Insurance Is Good Stuff

It was a long time ago now, but I remember when I first began driving, seeing my Mom call all around for insurance quotes. I was anxious, because I wouldn't be able to drive without insurance. And I wanted to drive! My parents wouldn't even let me sit behind the wheel of the car in the drive-way without insurance. Haha! Once I got it, I was a happy camper. Then when I moved to LA, I called around for insurance quotes, for an insurance that would be out there. Thankfully I got it all switched before I moved. I had a wreck a month after moving there.

Hormone Hell

When I was younger & becoming a woman, I had absolutely no clue, as to just how complex female hormones are & how they would effect my life. Because my body does not produce enough progesterone, I have been unable to become pregnant & stay that way. And it has dramatically changed the landscape of the way I thought my life would look. Just because of hormones! It's absolutely crazy when I think of it that way. But hormones play such a huge role in our everyday lives.

Insane Homes

Annually there is an open house event that takes places throughout the area. There is also a huge book full of house plans. I love to grab this book & just browse these magnificent homes. One year Daniel & I even went on a tour of some of them. One had a home theater. It was already furnished with home theater seating! It was awesome. We walked around & dreamed of what it would be like to actually call a beautiful place like that ours. I can't quite imagine it. But I'm hopeful!

Thanksgiving

It was a bit different this year. I did no cooking, which made me sad. I love to cook, but since I was sick...Cooking was out. We spent lunch with just my parents, then came home & chilled for the rest of the day. We had to skip out on going to another family function. I ended up in bed super early. I wanted to be extra rested for Black Friday. Plus we were leaving the house at 3am! So, sleeping was a must.

A Little Sparkly On My Finger

When Daniel & I got engaged he used a ring Mom sent to him. It is one she has wore, that my Granny had made for her with the diamonds that were Granny's & her Mom's. So I am the fourth generation to wear this ring. It is super special. I cherish it, but am always worried something is going to happen to it. Not that I wouldn't anyway, but just knowing the sentimental value makes me extra nervous. So we never even looked at engagement rings. One day, I would love for Daniel to get me my very own, just for me, new ring. And I want a pink sapphire. I'm not a huge jewelry person & the idea of thousands of dollars around my finger, is just not my thing. But to have a pink sapphire, along with a few diamonds, set in white gold would make me very happy.

Thanksgiving Oh My!

I am still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that it is the week of Thanksgiving! It just does not seem possible. Where did this past year go? Really! Where did it go?

This year on Thanksgiving day we will be going over to Mom's for lunch & then over to my sis-n-laws families house for supper. We have spent the last 3 Thanksgivings with them. It seems to be becoming a tradition.

I feel sad when I think about the fact that I don't have an "in-law" family to spend time with on the holidays. And I feel sad for Daniel as well, since his family lives far away. I wonder what it would be like having to juggle the day with quality time with 2 families. But I am grateful that our day is pretty stress free.

Company Gifts

One thing I always find interesting is what employers give to the employees as Christmas gifts. When I worked one place gave me a small bonus, which was always appreciated. Most of the places did nothing. But then there are some companies that go all out presenting their employees with gift cards to restaurants & stores, wine of the month club memberships, electronics & large baskets of goodies. I wonder just how many companies are going to be giving as this year with the economy the way it is. I've heard of alot of places canceling Christmas parties.

Shopping This Week

I got the Sunday paper & searched the sale ads, to see what the best deals are this week. I don't have too much to buy this year, but I don't want to miss out on any amazing prices on stuff that I may need. Plus it is just fun all the way around when it comes to shopping for Christmas. Some people stress out about the crowds & such, but I enjoy it all. Now when I worked retail, I may have had a different opinion. It could get a bit insane. One thing that I did always love was when the mall was all decked out in Christmas decorations, there was just a different feel in the air.

Need A Building Fast

My Dad is self employed & rents a commercial building in a small town abut 30 minutes from here. He recently found out that he is going to have to find a new place, because the person he shares the building with is moving or something. I'm not quite sure of the whole story, but he needed to look into some commercial real estate. He is wanting to rent something closer to home, but there was nothing that was reasonable. So, he has now decided to put up a building next to the house. Now he won't have to worry about rent. :)

Bridezilla

I am over at Mom's since the power cord on my laptop has a short in it & I needed to use the computer. I'm getting to watch Bridezillas! I love this show, but I don't get it on cable anymore. And since Mom has a dish she does. I miss getting to see these crazy brides. And I always enjoyed it when they did Bridezilla marathons.

New or Used

Cisco is an electonics company that I have never heard of. So, I asked Daniel, if knew anything about about it & he said that some of the sister companies to the one he works for uses Cisco products. I bet they would be interested in knowing about a place that takes used cisco products. Whether it be for a trade ins or refurbished, they take most of them. That would be a great for a company that may need to replace some equipment.

Staying Warm

Living down in the South, the need for heated mattress pads is sorta rare. We do have some cold weather, but it doesn't last too long. Now when I was a kid I would beg to differ. My Dad didn't seem to know that we actually had central heating in our home, so it wasn't ever turned on. Haha. And the nights were freezing. Oh my goodness I can still remember wearing layers of clothes & sleeping under several blankets & comforters. Man, one of those heated mattress pads would have come in handy!

Past Weight Lose

Back in my single days, I could loose weight much easier than now that I am married. One time I got down to my smallest size I was working 3 jobs. I was a daycare teacher, a sales associate at Lane Bryant & also worked at a tanning salon & believe me it was no Sunset Tan! Hahaha! While I wasn't at work, I spent my free time at church or doing ministry downtown. During all of this I was taking Hydroxycut & was dropping the pounds. But I wonder just how much more I could have lost if Hydroxycut Hardcore was out on the market at the time.

This Fast Year

I can not believe that November is half over. It just does seem possible. This year has gone by quicker than any other before it seems. It kinda scares me too. Like..."Is time speeding up for some reason?"
I put my Christmas tree up yesterday, but it felt like I had just put all of the decorations away.
2009 will be here in the blink of an eye! But I am not ready for that.

Insurance Worry

I'm grateful that we already have insurance. But I know so many that do not. My parents went for a long time without it, since my Dad is self employed. They were constantly on the phone getting one health insurance quote after another. Thankfully they finally have something they can afford & don't have to worry like they used too. People who have always had the benefit of insurance have no clue what a burden it is when you do not have it. I went without insurance for a while & the entire time I was worried I would need it!

A Day Of Fun

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow! I'm going with my aunts & cousins to a local Christmas Arts & Crafts fair! It's an annual event, but I have never been to it. And me being someone who adores Christmas, I know I'm going to love it. It should be a day of fun out with the girls! And I'm sure I'll come home with a few ornaments. :)

Special Lawyer

I never knew this before but some times injuries that occur during birth, are the cause of Cerebral Palsy. Not all cases of Cerebral Palsy is caused by a mistake or neglegance on the part of a doctor or nurse. But if you have concern that your child's Cerebral Palsy was caused in this way, there are cerebral palsy lawyers that can take on the case & find out the reason for this kind of trauma. If it were me, I would do it just for the peace of mind.

A Day Out & About

Yesterday, Mom & I went to run some errands. When we began the day, Mom came to get in the car & she had on her "shopping shirt." I call it this because she tends to only wear it when we go shopping. And one week she wore it more than once. She has a closet full of nice clothes, but she wears this tacky shirt she got out of a bag of clothes from freecycle. Did I mention I hate this shirt?
I didn't have a specific need for the trip, I just went to get out of the house. We made a few stops & I got a few new pink Christmas decorations for my Lucy tree this year. Lucy is getting an upgraded tree. I got a brand new silver tinsel one from ebay, which I'm very excited about.
We were ready for lunch & went to a place I had never eaten. It's kinda of a buffet country kitchen kind of thing. Mom had been there before & had a good experience, so I wanted to give it a try. Plus they serve fried catfish...I love me some fried catfish! She also said my meal would only be $6.99. When we got there, Mom suggest we get it all to go & have a picnic at the park. It was an amazingly beautiful day & I was all for it. I grabbed a coke & a fried apple pie from the counter & it rang up to over $12. That was one expensive apple pie! Mom decided to stop by the Publix to get a fountain drink from there. So, we finally made it to the park, but most of the picnic tables were gone & the ones that were there, we already being used. We drove around the park & by this time I was in one crappy mood. I don't really have an explanation for it...I just was. And I went over the edge when we just parked & sat in the car to eat. It unnerved me for some reason. I was fussing & went to take a bite & dropped my food on my shirt. Which caused greater hysterics from me! Mom had gotten some fried green tomatoes. I don't like them, but I always like to try them again to make sure. She handed one to me & it was super hot, I started frantically blowing my poor hand. The tomato fell apart, because it wasn't really green anymore & I didn't want it. I was complaining & frustrated the entire time. It was also hot as heck yesterday, Crystal + hot & sweaty= ill as an old wet hornet! I kept looking at the sky & saying, "Lord, it's freakin' October!!!!!!!! Please make it cooler weather!" During all of this, it was like I could see myself acting a fool, but I couldn't stop myself. Do you ever do that? Know you are being such an idiot & can't seem to snap out of it? Hahaha! What helped was when Mom took a bite & it fell off her fork & food was all down her chin & the front of her "shopping shirt." It was hilarious. All in all the food was not good & that fried apple pie was nasty. I decided to give it to some of the 100 geese that were at the pond. They were on the other side of the pond & started coming too me, once they realized I had some goodies. But they weren't exactly nice. I didn't have enough pie & they were letting me know it. Or maybe they were mad because it was nasty pie! I was about to be attacked, if I hadn't gotten the heck out of dodge when I did.

When left & finished up our important stuff I convinced Mom to stop at this antique/consignment store I have wanted to go to since it opened (I didn't realize it has been open for 3 years!). Jen & I almost went on Saturday, but got side-tracked. Let me just say...I have found my new favorite place to go! This place stinkin' rocks!!! It is 2 levels of room after room, wall to wall, old stuff & new stuff all mixed together. They even have I Love Lucy things! I can not believe I have been missing out. I'm in heart with it. Oh & we ended the day with wonderful Route 44's (Fresh Lemon for me, Diet Cherry Limeade extra cherries for Mom). Too bad I can't send that in my Favorite Things gifts, because it would surely be in the box!

Mom's nice new purty rugs.....

Can someone please....I beg you...Send Mom a new shopping shirt! She even lost a button! This is how she looked for the majority of the day...Ha! Sad, very sad.



Here are the lessons we learned:

• Do not eat at the place again.
• That certain park no longer has many picnic tables
• When you have $ to spend, you can't find anything
• Walmart no longer has a craft area...This makes me sad
• The calendar is wrong...It's June, not October
• Crystal doesn't eat in cars very well
• We found a new incredible place to shop...Wee Doggies!

A Good Day

Since Mom & I had "gone to the Big City" for the day, I convinced her to go the cemetery where my Granny is buried. I think Mom may have been once in the last 16 years, so this was a big deal. She was starving & when that happens, the world stops! Thankfully...Mickey D's was across the street from the cemetery. We got our food & I wanted to eat outside. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, being indoors was not appealing at all. But because of miss communication, we got in the car & started to leave. So we ended up driving around the cemetery eating our McDonald's. It was actually fun! We found were Mom's Mam-maw was buried, so I got on my knees & was cleaning off the marker...I guess I stood up to quickly, because I felt myself passing out...I went down! I didn't go out, but I couldn't catch myself. I sat on the grass for a few minutes to get my barrings & after I got up I felt something biting my foot. It was an ant. Than another bite. And another...Then I felt then crawling up my leg! I literally had ants in my pants. I still have bites. Uuggghhh!


Anyway, you have to realize the importance of this certain cemetery to my family. There are quite a few families members there & it was a place Mom used to spend holidays in as a kid. Now that is funny! My Granny would dress her up for Easter & they wouldn't go to church, but to the cemetery to take pictures. Hahahaha!

As for me, I can remember going there with Granny, mostly before Christmas to decorate. And it would be an entire day event. We would visit all the different "sights" throughout this rather large place, including the statue that says, "Nothing." And you can't forget the doo-doo ball tree. I have no clue exactly what kind of tree it was, but that's what we all called it, since the brown fruit that grew on it, smelled exactly like doo-doo!

Maybe going to the cemetery back then, made me not afraid of them. They became a place of adventure, nothing spooky or sad. I find beauty in them. And they truly are peaceful places. I'm not some morbid freak. When I got older & got my own car, a local cemetery became a refuge for me when I needed to think things through or just time to myself. Plus I love reading the names & dates on the graves & imagining the life that person may have lived.

Happy Day

Sunday afternoon D & I went on a date. We just needed some "get out of the house, spend time together" time. We saw that Olive Garden was having their Bottomless Pasta Bowl & every time they have that, we seem to miss it. It was good, but not overly incredible. I didn't care though, it was nice being out with my love. From there we went over to Costco (D's idea) he renewed our membership a few weeks ago, but I haven't been able to make a trip there yet. I got some of those nice memory foam pillows, in hopes they will help my neck. I used them last night & could tell a difference today. Good purchase!
Linens & Things are closing a store & were having a 30- 50% off everything must go sale. I knew that they were closing, but thought I missed it, in my blur of a September. The store was a disaster & really picked over. I couldn't really understand why, since basically everything is only 30% off. But I did get a new wooden drying rack & it was cheaper than I could have gotten at Walmart.
I can't pass by a Ross without a check of the purses & I found a Fuschia bag that was too die for! But.....I was good & literally kissed her goodbye. Bu now I can not stop thinking about her & now I'm sad. Molly got a new bed. I know they all got new beds a while ago, but 2 of the beds are in our room & one is the office. Molly & Razz sleep in the 2 in our room & Rocco sleeps in our bed. But the last week, Rocco has been stealing Razzy's bed during the night & little fella has been sleeping on the floor. Now Rocco has Molly's old bed.

On the way home we stopped by Sonic for some treats. D loves the fried ice cream shake & I got my usual...Route 44 Lemon Slushie...I would drink these every single day.