Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone best wishes for the New Year a little early cause we'll having some of the kiddies tomorrow night and we'll probably be a little busy playing.

I'm having some powerful hurtin' pains from muscle spasms in my back too, so that's going to put a damper on the amount of time that I can sit in this office chair for a day or two. Y'all have fun ringing in the new year where ever you are. I'll be thinking about you.

Looking back on 2008

January musings

I think if I could go back to just one place in time it would be as a child in Grandma's kitchen, maybe sitting at the table with her and Grandpa, a bowl of her hot cornbread covered in cold buttermilk sitting in front of us.

***

I want "CheneyCare", I already pay for what he has, is my life not worth the same?

***

Then it hit me, I was the only adult left at home and I was surrounded by 7 children, one of which(Christopher)was still in diapers.

And they hadn't left any diapers!

February

Alexis went into the kitchen the other day to tell Jerri that "Jillian is in the bathroom and has the scissors and she's cutting up your jasposotories.

I'll let ya'll interpret that one.

March madness

Spring Break zoo trip.

***

On March 7th, Old Man Winter thumbed his nose at us by dumping 7 inches of snow on our daffodils.

April

The first Brenda Photo Challenge, Signs of Spring.

***

Sincere Prayer, Brenda style.

May

There's a moral in here.

***

My Ya-Ya passed on.

June

Orange Photo Challenge

July

Terri's birthday parade.

August

The Golly Monster.

***

Jerri was making pumpkin bread the other morning and Beans walked into the kitchen and said,

"Ok Ma'am, you're safe now. I locked the tiger in the cage."

September

My best moon shot.

October

Photo Challenge, Old

November

A new President was elected and new era in history arrived. We got the stunning news that hubby's job would end in January.

December

The month brought news of a new job for hubby and a wonderful holiday.


Each of the entries above is a link to the post it came from in case you want to go have a look.

One door closes and another opens, life is like that sometimes. It sure can give you heart stopping moments though.

I hope everyone is looking forward to 2009 with curiosity and hope!

Another Laid Back Day

We've had two days of 73 degree temps but a cold front is coming through tonight so the high tomorrow will only be about 57. It's been really, really, warm for December in Arkansas.

I packed up the Christmas tree and the majority of the decorations today. After looking around I can see that I missed a few so I'll have to put them away tomorrow. I've also done some laundry, and washed several sinks full of dishes, that seem to magically appear. I must remember to get a supply of paper plates or else I'll have dishpan hands in addition to them being all old and wrinkled already.

I'm almost cross-eyed from posting a couple of months of accounts for one of my clients. Maybe I'll get my rear in gear and get that company caught up tomorrow.

Tonight we played a game of Phase Ten with Zach. We taught him how to play rummy a couple of nights ago; he catches on pretty quick.

Ok folks, I'm slowing fading here so I think I'll get my book and climb into my nice, soft, bed to read awhile.

Sweet dreams!

HoHo's Been and Gone

That little fat man in the red suit didn't pick up the mess or vacuum the floor before he flew off on his sleigh; I'm going to have to add a P.S. to his thank you note I reckon.

Nanaw is tired.

But I had a little nap this afternoon so that helped.

We ate too much, but it was all good cause we sure had some mighty fine vittles to put on the table. We had the normal run of conversations during our extended family holiday gathering over at his Mom's last evening,,,,

Which family member/members probably hits the pain pills and/or bottle a little too much,

Who had the snippiest, snappiest, temperament of the day,

Who went to jail for loitering,,,,,

and so on.

At our house today we had our usual family holiday dinner discussion about the West Memphis 3 and whether or not they deserve a new trial (the number of those for and those against changed somewhat this year). We then progressed to my son's revelations about the corrections officer/Reverend that he torments with his views on religion and riches on a regular basis. This then led to a discussion (and I do not remember how?) about whether animals commit sins. Other topics were discussed but none were so interesting as the first 3.

Yep, we tend to branch out with intense conversational topics in this family; we do indeed.

I think the babies were as happy as tired babies can be with what Santa brought them. I reckon they'll be busy playing, for at least a few days, with all their contraband.

Trish, Jordan, and Jaylen are supposed to be here next weekend so I hope to have some photos of them then.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

I hope Santa comes to visit each and every one of you! Don't forget to remember your blessings to honor Jesus on His Birthday!

Smiling

Paint me Smiling cause there's a better than average chance that James has a new job starting the day after this one officially ends. Once the farmer who's planning to rent the land signs the lease, he'll be managing some of the same acreage that he was previously. And the good news is that there won't be much, if any, change in salary. He spent 3 hours with the guy today and he's supposed to come next week also, so maybe I'll actually get more than one or two good night's sleep a week now. He might also give me a little work to do from home too, won't that be nice? I'm afraid to be too excited until everything is final, but I sure am feeling better right now.

I want to thank you all for your prayers because I know for certain that God was listening and answering them. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful friends.




Jerri came by this afternoon to have a cup of coffee with me. She wasn't in a very good mood but she had me laughing so hard at one point that I think she ended up feeling a bit better afterwards too.

She said she'd gone to one of the dollar stores in town, thinking it would be quicker to run in there to get laundry detergent and a couple other things she needed. After spending 3 times more time in line than normal because of some rude folks who'd broken in line in front of her, she was about to bite nails when she finally got out of there.

She pulled out of the, nearly empty, parking lot and a young punk was strolling across in front of her, blocking her way out. She waited,,,he slowed,,, while staring right into her eyes,,, smirked and walked even slower. She waited,,,he kept staring, barely moving, until finally her PMS took over. She yelled at him to stop being ignorant and get out of the way, told him he didn't intimidate her so he needed to act like he had some sense and get on to where he was going. The punk started yelling and threatening her as he finally moved, and as she was passing him to stop before pulling out into traffic, he leaned down and picked something up to throw at her. Jerri had her finger on speed dial for the police department when she noticed that he'd picked up an empty paper cup. Then when he threw it, the wind caught it and it flew back into his face. She said by this time she was laughing which made the punk even madder. He was still yelling when she pulled out of the lot.

"I guess it was a good thing he didn't have a gun but" as she said, "I had PMS, a 3 yr old, and a 5 yr old, I'm not scared of the devil himself! I'd have whipped him if he'd kept on."

Favorite S Things

I'm doing this for Miz Jeanne. The basic idea: leave a comment on this post requesting a letter and I’ll assign you one. Then you write about 10 things you love that begin with your assigned letter. Post it on your blog and when people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on.


1. Seafood, I love it, except for cockles, scallops, and oysters. I can eat a couple of pounds of mussels all by myself.


2. Soup. I love soup! I'm not so fond of cream soups but a good hearty broth with loads of veggies and a little meat is some kind of good! I think homemade chicken soup is my favorite.





3. Sean Connery is a HUNK! I don't care if how old he gets, this man's photo should be under the definition of Sexy! He's handsome and his voice is SO awesome!....swoon!












4. Stephen King is my favorite author. I've read everything he's ever written except for the "Gunslinger" series but I'll probably read those some day too. When I read his books I feel like a little kid again; afraid to put my foot out from under the covers for fear something under the bed will grab it!


5. Sisters. I have two younger sisters and I love them dearly. I don't get to see as much of them as I'd like, but life happens.

6. Sunsets. I love sunrises too. The world seems to be at peace when a day is dawning or drawing to a close.

7. Sleep. I never get enough! For years now I've had trouble falling asleep so it's often midnight or later before I finally crash for a few hours. I have to be up early to get Zach off to school and that wakes me up so I don't often go back to bed.

8. Summer. What can I say, I'm a summer child. I can stand too hot a lot better than too cold.

9. Salads. I love almost any kind of salad with almost any kind of vegetable in it. Sometimes I'll also add a boiled egg or two, or chicken or pork. Another thing I love about Summer is being able to go to my garden for fresh tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers to make a salad.

10. Scrabble I've had Scrabble games for as long as I can remember. I even have a small electronic one.


Well, that's it folks, my favorite things that start with S. You're welcome to do this too, just leave me a comment and I'll assign you a letter. It was fun Jeanne!

I wanna believe again,,,,and again.

This is the third time I've posted this over the years that I've been blogging ; Just some thoughts that run through my head about Christmas and believing.
Our friend Randy sent this to my email today and I'm still laughing.
This is an article submitted to a 1999 Louisville Sentinel contest to find
out who had the wildest Christmas dinners. This won first prize.

Christmas With Louise

As a joke, my brother used to hang a pair of panty hose over his fireplace
before Christmas. He said all he wanted was for Santa to fill them. What
they say about Santa checking the list twice must be true because every
Christmas morning, although Jay's kids' stockings
were overflowed, his poor pantyhose hung sadly empty.

One year I decided to make his dream come true. I put on sunglasses and
went in search of an inflatable love doll. They don't sell those things at
Wal-Mart. I had to go to an adult bookstore downtown.

If you've never been in an X-rated store, don't go. You'll only confuse
yourself. I was there an hour saying things like, 'What does this do?
You're kidding me! Who would buy that?' Finally, I made it to the
inflatable doll section.

I wanted to buy a standard, uncomplicated doll that could also substitute
as a passenger in my truck so I could use the car pool lane during rush
hour.

Finding what I wanted was difficult. Love Dolls come in many different
models. The top of the line, according to the side of the box, could do
things I'd only seen in a book on animal
husbandry. I settled for Lovable Louise. She was at the bottom of the
price scale. To call Louise a doll took a huge leap of imagination.

On Christmas Eve and with the help of an old bicycle pump, Louise came to
life.

My sister-in-law was in on the plan and let me in during the wee morning
hours. Long after Santa had come and gone, I filled the dangling pantyhose
with Louise's pliant legs and bottom. I also ate some cookies and drank
what remained of a glass of milk on a nearby
tray. I went home, and giggled for a couple of hours.

The next morning my brother called to say that Santa had been to his house
and left a present that had made him VERY happy but had left the dog
confused. She would bark, start to walk away, then come back and bark some
more.

We all agreed that Louise should remain in her panty hose so the rest of
the family could admire her when they came over for the traditional
Christmas dinner.

My grandmother noticed Louise the moment she walked in the door 'What the
hell is that?' she asked.

My brother quickly explained, 'It's a doll'

'Who would play with something like that?' Granny snapped.

I had several candidates in mind, but kept my mouth shut.

'Where are her clothes?' Granny continued.

'Boy, that turkey sure smells nice Gran' Jay said, to steer her into the
dining room.

But Granny was relentless. 'Why doesn't she have any teeth?'

Again, I could have answered, but why would I? It was Christmas and no one
wanted to ride in the back of the ambulance saying, 'Hang on Granny, hang
on!'

My grandfather, a delightful old man with poor eyesight, sidled up to me
and said, 'Hey, who's the naked gal by the fireplace?'

I told him she was Jay's friend.

A few minutes later I noticed Grandpa by the mantel, talking to Louise.
Not just talking, but actually flirting. It was then that we realized this
might be Grandpa's last Christmas at home.

The dinner went well. We made the usual small talk about who had died, who
was dying, and who should be killed, when suddenly Louise made a noise
like my father in the bathroom in the morning. Then she lurched from the
panty hose, flew around the room twice, and fell in a heap in front of the
sofa.

The cat screamed. I passed cranberry sauce through my nose, and Grandpa
ran across the room, fell to his knees, and began administering
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. My brother fell back over his chair and wet
his pants.

Granny threw down her napkin, stomped out of the room, and sat in the car.

It was indeed a Christmas to treasure and remember.

Later in my brother's garage, we conducted a thorough examination to
decide the cause of Louise's collapse. We discovered that Louise had
suffered from a hot ember to the back of her right thigh.

Fortunately, thanks to a wonder drug called duct tape, we restored her to
perfect health!

I Hate Winter

I hate being cold.

I hate dreary, gray, days.

I hate the short hours of daylight.

I was born in August, I'm a Summer child, dammit.

It took me several minutes to take off my daytime pajamas; robe, flannel pants, flannel shirt, socks, last night before my shower because I had so much on. Then afterwards it took several minutes to put on nighttime duds, and I was grumbling the whole time because I was freezing my noonies off!

I'd never make it through several months of snow in ice; I'm too much of a wimp.

What do they call that?

What do they call a homicide when it's one spouse that's done in the other?

If this man doesn't get OUT of my house and DO something soon, someone's going to get hurt around here,,,,and it ain't gonna be me!

Gahhhhhhhhhhhh,,If I have to see ONE more Western that's a rerun x 150, I'm gonna lose it! He turns one on and then lays back and the recliner and snores!

,,,,I need a hatchet,,,or maybe some superglue~

Ut Oh

They're talking about an ice storm around here. My house is all electric, ice storms are not good.

UPDATE on Computer woes

My cousin who lives in NC and is the service manager for a Computer services company has replied to the desperation email that I sent on Saturday. He said to pack up the drives and send them to him and he'd do the recovery.

Because of my Mrs. Murphy status of late, I'm going to wait until after Christmas to do this; all I need is for my hard drive to be lost by the US postal service.

Man I love my family.

Brenda Photo Challenge: Christmas Decorations

I haven't been in much of a decorating mood this year but I did put out some of our favorites. The photos were quickies too cause of all of this computer drama I've been up to my ears in this week, but anyway, here ya go, Christmas Decorations Challenge Photos!

I love this little snowman figurine. He just looks so happy.

This angel ornament belonged to my mother. I don't have many of her things so I cherish this.

Here's my old floppy Santa sittin around on my shelf and two of the angel bells that I have sitting around here and there.

This snowman comes out every year and sits on the mantel or on a shelf. Zach made him out of a 2 litre drink bottle, torn paper, glue, ribbons, felt, and construction paper, when he was in the first grade. He's held up well hasn't he?

Miz Kim over at Caffeine is Life is our hostess for this challenge and she chose Christmas Decorations to give us more practice with our cameras. Thank you Miz Kim!

Y'all be sure to go over to the comments at the Challenge blog to see what all the participants came up with this time.

Everyone is welcome to join us, just look for the next challenge at the Photo Challenge Blog and sign into the comments that you're accepting the challenge. The directions for doing this are on the blog. The more the merrier so start snappin!

The Dash

The Dash
copyright 1996 Linda Ellis

I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth...
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars....the house...the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile...
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy is being read
with your life's actions to rehash...
would you be proud of the things they
say about how you spend your dash?

INsanity

I have a working computer

again.

I still don't have access to my hard drive nor to the external drive with the backup of the hard drive information (from 6 months or so ago) and we still don't know why we can't access them. Everything,,,accounting, tax files, photos, is on those two drives. Mr. John the computer man has tried about every way he knows to access the information. I've been surfing for hard drive recovery companies but I just can't afford to go that route.

I think I'm just going to cry.

Maybe scream.

Yesterday I spent most of the day reinstalling software. While Mr. John was working on trying to access those drives again today something went wrong and my local area connection disappeared. So, in order to have access to the internet again, which was discovered after I was on the phone, and on the floor with my tool box, for more than an hour being instructed by a Hughes Net tech in BF, Egypt, who could only mutter a few words of broken English, John ended up having to reinstall WinXP again to get that going again.

So guess what I'm going to be doing again tonight? (but not until after I watch CSI Las Vegas!)

And probably tomorrow.

I'm running on coffee and fumes; sleeping in snatches cause I'm thinking, thinking, thinking, (those who know me know that is a lost cause) and still coming up with nothing. I still have a little Christmas shopping to finish, Christmas cards to get mailed, presents to wrap,,,,gggghhhhhh I don't even want to think about it all.

I think I need a beer. Or two,,,,YO, Jose, com'mere! Vamos a ir partido que hasta el hombre!

Christmas Tradition

When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs. Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and a very irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said very cheerfully, 'Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?'

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree!

Interpretation of the Chick's Xmas Lists

Almost everyone figured these out.

FOR MY DADDY

1. Poot Medcin - This is poot medicine for the Daddy who suffers from gas attacks. :-)
2. Alien Soot - Alien Suit - We have no idea where, or why, she came up with this one.
3. Pantzees - Panties - I must remember to ask my son if he needs new "panties"! Ha!
4. Jenz- Jeans - I sure hope Jerri is keeping this list for her scrapbook.
5. Pilz - Pills - My son takes anti-depressants and will ask Jerri if she picked up his pills.

CHICK'S LIST

1. Jenz - Jeans
2. LPS Covrs- Little Pet Shop covers (for the pet's little bed). This was the hardest one.
3. I want my room panted - She wants her room painted
4. 4 whler - A 4-wheeler
5. CEDIS - Music CDs

Still without my puter and I'm having withdrawal symptoms!

This, That, and The Other

Miz Puter is still with the puter doctor. I somehow fried her motherboard but puter Doc said he'd get me something going. He put my hard drive in an enclosure so that I can access it by usb port, at least I didn't kill it. Hopefully I'll have a desktop back by Monday because my fingers don't work so well on Zach's laptop.

The Chick has been in kindergarten for 16 weeks now, with days off for good behavior (grin), anyway, she's already reading at grade 2 level and tries to write stories, and lists, and cards, etc,,, by sounding out the words like she does when she's reading. Here is an example of some Christmas lists she jotted down the other day.

The first one is a list of things she want's to buy for her Daddy. I'm going to let y'all see if you can decipher the lists. Hint: It will help if you will sound them out the way they are written.

FOR MY DADDY

1. Poot Medcin

2. Alien Soot

3. Pantzees

4. Jenz

5. Pilz

This is what she had on her list so far,

1. Jenz

2. LPS Covrs

3. I want my room panted

4. 4 whler

5. CEDIS

MeriKate, the Chick, and Beans have been visiting us today. We've been throughly entertained!

My Favorite Christmas Cookies

A lot of bloggers are sharing their favorite holiday cooking recipes so I thought I'd share one of mine.


Christmas Cookie


1 cup of water
4 large eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup nuts
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup of brown sugar
lemon juice
2 cups dried fruit
1 bottle Jose Cuervo Tequila

Sample the Cuervo to check quality.

Take a large bowl, check the Cuervo
again, to be sure it is of the highest quality.

Pour one level cup and drink.
Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large
fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's
best to make sure the Cuervo is still OK. Try another cup . . . just in
case.

Turn off the miserer thingy. Break 2 leggs and add to the bowl and
chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Pick the friggin fruit off floor. Mix
on the turner.

If the fried druit gets stuck in the beaterers just pry
it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the Cuervo to check for
tonsisticity.

Next, sift two cups of salt, or something. Who giveshz asheet. Check the
Jose Cuervo.

Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one
table. Add a spoon of sugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

Greash the oven. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't
forget to beat off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the
window, finish the Cose Juervo and make sure to put the stove in the
dishwasher.

Cherry Mistmas.

Uh Huh, I'm Guilty

I hope that I'm only guilty of attempted murder, or negligent homicide; I'm sure hoping I'm not guity of murder 1 here.

I decided that I'd do an annual puter clean up today; I'm thinking now that it might not have been such a good idea. I turned booted off my puter in the proper way, I turned off all of the power strips, I took the cover off the puter so I could dust it out with a can of air; just as I've done many times. I was getting it all ready for a new tax season you see.

After I put the cover back on, turned on the power strips, I pushed the button that is supposed to turn on the computer and it didn't turn on. I checked the power strip, I checked this, and that. I took the cover back off to see if the air had disconnected something, nothing was that I could see. I don't know what's up with the old girl, she was fine before I decided to clean her.

Now she's in town waiting on the puter doctor to get a chance to look her over. I sure hope he can revive her cause having to buy a new computer right now would be about all it would take to push me over the edge.

I have a budget to complete over the next few days, and several months posting to do on 2 accounts (the guy just got the stuff to me), and my puter holds all the information I need to do all that stuff.

I think I just found another gray hair.

Happy Birthday Paula!

How's it feel to be 52?

We love you!