Happy Birthday Mom

Today my mom would have been 70.  It's just been 9 months since she passed, and everybody says the first year is the hardest - all those holidays & other milestones. The next three months are going to be hard. 

I could talk about how much I miss her, and how so many things are just not the same now, but I'm not. She wouldn't want me to concentrate on what I don't have :)

So, instead, I'll tell you a funny story that my friend Kathyfrances reminded me of this week with a post of hers about a bat, hee hee.

I don't remember how old I was, but the time of year was either late Fall or early Spring.  We were visiting my aunt (her only blood sister she knew) & uncle in St. Louis, Missouri, and the weather was damp & cool.  We would go for walks around their neighborhood in the mornings and late afternoons and it was misty and gray outside many times.  I remember large hedges and big black Gothic gates barring the view of the houses behind them and a little Beagle that would walk a long with us sometimes...

One misty afternoon we were walking past a tall hedgerow and I remember there were two or three trees next to the hedge.  My mom spotted what looked like some kind of molded fruit hanging on one of the trees.  It was all dark and fuzzy looking, and slightly shriveled up.  She reached out to get a better look at it and as soon as she touched it, there was a squeak and a sudden flapping and the moldy fruit flew up and away while my mom, my aunt, and myself all squealed and jumped around flapping our arms and danced like we were standing on hot coals...and then we ran, lmbo.  We ran about a block with the neighbor's little Beagle chasing behind us and about passed out from laughing so hard.  The last time we were all together, we got to laughing about that bat.  The funniest thing about it, was that bat was just as frightened as we were, lol.

Love you, Mom  :)  Happy Birthday

Too Busy To Think

Have you ever had that happen?  You are just too busy to think about what you're doing, so you just operate on auto pilot?  It reminds me of a Sponge Bob episode where he clears everything out of his mind but 'fine dining' and he is the perfect waiter.  Then he gets asked what his name is and he has a melt down, lol.  That's how I'm feeling:  vacuum - check; clean the bathroom - check; laundry - check; supper - check; paperwork, answer the phone, run pc scans, find everything under the sun because nobody knows where anything is at home and at work..."Mom, the dogs got out and are running amok in the neighborhood..."  HUH??  I completely blanked for a full minute...then I went out and chased them down.  I discovered I am in horrible shape - completely winded and gasping for air - what a pretty picture, lol. Of course, I'm still coughing a bit, so running around in 47 degree weather just throws that into overdrive. Lucy (Lab) is to blame for the whole thing - she always wants to run out in the field, and so she made a mad dash for it and Ruby Sue (Basset Hound) followed.  I can normally get Lucy back with very little trouble, but because Ruby Sue was out, they both just turned their ears off and were two dogs behaving very badly.  Every time I would almost have Ruby Sue, Lucy would buzz by her & then she was off again.  Ruby Sue is built pretty low to the ground so she's tough to grab and awkward to haul back home by the collar - you walk like Igor in Young Frankenstein; all hunched over - not fun!  And of course once she is caught she lets out  a big holler like she's being beat *rolls eyes* she won't be, but she sure wants everyone to think so, lol.  And the whole time this is going on, the other two dogs in the back yard are running and jumping and barking their fool heads off because they're missing out on all the fun.  The biggest thing that saved me was that because Ruby Sue has an excellent nose, she was distracted by absolutely everything she got a whiff of and would stop to check it out, lol.

That happened yesterday afternoon - Sunday.  Saturday I got the bathroom all spiffy clean, and cleared off the kitchen table - Bobby's biggest pet peeve, lol - and got the kitchen all cleaned up, plus helped the boys in their room.  I still didn't get my catch-all room - I mean computer room, hee hee, cleaned out, but I'm procrastinating on that, and so far it's coming along nicely, lol. 

Every time somebody comes over unexpectedly and I have to pick up in a hurry, well, it all goes in there.  Some people throw stuff in their oven, or under the bed or in a closet, but the computer room works better for us, lol. I'll probably get it done next Saturday - we'll see...

Mental Images

Miss me??  I have been sick - yet again.  According to the doctor, it's one unending, simmering-under-the-surface sinus infection.  You think you're over it because you feel better, but you really never got over it and you never really felt good - just better than horribly sick.  He gave me some meds and I am now feeling better - an antibiotic and a cortisone pill pack taken over 6 days.  The worst part has been the fatigue - yikes!  The two days I stayed home from work I couldn't do anything, and every day when I got home from work, all I could do was pass out on the couch.  My poor little mother hen Tucker kept checking my forehead & asking me if I was ok, lol.

Not too much has happened this last week or so...at least that I am aware of, hee hee.  Actually, Wednesday was a horrible day all the way around, not only was I sick, but after a long night of no sleep & coughing, and getting up with dogs and sleep walking children, I got up about 4:30 am to discover I had an early 'monthly visitor' and not a thing in the house to do about it.  I usually have some stashed in purses - but nothing!  I had to double up panti liners and hope for the best until I could get to WalMart.

Wal Mart is a different experience here - and I'm sure it's the same for all small towns where everybody knows everybody.  There's no such thing as anonymity.  You have to be prepared to see at least 10 people you know at any given moment at WalMart or the grocery store. They look in your cart & have instant access into your life.

For those of you who live in larger cities and urban areas, picture this:  It's a beautiful Saturday and you can't wait to get out in your yard and do whatever it is you like to do out there; garden, landscape - whatever.  But, before you can, you have to go run to WalMart & grab a few things. You want to get in, get it done, get out so you can get on with your glorious Saturday.  You've been in the store 10 minutes and have already run into 4 people you know - precious time spent there not being rude and talking about the weather to each one.  You're ready to check out - have everything you came for and there's only two cashiers working.  So you pick the fastest line and realize that the person in front of you is your neighbor across the street, the cashier is the teen driver your husband arrested last month for dui, and the guy that just got in line behind you is your go-to guy at the bank.  Now, they know what specific brand and size of pads/tampons you use, and that your hair color is not natural.  And you now know that your neighbor has a severe case of diarrhea judging by the Immodium, Depends, and family size toilet paper package in their cart, and that your banker dude likes Rob Schneider movies and prefers skimpy animal print undies.  That's a mental image that will haunt you for years to come - and it will haunt you!  You'll be seeing him at the bank, ball games, church... it's unavoidable...

Now you understand...so I'm in line checking out with my little package and the gal at the register looks at my item and says "Caught by surprise, huh?  You should have planned ahead."  Oh really...

Owning Your Friends

Work has been busy this week - two funerals so far & a third tomorrow.
One thing that really stands out in the funeral home industry is family dynamics. Some families are divided into camps; this half won't have anything to do with that half, some are united against just one other member...sometimes it's it's justified & sometimes it's not. Ever heard of someone stealing memorial money from their own grandma's funeral by pretending to deliver it to the church it was intended for?? Yeah - it happens; take all the cash & deliver only the checks. Brilliant! Nobody will EVER figure it out! *rolls eyes*

One time, a long time ago, while half of the family was still at the hospital waiting on the funeral home, the other half was breaking into mama's house and taking whatever they could carry. I find it hard to believe that people like this only live here, but really now! The ratio of normal to wacko seems to be skewed somehow. There's just a really high concentration for such a small town.

There's a guy who walks around town talking to the houses. A while back, my cousin had a guy - probably 22 - come into her house and look through her cupboards until he found a bag of Oreo cookies then took the bag & went & sat down on her couch and ate them all. Then went into a rage because they were gone...his nick name is Cookie Monster. Apparently that's what he does when he gets loose from his guardians - steals cookies. There's a lady in town that walks around with a baby doll & compliments your car, your hair, your kids...super sweet. Unless she is pissed - then, she swears like a sailor and beats up cars. I'm wondering if the Culligan water filtration system we have installed is enough...maybe we should get bottled water....lol

I have a group of friends who are all playing that Friends For Sale game on Facebook. Kind of a weird premise for a game...
They keep buying me from each other and I'm not even playing, lol. But, (shhhh!!!) I've crossed over, hehe. I'm just now looking things over, so I haven't figured it out yet. Looks a little more complicated than Farm Ville, lol! Looking at my stats though, I'm pretty popular, hehe. I've been bought at least 8 times today, lol. Not bad for not even playing the game, lmbo!