I'm Living in a Cartoon Today

Today I am getting a close-up view of those devil vs. angel shoulder conversations you see in cartoons. I ended up on the losing end of a business transaction in which I was Buyer B, patiently waiting to see if Buyer A, who had legitimate "first dibs" on a sale, was going to be able to complete the transaction. Out of the blue today, the Seller sold to Buyer C, despite our scheduled appointment to discuss the sale this weekend.

As if traveling through a Pixar short film, I have carried on conversations with both the little shoulder angel and his nemesis the devil concerning this event. The devil's options are so delicious ... they involve accusations, anger, well-made and deserved points, guilt, shame, remorse, separation ... all those things that should rightly be the result of such a deal as this. The angel's options are far less glamorous at this moment ... they involve humility, acceptance, understanding, a continuing relationship, and trust that God knows what He's doing.

Although I have thoroughly enjoyed the fantasized conversations encouraged by the cartoon devil, they will remain in my head and my prayers tonight will be two-fold ... that these conversations become less tantalizing quickly and that I find comfort in God's will for my life, whatever that may be.

Isabella and Black Thunder

Over the summer, we sold Isabella, Willie's beloved old Jeep Cherokee when Willie bought his new Honda. Andy also bought a new car and instead of selling Black Thunder, his old Ford F150 pickup truck, to Carmax, Gary & I decided to buy it from Andy so that we could use it and lend it to our friends.

Now, one of our buddies needs a truck for his construction business. What a perfect opportunity to help someone and to give Black Thunder a purpose beyond moving the occasional piece of furniture or carrying cases of soda from Costco. Selling him the truck is the right thing to do.

That does not mean it is the easy thing to do. The loss of Black Thunder also marks the end of an era for me ... one more step toward empty nesting and Part Two of parenthood. With the boys, I have now moved from being a full-time manager to a mere consultant rarely consulted. Just as it should be, I suppose.

Farewell, Black Thunder. It's been great!

Black Thunder

Isabella

Weight Watchers Online

Weight Watchers allows you to keep track of your food intake, or points, online. You simply enter the food name, or the calories, fat grams and fiber grams of what you're eating and the nifty Points Tracker determines the number of points you've just chewed up and subtracts that number from your total allotment for the day (a whoppin' 18 points ... for some perspective, a medium-sized apple is 2 points. So is a Rice Krispie Treat. Who in the world would choose the apple?!?).

One of the cool high-tech-y things the Points Tracker does is keep track of foods you eat often. These you can mark as your "Favorites" so that it is easier to include them on a regular basis. As I was inputting my morning Kashi Bar and small banana (3.5 points down the drain), I looked over my "Favorites" list and decided I am probably not doing this right. Here's what's on my list:

Freezer pops - 1 point each

Goldfish - 18 fish for 1 point

Hostess 100 calorie cupcakes - 2 points

Oreo Fun Stix (oh. my. gosh. de-lish & quite Fun indeed!) - 2 points

Oscar Mayer Bacon Slices - 4 slices for 2 points

Popcorn - A whole bag for 2 points

Baked Ruffles - 15 chips for 2 points

Kraft Single Cheese Slices - 1 point each

Tootsie Rolls - 2 for 1 point

Arnold Sandwich Thin Wheat Roll - 1 point

(that holds the cheese & bacon!)

If I eat all of that, I only have 3 points left for the day ... which is conveniently the number of points needed for a delicious WW Cookie Dough Ice Cream Sundae!