BarbWired

1^st things 1^st – someone very close to my heart has a difficult day ahead of her today, and I just want her to know I love her and will be here for her today and the next day and everyday after that. 

 

 

 

Now, on to uh, other stuff.  I forgot to mention the other day that I quit my dream job at the liquor store.  I worked both jobs for 2 weeks, and knew I couldn’t keep it up.  This old body just aint what it used to be is worthless and pathetic, and doesn’t like 60 hour work weeks.  Initially, I was really sorry I had to quit the liq, cuz it was such a fun job, but surprisingly, I don’t miss it as much as I thought I would. (except for part where I got to see Ang - I'll def. miss that!) 

 

 

 

In other news,since I’ve always had short, ugly, brittle finger nails, I decided to give acrylic nail tips a try.   I’ve never had much luck with getting polish to stay on my own nails for more than a day at best, so I’m really hoping to see an improvement in that area as well.  Which is good, because I hate painting my nails.  I’m too sloppy – I think I get more paint on my fingers than the nails.  So, I’ve found them easier to adjust to that I expected – I told my niece the hardest thing so far is not poking my nail thru the toilet paper when I wipe.  TMI???  Sorry.

 

 

 

Ooh! Ooh!  I thought I saw Terry Bradshaw the other day!  Right here in Topeka!  Turns out it was just his look-a-like, who happens to be the husband of one of my co-workers.  It was freaky dude.  I took a picture, but it just didn’t do him justice. 

 

 

 

Let’s see – what else?  Oh!  Erin and her friends are hosting a baby shower this weekend for one of her best friends, Courtney.  She’s about to pop, so it’s a good thing too.  Can you believe, she doesn’t even know the sex of the baby?  Really!  Imagine when you give birth and you ask “what is it? what is it?”   and the Dr. actually says “IT’S A _______ (insert sex here)!!!!!  AND YOU’RE SURPRISED!  What a concept!!!  Considering in this day and age, our urgent need to know everything instantly, that’s quite remarkable if you ask me!  Only now I don’t know whether to buy a pink dress or blue knickers.  Maybe I’ll just go with camo, since the kid’s bound to be a redneck regardless of sex! 

 

 

 

I think I mentioned that Sia hid her kittens again.  Well I’m not as dumb as I look, folks.  Either that or she didn’t hide them very well.  At any rate, I’ve been feeding them dry kitten food every night so they don’t go all wild on me.  Just to be safe, I think Erin and Brent better take their 2 home this weekend J 

 

 

I guess that’s all for now – boss lady is supposed to be headed my way to teach me another part of my job!  Yay! 

 

 

Ok – so I’ve got a few minutes left on my lunch hour, so I’m gonna see if I can’t get something informative yet interesting pounded out. 

 

Work is going great.  I love my job, and the people I work with.  Even better, they don’t need much of an excuse to party, so I think we’ve gone out 3 times so far, and we’re going out tonight again.  Usually, we hit El Mez on 99 cent Margarita night.  It would be nice if Erin and I could figure out a way to carpool, especially now that gas is over $3, but our schedules just aren’t in sync.  And I really do enjoy the ride into work in the morning.  Time for thinking or not thinking or whatever I want.  Traffic is a little heavier in the evening, so I hafta pay a little closer attention. 

 

In animal news, we have 5 baby kittens.  They’re about 5 weeks old, and of course, are as cute as a button!  Erin and Brent are taking 2!

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s see if I can recap my Memorial Day weekend without boring you all too much.  Friday the work crew got an early start on the holiday weekend at El Mez (no cheap ‘ritas tho)  Erin joined us for that, and then we went back to our house where Brent and Greg were patiently waiting.  We just hung out the rest of the night.

 

Saturday morning, I felt like crap (margaritas plus Schmirnoff equals headache deluxe).  Mid-morning, Greg and I went to check the cattle in the pastures.  It takes several hours, since 2 of the pastures are in the next county, so we always make sure we take plenty of refreshments along.  In the first pasture, all was well.  When we reached the 2^nd one, we counted critters and came up short.  There’s 1 cow and 6 calves missing.  He just hauled them all out a few weeks ago, and this was the first time we’d checked on them.  We would have jumped on the 4 wheeler and looked for them, but we didn’t take the 4 wheeler.  (When it’s raining, the ramps get to slick to load it).  So we drove around as much as we could in the truck, and saw nothing.  He’s going back this week with the 4 wheeler to look again.  He’s pretty sure they’re there somewhere.  Uh yeah – let’s hope so.  So then we headed back towards home, stopped and got a Casey’s pizza, and checked the other 2 pastures, where everyone was present and accounted for.  We stayed home Sat. night, but we had a visit from Pat and Kenda, with brother Dan in tow (Debbi’s in Florida). 

 

Sunday morning, I got up early, and picked up my mom so we could decorate graves.  We stopped at my Dad’s first, then drove west of Emporia to 2 other cemeteries.  There was a graveside memorial service for an old friend of my Mom’s at the 2^nd cemetery, and when it was over, we took the scenic route back to Emporia, by way of the farmstead her grandparents lived on.  She shared lots of memories with me, and said that was the best part of the day.  Quick trip to Walmart for cream pies, then we headed home.  Greg and I then went to a graduation party for his niece Candice.  Her grandparents threw a big party for several grandkids and/or nieces and nephews who graduated recently.  We had grads from Junior High all the way up to Master’s Degree.  Candy got her BS from K-State.  We made plans for her 21^st birthday, which is next week.  It’s on a Tuesday, so what else?  That’s right….. 99 cent Margarita night at El Mez!  Hmm, shouldn’t they be paying me for advertising???

 

Monday, I intended to get something done around the house.  I went out to mow after dinner, but it started raining.  Dang.  It stopped raining, so I went back to mowing for a bit.  Then I took a break, and Greg suggested we go ride around on the 4 wheeler.  We started out with Dennis and his bitch (dog that is) Allie.  Then we traded one bitch for another (wife).  Allie stinks, but I still prefer her.  Nevertheless, we had fun.  I told Greg as long as we’re moving, I don’t have to listen to her, so it’s ok.  We rode along the creek that flooded 3 weeks ago, and imagine this – it’s still muddy back there!  Not that that would stop Greg from going where he wants to go.  But wait – yes it did.  We tried driving through one particular mud hole, and got stuck in the middle of it.  He had to get off and push while I drove, which, I’d say I got the better end of that deal.  I finally got out and just kept on going down the trail till I thought it was dry enough to stop without getting stuck again, turned around, and headed back to the hole.  Too bad I let off on the gas when I started sliding sideways.  So again, reverse, forward, push push, and finally I started going.  I flew through that mudhole, and just kept on going, screaming the whole time.  When I finally stopped, I was covered in mud, and laughing my ass off.  Dennis kept asking if I was ok.  Ok?  Hell Dennis – that’s the most fun I’ve had in ages!  So what if I had a little (ok – a lot) of mud on me – I needed to take a shower anyway!  As luck would have it, we got caught in a rainstorm on the way home – not that it helped wash the mud off – we were driving too fast, trying to beat the storm.  As soon as we pulled into the shop, all hell broke loose.  We need to have more fun days like that. 

 

 

So about that job…

 

 

 

 

 

wait for it….

 

 

 

 

 

wait for it……

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I GOT THE JOB!!!

 

Yay me!  And the best part?  They agreed to give me the extra $2.00 / hr for my experience.  Double yay me!  So I’m going in tomorrow to do employment paperwork and take a drug test.  (note to self – avoid cocaine and heroin tonight)  (oh – and poppy seed muffins) 

 

Now all I have to do is figure out how to get by on only 8 hrs of sleep a night.  I got up this morning at 6:00 to take Erin to work and my butt’s been dragging all afternoon.  But no nappy for me, I gotta push thru. 

 

I’m sad to hear that Rosie’s leaving The View, but good god!  Is it really the top news story of the day?  It’s all I’ve heard on every show, entertainment, news, radio, you name it.  And the best part?  DT is trying to take credit for it.  Uh, can anyone tell me who his newest pathetic minion apprentice is?  Show of hands?  Yeah – that’s what I thought.  No one watched the show!  hahahahahahaha.

 

In animal news, Sia had kittens this week.  She’s such a good momma – she hides those babies where no one/no thing could ever find them.  Bad for me…. but good for the kittens, since Maggie would probably want to play with them the same way she plays with her toys.  Her Tickle-Me-Ernie lost all his stuffin the other day, so now he looks more like Burt.  The best part is he still giggles the whole time she’s rippin him to shreds.  Ernie never was the sharpest puppet behind the couch.

When I joined the blogging world, the last thing I expected was to find a friend in another blogger.  Turns out one of the first blogs I read belongs to Ang, who just lives  a couple of towns away (which in rural KS in nuthin)  Last night, she and her adorable boys, Sam and Will, stopped by the Liq for our very first face-to-face visit.  Erin asked me later if it felt awkward, and I have to say – it could not have been easier.  We hugged, then Will gave me a hug (guess he figures if it’s ok for his mom to hug me, he can too!)  We chatted like we’ve known each other forever.  Her boys are soooo cute – I’m really glad she brought them, cuz after reading so much about em, it was fun to meet them too.  I’ve got to say, Ang is so sweet and as all of her readers already know – such a good mom.  As of now, she’s the frontrunner for my BBF (Best Blog Friend)  Of course we got a picture to commemorate the event!  

 

 

 

Note to Ang – if you want to stay my BBF, next time we take a picture together – for god’s sake tell me my eyeliner is all over the place!  I look like a Goth Queen who got dressed in the dark (hence the pink shirt). 

 

That cute little booger in front of me is my Hug-a-Bud Willie.  Sam took the picture, and I think he did an excellent job!  Anyway – I can’t wait to meet up again!

 

I’m talking to Sheltered Living again about an accounting position.  I have an interview on Monday afternoon with the head of the accounting department.  I’m pretty sure I’ll accept this time if  they offer me a job.  Even if it is just $10.00 an hour.  I’m to the point where not only do I need to get out of the house, but I need paid health insurance.  When I quit my job a year ago, I never ever dreamed I’d still be unemployed at this time.  (yeah – I work, but it pays so little, it doesn’t really count)    There’s another added bonus to working full time – it’ll give me all kinds of fun stuff to write about! 

 

By the way – thanks to my readers who commented or emailed me about my blogging troubles.  My frame of mind seems to be the determining factor in how often I write, and at the moment……wait, yes still at this moment, I’m feeling pretty good, so all systems are go. 

 

 

 

 

Seems my life is a struggle these days.  I struggle to get out of bed in the morning…. struggle to do anything that makes me feel worthy… struggle to make myself go to bed at night, struggle to communicate with my loved ones, struggle to write.  Hence this is my first journal entry in how long?  The only purpose I feel in my life right now is my part time job, which forces me to shower and get dressed three times a week. 

 

There are occasional lights, for which I am immensely grateful.  But they are too few and far between.  When I started writing this journal, I thought it would be therapeutic.  Get all my feelings out, help me work through my problems, etc.  But instead, I just found myself trying to entertain.  Don’t get me wrong… I love to make people laugh.  In fact, it’s one of my favorite things to do, and it usually comes easily to me.  Except maybe when I put too much pressure on myself.  I don’t want to stop writing, but lately the thought of posting something new is so overwhelming, it actually keeps me from reading other journals.  And I hate that.  I love reading other journals, and have come to think of several bloggers as friends.  Well, you know – virtual friends.  But when I read their journals and don’t comment, I feel guilty.  And that on top of the guilt I feel for not posting is too much to bear.  A friend suggested I stop journaling for now, but I’m not going to stop.  I think I just need to set my sights a little lower.  When I first began, I intended to post every day, but quickly found that easier said than done.  So for now, I think I’ll try for once a week, and if the spirit moves me, I’ll throw in a bonus one now and then.  By taking the pressure off, maybe I’ll be able to recharge my inner comedian, or at the very least, I won’t be afraid to sit in front of my computer and do something besides playing SNOOD.  (SNOOD IS THE DEVIL)

 

Now that I’m on a roll, let’s see if we can get all caught up.  In the last week I’ve started a new job, lost 5 pounds, met several alcoholics and compulsive gamblers, cried with my best friend, got a car stuck in the snow, burnt up all the belts on the hoopty, fell in the snow and hurt my bad foot, bought a family heirloom quilt that should never have been included in an auction, drank part of a can of Milwaukee’s Best, shopped for tools, made fun of someone with helmet head hair, mowed the yard, and been so mad at a family member that I wanted to hurt him.  I can hardly wait to see what next week brings.   

Looks like I’m headed back into the work force, at least part time.   One of the liquor stores we help support ran an ad in the local paper, so I stopped in yesterday and dropped off my resume’.  The owner called and asked me to come in for a few hours last night to train.  So there ya go – looks like I’m gainfully employed for 3 nights a week.  I don’t mind working evenings – it’s 4:00 to 10:00 – although I probably wouldn’t want to work every night.  I think it might be kinda fun.  I’ll do some more training next week and start on my own the week after. 

 

In other news, I’m still not 100% healthy, but I’m feeling much better.  The coughing jags are coming less frequently, although they are still violent and still producing ….. uhh, stuff. 

 

We had a little bit of excitement in our little corner of the world this week.  There was a bad fire (hmm – is there any other kind of fire??) in my hometown.  One of the buildings down town was completely gutted, and the buildings on either side sustained serious smoke damage.  In a small town, something like this brings out everyone.  Greg and I went in to the kids house and we all walked downtown to check it out.  Luckily the only injury was minor smoke inhalation to one of the fire fighters.  The building that burned recently housed a ceramics business, which had closed.  But the woman who owned the business also lived in the back of the store, so she lost her home.  I look at the damage and see the loss of the old drug store I spent so much time in as a kid.  I loved that store.  They had all kinds of neat stuff to tempt kids.  There was a jewelry case in the front, one of those that had an electric motor that made the shelves revolve down and around so you could stand there and watch all the pretty necklaces and rings move around and around.  As a kid – that was just the coolest thing!  They also had a soda fountain of course.  My favorite was chocolate cokes.  Sounds kinda gross now!  The pharmacist was a old man everyone called Doc.  I’m sure he really was a pharmacist, but for some reason, I always thought he was a vet too.  Doubtful – I’m not even sure why I thought that.  I’ll have to ask my mom about it!  He was a teddy bear and he loved kids.  I don’t think he and his wife had children.  She ran the rest of the store, and she was not a big fan of kids.  You could just see her cringe when a pack of kids would walk through the front door.  She kind of hovered as we walked around the store.  She was very prim and proper and never joked around with us.  She probably thought we were a bunch of hoodlums who were going to steal everything not nailed down!  I’m sure there were a few kids in town that were like that, but not MY friends of course!! 

 

Earlier this week, I mowed the grass for the first time this spring.  We have a fairly large yard, and when you push mow the whole freaking thing, it takes a couple of hours easily.  My mower is 2 years old, and apparently, it wanted to mow even less than I did.  I can’t count the number of times it quit for no reason (although three times were because it was out of gas) and Greg would have to stop his welding and come tinker with the dang thing till it would run again.  The last time it quit, Greg did too.  fixing it that is.  He said the carburetor needs adjusting, and on these cheap mowers you can’t do that.  So basically, it’s trash, and I’m getting a new mower.  Considering how cheap it was, I guess 2 years is about all you can expect out of it anyway.  I think we’re going to try and get a little better one this time around.  The bad thing is I wasn’t quite finished with the section I was mowing, so there’s a 3 foot strip right down the middle of it.  Plus the outer edges of the yard still haven’t been cut.  I love the first mowing of the year – the grass is so pretty, and smells so good.  Course now we have a yard full of dandelions, but that’s ok – they kinda pretty!  not to mention they’re the only flowers we have.

 

Lastly today, I would just like to thank Robyn for introducing her readers to SNOOD.  I’ll be sending her the bill for my therapy, as well as the cleaning lady I had to hire since I haven’t been able to tear myself away from the game long enough to do any cleaning.  Beware people – it’s the devil!

When it comes to getting things done, I’ve always had problems, but I think I may have stumbled upon one of the biggest road blocks.  I’m a perfectionist.  Go ahead, laugh.  I’ll wait while you get it out of your system.  Unfortunately, I’m the type of perfectionist who would rather not do it at all if I can’t do it perfectly.  And more often than not, that’s just what happens – it doesn't get done. 

 

Case in point:  you may recall I recently reorganized the cupboard that holds my spices.  All those cute little spice jars are now in a handy dandy tray.  Now, when I want a specific spice all I have to do is pull the container down, and they’re all there to choose from.  However, since I can’t read the name on the jar, I have pick up each and every one until I find the one I want.  Solution?  Put labels on the lids.  Seems simple enough, yes?  No.  I bought those cute little colorful round sticky spots which will fit very nicely on top.  So now all I need to do is write the name of each spice on a sticker, stick it to the lid, and voile’!  finito!  Oh no, my frisky little monkeys!  For some godforsaken reason, I feel the need to have the name PRINTED on each label, all professional looking and such.  Pffft.  It can’t be that hard to print those labels, can it?  Well let’s just say that I’ve spent an entire morning working on a layout in word, and I’m not done yet.  Any idea how many other things I needed to do this morning that didn’t get done?  Including the spice jar labeling?  I need to pick up the house, vacuum, run to the store, prep for supper, take a shower….. you get the idea.  This is a constant problem in my life.  Good fuckin god!  Why oh why can’t I just half ass it and move on? 

 

I had planned to run to Topeka this afternoon, but that may get postponed till tomorrow or Friday.  I bought my favorite computer game, Bejeweled, at Target yesterday.  When I got home, I opened the box, took out the CD case, and opened it to find nothing but air.  Now I know it could be worse - poor Nance bought an empty I Pod box recently.  I doubt I’ll have any trouble getting the disc – it’s not like I’d steal one and then go ask for another one – don’t really need two of the same disc ya know.  It’s just the idea that I could have stayed up all night playing Bejeweled, and didn’t get to! 

 

What I do HAVE to do is all those other things I mentioned above.  Kenda’s birthday was Monday, and she was off having fun with Elvis’ ghost, so I’m having her and Pat and the kids over for supper tonight.  I told her I’d fix anything she wanted – she chose Chef Boyardee Pizzas.  I’m like “seriously!  I’ll fix your favorite thing!”  and she said “I love your homemade pizza – that’s what I want!”  And who am I to deprive my best friend?  So pizza it is, but there’s a couple of things I want to get for toppings, so I need to run to town.   

In closing today, I’d like to leave you with a mental picture.  Imagine the local Let’s Help donation truck backed up to Devlin’s Liquor Super Store.  Now that’s the kinda help I’M talkin bout…….  where do I sign up?

Ok - so I'm back... and I'm sick..... and I don't have the strength to tell you all about either, but I will tell you we got home before the tornado hit Clovis, and all is well with everyone there.  More later, if I don't blow out an artery from coughing so much. 

It's T minus 16 hours till we blast off for NM.  My Mom told me to be sure we were careful driving.  Apparently the last time they went, Mom sat in the backseat and could see the speedometer.  She said "they drove 80 MPH the whole way, and once, Libby even had it up to 100!"  Yeah - my mom has always been asceered of MY driving, but I didn't think anyone else bothered her that much.  I know when she and my sister and I have gone to Missouri, when I'm driving fast she holds on to things and winces and hits the floor with her foot like she's putting her own brakes on.  But when Jan drives fast she says nothing.  I told her not to worry, we wouldn't drive fast.  Yep - I'm goin to hell for lying to my mom.  Oh well, just add it to the list of other lies I've told.  Like when the little girl scout I'd never seen before approached me in the grocery store and tried to sell me cookies.  Don't ask me why, but I can't just say no thank you.  I told her I had already bought them from my niece.  Two lies.  1 - didn't buy any and 2 - my niece isn't a girl scout any more.  What I should have said is "who the hell are you and why would I buy from someone I'll probably never see again?  And just how do you plan to get my cookies to me when you don't even know me, much less know where I live?"  or something like that.  Of course cussing out a girl scout is probably on the list of ways to get to hell too.  See?  I can't win.

I'm so excited!  March Madness is here!!!!!  And in case you didn't notice -- KU ??  #1 seed, thankyouverymuch!  Of course if they go and lose to Niagara, they'll never be able to show their faces again.  But that's not gonna happen.  I watched a few games today.  Poor Duke.  NOT.  I don't know why, but I've never been a big fan of Coach K.  So I can't say I'm sorry they're gone.  I am sad Texas Tech got beat - not necessarily because of Bobby Knight, but because I always like to see Big 12 teams do well.  I'm taking every KU Basketball shirt I own to wear in New Mexico - just  so none will question where my loyalties lie.  

Whelp - I'm off to bed - got lots to do tomorrow before we head out.  I don't know if I'll have a chance to update while I'm gone, but I'll probably try. 

It’s 1:13 in the freakin morning, and for the second night in a row, I’m wide awake.  WTF?  Last night… or was it this morning?  Nooo, yesterday morning…. whatever.  Anyway, this one time, at band camp, I didn’t fall asleep till 4:00 AM.  And that was after getting up that morning at a very respectable time.  No, make that an obscene time.  Something like 6:30.  I got up to put Maggie out after she puked in my bedroom (blecccchhhh)  and stayed up.  AND I didn’t have a nap all day.  So wouldn’t you think that after being up for 18 hours, and after a couple of toddys, I’d have been snorin away by midnight or so?  Yeah – you would think.  But no, I laid in bed for an hour, wide awake.  Finally got up, popped in a tape of various stuff I’d recorded last week, and watched it all.  8 hours of tv.  (ok – technically not 8 hours, cuz it only took me 4 hours to watch, so obviously I skipped a little.  I also skipped commercials – duh)  The biggest shocker of all?  Greg (who knew I couldn’t sleep) didn’t give me one bit of shit about sleeping till noon today.  That’s unheard of around here people!  So here I am, wide awake again.  I've got to talk to the Dr. about this menopause shit. 

 

So this afternoon, I had a few errands to run before the weekly showdown weigh in.  I had a nice little (too short) visit with Mom, spread some more fescue in her yard, visited the back yard neighbor and her dogs, then headed on to Topeka.  I had to stop by AAA to pick up some tour books and maps.  Spring break is next week, and my sister and I are driving to New Mexico to visit Gerri, Brian and MY BOYS!!!!!  Can’t wait to see the little shits.  Oh, and btw – Aidan recently proved he is indeed a little shit – he rubbed his own all over himself, the walls, and I don’t know where else!  Glad I wasn’t there when THAT happened!  So where was I?  Oh yeah – so we’re leaving Friday when Jan gets out of school, spending the night in some little town outside of Oklahoma City (little more than half-way) then driving on in to Clovis NM the next morning.  If Clovis sounds a little familiar to you, there is a very good reason.  It’s been in the news the last few days, as the home of the lunatic who stole a newborn baby from a hospital in Lubbock TX.  Hey – it could be worse – right here in my little neck of the woods made national headlines a little over 2 years ago when a psycho bitch not only stole a baby – but she murdered the pregnant mom by cutting the baby from her womb.  Soooo sad, and unexplainable, and bizarre and whatever else you can think of.  The psycho actually lived right down the road, like less than a mile, from BFF Skipper.  She had newspeople from NY camped out in her yard, wanting to interview them on TV.  She gave a couple of phone interviews, but decided that was enough.  We can do without that kind of excitement.  I’m sure all the buzz on this latest kidnapping will have died down by the time we get to Clovis.  There’s always some bigger, more appalling story to move on to. 

 

We’ll be gone a week.  Heading out on Wednesday, and spending the night in OK City.  I wanna visit the National Memorial on Thursday morning, and then we’ll head for home.  I talked to Gerri tonight, and she is sooooo excited that we’re coming.  But I’m really worried about Greggy.  Whatever will he do with me gone for an entire week?????  What’s that?  Throw a party?  Probably. 

 

I continue with my erratic weight loss.  One week it’s great, the next practically nothing.  This was a good week.  Down 5.  YAY ME!!!!!!  Once I get going, it’s really not difficult at all – just being aware of what I’m eating and making better choices.  So why can’t I just do it all the time?  That’s the $100,000 question.  Hey!  Maybe we’ll win the Powerball tomorrow night, and I’ll be able to afford to buy the answer!

Who wants to hear all about my day??  I think probably no one.  BUT, a certain friend (Barbie+Skipper=BFF) seems to think you all enjoy reading about my boring life.  Lately I’ve been trying to think of interesting/newsworthy/controversial/etc. subjects to write about, but as you may have noticed, I’m not having much luck.  So until I can come up with the perfect subject, you’re stuck with me.  I guess if I think about it, most of the daily journals I read and love are pretty much about daily life.  My life is just much more boring than most. 

 

For instance.  Today I got up at 6:00 (thanks to my bladder and the dogs) and because Greg “made” the bed while I was in the bathroom, I stayed up.  I made coffee with the new coffee I bought yesterday, which turned out to be beans – no where on that bag did it say beans.  So I got my little mini chopper out (the one Walmart sells on Black Friday for $5.00) and tried it out.  It did alright, but not great.  Guess I’ll have to borrow Erin’s Magic Bullet so I can grind the rest of the beans.  And what else?  I watched the early news for a change.  I took a nap (can you BELIEVE IT?)  yadda yadda yadda.  The kids are coming over tonight for supper.  In fact, Erin should be here any minute!  I’m sortof experimenting – stir frying onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms, then throwing in some Turkey Kielbasa.  Also cooking whole wheat pasta with Ragu Spaghetti Sauce.  Throw it all together, and hopefully I’ve got something that tastes good and is low in WW Points.  I’ll like it, cuz I like all those things, but Greg may not want seconds.  Oh well.  It won’t hurt him to eat something healthy for a change.  That man has never even had his cholesterol checked – in fact I’m pretty sure the last time he saw a Dr. was when he cut his finger off in 1976.  If he had some sort of serious health problem, he’d probably just as soon not know about it anyway.  (note to self – check to make sure life insurance is paid up)    

 

So, Erin showed up and I quit writing so I could fix supper.  It turned out very nicely.  Everyone liked it but Greg (see above).  Now we’re all sitting around watching TV and having a toddy.  Toddy is a funny word.  We don’t usually refer to liq as a toddy, but some friends of ours do.  And since it’s evening, and technically we’re having an after-dinner drink, I suppose Toddy applies.  Whatever.  We won’t be able to have too many, cuz we’ll be out of Lord Calvert soon.  Looks like we’ll be making a trip to the Liq tomorrow.  (Ang – maybe we’ll come see ya!) 

 

You wanna know what my favorite thing about Thursdays is?  The local paper comes on Thursdays.  That means we all get to sit around and talk about all the people we read about in the paper!  How sad is that?  Well what else are you gonna do on a Thursday night in small-town Kansas?

I like stuff.  Lots of stuff.  It goes without saying, if I like it, I’ll never throw it away. One look at my house, and you would immediately know this about me.  Now if I could just find a way to organize all my stuff without having to get rid of any of it, I’d be tickled pink.  The first thing we’d have to do is build an addition on to the house.  Although I suppose I could just store stuff in the build-ins upstairs… no that won’t work, they’re already full of stuff.  Yep – we need an addition.  I need a huge bookcase for my cookbooks alone.  I can’t remember when my fascination with cookbooks began, but it’s outta control now.  At least I’m not tempted by the “Books Are Fun” displays at work anymore.  I could always count on wanting at least one new cookbook from them every month. 

 

Just recently, I spent an hour at a book store looking for a specific cookbook that I thought would be helpful with the dieting.  And even though I didn’t find it, I bought two other cookbooks.  A few days later, I found the original cookbook I was looking for….. in my own collection.  If that’s not a good reason for getting my cookbooks organized, I don’t know what is.  

 

And then there’s the clothes.  People!  I seriously have a problem here.  My dresser drawers are full.  My closet is full.  (Ok – not really – but it was till I cleaned it out)  AND I have multiple laundry baskets AND rubbermaid totes overflowing with clothes in my basement (where I do the laundry)  Oh, and a bunch of clothes hanging off the water pipes too.  There is no organization to any of it.  Ooh – I did just clean out and organize my underwear and sock drawers.  If I bring up enough clothes to fill the closet, you probably wouldn’t even notice it in the basement.  And the really sad thing is most of it doesn’t even fit me right now.  At least not comfortably.  Once I drop another 10 lbs or so, that will help a lot.  And some of them are from the last time I lost weight, so they’ll have to wait till I drop 40 lbs. 

 

I’m tempted to write to one of the talk shows and ask for help, but then everyone in the world would see my house as it is now, and that, quite frankly, is not an option!

Tip 'O the Iceberg:

I had a very successful week, in regards to losing weight.  And it's about damn time.  I spose I owe it all to Greg, for dragging my ass all over The American Royal on Monday.  But he doesn't get all the credit.  I'm getting really good at choosing the right foods and not overeating.  Now all I have to do is learn to like it so I want to eat this way all the time.  And start exercising regularly.  

Mom called me today and asked if I would drive her to Emporia.  Her friend has been in the hospital for a few days, and she wanted to visit.  I went to her house, and we headed out in her car.  We drove about 5 miles and her check engine light came on.  When ever my CE light comes on and I bring it to Greg's attention, he threatens to cover it up with a piece of tape.  So probably, we could have ignored it just for today, but Mom didn't want to take the chance.  So we turned around and switched to my Durango.  When we got to Emporia we went to 2 grocery stores looking for flowers, and wound up having to get them at Wally.  Then to the hospital where they told us June went home today.  Hmmpph.  No really, Mom was happy to hear she got to go home.  So back to Walmart we went, where I picked up some groceries and 2 new non-stick skillets.  And guess who's making 100 calorie snacks now?  HOSTESS!  You get 3 little teeny tiny cupcakes for 100 calories.  Which may not sound like much, but when you're trying to lose weight, they are manna from heaven.  

We stopped at Subway on the way home and got sammys to go, then stopped by June's house to give the flowers to her.  She lives right across the street from Pat and Kenda, so while Mom and June visited, I went to their house.  Erin was there, talking homeowner's insurance with Kenda.  Their closing date got moved up to March 23 - that's only 3 weeks!  

When we got home, Mom apologized to me for wasting my time by driving her to Emporia today.  I told her any day that we get to spend together is never a waste.

A few observations I made yesterday at the Western Farm Show:

1.  ......

Psych!  What?  You think I suddenly developed super powers of observation?  I tried.  Really! I did!  About the only thing I saw was teenagers and old men.  I guess I could mention that apparently one of the requirements for FFA membership is being a geek.  But I would never say something mean like that.  There were a lot of high school girls there.  And a few of them were even cute.  Damn!  I said I wasn't gonna do that.  

So I wish I had lots of funny stories to tell, but the farm show itself was pretty typical.  Nothing too funny about walking around looking at big equipment.....

We were there from 10:30 to 2:30, but we didn't eat lunch there.  Mainly because the food choices are A) limited, B) expensive, and 3. fattening.  After we left, I figured we'd stop and grab some fast food.  But Greg had other plans.  He's recently become a big fan of Denny's.  Home of the Grand Slam.  Also home of old people.  Next stop Early Bird Special.  I can't believe we've become our parents.  So we walk into Denny's and of course we have to wait to be seated, cuz that's the way they do things.  This poor young girl comes running out of the kitchen looking all frazzled and greets us and says she'll be with us in just a minute.  Several minutes later she comes running over and seats us.  There were 2 other old couples in our section, and while waiting, I noticed 4 old people in the smoking section.  Then I hear frazzle girl telling one of the couples that the cook just walked out a few minutes ago.  He muttered something about coming back in a minute, but that didn't happen.  So poor frazzle girl is the only employee on the premises.  She's the hostess, the waitress, the cook, and the cashier.  And probably the dishwasher.  And she's freakin out.  She kept apologizing to everyone for having to wait, but the funny thing is, the service was fine, and we got our food faster than usual.  And it was very tasty.  She did mange to find a minute to call someone in, and that girl arrived just before we left.  Oh yeah - there was one other kid there - he was cleaning the windows.  At first I was fascinated by the whole process, especially his squeegee  technique.    Shut up - I'm easily amused.  Homeboy was wearing those stupid baggy low riding jeans that make him look "cool".  (I may be unobservant, but that  was impossible to miss.)  So when he got to the windows behind the tables with the big half circle seating, he had to straddle the booths, and suddenly the low riding baggy pants are even lower and baggier.  And I'm looking at his boxers.  Ok - I'm not a prude, and I'm not stupid.  I know this has become an acceptable fashion trend.  But please!  I'm trying to eat here.  Do I really have to look at a 15 year old waving his underwear in my face?  I guess I should just be thankful he wasn't going commando.  Gah.

After lunch,  I called Julie.  She was just leaving work, so we met her at her house.  About six years ago, she bought a piece of land, and moved a house on it.  Before they moved the house, Greg did all the necessary dirt work.  He must have worked there for a month or so.  He dug her basement, a pond, a lagoon, built her driveway, and I don't know what else.  Anyway - I don't think he's been back since he finished the job.  Well things have changed alot since then.  She's been gradually remodeling the house by herself mostly.   I think he got a kick out of seeing everything again.  I know he got a kick out of the dogs. 

Hi.  My name is Barb.  I can fix everyone’s phone.  Except my own.  Shit. 

 

I’ve been using my old POS phone since the infamous drowning incident of 2007.  Now I remember why I got a new phone last August.  Here’s an example of my side of a recent phone conversation. 

 

(Barb’s phone ringing; caller ID says it is Miss Erin)

 

Hello?  Helloooo?  (2,3,4,)  HELLOOOOOOO???????? 

 

What?  I can barely hear you.

 

Wait a minute (Barb initiates speaker phone mode)

 

Ok – say something now.

 

There you are.  Damn phone

 

 

 

…… and so it goes.  Every time I talk to anyone on that stupid thing.  Not that I’m complaining (or AM I?)  Cuz, you know, if it wasn’t for that dumb ass thing, I’d be in rehab right now.  Would you like to see my 5 days cell-free token?  Tuesday, I’m going to Topeka and looking for a new phone.  I do have insurance, with a $50 deductible, and of course, they will only replace it with the exact same model.  Thing is, I’m not really sure I want another RAZR.  So if I can buy something without spending substantial dollars, I will.  If not, I’ll file the insurance and just be thankful that I’ve got anything at all.  I’m not a total ingrate you know. 

 

Moving on……

 

Fun times this weekend.  Saturday we went with the kids to look at a house they were considering buying bought!  That’s right – they’re moving in 5 weeks.  And they’ll be 2 blocks from Pat and Kenda, and 8 blocks from my Mom.  The house is really cute – the perfect starter house for a young couple.  I’m so excited for them!  Saturday night we all went to Dan’s house for veggie soup.  What’s that?  You think it’s a bit odd just to go to someone’s house for veggie soup?  Well what can I tell you – that’s just the way we roll.  Actually, Dan’s wife Debbi is gone on a cruise, so we decided to get together and have fun with out her take the opportunity to eat something with vegetables in it.  Debbi likes exactly one vegetable.  Corn.  That’s it.  Seriously.  So when she goes out of town, instead of throwing wild parties with naked women and liquor, like most husbands would, Dan has vegetable soup night. Ok – there was liquor.  but no dancing women.  (too bad – I got some new moves I could have unveiled) (get it?? unveiled?  as in stripped?  OMG, I totally crack myself up!)

 

Sunday started out as just another lazy day.  Till I started thinking about how much money I’m spending on V8 Juice.  Since I began this eating healthy business, I’ve been drinking lots and lots of it.  (I too am not a huge fan of the veggies, although I do eat many more things than corn)  So anyway……..  in our deep freeze, I have tomatoes, green peppers, and jalapeno peppers from our garden.  And in my fridge, I just happened to have onions, carrots and celery.  Let’s see – that adds up to six, doesn’t it?  Homemade V6 Juice.  At least that’s what I’ve made in the past.  But today, I was feeling a little adventurous.  I dug around in my fridge and found cabbage, pickled beets, and pickled hot pepper rings.  I threw in some W-shire sauce (yeah – I don’t know how to spell the whole freakin word) and some fresh lemon juice.  We're talking about some good shit here.  I wasn’t making a huge batch to can – just enough to keep me in vitamin heaven for a week or two.  In the end, I wound up with 6 quarts, so I’d say I’m good for more like a month.  Depending on how many tomato beers Greg drinks.  Or how many Bloody Marys I drink.  Shut up – it’s a known fact that the vegetables cancel out the alcohol. 

 

Tonight, I caught the last couple of hours of the Oscars, didn’t see anything too surprising.  I taped it, mainly because I want to see how Ellen did.  (I did catch her vacuuming Penelope Cruz’s dress)

 

I need to get to bed soon, since I’ll probably be drug out of bed at the butt crack of dawn.  We’re going to the Western Farm Show in Kansas City.  Oh stop – I can’t help it if I get to do all the fun stuff.  Anyway – I spose someone will want to get an early start.  Too bad I’m into this healthy eating shit – otherwise I’d search out that Christopher Elbow’s Chocolate Shop, and eat my way through it.  Maybe I’ll search out my Chiefs Boyfriend Jared Allen instead, and slap some sense into him!

Well.  I’m not sure what happened to me today.  I settled in to watch Oprah on Ellen at 3:00, all nice and toasty under 2 blankets (even though it was in the 50s again today).  The next thing I know, I’m thinking that I totally missed ALL of the Thursday night shows!  AAARRRRGGGGG!  Luckily, it was a dream nightmare daymare not true.  I woke up, saw Grey’s Anatomy was already on, and freaked.  But it turns out they re-ran last week’s episode, so the only thing I really missed was the first 15 minutes of Survivor.  I can handle that.  I still don’t know how I managed to take over a 4 hour nap tho.  Guess who won’t be able to sleep tonight!

 

Up until that point, I had a fairly productive day, for me anyway.  A few days ago, I bought some organizing trays and racks so I could clean and organize one of the kitchen cupboards.  Today was the first chance I had to do it.  I threw away 2 trash sacks full of old spices, cake decorating stuff, etc.  I’m pretty sure I’ve had some of those spices since 1981.  They got pushed to the back of the 3^rd shelf (which I can not reach without a damn ladder)  By the time I sorted through everything I kept, I came to the conclusion that I won’t need to buy any spices for the next 3 years. 

 

And now I give you the most organized thing in my house:

 

 

 

I can’t believe I didn’t take a “before” picture, but then again, I’d probably be too embarrassed to put it up here anyway.  Those two containers on the right side of the 2^nd shelf hold all of my seasoning packets.  I’ve got enough sloppy joe, burrito, taco, chili, and meat loaf seasoning to last till summer.  The problem is I never checked to see if I needed those kinds of things before I went to the store.  Mainly cuz it was such a pain to check.  If I was thinking about fixing one of those things, I’d just pick up one or two while I was shopping.  Or if they were on sale, I’d stock up.  Now that they’re so nice and organized, it won’t be a problem to check first.  Maybe. 

 

While in the basement this morning, I heard dripping, and found that there was a leak coming from the bathroom, and the dripping water was landing right on a stack of clean clothes I’d left on top of the dryer.  Why oh why must I be so lazy and not put my clean clothes away?  Anyway, when I went to investigate the source, I found that water was leaking out of the toilet tank where the handle is.  Since I don’t really want to know where the valve to turn the water off is (and I have a hard time seeing behind the toilet, since it’s in a corner) I just put an old hair spray can under the float to stop the water from running.  I was rather proud of myself.  Yeah, I’m pathetic.  Anyway, after Greg ate dinner, he looked at it, and wound up having to replace everything inside the tank.  Lucky we had all that stuff on hand.  Hmm, I wonder WHY we had everything on hand?  I’m just glad we did, cuz you know, I’d hate to be without a working bathroom for more than a couple of hours. 

 

I got a call from my mother-in-law tonight – she got a new cell phone today – it’s different from her old one, and she has no clue how to use it.  Great.  Here we go again.  Maybe I should go to work for Cingular.

I went to Mom’s today – she had a list of things she needed done, so I grabbed a couple of Smart Ones and some salad stuff and headed in mid-morning.  A few years ago she decided she was tired of paying Sprint for long distance service she rarely used (one of those where they charge a minimum).  So she got another cordless phone that has memory dial, and started buying calling cards.  Smart move for her.  The rates on those cards a so cheap, it’s ridiculous.  Here’s the thing tho – I had to program all the memory numbers in both phones so she doesn’t have to dial 24 gazillion numbers just to call me.  Since I was programming in the toll free calling card phone number and the big ole pin number, I went ahead and programmed the rest of the numbers with the people she calls the most often.  One of her phones (the old one) for some reason loses it’s memory every few months.  Which means I have to reprogram all those numbers into it again.  Today I also had to program key numbers into her new cell phone too, and teach her how to use it.  heh heh.   She successfully called my cell phone, but I WAS standing right there prompting her to push each button.  And by the time she needs to use the dang thing, she will have forgotten everything anyway.   Then I moved on to her tax returns.  They’re not hard at all – she wouldn’t have to even file, but she qualifies for the Homesteader’s Refund and the Food Tax Refund, which ends of being about $435, which is nothing for a retiree to sneeze at.   I also threw some fescue seed in her front yard.  The city installed new water meters last fall, and she lost a lot of grass in the process.  Greg put the seed in a bucket for me, and I ASKED him how heavy I needed to put it on, and he gave me some vague answer like enough but not too much.  Oh!  Ok – that should be no problem.  But before I was half way done, yep, I ran out of seed.  (when I got home he asked if I had enough and then proceeded to tell me there was enough in that bucket for her whole front yard.  Well if I’d have known THAT, it would have given me a better idea of how thick to put it on.  Thanks a lot mister)  So we had a nice little lunch and watched some soaps together, and then I headed over to Kenda’s. 

 

We sat outside for a little while – the weather here has been beautiful this week.  Then just hung out and gabbed.  One of my favorite things to do! 

 

Well, it’s about time for me to get ready to go to my secret part time job dancing at the Trop 56.  Maybe I’ll get some more beads from that fat bald guy!

What better day to weigh in on than FAT Tuesday?  Luckily, I was down, although not by much.  I'd hate to think what it might have been if I hadn't gotten my hair cut.  

Speaking of haircuts...............  



***WARNING***WARNING***WARNING***   
Untouched photos ahead










ok - so this is what my hair was looking
like, if I took the time to mousse, blow 
dry, curl, and spray.  



Unfortunately, that rarely happened.  In which case:



iiiicccckkkkk.  can you say FLAT?  no?  how bout FINE?  
and not as in "that's a fine ass" either.  



And so, I give you the all new sassy Barb:



Yes!  This I can handle.  Throw in a little 
mousse, run your fingers through it, and go.  


You might have noticed in that last picture, I'm wearing Mardi Gras Beads.  Bet you're wondering how I got those, huh?  My lips are sealed. 

Today was a rather long day.  Not that it got off to an early start.  That rarely happens around here.  Mom needed to go to Topeka, and since she worked at Meals on Wheels this morning, she wasn’t ready to go till 1:00.  She’s been cleaning closets, and had 4 grocery sacks full of clothes to take to Good Will. 

 

On the drive up, she started talking about nursing homes.  She’s terrified that she’s going to end up in one someday, and worried about what will happen if she’s there for so long she runs out of money.  I guess before you qualify for Medicaid, you have to sell off your assets, and if you sold anything in the two years prior to going into the nursing home, you have to account for that money as well.  Or something like that.  Just lately she heard “they” can even get their hands on your life insurance money, and if that would happen, there wouldn’t be money left to bury her.  And God forbid her children have to pay to put her in the ground.  Then there’s her house.  Shortly after Dad died, my brother told her she should put the house in my name, so once again “they” can’t force her to sell it to pay for the nursing home.  Anyway – my dear sweet mother views this as an end run around Uncle Sam, and she has some objections to trying to cheat the government.  Really.  Now I would have no problem with doing it, but I know my mom, and she’d never get another night’s sleep if she believed she’d done something illegal, much less immoral.  And the only down side is that my siblings and I would not inherit the house someday.  Big Deal.  We don’t need another house.  She thinks my bother and sister still want her to deed the house to one of us.  I don’t see it happening – mom’s just a bit too stubborn. 

 

And another thing, on the subject of nursing homes.  I will do everything in my power to keep that from happening.  And that includes moving her into my house.  No, it’s not a big house, and yes, we’d probably get on each other’s nerves.  But so what – don’t you think I got on her nerves when I was a bratty kid?  She never complained about that.  (not to my face anyway)  In the meantime, she’s doing just fine in her little house, and let’s hope it stays that way.

 

I just might have set myself up for more aggravation today.  Oh who am I kidding?  I definitely brought on more pain.  We bought a cell phone for mom today.  She doesn’t drive much, but she does drive to the next town over to get groceries once a week, and her car is getting older, so she decided she wanted a cell phone.  She’ll just use it for emergencies, so we got a Go Phone from Cingular.  When we got home, I called and got it activated, programmed my numbers in it, and showed her how to use it.  hahahahaha.  I left it charging, and told her I’d come back Wednesday morning and show her some more.  She’s not exactly a techno nerd.  Matter of fact, she still calls me to program her VCR.  The one she’s had for almost 10 years.  And a month ago, she did something to her remote control, and couldn’t watch her TV until I came and fixed it.  Oh what fun we’ll have with the newest toy!

 

Tomorrow, I’m visiting my favorite hair salon, Trends.  I’m getting my hair cut and highlighted, and I can’t wait.  It’s been almost a year since I’ve gotten highlights, and almost 6 months since I even got it cut.  And it needs something….anything…. badly.  Then it’s off to WW for weigh in week #2. 

 

Oh yeah – I went to Wally to get my missing groceries.  No prob – except that they’d had restocked everything, so I had to go “shopping” for all of it again.  Again – no prob – except for the hordes of people wanting spice rubs.  I almost had to tackle an 80 year old lady to keep her from grabbing the last jar of pork rub.  And wouldn’t it just be easier if they gave you a catalog as you entered the store, so you could look thru it to find exactly what you want.  That way, you won’t have to be annoyed by people who think they have to stand in front of something for hours, studying the list of ingredients, nutritional information, and prices?  Oops, that’s what I do.  nevermind.