Information Needed

In a few months I will be 40, so I have to get my first mammogram. (Boys, look away now).

So, I need information. Have you had one? How was it? What's your story?

If you post about it, leave a link in the comments. Or just comment.

I'm very interested. I don't want to do it, but I'm going to anyway. Because that's what mature and responsible women do.

Where is the mom in this household, anyway?

We are out of food and almost out of clean clothes. I need to shop and wash.

At least I had some beans and tortillas to make burritos today.

I am dreading my "Womans Appointment" today at the doctors. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. But it must be done.

The garage sale is over. We did pretty well, but still have some odds and ends to get rid of. I'm planning a big trip to the thrift store and the consignment store.

I'm considering making a big sign that says, "Dear Robber, You Suck" and hanging it on my garage door. Do you think they would get the message?

I only have one more week left at work. I love going there, but it's hard to work when I keep thinking of all the things I have to do at home.

I'm a little sad, because I finally got brave enough to play my guitar at church and now we are leaving and will have to find a new church. I will miss my church friends. They are great. But I'm sure my new church friends, whoever they may be, will be great, too.

Alright. That's enough randomness for today. I'm off to be poked and prodded and weighed (WEIGHED!?!?) and measured. I'll do a load of wash and plan a quick shopping trip and then this post will have been all for naught.

Except for that sucky robber. They still suck.

Morphing fun

Thanks, poppy, for the fun links to the morph site.

It's been raining on my garage sale so I've been packing up bookshelves and playing on the internet.

We were robbed last night. I can't believe I forgot to lock the garage door and I can't believe we didn't bring in the most expensive item out there. (An HD DVD player) It always astounds me when someone takes something that isn't theirs. It's so presumptious and audacious and selfish and hurtful and mean and, and, and. It shouldn't surprise me that people do bad things, but it does.

It could be worse, but it's just a creepy feeling to know that someone snuck around my house while I was sleeping. Maybe it's a good lesson, since we are leaving small town life for bigger town life. We need to get used to being more vigilant and less casual about our safety issues. No more walking out of the house with all the windows open and doors unlocked.

Grrrr. It just makes me mad.

Well, I'll just blow this off for now and talk about other things.

Good things today:

Donuts for breakfast
Last day of garage sale.
My last garage sale of my life, if I have anything to say about it, so, YAY!
I'm going to make a hair appointment. I should call right now.
Progress is being made in the packing process
I love watching my little sprite and pixie out there making their sales at the toy table.
My son comes home after a weekend of camping.

There. Don't we all feel better now?

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

Yay! I knew if I kept trying I get somebody HAWT.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Free family tree - Pedigree

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

Jane Curtin? She's such a mom.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Geneology - Pedigree

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

First try! Not bad that I got an indie movie queen.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Geneology - Family reunion web site

I never want to have another garage sale again.

My moral dilemma

Today I found a twenty dollar bill, folded up into a little square, in the middle of the library.

Oh, how I wanted to keep my found money!

I held onto it for a little bit, looked around for someone searching the ground for a little bit. Thought about it for a little bit. Then I called my husband.

Him: Hello?

Me: So, what is my moral responsibility as an employee of the public library, to turn in money that was found on the floor, no where near another human being?

Him: Aaaaammy. You already know that answer. (I was hoping for finders, keepers)

Me: (Big Sigh) Okay....

I hang up and sulk over to my boss.

Me: As much as I don't want to, I am turning in this twenty dollar bill I found on the floor.

Her: Did you see anybody coming or going?

Me: Lots of people, but no one just standing around the dropped cash.

Her: Well, put a note on it and see if anyone claims it. If not we'll just put it in library donations.

Me: But I want to keep it!

Her: Well, if you really want twenty dollars I can give you a twenty.

Me: No, no, no... that kills all the fun of found money.

But it was nice of her to offer.

I hope the real owner shows up to claim it. As much fun as found money is, someone is always sad on the lost end. I know, I've been on that end, too.

Big garage sale starting tomorrow! Hopefully I'll make lots of twenties!

Today, lunch was all about me

A few friends took me out to a very sweet lunch today. We went to a little tea room that I didn't even know was there. I felt very lady-like and special.

The chicken salad was de-lish. The peach-apricot tea was refreshing. The company was divine!

I will miss my friends. Thank you for the day out, girls!

Summer Jobs

My daughter, the life saver. That's right. She saves lives for a living.

Well, she fishes little kids out of the pool for a living, but she could save a life if the occassion arose. Which I hope it never does.

It's amazing what a job can do for a kid. Her maturity level has been raised quite a bit. It's fun to watch her relate to the pool patrons and see the kids who are regulars talk with her.

She blows her whistle with authority. :)

I think the pool is a much better gig than asking 'do you want fries with that?' all summer long. I never worked when I was in high school, so I never thought I would allow my kids to take part time jobs while in school, either. But I've changed my mind. It's been a really good thing for her... and she will be able to purchase much nicer back to school clothes with her hard earned bucks.

I'm so proud, can't you tell?

In other news... The big garage sale is only two days away. I need to get hoppin'.

Moving

I've started to fill boxes and sell furniture. The move is official.

I am very excited, but also sad to leave my friends here. I tried to find that old Jimmy Durante song (Have you ever had the feeling that you wanted to stay, but still had the feeling that you wanted to go) but I couldn't find it.

But more and more, I'm looking forward to a new place and west coast living again. I love the mountains and the ocean and the water and the GREEN! Being close to family will be a big bonus.

I need to go see the Vet for happy pills for the kitty. I don't want to hear her howling the whole way.

We've all had our teeth cleaned and eye appointments have been made. Notice has been given at work and I've moved up my yearly 'women's appointment' (oh, joy) so that's covered, too.

The BIG garage/moving sale is next weekend and now we just need to find someone to take over our little snack bar endeavor and we are ready to go.

So, it's coming together. It's amazing how productive a person can get when there is a deadline!

Once upon a time there was a really clean house

And I have the photgraphic evidence to prove it. Clean!
Clean!!
Clean!!!

The benefit of putting the house up for sale is that you get everything organized all at once and it feels GREAT!

Another benefit is the feeling that all is right with the world. I don't think I realized how much all the clutter affected my moods and my overall sense of well-being. This place is so pleasant to be in now and so easy to keep picked up now that all the excess has been done away with. And it will be so easy to pack come moving day.

I am just about ready for the biggest, baddest yard sale west of the Mississippi. I plan to make some serious dough. Hopefully enough to put a dent in the moving truck fee. Yikes!

Let me know if you need any junk. I've got lots. Shipping and handling charges may apply. :)

Violin recitals...

make my teeth hurt.

But I've got to say, my little sprite is improving with leaps and bounds.

The recital was in the long term care unit for the elderly. I told my daughter that after the recital we would take a little time to greet the residents and thank them for coming to listen to all the students. She wasn't quite sure what to do at first. It is a little uncomfortable in some of these homes. We just started going from one person to the next and introduced ourselves and thanked them for coming.

Pretty soon, as I was looking down the line, I could see the people start to sit up a little straighter, and watch with anticipation until it was their turn to be greeted by one of the children.

I was really proud that my little one could have a part in making someone's day a little brighter. I'm sure they didn't mind the screeches one bit.

Teeth check

You'd tell me if I had spinach in my teeth, right? What if my slip was showing or my skirt was tucked up into my underwear? I'm sure you would.

I'm trying to decide if I should approach a woman who I know, but not well, who appears to be struggling with a major issue. I'm sure I don't have a solution to her problem but I wonder if she needs a listening ear. If she was my friend, it would be a no-brainer. I would say, "Hey, it looks like you're dealing with something big. Let's get some help." But because she is only an acquaintance it becomes a little tricky. I would never want to add to someone's problems.

I will definitely be praying for her, but I would like to take an extra step and reach out in some way. I just don't know how to do it in a manner that allows this woman to keep her dignity. That means the anonymous note is out. Telling her everyone in town is talking about her is out. I've talked with a friend about it (yeah, you LD) and she is thinking about it, too.

I always remember the time that I had my wisdom teeth out. My face was black and blue. It looked like someone had punched me repeatedly. I remember the shocked looks that strangers gave me and thought it was funny at the time. But later I thought how sad it was that not one person whispered a question in my ear, asking me if I was alright. If I needed any help.

We've all seen people who have all the sudden put on 50, 60, 70 pounds or another person who looks like they are starving themselves to death. People spending money they have no business spending. Mothers who are a tad too neglectful, but not yet in a dangerous way and men who can't communicate with their families, kids who try things that are just a little too dangerous. When do you say something? Or do we? Most the time I say it's none of my business, but is that always the best answer?

So for now I am waiting. If I'm meant to say something, I'm sure that God will open the door and maybe the topic can be brought up as a natural part of the conversation. I'll let you know what happens.

What's your opinion?

Big Fire

Our small town has had a couple of big events lately. Fortunately, no one was injured but three major businesses in our downtown area are destroyed.

People came out of the wood work to stand around and watch the fire fighters work. I would say there were probably a couple thousand people who came out to view the disaster. I gotta say, our mostly volunteer fire fighting force did an excellent job. My neighbor lady is one of the only (maybe THE only) women on the force and she told me they have a chief who is always prepared, calm, and ready to go.

The building that burned used to be the first first hotel, and then the first hospital in these parts. It's days were probably numbered. But it's sad. It really was a cool looking old building. Maybe they will be able to salvage the outer brick walls and just rebuild on the inside.

I'm so glad it wasn't homes that went up. Businesses are bad enough. We also had a grain silo explode out in the country, and I do think there were injuries there. But again, the fire fighters were there, ready and willing to put their lives on the line. I didn't realize that fire fighting isn't so much about putting out a fire than it is trying to keep the fire under control until it burns itself out. It really was something else to watch.

We have an offer!

Possible changes afoot

Well, we are putting the house up for sale.

If it sells, we will move, closer to home. If it doesn't we will stay.

But in the meantime, I am cleaning like a mad woman. I'm finding stuff that hasn't been touched since we put it it here three years ago. My garage sale pile is steadily growing and the house is looking more and more organized.

The realtor came yesterday and pointed out some more things that I need to do. It needs to be ready to show by Thursday. Talk about a time crunch.

I only have two more bedrooms to do, but then I need to go back around and clear off counters and make closets looks roomy and spacious. I need to remove any 'lived in' quality our house has, and believe me, this house is lived in.

I'm having a lot of feelings, but can't really express them. Which is why I've gained a little weight. But I'm nipping that in the bud right now. I'll just try to roll with the stress train and try to pray a little more.

Then, when everything is orderly and ready to go, I'll come back and show you some pictures. We had a major fire in town and I got some pictures of the fire fighting. For a small town, we have an awesome fire department. It was really quite amazing. But very sad. We lost a few good businesses here. A Curves fitness center, a high end dress store and the one of the nicest Hallmark Stores I've ever been in.

Okay, I'm off to wade through the piles my children call bedrooms. TTFN.

Too, too good

Starbucks® Iced Coffee reminds you what it’s like when you are in sync with the world, when things just seem to naturally fall into place… when things just click.

And who wouldn't want that?

This is de-lish. If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it. A very nice way to kick off the day.