That's One Ugly Baby, Lady.....

When I was doing my 15 minutes of housework this weekend (wouldn't want to strain myself, you know), I came across this. I imagine its been like that for a bit since I haven't dusted in a while. It brought an immediate smile to my face. This is the kind of surprises you find when you're a grandma.

I just love being a grandma. I imagine I found all sorts of things like this when I was a stressed-out, working mom but I can't really remember any of them. Back then it just irritated me that it was something else that wasn't picked up and put away. I was so concerned about doing my job, taking care of my family and trying to keep the house clean so the neighbors wouldn't talk bad about me, I never took time to stop and smell the roses.

Being a grandma, I see these kinds of things and stop and smile at them.....and furthermore, I leave them right as I found it because it makes me smile every time I look at it. I have left this totally as she left it. My granddaughter will find it eventually and then do something else that will surprise me when I least expect it.

I wish I would have taken the time to appreciate my own kids the way I now appreciate the grandkids, but back then it just seemed impossible and maybe it was. If I could dish out advice to any young mom, that's what it would be....slow down and appreciate your kids and if something is a little dusty.....so what! That dust will be there waiting for you, but the kids just keep on growing.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this and I hope it brought a smile to your face as well. Those of you who are grandparents know just what I mean and those of you who are too young yet.....I hope you think about it and the next time you open the cupboard to find a bunch of Legos in your casserole dish, stop and have a good laugh over it.

Holy Smokes.....

That's an odd saying, isn't it? But it basically sums up my shock. Where in the world did the time go? I have been in my own little world and also have visited many places via my books and TV programs. While my son was living here (ONE WHOLE YEAR!), I rarely got the chance to read because he interrupted me so often. You know, he has ADHD...he's always had it but way back when he was first starting school, they didn't have a name for it. He was just labeled as being "difficult" and "hyper" and was put into special classes at school for "emotionally impaired". I would never recommend those classes for any child. And I don't want to get started talking about all the trauma we went through during his school years. It was terrible and he ended up being cheated out of an education and other classes in which he could have excelled....like music and art, both of which he has natural talent. All I can say is that they've come a long way in helping these kids and hopefully more and more of them are now able to take advantage of a good education and any electives they are interested in.

But anyway, he still suffers from the same symptoms that he's had all his life.....and he won't take any medication for it. So, if you're around him, you have to be prepared to be subjected to lots of activity, almost non-stop talking and having every nerve in your body standing at attention on top of your skin.

So, I've been enjoying my "peace and quiet" when I'm not working outside the home. I have read quite a few books...I'm reading The Story of Edgar Sawtelle right now and, 100 pages into it, its holding my attention. How can you NOT like a book that involves dogs!!! I've also started watching TV again. I may become a fan of FRINGE, a new series that has a female as the main character (FBI) who is uncovering many government secrets. I caught a showing of HEROES, which I had never seen before. It held my interest but I will admit that it was confusing. I'm not sure who the good guys/girls are or who the bad ones are at this point.

How fast the evening flies when you're looking at a TV program that holds your interest....or reading a good book. After supper I would sit down to do one or the other and before I knew it, it was bedtime....and no time for computer entries. I did manage to read your blogs at work though so I have been keeping up pretty good except for the last 3 days....I've been off work and busy around home. I must say the weather is beautiful here and its giving me energy I thought I had lost forever. I work every day next week so my work here at home will have to be put on the back burner....at my age its hard to accomplish both things and do them well.

Just the facts ma'am.....

This election is really getting to me. There are so many things that I dislike and like about each candidate that I'm having a terrible time of it. Just when I think I've got my mind made up, I get a scathing email with a bunch of possible truths, possible garbage about one side or the other and then it sets me back to square one again. I often split my ticket when I vote. I usually vote for the person, not the party. Is that wrong? Anymore I'm really confused.

Someone told me about this website that is supposed to be fair and is not leaning one way or another....just toward the truth.....so I thought I'd pass it on. www.factcheck.org - I've been reading some of the stuff on it and hopefully it will help me to make a decision that I will be comfortable with. My daughter and I will be voting alike so as not to cancel each other's votes out.

If anyone knows of another place to get honest answers about both sides, please advise me. I'm just so effin' sick of the lies. I hate the mud slinging too, but they are both doing it. I realize there are no saints left but I'm just sayin'.....

Oh my goodness.....

I drove home from work in the rain. It had been raining on and off for most of the day and some of the downpours were impressive! This is our little taste of Gustav...what's left of him.

Rumors were flying around at work that gas was going up 30 cents and we all were chomping at the bit for 5 o'clock to get here so we could fill up. I pulled in the gas station and filled up my tank, which was about a quarter full. The gas was $3.89 a gallon and it took nearly $49. to fill my tank. It had gone up slightly from that morning but not any thirty cents. I was beginning to think that maybe it was just a rumor and nothing more.

After I'd been home for about 2 hours my daughter called and said she'd gotten a call from her cousin in Arkansas. She said that gasoline there had been raised to $5.25 a gallon. I am in shock.

This can't continue. People will not be able to afford to drive to work. Someone said it was due to the hurricane. I guess Texas prices are even worse. I have never seen things this bad. And to think that I actually remember the summer I was 17, we had a "gas war" and it was selling for 10.9 cents a gallon at one station. The next lowest price was 11.9 cents a gallon. Boy oh boy, does that ever make me feel old! Back then a dollar's worth just about filled your tank....AND, they put it in for you, not to mention checking the oil and washing the windshield. Yep, those were the days.

BTW, if you want to try out the new "followers" link from Blogger, click on "Followers" in my side bar and it will add your picture and a link to your blog. I found out about this from Bear.....so far my only follower....and haven't really experimented with it much.

Whew.....

I can't believe how fast time goes. Between working, family and computer problems, I have been neglectful in posting. Actually nothing really "newsy" has happened for me to write about. I guess that's a good thing.

Things are slowly getting back to normal in my household and stuff stays where I put it. School is back in session, traffic has increased by 1/3 and it takes longer to get anywhere.

The airline people are now sending "bills" to my address to two different names that are so outlandish they just HAVE to be fictitious. Since I've never flown in my life and never intend to....I can assume that these are in reference to the tickets some thief bought using my credit card number back in January. And here I thought that was all taken care of. I sent those back, "unk, return to sender, not at this address". Hopefully that will stop it.

My browser program, which I love (Flock), updated automatically and all my bookmarks disappeared. That made me write a burning email to tech support. I then used my back-up to find them all again and now everything is OK. A reminder to all of you. BACK UP your system or else your personal data can be lost....poof....gone forever. I have an external hard drive and clone my whole system on that. I can't tell you how many times its saved me, but even if its only once, its worth it.

I'll write more in a few days....after I win the lottery and go on my spending spree. HA.