around here

roy fits in pretty well. he likes the cats, but doesnt bother them much. he loves cinnamon, and follows her around pestering her and trying to play. he really likes a lot of attention, and wants to be in the middle of everything we’re doing.

he only has one major issue. he likes to tear things up. he has plenty of toys to play with, and he doesnt seem to get bored. i had barricaded him and cinnamon in the den during the day while we were at work, and cinnamon still got out and urinated on the floor after the postman had been there. roy did ok. so when we went to a movie one saturday, i made a better barricade, and cinnamon still got out, and roy emptied the contents of my little lunch bag that i keep a few things in that i like to have with me at work, that i dont want in my purse. he chewed up one of two pill bottles, but didnt ingest any. then a few nights later he tore up a couple of select books from the book shelf. both were old medical books, one was from the 1800s. the pages werent that bad, but the covers were shredded, and there are a few red stains on the carpet. the beau was not pleased. roy has also showed an interest in my shoes. so on days they cant be outside, they are both in crates, and roy is in his crate at night. perhaps we can come up with a better plan, but this will have to do for now.

the other day at work there was an escapee from the nearby mental health facility in handcuffs on the ground, surrounded by police and EMSA workers. seems he climbed into a small truck as it was going down the street toward the main road. that would not happen to me, because i drive to fast to allow access, and i keep my doors locked. no one was hurt, and he was returned to the facility. i dont know anymore about it than that.

there was a truck driver here in town whose load, some big metal thing, got snagged on a cable line. he got out of his truck, climbed up and attempted to unhook it from his load. as he did, the cable touched a close power line,and he was electrocuted. sad he didnt just call for help. now he is beyond it.

we have had in one week a range in temperatures from 16º on monday to over 75º on friday. but the wind blows on and on.

today we are going to see ‘coralline’ in 3D. it will be my second ever 3D movie. i went to see ‘my bloody valentine’ in 3D with some coworkers last month. it was fun.

that about sums up the last few weeks around here.

google Tags: daily life,dogs,accidents,3D movies

roy

last week roy came to live with us.

it was saturday, and the beau was out front doing a few things around the house, and getting ready to wash out the cats litter boxes, when a big chocolate lab came up to say hello. he had a collar, and sweet golden brown eyes. and he was very interested in everything the beau was doing. the beef jerky in the open garage as well, which the beau gave him a piece of. they started getting along right off.

he hung around for two days, staying in our yard. he liked cinnamon, who he could see through the glass front door. the cats actually didnt freak out over his presence on the porch. i was trying to get over a respiratory problem, and came home from work early on monday, to be greeted by the big brown dog, still here. my neighbor across the street put him in her back yard to keep him from getting hit by a car or something, and put an ad in the paper for found dog. no one came to claim him.

so we took possession of him, and took him to the vet for shots, and got him a new collar and a crate. and named him roy.

he is a very well mannered dog, although he has a lot of energy. he likes to please, and already is crate trained, house broken (except he tried to mark the cat room), and walks well on a lead. he already sits, lays down, and stays – sort of. he learned to shake in one day. and cinnamon is showing him how to play tug. they eat together, and sleep together, although for now he sleeps in his crate. he loves the kitties, and they are tolerant of him. actually, thor is in love with him. thor always loves our dogs.

so i finally got that companion i wanted for cinnamon.

google Tags: dogs,labs

like a bandit

i certainly got some nice stuff this year. the beau rather showered me with gifts. a beautiful little glass dragon to go with my growing collection, and a beanie baby zebra (the character from ‘madagascar’) to add to my zebra collection. a new bottle of esté lauder spellbound, my favorite and signature scent. yet another gaming system, a ninetento ds. my mother sent me a black velvet cape with a red velvet lining. and a co worker of the beaus gave us a set of mel brooks classics and a couple of games for the beaus psp. what spoils!

i always feel i little twinge when i am so blessed with things, i think of the the people i share this planet with who dont have. im not being all righteous, and i dont feel guilty for being blessed. i would just like to bring everyone into my blessed state. there is more than enough to go around, and always has been. the God who created this planet is the God of more than enough, the God of abundance.

now today we have a forecast of 71º and thunderstorms. crazy weather pattern this year. i put our turtle outside. he has been spending time in a box because the beau likes to keep a turtle in the yard during the warm months. kramer, who we had for over ten years, and who died during the ice storm last year even though he was inside in a cage, was our resident turtle before. he had such personality, and was mostly friendly. this crazy ninja turtle is a different kind, and has a cranky temperament. we still like him, but we dont try to pet his head. we like our fingers too.

so i think we will be staying in today, most likely playing video games. did i mention i got two more games for ps3? the new prince of persia, and dead space. good thing i dont have to do homework anymore. id never get it done. have to tell the teacher i lost in space, or a sand monster got it …. never mind.

and just so you know, i havent lost the meaning of Christmas just because i revel in all my stuff. quite the contrary. i revel in the abundance of blessings that are mine through the covenant i have with God. these blessings came at a high price to Him, and reach far beyond the tangible items i enjoy. they also include health, protection, peace, and joy (which is my strength). they include a security in my ultimate future as well as my temporal present. these are things that carry me through the hard times when i face trials. the stuff can come and go, and there is always more where they came from. but the intangible things i never lose, and are the reason i have access to the stuff.

now let me leave you with a thought. God has given us great prosperity as part of the covenant. but no one said you have to keep it all.

google Tags: Christmas,weather,turtles,covenant

does she still live here?

its been so long since i posted, it must seem as though im not coming back. i have, however, no intentions of abandoning my post. i have been otherwise occupied over the last few months, preparing my garden for winter, buying christmas gifts to get them mailed early, and contending with an old computer tower that was having an aneurysm. the computer problem was the biggest hindrance to posting, though. it began to click off, and then come right back on again. occasionally at first, and then with more frequency, until it was doing it sometimes 6 or 7 times in a row. this made posting, and listing on our ebay site, impossible.

we now have a new tower, and we purchased a new flat screen monitor a while back, so we are well off now. it was a good time to get a new tower, because the bugs in vista seem to be fixed. it seems fine so far.

right now my son and daughter in law, and my new granddaughter, are sleeping in my living room. we flew them out for thanksgiving, as our christmas gift to them. i havent seen my baby boy since the wedding two years ago, and this is my first time seeing the baby. she is such a good baby too. and looks like her daddy. the girls in my family usually do look like their fathers. the boys in turn look like their mothers. the last time my son was here, he was just about to turn 18, and we lived in a tiny apartment with 3 windows. now we have a house with about 1600 sq ft, and he is 30. seems like no time has gone by, just the same.

i will be posting pictures after the holiday. they will be here today and tomorrow, and fly back early saturday morning. i will tell you all about it then. in the mean time, i will be soaking in every moment.

Technorati Tags: thanksgiving,family,computer problems

sun struck and alarmed

saturday i worked in the yard some.  it was a beautiful morning, and cool. unseasonably cool. so i went out to the shed to get a few things, a shovel, some potting soil … and of course there was no way into the shed. so i moved a coil of some old cord, and crashing down came one of the shelves that had way too much stacked on it. nothing broke, and nothing hit me.

ok fine.

so i took everything out of the shed, and rearranged it in my customary organizational way … which took about an hour. the shed is always hot. its probably hot in the winter. and saturday morning was no exception. i got pretty warm getting it all sorted, but it was started, and i need to be able to get in and get things safely.

then i began my work on one of the flower beds in the back yard. it took a couple more hours in the rapidly increasing heat – at least i was in the shade of the house, but it was still hot – to clean out the weeds, dig up as many old bulbs as i could find, and add potting soil to freshen up the bed. plus giving the dog two hose downs because she wanted to help me dig, and wanted to lay in the cool dirt. then i planted 29 marigolds, and the two mosquito plants. and a few flower seeds. when i came in i was seriously hot. i still had some energy to help the beau a little with his project of getting some large containers of stuff up into the attic, and getting down some stuff for ebay.

i felt tired, and my head hurt i little, but i wasnt burned or anything. when i got up sunday morning, i felt the effects of having over done it a bit.

summer 1, me 0.

we had had a thunderstorm during the night, and there had been a surge, which apparently ‘adjusted’ the security alarm. eh heh heh. so when i opened the back door, instead of getting the normal beep beep to let me know i needed top disarm it, it simply went off.

its very loud.

the beau was up in a flash. well, he wanted to get up early anyway …

they called the land line first. we never answer that one. its there for the fax and the internet. i told them that when the sales guy was here, and when the installation guy was here.

then they called the beaus cell, which was turned off. he always turns his phone off at night. i told them that too.

sigh …

then they called the police. then they called me. so i told them what happened, and the proper sequence of numbers to call in case the alarm is tripped, and they called the police again not to come. the last time i was in a house where the alarm was tripped, it was in a house i was cleaning with another woman. she got the disarm code wrong, and couldnt remember the password, so the police came out with their weapons drawn. that was fun.

so the weekend was, um, eventful. i was pretty tired from saturdays heat, so after the alarm snafu i laid low all day sunday. the sun apparently really kicked my butt, because i felt slightly ill all day, with a slight headache and fatigue. fatigue is something i rarely experience.

i guess i will do my yard work in the early morning or later in the evening from now on.

im so not fond of summer here.

google Tags: summer, alarms, weekend

dis•re•gard

re·gard

transitive verb  (past and past participle re·gard·ed, present participle re·gard·ing, 3rd person present singular re·gards)

Definition:

1. consider somebody or something: to think of somebody or something as having a particular nature or quality or a particular role or function
I regard his gift as an apology.

2. have feelings in relation to something: to have a particular feeling toward somebody or something
At first they regarded the idea of early retirement with horror.

3. judge somebody or something: to have an opinion as to the quality or worth of somebody or something
I regard her highly.

4. look at somebody or something: to look at something or somebody steadily or attentively
regarded the photograph with interest

5. be about something: to be about or concerned with something
This memo regards your performance review.

dis·re·gard

transitive verb  (past and past participle dis·re·gard·ed, present participle dis·re·gard·ing, 3rd person present singular dis·re·gards)

Definition:

1. ignore somebody or something: to ignore or pay no attention to somebody or something

2. treat somebody or something disrespectfully: to treat somebody or something with contempt or without respect

noun 

Definition:

neglect: a lack of attention or respect

something it really hate is to be disregarded. i would rather be insulted than treated with disregard. at least when someone insults you they acknowledge you. but when they disregard you, they act as if you arent there, or have nothing to contribute. its more infuriating than being slapped in the face.

i recently encountered this attitude from a salesperson at a carpet and flooring store. i had gone in with the beau in may to purchase a remnant for my dining room. i had bought a remnant in december for the bedroom, and had it cut and bound, and was happy with the carpet and the whole experience. the salesperson i had then informed us there was a service available to have the piece bound. makes the carpeting tight around the edges, instead of all frayed and loose. thats why i came back to this same store, because it was a pleasant experience.

the next time we came in, it was to see if they still had the other roll, like the one i had bought before. they did, and we told this salesperson what we wanted. he acted from the very start as though it was a chore to take care of this. it was may 3rd, and he said he would call when our carpet was ready. he didnt, so we called, a week later. on may 10th we picked up the bound piece that was for the dinning room, and i asked the office manager (our salesperson wasnt there that day) to please have the 4′x12′ leftover piece bound too. he said fine, and we left the store.

three weeks went by, and finally i called to inquire about my piece of carpet. i talked to my salesperson, who in a sleepy, disinterested voice said the guy who does the binding was on a week of vacation, and when he came back my carpet would get done. it should be ready in about a week, and he would call me. he said he would take care of it.

three more weeks go by and im near the store, but its raining hard so i dont stop in. tow more weeks go by, and its saturday, and the beau and i go in to get our carpet. the salesperson says he doesnt know where it is first, and then that the binder is going on vacation and when he gets back …

we both get upset at this point. the beau confronts the office manager, and i join him because the salesperson has devolved into mumbling incoherently, and looking at my receipt. im starting to wonder about him. the office manager, instead of trying to help us, gets defensive. the beau is angry and wanting to do all the talking. no one is considering what i am saying at all.

well, after a promise from the beau to call the better business bureau and lodge a complaint, we get a promise that it will be found and will be there monday. when i call monday evening, i get the office manager and am told its gone. no one can find it. he at least offers to try to replace it, so i will hold him to that.

but in the end, i cant help feeling like he really only wants to avoid the complaint to the BBB, and really doesnt want to hear what i think of the whole mess. the mumbling salesperson just isnt right. and i feel disregarded. at least the beau listens to me. but when hes angry about something, my logical analysis gets brushed over.

this is more of a rant than anything. its not that im wounded. its just a burr under my saddle, so to speak. a really prickly burr.

google Tags: disregarded, angry

something

i had some things to write about. there were a few things in my head throughout the day yesterday that i felt i wanted to put here. then, as often seems to happen, i get here and cant think of what they were. sigh.

i miss my time here, i know that. i miss getting here on a regular basis with things to say, and time to catch up on what everyone else is saying. i fear being forgotten about because im absent so much. but honestly, part of the challenge is drawing a blank when i do sit down to write. and part of the challenge is finding it hard to to focus. its been a while since i could read for more than ten minutes at a time. i have a thinking that it could be because we have been so busy at work – and i do a lot of reading at work. i sort out the faxes, so i have to read what they are to know where to deliver them. i sort out the mail, so i have to see what is junk, what is patient labs reports or doctors notes, what is patient payments and what is insurance payments, and what is invoices, and go through all the magazines sent to the doctors. at least i dont have to read all this, i just have to scan it enough to know what it is. then i have to take all the faxed referrals and scan them to see who is being referred for what, and check to see if they have been to our office before, fill out the intake sheet, enter the information in the computer and make the appointment, unless it has to go up to the doctor for review first. then i have to make the chart and send the forms to the patient. i also have to call all the patients for the next office day and try to confirm their appointment, and go through all the next day superbills and see if any of the insurances require an authorization, and stamp them for the date of the visit. while im doing all this, i have to check in the patients when they start arriving, and check them out when they leave, taking their copays, and making their next appointment. sometime during the day i also have to enter the previous days charges and payments. and even though i am not the phone receptionist, i have to answer the phone a lot, or take calls for appointments and new patient referrals. we have been so busy the last few months that i am just fried by the end of the day.

i still have to drive across town and pick up the beau from his job, and sometimes we have to stop by the postal office on the way home. i feed the cats and the dog when we get here, and clean up whatever they might have done during the day. then there is laundry to get going, maybe find time for something to eat, and a little yard work just to do something physical. by 8pm i try to get into the shower, and then go sit in front of the television for some down time. the beau takes care of our ebay enterprises after work, and so is on the computer in the evenings quite a bit anyway. my main time is about an hour in the mornings before we leave, and on weekends.

so here it is the weekend, and i am at a loss for what to say. i havent had time to have any issues to deal with. maybe thats a good thing. i have started to read ‘boundaries‘, a book loaned to me last week by one of the nurses i work with. so far i have read the first chapter, but it has me hooked. if i can just sit down this weekend, i might get more of it read.

i might get really ambitious and work on my long neglected spanish too.

this year i have had more issues with my eyes than before – they burn a lot. i think with all the rain we have had there is more something in the air that is bothering me. that doesnt make reading any easier. i used to read a lot as a child. in spite of being hyper and dyslexic. i miss it. i used to write a lot more too.

its nice having a three day weekend, i really needed the break. we arent doing a lot. yesterday i just hung out most of the day, and when it cooled down outside a bit i put more mulch on my flower beds, and washed the front room windows and the glass on the front door.

i think i will try to get the brackets up for the shelves in this room. its the only room thats a mess, albeit an organized mess. there just isnt any place to put stuff, so its kind of all over. its my goal to remedy that this weekend. once the brackets are up, we can see how we want the shelves placed, and then actually get them put up too. that will be a good thing.

so, finally a post, about something. and a weekend to recharge. feels good.

google Tags: weekend, books, reading, work

crashed . . .

. . . but not burned. when i turned on the computer this morning, all i got was a screen notification that said my system file was corrupted, and nothing could be opened. ack. dig out the restore cd-rom.  lost all our files, pictures, bookmarks, settings. sigh. it could have been so much worse, however.

when i got to work i found out one of my coworkers, who had been building a house on some recently purchased property, had withstood some damage from severe straight winds that had blown through during the night. upwards of 80 mph i believe. she and her husband had just sold most of their belongings and moved into an RV to live in while they continued building, having just sold their old property as well. they have horses, so they were building a barn attached to the house. the RV was parked next to the barn. the wind sheered the barn structure, but left the house structure undamaged. the RV was rocked, but left upright. this was at about 2:30 am. the horses are fine, they are fine, and the 2 cats and 1 dog are ok. i dont yet know if their RV is still livable.

so my minor inconvenience is nothing more than mildly annoying. but i did get my previous old fonts back, and i am pleased with that.

i have begun praying in the last few days for all my coworkers, and coming headlong against some serious strongholds that have been around for some time. it can be like stirring up a hornets nest when one begins to bring down old strongholds. things have gotten stirred up a bit here and there at work. but i am not backing off. i will pull harder and more fiercely until the walls come down. its invigorating to be in spiritual battle once again. i didnt realize how i missed it.

google Tags: prayer, spiritual warfare, storms, computer crashes

 

time and attention

google Tags: attention span, focus, time

time and attention have been my biggest challenges lately. i have decided to make a conscientious effort to recover my discipline in study, reading, and posting to my blog. for a long time, i was distracted with taking care of sammy, and spending time with her. i spent some time in my bible, but not like i used to. my books on spanish, sign language, and anatomy sat on my table under growing piles of half opened mail and papers to file, and receipts to enter into my bank book. there was a time when i had very good habits concerning these things. but then, sammy was content to sit on my lap or gaze out the window while i attended to business. there was always time to play afterwards, and i kept up with all the little tasks that daily life requires. even though i worked full time. however, in the last six years, with her declining health, and two other pets with equally demanding health concerns (both which passed away before sammy) my focus became more fragmented as my attention was directed more and more on them.

moving into our house brought more strain on my attention span, with rooms in disarray, and boxes yet unpacked.

now i am at a new beginning. our remaining animals are healthy, and still in their prime, and most of the rooms in the house are the way i want them. last weekend the beau spent most of his time getting the stuff of the office boxed up and stored more the way he wants, and getting it ready to put up the shelves. we found frames for a poster and some pictures that were long awaited. i finally have decided i want to make the front room into a parlor of sorts.

with less clutter i will have more focus. i will be more productive once again.

new habits

Technorati Tags: new years,resolutions,life,cats

i still need to work on my workout room, but its functional at this point. we bought a new television for the den before Christmas, and the beau got us a new playstation 3 for us for Christmas. so i put the old TV and playstation 2 in the workout room. this is working out nicely, because i can watch videos while i walk on the treadmill. even better, he gave me ‘Dark Shadows the lost episodes’ for Christmas too. 37 episodes on 4 discs. i used to watch Dark Shadows every day after school when i was a child. i didnt know there were any lost episodes, but apparently there are. they were shot first, before barnabas collins ever showed up in the story. its all about victoria winters, and how she came to collins port. so i watch an episode or two and walk after work, after the animals are all fed.

my mother sent us a couple of things for Christmas, along with a copy of her family line that a friend of hers put together for her. it isnt complete, but it does trace her family tree back several generations. i was surprised to find we have germans in our bloodline. its been interesting, but challenging, to find out about these people.

this spring im going to plant flowers in the front yard. ive had the seed packets for several years, but had no desire to plant anything at the old house. the yard there was so uninspiring. my yard is more inviting to me to work in, so im going to make the most of it. im going to paint the shutters black also. i dont really like the maroon. i cant wait!

i have also resolved to get gizmo declawed. i dont like the idea, and i would rather have a different course of action. but, he hasnt left me much choice. he really dislikes her for some reason. the problem is, he wont simply growl at her and leave it at that. oddly enough, i can leave all five cats in their room during the day and not ever find evidence of scuffles when i get home from work. but after we’re home, and everyone has been fed, if gizmo gets it in his head that he has been slighted by her in some way, he will stalk her till he gets her alone somewhere and attack her. the first time he did this she put him in his place, and we thought that would be the end of it. but he has carried a grudge over it, and has sought out opportunities ever since to rattle her cage but good. the last time was wednesday night, when he jumped on her and she couldnt get away. we broke it up before he was able to hurt her, but i think he was trying to. i spank him, i put him in the other cage for long time out, i scold him. it doesnt matter. he continues to do this. stubborn little boy he is. and he is the only cat we have that has clawed furniture, namely the bed. so, i must deal with this, and have his claws removed. he has left me no choice.

i will be getting my little table, that sits in the window alcove in the den, cleaned off and all the paperwork dealt with. and then keeping it that way. i used to be pretty disciplined with that sort of thing. i will be again.

i have lost about a third of the weight i want to drop, and kept it off through through the holidays.  now to drop the rest, and get toned up like i want. i use my treadmill, but havent been diligent to use the pilates machine i have. time to get after that too.

sammy has been doing well. not much to tell there. im just happy she is happy.

my son comes home from iraq in may, and plans to get out of the marines then. i believe they are going to move up north after that. they want to leave california because of the cost of living, and he wants to join the police force or sherrifs department. i think he will have some kind of retirement from the military. either way, im proud of him, but glad he is going to be a civilian again.

it looks to be a good year.