Yeah yeah I know...

I totally suck at keeping this thing updated. I know it. But really, I've been super busy!

Last week, I took a day and went to see Daddy. My goal was to visit some of the consignment/thrift stores in Midlothian, hit Michael's, have lunch with Daddy and be home by 5:15 when little guy got done with the afterschool program. Unfortunately, it was a half day last week, Kev had to work and I got a late start. What a mess!

I ended up visiting one consignment (cute kids consignment shop), Dress Barn Woman (found nothing), Michael's (found tons ha ha ha) and went to see Daddy. We had lunch together at American Cafe (what an awesome restaurant - so cool and great food) then home. Not the day I'd planned but fun nonetheless. I love spending time with Daddy. Any time I get to spend with him I'll take really. I love listening to his stories and hearing all the fun tales he can tell. He can really tell a story ya'll. One of the last great story tellers. He draws you in and wraps you up in it and despite the many times I've heard so many of them, they don't get old. I love listening to him tell them!

So, Thursday I decided to get my eyes checked because I'm telling ya, I'm blind in one eye and can't see out the other most days. So, not realizing we have good coverage, I see the ad for America's Best and hop to getting in the car and driving to Newport News to get my eye exam and two pairs of glasses for $69.95!

I get there and enjoy the store. Everyone is so pleasant and nice. The little gal who did my preliminary exams was darling. She tested the letters etc then the eye puff (blowing air in your eye) which I got a kick out of (I laughed, which made her giggle because apparently NO ONE laughs or giggles at that test, they all hate it). Then on to depth perception and color blindness. Yeah - keep in mind I am, and I do use the term loosely, an artist.

I FAILED DEPTH PERCEPTION AND COLOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY FREAKIN' WORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I'm upset, frustrated, a wee tad angry. Not at her and I didn't let her know that, but yeah, sat stewing in my seat waiting for the doc. Not happy... nope, I was not happy.

So the doc comes in, looks at everything, checks out my eyes and says, wow, you have really pretty eyes! (Ok, I'm flattered, what are you buttering me up for??) You're really not in bad shape (and here's the kicker) FOR YOUR AGE.

OMFW again... For My Age. It hit me. I'm one month away from my 49th birthday and I'm now facing phrases like "Not Bad For Your Age". I was pissed. Not at her... she's doing her job. Just the idea of being reminded that I'm not "young" anymore. Well poop on that. I'm young if I feel young. I'm young if I look young and I"m young if I say I'm young!!!! DOGGONE IT I'M YOUNG!

Buy my eyes aren't. Along with the other things that have begun to fail me, my eyes have jumped on board and they are decidedly middle aged. Drat... Drat, drat and triple drat. Then she talked to me about proper eye care and I'm doing well and resting my eyes because of the computer work I'm always doing and not reading so much with my "helpers" (aka magnifiers). Then she dropped the bomb shell...

"I know the depth perception issues and color issues will be just fine when you stop overworking your eyes so much. Your bifocals will help."


MY WHAT????????????? MY BIFOCALS??? Egads, I thought I was gonna faint and scream and turn circles like the Tasmanian Devil in Bugs Bunny cartoons. My bifocals.... yeah, that's not sitting well with me at all.

Now, keep in mind, 12 years ago when I first got glasses, the doc gave me two different prescriptions. One for reading and one for driving. He told me that I was far too young for bifocals and besides, I didn't need to and shouldn't wear my glasses all the time. The same doctor prescribed bifocals for Kevin! HA HA HA - yeah - my husband, 14 years younger than me, got bifocals. The doc totally thought I was younger than him and it was okay to give my young hottie husband bifocals.! ROFLMBOPIMP (and for you folks that don't know cyberspeak - that stands for Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Butt Offr Peeing In My Pants!)

Oh yeah - it was funny.... Now? Now that it's me? Not so much...

To add insult to injury, the fact I have to have bifocals also limits the size of the lenses I can take in my new glasses. It also changes things considerably. Because I have to get bifocals, the two for $69.95 deal no longer applies. Now, for ONE pair of glasses, it's gonna cost me $282.81. Oh yeah - you read that right. Two Hundred, Eighty-Two dollars and 81 cents. I about had a stroke right there proving to everyone that I was indeed middle aged.

So, needless to say, being completely unprepared to pay that kind of price for my glasses, I had to take my prescription and leave, paying $60 for my eye exam.

On I go to compare prices with other glass places. I tried several. The least expensive I found was $230 and bi-jingos, that's what I've got! I purchased my glasses yesterday and I can't wait to get them. The first place did not have the transition lenses included so I didn't have to purchase sunglasses. The new place does. The first place was going to make me have the progressive lenses (at least she didn't offer me the option anyhow). Now I don't. While my bifocals will have a line, they have a larger reading area at the bottom so I don't have to keep moving my head around to find where I need to look. I picked out some gorgeous glasses too. Blue powder coated metal so it's not gonna chip off and make a mess and not be pretty. Transition lenses so I can wear them all the time (which I've been told is my plight now) and not have to switch to my sunglasses. The new place was so so nice about my not having had my eye exam there, very understanding. The kicker was that I may actually have my glasses by the weekend. PLEASE, please let me have them by Friday. I'm so tired of not being able to read things it's driving me crazy! And did I mention they are Vera Bradley's and adorable? That handbag is a photo of the pattern along the arm of my glasses and the blue is the blue of the metal. OH yeah... so so pretty!

So, here is the moral of this tale. Always be sure to read ALL the fine print. Always make sure you have the whole story before passing go and attempting to collect your $200. It will make a difference in the long run. And, just for my daddy, there are five little words you should always remember to pull out of your sleeve before closing a deal. They work. "Is that your best offer?" You're not bartering. You're watching out for number one. No one else cares if you're poor or not but you. So while you're taking care of your health, and purchasing apparatus to help do the same, pull out those five little words. It helped me get a great deal on a great pair of glasses and feel better about me too.


By the way, my glasses are HOT. And they make me feel HOT. (They're just like these only in blue!) So, I'm NOT middle aged, I'm a hot young thing who's doing something really cool for herself and looking good too.

Yeah - that's me... a hot young thing...
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Peace!
Lissa