Almost 10,000 Days

Well I didn't get a Valentine but I did get to play with flowers and see others getting their Valentine's so that was something to feel grateful about. I was my own Valentine. I wore my Pink jacket, Hot Pink cami and Pink tunic and my fav Hot Pink Crocs. Then I took myself out to a "Red" dinner and before you ask I was at El Rancho Grande where else? Yummy!
Lucy went with me to get the flowers and on part of my deliveries. She wore her Pink sweater too. We had fun. we even went to the Dog Park .....which she adores.

I read an essay about someone being married 10,000 days. The Frog and I almost made it. We were only 41 days short. It's crazy how much I miss him some days. It has gotten easier but not this week. Too much Love in your face all around. Especially on TV.

I'll just have to learn to settle for doggy kisses instead of Frog Kissin'.

Books~Enlighten & Entertain

I have a ton of books. Lots and lots of books. Mostly fiction. Mostly CMR's (Cheesey Mormon Romance) from Seagull or Deseret Book. For the last 8 years I've been trying to only buy books that aren't full of sex, or creepy crawly scarey mind games. For instance I don't read Stephen King or Dean Kuntz they don't give me a good feeling when I'm done....I've literally not come even close to finishing the last ones I tried to read.

That being said.

I've been on a kick to re-read some of my favourite authors from long ago. I've been discovering most of their books still have the words to really move me and cause me to think. Isn't that what books should do? With all the books available for free on the internet and in the library am I choosing the right ones?

So right now I'm reading Louis L'Amour's Bendigo Shafter and I came across this little pearl of wisdom.

"You are luckier than you know. I mean in the books you have to read. People who came west cannot bring much, so they try to bring the best........A mind, like a home, is furnished by it's owner, so if one's life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself. You have a chance to select from some pretty elegant furnishings." 

Can I just say I Love this man? If you haven't read anything from him.....start.....my favourites are Down the Long Hills, Last of the Breed, and the Lonesome Gods.

My Week From Hell

Actually, it's been longer than that but last week was the straw that broke this camel's back. So after 3 weeks Christmas is finally put away. All the books need to go back on the shelves, they are still residing in the closet. Deal with that later.
So what's been going on?
You name it.
It happened.
Felt miserable so went in to the Dr. Strep. Great. No voice either. Not great.
After breaking out in hives because I'm allergic to the medicine I got. Spent forever in a long line at the pharmacy getting new meds. Lot's of us sickies out there.
Then TD called, did I find their bag? Nope so I go look again in the boys room. Walk across the floor
Wet sucky squishy smelly.
Water leaked all over the floor, everything is soaked!
Roo came over after work the next day. After pulling out 1/2 the wall of drywall out along with soggy insulation he found where it was coming from. It wasn't something he felt he could begin to tackle since we thought the leaky part was behind the Lazy Susan cupboard in the corner of the kitchen. Need to remove counter tops, sink and cabinets to get to it.
In the meantime can't use the water in the kitchen. Poor pitiful me. Cried a little but listened to the friend who said call the homeowners insurance. Woo Hoo!  Happy happy Joy! Joy! It's covered!!!
Except the actual plumbing bill and the deductible.
Neither of which I had.
Insurance adjuster comes. Disaster cleanup guy comes. They look they talk they leave. Then plumber comes. He works, needs something then leaves but came back later. Leak is fixed! Then the dryer guys come leaving 4 jet engine turbines blasting away nonstop for a week. Did I mention the never ending 5 days and counting migraine?
Still feeling crappy go to the Dr again. Bronchial Pneumonia.
More meds and another long line.
Insulation guy comes. Sheetrock guy comes. Tape and mud guys come. Everything all buttoned up and beautiful.........well not really...... but it was back to where we started from. Dryers and de-humidifer still running.
Then the bill came. My portion is $1850!!!! For a 2 foot length of pipe a new fitting and labour. Plus 4 fans for a week, a $12.00 sheet of drywall and a small bucket of mud.
What a racket!!

Where is Slave Labor When You Need It?

Goodbye Christmas...............Don't I wish!!!
Christmas looks like it exploded again! Half the decorations are off the trees and in little piles scattered about. I usually leave everything up til Twelveth Night. But now I want it all out of here. NOW! Where is a cute energetic 10yr old when you need them? Hyrum helped me put it all up and ran up and down the stairs bringing trees, boxes and totes up.  He worked very hard.
Maybe I can buy more totes and just send things sliding down stairs and forget about them. But that won't work since 1) I'm broke and 2) Christmas stuff is very breakable.

Happy New Year!!

Yesterday it was 4 years since the Frog passed away. I got thru it a lot better than last year. I’m sure it was because I had Tara, TeeDee and the boys here. I was so busy laughing at Jakob and Emil and Lucy that it wasn’t til later that I got a bit teary. Even then Lucy seemed to sense my mood and wanted to snuggle.

Today I was supposed to go play with Patty in Provo but there was so much snow here even once the driveway got cleared for the 4th time I didn’t go. Between Wenesday night and Friday morning we got about 17-20 inches. Terry and Emil cleared it off a couple of times while they were here.

So now for my resolutions:

Floss every day.

Eat more fruit and veggies. Do the outer perimeter of the store and shop clean like the GF Girl & the Chef. I may even join Bountiful Baskets like Baby and Middle Sis.

Start walking Lucy twice a day again. I’ve gotten terribly lazy.

Finish the Bathroom redo.

Read more, TV less. At least as many hours reading as watching TV per week.

Three, Two, One………Go!

I’m pscyhing myself up to go dumpster diving. You read that right… Me the Princess of Pink is going to dive into the bowels of my garbage can. I may never be seen again.

We all know what goes in there. Once it’s gone into the Black Bin of Doom I consider it “Lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry, Clementine.” So why am I even be thinking of it? you may ask.

I got a speeding ticket last week. The first one in 20 years. I’ve managed to avoid a speeding ticket since Mother’s Day 1990. That debacle involved the Columbia River Gorge, the Beach Boys and a sweet little red ride with Out of State plates that had the needle buried. I did slow down quite a bit when car after car were still passing me. But never the less I still got clocked at 85mph in a 65 zone.

Last week I just wasn’t paying attention.

So I got a ticket.

Yesterday I cleaned out my car. I tossed everything. Including the ticket. Yucky. Lucky me…… here I go.