Twenty-five

I've been officially married for 25 years...
That's more than half my life.
I think I deserve a medal or something....
oh wait...you don't know my husband, but if you did you would probably agree that I deserve something other than a card and six red roses....
Ok, he did want to go out for dinner but we both were sickly on the actual anniversary day...he had to be close to the rest room and I couldn't smell anything and my nose & eyes wouldn't stop running...doesn't make for a pleasant evening out.
We will go out soon...someplace with real cloth napkins (serviettes for you Canadians) and good food.

But...I am a bit disappointed in the whole 25th anniversary thing as I took the Monday off before Veteran's Day...told him a month & a half before that I had the day off...He said that that would be a good time to go away for the weekend..Sun - Tues, not far, maybe 2 hours from our house to a nice hotel with a jacuzzi possibly...
BUT...he procrastinated and waited till the Thursday before the weekend to ask for the Monday off and too many others had already asked for the day off!!!
Now you wouldn't think that I would have had to remind him.
I would have thought that if it was important to him he would have remembered to ask for the day off earlier.
So the Monday before Veteran's day he comes home from work and says that other people weren't at work because they called in sick....ARGH!!!

Flash back to our 10th wedding anniversary.
We went to Toronto.
We saw the musical "Show Boat"
We went out for dinner.
I made the hotel reservations and paid for the hotel.
I ordered the tickets and paid for the tickets.
The day before we were to leave for our trip to Toronto, he jumps down the last 2 steps to the basement and screws up his back, so he was on pain medication for the trip...
SO he wasn't much fun.
Kind of puts a damper on things when someone's back hurts.

We went out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving.
My parents treated us.
I was glad not to have to cook as I was sickly with this sinus/eye virus/cold or what ever it is.
But it is kinda weird not having leftovers.
My son was home from college and I felt a little bad as I wasn't up to making him a homemade dinner.
So today I made him a big lunch before he left. Homemade stuffed shells and turkey meatballs and sauce and garlic bread. For dessert, homemade chocolate chip Toll house cookies...most of which he took back to college with him.
I just hope he doesn't get this virus/cold as he will be taking his finals in a week or so.

I bought a Wii for the family for Christmas...shhh it's a surprise.
Amazingly when I was shopping last Monday, the store I was in actually had some in stock...the bundles that come with 4 games and stuff. So I smoked my charge card and got it.
Now I need to find Wii fit...or maybe the starwars game that you duel with light sabers....
I am looking into getting a laptop for myself.
My husband is addicted to playing Diablo II Lord of Destruction on the computer so I rarely get a chance to blog...only when he's not home.
Dell has some nice ones on sale.
My daughter says to get an Apple one, but I am used to using Dell computers at work and home...

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.....

I "borrowed" this from Jon at "Kick in the pants" blog

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? Only with Chicken Wings
2. Favorite late night snack? Ice cream, Cookies (Hubby's ear)
3. Do you own a gun? No
4. What’s your favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty coffee shop? Hot Chocolate
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I don't think...only grilled
7. Favorite Christmas song? "O Holy Night"
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Iced Tea or Juice
9. Can you do push-ups? Bras???
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? Not into Jewelry
11. Favorite hobby? Drawing, Painting, Reading
12. Do you have A.D.D.? No.
13. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself? Procrastination.
14. The last disease you contracted? Sinus & Ear infections
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I don't want to work anymore, How much Judge Judy can one man watch in one night, Will anyone actually read this
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Ice Tea, Water, Lemonade
17. Current worry right now? Finances in my future.
18. Current hate right now? My Supervisor aka "the Bull Dawg"
19. Favorite place to be? Home
20. How did you ring in the New Year? Home alone with hubby snoring
21. Like to travel? Yes, but don't do it often enough.
22. What is your favorite candy? Chocolate...Good Chocolate
23. Do you own slippers? Yes, LLBean Wicked good Moose hide slippers
24. What color shirt are you wearing? Navy blue cable sweater
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, too slippery.
26. Can you whistle? standard lips pursed.
27. Favorite singer/band? I have many favorites
28. Could you ever make it 39 days on the show Survivor? No, I doubt it, too many health issues
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Don't sing in the shower
30. Favorite girl’s names? Don't have one
31. Favorite boy’s name? Thomas
32. What’s in your pocket right now? 3 dollars
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Coffepot's Blog Jokes
34. Like your job? I like parts of my job, but not my supervisor.
36. Do you love where you live? Most of the time.
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? That work? 2
38. Who is your loudest friend? Amanda
39. Do you drive the speed limit or speed? Rarely speed, only 5 MPH over the speed limit
40. Does someone have a crush on you? I Doubt it
41. What is your favorite book? Don't have one
42. Favorite Sports Team? I'm a girl who doesn't watch sports...USA Olympic teams...does that count?
43. What were you doing 12 AM last night? I'm taking the 5th on that one ;)
44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up today? Got to go to get an ultrsound and it snowed so I have to leave earlier than planned..Shit!

Deer photo

I finally figured out how to download photos from my camera. It helps to have the correct cable....which I found in my daughter's room after she told me she didn't have it and that it was still in the box....ARGH!!!
SO here is a photo of 4 of the 6 deer that were in my back yard as mentioned in one of my previous posts. Not too bad considering that the picture was shot through a sliding glass door on an angle.
If I ever get a photo of myself I will have to add it to my profile...
I looked through all the photos in my daughter's photo albums on the computer and there are not any photos of me.... weird considering that I am her mother...she has many photos of herself...LOL

Funerals and crap

Last Saturday I went with my father to a funeral for his cousin.
The Cousin was 76 and died in bed.
His son, who lived with him, found him in the morning. His feet were on the floor and it looked like he sat up and fell back down on the bed.
His wife had passed away 3 months earlier from cancer and he had some health issues also.
I felt horrible for the 2 "children" left behind and their families.
Imagining what it would be like to lose both parents in such a short time I started crying at the funeral.
Even though I didn't really know the man that well, I was crying at his funeral because I could imagine what his children, who are my age, must be going through.
People who were at the funeral, who knew him all there lives were probably wondering who I was.
I saw my fathers other cousins who I haven't seen since my parents 50th wedding anniversary party and some others I haven't seen in over 20 years.
My mother didn't attend the wake or the funeral because she had a touch of the intestinal flu..and my father just told people she wasn't feeling well so they were all concerned.
One of the cousins said he was having a bad day the day before and said that he felt like climbing in next to the deceased cousin to join him...right in front of the deceased cousin's brother.
So they all started wondering, aloud, who would be the next to go, eying each other up and down, hoping that it would not be them next time in the coffin.
The funeral luncheon was in the downstairs of a banquet place.
It was cold and damp and the beamed ceiling seemed low which made the room dark and cave like.
My cousin Gee, who is my age and mildly mentally retarded, was all excited that there was a buffet and announced that she was going to go up as many times as she wanted to get more food. The luncheon was her major reason for being there as the food was probably better than what she usually gets at the group home.
She tends to get rather loud and obnoxious and tries to dominate the conversation so my father & I tried to sit at a different table than her and my uncle. But as luck would have it all the other tables filled up so we ended up sitting at the same table as them.
Gee wasn't too bad during the luncheon as she was busy stuffing her face with food...and she did go up for another plate full. My uncle also went up for seconds and he had the equivalent of another full dinner when he came back. Some of the cousins made comments to him about the amount of food he had on his plates, but he didn't seem to care. I figured that he just ate my mother's lunch for her.
We had the usual buffet fair, antipasto salad, fruit salad, baby red potatoes, corn, rolls, roast beef and turkey. The turkey was so tender and moist.
Before we left I went to use the Ladies room as it would be about an hours ride home. Gee asked me where I was going and decided that sounded like a good idea and that she would go there too.
Luckily we were the only ones in there so we both were able to find an empty stall. I went about my business and suddenly became aware of loud grunting and groaning noises coming from Gee's stall.
OMG.... I stifled the laughter which was rising in me and quickly finished what I was doing, washed up and got the heck out of there. I didn't know if I should have asked her if everything was alright or told her to keep down the noise or what.
Ignoring it was probably the best thing to do.
A few days later I was out shopping with my daughter and had to use the ladies room. As I went in a teenage girl was washing up and quickly hurried out of there and I knew why...the smell was horrendous ...
I had to go and didn't think it would be wise to wait as I didn't want to wet myself so I went into the first empty stall and put my turtle neck up over my nose, put half a roll of toilet paper over the seat and set about my business....then I heard it!
From the next stall came grunts and groans and heavy breathing...WTF!! can't people take a dump lately without making noise. I then wondered if there was someone else in the stall with the grunter...but it only sounded like one grunter so it wasn't a case of hanky panky but poopy goopy.
SO it wasn't the teenage girl but whoever it was in the last stall that stunk up the place... I got the heck out of there as fast as I could.
My daughter decided that she had to use the restroom..I told her good luck.
Ok, so is it normal for people to grunt and groan when they are taking a crap...or am I, and my family abnormal for not making noise?

Funerals always make me think about my life and how little time we actually have on this earth. The people we take for granted that will always be there and that we depend upon could be taken from us in a matter of moments. Life is fragile.
My daughter and my father are like oil and water, they argue about everything. I try to tell her that she should be nicer to her grandfather because someday she may regret how she talks to him....
totally without respect...
she can be nasty.
My father's health isn't that great and he is 75, so you never know...he could live to be 100 or die tomorrow.
I know it bothers him that she is so disrespectful. They are actually quite alike, both temperamental artists who both think they are right.

She will have to learn the hard way that sometimes it is better to be kind than to be right.

What Tarot Card are You?

You are The Hermit

Prudence, Caution, Deliberation.

The Hermit points to all things hidden, such as knowledge and inspiration,hidden enemies. The illumination is from within, and retirement from participation in current events.

The Hermit is a card of introspection, analysis and, well, virginity. You do not desire to socialize; the card indicates, instead, a desire for peace and solitude. You prefer to take the time to think, organize, ruminate, take stock. There may be feelings of frustration and discontent but these feelings eventually lead to enlightenment, illumination, clarity.

The Hermit represents a wise, inspirational person, friend, teacher, therapist. This a person who can shine a light on things that were previously mysterious and confusing.

What Tarot Card are You?
http://www.flarn.com/~warlock/tarot/

yep a hermit.... My friend Elly would agree with this as she says I need to get out more!!
I should go back to college to become a teacher or therapist. My Hermititness is being wasted at my current job.

It's a sunny day

It's the 1st of November
We lucked out in this area and have no snow.
It snowed near here
but no snow here

The sun is out today
The house is quiet.
Hubby is off doing his Sat. paper delivery
Daughter is still sleeping after a late night at a Halloween party.
My parents live across the street and there is no sign of activity.
Their newspaper is still in the box.

You know when you are no longer a child when you think...less than 2 months before Christmas...must start shopping etc.
A child thinks....there are almost 2 whole months before Christmas...it's a LONG time away...we still have to go through Thanksgiving..
Stores seem to skip right from Halloween to Christmas and skip the Thanksgiving holiday all together.

My supervisor at work, (who Elly has nicknamed the Bull Dog, cause she is built like and looks like a bull dog), in her infinite wisdom decided that the last day of the month would be a swell day for Sparky & I to move all the contents of our cubicles to the 2nd floor cubicles.
The end of the month and first couple days of the month are VERY busy for us as we are trying to get all the month end stuff done and our accounts balanced and reporting done the first few days of the month.
There is no elevator in the building...
There was no way that I was going to be carrying heavy boxes up the stairs as my knees and back are bad. I told Sparky if I had to do that I would probably end up out of commission for a week....she graciously volunteered to help carry the boxes.
The maintenance man and the IT guy also helped and my friend Cee from the other dept.
Everything was moved up by noon.
Then I had to try to find a place for all the stuff.
The "new" cubicle is smaller and doesn't have 2 overhead locking cabinets like the one down stairs.
The Bull Dog came around and said to make sure everything was put away neat and tidy as the CEO likes it that way...Bull$hit..she likes it that way.
( I can't help it if I am cursed with being somewhat of a packrat and I have to keep a lot of paperwork just for CYA purposes)
I still have 4 boxes of stuff to try to find a place for.
And I had to get all my regular month end work done...
Now I have a special project that someone from the other dept needs ma to get done ASAP Monday ...along with my account balancing & reporting (govt) and unpacking...ARGH!!

I think the Bull Dog was trying to see if she could push me over the edge as I've told her numerous times that the last day and first 3 days of the month are the most hectic for me.

All the files I use on a daily basis are in the file room downstairs and the people I talk to the most about job related stuff are on the 1st floor. The dept I belong to is on the 2nd floor and the Bull dog said that to make it more efficient, as she is always looking to make things more efficient, that Sparky & I have to be moved to the 2nd floor as that is where her office is.
The only person for whom this move will be more efficient is HER!!!
It bothered her that she couldn't keep a constant watch over us.
I told her if I'm not at my desk I will probably be downstairs, and as I need to be down stairs a lot, I probably won't be at my desk a lot.

I need to get out of that place.
It is having an adverse effect on my health.
Good thing I took all my plants home as I have no room to put them. :-(
And I loved having a lot of plants around me.
My new cubicle is not next to the window, like the old one.
I cannot see the outdoors or feel the sun when it shines in through the windows.
All I see now is the dirty blue fabric that lines the cubicle walls.
And my little sign that reads:
"A Cubicle is just a padded cell without a door"
wonder how long it will be before the Bull dog makes me take it down.

On the bright side...on the other side of my cubicle is my friend Elly.
I told her I will be throwing my stress ball at her occasionally...when the Bull dog isn't patrolling the area!

Hope y'all had a wonderful Halloween.
We had about 10 trick or treaters.
My favorite was a 5 year old little girl who was dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz...complete with the ruby red shoes.

The three meme

I found this on my old blog...and have found most of my answers to still be the same.
So I thought I would re-post it with a few small changes

The three meme

1. Three things that scare me:
~The thought of something bad happening to one of my kids or my family
~Getting an incurable disease
~war

2. Three people that make me laugh
~my 2 kids & husband

3. Three things I hate the most
~people who think they are better or more important
than everyone else
~Driving in a snow storm
~Having Dental work done & colonoscopies

4. Three things I don't understand
~Hatred for someone who is racially different
~men
~any language other than English

5. Three things I'm doing right now
~Drinking water
~Wishing I wasn't feeling so depressed and tired
~trying to think of answers for this thing!

6. Three things I want to do before I die
~Go on a long vacation, somewhere nice & not have to worry about money or time
~Win the lottery so I can do the above
~Buy the car that I really want and not just the one I can afford.

7. Three things I can do
~Make a wonderful Turkey dinner all by myself (done so many a Thanksgiving!!)
~bake an apple pie from scratch (homemade crust, fresh apples)
~wouldn't you like to know ;-)

8. Three ways to describe my personality
~Introspective
~Passionate/sensitive
~Utterly loyal

9. Three things I can't do
~Jump out of bed as soon as I wake up
~Be unfaithful
~Lie convincingly

10. Three things you should listen to
~the little voice inside your head
~The sound of the waves and the seagulls at the beach
~your favorite songs on the way to work

11. Three things you should never listen to
~People who don't get you
~Liars
~Prejudice people/Bigots

12. Three things I'd like to learn
~not take everything so deeply personally
~ to feel okay, every day
~to like myself more

13. Three favourite foods
~Chocolate
~Ice cream
~Strawberries

14. Three beverages I drink regularly
~Tea
~Water
~Juice

15. Three shows I watched as a kid
~Happy Days
~MASH
~The Partidge Family

16...Three people I'm tagging (to do this)
~anyone is welcome to do this...