~ Monday

Sighs ~ every Sunday night I sit and think to myself, "Where the hell did the weekend go?" I used to hate Monday's when I was working. Sleeping in late on the weekends and then having to get up early for school on Monday morning was not my idea of a fun day. I rarely looked forward to Monday mornings. No, I take that back. I never looked forward to Monday mornings.

Tomorrow is no different. Tomorrow morning I'm going to start walking on the treadmill again. It's no longer in the triple digits outside. Well, it was 102 on Saturday but I'm hoping that was a fluke. Since it's no longer triple digits outside, that means the garage is no longer in triple digits, either. So, I'll get up, hit the treadmill, shower and get cleaned up and then go take a typing test.

Yes, you read correctly. A typing test. We all knew it was only a matter of time before I became totally bored out of my mind. Well, I'm not quite there yet but we also know that I don't particularly like to be idle. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind being idle all summer long. I mean, hell, that's what summers are for when you work at a school. Being totally lazy and idle.

However, I miss having a paycheck of my own. I miss interacting with other adults. Murphy is good company but he's not like my girlfriends ~ he can't go to lunch with me, he can't get a pedicure with me, etc.

So, before I start to feel like a total loser for having to take money from KJ or before I go completely out of my mind, I'm job hunting. I've applied for a secretarial job at the College of the Desert but you have to attach a typing certificate to your online application. A typing certificate? WTH??

It's been YEARS since I've had to look for a job, let alone take a typing test. But tomorrow that is exactly what I'm doing. Taking a typing test, getting a certificate and attaching it to my online application.

Shit, tomorrow is Monday.

~ Just A Thought

~ Grins & Giggles

I'm always looking online for images to use on my blog and when I find one I like, I save it in a folder until I need it for a blog. This image is one I found quite some time ago and I just knew I'd have the perfect blog for it someday.

We can thank my sister-in-law Donna for this one. She sent this to me this morning ~ how could I not post it when I had the PERFECT image to use?? I know I forwarded it on to most of you but again, the image and the sentiments . . . a perfect combination.

Calmness In Our Lives

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives.

By following simple advice heard on the Oprah show, you too, can find inner peace.

Dr. Oz proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.'

So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Tequila, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates.

You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now!!!

~ Gotta Have This!

Where the hell has THIS couch been?? Seriously, this idea needs to be marketed and put in furniture stores across the country. Can’t you just see this scenario . . .

You give your grandkids a box of colored markers and say, “Here my sweet babies, go on over there to the couch and draw a great big colorful picture for me to show my friends. Yes, pumpkin, that cushion would be perfect!”

Hell, I have to have this couch ~ One of these days, I’ll be the most popular Mimi on the block!!

~ For Erin

One of the things I HATE about not being in Omaha is the fact that I'm missing so much. One of the events I'm missing this week is State softball. My niece Erin and the rest of the Papillion LaVista Monarch Softball team are in Hastings, Nebraska right now for State softball.

Erin is a senior this year and I hate that I’m not there at school for her during this last year of high school. Kristin (her sister) had me all through high school but Erin only had me for her Freshman and Sophomore years. Leaving school so I could move to California was hard but leaving her was more than difficult.

From the very second she entered this world, she’s held her own special place in my heart. She was the youngest, the baby, and to me, she’s my ‘baby girl.’ In true redhead fashion, she’s full of piss and vinegar and she won’t hesitate to tell you exactly what she’s thinking or how she’s feeling. She’s not the type to back down or back off from what she believes in.

She and I have this bond and I’ve always tried to be there for her whenever she’s needed me. When I was in Omaha a few weeks ago, I was able to go to a few of her games, including Senior Night. I was thrilled that I could be there for her. You know, not many teenagers are real big on showing affection but Erin...she never fails to let her feelings show when she sees me. We can be in the middle of the hallway at school or in front of all her friends after a softball game and she’ll still throw herself at me, giving me the biggest hug and I gotta tell ya, when she doesn’t let go, my heart is just full of so much love for this beautiful girl.

She knows I’d be in Hastings if I could. She also knows that even though I’m not there in the physical sense, I’m there in the spiritual sense ~ sending her all the love that I can possibly send from here.

Good Luck baby girl ~ bring that title back home where it belongs.

(Erin is the cutie in the sunglasses and yes, baby girl, I stole this pic from your Facebook page. Deal with it.)

~ Sweet Memories

"You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can also look at a picture for a second, and think of it all your life."

~ Joan Miro

At 11pm last night I was wide awake. So, I made myself a cocktail, thinking it would help me sleep later on, and then headed into the guest room to go through my cedar chest.

On the very top I found my old teddy bear, which, by the way, was very loved. Under the teddy bear were baby clothes ~ outfits that the kids wore that I just couldn't bear to give away. I buried my face in one of Lynsay's little dresses; it smelled faintly of cedar but if I tried hard enough, I could recall that special baby smell. Ahh, the memories!

I pulled out all kinds of stuff ~ the guest book from my wedding, the pen that was used to sign the guest book, the shoes I wore with my wedding dress, the kazoo that the sing-a-gram person used at our wedding reception (seriously, who keeps this stuff??).

I found a plaster hand print of Ryan that he made in grade school and a Christmas wreath with Lynsay's picture in the middle that she made in grade school.

Old report cards from junior high, cards from my wedding showers and wedding (again, who keeps all this stuff??). My high school diploma, the cap I wore with my cap and gown, a beautiful beaded bag that I got as a graduation gift (why have I never used this, I wondered?), a book of poetry that my dad gave me on Valentine's Day in 1974 (reading this made me cry buckets) and at the bottom, in a far corner was THE doll. When I was very small, we had some friends who lived a few houses up from us.....the Peterson's. Rusty and my older brother were best friends in those days and our parents were very good friends. One year for my birthday, Joann (Rusty's mom) gave me this little doll with long black hair and big green eyes. Years later she was killed, along with their little girl, in a car accident and I just couldn't bear to ever give that doll away.

There were little odds and ends ~ a necklace from my dad, a gold English medallion from my mom, an old antique gold bracelet from an uncle in England, my "letter" from my cheerleading days and other little things.

There were letters from friends, cards from KJ and the kids that I've saved over the years and pictures....tons of pictures. Pulling everything out and recalling all those memories of days gone by really took me back. Back to the days when I was small, through my teenage years, through the early years of my marriage and the kids years as babies and toddlers.

It's funny how we save something and that one thing can trigger a memory or an event. Maybe we keep all this stuff to help us remember things that we don't ever want to forget. For instance, I have a cassette tape in my cedar chest of my dad's voice. When my dad was sick, one of the guys who worked for him at the radio station made a tape of the employees and their favorite memories of my dad and at the end of the tape, my dad talks to them, reminding them of how much they all meant to him. After my dad passed away, we all got copies of this tape. It was a timeless gift, and one that I've appreciated over the years because it's allowed me to keep my dad's voice close and I've been able to pull it out and listen to it when I've needed him. When I was in Oklahoma City, Lynsay sent me a text message telling me she wants to know more about her grandaddy so when she's here at Thanksgiving, I plan on getting this tape out and letting her listen to it. Then she'll know what her granddaddy's voice sounded like.

Sometimes I wonder ~ if we didn't have pictures or cassette tapes or cards & letters to remind us of the events in our lives, would the memories that we have be as clear? Maybe yes, maybe no but I do know this ~ all those things that I've tucked away in my cedar chest make those memories that much sweeter.

Maybe, just maybe we save all these things so we can share them with our children and our grandchildren and the sweet memories can be passed and shared from one generation to the next.

So, take lots of pictures and keep those sweet memories in your heart ~

~ Copy Kats

The other day I posted a blog about how I love to use the internet to find stuff. This morning while I was drinking my coffee, surfing online, and okay, I was also being nosey and watching what was going on across the street, I came across a site that after getting lost in, I realized I had to share it. The site is called, “CopyKat Recipes” and it’s page after page of our favorite recipes from our favorite restaurants.

For example, Red Robin’s Freckled Lemonade, Sonic’s Frito Chili Cheese Wrap, Starbuck’s Banana Walnut Bread and even a recipe for making your own dog treats. Murphy will be very appreciative! You’ll also find ‘how to’ recipes, ideas on table settings, party ideas, etc.

You can find the site at www.copykat.com ~ look through it, I bet you’ll find something you like. I’m going to be on this site for at least a full pot of coffee.

Frito Chili Cheese Wrap, anyone??