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.

Here it is Tuesday...

Well my van is still broke...it will be done by Thursday. They had to order parts and finally they came in today. And while they had it I decided to have them do other stuff to it too.

My daughter came in today for a week. It is really nice having her here. they only bad part is that I have been sick and by the end of the day I am ready to crash.

I still haven't heard from my job interview. I am not really worried about it though and they did say that they would call by the end of the week and it is only Tuesday.

My son J. still hasn't heard from any of his applications yet either. He really wants to get a new vehicle and I do too but he really needs a job. His father (my ex) said that he would send some money to be put towards his new vehicle. Hope it gets here soon. He is in Iraq right now.

My other son N. found his phone. At last one good thing that has happened.

The hot tub is all fixed and the husband was in it tonight. That made him a very happy camper. that makes two good things that has happened. YEA!!! :-)

Nothing else left to say but Good night.

Saturday...

My interview on Friday went well. They seemed very nice and the job seemed like something I definitely could do and will like. They will call by the end of the week. I am not getting my hopes up and I am just letting it go. The way my luck has been lately if I really wanted it I won't get it. My van on the other had is still broke. They had to order parts and the auto place said not to expect it before Wednesday so I still have my rent a car. After all these expenses I will need two jobs to pay for it all.

My son J. is still looking for a job. We are getting desperate now cause if I go to work I am not sure how we are going to work out the car thing. His truck is still broke and if he gets a job we will junk it and get him a new one. He has applied everywhere possible with no luck. He has work at McD in TN for 14 months and the McD is hiring here and he has applied twice now and keep on going in to check on the status of his application but hasn't had any luck. I am about to go in and complain but he has to learn how to handle these things himself. And he really isn't bad at it.

Now on to my son N., who informed me on Friday after my 6th run into Fayetteville, with each run taking 1/2 hour to get there that he lost his phone again. I nicely inform him that this is the very reason that I should have stood my ground about not letting him get a cell phone until he is 16. I told him he has a week to look for it and he is still responsible to pay me the monthly charges even though he has no phone. Now we do have insurance on it and it will cost the deductible to replace it but he only get 2 losses a year and this his is second one (the first one was stolen) in 3 months. After two claims in 12 months they drop the insurance and then he will be SOL.

Today was a good day....finally....I got a good night sleep the night before. Slept for 12 hours. I think I just about had it with everything going on that my body just gave out on me. But today we woke up and went to breakfast and then got much needed paper work done on the move came home and just sat together and relaxed. Almost forgot what the word means. I think I should be able to relax. My kids are all older and self sufficient and two out of three of them drive now. So that should give me more me time...hahaha....If only life was that simple.

Where do I begin...

I don't know where do I begin...I started the day off good. I asked the boys to get up early so I can take them to school because I had my interview today at 10am. While I was waiting for them I took the trash to the curb. And again I pulled my back out. I really need a new trash can...one with wheels. But anyway they were ready by 7:15 which was really good and we were off. We get in my car and put the heat on which hasn't been working for a couple of days now. Again nothing but out of habit I still put it on. We get about 10 minutes into our 1/2 hour ride and I started seeing smoke coming out of the hood. Now I am thinking oh no not today. I pull into a gas station and turn off the engine and open the hood and all this brown stuff just leaked on the ground. I knew I was doomed. I called my husband on his cell and work phone and left messages on both. Now as I have stated before, I am taking the kids to school because J. truck is broke. It needs brakes and we are not sure if we want to put the money into the old thing. So it is sitting in the driveway until we make a decision and since my van just broke I guess the answer will be no. Again I called my husband with no luck on reaching him. My son J. got a ride to school with a friend but there wasn't enough room for my other son N. so he came with me.

So I called roadside assistance (through Cingular) and they took all my information and told me it would be 45 minutes to an hour. Yes it took the hour. I called to cancel my interview and set it up for another day. Great first impression. I get it towed to the Ford dealership and once there the lady told me she could give us a courtesy ride home but the lady wasn't there with the van yet so I had to wait in the lounge for her. I waited about 1/2 before I decided to take the dealership up on their offer to extend a special rate on renting a car. So she called the rent a car place and finally someone came within 15 minutes and she took me back to fill out all the paperwork on the rent a car. Again I am thinking, can this day get any worse...So now I have a rent a car, a new time for my interview tomorrow and I guess we will try to do this all over again without all the problems. I am trying to keep a positive attitude on this, but it is hard since 2007 is starting off where 2006 left off.