Hmmm I always say I'm going to write in this ... and then of course I don't. I'm trying to find a reason to now tho... and I think I've found it. I'm attempting ... course keep in mind I said attempting cause I've attempted to do this several times ... to keep at it. So now I'm going to post a picture a day ... we'll see how that goes. This is Bud. My almost constant companion. We walk several times a day and this is one of his favorite places to lay, in the middle of my couch behind where I sit at the computer. He's part lab and ... part who knows what else. I've always thought he was part greyhound. He can almost outrun a rabbit and I don't think he ever gets tired!!

it's been one of those days

woke up this morning not feeling especially good. played with Bud in the yard quite a bit this morning and walked a bit but didn't get it recorded on RunKeeper which is kind of annoying. I apparently walked and forgot to turn the app on on my phone. Oh well I know I walked it so I'll just have to deal.

Started getting a bad headache not sure if it's sinus or migraine all I really know is it HURTS!! still. Laid down and took a several hour nap with my meta meta (my cat). He is SOOO jealous of Bud it's not even funny. He has become more love me I'm here than he has been in a long time and I'm sure it's cause Bud is getting more attention. So needless to say Meta Meta is sleeping in bed with us again.

After I woke up from my nap I thought I'll mess on the computer a while. Well I was going thru my email and trying to drink my Mt. Dew (hoping it would help get rid of the headache) and jerked pretty bad. Dropped the Mt. Dew on my wireless keyboard which then fell to the floor. The Mt. Dew not the keyboard. So I'm HOPING my keyboard doesn't end up all sticky and such cause I don't really want to have to replace it and I don't want to have to take it apart. I've taken keyboards apart but never a wireless one yet. We shall see.

I'm headed back to bed now before my headache gets worse. have a good night all!

At the Vet

Took Bud to the vet this morning and he was GREAT!! Had a little trouble getting him to come in but once he was inside he was great. Walked without having to be drug along and they were all pretty impressed with the way he was walking on the leash :D

He weighs 11.2 pounds. Got his shots and has to go back for more in 3 weeks. no worms (good thing) and got started on his heartworm medicine and Frontline to keep the fleas off :D

When we got ready to leave these big dogs were sitting in front and he was like hmmm maybe I need to be a bad dog and let them know it LOL. he was growling and carrying on and they were just totally oblivious. Got up and walked away from him. Course the owners of the two big dogs said it happens all the time. :D especially with little weiner dogs. Anyways. Good day all in all and only walked twice today since most of the day I slept :(

Bud

Bud is my walking partner (and my dog). He's a cute little chocolate lab mix (mom was Lab not sure what dad was and don't really care). He's a great dog. Willing to go with me on my early morning walks (5:30 am). I am walking him twice a day. I decided today I was going to walk him a little earlier (before supper instead of after) and he decided he would rather NAP!! What? Are you kidding me? He ALWAYS wants to go. Apparently he's feeling lazy. So I went by myself (and yes I will turn around and go again here in a bit). I just wasn't planning on going all that far. Just a couple blocks but he didn't wanna go. Oh well.

I have only officially had Bud two days. But he's been walking with me in the morning for a couple weeks now. Maybe less. Don't really remember. I was walking one morning and he saw me and said OH GOODY let's tag along. And he's been tagging along ever since. I love it. Even tho I am generally listening to a podcast just knowing I'm not by myself is kinda nice :D

I need weight while I sleep

No I'm not talking about someone. I'm talking about someTHING!! I don't know why but I can't sleep without the weight of a blanket. My favorite weight would have to be a blanket that belonged to my grandma. I LOVE that blanket. It doesn't smell like grandma's house much anymore. I'd give anything to have grandma rather than the blanket but it's warm and soft and yet cool which is hard to explain. No matter how hot I get I can stand to have this quilt/blanket on me while I sleep. Without any weight I toss and turn and can't sleep no matter what I do.

I discovered this a long time ago but it really hit home last night. My feet were hot and I didn't want to sleep under the cover (and I have a comforter not the grandma blanket. My daughter is currently sleeping with it and doesn't particularly like having to give up the grandma blanket so ... I let her use it lol

In any case I would pull the covers off my feet and then lay there wide awake and couldn't go back to sleep. Finally I said well I guess I'm just gonna have to have hot feet. Covered up my feet and slept fine until 530 a.m. when the duck hunters started shooting at the ducks.

Boy I hope they got several cause that's all I've heard all day long!!

200 things

I found this on another blog so yeah I stole it

Just copy and paste the 200 statements then bold the ones you have done…the idea is to highlight the things you have done out of the 200 items on the list.

If you see bold in this one, it’s because I’ve done that. Okay, here we go…

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby’s diaper (way too many of these)
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity with my first check from my first "real" job. :D
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said “I love you” and meant it
11. Bungee jumped (this is likely to NEVER happen since I hate heights)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights (I want to do this sooooo bad and someday I will)
16. Gone to a huge sports game does the Cards playing the Cubs qualify?
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill haven't we all?
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Ridden a roller coaster (you couldnt' get me on one now if you paid me money well ... maybe for ENOUGH money but I hate them now)
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment
36. Loved your job 90% of the time
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach
41. Gone sky diving (NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN)
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow
47. Alphabetized your personal files
48. Ever worn a superhero costume
49. Sung karaoke
50. Lounged around in bed all day
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Done something you should regret, but don’t
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone - verbal not physical
67. Bounced a check
68. Read - and understood - your credit report (I don't like what it says though LOL)
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did
71. Called or written your Congress person
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money (on one of those call in radio shows guess the song but hey it was 100 bucks)
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school
89. Changed your name
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes (but I DON'T LIKE THEM)
92. Read The Iliad
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair
102. Dyed your hair
103. Been a DJ
104. Rocked a baby to sleep
105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all four
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people
108. Brought out the worst in people
109. Worn a mood ring
110. Ridden a horse
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe.
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) play
115. Been inside the pyramids
116. Shot a basketball into a basket
117. Danced at a disco
118. Played in a band (high school marching band)
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum
121. Tutored someone
122. Ridden a train
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt
129. Lived in a historic place
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating
135. Ran a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class-
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight
156. Gone on a diet
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem
159. Carried your lunch in a lunch box
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks
164. Gone to the opera
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers
167. Ridden in a limousine
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint
178. Laughed till your side hurt
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union
187. Donated blood or plasma
188. Built a camp fire
189. Kept a blog I don't exactly keep it CURRENT LOL
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible
198. Found a long lost friend
199. Helped solve a crime
200. Responded to a NJP newsletter

A month already

Wow I can't believe I waited a month. Well ok it will be a month tomorrow but STILL A MONTH!

No wonder no one reads my blog. LOL

Well let's update.

I found a house that I REALLY like in Whittington, IL. While I love the house. I am DREADING the move. Mostly because I dread moving. Not the moving. But the packing and going through my things. I love this keeping this. WHY do I STILL have this? throw that out.

I went up yesterday and spent ALL DAY waiting for the gas people to get there. Apparently the number they had for me was the wrong one so they couldn't get in touch with me to tell me "oh I'm sorry we'll be there but not until 6 pm but we WILL get there."

I just love little towns. While I was waiting for the electric guy (he has to come before the gas guy can). I went down to the little water department. They have made a FABOULOUS place out of the building. It's PRETTY. In any case walked in and the woman was on hold. She politely told her to hold on one moment and asked me if she could help me. Sure. I need to have my water turned on. Ok can you hold on one second. She needed to call that lady back. So we are chatting and as I'm paying my water deposit (all renters must pay 100 dollar deposit) her dad walks in. She says dad she needs the water turned on at (and gives him my address). He said sure no problem I'll be down there in a bit. And walks to the back. So I figure I'm going to wait a while before I got the water turned on. He comes down about five minutes later and turns on the water hollers in the window that I'm cleaning and says your water should work now you want to check it. I go to the faucet and low and behold water runs. Yeah it works. I'm so happy. Now if only I can get the lights and gas on.

The light guy comes at 10 I think wow could this day be ANY BETTER. Get it all done by noon and I can go home to Tennessee to finish packing and be home before my daughter gets home from school.

Well I didn't know that there was a light guy that came and then later (at SOME POINT) a gas guy comes. So I went to the stove and it wouldn't light. Call my mom and she says well the gas guy should light that for you. I said well he was here but he didn't. She said well call the office. I said well maybe he forgot something and had to go get it. What he could have forgotten I don't know but it's a good thought.

Well I was told to be there from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. They can come any time in that time frame. So I wait ... and wait and wait. Finally at 3:30 pm I call the power company. I said were they supposed to light the furnace and the stove. Oh yeah they are supposed to do that. But has the light guy came yet. I said yeah he came at 10 a.m.

She said well if they aren't there by 6 pm you'll have to wait until tomorrow. WHAT??? I drove three hours to get here ... I have to drive three hours back home. I am NOT going to drive back again tomorrow so I can wait all day again. Oh no we'll get you first thing in the morning. I said no you don't understand. I have a child at home that has to get to school and such. Well if you don't stay until they get there then you'll have to wait at least a week or more before they can get back to you. Well crap now what?

SmartList To Go

I am loving this program.

I bought a palm and so far ... I've got about 8 or 10 different Smart Lists going and so far I'm loving it. I don't know that I like the idea of having to pay $50 for it but ... I know if I change palm devices that it will work with a newer device so I may go ahead and keep it. We'll see when my time expires for my trial (in like 26 days).

I really use it quite a bit at the moment. To check my appointments and various other stuff. I plan on using it a lot more but I haven't just yet. Like I said we'll see how much I use it during my trial period. If I don't use it a LOT I might just stick with the free software I'm currently using and let the Smart List go.

I do know that my Palm Vx doesn't have enough memory for all the stuff I want :( But I'm working on deciding what I REALLY want with it and go from there.

Ahhh another day

Well today was rather eventful LOL

Terry decided he was going hunting. Well he said I need my phone out of your car. Ok so I go out to get it ... it's not there. Now no one could have gotten in my car except me, him and my daughter. I had it locked and most people if they were going to take the cell phone they would have taken the gps in my car too. A handheld not the dash mounted kind. It was in the same place as his phone.

Well it wasn't in there. So he says well the only person that I can think of that would take it is Natalie. So I drove to the school. Yes she had taken the phone without ASKING!!! Number one ... she HAS a cell phone. But according to her it's "junk."

Number two ... I told her if she would keep her room picked up for 30 days ... I would let her have a BETTER cell phone than his. One like the one I'm currently using ... oh no ... she thinks she needs it NOW. well no she doesn't she needs to WORK for what she has. Might as well learn now. She's 11 now but will shortly (in November) be 12.

Then after I got home with the phone ... Terry was going to go hunting and I was going to go geocaching for a bit. There is three within 10 miles of me that I haven't gotten to yet. Well actually four I think. In any case I took off and got two one way and then turned around and went the other way and got another so I got three caches for today. :) Pretty happy about that.

Then Terry got into a big fight ... We were playing around and he started to get a little rough. He was hurting me and the more he hurt the more I said ow that hurts. Did it stop him? No. So ... I bit him! Was I in the wrong? No I don't think so. He KNOWS what he was doing was hurting but yet he says well I just get into it ... I just can't seem to stop. Well after I bit him he sure quit fast and in a hurry

So now he's over there laying beside me and ignoring me (though not doing a good job) and playing his playstation game. Oh well such is life.

my new to me Palm Vx

Well I got my palm Vx today. I got it off ebay. At the moment I have it charging. I charged it earlier enough to play with it a little bit before it died again.

It doesn't seem to want to charge in the cradle though so I'm charging it with the other thing. (Sorry I don't know what to call it) LOL

I'm trying to find some games to play on it so that when I'm out "waiting" for something i.e. doctor, them to work on my car or whatever I can have something to do :)

I'm hoping that it will work for what I want it for but that will take some time. Until I can charge it and see if it will work ... I will search for software for my new Palm.

Geocaching

I recently got involved in a new hobby. Geocaching. It's a lot of fun (well to me it is anyways).

I call it a high tech treasure hunt. You can find more information here at www.geocaching.com

You take a gps (which I'll admit is not cheap) and then put in the coordinates of the cache you want to find from the geocaching website and go find it.

So far I've only found 13 but I am REALLY enjoying it. I've found mostly micros but I've been more places than I've ever been around here. In the four years I have lived here I didn't realize how pretty some of the places were. I've been in about three cemeteries. I have always liked cemeteries. Find some cool stuff and some strange names in a cemetery.

The favorite place that I've been so far is called the Guiding Light cache. It's high on a hill with a BIG cross. It was originally a memorial for Lee Morris. Now it is both a memorial to him and to the victims of the ones who lost their lives to a tornado in April 2006 in Dyersburg, TN

Very pretty scenery. And I look forward to seeing more places like it. Thanks for putting it there. I have driven by it several times and never seen it until I started geocaching.

Wow it's been a while

I haven't posted in a LONG time. It's been more than two years now. I'm not really sure WHY I stopped posting ... I just did.

Just got back from Illinois this weekend. My grandmother was diagnosed with cancer back in October last year. So Natalie hasn't been staying with her the last couple years. I go up with her and stay at either grandma's or Bec's house and let grandma and Natalie spend time together.

Walmart associates

I swear ... we went to Wal-Mart today and some of the associates that work there. whew I don't see how they keep a job.

for those of you who don't know. When you go into Wal-Mart, if you can't find something you're looking for they are supposed to show you where it is. They aren't supposed to say it's in aisle 41. They are supposed to TAKE YOU THERE!

Well we are going to paint my daughter's room and the Wal-Mart in Union City (half an hour from where we live) is remodeling. So you can't find ANYTHING in there. For instance the Domestics (bedding, pillows, kitchen stuff) is in the Garden Center. Sorry I'm getting off track.

When we went to find the paint chart (is what Terry called it) we asked one of the girls there where to find it. She said I don't know because I don't work back here I'm just helping but let me find you the paint person. So she goes to find the paint person and the woman says what are you looking for all snotty like. Terry said the paint chart. She said you mean the paint CARDS? He said yeah whatever. So she stands at the end of the aisle like we are dumbasses and says they are at the very end of this aisle on the left. Course there are 14 workers in the same aisle trying to disasemble the displays (because like I said they are remodeling). They have the aisle so close together you can't get one cart down there little lone have people on both sides that is blocking your path to the paint cards.

So while we are trying to get down the aisle to the paint cards she tells one of the guys that is trying to take apart the thing that holds the drill display. You don't need a screwdriver for that... you're going to tear it up. And he mutters under her breath and then says well that's how I was told to take it apart by whoever's name he used. She said well I'm telling you different. I don't care WHAT they said.

It's painfully obvious they don't really care for her. And how she gets to keep her job I'll never know.

Needless to say we didn't get any paint today. Didn't want to deal with her pain in the butt attitude.

had to show this

My daughter took this picture of herself. She was playing with the digital camera when we were up there the 10th and 11th of July and I thought it was pretty funny. She'll kill me when the boys start coming around. Oh wait they already do but they aren't taking her out yet. Which reminds me ... Terry and I need to go and get us a baseball bat.

Dwight came down to fish this time

Well Dwight (Terry's brother) came down to go fishing and we had a great time... that is until Dwight got a fish stuck in him. NOT GOOD!

He was trying to get the fish out of the landing net and as he was flinging the fish into the box it stuck him with it's fin. He's in pain and not happy about it. Course we fileted all the fish and he took them home so when he takes a bite now he can say take that you stupid fish. See what you get for putting a fin in me?

By the way in case you didn't know it. When you get stuck by a catfish you usually swell up. There is some discussion about catfish having poison in their fins. When they stick you most people end up with a swollen place and purple and blue. Dwight got lucky. It bled pretty good (almost made me sick) and I think he'll survive to fish again.

Unfortunately he had to cut his fishing trip short. They didn't get to go handpole fishing. :( By the way ... the wet spot on his pants is where water was coming out of the dip net when he was dipping fish.

yet another death

Ok .. maybe it's cause I keep talking about it.

David G. Smith was my first husband Gary's best friend. They went to grade school together. David had a twin brother Danny.

David lived behind me when I lived in Mt. Vernon and was a very good friend to me. He let me talk about Gary after he passed and let me cry and never said anything bad about it. Just let me talk and cry and shared funny stories with me.

He could sing just like Johnny Cash. In fact I loved to listen to him and remember that about him the most. I went to see him about a week before he passed and I'm really glad I did. I showed him pictures of mine and Gary's daughter which he was just thrilled with and he got to tell me all about his grandkids and how proud he was that his kids were doing so good.

went to see my daughter

My daughter has been gone to grandma's since June 2. She wanted to go back to Illinois to spend the summmer, like she has the last two summers. She loves it up there and it gives her a chance to spend time with the rest of the family (besides me and Terry) and her dad's side of the family. When I moved down here it was never my intention to take her away from her dad's side of the family but apparently that's how some of them felt.

Anyways I think my daughter is going to be quite the little cutie. She's also going to be a good photographer (like her mom I hope).

She took the pictures of the flowers. And Terry took the picture of her.

another death

Ok ... I've had enough. When is it enough?

The husband of the couple who used to babysit my daughter when I lived in Illinois has passed away. I would very much like to get up to the funeral but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. I have been in Illinois too many times already and I'll have to go back the day after the funeral. So I can't really afford it. Sorry Barb to hear of David's passing. He will be greatly missed. Natalie really liked him. She recognized the picture in the paper.

David Hamilton obituary

what next

Just found out that my uncle Earl is in ICU for a possible heart attack/thyroid/ whatever problem they think it might be. He is being held for observation. At the rate I'm going ... I'm going to need psychiatric help. or maybe medical help or something. What else could go wrong.