Reverse Skate

Job Update

2008-09-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Even though I have been "offered" a job at a school, employment is still pending. I have two more interviews tomorrow. Keep me in your prayers. One is pretty far away, but it is more of what I want to do, running an office.

R is going to literally rip out the side of our house tonight while I'm at Bible study. I have to take dessert. There is a major leak on the side by our kitchen. This will make the plumbing bill lower. I was actually shocked today when I signed the proposal; it was lower than I expected. BUT he had to fix K15's bathtub. I felt that, compared to the leak bill, the tub bill was too high. It took the guy all of ten minutes to fix the tub.

We now have A/C on both sides of the house!

I have not had good cell phone coverage since the storm. It is so frustrating!!!!! I would have thought our coverage would be better by now.

Above are some more current photos of David Larible. I hope he comes back to Houston soon!!!! Hmmm. I need to get my David Larible doll out of the closet again. And go back on youtube to cheer me up.

Glad it is getting cool!

2008-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Lots of news today.
1. We have power! Still no a/c on one side of the house.
2. I got a job! (pending references and FBI fingerprinting)

Next time there is a storm, I am NOT going to buy soup! No one wanted it because it was too hot! I have lots of soup left, and we can start eating it now because it is finally getting cool!

I was offered a job yesterday at a small, private Montessori school in Spring, Texas. If everything goes through, I will be starting an elementary school for them. My hours will be 8:30 to 4:30. 3:30 - 4:30 will be my planning time, so the director says that if it is slow I can leave early.

Today is my mom's birthday! Happy 70th!!!!!

I have to go grocery shopping today, my least favorite thing. I am going to start slowly; no since in buying things we don't need right away. I don't know how many of partially used salad dressings I threw away.

I slammed the back door this morning, and three of the four braces fell from the ceiling. We still have a large hole in our sitting area. Now we have a leak outside the kitchen, and our water is a dark brown when we try to get water in the kitchen. Hope it is storm-related. It would make sense since that is approximately where the tree hit. Probably a small piece of galvanized pipe needs to be replaced.

A and R, I hope you have power now! Guess I will find out today!
R, I have been trying to reach you, but keep getting a fax machine, and I know how you don't like to use your cell phone! You have been so sweet calling everyday and letting K15 come over!
You know what I just figured out? I have about five friends whose names start with R! Oh, well, you know who you are.

I slept upstairs last night for the first time in a week or so. It wasn't too bad. When I woke up it was 73! Welcome Fall! It is my favorite time of the year!

POWERless

2008-09-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

It's funny how these days instead of asking if you have electricity, people ask you if you have POWER. No, we still do not have power. I have learned some things during our power outage:
1. It takes me three days to drink one bottle of water.
2. It is not necessary to shine a flashlight in someone's face to speak to them.
3. When you turn the shower on, it is not necessary to stand there and water for the water to heat up. IT WON'T!
4. When you are in the dark, be careful where you sit. I sat on a tube of hydrocortizone cream and busted it big time!
5. Cell phones make excellent flashlights.

My friends R and K call me everyday to ask if I have power. Tomorrow the girls and I are going to my parents' house to wash clothes, and we have a lot! The girls will also do schoolwork over there and, hopefully, get ahead for the weekend.

My grandmother came through her surgery fine. She has to leave the stint in for 6 weeks. She sounded great this morning.

L, I'm going to stay away from you! You Swiffer people's faces!

Gotta go!

Tuesday Update

2008-09-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

Update: Yesterday, the electric company took two of our trees off the power lines. They left the trees there; said we had to get rid of them ourselves. There is still a wire on the ground. Our next door neighbors still have a tree down on the lines behind their house.

We turned the generator on last night, and, wow, we have cable! We didn't even have cable one week before the storm!

Tonight we are going back to J and K's for dinner and then Bible study.

K18 and I are at L's again today; I wish she had a cot! I am soooo tired!

K15 is doing a presentation on a Renaissance painting about now. She was so nervous when I dropped her off.

I am so tired of going out in public and seeing signs that are misspelled or have grammatical errors. I was having a margarita the other night and looked up at the huge sign above the restaurant door saying, "Muchas Gracias!" I can't write it here, but to be correct, there should be an upside down exclamation point in front of "Muchas" and an accent mark over the first "a" in "gracias." Drove me so crazy, I had to change seats so I didn't have to look at it. Along 2920, there used to be a sign that said, "Trees for sell." Drove me nuts. Okay, so now I will probably get e-mails from you guys correcting my spelling and grammatical errors on my blog. Those don't count. Ha ha! Especially today because L will not stop talking while I am typing.

Monday Monday

2008-09-22T10:16:00.001-07:00

Good news! We borrowed a generator! We slept with fans last night!
I am starting to panic about a job. Going to give my resume to a friend tonight that might know of an opening near the hospital.
I'm at L's store right now, listening to her discuss Christian bands with a customer. Think I will go home soon and clean out the frig. Yuck! The food is gone, but there is still a bad odor. We might splurge tonight and watch a DVD on the big screen TV. I heard some bad things about the Emmys last night, but I wasn't able to watch it until the end.
Everyone is stressed right now. Things will not seem normal until we have electricity, can vacuum the carpet, and my Sonic opens back up.
Some more good news! I have lost 22 pounds! I am hoping to go down another dress size soon! My goal is to get back down to my normal weight by swimsuit season. "Normal" for me is still overweight, just not hideous! LOL Just so that I can invite friends over to swim and not beg everyone to turn around while I dive in! Ha ha!

Sunday

2008-09-21T11:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we are still around. Still haven't seen an electric truck. There are rumors in the neighborhood that it will be three to four more weeks without power. We are looking into getting a generator, especially for the refrigerator.

Right now, we are at K and J's house for a healthy, hot meal and to use their internet. K15 is printing out her paper. We had mesquite grilled chicken, caesar salad, brocolli, and roasted potatoes. Yummy! We had some great cookies for dessert!

R and the girls are going to church picnic and baptism today -- free food! I am going to hang out with a friend for the afternoon/evening. I hope she doesn't want to go to the mall! Went there yesterday, and it was packed!

Well, I will check in again tomorrow. Thanks for all your calls and e-mails. We are really okay.

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for the ladies on TM who prayed for us. We are fine. Still without power. The roofing company came yesterday and removed the two trees from our roof and patched the hole. Still haven't seen an insurance rep or an electric truck on our end of the subdivision.

I now equate the north side of a hurricane to labor. I was lying on the couch, and I could hear the wind coming around the back of the house and towards the front. Just as it came around the front, I would hold my breath and say, "Please, God, let this be the last one!" Ha ha! My brother rode out the storm and said that the south side of the storm was much worse, a constant whirling wind for four hours. Everytime he went outside with his camera, it would take another couple of people to close the door with him.

We are now boycotting a local news reporter. He put my brother's friend in grave danger for three days. The station finally let A go home after he complained. The news reporter has six kids -- yeah, you know who you are -- and was willing to risk his life and A's to get sensational footage. I'm sorry, but that is just STUPID! And a female reporter from the station will also be ignored from now on. I have lost total respect for you, lady.

We are staying at my brother's house in Houston but not for much longer. I am ready to go home. The house is starting to smell from the wet insulation and wood in the attic. I'm going to attack the whole house with Febreeze. I am hoping the carpet will be okay. It only got wet from the splashing of water in the tubs and when transferring the water.

What I will remember: using the pool to bathe, flush toilets, wash dishes, and wash towels (don't worry, these will all be re-washed) ; throwing out a frig full of food (ugh!); flicking on the lightswitch by habit; watching the hummingbirds after the storm; no cell phone coverage; hunkering down with my family in the den; thanking God that we are safe. It is just a house and fence. I will miss my favorite bird bath, though.

My friend T and her family got hit very hard in Magnolia. Please pray for them. Don't think we will be having piano lessons over there for awhile.

I want to thank K for letting us shower at her place. Sorry I didn't make it to the movie night last night. I want to thank R & R for bringing us ice and checking on us. I want to thank all of the friends who called to see if we were okay or needed anything, some of whom used their precious cell phone battery to do so. I especially want to thank B & N for letting us invade your home. The internet access has also been a godsend so I can search for a job and we can communicate with our friends and family.

I will post pictures when I have my internet back. Until then, take care!

Friday

2008-09-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, J!!!!
Also, happy birthday to my sister-in-law, N!!!!!

We are, as they say, "hunkered down." Well, actually, R and the girls just went for a walk. About an hour ago, three blocks from our house, some people were cutting down a tree, and it hit a boy. Ambulance came and got him; the boy died. He was ten years old. There was a Houston Chronicle photographer there. R & the girls just came back from there. Very sad.

Our lantern broke, and Lowes doesn't have any more. :o( So we whipped out some more candles. I am making a pot of chili tonight, and I suppose we will watch movies again while we still have electricity.

The news reporter just said that 40% of the Galveston population stayed. What are people thinking? We will probably get blocked in for awhile. About a mile and a half down the road, there is a dip in the road by the creek. That will probably flood over. That is our only way out. Sometimes our lake overflows, but they have been working on the drainage this summer, so we will see.

As I read your blogs today, it seems so funny that y'all are talking about school, work, etc. LOL All of our stores closed a couple of hours ago. Also, want to tell Marmy -- good going on the car contest! I wish you would have won! You were a good sport about it. For those of you who don't know Marmy, she called in a radio station and was the correct caller. They gave out 93 keys, one of which fit a new car. The 25th person to try won the car.

The eye is predicted to go down I-45, which means we won't be on the dirty side of the storm. Yea! Everyone stay safe!

Stupid Hurricane Quote:

"You know, Tim, that's one of the things that will be debated." –New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, after being asked by NBC's Tim Russert why he didn't use buses to evacuate residents in accordance with the city's evacuation plan.

Another Stupid Hurricane Quote I Just Heard:

"They are not going to close the Galveston causeway. If your car is swaying, don't get on the causeway."

Take a Hike, Ike

2008-09-11T16:53:00.000-07:00

We are about 75 miles from Galveston, so we will stay here. Chick Fil A hasn't decided to close yet. Don't know if we will let K18 drive to work tomorrow.

My brother is in League City, staying in a nearby bunker. He does not have a reporter with him. Guess he will shoot press conferences from the storm center there. His wife is going to her sister's to stay.

The girls' Biology class was cancelled today, and K15's theater class was cancelled tonight. K18 did go to her compass class, and both girls met their math teacher at the library for a lesson.

I am going to take advantage of our electricity tonight and stay up and watch movies. Trying to get a friend to come over and watch movies and eat snacks! LOL My cell phone has been acting goofy today. The reporter on Channel 13 said that his family evacuated to the Tomball area and that their cell phones weren't working very well.

Everyone please pray that the tree leaning towards our pool doesn't come down in the storm. That is really our only worry about this storm, I think. Tomorrow we will put the trampoline upside down and move all the deck and pool furniture inside. Only once have we not been able to get out of our neighborhood. We are not going to board up the windows this time. Church has been cancelled for Sunday because our worship center tends to flood.

Suddenly I have a craving for ice cream, and I don't even like ice cream! Guess it's time for a trip to Sonic!

Stay safe, everyone!

Correction!

2008-09-11T09:28:00.001-07:00

I have been corrected and slapped in the face with a wet noodle. L & L poured 60 BAGS of concrete, not 60 lbs. In total, they poured 2400 lbs. of concrete! Good work, ladies!

It Was a God Thing

2008-09-11T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last night God really helped me!
1:55 a.m. this morning: I am in the middle of a terrible, horrible nightmare, in a deep sleep. I hear my phone vibrate two times. (My phone vibrating NEVER wakes me up!) I have two text messages from a friend who is replying to a text I had sent about 10 hrs. before! How did she know to text, not once, but twice, at that particular time? Had to be God. I texted her back and said, "You woke me up from a nightmare! Thank you!" She asked me what it was about and then told me to pinch myself and go back to sleep. I tried to pinch my leg above the knee but couldn't get any skin! Woohoo! Well, that was one good thing.

2:30 a.m. K15 turns on the light. I am assuming someone is sick. She informs me that she is coming in to sleep with me because a roach dropped from her ceiling into her bed. She lies down but keeps the light on. I say, "Why is the light still on?" She informs me that she has one more chapter to read in her book. I am too tired to argue with her.

2:45 a.m. K15 turns off the light.

That was my night.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Stupid Sign Day

2008-09-08T13:07:00.001-07:00

UGH!

2008-09-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

This afternoon has been lousy. Please pray for my attitude. I can't say much because someone may be lurking here, but can say that it involves school. We have a decision to make in the next two weeks or so, maybe sooner. It is fixable, but, ugh, I just was not expecting this! Just was hoping that this year would go smoothly. I may need transportation for K15 to get to Word in Season at TBC on Tuesdays at 12:30. I will pay for gas and a fee, too, if you are coming out of your way.

Just want to say to L and L who are busy pouring about 60 lbs of concrete right now -- YOU GO, GIRLS! Too bad the guys at Lowe's didn't follow you home. I cannot imagine doing something like that! I am worthless when it comes to manual labor ha ha. Remember, you promised I can come over when the gazebo is up! L, thanks for letting me whine today. I guess I'm going to have to start calling y'all L1 and L2!! Thanks for telling me about R's car accident. I will have to get her something to cheer her up. I'll come by the store and drop it off. She is really sweet, and I'm sorry she went through that yesterday. Hope she has wheels again soon! I was home Friday without wheels and I hated it.

If anyone wants to join us, L and I are boycotting the Sonic on 2920 by Target! LOL!

Off to teach Spanish!

Sunday

2008-09-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

Well, the Steelers are winning 28-3. Time for me to turn it off. I was mainly watching today to see if I could spot my brother in the end zone. Football is losing its appeal. And I don't feel all that well.

My grandmother is going to have to have surgery again. I wish I could go to Florida and help, but there is no way. Her surgery is the 23rd, so Mom and Dad will be gone during their anniversary and Mom's birthday again. My uncle will be going back to Vietnam about that time to see his wife, so prayer for him would be appreciated. He usually comes back sick.

If we can get this Spanish done today, I'm going to see about going to a movie or something. I just want to get out of the house. I have been on the WTM board all morning, but I am tired of reading arguments about Palin's supposed banned book list, P.E. credits, and cleavage. It's just plain boring on there today. And people are being mean to one another.

If you haven't already, take a look at the video below. Kind of cheesy, but I love the footage of Challenger as a baby.

Much thanks to the B's who donated seven jars to the girls for a Biology experiment! I KNEW you would have them!

Well, I think the DVD player is fixed, so we are going to finish watching Fiddler. Hope everyone has a restful Sunday.

I didn't know Jar Jar died. :o(
Sith Apprentice (2005)

The Emperor: Jar-Jar...

JarJar Binks: Me-sa fired?

The Emperor: No. You-sa fried. [the Emperor shoots electricity out of his hand and vaporizes Jar-Jar]

Challenger

2008-09-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

It really is awe inspiring. Should any of you> happen to go to the Great Smoky Mountians, you will pass through the town of Pigeon> Forge ( if you go down route 81) Tennessee. In that town is a place called Dollywood owned and operated by, surprise surprise, Dolly Parton. There she has a huge enclosed area for non realeasable eagles. You can view them and their huge nests. She is prominent among rescuers of Bald eagles and she has a license to do so. The rest of the park is nice too. This is an awesome music video...featuring a special free-flying Bald Eagle named 'Challenger' (in honor of the lost space shuttle crew. K15 was named after one of their crew) cared for by the non-profit American Eagle Foundation (AEF). He's a 'human socialized' bird accidentally raised by the people who rescued him - after being blown from a wild Louisiana nest in a storm as a baby in the late 1980s. Declared 'non-releasable' by federal and state wildlife authorities, he was trained by the AEF to perform educational free-flight demonstrations at high profile public events. He's the first Bald Eagle in U.S. history that learned to free-fly into stadiums, arenas and ballrooms during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner.The celebrity eagle has appeared at numerous major sporting events...like the World Series, Pro-Bowl, All-Star game, BCS National Championship, Fiesta Bowl and Men's Final Four, etc. Challenger has also flown before 4 U.S. Presidents! His life story is told in a children's storybook titled 'Challenger, America's> Favorite Eagle.'

Dusti Update

2008-09-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of hundreds of dollars later, Dusti is fine. Vet said she wasn't bleeding at all; it was some sort of dye. She was very puzzled - new blanket? No. new toy? No. did she get into something in the yard? No. Finally, K15 called and said that Dusti had eaten a lipstick! Yea! Mystery solved. Good thing the carpets haven't been cleaned yet. I would be really upset! What cost us so much was she was due for her shots and tests and they will not test an animal unless they've had an exam, of course, so we had to pay for an exam, nail clipping, shots, and tests.

K15 quit her Saturday shift today so K18 will take her place (reluctantly, I'm sure).

I'm sitting here eating blue corn chips and guacamole dip and waiting for my lasagna to be done. I am STARVING! R will be going over to E's house to install a window unit. K18 is at a church workday, so I guess K15 and I get the lasagna and garlic bread all to ourselves!

Here are menu plans for the week in no particular order: lasagna, grilled hamburgers, pancakes tilapia, baked chicken, spaghetti, chili, barbeque. We already had five of the entree ingredients at home SOOOOO.....

Did well at the grocery store today again - $105, including a People magazine and four $5 DVDs. I got West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, and Legally Blonde 1 & 2. I really want to watch Akeela and the Bee tonight, but we have to do Spanish, and K15 has major research to do on Florence, Italy in the Renaissance time period. Luckily, she only has to have an outline by Tuesday. Well, I am going to go watch a movie with K15 while dinner is cooking and heating up my house. I hate using the oven when it is so hot but I have run out of creative ideas that don't involve the oven. I can't wait for "crockpot weather!" And let me just say for the record, "I absolutely LOVE mashed potatoes! I have figured out lately that it is one of my comfort foods." I have started making them once a week, and we used to never have them. I will put my Glorified Mashed Potatoes recipe on here someday. You HAVE to try them! R was coming over for dinner tonight and to get the washer/dryer, but she has to clean the church for E since she has to be home helping with the air conditioner.

I would like to go to a movie or something tomorrow, but the girls have to study. Maybe someone will go with me????

Have a nice night.

TGIF

2008-09-05T12:54:00.001-07:00

TGIF! I'm sitting here watching Little House on the Prairie and waiting for R to get home from work. Dusti's front paws are bleeding. We let her nails get too long because we are no longer taking her to grooming. She has blood on her face too. :o( The van is in the shop, but it is ready, so he is going to take me to get the van and then I will take her to the vet. I just hope they have time to clip her nails.

K15 slept until 1:30 today. She has been so congested and run down lately. I'm glad she has a day to sleep. K18's day is Saturday.

I love Little House, but the old women are always (aka Mrs. Whipple) portrayed as stupid. Usually the show ends happily but not today. I love happy endings. Some of my favorite chick flicks are Blue Lagoon, 27 Dresses, 50 First Dates, Ever After (I always watch this when I'm sick), Kate and Leopold, French Kiss, You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Return to Me, Serendiptiy, Trouble with Angels (not a chick flick but I cry EVERY time), Pride & Prejudice (the six-hour A & E version). I also LOVE Medicine Man, Pillow Talk, That Touch of Mink, and so many more.

Now I'm watching another episode. There is a tornado, and Pa tells everyone to get into the sod house. I have never heard mention of the sod house in the series before, but the girls and I saw it in 2001. It was basically caved in. The sod house was very close
to the "little house." An amazing sight when we went to the Ingalls' homestead was the slough. I remember in one of her books, Laura recalls when baby Carrie was lost in the slough. Let me tell you, it would be very difficult to find a small tot in there. It was tall and thick.

We received a bill from a vendor that we were not expecting. Have to look up the records. Please pray that it has already been paid. Also, received a huge electric bill. Have to go see Mr. Klein about that and see if he is running electricity. Sure appears that way. Guess we should have paid the huge disconnect fee. A job would be good about now. I have an interview next Friday.

Anti-Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

This is going to be my new T-shirt.

For all of you Wordless Wednesday fanatics, you know me, I am never "wordless." You know what I don't understand? Why, when I'm washing my hair, I have to completely rinse the shampoo off my hands before I rinse the shampoo out of my hair. Pretty stupid, huh?

The subject today is roaches. I was reminded today how once when I was in high school I was outside the front door and was told there was a roach by me. I opened the front door "hard." Parents had the security chain on the door. I ripped the chain and the door frame completely off!

This whole roach paranoia started when I was a young girl. Me and a friend were up in a fig tree in my backyard. We had children's scissors, cutting patterns in leaves, like you do paper snowflakes. I dropped my scissors. I didn't know that what I had dropped the scissors on was the top of a compost pile. I jumped down onto the compost pile, leaving my friend in the tree. Hundreds, and I mean HUNDREDS of brown, flying, tree roaches rose up out of the compost pile, all over me and scurrying frantically up the tree. I ran into the grass, and all I could think of was the old fire slogan, "Stop, drop, and roll." So I rolled in the grass, crunching some of the roaches.

About ten years ago, I was working in my office downstairs. There was a roach sitting on my computer tower. It flew TOWARDS me. This was at three o'clock in the morning. I ran into another room, screaming, and it continued to fly towards me. I found out later that, yes, there are some types of roaches that are labeled "aggressive."

I could talk all day about roaches, I have so many unpleasant encounters with them. We know a family who raises hissing cockroaches; I can't even imagine.

I am running L's store today. So far no catastrophes, although I owe her $12 for selling three key chains at the wrong price. :o( One customer cracked me up. He wanted me to order The Picture Bible. I wrote down "Picture Bible." He kept saying, "THE. Put THE in front of it." Then he ordered something else and I left the "THE" off again. That's the way we look up books. And he said again very loudly, "Put THE in front of that. " I would like to see the differences between Picture Book and The Picture Book by the same author. Ha ha. He made sure I took the extra "L" out of his name, too.

From A Bug's Life:
Flik: Here, pretend - pretend that that's a seed.

Dot: It's a rock.

Flik: Oh, I know it's a rock, I know. But let's just pretend for a minute that it's a seed, alright? We'll just use our imaginations. Now, now do you see our tree? Everything that made that giant tree is already contained inside this tiny little seed. All it needs is some time, a little bit of sunshine and rain, and voilá!

Dot: This rock will be a tree?

Flik: Seed to tree. You've gotta work with me, here. Alright? Okay. Now, y-you might not feel like you can do much now, but that's just because, well, you're not a tree yet. You just have to give yourself some time. You're still a seed.

Dot: But it's a rock.

Flik: [shouting] I know it's a rock! Don't you think I know a rock when I see a rock? I've spent a lot of time around rocks!

Dot: You're weird, but I like you.

Hi Everyone

2008-09-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Well, hello everyone. I have had several people ask where I am. Hmmm, why don't you comment on my blog? LOL I am guilty of that, as well. What's new around here? We closed the store on July 31st. There were a few tears, but not many. Since then I have not done much to be proud of. Resting a lot more than I should. I need to go back and have my thyroid checked - I'm a few weeks overdue. I really think if we could get that regulated I would have more energy. I have reorganized the school room. Each girl has their own shelf that houses their current school books, and there are many! Went through the supply shelf and chunked old pens, etc. Am currently separating personal books to sell on the internet. We have stacks of boxes and tubs in our "activity room" that came from the store. We have several boxes and rolling bins full of software that we have no idea where we are going to store. I never thought I would say this but "we are out of room." LOL I also brought some kitchen items home from my grandmothers that I don't want to part with but have little space for, even in a large kitchen. We found a bag of about 15 tiny stuffed bears that no one claims. Who left them at our house and why? I understand leaving beach towels and glasses here, but a bag of bears????

The girls have school Tuesdays and Thursdays and Monday a.m. from 9-10. K15 is working at the tea room Mon, Wed. and Sat. Her boss is very strict but fair. K14 is having a bit of trouble with the strict part. K18 works at Chick Fil A Mondays and Fridays and at the tea room on Wednesdays. I like having her home at night now.

We had a very nice time at the H's yesterday. Their new home is lovely. The girls were the first to swim in their new pool! It was especially great to see J there and hold her beautiful babies that she is trying to adopt. I am so impressed with her maternal skills at such a young age. How she gets them in and out of the car is still a mystery to me. I had enough trouble when mine were three years apart! Hers are three months apart! J is not going to London this week! Bible study starts back up next week but we are now called a "Life Group." Huh? We will be studying Luke this fall.

I am still job hunting. Got several rejection e-mails today but we are okay for now.

We have been hanging out by the fireplace lately watching a tiny screen because our cable is out in our den AGAIN! AND our phone voice mail stopped working AGAIN! I am so tired of Comcast! I don't call because we are not home long enough for the repairman to come.

This weekend we will probably go out to storage and measure and take more pictures as it seems all that info has been erased. Then I guess it's back to Craigslist for us. Would love to downsize the storage room soon!

Kim, I just want to say that you are missed at Teaching Mom! Where are you? I am sorry that I did not get back to you about the IEW. Your email got buried, and by the time I found it (last week) I assumed you had gotten it somewhere else. I am SURE, knowing you, that you have started it by now. I just pray that you did not pay full price for it. I would feel really bad about that. B-mail me, and I'll give you my phone number in case something like that happens again. I think we exchanged phone numbers before a storm once, but maybe you don't have mine anymore. I miss seeing you at the store. Maybe we could do lunch? I read your family blog quite often, as your personal one has not been updated in awhile. PRAISE GOD!

We did really well at the grocery store on Saturday even though I didn't bring a list. Just a little over $100 and that included a People magazine. Did have to go back today for cereal and juice. We have been eating much better since the store has closed (Mom, you would be proud.) You know I don't fry anything! We haven't been to a restaurant as a family in weeks. Maybe we will do that Friday night before NHSC parent meeting.

Want to wish my friend E a happy birthday. I won't announce your age here, but let's just say that you will always been waaaay older than me!

I will try to write more often. Minkydo, hope you're still reading. Thanks for all of your supportive advice at TM! I will update there as soon as I have more info.

Hey, I just figured out that if I add an image, my double space works. Ha ha!

Goodnite, all.

OCD Thoughts

2008-07-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Lately, my OCD has been in full-swing. However, I am blessed. When I think back to two years ago, I have come so far. I had more rituals than I thought I had, but most of them are gone. I still have a problem with handrails, but I forced myself to use them when I went upstairs to my dr. last week. Uncomfortable to be sure, but, hey, nothing drastic happened. I still have a problem with people that I love going up in airplanes. I believe that this is due to the fact that 1) I am petrified of being on one myself, and 2) I have had dreams (three times) about an airplane accident, and then the next morning when I turned on the news there had actually been one. One was the plane in NY that Pamela Lynch from Justice for All was on, and I believed that I somehow contributed to her death by not saying something to the authorities ahead of time. Dumb, I know. You will never convince me that that crash was not terrorist related. How am I going to do when K18 gets on a plane in two weeks to Honduras? I am going to have to go somewhere and do something to get my mind off of it - kind of like when we put Lucky to sleep. One thing I HATE about Cognitive Behaviour Therapy -- and I hope my counselor is reading this -- is that you are supposed to allow the thoughts to wash over you, not try to keep them away. So, technically, I am supposed to think about K18 being on the plane, thousands of feet above the earth and allow the negative thoughts to come. This is the scary part. If I do it, it usually works, but it is the DOING it that is sometimes impossible. I want to skydive just once in my life, but the thought of actually DOING it -- going up in a plane and jumping -- is petrifying to me. Someone WILL HAVE TO push me out the door, there is no denying that.

Back to handrails -- I noticed this last summer when we were at the Riverwalk. You probably think it is about germs. No. It is about balance. If I can grab onto handrails from both sides, like on an escalator, I am fine. But give me a wide stairwell where I cannot reach both sides, or people coming down the other side, blocking my reach like in San Antonio, I cannot use one handrail. I will topple and look stupid.

Same with horizontal cracks and color/pattern changes on the ground. I don't step over them because I'm afraid something bad is going to happen. I do it because it sends me off balance if I step on them. I feel like an idiot in the grocery store trying to avoid them, but at least I don't fall down. LOL Actually, this ritual is the reverse of a ritual. E and I were at the college going in to play raquetball (I LOVE that game!), and she mentioned to me, "Why do you step on every crack?" I hadn't noticed it before. So this went on for a few months and started to get on my nerves and I told my counselor. We did CBT a few times, and all of the sudden, now I am avoiding them instead of stepping on them! Rugs, shadows, anything like that, I cannot step on the edge. Tile doesn't bother me (thank God because it's all over our store!), but if there is a stain on the tile or any color change, streak mark, etc., I avoid it like the plague. I have tried standing on the edge of the counselor's rug, but I feel stupid just standing there. It was either that or go out into the parking lot and "practice."

When I drink a drink, I usually have to leave about 1/8th of it in the cup. I have to really psyche myself up to drink something all the way down. Now, a margarita, that's a different story. But soda, milk, juice, can't finish it all.

There have been a few new rituals that have "snuck in" this week, but I managed to ward them off. Hehe. CBT works for me the majority of the time, so I am truly blessed.

I am really enjoying all your blogs I am reading -- I can really relate. All I can tell you is that the more stress you have in your life, the more your OCD will affect your life. You just have to expect that it comes with the territory and not think that you are the cause of the increase in intensity. This, too, shall pass. I try to remember how far I've come in two years. It truly could be worse.

A Day of Lasts

2008-07-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

Well, today is the day, the last day that the store will be open for business, and we have TOO MUCH left, especially fixtures!!! What are we going to do with them? I just keep praying that someone will walk in the door next week and offer to take them all off our hands!

So far I have turned the open sign over for the last time and put the money in the cash register for the last time.

I am very sad but will be so glad to get this week over with! R is busy dismaantling things. He took all the inside signs down yesterday. Next week will be moving and removing decals from the windows. The sign company is going to come take the sign down, too.

Long Time No See

2008-07-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

It has been very busy around here. Have decided to close for good this Saturday, two days from now. Ready to get it over with.
Went to three movies in a week - Batman once, Mama Mia twice. My OCD is pretty bad right now; movies help me relieve stress, especially movies that I know the dialogue to.
Tonight we are going to swing by and pick up Chinese (mine is House Special Fried Rice with no peas. They also always take the carrots out.) and go home to watch the movies that came in the mail today -- especially College Road Trip with Donny Osmond!
E and I are going to take R out tomorrow night for her birthday. Going out for margaritas, and then the three of us are going to break into "Hand Painted By" so that E and I can paint a figurine for R of her choosing. We will have the place totally to ourselves for the night! I will probably bring some DVDs to watch while we paint.
While K18 is in Honduras, K15 and I are going to New Braunfels for a few days. We will each take a friend, so there will be four of us. I am hoping to get a place at the resort, but it's probably too last minute. That's okay because the train gets on my nerves anyway. However, I love having the swimming pool sized hot tub at night. I could stay in there forever. This time we are skipping the tubing the river part (Both girls got quite an education the last time). Will definitely do that bakery thing one morning. May go into Gruene for the afternoon or into San Marcos on Wednesday. If I can get a place at the resort, will probably do spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread one night; hamburgers on the grill the next. Or I may just bring my George Foreman grill and grill some chicken breasts. Lunches will be easy: sandwiches, chips, leftovers. Breakfast will be bakery one morning, probably cereal two mornings because I don't want to have to deal with leftover eggs.
Well, my computer has disconnected itself AGAIN from the server. I have done everything Tony has told me to do (I have watched him do it twice), and, still, it won't connect for me! Ran out of fax cartridge today. I said, "forget it," I am not spending $25 for two more days of junk faxes! I will just go to Kleins when I need a copy. Both credit card machines stopped working today, so we were about to change our "No Checks" sign to "No Credit Cards." But we fixec the machines, and all is well.
Well, I have been eating so many Keebler Fudge Stripes tha now I'm not hungry for Chinese food.

Happy Birthday, K18!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-06-28T14:08:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday to my dear, sweet first-born, K18 who turns -- well -- 18 today at 5:05 p.m.! Bless her heart, she has to work tonight on her birthday. She received a lovely bouquet of flowers today, and she and her dad went out looking for car stereos. Going to the Melting Pot Tuesday night; taking two of her friends.

K15 was at drama camp all week and performed in a West Side Story showcase last night. She did great! My mom, dad, grandma, E and P were there, too! Afterwards we went to Rancho Grande for a couple of hours. Service was the pits. They never did bring K18 anything to drink. They did, however, sing a birthday song to her in Spanish and put whipped cream on her face, with a cherry for the nose.

As for me, I will be glad when this whole thing is over. I can already tell that we are going to have a lot of fixtures left over if we don't hurry up and sell them. A lady did come in today who wants to open a store in Conroe; she may be interested in some of the fixtures. She, like many other CLUELESS people, couldn't understand why we were closing and why I strongly suggested that she re-think her "vision." This, after she was already aware that the other homeschool store in Conroe barely made it two years and that our nearest competition is experiencing low sales. Oh, well, to be young again and dream the dream. I wish the best for her; I really do. Like R told her, "Give it a shot. You'll never know until you try." (Or go into debt first --- my thought.)

I am very blessed in the fact that I have lots of skills that will help me get a job. Not just any job. I want one that really pays me for what I am worth. I will not be happy with the bare minimum. I have education and legal experience, owning and running a business. There are only two things that I don't want to do - teach children and anything to do with finances. I am leaning towards adult education/training; but, hey, if you want me to answer 6-9 telephone lines and type up your memos, I'm all for it. Just don't ask me to add up any numbers or tutor your children. Numbers make me nervous and I am burnt out on teaching K-12.

Here are the girls' schedules for the fall so far:

K18 - Biology, Word in Season (United States History/English Lit. & Writing class), finish Algebra and move on to next math, Government - fall; Economics - spring, Health

K14 soon to be 15 - Biology, Word in Season (Renaissance and Reformation +), Spanish 1, Algebra, piano, possibly theater.

We are re-thinking clogging and piano right now, depending on schedules. K14 may get a job next year at a local tea room; K18 is still waiting to hear from Target, but I think they would have called by now.

It is 4:30, and, man, am I tempted to close early! Got a new phone this week and am still trying to figure some things out. My ringtone at the moment is Darth Vader's Imperial March from Empire Strikes Back. Hmmm. Tonight might be a good Star Wars night since our cable is still out.

Time to Hit the Books

2008-06-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

A Spanish-speaking man came into the store today looking for the library (the library used to be in our building). I was trying to give him directions, and could not for the life of me remember how to say "traffic light" in Spanish. I can see the word in my head and will automatically remember it tonight, I'm sure, but it's too late. I felt like an idiot. I am looking forward to pouring through my new Spanish-English dictionary and my two new advance Spanish grammar books soon. Have to finish Lonesome Dove first!

I am feeling better today. R was finally able to talk to Mr. Klein today; he has just been busy. He is not angry. He was telling R how the easiest thing would be for someone to purchase the store. Well, we did have a very serious looker last week, but it fell through when they saw the numbers.

Thanks to my brother, B, we will be going to Moody Gardens in Galveston tomorrow, a first for our family. WE NEVER GO ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!! I am also planning a trip to New Braunfels in August, probably when K18 is in Honduras. I need some R & R!

Boy Blames Himself for 9/11

2008-06-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

A ten-year-old boy with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) thought the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York were his fault, according to a new report.
Leading psychologists said the boy thought the September 11 attacks in 2001 happened because he did not step on a particular white mark on the road that day.
Experts from University College London believe it is the first time a patient has blamed themselves for a major terrorist attack.
In a report published in the journal Neurocase experts said the boy, who suffers from OCD and Tourette's syndrome, was wracked with guilty after the attack.
Mary Robinson, a psychologist at UCL, said his condition meant he was forced "to step correctly on a particular white mark on the road" every day.
But on "September 11, the day of the atrocities, he forgot to do this and therefore thought the World Trade Centre attack was his personal fault."
The report said: "The case highlights the need to support young people in this world of terrorism and the mass media immediate coverage of events."
According to psychologist Dr Robinson, the boy had been "extremely pleasant and likeable" in the run up to the attacks, with good school grades despite being affected by the two conditions.
In a report on the case, she said: "His parents reported that he had become much worse, that he was fed up, annoyed and tortured by his tics.
"One prominent symptom was that he normally had to step correctly on a particular white mark on the road.
"On September 11, the day of the atrocities, he forgot to do this and therefore thought the World Trade Centre attack was his personal fault.'
The boy was treated with drugs to calm his OCD and was also informed that he had actually skipped his normal ritual of stepping on the same white mark after the attacks occurred, so could not be to blame.
Dr Robinson said media coverage of conflicts could cause similar phenomena.
"We have not even touched on the coverage of Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel or Gaza, where there are almost daily atrocities," she said. "This would be far too great a task."
OCD is a condition where sufferers repeat certain behaviours, such as washing their hands or avoiding cracks in the pavement, over and over again.Ex-England captain David Beckham is reported to be a sufferer.
Tourette's, meanwhile, causes involuntary tics and outbursts of swearing.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed when terrorists flew two jets into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York in 2001.

Hungry Please Help

2008-06-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Monday I went deep into Houston on my way to the counselor. I was sitting at an intersection, and it was taking forever for the light to change. I was in the left-hand turn lane. While I waited, I noticed a man sitting in the grass, holding up a sign that said, "Hungry. Please Help."

That light just would not change. I kept trying not to look at him. I never give panhandlers money, never. I have given them food, but not money. The more I tried not to look at him, the more I looked at him. I knew that OCD was setting in. There is no possible way I could have driven off without giving him something and not obsessing for weeks afterward. I had all this time to give him something, but it was not until the light changed to green that I motioned over to him to come to my window, and I gave him a dollar bill. Whew! Payoff! I felt so relieved! Obsession loop broken!

It's Starting

2008-06-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Okay. It's finally starting to hit me. The store is closing.
It was upsetting to see one of my gondolas walk out the door today. But then, wait, it didn't fit in their Suburban, so they brought it back! LOL

Today I sold four bookshelves, two gondola endcaps and 18 chalkboards to two women (sisters) who are opening a homeschool bookstore in Kingwood. They are going to come back July 15th to buy stock from me. Now I just need to contact some teacher supply stores to see if they need anything.

They shut down my website to the public today and are putting it up for sale.

I can't believe it's really happening, all our blood, sweat and tears. Oh, well, it will all work out.

Illness

2008-06-21T14:21:00.000-07:00

Why do wonderful people get so sick? I called one of my high school teachers yesterday to get some job-seeking advice. He has Parkinson's. The phone call started out with his wife telling me he was not doing too well. She has always been honest with me about his disease out of his hearing. She put him on the phone. I could tell a huge difference in his voice since the last time I had called. At first, he did not seem to know exactly who I was. I could hear his wife in the background prodding him along. Then it just kind of clicked. He obviously knew who I was, but everytime he tried to address me by name, he apparently went blank. He never did say my name. He said that he had been unwell for four days, but would be better by tomorrow. His intellect was firmly intact, though. He was concerned about the store and in agreement with me that Rosetta Stone Level 3 was too easy for me. He said that he had complete faith in me that I could get my Spanish back quickly. He said, "It's in your brain. You just need to get it out." Hmmmmmm. Sounds like Parkinson's or Alzheimers to me. When I asked him questions, he kept saying, "Let me think. Let me think." Finally, he said he would think things over and call me back. Have not heard from him and do not expect to. I am going to try to see him in August. He could not believe that the girls had grown so much.

Then today I was directed to a very sad blog, a mom of several children who is dying of cancer and is on hospice. She was going to try one more round of chemo, but has finally decided to stop and rest. This blog is a heads up and very inspiring but very depressing. Her husband writes for her when she is too weak. Here is her link if you want it: http://www.punkrockmommy.org/blog/

So, see, the store closing is nothing to be depressed about. A lot of the customers are sad and in shock. One guy told me today he wished we could keep it open, but five minutes later was going on and on about how his wife purchased a lot of her materials on Amazon this year. I have requested that the website be taken down, but so far it is still working.

Going out for drinks with R tonight. We have a lot to talk about. She and I are both job hunting. LOL Tomorrow taking the girls to see Get Smart.

Dr. put me on thyroid medicine. Is supposed to help. Bloodwork in six weeks. K17 has bloodwork in two weeks for the same thing. We are both on Armour.

Thursday's Thoughts

2008-06-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

This week I have been working in the kiosk. I left my laptop there since the weekend because:
1) It is cooler in the kiosk.
2) I feel a need to be around the customers and employees more for the next month.
3) There are people I do not want to slip out without me telling them a final goodbye.

There is a magetic sculpture display to my right on the counter. It is driving me crazy because the word "solar" is misspelled in "solar system" on the box. One of my customers turned the box around today so that I would not have to dwell on it. Ha ha!

Mr. Klein has still not contacted us since I wrote him the letter on Saturday, which has us a bit concerned.

Here is our plan for the moment.
My friend L wants to purchase the following from us:

A counter
A computer with all the trimmings, display pole, scanner, etc.
A carousel
A pencil display
A Christian poster and miscellaneous turning rack with merchandise
All our Christian book stock
Our Girl Scout inventory and displays
Our Alpha Omega stock
Office supplies and mailers. Think I will keep the mailers.
Hooks and miscellaneous items.

My friend K wants to purchase at least four bookshelves

A customer wants to purchase some display racks for conferences.

My friend R wants to purchase a computer.

My friend M is going to come take pictures of fixtures next week to put on Ebay and Craigslist.

A woman on Teaching Mom who lives in San Antonio wants to purchase my Bob Jones stock.

June 24th we will have our anual Customer Appreciation Day Sale at 15% off.
We will continue to sell at 15% off through June.
Starting July 1st we will increase the discount.
On or around July 15th (on a Sunday/Monday) employees will come in and help sort consigment and conatact consignees. They will have two weeks to pick up items.
July 31st, the store will close and only sell fixtures.

There are some things we are just going to have to "throw" away:
All of our inside signs.
Our outdoor signs.
Our vehicle magnetic signs.
Catalogs of every kind
General junk from warehouse
Papers, pamphlets, flyers, business cards, etc.

My grandmother may be moving the same weekend, so we will be extremely busy.

We are going to put the Love 2 Learn refrigerator in our garage so that I can go get a Costco card.

My Girl Scout rep was shocked today when I told her the news, as are many customers. She said she thought our store was doing so well. I said, "No, I told you the Girl Scout section was doing well."

Starting on thyroid meds today, so, hopefully, I will have more energy to put into the closing.

Still haven't put together my resume. Am dreading that. I stayed awake the other night for two hours trying to remember the name of one of the court reporters I used to work for. Finally remembered! Today I could not remember one of the schools I worked for one year in the third ward. Had to go online to jog my memory. Man, it's hell being old!

K14 is singing onstage at church all week for VBS and having a wonderful time!
K17 is driving around town like there is no tomorrow. She applied at Target today. Please pray that she gets the job!

Love 2 Learn

2008-06-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard yet, we are closing the store July 31st. There is a lot to do. I found myself doing something today that I thought I would NEVER do: I referred 40 families to one of my major competitors, one which probably helped put me out of business. But you know what? I felt okay about it. They will be getting what they want and I will no longer have to compete with RR, so what's the difference?

I have thoughts go around and around in my mind, like what am I going to do with the telephoine system? What do I have to do to get my website turned off properly so that I don't have to continue paying fees? Where am I going to store nine years' worth of files? What am I going to do with my sign -- have a bonfire? But it will all work out in the end. I want to go out of town to relax one weekend when it is all over with. Hint to my friend J who has great perks with her job.

K17 hit two major milestones last week -- she got her driver's license and she bought a car! Right now she and K14 are at a lake party. It is so nice not having to drive them everywhere (see post below).

You know what one of my pet peeves is? Texting someone with a question and getting no reply for hours, especially when you both have been texting each other for 30 minutes. I have been waiting for an answer to my question for over 4 hours. That is too long for someone to have been in a movie.

So now comes the fun part: looking for a job. I have found some interesting positions available, but most of them are in Houston. The gas money will really hurt. Maybe I should invest in a motorcycle???? Probably not. I would not want to arrive at work windblown and with bugs in my teeth.

Tomorrow we are going to Mom and Dad's for Father's Day. Brian is cooking bbq ribs. Maybe we'll play some games.

Hope you all have a pleasant weekend.

Cardboard Testimonies

2008-06-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

When you watch this video, be sure to have your volume on. It is awesome!!!!

Yesterday

2008-06-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

I went to bed last night around 6:00. I was so exhausted from driving all day. Here was where I went:
Left home at 7:30 in the morning to drive K17 to Magnolia for 8:00 to 10:00 class. Stopped at Sonic for drinks on the way. Sat in teacher's driveway for an hour, doing nothing. 9:00 a.m. - drive down the road to library and did searches on the computer. 9:55 - back in car, drive to pick K17 up from class. 10:15 leave teacher's house and drive home to pick up K14. Thankfully, she was ready!

10:20 - drove to Sonic (I think) then to store. Picked up the girls' three friends from the store around 10:40. Drove into Houston (about a 25 minute drive) to drop five teenagers off at a church for Bible study. Noticed I'm almost out of gas (Hmmm. I put $25 worth in it the day before). Forgot my lunch. Stopped at Taco Bell for a tostada with sour cream (minus the salmonella-causing tomatoes). Stopped at HEB for $25 gas. Card wouldn't work because it is bent, so took longer. Went to work to check on website and eat my tostada. It is now almost noon.

12:30 - leave work to go back into Houston to church to pick up the five teenage girls. It starts pouring rain so badly that people are pulling over to the side of the freeway because it is difficult to see. This puts me behind schedule because K14 is supposed to be at babysitting by 1:00.

1:00 - arrive at church. The girls are in a wild mood, loud, snapping flash pictures which is bouncing off the inside of the windows. Luckily, the rain has stopped. Drop K14 off at her babysitting job - she is 20 minutes late. :o(

1:35 - arrive at our store to drop one girlfriend off. Her mother works for us. Her dad will pick her up there.

I now have K17 and two others in van. Drive to CVS to run an errand, then get them to our church by 2:00 for VBS meeting.

Drive back to store, but can't work because there are several things going on around the store that need to be taken care of.

2:40 - leave to go pick up K17 at church. Her meeting is still going on. It is after 3:00 and I have to be in Houston by 3:30 to meet R at DPS to get K17's driver's license. Leave church at 3:10 and go to orthodontist's office to drop off late payment (first payment - I am not starting out too well.) Get to DPS in Houston around 3:40.

Leave and am on my way to pick up K14 from babysitting job.
Drive to our store to check on computer that had the virus and take care of a few things.
4:20 - K14 and I go to Kleins (not in car, thank goodness) to pick up some personal items.
Drive to Sonic and then home.

That was my day. I am SO glad K17 got her license yesterday and is getting her car today!!!!

The New AT & T

2008-05-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

Open Trunk

2008-05-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

OCD has been playing tricks again with my mind. This week there was a car in front of me at a stoplight. The trunk had come open. My first thought was, "Good thing there's not a dead body in there!" And for the rest of the week I have been obsessing about there being a dead body in the trunk and I didn't do anything about it."

Cashier

2008-05-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was in the checkout at Kleins and while the cashier was waiting for my credit card to run, she took off her shoe and showed me her toes. "Look," she said. "I have one toe that crosses over the other and it is rubbing against that toe, and it's sore." Ewwww. I don't like looking at people's toes, especially when they have been stuck, sweating in a shoe all day. She said, "I bought one of those Dr. Scholl toe separators, but I don't know where the damned thing went." I was just thinking, "Lady, for goodness sake! Put your shoe back on! I don't want to look at your toes!"

Dd14 is dying her hair today, either brown or red; she hasn't decided yet.

The store has been extremely slow this week, probably because people are waiting to come to the used book sale on Tuesday. That's usually the way it goes.

Boy with Toy Car

2008-05-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday there was a kindergarten-aged boy named Nicholas in the store. He found a NOISY car in the play area and pushed it all over the store, making a horrible screeching noise. The mom said nothing about it. After about 20 minutes, I went up to him and told him to put the car back into the play area. He said, "No." His mom didn't say a thing to him. Then D went over to him and told him that he needed to give it to her because she could not hear on the phone. He wouldn't give it to D, and the mom did nothing. Finally, D just grabbed it from him and put it in the kiosk! Ha ha! Why didn't I think of that? All four of us that were here cheered when he left.

Latest bizarre requests: shoestrings and Super Glue

Only thirty more minutes and I get to go home! We are having chili dogs for dinner.

K14 went camping last night and did not go to sleep at all. K17 has been at graduation today and will be at a graduation celebration tonight.

Have a good weekend!

Fainting Goats

2008-04-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen the fainting goats?

What's With Manicures?

2008-04-26T11:12:00.001-07:00

What is it with getting your nails done? Five to six years ago none of my friends had manicures on a regular basis. Nail salons have popped up everywhere, even inside of Walmarts. My friend, R, is the one who started me on acrylics (mine are my real nails). She said that I needed to something special for myself once in awhile. I have pedicures very rarely, maybe twice a year. They really help the calluses and help me walk better, I think. Wish I could have those done instead of the fingernails. Now, even young girls are accustomed to routinely having their nails "done." I paid for my girls to have it done one time around Christmas a few years ago. Now if they want to have it done, they will have to pay for it. I think it's a frivolous expense, but I keep hearing my friend in my head saying, "Do something special for yourself once in awhile."

Been busy this week

2008-04-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

The store has been pretty busy this week!! Woohoo! Am hoping this is a sign of things to come! K17 and K14 performed at the Relay for Life for cancer survivors Friday night. They had the most God-awful singer performing the national anthem. The kids were standing behind her backstage and their faces were hilarious. I never knew there was a second verse. She said it was written after 9-11. Afterwards, we went to eat at Hartz's Chicken Buffet. The food can only be described in one word - GROSS. Everyone did admit to liking the mashed potatoes, though. Yesterday, the girls performed again at an adult day care center. As always, they did an excellent job! Mom and Dad came to the store today (so did my friend R) to discuss getting K17 some transportation within the next few months! Another great blessing! Although, once she gets the wheels, we may never see her again!

Right-Handed Customers

2008-04-19T13:51:00.001-07:00

It has always been said that the majority of us are right-handed. When we went to Disney World, I was advised to walk to the right when entering the gates, because most right-handers will automatically walk to the left. This is true in our store, as well. The majority of the customers who enter walk towards the left of the store, thereby missing our fabulous literature section and clearance table. Too bad that I can't herd them through a maze like HEB does.

Karate Baby

2008-04-17T16:27:00.000-07:00

This baby is hysterical!

Back to "Reverse Skate"

2008-04-17T16:10:00.000-07:00

I go to L's store at least three times a week, and usually Burt is there, and they are working on their book. It makes me remember why I started this blog in the first place - to introduce you to the novel I was writing entitled "Reverse Skate." I was told by an author not to put it on this blog, however, because it would then be considered "published."

I haven't worked on the book for over a year and a half. After being at L's, I think the writing bug may have hit me again. I just don't know how to get started. There is so much that needs to be expounded upon; it's overwhelming. This is embarrassing, but I don't even remember all of the characters' names. So I guess I need to reread it for the nth time; it will all be new to me! LOL

The girls have gone to a Where's Waldo event at the mall, so R and I are going out to dinner. I can't decide between Italian or Mexican. Italian is a drive into Houston but so worth it. Mexican is just around the corner and offers jumbo margaritas.

2008-04-16T09:32:00.001-07:00

A few days ago, my daughter told me that there was a bug on my head. Now I scratch my head and check my hair for lice every 30 minutes or so. SHEESH!

Have I made you itch yet?

Eavesdropping

2008-04-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

There is a customer who is waiting for her child to get out of class. She plopped herself in the classroom attached to my office and is making personal, very personal phone calls. Wonder if she knows I'm listening. Don't think so because she keeps saying, "Please don't tell... please don't tell.." Hmmmm. Well, it is entertaining while I am waiting for the fax to redial for the fifth time. So far I know the date of her next appointment to the nail salon, her problems with AT&T, all about getting ready for prom, the inside gossip in her Girl Scout troop (she does not like one of the moms). I can't help but overhear because I am at my desk "working."

Was hanging out at L's store today with her and Burt. Burt is an ex-FBI investigator. He and L are writing a book, which I cannot wait to read! Anyway, this young man came in and said that his friend (a female) was divorced with children and was in a new relationship, and he wanted to get her a book to help her spiritually because she was having some issues with dating/remarrying again. When he left, Burt said, "That young man is the other man, the one she's having a new relationship with." I said, "How do you know that?" He said, "I just know." And I believe him. From all of his time on the force, he probably senses those things.

R and I are going out to dinner tonight with some friends. The girls are going to hang out at church while we're gone and eat dollar dinners.

Dancing Again

2008-04-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

Goodbye, Adam! I am SO glad to see you go! Sorry, but your dancing was the pits and I didn't find you funny at all!

Blah Tuesday

2008-04-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

I am at the library waiting for K17 to get out of her first Compass class. I have felt really rotten the past few days, no energy at all, dizziness, just plain blah. I was supposed to go out with friends last night to Olive Garden but cancelled. There's nothing there I can eat anyway. Wednesday night we are going out with friends to a mexican restaurant. I am going to HAVE to slip off of my diet for that one! There is no way I'm going to be able to sit and watch others eat chips and salsa!

Well, last night on Dancing, I think Adam did the worst. What was with the unicycle? Marissa needs to be the next to go.

k.d. lang - Hallelujah

2008-04-08T04:37:00.000-07:00

OMG! Is that k.d. lang below in a dress? Yes, it is. I've seen her perform barefoot before but NEVER in a dress! Listen to her rendition of Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah." Pure magic. No one can sing like k.d. lang. She got a standing ovation. She could not look at the audience; she was so humbled. I am going to have to go pull out my old Tony Bennett and k.d. lang CD. I am asking for her new CD Watershed for Mother's Day. People are really getting on to her about her weight, comparing her to the later years bloated Elvis. She is a vegetarian. Does kind of make you wonderhow she could be overweight in this video.

Edited to say: Saw a recent interview with k.d. today and she has slimmed down to her normal size!

2008-04-08T04:36:00.001-07:00

National Anthem

2008-04-08T04:31:00.000-07:00

It was the opening weekend of football season, 1979. We were visiting team. The home team's band did not show up. It was their job as home team to play the National Anthem. Since we weren't home team for another two weeks, our band director hadn't taught us the Star Spangled Banner yet. Those of us who had it memorized from previous seasons were few and far between. Without any warning, the announcer came over the loud speaker and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please rise while the Scarborough High School marching band plays the national anthem. The band director was in shock. Guess what we played? Disco Inferno from Saturday Night Fever.

I am soooo peeved at our new CPA!

2008-04-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

he was no help at all when we went in to "protest" our tax return. turns out, he didn't do our taxes at all; he had an asst do them. we thought we were hiring him; we didn't even know he had an asst. it's his name on the sign. and if we wouldn't have said anything, he wouldn't have said anything, and we would have paid the $2,000, which we would have had to borrow. He said he will file an extension and that we need to hire someone with an accounting degree to figure out what's wrong with our Profit and Loss statement. Duh - doesn't he have an accounting degree? it says on his sign that he also provides accounting services. in the past, our cpa (who retired) would just get our information off of our QuickBooks CD. We gave this guy the CD this year, but he kept requesting us to print things out for him that were on the CD. Also, dh wasn't impressed because the CPA never offered a handshake when we entered or left. Dh finally extended his hand. on the plus side, he said we don't have to pay his fee until he actually files.

Color-Coded Chopping Boards for OCD Chefs

2008-04-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

This is a very smart concept for cutting boards. The plastic base resembles a folder file that contains four cutting boards of different colors each one representing a specific food group. The green board is to be used for vegetables, the blue one for fish, the red for meat and the white for cooked food. In a manner of speaking, four boards into one. Pretty clever.

Thought This Was Cute From Crib Chick

2008-04-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Connubial Conversations: Tormenting the OCD Sufferer

Crib Chick (after considering the possibility for a long time, while looking at her toothbrush, and finally deciding to just ask the question): "You don't ever...accidentally use my toothbrush...do you?"

Mr. Crib Chick (rinsing and spitting): "Nope!" (Crib Chick sighs a little with relief) "Every time I use it...it's on purpose."

Mouse

2008-04-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

You know it's 2008 when you Google search the image of a mouse (animal) and the only results are computer mouses.

We had a mouse in the classroom this week, living in the piano and pooping on the tables. I wanted to do a humane trap, but I was outvoted by everyone else. R set two traps, one on each side of the piano, and was caught during the night.

Tonight is our out to eat night. Probably going to Panera for chicken caesar salads or to Paul's Pizza. I love Paul's Pizza's spinach and mushroom salad. Their whole wheat pepperoni pizza and spinach crust pizza are my favorite.

Mr. Klein is out of ground turkey this week, so I guess I'm going to either have to use ground beef or go to Walmart for just that. Last night we had ground beef in the chili - the first time I can ever remember eating ground beef at home since we've been married.

Dancing

2008-04-02T14:27:00.001-07:00

Hasta la vista, Gutt! I like your movies, but you are no dancer!

In Like a Lion

2008-04-02T08:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday for an April Fool's Day joke, I texted my friend, L, and told her I was pregnant! Boy, I really had her going there for about 15 minutes, her commenting how happy she was for us, that she hoped she would be chosen as a special aunt for the baby! Then I sprang it on her. It was hysterical. When I saw her sister yesterday, she said, "Congratulations!" I think she was just kidding.

What were some of the April Fool's Day jokes that you endured? My favorites were that Target is purchasing the "What White People Like" webpage and that J.K. Rowling has been given the okay by the estate of C.S. Lewis to write two new Narnia books. OHKim, you really got me with that one, and the employees of the store and my kids, too! They were all standing around the computer as I read it to them with their jaws dropped open. It was SO funny!

Well, last Wednesday, we went to see Mr. Klein to respectfully ask to be released from our five-year lease. Instead, he said that he wants us to stay, so -- get this -- he dropped the rent $3,000 for four months!!!!! I don't know if it will help matters any, but at least it will give us some time to catch up on bills and save us the hassle of moving again.

Have to go get dd17 a passport this week because she is going on a mission trip to Honduras in June. She will be out of the country on her 18th birthday!!!!

We should be getting our tax refund soon. Yippee!!! First things first -- we need to get the carpet shampooed!!! I would like to sock most of it back into the business, but R has some home improvement projects that need to be funded, especially the cut down of a tree in our back yard that is in a very bad spot (near the pool and a fence).

I would like to welcome Ice Mama to my blog. I hope she stops by often! I lost all my favorites in the computer crash, so I don't read many blogs right now.

Well, I have to go finish sending out 700 e-mails. Yahoo is acting up, so it is taking me twice as long.

~c'ya~

OCD POSTMAN

2008-03-29T09:23:00.001-07:00

This video is not funny; it is just plain sad. Just think how this man's OCD interferes with his work day. He probably doesn't get back to the post offic until way after dark.

IS THIS OCD?

2008-03-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this video!

Joking about OCD

2008-03-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

I found this blog article at http://www.incertus.imntb.com/2005/06/08/not-a-joke/. You don't need wo click on the link. I was just posting it to give the blogger credit. Here is the article:

There really is nothing funny about OCD. Though, if you have OCD you do have to admit that some of our behaviors are, well, odd. And I guess I have come to a place where I can laugh at myself, some of the times. And usually only in retrospect. Hard to laugh in the midst of hell.
I know a lot of folks with OCD get pretty upset when people make all those casual jokes about OCD. And rightly so. There is nothing funny about destroyed lives, all that lost potential that is wasted away on repetitive closed loop fear. Though I do laugh sometimes when watching Monk and I remember I almost literally fell out of my chair laughing when Jack Nicholson got the Oscar for As good as It Gets and he put his hand in a plastic bag to take the statue. Still cracks me up. But not everyone in the OCD world thought that was funny.
I don’t know what it is but it is still acceptable in our culture to make jokes about mental illness to a degree that you do not see with other illnesses. And I think behind a lot of those jokes is your basic fear response. Something frightens you or makes you uneasy, you joke and it lightens that load. And joking about that kind of thing is pretty much human nature but society as a whole needs to learn about mental illness. Needs to learn a whole lot. We didn’t choose this you know.
The one thing I see a lot more of then jokes is the trivializing of OCD. Do a web search for weblogs referencing OCD and you will find thousands of entries were people talk about being OCD about a particular thing. And all they are talking about is being a little obsessive about this that or the other thing. Nothing even remotely close to OCD. That bugs me a bit. It just makes it an overused and incorrectly used word. Like depression. Most people say they are depressed when they mean they are sad. Try a real depression sometime. Sadness in nothing by comparison.
I don’t know where I am going with this, so I will stop now with this. There is nothing funny about mental illness but if you are lucky you can be mentally ill and still laugh at yourself.
It’s OK to do that you know.

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Pros and Cons

2008-03-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

All right. We have two buildings to choose from at this point. I am going to list the pluses and minuses of each.

106 Commerce - 2500 square feet. - pluses, 200 square feet larger than the other building we are looking at, has its own bathroom, has about 8 parking spaces that we would share with about 3 other stores. Minuses - is on a back street with nooooo traffic, has several different rooms (makes it easier for shoplifters), no room for expansion

210 West Main - 2300 square feet - pluses - is on a major street (more traffic). -- interrupted to say that we have been taking a poll the past month on how people found out about us, and the majority say they were drive bys -- both walls are inside walls (translation-less electric bill), room for expansion if people next door move out. Minuses - people would have to park on the street or in parking lot in the back., would have to share a bathroom with the store next door.

Round Hole Square Peg

2008-03-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

Question of the week: How do you make 9,000 square feet of inventory fit into a space of 2,500 square feet? Answer? You drastically mark down everything in the resale section that belongs to the store. You put everything you possibly can on the wall. You turn all books on bookshelves to the side. You cut the size of your kiosk in half, get rid of the classrooms and work table. You put all your extra fixtures on E-bay or Craigslist and pray you don't have any left over to have to rent a storage space.You consolidate workbooks down to 2/3 of current racks and make the play area smaller. This is my challenge over the next month. Wish me luck.

There is a wasp in here, and out of the 12,000 square feet in this building he chooses to hang around me. Maybe he likes the smell of my 3 Muskateers that I am not supposed to be eating.

K17 is on her way to draw the name for the free Easter bunny. As soon as she is done, I am closing up shop. It is way too hot in here, but why turn on the air for no customers?

Some of the meals we had this week were: chicken spaghetti, turkey roast, turkey sausage, pasta salad with canadian bacon and turkey pepperoni. Tonight we are having turkey turkey chili dogs (yes, that's turkey turkey chili) with sweet potato fries. Thursday night we went to Paul's Pizza for the first time in a looong time. Cost us $42. Can't do that every week. Next Thursday I think I will crockpot because the finale of Celebrity Apprentice will be on and I want to see Trace kick Piers' butt. Go Marilu! You are one classy lady!

David Larible

2008-03-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a current photo of David Larible. Looks like he may have lost a bit of weight. He will be doing a one-man show in Spain this year. I would LOVE to go! I had the privilege of meeting him and having my pic taken with him years ago. I also have a David Larible doll somewhere in a closet. He is FANTASTIC! David speaks five languages and plays about a dozen musical instruments. He and his family travel together for 11 months out of the year and spend December at their home in Italy. I looked him up on youtube, but was not impressed with the performances that were recorded. I did enjoy seeing him living it up on his birthday, though.

I TOTALLY disagree with the statement below. David made the Kaleidoscape experience for us.

He may have been good for a single-season-novelty. Beyond that, Larible hogged too much ring time and overstayed his welcome by too many seasons. I avoided one edition of Ringling because of him. I couldn't take it anymore. I have always argued that Larible's presence, by then old hat to most circus goers, did not help Barnum's Kaleidoscape; to the contrary, had Larible not been there, Feld might have been forced to engage more acts.

Here's a different report on Kaleidoscape:

Kaleidoscape wastes no time in introducing its star (Larible). He makes an appearance sans makeup before the show even starts; then, in a clever opening number, the entire cast helps Larible get into costume and in character. It's like seeing one of the great mysteries of the circus revealed before your eyes.
There is no ringmaster in Kaleidoscape. Instead Larible and his foil, the classic European whitefaced clown Pipo, act as introduction and interlude for the show's wide range of acts. Larible is perhaps at his best when interacting with the crowd, constantly pulling audience members into the show to take part in his world. Larible is an excellent improviser, and whether the shanghaied volunteer is willing or disagreeable, the result is almost always hilarious.

A quote from an interview with David Larible regarding Osama Bin Laden:

Interviewer: So we need to figure out how to get Osama bin Laden to the circus?

David: I hope so. Bring him over here. And I'll take him for the knife routine. [laughing] And I'm gonna throw real knives at him.

PLEASE come back to Texas, David! I miss you!

OCD Cartoon Time Again!

2008-03-22T10:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who can't read the second cartoon (I can't), the caption reads, "She's going to six different psychiatrists for her compulsive comparison shopping problem."

What the heck? A man and his two children keep walking past the door to our store. The youngest one even tried to open the door. But they don't come in! My open signs are up, my lights are on! I just don't know how a parent can bypass a children's bookstore and game store! Even resale children's books!

A VERY prominent doctor in our town just dropped in. Guess what she wanted? A bell, like you ring in a bell choir. The congregation of her church is going to ring bells in church on Easter.

Well, you might want to ask how the diet is going. I have lost about eight pounds so far, only about 50 to go! The hardest things for me to give up are cherry cokes and Easter candy that one of my employees insists on putting on the counter in basketfuls. Nestle Crunches, 3 Muskateers (my favorite), small chocolate caramel, crunch and butterfinger eggs (the caramel are my favorite of the eggs.)

Send good thoughts our way. We are looking for another location (translation: cheaper) for our store. This will be our fifth move. - UGH! We (the employees and I) have a bit of a disagreement on locations. Ultimately, it is mine and R's decision, right? We are going to go look at places Monday afternoon. We still don't have permission from Mr. Klein to get out of our lease, but I don't see what he can say. It's either stay and not pay rent or leave at this point..

Hey, guess what? As I have been typing this, the man and his two kids finally came in the door! And they are buying a few things! (Sorry I misjudged.)

Today is the drawing for our giant Easter Bunny. I will be sad to see him go and so will the kiddos that come in here and pet him over and over and over again. Trying to think what our gimmick will be for next month. It's tax month, which is usually our slowest month of the year.

I'm glad that blogger now has an auto-save, because I typed all of this up and my computer decided to shut itself down for some reason.

If you are on the Teaching Mom Special Mom's Board, could you check in at the board? That board is all but dead. I'm going to go put a post on there today and try to drum up some conversation.

Well, I hope everyone has a happy Easter!

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures...And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable."(Apostle Paul - 1 Corinthians 15:3,4,17-19 NKJV)

One Day to Go

2008-03-02T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well, tomorrow we start the South Beach Diet again. I am dreading Phase 1. It lasts for two weeks. Here is my menu for the week:

Monday - baked chicken breasts
Tuesday - salmon
Wednesday - turkey roast white meat minus the gravy
Thursday - eat out - chicken caesar salads with no croutons
Friday - ham
Saturday - pork chops
Sunday - turkey dogs no bun

for breakfasts we will eat eggs and turkey bacon
for lunches - leftovers, tomatoes and cottage cheese, red pepper dipped in hummus, lunchmeat/cheese wrapped in lettuce
for snacks - almonds, peanuts, homemade meatballs, string cheese, homemade beef jerky

dd17 is doing it with us. so all i need to do now if figure out lunches for dd14. the grocery bill today was enormous, but I bought some $5 DVDs, too.

I bought Jerry McGuire, Look Who's Talking and a Knight's Tale.

Tomorrow I have to weigh, and I am NOT looking forward to that at all! Wish me luck!

Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake. ~Author Unknown

In the Middle Ages, they had guillotines, stretch racks, whips and cahins. Nowadays, we have a much more effective torture device called the bathroom scale. ~Stephen Phillips

Reality check: you can never, ever, use weight loss to solve problems that are not related to your weight. At your goal weight or not, you still have to live with yourself and deal with your problems. You will still have the same husband, the same job, the same kids, and the same life. Losing weight is not a cure for life. ~Phillip C. McGraw, The Ultimate Weight Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom, 2003

my website

2008-02-25T21:10:00.000-08:00

My website has been down for two days due to miscommunication. ugh. i broke up with my best friend tonight. oh, well, it was a long time coming.. the girls are doing well in their writing class. k17 is writing a paper on condoleezza rice; dd 14 is doing a paper on the mormons. r and i are starting the south beach diet come monday. wish us well. i am now officially off of risperdal. yippee. today was my last day with my ocd therapist. she asked me how i will know if i need to see someone again. i said if i was suicidal. she said i shouldn't wait until then. so far the only ocd behaviors i have are avoiding cracks and horizontal shadows, checking my phone every 5 minutes and listening to my voice mails every couple of hours. right now i am watching elton john on larry king. he is talking about his "husband" david. he said he does not consider it a marriage, just a sense of security and commitment. while i do not agree with it, i do have a couple of gay friends and i would not trade them for the world. i think that life is too short to judge people. god is our judge. i would like prayer for a 14 yr old girl ebelin's family. she died of esphixiation. her younger brother found her dead.

I have a memory of when i was aboug 5 years old. a whole bunch of kids came into our back yard and swung on our laundry lines. my parents did not believe me that it happened, but i remember it as clear as yesterday. i also remember roller skating in our garage to beatles and beach boy music, you know, the skates with a key? around and around the garage i would skate. i thought i was so cool.

one day a friend and i went to our elementary school down the street and climbed a small tree that led to the roof of the school. we ran around on the roof of the school. boy, woud my dad have tanned me alive if he knew that i d been ruuning around on the roof.

when we moved to a new house, i rode my bike to a "haunted house" that i was told was used by drug dealers. i went inside, but was afraid of snakes, so i left.

those were the days when we could leave the house or hours; our parents did not know where we were. i was a good kid, so i pretty much stayed out of trouble.

i did some stuff that my parents would not be proud of, but i was pretty much a good kid, got deent grades, and stayed out of the principal's office. my kids are great kids. they do their school work no questions asked. they have high moral values. i trust that my kids will make good choices in their lives. they want to be successful. they work hard, even when they are tired. i do't think that my kids would ever turn to drugs/alchohol. they have lots of good friends and work hard for good grades. k17 is working hard at her job and seems to enjoy working. she is saving lots of money for a car someday. she is anexexcellent emplyoyee, i am sure. you can't say that about a lot of kids.

Home Questionnaire - pass it on

2008-02-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

When you walk in your front door, which room do you enter?foyer, then dining room
Do you have a dishwasher?Yes.
Is your living room carpeted or does it have hardwood floors?carpeted
Do you keep your kitchen knives on the counter or in a drawer?Larger knives on counter, smaller ones in drawer.
House, apartment, duplex or trailer?House
How many bedrooms is it?Five, but three of them are extremely small. One is the guest room, another a school storage room.
Gas stove or electric?Electric stove.
Do you have a yard?yep, the lot’s about ½ acre.
What size TV is in the living room?Large screen tv that came with the house.
Are your plates in the same cupboard as your cups?no
Is there a coffee maker sitting on your kitchen counter?No, we don’t drink coffee around here. Pull it out for guests.
What room is your computer in?in my bedroom.
Are there pictures hanging in your living room?One photograph of hubby and I dancing our first dance on our wedding day.
Are there any themes found in your home?No, just color schemes.
What kind of laundry detergent do you use?Tide with bleach. Hubby is allergic to many others. Once we found out he’s not allergic to this, we stuck with it.
Do you use dryer sheets?Very seldom.
Do you have any curtains in your home?No curtains, only blinds. We use quilts for window coverings in our bedroom. Just never gotten around to it.
What color is your fridge?White.
Is your house clean?It’s either clean and cluttered or uncluttered and dirty.
What room is the most neglected?Our bedroom.
Are the dishes in your sink/dishwasher clean or dirty?Clean for the moment.
How long have you lived in your home?Four years this month. Hardly seems possible.
Where did you live before?In a double wide on ¾ acre of land, about six miles from here.
Do you have one of those fluffy toilet lid covers on your toilet?nope
Do you have a scale anywhere in your house?One scale in our bathroom I try to ignore.
How many mirrors are in your house?five
Look up. What do you see?a white ceiling with a hole where an air vent should go
Do you have a garage?yes, no cars in it. Full of yard stuff, bicycles, hubby’s tools, cans of paint.

I have been down on my back this week. It makes me feel lazy. The dr. thinks it is a pinched nerve. Trying to get some MRI's scheduled for next week. R and I are meeting with a couple once a week for Bible study. There is a lot of homework.

I only have two more times to see my OCD therapist, and then she is moving to the other side of Houston. She says I've come a long way. I can still call and do phone sessions with her, but the insurance will not pay for it.

Please continue to pray for our business, and that I will get motivated to work on the website some more. I am so burnt out. It seems that everytime I get caught up I have to go back and change what I just did. This job seems almost impossible for one person to do. School is being neglected.

Please pray for my friend R. She has been in the hospital for a week now with no mention of her coming home anytime soon.

Thanks for listening, guys.

~b~

It's Wednesday Here

2008-01-30T08:55:00.000-08:00

The one thing I love about winter - NO COCKROACHES!

Last night I was TRYING to have a special evening with K17, snuggled on the couch, watching 24, but solicitors kept calling! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Note to Intuit: I don't like calling your tech support and getting someone in India. First, I can't understand the people's accent. I spent about one-third of the four hours I was on the phone with you people saying, "I don't understand you." Second, I don't care about the weather in India or what time it is there - I just want someone to fix my Quick Books Point of Sale so that I can go back to work!

"Do you have a sledgehammer or a brick handy ?" — Top thing you don't want to hear from Tech Support.

Super Busy Saturday

2008-01-26T14:17:00.000-08:00

Today has been a super busy day at the store. We've already done over 1,000 dollars. Makes up for yesterday which was horrible. We have had two customers come from the Austin area and one customer call from the Dallas area who is planning to come soon to put her books on consignment.

Things I could have sold today: record books, Brownie sashes, Alpha Omega Science 9th grade set, a lesson plan book with a manly cover.

Things I undersold today: a pocket chart that rang up over 20 dollars but was priced at 9.90. :o(

Things I wish I had sold today: a Saxon Dive Advanced Math DIVE CD, everything on the 50% off table.

The bad news from last week: My computer was full of viruses and had to be restored. Was blessed in the fact that I only lost my homeschool folder, which can be redone quite easily, about 3 hours worth of work.

The good news from last week: R got a promotion! Woohoo! Way to go, R!

Well, we are ready for the big PUSH to save the store. We got a new open sign that says O-P-E-N, OPEN, OPEN, OPEN, OPEN. Looks great. Ran off 50 brochures at $1.38 each, credit applications, homeschooling flyers, and flyers for a workshop on Teaching Strategies that Work. Paid for a sign at a local high school softball field. Looking into getting pencils made with our name on them to pass out to schools. The Hershey's chocolate offered to our customers has been a real hit this week. We have received 13 internet orders this month, up from 4 last month! If you have any more suggestions on how we can save the store, please let me know. I feel like Kathleen Kelly in You've Got Mail.

I absolutely cannot stand the new format on the Well-Trained Mind boards; I am totally lost. Eek! I think that's the same format as my forums! I hope that Leigh Ann continues with the format she uses now.

Menu plans: tonight - meatballs, cream of mushroom and rice; sunday - i have no idea; monday - meatloaf

We don't have much in the way of a business strategy. Like no business plan. Which I say to torment all my friends who are VCs or MBAs. That's always entertaining. The deal is, it's a mixture of luck and persistence.Craig Newmark

Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.Tony Blair

Mr. Bob

2008-01-16T08:36:00.000-08:00

Mr. Bob was a wonderful man. Above is a picture of him and "Mimi." They had been together for six years. Mr. Bob had a great sense of humor, loved to eat good food, and took such good care of Mimi over the years. He fit so well into our family; we will miss him terribly.

Simply Saturday

2008-01-12T08:48:00.000-08:00

Woohoo! Gas was down to $2.86 yesterday!

We had workshops scheduled for the morning. Only two people showed up, that after having sent out 600 e-mails and SETHSA having advertised!

For those of you who want to join my forums, they are up and running! Just go to www.love2learnstore.com and click on Discussion Forums. I would appreciate it if you would visit there once or twice even if you don't plan to stay. That will help them get started. There are already about 10 posts there.

The man we affectionately call "Mr. Bob" is in critical condition in the hospital after having what is suspected to be a major stroke. He is my 91 year old grandmother's boyfriend. They are going to take him off of life support today. We are all heartbroken. I will try to post a picture of him sometime soon.

My double spacing has not been working, so I apologize if this blog is difficult to read.

Nicknames

2008-01-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

Missing some of my customers today made me realize that some of our customers now have nicknames. First, there is Mrs. Doubtfire, who bears a strange resemblance to Robin Williams in a dress. Then there is Mr. B, the first initial of his last name which I can never pronounce or remember. Then there is the Spoon Lady, so named because when her children were younger, she used to chase them around the store swatting them with a wooden spoon (which did no good). And then we also have the Lady-who's daughter the sink fell on-lady. We have several "We can do nothing right, who's going to talk to her on the phone this time" ladies.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

Don't everyone rush over to our website and try to start talking on the forums. They're not functioning properly. We are going to start with four forums - Chit Chat, PreK-6th, 7th-12, and Special Needs. More forums will be added if need be.

Tonight after work we're going to go buy our temporary stamps so that tomorrow we can go LETTERBOXING!!! It will be so much fun to spend quality time with the family. We may even head up to Montgomery to find one (if I can talk R into it.)

I am trying to send out 600 emails about a workshop we are having next weekend, and Yahoo thinks I am spamming. I can only send out about 80 an hour.

School starts back up on Monday. I am anxious to see how K17 will do with work and school. I still need to get her history lessons typed up. Before you know it, it will be March and time to test them again. I'm already planning next year:

K17 - Algebra 2 or Consumer Math (Switched on Schoolhouse), Worldviews 1 (David Quine curriculum), Biology (hopefully, Apologia), Government (Land of Fair Play)/Economics (Whatever Happened to Penny Candy), Health (Alpha Omega)

K14 - Algebra 1 (Switched on Schoolhouse), Worldviews 1 (David Quine curriculum), Biology (hopefully, Apologia), Study of the Constitution (Story of the Constitution), French or Spanish

I also want to teach both girls to cook and about the election process, as K17 will be voting in the general election next year. Yikes! K17 helped make stew the other night and K14 made chicken and dumplings. I'm afraid we did not mix the batter well enough and the dumplings came out bitter. Oh, well, that's how you learn to cook!

Well, I've been here two hours and just found out my closed sign was up. Duh! Time for more caffeine!

Oprah Winfrey: Cheers to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right.

Anonymous: A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one Year and out the other.

Letterboxing

2008-01-03T15:46:00.000-08:00

Me and the family have taken up a new hobby - "letterboxing." We found two boxes on Sunday but didn't have stamps. Going to Hobby Lobby tonight to buy temporary stamps until we can design our own. For more information on letterboxing, go to www.letterboxing.org.

K17 and I finished Season 5 of 24; now on to Season 6.

K14 got another babysitting job, this time with an actual baby. She doesn't know how to change a diaper so we are going to practice with an American Girl doll and a dishcloth.

Christmas Loot

2007-12-27T14:41:00.000-08:00

What I got for Christmas:

a statue called "Mother and Child"
a DVD player
a pair of heart earrings
a manicure
a Sugarland CD
a DVD of French Kiss, Never Been Kissed, and One Fine Day
a Sonic card for $20
a pizza pan
a cookie sheet
a PURPLE coat
a Kohl's card

I raked it in, didn't I?

Cold Turkey

2007-12-22T10:56:00.000-08:00

I did a stupid thing. I thought I had one more refill on all three of my medications, but I don't. Numerous calls to the doctor for an appointment last week but to no avail. Called the pharmacy, which faxed a request, but the doctor (or most likely his witch of an assistant) -- forgive me -- denied the request. So that means I have to withdraw cold turkey. Anyone who has gone through withdrawal knows it is not fun. And just in time for Christmas, too!

I was going to close the store today at 1:00 o'clock due to lack of customers, but now there is a lady in here buying tons of toys and games for her grandchildren! Good thing I stayed here! If I leave early, I am going to Burlington Coat Factory to look for a coat.

Ha ha! A couple just came in looking for carbon paper! I didn't even know they made that stuff anymore! Guess I'll stick around here a while longer to see if any more customers show up.

Merry Christmas!

10 More Days Until Christmas

2007-12-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

I always loved pictures of Jesus laughing. I imagine him laughing with the children or at a good joke. Or maybe he had prayed for rain and it started pouring down.

Thursday night the family went to a barn dance. I had hurt my back so I couldn't dance, but R danced with each of the girls. They danced with their friends and (GASP) boys! There is nothing weirder than seeing your teenage daughters dance with boys. They both had a lot of fun but K14 found waiting for a boy to ask her to dance pure torture.

Our pool pump went out and R is at home fixing it. It is slow here today at the store; I guess everyone is out Christmas shopping. I still have several gifts to get. Our tree isn't even up yet. Next week will probably do limited school and shop and wrap.

I feel like there are ghosts here today at the store. The doors keep opening by themselves (with the wind's help) and I keep hearing noises all over the place.

Thoughts about the store

2007-12-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

A long-time customer walked into the store today and said, "Wow! Look at all that God has blessed you with!" My gut instinct was to say, "Yeah, and look at all he is about to take away!"

You know, I don't really believe that God gave us all of this to "take it away." I believe that we all have seasons of our lives, and the season for us to own this business may be about to pass. That doesn't mean that our next season will not be rich with blessings. The business has TRULY been a blessing to our family. It has allowed my kids to see their grandparents at least once a week. It has brought our family closer together, although there are times it keeps us apart and distracted. It has allowed me to be with our wonderful daughters daily and homeschool them to boot! It has allowed me to meet some of the neatest people in the world and to call many of them my true friends. It has taught the girls how to work hard, how to treat people nicely, even when we don't feel like being nice. A good work ethic is very important. It has introduced me to some awesome curriculums for my daughters, some that actually do the job. It has paid for my daughters' outside classes. It has given me the privilege of employing some of the best employees by far. It has taught me how to multi-task, given me a stiff upper lip (although I could use a little more backbone). It has allowed me to express my creativity, my interests, upgrade my people skills, my research skills, my computer skills. So, you see, it was not for nothing. Whether the store lives or dies, I have come out of it a better person. I am not a failure. I am a survivor, and I will survive the next season of my life, as well.

Many of you have asked how you can pray for us. Pray that the website will take off if it is meant to be, pray that we will be open to hear what is truly God's direction in our lives. Worse case scenario is that I will have to go back to work full-time. If it is meant to be, we will work through it. God brought me into this business kicking and screaming. Pray that I don't leave it the same way, that I will be at peace with his decision.

I have not cried yet because I know that there is hope, that we have not tried everything we can do. If it gets down to that, I probably will. But like they say in The Sound of Music, "When God closes a door, he always opens a window."

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us."

"I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well."

More OCD Funnies

2007-12-08T10:12:00.000-08:00

The Golden Compass

2007-12-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

All the hype about the movie has made me a bit curious. I kind of want to go see it now. But there are so many others I want to see - National Treasure, August Rush, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Great Debaters - that I may just wait for the video.

Last night was spent watching the end of the Monk marathon, watching Santa Claus is Coming to Town, new holiday episodes of Monk and Psych.

Tonight R and I are going to the Christmas party for our Bible study class. We're taking a chocolate chip cheeseball and buffalo wings. I don't know what the girls are going to do. K17 is at work right now; K14 is at a service project for the Salvation Army.

The store has been super slow today, despite our sale. My friend R is going to stop by the store, so that should liven things up.

Y'all have a blessed day!

Some Christmas Funnies

2007-12-06T16:16:00.000-08:00

Christmas is Coming!

2007-12-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

I thought this was a cute Christmas picture. We have not done much school this week. K14 is not feeling well, and we are ready for the holidays. I may go to the mall tomorrow night with a friend. Would love to go see a good movie. I hear August Rush is a good one.

Please pray for my sister-in-law, C (R's sister). She just called to tell us that she has been diagnosed with lymphoma. Chemotherapy is kind of risky because she only has one kidney.

It is already dark outside, the store is decorated for Christmas, and I just want to curl up with a good book and read. I need to be working on the website more (maybe on my days off during the holidays.)

Things I would like for Christmas (hint, hint): earrings, cookie sheets, Sonic cards, a food sealer, a DVD player for the living room, a Best Buy card, free rent.

The store has been sloooooooow today. We all had Chinese food today. It was delish.

Happy December!

2007-12-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

I've never seen an upside down Christmas tree IRL, but I would think it would be difficult to water if it is real.

If I hear Hillary Clinton say "Extraordinary" one more time, I'm gonna barf.

It's 10:45, and so far I've had one customer requesting Daisy petals, which we can't sell and one whistling man who talks outloud to himself. The icicle lights around the kiosk keep going out, so they just look stupid. I have reports to do and over 600 emails to send out. It's going to be one of those days.

Yesterday the girls and I went to Garden Ridge and purchased presents for their teachers. All of their Christmas items were on sale. We also got a special gift for a family member who shall remain nameless. We left Garden Ridge and dropped K17 off at the movies (her 3rd time to see Enchanted). K14 and I proceeded to Barnes and Noble for some book shopping. She got a Pop Star magazine. We then proceeded to the mall to meet R. We had mainly gone to buy R's family some gifts, but K14 found a sweater and cami on sale at Aripostle. We then went to the food court for a bite to eat. Picked up K17 from the movies and that was our Friday night in a nutshell.

Am currently reading a Harry Bosch novel called Angel Flight. I need to get started on that homework!!!!!

We are starting a major advertising campaign RIGHT NOW! We will run a newspaper ad once a month. We are purchasing a sign at the local high school and possibly at the Little League field. My friend D is going to start going to the Chamber of Commerce luncheons to network. Also, she is going to visit some preschools and nursing homes, offering them a chance to set up an account with us. We're going to try to be more active in the community next year, including having a float in the Holiday Parade.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. -- Luke 2:11

Marie Osmond

2007-11-29T16:37:00.001-08:00

I LOVE these pictures of Marie! Did you see her "dance" on Monday night? It was HORRIBLE! It wasn't even a dance. I think she just gave up at the end. The whole thing was just stupid. And I could not stand her quote, "I'm a dollmaker!" UGH! Pathetic. She deserved that score. Go Bruno!

Square Envelopes

2007-11-29T16:04:00.001-08:00

Did you know that the Post Office charges you more to mail a square envelope than it does to mail a rectangle one? Here is a portion of an article about it.

The square has four equal sides and four right angles. It is a regular shape. To the U.S. Postal Service, however, the square is "unusual." Its sorting machines, built for oblongs, can't find the address on a square envelope. People have to do it. That's why the post office imposes the square surcharge.
The square surcharge has been around since machine sorting began in 1979, yet even those who knew about it rarely knew how many stamps to put on a square letter. Postal clerks often didn't know, either, so square letters mostly got delivered anyway.
Then last May, the post office launched a new "shape-based" initiative. Mailing a one-ounce oblong costs 41 cents. A one-ounce square costs 58 cents, including a 17-cent surcharge for squareness. At a Manhattan post office not long ago, a window clerk named Thomas Merritt took one look at a square envelope and said, "Nonmachinable. I would not use that shape, period."

Guess in that case it's not hip to be square.
It is so weird letting your 17 yr old daughter go into a bank and make a deposit by herself. My fledgling is about to leave the nest, I suppose. In the past month she has also gone to the movies without a parent and to a restaurant without a parent. It makes me feel SO OLD!

I went to my new counselor, and I like her A LOT! The problem is: she gives homework and LOTS of it! This week I have to listen to another sermon by C.S. Spurgeon, who is good but I think very dry; read the entire book of Ephesians; read a small book (which I accidentally left on her desk -- awwwww); read a pamphlet, write down answers on a page about prayer, take notes on the sermon at my church this Sunday. OUCH!

I was thrilled to see the Target R2D2 coming onto the screen and saying, "Merry Christmas!" Good for Target FINALLY!

Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; Teach us to be patient and always to be kind.Helen Steiner Rice

~'night all~

Cold, Rainy Saturday

2007-11-24T09:39:00.000-08:00

It is a cold and rainy Saturday. I don't expect many customers -may close at noon.

Had breakfast at Denny's this a.m. with Kim and Shannon. Shannon is an online buddy I have never met IRL. She was very sweet, and they both came to the store to do some shopping! I do have one older couple right now shopping for preschool items.

KSBJ is playing Christmas music this morning, and it is upsetting me. I may need to switch the station. If it is only November and I am feeling like this, I don't even want to know what December will be like.

K17 went and saw Enchanted last night. She is going to take K14 and a friend to see it today.

I read a 350 page book in less than 24 hours. It was nice to do that. I hardly ever read anymore. I had forgotten how much I missed getting into a good story.

I am going to try to go back to church tomorrow. Hopefully, I will. Tomorrow, the Texans play so I will be watching and writing lesson plans for the week. Maybe do some grocery shopping, too. I wish the holidays would last another week.

Dusti went with us to Mom and Dad's. She did very well except for during the meal. She sat on the floor next to my mom and whined the entire time, wanting food, of course. She doesn't do that at our house because she knows we won't give her any. But my mom is a sucker for a cute face and has passed her food in the past from the table. This year Mom made Dusti wait until after the meal and put the scraps in her food bowl.

The pig and the chicken were on their way to breakfast, trying to decide what to have. When chicken said, ''Let's have ham and eggs.'' The pig then replied, ''That's fine for you, it's a small donation on your part, but it's a total sacrifice for me.''”

A SMILE FROM GOD!

2007-11-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

K14 was telling me the other day, "Mom, we need to get a chimney sweep out here so we can start a fire in the fireplace." It barely gets below 40 degrees here, so fires are few and far between.

Growing up, we had a fireplace. Every year for Christmas I would buy my dad the exact same thing - a box of fireplace matches and a package of color crystals that you throw into the fire, causing the flame to turn beautiful colors. I remember us trying to pop popcorn in the fireplace popcorn popper. It was tiring to hold that thing and shake it over the fire. Once Dad had some wood sitting on the hearth, and it was full of carpenter ants. I remember that when he threw the logs into the fire, that the ants made a hissing sound. I remember feeling sorry for the ants because they were experiencing a painful death.

On Christmas Eve, dad would open the fireplace curtain and move the grate sideways so that it looked disturbed. Then he would take his shoes and put them in the ashes and walk them across the floor, making it appear that Santa had been there.

I LOVE fires in the fireplace, but I am afraid of leaving the embers unattended when we go to bed.

~Happy Thanksgiving!~

A crooked log makes a straight fire.

Holiday Parade

2007-11-17T14:36:00.000-08:00

Today was our annual holiday parade. The theme was Happy 100 years to our town. K17 and K14 clogged on float #112. They looked really sharp out there!

Last night they went to a social, giving R and I some time alone. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Tonight they have a Thanksgiving feast at one of the churches, giving R and I time alone. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. They will be at my mom and dad's from Tuesday to Thanksgiving, giving -- you got it -- R and I time alone!

Tomorrow the Texans are playing, so that is couch time for me! The girls don't have any writing homework to do this weekend, but I think they have science work to do, I'm not sure.

I took K17 out of Vocabulary from the Classical Roots - it just wasn't doing the job -- and switched to a visual clue version of Wordsmart. It is the second book in a series, but got it in my resale section so I couldn't be picky.

The girls are at home making cornbread for tonight's feast. I have R working at the cash register deleting files, and I have played on my laptop all day. We got an order from Alabama yesterday. We have had a steady stream of customers today -- I didn't open until noon because of the parade -- mostly Girl Scout purchases.Dang! A man just picked up an expensive item that we NEVER sell and then decided to put it back!

Well, it's about time to close. Y'all have a nice weekend!

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise; be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good..." Psalm 100:4, 5a

Strike Outs Below

2007-11-14T14:07:00.000-08:00

Just a note about the post below. I was trying to be clever and strike out the word "doorstops" and it struck out the entire post. I went back to try to fix it and managed to save all but the top paragraph.

Overheard in the store today...

2007-11-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

You'll be glad to know that Mr. Klein is already selling doorstops ~~fruitcakes in his store. BLECH! R and I bought an apple pie and a cherry pie last night for Bible study. YUM! Problem is that hardly anyone showed up, so we had to bring half a pie of each home.~~

The following was overheard in the store yesterday:
Customer to employee: How do you know how much this costs?
Employee: There is a price tag.
Customer(turning the book over): Oh, okay.

A big Homer Simpson "DOH"!

Some of you know that on Wednesday, I clean toilets, 18 to be exact (including urinals). I do this as part of a homeschool co-op. It's not an exciting job, but it keeps me away from people and all the chitchat. Anyway, you can learn a lot while cleaning toilets. For instance, did you know that the toilets in the girls' restroom are yuckier than those in the boys' restroom? Also, what is the point of tearing up paper towels into miniscule pieces and throwing them on the floor RIGHT NEXT TO THE TRASHCAN? I know why. So that I will be challenged picking them up wearing living gloves. Did you know that someone makes floormats especially to put in front of urinals? Today I learned that the automatic flushing toilets actually have a red button to push to manually flush them. Guess what I have been doing for the past six weeks? Waving my arms madly like a maniac, doing everything but the Hokey Pokey to get them to flush. What an idiot.

Just between you and me, I think that Marie Osmond is going to win Dancing with the Stars simply out of popularity. She should not have made it this far. I would be curious to see the actual results of the votes to see if she is usually close to number one. If she wins I think the show is done for. I mean, why watch when you know it's just a popularity contest?

"I've learned.... That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes."
-- Andy Rooney

OCD Joke

2007-11-10T14:03:00.001-08:00

I stole this joke from another blog.

A Stanford Medical research group advertised for participants in astudy of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
They were looking for therapy clients who had been diagnosed with thisdisorder.
The response was gratifying; they got 3,879 responses one hour afterthe ad came out.
All from the same person.

Tee hee.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2007-11-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

My dad had a birthday yesterday! We are going to baby brother's house tonight to celebrate! It will be so nice to have the whole family together.

K17 got a job at Chick-Fil-A (good for her!), so that will be another place I will be driving to during the week.

I am very happy to report that my friend, Kim, had an excellent report from her oncologist this week! And she looks GREAT!

I know my last post sounded kind of depressing. This werek I feel like a new woman. I have started going to a Christian counselor (trial period) and she answered a lot of my questions. I am working on taking better care of my body, my mind, and spending more time with the family. I am even going to go to church tomorrow for the first time since December. I know that I will have setbacks (and I pray that my family will forgive me for that), but I am really going to try to make a go of it from now on. So now I am going to two counselors, but that should not be a problem because they are working on different issues. My OCD therapist will be moving away in February so I won't get to see her anymore anyway. And best of all -- this new counselor is free!

It is boring at the store today. R is on his way to bring me some lunch after he drops off K17 at a friends house. She's going to go see Dan In Real Life. K14 is hanging out at home with her BFF.

Only one order this month so far on the internet. Several people were shopping yesterday but didn't check out. Someone is shopping right now from PA - she has a whopping $3.90 in her shopping cart! The webmaster has assured us that even though this is considered to be our slow season, Google is continuing to increase the amount of people it sends here.

Went out for margaritas with E last night. Was so nice to get out, eat chips and pico de gallo, drink and talk for 2 1/2 hours.

Well, take care all. I don't have the creativity today to leave you with a quote.

LIFE

2007-10-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

Everywhere I go I see these strange creatures. They walk, they talk, they laugh, they smile, they enjoy life. Oh, wait! Those are people! I used to be one of those. :o(

Menu and such

2007-10-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

Listening to K14 play the piano while i plan the menu for the week.
Monday - stuffed baked potatoes
Tuesday - chicken salad and fruit on our way out the door to Bible Study
Wednesday - dirty rice (JUST R AND ME)
Thursday - out to eat night
Friday - R and I are attending a Barbque for a prospective art school for K17 in Houston. The girls will be a party that night.
Saturday - grilled salmon
Sunday - homemade wheat pizza

Dumbledore

2007-10-20T11:45:00.000-07:00

With all the talk about Dumbledore being gay, I'm beginning to wonder what is the big deal? I mean, gay people exist; my kids know they exist. Jesus loves them just as much as he loves you and me. As long as it wasn't referenced in the books, I don't see much to worry about. Guess I'm getting to be more liberal than I thought. Now, the fan fiction, that could be a problem. But who of us reading this blog allow our children to read fan fiction anyway? J.K. Rowling is just trying to draw attention back to her books so those who haven't will go out and buy the books and look for the nuances in them. More money for her, which is her right, I suppose.

I got the go ahead from the web people to upload all 11,000 items to the website as soon as I am ready, pictures, descriptions, or not. This will probably entail about three weeks of work for me, I am guessing.

Tonight R and I are going to dinner at the Vietnamese restaurant with some friends. K17 is going to youth group; K14 is staying home to rest from the party she held last night.

Last Day of September

2007-09-29T13:09:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM IF SHE'S WATCHING!

TODAY, ON THE LAST DAY OF SEPTEMBER, WE MADE ANOTHER INTERNET SALE, AND WE HAD ALL THREE ITEMS IN STOCK!!! A $48 SALE IS NOT A LOT TO BRAG ABOUT, BUT IT IS A SALE! AND IT WAS FROM A REPEAT CUSTOMER, WHICH MEANS SHE MUST HAVE LIKED OUR SERVICE ON HER LAST ORDER! WE HAVE NOW HAD ORDERS FROM TEXAS, CALIFORNIA, PENNSYLVANIA, OKLAHOMA, KANSAS, AND NORTH CAROLINA. I HAVE PUT A MAP ON THE WALL, AND WE ARE STICKING PUSH PINS IN THE STATES AS WE RECEIVE ORDERS.

Had a bad panic attack on Tuesday (I happened to be driving at the time) and ended up going to my friend K's house. (Thanks, K!) It came on so suddenly, but if I look back, I remember it building up. Wish I could remember those feelngs for a warning for next time.

K17 and K14 went to what is equivalent to a homeschool student council meeting last night and did some planning for the group's activities. Tonight K17 will be meeting some friends at ITs, a popular local arcade, while K14 is going to youth group at a different church. Richard is riding into Huntsville with a friend to hear a preacher who is on TV. I guess I'll cancel dinner for tonight. I was going to make sloppy joes, but no one but me, myself, and I will be home to eat them. Guess it will be a nice, quiet evening at home with me and my doggie, who, by the way, is smidgeons away from being housebroken (FINALLY!). She will be 2 years old on October 18th!

Tomorrow I plan to clean some of the house and go get my nails done. My nails look like they are right out of a horror film!

Well, I will sign off for now as I listen to the steady hum of customers browsing (and I do mean browsing - not buying) in the store. One customer was in for 1 1/2 hours and only bought two posters and an eraser. Oh, well, every penny counts!

~bye~

Volleyball Game

2007-09-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

K17's team did great today! I felt so sorry for the other team. First, they didn't have many parents there, I suspect because they were from so far away. BUT the parents that were there did not clap or cheer for their team. I felt so bad for them.
K14 is having her first guitar lesson tonight with my brother. Got her a beginner book, but she will need some thin guitar picks, he says.
Got the girls a Pride and Prejudice (motion picture version) piano book. I'm glad because I'm sort of getting tired of Phantom of the Opera songs.
Below is my menu for the month:
Monday – roast, meatloaf, quiche, lasagna
Roast and meatloaf served with potatoes and veggie; quiche and lasagna served with salad

Tuesday – chef salad, taco salad, grilled chicken salad, tuna/chicken salad
Tuna/chicken salad served with canned fruit and crackers

Wednesday – Chicken teryaki, turkey roast, roasted chicken, chicken stir fry
Served with rice and corn

Friday – potato soup, taco soup, chicken noodle soup, chili
Served with crackers, muffins, or cornbread

Saturday – catfish, salmon, fish sticks, salmon patties
Served with pasta and peas

Saturday – sloppy joes, hamburgers, hot dogs, baked potatos
First three served with French fries

Sunday – spaghetti, pork chops, tacos, homemade pizza
Chop and tacos with potatoes or rice. Spaghetti and pizza served with salad.

Shopping Carts

2007-09-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that there are about twenty-five or thirty people who have visited our website, put items in their shopping carts, and then never checked out. I added them up and came up with $1515.47. I sure could use that money right now. Glad people don't keep their items in baskets all over my store

Today is a sad day. I have one friend who is not speaking to me, one who is barely speaking to me, and one whom I've lost completely. I thank God for the remaining friends that I do have. Y'all are WONDERFUL!

Thoughts on OCD

2007-09-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I think back in my life, remembering people I've known and wondering if maybe they had a touch of OCD, not that anyone can have "a touch" of it. I remember one friend in college who some would call strange for many things she did. One thing she did drove me nuts. She would stay up until 3 or 4 a.m. doing laundry. How can one person have that much laundry? I remember that she would wash each individual pair of panties by hand, using Spray and Wash and dishwashing liquid. Then she would wring each one out by hand, like she was going to hang them up or something; and then she would put them in the washing machine and run them in there with more detergent. The whole process lasted at least an hour.

I saw a man in our parking lot a while back that I thought for sure must have had OCD. He pulled his car up, got out in front of the grocery store, got a large sponge out of his trunk and began to scrub his entire car, wheels and all, top to bottom. When he was done, he put the sponge away and went into the grocery store.

I had to laugh, but, actually, OCD is not that very funny. Some people are confined to their homes because of it. Considering that I have what has been termed a "severe" case of it, I am very blessed that I am as high-functioning as I am. I am able to hide a lot of my rituals, and, plus, most of my OCD goes on in my head, which is why it is so difficult to treat. Rituals are easier to treat because they are concrete.

Lots of Girl Scouts coming in the store today for uniforms. I have had one return so far in thirty minutes. It was something I wasn't supposed to take back (a workbook), but, hey, she caught me on a good day. One customer is bummed because we are out of EZ Graders. One lady came in and dumped off a whole bunch of math books she didn't want anymore.

Well, I have LOTS of work to do. Please pray that we get some more internet orders and that we are able to fill them.

Today's quote is from the Cosby Show:

Cliff takes women's underwear out among Theo's laundry)
Cliff: All of this isn't Theo's.
Rudy: That's definitely not Theo's!
Cliff: Is this yours?
Rudy: That's not mine! I'm not that mature yet.

Long Time No See

2007-09-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

Haven't talked to you guys in awhile. It has been crazy here. Got 659 more items ready to go up on the website.

So what else is going on in my life? We had a very large order come in last weekend from California. Unfortunately, we kind of messed up on our end and the guy had to send some of it back. We ended up overnighting him the correct books, which was more money out of our pockets. Oh, well, live and learn.

K14 accidentally died her hair pink; well, not the whole head, only blotches and the roots. If you ever need to get dye out, go to Walgreen's and buy Color Oops!! It worked wonders.

My friend L read my book in one night. Amazing! She said it kept her interest, so that was a good comment.

We are up at the store. It is almost five and the girls still have schoolwork to do. Going to Old Navy and Kohl's after work. Then home for dinner-salmon patties. Tomorrow night is baked potatoes and Sunday is roast. I will post next month's menu soon.

K17 is doing great in volleyball, but her toe isn't. She has to have the toenail removed in a couple of weeks.

Life is humming along as usual at the K house. I enjoy reading your blogs. I notice some of you are like me and don't get the chance to write much.

"Is it real?" No, the freckles and blond eyebrows also were apart of the hair dye kit.