gone hikin'

my first monday not working    retirement is different, but i slowly will adjust   mainly i'm trying to get myself in a regimen of sorts by beginning today with a hike   Jimmy, Kyle and I went for a brief hike    brief only because Kyle is totally out of shape  45mins into the hike, he was wiped out so we headed back    my cardio needs work, but otherwise i'm good    so i figure i'll take Jimmy and me hiking every morn for at least a couple hours   longer once i'm better in shape    today was tough initially for it was the first walk/hike without my Charlie Brown    but once trekking up the trail, the fresh air and Jimmy's excitement lifted my spirit resulting in a wonderful hike    once i get my first retirement check i'm joining a gym as well    i love pumping iron but i also desire to really condition myself for backpacking and longer hikes    this fall i'd really like to backpack down the Grand Canyon to the bottom and the river    i hear it's about 9hrs one way down and 13hrs return trip     maybe i'll get a few other backpacking trips in before i do the Canyon     a lot will depend upon once i'm enrolled in school    it'll be a home study program, but that will be my main focus until i've completed my bachelor's degree in Metaphysics    then i'm studying photography for awhile and hopefully do some photo expeditions     lots to do   lots of time   now for the money to come together for it all to happen...and it will    i am blessed and will continue counting my blessings....Life is Good!

missing val

i woke this morn dreaming about Val & Kris, friends from Washington state    it's probably about 20yrs now since i've seen them, but ever since reconnecting with them this last summer they show up in my dreams   Val is my friend who i hung around with when i lived in washington    for a short while we weren't seen without the other and developed our friendship    although my memories are limited since my illness, the essence of val and who she is as well as our friendship has eluded me    but it was the same with Cindy    it took actually seeing Cindy again for my memory to return   it'll be the same with Val    but for now, as has been since i left 20yrs ago, i still have that feeling of missing Val     yesterday i had just read in Ernest Holmes book, The Art of Living, that the lonely find love and friendship the utmost important    well i'm not lonely anymore, but i'd say at the time i lived in washington i was lonely and those two things were the most important things in life to me    friendship is still important, love i receive daily unconditionally from my dog and i now have the love of myself     but for now, i would love to see Val again    hopefully that will be sometime this year    now that i'm retired i can go see her and Kris    i'd just like to remember....

easy like sunday morn....

Tell me...

Is there a street in your city or town that you dread being on and will absolutely avoid driving, if possible?    if you can read the above, this is a question for Sunday morn's from Dona's journal  ...Blue Skies..Gentle Breezes...and Storms (i don't know how to link yet)    anyways, here is my answer.............currently I-40 and Coors Blvd is where i hate to drive    it has been under construction for a year now and it's a mess    although it's almost done, it's still a mess   unfortunately up until a couple weeks ago i had to drive there everyday, twice a day for that was next to my house     now i can stay clear of there forever:-)    another very busy road is Paseo del Norte and it's like a mini freeway    it's a main street to the westside of town   just about any main street to the westside of town is unindated in extremely heavy traffic     thank God i'm not over there anymore:-)!

it's Saturday!

so what's so important that it's saturday?   i'm off! and it's the beginning of having every weekend off from work after 20yrs of working them   i can now watch all the sports i desire, especially football    not that i will watch every sporting event, but it's sooo nice to have the opportunity :-)....Tjnya and Cindy are harassing me Big time now that i'm retired   envy i think...lol   but who wouldn't be    it's like i've done everything a little backwards    i've been wanting to attend college full time since i graduated high school only to be forced out on my own and get a job    granted my choice to join the Air Force was a great decision, it's just i've been working for the govt ever since age 18 minus a couple years    the first couple days of retirement i was in shock, literally    finally sinking in, i'm happy as ever as i can remember    now i can finally go to school, travel, adventure and continue my life long learning   i may become a professional student    i love learning and i love school   there is life out there after 40....

well last nite was an adventure first in many, many years    i woke at midnight after 4hrs sleep and couldn't get back to sleep until 6am this morn    after writing a few entries in this journal, i took a sleeping pill and went to bed    however it didn't work for awhile   so finally at 4:30am i went shopping    yep, i went to Walmart    i had to do some shopping there anyways so what the heck    and it took no time since there were only a handful of people there    great time to shop Walmart in the middle of the night    will do my grocery shopping there at those late hours, but preferably before midnight     yesterday i didn't do much but by the time 8pm rolled around i was dead tired    and nothing much is nothing much compared to my grueling days at the p.o.    kyle and i hung my prints on my walls yesterday    i waited on the arrival of the comcast guy    we then headed for dinner    went to the p.o. to mail my rent check   came home and it was time for bed     well now i Know, i must get my daily exercise in so i can sleep at night    starting today i will begin hiking at least 5times a week   mon-fri Jimmy and i will take a hike right down the road from here    today will be our first day and it'll be short    there's a cold, cold winter wind blowin and now that i don't have to be out in the blistering cold, i won't for too long    and once my retirement money comes in, i'm joining a gym too    maybe i'll buy another bicycle, something i used to thoroughly enjoy    once i exercise in the morn, i'll be coming home to study   again once my retirement money rolls in i'm immediately signing up for school    in the meantime, i still have some boxes to unpack, mostly books, once i get some bookshelves (i had built in bookshelves at my house)    o yes, did i tell you i found this Beautiful roll top desk that is a computer desk as well....i'm all excited of what's to come....

tonite Cindy is coming over to check out my new place and we're opening a wonderful bottle of wine    i finally made to Outback Steakhouse for dinner one nite with Cindy's company    we were celebrating her birthday and me selling my house    since i've never been there, thought i'd order a glass of Australian wine   Black Opal Cabernet   delicious!   so much so we went to Cost Plus Imports looking for a bottle of it with success    it is also the first wine that has ever stuck with Cindy    i highly recommend it to everyone    we've decided to try out a new restraunt once a month to be out and about    some new some old, but just go.....

anyways, Life is Good!

50 things...tagged again!

50 things you might not know about me -- erase my answers and put in your own, then repost in your own entry.  Make sure you tag 3 people to join in.  Have fun!!

1. What is your middle name?  Lisa

  2. What size is your bed?  Queen

 3. What are you listening to? quiet of the night

4. What are the last two digits in your phone number?  33

  5.  What was the last thing you ate?  mushroom, onion, swiss burger and fries @ TGIF's

 6.  Last person you hugged? Kyle, my nephew

 

7.  How is the weather right now? wonderful....high's in the mid 50s everyday this winter

  8.  Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?  Gerard, a friend of Kyle's

9.  The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?  their physique

10.  Do you have a bf/gf?  not for a year now

 12.  Do you drink?  sometimes, and i just discoverd this great wine: Black Opal Cabernet from Australia-DELICIOUS!

 13.  Ever get so drunk you don't remember the entire night?  NO WAY!

  14.  Hair color?  brown and grey   50/50

15.  Eye color?  hazel

  16.  Fav baseball team? Boston Red Sox (and childhood team: Cincinnati Reds)

 17.  Fav animal? i love them all, but my dogs stand out

 18.  Favorite season?   fall and winter

19.  Ever cried for no reason? yes, often, because it's part of my illness

 20.  Last movie you watched?  Chronicles of Narnia

29.  What book are you reading?  A Course in Miracles

 30.  Piercings? yes

 

31.  Favorite movie? LOTR, triology

32.  Favorite college team? Go LOBOS! (New Mexico)

33.  What are you doing right now? besides this tag, awake @ 2:30am unable to sleep

  34.  Any pets? yes,  my Jimmy black lab cross

  35.  Dog or cat? dog

  36.  Favorite flower?  Rose

 

37.  Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't supposed to?  i'm sure there was something, sometime along my life's journey

38.  Have you ever loved someone? absolutely

39.  Who would you like to see right now?  a cup of coffee with a friend would be great

 

40.  Are you still friends with your ex's?  yes a couple of them, but most not

41.  Have you ever fired a gun? yes, first time when i was 10 hunting with my dad   then while in the military

 

42.  Do you like to travel by plane?  yes, but not so much anymore

43.  Right or left handed?  right, but left handed shooting pool, gun and sometimes batting

 

44.  If you could be with someone right now, whowould it be?  the love of my life when i meet him or her

45.  How many pillows do you sleep with?  just one

46.  Are you missing someone? Charlie Brown

47.  Do you have a tattoo?   actually more than one

 

48.  Do you watch cartoons on Saturday morning? no

 49.  Are you hiding something from someone? nothing to hide

50.  Do you play an instrument?   not yet    i'm seriously contemplating taking guitar lessons

ok   I tag:

Dona

Donna in Texas

Marti (sunnyside46)

 

Five Weird Things About Me

Rules again:

Here are the rules; the first player of this game starts with the topic. Five weird habits of yourself and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next five people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don’t forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says “You are tagged” (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours      

ok,  this tag is a tough one for me, but i'll do my best...

1.   have you ever eaten butter and sugar on a piece of bread    yep i did this as a kid   don't ask me how, but i did   tasted good at that time too...

2.  is it weird to have your dogs sleep with you at age 47?

3.   i've only worn makeup once in my entire life and just last year i finally painted my nails, toe nails included    same time i finally fell in love with the color pink-i used to hate it

4.  still have relatives using outhouses in the backwoods of ky,  limited indoor plumbing

5.  falling in love with pitt bulls after being once terrified of them

ok   maybe all knot so weird, but if i think of anything else i'll be sure to add it to the list...

I think everyone i know has been tagged, but if i find someone who hasn't, i'll be making a note in your journal...smile

6.   i have a thing for sweatshirts, especially hooded sweatshirts   i have tons of them and still ready to buy all the other ones i see...

good news, Great news!

ok, i'd like to let you know my move went smooth (except for Charlie's mishap)   anyways, i'm not quite all unpacked, but i love my new apartment   it's nice and cozy and right next to the mountains    i love the fresh mountain air every morn, every day    Kyle loves my new little place too    he's staying with me again, but only for a few weeks    his is the good news   he's finally going active duty Army   processing the paperwork now and will soon leave    i'm so proud of him   he has choice of his duty station and he's thinking of going overseas   if not, he desires to head to Ft Carson, CO   i just know this is the next best step for him    it'll do him sooo much good    i know how much the Air Force did for me when i was his age, and for him i think it'll be even better....

OK   Now for the GREAT NEWS!!!    can't wait any longer    the 25th of January was my last day of work   I'm officially RETIRED now from the post office    i came in from the street delivering my mail that day and they told me it was my last day    at first i thought they were joking, but it wasn't the case    i've been in shock for a couple days, but it finally sunk in last nite   God it feels great!    i now can do whatever i'd like and love    finally can get back to school and finish my bachelor's degree   i may pursuit 2 bachelor's    anyways,  i'm loving the idea of being retired   i know my health will be lots better not working   i know i will be depressed less often by not working (i've already experienced it when working less hours at the p.o.)    I'm estatic!   i'm going to Disney...lol   (literally i am going with my sister in May-she called and requested my company before my retirement came thru)    anyways, i'll be hiking, backpacking, photographing, and going to school for awhile before and if i return to work.....Life is Good!

ok, now, Dona has tagged me with something and i have yet to find it    i'll be catching up with everyone's journal over thenext few days    it's great to be back online    cyu all soon....

in loving memory...

ok , i'm back after the move and just getting reconnected online after 2 weeks....anyways, this entry will be a little tough, but it is worth it for my Charlie Brown, my pitt bull    the day i moved, Charlie died on me     i won't go into the details of his death for it was horrific   and mostly i want to make a Loving entry just for him    Charlie is running the streets of heaven now, well maybe    i've been feeling his spirit with me ever since that day   maybe he's watchin out for me right now    anyways, i miss him    it's the not the same without him here greeting me with his Big Smile every day    nor the nightly adventures of fighting over the covers at bedtime   yes Charlie and i would fight over the covers   if i didn't have two blankets, he'd always hog the blanket    i'd be all nice and comfy under the covers only for him to curl them up just for him leaving me with nothin, literally nothin on me    and if he didn't do it right when i got in bed, i'd wake up in the middle of the nite without covers freezin my little butt off    i miss him running up and down the house playing tag with my other dogs after coming in from outside all day    he'd run full force between the living room and the bedroom doing a flying landing on my couch at least a dozen times every day   it always tickled me    i miss him barking at me once i drove up in the driveway   he wouldn't stop barking until i brought him in the house   not that i really miss it, but i have noticed there are no Charlie Brown 'markings' all over the house leaving his trail everywhere, not much but definitely a 'mark'    i miss him walking, literally, all over me with his 70lb pure muscle body while i'd be sitting on the couch or laying in bed   or he'd sit on my chest, even my face he would try   just busy being all over me wanting attention, smiling his Big Smile no matter what    Charlie gave me a lot of Love, Joy, and Laughter like no other dog did   he is one special dog, on earth as he is in heaven    i had him cremated and a special urn made for him   brought him home yesterday and he's still heavy...lol    but my Charlie Brown went out his way   he was being himself as usual    I love you Charlie Brown   you will always be with me wherever i am    your name is also tattoo'd on my right wrist  when you're ready to move on to heaven, you're free to do so    i know you're safe now and in God's loving arms.....  

p.s.   some very Good news coming in the next entry....right now it's dinner time...cya soon!

quick note

...before i move    i found a place for all 3 of us   YES!  it's an apartment too with some yard good enough for my kids     i finish paying the deposit and the rent for the remainder of the month manana    i'm moving on monday    figure it'll take a week or so to get cable internet transferred and all, but i'll be back asap!

until february

a quick note to my j-land friends     as you know my house has sold    we close on the 20th of january   so for the remainder of this month i'm looking for a place to live   i must finish packing and be moved by the 20th    all my efforts will be going into this for now and i won't be making another entry until after i'm moved    and yesterday, a heartbreaking realization hit me   i may be giving up one more dog    it's killing me    i'm keeping hope alive that i find a place for the 3 of us but's it's tough with my pitt bull Charlie    everyone, except one woman, is turned off by Charlie regardless the fact his a big sweetheart    i may have found a place for him and me, but i have to give up Jimmy    she hasn't given me a final answer, but it looks promising    this realization brought to me the true meaning of Home for me    it is me and my dogs together   it doesn't matter where we are, just as long as we're together     anyways, i'm saying my prayers and hope for the best    i'll be back as soon as i'm settled in my new place and let you know how everything turned out    God bless you all......

karen

Happy New Year!

a toast to all my j-land friends and their families    i salute you and may you have the best of years this year    may God keep you in his warm embrace and fill you with all the joy there is and more....Bless you all!

i sit here this morn, sipping coffee and munchin on krispy kreme donuts    Keith Urban sings the melodies and i'm happy as can be   it's a beautiful day   sunshining with no clouds in sight    my Jimmy doesn't know if he desires to stay inside or out   open the door again  shut it again  more than twice    i found a gold mine of books the other day to order   and i sit here wondering whether to attend church this morn   my house needs cleaning, laundry to be done, dogs to run and just wanna to take it easy again today as i did last    yesterday i drank some whiskey in addition to my nyquil for my cold   feel much better today    will ditto the experience and may go to a movie with a friend   in the meantime, i finally broke down and bought a dvd player    watched Mr & Mrs Smith last nite and 2 more movies are waiting   but there's football again today for the season is nearing its end   yet i can only take so much football for i get restless    time for another book    what shall i do?   so many toys, so many decisions     one thing for sure i start a new years resolution manana    i'm going to the mountains once a week or at least every other week     can hardly wait ....