November Tenth

 

I do know one bad thing about being home from work… I eat too much for one and work is where I get all my exercising from… I’m constantly walking, lifting, bending and just over all moving… at home I sit more… and eat Halloween candy and caramel apples… I gained two pounds this week… Hubby and I are going for a walk today…

I have been hooked on smarties since last Halloween… and you can get them at the Dollar Store…

Took some room pictures this morning…

This is hubby’s art room… he’s all moved in and has all his pictures up on the walls…

The hallway of stuff to take to goodwill… I plan on adding more though…

Son2’s room… He still has to put his posters/pictures and shelves up on the walls… and sort his closet and organize everything in it… he bought hangers so he can hang up all his clothes since he gave me his dresser as it wouldn’t fit in his room and he didn’t want to put clothes in drawers but hang them up… and that stuff straight back has to go in the closet…

and all that stuff to the left of the plant needs to be sorted through and go into his closet… he has a lot of stuff… mostly toys that he is not ready to part with…

Front room where son1 was staying… now the computer/game room…

 

Hubby made pumpkin pancakes and fried eggs for breakfast… yummy!

Hubby and I are going for a walk now…

Be back later…

Hubby and I are back from our walk…

I brought the camera…

Lots of clouds but no rain in our future…

I was looking at everyone’s yards and telling hubby what we needed to do with our yard… we have really neglected our yard… my roses have barely bloomed the last year… I want to pull out the purple tree/bush we have that’s barely blooming and a bit crooked… I want to cut the wisteria way back and possibly move it to where the purple tree was… and completely cut back a purple vine we have growing next to the wisteria… trim back the two roses next to that… and the lemon tree is out of control again… then on the left side of the wisteria is a crepe myrtle tree and a Japanese maple tree… there is really a lot on the side of the yard and it all looks over our neighbors pool… sorry for all the droppings in the pool… and he has our permission to cut back whatever hangs over into his yard… hubby however likes all the plants and is reluctant to cut anything back… did I mention the wisteria was halfway up the crepe myrtle tree… I’m sure it will all grow back after we cut/move it…

During the summer our air conditioner/heater unit needed to be looked at by the repair man… seems we need a new circuit board… so he temporarily rerouted the air conditioner to work without the circuit board for the summer… however if we want heat this winter we need to order a circuit board and have him install it… hubby just found a room/floor heater for the family room… we don’t use the heater at night instead using lots of flannel and blankets… so we’ll see if we can put off any repairs until hubby is working again…

I’ve a headache the last two days… either too much time on the computer or too much forcing myself to relax… I still take Gabapentin for my neck twice a day… and ibuprofen as needed… no more physical therapy… I just have to know my limits…

Some geese flew in to the canal overflow while we were on our walk…

 

 

I’ve made some bean dip (two cans of chili, one can of refried beans, one can of tomatoes of your choice and one package of cream cheese, heat until all blended), pizza, heated the leftover bean soup by adding the leftover veggies, and there are still two turkey burgers left…

We are planning to watch Trick or Treat… son3 says he is ready to watch scary movies…

The pizza is beeping in the oven…

Happy Journaling…

 

November Ninth

 

I’ve also been posting in my photo blog:

Not Just Roses…

I have been reading A LOT the past few years… I get a 45 minute lunch at work and I always have a book with me… I read a lot of Nora Roberts, I love her trilogies… and of course Stephen King, I still have Under the Dome to read… Son2 and I have been reading the Rick Riordan series… we just got the latest in the Heroes of Olympus series, The Mark of Athena… We also read season eight of Buffy in graphic novel form… we’ve just begun season 9 of Angel & Faith and Buffy… I also read Debbie Macomber, Bentley Little, Sheila Roberts, Jude Deveraux, Victoria Alexander and Luanne Rice…

I bought the Indian in the Cupboard series for son2 when he was younger but he never read it… So I’ve been reading it… I just finished the fourth book… it’s really good… I vaguely remember the first book from when I was younger… there’s a lot more to the story than just the Indian in the cupboard and even his cowboy friend…

Yesterday I was in error of the grades I showed you for son3… those were from the teacher conference… and he did indeed bring up his grades from turning in missed work… His final report card was : Reading C, Language C, Writing C, Spelling B-, Math C-, Science A-, Social Science C… He is home from school now and has a three day weekend… but grounded from video games since he keeps forgetting at least once in the week to bring books and homework home that is needed for that night…

Yesterday I did get the laundry all put away… we had left over bean soup for dinner… we watched Arrow, Supernatural and The Big Bang Theory… I love having a DVR…

Today I organized my desk, sorted and filed the paper piles and paid bills… I also sorted the goodwill in the hallway, put the empty boxes in the garage and put the old mattress from son3’s bed in the garage…

Hubby and I were going to do yard work today but it rained a bit this morning and is just now 55 degrees outside… brrrrrrrrrrr… I love it…

I think I may have stepped a little closer to menopause as I may be having hot flashes… especially when one minute I am freezing and the next sweating… my friend at work calls them my own personal summer…

I’m making turkey burgers, french fries and pork & beans for dinner… and the clothes just finished in the dryer… hubby is watching his history channel, son2 is playing Halo 4 and son3 is showering to be ready for his comfy three day weekend of pajama days…

Above is the fifth and final book in the Indian in the Cupboard series… but I got a little distracted with the book below that son2 bought me… it is the final book in the Inn Boonsboro trilogy… SO GOOD!

Happy Journaling…

 

 

 

November Eighth

 

Maple Lee…

She says no more homework…

I say no more homework…

Son3 has so much homework this year… I know we say that every year but even hubby and I with the help of son2 are having trouble getting into the routine of this year’s teacher’s homework schedule… Every Monday he gives the homework for the week and which day it is due and then each day gives more homework for that day… Son3 has an agenda that the school supplies that he can write all the homework down in… son3 only writes down what is due the next day in the agenda… we are insisting he write everything down and bring home all his books so we can help him keep organized… he rather just do what is due the next day instead of getting ahead… he is getting assignments mixed up and is getting detentions… we are grounding him from video games for not remembering to bring home all the books required to do the homework… I am using the internet to help him with his homework… he is bringing homework home marked wrong that I help him with… he insists on doing work himself which he should but then it comes home marked wrong…

The only consistent homework that I have noticed is spelling words every other week, test on that Friday, with the words being sent home on Tuesday… Geography worksheet each week with test on exact same paper on Friday… In addition he has a history question sheet, science question sheet, up to 50 math problems (fractions, decimals, percentage, algebra, etc.) three days a week, reading workbook, two language worksheets every day and any additional work… the past two weeks he had 10 math worksheets each week assigned for one night due the next day…

HIs first report card: Math C-, Science B-, History C, Writing D-, Grammer D, Spelling B, Reading D-… Now the Writing and the Reading may have gone up as he was allowed to make up some work that was missing…

I’m hoping Middle School is easier then elementary school for son3 like it was for son2…

Maple Lee in her box… of course she claims all boxes that come in the house…

Sharing some more Halloween pictures…

Yesterday was my regular day off…

Today and tomorrow I am on mandatory vacation… I feel like I am playing hooky and that I should be at work… I was scheduled to work today and tomorrow…

Seems we used a bit too many hours throughout the store on our last visit and so we are trying to catch up… so I won’t argue about taking a few days off… my team knows what to do and I have been really needing a day or two off lately… but then I am also off Saturday as my regular day off and then I work on Sunday… but wait I am also off Monday through Friday of next week… woo hoo! I keep waiting for the phone to ring and for them to say never mind we changed our mind… but I doubt it as they really need to save a few hours off the schedules… then I go back next Saturday just in time to get ready for Black Friday…

I have applied for another position at work and am once again waiting for the results… actually they have made a decision but since the position falls under two different managers they have each chosen a different person so at the moment they are at a stand still… and with the holidays coming the store manager is not in a hurry to move anyone… so one manager wants me and the other wants a different person who actually applied for two positions and the other position also wants him so if he goes there then it will mostly likely be me or not… who knows… I’ll just be in shoes forever… Our shoe sales are actually very good this year so I’m sure the store manager is in no hurry for me to move positions…

I have made a list of everything I want to get done around the house while I am off… I kept it within reason knowing I wasn’t going to be able to do everything in the house… but I haven’t done anything yet…

Yesterday I relaxed and spent time on the laptop… spent time with hubby… did homework with son3… did the laundry… made bean soup for dinner… and made the list…

Today I spent time with hubby and we went grocery shopping… even started getting Thanksgiving food…

I don’t know what to do first on the list…

I know once I start I’ll be good…

But can’t seem to get started…

The List:

Laundry

Clear weeds in front yard

Clean fridge

Wash Floors

Dishes

Boys Bathroom

Organize desk

Paper piles/bills

Water plants

Trim plants in backyard

Master bathroom

Clear goodwill from hallway

Clean up folders on laptop

Joyce Meyer on DVR

Blogs

Write two letters

Haircut

Steam family room carpet

Visit Zoo

Visit used book store

Go for walks

So where should I start………….

I think I will start by finishing putting away the laundry from yesterday…

Indy Anna…

Happy Journaling…

November Seventh

It has been forever since I blogged last… and I left you hanging with hubby gone on an interview… no, he did not get that job, nor any job just yet from any other interviews he has gone on… unemployment has continued and God continues to take care of us as we wait for his plan to unfold before us…

Son1 and DIL had a beautiful wedding… Everyone had a wonderful time… Everyone cried, especially son1… Son3 brought down the house with his dancing…

They went to Hawaii on their honeymoon…
They are now back to work and school and have their own rented house… and a new 10 week old lab girl lab puppy named Kona… So they are busier then ever…

We moved all the rooms around in the house… Our front room that son1 was staying in, is now the game room…

Son3 is still in his room but no longer has his cabin bed… he has son2’s old bed…

Son2 is now in son3’s old old room before it was the computer room… this is his new desk he got now that he is in college…

Son2 now has son1’s old futon as his bed…

Hubby is now in son2’s old room that was originally the computer room and is now back to hubby’s art room…
I need to take more after shots now that everyone is a little bit more settled in their new rooms…

Son3 went to sixth grade camp for three days and went on a zip line…

Son3’s Halloween costume… he went trick or treating with his friends this year without parents…….

Son2 scared the trick or treaters as the scarecrow this year…

Quite a bit of trick or treaters for a week night… grown ups were just as scared as the kids… many are repeat visitors and lots took pictures…

At the pumpkin patch…



Labu turned two years old on Halloween…

Hubby and I went to the zoo to see the animals enjoy their Halloween treats…



The sea lions, seals and pelicans are enjoying their new home at our zoo…
Just a bit of a catch up… I have lots more pictures and thoughts…
I am on vacation so maybe I can do a bit of blogging…
Happy Journaling…

August Twenty Fourth

 

Hubby had an interview today!!! For department manager at Lowes… Only two others were also being interviewed… They will call by next Wednesday if he will be getting a second interview… I’m just excited he got an interview… Keep them coming!!

Meanwhile I must go to work… lots to do to get ready for the visit… anything we got ready for the last visit has either been messed up by customers, had to be changed out for new sales and lots of boxes came in to be opened and processed… plus it’s a new week so all reports have to be done again…

Today we had a BBQ and dress down day for all our hard work… since I close I’ll miss the BBQ but get to not wear work clothes… I have no idea what to wear… lol…

Going through my closet now and getting ready for work…

Although I spent over two hours this morning on paperwork that I don’t have time to do at work without interruption… Yesterday I ran around all day with my head cut off trying to get organized and feel like I accomplished something…

But then I remember I’m not in charge of my day… God Is…

Happy Journaling…

August Twenty Second

 

It feels like the boys have been back to school a month and they are only on their second week… of course I am only on my second day off of work since they went back to school…

Son3 is knee deep in homework already… Today is early day, so he and a friend were working on homework but now they are at friend’s house with another friend… so he will have to finish homework after dinner… yesterday he brought home a permission slip for music to play an instrument… we convinced him not to do it last year but this year I signed the slip… I just worry that he will be missing some class time to attend music and that he hasn’t even picked up the guitar since son1 gave him one for his birthday… we’ll see what instrument he gets… I think he picked saxophone as his first choice…

Son2 has finally settled on his classes… He has Theater/Communication, Health, Computers and History on Tuesday and Thursdays… He ordered a laptop for school and it should be here any minute now from UPS…

Son1 is still liking his EMT class… This week they are learning how to load/unload a patient in and out of the ambulance…

He and fiancé finally got the house they are going to be renting… Son1 and fiancé cleaned the house on Sunday and then son1 and son2 did a lot of yard work on Monday… Son1 will be moving into the house for the month of September and then they will move in as a married couple in the month of October…

Hubby and I went for a walk today to see it… it’s about a half hour walk from our house… Very nice corner house in a very nice neighborhood…

I am off today… my last day off was last Wednesday and my next day off will be next Wednesday and then the Wednesday after that… I was supposed to be off this weekend but I am going in early for half day to make sure things are getting ready for our Regional footwear visit Tuesday… The store did a fantastic job on our presidential visit last Friday, even footwear…

I heard that I may be one of the two candidates considered for the Pricing/Signing lead position I applied for… I’m not holding my breath though so we’ll see… the other candidate is the one that had the job before the last lead but had moved to another position… and then there’s the big question of who would replace me in footwear… I’ve been in footwear over 8 years now and a lead for 17 months… time is weird in footwear on our island…

Hubby still diligently looks for jobs every day filling out applications… The phone still doesn’t ring except for telemarketers… I know, all in God’s time… and always just what we need and we have what we need at the moment…

The cable man came on Saturday so we now have U-Verse: cable, internet, phone… so with everything bundled I won’t be getting bills from all different providers… just a couple more weeks and we’ll be canceling Netflix when our billing cycle is up… so we deleted everything except just a couple of movies and shows to finish off the month…

So many shows to choose from… the boys have already found all the shows they know of through their friends… hubby and I are still getting used to all the choices… we like the chiller channel best so far… and we were watching The Big Bang Theory on a regular channel and I was noticing how clear it was and all the details I never noticed before like pictures on the fridge in the background… We also watched A Thousand Words, LookOut and The Three Stooges from Netflix… All Good… and the boys are already filling up my DVR with their shows and I haven’t even figured out how to work it yet… I did set up U-Verse on my laptop so I can program the DVR from there… Hubby has discovered the Military channel today however…

Turkey burgers and chili for dinner… I’ve got the burgers started on the stove… I did lots of laundry today… Hubby and I went for a 90 minute walk… I still need to water the plants and wipe down my bathroom… and put away the laundry I washed… soon hubby will start moving rooms around when son1 moves into the new house… plus I want him to steam clean the carpets as he clears each room…

Happy Journaling…

August Fifteenth

 

Today is Mine and Hubby’s 20th Wedding Anniversary…

I took him to Denny’s for breakfast and got him some cards, candies, silk flowers and a couple of Halloween decorations all from the dollar store…

He brought me these real carnations and a bottle of Arbor Mist home after getting gas in my car… I’m sure he has another secret or two before the day is over…

Son1 went back to school today… Sixth Grade… he is now at the neighbors swimming with his friends… hubby and I also went to Target this morning for more back to school shopping after going to Back to School night on Monday and meeting the teacher…

Son2’s first day at college picture… I can’t even tell you his schedule yet as he keeps dropping and adding classes…

Son1 didn’t want to be left out and asked me to take his picture last night after he came home from his first night at college… He is taking an EMT class… he’s now thinking he might like being an EMT better then being a fireman…

Indy and Maple loving their new cat tree… they sleep on the old one just as much… and the dining room table… and my bed…

Hubby did not get a call back from the Check N Go place he went to last week… and has since filled out a ton more applications… I do not know why he is not getting any calls for interviews… never mind not getting a job… how can he if no one calls………..

Meanwhile I am still getting ready for our big president visit at work on Friday along with everyone else… I close on Friday so they will probably be gone before I even get there… Then I have a shoe region visit a week from Tuesday…

We finally decided to bundle all our AT&T together… now we have AT&T home phone and internet… and I have Cricket for my laptop… and we have Netflix… but soon we will have faster WIFI internet and cable with a DVR… I have so dreamed of one day having a DVR… I still record on VHS… we will be getting rid of our DSL with ethernet cable, Cricket internet and Netflix… the boys are too excited of course… and son1 says now that I am moving out you decide to get cable… he never sits still long enough to watch TV…

I have a big pot of chicken, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, corn, celery, and onion simmering on the stove…

Happy Journaling…