January...the Non-Month, Flu and Punxsutawney Phil

A friend of mine who has been sick about as much of January as I have been, verbalized yesterday what I have been thinking for a couple of weeks. Yesterday started her New Year. Mine too! In fact, I need to keep this in mind as in the last three years, January has SUCKED for lack of a better term. Truly it has! In the last three years, in January I have been horribly sick at least two weeks of the month and everyone else in the house has followed suit. Throw in ER trips and last year, multiple hospital stays with David and I am of the mind that January should just be a non-month in our house. Next year I  believe my family and I will just hibernate through January and start 2016 in February! Sounds like a plan to me.

This years flu has been particularly nasty and it really doesn't want to let go. Even after all this time, I can still overdue and find myself in bed with a nasty headache, nausea and fever. I am at the place where I feel good enough to do stuff (in fact stuff is driving me crazy), but shortly my body will send out warning signs that I must rest. Because of this, my sleep patterns are off due to the uncharacteristic naps I feel I must take......and I am still working my way back to actual eating. I can tell everyday that I am getting better, but it is simply not fast enough. My last go round in the ER I heard the doctor tell another patient that with relapses and recovery time, this stupid flu is taking a full month to six weeks to get over. Uggggghhhhhh! I am at the 4.5 week mark so I should be feeling ALOT better soon....right?!

All this being said, I am ready for spring. I am ready to throw open my windows and let fresh air in the house. I am also ready to clean like a fiend to kill any residual germs that are still calling my house their home! The weather teased us a bit last week and gave me a couple of days of open window time, but not nearly enough. I am ready for laundry on the line, curtains billowing in the breeze and the smell of freshly cut grass wafting through the air. Sadly, according to that damn groundhog, I have six more weeks to wait for spring. Stupid rodent!

Well there you have it. I hate winter, flu and January. Apparently I am not alone. I am also not too terribly fond of that darn groundhog Punxsutawney Phil! Of course he is going to see his shadow. He's FAT! That being said, I will take his prediction as a positive and give myself six more weeks to completely recover. By then.....hopefully January will be nothing more than a distant memory.

Happy Groundhog Day everyone!!!!!

Something In the Water

According to Carrie Underwood......There must be something in the water. The song is beautiful, spiritual and a hit. However, here in Mulvane America, that something in the water is neither beautiful nor spiritual and it is definitely not a hit if the Mulvane facebook page You Might Be from Mulvane, KS if....... is any indication of the feelings of Mulvanites.

To be fair, Mulvane has had a sketchy past with their water at best. As a resident of this little utopia for the better part of 40 years, I personally know that there have been times after a big rain that you would turn the water on and it would run brown with what we like to tell ourselves was mud. The water has at times smelled bad and tasted worse and I remember one time my mother spent a week about to lose her mind with a smell in our kitchen. It was at the sink and she thought something had gotten in the pipes or down the garbage disposal and rotted. She cleaned, she scoured and she even took apart the pipes. When she found nothing and also found she couldn't reassemble the garbage disposal, she called a plumber. As he stood there looking at her disassembled sink and pipes and she explained why she had done it, he just shook his head and laughed. Why? Because he knew what every other long time citizen of the town knew. It wasn't her sink....it was the water! 

Before bottled water was a thing, we drank the water when necessary....but only when necessary. There were times when we would get notices to boil all water before using and other times where we voluntarily boiled the water because with the smell and taste, we knew something icky was going on.

Through the years, the city would get the occasional complaint if the smell got too bad or the water was too discolored and the city would always reply with the information that it was because of the water source and not because of anything the city could help. We all then just put on our big kid pants, held our nose, drank the water and quit complaining.

Over the years, the water has gotten better at times and then fallen back to worse. Since I know very little about water, I did a little checking. Mulvane citizens are allowed two kinds of water....city water and well water. Well water is just that. It comes from an on property well. Many with in ground water sprinklers, pools or gardens have wells and many of them were dug years ago. The city has no access to these wells and therefore, after the initial cost of digging the well, the homeowner basically has free water. The main problem with wells is the initial expense and the possibility of ground water contamination. Because of this, drinking well water is NOT advised.

With city water, it is just that. It is water that the city owns and distributes to the town. The price of Mulvane water is not cheap and if you have a pool, garden or sprinklers, in the summer time your water bill can rival your electric bill (the two happen to be on the same bill by the way.) Our current city water comes from another town called Augusta and is piped in, treated and then piped on to residents and businesses. When Augusta first became our water source, there was a decided difference in the water. It was clear, it didn't smell and it tasted good. The side effect of this good water was a raise in our water rates. Then, the water started going down hill, while the rates continued to climb.

When we as a town voted for the casino which the city told us would be a boon for our economy and make many things better in our community, we had high hopes for everything...including the water. After all, you couldn't have a casino, restaurants, an arena and a hotel and have nasty water, so surely...... The revenue has at times been good, but apparently we traded $$$ for water. Since I am not a casino type person, I have never been out there but, those that I know have, say the water is good, clear and dare I say.....drinkable. So why the casino and not the town? Apparently it has something to do with the way it is filtered and the pipes going to the casino. Hmmm

Meanwhile, us town folk are having ever worsening city water issues. The other night on the Mulvane fb page, the water issue came to a head with residents getting frustrated and irritable to the point that fur was flying. It all started with one resident saying that her niece had been diagnosed with a kidney stone and the doctor had told her he had seen many of these of late from Mulvane residents. His diagnosis on Mulvane water? Too much calcium in it. I tend to believe this as I know of several people myself from Mulvane who over the last few months have ended up ER bound with kidney stones. I would say that is a pretty painful side effect of drinking city water. This one post about Mulvane water, led to the gates of frustration flooding open and people letting loose. Stories of babies bathing in the water and getting hives, people having stomach issues after drinking the water, dingy laundry, clogged filtration systems and local businesses having complaints on the water were flying every which way. So apparently.....Mulvane has a water problem. Sadly, up to this point, we as a town had become so complacent with the issue over the years that we had actually quit complaining.......until that fb post. 

It suddenly was as if a light bulb went on for all of us at the same time. Hearing these stories and realizing that it wasn't just that the water smelled or our laundry was never really clean, but people were actually having "real" health issues from this stuff, made many of us stop short and see that this is not just an annoying problem but a real and urgent issue that needed to be addressed. In that evening, Mulvane people did, what they do so well. They rallied, made a plan and decided on a course of action to fix this issue. Why should we be paying a big chunk of money every month for water that we really can't even use and maybe even causing us health issues?

If the city was used to a complacent community where this issue was concerned, things might be changing. We need to know some answers about why our water is so bad. So far there has been finger pointing and excuses, but no real answers. Why is the casino water so much better than town water? Why do some people in town have better water than others when all our water comes from the same source? Then, after we learn the real why's, we need to have some solution options. After all, knowing why your water stinks, tastes awful and is making people sick doesn't fix the problem.

The city seems to be listening as they are adding city council meetings to their agenda and giving open forums to Mulvane citizens who want to speak. Why wouldn't they? After all, they have to use the water too. People are asking for independent studies to be done on their water so that we don't just have the word of the city as to what is floating around in our water and for now, bottled water and filtration systems reside in many a Mulvane home.

Yes, there is something in the water here in Mulvane. It is a huge issue and we would really like to know what it is and how to fix it. If you are from Mulvane and want to know what is going on with the water issue, there will be a city council meeting Thursday, January 22nd at Mulvane City Hall at 7:30 pm. Our water is on the agenda. You can also keep up on what is going on with the Mulvane water issue on fb at Better Water for Mulvane.

Stay tuned. I am sure there will be future updates and maybe..... we will find out just what is in the Mulvane water.

'Tis the Season

I love this time of year. It is so full of promise. The holidays have been survived as has the first half of the school year. Just a few weeks of cold, maybe a sprinkling of snow and then it will be spring. I can practically hear the birds chirping and see the sun shining in my fantasy of this bright new year. It all looked so cheery and bright until.....the first sneeze from upstairs. It was quickly followed by the coughing bout from the basement that could be heard all over the house. Finally, I hear the mad dash up the stairs into the bathroom, toilet lid thrown up, and then I realized......the only thing different about 2015 as opposed to 2014 is....the flu finally found us. Sigh.....it took them all at once. Double sigh.....

In all fairness, I'm really not that surprised. I mean after all....it was bound to happen as many trips as we have made to the ER in the last couple of weeks. On our last trip, you could practically see the germs partying in the waiting room. There was a collection of hacky coughs, runny everything and people hovering over trash cans and puke basins. I grabbed masks and bathed both myself and David in hand sanitizer, but I felt even those measures where no match for the germ warfare going on in that small space. Then there is also the fact that Z and his lady love are constantly out and about, never thinking about what communicable disease might be hiding in every crack and crevice of life. While they have been brought up in a germ conscious society, at 18 are they really thinking about getting sick when they share food, drink and God knows what else? Of course not! Bottom line is.....all our bodies are probably fertile breeding grounds for everything from the flu to the plague, so really there is no shock that this targeted us. The only real surprise is..... that it took this long.

As I type this, the sounds of coughing, sneezing and the occasional whimper or hurried foot steps to the bathroom are what fill the quiet of my night. I find it difficult to close my eyes for fear that I will be jolted awake by the sound of my name being sickly yelled out to run bring aspirin, a drink or God forbid.....clean up a bathroom. I also do little sleeping with David sick down the hall. I fear him throwing up in his sleep as he sleeps mostly on his back. We have already been down the aspiration road and I don't wish to travel that path again.

I guess I really shouldn't complain. It has been a couple of years since the flu bug really hit my house full force. Last time I was one of the casualties and it took me forever to find my way back to 100%. This year I hope to stay well....at least until everyone else gets it out of their system. It is very hard to take care of others when you feel like warmed over death yourself. Not to fear though....I have brought in an arsenal of Lysol, Clorox wipes, Gatorade, ginger ale and vitamin C. This house isn't going down without a fight.

So as I lay here, praying that the worst is over soon, I think of spring days, warm breezes and anything that doesn't sound like someone puking! 

Happy Monday everyone!!!

St. Peter....One of "Those" Christians

It wasn't long ago that I was having a discussion with an individual that I was not well acquainted with. Talk turned to church and my going to Mass. This individual then scowled and  said....."Oh you are one of those Christians." It did catch me a bit off guard and I said "Yes, and even worse....I am one of those Catholic Christians." It was an attempt at humor to lighten the moment but the individual truly found that to be even more distasteful than just being a Christian.

I really didn't think much more about this incident. Then the last two weeks on EWTN (the Catholic TV network) there was a two part movie on called Imperium: St. Peter. Saturday nights EWTN plays some extraordinary movies and this was one of them. The movie was about Peter, one of the twelve apostles of Christ, and it takes place from the time of Jesus death up to his own. St. Peter was played by Omar Sharif and I have to say, it was an amazing portrayal.

Peter and the other apostles and followers of Christ were living in treacherous times after the Crucifixion of Our Lord. Christians and the very thought of this "new" sect called Christianity caused great fear among all other beliefs.....even the Jews. It was a time when belief in God and now His Son could earn you death. Many times throughout the movie the words, "You are one of those Christians," was said and it brought me back to that day when I was called, one of those Christians. Two thousand plus years and Christians must still face ridicule for their beliefs. How sad Our Lord must be.

So what makes Christians such a target for the rest of the world? Likely the most important reason is our belief that Jesus was born, lived and died for us and our sins. The fact that we have faith in words given to us by an Omnipotent being and that we live our lives knowing that death is not the end of our journey but only the beginning. Truly, our faith in the unseen and untouched is enough to put a non-believer over the edge. If I am in the mood to push a point, my favorite saying is: "For those who believe, no explanation is necessary and for those who do not believe, no explanation is possible." This covers miracles, faith and the reasons Christians live as we do. We need no explanation. Our faith has us covered. This statement can send a non-believer of any persuasion into a diatribe of frustration because to them.....everything must have a reason and must be explained. Follow it up with "Everything does have a reason and purpose, we just may not be ready to know the reason and purpose," and this can completely unravel them. Why? Because for many outside Christianity, their beliefs are based in self and man. If man created everything and they are in charge of their own life and destiny then there must be an understandable reason for everything. To believe that God has the power and they don't is contrary to everything they choose to believe. And our belief as Christians infuriates them to the point of distraction.....just like it did in St. Peters time.

Some are turned off by Christians because of the proposed hypocrisy they see among Christians. Many Christians have been accused of being Christians on Sunday and something very different the other six days of the week. Also many Christians have been condemned for taking literal translations of the Bible and using them for their own agenda. Obviously much has changed since biblical times and how we treat women, adulterers and those that do wrong in society is much different than it was 2000 years ago. The fact is though, Christianity is a goal. It means to be Christ-like. It doesn't mean to be Christ. Christians are humans and works in progress. Perhaps there are those that are only Christ-like on Sunday's but that is them trying. Maybe there are those who put their own twist on the bible, but at least they are reading it. At least they are putting the effort in. Humans will always struggle because we are human and because we were blessed/cursed with free will. For some that free will has been their salvation, for others.....their free ride into hell. Perhaps though, those outside Christianity need to remember that Christians are just humans and as humans, we will fail many more times than we will succeed. But as Christians, we know our failings and we have complete faith that if we ask forgiveness from God for our failings with a sincere heart.....we will be forgiven.

I long ago brought my Christianity to the simplest of forms, as simple just works for me. I am not a biblical scholar and quite honestly if the bible hadn't been translated into newer more understandable language, I would be lost. I have brought the rules of my life down to....The Ten Commandments and The Golden Rule. The Ten Commandments because those were given directly from God to Moses and they are the basis of everything we do in life. I believe if you follow them, then you are following God's word to the tee. As for the Golden Rule, it is the very basis of everything Our Lord taught us. Love your fellow man.Treat others as you want to be treated. Be kind. It is all there.

Perhaps that is too simple, but it is what works for me. Truthfully though, this simplicity has gotten me in hot water from, believe it or not.......other Christians, as they don't feel that some current societal issues are explicitly covered in my simplistic view. I think if they look deeply though, they are. It is not my job to judge. It is my job to be as Christ-like as possible and Christ did not work on judgement. He worked on forgiveness. Those that society felt were an abomination, He forgave and brought them to Him. The best way for me to bring others to Our Lord is to teach by example. To live my Christianity through love, kindness and respect for my fellow man. The judgment, well I leave that to God.

So here it is. I am a flawed human who is not without sin. Christianity though, is a gift. In my way of thinking, if a man like Peter could be full of human failing, deny Christ not once but three times and still be forgiven, then there is hope for me. Peter was chosen by Christ and in the end was one of Our Lords staunchest supporters. In a day where Christianity was dangerous and carried a death sentence, Peter defied mans law, chose God's law and by doing this died as Our Lord did, through crucifixion. His life and death made him not only a martyr for Christ and all Christians everywhere, but it earned him the seat at the head of Christ's church and ultimately....sainthood.

Yes, I am proud to say.......I am one of those Christians!

2014....Thank You

So here I sit on this last day of 2014 and I am reflecting. Of course I cannot reflect properly without being in my pajamas with my hair uncombed and a cup of really good pumpkin flavored coffee. Check! Check! AND check!

It is not lost on me that at this exact time last year, Z and I were sitting in the surgical waiting room at St. Louis Children's Hospital, praying that David would be undergoing his last hip surgery and that 2014 would be the year he walked. He has walked. He is doing well and hopefully, our prayers of that day will continue to be answered.

This last year has presented my family with a lot of hard times running the gamete from physical to emotional. We have upped our ER/hospital frequent flyer miles, I have had to use my "outside" voice on a few people in several situations and I have had to spend a great deal of time fighting against the machine. There have been tears, frustration and at times I have even wished for those little kid days where I could just pull the covers over my head and hibernate until.........

Yes, this has been a really tough year and in some ways it has remained that way right up until this very minute. I posted on facebook the other day that I was kicking 2014 to the curb and never speaking of it again, because on that day.....that was all I could think to do to move forward. Then someone posted, but what about the good memories?! It stopped me in my tracks. There were good memories!!!! In fact, there were some amazing memories. More over that, once again.....I was put in the position to see the extraordinary kindness of others. While 2014 had some rather sucktacular moments, it also was filled with the generosity of others. That is what I choose to focus on.

In 2014, I literally had to beg for help. It was at one of the lowest points in my life. Amazingly though, people who had their own struggles came out of the woodwork to help my family. Some who helped knew me and were in fact, close to me, while others only knew me from fb and still others didn't even know me at all. Because of them, my family was able to survive. Then there were those who gave of their time and skills. The summer was filled with individuals who worked all day and then spent their evenings in my backyard so that David could have a pool to do his therapy in. It was no small task and there were several weeks where these individuals had 14-16 hour days because they went from work straight to my house and stayed until late digging, building and giving David the pool and deck of his dreams. It was a success all the way around, as in no time after starting his pool therapy......David was kicking and strengthening his legs and yes....walking with his walker.

So.....it occurs to me as I sit here typing, that in retrospect, I have a great deal to be grateful for and that 2014 had many more bright spots than I originally gave it credit for. I think rather than dwell on the tears, I will just focus on the events and people that helped us, made me smile or flat out changed my/our lives for the better. To all of you who helped us, even in the smallest way......I thank you. For all the people who flooded our lives and made sure we didn't have to face the difficult times on our own.....thank you. To those that built us up, had a kind word or were just there to listen when all I had were tears and inaudible sobs......thank you. For those of you who laughed with me, sat around the fire with me and maybe even shared a drink with me......thank you. To all of you who prayed for us......thank you. To the doctors and nurses who fought for David, worked with David and helped to make sure that David had the best of medical care on each and every ER/hospital stay.....thank you. To the EMS who have earned their own frequent flyer miles coming to my home this past year and transporting......thank you. For those who labored in my yard, showed up at the drop of a hat to fix things and who helped me to save what little money I had......thank you. To all of you who helped us financially.....thank you. To my old friends who never left me, my new friends who this year has brought me and those that don't even know us but lended a hand anyway.......thank you. For my church family, my biological family and my hand picked family......thank you. To those who have bought cheesecakes and who continue to buy them knowing that is my income......thank you. For those who continue to be there for us and check up on us......thank you. You all know who you are and I hope you know that you have made 2014 a better place for my family and I because of your presence. Thank you!

I guess that 2014 held much more than just a few tears. After all.....I/we are still here and I am sitting in my pj's drinking pumpkin coffee and blogging about the positives. I would say that is a pretty good ending to any year.

Before I finish this final blog of 2014.........I would like to wish you all safety tonight and a wonderful.....peaceful......joyful, New Year! See you in 2015!

A Little Ragey and My Inner Bitch

So I woke up this morning feeling rather ragey! According to my spell check, ragey is not a word, but since that is an emotion I am feeling.....Queen Lisa of Lisaland now proclaims it to be one. So, I woke up feeling ragey!This led me to think about the kind of day I was about to have and made me wonder if my inner bitch would be rearing it's ugly head. I then began to think about another time in my life when I was considered anything but a bitch. In fact, I was so anti-bitch that I had "people pleasing doormat" scrolled across my forehead. Yes.....I have a large forehead.

Believe it or not, there was a time in my life when I was so eager to make the rest of the world happy, that I never could say "No" or even express an opinion that hadn't already been given to me. Perhaps it was after a lifetime of being undervalued, walked on and taken advantage of (willingly of course....after all....I was a people pleaser), that my doormat self had a psychotic break and my inner bitch appeared.

Like all newly gained super powers, it took some getting used to. At first I was not just ragey, but in fact, a raging bitch 24/7. I had pleased people so long that I had no idea who I was or what I wanted. I didn't even know what I liked in this world. I had spent so many years liking what my parents liked, what my friends liked and what various boyfriends liked, I had developed no real likes of my own.

It also occurred to me that the sweet, always agreeable me had been a bit much for the rest of the world. Maybe this is why I became an ultra bitch overnight. Soon though, I realized that ultra bitch was a bit much too, so eventually I learned to dial her back. Trust me, that was a work in progress with the loss of people, jobs and a bit of self-esteem along the way.

Eventually, I found a happy medium of sorts and was able to keep the bitch at bay unless absolutely needed. As my kids were growing up, the nicer part of my personality prevailed and only on rare but necessary occasions did my inner bitch show her face. I do recall however that the couple of times my children were witness to this full on persona....they weren't sure whether to be proud or horrified that their usually affable mother could be so ummm....errrr....unpleasant. Usually after their witnessing of this slightly darker side of me, they were really well behaved for a period of time. I guess I will call that a bitch perk.

As my kids have gotten older, I have gotten older and the world has turned on its ear, my bitchy persona seems to be slipping out more and more. Don't get me wrong, I have complete control over it these days as it is a finely tuned weapon that I still try to reserve for only those I feel are most deserving. I have also learned that both the kinder, people pleaser me and my inner bitch me can co-exist and even work hand in hand in most cases.

The kinder me will give most people and situations one, maybe two chances to fix a situation. The less pleasant side however, draws the line there. If things haven't changed at this point, then likely they won't......without a little persuasion. I usually only bring out my persuasive attitude when I am dealing with people and situations having to do with David, telemarketers who refuse to respect the no-call list, insurance companies of any kind.....and the cable company. These are my nemesis and they must be made to pay for their evil doing. Yes, there is a reason that certain people will see me on the street and avoid eye contact and there is a reason that when I call the cable company I am immediately connected with a supervisor. Another bitch perk? You be the judge!

In retrospect neither doormat nor ultra bitch are very flattering descriptions of a persons character. Neither wins you true friends nor a very satisfying life. As time has gone on, I can't say I miss the doormat me very much. I did however try to hold onto the kindness that went with that period of my life. The inner bitch of me though, she has proved herself to be an asset in some crucial situations. She is an effective tool for showing people how deadly serious I am where my son and my internet, phone and tv service are concerned.

There is a happy medium there where I believe the best parts of the two personas can exist. I can be kind, easy going Lisa by day and in a moments notice....don the black cape, throw on the UB t-shirt and become Ultra Bitch when necessary. I am good with that.

So there you have it. A little more about me and a view into the strange and sometimes scary inner workings of my thoughts. And to think.....this all started because I woke up......a little ragey!

Remodeling My World

I love my blog and I especially love my readers and their comments. As usual, on Monday's blog I received a couple of on blog comments and then several outside the blog via Facebook messaging and email. It was overall deemed a positive if not humorous blog by all but one. The one, possibly a PETA affiliate was highly upset that I would promote eating elephants or any other species with a face. It just goes to show, you can't please everyone, but I stick by my analogy. After all, it wouldn't make any sense to say something ridiculous like......eating a two ton Buick. Yes.....I am in fact rolling my eyes right now.

So Monday I talked about repairing my house and doing a bit of remodeling in my world. It has been on my mind for a long time and I have done stuff here and there, but I am craving change right now and looking around, there is not a room in my house that couldn't use some change. Some of the change is merely cosmetic and some of it is major necessary, down in the dirt, get my finger nails broken kind of change. My house also may or may not have a few issues like asbestos in the popcorn ceiling which I am NOT going to touch and asbestos in the basement tile floor which I am going to seal over.

I have one room project in the basement which is in mid remodel and I am going to finish it in 2015 along with the rest of my house. I am not sure about my electrical and I am sure my plumbing is a mess but over the years, both have been tweaked here and there. All in all, there are some big jobs, but for the most part, it is a lot of elbow grease, paint and repair.

My mother always taught me as a child, that if you were going to clean a multi-level house, you always start at the top and work your way down. That is how I intend to repair this beast too, with the exception of possibly working on the basement room as my skills increase. Funny little side note......I put a HELP WANTED ad on fb for my local friends, to see if anyone wanted to teach me some mad carpentry skills. Sadly, the line was short for takers. Short as in non-existent. (Sad face). That is okay though, because I have not given up and if all else fails, I will YouTube my way through it all, but come on....does anyone really want to see the fall out from that???? NO!

I will be starting upstairs in Davids room. It will be his belated birthday and Christmas gift. His room will need a good paint job and his floor will have to also be painted. We have hardwood floors throughout the house and they were put in when the house was built. They however, were never sealed but instead covered with carpet. The people prior to us (years ago) had pets in the house who thought just about every room in the house was a toilet. Because of this.....when we pulled up carpet several years ago, we learned that these beautiful, original floors were deeply pet stained. Since I do not have the money for my floors to be redone, I am looking into painting the floors.

Davids room is going to be a Spongebob theme with Spongebob colors and I plan on painting his floor to give it a sandy, beachy kind of look. The walls will be the Spongebob blue and I am going to have someone paint the Spongebob characters around the room.

Since our house has dormers, in David's room there is a built in desk between the wall and the dormer. I plan on removing that desk and either A) building a bed with storage underneath or B) making it a covered bench for him to crawl up on, look out the window and again.....have storage underneath. Yeah, this is out of my carpentry skill level, but I bet I can learn!!!! This is going to be my January project.

Yes, there will be before and after pictures. Yes, I would love any suggestions. Yes, I still need paint supplies, tools, building materials, an artist and a carpentry teacher, but other than that.....I am golden!!! Seriously though, if you are looking to unload any of this stuff and/or you have any Spongebob stuff you need gone......I'm your gal!!!

Well, there you have it. The projects are soon to begin again. I just have to survive the holidays first! I predict that my Wednesday blogs in 2015 are going to be interesting. So for now, see you later and have an awesome hump day!

P.S. No elephants were harmed figuratively or literally in the writing of this blog. They were however nibbled on a bit! (Grin)