You won't regret it!!!

We have splashed some color into our lives!

Boy, am I a lucky woman.

God blessed me with a loving and patient man.

We are finally back in our home, and boy does it look great! I look around when I am there and still am in awe that it is our house!

It was a long 10 days in the hotel but it was sure worth it. There are still a few things to be done but….boy does it look great! Even things we have had that we put on the walls seem to have taken on a new life.

We have great new light fixtures in the kitchen and dining area, including a ceiling fan in the kitchen which really makes a difference. The ceiling fixture in our bedroom was for some strange reason in the corner of the room behind the door. My oldest stepdaughter Kendra bought us a light fixture for out bedroom when we got married we had intended to just hang it in the corner and swag it to the center of the room. Well, they moved it to the center of the room for us and it looks just great!

The kitchen is also so much more roomier. My brilliant stepdaughter Kendra had the idea to move the bar part of the counter over. They moved it over just about a foot and it seems like a mile. Sam did some measuring and reconfigured some cabinets to move the refrigerator out of the corner and wow what a difference it makes.

I will put some pictures on when I can find the camera. We are plucking away and putting the house back together.

Sam has been working like a dog, me working like a weak little puppy! Even as I write this he is headed out the door to mow the front lawn before it gets dark. I must say again...boy am I a lucky woman.

So.....If you are sitting in your house right now and just looking a white or off white walls do yourself a favor and splash some color on them, you won't regret it!!

Why are they always in the corner?

Okay, we are still at the hotel, but the house is coming along very nicely. Hopefully Wednesday night.

I was in the bathroom this morning, Sam and Emlyn both still asleep.

Look over in a corner and what appears before my eyes? Nope, not Santa. A huge brown spider!

I grab a wad of toilet paper. I work up the courage, position myself just right, work up the courage and go in for the kill.

What happens next...well...a million, did I say million, I mean billion tiny baby spiders run all over! Of course at this point I scream. Then, grab my hair spray to slow them down so I can catch them. Sam then came to see if I was okay, and went back to bed.

Then I got them all cleaned up and flushed the toilet....and well....needed a plunger. So, I came out got on some pants and a t-shirt went and snagged the maintenance guy as he was on his way out for a smoke and got a plunger. I confessed to using excess toilet paper to kill a spider, and well, he laughed, said it probably got under the door.

Why....I ask you why...are they always in the corner?

Worth the wait....

You would think that living in a hotel, and eating out every night would be a relaxing way to live. No beds to make, no meals to rush home and make, no trips to the grocery store.

Well, yes there are pros to it....the pool! Yes, the maid does come and make our beds, and vacuum and clean the bathroom, but I have to come here on my lunch and get the cat out so...there are cons...but....did I mention there is a pool? I tried to call my sister in law the other day and my oldest stepdaughter to have them bring me a noodle from Betsy's so I could float. But neither of them answered their phone, but I am sure that either one of them would have hoped on a plane and brought me down a noodle. But...okay....I guess the .99 cent one we bought at Walgreens was cheaper than a plane ticket.

We are currently residing in the Red Roof Inn while work is being done at our home. Tomorrow will be our one week anniversary here. Everyone that works here has been very nice and helpful. But, home sounds so good....our own beds....our own big washer and dryer. I am now doing laundry and have run out of quarters with one load to go....

Looks like we will be here a few more days. In our dining out Sam had a wonderful idea! We have been traveling around the world. We have been to Greece, Mexico, Germany, Italy, China, India, and I believe we will be visiting Thailand soon.

Today we met the contractor and painters to make sure we were all on the same page paint wise. Good thing we did, the painter started to write the paint numbers on the wall for his workers and the first number he wrote was incorrect.

I actually was not going to go in until it was done. Kind of wanted it to be like "Extreme Home Makeovers", but....I went in and was just amazed. Sam had mentioned that the walls were now textured, and even though the walls here in the hotel are nearly the same texture I just could not picture it in my head. But it looks great! I am glad too that I went in, though I wish I had taken my camera. The change is going to be so amazing.

We had plain white walls, and now we will have some lovely colors to brighten our lives.

Our bedroom was the only bedroom with a ceiling light, it was tucked into the corner of the bedroom behind the door. The bedrooms have light switches but...they turn on and off a plug on the wall. We have often wondered what in the world the former owners were thinking when they did things. Kendra had gotten us a light we were going to hook up and swag to the center of the room and we had not gotten it up yet. Now....they will put it in for us, and in the center of the room. One sad and kind of scary thing that the contractor told us about the "corner light" was that the people that installed it had just ran it from the light switch to the corner with....are you ready for this...."speaker wire"! They had a household current running through speaker wire. It is just amazing that the place never burned down.

We also got new light fixtures for the kitchen and dining area, even a ceiling light/fan for the kitchen where it just gets so hot.

It is getting exciting, and I will post some pictures when it is done!

I know it will be worth the wait!

Ya just got to check out...

this web site!

http://failblog.org/page/2/

Pruning...

Well here in Ocala we dodged the brunt of Fay. School was cancelled for 4 days, only one day after the new year started. On my job they sent us home early on Friday, which of course did not break my heart but, why even have us come in? I traveled home in worse weather than there was when I went to work. Such is the logic of Florida Department of Corrections.

I told my mother that I am not calling them any more, which is the same old argument with her as I am always the one that does the calling no one, my mother, sister or niece every call me....my nephew well that goes with out saying I don't think he has ever called me. But, here I was in a state that had a tropical storm, with the potential to turn into a hurricane and not a one of them calls to see how things are in our area. But, like I said that is the same old thing. I am always the one that does the calling......

Thankfully Fay was gentle to us, we got lots of rain, and strong winds, lost power on and off, but other than that it appears that Mother Nature just did a little pruning.

Meat....or no meat....

When my step-daughter returned from her summer with her mom in Michigan we went out to dinner on her first night home. One of the the topics of discussion was a book her sister had read, The China Study.

Okay, it sounds like a good idea, but lets read up on it a bit...is how I though we had left things.

Well, last night at dinner I find out that we are turning Vegan! As she was eating the meal I had made with chicken she said, this would still be good when we go Vegan. Wow, is what I though in my head. I did not recall saying I was going vegan. I remember leaving it at lets read some more about it. I was quite surprised. I still do not know exactly what my feelings are about the whole thing.

I'm not opposed to meatless meals a few nights a week, but to be turned vegan. Well, isn't it something one chooses?

I'm not against changing my eating habits, although I am slow to do it. I have made many changes over the last few year, all for the better.

I think that this change will be a little harder to make. I was raised by meat and potato in every meal parents. There were times I was convinced that my mother would stand at the meat counter and ask the butcher for the fattiest cut of meat.

Granted....yes I need to be more healthy....yes....I need to lose weight....yes....there is a history of cancer in my family that is rather daunting.

Actually, I now eat more healthy than I ever have in my life. More vegetables, fresh vegetables and not canned as well as better ways of preparing meals.

One might think that a Vegan lifestyle would not be such a huge transition and easier to make.....but....but....call me a skeptic.....I think I need some baby steps....a meal or two....baby steps....please.......

This a rambling blog, change is good I know. The change in my life over the last few years has been wonderful. A wonderful husband, two beautiful step-daughters, a home to share with them.

Some changes in life are easier than others.

Changing from 2 % milk to fat free was only a slight adjustment for me....I think going from meat to no meat will be a much bigger adjustment.

one kitchen mystery solved...

Beware of Pur products!

Purchase at your own risk.

Well, our last Pur faucet water filter will be our last Pur water filter. Upon moving outside of the city to an area where we get well water we purchased a Pur water filters for our faucet. At first it was great "hey we can get filtered water for cooking with out having to stand at the refrigerator". The joy was short lived. The product lasted less than a year. Against our better judgment we bought the same one to replace it because I had just bought filters from Sam's Club.

The new one is worse than the first one! We are only a few months into the use of this one and water sprays all over from the bottom and I was just using it getting filtered water and noticed that water is now coming from a crack in the side of it.

Great quality product! But I guess that is how they make money. People have to buy new ones more frequently. They will not sucker us in again. Admittedly we did not buy the top of the line filter but I would have hoped it would last longer than a few months! But, then again as I said that is where they make money.

Buyer beware! Use caution when buying a water filter for your faucet! Think again before you pick up the one from Pur.

On a scale of 1 -10...

Okay, on a scale of one to ten how tired is everyone else of hearing the name Brett Farve?

My "tired of hearing about Brett Farve" rating is - 210 and growing daily.

Had he not cried wolf about retiring for a couple of years now it would be different. The man finally makes a tearful announcement stating he is retiring from the NFL and....."has an "itch" to come out of retirement...."

Please for the love of NFL...MAKE UP YOUR MIND!

You retired, the team has moved on with Rodgers....let them play ball in peace....don't play yo-yo with them......don't keep them dangling on the end of the string year after year and then finally take the retirement walk...only to yank the yo-yo back up again.

Please for the love of all that is sacred between goal posts....just retire and be done with it.

If I were a Packer fan I would be trading in my foam cheese head for another teams colors.

So fellow football fans...on a scale of one to ten how tired of you of hearing the name Brett Farve?

so much for...

Sleeping in....

Cat in face 6:15 am...meowing...Roxie.

Okay...I give up and get up go out, let Jingles in who had spent the night outside, and feed them both. Back to bed I go.

Next thing I know.....I wake up to my mother outside in the street yelling "Lester, Chico, get over here"...over....and over.....and over....for what seemed like "forever". I am sure her neighbors were loving her at that moment. I wanted to yell out the window and tell her to be quiet!

Okay...I give up and get up go outside, yes in my nightgown and go to where my mother is yelling at the end of the driveway and say "Lester, now"...and imagine that he comes. Of course you only need to call Lester because Chico will fall in line behind him.

Simple as that....I have not lived with these dogs for two and a half years and they mind me better than they do her....but...then they always did....just like a kid they know who they can push and who they can't.

So much for sleeping in.....

One thought...or two....or...maybe it is just one...

I have been very lax in making entries. Many times my husband and I will be watching something and, well, naturally I react to something and it is common for Sam to say " I sense a blog entry here".

Then....being the purebred procrastinator that I am it does not get written about. I even have made notes on a note pad and...yep...those notes are still not that note pad and not one word is in this blog.

Yesterday I flew home to Michigan for a few days with family. So many things I thought...that is something to write about....eventually....maybe...you will be reading them.

One thing that comes to mind was the woman who was in the same row on the plane. Young woman, early thirties, I suspect Greek. Two young boys, 3 1/2 and 20 months, Alex and Daniel. She is lucky that Alex was quite content to watch a DVD of "Thomas the Engine", "Barney" and others I did not recognize. She had her hands full keeping Daniel entertained.

It was obvious that they had money, as she was dressed in high end clothes, Daniel had on little toddler "Ralph Lauren" jeans, and the huge "Coach" purse had to cost more than a car payment on my car.

But, I digress, one thing I noticed was how her pants were worn. I thought to myself, that shows a mother that has a child on her lap often. Jeans do not typically show wear on the top of the legs do they?

Okay...so....there is one thought....more to come

Okay...so what would you do??

Okay, so what would you do....

As reported in the Ocala Star Banner:

Clerks at a Mobil gas station located at the intersection of Southeast 52nd Street and U.S. 441, made a major mistake on Tuesday with the gas price. According to sheriff’s officials, the clerks told them when they were changing the gas price, instead of putting $4.02, the figures read 42 cents.

The clerks told deputies that 30 to 40 vehicles took advantage of
their generosity before they realized their error.

The price was immediately changed after a customer told them about the
error.

After it was read at work today, there was some discussion as to who would tell....and who would not have told....what would you do?