well, this post went to hell in a handbasket

EDIT:  just to let you know, when I'm angry I use lots of punctuation, yes, more than usual.  If you don't mind that, continue on.

Friends and peeps, I spent a good while last night and practically all morning documenting for the blog the ridiculosity that was our scrapbook trip to Pearl and guess what?  When I took Molly and Andrew (who are home sick today) to grab lunch (because we have no food in our house unless you count condiments and popcorn and one papaya) and guess what should happen when I get back to the hizzouse?  I lost the post.  Damn interwebs connection on the Google machine went out for probably 10 seconds and — because I obviously can't learn from past mistakes — the post was gone.  Join me in this one — arrrrrrghhhhH! I blame Al Gore.

When I discovered the post was gone, the almost 8 year-old in the house, Molly, informed me that I said an "S Category Word"  whatever the hell that means.  Because she was in the room, I said "stupid computer" which is a helluva lot nicer than what I was thinking and because I'm relatively civilized I won't write those thoughts at this time. 

So, I will partially tell the tale of our trip in pictures, since I in no way have the patience to rewrite the entire post, which I assure you, was the stuff Pulitzer dreams of; although it was longer than Gone With The Wind because the trip was the stuff of legend.

Here's what you need about the trip (think of it as the Cliff's Notes version): we went to check-in to our hotel at midnight last Thursday night, the front-desk dude was not there and after over an hour of looking for another hotel, we returned to the Sleep Inn to be greeted by Mr. Pornstache who resembled a chubby Freddie Mercury of Frugal Beth's favorite band, Queen.  If you happen to see Frugal Beth while you're out and about be sure to sing "We Are the Champions," she hearts that song.  Oh, and I fell down in the parkinglot because I am a superstar.

Anystache, it was around 1:30 am when  we got to our room. 

Onto our next photo.  The battery in my Scrapmobile (kind of like the Batmobile, but with pink tools that could very well be used as weapons) died and Meg'n and I had to go get a new battery for the thing.  Because girl likes to shop, I picked up this little beauty for the rear view mirror. It's superfantastic except for when the sun hits it just right and the reflected light burns your retinas.  

On Friday night Meg, Lori, and I retired to our luxurious room and discoverd a sign to the left of our door we'd missed previously because of the sheer anger of the night before. 

The small sign pointing to our room reads "snack vending machine."  I assure you, our room was not a vending machine, although we did have gum in our purses. 

We were past the point of delirious at midnight when we saw the sign.  I told the girls that I then knew why there were quarters stuck under the door that morning and drunk people kept banging on the door in the middle of the night yelling "gimme my damn Andy Capp Hot Fries!  Where are the effing Kit Kats?!" 

So, that in 3 photos sums up the trip.  From now on when I think of Pearl, those images will come to mind. 

Oh, and by the way, by what I believe to be the intervention of Jesus, we did not make the wrong turn we've made on 2 previous occassions and end up at the Turkey Creek Water Park — just in case you were keeping score at home.