Things that make you go....AUGGHHHH!

There are benefits to taking your husband to work before even the roosters are up, like having time for a blog entry, and drawbacks. I was returning home this morning from delivering my husband to his place of employ, hardly a sole on the road, and came to the one red light working so far. As I proceeded to stop a terriable squealing, grinding noise assaulted my ears. My heart started racing as I briefly wondered if the car would be able to stop at all. My fear and my hearing over-riding my other senses. I safely came to a complete stop and eased off of the brakes slightly, but the sound continued. I knew it was over, the brakes I had been trying to milk a few more miles out of, had finally given out and now I was doing irrepatiable damage to the only mode of transportation we have. I sat at the stop light trying to quickly find imaginary money to replace the brakes on the car, in my mind,when I noticed the grinding sound was still continuing. This is when I looked around and saw a garbage truck across the intersection from me. DOH! I'm saved for another week.

With the move, and christmas the belts are a little tight at the moment. So things like brakes and trips to the dentist to have Hubbys molar yanked are on the back burner as not "high priority items". Not to mention I killed the vacume cleaner my sister lent me...I mean metal shaving shot out from underneath it..this can not be good right? So the brakes wait, and hubby suffers in semi-silence until such time as these things can be addressed. No we do not have insurance...and I told you all of the above to say this:

We don't have health or dental insurance because...it costs to dang much! For a family of 6 it runs us about $180.00 - $200.00 a week depending on the provider, that doesn't include co-pays and perscriptions. Now say an emergency trip to the doctor runs around $100.00 and these dont' happen that often ...it is actually cheaper for me to just pay the doctor than to pay some stupid company to use my money to cover part of the bill for me later. I dont' know about the rest of you but I can not afford to give up that much of my paycheck to pay for something that might or might not happen...I'm just saying. Then the hassle of finding a doctor who will take the certain type of coverage you might have...instead just going to see the doctor you like.

The insurance companies are a scam that need to be brought in check..just my opinion,but it does have a little factual basis to stand on. Insurance has always been a betting game, since it came into being. Many moons ago...okay the late 1700's, early 1800's, a gentle man of a certain rank could go to his club of choice and offer a wager in a certain book that was held in all the clubs of note. This wager would state that the Gentleman would still be alive on a certain date and if he was, the money collected from the pool would then be paid to the gentleman. Others could also "weight" in on this bet, either for or against the death with portions of the pool being paid out to them as well. This was called an insurance marker. Sounds like fun uh? and the perfect way for a bored gentleman to spice up his othewise droll life.

What I Learned at Work Today

True or not I don't know, but customers will tell you interesting "facts" like the one I learned today. President Tyler was our most prolific president to date..and probably ever as he had 14 children. 7 by his first wife and 7 more by his second wife. President Tyler was vice president, and down on his knees playing marbles with his son, when he was informed he was the President of the United States. The previous president had died to a fever after only being in office for about 30 days. Today's lesson boys and girls? If you are going to be President wear a coat or at least a hat when giving a two hour speech on inaugeration day.

School is out for Christmas break. I refuse to call it "winter Break". I will not conform and if the conformist police show up at my house...well then you will know the country has really lost it's mind and freedom of expression is no longer allowed. Yes, I am aware that we have already given that freedom away to an extent. All I can say on that ...is I'm not the only one who voted for him and in a few years hopefully the next yahoo will make it right. But if you guys are holding your breath on that ..I have a nice bridge for sale, imported even.

Since we are talking about Presidents (okay I'm talking about them) did you know that President Ford is the only U.S. President to have never been elected to office? Just in case some news channel somewhere misses this... He was appointed Vice President by Nixon to replace Agnew, then assumed the Presidency when Nixon resigned. Isn't history cool?

I was dealing with Presidents past before President Ford passed away and the info for Tyler came up. The bank has periods of slowness, because it is a small town bank surrounded by big city banks; our customers are mostly older and use terms like "I've traded here since 19-- whatever" needless to say...periods of free time and boredom are not rare. So I have been taking the crossword puzzle to work with me and actually almost finishing it. One of the clues given was LBJ's veep. Now try as hard as I could I can not remember who his vp was. So anyone with the answer will win...my graditude. Baiscly I am to lazy to look it up and want to pass on the frustration I have been feeling for not knowing this to others. Aren't I sweet?

A Working Title

Apparently some places still use a typewriter for certain tasks, the bank where I work is one of them. Lucky for me I went to highschool back in dark ages when typewriters where abundent. That's right boys and girls, there was a time when you took a typing class instead of keyboarding. So when taken over to this ancient machine I had a base knowledge of how it worked and it's functions. The machine at work is a newer model than the ones we had in high school though, so the paper adjustment knob doesn't exist. The person training me had quite a laugh when I reached over to turn the knob and my hand met nothing but air. Can anyone guess what the sound of typewriter keys striking does to the writer in me? It's like Pavlov's dogs, someone uses the typewriter and my fingers start to twitch.

Things on the homefront are settling down. Life with puppy is still a challenge. My children are in middle school an highschool, so you would think my days of toys all over the living room and baby gates where long gone, but no. I have the pleasure of trying to housebreak a puppy while working. Lucky for me the kitchen has one solid door and my sister had an old baby gate for the doorway into the dinning room. This would work better if the children remembered when letting the puppy out of the kitchen when they get home to carry her directly outside. Rain is also not my friend. The older dogs can hold it until inbetween showers to go outside. Holley has no concept waiting. It is a sad sad day when you start adding things like a carpet shampooer to your Christmas list for Santa, cause you really really want/need one. Leggs would like for me to invest in their company. The new job's dress code is skirts or dresses only and you must wear pantyhose everyday. Add puppy teeth and claws and you get .....yep a new pair of $4.00 hose every other day basicly. Sit has become our favorite game. I walk in the door, Holley spots me, she rushes at me tongue out, paws ready to jump on my leg, and I yell "Sit, Holley" which for the past few days she has been doing very well. She will run over and sit on my foot, then wait for me to walk away and attack the hose. If I leave them on the floor..bye bye hose. I guess you could say we are training each other. I don't leave my clothes on the floor as often as I used to. Ha ha mom don't you wish you had thought of that trick while I was growing up? It is working for Ashley too, she lost her favorite pair of underwear the other day.

Things that bug me......

I really do try to keep the little things that get on my nerves to myself, for the most part at least. But, this year my list seems to be getting longer.

1) Christmas does not start on the day after Thanksgiving! The reason we are all so sick of the Holidays by the end of them is because we keep starting earlier and earlier. If your lights aren't out, your cards in the mail, your tree up and most of your christmas shopping done...then you have no Christmas spirit. To this I say Bah Humbug! I have lots of Christmas spirit. I just believe that before say December 15th, keep it in check. You might find you enjoy the season a little more.

2) I am sick of people saying you can't say Merry Christmas! If someone wants to wish me a happy Kwansa or Hanukkah I will cheerfully return the greeting. Stop stepping on my religious freedom because "it offends you!" A spanish teacher at my son's highschool, doesn't want the kids to say Merry Christmas it offends her religous belief's. Okay I can understand that, but don't offend mine in the process. And just a reminder as my friend Charlene pointed out...Jesus would be celebrating Hanukkah as well this time of year.

3) if your going to dress as Santa Claus...your kind of obligating yourself to be cheerful to the masses. Do not dress as Santa and then run around like the grinch.


Now to some better news. Allen and I always get a real tree. Not because we like having to water it or or vacume up needles every year, but because Allen doesnt' want to have to deal with storing a fake tree. He much prefers throwing it out when done, and besides they make decent mulch. This year with the move and all we were worried about being able to get a tree. Once again we have been blessed. The family that gave us Holly, and running the tree stand next to Allens job, came to him the other night and gave him a 6 ft douglas fir. How is that for awesome?

Oh another thing that is getting on my nerves...blogger is not letting me comment on peoples blogs. I make my comment, but in the word verification (if it's on) and sign me little name with password..blogger then tells me..I don't exsist. Except that most times I go to a blog..I'm signed into my blogger account..so you go figure that one out. But Matt, Kappa, Cath and everyone else...I am reading, just not being allowed to post back.

Tomorrow is my little sisters Birthday. I just want to take a second and wish her a Happy Birthday, and 28 years of stealing my limelight and generally being a pain in my butt. I hope she continues to do it for years to come. So Steph Ha,ha, ha...I don't know what your getting for your birthday....

Now if you excuse me...it's my first weekend off and I just got the new expansion for my game so if you need me I will be defending my realm and hopefully killing many enemies (or at least running with a large group of others that are killing many enemies)

I do not think it means, what you think it means....

Day 2 of my new job, and my feet don't hurt....my brain, well that's a different story. Math has never been my strongest subject. Oh, I can add and subtract well enough. Give me an average gas price, the miles in a trip, and how many miles to the gallon you get...I can estimate how much it's gonna cost to get where you want to go. Unfortunately my skills stop there. Math and I had a pretty decent relationship, up until the day it decided it want to introduce me to such fun things as "imaginary" numbers. Well, thank you very much, but I have enough problems with really numbers...I don't' need pretend ones getting into the mix and messing it all up. Then hand me something like algebra and say... the answer isn't important really...it's just the steps.

Today on my job they introduced the concept that "debit" means take in and "credit" means to give away. Excuse me? Man, have I been using those words incorrectly all these many years? I just tricked my brain..take in use the yellow form, give away use the white. Much less confusing.

And this fun fact...to subtract, you have to add first. And they wonder why I struggled with math..doh! Actually it's not that bad. I am enjoying it. The customers are very patient with me and very nice. The people I work with are very friendly and for me that is a big plus.

Had kids home sick today, they are okay just a little bug. The funny part of that story was my sister called the house to check and make sure everyone went off to school. Kids at home answered the phone (I was on the other line with them at the time). Steph says you better have permission to be there I am calling your mom. Child gets back on phone with me and tells me what their Aunt said. I called my sister as soon as I finished talking to the child. Steph greets me with "Do you know.." I cut her off " that I have two kids at home? yeah, I know."...Poor kids they will never get away with much. snicker snicker.

I love being close to my family and friends again. The big empty spot I didn't even realize was there is filled and I feel so much more like myself. I just slipped on my best comfy clothes and I don't think I will be taking them off again. God willing.

Hermes update: He has come out of hiding and is adapting very quickly. Like his name sake he flits about the house investigating. Stopping long enough for a quick petting and off again. Max seems to be well pleased. He chased Herm earlier tonight. We thought this would be a problem, until we caught Herm looking for Max and enticing him to give chase. We then realized with our feeble little human brains they were playing.

What I learned today....

I learned that standing in heels for 8hours, can seriously hurt your feet and lower back. I started my new job today, as a teller in a local bank. They do have chairs, but they want you stand while dealing with customers..which is understandable. However, I am not used to standing for such long periods of time, let alone in heels. By the time I got home tonight, Allen was calling me old woman, because I was truely hobbling up the sidewalk. I had bent over slightly to try and ease the pain off of my ankles (didnt' help) and I have a short strap purse, that normally hangs on my shoulder. Not tonight however, tonight it hung..yep you guessed it, in the crook of my arm.

Some new additions have been added to the family recently, and before you groan in horror let me splain... We recently came to the decision that Boogie needs to be let go soon. Although he still has good days they are fewer and further between. Most days he barely eats and just lays on the floor whinning. The tumors are spreading rapidly and it is hard on him and us. This left us with a problem. Bear does not like being the only dog. We had decided to look for a companion to come live with us for him. He really enjoyed playing with Candy, but I didn't want another small horse, so was in the mood for a medium size dog. Allen and Ashley quickly jumped on the chihuaha band wagon. They won. A tree seller near Allen's work was giving away Pom-Chi's. We now have Holly (didn't name her she came that way) a large hamster/small guina pig sized 7 week old, not housebroken puppy..oh joy oh rapture. But she is cute with her little button black eyes and ity bity black nose...and teeth sharp enough to cut panty hose to shreds when she greets you at the door, for leaving her all day to go to work.

Max was not a happy kitty when Holly came home. So once again we discussed getting a cat for the cat (yes I"m nuts I get that) wanted a 4-6 month old kitten to raise with the dogs and as a playmate for Max. The situation reached critical mass when Max ambushed me on the stairs trying to get me to play with him. My arms where full of laundry, and I'm a klutz...draw your own picture..I'm fine by the way, just a little bruised, the floor broke my fall. So Hermes came home tonight..or lets say we are feeling each other out. He is currently hiding under the couch refusing to speak to anyone. Although he was quite playful and loving at his previous owners when we met him. I am going to give him a few days and see how it goes. Max seems to like him in that he layed on the floor doing the cat stare down contest with out growling or attacking him. Hermes however did not trust this behavior.

Will put up pics of Holley soon.

Blog Chain # 8/accountability.

Can you believe we are on Number 8 already? Asorum did a great job of linking the last chain to this one with his posthttp://www.harboradvice.com/2006/12/why-participate-in-aw-blogchain.html.

Asorum asked why participate. The chains are fun, comming up with ways to make an entire post with out covering the same ground the one before you covered. Or finding that one sentence that takes your brain in a totally different direction than the last post went.
For me however, the real reason is accountability.

If I give my word that I am going to do something I will place it higher on the priority check list I keep running in the background. With my personal writing, it will get pushed further and further down the list as life intrudes, until it is no longer on the list at all.

So in a way, I am being selfish. Because I have others depending on me, holding me accountable, I must write. I must engage that part of my brain that I otherwise might shut off.

Things in my life have changed rapidly in the past few weeks. We have moved and getting the internet turned on, at the new place took longer than I would have liked. I am also about to start working outside of the home again, so I know that my writing time is going to get cut into. But having things like Flash Fiction Friday, the Blog Chain and Comment Chains, will help me keep writing a top priority as I become accustome to my new routine.

For those of you who have stuck around and waited me out in my spuratic fits lately, thank you. I really have missed everyone very much.

Gillian is next in line this chain..I can't wait to see what our resident Proffesor has to say, she almost always brings a smile to my face when I read her posts.Gillian's Journal

And here is the list of everyone set to participate in the Chain this round:

A View From the Waterfront

Just a Small Town Girl

Gillian's Journal

Writing From Within

Down From the Garrett

Incoherent Blabbing From an Incoherent Person

Curiouser and curiouser

Peggy

BTGC Production Log

NVNC ID VIDES, NVNC NE VIDES

Fireflies in the Cloud


awchain