(Screeching to a stop!) Here I Am!

It’s been two weeks since I’ve written anything?  That’s crazy, but so is mi vida loca.  

ThatManILove is pretty much staying non-stop out in the field.  He’ll start to complete a well, then get to the end of the completion, which calls for 24-7 out there.  It’s not unusual for him to leave on Monday, and not come home until Saturday night.  When he does get home, it’s sleep, sleep, sleep.  But it’s sure good to see him when he does come home!  

Life is hard in the oilpatch.  You have to work when you can, and I’m glad for the work.  ThatManILove loves what he does, but it’s very intense, high profile work at times.  And it plays hell on our social lives.  We can’t plan anything ahead, nor have we been able to for a long time.  Sometimes our friends don’t understand, unless they are in the oilfield. Those understand full well.  It’s a miracle if ThatManILove and I get to go catch a 1 1/2 hr movie, much less a meal together.  I never know when he’s going to get to come home - I just know when he does get home, he needs to rest.  I bet he’s averaging less than 20 hours home per week.

And then you add in the ups and downs of my life.  Meetings.  Travel.  Events.  As part of my job, I entertain quite frequently, oftentimes at restaurants for dinner dates.  And lots of times, my customers and their spouses drink.  I’m good with that, because I rarely drink.  Don’t like the taste of alcohol, as a whole.  Every once in a while, maybe a peach bellini.  And that makes for one good designated driver!  We do have fun, though, while getting business accomplished.  I love my job.

I do miss ThatManILove going on dinner dates with my customers and I.  He’s so much fun, and so knowledgeable.  And my customers miss him as well.  One night a couple of years ago, ThatManILove and I picked up one of my customers at his hotel.  I've known this customer for about 4 years, see him weekly, and consider him a friend.  He got in the back seat,  I introduced him to TMIL, and we trucked on to the restaurant.  We were almost at the restaurant when my customer actually realized that TMIL was my husband and not just one of my coworkers.  He said, “Oh!  You really DO exist!”  We all laughed...that’s just the way it is in this season of our lives.

Just spent the week in San Antonio, on the Riverwalk, no less.  In meetings.  It was fun, got to meet new people, and got a lot of things accomplished.  Hot.  Humid.  But fun.

Flying back, my plane was delayed.  That’s the first time in a long time good ol’ Southwest has made me late, so I certainly cannot whine about that.  I love me some SWA.

Aside:  (My husband’s alarm just went off, and it’s 4:00 a.m. His morning report is due by 5:30 a.m.  What does that say about his vida loca? )

I think I’ll try to catch a couple more hours sleep - I have to go help with a fundraiser event on this beautiful Saturday morning.    Y’all have a blessed weekend!

Kids Rock

This past weekend was crazy, but so much fun.

On Saturday, I ran to Big Spring to attend my grand-niece’s 4th birthday. It was SO much fun! She’s off the wall smart, and so much fun to be around! She’s definitely a girly-girl at heart, so her presents consisted of many different things…but her favorite? A remote controlled…..wait for it…yup, tarantula. Check out the picture. This girly cracks me up.

And then, I took "almost 1 year old" pix for a friend of a friend.  Isn't this one too sweet?

Saturday afternoon, our friend and godchild flew in from DFW, and surprised ThatManILove. He was so excited when he opened the car door, ostensibly to “help me haul things in”, and saw baby Ada Jael and her mom, True! (We had the window shades up so he couldn’t see them as he approached the vehicle.)

We have had the best time hanging with these two little ladies. True was raised in this area, so we just opened our house up, and friends filled the house. It was a joy to see everyone, and some even brought their own babies and little ones, making the weekend even more of a blessing!  Everybody fell in love with Baby Ada, and all of the little munchkins visiting.  Like this one...gorgeous!

And Zack?  Well, Zack fell in love with Baby Ada, too.

Genghis Grill Review...

ThatManILove and I tried Genghis Grill tonight. It was crowded, and loud, and we arrived at a later hour. We waited about 15 minutes for a table, but used the wait to visit with some friends.


We were shown to a table, and introduced to our waitress, Miravelle. She explained the drill to us, and escorted us to the food line, where we picked our veggies, meat, and starch, then dropped it off at the grill for cooking.

When the bowls arrived at our table, with our cooked food, the taste was delightful. Meanwhile, the clamor had subsided, and we were able to enjoy a great supper.  TMIL ordered the white fish, and I stuck with mostly veggies.  Good stuff, maynard.  Good stuff.

It wasn’t as quick and efficient as say, PeiWei, or one of those larger chains, but it will do.

If you go visit, ask for server Miravelle. She’s awesome. And we will return.

Vamos Por La Casa!

Wanna know what love is?



Love is stopping at a hotel for the night when you’re less than 2 hours away from your house, but you’re too tired to stay awake driving at midnight. And besides that, you know ThatManILove wants you to be safe. Even if you get the last room at the hotel, there is no parking, and the cowboys, their women and their munchkins are still partying in the breakfast room.


And your eldest son is coming through the same town and wants to see you.


At midnight-thirty.


And his truck trailer loaded with horses is too big to go around the hotel parking lot, so you have to get in your truck and go meet he and his girlfriend at the closest "big enough to turn that honking sucker around" parking lot.


And then you have so much fun visiting with them for thirty minutes that when you get back to the hotel, you’re wide awake.


Awake enough to check out and drive the two hours home at 1:30 a.m.


But you...don’t. You go back to your hotel room and go to sleep.


Yup.  That, people, is love.

How Sweet It Is

This weekend, we visited a local eatery, Pizzeria Venti. We’re friends with the owners, who joined us for supper along with another friend.



When the night was over, we came back to the house, and our friend decided to camp out in our guest bedroom, as she and ThatManILove had been test-driving the wine.  I was the designated driver, so all was good, since I rarely imbibe.


This friend of ours is quite musical, and loves to sing. She made some off comment about the guitars, and I said, “If you ask him, he’ll probably play.”


She did.


And he did.


We started out with some James Taylor (of course) and progressed into worship music. It was fun, and washing. And what a joy to hear our friend sing. Before the weekend was over, we even broke out my Korg keyboard and amp and let her at it. Sweet stuff.


Simple pleasures, people. Simple pleasures.

Just A Little More Time

ThatManILove came home late yesterday afternoon after working 36 hours in the field at one fell swoop.  He was exhausted.

He’s been leaving here around 4 a.m. on Monday mornings, and heading 2.5 hours away to work in the oilfield.  He’s on location most days by 6:30 or 7, then making it to the hotel around 11 at night.  He’s not getting much sleep, after doing reports, etc.

And then, when ThatManILove comes home, there’s always something to do around the house.  We’re unable to see our friends much, because we barely have any time together - usually less than two days.  We’re close to getting finished with the remodel on the house. Maybe then, he will be able to come home and just rest and relax.

Someday soon.

Someday, soon.

Stop the Insanity Already!

I’ve figured out what I’m going to do the next time Zanna the WonderDog goes into heat.

I’m getting a new, larger crate.  I’m going to line it with the best memory foam mattress, and it’s going to be plush.

And then, I’m crawling in, and locking the gate.  And I’m not coming out for Three. Whole. Weeks.

Okay, not really.

We’ve come to the decision that it’s time to spay her.  (As Janie does the Happy Dance!)  We’d love to have one of her pups; however, weighing a litter of champion bloodline GSP’s vs. all the rescue dogs needing homes just does not compute.

We love dogs.  I wish every rescue dog would find a home.  And we’re just not going to contribute to the overpopulation issue.

Final answer.

Where's That Energizer Bunny When I Need Him?

It’s been a busy month around our place.  The Backyard Project is moving along rather slowly - but it’s looking good.  My friends Susan and Monica have already placed new perennials and some annuals in the front flowerbeds, and they look beautiful.  I love love love LIVE flowers.

ThatManILove is working out in the field again, and he’s loving it out there.  The time off was treasured, as well, because he was able to take care of lots of things we’d been putting off.  I enjoyed having him around the house, and he was able to travel with me on business trips.  I miss him not being here every day and night.

Our API committee just finished hosting our umpteenth annual Scholarship Golf tournament. (I seriously do not know how long this tournament has been in existence - I do know that this is my 23rd year to work it.) We had 504 players, 2 days, 2 courses, plenty of cookers and game holes, ice cream, and fellowship.  Some of our scholarship recipients came and worked the tourney, and were just delightful to be around.  On Saturday, we played and worked in 110 degree heat.

I could describe that in a myriad of ways, but let me just say I’m glad it is over, and grateful it was such a success.  You have to have a committee, a team, to help dot every i and cross every t and drive that big ol’ bus.  There is a ton of delegation, a ton of hugs, a ton of sweat.  You gotta have sponsors.  You gotta have players.  And you have to have support on the course, not only with the golf course staff, but also, in the form of cookers, games, ice cream, water, and beer and all the people that make that stuff magically appear.  And it all has to flow seamlessly.  We received tons of compliments, and appreciation for all the hard work. 

The immediate winners are the students who benefit from the scholarships.   Some of them have just graduated high school.  Some have left college, started families, and have gone back to college.

The ultimate winners, however, are you and I.  We have not had one student fall out.  We’ve seen students hit a bump, then get back on the trail.  Many of them have graduated with honors, and are now working alongside us in the oil industry.  Some of them have gone on to be lawyers - doctors - accountants.

They are our future.  

And these students - each and every one of them -  make it all worthwhile.

Even in 110 degree heat.

Saturday! Saturday! Saturday, Saturday!

The long weekend is finally here. Memorial Day.  The day we honor those who serve us, and who have served us.  I'm so thankful for our military, and for my relatives who have served and honored all of us in the United States.  Please remember them this weekend as you trek around.

It's a good thing it's a long weekend, because I'm exhausted.  ThatManILove got home from the field, and that's awesome.

And this morning, ThatManILove's talking we have to go pick out a new sink (to go with the new granite for the kitchen)....and new outside furniture (to go with all the new backyard remodel).

Dude! Honey, I have things to do.  I have to finish the entries for the mega 540 golf tournament stuff and hand it back over to my friend so we can get on with the rest of the duties to get this 2 day, 2 course extravanganza pulled off next weekend.

And I have to go run around with my new friend Melissa who's moving in from Tulsa, and looking for houses.  And I have to go take pictures for more friends sometime this weekend.  We could go to GlenRose and watch Elder Son rope?  Nahhhhhh.  Too far....

And, by the way, did I tell you that I promised you'd put that awesome burn on some salmon this weekend for Melissa and her step-mom?  We gotta show some of that famous Texas hospitality, even though you've torn half of our countertops down and the rest is still in that are we ever gonna freakin' finish this remodel slightly undone state.  It'll be okay, honey.  I promise.

And honey?  Call me after you get your haircut.  I'll meet you wherever.  It'll be fun!

A Life In The Day...

ThatManILove and I booked flights to go to Dallas for the day plus an overnight stay.  8am Saturday flights.  Which mean we had to be at the airport at 7 a.m.  No problem, just an everyday occurrence at the Sounding Forth casa.  And then...it happened. Late Friday night, I get a  call.  My son just arrived home from a long trip to Arkansas.  Twenty minutes later, around midnight, Elder Son walks through the door, saying, “Mom.  I’m here.  Will you look at my leg?”

Four plus years ago, Elder Son had a serious leg surgery that our good doctor healed with a distal realignment procedure.  Sounds easy, but it’s not, by any means.  We had problems upon problems -  he developed blood clots, lost tons of weight, then the wound would not close because he had lost so much weight the skin wouldn’t stretch, and I could go on.  One thing led to another, and it took him 4 months, home health care, and 2 subsequent surgeries before he healed up and got on with his life.

I bet you’re wondering, “Is this the same leg?”

Yes.  Darnit.  Dang the luck.  Creepers.  It’s the same leg.

ThatManILove and I  and Elder Son discussed our options.  Should we go to the Midland emergency room NOW?  The leg is hot.  Tripled in size.  Hard to the touch.  Should we go to the Lubbock emergency room, where Elder Son’s doctor lives and practices, so he could followup?  Between the three of us, we can’t get to a firm answer.

I had a thought.  I ran to get my iPhone...scrolled through the contacts...and found the good Doctor’s cell number - after all these years, I still had it. Elder Son took a picture of his leg, compared to his other leg.  And then, he forwarded the picture, and a short message to his doctor.  Amazingly, said doctor calls Elder Son immediately (remember, it’s after midnight!), and they formulate a plan for Elder Son to go to the emergency room during the daylight hours when the ortho doctor is on call.

By 1:30 a.m., it’s been decided that TMIL and I will go on our trip, but cut it down to a one day trip, with no overnight stay.  Elder Son will go with his father to the emergency room and we’ll be back that night to check on him.

We leave for Dallas at 8am, go take care of our business, have lunch with friends, and head back to the airport.  I call my son, who doesn’t answer.  I call his father, and find out that his mom, my son’s grandmother, has suffered a stroke and they’re all at the emergency room.  So, father and son are at the emergency room where they are supposed to be, but for all the wrong reasons...

We miss our direct flight, and have to fly....from Dallas to Albuquerque, and then to Midland.  Yeah.  We flew over our town, just to come back 2 hours later.

We fly into Midland, and head straight to the hospital to be with Elder Son, his dad, aunt, and cousin.  When we arrive, Nanny has been stabilized to the point that she can be moved into ICU.  We all gather in the waiting room, and then, 2 by 2, get to go into her room to see her.  She’s awake, and communicating...I’m grateful.  We love this woman!

ThatManILove and I head home, hug the WonderDogs, and hit the sack. 

Today will find us at the emergency room, working on Elder Son’s leg.  We covet your prayers, for healing for both Elder Son, and his Nanny.

It’s never boring around here.  


Sunday evening update:  The ER Doc drained 120cc (for some reason, that is all he would drain) of fluid from Elder Son's knee; the Doc doesn't think his knee is infected.   Nanny seems to be coming around and reports have her sitting up eating a meal this afternoon.  Thanks for your prayers!

We May Be A Little Claustrophobic

Earlier this week, ThatManILove and I had a movie date.  We split salad and lasagna at at Pizzeria Venti, then headed to the movies.

We went to see "Date Night", the comedy with Steve Carell and Tina Fey.  The movie had probably been at our theatre 2 days, so we knew that most likely, the theatre would be crowded.

We were the first couple in the theatre, so for once, we sat in the middle of the second row from the top.  (We’re usually side seat aficionados.)  Our theatres are of decent size, for a mid-size Texas town, so there are plenty of seats.

We were early, and I was talking long distance to an old friend from North Carolina, and having a good time. ThatManILove was playing poker on his crackberry.  In about five minutes, a couple came and sat down on our row, about three seats down from me on my right.  And five minutes later, another couple came and sat the exact same distance from ThatManILove, on his left.

ThatManILove starts muttering.

Then, six people, who obviously go to the movies together all the time (I’ve seen them) came and sat...directly in front of us.

I’m still on the phone with my friend, and whispering the play by play to her.  She’s laughing hysterically, and I’m trying not to do the same.  ThatManILove is starting to steam.

People.  The entire theatre was empty.  No one was on the side seats, no one was seated in the lower section.  

The “Dancing Boxes” (what I call the previews) start, and I get off the phone.  But not before 4 people come and sit directly behind us.  I kid you not.

ThatManILove was grumbling.  I turned to him and asked him, “Did you order those special attractant pheremones from one of those funky 1-800 numbers or something?  Because these people are sticking to you like glue, baby.  Glue!”

So...to recap, we were instantly surrounded by 2+2+6+4 people.  The theatre didn’t fill up.  So, Including ThatManILove and myself, there were now 16 people in the theatre.  All smacking on their popcorn, kicking our seats, and talking amongst themselves.  Surrounding us.  In a theatre that probably seats at least 200 people.

And we were dead smack in the center of the top section of 12 seat rows, totally and irrevocably surrounded.  You just can’t get much closer than that.

I think we’ll repair to the side seats next time.

My Back Yard Looks Like a Demilitarized Zone....

Wow.  It’s gone from clean to scene in about 2 days here por la casa.  You see, ThatManILove had a dream.  And one of our friends, Doug, is a whiz at drawing out plans...and they're both good at executing said directive.  ThatManILove sees a plan, it's Katy Bar That Door...you can consider that puppy faded, put to bed, complete. No ifs, ands, or buts.

The next thing I knew, there are strange men over here digging up our entire backyard.  Bringing over slabs of rock for me to pick out colors.  Limestone?  Flagstone?  or Rosa?  Or Arizona?  Arrrrrrgggghhhh!  Digging major holes which are, by the way, driving Zanna the Wonder Girl crazy,  since they have filled them with water in order to ready them for cementing.  She swears there are birds in those holes, and tries to swipe them out with her paw.  We think she sees their reflection in the water.  Her high dollar trainers would be so proud of this girly dog.

this morning....

I digress.  Please forgive me.
I came home this afternoon, and there are these huge pillars of wood sticking up in the air.  Trenches dug all over our back yard.  Zanna’s pissed about that, too.  She looks at us like, “Hey.  I get time out when I dig, what the hey?  You’re not even scolding those guys.” 

Did I mention the phone line was inadvertently cut?  Oh, yeah.  Not that we use it, except for dsl.  And at the last minute, when our friend had already come by and replaced our ancient gas line, ThatManILove decided he needed yet another tap for the fire pit?  Can you say “Cha-ching!” three times in a row, really fast?  YIKES.  We passed up the DIY budget days ago.  And ThatManILove’s talking about a “water feature”.  Maybe even a koi pond.  I guess Zack and Zanna would be German Shorthair Fishing Dogs.  

That’s right, fire pit - water feature - koi pond.  ThatManILove is creating his own little Margaritaville oasis in the back yard.  And when he’s on a mission, he’s on one.  And Zanna is more than stressed out and acting all weird.  There are PEOPLE, Mom, invading HER territory!! And Zack?  He’s loving all this activity - because that means ThatManILove is a wee bit distracted. Distracted dad =  free Zack. Today, ThatManILove got a phone call from the city.  

“Do you have a large brown dog?”

“Yes sir.”

“Do you know he’s running free?”

“No sir.”

The city employee gave ThatManILove the address, which happened to be 4 houses down from ours, and when TMIL went out to get him, the city employee was holding Zack by the collar.  Thank God he didn’t call animal control, we would have had to attend Defensive Doggie and pay a hefty fine.  I tell you all that to inform you that Zack is quietly standing by any door that might crack open enough to allow him the slightest chance of sneaking out.

this afternoon

Within a week or so, though, it should all be shaping up.  And that will be exciting. Today, ThatManILove said, “I might have rushed this all a bit - our timing may be a little off, but babe, I think it will all be worth it.”   Me:  “I just want to finish the kitchen and paint.”  Him:  “Babe, we’ll get lots of use out of this outdoor area - I’m even putting the outlets in so we can pull the musical instruments out if we want.”  Me:  “I know, but people have to walk through our house to get to this outdoor area.”  Him:  “We are so going to enjoy this, I promise.”  I know, I know, but how long is it gonna take this WonderWorld to develop?  Did I tell y'all that it rained today, so none of the workers showed up?  And when I say rain, I mean SPRINKLED.  Weenies.  All of them.  Weenies.

What can I say to that "We are so going to enjoy this, I promise?" ?  I mean, holy crap, we certainly can’t stop now...but if he starts pricing lions and tigers and bears, oh, MY!  Our yard may be paid for, but it's not that freakin' big!

Just finish the backyard already...and then, the backsplash in my kitchen and paint, cowboy, and I’ll be  one happy camperette.  Yes, I will. And honey, you will, too!


It's never boring around here!

Powered Down and Holding...

This is the ol’ I’m having trouble getting back to my blog whine.  Wah.  Okay, I’m done with that post, now on to bigger and better things.  (Quickest ever, huh?)

This is our first weekend por las casa with absolutely no plans.  A friend came in to see us, but basically, we’ve done not one thing but visit, and eat.  And visit, and eat.  And the guys have played guitars, and I’ve taken some pictures.  We’ve gone to the dog park.  ThatManILove’s about to put a burn on some salmon a la grill, our boys should make an appearance sometime this afternoon, and play some of their songs for our friend,  and then....we’re gonna eat. 

It’s been a restful, fun weekend.  Powered down, fun, quiet times. 

So good.

How about you?

Me and My Big Mouth...

Okay, here’s another hospital happening.

Remember when my brother and I were in the emergency room, waiting on my test results so they could take me into surgery for the emergency appendectomy?  How could you forget, you say?  That’s all I’ve been writing about?  Yeah, that day.

I found out there are rules for all the workers at the hospital.  Seriously.

Some of them are annoying.  Very, very annoying.  And before you say a freakin’ word, like there are reasons for rules, believe me, I know.   I didn’t get to this advanced age by always being a rebel without hitting some boundaries in my life.  But....I digress.

Every single caretaker that came into my room said something along the lines of “Hi, I’m Nurse Ratchet.  I’m here to take care of you.  What is your name?  (as they looked at my name tag).  And why are you here?  I was very polite, smiling as much as I could, because, you know, honey gets more stuff done that's how I rock.

Finally, my surgeon’s assistant, a pretty 4th year medical student named Laura, comes in.  I’ll call her Surgeon Laura.  (names and towns have been somewhat modified to somewhat protect the innocent.)

Surgeon Laura sits down by my bed, with my chart.  She’s all smiles, and bubbly, a beautiful young lady.  “Hello, I’m Surgeon Laura.  I’ll be assisting Dr. McDreamy during your surgery.  I understand you’re from Small Local Town.

I assure her I am.  Then she says (wait for it), “Why are you here?”

I turn my head towards her, somehow keep a straight face, and say, “I’m here for a sex change operation.”

Her face totally turns to stone, and she looks away.  I know, you’re thinking, “Oh, Janie - you did not.”  Yeah, I did.

I turn and look at my brother, and he’s about to bust a freakin’ gut.  I turn back to Surgeon Laura, and she’s still in shut down mode. ( Inside, I’m mad at myself - it’s obvious I’ve offended her.) Me and my big mouth.  I have a problem with that automatic zipper that should be installed in my mouth, oh, yes I do.  

I turn back to Surgeon Laura, and touch her arm.  I tell her I’m just kidding,  She finishes her interview, rather tersely, I might add, and gets up and leaves.  Soon after, I’m in the OR, and she’s teasing me about what I said, telling on me to Dr. McDreamy and the surgical team.

The next morning, at 6:30 a.m., she’s in my room, checking on me. Still about halfway drugged, I introduce her to ThatManILove, and tell him “she’s the one I embarrassed about the supposed sex change.”

Surgeon Laura stops me, and she’s smiling.  She said, "I  need to tell you why I shut down on you yesterday.  Last week, I was interning in a mental hospital, FROM YOUR SAME SMALL LOCAL TOWN, and I sat down by this person to admit them into surgery, and basically enacted the exact same scenario.”

Me:  Really?

SL:   Yes.  It really messed me up.

Me:  Why?

SL:  This person was schizophrenic, and it was one of the personalities talking to me, and it wasn’t joking!!!  It was a very uncomfortable situation.  After I figured out you were messing with me, I got a kick out of it.

Yeah, I can sure stick my foot in my mouth sometimes.  You can count on that. You can dang sure count on that.

Operation Blog Fodder - or An Operation IS Blog Fodder

Sorry I’ve been away from blogging, but I have a good excuse.  Oh, sure, she says. 

I've been out doing research for more blog fodder...as if I needed any.

Last Wednesday (if my mind is working right) I had to have an emergency appendectomy.  Oh, yes, I did.  If MiVidaLoca wasn’t loca enough, I had to add that milestone to the route.

I finally got out of the hospital on Monday.  I will have two weeks off to recover, and yeah - it was major surgery.  I was shocked.  I thought an appendectomy was a lot like going to the mall.  In, out, over, done.  Wrong.  So very wrong.

I’m doing well, and was totally surrounded by friends and family, and have been loved on more than a person deserves in one life.

Lots of funny stuff happened, I’ll try to remember it all and put it down.  

For those of you who knew what was going down, called and sent cards and e-mails, thanks so much.

Life is good..and my body hurts.  But I forgot, this is a no-whine zone.  Have I told you ThatManILove rocks?

The Cure to Any Marriage Woes - Just Shoot Like a Girl!

Scanning the online news today, I saw the headline How To Live Longer on msnbc.com.

One of the sub-topics was “Don’t Be A Drama Queen” and you’ll live longer.

Who writes this stuff?

The article had some great points, though, for couples...

1. Fight fair.
2. Women’s hearts suffer when they hear or make hostile comments.
3. Men’s hearts reacted badly when confronted with domineering words.

Please note the article did not define a "Drama Queen" to be male or female.  (And baby, I’ve seen both!  Remember, I hang out a little bit with golfers, shooters, AND team ropers.  Grown-up ones! Whinier people I’ve never seen - but I won’t go there.  Oops.  Already did.)

Well, okay then.  I’ll make you a deal, honey darlin’, ThatManILove.  I won’t tell you what to do if you don’t get hostile.  Bueno?  I mean, I can't remember you ever getting hostile, but this is merely a preventative step.  

Agreed? Truce-amundo? Capiche?

If we ever get to the point where we can’t agree, then let’s at least agree to repair to the ol’ shooting range.  And you can even pick the shotgun shells, the date, time, and weather conditions. A duel, as it were.  Our shotguns are of the same quality and caliber, so it's a push there (even though I did win the Beretta Teknys, give it to you, then beg for it back when I started having major Browning Gold malfunctions.    But I’m NOT an indian giver - and you were so sweet to let me have it that day I shot 89/100.  Notice, I ran right to the gunsmith and he cut the stock down for a custom fit - for me! Have I told you lately that I love you?  And I love that 30" barrel?)  But, I digress.  Back to the case in point.

When and if we ever disagree and I admit, there is the rare occasion, let’s just take it to the sporting clay range.  Let’s work it out there.  Okay?  Then, you’ll be dominated without hostile words, and you’ll live longer.  Just pure-d talent will prevail.  And we’ll both take our aggression out on those little clay targets.

In other words, rope up, cowboy, and shoot like a girl.  Your girl!  And we'll both live longer.

Finish that job and hurry home.  ThatGirlYouLove misses you!


Love,