Finally, I'm seeing the sun ... it's been DAYS. I was beginning to think I'd fallen asleep and woke up in Seattle. My parents, who live in SW Kansas, are dealing with 6 foot snow drifts! Glad I don't have to deal with THAT anymore!

Tonight we're having spaghetti and meatballs ... I met a friend in Atlanta for lunch today at Chili's (as if I don't go to ATL enough as it is!) Had to get a few clothing items, so we made a lunch date out of it.

Tomorrow's my interview at the hospice place. I say "my interview" ... the director asked me to come in to fill out the application, which must be done on the in-office computer, and she is going to "try" her best to be available to talk with me. We'll see what happens. I'm not getting too excited about it, as I have a distinct feeling the pay is not going to be what I need, so I'm probably going to have to find a way to refresh my outlook on my current job. :) If you haven't figured me out yet, I like to do this .... I set myself up for disappointment, so that when I get disappointed, I'm not shocked or ... well .. disappointed ... and if it goes the other way, well ... bonus! I know ... I'm twisted. ;)

Marty has to have 3 moles biopsied Tuesday ... he's worried as he has a history of cancer (leukemia as a child, and thyroid cancer 4 years ago) ... we were really hoping to make it to the 5 year mark for "cancer-free", which is a GOOD thing when you're looking into life insurance ... so, please keep him in your thoughts, if you would. :)

Tonight, we're watching "Nights in Rodanthe" ... last night, Marty and I watched "Australia" and "Twilight" .. both decent.

Mmmmmm spaghetti time!

Adam and A Fork in the Job Path ...

OK ... not sure if this is short-lived or not, but I have a new found love for Adam. He is by far proving to be the most original, versatile artist in AI history. I'm not overly fond of his screaming rocker voice, but he definitely can sing ... absolutely loved him last night.

I am possibly approaching a job decision this next week ... I have been fairly dis-satisfied with my current job for some time ... even though I "work at home", this translates out to "we-still-watch-your-every-move-virtually" ... and I am a nurse ... I take care of sick people ... I take care of people who NEED me ... yes, some of these people need ... something ... motivation ... a little bit of education ... but they, for the most part, don't call for me ... I'm calling them ... intruding at all hours of the day into their world, expecting them to be as excited as I am (yeah right) about this program which, when it comes right down to it, will save their insurance company money in the long-run if they take my wonderful advice. *deep breath* Another bottom line (and I don't know why this surprises/bothers me) ... these corporations don't really care about people ... they care about numbers ... especially the ones with the "$" in front of them. I don't give 2 shits about numbers anymore ... I just want to make a difference in folks' lives, like I used to in the hospital setting ... sure, I don't miss the aching back, throbbing feet every night when I get home, but ... I miss the respect and appreciation (for the most part), and the sense that I'm actually doing something good here ... I miss my relationships with fellow nurses and doctors.

One of my old nurse friends took a job about 1.5 years ago with a local hospice company. We've kept in touch and she loves it ... she called a few weeks ago and told me they had an opening. After a very tough week last week, I decided to throw some bait out and dropped my resume off at the office in Athens ... got a call yesterday from the director asking when I could come in for an interview. It's happening Monday. Hospice ..... hmmm ... something I've never really done (one experience, needs a post of it's own). I'm such a sap and tend to get attached to my patients fairly easily ... we will see. Hopefully the wage is comparable to what I'm making now. I guess maybe the bottom line for everyone these days is $$.

Cemetary experience & Maizie's friends

Cemetary visit was interesting ... went well. We ended up walking through the entire grounds, which was good because we had just consumed a meal riddled with carboyhdrates and fat! (good ol Georgia BBQ!) Saw some interesting graves ... I noticed that the oriental folks adorn the gravestones with what I think is the deceased's "favorite things" ... saw some little matchbox cars on one ... saw an opened Heineken beer on another ... saw a lemon pie, which had been removed from the box and placed on top of it on another aside an opened can of root beer. A common item I saw was a bowl of fruit. (I did not take pics, as ... not sure it was respectful). Sure did make me wonder.





Maizie had a fun visit from Zoe. She is much more aggressive and forward than Miss Zoe, however, so I think Zoe was done with the visit much sooner than Maizie.





Maizie has a new friend who has been coming to see her daily ... I know he belongs to someone, but his tag does not identify him or his owner. We have named him "Mr. Shitz". He comes to the gate and we let him in ... if dogs had a WWF, Maizie would be a champion. Poor Mr. Shitz gets rolled often, but doesn't seem to mind it. They chase each other to the point of exhaustion. So funny ... at first glance, Mr. Shitz is cute, but up close, not so much ... and he appears to possibly be blind in one eye, but not sure. He could have used some doggie braces at some point, as his underbite is significant! His tail sure wags when he visits. The first time, he was constantly trying to mount poor Maizie, but he doesn't try anymore ... she moves much too fast for such nonsense!(good for you, Maizie!!!)

Ahh Monday ... well, today will be spent in my office ... I have some things due today. We have an audit at our company by one of our big clients, and I am on the dedicated team for that client, so ... we have to make things look pretty for their visit (3/31 and 4/1). The days leading up to and the days of are very stressful. I will be glad when it's behind us.

Blowin in the wind ...

Happy Sunday!

I had to work yesterday, so after that, we met in Commerce, GA at Longhorn for a celebratory dinner for my friend, Brenda and her husband, Merle ... married for 40+ years. (she's my friend who was recently diagnosed with lymphoma and bone cancer) A good time was had by all! OH and Brenda and Merle are stopping by in a few minutes with their white miniature schnauzer, Zoe ... Maizie loves Zoe! I should have some good pictures for later.

Today, Marty, Erin (my step daughter) and I are headed to Atlanta to have lunch with Marty's mom and step-dad, then we're going to Marty's dad's gravesite. Marty has not been since his dad was buried 24 years ago. I asked him why it's been so long ... he doesn't know, just hasn't. I guess it's been quite a while since Marty's mom has been also. It has been several years since I've been to my Mom's gravesite (she died when I was 12 from cancer). Even when I go "home", I still don't make a point to go "out there" ... and I now have a few friends "out there" as well, but I still don't go. Recently, I made a decision (and told Marty, because I don't have a Will) that when I die, I want to be cremated. I don't want people feeling guilty for not coming to my gravesite. I want to be everywhere .. in the wind ..... in the trees .... in the water.

Time heals all wounds ...

Things have settled .... time is a wonderful thing. I probably over-reacted a bit ... Mom responded to my email by assuring me they are planning to come to Georgia in late-fall ... :)

Glad I didn't send that hateful email to my brother .... sure did want to!

Thank you all for taking my side ... ya'll are GREAT!

Throwin a pity party ... ya'll are invited.

**Update** in response, Boo, I brought up a long weekend, but my Mom insisted that "if we're making the trip out, we want to stay all week", which I was fine with ... that conversation happened back before she got sick. After my thought, I emailed my mom, telling her how happy I was that she's feeling good enough to consider traveling again ... and reminded her that the offer to bring them out here still stands. No point in her knowing how I'm feeling about this, as I don't want to damper her mood and excitement. Now, I'm fighting a BIG URGE not to send something hateful to my brother ... I know nothing good would come of that that would be worth the few moments of satisfaction I'd feel ... :)

What started out as a decent day went south earlier ... I'm sure once I put this all down in words, it's going to seem less significant than it feels right now ... here goes.

I've been trying to get my parents (from Kansas) out to Georgia for a visit since I moved here, which was over 3 years ago ... my dad is retired and my mom retired this time last year. Timing was an issue, so several times when it looked like I could get them out here, something always came up that made it impossible. Also, my dad plants a huge garden every summer and it completely occupies his time from mid-May through mid-September ... also, until my mom retired, her job kept them from travling much. Well, once she retired, they agreed that Fall, 2008 would be when they would visit .. we talked about it at length, made pre-plans for how many days, what all we would do, etc ... then she got diagnosed w/ Rheumatoid Arthritis w/ an extreme depression component ... there were days when she couldn't even get out of bed. My dad, consequently got depressed and started drinking more ... well, with lots of med adjustments, she is now on day 10 of "having a great day" .. I am so happy and relieved about this ... looks like she's on the upswing of things and she's so excited. I'd held off mentioning anything about resuming our plans for a trip out, just to make sure that this was for real, and was honestly waiting for them to bring it up.

Called them this morning and she was so excited to tell me something .. asked me if I'd spoken to Ron, my brother, lately .. told her no (which, when I thought about it, was a bit odd). Turns out my brother has offered to fly my parents out to Vegas in May. While I'm glad she feels good enough now to even consider traveling, my feelings are hurt. I've been trying to get my brother out here as well, but he always tells me he travels enough for his job, doesn't wanna do it on his days off, blah blah blah .... yet he sure doesn't mind going to Vegas "on his days off". Granted, Georgia vs Vegas is a no-brainer, but I just feel they are all being inconsiderate of me. Please don't get me wrong, I'm struggling with how I'm feeling right now ... very thankful for her feeling better .. very thankful that my brother is so generous with them to take them somewhere nice ... just feel kinda left out in the wings here.

OK .... I'm pitiful ... just read back what I've written. Plus, Marty just called and I told him and he doesn't really understand why I'm so hurt. Maybe it's hormones ... maybe it's more.

Gonna go shower and do some thinkin ... if anyone wants to tell me what a selfish person I'm being, have at it ... if anyone can empathize or has advice for me, I'm open ...

Name Game ... this was fun!

1.Your rock star name (first pet, current car) - Maizie Mazda

2.Your gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe) - Neopolitan Flip Flop

3.Your Native American name (favorite color, favorite animal) - Blue Dog

4.Your soap opera name (middle name, city where you were born) - Jane Hugoton

5.Your Star Wars name (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name) McGma


6.Superhero name (2nd favorite color, favorite drink) - Pink Corona

7.NASCAR name (the first names of your grandfathers) - Ernest James

8.Dancer name (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) Mambo Laffy Taffy

9.TV weather anchor name (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Calvert Chicago

10.Spy name (your favorite season/holiday, flower) - Fall Gardenia

11.Cartoon name:(favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now) - Green Grape Sweatpants

12.Hippie name (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) - Nothing Yet Magnolia

13.Movie (or porn) star name (first pet, first street where you lived) - Tiger Jefferson

man I WISH I looked like this!

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home sweet home

Just got in from Norfolk ... man that is a long drive ... 8 hours. Kayla makes that drive about every other weekend ... she must really love him, that's all I hafta say. It rained ALL day yesterday and today.

Found a funny website ... thought I'd share my find!

Hopefully I can figure out how to get it here!

Adam who?

I consider myself a very good judge of music character ... I can usually pick-em early on (audition stage) every year ... this year, I have my pick ... but I simply don't get the hype over Adam ... I mean, yeah ... he has a very unique look ... and when he's not SCREAMING and wagging his tongue like Gene Simmons, he's not a bad singer ... but I just don't get it. The judges loved him Tuesday night ... WTF??? ... apparently, America doesn't mind him either.

My pick? Danny ... not just because of his story ...

pic of back yard

Poppy, I have, somewhere, a whole folder of pics of my back "yard" at different times of the day/year ... think I can find it? NOPE ... this is the best I can do for now, and it's limited ... there is a huge hay field behind our house with a thick treeline in the background ... the trees pretty much stay green year-round ... the hay grows, the neighbor brings his tractor in and cuts it, then places random round bales ... that's my FAVE look. WAIT, if I can find my wedding pics ... ok might have a good one to post yet!

Uh oh ... can't find THAT folder either ...... did find a random shot that shows a bit of what I'm talking about, though ......

Beginning of a new habit??

**UPDATE** By the time I finished this posting, the sun is glaring and I'm having a difficult time seeing my screen regardless of where I relocate myself out here ... is there some sort of ... shield for the screen for situations such as this?

OK so ... did not really plan to enjoy today. I worked in Atlanta yesterday, so didn't get home from work till 10:30pm last night (job is not going so well ... if I can bring myself to talk about it, I may post) ... Kayla was waiting for me ... DVR remote in hand, TV frozen on Ryan Seacrest's face ... he was mid-sentence, "THIS ...... is Amer ..... ican Idol!" Watched that (totally agreed w/ the vote-offs), then we had to chat for a while .. Kayla is really wanting to get a different job ... I think it's silly w/ the job situations as they are everywhere, but .... she's 21 .. what do I know? Anyway, didn't get to bed till 0100 this AM. I knew I had to get up and have Maizie at the Vet for grooming between 7:30 and 8:30am today. I rolled out of bed .. put a pot of coffee on ... even managed to load and start the dishwasher, take Maizie to the Vet (15 minutes one-way), and am now back home (it's 8:35am) and decided to take my cup of coffee and laptop out on the back deck ... have my favorite Atlanta radio station playing in the background ...

I am LOVING this. It's a bit chilly, my fingers are not functioning at 100%, but the air is fresh ... before it got completely sunny out, I hear the neighborhood roosters doing their thing ... I think in the coming weeks, the mornings won't be quite so crisp and I won't have to stop and hold my coffee cup for thawing purposes. I've been looking for a new habit ... I may have just found it. I have always loved the view from my back deck ... everything is getting green ... YES!

*Note to self: get insulated coffee cup from top of cabinet so coffee stays hot longer than 5 minutes.

Happy Thursday, everyone ... don't think I mentioned it, but Marty, Kayla and I are headed to Norfolk, VA tomorrow when they get home from work ... Kayla's boyfriend, Drew, is putting in new kitchen cabinets and asked for Marty's help ... Kayla and I will spend the weekend ... well ... doing what we do ... eating ... shopping ... ;) We'll be sure to bring the guys some food here and there! Maizie's going, also ... that is unchartered territory for her . . LONG car ride. Hope she does OK.

Change of habit?

Here's what I've been thinking that I'd like to develop ... not sure what to call it ... habit? ... routine? ...

First of all, I would like to get up earlier (like around 7am) ... thinking of subscribing to either a couple of daily local newspapers (probably Jackson County and Athens Banner Herald), or to the daily Atlanta newspaper. I'm not even sure what it costs, but I'm about to find out. THAT may nip idea #1 right in the bud.

Then, I would start the coffee. I have a fancy coffee maker with a timer and everything, but ... those were not made for procrastinators. They should have put a warning on the box. My idea of a Procrastinator's Cofee Maker has 1 button ... "on/off". Marty had good intentions ... :) Now, I'm fine if HE wants to utilize all those fancy options.

While my coffee is brewing, I would like to either get on my eliptical for 20 minutes or go for a 30 minute walk. Grab the newspaper on my way back up the driveway.

Then, either plop down on my back deck porch swing, or inside in my recliner w/ GMA on for background sound, sip my coffee, and read my newspaper(s).

Let's see, it'd be around 0800 by this time. If I had a personal chef, he would have my breakfast waiting for me when I came in from my exercise, but ... since I am the chef ... screw it ... cereal again, cause I'm now realizing I don't have time to leisurely read my paper(s) AND eat a nice little breakfast ...

Looks like I'll either need to get up at 0600 or stick with my current routine .... sleep in till 0830, get up and put coffee on, turn on TV, fire up laptop, get coffee, sit in recliner, check foxnews website, followed by facebook, followed by gmail, followed by blog. 0930, shower, 1030 work till 9pm. :)

Oh well ... in my next life, maybe I can change my habits.

Marty's birthday pics ... better late than never!

Marty just DID NOT believe that I had nothing to do with Logan's staff embarrassing him with a "YEEEEHAWWWWW!!!"



Kayla and her liter 'o beer!!


Marty was thrilled with his DVDs ... "Wild Hogs" and "Tommy Boy / Black Sheep".

If you look closely, you will see "what could have been" had Marty and I reproduced ... turns out it's a GOOD thing we can't!!! We named him "Cletus" ... LOL

Random pics

Here's just a few random pics from this past week. Marty's birthday pics are on Kayla's camera, so gotta remember to get that from her.

Cabin pics

As you can see, the water is a ways back ... usually it comes right up into the cove ... I'm hoping it makes it back up this summer!!! That is our view from the back deck. Note the little back deck on our little cabin ... we have big plans to clean that up soon and make it functional ... I have visions of us sitting out there, watching the squirrels chase each other through those tall trees. Also, note on the big cabin the cedar siding (they did that about 3 months ago) ... gonna do that to our little cabin as well so it matches. Will take some "before" shots of the interior before we get started.

Maizie loves Brodie

Yesterday literally FLEW by ... I nearly put off my tater salad for too long! I made a little tub for my step daughter to take home (she says her mama doesn't make tater salad ... "she doesn't like it" WHAT?!) We had SO much food to take to Brenda and her family ... Gigi stopped in at a restaurant (Brooks' sis in law owns a country buffet kinda place) and Sue just started piling the containers into Gigi's car ... country steak and gravy, chicken strips, fried okra, corn, mashed potatoes, homemade biscuits ... it was obscene!!! Plus, Brenda got her ribs from Gumlog. While we were carting it in, I wish we'd planned to stay for dinner! In hindsight, we really should have. I was thinking "in and out quickly" as I didn't think they would be up to company, but in the end, I think they wanted us to stay longer. I know Merle (Brenda's husband) did ... followed us out the front door and kept talking. We will stay longer next time. :)

Kayla's friend, Jordan (former roommate) and her dog, Brodie (a Yorkie, in BAD need of a haircut!), came to visit last night ... Maizie was in heaven!!! "A friend, Mommy!!! A friend came to play!!!" Needless to say, between going to the cabin Saturday night, and Brodie's visit yesterday, Maizie is moving SSSSLLLLLOOOOOWWWWWW today. (I am too, but that's nothing new!)

Happy Monday to everyone!

Redneck Yacht Club

We have a family friend who has a cabin at the lake up by the GA/SC state line ... we are welcome there anytime and he goes every weekend, as does my sister in law, Gigi. We named ourselves "The Redneck Yacht Club" because in the summertime, all tie our boats together and party it up at one of the beaches on the lake. Last summer, the lake dropped drastically, so most of our time was spent at the cabin. When Brooks built the cabin there, he built a small little cabin behind it and that's where we usually stay when we're up there, unless there's a lot of folks gathering there, then it's "first come-first served". He offered to rent it to us for $75.00/month, unlimited use, and it's up to us who we let stay in there when we're not there. (reason, some people were not taking care of it, trashing it, letting their dogs pee all over the carpet, chew up the blinds, etc) It needs some time and attention ... and some paint inside. For some odd reason, the interior is 2-tone ... about 2.5 feet up from the floor, it's a olive green .... white board separating, then upper part is YELLOW. Hello, John Deere? Well, we'll be changing that .... getting our own bed and linens in there ... it'll be a nice little retreat! Went there last night .. tried to have a campfire outside, but someone didn't cover the wood, and it got saturated with the snow last weekend ... :( We usually have a fire every weekend, especially in the cooler months.

My friend, Brenda (a member of the "Redneck Yacht Club"; she and her husband introduced me to Marty) was recently diagnosed with Stage III Lymphoma, promptly followed by bone cancer (ribs, spine, pelvis). She remains optimistic on one hand, but she is a nurse. My sis in law, Gigi, and I, as well as Marty and Brooks are throwing a meal together to take to them tonight. My job is the potato salad (referred to as "tater salad" here in Georgia). My tater salad is requested frequently ... I put egg, bacon and cheese in mine .... ;) Rest of the meal includes ribs from Brenda's favorite restaurant up at the lake, Gumlog, chicken strips, and mac 'n cheese. Typical southern heart attack food ... :)

Blog friends .... please welcome one of my dearest friends in the whole wide world ... we have been friends for over 30 years, and I decided to introduced her to this site and hope she finds therapy through words as I have ... http://vintulapop.blogspot.com/2009/03/day-in-life-of-vintulapop.html

Happy Sunday, everyone ... :)

Maizie loves snow

We got over a foot of snow last weekend here in Georgia ... at first, it was very wet and became slush when it hit the ground ... within 2 hours, we actually saw some accumulation ... turned out to be a pretty nasty storm for us ... 19,000 people in N. Georgia were actually without power for several days ... and I was without internet for 2 whole days!!!!! (I know ... my priorities are screwed lol)

Maizie LOVED the cold, white stuff falling from the sky ... LOVED it. We let her out in the backyard to "potty", thinking she'd gingerly find her a place, do her business, and come back in ... WRONG. 15 minutes later, Marty had to go out and get her ... she had clumps of snowballs stuck to the fur on the back of her legs and belly and beard .... had to dunk her in the warm tub to get it all out!!! She literally sat at the window all day long watching it snow ... no nap ... very few outside breaks ... hardly any eating ... so funny!

The snow is all gone now ... they're forecasting 78 degrees tomorrow! Ahhhhh ... Spring is right around the corner!!!!

My nose started hurting last night ... way up inside. I'm worried a bit because I'm a bit congested on the right side today and have a bit of a sore throat .... I'm about to call my ENT.

Ya'll have a great Friday ... :)