April Showers Bring May Flowers....

Indeed! Look at this loner poping thru all the mud... and ready to blossom...

Duct Tape Rules!

Never have I seen a BETTER use for Duct Tape!!!

Relaxing....

Waiting sucks. . .

Have you ever noticed how much we 'wait' in our lives? And it's never fun. Mostly we notice the times we wait in line, at the grocery store, at the car wash, at the bank, and the driver license renewal place. Horribly long endless lines. But then there are other times we are waiting also...we wait for our food in a restaurant, then wait for the check as well! Sometimes we wait for a good parking spot and sometimes not. Then there are things we wait for that take a REALLY long time...we wait for our children to grow up, we wait for 13 year olds to become mature, we wait for grandchildren from our children, we wait for the new grandchildren to get old enough to come visit, we wait for our adult children to grow some more so we can be friends with them. Waiting, waiting, waiting. -- Waiting sucks.

Valentine's Day 2009

Valentine's Day met us with a bit of ill health, as I had been sick with a head cold and cough since last Thursday, and a sore throat last Wednesday...however we had a very nice, intimate dinner at home consisting of steamed crab legs, ribeye steak, assorted veggies and a couple of very decadent desserts - see pictures

Happy Day...

Well I'm looking forward to the day... I get to drive 3 hrs and see my girl and the babies once more before they take off for Florida (home) this week. Not sure when I'll get to see them again, as I'm job hunting again.. work was slow, so they asked me to take a 'pause'... unfortunately the bills don't... lol.. .but I'm hoping they will call me back or something else will materialize soon.

Keeping a stiff upper lip in the Midwest!..

Happy February

Did you watch the Superbowl last nite? I did... so, what was your favorite commercial? OR your favorite play, if you MUST discuss football.

1) My favorite play was by Steelers #92 making that entire 100 yard run and touch down. I can't even BELIEVE they had to discuss whether it was a touchdown or not! I think if they had decided anything different they'd have a war on their hands...

2) My favorite commercial.. I actually have a few, but I really liked the one where the horse saw the dog getting treats for fetching sticks, so he went and fetched a branch. And he didn't even get a Treat!!!

Guidance for the day....

Now is the time for peace in your life. Go along with other's ideas.

Working Out...

Are they kidding??? Ok let me start at the beginning. A friend from work (and yes, I will still call her a friend) asked me if I wanted to go to her gym with her and try a few free workouts. Well, hey it's a new year, and I would like to lose some weight and get healthier,... so sure why not.

Last nite we went. Upon entering we were greeted by a nice buff looking 22 year old guy whom we'll call Joe. My friend introduced me as her guest and Joe led me to an office to fill out paper work, releases and such. (no contracts) Then my friend took me to the women's locker room where we changed and got our lockers for our other stuff. So far, so good. I followed her then to the cardio room to warm up. Here they had treadmills, bikes, and eliptical machines and 8 or 10 TVs on the wall - silent. It seems if you bring a headset, you can plug it in on any device you choose to use and can dial up the tv you want to watch... or you can bring your own music, and just listen to that. This part was ok... I could treadmill most the nite.. But then, once we were 'warmed up' she led me back into the main workout room with all the weight machines. Joe joined us again and led me to a machine to get me started on. He did demo how to use it, made sure I could do it, then told me to do 3 sets of 15 and he'd return soon. (He does this with everyone, doling out their punishments, er um, exercises, and returns later) well I tried a couple wing presses, but found 50 lbs to be way too heavy for my first exercise, and first time in 10 years doing this... so I moved the pin down to 40 (should have gone to 30) and finished my 3 sets of 15. When he checked back with me, asked how I was doing, I said well I had to move the pin down to 40 and he asked "Why?" - as my jaw half dropped, I replied, "because 50 was too heavy!" (Duh?) So we continued around the machines... 3 sets of 15 of whatever he put me at. Once, doing some squats holding a large weight, I couldnt finish 3 sets.. it was just too heavy. After all these, then he led me into the leg room where I had only 2 machines to do, leg curls, forward and backward, and then he said I'd be done. I had news for him, I was done LONG before that! LOL

In my opinion, when someone hasn't exercised in over 10 years, and is as overweight and out of shape as I am... you don't start them out with weights that make them wonder if they will be able to drive home. I heard the pain came the next day,... HA.. he made the pain happen immediately. I went home and soaked for an hour in a hot bath full of Epsom salts.. and I can move this morning! Still sore, but I can move.

I think my husband has a good idea... for me, it would probably be better to do a water aerobic class which is much easier on the joints, etc.. I think I'll look for one.

Happy New Year!

Well it's January 15th, I figured it's about time I welcome in the New Year. I usually let Christmas linger on in my heart until about now, then I start realizing that my BIRTHDAY IS COMING!!! Yee Haw! i DON'T know why at my age I'm still as giddy as a school girl about my birthday, but I am! Perhaps it's that I made it one more year! Who Knows.. but I like to celebrate it! This year one of my ways of celebrating it is to have a "Quilt In" with some of my quilting friends! I'm quite excited about it.. and I'll have to post pictures afterward. (You bet!) Other than that, I don't know what I'll do, other than dinner, I'm sure... I usually try to get a massage on my birthday, but I am working on that day this year, so I'm not sure how that will go... and also, my ceramics class is on my birthday... maybe I can finagle getting off a few hours early... Oh, and my husband and stepson are cooking dinner for me that night!..

Last year (or was it the year before) I had asked for something (anything) that required "tickets". You see, that would mean some Planning would have to go into it... and it'd be something other than dinner out... and it'd be an adventure because I wouldn't know what it was!... My husband surprised the heck out of me and got tickets to see the Blue Man Group! It was wonderful,.. and we had to spend the night in a hotel too... one of the best presents he's ever planned... try it ladies.. you'll be surprised in some way or another! LOL

Oddities - you name it.

I know I haven't posted all month so I thought I'd share some odd pictures I've taken and at least invite remarks on them. Take your time... give it some thought... then go ahead and click that pencil icon below this.

A Good Idea

I love sitting at Panera's, you get to hear snippets of so many different lives. Sometimes you hear good ideas, or a sad story where you want to lend a caring shoulder, even plans for vacations and lives. Today I heard a good idea. The line that perked my interest was... "...instead of giving those clothes to the Goodwill, we had another idea..." People are always carrying the eternal bag of clothes in the back seat/trunk/hatch wherever which is destined for the Goodwill. You know the bag... look around--- you have probably one. They even talked about it on the radio one day and tons of people called in stating they had the SAME BAG in their car! LOL... anyway.. back to the story... this person said, "there are alot of people at nursing homes that live on limited incomes that can't even afford the Goodwill! Even if they had a way to get there... so why not donate them to the Nursing Homes" I THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA! Now I can envision a few issues... like let's talk to the Nursing home first... see if they can accommodate the clothing. Or should they have one day set aside to receive it all... ? I think there just needs to be a little planning involved, but overall.. .it's a GREAT idea. Don't you think? Even churches can get involved and have a Senior Clothing Drive. Maybe even have a rummage sale at the Nursing Home where each item of clothing is a nickel. Or 3 items for a dime. Just to give it some order, and to let the seniors still have some dignity in paying for items of clothing. Otherwise I can see it being a Free For All one day with possible injuries as they make the mad rush to the tables of clothing.... Oh, and.....Please...No tank-tops.

Dear Santa, please bring them a manual... How to Drive in Snow....

It was horribly slow crossing the bridge.. I knew it would be... then as I took turned onto Knoxville, the green mustang in front of me didn't take into acct the rear wheel drive of her car, or maybe it was the sheet of black ice she didn't see... but she kept giving it too much gas, until she finally- I stopped and just waited... yup, she spun out... I knew she was going to spin...it was inevitable so I just sat and waited for her to finish... she really clobbered this telephone pole on the side of the road... it bent her axle real good and her front wheel looked like it was going in a different direction than the rest of the car.... So I got out told her she needed a tow truck, as she wasn't going anywhere with the wheel like that... I asked her if she was ok, and did she have someone to call... and a phone to use.... After she thanked me for stopping... I continued on ... slowly... to work. I also called 911 to let them know there was an accident slowing down traffic, and that she didn't SEEM to be hurt... Got to work at 9am. That's about what I expected for the first snow day. Why is it that people forget from year to year how to drive in snow?

It's Here! It's Here! Snow........

This is what I saw when I opened the door to let the dogs out this morning... it was a shock! Then... it was beautiful.... the next thought was... "where is my snow brush, I'll have to brush off the car before I leave". Yes, it's here The First Snow...it's always so pretty, and so startling. We listen to the radio say, "Possible snow tonite and tomorrow" but when we open the door and actually SEE it, that's a whole new ballgame. So here it is... the season begins... the season of Snow. I may not feel this later on in the season, so let me say it now. Thank you Lord.

Thanksgiving Eve

Well here it is the eve before Thanksgivng... not quite eve, it's only 3:45pm... and I'm on my way to the grocery store... of course.. need to pick up those last minute details for dinner tomorrow.... like potatoes.. corn... cranberry... oh, and pumpkin pie... am i missing anything... I sure hope not!

When do they suddenly KNOW....

In a restaurant... in an office... doesn't seem to matter where, but there is definitely some age where girls finally get it, that they talk TOO LOUD. Well if you ask my husband, I still do, but my voice just kind of carries... I'm talking about the girls that act like there is no one else in the place except them, and they might be talking to a person who is hard of hearing... they must own the place.

Although, today I was in Panera bread and I heard HOPE. There was a small group of girls talking... loud enough I could 'enjoy' their conversation, whether I wanted to or not... someone must have said something to them (I wish more people would) and one girl replied, "Oh, I'm sorry, we tend to forget that our voices carry" - HOW NICE that was to hear... so there MUST be an age when they realize this, and start working on talking quieter... I think she was mid twenties...too bad it can't be sooner...

Tupperware again? YUP!

When my daughter was a baby, less than 2 years old, I used to sell Tupperware. I was quite good at it, and it's a good solid business to be in. They can't go under, they give a Lifetime Warranty on their product, heck! But seriously, this year when I found myself unemployed for 6 months... I thought about Tupperware. Well, I went to a festival, and saw a lady with a Tupperware table set up... THEN I thought about Tupperware. OK?... anyway... she made me a good offer... and away I went, back into the land of plastic. AND HAS IT CHANGED! There's so much cool stuff, I can't even learn about all of it yet... and then the funniest thing happened... I got a job. LOL, ya go figure... now that I WANT the time to learn about the new products and maybe get organized, and try to drum up some parties... I get a full time, 8 hr a day, 5 day a week... Job. They really cut into daytime hours, ya know??

Ok... I can do this. Maybe not well, at first... but I'll get there... Im still learning to get up early every morning.. make breakfast... make Lunch!... think about dinner... NAHH... and leave on time for work. Oh ya, then STAY at work all day... and come home around 5pm.. whew.. that's a LONG day. LOL... seriously it does take some time to get back in the saddle... so Im workin on that..

I'm also working on building my Tupperware business now... tomorrow I have a 'vendor show' I'm scheduled at... I'll have a table... display all my wares... hopefully have people who will be interested... and with any luck, come home with orders, or party hosts lined up. That's the plan. So to that end, I sat tonite and made little labels for EACH PIECE of tupperware i have... with its Name, Description, price, page number, item number. So my last basket it packed... I'm ready to go... now I need some sleep. I'll take pictures tomorrow, and post them here... stay tuned, ok?

Oh, and if you'd like to do an ONLINE party... go here: http://my2.tupperware.com/tup-html/R/ruthinman-product.html
and click the blue square on the right...

Cya tomorrow!

Ok.. here's a pic of my table...

Campaign Behavior ... or Mis-Behavior

How bad is this going to get before it's over? Why can't they campaign like adults? All this crap makes me wish there was a 3rd choice!

Stomach Viruses Suck

I'm here to tell ya... that's true. And this is the longest one I've had... completing my 5th full day now, I'm feeling more energy but still not over the main symptom, if you know what I mean. I'm hoping tomorrow will be a better day.

Autumn is Here!

My Gosh, is it October already??? WOW...one of my favorite seasons... autumn. I even like the word "Autumn" ... I don't care for "fall" it sounds like a negative word... that's what you do when you miss a step, or slip on the ice... you fall. No thanks... I'll take Autumn. The trees are starting to turn colors... the burning bush in our back yard is going to a deep red... very pretty... and best of all, the BUGS are gone!... ha ha ha they don't like autumn... maybe that's the best of all..