Home early but NOT! & Duct Tape

For once I go home an hour early on Wednesday to attend a school function with the kid only she has her days mixed up...it was s'pozed to be Tuesday - yesterday.  OK, so we all head back home and I actually cook dinner for a change - fried pork chops - they were delicious, even the hubby raved.  As soon as I am finished with my meal, my Nanny pops up at my back door with "ya wanna go with me to Lowe's?"  Of course I say NO, but we all end up heading out to the store. 

At least I was able to accomplish one thing for my self...I needed a flange for a 3/4" pipe to be able to sit this on the floor.  It is a clothes hanger for dance traveling.  Do you have any idea how hard it is to "hang" several dance outfits near your designated station and not have them end up in the floor or wadded up in the dance bag?  Plus this weekend we'll be out in the open area full of wind from the river...need to be able to keep up with the outfits.  It was 8:45 when we got home....and still had miles to go to be ready for bed.

And Tom bought a new toilet seat....now here's a cute story.  One morning this past weekend I heard him complaining while he's in the throne room....seems he cracked his seat (yes HIS seat - I use a diff bathroom) and then later split it all the way.  So he's complaining now that he's gonna get pinched (poor baby).  Well, he's the plumber, so I figure he'll handle this.  Later I walk through the bathroom into my closet and notice that he has repaired the toilet seat.........with duct tape!  Such a good invention this duct tape...it's everywhere! and can remedy most anything.

Up in the country one day I actually laid eyes on a truck with the bed full of moving boxes etc and these were held securely in place with......duct tape.  Yep...all the way from one side of the truck body to the other just like a rope.  Musta been someone really into Nascar --- using the 200 mph tape that way!  I'm also told that duct tape will remove warts.  Yep, just cover the wart w/duct tape and replace every 2 days for a week.  Something in the glue.....imagine what it is doing to the paint on that truck!  Wonder if it will work the same way if we wrapped our homes with it during a hurricane???????? Hmmmmmmm.

Upcoming and Unfinished Business

I am reflecting on all that still needs to be done and my list of things forthcoming.

I did make a dent in some house chores this weekend, but it was so darn pretty outside that I found myself desiring the deck.  I fought the notion and went about my business.  There is still a lot to be done.  I must organize the extra extra bedroom which has become a free for all room.  (This is why I could only find one bowling shoe)  If only I had a little more energy......this hysterectomy recovery reminds me that I cannot always move the way I want to or need to.  I.E.  I cannot do the "Twist", not that I want to, it's just that a lot of things in life we don't realize we do until that jolt of pain strikes, like simply using one hand on the wheel to turn the car around a corner.  April 17 is the 3 month anniversary of surgery...I'm told it takes a good 6 months so I guess I should be glad that I am half way there.  Still......

Purchased one of those sewing boards this weekend thinking that I could just plop it down on the floor and lay out my stuff.  Sure, that works...only my body said WTH???  Sitting and stretching and reaching.....grrrr.....that's when I felt the pangs of pain of what seemed to be the still healing parts of my insides.  You know the ones where they cut and stitched to something else....pulling like taffy only without the pleasure.  I managed to get the dress cut out and even cut out 2 pocketbooks - one for Tara and one for her friend.  I may have enough fabric to make a skirt for the friend, that way her purse will match too.  I always try to buy extra fabric cause ya never know what else you'll want to use it for.

One of last year's dress creations was getting a bit short (my kid is a bean pole) so Tara asked me to get some kind of lace or eyelet for the bottom.  I picked up a cute little 2" cotton eyelet and pinned it on and added some to the top just to dress it up.  Yes, I said "pinned it on" and not "sewed"...haven't got to that part yet.........sigh.  I figure now that I've got all the patterns cut, I'll get it all done at one time (yeah right!).  Since Miss T is such a bean pole, I only have to lengthen some of the patterns I already have (yay!) but I've noticed that I will need to move into the 10-12-14 patterns for Winter or next year's creations.  I get excited when I see the many different crafty ways out there and wish I could just spend my time creating things...maybe to sell or just give away for birthday or Christmas.  Ahhhh, but the pay sucks!

That is why I must get a handle on my disorganization!

Which this is a hard task when there are so many other distractions.  You know the one - Mon-Fri JOB.   I travel some 15 miles one way to work which means a good hour round trip spent in travel each day.  Then 2 nights of dance (back into town, but luckily Tom brings her), and then this weekend is the Festival and we have to be downtown (back to town) by 7am on Saturday to be ready for the Dance Float in the parade and then she dances at 3-4:30.....whew!  It's an all day hurry up and wait.  Sunday is Palm Sunday - we'll probably go to church (back to town) and then the next weekend is Easter with Tom leaving for FL on that Monday!

Whew.................(was there any Sharon time in there????) 

I think I need to start out each day with the GO and ACCOMPLISH attitude  sisk boom bah!  instead of trying to catch 30 more minutes of Zzz's.  Maybe I'll try that...........next week!

A New Version of the Good ol Days

Are You Lonesome Tonight (Senior Citizen Version)

Good Ol Days

I "borrowed" this from Barb over at Confessions of an Angel Waitress

Where I Come From…….

Where I come from the times were special and the neighbors were more like family members than acquaintances. I spent my days casually playing under bushes. We pretended they were forts. Other times I could be found up in a tree, just climbing or hanging around…literally.

Once Spring arrived we would enjoy "sour grass" (I still do to this day!) and while chomping on this we’d lay back in the grass and watch the clouds float by. They always made us feel like we were moving too. We made pea-shooters out of cane poles and I had a swing tied way up in a tree branch. Crickets would sing us to sleep at night through opened, screened windows.

Saturday’s in the Summer were spent at the beach. Sunday’s it was always off to church and then home to Nanny’s cooking. It was a nice, lazy day, which usually brought over some extra family members. They would eat and "set a spell" on the porch in a rocking chair or in folding lounge chairs out in the yard. Kids would be running around while the adults sat around drinking tea and eating cake or pie or both. A special surprise would sometimes show up and we’d get a visit from a favorite aunt or uncle from afar.

I was the first baby born on our street in a very long time. I was anxiously awaited for and when I arrived in July I was told it was as if it were Christmas in our neighborhood. Almost every neighbor attended the same church we did, except for one family. Nevertheless, we all got along great and kept our eyes out for each other. Our doors and windows were never locked. I roamed freely in the woods and up and down the street. Never a fear of abduction or getting lost and we could always hear when someone yelled out our name to "come home".

Where I come from, we had respect for each other…..lived by the Golden Rule. I have been sent out to "get a switch" when I’d done something wrong. Got spanked in school and once again when we got home for getting in trouble at school. Feared and revered our elders.Cracker Jack’s had real prizes.

In our neck of the woods, mud pies were made by the side of the road in a puddle. Tadpoles were caught in the ditch and kept in a mason jar….till they died usually. We chased fireflies and kept them in a mason jar too. (Mason jars were very versatile but we were not allowed to drink from them….they were for "puttin up" string beans.) We drank ice cold soda from a glass bottle and there was a bottle opener permanently nailed to the window sill.

Those were the good ol days.

Grown Ups!

25 ways to know you have grown up

1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up." 8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset,
rather than settle, your stomach.

19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and
pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good sh!t."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to
drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate
them instead of asking "Oh shit what the hell happened?"
Bonus:
26. You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that
doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass.

27. What really hurts is when you have been grown up for so long that
you realize much of this list actually applies to your grown up children.

We Sprung!

I love Daylight savings time!!!!  I love the fact that it will not be dark as I drive home and that I will have time at home that is not dark as well.  Now I can "see" my yard....I can sit on my back deck and feel the warmth of the sun.  We will be able to "see" what is cooking on the grill.  Won't be long until the Azalea's are in full bloom and the mosquito's are out looking for lunch!  Ugh, that has got to be one useless bug!  What was God thinking????  I'm putting that one on my list of questions to ask the Big Guy.

I also like clocks.  Doesn't matter that I have one in my living room already and two in the kitchen and one sitting in the floor looking for a wall (it used to be in the living room over my piano), not to count the various bedrooms etc .... I'd have a bunch of them.  Until days like today when they all have to be changed.  Guess it is all one big game to me...making sure they are all on the same minute.  It will take me about 1 week to get my body used to this change, but overall I LOVE IT!

Saturday I had a question that I'm not so sure has an answer.  I spent about 1-2 hours ironing while washing/drying.  Why is it that I have all this laundry and never anything to wear?  I am so disgusted with my wardrobe....no, I'm more disgusted with my weight is more like it.  (The only other time I weighed this much was the day Tara was born!)  But, too, I spent time Friday in the mall looking at tops and I could not find what I wanted.  So disappointing.  I have a lot of casual clothes, but I wanted to spice up some things with some really cool tops.  Oh well, eventually something will come up.  Better yet, something should go down!  like my weight!   Grrrrrrr....  I know, I know, get rid of the chocolate and Sundrop (soda), lay off the breads and pastas.   I need a trip to Florida to Bealls to shop.  I can usually find things there...although I wasn't too successful this past Christmas when I was there......(sigh)...

Tara was invited to see "Ice Age 2" today with her friend Cassie which gave Tom and I time alone to hit Walmart for some Easter basket shopping.  This will probably be the last year for all the "fairy tale" stuff.  She already knows the toothfairy is, well, ME.  I have all ideas that the Easter bunny will be the next one to get the axe....I don't even wanna think about Santa (although I probably will keep that one going just because of the element of surprise).  In the beginning I toyed with the idea of not starting these traditions, but I thought "why not?" especially when all the friends would be experiencing the joys of being surprised by a mysterious happening.  It is nice to have something to believe in that is fun and somehow "magical".  Besides, kids that don't "believe" can be so mean to kids that do.   Ahhhh, she is growing up so fast.

We've all "sprung" forward and Spring Break has officially ended.  The weather is great here now.....75 today....80 tomorrow.  It probably will not get much lower than a 65 in the day from here on out.  It's those 98's that bother me.  75-80 I can learn to love!  I am glad that this will be a nice week weather-wise to go back to school with.  The kids will be so excited to have sunny warm days. 

Tom's Dad has just been moved from ICU to a private room tonight which is GREAT news.  I am so relieved that they were able to repair his abdominal aneursym.  Tom was able to say "Hi" to him earlier and he said he sounded like someone who's just had surgery should...groggy and weak.  He's a tough old bird, he'll be just fine.  They had told him he'd probably be in the hospital 2 weeks which would put him getting out on the 12th --- just in time for Easter.   Danny, Tom's brother, lives at home with Dad so he'll be there anyway to help out and I"m sure they'll send in home health care.  (Danny has lupus and is a 2x kidney transplant recipient)  The youngest daughter will be there for the Easter weekend, then Tom will fly to Tampa on Monday the 17th to stay a week and help out.  How will I survive a week without him (hehehehehe) ??  No, really....HOW?   He gets up and gets Tara up and out the door for school (drives her there and picks her up), helps with her homework and packs her lunches plus he gets her to dance classes on Tues & Thurs.  Yikes.....I've been so spoiled lately being allowed to sleep late....OH NO!!!!!  The pressure!  Time to re-group.

 

 

2 Days Behind

Friday 5'rs 2 days late

LET'S PLAY!!!

 

1. How do you like your pizza and who do you think has the best pizza?

mmm I like Italian Sausage and Pepperoni....we have 2 locals "LaPiazza" and "Brooklyn Pizza"...they make the best.

2. How many journals do you have online and are any of them private?

I have one called Coastal Comfort for all to see!

3.  Do you believe in heaven and if so what do you think it will be like?

Yes I do believe in Heaven "for the Bible tells me so" .... it is a very real & wonderful place.  Ahhh the streets of gold and the beauty of everything pure.  Imagine being able to finally meet that famous person you've always read about or being reunited with loved ones - awesome!

4.  Tell us about one of your bad habits.

You been peeking?????  I am so disorganized it ain't funny, yet I can tell you where everything is....now where's that enter button.......?

5.  Everyone likes a good deal.  What was the last good deal you got?  You know...like buy one get one free kind of thing.

I love buy one get one free....especially on shoes.  That's when I get weak and stock up on shoes.