YES!

I am ignoring my blog!!!

Normal?

Things are not yet back to normal! High winds yesterday knocked out a small percentage of the power that had been restored to customers in the area. I am ever so thankful that we are part of the lucky ones that still have our amenities in our homes. Work has been so overwhelming. It's exhausting, but those power crews need clean clothes too! We have been processing at least 200 wash and fold orders each day. The projected time for this to go on is at least another month! It's crazy! I feel like I am on my last leg, but I also have a job to do and I want to do it well.

Not much in other news, except that I want to congratulate my niece and her husband Dustin on the new addition to their family! Samantha gave birth to Logan Bennett Conover on February 8th. He is a cutie! Bradyn and Tegan are going to be great big brothers! I just know it! If you want to take a gander at him, check out Samantha's blog on my sidebar! I just wish that we all lived a little closer so that I could give that baby a squeeze!

And now for the biggest news of all!! Husband has been doing laundry here at the house!! Cheer!! Applause!! Fall out of my chair! Makes me happy though!! Peace~!

Still Waiting

for the damn cable to come on! It's frustrating, but I guess that those DVDs that have been piling up over the years, that are still unopened will get some use now. Things are slowly getting back to normal in our neighborhood, but for some of the areas out in the county they are still without power and other conveniences. Actually, for me, it is becoming quite a stressful situation. Here at home, there is so much to catch up on, like the laundry, but good heavens, I have seen enough dirty clothes in the last 4 days that it makes me want to hurl! I shouldn't feel that way, as we are taking care of all of the power crews that have been working so hard to restore power, but man, do they have a lot of dirty clothes. I just better not see a comcast uniform or I will be pushed to the extreme! Here's a few more pictures to share. I think that these are of day 2

This is the power pole in front of the house after the storm.

Bradford Pear (or what used to be) trees across the street.

Back of the house before most of the limbs crashed to the ground.

Mess of power poles at the end of the block!
More later! Gotta get to work. Peace~!

All Is Well,

Well, I guess for some of us more fortunate Paducahans who are now the recipients of some great work of Paducah Power system who worked through the night on Friday and Saturday to get us up and running again. There are still some people in the area who remain without power. There are still complete counties (on a different power companies) that still have no power, water, gas, or really anything to speak of. This whole experience has been very humbling. For my family members that read my blog, know that we are all OK and we now have power and heat! We never did lose hot water or our gas service, which was awesome! It's cool to be able to stay clean in harried situations. Will do several more posts as time permits to relate the whole storm with those of you that are far away and anyone else who wants to read. I have taken over 100 pictures of the whole mess. Peace~!

Well!

I truly never thought that it would happen, but it did! Why oh why can't we just have some snow instead of this CRAP!!

It is everywhere! I mean every where! It's kind of scary sitting in the house and hearing limbs break and crash all around you!

Crashing over the beloved man cave and into the alley!

Into the front of taxi cabs blocked by a fence!!!

But I have got to admit, it is kind of pretty! I love looking at the trees, especially colorful ones!

Here's my neighbor's weeping cherry tree! Weeping pretty fiercely today!
At least with snow we could have built a snowman somewhere! Might not have been a big snow man or lasted too long, but it would have been more fun than this!

I'll Try and Do Better Next Time!

Can you believe that this is one of the only pictures that I took while all of the punks were in for Christmas! What is wrong with me? I guess she was happy with her new jacket because she wouldn't take it off.
Maybe she just loves guitar hero so much!
Maybe all of us liked guitar hero a lot. It was very time consuming! But it was also very mind boggling! Maybe I didn't take a lot of pictures because we broke in the fire pit that Pappy got for Christmas! Boy, won't springtime be fun! Come on down neighbors!!
Maybe we were just all too tired for me to post after two solid weeks of "holidays". I went back to work completely unrested! Oh, well, it was worth every minute! Maybe we were just too busy doing other things! We had a wonderful New Years Eve, spent with friends, playing games, ate wonderful food, and I actually did take a few pictures that evening! What's up with that? Guess that I was feeling relaxed for a change. Karen made an awesome dinner, we had stew, salad and rolls! Patience made a chess pie and a good time was had by all! What would I do if I couldn't play games? It reminds me so much of spending time with my family! The UNO game was awesome! Poor Bill!

Here's the awesome CHESS PIE maker!
No yawning allowed Daniel, it's not midnight yet!! Here's Steve, I guess just making sure everyone has everything that they need!That's all that I have to post for now! Sorry it was so boring!! I'll try to do better next time!

Isn't this cutest thing ever

Christmas Past/Christmas Future

Greetings to all! Christmas turned out pretty well so far this year. The reason that I say that is because Megan, John and the punks will arrive on New Years Day and we get to do it all over again. I was showered with lovely gifts that I had asked for, Edwin got almost everything that he asked for and Pete got above and beyond what he asked for! (Pictures in a minute)

On Christmas Eve Jillian and Mike came over and we played UNO for what seemed to be hours. It was a lot of fun with some evil "get even" plays throughout the evening. We laughed so hard I thought that we would cry. Now for Pete's BIG gift! Yes, that's right, he got a set of drums! The black ones to be exact! The burgundy color ones are from a friend's house that were brought over in order to make the EPIC drum set! They were taken immediately to the man cave! I know it's kind of a sacred thing for guys, but I had to post the picture, therefore, you get to see the man cave, or at least part of it!

PETE IN ACTION!
I didn't get any other pictures to share, but plan to utilize all of my cameras this weekend when everyone it here. Should be lots of fun! Can't wait. Found some way cool cooking blogs that I will be adding to my favorites here after a while. Be sure to check them out. Especially the one with the baked french toast! It is to die for! Peace!

Crunch Time

'Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house.....Goodness what a mess! It's been a crazy week at work. I have a ton of things to do, well, not a ton, but a sizable amount, and I'm worried sick that everything will not get accomplished. See, these things on my legal pad size list are things that need to be done so that I can enjoy my vacation after Christmas. It's mainly holiday stuff and cleaning the house, but time and energy seen to consume me and at times it seems that all of both is lost!
I had a pretty good day yesterday and got a big surprise at work. It was nearing the end of our work day and everyone started to gather around me. I told them to get back to work, and they handed me a Christmas card. When I opened it up, there was a gift certificate inside for a massage! Yes, you heard it, a massage! One half hour of complete and total relaxation in a room where my cell phone is not allowed and I can relax and get all of the kinks worked out! WooHoo! A good friend of mine also gave me a gift card to visit Old Navy! I am talking sheer heaven on earth! A massage and shopping, who could ask for anything more? I have decided that I am so fortunate to have such good people working for me. Each of them have their quirks and things don't always go as well as I would like them to because as you know, when you get a bunch of women together things can get a little crazy at times, but most of the time, things are upbeat and fun and the best thing about my job is that I don't have to work nights and weekends, and the job is challenging and it seems that there is always some sort of learning process that is involved.
So, today I am going to play Santa, in a secret sort of way. I hope that it will make some people feel good and appreciated. Nothing is wrapped, but I don't think that should matter too much.
I bought a hat several weeks ago on sale! It's awesome! I am starting to like hats a lot, especially in the winter time. I will have to do a Hat blog! My favorite is still my Elmer Fudd Hat!
Megan, I don't know if there will be many gingersnaps left by the time that you arrive! They sure are good with my morning coffee!

Worse than a child!

As Christmas is only 1 week away I find myself as anxious as a child awaiting Santa's arrival, but not specifically for the gifts that I will receive, but for the gifts that I have chosen for my beloved family this year! My heart is racing due to the anticipation of said event. My heart is racing because of the plans that I have to do some nice things for neighbors and friends. Santa will come to our house this year on Christmas Eve, which he hasn't done for quite some time. This will be Pete's last big Christmas, as next year, he will no longer be a teenager, so Santa will visit one last time with a surprise! That is, if aforementioned teenager hasn't snooped! I have baking to do, gingersnaps for Megan mainly, and some new recipes that I would like to try! I am going to force myself to get all of it done too!

On one last note, please read my friend's blog! Her name is Beverly and she is travelling through Southeast Asia! Her stories and pictures really hit home as to how fortunate we are to live in such a great country. You can find the link on my sidebar! It has become an adventure to me just to read her stories and see how other people live.

Request

At the request of the Carbonara clan I guess that I should update. Things have been a little bit crazy and busy here and it has made me ever so lazy too! What with work, trying to get the Christmas shopping done, making lists and checking them twice, I have not been sleep deprived at the end of the day! Matter of fact, trips to the Land of Nod have been quite early and very satisfying!
It's hard for me not to be sentimental at this time of year, what with being away from my family back home in Idaho and with Megan and John and the cutest little punks ever being in South Carolina. I miss Mother's cooking and all of the family card games and such that seemed to always coincide with the holidays. I miss seeing the wonder in the punks eyes every time that they walk into our house gazing at the Christmas tree and wondering what is in each and every package and if they will be the recipient of the "great big huge" one! I miss my teenage girls singing the "Loose Panties" Christmas song! It won't be too long until Megan and John and the punks arrive for Christmas and I have a list a mile long of things that need to be accomplished beforehand, will they get done? I seriously doubt it! I will be taking a vacation day this Friday and maybe some of those things will be done, but if there is a good "doorbuster" somewhere, that will take first priority! More later! VC

I GUESS

It will be a little bit longer, between work, dental work, a freaking cold and other things where in the heck does all of the time go??? I promise pictures and a real post next time, maybe, if I'm feeling adventurous, a "word of the day"!

Good Heavens!

Has it been that long?

Inquiring mind wants to know!

Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with a narcissistic, chauvinistic, sociopathic, controlling individual? The person in question is no one that any of you would have any direct contact with, but I really need some advice here! Your comments would be greatly appreciated.

Things going OK here! This week has seemed to drag like crazy.

Our Wes lost 2 teeth in one day. He actually lost one at school and then pulled the other when he got home from school. The tooth fairy probably didn't have to pay double though because he really LOST the first one at school. On Saturday, Will is going to be 5 years old! Can you believe it? Wow, seems like the days just drag sometimes, but time is actually flying!

On haitus I guess

Haven't blogged in a while, I guess because I was very nervous about our trip to Mississippi and the onset of Hurricane Gustav! Maybe I must explain that I am pretty much terrified of water, having been through a flood once in my life, so it made the trip a little more nerve racking than it should have been. The Husband's parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, so it was pretty much a requirement to be in attendance. The only family member that wasn't able to attend was Pete and I missed him a whole bunch. Things were going well, except for the heat and the tv station set to updates of Gustav. I didn't need a reminder. The party went well, we got to see the grandbabies, as John and Megan also travelled from South Carolina to be there. Now I want your opinion! Who could not LOVE this face?


Or this face?
Or this face?

It was so good to see all of the kids and have at least a couple of days with them. Of course, I don't need to remind you about Gustav! There was a mandatory evacuation for Jackson County Mississippi issued on Saturday. Well, the party still remained to be considered. Husband's mother was very intent on having said gathering! Well, to stay married for 50 years is a real milestone and does call for a celebration. In the back of my mind all I could think was Gustav, Gustav, Gustav. Same weekend as Katrina hit 3 years ago. Oh, lord, what had I gotten myself into? Well, needless to say, the party took place and was very nice. Here's a picture of the cake.

That's their wedding picture on top of the cake!

Here's the happy couple cutting the cake!

All in all we had a real nice time. Megan, John and kids left Saturday night after we had all eaten way too much seafood, potatoes, coleslaw, ribs, hush puppies, and biscuits. They couldn't find a motel room until they were almost to Birmingham. We left Sunday morning after Husband helped his Dad board up the house. Traffic was horrible. I have never seen so many cars with Louisiana plates in all of my life. I don't blame them though, I would have skedaddled! Sometimes we were going 20 miles and hour, and then up to 50 miles an hour. It was a long drive and we were exhausted by the time that we arrived at our front porch.

Now it's back to the same old daily grind! I will say though, that there's no place that I would probably rather be than HOME. It's nice to visit different places and see new things, but home is the best place of all.

One picture to share!

for madre terra! and patience too! and anyone else that would care to look!

Break

Well, it's Sunday and the weather has finally given us a little break. It's actually tolerable outside. I am off to take some pictures and going to a scary little town. I am thinking of taking a body guard with me, but since it's Sunday, hopefully, everyone will be in church and not get too curious about someone invading their little town with three cameras and a tripod to take pictures of things that I might find fascinating, but others may find a little strange. I think that this little excursion may make me feel a little better than I have been lately. Maybe it will make me feel a little productive instead of in such a rut all of the time. Too bad that it took the words and inspiration of someone that I have known for about a year to light a fire under me and get me motivated again. I know, I know, others (especially Patience) have encouraged me, but I don't know what it was this time that made me want to get off my butt and do something. Hopefully things will turn out well.
When I get home I am going to try one of "Pioneer Woman's" recipes and drink a glass of wine. This will be the third one that I have attempted, and the others have turned out great, so I know that this one will be just as good. Might have to share with some neighbors though, so look out!
Samantha, I hope that you are feeling better. You haven't blogged in a while, so I suppose that the "sickness" isn't letting up at all. To all of you in Idaho, I miss you all something terrible. Mother told me that Oakeys is having a "beast off"! Oh Lord I can't imagine! See "Finally a few free minutes" to see what the "beast" is! Too much for me to handle, but the food at this place is awesome. That's all for now!! PEACE~!

I have decided that IT'S GREAT

to live amongst such music lovers! First of all, a big THANK YOU to Steve and Karen for making the weekend so enjoyable! Good friends, good food and good music always seem to go together well. Here's some pictures to prove it!

Here is the hostess with the mostest favoring us with a little tune! Awesome stuff Karen!

This is Karen's nephew Tom! He LOVES Stevie Ray Vaughn and favored us with with some awesome music!

Here's neighbor Bill! While the cat was away, the mouse came out to play.

Here's Michael helping out with some percussion!

And of course there's Ike!

And here's Charlotte singing her heart out.

Sorry, no pictures of the bread that I made or the wonderful soup that Karen made! A good time was had by all.

Have I mentioned that it's HOT here?

Well, It's Saturday

and the town of Paducah is relatively quiet, considering that the Summer Festival is going on. There should be fireworks this evening and usually they are better than those that they have on the 4th of July!

Stayed up way too late last night listening to the Outlaw Hours on a local radio station with my husband, my son, and one of his friends, who seems to be a fixture at our house, but I really don't mind. We had a really good time just hanging out, listening to the music and singing along with all of the songs that we knew. Pete even got the guitar out for a spell and both he and Philip played for a few minutes. It's an awesome feeling to have such a great connection with your child. I don't know what I would have ever done had I not had Pete in my life. He will be 19 next month and that is a sure sign that I am getting nothing but old. EEK!
This picture was taken a year ago at Megan and John's wedding. Speaking of which, I totally forgot to tell them Happy Anniversary on here, and also thank them for being such great parents to our 3 grandchildren. I don't know what we would do without you guys. John is the greatest husband and father and Megan could not ask for a better person to be in her life.

Too Long Between Posts

Well, here I am neglecting my poor blog again. I guess that my life is so uneventful that I really have nothing to share. I am actually thinking about changing the blog title to "Things that you really shouldn't send in to be cleaned at the local dry cleaner". This week has just totally grossed me out. I would absolutely be embarrassed by the things that I have seen this week. So, I guess that I will just rant a little about a couple of my pet peeves concerning my profession!
I don't know if any of you have read one of my long ago posts titled "Advice for the Holidays", which you really need to read, but now I have something more to rant about! I don't know what it is, maybe the hot weather, too much company during the summer, too many cocktail parties at the lake, but LADIES, when you have an "accident" please try to get the bulk of the stain out before you send it in for cleaning. I know, I know, Time Rules My Life too, but let's pay attention to what we are doing here. MEN, if you also have an accident in your drawers, just throw the damn things away and go buy yourself a new pair of pants, and I am not talking about urine here! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is what I have dealt with all week long! Is there a full moon or something? If you don't want to deal with human excrement, what makes you think that I or any of my wonderful employees do? I know I am griping, but I'm just trying to keep it real.
OK, enough of the rant! I'm glad that it has cooled down a little from the extreme temperatures at the beginning of the week. I still haven't risen early enough to get back into my routine! Told you so! I bought a skirt! Wow! What a boring person I am!!! PEACE~!