It's The Little Things- A link back to Barb at: This and That (As I Bounce Thru Life)

Barb posted an interesting little ditty about the little things that make her tick and then asked others to share their own -and I actually had a moment and felt inspired to participate, so here goes!

1) Bubble bath that fits the season.  Right now I'm into gingerbread scented.
2) A dress that hits in all the right places and even makes my thighs look thinner.
3) When little kids figure out that we have a candy dish that is open to ANYONE at ANY TIME!
4) A stranger that smiles back at you.
5) The times when I feel badly that I'm running late and then the other person is too!
6) Warm puppy wiggles
7) Adopted plants that turn out to be super cool
8) When that thing that I would really like to have, but can't possibly pay 'that' much for goes on a good sale
9) A warm house and a furnace that has 3 nice blue gas flames going
10) Unexpected sunshine!

Here's the link back to Barb's original post:
This and That (As I Bounce Thru Life): It's The Little Things

Care to join in?

 

Rocks

Today I going all theme on ya'.  Let's see how I do...
*all emoticon smileys found at freesmileys.org

That new mattress I got was so waaaay overdue.  The old one was definitely not unlike sleeping on rocks and the new one rocks my socks off- which is pretty hard to do, since it's still wet-cold here in the northwest.

My nephew Nathan is having his best school year ever!  The principal says she will miss him dearly when he moves up to the new school next year.  Y'all know just how much that rocks my world!
 

I am having a series of rather pleasant dreams that turn into nightmares because just when things are getting real good my mother shows up totally unexpectedly and ruins everything.  Yeah, sucks rocks.


Rand Paul's old school filibuster was awesome.  And you don't have to agree with everything the man does or says to know that on this particular point- he rocks!


I'm gonna' put this one right here in the middle because maybe that way it won't seem quite so rotten...  I don't wanna' to dwell, just wanna' tell.  Keeping things to yourself can be a bit unhealthy.  So here's the deal.  My sister is about to go to trial.  (She's not as smart as JJ had hoped.)  Through this process of the last of her evidentiary hearings, I have learned that my sister is about to be also charged with criminal abuse of a mentally handicapped person because she used this woman to do some of her dirty work, as she knew that no one would suspect a brain damaged woman.  Makes my heart sink like a bag of rocks.


Because my little pup needs to burn off energy, I have taken to adding an extra walk, first thing in the morning, to his day.   That means that I am now outside at a time that is usually a rain free part of the day.  Around here, that rocks hard!


Only 2 weeks until I'm back in Palm Springs enjoying the warm sun!  Totally rocks!

Having friends and neighbors stay in our Palm Springs condo has turned out to be so much fun.  Even though of course we wish we were there ourselves, there is certainly something that completely rocks about hearing the happiness in their voices, reading the lovely emails and knowing that there are people in the world who are having the time of their life because we have chosen to share a place we love.


Rock on, my friends, rock on!

New Years Plans, A Small Business Rant & Puppy Love...

...that's my life these days, in a nutshell.

Let me explain.

When I got back home from the Palm Springs trip that involved our getting the new (to us) condo all cleaned out and redone to our liking (and ability, in two weeks time) I was presented with a business opportunity.  I was more than happy to jump on said opportunity because my husband and I had already decided that we are returning to our Palm Springs condo for New Years, and taking our nephew with us!  It turned out that we didn't get the last of our deliveries until the Friday afternoon before we left on Saturday morning to come back home.  Naturally that means we need to go back just to be able to see how much we enjoy the fruits of our labor.  AND Nathan- our nephew- is thrilled beyond words that his school calendar this year allows for a sun break for New Years!

So.... it's on to explaining my small business rant. 

It goes like this:  I took on a huge project that will end on the 23rd, knowing that I wanted to pay for my return trip to Palm Springs.  This project is so large that I needed quite a bit of help in order to get it done on time for the customer.  I lined up help right away.  It seemed like a win-win as I knew several people who definitely needed money right now and some of those had helped me out on a temporary basis in the past.  My plans seemed solid.  I'm not a fly by night kind of gal.  I'm extraordinarily reliable and come with exemplary references, etc., etc.

So when a couple of these people turn out to be major lazy asses who are completely ungrateful for the work I've offered and don't care that they are making me look like a total ass hat, well- I'm less than impressed and might or might not have even wished that their inability to pay their rent on time or make the payment on their new roof might cause them to lose said roofs over their respective heads.  Yeah, I can be nasty like that...  I take business seriously and don't enjoy being taken for a ride.  What can I say?

Anyway, there is a happy ending to this situation:  I have been able to take on more of the work than I had anticipated having time for myself.  And I have been able to bring my new puppy, Tanner, with me to the job site with no problems at all.  The people I am working for love him and can't keep their hands off him.  This has resulted in me already being able to pay for the New Years trip and Tanner's social skills are blossoming.  And last night I did get a voice mail from one worker who just wanted me know how grateful she is for the chance to make some money and how every little bit helps, especially during Christmas.  That one phone call did an awful lot to undo the yucky feelings I have had about the people who have said how much they needed to work and then shown up to do so with rotten attitudes or even bailed on me at the last minute.

So, finally, it's on to the puppy love:  Robin, I will post one giant picture post of love just for you in the very near future.  The rest of you can skip it if it makes you want to puke.  I get it.  In the mean time, just know that every last moment I can spare is being spent loving on our dogs Hailey and Tanner.  Hailey is great with the new pup and I have actually found myself wishing he wouldn't grow up so fast.  I am really loving this process of puppy raising that I was so afraid of.  It has been such a true blessing.  My husband and I have not smiled and laughed so much in I don't know how long.  I really cannot express enough how good this little surprise has worked out for us, even amidst our condo chaos and all that is the holiday season.  It feels like this year we're getting to stop and enjoy everything through the new little guys eyes. 

Of course some of that is because if we don't watch him carefully he'll chew everything in sight and pee on the artificial Christmas tree...!