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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

another blog

Although I am not abandoning this blog, I have started a new one that may interest you...here is the link for those who would like to follow it. http://emptynestercountdown.blogspot.com/

I have been busy, well not really busy but been mentally getting ready for Stac to head to college this weekend.  That and the movie Julie and Julia inspired me to blog about the empty nest situation that I will find myself in officially in 4 or so years.

I better get to work as I spent some time writing in my other blog already.  Bye for now.

 

 

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Posted by: DianeStJames
Sunday, August 16, 2009

~ Julie and Julia..and Diane ..~

Okay this is really appropriate and I can't get back to my work until I blog about this. First of all Stac and I saw Julie and Julia today.  It was funny and refreshing!  But I didn't realize blogs were around since 2002 as that is when Julie started her blog? 

So anyway, the movie is filled with yummy cooking and meals, and cooking and yes..so we come home and I open the lid to the crock pot that I set up with braised porkchops and barbecue sauce before leaving earlier to see if I need to suction some fat out from the pot.  It looked exactly like it did the way I left it?!  The problem?....I never PLUGGED in the crock pot!  Embarassed   We all burst out laughing...and my hub called the recipe 'meatless pork chops'.  So as much as I was good about cooking every single meal except for Friday pizza night, I had to give in and it was Sonic for dinner.   

Maybe I'm getting payback for the time I teased my oldest about making microwavable Mac n cheese without the water...who knows. It was funny though...and I did enjoy the movie.  It is inspiring ! :)

 

 

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Posted by: DianeStJames
Modified on August 16, 2009 at 1:09 AM
Sunday, August 9, 2009

Catch up...

When I last wrote I was still working under a previous contract, now I am still doing the same work, just for less pay unfortunately.  I am grateful to be working though so I am not going to complain about that. I was unhappy though with the fact that I am now going to be 1099'd as it is very hard to save for those dreaded quarterly taxes so that I don't owe through the nose come tax time.  I am excited to say though that I estimated my earnings and did a dummy tax return based on those earnings and my w-2 earnings and I couldn't be more thrilled!  I should only owe a couple thousand more than what was already held back in my w-2 job...yay me for having more taken out than I would absolutely have had to. That shouldn't be hard to save.  I don't mind doing taxes either so it is not unusual that I've already done a dummy return.  Okay enough about taxes and money. 

On a lighter note I had a good laugh the other day while my mom and I were looking at birthday cards, she asked my opinion about one and I agreed it was fine, then she couldn't remember where she had pulled it from to get the envelope. I had a hard time holding in my laughter as I thought it was quite amusing. I started thinking...You know you're getting old when.....you don't know where the matching envelope is to the card to took out.  I'm so glad I am easily amused otherwise I think I'd be depressed!

Looking outside it is all brown except where the sprinklers have kept it green.  We are close to 50 days of 100 or over degrees this year and I think we just might break the all time record which is I think somewhere over 60-70 days. What is funny is the green grass really needs mowing but the last time the lawn guy was here we actually had pouring rain and storming too much for him to cut the grass. One a good note ,we've been saving money on mowing this year.  He's only done the back once and most of it is brown dirt at this point from all the scorching heat.

My balcony garden is suffering from this heat, although I d see a cucumber that is about 3 inches long and I'm rooting for it. I'm probably going to plant some more seeds in the next week or so and see if I can't have a late fall harvest with better results.

Last Saturday we had an engagement party for my oldest daughter and her fiance'. We got to meet his mother and a few of their friends and his best man. Also met one of Dani's bridesmaids and her mom.  I think everyone had a great time.  Luckily my daughters pitched in and helped me clean as there was a lot to do to get ready. We boarded all the dogs for the day and although it was a huge help, I couldn't get used to people coming to the door and nothing barking! A few times I pretended to bark just to pacify myself!  LOL.  Since I cleaned so much last weekend, I'm not doing any cleaning this weekend. 

I started shopping for 2 weeks worth of meals a month ago and it is going pretty well.  Each 'off' week I have only had to get a few things that we just run out of like milk.  Today I just had to get trash bags, milk, and a few other things. I'd like to work up to grocery shopping every 3-4 weeks, but not sure if there is enough freezer space.

Made the dogs some biscuits and got laundry done...so it is off to relax for the rest of the day..

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted by: DianeStJames
Modified on August 9, 2009 at 7:13 PM
Monday, June 29, 2009

I crown thee...

I don't have a lot of time to write as I should be working, but then again when do I ever have time to write.  I need to just get this down while I'm thinking about it. 

I hate going to the dentist. I'm sure no one loves going, except those lucky ones that have never even had ONE cavity yet! But I'm not one of those people. As a kid my dentist could guarantee at least one or two fillings out of me every time!  It isn't that I didn't brush my teeth, its just that the molars had such huge crevices that it was easy for decay to start in them.  And so I have at this point have had too many fillings to count, 2 or 3 root canals, and this will be the 5th crown in my mouth. Two of them were not really from decay per se.  I had a dog years ago that hit my front tooth when I was reaching down for a ball she was bringing up to me. That tooth already had a filling (due to having braces during which a huge cavity form that revealed itself when I got my braces off). So when she (a lab mix) hit my mouth my tooth broke off. That crown and the one next to it to lend more support were due to that. 

Anyway, I have not been to the dentist for over 2 1/2 years due to the fact that the last time I went was for a crown and it never felt quite right (fitting) since then and it was not a pleasant experience.  Having suffered from severe panic attacks years ago, there are times when they crop up and hit me like a brick wall....and this sometimes happens at the dentist.

So anyway I went today at 7:30am and even skipped my morning coffee in the hopes that I would maybe not be fully awake for it.  I was wrong.  I started out okay, but when they gave me the stuff to numb me, and left me alone for it to set in I had a short lived (thankfully) panic attack.  Why do they leave you alone?  I guess they are doing other things.  At the very least they can put a poster or two on the ceiling or better yet a television screen so I can get my mind off of being there.  I can only occupy myself for so long counting the little holes in the round air vent above my head.  I tried playing that game where I can see objects or faces in just about anything when I let my mind go, but even that wasn't working very well.

Luckily the dentist is in his element when he's working and did his thing fairly swiftly and efficiently.  There was only one other uncomfortable time when taking an impression that he told me to bite down on the mold goop and said "Okay, three minutes", and then again I was left alone.  I could feel my teeth starting to chatter a little as I tried to hold my bite steady.  Last thing I needed was to have to go through that thing all over again!

The whole procedure took less than an hour and my heart had finally stopped beating like I had just done an aerobics work-out by the time I was making the appointment for the permanent crown.  I suppose after that I will go ahead and schedule the regular cleaning since as I said it has been years.  If nothing else, I hope this will prompt my oldest daughter to GET to the dentist!!  I went religiously until I was 48.  I don't want her to end up with rotten teeth at 25! Maybe if she keeps it up she won't have to go through all the extensive dental crap that I have had to.   

well, back to work... 

 

 

 

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Posted by: DianeStJames
Friday, June 26, 2009

An Angel and a Star...

The reality is finally sinking in from the news about Michael Jackson.  Although I did hear possibly sooner than some (via CNN) that he was rushed to the hospital from cardiac arrest and so was not quite as shocked to learn at dinnnertime on the news that he passed away. 

First one of my favorite Charlie's Angels passes after a courageous battle with cancer and then Michael. And these on the heals of Ed McMahon's death only a few days ago.  Trying to keep a lighter tone to it all, I was wondering if Ed was up there saying Here's........Farrah.....  and then On no, not you too....but a well deserved....Here's......Michael...as Michael moonwalks across the clouds.   Okay so I don't know how it is in the 'after life' but I can dream and think good thoughts right?  

Although it is quite sad that these people are no longer with us here on earth and all those who bought tickets for Michaels World Tour won't be able to use them, perhaps these people finally have freedom and happiness. Fararh no longer is in pain from the ever spreading cancer that attacked her body and Michael can finally be happy.  He has had a sadness or at best a fake smile for the last several years as I recall from seeing him in the media.  He was the most alive on stage in his element doing what he loved to do best.  Now he can entertain the heavens if that is possible and he no longer has to be sad. 

Rest in peace Ed, Farrah and Michael....whom I picture having a ball up there...

 

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Posted by: DianeStJames
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