Whew! What a Day!

Was 45 minutes late for work cause I had to go pay our water bill to get us reconnected. Hope I can keep my mind focused on the really important things - like paying the bills. I feel so dumb.

Worked through lunch to make up the time and try to catch up on my timesheets. I ate yogurt, an apple and a few almonds. Worked till 7:00. Boy, was I tired when I got off! Hopefully, I won't have any major problems tomorrow and can get off at a reasonable hour. My shoulder and neck are so stiff, but my left elbow is much better. I took off the brace last weekend and haven't put it back on. Thank You, Lord!

Not much to write about today. I'm just too tired to even think, so I'm going to bed.
Goodnight and God bless...........

Have You Ever Done Something So Stupid?

Was busy all day at work. Being off Friday and Monday really put me behind. I only got caught up through last Wednesday's timesheets. Supervisors were off last week, too, so they didn't get the timesheets to me on time. Tomorrow and Friday will really be busy days.

Daddy called and needed me to go to the grocery store for him, so I did that at lunch. I really hadn't planned on taking a lunch; just working straight through. But, plans do get changed. Daddy gave his dog, Reba (which was originally Mama's) back to Kim. She was way too hyper for him and she made him fall and hurt his back. So, Kim said she would take her back. Kim says Reba is an evil dog, but plays great with the kids. I just know she was way too hyper for me. She would have driven me crazy. She needs to be around kids that will wear her out.

When I got off work today, I went to Best Buy and bought a spare memory card for my camera since I'm doing a wedding Saturday. This will be my last one, I hope. I just couldn't say no to this one. While at Best Buy, I looked at the Canon printer that prints up to size 13x19. It costs $499. That's what I paid for my very first Canon printer many, many years ago when I got my first computer. I think I paid around $2500 for just the computer. I had gotten a bonus and used it to buy the printer and computer. If I ever went professional, I would get a printer like this one I looked at. But, I can be satisfied with what I have and just somebody else to make poster size pictures for me if I want them. I'm trying to find somebody who does the Antique look - not sepia or black & white. It looks like a faded color picture. I just love the look. Angie wants a poster of the picture of Chip and the grandkids to put over her fireplace, but we want it done in the Antique finish. I checked with Sam's yesterday and they make huge posters but not Antique. Will check with Michael's, Hobby Lobby and some of the photo stores around here next.

Had a really good weekend. On Monday, I cleaned house. Vance moved our old refrigerator out onto the back porch and Gary brought Fran's old refrigerator over to us. We bought it from them. Fran is re-doing her kitchen and this refrigerator wasn't that old. $200 is better than the $1200 one I had picked out. We'll use this one until it needs to be replaced. It's bigger than our old one and has the freezer on the bottom. I think I'm really going to like that. The top part has a lot more room than ours did. It looks like we have nothing in it when I transferred our stuff over to it. Of course, I did throw out a lot of old jars of stuff that had expired.

Haven't been able to go to the gym at all this month. What a waste of money. I've got to pay through June because I didn't cancel the first of May. I just can't find the time to go. It takes longer than an hour, so that means a longer lunch. Now that I have taken on more timesheets, I just don't have that extra time. It means staying late every night. Plus, I have to go at lunch to get things for Daddy since I am working later.

Now, to get to the topic of my title: Have You Ever Done Something So Stupid? I got home this afternoon and Vance said the water was off. Uh Oh. Guess who didn't pay the water bill for two months? I'm getting behind on everything, because I have so much other stuff on my mind that I can't seem to concentrate on stuff like bills. And Vance tried to take it over one time and hated it and said he didn't want to do it anymore. The reason I missed that particular bill is I turned it over to write a note on and failed to turn it back over. I looked at it every day, but didn't realize it was the water bill. When I tried to take a check and drop it in the drop box, there was a sign that said disconnects had to be paid in the office during regular working hours, so that means I will have to be late for work tomorrow to get the bill paid. Which means I will be staying even later tomorrow afternoon to get caught up. It does not pay to take two days off!!! I can forget ever taking another vacation. Now that we've gone to the new timekeeping system, I don't have anybody who can back me up. I have to pray daily that I don't ever get sick. Most of the time, I go to work when I'm sick anyway; as long as it's not contagious.

Well, guess I better get to bed. It's almost midnight.
Goodnight and God bless...............

I Had Fun Yesterday

The pictures above are of Angie's family, Mario and McKinley and Chip with Mario and McKinley.

My sister-in-law, Angie, called me the other day and asked if I would meet her family at the beach to take pictures. The whole gang would be there. I said, of course, I love doing family pictures. Especially for people that I know and love. I haven't seen Dale (Angie's sister) in years. It was so good to see her.

As I drove down Front Beach Road, I started crying. I couldn't help myself. It's just not the beach anymore. Too many condos; you can't even see the beach. It made me so sad for the way things used to be.

They were all staying at one of those condo/motels. The rooms were really nice. I got there around 12:30 or 1:00. They were all out by the pool, so Angie walked me up to the room to change into my swimsuit. Only the second time I've worn one in years. I made sure I put on sunscreen, cause I have two places from last week that have turned into sun poisoning. We stayed out by the pool for a couple of hours, then everybody took showers and they all got dressed to have the pictures made.

We went back down near the pool to take the pictures. I was not pleased with the shadows, but I managed to get a lot of pictures and was able to lighten them up on my computer today, so all was not lost. I took about 300 pictures. There were two that were exceptional - one of Mario and McKinley walking in the saw grass and another one of Chip leading them out of the saw grass. I used my new HP compact printer to print up a bunch of the photos. There is an antique feature on there that is just beautiful. It's a cross between sepia and black and white leaving a little touch of color. Those two pictures turned out beautiful. They look like something you would see in an art show. I was so pleased. My computer won't do that feature. Maybe the software that came with the printer will let me do it on my computer. I haven't installed it yet. I sure hope so, cause I need to erase the pictures on my memory stick before next Saturday. I've got a wedding to do.

The water was really rough - double red flags flying. But, people still went in the water. They made over 100 rescues yesterday, but at least two people drowned. We watched the helicopters flying over and a Coast Guard jet flying low over the beach searching for two people who drowned. Even after dark, the helicopters had search lights and were flying back and forth. It was really sad and creepy. I would hate to be the one to come across the bodies after they washed up on shore.

I ended up staying and having supper with them and leaving around 10:00. The beach was packed; traffic bumper to bumper, everybody cruising the strip. Reminded me of the old days when Vance and I used to drive down the strip in our '64 red Corvette convertible. Good memories....... I went down Middle Beach Road to avoid most of the traffic. It would have been midnight if I had stayed on Front Beach Road. Vance called me to see where I was. He never stays up past 9:30, but he was concerned about me. He waited up till I got home. What a sweetheart!

Fran called as I was getting ready for church. She is selling her refrigerator to us for $200. She paid over $2000 for it. Ours leaks, so we need one. That's better than spending $800-$1000 on a new one. Now, all we need is a trailer to put it on to get it from her house to ours and some strong backs to unload it. Not a good weekend to do that; everybody has plans for Memorial Day. I guess she will just have to put it in her garage until we can get a trailer and people to help us.

Today was great at church. Pastor Sammy is preaching on the Holy Spirit and he is on fire. Things are changing in the way he preaches and it's wonderful. Steve told me I couldn't take off anymore from the Praise team. He said "I know you were away on a girl's weekend, but if I'd had a helicopter, I would have gone after you and taken you back after church. We really miss you when you're not here." He just doesn't know how good that made me feel.

There were two young girls (looked like twins) who came walking up into the parking lot in short skirts and pentagrams around their necks. Gloria and some of the youth managed to talk them into coming in for service. We've been praying for those who nobody else would want to start coming to our church. They didn't stand up during Praise and Worship, but I noticed one of them singing. They stayed through the whole service. Everybody was so nice to them and invited them to come back. They were walking down the road whenever I went to my car and Kyle was calling out to them to come back Wednesday night. I hope they start coming.

Came home and spent the whole afternoon working on the photos I had taken. Lightening some of them, turning some into black and white and some into sepia. I ended up with over 400 pictures and put them on three CD's. I've promised to give a set to each family, so I'll be busy tomorrow, too.

Well, I'm getting really tired and Vance just went to bed, so I'm going to bed. God bless you all............... HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE MEMORIAL DAY

Start of a Long Weekend

This is the view we had Sunday morning. Wish I could see that every morning.

I woke up this morning and just could not really wake up. I called my boss and left him a message that I was going to take a day of vacation. Then, I went back to sleep for a couple of hours. I need caffeine!!!! This has been so hard. No other side effects - no headaches, no heart palpatations, no shakes; just so sleepy all the time. I even went off all meds to see if that might have been causing the drowsiness, but it didn't get any better. I guess my body was just so used to functioning with so much caffeine in it, that it is having a hard time coping. I tried to get in touch with my doctor, but their office is closed until Tuesday. I'll call them on Tuesday and see what can be done.

I finally got up with the insurance agent and she said she would start the paperwork, but she didn't call back today, so I guess I won't hear from her until Tuesday either.

Daddy called and told me that Reba (his dog) had tripped him and made him fall and hurt his back this morning. He wanted Kim to come get her if she wanted her. I called Kim and she went after lunch to get her.

I dropped off Daddy's prescriptions and had an hour to waste, plus I hadn't had any food all day. This was around 1:00. I went to Beall's Outlet and bought a bathing suit coverup, just in case I go to the beach early tomorrow and everybody else are in bathing suits. Haven't heard from Angie, so I don't know what time I'm supposed to be there. I got an Arby's Fajita Roast Beef Flatbread to eat. It was pretty good. I really wasn't hungry, but ate it anyway since I hadn't eaten anything all day. I know that's bad for me, but I'm going to try to do better. Went to Walgreen's and got Daddy's prescriptions and found a bird feeder to replace the one I had, but broke. My poor birds haven't been fed in about a month.

Went by the Credit Union and talked to Fran for about 30 minutes. We laughed about our weekend. It really was a lot of fun. I'd love to do it again. Since Vance won't go anywhere, I guess I'll have to go out with the girls if I want to get out of the house. We've talked about doing some basket weaving and scrapbooking. Fran can teach the basket weaving and I can teach the scrapbooking. That would be fun.

Olga called and said she was bringing me some bananas and apples tomorrow. Someone gave Ron a bunch, so she is going to share with her friends. Since I need to eat more fruit, I said I'd be happy to take them. I joined a weight-loss website last night. I think it's called SparkPeople.com. I'll have to check my emails to make sure. Anyway, I loaded the food I ate today and came in with only a little over 800 calories. That's about 400 calories too little. No wonder I can't lose weight. Last night I was 300 calories in the hole. I'm just not eating enough to burn. My body thinks it's starving, so it hangs onto all that I put in and turns it to fat.

Gotta go to bed. I can't stay awake any longer and the dogs are bugging me to go to bed. They don't like staying up late, but they won't leave my side until I go to bed. They are such good dogs.

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

Please Pray for Steven Curtis Chapman's family

Last night Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter of Mary Beth & Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed in a tragic accident in the family driveway. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him... not back to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.

We are all humbled by the incredible outpouring of love and support at this difficult time. I have watched you, the Chapman friends, overwhelm website servers and jam phone lines with your gracious words and heartfelt prayers. The Chapman family is so grateful. Obviously, we cherish your prayers for all in the Chapman family, and we welcome you passing this along to others to pray and encouraging them to sign up for Steven's e-mail list to receive continuing updates.

* Mail to PO Box 150156 Nashville, TN 37215.

* In lieu of flowers, the Chapmans request any gifts be directed to Shaohannah's Hope.

In closing, as many of you know, the song "Cinderella" was written by Steven to help him (and us all) grab a hold of the special moments with those we love we might otherwise rush by. It was inspired by a bath time that Steven tried to "hurry," Maria and her sister Stevey Joy were not exactly cooperating. : ) Let us all be reminded again today what Steven compels us to with the lyric of this special song.

Maria, we already miss you so much, and we only take comfort in The Hope that assures us we'll see you again soon.

On behalf of the Chapman team and family, Jim Houser (Manager)

This has been on my mind all day. What a tragedy for this family. Brenda sent me the above letter from Jim Houser. I wish the video had pasted, cause it was really cute. Check out Steven's websites and maybe you can find it. It was of him and Maria washing dishes and he sang a song that was so precious.

Today is my sister-in-law's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBBIE!!!

God is blessing me with photo opportunities. It started with the family pictures of Vance and Chad's families, then Penny and I went to Cape San Blas this weekend and I got to take a few pictures there. Angie called and wants me to take family pictures of their family this Saturday at the beach. Next Saturday, I'll be doing a wedding. I know. I know. I said I wasn't going to do anymore weddings. But, this one is only because God wants me to do it. A friend called and said her daughter was getting married. She is a good Christian girl who fell in love and got pregnant. They decided to get married immediately. The mother is devastated. When she was talking to me, I felt God telling me that I needed to be there as a supporter and I need to pray over the couple. I've never done anything like that before, but I feel they need blessings prayed over their marriage. So, I'm going to obey the Lord and photograph this wedding. Pray for me that the pictures will be really special, clear and sharp. Something they can always be proud of. Pray that the Lord will show me the perfect shots to take.

Well, it's almost 11:00 and I haven't eaten any supper. I'm not very hungry, but I need to eat something so I can take my medicine.

Be blessed................




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Tuesday Seems Like Monday Again

Had a really busy day at work today. Kim was back feeling better, but it was like Monday all day to her. She was bombarded from all sides. We've been having problems with just about all of our new systems. Seems we are going back in time instead of going forward with new technology.

I went to Office Max at lunch and bought printer ink and paper for the pictures I'll be taking Saturday of Angie's family. I'm so looking forward to it. It's going to be so much fun. Of course, Vance will be playing golf; but he wouldn't go anyway. He doesn't like to go anywhere or be around people.

My arms really hurt me today. Left forearm and elbow; right shoulder tightens up on me. And it really tightened up today causing pain to go up into my neck and head.

Had Praise and Worship practice tonight. It was good. We learned two songs in less than 45 minutes and they sound good. Then we had prayer. I got home a little after 9:00. Printed up a few pictures. Now, I'm ready to go to bed. I'm so sleepy. Goodnight and God bless.............

I Feel So Much Better

Vance stayed home today. He's built up too much vacation, so he had to take some time off. He was able to be here for the inspector to check out our house so that we can get homeowners insurance. It passed inspection. I'm so glad.

I went to work wishing that I had gone back to Cape San Blas instead of going to work. But, I made it on time for the safety meeting. We've changed them to Monday's instead of Wednesday's. As usual, there was nothing pertaining to my job. Kim wasn't there today. I was afraid her or one of the kids had gotten too much sun yesterday at Shipwreck Island, but when I called, she said she was throwing up all night. Yuck! Not good. I got all my reports ran and all the timesheets put in that the supervisors had given me. So, today was not a super busy day.

Went to Taco Bell and got a small burrito and small nachos and their new frozen fruit drink - Mango/Strawberry - it was so good. Small bits of frozen strawberries. Yum! I just didn't want to eat a salad today.

After work, I went to Bay Medical to finally have the x-rays on my wrist and elbow. I hope they can find out what is causing the pain.

Came home and worked on some of the weekend pictures. Angie called to see if I could go out to the beach on Saturday and take pictures of her family. Dale is coming into town tomorrow to celebrate Shirley's birthday. I haven't seen Dale in years. Can't wait to see her again. They are renting a condo on the beach this weekend and want pictures of the whole family. I'm excited. I love doing family pictures. I did those for Vance and Michelle, and Chad and Tabitha and wanted to do more. My prayers have been answered. Thank You, Lord, for giving me the desires of my heart. Nothing makes me happier than capturing smiles and tears in a camera lens.

Okay, now I'm sitting here crying, because I turned to TBN and they are doing a tribute to Dottie Rambo. She went home to be with the Lord in a bus accident last week. She has written hundreds of gospel songs that have meant so much to me over the years. "We Shall Behold Him" is my very favorite. She has been through so much in her life - over nine back surgeries. Some without any anesthesia; just Jesus to rely on for the pain. It's because of her that I've got an angel room. There's a new singer in heaven giving praise to her Savior right now. God bless you, Dottie! If you want to read tributes about her, go to www.theriveratmusiccity.com and check out the website.

Have a wonderful night. God bless you................

Wonderful Weekend

Penny and I just had a wonderful weekend get-a-way with eight other women. We went to Cape San Blas and stayed in a great beach house on the bay side. Laid out in the sun on the back deck. I got several spots very sunburned. I always miss spots when I put on sunscreen, like the top of my foot. Took bunches of pictures. Went down to the beach and took pictures of the sunset. We played with a Wii. It was a lot of fun. I printed out pictures of everybody with my new HP portable printer while the rest of the girls played cards. It has a slimming feature on it and we had fun with that. I made everybody look slimmer. They were able to take those pictures home with them. (I forgot to make a copy of them for myself and erased my memory stick today.) Then we played a game of charades. That was a lot of fun. I haven't laughed that hard in years. Penny and I got to sleep in the loft. It was nice up there.

I woke up this morning and went out on the back porch to take pictures of the sunrise. Of course, it had already risen, but was still pretty low. Gail was already out there enjoying the view. We were the only ones up, then they started waking up one by one. Penny and I stayed on the deck drinking a cup of coffee while everybody else went back inside. Fran cooked the best sausage croissants. She was sweet enough to serve them to us with orange juice. After we ate, we were just sitting there and heard singing. It was loud and sounded like opera, but it didn't sound like a person. We finally figured out that it was a bird from next door. It would sing, then talk, then sing again. The owner came out and we asked her if she had a bird singing. She said "Yes." As soon as she spoke, he started crying. It was hilarious. He cried until she got back inside, then he started singing again. It was so funny. We all just sat around for awhile, then a few of them went to the beach. Penny, Fran and I stayed. I helped Fran clean up. Penny wasn't feeling good. She did just have surgery on Wednesday, so that was understandable. Penny and I left after the other girls got back - around noon.

I had a really good time. It's been so long since I have laughed as much as I did last night. Several of them are staying until Tuesday night. I think Penny enjoyed herself, too.

I came home and uploaded my pictures and made a photoshow just for the girls. Now, it's time for me to get to bed and find something to put on my sunburn. That's why I don't go to the beach.

I hope Vance and Michelle are having fun in Tennessee this week. Wish I was up there. That's my next trip - going to visit Sylvia in Tennessee for a long weekend.

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

Is Today Tuesday?

Woke up with a sore throat and white things on both my tonsils. What are those white things anyway?

Went to work. Kim took vacation today. Called her and it sounds like she and Carianne were having fun. I've got three months of filing to do because I ran out of filing cabinet space. Had to unload one drawer, then had to put all the signed originals with the faxed copies I get everyday. That took all morning. My desk is a total wreck! Still didn't get to the filing.

Went to Wal-Mart and got gas - $49.37 to fill up my car. Just about makes you sick, doesn't it? I feel sorry for the people who drive those big SUV's. You see a lot of them on the side of the road for sale, along with the bigger trucks. Then, I went to Taco Bell and got a taco salad. I know it has a lot of calories, but since I hadn't eaten anything all morning, I felt like I could afford those calories. I have got to start eating more often. I was bad this afternoon. Someone brought donuts this morning and there were three chocolate ones left after the guys went home. I got one and ate it. Boy, was it good! I'm not supposed to have sugar, but it just kept calling my name as I went by that door and Kim wasn't there to keep me away from it. She's good and telling me "NO". What would I do without her? Would have gone and exercised at lunch, but I'm not feeling very good, so I was afraid I'd make myself sicker.

Finally got to the timesheets that needed to be input. Got caught up, so it won't be too bad when I get back either tomorrow afternoon or Thursday. Penny has surgery tomorrow and she needs me to take her and stay to hear what the doctor has to say and take her home. If it doesn't take all day, I'll go work for a few hours, then go by and pick up Swayde before going to church.

We didn't have Praise and Worship practice tonight and I was exhausted, so I missed going to prayer. Talked to Penny on the phone for about an hour. I have to be at her house around 6:45, so we can drop Swayde off at school before going to the Surgery Center. Have to be there at 7:30. They said it will probably take a total of 4 hours from start to finish, so maybe we will get out around lunch. I'm taking a book to read and plenty of water to drink.

Was trying to figure out how to make a poster on my computer, but I guess my programs don't do that. It would be fun just to try. One of the programs that came with one of my older printers had that capability. You would think Adobe Photoshop Element would do it, but if it does, I sure can't figure it out. I guess I'll just have to take a CD to Michael's or Sam's or somewhere and get one made. I think I want one of St. Marks lighthouse to hang on my wall at work.

Well, guess I better get to bed since I have to get up so early tomorrow morning. Pray for Penny that all will go well and they will finally correct her problem.

Love you and God bless................

Happy Migraine Monday

I woke up this morning with a very bad migraine. Called work and told my boss I wouldn't be there and went back to bed. Slept about two hours and it was still hurting really bad, so I took one of my migraine pills (it melts in your mouth, so starts working pretty fast). Went back to bed and slept until noon. Woke up and the migraine was gone, so I got up, fixed myself a sandwich, threw on a minimum of makeup and went to work. I've got so many timesheets now that I can't afford to be off much on timesheet week. I will be off on Wednesday to take Penny for surgery, so I needed to catch up the Friday and weekend timesheets. I worked until 6:00 and pretty much got caught up. Just got a few adjustments to make, but I was exhausted. Came home and crashed.

Washed a load of clothes. Thank You, Lord, for a washing machine that works. Vance got my blinkers on my car working again. I have had to manually cause them to blink for the past two weeks. That's a pain.

One of the girls from church called to tell me about a miracle that God did for her daughter. Courtney had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. It showed up on an MRI. She called and we prayed and Courtney went back for another MRI and they got the results today - the brain tumor is gone! Praise the Lord! The doctors cannot explain it, but we know Who did it, don't we? God is moving and miracles are happening and it is so exciting. I'm expecting several miracles in my own body - that my hearing will be restored, the dizziness will never come back and my metabolism will be such that I will start losing weight again.

I guess I better get to bed, since I have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Be blessed, cause God is in the blessing business...............

Congratulations Tabitha!

Tabitha graduated from GCCC today. We are so proud of her. She's overcome a lot of obstacles to get to this point. What was so sweet was what she said to Chad after we all walked out of the Civic Center. She turned to him and said "thank you so much for all you've done to get me to this point - taking care of the kids, the house, putting up with my grouchy self..... I couldn't have done it without you." Chad said "So, does that mean no more grouchy self?" She laughed and said "I can't promise you that." It was so sweet.

We went to church this morning and Tabitha's mom, Tammy, came. Pastor and Mrs. Sandi called Tabitha up on the platform and told her how proud they were of her and Pastor spoke words of encouragement over her and a Word from the Lord that she would go even further and see many souls drawn into the kingdom because of her teaching. Then Tabitha took the mike and said "My dad has six children and I'm the only one that he never thought would amount to anything. I made a lot of bad choices in my life, but I can say today that I am the only one of the six that has graduated from college." We gave her a standing ovation. To think a dad would say that to his child.

Yesterday, I bombed the house for fleas. If you have dogs that go in and out, you probably have fleas this time of the year. You have to set off the bombs and leave for two hours, then come back and open all the windows and let it air out for an hour. I did all that. When I came back after the two hours to open the windows, I started stumbling and losing my balance. I couldn't smell anything, but it was affecting me. I hurried and left. Had to pick up Trent so he could spend the night with us so Chad could take Tabitha out for graduation. When I got him back to the house, I laid down on the couch and didn't wake up until 9:00. Vance had fed him and taken care of him. I made him take a shower and then we went to Wal-Mart to get Mother's Day gifts. Of course, I had to buy a toy for him and Hope. We got home a little before 11:00 and went to bed. I slept hard all night.

Had a hard time getting going this morning and I'm not used to having to fix breakfast for anybody. I don't eat breakfast. We were a little late for church, but not too late. We had a great service. Rushed home and had to get to the Civic Center for Tabitha's graduation. After that, we came home and I went to Mama's and Vance went to his mother's. Then, I had to go to Chad's to take Trent's bookbag back to him. Stayed and talked with Tammy and Tiffany and everybody for about an hour. I finally got back to the house around 7:30. Vance was cooking us hamburgers. I had not had anything to eat all day, so I was so thankful for a hamburger.

Talked to Michelle, Vance and Fox. Poor Fox has been sick all week, but he was able to tell me "Happy Mother's Day" and "I Love You". Really touched my heart.

It's been a good day and now I'm exhausted and I'm going to bed. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. May God bless you and keep you...........

Crazy Afternoon

Went through Burger King this morning to get orange juice and coffee. I meant to ask for decaf, but forgot. So, I only drank about 1/4 of the coffee. But, you know what? I did not get sleepy at all today. I knew the reason I was getting so sleepy was because I gave up caffeine. So, does that mean I'm going to be sleepy the rest of my life? How long does it take to wake up without caffeine in my body? This is so weird.

I finally got the additional nine employees that I'm going to be doing time on. That makes over 60 employees that I take care of now. Guess you can call that job security.

Right before lunch, Fran called and asked me to come to her office. Mama was there and she had gotten her hair all cut off. My mother has only had short hair once in her life and that was when I was a little girl. I remember her crying for two weeks and she wouldn't eat. It literally made her sick when she cut her hair. Fran and I both loved it. It took 20 years off her age. It will be so easy to take care of.

Kim and I were supposed to go to lunch with Sylvia, but she couldn't come again today. So, I treated Kim to one of those Subway subs - one foot for five dollars. We split it. That's a pretty cheap lunch.

After lunch, Daddy's doctor's office called to see if we could come earlier today. they had several cancellations, so they wanted him to come at 2:45 instead of 4:00. I called him and he said he would start getting ready. I picked him up and we went to see his lung doctor. He's still doing pretty good. Won't have to go back for three months. I told Daddy about Mama getting her hair cut off and he told me about the time she did it before. He said her hair was long enough to sit on and he just loved running his fingers through her hair. He came home from work one day and it was all cut off and she had the hair in front of her on the table holding it and crying like a baby. He said she cried for a week and he left and went to a motel for four days. He couldn't stand it anymore and couldn't get her to stop crying. He said he called her and told her he was coming home and if she was still crying when he got there, he was packing his things and leaving her. When he got home, she wasn't crying anymore. I've never heard of anybody else that a haircut affects like that.

As I was filling up my car with gas, Tabitha called with a dilemma. Trent just told them that he had a recital tonight. She has her last final tomorrow and had not studied, so she needed to stay home. Chad doesn't like going to places where there are a lot of people (so much like his dad), so I said I would call Karen and tell her that I couldn't make Praise and Worship practice and I'd take him and Hope. Trent is learning to play the guitar and he looked good on stage - like he knew what he was doing. It was a good concert. He didn't have to do a solo, but several people said he did a great job. His music teacher, Sandi Rosengrin, told me he was doing good. I hope he pursues music. We were there two hours. Afterwards, they had all kinds of snacks, so the kids had to fill up a plate and eat. I made them take home most of it and stopped by Burger King and got them all (Chad and Tabitha, too) something to eat.

Penny called as I was on my way to pick up Trent and Hope and said that Mama had called her crying, saying she hated her hair. She wants to buy a wig now. A wig will be so hot and she doesn't go anywhere to need a wig. Besides, her hair looks great short. She will drive all of us crazy until she gets herself a wig. She's getting that rebate and thinks she has to buy a wig with it. Not me, we're getting a refrigerator.

Guess I better get to bed. God bless each and every one of you..........

Happy Birthday Kim!!!

Kim called me on the way to work to let me know that we were having our safety meeting and a breakfast this morning. The breakfast was really good. It was our reward for about 2 1/2 years without an accident. It was very hard not to get a piece of bacon, but I managed.

Gave Kim a birthday card with a gift certificate inside for a family photo shoot - free of charge. Can't wait to take the pictures.

Had all the reports to run. Talked to the team leader in Chipley about the timesheets and how I wanted them sent to me. He tried to fax them to my machine and it rang and rang, but no fax ever came through. I didn't have any problem getting the timesheets from the beach, so there must be something wrong with the Chipley fax machine. Hope they get it fixed.

Talked to Fran about two weekends from now - going to the beach when Gail gets here. Asked her if there was room for Penny to stay the weekend. She said there was. I may just go for the weekend instead of four days. I'll see how it goes. I'm just not used to going off on vacation with people I don't know that well and there will be several women that I don't know.

Penny called and told me that Mama wants to get a wig. She said she can't take care of her hair anymore, so she wants to shave her head and get a wig that looks like her hair. Why doesn't she just cut her hair short? It would be so much easier to take care of. But, she's always hated short hair, so she wants a long wig. She will obssess over this until she gets one. Then, she will probably hate it.

Vance and I think Vinnie is going deaf. I've been noticing for several weeks that he hasn't seemed to hear me unless I raise my voice. I know exactly how he feels. It's no fun not being able to hear very well. He's getting pretty old. He'll be 15 this year. That's pretty old for a dog. I'm not ready to lose him yet. I pray that he has a long life with good health. I don't want him to be in any pain or go blind or deaf.

Guess I'll go to bed. Goodnight and God bless.............

TGIF

I'm so glad it's Friday. Have nothing planned for the weekend, but glad this week is over. There's been a lot of tension in our office this week and I don't like being around any type of conflict. The two guys I work with just seem to be at each other's throats lately. They don't like the way the company is doing things - you know, changes...... It breaks my concentration on my work and they keep trying to draw me into their conversations. I just don't like it. I'm going to ask my boss next week if there is another office somewhere that he can put me in. I'll take a big closet if that's available. Anywhere that I can be alone. Next week, I will be getting nine more timesheets to add to my group, so I will need peace and quiet to get it all done. Plus, our old system went bye bye today and the new system is all we will have from now on, with all it's problems that haven't been worked out yet. I worked until 6:00 tonight to get finished.

Fran called around 5:45 while I was still at work. She had called the house and Vance said "She's hanging out in a bar somewhere with her boyfriend." Fran thought that was hilarious. She said "Church maybe, but not a bar." Then he told her I was still at work. Our friend, Gail, is coming to St. George Island in a couple of weeks and several girls are going to stay with her from Saturday till Tuesday. They want me to go with them. I hate to leave Vance, but when I talked to him when I got home, he told me I should go. And I really do need a break. So, I think I'm going to go. I know it will be fun. And I can get a lot of beach pictures. Now, I just got to get some clothes to wear. I don't have but one pair of shorts.

Went to Hope's graduation this morning. It was very cute. Chad and I took plenty of pictures. Tabitha had to be at the college, but she managed to get there just as we were walking to our cars to leave.

Went and bought groceries for Daddy after I got off work, then came home, ate a quick bite of food and went to the Upper Room to pray from 9:00 to 11:00. What an awesome time of prayer.

Now, I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed. Goodnight and God bless..............

This Has been a very busy day

Got to work and waited until 7:45 to walk over to the other building to take pictures of the Marketing Department. One of their employees has taken a job in Alabama, so they want to give her a group picture. Took several of those and then the supervisor asked me to take a couple of him to be sent to the Chamber of Commerce.

Kim had other things to do, so she wasn't able to exercise. I needed to get supplies for the graduation announcements I'm making for Tabitha, so that worked out fine for me. Went to Tropical Smoothie and got a Veggie Veggie wrap - no meat, just all kinds of veggies. It was really good. I'll have to get another one sometime.

I officially take over the Chipley timesheets on Monday. That adds nine more to my 52. No problem. It's called job security.

Daddy called. I've got to go buy groceries for him when I get off work tomorrow. Can't do it at lunch, cause Hope graduates tomorrow and Chad and I are going to that. Tabitha has to be at Gulf Coast to get her awards. Her dad is supposed to go with her. I hope he doesn't back out. Then, Kim and I have to be at the Upper Room for prayer for two hours. Our church has the prayer all day tomorrow. It's National Prayer Month. Our church is hosting a big prayer gathering on the 10th.

Came straight home and started working on the announcements. Just finished them about 20 minutes ago. I think they turned out pretty good. They are unique; nobody else will have anything like them. I designed them and Chad and Tabitha picked out the picture. I love doing stuff like this......... Told Kim that she, Carrianne and the girls were going to have to let me take their pictures one Friday afternoon. They need some family pictures. One of the girls at work does a lot of studio-type photography and weddings. I'm giving her all my wedding work. Just too stressful for me and I fear having an attack and ruining somebody's special day. Pictures like I did for Chad and Tabitha can always be done on a different day if the weather doesn't cooperate or somebody gets sick. It's not that critical. Melanie loves my outdoors photos. Maybe one day we'll work together. That would be fun. Maybe she can teach me how to do studio work.

Well, since I've been sitting at a computer all day long and tomorrow is timesheet day, I need to get to bed and get some rest.

Goodnight and God bless..........Remember to pray!!!