| I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a Tree Hugging Self-Knowing Self-Improver   |
Monday, January 5, 2009
Ut oh... I'm one of 'those'.... LOL
Thursday, January 1, 2009
REAL Family Press - 1/1/09 - Happy New Year!
HAPPY, HAPPY 2009 EVERYONE~!!!
Us old folks are still up and we have just watched the ball come down in Times Square... It is hard to believe ‘America’s Oldest Teenager’ turned 80 on November 30th, but Dick Clark still looks great~!!!
Whew~!!! I’ve had an unbelievable 24 hours or more… Started on Tuesday when my cell phone would dial but come back with the message of ‘No Response’… I had gone a distance to pick up meds for one of my fosters and another and needed to call someone to make sure they were home to drop them off… Couldn’t call, tried calling Desiree and still got that same message…
I stopped at Walmart’s for something we needed and asked for change to use the outside payphone to call --- to be told they didn’t have any… I’m trying to convert various bits of change into quarters and even their inside McDonald’s wasn’t a lot of help~!!! Eventually I was able to convert a various collection of nickels and dimes into the four quarters I needed just to make the two phone calls – one to Des to have her call Paul and tell him what was going on with my cell phone!
That sorta/kinda started it all… Several ‘mole-hole’ instances kept coming up – just enough to let you know you’d stepped in one and stubbed your toe, but today just became incredible with things that could go wrong --- AND DID~!!!... LOL…
I needed to take one of the other fosters into the vets for a thyroid test this morning, stop by the AT&T store and pick up my meds at Costco’s today – three things… Simple, right?... LOL…
I got several phone calls as I’m headed out the door, and then the last one went much longer than I expected… I’m hustling to get to the vets for the appointment and pulling into their parking lot, there isn’t one space available… It is also a SMALL and badly designed parking lot with a blind entrance so I’m doing at least 15 “K-turns” just to get ‘The Beast’ around in such a small, tight area…
Finally I got this done, drove out of the parking lot and decided to do a U-turn and park across the street… Halfway across the street on median strip, Bandit decides to do his new trick – the belly-crawl… I had started across the second half of the busy street and he decides to show me his newest… OMG
Inside my vet’s office, there are 11 dogs and their owners – the lobby is not that big… I was told I’d just be dropping him off for a vet tech appointment, so had planned on doing that, then heading off to Costco’s and planned on doubling back (hopefully) to pick him up, thinking that would be enough time… Instead they asked me to stay and wait because they had so many dogs and cats there… OK, I’ll push the stop at Costco’s back after I’ve gone home and dropped Bandit off…
They bring him out and then tell me they couldn’t get the fecal sample from him – could I drop one off later?... Oh brother… OK, I can adjust… LOL…
On the way home I stop at the AT&T store to find out what’s wrong with my cell phone… I walked in, apologized to the guy for being ignorant of this all ahead of time and handed him the phone… He looked at it, tried to fix it, pulled out the SIM card - basically it just died… No real answer why, despite I’m the one who takes SUPER care of mine… Des has dropped hers I don’t know how many times, she’s chewed on the antennae; she’s even thrown hers in anger… Mine is the one that dies without warning and for no reason!
Now we’ve opened a Pandora’s box as I’m trying to figure out the right decision to make simply to replace mine… We have three on a family plan, and none are Blue-toothed, so for me the only reason to have a cell phone is when I need it to call while on the road… In CA you can no longer be on a cell phone unless it is hands free while driving… And our phones were not blue-tooth compatible…
Desiree has been after me for months about our phones because she’s a heavy text-messenger… Were it my choice, I’d have a Jitterbug phone – I don’t need all that extra stuff… I don’t want all that stuff… But if I got one of those ‘free phones’ and tried to get it Blue-toothed ready, it ended up being too expensive and not smart financially…
BTW, I have Bandit with me on a leash all this time… I couldn’t leave him in the truck and he’s just enjoying each and every person that comes into the AT&T store!... And ‘belly-crawling’ on their rug~!!! I’m also still battling this cold, so my nose is running and I’m trying not to cough on anyone either…
An hour later, I finally have my new cell phone and gotten Desiree’s new one squared away for her to pick up later and have her information transferred over once she gets off work… I head home, call Paul to see if he was going to have a short day, thinking he’d stop and get my meds on the way home… He’s not having a better day than me, so as we’re discussing this, I see Bandit ‘depositing’ out back and run out with the fecal sample bottle…
I’m telling myself I’m still adaptable – it’ll be just one more stop… The vet’s again and Costco’s… Then I learn that I have a few extra stops with Paul not getting off early as planned… I head back to the vets, no parking spots again, this time I’m not going through all of this, so I park at the entrance, take the fecal sample in and as I’m going through the 15 ‘K-turns’ again, one of the staff members rushes back into the parking lot to tell me the lab has a 11AM cutoff time because of the holiday…
It is 11:05AM… Figures… So it’ll have to be done again on Friday… Just the way my day has been going… LOL…
Pulled into Costcos and the parking lot is a zoo… Everyone and their mother plus assorted other extended family members must be in there shopping…… I wait my turn, and was rewarded with a spot close to the door… My day is looking up!... LOL…
I usually pass through their furniture section as a matter of habit… I’ve talked about this before… I’ve been wanting a specific couch they have and twice they’ve gotten it in and by the time we reached a decision or had the money to buy it, I’ve gone back and they’ve been sold out… It has to be this one specific couch because I need both ends to recline, it has to be a certain size and I won’t buy fabric furniture again – it just doesn’t last at our house for some reason… I’ve been watching this couch for almost a year now and on sale, it’s between $999 and $1299… Because it is replacing two separate recliners and another chair in the family room, this is the one we have to get… period…
I’m walking through like I usually do and see the couch on sale for $699… There is one on display and two in boxes… I call Desiree (not easy to do with a new phone I’ve never used before) and she tells me I can’t not get it… As I’m hanging up, this Asian couple asks me if it is a good price, and stupid me, I say yes… At least $500 cheaper than it normally is…
I headed up to the registers to find out how to buy it and they tell me to go outside and get a flatbed doily, in the meantime they’ll send someone back to get it loaded… The 5-10 minutes it took me to do this was enough for me to arrive there and see both couches in boxes loaded up and being bought by this Asian couple… SERIOUSLY~!!!
They must have seen the look on my face, because they immediately start telling me there are 2 more in stock… They’re doing this nervous laugh and I’m not exactly feeling very funny right about now… Eventually I find someone to help me and he tells me he doesn’t think they do have two more in stock and in boxes… The nervous laugh of theirs becomes more pronounced – that’s the only way I can accurately describe their response, but they take the two and leave…
Now I’m stuck… I call Desiree and I’m disappointed… I really didn’t want to buy the one on display, figuring by the time I got it home and moved without a box, the leather would be torn somehow… I attempted to call Paul to get his input, but I couldn’t hear him well and he couldn’t hear me either… The guy eventually comes back, says he’ll go search the inventory and there I stand, flatbed doily and all… Finally I sit down on it, waiting for him to come back…
Then a few more people come by, look at the display couch, and when the third person stopped, sat down on it and then wrote down the SKU number, I decided I’d had enough… I took the sign down and sat in the middle of the couch, determined that this one was NOT going to be sold out from underneath me too… LOL…
Ever seen the craziness at the warehouse basement bargain sales in New York when the women go crazy trying to buy those cheap wedding dresses?... That’s about the mindset and attitude I’d started developing! After about 30 minutes, the guy comes back and the only one left in the store is the one I am sitting on~!!!
It’s decided that they will take it to the back and shrink wrap it for me… I’m to head up to the cash registers and pay for it… On the way I stop at the pharmacy for my meds (the original reason for my stop at Costcos)… Of course – the way my day was going – my two meds were not filled but if I can wait 15 minutes, they can be… OK (still adapting here), I went to the check-outs with the book I was buying in hand and the sign for the couch… Two items… I’m standing at least 6 to 7 people back in line and EVERYONE has full shopping carts loaded to the gills~!!!
Once I get to the cash register, there’s some confusion because there are three of these couches waiting on the other side, but all three are in boxes… Initially I thought they found the other one, but after a lot of back and forth, none of the three were mine… Eventually we get this all resolved and then I double-back to the pharmacy… Then back to the checkouts to attempt to find someone who can get it from there, out the door and into the back of The Beast…
The line to go out of Costcos is at least 15-20 shopping carts long… A staff person is pushing the couch on the doily but there’s no way I can get that couch up into the truck with just his help and he can’t locate any other staff people either… Eventually we get through the line and door, but inside my head I’m telling myself unless I make it through the door, something else will occur and I would still have not gotten this couch… I was at the point where I was asking myself if it was my destiny to never ever get this couch and the family room finally finished, let alone the last step of the house renovation started October 2005… Seriously!
I’ll spare you the rest of the details, but it went just about the same – cars were blocking my truck and there wasn’t enough room to put the tail gate down, let alone manipulate the couch to lift it in – not enough staff, too many people who wouldn’t inch their cars in any fashion for fear they’d lose the parking spot they were determined to get… What a mess~!!
Eventually I got the couch into the back of the truck and out of the Costco parking lot… I called Paul and told him ahead of time he could not come home and tell me what a bad day he’d been having again because mine was beating his worse ones!... I had two more stops to make (one to find fresh refrigerated sauerkraut for tomorrow’s dinner) and the grocery store was as much chaos as Costcos had been… I’m standing in line to check out and I have this horrible thought I am going to come out of the grocery store and find the couch has been stolen off the back of my truck… Relieved when I saw the couch still in my truck, some lady went to grab my grocery cart too fast, bumping my arm and one of the bags ripped I had been lifting out at the same time… I had visions of those two glass jars of sauerkraut breaking right there on the parking lot… That’s the kind of day I’ve had! I kept telling myself it couldn’t get worse and it just kept doing it anyway~!!!...
On the short drive home, I couldn’t get there faster… I just wanted to be off of the roads and back in my home before some other major ‘mole-hole’ incident occurred to me~!!… Desiree got off work, headed over to the AT&T store and got in about 10 minutes after me… One look at my face (which apparently showed what kind of a day I’d been having) and even she felt sorry for me, despite having been punched in the stomach by one of her kids!
What is it? A full moon or something?... LOL…
Unbelievable, Paul wanted to get the couch into the house once we got home (which meant we had to move furniture out of the family room and onto the patio)… The three of us managed to get this done (don’t ask me how because all three of us had had a really rough day!) and although it is not quite right and I’ll have to do some rearranging tomorrow, the couch is in the family room~!!!... Without being torn or damaged~!!!
After the way the day has been going, Paul and I both asked Desiree to have Serge come and pick her up and then drive her car instead of his to their event tonight… Desiree doesn’t see as well at night, his car is not as reliable as hers and with all the drunks on the road tonight, the idea of anything else was more than either one of us could stand… Thankfully he agreed and I’m sitting up now, waiting for her to come home… Then my day can finally end and 2008 can be finally put to bed… LOL…
What a day to end this year with… Next year has GOT to be better~!!!... LOL… I won’t say it’s been a bad year for our family, but it sure has been a long one and a tough one… Especially (physically) for me…
As always, I hope the incoming year is better for everyone… And all stay (and travel safe) over this holiday… HAPPY 2009 TO ALL!
As Always,
The Lady
P.S. Paul and I ‘christened’ the new couch as we both fell asleep in it on our respective sides of the recliners about 10:30PM, trying to wait up for the ball to come down… So much for us old folks, huh? Thankfully we woke up and stayed awake to see the ball drop~!!!... But boy, is that couch comfortable!
Us old folks are still up and we have just watched the ball come down in Times Square... It is hard to believe ‘America’s Oldest Teenager’ turned 80 on November 30th, but Dick Clark still looks great~!!!
Whew~!!! I’ve had an unbelievable 24 hours or more… Started on Tuesday when my cell phone would dial but come back with the message of ‘No Response’… I had gone a distance to pick up meds for one of my fosters and another and needed to call someone to make sure they were home to drop them off… Couldn’t call, tried calling Desiree and still got that same message…
I stopped at Walmart’s for something we needed and asked for change to use the outside payphone to call --- to be told they didn’t have any… I’m trying to convert various bits of change into quarters and even their inside McDonald’s wasn’t a lot of help~!!! Eventually I was able to convert a various collection of nickels and dimes into the four quarters I needed just to make the two phone calls – one to Des to have her call Paul and tell him what was going on with my cell phone!
That sorta/kinda started it all… Several ‘mole-hole’ instances kept coming up – just enough to let you know you’d stepped in one and stubbed your toe, but today just became incredible with things that could go wrong --- AND DID~!!!... LOL…
I needed to take one of the other fosters into the vets for a thyroid test this morning, stop by the AT&T store and pick up my meds at Costco’s today – three things… Simple, right?... LOL…
I got several phone calls as I’m headed out the door, and then the last one went much longer than I expected… I’m hustling to get to the vets for the appointment and pulling into their parking lot, there isn’t one space available… It is also a SMALL and badly designed parking lot with a blind entrance so I’m doing at least 15 “K-turns” just to get ‘The Beast’ around in such a small, tight area…
Finally I got this done, drove out of the parking lot and decided to do a U-turn and park across the street… Halfway across the street on median strip, Bandit decides to do his new trick – the belly-crawl… I had started across the second half of the busy street and he decides to show me his newest… OMG
Inside my vet’s office, there are 11 dogs and their owners – the lobby is not that big… I was told I’d just be dropping him off for a vet tech appointment, so had planned on doing that, then heading off to Costco’s and planned on doubling back (hopefully) to pick him up, thinking that would be enough time… Instead they asked me to stay and wait because they had so many dogs and cats there… OK, I’ll push the stop at Costco’s back after I’ve gone home and dropped Bandit off…
They bring him out and then tell me they couldn’t get the fecal sample from him – could I drop one off later?... Oh brother… OK, I can adjust… LOL…
On the way home I stop at the AT&T store to find out what’s wrong with my cell phone… I walked in, apologized to the guy for being ignorant of this all ahead of time and handed him the phone… He looked at it, tried to fix it, pulled out the SIM card - basically it just died… No real answer why, despite I’m the one who takes SUPER care of mine… Des has dropped hers I don’t know how many times, she’s chewed on the antennae; she’s even thrown hers in anger… Mine is the one that dies without warning and for no reason!
Now we’ve opened a Pandora’s box as I’m trying to figure out the right decision to make simply to replace mine… We have three on a family plan, and none are Blue-toothed, so for me the only reason to have a cell phone is when I need it to call while on the road… In CA you can no longer be on a cell phone unless it is hands free while driving… And our phones were not blue-tooth compatible…
Desiree has been after me for months about our phones because she’s a heavy text-messenger… Were it my choice, I’d have a Jitterbug phone – I don’t need all that extra stuff… I don’t want all that stuff… But if I got one of those ‘free phones’ and tried to get it Blue-toothed ready, it ended up being too expensive and not smart financially…
BTW, I have Bandit with me on a leash all this time… I couldn’t leave him in the truck and he’s just enjoying each and every person that comes into the AT&T store!... And ‘belly-crawling’ on their rug~!!! I’m also still battling this cold, so my nose is running and I’m trying not to cough on anyone either…
An hour later, I finally have my new cell phone and gotten Desiree’s new one squared away for her to pick up later and have her information transferred over once she gets off work… I head home, call Paul to see if he was going to have a short day, thinking he’d stop and get my meds on the way home… He’s not having a better day than me, so as we’re discussing this, I see Bandit ‘depositing’ out back and run out with the fecal sample bottle…
I’m telling myself I’m still adaptable – it’ll be just one more stop… The vet’s again and Costco’s… Then I learn that I have a few extra stops with Paul not getting off early as planned… I head back to the vets, no parking spots again, this time I’m not going through all of this, so I park at the entrance, take the fecal sample in and as I’m going through the 15 ‘K-turns’ again, one of the staff members rushes back into the parking lot to tell me the lab has a 11AM cutoff time because of the holiday…
It is 11:05AM… Figures… So it’ll have to be done again on Friday… Just the way my day has been going… LOL…
Pulled into Costcos and the parking lot is a zoo… Everyone and their mother plus assorted other extended family members must be in there shopping…
I usually pass through their furniture section as a matter of habit… I’ve talked about this before… I’ve been wanting a specific couch they have and twice they’ve gotten it in and by the time we reached a decision or had the money to buy it, I’ve gone back and they’ve been sold out… It has to be this one specific couch because I need both ends to recline, it has to be a certain size and I won’t buy fabric furniture again – it just doesn’t last at our house for some reason… I’ve been watching this couch for almost a year now and on sale, it’s between $999 and $1299… Because it is replacing two separate recliners and another chair in the family room, this is the one we have to get… period…
I’m walking through like I usually do and see the couch on sale for $699… There is one on display and two in boxes… I call Desiree (not easy to do with a new phone I’ve never used before) and she tells me I can’t not get it… As I’m hanging up, this Asian couple asks me if it is a good price, and stupid me, I say yes… At least $500 cheaper than it normally is…
I headed up to the registers to find out how to buy it and they tell me to go outside and get a flatbed doily, in the meantime they’ll send someone back to get it loaded… The 5-10 minutes it took me to do this was enough for me to arrive there and see both couches in boxes loaded up and being bought by this Asian couple… SERIOUSLY~!!!
They must have seen the look on my face, because they immediately start telling me there are 2 more in stock… They’re doing this nervous laugh and I’m not exactly feeling very funny right about now… Eventually I find someone to help me and he tells me he doesn’t think they do have two more in stock and in boxes… The nervous laugh of theirs becomes more pronounced – that’s the only way I can accurately describe their response, but they take the two and leave…
Now I’m stuck… I call Desiree and I’m disappointed… I really didn’t want to buy the one on display, figuring by the time I got it home and moved without a box, the leather would be torn somehow… I attempted to call Paul to get his input, but I couldn’t hear him well and he couldn’t hear me either… The guy eventually comes back, says he’ll go search the inventory and there I stand, flatbed doily and all… Finally I sit down on it, waiting for him to come back…
Then a few more people come by, look at the display couch, and when the third person stopped, sat down on it and then wrote down the SKU number, I decided I’d had enough… I took the sign down and sat in the middle of the couch, determined that this one was NOT going to be sold out from underneath me too… LOL…
Ever seen the craziness at the warehouse basement bargain sales in New York when the women go crazy trying to buy those cheap wedding dresses?... That’s about the mindset and attitude I’d started developing! After about 30 minutes, the guy comes back and the only one left in the store is the one I am sitting on~!!!
It’s decided that they will take it to the back and shrink wrap it for me… I’m to head up to the cash registers and pay for it… On the way I stop at the pharmacy for my meds (the original reason for my stop at Costcos)… Of course – the way my day was going – my two meds were not filled but if I can wait 15 minutes, they can be… OK (still adapting here), I went to the check-outs with the book I was buying in hand and the sign for the couch… Two items… I’m standing at least 6 to 7 people back in line and EVERYONE has full shopping carts loaded to the gills~!!!
Once I get to the cash register, there’s some confusion because there are three of these couches waiting on the other side, but all three are in boxes… Initially I thought they found the other one, but after a lot of back and forth, none of the three were mine… Eventually we get this all resolved and then I double-back to the pharmacy… Then back to the checkouts to attempt to find someone who can get it from there, out the door and into the back of The Beast…
The line to go out of Costcos is at least 15-20 shopping carts long… A staff person is pushing the couch on the doily but there’s no way I can get that couch up into the truck with just his help and he can’t locate any other staff people either… Eventually we get through the line and door, but inside my head I’m telling myself unless I make it through the door, something else will occur and I would still have not gotten this couch… I was at the point where I was asking myself if it was my destiny to never ever get this couch and the family room finally finished, let alone the last step of the house renovation started October 2005… Seriously!
I’ll spare you the rest of the details, but it went just about the same – cars were blocking my truck and there wasn’t enough room to put the tail gate down, let alone manipulate the couch to lift it in – not enough staff, too many people who wouldn’t inch their cars in any fashion for fear they’d lose the parking spot they were determined to get… What a mess~!!
Eventually I got the couch into the back of the truck and out of the Costco parking lot… I called Paul and told him ahead of time he could not come home and tell me what a bad day he’d been having again because mine was beating his worse ones!... I had two more stops to make (one to find fresh refrigerated sauerkraut for tomorrow’s dinner) and the grocery store was as much chaos as Costcos had been… I’m standing in line to check out and I have this horrible thought I am going to come out of the grocery store and find the couch has been stolen off the back of my truck… Relieved when I saw the couch still in my truck, some lady went to grab my grocery cart too fast, bumping my arm and one of the bags ripped I had been lifting out at the same time… I had visions of those two glass jars of sauerkraut breaking right there on the parking lot… That’s the kind of day I’ve had! I kept telling myself it couldn’t get worse and it just kept doing it anyway~!!!...
On the short drive home, I couldn’t get there faster… I just wanted to be off of the roads and back in my home before some other major ‘mole-hole’ incident occurred to me~!!… Desiree got off work, headed over to the AT&T store and got in about 10 minutes after me… One look at my face (which apparently showed what kind of a day I’d been having) and even she felt sorry for me, despite having been punched in the stomach by one of her kids!
What is it? A full moon or something?... LOL…
Unbelievable, Paul wanted to get the couch into the house once we got home (which meant we had to move furniture out of the family room and onto the patio)… The three of us managed to get this done (don’t ask me how because all three of us had had a really rough day!) and although it is not quite right and I’ll have to do some rearranging tomorrow, the couch is in the family room~!!!... Without being torn or damaged~!!!
After the way the day has been going, Paul and I both asked Desiree to have Serge come and pick her up and then drive her car instead of his to their event tonight… Desiree doesn’t see as well at night, his car is not as reliable as hers and with all the drunks on the road tonight, the idea of anything else was more than either one of us could stand… Thankfully he agreed and I’m sitting up now, waiting for her to come home… Then my day can finally end and 2008 can be finally put to bed… LOL…
What a day to end this year with… Next year has GOT to be better~!!!... LOL… I won’t say it’s been a bad year for our family, but it sure has been a long one and a tough one… Especially (physically) for me…
As always, I hope the incoming year is better for everyone… And all stay (and travel safe) over this holiday… HAPPY 2009 TO ALL!
As Always,
The Lady
P.S. Paul and I ‘christened’ the new couch as we both fell asleep in it on our respective sides of the recliners about 10:30PM, trying to wait up for the ball to come down… So much for us old folks, huh? Thankfully we woke up and stayed awake to see the ball drop~!!!... But boy, is that couch comfortable!
Monday, December 29, 2008
REAL Family Press - 12/29/08
Mornin’, Mornin’… Twice yesterday I heard from my family members they had gotten a greater appreciation of who I am and what I do on a daily basis… Yes, I did look to the ceiling to see if it were about to fall in on top of me!... LOL
First it was Paul… Saturday night was a bad night… I’m still battling this cold and went to bed to sleep around 10PM… After being woken up for the fifth time, I finally said the heck with it at 12:05AM and got up… It was everything from the neighbor’s dogs next door barking like a nut around 11:30PM to our own dogs… Including Mr. Sweetie who wanted to be lifted up into his cubby hole spot underneath my computer desk (in the living room when I was asleep in my bedroom!)…
I worked through the night until about 4-4:30AM when I started running out of steam, so I attempted to curl up on the futon for a few hours sleep until Paul got up… No sooner had we all settled in when Riley started whining and being restless (no Des the previous day or night)… Got him settled down and another neighbor started moving his dogs around (his kennel is outside in his backyard between the two houses), so that started our dogs to growling and barking… Up again… By this time I’m no longer patient and kindly toward anyone – I JUST WANT SOME SLEEP~!!!... LOL…
As I’m in the bathroom, I’m listening to Paul, Louie, Zeus and BeeGee snoring down the hallway, so that’s not an option… The futon is out… So while I considered going outside and crawling into my truck’s back seat or the lawn recliner outside (nope, there’s bugs outside at night!), I realized that Desiree’s bed (futon) was empty…
Like a thief, I snuck down the hallway into her room, quiet as a mouse and did my absolute best to not make ANY noise as I crawled into her ‘cocoon-like’ futon… Pulled her new coverlet over my head, contemplated how quiet it was in there and within seconds, I was asleep!
I vaguely heard a few dogs walking down the hallway, I suppose looking for me, but that’s ALL I heard until I was awaken by the sirens screaming down the main thoroughfare towards the hospital, and then YogiBear ‘hound-dogging’ out back… Apparently Paul had gotten up a few hours earlier and did my usual morning routine around here, then left to go run some errands… The doggie door was open and those that wanted to go out back, did so…
When Paul came in, he immediately said he’d gained a greater appreciation for what I usually do every morning – plus the fact I’d apparently shook him and Des up for neither one knew where I was!... LOL… Desiree guessed I was in her bed and had been desperate to get some sleep if I was… Good guess, Des! My little girl knows me well!... LOL…
A few hours later, Desiree came home from her 4 days of house- and pet-sitting… And she repeated the same observation of appreciation for me!... In her case, she not only had a house to look after, she also had 7 dogs, 8 cats and 2 horses – one who is named ‘Ditzy’ and has Cushings, so has to get meds every day… It’s one thing to have a 5 pound Chihuahua to do this with, but quite another to deal with a HUGE horse who’s name is pretty appropriate on top of it!...
I think her comment was (almost quoting here), “I just couldn’t believe how much work it was to get all of the stuff done every day… Now I know what you go through all the time!”… Add to that list, replenishing whatever is used up around here, picking up behind two other people, the laundry and just my own life, hobbies and passions!... LOL…
It’s not easy, but then again, whose life is, ya know?... It was nice to hear from both of my family members they realized it’s not easy to ‘walk in my moccasins’…
Desiree is opening this week at the school and as I checked at 5:45AM this morning to see if she was up, her comment to me was, “Who in God’s name puts their child in winter camp at 6:15AM in the morning????”… LOL… Parents who have a long drive and need to get to work? Parents who start early in the morning?... Desiree will have a greater appreciation for what I went through in her earlier years as I struggled to ‘do it all’ as a single working mom…
It’s so funny (at least to me), to observe Desiree (and sometimes Paul) go through something that I’ve been dealing with, almost as if it is a completely new thing… And to listen to their struggles as they encounter new obstacles, extra work, changes in their lifestyle, etc… Maybe at the end, we will ALL have greater appreciation for each other’s contributions to our family’s life, health and happiness?...…
Moms and wives just don’t get enough appreciation for the things we do because after awhile, we always make it appear so easy… It’s really our own fault, ya know? (smile)… We tend to hide our struggles (‘ya never let them see ya sweat’ mindsets) and our satisfaction comes from the streamlined appearance of ‘all is well here on the homefront’… It’s very much like watching a duck swimming on a pond… Above the surface, we look serene and balanced, but under the water line, we’re paddling like crazy!
(…and I can just imagine some of you all nodding your heads in agreement on this point!)….
Over the weekend, I decided one of the main problems around here is me and not them… I have this concept of “inviting” that is severely misguided… To me, it has to look inviting before I can retire from any task or chore… The sink and kitchen needs to look “inviting” when all the dishes are washed, dried and put away… I don’t feel so apt to go cook if I see I have things to do before I can start… Same goes for just about any other thing I can think of – going into my closet and finding stuff scattered about is not ‘inviting’ to me… Although I’m so anal-retentive about my closet, it is scary!
Paul’s anal-retentive about putting his clothes away… I don’t always get the drawer stuff put away like he does, but I’m worse about the hanging stuff (I probably have more of it)… A bathroom has to be clean (at least to me) to be ‘inviting’ for me to take a shower… Even relaxing at my kitchen window looking out has to be ‘inviting’… If every time I look out, I see things that need to be done (the lawn mowed, dead flower beds needing to be clipped off, etc.) that time is not ‘inviting’ to me… Or if I’m trying to mentally concentrate on something at my computer, the background noise of ‘boom, boom, crash’ from Paul’s increased volume on the TV is not only NOT inviting, it eventually moves into annoying…
However, I have come to realize that my definition of ‘inviting’ is not the same as anyone else’s… Any time I talk to my Momma, she’s forever telling me that she needs to get her house dusted, or do this or that… Although Desiree’s room stays in a static condition of messy, I have to admit how ‘inviting’ it was when I crawled into her ‘cocoon’ and was able to snag a few hours of some much needed sleep!... Even Paul must have his own definition of ‘inviting’… Coming home, no one talking to him or bothering him in any fashion, eating something and zoning into the TV as he ‘stares into the fire’ like the cavemen must have done!... I’m trying to readjust my definitions, as you probably can tell~!!... (smile)…
This house certainly wasn’t ‘inviting’ with Desiree gone for four days and nights… I kept telling myself this is the way it is going to be soon or in a few years, so get used to it… It wasn’t easy and by Sunday afternoon, I didn’t even want to really come home after running a few errands with Paul… The idea of coming home and Desiree not being there, Paul glued to the TV and me doing what I do every day was just about more than I could think about!
What a great surprise to find she’d come home while we were gone!... At first I thought it was just another ‘stop-over’ like she’d been doing the past few days… When I realized the people she’d been house-sitting for had arrived home, and she was back for good, my attitude about being here changed immediately!
After a few minutes of ‘catch-up’ she and I headed over to Borders to browse through their ‘year-end blow-out’ sale… She and I can easily spend 2 hours or more at that store… We also stopped and got a coffee as well, still doing more catch-up and talking about things in general… My life would be not much more than a charcoal gray without the vibrant colors that Desiree brings into it… I am NOT looking forward to the day she finally moves out, as much as I know it is inevitable and is natural to happen… In my heart I will be happy for her, but I will also be sad for me…
I have never understood parents that couldn’t wait for their kids to move out and leave… I have celebrated every one of Desiree’s successes and achievements as much as I have commiserated with her set-backs and disappointments… I have thoroughly enjoyed each plateau of her life, from the second I knew she existed until the very second now… She has taught me so VERY much about life and being her mom and friend is what has made me the person I am today…
I’M SO GLAD SHE’S HOME AGAIN~!!!... LOL…
As Always,
The Lady
First it was Paul… Saturday night was a bad night… I’m still battling this cold and went to bed to sleep around 10PM… After being woken up for the fifth time, I finally said the heck with it at 12:05AM and got up… It was everything from the neighbor’s dogs next door barking like a nut around 11:30PM to our own dogs… Including Mr. Sweetie who wanted to be lifted up into his cubby hole spot underneath my computer desk (in the living room when I was asleep in my bedroom!)…
I worked through the night until about 4-4:30AM when I started running out of steam, so I attempted to curl up on the futon for a few hours sleep until Paul got up… No sooner had we all settled in when Riley started whining and being restless (no Des the previous day or night)… Got him settled down and another neighbor started moving his dogs around (his kennel is outside in his backyard between the two houses), so that started our dogs to growling and barking… Up again… By this time I’m no longer patient and kindly toward anyone – I JUST WANT SOME SLEEP~!!!... LOL…
As I’m in the bathroom, I’m listening to Paul, Louie, Zeus and BeeGee snoring down the hallway, so that’s not an option… The futon is out… So while I considered going outside and crawling into my truck’s back seat or the lawn recliner outside (nope, there’s bugs outside at night!), I realized that Desiree’s bed (futon) was empty…
Like a thief, I snuck down the hallway into her room, quiet as a mouse and did my absolute best to not make ANY noise as I crawled into her ‘cocoon-like’ futon… Pulled her new coverlet over my head, contemplated how quiet it was in there and within seconds, I was asleep!
I vaguely heard a few dogs walking down the hallway, I suppose looking for me, but that’s ALL I heard until I was awaken by the sirens screaming down the main thoroughfare towards the hospital, and then YogiBear ‘hound-dogging’ out back… Apparently Paul had gotten up a few hours earlier and did my usual morning routine around here, then left to go run some errands… The doggie door was open and those that wanted to go out back, did so…
When Paul came in, he immediately said he’d gained a greater appreciation for what I usually do every morning – plus the fact I’d apparently shook him and Des up for neither one knew where I was!... LOL… Desiree guessed I was in her bed and had been desperate to get some sleep if I was… Good guess, Des! My little girl knows me well!... LOL…
A few hours later, Desiree came home from her 4 days of house- and pet-sitting… And she repeated the same observation of appreciation for me!... In her case, she not only had a house to look after, she also had 7 dogs, 8 cats and 2 horses – one who is named ‘Ditzy’ and has Cushings, so has to get meds every day… It’s one thing to have a 5 pound Chihuahua to do this with, but quite another to deal with a HUGE horse who’s name is pretty appropriate on top of it!...
I think her comment was (almost quoting here), “I just couldn’t believe how much work it was to get all of the stuff done every day… Now I know what you go through all the time!”… Add to that list, replenishing whatever is used up around here, picking up behind two other people, the laundry and just my own life, hobbies and passions!... LOL…
It’s not easy, but then again, whose life is, ya know?... It was nice to hear from both of my family members they realized it’s not easy to ‘walk in my moccasins’…
Desiree is opening this week at the school and as I checked at 5:45AM this morning to see if she was up, her comment to me was, “Who in God’s name puts their child in winter camp at 6:15AM in the morning????”… LOL… Parents who have a long drive and need to get to work? Parents who start early in the morning?... Desiree will have a greater appreciation for what I went through in her earlier years as I struggled to ‘do it all’ as a single working mom…
It’s so funny (at least to me), to observe Desiree (and sometimes Paul) go through something that I’ve been dealing with, almost as if it is a completely new thing… And to listen to their struggles as they encounter new obstacles, extra work, changes in their lifestyle, etc… Maybe at the end, we will ALL have greater appreciation for each other’s contributions to our family’s life, health and happiness?...
Moms and wives just don’t get enough appreciation for the things we do because after awhile, we always make it appear so easy… It’s really our own fault, ya know? (smile)… We tend to hide our struggles (‘ya never let them see ya sweat’ mindsets) and our satisfaction comes from the streamlined appearance of ‘all is well here on the homefront’… It’s very much like watching a duck swimming on a pond… Above the surface, we look serene and balanced, but under the water line, we’re paddling like crazy!
(…and I can just imagine some of you all nodding your heads in agreement on this point!)….
Over the weekend, I decided one of the main problems around here is me and not them… I have this concept of “inviting” that is severely misguided… To me, it has to look inviting before I can retire from any task or chore… The sink and kitchen needs to look “inviting” when all the dishes are washed, dried and put away… I don’t feel so apt to go cook if I see I have things to do before I can start… Same goes for just about any other thing I can think of – going into my closet and finding stuff scattered about is not ‘inviting’ to me… Although I’m so anal-retentive about my closet, it is scary!
Paul’s anal-retentive about putting his clothes away… I don’t always get the drawer stuff put away like he does, but I’m worse about the hanging stuff (I probably have more of it)… A bathroom has to be clean (at least to me) to be ‘inviting’ for me to take a shower… Even relaxing at my kitchen window looking out has to be ‘inviting’… If every time I look out, I see things that need to be done (the lawn mowed, dead flower beds needing to be clipped off, etc.) that time is not ‘inviting’ to me… Or if I’m trying to mentally concentrate on something at my computer, the background noise of ‘boom, boom, crash’ from Paul’s increased volume on the TV is not only NOT inviting, it eventually moves into annoying…
However, I have come to realize that my definition of ‘inviting’ is not the same as anyone else’s… Any time I talk to my Momma, she’s forever telling me that she needs to get her house dusted, or do this or that… Although Desiree’s room stays in a static condition of messy, I have to admit how ‘inviting’ it was when I crawled into her ‘cocoon’ and was able to snag a few hours of some much needed sleep!... Even Paul must have his own definition of ‘inviting’… Coming home, no one talking to him or bothering him in any fashion, eating something and zoning into the TV as he ‘stares into the fire’ like the cavemen must have done!... I’m trying to readjust my definitions, as you probably can tell~!!... (smile)…
This house certainly wasn’t ‘inviting’ with Desiree gone for four days and nights… I kept telling myself this is the way it is going to be soon or in a few years, so get used to it… It wasn’t easy and by Sunday afternoon, I didn’t even want to really come home after running a few errands with Paul… The idea of coming home and Desiree not being there, Paul glued to the TV and me doing what I do every day was just about more than I could think about!
What a great surprise to find she’d come home while we were gone!... At first I thought it was just another ‘stop-over’ like she’d been doing the past few days… When I realized the people she’d been house-sitting for had arrived home, and she was back for good, my attitude about being here changed immediately!
After a few minutes of ‘catch-up’ she and I headed over to Borders to browse through their ‘year-end blow-out’ sale… She and I can easily spend 2 hours or more at that store… We also stopped and got a coffee as well, still doing more catch-up and talking about things in general… My life would be not much more than a charcoal gray without the vibrant colors that Desiree brings into it… I am NOT looking forward to the day she finally moves out, as much as I know it is inevitable and is natural to happen… In my heart I will be happy for her, but I will also be sad for me…
I have never understood parents that couldn’t wait for their kids to move out and leave… I have celebrated every one of Desiree’s successes and achievements as much as I have commiserated with her set-backs and disappointments… I have thoroughly enjoyed each plateau of her life, from the second I knew she existed until the very second now… She has taught me so VERY much about life and being her mom and friend is what has made me the person I am today…
I’M SO GLAD SHE’S HOME AGAIN~!!!... LOL…
As Always,
The Lady
Thursday, December 25, 2008
REAL Family Press - 12/25/08 - Merry Christmas!
The house is quiet now… Someone got sick about 4AM so both Paul and I were up, cleaning it up, rearranging things, etc. He’s gone back to bed while I finished up and he’ll sleep in now for a few hours on this Christmas morn… The dogs have all found their ‘secondary’ spot around the house – Zeus will stay with his dad for sure and the majority will be out here with me, snuggled in for another few hours of sleep…
This is my ‘magical time’ of the day – every day… The only ‘no-no’ is that I can’t make noise or cook anything that would wake any of my family up… The world outside is still dark and the earth smells clean and alive… The birds sing their harmonies and it is just great to be alive, ya know?
Yep, even on a bad day, it’s great to be alive…
I’ve already had a few emails from REAL Family members and the world truly does go on, despite changes in everyone’s lives… The amazing thing about life is we tend to think how it is right now is how it has always been… Christmas is all about your religious beliefs (or not at all if you don’t have them) and the commercial enterprise of the holiday that began in the 1920’s…
To me, it’s hard to imagine Christmas without a tree… The two other ‘standards’ to me are a great fruitcake and a Honey Baked Ham… The first is an old tradition that started back in the days of Egypt and the Pharaohs… But the second is one that actually began in my mother’s era… Isn’t it funny we think of these things as always ‘having been’ when actually it all depends on someone’s marketing plans for this time of the year?... LOL…
I couldn’t find a decent fruitcake this year… I looked… And looked… The one I finally found just doesn’t cut it for being a good fruitcake… In a block form and not a ring, it isn’t chock full of the candied fruits and has a blah taste…
A fruitcake is the one thing I really enjoy about Christmas… After my disappointment this year, I’ve decided next year I’m making my own… My mother has a great recipe that I have somewhere and tomorrow I’m going out to get the candied fruits needed before they disappear off the shelves again… Come June, I’ll be making a few fruitcakes and even if no one else enjoys them, I will~!!!… LOL… Guess it is the reputation of it that has caused people to not buy it as much any more…
Last night, Desiree went off to her house-sitting gig about 5PM and I had already started a fire in the fireplace for her before she left, so it was going when Paul came home as well…
Usually Paul sits in the family room watching TV while Desiree and I set up shop in the living room… For a switch, he came into the living room and watched TV here last night… There’s a gas starter in the fireplace, so it’s a simple thing to start a fire, and we still have wood from about 3-4 years ago… It’s just never hot enough to get a fire going, but when I redid the living room last year, I purposely positioned the futon and TV so you can sit and enjoy the TV with a fire…
It’s a nice and cozy spot – Desiree’s favorite in the house and with the bottom kick-out of the futon up, the puppers climb up with you, snuggle in and it’s really a comfy place to decompress after a long day… Santa had already made a stop here for most of us, and he backtracked with Desiree’s gifts late last night as well… LOL…
Doubtful that Desiree will read the Press ahead of time, so I can now tell you all that she’s got a ‘Betty Boop’ Christmas headed her way… Other than the two books she specifically asked for, everything else is ‘Betty-Booped’… LOL… She’s gotten into this theme in the past year or so, and this year for Christmas, I decided to do it all in that theme…
Everything – from car mats and sun shades for her car --- to personal things like a wallet, tote bag, earrings --- to a doggie T-shirt for her Riley – is done up in Betty Boop… She’ll LOVE it… I even managed to find a pair of slippers for her in the motif… I wore out the poor Fed Exp and other delivery services as they arrived from all over the place with the stuff… Thanks to the Internet, and the resurgence of the popularity of this icon, Desiree is going to have a ‘boop-boop-be-dupe’ Christmas! LOL…
Paul has off tomorrow too… A four day weekend where I don’t have a major project to be done around here… LOL… That’s MY Christmas present to him…… Maybe he’ll take the time and wade through the ‘Black Hole of Calcutta’ to gather up all the tax receipts for me?... Naw… Don’t see that happening!...
Every Christmas he asks for some series on DVD and this year was no different… I’m guessing he’ll be watching this year’s Christmas gift, although we still have that cabinet door to install, so who knows?... Maybe he’ll surprise me in that regard!
The Christmas lights just came on across the street… They have two young sons (about 10 & 11) so I imagine the wrapping paper is flying over there right now… Our presents are around the tree, waiting for Desiree when she comes home in a few hours… She says 9:30AM but if I know my daughter, I imagine she’ll be home sooner than that! There were no late night calls last night, so I’m guessing she’ll be a bit homesick this morning when she finally wakes up…
I’m not a good present receiver… I get more enjoyment out of watching others get gifts… Both Paul and Desiree tell me I’m just too hard to buy for because there’s not really anything I want or need… But I sure love watching them open gifts and their reactions doing it~!!!... THAT’s Christmas for me… Watching my family happy and healthy, ya know?
I’d like to go see “Marley and Me” at the movies this afternoon… It premieres today and all three of us read the book this year – and LOVED it… I understand they changed part of the plot and Marley was adopted, not bought at a breeder’s… Maybe Hollywood is finally waking up to their contribution to the unwanted overpopulation problem we have… That would be a nice thing, huh?...
Speaking about nice Christmas gifts, do any of you all remember Malibu?... He was a Chihuahua foster I had for about 6 weeks in 2007… He had a heart on the side of his coat and was scheduled to be killed because of overt aggressiveness?... Malibu got adopted by a nice lady and her teenage daughter and few months later, in Christmas of 2007 Paul played “Santa” at PetSmart… Malibu and his owners came into have their pictures taken and Malibu recognized Paul despite the Santa costume~!!!…
Well, last night I got a call from Malibu’s owner and she told me how great he has been doing… That was the best ever Christmas gift… He’s dearly loved by her daughter and his best bud (canine-wise) is a large Siberian Husky… Apparently when Malibu gets chilly on these early mornings, he stands in between his bud’s legs and has a full canine coat around him to keep warm~!!!... I can just imagine the visual of that… A Chihuahua standing between the legs of a Siberian Husky to stay warm on a chilly Californian morning…
What a neat call to get on a Christmas Eve for me!... These are the neat things you can’t wrap up and put underneath a Christmas tree~!!... They truly are PRICELESS~!!!
Hugs to all and Merry Christmas!
The Lady
This is my ‘magical time’ of the day – every day… The only ‘no-no’ is that I can’t make noise or cook anything that would wake any of my family up… The world outside is still dark and the earth smells clean and alive… The birds sing their harmonies and it is just great to be alive, ya know?
Yep, even on a bad day, it’s great to be alive…
I’ve already had a few emails from REAL Family members and the world truly does go on, despite changes in everyone’s lives… The amazing thing about life is we tend to think how it is right now is how it has always been… Christmas is all about your religious beliefs (or not at all if you don’t have them) and the commercial enterprise of the holiday that began in the 1920’s…
To me, it’s hard to imagine Christmas without a tree… The two other ‘standards’ to me are a great fruitcake and a Honey Baked Ham… The first is an old tradition that started back in the days of Egypt and the Pharaohs… But the second is one that actually began in my mother’s era… Isn’t it funny we think of these things as always ‘having been’ when actually it all depends on someone’s marketing plans for this time of the year?... LOL…
I couldn’t find a decent fruitcake this year… I looked… And looked… The one I finally found just doesn’t cut it for being a good fruitcake… In a block form and not a ring, it isn’t chock full of the candied fruits and has a blah taste…
A fruitcake is the one thing I really enjoy about Christmas… After my disappointment this year, I’ve decided next year I’m making my own… My mother has a great recipe that I have somewhere and tomorrow I’m going out to get the candied fruits needed before they disappear off the shelves again… Come June, I’ll be making a few fruitcakes and even if no one else enjoys them, I will~!!!… LOL… Guess it is the reputation of it that has caused people to not buy it as much any more…
Last night, Desiree went off to her house-sitting gig about 5PM and I had already started a fire in the fireplace for her before she left, so it was going when Paul came home as well…
Usually Paul sits in the family room watching TV while Desiree and I set up shop in the living room… For a switch, he came into the living room and watched TV here last night… There’s a gas starter in the fireplace, so it’s a simple thing to start a fire, and we still have wood from about 3-4 years ago… It’s just never hot enough to get a fire going, but when I redid the living room last year, I purposely positioned the futon and TV so you can sit and enjoy the TV with a fire…
It’s a nice and cozy spot – Desiree’s favorite in the house and with the bottom kick-out of the futon up, the puppers climb up with you, snuggle in and it’s really a comfy place to decompress after a long day… Santa had already made a stop here for most of us, and he backtracked with Desiree’s gifts late last night as well… LOL…
Doubtful that Desiree will read the Press ahead of time, so I can now tell you all that she’s got a ‘Betty Boop’ Christmas headed her way… Other than the two books she specifically asked for, everything else is ‘Betty-Booped’… LOL… She’s gotten into this theme in the past year or so, and this year for Christmas, I decided to do it all in that theme…
Everything – from car mats and sun shades for her car --- to personal things like a wallet, tote bag, earrings --- to a doggie T-shirt for her Riley – is done up in Betty Boop… She’ll LOVE it… I even managed to find a pair of slippers for her in the motif… I wore out the poor Fed Exp and other delivery services as they arrived from all over the place with the stuff… Thanks to the Internet, and the resurgence of the popularity of this icon, Desiree is going to have a ‘boop-boop-be-dupe’ Christmas! LOL…
Paul has off tomorrow too… A four day weekend where I don’t have a major project to be done around here… LOL… That’s MY Christmas present to him…
Every Christmas he asks for some series on DVD and this year was no different… I’m guessing he’ll be watching this year’s Christmas gift, although we still have that cabinet door to install, so who knows?... Maybe he’ll surprise me in that regard!
The Christmas lights just came on across the street… They have two young sons (about 10 & 11) so I imagine the wrapping paper is flying over there right now… Our presents are around the tree, waiting for Desiree when she comes home in a few hours… She says 9:30AM but if I know my daughter, I imagine she’ll be home sooner than that! There were no late night calls last night, so I’m guessing she’ll be a bit homesick this morning when she finally wakes up…
I’m not a good present receiver… I get more enjoyment out of watching others get gifts… Both Paul and Desiree tell me I’m just too hard to buy for because there’s not really anything I want or need… But I sure love watching them open gifts and their reactions doing it~!!!... THAT’s Christmas for me… Watching my family happy and healthy, ya know?
I’d like to go see “Marley and Me” at the movies this afternoon… It premieres today and all three of us read the book this year – and LOVED it… I understand they changed part of the plot and Marley was adopted, not bought at a breeder’s… Maybe Hollywood is finally waking up to their contribution to the unwanted overpopulation problem we have… That would be a nice thing, huh?...
Speaking about nice Christmas gifts, do any of you all remember Malibu?... He was a Chihuahua foster I had for about 6 weeks in 2007… He had a heart on the side of his coat and was scheduled to be killed because of overt aggressiveness?... Malibu got adopted by a nice lady and her teenage daughter and few months later, in Christmas of 2007 Paul played “Santa” at PetSmart… Malibu and his owners came into have their pictures taken and Malibu recognized Paul despite the Santa costume~!!!…
Well, last night I got a call from Malibu’s owner and she told me how great he has been doing… That was the best ever Christmas gift… He’s dearly loved by her daughter and his best bud (canine-wise) is a large Siberian Husky… Apparently when Malibu gets chilly on these early mornings, he stands in between his bud’s legs and has a full canine coat around him to keep warm~!!!... I can just imagine the visual of that… A Chihuahua standing between the legs of a Siberian Husky to stay warm on a chilly Californian morning…
What a neat call to get on a Christmas Eve for me!... These are the neat things you can’t wrap up and put underneath a Christmas tree~!!... They truly are PRICELESS~!!!
Hugs to all and Merry Christmas!
The Lady
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
REAL Family Press - 12/24/08 - Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Eve, everyone~!!! I hope this finds everyone ready for Santa to come tonight… A HUGE thanks goes out to Santa’s Elves Online who worked their little keyboards and creative brains to pieces, answering all the emails from the kids (little and big) online for yet another year… Some have come back year after year and a “e-APPLUASE” to every one of them! Hip-hip-HURRAH!!! (bowing deeply from the waist)…
Well, I must have been a bad girl this year because Santa gave me a big fat head cold (or now chest cold) this week ahead of time… I ‘gave into it’ yesterday but today I’m doing one of those ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ routines because it is Christmas Eve… Apparently I kept Paul up last night with my coughing and congestion (my, what a switch, huh?)…
But I’m afraid he’s caught it also… However I’m not so sure who brought it home first… We’re a ‘kissy-kissy’ bunch around here and I felt fine… Went to adoptions on Saturday and within an hour of coming home, my throat started feeling scratchy… Then it went downhill from there!
Unfortunately, the latest foster I pulled from the shelter is also battling diarrhea and a bit of food aggression – both take time to be taken care of and when I’m sick, my reserve of patience usually runs lower… He was in the shelter for 5 months, so my heart strings got pulled, and I couldn’t put him out of my head… No one else overwhelms me – I do it all by myself!... LOL…
So, between running for tissues for me, I also am running for paper towels and Nature’s Miracle nonstop right now… At least it keeps life interesting, huh? Tiny Tim didn’t get adopted in time for Christmas, so he’ll be spending the holidays with us as well… They say “there is always room for one more around the table” and I guess I am grateful for the things I can do… Bandit is #45 since I made that promise to Rogaine and I need to keep that in front of me mentally instead of this sore and runny nose! Get with it, Linda!... LOL… I have the CD from “Momma Mia!” running and that’s good to keep you stepping right along as you get your chores done for the day!
Last year, Paul went to a jeweler’s and bought me a diamond for our 10th wedding anniversary… I’m not an ungrateful woman, but there are three parts of my body that I’m a bit particular about (my eyes, my fingers and my feet)… As I’ve gotten older, even those have lost whatever charm they had… And I’m very particular about the kinds of rings I wear – consequently I wear few!... LOL…
I tried to learn to like the ring he bought (even more because of what he paid for it), but I just didn’t like it even one little bit… I didn’t want to hurt his feelings (but I did in the end anyway)… After a few days I just put it away and didn’t wear it, and although he doesn’t notice much, he did this… The end result after a lot of grief, is that I wanted to take it back… The jeweler’s response (reader’s digest) was that it “has the value of glass once you walk out the door with it”…
Them be fighting words, ya know?...…
No exaggeration here, I fought them all year long over this… It was paid for by an American Express card and eventually they agreed to a store credit – not good enough!... What guarantee do I have the merchandise I walk out with will be of any greater ‘value than glass’ after an ordinary transaction and all this hulla-ba-loo, ya know?
Eventually we won – we returned it in the box, worn maybe three times and received a full credit on the AMEX account… I knew we would win eventually just because it became a matter of principle for me… And I seldom give up or in on those things… Especially when I feel I am getting ripped off in a major way… $2,500 is a MAJOR ripoff for something that you don’t like and is going to sit in a box in a drawer somewhere…
Not even intending to replace it at all, I was in Mervyn’s with Desiree last week and she got an AWESOME coverlet for $5.09~!!!... Her first ‘OWN’ purchase for one day when she eventually moves out… Passing by the jewelry counter with so many empty shelves, I spotted a ring that I really liked… So much I stopped and asked to try it on… And drooled… Something I’m not apt to do…
Desiree hit Paul with it as soon as he came home apparently… LOL…
Tired as he was, back we went and although the one I was looking at was gone, there was another very close to the same design… Don’t quote clarity and weight to me, ‘cause I’m just that kind of gal… Things like this (to me) are all about look and if my fingers won’t look fat wearing them… LOL…
Bottom line is that I finally got my diamond after 11 years of marriage!... At 80% off of the usual purchase price… I’m a happy, happy camper in more ways than one… Even better, we spent 8-9% of what he did last year… That’s my kind of price tag – a ring I can wear every day without having to stick my hand in a bubble wrap bag, ya know?
Tonight will be very quiet around here… Desiree is doing a great deed for someone else – she’s house- and pet-sitting for someone so they can all get together as a family in another state… She’ll come home from work, pack a few things, then get over there before they leave… She’ll come home tomorrow after she’s got all the chores done with the dogs, cats and horses… Be here for a few hours and then head back for the afternoon routine…
I expect to get a lot of phone calls the next four days until she comes back home once they get back!... LOL… She’s not really that far away from us (same valley) and she’s looking forward to doing this just because it’s a nice thing to do for someone else… I’ve gone once with her on a practice run and she’ll do fine…
The bittersweet part about all of this is that it will be the first time she’s not awoken here at home with me on Christmas morning… Through the years, she’s not been as enthusiastic about being woken up at 4AM to open presents…… So I anticipate those times are gone until she’s married and the first grandchild comes along…
In the meantime, this is a ‘themed’ Christmas for her… I won’t say what it is because she still reads the Press and I don’t want to give away the surprise ahead of time… But I think she’ll love what Paul and I have gotten for her… Our baby is growing up!
Well, “Squirts” has decided to bestow another present (thankfully he’s learned to hit the pitty pads finally!)… So I must close for now and wish you and yours the best ever of family holiday times… Stay safe, out of the snow, ice, sleet and rain – enjoy your families, fireplaces and memories to be made which are priceless!
Hugs to all and Merry Christmas to all!
The Lady
Linda, Paul and Desiree
Well, I must have been a bad girl this year because Santa gave me a big fat head cold (or now chest cold) this week ahead of time… I ‘gave into it’ yesterday but today I’m doing one of those ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ routines because it is Christmas Eve… Apparently I kept Paul up last night with my coughing and congestion (my, what a switch, huh?)…
But I’m afraid he’s caught it also… However I’m not so sure who brought it home first… We’re a ‘kissy-kissy’ bunch around here and I felt fine… Went to adoptions on Saturday and within an hour of coming home, my throat started feeling scratchy… Then it went downhill from there!
Unfortunately, the latest foster I pulled from the shelter is also battling diarrhea and a bit of food aggression – both take time to be taken care of and when I’m sick, my reserve of patience usually runs lower… He was in the shelter for 5 months, so my heart strings got pulled, and I couldn’t put him out of my head… No one else overwhelms me – I do it all by myself!... LOL…
So, between running for tissues for me, I also am running for paper towels and Nature’s Miracle nonstop right now… At least it keeps life interesting, huh? Tiny Tim didn’t get adopted in time for Christmas, so he’ll be spending the holidays with us as well… They say “there is always room for one more around the table” and I guess I am grateful for the things I can do… Bandit is #45 since I made that promise to Rogaine and I need to keep that in front of me mentally instead of this sore and runny nose! Get with it, Linda!... LOL… I have the CD from “Momma Mia!” running and that’s good to keep you stepping right along as you get your chores done for the day!
Last year, Paul went to a jeweler’s and bought me a diamond for our 10th wedding anniversary… I’m not an ungrateful woman, but there are three parts of my body that I’m a bit particular about (my eyes, my fingers and my feet)… As I’ve gotten older, even those have lost whatever charm they had… And I’m very particular about the kinds of rings I wear – consequently I wear few!... LOL…
I tried to learn to like the ring he bought (even more because of what he paid for it), but I just didn’t like it even one little bit… I didn’t want to hurt his feelings (but I did in the end anyway)… After a few days I just put it away and didn’t wear it, and although he doesn’t notice much, he did this… The end result after a lot of grief, is that I wanted to take it back… The jeweler’s response (reader’s digest) was that it “has the value of glass once you walk out the door with it”…
Them be fighting words, ya know?...
No exaggeration here, I fought them all year long over this… It was paid for by an American Express card and eventually they agreed to a store credit – not good enough!... What guarantee do I have the merchandise I walk out with will be of any greater ‘value than glass’ after an ordinary transaction and all this hulla-ba-loo, ya know?
Eventually we won – we returned it in the box, worn maybe three times and received a full credit on the AMEX account… I knew we would win eventually just because it became a matter of principle for me… And I seldom give up or in on those things… Especially when I feel I am getting ripped off in a major way… $2,500 is a MAJOR ripoff for something that you don’t like and is going to sit in a box in a drawer somewhere…
Not even intending to replace it at all, I was in Mervyn’s with Desiree last week and she got an AWESOME coverlet for $5.09~!!!... Her first ‘OWN’ purchase for one day when she eventually moves out… Passing by the jewelry counter with so many empty shelves, I spotted a ring that I really liked… So much I stopped and asked to try it on… And drooled… Something I’m not apt to do…
Desiree hit Paul with it as soon as he came home apparently… LOL…
Tired as he was, back we went and although the one I was looking at was gone, there was another very close to the same design… Don’t quote clarity and weight to me, ‘cause I’m just that kind of gal… Things like this (to me) are all about look and if my fingers won’t look fat wearing them… LOL…
Bottom line is that I finally got my diamond after 11 years of marriage!... At 80% off of the usual purchase price… I’m a happy, happy camper in more ways than one… Even better, we spent 8-9% of what he did last year… That’s my kind of price tag – a ring I can wear every day without having to stick my hand in a bubble wrap bag, ya know?
Tonight will be very quiet around here… Desiree is doing a great deed for someone else – she’s house- and pet-sitting for someone so they can all get together as a family in another state… She’ll come home from work, pack a few things, then get over there before they leave… She’ll come home tomorrow after she’s got all the chores done with the dogs, cats and horses… Be here for a few hours and then head back for the afternoon routine…
I expect to get a lot of phone calls the next four days until she comes back home once they get back!... LOL… She’s not really that far away from us (same valley) and she’s looking forward to doing this just because it’s a nice thing to do for someone else… I’ve gone once with her on a practice run and she’ll do fine…
The bittersweet part about all of this is that it will be the first time she’s not awoken here at home with me on Christmas morning… Through the years, she’s not been as enthusiastic about being woken up at 4AM to open presents…
In the meantime, this is a ‘themed’ Christmas for her… I won’t say what it is because she still reads the Press and I don’t want to give away the surprise ahead of time… But I think she’ll love what Paul and I have gotten for her… Our baby is growing up!
Well, “Squirts” has decided to bestow another present (thankfully he’s learned to hit the pitty pads finally!)… So I must close for now and wish you and yours the best ever of family holiday times… Stay safe, out of the snow, ice, sleet and rain – enjoy your families, fireplaces and memories to be made which are priceless!
Hugs to all and Merry Christmas to all!
The Lady
Linda, Paul and Desiree
Thursday, December 18, 2008
And that's when the fight started...
Just in time for our 11th wedding anniversary today, I got the following in my email box... ... How appropriate! So I couldn't resist sharing with you all too!
~~~ The Lady
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?' I said, 'Dust.'
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.' I bought her a scale.
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive... so, I took her to a gas station.
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first. "I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please." He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?" "Nah, she can order for herself."
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to me, "'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment." I replied, "'Your eyesight's damn near perfect."
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95. Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife asked me if a certain dress made her butt look big. I told her not as much as the dress she wore yesterday...
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?" It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?"
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?" "No," she answered. I then said, "Is that your final answer?" She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes." So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
~~~ The Lady
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, 'What's on TV?' I said, 'Dust.'
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, 'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.' I bought her a scale.
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When I got home last night, my wife demanded that I take her someplace expensive... so, I took her to a gas station.
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I took my wife to a restaurant. The waiter, for some reason, took my order first. "I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please." He said, "Aren't you worried about the mad cow?" "Nah, she can order for herself."
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife was standing nude, looking in the bedroom mirror. She is not happy with what she sees and says to me, "'I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really need you to pay me a compliment." I replied, "'Your eyesight's damn near perfect."
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I tried to talk my wife into buying a case of Miller Light for $14.95. Instead, she bought a jar of cold cream for $7.95. I told her the beer would make her look better at night than the cold cream.
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife asked me if a certain dress made her butt look big. I told her not as much as the dress she wore yesterday...
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I asked my wife, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?" It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation. "Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!" she said. So I suggested, "How about the kitchen?"
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed. I turned to her and said, "Do you want to have sex?" "No," she answered. I then said, "Is that your final answer?" She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying "Yes." So I said, "Then I'd like to phone a friend."
And that's when the fight started....
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
I have earned the right to be wrong...
This arrived in my email yet once again and I thought others might like to read it if they haven't yet... The author is unknown...
================================================
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.
So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).
MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!
================================================
I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.
Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love ... I will.
I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set. They, too, will get old.
I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.
Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.
I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.
So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.
As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.
So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it).
MAY OUR FRIENDSHIP NEVER COME APART ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART!
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