Toadfrogs and Elephants

Wade had a conference in Atlanta this weekend so I drove to Rockingham, NC to see my dad drag race. I made the three hour trip into a five hour trip and did some shopping after I dropped Madison at the boarding place. I arrived just in time for dinner and dad’s first run of qualifying. The run didn’t go very well, but his new race crew is awesome.

Today was full of alternating rain and sunshine. Dad made one more pass and hit the concrete wall. I had on a crew radio and could hear them asking Billy to respond and only silence answering. It turns out he thought he had answered and then proceeded to get out of the car – thank goodness. The car had quite a bit of damage so it was decided there would be no more runs (if the weather had permitted).

The car had just gotten a brand new paint job, which I talked about here.

This is the front of the car in good condition:

This is the front of the car after the concrete wall:

My dad wasn’t hurt, but he did bruise a rib. Thankfully, I have had one quarter of EMT training. I put that to good use and taped him up with duct tape!

I had not one, but three people call and sing me happy birthday on the phone! Wade took me to dinner at California Dreaming and we both ordered drinks – a fuzzy navel for me and a strawberry Margarita for him. I love that at age 27 we are still getting carded. The only sad part was I was too full from dinner for dessert. Birthdays are always supposed to include dessert. The presents were good too – gardening tools and books, a bracelet, red pie plate, flowers, new black washing machine, J. Crew money, and a sunchair.

I have always loved to read – all types of books. I remember during childhood when Mom told me she would no longer buy me books. Evidently I was reading them very quickly and it was getting quite expensive. I didn’t realize how right she was till I did my semester abroad. We were on a boat for a 100 days and I read at least a 1oo books. I wasn’t even antisocial. I was on a boat, the school work was easy, and there was a pool to read by. I took a bunch of books with me, traded with friends, and even found the ship library (very tiny). In the end, I was forced to buy books when we were in port. Buying English books in non-English countries is possible, but expensive. When I totaled up how much I spent on books in comparison to souvenirs at the end of the trip, I decided I would never again buy books. And I haven’t!

I get books from friends and family. My mom and sister are both avid readers and we all enjoy similar books. When my mom moved, she found a couple boxes of paperbacks. I took the books to a used bookstore and have been working off the credit for almost a year now. This bookstore lets you trade back in the books you have read so I can always get books when I visit home.

What about the library you ask? I actually always meant to get a library card in DC and then in Atlanta, but I never did. I had plenty of books to read. Last night I finally got one in Anderson. Wade wanted a library card so we stopped by. I also picked up a book and had finished it by this afternoon.

As you can see, Madison has obviously had a rough day. I can only imagine how difficult it is to spend a few hours chasing birds in the yard and then sleep inside the air conditioned house the rest of the day.

I thought our work on the house would slow down after my mom’s visit. Somehow that didn’t happen. Wade and I spent the afternoon and evening working on the house. I like tedious tasks so painting trim is normally right up my alley. However, I think I’m about to reach my limit. Right now I am painting the underside of the crown molding – yuck. The difference in the room is dramatic, but in the picture you can just see the shiny and the not shiny.

Madison has been neglected lately. While my mom was here she spent all day every day in the backyard. Tonight she wouldn’t leave my side. She even brought her toys into the sunroom while I was painting. You know it is love when she’s willing to stay in a closed room with nasty enamel paint fumes.

Wade spent the day working in the yard and then tearing out the upstairs bathroom wall. He decided the wall was in really bad shape and since he needed to do plumbing work and put in an outlet (there isn’t one at all in the bathroom) this was easier. He seems to be enjoying himself.

Mom has been here a few days and now we (and by that I mean she) have added the finishing touches to the bedrooms. Wade sprayed all the furniture, we bought a new bedspread, put out a few doodads, and tada!

The master bedroom:

The guest bedroom:

Wade has developed a love of crazy t-shirts, which he actually just wrote about on his blog. I am following his lead and aquiring a few of my own.

My very first post told about the name “toadfrogs and elephants”. Since I wrote that, there has been a new addition. Liza Upshaw is the first little toadfrog, belonging to Ben and Stephanie. She was born about the time of Melissa’s wedding last year in September, and because they didn’t come home for Christmas last year I hadn’t seen Liza. When mom came to visit we made a day trip to Morrisville, NC to see Liza. We went out for lunch (I got chocolate chip pancakes) and had a good time. Isn’t she cute?