Big Bang Theory

Last week started off with a literal bang. It was already a busy week because we were working Monday and Tuesday and then Drake and David planned on driving to Jacksonville Tuesday night and then meeting up with me in Orlando Wednesday.

As we drove home from work Monday afternoon, as the passenger, I looked out of my window and saw a woman sitting on the sidewalk covered in blood. From my quick glance, she appeared to be a runner and clearly was in need of help. I told David that we needed to help, so he slowed down and came to a stop about 40 feet in front of her. The road has two lanes on each side and then about 3/4 of a shoulder before the sidewalk. Once he came to a stop and turned his hazards on, I jumped out of the car to run and help. As I was getting out, I could hear David yelling, although I was not really sure what he was saying at the time. What I heard was we're going to get hit and just as I closed the door, I heard the impact and felt the car slide along my pinkie. She hit us going about 40 miles per hour, with no attempt to stop, as she was looking back at the runner.

Really David was yelling for me to get back in the car because he could see that we were going to be hit. As it turns out, that would have injured me. In this case, I'm glad that I could not hear what he was saying.  The crashed pushed our car up the curve, over the sidewalk, and it started down a small hill. I was not sure if David needed help or the runner, but for some reason, I saw the runners face and started towards her. Just as I started walking to her, another woman stopped who happened to be a nurse. While she tended to the runner, I checked on David (who was out of the car at this point). I then called 911 and I'm sure they were confused because I was talking about a bloody runner and a car accident and they were not related.

Both of our cars were towed and the EMS checked on Lisa, aka the runner. We had already called her husband, so he was there to take her to the hospital to have the stitches she needed in her temple. In talking with her on Wednesday, I learned that she tripped, turned her ankle, and then fell to the ground. She had two parallel cuts to her head, which caused the large amount of blood. She does not quite know how long she was on the ground before she stopped but she does know that other cars passed her by. In running into the police officer that was on scene, we later learned that there had been a call placed to dispatch about a woman covered in blood prior to my call.

Lisa and her husband were so grateful that we stopped to help and have told us over and over that she feels so bad for the accident that occurred. If I saw someone in need again today, I would do the same. Just the look on her face showed the desperation and need for help. Lisa did offer to make me a pie, which I declined. I wish she had know that I am a chocolate girl!

As for our car, the saga continues. When the appraiser looked at the car last week, he estimated $7700. We did get a call today saying that he had thought the exhaust system could be repaired but it now looks like it will need to be replaced. If that is the case, it may be a total. We should know for sure tomorrow. In the meantime, we have a Ford Fusion as our rental. Hopefully we can have this all resolved in the next could of weeks and that it does not cost us too much.  In the end, I am just glad that no one was hurt and that David and Drake were still able to join me in Orlando.

Falling Leaves

This weekend we had two projects that we needed to work on: painting the outside of the house and raking leaves. The painting is an ongoing project and we now have it primed and first coat painted. The raking is a bit of a project as well, just because we have almost two acres on a wooded lot.

Lucky for us, our friend dropped his daughter off to babysit Drake so we could go to some of the football game and he offered to come back and blow the leaves in the front yard. This saved us hours of raking and created a nice pile of leaves for Drake to play with.

Please note the cozies on Drake's arms. He found those in the cabinet and decided that they would make excellent wrist bands. He put them on himself and wore them for about two hours.

Visit to Mammy and Granddaddy

I started this post a week and a half ago and am finally getting back to it:

This weekend (now two weeks ago) we took a little drive down to Florence to visit David's parents. We had not seen them since the end of August and it was a great weekend to spend time with them. Drake had a great time playing with his Mammy and Granddaddy, making music on the piano, and sleeping in a big boy bed (with a side rail). Mammy and Granddaddy also gave Drake a Cozy Coupe, which he loved!

It just so happened that the weekend we were in Florence was also the weekend of the Annual Pecan Festival. This was my first pecan festival experience and really I was not sure what to expect. One thing that I was sure we would find would be pecans. Other than the three stands, we saw no pecans. I think that the city of Florence should consider changing the name of their festival to the Turkey Leg Festival, as I think every other stand was selling said legs. Drake had a great time at the festival, especially once he was given a balloon.

We had a great visit and look forward to seeing Mammy and Granddaddy again soon.

Formal Saturday

Drake had a new babysitter on Saturday that he wanted to impress so he decided to deck himself in his formal wear. I think she was quite impressed...

Happy Anniversary

Four years ago, David and I were married during a wonderful ceremony in New Orleans. We were joined by so many of our family and friends, which made the day so special. I am so lucky to have married my best friend and while not everyday is filled with bliss, I have such an amazing life partner. Our love continues to grow and hopefully we are sharing with Drake the true meaning of love. Life is not always easy, but I am lucky to share all the ups and downs with David.  

We had the best reception that I have ever been to!

Busy Week

This was a busy week in our house with a lot of evening activities surrounding Halloween. It started with a Halloween party at the Episcopal church in Clemson. The event was for kids younger than 5th grade and it appeared that the older (junior high) kids were running the party. There were some games and activities, although I thought that Drake was a little young for what they had to offer. I do think that he had some fun at the party though and did enjoy placing (not throwing) bean bags through holes.

After work on Monday we drove all over looking for a pumpkin. Drake was not quite old enough to get involved in the festivities or a corn maze and pumpkin patch; we're saving that for next year. I guess we waited too long to buy a pumpkin in a store and thought we were out of luck. The Montessori school around the corner from us selling pumpkins as a fundraiser in their "pumpkin patch" but, having bought one there before, we knew they were overpriced. In the end, that's where we ended up. Because it was so close to Halloween, we got a huge pumpkin for 50% off, so from now on, we just need to continue to procrastinate.

Tuesday evening was the night for carving our pumpkin and Drake was very interested in helping with that process. Then Wednesday was the big Halloween night. Clemson hosts a downtown trick-or-treating event from 4:00-6:00, but after attending last year and seeing that it is pretty much standing in line from one merchant's door to another, we opted out. I was interested in going there simply to see the costumes of all the kids that we know. 

David hoped that if we took Drake to Chick-fil-A dressed as a cow that he would be given free goodies. Unfortunately the Chick-fil-A employees did not feel the same way, so I guess we will have to wait until Cow Appreciation Day. After dinner we hit the streets of our neighborhood. We went to a few more houses this year than the four we went to last, but it was still a pretty tame Halloween night of trick-or-treating. Drake still managed to be given quite a bit of candy. I guess that is what happens when you have so few trick-or-treaters coming through a neighborhood, people tend to give each individual more.

Then on Thursday night, Drake got his second haircut. I would say that this haircut was much more of a big boy haircut then the first one. She used the clippers this time and really shaped his hair. Drake did great with the whole thing and we were told that he did better with sitting still than many adults do!

Today we head to Florence to spend the weekend with David's parents and then next week, basketball begins. Hopefully Drake is ready to attend some games.