Violet

Isn't she doing great!

Reading and other news

Maggie is reading!!! She read her first story to me and then she was very excited and jumped up to go get another book and read that one to me too. At first I thought she just remembered what was on each page, however after watching her I soon realized this was not the case. I was so amazed. Many of you know, she is only 5 years old!

Is anyone else experiencing issues with their cable? I was about to scream late tonight. I finally got a battery for my laptop and it would take me 10 minutes to download a page. I was told internet was supposed to be faster and this past weekend they upgraded to a new system. If this is the case, I say go back to the old.

The best news is my company is going to pay for me to get a new set of tires, an oil change and pay for my car insurance. As all of you know, I have been on reduced pay for sometime. I went in and told owner I needed help and he is paying for all of the above. This is good news for me and helps reduce my financial stress.

My throat is doing much better. I am thinking I may not have to have surgery. I think this may be wishful thinking on my part but here is hoping!

Only 2 more work days in this week!

Dilemma

Received a damaged box from UPS. This was in between 2 flaps. This jewelry does not belong to me. I did not order it nor did I pay for it. The UPS man said to keep it. Would you try to return it? Where? I don't know what to do. This is a gold necklace, bracelet and ear rings. There is no markings on the box as to where it was purchased from. I guess I could return it to Amazon (where I bought my package) but they don't know if it belongs to them either. What would you do? I don't wear gold, not that that is the issue, but I want to do what is right.

Saw this today!

The bumper sticker reads:

Boys Lie

Toes

Guess who got her toes done with me today!

Guess who is just amazing!

My mom is the best mom ever! She is just wonderful and I am thankful for her.

Thankful

This is one of the many things I am thankful for.

Wednesday

In only 1 hour I will be free from working for 4 days! Hurray! I could really use the break!!!

In only 1 and a half hour, I will be seeing the specialist for my throat issues. I really truly hope they can find the issue at hand and fix whatever is happening in or down there. I am tired of people asking how I am feeling, am I well, or how long I have been sick for..."Poor thing" is another one I hear. No I am NOT a smoker and no I don't know why my voice has sounded this way for 5+ years.

Well I am off for the moment, maintenance man is giving away book cases and must go see!

This is crazy. I am leaving this message via voice message!

Weekend

This weekend I finished making my holiday cards. That was a huge accomplishment now marked off my list of to do's. The finishing plans for my holidays are to finish shopping for my SIL and buy a gift certificate for her mother and brother. Then I will be ready to start wrapping! I had many of my gifts ordered off Amazon and had them delivered to my work address. This way I can eat lunch and wrap a gift every day and hopefully by the time Christmas rolls around I will not be waiting until the very last moment! Last year, I didn't wrap many at all. In fact, I believe SIL wrapped the majority of my gifts otherwise they would have been given straight from the bags!

I am very thankful for a short week this week! Monday I have sales training in the morning, Tuesday I am hoping to have lunch with friends...you know who you are...and Wednesday I leave early to see the ENT! Of course I have Thursday off and when I wrote the policy and procedure manual, I wrote Friday off too!!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. Please let me know if friends want to have lunch on Tuesday....

Theodore's Cafe -- Grilled Cheese and Corn Dogs!

I found a local restaurant right under my nose. I could literally walk to this place for lunch! I try to go in one time a week. Theodore's Cafe is located in the Kendall Inn, which is located in historic Fort Ben. I just love going in there because the building is very old and it is just so quaint. The tables clothes and napkins are linen and the food is good and reasonable priced. The most expensive thing on the menu is a HUGE salad for $10 bucks! I had the salad the very first time I dined and took half of it home. It is a place where you could easily go in and bring a book and have a nice, relaxing lunch....

So as I am beginning to be a repeat visitor, I am starting to get to know the staff. Today I spoke with a girl who is always there and I asked her what her position was and she said she was the manager (basically) of the facility. I said, "You are Lorelai Gilmore of the Gilmore Girls" and she laughed and said, "yes, I am the Lorelai of this inn." I asked her if she lived there because she is always there. She said she would love to live there because it so laid back and fun.

I want a laid back and fun place to work!

Lorelai also said you didn't have to eat off the menu. (good to know) The chef would fix me (it is all about me isn't it) anything I wanted. This was told because I said I was supposed to have lunch with a friend today but she had to cancel because of children issues. I asked if they had a children menu, "No, not really, but we can fix anything for you so yes, the children could have been feed here..They can make a small proportion of anything on the menu, or a grilled cheese....We even have corn dogs!"

Well what do you know?! Grilled cheese and corn dogs!

Aha

Love this place!

This pillow

I ended up having to sleep, if you want to call it that, sitting up all night! This pillow was a life saver! It is really firm and held my head up so I would not choke. I am so thankful my parents gave it to me.

Week twelve

With me being sick I forgot to water on time! The shame of it all!

Depressed due to sickness

Here I thought today I was really heading towards getting my health back. If you notice the time, it is 2:26 AM. I have been woken up twice by choking myself due to mucas, I woke up once because something was happening on the top of my mouth (blister or sore of some kind) and my nose is hurting and runny. I just can't believe it....Frustrating! I go see the ENT on Wednesday. Perhaps he can shed some light on why this seems to happen so frequently. I am so TIRED but afraid to lay down!!

Christmas List

I finished my Christmas shopping for my niece today. Tonight I decided it might be a good idea to type up a list of what was purchased so that hopefully there will not be any duplicates. I purchased a lot of games and it is easy to duplicate games...Anyway, Maggie jumped up beside me while I was typing and said, "Shrek Game". "Did you get me a Shrek game Auntie?" I was like, "WHAT?" She read on the list I had gotten her the game Operation Shrek game. Then she said, "I see other games on there...what else is on there?" I laughed so hard and we played around...Me pushing her gently (she is very small!) and her coming back and we both laughed and laughed. I was saying..."STOP READING, this is not for you!" She did believe me....And yes, there was a game called Shrek among other games. She was correctly reading my list. She is only 5 years old. Amazing.

85 bucks

I was online today and found this stuffed animal on sale for $85.00. 85 BUCKS!

I love having friends from a different culture than my own!

Back to work today and even though I am feeling somewhat better, I am still not great. I did get to get out for awhile and have lunch with a friend so that was fun. I am hoping to have lunch again with friend(s) on Thursday. There is an inn near where I work, which severs very good food. I haven’t had anything bad there. Prices are reasonable. I mean come on; you can go to Arby’s and spend 6-7 bucks by the time you get a drink for goodness sake. This inn has daily specials for $6.95 and there is always enough food for the hearty appetitive. Anyway, here is hoping I get to eat there this week!! Back to my story, I came back in from lunch today and I found a jar with some funny looking stuff inside. I asked my boss if he know where it came from and he did not. So I went searching online and found it is a Korean tea. I swear it looks like jam. So I made me a cup of hot tea with the Korean gel like stuff and believe it or not…I am feeling better! The stuffy nose is not just sitting in my nose hurting. I am actually sneezing and feeling as if this may be a cure to share! The jar is a very large jar and I hope and pray I never have to use it all. If anyone gets sick, please let me know. I will bring you some lemon looking jelly to stir into hot water. (Now since I don’t have many taste buds right, this may taste like dog poop but at some point when you feel bad, one just doesn’t care….)

Hair Gone Wild

I used to try to be hip and be either with or be the in crowd. I would laugh at my older friends who wore comfortable boots or hats and scarves. I would never wear a hat...It would mess up hair style. Something has shifted some place over the years. Now I just don't care. My hair is clean, my clothes are clean (sometimes I do wear a pair of jeans twice before washing them, this would have been taboo in my earlier years...) and I am clean. I came in today looking like death, I put only a little bit of foundation on as to not scare anyone and no other makeup. I just didn't feel good and didn't feel like it. As I was driving in, I decided I was getting old and it felt pretty darn good.

still sick

Very, very sick dear friends. It seems everytime my little niece gets sick, so do I. Her daddy came home sick today too. I have taken so many different kinds of medications and nothing is really helping. UGH! Hope everyone else on the planet is well.

Saturday

Got up early and got my medication. I also went and bought Maggie's Christmas gift, which was a kitchen. It is one of the things she said she wants....and of course "Santa Auntie" delivers...Afterwards, Paul, Steph and I went to BG to see parents and to pick up Maggie. She was staying at Nana and Papaws so that mommy could go back to school on Friday. Maggie is almost well, just coughs now...We are all thankful for the help my parents give all the time to all of us! A big Thank You shout out to them!! My head was pounding so bad when we got there, I went and laid down for awhile. After I got up, Steph, Paul and I went to Southport and we went to Archivers....I only spent 5 bucks! I got paper to make my Christmas cards...It was VERY HARD for me not to buy other types of Christmas stamps but I already have the stamp set I purchased and I am going to use it if it kills me!!!! Hope everyone had a good Saturday. I plan on resting and taking as much medication as I can so that I am well very soon.

Good Friday

Last night I went to a crafting party hosted by Judy. We made an album. It was really a fun time and we made something pretty too! Thanks Judy for the invite!!

If you want to see something cute, please go to my mom's blog at jutles.blogspot.com. My niece wrote a letter to Santa. It is precious!

I am coming down with a cold now. I am afraid to lay down to sleep. Every time I get sick, it ends up being in a terrible ordeal where I can't breathe properly. I am waiting for the store to open so I can go get meds. I get a special kind at Wild Oats. I found this kind the last time I was sick and it immediately made me start to feel better. I wish they were open now. I would actually go there in my pj's. This is how bad I am feeling.

Hope everyone has a good, healthy Saturday.

MIA

One missing, should I call the consultant?

HILLARY'S FIRST NIGHT AS PRESIDENT in January 2008

Hillary Clinton gets elected President and is spending her first night in the White House. She has waited so long to become President.

The ghost of George Washington appears, and Hillary says, "How can I best serve my country?" Washington says, "Never tell a lie."

"Ouch!" Says Hillary, "I don't know about that."

The next night, the ghost of Thomas Jefferson appears... Hillary says, "How can I best serve my country?" Jefferson says, "Listen to the people."

"Ohhh! I really don't want to do that."

On the third night, the ghost of Abe Lincoln appears... Hillary says, “How can I best serve my country?"

Lincoln says, "Go to the theater."

Truth of Fiction

I am always getting emails, which I am not sure are true or made up so when I came across this site, I thought it was fun to see what I believed was true and what wasn't. I was surprised at my number.

You can click on the title above to get to the web site faster or go to:

http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/4462/real_or_hoax1.swf

Jigsaw Puzzle

Click on the title Jigsaw Puzzle to do this.

Not your usual jigsaw puzzle! This is amazing how it works while it is moving all the time. Just put the pieces together--click and hold down while moving the pieces, then release to position them. Enjoy!!

Saw my doctor this week

I saw my primary care doctor on Wednesday. He said I was doing "fairly well".

A little concerned about that comment, I couldn't resist asking him, "Do you think I'll live to be 80?" He asked, "Do you smoke tobacco, or drink beer or wine?"

"Oh no," I replied.

Then he asked, "Do you eat rib-eye steaks and barbecued ribs more than 1 time a week?

I said, "No!"

"Do you spend a lot of time in the sun, like swimming, running, playing golf, sailing, hiking, or bicycling?"

"No, I don't," I said.

He asked, "Do you gamble, drive fast cars, or have a lot of sex with multiple partners you don't know?"

"No," I said. "I don't do any of those things."

He looked at me and said, "Then, why do you give a shit?"

Common Cents

Click on the words Common Cents above.

Btw, I got it wrong!

This one is for all the moms I know!

Some guys might want to take a moment to think about what they ask every evening when they get home......

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.

In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?" She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?" "Yes," was his incredulous reply. She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

“A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove...but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child.” Forest E. Witcraft


The letter and picture was made for me by Marissa Duarte, who is a child of one of my best friends.

Lunch on Friday

I can't wait to eat lunch with friends on Friday! I could have gone out by myself this week, but it just isn't fun! Today I fixed mash potatoes and corn for lunch. Not so tasty and very boring. Looking forward to a nice lunch tomorrow!!

Thank you gift received

I received a thank you gift from owner. It is always a nice surprise to come in and find goodies on one’s desk when it is unexpected!

It's Official

I have seen this one before but thought it was appropriate to share again.

Psychological Quiz

At the funeral of her mother, a girl met a guy whom she did not know. She thought he was amazing, so much her dream guy she believed him to be, that she fell in love with him there and then...A few days later the girl killed her own sister. Question: What is her motive in killing her sister?

Think about what your own answer is to this question! Also, remember that this is not a typical lateral thinking puzzle...there’s not really any hidden information.

I will post the answer tomorrow!

I'm a Libertarian

WASHINGTON - Democrats won control of the House early Wednesday…..

I am scared sick. I realize I have no control over things and what will be, will be, however my job is in deeper jeopardy now then ever before. I am also fearful for the acts of war, which are bound to happen if the Democrats get full control of everything. I can’t agree with what the Republicans have done, don’t get me wrong…however I would feel more comfortable in my skin if I knew this country would be protected. I fear doom is coming to America. I sure which there was a moral and decent government, which we all could support and stand behind. I just hope and pray that another “Clinton-ish” era isn’t in the future. God help us one and all.

Good Story I think it says a lot about our country.

The ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER

OLD VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.


MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible


MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks he's a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, ABC & CNN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green."

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Ted Kennedy & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Dan Rather that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his "fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the "Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act," retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case.

The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Vote Republican

Good Laugh

I think both the R's and the D's will enjoy this one. Go to the following link and enjoy.

http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/13180/HillaryCondi_HoDown.swf

Hurt Heart

I have a very close friend who has an abusive husband. I won’t ever talk negatively about how abusive I think he is to her and she hasn’t confided in me with all the sordid details but what I do know, which she has told me, he isn’t nice to her.

This past month, he accused her of having an affair. Last week, in one of his fits, he threw her computer out the window of their home and locked her out of the house. I found out today he has taken away her only means of phoning me via her cell phone. They do not have telephone service at home, he “accidentally” cut the wires and hasn’t had them fixed yet (a good year ago, at least). I have gotten emails from her within the last month which read “help me.” I have asked her what I can do to help her. I have told her I would do anything she needs for me to do and that I was there for her with whatever she needed to do or with whatever help she needed. Today I went to email her and her husband has deleted her email account. I called her at her work and she just cried and cried. I asked her if she was happy and she just cried. Again, I told her I would do whatever she need and I gave her my toll free number at work, which will page me so that she can call from any telephone booth at any time of the day.

What else can I do for her? I know she is the one who has to make the decision to stop taking the abuse. My heart goes out to her and since I feel so helpless I wonder how helpless she has been feeling all these years (20+).

Please pray for her.

Foot Ball Game

I was taken to my first football game in high school. I had great seats behind the team's bench. After the game, I was asked how I liked the football experience. I said I liked it but I didn't understand why the players were killing each over for 25 cents. My friend asked me what I meant and I said, "Well, they flipped a coin, one team got it and then for the rest of the game, all they kept screaming was: "Get the quarterback! Get the quarterback!" I'm like..."Helloooooo? It's only 25 cents!!!"

Remember

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and then try to get up early the next morning.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved and never will achieve its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to
share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life.

6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

7. Never lick a steak knife.

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that
you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at
that moment.

11. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

12. A person who is nice to you but rude to a waiter is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

13. Your friends love you anyway.

14. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the
Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

15. Men are like fine wine. They start out as grapes, and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

It's Monday

I went to my sales training class this morning and it was really good. I am starting to catch on to what it is I am doing. There is much to learn and it is fun learning it...I know that sounds crazy but it is interesting.

I had a pretty expensive weekend. I could blame my SIL but I won't because she didn't have control over my checkbook...I did...However I have pretty much gotten my Christmas presents brought/made/under construction so I am pretty happy. The only problem I normally have is I continue to buy as the days and weeks get closer to Christmas. I must remember, I am on a limited income right now and not go crazy!

Judy, looking to the week, is there a good day to get together for lunch? Wednesday is O U T for me as I have a MD appointment.

Mom, how about you, would you like to schedule a date and time with me for sometime in the next couple weeks?

Week eleven

There are new leaves sprouting! I am so happy!

I LOVE YOU TOO

My niece was playing with me last night, teasing me about her love. She said “I have something for you Auntie.” I looked at the piece of paper and it said, “I love you Nana.” I grabbed her and playfully said, “WHAT? You love Nana? What about Auntie? What about AUNTIE.” She laughed and giggled and said, “Okay, okay.” Then she brought me another slip of paper and it read. I love Papaw. I screamed playfully with her and again said, “WHAT? WHAT? WHAT ABOUT AUNTIE?” She laughed and laughed and said, “Okay, okay” and then she said, “How do you spell Auntie?” I said, “WHAT? You know how to spell both Nana and Papaw but don’t know how to spell Auntie? Is this what you are saying to me?” She giggled and giggled and laughed out loud and asked again. She then said, “It starts with an A what would be next?” So I spelled out the word Auntie and she brought me my sheet, which read, I love you Auntie. So I sighed heavily and made a big deal about it. Stating that was “more like it”, which made her giggle even harder. She then had to ask how to spell Willey, which is the dog’s name. I guess I am lucky I was one up the list from the dog……LOL!!!

Friends

Shout out to Laurie for sending this my way.

S* H* I* T*!

A business man got on an elevator. When he entered, there was another person already inside who greeted him with a bright,"T-G-I-F."

He smiled at her and replied,"S-H-I-T."

She looked puzzled, and repeated,"T-G-I-F," more slowly.

He again answered,"S-H-I-T."

Trying to keep it friendly, she smiled her biggest smile and said as sweetly as possibly, "T-G-I-F."

The man smiled back to her and once again, "S-H-I-T."

Exasperated, she finally decided to explain, "T-G-I-F" means 'Thank Goodness It's Friday.' Get it duuhhh?"

The man answered, "'S-H-I-T' means "Sorry, Honey, It's Thursday."

UP

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this up is confusing:

A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets UP the earth.

When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on & on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so ....

Time to shut UP.....!

Oh...one more thing:!

What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?

U P

Shout out to mom for sending this one.

What day is today?

I won’t mention any names, (Judy) however; there is a certain person who is really nice and really creative and is always giving and thinking of others….I told myself I don’t know how she wants to even be friends with me because I think she may be to cool for me...How could I continue to be her friend? I mean, how could I ever keep up with her? It is like living next door to the Joneses....So I came back to work started surfing the internet looking for something special I could give her. I have a few ideas. The only problem I see with those ideas is that she will probably beat me to them. It is difficult to be me sometimes. (Smiles!)

Yesterday I had to go to Terre Haute Indiana to go work at a booth for my job. I was amazed at myself. Normally I don’t like doing things like this as I am usually nervous and self conscious. I got up yesterday put a smile on my face and didn’t look back. I did a pretty good job presenting the products to all the geezers who came up to talk to me. All the people who were there were older and men. I was also the only female vendor and all the customers who came through were men. There was one time when I stumbled with my words and I felt pretty stupid but the entire day was something new for me and I am pretty darn proud of what I did accomplish!

And now, I think I will lie down under my desk and go to sleep….Sleepy time.