Stepping up on my soapbox

They decided to change my work hours. I say if it's not broke, DON'T fix it, but they never listen to me. So, now my hours are 4 PM - 12, instead of 3 - 11. I never thought an hour change would bother me, but it does.

I've been having a hard time sleeping at night. It's been 5 or 6 AM before I'm settled down enough to sleep, and then I get up at 10 to start my day. I do that 6 days a week, and on Sunday I'm EXHAUSTED, and sleep from after church until 7.

If I'm this bad now, how will I be when we go to Daylight Savings Time? They didn't take in consideration people like me that completely gets thrown off whack when hours change.

Do you realize that I'll be getting up for church at 7 AM with this "NEW" time? I might as well just bring a pillow with me to church. Sleep in the pews. That would be really pretty wouldn't it?

By the way, I have all the names of all the government officials that voted for DLST. Thanks to the Indy Star a long time ago, they listed all who was for and against. I clipped it out, and put it aside until the election. I WILL be voting against them.

The thing is, EVERYTHING is based on people working a 9 - 5 work schedule. Malls, most stores, and church functions. Some places are getting smart. McDonalds is now open 24 hours a day. Then there's always Walmart, Meijer, Kroger, and places like Steak N Shake.

Also, if fast food places would deliver to factories, they'd make a killing. I told Ashley last summer she needs to open a delivery business. Just deliver food to the factories. We only get 18 min. lunch break. Not enough time to go out, and the cafeteria charges $6 just for 3 chicken strips. No one wants to pay those prices. There is a chinese place downtown that does deliver free with a $10 purchase, and of course pizza. You can only eat so much pizza and chinese.

If anyone opens a delivery business, LET ME KNOW.

Now, I'm stepping off my soapbox.

LENT

Well, it's that time of year again. In case you haven't realized it, this Wens. is Ash Wens. and the first day of Lent.

I tried to think of something that would be difficult to give up, not impossible, and something that would be a sacrifice. Example: giving up my Sunday afternoon naps: IMPOSSIBLE. Skipping breakfast: Not impossible, but not a sacrifice either. (I'm never up in time for breakfast.)
So, I have decided to do what I did last year, but with a twist. Last year I gave up buying dvds. This year I'm giving up buying dvds AND books.

Thankfully Lady and the Tramp comes out on dvd this TUES., so I'll buy it Tues. LOL.

Hum....... Amazon has a preorder. Maybe I could preorder some movies that are coming out..... Then again.... maybe not. :/

Sad day :(

I just read a few mins. ago that Don Knotts passed away Friday. We have lost one of the best comedians of all time.

I loved him in Andy Griffith. However, my favorite was the "Apple Dumpling Gang." I watch my dvd of that movie so much, that I have almost worn it out. LOL.

Strange addictions

I was recently teased by Aunt Carol that I had a strange attraction for soap. She thought it was strange that I was drawn to the stuff. I brushed off her teasing as just that, teasing.

Then I got to thinking. She's right. I am "addicted" to the soap. I can spend 10 mins. easy, in the soap aisle. Laundry soap or bath it makes no difference. I LOVE the smell of soaps. Every time I have to buy bath soap, I HAVE to try a different one each time. I spend quite a bit of time smelling soap.

Then I found out that there is a such thing as foam soap, so I bought a bottle. I wash my hands 10 or more times just before I go to work. That's not counting after work. There's just something about that foam on my hands. At least my hands are always clean. :)

However, I just recently found another "addiction"...... lotion. I'm going to have to buy some "good smelling" kind.

At least I'm not "addicted" to chapstick. Wait a min.... I am. I have AT LEAST 6 sticks of chapstick scattered in purses and bags. Oops. LOL.


I think I'm a lost cause. What do you think??

An Inspiration

I was trying to find something "new" to read. (After all, you can only read so many Holocaust books before you need something a little "lighter".) So, after reading Carrie's blog (hi cousin!!!) I decided to read "Big Girls Don't Whine."

I HATE buying new books now. Ever since I discovered eBay and Amazon, I can't justify spending $15 or more for a new book when you can buy the same thing for a portion of that price.

After waaaaaaaiting for it to come in, it finally arrived today. I read the whole book tonight at work. Yes, I was a "big girl" and did pick up on things that I need to work on, but I also was able to say "Yes, I'm a big girl in that area of my life." I decided that I want my friends and family to be able to say "Yes, she's a big girl." Unless you've read the book, you'll have no idea what I'm talking about.

It an AMAZING book, which I will pass on to my mom to read. I'm even thinking about sending it to Ashley to read. I think this is a book that EVERY woman should read.

So, thank you Carrie for inspiring me to read the book. It's awesome. :)

A Strange but true tale......

On the other side of my parents we had a neighbor. He was a semi driver, single,owned a Rotweiler that's trained to kill (literally), and wasn't home often. This neighbor took his dog on all his runs to use as a guard dog whenever he had to leave his truck.


As this was his first home, he didn't know much about home ownership. 2 weeks before Christmas he went on a two week run. Before leaving on this run (with his dog)he turned OFF the furnace and had 2 space heaters turned on downstairs. (He figured it would cut his heating bill.)

He came home to 4 feet of water downstairs, his ceilings caving in, and EVERYTHING ruined. The upstairs bathroom's pipes had BUSTED, and had been running the whole time. You could actually SEE the water running down the walls. He lost almost EVERYTHING. Even his big screen tv had water sitting inside it.

My dad asked him if he had insurance, and he said "the bank got it for me." I KNOW from experience that when the bank says "We'll get insurance for you" what they are really saying is "We'll get insurance to cover our losses, but you won't get a single penny if anything happens to your home."

So, he didn't have insurance. He packed up what was salvagable (which were only the upstairs things, and that was just the bedroom furniture), and skipped state.

My parents have been watching the house, and one day a truck was parked outside. My dad said "Do you have a reason to be there, or should I call the police?" They said that the bank hired them to go into the house and clean up. They also mentioned that someone from the bank, had been there before and changed the locks. He also mentioned that the bank isn't very happy, because SOMEONE had gotten in there and took all the guns out of the gun rack. Whoever did it had to have been small to fit through the doggy door. I know this "previous" neighbor had a young nephew (6 or 7)who would've been just the right size to slip through there.

The previous owner also didn't tell ANYONE where he went. Then I found out that he QUIT his trucking job the day he came home. At first he said he "lost" his job, then he stated that he quit, because his boss said his dog wasn't allowed to go with him anymore. So, the bank don't know where he is, we don't know where he is, and I doubt his family knows where he is.

So, skip ahead to Feb. 16. I woke up to the sound of doors slamming and the sound of someone trying to UNLOCK my front AND back doors. Before I could grab my robe, and confront the person, I saw a guy get into a pickup truck with a trailer on the back, and pull out of my driveway. I called my mom up and asked her if she knew what it was about. She came over and said "Is that the truck?" as she pointed to that house. Sure enough. There it was. I went over and asked him what he was doing at my house.He said that he's been hired by the bank to fix up the house, and went to mine by mistake.

So,Maybe I need to call up that bank, and tell them they to make sure they check the house numbers before they break into someone's home. Hum? Can we say lawsuit? LOL.

An "old" answer to prayer.

I was thinking the other day about past answers to prayer.

I have an answer to prayer that I've only told a few people, and surprisingly enough no one in my family has heard it. (Or at least I don't think they have.)

The night grandma had her heart attack, I had just gotten off work, and my dad called me up asking if I'd stay at their house while they went to the hospital. It was a school night, and both Ashley and Austin were both asleep. I said "Of course." So, mom and dad left, and I was pacing the floor as my brother and sister slept peacefully upstairs.

Dad called a couple times with updates, but when you're not sure what's going on you can't help but to pray and cry. After they got home, I went home, and went to bed. I couldn't help to pray one last prayer before falling asleep.

As I prayed, the story about the woman who touched the hem of Jesus's garment came to mind. I remember praying "Lord, if you were on this Earth right now, I'd get on a plane and fly to where ever you were just to touch garment." The Lord spoke to me as clear as day, and said "You already are. With your prayers you ARE touching my garment." That was enough to let me sleep peacefully.

A few months later, I took Ashley and Austin to Living Water in Kokomo. I was just browsing and there is a little "room" of pictures floor to ceiling of pictures. I stood in the middle of the room, and the picture that literally GRABBED my attention was surprisingly not in front of me. It was to my right, almost behind me, and close to the floor. I wasn't even facing it, so I KNOW the Lord had to have drawn my attention to it. It was a picture of a woman kneeling down and touching the hem of a garment. I literally gasped. I was NOT expecting to see that, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from it. I would've loved to have it, but at a whooping $150 I couldn't swing it at the time, and I couldn't justify spending that kind of money just for a picture. I just walked away.

That picture was on my mind constantly for weeks. Finally I decided to see if they had layaway. Sure enough they did. The picture, which I call "My answer to prayer" hangs in my living room. I see it every morning when I leave my bedroom.

I tried to post the picture here, but since it's a copyrighted picture, the websites I found won't let me. If you want to see it you can go to:
http://www.christcenteredmall.com/stores/art/dicianni/zoom_the_touch.htm

The website doesn't really do it justice, but you do get the idea.

I Walked a Mile in Their Shoes

This morning was the "Walk A Mile in My Shoes" walkathon to raise money for the Open Arms homeless shelter for women and children.

My aunt Rebecca was going to walk with me. On Friday, she called me up to tell me that her doctor told her not to walk (Heart problems). I knew Ashley was coming home Friday, so I made a FAST TEXT mess. to her. I told her I'd make it worth her time by stopping by StarBucks after the walk. She agreed without hesistation. She also wanted an egg and cheese McGriddle from McDonalds. We had decided to eat before the walk. However, at 7 AM, I called her and asked "Do you want McDonalds OR would you rather sleep for a half hour. The choice is yours." She decided (thank you sis!!) to the "sleeping a half an hour."

The check in was scheduled from 8:30 - 9:30. We got there at 8:15, and the parking lot was already full. I parked a block away in Aaron and Chris's church's parking lot. So, we walked to the Rescue Mission, got our long sleeved T shirts and maps, and headed out. It was the most organized walk I had ever seen. At every stoplight there was SOMEONE standing there to not only make sure everyone gets across safely, but to also answer questions. There was NO WAY anyone could've gotten lost or not know where to go.

The cutest "stoplight guy" was I would say 9 or 10 years old wearing his boy scout uniform. When the light said "walk", he'd lead us across with his little hands held out to "stop" the traffic that's already stopped at the red light. I thought that was adorable. Anyway........

We walked to Open Arms where they had a HEATED tent set out in the parking lot with coffee, hot chocolate (even had min. marshmallows set out), cookies, and donuts.

After Ashley and I finished our hot chocolate, we took a tour of Open Arms. I was really impressed. They have an isolation room for women who want to be alone to pray. There's an AMAZING playroom for the kids. One of the women said that that students from IUK came through and asked if they could redo the playroom. It is really nice.

One of the other women told us that a lot of women don't want to stay because curfew is 8 PM, and all kids must be in bed by 8. Also, a lot of women have a hard time with the "kitchen is off limits" rule. The only ones that are allowed in the kitchen are the ones on kitchen duty DURING meals. They don't realize they have the same health rules as resteraunts. Oh, and all the women have chores every day.

They also had posted at Open Arms the winners of prizes. Yes, I won a pair of pearl earings. (Note to self: I wonder how much I could get for them on Ebay??) Oh well, at least I can't say I never win anything. :)

Anyway, after doing all that, and walking back to my jeep it only took us a hour. So, at 9:30 I was pulling out of the church parking lot and heading to Starbucks. Oh, and we also had time to stop by McDonalds for Ashley's egg and cheese McGriddle. :)

It was a LOT of fun, and I'm already looking forward to next year.

mixed nuts

I have come to the conclusion that there's only 2 people that read my blog. Hi Carrie!! Hi Aunt Carol!!!!

This is my last week off work (boo!! hiss hiss!!!) and it sure is a busy one.

Tuesday, I spent the day with my favorite Aunt (psst... Please don't tell my other aunts. It just might hurt their feelings.) Anyway, after finding out where to take Grandma T on Friday, we hung out at Castleton mall. It really was a blast. We need to do that again sometime.
I think it would be a BLAST to have an all girls day out with SOME of my favorite relatives. I think we need to plan a day that Carrie, Aunt Carol, Chris, and I have free and go to Nashville, IN or someplace. (I would invite Ashley, but she can't stand Nashville. I don't get it.) Anyway, yes,I think that would be really fun. No husbands, kids, or....or....or..... (thinking)..... cats????? The reason I say Nashville, is because I found out that Chris has NEVER been there. That just blows my mind. Anyway, I do think we need to drag her there. What do you guys say?? ;)

So, Friday, I'm driving Grandma to her doctor, and then Sat... Is the big day. Walk a Mile in my shoes..... I'm really looking forward to walking in this walkathon for the homeless shelter. It's only a mile walk, but from what I hear on the news, it's going to be COLD. I think it's going to really open my eyes to what homeless people really go through.

Then next Tues and Thurs. I'm volunteering at the homeless shelter's preschool. I'm really looking forward to it. They only have 2 kids, but it can always change.

My "baby" brother is growing up.

Austin said something pretty profound the other day. We were talking about zombie movies, and he told me that he loves them. He always feels bad for the one "normal" person that's trying to get away from the zombies.

I told him that it's only a movie, and he said; (I'm paraphrasing here of course)
Are you sure about that? I think zombies really exist. If you want to see a zombie all you have to do is walk into any High School. Everyone looks, acts, dresses, walks, and talks the same. The pressure to be "popular" is not just from classmates, but also celebrities and society. So, here's one person being chased down by all these "zombies" trying to get them to be exactly like everyone else. You have to be a pretty strong person to "survive." Most kids give in and join the crowd because it's "easier" to join them than it is to be your own person. However, if you can take the stand, be your own person, and not let the "zombies" get you, you will realize how strong you really are. Only the strong survive.

Migraines, Break out the Relpax!!!!!!

I woke up at 7 AM Sat morning with a killer migraine. Anyone who knows me KNOWS I am NEVER awake at 7 AM. Especially on a Sat.

My doctor prescribed Relpax for my migraines. However, there was only 6 pills in the pack.

I took a Relpax, grabbed an ice pack and went back to bed. Since it hurt my head to lay down, I had to prop myself up.

Anyway, around 5 PM, my head had only a dull ache, but the flashing lights/throbbing headache was gone.

At 8, I was watching The Waltons, and suddenly there were "lights" on the tv. The only way to describe it is if you're looking at the people on tv,you can see the bottom part, their top part, and a BIG white hole through the rest of them. THANKFULLY I only took 1 Relpax that morning, and I was able to take a second one. (I'm only allowed to take 2 tablets in a 24 hour period.)

So, I fell asleep around 8PM, and woke up at 8 the next morning. Yes, my migraine was still there. I knew there was no way I could drive to church, so after calling my "sub", I took another pill, and went back to sleep.
My head finally cleared up completely around 3 PM, 32 hours after the migraine first started. That was the WORST weekend I've had in a long time. I did manage to sleep 26 of the 32 hours.

I've been known to take a long Sunday afternoon nap, but this is a new record.



The only thing I could think of,is that it snowed Fri night/sat morning. Sometimes when there's a drastic change in the weather, I get bad headaches. I just wonder if the snow had anything to do with it.

I think I may have to make another appointment with my doctor and ask for something a tad bit stronger than Relpax. I'm also thinking of having him put me on the FMLA plan. After all,if this migraine had happened during a work week,(Thank you Jesus, it wasn't) I would've had to call in 2 days in a row. Not good when the absenteism program is the pits.

Now I'm feeling great!!!!!!

Web surfing

I was a little bored and I thought, "Hey, I'll check out Mark Lowry's website. I've haven't done that in a while." So I went to his ramblings page, and found out that Guy Penrod and his wife FINALLY had a baby girl. Lacey Mariah, was born January 24th. I'm sure that little girl will spoiled rotten. However, she does have the advantage......... A room of her own. Ha ha ha.


I thought I'd share some of my favorite websites:

www.marklowry.com
www.theeternals.org
Of course I also LOVE browsing ebay and Amazon.