Monday, June 23, 2008

I Fear It's Genetic

My grandmother has always been a source of entertainment for our family. Not because she’s trying to be, because when she tries it’s lost on everyone. She just has always done things that make you shake your head.

A few examples…

She once told us that she kept a set of keys in her trunk in case she ever locked her keys in her car.

She told us one time that she had hidden a key to her house and wanted to give my dad directions on how to find it. It’s been a long time, so I don’t remember the exact procedure, but this will give you a good idea…take the top of the yard lamp in front of her house (which would require a screw driver). Inside the lamp was a piece of paper that would tell you where to go in the garage. Once you got to this location, there was another note directing you where to go next in the garage. After about 5 stops on her self-made scavenger hunt, you found the key. You could have broken into the house faster and easier.

Once when I was around 14, she was taking me to a doctor’s appointment because both of my parents had to work. Before we got to the doctor’s office, she told me she wanted me to ask the doctor for a pamphlet on PMS (Post Menopause Syndrome). I told her she could ask the doctor for one, but I wasn’t going to do it. She got mad and later called my dad and said I was being disrespectful (but didn’t tell him why). My dad called me and wanted to know what I had done. I told him. He laughed. I was no longer in trouble.

My favorite though came to fruition this weekend. When I was younger, I was going to visit some friends/family with my grandmother. On the way to our destination, she told me that if something happened to her that weekend (no idea why she thought something was going to happen to her…but these conversations were pretty common with her) she wanted to tell me where she kept her money. She told me that in her freezer I would find a bread sack (she always kept bread sacks). In the bread sack, I would find a jar. Inside the jar was another bread sack. Inside that was a brown paper bag. Inside the paper bag was all her money. From that day on, I always told my family that if something happens to grandma, I get the freezer.

Well, over the last year, my grandmother’s health has been failing and the decision was recently made to move her to a nursing home. One of my uncles called my mom and asked if she would mind going over to the house and getting all the food out. My called me right away and said “guess what, I get the freezer!” I jokingly made her promise to split anything she found with me. Yesterday my mom called and was telling me of her experience cleaning out the freezer. She had it full of butter dishes that had frozen food in them. This wasn’t odd, but none of the containers actually had in them what the label said was in them (container marked green beans had strawberries in it). She was tossing some of them out when she came across a container that felt kind of light. She opened it and inside was folded up toilet paper. Inside the toilet paper was $35.

I guess since she’s still living it would be considered stealing instead of an inheritance to keep it, so I guess getting the freezer didn’t pan out as well as I thought. Oh well, $35 wouldn’t even fill up my car these days, so it’s not a big loss. =o)

I can’t wait to see what we find when we clean out the rest of her house.

P.S. For those of you saying "now I know where you get it"...hush!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Maybe I Should Charging for My Services

It's kind of been a joke that on 3 previous occassions when friends have been expecting babies, I've joked with them (for no apparent reason than just being onry) that their babies would be born 2 weeks early...and then they were! So when my cousin found out that her due date was the day before her daughter's birthday, we made a deal...they would pray he would be born healthy and I would pray he would come early. It worked. Carter Lane was born yesterday...2 1/2 weeks early. He's absolutely precious and perfectly healthy! Congrats to the new parents!

Monday, June 16, 2008

I Really Can't Win

Because someone made a comment about the state of my office, I took time on Friday to actually clean my desk off. Today, one of our sales reps walked in and said "you must not be very busy...your office is clean." I give up.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

More "Stuff"

Summer TV Watching
I was so excited for the Season 2 Premier of Army Wives on Lifetime. I love this show and the premier was worth the wait. If you didn’t follow it last season, it’s now on DVD so you can catch up. I highly recommend it.

On disappointing note, I watched the new season of Nashville Star last night. I had always been a fan of this show also and was excited to hear that it had been picked up by NBC now that I don’t get the USA Network. Sadly I was disappointed by the first episode. Somehow the show has lost something…talent being one of those things. The only two contestants that I thought were any good at all were Gabe Garcia and Melissa (don’t remember her last name). They both sounded really good. I’ll probably keep watching it because it’s summer and there is not much else on.


Late to Work
I found this article on MSN this morning. I was drawn to it because I am consistently late to work. Usually not by much, but same days are better than others. Sometimes I have some very legitimate excuses, but other days it’s just plain running behind. And it doesn’t matter how early I get up. I think I just have an aversion to going to work because I have no trouble being on time when I want to be somewhere. I always get up with the intention of being at work on time…that has to count for something.


Not-So-Clean Office
Someone (you know who you are) commented on Sunday how it must be nice to work some place where your office didn’t have to be clean before you left work. Ouch! =o) Yes, I know my office is a mess, but it’s not ALL my fault. I only take responsibility for the area around my computer and half responsibility for the stuff on the credenza behind me. I have so much stuff I have to store in my office and so much junk people put in my office (they think I’m their store room). What’s worse is that I have a closet in my office, but it has a filing cabinet that two other secretaries won’t let me remove because there is stuff stored in one drawer that they claim they need. I have been in here about 4-5 years and not once have they ever gotten into that filing cabinet.


Weird Dream
I know you’re SHOCKED to hear I had another weird dream, but this one is bugging me for some reason. Since I was in High School, I have had this reoccurring theme to my dreams from time to time where I have to marry someone I don’t want to marry. I actually hadn’t one of these dreams in quite a while, but had another one last night. This time though I was marrying someone from my distant past that I’m actually kind of repulsed by because of a dating experience with him. Thankfully in the course of the dream he also decided that he didn’t want to marry me either so the day of the wedding, we called it off. I was really relieved…and for the first time ever in these dreams, I got out of having to marry the person. Hmmm…

Monday, June 09, 2008

The Art of Non-Dating

Dating is not something I have ever been good at. I’m sure there are a lot of reasons for it, but we’ll save that for another post.

Non-dating on the other hand, I seem to be getting quite good at. I’ve found that everyone has a slightly different definition of “non-dating”, but here is mine: “non-dating” is when a guy picks you up at your house, opens the car door for you, and takes you to out to either dinner or a movie (rarely both in the same outing), and pays.

I know what you’re thinking “that sounds like a date.” The key difference is that IT IS NOT A DATE…its just two friends hanging out. You must be clear on this. Everyone you know must be clear on this, because if the definition is ever questioned, the guy will start acting very weird, keep you at arms length, and you get to spend the next 3 months convincing him that you are in fact very clear that the two of you are just friends, and nothing more than that.

I have spent the last 2 years perfecting the art of “non-dating.” So I’m sure most of you are wondering why I would even put up with it. Well, said “guy” is also a very dear friend of mine and I really enjoy his company. It took a little getting used to because I never had any experience in the non-dating department before him, but I’ve come to look at it the same way I do when I hang out with any of my other friends. The fact he pays is awkward for me, but I always go prepared to pay my own way. This is also something I have found you have to handle delicately. Some guys get offended if offer to pay and some guys think you’re a freeloader if you don’t…but again, a topic for another post.

But hey, non-dating is better than not dating…and it get me out of the house on Friday/Saturday night every few months and makes me feel less like a loser since normally I’m sitting at home or at the grocery store. =o)

Friday, June 06, 2008

Highlight from the Past Few Weeks:

I haven't had time to do much posting lately, so here it is on warp speed...

5-1 Ladder my mom bought me because I seriously needed one.

Cordless Power Screw Driver my brother bought me because he missed my birthday last year.

Seeing people I haven’t seen in YEARS, the biggest being a childhood friend I hadn’t seen in at least 10 years.

Being whistled at in the Homeland Parking Lot by two teenage boys. Thanks boys. I know you were just doing what teenage boys do, but you gave this “older woman” a much needed ego boost. =o)

Making $86k net at Relay (But we have until August to reach that goal of $90k. You can go here to donate!) =o)

Having 30 people in our new singles class the first Sunday it met (I was nervous about the turnout).

Dinner with Shelleye.

Pedicures with Jenn (even if I did spend more than I intended to because I couldn’t understand the lady and kept saying “sure”. Yeah, don’t do that.)

Getting a Team Captain Bag. I know that probably sounds silly, but they were kind of pricey (and the cost comes out of our Relay), so they only ordered enough for the team captains, and there weren’t extras for the committee but I really wanted one, so Sara got me one for my Event Chair gift. I was excited!


Now for the “Not So Funny” Highlights (that I can laugh at now):

The UCO Security Officer (aka Barney Fife) who tried to kick us off campus and out of our accounting room b/c his boss failed to tell him we’d be there. Seriously, did he think that 300 people would just show up and use UCO tables and chairs without clearing it first. Some people have nothing better to do.

Dropping a bag of ice on my foot. I know that your supposed to ice your foot when you drop something heavy on it, but I don’t think that is the way you’re supposed to go about it.

The Gator (kind of like a golf cart) that I borrowed from work being moved and the keys being taken. THANKFULLY, we were able to get a replacement key free of charge. Thank you RSC!

Almost falling head first into the copier this morning because I tripped on my own feet (okay, that was pretty funny).

Burning my forearm on the oven door making cookies. It hurt and there it left a scar.


Yeah, that is all I can thank of at the moment. That should suffice for the time being. =o)