Random Thoughts and Musings

Have you been touched by cancer? Those of you that have read my blog for more than a couple of months are well aware of my most recent encounter with the big “C.” Baby S, thankfully, is in remission and doing well. She is a SURVIVOR. Some of you have read my blog long enough to have heard of my stepmother and aunt who passed away within a year of each other - both having lost their lives to cancer.

My stepmother had been battling breast cancer (both breasts) for a few years, and had tried both homeopathic and traditional medical cancer treatments. When she died, she was undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, and was trying to get her appointment at the H. Lee Moffet Center moved up a few months.

My Aunt - my stepmother’s sister - was devastated when her sister died. She had been having a pain in her shoulder for a couple of months, but put aside her own pain to help care for my stepmother. We were devastated to learn that she had a golfball-size mass in her shoulder, and that her diagnosis was immediately set at terminal, with less than a year to live.

Cancer has touched my life in a more personal, but far less drastic, manner as well.

If you are interested in helping raise money for the American Cancer Society, I ask you to please consider supporting my friend, Miss Riss, in her efforts. She has a donation page, and has set an (initial) goal of raising $200. I would like to see her meet AND exceed this goal!

I am not all talk here - I submitted a small amount in memory of my Stepmother and my Aunt, which started her donation counter at 18%. If I manage to earn more money prior to the close of her Relay for Life page, I will submit an equal amount in honor of Baby S and other survivors I know.

That is my pledge … will you (pretty please with sugar on top) make one too?

xoxo

I have a friend who is asking for a little input, here: http://freeonlinesurveys.com/rendersurvey.asp?sid=0fmout034l9tpuq585642

Can you please give yours? Thanks muchly!

xoxoxox

I was able to have an all-too-brief conversation with two of my soldier-friends overseas. One of our oldest conversations is one where they JOINTLY ask me to marry them. These two boys (ok, ok … men) are completely different. One is studying to become a minister. The other is the typical bad boy. I asked them how they thought they could share me, when I couldn’t be two people in two households for one … and when they were probably both expecting two very different things from a prospective wife.

They said they had discussed this (????) previously, and decided I was the perfect wife for them both, because: “You are tame enough to make a dangerous man feel like he has something good in his life, and naughty enough to make a guarded man feel like he is living dangerously.”

Thanks, boys! I was just discussing my not-so-naughty and not-so-innocent traits on Sunday. Were you reminding me that you know me better than most, or was this really a conversation out of the blue?

FYI: I said “no” collectively. Neither of them knows me well enough to know how boring I am normally, or how far, exactly, I have pushed limits when I am testing new and uncharted (by me) waters!

I will say this is the most interesting wedding proposal I have had to date … and the ONLY one which gives me the best of both worlds. Wait a minute … can we discuss this a little farther …

xoxo

Sometimes, I am startled by how easily you can make someone’s day.

For the last week and a half or so, I have been painting a house in Miramar, FL. To get there from where I live, it is nearly an hour’s drive. Part of that drive is over a 3 (4??) mile toll bridge. I am NOT a morning person. The hour drive allows me some time to make myself more human, so by the time i get to the toll booth, I can usually inflect happiness into my voice even if I cannot bring myself to smile (I do not bother faking smiles: my face reads like a book, and when it is fake, it LOOKS fake and ugly). I had been using this technique for each of my morning toll-booth trips (my afternoon trips, I smile easily - by then I am awake and even if i am not happy, I genuinely like to bring a little sunshine to their late-evenings), and by the fourth morning, the gentleman looked at me and told me to smile. The reaction (surprisingly) was automatic, and I smiled. I rarely do this upon demand: I do not like people looking at me, so my tendency is to turn away and ignore such demands.

The gentleman smiled back, said thank you, and handed me my receipt. The next morning, he thanked me … he said he’d needed a lift, and my voice was always so pleasant, he just really needed to see someone smile to make him remember that even when we are miserable, there is always a ray of sunshine somewhere. I looked behind him and pointed out that the sun was always brilliantly shining by this time of day, and he should really just look up at the sky and remember he lives in one of the most beautiful places in America.Then I asked why he chose me, because I knew I hadn’t been smiling.

“Your voice rings with beauty and love … no matter that your lips did not smile, I knew your heart was smiling!”

So, even when you are too tired to smile or meet someone’s eyes … even when you are too tired to life a hand to wave as people pass you by … be strong enough to put love in your heart and music in your voice, and the message of happiness will be conveyed all the same.

You never know how deeply this may connect with someone … it might just make their day!

xoxo

Today in service, our Pastor (who would be upset if he knew I called him “Pastor” instead of his first name) spoke to us about how so many people spend a significant amount of effort avoiding those who are sick and hurt. the same effort, if expended on HELPING those in need, would bring far greater rewards.

I am not, by any means, the most religious person … or the most likely to follow the “ideals” of most Church-going folk. Fact is, though, I love my Church. I enjoy my Pastor’s thoughts and discussions, and I try my best to incorporate the most basic message into my own life and lifestyle. Some of you know my naughtier side … some of you only know me as the silly Gyrl who flirts her way through the evenings. Trust me, my naughty side is not that naughty … but it is naughtier than some of you would be comfortable with knowing about!

Anyway … so it is weeks like this, when I know I do my best to help those in need already, that remind me I am a good person. I may not be the ‘best,’ but i am far from the ‘worst,’ and I am comfortable with the choices I make in my life.  I need these small reminders, because I know some really amazing folk who constantly make me sit back and think, “Crap. I am not sure I can ever be that awesome.” Some of them are incredible parents who make me wish Tween was their child so she could have the experiences they provide; others are incredible geniuses who constantly amaze me with their knowledge; still others are incredible “givers” who take care of people in ways I am nowhere near creative enough to think of … ALL of them are people I am proud to call friends and acquaintances, and I am always surprised when they express interest in me.

So today, I challenge YOU to do something for someone who cannot do it for themselves. Bring soup to the sick, food to the poor, or comfort to the dying. There is always a way … find yours.

xoxo

The girls had their team pictures today. For 25 bucks, I get a 5×7 team pic, a wallet photo of tween, and 18 trading “cards.” Cheese and rice … So much for sending pictures to my grandparents and her father and my two sets of parents. Unless they give us a picture we can scan (highly unlikely) & share via digital picture frame.

Tween was put in the outfield (center) today, and someone told her it is because she sucks. BFF, her hubby, and I all explained that the team they were about to play was HUGE and more experienced than her team, and the reason she was put out there was because the ball WOULD be flying that way and her coach wanted someone that could actually get the ball infield in one throw. She did not believe me, until the first batter for the other team came up and knocked the ball WAY past what any of the other girls have done in the other games.

After that, she stopped feeling bad about being in the outfield and felt good about having a good throwing arm.

Today, her coach asked her to be a part of the All-Star traveling team he wants to put together. I do not know if I can afford to pay for her to do this, nor do I know if her grandparents actually purchased her tickets to California already. I do know that I am proud of her for being offered this wonderful opportunity. I am going to call her grandparents this week, and find out how much it will cost to put her on this team. I am going to hope my parents are in a charitable mood and want to help get her the equipment she needs.

I have to say: I am pleased with Tween’s game so far. She has not ever played sports, but she is doing well so far this season. She’s not GREAT, but some of the fathers think she has natural talent. I am just happy she enjoys the game, and she keeps wanting to go back out for more.

WOOOT TWEEN!!!

xoxo

I have a lot of friends and acquaintences going through difficult times right now. I am awake and talking to two of them now, despite the fact that I intended to put myself to bed about three hours ago. (It isn’t their fault, I just enjoy conversation more than sleep!)

These two gentlemen (ok, I have been told ONE of them is a gentleman by his RL friends … the other I’m going off of what I have seen during our conversations and interractions) spawned a whole LOT of thoughts this evening night morning. I started thinking about what incredible friends I have, far and near. How wonderful the relationships I have had were, and how I am glad I am still friends with all of my exes. I may not LIKE my exhusband all the time, but I will always love him for who he was when we were together - and for helping me bring such an incredible child into this world. The rest of my exes could have walked away and not looked back, but even when I was not diligent about keeping in touch with them, they came looking for me. (Hmmm…do I have a pack of stalkers?)

I am grateful to have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life: past and present. I know I will continue to hold them near and dear. I hope, when the time is right, there will be one more incredible person with whom I can build a life .. til that time, I would like to thank my friends for being who they are to me. None of you can be replaced … ever.

For the two gentlemen I have been speaking with tonight … and for the many other friends who are faced with difficult personal and relationship decisions: this too shall pass. You are all on the path of bigger, better, more wonderful, more peaceful, more meaningful things. Keep the light on in your heart, and look forth with wonder.

xoxo

Every once in a while, you will see my status messages read, “Life is” …

It has driven a few of my friends crazy. They want me to have an answer. They want me to finish the sentence. They want me to make it INTo a sentence. They want me to be explicit.

I cannot. Why? Because.

How’s that for an answser?

Life is … it is an open-ended statement, yet a finalized statement, all in one. Life just IS. There are good, bad, pretty, ugly, easy, tough, wonderful, and terrible moments. Life is all of those things. If you are not experiencing them, you are (in my humble opinion, of course) missing out.

So, when you see my status message change … think about YOUR life and what it is at the moment. If you are not happy with it, make a change.

xoxo

So far, we have managed to do the cut-in on the house we’re working on in Miramar. The house is small compared to some of the houses we’ve worked on, but it IS four bedrooms. Large enough. It does not help that I did not work Monday and Tuesday. My boss/coworker M didn’t get to work a full day out there either day, since he had other things to attend to for the business. This is good news: it means I did not really lose out on any time that I **could** have been working. WOOT!

Today, another contractor came in to repair water damage to the ceiling. He handed me his card and told me if I am ever looking for work, to call him up. He often needs painters. I will definitely be giving him a call when M runs out of things for me to do. Hopefully, this will pan out into enough work to last me through the summer between the two contractors. In the fall, I am hoping construction will be picking up because of the new base that is opening up next year. If that is the case, I should be able to get a job with a construction company doing permitting and scheduling, which I loved doing before. That, or perhaps some of the GS jobs will open up on the base, and I can get in there. I do have the advantage of being a Veteran, so hopefully something will pan out for me.

Funny that I often think I do not like manual labor, but for some reason … I love painting.

I had a point to this story, but I have lost it. I guess I’ll post this for now, and come back to it later.

D’oh!

xoxo

Oh! Now I remember … I went to work on time today (I tend to start later than M, because I am SO NOT A MORNING PERSON), and knew I would be alone for the morning. I figured M would show up around lunchtime, and we’d go grab something together. I totally lost track of time because I was constantly up and down the ladder, doing the ceiling and floor cut-ins.

Suddenly, when I was up on the ladder trying to reach behind me for a closet ceiling cut-in, I almost fell over. I got dizzy, the floor looked like it was rushing me, and I SWEAR the ladder tilted sideways. I immediately got down, went to get a glass of water. Happened to look at the clock … it was 4 pm, and I hadn’t stopped to eat or drink anything all day. Oops!

You just cannot leave me alone to work. I am a danger to myself. I do NOT remember to eat unless someone else is eating, and then suddenly I am extremely hungry when I smell their food. Luckily, BFF’s hubby was making me Tha Chicken Curry (have I mentioned how much I love that man?) cuz I stayed home from work yesterday to watch their middle child while BFF went on the field trip & her hubby was working. So, I texted them that I would be there within the hour, and cleaned up my equipment. By the time I got to their house (a 45-minute drive from where I was working), the food was ready. Purrrrrrr…

I love, love, love when B makes curry for me!

Ok, that is all.

xoxox

Sunday I drove my nephew home to his father across the state. We had a great drive (as always) and he pestered me the whole way (as always) and I made him squeal like a girl by tickling him (as always). He’s so embarrassed when he squeals - he’s 14 and otherwise VERY MUCH a boy. But tickling …. MAN does that startle him. I think it has to do with the fact that his daddy & stepmom don’t really tickle him, so he doesn’t expect it … it is freakin hilarious. I’ll hate when his voice changes all the way (holy HELL does he have a deep voice now!), and I cannot induce those squeals of laughter!

Monday, i drove home. I woke up early and started driving. Then, the car … stopped. Out of the blue. It was a rainstorm, so i thought maybe I flooded out. Then, after trying to flag down people, I realized: it is the damn battery. Finally, the rain stopped long enough that I flagged down a gentleman who stayed with me after I used his phone to call roadside service. (I still hadn’t received my new phone yet, so I could make calls but the person I called couldn’t hear wheat I was saying … so it was pointless to try … plus, I didn’t get a signal where I was … of course. That phone really stunk, and I am SO GLAD I do not have to keep it. More on that later.)

Roadside service comes and goes to hook up the cables to jump the car and send me on my way … and discovers a shotgun shell casing. Hmmm … odd place for one of those, right? Then he looks deeper and sees a hole. He’s sure it has been there forever and has missed everything vital … but he’s gonna tow the car just in case.

So, I go to the shop with him, we contact the rental car company, who then sends a new car to me. All this commotion adds about 4 hours onto my travel time. What a day! They did buy me lunch tho - yummy! Chicken and shrimp alfredo with broccoli and tomatoes and fresh shredded parm on top. WOOT!

Funny, because we actually rented the car to AVOID any car trouble. If we wanted to deal with a breadkown, I would have just driven MY piece-of-crap-almost-broken-down-car! Aye carumba. **giggles**

So today … today, Tween was supposed to have a softball game. There are flash storms coming: not violent, just quick moving thrunder & rain. Not a big deal, if I only had to drive 10 minutes to get to the ball field. However, our field is 40 minutes from the house in the rain (30 without rain). Plus, my car is crappy - if someone goes by too fast and splashes water on my car, my engine floods out. PLUS water leaks thru the sunroof. It is a huge mess. Anyway … so, I try reaching the coach. I texted first, they said that is their preferred method of contact. They didn’t answer, so I called. The coach tells me there are clear skies, come on up. I explain that I am concerned because of all the storms breezing through. He says come on up.

Oohh-kay. I load up the kids I have in the car (I was watching two kids cuz BFF had a fieldtrip in a city 2 hours away with her Lil B [& Baby S in tow of course]), and then head out. The skies are now completely black as far as I can see all the way around us. There is thunder, and it is about to pour down rain. We start driving.

I get a mile up the road, there is an accident. It starts pouring down rain, so hard we can barely see the car right in front of us. I keep driving, but when we stop at the light, I text the coach again. No answer. I get to the stop sign, text again. Witness another accident. No answer. I keep going, I’ve gone less than 10 miles in 20 minutes. I get to the next light, text again: nothing. By now, there is lightning flashing across the sky, one strike after another. The rain is coming down so fast the road has about 4 inches of water sitting on it, and traffic is going 20mph in a 45mph zone.

I call Christy, who says we should head home because she cannot reach the coach either. I then text the coach one more time and tell him we’re not coming. I’m pissed because he hasn’t bothered answering ANY of my texts and I am obviously concerned. Between my texts, Tween has called Coach from her phone twice. No answer either time.

I get all the way back to the house, 20 minutes after my last text and 45 minutes after the first, and coach calls to ask if we’re coming up because the sky has cleared. I tell him we’re home and we wouldn’t make it by game time, if my car would make it over the flooded roads. he tells me that he told me earlier to come on up. I informed him I had contacted him FIVE TIMES betweent our first conversation and this one. His answer? “I told you to come on up, I figured you would come on up.”

Grrrr.

I just sent him the following email:
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Coach -

I know you were upset about our phone conversation earlier, so I want to explain myself. I did try to get up to the game. I got slammed in traffic, watched three people run off the road, could barely see in front of me, and was watching lightning flash across the sky. I know Florida storms can be fast moving, so if I had received an answer to any of the THREE text messages I sent while I was on my way up the road to the ball park, I would have likely tried to keep going.

Usually, C drives us to practice. She drives a honkin huge van. She has NO PROBLEM getting over flooded roads. I drive a 99 Jetta that is on its last leg, literally. Someone splashes too much water drivin by, and it floods out.

I hope you can understand my concerns and why I continued to try to contact you.

In our phone converesation you said there were clear skies, so come on out. When I left, it was storming. The whole 25 minutes I tried to drive, it was storming so bad traffic was crawling at 20 mph on a 45 mph road.

I hope you will not hold our conversation against Tween in future games/practices. I’m glad C was able to make it up with Lil B … I just do not have a vehicle that I trust driving in that kind of conditions. I do not forsee this being a future problem, because as I stated a few moments ago, C usually drives Tween too. Today was filled with extenuating circumstances, and we had to get there separately.

I apologize for my being upset during our phone converstaion, but I was trying to avoid that by texting you the three times previously. Had you called before I made it home, I probably would have continued to drive. As a single mom who has been unemployed since December, I have to watch my dollars … and driving in those conditions was not conducive to our safety or my budget (if i lose my car, I’m going to have a harder time finding a job than I am right now).

Again, I apologize. We’ll see you Thursday for practice.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Now, I know most parents probably would have gotten in the car and gone anyway. I was hotheaded and angry that the coach did not see the point in calling me back when I was STILL concerned about the weather. Maybe now he’ll learn that when I do contact him, it is freaking important. I have not once complained about anything. Not about the fact that most teams do not have practice once games start and we practice two days a week and have games three days a week. Not about our practices run til 8pm (most teams practice til 7pm), which puts Tween home past her bedtime since she has to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to get to the bus at 6 am. Nor do I complain that his practices are unorganized and are not working on any of the girls’ weak spots - I figure he’s the coach, let him do the coaching. What the hell do I know? But I will be DAMNED if the coach is going to ignore me when I am genuinely concerned for my safety and Tween’s safety. There was LIGHTNING in the sky. Cheese-n-rice. Is a simple text message too much to ask for??

I have done a few others, here (interviewed by Nancy), here (Interviewed by Ruprecht), and here (interviewed by my sweet Adelle, aka TopSurf to all you uninitiated). Now, one of my dearest friends has stepped up to the plate to interview me. You can read where he was interviewed by me, here: Is This Like 5th Degree.

Here goes nuttin, folk!

1. What job can you least imagine yourself doing?
Anything that requires me to be the center of attention/focus of an audience: model/actress/singer … although I COULD be a spokesperson for something I believe in, because that puts the object of my belief in focus, not me specifically.

2. What is your biggest life-goal/dream?
I always wanted to be a mother, to live happily. I have achieved those goals. Now, I would like to travel, I would like to do missionary work, and I would like to see parts of the world that others only dream about.

3. If you could switch places with someone for a day, who would it be?
This is difficult. There are so many great and wonderful people to choose from, and there are so many dreams to fulfill in this manner. I think, though, I would switch places with a coma patient. It would allow us to determine if they can see, hear, feel, and understand what is going on around them. I know we have suppositions, and tales that people tell us after they wake up … but we do not have actual knowledge. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to KNOW?

4. What piece of writing has most affected your life?
Many years ago, my grandparents moved from their long-time home in Small Town By The Water, FL to live in Maryland near my Uncle. My parents and siblings and I headed south once we returned from living in England. Our goal was to clean up my grandparents’ home and get it ready to be sold, so they could then move to New Mexico (where it would be easier to make their twice-a-year pilgrimage to Aguascalientes, Mexico to see their families). I stumbled across legal pads full of my grandfather’s writings. He had learned to speak English while working for a construction company in Small Town By The Water. The workers had taught them words as they went along in the job, and he learned even more by taking classes the company provided. The first few pads were full of stilted English, but they progressively became more clear and fluent. I read about his thoughts and feelings upon coming to the US, his anxiety about how they had to live (in a converted chicken coop) when they first arrived, and his love for his family (which he rarely displayed openly). I read about my grandfather, and learned more than I could have ever learned by him telling me verbally. It was amazing, and beautiful. Only a couple of hours into my reading, my stepfather discovered what I was doing threw me across the room onto the floor. He called me a nosy bitch and other rather rude things, then tossed the notebooks I had been obsessively absorbing. I later confessed to my grandfather, because I thought I had done something awful. He hugged me and told me he was glad I had read what I did, and he wished I had been able to read the rest of his notebooks. They were not diaries, he told me, they were the story of his love. He had written it for us to read when he was gone. I will never have those pads of writings back, but I have the memories of reading a few of my grandfather’s thoughts.

5. Which one place you’ve never been would you most like to visit? What about to live?
I have always dreamed of visiting New Zealand. I dreamed of it long ago, when I was a child, and that dream was renewed when I first began talking to my friend Ian via IRC, ICQ, & Yahoo IM. (He could better tell you where, and when, we started talking. He helped m navigate my way around the net the first few years I was online!) He and his wife were incredibly sweet, and I loved getting to know them. I planned on visiting two years ago (in 1997, I said in “10 years”), but that still has not been feasible. Hopefully, though, I will get there in the near future! If I could live anywhere, it would be on a huge plantation with all of my friends and family surrounding me … and with plenty of green land and streams and ponds and lakes to keep everyone happy and healthy. Yes, a completely fictional place … but then again, I always live in a dream world.

Do you want to be part of it? Follow these instructions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will answer the questions on your blog, and include the original post and your interviewer’s post.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

If you are a parent or mentor to a young girl (and, really, some young boys too - depends on if they are open-minded about having a girl be the main character in a story!), I think you will enjoy reading Pam Munoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising to/with her. My sister (a teacher who has focused on English as a second language classes) sent the book to me on the agreement that I would read it WITH my Tween. I one-upped this bargain, and read it to my Tween AND my grandparents (who were originally from Mexico) on the day before Thanksgiving a couple of years ago. All of us loved the book, and even though my voice lost some of its strength by the end of the night, we completed it in one day (we took a two-hour bread to watch my grandparents’ two nightly Telenovelas, and another two hours for meals and meal preparations).

Esperanza Ortega is a happily spoiled child who lives affluently in her little Mexican town. Tragedy strikes her family, and she and her mother flee. They come to a migrant camp, where Mrs. Ortega falls ill. Esperanza has to dig deep within herself to become stronger, and get past her childish and sometimes spoiled ways to help take care of her family.

The story does not focus on anything horribly depressive, nor does it smooth over too many rough edges. It is a beautiful, heartwarming blend of tough spirit and hard work. If you want a few hours to bond with the young lady in your life, pick up this book from your local library (or purchase it here) and sit down to read it together. I have read it with a few different girls, ages 7-15, and with my grandparents (who completely enjoyed the ties to their first homeland).

Fun fact: Esperanza Ortega is from Aguascalientes, Mexico … and so are my grandparents!

Go, read. Enjoy! And be sure to come back and tell me (or text/call/email/etc) what you think!

xoxo

Today, Tween (and BFF’s daughter Lil B, since they are on the same team) had their fourth softball game. They had a game last Saturday (lost) and two this week (won) and the fourth today (won). Despite the newbies on the team (Tween is one of them - she has not played a single sport her whole life), they are doing great! I think they learn something new and helpful each game, which is definitely a plus.

Before and after Tween & Lil B’s softball game were two T-ball games (both won!) for Lil C (BFF’s younger son). So, we had a full day out at the ballfield in a nearby city. We took a couple of chairs for BFF & I, the portacrib for Baby S (who had a BLAST playing outside all day), and our books. When the girls weren’t playing softball they were at the park with K (BFF’s 3-yr old), and when Lil C wasn’t playing T-ball, HE was at the park with K. J (BFF’s oldest) and his friend L also went with the kids, but since they are 14 yr old boys, they didn’t want to actually be in the park area, so they took their PSPs over to the trees and sat in the shade playing while keeping an eye on the lil ones for us.

Between plays, BFF & I got to read our books. Baby S enjoyed sitting in our laps, being read to out of our respective books, or playing with our hair or sunglasses. She also enjoyed sitting in her portacrib, playing with her toys.

We got hot dogs (because who can watch those little white balls fly without having a hot dog in hand?), sweet tea, and chips … Baby S had fingerfoods that mimiced our foods. We enjoyed the sunshine (I sat in the shade with Baby S), the atmosphere, and the beautiful, not-too-hot day.

THESE are the days that BFF & I have been looking forward to for years. Relaxing, mommy-ish, together days. If her hubby had been there, it would have been a perfect day all around.

Tomorrow, I drive J back to Jacksonville to meet his Dad. He’ll be back to us in the summer for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I get to enjoy the 4-6 hour trip with him. It gives us “our” time … he annoys me, I pester him, we argue over music, and enjoy the little bit of quiet time without all of the rest of the family around. I’ll miss these days when I am no longer needed to transport him from Daddy to Mommy and back again.

xoxo

This week, my BFF’s brother (who took over their father’s painting/maintenance/remodeling business) has helped me out HOOOOGE by giving me a few days of work. We’ve been painting a couple of houses. They (BFF, her sister, and two brothers) have been doing this off and on their whole lives. I started right after high school, working an odd job here and there.

For some reason, I really like the work. I think it is because you can see the results instantly. It is calm work - no grumpy people to work with (other than me if I do not sleep well). Actually, that surprises me to read … I love people, which is why I went into the administrative assistant field to begin with - no matter where I got a job, I always met new people every day. Maybe I really am turning into a grumpy old lady!

Anyway … I’ll be painting again today. We’re working in a beautiful house out in Destin, and it is fun imagining what I would fill it with if it was a place I was moving into. By the time I leave at the end of every day, whichever house I am working in has been completely decorated in my mind, with furniture and wall hangings and plants and bold, beautiful colors. I even imagine the backyard and how I would fill it with different things. Ahh … the life of a dreamer!

This weekend will be busy too. Tween has a softball game in a nearby town on Saturday, and then I am re-delivering my nephew to Jacksonville, FL on Sunday. That means a 12-hour drive for me, but I always enjoy the half where he is with me. He likes to aggravate me, but we have so much fun! He is 14, and still is as loving and sweet (in between his bratty teenage boy moments) as he was when he was 6 months old and I first met him. Can’t help but love him completely!

I hope this posts … I have tried to post a blog 8 or 9 times and it does not seem to want tot take.

Once again, my blog is down. Very frustrating. My friend from Boston took a look at a few things, and we think a router somewhere with a middlman is the cause. We’re working on a fix.

Hopefully I’ll be back soon to bring you more fun stuffs