Yeah, We're Dry!!

I must start with a resounding YEAH!!!!  The severe rain forecasted for our area missed us!  Maybe, just maybe, I can sleep tonight-at least a little?!  Last night once again ended with loud drips above my head and behind the couch I currently sleep on.  Poor Sweetie didn't know what to do.  She's generally timid, my poor little princess, but it's really sad when I'm no better when the clouds come over or I hear thunder in the distance.  Kylie, on the other hand, is cool with it.  Maybe if she had the water in her room from either rain leaks or sewer backing up, she'd be more frazzled.  It's times like this that I really wouldn't mind having a night in shining armor show up to save the day-or night!  As a single parent, we go through plenty with just a daily routine called life, none of us need these extra "bonus rounds"!  With all of life's "learning experiences" I've had to deal with, I should be a genius by now.  At least for the moment though, I will give great thanks for the dry ceiling and relish in the peace from outside-while it lasts!  More rain/storms are possible for the rest of the week-I'm so happy tomorrow's Wednesday!

While this is short, it's with good reason.  I wish you all a peaceful, sound sleep!!

Memorial Day - Kick Off To Summer?!

GO BLACKHAWKS!!

Hmm,  on the calendar it shows today was Memorial Day.  Really?  Outside by our place it's been cloudy, cold and dreary.  Not even spring-like weather, much less summer!  I think we were supposed to get into the 60's for the high, but it certainly didn't feel like it, especially with the clouds and misty rain off and on.  I haven't grilled in years, but lately I've been looking forward to this weekend.  Although the plans of sitting out in the yard relaxing and playing with Sweetie and Kylie all day we destroyed, I was determined to make something work.  I salvaged my grilling plans by broiling shish kabobs for dinner and added my amazing garlic mashed potatoes with corn and added brussel sprouts to the side for added vitamins.  All in all, not the worst Memorial Day dinner ever!

 Other than dinner, my day was spent trying to accomplish some backed up cleaning/organizing of our home. This was all in an attempt to remain calm as the weather reports called for thunderstorms and the possibility of flooding at some point today or this evening.  Fortunately, nothing so far and I keep praying it will all go around us.  I don't see how I'd handle rain again anytime soon.  I was supposed to work too, but decided to take a rare, yet needed break.  I'll make it up, or pay for it, tomorrow - depending on how you look at it!

In recognition of this day's true meaning, I would like to thank all those who have served and currently serve to protect our country, people, and democracy.  I've had one brother in the air force in the '80's, a grandfather who served in WWII, a grandmother who helped the men from the home  front of WWII, and my dad served two terms in Korea - under the army and navy (pictures below).  Knowing how the war changed my dad from what my grandma explained, my heart goes out for not only the military members returning from war, but for their families as well.  Everyone truly is affected by war.  I never was very close to my dad, he was a violent alcoholic, again this person was who returned from the second term at Korea, my grandma told me.  War creates a new "club" with every battle.  Only those serving in particular areas and going through the trenches really know what's been going on.  They can share their stories and pictures, but to really "get it", you'd have to live it too.  Coming back to a nation and home town of people you've known your whole life must seem like a life now full of strangers since so much has changed in your mind, life and world.  As much as these men and women need to re-acclimate and move forward in their lives, I always hope they maintain some close friendships with those they've served with.  Everyone needs someone at times who understands what they've either been through or are going through or are about to go through, nobody needs this more than our military troops.

As this day comes to an end, just remember any service people you may know and take a moment to not only thank them (even silently if not with you), but to think about how their lives have been forever changed if they ever served in war times.  If they haven't, they're still the selected members of the "club" and have experiences that only fellow service people understand.

 

Korea

I hope you all have had a great Memorial Day, and with sunshine and warm air or cold and gloomy like a perfect Halloween, hold tight to the memories and if in troubled times, remember it could be worse and is sure to get better!

Quick Update, Hope You're Week's Been A Good One!

As you were bound to see and may have started to notice already, I live in an incredible world of non stop trials and learning experiences!  This week alone my daughter and I have been through our building's sewer backing up into my bedroom, followed by leaks sprouting in various areas of our living room ceiling a couple days later-I can only move the couch so far!  I've had a crazy busy week with work for my regular job as an administrative assistant and meeting with new clients for my resume posting job, unfortunately all is not always as it appears.  One client keeps saying his check is "in the mail" and another's check bounced and suddenly he's too busy to answer my messages.  Long week!  Through everything else along with my normal health issues, I've found a strength from within that I haven't had in a long time and have worried I had lost forever due to my list of health issues.  Despite the struggle to function each day, I was finally more motivated than ever to finally drop off a collection of shoes Kylie has collected for Soles4Souls.  Once again, finding no one but ourselves to haul the big heavy boxes up the stairs and out to the van, somehow we did it.  I was first able to move the middle seats of the van into the trunk, which appeared impossible at any point before.  This new found or recovered physical strength gave me the sense of peace from within that I need to keep going and not just curling up into a ball waiting for the world to pass over us (we live in a basement apartment).  Kylie and I managed to deliver 375 pairs of shoes for those in need.  That's what truly matters at the end of a week like this.  Long week!  So far I continue to have the strength and have taken full advantage by working on a full cleaning/over haul of our apartment.  I don't know how long I'll feel strong enough to do this and how long my debilitating pain will take a break, so I'll just keep going as far as I can.  Once it's done or I crash into a major flair up, I'll stop.  It's not what others may agree with, but it's the best I can do and I'm happy with that.  It's been years since I've been able to do as much as I've done these past few days and I am soaking in every minute of it!

This week has not been nearly as long as they've had to endure in Oklahoma though, we all need to do what we can to remember those with needs greater than ours and more difficult trials to get through.  For those of us who aren't in the position to donate financially, the least we can do is remember them and pray for them all to have the strength to keep moving forward and persevere through it all.  This is something we all need to remember at one time or another, it may not always be easy, but I'm sure there are times in your past that didn't seem like you'd make it through the day and here you are. 

Looking at the weather for the upcoming week, looks like more rain.  I can only hope there's not much rain when it does come down and we'll be good.  Not the greatest of Memorial Day weekends that I can remember, but the sun will return and all will be well.  We can't complain too much as long as the air temps are warmer and we all know summer will be here soon!

I hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the extended weekend and I will be sharing again soon!

So Happy This Weekend Is OVER!!!

Every have one of those days?  Maybe, one like I had yesterday?  Well, today was yet another one of those!  It all started with no sleep whatsoever.  As you will see, I rarely sleep, but when I try to function with no sleep at all, especially as the days add up, life gets a bit more difficult.  Why no sleep you ask?  My ever increasingly wonderful neighbors decided to sit right by my window where I sleep, with a guest and drink and talk and yell all night.  They finally left at 5:15 am.  Why didn't I call the cops?  I firmly believe one of the distinct voices was that of my landlord.  He's a roller coaster ride in itself with his personality and I don't want to cause more trouble with him than necessary.  Next time-Super Soaker Time!  Anyway, back to this wonderful day of mine!  Somehow I managed to get Kylie to church without being too late for her nursery-duty.  Following an incredibly valiant attempt to stay awake through the service, I was a bit dazed and just floated through the rest of the morning as we went to get gas then lunch.  My day was quite full already, I had a client to meet with for help with his resume and job search, I was also planning to take my neighbor to the cemetery and at some point help my brother move something to his new apartment.  It was also another beautiful, hot and sunny spring day which would have and should have been spent outside playing with Sweetie.  NOPE! Following lunch we came home and there it all began.  I was receiving phone calls to help my resume writer friend with a client of his.  I had to figure out how to do one last thing for my client before meeting with him, and then it came.  "Uh, Mom.  Do we have Uncle's Shop Vac?"  "For your room-again."  What?  It wasn't raining at all and we don't flood that often anyway.  Being that I was otherwise engaged in several projects needing my immediate attention and Sweetie was jumping all over me crying, I didn't quite have any concern for what she was getting at.  I slowly got up, not wanting to stop my work for anything trivial.  I checked out my room as she screeched,  "The toilet or sewer are filling up your bedroom again!"  Yep, again.  WELCOME TO MY WORLD!  Being the second time this has happened in the three years we've lived here, this was far lighter than last time.  So here I was, Sweetie wanting and needing to get out, one client getting ready to meet with me within an hour, my resume friend calling and emailing for me to help immediately with his client, and now I needed to find the landlord-after his all-niter-to figure out this flood situation.  UGH!!!

Well, when these things happen, and when you're so used to these things happening in your life, you can do one of two things.  You can freak out and panic or cry, or you can just do everything possible to calmly take care of one thing at a time-while perhaps being in full panic mode on the inside, and fast forward with everything on the outside.  I don't have a choice, being a single mother with no support system to help, I have to do it all to the best of my ability.  Today is just one day in my life.  One of many very long, trying days I've lived and probably just one of many more to come.  So many people go through days like this and far worse.  My goal is to reach out and let those people know, someone really does understand.  You just gotta keep moving up and moving forward-it will get better!  As for what I actually did accomplish today-I did get to meet with my client after helping my friend with his, the bedroom is now bleached everywhere-even places that may not have needed it-just in case, the flood has been fixed (so the landlord says); my brother got his grill moved.  The cemetery, well it'll be there another day.  Sorry, Sweetie!  You're time will come for fun in the sun!  Let's hope tomorrow is the start to a peaceful, uneventful week!

Uugh! What Should I Name This Post, Sweetie?

Ever have a day that is all planned out, nothing can go wrong to spoil it in any way?  Then it all begins.  You head out-running late, but still take even that in stride.  Traffic's not too bad as you drive to an area you haven't been to in years on a route you've never taken, whew!  You manage to make it to your destination without being late by any means and you even find parking-yeah!  Get inside the site of the event you are destined to be at for the morning, having also dedicated most of the day to this activity-just in case...  As you walk inside, you look around, hmm - looks fairly empty and quiet.  Get further inside, take a look around, yep you're in the right place.  It turns out that you and your daughter are just about the only people who appeared to be attending this event and the vendors at the event were almost as scarce-few and limited in variety.  Seriously?!  I ever so carefully planned this day, and the sun was shinning, temps were warm for the morning, but still the cool breeze of spring in the air.  How could nobody be attending this event and where are all the vendors?  I could not believe this was a bust!  For one, having left late to begin with, arriving stress free was just short of a miracle in itself!

How do you handle a day that started off so crazy and ended up like an episode of "The Twilight Zone"?  Again, the sun was shinning and temps were promising for a potentially great day after all.  We went home, but not until first checking out the area a bit and making a couple of stops for relaxing lunch followed by ice cream-what could beat that?  Once back home we spent most of the rest of the day outside enjoying the beautiful spring day playing with our dog, Sweetie and her friend, Zuzia.  Sweetie's almost 5 years old, a bichapoo.  Zuzia is 2 years old, part terrier  described by her family as "all hillbilly"  having been found and brought home from a small town in one of the southern states!

When a day starts like this, the only thing to do is try to find the best way to salvage it with as much peace and happiness as possible!

I hope you find some sort of inspiration from this for the next time you have a day that starts out looking/feeling like it's a bust!