Happy Leap Day!!!

   Whatever that means.  Actually, nothing in my world, except the day before March.   At least they haven't made it a mainstream holiday yet.  Well, the good news is that we only got 3" of snow from the the storm that came in this morning.  They have fog, ice and rain forecast for Sunday and another snowstorm for Wednesday. :::sigh:::   The bad news is that I have 2 of 4 of my regular clients in the hospital, I may be losing one to other reasons, my car has suspension problems(rear right side), I didn't get my income tax refund today, I couldn't find one pair of athletic shoes at K-Mart in my size, and last night I slipped on the ice at a client's home and my right thumb now has a nail that's half torn off and bruised.  Oh and every time I turn around I keep hitting it on things.  Why is that?  A bandaged appendage becomes a target for moving and inanimate objects.  And then there's all the hundreds of little things that just irritate me.  Yeah, it's been a couple pretty crappy days. 

   One good thing, I got a very nice note in the mail that really brightened my day yesterday.  So I sat down and wrote a couple of notes to mail out, myself.  That felt amazingly good.  Oh, one more good thing, when I was in Grayling today, I stopped in at the bakery to see if they had any rye bread.  No such luck, but they did have this amazing BBQ Pork sandwich on a kaiser bun in the hot foods case.  That was a nice change of pace for my lunch.  I'll have to stop in there more often. 

   Dawn at Carpe Diem(no I can't make the link come up) had done a meme called Friday Fill-in.  I've got a few minutes, so.......

1. I'm looking forward to having some extra hours off (but not too many) next week.

2. I don't handle all these stressful things going on right now, very well.

3. Peanut Butter Toast is something I could eat everyday. Actually, I already do!!!

4. Non-winter road conditions have been missing from my life since December.  More like November. ;(

5. 6:30am shift here I come!  That means I have to behave myself and go to bed early all weekend.

6. I have been thinking about getting a tattoo(s), but now I'm not so sure.  Have to think some more.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to just sitting and not hittng my thumb on anything, tomorrow my plans include work, trying to find a pair of shoes for work, and Sunday I want to relax, but I've got to work all morning and a 4-7pm shift. 

    Well, it's time to leave for my 4-7 shift, have to stop at the gas station for a hot cup of coffee, so......

                                    ~Thanks for Stopping By~ 

p.s. sorry I whined so much.

I can see the Sun!

    Can you believe it?  The sun is shining.  It was visible for a several hours yesterday, too.  The temperature is up around 20 degrees-we're havin' a heat wave!  By the way, that's below normal for this time of year. It is beautiful, the sun shining on the snow, but colder than it looks.  The last time I saw the forecast they were talking about possible highs of 35 by the weekend.  Oh, and more snow next Tuesday.  ;(  

    I missed the lunar eclipse last night.  I got home about 7pm, the moon was shining brightly.  I had some dinner, was reading and went out side to check on the progress-it's snowing!  That's right in less than an hour, it had clouded up and started to snow.  I got disgusted and went to my room.:::stomping my feet:::  My son called, telling me what an amazing sight the eclipse was-yeah, it's snowing here.  Mom, did you know that we won't be able to see another one from North America till December 2010?  Yep, I read that.  ::sigh::   Oh, coughing from the other end of the line, I've got to go into the house, I smell skunk, very strong!  And that's was the end of the eclipse for the both of us.

    I got a package from Son on Tuesday.  He sent me some music that he listens to, and some coffee samples from the coffee house where he hangs out.  Talk about good!  There was a package of hand-blended herbal tea that smells really good, too.  But I haven't tried it yet.  He said that he felt bad for not sending me a gift over the holidays, but I know how broke he was.  I also got a card, what he called a Hallotines card.  He confessed that he was at the Mall and came across a store that was going out of business, so he stocked up on some deep discount cards,  but no Valentines.  I had to laugh.  I think maybe some of my thrift shopping genes have rubbed off on him(funny, because he used to just hate it.)

    Speaking of thrift shopping, I came across a leather backpack, yesterday. Tan, supple, and something I've wanted FOREVER.  So for $2.00, it came home with a seat cushion for the kitchen, some scrap quilt material(25 cents a package) and a novel I haven't read yet.(25 cents)  It's great, roomier than my purse was, lots of pockets, zippers that all work, just so long as I don't overload it.  My first client of the day wanted to know where I'd found it and if there were more.  Nope, sorry.  It's just pretty cool.

    Well, that about exhausts the news from the great white north of the Lower Penninsula of Michigan for today......

                             ~Thanks for Stopping By~

     

Just hanging out on a Tuesday.

   I don't really have that much to talk about today, but I have some computer time and if I go out to the car, I'll just eat more than I mean to( a box of snack crackers and some cookies) and I've been doing pretty well keeping my eating habits a little healthier.  I've discovered that I love vegetable juice(like V-8), it's like a Bloody Mary without the vodka, which I don't really like anyway, but a little sea salt and fresh ground pepper, stirred, chilled with a few ice cubes.  Yummy.  I can buy the big bottle, no one else in the house will go near it.  I've always liked tomato juice, don't know why I didn't try the veggie juice before. 

   We had freezing rain on Sunday.  I went to work at a client's home at 6:30 am and two hours later came out to find ice covering my whole car.  We got about 1/4 inch of ice total, but it was enough to create problems.  It got up past 32 degrees, so was just rain after that, but the side roads that are snow covered turned to ice skating rinks.  I had to call and cancel my 4-7 shift, they said their road and driveway was all ice, I'd never make it up the hill. 

   I watched the Daytona 500 instead.  Ryan Newman won!  The guy that they hardly talked about at all, for the most part just stayed in the race and minded his own business till the last couple laps, then his teammate Kurt Busch pushed him past Tony Stewart for the win!!!  I only get to watch once in awhile as I almost always work on Sunday afternoons, so I really enjoyed this. 

   I've been working on a quilt design for Son, without much luck so far.  I can't seem to make up my mind, find the right combination of blocks that will accept the multiple color combinations of a scrap quilt. There are lots of design possibilities, though, so just have to keep trying.  I've got lots of time for this, so I'm not too concerned.

   My chest congestion is gone.  I found out that there's been alot of people with the same kind of flu virus, the local schools have been hit hard.  They're trying not to close because of this as they have to save their 5 calamity days for snow, and however many more they miss, they have to make up and add to the end of the school year. 

    I had to have a tire replaced on the front driver's side of my car, yesterday.  I walked out to leave for work and noticed that there were some little slits on the side, right next to the tread edge.  These are over 4 years old, so it's time for different ones.

   That's about it for my exciting life, so far this week.  Ya never know, it's Tuesday and thngs could liven up by the end of the week, or not...........

                                        ~Thanks for Stopping By~

Phhttt..........

   One of these days I'll learn to call before just assuming some place is going to be there when they are scheduled to be there.  ::sigh::  I drove to Grayling(15 miles) to the clinic in the snow.  Saw one 2-car wreck going up and one 3-car coming back, neither one had the police there yet, no one looked hurt, just slid off the road.  Anyway, I got to Grayling and the clinic had a note on the door "Closed" on Feb. 14, 2008.  Sorry for any inconvenience.  I drove back home, made a huge bowl of what I call heart attack popcorn( real butter and salt) and settled down for the evening.  My congestion is breaking up fairly well, and I haven't had a temperature in more than 24 hrs, but if it's not gone by Monday, I'll get an appointment to see a Dr. 

   We got about 4 inches of snow last night, and now there's a rumor of more on Sunday night.  This next one's supposed to be heavier. Winter will never end, they'll just come and dig us out of the snow banks eventually.  Peoplecicles! 

   I've got a new craft project on my mind.  I'd like to design and sew a quilt for my son.  I've been thinking about this for awhile, but haven't gotten to the "put it on paper" stage.  I'm thinking of a scrap quilt, since I have so many, even some squares that I found at the thrift store.  Just a simple two-block pattern with a neutral color to tie it together.  I have one that I haven't finished, but that's just for me and could really be done later.  I'll have to get my books out and look for some complementary  block patterns.  I'd like to have it done by Christmas, or maybe next Christmas.  I know it's something he'd really like, it would mean a great deal to him.  So, I'd better go and get busy planning.........

                            ~Thanks for Stopping By~

It's Thursday, and I'm here to......you know!

  ~Happy Valentine's Day~ 

   And a Thankful Thursday, too!  Yeah this machine is stuck on italics, so......  I kinda like it.  I've had a pretty uneventful week since my last entry.  I'm going to the clinic this afternoon and get my chest congestion checked out.  It should be gone by now, and I'm afraid it might turn into pheumonia.  I've had a low-grade temp(99.1 - 99.5) when I checked it every other day or so.  That's what makes me think I may need an antibiotic to kick this out. 

   We're due for more snow(3-5) tonight.  So far this is the 8th snowiest winter on record for Michigan.  And I saw that we're not the only ones, Wisconsin's had it deeper than normal this year, too.   It seems to be an awfully stormy winter for everyone. 

   Quick Thankful's-

1. The free coffee I got this morning at the gas station, with a Happy Valentine's wish.  I think she gave me the free coffee cuz I started another pot for her. 

2. That I got my laundry done-finally.  I hate laundry!  I go to the laundromat and get it all done at once, then just sneak in a load or two to get by till I have to haul all the towels and bedding stuff in again.

3. The car is running well, although the gas prices are pissing me off.  I hear on the news that prices are down on average and then the next day discover that they've gone up 10 cents here!   ;(~

4. Son is doing well, he's not as overloaded this semester at school, so he's not as stressed about falling behind on his assignments.

5. Everyone else at my house is healthy, it doesn't smell like Lysol anymore. Bro has kind of a heavy hand when spraying for germs.

   That's about it for this week.  Like I said, my life is kind of quiet right now, so there's not much to talk about really.  Boring reading, so you'll have to forgive me if my entries are few and far between for right now.  I'm not really sure if that's a good thing or not....we'll have to wait and see.

                   ~Thanks for Stopping By~

  

How about a quickie?

   Okay, get your mind out of the gutter.  I just meant a quick journal entry to let you know that I'm feeling better!  Thanks for all your well wishes.  I'm sure they helped alot. 

   I went back to work today.  Only had to shovel alittle.  We got the low end of that snowstorm, only about 4" of snow.  South of here there were places that got over 16 inches of snow.  Whew, that's just too much!  And from what I heard on the radio, some people were just too stupid to stay off the roads.  The radio station that I listen to, actually had the 911 operator calling and telling them to tell idiots to get off the roads.  Okay, this is Michigan and we're all hard asses with 4 wheel drives, but.....      stupid!           Okay rant over, I promise.

   Well, this quickie is done.  Hope you enjoyed it! ::wink::  I've got some journal reading to catch up on and still have one more shift to work today(4-7pm).  

                               ~Thanks for stopping by~

Yes it does hurt and has a temperature.

   I'm sick!  Very sick.  Sick enough to miss two days of work, which is something I (almost) never do.  Actually, I think the thought of being contageous and giving one of my clients this misery was part of the reason I stayed  home the second day.  I have sinus congestion, chest congestion, a headache, a low-grade temperature.  I just feel bleuchk.  And sleep?  More than I can remember sleeping.  I had to take a nap, just so that I could get dressed after taking my shower.  I couldn't stand to be in that house one minute longer.  I had to escape for awhile.  I went to the post office, and to pay a bill, then came here for an hour or so.  I'll go replenish my drug supply and head home shortly.  By then, I'll be ready to cuddle up with a bowl of chicken soup and a good book for the night and possibly most of tomorrow.  I heard we're due for some more snow.  4-8 inches was the last estimate-too much.  ::sigh:: 

   Thanks for all the comments from my last entry.  I was just so upset and frustrated by that situation and had to blow off some steam.  As I can't go into too many details, what needed to be done was.  What gets me is that I can remember a time when my son treated me in much the same way, and I remembered the hurt I felt.  My situation was temporary and my son did a complete 180.  This other, I fear, will happen again.  It is something I have to be careful handling.   

   Since the last time I was here, the Giants won the SuperBowl!  Yay!  We don't talk about it at my house, as Patriot fans outnumber me 2-1.  I was sorry that I didn't get to see the game.  By the time I got home from work, it was half-time and Potsey was sitting spewing his germs(yeah the ones that got me sick) all over the living room, so I just went to my room.  I didn't show symptoms till about 3am.  Anyway, I'm glad that the Giants won!!!

   There was something else that I was going to write about, but the illness or maybe some of the medications I'm sucking down to handle symptoms, has just wiped my mind clean.  So, I'll close this for now and hope to get back tomorrow, before all my alerts get out of control.   Hope no-one else comes down with this, it's just plain icky feeling.  Till then....

                              ~Thanks for Stopping By~

A Quick Saturday Note of Absolutely No Importance!

   I don't know why, but the computers that I use will never show the font-Comic Sans MS when I click on it and half the time it won't print in the size that I select.  ::sigh::   I heard that Phil saw his shadow so that means 6 more weeks of winter weather.  We have 6 more weeks of winter, no matter what Phil sees- till the Spring Equinox.  It'd be nice if it stayed above "say" 20 degrees and maybe only snowed a couple more weekends- for the snowmobilers/tourists to spend their money up here.  Then it could just gradually all melt and dry up(no Mud!) and slide gracefully into spring.  HA!  Can you tell that I am getting tired of winter? 

   I can't talk about specific people, but I have to get this off my chest.  If you are a young person and don't treat your parents decently, Shame on You!  If Mom needs a ride somewhere, give it.  If she needs you to pick something up at the drug/dollar store, go pick it up.  If she just needs you to listen to her and lend an ear, be there on the phone.  If she's scared at the hospital, take the time to go, be with her and just hold her hand.  One of these days, that pain in the ass, nagging woman won't be there.  Then, you will be sorry.  Yeah, I know that this all sounds like the rant you may have heard a thousand times, but you just never know when your decision to turn mom down may drive her to make a drastic/ irreversible decision.  I am outraged at the behavior I witnessed today.  I'd like to take these kids and just bash they're heads together, tell them that after what I witnessed today that they don't have the right to ever call her Mom or see her again.  Unfortunately, I can't do that and I know that this scenario will play again and probably again after that.  But it just disgusts me.  I haven't had a mother since I was 11 years old.  I'd love to have one.  ::sigh:: Sorry, I know that this is all kind of vague, but I can't give any details.  People I know through work. 

   The librarian tells me that it's time to start shutting down computers, so I've got to go. 

                                 ~Thanks for Stopping By~