Back to Work

Woke up this morning feeling pretty good considering the horrible night I had. I guess my body was sore from just laying around for three days, cause I could not get comfortable in the bed or on the couch. My whole body ached, especially my legs. I would lay down, then get up and walk around and try to lay down again. I was miserable. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep and thought about calling in again just to get some sleep. But, I knew that wouldn't be right. So, I got up and went to work.

Had a lot of work to catch up. My desk is a mess! Maybe I should start decluttering there! :)

Went to the store for Daddy at lunch. Wouldn't get too close to him for fear of passing on whatever I have to him. I hope he and Mama don't get sick.

Mama called to see if I had gone to work, then she kept telling me I should have stayed at home and not gotten out in this cold weather (I didn't think it was cold). She swears I'm going to get pneumonia. No, I'm not! That's the reason I never tell her when I'm sick with something bad. She will have me dead and buried. I don't like people speaking sickness and death over me. The Bible says "life and death are in the power of the tongue." I only want good things spoken over me and my family. But I can't get that through to her. According to her, pneumonia comes from getting wet or cold - it has nothing to do with germs.

Tonight was practice. I emailed Karen and told her I'd be there, but I might be singing bass. Went to practice and was pleasantly surprised that I was able to sing soprano. God is so good. We had practice, then an hour of prayer. It was just what I needed.

I'm feeling so much better since I got home from church; not coughing at all and my voice sounds fine. I figured I wouldn't even be able to talk after singing for an hour. But, I'm fine. I'll be back to my normal self tomorrow.

Now, I've got to go to bed and see if I can sleep all night. Goodnight and God bless.......

Monday-Didn't make it to work

When I woke up this morning, I felt awful and was coughing something awful. I called and left a message for my boss and turned over and went back to sleep. Daddy called and woke me up. He wanted me to go get him some bread. I told him I couldn't do it today, but I'd make sure I got him some tomorrow.

Mama called to let me know she'd had her mammogram and give me down the road because I was sick and haven't gone to the doctor. I don't go to the doctor unless I can't take care of myself and I'm doing okay. It's only the crud that's going around. A lot of people have it. As long as I stay hydrated, I'm going to be okay. It just has to run it's course.

Penny called to tell me she had to take Swayde to the dentist. It seems he got hit in the mouth twice while he was spending the weekend at his daddy's and his daddy didn't bother telling Penny until Sunday. He got hit in the mouth Friday night and Saturday and it loosened his front tooth. Neal called her Sunday morning and said he thought she needed to take him to the ER. He couldn't do it because he had a migraine and didn't want to have to sit in the ER with a headache. As you can imagine, Penny was fit to be tied. She called the ER and explained what happened and they told her not to bother coming in; to wait and see the dentist today. We only have one pediatric dentist and he's gone all week, so she had to take him to another dentist who checked him out and x-rayed the teeth. He said the tooth was going to come out pretty soon anyway, so just let it alone. Poor kid.

Vance came home and fixed us supper - spaghetti. It was so good.

Mrs. Sandi called to see how I was doing. She said she knew I had to be sick if I wasn't at church, cause I always tell them when I'm not going to be there. She knows me very well. She prayed for me and I asked about Pastor Sammy. She said he was doing great and even preached yesterday. That's great. I'm so glad he's doing good.

Talked to Tabitha for a few minutes. She had missed church, too, but it was because the kids were with Tiffany and she just slept late. I'm glad she wasn't sick.

Well, nothing more to say, since I didn't do anything today. Hope to go back to work tomorrow.

Goodnight and God bless..............

Feeling Better

I didn't make it to church this morning. When I woke up, I was all stopped up and coughing and felt awful. I called Karen to let her know I wouldn't be there. She said they would pray for me. I know they did, because I'm feeling much better.

I slept till around 10:00. Fixed breakfast while Vance went to the store. I got up and did a few things, but stayed mostly on the couch all day. Vance washed his truck. He opened the front curtains for me to see what a beautiful day it was. I haven't been out of the house since I got home from work on Friday.

There was so much I wanted to do around the house, but I just didn't have the strength to do it. Running fever kinda takes something out of you. Maybe next weekend I'll be able to get something done. I think I will paint the wall over the bathtub when Vance gets through with the ceiling. I'll probably just paint it white, since we already have white paint. I don't think red would look very good in there. Plus, it would probably make the shower pretty dark.

Michelle called tonight to tell me how proud she was of all I have accomplished in the house. I could not have done it without her help. Her's and Tabitha's and Kim's. They got me started and I've just been doing a little at a time since then. There is so much more I want to do, but it's going to take time.

While I was talking to Michelle, she asked why didn't I just paint red above the cabinets, too. I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I will. I've still got plenty of red paint.

I need to get to bed now. I've got to get up and go to work tomorrow. Goodnight and God bless..............

Not Doing So Good

Yesterday was Friday - timesheet day. Things were going along pretty good until after lunch when the new system went down. Not good. Thank the Lord we still have the old system. I just switched to it and finished. Had a few problems, but at least I got the jog done.

Felt good all day. Had a good talk with my new boss. I really like him. He seems to care about his employees and is willing to work with them. I was off Wednesday for an hour taking Daddy to the doctor. He let me make up the time by working late Thursday and Friday. So, I didn't have to take vacation. That was so nice.

At lunch, I went to Walmart and bought a couple of sweaters. I had given away most of my winter clothes, so I needed some warm sweaters. They have some real pretty ones for $10. They are really not too heavy, so they can be layered, which I like.

When I got home at 5:45, I started getting cold. About 30 minutes later, I was laying on the couch under four blankets with two space heaters on and I was still cold and had a horrible headache. I was also burning up with a fever. Vance was getting worried. He kept coming over and checking on me. I was able to eat a little of the Spam casserole. Vance knew I wasn't going to bed, so he decided to sleep in his chair to be close to me to make sure I was going to be alright. He is so sweet. And, I've heard from our girls that Vance and Chad are just like him. They take care of Michelle and Tabitha just like their dad takes care of me. I took some Motrin and my fever finally broke sometime during the night.

When I woke up this morning, Vance was gone to bed. I still wasn't feeling very well, but I didn't have a fever. He said he had checked on me around 1:00 and my fever was gone and he knew I'd be okay, so he went to bed. It was rainy and dreary, but he went and played golf anyway. I started running fever again and the bad headache was back, so under all the covers I went. I slept about 30 minutes, was still feverish, so I took more Motrin and went to sleep again. I woke up throwing covers off. I knew the fever was gone. I ate some breakfast and stayed up for a little while. Washed a load of clothes and hung a picture on the wall, washed the dishes from last night. Got to feeling bad again, so I went back to sleep on the couch.

Vance came home around 3:00. He said it hadn't rained at the golf course, but there were only 5 people playing because it looked like it might rain. It did rain off and on here, but he was about 30 minutes away and didn't get the rain. He kept asking if I was okay. I still wasn't feeling very good and did not want to go to bed like he kept trying to get me to - take Nyquil and go to bed and sleep. Nope, didn't want to. Besides, I don't like Nyquil. That stuff is nasty tasting and usually keeps me awake since they took all the alcohol out.

I came in the dining room and watched Hallmark movies while he watched 24 hours at Daytona. I also dozed a little. The headache is back, but I don't think the fever is. I'm getting tired again, so I will probably be going to bed pretty soon. I hope I'm feeling good enough in the morning to go to church.

I'm winding down real fast, so Goodnight and God bless............

Thursday - Finally Finished

Here are the before and after photos. What do you think?

We had our big Target Zero safety kick-off this morning. Overall, the company is doing pretty good at keeping accidents down. That's a good thing. It's never good to hear that one of your fellow employees has had an accident. I mean, they are like family and you don't want family to get hurt.

Worked on the timesheets. Hopefully, tomorrow won't be too bad. I think I'm pretty much caught up as long as the system doesn't go down.

It was cold and rainy today. Had to go pick up Daddy's medicine at lunch and a few things from the grocery store. It was yucky out. Ran through Burger King and got a chicken sandwich and vanilla shake (to try to put the fire out from heartburn). It did help with the heartburn, but I got so sleepy after lunch. Had to go get a cup of coffee. I really don't like drinking more than one cup a day, but this week has been a two cupper most days.

Worked till 5:00, then came straight home. Believe it or not, but I cooked supper tonight. Vance usually cooks, but I've been craving Spam casserole. You're probably say "Yuck", but we like it. It's layers of potatoes sliced like potato chips, Spam (I used the hot and spicy), Velveeta cheese, salt and pepper and milk. Cook for an hour an a half at 350 degrees. It was good!

After supper, I put on my jeans and sweatshirt and got busy painting the 3rd coat of paint in the kitchen. Now, it's finished. I waited about 45 minutes and pulled off the blue tape. Learned another lesson - don't leave the tape on several days. It doesn't want to come off and it might just pull off some of your paint. Had that happen in one little spot. I touched it up. It is hidden behind the toaster oven, so it's not going to be noticed. Now, I'm trying to pick out the color to go over the paneling above the cabinets and in the rest of the room. I'm thinking of painting the kitchen, but leaving the dining/craft room alone. Maybe paint it later when we move everything out to put down the floor.

It's now Friday morning and I need to get some sleep. Got a long day ahead.
Goodnight and God bless...........

Back to Work

I sure didn't want to go to work today. I wanted to work in the house. But, it's timesheet week and a short week, so I guess I needed to get back to work and get back in the groove. I had a lot of work to do, so I was busy all morning.

I ran out and got something to eat and came straight back to work. Emailed Mrs. Sandi and found out Pastor was still in the hospital. They are running more tests to see if there is something else that could have caused him to pass out. She said he feels good. Maybe he can get a little rest while he's there.

Had to drink a cup of coffee this afternoon to stay awake. It was so dreary and rainy today. I guess that's what made me so sleepy.

I came home, then went to Praise and Worship practice. Had a good practice. We talked about how the devil is really messing in families right now. He's attacking finances, relationships and health. I know my family has gone through an attack since the first of the year, especially with sickness and finances. It's time for it to stop! Got an email when I got home from a dear friend. She was requesting prayer for her family because of the same thing. Satan knows his time is short and he's trying to kill, steal and destroy families. We all need to be in constant prayer one for another.

After practice, I came home and put on another coat of paint. Looks like it's going to take a third coat at least. Maybe a fourth. It's looking good, but red has to be right - it shows all the imperfections if it's not done right. I see some spots that seem thinner than others, but I found out you can't go back over just those spots. You have to paint the whole thing, or it will show. I could do the other coat tonight, but I think I will wait until after church tomorrow night. Right now, I need to wash dishes and get to bed.

Goodnight and God bless..............

Happy Birthday MLK

Today was a holiday for us, so Vance and I slept in. I never, ever sleep in later than 8:00. Today, it was almost 10:00 before I woke up. I guess I needed the sleep. I just relaxed until after lunch, then I finished pulling the wallpaper off, sanded the plywood and put on two coats of primer. I went and bought groceries. And I did it without a lick of makeup on. That is something I do not do, but Vance was putting up ceiling tiles in the bathroom and he had all my stuff covered up. I feel so self-conscious without makeup. I just try to melt into the background, won't look at people cause I'm afraid I will know them. It's horrible to feel that way about yourself.

When I got back home, I put on the first coat of color. Another lesson I have learned - with a dark color, it makes under the cabinets even more in shadow. I've got to buy some of those under-the-counter battery operated lights to light up the cabinets.

A third lesson I learned - do not wear glasses on a chain around your neck. They tend to fall into the paint and then pass the paint on to your clothes. I didn't even notice it until I was getting ready to go to the store. What a mess!

I think I will wait until tomorrow to put the second coat of paint on. I'm tired. I know Vance is tired. He finished the bedroom, now he's working in the bathroom. I think the kitchen/dining ceiling is next. We will have projects all through the winter to keep us busy.

My kitchen is in such a mess and it's driving me nuts. It used to didn't bother me, but it sure does now. But, I should have it all back together tomorrow night.

I guess I will watch a little TV and then get ready for bed. I've got to go back to work tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted on the house. Goodnight and God bless.............

Lesson Learned

The top photo is the wallpaper I was painting over. The second picture is the first coat of paint before it started bubbling up. As you can see, it's not fire engine red.

Trent spent the night with us, so I had to make sure he had breakfast. I don't ever eat breakfast on Sunday morning. I just can't sing after I've eaten.

It was cold this morning! I went out wearing black pants with the black shirt Vance and Michelle gave me for Christmas with a sweater vest over it. Didn't put on a coat cause it didn't feel too bad when I walked out. But, when I got to church and got out of the car in that open parking lot, the cold just went right through me. Wish I had left my coat in the car last night.

Mrs. Sandi preached this morning because Pastor Sammy was in the hospital. They kept him overnight - said his magnesium was dangerously low. Wonder what causes that? I'm going to have to research that. He was getting out of the hospital today. We had a lot of people this morning. Usually the weather will keep people away, but we had a lot of new people. One lady went to the altar after service for prayer for cancer. When we all prayed for her, she said she could actually feel something happening in her body and she believed she was healed. Praise the Lord! I believe she was, too.

After church, I took Hope and Trent home so Tabitha could take Donna home and go buy groceries. Hung around with Chad for about an hour, then he got Hope distracted while I took Trent with me to Goody's. I found him a nice, heavy jacket for $5.97. As we were leaving, Tabitha called and said she was in the Lowe's parking lot and I could drop Trent home there. Worked out great for me, cause I needed to buy paint for the kitchen. Dropped him off and went in and got paint. The color I wanted Oh So Red required a tinted primer. I had already bought a gallon of plain white primer, so I didn't want to spend more money on a tinted primer, so I chose another shade of red - La Fonda Fireberry. It's not the fire engine red that I wanted, but I'm hoping it will work.

I stopped at Sonic and got two corn dogs. I have been craving corn dogs for about two weeks. I hardly ever eat hot dogs anymore, but I knew I had to get this craving out of the way. They were good and I was satisfied.

Vance was finishing up the bedroom and I started putting on the first coat of red. I was painting over wallpaper. Thought everything was going okay until I put on the color. The wallpaper started bubbling up in spots. That just won't do. Got to pull the wallpaper off now. Lesson learned - can't paint over wallpaper. Take the time to remove it.

Ate supper and waited for the paint to dry. About an hour ago, I stripped it off. There is a sheet of plywood behind the wallpaper, so it should be easy to paint tomorrow. We're off from work tomorrow, so we'll be working around the house.

Time to get some sleep - Goodnight and God bless............

Rainy and Cold Today

It was really rainy and cold today. Vance didn't go play golf. I'm glad. I didn't want him getting cold. He finished the ceiling in the bedroom and went to Home Depot to get the trim. He got primer (not the smelly kind) for me to paint the backsplash. I painted it and had to put on a second coat. I'll go tomorrow and get the red paint. Thanks, Michelle, I got your message. I'll buy semi-gloss.

Mrs. Sandi called and asked for prayer for Pastor Sammy. He was in Winn-Dixie and told the pharmacists that his pacemaker had just given him a jolt and then he passed out. They called an ambulance to take him to the hospital. I haven't heard anything else. Sarah said she would call whenever she heard anything. But, you know how emergency rooms are - it will be late before they hear anything.

That's about all I did today until Tabitha dropped Trent off. She wasn't feeling very good. Her kidneys have been bothering her. I prayed for her and she went home to take a long bath and go to bed. Trent and I watched some little series on the kid channel.

Penny called to tell me about a big winter sale at Goody's. She bought a coat for Swayde for $5.97. I'm going to take Trent after church tomorrow to see if we can't find him a heavy coat. Brenda bought one for Hope for Christmas - a really cute pink Princess coat. I may do like Penny did and buy one for this year and a bigger one for next year for Trent. I think Hope's will be good for two years.

It's time to put Trent to bed. He won't go until I do. Goodnight and God bless.......

Beginning of a Long Weekend

Woo Hoo, we get a three-day weekend! I'm planning on painting the backsplash in my kitchen. But, I will not be using the primer that Vance just used in the bedroom. That stuff smells awful! Vance gave me the label off the first primer he used. It didn't have a bad odor, so I think I can use it without it making me sick. I'll go to Lowe's tomorrow and pick up a gallon and also try to pick out a shade of red. I'll have to ask somebody in the paint department what type of finish. I know the glossy is not good, cause it shows all the imperfections. But, do I go with matte or semi-gloss? Decisions, decisions....I would never make it as a decorator.

It wasn't as bad at work today. At least, we could stay awake without drinking a pot of coffee. But, it was very busy. Kim and I worked together trying to get some jobs straightened out - the guys who worked them didn't charge to the right account, so we had to fix it.

We broke for lunch at 10:30 and went to pick up Debb. The three of us met Rose at a Mexican Restaurant (can't remember the name, but it used to be Taco Tex). The food was good, but even though it was authenic Mexican, it still wasn't as good as Taco Tex used to be. So far, I have never found a true Mexican restaurant that can make chili burritos as good as Taco Tex used to. We had a good time. Rose told us all about the new library that is being built. We took Debb home and then dropped Rose off to pick up her car. Kim and I worked a couple of more hours on adjusting those jobs.

After work, I went to the grocery store for Daddy. He said he wasn't feeling too good today. I think it's the weather change. I hope that's all.

It was 6:00 when I got home. Vance was finishing up in the bedroom. He's almost finished with it. I'll have to start going through the boxes that are in there when he finishes. Most of them are full of photographs. I just don't know what I'm going to do with all of them. Maybe we can get a closet organizer installed. That would help, I think. I've also got the hall closet to clean out. I'll do that after I paint the backsplash in the kitchen. Maybe we can get it all done this weekend. Trent will be spending the night with us tomorrow night. Hope is going to spend the night with her Aunt Donna.

Guess it's time I went to bed. Goodnight and God bless............

Cold, rainy, sleepy day

Woke up this morning expecting it to be really cold, but it wasn't. But, as the day went on, the temperature started dropping. And it was that wet cold that just goes right through you. But worse than that, it seemed to make all of us at work sleepy. I drank more coffee today than I have ever drunk in one day. I had to keep drinking coffee to stay awake. I'd be working and feel like I was just going to keel over on the desk and fall asleep. It was horrible. Even the guys in the office would get quiet and I'd look over and they would be nodding off. It's like somebody put something in the air and it's making us all sleepy. I'd get up and walk outside in the cold just to wake up.

Went to Chick-Fil-A and got a chicken salad sandwich and a cup of chicken noodle soup. Wrong thing to eat. I think it just made me sleepier. I didn't think I was going to make it through the afternoon. I walked down to see if my boss was in his office and to make another pot of coffee. I was going to ask him if I could go home, but he wasn't there, so I decided to tough it out. And to make matters worse, I worked till 5:00 trying to catch up on my timesheets.

I came home and Vance was working in the bedroom. It's almost finished. Looking good.
And, I am no longer sleepy. I scanned a few photos. I have 1000's of photos to scan and go through and get rid of imperfect ones. Decided to get started tonight.

Got an email from Robbie. They got 4" of snow last night. She said it was the good kind - it looked pretty, but melted pretty quick so you were able to drive. She went to the college and got Natalie for the weekend.

Now, I think I will try to go to bed and get a good night's sleep. I sure hope I'm not sleepy all day tomorrow. That is a miserable feeling.

Goodnight and God bless............

The Joy of the Lord is My Strength

I'm in such a good mood tonight. For one thing, I know that the Lord really healed me of Meniere's Disease last February, cause I would have had a bad attack last night if I hadn't been healed. I went to Praise and Worship practice and when I got home, I walked into the house and was almost knocked down by the smell of primer that hit me. It was so strong that I would have immediately gotten dizzy and started vomiting. With the smell lingering in the house, I probably would not be able to type this because I would have spent all night and all day laying on the bathroom floor, dizzy and vomiting. You see, just the smell of frying bacon used to cause an attack. The smell of cleaning products, perfume, some cooking odors would cause an attack. But, God healed me! I'm so excited.

Also, I spent a lot of time in prayer today about the letter we got. I turned it all over to God and believe that everything will be okay. If there is fraud, it will be revealed. I want the girl to get what she should receive if she was injured, but not a penny more. I also have been praying for her today - that God would pour out blessings upon her, that He would heal her if she has injuries of any kind, that He would give her a better job, a better home and a wonderful husband who would love her and take care of her. If she wants children, that she would have healthy children. I just want God to bless her with the desires of her heart. But, above all that, I want her to get saved. I pray that He will send Christians to minister to her and draw her to God.

The timekeeping system was up and running today, praise the Lord! Went to the safety meeting this morning. As usual, it didn't pertain to my job, but it was interesting. At least, the part that wasn't over my head. When Jeff started showing mathematical equations that looked like algebra, I knew I was in trouble. I flunked algebra in school. He was talking about some type of recloser and how to work on it. Nothing I will ever have to do, but it was interesting anyway.

Mama called several times telling me about cell phones. I had planned to go to Alltel at lunch and check to see how much one would cost to add to my plan, but it was raining and I didn't go. I had bought her one last year and she never used it one single time. But, after her car broke down yesterday, she decided she had to have one and have it right now. I know that she will not drive her car until somebody checks it out, so there's no rush to get her a phone. And I know that no matter what I get her, she won't be satisfied.

Daddy called several times, too. He's having problems with his cell phone. He's hit some button and turned the ringer off. He does it all the time, then says he has a sorry phone. If he'd just quit punching buttons, he wouldn't have any problems. I told him to get his book out and if he couldn't fix it, I'd come over tomorrow at lunch and see what I could do.

We had an awesome time at church tonight.Praise and Worship was sooooo good. It made me want to just lay down on the floor prostrate before God and worship Him. Jim Lynch preached on the power of your words - there's life and death in the power of the tongue. After service, we stayed and prayed for about 20 minutes as a corporate group. I felt such peace and joy flood my soul.

Hope looked so cute tonight. She had on khaki pants, a pink pullover shirt and a brown corduroy jacket. Her hair was up in braided pigtails and she had on dark brown boots. Sooooo cute. And she was so sweet. I haven't seen her in almost two weeks. She kept kissing me and hugging me. OHHHH, it was precious.

Well, it's after midnight and I need to get my beauty sleep. Goodnight and God bless.......

Vance, I pray that you are feeling better when you read this. I'm praying for you....

Monday All Day

I got the picture from www.christianwomenonline.net Check out their site. It's wonderful.

It's a little cooler today. Looks like we may finally have some cold weather coming. I was really enjoying being able to open the windows and let the fresh air in. Saves on the electric bill, too.

Ran off all my bi-weekly reports, but when I tried to enter time, I found out the new pay period had not been loaded. They are having some kind of problem with benefit hours, so I guess they froze the old pay period. If the new one isn't working tomorrow, I'll have to call and find out what's wrong. Don't want to get backed up again.

Had to pick up Daddy's prescriptions at lunch and carry them to him. He said he hadn't slept all weekend because he didn't have his medicine for the pain in his legs. I would have gone and picked up his prescriptions over the weekend if he'd just let me know he was out of medicine, but he didn't say a thing about it. I thought he was calling in his prescriptions a couple of days before he ran out. That's usually what he does. Maybe he won't wait until he's totally out next time. I certainly can't keep up with his prescriptions when I can't even keep up with my own. I've been out of one of my prescriptions since the 18th of December. Good thing it's not vital to my existence. I've got to call and reschedule his doctor's appointment. I forgot to take him to get his blood work done. No need to go to the doctor if we don't have results. I thought I'd be able to take him last week, but I was so far behind on the timesheets that I couldn't take off.

Went over to the Credit Union after lunch and Dee was showing me a picture of her brother and other members of the family. It's the only picture she has of Stewart right before he got cancer and passed away. She was saying she wished she had another copy of it. I told her I'd take it home and scan it and make her copies.

Came home and Vance was working on the wallpaper. It's very slow going, but he doesn't want to buy the special tool to help get it off. I think it's therapeutic for him. I opened the mail and we had a letter from our insurance company about the accident Vance had in May of last year. It seems the woman he hit has a lawyer and is demanding the insurance company pay the entire $15,000 coverage we have and may possibly sue us personally. The letter says she went to the ER the next day complaining of neck pain, then when to a chiropractor complaining of neck pain, right arm pain, back pain and left hand pain. His diagnosis was cervical acceleration/decelereation, muscle spasm, cervicalgia, thoracic sprain/strain, lumbar sprain/strain, lumbago and elbow sprain/strain. Then, she went to another doctor and his assessment was cervicalgia, muscle spasm and fracture of one or more phalanges of her hand. Then, in October she went to another doctor because of panic attacks, who said she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. So far, she has incurred $11,231.30 in expenses. One of her doctors says she is 5% disabled and estimates her future care to be $1500 annually. The letter also says she is 28 years old and single. I could have sworn she introduced us to her husband at the scene of the accident. When I heard that she was claiming injuries, I immediately thought that he had beat her that night. He seemed like the type and he was very mad that she had wrecked the car, which they had just gotten repaired from a previous accident that wasn't her fault. There was nothing wrong with either of her hands after the accident, because she was able to hold my cell phone with no problem. She kept saying over and over that she was not hurt and allowed the paramedics to check her out at the scene. She refused to go to the ER. I don't know, but I really feel like her injuries did not come from the accident. And, if she's divorced, maybe he did beat her. I don't know; it just seems fishy to me.

I missed our Ladies Meeting tonight. Sarah had called and said she didn't think there would be many attending. She also wanted me to consider being either the Secretary or Treasurer. I just don't feel like I can handle anything else. I told her there was no way I'd be in charge of the money cause I can't even handle my own. I don't mind making fliers once in awhile, but I just don't want to have to be responsible for anything else. I'm trying to get my own self in some type of order. I get stressed just thinking about it.

Vance and I decided to have pizza tonight. We haven't had a pizza in months. It was so good. My son, Vance, had sent me an email telling me that the Zaxby salads that I like so well are loaded with calories. He even sent me the breakdown on each one. Pizza probably has less calories........, unless you eat three slices like I did tonight. I was hungry. So, no more Zaxby salads for me. Except, maybe once in a while. I've got to find something else to eat!

Now, I think I'll be getting ready for bed. Goodnight and God bless..................

Almost time to go back to work

Now that I've got my house in some type of order, I feel like cleaning. Yesterday, I went from room to room doing something. I pulled wallpaper off the wall in the bedroom, swept and cleaned up the living room, arranged a few things in the bookcase, cleaned out some old files, washed a few dishes. I haven't used the dishwasher in over a week. And I hate doing dishes! Not only did we get the house in order, but I think I'm getting my life in some type of order, too. Praise the Lord for that.

I only left the house yesterday to go buy primer and Liquid Nails for Vance when he got home from playing golf. He worked in the bedroom trying to remove the rest of the wallpaper. I had found some papers that I wanted to scan into my computer, so I worked on those.

This morning, I went to church. We had a lot of visitors this morning. When you have a small church, you can see the new people and be able to welcome them. Those big mega churches just lose their people. I heard a preacher the other day who has over 2000 people in his church and he says he meets people all the time in the stores who he invites to church and finds out they already go to his church. He said it bothers him that he can't get close to his congregation anymore. I guess that would be bad, especially when you really care about your people.

We had a great Praise and Worship service. Pastor Sammy preached on Guilt, Grief, and Grudges and how to work through them. Mrs. Sandi is going to preach next Sunday.

I stopped by Zaxby's and got a salad before coming home. Vance was taking the day off and resting. I'm glad. He's been pushing himself every night to get that room done. There is no hurry. I rested, too. Watched a little TV and read a few chapters in a book. I started a couple of new devotions last week and I'm trying to make more time to get in God's Word. I've been slack for too long. But, now that I've got a more peaceful, uncluttered house, I can find time.

I guess I will get ready for bed. They say the temperature is dropping, but I'm burning up here in the house. I could use a little lower temp. Not too low, though. Vance doesn't like cold weather.

Goodnight and God bless............

For God is not the author of confusion but of peace....
1 Corinthians 14:33 (NKJV)

Friday at Last!

This has been a long, busy week. We had some problems with the timekeeping system today, but we worked it out. Between Kim, Sheila and me, we figured it out. I am so glad we still have the old system in place that I could use this week. I never would have gotten the timesheets done in 8 hours a day if I'd used the new system.

I'm sitting here watching Clean House and realize that my house wasn't so bad after all. Man, they've got a whole lot more junk than I did. But, what's really funny is when they ask the owners to get rid of something and they say "No way, that's so sentimental." I found myself saying "Take a picture of it and get rid of it." I figured I'd be one of those that said "I can't get rid of that. It used to belong to my grandmother....my best friend gave me that...." With Michelle's help, I was able to just take a picture of it and let it go. Sometimes, I didn't even take a picture. I just put it in a box to go to Goodwill.

Vance is working on that one wall in the bedroom that had flowered wallpaper on it. The other three walls were easy to strip of wallpaper. He would pull and the whole sheet would come off. Not this stuff! I think I'll work on it tomorrow while he's playing golf. I'll try to wet it and see if that helps or maybe use my heat gun (if I can find it. I don't remember seeing it while we were cleaning up.). The room is looking good. I picked up those little paint sample booklets the other day and I'd like to pick out colors for our bedroom, but I'm just not good at interior design. There are just too many colors to choose from. Anybody got any ideas?

Guess I better get to bed. I'm really tired. Goodnight and God bless......................

It's Been a Long Week

Since I have been off some and haven't worked a full week since before Christmas, this week seems like it will never end! It has just stretched out and I've been very busy trying to play catchup. I worked late today and believe I'm caught up as best as I can be. Hopefully tomorrow won't be very bad.

Vance was in a weird mood when I got home. He was working in the bedroom, then he took a break and was watching TV. I asked him if he had told them at work that he was going to be off tomorrow afternoon and he said no, that he didn't think he was going to go to the doctor. I asked why and he said he just didn't think he'd go. Then I asked him if I could cook supper (he does the cooking around here) and he said he wasn't going to eat anything because he had eaten three sandwiches late this afternoon and he wasn't hungry. I came into the craft/computer room to check my email and to just relax for a change. This is the first day that I have just sat down and done nothing since we started cleaning the house. I felt I deserved one day of rest. I was watching TV and reading a book during commercials when I realized that it was 10:00 and he hadn't come in to kiss me goodnight. I went into the living room and he had already gone to bed. That's very unusual. He always kisses me goodnight. I guess he must be mad at me for making the appointment with the doctor. Who knows! I'm not going to let it bother me.

Michelle sent me a great website yesterday. It's http://orgjunkie.com/2008/01/its-link-tastic.html I went to the site and really liked it. It led me to another site www.acleanheart.com and I got a devotional from that site. I could spend all night reading these two blogs. They are so interesting. Thanks, Michelle. I've passed them on to friends.

I met one of the new team leaders that signs some of my timesheets today. I had only talked to him on the phone and through email. I knew he was a Christian just by his comments and found out today that he's truly a servant in the house of the Lord. He was very impressed with all the pictures I have on my desk of my family. He said that's what it's all about. He's a very family-oriented man. He told me about his wife and sons. It is such a blessing to work with people who love the Lord.

Randy and I have been having church this week at work. We both know that the Lord is doing something in both of our lives. He and his family are drawing closer to the Lord and I'm seeing some awesome changes in his life. He's different than he was just two weeks ago. He's more on fire for the Lord and knows that God is working in his life. I just feel like God is drawing me closer to Him and this housecleaning is like a woman right before she has a baby and she starts "nesting" - rearranging and cleaning the house. Then, she gives birth to a baby. Well, I believe I'm about to give birth to something in the spirit. I don't know if it's a different ministry that He's going to put me in (no, not a different church). I've already been given the on-line prayer group to coordinate. Maybe that's it, or maybe there will be more. I believe my entire family is going to be saved this year and things are going to turn around for my family. I believe miracle healings are coming this year. I'm excited about 2008.

Now, I guess I better get to bed. Tomorrow will be a busy day. Goodnight and God bless...........

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)

Today is a Good Day

Today is Wednesday and since we have new bosses, I didn't know if we were having a safety meeting or not. So, I didn't get in any hurry to go to work early. If they had one (I never did ask anybody), it was very short, cause they were all at their trucks getting ready to leave for the day.

My old boss called me in his office to get me to sign my evaluation. It was a good one. I finally got the forklift training that I've been trying to do for a long time, so I had accomplished all my goals for the year. Hope this means I get rated higher and get a bonus in March.

Kim was out sick today. Tried to call her, but didn't get an answer. Figured she was asleep and found out that she was when I finally made contact this afternoon. There's something going around and she was one of the unlucky ones who got it - bad cold, headache, aching all over.

Went to lunch and stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a devotional book by Joyce Meyer. Since I've got my Angel Room almost ready, I wanted to be able to sit in there and read a devotion each morning before I go to work. Went back to work and read the first 10 days to catch up. Will start at home in the morning.

Got all the timesheets done that the supervisors had given me, but I'm still three days behind because they have been in class for two days. They should get them to me tomorrow, so I'll stay late if I have to and get caught up.

Got the brochure for Hope for the Heart weekend at Lynn Haven Methodist next month. Jennifer Rothschild is the speaker. She's been blind since she was a teen. She's been a featured speaker at Women of Faith conferences. Tabitha and I are going to sign up to go. We went last year when Liz Higgins Clark was the speaker. She was great. Looking forward to this year. You can check it out at www.mylhumc.net

Church was good tonight. A lot of people were out sick, so the usual Wednesday night group wasn't there. Pastor Sammy preached from Matthew 20:28 about us becoming servants to others and showing the love of Jesus by service. Jesus was the Son of God, but He came to earth to serve others. If we want to be like Him, we have to do the same.

Vance and Michelle and Fox have had a very rough week. Visits to the hospital for both Fox and Michelle. But, I'm so glad they are better. It can be pretty scary when your baby gets sick. I know, cause Vance and Chad were sick a lot when they were babies. Chad had pneumonia before he was a year old. Thankfully, it wasn't bad enough to be put in the hospital, but I had to take him for shots a couple of times and he would cry whenever he saw the doctor. He knew the doctor had given orders for the shots even though the nurses administered them. He didn't cry when he saw the nurses, but he did every time he saw the doctor. It was really funny.

Well, I guess I better get to bed. Another long day tomorrow.
Goodnight and God bless.....................

I'm Just Plain Tired

I stayed up till after midnight looking for a lab test of my husband's. Still couldn't find it. It's very important cause the doctor's office have lost his records. I only slept a couple of hours before I was up looking again. No luck. Was also concerned about Michelle. She was sick all day yesterday and had to go to the hospital to have an IV because of dehydration. Fox is still sick, too.

Still crazy at work. The timesheets seem to be mulitplying. I only got through last Friday. If I had been working in eSTARS, I would still be on the weekend. I'm going to hate it when we go full-time to eSTARS. It is so slow.

Didn't take a lunch since I had to take Daddy to the doctor today. I didn't want to use any vacation time. I'm going to do my best to save as much as I can. I enjoyed being off and getting things done around the house. Took Daddy to the doctor and he's doing good.

Came home and continued looking for the lab report. No luck. The doctor's office didn't call me back either. I guess the doctor doesn't seem to think it's anything serious. I think I will call another doctor tomorrow.

We had Praise and Worship practice tonight. Learned a new song "Say So" by Jentzen Franklin. It's a good song. Was easy to learn.

Came home. Vance ate supper and went to bed. He got a lot done in the bedroom. The ceiling is almost done. I'm so tired. I want to continue looking, but I'm beginning to think it's all in my imagination. Maybe I never saw the report in the first place. I don't know. My brain is too tired to think. I guess I need to go to bed and try to get some sleep.

Goodnight and God bless...................

Back to Work

Well, vacation is over and it's back to work. And, boy, was there work to come back to! It just doesn't pay to take vacation. But, I'll work over every afternoon to get caught up. Got back and found that the fax machine in our office was out of ink, so I had to go to Office Max to get some supplies. I waited until lunch to go. They are talking about setting our copy machine up to do faxes, too.

I called Vance's doctor to see if I could get him in. Talked to the nurse and she said she'd talk to the doctor and see what he wanted to do. They have lost the files that Vance hand-delivered from the old office to their new office. There is a lab report in there that they need to see, but I can't find my copy. I saw it the day before we started working on the house. I kept it in the drawer of my desk, but we emptied all that stuff out before we got rid of the desk. Now, I can't find where I put the stuff that was in the desk. I really need to find that lab report. This always happens when I try to get organized. I always know where things are when the house looked trashed; but when it's organized, I can't find anything. Out of sight; out of mind. I have searched this house over and can't find it. I pray that I didn't throw it away.

Moved a few more things into the craft room. It's beginning to look crowded, but neat. I'll be able to find my craft stuff, I hope. The angel room is beginning to look better. I need to find a comfortable chair to go in there. My goal is to have upper and lower kitchen cabinets installed in the craft room to hold all my craft supplies and give me table space. But, that will have to wait until we get other things done to the house.

I'm going to look a little longer for that report, then I'm going to bed. Goodnight and God bless......

Exhaustion Has Set In

Vance woke me up to go to church this morning and I could not get up. I was so exhausted and sleepy. I told him I wasn't going to church; I was going back to sleep. I fell asleep and woke up an hour later refreshed. I jumped up, grabbed my clothes and jumped in the shower to get ready. I was 30 minutes late for practice, but I was there. We had communion this morning after the service.

I went by Zaxby's and got a salad after church. I'm trying to do good. It's really nice today. We had a cold spell for a few days, now it's back in the 70's. No wonder people are getting sick.

Vance was totally exhausted and sore all over today. I told him I didn't want to see him in that room doing anything; to just sit in his chair and rest today. And that's what he did.

After eating my salad, I dosed in my chair for about an hour. Then, I got up and started working on the craft room. Worked for several hours and it's getting back into shape. I got my printer table moved in and the printer hooked up. That's good. Now, I can print if I want to.

Vance went to the grocery store and came back and cooked his special skillet dinner for us - hamburger meat, onions, pork-n-beans, ketchup, mustard and salt and pepper I think. It looks and sounds terrible, but we've actually been asked for the recipe when we took it to a youth outing one time. All the kids loved it. They used it as a dip for chips. It is really good. I continued to work on the room while he cooked. I finally finished around 7:00. It's pretty good for now. Still needs a little tweaking, but I can live with it for now. Would love to get cabinets to hang on the wall to hold stuff up off the floor. That's for another time.

Michelle called and said they were taking Fox to the ER. He has a high fever and bad cough. They are going to get x-rays. I sent out a prayer request to my prayer group and expanded it to include the family and friends. I haven't heard anything, so I'm sure he is okay. She said she would call if it was bad news. I'm sure they will probably just give him a shot or medicine and send him home. I'm sure he'll be fine.

I guess I better get ready for bed. I've had a horrible headache all afternoon. I probably need some rest. Got to go back to work tomorrow. Won't be able to rest there. I'm a week behind in my work. No rest for the weary......

Goodnight and God bless..................

Day 9

Tabitha came over this morning to help me in the Angel Room. Boy, was there a lot of stuff in there! We threw away some of it; some went to Goodwill and a lot of it was moved into the craft room to be gone through. (I've been working on that all evening.) At first it upset me because that room was looking so good. But, it will get there again. I'm working hard to get everything in place. I'm trying so hard to get my house in order. I won't stop until all of it is done.

The Angel Room is not complete yet either. There are some things in there that will eventually go to the craft room, but I've got to make room for it. It does look much better though. We moved the big 6x3 ft. desk outside by the road and I put a sign on it to let people know that it was a GREAT DESK - FREE!! About 45 minutes after we put it out there, a big nice Dodge Ram pickup truck drove up and two guys got out and loaded the desk up. God bless them! I hope they can use it and not just sell it.

Tabitha left at noon. Oh, yeah, she got a new car. A 2005 Subaru. Her old car was falling apart. Her dad works at the Toyota dealership and got her a good deal on this car. It's smaller than what she wanted, but it will do for now until God blesses her with something bigger. After she left, I went to Zaxby's and got a salad. Been trying to eat more salads since Christmas. Gotta get this weight off..........

Vance came home from playing golf. He liked what we did (moved two pieces of furniture out of the room he's working on. That means he doesn't have to do it.) No, he did say it's looking better in the Angel Room. He understood about the craft room and said he had confidence that I would get it done, too. I was working in there and he told me to go to Lowe's and pick out paint for the trim because he will be ready for it tomorrow. I grabbed a bag of jeans that I had saved for Penny and called her and told her I was coming to her house. Went to her house and she had to take Tiffaney to work. Told her I was going to Lowe's and she said she needed to go there, too, so we rode together. We ran into a friend at Lowe's. She and her mother were there looking at paint, too. They all talked me into an off-white for the trim. Then, we tried to find somebody to help us. There was nobody around the paint department. I spoke up pretty loud and said "Maybe we all should just go to Home Depot." Still nobody came, so Penny and I went up to the Service Desk. The lady called several times trying to get somebody from the paint dept. to call her back. After about 10 minutes, somebody finally called her. We went back to the paint dept. and had to wait in line behind two other people. I asked for two quarts of paint and the lady looked at me like I was stupid and said "Why would you just get two quarts of paint? It's going to cost you the same if you went ahead and bought a gallon. Then you'd get four quarts for the price of two." I told her I only needed two quarts and that's what my husband told me to buy. She said "You'll be wasting your money. You should get a gallon, cause you're going to pay the same for two quarts." I finally took the gallon. What do they do, charge extra for the cans if you buy it in quarts instead of gallons? I'm confused. That's why I hate those places. They always end up making me feel stupid.

We went to Target after that to drop off a prescription and let Swayde buy a toy with some money he got for Christmas from Mama. It takes him forever to pick out a toy and then he tries to swindle Penny into adding money to the $10 he had to get something that cost around $40. She didn't budge. Good for her!

I came home and started to work on the craft room. Vance was in a lot of pain. He had worked on the ceiling (after playing golf all day) and his back was hurting him really bad. So bad that he cried out every time he tried to get up. I cooked supper for us and he ate and then got the hiccups. Every time he hiccuped, he grabbed his stomach and cried out. He did it last night, too. I wanted to take him to the hospital, but he wouldn't go. I told him I was calling the doctor Monday. It worries me, but he doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong. It's not normal to be in that much pain. He got up and went to bed. I checked on him and he's sleeping peacefully. Just like last night. He was fine once he got to bed and relaxed. I think he's working too hard trying to finish that room. He's not as young as he used to be. But, I will be calling the doctor on Monday.

Now, I guess I better get back to work on this room. Oh yeah, my computer is in the craft room now. I moved it in last night. Can't print anything cause I don't have the printer table in here yet. Gotta go through some boxes that are sitting where the table will go. Boy, is this turning into a major job. I told Vance today that I'm not buying ANYTHING for a long, long time. Fran and I talked yesterday and she said she needed to do the same thing to her house. I think she figured out why we accumulate so much stuff. "Growing up, we never had anything. So, when we became adults and had our own money, we started buying stuff to make up for not having anything growing up. Even though we only buy cheap stuff, it's our stuff and it makes us feel better. And we can't seem to let go of things other people have given us because it means that we actually meant something to someone at some time in our life. And we don't want to hurt their feelings by giving away the stuff they gave us." Yep, sounds about right. But, I know that STUFF doesn't mean anything in the whole scheme of things. Only my relationship with the Lord and my family is what matters. So, I'm going to grow up and let things go and get back on track with the things that really matter in life. Not having all this stuff around me to distract me will allow me to have more time to spend reading the Bible and praying. That's why I want my Angel Room to be a sanctuary where I can go and relax and read and pray. I need to get my priorities in order. I've started and I'm not going to stop until I get it done.

Goodnight and God bless................

Day 8, I Think

Today was a very busy day for me. I slept late. I'm beginning to enjoy this sleeping in every morning. I fixed breakfast. I'm also beginning to enjoy having a leisurely breakfast. Wish that could continue when I go back to work, but I'm sure it won't.

Around 10:00 I started to leave to go pick up Daddy's check when he called to ask me to stop by the store and get him some BC powders and a pack of cigarettes before I came over. That meant I was going to be running behind schedule. It took almost 30 minutes in Winn-Dixie. I rushed to his house, picked up his check and grocery list and went to the Credit Union 15 minutes before they closed for lunch. Mama had called as I was driving to Winn-Dixie and I told her I couldn't write cause I was driving to the Credit Union. So, when I arrived at the CU, Fran handed me money to carry to Mama. That added a detour to the places I had to go. I left the CU and went to the mall to cash in the gift certificate I got to Bath and Body Works. They were having a huge sale, so I got more stuff for my money. Then I went to Victoria's Secret to get the perfume I love from there - Rapture. Naturally, it wasn't on sale. But I bought it anyway cause I have been out for about 8 months and I never, ever go to the mall.

When I walked in the mall through the Sears entrance, I saw a shirt that I wanted to get for Vance and told myself that I would pick it up on my way back out. I went to the jewelry counter and my Aunt Bette was working, so I went up to her and said hello, asked for a hug and asked if she had had a good Christmas. She hugged me and got tears in her eyes. I guess cause I was being nice to her and she didn't expect that. She still hasn't done anything with Grandmama's house. Daddy would really like to have his share of the money. But, you know what? He'd just throw it away at the VFW. And probably start drinking a lot more than he already is and get sick again. So, maybe this is a good thing. Anyway, I didn't stay to chat because she was helping a customer. And I forgot to go out that way, because I went through Linens and Things to pick up something. Went out that door and forgot Vance's shirt.

Left there and took Mama's money to her. Of course, I couldn't just drop it and run. I had to stay and talk to her for awhile. I had planned on dropping the bag of coats off at the Rescue Mission, but when I put the stuff from the mall in my trunk, all I saw in there was Vance's golf clubs. I guess the bag is in the back of his truck. I sure hope they didn't get taken to Goodwill.
I left Mama's and went to McDonald's to get a bite to eat, then on to Winn-Dixie to buy Daddy's groceries. Took his groceries to him and Vance called to see if I was okay. It was after 3:00 and he was worried about me. He didn't care that I was still out; he just wanted to know that I was okay. He told me that he had gone to Home Depot and gotten Liquid Nails to put the ceiling tiles up with. The glue that he had bought at Lowe's was not holding it. That's why the ceiling fell down last time. But, he said the Liquid Nails was working.

I left Daddy's and ran back by Sears to get the shirt I had seen for Vance. It's a real warm, soft shirt. Didn't take the time to go back in to see if Bette was still there. I wanted to get home and work on the laundry room. Vance loved the shirt; said he'd wear it tomorrow to play golf. I worked on the laundry room and washed a load of clothes. The washing machine is really leaking bad. I can only wash one load at a time. I'm afraid if I wash more, the water will run out onto the kitchen floor and get up under the new flooring and ruin it. Vance said he would take a look at the washing machine and see if he can fix it or if we'll have to replace it. Got to replace the refrigerator soon, too. But, we kinda hate to replace it when it's still keeping everything cold. It just leaks from the freezer into the refrigerator and puddles in the bottom of the refrigerator. The repairman couldn't even figure that one out. We just keep soaking up the water in the bottom and it keeps on working. Sometimes, you just make do with what you have as long as it works.

Kim and Tabitha have said they are coming over tomorrow morning and we'll start on the computer room. I definitely need help with it. I just don't know where to start. While I was in the mall, I bought a long phone cord so I can hook my computer up in the dining/craft room. I want to make the computer room a prayer/dressing room. A place I can go to and pray and also a place to get dressed every morning. When we redecorated this room, I called it my Angel Room because of the wallpaper border of angels and the shelves up near the ceiling that has angels all around the room. And, yes, I'm keeping my angels. I got rid of all my other collections, but I'm keeping my angels. They just make me peaceful when I sit and look at all of them.

It's only 10:00, so I guess I could try to move my computer to the other room before I go to bed. That will be one less thing we have to move tomorrow. Okay, time to get busy. I've wasted enough time!

Goodnight and God bless....................

Happy 59th Birthday, Vance!

Boy, was it cold when we woke up this morning! Took a little while for our little space heaters to warm the place up.

Today is my husband's birthday. And, bless his heart, he's working so hard trying to get the bedroom painted. He's doing a great job, as usual. The color is called Tropical Bay - kind of a blue-green, I guess. The trim will be white and the furniture is a dark brown. I think it will look good.

I just couldn't get motivated in the computer room. I look at everything and don't know what to do with it all. So, I started in the utility room instead. I had a lot of clothes in there that was too small for me, so they are in a bag going to Goodwill; along with some blankets and afghans. I may take that bag to the Rescue Mission instead. That's where I'm taking a whole bag full of coats. They give them out on the streets to the homeless people. I'd much rather somebody get them free that can use them than have them sold at Goodwill.

Didn't get the room finished, but I will work on it tomorrow. In between buying groceries for Daddy and running other errands. I called my boss this morning and asked off the rest of the week and told him we were in the middle of a remodeling job and he said to call him if we needed any help. Wasn't that nice of him? He's my new boss and I really don't know him that well, but I think he's going to be a great boss.

You will never guess what Vance wanted for his birthday supper tonight. Never in a million years. Okay, give up? McDonald's french fries with mustard. That's all he wanted. Can you believe it? Of course, since the doctor told him his cholesterol was up, he hasn't had any fries. So, I guess it was a treat for him - like cake for most of us. So, I bundled up and went to McDonald's for french fries. Had planned on going to Zaxby's and getting a salad, but it was too cold and my car takes a long time to warm up, even though I let it sit for about 10 minutes before I left. My heater is definitely not as good as the one in Vance's truck. He told me I would be driving his truck tomorrow to do my errands. Isn't he the sweetest, most considerate person? I really love that man.

Guess I better get to bed, since I have so many things to do tomorrow. And Daddy wants his check deposited first thing. Don't know why the Social Security office can't get it direct deposited. We signed up last May and it never happened. I don't have all day to spend sitting around in the Social Security office here. I'm going to be very frugal with my vacation this year so that I'll have some left at the end of the year like I did before Christmas. I'd love to have a week sometime during the summer to go somewhere, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Goodnight and God bless...................

I've Lost Count

I went to bed last night at 10:30, because I was so exhausted. I haven't done this much manual labor in years. At least, I started out the year right - exercising, not eating much and getting to bed early.

I woke up this morning at 4:30, went to the couch and slept until 6:00. Called my boss around 6:45 to tell him I was taking a day of vacation. Called Kim at 7:00 to let her know, then fell asleep on the couch. I woke up around 9:45. Guess I needed the rest.

I worked on the living room - putting away the Christmas decorations, rearranging furniture, etc. Vance worked in the bedroom - putting primer on the walls. I picked out the color yesterday and I guess he'll start painting tomorrow. Can't wait to see how it looks. I offered to help him paint, but I'm glad now that he didn't let me. I walked in there after the first coat of primer and about got sick. The smell overwhelmed me. It's freezing cold today, so he wouldn't open a window for ventilation. I opened one when he left to go back to Lowe's. I was afraid he would get sick. It's really not a good idea to paint during the winter, is it?

I haven't tackled any other rooms today. I was just way too tired. And I wanted to get the three we've already done looking perfect. I couldn't stand the clutter. (Did I just say that? Wow, something is happening to me - Mrs. Clutter Queen. Let me re-phrase that - Mrs. X-Clutter Queen.)

I might go to work tomorrow to get some rest and start again Saturday on my computer room. I need to go get a longer phone cord so I can hook my computer up in the craft room. Once I get it set up, I can concentrate on what's left in the room.

Well, it's midnight, so I guess I better get some sleep. It's cold tonight. I covered my plants with blankets. I sure hope they are okay.

Goodnight and God bless.....................

Happy New Year!

It's Day 4 of the Clean Sweep of our house. I stayed up till 2:00 last night, then got woke up at 3:00 and couldn't go back to sleep for at least an hour. Needless to say, I was exhausted this morning at 6:00 when I woke up. Why is it that you can't sleep late on your off day? I was grumpy cause I was so tired. Around 8:00, I layed my head down on the couch and fell asleep. But Vinnie wanted to play, so that only lasted about 10 minutes. I finally got up and went to bed. I thought I was just going to fall asleep on my feet if I didn't get into bed. Went to bed and lay there wide awake. My cell phone rang about 8:30 and I got up to answer it. It was Mama complaining that Penny didn't come over when she said she would and look at some papers. I had already looked at them and was totally unsure what the lawyer was trying to say. I'm just not good at legal stuff. Then she said Margurete was down in her back and she didn't know if she could take her to the doctor on the 5th. That's 5 days from now. Who knows what's going to happen in 5 days. I told her I'd take her if Margurete couldn't, but I was so tired I just didn't want to deal with it today.

Since I was up, I decided to start taking down the Christmas tree. Was only about a 1/4 of the way through, when Tabitha and Trent came over. I stopped and we tackled the dining/craft room. First thing we did was take the treadmill outside and sit it beside the road. About two hours later, my neighbor called and asked if it worked. I told her the read-out doesn't work, but the treadmill part does. Her son just moved out and they are turning his room into an exercise room. She wanted to know if they could have the treadmill. I told her to take it with my blessings. Thank You, Lord! Tabitha would not stop until we got that room in order. There's a lot of boxes of pictures that I am going to have to go through once we have all the rooms put back together, but that's something that can wait. The room looks so much better. Trent was so patient with us. I know he was bored, but he was very well-behaved. They left right after Vance got home.

Vance left earlier and went to Home Depot to get ceiling tiles, but ended up getting them at Lowe's. He came back and started dismantling the shelves in Vance's old room. Of course, I had to go in that room and start moving stuff out so Vance could work. It just never ends! He kept trying to get me to sit down and rest and eat some lunch, but I just couldn't. It's like I'm driven to do this and won't stop until I get it done. I'm afraid if I ever stop, it will never get finished and I'll just fall back into my old ways. I can't let that happen. This is a life-changing experience; a liberating experience. I can't believe all the stuff I have let go of - things I've been holding onto for years and years. And there's more to get rid of.

I never did get the Christmas tree dismantled. After Tabitha left, I tried to eat something, but wasn't hungry. I ended up throwing my sandwich into a garbage bag where Vinnie immediately jumped into and ate it. I spent the rest of the night organizing the pantry and the wrapping paper. I found all kinds of wrapping paper. Like Tabitha said, I'll never have to buy wrapping paper for a very long time. Now that I've got it organized, I should be able to find things. I went through a box of shoes and gave over half of them to Goodwill. Still got more to go through.

Talked to Michelle. She called to see how we were doing. She was excited to hear that Tabitha was helping with the craft room. I'm so glad Tabitha came. I would still be working in there, cause I have to go through each box and check everything out. She just handed me things that needed going through now and said we'd go through the pictures together and get them organized. When you have well over 100,000 unorganized photos in boxes and albums, it's going to take a little while to sift our way through.

Around 5:30, I was sitting in the chair in the craft room going through a box and fell asleep in the chair. I woke up about 20 minutes later with my hand and arm asleep. I guess I just needed a little power nap. It worked; I got busy again.

I stopped around 7:00 to go to Zaxby's and get a salad. They were closed! I had really been craving their grilled chicken salad. So, I started home and ended up stopping at Taco Bell and gettting nachos and a taco. Not what I wanted at all, but it was food.

I guess I'll tackle the tree again in the morning. Hope to get it down so I can start on my computer room. I need to get it cleaned out so I can put two pieces of furniture that's in Vance's old room in it. That would get the furniture out of Vance's room. I can see tomorrow is going to be another busy day. I haven't decided yet if I'm going back to work Wednesday or not. I may stay out another day or two until I get the house finished. Like I said, I'm a driven woman right now. Can't stop while I've got the momentum going. And sleep seems a waste of time, but I know I've got to get some sleep or I'll make myself sick. And, it's after midnight, so I guess I better get to bed and at least try to sleep a little. I should be at church, but I didn't want to take the time to stop and shower and put on makeup. Say a prayer that I will be able to finish soon and not slip back into my old ways. Our house is looking so good. I want it to stay that way.

Goodnight and God bless...................Thanks again to my wonderful crew - Michelle, Tabitha and Kim; Vance for taking care of Fox while we worked; Chad for helping Michelle move things. I love you guys.