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Faith is the pilgrim staff I crave,
To keep me strong, to keep me brave.
Hope is the candle's pinpoint star
To lead me on the path afar.
Love is the mantle I would wear --
heartwarming garments lined with prayer.
Father God, with these priceless three
Enrich the days Thou sendest me!
~Marie Barton
Narnia Personality Quiz
Take this quiz at
Sparrow's Song
Who knew? *ha!*
I don't think I agree with the result, but am flattered by it.
For lack of an interesting post, I offer pictures...
Here you have the family Christmas photo. No, I did not mail these out with cards because we didn't get any prints made!
Here is a picture of us. Notice that "us" cannot be in a picture by ourselves without having a small fuzzy chaperone.
Now, this one, I admit is a little racy for here at The Society, so cover the children's eyes...
Here's one of the kiddos, playing with Corey's new laptop.
Hope you enjoyed these. *mumbling* Hope they come back after all that!
Christmas Eve morning, I got a delivery from the mailman! A big ol' box! I was all pumped up after seeing it was addressed to ME. Then, I saw that the only part of that sentence was the word "pump" since the box turned out to be full of pump supplies.
Sheesh. Oh well. It's nice to get supplies and be fooled into momentarily thinking it's a surprise Christmas gift than to run out of supplies before the next delivery comes! Gah!
Anyhows, I was attempting to put away the supplies when I decided to just go ahead and restock my travel packs. When I went to put a new bottle of test strips in my glucometer case, I thought I should change the battery too so I opened the less-than-seldom ever used pocket on the outside of the case to see if there was a spare battery in there.
Lo and behold, here's what I found:
Can you believe that?!? I've been looking for my rings for over a month! With all the moving, painting, then decorating for the holidays, then Christmas...well, I hadn't gotten time to really search for them! I was sure that I'd put them into a pocket...a pants pocket! I never even thought to look in that silly case! SHEESH!
Anyhow, you can imagine how relieved I am about that!! YEAH!
Next time, I'm going to write myself a note. YOUR RINGS ARE ________, STUPID! AND DON'T FORGET TO TAKE YOUR MEMORY SUPPLEMENTS! I will be so glad I took the time to write the note. I will thank myself later.
I will read this note and wonder where those stupid supplements are anyhow....
What's up with that title? Well, I"m not sure, but I think somehow that maybe the spirit of gloom and all things non-Christmassy may have inhabited the body of my dog last night.
If you recall, our plans were to attend morning service at church then come back to my parents' house for our Christmas there with them, Mamaw and my sister.
But I guess since nothing thus far had gone according to our plan, then the rest of the weekend must follow suit!
Corey and I cooked most of the day Saturday. We made seven layer salad, cheese balls, and got things ready for the potato soup later on. After Tommy was gone well past 7 pm, we had to go ahead and fix the soup without Daddy. To be honest, even though as I've posted, I certainly can't complain, but it was a little rough on us all having to be apart on Christmas Eve. Even if it wasn't a terribly serious circumstance.
Anyhow, Tucker is a notorious beggar. He waits patiently while you clean your plate or bowl and as soon as he hears the clink of the utensil against the dish, he's prancing and begging for the priviledge of licking your plate! Even when there's nothing more than a suggestion of the food that had been there left, he'll lick it for all it's worth.
So, you can imagine how excited he gets when you're cooking! Oh my!
He loves cheese and anytime he sees that ziplock bag of shredded cheddar, he will come running from the other side of the house in hopes of a bite. With all of the cooking we were doing, he was in poodle-hog heaven.
Corey fried up a good batch of sausage and bacon for the soup and since my grease pot was full, I poured the skillet of grease off into a scrap bowl filled with lettuce scraps, potato peels, remains of onion dicing...not to mention him Hoover-ing up the almonds that fell off as I was coating the cheese balls...
Oh, wait. Maybe you city folks don't know what scraps are. Food scraps. We don't have an official compost pile, but we do take vegetable and meat scraps to a pile on the edge of the field up the hill in back of our house.
Lucy loves visiting up there to see what goodies she might find. Most of the time, there's nothing except 'fresh' scraps and even when there's the occasional 'old' (and hairy and stinky and GROSS!) scraps, she won't attempt to eat those.
Normally, if it's something I"m afraid will harm the dogs, including Tucker because he likes to scrounge around up there too, I'll bag it up and put it in the trash. But I wasn't thinking about all the grease in the bottom of that bowl. I sent Case out to dump the scraps and never gave it another thought.
After The Incident last night, I remembered having to holler at him to get him away from there and back into the house. I was so busy, I never thought about what he was doing up there. One time, I had forgotten I'd let him out and I have a pretty good idea that he was up there rootin' in the scraps the whole time.
Staying up too late has gotten to be a really bad habit with us the past few days, so Corey and I were still stirring at 1am...when we got the first clue that Tucker had, to put it delicately, an upset tummy.
First he puked up a tiny amount at the front door. Gross, yes. But managable. Then, soon as we got that cleaned up, he did it again in another area of the kitchen...then again at the back door.
Sheesh. We cleaned up and started getting ready for bed. Tucker seemed to be okay, so I went to bed. It was about 2am.
At about 2:50am, I heard him making funny noises again, so I let him out for a few minutes. He came right back in, so I tried again to get some sleep.
I got up again about 3:20 and let him out again. He was just whiny and restless and pesting me to death.
When at 4am he was just lying in the floor on my side of the bed, whining to beat the band I frustratedly asked Tommy to take him out. He didn't know anything about the stomach thing Tucker had going on and I didn't realize that he was still sick. Tommy carried him to the door and on the walk back to the bedroom, he ...uh...discovered it first hand...or um...foot. GAH!
So, I started telling him that Tucker was sick and we both got up to clean yet more messes up. Finally we got back to bed around 4:30 only to be awaken about 25 minutes later to Tucker being sick yet again. This time, we weren't so fortunate as to have him be in the floor.
YUCK! We got up yet again and stripped the bed down, put on new sheets and crawled back into bed again.
Yeah. You guessed it. He did it again so after having the matress cover fall victim this time, and all of our blankets either in the washer or waiting to go in, I went to Corey's bed since he was sleeping on the couch and Tommy got in Casey's bed. I was COMPLETELY exhausted!!!
I was agravated about having to drag myself to church that morning and knowing Mom would ask why I was so tired and then having to listen to her gripe at me because the dog was sick, etc., etc.... and frankly, I was just completely wiped out. Galloping Flo is making the rounds this holiday, and I have not escaped. Yeah. I felt horrible!
It was about 8 am when Mom called to make sure we were getting ready for church. Tommy answered the phone and told her about the whole ordeal and that he and I couldn't make it to church. Corey didn't feel like going either, so Casey went with Mom and Dad. I crawled back to bed and slept about 2 more hours.
Even though the night was so horrible, we had a good time at my parents' house today. We ate til we were feeling sick and talked and sang and talked some more. It was a really nice time.
Hopefully this post hasn't completely grossed you out, but hey, I felt the situation warranted sharing! At least it is NOT "just like being there".
Thank the Lord for that!
Hope your Christmas celebrations were all joyous and uneventful (as disasters go!)
Love---
And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them: Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
GLORY TO GOD in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men.
Luke 2:6-14
Wishing you all a joyous and blessed CHRISTmas day!!
And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with his espoused wife Mary being great with child....
Luke 2:1-5
Sometime this afternoon, someone's water main broke in our town.
Until about 90 minutes ago, my husband was out fixing it. In the rain. On Christmas Eve.
It broke my heart knowing he was out there, struggling to do the work with only one other guy to help him because no one else "could" come out due to Christmas celebrations.
But I dare not complain. If I worried about his welfare, I could simply drive across town to check on him. I knew he'd be home by tomorrow, if worse came to worse. He was that close instead of half a world away, instead of fixing a country long ago broken by a dictator, instead of risking his life far from home and family.
I have my house, cramped as it sometimes is, with many things in need of repair and always in a state of clutterdom.
But I dare not complain. At least my house stands. It is not in pieces underneath tons of other hurricane debris. I have a place to lay my head at night, means to wash my family's clothes, food to eat and a place to eat it.
My children and I may long to see a beautiful white Christmas just because it makes the world seem mysterious and soft and quiet for awhile. Just because snow is fun and reminds us of yesterdays when life was a little less worrisome. When our forecast is for nothing but rain and mild temperatures, we may feel cheated and bemoan our lot.
But I dare not complain. We are warm. We are dry. We are safe. How can I complain about the weather with so many blessings surrounding me?
My family celebrations have become much less joyful, less magical, less dreamy and eagerly awaited for whatever reasons. Reletives have feuded, or moved, or become permenantly separated from us by the chasm of Death. Sadness, pain, bitterness and maybe even rage are left in the wake. I long for days gone by when none of these things existed.
But I dare not complain. As long as I am doing my duty toward others in Christ, I have no reason to be sad. I live in a free(ish) country where I am at least allowed to celebrate my Saviour's birth as I wish in my own house. My children are well and happy. They love their parents and we are able to provide at least a few gifts for their Christmas. Even if we could give them nothing at all, they would still be happy and would still love their parents. We are inundated by material blessings, despite how it seemed things might turn out. We have love, and life and access to the most Marvelous Gift of all.
No. I dare not complain.
You are NOT going to believe this.
I mean it. You're not. You're going to think I"m lying right through my coffee-stained teeth!
BUT I AM NOT
Tommy, for some reason unbeknownst to me, kept trying to move up our Christmas thing here at the house.
Oh wait...see, last night, when he came home...late again because of the pager going off at 5pm...yeah, right...he made me go hide in the bedroom and not peek. He posted one of the boys to guard over me.
Sheesh. That's not so uncommon. I have to do that every year. Used to he'd make me go allll through the store asking did I like this or that, THEN he'd make me wait in the car while he went back in to get me "a surprise".
Yeah. That's my darlin'.
Anyhows...so there's these two big ol' boxes under the tree when I am finally freed from my bedroom prison. I figure it's some trick.
See...one year, he had this big ol' package all wrapped up for me. When I finally got the thing untangled from all the tape and ribbons, it was two king-size pillows stuffed into a laundry basket with another laundry basket taped upside down on top....to fool me, that's why.
So you see...I wasn't going to get too curious because I knew there was no tellin' what was in those boxes.
If you recall, the plan was for us to just lazy around tomorrow, cookin' up mondo pots of 'tater soup and feedin' our faces and opening gifts somewhere in between.
But after those mysterious boxes arrived, Tommy starts pushing to move the grand opening of the gifts event up. First it was to tomorrow morning instead of afternoon, then it was to tonight!
Sheeeesh! I was tired and my sugar low when he got home.
He had a good time with his Christmas Cook 'n Eat fest at work and came home about 3pm. Then he took the boys out to pick out caps from the J0hn DeeRe place and get a few groceries. I'd been trying to get some things cooked and cleaned up and I was just tired. Then I realized my sugar was low and it took awhile before I felt better. I finally just accepted that he wasn't going to let up on doing Christmas gifts tonight.
So...how's that song go?? One out of seven (or three) ain't bad? [see previous post]
Here's what was in one of those boxes:::
That thar's my new eM@chiNe (by G@tew@y) T3302. :) I got this whole set up except for that monitor. You remember the spiffy monitor I got from someone's garbage, right? LOL!
Check this out...
Specifications
CPU: AMD Sempron™ 3300+ Processor (64-bit)
(256KB L2 cache, 2.0GHz, 1600MHz FSB)
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition SP2 1
Chipset: VIA K8M800
Memory: 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB), 400MHz (PC3200)
Expandable to 2GB
Hard Drive: 160GB (7200 RPM, 2MB cache) 2
Optical Drives: 48x CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive
Media Reader: 8-in-1 Digital Media Manager (Secure Digital (SD), Smart Media, Micro Drive, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Compact Flash, Mulitimedia Card, USB 2.0)
Video: S3 Graphics Unichrome™ Pro
64MB DDR Shared Memory
AGP 8x slot available for upgrade
Sound: AC '97 Audio, Dolby 5.1 (6-channel)
Modem: 56K ITU V.92 ready Fax/Modem
Network: 10/100Mbps integrated Ethernet LAN
Peripherals: Standard Multifunction Keyboard, 2-Button Wheel Mouse, Amplified Stereo Speakers
Dimensions: 14.25"H x 7.25"W x 16.00"D
Ports/Other: 5 USB 2.0 (4 in back, 1 in Media Reader), 1 VGA external connector, 1 serial, 1 parallel, 2 PS/2, 5 audio ports (2 in front, 3 in back)
Pre-Installed
Software: Microsoft® Works 8.0 1, Microsoft® Office 2003 Trial3 (Student Teacher Edition), Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, Microsoft® Money 2005, Microsoft® Encarta Online, Microsoft® Windows Media Player 10, CyberLink® PowerDVD, RealNetworks RealPlayer®, Napster 3.0 (30-day trial)4, Quicktime, Microsoft® Internet Explorer, AOL 9.0 (6 months membership included. Additional phone charges may apply.), Google Toolbar, Norton Internet Security™ 2005 (90-day complimentary trial)5, McAfee Anti-Spyware (30-day complimentary trial)6, eMachines BigFix®7 - identifies and resolves problems that affect the system before they occur
I also got this:::
So...now I have that thar jiggy, but it ain't hooked up yet. I'm still getting used to this here new baby!
I couldn't believe it when I got the paper off. I really thought it had to be a cruel joke and they'd put something else in a computer box. (remember Corey got his laptop Wednesday night?)
Apparently while they were checking out Corey's laptop and chatting with the manager guy who is pals with Tommy, they mentioned the dilemma of needing a new computer soon and the guy had them wait while he went to see what he could find in the way of something "doable" for the po' folk.
Anyhow, the deal they got for this thing was unbelievable and the best part is, it's paid for!!! WOO-HOO!
:)
I am so thrilled (after Corey FINALLY got the internet to work on it...gah!) with this thing. WOW!
I'm so tickled with this blessing that that's what I named 'er. Blessing. Blessing M. Computer.
M for Mama. ;)
Okay, shutting up now. It's way late and I need my sleep if I'm going to play with this all day tomorrow! (HA!)
~hugs~
Wishlist, that is.
I've never done this before. Made out such a completely "dream-time" wishlist, but I saw it on a couple of other blogs and thought I'd do the same. It doesn't hurt to dream big sometimes, right? ;)
So here you go...
A new computer, of course!
A set of earrings to replace my lost one... I don't need this many...one set would tickle me pink, sheesh!
Oh, and since I have been searching for my rings for the past several weeks (WAH!) I could use one of these...
A new camera would be really nice, too... (I know, I KNOW...I got one last year and was thrilled...but since then I've learned that zoom + high resolution are much to be desired!)
Oh, and a coat. I have searched high and low for a coat I like that also fits me! gah!
We haven't had a camcorder in years. Now that the boys are not so little, we have just forgotten how nice it is to have those. So here's the one I fancy:
Of course, to carry it all in, I'll need this...
Okay, people. Realize that this is all in fun. I'm not suddenly advocating the S@nt@ thing or whatever. I just thought this was fun. Kinda like window shopping, only at home on your butt. (the best way, in my opinion!)
Go do your own. Go post about how commercialized the season has become. Go post about whatever you want. ;) I wanted to post a wishlist, so that's what I did!
Have a wonderful, WARM day! *brrrr*
Just to get you all geared up for Christmas Day (or to make you really nutty trying to get the right answers) I've linked a few fun Christmas Quizzes for you!
Give 'em a try!
A Christmas Quiz -- This one changes everytime and it's a real brain breaker, too. Stretch those fingers and get ready to pull out all your internet research stops for this one!
Another Christmas Quiz -- This one is fun, but be forewarned...if the use of "X-mas" bothers you as much as it does me, you WILL see it on this page. It is still a fun quiz and will stretch your brain as well. You can also go to the home page and take past quizzes all the way back to 1998!
Yet Another Christmas Quiz -- I haven't taken this one yet. Lemme know if you do!
Still Another Christmas Quiz -- Another one I haven't taken, but it looks like fun. This one is a bit more modern and deals with the origins of various Christmas traditions.
One More Christmas Quiz -- This is a page with links to four different quizzes and is from Christianity Today. I think everyone can appreciate this one.
Okay. All done for now.
Have a beautiful day!
Anyone needing to get the 39-cent p0st@ge stamps (due January 8th) at the 37-cent price, run, do NOT walk, over to Zazzle and git you some!
If you're unfamiliar with Zazzle, it's an online jiggy where you can make your own legal, gen-you-ine postal stamps. You can also search out the work of other folks and order those as well.
IF you upload your own creation, there's a 10% discount, rat off'n the top! And a (at least when I ordered) $2.00 discount for each, yes, EACH sheet you order.
Sounds like a good deal to me. I called Mom, Hater of All Things Internet, to tell her about it. She wanted me to first make up one using the business name, and order ONE HUNDRED sheets!! GAH! That's two THOUsand stamps, people! When I figgered it all up and it came to over $1,400 bucks, she changed her quantity and got off her bargain-hunter high.
Sheesh! By the time she'd used $1,400 worth of stamps, the rate would've gone up at least twice already again!
Gah!
So, so check it out. I have a couple designs there. Here's one...
Anyhows...thought ya'll might like to know!
A Christmas Quiz
I've been tagged by Andrea!
1. Hot Chocolate or apple cider? I love apple cider, but hot cocoa is fine, too as long as it's really good.
2. Turkey or Ham? Either! Brang on da meats!
3. Do you get a fake or real-you-cut-it-yourself Christmas tree? Ours is fake. It's too much trouble to find a beautiful live tree. *sigh*
4. Decorations on the outside of your house? Not much this year...artifical pine boughs with red velvet ribbons on all the window sills with a single 'electric' candle taped to inside center, a small table top tree, two wreaths and some metal stake thingies with Christmas figures on them.
5. Snowball fights or sleddin'? Are you crazy? I'm too old and rickety for that kinda nonsense! Nuh-uh. I'm stayin' IN the house!
7. Do you enjoy going downtown shopping? NO!
8. Favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night
10. How do you feel about Christmas movies? Um..they're Christmassy? My faves are It's A Wonderful Life (the original!), It's Christmas, Charlie Brown (does that qualify as a movie?) Miracle On 34th Street and A Christmas Story (I know..a little non-traditional, but we love it)
11. When is it too early to start listening to Christmas music? Before November!
12. Stockings before or after presents? After. Dunno why. That's just how it always goes.
13. Carolers, do you or do you not watch and listen to them? We've never had any come to our house (wonder what that means?!?)
14. Go to someone else's house or they come to you? We go to my in-laws for Christmas early, then to either my sis's or Mom's on Christmas Eve (usually) then the in-laws, my parents and sis, etc. come to our house Christmas morning for a pancake breakfast. (except this year, because Christmas falls on Sunday, we're doing things differently)
15. Do you read the Christmas Story? If so when? Yes, several times. Christmas Eve and Morning.
16. What do you do after presents and dinner? Play with the goods! Either a game or some new contraption the boys got. If we're somewhere else, it's usually always a board game. At my parents' house, we sing carols.
17. What is your favorite holiday smell? Orange and cinnamon. Love to keep my own potpourri of it boiling on the stove (orange peels, cinnamon sticks, cloves simmering in water---delicious aroma!)
18. Ice skating or walking around the mall? Neither! But if I had to choose, it'd be walking the mall. I dunno how to ice skate!
19. Do you open a present or presents on Christmas Eve, or wait until Christmas day? For our family, usually Christmas morning.
20. Favorite Christmas memory? Snow on Christmas day; waiting for morning to come, the first glimpse of the tree Christmas morning, carolling.
21. Favorite Part about winter? Soft snowfalls at night when you can actually hear the flakes coming down.
22. Ever been kissed under mistletoe? Yes. Tommy climbed on top of our barn to get some when we were dating! I thought he'd fall and break his neck!
23. Tag. Hmmm...how about Linda, Kym and Osray! (anyone else who wants is, of course, welcome to...just please let me know if you post!)
~hugs~
See----click here.
You're welcome. ;)
...we are currently experiencing technical difficulty.
We anticipate that these difficulties may right themselves spontaneously, however, if they do not, we expect excessive yelling, noticable throbbing of veins on neck, stomping of feet or total loss of sanity or a combination of any or all of these conditions.
Do not panic. If it a lengthy downtime seems imminent your computer will run a test of the local emergency broadcast system. THIS IS ONLY A TEST.....
Good night! It seems as if I haven't been online in a coon's age! (which is a reeeeally long time s'long as the coon stays outta the highway)
Lemme see. Updates, updates, updates...where to start?!?
Okay, here goes in no particular order:
~ Finally got all the decorating done. Maybe I already told you that, but it was such a marvelous feat, I can tell you again. It's not as much as we usually do, but it's plenty enough this time around. *whew!*
~ Week before last, we discovered that our water heater was leaking. Yeah. So, we had to replace it. We got the same size...we thought. But this one's bigger. Not larger capacity, mind you. Just bigger. My water heater is kinda smooshed into the corner of my laundry room. In front of it is a big utility sink and beside it are the washer and dryer. THERE IS NO SPARE SPACE IN THIS ROOM! So, Tommy ended up having to cut about 2 inches off the wire shelf over the washer-dryer and redo all the pipes (3, counting electrical) going to the thing. It was SUCH A PAIN! But now we have hot water and a new bill to look forward to. *sigh*
~ The next week, on the day I'd decided to round up ALL the laundry (my boys are notorious hiders of laundry, both dirty and clean) and change the bedding, my washer quit. If it wasn't so sad, I'd have laughed! But thank God, this was yet another thing my spectacular hubby can fix and the part was a mere $10. This is the fourth time he's had to change that particular piece that makes the tub turn. Let's just say I've been warned about overloading the washer....
~ My inlaws have a tradition. MIL calls me about a week and a half before Christmas to ask me what we all want. Then, they will go buy said things and wrap them up and put them under their tree. That is, they buy said things unless they get mixed up and buy other unsaid things thinking all the while they are buying the correct said things, which they are not. So, this year, I'd been saving sale papers that the boys had mentioned showed items they'd like to have. I cut those out and wrote out the list, more like a letter, telling inlaws what said things were, where they could be found and explaining what all the initials and numbers meant (like MP3, RAM, Memory Cards) She also instructed me to tell them what Tommy and I wanted.
Sheesh! That seems to get harder each year. That is, it gets harder to tell them things we need/want that are of a reasonable cost. Just like the boys, our "toys" seem to get more expensive every year! I can never think of a thing I want, so I cut out a picture of my S0nic@re toothbrush and wrote that I needed a new head for it. I jotted down the style and size clothes he liked and that they had those on sale at blah-blah store. I also added some "grand" items and wrote that obviously, our needs were pretty expensive and we were just saving towards them, etc. thinking maybe instead of getting something they "found" but we didn't need, they'd give us money instead. One of those "grand" items was a 27" TV, since our 11 year old 23" has been dying for the past year.
So, this past Saturday was our time for Christmas with the Inlaws. (that sounds like some scary Christmas movie, doesn't it?! Christmas With The In-Laws LOL!) We always go over there at least a week before Christmas because MIL's work schedule never allows a good time for it closer to the actual day. Anyhow, we went and the boys got the exact MP3 players they wanted and we...we got the TV! I almost fell over! I had specifically said that it was merely a 'wish list' item and NOT to be taken seriously, but there it was. Wow.
Before we left, FIL went into the spare bedroom and came out with a 21" TV that MIL's mom had used. It had been sitting in that bedroom ever since she passed away over a year ago, so they insisted we take it too.
Now, we have 4 TV's in this house and that just feels SO WRONG! Casey's (the old 23") doesn't have cable to it since it's soley for games and Corey's he purchased himself for use with his X - b0x. Granny's TV is in our bedroom. I'm not sure how well I like the idea of having a TV in our bedroom, but at least when Tommy falls asleep watching the news, he's already in bed. *shrugs*
~ Corey's last day working at Wendy$ was last Friday. He finally decided to just quit, so his two weeks were up last week and he seems relieved. He was the lowest paid, but most-worked person they had. He consistantly had to run two grills and fries, which are three separate jobs...all being done by one person when my poor son was there. It was just too much and they were using him. *sigh*
Today, he's helping my dad. I've already talked with Mom about how it's going to have to be seldom that he works Corey because the main reason he quit the other place was to have time to finish up his credits so he can graduate. You can't do physics, algebra II, english 4 and spanish on just an hour here and there. Gah!
~ Corey's saved up a considerable amount and since he's decided not to sink much money into his car (ie: paint, fancy wheels, etc) he's ordered himself a laptop. Sheesh!!
He's been researching them for the past three weeks and finally found a bargain at 0ffiCe Dep0+. It should be here later this week. I'm excited for him. Now he'll be able to do quite a bit more of his school work on that and also have it just for coolness. ;)
~ The old Exp|0rer has gone back to its old trick again. You know. That trick where it won't run? Yeah. That trick. *sigh* It's doing the exact thing it did before when we thought it was the tranny and had a tranny guy take it apart only to tell us it's NOT the tranny, so it must be an electrical sensor thing, but you can't confirm that without a dealer scan and you HAVE to bring it for a scan while it's acting up or it's a waste of time. Sheesh!
So now we are waiting to get in for a scan because it's very consistant in its trick thingie these days. Gah!
~ We have gotten NO SNOW at all, which is just really sad. I admit to suffering from Snow Envy. There, I said it. I know, I know. Many of you don't WANT any snow. Many of you already HAVE SNOW and many of you don't give a horse's patoot either way. But I miss Kentucky snows. *siiigh*
~ I sitll have no email client. *grrr!* Computer's acting all goofy and it's making me crazy! I do have a 'new' (to me) monitor. A guy Tommy works with found it set out with the trash, picked it up and brought it into Tommy's office to see if he needed it. *huh?* He didn't, but knowing that he broke my monitor, he brought it home and we hooked it up. It didn't appear to have any visible damage other than the ton of stickers someone had plastered it with. Casey used some cleaner to get those off and we are using it to this very day. LOL! After setting it up on the desk we saw there was a dentedish spot where it's possibly been dropped, but it seems to work fine as can be. Hmph. Will wonders never cease?
Now to find an abandoned CPU with a pEnTiUm-d processor, an 80G hard drive, 60G of memory, a high speed DVD/CDRW drive, ..... Oh. *ahem* Yeah. When we find one of those, I'll definitely let ya'll know, 'kay?
Um, okay....I think that makes you all caught up!
Wait. No! I ain't callin' them suckers again! GAH!
I need help, ya'll! My Outlook Express has been acting goofy for months. About two months ago, I contacted tech support at my server and was told after numerous emails that I was "probably" gonna have to reinstall OE and he sent me a link so I could do that.
Well, obviously I didn't wanna hafta go through all that, so I didn't do it right then. But now? Now it's causing me all manner of grief, so I did it. I uninstalled OE and went to the link the tech guy provided. There I downloaded the OE installer and restarted my computer.
There, lo and behold, was OE still loaded on my computer! What da poo? So, I went and uninstalled it again, restarted and this time it was really gone.
*whew* says the naive woman with no clue as to what lay ahead...
I start the install program and up pops this box that says Installer has detected a newer version of Internet Explorer on your computer. Setup will cancel now and of course, when I clicked the stupid OK button, it all closed on me.
GAH! I went back to the download page and see that OE is bundled with IE and apparently YOU CAN'T GET OE ALONE ANYWHERE!!!!!!
GAAAAH!!!!! I am beyond frustrated here. I've tried using an old IE install disk I found and it just locks up whenever I try to start it. I've contemplated just removing IE too, but wasn't sure how that would work.
When I tried it, though, it only gives you three options: ReInstall IE, or Repair IE and something else I can't remember right now. [I just went to see what that third option was, and the computer freaked out on me. I don't even know if I'll be able to post this because half the stuff in my tray is now gone and the desktop has gone to safe mode. --HELP ME!!!!]
Gah. I'm SO MAD! Now I don't have ANY email...well, yeah, I CAN go to my accounts and check webmail, but how frustrating is THAT?!?! (very) ARGH!!!
If anyone out there can help me, PLEASE DO! Just let me know which email addy you send anything to, okay?
Oh, um....have a nice day.
*shrugs*
PS: I just realized, after trying to actually use IE, that my page looks RAUNCHY in IE!!! People, Firefox is THE ONLY way to go!
What else has been going on? Lemme see....
Well, besides trying to put things back in order in the house and hurtin' quite a lot Casey finally bagged himself a deer Friday afternoon. He got himself a new gun, an inline muzzleloader, and so he came home with another button buck. He was so thrilled and I think Tommy was almost as relieved as I was that he finally got one. It's been a bit hard on Tommy to go hunting with Casey this season. He's worked so hard here at the house, and had to work really late a few times and he's just not as young as he used to be, I guess. He gets awfully stiff and achy when he's out in the cold like this. But anyhow, Casey is well pleased with his catch. (pix on flickr)
Corey put in his notice at WeNdY'$ and his last day is Friday. He hoped to have another job with higher pay and a bit fewer hours, but it didn't work out. A pal of his from W's got a job there and it seemed everytime Corey went for an interview someone didn't show up, or was sick or something happened to delay the thing. I told him I had the strong feeling that God just didn't have that place in His plans for Corey. Today, the pal told Corey the manager at this new place is not as nice as he first seemed to be and has been on the pal's case because he's missed a few days over stomach flu! Even with doctor's excuses, the guy is acting kinda irate about it, so that's made Corey see how sometimes getting a NO can be a good thing.
He's going to devote all his time to finishing up high school. There was just no way for him to work full time and still complete physics, algebra II and spanish, not to mention the language arts credits he still needs. Just no way. He seems a bit relieved and I'm glad. He's decided against painting his Intrepid and is just going to keep it as is while he finishes school and later works more to save up for a car he is more satisfied with.
Casey's basketball practices have started. Tommy's taken him each time so I have no clue how it's going. It's weird, too, since I was at every soccer practice I feel completely out of the loop now. But I just haven't been able to take him. I can't wait to see him play. He's got his uniform and all that so he's really pumped about it.
Corey's EMT awards banquet is this Friday then we go to Tommy's parents' for Christmas on Saturday. I just can't believe it's Christmas!! This one has just flown by me and I have vowed to myself never to start such a huge remodeling project during the holidays EVER AGAIN!
Actually, it wasn't supposed to be this huge, but things just kinda snowballed into a really major project! I'm glad to have it done, though and the house is SO much nicer now. Well, it will be once I get all the nitpicky details taken care of. *sigh*
Tommy's doing well with his new (used, but new to him) computer at work. He's started looking around and pricing computers since he now understands how antiquated my computer is and how hard it makes things to use such a junker. Will miracles never cease? ;)
Okay, so that pretty much gets you all up to date with the insanity. Hopefully, my life will slow down some after the holidays and I can make some leisurely visits! I'm getting SO far behind with all of you!
Have a peaceful evening!
I'm hurtin', folks.
Do you wanna know what hurts and how bad it hurts?
I thought so. Well, too bad. I'm gonna tell ya anyhow....
My back is KILLING ME! I do NOT wanna have to go to the chiro with this, so I'm trying to stretch and take it easy with the lifting. Since the worst of the heavy stuff is done, that won't be a problem.
I've had several sessions with the chiro over the years and it's always the same thing...that dadblasted curve thing. It seems my spine has an overpronounced curve at my lower back. It throws everything off and it hurts like the dickens when it acts up.
I really think that when I was a kid and my mom would holler at me to not slouch and straighten your back all in that horrified voice, I'd immediately throw my shoulders back and my rear end out and that got her off my back (no pun intended, believe me!) That's the exact position that makes my back just HURT! The exercises I've been given in the past are things like tilting my hips forward in a completely unnatural, not to mention unladylike position. It DOES feel better when I do that, but I can't go around like that all day, for goo'niss sakes!
So, I try to just curve my spine into a C whenever I can lie down for a bit or at bedtime. The way I sit, stand and walk all put my back in that painful position! For one thing, there just aren't any chairs made for people under 5'5". So when I sit, my legs are left dangling like some dwarf escaped from the workshop, minus curly-toed shoes, of course. Even here in the computer chair...if I don't sit forward, my back will ache somethin' awful. Whenever I lean back in the chair, my back gets in that position and the only way to NOT be in that shape is to slide my butt back in the chair as it's supposed to be, but then I'm left with those dangling feet which is also uncomfortable.
GAH! I think maybe I need to just start some kinda campaign against all seating manufacturers! Ha! I'm positive I'm not the only untall person in the world who is forced to deal with these kinds of things everyday!
*sigh* Nah. I'm too tired to do that.
I'm also back to doing that not-breathing thing when I sleep. Not breathing, whether you're awake or asleep, is just not a good thing, obviously and for me it means I don't sleep worth a plug nickel! I THINK the reason I'm doing that again is because I've been trying to sleep on my back so the heating pad is doing all it can and I am NOT a back-sleeper. I'm a curled-up-on-my-side-with-pillow-hugged-tight kinda gal. Sheesh. Can't win for losin' sometimes!
My hands are getting better though, thank God! They've been really bad to go numb in like seconds instead of minutes when I'm holding things. I know that sounds like a really minor thing, but it's unbelievably distressing when it's happening repeatedly and the numbness is the kind that hurts. Gah. I assume it's a combination of neuropathy and carpal tunnel, but it never used to be this much of a bother. Seriously. Sometimes I can barely button up a shirt without stopping to shake some feeling back into my hands. But like I said, it is a little better.
Other than that, I'm fine. LOL! Ha! Finally getting the house back together. New pix have been uploaded so click on the flickr jiggy to see.
Whaddya mean where's your entree? This is a Whine Only establishment today. Sorry 'boutcher luck.
Case and I went to see Chronicles of Narnia again today.
*heh*
A buddy of his called about 9:45 am and told him there was a homeschool group going at a discounted rate.
Wha!?!?? I didn't even know there WAS a homeschool group anymore and WHAT DISCOUNT?!?!
Turns out there's just an informal group of families, mostly with younger kids, who get together to do field trips and such. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to see Narnia again and at a discount?!? Shoot yeah, we were goin'!
We got in for less than HALF what we spent Friday, including popcorn and soda! SHEESH!
And in case you're wondering...yes, it was as good the second time as it was the first. If you haven't seen this movie yet, I IMPLORE YOU to go RIGHT NOW!!!
I mean it!!!
It's the best movie I've seen in years and YOU HAVE TO GO SEE IT!!!
| Your Blogging Type is Artistic and Passionate |
 One moment you may be working on a new dramatic design for your blog... And the next, you're passionately writing about your pet causes. Your blog is very important - and you're careful about who you share it with. |
| Your Birthdate: November 1 |
 You have the power and self confidence to succeed in life, and your power grows daily. Besides power, you also have a great deal of creativity that enables you to innovate instead of fail. You are a visionary, seeing the big picture instead of all of the trivial little details. Your strength: Your supreme genius Your weakness: Your inappropriate sensitivity Your power color: Gold Your power symbol: Star Your power month: January |
Um, I don't think so. "Power and self confident"??? "Natural born leader"??? Uh. No. This is waaaay off! Sheesh! Although it is right on the money about that supreme genius stuff.
Pthttht! Yeah, right.
Yes, folks. I am still alive, although it doesn't always feel that way.
If you'll scroll down to the flickr jiggy on the right, you can click to see the lastest pix. No, there are no completely, absolutely finished shots, but gimme time. I'm workin' on it.
I finally have the Christmas decorations up and just in the nick of time. I tell ya, if not for the kids being here and this being one of the few Christmases we'll have 'together', I would've just forgone the whole thing. I am that tired.
Tommy and I both are down in our backs. Actually, I don't quite know how he's kept going because I figure his must hurt more than mine does.
We discovered Wednesday that our water heater was leaking, so that was a lovely (NOT) surprise expense we really didn't need. He brought one home Thursday night and, after taking Case to his basketball practice, he installed it. It was larger...not in capacity, just in size, so that caused all kinds of problems with fittings and space, etc., etc.
GAH!
I don't have even one of the few gifts I've bought wrapped and the in-laws want to have our get together next Saturday. Rush, rush, rush!
Weird stuff going on with my mom. One minute she's fine, next she's acting all mad. I don't know what to make of it, but am trying to be as patient as possible. Mom (my grandma, not my mother) passed away on Christmas morning three years ago and I know it's hard on my Mom.
I have to get pix of the two pups up here asap...and the tree. It looks great, even though I thought I'd die getting it up. The mantle looks awful without a picture hanging above it, so I'm putting off taking a shot of it. I promise, though, as soon as I can, I'll have ya a few finished shots up.
For now, I am heading to bed. I'm exhausted!
OH---I did do something totally unnecessary today. Casey and I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia. If you've never seen a production of it, you must see the movie. It's truly wonderful! I bawled all through it. It's one of my all-time favorite stories.
Gotta get some sleep now.
~hugs~
*drooping eyes* Well, we are done with the painting. FINALLY! Tommy and I have worked til 1 am or later several times in the past couple of weeks. Mom has come up during the day to help a few times. I've worked til I couldn't see straight....but finally, the worst of it is over!
And it's looking really great!
I have to say right now how thankful I am that my feet never got really bad. No swelling, no throbbing pain, no aching. Just unbelievable endurance from the old dawgs. Thank God! My shoulders are still kinda mad at me for all the stuff I've put them through, but it's nothing we can't work out. LOL! Nothing that really puts me on my butt, at least.
This room, the big one that was painted first, is now a pretty serious mess. I have the open bookcases sorted and cleaned. But there are quite a few boxes of displaced books or "other stuff" that I've got to go through. We had one little bookcase that is pretty rickety and worn that I'm hoping to do away with altogether. I think with all the books I've either boxed up to save or give away I can make room for the stuff off that little shelf.
I have a 4 foot stack of totes that I may be able to whittle down at bit after I go through the two cabinets. I'm sure I can toss some stuff from those. One cabinet is actually a microwave cart thing that I've used as craft storage. I know there are things in there I can send to the trash. Where we used to make crafts for the nursing home each month, I know there are all kinds of 'saved' things like toilet paper rolls, milk cartons, etc. Yeah...those can go and not fast enough!
So, I haven't been here because for at least three days, I couldn't even see the computer, let alone actually use it! My husband is of the mind that you should move all large items that you can instead of covering and just working around them, so the couch and loveseat were piled up against my computer desk. What -- a -- mess! GAH!
Oh! And that hopeless carpet? You can't imagine how well it cleaned up!!! I always tried to keep the carpet out of any pix I took. (yes, I'll try to get some up soon!) We started working on the carpet late Thursday night after getting the final coat of paint on the walls and trim. I was just NOT very hopeful about it cleaning up very much. We didn't use Mom's steam cleaning thing. It puts hot water and cleaner in the rug, then pulls it back out. Yes, it cleans a lot of dirt out, but it doesn't scrub at all.
But the K-i-r-b-y does. Mom hates my bulky Kirb, but I love the power drive because it's so much easier to manuver. Anyhow, I have the carpet shampoo jiggy for it and it scrubs the heck outta the carpet! I used some kinda miracle spot remover stuff on it that Mom gave me. (it's called G00d Ridd@nce, for those curious few) Of course, since the "spots" were quite large, I wasn't sure how we were going to handle cleaning them completely without mondo cost in buying more miracle stuff...but we sprayed it on and Tommy would run the carpet scrubber over it, and slowly we'd see a clean spot emerge.
After working on the very worst areas, we put the cleaner into the Kirb shampooer and went to work with it. I only had enough cleaner for two tankfuls, but we were very impressed with how well it worked! By the time we were done, I wished I'd taken a before pic, because the results left me stunned!
Anyhow, we won't be in such desperate need of new carpet for awhile now. Thank the Lord, it cleaned up amazingly well!
So my new living room is all together, minus any wall decor or window treatments. My sitting/computer/school/piano room is .... well, a shambles, but I hope to put it to rights today.
We have not one single Christmas decoration up and it's killing me! We'll have to put the tree in the corner where the front door is because there simply is no other place for it. We've blocked the back door for years with the Christmas tree, but it makes me uneasy. I just don't like doing it, but I do love my tree and not having to smoosh it into a tiny spot is worth my unease over the blocked door. *sigh* Now, to just get it down from the attic and put together in its place!
Maybe later today, we can do that.
I never dreamd of getting all this stuff done. It wasn't even in my plans, but after all the fatigue and hard work, I'm thrilled with the results. The house just looks so much brighter, cleaner, inviting! YAHOOOO!!
I also took down all my kitchen valances and washed, ironed and replaced them; cleaned the blinds in there and am intent on shampooing that carpet ASAP to see if it will also do miracles in the even MORE horrible kitchen carpet. Now THAT floor is NASSSSSTY!!!! Yick!
So...hopefully I'll get ya some more pix of the front room up soon...if you haven't already figured out...just click on the flickr pix down there and you'll go to the newest pix. I know you're just dying to see. I just don't think the pix will half express the major changes in this house! For now, I need to get my butt busy. Sitting beside me is an almost-5-foot stack of empty crates, behind me is a large assortment of boxes that need sorting and the floor will need some major attention once I find it again. *siiigh*
Work, work, work! When I get done with all this, I think I'm gonna just sleep til Christmas!! ;) More stuff to tell ya about, but it'll have to wait for another day.
Love to all!