this lady looks distressed, doesn't she?

but guess what. 

she has it easy.

see the sun shining through the trees behind her?
see her long-sleeved cozy sweater? {...even though the sun is shining through the summer-leafed tree...}
see her perfect hair and manicured nai...oh wait. that's not relevant.

one wednesday morning...well, no...actually, it was a tuesday night...i unwittingly locked my keys in my car because i didn't immediately get out after i turned off the car. i was on the phone, so i took out the keys, put them on the seat beside me, and sat in the car for about 10 minutes. when i was done, i picked up my purse and coat, stepped out of the car, locked the door, shut it, and went inside.

but i didn't realize my mistake until wednesday morning...5 minutes before Joey needed to leave for work in my car.

now.

under normal circumstances, i would've gotten a wire hanger, finagled it into the car thru the crack, and hit the unlock button.

BUT.

during the night, it had iced. and it was still under 20 degrees outside {chill factor of 5 degrees, by the way}, which meant that the door was frozen shut. 

no way was i going to stand outside {in the freezing cold} and try to push thru the thick layer of ice barring my way to the unlock button.

so we called the locksmith thinking that it would cost around $40. he finally came 30 minutes later. and, standing in the freezing {freezing freezing} cold in my pajamas, he said that it would cost...wait for it...$100.

yes.

you heard me.

one hundred. bucks.

no way. hosea.

and i told him so. to his face. {in the freezing cold.}

not in those words, of course.

but he took pity on me and offered to call his boss and see if he'd let him knock it down a bit. which his boss did. 30 dollars worth.

i had no choice. i had to accept. {in the freezing cold}

blah.

a few days later, Joey asked if he could borrow my car to take to work. so i went to find the keys. i looked in my purse. in my room. in my pockets. on the bar. on the couch. in the couch cushions. 

no luck.

here's how my thought process went.

"oh no...i didn't immediately (please, God) get out of my car this afternoon (please, God, don't let them be locked in). this is horrible. OhGodohGodohGodohGodohGod."

{please don't misunderstand and think that i was taking His name in vain. no. it was a genuine plea to Him.}

i ran out to my car and peered through the glass. 
there they were. 
on the seat. 
just like before.

 my inner Luke Skywalker yelled, "Nooooooooooooo!!!!!" 
{yes, i did just reference Star Wars and reveal my nerdity.}

 i walked back into the house, head hung low, and told Joey.
Joey, being the sweet man that he is, didn't tease me, didn't heave a sigh.
he just said he would look at it and see if he could get it out. 
we went out to the car.
Joey tried the door handle.


and it opened.

and Joey, being the annoying man that he is, teased me unmercifully. {i love you, Joey.}

now.
would i rather lock my keys in the car than have my car stolen because i was dumb enough to leave the keys in it with the door unlocked?
yes.
but God was merciful to me.
He let me be dumb.
{oh wait...He doesn't have to let me. i can do that all by myself.}

the moral to this story ----
always, always check to make sure the car isn't unlocked.

before i die, i will master these

a human being should be able to  

change a diaper. 

plan an invasion. 

butcher a hog. 

steer a ship. 

design a building. 

write a sonnet. 

balance accounts. 

build a wall. 

set a bone. 

comfort the dying. 

take orders. 

give orders. 

cooperate. 

act alone. 

solve equations. 

analyze a new problem. 

pitch manure. 

program a computer. 

cook a tasty meal. 

fight efficiently. 

die gallantly. 

- robert heinlein

this might just be the best thing...of the world

i've never ever really wanted to do ballet. even as a little girl, it wasn't my thing.

but i would've LOVED to do some other sort of dance.

modern, maybe?

i would've liked to have been a dancer in the crowd.

so when i saw these pictures...

the gallery is called Dancers Among Us

yes. i would do this. if it were physically possible.

she looks so happy!

such ease...

snow dancing!

if you're gonna feed the birds, do it right.

yes. 

even graceful dancers have to go to the bathroom sometimes.

too cool. i like his boots.

"yep, just waitin' fer the bus."

at least she can enjoy doing laundry.

he's got places to go and people to dance on...no...wait...

yes. if you can do that, please pay the cab driver that way.

it will make his day, i promise.

just a little leg lovin'. 

gene kelly?

more

the snow is falling, the wind is blowing...

the view of mount leconte from our top deck

a house in the distance. bright spot

we basically all stood around and looked off the back porch for the first day

pipe tobacco is one of the most wonderful smells in the world

we fit 7 people in this telephone booth. that's right. 7.

aand this picture wouldn't turn right side up. but that's 7. 

creepers in the fir tree

::hides face in embarrassment::

yes, i realize that i've been in TX nearly a month and haven't posted once.

so much for sturdy resolves.

i don't really know where to begin, though. it's all running together in my mind and not making much sense.

first off, let me say that it's amazing to live 4 minutes from target, dsw, sephora, old navy, etc, etc...not that i've really taken advantage of that...but even just the knowledge is kinda cool. and i'm also just 8 minutes from a really nice outlet mall and an ikea (amazing!). and 2 minutes from HEB, the best grocery store in the world because of the incredibly tasty tortillas that they make in the store. you can buy them still warm. yum.

i promise that this blog won't degenerate into posts solely about cute things the little boys have said, but here are some kickers, all courtesy of Cord. 

"my tummy has a headache."

"Eleanor! do you want to come watch Sleeping Beauty and the Beast with me?!"

"pink is a serious color."

"i didn't know you back then because i was a little baby that drank milk all the time."

after some serious thought and consideration, i've decided to announce my dark secret.

i like candy corn.

in fact, i could easily become addicted.

thank God for a tight budget.

and don't judge me.

bust a move

I realize I haven't posted in quite some time. 

I have no excuses, and I'm not going to try to diagnose why I haven't. 

I will just say that I hope to be more consistent and regular this fall, because...

I'm going to be living in Texas till mid-December!

(Yes, I realize that bluebonnets won't be in season during my stay. 

And I don't think I'm going to be near very many longhorns...or just plain old cows for that matter. 

But you get the idea.)

Crazy, right? 

I know.

Plans for my future have changed so quickly and unexpectedly.

I've gotten a job (or rather, was offered a job) as a live-in nanny for my second cousin. 

She's got three adorable little boys (yes, yes, I know what you're thinking. I'm not going to think they're so precious after living with them for two and a half months. To that I say, quoting Alfred, Batman's butler, "Nevah."), and I will be sitting them three days a week while she's and her husband are at work.

Also, I'll be about 45 minutes away from some of my best friends in the whole wide world, so hopefully I'll get to spend some time with them! Yay! 

This is new.

I didn't really ever think I'd leave home until I went to college, (and yes, I know that two and a half months away is not exactly "leaving home," but it's the closest I've ever come to it (and also, there's a good chance that I'll be going back next semester for a few months)), so I haven't had quite as much time to get used to the idea, but I'm very excited about it. 

Adventure! 

A little more independence and a good stretch of the wings! 

Especially since I'm (hopefully) going to be buying my first car from my [other] cousin. 

It's quite a delightful prospect. 

And hey, I can even call myself a Texan for a little while! 

{hat tip to Mama's home state}

Must get a cowgirl hat. 

Just kidding.

Anyway...

"Psh. Right, Eleanor. You're gonna post more regularly. Uh huh. Sure."

Yes. 

I will.

Why, you ask? 

Because I don't have a journal. 

And plus, even if I did have one, I probably wouldn't write in it. 

But I can type faster than I can write (a sad sign of the age we live in), and so I'm going to use Fiery to journal this new experience.

"Oh, great. We're gonna get every little detail about her life and every stupid bit of junk that passes through her mind."

Yep.

Pretty much.

Enjoy!