Yes, I Deleted a Post

That's right...I deleted the post not because there was anything wrong with it, but because my fella requested it.
His reasons were that the post brought people here in droves from a group I no longer associate with, nor do I wish to associate with.
He has a point.

I don't back down from anything I posted.
It was the complete truth and I have my son as a witness PLUS many, many people at the rooming house that know what I moved in with, friends in Joplin that know what I left with and emails from other parties that had also met in real life the person I commented about and agreed with me.

Truth is, when I look on my visitor list and see multiple visits from Grand Prairie Texas and even more from Washington state, I realize that the only way to banish those negative people from my life is to ignore them completely.
Done.

What the heck?

Things and people that annoy me seem to be coming out of the woodwork these days!
Found out from a few people that one of my ex husbands turned up in a town we used to live and many of my relatives still live in.
Apparently, he made some inquiries as to my whereabouts.
Didn't say why, but seemed anxious to find out.
Look, it has been YEARS since the divorce was final...even more years since we split.
It's done.
I am in a happy place now with someone that genuinely cares.
You can't revisit a past.....just doesn't work.
And I don't want to. Got enough pain and misery out of that relationship to last a lifetime.
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Another ongoing annoyance here is the heat, but I am adapting.
Does make you wonder, though, about those first pioneers.
"Look, a land perfect for us! Snakes, scorpions, deserts and blazing hot sunshine! The kids will LOVE it!"
Yeah, r-i-i-i-i-i-i-ght.
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I made it my goal this year to quit my addiction to *gulp* Dr Pepper.
I am doing pretty well...
EXCEPT!
Why is it, when you are quitting something, be it fattening foods, caffeine, soda, cigarettes, etc., all of a sudden every damn person you encounter is enjoying that now forbidden pleasure?
C'mon! I have been good....hadn't had a soda in DAYS. Just starting to think I was gonna be good...and then a neighbor comes over, in the heat of the day when I am cleaning out the chicken coop and they are swigging down an ice cold Dr Pepper!
And they have an extra one in their hand and say "You were looking hot out here...here, have a soda"
*facedesk*

So, I faltered out there.
I backslid. Forgive me oh great non-caffeine gods.
I'll restart my quitting program on Monday.
I betcha this gets harder when I start the quit smoking program....

Well, Here We Are...

Here we are, hitting March already.
The economy is still in the toilet, just nobody has had the manners to do a courtesy flush yet.
The Middle East has turned into Chaos, Inc. with protests in about half the countries going on.
Applications for Food Stamps are up, housing sales are still down.
New construction, one of the driving forces of the economy when it comes to construction is WAY down.
The Army is deploying yet still more troops to Iraq (oh, no, children, we aren't done there by a long shot!) and assume my Darlin' Man is champing at the bit to go as well.
Wait...what?
He put in his RETIREMENT papers, you idiots! As in; He is LEAVING. No, NOT leaving for Iraq...leaving the military!
What's more, he has a Doctors Note saying he isn't fit to go. That's right, a DOCTORS NOTE...one of YOUR doctors saying he CAN'T go!
But the Army is ignoring that....they expect him to go.
Needless to say, I am having a bit of an internal hissy fit about the situation.
I am sure that everything will work out and the Darlin' Man will remain stateside, but I am feeling a bit stressed by the hoops they are making hm jump through, nonetheless.
In better news, th weather has smoothed out here after that icy beginning to the new year and a couple of minor sand storms.
Helpful Note: Do NOT hang wet clothes on the line before a sand storm hits. Not. Good. Jus' sayin'...

Welcome to 2011

I post in this blog infrequently, but it has been about a month, so I decided to welcome in 2011 here.

2011 arrived here with a blast of Arctic air and a bit of snow. I enjoyed it, but the fella and the kids bundled up as if they were embarking on an expedition to the South Pole! I was walking around the house in shorts and a tee shirt and gave a nod to the weather by adding a pair of knee socks to my ensemble when I ventured outside.
Man, some people get cranky when they are cold! Just my lack of 32 layers of clothing seemed to annoy them!
"How can you wear THAT!?" was the comment I heard every morning and several times a day.
My Darlin' Man's freaking out point came one morning while he, under a sheet, a blanket, a quilt, a down comforter and another comforter--while wearing long underwear and pajamas over those, saw me calmly slip on my bedroom slippers and go out to feed the livestock in my light cotton sleeveless nightgown.
"Are you INSANE!!???" was the blanket muffled query I heard as I went out the bedroom door.
It was a rather mild 35 degrees...I could not understand the issue.
I fed the livestock and wandered back inside after enjoying the brisk morning air and watching the sun rise.
The fella had migrated to the sofa, still wrapped in a comforter, but had added a parka (!) to his  sleep attire.
We keep the heat in the house at a relatively balmy 62 degrees....
"Could you fix me a nice hot breakfast?", he asked...although I fix him a hot breakfast EVERY morning.
I fixed it...and had a nice cool cup of yogurt for my breakfast while he eyed my choice with something akin to horror.
The final straw for the cold weather haters in my household came when the power went out during a strong windstorm.
"We'll FREEZE!" they wailed.
I filled up some empty 2 liter bottles with scalding hot water and wrapped them in dish towels and put a couple in each bed. About a half hour later, everyone crawled into warm comfy beds for a good nights sleep.
I ended up kicking off about half my covers that night...felt like I would suffocate! The Darlin' Man was more than happy to take my excess covers...he is a true blanket hog!
Why are some people so cold natured and others hot natured?
I dunno....
But check back with me in the summer when I start my whining!

Sometimes Men Just Don't "Get It"

Having a frustrating week here...sigh.
Why don't men "get it"?
We women demurely drop hints...then we leave demur behind and make strong hints...we then progress to telling a man right out what we need/desire/require. If all else fails, we hit them over the head with with our request (which has usually escalated to a blatant demand at this point!)
And then they look at us and say "Huh...what?"
Head + Brick Wall

My Darlin' Man has been particularly obtuse lately.
I love him. Really, I do. He is sexy and smart and funny and adorable and dependable and everything I want/need in a partner in life.
But, he is male and suffers on occasion that male brainlessness and clueless behavior.
It has to be a gender related thing, as I have never seen a female suffering from it.
Call me sexist, I don't care!

Give a man a grocery list...maybe 6 items on it.Explain to him that is all you need AND the food budget can't be stretched any further this month.
I GUARANTEE he will return from the store with about 80 bucks worth of stuff, a lot of stuff you don't need and didn't want---and he will neglect to get at least two items on your list!
Oh, and those two items will be crucial to your cooking/baking in the next week!
He'll buy 40 pounds of flour...and forget yeast. Buy 15 bucks worth of produce and neglect to get the salad dressing you requested. Sixteen pounds of chicken ("It was on sale, baby!") but no ziplock freezer bags or aluminum foil or plastic wrap so you can freeze it.

Yes, been dealing with that lately....sigh.
Some days, I wish I drank......
He will return from the store

Adjustments, Compromises and Adapting...

So, I have moved in with my Darlin' Man.
New situations call for new adaptations.
Sometimes you have to compromise.
Some things only require a bit of *tweaking*, minor adjustments to smooth out a slight bump in the road.

Laundry for example. My fella is in the military, so his laundry must be done a certain way.
I also found out that he *has* to have his socks, t-shirts and boxers folded a certain way.
Okay---minor adjustment.
 My Darlin' Man has two kids in his custody. Teen agers.
Compromises and adapting are the watchwords there!
From diet and my cooking, bedtimes, entertainment, house cleaning, etc.
I could let some things become battle grounds--if I wanted to go that route.
But I prefer a calmer journey...
So, I give the kids choices.
Get up and get out the door to school by a certain time OR get up EARLIER the next day.
Eat what is put on the table at dinner time OR make yourself a sandwich.
Clean your room OR I will box up all the stuff on your floor and tuck the box away in a closet.
They have adapted, as have I.

I had to compromise on closet space (ACK!) as the fella has a huge amount of uniforms  that HAVE to be on hangers. It is a walk-in closet with oodles of hanging and shelf space...of which I have about 2 feet of  closet space out of about 8 feet of hanging space...Yup...BIG compromise. But since I don't excatly have a huge wardrobe, that's okay.
My fella has had to adapt to my sewing fetish...I sew, I quilt and I have a massive amount of fabrics, notions, patterns, etc. Plus, my sewing machine, of course.
So, one corner of the bedroom is now my sewing nook.
He's adapting...
We finally hammered out an agreement on our books. I am a confirmed and certified book whore. I moved in with several boxes of books. Today, I will finally have a place to put them! It took a few weeks to figure out where they would go--as the fella has a few hundred books of his own and his small bookshelf is bulging at the seams!
After much discussion, we finally figured out a compromise and both of us are happy with it.
My beloved books will be unpacked and placed on the *breakfast bar* ---that is never used as such---and his books will be joining them there.




It works!

Lovely October has arrived!

In 4th grade my teacher, Mrs. Miller, made each of us memorize a poem about our birth month. I was an October baby, so the poem that follows is the one I chose to memorize.
On Oct. 28th, I will be a glorious 54 years old!




Oh suns and skies and clouds of June, and flowers of June together, you cannot rival for one hour October's bright blue weather!
When loud the bumblebee makes haste, belated, thriftless vagrant, and golden Rod is dying fast, and lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When Gentians roll their fringes bright, to save them from the morning light, and chestnuts fall from satin burrs without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie in piles like jewels shining, and redder still on old stone walls are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things their white-winged seeds are sowing, and in the fields, still green and fair, late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks, in idle golding freighting, bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunts, by twos and twos together, and count like misers, hour by hour, October's bright blue weather.
Oh suns and skies and flowers of June, count all your boasts together, love loveth best of all the year October's bright blue weather!
by Helen Hunt Jackson