Big Bad Bush

We have a bush in our front yard. Well actually it's not in our front yard, it's in our neighbors front yard.

This bush is of the large and hideous variety. That only has a history of getting larger and hideous-er. :)

So K.C. (my brave husband / messenger of peace) went and asked our neighbors if they were overly attached to this bush that is overflowing onto our property (covering our water meter) and constantly smells of cat urine. (yuck)
To my delight (and I'm sure to the delight of the rest of the neighborhood) they said they didn't care a bit and to rip it out if we wanted.
My dad just happened to be there with the van at that exact moment. (O.K. so it wasn't a coincidence). We got out the trusty tow strap and cinched it around the bush.
Mother was there in full support. Seated in her recliner which is her chair in the van, she had quite the ride as we bounced and jostled and proceeded to combine all our powers against the bush.
We had to employ many tactics: Flailing around under the mass trying to hit roots. (and trying to avoid cat poo.)
Jumping on the tow rope.
Mom Bracing herself for the next impact! (You are definitely a trooper mom. I think you were mostly responsible for the removal of that bush. Without your pulling and heave-ho-ing that bush would never have let loose.)
Even with all this effort it seemed strangely solid. Like it's roots were made of iron. Now I would like you to take a moment and glance through the previous pictures one more time. Is there anything that would give you cause for alarm or any indication that there was more to this bush than a big, ugly... bush?
and finally we just started pushing (when I say 'we' I really mean K.C.) With a very satisfying crunch it finally gave way and started to follow the van, instead of stand firmly where it was.

Hooray! The bush is gone!
Well actually now it lives on our sidewalk while we are trying to find someone to haul it away. Or borrow a truck so we can do it.

But wait. What's this? Now we see the culprit of our not so willing bush.

Some genius planted this bush right on top of all the important electrical and water related things for our house. you'll see in the below picture

1. our telephone connection box.

2. our cable connection box.

The fist one was poking out of the bush enough to see so we didn't wrap the tow rope around it. But the cable box was right in the heart of the thing and we had a good solid grip on it and we ripped it right out of the ground. (no cables were broken but the box is pretty much smashed)

Sandwiched right between the two is a black electric box buried in the ground. (I forgot to point it out in the picture but it was completely inaccessible.

Is that all? Oh no, the 2 water meter boxes for the properties were hidden beneath it as well. These were slightly accessible but required some digging through the foliage.

Who would think to dive into the middle of that thing to get to the cable box? I wonder how long these things have been MIA and no one has known the culprit.

In short I'm glad it's removed. I will be gladder when it's gone. And it was a grand adventure.

Now we just need to get the cable people to come repair that box. Thankfully we don't have cable so it isn't a huge rush.

Wanda Knows "Razor Refills"

Episode 10: Wanda Knows Razor Refills

The Background: This is the second burst of knowledge that we got from Wanda on our way home.

Wanda: "I had a razor that had the replaceable tips. And I had 4 boxes of extra tips."

Celeste: "Cartridges? Refills? Blades?"

Wanda: "Yeah those. It's so funny because I never knew how they worked. I figured out how to get them off and put another one on but I thought that when you put it back in the holder that it sharpened them.

I had 4 boxes of refills so I would use a blade till it got dull and then put it back in the holder and get another one. When that case was empty I would start on the next one. Then when I finished that case I'd go to the next one and when then were all gone I'd go back to the first. It wasn't working very well because they were still dull. But I used them anyways."

Celeste: "You thought that the case sharpened your old razor blades for you?"

Wanda: "Yeah!"

Celeste: "So how long have you been waiting for them to get sharp?"

Wanda: "I've had the same 4 boxes since I was 12." (She's about to turn 16) "But I just threw 2 of them away."

Celeste: "Wow! (very impressed by the perseverance) So you still have the other 2 boxes?"

Wanda: "Yes."

Celeste: "That you've had since you were 12?"

Wanda: "Yes."

Celeste: "They're not getting any sharper. Why do you still have them?"

Wanda: "I don't have the money to get more. It's better than nothing."
(I don't think I agree! Ouch!)

Wanda's response to my "Ouch!" - "It doesn't hurt, it just doesn't cut 'em all the way. At least it's not hairy like a dog." Pauses as I start to type... "I should have waited to say that hu?" Groans "I get myself into such trouble!"

Wanda Knows "Telephone Poles"

Episode 9: Wanda Knows Telephone Poles.

The Background: Wanda Knows fans, buckle up! In a short ride from Hurricane to home we had 3 of the most enlightening experiences. In a matter of minutes the next 3 Wanda Knows episodes poured out! I guess the long drought has meant that now it's time for the flood.

Driving home from Hurricane we rounded a corner as we neared the freeway on ramp. K.C. was trying to answer a phone call and his phone said that the "call was lost".

Wanda: "Yeah phones never work very good right here. It's funny because they don't ever work even though we're driving right under these telephone poles."

Celeste: "Yeah that is funny, especially since telephone poles don't even have anything to do with these phones."

Wanda: "Well if they don't have anything to do with phones why are they called telephone poles? And what are they for?"

Celeste: "What do you think they're for?"

Wanda: "I don't know, I always just thought they were these big tall poles towering above us that acted all powerful and that they were what made it so you could talk on the phone. That's why when you're driving through a canyon or a place where there are no telephone poles your phones don't work."

Gym

We did it again! I'm just so excited that we are finally following through with our good intentions to go to the gym! Even through the first week of school and some stomach pain for me we are still going! Not that I know what to do when I get there or if it's doing any good, but it's better than not doing anything.

It's amazing how much better things go when I can add one more thing to the "accomplished" list instead of the "I'm too much of a slacker to get to it" list.

Back to the grind!

Today was K.C.'s last day before school starts again! It's been so wonderful to have him home all the time. To have him NOT doing homework. And to be able to accomplish things that have long been waiting for everything else to get done first.

We got his text book today and just looking at the stack made me sigh with relief that I am not in school too. I get awfully jealous of all the stuff he's learning and I'm not, but when I see all the work he has to do to get it I remind myself that now is the time and place to be "mommy" and happily learn what I can from K.C.

But on the bright side we made it to the gym today! Thanks to Shannon for watching Craig!
(And In spite of the fact that as I was putting on my shorts I was standing much too near our bathroom counter and raised my knee much too fast and as my kneecap connected with the lip on the counter I felt the counter top heave and feel as if it had been jostled from it's happy home. Almost instantly a very angry looking welt appeared and it has continued to ripen into a very painful, rather pathetic knee! Yes in spite of that... We made it! Yay for us!)

Family Pictures

We recently had K.C.'s sister in town and while she was here she took our family pictures. We were very pleased with how they turned out.

Thank you, thank you, thank you Kaylea!

Here's our cute son!

Blowing kisses

Beautiful eyes!

These are some of my favorites!

My amazingly good looking husband!
I Love him so much!

Wanda Knows-Ratings

Episode 8: Movie Ratings

The Background: What a good way to start off the new year! Tonight Elle was talking about Kung Fu Panda and asking if we could watch it. As the extra cherry on top of her plea she added "it's rated PG for Panda Goodness!"

Wanda: For the longest time I thought that
G meant Good,
PG meant Pretty Good and
PG-13 meant "Not Very Good" but I don't know why.

(We had had a conversation similar to this one before her realization of their real meanings, several months before Wanda Knows began. So I forgot all the details of the discovery of the true meanings but remembering is still pretty good. So all you loyal Wanda Knows fans, happy new year!)