff. She was fond of my “This Was My Date” post this week.

Since I have got to be the last person on this Earth Blog to receive such honors, I do not feel the need to bestow it upon anyone else!

What could have been a lovely quiet evening with possibly a little “somethin’ somethin’” turned into a disaster last night. Capitol D on that one.

I’m not sure if I should attribute my husband’s mood to the fact he quit smoking cold-turkey a few weeks ago (thank GOD!) or the fact our large flat screen T.V. has been in the repair shop for several days and we’re forced to watch my Grandma’s old Orion 19 inch.

This is evening #2 of watching previously recorded sci-fi crap. Typically, I retreat to the bedroom (another 19 inch TV) and pull out my magnifying glasses to watch my shows. But tonight after his second unrealistic magic-potion-saves-the-world show I had the audacity to ask him if we could watch something that we both like.

I’m sorry did the world just come to an end? The response I received was something similar to our son throwing a hissy fit over being asked to clean up his toys or eat all his peas.

His reply was something about me being on the computer and not even watching it. To which I stated that I wouldn’t be on if there was something more interesting to watch.

Next he proceeds to place the remote on an ottoman in between us. Silence follows. I tell him to go ahead and watch whatever he wants. I might have used the word ‘jack***’ in there.

After some more grumbling (from him), he sets it up to play a show we both like and leaves the room. I yell at him asking if he’s going to watch this or not. He said he’s letting me watch what I want and he’ll be in the bedroom.

I turn off the T.V. altogether and tell him when he’s done pouting the remote is on the couch.

Now, we’ve been down this road before…I’m not really sure why he thinks he owns or controls our T.V. He usually gets his way in what we watch. Rarely would he sit in here while I watch something I’ve taped that he doesn’t like. So why am I expected to sit through his shows night after night?

So he pouted in the bedroom wanting to go to bed. Funny thing is that he couldn’t, because the sheets were downstairs in the dryer and he doesn’t seem to know where the laundry is located in our house (even after 7 years).

Do you ever stop to wonder what happened on this date last year? Or maybe 10 years ago? Honestly, I have never remembered dates other than birthdays and our anniversary. I have never really had a reason to honor or stop and remember a particular date.

Each moment, each day that goes by represents something to someone. It could have been triumph or it could have been tragedy.

How is it that a fraction of a second can change everything? In the past 3 years I’ve learned that dates are important, but it’s not the actual date that matters. Usually the numbers only symbolize when time stopped. The focus should be on what occurred leading up to that date.

July 9, 2004 - This was my date. Three years ago it represented a big change in my life and the lives of those around me.

I’ve talked about it a few times on here. The car accident. It was very serious. Serious enough that I was life-flighted to an area trauma center and spent 3 weeks in ICU and 3 months in the hospital. The first several days were filled with complications and waiting rooms of weary family members, but 26 surgeries later here I am.

My focus from the point I was conscious again until approximately one year later was on the pain and suffering I’d endured. I couldn’t get past what was taken from me through this event to see what was given to me.

I was angry. I was depressed. I was selfish. It was about me and no one else.

About a year after the accident I was sitting in my trauma surgeon’s office when I felt my heart skip a beat as I heard him say to his nurse, “This is my miracle patient. She shouldn’t be here.”

It’s not as if I didn’t already know that my surviving this event was miraculous, but hearing someone confirm my brush with death put things into perspective.

He continued, “We lost her 4 times in the OR that night. I didn’t think she would pull through, but she did. God wasn’t done with her or He’d have taken her then.”

I must have looked a little stunned because he turned around and put his hand on my shoulder and went on to tell me that he didn’t have a part in saving me.

How do you deal with hearing you were for all accounts pretty much dead not once, but 4 times? I sat in the parking garage of the hospital where I almost died and cried. I don’t know how long I sat there, probably hours.

It was as if something finally sunk in to my brain that I was one of those people now with a tragic story, but time didn’t stop on my date.

We spent some holiday time, as we do every 4th, with my husband’s family up North. It’s like falling into a large hole and not being able to climb back out. You feel as though you’re sinking in quicksand with every family member interaction. A typical conversation includes some pessimistic attitude topped with a little blaming the government for the ruins of the world.

Sounds fun uh? I’m really unsure how these people function on a daily basis. They can’t make decisions. Ever. We’re talking about the decision of where to eat dinner - not life altering. My FIL looks for reassurance and someone to validate his feelings every time he speaks.

It’s actually a neat town with many lakes, shops and quaint houses. There are a lot of outdoor activities and places to visit. So while the scenery is always nice, the company isn’t.

We stay with his father because there is much more room in their house. But the issue always arises that his wife smokes. A lot. Inside. So we devised a plan. About a week prior to arrival we told them that our son was having asthma/allergy issues and the doctor had suggested we keep him away from any smoke until he was tested in a few weeks. Sounds believable right?

They accepted the news with some degree of hesitation, but compliance in that they’d be sure to “air” out the house and she’d smoke outside during our visit. Perfect.

Oh, we paid dearly for this little scheme. They didn’t have their air-conditioning on the entire time we were there. Granted it was pretty cool around 2 a.m., but at 2 p.m. it reached 90 degrees.

Despite all the “fresh air” the stale smell still lingered. My husband’s solution was to buy a gallon of Febreze and spray their entire house. It was a pretty noticeable linen fresh scent too. I’m fairly certain it didn’t go unnoticed either. One afternoon while our MIL was talking in the yard to some neighbor friends and we were sitting out on their deck eating lunch, something was said quietly. The two neighbors turned and looked up at us saying, “Oh no they didn’t!” Can you say awkward?

At least we left there and returned home not smelling like we’d been hanging out in some tavern all week. Now if we can only get the image of his step-mom’s “unmentionables” hanging on the line.

We visited with my SIL for the first time in several years. Her and the 4 illegitimate kid’s from 4 dead-beat dads. Always interesting drama going on there. Her branches don’t quite go all the way to the top…if you know what I mean. Those kid’s are way too cute to be hers! There is also the view we had of her crack burned in our minds.

Now I’m off to spend some time with my family. On a boat. In the woods. Camping. What was I thinking planning this kind of vacation?