Monday

It's Monday......and raining again.....need I say more?

When smoke gets in your eyes

I have a love/hate relationship with Sunday. I love the laid back (unless you are my husband) easygoing Sunday. I hate the fact that the weekend is over. Today we spent some time just hanging out and watching tv and then SH and I went to work for one of his little old ladies. I told DD to come and get me before dark and she did. SH hates it when I leave him alone to do it all but I hate to be gone all day on my day off.
I had told SH that when I got home I would start a fire in the woodburner to keep the house from getting too chilly tonight. I tried....I really did, but something is wrong with the chimney. I got my fire started but absolutely NONE of the smoke would go up the chimney. It came out of every little crack in the stove and what made it to the chimney came back out around the pipe. Right now I am looking at my computer screen through a haze....a pretty thick haze. I opened the basement door and put a fan in but its on the other end of the basement and most of the smoke wants to go straight up, which is where the stairs are. I'm glad I decided to start the fire before I took a shower. I smell like my volunteer firefighter dad always does when he came home from house fires. I put the fire out in the woodburner, but that just makes more smoke.
I'm pretty sure the massive amounts of rain we have had for the last month is to blame. I hope that is what is to blame.....and not some animal in the chimney.

Thursday

I loved this picture when I took it. It was cold, snowy and these guys were just waiting their turn at the feeder. I love watching birds and taking their pictures but I am ready for SPRING. I need spring, I want spring and I have to have spring.

Today is a very rainy day....again. We have had rain almost every freakin day this year. Last year we had no rain, burned up yards and gardens and had to add water to the pool every few days. We need a happy medium...rain one day a week and then I need some sun. I wonder who I get in touch with to make that request....
DD is so EXCITE! only16 days until prom. I can not believe how fast it is approaching. Hair appointments, tanning appointments (and probably nail appointments) etc. right up til the day. I remember prom but I do not remember it being this much of a big thing. We bought dresses and got flowers but I think we planned it for a month or so, these girls have been working on stuff since Christmas. Have to have the perfect dress, shoes, earrings, necklace, nail color, hair style, tan, after prom outfit and bracelets.
Remember a few months ago when my SH took out an electric pole with his car? Just slid on a patch of ice on his way home from work. I got a bill this week from the electric company...did you know a pole costs $3,324.00?
Have a great Friday tomorrow....and Kim...good luck and eat something really good tomorrow.

What a difference 24 hours can make

Tonight we are having dinner at my parents house. My mother and I are both cooking and we are going to eat.... a lot.
I needed to start getting ready about an hour ago so I went to the bathroom to get in the shower, got undressed, turned on the water....nothing. I'm not sure if it's retribution for complaining about the flooding all around but there is not a drop of water coming out of my faucets. I called the water company and they said there was a line break and it would be back on in a few hours. I drove to the store and bought jugs of water and washed my hair in cold water and now I am going to go get started cooking... I shall never ever complain about the weather again. This morning it got into the upper 50's and was nice outside.....the temperature is dropping like Wiley Coyote off a cliff chasing roadrunner......crap, I've probably went and done it now.

40 days...

After last summers drought and miserable heat I hate to complain...but enough is enough. This creek is normally about 5 feet wide and 6 inches deep.


The worst part is that this is our main route to Wal mart, and the mall.

Of course we turned around and went another way because we HAD to make it to the mall to look for the ever elusive after prom outfit. I think the after prom outfit and big foot must be together somewhere, laughing at us.

TMI

Remember this face? This is my dog Koko. She sleeps with me, eats beside me and as soon as I leave the house she finds some piece of clothing I have had on and lays on it until I get back. She loves me like only a pet can.

Koko is also a very well trained house dog. I can leave for 10 hours if I need to and she will be fine and will not use the bathroom in the house. She will wait until I get home if she has to cross her legs and hop. She is lucky because SH and I work different shifts. She very seldom needs to be home more than 3 or 4 hours alone.
This morning I woke up, walked down the hall and I smelled it....dog poop. I searched for 10 minutes before I finally found it....in a puddle in my DS's floor. She has not used the bathroom in the house since the day she unwrapped and ate an entire bag of hersheys kisses while I was gone....and I don't even want to relive the hours after that. I scrubbed dog poop off of walls....enough said. When I got home from work there were a couple new small puddles and some puke in different places. I scrubbed a little more. Then I had the audacity to doze off on the couch for 25 minutes....another puddle. I need to sleep with one eye open. I never taught her to bark when she had to go, she just sits down beside me and stares at me until I get the message. I don't pick up on that when I am asleep. She does act like she feels bad, but not too bad so I am just going to keep an eye on her for a bit and call the vet if she gets worse. She is still eating a tiny bit and she drinks a lot so I am not too worried about dehydration. Now if I could just teach her to use the potty....and flush.

Now I am going to go wait until my dearest daughter comes home from the tanning bed, because she is bringing me a lasagna and garlic bread from a pizza place near the tanning place.....it's a mommy/home health thing, I can eat lasagna and scrub poo at the same time.

Completely random thoughts

If anyone knows of any wieners that are currently out of work........this is the place to go.



It is almost spring which in the Myers household means one thing, people start dropping these off. This cute little guy and his little sister are running around the yard and won't leave, which could be because my husband, children and their friends fed them turkey and canned dog food. I begged them not to feed them but they don't listen very well when it comes to puppies. I think there is a black and brown one running around too but I haven't found it yet. I have just caught a quick glimpse of it in the woods and running around the side of the house in the dark. They were all terrified of people but seemed to get over it pretty quick when the turkey came out. They are still very shy but getting better. I'm sure the other one will show up when she hears rumors of free food. I'm pretty sure it is a she because this one is a male so statistically the other two have to be female. My statistics come from years of rescuing puppies, very few are male. I do love dogs, but I get so tired of people dumping them on me when I don't want them.

Anyone out there need a cute, cuddly puppy to love?

I got the music in me

I have noticed over the years that music is the best motivator for me. If I want to get something accomplished I turn on music. House need cleaned...music, need to exercise...turn on music (note to self...should try this again soon). When I was in school and needed to study I had to have loud music. When I go to church I love the music.
Today when I needed to clean house I turned on the tv to the music only stations. I decided to walk down memory lane and listen to the 80's station. I just have one thing to say about that....what in the heck were we thinking? Don't get me wrong, I love 80's rock music. I never listened to country music, could not stand it until the boy bands and Brittany started dominating the radio and I switched to country. I switch back and forth daily but mostly I stick with country. My big complaint about the music I listened to in the 80's is the fact that most of it was...umm....not the nicest music. The songs I listened to today within an hour were 1. Darling Nikki , 2. Nasty girl, 3. Like a virgin. When I look back I see how that music might have had something to do with how some of my friends acted. Not me.....no never...just some friends. The 80's seemed to be a fun time where SOME OF MY FRIENDS may or may not have been doing some things that we now hope our children are smart enough not to do. While superhubby and I were dating I fell in love with the song "Shining star." When ever that song came on the radio I would melt. That song made me think thoughts very unbecoming for a young girl. SH ran right out and bought that tape so it would be on every time I got in his truck. He was slick like that. I never hear that song anymore but just humming the tune makes me wish SH was home. Just give me a second I need to take a deep breath....
I think my point in this was the fact that the things my friends did in the 80's were probably at least partly due to the music we listened to. I had great parents but they were not able to talk about anything uncomfortable. Words I never heard from my parents mouth 1. sex 2. any word for a body part 3. love 4. Any word to do with relationships. My parents never ever ever said anything to me like "don't drink", or " no sex." I will say again I have great parents, they just were not comfortable with anything personal. I can honestly say I have never heard my parents say "I love you" to each other or anyone else and I have never ever seen them kiss or hug. My parents have a great relationship but not in public. I have taken a different road with my own children. I am not going to kid myself and say they tell me everything because that would not be right, but we do talk about things...body parts, sex, pregnancy and relationships. I want my children to be able to be more open about things than I was. I think its working, DD had a friend over the other day and was changing clothes. The phone rang and she came running out of her room in her underwear and a bra yelling "go ahead and look at these amazing boobs, you know you want to."

Everything.....to me

The man of this house means everything to me. The boy means everything to me. The girl means everything to me. I think what I am trying to say is I feel so blessed, every day. The sun is shining, it is almost 70 degrees outside, what more could a person ask for. Yes, I would love to have a lot of money, life is expensive and getting more so, but we have done it before and we will again. I would love to be skinny and much healthier, but that is something I have to do myself, I can't ask for that to be fixed. I would really love to have a maid, but back to the whole money thing, if I got off the internet and cleaned I wouldn't need one ;-) I am 41 years old and have both of my parents, who are very healthy, still living nearby. I think sometimes we get caught up in the little things and forget how much better we have it than some other people....if you read this, leave me a comment and tell me a little something about your blessings.

DD and I are trying to find the perfect after prom outfit. You would think the big stress would be the prom dress but she found that easily. You must understand that DD is not picky about clothes, she just wants them to fit well. She loves sales and hates for me to pay full price for any type of clothing. She usually goes to the mall and finds exactly what she wants in about 15 minutes and it is on sale. The outfit for the after prom party, not so easy. Saturday we went to the Huntington mall in WV. and shopped for hours. She looked for clothes at Rue 21, JC penny, Aeropostle, Sears, Deb, Old Navy, American Eagle, Macy's, Kohls,Elder Beerman and Steve and Barry's. We finally left there and went to Ashland Ky. and looked at Penny's, American Eagle, Body central, Maurices, Goody's and one new store I can't think of the name of. Nothing. We then went to another Sears in Ashland...nothing. Last night we decided while we were out to go to the Ashland mall again, just in case they had new stuff and they did.....so she tried on clothes for a couple of hours....nothing. The clothes are either too maternity looking, too tiny for an April night or just plain ugly. By the time we got home Saturday I ached from head to toe, and last night I was just tired, tired of trying to find cute clothes that were decent looking. We decided last night that since we have a busy weekend coming up we would go back next week, but not before and find something and we wouldn't come home until we did. Wish me luck...I'm gonna need it.

Am I forgetting anything?

I keep forgetting to get on here and actually update. I'm not sure how I think it is going to get done if I don't do it.
I've noticed the birds at my feeder are getting more colorful. I think some of those that flew south for the winter are back and ready for summer to be here. The only problem is, it snowed again and they all seemed confused by it. This guy spent time at the feeder but any other bird that showed up scared him to death.

Here he is trying to fly away when a cardinal came to eat. We have liftoff.

I know I've mentioned this before but I live in the country. The nearest town to me is a very small town. For years now people have complained about the police department being corrupt. I know that back when my parents were young everything here was corrupt. People "accidentally" fell from 5th floor hotel room windows and no one ever saw a thing. That was a long time ago. I'm not sure now how crooked the police department is or if they are just trying to protect the citizens with very little money. Saturday night a policeman in town ran over a man, dragged his body under the car for 10 blocks to the police station and didn't realize he had done it. I don't know all the facts about the case so I am not going to point fingers at anyone right now. I just do not understand how you can hit someone with your car and drag their body half a mile and not realize it. The police chief is saying the officer didn't know until he got to the station and saw the man under the back of the car. The man who died was probably drinking, he was known for partying a little, but that doesn't change the facts. It had snowed the night before and that day and there was a little snow on the streets. Once again that shouldn't change the fact that anyone would have noticed if they hit an adult sized human with a car and surely would have felt the bumps as they drove along. I'm not sure what is going to happen with this whole mess but I wish the family of the deceased AND the police officers family peace. If it was an accident this policeman is going to be miserable for the rest of his life. If it wasn't an accident I hope the right people are punished....and the family of the man who was killed can get on with their lives.

Ohio, the muddy heart of it all

I have a love/hate relationship with the place I call home. I love my home because it is where my family is. My house isn't large, it isn't fancy and it definitely isn't clean right now, but it is large enough and I think my kids feel like it is their "home." I hope one day they can bring their kids here to the place they grew up...their home.
This morning when I left for work I saw 3 deer, 2 squirrels and 2 chipmonks...before I got out of the driveway.
Our weather the last few years has been odd, to say the least. Last summer it was super hot and dry. We had almost no rain last summer and the temperature was 90 degrees or over most of the summer. Remember this picture I took in the fall. The weather forecasters were saying that the trees wouldn't be pretty but I still think they were. The ground was so dry it was cracked all over....we prayed for rain.

When we got to fall our prayers were answered.....and it hasn't quit since. That pretty colorful but cracked yard now looks like this.............. I remember a conversation we had when we built our house about 10 years ago when we were picking out the kitchen floor. Somehow I had this idea that I loved the white tile. Me, who will only mop when hell freezes over when company is coming, thought that white tile was the way to go. I seem to recall SH mentioning something about the red clay yard and if we would get a lot of rain, but I knew much better than he how clean I would keep it. To his credit he never rubs it in. He tried to clean it a couple of times and decided it was stupid to even try with all of this wet muddy clay.

Today I went to a friends house to watch an auction. She unfortunately lost her young husband and her mother in law within a week of each other. This is where I tried to pull my minivan into the field. This is also where SH and a couple of his friends had to push me out.

This is the car that was beside my car while they pushed it out. I don't know who's car it was but I'm sure they don't like me very well. I must say that there were dozens of cars and trucks stuck in the mud and SH being the gentlemen he is left his 4 wheel drive and drove my van to work so I didn't have to worry about getting stuck after he left. I love that man.

The whole truth and nothing but the truth

Last night, very very late, superhubby decided we needed to go to Wal ma#t and pick up oil and filters for the 4 cars of ours that were overdue due for an oil change. We usually try to change the oil in our vehicles every 3000 miles, give or take a thousand. Using the excuse that we need to be a little more careful in our oil usage to save the planet and stuff, we had let our vehicles get a little over the extra 1000 miles we allow. At 6:30 SH decided we needed to just go get it so he could get it done last night. I got ready and waited on SH until he was ready.....at 8:45. He got a little sidetracked and cleaned out his truck, sorted all of his drill bits (all 277 or so) by size AND cleaned up the garage. He is well known in this house for taking forever to actually get ready to go where he is supposed to go so DD and I were placing bets on what time we would actually go....neither of us were right because he took even longer than usual.
Going to Walma#t where we live is not easy. We don't just jump in the car and run down the road....we go to a different state. We do have a walma#t nearby in our state but it takes longer to get there than just going to Kentucky. I do not enjoy going to wal m#rt with SH unless I have a lot of shopping to do, which gives him time to go through the hardware section. Last night it was 9:15 before we even got there. I was tired. I grabbed the few things I needed and headed for the auto section. SH disappeared 3 times while I was picking out filters because hardware and car stuff are entirely too close together. Finally after 30 minutes of walking around and turning to find SH had vanished into thin air again we got our stuff and left. On the way out the door I picked up a couple other necessities....A package of these....



And a package of these.......

Now don't get the wrong idea that since I had to take pictures of open packages of Reeses eggs that someone ate them all.....well don't get the idea that I ate them all....I didn't. I gave SH a couple last night, one for DD and that leaves 3 and I'm pretty sure they were eaten by the dog. Yep that's what happened. The dog got up on a chair, climbed up on the kitchen counter, opened the cabinets, opened the packages neatly and ate them....bad dog.

Hey it could happen!

It is a BEAUTIFUL day...again

Mid 70's in Ohio today and sunshine. ALL DAY. I love this weather and I actually walked outside today and didn't have to scrape mud off of my shoes. I had to walk in the few spots that had dried out but I'm not complaining (too loudly) because we have had nothing but mud for the last few months.Weather for the next few days....flood watches for the next 36 hours because it is going to rain....and rain....and rain... Please someone remind me of this in July when I am complaining about having to water everything ever day.
Jophie is doing a little better today. Pneumonia in both lungs but it is starting to look just slightly better on x-rays. He isn't going to be all better in a few days, this will take awhile but he is headed the right direction.
I had a check up at my doctors office today and my BP was a healthy 122/70. She gave me an antibiotic and an inhaler because I was a little wheezy and everyone I work with has some plague or the other. Now if I could just quit eating for about 6 months I would be healthy.
My family, all of whom are very opinionated and stubbornI love with all my heart are in the biggest email discussion over who to vote for. They all have their ideas and every one of them are completely sure they are correct and every one else isn't. There are those like myself and my mother who discuss and then there are those like a couple of my aunts....their emails always include phrases like "only a drooling moron would believe he/she would be a good leader." I am a middle child. I have middle child tendencies. I want everyone to get along and be happy. They can all say mean things and then get together after church next week and go out to eat. I crawl into my bed and cry when people talk mean to me.
I see by the look on my daughters face clock on the wall it is time for me to get off of the computer and become a functioning part of this household. Have a great week everyone.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

We have had a nice weekend here at the Myers house. SH got Saturday off to go to an estate auction and he bought all kind of wonderful...umm.....stuff. SH loves to buy other peoples junk so it was a perfect day for him. I still can't figure out why Marty Yod*r bought a gasoline powered, rubber tired, John Deere tractor. Marty is a great guy but he is very Amish....they don't do gasoline and rubber tires. I'm thinking he either was bidding for someone else or is going to have an "english" person use it. $18,000 is a lot for a tractor if you can't use it.
Kelli and her friend Kendra had dates last night and ended the evening watching movies at our house. Kelli's date for the night, whom she has grown very fond of, had to go back to college today but will be back in a few weeks for his cousins wedding. Six weeks until prom and trust me they are counting the days down. The kids also all got a chance to talk to Aunty Kim on the Internet last night and I think all 4 of them have decided they like her a lot. She always makes them feel good about themselves, which teenagers need and love.
While the kids were out eating last night I got the privilege of going out to eat with this handsome guy...

And with this handsome guy. He did leave the dog at home. We went to Shoney's seafood buffet and I got a few crab legs and some shrimp but nothing seemed to have much taste... I miss the stuff you get when you are truly near the ocean.

Remember a few weeks ago when I was rejoicing in this temperature. Well today we went above that by 5 degrees. The sky was a beautiful deep blue. The birds are getting frisky because they know spring is right around the corner. Now if it would not rain for a couple of days so a little of the mud would dry up.

This week should be pretty relaxing. Jophie is still in the hospital and probably will be all week so I will only work a few days. I wish he were home but I am still fighting this little cold so I couldn't work for him anyway. This is truthfully the easiest cold I have ever had. I know I am probably going to regret saying this when I wake up with some plague tomorrow but just a little stuffy and a cough. After the horrible stuff I had in November (or October) I will take this any day. Tomorrow I have a normal check up type doctors appointment so I can run my symptoms by her but I expect her to tell me to just call if it gets worse. I really don't think I need any medicine right now. Most of the people I am around at work (actually all of them) have this same thing and it started just like this. They all thought they were going to have a little cold and ended up deathly ill. I know I am pushing my luck but after 3 or 4 days I don't feel any worse.

Have a great week everyone...