Feeling Twilight Zone

Yesterday on my commute home from work my mind was wandering.  For some reason I was thinking about the art award that Sam received as a senior.   He wasn't at the award presentation so I wondered if he ever picked it up and if so, where had he put it.  I had never seen the award so I put in the back of my mind that I wanted to ask him about it.

The art award was forgotten when I arrived home.  During dinner we decided to watch The Conjuring, a creepy possession film that was new to On Demand.  It was based on a true story and kept our attention.  Lots of unsettled ghosts, demonic spirits, and house possession.

After the movie, I got up to take my dinner dish to the kitchen.  I looked down at the side table and saw a small box with a gold object in it.  I picked it up and asked Sam what it was.  He said "Oh, I was looking for something in the closet today and found that in my backpack.  It's my art award."

Okay, that moment was seriously disturbing!  Especially after watching the movie!  Just too much of a coincidence!!!

Monday Once Again

After missing two days of work due to being ill, the weekend finished off with family fun.  Saturday night Michael and I had dinner with Arlene then met up again at her house Sunday morning to see sister Julie for muffins, fruit and coffee. 

Along with catching up, we also fit time in to allow Sam to get his driver's license.  He hadn't driven in quite some time but he passed the written and driving (now performed at a local driving school) and is now a card-carrying member of adulthood.  Next step - find a job!!

Last night the finale of our weekend was Michael, Sam and I pulling together as a team to install two new handrails to the stairs.  It's always those seemingly simple projects that turn into never ending tasks but we got 'er done!!

Have a great week Divas!!

Breakfast was yummy!

Sisterly Love!!!

Beware - TMI Coming Your Way!!!

It’s a delicate subject but one that’s been a part of my life so here goes.  My period.  Ugh.  I’m knocking on 50’s door and the damn thing has not gone away yet!  What used to last five to seven days now sneaks up me on Day 1, teasing me with its appearance so my only guess (or hope) is that it won’t arrive.  Then on Day 2 it’s Hello Dolly – rushing in as if I was Carrie being dumped upon with a bucket of, well, you know what. 

Unfortunately, Day 2 arrived last Saturday when Michael and I made a journey to Spirit Mountain Casino.  Arriving at the lodge, I bolted from the car, leaving Michael in the dust as I made my way to the nearest restroom.  It was almost like being nine months pregnant when every hour upon the hour involved a bathroom break.  Thankfully, I was wearing dark jeans so evidence of Aunt Flo and her wreckage upon my clothing was not visible.  So much for feeling clean and refreshed!  The rest of the day involved playing slot machines; each time the machine heated up, it was time for another pit stop at the toilet.  Arrrggg.  On top of that, my emotions were running high – I almost burst into tears when I came out of the bathroom and saw Michael waiting for me. 

The highlight of the day was that night when I was startled from a Midol-induced coma in order to make a mad dash to the bathroom to stop the floodgates.  Returning to bed, there lay the tell-tale spots of my predicament.  Ugh.  My saving grace was how understanding and comforting my man is during my times of both embarrassment and shame. 

Thankfully, Day 3 is a downhill ride to normal, although Sunday arrived with a headache that bordered on migraine proportions.  Monday and Day 4 arrived with a lingering headache but my monthly predicament was almost gone.  Now that Day 5 has arrived, all has returned to normal. 

Mother Nature, the time has come to take pity on me and give me an early birthday present of no more visits from Aunt Flo!!  My emotions can’t take it, my clothing can’t take it, and I’m running out of “period” underwear!!!

 

 

Clearing Out the Closets!

Now that my oldest son is living elsewhere, this has left an empty bedroom in the house, which I’ve been conveniently ignoring.  Perhaps there was a twinge of longing for son Jordan to return home; however, I conceded to fate and finally the time arrived for action to be taken to solidify my child’s departure from my home.

A few weekends ago Michael bagged up Jordan’s clothing and cleared out a few other items in his room.  Our first thought was to use it as a spare bedroom along with my own personal closet, freeing up space in my bedroom.  That idea was dashed when Sam moved his belongings into Jordan’s old room.  We still ended up with a spare bedroom but now this one is filled with both boys’ castoffs.

This past weekend Michael and I emptied out the closet in the spare room and piled up the extra items and bed against two walls.  We then moved all my clothing (including five bags of apparel given to me by co-worker Kim) and my shoes into the spare room so I could begin using it as my dressing room.  It’s a bit of a wreck at the moment; however, last night I proceeded to clean out all of my clothes, tossing in a pile the items I don’t wear, won’t wear, are too big, are too small, outdated or simply ugly.  It’s a very hefty pile!  And I didn’t even begin on my shoes yet! 

Yeah, a clothes pile like this!

Last night I also tried on donated tops and shirts in order to determine what to keep and what to include in the donation pile.  Crisp white shirts, brightly colored tanks, and sparkly tops flatter my figure; peasant tops, small waist/large hip pants, and beige clothing quickly went into the “not for me” pile.

Along with sorting, I also organized my new closet from one end to the next.  Pants, skirts, tanks, cardigans, sweaters, tops, and finally dresses all hung in a line.  Alas, one closet wasn’t enough so the logo work wear, outside jackets, and party attire were returned to my bedroom closet, tucked into a corner. 

 Also over the weekend Michael and I moved the dresser, with TV on top, into the closet, which has definitely made the bedroom more spacious.  Sam was volunteered into bagging up the extra clothes today and taking them to the garage.  Tonight I look forward to organizing my shoes in hopes that I can easily find each matching pair when I get dressed in the morning.  My vision is to soon have this spare bedroom/Diva dressing room organized and repainted in the near future.  It may not be a closet in the style of Mariah Carey, but it will work for me!

 

 

 

Sooo Familiar!!!

I went through this last night! Stopped at Walmart for groceries and the trip seemed to go on and on and on. It's funny how you are most tired when you show up to the register to pay then you have to unload the basket, load the basket, unload to the car, then unload at home. Ugh!! Thankfully Sam does the unloading and the putting away at home!!

 

Beach Trip Getaway

We love the beach, which explains Michael and my weekend trip to Ocean Shores over this last weekend.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous!   Highlights included: 

·         Return trip to Alec’s for their mouthwatering clam strips;

·         North Shore restaurant next to the Ramada Inn which, although it smelled a wee bit odd, had excellent food;

·         The chrome-wrapped Cadillac in the hotel parking lot that Michael tried to jack;

·         The car show at the Quinault Beach Resort and the bargain $5 shirt from last year’s show;

·         Gambling at the casino – Lady Luck definitely smiled on us this trip;

·         Hearing my name announced over the casino loudspeaker when I won a one-night stay with dinner for two at the resort.  You’ve never seen a person cash out so quickly on a slot machine and book it to the service counter;

·         Hopping a ride on the free shuttle to the casino and back;

·         Warm white chocolate macadamia nut cookies at our hotel at night;

·         Taking off my makeup and settling in for bed Saturday night before deciding on second thought to continue our winning streak, hopping out of bed, and catching the shuttle back to the casino;

·         The shuttle ride home Saturday night, which made us rethink our return trip to the casino.  After everyone piled into the shuttle and the door was shut, the idiot driver announced “We need to make a side trip so hang on everyone.”  We then took a 15-minute trip to the boonies, entering a trailer/RV park called Ocean City Resort.  And a resort it was not.  It was dark, it was on a gravel/dirt road, and we began to fear for our safety!  Finally, we saw two oakies waiting for the shuttle and the driver picked them up.  He then announced that, since they had been waiting for so long, he had to drop them off at the casino before he could take us to our hotels.  Grrrrr…..we were not happy campers!!  Dropping the two off, he then picked up another group of riders, including some camo Duck Dynasty types who reeked of B.O.   I held my breath, just waiting for some redneck to make a racist joke.  For their sake, they held back because I pity the fool who plays verbal karate with my man as they are sure to lose!

·         Being greeted outside our hotel Sunday morning by a family of four deer munching on the grass for breakfast;

·         Hitting the casino once more before our drive home.  My little fingers were on fire so it was a nice visit before we left Ocean Shores.

·        The overload of romantic gestures my Michael displays for me – he sings love songs to me, both standard and ones he has created, he caters to (almost) all of my whims, he protects me and watches out for me during times when we are stuck in a shuttle in a scary trailer park, and he loves me unconditionally.  It was another memorable weekend with my love and I can't wait to use our free night stay in the near future!!

Cracker Abundance

Last Thursday at work there a cracker company in our conference center.  At the end of the day, they left a ton, and I mean a ton, of name-brand crackers and cookies for the taking.  Well, being the bargain queen that I am, I rushed to the conference area and picked up a large assortment of free crackers, thin chips, pie crust, and animal crackers.  We are now stocked to the brim until perhaps 2018 with cracker abundance!

Creative Way to Say Goodbye!

Hats off to this gal who quit using this medium. Nice way to exit!!!