A look back at 2007...

In January I started a new job with the Museum of Art, my son J. turned 18 and purchased a 2005 Ford Ranger and also got a new job. My daughter S. also came to visit us from KY.

February was hubby's birthday and thankfully a slow month since we were still unpacking boxes from our PCS here to NC.

March was my birthday and we were able to ride the bike alot which made this move so much nicer to deal with.

April is when Lucy the cat showed up. Yes I am a sucker for animals.

May is when we adopted our third dog Bear and we lost my mother in law. My son J got his first tattoo.

June is when my son J. graduated from high school...YEA!! what a long road that was. I also purchased a new 2007 Ford Sport Trac.

July my son N. took drivers ed classes and we lost my kids grandfather. Lucy also came home pregnant.

August my son J. started college and my son N. started 10th grade in a new HS.

September Lucy our cat had 4 kittens but only 2 survived, I joined Gold's Gym and stopped going to the Y, Steve and I finally got to go away for the weekend by ourselves and it was Sarah's from works last days at the Museum. I also found out that my daughter is pregnant and she is due in May 08 and I am going to be a grandmother. Also got my 4th tattoo with my husband.

October is when I started looking for a new job and had an interview. I did get the job but turned it down.

November I had another interview, then a second one and waited to hear from them on the status of the job. Also we had Lucy fixed and gave away the two kittens which both found homes around Thanksgiving.

December I gave notice to my job and was offered a position with PWC which I accepted. My son N. turned 16. We adopted an older little chihuahua and had much to be thankful for this year especially the fact that my husband was home for another year.

So as we approach the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 I wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Blessed New Year.

Gave Notice....

I gave notice today at the Museum. My last day will be December 31, 2007. I start my new job with PWC on January 2, 2008. I thought it would be a lot harder but my boss took it very well. I guess he knew that I was not happy here and wished me the best of luck. I can't wait to start my new adventure in the new year....

New job...

After my second interview I waited for over a week to see if I got the job. No phone call was coming so I decided to call to find out the progress on the decision. She informed me to hang in there with her and soon enough I got a call yesterday to come in for a physical and drug test. I was very excited. I filled out all my paper work and dependig on my drug test results....which is no problem I will be starting my new job at PWC on January 2nd...What a great Christmas present and a great way to start the New Year....I am so happy and excited about this...

Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving this year was very quiet. The boys just hung around their rooms playing games, watching football and playing on the computer. My daugher went to her boyfriends house in KY where she lives. My husband who I am very thankful he was home this year cook dinner, which consists of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and stuffing. All was very good. Even the dogs and cat got some. They too were very thankful and went to take a nap after the early dinner we had. I hope all my friends and family had a great thanksgiving too.

I still have not heard back from my second interview. I am still hopeful that I get this job and I am wondering if I should call them. Maybe I'll wait one more day.

Update on the kitten: I took Lucy (mommy cat) to get her stiches out on Friday and decided that if the kitten was left I would take him home (and name him Linus) but I got there a little after lunch and they told me that 10 minutes earlier the second kitten just got adopted. I was so happy and thankful....

Update on kittens...

One little kitten got adopted today. There is only one left. Here are some pictures of the kittens on the last day that they were with us at the house.

Another interview...

Well I had another interview with a really good company. I don't want to publish it yet until I know for sure if they are going to offer me the job. The interview went really well and a week later they called me back for a second interview. I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one cause I really want it. It will be a cut in pay but not that much and there is much more advancement here. So I hope to find out on Tuesday if they want me or not. I sure do hope so.

We got our cat Lucy fixed and gave the kittens away to the vet last Monday. It was really hard but I just didn't have the time to take care of them the right way. So I am hoping they will get adopted. So far as of Thursday they were still there. It took Lucy a couple of days to finally stop calling for them and I really thought about getting them back but she is now going back outside and enjoying herself. So again I hope they they get adopted.

My son J. hum.... had to put an alternator in his truck...so now in less than a year we have put two new starters, an alternator, new tires and brakes...hum I am thinking he is a really bad driver. Oh well....

My daughter is going really good. She heard the heart beat and goes for an ultrasound on the 28th so maybe I will get some pictures of my new grandbaby...

Well nothing else is going on right now...so I hope all my friends and family Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving.

Still looking for a new job...

Well, lets see where we are with the job hunt...to start off S.left work, L. replaced her for 3 weeks but ended up taking an other job for more money. We have hired E. She is ok and getting better each day. It is hard to click with someone right away. We are the only ones up stairs so we need to get along and communicate. But this has not stopped me from looking for a new job. I did have an interview and then received word that they wanted a second interview with me. I think I would have gotten that job but they offered me $6,000 less than what I am making now and with two kids in college and a grandbaby on the way (another story) it just wasn't feasable for me to take that much of a cut in pay. Even if it is for peace of mind. Good old peace of mind doesn't pay the bills. I did send out a couple more resumes but haven't heard from them.

Now on to the grandbaby story...I found out in September that my daughter is expecting a baby. I guess it took me a while to get over the shock. She still has to finish college but hopefully she is strong enough to handle this and go to school. I keep on telling her that I am too young to be a grandma.... :-) Now that the shock has warn off I am excited about it and can't wait to find out what it is going to be so I can start buying baby stuff...Her due date is May 16, 2008.

New gym

I finally decided to join a new gym...I just wasn't getting a good enough workout from the Y anymore. I needed more variety so I decided to join Gold's gym. I have to say that I was a little sceptically. I have always worked out at the Y and have enjoyed my experiences with them. So when I finally made the decision to leave them I was not too happy. But my workout were suffering and that made me more unhappier.

So off to Gold's gym to check it out and to my surprise it was really nice inside. My first day of workouts was last Monday and I decided to do the step and abs class. Now I have done step before so I was no stranger to it but this was way beyond any step class that I took in the past. I did manage to finish out the class and even gave it another try for the rest of the week but I have now given up on step. I did decide to try body pump...I love it..so now I do body pump 3 days a week with a body attack and a spin class in between. Also all the instructors are so nice. I really like it there and will be getting my old tired body back in shape. Hopefully my sore body will forgive me sometime soon. I am just not as young as I used to be.

Men...

Between my sons and my husband I don't know which one is worse. My son J. is getting out of control with staying out all weekend long and giving me all kinds of attitude. So tonight I sat him down and told him the things are about to change. He is no longer allowed to stay out all weekend long and he has to come home after work during the week. But of course my husband who has had a few too many which always makes it a fun (sarcastic) night decided to get into the conversation and told him to get out. Now I told him if he doesn't like the new rule changes that he had one month to find somewhere else to live. But I in no way would through him out tonight. So what started out as a conversation/explanation ended up in a screaming match with my husband doing all the screaming. My other son N. was told if he doesn't start doing what he is told he can go live with his father. He was told to clean his room last week and it is still not done. Boy these are the days that I wish I could run away from home....I sure do hate responsibility.....it really sucks sometimes.

Update on Lucy the cat

When we came home on Wednesday another kitten died...She now has two beautiful healthy kittens left...Mother and remaining kittens are doing good. Here is a picture of the mommy and her kittens which are 4 days old.

Update on Lucy the cat

We lost a kitten last night. She now has three left.

Sept 11 and Update on Lucy the cat

First I would like to say that my thoughts and prayers are with all who have suffered so dearly on this day and my heart goes out to them...Don't ever Forget. Remembering this always makes my problems and inconveniences seem so trivial.


Second our cat Lucy had 4 kittens last night around 10pm...I will post some pictures..they are sooo cute.

Here goes...

So where do I begin...This week at work sucked...so what else is new...S is leaving on the 20th and they haven't even put the ad in the paper yet...don't know what they are going to do and I hope they don't think I am going to do her work until they hire someone. They had a month to get this done. This is the kind of crap the pisses me off.

We had our last Fayetteville After Five on Thursday. All I have to say is Amen to that. It is hot and sticky and by the time I get home I am tired and grossed out from the night. This Thursday is our Premier party for the new show. Don't ask me what it is cause I don't know. There is that communication again.

My son J. is driving me crazy. I don't know what he is thinking but he just can't keep on doing things and not being responsible for them. Can't wait for him to move out too.

On an other note...the bonus room is almost done. It is really starting to look good and organized. Can't wait until it is finished. We also have been looking around for book shelves but haven't found anything so far that we like. So we keep on looking.

Got a call Thursday night from my daughter S. She is pregnant. She really caught me off guard with this one. I didn't know if I should be happy or sad. She was a upset so I told her what ever she decided I would support her 100%. She talked it over with her boyfriend J. and his family and they have decided to keep it. I told her under no circumstance was she going to quit college. Yes she is on birth control and I know she is very careful about taking it cause she know what could happen...I am still not sure how I feel about this...Oh by the way they got rid of their cute puppy...not enough time to train it right...but it did stay in the family which is good so they can go see it anytime they want.

Well back to work tomorrow...yuk...off to bed...

Picture of my new tattoo

Here is my new cross tattoo with red rosary beads wrapped around it. It is on my back from the middle of it to the bottom of my back. It took about 2-3 hours and was done at Chop Shop in Hope Mills, NC. I would highly recommend them. My husband also got a cross tattoo on his left upper arm on the same day.






Also found out that our cat Lucy is expecting...so if anyone wants a kitty please let me know. Here is a picture of her....

Needed some time to myself....

I know it has been a while but I just needed some time to myself. It has been crazy at work. It all started with the city deeding us some land so we could move and build a new Museum. But then they tried to back out and things just went crazy... the bad thing about it is that most of the employees were left out of all the decisions and information. This was very frustrating. It also makes it hard to get up and go to work. My co-worker S. has sold her house and her husband is almost done with the Air Force and they will be leaving. She is the only one that I mostly talk to there and now... I just don't know. It is frustrating to go to work and not talk to anyone. I could stay home and do that. I don't have friends here so I do rely on my work for that. The more we PCS the harder it gets since the kids are all older and there isn't any contact with parents. My husband has been working like crazy and he just got back from a 2 week trip. So it was really quiet in the house.

Well my son J did it again. He got another ticket. This time for rolling through a stop sign. I just don't know what I am going to do with him. Only a couple more years and he will be on his own. Then he can pay his own car insurance. Then finally it will set in that when he does these stupid things it cost money and lots of it.

My son N. is getting used to his new school. He says he doesn't like it but I think with time he will meet friends and he will like it better. He is doing really well with driving. I haven't let him drive into the busy part of Fayetteville but he has been all around Hope Mills.

My husband and I both took off on Friday to spend some quality time together. We really needed it. We also started to clean out our bonus room. We really needed to do that too. It is coming along and starting to look like a normal room. Can't wait to get it done.

We also went away for a night. We went to New Bern and to the Attmore Oliver house for an old fashion viewing. It was really good and I enjoyed myself. But of course this trip didn't go without a hitch...we got there and it was too early to check in at our hotel so we parked the bike and walked around downtown for a while. When the time came we went to our hotel...Days Inn Historical District... I would not recommend this hotel...and was surprised to see where it was located...but anyway I went to the front desk and told him my name and he said he didn't have a reservation for us. I really do think God was looking out for us on this one. So I called Orbitz who I do all my reservations through and they got my money back and we went somewhere else...Comfort Inn on the water...It was beautiful. Then we went to dinner which was part of the package on the Haunted House tour. WE had a limited menu to look at and it really was some weird combinations....ex Shrimp and grits...Yea I know I am a true Yankee...and grits is not my thing. But we both pick something and to our surprise it was very good...No I didn't go with the shrimp and grits.

After the Haunting and dinner we walked back to our hotel and had a very nice evening. Which again we both needed...so tomorrow we will finish our bonus room and then back to work we go....

Just not enough time...

Boy, sometimes I wish I had more time. I am either at work or home and there seems to be not enough time to enjoy things. I have been trying to schedule a vacation with my husband for the last month and every time I take a day off something comes up and he can't take off. We really need this time together and I am hoping that it happens soon. I tried to take off around our anniversary on the 19th of August and all was set and then he gets an email and was scheduled to take a class in Maryland for two weeks. Disappointed...I probable shouldn't be since I know how his job is and at any time plans could change but I have to say that I really am. So now he is off in Maryland and I am home to celebrate our anniversary alone...hum...

My son J. has started college...wow...he started on Wednesday August 15th. Time really does fly by when you are not looking. He actually got up without me waking him and got ready and went to school. I was still amazed. I guess college really does change a person. I hope he enjoys it too.

My other son N. starts school on August 27th. I thought for the longest time it was August 20th. I don't know why but I did. We got his schedule all set up but when it came he ended up with a gym class and he doesn't need a gym credit so now we have to go back to the school and get it changed. He did switch schools so now he is in the right school district for our location.

My daughter S. got another tattoo. Yes we are addicted to tattoos. She got a cross on the top of her foot. She is going to get rosary beads around her ankle to along with it. It looks pretty good. She went with her boyfriend and he got one too. My tattoo is healing really nice. It is almost done with all the scabs so I will be posting a picture soon. My husbands looks really nice but he didn't have as much color so his healed quicker.

Well work sucks. There is another concert in the park tonight so I will be working until about 10pm in the 100 degree heat. I have started looking for something different so if anyone has any idea's please pass them along. Hope everyone is staying cool and enjoying their day.

What a week...

I am sure glad that this week is over. After all the back and forth about my ex father in law it has been one long hectic week. Still not sure what is going on with all of it. I do know that he has already been cremated so if there is something it will only be a mass service with him there. WE will just have to wait and see.

Work is busy. I have auditors there and it is very crowded in my little office/copy room/mail room. Yes all of those things are in my office space so everyone comes in there to do all of that. Not much fun most of the time. Also not too confidential when it comes to bookkeeping. Oh well will just have to live with it.

My son N. only has one more day of drivers ed and then it is off to get his permit. Well it had to happen sometime. Really not looking forward to this. I am not a person who likes to be a passenger in the car unless it is my husband driving. Oh well...we will have to wait and see what happens on Monday with his test.

This weekend was a very nice one. My husband was going to surprise me with a weekend trip away but the place he wanted to take me was all booked up. But he actually surprised me and we had breakfast yesterday and ended up at the Chop Shop tattoo place. I have been bugging him for a while for a cross tattoo on my back and we went yesterday and he got one too. I will post some pictures as soon as it is healed. It looks awesome. Can't wait for next weekend to come. WE both took off on Friday to spend some quality time together. :-)

Glad the week is over...

Well to start off my husband was away last week. The office administrator was on vacation at work so to say the least I had a full week at work and at home. It was hell trying to find someone to cover the phones so I could pick my son N. up at drivers ed at 10am everyday so I had to bribe my son J. to come and get him. Actually he bribe me by staying at friends houses all week long so he used the excuse that he would pick up his brother for me. hum...yes it worked...

Thursday I got a phone call from my husband that his plane was changed and he would be coming in at 4:30 instead of 6:30 so I frantically found someone to cover the phones for me and I left at 4:30. He only had to wait 15 minutes at the airport. Not too bad but as I was driving home my cell phones rings again and it was my friend J. calling me with some bad news. My ex father in law passed away Thursday right after he talked to my boys. Tell me that isn't weird. So for the last 2 days my phone, her phone, my ex, and his sister have all been talking back and forth about what is going to happen. He didn't want any kind of viewing so he will be cremated. My kids were of course upset. They were very close to him but I think they are relieved that he is out of his misery. Rest in Peace.

Friday, I couldn't pick up my son so I asked J. to get him and to also drop off his truck cause he needed tires really really bad. So we dropped it off at a place down the street from work and they call me and tell me that he needs brakes too. My daughter also called me and asked me to pay for her tune up and oil change. So on Friday I spent $1200 getting everyone cars fixed. They just don't realize how much the maintenance of a vehicle can run you. They thing they can just gas and go. They are good about oil changes thought so I guess that when the big stuff rolls around I can help out.

So much for my exciting week. Hope next week is better.

Sunday... :-(

Here it is Sunday already and back to work tomorrow... Boo... The weekends go too fast and the bad thing is that we didn't do a thing. It's pretty quiet here today. Hubby is out of town for the week to Georgia. We planned out some stuff to do this weekend and on Thursday he informs me that he has to go away for the week. OH well so much for plans. Son #1 J. is at a friends house and won't be coming home until tomorrow. And son #2 N. is of course in his room on his computer. And I am on the computer looking up stuff for his drivers ed class..what is wrong with this picture? His teacher needs 8 articles from the internet, newspapers, and magizines on vehicles that are designed to reduce air pollution...not an easy thing to find so I figured that I would take a break and blog a little.

Work is ok. Thursday was another Fayetteville After Five. It wasn't bad but extremely hot. I drank like 8 bottles of water in 5 hours. But to my surprise there were a lot of people there and boy were they drinking up the beer. My co-worker S is on vacation this week so it will not be a very fun week. I will have to answer all the phones and still try to crunch my numbers.

Got another phone call from the ex-father in law...he is still pushing for my son N. go to there and visit. I explained to him that there just won't be enough time to do all of this stuff since not I will have to take him for his permit before school start and go get school cloths and supplies and stuff but he just isn't getting it. I said that if he goes he will have to be back by Tuesday cause that will only leave me Wednesday to do all of this since I am working another Fayetteville After Five on Thursday and don't get home until after 10pm and my husband and I are going away on Friday for our anniversary. This is the first trip together in three years and ever time we plan one something goes wrong. Three years ago we PCS to Ft. Campbell, two years ago we put our dog down and this year we planned a trip around the first week of June since the kids were going to Florida to see the ex father in law and my husband mom died so I really need some alone time with him and all I am getting is a hard time from this man. So I explain all of this to him and he says he understand and the next sentence out of his mouth is I will call you in two weeks to finalize all the arrangements. So what part didn't he understand? Is it the fact that this man doesn't understand the meaning of the word NO or is he a spoiled rotten selfish man who won't take NO for an answer. So now tomorrow I will have to hear it from the Ex...boy do I hate Mondays.

On a brighter not...my daughter and her boyfriend got a puppy...she is sooo cute...her name is Jewell and she is a black lab...here is her picture..

Stressin...

What a week....to start off my son N. started drivers ed classes and he is driving already...hum...more gray hairs for me....His class goes from 8-10 so I went into my bosses office and explained to him that I would have to pick him up at 10am so I will be taking my lunch at that time. To give you some idea of my work...I usually do not take a lunch so everyone else can come and go as they please...I am not only the financial director, I am the answering machine, door greater, and catch all for what ever else comes along. So his response was that it was ok as long as it didn't interfere with any of their meetings and stuff. Now I have to say that I am not the only one who knows how to answer the phone there but we don't want to inconvenience anyone else who works there. (Yes, I am being sarcastic here.) A perfect example was Thursday night. We had a premier opening and it started at 6pm, now everyone left to go home and chance and freshen up but me and my co-worker S. We always stay and set up and tear down, do dishes and trash and make sure everything is back in place. So where is it written that we have to do this and why isn't all the employees helping. To say the least I am getting a little tired of being taken advantage of. And since I am complaining....I have to answer the phone but they forget to tell me things. They have meeting and I am never informed so I hardly ever know what is going on at the museum except when I read it in the papers. Pretty bad since there is only 8 employees working there. Ok, I feel better...

Next subject...ex in-laws...my ex father in law wants my son N to come down there after his drivers ed class and stay for a week. I already discussed this with him and said no. The drivers ed class ends the 8th of August and school starts on the 20th. There is only one week in which he needs to get ready for school. But no wasn't good enough...I get the ex calling me up to ask me why...So I explain it to him...he still doesn't understand. That is because he lives in a fantasy world with no responsibilities...must be nice...can I drop all my responsibilities too...not a chance. So now I have both of them ganging up on me. I told them I would think about it but not until the class is over. Now my ex father in law keeps on calling my son to find out information on how much the flights are and if there is a direct flight to Florida...so again I guess I didn't make myself clear...My son told me that he wants to give me his credit card so I can made the arrangement. Boy I don't remember wanting any of this to happen in the first place. So why would I want to do all the work....hum...

On a more positive note...my husband and I had a nice ride on Sunday and a real nice lunch on Saturday. It is amazing how we can live in the same house and I miss him. We really don't get to relax with each other until the weekend so we go all week without each other. Between work, working out, kids, dogs and house stuff who has the time....

Well thanks for listening and hope you all have a good night...

Nothing going on....

This has been a very quiet week. I have been extremely busy at work since our fiscal year closed on June 30th. We have our unveiling of our new proposed building design on Tuesday at the main library downtown. That should be exciting. We also have a premier show coming up on Thursday night. And of course Fayetteville After Five the week after that. So to say we will be busy is an understatement.

Home is pretty quiet. J will head to the college next week to pick his schedule. N will start drivers ed classes on Monday and S found a new place to live and will be moving soon. So things are falling into place...touch wood....

We have been trying to decorate the house a little. We have been so busy that we are just starting to put uop some blinds and stuff to make our house our home. To say the least it really does make a difference.

We had a altercations with the man who owns the two bodies of water behind our house. He allows people to fish on the dam...well the other day a couple was fishing and they left their headlights on and they were right in our backyard. So my husband asked them to if they had permission to fish there and to turn their headlights off. They went and told the owner that we were giving them a hard time so this morning he was out there showing them what he thought was the property line. But according to our survey he was wrong and my husband told him so. To say the least this old, set in his ways, thinks he is right man started yelling and telling us we were wrong. I have the paper work to prove it. He thinks that he owned 12 inches around the whole lake but the lake has expended since he sold the land and his 12 inches plus some of my property is now under water. But again he started to yell and threatening us with all kind of stuff. So who know what will happen now. At least the people fishing stayed down the other end of the dam.

The forth was pretty quiet around here. Didn't do a thing. Kinda hard when it is in the middle of the week. Been raining here most weekends so we haven't been out on the bike in a while either. Sure do miss it. Hopefully the weather will get better and we will be riding again.

Another week...

So another week goes by....it was pretty quiet at work since some were on vacation. We did have our Fayetteville After Five at Festival Park but that was pretty quiet too. I don't know if it was because it was a country band or it was hot out but we just didn't have the crowd like last time. I did spend most of the week catching up on stuff at work. And then on Friday one of our ducks got hurt so we tried to find someone to take it and care for it. It only took about 2 hours to track someone down after tons of phone calls later. But hopefully it will get better and be ok.

My son N....what can I say. He went and took the EOC test in English again and failed again. So I spend 3 days of lunch hours calling his school, the school he will be transferring to, summer school, the Education Department, the social worker all to find out what I can do next. He did pass the class so his new school didn't think he needed to attend summer school. His old school said the only options were to attend summer school or repeat the class. Summer school said that he couldn't just take the test without being enrolled in the class...hum...so basically I was going round and round in circles. Finally I decided to leave it up to the new school to decide what to do next year. Then on Saturday I receive a letter in the mail that they are going to give him the credit for the class and pass him. All that time calling and calling people and they decided to sent it up for review with the school board who has the authority to pass or fail him and they passed him. So now it is off to drivers ed this summer for him.

Not much else going on this week...I was going to take some time off the first of July but my husband can't get the time off so I will just cancel my two day vacation. I was a little disappointed but kinda used to it. Anyway he wanted to start some home projects...every since he came back from his mom's house, he wants us to go through each room and clean it out. We have only been here for 10 months and did that before we moved and right after we moved so I don't know what stuff he thinks we still have. So now one night a week we will tackle a home project...hum fun....NOT....but I guess it will count as quality time with my man...

Here are some pictures of my new vehicle....I just love it.

What a week...

Well the week went really slow...since the kids and husband were away I found myself with too much time on my hands. I did catch up on some of my stuff at work which was good. My van stayed in the shop until Thursday when I finally went to pick it up. We decided not to get it fixed cause it wasn't worth it. So I started checking out vehicles online and finally decided to stop at the car dealer Wednesday afternoon. I found the vehicle I wanted but in the process I forgot about a meeting I had at work and was late getting back. It turned out not to be so bad which was a good thing. This week should be faster. Both bosses are on vacation this week. We also have a Fayetteville After Five this Thursday with the Wichita Band playing. They are a county band and since I am not a big fan of country it will probably be a long night.

Anyway back to my car story....the dealership talked me into returning the rent a car and they said that they would let me test drive and take home the vehicle for a couple of days. Hey it saved me $90 so I said ok. On Thursday night my husband came home and saw the vehicle sitting in the driveway and thought that I went ahead and bought it until he seen the dealer tags. He looked it over and liked it too so Friday after work he met me at the dealer and yes I have a new 2007 Blue Ford Explorer Sport Trac. I just love it and I don't want to blog about car trouble for a long time. Pictures will be coming soon....

The boys came home on Friday night so my husband and I didn't have a lot of time to spend together alone. Oh well there will be more times to come. But things here are back to normal with everyone being home.

I did get a phone call from my daughter on Thursday. She moved into her new apartment on June 1st and got kicked out on June 13th. And since she was here with me from the 6th to the 10th I can say that that was a very short lived experience. I still don't have all the details but I think from what pieces she told me it that she had a party and got too loud and some girl was looking for some guy at the party and started some crap and the cops had to come three times. Really don't know what she is going to do and I feel really helpless living so far away. She is looking again and will have to hire someone to move the furniture she just had delivered there. She wanted me to co-sign on a modular home with her but I said no way. I don't want to get into that and I think it is a bad idea for her since she isn't sure where she will live after college. So now I just pray that she finds somewhere to live and everything works out.

My son N. is taking the EOC in English on Monday. He needs to pass in order to pass 9th grade so I am praying that that happens too. Boy a lot of praying going on.


On June 15 my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. And yes I am almost that old....Well nothing else new to report....I hope all the father's have a great father's day....And any mothers who are filling in as father's this father's day too......Happy Father's Day to all....

Lots of stuff happening...

Boy has there been lots of stuff happening...to start off I flew to Kansas for my mother-in-laws viewing. It was on Wednesday May 30th at 2pm. My husband drove there and left on Saturday May 26th. We both didn't see any reason why I should drive with him since he would probably have to stay longer to help with stuff. I got there Wednesday morning at 10:30. We stopped for a quick lunch then headed to the mom's and brother's place. Yes the mom and older brother lived together...my husbands older brother is disabled, he doesn't have any kidneys and goes to dialysis 4 times a week. After that we got ready to go to the funeral home. We got there and nobody (yes including me ordered flowers for her.) Since they all got together, his older brother L., younger brother M. and his wife K. and my husband, I thought one of them would have ordered flowers from the family. It was small and short since she was an only child and most of the relatives are already gone. There was no burial because she is being cremated. So after that we went to his younger brothers M. house for some food. The preacher remembered the boys, and the grand kids and step grand kids but no mention of the wives. Yes, I know a little picky but I had to deal with this lady since my husband is gone alot and a little acknowledgement would have been nice. Anyway after dinner hubby and I went to a hotel and L. went to dialysis.

The next day started all the fun...we had to start cleaning out the house so his brother L. could move...now let me tell you...they saved everything...there was at least 20 years of stuff to go through...what a nightmare...and his brother didn't want to get rid of anything. My husband had to wait for his to sleep to through stuff away. His younger brother M. was useless...he didn't help for anything...and here it is almost three weeks later and my husband just finished cleaning up and moving his brother L. He should be home by the weekend the same time the kids come home. Another story....

I flew home Friday June 1st to get ready for my son J's graduation from high school. Yes, he did graduate by the skin of his teeth. Up to the last couple of days it was touch and go. The Ex R. and his wife S. came in on Saturday (he has been in Iraq for the last two years)...my son J went and picked them up at the airport and showed them to their hotel...and the boys went to dinner and were with him most nights. On Sunday I went to take my son N. to the hotel to see his father and on the way back...yes you guessed it my van overheated. To make a long story short I got it towed and on Monday rented a car and it is still at the Ford dealer. A week goes by and they can't get it to overheat and don't know what is wrong with it. They decide to put some dye in it and I did something to the head gasket. I am waiting for my husband to come home to go car shopping. Neadless to say he was pissed that they couldn't find this problem the last time it was in two weeks ago. Since then I got new tires and had to rent a car again. Oh well shit happens....On with my story...


My daughter S. came in on Tuesday June 5th and she also spent time with her father. On Wednesday June 6th my parents came in and I had dinner with them that night...also we had a fight about why my kids never come and see them...another story...she left upset and I left curing my husband for making me put up with these people all by myself. My sane other half was dealing with his nightmare....


Wednesday I found out that my son N. failed his EOC English exam...now if you don't pass it you don't go on to 10th grade...so here I am a day before my other son graduates on the phone to the school to find out what needs to be done. The Ex also called and the teacher called him back and talked to his wife (who hasn't see the kids for a year) and I never got a phone call back. Yes I was pissed. They made all these arrangements and I had to write a letter to get it all approved. My thoughts why should I write the letter since they made all these arrangements but who would end of suffering...yes my son would so I did it. He was supposed to take the make up test on June 12 but he will be with his father in Florida so they made arrangement to take it on June 18 which is the second testing in case you don't pass it on June 12 so he will only have one shot at this or he will have to repeat it again next year.




Thursday...graduation day...finally...I go and pick up my parents and my daughter and son N. were with me. We go to the coliseum and watch him graduate. After that we went to lunch at Olive Garden...my son J. picked the place and believe it or not we had a very nice lunch. After that we went back to my house...my parents wanted to see it and kids had to get their cloths cause they were off to Florida to see their other grandparents....

Friday...I took the day off to spend some time with my daughter...she flies back to Kentucky tonight. I had to do go to the school to pick up some papers for N. to study for his test (here it is Tuesday and I still don't have them, the teacher was too busy, the same teacher who couldn't find the time to call me back...hum..) so she slept in and then I picked her up and we had a nice lunch and went to the mall. I took her to the airport. I stayed there for about 1/2 hour and then left. She calls me about an hour later and the plane was delayed. She ended up staying in the airport for 4 hours while a major storm came through Atlanta were her connected was. She ended up being booked on two flights in Atlanta since she didn't know which one she would made. She ended up making the first on but her bags made the second on. She didn't wait for them but they did deliver them to her the next day (1/2 hours away from the airport) A flight that should have gotten her home at 9:30 didn't get her home until after 1 in the morning.

So I end this blog with some boredom...my husband is still in Kansas...my boys are in Florida...my daughter is back in Kentucky and I am home all alone with 3 hairy dogs and 1 loud cat....Pictures of the new pets....Lucy the cat and the new dog Bear.



The three stooges....Sami, Bear and Buddy....

Memorial Day weekend...

DAY

Boy do I need a day off...and I am so looking forward to this Monday...I thought I would have a nice long weekend with my husband but we just found out last night that his mom is really sick and is in the hospital and they don't expect her to make it through the week. So he will be heading off to Kansas to see her. Right now he is on his way home from Ft. Indiantown Gap. He had a meeting there and a retirement party for one of his LAR's.

I found out that my son J. will graduate. After a phone call to come in and meet with his advisor we went over everything. They thought that he was still failing History but he did some extra credit to bring his grade up to an 80 so it was only algebra that he is failing but he will still be able to graduate. Boy talk about taking it down to the wire. He has two more exams on Tuesday and Wednesday and then he is done with high school. He will have a senior breakfast and rehersals and a pool party the first week of June so it should be fun for him. At least we can all breath easier knowing he will graduate. Only one more kid to go.

My son J. got a tattoo last night. It looks pretty nice. It is a cross with praying hands and it is on his right upper arm. It almost takes up the whole part of the arm. He got it at the Chop Shop in Hope Mills and they really did a nice job. Check out their web site.... www.chopshoptattoos.com

Work is very lonely today. Almost everyone took off or took a 1/2 day off. So I am upstairs all by myself. Can't wait until 5pm to get out of here.

Update: When I got home tonight we got the phone call that my mother-in-law had passed away at 4:15 this afternoon.



And all those who can't be home this Memorial Day....

Can it really be that long since I last blogged....

Where does the time go....right out the window sometimes...work is crazy, home is crazy, my kids are crazy....the animals are crazy...so what is normal...absolutely nothing.

Work has been extremely busy...we had another premiere opening on Thursday the 10th. That went ok. Fayetteville After Five is tomorrow and everyone is running around like chicken without heads. Oh well I am sure it will all pass with time.

My kids...hum...what can I say...three weeks before graduation and I am not sure if my son J. will graduate. He is failing algebra. So now he has been going to school early for some extra help. His math teacher doesn't give extra credit so I am not sure how he will make it up. Only time will tell. So far his father and his wife, my daughter S. and my parents will be here to see if graduate if he does...My son N. hopefully is doing ok. I already know he will not pass History so he will have to make that up next year. I just need them to concentrate for the next two weeks before they are off for summer vacation. N. will be taking drivers ed this summer wow times flies. I can't believe he will be 16 this year.

On May 4th the boys slept over a friends house cause they were going paint balling in the morning so my husband and I had a real nice quiet evening. The next day we went to the Harley open house. It was a real nice time. I got new riding glasses and a T-shirt. MY husband got a free t-shirt that they were throwing at the crowd. Then when we left we went to the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society (FAPS) open house to see all the animals. Yes I fell in love again with them. Wish I could take them all home but...you know how that goes...

On May 13th the husband went away for a week...so it is eating out all week and no cooking...yea!!! J. worked all week so it was just me and N. Hubby got home late on the 19th cause he missed his plane. So he came in at 10:30pm. I get to the airport and was totally surprised (our airport really isn't that big) at how many people were there waiting for someone to arrive.

Fayetteville After Five went well. We had the band Better than Ezra play downtown at the new Festival Park. They were good. Beer sales went well and the weather really held up for us. Other than being a really long day it was pretty successful.

On Saturday 19th we went back to look at the doggies again...yes I did get another one. Why I don't know. I should have been happy with two but noooo I had to have the third one. He is a shepherd mix and looks like a big teddy bear...now he acts like a combination of Freddy Kruger and Jason from Elm Street. I hope I have the patience to handle him. He is 2 years old but still very playful. Him and Sami get along good but Buddy doesn't really like him and growls every time he gets near him. I will post some pictures when I can get him to stay still for more than a second. So now we have three dogs, Buddy who is a shepherd/husky mix and is 6 years old, Sami who is a border collie/mix and is 1 year old and Teddy (yes we renamed him Teddy, his other name was Mason and he didn't even look up when you called him) who is 2 years old. We also have a cat Lucy who adopted us as her new home. She lives on our front porch and yes I feed her and also bought her a bed and we will make her a cat house when it gets cold. I know I am a sucker for a sad and cute face...

May 21, hum....what a day...I get into work and my co-worker called out sick...I had to get someone to cover the phones so I could go get my hair done which was no problem but when I pulled back into the parking lot my cell phone rings...it is my son J...who has had an eye infection for a couple of days now and had an apt with the eye Dr. and who didn't go back to school after his apt (yes I knew) was home washing his truck and he locks his keys in it...that shouldn't have been such a problem but he left it running. So off I go to unlock his truck and there was construction on my road so one lane was closed so we had to wait our turn...so as I was sitting there....my van overheats again...so I pull off the road, call my son, call the tow truck, call work (cause now I can't get back there) and then the Ford dealer...I had to walk the last mile to the house in heals and through a field to get the key to him and then he drove me back to my car. It takes the tow truck an hour to get me and then another hour to get a rent a car which was a diry smelly Ford Taurus but since I went through the Ford dealer I had to get a Ford. they actually ran out of cars and had to get this one from another rent a car place and they didn't have time to clean it up. I guess it could be worse and not have a car at all...I then called my husband to let him know what it going on. And after 3 hours of dealing with my van I finally made it home...hopefully the rest of the week will go smoothly...the hubby goes away again on Wednesday so at least I don't have to worry about cooking, I just have to deal with the devil dog... :-)

Busy week again...

Where do I begin...Last Saturday 4/21/07 was our Big Spring Gala Fundraiser. It was at the Metropolitan Room downtown. The cost was $1,000 a ticket to win a 2004 BMW. Nice car but I'm a truck/motorcycle kinda girl...anyway we got a nice turnout and everything went smoothly for the most part. It was a black tie event so I had to get dressed up...no Harley gear...Did actually wear stocking so the tats wouldn't show. Yea, I'm nice like that...not really a place to show them off.

Last Sunday we went riding again...I think this is the most we been out on the bike in two years. The husband was gone so much when we lived in Tennessee that when he wasn't gone we were busy with the house and stuff. We decided to just check out the map and we went to a Battlefield. It was a real nice ride and the battlefield/park was really nice too. They had a museum and a 10 minute movie on the battle that went on there. We had a nice time.

The work week went pretty fast. Tuesday night I took the cat to the rabies clinic to get her a shot since it was only $5.00 and she really isn't my cat but has adopted the front porch as her home so I figured at least I can get her a rabies shot. I left work about 15 minutes early and so did my co-worker. I get to the site of the clinic and left her in the car with my son...there were tons of dogs and big ones too. But all went well and I even made my workout class at the Y.


But the next day at work wasn't too nice. Me and my co-worker S.got called in the bosses office and got yelled at for leaving work 15 minutes early. Now there was another co-worker L. down stairs and we told her that we were leaving and to please listen for the phones. But that didn't matter. And that we are to work 8:30-5pm no excuses. Everyone else gets to come and go as they please cause they sometimes work off site but when they don't work off site it is none of our concern that they aren't here. And he also told us that we were coming in later and later. I used to be at my dest buy 8am but since I don't start work until 8:30 I started coming in at 8:30 now. But to him its later and later...so we told him that we were not going to come in early and that we are always...yes always here but 8:30 when we are supposed to start. I am also not going to stay late anymore either. When the phone rings at 5:05 I am going to just walk out since I finish work at 5pm. I was so pissed but I am getting over it.

I got an email from a really good friend of mine. I was really excited to hear from her. She still lives in upstate NY and I really miss her. That email really made my day.

Saturday 4/28/07 we went on the HOGS and RAGS ride to Myrtle Beach. What a nice ride. We met at the Airborn Museum and we were served coffee, juice and donuts. We got a police escort in every town that we went through. We ate like pigs starting with breakfast at the Rocking A. Ranch in White Oak and that was served by celebrities (our congressman and senator were there along with others) and ending with a buffet lunch at Dock Holidays in Myrtle Beach. There was entertainment, raffles and a silent auction. There was about 50 bikes and about 30 cars.

I was surprised that there were no female drivers and that they don't use hand signals alot here. Riding upstate hand signals were always used buy either the driver or the back rider. We didn't have police escort so it was very important that everyone knew what was going on. We would always have a mini session on signals and what was going on.

Everything was so well planned. I was really impressed. When we got close to a town the police were ready and waiting to escort us through. There was so many pictures taken and I can't wait for them to be posted on the website: www.hogsandrags.com. The event only cost us $40.00 which went to charity (autism and cancer). Not only did we get breakfast and lunch but we also got a T-shirt. I was able to purchase a T-shirt for only $12.00. I have to say I really enjoyed myself and I can't wait for next years ride.

Well here it is Sunday again....doing wash and getting ready for Monday. Trying not to kill my kids. They have been working on my last nerve lately....N. was supposed to clean the house Saturday but when I got home it wasn't done so I ended up doing it. Now I did not tell him to clean it he offered cause he needed some extra money...he lost out on that one. J. on the other hand had three bags of trash in his room. Mostly empty water bottles and he was supposed to clean it yesterday...but since I was not home to be up his butt he went out instead. Then he was supposed to clean his sink in his bathroom...but his excuse was that he didn't have any cleaning stuff so today I bought him his own can...wonder what his excuse will be now....

Been busy....

Hi all, Been really busy at work for the post couple of weeks. I really don't know where to begin. On Friday the 13, someone broke into the Museum. Nothing was taken but we have very large tinted windows and two of them were broke. It's really a shame that someone would do something like this. The police think it was homeless people who come and try to keep warm at night. We do have a fence around the whole place but I take it it doesn't keep them out. I think it was kids playing a prank. I guess it doesn't matter much anyway. The windows are now fixed and things are back to normal.

Didn't get to ride last weekend do to the crappy weather but did get go out today. What a beautiful day so we hopped on the bike are went to breakfast and off to a state park. They had it all set up to walk to see where a couple of battles were and a little movie to explain it. It was really nice.

Last night we had our black tie night of dreams gala. We raffled off a BMW. It was ok, really not my cup of tea...don't like getting all dressed up and stuff but it is now over and we can start getting ready for our Fayetteville After Five events.

No news on the family front so I guess that is good. Will probably be busy next week filling out college forms so I don't know when I will be back on. Hope everyone has a great week....

Oh almost forgot...a real cute cat decided to adopt us so now we have 2 dogs and a cat...she is so cute and I'll get some pictures up soon....

Two posts in a row...

Wow, Here I am with some time on my hands so I decided to post the happening of the weekend. Plus also change the layout...

I decided to switch phone service...from Embarq to cable. I should probably learn from past experiences but noooo I didn't and switched anyway. Now don't get me wrong I do like the cable company but when they came to hook up my TV and Internet they had to come back a couple of time to get it right. So why would hooking up the phone be any different. It wasn't. I made an appointment for Friday between 1-5. They called and came and hooked me all up. So when the phone rang and it was an old friend...another story...the phone wasn't really that clear. So I just thought it was her phone....but nooooo....it was mine. And how do I know that cause the next couple phone calls I got was the same way. So the cable company always calls to asked how things are and when they did I told them. So here I was on Saturday from 1-5 waiting for the cable man to come back out to fix the problem. Yes it is all fixed now.

The other story...I have a good friend P. that I met while we lived in Upstate NY. She did not live there but her boyfriend M. got PCS there from Massachusetts. She went out with M. for 12 years and come to see him every other weekend. To make a long story short they broke up and it was a bad one. So we continued to keep in contact through all my moves and years. She seemed like she found a great guy B. They got along things were going great. They eventually moved in together and have been together for 5 years. She eventually got a ring and thought things were good....but yes there is a but....last weekend he said that he had to go to Florida to see his dad...no big deal he has done this before. But after he left she found a Dear P. letter. He found someone on the Internet and was going to live with her. And two weeks later they got married. So through all the static on the phone I tried to give her my support through this rough time.

After running some errands, I got home and my husband said my mom called...hum...now anyone reading my blog knows this family has some issues...so I call her back. She called to wish me a Happy Easter which was very nice since she wasn't going to be home today. Then we start talking and she wanted to know what was going on and why there is so much tension and stress. So I tell her how I feel, I tell her about how the kids feel. We ended up talking for about 3 hours. A lot was said and a lot came off my chest. I feel so much better. I don't know if things will change but it is a start.

On the other side...my husband called his mom to wish her a happy Easter. She lives with his older brother who has needed a kidney transplant for a while so he is not in the best of health. Come to find out, his mom has been in the hospital for the last two weeks...nice of them to call and let us know...she is on oxygen and now her cancer is back so the decision has been made to find a living assistant home for her. I know this can't be easy for him. So all I can do is pray and be there for him.

Talked to my good friend J. We always compare notes on our moms. She is in the same position as I am. I guess it is that era. Her mom (my ex-mother in law) is sick and she still hasn't told her yet but everyone else knows. Also my ex-father in law is really sick too. My kids are planning a trip down there with their father in June to see him.

Today is going to be a lazy day. We got up and went to church and then to McD for breakfast. I go home and my son J's phone wasn't working so we tried to call Cingular and they are closed today. He was upset and so was I so I tried a different number and got a real person and now his phone is fixed. So as we were talking to the phone guy my son J. gave me and my husband an Easter gift and cards. He can be so sweet....

I am sitting here alone...no kids, no husband, no dogs...wow...quiet...silence...

Ok, I know I am getting a little excited. I usually...spoke to soon the phone just rang...I'm back. I switched my phone service to cable and it is not working right. So they will be back out today again. Ok, back to where I was...Everyone is gone and I am sitting here all alone...so I thought what a good time to catch up on my blog.

Lets start with last weekend. My husband and I went for a bike ride. It was my turn to plan the day so I searched and searched and finally came up with the Renaissance Faire at the NC state fairgrounds. I plan out the trip but first I wanted to go to the cheese cake factory for breakfast but my husband didn't want to do that. So off we went. It was fairly easy to get there. When we got there we followed the crowd of cars, paid our $8.00 to part, ( yes I thought that was a little high) and found a parking spot. We looked around and everyone was dressed up in Sunday best. I looked at him and he looked at me and we realized that we are not in the right place. We ended up at the RBC Center not the state fairgrounds. So off I go to ask directions and it was only up the road a bit. No we didn't get our $8.00 parking fee back.

Finally we get to the fairgrounds. They had a hugh yard sale there. We looked around but because we had the bike space was limited so off we went to the Faire. We found it paid our fee to get in and started to walk around. We stopped at the first stage to watch the show. It was really great. The Italian wedding it was called and we laughed. When that was over we started to walk to the next stage to see what show was on and we were stopped by a man that called himself DaVinci. He had a big wooden puppet with him and that was his brother. So we followed him to see his show. Now what I forgot to tell you is that these shows are audience participation. Yes that is right we got picked to participate. The skit was about a king and queen, played but two men, a servent and her ass played by me and my husband (he was my ass), and the man who tried to steel the queen away from the king played by Mr. DaVinci. It was really funny...everything I said my husband had to repeat it. We laughed and laughed and so did the audience. After the show we walked around some more say a ground hound dog race, fed the zoo animals and finally decided to leave. All in all we had a great day even after paying $8.00 to park in the wrong place.

Friday I had off...it was a very nice surprise...I have never worked at a place that gave up Good Friday off. So I decided to take my dogs to the vet. After that trip I needed a nap. They were so hyper and funny but at least they are all up to date on their shots. After that it was off to buy food for Easter.

This weekend we decided to just chill...the weather has gotten colder...to cold for me to ride...and with Easter and church and the people on the roads we are just going to spend a quiet time at home after all the chores are done. That is where my husband, my sons and my dogs are...mowing a friends lawn who is deployed.

Hope all have a very nice EASTER....

Time Just Flying By....

Ok, here it is March 23 already...It's been three weeks since my last post and I really don't know where the time went. Things have been extremely busy at work and I have been working out 4 times a week and yes I have started tanning again. So by the time I get home at night it is after 8pm. Way too tired to think about heading upstairs to the computer to post a blog. So here I am at work doing it instead.

Things around the house have been pretty quiet. My son J. hasn't been home much with running back and forth to school and working his life is pretty full. My son N. just built himself a new computer. It took about a month to order all the parts cause he had to save up to pay for them but it is all completed now and it works.

My daughter S. has been debating on weather or not to move to NC or stay in KY. I wish I could help her but this has to be her decision. At this moment she is looking for a new apartment in KY so if she finds a good one I think she will stay there and finish college. I told her I am only a plane ticket away and she can come down at any time.

My husband S. has been just as busy at work. He was gone for a couple of weeks but now is back. It has been so nice to have him home. This is the longest he has ever been home since we have been together.

Me...well I attended my first Premiere Party at the Museum. We change our Gallery every two months and have a Premiere Party to promote the artists. It was really nice. We are getting ready for our Gala Party. This is a black tie event where we will auction off a car. We are also getting ready for our summer events...Fayetteville After Five where we will host an event downtown at Festival Park with food, music and drinks. We got our pictures back from the architect on the new building. We plan on moving downtown in the next year or so. So to say the least there is a lot going on at work. Financially, we had a grant due and two quarterly reports due, financials, due and monthly reports due so to say it again it is a busy time here.

Family...my sister in law is still at her parents house. Her mom is sick and recovery from surgery. Please keep them in your prayers. My brother could also use some prayers as he is home with 4 boys ages 10-18. I still haven't heard from my parents since my brother and I backed out of the cruise...rumor has it they are still going with my two nieces and their family. Actions always have consequences.

It is going to be nice this weekend so the plan is to ride, ride and ride some more. Can't wait to feel the wind in my face. What a great feeling....

Oh that son of mine....

Monday, is there anything normal about Mondays especially when you have an 18 year old son...to start off he came home last night and said that his new 2005 Ford Ranger was acting up...ok I said what is it doing? All the lights on his dash were coming on and it felt like it was going to stall. He said I think I will need a jump in the morning. So morning comes and the truck starts ok. So off to school he goes. He didn't get 10 minutes from home and my cell phone rings it is about 7:50 am...Mom, What I say, we broke down on I95...Ok, I'll be there...Do you want me to call the tow truck, yes I say...he calls me back about 2 minutes later...Mom, What..I think I ran out of gas...Ok J. I'll get the gas can and go get you some gas. I drive to the gas station, fill up with 5 gallons of gas and get on I95 to bring it to him. Finally find him and he put the gas in and nothing...still doesn't start.

Hum...wonder what could be wrong now? So we are waiting for the tow truck...45 minutes to an hour they say...So now it has been an hour and J calls back...they tell him 1/2 hour longer...so now it is almost 9am...where is that tow truck? They roadside assistant calls back..the tow truck is running late with another tow he will be there in 1/2 hour...but I will try to find someone else to came. Well we ended up waiting 3 hours on I95 and two trips home to go to the bathroom, for a tow truck and to top it off my van still does not have heat and since his truck couldn't start he didn't have heat either. So we sat there in the cold waiting and waiting...

Finally the tow truck comes and the truck is towed to the Ford dealer...They said it sounds like your alternator...and the good news is that is still covered under the warranty...Yea finally good news...so off to work I go and by this time I told the boys they can go home. So J drops me off at work and takes my van home.

At work the girl who sits in the outer office is sick and goes home. That leaves me answering phone...wasn't too bad today...just got a lot of stupid calls. At about 4pm my cell phone rings...It's the Ford dealer about J's truck...not good...there is all mud, dirt, water all caked on everything under the hood...well my son decided to go running around in the mud and then pulled someone out of the mud and then decided to wash it off at the car wash...not only the outside but under the hood too...so now it all has to be cleaned out, the alternator is packed with mud and dirt and is broke and it will now take 3-4 days to fix and none of it is covered under the warrenty...and hopefully he didn't do any damage to the engine....

So now J pickes me up from work and we head to the Ford dealer to see what has to be done and J tells me to turn left and it is the wrong way...so I started to turn at this light and it is a one way street and before I notice it I was already into the turn so I quickly turn and go into a parking lot to turn around. I get out at the light and go a couple of feet and behind me are yes you guessed it a cop and he pulls me over...now I am a little upset to say the least and I start rambling on about how I was lost and new to the area and needed to turn around and he says calm down and breath...I am not going to give you a ticket I just want you to be more careful and pay attention to the streets here cause it is rush hour...finally a break...need I say more... before...

after...

So now I say is there ever a such thing as a normal Monday...I think not.

Drama is over...Cruise is off....

Don't know if I blogged about going on a cruise or not but my parents were planning a 50th wedding anniversary cruise for the whole family and I mean whole family, kids, grandkids, husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, were supposed to go but unfortunately it had to be cancelled because of a lot of reasons. The main reason is financial, but there are a lot of things going on with disfunctionally family. There were a lot of issues about this cruise even from the beginning. So it is probably for the best that it was cancelled.

We, as a family are not a close group. I don't know if this happened on purpose, but we are very busy people. My brother has 2 grown girls from his first marriage and 4 boys from his second marriage and I have three children, so to say we are busy is an understatement. Our jobs have brought us in different directions so all of this is the reality of our life as a family. The only communication that we have on a regular basis is a Christmas card with a letter of what happened over the year.

You can't pick your family but sometimes it would be better if we could. It is hard when things are done in the family that aren't fair. I try to explain to my children that life isn't fair but one would hope that family would try to be fair and treat everyone equally. I really try to do that with my children. I know it doesn't always happen but I make up for it in other ways. This is not true with others in this family. Some are lifted higher than others and it is hard to explain why? How do you tell your children why someone in their family doesn't that? It was hard to explain when they were little but now that they are older they understand. You would think that family would take off the blinders and see this and try to correct it or see the hurt in the other children but this has not happened. But now that the children are older this family seems to think that they should drop everything to accommodate them. My children learn from example and the example that was set by this family to my children was that we don't have time for you. But we do have time for certain others. You would think that as adults they would know better. I know I am rambling on about this but it has been eating away at me for such a long time.

This was taken from an other family members blog as it it describe by them: You can't be a family if there is no contact or communications. You can't expect everyone to get together for any amount of time if there is no type of foundation. When you see one person in the family lifted higher than others it causes hurt feelings. You want to blame the person who is being treated so much better than the others. But the blame doesn't solely placed on this one person. He or she should stand on their own two feet and be an adult. Share the affections with other members of the family. The other party should look at their actions and figure out why the family doesn't want to spend time with them. You have to be in your whole family lives. You can't pick your family but you have to love them. Just remember that there are all kinds of special events and they all need the family to acknowledge them. Not one more person, than no one else. No Matter how far they live or how young or old they are. You can't pick and choose who you do more for. They should be treated equal.

So I end this with I doubt that things will ever change and at this stage in our lives even if it does it's probably too late.

Sunday....

It's Sunday again...back to work tomorrow. I had a very nice surprise last night. Right after church my cell phone rings. I pick it up and it's my husband telling me that he is on his way home for the night to be with me. He is on a TDY trip for two weeks but he drove on this trip, so from Tennessee he decided to stop home spend the night and take me to breakfast before heading to Georgia. It was so nice and he is so sweet. Oh, he also dropped off his wash...

Weekend are always hard when he is away. Since the kids are older my weekends go slower. During the week I can keep myself busy with work, and errands, and working out but during the weekends there is only so much I can do. So on Saturday we did put my son J's bed together and move the futon bed to the bonus room, I cleaned the house and did all the wash and by 2pm all was done and waiting for the time to go to church.

Now here it is Sunday...I thought I would change some stuff on myspace...that took a whole hour and it looks like rain so I am just going to chill out for the rest of the day...

Working out again...

Well I started my workouts again. I went Tuesday night to the Y in Hope Mills. They only have one class from 6-7 Monday through Thursday. It is a very small place compared to the Y in Tennessee. But it will do. I also get the use of the Y in Fayetteville so I might go and check that out to see what they have to offer. I only work about 5 minutes away from it.

I finally got the bed so now all we have to do is get it in the bedroom. Shouldn't be too hard to do. We will see.

My son J. so far really likes his job so that is a good thing. I haven't been in there yet...don't want to embarrass him yet. :-)

My husband is still away so it has been way too quiet in the house. I really miss him but I am getting so much done. Hopefully it will be all done before he gets home next week.

Not much else going on...so I am off to workout again.

Monday...

Boy, if I wanted a Monday to go this fast it would never happen. Work just flew by today. By the time I looked at the clock it was already 11am and then I looked again and it was 4pm. Hope this weeks goes as fast.

Well, I didn't get to pick up my son J's bed. It still isn't in. When we ordered it a week ago they said it would be a couple of days. Now I don't know about you but a couple to me is two. Here it is Monday and that 9 days later and it still isn't in. They did call (a plus in my book) and said that it will be here tomorrow. We will see...

I did join the YMCA so that is out of the way. But I had all intensions of working out tomorrow night but now I will be picking up a bed instead. I can't wait to start working out again.

Today is my son J's first day at work. I hope all goes well and he likes it. It is always hard to start a new job especially when you don't know anyone.

I still have not received my refund from the clinic here in town. My husband went there November 1st and they over charged him by $75.00. I am still waiting for the refund. I have called 4 times and they say it is coming. But when?????? I definetly don't think they would wait for their money this long if I owed it to them.

My husband S. is in Tennessee for the week. He left this morning and he called a while ago and got there safe and sound.

Well off to start my taxes...fun....

Busy week...

Here it is Sunday already...tomorrow the boys have off for President's Day, I have to go to work to start a very busy week again, and my husband is off on a TDY trip for two weeks. He will be heading to Georgia and Tennessee. But before he goes we have a retirement gathering to go to for someone in Steve's office. My son J. also has a job interview today too. Keep your fingers crossed.

Sometimes I like it when he goes away because I can get so much done. I always feel that when he is home I should spend all my time with him because I never know when he will deploy or TDY again. So since he will be away for two weeks I will have an extremely busy time here. To start off I have to pick up my son J's bed on Monday night, order his class ring during lunch, and join the local Y (finally). I really want to start my workout on Tuesday so after that I will try to get my daughter S's state taxes done so I will try to do that on Tuesday night. I also need to organize my taxes to get back to the CPA's office. Again Tuesday night. Wednesday I have the adjuster for our broken furniture coming. The moving company is sending him out. I already got an adjuster for myself. I will have to take a longer lunch since I am meeting him at the house.

Wednesday night is Ash Wednesday...the start of lent (40 days before Easter) so off to church we go. It is also a day of fasting and the start of my Lenten sacrifice....NO MORE CANDY/SNACKS/SWEETS....the bags of jelly beans are going to be the hardest to stay away from. Also I need to fill out the forms for my rebate on my son's contacts, all this is done online. I need to pay bills, deposit checks, rake the rest of the leaves, get new sneakers for workouts, get my husbands birthday gift, email my mom on the information she needs for the cruise, and finish my taxes. Also need to get the claim done on the damage to the furniture. Need all kinds of information for that. Pictures, prices, comparisons and stuff like that. It is not a fun job. With all of this I want to work out every night, lose 5 pounds (in two weeks) and get back on track and hopefully when my husband comes home in two weeks all will be done.


Valentines' Day was very nice. I had a bad day at work the night before so my husband S. left a gift on the steps for me. I opened it up and it was from the dogs. How cute it was....He said not to expect any more since he didn't have time to get me anything else so I didn't really think about it. I asked him for more perfume since my was out so I just figured that I would have to stop at the mall and pick some up for myself. Really no big deal. But the next day I go to get in my car for work and on the passenger's seat was a gift with my perfume in it. He is so sweet.

Update....J got the job. It is at a sub place in Hope Mills. He starts tomorrow. I am so happy. Now things are almost normal again.

Saturday again.

Boy, you would think that I would be able to post during the week. But as you can see that hasn't happened in a while. So here it is Saturday again. My week wasn't bad. I was busy at work so this week seemed to fly by. I still have my cough so sometimes when I talk too much I start coughing alot. Now if you know me...I like to talk so this is sometimes hard to remember to talk less. Maybe I should blog more when I have to talk less...boy that's a thought.

Taxes....hum...finally got the kids taxes done. I don't even want to look at ours. Between moving and selling and buying a house and all the crap that goes with PCSing I am not looking forward to this tax season. So I am going to find someone to do them for me. Yea I know I really need to start looking and get on the ball with this.

My son J....He is really working my last nerve. I know 18 years old and a senior and of course he knows it all. He isn't as bad as I was so that is a plus. He still doesn't have a job. I guess he thinks he doesn't need one. Hum...he needs a wake up call. OK back on the subject of J....I go out to the mail box and open it up and there are 10 yes 10 letters from layers for him. Now I am on my way to church so I am trying to be a good catholic and not flip out. But it is hard. I call him up cause he is staying at a friends house tonight after a hard day of ACT testing and ask him "What did you do?" Oh nothing...so why does nothing require a lawyer I say. He then tell me..."remember last week when you made me come home for church, well I was running late so I ended up with a speeding ticket. I asked how fast were you going? Only 52 in a 35....Grrrrr....I am ready to kill him but as I said before I was on my way to church. So now he will have another incident added to his record of a fender bender and a speeding ticket while we lived in Tennessee. Now I know why kids shouldn't drive until they are 18. The last two were cheep compared to this one cause he was under 18 now he will have to pay the $160 for the ticket. He really does need a job to keep him out of trouble...On another note today we finally got his bed ordered. Now he is 6'2" and he needs an extra long bed so it had to be ordered. He has been sleeping an a foo ton. Poor kid...

I have been watching the news and Upstate NY is getting hammered with snow. I lived there for 11 years and have seen my fill of snow for the rest of my life. I can really say that I don't miss it and my heart goes out to all of those who are plowing and digging out of this mess.

My daughter S. is having trouble with her apartment management. They come in and out of the apartment all the time without any notice and she is getting tired of it. The last time they were in they searched her storage closed which is locked and seen that she had a little $20 tail gaiter grill and she got a notice to get rid of it or get put out. So now I really pissed cause the person she lives with has his girlfriend live with him for free and nothing was said to him about all her stuff in his room. Oh well...I told her only 4 more months and I will be up there to move her out of there. She can't wait.

Well hubby is off next week for a trip to Georgia and Tennessee...I will finally get a chance to join the YMCA and start my workouts again and I signed up for an online class which will start April 2...Things are really looking up and finally getting back to normal. YEA!!!!

Weeks just flying by...

Ok, another week has gone by already. I am so enjoying my job. This is a first. Finally things are falling into place and I am feeling more at home here than I did in the two years we were in Tennessee. I have decided to go back to school again. I wish I would have keep going while I was in Tennessee but I didn't. I am just going to take some classes on taxes, and non-profit business class and maybe a finance class and while I am at it another business law class. Who know by the time I am 50 I might complete my degree just in time to get ready for retirement.

On the subject of my van....it needs a heater coil...and it is not cheap. Not because of the part but the labor involved in replacing it. So I am still deciding on it and by the time I make up my mind it will be spring here and I won't need heat anymore.

On the subject of my oldest son J....I got a real interesting call from one of his friends mom last week while I was at work. She gets my cell phone number and his cell phone number mixed up all the time and when she call looking for him she always gets me. Well any way she was looking for my son, in which I replied that he is in school...but the funny thing was she got a phone call from the school and was told that her son was not there...hum...now I call the school to see if my son is there and to my surprise he was not. Now I call his cell phone and he answers and I ask him where he is....In school he says...no your not I say...long pause...more silence...busted I say...so why aren't you in school...he says I went out for lunch...hum...now what should I do with this kid? So we had a long talk, I know I should have taken his truck away but after checking his attendance record this was the first time so I gave him a warning. Only because it brought back memories of when I starting driving to school and cut to go to breakfast..Only I didn't get caught. I do however have a problem with the school letting the kids go outside during lunch but I guess that is the norm here. So I guess I will be checking his attendance record for a while to see if he is keeping his word and not cutting school anymore. I know I am a push over....

My parents are pretty lucky...they only live about 5 minutes from where the tornado came through and destroyed all those homes in Florida the other day. I called them on Friday morning to see if they were alright and they didn't even know what was going on. They used to live in the Villages in Lady Lake and recently move to Summerfield a little less than a year ago. But their old neighborhood wasn't hit. My dad still has the pins in his knee from when he fell off the ladder getting the Christmas decoration down from the attic so they were very lucky that the tornado missed them since he still can't walk on his leg.

Tomorrow is the Superbowl...Colts vs Bears. I don't really have a favorite. I like them both so I am hoping that it is a good game. I am kinda sorry that football is ending but now I can start to enjoy the college basketball games and get ready for the big dance...NCAA tournament time in March.

A whole week has gone by....

Here it is Saturday already. I have been at my job for a whole week. I think I am going to really enjoy it there. The employees are so nice and my boss is even nicer. I can't wait to really get started with the capital campaign to get our new building under way. so we can move to our new location in Festival Park. This should be a really exciting time for the Museum. Here is a little history about the museum The Fayetteville Museum of Art was founded in 1971. Originally housed in downtown Fayetteville's historic Market House, the Museum moved in 1978 to its present facility that was the first building in the State of North Carolina designed and built as an Art Museum. In addition to the modern facility that includes two (2) galleries, classrooms, studio space, an Art Reference & Slide Lending Library, and a Museum Store, the Museum's 5.8 acre grounds and pond give the Fayetteville community a place to gather for relaxation. The park-like setting is an oasis in the midst of a heavily trafficked area; it is also utilized for large scale sculpture displays, art festivals and public concerts. If anyone is interested please check out our website: www.fayettevillemuseumart.org


I also found out that a very good friend of mine I should really say my best friend got married on the 19th of January. I am so happy for them. I wish I could have been there but it was a very small informal ceremony. It was also in Upstate NY. I do look forward to seeing the pictures. Here it the happy couple the last New Year's Eve we got to spend together 2004 before we moved to Tennessee.

Went back to the doctor on Thursday night. Got some x-rays taken of my check and I have a touch of bronchitis. So finally I got some medicine to help me get rid of this thing. It has been a month already and I am tired of being sick. I am starting to finally feel better and it is about time.

Got rid of the old gray truck on Thursday. My husband had it towed away. Can't complain about it because we got our money's worth and some fond memories too. But it was time for the old eye sore to be put to rest in the junk yard in the sky. Goodbye old reliable trusty friend. RIP.

Sunday....

I would like to announce that my son J. finally has a new truck. It is a 2005 Ford Ranger pickup truck...white with extended cab. We went out Saturday to look again since the ones we found last week were all sold and finally found one in our price range that was fairly new with only 15,500 miles on it. And of all the places it was sitting at the Fayetteville Auto Mall. We went there to look at an Isuzu but that truck was stick so she showed us others and it was just sitting there waiting for us to buy it. So no more driving them back and forth to school. Now all is left to do is hope that my son J. gets a job and to get my heater fixed in my van ....

Friday night...

Wow I can't believe a week has gone by already...I still don't feel 100% yet but I do feel a lot better than I did last week. Tried to get most of my errands done before I started my new job. I did manage to get the cars plated and my van inspected. Only had to wait 1 1/2 hours to get it inspected but it passed. YEA!!!

Of course I did run into some trouble getting my husband's truck plated. Wouldn't have been a complete success without a road block. I went to the DMV with all my paper work. My husbands truck is still financed so I didn't have a title but I did have the information for the title company which is what they needed. But when I got there they said that the registration that the state of Tennessee gave him for his truck wasn't valid. My registration on my van says renewal. His registration says application for new registration. They have some book they look in to make sure that the paperwork is correct. So I go home and search for another registration on it that says renewal. Of course there isn't one because his registration doesn't expire until the end of March and since this is the first year he has had the truck we haven't renewed it yet. So the next day I go back with the same paperwork and try to explain that his won't say renewal because it hasn't expired yet and that is the only thing that they gave us when the truck was registered. So now they tell me that I need a copy of the front and back of the title which the bank has. So I called the bank and of course I have to fax them a copy of my POA to get it done. I fax that to them and call them back to see if they got it and to see when they can fax the copy to the DMV and I get from them that this is a call center and it takes 24 hours to do that. Ok, yes now I am upset. I go back into the DMV and ask a different lady to please look in the book again and she does and finds it on the first page in the Tennessee section. So now I wasted two days trying to get plates for my husbands truck. And to top it off today my husband receives a copy of his title. Only took they two days to do it.

My daughter was here for a week. It was really nice and I hated to see her go. She has decided to moved down here in July and has applied to UNC-Charlotte. So now she will only be two hours away instead of 10 hours away.

My son still doesn't have a vehicle yet. But I made a promise that this weekend he will have one. I am tired of running him back and forth all the time. Last weekend we went out to see what was out there and we found one but didn't move fast enough on it and now it is gone. So we will have to start the process of car shopping all over again. Oh well....

Ok, now to my new job...I started on Thursday. I am the Director of Finance for the Fayetteville Museum of Art. I am really excited about this position. Everyone seems very nice and the staff is small so that makes for a nice family setting. I really haven't done anything yet but get familiar with the office and staff and where things are. I did play around in the computer and pulled up some stuff to see what it is like. I will start to get my formal training on Monday so that will be when I really know what I got myself into. So more to come on my job as I know more.

Today is my son's J. birthday....

Today is my son's J. 18th birthday. So now I have two legal kids. I have to say that raising kids is not easy but he turned out to be a really good kid. I am very proud of him. He is kind and considerate. Sometimes a little lazy but hey I take lazy over drugs and drinking any day. There is only some much a parent can do to make sure that their kids are steered toward the right direction. The rest is up to the kid to follow in that direction. And he has. The next step is to get him a car and then off to college.

I am still sick. And what does that mean...absolutely nothing. My life goes on as if I was as good as new. Cooking, cleaning, wash, etc....Yesterday as I was starting to feel a little better my son J. wanted to go car shopping so I gather all the kids plus a friend of J's and off we went to about 5 dealerships. Yes I am paying for it today. I feel worse. But being a mother I felt guilty cause he was turing 18 and the deal was when he turned 18 he could purchase a car/truck. So he wanted to go shopping. Now he is not a kind of kid who asks for a whole lot so I couldn't say no. At least the sun was shinning which made it a really nice day.

The job was offered to me. I did accept. I start on Thursday the 18th to fill out all the paper work and to discuss benefits and stuff. I hope this works out. Since it is a not-for-profit company they have their fiscal year end June 30 and my mom and dad have scheduled a family cruise for June 28-July 1. I will need June 28,and 29 off for the cruise. I hope we can work something out. I would hate to loose this job because of that. Oh well only time will tell.