What the H?

Today I got to participate in one of my favorite activities: calling my credit card company. (FYI: no this is not a picture of my card. This is an example of fake information that I plant throughout my blog.) Yes, next to calling insurance companies, calling my credit card company is a favorite midday activity for me, mostly because it keeps me humble, thus allowing me to better connect with the plebians that surround me.

Some examples: Once I called to ask them to cancel a card that had been missing for...I don't know, 5 or 6 months? Hey, I just wanted to make sure it was really lost. Another time I was Indian-accent-ed and fast-talked into signing up for some sort of card insurance thingy. (Note to self: If you're asked a bunch of questions that the answer to is "yes," don't just say "yes" to the next question if you can't understand it.) I had to call back and say that I didn't want the thing I said I just wanted. You see where this is going.

So today I called to cancel a credit card and couldn't remember the password on the account. My mystery question was "A favorite vacation place." For some reason, perhaps the accent and fast-talking, I thought the question was "A favorite vacation place you went to as a child." Uhhhh...my family didn't really do a "vacation place." Unless you count working on the farm in Wyoming.  Which I guessed, by the way. I got several helpful hints from the polite Indian man, who was probably repeatedly smacking his forehead in frustration. "It's a state." "It starts with the letter 'H.'" Anona: uuuhhhhhhmmmm. Gentle readers, do you know how many states start with the letter 'H?'"

One.

Yes, that's right. I don't think New Hampshire counts. After possibly injuring himself from the forehead smacking, the nice man passed me on to an even nicer lady, who also tried to get me to guess the password but quickly gave up and moved on to trying to get me to guess where I used the card back in April when I last used it. "It was in Murray." Anona: uuuuhhhmmm. "A tea shop in Murray." Anona: Hmm. That's odd. I don't drink tea. Are there any tea shops in Utah?  Was it a Thai place? I'm pretty sure it was Thai. Lady: "No, sorry."

So was I. But really, if I can't guess Hawaii then how am I supposed to remember my non-existant trip to a tea shop in Murray? Finally I was asked for my routing number. (Here, let me give it to you. 567834129) It took me a while to find the checkbook--I forgot where I put it--but my native intelligence triumphed in the end! We'll just ignore the part where I had to ask the nice lady which numbers on my check were the routing numbers.

Homeschool Summer To-do List

Saw this at my parents' house...made me laugh. Such a typical summer to-do list for homeschoolers. I especially liked the last item on the list.

School options for Sammy have been on my mind this year. I really want her to do preschool a couple days a week, just to play and get social time, but I don't know if we can afford it. Mom brought up that I could do Joy School, or a preschool co-op, but I don't want to be social, I just want Sammy to be. I don't know if I'm that lady that organizes all the moms for stuff like that, and I have no idea who in our neighborhood I would even ask to do it with me. We just moved here a few months ago, and I really haven't clicked with anyone yet.

Also, I was thinking that I probably won't homeschool my kids. I really like structure and routine, and one of the most attractive things about homeschool is the freedom of it all. The freedom to explore whatever interests you, go on crazy roadtrips and fieldtrips when all the other kids are behind a chain link fence in the schoolyard, set your own schedule, and condense 7 drawn-out hours of school into 2. If I homechooled my kids I would probably be very structured, thus missing the point.

Of course, I have no idea how the public school system really functions. Maybe I'll hate sending my kids to school and decide to keep them home. Maybe I'll send my kids to public school and feel guilty the rest of my life for doing it, because all I heard growing up was how great homeschool was, and how unlucky those poor public school kids were.

Note to self: maybe you should take it one thing at a time and decide what to do with the preschool situation.

Curfew Will Not Ring Tonight!

I took a quiz once that was supposed to tell me whether I was a morning lark or a night owl. I really like taking quizzes, but the results were disappointing. Apparently I am part of a small category of people that are both. I really like staying up late at night. However, I'm really productive in the mornings. (Well, I used to be. My plans for getting up early and accomplishing things fizzle out when my children wake up earlier than 6.) So after the quiz I was no closer to understanding myself and how I work. Very disappointing.

Anyway, on Friday I stayed up late taking care of my children that just would not go to sleep, then I stayed up super late watching Hulu in the bathtub while eating chocolate. Can you tell my husband was gone? (Week 1 of a three week absence. Killer.) Not that I was missing him. In fact, I was pretty mad at him. He wouldn't return my calls and hadn't called me all day. While I was waiting by my phone and wrangling kids, Austin was probably out doing some wild partying with his fellow employees. (Or going out to get cupcakes with them like he did on Wednesday. These finance guys aren't exactly known for their wild partying.) In between my kid wrangling and chocolate eating, I decided that I didn't have to stand for this any more. I shot off an email to Austin about how it worries me when he doesn't call, it's not acceptable, and he should not even try to give me any excuses for his thoughtlessness.

Imagine my surprise when shortly after I went to bed at midnight, I heard a knock at the door. I jumped out of bed and was about to open the door when I thought I had better ask who it was. "Who is it?"

"Me," came a very tired voice. Yes, dear reader, it was my husband, who after hours of flying and one very delayed flight had shown up on our doorstep to surprise me. Note to self: The schedule of an owl and the brain of a lark is a dangerous combination. Perhaps I should have slept on that email.

Note to Self

Note to Self: ALWAYS LOOK IN THE MIRROR BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE HOUSE. That way you will avoid looking in the mirror when you get home and seeing a huge splotch of zit cream on your chin that you forgot to remove. Yeah, all those friendly people at the grocery store, I think they were laughing at me, not with me.