Naked Hot Tub

No, I did not say "Naked IN the hot tub."  I said, "Naked hot tub."  That's right.  Naked...
When we moved into our house 6-7 years ago, or however many years, included with the home was an enclosed hot tub.  Unfortunately, the hot tub had some "electical" problems and would cost more to fix than it would cost to replace so it has never been used.  
Now to explain where I am about the hot tub, I need to rewind to the great windstorm we had several weeks ago.  Our fence was blown down.  It was not only blown down, but it was blown around like a bunch of toothpicks.  Here are some visual aids:

So as you can see, we will be getting a new fence.  Now I am thrilled at the prospect of a new fence.  The old wood one needed some repairs and new paint.  I have wanted to replace it with a white vinyl fence for quite some time but we just haven't had the money.  Then the winds came and changed all that.  Our home owner's insurance covers replacement and I get the fence of my dreams!

You might be asking what that has to do with a hot tub.  Well, the hot tub, which is on the other side of the house has been enclosed with the same green, lattice topped, wood fence and of course, there is no way that I can keep that look on one side of the house while adding a beautiful white vinyl fence on the other.  So the hot tub enclosure has to go.  Which now allows a naked hot tub sitting out on the west side patio for all to see.  Another visual aid is needed here:

It is exposed.  The nakedness of it all.  Hanging out for all to see.  The hot tub cover has long since deteriorated and fallen apart, I'm sure raccoons have staked the place out as a winter home, and the last two years, we even had a tree growing in the middle of this useless piece of junk.  It will be hauled away the first of next week but until then, here it is. And notice the lovely green paint...on the house.  Seriously!
Oh, and the next part of the story still revolves around the fence. 
When the posts of the old wooden fence were dug up, I was informed the cement holding them into the ground was poured very close, in fact too close to the sprinkler lines.  So not only do we get to replace our fence but we get to replace some of the sprinkler system too. If it's not one thing, it's your mother.
I'll keep y'all updated on the fence saga.

Are you a ninja too?

Just thinking...Why is it when you run into a spiderweb, you suddenly turn into a ninja?  Just a random thought and a smile moment.  It made me think of all the movies I have seen with people thrashing about with wild, creepy looks on their faces.  I have to smile out loud when I think about it.  By the way, I looked at my phone as soon as I got up this morning.  Uughh.  Well, tomorrow is another day.

Love/Hate Relationship

Thought for today...If couples who are in love are called 'love birds', then couples who always argue should be called 'angry birds.'  :) 
(This is for Max and Ryan.)

Today, my internet went down and I forgot the rest of my computer still worked.  Where was my head. Probably more wishful thinking than anything.  Go figure.  And on my way to work today, I was thinking, what did people (I) ever do in the car without cellphones!!   I am having a love/hate relationship with electronic devices today.  I woke up and had to immediately check my email on my smartphone.  As I got ready for work I periodically checked my email again. I got into the car and at the first red light, I looked at my text messages.  I refrained from looking again while on the freeway although I have to admit, if I heard that little chime, I would have been tempted to look and see who wanted my attention at that very moment. 
Sometimes I think I have to talk to someone on the phone just because I am in the car!!  Now that is alarming.  I am on the computer from the moment I get to work until the second I get up to leave and I have my smartphone at the ready to receive calls, pages, and texts while I am frantically emailing, producing Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and intranet training material while using Google, Adobe and a miriad of other computer software.  And the weird thing is, after I leave my desk, when I get into the car to go home, I check my phone to see if I have missed any email or texts!  This is bizarre.  I have been away from my desk and computer for all of 5 minutes. 
So, as I am driving home tonight, I am making an effort to try to have a little non-technical time.  Everything seems to be going smoothly.  I have put my phone in my purse and I can't see it.  I have turned on the radio and one of my favorite songs is playing.  Maybe this will be the night - the night I can make it home without technical interruptions.  The radio sounds great.  But then I catch myself looking at my purse...What the....why am I looking?  There have been no chimes, no rings.  I AM ADDICTED!  Maybe by admitting it to my blog, I can start admitting it to myself.  I love/hate my electronic devices.  They are good/evil. 
Tomorrow it will start again, I know it will.  But tomorrow maybe I can put my phone in my purse a little earlier and turn the radio up a little louder.  Maybe I could wait to check my email until I actually got to work.  It's worth a try.  I really want to be smarter than my smartphone and enjoy a moment to watch the sunrise or pay more attention to the traffic.  :) 

Happy Halloween

It's my favorite time of year and I'm looking forward to this weekend!  Halloween has always been my favorite holiday of all holidays.  No pressure to get the right gift, no stress having a big meal for the family. No expectations - just that inner self being free to giggle a little louder, and behind a chosen mask or a simple costume, letting go of some hidden inhibitions and being able to eat a little more chocolate than you normally would allow yourself to induldge in.
They say Halloween is for kids...I say it is for the kid inside you.  Let it out!  Enjoy! 

The Annual Easter Hunt

Easter has come and gone but the memories of the Grand Easter Egg hunt at Grandma's will live on! 

This tradition began because I wanted to make sure that all of my grandkids had a fun experience when they went hunting for Easter Eggs.   My plan - make it fun and get a lot of candy!

I started stuffing the plastic eggs that I have collected over the years (+600 of them) about a week and a half before the big day.  I started early because I wanted to make sure that my grandkids out of state got some Easter Egg stash.  After Bill and UPS got three packages of special eggs safely sent away, I could then focus on finishing my Easter Bunny task.  Friday night before the big day, Katie and Alec acted as helpers and we worked on stuffing plastic eggs well into the night. I was lucky for their help! They worked so hard they could hardly keep their eyes open at the end of the evening. (We actually ran out of candy a couple of times so thanks for a Fresh Market just down the street.

)

Saturday - the big day...Everyone gathered at noon for lunch and the hunt preperations and the kids were excited as they could be.  We decided to eat first so maybe the kids could get something healthly in them before they were inundated with candy.  They were more excited than i thought and their thought of a good lunch was a potato chip and then to save room for candy.  I love their thinking.  While the kids were attempting to eat, my boys, Ed. Dan, Andy, Mark and Eric took the 540 special eggs and did a wonderful job of making the Easter Hunt fun, exciting, fair,good enough for the big kids and awesome enough for the little onesl  All the hard work was coming toghetherfor the best hunt ever!  Rules were given out...Little kids 6 and under search in the front yard and Big kids 6 1/2 years and older to search the back yard.  Each kid was to get 39 eggs and a bonus of 4 large eggs.  Ready, Set, GO!!!  Kids race out the back door and out the front door and are now scrambling through the yard looking in every nook and cranny, on the ledges and in the grass, and in the flower beds. 

What a great day!!

Reflections

This is a picture of the sunset as I was leaving work last Friday. The interesting thing is the picture is actually a photo of the reflection of the sunset in the window of my office. I thought I would share it.

Thought for Today

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!