How Come...

you can go along for weeks and months and not be sick or anything and then all of a sudden when you have 2 important weekends coming up you all of a sudden get Giant Swollen Glands in your neck and you start feeling lousy and your eye swells up on you and keeps watering and has a pimple like protrusion and your face hurts under your eye and down to your cheek and you end up having to go to the Dr. and you can't even get in to see your regular doctor so you have to see the nurse practitioner and she takes your temp and its normal and then takes a blood draw and you know its gonna hurt cuz your veins are deep and they roll when they try to stick you and you lose out on days at work right up to the day before you have to leave to go to a family reunion which is a long trip and you know you are gonna fell like crap when you arrive and you are still not sure you even want to take that trip cuz you just feel so LOUSY?

*gasp, choke, breathe*

sorry that was such a long sentence...hehehe.

One good thing about the Dr visit....the girl that works in the Lab at the doctors office really ROCKS when it comes to drawing blood. I was sitting there dreading it cuz i know it takes them forever to even find my veins and when they do they are deep and they roll when they try to stick them so they have to dig around to get a stick. She comes over to me and puts on the rubber band thingy and i try to work up a vein for her by squeezing this rubber thing she handed me and she touches my arm and feels around a couple times. She pulls out the needle says there will be a stick and she is in and tells me to let up on the rubber thing and relax my arm....she hit the vein on the first try..i never felt the needle go in and she was DONE in less than a minute. I WAS IMPRESSED!!! She can draw my blood anytime she wants to...LOL. I had said something to the receptionist about Amanda being there a few months ago working with one of their doctors and she said...."REALLY..she was such a nice person to work with. I never made the connection till now. I bet you are so proud of her." I told her that i was VERY proud of her. They asked me where she was going to do her residency and a few other things. So they really liked you Amanda. I should have the results of the blood test today. Lets hope its all ok. Not sure why i feel so achy in my muscles today. I stayed home today cuz i have just been fighting feeling bad all week and i am just finally not wanting to fight it another day at work. I will stay home, maybe do some laundry for this weekend and try to get to feeling better. I don't feel sick, as like in puking and stuff like that...but just really tired and my muscles ache and my head kinda hurts today. She gave me some Kflex so i hope it helps FAST....lol. I am looking for a miracle drug...lol. Oh...and i took my water pills too so maybe i can get some of this retention off my legs cuz they have been swelling up really bad lately. I can't take them at when i go to work cuz the bathrooms are always so far away from where i sit i might not make it. So I took them since i am staying home and hopefully my legs will go down a bit.

Mothers day was a good day. I love those restaurants where they cook at your table. It's fun to watch. Most of the family was there cept Ruth's side. We missed you!!! Wish you could have come. Bob and Decovin wasn't there either. Hope your day was a good one Ruth, and Stacy and Cindi. I missed out on our group pictures. I had to run to the little girls room and they just didn't wait on me. I was bummed but I got pictures of me and Amanda and Mom together...guess that will have to do. I will post them when I get them uploaded onto my computer.

Not sure who all is going to the reunion this weekend...but hope to see some people i haven't seen for a while. I haven't ever been to a family reunion i don't think so i think this will be kinda fun and nice to see family i haven't seen for a long time. See you there (i hope)!!

For all Mothers out there.....

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO YOU ALL!!!!!

What a Rainy Day

It wasn't too bad this morning when i woke up...but oh my how it did change. Went to church this morning and the sky was blue. Sitting in church during the service...it started to POUR and you could hear it on the roof of the church. We had to stand and wait for the rain to let up so we could get to our cars....which it didn't do and so we got a bit wet (well i did..Amanda had one of the boys run out to her car and bring it up under the awning at the front door of the church. Couldn't hardly see driving down the road. Hit some water running over the road (thank goodness it was only a small amount) and my heart leaped into my throat. So i slowed down even more and good thing cuz more water was starting over the road as i got a little closer to 71 hwy. Slowed down a whole lot and got over to the side of the road that was a little higher than the other so i could get through the water. Amanda is following me. Get to Harrisonville and get off at the 2 hwy exit. I figured that the underpass below my trailer court would be flooded so i went around. Good thing cuz it was and the road was closed off. Got home safely but a bit rattled. It was Amanda's birthday so she wanted to go to Lees Summit for lunch and some shopping. We were rethinking this event but the rain let off for a while.....that is till we decided to go ahead and go. Mel met us at Lees Summit but got there before we did. I hate driving in a downpour of which it did when we left to go naturally. AND 291 is not a fun road to drive when it is dry let alone a deluge of a downpour. I had a white knuckle grip on my steering wheel for sure. The rain did let up a bit when we got almost to Lees Summit. Then started pouring again when we got ready to get out to go into Chilis for lunch. We had a good lunch...good food...then we went to Bath and Body and Lane Bryant. Was going to do a bit more shopping but Amanda had to get back and pick up Marys kids at their grandmas by 4 so we left Mel to her shopping at Target and came home. It rained off and on all day and night....sheesh. AND it's supposed to do this crap all week.

And to top it all off....this weather is reaking havoc on my arthritis.

Will the sun ever shine again? Will these FREAKING ANTS ever go back outside????

And again...HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMANDA!!!!

Boring...but busy

Not much happening here. Just working, coming home, falling asleep....and not necessarily in that order...LOL. I think this was probably the last Saturday we will be working overtime now. So I worked it and tomorrow is Amanda's Birthday. Next weekend is Mothers day and then the next one is the family reunion. Then the next one is Amanda's graduation. May is busy busy busy.

Blogger Block

After such a cool weekend i didn't have anything to say that would top it. All i have been doing is working and sleeping. Oh and fighting ANTS....i hate those stupid little critters. I go through an awful lot of Windex killing them varmints. YES Windex will kill them immediately. And it seems that i am sitting on top of a whole village of these annoying little creepy crawlers. I hate this time of year for this fact. And when it rains they seem to take refuge in my house more and more. They are not only in my kitchen but in the bathrooms and living room too since its so close to the kitchen. ugh!!!

Anyway, besides being a bug assassin i have been working. Worked a little bit of overtime this saturday and then went to Jen and Amanda's Pampered Chef party at Tab's house. We had fun and the food was good too. Then when we left there we went to the Auction at our church. It was a charity auction to raise money for the kids to go to camp and on mission trips. Items were donated and there was a silent auction in the beginning, and then we ate a spaghetti dinner while it was going on and after all the tables closed we then had a live auction and they sold some pretty neat stuff. Our Pastor came out on the stage last week in a HUGE afro wig (and if you don't know Jeff he is almost bald with a bit of hair around the lower edge of his head...lol...so this wig was a hoot) and someone took his picture and put it in a frame with the title of WE ARE FAMILY!! (which is the tipic of our sermons right now) This picture was a surprise auction item and went for the amount of around $350.00 They auctioned off cakes and pies and apple butter. They had things like 3dozen cookes a month for a year and a Desert a month for a year. And they also had a beautiful quilt that they auctioned off that went for over $850.00. It was a big success and we raised over $10,000.00. Since our church is growing so much its still not enough to send all the kids to camp for free but its a good start. We all had fun and even got some treasures in the bargain.

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PROUD PROUD PROUD PROUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just want to say that I am SOOOOO Proud of you Amanda. Never in my wildest dreams when you were a baby did I imagine you would be such a great success. and a Doctor at that!!!!! I love you and am very very Proud of you!!!!!!!!!!

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If you haven't noticed i have kinda been at a standstill on the weight loss...actually i had gained a few over the holidays and am trying to get rid of it now. They said i would hit a wall and may not be able to go below it. So i have been going by the Weight Watchers Points system and have actually lost 6 of the pounds that i had gained...when it gets below what i weighed you will see the change on the ticker...so cross your fingers that it happens soon. Love you all!!!

What a GREAT weekend

We started out Friday morning at about 7:30 am. (Marcia, who is never late and most always early....was 30 min. late...lol) We got to Precious Moments Chapel around 9:30 am and walked around there looking at all the cute stuff. We went to the Chapel and listened to their tour and then we went to the gift shop and looked around. We left there around 11:30 and headed for the check in at our motel (or time share place....Falls Village....not really a motel i guess).

We got to Branson around 2:00 pm and stopped at Olive Garden and ate some lunch/supper. We left there and went to pick up our tickets for the Showboat and Dixie Stampede so we didn't have to stand in line to get them Saturday. We checked into our room at about 4 and got everything moved in. The room had a small kitchenette with stove, small refridge, coffee pot, microwave, toaster, blender, can opener, and a big queen size bed and a pull out couch. We got settled in and it was then time to leave to go to Springfield to see the Gaither concert.

I had forgotten to bring some distilled water for my machine so we stopped at Walmart. We also picked up some other stuff like for breakfast and some bottled water. Somehow the time got away from us and we were then running late for the concert. We had planned on getting there by 6 and we were leaving Branson at 6. UGH.. Marcia hates to be late and to be late 2 times in the same day...UN HEARD of....LOL We were not the only ones who were late however. But all the parking places were taken by this time. So Marcia dropped me off at the door and she went looking for a parking place. She found one not too awful far from the place. We went in and tried to find our seat. Well it was only up 5 rows from the floor we went in on and right through the door we came in at...BUT....the stairs were not really stairs. It was like bleacher type stairs with no hand rails...and you know how i am with stairs. There was no possible way i could get up those stairs. So we asked the usher if we could sit in some chairs that were just inside the door behind some people who were in wheel chairs in like kind of an alcove type place (there were two empty seats there). The girl went to ask about it and tell them our situation. She came back and told us to follow her. She took us to an elevator and we went down to the bottom floor. We went out into the area where the stage was and we sat in these chairs they had set up behind the people in the floor area chairs. Well then they came and said...follow this person. So we followed them and they took us clear up front beside the stage where they had set up two rows for some people in wheel chairs and regular chairs. It was pretty cool. We could see everyone up close. The concert was EXCELLENT!!!! Great music and singing and comedy too. It ended around 11:30. I walked with Marcia to the car cuz she didn't want to walk alone and i didn't want to stand and wait alone so we walked. It was only about 5 blocks away. It didn't take us too long. We got back to the room about 12:45 and were in bed and exhausted at about 1:30. What a great day.

We got up Saturday morning around 7 and took our showers and ate some breakfast and had some coffee and left the room around 9. We went to the Stonehill Winery and took their tour. We never got to the wine tasting though cuz we had to be at the Showboat at 11 and the tour was over at about 10:20. So we were NOT gonna be late getting there so we bypassed the tasting. Since i don't really drink wine it was not a big deal.

We got to the boat and had time to look around the shops for a bit before boarding. There were clouds in the sky and the threat of rain but it was not real chilly and the wind wasn't blowing much at that time. But by the time we boarded the boat at about 11:10 the wind was blowing and there were white caps on the water. We got aboard the boat and found our seats and then went walking around the boat. We walked clear around the deck on the third floor and took some pictures. We then went back to our table and waited on the show to start. Our table was again...right up front. We could see right up their skirts...lol...it was actually too close but it was ok. They started the show with the Emcee (sp?) and then they served our salads. The servers come in with their trays over their heads loaded with the salad bowls and they come running down the sides and down each isle in front of the tables setting everyones salad down as they went. Then he told some more jokes and interacted with the audience and they brought out our main course...and he introduced the band and they played while we ate our chicken and roast beef and broccoli and cauliflower and bread. It was a very good meal....too much food for me though. I had to save room for the desert so i didn't eat everything. The roast was so good and tender...it was like the beef they use for like a bbq beef sandwich but it wasn't bbq. It was more like a gravy on it. And the chicken was a breast with like an orange type sauce on it...yummy stuff. Then they brought out our desert...it was like an ice cream cake with a lemon cheesecake center and a raspberry sauce drizzled over it. It was good. We were stuffed.

The emcee came back out and told us there was a 30 min intermission so we could go out and look around and go out on the deck and look around. I went out and watched the boat moving....it was really windy at this time but the clouds were going away. I don't think i would make a very good sailer....watching the water while the boat was moving made my stomach lurch. So i went back in and Marcia was done shopping in the onboard shop then. We went back to our seat cuz they had announced that the show would start in just a few minutes. It was a very good show. They had a Russian couple that did like a ballet from Alladin i think it was. They were sooooooo good. Couldn't take any pictures of them but they were very good. And the main attraction pretty cool. This guy...Todd something...can't remember his last name...sorry. He is a ventriloquist and he has talking dogs. They are real dogs but he has had these faces made for them that have jaws that he works when he talks for them. He has been on TV on different shows. His act was pretty cool and funny. They ended the show with a medley of songs from lots of different shows. It was really cool. Not sure my pictures came out too good of this show....they let you take pics of the regular show kids...but not of the Russians or of Todd. I only took a few cuz we were so close to the stage and a few of my pics were blurred cuz they moved so fast. I finally took a short video on my camera when they did Proud Mary. We docked just as the show ended at around 2:25. We got off and finished some shopping and was then on our way to the Dixie Stampede and yet another BIG meal.

We got back to town and went back to the winery cuz Marcia saw some stuff she wanted but we didn't have time that morning. So we went to the wnery and she got her stuff. By this time it was time to get to the Dixie Stampede and check in.

We got there and only had to wait a few minutes till they started letting people in. We went in to watch the Pre-Show which started an hour before the main show. We got drinks in a free Boot mug (We got strawberry daquiris...non alcoholic which were toooooooooo sweet and tooooooooooo strawberryie). The act was a juggler...very good. When he was done it was time to go get our seats for the main show.

We were on the front row, first two seats looking over the arena. Pretty cool place. Front row was our theme for this whole weekend it seems...lol. They served your meal as the show was happening. They started with a fog machine and filled the floor of the arena. The announcer talked and narrated the beginning. The buffalos came out. They must be trained (if you can train a buffalo) cuz it was like they were correographed in a dance....it was super cool. They started our meal with soup and a biscuit. was yummy. Then they brought out a whole cornish hen per person....and a slice of pork and a half a potato and a small ear of corn. Then they brought out desert which was an apple turnover. This was all eaten with your fingers. no silverware. The kid that was sitting next to us with his parents looked at the waiter when he gave him that cornish hen and his eyes got as big around as silver dollars....it was funny. They came around and asked if we needed a horsey bag (aka-doggie bag) so i brought most of my meal home with me . (I got kinda sick eating this meal. One of those stupid bubbles i get so i didn't eat much and actually had to upchuck to put it bluntly...and the bathrooms were up some stairs clear to the top and around behind everyone....i would never have made it...so i did it in my napkin and my bag they gave me for my take home food. Trying to do it when it was dark and nobody could see me...most of it was phlem anyway. sorry..that was a gross entry.) I did get a new horsey bag. And i ran to the bathroom when it was over and really chucked it. Then i felt better. Aside from being sick and trying to hide chucking.....the show was excellent. We did learn not to go to two dinner shows in the same day with big meals with them for sure. UGH. That was the only negative part of the trip and i apologized to Marcia over and over about grossing her out too. I think it was too much food too close together that got to me. i could have just taken the whole meal home with me and skipped the gross part....lol. anyway....we enjoyed the show.

We got out of the show about 8 and just drove around for a bit looking for some of the outlet shops cuz Marcia was looking for some kitchen appliances for her new trailer. We found one that was still open and she got her Stand mixer and a toaster and a can opener and some other odds and end utensils for her kitchen...she was happy to find this stuff. We then headed back to the room cuz we were pretty bushed and actually went to bed around 9:30 or 10.

We got up early Sunday morning. Took our showers and got dressed and got everything packed up and put in the car and left the room around 8:30 am and headed to IHOP cuz Marcia was craving blueberry pancakes...lol...MORE FOOD...ugh. I had a western omlet and couldn't eat it all.

Then we went to the River Walk.....LOTS of stores with condos above them....and we forgot it was Sunday so none of them opened till 11 and we got there around 10. So we walked from where we came into the area to the end were there were no shops we wanted to go into and turned back and walked back up towards the Bass Pro shop which was clear at the other end from where we were. We just window shopped and looked at everything. She was looking for stuff for her grandsons. The stores finally opened and we went into the Bass Pro shop so she could get something for one of the boys and then we went back up to the Cardinals shop to get something for the other one. We looked into a few more stores and then we were back at the place we came in at and it was time for us to hit the road to get back to Garden City to pick up her dog from her daughters.

On the way home we stopped at the Osceola Cheese Factory and got some cheese and some other stuff and got back on the road again. We got to Garden City around 3:15 and her dog was soooooo happy to see her she about licked her face off. (yuck...lol)

We got to my house around 4 and got all my stuff in the house and she left to get to her house.

**Sigh** there's no place like home....HAHAHA Its good to get away...but its GREAT to get home again.

All in All...it was one busy fun exciting excellent weekend and i am so glad we went. (sorry this was such a long post but i had fun!!!) Pictures are coming also. I gotta upload them first.

Sorry i missed the birthday celebrations here though....Happy Birthday Christy and Jeff. Love you.
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So...how was your weekend?

Just another weekend...

All i have been doing is working and coming home and going to sleep. I worked overtime the last two weekends too. Not real exciting but its something to do. I just can't wait till next weekend. All that stuff to do packed into one weekend. I will be exhausted. LOL

Marcia and i have been counting down the days. We are both so ready to get away from it all. Her and i get along pretty well....we shall see if we still do after being together for 3 days and nights....HAHAHA. I am sure we will. She is a neat freak and i am a slob....opposits attract....haha. She is just a very good friend. I trained her at work when she came back to work at the IRS about 15 years ago. We have been friends since.

Hope you all have better lives than i do. I will have lots to tell after next weekend.

If our tickets for the Gaithers wasn't on the weekend of Moms birthday we could have had her party then. I guess you still can if you all want to. But i don't see whats wrong with having it on the 7th. Its a Saturday and Easter is Sunday so you won't miss anything cuz everyone will be right there in LaCygne anyway...whats a couple hours with Mom gonna hurt anyone??? After all...you don't turn 80 but once in a lifetime.

Hey Chris...if we play bunko are we gonna have prizes too?? that would be fun. I miss playing bunko. haven't played in a few years.

LOVE YOU ALL

I know...i am a slacker on the blogging field.

I haven't posted lately i know. i have been so tired when i come home from work i just fall asleep. I just today read everyones blog and got caught up on what is going on so I guess i will try to write too.

Work is going ok so far. I am now back in data conversion where i started. They told us that we would be in SCRIPS for the season....BUTTTTTTTTTT.....they got so far behind in data conversion that we all got sent back there for now. SURE.....since i lost my seat that i had picked out by the window and everything else was taken. I am actually sitting a row back from where i would have been had i not gone to SCRIPS....so it isn't so bad. the girl that was sitting there quit Friday cuz she got another job closer to her home so i took her spot. It's kinda nice to be able to see the world while you are at work...you can also see what the weather is doing out there too. anyway...that is what is happening at work...oh we are also working overtime now too. I worked today and may work next saturday too.

Last saturday was a hoot. Marcia and i left for Springfield around 8 am and went looking to see if we could find the place that we are going to be going on the 30th. We are going to go see the Gaithers perform. BUT we forgot to take the map with us that i ran off so we weren't sure what building we needed to look for on the college campus. SO...we came to College Street and thought..the college might be down this street somewhere. So we turned and went on this street for a bit...we figured that if we didn't come to it going one direction we would try the other direction. Well it got kinda iffy that we would find it in the direction we took cuz it was looking kinda ghettoish looking. We contemplated turning around when we came to this "town square" with a circle drive around this little park monument looking grassy area. We went around it and off on the other side and we came to some buildings that were like Hammond Building and Hammond this or Hammond that and we were like hmmmm...wonder if this is the campus. LOL So we were kinda confident that this was where we were looking for. (we found out when we got home that this was what we were looking for) Satisfied...we went to Red Lobster for lunch. We had thought about going to Lamberts for lunch (since i hadn't ever been there before) but me and bread don't get along too well, and we both were kinda craving some shrimp, we just went to Red Lobster.

After lunch we were driving around and had the radio on and there was an advertisement for a free CD of Milton Crabapple if you went to this Visitors center on CC Hwy and they played some of his stuff on the radio. He was pretty funny so we went looking for CC Hwy on 65 Hwy towards Branson. Well we both must have been sleeping when we passed it cuz we got all the way to Branson and stopped at the City Commerce information center and didn't see CC hwy anywhere along the way. We went in and got some brochures for the shows in branson and asked the lady at the desk where CC Hwy was...she got out a map and was looking. She says...i can't find it anywhere. We were both looking and she goes...OH here it is...its clear back about 5 miles outside of Springfield. SO we head back to Springfield. We are looking for the exit for CC hwy and it doesn't give you too much advanced notice of where it is. But it was clear back almost to Springfield. We just laughed at each other for missing it the first time. Anyway...we find the place that is giving away these free CD's and go inside. come to find out it's one of those places that want to help you book a vacation with their company. Marcia has a time share down there at Big Cedar Lodge so that is where we are going to be staying when we go but they tried to get her to change hers over to theirs cuz "they can give her a better deal" than hers. We got the free CD and left. We put the cd in and played it...well its almost everything on it that we heard on the radio so we could have just forgot about it. LOL...live and learn

So now we are on our way home and we stop at the Osceola Cheese Factory YUMMMMMMMM. didn't need supper after taste testing all the yummy cheeses. and i got some to bring home too.

Got home around 5:30. and at 6:30 i have Small Group (bible study) and i am so tired i could just sit down and go to sleep. But i made it through small group and got home around 9:30. I sat down in my chair and fell asleep. (ruthie...i am not sure how i sleep in my chair but it seems to be more comfortable to my back than a bed) ...that was my weekend. sorry this was so long. and i will let you know how the weekend goes on the 30th...i am so excited to be going cuz i just don't hardly ever go anywhere fun like that. It's gonna be a full 3 days too. lots of things we are gonna do.

as for my weight...i need to get an adjustment cuz i think i am at a standstill for the time being. so nothing to report. Love ya all.

Crazy night....Lots of FUN!!

This was a really crazy night about a month ago. We were scrapbooking at the church and i was taking pictures. Karen took my camera and took some of me. We were clowning around and i don't even remember what i was talking about but i was making a funny face and showing her something and she took my picture. It was around 10 and we were kinda tired...it had been a very long day for all of us, so we were a little slap happy. We always have fun but this was a really fun night. Just thought i would share this pic with you all. Jen...you should come scrap with me sometime or i could maybe come there.

Here are a few shots of our scrap.....

COOL!!!

"HAPPY VALENTINES DAY EVERYONE"

Went to work Monday , working in the recruitment office. We were busier than snot. worked on one project the whole day long, pulling files, filing files, pulling papers from files, adding papers to files, putting papers in alphabetical order. Brain dead!!! Then Tuesday it snowed....we stayed home (April and I both). Then Wednesday we go in thinking we are going to have to be busy on this project some more since not too many people came in on Tuesday. Asked what we were supposed to do and the supervisor says with a pouty face....You have to go over to SCRIPS. This is the department i really like working in that i was detailed to several times before, usually at the end of the season. Only this time i get to be in this department all season. She is sad cuz i think we were doing a lot of the work that they don't like to do and now they have to do it. LOL In a way i am sad about being put in SCRIPS...but in another way i am pretty happy. The sad part is....in our new area in Data Conversion...we have windows (which if you ever saw the old building...you know there were NO windows cept in Mahogany Row...the BIG bosses offices) and i was sitting by one. But in the happy part....i get to be in the department i really like being in with no windows which i am used to already and won't be distracted by the traffic going by outside...lol. Maybe the good outweighs the bad...i don't know yet, we will see.

Hurry up and wait....

I have been back to work for about 2 weeks now...and i bet i have done about 2 days worth of work since then. We sit at least 5 hours a day with nothing to do cuz the work isn't there for us to do. It's in the building...but it just isn't getting to our section fast enough. AND they keep calling people back to work....SO...we all just sit around and talk...or we go for walks around the building...or over to Union Station to look around. A few of the girls even went over to Crown Center to look around....but they made the mistake of staying over there for about 3 hours which got them into trouble.

The snow we got the other day put a damper on traffic. We have windows at work now and we can see Hwy 35 and we watched it get snow covered. April and I left at 12 that day cuz the roads were getting yucky. We slipped around a little on Broadway...it has a lot of uphill from IRS....and of course we hit all the red lights. 71 wasn't as bad but it was still snow covered down the middle and down the edges. Snow was blowing across.....I hate snow...at times we were snow blind, specially when the big trucks went around us. People drive way too fast on the highways when it snows. We saw a few wrecks on the way home too. One was a 4-wheel drive vehicle. A couple of them had done a 180 and were headed the wrong way on the road. We got home in one piece.

We were offered a detail at work for the Recruitment office. They wanted 4 people....Not sure how many signed up for it...but April and I both got it. We start that on Monday...7am to 3:30. Wish it was the same hours...but it will be ok for a few weeks which is all it is supposed to last. We shall see. I would love to get out of Data Conversion if i could and maybe then i could get on full time. I think that department is what is keeping me from getting a full time job. Cross your fingers. Maybe something good will come of this detailed job!!!

Hi Ho...Hi Ho...

It's back to work I go. yippee...

Started back to work Tuesday morning at 7:30 am. Driving downtown is not FUN. I am riding in with April and we left at 5:15 am just in case we got lost or something. We did have just a little bit of trouble but it wasn't too hard to find Union Station and the parking lot we were supposed to park in to go get our badges. We got there at 5:50 am and went into the tunnel to the guard desk. Of course they didn't have our badges there...surprise surprise. So we had to sign out temp badges. We couldn't go park in the IRS parking lot cuz we didn't have our K-Tag (a digital disc that suctions to your windshield so the arm on the gate can read it and it will rise and let you into the parking garage) so we went back to our car and got our stuff out so we could go into work. So we got timed into the guard desk at 6:00 am and Cis (our section Chief) got there just a few minutes later and she took us in with her. She said...Why are you here so darned early? We told her we just missed her so much we had to get there early. She laughed at us. (we weren't the only early ones by the way) We went into the tunnel and got onto the moving floor. It's called a people mover but we felt like we were on the Jetsons. (We did a whole lot of walking this day so this walkway was a blessing). Cis took us on a tour sort of....a mini tour you might say. We stowed our stuff in her office and went out to the cafeteria to wait till time to go to work. While sitting there I saw Mike and Tracy (Camden) get out of the elevator and talked to them for a bit. We finally got taken to our classroom for several hours of boring repetitive mandatory informative speeches...on things like ethics, sexual harassment on the job, security, etc.etc.etc. of which we sit through EVERY year we go back to work. Then after lunch we sit through another hour or two of going over all the new changes to the tax forms (the new things we have to enter onto the computer) Then we have to walk another mile to where we are going to do some training before we go to do live work. Plus we were supposed to get our new badges so we could start work at 6 am. on Wednesday....buttttt... It didn't happen that way because we had a computer glitch and we couldn't do our entity test like we were supposed to do because when we tried...it messed up the new hires testing so we had to stop so they could get their scores and become new IRS employees...lol. And the people in the badge room were having trouble with their computers also...so none of us got our badges. Needless to say we had to come in at 7:30 yet again on Wednesday...ugh....all that traffic again to fight. Well it was then time to go home. We went out on the people mover again and left the Union Station Parking lot....we got lost leaving because Broadway seems to have another name when you first get on it. Its W Penway for a block or two. It took a few turn arounds but we figured it out finally. We fight the traffic and stop lights back to 71 hwy. and come to stopped traffic entering the triangle backed up to Bannister rd. We decided to get off on Bannister and go the back roads around to main street in Grandview. A few miles out of the way, but at least you weren't sitting in the traffic jam...it was like a parking lot. We cringed because it was gonna be the same way the next day. It took us over an hour to get home.

Wednesday was not any better than Tuesday as far as the walking and waiting and doing nothing. We finally got to do our entity test which only took an hour or so. The rest of the time was spent reading and walking around looking things over and waiting to get our badges. I finally go down to get my badge and she takes my picture....the computer messes it up and won't put the date on it....so she tries again...poof...my picture disappears...so i sit and she takes it again. Makes it this time and makes the badge. I go out to use it to get through the portals....it won't work....she goes back into the computer and moves a few numbers around and drags and drops things here and there....i try again...still won't work. Her supervisor comes and takes my badge and looks it up in the computer...its said deleted. She goes in and fixes that. It then takes it another 10 minutes to register in the system....finally it works and i can get into the portal. What shoud have taken about 15 minutes took me about 50 min. Oh well. wasn't doing anything much anyway. LOL. Another mile walk back to the work area. Sit and talk. read and talk. Fun Fun Fun....NOT! Let me just say...the new building isn't too bad.....but its HUGE and everywhere you need to go...you have to WALK WALK WALK. So as far as getting exercise....that i am doing. At the end of the day we got moved to where were gonna be for a while till more people come back to work.

Thursday we went in at our normal hours....6 to 2:30. Hardly any traffic to fight going in and it was very minimal on the way home and we parked in the IRS parking garage...but Aprils K-tag didn't work....lol. The guard let us in. We got there and there was no work. So we sat some more today. I think i worked on live work about 3 hours today all together. The rest of the time we were sitting and talking. Makes for a very long day. It was very nice to be home by 3:30 though. Hopefully tomorrow we will have work to do and won't have to sit around so much.

Unexpected trip

Amanda had an interview in Columbia and she emailed me from work and asked me if i wanted to ride with her and go see Ruthie while she had her interview. So i called Ruth to see if her and Stacy were doing anything. She said Stacy was on her way to West Virginia but that she wasn't doing anything. So I packed up and rode with Amanda to Columbia to her hotel room. Ruth came and picked me up. She had to go Clogging so i went and watched. It was fun to see them clog again. We went to eat afterwards and i had a very good Chicken Quesadilla and Ruth had some chicken wings. We went there with her clogging teacher...sorry can't remember her name...and Chris met us there (she is a teacher that Ruth worked with and clogs with). That was fun too. After we ate we went to her house and chilled. Ruth had a terrible migrain but she tried not to show it. I could tell it was really bothering her cuz her eyes were getting those dark circles around them like they do when you don't feel good. She is a trooper. We just watched tv and talked. Finally we went to bed around 12:30.

We got up and kind of lazed around. I cut her hair and she cut mine and we were going to do some color and highlights...but i could tell her head was really killing her. So i decided not to put her through the agony of me working on her head. I told her to just go lay down for a while. She finally did after i told her to a couple more times. We put off the colorizing. While she slept i watched some tv and napped too. Don't think she felt too much better when she got up cuz we fixed some lunch and she didn't eat. SOOOO....we just watched tv (she layed on the floor and had a pillow over her eyes...lol) and talked some more and we finally took showers. Amanda called just as Ruth got into the shower for directions to her house.

After a side trip the wrong way...LOL...Amanda got there and Ruth and I were playing Diploma Dogs (a fun game) so Amanda joined in. We played a couple games (which Ruth won both of) and we got ready to leave for home.

I had fun Ruth really i did even though you felt like doodoo. She did tell me she got rid of her headache the next day and asked us to come back so we could have FUN...LOL It was just fun to get away from home and be with you.

The weather is really acting up...YUCK. I HATE winter. It's pretty to look at but i would like it better if it was just in pictures...LOL Hope everyone stays warm and safe.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Hope everyone has a very safe and happy new year. Time sure flies when you aren't looking.

Was good to see everyone over Christmas. I even got to see Rob and everyone at his house on the Web Cam the other night. So i got to see everyone in the family, cept Todd and fam.

Guess i am just gonna be here at home to bring in the new year. A couple of friends are gonna come over and we are gonna play some cards and maybe do some beauty make overs. Hair highlights and foot soaking...stuff like that. If anyone is gonna do anything more exciting....tell me about it so i can be jealous....lol.

Love to all!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

I switched over to the new blog thing and lost my ticker but found out how to get it back. Took me a while though. I added a new picture too. It's early morning and i am wide awake. I hate when that happens...lol.

I can't believe Christmas is almost here. Just a couple more days and I am nowhere near ready for it.

Tonight we have a dinner at the Church and tomorrow we will be delivering meals to people in our surrounding communities.

I have been helping my friend Marcia look for a trailer and a lot to put it on. She will be moving this way soon from Greenridge MO down by Sedalia. She is buying one from New Castle and moving onto a lot about 5 blocks from me. I will be glad to have her closer. We do a lot of stuff together and it will be fun to have her close. And we will ride to work together which will be so much better since they moved downtown. We went to her sisters Sunday afternoon and made christmas cookies and fudge and chocolate coated chex mix which i will bring to let everyone sample at Christmas time. That was super fun. Her grandkids were with us and we all were busy in the kitchen making the stuff. Everyone had a job to do and we all took turns stirring the fudge and adding the different chips and nuts to it. Why did we never have traditions like that when we were kids? It's fun and may turn into one of my traditions with them.

I need to go weigh but haven't done that as yet. I will do it maybe today before i go to the church to eat. LOL.

Hope everyone has a MERRY CHRISTMAS! See most of you soon!!!

Love ya all!

Compact cars VS mini van...

I took my van in to the shop today to get the bumper and fender and hood fixed. They gave me a rental car to drive....oh my goodness...it was a red NEON. a dinky little toy car. I had to bend in half to get into the dang thing....and then i couldn't see what was around me cuz it was so low....anddddddddd....i felt like my BUTT was dragging the gound as i was driving. I could have gotten a van but the girl said i would have to pay 15.00 a day extra out of my own pocket...unless i could call the guys insurance company and explain to them my dilema. SO..that is what i did. I went home...called them and told them....LOOK...i am a big woman and i don't fit in a compact car. Well she said hang on and let me check with the agent on my case. well the lady was home sick and wouldn't be there for a day or two. and her back up called in sick today too. I told her that the lady at the car rental place said they had a van but no bigger cars at this time. Well whe said...hang on and let me see what i can do. Well she got back on the phone and said...I got you authorized for the van...take the car back and get the van. I said...Thank you very much. So i have a van to drive till mine is fixed. It's a new van too....got about 6125 miles on it. woohoo. it drives nice. took it to grandview today. It's the same color as mine is so when Amanda got home she had to do a double take cuz she thought it was mine and that i hadn't taken it in to get fixed.

and the ticker says.........

look up people....i went and weighed today. NOW...its 120 down.....Woo Hoo.

Went out to lunch today with my friend Marcia. We were gonna go to Partners but it was super busy so we opted for Applebee's. We had the Chicken wraps and a salad. it was pretty yummy. and i have enough for about 2 more meals....she had half hers left and so did i. we should have just shared one meal and got a second salad....but we didn't think about that. Any way she was on her way to her mom and sisters house in Raymore and stopped here to find some boots at Family Center so she got her stuff (her purses from Mels party and her stuff from my party) that i had here. Its always fun to go out with friends.

Amanda is in the city tonight cuz she has an interview tomorrow with Childrens Mercy....and hopefully with Dr. McDreamy....hehehe. I actually cooked a meal last night. First time in a really long time that i have cooked anything. Cooked her a roast and taters and carrots. YUMMY.

Love you all....see you soon.

SNOW SNOW SNOW

Everywhere i look there is that yucky white stuff. I got about 12 inches of the white menace. I HATE SNOW!!! Here is my story of going to the store during the blizzard Thursday afternoon/evening.

I had to go out and get groceries in this stuff. I should have gone earlier that day but i still wasn't feeling too good. This bronchial stuff is hard to kick. I was running out of everything so i decided i needed to go to walmart in the blizzard. Man that stuff was coming down and wasn't even like real snow...you know white and fluffy...it was more like little compact snow balls, jillions of them, smacking you in the face cuz that wind was atrocious. AND i had to clean off the van, then try to get the door open, it was frozen shut, and then try to get the ice off the windshield that was there from the day before. and get the wipers to move which were frozen tight. After i chipped off the ice and got it so i could see out, and it was warmed up, i took off for walmart, finding out that as i moved forward at any speed that the water on the windshield froze again. The wipers still had bits of ice frozen to them so they only added to the mess. SOOOOOOOOOOO....i had to look out through small openings in the ice so i could get the rest of the way to walmart. the roads were snow covered and getting deeper. I got all the stuff i went after and went out to get in the van...tried to open the back door and it was frozen solid...couldn't open it at all. either side. so here i am with the little snowballs hitting me in the face and trying to get groceries into the van through the drivers door. i had to sit in the seat and pull the cart to the door and put them in up over the steering wheel and over into the other seat. i had like 6 or 8 bags, some of which were bottles of water, milk and tea all the while the snow pellets hitting me in the face cuz the wind was naturally coming from the direction of my open door. i started the van and the ice had frozen over on the windshield again of course so i had to get out and scrape the windshield yet again...unstick the wipers which had frozen the window again. i got them unstuck and tried to get the ice that was stuck to the blades off so i could at least try to keep the build up off on the way home instead of looking through the ice streaks. Well it still was hard to see on the way home but not quite as bad as on the way there.

I get home and find that the porch that i swept off to get out of the house...was now covered and deeper than it was the first time i swept it off. so i have to grab the bags that i had lifted over the steering wheel and to the other seat BACK over the steering wheel and out the door. (needless to say i had to make two trips) The water milk and tea were heavy. i had to try to get up the steps of which i could not see, without falling and get to the door. i took that load in and got the broom again. swept them off and got the rest of the stuff out of the van and back in the house. ok...about 3 hours later i look outside....can't see through the ice covered window on the storm door...tried to open it...the snow is up above the bottom of the door and i can only push it open about 3 inches. OK...i am stuck in the house which doesn't bother me cuz i don't plan on going out again for the rest of the night.

Next morning i still can't open the door and i had to call Pat, my neighbor and see if he would come shovel me out. he did and i spread salt on the porch to melt the ice that he uncovered. he also cleaned the 4 inches of snow off my windsheild. but the blades were frozen up again. UGHH!!!

Did i mention i HATE snow? lol Hope everyoe else is getting well, or staying well, and driving safely on this yuck!

Amanda will be home in a day or so...i sure miss that kid.

Sick yet again...

We had a good weekend at Mom's till i started getting sick. We had a good time with Mom and Ruth and Bob and Mel and the boys on Thanksgiving. Friday i started feeling like my throat was scratchy and i kept coughing off and on....went out to Glo's Friday for turkey and she was sick. By the time i left there and got home to my house...i was a sick puppy. I was coughing and had chills and my throat was sore from sinus drainage and i had a super duper headache. My nose would not stop draining. By Saturday morning i was a very sick momma. I was taking advil and the decongestant tabs the Dr gave me for the last sickness i had. I couldn't stop chilling. I slept most of the day and finally broke the fever. I then had to visit the bathroom frequently. I feel a little better tonight but not completely. I still have the cough and runny nose and the cough is rather dry at times. Hurts my chest to cough and my head still hurts off and on. I get dizzy when i get up and walk around much. I have done nothing but sleep and cough. I haven't felt like eating much either. It hurts just having my glasses sitting on my nose. I just LOVE family get togethers when someone is sick and passes it around....the boys were hacking all over the place and then Glo was sick.....i was doomed!!

Other than all that....it was good to see everyone again. Missed seeing you Jen and Bob and D, but glad you missed all the sick. maybe we can see you soon.

I haven't weighed again so i will do that again soon.

Laid off in time to be sick...ugh

Got laid off Thursday. They were getting stuff ready to move as we were finishing the documents. Lots of noise...lots of distractions...not much work getting done...I left at 10:30 cuz i felt like crap. And now i really feel like crap. Guess i better go to the Dr on Monday and try to get rid of this before too much longer....lots of people say it goes into something else...like walking pneumonia. I don't need that. I haven't been sick for like ever and i don't like it. makes me want to scream....and i would if my throat didn't hurt and i didn't cough every time i talk. UGHHHHHHHH!!!

Anyway...i had to postpone my car inspection cuz i was still working. So i go this next Wednesday. The bumper is cracked beside the license plate and the fender over the wheel is kinda pushed out a bit and the hood is pushed in a little with a bend up on the top (not really noticeable though unless you look for it) the bumper has a bunch of scratches on it too.

I am feeling better (aches from the wreck only) now and so are the others that were with me. I am still having a few headaches from the bump on the head though...not sure whats up with that. Will ask the Dr when i go to see about this bug i have.

Hope i am better by Thanksgiving....Love you all.