My Perfect Man?

Today I might have met the perfect man for me.  

The youngest and I had to go into an auto parts store to pick up a shade for his car since it will be sitting in the sun on campus and not under cover.  The minute I walked into the auto parts store I forgot the name of the item I needed.  This nice looking man, my age or older, came up and asked if he could help us.  I told him I needed a windshield thing and then started using my arms and hands illustrating the unfolding of something like a bi-fold door.  He said something along the lines of "they are right over here" and we started following him.  

He took us down the windshield wiper aisle and I said "Oh no, not wipers." And then he said, and this is what makes him my perfect man ..."Well of course not, if you had wanted wipers your hands would have gone like this" as he bent his one arm and made his arm go back and forth like a windshield wiper. 

I laughed and then he showed me exactly what I needed and how to find the right size.  

After we paid and left, my youngest said "Mom, that man understood you." That is when I realized I had missed my opportunity.  I asked the youngest if he had looked to see if there was a wedding ring, and of course he hadn't.  

Maybe I need to get some windshield washer fluid next.  How will I illustrate that?

Very Slow Start to the Day

It has been a very slow start today.

I did not get up until almost 10:00 A.M.  I started to get up at 7:00 A.M. and then thought, why?

The youngest is still in bed.  We are supposed to move his stuff today, and I am sure we will eventually, but right now he is snoring away. Since he hardly ever snores, I think he must be really tired.  I don't know when he went to bed last night. I went to bed at 1:00 A.M. and he was still up.  He didn't get home until after midnight and told me he had some stuff to do.  I never heard him once I went to bed.

I have spent the time alone writing posts, doing laundry, and reading.  I started a book that I really could just spend the whole day reading without doing another thing, but that is too much of a luxury with so much to do.  

Who knows, at this rate, we may not be moving to the dorm until tomorrow, but that is okay.  It is nice to slow down and not be rushed.  There is nothing wrong with savoring the day and enjoying a day that is not planned out.  That is the great thing about him being a "real" college student now, we move on our schedule.  

I think I will sit here and watch the hummingbirds just a little while longer. They are quite active today.

My Television Obsession

I can't help the fact that I love to watch television, and I like a variety of different shows just like I like to read a variety of different styles of books. I don't have a huge fancy television, cable, lots of speakers or anything that costs a lot of money.  I just like to be entertained.

Television doesn't rule my life, and I don't have it on all the time.  It is nice to have on as background noise when I am quilting, unless I am doing something that requires a lot of concentration.  I like to watch my shows to unwind in the evening.  

I enjoy watching Survivor with Loni and Mina and having discussions about the different people.  I like good police shows, lawyer and medical dramas, some reality shows - usually the people have to be challenged in some way for me to enjoy the show - like Survivor, Love in the Wild, Expedition Impossible, etc.   The Voice and American Idol are favorites too. I tape Young and the Restless everyday.  Seventh Heaven and other corny family shows are also favorites of mine.

I record most of the shows I watch so I can skip through the boring parts, or the people I don't like to watch perform.  

Since I don't have cable, I watch a lot of shows through the internet and Netflix.  Yesterday, I was working around the house, and then found a job that required a lot of sitting in one place.  I turned on Netflix for something different and found "Switched at Birth."  Well, one episode and I was hooked.  I watched episodes 1 and 2 and then went to do another job.  I would work really hard for about an hour and then I would reward myself with another episode.  Once I had completed all the tasks I had on my list for the day, I sat down and watched all the available episodes. It is just the kind of show I can really fall in love with.  Lots of characters with different stuff going on with each of them - a great saga.   I love to read sagas and I love to watch them so there you go, I am hooked.  

The only problem I had with "Switched at Birth" was that I couldn't hand quilt and watch it.  Lots of shows I can just listen to, but since several of the characters in the show are deaf, there are places you have to read the dialogue. I found myself having to drop my quilting and take the tape back so I could catch up.  Finally, I just decided to enjoy the show.  

I can't wait until the next season.  In the meantime I can stay busy with Survivor, The Closer, Psych, Drop Dead Diva, Project Runway (Loni just hooked me on to this one), and all my other favs that are coming back.  I sure hope they have at least one good comedy this season.  My lineup lacks comedy.

 

Accomplishments #192 through #239

I find it boring to write about my year of accomplishments, but I must keep up with my promise to myself.

The heat has been so horrible this summer along with the drought that any outside plans I had were long ago tossed.  

On the inside of the house, I have made accomplishments. 

I am happy to say that I have kept up with the mail on a daily basis and tossed out recycling each day.  No big huge piles of mail on the table this year.  It has been very easy this summer because I just have the youngest stand next to me and I hand him all the recycling to put out as I go through the mail.I did have a small pile earlier this week, it had been sorted, but it was bills and such to pay on my day off, and it is now gone. All my filing it caught up too.

I did the last purge of my closet a week ago.  We ended up taking 7 bags of clothes to the Cancer Federation (they are asking for clothes right now).  I gave up a lot of old favorites, but not ratty robe.  Of course ratty robe is really just about a rag now and not up for donation.

I paid the youngest to clean out the workshop and since then I have done a little more cleaning up out there and have a lot more to do when it is cooler.  

I spent two weekends going through all my fabric and labeling how much I had of each piece and reorganizing my bedroom and stash.

Yesterday was spent cleaning out the 4th bedroom of the house which at some point was remodeled to not actually be a bedroom by previous owners.  In the past we have used it as a computer room, music room, bedroom, storage room, extra game room, etc.  Right now I am using it to store our games and some misc. items that I will need to go through a purge soon.  I purposefully left the floor open so that I could use it to lay out some quilt backs.

As far as how my year of accomplishment is going, I have made sure to accomplish one thing each day, no matter how small. So I am happy with the year so far.

Youngest in College

My youngest is in real college now.  He hates it when I say that, but even though TAMS students are only taking college classes, and he entered UTD with enough credits that he will probably be classified a junior, he wsan't really a "College Student" he was a TAMSter.

The biggest news about the youngest this week ... HE GOT A DORM ROOM!!!!!

He was on the wait list and we had both adjusted to the fact he would be at home and commuting this semester when he received a call Monday saying they had a room for him.  He called and told me at work and I think they could hear my scream of "WOOHOO" in the next city over.  

Of course, as I soon as I celebrated, I realized my youngest was not. He was conflicted. I calmed  down and told him it was totally his decision as to where he lived.  We hung up and then after thinking about it, I called him back and told him I was coming to pick him up since I had some traveling work to do and he could ride with me and we would talk.  I threw in a trip to Sonic too.

We had a nice afternoon of talking pros and cons and then I dropped him back home to think while I went back to return all my items to work.  

After some back and forth he decided he would move to the dorm.  I was so relieved.  I think being on campus is best for him.

As of today, he still isn't in his room as there is an issue with the key.  He is in day three of classes and has the usual gripes about them.  He has already seen all the TAMSters on campus.  He has played Magic with several of them in the student union, and has found there is a great source for new players.  Youngest has run into other friends from his Sunday Magic games, and played pool with a person he just met.  So he is off and running just like I knew he would be once he was there.

I hope he will like his roommates, but at least his bedroom is private if he doesn't. 

I hope to get him moved tomorrow.

A Nice Level Stove Top

I don't know when it all started to slope, but my stove top has not been level in a long time.  Whenever I go to cook eggs or anything else in my skillet everything would slide to one side.  It was very annoying.

I said something to John about it when he was working here and he said he would fix it, but he forgot, and so did I.

This week he is out here working again and I told him that was one of the projects he had to do while he was here. He went to work and with a little help from the youngest my stove top was level again.

What a difference it makes!  John said he didn't know how I cooked with it like it was, but I just reminded him he should have fixed the first time I asked.

No more lopsided egg cooking! YEAH!

Only 9:30 A.M. and I Need a Nap

I am still trying to recover from my my 4:00 A.M. bedtime followed by a couple of early mornings and another late evening.

Last night I was up until almost 1:30 A.M. and I was up at 7:15 A.M. this morning.  

I made homemade from scratch buttermilk biscuits for breakfast and now I really do just want to collapse on the couch and sleep.

Maybe I can sneak in a nap this afternoon. 

Tired But Worth It

I was up to 4:00 A.M. this morning spending time with one of my favorite college boys.  He will be leaving Monday and wanted some time with one of his extra moms.  I am so proud to be one of those extra moms. (I hope we didn't keep waking Loni up, there was a lot of laughter in the wee hours of the morning.)

This is a bittersweet time for both of us.  He will graduate in May and then move forward in life, and neither of us know what that means.  

I am watching all the 21 year olds struggle with that fine line between still being school boys with all the insecurities and freedom that brings and stepping over that line into adulthood and all the accompanying responsibilities.  

I know they will all do well in life, it is just hard to watch them with this transition.  I want to protect them forever.  

Tonight should be fun.  Last spring I told my Butler boy I would have a drink with him this summer.  Tonight is the night.  We are going as a group to Saltgrass for dinner and a Texas Tea.  We already have 3 designated drivers because I told him I would not go if either of us had to drive afterwards.  Their Texas Teas are 22 ounces.  I never have one without a driver.

I am going to miss all of them this semester. I am already looking forward to Christmas when they will all be home again, including Army boy.

Moving Day - Oldest

Today was moving day for the oldest.  He moved back to campus. 

Well, he started moving back to campus.  I figure it will be a couple of weeks before he is completely moved out.  

It will be good for him to be a little closer to work and back with his friends.  

I pray it will be a good semester for him, and he gains insight into what is best for him.  I also pray that he will be able to take the steps necessary to do the things that are best for him.

Weekend of Movies

Loni and I did a lot of movie watching over the weekend, especially while I was hand quilting and she was machine quilting. Some of the movies were favorite oldies, a couple of them were new to me.  All and all, I am glad I was able to entertain myself while sitting on the couch trying to perfect my stitching.

We watched: Picture Perfect; Tammy, Tell Me TrueTammy Tell Me True; Same Time, Next Year; Play the Game; Nine Months; and Baby's Day Out.

The best one was "Play the Game."  There is a part where Andy Griffith is slipped a mickey full of crushed viagra that is a classic!

Tammy, Tell Me True brought be back to Saturday afternoons in Ohio when I would watch them on the late afternoon show while babysitting. 

All in all, a pretty good weekend.  Loni and I both made great progress on our quilts, and there were quite a few laughs thrown in the mix too.

Rose-Mary Rumbley Luncheon

Today was the annual UMW Luncheon and Speaker at work.  Rose-Mary Rumbley was the speaker, lunch was catered from Elke's Market Cafe.

I enjoy these annual events, and I knew today's would be good because I was going to be joined by my friends Laurie and  Melinda.

There were 58 women there today, many of them my friends.  As I took time to look around the room before the program started, I couldn't help but take pride in how many of the women there I consider to be my friend.  Then as I started to look at each friend and think about our friendship, I took pride in the fact that I have friends in their 20's all the way up to friends in their 90's. I LOVE THAT!

I am truly blessed to have all these friends. (Has nothing to do with wanting to live in Hermitville.)

I was also blessed to win a door prize today.  A ceramic fern vase in GREEN!!! It was obviously meant to be mine considering how well it goes in my house. Laurie won part of the centerpiece, a flowering cactus.

The only downfall on my part was Marcia's Mexican Wedding Cookies.  I never eat them because they are a food trigger for me, but I splurged today, and before the 2 hours were over, I had  8 of them.  That is why I never eat them when she brings them to church.  They are just too good!

Hermitville Sounding Better and Better

Life is getting to hectic, and people expect me to be different than I am, or will ever be. 

Turning my oasis into Hermitville is sounding better all the time.  Only people allowed in are the ones that live here. 

I guess I would have to delay Hermitville until after school starts since I want to see Kyle again before he leaves.  

Please Pray

If you are reading this, please take a moment to pray for my friend Marie.  She will be having repeat medical tests in a couple of weeks, and we would like different results from the last tests.  

I will be in constant prayer for her. 

Thank you.

Sleep Deprived Day

I did not get a lot of sleep last night, which made for a very rough day at work. 

I was asleep before midnight, but woke up at 1:35 thinking things were just not right in the house.  I got up and went into the living portion of the house and found my oldest typing away on his homework.  I asked him if he was about done and he said yes, it was going well, it just took him a while to get the focus of the paper.  I up kissed him, told him I loved him, and try to get some sleep.

Back to bed I went.  I read a little while before being able to fall back to sleep.  

At 3:35 A.M. I woke up to itching on my right ring finger and my left shoulder.  It took me a minute before I realized I had huge welts in the places that were itching.  I laid there for a minute and then decided Benadryl spray was the only thing that would allow me to sleep again.  So up once more to go to the living area of the house, only once I opened the connecting door I noticed that the lights were still on in the man cave.  

I walked into the man cave and discovered my oldest in his chair, keyboard under his fingers, head back snoring really hard.  It took several shakes and a few yells to even get him to open his eyes part way.  A few more minutes passed before I got him to the state where he was awake enough to realize he was still working on his paper.  

When he was awake enough he asked me why I was up.  I showed him my welts and he helped me doctor them.  I then went to the couch to try to sleep a little more while the oldest worked.  I finally fell asleep and I don't know when the oldest went to bed.  

At 7:05 AM I woke up and did not hear any sounds in the house. My brain registers the fact that I did not hear the printer running this morning, which means the oldest did not get his homework ready to go.  I jumped up and went in to wake the oldest up and to tell him to print.  He has to be at class by 8, and it is at least a 20 minute drive.  Once he was up and running, I was able to get about 10 more minutes of sleep before getting up for work. 

I can't have too many nights like that this week because I have a very rough week at work ahead.

House of Boys

Mama is happy tonight.  I have all my favorite boys at home with the exception of my oldest.  

Ryan is home on leave from the Army.  

Kyle is home from Butler.

Casey and Stewart are here from up the road.  

Youngest is here laughing his head off and having a good time.

They did call the oldest and to tell him they wished he was here.  

I love having all my boys home.  I wish they never had to leave.  The older they get the more I worry.  I have also noticed that they have more worries.  It is the curse of becoming grownups.  

Love my boys.

Where Did All This Fabric Come From????

Today I had to tell Jill she has to find another place for her quilting items.  It was tough for me to do that, but I am simply out of room. 

I spent the last week marking all my fabric as to size and preparing it to go back on my shelf.  That included the fabric in my wardrobe, closet, and other hidden places. Once I was finished I realized that the only way for me to know what I have is for it to be out in the open in my room, but the only space left in my room is the space I had given Jill.  

Fortunately she was very generous in her understanding.  I told her she could still keep it here at my house if she could find the space...I just don't know where she would find the space.  

So Jill will move her items out, and she said I could keep the bookcase, but we will discuss that some more.  I will be able to put all my fabric out in the open so I can keep up with what I have and make some long term plans. 

I Feel Guilty ...

I feel guilty when I put what I want to really do first. Too many people want my attention this morning and all I want to do is sit here in my towel wrap and read a book and watch the hummingbirds.  The Mama in me wants to make everyone happy and take care of them, but the woman in me wants to just chill out and be left alone. 

I feel guilty when I see how much my one friend accomplishes in a day as she cooks a meal from scratch, sews, paints a picture, drives her kids all over town, and manages to keep her house perfect.  She never sits down and I wonder if that is why she stays so thin.  I feel guilty I am not like that, but then I wonder when she ever enjoys her accomplishments as she moves on from one to the next.  

I feel guilty that I don't like my son's girlfriend.  I have tried but she gets on my every nerve.  I realize he might marry her and then I feel guilty because I am already wondering how he will deal with divorce. 

That is enough guilt for today.

Wisdom Teeth

The youngest had all four wisdom teeth out last Friday. He is doing great. I am so proud of how he has followed care and prescription directions given him.

I was very anxious to see how he would do coming out of anesthesia since he has never had any surgery before.  In fact, he has never even had Novocaine at the dentist.  When they called me back to see him in recovery I was not sure what I would find.  

What I found was a very angry, dopey young man.  It took a little while before I could understand why he was so mad, but evidently he was seeing double and the room was full of posters he couldn't read.  It was quite entertaining, but so different that how the oldest reacts to anesthesia.  

He is looking forward to eating french toast, pizza, and cheese danish again.  I am just glad it is over.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

My oldest has been really burning the candle at both ends the last couple of weeks.  He is taking a morning class at Collin College in order to fill in some credits he did not need until he changed majors, plus he is working pretty much non-stop.  He has three major projects at work with deadlines that are pretty much past now. 

He leaves for class at 7:30 A.M. and after a two hour 8:00 A.M. class he goes to the train station and takes the train to downtown Dallas to work.  He gets home sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 P.M.  After he eats dinner, he works until 1 or 2:00 A.M.

Now I admit that when he complains about how much work he has I am not that supportive simply because he needs to learn what it is like in the real world.  When he complains about not being able to get everything done, I remind him how his dad would sleep on the floor of his cubicle, or in his car in the parking lot when he had big deadlines.  Not that I want my oldest sleeping in his car in a parking lot in downtown Dallas, but I do want him to know that in the real world, in his chosen profession, there are times when the hours are very long. However, as a mom I worry about him.

This has been a particularly hard week for him to get started since he worked all weekend until the wee hours of the morning and then would get up early and start all over again.  On Tuesday I woke up to realize it was 7:25A.M. and his bedroom door was still shut.  I opened the door and told him he was going to be late. He jumped up and was out the door by 7:40.  

This morning I woke up at 7:00 A.M. and realized I did not hear any sounds in the house.  I wasn't ready to get up yet, so I picked up my cell phone and called him.  The conversation went like this:

Ring, ring:  

Him: Mruruph

Me: Are you still in bed?

Him:  Mrrummm mmmmrrrrrrr

Me:  You need to get up because I am going back to sleep, this is the only wake up you get.

Him:  Rrrrrrrrrrrmmmrrrrmmrmmmr

Me:  Do you understand?

Him:  Mrmph

I hung up the phone and then I listened for a few minutes.  I heard his door open, and then I went back to sleep. 

I warned him tonight that I might not wake up early tomorrow, so he better get up to his alarm. I hope he gets to have a weekend off before he is back in school full time.

 

Have a Good Day Everyone!

Falling Slowly

 After seeing this song butchered on America's Got Talent, I just had to share. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly.

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

OK, I may be the one of the last female readers in the United States to read "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  I read the description of the book when it came out but it just didn't catch my interest.  It was not until I saw the previews for the movie that I decided to download a sample to my Kindle.

I read the sample, downloaded the book, and then did not get off the couch all day Sunday until I finished the book.  It really was a great read.  I hope the movie does it justice.

The book made me think back to a friend I had in elementary school whose parents had "Help."  I was never comfortable being waited on by their "Help."  I used to sit at the breakfast table with the family and wonder why they were telling this woman to pour me some more milk when I was perfectly capable of getting up and walking over the refrigerator on my own.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. Stockett's books.

Chat, Chat, CHAT!!!! I am saying CHAT

I am not a patient person.  My sons get frustrated because I will complain my computer is slow and the reason will turn out to be the 85 windows of Firefox I have open because I kept clicking when my browser did not open immediately.

Loni calls me a Power Zero person because if I call any number and get a menu of options that is longer than three choices, I push the zero until I get a live person. 

I could give other examples, but I think you get the idea.

This week  I was given the task of finding out the time needed to take an online class my bin which my boss wants me to enroll.  I started by reading the description of the class.  It only told me the dates of the class, the cost, and that I needed class 101 first.  I then called their 800 number, where I only had to push the English button to be sent directly to a live person.  A live person that had no information but said they would email me something that should give me my answers.  I actually had the email within seconds of hanging up, but the information sent was just the registration form (which I had online).  My next option was to try the online service chat. I clicked "Online Chat."  Nothing happened.  I decided to complete another task and come back to this one.

About thirty minutes later I went back to the website and clicked "Online Chat."  Nothing happened.  I then read the instructions again and because I have a tendency to talk to myself when I am trying something new I said "Chat" as I pushed the button.  Nothing.  Well I kept clicking "Chat" and saying "Chat" with each click for probably five minutes before my boss commented from her office, "My you certainly must be having issues today, that is a lot of cussing."  I thought about it for a second and said "C H A T  chat, I want to "CHAT"  with these people.  "Oh" she said "well I was getting worried."

I never did get to "Chat."