Sense: This Post Makes None

I saw this picture again today.

And then I saw this.

I can just hear the conversation. Darth Vader is at a party of some sort. The host comes to him and says, "DV, hey man, there's someone I want you to meet. This is Kitty."

[loud inhale and exhale] "Hello Kitty."

"Hello, Darth."

And while I'm making no sense,

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Chewbacca!

The Mother of All Pranks

I brought my lunch to school nearly every day when I was young. Mama Mia taught me and TheDeanInc to pack our own lunch the night before a school day. In the morning, all we had to do was grab our lunch box and head to school. TheDeanInc and I hated making our lunches and would try to negotiate this task back to Mama Mia. She rarely consented.

One night she offered.

TheDeanInc and I were thrilled. Mama Mia was going to make our lunch. Yipee!

As if making my lunch weren't already enough, I opened my bag the next day to find chips, some chocolate, yogurt, and a sandwich. I'd hit the jackpot. Yogurt was only for special occasions. Oh I loved yogurt. And chips? February 29th was more common at my house. We never had chips. Ever. And chocolate? My mom's idea of a treat was an apple slice dipped in peanut butter. Chocolate was more unusual than chips.

I ignored the questions surrounding my mom's sudden mental state and started eating.

The sandwich, probably peanut butter, was fine. I grabbed my bag of Cheetoh chips. I couldn't wait to lick the orange powder off each finger. I opened the bag.

Doritos? That was odd.

Doritos would be fine, I guess. I couldn't believe the chip company had mixed the bag.

Next was the yogurt. My flavor was bubble gum - yes, bubble gum. I opened the container. The plastic seal was missing but I was more concerned with gobbling yummy yogurt than worrying about a silly seal. The flavor was a bit off, though. It tasted more like strawberry than bubble gum.

Finally, the chocolate! This was the best lunch ever! I opened my box of Raisinets. They looked different than I remembered but, it'd been awhile. I popped one in my mouth and

Milkduds?

What was this lunch?

After school I discussed some things with TheDeanInc. He'd had a weird lunch as well. In fact, he had Cheetos in his Doritos bag, bubble gum flavored yogurt in his strawberry container, and Raisinets in his MilkDud box.

Was he thinking what I was thinking...?

We grabbed some paper. We brainstormed our letter to Frito Lay and Nestle. They needed to know they'd made a mistake. Who knew how many bags and boxes were affected. Due to our kindness in alerting them to this mistake, would they consider offering us a year supply of chips and chocolate. Sincerely, us.

We proudly showed our work to Mama Mia. She'd be so happy that we worked a solution on our own. And maybe, just maybe, we'd share a bag or two with her.

"Guys, do you know what the date is today?"
"...no..."
"It's the 1st of April. In other words, April Fools!"

She'd taken the time to carefully open the chip bags, swap them, and glue the bag shut again. Mama Mia had taken a spatula, completely scrapped each yogurt container into a small cup, and switched the flavors. She'd also opened the chocolate boxes, replaced them with the wrong chocolate, and glued the ends together.

She got us. She got us good.

A Thank You Letter

Blogger Friends,

Have I ever told you why I’m hesitant to start projects or goals? It’s ‘the end’ that scares me. The unknown that accompanies any completed task. Sure there is a sense of satisfaction but …what now? Sometimes I fear the end so much that I don’t begin. Take blogging for example. I hesitated for so long before I starting a blog because I didn’t know if I could sustain it. What if I ran out of things to say? What if life got so busy that I neglected what was once my favorite hobby? Those thoughts crippled me.

I began a blog anyway.

It’s been a wonderful aspect of my life for the past few years. Honestly, I never expected it to last this long. And so, with much sadness, I face a fear.

The end of my blog is here.

What now? I don’t know. I do know this, if you ever are near Athens, Georgia and you want a face to face, real time update of my life, give me a call. I’d love to thank my blog-friends in person for blessing my life.

~Charlotte

867-5309

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The joke's over. I'm not leaving.

3:1

I think I'm the luckiest sister in the world. I don't just have one or two sisters but I have three of the most gorgeous sisters in the world. We like to keep things in balance. In fact, we have a good 3 to 1 trend most of the time.

1 lives in Texas; 3 live in Georgia.

3 wear corrective lenses of some sort; 1 has perfect vision.

1 is a teenager; 3 have graduated to the 20s or 30s.

3 are in relationships; 1 is single.

1 is a tomboy; 3 are various stages of girly girls.

3 own cars; 1 just got her license.

3 were ready for this picture; 1 was caught off guard.

1 will probably die tonight when another sister realizes this picture was posted.

The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

*

We had quite a surprise this weekend. Athens received 6 inches of snow. I realize this isn’t much for those that live in snow country, but understand that this is the first time I’ve seen snow since moving here in 2005. It just doesn’t snow in Georgia. Especially not half a foot!

The snow was beautiful. It was refreshing.

It blanketed everything with a perfectly white cover. It was wonderful. It did make driving a bit difficult. ...and it was also heavy. The snow weighed down branches causing full grown limbs to snap like toothpicks. Entire trees blocked roads or fell on roofs. Most of the city lost power for a day.
This confused me. I lived in Utah for 8 years. It always snowed yet this level of damage never occurred. What was the difference? I decided since the trees in Utah face snow each year, their branches grow stronger to withstand the weight and harsh weather conditions. I realize different types of trees grow out west and it's obvious why. I thought of life. How is it that situations can affect people so differently? How is it that one person can handle pressure from life where another person buckles and breaks? The answer is with the trees. The trees that grow where the weather is harsh are stronger. The trees that grow where the weather is usually nice and fair grow but never have to prove their strength. People face storms that will test their very character whether they are ready or not. It's these life storms that show how strong a person really is.

There are days when I feel weighted down and broken like the tree,
and there are other days I choose to see the beauty in the storm. Thank you, Mother Nature, for the snow. And thank you, God, for the storms.

(I don't know who these people are. And don't make fun of Southerners. When it snows, we have to use whatever we have as sleds.)

* My camera is MIA right now. I did NOT take any of these pictures. All are courtesy of Mama Mia, a neighbor, and a coworker.