Spring Break, the Government and a Dog and His Boy!

It begins!!!!! Today starts my spring break! As tired as I am.....I am still just as giddy as a school girl....on spring break. I have really looked forward to this and in fact, need this...more than I can say. My attitude has been less than cheery and I could tell that my irritation level is skyrocketing. I just need some time to not have to worry about the normal day to day stuff and just enjoy my kids.

Speaking of irritation...yesterday morning was an eduction into the Dept. of Education! I spent several hours going back and forth between the Dept. of Education, Sallie Mae, and the head of the VISTA program. I do think I got it all sorted out.....but as usual, I don't come out winning. In a nut shell....once I was able to put all the pieces together....this is what I got:  The Dept. of Ed took my fed. income tax. The whole thing. All they could give me was a dollar amount of what they said I owed, which was even more than my tax return. They couldn't give me anything else, but their number coincided with a number I was given a year ago and then was told by Sallie Mae was incorrect. To top it off....the D of E showed that at no time had my VISTA education award been applied to any of my outstanding debt. So then I went to VISTA! After talking to numerous people and each time asking to speak to a supervisor....I finally found that NO my award had not been awarded. It was however, still there to be awarded, but I needed to fill out paperwork to get it functional again. For whatever reason, their system will not allow me do it electronically. So then I called Sallie Mae and once again started up the chain of command after first being given an amount owed which was much less than what the D of E  had said. Finally....I got to someone who's numbers started agreeing with the D of E. Then I got irate when I asked why I had not been receiving statements from them on what I owed. Instead of disputing it....they just kept saying...."oh!" Three people at Sallie Mae had only the "oh!" response for me. I was livid.

The kicker was....after all was said and done  Sallie Mae had turned my loan over to another company (apparently for collection) and I have never gotten anything from them either! So I call them. I will be getting info from them in the future. So it ended as such. My debt was X amount of dollars because my ed award had not been processed. Because I had been told that $800 was all I owed and I thought the money that was coming out of my check each month was paying that off....I mistakenly thought I was taking care of things. Apparently I had actually been turned over to a 3rd party and I had received no information on this. My fed. income tax has gone to pay the bulk of this. My ed award will pay the rest. And what might you ask happens to the rest of the ed award after the debt is paid???? Wait for it......wait for it.......It gets turned back over to the VISTA program! Even though that money should have been applied in 2009 and because it wasn't I have incurred tons of interest and because of being told that my ed award had been paid to Sallie Mae and Sallie Mae themselves giving me multiple dollar amounts I owed and then not sending me anything to keep me informed of where I was on the debt.....I now get a great big fat nothing! Well...technically that isn't true. If I want to go back to school for anything....the remainder of the ed award can be used, so I guess it is not a complete loss. I guess the upside is that my student loan will be paid in full, they will no longer garnish my checks....oh....and I will be getting IN WRITING from Sallie Mae, The D of E and the third party collection company that my debt is paid in full! After all of this.....by 10:30 a.m. I was exhausted!! What a joke! Lesson learned? Stay away from the government if at all possible. They are just evil!

So what is on my schedule for today? Well it is suppose to be in the mid to high 60's but the wind is suppose to be blowing like a banshee. I guess we will play it by ear, but I know we will be going to my dad's for awhile. The kids need some Grandpa time and it has been awhile since I have been told I do everything wrong (did that sound sarcastic?) So I guess it is win win for the kids and Grandpa. Me....well.....not so much. Sorry for the negativity there....but that just popped into my mind as I was writing this. My father is not my biggest fan! After Grandpa fest 2011 is over...then if the weather cooperates and doesn't try to blow us off the planet.....then I am thinking the zoo is in our future. It is the perfect outing. David gets to see all the animals and is fairly content to sit still doing so; Z just loves the zoo; and I get my exercise by doing well over a five mile walk. In this case.....we all really do win! We also get to make a trip to the Social Security office (yay more government) to replace Z's lost SS card, and we have to run a few necessary errands. Possibly we will splurge on a meal out and then who knows what we might find to do? As I said.....just playing it by ear!

Day Two: Your Photo Here...

A Dog and his Boy!

Today's photo was actually taken last night. Yes....you will likely see a smattering of family photo's along the way, and this one (in my opinion) was just too cute to pass up.

Nothing says photo opp like a dog and his boy.  This is my youngest David with his dog Spud! You can't tell it from this picture, as we had Spud sheared down to his unmentionables a couple of weeks ago, but Spud is part corgie and part shepherd. He is a shelter dog we got several years ago as a puppy and then almost lost because unbeknown to us....he had parvo. Five hundred dollars later.....he was healthy and ours. Well...actually....he was David's.

David and Spud hit if off from the start and they have a mutual understanding of love and patience with each other. David has never gotten the least bit mean or rough with Spud and Spud returns that kindness with much licking and ever vigilant devotion. Spud usually hangs where David is whether that be in the living room watching tv, David's bedroom playing with toys or by his side as they both drift off to sleep. These two just seem to get each other and I think this picture more than gets that point across.


And today....I will leave you with this video. Z showed it to me last night and it was too funny not too share. Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday. I know we intend to!

The Dept. of Ed and Your Photo Here.....

I made it through Monday. I actually had my doubts as we have been remodeling at work and then my boss fell and injured his back. I was really wondering what kind of Monday we were going to have. It turned out fine though and the finished product with the remodel is going to be so much more efficient for both us and the customers. Now if we can just get my poor boss healed up. The dr. told him that he needed bed rest for the next 8 days. I don't think he has really rested for even 8 minutes. He is just slowly and surely moving from computer to computer. Now THAT is dedication!

The Dept. of Education and I are going to be having yet another conversation today. I had a feeling that some how, some way I would not be getting my federal income tax back......and the government did not disappoint. They took my entire refund and said I owed on a student loan....which by the way....they have already garnished my monthly paychecks because of....saying I was in default. I have disputed this over and over again with no results. Several years ago I worked as a VISTA which is part of AmeriCorps. For you that are unaware of this organization (as I was before I became a VISTA) it is actually a branch of the Peace Corps. It is domestic (as in our own borders) service to organizations (usually non-profits). I was placed with Communities In Schools and my job was to help the grant writer and work on the fund raising events. The pay for these kind of jobs is minimal (literally) but one of the benefits is that after a year of service....the VISTA program pays $4000.00 to any outstanding student loans you might have. (That was right at what I owed at the time). I was there well over a year and I filled out all my paperwork and was assured that my loan had been taken care of. Since....I have gotten statements that say I owe X amount of dollars.....then I will get another one saying I owe another X amount of dollars. (I only had one loan and the amounts they send are never the same!) Then they started garnishing my monthly social security death benefits. I went around and around with them. Finally out of shear exhaustion I quit arguing. They said I owed around $800 which I did not believe I did, but they seemed determined....so now they are taking out monthly allotments from my check. Currently though....they have gone too far. They have now taken my entire fed. tax return which was way over $800. Something is not right! Our government is so screwed up. I have had the pleasure (that was sarcasm) of dealing with both the IRS and the Dept. of Education on many occasions and both places have treated me rudely and with great disrespect. I have been called a dead beat over taxes that were not owed by me but by my late husband and his ex-wife (that was eventually proven to NOT be my debt to pay....but never once did anyone apologize for the disrespectful way I was treated nor the names I was called.) The Dept. of Education has called me a liar several times and depending on who you get as a representative.....they can even be pretty antagonistic. I am just so over this government. Grrrr!

Okay....enough ranting. I used my new pedometer phone app. at the gym yesterday. From what I can tell.....it only records distance and steps on the walking part of the app. On the rest such as elliptical, weight training, etc it just records time and calories. That is fine though as the elliptical can give me my strides and distance and then with the rest at least I will know approx. how many calories I have burned. It certainly is much better than any pedometer I have had in the past. By the way....I have a WW pedometer for sale if anyone wants it. I'll sell it cheap!

I had a nice experience yesterday. I had someone come up to me at Walgreens and someone else email me asking what I was going to do now that the 30 Day Challenge was over. I was a little taken a back. Both said they had grown accustomed to reading my blog daily. One said it was part of her morning coffee break. My blog and a cup of coffee. Hmmmm.....so blogs do go well with coffee! They both asked if now that the 30 DC was over, if I was going to quit blogging daily and go back to just every now and then. Then, I was on fb and one of my fb friends gave me an idea (thank you Norm). It is a 365 day photo blog. Reading up on it....it is a blog for those who really don't like to put words into a blog, but instead.... pictures. You know me though, I LOVE my words....but pictures are a great compliment to words, so I decided to give this a try. Rather than bite off a huge hunk like a whole year, I have decided to first try a month (starting today!) I am going to do another 30 day blog with a dedicated picture each day. If I like it  then  I will just continue on. Feel free to give me feedback along the way.  The photo's will be pictures of my world, the things I like, find beautiful or simply interesting. The one thing about all the photo's that I will use in this part of my blog is....they will all be mine...taken by me! No stock photo's! I am going to call this little section of my blog....Your Photo Here. Why? 'Cause I can! So let's get this party started!

Today's Your Photo Here.......

Don't ask me why I chose this as my first photo. It was probably because one, I had just gotten it in the mail and two, it is the only magazine practically that I read. Every Christmas this is my mother in laws gift to me.....a new subscription. I have been an avid reader of this magazine since the mid 90's and while slowly but surely it is getting more ads (it used to be totally ad free) I still love it.

Some of the best meals I have ever prepared come from Taste of Home. The recipes are usually all fairly easy and use ingredients that most of us have on hand all the time. There are recipes geared so kids can help in the kitchen, recipes that men have created and cook in the kitchen and there are comfort food recipes that Mom used to make.

Over the years I have made hundreds of the recipes that I have found in TOH and in those, I have only made one or two that my family didn't like. Many have become family favorites like Lil' Cheddar Loaves. They are little individual meatloaves made with cheddar cheese and a wonderful sauce. My kids get positively giddy when they know that these little meatloaves are on the menu. Another family favorite is a Potato Soup recipe I got years ago from The Men Who Run the Range section. It is an unusual soup made with both real potatoes and of all things...instant potatoes. It has wonderful spice and is so good served with cheddar cheese, sour cream and croutons. There is nothing like it on a cold winters night.

Yes...we are family who relates to food. We like to cook and we like to eat. I love to get in the kitchen and be able to play with recipes and TOH never disappoints in the recipe department. So yes, a magazine is kind of a different picture to start out with....but this magazine is one that means a lot to my family, and if you haven't ever picked one up....you might try it. Who knows....it might bring out the culinary genius in you too! So this is picture one. Can I get a yum?

It's a Monday!

It is Monday and I am so not ready for it. In fact.....I was so not ready that I fell back to sleep after my alarm went off. Luckily it is Spring Break....at least for the kids, so no real damage was done. If I can just make it through today and tomorrow....then I have a full 5 days off. You have no idea how much I am looking forward to this or how much I NEED it. The last time I took a couple of days off that weren't the result of a holiday or sick kids was last August for Old Settlers. Believe me....I am soooo ready.

As far as spring break goes and what we are doing....I have absolutely no idea.  I told Z to make a list of things he would "like" to do and then we would just randomly pick from that list. I didn't want to do anything structured or really planned as plans don't usually work well for us. We are kind of a fly by the seat of our pants kind of family. I am not sure if the weather is going to cooperate with us. I was looking at the 5 day forecast last night and it showed today and tomorrow in the high 70's (and possible thunderstorms) and then Wed. thru Fri it is only suppose to be in the low to mid 60's. If we don't end up having wind those days....then the 60's are definitely doable.

After my little Wal-mart  run yesterday and doing my regular Sunday stuff, I did work on my chair for a little while, but then I stopped. I was just in the mood to do nothing but then again.....something. Make any sense? It didn't to me either. I felt like a 12 year old stuck in the house running around whining how bored I was. I really wasn't bored....as I said, I was just in a mood. We had had a rather large lunch (chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy and green bean casserole) and I really was thinking that a nap would be nice. I was also thinking that I really didn't want to be that lazy....nor make it so that I couldn't go to sleep that night, so I decided to go on a walk. After all it was 80 degrees out and beautiful.

Now going on a walk sounds simple enough, but being in the mood I was in.....I made it much harder than it needed to be. I started preparing for this walk at 3 p.m. I finally made it out the door at 4:30 p.m. What was I doing for an hour and half you ask? Is it even possible to put that much  preparation into a walk? In Lisaland.....it most definitely is. First of course.....I had to don my walking clothes (a t-shirt, shorts and walking shoes and socks)! That killed about five minutes. Got my bottle of water, my tunes and we were ready. Or were we???? I then decided that if I was going on this walk, I was going to make it productive....so I grabbed my handy dandy Weight Watchers (WW) pedometer (pictured to the left) that we were given at one of the meetings. Now funny thing about pedometers and I.....I have never met one that liked me or wanted to work for me. I clipped the little doohickey on my waist band and proceeded to test it out. Step...step....step and I looked down to check it. It recorded about 20 steps which looked right so I continued to walk a bit. I looked back down and it hadn't recorded another thing. Grrr So I played with it a bit. I reset it and started stepping again. Still nothing. A little more fiddling with it and again I tried it. And again.....nothing!  So I did what I always do.....when all else fails....I pulled out the instructions. They were simple instructions written in a couple of paragraphs. In fact....they were so simple, they seemed a bit condescending. The last paragraph should have said.....so simple even a monkey could do it! Maybe a monkey could make this little step counter work....but I couldn't. I then decided to go to the internet and see what I could find out. Meanwhile I have this little voice in the back of my head saying...."Why? Why don't you just go walk and not worry about this whole pedometer thing right now?" Absolutely not!!!! It had become a thing of principal. I was not going to let another pedometer bring me down. So I continued my search.  I found many places where I could buy this particular piece of $#%& (yes...I know. There goes funding for that third world country again), but no instructions on what to do if you already owned it and it wouldn't count your steps past 20. Then I decided to go to the WW message boards....after all it was WW issue, surely I was not the only one who had had this problem. Ummmm.....apparently I am! All I found was post after post of how great this little piece of equipment was; how simple; how accurate; even a monkey could use it! Apparently not THIS monkey! At this point I looked at the clock and it was 4:25 p.m. and Z appeared in the doorway saying..."Weren't you going for a walk, like an hour ago!" The low guttural growl that was my response cued him into the fact that I was having issues. He immediately picked up my android phone, pushed a couple of buttons and then handed it back to me. On there was a pedometer ready for me to use. The tears I cried at that moment were mostly joy and I finally took off on my walk. Not only did this application have the ability to record steps....it also records distance, time and has a GPS of where you are walking. It also has the ability to change from walking to other forms of exercise such as running, the elliptical, or aerobics.....just to name a few. It records the calories consumed and keeps a history of it all. Take that you little WW $%#@*^! (I am turning over my bank account to that third world country. It will just be easier!) When all was said and done....I walked 3.4 miles. Today I am taking it to the gym to see how it works there. Finally a pedometer that works with me instead of against me. Who knew?

So I just noticed that as I am typing this....it is not saving. It keeps telling me that an error occurred while trying to save. I guess this means you may or may not get to read this today. It's a Monday.....even blogger doesn't want to work today. Sigh! Well I will keep typing and we will just hope for the best.

So....our 30 Day Challenge came to an end yesterday. What a trip that was. Thirty days all about me!!!! What more could the world possibly want?  (don't answer that!) It was awesome in the fact that it got me to writing every day. I hope to keep that up. And for those of you who have let me know that you do in fact read every day and even better....you like what you read.....I say thank you. So here's to another thirty days!

Day 30! Spring, Random Thoughts and Missing You

I'm getting this started late today. First let me say....Happy First Day of Spring!!!!! I have been to Mass and then to Wal-mart. Yesterday as I began my chair project and started pulling all the material off, I realized that the one thing I did not purchase when I got all my materials was a staple gun. With the number of staples I pulled out of that chair....it was obvious that a staple gun was a BIG necessity. So now....I have a staple gun. I also have brightly colored pots to put my garden in once the seeds have actually become plants. You will get full visuals of these once I have the chair project done....which might not be today, but since we are going into spring break...I am not worried. I shall have the task complete before the week is out.

Fathers sermon while good this morning...turn to God...trust in God, did not glaringly feel like it was pin pointed at me. Not that I don't have much room to grow in my faith......or my ability to have faith, It just didn't feel like Father was looking at me with that are you  paying attention look in his eyes. Perhaps I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have been and maybe....just maybe....today's sermon was NOT all about me. Stranger things have been known to happen.

What is going on in the world right now really scares me. Muammar Gaddafi has always scared me. He scared my folks. I remember as a kid my mother saying that he was nuts and that he was a danger to the US and others. For many years he has been sort of out of sight out of mind....but now he is back. With Gaddafi on the prowl again and all that is going on in Libya, it leaves me very uneasy. Oil seems to be the pawn in all of this and I find myself getting a bit angry at our own powers that be not letting us drill in the US so that we do not have to rely on the likes of Gaddafi for our oil. I am so hoping that this whole thing ends better than it currently looks like it might.

So as I was driving home from Wally World....I was blogging in my head, except for the fact that I seem to be in a bit of a dry spell today. Nothing of any particular importance or even non-importance seemed to be coming to me. That is not like me at all.....I usually have plenty to say about everything. Hmmm...... You know me though.....having a dry spell will not stop me from doing my blog, so I just decided to throw some random thoughts out there that go through my mind from time to time. Here goes:

Why is it that when a woman puts on a man's shirt.....it is considered sexy, but if a man were to put on a woman's blouse......sexy would not be the word that came to mind?

If it is true that with age comes wisdom.....then why aren't I a whole lot smarter?

Why is it when I go into the bathroom.....invariably that is the moment in time when everyone in the house needs to talk to me?

Why do teenage boys and young men seem to think we all (as in complete strangers) want to see their underwear?

The strong March, KS wind is back....and me without a hat!

Hamsters are just rats in disguise!

Pigs are a decorating statement, much like Contemporary Furniture or granite counter tops.

The essence of a blogger never dies.....for her blogs live on forever!

Are you scared yet? 'Cause these are just a few of the thoughts that tumble around in my mind!

Well guys, I bet you thought this day would never come. Today is the final day of the 30 Day Challenge. Have you learned anything about me? Probably more than you ever wanted to know! Whatever will I do now that I don't have my 30 Day Challenge to fall back on? I am pretty sure I will think of something! :)

The 30 Day Challenge


Day 30 - A picture of someone you miss.

One of the things about growing older is that you end up missing more and more people. In my life I have lost many people. I have lost friends and family members. I have lost a daughter, a husband and a mother and I miss each and every one of them. Not a day goes by that one of those who are no longer with me.....doesn't pop into my head. The following though are the ones who can still cause my heart to ache as if it was only yesterday and in the same moment bring on a smile because of their wonderful memory.

The first that I miss....I have no picture of. As I have said....the story of Little Mary has not as yet been told by me, but because of the circumstances surrounding her short life, there are no pictures of her. Just trust me when I tell you that she was beautiful. She had dark hair and dark eyes and when she smiled....the world smiled with her. No parent should have to out live a child. I miss her with all my heart.

The next is a woman whom we just recently lost. At Thanksgiving we lost Ruth. Ruth was in many ways a second mother to me and her loss is still very new and painful. I can't help though but smile when I look at her picture and remember growing up along side her family. It was a honor to know her and a privilege to be considered one of her own. Oh how I miss you dear Ruth!

My mother was always there for me. She was a driving force in all I did and all I have become. She taught me how to live life to the fullest and to die with grace and dignity. Still today I can catch myself from time to time picking up the phone to dial  her number or thinking that I so wish I could ask her something.  I miss our long talks and her laughter. I miss her wisdom and the comfort she could always seem to give....no matter the circumstance. I lost my mother to a dreaded disease.....and I miss her every day.

There are days when I think of him and not only my lips....but my heart too....smiles. There are still days his face crosses my mind and I feel the tears well up inside. He was my friend, the man I loved and the father of my children. He was my heart and when I lost him....my heart was broken. I miss his laugh, the way he made even going to Wal-mart fun. I miss watching him with the kids and hearing his keys hit the kitchen table when he walked in the door. I miss snuggling with him on the couch and hearing him thank God each and every night for what God had given us that day. I miss our talks and him telling me that no matter what the situation....everything would be alright. I miss you my dear Tim with all my heart because you made us a family. And as I write this....it is almost as if I can hear him softly whispering....."everything will be alright....until we meet again!" I miss my Tim!

Saturday, Smiles and Day 29

It is Saturday and you don't know how happy that makes me. It has been another long week. Still no tax money....so this may change things a bit during spring break but I am thinking we shall survive. And....I have the weekend off, then I work two days and then I am off for five. I need this more than anyone will ever know. Hopefully we can make the most of the time off and the kids will not want to kill me before the week is up.

Today has been glorious so far. I did not open an eye until 8 a.m. I never do that. I usually start waking up about 5 a.m. and never truly go back to sleep. This morning was a rare and wonderful treat. I have many plans today....but I have no intentions of rushing through any of them. I have to load up all my huge bed comforters and take them to the laundry mat. My washer had a conversation with me last week, wheezing to me that it was old and it needed better care. My poor little top loader from early 2000 is retaining water and can only start and stop intermittently..... and he just can't spin like he used to. The washer dr. did not give me a good prognosis when last he was out here and since it costs me $60 for him to just walk in my door, look at it and say...."yeah....it's old," I thought I better start being a little bit gentle with my little guy hopefully prolong his life. If not, the laundry mat and I are going to become real close friends real often. I am thinking putting a huge comforter in my little guy might just be a death sentence at this point.....so off to the laundry mat I will go.

I also am going to do my best to get in a workout today. Yesterday I did a circuit training workout and in it.....I ran almost a quarter of a mile. Now for you that run often....or are young enough to still have cartilage in your knees.....a quarter of a mile sounds pathetic I am sure, but to me it was a starting point. For my Feb. Adventure....I decided to do the 2 mi. River Run the first weekend in June, and while I still have plenty of time, I need to start training now. Of course I need to start slow....after all....I am old. But slow and steady wins the race and even if I never run again after the River Run, I have every intention of both starting and finishing that particular event. So now that I have started to train....expect to hear much more about it.

And today I am going to start and hopefully finish my chair March's Adventures (MA's) along with getting my little garden started. Events of this month have kind of put me behind a bit, but I plan on finishing what I started. I have also realized that like my February Adventures (cleaning out my closet and training for the River Run) my MA's are going to sprout other and ongoing adventures. The training will be ongoing until June and who knows I may decide to continue on even after the run. The closet sprouted new projects such as going through drawers, paperwork and just a general cleaning. My chair re-do is going to sprout an entire room re-do as I have decided where I am putting my finished chair and the room is going to have to be done around it. (The room needed re-done anyway). And then of course the garden. Once those seeds spout, they will have to be transplanted and then taken care of all summer. Hmmm. You know, when I started this whole monthly adventure thing, it was all to do some life changing for me. It was to open me up a bit and introduce myself to some new experiences or at least take me back to some things I hadn't done in a while. I had no idea just how great the suggestions I would get would be nor did I realize that these simple suggestions could truly be ongoing changes and experiences in my life. If I haven't told you guys yet....thank you! Your suggestions mean a lot to me....so please....keep 'em coming.

Well...I guess it is time to get this day started, but not before..........

The 30 Day Challenge!

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.

Okay....there are many things that make me smile. Of course that shows my age again, because the older you get, the more you realize that many things are smile worthy. You just have to have the right perspective. So lets get the most obvious out of the way first. These two always (well most always) make me smile. Like you all didn't know they would show up on here!

This next one is no shock to anyone who truly knows me. I absolutely adore piggies. Don't ask me why, but I do. I have pig canisters in my kitchen, pig pot holders, pig figurines, a "piggy" bank, a pig calendar and even pig earrings. I love all things pig. They definitely do make me smile. In fact....they have been known to even make me squeal with joy a time or two. Go ahead....ask anyone who knows me...they'll tell you. Lisa loves pigs!

And sticking with the pig theme....something else that makes me smile is the book...If You Give a Pig a Pancake, by Laura Numeroff. I first remember this book when Z was little. I bought it because of course...it had a pig on it. It soon became a favorite at our house and the more we read it....the more we loved it. I mean what is not to like, pigs....pancakes...it is awesome. So now, whenever I run across this book, you can bet it will bring on a smile.

Switching from pigs to puppies brings on my next smiley, feel good thing. I love puppies and puppy pictures. My love of puppies has gotten me in trouble more than once in my lifetime. I used to be awesome at  bringing home strays, something neither my mother nor my husband found particularly smile worthy. These days though....I got my two little beasts who make me smile on a regular basis....when they are not being rotten!

And finally.....something that can bring a perpetual smile to my face is my memories of mine and Z's trip to Disney World in 2005. We went at Christmas time and it was absolutely unbelievable. It is a trip that brought us closer and helped us to create lasting memories. Our only regret was that David was too young to go at the time. We both hope that someday we can return to that magical place and share it all again....only this time with David there too! That was definitely a smile worthy memory!


So these are the pictures of what makes me smile. I hope maybe they made you smile too. So whether it be pigs, pancakes, puppies, Disney or something else....I hope this Saturday brings you much joy and lots and lots of smiles.

Blogs, Fears and No Money on Day 28

My long awaited Friday is here....and upon checking my bank balance, not a farthing was added. You can't see me, but I am in full pout face right now, yet no bad words have departed my lips. I will not give the IRS that kind of control over me. Disappointed? Yes, but as I said yesterday (I think it was yesterday)....I am no worse off than before I filed, I had just had a few dreams of paying off long owed debt. Ah well....life goes on. It is still Friday and the IRS can't take that away....can they????

So sometimes as I write, I do wonder if anybody is reading. I have to admit, the writer in me wants to think the world lives to read and comment on my blogs and is hanging on my every written word. The realist in me though, knows I am just full of it. However, every once in a while someone will come up to me or leave me an email or wonder of all wonders.......leave a comment and let me know that they do in fact read my blog and get some amount of entertainment value from it. But with the good also comes the negative. Well, maybe not exactly negative.....but let us just say the reality that not everyone appreciates my abundant thoughts on life and aren't totally captivated by my exciting day to day activities is made clear. Who knew there were people who didn't find my life fabulous and fascinating? Yes....this is all going somewhere. Anyway my chat on fb was open for all of about five seconds last night when one of my newer friends asked me why I blogged. I said...."for my sanity!" The she asked me....."But why three blogs? Just how sane do you have to be?"  Funny girl right? And rest assured....I told her as she spoke she was giving me further blog fodder. She was warned. So for my multitude of readers who may be wondering the same thing (that's right you two know who you are), here is why I have three blogs.

This blog, From Beginning to End and Back Again, was my first blog. I started this several years ago after blogging/writing pieces on several message board pages. I then moved to MySpace but really didn't like their layout. Then I found out about blogger and learned they were duh....a dedicated blog site. I loved it. Blogger and I have had a off and on relationship for awhile but it has not been until this year that we have been together full time. From Beginning....is about day to day stuff. It is a mish mash of whatever is going on in my life, whatever I am thinking, or just whatever I want to throw out there and get peoples attention with. I touch on a little bit of everything. It is my main blog if you will.

My next blog, Life with the Incredible Mr. David, here was started one.....because David's issues can often be overwhelming to me and I needed a place to put my thoughts and two, because people always asked me about David and his story. This blog sort of killed two birds with one stone giving me a place to both vent and tell his story. I don't have as many blog entries on this one as I do on my other two, but David's blog to me, is more about quality than quantity.

Finally I started TMI (Too Much Information About Weight Watchers, My Life and ME!) here because God knows I love to talk about....ME! Actually I started it when I got serious about losing weight and making life style changes. I knew that it was a subject that many people were struggling with (lifestyle change....not me) and that knowing someone else was struggling too might help. This blog is my take on everything from eating and exercise to feeling pretty.

So you see, yes....I have three blogs and yes I need them all. They are the only thing standing between me and my running through the streets naked with my hair on fire. And with that visualization....you can see that not only are these blogs cathartic....they are obviously also a public service, cause no one wants to see that whole running through the streets naked thing. And after I explained all of this to new friend, (but not in near as many words)....she LOL(remember we were conversing in fb chat) when she realized that today's blog would have mention of her. She also seemed to sort of understand that my blogs were a need for both my sanity and my ego. Of course....she still thinks having three blogs is kind of funny....guess I am just a funny kind of gal! Oh....and by the way(here comes the gratuitous self promotion)....you can all (yeah....both of you....you know who you are) feel free to follow my blogs (there is a follow button on all of them) as well as leave comments so I know you were there. I did mention that there is ego involved in these blogs too...right???

On to.....you guessed it.....The 30 Day Challenge.

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.

What is the saying...."There is nothing to fear but fear itself?" (I think that is a saying?) There is also the "I only fear death and taxes!" Well death is inevitable as none of us gets out alive so why fear it? As far as taxes go....no real fear there. I however do have a certain amount of uncomfortable anxiety where the IRS is concerned. They are just NOT nice people. I think though if we are talking real, make you shake in your boots kind of fear....I would have to say I only have a few true fears. My first one is snakes.  I hate snakes with a passion and while I have killed several in my life time.....they still make my skin crawl. I think it is their sinister little beady eyes that just creeps me out beyond measure. I just want to go ewwwww.....thinking about them.  

 The other thing that causes me anxiety, verging on fear is all things wasp! I don't care if they are bumble bees, yellow jackets, hornets or wasps.....I run! And we aren't talking just a casual jog....we are talking a full tilt dash to the nearest place of safety. And yes I know....running will cause them to chase me. Let 'em. They have never caught me yet!!!!!

The final thing that truly does just scare me beyond all means is heights. I hate heights. I can get physically sick just thinking about being up some place high. I have been to both Pikes Peak and Estes Park in CO. Both places terrified me. That is probably why I like living in KS. The highest peak around here is the ant hill in my front yard. I have issues being more than a few feet off the ground and have literally almost fainted before, when climbing a ladder to paint the side of my house. Tim was less than thrilled.....as you might imagine.

So there you have it folks. Here are the irrational....yet none the less terrifying fears I  have! Like you don't have your own!

Day 27, St. Patties Day and the IRS

Happy St. Pattie's Day!!!! Yep. that's right. It means today we wear green and we are over half way through March. Can you believe it? What is even better is that it is not even 6:00 a.m. and it is over 60 degrees out. I am hoping for a really happy, sunny, Irish lovin' kind of day!

David went to the neurologist yesterday and with the juggling of his meds yet again, hopefully we have a concoction that works for awhile. I say awhile, because when David takes another growth spurt, or has a hormone surge, or if he gets sick.....then the seizures will start again and we will have to start juggling again. Bottom line, this will be our life until the day he grows out of the seizures. Lets hope that day is just around the corner!

I mentioned a while back that an old friend of mine was doing my taxes this year. I really fought the idea because according to H&R Block and the IRS, with the amount of money I make yearly, I don't have to file. When I told my friend this....you could tell it caused him visible heart palpitations and he explained that just because I don't have to file, doesn't mean I shouldn't because with my kids and a few other things, I might actually be getting money back. I was still skeptical because of my past run ins with the IRS. I do NOT trust them at all. Kinder and gentler, my Aunt Frannies Fanny! (Wow...I can even talk about the IRS and not say a naughty word! Amazing!) In the past, the IRS has come after me with both barrels a couple of times; one was legitimate from mine and Tim's early years and the second was not legitimate but it took an act of Congress to get them to realize that. When you find out they have gone into your checking account and taken all available funds, therefore causing over $1,000 in overdraft charges and bad check charges.....you tend to be a bit leery. Anyway.....where was I going with all this? Oh yeah, so he finally talked me into letting him just look at my taxes. After looking he found that if I filed, I would be getting back a little bit. He then went back and looked at the last two years also. Again....there was money that I would be getting back. Finally I relented and we sent it all in. Now I am waiting. According to IRS.gov, I should be receiving my federal refund in my account tomorrow....if I don't owe anything. I am scared. What if they decide I owe something? I know I will be no worse off than before I filed (and yes....I remember that I didn't even want to file) but that money could sure help out right now. I hate praying for material things like money....but darned if I haven't prayed recently that that money shows up in my account and soon! You've heard the saying "Momma needs a new pair of shoes"......well Momma would LOVE a new pair of shoes, but Momma NEEDS to pay off medical bills and get out of debt and this money would go a long way in helping that. So Mr. Leprechaun....if you are out and about today, please feel free to leave my pot of gold (courtesy of the IRS) on my front step and a glorious day it be for us all (she said in her best Irish lilt).

It's that time of day again. The 30 Day Challenge is upon us.

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.

Again....this one should be fairly short. There are really not a lot of pictures of me out there floating around. I have just never liked having my picture taken. The ones I do have....again there is no scanner to bring them to blog-life.  Someone a while back told me that I better get to having my picture taken or years from now, my kids won't have anything to remember me by. Meh....it still didn't make me want to start snapping pictures of myself every time I giggled or sneezed, but I have been trying to do better. I guess it would be bad for my kids and grand kids to be telling my great grand kids about me....and them not believe I really existed because there was no photographic proof.

This picture was taken a month or so ago. Of course you know the little man with me. That is my David. We were at CP clinic (cerebral palsy clinic) and after being there a couple of hours, his patience and mine were running low. That is when I always drag out the camera phone and start snapping pictures. He loves to look at himself because David does in fact feel the world revolves around him and that everything is about him. (I have no idea where this kid gets these ideas!) So anyway...we started clicking away and somehow my face ended up in this one. Notice that I am looking over my glasses....not through them like most people. This is why I hate taking pictures. David really seemed to like this picture because out of all of them he kept going back to this one. Probably because he had never seen Momma in a photo before. He likes the strange and unusual. At any rate....this is my picture of me and a family member. You like?

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all!