A PAGE UNTURNED

2012-02-05T02:17:00.002-05:00

ok, i just did something really stupid.....i had made some snickerdoodles a few days ago, and there were a bunch of crumbs left in the ziploc bag, and I WANTED THEM. ok, so i think..(my first mistake)...what is the best way to accomplish this TASK? of course, i should have gotten out a bowl and dumped them in and got a spoon and scooped them out....but noooooo....i didn't want another dish to wash....so i tried dumping them into my mouth from the top of the bag.....but immediately ceased that action as the crumbs approached the opening with a fierce ferocity. so, i put brain in high gear (stripped all the lower gears in the process) and decided to snip the corner of the bag, put the little hole in the bag over my mouth (hole was supposed to be smaller than mouth) and i tapped the bag to empty the contents into my waiting mouth........what could possibly go wrong? well, it has been about 30 minutes since the attempt was made, and i am still trying to get all the little itsy bitsy crumbs out of my nasal cavity. brings a whole new meaning to "picking your nose". sigh.

2011-12-22T22:01:00.001-05:00

i wanted to send each of you my online Christmas card, so here it is:

Love, Regina
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A NEW HOLIDAY ATTITUDE? (a small rant and some advice)

2011-12-10T21:51:00.001-05:00

i went out to walmart tonight, to pick up prescriptions, Christmas cards, a phone card, and a gift card. i had already set my mind to having a good attitude because 1) i was afraid because i don't drive at night due to night blindness 2) i knew there would be hoards of people in the store 2) things would be picked over this close to Christmas 3) and last but not least, having a good attitude when in public is how i can be the best example to others. over the past year, my visits to the pharmacy in walmart haven't been pleasant. i have had problems of all sorts with the staff in there, so was expecting the worst, but hoping for the best. the girl who waited on me was chipper, and had a great attitude. she made my night......while i waited on my prescription, i shopped for the other items i came for. the store was busy but not overly crowded. i found an abundance of items i needed, instead of the scarcity i expected. i went back to the pharmacy to pick up my medication and to pay for all my items. after checking out, i realized i hadn't purchased the gift card. so i got one, got back in line and was in and out of that line in mere minutes, and the clerk was pleasant enough. i got into my vehicle, started out of the lane, and started to turn into the flow of traffic in the main lane in front of the store when someone with a buggy crossed in front of me, leaving me halfway into the lane of store traffic. i waited patiently for the couple to cross, but an explorer came flying to my driver's side, and laid on the horn...........ok, i was already in the lane before he even got near me, so actually, i had the right of way. where was that Christmas spirit? so i rolled down my window (his was already down) and as he shot me a bird.....i yelled out to him "have a wonderful Christmas my friend, and may God richly bless you and yours". he probably didn't give a dang what i said....but i felt better. i got back out on the main road and stopped at bojangles to get fried chicken for supper. went in, was told the breasts would take 5 minutes, so i said i would wait. it was already dark anyway, and that was my biggest fear....driving after dark. the chicken came up in about 5 minutes, and the girl in the drive-through window lined up 11 boxes and started filling them from the new batch of chicken. i thought maybe one of those was mine. nope. so i went up and told them i had been waiting almost 15 minutes, and the chicken i had been waiting for was being used for the drive through. all the tickets were jumbled up, and my ticket was over by the cash register, never having even been put in the line of order. the guy making biscuits apologized (and it wasn't even his fault) and finally, i got my order and turned to get my free iced tea. after i walked all the way to the exit to get my tea, it was out. so i had to walk back and ask them for some from behind the counter. a young woman had been in line as i went back for my tea, and was on her cell phone, but was also yelling across the line of employees at the counter, to the guy who was frying the chicken. she asked him if he was going to church in the morning. he said yes, he would bring his mother and see her there. she, in turn, said she expected him there for they were having their program. she was dressed professionally, was very attractive, around 25 or so, and i was happy she was mentioning church. i love to see young people going to church. she proceeded toward the door ahead of me, and was walking very slow, talking on her cell still. i patiently walked behind her, even though i was tired, and hungry, and had already waited almost 30 minutes. she stopped right in front of the tea/straw/fork/napkin stand, turned her back to the stand, and just stood there, talking on her phone. i said "excuse me please" and she jumped and spun around, backed up, and i reached up and got my straws. i turned to thank her, and she said to the person on the phone "some white b*tch just knocked me down to get in front of me". i shook my head and went on through the door. but then she started yelling obscenities AT me, as i was going to my car. she was still half in the store, where there were children, and she was supposed to be a church-goer.....i told her i was truly glad she was going to church in the morning, for her soul needed as much help as it could get, and that i would pray for her and her soul. she yelled more profanities, and i said "wow, i bet God really loves to hear that". she used the MF words, told me F-you, and turned completely ghetto on me. goes to show two things.....can't judge a book by its cover, and just because you attend church doesn't make you a good Christian, or even a Christian period. she tried to hit my car with her door, but i flooded the gas and flew backwards, afraid if she got into her car, she would follow me and possibly even shoot me. people....please....at least this time of year, be nice to people. times are hard, people are on edge. tempers flare easily and quickly. pray for these people who think they are safe from the hell fires, but who are only playing church. and evaluate yourself, and your own attitudes toward others. i could have let this get out of hand, and had a stroke standing there arguing and fighting with this woman. she wasn't worth losing my cool over. i wanted to hug her and tell her there is a better way than being angry and eager to attack others. it was as if she was looking for a fight. and i started to give her one, but i didn't. i used prayer and kinder words, which, unfortunately, fell on deaf ears. thanks for listening to my sorta rant.

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AFTERMATH

2011-11-24T21:57:00.001-05:00

dishes are everywhere, the kitchen's a mess

the roast sits in my tummy, trying to digest

we didn't have turkey so we wouldn't want to sleep

but we are so full of potatoes and gravy we want to weep

instead of loosening the buttons and the belt

we chose to eat half naked so no pressure was felt

thank goodness it was only the two of us here

for after this meal no one would want to be near

now if only the dish fairy would hurry up and come

i can't do them myself for my body's too numb

the cats are pure worthless, not helpful at all

they are laying out flat, in the middle of the hall

i hope everyone out there had a great time today

now it is time for me....down to lay

©Regina2011

JUSTICE

2011-09-23T18:26:00.001-04:00

i figured we all could use a little snicker or two. enjoy....and i didn't write this, just sharing it.

BEST DIVORCE LETTER EVER
Dear Wife, I’m writing you this letter to tell you that I’m leaving you forever. I’ve been a good man to you for 7 years & I have nothing to show for it. These last 2 weeks have been hell. ... Your boss called to tell me that you quit your job today & that was the last straw. Last week, you came home & didn’t even notice I had a new haircut, had cooked your favorite meal & even wore a brand new pair of silk boxers. You ate in 2 minutes, & went straight to sleep after watching all of your soaps. You don’t tell me you love me anymore; you don’t want sex or anything that connects us as husband & wife. Either you’re cheating on me or you don’t love me anymore; whatever the case, I’m gone. Your EX-Husband P.S. don’t try to find me. Your SISTER & I are moving away to West Virginia together! Have a great life!

—— Dear Ex-Husband Nothing has made my day more than receiving your letter. It’s true you & I have been married for 7 years, although a good man is a far cry from what you’ve been. I watch my soaps so much because they drown out your constant whining & griping Too bad that doesn’t work. I DID notice when you got a hair cut last week, but the 1st thing that came to mind was ‘You look just like a girl!’ Since my mother raised me not to say anything if you can’t say something nice, I didn’t comment. And when you cooked my favorite meal, you must have gotten me confused with MY SISTER, because I stopped eating pork 7 years ago. About those new silk boxers: I turned away from you because the $49.99 price tag was still on them, & I prayed it was a coincidence that my sister had just borrowed $50 from me that morning. After all of this, I still loved you & felt we could work it out. So when I hit the lotto for 10 million dollars, I quit my job & bought us 2 tickets to Jamaica. But when I got home you were gone.. Everything happens for a reason, I guess. I hope you have the fulfilling life you always wanted. My lawyer said that the letter you wrote ensures you won’t get a dime from me. So take care. Signed, Your Ex-Wife, Rich As Hell & Free! P.S. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but my sister Carla was born Carl. I hope that’s not a problem.

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2011-09-11T06:29:00.001-04:00

IN REMEMBRANCE OF 9/11/01

Diversity, a common word
Love one another, seldom heard

Then tragedy strikes, bonds the races
Fear, grief, anger, tears on different colored faces

Time elapses, memories fade
Compassionate efforts no longer made

Forgotten and abandoned, left far behind
No longer love, compassion can we find

I do not ask you to relive the hours
When many loved ones perished in the twin towers

I only ask you remember the cause
And take a moment in silence to pause

If we forget those who died on that day
Then terrorism has won, we have lost our way

©Regina2006 (revised 2009)

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THE FIASCO

2011-09-03T19:18:00.003-04:00

i was recently cleaning out my emails that i had left on my aol page to possibly open and use later, and i found this from back in april. i had forgotten i had written it. i had planned on posting it back then, but changed my mind, and just let it sit there in aol pergatory lol. but after re-reading it, i felt it had a place here on blogger, so that the few blogger friends i have left can stop by and enjoy a chuckle at my expense. now that i have jogged my memory, this brings back the day in clear and total recall......and i hope it never ever happens to me again..............

sometimes we all have those days we should stay in bed and pull the cover up over our head and sleep. well, i had 2 days like that. and though i actually did spend a great deal of the time IN BED, it didn't help any.

i know i am not alone when i admit to having to have "white noise" in my room in order to sleep. i currently have 2 fans and 1 room air purifier running while i am sleeping. should the sound cease, i awaken immediately. such is the case at 6:36am tuesday. i looked around the room and it was dark. the silence was deafening. i checked outside and there were no lights visible throughout the area. ok, well, that little spring shower must have been worse than i thought. i crawled back under the cover and tried to go back to sleep without noise breaking the silence. and with the purring of one of the two furbabies in my ear, i drifted off once more.

when i awakened again around 11 am, i looked up the power company's number and called to report on and/or check status of the power situation. they were aware of the problem. there was a really bad storm that went through atlanta and headed west to our location near the state line. thousands and possibly a million or so were without power.

i chanced taking my shower (gas water heater) and prepared to leave for the hospital to see my fiance who has been there for 2 months. as i was leaving, i realized the power garage door wouldn't work, so i had to manually open it. i broke 2 fingernails and squished my middle fingertip trying to close the door, as it does not have any outside handles. i visited my fiance, and knowing the power would more than likely not be on when i returned, i stopped and got a taco salad to take home and eat. when i arrived home, i tried to lift the garage door and it was locked in place. great. i have a key for the back door so i went to unlock that and the regular lock worked fine, but the deadbolt wouldn't budge. i almost broke the key off in the lock and nada. i was almost in tears by now. i called a friend who has a key that i know works on both locks, and he didn't answer. i called for 15 minutes and no response. i called my fiance in the hospital room and asked him to call this friend to see if he responded to him. he told me to break a window. well i wasn't going to do that. i went back to the back door and calmly tried again. nothing. i pushed, kicked and shoved the door in all directions and finally the dead bolt worked. of course my taco salad was broken in a million pieces by now and my nerves were completely frazzled. i sat down to eat and called my fiance to let him know i got in.

about 20 minutes later i went to use the restroom (tinkle only) and flushed. as i was washing my hands, one of the cats went flying out of the restroom and i suddenly heard a cascading waterfall........the toilet was overflowing all over the tiled bathroom floor and out toward the carpeted hallway. i grabbed the 2 towels that were in the restroom and they didn't even start to cover the situation. i went to the hall closet and pulled out some large towels and placed them on the floor to soak up the ocean that had formed. i tried to plunge the bowl and more water spilled over. the high tide in the bowl finally went down but i was still afraid of it. i checked out the other restroom and flushed that toilet and it started to overflow, but stopped right before lapping over the rim. ok, so all the rain must have stopped up the drains or the sewage lines. just to be sure i questioned both furrbabies to make sure neither had put a kitty toy or worse into the bowl. one looked innocent and the other, well, she always looks guilty. either way, i worked on the toilet till i thought i had it fixed. i went to the other restroom first and noticed that the paper i had flushed down the overflowing toilet was now in the other toilet. mmmmmmm, there has to be a problem somewhere. after more work on the original toilet, i flushed again..........here comes the waterfall. i grabbed more towels, and before long, i had every towel in the house (seriously) on the floor, i turned off the waterflow to the toilet and tested it again. it flushed. i ran water back in the tank and went to sit down for a few minutes. i was shaking all over. i felt something wet on my lip and wiped at it and voila..........nose bleed. i am on blood thinners so it poured. i hate the site of blood, especially mine, so i felt faint. after getting that under control, i laid down to calm myself. i fell asleep and awoke when my oldest kitty tore into my arm. more blood. she wasn't aware she did this. she has convulsions/seizures in her sleep and lashes out and grabs on. i got up and by then it was dark. i doctored my arm and found all the candles and lit them to allow light in the house, but what for? i couldn't watch tv, i couldn't access the internet, and i couldn't cook anything, even though food was going bad in the fridge. i went back to bed and slept on and off, freezing to death. i awoke at 5:30 am and still no power. i looked outside, and still no lights anywhere. i got up and ate a bowl of cereal and got dressed. i had to be at the hospital for a home-care training session at 10 am so i went on around 9 am. my cell phone, which is the only connection to the outside world i have at the house, was dying so i plugged it into the hospital bathroom's socket to recharge it and visited with my fiance for a couple of hours, got my training and when they came to give him PT i left. i got almost home when i realized i had left my phone in the bathroom. i turned around and went back. i stayed another hour till my fiance's business partner/friend showed up and i left. this time i got into the house with no trouble lol. but i left the garage door open this time. there was still no power. i called the power company again and they told me it would be sometime before midnight. grrrrrrrrrrrr. all the food in the freezer was dethawed and the fridge was getting cool instead of cold. it had already been 32 hours without power. i was so bored i called my daughter to talk lol. she laughed at me and said i was too melodramatic. she would be too if she was in a strange town where they were having something similar to bike week in florida or nascar in georgia and she knew only a couple of folks and her bf was in the hospital, and all this was happening to her.

the power finally came on at 8:38 pm. 38 hours and 2 minutes. yep, i counted every second. i had tv and computer withdrawals and was bored to death. now i have to wash that mountain high pile of towels. fun fun fun. amazing how we depend so much on technology.

i hope all of you have had a better week so far than i have. my fiance gets to come home friday so that is the one bright spot in this week...................

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A J-LAND ANNIVERSARY POST

2011-08-21T00:16:00.006-04:00

PLEASE...MAKE SURE YOU READ THE WHOLE ENTRY, WHICH GOES QUITE A WAYS DOWN. THERE IS A LINE UNDER THE END OF THE POST LIKE THIS******************************

recently guido blokland announced on facebook that today, august 21, is the anniversary date of j-land. of course, i don't personally know what date j-land actually started, but i do know that my first entry, my first blog post ever, anywhere, was made on my new journal in j-land, named SEDUCTION OF LIFE, on sunday, june 27, 2004 at 2:00 am. this was a dark time in my life, and i was very depressed, unsure of my future, or if i even had one. little did i know that this first small step would bring me to where i am today. this is the very first entry i made in my journal, SEDUCTION OF LIFE.

MORNING

THE TRAIN WHISTLE CHILLS MY SOUL. IT IS EARLY MORNING. SLEEP EVADES ME. LIFE HAUNTS ME. WHAT IF I WERE ON THAT TRAIN? WHERE WOULD I GO, WHAT WOULD I SEE? WOULD I BE HAPPY? DARKNESS IS EVERYWHERE, EVEN IN THE HEARTS OF MEN. IT DEPRESSES, IT FRIGHTENS, YET, IT IS NECESSARY. WHY? I HAVE NO CLUE. I JUST KNOW THAT WITHOUT DARKNESS, WE WOULD NOT APPRECIATE THE LIGHT. THE EARTH WAS WITHOUT FORM OR LIGHT WHEN GOD CHOSE TO CREATE OUR WORLD. STILL, I WONDER WHY WE SUFFER THE DARKNESS SO. ALAS, ANOTHER OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE SEDUCTION OF LIFE.

Posted by REGINA at 2:00 AM 2 comments

plieck30 said...

Thought I would go back to read your old entries. I like this about the train. Several years ago I went to Illinois to visit my daughter on the train because I had never traveled on one. I just wanted to ride on one once in my life and I enjoyed it. It would have been more fun if I would not have been alone, but I did meet people and talk to people. If you heard about that terrible train wreck and spill in Texas day before yesterday, it was about thirty or forty five minutes away for me. Paula

July 2, 2004 9:36 PM

mzgoochi said...

I love trains. Only ridden one once.

you will notice that i also added in the 2 comments i got from the post. paula, whom i still keep in touch with via email, and mzgoochi......sorry, tears are welling up in my eyes and in my heart......but mzgoochi was lahoma, a really good online friend, with whom i spent many hours emailing and im'ing, talking about our lives, our pasts, our pains, our hopes, our dreams......lahoma succombed to the grim reaper a few years later. and the wound from her passing is still raw........but knowing lahoma made a big difference in my life. i miss you, my friend.

there was a big dash in between this first journal entry, and the last one. this is the last entry i made in the SEDUCTION OF LIFE JOURNAL.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

OLD ENTRIES/OLD FRIENDS/MEMORIES

i was trying to catch up on journal reading before the last curtain call and came across a journal that sorta stirred up something in me. i won't mention the journal name, mostly because this person is a dear j-land friend and is very much entitled to her opinion........as am i. the gist of the entry was that we have all survived much more devastation and turmoils than losing our journals and should not worry about it. i agree mostly with that statement...........but...........yes, there is a but.............

i went back to my first entry which was on june 27, 2004 and started copying and pasting onto word documents in spans of one month at a time so as not to lose anything in my journal. it wasn't very long before i started crying and got a very heavy heart. there are comments in that very first month from people who are no longer in this world........they have passed on to a greater reward. without j-land and my journal, i would have never met some of these people. my life would have been much different without their comments, love, prayers, support, compassion, and advice. i will never have another comment from those people. if i lose my journal's contents, i will lose their words. i will have the memories of knowing these people, but after time fades those memories, there will be little left.

also, i started journaling at a time in my life when i needed a friend and there wasn't one in my real life to help me cope with day to day trials and tribulations. i lost 2 homes to foreclosure and was evicted from a rental house due to circumstances beyond my control. i became estranged with my then 17 year old daughter, and proceeded to watch her from afar live a life i would never wish for her. i found love, then lost it, several times. my journal captured my emotions, my soul. i wrote poetry i have since forgotten about, all to cope with life as it was back then for me. now that i am on higher ground emotionally and financially, i have more or less blocked out much of that past. reading my past journal entries has brought those memories back, and even though they are not the best of memories, the events strengthened me and made me a better person. and by reading my past entries, i find peace in my life now.

so, even though this journaler is correct in saying more or less to not sweat the small stuff........to me, my journal isn't small stuff. it is a record of my life.......one i have tried to forget because of the bad memories, but one that has brought me full circle to where i am today.

i will move on and continue journaling. and someday will look back at my current entries and either smile or cry........but it will be a slice of my life..........MY LIFE..........a life that only i have lived.

and yes, i have every right to be angry with the powers that be at aol. they didn't provide "the service" for free, or out of the goodness of their hearts. they did it at a cost to their customers, both financially and by having so many internal problems that we all became exasperated at one point or another. yes, i will continue on with aol. it is like an old pair of shoes that, when new and first worn, hurt the feet and make life miserable until they are broken in. i have become familiar with aol. i am at a loss at where i will go from here, but i will go................and i will succeed at making a new journal at a new site. i just hate that i will lose so many friends who will not journey down the same road as i.

Posted by REGINA at 9:51 PM 4 comments

sybilsybil45 said...: My dearest Wumz, I so agree with all you have written. It is so so hard. I havn't been writing nearly as long as you and I havn't had the hardships that you have had but all the same there are times when we get a bit "alone" even when we are..as I am...surrounded by great family and friends there are some things that you can write in your journal that you could not share with a friend face to face as you know that they might be hurting too...I know how just a few months ago I was surrounded by so many on line friends praying for me and caring for me when my beloved Jacqueline died that I am perfectly sure that it was there love that enabled me to return to a more positve feeling... Perhaps after I have been away on holiday and come back (27thoct) I will feel stonger and might be able to cope with trying to learn something new. Till then rest assured I will keep in touch dear friend...one way or another. Love Sybil xx

http://journals.aol.co.uk/sybilsybil45/villagelife/

October 1, 2008 11:49 PM

plieck30 said...

If I understand correctly it will all be transferred over to the blogger place and I hope for your sake and others it will. Its been a pleasure to know you here. Paula

October 2, 2008 1:24 AM

jeanno43 said...

I feel the same about my journal. I have not yet started copying and pasting. I might even move some of it onto my new journal at Blogger. O.K. so people have read the entries before but that way at least they are there. I have not yet started the copying because my heart is not in it right now, I know I would cry for the same reasons as yourself. My journal was something for my Grandsons as well. Shame on aol.

October 2, 2008 3:12 AM

Jeannette said...

So glad you commented on mine and that I found you again. I seem to have lost several people here in blogger that have started a blog, then deleted it and started a new one. Great to be back in touch my friend.

October 18, 2008 4:13 PM

fortunately, the commenters here are still alive and well. i keep in touch with all of them, even had a skype phone conversation a year or so ago with sybil. those who had journals and posted both entries and comments became a family, and it will always be that way for me. we are all a big extended family. i miss so many of those who have either chosen to not go further with journals after the fall of j-land or have passed on to a higher plane...but the way we all touched each other's lives is priceless and will live on long after most of us pass on. i am also going to post my first entry into my blogspot blog, which is where i took my journal after j-land passed on........this is from my new blogspot journal, A PAGE UNTURNED.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

A NEW BEGINNING

Due to an aohell breakdown...........I have begun a new chapter in journaling. I must admit I am addicted to my journals..........all 5 of my aol journals, public and private. Now I learn they will disappear if I do not attempt to save and transfer them. I will lose many online friends due to the aol decision to close down journals, which saddens me. Hopefully I will also meet numerous new friends during this transition. So, to all my old friends and acquaintances, I raise my imaginary glass to a long, inspiring and caring relationship on a new blog site. May there be many who tread upon these pages taking whatever they choose from my writings. Welcome to my new journal........take off your shoes, relax and enjoy.

I like the look of your journal, glad you found your way here.
Lisa

October 2, 2008 8:18 AM

Indigo said...

Doing the happy dance. I'm so delighted to find you on this side of the blogsphere my dear friend. (Hugs)Indigo

October 2, 2008 6:20 PM

hannahthemaid said...

hello ...
somehow i found you again
been a long time
i deleted all journals i had on aol
nice to see that you are still into writing

jo ....

October 2, 2008 9:39 PM

that started my new journaling life. i kept at it till hannahthemaid (jo) convinced me to join her poetry site, NOSTALGIARAMBLINGS, and i have more or less made that my home. but after having done this entry, i feel the stirrings inside wanting me to possibly come back to my journaling. i would truly hate to lose more friends from the old times at j-land.

SO, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, J-LAND...........AND MAY ALL WHO ONCE TREAD UPON THOSE PAGES BE BLESSED. J-LAND....JUNE 27, 2004 - OCTOBER 1, 2008.....AND THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE DASH IN MY LIFE.

AND REMEMBER...NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED............
************************************************

MURDER OF A FRIENDSHIP

2011-07-31T20:42:00.001-04:00

Flowery poetry, words passed on

Friendship’s garden lovingly grown

Each new soul brings new birth

Each one has their own worth

Secrets told, memories shared

Pretenses born, as if they cared

One believes in the other’s word

Glad to be able to be heard

Bond seems strong, friendship grows

Deceit begins, but no one knows

Then one day, you know not why

The friendship ends, with no goodbye

It is then you see that all along

Their belief in you was never strong

Behind your back they scoffed and laughed

And probably told others they thought you daft

So sad that friendships end this way

Causing tears to form as down I lay

Too bad they felt I was not true

For lying is something I never do

I have to answer to God above

And He wants me.. others to love

Not spread untruth or be deceitful

But for each friend to be ever grateful

So the murder of a friendship I do mourn

And hope to heal a heart that’s torn

May God grant them love and peace

And help their bitter words to cease

©Regina2011

A QUOTE WORTH READING AND REPEATING

2011-05-06T08:01:00.001-04:00

If you can read this... Thank a Teacher.

If you can read this in English... Thank a Soldier!

And for life and everything else you have... Thank God!!

NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED..........

DATES OF INTEREST.....

2010-12-23T19:06:00.003-05:00

*******

***********

NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED....

SOMETHING TO SHARE WITH EVERYONE

2010-12-23T15:39:00.005-05:00

normally i would retype or copy and paste the item into this spot....but because the music played on this entry is my favorite Christmas song, i wanted to leave it up to you if you wish to hear it. you will need to disable the playlist player on the righthand side of my blog before viewing this. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.........AND TO ALL..........THE HOPE OF LIFE EVERLASTING.....

http://www.mamarocks.com/night_jesus_came.htm

(if link doesn't click, copy and paste to browser)

NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED....

JUST IN CASE YOU WEREN'T AWARE OF THIS

2010-12-21T02:33:00.000-05:00

A politically correct midwinter greeting to all

2010-12-13T00:02:00.000-05:00

From us ('the wishor') to you (hereinafter called 'the wishee').

Please accept without obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, politically correct, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practised within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practise religious or secular traditions at all; and a financially successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2011, but with due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures or sects, and having regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform or dietary preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting you are bound by these terms that:

This greeting is subject to further clarification or withdrawal.

This greeting is freely transferable provided that no alteration shall be made to the original greeting and that the proprietary rights of the wishor are acknowledged.

This greeting implies no promise by the wishor actually to implement any of the wishes.

This greeting may not be enforceable in certain jurisdictions and/or the restrictions herein may not be binding upon certain wishees in certain jurisdictions and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wishor.

This greeting is warranted to perform as reasonably may be expected within the usual application of good tidings, for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first.

The wishor warrants this greeting only for the limited replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wishor.

Any references in this greeting to "Father Christmas” or any other festive figures, whether actual or fictitious, dead or alive, shall not imply any endorsement by or from them in respect of this greeting, and all proprietary rights in any referenced third party names and images are hereby acknowledged.

BAH HUMBUG! ! !

i take no credit for this "GREETING". it was written in its entirety by mark p. henderson, a member of a poetry site of which i, too, am a member. i just had to pass it on.......for this is the way the world is becoming........sad commentary.

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SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE

2010-12-12T23:22:00.008-05:00

I AM EXPERIENCING DIFFICULTIES WITH THE TEXT EDITOR.........PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THIS SLIGHT INCONVENIENCE....I WILL POST AS SOON AS I GET IT WORKED OUT.......

A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS POEM

2010-12-08T20:59:00.005-05:00

though i have read this poem before i haven't seen it in such a beautifully created video. please enjoy..............

apparently it won't go in as a clickable link, so you will have to copy and paste it into your browser bar..........sorry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_P6yU_ymFM&feature=share%C2%A0

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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

2010-12-06T23:23:00.001-05:00

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THE LOSS OF COMEDY

2010-11-30T02:40:00.001-05:00

on sunday, november 28, the world lost one of its best character comedic actors...........leslie nielsen. we all remember "Airplane" and other slapstick comedies he played in. but he was also a serious actor.

From Wikipedia:

Leslie William Nielsen, OC (February 11, 1926 – November 28, 2010) was a Canadian–American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in over one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying over 220 characters.

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, (see we had a connection....regina, lol) Nielsen enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force and worked as a disc jockey before receiving a scholarship to Neighborhood Playhouse. Beginning with a television role in 1948, he quickly expanded to over 50 television appearances two years later. Nielsen appeared in his first films in 1956 and began collecting roles in dramas, westerns, and romance films. Nielsen's lead roles in the films Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972) received positive reviews as a serious actor.

Although Nielsen's acting career crossed a variety of genres in both television and films, his deadpan delivery as a doctor in Airplane! (1980) marked a turning point in his career, one that would make him, in the words of film critic Roger Ebert, "the Olivier of spoofs." Nielsen enjoyed further success with The Naked Gun film series, based on a short-lived television series Police Squad! he starred in. His portrayal of serious characters seemingly oblivious to (and complicit in) their absurd surroundings gave him a reputation as a comedian. In the final two decades of his career, Nielsen appeared in multiple spoof and parody films, many of which were met poorly by critics but performed well in box office and home media releases. He was recognized with a variety of awards throughout his career and was inducted into both the Canada and Hollywood Walk of Fame. Nielsen married four times and had two daughters from his second marriage.

LESLIE NIELSON, REST IN PEACE. YOU WILL BE MISSED.

regina

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NEW ENTRY ON "SOMEWHERE IN TIME" JOURNAL

2010-11-27T22:50:00.007-05:00

i just posted a new poem on my SOMEWHERE IN TIME poetry journal. follow the following link.

http://regina-aoljournalsblog.blogspot.com/

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BOY WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

2010-10-16T03:34:00.003-04:00

i just noticed that my last post was done on july the 8th of this year. a day later, i lost my job. yep, fired............wrongfully. currently, i have filed a suit with EEOC and they have served my ex boss. they have another 15 days to respond with a settlement, or EEOC will take them to court, and i will get what i ask for. i cannot get another job until this is resolved. so i am just plugging along, depending on others to pay my bills. sigh.

i hope to get a new computer by christmas, and can be back online. i miss everyone here and on my other sites.

about 3 months ago, i entered a poetry contest in a rhode island magazine that supports and helps promote help for the homeless there, and out of 34 entries, judged blindly (without names attached), i won............i got a $50 gift certificate at anywhere of my choice...........i chose walmart.....hey, i need gas and essentials, like food.............lol. i also got my poem printed in their magazine and a certificate for framing, as well as 2 copies of the magazine. i have never won a monetary prize with my poetry before.........i was so excited. ok, i will calm down. it is late and i am getting sleepy. so better scoot.

love you all..........miss you all............hugs to all.

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A SMALL UPDATE

2010-07-08T15:27:00.005-04:00

sorry i haven't been back with an update, but i have no wifi at home now. i am hopefully getting a booster box soon and will have a constant signal.

i have been having some health concerns myself. i had a scare of a myocardial infarction at work yesterday. it passed without much ado. i went home and went to bed. i have been taking 7 new meds from my doctor, and they don't like each other. one gave me horrific hallucinations, and i was up in the middle of the night strangling my floor lamp, thinking it was satan.........sigh.

as for coatie......the day i came home sick, she actually jumped up on the bed with me and lay down to snuggle up. she lay with me for about thirty minutes. she still doesn't have a graceful landing. she hits the carpet and rolls. but she seems ok with it. no pain. she repeated the bed jumping trick 3 more times before i retired for the evening for good. she has a healthy appetite, and is able to function properly in the litter box (ugh) but still have problems running. we used to play hide and seek, but not now. she cannot run, lol. she starts to, then trips and rolls. quite a sight to see.

thanks for your comments and concern. i hope all of you are doing well. i will do the best i can in updating coatie's situation, and mine.

hugs to all,

regina

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COATIE

2010-06-10T23:28:00.002-04:00

some of you might remember my kitty, coatie. i have had her since she was about 3 months old, back in 2001 or 2002. so she is about 8 or 9 years old.

last saturday i left for work and she was fine. when i came home for lunch 4 hours later, she was in a very sad state. i picked her up and hugged her, and gently dropped her on the bed, and she collapsed. she rolled to her back and couldn't get up. i put her on the floor and she collapsed again. it appeared she couldn't walk on her front legs. i feared the same that took my kitty spooky, back in 2006......kidney failure. i called work and told them i would not be returning that day, and rushed coatie to the emergency clinic about 30 miles away. they took her back immediately, checked her out, and then came and had a talk with me. the only money i had with me was enough to pay the visit, if no tests were made. but they suggested that blood work be done to determine if it were something toxic, poisonous or blood related. i called my fiance and told him i was at the vets and he told me if i needed money or to use his credit card, to call him back. i approved the blood work and then called him and had him fax over his credit card information.

the blood work proved only one thing: coatie was perfectly healthy. there was only one way to determine the cause of her weakness and inability to walk.....an MRI. not having pet insurance, or the money to have the scan done, and not wanting to ask my fiance to foot the bill which could mount to the thousands of dollars, i told them i couldn't have that done. they suggested that it could be several things: 1) feline vestibular syndrome, or idiopathic vestibular disease (basically, vertigo caused by a shift in fluids in the inner ear) 2) a stroke, caused by a deeper cerebral incident or 3) a brain lesion or tumor. they suggested i take her home, watch her till monday, and contact my personal vet. monday i called the vet and took them the emergency vet's medical notes and the test results, and they emailed me back telling me the same thing.......watch her for 3 weeks, and if she worsens, bring her in, but if she improves, just keep track of her progress, since it is probably the vestibular disease. i sat by her bed for 4 days. she weakened, then rallied. she had cat fits in her sleep, fighting some sort of demon. i had to hand feed her, hand water her, and place her in the litter box. i cried the entire time, so afraid she would not improve.

she is my little kid, since my real daughter has moved out. i couldn't stand being without her. on tuesday evening, she actually got out of her bed, and walked (though wobbily) to the bathroom where her water and crunchy food are. then she sat down and looked at me like "hey, i could use some help here". the next morning she rallied, and actually sorta ran in front of me. she currently is able to walk all over the house, and use the litter box, eat and water herself. she still has fits while sleeping, which makes me wonder if she is possibly having seizures. either way, she doesn't appear to be in any pain, and still has a good bit of catitude, as well as personality. keep her in your thoughts. i hope to be on here more often, as long as i can keep a wifi signal. hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

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INTERVIEWED

2010-06-10T22:58:00.006-04:00

not sure why, but i was suggested as a blog to read to mike at BLOGINTERVIEWER.COM. they requested an interview about my blog. i did the interview, and now want to share the interview with others. if you wish to read the interview, please copy and paste the following link into your browser:

http://bloginterviewer.com/books/a-page-unturned-regina-watkins

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MORE MATTED POETRY

2010-04-28T02:03:00.006-04:00

sorry if some of these are difficult to read. they were formatted for the poetry site.

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A NEW POST, THANKS TO GUIDO

2010-04-28T01:43:00.004-04:00

thanks to guido, for making a comment on my blog, i decided it was time to come over here and update all of you. i have been away from my blog since Easter, and have been quite busy. i have been undergoing testing for some health concerns that i have. some are serious, some are just things that accompany "old age". i have not gotten the test results back yet, so have no idea what i have or how severe. but keep me in your prayers, and your thoughts.............thank you.

i have been quite busy on the poetry site i joined in november of 2008. i was named an administrator of the site, which keeps me quite busy. i have had one of my poems published in a new publication, MOON'S EYE MAGAZINE, and the current issue includes one of my photographs as a background page for several works of other poets. i never realized that joining the site could be so much fun, and would get me published and recognized. believe me, i am a mere novice at both poetry and photography, but am truly enjoying both.

i have included a couple of the works i have done and will post more in subsequent entries. if you notice the copyright dates, most were written before i joined the poetry site, but were "tweaked" and "matted" after joining the site. i hope you will enjoy them............

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MY WISH FOR EACH OF YOU............

2010-04-03T23:02:00.001-04:00

POSTS WILL BE MONITORED.,,,,

2010-01-30T08:09:00.001-05:00

due to my inactivity on this site, i have started getting uninvited guests making comments. in other words, i am being spammed.

so, unfortunately, i am going to have to have my posts monitored.

i hope this doesn't cause any problems to my readers, but i feel i need to do this at this time.

have a blessed weekend.

JIMMY'S STORY

2010-01-08T10:10:00.004-05:00

Jimmy heard the footsteps. The dreaded footsteps. They came ever closer to his door. He wanted to run, but knew he couldn’t. He was a prisoner here.

He had hidden the sheets from last night behind the dresser, but he knew she would find them, and once again, he would feel her wrath. He couldn’t help it that he wet the bed again. The nightmares were back, and they caused him to do it. And he sure wasn’t going to wear those old diapers. He was too old for those.

Jimmy’s door swung open, and there she stood, hands on hips, lips pursed, and eyes blazing with fire. He knew he was in trouble. She strode across the floor, and with one swipe of her hand, Jimmy’s face was ablaze with heat and pain. To insure he got her point, she did it again, to the other side of Jimmy’s face. He knew he was powerless to do anything to stop her. So he continued to allow it to happen.

Then, like she had some sort of psychic power, she went to the dresser and reached behind it, pulling out the wet, urine stained sheets. A cry uttered from her throat like that of a banshee. Jimmy wished he could just become invisible, and she couldn’t hurt him anymore. She took the sheets, opened them to the wettest portion, and then rubbed them in Jimmy’s face. Jimmy tried hard not to cry out, but he couldn’t breathe. He put his hands up to his face, and tried to push the sheets away. She was too strong, and he was just so weak. Finally the sheets fell to the floor, and he gasped for air. Then the real beating began.

She kept a baseball bat in the corner of the hall closet. Jimmy hadn’t seen it in her hand as she originally entered the doorway. But he sure felt it now. First upon his left shoulder. Then across his right arm. He couldn’t run from her, so he pulled himself up into a ball, and tried to send his mind to somewhere nice, away from all this torture. It wasn’t working. The blows were harder, the pain worse. He knew he had to protect his head, but one of the blows managed to catch the left side of his head, and his ear started ringing. That very bat was his, that he used when he would play ball with the neighborhood kids. Now it held no good memories.

Finally the blows ceased. Jimmy felt so much pain, it was like he WAS pain. He tried to tell her he was so sorry for wetting the bed, and he would try even harder never to let it happen again. She left the room. Jimmy cowered in the corner, waiting to see if she was done. She remained gone for about an hour. Then she brought Jimmy a hot bowl of soup with a toasted cheese sandwich. Jimmy took the food and sat it on his lap. He took a bite of the sandwich, and it burned the roof of his mouth. He jumped, and the soup bowl tilted. In his haste to right the bowl, he knocked it over spilling some of the soup. He knew what was next. She grabbed the bowl and threw the remainder of the very hot soup on Jimmy’s face. He felt his right eye burning with severe pain. He tried to wipe off the soup and as he did so, skin came with it. He could not see out of his right eye, and his face hurt so badly, he passed out.

****************************************************

OBITUARIES

Saturday, November 21, 2008

Today, James Homer Jones of Newtown, was laid to rest. Jimmy, as he was known to all his friends, passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday, November 18, 2008. Jimmy would have turned 79 on December 8, 2008.

Jimmy is survived by a cousin, Julie Tanner, who flew in from Paris to attend the memorial service held at the Sacred Hearts Chapel.

Jimmy was cremated and his ashes were taken by Ms. Tanner back to Paris to be sprinkled from the top of the Eiffel Tower.

BREAKING NEWS

January 6, 2009

There has been evidence found of homicide and an arrest made in the case of James Homer Jones, who was found dead in his home, on November 18, 2008. It appears that Mr. Jones’ personal care giver, Ms. Sweety Thompson, had beaten Mr. Jones and burned him with some hot liquid. She then proceeded to beat Mr. Jones with a baseball bat until he was dead. Ms. Thompson then took what belongings she wanted from the house and left.

Police arrested Ms. Thompson after she attended a New Year’s party, and after having consumed too much alcohol, bragged about what she had done to Mr. Jones. She confessed to the abuse, and said she had always disciplined him in that fashion for the 4 years she had taken care of him. She said he had never complained about how she chose to punish him.

©Regina2010

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This is a fictional write. But it happens all too often around the country, possibly even the world. We need to promote more awareness of Senior Abuse. More laws need to be passed, and then enforced. These people are our fathers, our mothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great grandparents, even sisters and brothers. They are the cornerstone of what we have today. So why are they being abused by the thousands, and nothing is being done about it? Hug a senior citizen today, and let them know you love them and care what quality of life they live.

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HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

2009-12-30T16:52:00.003-05:00

i hope everyone had a truly amazing Christmas, like i did. i spent time out of town with my beloved, and the time was magical. upon returning, my daughter offered up an invite for dinner at her new house with her and her bf. we had a lovely dinner that she cooked (her bf likes gravy, and my daughter hates gravy, so she doesn't make gravy. i offered to and her bf ate 3 helpings of it, as well as took the rest to work with him the next day). i got some really nice things for the new apartment, as well as cleaning supplies (my daughter bought a buggy full of cleaning supplies for herself, and just bought 2 of everything, giving me 1).

my life has gotten so very busy these days i just don't have the time to keep a blog. plus, one of my main reasons for keeping a blog was for therapy. when i would get depressed, i would blog. now that i seldom feel depression, i seldom blog.

so, i would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone out in blogland a
VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR.

be safe, and if you DO drink, don't DRIVE, have a designated driver.

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A WISH TO ALL

2009-12-21T23:09:00.002-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS
TO ONE AND ALL

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SHORT UPDATE

2009-09-28T00:55:00.002-04:00

just a note to let you all know......i am going to have to move......the wicked evil mayor/landlord is making me move out after 3.5 years here. rent is paid up to date and has been paid on time for the last 2 years. claims he is selling the house and needs to do repairs first, but yet he has a FOR RENT sign out front for the downstairs apartment. i would love to fight it because i know i am within my rights, and he is a jack donkey.

but i am ready to move on from this awful man. he has done nothing but harass me the whole time i have been here about this petty thing and another.

my daughter came across an 89 year old man who is very active and needs to rent out a house he has on his 20 acres. the rent is about $100 more than i can afford, but i have spoken to him at length and am hoping and praying he will come down on the rent for me. so if you pray, keep me in your prayers. the house is adorable, and just perfect for me. it has a nice yard, and dozens of pecan trees. and i love pecans. it is also way back off the road, and there are no houses but the landlords, within walking distance.

so i might not be online much due to finding somewhere to move to and if i get that house, i might not have internet.

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WE MUST REMEMBER THE CAUSE.......

2009-09-11T20:34:00.002-04:00

Diversity, a common word
Love one another, seldom heard

Then tragedy strikes, bonds the races
Fear, grief, anger, tears on different colored faces

Time elapses, memories fade
Compassionate efforts no longer made

Forgotten and abandoned, left far behind
No longer love, compassion can we find

I do not ask you to relive the hours
When many loved ones perished in the twin towers

I only ask you remember the cause
And take a moment in silence to pause

If we forget those who died on that day
Then terrorism has won, we have lost our way

©Regina2006 (revised 2009)

MY NAME IS SARAH (graphic..adults only)

2009-09-09T19:58:00.002-04:00

My name is Sarah
I am only three,
my eyes are swollen shut
I cannot see.

I must be stupid,
I must be bad,
what else could have made
my daddy so mad?

I wish I were better,
I wish I weren't ugly,
then maybe my Mommy
would still want to hug me.

I can't speak at all,
I can't do a wrong
or else I'm locked up
all the day long.

When I awake I'm all alone
the house is dark
my folks aren't home.

When my Mommy does come
I'll try and be nice,
so maybe I'll get just
one spanking tonight.

Don't make a sound!
I just heard a car
my daddy is back
from O'Charlie's Bar.

I hear him curse
my name he calls
I press myself
against the wall.

I try and hide
from his evil eyes
I'm so afraid now
I'm starting to cry.

He finds me weeping
he shouts ugly words,
he says its my fault
that he suffers at work.

He slaps me and hits me
and yells at me more,
I finally get free
and I run for the door.

He's already locked it
and I start to bawl,
he takes me and throws me
against the hard wall.

I fall to the floor
with my bones nearly broken,
and my daddy continues
with more bad words spoken.

'I'm sorry!' I scream
but it's already too late
his face has been twisted
into unimaginable hate.

The hurt and the pain
again and again
oh please God, have mercy!
oh please let it end!

And he finally stops
and heads for the door,
while I lay there motionless
sprawled on the floor.

My name is Sarah
and I'm only three,
tonight my daddy
murdered me.

(author unknown)

There are thousands of children out there just like Sarah.

Support the fight against child abuse.............

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A PROUD MOTHER ONCE AGAIN!

2009-08-18T23:39:00.002-04:00

my very intelligent, as well as beautiful, daughter, 23 years old, just made me proud once again. she has been attending classes all last week to be able to take her LIFE INSURANCE LICENSING EXAM. she studied hard every day and at night. she told me she didn't think she would be able to pass the test, as she didn't comprehend some of the information. i told her i had faith in her ability to soak up the knowledge and would do well on the test. AND SHE PASSED!!! she took the test tonight (tuesday) and called me to tell me she passed. now she can sell life, auto, home and renter's insurance. i am doing the happy dance, but heck, i bet she is doing the happy dance with a bunch of her friends.......partying. you go girl!!!

CONGRATULATIONS, amanda.

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I FOLLOWED THE BREADCRUMBS......

2009-08-16T16:21:00.004-04:00

well, i guess most of you figured i had lost my way back to blogger-land. i sorta did, but you know what? i followed those moldy old breadcrumbs and they led me right back here.

i have been remiss in my duties as a hostess here on my blog.....for that i apologize. i have gotten so wrapped up in my POETRY SITE life, as well as my personal life (yep, i do have one), i just plain got too tired to try to keep up this blog. i hope i can be back here on a more regular basis, keeping up with the friends i made here so long ago.

i have been named an assistant administrator on the poetry site, and that keeps me fairly busy. i also recently won NOSTALGIAN OF THE MONTH for the month of July, and won a nice $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com. while shopping, i realized i had never made it out of the jewelry dept. of the site, so this is what i chose for my purchase...................

i even have some money left over on my gift certificate. i really enjoy being on the poetry site, and have met many truly talented people. my most recent "poetry crush" is a man from spain. his words are truly inspirational, as well as true to today's "human condition". i have always had such a love for poetry, and that is why i feel so at home there on the site. i have only had a couple of people who feel they have to spend their time criticizing others works, and i have more or less put them in their place, telling them to take their criticism or even their "helpful hints" to a more private forum. i am hoping that soon i will be able to publish a book of my own poetry. i also would like to work with several others on the site to publish a book of collaborative poetry.

i have also had a hayday shopping at j.c. penney. i get these $10 coupons where you can buy anything in the store that is $10 or more and get $10 off. so far, with the accumulation of several coupons, and with a huge sale with additonal discounts, i have gotten the following:

1 blouse = 85 cents (regularly $70)
1 blouse = free (regularly $65)
1 oven mitt = $1.20 (regularly $8) (had to purchase something else to get the blouse)
1 sterling silver bracelet = free (regularly $28)
1 22-inch sterling silver rope chain = $4 (regularly $80)
1 sterling silver cross with 5 centered cubic zirconia stones = $3.20 (regularly $85)

6 items worth $336 for under $10!!!!!!

i have lost a total of 30 pounds since may, but i am floating back and forth on 2 of those pounds. i think it must be water gain....at least that is my story, and i am sticking to it, lol. i am still not dieting, but watching how much i eat, and still parking furthest away from a store and walking, not picking up stray candies in dishes at retail stores, and not preparing more than one helping for my home meals. i am also traveling some, like to savannah, and augusta, and not eating all the local foods when i do eat. the fresh salt air seems to help me get my head clear and my body detoxified.

my daughter, the insurance agent, saved me a bundle on my auto/renter's insurance package. i am paying $20 a month less for full coverage auto, and renter's insurance than i did on my old coverage for just minimum auto coverage. she went to classes this past week to get another insurance license and takes the exam on tuesday...........i am praying she passes the test. i am so proud of her.

work is the same......the 2 wicked witches keep casting their evil spells on the rest of us, and we keep trudging on toward some unseen goal. we recently had a problem with our paychecks and i received a check for 81 cents (thank goodness i got another one the next day for the rest, lol).

my landlord has been leaving me alone.....for the last 2 months or so. i found out why...he is running for office again, and is campaigning.....i hear no one is running against him. i sorta hope he wins, so that he will have plenty of work to keep him busy and out of my hair......

coatie, my kitty, is doing fine. fat and sassy.....well, mostly fat and lazy, lol. i brought her a new baby blanket home from work (a blue microfiber blanket.....soooooo soft) and she won't get off it, lol. the outdoor kitties come and go. i don't feed them much anymore. fluffy had a litter of kittens on the side of the house and the caretaker was weed-eating and scared her. while trying to move them, she dropped the 2 black ones off in the yard and they almost died. i think they were sick anyway, due to the bloody residue next to their little hineys. the other one was somehow tangled up in a root and its little foot was purple and almost gone. i massaged the foot till i got the blood flowing, and it regained its color. fluffy moved them the next day, so i have no idea if they survived or not. gray is till limping, and her foot looks really bad. but she won't let me catch her.

i have finally gotten over the bronchitis i had for almost 3 months. i still cough up my morning hairballs for about an hour, then i am set for the day. of course, yesterday i felt a cold coming on. sneezing, itching/watering eyes. sigh........it never ends.

i appreciate those of you who have stuck it out with me. and to the new folks who have joined me, thank you too. i will try very hard to keep posting here as well as on my poetry site.

everyone have a blessed week next week...................

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MY FOURTH OF JULY TREK

2009-07-04T23:48:00.005-04:00

the fourth of july is supposed to be a day of celebration, but my day didn't start out that way. i awoke at 6 am with a severely congested head, the bronchitis i have had for the last 5 weeks, and a really bad panic attack was about to occur. i knew i had to do one of two things......get out and walk or get in the car and DRIVE. i grabbed my clothes, dressed, for some reason grabbed my camera along with my purse, and headed out the door. i walked through the front door and knew i had made the right choice. the usually warm, humid air of morning was crisp and cool. a bird followed me from the house to the car, and stayed just a short distance out of my reach. i did manage to start off my "photo trek" by snapping the little critter right over my head. thank goodness i didn't get covered in bird poop.

i headed for the country, realizing there wasn't much country anymore, mostly new buildings, houses, strip malls, convenience stores..........but i was determined to help quell my panic attack by shooting something with my camera. following are the results of my trek.

1) The bird.

2) Heading south, following the rails.

3) Where am i going?

4) Forsaken barn.

5) Small town USA.

6) Small town justice....newly remodeled court house.

7) Store fronts in the morning haze.

8) Old time religion.

9) Forgotten history.

my panic attack quickly disappeared and i had a blast finding something to shoot in the early morning hours. wish i could do this every morning..........

i hope you enjoyed my trek.

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HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

2009-07-03T22:35:00.004-04:00

hoping everyone out there in blogland that celebrates america's independence has a wonderful fourth of july. be careful of the firecrackers/fireworks, and don't eat too many hotdogs and hamburgers.

NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED.............

TO A FRIEND

2009-07-03T21:23:00.005-04:00

i wanted to share this poem with you here at blogger. he is a dear friend i have met on the poetry site where i have become a member. i was awestruck when he emailed this to me. he is such a talented man in so many ways. he writes beautiful poetry, heavenly short stories, and sings and plays a guitar as well. i have met several of the people on the site in person, but may never meet this wonderful man............he lives in ireland.

TO MY FRIEND ACROSS THE SEA

Upon this mortal orb we live
with friendship, hope and love;

Under Heavens veil of darkest night
and twinkling stars above.

How could we have ever known
what fate would have in store?

It was decreed that we should live
on different foreign shores.

Your sincere heart beguiles me,
and the smile on your beautiful face;

My spirit will always be with you
somewhere in time and space.

Friendship is a special thing,
it will last throughout the years;

I always will be here for you
through laughter and the tears.

You are the one who lifts me up
When I am feeling low;

You give me strength to carry on
With the charms you now bestow.

To you I give a promise,
although we are apart;

this bond will never be broken,
you remain within my heart.

*SF (6-30-09)

thank you my friend...........

SYBIL IS BACK!!

2009-06-18T14:37:00.002-04:00

SYBIL!!! i see you on my sidebar. do you have a blog, and if so, how do i find it?

sybil and i talked via skype the other day, and it was wonderful. she is the most adorable, warm, friendly person i have met on here. (and she had the cutest accent)

i cannot wait until i get over this stupid bronchitis so that i might continue talking to sybil and others on skype.

since i have been away from this site (only a few days), i have managed to collect a couple more followers............welcome, and thank you for coming here to read my insanities.

i just came back from going to pick up some clothing items from a fellow freecycler. she said in her email that there was a HUGE bag of women's clothing. when i arrived at the house, she wasn't even close when she used the word huge. it was a silver lawn bag stuffed full of clothing. it was so heavy, i couldn't even pick it up. i had to drag it down her steps and out to the car, then roll it up into my car, lol. i was so hot and tired when i got home, i didn't feel like taking it out of the car. i cannot wait till i can go through it. like i need more clothing, lol.

i came over here to my blog to catch up on other's blogs, but when i saw that i had new followers and one of them was sybil, i was all excited. so now, i will bow out and go read blogs.

NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED..........

TO "ANONYMOUS"

2009-06-15T12:10:00.003-04:00

I wanted to straighten something out for my anonymous commenter on my entry "It's Official....I Have a Stalker". In the comment "anonymous" made it sound like I was leading this stalker on. The poetry site where I am a member isn't set up like Blogspot. Every single post that is made, whether it be poetry, prose or just chatter, is sent via email to every single member of the site. Before opening the email you have no idea whose post it is. You have to open it to see whose work it is. So I am not going back to HIS blog. I am simply opening emails. And the courteous thing to do is for every post, make a nice comment about their work. I have even refrained from doing that, so that HE cannot mistake what I am saying for a sign that I like HIM.

So, my little anonymous "friend", you are very much off course in stating I might be leading HIM on. If he has any ideas that I like him in any way, shape or fashion, those ideas are all in HIS head.

Sometimes in this ole world people who are lonely, depressed and down on their luck hang on the words of others. I think this man has just misunderstood my writings, and the comments that I made back when I WAS commenting on his work.

Hope that straightens it out for you, "ANONYMOUS". (since you didn't reveal who you are, are you a stalker of mine as well?????)

NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED.................

IT'S OFFICIAL........I HAVE A STALKER

2009-06-12T23:25:00.005-04:00

i joined a poetry group online back in december of last year. i only joined because a dear online friend kept sending me invitations, and i gave in to her requests. after landing there, i made friends with almost every member immediately. it was like finding a home, a place to belong. i have even met a couple of the people from the site, and they are even more wonderful in person than online.

mostly the site is about poetry, some prose and even photography. some even write blogs, much like here on blogger. there is a forum, there are numerous groups you can join for different aspects of the poetic world, and the membership keeps growing.

when i joined it seemed that the men were drawn to me like a moth is to a flame. i made a small handful of female friends, but the men almost immediately wanted to give me their personal email addresses, their cell and home phone numbers, etc. no, it isn't what you are thinking. they are not horndogs, just needing to get the perspective of a female on their poetry and prose (you don't have to believe me if you don't want to, lol). i have made some good friends on the site, both male and female. i try to read each entry and make some type of comment. since the membership has grown, i cannot keep up with all the posts, so i read and if i like it or want to comment on it, i do. if i don't understand it, or don't like it, i just don't comment.

one gentleman, who by the way is single (divorced), and has teen daughters living with him in his small apartment in pittsburgh, PA, writes, i guess you would say, mediocre poetry. he has a childlike mentality on life (which really isn't all that bad if you think about it), and he is looking for love. i have never given him any reason to think i am interested in him. i comment on his poetry or prose, but don't get all mushy about it.

in a comment on one of his posts, i made a reference to "wishing someone would write a poem to me, wink wink". of course, i was meaning my significant other, and not this gentleman. but this gentleman, jim, thought i meant i wanted him to write me a poem. so he did. i didn't even realize he had mistakenly thought i wanted him to write it. it all seemed innocent enough. that was back in february of this year.

ok, fast forward to may of this year. i was catching up on reading poetry from may and early june and ran across another poem of jim's...........with my name in it. i panicked. it was another "love" poem. ok, what should i do? i asked a couple of online friends and they said 2 different things. one said i should just ask him. the other said i should just ignore it. i chose to email him and ask him if it was me he was writing about. he admitted it was. he said he liked to write something new for someone every now and again to bring a smile to their face. ok, now this is freaking me out. i thanked him and let it go.

well.....today, i was reading emails from the site, and BOOOOM!!! there was another romantic poem..........with my name in it. OMG..........OH MY FREAKING GOSH!!! i have a stalker!!!! my significant other stated i was a flirt.........and that was why it happened in the first place. but of course, that isn't true (bats eyelashes).

i have enclosed the 3 poems for your "pleasure", lol.

For Regina

Posted by Jim Smith on February 4, 2009 at 10:00am
View Jim Smith's blog

Poem By Jimsmith

I was introduced to this
Gal Named Regina
It became some would call
A blind date for us

For we have been set up
By a neutral friend
And some family members
It would be a good Idea for us to meet

We went to the Olive Garden
For a special dinner
She had a rose tuck in her hair
Her eyes shining in the night

Her hair blowing in the wind
I just knew once I heard
Her soft voice
That she was all sugar and spice

On the inside right to the heart
She was all dressed in red
A knee length dress
Lovely earrings and beautiful make up

Not a fault I could find
She was attractive beyond my mind
I would have waited for hours
For this moment in time

The line was long
We had to wait for an hour
To be seated at the restaurant
Therefore, we sat down at the bar

Had ourselves a few drinks
Too, get the conversation started
I ask her for information
About her family relations

Shared our lives tales so far
She told me of her roots
And I told her mine
Of being that steel city Kid

Coming from a big family
Living in the city
I found Regina was a talker
Therefore, I lessoned to every word

She was fascinating to me
So light and warm hearted
That is the way she started
Expressing her love of children

As she told me of her experience
Of working as a fulltime nurse
At a local child care center
That’s when I knew Regina

Was so special
The kind of gal I would
Like to date again
So at the end of the dinner we

Departed she left her number
On a napkin so I could call her
Some time like tomorrow
To extend my hand in friendship

For you know we all need good friends
That is what makes the world go around
And with a smile we departed
She went to her car

I went to mine
For we both had a goodtime
With a hug and a wave of a hand
We said our goodbyes

Tags: friendship, hope, in, love, respect

Wonders of her love

Posted by Jim Smith on May 17, 2009 at 9:30pm
View Jim Smith's blog

I stand at a distance
No showing my interest
She has a kind heart
In my world she could be apart

Wonders of her love to be
Spending lots of time with me
Walking hand and hand you see
Talking about everything

What the future holds
We do not know
We live for the moment
And I show it

Wonders of her love to me
Could bring me to live so happy
Regina is a wonderful gal
I had made her look good in pearls

If you could of seen her face light up
When I put the pearls around her neck
It took me back to when I was young
And I saved 10 percent of my income

for a day like today
to show her in a way
She will be mine forevermore
It was my plan

Since I could stand
To cherish this special woman
The one that stolen my heart
For years to come we will never part

I just could see it in Regina's eyes
She was taken by surprise
Now she knows what she means to me
She is one of a kind

One that was meant for me
So Regina If your out there
Please give me a call some day
(555)555-XXXX

Tags: forevermore, love, regina, special

She is blessed for success

Posted by Jim Smith on June 12, 2009 at 6:00am
View Jim Smith's blog

There she was standing
Over at the corner
Dressed for success
In her pants suit

I do believe she looked so cute
With in her smile I was transfixed
Her eyes sparkled oh they shined
I remember the day she became mine

She was waring her beautiful wedding dress
She was blessed for our success
Regina I am glad you came around for me
You became an excellent cook and a good wife

I cherish you in every way
In our modest home I know you will stay
Because you trust in me all the way
Sometimes you only think it's these words

Of choice that brought you to me
It sure was the happy times we shared
In the lonely mountains in the log cabin
Way deep in the woods

Where we explored our love
Oh if I could only dream this dream true
How happy I would become
To have a special lady beside me

Regina I can't begin to tell you
How much you mean to me
Your my love my everything
The glory of the stars and strips

have nothing over you
You just sparkle in my mind
All of the time
I can't get you out of my head

I hope you feel the same way about me
For you know I built us a house in a tree
Thats how modest I can be
So Regina come stay at home with me

Tags: be, come, lady, life, my, of, special, wife

I THINK I AM GOING TO LEAVE THIS PAGE.....UNTURNED.......

MONEY UPDATE

2009-06-11T19:25:00.002-04:00

today was a beautiful day. not just because the sun was shining brightly and everything was green, but because i got my money back.

i went to lunch and headed straight for "Big Chic". when i walked in, the first thing the woman said, with a smile, was "What the heck do you want?". i jokingly said back to her in a "mean" tone, "MY MONEY, WOMAN". she pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to me. she said she hadn't touched it other than to fold it. i told her i trusted her. (when i finally looked inside the envelope, the money was turned around backwards, so i knew she had counted it, but it was all there)

i bought my lunch, thanked her again, and told her i couldn't give her any of the money for it was rent money, but i would like to do something for her. i told her i make jewelry and could make her something. she said no, i said yes, so she said maybe a pair of earrings. so i will make her several pair, lol.

so, there ARE still good people out there and their stories should be told.

THANK YOU LORD FOR THESE PEOPLE

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THERE IS A REASON

2009-06-10T23:25:00.004-04:00

There is a reason
That the sun comes up every day
(Even if it hides behind the rainclouds)

There is a reason
That we awaken from deep sleep
(Even if it is from a bad dream)

There is a reason
That though we feel depressed and devastated
(And would rather give up, and die)

There is a reason
We stand up and move forward

Just as there is a reason
I got up from the computer and dressed

There is a reason
I went to my car and cranked it up

There is a reason
I stopped at the General Storage office
(Asking if they had found an envelope of money)

There is a reason
I didn't cry and give up when they said "No".

There is a reason
I went to my dental appointment at 5:00 pm
(Even though I knew they would tell me my two
teeth would have to be pulled instead of fixed)

There is a reason
I stopped at the Dollar General on the way home
(To ask if they had found an envelope of money)

There is a reason
I didn't scream and throw myself onto the floor
(When they, too, said "No")

There is a reason
I took the long way home
(Even though the traffic was horrendous)

There is a reason
I remembered I had stopped at Big Chick
(Two nights ago to get some good fried chicken fingers)

There is a reason
I walked to the counter and spoke to the nice lady
(Who is the same one who waited on me two nights ago)

There is a reason
I asked if they had found an envelope with...............

There is a reason
She nodded her head "Yes" even before I could finish my sentence

There is a reason
God gave us tears and the ability to thank others

There is a reason
For honest, hard-working people

There is a reason
GOD HAS CONTROL

©Regina2009

Big Chick is a mom-and-pop owned establishment; sort of a hole-in-the-wall eatery. it isn't a restaurant, for there are no chairs or tables. you order your chicken, and you leave. this woman is part owner of this place, and she is in the flour/milk mixture day in and day out, trying to eek out a small profit and keep the business afloat. she found my envelope of money, marked "RENT" and figured it was mine, since i had been the last customer in the place and no one else had come in since. she took it home, hoping i would return and ask for it. she didn't know me from Eve, and had no way of getting in touch with me. had i not gone to the dental appointment, had i not taken the long way home, had i not remembered that i had stopped there to get supper 2 nights before, i would still be out of my rent money......$250. part of the reason this is such a miracle is that this little chicken place is right in the middle of a shopping plaza that constantly has homeless men, drug dealers, scum bags, gang members hanging out all the time. a friend of mine from church lost her husband to a druggie who killed him for $4 and some change. there is a sort of biker bar about 100 feet from the front door of the chicken place. so there is absolutely no reason why that money should have been still there on the floor when the owner walked around to clean off the soda machine. absolutely no reason that someone hadn't walked in, saw the envelope and picked it up, having themselves a great night out on the town, or a drugged night on the corner. no reason.......except for one................GOD IS IN CONTROL.

thank you to each and every one who held me in their thoughts and prayers during this terrible nightmare. of course, i do not have the money in hand yet. she took the envelope home and kept it for me. she will bring it to work with her tomorrow and i can come pick it up. i asked her for her telephone number so i could call, and she gave me her complete name, her home/work/cell numbers and her address. so i am pretty sure i will be getting the money back.

HEY, GUESS WHERE I WILL BE EATING LUNCH TOMORROW?????

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DEVASTATION

2009-06-09T22:50:00.000-04:00

not sure if i will be around much for awhile. i discovered something today that has totally devastated me...............i have lost $250 of my rent money. it is gone. disappeared. i have looked in my whole purse, and in areas around my house where i put the envelope that says "rent". nada. nowhere. and i cannot actually remember where i last had the envelope. i got paid on the 4th, cashed my check, divided the money between "rent" and "storage" and kept some out for emergencies. the last time i remember the envelope is when i paid my storage fee. i may have left the envelope there with the money in it. then i bought groceries on sunday, the 7th. i had to get out a five dollar bill to pay for the non-food items, but don't remember taking it out of the "rent" envelope. it could have fallen out, been left on the counter, which i never do, but it could have happened, or someone took it from my purse at work. doesn't really matter how it disappeared, just that it did. i was already a little down due to being a little under the weather (i think jo gave me something via the internet, lol), but now i am really depressed. i get paid again on the 18th, but then my rent will be 3 days late and i will be charged a $50 late fee. sigh............i am going to go and cry for awhile. so if you don't see me on here, this is why.

regina

UPDATE, AND MY YOUNGIN'S HOUSE

2009-06-08T23:58:00.004-04:00

hello everyone............i have wifi, at least for now.

well, i got a nice little typed letter from our landlord right before he left for vacation through the 15th. in this little letter he tells me that he is going to have the fire marshall out when he comes back from vacation to inspect the whole house. he is doing this to try to evict me, for i had some things stacked up against the wall near the window with the air conditioner unit (craft tubs with craft supplies inside) and he said that had to be moved, it was a fire hazard. i plan on mentioning to the fire marshall that every single window in this house but one in my bedroom, is painted shut, which is a definite fire hazard.

he also stated that i could, under no circumstances, store belongings or food in the house. ok, so i guess we have to starve and go naked and sleep on the floor, right? he stated that i could not store anything in my car as he took very seriously the view of the community on his property. i work at a place where people are always giving me things, and i bring home those items as well as items i purchase. i cannot afford to have ALL my furniture moved into the house, thus i have nowhere to store these items. they are in boxes in my car, and in the house, neatly placed. i cannot believe this man is the local mayor. he is an idiot. he has no idea how poor people live, nor does he care. he was born with a pewter spoon in his mouth and doesn't realize there are people in this world that have little to nothing and live paycheck to paycheck. but i cannot afford to move out. it is cheap, as long as you can put up with the sh*t. and believe me, he can dish it out. i had mentioned to him that i had bought a freezer that was on the side porch, and to not unplug it. he said the power bill was huge and he was checking with the power company about the amount of increase. duh, freezers do up the power, but not THAT much. it is just summer hours, and summer rates. plus, the air conditioner runs 24/7.

i forgot to mention that a day before i got the above mentioned letter, i got a post-it note on the outside of the front door asking me why there were horse flies in the downstairs common area. hell if i know! i don't have any in my apartment, so i have no clue why they are gathering in the downstairs. maybe because something died in the ceiling of the downstairs (my floor) and the flies are finishing it off. geeeze louise............

i want another vacation............i had so much fun on my last one.........

i have lost most of my kitties. they are either dead or have moved on to greener pastures since i was gone for almost a week. there is still Tommy, the tom cat, and Whitey, the, um, white cat, lol. i am so original, aren't i.

my daughter will kill me for printing this in here, but she recently bought a house, at age 23. i am very proud of her and wanted to show it off.

i have lots to say, but am tired and sleepy. i guess i better go to bed. so sorry i haven't been a good friend and blogger. i will never get caught up with everything until i get a full time wifi signal. keep your fingers crossed.

GUESS WHO??

2009-05-28T20:41:00.002-04:00

well, some bloodhound, by the name of guido, came snoopin' at my rabbit hole and found me home. thanks guido. i have been missing in action for numerous reasons........the most obvious one is the fact i haven't had wifi connection but sporadically, and then only for about 3-5 minutes at a time, which drives one crazy(er) trying to post something. another is the fact that i have spent a lot of the actual online time i have had on my poetry site. i have met some really nice people on that site and we have become friends and i have actually met a couple of them. truly wonderful and talented people they are. we got along fine, just like we had been friends forever.

another reason i have been MIA is that i have been on vacation. i love a job where you work part time and get lots of full time benefits. i took one of my two paid vacations and went toward savannah and augusta. had a blast, but now i need sleep, lots and lots of sleep. i have 3 more vacation days before going back to the house of hell, and i intend to sleep at least one of those 3, lol.

my downstairs roomie has moved completely out and the apartment is once again for rent. i heard through the grapevine that the mayor may be selling the house, which frightened me, so i decided to look for a new apartment in the area. i went to lunch with another of my ex-downstairs-housemates, betty, and she said the apartment next to her was available june 1st. she called the landlord to set up an appointment to see the place, but he didn't answer. she left a message. i went by my daughter's place of work and she and the whole office knew the landlord of the new place, so she called him and DID get him and set up an appointment and i went to see it. ewwwwwwwwwww. it is so frickin tiny. the whole apartment could fit into my kitchen, lol. it was going to be repainted and appliances put in, but it was still not for me. and the front bedroom is the biggest and it faces the busy downtown mcdonough street with lots of noise. the rent is $75 more a month than mine, and you have to pay separate gas, electric, water, sewage and garbage pickup. no thanks. now i just hope the mayor isn't selling this house.

speaking of the illustrious mayor...........when i came in from my vacation today there was a note on the stairpost. it was the mayor's scribbling and it asked me who broke his mother's beautiful antique vase and why? hell if i know, i have been on vacation and i don't go into the "shared" part of the downstairs. so i have no clue who or why. maybe his own mother's ghost did it, to get his attention. maybe he should ask george, the caretaker.......he is the one who goes in down there all the time to fix things, get things, etc.

i am so tired from the trip, and i cannot wait until bedtime..........oh, wait, i can go to bed anytime i want, lol.

sorry i haven't been keeping up with everyone. my thoughts are still with you all and i hope that someday soon i will have all the wifi connection i can use...............but until then, i will be here when i can and will try to keep up.

hugs to everyone out there that still remembers who i am...........lol.

A PROUD MAMA AND POTPOURRI

2009-04-09T00:55:00.002-04:00

my friends, i have missed you. i haven't had a wifi signal in the last few days, so have been unable to comment, post or read. i have a decent signal tonight, so will attempt a post.

there is no way i will be able to catch up on reading blogs. i will pick up anew and start reading from now. that is, if i continue to have a wifi signal.

life has been good to me, other than the pollen. i have yellow filled lungs.

work is same ole same ole. i have met several new friends on the poetry site that i stay in contact with via phone.

i have 4 cats now that i feed outside, whitey, tommy, gray, and fluffy. i fixed them a really big crockpot full of chicken thigh tenders, and they all love me, for now, lol.

my downstairs neighbor is still moving out. she was supposed to be out last sunday by midnight, but she is still moving boxes out and a few pieces of furniture. i am actually going to miss her now. we have become a little closer since she has had to move. i guess having to eat her words humbled her a little. she has been giving me items that she doesn't want to take, mostly little things, but what i don't want i will either freecycle or take to work.

something happened recently that sorta unnerved me. my daughter's boyfriend somehow found my blog link and read a post about him and my daughter. he showed it to her and she proceeded to read the whole blog, all 111 entries. she seems a bit miffed at me, but i went back and read them all and didn't see any that would really be bad for her to read. she didn't like the fact i used her pics on my sidebar, but i am proud of her and want to show her off.

i said all that to say this...........MY BABY GIRL HAS BOUGHT HER FIRST HOUSE....AT AGE 23. i was a little older when i bought my first place. but i am really so proud of her. she makes almost 3 times what i do, and now is buying a house. atta girl!!

well, i probably have much more to tell, but my sleepy eyes and groggy brain won't let me think. so i am going to attempt to post this and go to bed.

take care and if i don't get back online before then, have a HAPPY EASTER.

NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED........

AN UPDATE

2009-03-28T17:46:00.002-04:00

It has been quite awhile since I posted here. A lot has been going on. But mostly the reason I have been MIA is I haven’t had a wifi connection. It seems that the only time there is a wifi connection is during the daytime hours Monday through Friday, usually 10 am till around 5 pm. And guess what? I am at work during those times. I am currently typing this in Word and since I am off work tomorrow (Thursday), I hope to post this.

Work has been pretty much the same………DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA. We hired a new girl, whom I will call KG. It appears she has problems at home (like the rest of us don’t) so the fact that she has been late 3 of the 5 days she has been there, and she called out on her first full day of employment, doesn’t seem to be a problem with the boss and other employees. I guess it is because she is 23 and has children. Sigh…………

I got the most beautiful doll at work today. Her hair was a mess and her dress was dirty, but she is a porcelain beauty. Dark brown curls surround her face and the nape of her neck, and she has long pigtails tied up in golden ribbons with white flowers atop each tail. Her dress is mint green. I have such a weakness for beautiful porcelain dolls.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting one of the many people I have met online. He is a regular on the poetry site of which we are both members. He is a truck driver who covers the entire United States. He just happened to be in a nearby town and contacted me to see if I wanted to meet him. He is a Christian and a really nice gentleman. I thought it was really a wonderful experience to meet someone I had known from online. Most of the people I have met from online have been really nice, but a few have been real nut cases. You just never know who you will meet, but it is always nice to have friends from all over the world.

I will probably find it almost impossible to catch up on everyone’s blogs when (or if) I ever get back online. So be patient. I will do the best I can on getting back up to speed.

I hope everyone is doing well and is ready for a wonderful spring. I have been pollinated. Everything is yellow, including my lungs.

I am going to close for now and hopefully I can post this on Thursday.

Well, it is now Friday, and I just got a wifi signal, so am posting this now.

NEVER LEAVE A PAGE UNTURNED…………

UPDATE AND PRAYER REQUEST

2009-03-10T23:52:00.003-04:00

i have been fighting a bout of depression the last week. i think some of it has to do with being sick. i mentioned i had the flu about a month and a half ago. well, i had forgotten that before the flu, i had walking pneumonia. the flu hurts so badly, and the fever i had of 102.9 for a couple of days, i became delirious.......and forgot all about the pneumonia. it wasn't until one of my co-workers said yesterday that my breathing didn't sound right. i remembered hearing my own labored breathing the day i took the snow videos. you could hear it on the video.

it was then i realized, i still have pneumonia. i have been taking mucinex expectorant, and i think i am beginning to mend now. thank goodness.

i recently got an email from a dear online friend telling me she was giving up her blog and possibly her computer. due to our friendship, and wanting to keep her anonymity, i won't mention specifics. actually, i don't really know specifics. but i do know someone hurt her badly, as well as angered her. so i would like to just say something here. i am usually tough skinned, and often dish out hard truths. but usually only when asked. if you have to comment on someone's blog and feel the need to "set someone straight", first, make sure it is something you wouldn't mind hearing directed at you, and if it isn't necessary, don't say it (or type it). writing on the internet is difficult, for one cannot see facial expressions, body language or hear voice inflections. you might be totally missunderstanding the other person. so be kind to one another. most people can take constructive criticism, but if you offer it up, make sure you do it with a spoonful of sugar. makes it go down so much smoother.

work has been pretty much the same.......the divas running the show. i did something i didn't want to do today, but felt it necessary. i don't like tattling, but when it might eventually affect me or my boss, or even the company, i feel something should be said.

there is a volunteer who has a very dominant personality. i can't say i don't like her, i just don't like the way she takes over. she acts more like the boss than our boss does. i found out today she is a wrestler, lol, so i was admonished to watch my step (by another employee), lol. she seems to think that i think she is stupid, or not bright enough to know how to help out around the store. that isn't it at all. i just don't like her "changing prices" or "making deals" or even "making promises". even i cannot do most of that, and i get paid to work there. anyway, today i had to go and get me something to drink. i knew i wasn't going to get an afternoon break, so i told RC and RE, who were standing next to the counter, that i was going to leave them in charge and i was going to get some more ice water. while i was in the kitchen, the phone kept ringing and ringing. no one picked it up. when i got back to the register, the volunteer was standing up at the register, talking on the phone. yesterday one of the CS boys was getting some twine and scissors from behind the counter, with me standing right there, and he and i both were jumped about him being there. and this volunteer was on the phone, asking RC questions. i realized she had ANSWERED THE PHONE, which is a very very big mistake around there. if you are not a paid employee, or don't have permission from DD to answer the phone, YOU DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE. i mentioned it later to RC and she didn't seem too upset over it. she even commented that RE sometimes answered the phone. and he does, and he is just a volunteer.

well later i mentioned the incident to DD. he was NOT happy at all. but since i asked him not to mention it to RC or the volunteer, he said there wasn't much else he could do about it, but that if the big bosses called and she answered, he could lose his job. he did say that RE sometimes answers the phone, but has his permission. sigh......so i didn't mention the fact that AD had given the same volunteer permission to sit in DD's chair at his desk and use his computer. but i still think he needs to mention something to her, or she will keep overstepping her boundaries.

i know i don't have but a few stragglers left here in blogland, but for those of you who are praying people, i would like to ask for your prayers for a couple of volunteers at work. it is a husband and wife, and they have volunteered for about 8 years there. he recently was diagnosed with colon cancer, which they went in and removed all of, but while testing him, they found that 18 of his 20 lymph nodes were also infected with cancer. they are going to try chemotherapy. we have been taking up money at work because they have become so far behind on their bills while being in the hospital and home recuperating. their water bill alone is over $200. he usually plays santa claus every Christmas at different functions, and for a local photographer.

so please, if you would, keep them in mind. his wife cannot do much without him. she has no skills other than grandmotherly love, and she doesn't drive.

i am going to close this novelette.

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A NEW LINK AND A POEM

2009-03-06T23:03:00.003-05:00

first, i would like to announce that i added another link to my last post about the breast cancer award badge. guido at Atlantic Lines sent me the link to Lahoma's journal. she passed Christmas of 2007, but she lives on in her journal, and in our hearts. to be inspired by a woman with a lot of grit, go to that entry and check out her journal.

now, the following is a poem written by Sharon Frye, a new acquaintance from the new poetry club i joined. i have read hundreds of poems on the new site, and many have touched me in many ways. but, though short, this little poem packs a wallop. so much said in so few words. this is exactly how i have felt the last few days, and i don't see any let up. i have Sharon's permission to share this with those who still read my journal.

Depression

God only knows why I’m down here

In this darkened and horrible place,

Swallowed by the whale of depression

And longing for light on my face

I’m down in this pit of a belly-

Of a monster so giant and vast,

If I can crawl up thru the bile

I’ll hang onto something that lasts.

I’m tossed thru the waves by this monster

And spit out in the sea for a spell

Then swallowed and gulped like a rag doll

Back into the caverns of hell.

(by Sharon Frye)

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BREAST CANCER AWARENESS AWARD BADGE

2009-03-05T00:34:00.003-05:00

Thank you to Cindi, over at "Wishing For My Turn" (http://wishingformyturn.blogspot.com/) for promoting breast cancer awareness by having an Award Contest. Being the winner of the contest, I am to now to send out to five deserving people my winning Award Badge.

My choices for this award are:

1) JEANNETTE

(http://outsidelookingin-jeannette.blogspot.com/)

2) TRISH

http://my-breast-cancer-story.blogspot.com/

3) SHERI

http://trustmeitsnothing.blogspot.com/

4) CHRISTINA

http://uniboobclub.blogspot.com/

5) LAHOMA

(Lahoma is no longer with us, but her wonderful spirit and "never give up" attitude exhibited true strength in her fight. Though no longer with us here on earth she is ever with those who knew her)

(after posting this entry, guido, over at ATLANTIC LINES, sent me the link to Lahoma's journal. though she has been gone since Christmas of 2007, her journal life lives on. visit her journal and see how she lived, laughed and loved. this is the link:
http://lahomas-laments.blogspot.com/)

Please read these four (five) ladies' stories. Their strength and attitude will amaze you.

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BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR....

2009-03-04T00:38:00.004-05:00

first, some pics of my house in the snowstorm........

those who have been with me for awhile will recall my crazy downstairs neighbor. she is an alcoholic, smoker, and toker. she stole from me a year or so ago, and though i have forgiven her, i haven't forgotten it. i have often wondered if she would stick around much longer. ok, i even wished she would move.

over the last few months she has spoken to me more often. she even asked for my phone number so that she could call me when something bad was happening. a man was breaking into houses in our area, and the police posted pictures of the man all over town, so she was afraid he would come after us.

yesterday she asked me some questions. walked all the way up my steps and knocked on my bedroom door. i was in the bed, um, unclothed, and sleeping. i awoke with a start and told her to hold on. i dressed and went out into the hallway to talk to her.

she asked me how far i had ever gotten behind on my rent. i couldn't remember, but told her i thought it was one whole month behind. she then told me that she had lost her job with the realty company (which wasn't much anyway, but still a job) and she was behind on half her rent. the landlord had told her that she had till friday of this week to come up with the full amount of the arrears, and then the full month's rent for this month was due a week later. we talked about what her options were, and they are pretty much like mine were when i was having trouble paying my rent on time. she says she can move in with her daughter, but her daughter is quite moody and currently lives with her boyfriend and her 2 children. my neighbor is a lot like me in that she cannot get a place that requires a credit check because of bad credit. that is one of the main reasons i have been putting up with the bully of a landlord and the heat and cold in winter and summer. i could never get a place with my credit for as cheap as i live here. so i just deal with the mayor/landlord.

my neighbor later said that she had gotten her gas bill for this month and even though she freezes most of the time downstairs, her bill was $180. she said the landlord had put the bill on her door 2 weeks ago and she never paid it. mmmmm, that means it was the first bill we both got, mine was for $98 for 2 months. hers was almost double............geeze. i told her that that wasn't this month's bill, it was the first bill. which means.......she has to come up with $250 by this friday, as well as $180 for the first 2 month's gas bill, plus a week later, $500 for her rent for this month. yep, i would say she is in trouble. she said she was going to take a couple of days to think about what she wanted to do, and not act in haste. yet, when i went out today i noticed there were 3 boxes on the front porch with a stack of small newspapers. so i guess she is going to move. i really cannot see that she has any choice, but hey, i went through the exact same thing and by the grace of God, i am still here.

i actually feel very sorry for her. i even offered to ask my assistant director at work if they could help with her rent. but that was before i found out she still owed last month's gas and the 2 months before. there is no way we could pay that much out to her. the average is $100-$200 per person per month.

so, though we have had some words and have fallen out a few times with each other, i will be sad to see her go. after all, we were starting to bond again. i wish her the best and hope she finds somewhere to live that makes her happy.

i went to work on monday. i even called my boss on his cell phone at 7 am to ask if we were going to be open, and he said yes. but when the YO and i were the only ones besides DD to show up, and the big boss called and wanted to know why we were open, DD came around and told us we were closing. we had a store full of customers, and DD asked them to go ahead and finish up shopping, but that we were fixing to close. i worked from 9 am till 10:35 am and DD said since i came in and was working even on a bad snow day, he would sign me off at noon. so i will get paid for 3 hours work, when i actually only worked 1.5 hours. good boss. i was already scheduled off on tuesday.

i guess i should close for now. i am tired, my neck hurts, my head hurts, i am coughing, and i have to work tomorrow.

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TAKE A LOOK....BREAST CANCER AWARENESS....

2009-02-25T22:00:00.003-05:00

cindi, over at WISHING FOR MY TURN (http://wishingformyturn.blogspot.com/2009/02/challengei-dbl-dog-dare-ya.html) is doing a fantastic challenge. she asked me to post something directing each of my readers to her blog to enter this challenge. now i know that some of my readers have had breast cancer, and this may be a little sensitive for you. but if you feel you can, please visit cindi's blog and enter the challenge. she is trying to bring about more awareness for this dreaded disease.

thanks to each of you for reading this, and i hope you will TAKE THE CHALLENGE.

oh, and hey guys, you can do this one toooooo!!

hugs to all.........

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LOSING YET ANOTHER AND A TARDY AMBULANCE

2009-02-24T21:45:00.003-05:00

well, i guess this ole blog will soon be non-existent. i have noticed that i have LOST another follower. and i am like the skinny person who cannot afford to lose another pound..........i cannot afford to lose another follower. sigh...........

i worked today, but nothing major happened as far as drama. but something bad did happen.

i went to lunch around 2:15 pm. i brought my lunch so didn't need to go out to eat. i sat in the breakroom the whole time, 45 minutes. not once did i hear of anything happening out front. but when i started back to the register, there was something going on out in front of the door. i rushed up to see, and was told that an elderly woman was coming into the building with a younger woman, and the younger woman had opened the door and held it for the older woman, but the older woman tripped on the curb and hit head first into the door. she went down and stayed down. they called 911 immediately and they didn't arrive until 25 minutes later. there were 2 people trying to keep the woman calm, comfortable, and down on her back. an independent ambulance service must have heard the call and rode by to see if a county ambulance had arrived yet, and when they hadn't, she stopped to offer assistance until they did. DD asked me to go and get a bag of ice, so i did. RC asked me to have all customers go out the side door, as well as enter there. i had a volunteer brace open the side door for entrance into the store. the ambulance finally came and took her to the hospital. i tried to get a look at her, but she didn't look familiar to me. poor thing. i just hope she doesn't sue. sigh. but as long as she is ok, i guess that is all that matters.

DD was pacing the floor, not knowing what to do. you could tell he was afraid that someone was going to sue. we got through it all. and the big wigs came today, i guess without warning. they had the CS guys move all the hanging signs from the ceiling to an even line. i call it busy work, lol.

AD's daughter, L'il K. brought her little 8 month old chihuahua today. i don't usually like chihuahuas, but i really bonded with this little one. she is a little pudgy thing, and when i took her in my arms, she snuggled up into my hair and tried to go to sleep. i carried her around like that while i worked, for a little while. she followed me when i put her back into her box. i had to put her back again and close the inner office door. every time she saw me, she would run up to me and beg me to take her. i couldn't resist.

then, one of the CS guys finished his time there, so went home, got his pomeranian, and brought her up there. of course, i had to hold her too, lol. she smelled like a dog, though, l0l. she wasn't as friendly either.

so i guess i dog sat today, l0l. it was fun.

well, i am not feeling well. i have a horrible headache, and for the last 2 days, every time i get a horrible headache, i have a nose bleed. so i am going to go and lay down. the presidente is talking, but i ain't listening.

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PEOPLE NEVER CEASE TO AMAZE ME....

2009-02-23T21:22:00.003-05:00

i figured today would be a dull, quiet day, being monday and us not having any sales at work. man was i ever wrong.

RC worked with me again today. we get along most of the time, and did so wonderfully today. but she did something again today that truly shocked me. now, the RC stands for Resident Christian. she can do no wrong, and never does.......humph.

things were going well in the morning. there were numerous customers milling around, looking at things, talking amongst themselves. one of my favorite customers, P, was there when we opened. shortly after we opened one of the CS guys brought up a brand new DVD player with remote. he placed it on the table up front with the TV's and VCR's. P walked over and said she would like to get that DVD player, as soon as someone priced it. i told P that if no one bought it during the day, i was going to buy it. RC walked over and said she hadn't seen it before, she would take it to the back in a minute and have Miss S. price it.

P walked off and continued shopping. another customer walked up and picked up the DVD player and asked me how much. i called RC over and told her someone else was interested in the DVD player. RC said again that she didn't have any idea how much as she didn't know anything about it, that she would have to take to the back and get a price. in the meantime, one of the 3 women that were together shopping brought a beautiful floral centerpiece over and asked how much. i knew already since dozens of folks had looked at it, but thought it was too pricey. i told her it was $19.99. she went off. omg, no way that is worth that. i made mention that at the craft store where i used to work, one like that would sell for $59.99 or more. she haughtily said, "well send it back to _ _ _ _ _ where it belongs and someone will pay that for it". she then continued to gripe about how high the prices were on things. when RC came back over to the register, i told her that everyone thought the price was too high on the floral piece. well, RC then said "well i am sorry, that is what i was told to price it at, since it is well worth more than that". then the customer said "i guess i am just going to have to stop shopping here, things are too expensive". RC said, "well, if you feel that way, maybe you SHOULD shop somewhere else". well, then all 3 of the customers that were together started mouthing off out loud across the store to each other about how rude RC was. of course, RC took offense since she can do no wrong, and bantered back with them, telling them if they didn't like the prices or the people, they should shop elsewhere...................ruh roh. then, one of the women asked again if anyone was going to price the DVD and RC grabbed it up, took it to the back and got Miss S. to price it. she came back with it priced at $19.99, which, for a brand new DVD player with remote "ain't bad". the woman went off again about the price, and then P came over and told me she would buy it for me and give it to me if i wanted it, and i told her no, i didn't need it. the 3 women started up again.

one woman said she could buy a brand new one still in the box for that price (which she couldn't, unless it would out of rufus's trunk on the corner up the street). RC told her it WAS brand new still in the box, and the customer said "how do you know it was in the box? where is the box?"

ok, this is where RC went off. she said it was in the box in the back, but we don't put out boxes with the merchandise. and if she didn't like the way we priced things, it was best for her and her group to leave. double ruh roh.

the 3 women walked away, got over in a corner and were talking amongst themselves. RC just happened to have to go to that same corner to place some merchandise out, and the women were talking loudly ABOUT RC, but not TO RC. RC wheeled around, said something nasty to the 3 women, and one spoke up and said "i wasn't even talking to you, you need to just shut up!"

ok, it was time for me to go to the back and get something more to drink.........and tell the director that he might want to go up to the front. he said he knew about the situation, that RC had already told him about it. ok. chicken doodoo.

i went back to the front and all 3 of the women came up to me and asked me the "rude" woman's name. well, even though i know they were sorta in the right, i didn't want to be the one to give out her name. so i told them they would have to talk to the director, and i would call him out there if they wanted me to. they did. so...........i called DD on the intercom, asked him nicely to come to the register, and RC walked out of the office where DD was, said he was in a meeting, and did i want her to come assist me with something..............HELL NO, you are the problem. sheeesh. i gave each of the women our business card with our director's name on it and told them they would just have to call him and talk to him about the situation. they all bought something, treated me like a queen, patted my hand and thanked me for being so kind and helpful and they would be back, but only because of the nice way I treated them. whew..........

so once again, it was not ME that caused a problem, it was the one employee one would never think it could be.

sometimes i wish i could find another job, but it would be something as bad or worse no matter where i went. i am just glad to have a job............

oh, by the way, during the melee about the dang DVD, i went over and grabbed it off the table in front of DD, RC and P, and said i would buy the dang thing for the full price on it, for it was well worth it. so when things quieted down, i asked RC to come ring me up for the DVD and she said she was so sick of that dang DVD that i could have it and don't ever mention it again...........

SO I HAVE A BRAND NEW DVD PLAYER AND FOR FREEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

now i have to get some DVD's, lol. i don't have a single one, lol.

the rest of my day went very well. actually, my whole day went well, lol.

thanks for letting me rant and rave over my job. i know you are all tired of hearing about it, but you know, this is my way of venting, and even if i don't get any comments, or only a couple, at least i won't go and kill somebody or something because i did vent and got it out of my system.....

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WHAT THE.................???

2009-02-22T22:08:00.004-05:00

I would be remiss if I didn't ocassionally report the atrocities at work. So, briefly, this is what happened on Saturday.

RC, Miss S., and MW were at work with me. RE, a volunteer who comes in later in the day if he doesn't have to work, loves the Georgia Bulldogs and usually gets all the shirts, caps, belts, etc. that come through the store with the Bulldogs logo.

There is a customer who is a bit pushy about "giving" her things for free or at a greatly reduced price. She and RC are usually close buddies, having been to lunch together numerous times, the customer, Mrs. J. usually buying. Mrs. J. doesn't like MW at all, and vice versa.

Well, Mrs. J. came in, and brought a Georgia Bulldogs jersey up to the counter to show me. It was white, with red accents and the GA Bulldogs logo. It looked brand new, but was the regular shirt price instead of "new shirt" price, so Mrs. J. was ecstatic that she found it. She also found a little breath freshening kit in the back of the store in a little bin where we keep lotions, mouthwashes, etc. She said she was going to buy that and give it to DD, our boss, who we all have to admit has really bad breath.

I was working the register and Mrs. J. was talking to me about different things when RC came up to the register and noticed the shirt. She glared at me (black-eyed glare) and asked why on earth did i think it was right for me to sell that shirt or even offer it to anyone. Mrs. J. was standing right there. I told her that I "didn't offer it", that Mrs. J. said it was on the shirt rack with the other shirts. RC took it away from Mrs. J. and told her it wasn't for sale. I was appalled. If I had been Mrs. J., I would have insisted that I be able to purchase the shirt or there would be H to pay. I had several customers after that, so turned my back to the situation between RC and Mrs. J., but after I finished with my customers, I turned around and apologized to Mrs. J. She shook her head and said she didn't realize she was doing anything wrong. I told her she wasn't, that if an item is hung out on the rack and has a colored tag in the neck, IT IS FOR SALE!! Then Mrs. J. told me that RC even took away the little mouth freshener kit. She said it was in her drawer in the back and she didn't know how it got out on the floor. Sheeeesh!

There has been talk about RC and the male volunteer, RE, having a fling. RC is a hoity toity "Christian Lady" who lost her husband several years back and says she will never love or marry again. Now RE is a whole different ball game, lol. He is a sexual deviant (of course, it is mostly kidding around, but he does love his sex) and though he claims to be a Christian, one can sometimes doubt it. He and RC go out to eat alot, and when asked if they are an item, they say they are just friends. But after the way RC reacted to the new GA Bulldogs shirt which she planned on giving to RE, I have to wonder just what is their relationship. Of course, it is none of my business.............even though RE sends me all the really funny and um, dirty, emails. I know, I shouldn't be that way.

Well, back to work tomorrow to see what else is gonna happen. I am over the flu, but there is a little faery sitting in the back of my throat with a feather, constantly tickling the back of my throat. I wish she would move on...............

Hope everyone out there has a great week.

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PEDIATRICIANS, HAILSTORMS AND VIOLINS

2009-02-20T00:09:00.006-05:00

yesterday morning (wednesday) i was watching willard scott do the birthdays of those 100 and over, and just as i stepped into the bathroom, i heard a name that sounded familiar. Dr. Leila Denmark. now, why is this a special name? well, you see, first of all, the woman was 111 years old yesterday. and...........she was my pediatrician. yep, MY PEDIATRICIAN. they announced her name on a nationally syndicated morning show, and she WAS MY PEDIATRICIAN. and she resides in a small town about 10 miles from here. to make this more amazing, about 20 years ago i was in a opthamologist's office in atlanta and i saw a door on my way in that said "Dr. Regina Gabler, OBGYN. Dr. Gabler had been my mother's OBGYN back when i was born in 1954 and was still in practice. i haven't checked lately to see if she is still practicing. the picture they showed on tv of Dr. Denmark showed a woman who was old, but earned every wrinkle by taking care of sick children for nearly 75 years. i was just so elated to see she was still alive.

Leila : The Life, Accomplishments, and Philosophy of Dr. Denmark : The Story of an 89 Year Old Pediatrician Who Is Still Practicing Medicine
Starring: Leila Denmark Format: VHS

(this was published 22 years ago)

we had the most amazing thunder/hailstorm last night. it was so intense it even brought the downstairs neighbor and me together. i heard the tornado warning sirens downtown. there were 2 of them. one at 6 pm and another 15 minutes later. i knew what was coming next. about 3 minutes after the last siren, the hail started. it pelted the window air-conditioner and the windows, as well as the tin roof. i walked into the kitchen to get something to drink when the wind started blowing sideways. there is already a crack across the lower portion of the window above my kitchen sink, and i was afraid it was going to blow right out into the middle of the floor and hit me. it leaked, but never broke again. the lightning was bright and seemed to be right over the house. i looked downstairs to the front door and there stood my downstairs neighbor. i walked down and we went out on the porch and watched the rain, the wind, the hail, the lightning. after the storm ended we could smell the broken evergreens nearby. the scent of pine needles and sap was amazing. i just soaked up the smell. i also caught the scent of something else. burning wiring. it was coming out of the neighbor's apartment. i went in and checked it out, but nothing. we went back to our own units and that was that. i hate i didn't have my camera with me. the sky was pitch black within seconds of the beginning of the storm, but there was one cloud that hovered over the church across the street from us. the lightning made the cloud dance. it was as if the cloud was a scrim and the lightning a disco light going off behind it. it was a amazing. the picture below was taken by someone living in Fayetteville, about 15 miles to my west. see how big the hail was there?

i would also like to take this opportunity to thank one of my friends, nelishia, for getting me hooked on freecycle. today i picked up a really nice white wood bathroom cabinet that i plan on using in my kitchen, as well as a unique and beautiful amber colored all glass violin lamp. it is exactly like the one pictured below. i haven't purchased a bulb for mine yet, but it is the same as this one.

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THE DANGER OF GRANDCHILDREN

2009-02-17T01:26:00.004-05:00

one of the numerous new acquaintances i have made in the poetry club i joined is a wonderful irish widower, named shaun. not only is he a very smooth, eloquent and talented poet, he has a hilarious wit about him. he has given me permission to re post a blog entry he made on the poetry site about his day out with his grandson. anyone who has grandchildren and has spent a day out with them will fully identify with him. of course, i am still awaiting the day i will be blessed with grandchildren to spoil and send home. so, please read, and ENJOY!!

The Danger of Grandchildren ( Based on the adventures of Jordan F. )

Having spent two hours shopping in town, I decided to find a cafe where I could relax with a cup of coffee. Against my better judgment I had taken my grandson with me, which was the ultimate reason for the following chaos. Eventually finding what I thought was a suitable place, we went inside and took our seats at a table which had steel chairs fastened to the floor. Why anyone would want to steal these chairs was puzzling, but the fact that they were quite low and two feet from the table raised a question. Was it possible I had perhaps taken a table exclusively reserved for tall portly midgets? As I pondered the situation, nearly ten minutes passed and I began to think that the only way to find a waiter in this establishment would be to hire a private detective!

With all my attention focused on the service counter, I did not notice that my grandson had decided to relieve the boredom by opening a tiny plastic cup of milk which obviously was for the coffee. Unfortunately he had opened most of them and had his side of the table looking like a lake in the middle of winter. He had also opened the little packets of sugar and was now creating what looked like ice crystals on the frozen lake.

Before I could do anything, a youth with an acne scarred face and staring eyes arrived in front of me, looked at the table and asked if we would like anything. I was tempted to say that I would like to be served preferably by someone of my own species who had scrubbed their fingernails that morning, but I resisted the temptation. The alien waiter produced two paper napkins, a plastic knife and spoon, one paper plate and retired to his spaceship with an order of coffee, biscuits and diet coke.

Looking around the cafe and wondering if I had entered another dimension, I suddenly heard the sound of something tearing. My grandson had taken possession of the plastic knife and was proceeding to render the menu card into the smallest pieces imaginable. Now there are two basic types of plastic knife, one of which is blunt and the other serrated. Occasionally the manufacturer gets it wrong and the serrated knife is much sharper than it is supposed to be. No prizes for guessing which knife my grandson had!

The pieces of sliced card had transformed into miniature boats and were now assembled as a flotilla on the frozen lake he had created. Grabbing a plastic knife from a child of three was possibly the biggest mistake I made that day, apart from walking into this cafe. With a squeal that could be heard two streets away, he withdrew the knife blade from my hand, cutting my index finger and I think, narrowly missing a vein in my wrist. Drops of blood joined the boats on the lake and the table now resembled a modern art painting which I attempted to clean with the paper napkins. I do not know how the napkins were manufactured, but it certainly had no effect on the rain forest as they were about two microns thick. I tried in vain to clean the table and smiled softly at the other customers as I squeezed the little hand until it dropped the bloodstained knife.

Soon the alien waiter arrived with the order. As he looked at the table his mouth dropped open, fortunately reminding me to make a dental appointment the next week. He then asked if I would need some more napkins to clean up the mess. I wondered if the cafe would have about ten thousand in stock, which would allow me at least a few centimeters of paper to mop up. Thanking him for his assistance and having done my best to clean the table, I decided with a sense of foreboding to try the coffee. Forgetting that my grandson had destroyed all of the sugar, I promptly emptied two small packets of salt into my coffee and stirred vigorously. As I swallowed the first mouthful I realized there was something terribly wrong and called the waiter. Looking at me through reptilian eyes, he said no one else had any complaints and the coffee was always fresh. With this useless piece of information ringing in my ears he then made a quick getaway. I though perhaps this was a bad dream, I was not really in a cafe, but inside an alien spacecraft with peculiar seating.

I was suddenly brought back to earth as I noticed some dark brown fluid dripping down the back of a customer at the next table. My grandson had obviously developed the art of propelling diet coke through a straw at high velocity. Trying to remain calm in this clear and present danger, I forcibly removed the straw from between the tiny clenched teeth. My grandson having lost the straw was now determined not to lose the glass, which he seized with both hands, spilling the entire contents over the table and unfortunately my trousers. The glass, which now seemed to have a mind of its own, bounced off the table, and smashed into thousands of pieces against the far wall.

As customers dived for cover, the cafe staff having decided I was a reformed lunatic still under psychiatric care, offered more coffee and coke at no charge. The plan was obviously to get me and my demonic grandson out as soon as possible, thus reducing the possibility of bodily injury to innocent customers, not to mention multiple lawsuits.

I declined the offer in fear of what might happen next and decided to leave, as I was not in a financial position to completely refurbish an entire cafe. Making my way past the terrified customers I stopped at the cashier to pay the bill. As I fumbled in my waterlogged trousers for money I quickly learned a scientific fact that not many people know. Diet coke has an incredible shrinking effect on trousers and I was unable to put my hand into my pocket, which now appeared to be about three inches wide. I explained to the suspicious cashier that I had money but it was difficult to produce at this moment. With a sneering grin she replied, “They all say that”. During this embarrassing explanation the problem was quickly resolved as my grandson inserted his hand into my pocket and pulled out a fistful of coins which he then scattered on the floor. Using the best excuse I could find, I informed the cashier that I had a bad back and she could keep the change.

My normal disposition had now suddenly changed to a mixed mode of embarrassment, humiliation and nervous exhaustion. Grabbing the tiny hand, I left the cafe and walked quickly to the car, wondering if this child in future years would become a world renowned painter or demolition expert. As I proceeded with the best speed possible in wet trousers, my grandson attempted to escape from my hold. This he succeeded in doing and as I bent down to catch the elusive hand I unfortunately walked into a telephone pole which some stupid company had obviously put in the wrong place.
Stunned and brought to my knees but still holding the tiny hand in a death grip, I was surrounded by onlookers who enquired about my state of health. As I was unable to speak clearly, a debate began on whether I was epileptic, diabetic or drunk. The biggest insult came from an elderly lady who remarked that I was obviously incontinent!

After a few minutes begging the bystanders not to call an ambulance, I got to my feet and reached my car. However, the person who decided I was drunk in charge of a three year old child was not satisfied and called the police. How I hate cell phones!
The police duly arrived to find me sitting in the car with a large bump on my head, wet trousers, a cut finger and near to tears. After being told to blow into a breath analyzer and walk in a straight line, I replied I could do neither, due to mental and physical injuries, but the police insisted they would have to “look into this”.
As I had only one nerve left and everybody was getting on it, I replied that some workmen were digging a hole in the ground nearby and why did the police not look into that! Within two minutes my car was locked and my grandson and I were conveyed to the nearest police station. I was accused of not providing a breath sample, attempting to drive a car under the influence of drink or drugs and the possibility of child abduction. Following legal representation, medical examination and two finger sutures, I was released without charge. The police against all my protests gleefully telephoned my wife to collect my grandson and what was once a normal human being who had now lost the will to live. When I arrived home I looked into a mirror to examine my head injury. I immediately recognized the face, but I could not remember the name.

Husbands and wives sometimes have different opinions, but on this occasion I totally agreed with her when she said “you will never take this child into town again!’

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A VERY AMAZING DAY

2009-02-12T00:22:00.003-05:00

i had a truly amazing day today.

after having a severe toothache on last thursday and friday, then coming down with the flu friday night and keeping it full strength till tuesday afternoon, i feared today was going to be extremely tough on me. i sat, totally lost, this morning, trying to decide what medicines to take with me to help ease my discomfort while at work today. it all wasn't necessary.

usually after the flu you are debilitated for at least a week, possibly more. you are weak, hungry but have no desire to eat, and feel like you are living your life under a sea of jello.

that was not the case today. i got up 30 minutes earlier to insure i was going to be able to get everything done and to work on time. i was showered, dressed and sitting at the computer 35 minutes too early to go to work. sigh.............

when i got to work i saw that only MW, EJ, AD, DD, and YO were working today besides me. that usually means that EJ wouldn't be there until at least 10 instead of her scheduled 9 am. MW would be barking at me and everyone else all day because that is just her mean spirited way. DD would hide from everyone all day by "running errands", "taking important calls" (on his cell phone). YO would still be sore from having her gall bladder taken out just a few days ago so would be barking at everyone as well. and it was intake day, which is the only day each month that we accept calls from the general public requesting emergency help with their mortgage, rent, utility bills, medication, etc. so the phones would be ringing off the hook and AD would be assisting them. i almost turned around and left, saying i suddenly didn't feel well, lol.

for starters, i arrived at the same time DD did. he walked me into the building talking niceties to me, asking how i felt, and telling me about his recent vacation cruise to haiti and around that area out of the keys in florida. once inside, i noticed one of my favorite community service workers was there (she is preggers), so that was a plus. YO spoke, asked me how i was feeling, and we talked about her surgery, all in a friendly manner. so far so good. MW came out and she spoke. she mentioned that there wouldn't be anyone to help me with long lines since there was only the one girl, but we would be able to get through it all ok. mmmmmm. then AD came in and hugged my neck, asked how i was feeling and showed me her horrible spider bite that has her right arm swollen up in the bite site really bad. not long after, EJ showed up for work.........not on time, but not an hour late, either. things were looking up.

i told my boss i would need to have my chair back at the counter for i would be very weak and would need to sit a lot. i think i sat down maybe 3 times all day. i had an abundance of energy, never once felt any "flu-like" pain and coughed very little. my customers were very nice, some said they had missed me and no one seemed to fear that i might pass on the old flu bug to them. i assured them i was no longer contagious.

i only had one small problem with a woman who "walked in" to see AD for an appointment and we don't take walk-ins. i tried to explain that to her, and she started getting an attitude. she said she had called for the last hour and no one answered. i told her that for some reason one of our lines was offline, so we only had the one line coming in, and that AD was taking all those calls, and when the money ran out, it was gone. she huffed, said it wasn't fair, demanded to see AD and looked like she was going to go off on me, and do me bodily harm. now i realize where she probably was. she was more than likely about to be evicted or have something shut off or both, but rules are rules, and i was told by AD herself that she WOULD NOT TAKE WALK-INS. i sorta feared the woman would turn around and attack me. some of the CS guys were standing around, so as the woman neared the door, i said sorta loudly, BODYGUARDS!!! BODYGUARDS!! the woman left and the guys just laughed at me. some help they were, lol.

around lunchtime my downstairs neighbor came into the store. she spoke to me first, seemed very happy to see me, and started talking up a blue streak. it was as if she had never stolen from me and we had never had words. i actually was happy it turned out that way. she saw a blouse she liked and asked me if i thought it was her.........i said yes, and told her to try it on. then EJ came up and relieved me for lunch so i didn't see my neighbor again when i got back.

i went to mrs. winners for lunch and enjoyed my fried chicken wings. i came back to work and the rest of the afternoon went very smoothly.

we closed at 5, i finished up counting the drawer, putting up the money in the safe, and i clocked out and went home. when i pulled up to my house, there was a tractor part of a tractor-trailer rig parked directly in front of my driveway. i sat behind him for a few seconds, then blew my horn. he sat there looking at me out his window like "WTF do you want?". i kept blowing till he finally got the message and moved up. i pulled into the drive. i had decided before leaving work that i was going to do something nice. my neighbor hadn't bought the blouse, so i took it home to her. i pulled around back to see if she were home and she walked up from around front while i was at her door. i gave her the blouse and she said that was such a sweet gesture. she HAD tried it on, and it was a little snug. but i told her to do with it whatever she pleased, it was hers.

we stood there leaning on my car for about 30 minutes "catching up" on all we have missed by not talking to each other. she was very nice, and i was too. she mentioned how she has grown less and less fond of our landlord, the mayor, and how she wished she had never let him bully her into getting rid of her kitty. i thought maybe she had found out about my kitty and was trying to get me to confess. but it was only because all my wild kitties were gathering around us while we talked waiting to be fed by me. it made her miss her kitty.

i explained to her about the way the landlord tried to get me to pay the $60 gas deposit again, and she needed to check her own bill to see if he tried to do it to her as well. she thanked me.

we finally ended the conversation because she was headed to church. it was actually nice. i still don't fully trust her, but it is a great start.

now, i left this part of the conversation out so that i could add it separately. this is rather funny. part of our discussion was about ghosts. she is really spooked (no pun intended) about strange noises she cannot explain. first of all, she knows that i believe that the landlord's mother, who died in the downstairs hallway, is still here with us. so, my neighbor asked me if i ever hear things. i told her i do, but i usually can explain them away. she told me this funny story.

she and her grandson were in the kitchen saturday evening after dark fixing something to eat. suddenly she heard someone say "OHHHHHHHHH". she couldn't tell if male or female, and it was not really a ghostly chanting, but just like someone in the room was sighing from being tired or sick or something. she said the hair on her arm stood up and she turned to her grandson, who i believe is near 10, and asked him if he had heard something. he said yep, he had. she asked what. he said it sounded like someone said "OHHHHHHHHHH". she said she knew then she had heard a ghost or something. that is why she was in such a hurry tonight to get to church to ask her pastor about it. being Christians, why were she and i experiencing ghosts?

i didn't say anything to her about it, but when i got back up to my part of the house, i sat and thought about what she had heard. what could it have been.........in other words, what normal occurance could it have been? then i remembered that on saturday i was hurting soooooo badly from the flu, that when i went into the bathroom (which is right over her kitchen area) and sat on the porcelain throne, i "OHHHHHHED". the pain from going from standing to sitting and crushing my fever-inflamed organs together was so intense, i had to yell out. now........this may or may not have been the sound she heard, but i am willing to bet the 2 cents that i have that it was. i am just going to sit back and enjoy it.

oh, i hate the fact that she smokes so heavily at night and it comes into my apartment. she told me tonight she was trying to quit, and was down to 1 pack a day now. she also asked me not to mention to the landlord that she smoked. i am sure he knows it, since it reeks of cigarette smoke down there.

i have more stuff to relate, but i am tired, sleepy and have already written a book, so better sign off.

nite nite.............

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DO I HAVE TO???

2009-02-10T23:38:00.002-05:00

i don't WANT to go back to WORK!!! you can't make me!! this is illegal, put me down, let go of me............i WANT to be lazy!!!! i am USED to being lazy!!!!

it is official, i go back to work tomorrow. my fever is gone, but now the coughing has started. i guess i am not contagious, but i HAVE to go back to work. i have to feed, clothe, and house myself. well, i could depend on another, but that wouldn't be fair either.

anywho, for all of you out there (you know who you are) who have sent me comments and emails of well wishes, thanks so much. i just haven't been THAT sick for many years.

just remember, one never knows what tomorrow holds, so hug and kiss someone you love tonight and tell them you love them (BUT WEAR A FACEMASK!!!).

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A ONE DAY REPRIEVE

2009-02-10T01:40:00.005-05:00

(i'm feeling well enough for a date!!)

slowly but surely i am beginning to feel human again. today i took a chair out on my little back porch and sat in the sun for about an hour. my wild kitty, gray, came up and graced me with her presence, in need of something to eat. she had been in a fight lately, for the scars were showing on her side. she is such a loving little thing, i wish i could tame her and afford to take her to the vet and have everything done to make her a housecat. but i am sure miss coatie wouldn't care much for that. so, hopefully, gray will be smart enough to avoid fights in the future.

sitting in the sun made me feel better. my temps still ran in the 100 range, but i didn't have the really achy feeling i had been having. and i am starving, which is a good sign. all i could think about today was getting some of those almost orgasmic onion rings my friend brought me at work that day. but i knew greasy food wasn't what i needed. and i am still not strong enough to get in the car and go get them.

i called my boss on his cell today and got his voicemail. but he never called back. i found out later that he still wasn't back from his vacation and didn't have a signal. i then tried to call RC around 7 to see what she thought i should do about tomorrow. i need to work, and i know they need me, but if i am running a fever and still have the flu, i am endangering everyone around me, and we have a lot of elderly customers. RC wasn't home. so i tried calling my boss again and got him. he wasn't even aware i was out of work on saturday with the flu, lol. he said not to come in if i was still sick. a little while later, RC called me back and told me the same thing. she also told me that MW was going to go and sit down with the boss tomorrow and tell him that KW, the newest employee, wasn't worth a dang, and she needed to go. see what i miss when i am not there?? all i know is that she didn't seem the least bit concerned about me being sick when i called in that saturday. just miffed she would have to pull more than her share of the load. RC said that she went home early today saying she had gone to the dentist and things didn't go well so she wasn't coming back in today.

so, i guess i better get my act together before wednesday, for i will have to work 4 days in a row to make up for time off.

i think i am going to actually try to drive to sonic tomorrow and get me something to eat and drink. i might even go over to uncle sam's and get some of those orgasmic onion rings, lol.

thanks to all who have offered me words of encouragement during my illness. you just don't know how much it means.

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THE CAVALRY ARRIVED TODAY

2009-02-08T21:55:00.004-05:00

yippee, the cavalry came today............

i called my daughter to ask her if she would bring me some fried chicken from Mrs. Winners. i had already eaten the few things that were easy to fix in the kitchen, and was down to stuff i had to stand and cook, and knew that wasn't going to happen. she said she would be glad to.

when she arrived an hour later, she had the chicken AND 2 boxes of flu meds, one for daytime, one for nighttime. and i didn't even ask her for meds.........but she brought them AND wouldn't let me pay her for anything. seeeeee, she did listen to me when i was raising her. she is a good kid, really. and i truly love her. we just went through some hard times for about 4 years.

i am finally sweating (i know, WTMI) so i guess that is good. i have been fighting 101.9-102.6 temps all day. and i only have one more day off work, so i gotta get to feeling better. if i don't get rid of this fever, i AM NOT going to work. i cannot even stand up for more than 5 minutes, and today is the first day i have been out of the bed for more than an hour at a time.

hopefully i am on the mend.................

i need a hot toddy........

I'VE BEEN BITTEN

2009-02-07T22:16:00.003-05:00

well gang, the old flu bug has taken its toll. my temp earlier today had shot up to 101.9, which for me is 4.3 degrees of fever. i am taking ibuprofen, and have some other items to take before bed, but i cannot even sit up long enough to write anything, and my hands are typing something entirely different than what my fevered brain are telling them to. so not sure if i will be around tonight to post or read and comment. if my fever breaks and i feel better, i might see you. otherwise, goodnight for now...............

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzz

FLU AND PICTURE POSTS

2009-02-07T02:57:00.003-05:00

just wanted everyone to know how miserable i am..............you know, misery loves company!!

i have the flu. first time in 43 years. and i know where i got it.......from work.....grrrrrrrrrr.

i also wanted to let you each know that i have posted 2 blogposts with some outstanding and amazing pictures. the entries are:

http://apageunturned.blogspot.com/2009/02/gods-amazing-creatures.html

and

http://apageunturned.blogspot.com/2009/02/northern-lights-and-ice-crystal-rainbow.html

if you haven't already visited, i would suggest taking a peek.

ok, off to bed i go..........i have to get up early to call in sick to work............then back to bed........

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PUBLIC TOILET SEATS

2009-02-06T03:12:00.006-05:00

the following is not of my own writing. it is something i found back in 2004 on a joke site and couldn't wait to post it to my then journal, SEDUCTION OF LIFE. as i was looking over some of my older entries, i came across this and decided it was high time to share it again with my new readers. so if you have seen or heard it before, forgive me. i feel it is well worth a second or third read, as it not only is hilarious, but so very true...........enjoy.

my mother was a fanatic about public toilets. as a little girl, she would bring me in the stall, teach me to wad up toilet paper and wipe the seat. then she'd carefully lay strips of toilet paper to cover the seat.

finally, she would instruct, "never sit on a public toilet seat, for a bad lady might have just used this toilet." and then she would demonstrate "THE STANCE", which consisted of balancing over the toilet in a sitting position without letting any of your flesh make contact with the toilet seat. by this time i would have peed down my leg, and we would go home.

that was a long time ago. i've had lots of experience with public toilets since then, but i am still not particularly fond of public toilets, especially those with the powerful red-eye sensors. these toilets know when you want them to flush. they are psychic toilets. but i always confuse their psychic ability by following my mother's advice and assuming "THE STANCE."

"THE STANCE" is excruciatingly difficult to maintain when one's bladder is especially full.
this is most likely to occur after watching a full-length feature film. during the "movie pee" it is nearly impossible to hold "THE STANCE."

you know what i mean. you drink a two-liter cup of diet coke, then sit still through a three-hour saga because, for goodness sake, even if you didn't wipe or wash your hands in the bathroom, you'd still miss the pivotal part of the movie, or the scene where they flash the leading man's naked derriere.

so, you cross your legs, and you hold it. and you hold it till that first credit rolls and you sprint to the bathroom, about ready to explode all over your internal organs.

at the bathroom, you find a line of women that makes you think there's a half-price sale on mel gibson's underwear in there. so, you wait, and smile politely at all the other ladies, also crossing their legs and smiling politely. and you finally get closer. you check for feet under the stall doors. every one is occupied. you hope no one is doing frivolous things behind those stall doors, like blowing her nose, or checking the contents of her wallet.

finally a stall door opens and you dash, nearly knocking down the woman leaving the stall. you get in, to find the door won't latch. it doesn't matter. you hang your handbag on the door hook, yank down your pants and assume "THE STANCE." relief. more relief.

then your thighs begin to shake. you'd like to sit down but you certainly hadn't taken time to wipe the seat or lay toilet paper on it, so you hold "THE STANCE" as your thighs experience a quake that would register an eight on the richtor scale.

to take your mind off it, you reach for the toilet paper. might as well be ready when you are done. the toilet paper dispenser is empty. your thighs shake more. you remember the tiny napkin you wiped your fingers on after eating buttered popcorn. it would have to do. you crumple it in the puffiest way possible. it is still smaller than your thumbnail.

someone pushes open your stall door because the latch doesn't work and your pocketbook whams you in the head. "occupied!" you scream, as you reach out for the door, dropping your buttered popcorn napkin in a puddle and falling backward, directly onto the toilet seat.

you get up quickly, but it is too late. your bare bottom has made contact with all the germs and life forms on the bare seat because YOU never laid down toilet paper, not that there was any, even if you had had enough time to. and your mother would be utterly ashamed of you if she knew, because her bare bottom never touched a public toilet seat because frankly, "you don't know what kind of disease you could get."

and by this time, the automatic sensor on the back of the toilet is so confused, that it flushes, sending up a stream of water akin to a fountain and then it suddenly sucks everything down with such force that you grab onto the toilet paper dispenser for fear of being dragged to china.

at that point, you give up. you're finished peeing. you're soaked by the splashing water. you're exhausted. you try to wipe with a gum wrapper you found in your pocket, then slink out inconspicuously to the sinks.

you can't figure out how to operate the sinks with the automatic sensors, so you wipe your hands with spit and a dry paper towel and walk past a line of women, still waiting, cross-legged and unable to smile politely at this point.

one kind soul at the very end of the line points out that you are trailing a piece of toilet paper on your shoe as long as the mississippi river. you yank the paper from your shoe, plunk it in the woman's hand, and say warmly, "here, you might need this."

at this time, you see your spouse, who has entered, used, and exited his bathroom and read a copy of war and peace while waiting for you. "what took you so long?" he asks, annoyed. that's when you kick him sharply in the shin and go home.

this is dedicated to all woman who have ever had to deal with a public toilet. and it finally explains to all you men why it takes us so long.

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GOD'S AMAZING CREATURES

2009-02-06T01:27:00.003-05:00

Do you know what these are?? They surround this boat with their beauty, like golden leaves that have fallen from the tree into the water..................

These are Golden Stingrays. They are in migration.

Amazing, aren't they??

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NORTHERN LIGHTS AND ICE CRYSTAL RAINBOW OVER YUKON, CANADA

2009-02-06T00:09:00.004-05:00

ice crystal rainbow (over yukon, canada)

northern lights

beautiful displays of God's handiwork.

hope you enjoy!

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COLD!!!!! AND POETRY

2009-02-05T00:17:00.005-05:00

hello everyone..........you are going to hear something i have never said before (well, maybe only once or twice in my lifetime, lol)..........I AM COLD!!!

i always brag about never turning on my heat because i like the cold AND i like to save money. so, last night it was going to be a very cold night. the forecast was temps in the middle teens, with very high velocity winds making it a wind chill factor of near zero. i like cold, but i am no fool. we went to bed with the gas furnace set on low (i usually just use the pilot light for heat) and curled up under the bunches of cover. coatie was on her heating pad and wouldn't budge from that spot. i fell asleep quickly (i sleep better cold) and awoke near dawn. i rolled over and went back to sleep and when the alarm went off at 8 am, i bounced out from under the covers and my naked feet hit the hardwood floor and MAMA MIA!!!!!!!!!! i thought my feet were going to freeze to the floorboards. i jumped up and grabbed some warm clothing and house shoes and ran to the bathroom. now i only thought it was cold in my bedroom. the bathroom was worse. my fanny froze to the toilet seat. when i went back into the bedroom i felt something wasn't right. usually the pilot light on the furnace keeps it a decent temp in the room, even on cold nights. an example: if it is 15 outside, it is usually 28 inside. so if i want it to be around freezing or higher, i have to turn the furnace from pilot to 1 or 2.

i went to the furnace and reached around back and turned it up.........nothing happened. so i looked at the front and there was no pilot light. ok, how long had this been out?? obviously after going to bed. it was on when i went to bed. i don't know how it would do it, but since the wind was so high last night, maybe it caused it to blow out or sucked it back through the line. not sure, but either way, it was out. i didn't have time to relight it (a feat i haven't mastered). so i tried to shut it off completely and wasn't able to do so. so i cut it down to off so that it wouldn't feed gas into the furnace.

i worried all day that my cat would be asphyxiated while i was at work. when i got home i was glad to see she was fine and the place hadn't burned down or exploded.

i was going to relight the furnace after i ate supper, but got out another electric space heater and set it up in the room in front of the furnace, so with the 2 heaters going, it is fine in here (around 48 degrees). when i go to bed i will shut off the 1 in front of the furnace and keep the 1 next to the bed.

i worked today and there was some drama, but not enough to worry about. i did have a couple of customers that came in and wanted me to put a sold sign on a piece of furniture and when i told them i couldn't do that unless it was paid for, the mother (around 70) said ok, she would do that, but her daughter (around 45) said i was being rude and they shouldn't buy anything. it was too high priced anyway. i just ignored everything the daughter said and kept being nice to the mother and other customers.

there was a rocking cradle for sale and the daughter and the mother asked me about it. they wanted me to come down on the price since the daughter said that piece of furniture had been there for months. i told her it had just come in the day before because i helped put it together. she started to argue with me so L'il K went over and looked at the date on it, and it was the 3rd, yesterday (hahahaha). they bought it and i called community service guy R up to help them put it in their car. i was telling him how to dismantle it, and then i thought he was one of the ones who helped put it together yesterday, and when i asked him if he had helped put it together, the daughter haughtily and loudly said "i thought you said YOU put it together!" i looked her in the eye and told her "no, i said i HELPED put it together". B*TCH!

i found out later that she had asked L'il K if i was the manager. and she had asked R who i was and that she didn't like me at all. ok, sweety, the feeling is definitely mutual. my favorite part was when she came up to the counter and asked me where i was from. i told her i was born and raised in georgia and lived there all my life. she just humphed. grrrrrrrrrrrrr. she thought she was going to get to say "oh you are from the north, no wonder i don't like you" lol.

community service guys, R and S, hung out up front with me most of the afternoon because MW left to go see a house she wants to buy (second time she had left the premises for over an hour) and EJ left for lunch, leaving me there by myself except for the 2 cs guys. 2 suspicious men came into the store so i asked the guys to stick around. R would have taken them both out if i had asked him to. S might have run, lol. i ended up not having any trouble out of either of the men.

i had something really interesting happen to me online tonight. the poetry group that i have been talking about sends out emails for every time someone makes a blog entry or comments on someone's poetry/prose. i had an email marked "FOR REGINA". i was sure it was meaning me, but i opened it to see. a guy from the group who lives in pennsylvania had written me a poem. it was really sweet, but very inventive, since he doesn't know anything about me, lol. i asked him why he had chosen to write ME a poem and he said he thought i had wanted him to. not sure where he got that idea, other than i comment on how well he writes poetry. it was still nice, though.

i must go and catch up on blog reading. i am not really sleepy, so might get it all caught up with tonight. keep warm my friends.

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A TALE OF ONE KITTY

2009-02-03T23:49:00.002-05:00

it is late, i am tired and sleepy, but before i forget, i have, i HAVE to relate this story.

as most of you know, my kitty Coatie is treated like a princess. if i see something at work that i think she will like, or even in the retail stores, if i have the money i will buy it for her.

recently a little foam bed with a sheepskin cover was up for sale at work. i grabbed it, thinking my baby girl would love to curl up in it due to it being small and would surround her nicely, making her feel secure. ok, i found out that MW from work had purchased (yeah, likely story) the bed, took it home for her dog, a pompom, who wouldn't have anything to do with it, so she brought it back to the store and put it out. she claims to have washed it before bringing it back, but it still smelled terribly of cigarettes.

when coatie wouldn't have anything to do with the bed on her own, i tried putting her in it. ok, i should have known better. she really hates it now, since i tried to force her into it. so, i figured i would trick her into liking it. i put all her really cool toys into the bed. mice, feathered critters, balls, etc. then i placed the bed on the foot of my bed, right next to the heating pad covered in a sweater and pillow shams where coatie now sleeps. i turned my back to her and the bed, got online to check mail and other things, turned around about 5 minutes later and all the toys were missing out of the little bed. they weren't on the bed or surrounding the little bed and they weren't on the floor. i got up to go over and look for them and noticed the little purple sweater i put over the heating pad was rolled up. i pulled back the sweater and voila......there were all the toys. i didn't believe that coatie had done this on purpose, that it was just a fluke, so i put all the toys back into the little bed and turned away, sneaking a peek out of the corner of my eye. sure enough, coatie reached over with a paw, swiped at a toy, clawing it over onto the sweater. then another toy, then another, until they were all out and on the sweater. then she took her paw and rolled the sweater back over the toys. i didn't have enough battery power in my digital camera to make a little video of this, but took some pics. i haven't downloaded them to my computer yet, but i do have proof that she did this. it was so hilarious. little sneak.

it is cold and windy here in my neck of the woods. it is going to be in the teens tonight and even lower with the wind chill factor. brrrrrrrrrrr. glad i have lots of cover on the bed.

work was usual today..........drama drama drama. MW wasn't even at work today, but managed to come in and stir things up. she was going to meet a real estate lady to look at a house and came by there to "visit". while she was there, AD confronted her about something that was said that pointed to AD being a thief. of course, even though "I" heard MW say it, she denied it to AD.

then, when it was time to leave today, KW, who is always ready to leave right at or right before 5 pm, allowed one of her friends to hang out in the store and call his wife on his cell and have her come up and look at a piece of furniture we had. i had to go and visit MM, a little older woman who volunteers and i had to take her some things that she had to leave yesterday due to walking home. so i told KW i was going to have to leave, and i talked RE in to staying with her. so now, i am sure that KW will not be nice to me anymore due to me having to leave.

RC bought Miss S and me a fish sandwich today. she went to long john silver's. it was good, but made my tummy hurt.

well, i cannot see to type anymore, since i am so sleepy. so better post and run to the bed.

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MY NEW BIKE........(made ya look)

2009-02-01T04:00:00.003-05:00

do me a favor and go to the bottom of my blog page (on the actual blog itself) and check out my new bike.......i hope you like it...........

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all the way to the bottom of the blog page.........

A VERY PLEASANT EXPERIENCE

2009-02-01T02:17:00.004-05:00

ok, after this post, i am going to shut up about losing readers. i appreciate all that have visited of late and either did or didn't leave comments. but i know it is time to cease the talk when i have a visit from an italian gal. she left her comment in english, and asked me to visit her blog. when i got there, it was in italian. michael is italian, but doesn't speak it. i know ciao, and that is about it, lol. so, to the lovely young lady who commented, i am sorry, but i won't be adding your journal to my list of must reads. but i am glad you visited mine.

i just heard something i haven't heard in the almost 3 years i have lived in this house......A DOG BARKING! most of the houses in this area are boarding or rooming houses or elderly people live here and don't have a fenced in yard for dogs. if anyone has a pooch, it is an indoor one, and probably a yapper. but this was a deep voiced doggy. like maybe a german shephard. it took me by surprise immediately. it may have been a stray runaway and came across one or two of my kitties and that is why it was barking. it is now silent, so i guess it went on its way.

i had a wonderful experience today. as i have mentioned before, i am a member of the yahoo group, freecycle (thanks ne). today i went to pick up some women's clothing that one of the freecyclers offered me after it wasn't picked up by someone else who wanted it. i pulled up directions on mapquest (which is usually a big mistake) and headed that way a little before noon. the directions had stated that parts of the road were dirt/gravel. after getting there, it was ALL dirt/gravel. once, i was almost run over by a bubba redneck in his pickemup truck. as soon as he got off my tail and spun around me, throwing gravel into my grill, he turned into a driveway of what i guess was his house. now why couldn't he have waited 2 seconds more and not have created a dust and gravel screen? i am a born and raised southerner, right here in the state of georgia, but i still can't fathom the mentality of the redneck.

anywho........i eventually found the house where i was to pick up the items. it was a newer home, sitting way back off the dirt road and having much land around it, part woods and part lawn. there was a really big front porch. usually the freecyclers will leave the items to be picked up on their front porch, but there was nothing there, so i rang the bell. a nice looking older man came to the door and when i told him who i was, he said that would be his wifes department. he then invited me into their absolutely beautiful home. now, you have to get a mental grip on this picture........i was wearing my dead rock star black t-shirt, a black scull cap pulled down over my ears to keep the wind out, and looked sorta like a homeless person, lol. and this wonderful man opened his door to me. now that is either faith or stupidity. either way, i met his wife, she got the clothing for me and i shook their hand, talked to them about someone else i knew years ago that lived on their road somewhere, and come to find out, that very woman and her family lived right across the street from this couple. small world. i thanked them for the clothing and their kindness, and went on my way. it was a really good experience for me. especially since the woman came across as sorta snubby in the emails. after meeting her, i think it is because she doesn't type very well, so doesn't type very much, just what is needed to place the ad, or post it has been taken.

i stopped at taco bell on the way home to get a taco salad and when i got home, i thought about the last one i had back when i ate in candlelight and it was so good. it was daylight, so i couldn't darken the room to eat this one. and sure enough, it wasn't as good. but i know why....i have either a sinus infection or a cold. my head was stopped up and i couldn't taste my food. sigh.

i have been blessed with a fairly steady wifi signal for the last few days. i hope it continues. i still have some problems with the screen freezing and other small things, but all in all, it has been great. i used to have to go through hundreds of emails to empty my box, but now, i can answer them as they come online. i have one waiting for me to read right now.....

once again i have typed too much. i need to get into bed as i have another pickup to do tomorrow of some freecycle items. this one is at least on paved roads, lol.

ciao!

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A FUNNY

2009-01-31T22:45:00.002-05:00

while looking for some new graphics,

i came across this animated one.

i thought it was so funny, i had to share.

i hope it comes through on my blog,

because anyone who owns, i mean,

who is owned by a canine, would love to see this.

the next time your pet sticks to the fridge,

you might want to check to see if the magnets are still there.

just tooooo funny.

see, i can enter a short, dramaless post!!!!

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LANDLORD DRAMA

2009-01-30T23:46:00.004-05:00

what a day what a day what a day!

it turned out windy and cold today. temps will be getting colder over the next 48 hours. brrrr.

today was a little bit interesting. of course, there is always the drama at work. today it was 2 customers who were saying i was rude. long story short, i was a little curt with the woman because she was trying to put her basket of items behind the counter with a large picture she wanted. being busy with customers, i quickly told her they had to be put on the side or on the top of the counter. i wasn't rude, just didn't take up time with her since i was busy. she had to complain that the others let her put things behind the counter. then she said she wanted to make sure they would be safe and not sold to someone else. i quickly told her, while still waiting on customers, that if she wanted to guarantee that they would be safe, she would need to get in line, pay for them, and put them in her car.

nothing more was said, and i finished up my line of customers and the complainer was getting some dishes to purchase. i went to the back to get boxes for her dishes, and RC told me that 2 ladies told her that i was rude to one of the women. i went out and asked the first one what i had done that was rude and she said i wasn't rude to her, but to the other woman. i then confronted that woman and she said i was just plain rude to her. i told her i wasn't meaning to be, that maybe she misunderstood what i was trying to convey and she continued to say i was just rude.

i went back to the front and waited on some more customers and had one lady tell me she really liked me, i was always so pleasant and tried to be so helpful. so i guess it just depends on who you are talking to as to if i am nice or rude, lol.

later on AD's husband came up to me and was telling me that he actually confronted the woman who had complained about me and told her that she must be mistaken as to who was rude to her, for i was one of the nicest, jolliest, and helpful employees they had there. she continued to complain about me to him, and then stated that she and RC were friends and she was always nice to her. sigh.............

all this over someone who is spoiled and used to having their way being told "NO" for the first time.

good to know i have the assistant director, her husband and her daughter all on my side.

i also had a little disagreement over the phone with my landlord, the illustrious mayor. when i got my bill from him for the gas service, it itemized the bill and it subtotalled $98.14. but the total was $158.14. that is a $60 difference. since that $60 wasn't listed on the actual bill, but was included in the total, i figured it had to be the $60 cut-on fee, which i have already paid to the landlord 2 months ago. i had no intentions of paying this fee again, so only included the $98 in my payment. i knew i was going to hear from the mayor about it. so, today, i went to the city hall and paid my rent, electric bill and the gas bill ($98). the mayor was on the phone so i paid his secretary as usual.

as soon as i got back to work, my cell rang. it was the mayor.........and of course, he was complaining that i hadn't paid the entire gas bill. i told him i HAD paid the entire bill, that the rest was the connection fee and i had already paid it and wasn't paying it again. he yelled at me over the phone that yes i was going to pay what i owed.

i told him to look at the bill closely and then we would discuss it. he got out the bill and perused it while on the phone and then said i was right, it WAS the $60 connection fee, and yes i HAD already paid it. then he said that he had paid $158.14 just a little earlier in the day, so they OWED HIM $60 back, since he had already paid that when i paid him. it was nice hearing him say i was right, lol.

then when i got home from work the mayor had left me my rent and electric bill for february. there was a note at the bottom thanking me for pointing out the $60 overcharge and telling me he would be contacting me soon about inspecting the apartment. here we go again...........

for some reason i am extremely cold tonight. i don't usually get cold. i think my circulation is really bad. that is what happens when you get old.

i have a lot of things to do tomorrow. i am hardly ever off on saturday, so am taking advantage of being off 2 days in a row to get things accomplished. i have groceries to buy, freecycle items to pick up, onion rings to eat (gotta have some of those orgasmic onion rings, lol) and laundry to wash. i figured i would work really hard to get things done on saturday so that i could sleep on sunday. da boss is out of town on a cruise for over a week, so i am scheduled to work monday, tuesday and wednesday of next week. i hate working 3-4 days in a row. so is life...............

better scoot for the night.

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MISS BLOG-STAR

2009-01-30T22:39:00.003-05:00

my four-legged child is at it again. her head was big enough before, now it is so huge it will need its own pillow. thanks to possum s. hemmingway for this new enlargement...............

check it out: http://coatiescorner2.blogspot.com/

POTPOURRI

2009-01-30T00:56:00.003-05:00

i didn't work today, but did go by work and picked up my check. it was for a dollar more than i had anticipated. sigh..........

i got up around 10 am so that i could place the food items on my porch for the lady from freecycle to come pick up. i couldn't make myself get in gear to go run my errands. i finally got myself motivated by thinking about going to mrs. winners and getting fried chicken for lunch. i need it like i need a hole in the head, but hey, i love my fried chicken.

i drove over to work, found AD outside by her old car (she just bought a new one) with the hood up. i asked her why was she driving the old car and what was wrong with it. she said it was the same ole same ole, even though it was supposed to be fixed 2 days ago. she volunteered to go in and get my check for me, but i got out and went in and got it myself. i didn't go into the store part, just into the office. i wasn't in the mood for seeing any customers or co-workers.

as i was preparing to leave, KW and EJ drove up in EJ's suv. now, KW was mad at EJ all day yesterday, and didn't speak to her at all, all day. but who did she call and ask for a ride when her car wouldn't start this am?? and EJ is just sweet enough a girl that she went and picked her up. i spoke to them, hugged AD and left. i had my chicken lunch and headed south to cash my check. while in town, i went to the post office and had some interesting mail. the SA pays into a retirement fund for each employee after they have been there a year. i got my letter telling me mine had been opened. woohoo. retirement fund........with $0 in it, lol. but at least it IS A RETIREMENT FUND! i don't have one with any other company where i have worked. it will help me balance out my social security, if i get any social security. people laugh at me for saying i would like to retire now and draw my SS. it would be about $400 a month less if i did that instead of waiting till i was 65. but heck, with the government giving away our money left and right to people who are not even citizens of this country, there may not be any left in my account if i wait till 65. i could draw the amount i can get for now, and supplement with working part time. sounds like a plan to me, lol.

i went to the library to try to open my turbotax account to see if i needed to print the form for my signature, and make copies of the return itself. instead, i decided to just load it all on my flashdrive and bring it home and make my copies for free. i saved $1.40.

i went to my little bargain place and bought $1 worth of stuff.....2 bracelets. i also went to the other thrift store in mcdonough and bought a little mother's day plate for $1. then i headed home. i stopped by sonic to get my daily fix of a route 44 diet cherry limeade slush, then on home. the food items were gone off the porch, but i never got an email from the lady saying she got the food. so i hope she did.

i had a good supper of barbecued smoked pork chops and mixed veggies. of course, i was extremely full when i was done. i need to get my sink drain fixed so that i can wash dishes in the kitchen sink again. right now i am washing what i need for each meal in the bathroom sink. i know, disgusting. you do what you have to do to survive.

guess i better get into bed. i have to work tomorrow and i never know what i am going to be faced with. i was going to pay my rent today, changed my mind, decided to do it tomorrow, and then changed my mind again and decided to wait till monday. so i might go out to eat lunch tomorrow, by myself.

have a peaceful sleep and a great tomorrow.

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NEW GUY/MORE DRAMA/A HELPING HAND/TODAY'S QUOTE

2009-01-28T19:59:00.004-05:00

amazing what a guy does for a gal. we, the female species, are always crying out "i am woman, hear me roar!", yet when a really sweet, cute fella comes along, we are the most useless embodiments of jello. we melt, we become totally helpless and do things we normally don't do..........well, most of you out there know the drill.

what am i talking about?? well, you see, my beautiful 23 year old daughter recently dumped her boyfriend of 3.5 years, met and started seeing another guy who she thought was the cat's meow, then dumped him, then, just a week ago, met another cute guy and has already done the jello thing. now, being 55, i don't understand today's "young people's dialogue/vocabulary". she claims this young man is NOT her boyfriend. they are NOT dating. but they ARE talking. ok, i talk to hundreds of people a week, but i am not "dating" them. he has spent the last week having a "sleepover" at my daughter's apartment, but they are not "dating". sigh.

anywho.........this adorably cute young man, who is also 23, had a little speeding problem and has to do some community service. since we use mostly community service people as workers at the SA, my daughter called me on friday of last week to see if i could get him in as a CS worker. it was already after 8:30 am, which usually means we have already taken all the CS workers we can use for that day. i told her to have him come on over and i would try to talk MW or DD into taking him and keeping him. when i asked both of them, they both said NO. they had already turned away 3 guys and couldn't take him. so he made plans to come back on monday and tuesday and be there early enough to get in.

monday morning i got there at my usual time of 8:45 am, and there were about 6 guys and 3 gals standing out back listening to DD. he told them he would take all of them, but that we couldn't take anyone else. i looked at each guy and figured out which one was my daughter's "friend" and introduced myself. he is very sweet, doesn't cuss, doesn't smoke, has great manners and i really like him. he has black hair and blue eyes, my weakness (no i am not after my daughter's friend, lol).

ok, now.........as to my reason for this entry.........

i have worked at the SA for a year and 2 months, and my daughter has NEVER come over to the store and brought me lunch, taken me out for lunch or even asked to come have lunch with me. this guy was at the SA for 2 days, monday and tuesday, and my daughter called me both days and asked me if i wanted something to eat, as she was bringing this guy some lunch and was going to sit and eat with us. now, i could have complained that she only did this because of him, which is the total truth, but i am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. i placed my order with her and sat down and ate lunch with the 2 of them, lol. i offered to pay her back, but she wouldn't let me. so, see how a guy can turn my daughter from a gal who never buys lunch for anyone unless it is their birthday, to a gal who, because of a guy, has brought mom lunch 2 days in a row. now, he wasn't there today, so i didn't even get a call from her asking if i wanted something to eat, lol. but it is ok. i vaguely remember being young.........and loving the attention of a male suitor. she will eventually get the stars out of her eyes, and realize he is just a guy.

i noticed that not only have i lost a lot of commenters, but i have also lost one of my followers. this really saddens me. i feel i have failed my friends out there in blogland by not writing something interesting for them to read. my poetry journal, Somewhere In Time,
http://regina-aoljournalsblog.blogspot.com/ has failed as well. i truly miss all my readers and commenters. i don't feel whole anymore without all of them. i do thank those who have read and commented, and even those who have read and not commented. i just don't know what to do to make my blog more readable, more enjoyable. if you have any suggestions, please, feel free to drop me an email at wumzels2@aol.com, or add a comment. i will take all suggestions into consideration.

of course, i worked today, and OF COURSE, there was drama. after being ruffed up by the sandpaper tongues of MW and YO, i was complimented by my boss, DD. he is about to embark on a cruise over the next couple of weeks, being on vacation. he told me he was counting on me to help keep the peace, and not let the others bother me with their cattiness. in other words, don't call me on the cruise ship.........lol.

there was a hush hush meeting this afternoon with DD, AD and KW. something about KW being in trouble because of something MW complained about her. KW left right at 5, seemingly very upset. KW had been angry with EJ, the other young cashier, all afternoon because she didn't come tell her she was at work. petty petty petty...........................

my online friend, Ne, got me hooked on a yahoo group called Freecycle.com. (link below)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Freecycle_Henry_County_South_Metro/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=26 this group offers items for free as long as you are willing to go and pick them up. i have gotten some nice things and have also offered some things that were picked up by others. recently a woman asked for food for her children. she could be a scammer, but it doesn't matter to me. i have been blessed with lots of canned goods that i will never get around to eating. i belong to a co-op that supplies me with lots of food. so i emailed her and asked if her whole family would eat rice, canned green beans, canned corn, canned carrots and boxed mac and cheese. she emailed back that they would love to have those items. so i put together a box of those items and some gatorade, and will let her pick those up tomorrow sometime. it made me feel really good to help someone in need, and whether she is scamming or not, i have done what i felt was right. it is between her and God if she is not needy. i have been on that side of the fence a lot over the last 5 years, and now that i have been blessed with more than enough food, i feel it is my duty and my desire to help someone else.

it is a really rainy, dreary night, so i should sleep really good. my house has a tin roof and it sounds so good when it rains on it.

today's quote: A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. (Herm Albright)

i better sign off before i have written another novelette.

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LUNCH WITH MY DAUGHTER

2009-01-25T19:10:00.004-05:00

this, is a pig. and what does that have to do with anything?? i had something that belongs to this pig........riblets. let me explain.........

i slept in today since it is the only day i will have off for the next 4 days. my daughter called and woke me up around 12:30 pm. we decided we'd meet at applebee's for lunch at 2 pm. i got ready and headed that way. she called me back while i was on my way to tell me she was going to be a little late. i went on to applebee's and sat for 30 mintues in the car. she got there and we entered. i wasn't sure what i wanted, but i usually get the riblets. after perusing the whole menu, i went back to the same ole same ole......riblets. i got the platter instead of just the basket. and i was glad i did. as usual, they were fantastic. but since the bones are different from most ribs i have eaten, i was curious. so i came home and did some research. i still am not sure where they come from. some say they are the lower part of the ribcage, others say they are from the neck. i guess it doesn't matter, just as long as they don't come fom baby piglets. i couldn't handle that. i was going to post a picture of a cute piggy on this page, but just couldn't write about eating riblets and looking at an adorable little piggy. so, i went for clipart. sorry piggy piggy. but you sure were good.

my daughter and i had a great time. the waiter, wyatt, was a hoot. he is around 30 i would guess, long hair and a great personality. he would sit with us, talk to us, and joke around. we even talked about reviving a band.........yeah right, lol. an old rocker and young rocker together, on tour, hahahahahaha.

amanda and i talked about her new "male friend" (she won't let me call him a boyfriend, yet). he is about as useless as her previous one, but she seems to like him. he DOES work, but as a waiter at red lobster.........oh come on, amanda, get a REAL DUDE IN YOUR LIFE. there is nothing wrong with being on a wait staff, but if you are planning for a future, like with a wife, kids, home, cars, etc., you are going to have to do better than JUST being a waiter. after all, she is already working on her career, and thinking about getting another job to help her pay her bills. one thing i can say about her.......she is a go-getter. and she deserves a man who is the same.

we had good conversation with no fights or arguments. we are both maturing.

one of amanda's friends walked by the table, and i remember her from amanda's high school. they exchanged conversation briefly and the girl left. a friend of mine from when i worked at the craft store saw me, and she came over and sat down with me and talked for about 5 minutes. i thought it funny that my daughter thought she looked like paula deen of cooking and restaurant fame (lady and sons restaurant in savannah, GA). her party was leaving, so she said goodbye and left.

all in all, it was a good afternoon.

my computer is not keeping a good wifi signal, so i don't know if i will be able to return later, so will say "have a good week" here in case i don't get back.

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GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS

2009-01-25T01:02:00.003-05:00

i have some really good news.................I DID MY TAXES ONLINE AND SUBMITTED THEM.

i have some really bad news...................I DID MY TAXES ONLINE AND SUBMITTED THEM.

it didn't take me but half an hour to do them and submit them. but, i am getting back less than half of what i have gotten back for the last 4 years. and i had big plans for that money.......sigh.

i am still having a blast over at nostalgiaramblings, but have decided that i will continue blogging here, at least for now, and try my best to keep up with others' blogs and comment as often as i can. someone made the comment that new friends are like silver, but old friends are like gold. i would miss you guys too much if i left altogether. so, i will try my hardest to hang on here and over there.

i am supposed to have lunch with my daughter tomorrow (she is taking me out for my birthday), but i am not holding my breath. she has a new boyfriend who is having to do community service and she is trying to get him in at the store where i work to do it. i wish she wasn't like me.......she likes those bad boys!

i am going to keep this post really short...

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CHRISTMAS PARTY AND PRAYER REQUEST

2009-01-23T01:56:00.003-05:00

i wanted to post before i went to bed and it is already so late.

we had our office Christmas party tonight at logan's roadhouse grill. it was fun, but we had problems just like last year. i got my steak, supposedly medium well, and it came medium rare, so i sent it back. by the time i got it back, everyone else was packing up the rest of their meal in styrofoam containers, so i put mine in one as well and brought it home for either lunch tomorrow or supper tomorrow night.

i dressed in my goth attire, and was actually complimented by 2 people. i didn't wear my black/pink wig, but did wear a black do-rag with white skulls all over it. we had fun throwing peanuts and joking around.

there was one incident where one of the volunteers, Mrs M, who was sitting beside me, stuck her arm all the way over my plate of food to get the salt, dragging part of her sleeve over my baked potato. i grabbed her arm and yelled "stop, you are all in my food. that is just rude!". she thought i was kidding i guess, because she kept on reaching for the salt. i repeated that it was rude and the other people at the table just stared at me. hell, it was MY food, not theres, and it WAS RUDE. i don't care who it is, i don't want their stuff in my food. i forgave her and we hugged. then she almost did it again..............sheeeeesh!! i guess it is because they are KUNTRY FOLK. you just reach and grab what you need, lol.

for those of you who pray, please keep another of the volunteers, Mr. B, in your prayers. he found out today that he has colon cancer and has to undergo more tests tomorrow to see if he is able to have the surgery. he is a big man, and plays santa claus every year for lots of groups and charities. so please, keep him in your prayers and thoughts. thank you.

gonna scoot for tonight. gotta work tomorrow.

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NO LUNCH FOR THE WEARY....

2009-01-22T01:16:00.003-05:00

the wicked ole MW showed her true colors today. she brought a whole lot of food from home. salsa, sour cream, crackers, tostitos, a crock pot full of "taco soup" (never heard of it) and a homemade cake. i figured someone was having a birthday that i didn't know about. when my lunchtime rolled around (i try to go around 1:30 -2:00 pm) my backup, EJ, was in the kitchen eating with MW, RC and CG. i asked her when she would be done with lunch and she said she had just sat down for lunch.....it was 2:10. i was furious. that meant it would be 3:00 before i could go to lunch, getting back at 4:00, and we leave work at 5:00. i didn't say anything to DD, but when he came up to the front and asked what was wrong, i told him. he went to the back to see the circumstances, and came back up front to relieve me for lunch. the big boss was coming today, so i hated for DD to have to cover for me, but he insisted. so i went to lunch.

when i went back to the kitchen, i went straight to the fridge and got out the salad i had planned on eating for lunch. i sort of figured that someone would ask me to have some of what they had brought, but no, i was never even spoken to while i was preparing my salad. they all just continued to eat and talk amongst themselves. so i took my salad and went to AD's office with AD and L'il K. we closed the door to be more private. later on in the day, RC came up to me at the register and sorta apologized about the lunch situation........the part about me not being offered anything. she said that if SHE had brought the food, she would have offered me some, but since MW had brought it, she didn't feel it was her place to offer it to me. i later found out i was the only person who did not have the soup. but after MW was gone and took her soup with her and when i finally took my last 15 minute break around 4:15, i helped myself to a big piece of the cake. it was good. my salad made me sick........but i actually think it was the anger at the situation that upset my stomach. i work with a bunch of 3-5 year olds i think.

the really bright spot to my day was when K, an ex-employee, came into the store with a styrofoam container and asked me if i liked onion rings. i told her i loved them, and she opened the container and asked me to share them with her. ok, now seldom do i talk like this, but those dang things were nearly orgasmic. i am not kidding. whatever they put in the batter is the most wonderful tasting stuff in the world. they were extremely greasy, but man oh man, they were good. now i am going to have to go to uncle sam's (the restaurant) and get some at least once a week........cholesterol, watch out.

writing here in blogland has become less and less fun. i don't know why i have lost so many readers unless i have just become boring or long winded or both. i appreciate each and every one of you that does stop by and leaves a comment. but since i have joined nostalgiaramblings, i have really enjoyed writing again. it is a small online community and they all make you feel so at home. it is a community of poetry and prose writers, as well as those who enjoy other arts, such as photography and fantasy painting. i am not sure what i am going to do yet, but it is very possible that i will give up blogger, and spend my efforts on nostalgiaramblings. i would miss all of the folks i have met here in blogland, but i just feel i need some sort of feedback from people to keep my writing going. so, anyway, that is where i am right now, but things might change in the matter of a few minutes, so stay tuned and i will let you know what i plan on doing.

i am going to close now. may each and every one of you that still stop by from time to time have a truly blessed thursday (or whatever day it is in your part of the world).

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A FEW RAMBLINGS

2009-01-21T00:43:00.002-05:00

i have been having so much fun over at NOSTALGIARAMBLINGS that i totally ignored my blogger blog duties tonight. sorry to my readers..........

i worked today and the day went fairly well. but it was horribly cold and windy. on 2 different occasions i tried to open the back door to call for one of the CS guys to come help me and i couldn't open the door. the wind was so fierce, it barricaded me in the building. the poor CS guys were even looking for ways to stay warm, so they took an old deep cooker barrel, and filled it with flammable items and started a nice drum fire. i told them they all looked liked homeless people out in the wind and cold. when the fire died down, they all came back inside. they once again had a home.........

i had a craving for zaxby's boneless wings today, so i weathered the windy cold and went to zaxby's and got me some, dipped in barbecue sauce. they were sooooooo good. it was well worth the adventure.

it is still extremely cold tonight. i am not sure what the temps are, as i didn't watch the news at 11, but with the wind chill figured in, i am sure it is near or below the freezing mark. i actually turned on the gas furnace tonight, as well as 2 electric space heaters, and have on sweats, but i am still cold. yep, you heard me say i am cold. first time in over a year i have said that. i intentionally didn't have my gas connected last year, and i almost froze to death.

well, it is now history. but there is much more history in the making to watch for. mr. barack h. obama is officially our 44th president. whether i voted for him or not, i wish him well and hope he can get our nation back on its feet.

i am so looking forward to spring........not just so that i won't have to wrap up in heavy clothing and turn on heaters, but because i really want to do some spring cleaning. i want to get things in order so that the rest of the furniture can be moved from the storage unit to the house. i have to do some throwing out before this can happen.

as i mentioned in an earlier post, i have joined a poetry/art site. i realize that it may seem a bit pretentious, but when i stopped getting comments from as many people on my blog, it caused me to not feel as compelled to write. on this new site, the comments are almost instantaneous. and they critique the poetry/prose, good or bad. a writer needs that. someone to bounce ideas off, and to get feedback. i don't really feel i am being egotistical about it, just needing opinions of others on my writings.

well, it is getting late, and i really do need to get into bed........mainly because it is so much warmer over there, lol.

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ANOTHER BIRTHDAY LUNCH

2009-01-19T21:50:00.006-05:00

today was a good day. i was off work...that was one reason. the other is that my friend Betty took me out to eat lunch at a local family buffet. we had good conversation and a good meal. afterwards i had to pick up something from the dollar general store. as i was leaving the store one of my customers from the SA came in with her husband, who is a retired police officer, and she was telling me how someone had gone through all of the clothing and items that had been dropped off over the weekend at the store and strewn them all over the driveway. then another customer from the SA came into the store and said the same thing. so after i left there, i went by the SA store and of course, there were bags of clothing and other items strewn everywhere. i got out and was trying to contain it a bit, and suddenly MW pulled up in her van behind me. she asked what i was doing out there and i told her i was trying to straighten it up a little for tomorrow. she talked to me for a few minutes, then we both left.

we are supposed to have snow flurries tomorrow. i now have a weather channel, so i can check the weather more often than just at news time. i thought it was going to be a little warmer tonight, but i am actually chilly sitting her in my jammies. we need some really cold weather, but i had gotten used to it being warmer and now i am having problems adjusting.

i have recently joined a poetry group and so far, am really enjoying it. for anyone out there who likes to write, or just read, poetry or prose, go on over and sneak a peak.

http://nostalgiaramblings.ning.com/

my page is located at: http://nostalgiaramblings.ning.com/profile/Regina

most of what i have on my page is from my poetry journal, Somewhere In Time (http://regina-aoljournalsblog.blogspot.com/).

as here in blogland, some of the posters are from across the ocean from where i live. that is why blogging is such a wonderful experience. before computers, i had only a handful of friends or acquaintances from other countries. now i know numerous people from faraway lands. makes the world seem very small sometimes.............

i wish i could get into all this inauguration hooplah. i realize it is a history-making event, and it would be great to be a little piece of that history by being there, but those people are pitching tents and sleeping in extremely cold temps just to watch the whole thing on a jumbotron. of course, they will have bragging rights for years to come that THEY WERE ACTUALLY THERE. as i said before, i am taking the WAIT AND SEE stance. i do wish him well, as he is going to be the MAN IN CHARGE for at least the next 4 years.

our SA store is having its Christmas party this coming thursday. i was going to work thursday so that i could have saturday off, but decided i wanted to have the whole day to get ready for the party. i don't usually dress "unusually" for work or even when we go out to eat as a group. but i plan on donning full "goth" gear for the party. i will put on white-based makeup. i have black & pink fake eyelashes, a black celtic temporary tattoo, blood red lipstick and nail polish with black tips on the nails, a black top with leather buckles on the shoulders with slits down the tops of the sleeves, black goucho style pants and stacked black shoes. i will be wearing a sleek black wig as well. i will top off the outfit with a black leather purse with real handcuffs as the shoulder strap, and a long leather "matrix" coat. i love shocking those people. last year i was the only one dressed up. sweatshirts and jeans is what most will wear, other than the director and his wife. it will be fantastic, lol.

guess i better scoot for now. if i still have a wifi signal later on before going to bed, i might return to relate something else on my mind or heart.

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C-BOX SUCCESS

2009-01-18T17:00:00.004-05:00

i promise this entry will be short.....i am about to fall asleep. and it is only 5 pm...........zzzzzzzzzzz.

success is mine.....finally. i did the unthinkable today.....unthinkable for me....

i WENT TO WALMART!! i hate going to walmart, even when it is not busy. i just hate the parking lot, and trying to find a space that doesn't require me to walk 50 miles. but anywho, i found a spot near the door and went in. i was in search of the digital converter boxes for my tv. they had told me they would be getting some in this weekend, so i held my breath until i reached the electronics department. and when i got there, i checked the shelf and VOILA....there they were. there were about 20 on the shelf, so i grabbed my share (2) and went to the checkout. the girl was really nice (another oddity at wallyworld these days) and she took both of my coupons and charged me $9 each for the boxes plus tax. woohoooooo! i only have one tv, but i figured that the salvation army store will be getting a lot of older tvs in over the next month or so due to the digital conversion on feb. 17th, and i could buy me another tv for the bedroom. then i would have another digital conversion box for that tv. if i don't get another tv, i can still sell the converter box to someone who needs it and doesn't have a coupon to go buy one.

ok, the next step.....connecting the box. i figured all i would need to do is hook up and plug in, sit back....and enjoy. WRONG!! it said "NO SIGNAL" on the screen. sigh.....why me??? then i got out the instructions and read them, lol. i was able to at least get programming to come up on my tv. some of the channels are not sending out good signals as of yet, but i am still getting all of the channels i was getting before, plus the extra ones you get with the box. so i am at least a halfway happy camper for now.

now i am going to take a nap......................................
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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FROM BAD, TO GOOD, TO WORSE.....

2009-01-17T20:13:00.003-05:00

what a day this has been. it started out really bad, turned good during the day, then went downhill afterwards. when i arrived at the store, the gate was still locked and there were cars lined up outside the gate. RC and a couple of the CS workers were trying to open the lock. it appeared to be frozen. i finally drove my car over the curb, along the grass and into the back. but i forgot i didn't have a key. so i sat there and waited on someone to get around to the back and unlock the doors.

as i entered the building, everyone who had already gone in was saying someone had been hit by a car. i asked around and found out that one of the CS workers, SWH, had pulled his car around to turn into the driveway and while sitting waiting on traffic to clear so that he could turn, a woman, apparently not watching what she was doing, crashed into the back of his car. he has an older model, solid steel frame car, so i figured he was probably ok. but then i heard that she had never even hit her brakes, so it was a bad impact. they took SWH to the hospital. i later saw the 2 cars, and the woman's was probably totalled, even though a later model car, and his was smashed in on the back left quarter panel. it is totalled for sure. we never heard how he was, but the officer at the scene came up to borrow a broom and said he was complaining of his legs hurting, so they transported him to the hospital. i hope he will be ok, and hopefully he will get a newer and better car out of it.

things finally settled down. the day started out slow, but soon people started getting out in the cold weather to come in and shop. things went well, even though it got busy at times. shortly before lunchtime, RC came up to me at the register and asked if i wanted to have lunch with her and Miss S. they had brought some spaghetti and thought i might like some. i told them if they had enough i would be glad to join them.

about 20 minutes later KW came up, sounding a little miffed, and curtly told me to go on my lunch break. i asked her if she had gone yet and she said no, but for me to just go straight back to the breakroom. so, i did. when i got back there RC and Miss S had a cake lit with birthday candles. they sang happy birthday to me and i blew out the candles. then, we sat down to lunch of spaghetti, salad, soft bread and then chocolate cake with white chocolate shavings all over the icing. it was really good and very thoughtful. while i was still eating, KW came back to the breakroom and seemed quite flustered. she said that a man up front was cursing her out and telling her that i had told him he could get a voucher for free items in the store. i told her i never said that. the man had come up to me as i was getting ready to leave for lunch and asked me where he was supposed to drop off donations. i told him to drive around to the right and to the back. then i turned to go to lunch and he chased me down and asked if he could get a voucher for his donations. well, we give RECEIPTS for tax purposes for donations, so i ASSUMED that is what he meant, a receipt. i told him if he asked for one, they would give him one. he never mentioned wanting to get anything for free. he was really angry at KW and told her he wanted to see me. i told her i wasn't done with lunch, to take one of the big CS guys with her up there and tell the man that he can get a tax receipt for the donation he made, and then he needed to leave the store and not come back. i guess it must have worked, for she went back to the front and didn't come back to tell me anything more on the subject.

there was one other incident where a woman bought a table without looking at it fully first, and then when they took it out to carry to her vehicle, she didn't like the way it looked and wanted her money back. i told her we didn't give refunds, but she could pick out another table. she did, but there was still a $2 difference. she fussed about not getting her money back again, then went over and picked out a floral arrangement which was $3.99 and i put in 1.99 as what she owed and she said she wasn't paying anything more. so i voided the arrangement, and she still was fussing that she didn't want to exchange it for anything, she wanted her money back. so i called RC over and she told her the same thing i did. the woman said she would just get something else, but kept saying that everything was nothing but sh*t anyway, and when RC heard her say that, she GAVE the arrangement to her, just because she had said it was a piece of sh*t. she took it anyway, lol. so i guess RC killed her with kindness.

when we were ready to leave, i started counting the money and KW, who hadn't offered to help before, came over and started counting the money with me. when we finished, it came up $20 short. we counted it again, then called RC to the front to count it, and we still came up $18 short. KW started saying we could check her for the money, she never carries cash on her. she called DD on her cell and told him. he, of course, said to bag it and leave it till tuesday when we open again. now, this is my opinion, and my opinion only, but 1) when i close and count just by myself, i am usually right on the money or at least within a dollar over or under. 2) i felt that KW jumped to saying we could strip search her, check her purse, etc. TOO QUICKLY and was too adamant about it. it just seemed a little suspicious to me. i know she has had some serious money problems recently as well. so don't strike me dead, Lord, it is just a suspicion.

we closed up and went to our cars and KW, who ran for the door as soon as i took the money to the safe, was still sitting in her car. she asked if we could stay with her for a little while, as her car wouldn't start. so we did. i told Miss S and RC they could go on since they had so far to go. but they decided to stay with us. KW finally got her car started and we all left. i had brought the rest of the spaghetti home with me so ate some for supper.

the day ended on a sour note when i called my daughter to see if we were going out to eat or get together on sunday or monday. she was at home, but had company. i asked her if she had plans for tomorrow and she told me she did, that a friend was in from out of town and was staying with her for the next 2 days. ok, i understand that. then i asked her if she was feeling better and she said yes. i asked her if her boss had fussed at her the other day when she came out and told me it wasn't a good idea for me to come in, as he was in a bad mood. she said no he didn't. i asked if he was still being a jerk and she practically screamed at me that she never said he was a jerk. i told her that she had cried and told me he was in a bad mood, and she said yes, that is what she had said, but never said he was a jerk............well, if a boss is making my baby cry, HE IS A JERK. so maybe she wasn't crying because of him. either way, the call didn't go as well as i thought it should have. after i got off the phone with her, i called Betty, my ex-neighbor, and we made plans for lunch on monday. it is supposed to be nasty weather tomorrow, so i figured Betty didn't need to get out in it.

oh, i ran into my current downstairs neighbor as i was going to work this am, and she was very cordial. i asked her if the landlord had figured out where the water was coming from when it leaked down into her apartment. she said it hasn't happened again. then she told me there was a squirrel or rat living between my floor and her ceiling, as she hears it rolling something, maybe a nut, around, then a bowl or something. it might be my cat, but i wasn't going to tell her that, lol. then she had to leave to walk to the church and see her grandson play basketball.

i have written another book. sorry.

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JUST A LITTLE OF THIS AND THAT

2009-01-17T00:06:00.004-05:00

as much as i love sitting in front of this screen typing my heart out, i am so sleepy tonight i feel i must soon crash. but first, an entry........

i worked today. it was hard after being off for two days. and before we even opened i had words with MW. she was telling DD that before he went on his cruise in about 10 days, he needed to set the cashiers straight about their duties. i was standing within 3 feet of both of them near the register and i swung around and told her if she had something specific to say, say directly to me, not via DD. she then tried to make it sound like she meant the other 2 cashiers. i was very indignant about it, as i feel i do my job and do it well. about 10 minutes later, MW sought me out and put her hand on my arm and told me she wanted to explain what she was saying. she said she was meaning the other 2 girls, because of the 3 of us, i was the only one who kept busy straightening the store when i wasn't busy. it was her way of apologizing......it was good enough for me.

i got a birthday card from Mrs. H today, which was nice. it was a really cute card.

YO was snippy with me all morning as well. but she is having surgery next tuesday, and i am sure, being 74 years old, she is a bit concerned about it. so i will let her snippiness slide for now.

around lunch time, EJ was asking me what i wanted to do about lunch. i told her i didn't really know, but was thinking about chicken from Mrs. Winners, since i didn't get it yesterday because they all took me out to eat. AD came up and said she wanted pizza, which sounded good to EJ and me, so we ended up going to call papa johns for pizza. they made the call from DD's office, and since they were all in there together, they somehow convinced DD to pay for the pizza.....that's what i'm talking about girls......

Miss S relieved me while EJ, DD, AD and AD's daughter, L'il K, ate pizza. i am not fond of papa johns, but heck, when it is free, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. at the end of the day we couldn't get the rest of the pizza in the fridge, and EJ didn't want to take it home, so it came home with me..........i think there is one piece left, lol.

it is still extremely cold here. it is going to be around 12-14 degrees in atlanta, and colder in the burbs. i might actually turn the heat on tonight........

sunday is going to possibly be a day of wintry mix......rain, sleet, snow.....and i have to go look for a converter box for my tv. i am also supposed to go out to eat with my daughter and/or betty. i might just go out to eat with my daughter on sunday and then wait till monday to shop for the box and eat lunch with betty.

well, i cannot keep either eye open now. i have been typing with one open and one closed. so i guess it is time for beddy-bye. sigh...............

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POLITICS AND RELIGION.....LUCK??

2009-01-16T01:01:00.003-05:00

i hesitated to post this entry due to how the masses out there may feel about what i am going to say. i usually don't get involved with political or religious discussions, for often they turn ugly and feelings get hurt, people get angry. but i just wanted to voice an opinion......MINE.

i didn't vote for Obama. neither did i vote for McCain. I will not divulge who i voted for, for it is irrelevant here. so either way the election went, i was going to play the "wait and see" game. i am a registered but non-practicing democrat. i lean more toward the republicans the older i get. i have heard pros and cons on both of the candidates. i DO believe that, though i feel he may be very qualified as president, Obama was voted in mainly due to his ethnicity. is it time for an African-American president? maybe so. but not JUST because he is African-American. i am hoping that Obama can lead us into a better future, but like i said, i was, and still am, playing the "wait and see" game.

but something on our atlanta local news disturbed me somewhat. there is a woman in the metropolitan atlanta area that designs and manufactures "good luck" charms. one in particular has the word "luck" on one side in regular english letters, and in braile on the opposite side. Barack Obama carries one of those charms in his pocket. it was recently reported that he has a thing for good luck charms, so one of these specific charms was sent to him and has become his favorite, and he plans on having it in his pocket on the night of the inauguration.

now, being a Christian, i suddenly stopped to think.......do i want a president running this country of ours on LUCK? of course i cannot push my own beliefs on others, but i would much rather know that he depends on more than a bauble in his pocket. now this is where i might get some flack from this post. many Christians might say that having a good luck charm isn't a bad thing. well, i fully believe that if one has Salvation, Faith, and knows Christ and His powers, they don't need anything else. i don't believe in "luck". i believe in allowing God to work in my life, to direct me and lead me in the paths He wants for me.

again, i guess there is little i CAN do now, except "wait and see".

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MY ACTUALLY HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2009-01-15T16:11:00.002-05:00

Well, here I am, older, and sleepy. But boy what a day it has been. I wanted to sleep in a little later than I had set the alarm for, but after resetting it from 9 to 10 am, I became wide awake and decided to get up around 10:30 am.

I had planned to jump up, get dressed and rush out into the world, run my errands and then stop at Mrs. Winners to pick up lunch. But after I got up, I got lazy. I ate a bowl of cereal, then sat and watched some courtroom shows on tv, then got online for a little bit, reading emails. I was surprised to see that all of the “sites” that I have signed up for online sent me birthday greetings, and one of my long time online friends sent me a birthday ecard. It was nice. I figured that would be the highlight of my day.

I finally got myself motivated and started out to my car. It was cold and windy, but the sun was out. I always look at my tires when I go out to my car, and when I did today, the front passenger tire looked low. The front driver side tire was already low. So I decided that on the way to pick up my check from work, I would stop at McDonough Tire and Auto (where they treat women right) to get them to check my air pressure in my tires. They were nice enough to do all 4 of them, and didn’t charge me.

Though you probably don’t really care, it is easier for me to use code names for my fellow co-workers. So here goes:

Mean Woman = MW
Resident Christian = RC
Yank Ogre = YO
Director = DD
Assistant Director = AD
RC’s Friend = Miss S.
My Adopted Daughter = EJ
The New Young Cashier = KW
Community Service Workers = CS
Electronics Volunteer = RE
Librarian Volunteers = (him) CG; (her) LG

Then I went on to work to get my check. As I was walking from my car to the building, one of my good customers, Mrs. H., came up to me and told me she wanted to do something for me for my birthday. I told her I wasn’t working today, but maybe we could do something another day. She said she would see me tomorrow. When I walked into DD’s office, AD was in there and she yelled my name, ran and hugged me and asked me what I was planning on doing after I left there. I told her I was cashing my check and paying my bills, then on to Mrs. Winner’s for lunch. She asked me if I had been to the new little sub shop right up the street. I told her I hadn’t, so she said she would like to take me out to eat. I told her it wasn’t necessary and she huffed and puffed and told me she would do what she wanted to, lol.

Then she gave me a little silver gift bag with several little items in it. One was a pencil with a girl’s cloth head on top, with braids. There were two sets of air fresheners that are skulls that clip onto your air vents in your car. There were 2 packs of the little envelopes that contain flavoring for your water….which she knows I love. And last, but not least, something I have to share with the whole store……..a money marking pen that attaches to the register. I have begged her and begged her to get us another one, so she did, and she said it was mine, but we all had to use it, lol. There has been a 2 drawer metal file cabinet sitting in the holding room for several months. It used to be AD’s, but she took it out of her office to use somewhere else. Well today, she decided she didn’t want it anymore, and gave it to me, as another birthday present, lol. I got one of the CS guys to help load it in my car. Now getting it out and up my stairs is going to be a trip.

YO came up to the office and told me that someone was looking for me. I went around the store looking for whoever it was, and she wasn’t there. I found her in the back….it was Betty, my ex-downstairs neighbor. She wanted to take me to lunch, but I told her the gang there was taking me out. So we plan on going out to eat sometime Sunday or Monday.

After much huffing and puffing from MW not wanting to relieve EJ, Miss S took over for her so that the 3 of them could take me to lunch. We all went together in KW’s car, and we had a blast. Of course, we had to get in a little bit of gossiping about the other employees and how 2-faced they were. I know, not a good thing……..and I guess we were really only telling the truth about them, but shouldn’t have even brought them up. Then poor AD got a call from her hubby and they were fussing back and forth about something and we all kept laughing at her, lol. She wasn’t amused, lol.

We came back and AD’s husband was there with a dog crate full of puppies. They were able to find homes for 2 of them. I wanted one of them, but of course cannot have a dog.
I already have an attack cat, lol. But they were all so cute.

To show you how mean MW is, she was in the break room while I was waiting on the girls to get ready to go to lunch, and DD came in, pacing, looking worried. I asked him if he was ok, and he said he had a lot on his mind. Then he told me not to keep the girls out too long, as he needed them back in the store. I was a bit miffed, since it wasn’t MY idea to go out to eat in the first place, and all the others take off and go to lunch with customers and each other and stay gone for over an hour. There is no fairness there
Anywho…I told DD that heck, it was them that were taking me out, and I had no control, and after all, IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY. Actually, neither MW or DD told me happy birthday. They were both mean, lol.

I went to cash my check, paid my car insurance, paid my post office box for another 6 months, checked my mail (all junk), and went to Bargainville. I bought a couple of sets of pillow cases that match a set of sheets I bought there awhile back, as well as a clothes pin hanging bag that I intend to use as a plastic bag holder. I stopped at Sonic to get my daily dose of DIET CHERRY LIMEADE SLUSH, ROUTE 44 SIZE, for $1.05. They messed up my order……how difficult is a drink??? Sheeeshhh!

I went to pay my rent, then stopped by my daughter’s place of work and her co-worker and friend told her I was in the parking lot, so she came out to meet me saying her boss was in a really bad mood and it was best I didn’t come in. So we stood in the cold wind and talked a minute. She had forgotten it was my birthday, but I told her it was ok. Then she started crying, saying she had a lot on her mind. She wouldn’t go into it, but it broke my heart to see her cry. I hate when my baby is unhappy or hurt. I am sure it has something to do with her old boyfriend, or maybe even a new one. Who knows. Maybe she will tell me when we go out to eat.

When I finally got home there was an envelope on the stairwell post for me. It was the dreaded gas bill. I was a bit surprised when I opened it. It was cheaper than I thought. But after looking at it, the landlord wrote a note saying it had to be paid IN FULL by 1-31-09. The bill was for $158 for 2 months. After a closer look, that amount includes the $60 I have already paid to him for the connection charge. And I AM NOT paying it again. So he is going to be surprised when he gets my payment for $98 instead of the $158. I am not privy to the downstairs tenant’s gas bill, it is separate, but as hot as she likes to keep her area, I am sure it is higher than mine. It is going to be tough coming up with the whole amount at one time. And with only 2 weeks notice……but I will manage somehow.

I guess the reason I have lost most of my readers is that my posts are TOOOOO LONG.
Heck, you should be in a face-to-face conversation with me, lol.

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I HAVE HIT 55........

2009-01-15T00:04:00.002-05:00

Well, it is official…….I am 55 years old……….

Actually I think my actual time of birth was around 2:40 pm, but who cares, right???

I have worked hard to get to this point in my life. I used to look back and wonder what on earth had I accomplished. Then, after participating in Guido’s meme, I realized I had done quite a bit in my lifetime. The most treasured accomplishment is my daughter, who has gone from an out-of-control teen to a beautiful, responsible woman.

I don’t have any real plans for tomorrow, but I do have to pick up my paycheck and pay the rent. My daughter is working, so I won’t be able to “do” lunch with her.

I might call my ex-downstairs housemate, Betty, and ask her if she wants to go somewhere to eat. Everyone else is at work…..sigh…….I just don’t want to lay around and be lazy all day. I want to start making some memories on my birthday.

Today I was a bit lazy, but ended up accomplishing more than I had planned. I woke up late (around noon) and went to Sonic to eat. After eating I decided to get my car emission done so that I could go tomorrow and get my tag decal. I was afraid my car wouldn’t pass, but it did. As I was driving BACK over to Sonic to get a Route 44 Diet Cherry Limeade Slush, I had to pass the tag office. I decided to go in and see if it was going to be a long wait. I walked right in and was seen immediately. In 10 minutes I was $61 poorer and had my tag decal. But I am now legal for another year.

I came home and got lazy again. I played on the computer for awhile (actually, I spent over an hour trying to fix the meme and post it, just to have the computer eat it and I started over, taking another hour or 2).

For supper I fixed a couple of nice sized Black Angus organic ribeye steaks with a side of steamed green beans and red potatoes in a garlic sauce. Of course, I only ate half of one steak and half of the veggies before my stomach felt full, so I stopped eating and saved it for later.
I just finished eating a probiotic yogurt for my stomach and am about ready for bed. I guess turning 55 isn’t all that exciting after all……..sigh.

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