Why Does It Feel Like It's August? It's MAY!

Well, it was back to work this morning. I had a wonderful weekend, and it was really hard to get myself moving this morning. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but everyone loves having days off every once in a while.

I finally made it out of bed, got a shower (Hi Chuck!), and got ready for the work day. Tim was a little late getting home from work, so I didn't get to see him much before I left. That's the worst part about his work schedule -- When we both work, I don't really get to see him at all. There was lots to work on in the office this morning. The phone rang off the hook, which is good for business, and I got a lot done. A couple of my massages cancelled their appointments (One was cleaning up tornado damage; the other was sunburned), but I was able to get their spots filled up pretty quickly. On my lunch break, I took two more care packages to the post office to get shipped to Dwain. Our grand total is up to twenty-five now, but as far as I know Dwain has only gotten the first one because he is so isolated and they don't get mail very often. He is going to be very popular when he finally gets all those packages.

My afternoon was almost completely booked up -- One of my massages had to cancel, but I got to spend an hour at the front desk with my Sammie. Let me tell you what, that girl is SUNBURNED. She spent a little too much time out in the sun playing with Nicholas this weekend. She is radiating heat! I feel so bad for her. It has to be extremely uncomfortable. I'm going to take her some of our Kool-Down tomorrow so that she can get rid of the worst of it. Poor girl. The sun is not our friend. My sunburn is LOADS better today. I can barely feel that my skin is tight. I can't believe how hot it has been outside. And, soo humid! It feels more like August than the end of May. We've got three weeks til summer for crying out loud. I think it's going to be a rough summer. With the winter and spring that we've had, I bet summer is going to be a doozy. Maybe I'm wrong -- I hope I'm wrong.

I headed home right after work tonight and got the mower out to finish the yard. I didn't have much left to mow, but I wanted to get it done so that the yard was all the same height. It took me about an hour and a half, but the yard looks really nice. I love it when the grass is all mowed up nice and pretty. Mowing the yard is one of my favorite things to do. It's just so relaxing, and I get so much thinking done -- And it's great exercise because all we have is a push mower. After I got the yard mowed, I watered my flowers and our poor hail-beaten tomato plant, then called it quits. Now, I have had a shower -- Showers are amazing after you have worked hard -- And I'm watching Forrest Gump while I blog. I am planning on going to bed as soon as I get this post done. I have a big day tomorrow. Work is going to be busy, then I'm playing volleyball afterwards. North Daviess is having open gyms this summer, and Coach Burkhart has asked me if I could help out with her girls. I can't tell you how excited I am about this. I would love to coach full time, but it doesn't work with my schedule, so I will help out as much as I can. I'm going to be helping her hitters and blockers, as well as playing with the girls to add a little extra competition. Have I mentioned that I'm excited about this? 

For now, though, I'm going to finish my movie, then hit the hay. I need some sleep, that's for sure! I had a BUSY day today, and tomorrow is going to be just as crazy! I love my life -- What a great day! I hope everyone has a good Wednesday! I'm sure I will! Just think, it's a short week this week -- It's almost the weekend again!   :^)
Operation Saheeb -- Seven Weeks, Two Days

There was a Luna Moth in the driveway when I went to work this morning.

So, of course, I took a picture!

Herding Hoptoads

What a FANTASTIC weekend! I couldn't have asked for a better Memorial Day weekend! Let me get you filled in on what has happened the last couple days.

I got to sleep in Friday morning for an extra hour -- My first massage wasn't until 9:00. When I looked at my phone first thing Friday morning, I found that I had an email from Dwain. He said it was RAINING in Afghanistan! Who knew that it actually rained there? Other than that, I haven't heard much from him this weekend. He must be pretty busy. I had a full massage schedule that morning, so I didn't get done and out of the office until almost 3:00 (I had to visit with Sammie and finish up some office stuff before the weekend). After running a couple errands for Dr. Bowling (I dropped off a few checks around town) and picking up some stuff for Mom, I was headed home.

I made a call to Direct TV on the way home to schedule a service call to get our satellite re-aligned (stupid storms). I set up something for next week, but not 20 minutes after I got off the phone with them, the district manager called me to see if I would be ok with them coming out that evening. Of course that was ok! We only had to wait about an hour before Rob the repairman was at our house (again; he was here less than a month ago to re-align us the first time). Turns out, the idiot who actually installed our antenna only mounted it to the metal on the roof -- No supports, nothing. So the wind the other night just about ripped the antenna and part of the roof completely off! I'm glad that guy doesn't work for Direct TV anymore. Rob fixed our antenna (we had to borrow some long, heavy screws from Dad), and he is going to come back sometime and move our antenna from the roof to a pole in the yard. Talk about great customer service! Rob even told me to save his cell number in my phone in case we had any more problems. People say that DISH is better than Direct TV, but you couldn't pay me to switch, that's for sure.

After we got the satellite situation all figured out, Tim and I decided that we were going to make a quick run to Vincennes. We needed to get a couple things at Rural King -- steel fence posts to make into catfish rod holders, some new jeans for Tim (honestly, I don't know how anyone can be that hard on jeans), and a new pair of Justin cowboy boots (the old ones were pretty worn out). Tim and I weren't in Rural King too long, but we wanted to get something to eat for supper before we left town -- We really wanted to watch The Hangover: 2, but we didn't think we would be able to get tickets. We decided to get our supper at the China Buffet, which meant that I ate Chinese twice last week. It was delicious, and we were both miserable by the time we finished and headed home. We didn't last too long once we made it home before we headed to bed. It had been a long day, and we had big plans for Saturday.

New boots and old boots -- I think he was overdue for an upgrade. 

Our Saturday morning started out with sleep -- lots of it. We didn't get out of bed until late in the morning. Nothing could have been better. Tim slept in a little longer than I did, so I watched The King's Speech while he was sleeping. It was a great movie, but not one that Tim would enjoy watching -- Not his type -- But I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone. Once we finally got moving, we decided to head up to Mom and Dad's for a little while. Tim bought a new hitch for the Ranger, and he was wanting to get it installed. We wound up spending quite a bit of time there. It wasn't as easy as originally planned to get things headed in the right direction.
 

 Working Hard? or Hardly Working?

While Tim and Dad worked on the hitch, which is "shop code" for drinking beer and talking about "stuff", Mom and I made a trip to Bloomington to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. My birthday is next month, and Mom and Dad wanted to get me my present early -- A RED Kitchen-Aid Mixer! I am so excited! I am going to get so much use out of that thing! And it's red, which makes it even more awesome because it matches my kitchen. Thank you so much Momma and Pop! I LOVE it!

My new Kitchen-Aid!

While Mom and I were in Bloomington, we went next door from Bed, Bath, and Beyond to PetSmart to look around. It was the first time that Dixie has ever gone into a store like that, and she did amazing! I actually had to go into the store to buy her a leash and collar then come out and get her out of the car because I left our other leash at home. I expected Dixie to go into "Crazy Dixie" mode and want to play with everyone, but she was very well mannered and behaved like an angel.
 

 Dixie in PetSmart -- She did SO good!

By the time Mom and I made it back home (you should have seen the tornado damage south of Bloomington -- INSANE!), the guys had made a good start on the new hitch, but they weren't getting too much done at the moment. We found them sitting in lawn chairs. Both of them had a barley pop (beer), and Tim was feeding Dorito's crumbs to my old dog Bear. It was late, and we were tired, so we headed home for the evening. What a great day!

Sunday -- after sleeping in a little, but not quite as much as Saturday -- Tim and I went to Dad's shop to finish putting the new hitch together. It took us most of the day, but we got it! Now we can haul our boat when we go fishing! We worked on several other project before calling it a day. Tim and I had to screw some of the metal on the roof back down. It appears that the storms did a little more damage than we had originally thought, but it was a quick, easy fix. While Tim went back up to Dad's to work on his rod rack and get our propane tank filled up, I mowed the smaller side of the yard. It took me about an hour (Dixie and Chuck murdered a fledgling blackbird while I was mowing -- Assassins), then I was headed through the shower. Tim grilled steaks for supper, and we had mac and cheese and onion rings to go with it. It was a great supper. I love it that Tim likes grilling so much. He is really good at it, and it means that I don't always have to cook. We went to bed Sunday night with a great feeling of accomplishment. It was a productive day!

Tim didn't sleep very well last night, so he got caught up on sleeping this afternoon. I don't know how anyone can switch between nights and days like that. I have enough trouble sleeping during the night; I can't imagine sleeping during the day. I got most of the rest of the yard mowed today, but it was really hot, so I spent quite a bit of time inside in the A/C. It's just too hot and muggy to work outside on days like today. I got a wicked sunburn while I was mowing today though, so I used my Kool-Down on it (Thanks Kim for getting us some of that). Hopefully, it won't be too terribly red tomorrow while I'm at work. It's on my back though, so you won't be able to see it, but I bet I will be able to feel it.

Mowing our yard is like herding hoptoads all over the yard. There are so many out there that you have to be careful where you step. I feel like I just keep pushing the same toads all over the yard. Every pass I make moves them a little bit further. I like having them though. Maybe they will help cut down on the skeeters and those nasty buffalo gnats. I noticed today that the gnats weren't as bad as they have been, so maybe they are dying off. The day that there are no more gnats can't come soon enough. Evil little bloodsuckers!

Today was also laundry day. I tried doing a load of whites in the washer at our house, but our rusty water turned them orange. I even added some Super Iron Out (it's what I use to clean the rust out of the shower, dishwasher, etc), but it wasn't good enough. I got all our laundry washed though, so it worked out ok. Thank you to Momma and Grandma Ruth for letting me use your washing machine. I really appreciate it! We would run out of clean clothes pretty dang quickly if you weren't there to help me out.

Orange tinted socks -- Oops! Dang water! Is is too much to ask to be able to do laundry at your own house?

Tim is at work for the night, and I decided that I could finish the mowing tomorrow. I watched the new episode of River Monsters, and I'm ready for bed. Dixie and Chuck are already asleep -- Is it bad to be jealous of your pets? Tomorrow should be a great day. I have a busy week ahead of me. My massage schedule is just about filled up already, and I'm sure there is lots to work on in the office. I need to get some more Care Packages sent out to Dwain, but I have to get some more packing tape first. I can't believe that he has almost been gone for two months now. Time is really flying by, but that's totally ok with me! I can't wait to see his face again! I sure do miss my Little Brother. I've really thought about him a lot this Memorial Day. I pray that all the troops serving overseas get to come home safe and sound, and I can't thank our past generations enough for sacrificing so much to keep us safe. It makes me proud to be an American; not only today, but everyday! I will do all that I can to do my part. I know that I don't have what it takes to travel across the world and join the fight, but I will do all I can here on the home front. I love you Dwain! Keep that goofy head out of trouble! We are all very proud of you! Love you all! Dixie is telling me with her big brown eyes that it's bedtime -- So, goodnight!   :^)

Operation Saheeb -- 7 weeks 

 Tim took some pictures of the sky last week when he and Scott went fishing!

 The sky was really pretty that night!

 Tim's friend Scott caught a nice Blue Catfish last week

Different view: New boots and old boots

Shrek 2 with my Favorite 2-Year Old

Well, I didn't get near as much sleep as I wanted last night because of the storms (Thank you Mother Nature -- NOT!), but I still had a fantastic day today. I got home last night to find that our house DID survive the storm. We lost a couple limbs, but they were pretty small. Our Direct TV antenna got blown out of alignment again though. I'll be making that phone call tomorrow to see if they can fix it. I'm missing Swamp People tonight, and I'm not very happy about it. There was a lot of damage by the Odon Turn-off though. Trees down, the irrigation rig flipped over, power line poles at 45 degree angles. Not good! Too many tornados. This can stop anytime.

Work was awesome today. I got a lot done this morning at the office, and I even managed to get four more Care Packages sent out. We are having so much stuff brought in that I am running out of table room. I don't want to ship too much all at once. He is going to be over run with boxes as it is; not to mention that it could get pretty expensive! I know it's only $12.20 to ship a Care Package, but that adds up when you have sent 23 of them in just a little over 6 weeks. The generosity and patriotism of our community is truly amazing. After lunch, I started my massage schedule for the afternoon. We didn't have our usual staff meeting today because Dr. Bowling and Mary Sue are out of town visiting their daughter, so I was able to stick another massage in there. I wound up filling four out of five spots, but it worked out that my empty spot was at the same time as Randi's empty spot, so I got a massage today! I hadn't had one in MONTHS, and man was I overdue. There is nothing better than a nice relaxing massage to make you feel like your stress is gone. I feel much better -- Refreshed and ready to go.

After we closed up the office, Sammie and I went to Jessica's for some DELICIOUS Italian food. She made us a Stuffed Cheesy Chicken with Bruscetta to go with it (I'm not sure if I spelled that right, but I'm not too worried about it honestly). It was incredible! I could make a meal out of the Bruscetta and French Bread! I will have to get her recipe! Jessie, if you are reading this, you should email me your recipe for the Stuffed Chicken and the Bruscetta. Tim would really like it, and I would like to try making it sometime. You're the best dear!

I can't help staying to chat with Jessica anytime I can. I loved working with her, and I really miss her. She is a great friend! I was at Jessica's house until 10:00 tonight!! I just can't resist playing with her son Nicholas. He is very energetic and active, and he is just so much fun to mess with. We played with toys for a while, then we watched Shrek 2 together. He was happy as a clam just sitting on my lap. I wish we had little ones in my family to play with because they are so much fun. Nicholas is such a stinker! It's so funny to be around him because you never know what he is going to do. My favorite thing is his evil laugh and listening to him say "Balls, Balls, Balls" when he is playing with his Play Dough. It's so innocent to him, but the three of us were cracking up. Heaven help me when we have children of our own. Any child of Tim's is going to be a HANDFUL! But, there are no plans for extras in our family for several more years, so I think I'm safe for now. I can play with Nicholas and Sofia all I want, then give them back to Jessica.

Now, I'm finally at home. It was a long day today. I have entirely too much going on, and the weekend cannot get here soon enough. Tomorrow, I have a full schedule, but it's only massages in the morning, so I will be home by the afternoon. I even get to sleep in an extra hour because my day doesn't start until 9:00. And it's Jean Day. And it's a long weekend! YES! It is going to be a good day!

I talked to Dwain a little bit today, but he didn't say how he was doing besides being hot and dirty, but I'm thinking that about sums up Afghanistan right now. He said it is 120 degrees there already. I can't even imagine! He is still able to get emails just about anytime, so if you are interested, you can send him an email at jolliff55@gmail.com. I'm sure that he would love hearing from his people back home. He misses it a lot, but the days keep flying by, and he will be home before we know it. I am so very proud of my little brother! He has given up and missed out on a lot to go over there and fight for our country, and I don't think that we can ever really thank him enough. I love you Dwain! You are a GREAT man!

Okay, time for bed now. It's getting late, and I would love to get a full night's sleep. I'm not sure what our weekend plans are, but I bet that we will have fun. I'm hoping to do some fishing! I keep forgetting that I'm off on Monday. If I'm not careful, I'll forget and try to go in to work Monday afternoon. Fat lot of good that would do me; man, would I feel stupid. Hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow. Thank Goodness It's Friday!    :^D
Operation Saheeb -- One Month, Two Weeks, One Day

Storms = GO AWAY!

What a crappy evening. It’s storming and raining again -- Big surprise there! I am actually at Mom and Dad’s because I don’t trust our matchbox house to stay standing if a big wind gust hits it, much less a tornado. Besides, what else are Mom’s and Dad’s for besides to run to when something is scary -- And let me tell you, storms are SCARY, TERRIFYING, and a first class ticket to a PANIC ATTACK. I don’t like them at all, so I am totally comfortable being in Mom and Dad’s brick house, especially when Tim is at work for the evening.

Now, I know that I have not written anything in a couple days, and I’m sorry for that -- Too much going on. I started to post something last night while Tim and I were watching River Monsters, but I fell asleep in the middle of writing, so I would call that a bust. I will try to get you caught up on things. It’s been busy, no questions there. But being busy isn't a bad thing.

Monday was a good day. I really don’t mind Mondays too much because I only work a half day, and I usually spend my morning being lazy. That’s exactly what I did this Monday. Tim got home early in the morning, but we were both asleep within a half hour. I slept in a little bit, then got up and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast (Don’t you just love Rice Crispies -- Dixie and Chuck sure do).  Before too long (where does the time go?), I had to start getting ready for work. Chuck joined me in the shower, like usual -- It’s so common now that I don’t even think it’s out of the ordinary for our cat to take a shower. Is that sad? Monday at work was a great day! My massage schedule was booked up solid. After doing my five massages, I made what was originally going to be a quick trip out to Wal-Mart to get stuff to make homemade pizza. Tim said he was busy doing “fishing stuff” though, so I went ahead and tried (key word = “tried”) to get a bunch of the things that I had on my list. The key word in that sentence was “tried” because I left my list sitting on the desk at the office, which means that it didn’t help me much at Wal-Mart. So, I winged it! I actually did really well and only forgot one thing on my list. Cool!

After I finally got home, I started on my pizza. It had all the good stuff: sausage, bacon, pepperoni, onions, tomatoes, and LOTS of cheese. And, it was DELICIOUS! I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much as I should have though, because my teeth were very sensitive. I have had a lot on my plate lately (Dwain, work, yard stuff etc), and I think that the stress is making me crazy. I already have problems with clacking/chomping my teeth together while I sleep, and I think that stress is probably making it worse. However, I got some Sensodyne while I was at Wal-Mart Monday night, and by Tuesday night I had almost no pain. I even ate some ice cream. So, I guess that I was clacking my teeth so much that they were actually sore. Thank goodness for Sensodyne. After we finished eating, Tim and I had a very enjoyable evening. We watched a little TV then I headed to bed, but Tim went fishing with one of his work buddies. He had a very productive trip. Scott caught a really nice Blue Cat, and Tim caught a NICE Channel Cat. Not too bad, and the boat ran like a champ! They spent all night out on the river, but Dixie, Chuck, and I slept like babies (Our bed gets pretty cozy when everyone piles in).

I did NOT want to get out of my nice warm bed on Tuesday morning. I would have loved to curl up with Tim and sleep for a couple more hours, but I had to get moving. There was a lot to work on in the office. The phone never stopped ringing, and I did all kinds of small, odd jobs the entire time. I got a lot done though, and I always feel good about that. Tuesday, I got the power steering pump replaced on my car (his name is Waldo) while I was at work. I have never in my life paid someone to work on my car -- Daddy has always taken care of that, but Daddy has been busy too, and I’m a big girl now. It didn’t cost me an arm and a leg (Thank goodness Daddy gets a discount at Jeffer’s Auto Parts), and now I know that my car has been taken care of. Hooray for one less worry! Thank you, Exhaust Works, for taking care of me and my Waldo.  After lunch (leftover pizza), we had a GREAT staff meeting, then I did some massages in the afternoon. I had a full schedule again, but our schedule has slacked off a little bit in the last couple weeks. I think that everyone is getting busy with other things and going to the chiropractor isn’t making it on the to-do list. After work, I was worn out and ready for supper. Neither of us felt like cooking anything, so we went out for supper -- To the Fish and Carry. It may not be 5-Star dining, but it’s pretty tasty, and the best part? I don’t have to cook it! I didn’t last too long after dinner before I fell asleep on the couch; well actually, I fell asleep on Tim. We were in bed by 10:30, but I didn’t sleep very well at all. I have been dreaming a lot lately, and as a result, I’m not sleeping very well. I’m hoping that I can get my brain to shut down tonight, so that I don’t feel so crappy tomorrow.

I woke up this morning, and I felt like a zombie. I bet I woke up seven or eight times last night, and that’s just not going to get me enough sleep to function. I worked on getting Care Packages ready to ship this morning at the office. We sent out FIVE more today! That brings our total up to 19! Sammie helped me take them to the post office over lunch, and then I was ready for the afternoon. I started out with four massages on my schedule, but two people cancelled with the nasty weather coming in. We wound up getting out of the office by 5:30, and Sammie and I went to the Great Wall for some yummy Chinese food. I took a Take Out Box to Tim for supper, and then talked myself into making another trip to Wal-Mart. Dwain told us this week that he was hungry, so Momma sent me on a mission to get him something to eat. I went a little crazy, but he shouldn’t go hungry for a while. I am going to be busy tomorrow morning getting more Care Packages shipped to Afghanistan. Now, like I said earlier, I am sitting at Mom and Dad’s waiting out the storm. It doesn’t sound too bad out there, but I am in a brick house. I sure hope there is no damage at home. I have Dixie with me, but I had to leave Chuck to fend for himself. He and my Mom’s dog Annie just don’t get along well enough to be in the same house. I am planning on heading home as soon as I get this post done, and then I’m heading to bed! I have GOT to get some sleep tonight. This storm can take a flying leap for all I care about it. I’m about sick to death of this weather. Enough with the storms and the rain already! Can’t we please have some nice weather? It’s not supposed to be clear and nice again until SUNDAY -- Lame! I have plans dangit! Oh well, not much I can do to change it, huh? Guess I’ll just deal with it the best I can. I think that I’m ready for bed now. It’s been a long day, and my schedule is full again tomorrow. I need some sleep, that’s for sure! Good night everyone!   :^)

Operation Saheeb -- One Month, Two Weeks

What a SUPER weekend!

The last two days have been awesome! I have gotten so much done around the yard! I love it when I'm productive -- It makes me feel a great sense of accomplishment. That's much better than feeling like a lazy bum.

When Tim got home from work yesterday morning, he and I went for a mile and a half run. We ran down the road past the bridge north of our house. It made me realize just how out of shape we really are. I was breathing heavy, that's for sure. I haven't done much exercising since I stopped playing volleyball, and it felt good to get my blood pumping again. After our run and a quick shower, we hit the couch for a movie (The Tourist -- Great movie, by the way) and a nap. Well, I was taking a nap, but Tim was headed to bed -- I don't know how anyone can work nights and function like a normal human being.

After I had slept for a while, I decided to do some work out in the yard. I made a trip up to Dad's shop to steal some tools -- That's what Dad's are for, huh? I needed a saw, power drill, big screws, and Mom's shrub trimmers. I started out by fixing our mailbox -- Well, actually I replaced our old broken one with a new one (Remember when I backed my car into it in January? Yeah, the base was still broken, and the mailbox was just "resting" on the post. Not very stable at all). It didn't take me too long, and the new mailbox is much, much sturdier than our poor old broken one -- But that wouldn't honestly take much effort. The old one was really pretty pitiful. Now, my next mailbox project will be to get some letters and put our names on our mailbox.

Once the mailbox was repaired, I used Mom's trimmers to prune up the trees and shrubs in the yard. They were getting a little out of control. I hate pruning really. It takes you just a few minutes to have the yard COVERED in limbs, but it takes an hour to pick them all up. This was no different. Before I knew it, I had about five piles of limbs that needed hauled off. I used Tim's truck to get the job done. By the time that job was finished, I needed to head into the house and make some dinner for Tim to take to work. I also had some laundry that I was working on at Mom's so I made a quick trip up there to switch things from the washer to the dryer. I made chicken enchiladas for supper, and they were delicious! I sent some with Tim, and put the rest in the fridge for later. After Tim left, I went back outside to finish up the mowing. It only took me about an hour to mow the smaller half of the yard -- It took about 4 hours total, but that's not too bad for a pushmower. The most irritating part was that my mower decided to run out of gas with about 2 passes left to mow, which meant that I had to walk all the way back to the garage and get the gas can. Ugh! But, once the job was done, it was done. What a good feeling. And it didn't rain! Hooray!

After a quick shower, I was headed to Washington for a fish fry. One of the guys Tim works with makes a KILLER fish breading, and they had a bunch of Walleye and Perch that they were cooking up in honor of one of the guys who was leaving. Let me tell you, Glen makes some awesome fried fish. The best part of the whole get together was the cake. The guys had it decorated so that it said "So Long... You Dirty Son of a Bitch." Man, you can really feel the love in that group. I wound up staying until 1:00 in the morning, which was stupid, but I was really enjoying myself. After finally making it home, I think that I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Because I had a late night, Tim and I decided to skip our run this morning, but we did watch a couple episodes of River Monsters (Which also happens to be what I am watching as I blog tonight). We both fell asleep before too long though. I actually didn't wake up again until after 11:00 this morning. Talk about lazy! I went outside to plant some flowers and work a little bit in the yard again. I also finished up my laundry. The only other thing I had planned for the evening was to do a two hour massage for one of my out-of-office regulars -- There aren't really that many out-of-office clients because I'm too booked up at the office, and it would wear me out to do too many massages. I headed through the shower (working in the yard is dirty work, ya know) then headed to Sue's house. Two hours later, and I had a nice check in my pocket as I headed home.

Now, I'm home. I'm watching River Monsters. And I'm just about ready for bed. Tim and I are going to run in the morning, and I don't have to be at work until 1:00. I need to run to the grocery store, so I might head to Odon in the morning to the Jay-C store. It's not as diverse as Wal-Mart, but it's closer, and I hate it much less. I should have a great week this week. My massage schedule is just about booked up already! I haven't heard much from Dwain this weekend, but I figure that he is just busy. I'm hoping to send him several more packages next week, and it would be AWESOME to hear his voice. Fingers crossed! I sure do miss him. Ok, headed to bed now. Morning will be here before I know it. Good night!!   :^)
Operation Saheeb -- One Month, One Week, Four Days

I Now Have Purple Toes -- And I LOVE Them!

Today was a FANTASTIC day! Just perfect! Could. Not. Ask. For. A. Better. Day!

I didn't have to be at work this morning until 9:00, so I got to sleep in an extra hour -- And today was Jean Day at the office, so my day started out pretty darn good. I had four massages this morning, which makes it the only day this week that my schedule wasn't booked. I love my Friday people. They are mostly regulars, and I have a great relationship with all of them. One of them even brought in a big bag of stuff for me to send to Dwain's unit. After I was done doing massages, Sammie and I put together FOUR more Care Packages to ship out. Our table was getting a little full, and Sammie (by herself) brought in enough items for two complete Care Packages. What a great friend! It took us an hour and a half to get the boxes packed and ready to ship, but it was fun. Sammie helped me get them to the post office, then they were on their way to Afghanistan. That brings our total up to 14! Dr. Bowling wants us to collect Care Package items for Dwain's unit the entire time that he is overseas! How great is my boss?? I want to send as many items as I possibly can. I love feeling like I am helping out in some way. If those boys can fight to protect my freedom, by God, I can do my part and make sure that they have what they need or want. I think that it just makes people feel patriotic to donate to such a great cause. It seems like our project is picking up steam and taking off, so I'm sure that I will be busy shipping more boxes in the next weeks.

After I got our boxes shipped and my time sheet filled out (almost 38 hours this week -- Not too shabby), I was finally headed home. It was about 3:00, which is a lot later than I was hoping to get home, but it was for a good cause. Tim and I made a quick trip into Odon to pick up my power steering pump from Jeffers. I was hungry, so I got Subway while we were in town, then we headed back home. We made a detour to Mom and Dad's house to drop off filters and dog food, but we didn't stay for long. Tim headed to work for the night, and I went outside to mow the yard. Those nasty "vampire gnats" were all over the place, but I put vanilla extract on my face, neck, and shoulders, and they didn't bother me a bit! I got the big half of the yard mowed in the three hours I had before dark. Our little pushmower does a great job, and I love mowing grass. It takes forever, but I figure that I could use the exercise. It's so relaxing to just be able to mow on auto-pilot and get lost in my thoughts. I solve so many of the world's problems when I mow.

Now, I have been through the shower (wonderful, refreshing, and LONG), painted my toenails (purple), and got a bite to eat (ham and cheese). I am watching CSI, but I think that I'm about ready for bed. Tim and I are going for a run tomorrow morning when he gets home from work, then I want to work in the yard while he is sleeping. I have so many things that I want to work on! Our shrubs need pruned, the mailbox STILL needs fixed, and I want to work on my flower beds. I'm sure that I will find other things to work on as well. I just feel like being productive! I also HAVE to do laundry tomorrow, but it shouldn't be too bad. Ok, Yup. I'm ready for bed. I have to go now -- Before I get engrossed in another episode. Good night everyone. I'll write again tomorrow!   :^)
Operation Saheeb -- One Month, One Week, Two Days

Dixie trying to get the bait fish in the tub on Wednesday night. It's not the best video, and she's not going after them like she was earlier, but it's still pretty hilarious! Of course, she takes horrible pictures and videos.

 Lazy, Bum Cat!

 Happy Father's Day Tim! -- Love, Dixie and Chuck

 Our rose bush is blooming!

 They are so pretty!

 There's a bird's nest in my rose bush

Purple Toes

Care Package Item List

Top Items:  magazines (outdoor, fitness, sports, auto, etc.) beef jerky, power bars, protein bars, granola bars, and monetary donations to go toward shipping costs (donations can be made with a credit card by clicking the "DONATE" button on the blog home page).

Other Items:  throat lozenges, gum, lifesavers, mints, Chapstick, Carmex, Blistex, pain relievers, boot liners, insoles, foot powder, baby powder, single use cameras, coffee, hot cocoa mix, tea, pre-sweetened drink mixes, nuts, sunflower seeds, puzzle books, joke books, Frisbee, Nerf football, deck of cards, hand-held games, vitamin C, Emergen-C, trail mix, dried fruit, cookies, non-melting candy, tuna (in a pop-top can), canned chips (Pringles).

These items are the most requested by troops deployed to Afghanistan, but a care package is only limited by creativity.  Shipping takes about 7 days, so items must be non-perishable.

Care Package Mania

I love my life! I just want you all to know that it is just going great! I can't complain about anything at all. I feel so blessed to be where I am in life.

Wednesday was another great day at the office. I had enough Care Package stuff on the table at work that I HAD to ship out some Care Packages to Dwain to make room for more items. I wound up shipping three more boxes, which brought my grand total up to eight. Mom came into the office late in the morning, so we went out for lunch at Hardee's. We took our lunch to the park to watch the geese and visit. We just don't get enough time together anymore. Then, we ran to Orscheln to pick up a couple things. Mom had to get dogfood (they were out so I picked it up today on my lunch break), and I was just along for the ride. We wound up buying several things while we were there though. I found the COOLEST windchime-thing with a hand carved wooden Bass and some driftwood hanging from it. I bought it to give to Tim for Father's Day from Dixie and Chuck, but when I got home from work he helped me unload my car and found it. Way to ruin the surprise; but I think that he liked it. I will take a picture tomorrow when the sun is shining so that you all can see it too. After lunch, I came back to a full massage schedule. It was a great afternoon. I sure love being busy. Five massages later and I was headed home. Tim and I made a quick trip up to see Mom, then we came home for some supper. Tim worked his magic on the grill, and we had a delicious meal. Finally, we were headed to bed. Ahh, nothing like crawling into a cozy bed after a long day.

Today, I did NOT want to get out of bed. I finally convinced myself that getting out of bed wouldn't be too bad, but it wasn't easy. After getting to work and getting the office lights and such turned on, I took my car to Big-O to get the oil changed and the tires rotated. I hate having to pay someone else to do it, but there just aren't enough hours to get everything done. I also called and lined up an appointment to get my car worked on next week. My power steering pump is puking out on me, and I need to get it taken care of before it tears up something more expensive. I spent the rest of the morning working at the office. I also shipped out two more Care Packages today, which brings me up to ten total! How great is that!? I am so humbled to know that there are so many people supporting him. It really makes me feel great to know that I am doing my part to support our soldier.

On my lunch break, I ran to the Post Office to drop off my Packages (the ladies who work there know me on sight now), then I headed to Oscheln to get Mom's dogfood. We didn't have a staff meeting today, but my massage schedule was booked up again so I had a busy day. After work, I hurried home as quick as I could so that Tim and I could go fishing on the river in his new boat. We had a few issues though once we got out there, and had to call it off. The boat needs a little more work before it's really ready to tackle the river. We came back to the house, and I made spaghetti for supper. Tim has been over at Josh's house with Mom trying to figure out what's killing Josh's chickens -- So I have been blogging while he was gone.
 

This was the table at work today before I shipped out two more Care Packages!

I am so ready for tomorrow. Thank goodness it's Friday! I get to wear jeans to work. I get to stay in bed an extra hour. And it's the last day of the week! I have been helping Sammie get all Dwain's favorite things at Wal-Mart tonight so that she can send him a Care Package tomorrow. I love that girl! What a great friend! Anyway, Tim and I are watching Waterboy, so I'm going to sign off so that I can enjoy the rest of our evening. Goodnight everyone! Have a great Friday!   :^)
Operation Saheeb -- One Month, One Week, One Day

I Can't Turn That Down!

Today was a great day! It started out like any other morning, but when I got to the office and checked my email -- I HAD AN EMAIL FROM DWAIN! So awesome! He is doing really great. He loves the care packages he has gotten, and he is really looking forward to the ones that are on their way. He will be around a computer for the next month or so, which means that emailing him is probably the best way to reach him. His email is jolliff55@gmail.com if anyone is interested in sending him a few words.

I was really busy -- and productive -- at the office this morning. The phone was ringing off the hook, and I got a lot of jobs done. Mary Sue and I repotted the new ferns, and I got another Care Package sent out to Dwain. This makes five that I have sent him so far. On my lunch break, I took my package to the post office, then headed to the Jay-C store to pick up some things. I wound up getting about five or six bags of stuff to send to Dwain. So, I will be sending out about three more Care Packages tomorrow. It makes me feel like I am doing my part to help him out as much as possible. I am so very proud of him for doing what he is doing. I feel that it's the least I can do to make sure that he doesn't need anything.

I took this picture at the checkout because the conveyor belt was LOADED with stuff to send to Dwain. The little old lady at the register looked at me funny until I explained that it was for Dwain -- She thought that I was just buying a TON of junk food for myself!

After lunch, we had a quick staff meeting, then I did massages all afternoon. My schedule was filled up again! I love it that I am staying so busy! I sure can't complain! It keeps me busy, helps time fly by, and makes for a nice paycheck! I am so very blessed to be so successful. After work, I had planned on getting Chinese with Sammie, but Jessica invited us over for homemade enchiladas -- And I can't turn that down! They were delicious, and it was really great to catch up with her. I have missed her a lot at the office, and I loved seeing her beautiful face. I stayed at Jessica's until about 9:00, then I headed home for the night. I had to make a quick stop and get some supper for Tim, but I got my goodnight kiss, so that made it worth the trip back into town. Finally, I was home! Dixie was really glad to see me, and I was glad to see my PJ's. I have now landed on the couch, and I don't think I'll be moving again for a while. I am planning on going to bed a little early tonight -- I have a busy day tomorrow. Wednesday's are usually a great day for me, and I can't wait to see what this one has in store. Tim is off tomorrow night, so I am looking forward to spending some time with him. I think that I will sign off for the night. I'm getting tired and I need to unwind a bit or I won't sleep very well. Good night all! Have a great Wednesday!   :^)
Operation Saheeb -- One Month, 6 Days

We're Online Again, and Ready to Blog

So, our internet hasn't been working for about a week, and I am so, so far behind on blogging. I don't think I can get you caught up day to day, so I will just do the best that I can. I will apologize now, because I'm sure that there are many things that I am leaving out.

My last post was two weeks ago on Tuesday. The rest of that week went GREAT! My massage schedule was full, so I was busy at work. We had a little bit more rain, but it wasn't too terrible. I can't think of anything super exciting that happened, but it was too long ago to be sure. Ugh, this is going to be a very sucky post. I'm really sorry.

Last weekend, my main plan was to get the yard mowed and kill a turkey. Tim had to work all weekend, so we did a little hunting each morning, but we never had much luck. About the only exciting thing that happened while we were hunting was that we saw a turtle and I got chewed up by nasty sand gnats. They bit me so badly on Sunday and Monday morning that my face swelled up, and I looked like I had acne. It wasn't my best look by any means. Basically, the only other thing I got done last weekend was getting the yard mowed. I had a little help from Grandma Ruth, but it was very overgrown so help was welcome. I should be able to stay on top of it from now on though, provided it doesn't rain on the only days I have time to mow. I really enjoy mowing, so I hope the weather stays nice. I made a Mother's Day supper for my wonderful mother Sunday night, and we watched Burlesque. I love her so much. I really couldn't ask for a better Momma.

I took this on Tuesday morning. You can really see the swelling and redness. I have SOO much make-up on, but it's not covering up much. I got a lot of funny looks that day.

Last week at the office was pretty typical. My massage schedule was booked up again, but I can't complain about that! It's good to be busy, and it pays pretty well too. The rest of the week went pretty quickly. I shipped two care packages to Dwain on Tuesday and one on Thursday. Dr. Bowling agreed to run an office special to collect items to send to Dwain's unit from our patients and also to create business for us too. It's really a great thing, and I feel really good about it. We are already starting to collect a lot of things. I plan on sending out two more packages tomorrow. I have gotten several donations as well to help pay for shipping and buy more items to send him. Thanks so much to the people who have used my "button" to donate with their credit card or Paypal account. I really, really appreciate it!

This weekend was the last weekend we had to get a turkey before season went out for the year. Tim and I made a trip back to Washington after I got home from work on Friday to get a plates and a new registration for his new boat -- Oh, yeah, Tim bought a new John Boat. It's really nice, was a great deal, and I'm really looking forward to spending some time out on the river in it. We got up early Saturday morning and hit the woods to find that Thunder Chicken. They were there, but stayed just out of range. We headed back to the house for a quick shower, then went to watch Tim's brother Josh play baseball at Loogootee. It turned out to be a miserable day, with rain and wind making it cold and blustery. We were there most of the day, then Josh came up to spend the night with us. We woke up again Sunday morning, which was the last day of the season, and headed to finally get that turkey, but the rain and mist had other plans for us. Our turkeys didn't do what we needed them to, so after much deliberation, we called it a bust. I will just have to get my turkey next year. We came back to the house late in the morning, and I made pancakes for breakfast. Tim and I fell asleep on the couch for a couple hours, then I took Josh up to Mom and Dad's house for a tour. It was still rainy and nasty outside, and I didn't see any turkeys anywhere. After I got Tim up from his nap -- Dixie makes a great alarm clock -- he and Josh went out to work on the boat for a little while. Josh left a little before dark and headed back to Warrick county, while Tim and I went up to Mom and Dad's to visit for a while. We came back to the house in time to watch River Monsters, then headed to bed.

Tim's new boat -- There isn't an awning anymore. I think he thought it looked a little bit goofy.

I slept in until about 10:00 this morning, which was really nice, then I got ready to work. I had another full massage schedule today, then I had to hurry home to help the TDS man fix out internet connection. I'm not sure what was wrong with it, but it's fixed now! Thank goodness! I have really missed my internet. We also got an email from Dwain today. He is doing fine. He says "he has been better, but he has also been worse." He is tired because they are working a lot and he is only getting a few hours of sleep a night, but hopefully that will change soon. It's just good to know that everything is going okay with him. I think it is about time for bed now, so I'm going to sign off here, but I promise to never let my blog get away from me like this again. It's too hard to get caught back up, and I hate it that I have forgotten so many things that I could have shared with you all. Good night everyone. I hope you have a great Tuesday!   :^)
Operation Saheeb -- One Month, 5 Days

The Possum and the Shovel

Wow, today was a very interesting, exciting day -- Even more than usual! But first, let me get you caught up on Monday.

Monday was another rainy day here in Southern Indiana. Tim and I thought it would be a grand idea to go turkey hunting first thing Monday morning -- And it was miserable! It was barely sprinkling when we left the house at 6:00 am, but it just kept getting worse. We finally called it quits at 8:15 and came back to the house. We at least saw a hen, so it wasn't a total bust, but it was still not a very good morning. After we got back to the house, we got something to eat and watched The Next Three Days, which wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it wasn't terrible either. Tim wound up falling asleep on the couch, but I stayed up and watched the movie. I think I would have been better off to take a nap. I headed to work a little after lunch for a full day of massages. I am starting the week off really well! After a good day at the office (I was right about my paycheck for last week -- Best EVER!), Sammie and I decided that we needed to make a trip to Mi Pueblo for some Mexican. It was delicious, and exactly what I needed! I love having such a great friend! After work, though, I had some flood water to deal with. It has basically been raining for weeks here, and the ground is so completely saturated that there is nowhere for the excess water to go. So -- It came back up into our house through the drain in our basement. Two flooded basements in two months! COME ON!! Grandma and her sump pump came to the rescue though, and we have been able to keep the water level to a minimum. I think it may even be done raining for a couple days, so fingers crossed, we will be done with flooding soon. I don't know how many more gloomy, rainy days my sanity can take. I need the SUN!! After getting the water pumped out of the basement, I watched a little TV, then headed to bed.

Tuesday started off with a bang, well, more of a bark really. Ten minutes before my alarm went off at 6:30 this morning, Dixie started barking and growling like crazy in the kitchen. She showed no signs of slowing down, and I had no chance for a couple more minutes of sleep, so I got outta bed and went to see what she was fussing at. When I walked in the kitchen, I found her barking through the glass door onto the porch. Well, I didn't see anything there, so I assumed that she was just barking at her reflection in the window (wouldn't be the first time). I couldn't get her to stop, so I walked over and opened the door to show her that there was nothing there. HOLY CRAP! There was something there, RIGHT THERE! I have Sterlite plastic boxes stacked right outside the door with my birdseed in them, and there was a POSSUM sitting in the big bowl on top the stack where I keep my suet cakes. He was just sitting there eating, but he scared the bejeezus out of me when he hissed at me. Dixie bailed out onto the porch, and I didn't know what to do, so I did what any self-respecting farm girl would do -- I went looking for my shotgun! I figured the possum ran out into the yard so I was going to go get him (in flip flops and my bathrobe). Turns out, I couldn't find a shell handy, so I went to the bedroom and grabbed Tim's .45 -- Way overkill I know, but it would have done the job. Turns out, the possum didn't run out into the yard -- He was hiding on the porch underneath our deep freezer. Now what the heck was I going to do?? I couldn't shoot him! What if I hit the porch? Or worse, the deep freezer!? I didn't think I was brave enough (or stupid enough) to try to drag him out, and I didn't want to go back in the house to find something else because I was afraid he would get away. So, being my mother's child, I grabbed the nearest semi-dangerous thing and wielded it like a club to hold him at bay until Tim could get home from work to help me. My weapon of choice? The short handled shovel I keep by the back door to bury scraps (and dead moles) so Dixie can't get them. So imagine what Tim must have thought when he got home. Here I was -- Standing on our porch in my bathrobe and flip flops (with awesome morning "lion's mane" hair, might I add) with a shovel for a club, pistol laying on the freezer, dog going nuts, cat trying to attack anything, with a possum cornered under the freezer. I'm surprised he didn't run as fast as he could in the other direction -- That's nuts! But hilarious! I turned the destruction of the possum over to him (he has more experience) and he made short work of solving our pest problem. So now there is one less possum in the world, and I have to figure out how to get blood stains off our porch. I would hate for someone to get the wrong impression. "No really, officer. I swear it's possum blood. No, I don't have any idea where Tim is. Last time I saw him, he was making fun of my cooking." HAHAHA! So, with all the excitement of the morning, I was a few minutes late getting to work, but I made up for it because I got a LOT accomplished this morning.

On my lunch break, I took Dwain's first care package to the post office to ship. You could not possibly squeeze anything else into that box. My package had a 20 pound weight limit, and I used 17 of those pounds to send my brother as much as I could. I want to be able to send him weekly care packages if possible. The most amazing thing is that the post office only charges $12.20 to ship a Large Flat Rate Box to an APO address! That means that they are reasonably affordable. So as long as I can afford to keep buying him stuff to put IN the care packages, I can afford to SEND the packages. A couple people have said that they would like to help out, so I have added a "Donate" button to my blog so that you can make a monetary donation to my Paypal account (That's where I pay for my shipping labels, and I can transfer it to my bank account to pay for other items). Every little bit helps, and I'm not too proud to turn it away. I would love to send him more packages than he can handle himself, so that he has to share them with the other guys in his unit. I know that he misses home and all the people he cares for, and it means a lot to him that so many people are supporting him. If you want to make a donation, just click the "Donate" button on the right side of the screen, then follow the directions to make a donation. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate the support of our friends and family. We are truly blessed!

After lunch, we had a staff meeting, then I had a full massage schedule. It seemed like the day just flew by, and before I knew it, it was quitting time. I had an appointment after work at Hair by Holly to get the caterpillars taken off my forehead. Sometimes, it just takes a professional to get my eyebrows back in line. Thanks Holly dear! You always do a great job!

Finally, after getting some Wendy's for supper, I was headed "Home, Sweet Home." There was not TOO much water in the basement when I got home, so maybe there is hope that the monsoon season is almost over. I had intentions of being productive, but once again, I have failed. It took me almost an hour to get the "Donate" button on here, but that's because I'm super OCD and I didn't like how it looked, so I kept tweaking it. Total waste of time on my part. Now, it's almost 11:00 and I really need to go to bed, but I didn't accomplish ANY of the things I needed to get done. Oh well, there is always tomorrow I guess. I hope that the yard dries out enough that I can mow tomorrow after work and get the other half of the yard finished, but it may be a little damp still. Too much to do, too little time -- Story of my life! And I don't think it's going to get any better any time soon. I'm just a busy, busy person. I don't think I could be happy if I didn't have so much to do. It's what keeps life interesting -- Though possums on your porch is pretty dang interesting too. I think I'll sign off for the night now. I need to go pump out some more water, then it's bedtime. I've got a busy day tomorrow! But it's going to be a great day -- I just know it! Good night all!   :^)
Operation Saheeb -- Day #22

DWAIN, Turkey Hunting, Work, and Being Busy

The last time I posted was Sunday night -- And I have a LOT to get you caught up on. This week has been one of my busiest ever, so I have really fallen behind on my blog. However, today is Sunday and it's been raining outside, so I have a little time to write and this could take a while.

Let's start with Monday, shall we. I only worked my typical half-day on Monday, but it was a great day. I got to see Henry, who is one of my favorite patients. He is a wonderful man. He reminds me very much of my Grandpa Jack. Henry has a habit of bringing me little thoughtful gifts, and Monday he brought me a Motion Sensing Driveway Monitor, because he was worried about me being by myself at home while Tim is at work. He is so thoughtful. The world needs more Henry's. The rest of my Monday went great. My massage schedule was completely booked up, so that kept me busy. After work, Tim and I went up to Mom's for some bean soup. We came back to the house and watched The Blues Brothers before bed.

Tuesday was the best day I had all week! I had a great morning working at the front desk. Dr. Bowling came in so that I could give him a massage to try to help his sciatica. I got a lot of things done that I needed to get done. The absolute, hands down best part of the day came at 12:04 when I got a call from a very strange number on my phone. My brother's voice was on the other end when I answered! It was SO GOOD to hear that voice. I only talked to him for a few minutes, but it completely made my day. He had spent the better part of ten minutes trying to get someone to answer their phones (Dad was at lunch, my phone was in my pocket, and I didn't feel it vibrate, and Mom was in the shower), but we all got a nice voicemail. I have listened to mine every day since Tuesday. He sounded exhausted because they have been working 20 hour days and it's already 105 degrees there during the day. After a few minutes, I tried calling Mom on the office phone to see if I could get her. She answered! I told her to hang up because Dwain was calling on one phone, and I told Dwain to call Mom on the other phone. It was a great day! The rest of my day wasn't too shabby either. We had a good staff meeting, then my afternoon was booked up with massages. After work, I came home, and Tim and I had a great dinner. We ran out of propane halfway through grilling our turkey, so we made a trip to Mom's to borrow their tank for the night. We also went to listen for turkeys so that Tim would know where to find one Wednesday morning when season came in. We didn't stay up too long though. Tim got his turkey hunting stuff ready, then we went to bed.

Tim got up very early Wednesday morning to go turkey hunting. It was a pretty miserable morning with mist and rain, but he had a very successful morning. Shooting light came in at about 6:30 am, and he called me at 7:00 to tell me that he killed his turkey. That's a short season! He was back at the house by the time I left for work, so I got to see him and his turkey. It was a really nice bird, and he was totally over the moon about it! Once I finally got to work, I spent the morning working the front desk. We only had a couple people on the schedule though, so I was not busy at all. I was able to get a lot done during the down time. I met Sammie for lunch at the Great Wall for some yummy Chinese food, which meant that I ate entirely too much and was miserable for most of the afternoon. I had five massages on Wednesday afternoon for another booked up day. I spent the whole first part of the week working on a Wal-Mart list, and I made that trip to Wally World on Wednesday after work. I had a ton of things to get and wound up spending a couple hours there and more than a couple dollars. I was glad to get that trip over with. I dread going to Wal-Mart more than anything. By the time I made it home and got my groceries unloaded (in the rain), I was very ready for bed. I had done 15 hours of massage in 3 days, and I was tired!

 Tim's Indiana Thunder Chicken -- Killed with the Stick and String!

 LOOK at those Spurs! This is my favorite picture! Such an awesome view!

Now, that is a beard!! 

Different View -- Same Turkey

Thursday (whew, this is taking a while) was another great day! I spent the morning working at the front desk, then had to make another run to Wal-Mart on my lunch break. I forgot to get a couple things for Mom the night before so I got those, and I also got a couple things for Dwain -- I'm putting together a care package for him. Once again, my afternoon massage schedule was full, but I only have 4 appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays instead of 5 like I usually do. I can do five massages a day without burning myself out if I make sure and get adjusted by Dr. Pete and get enough sleep. Those are the two things that I have to do to be able to work hard. I love having a booked up schedule. I like the feeling that comes with working hard. Thursday evening, I went to Wendy's to get supper for Tim and me, then headed home. I had planned on being productive, but once I sat down, I was done for the night. I watched the episodes of Top Shot that I had missed -- Our Direct TV was still not working, so I watched them on the computer. I didn't stay up too long though, because I had a full massage schedule on Friday morning, and I needed my beauty sleep.

I can't tell you how much I love Fridays, but this Friday was a very sad day. Our beautiful Jessica is leaving the office to be a stay-at-home mom, and Friday was her last day. I think she was making a good decision for her family, but I sure am going to miss her. After I got done with my five massages Friday morning (another full day), I stuck around a little bit to visit with Jessica and Sammie. Dr. Bowling and Mary Sue had a sheet cake sent to the office for her, and I ordered some flowers for her. I can't even begin to tell you how much I am going to miss her. I will be stopping to visit with her as often as I can! The rest of Friday was a pretty good day. I had to hurry home, because the Direct TV repairman was supposed to be coming to re-align our satellite. I made it home about an hour later than I wanted to, but Rob the Direct TV technician called me to tell me that he was running late. Turns out, a bunch of their repairmen had quit, so he had to do 11 jobs on Friday. He was a super nice man, and got our TV going again in no time. He still had to drive all the way back to Washington before he was done for the day. Now, that's a long, unending day. I sent him home with a piece of Peanut Butter Pie. I always feel that a little bit of kindness usually comes back to you in some way, so maybe someday when I'm having a tough day, someone will make my day just a little bit better. That's how my Momma and Pop raised me, and I'm very proud of it. I didn't really do much else productive on Friday. It was kinda nice to just lay around after such a long week. I worked 39 hours last week, and of those, 24 were massages. That's the best paycheck I have ever had -- Woo Hoo!! I love knowing that I have worked for my money -- It makes enjoying the things that I buy even better.  I got my turkey hunting stuff laid out before going to bed on Friday -- Saturday was my opening day of Turkey Season (I hadn't been able to go yet because of work). The only other thing I did on Friday was watch a couple episodes of River Monsters, and I got a care package together to send to Dwain. I just have to wait on my Flat Rate Boxes to get here. I'm planning on sending him a package every week that he is gone. I sure do miss that boy. I went to bed on Friday beyond excited about going turkey hunting in the morning.

I woke up very early on Saturday. I was headed to the woods before 6:00 am to find my Thunder Chicken. I got my decoys all set up, then settled in to wait. I heard a couple gobbles, but didn't see anything until a little after 9:00. I am almost ashamed to say that I was fighting to stay awake by this point. It was just really peaceful and quiet out there in the woods, and I didn't get enough sleep the night before. I must have dozed off, because I opened my eyes and noticed that there were 4 turkeys in my decoy spread instead of the 3 that I had put out there. And he had a beard!! I sat up as quiet as I could and got my gun pulled up. He didn't have a clue that I was there! What a turkey he was too -- His beard was almost touching the ground! I took my time getting him in my scope and getting ready to take my shot. I was kind of disappointed in him really because he was boring. No strutting, no gobbling. He didn't attack the decoy -- Nothing. He was just walking through the decoys like he didn't have a care in the world. Finally, I felt I was ready to take my shot -- and -- I missed. Please insert very sad face here. I guess I must have flinched or picked my head up or something. My shot went right over the top of him, and he flew off into the trees. I thought about taking another shot at him duck hunter style while he was in the air, but decided against it. Those shotgun shells are expensive. Talk about depressing -- I could have cried! I stuck around for a couple more hours, but all I saw was a couple hens and DC, my Mom's cat. I gave up at about Noon because my stomach was making enough noise to scare off a deaf turkey. After getting a bite to eat for lunch, I laid down on the couch for a little while, then I started working in the yard. I picked up a bunch of sticks in the yard and got ready to mow the yard. I was going to try to push mow our whole yard, which is about an acre and hadn't been mowed yet this year. Needless to say, the grass was tall and very hard to mow. I started mowing at about 5:30. By the time it got too dark to see anymore, I had been mowing for 3 hours. I got the entire west side of the driveway done and part of the other side. I still have about half of it to mow, but it rained this morning, so it's probably not going to happen today. I really do enjoy mowing, but when I feel like I am clearing a field, it's not that fun. I went to Mom and Dad's for supper last night, then came home for a quick shower and bed.

My plan for this morning (hooray, I finally have you caught up to Sunday) was to go turkey hunting again, but it was absolutely POURING down rain this morning, so I went back to bed. I got up and have been being pretty lazy all day. I have got a couple sewing projects I am working on, but I don't really plan on doing too many productive things today. I would really like to finish my mowing, but I don't think that it is dry enough to do that today. I might try to clean up the house some as well, but today seems like a perfect day to be lazy. I would like to go do something with Sammie and Jessica, but I'm not sure what they are up to today. I'll try to call them after I get done with this post. Sundays are the days that I miss my brother the most. Sundays are the days that we have called each other in the last two years to catch up on life. We would talk for a couple hours usually. When he was home, Sundays were our family days. We spent the day with each other. Yup, I miss Dwain a lot today. I hope that the next time he calls, we can talk for a while, but that won't be for a couple weeks I think. He said something about being away from the base for a while.

Anyone wanting to send Dwain letters or care packages can do so by using this address:

 

LCpl Jolliff, Dwain A.

2D CEB SPT CO

Direct Support North

Unit 73595

FPO AE 09510-3595

The best way to send him letters is to use Motomail.us. It's a free service that lets you send him a letter that will get there in only a couple days. It's like one-way email. You send the letter, then someone prints it out and takes it to him. He can't send anything back that way, but it's great to send him news from home.

Well, now my afternoon has gotten away from me. It has taken me a long time to write this post. I need to go be productive again. Maybe, maybe not. Tim should be heading back home anytime now. He went to Lake Erie on a fishing trip, but he left his phone charger at home, so I haven't been able to talk to him much. I'm sure he will have some good stories to tell. If it doesn't rain us out again, we are going to go turkey hunting again in the morning. Ok, now I'm really going to get busy. I can't just waste a whole day like this. There is too much to do. Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their Sunday! Later Gators!!  :^)
Operation Saheeb -- Day #20