I do everything within my power, successfully I might add, to avoid going shopping on Black Friday. I just cannot believe that there’s any deal that was worth this man’s life and I find it a sad commentary that people would do this, then step over his body to run into the store to get their goodies. And then to be angry when they closed the store because he died? Crazy, just crazy.

Now, I fully understand why there are signs where fish/critters are kept in glass enclosures that say “DO NOT TAP ON THE GLASS!”…

It’s f**king annoying!

That is all…

My heart hurt a lot when I read this. I don’t know what else to say.

Here’s the deal…

A) If your kid screams to high heaven and you can’t calm them within a couple minutes…get a freaking to go box and maybe don’t keep your toddler out past what should be their bedtime.

B) If you have so little room at the dinner table in a restaurant that at least 2-3 kids (seriously, this happened) HAVE to stand at the end of the table, then run around (literally) the restaurant carting food around….Either go to another restaurant where they can accomodate you…or EAT AT HOME!

While you may think your kid’s banshee-like displays of poor behavior are cute or whatever…I don’t.

I raised Ashlyn such that she only threw one hissy fit in her lifetime in public… she was 3 years old. We were at the Houston Galleria and she wanted ice cream from Marble Slab. I agreed, but knowing she wouldn’t eat the whole thing and I’d end up with it, I told her no sprinkles this time. She threw the mother of all screaming fits.. “I WANT SPRINKLES… WAAAAAAAH!” I got the ice cream without the sprinkles….tossed her over my shoulder like a sack of taters…and took her immediately to the car…and ate the whole ice cream in front of her. Yes, I’m mean as a snake…. but you know what?

She NEVER threw a fit again…EVER.

First, Ashlyn turned 18 on October 2. She informed me she was going to “ride that ass!” then she giggled as I picked my heart & jaw up off the floor. She was of course, referring to the donkey at the Fiesta del Burro Loco. Ai yi yi.

Then on October 5, she wrecked our Cadillac…

I received a phone call from Ashlyn beginning with “Mom, first let me say, it’s not my fault.” You can imagine my thoughts at that moment. I have to say, I’m quite proud of how she dealt with her first wreck. She was calm as a cucumber through the whole ordeal and not one tear was shed.

As she was leaving school, the girl driving the car behind Ashlyn was fumbling with a radio or something and plowed into the back of Ashlyn, sending her into the car ahead of her. In total, 4 teenager vehicles were involved, and ours was the only one that had major damage. Most importantly, no one was hurt. Cars can be replaced, kiddos can not.

The insurance company totalled our car. ::mourn paid-for Cadillac::

Halloween was fun. We got a new jack-o-lantern kit courtesy of Mr. Potato Head. Ashlyn and her boyfriend (also acquired during my blog vacation) Elliott assembled our “Pirate” with the help of one of our neighbor kids.

And I hung out in the yard again…

Ashlyn bought her first car in mid-November with some help from Grandparents and us!

She wrecked it 6 weeks later…

Amazingly, this one wasn’t her fault either. However, the jackass who backed in to her while on his cell phone and not looking (a 44-year old man, no less) lied to both the police and his insurance company that she had hit him, defying the laws of physics…his insurance company initially denied our claim…

I should have been a detective/lawyer…they say that pictures are worth 1000 words. In this case, it was worth just over $1200. There was a perfect mirror image of her tire and the word “Rotation” on his bumper. We argued how could this image be so clear if her car was in motion? He clearly, hit her. He also was paying so little attention, he didn’t even realize which side of his truck was involved. I also pointed out that inaccuracy. End result: a check to repair her damage and a rental car voucher for the time it’ll be in the shop. Lesson I hope that jackass learns: Don’t F*** with tiggerprr’s daughter and stop being a big, fat liar!. Lesson I hope Ashlyn learns: Honesty and a billion pictures of everything is the best policy.

And she wonders why I hesitate to let her drive my car…

Hubby has a growth coming out of his head…

And Ashlyn and I get to go to the Democratic Presidential Debate held here in Myrtle Beach this coming Monday…woo! I’m more excited for her, since this is almost like being a small part of history.

How have YOU been?