Monday's Ramble ~ in Pictures

It's actually a bright day,

it's the snow blowing vertically that causes the haziness.....

It's March 14th for Heaven sake.......

Next week is the first day of spring .....

There is HOPE,

the rest of the week is suppose to be nice!

Monday Ramblings ~ everything

OK, there have been some note worthily things going on .....

**I didn't fair too well, after my long walk last weekend. I just think it's too soon to be jarring this shoulder! Heavy Sigh! I'll still on to the walk, but will do what I can on a shorter route. I've not mentally wrapped my mind around this yet, but when my body dictates I have to listen! Maybe things will change once I get to the point that I work on strengthening all these muscles. I have hope!

**I subbed 2 mornings last week. The first one, I just about froze! When I left I told the office that I believe this was the coldest room I'd ever been in!! That's when they told me that the janitor had just discovered the AC was on in that room! The next morning I was subbing in Preschool! That's always fun! Yea, I get paid to monitor play dough play!

**I worked through my taxes yesterday and this morning in order to get the FAFSA done.

**It snowed again! a couple of inches, but by this time of this year.... who cares?

**Our big TV went out!?!? That's bad for the boys, that's the TV they watched. I had the satellite man (who we called since the satellite wasn't' working) switch the satellite to the upstairs little TV. Now the combination of the TV, couch and electric warming blanket are just an invitation to a nap!

Monday Ramblings ~ Camera Purge

My camera doesn't talk to my computer!?! Both work great independently of each of they just can't get it together (it's a union thing I'm sure!). Most of the pictures I post here are from my phone, but I do still take pictures with my camera and when I have time I put the memory card in Hubby's laptop, download the pictures then burn a disc and move them in to my computer! Not a horrible process but still a process!

Here are some great shots from the latest Camera Purge ...

G's New Year's Party ~

The boys at Midnight

(Just after their fireworks)

Twister!

Obviously I'm not the only one taking pictures ~

Ya, I created that

or should I say I gave birth to that!

He created THAT!

Outside my Bedroom Window ~

What you can't see is the Cat lurking around the tree!

My animals love me! ~

Last month I was hanging the last set of new curtains in my bedroom. When I started there wasn't anyone outside the window. By the time I finished they were both there, with their tail wagging!

Monday Ramblings ~ Decluttering!

I have a horribly clutter room!

It's above my garage.

It's cold in the winter, hot in the summer.

The lights have mysteriously stopped working up there!?!

It's the room that if you're coming to visit and I have things to stash,

those things go into that room.

It's also storage for all of Christmas,

all crafts, Halloween,

all things that need a stopping place before leaving our home (toys),

Easter, games, old family things, pictures,

school supplies, and for all things that might not be needed at all!

After watching Peter Walsh on the new OWN

(Oprah Winfrey Network) yesterday.

He made a comment that hit me.

"If you're keeping Memories from the past

and things you might need in the future,

then you're not living in the PRESENT!"

Remember my 2011 resolutions ...

BE PRESENT?

Yesterday, I went up for just a few minutes and made all sorts of head way in that room, and then just went up there this morning! The trash is full, the recycling is full and the pile for 'Give & Take' (at church we take things we don't want that others may want. At the end of the evening everything left goes to charity! The key here is to give and not take!) is full also.

One Valuable lesson I learned from the FlyLady years ago is to only work in 20 minutes increments. I usually work for 2 20 minute increments. It's amazing what just 20 (or 40 minutes) can do!

My family's reaction to my de cluttering this room is so very typical of them ....

G ~ "hey, I love that, it's my favorite" (to the item he hasn't seen in years)

W ~ "you shouldn't just trash it or give it away, we should have fun and burn it all"

Hubby ~ "out of all the things to declutter you start with that room" (complains about that room but not happy when I do something about it! never happy, that man!)

Don't worry I'm not getting rid of pictures or old family things,

but I am putting them all in the same area.

If I love these things I need to treat them like I love them!

BUT

everything else is being considered and being happily tossed!

Phone news ....

OK, I have this smart phone, not one that has an I in the name but it's smart still the same. WAAAAYY smarter than me in so many ways, and it has had a mind of it's own lately .... those of you that have gotten repeated, and random phone calls from my phone lately know exactly what I'm talking about!

Last Saturday, for instantly I had called my friend, set my phone down on the counter and went about my day. The house phone rang a half ring, I didn't even get up. W comes up stairs, asking why my phone was calling him (waking him up), I got up and while walking to the phone, I got a text from a friend telling me that my phone was calling her, and then I got a somewhat angry message from my mother, asking "why I wouldn't talk when I called her". AND when I got to my phone I found it was calling G's school! Now that's a smart phone with attitude!

OK, on with the show .....
My phone has a feature where I get news. Some of the news is just news but then some are real gems .....like these I found this week!

"Man, 106 gives up smoking for love" ...
Go here for the web story.
I guess it's never too late to stop or this is some love!

Today's gem,
"Woman bites off husband's (79) tongue during kiss"....
You can read about it here!
Wonder if a divorce is the next story, or a party, maybe???

Monday Ramblings

Several years ago my Sister in law told me that

once you hit 40 you start to fall apart.

Wwweeellll, in my case it has been 45!

I think today could very well be a Wordless post!

This weekend I've started this odd cold/allergy thing.

It's not getting any worst, just staying the same.

At our house Hubby and I have always had this deal

that we couldn't both be sick/injured in bed at the same time

and up to this point it's always worked out.

BUT I think Hubby has over stayed his time in the bed, cuz .....

My shoulder is frozen!

Yeah, you read that right....frozen.

It has always been alittle stiff

(or at least for the past few years)

but over that past few weeks the range

of movement has gone to almost nill.

Last Monday when I couldn't get my bra on without extreme pain

I decided it was time to call the doctor.

I got a cortisone shot and

a month's worth of Physical Therapy appointments!

I don't seem be to aging with grace,

at this point I just want to stomp my feet and pitch a fit!

Well no time for that,

cuz that would make my pounding head cold pound more and

I've got to make myself wince in pain,

while I force my shoulder to move!

Monday Ramblings

It rained!

About 17 days ago I winterized the yard. I hurried because it was suppose to rain that night. The rain missed us. So our weatherman has been telling us just how dry we are since it hasn't rained in 17 days. For us it was well over 20 days. We were dry. The trees looked like they were all brown but it was just dust all over them.

AAAaaahhhhh what a refreshing day. Today everything was washed cleaned.

I was enjoying the rain until I noticed that I'd driven the Van with wipers that have issues! Oh, well, the rain was still nice! AND guess what, it might rain ALL night LONG!

Hmmm, now the winterize will take effect and I'll have to mow again. Oh Well, it is what it is!

Monday's Ramblings: amount due

Several years on a dentist visit, I was accosted by the exiting office staff. You know the lady that sits at the desk as you leave and has you sign things, tells you what you owe, or (like me) simply say, "we'll bill your insurance."

This very person who abused her dentist office authority (in my opinion), stated in her most uppity tone, looking down her nose at me, "Mrs ******, you have an delinquent account, and you'll have to take care of it today"

I was shocked! I didn't know I had an delinquent account, by the tone her voice I was sure I was lower than lower by not paying my bill. Finally, I gathered my deadbeat self and said something like (I don't recall my exact response as I tried to picked myself out of the hole), "I'm sorry I didn't realize I had any balance with your office."

She lowered her glasses (I'll never forget her) and said, "well, I'll check your account." My embarrassment level has just shot through the roof! Then she said it, "you have an amount of $7 and some change due." I couldn't believe HER, she made me feel like this for $7 bucks????,

I then said, "I'm surprised I didn't pay that bill."
that's when she said her gem ..... "WWWWelllllll, we don't send bills for less than $10"

She made me feel this way for something she never told me about????

This whole ramble comes from a bill that we got last week .... Hubby got a bill for $1.78, we also got another one for $9.49 ~ these bills would have NEVER been sent out by my OLD dentist but needless to say, these are my favorite kind of bills!

It works the other way too! A couple of weeks ago, the US Treasury sent my boys each a check, W's for 90 cents and G's for $2.10. I have no idea why, but they did.

Monday's Ramblings: He or She

Last week when Hubby and I went to his fancy shmacy doctor's office we had a conversation that I'd like you're input on.

The fancy shmacy office is a free standing building with it's own small packing lot. It's really only one row of sidewalk parking lot. There were 2 Handicap spots that were full, so Hubby pulled into the next available spot (about 4 down from the door and with no one parked passed us in the lot). Hubby pulled WWWAaaaaayyyy over (the tires were on the line) so he could get out with his wheelchair.

We had our doctor's visit.

We come back out and there is someone parked right next to us. Hubby gets in, and then I take the wheelchair over to the other side (due to the seat configuration inside the van). The space was not enough to get the wheelchair (3 feet) between the cars, so I just put it in the back.

As I got in Hubby having a mini rant "did you check if SHE dinged my door?" "I bet SHE dinged my door!", SHE, SHE, SHE.....

Whoa, Whoa there Mister, "what makes you think it's a SHE it could be a HE!" was my obvious response.
Hubby ~ "It's a SHE, SHE just pulled in not thinking about anything" "SHE didn't think, SHE just parked."

Me~ "I think it's a HE", "HE just decided to show you what you'd done wrong!" "Yep, it's a HE"

There wasn't any gender markings on the car, No bumper stickers, no flowers, just one thing ... a wooden choker hanging from the mirror. I've seen similar on both HE and SHE.

So what's your opinion? HE? or SHE?

Monday's Rambling: The Mayor and her TAXI

Today as I walked to my car after another disappointing Walmart trip, I saw a scene that warmed my heart and brought a smile to my face.

The Mayor of the little town that I live closest to was in front of Walmart. She was helping a older gentleman and his what appeared to be blind daughter into her TAXI. Yea, that's right the mayor drives the TAXI in town. When she finished helping this couple into her car, she slowly pulled to the other entrance, stopped, got out and helped another elderly gentleman and his purchases into her TAXI.

It's not uncommon to see her in the grocery store, juggling several list and a cart with carefully piled items (with items in each corner of her basket and then a pile in the seat area). She's shopping for the house bound elderly in our town.

She sits in her taxi in the elementary school lines dropping off or picking up students who's parents can't do it.

When her husband recently died the TAXI didn't sit still, her son and daughter in law ran it for her for a couple of days.

This town loves their mayor and her TAXI and she loves them!

I feel like there should be a musical number in the back ground of Paul Simon singing, "My little Town"

OH, and I won't go into the fact that she also runs the only laundry mat in town and what she does there!