Mom and I always have fun when we’re together, and at some point we almost always have a moment where we completely lose it… we laugh, and laugh, and laugh, until we pee our pants and tears roll down our faces.

We went shopping while Mom was here over Christmas, and stopped at the local Sonic for a cherry limeade for me and a chocolate-cherry Coke for her. While we waited for the waitress to bring our order, we watched as shopping carts made their way across the Meijer parking lot we were facing, and sadly, we started making up stories about them. One of the shopping carts looked like it was trying to make it over to the Sonic, but got stopped at the curb… we assumed it was just hoping to take a break and get something to drink. There was another shopping cart that was obviously trying to latch itself onto a truck bumper so it could try to break free and make a new life somewhere else, but the wind blew it just the wrong way and all of it’s newfound hopes and dreams were dashed.

The third shopping cart, though, the one pictured above… well, it was really making a break for it. We watched as it rolled through the parking lot, headed for traffic. And I said to my mother, speaking for the shopping cart… “Look! I’m just tired of being pushed around!”

We haven’t laughed that hard in a very long time. It felt GOOD.

I noticed a few days ago that something has been chewing on my Japanese Anemones, also known as windflowers. They were shipped from White Flower Farm in 3″ pots way back in May, but didn’t get planted until June. They’ve been thriving despite the heat and lack of rain, and the one pictured above had one primary stalk that had a leaf on it as big as the palm of my hand. Until last week. I couldn’t imagine what could be causing the damage; it seemed unlikely that the neighborhood wild rabbits would be eating them, as they pretty much stick to the backyard. I haven’t seen any slugs or caterpillars since late June, and really haven’t noticed any beetles. What could be causing the problem?

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Perhaps it could be her??

I’ve never been more shocked at anything in my life than I was to see this little fawn standing with her front feet on my front porch this morning. It was late morning – about 10:45 – and she was just as calm and unhurried as could be. I was backing my car out of the garage and just happened to glance over that way, and there she was. She was nibbling on the sweet green grass that grows on that side of the house where it’s shady, and taking dainty bites of the sunflower and safflower seeds that the birds have tossed out of the feeder in their frenzy.

I actually called the local DNR to see if there was anything that could be done – I live fairly close to a major state highway, and I would feel incredibly guilty if something happened to her. Apparently, however, it’s completely normal for fawns to be left alone during the day – just like with wild rabbits, the does don’t want to attract attention to their young, so they stay away during the heat of the day. Most fawns don’t wander the neighborhood, though… this little one was pretty brave, but I guess it’s just very quiet at that time of day.

I love nature.

As I was browsing Etsy a couple of weeks ago, I discovered CUPCAKES! Did you know Etsy sells edibles? Neither did I! Oh, the excitement… the thought of cupcakes delivered right to my house… I could hardly stand it. I found Fat Daddy Loves You Bake Shop (soon to be Bangerang Bake Shop), with their cupcakes in a jar, and ordered three different flavors. Nicole only lists new batches on Tuesdays, so I was excited to get the ones I did.

So, when I arrived home from work today, what do you think I found on my front porch?

And what do you think was inside?

How cute are these? I got Berry, Berry Dark, PB and J Sammich, and Envy. Mmmm. She even sent forks (three, as if I’m going to share). I wonder if I’ll be able to pace myself?

A fortune cookie, minus the fortune but still very cute:

A hanging house, which will be going in the spare bedroom once I get the walls painted:

And finally, a very sad, used tissue. Wia came over this weekend to visit, and she was really upset that the tissue was so sad — she doesn’t like for anyone to be sad, even a totally inanimate object:

They introduced Blackberrys at work a little over a year ago for those at the management level, and I thought at the time that they were going to become the most hated invention of all time. There’s nothing that burns me more at work than to sit in a meeting with someone — not least of all a one-to-one with my manager — and have them check their Blackberry rather than participate in the meeting. They vibrate to indicate a new message, and suddenly that new email is more important than the previously-scheduled meeting you’re currently attending. It’s incredibly rude, and I said I never wanted to be that connected to work. I still say that, and if they offered me one I think I’d refuse it. Work is work, home is home, and never the twain shall meet. I cherish the hours I spend away from work; I work only so I can afford to do the things I want to do, not because it fulfills me as a person or makes me feel somehow more worthwhile.

Anyway, a few months ago the powers that be decided to really start cracking down on internet usage at work. I have no problem with that; I spend far more time doing personal things online at work than I ever have looking up work-related items, and I’m the first to admit I could use that time more productively. To that end, they began restricting access to webmail like Yahoo and GMail. That was fine, until Twelve moved in at the end of September, and now I have about one hour a day to check various email accounts — 1 for personal email (including a bunny-related listserv), 1 for rescue (including a separate bunny-related listserv), 1 for the blog, and a couple of others. Whatever, it’s just not enough time. So at the top of my list of Reasons Why Amanda Needs a Blackberry is “Ability to check personal email while away from home.” The rest of the list:

• Ability to sync my work calendar and have it with me away from work. I am constantly forgetting whether or not I have an early meeting, and invariably show up 1/2 an hour later than I should have. No more waking up at 7:30 and thinking “Hey, did I have an 8:00 meeting?”
• Ability to get directions away from a computer. I could do this with limited capability on my previous phone, but this baby will use it’s GPS locator thingy to figure out the directions from where I am at the time, and it will tell them to me! How awesome is that?
• Ability to view and edit (with the addition of special software) Word and Excel documents. I keep track of mileage for rescue-related activities, and I am terrible about remembering to put it in Excel. For a long time I considered getting a pocket PC for that reason alone, but now I won’t have to.
• Multimedia capabilities — the Pearl takes fairly decent pics for a cameraphone, it’ll take video clips, it’ll hold music, and because it’s a Sprint phone I got the fancy PowerVision pack along with it so I can watch TV and do other nifty things. I don’t think I’ll be using this as a substitute for my iPod, but it’s nice to have the option to download mp3s.
• Ability to use as a modem if needed. If I should ever happen to be somewhere that wifi didn’t exist, I could connect the Blackberry to my laptop and browse away. I doubt I’ll ever need to use it that way, but again, it’s nice to have the option.

I spent a little time today getting acquainted with my new friend, and I’m duly impressed. I’m still curious about the Palm Centro, and I may take a trip to my local Sprint store to have an up close and personal look, but for now I’m content.