Blessings I have received

I am continuing the message from my last post. I am truly blessed in my life with a great family and good friends. I have been given the opportunity to accept a new position with an accounting firm here where I live. This is after 24 and 1/2 years with the government, which has been very good to me. It is great money, great benefits and I can still retire in 6 years. Mike has commented that he will not mind being a kept man, I am thinking of buying him a new apron.

I think that this opportunity is my blessing for the years of sacrifice I have made for my family. Sacrifices made without begrudgement because I know what is important in my life. Whether it was downgrading so I could help my kids succeed in school, the time I lost from life and work helping my family deal with my father's illness and death, the time missed from work and life as we dealt with my father-in-laws illness and death and the time I spent taking care of my beloved mother-in-law as she battled cancer.

I am excited about my new experiences that I will enjoy. I admit, it's terrifying to make a change at my age, and I am not the bravest person in the world. I have spent the whole day having a panic attack just wondering if the rug would be pulled out from under my feet and the opportunity would just be a joke. I have made a habit in life of not expecting too much because the less you expect the easier it is when you don't get anything. Less disappointment that way.

The best thing about the whole experience is they came looking for me. All along I would say if your looking for ........., I am not your girl, whether it was lots of hours, the education I am lacking and not interested in seeking. I also was not to interested because originally the offer would have required me to give up about 1/2 of the vacation days I now accrue in a year. And I wasn't willing to do that. I wasn't trying to be difficult, or hold out for more money. I already make more money that I ever thought I would in my life, I have a great job with a great company working for a great boss. Good hours (pretty flexible) and the ability to work from home. How great could it get??????

Well along came the offer that includes the same vacation days practically, flexibility of work hours, the ability to work from home if I need to and a great office to work in. I know quite a few of the employees there so it won't be like going to a strange office. How good can it get. Well I will have to keep you posted because the sky's the limit.

Happy Days.

Sisters

I have to say, I am the luckiest girl in the world. I have two awesome sisters. They are my friends and it's funny but even though we have the same parents, we are soooooooo different.

Katie for example, the oldest, is very introverted and keeps to herself. But if you need anything, she is the "go to" girl. She also happens to be married to my husbands best college buddy. I think this year is probably their 25th wedding anniversary.

Georgina (George to those of us who know her and love her) is the baby of the family but what a little mother she turned out to be. She and her family, Bruce and Cody, care for our mother who had a stroke 5 years ago. And you couldn't find better care givers. She has been married to Bruce for 21 years.

Mike and I have been married 30 years and I am the steam roller of the family. I am a take charge kind of person which I am sure drives them both nuts because I see a problem and I feel the need to stick my nose in and fix it. But they haven't kicked me out of the family yet so I am keeping on keeping on.

This picture was taken at my son's wedding in February. And the guest of honor is the woman who started it all, our Mom. She has aged a little lately in the last few years, she will be 78 this fall in August and is kind of like the energizer bunny, she just keeps on keeping on. She had a stroke in 2005, then a quadruple (or something like that) bypass and last September she fell and broke her leg. She is a strong woman and has been an example to us girls of how to be and how to raise a strong family. Between the 3 of us, we have given her 5 grandsons who she loves very much. She always loves to see them come visit and always has a big grin for them. They run in age from 28 to 18. And she loves her new grand-daughter in-law very much. I think mostly for how happy her grandson is.

Lifes funny twists and turns

I can't believe it's been so long since I have had anything important to write about. Sometimes, I wonder what I have done to deserve the blessings I have received in my life. When I was young and knew it all, my Dad and I were constantly at loggerheads (does anyone besides me know what that means, if so you are probably old like me). Anyway, because I knew it all, I totally blew off high school but I graduated. Then I figured I knew it all and college wasn't going to teach me anything. Then when I was 25, with two kids and bills we couldn't pay, I went to job service for help finding a job that paid more than JCPenney. But the kind lady at Job Service informed me that they couldn't help me, I had no marketable skills. Looks like I had been hoisted on my on pertard (another one of those old words). Anyway, I made the decision then and there that I had screwed myself, it was up to me to make something of myself. Going to college, now that I realized how important it was, was not an option because I had two kids to raise and a husband who was gone all the time.

In my job at JCPenney, I had done a little bit of filing, nothing noteworthy, but it counted. So I got a job at IRS and that little bit of filing got me in the door as a GS3 rather than a GS2. In the last 24 years at IRS, I have hopscotched my way around the service, working in just about anything, but picking up those little skills along the way. My guardian angel has been watching over me all these years, putting me in the right place to learn skills that I had no idea what I would do with them down the road. I guess being willing to do any job put in front of you pays off in the end.

Now I am not the most intelligent person on earth, and the theory of accounting and algebra is just beyond me. I have taken just enough accounting classes to know that I hate working with numbers, and I can work an algabraic formula, as long as there isn't an X or a Y in there. But go figure, I work for the IRS. Anyway, I have no idea why things seem to work out for me but I am doing things I never thought I would be able to, and making more money than I ever thought I would.

It frustrates me that my kids don't understand how important college is. I don't want them to have to make the same stupid choices I did and learn their lessons from the school of hard knocks. But considering who they have for a mother, I can see that they will do things the hard way the same way I did. All I can do is pray for them and hope that they have the same blessings in their life that I have.

Welcome Spring

We finally made it. I think spring has sprung. I got the yard cleaned up from winter, pulled the planters out from under the deck and got the new mulch spread in the planter out front. Trimmed the roses (man do I miss Virginia, she used to do that loathsome chore), sprayed the weeds in the garden, mowed up three months of dog #@!%$# (trying to remember why I like them so much--oh yeah they're cute) and got rid of the tiller. All that's left is to dispose of a few old yard machines that no longer work.

Then I need to decide what flowers I want to go into my planters. By the way, they multiplied under the deck this winter (has to be it because it seems like more came out than I put under there).

Also, got the trailer home and the basement storage put back together, fixed the light switch, put all the stuff back in the basement storage and now all that's left to do is wash the bird !@#$#@! off.

I am so glad that I get to work tomorrow, I really need the rest. What a weekend.

Good Times, Good Friends and RAIN

So once again, for about the 20th year, Mike and I spent Easter vacation with our best friends Jeff and Jolene. Now Jeff is about a close as Mikes "brotha from anotha motha" as you can get. It's weird how they think the same thoughts and can finish each other's sentences. But I digress.

The title of this little ditty should actually be Good Friends, Long Drives, Rigorous Hikes (that I survived by the way) and Road Side Surgery.

We spent the weekend in Windsor California, a nice little slice of heaven north of San Fransciso. Left the snow for rain and came back home to snow. While we were there, we saw tons of "happy cows" from California, the ocean and some beautiful redwoods. Then off to San Franscisco for the day to ride the cable cars and eat seafood.

While in the Armstrong State Park, we decided to hike. Unfortunately, I let everyone else pick the hike. We went straight up for about 10 miles, then straight down the same amount. But they saw some wonderful scenery. Me, I was too busy trying to catch my breath and make sure I didn't trip over something to see anything. It had rained the day before so everything was fresh. The problem I have is I spend too much time jockeying a chair and not enough time outside hiking. But unfortunately Mike likes the $$ I make too much to let me trade in my pencil for hiking boots. Top it off with 70 year old knees in a 50 year old body and it's lucky I didn't have a heart attack and have to be life flighted off the hill. But I made it, whining all the way.

Then it was off to some of the most beautiful ocean scenery you have ever imagined. What an inspiration to see all that God has put here for us to enjoy. After we drove the coast we were driving back to the condo on this little two lane road, in the middle of no where, when Jeff notices he has a tick buried about halfway into his arm. Even after he made such fun of me on the hike, I still took pity on him and provided the instruments for a little road side tick extraction. And doctors think they need sterile operating rooms and razor sharp instruments. Funny what you can do with matches from Joe and Angie's wedding (10 years ago almost), the file from a pair of fingernail clippers (luckily TSA didn't confiscate the dangerous instrument) and a little bit of hand sanitizer. But we burned his little butt (the ticks, not Jeff's) pulled him out, cleaned it off and went on our way.

I have to say that I am grateful to have very special people in my life. I have never had a brother but Jeff is as close at it could come the way he gives me a hard time. They are a wonderful couple and are very easy to travel with. No drama, enjoys quiet time and a lot of humor. Jolene is very gullible and keeps falling for Mike's pranks. I keep telling her that if his lips are moving, he lying. But she keeps getting sucked in. Oh well, if Mike's giving her a hard time, I'm safe.

The Wedding

Well, it's been a month since Brandon and Becca were married. I have been looking at the wedding pictures (all 1014 of them) and they are wonderful. Brandon looked so relaxed and Becca, when that girl laughs, she laughs with her whole body. I think the thing that struck me the most, looking back, is how relaxed everyone was, no stress, no drama, just good friends and good fun. The smile on Brandon's face reminded me of when he was little and I haven't seen that look in about 20 years. Thank you Becca for putting that look back on his face, I could never repay you for that.

My Mom was the Matriarch of the affair. She was so proud to see him married. It was good to have my whole family together, I just with Katie's kids had been there. They were the only ones missing. It was a small intimate affair with good food, good friends and great memories.

Life goes on.

I can't believe it's been so long since I updated my blog. Since my last post, Mike and I (with some help from our sons and some friends) have completely gutted and remodeled the bathroom in our house. Includes a new jacuzzi tub, new tile on the walls and floor, new cabinet over the toilet and a new sink and counter top. I am so excited it has turned out wonderful. But I have to say, it was a lot easier 26years ago when we were doing the tile in there for the first time. It sucks to get old and worn out. One thing I do have to say is I have a lot of respect for my mother and father in law. When we built this house, they spent a lot of time here during the summer helping us do the lawn etc. They were out there sweating in the sun all day while Mike and I worked and then still helped in the evening when we got home. I don't know how they did it without whining all the time like I have been doing.

I will try to have Dave help me put some pictures here so you can enjoy it also (the bathroom). Have a great day. And Happy Spring.