Everybody Happy, Happy, Happy

^
|   A  little Duck Dynasty quote for you on this Friday afternoon. ;-)

Anyway, so today I am counting my blessings. I fell like so much of what I put out into the world...my cyber corner of it, at least, is negative or the "down" side of life. The truth is, there is always blessings and joy in every day. Even if it's just the fact that my legs support me enough to still walk when I wake up in the mornings.

In no particular order, here are some happy blessings...

~The weather outside is amazing today. Cool but not cold. Warm but not hot. Sun is out. Breeze is blowing. Just one of those perfect days when it would be great to lay outside on a hammock and read all day. I wish all days were perfect days like this. But I suppose if they were all perfect days, we'd take them for granted and wouldn't even notice the glory of a perfect day.

~We got notice yesterday that we're getting raises in July. Small--of the 1.5% variety--but I'll take small over nothing any ol' day. Especially since we were told just last month that there would be no raises at all this year. If nothing else, it'll fill in what that tax increase thing took away in January. My book budget just got bigger. haha

~I've had two nights of really good sleep in a row after about a week of poor sleep. Good sleep is always happy but when it follows poor sleep? Glorious. I feel so well rested and relaxed.

~I get to see my babies tomorrow. Sis2 and the kids (and Goofus, I guess) are coming out to the country to fish. This will be Efan's first fishing trip and he has earned it. He's been wanting to go fishing with Bobo for a while now so Sis2 made him a deal. If he would stop sucking his fingers (he's always sucked his index and middle finger instead of his thumb) he could go fishing. He's finally stopped--and for a few weeks now--so he's reaping his reward tomorrow. Well, we're ALL reaping his reward tomorrow because we get to spend time with each other in the great outdoors. :)

~We are thisclose to hiring a new librarian to be my supervisor. Why is this happy? Well, while I do enjoy being my own boss (in a way) hiring a new librarian will cut my workload by at least half. No more administrative meetings for Jana! Yay! I've never minded being the grunt worker/minion and it'll be a relief to return to that. I am simply not made to be an administrator.

~Got my electric bill in yesterday and it is $50 less than I'd budgeted. So...Extra moneies! That's five more trips I get to take to Panda Express between now and June 15. hahaha

God  has just answered so many prayers and provided so faithfully for me that I am simply overwhelmed to even think about it. I am so incredibly thankful that words can't express it.

Hope ya'll have some happy, happy, happy in your Friday and EVERY day. <3>

A Long Day

So this day started off with a broken zipper. A zipper that broke AFTER I got to work, of course. No telling how long I'd been walking around flashing the side of my panties before I realized it was broken, either. Worse than that, though--it's one of my all-time favorite skirts. *sigh*  Thankfully, D keeps some saftey pins at her desk and loaned me a handful to preserve/restore my modesty. haha

Then a long boring meeting. I hate meetings but I hate them more when they're on subjects I don't feel qualified to provide input on when input is required. Happily I was able to get through the meeting without having to open my lips other than to smile and was deemed "quiet but capable" by the PTB after I declined to offer input on a topic. I'll take quiet and capable anyday. As the old saying goes--it's better to be quiet and appear foolish than to open your mouth and prove yourself a fool. Or however the saying goes. You know which one I'm referring to, right?

Short lunch followed by two hours of interviews for my future potential boss. Can't go into any details on that but two hours of interviews was too long. Unfortunately, Wednesday we have FOUR hours of interviews. We're actually scheduled for six hours but lunch and a short break is mixed in with those six hours.

Then I got to do an hour of actual work before time to go home. Bah!

So...Fingers crossed for a happy, happy, happy Friday! :-D

Weekend Review: The Not Just My Usual Routine Edition

So. I don't know if  ya'll remember but a while back Sis1 and my aunt from Colorado were planning this big surprise party for Mama's 60th birthday. And I don't know if you remember or not but I think I may have said something about probably ending up being me and Sis2 planning and pulling it off.

Well. Guess what! I am a friggin' psychic! Because,  ya'll, Sis2 and I are the ones who are doing all the planning! Isn't that fun?

*sigh*

Aunt CO backed out of coming about a month or so ago and as soon as she did Sis1 was all, "Well, turns out I won't be able to come until late that afternoon anyway due to Emmy having a ball game that day. So ya'll should just do whatever you want."

A ballgame, ya'll. Sis1 and Emmy aren't coming until late that Saturday afternoon for Mama's 60th birthday party. The party that five months ago she was all, "It's going to be huge! Everyone Mama's ever met is invited! We need a huge space! And it's going to be a surprise party!"

Now that Sis2 and I are in charge, it's been scaled back a bit to just her very closest friends and family and it's going to be at Sis2's house. Sis2 and I have been going back and forth over plans on the phone for the past few weeks and she decided Friday night that she and I needed some face-to-face planning time to finalize some of the details that need dealing with right away like, you know, the guestlist. Invitations. Etc.

Saturday morning, instead of my quick super early trip to my small hometown I slept in a bit and went to Sonic and paid my debt and THEN went on to my work town to meet Sis2 for breakfast. The girl at  Sonic, when I only ordered a coffee was all, "What?! You don't want the ultimate meat and cheese burritto today?!" I floored her. haha It really is embarrassing how much a creature of habit I am. I think this coming Saturday I'm going to order the breakfast toaster sandwhich just to mess with her again. lol

Anyway, so Sis2 and I totally got our times mixed up and she was at McDonald's at 8am while I thought we were meeting at 8:30. I was coming down the interstate at 8am--about 20 minutes out from my destination. Oops!

So we were going to get breakfast at Wendy's but...THEY DON'T SELL BREAKFAST ANYMORE. *sob* And they had the BEST honey dipped chicken biscuit. *sniffle* So it was back to McDonald's where I swaggered in with my Sonic coffee and spent $2 on a sausage biscuit and hashbrown. McDonald's regular coffee is nasty.

Also, do you know how difficult it is to stay on topic of party planning when you never get to actually have more than five minutes alone without kids and parents and her husband interrupting? Next to impossible. So you imagine just how long that breakfast lasted. If you guessed about an hour, you'd be correct. haha

Then we set off to Wal-Mart to check out decorations, plates, etc and spent about thirty or forty-five minutes debating and talking and looking and stuff. Then I STILL had to get my groceries. I was 11:30 leaving town, ya'll. For a girl who's normally been home for three and a half hours by that time on a Saturday morning, I felt like my day was totally gone.

To console myself, I stopped by Sonic on my way home and got a  double cheeseburger and a peanut butter fudge shake.

I KNOW!

Anyway, after I finished my lunch, Libs and I ran up to the folks' house to drop some stuff off that Mama had asked me to pick up. She was already gone to do her own grocery shopping when I got there but I visited with Daddy and Milo for a bit. I love my "boys" doncha know. ;-)

The rest of the day? I did laundry and took a loooooong nap. I did get up around 6pm and clean up the kitchen but then Libs and I got a pre-bedtime nap. haha

Sunday was the Memorial/Homecoming at church so we had lunch there after services. I wanted to go home after services but Mama guilted me into staying. So during the after eating social time when everyone else was playing "catch up" with each other I retreated to the kitchen and washed dishes. I don't normally wash dishes at these church lunches because the older ladies beat me to it. They were all, "Oh  thank you so much for washing up for us." Like washing silverware is hard or something. Or because they still think I'm five. Whichever.

Anyway, the excitement of the day was the dead frog we found under the garbage can. Fun times.

Instead of going home and sacking out, Libs and I went back up the folks' to visit some more. It's been a month of Sundays since we've been up there for the afternoon so it was past time. We watched the Cooking Channel and messed with Milo and talked nonsense. It was nice.

But then I went home and made a  huge mistake. Since all my Sunday night shows are over for the summer, I watched my latest Netflix DVD--Django Unchained. How could I possibly have forgotten how violent and gross Quentin Terrintino's movies are? Because, Ugh! Gross! The storyline was interesting enough but all the blood! And the incessant use of the "N" word. I mean, I realize that the time period the film was set in that word was probably tossed around as frequently as it was portrayed but...Ugh. Hate it.

One thing I did not know prior to watching it, though, is that the last half the story takes place in Greenville, Mississippi. Not that that's anything to be proud of, considering the subject matter but it was rather curious to associate Leonardy DiCaprio with any part of Mississippi.

Anyway, the movie gave me nightmares.

And that's about as exciting as it gets around here. haha

SAD

Not rain, not heavy cloud cover nor threat of sever thunderstorms could keep this ladybug away from SAD. (Staff Appreciation Day)

And yes, that is a fake cow in the background and no, I was not one of the peeps who "milked" it.

Bonus Edit:

I found this pic of my friends E and DD that the university posted on their social media that shall not be named account. It's priceless!

Weekend Review: The Non-Mother's Mother's Day Edition

So where, exactly, is it written that the childless in the family are responsible for "taking care of" all the mothers in the family on Mother's Day? haha

As usual, I hosted Mother's Day lunch at my house. This year M-Day totally snuck up on me and Sis2 and I were last minute "planning" what to do for it. Or, rather, planning the menu. Cooking on Mother's Day is hard because a) I still hafta go to church that morning and b) while Mama is happy (usually) with whatever cooked for her, Daddy is picky. And while technically it's Mama's day, Daddy still has to eat, right? So planning a menu that is Daddy approved and can be prepared fairly quickly after church is a bit of a challenge. A good crock pot recipe would be ideal but there is precious little that Daddy will eat out of a crock pot.

So anyway, we finally decided on the menu, I worked up a game plan on how to get it all cooked in time and prayed. A lot.

Saturday morning I got up with my little list and went grocery shopping. Ya'll, all that extra food is expensive. I used up my entire grocery budget (cash), plus my Sonic breakfast cash PLUS what was left of my Starbuck's cash. And still couldn't/didn't get paper plates, a gallon of tea (or teabags--same price) and a few other things. But I got all the important items. Like hotdogs and cheesepuffs for the kids. haha

So I figured, you know. No big deal. I'll just use my debit card to buy my Sonic Ultimate meat and cheese breakfast burrito. I had enough in the bank, still, to cover it. But...

Got to Sonic and the carhop who usually serves me came over the car before I could even press the little button and said, "Our system is down. I can take your order here. Oh, and by the way, can you pay with cash?"

I had one dollar left in my wallet so I shook my head no. "I have a debit card."

"Can you get cash?"

"No. My bank is in a different town." None of the ATM's in the little hometown will give me cash without charging me a few bucks. Sooooo not worth it just for a $5 breakfast.

So she's all, "Wait here, let me go talk to the manager." I would have just left at that point and gone across the highway to Hardee's for a chicken biscuit but since I see this carhop nearly every Saturday, I didn't want to be rude.

She came back with, "We can go ahead and serve you if you can come back later today with the cash."

I live nearly 25 minutes away from this Sonic. I come to this little town exactly once a week--every Saturday. Which I tell her. She either must really like me or was really desperate not to lose a sale because she want BACK IN to talk to the manager again and came back with, "Okay, he said I can get your name and you can just pay when you come back next week. I told him you're a regular who only comes on Saturday mornings. You want an Ultimate meat and cheese burrito with tots and a large coffee, right?"

How embarrassing is it that she knows my order by heart? But also, how great is it that in this day and age a fast food manager and a carhop trust a person to pay for a $5 breakfast the next time she's in town? So, Sonic=Awesome. :-D

Needless to say, on the way home I said a little prayer thanking God for kind people and once home I immediately went to my emergency kitty and dug out the cash and stuck in my wallet for next week. Put it in an envelope earmarked for Sonic Breakfast so I wouldn't accidentally spend it. Now, I just hope nothing happens between now and Saturday to prevent me for returning to Sonic to repay that debt.

Anyway, after all that I put my expensive groceries away, ate my breakfast burrito and then got busy cleaning.

Since I was hosting Mother's Day at my house and Granny was coming(!), I decided I needed to do a deep and thorough cleaning. My house is never a dump or anything but it had gotten rather cluttered in spots--recycling that needed to be bagged, items I'd collected to put in the yard sale Mama and Maw-maw are doing later this month, sweaters to put away...that sort of thing. And also, there was a LOT of dust everywhere. Living on a dirt road makes it super difficult to keep up with dusting.

So, I decided that to keep myself from running in circles, I'd start in one room and completely finish it before moving to the next. Usually I'm here, there and yonder all day long making sure everything is in it's rightful place. Instead, I instituted piles for each room that moved with me as I went so that when it came time to move on to the room the items belonged in, I could grab them and deliver them when I went to work on that room. Saved a lot of leg work.

I started in the laundry/mud room. It's just off the carport and is the first room most people see when they come in the house. I don't know about everywhere else, but around here, guests usually do use the carport/garage entry instead of the front door. Anyway, I swept, cleaned off the entry table and wiped it down with a multi surface cleaner, put away the plastic bags that I'd collected for recycling and washed down the surfaces of the washer and dryer. That's something I don't think I've ever really thought to do before. I only ever pay attention to them when I'm doing laundry so it's easy to forget that they get dusty and grimy, too. Not to mention all the lint that can coat everything. And ya'll, I even wiped down the exterior of the garbage can! I was dedicated to this whole deep cleaning thing!

Moved on to the kitchen which involved dishes, of course, but also wiping down cabinet doors, the refrigerator handle, the wall beside the oven and INSIDE the oven.

And so it went, off and on all day long. I'd take a break between each room to sit with Libs and rest my achy legs. I also took about an hour to go up to the folks' house to take Milo out for them. They were out of town for the day so I went at noon to take him outside and give him a cuddle. We snuggled in the recliner together and watched the last hour of Stepmom on Stars. Still love that movie.

Needless to say, at that pace I was around 9:30 Saturday night finishing up in my room. I put the hall bath off until Sunday morning so that the toilet would be super fresh. haha

There was no point in being exhausted when I got up (early) Sunday morning, though, because I still had miles to go. After a quick muffin breakfast and an hour of Food Network, I got up and mopped the floors (another last minute "so it would be fresh" chore), threw some potatoes in the oven, scrubbed the toilet and sink in the hall bathroom and took another break until around 9ish when I got up take the potatoes out of the oven and prep them for twice baked potatoes. Once the tater skins were sufficiently dressed up, stuffed and in the fridge to awate the second baking, I took another break until around 10 when I put the port tenderloins in the oven to roast. That's about the time that Sis2 and the kids arrived to bring the green beans I would fix later and the desserts. We played for about 40 minutes before cutting off the oven and heading to church.

Then AFTER church, I came in like a whirlwind, changed clothes and immediately got to cooking. Got the sweet potato fries in the oven and mixed up the green beans (green beans unbundled--deliciously sweetened green beans with bacon and garlic.) and got THEM in the oven with the sweet potato fries. Then it was slicing and plattering the tenderloins, sliding the twice baked potatoes in the oven, flipping fries, taking the green beans out and putting the garlic bread IN. All while everyone was arriving and the kids were destroying the house.


Lyssa put Nana and Efan to work "irning"

It was an exhausting thirty or forty minutes but everything got done, nothing burned and if everyone is be believed, everything was delicious. And for once the kids actually sat at the table and ate instead of disappearing to the guest room and calling my name every two minutes! So I got to eat! Before my food got cold! haha

Full Menu: Roasted apple bourbon pork tenderloin, roasted peppercorn pork tenderloin, twice baked potatoes, sweet potato french fries, green beans unbundled, corn salad, garlic cheese toast, hotdogs and cheesepuffs.

Did have one minor mishap, though. Remember that tea I decided I couldn't afford? Well, two peeps requested tea to drink. *sigh* I gave them water and told them to like it. Just kidding. I did give them water but I felt bad about it. Is it my fault they don't drink cokes/sprites/milk/yoohoos?

Despite all the work, it was a really nice time. We relaxed and ate slowly and talked about pleasant topics and laughed at the kids' antics. After all the exhaustion it turned out to be a really relaxing day. Until everyone left, that is. THEN I had to put my house back together. Kids are rough on a house! But I don't complain because I'm happy they feel comfortable and safe enough in my home to treat it like they do their own. ;-)

Cuddled up in the new (to me) guest bed to watch "Ariel"

The dishes had to wait until today. No way was I standing at the sink washing dishes when Once Upon a Time was about to come on! :) And yes, everyone stayed THAT LATE. It was great.



What awaits me when I get home tonight...or, part of it anyway.

Ducks and Junk

Sorry I've been so quiet this week. It's mostly because I've been busy but also because I've been lazy and uninspired. And also whiny. And nobody wants to read, THAT. haha

I did have a few interesting dreams I wanted to report about. Sadly, I have forgotten them. I know one was about me being stuck in an elevator with toxic fumes--I held my sweater over my nose because of course that keeps toxic fumes from entering a body's lungs.

Even in my dreams I'm not all that bright.

The other one is just completely gone from my head though I'm fairly certain it probably had something to do with Duck Dynasty since I have become obsessed with it.

Yes. Am am officially in love with some long bearded rich rednecks. I resisted it FOREVER, writing it off as stupid. And I didn't need to watch dumb rednecks because yeah. Rednecks are, like, my life. I mean, hello. This is on the front of Daddy's truck...

This girl who often blathers on and on and on in this blog is half redneck, if you recall. The only difference between me and the Duck Dynasty family is a LOT of facial hair. Oh yeah, and all that money. ;-)

So anyway, yeah. I gave my parents so much grief for watching DD. For realz. Declared my hatred of it and just pretty much judged it by the Honey Boo Standard--you know, as in completely ridiculous proof of human idiocy.

But then...

Well, having sat through a four hour marathon of American Hoggers (thanks to dear ol' Daddy!) I figured Duck Dynasty couldn't be much worse than that so I watched an episode. And then I watched the whole dang marathon. And now I can't stop! It's an addiction! I can't quit you, Duck Dynasty!

It is not ridiculous at all. Don't get me wrong, there are some ridiculous situations but the show and the people themselves are not ridiculous at all. It's entertaining and funny. So funny that I have laughed till my sides hurt and my eyes watered.

Three words: Whipped swamp donkey. (That line--in context of the person it described--had me laughing for hours.)

So yeah. I'm obsessed. So obsessed that I have dreamed about the Robertson family from Duck Dynasty nearly every night this week.

Does it make me completely ridiculous that I also watch the Kardashians? Eep!

I'm not turning into a reality ho, I promise. I don't watch all that other crap on E! or A&E. I do occasionally watch American Pickers and of course I'm in a committed relationship with Ghost Hunters. Oh, and the Duggar Family (the one with all the kids)--I occasionally watch it if I'm bored. But I just say no to Honey BooBoo and the Jonas boy and all those other poor slobs with cameras in their faces all the time.

Anyway, so yeah. I'm a duck girl. *sigh*

I'm not telling my parents, though. Ugh! Can you imagine all the grief THEY'D give ME for all the grief I gave THEM?! Nope. Not telling them. *crosses arms and shakes head*

Oh, but I am a Nashville ho. I bought the soundtrack CD's. *facepalm*

Somebody stop me!

Throwback Thursday

So. Apparently "Throwback Thursday" is a thing. I've seen it on both of the social media networks I frequent. And since I'm nothing if not a lemming...

This is another of the photos I scanned last week. This, too, was taken at Grandma's house in the Delta probably around 1982 or '83.  I totally dig those bell bottoms I'm wearing. Note: I still wear "flared leg" pants to this day. They're flattering on big girls. Even if you're, like, three. Or thirty-four.