Sometimes I'm just a Bitch.

Although James thinks I am all the time,
it's really only sometimes. I try to hold "her" back but sometimes "she" just escapes and says her piece.

This afternoon the phone rang while I was trying to do two things at once during supper preparation and an Earthlink telemarketer told me, in broken English, how Earthlink could increase the speed of my dial-up dramatically. I asked him if it were really possible for my connection to be speeded up on 40-yr-old phone lines. He told me he couldn't understand my English. I repeated my question and he still couldn't understand me. I finally told him to call me back when he'd found someone around there who could understand MY English and hung up on him.

I've just been in a rotten mood today but that's no excuse for letting "her" out to attack a poor unsuspecting telemarketer, even if he should have English lessons before trying to sell products to an American (even if she does have a slight southern accent). I normally only loosens the reins on "her" when hubby gives me cause but this poor fella was kinda just asking for it.

I finally went to the doctor today (I was able to take off work a little early) as advised by the doctor I saw while I was in Holland. My heart has been doing these crazy flip-flops and most days it only happens occasionally, the past week or so, it's been more often, like almost constantly. I've also had some major swelling of a few body parts. He (my doctor) is agreeing (with the Dutch doc), for the time being, that the skipped beats are from fluid accumulation in my body and in and around my lungs. He also believes it to be partly due to the beginnings of menopause. The EKG didn't show anything abnormal except that my heart is skipping beats (which I knew cause I told him that!)

So,,for the next two weeks, unless anything becomes different, I'll be peeing over the moon on a regular basis, cutting back on my salt intake, and taking some horse pills so my potassium levels will stay normal.

I hope everyone's Thursday was as good as it could be!


There was frost in the air this morning but it ended up being over 50F.

Been a long day

And I'm pooped.

I need a foot rub, any offers?



I hope everyone had a good un!

I just heard a song that blew me away,,,,

And boy did it bring back some old feelings. Blaine Larsen is one of the newest country music artists to sign a deal in Nashville and although I'm not into the newest style of country music, I really did like this song.

How Did You Get That Lonely

chorus,,,,,,,,

How do you get that lonely, how do you hurt that bad
To make you make the call, that havin' no life at all
Is better than the life that you had
How do you feel so empty, you want to let it all go
How do you get that lonely... and nobody know.

I lost a dear, dear, friend to suicide and also my crazy, sweet, kind, brother-in-law. I can remember asking some of those same questions myself. I feel I've also been near the point to where I could have answered some of those questions but by the Grace of God and a thread of sanity, learned that those times will pass if you'll just hang on.

If ya'll get a chance you should give Blaine Larsen a listen. His music will grab ya.

OK, Whoever was trying to get my attention this morning,,,,

YOU GOT IT!

I just hope it's with good intentions though.

I just came in here to check my email before leaving for work and I heard a noise that sounded like someone trying to start a small engine. I thought perhaps hubby was right outside trying to start his ATV, or something.

I went to look and he had already left to start his day of bird hunting so I was perplexed but went back to my email. Then I heard the noise again and started looking, again, for the source. I finally tracked it to Zach's remote control Hummer. It was moving a few inches every few minutes on it's own.

Thinking the remote was stuck, I switched it off. A couple minutes later it moved again. I then snatched it up and found a switch on the bottom to turn it off too.

If someone's sending me a message here, ya'll call me on my cell so we can talk about it cause if GI Joe and Spiderman come trotting in, I'm outta here!!

Uhhhhhhh and I gotta work tomorrow......

You'd think since I only work a few months a year that I'd be all bright and perky about the prospect of getting up at dawn, getting dressed up in underwear and clothing that doesn't have Tweety or pink rose buds on it, and going out into temperatures that aren't near 'bout like the ones I was boasting about last week. (you remember? those ones where you could lounge around outdoors without sleeves, even if it was raining?)

Well just call me Grumpy cause bright and perky I ain't!

I've finished up the 3 tax returns that I had to do here at home this weekend and I've made 2 cakes, and was almost alert enough to play with the kiddies while they were here yesterday and today although I did a lot of groaning most every time I moved cause for some reason the muscles in my back are kinda acting up. I think that's where the Grumpy part came in.

Zach loved his birthday cake and pizza lunch (as much as he took time to eat) and I think he loves the 2 new games he got for his birthday because he's been in his room playing them all day.

Anyway, I have the early shift tomorrow so I'm gonna go mildew for a little while before bedtime.


Some of the kiddies


The Chick and PopPop looking over some of his old marble and arrowhead collection.

Catching up on my sleep.

I didn't have to work today because I spent those 4 hours in a meeting last Saturday. I think I'll have to work some Saturdays but not this one at least. So, I'm taking advantage of the few minutes of quiet before Zach wakes up to sip my coffee and post a bit.

I'm still learning the routine of a new office and a new program but things were easier yesterday than they were the day before so I reckon even an old dog eventually gets it together. (I just hope that old dog can keep it together once it is). The folks I'm working with are great too so that helps bunches!

I was really tired last night but I'm pretty sure it wasn't from being overworked. I think all the excitment just caught up with me and I had to pause for a minute to crash.

This morning I need to go into town to buy a few groceries and get the stuff to make Zach a birthday cake. His birthday is Monday and he'll be a big 8 years old! He's been looking in the mirror to see if there's any sign of whiskers yet because he's pretty sure he's becoming a man already. Tomorrow afternoon his sisters, Alexis, and Jessie, will probably come over to have cake and ice cream with him. I ordered him a Cabela's Big Game Hunter game for his Game Cube but it hasn't come in yet so I've got to get him something to appease him until it arrives.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Today was better.

Nothing spectacular or anything but normal except for having to leave home early enough to go by JW Paint and Body Shop for an estimate. $3785.00 worth of eyeballing later, I arrived at work and started my work day. And I was actually early since I made the late grand entrance yesterday.

I did have to do a little float trip this morning on our road. This, my dear friends and family, is the reason I prefer driving a truck!







I do prefer to drive a truck without dents in it though.


I did wake up with aches and pains this morning but no worse than the stiffness I normally wake up to so I guess the only thing that was actually hurt in the accident was my truck and my feelings.

This morning as I was telling the ladies at work about the accident, one of them remarked that you'd think the traffic would slow down when they noticed the blue lights flashing beside the highway. I told her that it wasn't necessarily true in this neck of the woods (the redneck, neck, of the woods). They probably saw the blue lights and just thought someone was late to take down their Christmas decorations!

She thought I was joking.

Can't I just do this day over??????

If I could do it over, I'd start it out right,,I promise.

I strolled into work at 9:25am this morning thinking I was 25 minutes early with thoughts of having another leisurely cup of coffee before starting my day. That was before I glanced at the schedule to refresh my mind as to what my work hours for the end of the week would be and discovered that I was supposed to have been at work at 9:00 this morning. Tomorrow (Thurs) and Friday are my 10 to 6 days, not Wednesday and Thursday as I'd thought.

Boy did I feel dumb.

So, I made it through the day without screwing up anything else and then it was time to go home.

I was driving along and was about 3 or 4 miles outside the city limits when a car came out of a service station parking lot, crossed between two cars that were stopped in the left lane to make left turns, and bashed into the side of my truck. When the cab of my truck was all lit up with his headlights and I realized this ASSHOLE was gonna hit me I swerved to the right, partially to the shoulder of the highway, and avoided what could have been a 4 car accident. Since I was already on the shoulder I pulled over further and got out of the 4 lanes of traffic so I wouldn't get my ass knocked off again.

Ever try to push those little, tiny buttons on a cell phone when you're shaking like a pine tree in a hurricane? It ain't easy. And then you have to talk to whoever answers and you have to stop crying so they can understand what you're trying to tell them. When they can finally understand you, they transfer your call. Twice. YOUR 911 CALL!

By then the other driver had come up to my window to see if I was ok so I was able to relay to the THIRD dispatcher that I'd explained my predicament to that noone was hurt, (although I know my legs wouldn't have held me up if I'd tried to get out of that truck right then) but they needed to send a State Trooper out there pronto to the accident.

20 minutes later I called again.

Finally, after a 45 minute wait, on the shoulder of a 4 lane highway full of low-flying semis and cars zooming by, I get not one, but two Troopers, Opie the Third, and Trooper Winston.

Opie doesn't want to tell me anything about the dude in the car that hit me (he mentioned something about not being able to tell me if he gave him a citation or not although what I asked him was his NAME and address), all I know about him at this point is that he looked to be about 19 or 20, has long hair, and had left the scene to walk home a half a block or so, to the trailer park, to get his mother before the Troopers arrived.

Trooper Winston, however, had no such qualms about delivering a few tidbits ( I think he's still a little wary of me since he ripped off the back end of my new car with his Trooper car in 1997 while making a U-turn on that same highway). The tidbits did not make me a happy person.

The guy was driving an antique, it had to be cause Winston told me that it hadn't been licensed since 1974. He also had no drivers license, and no insurance.

At least I avoided a really bad collision by swerving over as much as I could and I can drive my truck even though it has a dent in it (dammit!!)

Did I mention that I'd made my last payment on my truck last month?

As I was leaving I asked the deputy sheriff, who'd also decided to stop by, if the dent was bad (I couldn't get out of my truck because I didn't want to risk one of those big rigs making me all mushy and stuff and also I was still shaking really bad). The good ole boy deputy told me, "Well, after you warsh that mud offin it, it'll probably show a purdy good dent". My reply was, "Kiss my ass, I live on a gravel road and I'm lucky to be getting out at all without 4-wheel-drive, have a NICE day!"

I have not had a good day ya'll.

And tomorrow I've got to start my day by getting repair estimates before going to work.

Brent, can't you move down here and straighten these boys out???

This could be the second time around for this.

But if it is, it deserves a rerun. I can SO relate to it.

Dear Tide:

I'm writing to say what an excellent product you have!
I've used it since the beginning of my married life, when my Mom told me
it was the best. Now that I am older and going through menopause, I find it
even better! In fact, about a month ago, I spilled some red wine on
my new white blouse. My unfeeling and uncaring husband started to berate me
about how clumsy I was and generally started becoming a pain in the neck. One thing led to another and I ended up with a lot of his blood on my white blouse. I tried
to get the stain out using a bargain detergent, but it just wouldn't come out.
After a quick trip to the supermarket, I purchased a bottle of liquid Tide
with bleach alternative, and to my surprise and satisfaction, all of the
stains came out! In fact, the stains came out so well, that when the
detectives who came by yesterday told me that the DNA tests on my blouse
were negative and then my attorney called and said that I
would no longer be considered a suspect in the disappearance of my husband. What a relief.
I thank you, once again, for having such a greatproduct, Well, I gotta go, I
have to write a letter to the Hefty Bag people.

Signed,

A relieved menopausal wife

Happy Birthday Miz Mary lou!!!

I hope you have one of the happiest days EVER!

I think I'm gonna make you a cake.
And eat it.

Happy Birthday Son!

On this day 25 years ago at 2:52pm you came into this world. You've made me cry a few times but the laughter that you have given me is what I remember best!

Jami, Bubbie (3 mons) and Trish, 1980.

Oddly enough

This has been a somewhat different week for me. First I had an email from my cousin down in Ft. Lauderdale asking me if I'd be interested in flying to Hawaii for a little R&R in late February, then the next day I had an invitation to a party way out west the first week in February, and THEN, I had a call from a cousin who I've not seen or heard from in over 2 years who just wanted to ask me if I was all right because she'd had a dream where, apparently, I died.

My replies to the 2 invitations were "HELL yeah, I'd love to, but since this is the only time of the year when I actually DO a little work, and I've told them I would work, I can't attend.

But you know, even though it's not possible for me to take advantage of these kind invitations, it feels really good to know that they thought enough of me to ask. Except for the one with the inquiry about my possible demise,,,I'm still pondering on how to take that. I sure hope her dream wasn't one of those foretelling kinds cause I'm just too busy to be checking out right now and I'm hoping my reservations with this life has a little more time on it.

Music and Memories

I Love honest open smiles
Kisses from a child
Tomatoes on the vine, and onions
I Love winner's when they cry
Loser's when they try
Music when it's good, and life
And I love you too.

,,,,Tom T. Hall, "I Love".

I have muddled and mixed memories of my childhood but I can remember always having a love for music. I listen mostly to oldies stations and classic rock in my truck when I'm driving and occasionally a song will come on and bring a memory.

I can remember sitting in a the little Dairy Bar in the tiny town of 300 where I spent several of my "growing up" years and putting a few dimes in the jukebox so I could hear "96 Tears" over and over again. I think I was around 10 or 11 then.

In the summer of 1968, as I was making plans to go to England to live with my father for 3 years, I remember hearing a song by Mary Hopkins that I loved the first time I heard it, "Those Were The Days". That hot summer day, listening to the radio as I tried to pack my suitcase for the 25th time, is a memory that goes with that song.

During my stay with my father and stepmom the Viet Nam War was raging and every time I think of Viet Nam now I think of Creedance Clearwater Revival and

Looking Out My Back Door
There's A Bad Moon Arising
Stuck in Lodi
Proud Mary
Who'll Stop The Rain
Green River

"The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" brings memories of going to Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire with my friend, Susan, to watch bubblegum westerns starring Clint Eastwood (who I had such a crush on). I also think of Susan every time I hear the Bee Gees because she had every one of their records (she had such a big crush on Barry).

Kenny Roger's song, "Lucille", brings to mind Joel who was another American who lived in our little village in England that I became friends with. He asked me out every single day for a year and every single day I told him no because he was a year younger than I was.

"Joy To The World" by Three Dog Night has it's place in my memories too since it played on the radio in James's '68 Chevy as I was introduced to the dating practices of pure country rednecks. I bet we over to Helena to drag Cherry Street a thousand times in the months before we married.

I love songs that bring memories.

Wanda, Special K, and Mary lou, made me curious so,,,

I just had to go searching to see what I could find out about the monster who claims to have started the "misery of the bra".

A lawsuit was fought in the courts from 1934 to 1938 in New York, between a German-born
designer, Otto Titzling (1884-1942), and a French-born designer,
Philippe de Brassiere over who had legal claim to the invention of the modern day bra. But, there were prototypes of the bra many years before either Titzling or Brassiere's claims.

Bra history truly began with the first bra to be patented. The first bra was patented in 1914 by Mary Phelps-Jacobs an American. It is not thought to be the first bra ever, but it is the first patented record and that gives her the credit.

Mary Phelps-Jacobs patented her bra design under the patent name of Caresse Crosby. Some suggest it was her French maid who provided the idea or the stitching help. Two silk handkerchiefs were tied together, baby ribbon sewn on to make straps and a seam set in the centre front.

I can't imagine this would hold up this set of mine without some major reinforcement with duct tape!

But then you also have American Marie Tucek who patented a bra-type undergarmet, which she called a "breast supporter," in 1893. It had two supportive cups and shoulder straps.

There were also a number of statues dating from 2500 BC have been found on the Greek island of Crete that show women wearing bra-like corsets that lifted their breasts out of their clothing. It was called a mastoeides (“shaped like a breast”).

Bust improvers or padded bras were popular in 1840. These bras have been called falsies, cuties, bosom friends, waxen bosoms, lemon loves, and pneumatic breasts.

In the 1920s, women wore bra-type underwear that pressed down their chests for the then-popular flat-chest look.

Also in the 1920's, a Russian immigrant named Ida Rosenthal founded the Maidenform lingerie company with her husband William. They made bras for women of every size and introduced the cup system (A, B, C, D). It wasn't until 1935 that bras were made with both cup and band sizes. The British called the cup measures junior, medium, full, and full with wide waist.

Strapless bras were introduced in 1938. They were popularized in the 1950s. Also the sweater girl bra was made in the 1950s. Its cups were shaped to points and looked a lot like cones.

The push-up bra was introduced in the 1990s. It makes women's breasts look larger that they are. In recent years bras have been sold that include little pillows of gel or water to make the chest look larger. Others can be pumped up with a little air pump.

Today, the average American woman owns six bras. White is the best-selling color for bras.


"Infoplease Article."
Figure Control.* Fact Monster.
© 2000–2004 Pearson Education, publishing as Fact Monster.
06 Jan. 2005

The Story of Soony

In 1988 some friends of ours hosted Thilo, an exchange student from Germany. He and our daughter, Trisha, became good friends and he spent a lot of time at our house during his time in the U.S. After Thilo went back to Germany, his coordinator contacted us to ask if we'd consider hosting a student for the next school year. We thought it over for a few weeks, talked it over with our kids, then told her we'd give it a try. Nancy brought over a stack of applications soon after and something about this Dutch girls application made me feel that she'd be the right one.

We met Danielle Eliza Hubertina Soons (Soony) in August, 1989 at the airport and as she walked off that plane, she walked into our lives and has stayed. She lived through the experience of living with a strange family in a foreign land as she's lived her life so far,,by viewing it as a new adventure.


Aug., 1989. Her first taste of southern fried catfish, but not her last!


Visiting the cotton fields with Elena,(who lived with friends of ours and became friends with Soony) and Vincente, another Arkansas exchange student.


With Trish, Jami, and Bubbie during her stay from Aug. 1989 to May 1990.


With Jami and Bubbie when she visited us in 1992.


1995 visit to Monschou, Germany when James and I visited her in the Netherlands


In 1997 she came to meet Zachary.

She came to visit again in March, 2000 as a surprise for me. I had no idea she was coming until she walked in the door one evening. I promised her during that visit that the next time I visited her, it would be to attend her wedding.

And I did.



I never imagined I could come to love a child, who I had not given birth to, as my own. All you have to do is open your heart and welcome her into your family.

Just Checking In

I'm not feeling real perky but I thought I'd better post something or ya'll would think I was AWOL since normally I can't keep my mouth (fingers) shut. I haven't been overworked or anything yet cause the IRS isn't accepting electronic files until the 14th and most folks haven't gotten their W2s or 1099s yet.

I do have an internet connection on my computer at work though so when I get a chance I will be able to post from there.

I'm not working tomorrow or Friday but have to go in for half day on Saturday for some tax law updates. Tomorrow I reckon I'll tackle some of this danged housework.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Tis the Season to be Moaning

It's that time of the year again, time to gather all those receipts from every nook and cranny, pocket and purse, even in that shoe box hidden under the bed amongst the dust bunnies. (I've heard tell that some people are organized and even have them in a file folder).

It's tax time folks and time for me to go back to the trenches for a few months. Since I won't be working for the same company and I haven't worked for this company in about 12 years now, I don't even know if I'll have online access during working hours so I just wanted to let you know that I'll be here when I can.


I'll be hiding out here.


Here's Debra, the owner, setting up a program in my office.


Co-worker, Tammy

If ya'll need some help with any of your tax questions (after you find all those receipts of course), give me a hollar and I'll try to provide an answer for you.

Now I have to go put CLOTHES on because I'm scheduled to work today and tomorrow and half-day Saturday.

Monday?

Hello.
I am the Friggin' Happiness Fairy.
I've sprinkled happy dust on you.
So Smile, dammit! This shit is expensive!

Tomorrow if I don't forget,,,

I'm going to remember to get a refill on my HRT drug. It was 70 degrees F outdoors today and I swear it was hotter than a camel's ass in Kuwait inside this house. How long does this hot flash stuff last? I'm dying here and it's not doing much for my temperament either. James made the remark that he'd be visiting a house of ill repute in Memphis if I don't get my act together soon and I actually thought about offering him the funds to go! I'd also like for him to see if he could get it on sale and use the balance of the funds for a one-time housekeeper to get this place in shape since at the moment I don't have the energy or urge to give a damn if it gets done or not.

I'm gonna go watch the Lifetime channel now cause I feel the urge to cry and I reckon I need a good excuse.

A Trivia Kinda Day

I spent most of the day today with Trish and the girls, Jerri and Alexis, and Jami and her girls joined us in the afternoon. While the kids did some major playing, we played a game of 90's Trivia (Trish and I won, by no fault of our own). It was good to spend the day laughing at the antics of those girls.

Now, tomorrow I need to get serious about doing some housework. My house looks like a CSI scene of a robbery and double homicide where the victims fought back hard!


Got em all gathered together again but the Chick was NOT happy about it.


Zach (almost 8) and Jordan (almost 7) stopped to pose for me in the horse barn.

Happy New Year!!

May those who suffer with illness of body or soul be well.
May your sunrises be glorious and your sundowns be spectacular.
May you live, love, laugh, and be happy.
May you rejoice in God's love and creations and know the love of friends each day.

Thank you for the gift of your friendship in 2004.

Well,,,,,best laid plans and all that, ya know,,,,

I'm home again cause I got over there and Trish and the girls had gone somewhere else to visit. I waited around in town for awhile and didn't hear from them so I came back home and am not in the mood for another trip into town today. I'm gonna try again tomorrow unless their social schedule gets screwed up again. Who knows if I'll have all the babies together though.

Anyway, I borrowed these photos from the Chick's site so I thought I'd post them today since I wasn't able to take some of my own today.


Jaylen, Jordan, and Alexis (aka the Chick)


MeriKate, Alexis, and Abie

Just in case I don't make it tomorrow

Trish, Jordan, and Jaylen are supposed to be coming in from Little Rock tonight to spend a few days with Bubbie and Jerri so I'm going to go spend the day with them tomorrow. She wasn't able to come last weekend cause they had a lot more ice and snow than we did here. I'm hoping I'll have all the grandbabies gathered together again at some point tomorrow so I can get another photo of them.

I just finished some annual reports that I had to do in order to print some W2s next week so I'm a bit pooped. Maybe I'll make it back tomorrow evening, there won't be much going on around here I reckon.

nite all!!

Boring Wednesday and a break today

Hubby came in from his hunting trip yesterday with no meat for the table. I had to get a little dig in by telling him that I could buy him a whole bunch of steaks for the amount of money his hunting costs. He'd best not be moaning about having chicken again any time soon.

This morning I woke up to the sound of geese off in the distance. When I went to the door and looked out, I saw thousands of them in the field about 2/10ths of a mile away. They sure were having a noisy breakfast.

I'm having a little break since James left a short while ago to go bird hunting and took Zach with him. He loves to go hunting with his PopPop as long as he doesn't expect him to rise with the birds in order to go. He's like his Nanaw with his morning attitude problem and reluctance in getting dressed.

Lazy Tuesday,,,mostly

Well the Christmas tree is down and in it's box but the box needs a little duct tape reinforcement so it's still sitting in the dining room floor. So are the boxes of ornaments. I don't remember where that danged duct tape went so I'll have to wait for James to come home so I can borrow his that he keeps in his truck.

Speaking of duct tape, do you have a favorite use for duct tape?

I found these online (who'da thought?):

Mute function for humans

Wrapped around newspaper to make a dog chew toy

Contraceptive device (this merits more research I think)

Girdle (Imagine the screams at the time of removal)

Seat belts that'll REALLY keep the kids still

Why bother with waxing...(louder screams)

Fix vacuum cleaner hose

Fix printer (I know for a fact you can fix a copier with it!)

Hold batteries in remote control (same goes for the old style gameboy)

Remove lint from clothes

Home security system - tape up doors and windows

Use it to tape 10 year olds with sugar highs to trees during boyscout trips

Poor man's Viagra - two Popsicle sticks and duct tape

Torture

Monday Lessons Learned

When standing on ice as you get into your truck, make sure you're very, very, close to the truck before you try to put a leg in. If you don't, the other leg will head south and you'll split your difference.

Put away the Seargents Flea shampoo that someone left on your tub BEFORE you are taking a bath, water dripping in your eyes, and groping for the shampoo like a blind lady. (I'm putting this lesson learned right behind the one about making sure the Scrub Free is rinsed out of the tub before you take a bath.)

Birds will eat, and like, spaghetti made with Ragu Traditional sauce.

I'm as happy as a pig rolling in a mud puddle!

Hubby left this morning for a hunting trip that should last till about Wednesday. Should I feel bad for being to elated?

Naw!!!

As long as he doesn't shoot himself or shoot another hunter, it'll be ok. Zach and I will lounge about and do what we do best, nothing!!!

I posted a few more of the photos from my Netherlands trip ovah here if ya'll want to go take a look. I'm still editing them so I'll post more as I get time.

How's everyone's day going?

I'd write a cute and witty entry today but,,,,

My mind is wiped.

One little conversation occurred when James told Zach that he could start learning to shoot with my air rifle.

Zach: Boy, I bet I could shoot a grizzly with that!
Nanaw: Child, a grizzly would take that thing away from you and whip your butt with it!