Whenever..

I start feeling sorry for myself, all I have to do is think about all those people in Haiti who lost their homes and now have to worry about the rainy season coming soon. And now the folks in Chile who are suffering from the quake and the threat of a tsunami possibility for all the places that the waves from the quake may travel to.

Makes my situation and worries seem not that important in the big scheme of things. I have a lot to be thankful for and vow never to forget it!

Snow..

We got snow yesterday here in Central Texas! Think that this amount of snow has only happened a handful of times in history and out back it looks like we got 3 inches of the white stuff. Of course everyone here was all excited as they are not used to seeing it, but I have seen plenty of snow back east, although since it is rare around here, took some pictures.



Even some of the dogs enjoyed playing around in it! It made all the local news, morning, noon and night but today it is already gone...melted before noon.

I myself am ready for steady warmer temperatures. No this winter was not bad for Texas, but I miss being able to dress lightly and not have the heat on night and day. So hurry up Spring!

Intermittent Sun...

Today the weather is strange...started off rainy when I first woke up as I heard the rain hitting the metal roof of our house. It wasn't a hard rain, in fact at first I was wondering what that noise was. Then it clicked that it was raining heavy enough to hear it pinging at times on the roof.

Then it stopped raining and the sun has been making short appearances and disappearances. I just decided it is sunny enough of the time that I turned off the floor lamp next to me and will try to keep it off, to save electricity.

Lately my life is like intermittent sun. As sometimes happens in the mortgage industry, my work has slowed to a crawl and although there is no indication as to when things will pick up, the job is still there which give me hope and a ray of sunshine. With a huge decrease in work comes a huge decrease in my earnings as happens to everyone when this happens. This has made my mood cloudy as of late, but then the intermittent sun shines through again.

For instance, even though our oldest was in an accident and all that money spent getting her car and getting it in good shape for longevity was lost...the insurance company came through with the deductible that we were waiting for. This ray of sunshine will help pay some bills.

And since work has been slow, my focus had turned to finishing up the books for last year, gathering figures and seeing how the tax returns were panning out. Was it going to be another year that we filed just before April 15th with taxes due, or were we going to actually get some money back? Another ray of sunshine, fortunately we are due for a refund. So another ray of sunshine enters my world.

Yesterday hubby had the store open a few hours before closing early to attend our oldest and her fiance's wedding shower given by his mother. He wasn't even going to bother opening but had one of the largest sales he ever had which he may not have gotten if he hadn't opened. Yes, another ray of sunshine.

And when we left the party yesterday, he spotted a quarter on the ground and picked it up. Maybe not a big ray of sunshine there but maybe a sign...a sign of things to come...that things will get better not just for us but for everyone in this country who is still struggling with the economy.

Happy SUNday to everyone!

OK...

I know I said I don't need candy or flowers which I don't, but hubby brought home a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies yesterday and I have just about finished it already, all by myself!! I can't help it! Those have been my weakness for oh at least 45 years I'd say (guessing as to when I first started selling them for girl scouts). I tell myself I'll just have 3, then eat 3 more, then I might as well finish that half so they don't go stale...yeah right..like that would ever happen around here with those cookies! :)

I guess I just won't weigh myself again for at least 4-6 days. I have been doing very well and only have 1 lb to go to be where I did not want to go above. It isn't anything to write Dr Oz. about, but hey when I've reached my goal I'll be happy!

Chatted with the youngest today and it appears this Countdown blog may be longer than I thought it would be. Apparently it takes 5 years to get a Bachelors teaching degree these days and not 4. I think it is so unfair to need so many credits that unless a student goes to summer school more summers than not, it forces them to go 5 years. That is really not right nor fair and I am pretty peeved about it. Not much that can be done about that but I am very glad there are no more kids to go through college after her.

I remember several speakers at orientation mentioning the students that are here for 4 or 5 years..blah..blah.. and I thought, oh he must mean those than double major or change their majors or something like that. NOT!

Probably by the time my kids have kids it will take 6 or 7 years to get a Bachelors degree! And I'd hate to think of how much it will cost THEN!

Happy Valentines Day !

Wishing all who read this blog a very Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow! Hub and I are doing our usual, just saying it! :) I don't need anything after all, yes even candy. Although I like chocolate now and then, especially dark chocolate which is the healthiest kind to have, I don't often get the urge to have it nor wolf it down like I did as a kid. I used to have more than half the candy that I got at Easter eaten by Easter evening!

While I was doing laundry the other day I went to our bathroom to use the 'potty' and without being too descriptive, let's just say I had to get creative with no toilet paper nor tissues there in that bathroom...don't be offended. We've all been there I'm sure. As I was thinking about my alternatives, my appreciation for those toilets with bidets grew. Anyway, that won't happen again any time soon as I stocked up the supply.

You know that saying 'Everything Happens for a Reason'? It happened to me yesterday. Shelby has been chewing at her paws and they are getting raw. I don't know if this is just another ailment or a result of her diabetes. I started looking under the kitchen sink for the solution that we got from the vet awhile back for Reebok to soak his paws in that helped sooth his pads and kept the dirt out when he was having problems.

I didn't find any solution as I probably used it all or got rid of it, but as I searched way back behind the first row of cleaning products that I have just inside the door, I noticed the back floor of the cabinet under the sink was wet! I didn't want to deal with it last night but today when I checked it appeared to have spread more toward the front. If I hadn't been looking for that solution I never would have noticed it for a while or until it seeped all the way to the front of the cabinet since as I said I rarely look beyond the first row of stuff in there. So that was a good thing! I found where one leak is and put something under it to catch the drips. Hope that is the only spot. Hub thinks he has the piping to fix it but I hope he agrees to get a plumber to take care of it when we can, as I just worry about water all over the place. I love my husband and he is handy at some things but he is not a plumber.

Off to work on taxes and watch the Olympics. Normally I would hold off on the taxes until closer to April 15th, but since we are due to get a refund I want to get it done so we can get that money to help with bills.

Sure glad...

we moved to TX over 4 years ago. I heard back East is suppose to get another snow storm tonight and tomorrow. I am sooooooo glad that I don't have to shovel any more. I do hope that all my friends back in the mid-Atlantic region stay safe and warm~!

Today I ran out to the grocery with coupons in hand just to get some things to get us through the rest of the week. We are eating from the freezer/pantry and winging it since I didn't do my normal grocery shopping. Thrift is the theme for the times these days until work picks up. It makes for a good challenge for lack of a better word. No use getting depressed, worried and whatever other negative things come to mind.

On a brighter note I'm expecting the dress I ordered for the wedding next month. Sure hope it fits better than the large I sent back. I am so excited for this wedding as my daughter is handling all the details by herself practically and it will be a beautiful event, I can tell. It will also be March and with Spring in the air it will lift my mood.

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Game over..

I am glad the Saints won the Super Bowl since their QB went to my Alma mater. It was a good game and some great commercials. Hands down my favorites were the Doritos commercials, especially the bark collar one where the dog put his own on the guy holding the bag of Doritos. That was really funny! :)

It was so adorable too at the end seeing Drew holding his little boy with tears of joy in his eyes.

It was nice having the youngest here for the weekend although she went back before the game started. I'm glad her boyfriend was coming home for the weekend so that she could come too and wash what seemed like ALL the clothes she owns...

Hub got a new battery for my car and although I didn't start it since then, it hopefully is fine now and there won't be any issues with any vehicles for a while,...please....!!!!

Going to watch the new show Undercover Boss. Looks interesting.

..what did I say?...

I made the mistake of telling my youngest who is home for the weekend that I do not have a lot to blog about sometimes. We went to the grocery to get a few things and when we got in the car to come back home the car would not start. It just clicked when I tried to start it...that's when she turned to me and said "Now you have something to blog about mom". Smart Alec!

So with frozen food and milk in the trunk, luckily my dad was home and he came right over and gave me a jump start. I am just glad it happened near to home. After that we were just stopping at Sonic to get a small sonic blast to go and I made sure I left my car ON. But when I started to back up, the car stalled. At first I didn't think a lot of it and tried to start it again and then I remembered my battery is dead! So I pushed the car back into the parking spot and my dad came to the rescue again after he had already gotten home from the first time. It was a little embarrassing asking him to help again, but I did make it home from there okay after that.

I thought I had my share of car problems with the accident and replacement car incident with my oldest daughter. But after thinking about it, I have had this car for almost 2 1/2 years and so it would make sense that the battery is shot. Seems they don't last much over 2 years here in TX. Hubby said he can get a battery for it and replace it.

I really can't complain about my car as I've been very happy with it. And lucky for hub and I our Toyota vehicles are not within those years with the recall issues. Hopefully there won't be any more issues either!

Going to the dogs...

By the looks of our living room right now, you'd think we got our furniture for the dogs. Two are on the large couch, one on the lazy boy, one sitting next to my hub who is incidentally eating one of those cookies I made the other day and one is next to me on the other love seat. It is a good thing I have furniture covers on the two love seats although they are getting pretty dirty. Oh well they will get cleaned soon. I love these words, machine washable. :-)

Shelby is getting treated to a grooming on Friday since she hasn't been groomed for probably 6 months. I know...that is really long! She got a super short cut though last summer and really didn't need it until recently. She has become my shadow, which I don't mind as much as my other shadow Tika. She sometimes picks fights with her when she doesn't want to share me. What can I say? I'm LOVED! Never a dull moment around here.

This is off topic but I am really looking forward to the upcoming Olympics! :)

...off to get one of those cookies before hub eats them all!

Yum...

Yesterday I had plenty of time so I decided to do some baking.
I baked dog biscuits that I got from my Peddlers Paws affiliate website and I baked Triple Chip cookies from my Peddlers Kitchen affiliate website.


Yesterday I got to see photos of my oldest in her wedding gown with the alterations done. She looks beautiful and the work done to her dress was wonderful. Now that it is February the reality of her getting married next month is sinking in. :-)

So...I'll pretend I'm in a good mood and not complain about the dreary cold day today.