baby it's cold outside!

happy new year everyone!

3 x a charm

this morn, i finally got the final pieces of my bench set together   it was the barbell that holds the weights   it came in 2 separate pieces with pins to hold it together   for the past couple days i couldn't get those damn pins in   they needed to be squeezed down, but how do you move steel   i said to myself this morn, i'm trying this one more time   alas figuring out the wire cutters were my best presser, or squeezer, i managed to reshape the pins just enough so i could pound them in   finally, it is whole   it is done, and i can begin to work out on it   New Years day, or soon thereafter.....then it was off to church   i really didn't want to go, but Marsha talked me into it   leaving with my usual thought of heading to church, then straight home, i arrived back 8hrs later at the house    going to church with Marsha is never just church   i met her eldest granddaughter, then we all had lunch with Marsha's youngest daughter and Lil Miss Madison (15mos.)   then it was babysitting time again for Marsha and me for a few hours   then finally chillin for a little football, which i wanted to do all day today, i made it home about 6pm...but the service was good   a time to remember all those who made their transition last year (died) and reflect on how we believe in life and death   but it was also a time to catch up on a couple other people   actually wanting to know when the memorial service would be for someone who had been murdered just before Christmas   and to check on another member who is on her last days with cancer   it's only a matter of time for her ..but it's all good   only the body dies and our Soul lives forever......by the time i got out of church i had been talked into returning to volunteer for the church again   i wasn't going back   for various reasons i'll be back one day a week, but i'll see how long that lasts   there's one person people including myself are struggling with and she happens to be the church administrator   she hasn't been with us very long, but.....no matter what, i'll serve my community there somehow, someway   as one of my Christmas gifts says:  IT'S ALL GOOD!!!

p.s.   i forgot the good news...Lil Miss Madison has been bonding with me the past few days   i think it was friday nite that she just curled up in my lap and stayed there   since then she wants to be in my arms hanging out with Aunti Karen i'm called    it's taken awhile, but she finally totally warmed up to me   warms my heart and makes me smile...

finally....off!

alas,  i'm off from work   after 3 weeks of work with no days off except Christmas, i get my normal weekend off  i did volunteer for those hours to offset the Christmas blues  it worked  but the only problem now is i'm a little Grumpy   such the price to pay   but i'll be fine...it's a beautiful day here although cold   it's been colder than hell for us lately but when the sun shines, it makes it a lot warmer  one reason i love this state  like better than Washington where i'd get cabin fever badly  ...anyways, i'm off to Barnes and Noble today and hanging out with Marsha   she gave me a gift card from B & N which i already spent most of it on a thermos  love it, purrrrrrfect for taking my coffee to work   the other one i used so much it got raunchy  this one is much better...here i am talkin' about nothings and forgot where i was headed with this entry....O, i know....to let you know i had a WONDERFUL Christmas day   brunch at Marsha's w/George too   then off to see Charlie Wilson's War, which was a great movie   then home to put together my bench set   it's all together except the bar bell   the pins are not fitting that holds it together  will get my young neighbor to assist in reshaping those pins   then i'm off to exercise my butt off so i can lose the weight i've gained since retiring  part of my New Year's resolution   besides i want to get in great conditioning and shape to backpack down to the Colorado River at the Grand Canyon   one of my goals to accomplish by next fall   Life is Good, a bowl of strawberries!

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

12 days of Christmas

12 days of Christmas and what i gave to me:

2 sweaters

radio 4 work

Johnny Depp pencil sketch

jacket

boots

tool bag and screwdrivers

underwear and calendar

Jeep hoodie sweatshirt

bench and weight set

Shutterbug caricature

motorcycle cover

and one woman biker caricature

can you tell i've been doing retail therapy?

emerson images

sitting quietly again with my coffee and some famous amos cookies    i was looking at Emerson Images, http://www.emersonlithos.com   M introduced these photos to me last week   she ran into the guy in Phoenix while on vacation   these are BEAUTIFUL photos with great captions underneath  the captions are from philosphers, world thinkers, spiritual leaders and the like   apparently the photographer had taken all these photos around the world   then while reading, he decided to add others' thoughts to them   check out the website if nothing else   i'm going to order some of them   if i remember correctly, M said that the guy gives a huge percentage of his sales to fight AIDS (50%, i think?)    these are awe inspiring   well worth the view....enjoy!

pumped!

well, i'm at it again  ...

retail therapy

thought i'd window shop for a bench set & weights tonite  part of my new year's resolution to exercise again & lose at least 20 lbs

it was practically 50% off

couldn't pass it up

good thing i got paid today

just what i was lookin' 4

hurry up Christmas or i'll be broke!

What do my stars say about me?
       everything but being dominant in relationships is about to a T...

grrrrr...thieves!

so, i've been workin' all week   a volunteer thing and my doc doesn't know   anyways, the thieves have been at my kiosk several days this week   i know they're just sunglasses, it's the principle of it all   they come in groves   they are from all kinds of backgrounds, race, poor, rich, male & female   all ages too   they steal when there's a group of them and/or there's other customers i'm waiting on   it drives me nuts   i just want to kick all their asses, and there's really not a damn thing i can really do   i learned that last nite   besides who wants to press charges over inexpensive sunglasses    like i said, it's the principle   it's all unnerving...

the snow lays quietly on Mother Earth's floor while the sun sparkles its eye upon it  there's not a whisper to be heard and i sit contemplating, reflecting, remembering good times and bad   yet what perseveres is the Love that sustains us  that sustains me throughout it all   there is only Peace as the bird flies beyond here   my kids lay at my feet reminding me of comfort and joy  there is only Life   it is all good no matter how it seems...

if you're readin' this

this is a Beautiful song by Tim McGraw   if you don't listen to country music at least listen long enough to hear this song  here are the lyrics...

If you’re readin’ this 
My momma’s sittin’ there 
Looks like I only got a one way ticket over here. 
I sure wish I could give you one more kiss 
War was just a game we played when we were kids 
Well I’m layin’ down my gun 
I’m hanging up my boots 
I’m up here with God and we’re both watchin’ over you 

So lay me down 
In that open field out on the edge of town 
And know my soul 
Is where my momma always prayed that it would go. 
If you’re readin’ this I’m already home. 

If you’re readin’ this 
Half way around the world 
I won’t be there to see the birth of our little girl 
I hope she looks like you 
I hope she fights like me 
And stands up for the innocent and the weak 
I’m layin’ down my gun, 
I’m hanging up my boots 
Tell dad I don’t regret that I followed in his shoes 

So lay me down 
In that open field out on the edge of town 
And know my soul 
is where my momma always prayed that it would go 
If you’re readin’ this, I’m already hoooommmmmeeee 

If you’re readin’ this, 
There’s gonna come a day 
You move on and find someone else and that’s okay 
Just remember this 
I’m in a better place 
Soldiers live in peace and angels sing amazing grace 

So lay me down 
In that open field out on the edge of town 
And know my soul is where my momma always prayed that it would go 
If you’re readin’ this 
If you’re readin’ this 
I’m already home 

thanks Marti for sending this to me...

 

Something cool that Xerox is doing

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq . You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!  This is a great site.  Please send a card.   It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these?   Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them...

Check out AOL Money & Finance's list of the hottest products and top money wasters of 2007.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

well alas i read this book   finished it last nite   Great book, but it tore at my heart throughout it   it reminded me that i came from a confederate family   lo & behold i had forgotten   i've moved so far away from it   anyways, it's all history now   God i ask, how could we be so ignorant back then?   and we have come far, but still need to grow......anyways, today was spent buying the last of my Christmas gifts   on thursday i finally remembered my other nephew who just left for Afghanistan in October   so i sent his package today-Hickory Farms   i'll send a different care package in a few weeks   just acquired the list last night of what he needs   he's up in those mountains there patroling  i pray for his safe journey home   all our troups....after shoppin', i was at Marsha's trying to hook up her dvd player to her dish satellite system   no luck   so we rented Sicko on pay-per-view    i came home to have a drink after that movie   got my bailey's & coffee in hand   i was almost ready to pack and move to another country after seeing this, but i love America too much    the conclusion i came to awhile back, which the movie hit on, was we're a lot about money   i think we could use a socialist health care system though   we're the only country in the west who hasn't adopted such   i'm fortunate for my health care, but there are just too many people not fortunate enough   and our HMOs are raking in the money for profit   maybe America will wake up one day and push for a change....anyways, so much for that.....Life is Good for me   i am blessed with friends and family and the VAMC   ....Christmas is almost here....

retail therapy

well, december is here   i'm almost done with the Christmas shoppin'    even got some of the gifts wrapped tonite    just a couple more and i'm finished ...was tellin' a friend this is not a good time for me to be working at the mall   i get the Christmas blues and shoppin' is a good pick me up   but i've been good lately, or at least today    i made it out of the mall without shoppin' for myself   oops, except for a snowman coffee mug   it was only $5    so i did pretty good and i got paid today too    but then i went to Walgreens for some wrappin' paper  $28 later i made it home   2 decorations, gift boxes, wrappin' paper and 2 Hallmark cards ($8)   they sure ain't cheap anymore   o yes  and one decoration was a lighted panel of Snoopy on his dog house decorated in lights that flash   as he lays on his house, Woodstock sits on his tummy   Merry Christmas (it says)....