Comic of the Day

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

Calm

When I start to go insane because my job is a confusing mass of Skittle flavored anecdotes with fluffy verbiage disclosures and incomprehensible jargon,

I look at pictures of white sand beaches

soft rolling waves and swaying palm trees.

I catch the sweet salty air as

I breathe in the warm breezes off the cool blue water.

Peace.

Family

Remember,

Your relatives had no choice

in the matter either!

What a Ridiculous World We Live In

We drive on parkways and park on driveways.
We eat "sour" cream.
We spend millions upon millions of dollars to pay people to play games, and spend hours discussing those games and stats and possibilities, yet pay our protectors minimum wage to keep us free and safe, allowing us to go to watch the millionairs play their games, while the proctectors fight and die for our right to do so.
We work ourselves to death to attain worldy things, then can't take them with us when we die.

Quote for the Day

As I live and am man,

this is an unexaggerated tale -

my dreams become

the substances of my life.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Thunder and Lightning!!

Heavenly Father put on quite a show for us last night. Three massive thunderstorms in a row crashed into us last night and grumbled on throughout the night. The fireworks began around 8:30p and rolled on 'till after midnight. We got about 2 inches of rain and the night was lit like daylight with all the lightening.

Dime sized hail and whipping winds flew around our little house and bounded off our cars. The poor kitties didn't know where to run or hide, they skittered from room to room after each crack of lightening and roll of thunder. D was so excited, he filmed the rain bands out the front door, the rain was horizontal with the gusting wind. The trees bent and shook but held their own against the onslaught. A small river formed in our back yard and drew the loose leaves down to the now rushing crick.

Each time the rain started to let up, D and I would venture outside to watch the clouds and colors. Deep blues, greens and reds stretched across the sky, highlighted by each flash of electric fire. D had the laptop up with the Doppler radar reports patterning the next cell looming over our roof. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees during the rainfall, then rose along with the humidity in the interim. The water steamed from the hot pavement, creating a mystic haze on our tree lined street. Each crack of lightening brought along its sonic booms of thunder, rattling both windows and teeth. Car alarms and firetrucks wailed in the distance. The streetlight cover was blown askew, throwing a harsh orange glare on the corner. Thunder rumbled in the distance as my eyes grew heavy. Sleep finally came.

Thank you Father, for the show.

Friday

My living room will be delivered today. I never thought I could be so excited to sit on a real couch again. 3 weeks in a camping chair is my maximum.

A nice man named Johnny knocked on our door last night and asked if we wanted out lawn raked and mowed. The grass has not been cut since before we moved in and it was turning into a jungle. We jumped at the chance. I was expecting to pay at least $100 bucks for the front and back yards. This wonderful kind man, humbly ( almost embarrassed) asked if $35-$40 would be ok. Slack-jawed I said "YES! That would be wonderful!" He and his wife mowed the grass, cleared the yards and cleaned up everything. We gave him $60. He will come back on Saturday to trim the bushes and clean up along the crick. Then he will come back every two weeks to redo the grass and everything.

I was so impressed with his willingness to work, and work hard. It spoke volumes of his character and integrity. Both he and his wife worked together to earn money for their family. They probably both have full time jobs during the day and kids, then drive around in the evenings, looking for unkempt yards to take care of. Amazing work ethic and dedication to honesty. What a wonderful example to me. I look forward to seeing him on Saturday and getting to know he and his wife better.

Quote for the Day

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
-John Wooden



Thanks Nick!

Happy First Day of SUMMER!!

Summertime and the living is easy!

The next-door neighbor kids have already run through our sprinkler, and D sat under it in his lawn chair on Monday. It will be in the 90's here all this week with growing humidity.

I LOVE IT!!

Quote for the Day and Thoughts

We have this mistaken

notion that everybody in the

world has to go to college.

-Katherine Ann Porter

I did not go to college. 1 class at Palomar and two classes through an online school do not a college degree make. At first I was very excited to go back to school and have the flexibility to do it online and at my own time and pace. I learned otherwise.

The straw that really broke the camel's back was the blatant liberal, left-wing negative views compiling the information I had to read, report on and be graded on. Leaning toward the conservative side, I had a difficult time with the material. I would like to finish my schooling, but will have to find an option that will be more time-flexible and not so morally grating.

Also, do I really need a degree? By MSN salary comparison nationwide, I make as much, if not more with benefits and perks, as an executive with a 4 year degree. By Charlotte standards, I am in the MBA/Senior Manager equivalent range. Not meaning to brag, but would a piece of paper REALLY make a difference, salary-wise?

It is the learning that I would benefit from. The opening of worlds and windows. The larger understanding of art, history, psychology, business, economics and philosophy. Much more thought and study will need to be spent on the value of learning, vs. the value of the degree. I hope to say that learning is of much more value and will look for opportunities to take classes that interest me and can hold my attention. Archeology, anthropology, geology and pottery classes would be wonderful. I will look into the local community college and see what's available for Fall.

I hope I never stop learning, or always have the desire to learn. Both work.

To-Do List

1. Buy new couch
2. Buy new dining room table, chairs too
3. Find new: Chiropractor, doctor, optometrist, dentist
4. Get D's insurance squared away
5. Sit in the sun
6. Follow up on Mosquito spraying
7. Email pics of house and us to family and friends
8. Email Maintenance on water heater
9. Refried beans
10. Buy real Grill, not fake one
11. Check to SB and acat IRA to Fidelity
12. Change cell phone number
13. See Shrek 3 and Oceans 13
14. Reserve Harry Potter on Amazon
15. Find local book store
16. Re-read Lord of the Rings
17. Become immune to Mosquito Bites
18. Catch lightening bugs in a jar, then release
19. Ride bikes around neighborhood and park
20. Buy pastry scraper
21. Buy wood cutting board/bread board
22. Submit reimbursement for lost silverware, etc box, and missing tools
23. Find lawn care folks who have own tools
24. Send complaint to Neiman Marcus regarding "No Visa" policy.
25. Find another source for Dolce Gabbana's
26. New SmartCare shirt for D
27. Write letter of explanation to submit with rent check for cost of ruined shirt
28. Put up pictures/mirrors
29. Figure out living Room layout w/ sofa vs loveseat
30. Additional shelf for surround-sound speaker
31. Queen size bed and box spring? or Sleep Number bed!!
32. D Handyman contact/Spec home contact
33. D Dress shoes
34. Hammock
35. Brush kitties
36. Lowe's Motor Speedway tour
37. Call: Andi, Mom, Diane, Shell, Ang
38. Find Youth in Revolt book, look up price.
39. Take a bubble bath
40. Stop stressing about all this stuff. You can't take it with you anyways.

Got These on Saturday

Comes in White too!

Perfect for Today

TEAMWORK

Simply stated,

it is less me and more we.

This makes me feel better

Drama

So I almost quit my job today. I was brought to tears today. In the past 30 days I have turned 30 years old, been disowned by a good friend, moved cross country, left the only life I've ever known behind, took on huge responsibilites at work, went to the hospital in an ambulance, become the sole breadwinner, left my family and friends, moved to a house that was never stepped in from when the last tenants moved out, lost the house we owned, left most of our furniture behind, driven 2500 miles with three unhappy cats in cages, lived out of hotels for a week, and am still trying to be the supportive sex-kitten wife that my husband wants. I feel a bit worn down. The straw allowing me to breathe under the water I am in is growing shorter and I am drowning.
Today I was basically told that my boss is no longer my boss and my job is completely different and I will work with people I've never met before. This was conveyed through a nasty email from my now former boss. My coworker (who has also moved cross country and is sharing my straw) is 4 months preganant and cried 3 times today. Corporate merger hell.
Here's the bright side: The new people I will work with are awesome (at least on the phone) and I will be nicely compensated for my strife. Also, my former boss is footing the bill for our move cross country to the tune of $4,000. heehee sucker.

Home Sweet Home

Today it took me 8 minutes to get home from the parking lot of my work to the driveway of my house. Why did we wait so long? I'm glad to be here now. It is so beautiful. I sat in my backyard and listened to the birds sing as I read my book. There is a chipmunk living in the tree outside our kitchen window, driving the kittens crazy. The lightening bugs come to dance for me at night and our neighbors stop to say hello. There is a park within 200 feet of my front door and a shoe store down street. This is pretty dang close to Heaven, and I couldn't be happier!

Girl Pain

I broke my nail. These four words cause men to laugh at women's weakness and women to cringe in empathetic pain. I hope these pictures help you callous men to understand what we women go through to be beautiful for you.
And yes it did bleed, and no I did not cry. But I wanted to.

Quote for the Day

No matter how many pairs of underwear you have, if you don't do your laundry, eventually you will run out.

Work Insanity

When my boss asked me to take over the banking side of Transititions, he neglected to tell me that it is a F@#$%@ mess! I will so be getting a raise for this!

In Awe

I saw lightening bugs for the first time in my life tonite.
God is so amazing that He would make a little bug light up the night just for me.