old stuff...

I know this happens to everybody, right? You smell a certain cologne you recognize, or you hear a song that used to be a BIG part of your life, and you close your eyes & you're right back there. When I listen to a song by 'Foreigner', I'm automatically 21 years old (ok...stop the smartass remarks!), and working at a grocery store again. And, I know almost nobody will get this, but I've got some Foreigner music blasting here (thank God nobody's home!), and I just went out to the kitchen to load up a bowl of ice cream, and opened the freezer...had my head stuck in it, and all of a sudden I smelled "freezer air"! No, not stinky, just...frozen air! I opened my eyes, and it was really like I WAS in the old freezer, in the first store we worked at, behind the meat department, unloading gallons of ice cream and stacking them on a cart so I could take them out for sale. And I was thinking about the really hot guy with the cute little ass working on the other side of the wall. That was (oh, I forgot...that's Kevin!) before I knew Kevin's name! I knew Ken then (Kev's little brother...the #2 son...'the shitty one', as he, & I'm sure, Jill refer to him...;-) . I helped out with stocking the frozen food for a year or so...fun...sometimes!
I still have dreams that I'm working there or shopping there about every month. Even though that store isn't there anymore.
We all used to have fun there, like on breaks & lunches! I'll never forget the meat managers that used to work at the store sometimes, when one of us would walk past, they'd yell "Go get lunch! I'll buy if you fly!". HA! What girl with no money would say no? One day, a bunch of us were sitting back there on lunches, and we were all picking on Phil, a stockboy, (Tiffany was only about 1 and 1/2...she always called him Pickle. He was the hairiest little troll I have ever seen in my life!! But he was a nice high school kid). We were laughing at Phil cuz he had a reputation for the fact that he never had money on him, but, he would eat anything for a dollar! I had just taken over the produce dept, and had gotten finished unloading my produce truck, and flopped down on a seat back there. Then Ken (or somebody) dared Phil to eat one of the jalapenos I'd just unloaded a case of. After some heavy-duty negotiations, Phil said "I'll do it for $5.00!". And, of course, we each chipped in a dollar...especially me, because I KNEW exactly what just touching the outside skin to a cut on my hand did! He picked up the biggest, ugliest pepper out of the case, and, after making a big show, held it up & bit into it! Just imagine a guy's hair & face catching on fire, and his eyeballs burning & running down his face. Yup, that was Phil. Then he jumped up and ran over to my big produce sink, where I had a case of trimmed celery soaking, and plunged his whole head into it!! That was just the beginninng of the fun I had there!! Nobody has EVER laughed that hard or loudly!! Poor Phil...although we DID pay him...
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

kim & i

Okay. Before I start on the shoe story, I need to get the picture of Jesus' birthday cake, & the Dora the Explorer tent on here! (and, yeah, those are my smokes...).

Before Kim & I were driving, we walked EVERYWHERE, just miles, all over town. One day we walked over to the north end, which we really hadn't been that way before. We were almost out of town, right by the railroad tracks, when all of a sudden, Kim grabbed my arm, and said "What the HELL is THAT??" We both stopped, and looked up to the top of a telephone pole out by a field, and, of course, almost got turned into strawberry jam in the middle of the road by the semi we had neglected to look for before we walked out in the middle of the street. (remember the song...'stop, look, and listen before you cross the street'? we didn't...). We walked across the street/road (it's kinda both), and tried to look closer, but the pole was out by a barn in the middle of a field. So we stood there and looked & looked...finally figured out it was a pair of plain brown or black men's workshoes, nailed sideways up there about 4 feet from the top of it! Now THAT was weird! We talked about that forever after that, trying to figure out what the hell was up with that. Finally, one day at school (I was a freshman), I was telling my friends there about it, and one girl started dying laughing. No kidding, she actually DID fall down on the floor in the middle of the hall, and people had to step over her, go around...she said she knew exactly where that was and why they were there! And she would tell us at lunch...

At lunch, she said her brother had told her a few years ago the story behind them. It seems that someone in their family had known the guy whose shoes those were a generation back. They had worked on that farm together for a long time, picking crops, taking care of the animals, all that 'farm stuff'. But one day, 'shoe guy' wasn't working there anymore, and nobody knew why. Until they found out a few days later...the farmer had come outside one night cuz he heard his dogs barking, and found 'shoe guy', ummmm, violating a sheep in the middle of the barnyard!! The farmer kicked 'shoe guy's' ass, and took his shoes, made him leave, fired him, then the next day took the shoes up to the top of the pole beside the barnyard, and nailed them up there, swearing that they would be there forever, as a warning to any other asshole that thought they'd get away with ANY of that shit at HIS farm!! There it is. I know it sounds like an urban legend or something, but, honestly, it's TRUE!!

A couple other monetary thingys to say...

I've been on SS disability since 1999, and usually don't see any kind of check or anything, it's always direct deposited. But I just got a statement last week that I actually looked at! And, lo and behold, they're holding back $84 a month for Medicare! Turns out it's been held out every month since 2001! Cuz I called there last week, and talked to a guy about it. I've NEVER used Medicare, always have had Kevin's good insurance from his job! You're just automatically put on Medicare after you've been on disability for 2 years! So we got it straightened out, he said he'd take the charge off. Then I kinda laughed and said "I s'poze there's no way to get a refund for that, is there?" Nope, there isn't...sure wish there was, though...can you imagine how much that would be? 5 yrs at $84 a month....Arrrrrrrggggghhhh!!

Also...I never bitch about gas prices...why should I give a shit? I can't drive anymore!! But....our gas heating budget went up a couple months ago....from $145/month to...$259/month! Yes, you heard me! That's the budget, which means we pay that every month, all f'n year!! Then we have to add the electric, cable, phones, etc...!! Damn, where's a good cave we could move into?

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

Christmas day....

Christmas morning was funny this year! From the time Tiff was little, she used to yell down the stairs for us to get up, so she could go in the living room and see if Santa showed up last night. Of course, that was always at 5:30 am, and we were tired, cuz we had been up all night doing the stockings, arranging her presents, etc. But she's ALWAYS come downstairs before 6 am on Christmas. But this year, we got to sleep til 9:30! Then Tiff came downstairs, and laid across our bed (on top of our legs! Smoosh!!). Then Truman came in & jumped up & laid down on my legs too. That was it, no more 'family bed' for me! We got up, exchanged presents with each other (we ALL got really cool presents!). I got Kevin a ton of gift cards to Best Buy, we got Tiff clothes, cell phone gift certificate, etc...they gave me clothes, tons of stuff!
We went to Kev's mom & dad's about 11:30, and got ready to eat breakfast (they always make a huge breakfast for everybody, cuz we need to keep our strength up to open all the presents!). Then Ken walked in from the back porch with a little round birthday cake, so we all sang our happy birthday dear Jesus! That's become a tradition in the last few years! And, no, we aren't doing it 'disrespectfully' or anything. As a matter of fact, I'd bet Jesus is laughing, too! Then we go in the living room, and it's so full of presents, you can hardly walk! It takes us about 4 or 5 hours to open everything, cuz we take turns, and go one present at a time, and this year, the twins are 4, so they are REALLY fun! They got to pick who opens a present next. And everybody absolutely LOVES to buy presents for them! HowEVer...by the time anybody else gets to, Kat & Benji already have bought them everything in the world!! But...Tiffany is really good at picking stuff out for them, especially for the 'girl twin'! Actually, I think she just picks what SHE wants to play with ;-) .They're looking forward to their next 'slumber party', because Kev & I gave M a Dora The Explorer tent..and that thing is SO huge! It said it fits 4 people in there, but, honestly, we had the twins & about 4 adults in there! We actually took a good 4 hours to open presents, and Kev's mom & dad made dinner after that! His mom & dad are both great cooks, and his dad really likes to cook, he does that just for fun!! He's always bringing over food! Which is good, cuz I don't cook!!
Tiffany got a game for Christmas that I haven't gotten to play yet. We'll probably have to all get together and do that soon..it's called 'Apples To Apples' , and Tiff says 'it's the funnest game ever!!' Of course, she was real excited about the 'Newlyweds-Final Season' dvds I gave her too...

I just put a picture of a game I forgot to ask for up there...

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

Okay...I'll get to 'The Shoes At The Top Of The Telephone Pole' tomorrow...

Christmas hangover...

...and I only drank, like, a half a glass of wine on Christmas eve at my mom & dad's house!! And I need to make sure I call my dad tonight, cuz, guess what...he's 88 today! Quite amazing! It's kinda funny, when we get talking, he rambles on about 'the good old days' when he was a big-shot at a big company, did a lot of traveling, etc (he really mustve been awful to work for, though, cuz NOBODY he used to work with for the company he retired from has EVER called him, they never get together, nothin'!)...hopefully, that gene skipped me...Naw, he's the only person who can remember as much stuff from his "ago " as I can! Down to names, dates, who he met when he went to Pittsburgh in 1974 and he took me to the Pirates baseball game...
So Tiffany & Zach & I went to my mom & dad's Christmas eve (that's when my family gets together for Christmas), and, surprisingly, it was fun. Usually, there's dirty looks between my oldest brother & everyone else (except Mom!)...he's just a whole 'nother story all by himself. I hope nothing with him ever gets as bad as I'm afraid it will someday, so I don't hafta blog about him! Kevin stayed home Sat evening to wrap my presents, and get the house cleaned up (anal!!). I DID offer to stay & help wrap, but, well, that went over like a lead balloon...When Tiff, Zach & I walked in through Mom & Dad's garage, Zach looked over & saw Dad's big old Buick sitting there (Dad doesn't drive anymore...he can't friggin see!), Zach kinda started giggling and said in a low voice "Whoa! What a pimp-mobile!" My dad bought the car new, it's a 1984! And...it has over 200,000 miles on it!! When Dad came out & opened the door to let us in, Tiffany (she inherited the smartassness from me, remember?) said "Zach likes your car, Grandpa." OMG!! For the next 3 hours we were there, along with the other 20+ people, Dad kept seeking Zach out, asking him if he wanted to buy the car, extolling its virtues to him, etc. Dad was telling him he'd let him buy it for only $1,200! I can't even imagine how that poor guy had to feel by the time we left! Naahh, he handled it well. But I made him drive home, cuz Tiff & I both had some wine. My niece absolutely LOVES wine (she just turned 28), and she was carrying the bottles around, encouraging everyone 'drink, drink!' She is almost an identical twin to me! (except WAY younger!) Seriously, people have come up to her at work & asked her if she knows me, if she's related to me. Now THAT'S funny! Even Tiffany said how she looks more like me than Tiff does! We were talking about how Kim & I used to pick on C when she was little. One time when she was about 1 1/2, I taught her what to say when Kim said "What's in your diaper?" "Turdballs!" with a big happy, proud smile. Unfortunately, my parents did NOT see the humor in it. :-( So Dad taught her to say "Sunshine" instead of turdballs. Boooo!
So that was Christmas eve, and it was fun. Mom & Dad got Kevin a Columbus Blue Jackets sweatshirt & hat. Yup...we're hockey fans too. We did like the Detroit RedWings, but figured we should like a local team if they ever got one. Now, if they'll just get their shit together & WIN!! But I have faith in Sergei Federov, he'll kick their asses into shape! (plus, he's so damn cute! shhhhh!). I'll write about Christmas day tomorrow...ya know, over at Kevin's mom & dad's, where we all joined hands around the table before breakfast and sang 'Happy Birthday, dear Jesus...' before breakfast....
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

it's all coming together...

This is really starting to get exciting! I feel like I'm one of the little kids before Christmas! I can never sleep the night before Christmas, it's almost as hard as it used to be when Mom & Dad used to take me and a friend to Cedar Point, and we never could go to sleep the night before...

Today went SO freakin' awesome! Someone's knocking on the door every day 2 or 3 times a day to deliver boxes (Fed-Ex, UPS...), and I usually have seen that driver, so they know my balance is too bad to carry the box, so they bring it in for me. I know this isn't the thing to do, but, this house is, like, the poster-child of conspicuous consumption-ism this year. This has almost never happened, we're usually just not like this...but, I hafta admit, it's fun. Okay, okay, trust me, if the choice was mine, I'd be the one that went to work at a retail store (I am the merchandising/buying queen for the produce department, and Kevin used to be the king of it all in the meat departments) [ergo....we got married]. But, hey, you hafta play the cards you were dealt, huh? So, for the most part this year, I take care of whatever needs done around here, on the phone, etc. However...Kevin pulled off the biggest thing he could this morning! Every morning, he always checks certain stores' websites, to see if they have the x-box 360 in. Usually it never is. But today, I'm layin' in the bed watching 'Sylvia Browne Wednesday' on Montel, & I hear Kev say "woohoo! It'll be here tomorrow!!" He just happened to check the Circuit City website, and they had them!! So, for sure he'll have plenty to do this weekend! Especially cuz he's off Monday! Yes, everybody, he's been planning for this since early summer, so this is one of those 'plus' presents...And, while I was in the shower this morning, the girl Tiff used to work with at Maurice's called, and said the coat we ordered for Tiff was in, she was unloading it then! So Kev's gonna go pick that up in a couple hours. It's, just, everything's going almost TOO good. Kinda like when you're holding a rubber band, stretching it back, back, back, it's working, ya know? And all of a sudden, it snaps & hits you right in the eyeball! I'm just waiting for the 'eyeball hit', if you will. I hate pessimism....

Okay...done for today...remind me later, the next 'Kim story' has to be done. It's called "The Shoes At The Top Of The Telephone Pole".

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

C'mon, Christmas!!

Here are the rules The first player of this game starts with the topic "five weird habits of yourself" and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose the next people to be tagged and link to their web journals. Don't forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says "You are tagged" (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.

Okay...I'll play...but first, some Calvins....
Well, okay, they're up there....which is not exactly what I had planned, but...
My kinda weird habits...in no particular order..
5. Open the window blinds in the morning to get some light in here..this house is so dark sometimes, you think you're in a cave.
4. I hafta agree with Kimmyk on this one...when getting dressed, socks go on before the jeans! It's just wrong the other way...
3. I have probably hundreds of books around here, good hardcovers to ratty old paperbacks I bought off eBay, and I will NEVER EVER let any of them go!! They're my 'old friends'. If I feel like reading (always!), I'll reread them over & over, even if I almost have it memorized!!
2. In my opinion, 'grunge rock garage bands' became the downfall of the rock that made this country great! Think about it...from Elvis, & the Beatles, and on...they were the happy songs we all rocked out to!! In the eighties, most songs, if not all, were about sex, drugs, partying....FUN STUFF!! Fast forward to late 90's...Nirvana, etc...in other words, the impression I get is there's a lot more whining than enjoying of how great life can be if they shut up & do something worthwhile!
1. Holy shit. Where did THAT rant come from?? Well, I guess losing track of everything CAN BE a bad habit...oh, I remember where I was going with that...Other than a whole lot of 80's music, I have maybe one other one..."Hollaback Girls....bananas!"
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!
...and, please, anyone who hasn't done this yet, please, please do!!

birthday/Christmas week

some birthday pictures...
First, I have to say that I have truthfully never, ever had a better birthday in my LIFE!! Kat made me the big thick fleece blanket with the lighthouse, Kev gave me the black jacket with the green lining (it kinda matches my eyes)
..+ all kinds of other stuff! The whole party makes me wanna bawl thinking about it, so I think I better stop here...

Geez...none of the Calvins are going where I want them to! Waaaahhhhh! And I set them on large, but I know they're kinda hard to read.
What I miss a whole lot from being a produce manager in grocery stores is all the holidays...Christmas being one of the best! I was always the person who made the fruit baskets for people. They would come and find me, talk to me about what they wanted, who it was for...everything! But now, if you want to order a fruit basket, you go to the store, and look at their brochure that shows all the kinds and prices...THIS is progress?? Okay, I'll admit it right here and now...I LIKED the way stuff used to be done when I worked at stores in the 80's...(the good old days!) You know, politically incorrect and all! Get a backbone!! (more on this later)!!! No, one of the most fun baskets I made was when I was in northern OH. The woman who wanted it was a delivery driver, so I saw her a few times a week. And we have the same sense of humor...+she has a sister named Libby, but she said I was so much cooler...;-). So she told me it was gonna be for one of her neighbors out by her farm, who have big dogs, horses, etc! And she'd pay whatever, as long as I made it look good! So...I put all kinds of grapefruits, oranges, tangelos, apples, pecans, walnuts, bananas....and then topped it all off with bags of baby carrots for the horses, and big dog bones!! FUN to make!!
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

no time for an old story today..,.

above...this is why you should never, never, fart in a wetsuit...


Just doing this out of habit today, got lots to do today..I'll be 41 tomorrow, but Kev's whole family + my mom are all coming over tonite for...pizza, party, double chocolate torte, peppermint stick ice cream, and....PRESENTS, PRESENTS, PRESENTS!!! *LOUD HAND CLAPPING & YELLING!* I've NEVER seen a family so close & loving, & I am so blessed to be loved by them...
Okay. All I have time for is the daily "Calvin"
Well, that hardly worked out...gotta do something else too...
Enjoy! BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

BTW...Kevin is still 39 for another month!! Boy, do I hear about that...

Another BTW...if I got it in here right, please click on the JibJab video...Republican or Democrat, you WILL LAUGH YOUR ASS OFF!!

another vacation with kim...

...and my parents & me...

Mom & Dad decided we should all go to Seven Springs ski resort & lodge one time, in Pennsylvania, but nobody was even interested in skiing, had never done it, never wanted to do it, nothing! Oh. Which is probably the reason we went in the autumn, when the trees were so beautiful, that even as smartass, bitchy 14 or 15 year olds, we were amazed, and spent all kinds of time walking through the woods together, pointing out the best trees, etc. Then we'd go in to the restaurant and meet mom & dad for dinner, then we'd all go out to the huge lobby area in the middle, and sit in front of the huge fire in the stone fireplace in the middle of the room, and drink hot chocolate for a couple of hours. That was some good times. We even all got along, just talked about what we'd all done that day, and we weren't even bitchy!! (way out of character for Kim & I!)

So, after that, Kim & I would go back to our (separate, again!) room, and get our bathing suits on and go downstairs to the big indoor pool, and swim til it closed around midnight...and, of course, flirt with every even kinda cute guy that was down there too. One night late in the week, the night before we were going home, we met a couple of really cute guys (18 year old guys, of course...or so they said, anyway), and when the pool closed, they walked us back to our room (how gentlemanly, huh?), so we asked them in and we all still sat around bullshitting for another few hours...and nobody even had beer! We finally decided it was geting really late, and it was time for them to go, but they gave us their addresses (fake, I'm sure!) and told us to write them (ya, right!). Then after we each had our kiss-fest with our guy, they told us their room number and left. And we sat on our beds and swooned over those dreamy older guys who really, really liked us, and were interested in us!! OMG!! How stupid and lucky can 2 young girls get?? They may have been 30 year old rapists who planned to axe-murder us after the rape festivities were done...

The next day, while Mom & Dad were checking out, Kim remembered that she'd forgotten to give her address to 'her guy' . So, while they were busy checking out, we ran to the other side and found their room. Knocked, nobody answered, so....Kim dug a key or a pen or something out of her purse, and, in all her infinite wisdom, actually carved her first and last name and address on the big, heavy, beautiful door!! We totally died laughing, and I even took a picture of it! (which, sadly, has been lost...)

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

what'll it be, what'll it be??

I think I need to put these on here, one a day...actually, maybe more, cuz I just counted, and I have 13 more, so I'll hafta do 2 one or two days.

My parents let me have Kim go with us on lots of short vacations, mostly because they felt pretty bad, cuz by then I was the only kid that went with them, my brothers were both older, moved out, had their own lives...
So, once, my parents took me & Kim to Gatlinburg for about a week. And Kim & I had a room by ourselves, totally separate from Mom & Dad's! And we were 15! Does anyone smell trouble here? There was a balcony overlooking a river right off our room, it was really neat! Then, if you turned around and walked through the room out our front door of the room, and (we were on the second floor) went down a flight of stairs, and you ended up looking right at a big outside pool! So one time when we were on the balcony looking at the river, we were also checking out the guys who were in the hotel across the river. There were about 4 of them and they were playing ZZTop really loud (the song 'Party On The Patio' & the rest of that tape). All of a sudden, one of the guys lifted up his beer, and yelled "Come on over!" So, of course, Kim & I looked at each other, whispered 'beer', and shrugged our shoulders, and yelled "Give us a minute!" (you know, fix our hair, makeup, change our clothes....). Then we knocked on Mom & Dad's door and told them we were going to go walk around downtown, we'd be back for dinner...and they said ok!! Just the perfunctory "Be careful, girls, and stay together so nothing happens." Oh my God, how lucky have we been all our lives? "Stay together" was what always got us INTO trouble!!
We ran down the stairs, looked at the pool and decided we had to use it later, then took off to try to find the bridge over the river. We found it, went over, and found the hotel and the room # they'd told us. We got there and it WAS a party on the patio! Walked in, first thing they shoved a beer in each of our hands! THEN we all exchanged names, ages, and where we were from. They were all down from Cincinnati, cuz they had just graduated (that was way before people's parents would pay for a trip for their kids to go to Cancun, Florida, Aruba...). We sat there and bullshitted, and drank for a few hours, then we had to get back to meet in the restaurant for dinner. One of the guys was really cute (yes, I remember his name...but it goes to the grave with me!). Anyway, we made plans for him to come over to our room at midnight, and maybe bring this other guy, whose name was JuneBug (huh??), at least that's what they called him...(remember, they WERE 18, and that was cool.). Okay, gonna try to make this long story short(er)...after we went to dinner with my parents, and told them how much FUN it was walking around all of downtown Gatlinburg (heh heh), we said we were going back to our room to just lay around and watch tv, we were tired from all the walking around we'd done that day *with appropriate yawning and stretching*. The guys came over and knocked on the door (quietly!) at midnight....with more beer! We all took a beer, then sneaked down to the pool outside. There was a sign that said no swimming after 11 pm...but, #1, there was just a puny little waist-high metal gate, and it just had a lock that slid back & forth...not really a lock, just a latch. and #2, well, we weren't really planning on swimming per se, just getting in the water and, well, acting like, ummm, dumbass teenagers, skinny-dipping & stuff! Just quietly! After we got done messing around in there and we got away with it, JuneBug said he was going back to his room, and left. Kim & **** & I went back to our room, and went in quietly, cuz mom & dad's room was right next door (no connecting door, thank goodness). We all just sat there watching tv and Kim & I still had our same beers drinking them (ya, we were lightweights...then!). Eventually, **** and I ended up over on my bed making out...all very well and good til Kim walked up behind *** and stood there making faces and waving at me over his shoulder. Hint...to absolutely kill any romantic mood on the guy's part, start laughing in his mouth while he's kissing you, finishing off with a good strong bite of his tongue. Especially when he pulls away and asks, angrily, 'what's so funny!!?', and you two try to tell him 'we're not laughing at you, but...hohohahaha...well, she hohohohohohahahahaha!' For sure, he'll get really pissed, and get up and say 'gotta go, bye'. And my mom & dad thought I didn't know how to stay safe on my own! Pee-shaw!! Anyway, it was a great week! Mom just said something about Gatlinburg a few years ago, and she said "I listened all night because I thought you two'd sneak out or something." I didn't tell her 'we didn't HAVE TO sneak out...we snuck somebody IN!!'
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

Here Are Your Results:
Life:
7.4
Mind:
7.8
Body:
7.3
Spirit:
6.8
Friends/Family:
6.9
Love:
9.1
Finance:
6

Well, this is pretty good, right??
http://www.monkeyquiz.com/life/rate_my_life.html
LibbY!

snow...

Well, just like I thought. We got maybe 3 or 4 inches last night (of snow!) So, I'm picking up on the bad Christmas presents..okay, that's the book &, ummmm...paperweight, and t-shirt that I don't want...as a matter of fact, I honestly don't know anyone that would want ANY of these things! I can think of LOTS of people I'd love to give them to (you know who, Jill??), but I really don't have any extra to spend on this stuff...
Anyway, as soon as the first snow hits every year, I always remember the years I worked an hour north of here, and drove it every day (nope, Kim's not in this one...she's never worked after she got married). Before Kev & I got married, or even thought about dating, I used to get up every morning at 5:30 am, and look out the window to see how much it had snowed the night before. If it looked deep, I'd call the State Highway Patrol, and ask how rt 23N was...however, soon I learned...no matter how much snow there was, they'd always say "snow covered and slippery". Actually, I learned that the first time I tried it. I went anyway, after I dropped Tiffany off at her babysitter's here in town. I got out to 23 N, and it was totally clear! All it had was some snow blowing across the road, but that was nothing! The only time I really remember it being bad was in January/February 1994. I've almost always had a job that was at least an hour away from where I've lived, cuz I always LOVED to drive! (see the irony here, anybody?). In early 1994, when I started a job as produce manager in Findlay (the BEST town in Ohio!), the first week I was driving up there, it was so snowy & windy (yes, State Hwy patrol had said "snow covered and slippery" when I called that morning too...obviously I gave them just as much regard as I had 10 years before :-)
As I was leaving the next county, I actually saw a semi-truck, on its side on the edge of the road!! I've seen shit-tons of things when I was driving, but...I'dve never thought that would happen!! In that January/February, I saw 4 trucks like that on 23! Musta been awful for those drivers!
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

winter, 2005

our empty stockings!!

Mine, Kevin's, & Tiffany's!

and here's more...one's Jenga, the spoiled-ass dog in the leopard-skin carrier, one's out the window, waiting for the 'white death' (snow, grocery store lingo cuz everyone wants white stuff...bread, milk, etc)...our tree that Tiff & Zach put up & decorated the other day...no, seriously, I guess Jenga's cute...I'm just not a 'dog fan'...

I told Kevin last night that they're promising 5 to 8 inches of snow tonight...and 'Honey, isn't that just like a guy? They promise you 8 inches, and then you get 2...' All that got me was a dirty look...I guess guys DO stick together...

Okay...I get my intravenous steroids starting next Monday, for 3 days. Yuck, that's gonna hurt...but I know I'll feel better for a few months when it's done...

I'm STILL waiting for the snow...it was supposed to start at about 3pm here, but....

So....I've started Christmas shopping for Kevin, but we're supposed to start thinking about Tiff & everyone else tonight...errrggghhh! The only thing Tiff's asked for is a new cell...the only problem is, the one she wants is $400.00!! Oh well...'it's only money, we get more next week' as I was told by someone years ago. Good thing she's an only child! She asked Santa for a baby brother or sister when she was sitting on his lap when she was 7 or 8! He looked at us and HO-HO-HO'd once or twice, and told her she'd probably have to talk to 'Mommie & Daddie' about that!! Holy crap!! Boy, did we hear about that for awhile! But when she realized where babies came from, she asked me, when she was about 12 or 13 (lovely ages, huh?), "So..when are you gonna shoot out another baby, Mom?"

Anyway...nothing else up here...I'll continue the list of stuff I don't want tomorrow...

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

Kim and I...Dec 6, 2005

Okay, first of all I HAVE to put this on here...

If you look really close, you can see Jenga sitting on Santa's lap...however, don't tell anyone I put this picture on here (she's rather shy, you know?).

All right...back to the original programming...

Last night I called Kim, and she immediately said she was just thinking about calling me, because my birthday's pretty soon. We do live in the same town still, so we talk on the phone almost every day...except around Christmas, when we're both busy. So...she was telling me that she had gone to visit someone at the nursing home yesterday, and she was kinda upset about it. Not because the woman wasn't being treated right, at all, but because Kim walked in at the wrong time and saw the old lady naked & trying to get herself dressed after her bath, cuz she had told the nurse to 'leave me alone! i can do it!' I guess this woman is starting to show early signs of Alzheimer's, which Kim and everybody else know that I'm deathly scared of having myself someday! So, Kim told me about a few things that the lady said, and I told her 'shut up! i don't wanna hear about it! that'll be me someday!' She fuckin' laughed and said, "I'd just slap you in the head, and tell you to straighten the fuck up!!" Gee...what are best friends for, anyway? ;-) Well, I have to forgive her, she said she'd wipe my ass if I ever needed her to...

And she also was telling me that she was scared of being that flabby & out-of-shape...this is after she used to dog on me 20 years ago for having such a muscular, 'manly' body! Well, now I'm glad I did, cuz it's far easier to keep than it is to get! She also told me, that this woman's boobs were so saggy & floppy they moved like Slinkys when she bent over to pull up her pants! I just kinda snorted & said 'well, i hardly hafta worry about that...i'm streamlined, remember?' Okay, quit laughing & snorting pop out your nose!

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

stuff i DON'T want for my birthday & Christmas...

Here it is! The long anticipated beginning of my un-gift list!!

This is only a partial list, remember!

So, I was thinking last night about how most single (or looking-to-be-single) women say they want a man who is a REAL man, you know, just a strong, manly guy, who doesn't show his feelings ALL the time, but has no problem sharing them with you. So, here goes my opinion...I genuinely think we've seen the last of the strong men like that. And that is really sad. These new guys are being raised by moms. Not just regular moms, like we were, but moms! The ones who make a career of raising boys that are 'soft' & 'gentle'. It's almost like they think the world would be better off without any men who actually enjoy real "guy things"! Like, ummm, football? No, you can't play THAT, it's far too dangerous! Or elementary school...no, no, you shouldn't play tag or hide and seek, because it makes the ones who are "it" feel picked on. No WAY can you play dodgeball! Holy shit, that'll KILL someone someday!! Well, okay, I guess you can play soccer...what? NObody's gonna keep score, we only play for fun, not to see who does something better. That's the quickest way to hurt somebody's self-esteem! Now quit your crying, and we'll go inside and take your ritalin. No wonder guys learn to cry a lot...wouldn't YOU? Then when guys grow up and they're in middle school, look who the guys are that get the girls. Ya, that's right...those big BRUTES, the football players that did all the stuff they were told not to! haha...and it's that way till graduation, you know, you've seen it/lived it. So, maybe this might be part of the reason online porn gets used so much by guys...who else doesn't try to boss him around, and tell him what he's doing wrong all the time? And now, women want to know where the REAL GUYS have gone? An emasculated little boy will never grow up to be the strong, self-assured man women really want...

BoUnCeS!! LibbY!

lazy day...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8236595474&ru=http://search.ebay.com:80/8236595474_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8QQfviZ1

Hey everybody!! Click on the link above and scroll down and read the contents of this VERY CAREFULLY!! I seriously thought I was going to choke to death laughing last night when Kevin showed me this!! I LOVE this!! No, maybe I'm just jealous, cuz I didn't think of it first!!

All right...guess I'm done with laughing at someone else's stupidity...errrr...misfortune.
So, some of the Christmases Kim & I had when we were teenagers were really stupid, too. I know, when I was a teenager and Mom & Dad never pushed me to get a job, my parents gave me money to go Christmas shopping for everyone (for presents from me!). That really sounds terrible, & now I'm ashamed...but, when I was that age, I didn't care. Anyway, I was always totally jealous of all my friends, cuz they could always buy their dads stuff like jeans, hobby stuff, everything, but my dad has never ever worn jeans in his life! And his only 'hobby' was golfing (and picking on me, of course, cuz I was pretty ugly at that age, as most 13 year old girls were then...not now!! What the hell happened?). Seriously, Ken was here one day when Tiff was about 14 or 15 and had a bunch of friends here. They were all playing in the backyard, and Ken looked at Kevin, and said, "None of the girls I went to school with looked like that, ya know?" Anyway, back to the shit going on...when I was getting my dad a present, I had a choice of belts, socks for work, & ties, or a shaving cream dispenser. Well, my mom always wanted to buy me stuff like 'old lady' looking clothes from Sutton & Lightner's (remember them?) like dresses (bleahhh!), and jeans from there. Which, the jeans were not only ugly, but she always told me I should wear size 5 or even 7! Mind you, still, to this day, I WEAR SIZE 3!! So I always was one of the girls that got made fun of...my clothes might've been expensive, but they were always baggy!! So, one Christmas, Kim had asked for some sweaters...she looked under their tree about a week before Christmas, and of course she was always poking, shaking her presents, etc. But the year we were 15, she waited til we were out of school on Christmas break and her mom & dad were at work, she actually picked a present out from under the tree in a box that looked like it had clothes in it. She opened it (her little brother was over at a friend's), but only one end, and slid the box out, opened it, & it was a sweater she'd wanted. So...(classic Kim!), she took the damn sweater out of the box, put it in her room, taped the present (empty!) back up, and put it back under the tree! Then when her mom brought her over to my house so we could go to the teen dance they had every week, she brought the sweater and wore it! Then the next day, she took it home, and wrapped it back up in the box, and it went back under the tree!! OMG!! I'dve NEVER had the guts to do that! Usually I was the "idea person"...she was just dumb enough to DO IT!! Another time she did something that was her own idea was way before we knew each other...she held her little brother down when they were fighting (he was about 9, she was 11 or 12) and she gave him the world's biggest hickey on his neck!! HAHA!!
BoUnCeS!! LibbY!
also funny! http://members.cox.net/transam57/lights.wmv