Black Belt Mama

Just call me Miss Gulch

When one lives in an area where there are leash laws, why do some people find it so impossible to follow the laws?  Why are these people always the ones with the dangerous dogs?  Why do they have to live in my neighborhood? 

Reasons I Want to Move:

1.  Better/Bigger yard for the kids
2.  Extra bedroom for guests
3.  Want a house without so many steps
4.  Neighbor who leaves Christmas decorations up until April (Did I mention that she's Jewish?), and thinks that her deck is the dumpster
5.  Psycho neighbors in the back of me who still don't get it that they need to have their damn dog on a freaking leash.

Go ahead and call me Miss Gulch.  As far as I'm concerned, Dorothy should have had that dog on a leash too.

I am livid, people.  LIVID.  If you've been reading me for a while, you remember vividly (as do I) the day I was carjacked by a pit bull.  Long story short, a pit bull jumped in my van, wouldn't leave and had to be picked up by animal control.  The owners were cited and a few days after my little event, the pit bulls (as in plural; they had two) attacked someone and were subsequently put down. 

I was relieved that it was over.  I took no joy in knowing that two animals had been put down, but I was relieved that I didn't have to worry about the safety of my children anymore.  Now, the same stupid owners who had no concept of leash laws are at it again. 

Tonight I was out in my back yard watering my garden when a pit bull puppy came running into my yard.  I instantly knew it was a pit bull, dropped my hose and went into my house.  The dog came right up to my screen door, so I shut the main door and went bounding upstairs to spew my outrage at Mr. BBM.  I went out on my deck and there was the dog, digging in my freshly mulched garden with no owner in site.  I yelled at it to leave and went bounding up more stairs to report my findings.

Mr. BBM went outside and stood at the edge of our yard.  The pit bull puppy came right up to him and was actually very friendly.  Its owner came a few minutes later.  From Lil C's bedroom window, I hissed, "say something!" so he did.

"Dog get off its leash?" Mr. BBM inquired.

"No," its stupid owner said, "she plays with [other stupid dog that I also reported for being in my yard all the time] in his yard and ran away.

Mr. BBM then expressed his displeasure at her dog running around and told her that he preferred that she keep her dog on a leash since our girls are outside and will be afraid. (By "girls," I'm fairly certain he meant me.)

She mumbled something and walked home.  I watched her walk home so I was sure it was the same house and it most certainly is.  I was going to just stew about it.  The puppy had been nice enough to Mr. BBM.  The owner had eventually retrieved her (without an apology though).  Then I talked to my other neighbor who told me that the dog was up in our yards over the weekend too.  These are the same owners who raised two other animals that were violent.

The camel's back is broken.

I called the police officer I spoke to in the past.  I don't want this becoming an issue throughout the warm months.  I want to be able to be outside and not worry about some random dog coming up to us.  In case you haven't figured it out, I'm not exactly a dog person and I shouldn't have to worry about the possibility of being carjacked again or having my garden ruined by some dog and its irresponsible owner. 

I explained to the officer that I just wanted the name of the person again (I had thrown it away thinking the problem was over) so I could report the incident to the township which would send them a warning letter.  I told him that enough of my neighbors already think I'm Miss Gulch and I don't want to overreact but. . .

He cut me off.  Puppy or not, friendly or not, they are breaking the law.  He said he was going to personally call them and warn them to keep their dog on a leash from now on.  He told me if I see the dog off its leash again, to call them immediately.

An hour before the encounter with the new pit bull, my kids were playing on the patio in their sandbox.  I repeatedly came inside the house to grab them juice boxes, tissues and toys.  I had finally relaxed enough to feel comfortable doing so. 

Miss Gulch got a really bad wrap and was completely misunderstood; and I can NOT wait until I move. 

In Search of Art

Over the weekend, a friend of mine sent me a link to this article: "For Senior, abortion a medium for art, political discourse."  (Now there are all kinds of news stories saying it's "creative fiction."  For the record, the "artist" still says it's real.)  The short and not sweet version of it is basically this: some messed up chick inseminated herself multiple times over a 9 month period, then induced abortion, and took video and pictures of herself doing so in the name of art.  (You should know that she's referring to these multiple incidents as "miscarriages."  FYI to the art student, it's only a "miscarriage" if it's a natural occurrence.  It's called abortion when you do it to yourself and want it to happen.) That's right people; she's displaying everything from the videos to the blood.  She decided to run her body through multiple induced miscarriages/abortions to "spark conversation and debate on the relationship between art and the human body."  Here's some conversation for you on that.

I am absolutely aghast about this.  What professor approves such a reckless and disgusting project?  What kind of person thinks this is a good idea?  This is one project that carries the whole, "my mind, my body, my choice" thing a bit too far.  This type of "project" should not be an option or a choice.  It's just plain sick. 

This misguided and obviously in-need-of-help individual thought she was making art, when in fact she was starting human lives and disposing of them so that she could create what she deems to be "art."  What's next?  Let's shoot people and take pictures of the aftermath to spark conversation about violence? 

If she wants to do things to her own body, fine; but when she decided to use potential human lives as toys in her stupid little game, she crossed the line. I'd also like to know more about this so-called self insemination.  What does that mean exactly?  She had sex with random people?  She went to a fertility clinic and was inseminated there?  If that's the case, I'd like to know which idiots continued to inseminate this obviously disturbed woman.  When I think about all the people I know who desperately want to add to their family and can't, it makes me even more sick.  Recently there have been some seriously disturbing displays of art, but this little abortion project is the absolute worst. 

Another blogger recently posted a link to pictures of dead people that was also being called "art."  Readers of her blog posted hundreds of comments talking about the "beauty" of these pictures and stating that anyone who doesn't like them can't deal with their own mortality.  Maybe I'm guilty of that, because I thought the pictures were disturbing and anything but art.  But what I'd really like to know is this: when did "art" stop being Monet and Picasso and start becoming a must-push-the-limits toying with human lives and subsequent death?

If these displays are "art," then I can do without.  Paint brush anyone?

We've Got it ALL Wrong

When I was a high school English teacher, my students spent an entire week of our Julius Caesar unit decorating the classroom to look like ancient Rome.  While many students in the other sections of 10th grade were busy working on study guides, my students were studying architecture and erecting carpet rolls into pillars, drawing replicas of the statues and art seen at that time that were hung up around my classroom and preparing to become ancient Romans.  On one of these days, a principal was walking the halls and noticed that the entrance to my room now had pillars as seen in all the Caesar movies.  He walked in and was shocked to find that he had been transported back to ancient Rome. 

My students didn't sit at their desks for that unit and take turns reading lines.  Instead they requested parts and stood in the front of the classroom and acted the play out.  It was a play after all, meant to be acted out, not read like a newspaper.  I can pretty much guarantee you that my students had a much better understanding of Julius Caesar and what actually happened than the students who sat in other classrooms filling out 18 pages of study guide while they tried to read the play independently.

During my second year of teaching, the English teachers and administration decided that students should have 10-15 minutes of SSR (Silent Sustained Reading) in our classrooms. I was all for it.  I knew that many of my students didn't pick up a book outside of the classroom and I was happy that we were told to give them that time to read.  Each quarter they created a cool project based on something they read.  Some of my students crafted tattered looking journals of what it might be like to live on a deserted island.  Others made fashion portfolios of what the styles might have been during the time period they were reading about.  It was a great way to get others interested in the books and the students really seemed to enjoy sharing what they had read and learned. 

Half way through the year, the administration changed their mind, and told us that we should instead use 10-15 minutes a day drilling out students with multiple choice questions as seen on the state tests.  A veteran teacher and I spoke up.  We told the administration that all the research out there says that teaching to the test teaches nothing but how to take that test.  No real learning takes place. The research also states that students who are exposed to active learning, who aren't forced to take standardized type test after standardized tests, actually do better on standardized tests overall.  It didn't matter.  Despite a Master's degree and many hours of classes that said otherwise, we were overruled. That was my last year of teaching.

Since I left the world of education, it's only gotten worse.  I have several friends who are still teaching in classrooms and the emphasis on testing, testing, testing, is stronger now than it ever was.  Today I read an interesting article in The Wall Street Journal about students in Finland.  The Finns are kicking our butts.  I read the article with great interest and there are several things that stand out as much different from the classrooms of today. 

First, the Finns don't start going to school until they are over the age of seven (To all those who have silently shaken their head at me for not putting my kids in preschool or Big I in full day Kindergarten, read that line again).  They rarely have more than a half hour of homework per night.  They don't have clubs, honor societies, sports or tracked classes, and there is little or no standardized testing.  Despite the fact that their teachers have the freedom to come up with their own materials and choose the books and materials for their classrooms, the students score higher than every other country in the world in science.  In math, they're number two, coming in a point behind Taiwan.  In reading, they score only slightly less than South Korea, also coming in second.  In Finland, teachers are trusted to do what's right for their students and they're obviously doing it. 

When people from other countries go to observe their classrooms, they find simple chalkboards, not technologically laden classrooms, an environment where the more advanced students are helping the slower students, highly educated teachers, and kids who take responsibility for their own learning and actions. 

I can't tell you how many times I had parents calling me to make excuses for their kids on why they couldn't complete their homework or show up after school for extra help.  Only about 30% of my students completed their homework each night.  The other 70% didn't want to take responsibility for their learning.  These were the same students who came groveling to me the week before report cards came out asking if they could still turn in those 10 assignments that never got finished.  I had parents and coaches who came lobbying for these special privileges as well.  For the record, I never caved in. The Finns don't seem to have these problems. 

When they come here for student exchanges though, they are often asked to repeat the year upon returning.  In the article, one student who spent a year in the states said that all her tests were multiple choice, a project consisted of spending an hour gluing a poster and most kids didn't complete their homework.  So why do teachers do these types of things when they obviously aren't working for the students here? 

Education administration is so ridiculously top-heavy.  While there are plenty of good administrative people, there are plenty of people who sit at the top collecting top dollar salaries and dictating to teachers what's best for their students when they haven't stepped foot in a classroom in a decade.  Administration and government need to get out of the classrooms and let the teachers do their jobs.  Given the time and materials and freedom to do so, I think most teachers would choose to forgo the multiple choice tests that administration dictates are necessary and create more active learning environments where true learning takes place.  There's a reason why even my Special Education students had a better comprehension of Shakespeare than some of the other kids from classrooms where they just sat and read Caesar. I didn't do anything in that unit that translated to state tests, but the learning was apparent.   

While educators from around the world are studying how the Finns are getting it done, I think they should be looking in both the classroom and beyond.  It's not just how teachers are teaching in the classroom.  It's also the home life that matters.  The truth is that there are a great many parents who are not involved enough in their children's lives here.  We have students who don't take responsibility for their actions or education.  We have a society full of people who don't see the importance of learning for the sake of learning.  This is something that has to change, and the first place it has to happen in order for us to compete with the rest of the world is in the home.

***Speaking of "education," Monday begins Admired Martial Artists Month here at BBM.  I'm SO excited for Monday.  The articles are rolling in from our esteemed list of contributors and I think you're going to REALLY enjoy reading what they have to say!  Grab the button and help spread the word!  Thanks to Becky for all the great buttons!!!

How to Make a Head McExplode Part II

I dropped Big I off at a play date yesterday and there was no way I was getting Lil C out of that house quietly without some serious bribery.  When you are wearing a leg brace, it's just not worth it to cause a temper tantrum.  I'm wisely choosing my battles.  So, I promised her a happy meal from McDonald's and she was more than happy to leave with me like a little angel.

We went to the drive-thru.  I ordered a meal for me that cost $4.98 and a happy meal for Lil C.  There was a sign up that said, "Order any extra-value meal and get a happy meal for $.99".  Perfect.  So, my total before tax should have been $5.97.  I couldn't hear my total through the speaker, and their display monitor wasn't working properly.  I should have seen trouble coming right then and there.

When I pulled up to the window, the woman reached for my credit card and said my total was $9.54.  WHAT? 

I politely told her that the amount was incorrect.  She didn't even allow me to finish my statement before she started barking at me (as if I'd just called her a horrendous name or something) that "I don't punch in the orders; I just take the money.  If it says it's $9-something, then that's what it is."

Now I'm annoyed, and my head is about to mcexplode.  This happens at McDonald's a lot.

"Well actually, that's not what it is.  My meal costs $4.98 and the happy meal is $.99.  That equals $5.97, nowhere near $9 and I'm not paying $9."  I considered asking her to add it up in her head but realized that this was probably an unrealistic request considering my treatment thus far.  I did the work for her and still. . .

"Well, that's what it says," she barks back at me.

"Well, then you're going to need to go find someone who knows how to fix it and work the cash register because I'm not giving you my credit card until you do."  I contemplated driving away, but there was Lil C to consider and also the principle of the matter.

She then proceeds to bark at me that "I can't see the breakdown until I charge you and print out the receipt.

"Well, then you're going to need to find someone who can," I tell her, "because that's just going to make extra work for both of us-you over-charging me, and me having to get you to take the charge off when this is already proving difficult enough for you."

"Well I didn't do it!" she yells at me.

"I didn't say you did," I said back to her calmly.  "I just told you that the total is not correct and asked you politely to please fix it.  If you can't do that, then kindly find someone who can and will.  I'm not going to be overcharged $3."

Maybe money grows on trees (or by overcharging customers) for McDonald's, but I work hard for mine.  Meanwhile, the cars are lining up behind me. 

She slams the window and leaves the area in a huff.  My blood was boiling on the inside. I believe I started breathing as if trying to get through a bad labor contraction.  She comes back, punches a couple things into the cash register and amazingly enough, my charge is reduced by $3.  Amazing.  It turns out those cash registers can take charges off.  Who would have ever thought they could do such an incredible thing????  They seem to just need a willing human being to work them.

I hand her my credit card and she hands me back my receipt.  It's only as I'm driving away that I see that she actually charged me ten cents more than she should have for the happy meal.  I didn't go back.

It's just not worth it.  I think we're done at McDonald's.  My blood pressure will thank me, and so will our arteries.   

So NOT Cool

This is "light mix turning into rain by rush hour":

The roads are covered with snow.  Roads are closed due to accidents.  It will probably take Mr. BBM three hours to get home.  I almost fell on my butt when I had to retrieve Big I from school because I can't fit boots over my stupid immobilizing brace and it was slippery out there.  It's rush hour and the snow is coming down like crazy.  So not COOL!

Oh, almost forgot to mention that when I got in the car to go get Big I, I attempted to clear off the windows without having to walk around with the scraper.  I lowered the windows, but the stupid automatic thing on my driver side window brought the window the entire way down which brought a big old pile of snow right into my lap.  Also NOT cool.  Actually quite cool as my heated seat quickly melted the snow onto my pants. GRR. 

Here's another thing that's not cool.  This is my leg:

 

I stood in front of the mirror the other day in my underwear and could not believe the difference in my legs.  The difference is just ridiculous.  It's not at all unlike that chicken leg.  I think it's a cruel joke for women who have ACL surgery.  As women, we always carry more weight on the upper thigh/butt area.  If ACL surgery is going to take away my muscle, at the VERY LEAST, it could also take away some of the upper thigh/butt area.  Just call me KFC BBM because that's what I look like.  It is so not fair, and SO NOT COOL!

Here's yet one more thing that's not cool.  Mr. BBM and I bought our new exercise bike primarily for me and my rehabilitation.  On the first night we had it, I was already hurting from PT so I didn't take a turn on the bike.  Mr. BBM spent the whole evening on the thing. 

The next day, I went to ride the bike before my shower.  The seat was so insanely high that I could barely get on the thing.  Once I did, it only took a second to realize I was NEVER going to be able to make this work.  I jumped off the bike onto my good leg and tried to adjust the seat.

SWEAT.

FRUSTRATION.

SCREAMING.

SWEARING.

And a phone call. . . Mr. BBM answers his work phone.

"What the hell are you trying to prove?  (Mr. BBM tries to inquire why I'm so upset but I continue. . .) No seriously, what are you trying to prove?  I just spent the past 10 minutes trying to adjust the seat that SOMEONE screwed on so ridiculously tight that I will NEVER be able to move it.  I can't ride the bike, and who did we buy this bike for?  Me, right?  ME!  It's just like when you screw the cap on the bottle of soda too tight that I can't open it.  Are you trying to prevent me from drinking soda?  Are you trying to prevent me from riding the bike?  Just as you show common courtesty in lowering the toilet seat, do a girl a favor and lower the bike seat when you're done, especially if you are going to be intent on proving you are Hercules."

So

NOT

COOL!   

If it Looks like a Rat. . .

For a moment, imagine you are a model.  You've always taken good care to make sure you accept projects that are respectable.  You don't want your image tarnished because you have a husband, children and even elementary students since your day job is as a graduate student in elementary education. 

You accept a job modeling a necklace.  You go to the shoot, and film several different scenarios.  They're all family friendly and potentially humorous.  At the end of the shoot, while wearing a silky lingerie camisole and necklace, you're asked to lay down on the red satin sheets and writhe around a bit as if you're a-hem, enjoying something. 

When the ad comes out, the only thing you see is yourself writhing around on the sheets, looking "happy."  All that funny family-friendly footage is gone.  This is what remains. If you can't see the video, go here for the video direct from you tube.  (This is totally not work safe unless you watch it on mute.  I wouldn't watch it around your children either unless you plan on having a lengthy discussion that you might not yet be ready to have):

Need a minute?  Understandable. . .

(Twiddling thumbs). . .  ready now? 

So, you do what any scorned American would do, right?  You sue the company for portraying you in such a manner and expect to get $5 million out of it. 

If I didn't know better, I would think that this entire thing (commercial and lawsuit) is a publicity stunt pulled by Szul.com and the model to gain "buzz" about their ad campaign and to get their name out there.  I'm sorry, but I just can't imagine someone being stupid enough to think that footage like this wouldn't be used if you allow it to be filmed.  We live in America where sex sells.  Let's see, humorous commercial featuring a necklace, or one with a woman writhing around on a bed? I'm putting my money on the bed images to get more attention.  How about you? 

This isn't some young, naive girl either.  She's a grown woman, in her 30's with a family and a career other than modeling.  If she's been in the business for so long, then why couldn't she spot a bad situation.  If I'm a model and I go to film a funny commercial and someone asks me to put on lingerie and writhe around on satin sheets, I think I'm probably going to sense that there is a serious problem and get myself out of there.  If she was so concerned about not tarnishing her "wholesome" image, then why did she agree to do this anyway?  It's not like someone stood there with a gun and made her do what she did. 

Congratulations to Szul.com for finding a way to get their previously unknown name out there in ways they could not ever have imagined.   There's nothing like another frivolous lawsuit to get the attention of the entire country and beyond. 

Why Parents Need to be Involved

I found this article today and it made me so angry.  A 39 year old karate school owner took sexual advantage of a 15-year old female student at his karate school.  If you read the article, you'll see that the girl was made to sign an "oath of obedience" for her training.  What I want to know is this?  Where were the girls parents when she was being asked to sign such a document?  No daughter of mine would ever be allowed to sign such a document; and I would NEVER allow my kids to train at a place where I wasn't allowed to watch every second.

If there is one thing I can't stand, it's martial artists who proclaim to uphold the values of the martial arts when their intentions are completely classless.  Any adult who takes advantage of a child should rot as far as I'm concerned.  This is just one of many incidents like this, where young impressionable students are taken advantage of under the guise of martial arts training.  It really is a shame that there is no governing board to take care of disgusting people like this, because this certainly isn't the first time and it won't be the last. 

As a former teacher in a public school, I had to submit to background checks and finger-printing.  I'm starting to think that any type of teacher, including karate teachers, should have to undergo these types of screenings.  Anyone can start up a karate school, put up inflated claims about who they are and what they know, and use it as a base for seedy behavior. 

How do people like that live with themselves? I hope they throw the book at this guy, teaching others like him a much needed lesson. 

Why Do We Care SO MUCH about Celebrity Butts?

In my next life, I am coming back as a man.  Men don't tear their ACL's nearly as often as women do.  Men don't face the kind of scrutiny that Jennifer Love Hewitt is facing over her derriere. 

Seriously, what is wrong with PEOPLE?

There is nothing that infuriates me more than when people take a female celebrity and start insulting her up and down because of a body part that is less than perfect.  This certainly isn't the first time. I know it won't be the last time. News flash!!!!

NO ONE IS PERFECT!  No one!

Unlike a lot of attacked celebrities, Jennifer Love-Hewitt has decided to speak up and I'm so glad she did.  How I would LOVE to see the cellulite on those so critical of Love-Hewitt's heiney; because I can pretty much guarantee you that those who are being critical have plenty of imperfections themselves. 

In a society where eating disorders run rampant in the teenage population and beyond, news stories like this drive me insane.  We have young girls getting nose jobs, botox injections, and subjecting themselves to all kinds of risky procedures to be more "beautiful" in the eyes of society.  As the mother of two daughters, I am sick about how we dissect womens bodies every single day in the media.  People need to realize that the gross majority of pictures in magazines are airbrushed, photo shopped and manipulated to make women look flawless.  No one is flawless. 

***When you calm down after reading this rant, be sure to visit The BBM Review.  Leave a comment on the Baby Jamz post and you're entered to win a new toy!

Thankful to live in the USA

Have you seen this? (and this version of the same news report?) A 19-year old woman in Saudi Arabia was gang raped by seven men.  Because she was in a car with a male who was not her relative, but rather a student she used to know, she is being punished with six months in jail and 200 lashes.  She will be permanently scarred from those lashes, not like being gang-raped by seven men wouldn't be scarring enough or anything.  I should also mention the number of lashes was doubled when she went to the media to try to get help. 

It's when I read about things like this, that it makes me appreciate how lucky I am to live in the country that I do.  We're not perfect here.  We have problems with womens issues and we certainly have issues with rape here too.  But I doubt there is a single person in this country who thinks that a victim of gang-rape by seven men needs any additional punishment for her so-called "crime." 

When I was in graduate school, I used to tutor three master's level students from Saudi Arabia.  I helped them as an ESL (English as a Second Language) tutor.  We would often sit and have long conversations about Saudi Arabia and what life was like there.  One of my students told me that there was virtually no crime there because those who steal lose their hands, quite a deterrent for a shop-lifter.  While it's all fine and good that their robbery rates may be lower, the media is often reporting vicious rapes that punish the victims.  We also hear about honor killings where families believe that once a woman has been raped, it's their responsibility to kill their own family member to restore honor to their family.

It's this warped kind of thinking that infuriates me.  It shows a complete lack of respect for women.  It shows a complete inability to empathize with a victim.  It gives men free reign to do whatever they want to the poor women who live in countries with ridiculous laws like these, because women don't want to report the crime for fear that they'll be given lashes and jail time as well, if not worse.  While the men in the Saudi Arabia incident are being punished with jail time, what they're doing to the woman is nothing short of disgusting. They are taking a young victim of a violent crime and further destroying her. 

For those who might say that it's none of our business what they are doing in Saudi Arabia and other countries that buy into this ridiculous mind set, I couldn't disagree more.  What they're doing to that woman and others like her is a crime that should concern us all.  It's a crime against human decency.

Edited to add:  Al Jazeera states in their article covering this issue, that the male friend of the rape victim was also raped by the men.  He too, received 90 lashes.  While the US papers are reporting that the rapists have been sentenced to five years in prison, Al Jazeera states that the men are receiving 1-5 years in jail.  Big difference.  All parties are receiving lashes.  Click on the second link above to read the full story. My point is that the sentencing the victims to lashes is ludicrous!   

How to Make a Head McExplode

McDonald's is our once a week, Mommy-can't-take-being-a-short-order-chef-anymore, treat.  Despite the fact that Big I is professing her undying devotion to vegetarianism these days, she will still make an exception for chicken mcnuggets, and I'm happy to oblige.  We usually do this "treat" on one of our karate days. 

It's no secret that you're not going to get 5-star service when you go to McDonald's; but one would think, that with all the technology, they could get at least most things about your order correct. 

Today, I ordered two chicken nugget happy meals and a Big & Tasty meal.  I got my meal large-sized because I'm a pig like that I share fries with the kids.  Just go with it.  I was impressed because the girl even asked me what kind of sauce we wanted for the nuggets.  That rarely happens. 

Just as the girl was saying "Thank you and pull around to window two" I noticed that they had my meal on the screen as medium sized.  Before I pulled up, I asked her if she could change it to large-sized and she said it wasn't a problem. 

I should have known better.

I pulled up to the window, handed my credit card to the girl and she ran it through.  She handed me my receipt.  If I had known that upsizing my meal was going to cost an additional $6, I would have told her to forget it.  A quick scan of the receipt showed that they had charged me for two Big & Tasty meals. 

I showed her the receipt and she went to get her manager.  The manager took my credit card back, and refunded my money.  She also apologized profusely.  It was really no big deal.  Besides, I was too busy breaking up a brawl in the back seat to really care too much. 

Then the girl started handing me my drinks.  Two chocolate milks and a large diet coke, along with two kids and a bag from Staples, complete with a very sore wrist, make for a very stressed mama.  I asked for a drink carrier.  Why did I have to ask for one?  If you're giving more than two drinks and there are only little hands to help, offer a drink carrier!  It's not that hard!

Still I stayed nice.  McDonald's was giving my kitchen the night off.  I was still somewhat happy.

The girl handed me my drink carrier, and three bags.  I quickly checked the happy meals and saw the appropriate items.  Then, after already pulling away from the window, I quickly checked my meal.  There was no Big & Tasty to be found, only a grilled chicken club sandwich in its place.  I quickly ran in and asked for my Big & Tasty.  Instead of exchanging my sandwiches they just told me to keep both. 

I went back out to the car and home.

Upon arriving home, the girls and I were getting set up, and guess what?

No sauce.

No napkins.

No straws.

The good news is that when I pulled the receipt out, the manager had taken off not one, but two Big & Tasty burgers from my receipt which means that I got my burger and the chicken club for free.  However, I'm going to consider it my reward for having to put up with the whining that ensured when the girls realized they had no sauce or straws, and also as repayment for all of the forgotten nuggets, sauces, and chocolate milks of days gone by.

Next time I think I want to go to McDonald's, maybe I'll just stay home and bang my head on a wall instead.

***The latest review is up at The BBM Review.  If you're a martial artist, you won't want to miss this review, which tells you how you can get authentic kobudo weapons.  This is another debut by one of the writers for The BBM Review so go and give him some love.  (I'll be adding my own review when I get my custom made purpleheart tunfa in a few weeks. Woo hoo!)