Accident

As mentioned in the past entries, I had a bad auto accident in 1991.
Hit the only patch of ice between Albuquerque and Denver, and rolled
my Suzuki Samurai on the Raton Pass. And I WASN'T wearing a seatbelt.
Ended up with a concussion, broken ribs, and bruised from toes to top
of head. Could only work part time for months. Came across these pictures
at my parents' house and got them scanned.

Boot camp

It's almost the official kick off of summer for us,
and that means spring stuff is winding down. And we
are busy, busy BUSY for at least another week and a half.
Something is going on every single day almost between now
and next Monday, and they are getting ready for a trip
after that. Once they're off to the west coast, I have
a list a mile long of what I hope to accomplish, of course
included in that list is plenty of junk food and goofing off!

Need rain? It's here. Some saying we got over 25 inches of the
stuff in about ten days. Lucky where we are, but others not
as fortunate.

Weather a bit steamy now for a few days - highs almost 90
and humidity and dewpoint high. Yep, we'll go right from
winter to summer with not much in between.

Spring Sprung

It was MARVELOUS to have some bright sunny
days with temps in the 70's and even 80's.
But now it's back to reality for awhile as
we're going to be in the 50's and 60's till
further notice =(

Earlier this week my kid went on a school
trip to St. Louis. Hubby and I took the
afternoon to go house shopping, go out for
drinks and eats at Colton's, and then go
to school to wait for the bus.

Which brings me to house shopping - we're
starting to look for a house in the town.
I WANT TO MOVE TO THE MOJAVE DESERT, but he
doesn't want the stifling summers. I hate
the constant cleanup of country life here,
the sharing of the well, the rental neighbors
(although it does get quite interesting on
those occasions when the cops break neighbor's
door down and raid the place), etc. SO
if we're staying, I think city life is for me!
I haven't lived in the city (or town in this
case) in many years, but I can adapt. Just have
to figure out how the cat is going to adjust.

So I find houses of interest, give the paper to
hubby, he checks them out and narrows the list
down. On one, I found a $27,000 fixer upper.
He checked it out, said it was in need of a lot
of TLC, and oh yeah Molly, there's a cemetery
not far from the place. Okay so I thought
a cemetery was across a field or something and
from the house I might glimpse a headstone or two.
I could live with that.
WRONG.
He takes me to the house. We're kind of talking
about how much is too much to put into an old
house. I glance at the very tiny back yard (the
front yard is larger and fenced), and notice
a sign or something. Is that on the property?
What does it say? I go walk through the back
yard, walk up to the sign, look, nothing written.
Look DOWN and there are two freshly dug graves.
WELL EW!
I could sit on the back porch of the house and
throw rocks to the graves. I don't want to
be that close! I did the sign of the cross and
we got out of there.
I did fantasize about Halloween parties at the house
though, how fun they could be =)
We then went on to check out other places.

2nd week of March over

Not totally awesome, but not the worst.

I need to get with the program. Starting
to get the blahs a bit. Hopefully warmer
weather will be upon us soon (it was upper
60's today so that's not a bad start) and
that will help my mood.

First week of March over

And unfortunately it was not the best all around.
Oh it wasn't that bad for me, but for some of my
family:
Last Monday a cousin to a sister in law was swept
away in a flash flood and tragically drowned. She
was in her car when it was washed off the road and
called 911, was on the phone for 4 minutes before
it went dead. Her last minutes were described in
great detail - her panic, her anguish, her unknowing
of what to do. The media really went into this in
great detail. Hopefully it will help save someone
at some point, and it will be a good thing, otherwise
there is no obvious good in sharing the last few moments
of this person's life in such a way. Sometimes
it was better before cell phones!

And this was the second tragedy I heard about in
a matter of about two weeks - as around mid February
a fire claimed the life of 3 small children and
a 24 year old babysitter. The babysitter was on
the phone with 911 when she perished, and her last
minutes of life were shared openly. Again, sometimes
it's better not to know things......

DISH Network installed their services last Thursday.
As much as I watch TV, a converter box would do, but
the others in the household seem ecstatic over the
new lineup of channels.

I finalized one of the summer trips, and booked our
flight and room for Vegas in July - yay!

Bye bye February

I cannot say I'm sad to see you go.
This has been one of the worst months ever.
Not THE worst, but it's certainly up there.

Started out with more inclement weather - snow mainly. And
that meant no school and everyone home driving me nuts.

The school gave me hell in an anonymous letter. My son
missed his 11th day of school and they sent me a generic
form letter full of assumptions and legal threats. We
were supposed to have a conference but due to snow no one
was there, and no one called to reschedule. I had to
write them a message addressing their letter as I can
find no one responsible for sending it. I sent my letter
to the Superintendent and Principal.

I never met the new neighbor, but her mother came over and
bitched me out for 'complaining' about neighbor's dog. Doing
a little investigating afterwards, seems neighbor wasn't supposed
to have a dog, and several neighbors complained to her landlord
about the dog getting loose etc. I took the heat. I came to
the conclusion I wasn't the one that wasn't supposed to have
a dog in the first place, so I wasn't going to put up with
her coming over again.

Our poodle monster Tommy got sick. Two trips to the vet before
it was discovered he had oral cancer, and on February 23rd he
was put down.

On February 24th we had a new dumped dog. Friendly border
collie mix, young female. It was NOT the time and I was NOT
in the mood. I hate people. The next day I begged vets to take
it - vet that charged me almost $200 for caring for Tommy
refused to help at all. Ginger's vet agreed to take it if I
surrendered it with $.

Serious storms were possible last night, and meteorologists were
wetting their pants with anticipation. Luckily nothing bad
happened.

Bye bye February. March is going to be great!

Funny

My husband does electrical work for these local
property owners. They own rental houses, apartment
complexes, shopping centers, business buildings, etc.
They are super cheap, but won't mess around with
electrical problems and will pay his price when something
comes up. On plumbing, however, they have their own
maintenance men who do a shoddy job and try to band
aid everything.

So when hubby goes to work on a job for them, he usually
meets their renters. Before leaving he hands them a card
and says, 'If you have any problems don't hesitate to call'.
Hehehe.

Many occasions one of their renters will call me and
request hubby come over to fix something - it is usually
something minor in the plumbing department, such as the
toilet won't stop running.
Most of the time when they call they tell me their
medical history and problems they're having health wise
(cuz I'm on the other end listening).
After about 15 or 20 minutes I have to break the news to
them - hubby can't run over there unless they intend to
pay the bill themselves. We have to check with their
landlord before going over otherwise. OF COURSE the
renter doesn't want to pay for him to come over. So
I tell them I'll call their landlord and relay the information
(which they already have done multiple times without action)
and see what happens.

I call their landlord and relay the message and we usually
have a laugh or two. They take the 'call me if you need
me message' to heart, without realizing that the landlords
have to approve. I call landlord to relay message in case
it helps them to fix the problem a bit faster.

Seriously

Last Tuesday morning at 2am the phone started ringing.
I have elderly parents in another state. I know
people. No one EVER calls in the wee hours of the night.
Well except for that one time 2 years ago when the
neighbor's were fighting, she threw him out, he called
at 2ish am to see if I'd go over and tell her to
answer the phone (no I didn't).
Anyway.
Said a quick prayer and answered the phone. The voice
on the other end:
"Hello? This is (name) with (name) Security Company.
I'm calling for (husband's name)."
Me: "HUH?"
Voice: "He's on the contact list for the (business name),
and the security alarm is going off there. May I speak
to him please?"
I go give hubby the phone. He tells her to call the
sheriff's department and if they find anything to call
him back. I lay awake waiting for the phone to ring.
At least 60 minutes later I fall asleep.

Come to find out something tripped the motion sensor.

The next night, 3am, phone rings. I spring out of
bed still half asleep and answer.
Voice: "Hello? This is (name) with (name) Security Company.
I'm calling for (husband's name)."
Me: "Yep right here, this is getting old."
Voice: "Well if you know the password I can talk to you."
Me: "I know the password but no way am I getting in
on this one, thanks anyway."
I hand hubby phone. He mutters why did I answer it.
I don't know why I answered it.

That night the phone got turned off. Apparently the
alarm went off again too. If they tried to call too
damn bad. So for awhile at night I was turning the
phone off, then I was forgetting to turn it on
again the next morning. Oops. Can't find good help
anymore.

Mediocrity is easy......

Part of a line from Seger's Lock and Load....

I hate being ordinary. I hate defining
normal and going along with the flow in
most cases. If I die tomorrow, I'd like
to be remembered as making a difference in
someone's life..hopefully more than one...
even if I just made that person smile when
nothing else did. Oh I know I won't be
forgotten by a bunch of people, LOL! But
I hope to make a difference in a POSITIVE
way.

So it's the middle of summer, and the first
half really REALLY sucked. Hubby has been
sick for a month, he's getting better but
it's been tough. A friend I knew since the
6th grade died unexpectedly. A new pup
in the household. Hot. Dry. It just
all stacks up eventually.

The friend I knew that recently passed away -
he apparently had problems with depression, and
chose to end his own life. I've known
far too many people who have chosen this
path, and I know with the economy etc. there
are hard times out there. I don't particularly
know his exact situation, I just know
it's sad and if we only had a clue maybe we
could have done something......but we had none.
We had just re-connected last December on
Facebook and had many things in common. We
loved joking back and forth with each other
and did so almost daily. After, I have heard
he had problems with depression and refused to
take medication. So I am urging anyone reading
this to please please please seek help if you
have problems with depression. The feelings
and situation are temporary and the condition
is treatable. Don't rely on someone else
or try to go it alone, it's just not worth the
chance and you deserve to be happy.

Mediocrity is easy, the good things take time.

When I've got something to say

When I have something to say more times than not I will say it.

This gets me in so much trouble sometimes.

I don't believe in the phoniness, the political correctness,
that is so common with people today. Oh if I have harsh
words I usually refrain from saying anything, but most
anything else goes. By the same token, I usually don't
talk just to fill up dead air, I instead then get quiet.

I'm a complex person, that I know.

The other half got called to a special meeting they 'forgot'
to tell him about tonite. He's picking rugrat and I up
a Sonic Blast on the way home - aaaaaah.

60 degree temps are on the horizon, just have to hang in
there a few more days.

Hot baths and friends

.......what more could someone ask for?

A hot bath, shaving the legs, ah!

As I've stated I'm really not a people person, so when
I'm disappointed in a friend it's very rare, cuz I don't
call too many people friends to begin with. I never
expect a friendship to end cuz of this very reason, and
when one does it totally pi$$es me off.

......Till another friend, totally unexpectantly comes out
of the bushes and pulls me up by my britches and offers
to beat up the person who pi$$ed me off (I say this symbolically).
As we've been talking I'm feeling more confident she will
move back to this town, she has reasons to. We are so alike
in so many ways! I met her here and was just warming up
to her when she had to move, and we've become closer in
email. I miss her! Course she might have to get divorced
to move back, then she'll have a whole new set of issues, LOL.

Hot chocolate. That would be PERFECT to finish the day off!

ONE isn't so bad

But when you get 29 ZILLION of these things in your yard,
it's a royal pain! And it happens twice a year! (And yes,
I've counted....there are actually 29 zillion leaves that
fall in our yard every fall and every spring :)
It's fun to rake and burn, for the first, oh six days or so....
We mulch too, we have to! In the dead of summer we sure
like those trees, any other time, well....

My kid was told he was going to be a hoodlum in high school today
by a janitor. It is a very long story but bottom line is
my kid is a good kid, and even if he wasn't WTF business is
it of a JANITOR to make a comment like that?? But in front of
my child I just laughed and said, "That's okay. If you had a mouth
like your mom you would have told him that in ten years you'll be
making way more money than he is."

I need hot chocolate.....

Happenings!

We're all decorated for Halloween here. Now for the movies,
the junk food, the kids.....

Within a couple of weeks the leaves are really going to
be falling. Wah. Work!! And bare trees are depressing!

Good grief why am I reading anything today? I know two
people in the obituaries....one is a former employee,
the other a friend's wife.

I'm addicted to TV Land, and probably will be for the
winter. Everything from Roseanne, Gunsmoke, Bonanza,
even the Brady Bunch. MUCH better than current television!

Molly wearing a saree

Thanks Sunshine for the saree and all the fixings! It's
just gorgeous!! I know I probably did it all wrong, but
it sure took long enough, and I think it's beautiful!

Dinner!

Yep this is dinner.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
Then who knows for a snack???
Maybe a hot bath??

On a footnote -
I hate liars on any level.
They go around door to door here from another city,
claiming they have meat leftover from an order, or
are trying to start up a route, and they can make
you a great deal. In reality they are selling substandard
crap.
So one such truck stopped here this evening. Told
me he was trying to start up a route. He happened to
have some meat in the truck he could make me a great
deal on. I asked to see his brochure - I mean, starting
up a route you need a brochure, right? He stammered
and stumbled and opened the truck door and then muttered
he only had one left and he needed it. I told him
thanks anyway. LOSER. If I knew he wouldn't flip
out on me I'd call him a liar to his face.

r-r-r-amblings!

*I like this quote:
B who u r & say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.– Theodore Seuss Giesel

*I now am into tweeting, and it's fun! Great idea! I
especially like back tracking people's tweets and
finding out a bunch of stuff, then I move on like
a good girl :) Seriously people, maybe some of you
should reconsider what you put online about yourself!
There is no law against clicking and reading!!

*Welcome mystery reader! You will find no derogatory
posts in here about you, or anyone you know. No names
are mentioned, no venom unleashed. Kinda boring actually ;-)
I'm kind of a boring person, yeah I know. But that's not
for anyone else to worry about - I'm happy and that's
all that matters!! Anyone who thinks I'm posting about
them is just. Well. Dumb.

*Trying very very hard to get in the Christmas spirit.
Honestly how hard is it to fire a woman up about
spending money? I just cannot get into it, and I have
the feeling I am going to be very boring with gift
giving this year! How many Wal-mart gift cards can one
person give and get away with?

*I've put in my order for my b-day - I want flowers,
a seafood dinner (home cooked of course) and chocolate
cake for dessert. If you don't understand please refer
back to the part where I'm boring and don't like to
spend money! Occasionally I like to spend money -
when I get in the mood I REALLY get in the mood!

*I'm finding it difficult to talk to some people - the
people I am referring to are the ones that are so
adamant in their conclusions yet have no earthly idea
what they are talking about, and the information they
pass on so strongly is all incorrect information.
Over the weekend someone was being mean and nasty
towards someone else and said that the person in
question cannot be fired because she is, quote, "
tenured by the federal governnment." HUH?
This person isn't even in the education field.
And when did the feds control tenure? And who
told this person this information, or did she just
make it up?? As I tried to correct her, she
adamantly told me I was wrong. Uhm, okay.
I feel if one is to speak strongly about a particular
subject they had better make sure the facts are
correct, otherwise you lose me.

Night night!

It's Gone

Despite suggestions to make a planter, a chair for the porch,
even a future headstone for hubby :)....the toilet (the old
cracked one) is gone off of the porch. We are 'normal' again - LOL!

One of THOSE days

This morning.
I woke up, I went to the bathroom. I got on the
computer with my coffee.
Heard some noise in the bathroom. Counted dogs...
all present. Ten minutes later more ruckus from
the bathroom. Huh?
Went to investigate.
Water seeping out of a crack in the toilet tank.
Crack???
Uh oh.

Turned water to tank off. Didn't help as the
crack is in the tank! Flushed twice. Still some
water in the tank but not much.

Called hubby. Told him I needed a good plumber
and asked him if he could recommend one - LOL.
He told me to call someone else!

I am not a paying customer, and there WAS another
toilet in the house, so about seven hours later
he came with a new toilet. BEFORE he could even
start to put it in toilet #2 plugged up and
wouldn't unplug even with A) Plungering it
several times or B) Snake (the plumbing kind).

Uh oh x 2!

He opted to work on toilet #1 and replaced it.
It's great!
I now have an old toilet on my back porch though - LOL.

Toilet #2 was put on hold for about 24 hours - LOL!

In other news:
Storms amounted to well, nothing tonite. All the
hoopla, for naught. My digi cam is awesome!
Has tons of capabilities and it's soooo small!

News from me

What's happening lately Molly?
I'm glad you asked! I'll tell you!

*Employee power washed house today. It is all nice and clean
after it's bath! Employee also managed to power wash the
telephone box - which means my internet and phone were out for
hours today. I opened the box to get everything dry. Employee
not always the brightest! I like him tho.

*Here we go again - Severe weather Thursday night?
I don't need to stop smoking I tell ya, I will die just fine
by heart attack from weather predictions! Fall must
be here *sigh*.

*No family trip in December after all. Actually, that's
fine by me. I am perfectly content to stay home for the
holidays. Coincidentally this was decided just hours
after a PR person gave me four free tickets to a show
in Vegas, for use in December. LOL. I will save the
email just in case minds change again.

Through my eyes

I think Google is interesting. You can find out a lot about
something from googling and utilizing other search engines.

I am also learning that negative posts about an area or a
high profile person get deleted on a regular basis by the
various Ozarks websites which the comments were made in.
While I can certainly understand this if the comments were
threatening in nature, or downright flaming, I'm not sure
I "get" what the purpose of a public comment feature is on
a website if they delete criticism upon any level?

Personally, I do not make negative posts in a public forum
online. But rather I silently read. A lot. And observe.
A lot. And form opinions. A lot!

I think a person or a business can learn a lot from negative
feedback, or criticism. It's not necessarily a bad thing!
I don't understand why the need to only allow 'happy' rah
rah posts, or pats on the back?

I've seen bloggers with high public profiles ranting and
raving on personal blogs, then when there is a negative
comment they come unglued and threaten a poster that they
know the commenter's ip addy. Like that will get them
anywhere - an ip addy is not of much use to a ranting
blogger.

I've seen other local forums that have moderators that feel
that anything goes - including names and libelous comments.
It's a little bit of the local coffeehouse 'gossip'. Again
I am silent and quietly reading - taking some of it in
with a grain of salt, committing a little of it to memory
for future reference.

But for normal criticism and non threatening, non name
calling comments, I feel everyone is entitled to an
opinion and we all can learn from this, especially the
business or person who is being criticized - we do not
live in a world where we can delete the true feelings
of people as easily as we can delete the comment section
of a story or post.