Unemployment?? Boy that was a close one...

Today was a super scary day for about 30 minutes. Hubby called to tell me that "Two Speed" (a coworker) just found out that he was laid off and there is rumored to be 15 expected layoffs. Two Speed went into the office to turn in his paperwork and WHAM he was asked into the big office and handed his severance package and told to clean out his truck, with best wishes and a list of hiring companies. There was no warning that this was going to happen, just a simple hello, goodbye kinda day.

I told hubby to let me know how it went for him.

THE LONGEST 30 MINUTES.....EVER!!!

The fear crept in instantly and I was close to tears. If it hadn't been for checking the mail and finding my current package of yarn there, I'm sure I would have broke down in sheer panic. I was already trying to figure out what things will would have to cut and where I could find a job.

The phone rang...Hubby took in a deep breathe (my mind went numb in fear), finally he uttered the words...I still have a job!
OH, THANK GOODNESS!!!! That was all I could say.

Later when the hubs got home he told me who all he knows got cut and why he didn't.

First.. he lost a good portion of his buddies that he runs with and chats with all day. He is very sad over this loss.

Second...he stopped one of the main girls in the office and asked her what the criteria was for keeping his job. She said for him it was mostly because he is in the top 10 of drivers who make the most loads and don't have alot of expense coming out for repairs. Basically saying he does his job efficiently and doesn't tear up is truck doing it. Plus combine that with is safety record (nobody calling in on him for unsafe driving or accidents)and always passing a DOT (Department of Transportation) inspection. Also unknown to the drivers but they have been spying on them all just looking for anything to pin on them... Speeding in the pits, failure to wear safety equipment, taking extra long lunches...just anything really.

All the while he was talking, I was thinking of the story of the Rabbit and the Turtle. Steady and careful vs fast and damaging.

It's just good to know that my hubby is a great truck driver and they value him as an employee...for now.

Making it through the winter chores...

There is just something about the winter months that keeps me soo busy.

First it's the holidays and all of it's hoopla, get ready for, then doing and then there is the recooping. Then we move into the switching over to the new year, for me that is a big deal. Switch out all the previous folders of bills and reciepts, tally the expenses of the year, file away all this junk and throw away the stuff from years past (but first go through it all and determine that it is throw awayable). Then there is all the stuff that was in storage that we are going through and repackaging, organizing and downsizing, what a chore. AND lets not forget TAX season, what a big stresser! Naturally I had to add to the mess with taking on 6 crochet projects to be finished before the warmer weather kicks in, which happens fast here in Texas.




Well I made it through all the paperwork and craziness and managed to get it all done. My desk is finally clean and my drawers/folders are ready for the new year, finally. The holidays are finally behind me (except for hubby's upcoming b-day)and the crocheting is more than half done. Still working on the storage stuff.

Maybe now that I have eliminated a large portion of it all, I will be able to think straight and get back on track with this blog and all my friends.

I Slept through the New Year!

Wow my first post of the year, you would think it should be grand or something but really not a whole lot has been going on around here lately.

Hubby came home super sick last Monday and by Thursday I was into the flu full blast, thankfully he was on the mend. New Years Eve came and went in a drugged out blurr of load noises and shaking dogs, as I was snuggled down in the covers and asleep by 10pm. Even though I was awake every few hours as the drowsiness of the nyquil wore off, I still missed everything. By mid New Years day my fever finally broke, that truly was a relief. There is just something about a fever that just zaps all energy from your body and just trying to lift your arms is exhausting.

Well the cloud has lifted and I can sorta think now. Although thinking might not be such a great thing, cause there is a mountain of paperwork waiting for me on my desk. Yes I pushed it aside just for you, temporarily. Tax season is such a drag! Then there is the cleaning out of my desk and preparing it for the new year, categorizing, collating, filing away. Yes, I'm a freak.

I've been super busy trying to get blanket #3 done (except for the days of being sick), looks like I might get it finished in the next two weeks. Yippie! I think I will be taking a break from crocheting for awhile, other things need my attention.

Surely yall have noticed I haven't been posting any pics on my other blog, well that's cause I haven't been anywhere. Seriously, the last time I was away from the house was Christmas day. I seriously don't have anymore new photos to show. Sad, I know. I think this Sunday I'm going to hijack hubby's new ride and go somewhere... anywhere! I am truly sick of being confined. I can't count how many times I thought of just going for a walk, but I am allergic to the cold weather. LOL! THAT IS WHY I LIVE IN TEXAS!!!! Or so I thought. LOL!

That is all for now, time to stop staring out the window and get some house work done. Yall have a good day!

Weekend with Hubby

Saturday I went to the flea market. I was really in the need for a personal shopping trip, even though it wasn't an extravagant trip (15$), it was alot of fun just browsing around for a little while. Then I went grocery shopping, which is always an exhausting ordeal. The store was packed with last minute shoppers for Halloween, I was just doing my weekly shopping. I came home content and tired. I saw hubby was already home and I was thinking I was finally going to get some help with carrying the groceries in. NOT! (normally he would)

This is the reason why:

Here is his story (after some henning from me about bring things home, but this time I was kidding cause this work bench he really needed):

He saw this man on the side of the road selling alot of things but mostly he saw that bench. On his way home he stopped to look it over. He asked the man how much. The man said he wants a 100, but he would let it go for 85. Hubby lets him know he only has 65, so if he was still around next weekend he would give him 80 for it. The man mulls it over and says he would hate to have to come back next weekend, so he will take that 65. Hubby spent all of his saved up pocket money, but personally I think he made a good deal. Anyway he was piddling with his new toy that came with a vise and a bench grinder with a light. Very happy hubby! BUT he had to work really hard to get the shed cleared out to put it in there. Soo he was happy, but tired.
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Saturday night we watched Scared Shreikless, yeah it was funny! Loved it when gingy was telling his story! I tried to stay up to watch Gremlins, but couldn't stay awake. I thought I was going to take a short hour nap, it turned into 5 hours! I know, I was just as surprised! I stayed up for 5 hours and then slept even four hours more. NINE hours of sleep! Blows my mind!
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Sunday morning I had soo much energy, must have been from all that sleep. I attacked the kitchen and started moving things and cleaning behind and under and a little reorganizing. Plus putting a roast on.

Hubby the channel flipper, was bouncing between the race and old scary movies. You know..Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, then suddenly it's Brian Vickers and Clint Boyer. I let him do his thing, well cause...both were good choices and I was watching both with him.

Suddenly out of nowhere (most likely brought on by a commercial) I say this:
Me: Soo, you think we will get any trick or treaters?

Hubby: Me!! (with his hand out)

Me: You’ll have to get dressed up in order to get any candy.

Hubby: What I’m not scary enough right now?!

Me: I‘m laughing and decide to share this with yall and as I walk by he says

Hubby: “Hey”

Me: Yeah

Hubby: “BOO!!!”
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Hubby later out of the blue says:

Trick or treat?

I get up and go in to look at him.

I say (Stupidly)..TRICK.

Hubby: Ohhhhh, you are sooo in for it now! Your gonna wish you had given me a treat!

I laugh and come back to the computer.

About 20 minutes later, while sitting here all engrossed in what I am researching...

BOOOOOO!!!! Right in my ear, with finger jabs to my sides!

#@%&!!! Scared the "you know what" out of me!

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I spent the rest of the day buying yarn on Ebay, finishing up the mess I made in the kitchen and watching Avatar with hubby (my second time, his first).
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Not a single trick or treater as I knew we wouldn't. We haven't seen one of those since the late eighties!
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A very nice weekend with the hubby. HAHAHAHAHA (insert evil laugh)

Working on my room

If you have been following me on facebook then you know I have been working like a sled dog, trying to get my bedroom finished. The post that I put up about my first blog post, kinda kicked me in the gut and embarrassed the heck out of me. I am on a mission and yes I have been moving out all the junk in preparation, but seriously who knows how long it would have took me to get it done if I hadn't reviewed that post.

I started painting two days ago, kinda taking my time. I was hoping the hubs would pitch in and help get the ball rolling. The more I complained of not getting the floor done, the more I realised I was on my own. It's not that he wouldn't want to, it's just that by time he gets home from work he is exhausted and so that leaves no energy to help me.

I woke up yesterday morning with the mission nagging me, so naturally I started moving the bed and dresser and yanked up the carpet. I knew the floor was bad, but I never imagined it was that bad. A patchwork of fixings is what I found. I lost count after 13 pieces! There was even some of the original floor pieces, yeah those were the ones that felt like you were going to fall through the floor. If it hadn't been for the carpet covering it all, I would have never put one foot in there! Nor would I have put my bed in there, which (come to find out) did have one leg stuck in the floor.

When I say we bought a fixer upper, I am soooo not exaggerating!!

Too late to turn back now, so trudged on.

All the wood is at the other end of the trailer, so I had to move everything out of my way so I could have a clear shot. Why is wood so friggin heavy?? I pulled, tugged, lifted and repeated several times till I finally got ONE piece back there. Only 3 more to go!! Phew!

I started this project at 10 am, by 2pm I was at the point of having to pull out the Skil saw to cut pieces to fit. I called hubby (thank goodness) and he said just get the wood marked and ready and he would cut it as soon as he got home. I would have done a happy dance, but I was too sore!

I took a break and while talking to SIL I realised I was going to need a carpet for my room and some shelf units would be helpful too. So off I went to charge up the card at Big Lots. A little shopping after a hard days work is always a nice bonus, if my feet would work right. I was actually in a hurry to get out of the store just so I could get back in my truck and off of my feet.


I finally get back home and back to work.
Set up the wood for hubby and do the measurements. I hate measurements, if they don't fall on one of the four marks in a inch then I get lost.
Then there was the moving everything back in its place so that the house doesn't look like a tornado moved through.
Then the cooking of supper. I was so happy to sit down and eat supper, well actually just the sitting down part, I was too tired to eat. (that never happens!)

After a hour break, I headed back to the dreaded dungeon.
Drilling down the wood and the cordless drill decides it has had enough. So I had to go old school...electric drill. Why I didn't go that route to begin with is beyond me. The power, oh the power!! I will know better next time, that's for sure!

(Where is my nice comfy bed?)

(Mom, you better put back the carpet, I need traction!)

Now if I can just get back to work, I might get the tiles down before morning. Can't wait to get my bed set back up, cause you can bet your botton dollar I am going to crash!!!!!

I want to shut down. Walk away from the boxes that are looking at me.

Have ya sat back and wondered "what in the world has happened to Heather"? That girl used to blog everyday, then down to five days, then 4, now we're lucky to get 3 a week from her. What the heck is going on? She worked tirelessly to get to every one's blog. She was dedicated and reliable. What happened to that?

Well folks, I just don't know. Maybe I have hit a slump or maybe I haven't had that much going on lately. Okay that last part is soo wrong. I have been soo busy, I nearly can't think straight. This is a busy I have brought on myself, by the end of the day I just want to vegg out in front of the tv. My poor followers are suffering from my neglect.

I am working on trying to find a balance, it is not easy. I have dove into trying to get my bedroom floor done, before the kids and grand kids get here next month. This requires me to take all my junk and more junk (I'm talking boxes of stuff that I have no place for. A storage shed is needed)out of the room, go through it, weed stuff out and stack it in my kitchen. Just walking around my kitchen to my office is such a maze, it'll make ya dizzy.

Every time I look at the stacks, I sigh and turn away in disgust. The project is soo overwhelming, 60% of the time I don't even want to think about it. These boxes have been in my room for the last two years, cause I knew it was a huge task that I wasn't looking forward to doing. As long as I didn't think about it or have to look at them, everything was hunky dory. I just kept putting it off cause I was waiting for the money for materials to do the floor. Excuses, I know. I could come up with more, but I better stop while I am already digging.

My kitchen bathrooms and living room are always clean, but now you know my dirty little secret. I put things off, if I can hide them from view. LOL!

I thought maybe I could just shove the boxes in hubby's shed. Well..I guess he's as bad as I am, cause I can't even walk into the shed!! He has just as much junk as I do! Although he claims all of his stuff has a purpose, they can all be used at some time or another. Blah blah blah.

Another reason I have been missing in action, is that I have been going out in the evenings (when it is a degree cooler) and walking. On the one day hubby has off, I have been trying to spend with him. You know instead of sitting here in a different room and ignoring him. Okay not ignoring him, but not really being there with him or for him. Not that he complains, I just get conscious of it and feel bad.

On a good day my computer gets too about 20 blogs in 5 hours. Just knowing that and opening my reader, seeing the numbers up in the 50's or even the 70's, makes me sigh and get discouraged. Soo I am back to the same old thing, too much to do and not enough time in the day to do it.

Solution? I don't know if there is one. Sigh.

Overwhelmed, stressed out and way too much on my plate. BLAH! The kids are coming, ALL of them and now my bff is planning to come. The house looks like a storage unit and I am out of ideas, woman power and space. Oh yeah and get up and go! You know I just realized I am putting all these boxes in the wrong place. When I get the wood to do the floor, I'll never be able to get it into the room. SIGH...Bang head on desk!

Why is it the more you have to do, the less you want to do it? AND how do you cut corners to get it all done?

Rocks

So last post I mentioned hubby bringing me some rocks for the yard design I had in mind.
Here is a pic of my yard kinda bare and difficult to mow. I dreamed up a design that might look good and elevate the mowing issue, but first I had to get my hands on some rocks.

Hubby offered to bring me some rocks from work, but I had to unload them. Two hours of shoveling them out from the back of his pickup and lots of pain later, this is what I got done.

It was six in the evening by time I finished and since there was still some sunlight left, hubby thought it was a good idea to go get some more. Which was kinda cool cause yall know how much I LOVE to get out of the house, any excuse will do!

Just gotta love the look of a man driving a large piece of machinery!

I just had to share all my hard work with yall, even though as you can tell it is not finished.


I did manage to hurt myself as usual, my left shoulder feels like I pulled something and my left wrist still hurts but is getting better.

I am currently having an affair with Ben, but don't worry he is Gay. He sure does know how to treat my shoulder right. Sorry, bad joke, I know..but bf and I laugh our butts off cause we are on such intimate terms with Ben. Our hubbies should be jealous!
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When I told hubby I was going to post about rocks, he insisted that I show yall his fabulous pics from work. A strange and natural phenomenon that happened after moving truck loads of rock from this pile. The more that was hauled away, the top rocks would fall and left this face in the side of it. Hubby was at first creeped out at it, but that quickly turned into WOW!

Lawnmower Man, Music and a Storm.

Well yesterday was a really good and productive day with a stormy forecast.

Tuesday I called brother J and found out he was going to be free for the next few days from work. He is starting his own lawn maintenance business on the side and well.....you know just how much I really hate to deal with the yard (like haven't touched it in two or three weeks). One topic lead to another and voila, I have my own personal Lawnmower Man!

I also talked to sister J about the music SonIL downloaded for me to my MP3 player. Next thing I know she is giving me homework to list some of my favorite artists and songs. I emailed her the list several hours later. A looooong list! I really like most all types of music from the 40's to about a decade ago and from rock n roll to country.
It was a very difficult piece of homework... "Oh I like that song!" Now come on brain, who the heck sings it?? What's that song that Cinderella (Not the cartoon) did way back when? Very difficult task indeed!!

From my understanding they were going to leave at noon, so as usual in my mommy mode I called several times, mostly to make sure he was up and on schedule. I know I can be a pain in the rear sometimes, especially with him. What can I say, he was the baby when I was still taking care of the kids and living at home. We were/are tight like that.

On to yesterday's events...

After calling him (and yes he was still asleep), I started to look for something.
I can't remember what that initial item was, cause I got lost in dragging out all of the items in the kitchen closet and tool cabinet. Seriously I had stuff everywhere! Every surface in my kitchen was littered with this and that, from paint supplies to screws and nails and JUNK!

I was sitting here taking a break from my work and checking my pages (which were dead, btw). A knock on the window scares the Cr** out of, Whiskers (who was sitting in that window), made me jump up and cuss and the dogs all start with the barking.
Surprise! It was hubby, who was laughing his head off at all of us fraidy cats!

Two minutes later brother showed up. Okay now..this boy (not a boy anymore, a 30 yr old man) was just too cute being all professional with me like I was a client (well really I was, I did pay him). I was resisting the urge to bust out laughing! Asking questions of what I wanted and not. Just way too cute! I had to leave him to it or I wouldn't have had the heart to let him do it.

Sister downloaded all the songs she had for me from their external hard drive.
4GB!!! YIKES! That is a lot of songs! It is going to take me forever to go through them all and only pick 2GB of them to put on my MP3 player! We had a good time chatting, while I continued on my task of organizing and putting things back in place.

I broke my rule of eating out and sister and I went to Micky D's to get supper.

Speaking of food...Earlier this morning my landlord dropped by and gave me a huge bag of plums. There was no way we was going to be able to eat it all, so I asked brother if he would drop them off at mother's on his way back home. He said yes.
(I'll have to call mom and find out if she got any of them, brother was eating a lot of them)
Good since your going there, you can take this..and this..and that. This is for sister M, this is for Boo and that is for Mom, oh yeah and this is for sister E and go ahead and give this to Dad(just to aggravate Mom)!

Back to the end of my story...

Brother worked his skinny little butt off and at times I was very worried about him. I happened to have looked at him in passing and the veins on the sides of his forehead looked like they were going to burst! It was a little freaky!

But my Yard is done all the way around and with trees trimmed! I have only managed to do that a few times and it takes me all friggin day! AND at least two days to recoop!

They were getting ready to leave and we could tell a storm was rolling in. Loading up the truck with all my offerings for them and other family members, the storm was moving in very fast. It went from calm and a little hazy with noise in the distance, to heavy wind with the storm practically on us. We was rushing back and forth to get all the stuff as quickly as possible.

The peach tree has been so heavy with peaches that the largest branch was laying on top of the house. I went out with arm full of stuff and had no problem walking under the branch. With the wind picking up as harshly as it did, it moved the branch and it was now drooping down on the steps. I had to duck to get under it.

Just after they pulled out and was on their way, I was showing the branch to hubby through the door window. Right before our eyes the wind picked up the branch and broke it, leaving it blocking the steps to the porch.

Brother Come Back!!! I have some more work for you!! LOL!

Woes with me!

Just a quick note...
Phone issues is still unresolved! Ever once in a while I can get online, but it is a crap shoot as to how long it will last. Yesterday it was 20 minutes and then again for a whole 30 seconds. I am at my wits end as to what to do. The repairman says he has been here twice! I have been working in the yard for two days staight and have yet to see him pull into my driveway. Why he is lying is beyond me!

I will be back when ever I can. I feel like I am stuck in a time loop that has no end! I'll just be here going round for round with the insanity of it all!

If I can't get back before the weekend...have a good one.

My Weekend

Sorry I haven't been around. The phone issue was freaky and uncertain at best. I could log in during the day but not at night. The buzz in my phone got louder and louder to the point of not being able to use it at all. I spent all weekend with no Internet.

But I got a lot done. Just further proof that the Internet has interfered with me getting things done around the house.

Saturday:
Visited with best friend and had a real good time. That evening I reorganized my dresser and closet.

Sunday:
My brother and SIL came to visit. BUT before they got here, of course I cleaned up the house. They stayed and had supper with us. Pretty cool I was able to feed four people for just over a dollar. Mashed potatoes and free bass fillets, hubby got from BF's husband. YUM!!

I gave them stuff for the baby (who is going to be my namesake), stuff for the new apartment and some food.

If you will remember I won the giveaway over at What passes as sane on a crazy day
When I entered the giveaway, I never intended to use it for myself. I knew right off that I would give it to brother and SIL for the new baby.
I know yall are just so curious about what they picked from the site www.csnstores.com

A crib and mattress (mattress sold separately).

Out of pocket expense for me: $41! What a fabulous deal! Thanks Spot!

Well while they were here, my brother starts looking around wanting to see what things have been done to the house since he was last here. Sadly I was embarrassed that I really haven't done anything noticeable except for the office. This was weighing on my mind after they left. Sooo, I broke out the tiles and glue and started doing the hallway and bathroom floor at 1am to 3am. this morning!

Monday:
I worked extra hard in the yard while waiting for the so called phone repairman. I weed eated the patio bricks and sprayed weed killer into each and every seam of each and every brick. When I tried to stand up, I thought my back would never be the same again!! I am sooo feeling the burn in the back of my thighs! I might not be able to move tomorrow! LOL! I then moved on to weed eating the other trouble areas, like the flower bed I put down last year and was over grown with the toughest grass I have ever seen. I decided to tear it all up and move all my rocks. I don't think I will try that area again any time soon.

About that soo called repairman...I wanted till 2:30 and called the company thinking they could easily find out where their man was and how much longer. Nope all I got was a vague UP TILL 8pm. I told her he had better not show up at 8pm, cause my hubby is going to bed at that hour and he will come unglued! It fell on deaf ears. I took both phones to bed with me for a nap. I figured when the guy came knocking on the door the dogs barking would wake me up. No barking ever happened and I didn't miss any calls. I call them back and she says he has been here and didn't find any problems, so he left. He never even tried to let me know he was there or to check to see if the phone was fixed. That pissed me off!

I checked if I could get online and well here I am! I will be here for ever, cause I'm too scared to go off line, I might never get the connection back again! LOL! AND my phone still has a hum in it!

Relaxed Day

Finally a day to relax and lounge around in my jammies. I could easily find something to do, but I DON"T WANNA!!

I have played games, read some blogs and had long conversations on the phone. I did manage to make my mother mad for talking badly about her baby daughter, who (we in the family) knows she favors the most. I can always tell when she is mad, she just says ahha occasionally with dead silences in between.

I paid some bills and organized my new desks drawers. I have stared out the front door many times and well..It's too hot to get busy out there.

I did give the dogs a spray down for fleas, that was fun. Watching Taco trying to rub it off on any surface available was a hoot!

I thought I might get yall in on my super relaxed day! Not much going on here just a hmmm...what to do next..I wonder...

Maybe I could tackle the boxes in my room and throw away a bunch of junk...Naw that would take many hours, okay maybe I will tackle maybe two boxes.
Any one want:
some Christmas junk? LOL!
OR how about some granny squares I'm too lazy to sew together!
Or some material I will probably never use.
Stuffed animals? Seriously why do I still have lots of stuffed animals?
That idea just came and went with all the hard thinking of what to do with all of it. Waaaay tooo much work for a relaxed day...maybe tomorrow or tomorrow or tomorrow! LOL!

As far as the background goes: This is it, till I get bored of it. Boo be nice!

I think maybe I will kick the dogs outside and make myself a salad and cozy up to the tv for about two hours. Hey it's worth a shot, I might find a good movie. It would really have to be a great movie to get me to sit still that long! LOL!

Hope yall are enjoying your day!

Have A Nice Weekend

Please excuse the changes I am making.
I hope to have a permanent layout by Monday.
Having a real hard time finding something that I will really like for a long time.

I will be soo glad to say good bye to this week and start fresh with a new and hopefully a better week.

If you want a good Boo (Niece) story go here

Hoping to get my office finished this weekend, will post pics as soon as it is done.

Yall have a good weekend!