I just want a real bathroom!

Over 3 yrs ago when we bought our house we thought it was great except for one tiny little thing...the bathroom. Measuring in at about 5x5 it has a shower, toilet and corner sink. Well, we thought, no problemo, there was a 7 1/2 x9 1/2 room that was being used as a closet laundry room and we figured we would turn that into a bathroom. Well, with a home equity loan and a lot of frustration our bathroom has finally got started. Of course, this is just the beginning of a long learning experience. This is something I can not do myself and I've already experienced some mistakes.

My first mistake...I married an electrician. Electricians can not do carpentry or plumbing. Now there are carpenters and plumbers that can do electrical work but if you start out as an electrician, an electrician is all you'll ever be. So I finally had to hire someone. I do not work well with hired help. I have trouble explaining the things I want done or understanding the things they are doing. No surprise there.

Another mistake I made was the tub. I went to the home improvement store and sat down with the little man and explained what I wanted in my bathroom and he helped to pick out the fixtures I wanted. He helped me pick out the wrong tub. Well, my "contractor" shops at Lowe's and I had got my stuff from Home Depot. So the contractor picked out the tub & surround he wanted to install at Lowe's and I had to go pay for it. Meanwhile, I had to get Home Depot to pick up the other tub and give me credit on it. Mission almost accomplished. Tomorrow the tubs both get picked up. We'll, see how that goes.

Which reminds me, today we had snow and 30 degree weather, with strong wind gust. I was waiting at a light and seen this fellow standing along side the road with a sign that said, "Homeless, no work, anything will help." Well, my puppies had a sleep over with the bosses dog and I had a blanket on the front seat for Buddy the dog. I had just dropped Buddy off and the blanket was just sitting there. I looked at the guy, looked at the blanket and smirked. I thought, I wonder what he would do if I called him over to the window and offered him the blanket. I am no fool (sometimes). I know that with the 50 degree weather we have been having that no "homeless" person would be out there in this cold and windy day, when we're suppose to be back in the 50's tomorrow or next day. I figured that would be cruel of me knowing he wants money not warmth...and now a days who knows he might have gotten pissed and shot me or something. So the whole scenario ran through my head as I sat there. He would shoot me, pull me out of the car, take my car and go racing off laughing out loud as he headed for Cincinnati. Meanwhile, I'm laying in the cold, windy street bleeding all over it, wondering if he has a valid drivers licence, pissing off the people that was sitting behind me because my body is blocking the street and relieved that they didn't waste the $2.00 they were going to give the guy.

My motto has always been...try not to piss people off. I can't always do it. I lose it sometimes, but not to often. The older I get the more I think my motto should be "Live large and piss 'um all off." But for now I stick with the one I'm use to.

A life, a life, has anyone have a life?

I have looked around and discovered, I have no life. I also realized that it is a common complaint among people of varied ages. So this year, I turn 5-0 and I've decided to get me a life or at least do something a little different with what I got.

Last year I quit smoking after about 35 years of smoking non-stop. People said it was hard to quit so I never really tried to quit. Oh, I quit when I was 18 & 19 and giving birth to my little geniuses. But, when you're young most things seem easier. But, although I have a real distrust of people I chose to believe them when they said it was hard. I would have to say the first couple of weeks are tough but not near as bad as people claimed. So anyway that accomplishment has made me decide to take on something else. THE REST OF MY LIFE...Especially since now the likelihood of it lasting longer has increased.

So far this year, a full 17 days into it I have started organizing what life I currently am participating in and trying to be more outgoing and get out more. I got me this organizer/purse to consolidate all my phone #'s, calendar and misc. stuff. I have been doing better at getting bills paid on time, I am organizing my filing cabinet and I organized a girls nite out with my sister-in-laws, just to name a few things. Right now I would usually be on the sofa mindlessly watching CSI or the new Sleuth channel but I checked out my student loan consolidation info, and info on treatments on my vasulitous. However, I will finish this and play a game or two at Real Arcade. I found a new word game I like, hopefully that will increase my brain power because right now I can't even remember the name of the game.

Doggy School

It took us 9 years to get our dog Whisky to behave and listen. We are old and are not as patient now. So, next Thursday evening me and my new doggy, Coco are going to school. We are going to be trained by an experienced dog trainer who is gonna be training her new golden lab pup. Then her and the pup will be going to school to get her masters in service dog training.

It's hard trying to be the Alpha when I am not always with her and there are so many men in her life. So just to add two or more men in her life, I am going to start taking her into work with me for a couple days a week so we can interact during the day. But, she'll have my boss and his dog, Buddy to interact with, plus, the guy at the shop up front and the maintenance guy.

I want to say, we just recently got a new vet for the dog(s). We had been taking Tommy the cat to her but Jim mostly took her cause I'm not a cat person. I can not believe the difference. The other vet was like ok, he looks good, here's his shots & heartworm meds and that will be $150.00 bucks. This vet and her crew are just wonderful. They are like physic. They are constantly touching and examining the pet and telling you things about your pet and telling you what you can do to help your pet be a better pet and how you can be a good pet owner. I went along with Jim last time he took Tommy and then I went alone the other night with CoCo to get her boosters. I just love these people and I can't wait until I see them again. They were just wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I need to send them a card or something to tell them that.
I absolutely love them.

The trainer is associated with the vet and holds her classes there and she is just as nice and wonderful as they are. I am so looking forward to class next Thursday. Having the right people in your life can make all the difference.

Doggy Jail

Today I had to go to doggy jail and bail my little chocolate cupcake, CoCo out of jail. It was a very traumatic experience and she was quite upset, too. She somehow got out of the fence and run away from Bert when he tried to get her back in. Whisk ran off with her but came back. She wound up being caught by the doggy police and hauled off to jail.

I had her file with me at work because I had just made her a vet appointment yesterday, so I went straight from work to doggy jail. They had me fill out a form, then sent me back to these 3 red doors # 3,4 & 5 to go through and look for her. The first red door #3 led to a cold, hard room filled with kennels. Almost every one had a poor little doggy in them, although some weren't so little. Some were barking, some whining and others were just laying there. My heart was just hurting so bad to see all this poor little animals locked up like that. But, it's better than having them running the streets, I suppose. So, no little CoCo in cell block #3,

I went on to # 4 and once again started looking from right to left. I was almost back at the door when I seen this little brown doggy. It looked like my CoCo, yes, she had little white paws, yes, she had a little shaved belly. Yes, this was my little CoCo, but she was shaking and shivering from head to toe. She didn't act like the brave little girl that knocks heads & bites legs with old Whisky, I put my head to the cage and said, "CoCo, my little girl" and she didn't even lick me. She didn't like that place and she was beside herself. I checked the little neck tag they had on her and seen she was picked up just a couple blocks from the house. I told her she would be out soon and went up front to let them know I had found her. After more paper work and payment of $7.50, I told the girl to keep the change as a donation cause I was so happy I didn't have to go in door #5. After I told the story to my husband, Jim. He said he was relieve that I didn't come back with a whole car load of dogs.

I hope I don't ever have to go bail her out again. That place just breaks my heart. But, now my little girl has a record. She can never get to be a rescue dog, drug dog, or anything like that. Bert, my son, said she might still be able to be a police dog. Nine years we've had Whiskey and he's had his haydays of fence jumping and running around with the gang and has never been picked up by the dog cops. Her first day out and my little girl gets picked up. Ain't that just like people cops, they stay away from guy gangs but sees a young gal walking the street and they're all over her.

The Big Wind in the Big Easy.

My mother has taken over my mind, body and soul and there seems to be nothing I can do about it.

Hurricane Katrina was heading toward New Orleans and all I could think was that it was a good thing... that New Orleans needed a good cleaning. But, it didn't turn out to be as bad as they expected it to be.

One thing about the media, It's never as bad as they report it could be and never as good as they report it is. I'm sure that there are a lot of people that are and will have some really hard times. But, since my mother has entered my body...I really don't give a hoot. She hasn't taken completely over or hoot would have been a stronger word.

So since Hurricane Katrina has turned out to be a big disappointment to me like most things in this life. I will attempt to rattle on about nothing in specific just to hear myself think.

My mother used to live in New Orleans. She moved there when she was about 16 or so some where in the early 40's. I don't know the time line completely but she was quite a looker and danced in a chorus line and hung out with some big shots associated with crime and politics, which in Louisiana is the same thing. She partied with Gov. Jimmie Davis and one of the Longs. She mixed with Carlo's family or what ever family was in charge at the time. She married a soldier and lived large with his money. He went overseas and sent all his money home to her. My aunt once told me that my mom would were these expensive coats and if she was out on the town and it rained, she would just throw the coat in the trash. Then they divorced because it was discovered that she couldn't have children and he wanted children. So she went on dancing and partying, then had the misfortune to run into another soldier who partied with her one night and drank champange out of her size 10 pump. He left but couldn't get her out of his mind and returned to New Orleans to woo her. She got wooed and took him to the res to meet the folks. The rest is history...just like this story. She wasn't infertile, they eventually married and her life became a living hell or something like that she would later lament.

I relay that story because I told my boss today that if I could do it all over again, I would live large until I was somewhere around 39 then jump off a bridge. I might assume that my mother would agree with me and when that soldier drank from her shoe she would have hit him over the head with her size ten. Before my children get to thinking they were unwanted and unloved that is not so. What I meant was that life before 40 was fun, somewhat carefree, and somewhat exciting. Now, I don't know if life changed or I did...but life sucks and then it sucks some more. No amount or combination of drugs seem to change my opinion on that. I think even though I went through some hard times and stuff when I was young, there was always hope that it would get better. Well, baby it don't get any better that this. Life can be illustrated like this; Run, run into brick wall, repeat.

So I end this now on a lighter note. #1 son coming for visit this week, so I've got to run. Ha!

I think outside the shower, therefore I have dry thoughts.

My sons' last blogs were about thinking and as luck would have it I have been doing some of that lately. First, a fleeting thought, similar to son #2's blog. I was thinking the other day that I was not actually living this life, merely thinking I was a real person living real (stupid) situations. I thought that my government or "power in charge" would not allow me to live for real because living was too dangerous or costly or something. I am allowed to think I'm living but I am not allowed to know I'm just thinking I'm living. Now that I'm smoke & alcohol free my mind is clearer and I can see these things. Now if only I can get off the drugs! Ha! Imagine what I might think is so. But, I may not live that long if the "power" realizes I am beginning to uncover the truth.
If some of you think this is a crazy idea...It is, but as son #1 was talking about the Hurricane coverage on tv, the coverage was continuous. Why? Because they had mandatory evacuation from Florida to Maine, while the "Newspeople" moved in to maintain constant vigil on conditions of the dangerous Hurricane and report to us unfortunate souls, who are unable to cope or save our selves from the danger, the terrible dangers of standing in a hurricane with a raincoat and microphone. They described the dangerous sights and sounds to us.
Just as they had with the bombings in London...They got me on that one because I hadn't been sleeping well lately and I was up channel surfing at 3am. I was glued to the tube, watching, waiting, wondering what had happen...As they interviewed and spoke back and forth trying to live for me and show me the dangers of riding on mass transit in Europe and working in tall buildings in America.
Not to sound cold or harsh, but I got to thinking, How does this really effect or is it affect my life? Do I really need news people to tell me how things are each day? Will I turn on the tv and hear them say..."traffic on Groveport Rd from Alum Creek to 1mile down to Saltzgaber is slightly heavy today, it may take you 7 minutes instead of the usual 5, if your heading that way to work this morning." No, because my imaginary life is of no consequence to anyone but me and the people I have designed to appear in my life for now. I'm not saying those terrible events don't have any consequence but I really don't want to overthink this whole meaning of life thing. I am not a Norwegian king and don't plan on writing a book on this theory. But I could be a Norwegian king if the "power" decided it was ok for me to be one. But for now, I'm just me.

Ta Da! I'm back!

Although it hadn't hit the morning news yet, I have not been able to blog lately. First, my computer did weird things and quit working for a while. Then, I finally get back on line and I forgot my password to my blog. Trouble is now I don't have any thing to say. But, ta da...I'm back!