An Early Evening Random Sunday Post

As you can tell from this photo, today was a very cloudy, lazy day.

I basically sat around all morning and afternoon and watched TV.  I did manage to do four loads of laundry, vacuum my dining room area finally as the bird feathers that had accumulated made it look as though a flock of birds had invaded my dining room floor near the bird cage.

I also organized my laundry room, folded AND put away all the clothes, except I just remembered I pulled my coat out to hang it on a hanger and forgot to put the rest of the laundry from the wash into the dryer.

Be right back.....

Don't go anywhere.....

Okay, I'm back, did ya miss me?

Probably not. I could have been gone for hours and you would never know.  Although I did do more than just put the laundry in the dryer, I made myself a salad with some imitation crab meat and ranch and garlic and cheese croutons.

Like you really care about what I had to eat today.

I think I need to stop eating.

No seriously, I need to cut back considerably and walk a little more.  Maybe even do some aerobics or something.  Well, maybe not aerobics, but some Yoga perhaps. I miss having the FitTv channel, I had that at my ex's house. I use to do the 20 minute ab workout with my daughter who was five at the time. I didn't have weights, so I would take a can of green beans for each hand and use those as weights. 

I remember one time my daughter went to the pantry and she tells me "Mommy there are no more green beans," as though it's the green beans that she needs to use verses (or is it versus?) any variety of vegetable in a can.

I told her just to grab the corn.

She was only five...remember that.

I also use to do the Namaste Yoga. That was the best. I am sure I could find it online somewhere I suppose, however, I hate watching "tv" on my computer. 

That summer I did that yoga and the abs workout, I lost 13 pounds. I was so damn proud of myself. I was looking good. I would take a walk around our little blow up 36 inch pool that we got and although I can't swim I can "float" across that small of an area of water. 

So I did that too.

I felt so good about myself that summer.

Then we went to my kids Tae Kwon Do class. They were three years old at the time, almost four. 

There were two rows of folding chairs.  I sat down in a folding chair in the front row of parents. I remember I was holding my daughter on my lap, when all of a sudden...out of nowhere...the chair collapsed and I could see up the nostrils of the guy behind me.

Needless to say, I was embarrassed and shocked that this even happened.

Thankfully I managed to cushion my daughter as we were sinking to the floor. My head hit the back of the chair and the man and his wife helped me and my daughter up off the floor.  I was grinning and tried to maintain my composure, but in all honesty I just wanted to run to the bathroom and cry.

I still couldn't believe that happened. After all the weight I lost, and I didn't need to lose much weight, just needed to lose some post-baby weight (two years later) that wouldn't let go of me. Clearly it was the fault of the chair manufacturer and not my newly revised body that was the reason for the malfunction.

It's funny now.

It's funny as hell.

But it wasn't when it happened.

So anyway, I didn't make a resolution this year. I never do. Those things are a waste of time if you ask me. And I don't diet either. I will never diet.  To me "diets" are a joke. Just choose to eat a little better or exercise more. Get your fat ass of the couch and go run or jog or walk.  That's what I am going to do, get my fat ass up and do something productive.

I don't believe in all these stupid weight loss programs that get richer while you eat like a bird and wish you had some fried chicken to go with that salad your eating.

Eat your fried chicken, just wash it down with water instead of soda. Or walk it off. Or P90X it off. Or Yoga it off.

I get tired of hearing people complaining about how many points some damn donut is, eat your donut, I'm not your judge or jury. I could care less if you eat it.  But that's why I don't diet, because I refuse to feel guilty for indulging in whatever I want to eat when I want to eat it. 

 I read in online  groups or hear it in person all these people trying to reason how they are going to "work off" the "extra points" they just consumed.

Life's to short to count points.

If I'm going to count points, it will be on my gas card to see how much I get off the next tank of gas.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm happy that there are programs out there that help those who truly need guidance and counseling to maintain a healthy weight. Maybe they have diabetes, maybe they are pre-disposed to being overweight or having a higher BMI.  God bless you.  Just please don't drag me into your dieting drama.

I.Don't.Care.

It's like me droning on about my personal life. Half the people don't care who I confess it to. So, I've stopped sharing with the half that doesn't care and only share with those who do.

See what I mean?

Maybe I sound like a bitch. 

Maybe I am one.

Do I care, what other people think of me?

Nope.

I use to.

Then I read something that changed my attitude. It's something I read in a book a co-worker gave me about people pleasing. Basically people-pleasers are always looking for validation. "Good Job Barbie!" with the little pat on the head, or "Thanks for driving all the way to the mall to pick up my dry cleaning and then stopping at Starbucks for my Chocolate Raspberry Chai Latte Frothy something or other". 

I'm done with the whole validation thingy.

You have people out there who thrive on their "power trips", manipulating others to get what they want(and they may "THINK" I don't know they are doing it, but I do) and they go around making the little people feeling even littler. After all the shit I've been through the past four years, I've come to realize that no matter who it is, even the most asshatiest of asshats can't make you feel inferior or unimportant unless you allow them to.

YOU(or me in this case) choose how to react to a situation. Be it a bad day at work, kids fighting, husband yelling about work, you decide how you will let that energy flow.

It can flow THROUGH you or AROUND YOU and you deflect that nasty crappiness back to the source.

I don't care what that person's title is; Husband, Wife, HOA president,  Doctor, Manager, Owner, Assistant, whatever their "big title" is, they have no right treating you as a second-class citizen.

I don't care if you clean toilets, if you work in a sewer, if you clean houses or apartments or hotel rooms, you are just as important as that person with the overly paid position and title.  I don't care if you are an unemployed man or woman, that working spouse of yours needs to respect you and if they begin to make you feel small or unimportant or unworthy, shut off those negative nasties and take control of your self-worth. 

 You are still at home cleaning house, making dinner and if you have children taking care of them as well. 

YOU ARE IMPORTANT!!

YOU MATTER!

YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN CHANGE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF!

It's a very, very slow process, but I have also come to the realization that instead of trying to assert myself by attacking back, I simply nod and ignore whatever foolishness comes out of the mouths of those who think their doo doo smells like daisies.

(that's a nicer way of saying another phrase similar to what I just said)

I breathe, and I take a step back. 

I go to my happy place or I remember a joke or something funny that my kids at home or school said and I realize that it's going to be okay.

And 99.9% of the time it usually is.

Because one day that same person is going to realize when they say the wrong thing to the wrong person, just how much that title they bear doesn't really matter.

Maybe that husband who constantly complains about how you cook, will lose his job and be forced to cook for you while you have to go to work. He just might appreciate you AND your cooking a little bit more.

And that office manager, who runs around with her little to do lists for the clerks who are already busting their rump to make deadlines and presentations in time for the big account meeting, just might find herself one day in the clerk's shoes when the budget calls for cutbacks and layoffs.

Nothing is set in stone.

Ever.

So be grateful you have a home, a job, a good wife or husband, be grateful that despite the crap some people may throw your way from time to time is not going to last forever.

Maybe,  if you are single and you have been struggling all your life you will get married and your spouse will tell you to enjoy time at home with your kids.

Maybe, that person who made your life a living hell will see the error of their ways and apologize.

Maybe, that job you applied for will call you tomorrow.

Maybe, that person at work who mistreated and abused your willing and helpful nature, will get their ass kicked when they spouted the same obscenities to the wrong person.

Maybe, just maybe, the person who will come out the strongest, smartest and wisests from  all of the pain and all the heartache and all the sleepless nights and late nights at work is the one person who matters most....

YOU.

That is not a maybe, that, my friends is truth.

"Weather" You Like It Or Not

For the second morning in a row a little hummingbird has graced me with his presence. 
He comes by and I watch him poke his little head into the buds on the tree outside my patio and then flutter off  to another branch. I am so mesmerized just sitting there watching him. This morning, however, he was being bothered by a bee who decided he wanted that same flower bud on the tree. The bird would back up then the bee would go in then the hummingbird would stop hovering and go back in as if he was telling that bee, "I found this first. Go find your own branch."
This exchange went on for about a minute or so, then the hummingbird just decided to head to another branch.
No use fighting over the same thing, it's better to just walk(or fly) away sometimes.
I'm sitting here watching Minute to Win It while drinking some Gevalia Medium Blend Coffee with some Caramel Machiatto creamer and eating some Baklava I made last night. Today I'm going to make some banana muffins and then if time allows I might even throw in some lemon squares later.  This is what I do when I get bored...I bake...and then I eat.
Of course I will share with my friends at work and my kids who will be here in the morning.  I'm certainly not going to eat all 24 muffins and the whole roll of Baklava(although I could if I had the chance to).    It's a beautiful morning out here.  By Thursday we are suppose to reach a high temp of 74 degrees.  Let me just say, although I am grateful that we haven't had a frigid winter, *knocks on wood*, I feel bad that my poor family and friends back home are stuck in something that resembles this:     Add to that subzero temps that make your eyeballs and nostrils freeze the minute you walk out your front door.  They had temps that ranged anywhere from -35 to -45 degrees below zero.     I had called my mom this morning and asked her, "How is the weather in Alaska this morning?"    Let me just say those Hoosiers for the most part hate this weather, including my mother.   I, however, would love nothing more than to be out in that weather. Go ahead and call me crazy, because if crazy loves the snow, despite the temps then I suppose I am crazy.   To be able to hear the snow crunch underneath my boots, to make a snowball, build a snowman(although not in the subzero temps as that is impossible to do with frozen solid snow), watch snowflakes dance in the wind as I look out the window, I would definitely take a month's worth of subzero temps just to be able to dance and play in the snow with my kids.   Like that 80's song, "Don't know what you got til it's gone."   Complain all you want to about the snow, the freezing temps and the ice on the roads, when you are sitting in the middle of the desert valley on a hot 99-degree evening sweating your ass off, with a breeze that makes it feel like you are standing in front of an open oven, I guarantee you will most definitely appreciate the subzero temps a little more...   ...and the snow.   Mother Nature is not happy or is going through menopause or something.  Because while we are having unseasonably warm temps out here on this side of the continent, everything east of Colorado and beyond is like a giant commercial freezer.   I am not looking forward to another desert summer here. Less than eight years and I can be done with this stuff. Sad thing is, less than eight years my kids will be adults.   Young adults.   To every pro there is a con I suppose.   When I think about how long I've lived in this cesspool city, eight years is basically a walk in the park for me.   *blink*   It's done and I can move finally.   My boys plans when they graduate are to join the Navy like their dad did. My daughter wants to be a veterinarian.    So they won't be in this state either when I choose to leave anyway.   That's me telling myself it's okay to follow through on my dreams to move.   For now though, I'll just roll out of bed every morning and try to make the best of each day for the next 2,925 days that I am stuck here. Yes, that's right I figured it out on the calculator.   I need a countdown clock of some kind to mark the momentous occasion.   Have a lovely Sunday everyone.   And for those of you wondering where yesterday's blog post went, it's back in my drafts and yes, I did read the comments.   Thank you.   And for the record no, I don't know the other name of the other hall besides Valhalla. Guess I'll have to watch the show Vikings to find out.    Feb 27 cannot come soon enough. 
I have another blog post coming but will post it later on today.
         

A Normal,Blissful Weekend YAY!

This is our fishy named Squishy.

I have to tell you, my kids decided in the middle of my cleaning spree to clean out their sea monkey bowl and Squishy's bowl all at the same time.

It was chaos in my kitchen for about a half an hour.

They pick the most inopportune times to do things like this.

Looking at Squishy, he seems to have lost some of his color. That concerns me, but I don't want to freak out my kids. I don't know why he lost his color. He was a brighter blue when we got him and three days into having him, he went paler and I thought he was going to faint or something.

He's still with us though.

So are the sea monkeys. 

All three of them.

My house is a zoo. 

We have three sea monkeys, two parakeets and a partridge in a pear tree, actually a Blue Betta in a round bowl.

We are off for some burgers in a little bit.

Thought we'd take a walk and get some burgers to go and enjoy some fresh air with the kids. They have been very well behaved this weekend.  For that, they will receive an award of a burger each. I might let my daughter invite her friend she is playing with. I have to see how much cash I have on hand and if I have enough first though.

Wouldn't want to get there and have to say, "Sorry Jenny, you walked all this way with us craving a cheeseburger and I'm a dollar short."

I'd probably just let her have mine.

I'm not that cruel...especially to a kid.

We played one hell of a long game of Monopoly yesterday. It started out with me, my daughter and the twin boys. We began at 1:30 p.m and didn't get done until 8:05.

Yeah, that's what happens when you get into the blood thirsty game of real estate.

It felt like it was never going to end. I thought for sure we'd be playing until the birds woke up this morning.

My daughter dropped out first after a half an hour. She was outside with friends who came knocking on our door about 2:00. Then it was me and the boys. Took about three hours before my oldest twin son was bankrupt.

There were tears and I finally told him, "It's just a game. Don't worry I'll get all his money too."

Then it was me and the youngest twin.

Let me just say that at one point I recall telling him, "This is going to get ugly."

He grinned at me.

The next two and a half hours were grueling to say the least. We were playing on the living room floor and my elbows are still raw from being on the carpet. The only time  I got up was to check on the pot roast in the crock pot, fix dinner plates and tinkle when necessary.

I finally got my son when he landed on Virginia. He had, at this point, mortgaged all but one of his properties at which point he gave me whatever he had left in his hand and threw his hands in the air in a motion of defeat.

There were cards and money and hotels and houses everywhere at the end of the game.

That's his money scattered all over the board. 

I had Boardwalk and Park Place, as well as the green properties all of which had hotels upon them, I had St. Charles, States and Virginia and Oriental, Vermont and Connecticut. 

Not to mention, for some reason, I kept getting the free parking cash.

If only my monetary luck flowed like that in real life.

It was fun.

We had a good time all in all.

My daughter wanted to play this morning.

Until she started losing all her money.

Then she quit.

My youngest twin took over her spot and he lost all his money too.

The game was over when he took her spot pretty much within an hour.

Now he and his brother are playing. 

Occasionally I hear them yelling, "Mom, he's cheating!" But there is no bloodshed or shoes flying or anything like that going on around here. They seem to be problem-solving on their own.

Seems like my parenting this weekend is working.

Not sure if you recall the little phone incident with my son (click here for that blog) , but I put my foot down and didn't cave despite the tears and the click on the other end of the phone line from both my boys.

I said what I meant and meant what I said.

And it worked!

They have been watching their tone with me, and have been calmer than most days and when disagreements ensue or I ask them to stop annoying one another, it's gotten a little better around here with compliance.

It's like a nice wave of peace around here for a change.

Also, I have been working on not screaming like a screech owl when they begin their little tirades or start to argue. I am calm, and I take a breath and then I deal with the situation.

It's a learning process for us all here.

Well, it's time to head out the door now.

I'll be back later.

 

Looking For Some Potty Privacy Please

   
I have a Strawberry Flavored Pillsbury Toaster Strudel that I'm munching on this morning, along with a fresh, hot, cup of coffee to wash it down.

I think I should have put the setting on the toaster a tad bit higher, as my strudel is more like a pastry wrapped Popsicle than a warm, melted pastry treat.  

It's edible, so I'm going to continue to eat this.

I've got some sniffles and congestion going on this morning.  Just when I thought I was past this garbage after my one day hurl-fest last month, it came back, the sniffling and congestion that is. I honestly thought every germ was forcefully removed from my body after that whole flu fiasco and I swear I thought I even saw one of my kidneys in the toilet at one point and time during my 24-hour weekend hurl-fest. 

*looks over and nods at you eating your breakfast*

"How's those eggs?"

So now I get to carry around either a roll of toilet paper, a roll of paper towels or an actual box of tissue for the next two weeks or so. 

I don't actually have a box of tissue.

I have never bought a box of tissue since I've lived on my own.  I can't remember actually, the last time I bought a box of tissue.  We usually just run to the bathroom, or the kitchen and use whatever paper product is handy at the moment...except a paper plate...I'm thinking that wouldn't feel good on the nose at all, although I've never tried it.  I'm sure in extreme desperation we would resort to the paper plate proxy for tissue, but thankfully I make enough money to purchase our "usual" necessary nose products to take care of any post nasal dripping that should come our way.

Yesterday, while I was in the bathroom, MY bathroom I might add, trying to have some solitude and do my business, my daughter decides she is just going to strut right into the bathroom as my drawers hung around my ankles, shirt hanging over my kneecaps and I'm trying to do my daily duty, and she just starts talking to me like there is a couch beneath my bum instead of a cold, white, toilet.  She's telling me all about how she wants to write a song and she started on this song, but she can't think of words to finish the song and she isn't sure what the song is about it's kind of a friend song, but then it's not, and she wants my help with the song  at which point I tell her with a grin upon my face, "I'm sort of busy here", and she continues the conversation as though she is unaware of the words that just came out of my mouth or the obvious fact of where I was sitting, as she walks towards me and shows me the song that is partially-written in pencil in her Hello Kitty Notepad.

In my head I am cracking up over this. I cannot believe my nine-year old daughter is oblivious to the fact that I would just like to use the restroom in peace. So I look at this notepad and next thing I know her brother walks in, sees me and hops back behind my bedroom wall. 

I am grateful all parts of me that needed covering were covered. 

So now I'm sitting there thinking, "This has to end now."

He wants to know if he can get on the computer because his brother was already on the computer in the morning and he was on it a long time and now my other son just wants his time on the computer, as much time as his brother got.  

Yeah, a whole elaborate explanation without first seeing if I'll even say yes or no.

And yes, my daughter is STILL standing in front of the mirror with her notepad, as she admires her reflection, while he gives his elaborate plea for computer time.

"Are you kidding me???!!!Is this for real?! Are my kids really invading my potty privacy?!"

I thought for sure my youngest twin would be next in line, but I finally told the two I had seen already, "Look I need to wipe. Would you all please leave so I can do that and get out of here please?!"

My daughter is grinning as she tip toes out the door backwards and I ask her to please close the door.

I expected this when they were three and four, not nine and ten. I remember one time, my daughter at around age five or six was sick with the flu. I had just sat down on the toilet, and low and behold she knocks on the door and says she is gonna be sick. My ass never jumped up so fast off that toilet to unlock that door and let her in.  

I didn't get but a sprinkle out of me, but I flushed and hit that door so fast my head spun.   As a parent you will come to realize that it's much better to let them hit the toilet than the floor any day.

I wonder at what age, children realize how sacred bathroom space really is for a parent.  

When do they understand that when you see mommy or daddy in that room, with the glowing light coming from beneath the door that it is not a neon welcome sign for all to enter at will?

If they are sick, that is one thing. I don't care if they are fifteen, if they are sick and need me or as we say in school, "Fire, flood or blood", then YES, YES BY ALL MEANS COME AND FIND ME. 

But if you just want to chat, or you want to know if you can have the last Danimal in the fridge, then I'm sorry dears, but it can wait until I'm done.

If only it were that simple.

I'm sure no matter how many times I ask them NOT to enter my Private Potty Space they will find a way around it. Even if I lock the door, a simple penny remedies that obstacle on their side of the door.

It's a no win situation.

Some day they'll read this when they are older and they will laugh, and they will have kids of their own and they will understand and laugh even more.

For now I will just try and take their interruptions with a grain of salt. Laugh in my mind as I do, because I know one day, they won't be popping up in the bathroom unexpectedly with songs, and stories and requests to do something or have something out of the fridge. 

They grow up way too fast.

I will take a million minutes of interruptions over a million minutes of silence any day.

The Girl That Cried Wolf....and Wolf....and..."Oh Look I'm Still Here!"

Yeah, that's right.

I'm still here.

Peek a boo!

I thought for sure I would lose my internet, my TV and all my connections to the outside world...other than the obvious of walking outside the door.  Because the chick that talked to me on the phone from the cable company last week, apparently doesn't know what loyalty means nor does she know how to keep her customers with the company. I can't remember if I told you all this story or not, but oh well, you are going to hear it again I suppose.

I talked to a woman a little over a week ago about reducing my cable bill. She was part of this company's "Loyalty Department".  Unfortunately the best she could tell me was "I can offer you Cinemax, Showtime, or HBO for $5 extra for three months," apparently she missed the part of our conversation about how I was a single mom, barely making ends meet over here with three other mouths to feed, rent, and utilities and the specific words that I said which were, "Are there any discounts you can offer me? " fell upon deaf ears.

Or ears that did not understand simple English.

In her little world, the word discount must mean "to spend more money".

So I listened to the prices of internet with phone, internet only and phone and cable only to tell her at the end of our conversation that "I will call in a few days. I think I may just have to cancel everything."

I could see her rolling her eyes in my mind and pulling the gum out of her mouth stringing it out and shoving it back in, then twirling her hair around and motioning for a coworker to grab her a diet Coke. She wasn't going to help me, and I wasn't going to fork over one dime to them until I was satisfied.

We hung up.

Then two nights ago, I called, yet again and spoke with a different woman. I was ready to say goodbye to the outside world of technology and social networking. It was like putting your dog to sleep, you don't want to do it, but you have to because it's in the best interests of the dog. You have to be responsible and in this instance, I had to be financially responsible despite the fact that my only source of entertainment on many a lonely night in my apartment would be gone.

However, this woman was a tad bit more understanding of my situation, but unfortunately she couldn't help me either. She transferred me to their "Loyalty Department" and yet again, as I sat on hold I thought "I hope someone upstairs is watching over me and this turns out good."

Enter Cesar on the other end of the line.

He was quite friendly and listened to me tell him my whole single-mom-trying-to-make-ends-meet non-fiction maladies. I told him how I was stuck financially after working only six days for two weeks time because of the holidays with no pay. I told him how I would love to keep the service, but it's just not financially feasible for me to do. After I finished saying, "$186 is a car payment not a cable bill. This is not a necessity but rather a luxury for me and my kids," he advises me to sit for a moment while he puts me on a silent hold to see what he could do.

Minutes pass and finally Cesar comes back on line. He managed to get me a deal, $50 off the car payment... I mean cable bill... and told me that I just needed to make last month's payment and they would work with me to keep me connected with payments over the next few weeks until I could catch up.

I saw a light shining down from the heavens and angels singing. It was a beautiful moment for me.

Okay, well no angels or light shining other than the moonbeams from the approaching full moon, but still it was a moment I was relieved to have nonetheless.

I now caught up with last month's payment today.  So all that is left is the regular cable bill that is due on January 31.

I can do this.

Then yesterday our boss was kind enough to pay us early due to the long holiday weekend and the fact that the crappy paychecks we had due to the six day two week paychecks left some of us sitting on the side of the road with our children singing church hymns while sitting on milk crates and whittling wood for extra money.

No, it wasn't that bad, but it sure felt like it the first week of this month when I did get my post holiday paycheck.

I'm just grateful I have a job and even more grateful for the early payday.

And yet again, another year went by and somehow I survived.

The beast made it, the kids had an amazing holiday, I baked my ass off, and we survived.

So now I'm sitting here just waiting for my kids to get home so we can hopefully enjoy our evening. I say hopefully,  because there is always some drama to be had with my kids. Someone took another someone's toy, or brush, or money or something. Just now my youngest twin called to ask if his friend could spend the night.

I said no.

Yeah, risky move I know but I need to put my foot down. I don't care if dad is the fun parent, I'm being a responsible one, and I'm going to make sure these kids have some sort of boundaries. And no this is not me bashing their dad, we get along for the most part, and I'm past all the "bad mouthing the ex" juvenile crap, this is me just saying that I don't make the six figure income he does and can't afford to spoil and let them do whatever they want to whenever they want to while being disrespectful to their mother.

I told my son in no uncertain terms that I don't care if he wants ten kids to spend the night, until he and his brother start being nicer to one another and they stop disrespecting me that won't happen on my time. Let them tear up their dad's house, or run around getting into mischief there. That's his business. But my kids need to know that there are rules and you need to respect adults, especially your parents. And hopefully it will rub off on them enough, so much so, that when they are with dad they will make more responsible choices.

Then my son tells me, "We won't fight, he wants to see the birds and we'll listen. We'll be respectful."
I said, "Yeah, today you will, but what about tomorrow after he goes home?" Then, I told him when they can learn to be more respectful they can have whomever they want over here to spend the night another time.

You know what happened?

*CLICK*

My kid hung up on me.

True story, I kid you not.

Wait til he gets his skinny little butt home. He will get a talking to that I know will make his eyes roll, because they hate it when I lecture them.

Thank your grandma kids, she's the master of lectures and I learned from the best!

Roll your eyes all you want to, they'll freeze that way you do it enough. *hee hee*

Now I have to go.  I have some mopping to do and a bathroom to clean. I also need to vacuum.

Have a wonderful Saturday.









Magickal Graphics

And Yet Another Farewell

Well, today is the day I shut off every type of technological item that is involved in my cable "bundle".

It's been fun this whole blogging/Facebook/YouTube thing, however, it's with much sadness that I have to let it all go.

I'm hoping to be back on, in the spring, when hopefully Uncle Sam will send me a check that is fairly decent. But even then I don't know if I will rejoin the ranks of technological use.

I'm sure in the long run, my house will be cleaner, but what I fear most is the aftermath of no technology and how living like Quakers will affect my children.  That's like a culture shock of mass proportions for them.

Not sure if we'll all survive this or not, but if, in a couple of months I should return to the world of modern technology I will let you know.

So, if you stumble across my blog by choice or by chance, and all you see are tumbleweeds and random papers blowing in the wind, you will know why. I said my thank yous before(click *here* ), and am thanking you once again for entertaining me with your comments as much as I, hopefully, have entertained you with my blog.

Have a wonderful week. 

See you all later....hopefully.

Until we meet again.....

It's Just Another Saturday Afternoon Posting

I am sitting here with my Caramel Flan Frappucino and Vanilla Almond Biscotti.

Thank you to the student who gave me the Starbucks gift card this past Christmas. My taste buds thank you even more!

The girl behind the counter was very friendly. Dammit I forgot her name. I think it was Melissa or maybe Melina(???).

I'll just call her Melissa.

Melissa at Starbuck's you rock,  however, that ice queen who was working the drive-thru needs to work on her managerial skills.  I asked this Melissa if they had Biscotti and she didn't know. She asked the "Ice Queen" if they had biscotti and the Ice Queen replied, "Well, did you check down there?" in the snarkiest tone ever, and poor Melissa said "No," and the Ice Queen says, "Well check there..(still snarky)" and I was waiting for her to wave her hand in the air in a dismissing manner.

I was literally shocked at her attitude. 

Seriously!

What I really wanted to do was smack that little snarky attitude right out of that kid and tell her she needs to work on working with her team members as opposed to barking  at them like they are stupid.

Melissa  found the biscotti and I said "Oh goodie, what flavors are there? I'm using them for something I am baking this evening."

"What are you baking?" She asked.

"Baklava."

"Sounds good." She said as she was pulling the different varieties out of the cardboard boxes from under the counter.  Why the hell do they keep their biscotti under the counters where no one can see them, instead of on top of them is beyond me.

*Thinks to self...

Is there a massive Biscotti Robbery Spree going on that I am not aware of?

Should I notify the local neighborhood Crime Watch of a possible Biscotti Robbery Spree?*

ANYWAY!...Where was I? Oh yeah, so I picked out the vanilla almond Biscotti and told Melissa I would take two of them.

As I was waiting for my caramel flan frapp to come up, I decided to buy one more biscotti to eat alongside my frothy drink. I was trying to get Melissa's attention, but poor thing was racing all over the back of the counter making beverages. I smiled at the Ice Queen in hopes she could get Melissa's attention and put my hand up as if to ask her to come over and the Ice Queen ignored me.

True story.

SHE...IGNORED...ME.

She did not say anything such as, "Did you need something else?" or "Can you just go away so I can get rid of these drive-thru people and text my bestie our plans tonight?" or anything even remotely close to acknowledging she saw me.

And I know she saw me, she looked right at me, hence the smile from me and the motion to be heard by the gentle lifting of my hand. Lucky for her, I am a lady(most times), and all my fingers were still keeping one another company as I put them down.

Melissa seemed a bit timid and/or nervous, I assumed it was her first day. So I asked her if it was.

She said, "No, I'm sorry."

To which I replied, "Oh don't be sorry. I don't have anywhere to be right now anyway. And even if I did have someplace to be, it would still be there when I left here."

She smiled.

I placed my two dollars on the counter top and asked for one more Biscotti and I stuck a dollar in the tip container. I wanted to give her more, but didn't have it to give.

I  thanked her for her time and was on my merry way.

I had a busy and very productive day today. I was driving all over the place here in Vegas, but at least I'm done for now and can enjoy my evening of solitude and peace in a clean home with some baked goods later on this evening.

I stopped at Walgreen's on the way home and there was a woman there in the Seasonal aisle perusing the wrapping paper. Everything was 75% off in that aisle and I was cracking up with this woman because she was telling me the story of how her son had just got tons of wrapping paper and brought it back to his house. She asked him where he got it from and of course we all know the answer to that question.

So there was this woman, trying to decide which ones to purchase. She was asking me if I knew what holographic paper is, and I told her "Maybe it's like that chameleon paint they use to put on cars back in the 80's. You know it changes colors in the sun?" Then she says to me, "I really should have gotten myself a cart," as she stood there balancing about ten rolls of wrapping paper and grabbing more.

I had to get a basket, because I had a few good little 75% off buys myself there. Some light up Christmas glasses for the kids, and these "happy pills" that when you squeeze them they laugh and giggle in a little kid's voice, and a few other odds and ends. I even found some candy cane pens for eight cents each.

 (I just typed a capital C, thinking there was a Cent sign on my keyboard...whatever happened to that symbol anyway?? Wasn't it on the number six?? Where did the cent sign go?)

So there I was walking to the front of the store with my arms cradling all these small buys I had found and I dumped them into a basket, then I got that poor woman a cart.

I came racing down the aisle with it, and told her "Here this should help."

We continued with small talk about the wrapping paper and then we parted ways. I had to laugh at this woman at one point though before she took off with her cart full of paper, she is telling me "This one is only 3 1/2 yards and this one is 4 yards. This one-," as she holds up the short one next to the long one, "is shorter," as though I am not aware that 3 yards is shorter than 4. I'm sure that wasn't her intent, but it felt like it was.

She wasn't snarky, but comical.


She was cracking me up.



Reminded me of my mom....whom I miss greatly and can't wait to see again sometime in the NEAR future vs. another seven years.

Anyway, as I was leaving Walgreen's I noticed a police officer had pulled someone over.  As I was exiting onto the main road I had to peek at the officer who was walking towards his car and looking in my direction. Oh...MY...GOD! If there was ever such a lovely sight for any single woman out in America or the State of Nevada it was definitely this man in uniform!

*rapidly fans self and wipes beads of sweat from brow*

Good lord, it reminded me of one of those slow motion scenes from some romance movie where the guy is walking in slow motion. I'm surprised I didn't run my van into the pole ahead of me.  I don't know who this officer is, I don't know if he's married or single or in a relationship, but I will say this, he was very, very nice on the eyes. And even if he is married or in a relationship, me looking at him is not doing anything morally or ethically wrong.

I'm just a single gal who saw a nice lookin' fella, uniform or no uniform, he just made me swoon.

What the hell??? Did I just say swoon?!!!!!


Look at what singledom has done to me.  I'm living in the 50's in my head.






Well, I just got off the phone with a friend of mine.
Always nice to chat with a friend when you need a good chuckle or two.
We were talking about dating and men and kids and men and kids.
We talked about work and school and then she had to go because the sun is down and she had to get her daughter from the neighbor's house.

Bummer.

I was enjoying our laughfest with one another.

There will be others I am sure.

Wow, two blogs in one day. I could do this all night long to be honest. But I have to get going on my baking here or I'll never get it done.

And I am craving some of those Cherry Cheesecakes and Baklava...and so is my friend.

Have a wonderful day/night/morning.

I'll see ya later.