Small town livin...

I went to the grocery store this afternoon to see what the deli was serving for lunch. Monday is supposed to be Italian, but it was Chinese...'cause they never follow the schedule. I decided to have the chicken lo mein, but I had a few other things I needed, and decided to get my lunch last so it would still be warm when I got home.

By the time I got back around to the deli counter, I was in the back of the longest line I've ever seen in this county (except for the annual demolition derby). The man in front of me, Mark, offered to let me go ahead of him, but I told him I was just fine.

And then it happened.

Mark got the last serving of chicken lo mein.

My heart hung heavy as I got up to the counter and ordered plain old rice.

I came home and promptly e-mailed Todd, cursing Mark for taking the last of the lo mein, and he promptly e-mailed me back saying he'd be happy to "bust him up" for me, if only he weren't a former navy seal.

Just as I took my first bite of rice, there was a knock at the door, and my friend Julie (whose husband came home teaching last night) stood there with a container of soup and a loaf of artisan bread.

Cue the "Hallelujah Chorus".

Thanks for lunch, Julie. It was much appreciated. Todd thanks you too, 'cause he's no match for a navy seal.

Later in the day, I stopped at the bank to make a deposit before taking Caleb to basketball practice. I only had one kid in the van, but look what we got:

Three suckers. Because Sister Duella knows me, and knows that I have three kids. I can't stop smiling about it.

We showed up to basketball practice, and the door was locked. Candi was there with her son, and made a few phone calls to see if anyone knew what was going on. No need for a phone book...everybody knows each other's phone numbers here.

Todd had just informed me that the coach and his family were in California today, so I rolled down my window and told Candi that unless he'd gotten a substitute, there probably wouldn't be any practice.

That was fine with me, because Brayden had an "off day" and decided to stay home. At least this way he wasn't missing his practice.

We got home, and I asked Caleb to bring in the garbage can. A minute later we heard screaming (mixed with laughter) and ran outside to this:

We never shovel our driveway since it's not paved, and apparently it's gotten a bit slippery. Luckily he was not hurt at all, and we all got a good laugh.

The neighbors were probably laughing too.