This is why I am Tide’s bitch
September 15, 2009
The mud, dear god the mud. And yes, I make my kids take their shoes off and clap them on the ground to get most of it off before they are allowed into the car, even though my car is dirty enough that it really doesn’t matter.
And why is it that every other laundry detergent company wants to send me free product. Except for Tide. Why? WHY, TIDE??
It still suprises me how big the sky is here. It makes me feel so small and insignificant and perfect for being struck by a bolt of lightening.
Mama, I can see where the rainbow ends!
Yes, I see it!
Can we go there? Do you think we need to bring our own pot?
Pot?
For the golden coins… or are there pots there.
In which I make you feel very smart…
I booked airline tickets on Sunday for a trip I am taking in October. Susan and I are flying home together as far as Houston and then we part ways for our respective states. We really wanted to fly home Sunday evening, but no such flight exists from California. So we were faced with the choice of the red eye or leaving at 6 am Monday morning. We chose the red eye.
I happily booked my flight and went on my merry way. This morning Susan emails me: Our flight is supposed to be 12:15am on Monday, you made your flight for Sunday.
Yes, yes I did. And not only that it was a non-refundable, can’t make any changes kind of flight. So I had to buy a separate one way ticket home for MONDAY at 12:15 am.
If you could have seen my face as I typed in my credit card number again it would have really been the saddest photo of all time. Even sadder than this one:
An unused drink ticket I found in my suitcase.
What? So I haven’t unpacked from BlogHer yet. Whatever.
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I remember being a kid and my aunt loading up all us kids (3 kids of her own and numerous nieces/nephews) to find the end of the rainbow. We were always so excited to go and even though we never found those gold coins? One of my favorite memories.
September 15th, 2009 at 5:02 pmWait — does this mean you have an extra night in Houston? Or am I misunderstanding?
If so, let me know if you need a place to crash. We’ll have the guest room ready.
September 15th, 2009 at 5:13 pmI hear you about the mud, my mo made me so the same thing.
September 15th, 2009 at 5:27 pmI don’t want to be annoying…but…The Costco version of Tide is wonderful. And like half the price. Just sayin’. This is coming from a brand snob. Certain things aren’t to be messed with. But I promise, you won’t regret it.
September 15th, 2009 at 5:44 pmHave you tried those new Tide stain release things? I honestly think I am in love. I spilled grape juice on a white shirt. It was a few drops but still grape juice. Honest to go it got the stain out. That is when I realize I will pay the $10 for the 12 pack and become their b*tch too, lol
September 15th, 2009 at 5:46 pmThe “drink” ticket looks like a suggestion to me. Maybe if you combine the rainbow and the “drink” ticket, it’s a sign from God.
I suggest wine, but, an apple martini sounds like a good idea too.
September 15th, 2009 at 6:07 pmAn unused drink ticket? What were you thinking? I too, am a TIDE purist. Even the lure of free detergent wouldn’t do it for me. I do have to say that dancers sure are a lot cleaner than football players. WOW!
Our family actually saw the end of a rainbow in the grand canyon and indeed you did need your own pot, so go on that adventure properly prepared.
September 15th, 2009 at 7:38 pmenjoy your trip
September 15th, 2009 at 8:46 pmEh, why unpack? It’s almost time to pack again …
(Also, whose idea was the redeye? Sheesh. Oh right it was my idea. Never mind.)
September 15th, 2009 at 9:17 pmNot sure if you know or not, but if you put liquid dishwashing soap - I used Cascade on the football pants and let them soak a little bit, it also takes the beautiful mud and grass stains out.
September 15th, 2009 at 10:05 pmactually those non-refundable tickets can be changed, they just charge you a fee (sometimes up to $200) to do it. They are only non-refundable along the lines of they won’t give you cash back.
September 15th, 2009 at 10:39 pmIf it makes you feel any better, when I originally booked my flight for BlogHer in, like, April, I made it for JUNE. The conference, as you might recall, was in JULY.
Fortunately, I figured it out quickly and was able to cancel with no charge (Travelocity, woot woot), then rebook for the CORRECT month. But I totally made that same face.
September 15th, 2009 at 11:16 pmYou might call the airline and beg a lot. Even the totally Evil Empire of American Airlines once gave me a refund for a similar mistake.
September 16th, 2009 at 12:49 amI will never understand why any field sports team chooses white shorts. My 8 year old daughter has just joined a football team and yes, they wear white shorts. It’s insane. Dare I say they are probably chosen by men who are not thinking about their practicality! (Sorry, I have nothing against men perse.)
And yay, I am not alone with my very late unpacking skills. Shame the drink token didn’t get used though, even if it was for a diet coke!
September 16th, 2009 at 5:57 amYou, girlfriend, need a well deserved vacation from life
September 16th, 2009 at 6:51 amDoesn’t make me feel smart, I have done pretty much the same thing. I went to Europe in February during my summer break from University. I flew from Paris to Barcelona and was planning to fly from Barcelona to Pisa the following day. I booked my flight from Barcelona to Pisa for the same day I arrived in Barcelona. I only figured this out when my friends and I decided we wanted to stay in Barcelona an extra day or not see any of the city which was the reason we were even there. Then I looked at my printed confirmation with the previous days date on it. Ugh! At least by that stage I was going to have to change it anyway. Made me feel like a right dork at the time though! That was like 50 Euro down the drain. And let me tell you that the Euro doesn’t grow on trees.
September 16th, 2009 at 7:27 amDon’t feel bad about not unpacking from BlogHer. My husband was gone the entire month of July. He’s been asking me where this or that article of clothing is, and I have to explain that it hasn’t been in the laundry, so he needs to check his suitcase.
September 16th, 2009 at 7:38 amWhat a waste! (The drink I meant - but I guess the airplane ticket too huh?)
September 16th, 2009 at 8:54 amps - I WISH I thought of going looking for the rainbow - taht sounds like an adventure the likes of which can not be equalled!!!
Don’t ya love the dirt?
September 16th, 2009 at 8:58 amluv Tide. they rock all the georgia red clay right outta all sports pants from baseball to football …without a doubt…THEY KNOW WE LUV THEM. I would give anything to know their secret:)
–i miss the wide open sky of Texas
September 16th, 2009 at 11:48 amWhen my husband and I were dating, we had a long distance romance before I moved up to Massachusetts. I had purchased so many plane tickets from Atlanta to Boston over so many months, that once I was finally living in Massachusetts and needed to travel back to Georgia, I still automatically purchased a plane ticket as though I were departing from Atlanta and arrving in Boston. While the fee to change the flight was sucky enough, I found the worst part to be the embarrassing conversation I had with the customer service clerk explaining my mix up. But at least I caught it before the day of my trip!
September 16th, 2009 at 11:52 amUnpacking after a trip? Wait, you’re not supposed to use the suitcase as an extra closet until it’s empty? Egads, this means I’ve been doing it wrong all these years…………
September 16th, 2009 at 12:26 pmI love how well the first and last photos are tied together.
September 16th, 2009 at 1:40 pmI just did the same thing with plane tickets last month. I thought I got a really great deal on tickets for Thanksgiving when my fiance and I are traveling to Fort Lauderdale. Turns out I got a great deal because I clicked “October” instead of “November.” Thanksgiving moved up a month, right?! I was able to use the tickets as a credit towards my new tickets, which were twice as expensive. Not a great thing to have to explain to my future husband…I told him he has to make all of our travel arrangements from now on!
I’ve been lurking on your blog for about a year now and am commenting for the first time. I love your writing style and your pictures…your family is great! I’m from upstate New York and can understand life in the “great northeast!”
September 16th, 2009 at 2:28 pmA sad, forlorn, left-over drink ticket is like wasted money!
And the Tide stain release thingies? Don’t work on mud. Have tried them twice now on my kids’ clothes from the sandbox. Got chocolate out of MY white shirt, but who cares about my clothes. It’s the dirt I want out of theirs.
September 16th, 2009 at 2:55 pmAs a mom whose son played football in white pants from first grade to high school the one and only thing i can say is OXYCLEAN and TIDE…pretreat the grass stains scrub them with tide and then wash them in hot water and oxyclean tha was the only thing that i could do to keep those puppies so they didn’t look yellow, gray or brown……i usually don’t go for that stuff they pitch on tv but OXYCLEAN works…we still use it on all of the white (socks) today
September 17th, 2009 at 7:53 amlove the title of the post….
September 17th, 2009 at 7:55 amAfter watching my 7th grade play yesterday in the splashy, muddy field, it made me very happy the school has to wash their uniforms….his socks came home….not sure if they’re worth saving.
September 18th, 2009 at 8:08 amOh, OxyMagic is DIVINE, but oh, so expensive…grape juice, blood, red dirt…I just spray both sides, drop it in the bin until I’m ready to wash and it comes right out. Unfortunately well worth the expense, damn it.
September 18th, 2009 at 4:25 pmThey TOTALLY have pots at the end of the rainbow. No worries there. But how will a little child be strong enough to haul all that gold, I wonder? So maybe he should bring a little John Deere or a donkey.
September 18th, 2009 at 9:19 pmGrass stains - spray windex on them.
September 19th, 2009 at 4:07 amMud - OXYclean. and that’s just a maybe.
Of all the places we lived, Hawaii had the hardest stains to get out - the dirt has this red tint to it that stains EVERYTHING.
WHATEVER!!!
September 19th, 2009 at 9:17 amI really could have used that ticket.
September 22nd, 2009 at 6:58 pmHad to read it because the title was just too fabulous! Love your take on motherhood and daily life. Terrific, fresh, honest. I’m new to the blog world. I have 3 lonely posts on lifelaughlatte.blogspot.com. Come by and see me sometime.
September 24th, 2009 at 7:34 pm