This Time It's Different

Where the heck have I been lately???

Ah, I have been scrubbing and painting and selling and trashing and planting and just plain getting this house ready to sell!

I had the first of many garage sales, that will end up with me having very little of what I currently own, last Friday.  I sold so much that I barely had anything to take to the Goodwill after the sale.

My husband has applied for a remote position with his current company just in case we have trouble with him getting another job in SoCal.  Either way, we have both agreed there will not be another winter spent here.  Nope, it's just not happening.  We'll probably have a more definitive answer as to exactly what job my husband will end up at in another month.  It sure would be nice if we weren't so darn responsible and were willing to just go without employment.  But these days, that's just not prudent...

All I know is that throughout this whole process of wanting and planning to move, we've never been more certain of a direction and a purpose.  So Southern California it will be.  And I am still in shock as to how good this feels and how right it all seems.  Although Texas is a place that feels welcoming and wonderful, I am now feeling that Southern California is a place that has always lived in my heart.  I know I need to experience living there, at least for a while.  It's not simply a coincidence that we ended up with a second home in Southern California.  And our hearts literally ache every time we leave our place in Palm Springs.  Now it's time to make SoCal our full time home.  (Yes, all words of not being willing to do such a thing are being eaten as you read this!)

What I long to be closer to......

Now for another thing that's different this time around.  This one is not so much fun, but honestly to be expected. 

My sister went to prison last Thursday to serve out her time.  She failed in the drug rehab and was caught lying to the drug court judge.  She won't be spared this time.

Of course I am disappointed, but again not surprised.  As my nephew so appropriately commented:  "Why can't she just do what she's supposed to?"

I'm sure I will have deeper feelings about this at some point.  Honestly, right now, I have just accepted the fact that this is who she is.  For now, I feel stronger than ever that moving on from my sisters drama is the healthiest thing to do.

And in that direction, I shall head back to my moving related tasks.  Heck, at least it keeps me busy enough not to cry at all the government overreach that is currently scaring the hell out of me!

How about you?  What's up in your world?  Are you headed in a new direction?

Early Warning

Today I had an adventure with my car.

"Unsafe driving, by digitalart/ found at: freedigitalphotos.net

The main vehicle that I drive most is an '05 Ford Escape.  It has been a great car overall and has been pretty low maintenance.  However, I am no fool.  This car now has over 178,000 miles and it is almost a decade old.

So when the clutch started acting funny just after arriving home from California, I have to admit that I wasn't all that surprised that something could be up.  I also thought that I was really happy that this didn't happen while we were on the road.

I called my mechanic.  He is an honest guy.  He told me if the clutch needs replacing I probably need a new car.  He kindly pointed out that putting more money into a car than it is worth is probably not a good idea- especially when said car is old enough and at a mileage that could warrant a transmission or even an engine at any time.  My mechanic also knows that I often travel down to California and he told me he wouldn't want to see me get stranded on the side of the highway.

I was annoyed, but agreed with all of the logic stated above.

I also am very annoyed by car shopping.  Or should I say I hate car salesman.  Hell, don't we all???

My last experience was a good one because it was at the MINI dealer where they don't really have to sell you anything.  You wouldn't be there if you didn't want a MINI.  Duh!

But this time I would need to replace what I have with something similar.  There's nothing that big at the MINI dealer.  Damn!

So I made an appointment to have the car looked at by the mechanic in the afternoon and did a little internet car shopping.  I have had a car in mind if mine should go bad and yet I haven't been so sold on the idea that I have actively ever looked or even test driven.

To make a long story short, I actually found a decent price for the type of car I was thinking about and it turned out to be located at a dealer that, at least over the phone, has salespeople that don't seem to be ready to jerk you around or oozing in greasiness.  I made an appointment to talk with them tomorrow.

Then, during my day of errands and a little work, I drove my car around town with no more troubles at all.  Hmmm.... strange.

by the time I got to the mechanic I honestly wondered if I had just dreamed up some problem that never existed at all.

In the end my issue is simple.  I need a brake job, but my clutch is fine.  It's merely that both the clutch and the brakes feed from the same fluid reservoir and when the fluid is old or dirty it will sometimes affect the clutch performance.  Whew, brakes are way cheaper and I don't have to meet with ANY car salesman at all.  My Friday is saved for something far better.  Maybe I'll hit up a 'Happy Hour' with my neighbor- she's been bugging me to do that.  Oh, and I'm taking this for what it's worth.  I'll be renting a vehicle to drive down to California if I need something bigger than my MINI for the trip!  My Ford Escape is just too old for the trip now and I'm choosing to heed the early warning.

What do YOU wish came with an early warning system?  Have you ever failed to heed an early warning?  What happened?

April Fools!

Stock photo "Crazy Girl Cross Eyed And Pulling Her Ears" by Stuart Miles, found at: freedigitalphotos.net

Isn't it funny that today is the day that the government numbers regarding supposed Obamacare enrollment are being released and even touted as purportedly fabulous indicators of future program success?

Have a great day and  be careful out there.  

Don't be fooled!

What If Wednesday- Lucky Numbers???

It's What If Wednesday folks!

Do you have lucky numbers?  How about other superstitious things that seem to help you out?

I'm not too superstitious myself.  I do like the fun of thinking something might be lucky...

For instance, yesterday I bought a mega millions lottery ticket.  I do this about 2 or 3 times a year- when I hear about the jackpot being extraordinarily large.  Since my husband has assured me that the lottery is indeed a tax on people who are bad at math and I don't really think this is the best use of household resources, I don't do this on any regular basis. 

However, I do find some enjoyment of just hanging onto that lottery ticket and thinking that I just might be toting around a small piece of paper that could end up being the key to a very large cash windfall, right there in my purse.  That seems to be enough fun and enjoyment for my $2-$3 dollar yearly investment in the lottery.

Credit:  Salvatore Vuano, from freedigitalphotos.com

How about you?  Do you play?  What If you won the lottery?  What's the first thing you would do?

We're All Lucky

I'm a chatty one, really.  But lately, not so much.
I'm getting through some wierdness- something about seeing my husband go through things with his family that reminds me yet again why we're so perfect for each other.  Somehow it's tougher from the outside sometimes.  Ya know what I mean?  It also helps me to see why I'm lucky; as we all are in many ways. 

Single Four Leaf Clover, by Lamnee/ found at freedigitalphotos.net

On this St. Patrick's Day, I'm feeling lucky because:

1)  I have a future to look forward to that has nothing to do with my past.

2)  Fulfilling goals is important to me and I am excited about doing more of that.

3)  Being able to stop and realize that things are never all that out of control has become a part of who I am.

4)  Simple beauty appeals to me.

5)  My dogs think I am the 'cat's meow' and they make me feel like a VIP.

6)  I can drive, work, stand and walk for longer than most, without complaining.

7)  My husband wants nothing more than to have me be the me I want to be.

8)  People get excited about my cooking.

9)  My friends trust me to the nth degree.

10)  Most of the time I'm on the short learning curve.

Now You....?  Please tell me what makes you lucky too!

Musical Monday: What I'm Diggin' On Right Now

The cars in our household are all still stick shift.  In fact, it's one of the reasons I haven't purchased a newer SUV yet...  We also don't use GPS and are perfectly capable of finding our way out of a traffic jam, etc. using a good old map and some common sense.  And I am currently sending my nephew notes in the mail every couple of days to remind him to get his school assignments done before we leave for Palm Springs so he can enjoy a real vacation.  This song says a lot of things that I can agree with.  I am especially drawn to the lines in the chorus:
Hey, whatever happened to waitin' your turn
Doing it all by hand,
'Cause when everything is handed to you
It's only worth as much as the time put in
It all just seemed so good the way we had it
Back before everything became automatic

Full lyrics to Miranda Lambert's "Automatic":

Quarter in a payphone
Drying laundry on the line
Watching Sun Tea in the window
Pocket watch tellin' time
Seems like only yesterday I'd get a blank cassette
Record the country countdown 'cause I couldn't buy it yet

If we drove all the way to Dallas just to buy an Easter dress
We’d take along a Rand McNally, stand in line to pay for gas
God knows that shifting gears ain’t what it used to be
I learned to drive that 55 just like a queen, three on a tree

Hey, whatever happened to waitin' your turn
Doing it all by hand,
'Cause when everything is handed to you
It's only worth as much as the time put in
It all just seemed so good the way we had it
Back before everything became automatic

If you had something to say
You'd write it on a piece of paper
Then you'd put a stamp on it
And they'd get it three days later
Boys would call the girls
And girls would turn them down
Staying married was the only way to work your problems out

Hey, whatever happened to waitin' your turn
Doing it all by hand,
'Cause when everything is handed to you
It's only worth as much as the time put in
It all just seemed so good the way we had it
Back before everything became automatic

Automatic

Let's pull the windows down
Windows with the cranks
Come on let's take a picture
The kind you gotta shake

Hey, whatever happened to waitin' your turn
Doing it all by hand,
'Cause when everything is handed to you
It's only worth as much as the time put in
It all just seemed so good the way we had it
Back before everything became, automatic

Give this one a listen and let me know what you think!

What If Wednesday, Update/Pet Edition

Hi All-
I could go on about how I so much wanted to post something on another day this week, but hey I'm here now.  Let's do this!

I've got my dogs on the brain right now.  I have been meaning to post an 'update' pertaining to many things I have blogged about before and I realized that so many of those items have something to do with my dogs.
So here we go, let's see how this combo works out!

First the updates-
1) The 40th Birthday party rocked!  I heard from so many people that this was the best party they have been to in a very long time!  I think we got our 70's theme down just right  and Elvis was such a hit!

We held the party at a friends place that used to be a church so it was one big giant hall of sorts.  
We went with 70's colors for the cake-

We had a pet rock making station!

Our friends place is already decorated in mid-century modern and then we added extra 70's goodies
like smiley face decor-

Album covers and wooden serveware-

Lava lamps-

And wine bottles covered in wax drippings-

 And of course, Elvis- in full 70's jumpsuit glory!

 My old lady neighbor- the one I bring the beer to- really got her groove on!!!




2) My chihuahua, Tanner, is now in love with agility.  He literally asks, with a particularly beg-worthy face, to do it all the time!  He can do a row of hurdles with no problem and he loves to finish by jumping high through a hoop and then taking a bow.  I am working on making a pvc teeter-totter for him and I will be adding a tunnel to his practice equipment.  I have got to get some photos of this!

3) As for my 100 day challenge:  I am 54 days in and have missed only 4 nights of making sure to wash and moisturize my face at night, as well as doing it in the morning- which I always do.  Boy have I seen a huge difference in the breakout issues I get.  It is such a big improvement.  I will be sticking with this!  Now my two dogs, Hailey and Tanner, are inspiring me to start a new 100 day challenge.  I am going to do some sort of outdoor walk/exercise with them every day for 100 days.  The weather in the northwest is particularly depressing/grey/misty/rainy at this time of year.  But I figure I'd better get a good start on being outdoors all the time when I move to California and the dogs will love it!

4) My dogs also love it that I am home more now that I am finished with the Hawaii moving project for my friend.  They haven't yet figured out why I am moving/cleaning/boxing/bagging everything in sight.  I know they will be happy when they figure out it means we are moving to a warm sunny place!

So that's all I can think of in the update arena, but you can see why I have dogs on my mind!  So now it's finally on to today's 'What If Wednesday' question.  I am inspired by the fact that I just made sure to make note of relevant and identifying info and put it in several safe places to be sure it can be found and used, should I ever need to.  Not that I would want to...  Today's 'What If" is:  What if your pet/s went missing?  Do you have a plan to help locate them?  Are your pets micro-chipped?  If so, are their micro-chip numbers registered with a service?  Do you even remember what the name of the service is?!  Do you have recent pictures of your pets handy? 

My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog thinks I am!