Slow Train Comin'

For my birthday last year, I asked for a few handmade train cars to start collecting in the hopes that when we have a family we will have some very nice, durable, not plastic toys for our little Westons and Amandas to play with. Mr Darling agreed and in June ordered some from the website I specified. A month after my birthday, these beautiful train cars arrived. I realized that these cars must be a rarity, so I immediately picked out the next three that I had my heart set on and, eyelashes batting, asked Mr. Darling if I could maybe get them for Christmas.Mr Darling, in his typical, charming fashion set out to order the new cars, only to be told that there was no way to get more than one by Christmas. Feeling honor bound, he ordered the one for Christmas and the other two for Valentine's Day. 

Yesterday in the mail, I received both my Christmas present and my Valentine's present. I am a little annoyed with the talente

d toymaker, but the beauty of these cars are second to none in my not-so-humble opinion.

 Therefore, since no little heart is breaking due to the delay, I will continue to collect these adorable little train cars.

If you are interested (and not in a rush) you can order them online from Mr. John Michael Linck (who looks just a little like a mischievous Santa Claus). His website is here.

He even has a club where you can purchase one car a month for your little one to play with. Wouldn't that be a fun gift for a little boy?

Anyways, as always, I must tell my dear Mr. Darling exactly how much I love and appreciate him. Without him, my days would be dreary and my nights frightening.

Laugh At The Things That Are Wrong

So I found these on one of my internet surf adventures and thought I should share. What else can we do but laugh?

Seriously, Mr. Darling hates when I rant on my blog about politics, so I am trying to avoid rant mode. But these two cartoons sum up how I feel enormously well.

How do cartoonists do it? Capturing the corruption at all levels, corporate and government in 50 words and using a cartoon dog?

Anyways, here is my attempt to laugh instead of rant. I hope that you too can laugh and that our children do not condemn us for not doing more when we had the chance.

Keep On The Sunny Side

Beautiful winter days, perfectly clear and crystal cold, are becoming longer and sunnier.

My adorable pets are taking turns basking in the sunlight that filters through our porch door. I think it is adorable. And worth learning from.

Isn't it important for all of us to bask in the warm and good things even when the outside world is cold and frightful?

So lets keep on the sunny side and enjoy each warm moment while we can.

What A Lovely Heart Day

My Beloved surprised me yesterday. Technically, I the surprise arrived on Friday. The UPS truck pulled to the curve and the delivery-man braved the wrath of Callie to deliver a frigid package.

Underneath the green box lay 20 red, white and pink tulips that had not yet decided to bloom. I placed them in the enclosed vase, added the flower food and placed them in the center of the dining room table and went to work. When I arrived home, they were still closed up tight.

But the next morning, they had woken up and even though Mr Darling was still in California, I knew I had married the sweetest, most considerate man I could have dreamed!



He got home at noon and took me to lunch at Thai Ruby (our favorite and no wait!)
Then, we headed to see Confessions of a Shopaholic-So Cute!
Lastly, we went home, ate a yummy pizza and watched House MD (I LOVE House!)

And my flowers are still blooming and LOVELY!!!

So I want to take a moment and thank Mr Darling for everything he does for me.

Thank you, Love of My Life, and I am so grateful you chose to marry me.

And thank you, Friends, for all that you do, because really, Valentine's is all about love and I love all of you!

"Flowers in Winter" or "What I Did This Evening"

Tonight, I had a lovely time with my youngest and most directly related SIL, the darling youngest sibling of my adorable husband. 

And she had a surprise for me. Do you know my penchant for blossoms? Well, she does. And she shared the glories of her flower arranging class with me. I am seriously, so blessed. (Get it? Anyone?)

And she also knows my weakness for all things Great Harvest Bread Company. The lovely loaf of bread will be gone in hours, not days...I will have to apologize to Mr. Darling for not sharing, but, then again, maybe not.

You see, he recently went to a thai restaurant in SF and partook of this delicious treat:

 fried bananas with coconut ice cream and caramel sauce....And wouldn't you know he claimed he couldn't share it because it would have melted before arriving at our house. I dispute this. All of my mail feels like its frozen, so I am sure this dessert would have made it just fine!

But, I have bread and honey and flowers to adore while I munch. All the while I can think about my family and that I am loved even though my Mr. Darling is far far away. So thank you darling SIL and I hope that tomorrow goes just as you planned!

And if you ever show anyone that picture you took tonight....well, just don't. Please? 

Updating My Little Corner of the World

I got my very first comment today! I am so excited! (Thanks Brekke!) So, I have long believed that my blog is isolated in cyberspace but today I discovered that someone actually has a link to my little venting zone!!! Very cool!

Yesterday, I decided to update our dreary, ho-hum blog and try and make it more attractive/inviting/adorable....did I succeed? 

A big thanks to Angie for our pic, which I love. And a big thank you to Mr. Darling for letting me choose everything and then raving about how he loved my choices. Is there anything better than approval from an adoring husband? I submit to you, there is not!

Mean People Suck

So, at any given point in time, people can be nice or mean or kind or cruel. I think we are all made up of some of each of these traits. However, some people, as my mother would say, don't have a nice bone in their body.

Such is the case with non-tipping, lying, unattractive couple. Now, any of those traits alone would probably eliminate this couple from my list of potential BFFs, but all of them combined make one doozy of a person that needs to be voted off this island.

Let me explain. Lying couple comes in every week, usually right around two, sometimes before sometimes immediately after. Lying couple will only pay lunch special pricing. This saves them a whopping $4. If you explain that the lunch special ended at two, they either make a scene or lie that we always make exceptions for them. Occasionally servers will change while they are there. They will lie to the second server and say the first server ok'd the discount. This annoys me.

After waiting on them for nine months, they have never left a tip. Now, I don't need the measly two dollars, but I insist on knowing why. Are they just cheap? Do they believe that tipping is perpetuating a system that they disagree with on a moral level. Most importantly, I need to know if I did something wrong.

So, Yesterday, I asked them, politely if they choose not to tip because the service is not up to par. Unattractive gentleman (no offense, but how DO these people get married?) tells me I am nervy and rude, that it is none of my business (really, its MY job he is affecting) and ultimately ignores the question and threatens "your manager is going to find out about this."

Then he calls Sonia and complains. She reiterates the question "What is the reason you didn't tip her? Did she do something wrong?" All she gets is accusations that this customers friends and family all hate me and I am a rude server. She shrugs it off. I am scarred for life.

So now, as I prepare to return to work, I admit to a little hesitation. Is this something I can get over? Is there any way to somehow make myself feel better? Should I seek retaliation or follow the Bible "Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord." 

Yes, it was a nervy question, but it is also nervy to NEVER tip your waitress. Seriously. She is carrying your food and is ultimately responsible for the experience you have in the restaurant. Isn't that worth $1.50?