I had the best laid intentions......

when the morning started. 

Karissa had to take an additional CPR class before starting her new job, and she was told where to go.  Except....when she googled it to get directions, well....she was a little concerned about going over there herself.  The area seemed a little "sketchy" to her. 

So in spite of my highly procrastinated plans to spend the day in the boys room going through their clothes with them to see what fits and what doesn't...I eagerly accepted the opportunity to accompany Karissa over to her class, and kill time in the area until she finished. 

And believe me....the boys were thanking me.  For some reason, all my kids have hated that end-of-summer activity. 

And it was all good until we looked at the clock and realized that we were in crunch mode to get there in time, so I start barking orders  making sure everyone was getting to the van quickly and in a timely manner. ;)

We get all the way over there, only for me to start re-thinking even dropping her off there.  The building had not been updated since oh...probably the 1960's...and that's pushing it....

And no....this was nothing nostalgic like going to an old university or anything....that's not the kind of "old" I am talking about here.  It was dumpy, run down, and making me very thankful I had not sent her over to go it alone.  

The bars on the windows of surrounding businesses weren't making me feel any better about her being there either.  

And had it not been for a trusted source....who had assured us before going that the place was legitimate, we probably would have driven right on by. 

And frankly....that would have probably been the better thing for me to do....because shortly after pulling in to what was the smallest, most crowded parking lot ever.....with only room enough for one vehicle to go through it in one direction, I found myself in a very unique situation. 

Feeling sure that the parking lot must wrap around to the back I continued inching slowly behind the two cars in front me, until suddenly I found myself in the most precarious position. 

I was staring at the reverse lights of the car in front of me, wondering just how much farther she was going to back up before hitting me, and glancing in my rear view mirror, only to see that plenty of others had followed my lead and pulled into the parking lot behind me. 

And suddenly, before I knew it....I was being yelled at by a woman to "BACK UP!!!" And I'm pretty sure there were a few explicatives being thrown out there as well. 

So I did what any good blogger would do, and seized the opportunity to take a few pictures. :)

Well...that was right after I calmly opened my door to get out and explain to her that I would love to back up but that it wasn't quite possible just yet because there were CARS BEHIND ME!!!

No I didn't yell. 

But she was....and she was making me nervous. 

Not to mention, I happen to be claustrophobic and I was feeling a wee bit trapped....with a crazy woman in front of me.....

And cars lined up behind me......
  And you can stop laughing at the fact that I took pictures.  It was all to give you, the readers, the full experience of being trapped in a very dated parking lot.    
 And besides....what was my hurry??  I was TRAPPED, remember???  

That is, until Mr. I-look-good-for-my-age-but-not-as-good-as-I-think-I-look paramedic comes waltzing out and decides to tell us all that we can just "park right there".

Umm...excuse me?  Park?  Right here???  

 So being a paramedic, he can see that I am clearly about to need his medical expertise, as I frantically try to get my window down and explain that, "Umm...sir....(insert nervous laugh), ummm.....I, umm...was just dropping off my daughter right over there...you see...and...well..I'm not staying for your class, so umm...parking here for me is not really what I had in mind."  

Well...one would have thought that this sort of information would have made him cringe, seeing as how there were now quite a few cars behind me, but I'm thinking he was seizing the moment.  He pats my arm (like that's gonna' help...I must have looked rough!) and he marches right on back there and begins to live out his dream of living life on the edge...directing traffic on a very busy street as he ever-so-carefully guided all of us backwards and out so that the crazy-woman-in-the-white-mini-van-who-clearly-had-no-business-pulling-up-into-the-one-way-parking-lot could get out.  

 Oh.  My.  Word.   

My neck hurt so bad from having to look behind me for so long and back up for what seemed like a half a mile....I just wanted to get home as quickly as I could and call it a day.  Because my stress level had already had it's quota.  

But a plan to kill time, is a plan to kill time....and a promise is a promise.....to the poor boys who probably thought we were trapped just minutes earlier, so onward I went in search of yard sale signs.    

Yep...I got to a familar area and started scouring the street corners for yard sale signs.  It's our new favorite Saturday morning activity...but sometimes you get lucky and see some on a Friday.  They thought it would be so cool to go to them in a different place away from home..... 

 And don't ask me why, but somehow it has become part of the yard sale routine to stop and "get cash back" along with the purchase of some donuts at the store....and if you'll recall....I had just gone through a pretty stressful event, so the usual routine was sounding pretty good.    

 And we hit the jackpot....or so we thought.  Markdown donuts at Wal-Mart.  Boys were excited.....and we were in business....watch out yard sales, here we come.    

That is, until the gigantic storm cloud overhead decided it was time to bless us with some serious rain.  Oh yes....rain.  And not just a sprinkle or little shower.  This was the hunker-down-in-your-car-it's-gonna-be-a-while rain.   

Lovely.   

Time to break out the donuts.  

Note to self.   Wal-Mart prepackaged donuts are not so good.  Especially the ones that are marked down....and I am all about marked down.  But these failed us.   

Oh well....didn't need them anyway.   

So I thought maybe I could take the boys to a salvage store in lieu of yard sales...you know....rummage through junk and hope to find something worthwhile for a good price.  

Wouldn't you know that the only one I knew of had closed down?  Yep....I drove in the pouring down rain, with sticky fingers from nasty donuts, with boys asking me a thousand questions about "what is a salvage store", all for me to pull up and it be gone.  But as I pulled into the parking lot....what did I see???  

The HOT NOW sign was red.   

 Yep...you know the one.  On a Krispy Kreme store sign.  Staring us right in the face, just moments after we had eaten empty, tasteless, marked down calories donuts.  :(   

Sigh.   

It was just turning out to be "one of those mornings".    And though they begged me to stop and buy MORE donuts, I didn't.  I just couldn't justify more calories....or more sugar for children cooped up in a van, killing time while it poured down rain.  

Thank goodness she called and said that she was finished and ready for pick up.   

And you can rest assured, I didn't even pull in to the parking lot to get her....I parked next door. 

I couldn't go through that again.   

I'm just sayin'.