Thankful Thursday

It's Thankful Thursday again! My how time flies when you are having fun!

Today I am thankful for my job. It's hare to have to go to work every day but really, considering the economy in this country right now, and especially in our lovely state of Michigan, I am thankful to have such a good job. The pay is decent and the benefits are second to none. I get great medical and dental coverage for Rich and I. My retirement plan is one where I contribute 5% of my salary and the university contributes 10%. I like all of the people I work with and my supervisor is fair and a very easy person to work for. I have been working here for 4-1/2 years. If I have to work for another 15 years then this is the place to be!

Go visit Julie at Another Chance Ranch to see more Thankful Thursday entries and add one of your own.

This cold is kicking my ass. I have felt like crap every day this week. Monday-Wednesday my head was so plugged up I could hardly stand it. You know how hard it is to sleep at night when you can't breath through your nose? I finally gave in and used nasal spray because nothing else was working. Even then, I would wake up with a dry mouth and sore throat from sinus drainage and mouth breathing! Ug!!

Today my head is clearer but my throat is sore and I am starting to cough. The cold is moving into my lungs now. In a few days it should be gone. In the meantime, I am tired from not sleeping well. Maybe tonight I will take some AdvilPM and knock myself out for the night!

We are supposed to be getting some heavy duty snow tonight and tomorrow. It would be nice if it would be enough snow where I can't make it into work, but probably just enought to make the trip difficult. Oh well, winter in Michigan. Just one more month and we are on our way to Spring!

We are going to buy a laptop computer this weekend and while we're at it, I may buy a new camera too. I want one that will take close up pictures nice and clear. I think probably Canon or Nikon is a good brand. My current one is a Samsung and well, they should stick to making TV's! Oh well, it was cheap and you get what you pay for!

Missing The Computer (sort of)

Well, I took my computer in to the repair place on Monday night. They are going to figure it out and call by Thursday. He said something about it not getting enough power or something. It all depends on what it will cost to fix if it's even worth it. I really don't want to get a new computer right now. I like mine, I have it all set up the way we like it and I don't want to start over with a new one. Anyway, I can use my computer here at work to check email and stuff but Rich really misses it!

Last night the wind was blowing so hard it sounded like a tornado or something. We usually keep the window open a crack while were sleeping, but we had to close it last night because it was too noisy! It got much colder, too. And we are supposed to be getting 5-9 inches of snow on Thursday night. Crap.

I can't wait for Spring to get here!

Computer Broken Blues

No Weekly Winner this week.

My home PC is sick. Went the whole weekend without and Rich and I are going through computer withdrawl.

Had a great weekend anyway.

Friday night we went to dinner with the usual gang, and Tom and Debbie went with us too. It was nice to see them.

Saturday breakfast with Marie then shopping at Kohls. I bought some really cute shoes, black pumps which I needed because I threw my old ones away after I wore then the last time. I spent the majority of the day after that monkeying around with my computer to no avail, because it needs attention from someone who knows more than me! In the evening we went bowling and to dinner at the Mongolian BBQ with the guys Rich works with and their wives. We had fun even though I have yet another cold and did not feel all that great.

Sunday grocery shopping and cleaning. Another exciting weekend.

TGIF

Thank God its' Friday! This week seemed to drag on and on...

This weekend the temp is supposed to rise into the low 30's. It will seem like a heat wave compared to this last week temps of 5-15 degrees.

I am liking my new car. Rich got a Trailblazer too. We sold both of our old cars to guys that he works with. Cheap cars (under $300) that actually run are pretty hard to come buy, so selling them was not a problem!

We have no specific plans this weekend. I made reservations for our anniversary weekend to go to Belterra, which is a resort casino in Indiana. Just for one night. Plus plans are in the works for Vegas in September and a cruise with the kids in November. That's a long way away yet and I do not want to rush the year, but it's something to look forward to.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for this guy:

This is my husband of almost 31 years, Rich.

I am thankful for him because he is the nicest, most loving man I could ever hope to be married to. He treats me as good today as he did all those years ago when I first knew him.

He's a wonderful father. His kindness and shining example of how to be a good person has helped to shape our children into the well-adjusted, kind young adults that they have become.

He's smart and handy and anyone who knows him likes him.

He is my rock and my best friend. How blessed I have been.

Go visit Julie at Another Chance Ranch to see more Thankful Thursday entries and add one of your own.

Cold, cold and more cold!

It's been very cold the last few days. Apparently there is a cold snap all over the country. The temp has been hovering in the low teens. The furnace seems to be running constantly. I can't wait to get the gas bill!

I took the day off of work today because I had a colonoscopy this morning. Everything is normal, thankyouverymuch! The procedure itself was no big deal, but the prep yesterday was the pits! First I had to be on a liquid diet for the whole day. Only broth, jello, pop, water, coffee and tea (no cream). I was pretty much hungry for the whole day. Liquid diets do not satisfy for long.

Anyway, the stuff I had to drink was the worse. First I filled a 32 ounce jar with water, then dissolved this powder in it. Then I had to drink 8 oz. of the stuff every 15 minutes. It tasted like alka seltzer with extra sugar. So gross! I managed to get it down and 2 hours later I had to do the same thing again! I used a straw, made it very cold and held my breath, but it was tough to gag down the last 16 ounces. But I did get it down and ..well, let's just say it did it's job very well and leave it at that!

I had to be there at 6:30 am. They had to poke me 4 times to get the IV in. Apparently I was a little dehydrated and so my veins weren't cooperating at all. But they managed and everything went well after that. Now I don't have to have another one for 7 years. Yay!!!!

Shauna and I went to Laural Park Mall in the afternoon to walk around. I bought a couple of books and a wallet which was marked down from $45 to $15. We had lunch at the Calif. Pizza Kitchen. I love their Mediterranean salad.

The nurse told Rich that I was not to cook or clean today :) so I guess I'll take a nap now!

Weekly Winners

Brothers

Birthday cards on the mantle

Frosty window

Thankful Thursday

It's a new thing that Julie started called Thankful Thursday. All you have to do is write about something you are thankful for.

Today I am thankful for this:


I know it's a material thing and all, but I just got it and it's the first new car I've had in about 7 years. And I am thankful the the circumstances that allowed me to purchase this car.

Hop on over to Another Chance Ranch and tell us what your thankful for today!

Weekly Winners

Angel


Cups and Saucers

Old dishes to give away

Forgotten Christmas decoration

I Am Blessed

Today is my 51st birthday.

The sun is shining and it is a beautiful day.

I have a wonderful husband, awesome children and the most fantastic family anyone could ask for.

We have our health and plenty of love to go around.

I am truly blessed.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

When, oh when am I ever going to stop making stupid mistakes?

This week a made a few mistakes that frustrate me beyond belief. Not because the mistakes were all that tragic, but because I made them at all.

First mistake: Along with my salary at work I get a small incentive, which is extra money I get paid for the typing I do. It usually amounts to between $45 and $55 per check. On my last check, it was $214.00. This is about $150 more than is was supposed to be and as a result, my gross pay was also $150 more than it was supposed to be. For the life of me I could not get that there was only one mistake, in my incentive. I was thinking that there was two mistakes, in my incentive and in my gross pay. So when my supervisor told me that they would take the difference out of my next check, I kept asking her what about my gross pay. Lets just say she had to tell me several times before it dawned on me what she meant. I was embarrassed and felt like a ass. Luckily, she's a great person and we got a good laugh out of it!

Mistake #2. The license plates on both of our cars expire this Saturday, so today on my way home from work I stopped at the SOS office to renew them. Michigan has changed the look of their plates and so one of the cars needed to get a whole new plate, not just the little sticker that goes on it. I did my business, got the plate and two stickers and went home. I decided to put the sticker on the new plate and proceeded to put the WRONG sticker on the plate. All this happened in about 3 seconds because that is how long I think things through before I do anything. And you know those suckers DO NOT peel off, so I had to go back to the SOS office and ask them to issue me a new sticker. It took longer to do that than it did to get the renewal in the first place. Lucky for me the girl was really nice and assured me that I was not the first person to make this stupid mistake.

So when in your life do you finally get to the point that you stop making these mistakes, if ever? I know my problem is that I have to slow down and think about things, but I have never been able to do that and I don't know how to teach myself to.

How about you? What stupid, embarrassing mistakes have you made? And how the hell do I learn to slow myself down? Help!

Seven Things

I have been tagged for this meme by the lovely Laura. I have to list 7 weird things about myself. I don't know if I can come up with 7 things, or maybe I'll come up with a lot more and realize that I am really weird! Oh well here goes:

1. I have to balance my checkbook every month to the penny. If it is one cent off, I find it!
2. When I am sitting down with my legs up, I cross my toes like you cross your fingers!
3. I absolutely HATE driving around parking lots and parking structures looking for a spot to park.
4. I hate to write by hand, If I never had to to write anything again that would be fine with me!
5. I want to retire so I can winter in a warmer state but I don't want to be the age of retirement.
6. I chew gum all of the time and if I go a few days without chewing gum I get withdrawl symptoms!
7. I love to cook but I hate to clean up and would eat out every day just to avoid that!

Ok So here's the seven people I tag: Robyn, Nance, Julie, Crystal, June, Yvonne and Bossy.

Here's another weird thing: Most of the people that I tagged have no idea that this blog even exists!

Weekly Winners.

Fog.



Racoon prints on the front lawn.

Scratch-off Heaven

Yesterday was Rich's birthday.
He loves to buy these scratch off lottery tickets so I bought him some and Shauna got him some too.
He had a total of $50 worth of tickets. After he got home from work today we had a scratch fest! Total won: $46. So we're not millionaires but he had fun, anyway! We went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner last night. I had the Mediterranean Salad which was really good. Then everyone came back for cake and ice cream. It was a nice night. Marie and I went to breakfast this morning and then to BCF because I had some 20% coupons. I got a cute turquoise shirt and a pair of fingerless gloves with the little flap that comes over the fingers to make mittens. I love them and they are supposed to keep your fingers warmer. I hope so because my hands freeze when I walk to and from work.

Brrrr......

It's mighty cold here right now. This morning it was 7 degrees out when I woke up. Luckily, today is the coldest day and it is supposed to get much warmer in the next week. Up to or even into the 50's! All this snow should be gone in no time.

Friday is Rich's birthday. We are going to dinner as usual and then I will have everyone over for cake and ice cream afterwards. He likes to keep it very low key and that's fine with me. I like to keep my birthday low key also.
We have to go see my MIL this weekend. She's 89 and lives in a nursing home that is about 60 miles away from us. I am ashamed to say that we have not seen her since Labor Day weekend. We usually don't go quite this long without visiting her and I know my husband feels bad sometimes. Luckily, she is a pretty content person these days. She's always happy to see us when we get there and never minds, or never realizes that it's been so long since the last time we were there. She is happy just to sit at her table in the activity room, working her word puzzles and listening to her music. She's a pretty spunky lady and wouldn't hesitate to tell someone what she thinks! I bought her a little jewelry case that looks like a monkey and a pretty ring to go inside it. Hopefully she'll like it. If not she probably will tell me so!
Shauna has been having on and off headaches for the last two days. She has migraines and she drank wine on New Years Eve. Poor baby. I think I have had one migraine in my whole life and do not want to have another one. They are no fun.

More Snow

We had a very nice New Years Eve at Don and Linda's. Jim, Helen and Carly were there. We played Wii bowling and a game called SceneIt. Ate some munchies and we left shortly after midnight because it was starting to snow. It took us a while to get home because the roads were starting to get slippery. Shauna's friends were still there. We wished them a happy New Year and goodnight and went to bed.

This morning we woke up to this:

It looks like a ton but actually was only about 5 inches. It sure is pretty. This view is from my upstairs window. I spent the first part of today taking down the Christmas decorations. I was going to take my time and get it done over a few days, but once I get started I don't stop and now it's all down, packed and put away. All that's left is to clean up and put furniture back where it belongs. Then back to work tomorrow with only three days until the weekend.