don't try to talk me out of it

I have been to two weddings in the past 8 days. Both were at the same place and at the same time...different days of course. I have worn a skirt and blouse both times. That means that I've worn something other than jeans twice in eight days. This may make the Guinness Book of World Records. At least for jean lovin' girls *ahem* like me.

I absolutely love jeans. I have my favorite pair of work jeans that I counted 11 patches on the other day. One of the iron on patches is coming off and I had to decide whether to trash them or iron on another patch. Now the whole seat of these jeans are ripped out and patched. They are perfect other than the fact that they are totally worn out. I decided on the trash and then promptly changed my mind and put them in my clothes hamper. Now they are clean and in my ironing basket so when I do the ironing I can put another patch on. It's so good to have made up my mind and stuck with my decision~!

Now if I could only make up my mind to do the ironing~!

good times and poison ivy

We have had such an awesome Labor Day weekend. Donald's twin brother and his daughter came in Friday afternoon. Their other brother lives here so we were able to get together with Doug and his wife. Their two sisters were in for a couple of hours also. We laughed and ate, and ate and laughed...well you pretty much get the picture. It's always so much fun to listen to Donald, Ronald, and Douglas. Each of them have their own version of how the story took place!

I only have one younger brother and when I first met Donald I was pretty much flabbergasted with all the noise and laughter and kidding and commotion. It didn't take long to get used to it though and now I love to sit around listening to their stories. It doesn't matter that they've been told and listened to numerous times. They are still just as funny as the first time I heard them. We also had a VHS of clips of movies when the kids were growing up. It's fun to listen to the commentaries on those also.

The boys went camping and the girls went to Frisco shopping and we went out to eat twice on Saturday. I cooked brisket, baked beans, buffet potatoes, and fried okra for dinner Friday night. We had coconut pie and Chocolate Delight and Lauren brought cookies, a pie, and pastries from Central Market. They were delicious along with the guacamole that she makes. It is the BEST guacamole I have ever had! I was sad to see them drive away and wish they could come more often.

Today Donald is taking me to Sherman to eat at Jalapeno Tree. I want to run by Lowe's (of course) and more than likely Sam's Club.

I got into poison ivy while cleaning the wisteria off our fence in the back yard. Of course I was wearing shorts and flip flops so it's all over my arms and legs and feet and I am going CRAZY itching and trying not to scratch. Some of the places are better and others are still breaking out and oozing and it's so gross!!!! Really gross! Of course I don't suffer in silence so my family has heard how miserable I am many times the past week. I think because I continued working in the yard all day afterward and not bathing until after 8:00 p.m. it made it much worse than it might have been. Lesson learned...the hard way!

now she rests

I've done it again. I have worked and worked on our patio until I am exhausted. I am taking the rest of the week off. I have to. I can't continue without any energy. I am whiny, and tired, and not sleeping well because I am putting down brick in my dreams. I took yesterday off and stayed home last night to rest because I didn't fall asleep until after 3:30 a.m. the night before. I went to bed at 6:30 and watched TV until the Lakers beat the Nuggets. :(

I am posting some new pictures so you can see what I have accomplished. I started on our sidewalk this morning and only got about a foot. I'm not very good at using a shovel. Ben did such a great job on the part he put down. He made it look so easy, but it isn't easy at all. So I cleaned up the yard some and called it quits for this week.

I hope this link works so you can see the pictures I've taken.

http://www2.snapfish.com/launchslideshow/AlbumID=822211014/SUBSCRIBER_NAME=SNAPFISH//EntryIDX=1

do they really expect me to believe this???

another e-mail.....

hello
this is to inform you that your funds $1.8 Million dollars due has been uploaded into corporate visa card,and it has registered it with dhl company and delivery will be shipped,A Tax/Stamp Duty must be procured according to the new customs creed and the essence ensure a hitch-free delivery and the amount is $75.usd only,contact director Mr.John Brown
E-mail:(................) tel:+(taken out since I don't want you to get my millions!) send your info to them,1 your full name 2 Your home address:telephone. Dr Peter Gibb

I do think if I was sending these I would come up with a catchier name than John Brown.

wrong button

Here are pictures I didn't intend to take...they're pretty good for a beginner, huh??

Whew, glad that's over!

I survived the dreaded day. It all went well except for being dehydrated and having to wait for the doctor to get out of surgery. I was allowed in the room where Donald was waiting for his procedure since I was having one also. I'm not sure if that was a good thing or not. Yes, I liked seeing Donald, but not so much the five or six foot long thing that would travel up my colon. Of course, Donald had to point that out to me with much grandeur. Being in the medical profession all these years must have made him immune to all these things. Me, not so much. I was beginning to wish I had made my escape while I had time (while I was still in the waiting room after they took him back....I even had the car keys in my purse! The only thing that stopped me was that I had survived the night before and didn't want to do it over.)


The only thing that remains are shown in the pictures. To brag a little bit I installed the hardware and downloaded the pictures after only asking Rebekah and Hannah two questions!

This is all I have left to show that I really did it. This is my arm where the IV was inserted. The one above is to show it really is my arm. The guys proudly show off their bruises from playing paint ball so I guess it's okay to show off mine. Why it would be fun to get bruised I just don't understand.

Victory at last! I was SO glad to be finished with my gallon jug of stuff. I swear they put soapsuds in there! This is kinda like my trophy sort of thing.

This is what I did at church the Wednesday night before. I was so nervous about the next day I don't remember too much of what Pastor Paul said. I drew on my napkin instead of taking notes like I usually do. Sorry, Pastor Paul; maybe I can concentrate now that it's over.

give it some thought

I still haven't had time/taken time to play with my camera and learn how to download the pictures I've taken. I've really been busy with a lot of things so I thought I'd at least post this bit of wisdom from an email that Cora sent me. That way you'd at least know that I'm still around!

Unforgiveness is the poison we drink hoping the other person gets sick.

not your average joe...er, dog!

Today I came in from work to find Bethany telling Bright goodbye. She was on her way back to work after eating lunch. He seemed rather forlorn so I commented to her that maybe when I took Daniel to work that he could (at this point I began spelling) G-O. Bright immediately got up and started smiling and wagging his tail. Bethany told me that he can spell.

Why not? He really doesn't know he's a dog!

pictures will come later...maybe

I am now the proud owner of my very own digital camera. I finally bought a Sony yesterday. I have been looking and surfing and comparing prices for weeks now. I had a couple of brands in mind and one of them I was thinking about went on sale at Office Max. It was marked $179.00 with a $50 instant rebate; that's $129.00 for those who don't like to do the math. Then I got a $20 off $100 coupon in the mail this week from Max Perks. I also had a $12.00 credit from selling my printer cartridges there. So I got a deal that even I can be proud of . Now if I can figure out how to use it I'll be doing great. I couldn't even get the memory card in and Ben had to show me how to take it out of the little thing. At least I got that part right; it was too big to fit if you left it in the computer thingie. As you can see I'm very good at this stuff. Reading the manual was no help at all except for getting the battery and memory card in and turning it on. There is just too much stuff that it can do.

I've been out raking leaves this afternoon. It was so wonderful to be outdoors again. I am so ready for spring! I am going to have to buy a leaf blower to get the leaves out of the rest of my yard. I will pull my Asian Jasmine and other things up if I try to rake it. At least it looks better than it did. And I've really been enjoying my pansies and their color this winter. Quite lovely.

I have to figure out what to fix for dinner now. How about popcorn or cereal?? Nah, that probably won't work. Maybe it will be a "fend for yourself" night. My kids really love those!

addicted

I went with Rebekah and Bethany to see Twilight Sunday afternoon. We went to Sherman where they have nice, comfortable stadium seating. It was well worth the money, even if I didn't pay for it. Thanks, Bethany! They have been wanting me to see it for quite some time. I kept making excuses, but finally I took them up on it. It was wonderful! I totally enjoyed it; it fact I enjoyed it so much that I started reading the book last night!

I never dreamed I would get into a vampire movie, but this one is good! Heck, I may even join the Edward Cullen fan club on Facebook!

If you don't hear from me for a while it will be because I'm spending all my free time reading. Er, honestly it will be because I'm neglecting my responsibilities to read Twilight. Catch you later.

a gift for me

I'm still around; catching myself coming as I'm going. Hannah had her wisdom teeth out last week, we had unexpected company this weekend, and now I'm trying to get Christmas stuff together. I'm hoping I don't have to go to the store three times for our Christmas meal like I did for our Thanksgiving one.

I just got back from purchasing our last Christmas present and I actually bought myself a gift. I really don't buy myself that many things so I always get cheers from my family when I do. Today I bought two pairs of earrings! Together they cost $45.00 plus tax. They were on sale 60% off and I had a $10.00 off coupon so I paid $8.66 for both pairs. I toyed with wrapping them up for myself for tomorrow morning (To:Sarah - From:Sarah), but of course I showed them to Bethany as soon as I saw her. I wonder if she'll act surprised if I put them under the tree for me??

Merry Christmas to everyone!

do not pass go, do not collect $200

I'm not sure if I have writer's block or just not enough time to post. I definitely have things I could say, but I kinda said I wouldn't rant unless some unforeseen problem arose. Well, it arose this past Saturday. Hannah's phone wouldn't work...at all. After a quick call to Sprint they said we had requested the line be cancelled~! I was really annoyed and told them the whole story...the same one I told you, and asked why I would cancel it after going to all that trouble. Their next question was, "Did your husband cancel it?" After assuring them he didn't and going through all the steps to get it reactivated it worked. The more I thought about it the angrier I got. I emailed them and actually got a reply that it was a technical error and they gave me a $50.00 credit on account of the inconvenience. Let's see: 15 hours of my time, not counting the trip to and from the Sprint store in Sherman. It equals about $3.33 an hour for my time spent. I truly believe my time is more valuable than that. If they would give me free service for the next ten years, well, maybe that would cover it.

Hannah had her wisdom teeth out Tuesday. The pain medication is making her dizzy so she isn't able to move around a lot. She did really well though and we are really proud of her. She actually had six wisdom teeth. Four on the top and two on the bottom. The x-rays didn't show them because they were behind the ones in front. They actually gave them to me and when Hannah wants to see what has caused her all this pain I'll be ready to show her. I guess the extra teeth justified the extra charges and they felt I needed to see exactly what I was paying for.

I had a couple of cysts removed from my scalp this afternoon. It was rather a jolly time in the "procedure room" as the new nurse was eagerly anticipating the doctor being able to pop the boogers out. The doctor even got in on the fun and proudly announced it was a boy! They are called pilar cysts and are rather common, and I'm assuming, a lot of fun for the doctors and nurses. I've actually had several removed before and could tell them with all honesty that this time was the most fun I've ever had having it done. He even showed it to me and cut it into so I could see what was inside. Now I'll go take some Tylenol and be good as new.

can you hear me now???

I hate it when I let my emotions control me like I have the past week. I have been CONSUMED with getting Hannah's phone fixed. It's bad enough it didn't work, but because it was her birthday present it made it worse.

I could go on and on about the hours we spent, the time we spent, the frustration we experienced... I should just be glad it is fixed. And I am. But I am also angry that I had to spend that much time and effort on something that should have been discovered and fixed early on. Of course I want to say they should never have given her someones number that is still in use. Imagination my confusion when the person helping me on the phone yesterday had me call Hannah's number to see if it was fixed and someone else answered~! I finally got my wits together and asked her if such and such number was hers because it had been given to us on our new line. She said yes, it was, and had been for several years. Not only that but they had given her number to someone before!

The person at the cell phone company waiting for me to call to see if it was working didn't believe me. I asked if she had another phone available and she said she did so I asked her to call the number they had given Hannah, and by the way, the lady's name is Mrs. Foreman. In a few minutes she got back on line with me and promptly issued Hannah another number. And guess what??? It works~! I'm still not sure how or why she was able to call out and send and receive text messages on another person's line, but it happened. And I was told that never happened. I told her, yes, actually the lady said they had done it before!

Now I understand mistakes happen and that's okay. What's not okay is that it took 7 days, over 15 hours, and a 3 1/2 hour wait in one of their stores in which we left with the same problem. If they had only canceled the line and given her another like they were supposed to (that was finally the suggestion they offered while we waited at the store) it would have been taken care of. But someone DELETED the order and it was never done.

I am going to write a letter to the company and tell them how disappointed I am in their "service" to be sure. And unless some unforeseen problem arises with the situation I promise not to rant about Hannah's Rant any more. You have my word.

never EVER give up

Finally Hannah's cell phone is working~!

They had given her someone else's number~! Go figure. I still don't understand why she could make calls and send and receive text messages on someone else's number. For the record I have spent 15 hours on the phone, in the store, or on on-line chat with them. Also made a trip out of town and got a new phone. They kept saying it was her phone and I needed to send it in for repair or exchange. Maybe this headache will go away now.

finding magic

I went to bed early last night. It seems all the dealings with the phone company and sinus pressure caught up with me. My head hurt! I lay on our bed and finished watching a show and started channel surfing. It seems my husband's habit has rubbed off on me. Except for watching part of the shows I just go the main menu and find a couple of things I like and go back and forth between the two. At 8:00 I returned to the menu and found that the Dallas Mavericks were already playing. I didn't know they were on (honestly Connie and Eddie, I didn't know).

The LA Clippers have acquired Baron Davis and Zach Randolph and have a pretty darn good team which their record doesn't reflect. They led the whole game until the last minutes. One of my favorites, J.J. Barea, made a three pointer to give them the surge they needed. They won 100-98~!

Even though I love basketball I'm really more of a people fan. If I like a player or coach I get upset when they get traded. Take Avery Johnson for example. I loved Avery as their coach. He took them to the playoffs a couple of times and because they didn't win the title they axed him. I got mad! I haven't even given Rick Carlisle, their new coach, much thought (other than I'd rather have Avery than him). I know that's pretty childish as it wasn't his fault Avery left, but back to my story. Last night after the game I was watching the post game show and they interviewed him. He made this remark, "For a four-minute stretch we caught lightning in a bottle and found some magic.''

I'm afraid I may have been wrong not to give him the benefit of the doubt. Anyone who can talk like that is pretty great. Welcome aboard, Rick.

on a rant

Someone had the bright idea to get Hannah her very own cell phone for her birthday. Was that really my idea? Bethany helped me and we picked her out a red Samsung Rant. Well, I must say I have been ranting every since. You see, her cell phone won't ring...she can call you, and you can text her and she can text you, but you can't CALL her. It goes straight to voicemail.

Hannah and I have spent about 10 hours on the phone or online chat with the company. We have taken out the battery, refreshed it, powered it off and on, gone into the menu settings to no avail. Finally they tell me it must be the phone because everything is perfect on their end. So tonight we run over to Sherman to the corporate phone store. She gives us a new phone and it still won't ring. So she spends a few hours on line with the same people we have talked to the past 5 days. They go through their list of things to try and it still won't work. She gives up and is about to send us home when my wonderful husband pulls a "Sarah" on me. He tells her we will only be going backwards if we take the cell phone back home not working and will she please do whatever it takes to get it fixed, NOW BEFORE WE LEAVE. It is five minutes before their closing time, but by this time we have been there 3 hours and we just want it FIXED PLEASE. Finally she gets someone on the phone that tells her he has NEVER heard of that happening and it must be the line. Okay, now it's not the service on their end, it's not the phone, so it must be the line. So we cancel the line and wait for it to come through on the computer showing it has been cancelled so we can add a new line and try the phone on it. The lady told her it usually is taken care of in a few minutes but could take up to 12 hours. We wait twenty minutes or so and it still shows we have the line on our family plan. We have to wait for the phone service to go off before we can try again with another line. By now it's almost 10:00 and an hour past their closing time. We decide to head for the house and deal with it later. Well, it's 12:30 in the morning and it's still on. aaarrrghhhh!

So now tomorrow, er..I mean today, I have to call them again and waste more of my valuable time trying to get phone service that will actually let someone CALL you~! What is the world coming to when phones won't ring???

Hannah, I'm so very sorry for this negative post. We WILL get it worked out SOMEDAY~!

no news is not always good news

I just saw a headline of a news story on msn. It was asking why we never ran out of turkeys. Now while I didn't read the article to find out, I have a hunch I know the answer. We don't eat the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving. Maybe one Thanksgiving I have baked one, but it was left for chicken, er, turkey salad. I'm pretty sure it was a free deal also, you know...buy a ham and get a free turkey. We had much rather have brisket or spiral sliced ham. In fact I am going shopping this afternoon to purchase the items needed for our Thanksgiving meal. Bring on the brisket for our family. I have a really good recipe for brisket. You marinate it overnight and everyone who has ever eaten it likes it. Back to the turkey, maybe there is a good use for one. I also read another story that tells how someone tried stopping a man who was trying to steal a lady's car by clubbing him with a frozen turkey. Hurrah for her attempted rescuer.

Thursday Hannah will be 16. Sweet sixteen. We went to Frisco Saturday (Hannah, Danielle, Bethany, Rebekah, and myself) to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. It was fun watching Danielle and Hannah take pictures of everything. Each entree, each appetizer, each piece of cheesecake. I mentioned we were celebrating a birthday so they decorated a piece of cheesecake and several of them sang Happy Birthday to Hannah. I figured I was really in for it, but she took it all good naturedly. I really didn't know they did that there.

We spent tons of time at Barnes and Noble and Old Navy and Sam's Club. We looked at books and movies and Cd's there. Danielle made a purchase and Hannah got a bag of Skittles. I just settled for my usual cinnamon and sugar pretzel and was quite content. If you haven't had one at Sam's you are missing a treat!

I also need to finish getting ready for Hannah's birthday. It seems I am always running around like crazy at the last minute for birthdays. I used to be much more organized. Now I have most of her present, just a few last minute details to attend to. I was whispering to Bethany the other day and Hannah wanted to know what was being said. I told her there were lots of secrets in the air this time of year and not to worry herself about it.

I also have to rant a bit about customer service. Now I can't tell you the "whole story" until after secrets are exposed, but I do have a rant about Dell. Bethany ordered a laptop in August. They kept putting her off and rescheduling the shipment of it for over THREE months. Everyone she talked to had a different spill on why it wasn't shipped. She was told it was the color, no, it wasn't the color it was something else, and so on for three months. She has spent hours on the phone talking to people. The supervisor she spoke with last was rude. She cancelled her order and ordered a Mac last Thursday. This morning it is sitting in her bedroom waiting to be opened. Lets see...over three months and no computer from Dell versus five days and it being signed, sealed, and delivered from Apple. Kudos for Apple and Down with Dell. Actually we have a better logo that rhymes with Dell, but I'll leave that to your imagination.

80 years

Mickey Mouse first appeared in 1928. Happy Birthday, Mickey~!

describing words

Adjectives that described me today...

tenacious
determined
grateful
honest

did i just do that?

I went with Bethany to Sherman today. It was a lot of fun. Well, at least for a while it was. We went to Chick-fil-A for lunch. I had several ideas on where to eat and Bethany didn't like those: she had several ideas that I didn't like so we ended up there. It's a good place to eat and wasn't fast fast food so in we went. We ordered our meals and I went to get straws, napkins, and ketchup while Bethany got us a booth. I came back, sat down, and pushed the table which almost went flying across the floor. Well, maybe I'm being a little dramatic, but the tray slid across the table at breakneck speed and Bethany's lemonade fell over, the lid came off, and like a great wave splashed all over the table, seat, floor, and on her. She made a valiant effort to retrieve it before it fell, but I was just too fast for her.

Jeez, this reminds me of having little kids and here I am the one making the mess. A very nice lady came and cleaned up the floor and Bethany got another lemonade. She wouldn't let me touch the table after that. I promise you...that table had a problem. If you touched it, it rocked. So I ate the rest of my meal trying not to touch the table. I was even very careful when I dipped my waffle fries in the ketchup. You just can't be too cautious after an accident like that.

Our feet even stuck to the floor when we got up to leave. Anyone care to go to lunch with me tomorrow?