A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I’m still working 16 plus hour shifts, but I had a quick chance to see my neighborhood in the daylight today for the first time since the ice storm hit Monday.

This is the pole that brings electricity to my street. This is the stick propping up the pole that brings electricity to my street. This is the line coming from the stick propping up the pole that brings electricity to my street.This is the pole that brings electricity to my home from the line from the pole that brings electricity to my street. This is what’s left of the tree that tore up the lines from the pole that brings electricity to my home from the line from the pole that brings electricity to my street. Still with me?
No? Okay, here’s what’s left of Mama J.’s and Papa’s T.’s big trees in their front yard. Toothpick anyone? And here’s my sweet little fringe tree. Sniff. I just can’t look at it very long. I won't be pruning the roses on my trellis this spring. This is just a glimpse of my neighbor’s backyard. And another neighbor’s trees. Oh, here’s the food from my refrigerator freezer. Sigh. The bad news is we probably won’t have power at my house for several more days. The good news is we got the trees trimmed and cut down and the meter box on our house fixed by the electrician, so we’re ready for service whenever the power company gets to our neighborhood. I got to sleep in my bed last night for the first time since Sunday night. It wasn’t a long sleep, but it was GLORIOUS.

All in all, the Hula-gen’s are doing very well, compared to a lot of other folks. We have food, enough heat (gas stove and camping heater) to keep from freezing at night and water. MANY folks in this western end of the state are without water, are stuck in shelters, are running out of portable oxygen and freezing in their homes. It’s sad to see the condition some folks are in. It truly is our Katrina-minus the football stadium and convention center. Send prayers. Normal is still a long way away.

I'm so Tired I Don't Even Have A Title For This

No time to talk. I work for the power company, and this ice storm is kicking our backsides. Just wanted to share a few photos to give you an idea of what we're dealing with. I'm not exaggerating when I say our entire community looks like this:I've slept eight hours since early Monday morning. I did go home for the first time last night, and my neighborhood is a disaster. It will probably be many days before we get power at our house. If I'd had a camera and had not been afraid my fingers would snap off in the cold, I would taken a picture of Hubby bundled up, sleeping in his recliner with only his face sticking out of a hoodie at 4am today. Talk to you soon. Oh, and have you hugged a lineman lately? If not, you really should. Sleep for me, friends.

Oh ****!

I know it looks pretty.

And it makes for nice pictures.But everything looks like this. And it's the worst disaster to hit our community in a long time. Most everyone is without power and probably will be for days. Those of us in the electrical business can barely breath. Trees are falling onto homes. Fires are popping up right and left. Downed power lines are everywhere, and it's dangerous just to be outside because of all the falling limbs. Pray for all of our folks working in this mess and the people trying to get by without electricity, especially the frail and elderly. I'll be back when I can come up for air.

Ice, Ice Baby

See this? This is the little symbol sitting beside every segment of our hour-by-hour forecast for the next two days. The National Weather Service says it could be the worst ice storm we’ve had in ten years. Did I mention I work in utilities? Yeah. Exactly. In just a few hours I should have a pretty good idea of just how pissed at us Mother Nature is. And what the rest of my week is going to be like.

Dude, I’m am SOOOOO over winter.

Fun Monday-I Feel Good

Ahoy, mates! Grace is captain of the Fun Monday ship this week, and she's talking diets. Not scurvy, mind you, just weight loss. Here's the assignment:

Many people make resolutions during the month of January and they usually include diets/eating healthy/losing weight and all that good stuff. I myself decided to try the Weight Watchers this time round. My assignment is to tell us about a diet or two (Atkins, Sonoma, Weight Watchers, South Beach, the You on a Diet, Best Life, The Abs Diet, The Zone, Cabbage Soup, E-Diets, Dr Phil, Jenny Craig, The Mediterranean Diet, Nutrisystem, Slim-Fast, Suzanne Sommers or No Name diet etc etc) that you have tried and what you liked or did not like about it. You can tell us about one diet that you had so much success with, or another that was a torture to follow or both.

AND/OR Photo assignment: post a photo of something/someone that makes you feel good about yourself. It could be your loved one, your pet, your part of the world, anything goes.

Weeeeell, I'm not going anywhere near the diet thing. I belong to the ruler club, which has its own issues, but people on diets don't want to hear whining from chicks built like the letter "l", so I'm going with the photo assignment.

Something that makes me feel good? Plenty of things make me feel good. My sinuses are under control. Teen Angel made straight A's on her report card and it's been a great weekend. A little unusual in that there were no crisis, we weren't rushed, we had a good time and no one ended up in the ER. I'm savoring the fact that it was a calm, "feel good" weekend. And instead of posting a picture of my sinuses, I'm giving you something way more fun. How can you not smile at this latest picture of my nephew, Special Delivery.

I resisted the urge to Photoshop a cigar in his hand and a James Cagney fedora on his head. This picture definitely makes me feel good. Top o' the world, ma!

I've Got the Joy, Joy, Joyeeee Down in my Heart

I heard a great motivational speaker last night. His presentation was wonderful which made up for the fact that it was a black tie event that required me to find and don a pair of panty hose. Am I the only one who thinks of sausage when I squeeze those things up and around my midsection? Keith Harrell travels the country, talking about attitude and how it affects our whole being. I’ve sat through many a motivational/leadership presentation, and this guy was one of the best I’ve ever heard. He hammered away at the idea that we control ourselves, and if we allow someone else’s negative thoughts to weaken our performance or destroy our self confidence and happiness, it’s our own fault. It’s pretty much the same principle I had discussed earlier in the day at a support group meeting, so I was all Stuart Smalley by about ten o’clock last night. And when I got up this morning I was ready to put into play Mr. Harrell’s rule about not letting someone or something steal my joy. That was a little harder than I thought it would be. The joy thieves were everywhere.

-The silver Buick clogging up the left lane on the way to work-joy stealer. Again. What’s with that broad? Oops! Maybe I stole HER joy.
-iPod tuner out of reach on the floor of the car-another joy stealer.
-Lack of time to snag my Friday sausage biscuit on the way to work, leaving me with oatmeal instead-jumbo joy stealer.
-Only one cherry in my mid-morning fruit cocktail snack-Petty larceny. The quality of fruit cocktail is judged on the number of cherries in the can, you know.
-Bank balance even though it was payday-First degree felon. Thank you broken stove and busted radiator.
-Cranky clerk at drive thru window-Jumbo value sized joy thief.
-Unfinished project that will still be waiting on me when I get back to work Monday-HUGE joy stealer.
-And see this? This is the last of thirteen gazillion plants we got at the funeral home when Hubby’s grandma died several years ago. We’ve managed to kill the rest of them, and he really wants to keep this one alive. We don’t have a good place for it in our house, so each winter I take it from our deck and bring it to work where I have to remember to water the dadburn thing for about six months. This plant? J-O-Y-S-T-E-A-L-E-R. It saps the happy right out of me to look at that thing every day all day long worrying about whether or not I’ve killed it yet.

But ya’ know what? None of it fazed me much today. I managed to let all of that little stuff slide right by me. I managed to stay in good spirits by keeping Mr. Harrell’s pearls of wisdom in mind. Hmm. Maybe he’s right. This might work. We’ll see. The real test has just gotten underway. That’s right. Family. Can I make it throughout the rest of the evening without letting those potential happiness thieves rob me blind? It all depends on how hormonal Teen Angel is and whether or not she finishes her chores. Moody sixteen year old daughter? Persistent Felony Offender. Of course, she's also the biggest source of joy in my life.

Sign Language

I'm not making fun of this sincere attempt to honor someone, and there's probably something I don't know that would help to put this into perspective, but this almost made me miss a green light today.

It just seemed odd sandwiched between ads for tattoos, cigarettes and payday loans.

But then again, perhaps the dearly departed would have gotten a good laugh out of the placement. In fact, maybe that's where she would have been comfortable.

People never fail to fascinate me.

Stop, In The Name of Love Before You Blind My Eyes

Hula + new camera + three month old nephew = picture taking to the nth degree. Dinner with Special D. (and the rest of the family but who's counting them) Monday night had me out of control. The quest to get a shot of him smiling in low light under wiggly circumstances took all dadgum evening. I finally landed one right before we left. I tried to make it work without a flash, so as not to blind him, but I think his retinas are at the very least detached. Forgive the fuzziness of these pictures. They're really too out of focus to use, but I'm posting them anyway because they tell the story of the evening.

Now, he's no stranger to the camera, but let's just say he was a little tired of it before the salad even arrived.

Hey, who's that crazy lady with the camera?

What the heck is that noise?

Has she quit yet, Teen Angel? Can I look?

Unc, make her stop. Hey, maybe if I poop on her, she'll quit.

Ack! There she goes again. Good Gerber woman, don't you ever quit?!

A little help over here. Anybody? ANYBODY? Maybe the pitiful look will work. That usually guilt's SOMEBODY into giving me my way.

Oh alright, I'll just smile and get it over with. Check please.

All Eyes are on Us

I love to witness history in the making, and for that reason, I am jealous of the hundreds of thousands of people crowded into our nation’s capitol today for a glimpse of the inaugural festivities. Barack O’Bama has become our 44th President, and regardless of how you feel about him and his politics, you cannot deny that his ascent to the White House is an important moment in this nation’s history. We have turned a corner in our search for the right path toward equality. And now we’re looking to him for direction on many issues. And so is the rest of the world. The pictures from D.C. today are a microcosm of what’s going on around the globe. People in all nations were looking at the United States today with great interest. They too, are hoping that this new leader of the free world will move America toward peace with others and put us back on solid financial ground. A people in need of hope put him in office. A world in need of hope is cheering us on and celebrating with us. President O’Bama has a lot of work ahead of him. The weight of the world is literally on his shoulders, and that burden has probably already begun to settle into his gut. But today our nation pauses to celebrate a new beginning. Democrats and Republicans alike are shoulder to shoulder in frigid weather, marking the freedoms that allowed people of all colors and religions to select our leader and have a say in our government.

The images are moving. An eleven year old girl smiling up at her daddy, not realizing the significance of the oath he uttered. A sea of faces and waving flags radiating from the Capitol building for blocks. The O’Bama’s walking hand in hand down Pennsylvania Avenue to cheers usually reserved for rock stars instead of politicians. The images are fascinating, and I had trouble pulling myself away from them throughout the day. I could post some AP photos here, but I’d rather you take the time to look them up for yourself and review this historical moment. You know, like when you were a kid and you asked your dad how to spell a word and he said, "Go look it up in the dictionary."

Yes, I yearned to be in Washington today. To cheer on our new President and encourage those in the crowd to remember the unity of this day because we’re going to need that unity in the months to come. This man cannot do it alone. He needs everyone pulling in the same direction. He needs for us to stop pointing fingers at each other and get along. He needs the extremists in the media, liberal and conservative alike, to quit boosting their ratings with flimsy journalism-Rush Limbaugh you know who you are. (Sorry janjanmom.) He needs for the Democrats and Republicans to cross the aisles and quit being so self serving. It's time for all of us to pull up our pants and as mama says, get our &%*! together. The work starts tomorrow. But today, and just today, we pause to celebrate, and remember those who went before us throughout this rich nation's history to give us freedom and opportunity. And those who will lead us forward. I'd give my left elbow for a ticket to an inaugural ball. To dance the night away in our nation's capital. To rub my right elbow with a who's who of the political elite. And to experience history. With my own two feet. Wow. What a day.

Something in the Air

The winds are out of the north today, a colder version of yesterday's breezes. The winds they are a changin', and so are things around here. I'm not sure how, but I think 2009 will bring some changes for the Hula-gen's.

Since 1993 we have lived next door to my in-laws, sharing, caring, sparring and generally watching out for each other. Hubby and I have often talked about how we might buy a newer home or a place with some land "one day", knowing that "one day" meant when we were done taking care of his parents. That time always seemed way off in the future, probably because we didn't want to think about the reality of being done with their care. They will be gone eventually, and that's not something we look forward to although we would like a house with more room to entertain, more closet space and as I often tell Hubby, some bathrooms big enough to turn around in without banging my *#@ on a doorknob. For years we've picked up the monthly real estate magazine and perused it like the J.C. Penney's Wish Book, pondering the pros and cons of different neighborhoods and styles of homes. We've never investigated a particular home, though. What's the point, we thought. However, today I will call about a house that's for sale, and we might even look at it. That's because we know our time next door to Mama J. and Papa T. is growing to a close. We know because Papa's T.'s dementia is getting worse.

It has accelerated somewhat in the last few months, and Friday, he kept asking Mama J. to read the newspaper to him, forgetting that she already had. He also woke up in the middle of the night and wanted something to eat, not realizing what time it was. While he has many moments of clarity, he spends much more time being confused now than he used to, and sometimes he just doesn't know what's going on. He enjoys his books on tape, but he retreats to those headphones to escape any pressures he can't handle. As I pondered this Saturday, I realized that his safety may soon become an issue. If he gets turned around in a dark house at night and tries to get into the van backwards when he takes a car ride, what's to prevent him from going outside and getting lost in the neighborhood? He is sometimes home alone when Mama J. goes to the beauty shop or an appointment. So far, he's been okay, but I think we're nearing the time when he shouldn't be left alone. Hubby thinks I'm worrying about it a little too much. But not much. He knows we've entered a new stage, a stage that's going to bring some hard decisions in the near future. Mama J. knows it, too. She knows she can't keep up with Papa T.'s daily needs anymore. It's wearing her out, even with Hubby's help. Her mobility isn't so hot either. We just don't know how much longer they can live in that house. And when they have to go, they probably won't be going to the same place. Papa T. is going to need much different care than Mama J.. Like I said, some tough decisions are ahead.

I'm not sure how soon we'll have to face them, but I really think it will be in the coming months. And as difficult as that's going to be, we may have to take the lead because none of us really wants to deal with this. We may have to initiate the move by planning our next home. That's why I will call the phone number on the For Sale sign that I jotted down this weekend. We may look at that house. We may not. At least that will get us to talking about it because it's time to take some steps in that direction. I think Mama J. realizes that. She even asked me last night if I had called about the house yet. She tried to sound upbeat about it. She feels the change in the air, too. I suspect that north wind chills her to the bones.

Fun Monday-Outside Looking In

This week's Fun Monday takes us inside. Thank goodness because it's been about six stinkin' degrees here and everywhere else in the country during the last week. Taking pictures outside is no fun right now. Our lovely hostess Julie gave us this assignment:

I have decided to put a twist on the traditional Fun Monday. Instead of standing in your front door and taking a photo of what you see outside, let's turn around and take one of the inside. Maybe that will prompt some of us to pick up a tad (you know who you are).

Easy enough. A knock on our door starts on this side of the glass.And you have to get past our security system to get into the door.Not a big deal though. He's all bark and no bite. In fact, he'll turn and run if you act like you're coming after him. A lot of good he's going to do us when the Bogey man shows up. The first thing you'll probably notice when you come inside is the picture window straight ahead. Hubby and I sit in those matching chairs which are too big for the room, but he won't let me change them. That man is MARRIED to that chair. This is where you'll usually find us in the evening. He pretends to watch TV while he really naps, and I read and pretend to watch TV. If you look closely, you'll see a can of peanuts and a candy jar on the table. Those are Hubby's snacks that I pretend not to eat when he gets up to go to the bathroom. Also on the table is a stack of books and magazines that I work through each month. That stack almost always includes a Runner's World, Glamour, two devotional books and various novels from the library, most of which are always overdue. Right now, it also includes the instruction manual for my new camera. On Saturday nights you'll find us hunkered down here with blankets, a pillow (for me), the dog and bowls of popcorn.

Right outside that window you'll see a grapevine. We watch the birds roost there. On any given day, we find cardinals and blue jays on the grapevine. In the summer, the window gives us a great view of the garden and sometimes our neighbor in his shorts and a tank top. No comment.

I know I was supposed to stick to one picture, but I'm already over that limit, so I'll add one more. This hall tree sits on the immediate right of the front door. It belonged to Hubby's grandma, and she kept it to the inside right of her front door for years. When she died, Hubby asked for it, and fortunately, no one else in the family wanted it. I can't imagine why not. It's a wonderful piece of furniture.

You see, nothing fancy when you step inside the front door of the Hula house. Just comfortable stuff to sit on and look at, and that's just the way we like it. Stop by any time and sit a spell. I might even pop some popcorn for you.

A Shout Out to M.'s Mom

The other day when I posted the answers to Jason's interview questions I wrote this response to the question about the fastest I've ever gone in a car:

"I’m not sure. I was afraid to open my eyes and look. I was seventeen years old and my friend M. was driving us across a rickety bridge in her boyfriend’s Trans Am. Let’s just say I was constipated for about a week because my butt was puckered so tightly."

You met M. back in September when I wrote about our elementary school reunion. She's the one on the right. Her mother always seemed to know what we were up to when we were kids. It was hard to pull anything over on her. Apparently, it still is. You see, I didn't realize that she reads this blog regularly, and the night I published the interview post she called M. up and asked if it was HER that was with me in that car and if we were going over the ---- Bridge. It was. And we were. And just like that, I had ratted out my buddy. Even though I hadn't print her name, and I left out the names of the boyfriend and the bridge. It didn't matter. After all these years, her mama still has that super sonic mischief detecting radar that we tried to fly under during our teenaged years. It hasn't weakened one bit.

I hear they had a good laugh about the whole thing, and how you really don't want to know all the things your kids did behind your back when they were young. What a relief!

And it's fun to know M.'s mom is stopping by here on a regular basis. Howdy, M.'s mom! I'll try not to reveal any more old memories that might give you a heart attack. Besides, we didn't pull much over on you all those years ago. Well, there WAS that trip to the college town about an hour away from home on a Friday night......

Rub-A-Dub-Dub

I’m not naming any names but SOMEBODY in this house doesn’t like to take a bath. In fact, he’s downright pouty about it. SOMEBODY snorts and refuses to look at you while he’s getting a deep conditioning. SOMEBODY has to be chased down to get dried off.This part always reminds me of that scene in Gone with the Wind when Rhett puts his coat over the horse’s head to settle it down and get it out of burning Atlanta. Somebody doesn’t like to get a rub down. He really isn’t happy when you clean his ears either.But as long as it’s 9 degrees outside and SOMEBODY wants to sleep underneath the covers snuggled up next to my knees in MY bed, he’s going to be clean. Even if it does take Sherman’s Army to give him a bath.

It's All About You

In yesterday’s post I printed my answers to Jason’s interview with me. Now, it’s my turn to interview some folks. The following people volunteered to be interviewed: janjanmom, mamamia and cruisemom. Follow them over to their websites for their answers, and if you’d like to play too just cut and paste the questions and post your answers on your blog. Please leave me a note in the comments so I’ll know you’re playing along. I could ask folks questions about themselves all day long, so it took me a while to narrow down the questions. Here you go.

1. When you take a week long vacation how many pairs of shoes do you take (just for you) and what kind are they?

2. In Sartre’s play No Exit the three main characters are stuck in a room with no exit and don’t like each other. They eventually realize that hell is being stuck with each other forever. What person or persons would be hell for you to be stuck with in a room forever? If you don’t want to name names, just speak in generalities ie..the girl who relentlessly picked on you in third grade.

3. In honor of the inauguration: If you could ask any US President, living or dead, one question and he would have to answer it HONESTLY, which President would you pick, and what question would you ask?

4. Our local newspaper does a weekly thing where they stop someone on the street, ask what the top ten songs are their iPod are and print them. What song in your entire music collection would you be most embarrassed to see in print next to your name?

5. Are you a “hat person”? If so, describe your hat or hats. If not, explain why.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

My dahling friend Jason in California-air kiss, air kiss-is shining the celebrity spotlight on me, at least in his little corner of BlogLand. Say hello to Jason.

I love Jason. He's the only one I know living close to more in-laws than me. In fact, his family is so blended I can hardly keep up with the branches in the tree. There's his husband Giancarlo, their adopted son, Diego, his ex-wife Claire who recently adopted their grandchild, all of their other children and his mother-in-law the fabulous interior decorator and many more. You should stop by and visit his place sometime. It's a riot.

(After I begged) He agreed to interview me for the Jason Show. I and several others volunteered to be interviewed and have been matched up with random questions written by other Jason Show readers. The interview is as follows. I'll be signing autographs after the show. In case you're wondering, the Halston was at the cleaners so I wore Target for this interview. The jewelry was from J.C. Penney's. In the tradition of Cher and Dolly, I am embracing honesty. Kiss, kiss.

Questions:

1. What is the fastest speed you've ever traveled in a car?
I’m not sure. I was afraid to open my eyes and look. I was seventeen years old and my friend M. was driving us across a rickety bridge in her boyfriend’s Trans Am. Let’s just say I was constipated for about a week because my butt was puckered so tightly.

2. While eating pizza, do you eat it open flat or do you fold it then eat?
Fold it? Are you kidding me? I truly have never understood the folding thing. I leave it flat, so as not to knock off the mushrooms. I then leave a rim of crust that is dipped in Ranch dressing and eaten last. I’ve been known to eat leftover crust off my family’s plates. I’m also the person who steals that big hunk of cheesy stuff that’s left in the middle of the box when the pieces are pulled out. Sometimes I selfishly eat the extra pepperocini before I dole out the slices.

3. What creeps you out more than anything else?
Well, there are snakes. And snakes. And then there are snakes. However, the thing that really creeps me out are those criminal types with a stalker quality about them. You know, the quiet ones who stare a lot. Years ago, I covered the trial of a guy who murdered several college women and raped them after they were dead. I looked like the women he picked, and many times I caught him staring at me during court. It gave me the willies. (What are willies exactly?) He got the death penalty but died in prison before he could be executed. He was EVIL and very creepy. I can see his face right now.

4. You are in line at the store. Person in front of you is a nasty, mean excuse for a human being. Ever get the urge to just slam them into the counter conveyor and crush their head with the Skittles display??
Sure. I get especially angry at WTSP (white trash screaming parents) who holler at their kids or fight with each other the whole time they’re in Wal-Mart. I see a lot of that around here. I used to have to resist the urge to slap this loud mouthed woman I would see in the grocery store every week running over people with her scooter and screaming obnoxious things to her six kids. Really. It was all I could do not to push over her scooter and whack her with a giant can of pork and beans.

5. When honored with something as impressive as an interview by, well, me, where do you go from here? My point is that, once you reach the pinnacle, where do you go then? Do you have any plans? Do you have a therapist dear? Do you need a tissue?
It’s all downhill from here, dahling. Although, I’ve yet to win a Kitchen-Aid mixer from the Pioneer Woman. That would certainly make my skirt fly up, as she likes to say. I don’t have a therapist, but I’m going to need one soon if I continue to live within a two block radius of all my in-laws. For now, I’m just honored to have been chosen for the Jason Show. I’d like to thank God…and my parents….and my agent……

I'm here 'til Thursday.

*If you'd like me to interview YOU, just let me know in the comments.

Sixteen Candles

A long time ago in a far away land called delusional, the king and queen of the Hula-gen's promised a certain young princess that she could have a big blow out for her sixteenth birthday if she made good grades, stayed out of trouble and quit asking for a birthday party every year. She did, so they did. Celebrate that is. With a bunch of teenagers. And while the king and queen were a little nervous about wild behavior and party crashing by outside villagers, their worries were for naught. The party goers were just a bunch of jesters who had a fabulous time, and aside from a little cake throwing and a few wild hip moves, caused no problems for all of the extra chaperons on hand. No one got hurt. Nothing was damaged, and the king and queen got everything wrapped up and made it home and in bed by 1am. The end. And now the queen is scheduling a massage. And counseling to adjust to the fact that her baby, who was just two last week, is now sixteen.

As Scarlett says, "I'll think about that tomorrah," and show you pictures of the party instead. Here are Chris and Seth, the deejays.

Everybody say hi to Chris and Seth. Chris gives Teen Angel guitar lessons.

There was plenty of dancing. Of course there was the cha-cha. Criss cross!
And a conga line.
Hey, that reminds me of the time we were on a cruise and.... um, never mind.

They even did a little Cotton Eyed Joe. Hula, quit playing with the shutter speed!You know how's there one person who always lights up the dance floor? Meet C. I love this boy. Don't let the Hot Topic garb fool you into thinking he's some kind of disturbed goth youth. He had great manners, offered to help set up and even went to the trouble to RSVP before the party.

Dancing always leads to shoes getting kicked off. The blue and pink Crocs came to the party on the same body. I am officially an old fart because I missed that trend. Speaking of farts, don't even ask about this gift. You don't want to know. Oh, you want to know about the hat? Teen Angel's BFF bought her one as a birthday gift after T.A. bought BFF one for Christmas. Odd hats kept popping up all night. How much food can teenagers eat? As much as you can serve. I wonder what we'll think when we look back at this picture twenty years from now? One of the highlights of the night for T.A. was unveiling this. While recently revisiting the land of delusional Queen Hula agreed to let T.A. drive Hula's little red coupe when T.A. gets her license. Hula drives a company car, so she rarely drives the little red car, although she hearts the little red car lots and lots and lots. We were NOT buying T.A. a new car but agreed to dress this one up a little. The king of the Hula's took T.A. shopping for new chrome wheels last week. It was kind of a father/daughter bonding thing. He had the car detailed and helped her design a special decal in memory of her cousin.And was she pleased? Of course.Oh, I'm so not ready for her to be behind the wheel. Maybe I need a facial too.