Not too Late.......

It's late, but tomorrow is my day off so I'm just hanging out by myself........the rest of the house is in slumber. I ran Josie off the couch and to her bed a while ago and Jose retired along with Kramer about ten. And by the way, the time posted at the bottom of this page if waaay off and I don't know how to fix it...I've been meaning to mention it for quite some time because it really bugs me......so, now I've got that out of my system!
Lately, I've been waking up really early every morning.....usually around 4am. I finished a book that I've been reading on for monthes now this morning.. I've made mention of this book in a previous post. The book is Following Christ by Joseph M. Stowell. I would recommend this one to anyone interested in being a true follower of Christ........he stesses the importance of being a follower in the true sense of what it really means to follow Christ. The simple command of our Lord to: "Follow me"! is the central theme of the book and the author does an excellent job of instructing the reader in followership. As I read the book, I highlighted several passages that really stood out. One sentence that really spoke to me was : Whether rich or poor, big or little, pretty or not-so-pretty, president or potwasher, the true sense of our identity in Christ as followers of Him makes us inseparably one. This statement says a lot when you think about it.
I believe that Christ meant his followers to be unified....to be on the same wavelength, in today's terms. He would want that we cared for our fellow man and that we wouldn't be jealous and hateful to others. He would want us to take serious the ten commandments. He would ask that we trust in Him and only Him. As followers of Christ we will have many crosses to bare of our own, the pathway won't always be easy. If we stay on the path and don't waver, we can achieve victory.........the benefits far outway the cost!
You know something? Everyday I get a better understanding of what God wants for me! I'm really starting TO GET IT! It's true what they say about the more you know the more you grow! This pretains to understanding God's word.... and you are never too old to learn about God! (or too young!) It amazes me all the years I spent being a dummy! Honestly, folks, you can be so smart in many things, but if you don't know the Lord you are downright dumb! I know that sounds harsh and not at all nice, but just the same, it's the truth, like it or lump it!
I've spoke my peace for tonite and it's really late now so I'm outta here!

Put your sweater/jacket on this morning!!!!!!!

Good morning, all! It's a rather cool morning in the Burg this morning! Temp is a tad below average I would say! But then its fall and we can expect this change to coolness! Indian summer is my favorite time of the year...I love the fall colors and the crisp fall air without that drenching humidity! September and October bring out the best in me!
The house is looking good with it's new paint...my son is doing a great job and I love the color...green is my favorite color and with the help of the paint guy at Lowe's and my brother, I picked out a color called Smoky Olive and it looks really good... I'm hoping there's enough paint to paint the garage too. I haven't quite decided what color I want to paint the shutters...........it's a toss-up between black and a dark maroon that will match the roof..........I may go with black because I have a feeling we are going to need a new roof within the next year or so and I can change the shingles to a color that will look better with the house color! Wow, I'm really getting in to this home-improvement thing! I have even been contemplating a big deck in the backyard for next summer.....my brother has already volunteered to help and I'm thinking it will be really neat for when we have cookouts and the best part is it would cut down on the amount of grass to mow!!! The only drawback is expense.........I'll have to start feeding the piggy bank a little better!
Due to the work schedule, I've been missing a lot of church lately and although there's nothing I can do about it, it bothers me some. Wednesday nites are history as I've worked the last two and I'm scheduled to work tonite and then I open Sunday morning so there goes the morning service on Sunday, so we are looking at Sunday evening and I'm going to do my best to get there! Next week I will be able to go on Wednesday and Sunday nite because the manager of the department will be on her vacation and I will be working days all week. I told her I would be spoiled when she comes back! I like the day shift because it leaves my evenings open, but then that noon til close shift lets me get a lot of things done in the morning around the house and since I'm a morning person anyway, it works well either way if I have to go to work or get to work around the house!
I told myself I wasn't going to mention work in this post.....goofed.........at least it wasn't the whole post! Sorry, folks.......next one I won't even bring it up!
I have stuff to do this morning so I will make this a short entry and here's hoping that you all enjoy this wonderful fall weather and that your work let's you go to church at least once a week if not more often........we need to go because it keeps us uplifted and encourages us to be good Christians and we can bless others with what we learn from our pastors and fellow followers of Christ...........Right on! See you all soon! And God bless all you site visitors I won't get to see!!

Where is she?

I guess I missed a couple days of posting on the old blog site! Probably due to the fact that there's really not much going on lately that would be of interest to anyone. It's been a good day weatherwise and there's a nice breeze coming through the window tonite as I sit hear pondering what to blog about. I did a load of laundry and the dryer vent is right below the window in this room so I can spell the fabric softener...I'm home alone with the dogs again tonite because Jose is at school and my son is out with a friend. Those two are sacked out on the couch........I took them both for a walk around the block earlier because my friend wasn't home and I wasn't up to walking the both of them too far........because Josie is slow and Kramer is like a racecar and they both make frequent stops to bush-sniff!
Work was a real treat today.......things were going pretty good until noon rolled around and the person I thought was scheduled to come in didn't show! I took another look at the schedule only to discover that there wasn't anyone scheduled to come in at noon!!! or anytime thereafter for that matter! So I got on the phone and called my manager and asked her if she forgot to schedule someone to work today and sure enough, she did. Tuesday is cheap slice day and customers were hitting my counter like it was their last chance to have pizza ever! I managed to get someone from the neighboring department to take over long enough for me to have a break about 12:30 or so and then worked on trying to figure out who would get to close the Italian department....didn't want to have to call my manager in, even tho it was her mistake, so, after checking the Chinese schedule I saw that I could safely borrow someone from their department and that's what I did. They have a new manager who just started today and I was a bit hesitant to spring this on him on his first day, but I decided "Why not?" He was very gracious and said that would be fine....I think I'm going to like this dude! Anyway, my borrowed help came in at two and I stayed my last hour and left right on time! I have learned to expect the unexpected at work anymore and be prepared for whatever comes my way and nothing really shakes me up too much .........I've seen it all!! I can at least say that no one called in today and my manager did actually come in to cover just in case no one else could..we sent her home and I'm sure she was glad to go! There's nothing worse than getting called in on your day off!
I talked to my brother in Council Bluffs tonite via cellphone.... he informed me that he's unemployed...seems that the place he's working at has changed owners and there are going to be some major changes that weren't in anyone's favor, so it was in his best interest to move on!
He is old enough (and then some) to retire so I 'm sure he will enjoy drawing his unemployment and see it as a nice vacation. Knowing him, he will probably find another job eventually and I hope it's a day job.........this one was a third shift job and I don't think he ever liked it that well.
Jose is doing the honor of taking Josie and Kramer out for their "last call"...I'm about ready to wrap this up and retire for the evening myself! Thanks for checking me out and hopefully I didn't bore you with all the "shop-talk."

Be Still!

It's Sunday again and looks kind of chilly out this morning. I'm the only one up at my house....Jose was up for a while but gave it up to go back to sleep and even Kramer is sleeping in this morning! I just sitting here plucking away at the keyboard and watching the early squirrels out the window. Not much on my mind today, I've been listening to the tv preachers...some of them are pretty good actually.... Ed Young just gave his Yes/No message a while ago. It was about how we need to learn how to say Yes to God and No to our sinful desires. We all know what those are. Or do we? Did you know that we can get caught up in our daily goings-on so much to the point that we don't even hear when God is talking to us! Our jobs, our friends, the computer, the phone, tv, music and even church can distract us from what God is telling us what we should be seeking! His word would tell us to be still and know that HE is God. BE STILL. Wow! That's a tough one....we all like noise it seems, whether it be the tv or just yakking on the phone to someone. I think we actually fear silence because in the silence we have to listen to God! Could we be avoiding his voice? I don't know about you, but I want to hear Him and be aware of what He's telling me. After all, He's all-knowing and wiser than we can ever imagine!
The guy whose's preaching right now just said we can't hear when someone is speaking to us if we don't shut up and listen! Ouch! Could that be the problem? Are we so caught up in our plee to God about what we want and what we would have Him do for us, that we don't listen to what He's doing for us right now and that He blesses us every single day and that even though we go through bad stuff He brings us up out of the valleys and allows us His mercy and grace. So maybe we should start thinking about what He has given us already and not so much about what we think we have to have or what we are going to get and just thank Him for being Who He is and what He has done!
In all the noise of everyday life and even the noise of your thoughts just remember to listen for God's voice..........you may have to shut up yourself and tune out all the junk that surrounds you.........but you'll be glad you did because His voice, be it quieter and smaller that any other will be a comfort and will give you peace of mind.
The clock tells me that it's time to get ready for church. I hope to see lots of folks there this morning and I hope that one of them will be you! Have a great Sunday and a good week ahead and I'll catch you all another time!

Old Dogs

It's a cool, damp and cloudy saturday morning. I'm having coffee out of that ugly mug I got the other day, someday I'll have to discribe it to you all, but not today! Coffee could have been just a bit stronger...sometimes I just don't get it right! Jose has got Kramer out for a walk and I just took miss Josie out for her morning thing in the backyard...the neighbor lady had her little dog out too.
Her dog is very geriatric and is blind and probably pretty much deaf also...but she cares for her as you would a baby... her name is Cuddles. She is a chiwawa ( I know that's not the way you spell it, but honestly, I couldn't find it in the dictionary cause I don't know what comes after the "i"!). Poor Cuddles staggers around in their backyard and looks like she could just drop any minute, but she keeps on keepin' on...don't know how much longer, but as long as she's able to eat and breathe
and not suffering a lot she'll be cared for.
The squirrels are active this morning, I see one rolling down the big mulberry tree in the back yard. They keep the dogs in an uproar and Kramer would love to get his jaws on one of them.
Somehow, I don't think that will happen. They love to tease the dogs and will literally torment them by chattering from a lower limb as if to invite one of them to just try it!!! I remember a fox terrier I had years ago who would literally try to climb a tree after a squirrel..........she messed her back up and had to have a cortisone injection just because of her love of the squirrel chase! She was a lap dog as I recall, I could not ever sit in a chair alone without Penny jumping up in my lap and making it her bed! She was a sweetheart............gee. all this dogtalk is dredging up old memories of dogs gone by! I have had many dogs in my life and could write multiple pages about almost all of them and knowing me, sooner or later I will probably share a little about the pooches in my life with you all........but will have to ease into them a bit at a time as you all might think I'm a canine lovin' loon of some sort!
Well, folks, the man of the house is back with the top dog (not) and he's on a mission as I hear the truck starting up...said he'd be back! I'll bet he came upon a yard sale on the walk and is out to buy a "treasure"! Oh, boy! The last treasure he came upon on a walk was a brand new "Majic Bullet", which is a blender thingy with a bunch of different containers. etc,.......anyway, it was indeed a bargain and he uses it a lot......and it makes wonderful moolate's! Now, that was definitely worth going after....but, I can't say that for all his treasures.............it's kinda like that proverbial box of chocolates from Forrest.........you never know what he'll come home with!!!
Kramer has found a squirrel friend to harrass and I probably should get him out of the yard before he wakes up all those folks that are trying to sleep in this morning! Have a good day everyone and let's hope there's some sunshine in store for us!

Blog Blahs..........

Yep, folks, that's what I think I'm sufferin' from.......you know how you get when you go to everybody's sites and there's hardly anything new and then you decide to check out the comments to see who's commented on whose sites, then you go reread all of your comments to see if anyone commented about them! Finally you're just plain sick of it all and abandon the computer for a while and go about your other business (if you have any) and then you get to thinkin', maybe somebody's posted recently or commented on yours and your're back in there, checkin' things out!
Then maybe you'll find a new site and read theirs. And what really bugs me is when I find a site I like and can't remember where it was and go thru everyone's links trying to find it, that's really exasperating!! Anyway, I think you all get the picture...........today was a funny kind of day, it was really cold out and first I really wasn't too thrilled about taking care of business this morning because it involved going to pick out paint for the outside of our house. I hate going to Lowes! It's a big store and I don't know where anything is. My brother offered to go with me and the man who was in the paint department was super helpful and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The worst part was the expense! Paint is not cheap! My son is doing the painting and the weather was too lousy today to start, so we just bummed around shopping the thrifties today. That wasn't too productive: I wound up with a hairdryer I didn't need, some shirts for Ashley, and the ugliest coffee mug you have ever seen! Oh, and a black purse that is just a little bigger than one I have almost exactly like it! We had fun though and guess what!? We took Kramer with us and he loved it! He was real good and I even let him ride to the grocery store with me later..........I think I have a new traveling companion!
Can you believe it may frost tonite? I'm not ready for that quite yet....the flowers are still really pretty and I have a rosebush that has lots of buds yet. Hopefully it won't be a serious frost.
The blog blahs are kickin' in again, so I'm gonna exit........stage left and turn this machine over to Jose for the evening! Have a good week and don't let the blog blahs get you down!!

"V" is for Victory!

Good morning, and I'm here to report that I didn't go to church alone yesterday! Since I had to go to work after, Jose did take his truck. And I want it to go on the record (because he informed me last night) that my little "attitude" had nothing to do with his coming to church...........he went because he wanted to! Praise God! The victory was His and not mine. And that's great! I would never want him to go just to please me, because attending church is not about making anyone else happy or giving in to someone's nagging..go because you have a sincere desire to be with God! You want to worship Him and Praise him, not because someone else thinks it's what you should so, but because He is your heart's desire and you want Him to know it! Don't get me wrong, I don't mean never to invite or encourage your friends or family to attend church, I'm just saying that when they go on their own free will, it's a sign that they are truly seeking God and the knowledge to be found by going to worship with others and and really getting into the Word of God. You never get anything out of something that you feel pressured into and it's the same with church. I believe that God draws us to Him and the more we seek Him the more attentive He is to us. It's kinda like building a friendsip. When you first become friends with someone, you learn about the person and as the friendship grows and the more you learn and the more you like the person, you want to spend time and share your feelings with them. It's the same way with God..........He already loves us, he definitely knows us and He wants to befriend us! When you think of Him as your very best Friend, you won't be lonely, you won't feel lost and you can pick up his Word at any time and solve a host of problems that have been bugging you for a long time. Some of our earthly friends can do that stuff too, but they aren't nearly as good at it as He is.........because He knows a whole lot more about us than our anyone else. So, when you think about it, the rewards are many when we become a friend of God!
Finally, a day off tommorrow! Last nite ,work was the pits! Sorry, folks, but that's the best word I could use to describe it. Sunday is always rail cleaning day and it always falls on the second shifter! There was so much ice build up in that thing.......I am sure that it wasn't cleaned while I was on vacation! What normally is a twenty minute job wound up taking me a good hour! Then the day just seemed to drag on and on after four. The store was actually pretty busy for a Sunday, which is good because time seems to go faster when we're busy.....but not last night! I was really glad to see 8pm roll around! I'm dreading that shift again today, because Mondays start out really busy because of the .99 slices..........but it's all down hill after about 1pm!
Oscar is barking his head off this morning and our two are still sleeping! I think they know that he's a big phony and barks just to hear himself bark! I'm trying to ignore the little fool, but just when I think he's done, he starts up again and it's breaking my concentration! So, I'm outa here! Have a good day.......we won't sweat today, cause it's pretty cool out! Fall is in the air and I love it!

I'm sort of put out with my little family this morning because no-one seems to want to accompany me to church today....Its raining and rather gloomy, but that's all the more reason to wanna go, cause you can't do anything outside! I have a feeling that the husband may change his mind, because I think he knows I'm a bit upset.......we women know all the signals to send out! Am I right? Ladies, you all know what I mean! Haven't we been practicing for years? Although right now I feel kinda wimpy and would just like to bawl, I'm not going to let the decisions of others spoil my Sunday! I'm goin' to church if nobody else goes and I'll just pray for them to think more kindly of the Lord!
I feel better already! You know, this bloggin' is theraputic! Anyhow, I'm not going to ramble much this morning cause I don't want you all to think that all I ever do is whine and cry.........so I'll carry on with my signal sending and I'll bet you I won't be going to church alone this morning! God's using me, I know He is..........but sometimes I open my big mouth and just blow the whole scheme of things and now that I've finally got the message ,I know to put a lid on it and maybe things will come my way! Too bad I didn't figure that out a little sooner this morning! Somebody please pray for me!! Blessings to all of you I'll let you know later how the church thing went!

NO PROBLEMS!!

Today was a perfect work day, no problems; no call-in and nothing out of the ordinary to report!
Tonite we went to a birthday party for a daughter of a friend of ours... she will be nine on the 21st, but they live out of town and had a party for her tonite..It was a good time and some good mexican food! I came home before Jose and Ashley since I left the dogs outside and knew they would be freaking out! They are big babies!!! I was ready to come home anyway...as usual I ate more than I should of and of course the exposure to icecream and cake didn't do me any good! Had to have some! The funniest thing that happened tonite was when the guys were all sitting out on the deck and spotted on the roof of an abandoned house next door were about three or four raccoons! So we all got to watch them prancing around on the roof. They climbed down the side of the house and dissappeared eventually. There is an abandoned house about four houses down from us on our street. I wonder how many critters inhabit it! I think the city should do something about these places because they have to be in pretty bad shape for wild animals to live in them! And those raccoons were big buggers! I would bet there are some rats and possums co-habitating with the raccoons. Well, enough of that...not a very pleasant thing to think of, huh?
Jose and Ashley are home.......Ashley's spending the night and her Uncle Bob is going to pick her up here in the morning and take her to church. She likes going with him because he takes her out to eat after church. I hear we are supposed to get rain tomorrow, and this came from an actual weatherman, not the neighbor! I spoke with my brother who lives in Council Bluffs, Iowa and there were severe storm warnings out for there. He was at work and I could here the warning sirens going off in the background. He's a night security guard at a meat-packing plant.
He was worried more about hail than high winds because he has a real nice truck and didn't want it damaged! Our weather here tonite is ideal, nice and cool breeze coming through the window--------we haven't had to run the air in about two weeks now.
Tomorrow is Sunday and I'm going to go to church before work....I wish I had the day off, but since I needed next Saturday off, I will get to work that wonderfully boring noon to 8 shift next Sunday also...Hopefully the following Sunday will be a nonworking Sunday!
Til next time, adious and and may you all be inspired to attend church in the morning!

Just ramblins'

Twice I've visitied this page today and vacated it because I just haven't been inspired to post a single thing, so understand that this is a feeble attempt on my part to contribute to blogworld tonite!
I went to work early again today. After the call in tuesday, I was prepared to be prepared for the unexpected ( or expected, depending on how you look at it!) Things were going pretty smooth. I jumped right in there and was going gangbusters and was really way ahead of schedule and had my chips fried before 8:30. I had to put an order on the computer upstairs, but had to wait for the Chinese opener to get there as I put their order on also and it hadn't been prepared yet.
Along about 1o:30, the department phone rings.............can you guess what's coming? If you guessed another call-in, you are correct! This was not a total "not coming in at all" call in, this was an "I will be a little late" call in. "Cool", I thought, at least she's coming in! And she did, about one hour late.......but it's still okay cause I got to take my lunch break before starving and by the time I did get to go, I was definitely ready for a break! When I got back from my break and my helper still wasn't there, I kept my cool and started bagging the chips I had fried earlier.
If you've ever been to our store you know that on friday and saturday we have demo-ladies that give out samples of our product to promote our sales. I dearly love our demo lady, but she never fails to get smack dab in my way with her cart about the same time I get my first customers! And she loves to get involved with other duties not pretaining to sampling the product. Bless her heart, today she wanted to bag chips for me while her pizza was going thru the oven....It's much easier to just let her than to try to dissuade her....so I just let her bag for a while. She had bagged a grand total of three bags before her pizza was done! That's good, some of our expierenced help aren't that fast! She is a real sweetheart and I must say all the ladies that work in the demo department are a real asset to our store. They are all 70 plus and have a lot of spunk and you can tell they enjoy their work. They all could probably be sitting at home doing whatever, but they chose to be of service to others and I admire them for that!
Our neighbors have a male dachshund who is about a year younger than our Josie. His name is Oscar and he loves to bark! He barks while he is inside, he gets on the back of their couch and looks out the window and barks. And whenever Josie and Kramer hear him bark, naturally they have to join in....hence, a barkfest! Our two will eventually shut-up, but Oscar won't! Anyway, to get back to the original thought, when the oldest boy (about 6) saw that I was getting ready to take my two hounds down to my friends house for their evening stroll, he wanted to go along with Oscar....so I told him to go ask his mom if it was ok.........she consented and away we went. Oscar doesn't get to go for walks very often so he practically drug the poor little guy down the sidewalk..........Kramer is just as bad! When we got to my friends house, they all trooped up onto the porch..Josie just loves this lady and I don't know why for sure...must be all the sweettalk and hugs and kisses she gives (and gets, I might add)! We walked back towards my house and Oscar and company had to stay home, so we proceeded to walk our usual walk. My friends daughter and her friend came along so I pawned Josie and Kramer off on them so I could walk in peace without having to coax Josie to get moving or drag Kramer out of a bush... both of them have a favorite bush they just love to sniff around in and are literally intoxicated by it...bush junkies!!!!
Well, folks, after reading all this gobblygook, now you know why I was a bit hesitant to post anything today..........but that's just the way it is..............guess you could call it ruthrap ramblings! Thanks for tolerating and have a great weekend!

Hi-Ho! It's Back to Work!

Dispite the fact that my noon relief person called in and I had to bag all the nacho chips that I fried first thing this morning(it wasn't in the plan to do both!) I got everything done that needed to be done and left at my designated time to leave. Someone from the neighboring departments volunteered to take on the the task of keeping the pizza flowing after I left. When I first got "the call" I was a little upset, but knew there was nothing I could do about it, so just made the best of it.
I'm glad that I reported to work a half hour earlier than usual...it worked in my favor because I had plenty of time to get four big tubs of chips fried and still time to get my case filled with pizzas before it was time to make stuff to serve from the hotplate........the call came early so I knew I was on my own. I managed to get all but one tub of the chips bagged before 10:30........that's when I have to start making hot food. We sell pizza at .99 per slice on monday and tuesday, so pizza has top priority on the hotplate. I usually start out with three 16inch pizzas, one gourmet pizza, two calzones and two strombolis and today I added stuffies, which are something I invented myself....I make them with a 12inch crust and it looks like a big square flat hot-pocket when it comes out of the oven......I cut it into six pieces...I call them stuffies because I put different toppings inside. Today I made pepperoni and veggie stuffies.....The ones that don't sell get cooled down and put out to sell in the coldcase in front of the department! Just a little peek into what happens behind the scene at my job!
There's one good thing about working alone and that is I had no one to distract me from the tasks at hand! When it was time for a break, a nice young man from the department next to me offered to watch my area and wait on customers while I went to have lunch. He even made a pizza. I'm fortunate to have some good teamplayers in the neighboring departments at work.
Sometimes they can be really helpful, especially on days like today when I could use a little help.
Tomorrow I won't have to worry about anyone calling in because I'm the noon relief person!
Needless to say, it was a rather tiring first day back and I didn't realize how tired I was till I got home and took a power nap on the old couch for about a half hour!
The dogs are wrestling in the living room........I don't know where their energy comes from! Oh, yes I do.......they're dogs! They sleep most of the day! When Josie isn't tormenting Kramer or eating or barking at something outside, she's sleeping! But my energy level is running a tad low this evening so I'm going to abandon this endeavor and get ready to turn in myself.......catch you all at a later date!

That Day....

Something happened five years ago that had an impact on lives everywhere around the world, but most profoundly, here in our great United States of America. As I sat on my sofa watching tv that morning and saw that special report come on the screen, I was at first struck with disbelief! When the realization came to me that it was indeed an act of terror, fear was added and a deep sense of sadness for all the lives lost that day. Until that morning, I felt that our country was fairly safe and that such an act was merely a remote possibility. Our country is strong and nothing like that could take place here...........yet, on that day three times our nation was violated by terrorists who had plotted and planned for perhaps years for what would culminate on that fateful day! Had our heads been buried in the sand, had our sense of security been false? Many questions have haunted us since that day. Who was to blame? Osama took full responsibility for the action with much pride..........his terrorist organization has been in operation for a long time, no doubt, and he is still at large five years later. I hear that he may never be caught because his hiding spot in the mountains is remote and obscure and may never be found. He has been elusive since that horrible act, but he was at one time more visible and has been known to be a danger for years before 9-11. He perpetrated many attacks in other countries before he ever struck here. My question is: Why didn't someone stop him sooner?
I'm not one to get political and am not here to place the blame on anyone..........but questions still remain that may never be answered. It is my belief that no man will solve the problems of our country since that day when fear struck in every heart. My faith is that the solution lies in a Higher Power and that He will bring about the final solutions to all the problems of the world.......He will bring to justice those who violated our freedom and took away loved ones and changed how everyone feels about safety and security in our country!

Jackpot!

We decided to take in a huge rummage sale today, so, after dogwalking ,and coffee and chitchat with the neighbors, we headed for the sale....it was fun and I made off with a big bag of stuff for a grand total of 2.55! I don't know what Jose spent, but he didn't do bad, I'm sure. What fun! He ran into one of his former co-workers he hadn't seen in a long time and I saw one of my co-workers. We went out to breakfast afterwards and then headed for home.....on the way, as we turned down a street close to home, I spotted a tag sale at the OAKS building. We decided to stop and check it out. I was so glad I did because I found something I had been looking for in their basement...there was a flea-market going on. I looked through all the miscellaneous junk and couldn't find anything I couldn't live without...Jose found his way down and was ready to go home...Then I spotted a stack of books by the door. I thought I saw what looked like a bible under one of the bigger books and I lifted it to see. Sure enough, there was the very bible I had been looking for..You see, several monthes ago I had gotten a bible cover at a resale store, simply because it was a really good buy and I thought even if I didn't have a bible to fit it, maybe I could give it to someone who did! I was so happy to find that bible because it is just the right size and fits perfect! And I needed a good bible because the one I have is kinda falling apart. I also like it because it's a King James version bible. So, today, I'm a happy camper and proud of my bargain.......I asked the lady upstairs how much the bible was and she said all the books in the basement were .25.... I couldn't believe it! So, when I got home, I had to tell the neighbor about my find. He asked me if I had read the bible from cover to cover. I told him no.
He said he had! He also said his father had also....I think that's great! He said he'd read the bible while watching baseball games and would pray for his team to win! I don't know about that one, but I guess; whatever it takes!...that's as good as incentive as any! Sometimes the neighbor guy is funny, remember, he's also our weatherman! Still, I think it's a great accomplishment to have read the whole bible from cover to cover!! I'll bet that was a bunch of baseball games, too!
Jose just took Ashley to the dollar store to buy colored pencils...I found her a snowflake coloring book at the rummage sale today and she is itching to do something in it. So, its just me and the dogs for a while....kinda nice. I shut the tv off for some quiet time....sometimes tv really gets on my nerves and most of the time its just on for the noise and nobody is really into the program!
My brother called me from Michigan last night. He is on another motorcycle adventure..he started out with two other guys. One had a problem with his bike and had to turn back at Bloomington... but Bob and his other buddy are still goin' strong and having fun. I think this is a ten day trip....he informed me the other day that he plans on taking a trip to Guatemala perhaps next year on the motorcycle.............sometimes I fear for this man's sanity, folks! But, I guess, if he made it to Alaska and back, he's good to go to Guatemala!
Only two more days left of the vacation. I'm ready to get back in the swing of things, and that means work of course...I don't want to get spoiled and lazy!! The first day back will be drudgery, most likely but I can deal with it! I just hope that there's no major drama going on as I can do without that! I never got to hear the outcome of the "drama" when I stopped by the other day.. and I will know better not to bring it up when I go back because I'm sure that will be at least a twenty minute to half hour dissertation!!! ouch!
That's all from me today ,folks...........will be looking forward to church in the morning.........you all be there! And to all those who don't go to my church.........hope you go to yours!

Day Six

I spent the better part of the afternoon today cleaning our bedroom. I can accumulate more stuff than anyone and all that stuff can accumulate much dust!!! I moved out the bed and cleaned dust bunnies from behind it and took about three shoe boxes (empty) out from under it....stuck some old shoes in them that I haven't worn in quite some time and took them to the basement. I probably should have took them to the trash! I changed our bedspread to the "fall" one. I still need to do some more work on my area ,as my dresser is loaded with stuff and more stuff! I probably sound like world's worst packrat (Jose would certainly say "amen" to that one!) Seriously, I don't think I'm the worst packrat, but I have a fondness of collecting things and ever so often, I change from liking to collect one thing to liking to collect something else! I have a collection of cows, dolls, angels, and various other "things" that I fancy for a period of time and then move on. Occasionally I will recollect something that I had stopped collecting for a while and it just goes on and on! I guess you could say I have a "passion" for whatever thing I'm currently collecting!
The only problem being , I don't want to part with any of it!!! I had contemplated having a yard sale over this vacation...I thought of one reason why I should have one; You need to get rid of some of this stuff! But then I thought of a bunch of reasons as to why I shouldn't have one;
It's too much work and I know I won't get any help!.........What will I do with the stuff that doesn't sell?............The biggest reason why I don't want to have one is .........If I sell all my stuff, I will just go out and get more.........so what's the use.? Just as well keep the stuff I have and save myself the trouble! Maybe some day I will break down and part with my some of my "treasures" and when I'm ready you won't want to miss that one because there will be something there for just about everyone!
Do you think that how you decorate your home reflects your personality? I would hope that my home doesn't scream "packrat!" to anyone who would enter here. I certainly didn't want to give that impression. I would describe my style of decorating as Eclectic (not sure of spelling) because I have a variety of different themes going on.....now, I know what you all are thinking "that's just a fancy term for "Packrat". Think whatever you want, but I'm happy with my little treasure palace and that's all that matters. I would hope that you all feel the same way about your homes. God gave us different tastes in food, clothing, interior design and just about everything for a reason. Our diversity makes us special. One thing we should all have in common is love for our Creator and love for each other.........even though we are all different, we all have one thing in common and that is that we were all created to strive to be like the One Who made us! Possessions don't really matter much, it's Who we belong to that really matters.
Thanks for stopping by have a great day!

four and one half

Not much to report of any real importance from yesterday..I had started a post and gave up on it.
Today is a beautiful day and as I'm typing this I can hear the stearman planes flying around town. Josie is out in the yard "crying" as Jose calls it. September the 6th , three years ago, Jose and I were married...........as I recall the weather that day was great, similar to today's. As I recall, he was nervous and I just wanted to be on with it! My biggest fear was that I would get all emotional and cry at the service and I did! I know it's cool to cry at someone elses' wedding, but not at your own! It's supposed to be a joyous occasion. I know, I was crying for joy because I was so happy to be married to a wonderful guy and I mean that sincerely! He's been so good to me and not only a husband but my best friend. I know I take him for granted alot, but I truly adore him. We've seen each other through a few rocky spots but for the most part, we have maintained a good relationship over a little over a decade of being together!
I stopped in to see the "gang" today and tried not to get caught up in the "drama of the day". There's always something going on it seems and sometimes it's totally unrelated to work!
When I had enough, I exited the scene and was glad that I could!
I have a few projects in mind to keep me busy today, so I will exit the blogscene and wish you all farewell til next time!

Day Tres

Today is Labor Day and yes, folks, we made the annual pilgrimage downtown for the parade. My brother even went..he was over here early seeking a cup of coffee. I managed to have a cup left for him and we were running late as the parade usually starts around ten. We missed some of it but, for the most part caught the majority of the parade. My favorite part are the old cars. I enjoy watching the kids going after the candy, also. There weren't any horses this year, that was kind of a dissapointment. The weather was perfect this year. We looked around in the Antique mall for a while after the parade and then went home. I had wanted to take Josie with us, but got to thinking she gets carsick sometimes, so gave up that notion! We had to go through Rooster's to get to the Antique store and they had pizza cooking that smelled really good, but I resisted even tho I sure was tempted! You would think I wouldn't care that much for pizza beings I have to make it so much, but I love pizza! And they had Supreme which is my favorite!
Speaking of food, just before I started this post I whipped up some applecrisp and the kitchen is starting to smell really good. Conning someone to bring icecream over with the promise of some applecrisp is a plan for later on! Am I not devious? ha! It works, folks, cause I've tried it before!
Today has been a totally unproductive day (except for the baking of the dessert) and I feel like a real bum....I even took a nap this afternoon.......but as I said, I'm not out to accomplish great things so everything is copacetick....gee, I don't think I've ever seen that word in print before!
probably didn't spell it right either!
Both dogs are in here checking me out..I had them outside a while ago, but Josie wouldn't shut up, so Jose wanted me to let her in. Kramer was totally cool with napping on the lounger, but she wouldn't come in without him! She runs over to the chair and jaws at him til he gets off of it and runs for the gate, then she won't let him go out first!! Poor Kramer! Jose says that Josie is just like me! I don't know if that's a compliment, somehow I think not!
I hear from my brother and from the news today that The Crocodile Hunter got killed by a stingray. I always thought that he was just a little too brave with dangerous creatures! It is sad because he had a young daughter. I hope that others in his profession will learn a lesson from his unfortunate death.
Until tommorrow, good day and enjoy this beautiful Labor Day!

Day II

Good evening, and I must say it is indeed a good evening...nice and cool out. I went with my brother to his church's picnic at Faith Bible Camp. They have a beautiful campground about 25 miles from here. It had looked like rain all afternoon and got a bit chilly over there, but I had a very good time and Ashley had a ball. I never saw her or my brother until it was time to eat! Bob played baseball and Ashley went fishin'. I learned a new board game called Sequence. I played partner's with a lady who taught me and another lady how to play. We actually won a game and got beat the next game! We ate around 6 o'clock. I never saw so much food!! There must have been over a hundred dishes; caseroles, salads, chips, cakes, pies, cookies, every dessert imaginable! If anyone left that picnic hungry, it was there own fault!!
After everyone had finished eating there was singing and a time in between songs for anyone to testify what God had been doing in their lives. Most of the songs were the same songs we sing at our chuch and I even knew all the words! Some of the youth got up and sang a favorite song from camp. I knew that one too! Even tho I knew only a few people there, I felt like I fit in, because where people are gathered together to worship God you tend to feel like they are family whether you know them or not!
I really enjoyed my afternoon at Faith Bible Camp and hope I can go again next year. I got home around nine and Jose and the two "monkeys" were snoozing already. Of course , I had to wake them all up to tell about the picnic. Wouldn't you know, someone had brewed up some coffee over there and I had to have a couple cups of it and now I'm all caffiened up and probably won't be ready for sleep for quite some time yet! But, I don't care because I don't have any commitments tomorrow! (or anytime soon, for that matter) And, I love it!!!
So far, vacation is going pretty good! Tomorrow is Labor Day and we haven't any specific plans.
I believe there is a parade going on downtown and as I recall, Jose usually wants to go check it out...so that could be in the plan for the morning. I heard from our weatherman ( the neighbor guy) that it's supposed to rain tomorrow..........so maybe nix the parade...I can only hope, because seriously, folks, I could do without viewing the parade!
That concludes the report of vacation, day II. If there's anything of great interest to report tommorrow, I shall surely post it promptly, and may even post regardless! Thanks for visiting me and God bless !!!

Vacation II, Day One

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! I'm here to report the status of day one of the "vacation". I put quotes around the word, simply because most people relate vacation to taking a trip somewhere, or a cruise...but for me vacation literally means vacating the workforce for a short period of time and just hanging out at home or within the vicinity of home! And that's the way I like it!
We did actually leave town tonite to attend a wedding reception in a nearby town.... one of our neighbors got married today, so we decided at the spur of the moment to go...Ashley went along and she had fun as the groom's son is a playmate of her's when she is at my house. We came home early and now Jose and Ashley are watching a movie....Josie and Kramer are wrestling in the living room.
If you remember, I said I wasn't out to accomplish great things while I was vacating. Well, folks, I was wrong...I did accomplish one great thing today...I gave both dogs a bath! Kramer was first. I ran the water on the sly, then went after him in the backyard and hauled him in the house, into the bathroom and locked the door so he couldn't escape and proceeded to scrub him down! He didn't like it and tried to jump out a couple times, but I managed to keep him in the tub long enough to soap him down real good. When I finally was satisfied that he was clean enough I turned him loose and toweled him off, sprayed him with some good-smelling doggie cologne and took him back out side.........Josie was next (remember, she's the water-hater) I really have to be discreet about running water for her bath, because if she hears the water running she will hide under the bed and I can't get her!! I will have to say, her behavior was commendable this time and she tolerated her dousing quite well, but was definitely ready to jump out when it was over! Once she got out of the bathroom, she hid under the bed to make sure I wasn't going to do anything else despicable to her. I had Jose come in to coax her out so she could go outside to dry. Of course, once she got outside, she was fine and I really think they both felt good after their baths and they surely smell better! That, my friends ,was my great accomplishment of the day!
It sure feels good to be able to open the windows and let some fresh air in! The last few days have been really nice...I have a feeling that fall is fast approaching. The nights are getting cooler and the days are starting to shorten. I love the fall, even though it means a prelude to cold weather, I still enjoy the monthes of September and October more than any others....Indian summers are great because its not too hot and if it is, there's not a lot of humidity, so its more tolerable than the 90 degree days we have in July and August.
That's about a rap for tonite, folks, enjoy this cool spell and invite a friend to church with you tomorrow..........Give back to God something he has blessed you with and share all your blessings with someone less fortunate than you! There are many things to be given other than dollars; your time, your talents, your prayers, your love and comfort to someone who is hurting, and most important, sharing the knowledge of Jesus Christ with someone who may not know Him as well as you do. Remember, to be blessed, you must be a blessing to someone else! Have a great Sunday!

I haven't posted for a few days. I've been mostly just taking in everyone else's posts... it's amazing the knowledge obtained from others...not only knowledge, but their opinions, their feelings, their humor, and so many things about all the bloggers out there..Many of them I know, but more that I have never met and probably never will meet ( at least, not in this life). Some I visit on a daily basis and some I just pop in every so often to catch up on what they have to say. It has been an enjoyable experience to get to know so many people. I also hope that from what I post, that people will get to know me. I probably contact more people from this blogsite than I do in person!! I do not have a lot of close friends and am not that much of a "social being". I view myself as being a personable person and enjoy talking , but when I'm working, I take my work more serious and although I joke and have fun with my co-workers, I really want to stay on task and can become rather irritated when others deviate from their work to "goof-off". People who really know me well think I'm funny and I view myself as generally good-natured. I have a serious side and I have a tender spot for the elderly and the very young. I love my dogs and I cannot stand to see any animal abused!
I am somewhat hesitant to "bare my soul" at times, but tonite I just felt like telling a few things about me that you probably wouldn't know unless you spent time around me! Just thought I'd share a little about myself so when you drop by you'll have some idea of who I am other than just "ruthrap"!
Today was my last day to work before my last vacation week of the year! It was an exhausting day at the store...mainly because it was the first of the month and everyone was shopping! I was really tired and probably slept for about three hours tonite wiped out on the couch... I woke up about 10:30. Josie was there with me when I went to sleep, but had went to her bed and was sucking her blanket when I checked on her..Well, I slept through their 9:30 potty break, so had to take them both outside for that. Kramer didn't want to come back in as he has discovered that there's something living under a brick tile under the lilac bush and he wanted to dig it out! I finally convinced him "not tonite!" and got him to come back in...Jose has been asleep for hours, I'm sure, so when I got the dogs corralled, I locked the doors and realized that I am not in the least bit tired, so here I am, plucking away at this keyboard at almost midnite.
Aw, but what do I care! I don't have to work tomorrow! or the next day or the day after that!!
In other words I'm FREE!!!! I really needed some time away from the workplace and I really don't care if I accomplish great things on my "vacation".............the best thing will be not having to punch a timeclock til the 12th!! Well, folks, I've rambled enough for tonite, I think I'll cruise a few sites and then call it a night. Happy September everyone! It's my most favorite month of the year!