10/31/2010 Happy Halloween-Our First Pot-Luck

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Today found us making yet another trip to town. Everyday without fail it seems. We’re glad it isn’t any further away then the 10 miles it is.

Every time we go in to Lowe’s or Home Depot we look at carpet, ceramic tile, peel and stick tile, linoleum, laminate flooring but we never make a choice as to what we want. And time is running out. We just can’t agree. He wants carpet in the living room and bedroom with peel and stick in the kitchen, hall and bath. I want laminate throughout with a good sized area rug in the living room, a hall runner, and throw rugs elsewhere.

We also look at paint chips. I like one color, he likes it but wants it lighter. Again, we can’t agree. He likes pastel colors where I like the medium tone colors of the desert. I get aggravated, throw my hands up and say, “Then paint it white!”

We have so much to do and not a whole lot of time before we move out for the season. Pretty soon everyone will be here and activities will start and we’ll be busy with that.

So this Halloween brought us our first neighborhood get together. Well, that isn’t quite right since there are only three of us on our street so far. Our friends at the end of the street, Wayne and Marge invited us over for dinner along with a half dozen other couples for smoked pork loins that cooked all day. Everyone brought a dish to share so there was plenty to go round.

Nobody walked away hungry!

It wasn’t long before night fell and the Trick or Treater’s were walking the streets of Arizona City in search of bite sized morsels of chocolate and hard candies. There was a table at the front entrance for all the kids to get a treat as they walked by the RV park.

There was a Halloween dance this year but neither Bob or I were really in the spirit of the Halloween holiday this year so we stayed home. Besides the World Series was on and we didn’t want to miss a game.

November tomorrow….its hard to believe.

30 Days of Truth - Day 14 - A Hero That Has Let You Down

Ok, this is another one I really had to think about. When I think of who would qualify as my “hero” my dad and my husband come to mind. They are my only two “heroes”. If this question is asking for a person whom I admire…well, that’s different.

I’m going with that. The first one that comes to mind would be Tiger Woods. I did, no, I still do admire him for this golfing ability. As an individual he has fallen off that celebrity pedestal I had him perched on. I have to say I was truly taken aback when his, uh, “activities” were made public. To me he was such a gentleman, a true man of character. He seemed above reproach. He was a superstar! People of all backgrounds and ages, around the world, looked up to this young man. He had so much going for him, a beautiful wife, adorable children, a stream of income with no end in sight, endorsements out the ying-yang and youngsters all over the land that wanted to grown up and be just like him. A true role model. Or so we thought. And then….it was done. He wasn’t the superstar anymore. He wasn’t the gentleman I thought he was. The beautiful wife and children are gone, the endorsements have been dropped, (some, not all) and his golf game suffered. And for what? Because he couldn’t keep it in his pants? Oh please! I hope she they were worth it Tiger because they cost you dearly. Yes, I’ll still watch you play golf on TV only from now on instead of watching with admiration I’ll be watching with pity. You had it all and you let not only your family and yourself down, you let us down too.

This is the “hero” that let me down.

10/30/2010 Picking Out Stone

Today we went to town to pick out stone. Gravel. There is no grass here in the desert so everyone spreads gravel to keep down the desert weeds. Some have red gravel/stone, some white, some gray, some a multi-color.

We took a good sized sample with us in an empty coffee can to try to match it. We found out that our lot has a mixture of two types of stone so we aren’t going to be able to match it after all. They had both types that make up our lot now so we just had to make a choice. One of them was 3/8 inch round which means no sharp corners. Easier to walk on in your bare feet if you had to. The other? Not so forgiving on the feet, sharper edges, points and the color just wasn’t as pretty.

Out of the two the one we picked cost the least so that made me happy. When he said $17.00 per ton I was as happy as could be. Bob figured out we needed four tons so I had $68.00 planted firmly in my mind. Uh-uh. Forget that. We’re not getting a minimum of ten tons so we have a forty dollar delivery charge! I wasn’t such a happy camper anymore. It will be delivered at 8:30 a.m. on Monday.

We headed home, Bob puttered around the house and I headed to the pool. I’m slowly but surely getting that summer tan back.

30 Days of Truth - Day 13 - A Band or Artist That Has Gotten You Through Some Tough Times

I thought about this one and thought about it. I like music. That said, it is not the end all, be all for me. I can sing along with an oldie but don't ask me who sang it unless its a no brainer like the Beatles, The Stones, The Temptations or The Supremes. Throw in the Beach Boys, Elton John and a few others and I can identify those.

So I can't apply this question to my life, I can't say that a band or an artist gotten me through a bad time listening to their music. I wouldn't have turned to music, I would have turned to a friend or family member in a bad time.

This is my truth.

10/29/2010 WHAT Is He Doing???

Let me give you a clue. It has to do with our next door neighbors getting a new roof last year.

Bob was walking near the truck and something caught his eye. When he picked up and realized what it was he was hoping there wasn’t any of these in our tires already! Our neighbor got a new roof last year and when the roofers pulled the old shingles off the ,,,, I guess you call them roofing nails although they look like large staples,,, were just discarded on the ground. The ground being covered by gravel we never noticed them. Until now. Of course last year we didn’t park on this side either and rarely walked in this area.

Bob first concocted this small magnet, maybe two or three inches long, and a stick and I don’t even know how it was all connected and he was trying to gather the nails/staples with this contraption and it just wasn’t gettin’ it.

I asked a few people in the park if anyone had a metal detector. No one did. Art, a friend of ours, suggested we get a magnet from Home Depot. It would come attached to a handle and was probably 10-12 inches wide. Well, alright! That would work! So this morning we went into town and got this the magnet/long handle thing. it works well!

We didn’t count how many of these nails/staples he picked up but I would guess a couple of dozen.

He swept the magnet over the area several times and he couldn’t get anymore so we now feel safe in parking the truck back in this area.

He’s glad this is over!

Our weather has been just delightful as we’re in the 90’s everyday. I wish it could be like this all winter. We are hearing this is going to be a warmer than usual winter and we’re hoping that’s right!

30 Days of Truth - Day 12 - Something You Never Get Complimented On

I never, EVER, get complimented on my singing. Of course, I can't carry a tune in a bucket so that may be why.

I never, EVER, get complimented on my fashion sense. I'm a fulltimer I live in shorts and T's or jeans and sweatshirts, therefore I have none.

I never, EVER, get complimented on my cooking other than a "that was good" from the hubster. It's because I don't ever cook for anyone else.

I can't think of anything that I do that warrants a compliment. I'm not especially outstanding in anything. So I can’t think of anything I do that I feel as though I SHOULD get complimented on but don’t.

Just average...and happy about it.

10/28/2010 Another Day of the Challenge

Well, we go the truck back today. They called mid-morning and said it was done and that if Bob was ready they would dispatch someone to come get him and bring him back to the dealership. The mechanics saw what was wrong and feel confident in their steps to correct it. It took bending a pipe that's all I know. Yesterday I said that I was right about it being cha-ching, cha-ching. I'd like to pull that comment back. It wasn't cha-ching, cha-ching, it was......

CHA-CHING, CHA-CHING !!!

Of course this is coming from the Queen of Cheap. Let's just say our bill was closer to four figures than two.

I spent the afternoon at the pool again and it was HOT, HOT, HOT! I could sit out for about twenty minutes then had to go in to cool off. We're hittin' 95 or close to it. Of course its dry heat. Dry or not, ninety five is hot!

No leaves today for a subject break. I'm on a different computer.

30 Days of Truth - Day 11 Something People Seem to Compliment You Most On

This is toss up. Its either my hair or my nails.

I have a head full of thick, curly/wavy hair that I don't have to do anything to it. I don't color it so I don't have to deal with that. As a kid I would do anything to straighten it. As a young teen in the late 60's / early 70's long straight hair was all the rage. Mine was long, but not straight. I used to sleep on the largest rollers I could find, think orange juice can sized, to get the curl to relax some. Every night. I never did go as far as ironing it although that idea crossed my mind a time or two.

Today, I'm lovin' the curls! I wash it, towel dry, run my fingers through it and I'm done.

My nails also get equal billing. I have my own with the exception of the occaisional nail break that goes too far down sometimes and its just better to get a nail tip on it or an acrylic overlay until it grows out. My nail are very strong so that doesn't happen to often. I do get my nails done every week as that is my one self indulgence.

However, I am past due for a haircut and I don't have a speck of polish on my nails right now.

10/27/2010 Pools

We’re all about the pool today.

I spent the day next to the pool soaking up rays and going for the occasional dip because it was just freakin’ hot in the sun. I did take notice that when I got there at noon I was the only one there which surprised me on such a beautiful day. It seems that most of the pool go-ers don’t show up till three. I just couldn’t wait till that late hour to go. Of course, I’m there trying to get my tan back (tans sure fade fast) so I wanted to be there for quite awhile.

Bob played pool this afternoon with our friend Wayne. This was the first time since last spring for both of them so they just played “practice” games.

This afternoon I made my rounds to our friends are participating in our World Series Baseball pool. Nine participants, one for each inning. I made up little squares of paper numbered one through nine and each player picked one and whatever number was on their paper represented what inning was theirs. Everyone threw a dollar in the pot and whichever inning produces the most runs….whoever has that inning, wins.

Our truck is in the shop. Remember that cha-ching, cha-ching sound I heard? I was right and that’s all I say about that.

30 Days of Truth - Day 10 - Someone You Need to Let Go or Wish You Didn’t Know

I’m happy to reply to this one. There is no one in my life that I need to let go or wish I didn’t know. Anyone who would have ever fallen into that category for me is already gone. Good riddance to them!

10/26/2010 30 Days of Truth / Day 9

I’m going right into the 30 Days of Truth Challenge because we didn’t do a darn thing worth writing about. I did walk though! I am keeping up with that! YAY ME!

30 Days of Truth/Day 9 Someone You Didn’t Want To Let Go Of …...But Drifted

Yes, I have someone in my life that I didn’t want to let go of but we drifted anyway.

There’s a lot of friends that I’ve had that I’m not close with anymore, some that I never see or talk to and that’s ok. I have a saying on the sidebar of my blog that goes like this…

There comes a point in your life when you realize:
Who matters,
Who never did,
Who won't anymore...
And who always will..
So, don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

I firmly believe this and I think all of those people in my past were there for a reason if only for a season or two.

However, there is one that I think about often, that I wish was still in my life but isn’t anymore. Its not all her fault, its mine too. In fact, its a relative of mine. A cousin. At one time we were very close but then things started changing. She was always telling me that she would email me about this or that, but nothing ever showed up in my mailbox. I would leave messages for her to call but my phone didn’t ring. It seemed like I was always the one reaching out to keep our relationship going but she wasn’t putting any effort into it in return. Sure, I could have kept calling but I have feelings too. We never had any bad words between us. It’s a shame, I valued our relationship and I miss her but it couldn’t be one-sided. Like any relationship, both parties have to be present, both have to give something and I wasn’t willing to beat this dead horse anymore. I just gave up.

I truly hope she thinks about me once in awhile, I hope she misses me and I hope that somewhere down the road we re-connect before its too late. I honestly don’t know if I’ll make that first move, I know I should, but I don’t hear my phone ringing or see her return address in my mailbox when I read my email. Communication lines run both ways. Stubborn on my part? Probably, but I don’t know if I could take yet another sign of indifference or rejection from her.

That’s my truth.

10/25/2010 It Never Goes As Planned

Bob got an early start this morning because he was taking The Beast to the Ford dealership in town to find out what this sucking air, whistling, fan belt squealing sound is. When he started the truck and took off he heard the sound repeatedly, it comes, stops, comes again, stops again, returns….and then it was gone. By the time he got to the dealership the sound wasn’t there anymore. Aggravating!

Since they had no vehicles in the bays he did take the opportunity to get fuel filters changed out as we were past due on that. Before he left he made arrangements to drop the truck off late tomorrow afternoon so that they will have the truck in the morning and they can take it for a ride starting with a cold engine. It seems that is when it makes the noise. I have a feeling this one is going to cost us BIG. Just a gut feeling and I’m hoping I’m wrong but alls I can hear is cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. As it was after fuel filters we were nearly $200.00 poorer. Oh I long for the days when you popped the hood and there was more space than engine! Back in the days when the average guy could work his truck. They are so computerized now one is lucky if you can add windshield washer!

So he spent the afternoon washing the truck and he started to get a coating of wax on it.

I, on the other hand, got the laundry caught up. One whole load but it was something to do.

I’m still doing the walking thing! I walk the perimeter twice each day and ride my bike around twice. Its a start and I really plan on keeping up with it. I do want to get a set of …the word escapes me… think Walkman and you’ll know what I mean.

The Arizona State Fair is going on right now and we’re planning on going Friday. It’s Military Appreciation Day and there will be no admission fee….so what the heck, we might as well go. It will get us out of the park because we’re starting to go stir crazy. We’ve got park fever and we have to get of here for a day.

A friend of mine from Delaware, Kris K. and her neighbors made this display in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, baseball and the fall season. Notice the pink outfit, the pumpkins and ta’s ta’s are made to look like baseballs although in this picture its hard to see the stitching,,,but look close.

This picture is titled as: Are you ready for this?

SAVE 2ND BASE

30 Days of Truth - Day 8 Someone Who Had Made Your Life Hell or Treated You Badly

Oh boy. I have two that I would love to throw under the bus here.

I have started this and deleted it so many times. I can’t write this out. Both are on my no longer a part of my life list.

One stole my heart and stomped on it. One stole my friendship and trust and threw them away. I’m upset sitting here just thinking over the details of each instance again and I have to say that this is one question I just can’t elaborate on. It is not worth to me. They are not worth it to me. Neither one is worth more of my time, what it would take to tell the story.

Not worth it, I can’t do it.

10/24/2010 It’s Hell Without Wheels

It makes for a long weekend when you don’t have wheels. We HAVE wheels we just don’t think its a good idea to use the truck until we can find out where this noise is coming from and get it fixed. It will go in the shop in tomorrow.

We really didn’t do much of anything today. Watched some football, I read, Bob puttered, I walked, we both rode our bikes. Just a day in which we existed. If we had wheels, it would have been different!

30 Days of Truth - Day 7 - Someone Who Has Made Your Life Worth Living

I could write the obvious, my mom, my dad, my husband, my only sibling and those choices would all be right. Each and every one have made life worthwhile, worth living. I can’t imagine life without any one of those four people. Each and every one of them have had a hand in making me who I am today.

However, I’m going to step outside the box here. I would say that collectively, my girlfriends have made my life worth living. The women in my life are a fantastic bunch. We share joy, sorrow, ups and downs, good times and bad and they are always standing at the ready when I’m in need. Whether it be I need a shoulder to cry on, someone to laugh with, someone to vent to, someone to play with, someone to travel with, they are there. Always.

It isn’t just one girlfriend that meets all these needs, each girlfriend fulfills a different area. So that’s my answer, collectively, my girlfriends make life worth living.

Susan, Lourie, Dianne, Cindy, Elaine, LaVon, Michelle, Kelly, Kathy, Karen, Judy, Sandy and the list goes on…. you have all made my life worth living and I thank you.

10/23/2010 I Screamed & Jumped From the Bed!

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I told you that Bob woke me up in the middle of the night because he left his fishing poles in the old rig? Well, last night was pay back time.

Let me start this by telling you that we have two lights, pretty bright ones, that sit atop two wall posts in the back and to the right of our park model. They belong to the park and they are just decorative lighting.

Ok, so last night I had the blinds open just a little bit, I just forgot to close them all the way so they were letting a little bit of this light in. By no means was the room bright but I could make out things like the chair, the ceiling fan, a lamp, you get the idea. For some reason I woke up at 2:30 this morning. I’m laying there, eyes open, thinking about who knows what and something caught my eye. I could have sworn it was moving. It was hanging from the ceiling fan and it seemed to making its way down, closer to the bed. Not close yet, but definitely moving down as far as I could tell. And it was getting bigger. Much bigger! I’m laying there watching this spider hang there. Did I ever mention I am deathly afraid of spiders? Deathly. I will avoid a spider at all costs. My skin is crawling as I type this. So I’m laying there watching this thing and I’m frozen. I can’t move. Right before my eyes, four, four and a half feet above my head I’m watching this black creature now stretch its legs and its as big as a softball. And I still can’t move. I tried to yell Bob’s name but nothing came out. My heart was beating a million miles a minute. My mind was racing. I couldn’t call out for help. I still couldn’t move. Then all of a sudden I got a rush of adrenaline from somewhere and I let out this scream, jumped out of bed and ran to the door. Bob is up now, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? What are you doing? What’s wrong?” I couldn’t get anything out. I just stood by the door debating if I wanted to turn the light on. What if when I ran by the air current caught this creature off guard and it fell to the bed and its now crawling over the SHEETS I have to sleep on???? Worse yet, what if it fell to the floor and was crawling towards me, this black furry spider the size of a softball. I flipped the light on and hanging from the ceiling was the chain and pull, just dangling there. Damn, my imagination really ran away with me on that one. It was so real! In the meantime, Bob is still asking what’s wrong. I told him nothing, I thought I saw something, go back to sleep. I heard him mutter, “Dammit, I’m up now, I’ll never get back to sleep.” It was a long time before I went back to sleep too, I couldn’t take my eyes off that darn fan pull. I didn’t want to give it a chance to morph into anything else. What a night!

Today Bob added another outside electrical outlet to the side of the park model. You just can’t have too many of those things.

He has now decided that he has too many tools. I never thought I’d hear those words from him. He has declared that this spring, when the park is full, he is having a tool yard sale. They have to go, he says, he has no use for 50 flathead screwdrivers in assorted sizes, assorted color handles. I’ll believe it when I see it.

I’m working on a new exercise program. I figure it will last till next Tuesday when I’ll say, “Oh, forget this!” I started walking yesterday. I walked around the perimeter of the park twice and also today with an additional two trips by bike. For the past two days I’ve also done something, well actually, I don’t think I’ve EVER done this before…..I had breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now that I think about it, I did have three meals a day when I was in basic training in the Army but that was only because they made me. So like I said, this will probably last until next Tuesday, but I’m tryin’.

We aren’t leaving the park this weekend because we have to take the truck to the engine doctor on Monday and we don’t want to get stranded anywhere.

Our Phillies are out of the playoffs. It was gut wrenching to watch but they gave us a great season. Next year guys, next year.

30 Days of Truth – Day 6 - Something You Hope You Never Have To Do.

I would venture to say that 99% of the people who do this challenge are going to have the same answer.

I would imagine that everyone who has children will write that they hope they never have to bury a child. Certainly acceptable and understandable. Since I don’t have any natural born children this stock answer doesn’t work for me. However, it is easily adaptable to my answer.

I hope that I don’t ever have to attend a family member’s funeral if they are YOUNGER than me!

Wow…this one was short and sweet.

10/22/2010 Are We Under A Black Cloud?

Nothing seems to be going right lately. I know we really aren’t under a black cloud and its just a coincidence that all these things are happening, or not happening, within a few days.

It started the day before yesterday when I called the Texas Motor Vehicle to see if they received any paperwork from the dealership in Michigan where we bought the new rig. No, they hadn’t received anything which means we can’t get the 5th wheel registered yet. Its in storage so it’s OK that it sits there with expired temporary tags but this is something we would like to get completed.

Ok, so I call the dealership. Yes, they sent it out but NOT to the TMV, they sent it to US. The lady gave me a tracking number because it was sent via express mail to our address in Texas and she could even tell me who signed for it. I told her I would call our mail forwarding service and get back to her.

I called the Escapee’s office and told them that I was looking for a piece of mail that was delivered on September 27 and I gave the name of who signed for it. I wasn’t on hold long and the young lady came back and said yes, they did receive and it was sent to us in our package when we were in Kansas. Nope, sorry, it was not in our package I told her. She said that she would call the person whose mail was packed right after ours to see if it was put in their package by mistake. She went on to say that rarely, if ever, happens but she would check because after all the work is done by humans and mistakes can happen. She called right back and no, they didn’t get any mail that didn’t belong to them.

So here we are, an important piece of mail, a very important piece of mail, is missing. I called the dealership again and told Cindy what my conversation was with our mail forwarding service. She was kinda, sorta at a loss for words because the paperwork she sent us HAS to be originals for the registration. Copies just won’t do and Texas has confirmed this, original paperwork, not copies must be used.

So now Cindy has to contact Carriage, have them duplicate all the pertinent paperwork, send it to Michigan, they’ll re-do their portion of the paperwork and send it to us again. Cindy went on to tell me that this has not happened to her before and she has no idea how long this process will take. Alrighty then. I asked Cindy to keep me informed of every step that is taking place and I gave her my phone number and email address. I haven’t heard a darn thing from her. I called her today to find out if she contacted Carriage as yet but I forgot about the time difference and the office was already closed for the day. I’ll call again Monday.

So, today I called the mail order service that Bob will get his prescriptions from. Early in the week we had an issue with the amount of the pills prescribed and needed to get it changed. Bob waited on hold for 42 minutes, oh he was not a happy camper, and then needed some info that I had but since I had taken the trash up to the bin he couldn’t get everything taken care of. He told the lady on the phone (Libby) he wasn’t waiting 42 minutes again and she gave him her cell phone number that he could call when I returned. We thought that was very nice of her. Of course just mere minutes after he hung up from her I walked through the door. I called her right back and left a message in her voice mail the info she needed from me. Today…..I called to find out the status of the prescription and the Express Scripts tells me they have no prescription on file for Bob. Oh no. This can’t be happening. I called the direct line to Libby’s cell phone and left a message. Within minutes she called back and said that the prescription has to be signed by the doctor and he hasn’t been in all week but will be there Monday morning. She assured me she would get it signed first thing and get it faxed over.

The truck. Still don’t know what’s wrong with it. Bob is checking out everything he can but it looks like a trip to the mechanic is in order. Our checkbook is cringing already.

On a happy note….. How would you like to take part every day in feeding the hungry, both human and animal? I’m glad you said YES! To help feed the human side go to www.Freerice.com. For every word you define correctly, this UN World Food Programme site donates ten grains of rice to countries coping with chronic hunger. Its very easy and quick. You are given an everyday word and then 4 one word definitions. You click on the right one and ten grains of rice show up on the plate to the right. Before you know it you have a bowlful. The words are simple so it takes only a second to pick the right definition.

Want to feed dogs in shelters? Go to www.freekibble.com. Answer a trivia question correctly and 10 pieces of kibble are donated. This took just seconds to do.

If you are a cat lover you can do the same thing, Go to www.freekibblekat.com and answer the trivia question there.

I’ll put all three of these sites in my favorites and in my normal morning computer routine I’ll take a few minutes and make a difference in someone’s life by contributing food and I’ll make sure tiny tummies in animal shelters across the land have kibble. So much to give in such a short amount of time. Won’t you join me?

30 Days of Truth - Day 5 Something You Hope To Do in Your Life

These questions really make me think.

I have to pull out the ol’ Bucket List for this one. Oddly, there isn’t anything on my Bucket List anymore. I’ve done them all. I’ve gone in a hot air balloon, I’ve gone white water rafting, I’ve done the parasailing thing, I’ve jumped out of the airplane. My list is empty.

Is this where I’m supposed to write something noble like find the cure for cancer or bring about world peace? Well that’s not gonna happen!

Something I want to do in my life….. I guess to continue our travels and visit all 50 states. We have eleven left and that is certainly doable and that just doesn’t seem worthy to list in this challenge.

I wanna be slim again. LMAO…oh yeah right, like that’s gonna happen, I’d have better luck at world peace.

Ok, here’s one because I truly don’t know if this is a possibility for me. Oh wait, possibility yes, probability, I don’t know. I would love to use our Space Available flight benefit that we have to travel to other countries. There is so much to see in this wonderful country of ours but I’d love to see Italy, Austria, Belgium, England and more of Germany. While we’re at it let’s throw in Greece and Egypt.. Take note that France wasn’t in that list. Nope, no desire to go there. So yes, its a possibility and something I’d really like to do….I just gotta work on Bob.

10/21/2010 Rain in the Desert

Woke up early this morning, six thirty! What was I thinking? Actually it was the pitter patter of raindrops on the roof that woke me. That’s a sound we don’t hear often in the desert during the time we’re here. It cleared by mid-morning but the day was on the cool side, I don’t think it got out of the 70’s today.

Bob took advantage of the cool day and polished all the chrome on The Beast. He also spent quite a bit of time trying to get answers to the “sucking air” sound we have via the forums on the Internet. Usually those guys come through for him but today he got 300 different causes for that sound. He’s working at narrowing it down.

Since it was a cool day I baked a cake. And Google came to the rescue when I couldn’t get the darn thing out of the pan. I had never had that problem before and when I googled “can’t get cake out of pan” I found out that a whole lotta people have had this problem because there was site after site listed to give you suggestions on how to fix the problem. Seems I left mine cooling too long. It was an easy fix, I just had to put hot water in a bigger pan than my cake pan and set the cake in it. Five minutes later my cake was free! How did we ever live without Google????

Our Phillies won tonight! They HAD to win so it was a sit on the edge of our seat every time the Giants were up kind of game for us. Game six on Saturday.

30 Days of Truth - Day 4 - Something You Have to Forgive Someone Else For.

I have been thinking about this one and thinking about it. I have gone all the way back to my teen years trying to think of something that I have to forgive someone for. I can’t think of a darn thing.

To me, to forgive means much more than “gettin’ over it” If I was to have an argument with someone and they really crossed the line with their words but a few hours later everything was hunky-dory, well that is just gettin’ over it.

Now if you really screwed me over like telling a major lie about me or telling a major lie to me, making a pass at my husband, using me, or anything else of that magnitude then that would call for forgiveness. Of course if you did any of those things to me I would kick you to the curb so fast you wouldn’t know what hit you. I don’t mean I would literally kick you, it means that I would banish you from my life so fast your head would spin. I guess the term forgive and forget doesn’t apply to me. I don’t ever forget! Those who have crossed this line with me don’t get the time of day from me. I will be the best friend you’ve ever had but screw me over in a major way and you’re history and there is no chance of getting back into my good graces. There are four such people who used to be in my life. I choose not to forgive. Actually, there’s nothing to forgive, they are just gone,they don’t even exist for me. This is my truth.

10/20/2010 Nothing Went Right For Him Today!

My poor Bob. He had one of those days where everything he touched fell apart in his hands, he didn’t have the right tool for the job, the truck is acting up….I felt so bad for him.

We planted some more plants today and Bob got our solar lights up in the “backyard” I’ll have to get pics tomorrow.

We went over to the 5th wheel which is in storage today to make sure all the doors were locked. Bob just had a nagging feeling that one was open. There wasn’t but now he has piece of mind.

He wanted to drain the water out of the hot water heater, something that wasn’t done. He didn’t have the right tool with him.

On the way, the whole mile that we drove, we heard this “sucking air” sound. Something else to find and fix on the truck.

It’s been a helluva day and now our Phillie’s aren’t doing too well as I write this,,,but there’s still one inning left.

30 Days of Truth - Day 3 - Something You Have To Forgive Yourself For.

I had no problem figuring out what this was going to be for me.

I am a step-mother. The wicked step-mother. My husband’s two sons came to live with us six months after we were married. It lasted six weeks. Them living with us, not the marriage. Let me preface this with that I never, ever wanted children. After six weeks with us these two boys, 5 and 7, went to live with a wonderful foster family close by to us. I just couldn’t handle having two kids coming into a brand new marriage unexpectedly.

Over the next year there were weekend visits and for several months, one evening a week, I took the boys on my own. I did this to get to know them one on one. I really tried, I wanted this to work.

After a year passed, we went to court to get them out of foster care and back into our home on a full time basis. I thought I was ready for this. Actually, I felt guilty as hell that they were in foster care because I couldn’t handle them from the git go. Now I look back and say to myself, “What the hell were you thinking?” What made me think that if I took steps to make sure I never had my OWN children that I was going to be happy raising someone else’s. I don’t care if they were my husband’s. They weren’t mine.

Shortly after they arrived, we went into Family Counseling. Every week, every Wednesday evening for 90 minutes. We talked, we yelled, we cried and I continually asked myself “why”. WHY did I put the four of us into this situation? I certainly didn’t do it for ME. I did it for my husband, after all, they were his sons. I did it because I thought they would be better off with me than with HER! After all, they were taken from HER for neglect. Wrong reasons.

Did I take care of these kids? Yes. They had perfect attendance in school, they went to the dentist twice a year, their clothes were always clean, I helped them with homework, I taught them manners, took them to amusement parks and I resented every minute of it.

Did I love these kids? No. I feel so bad about that. They missed out on the heartfelt hugs and I love you’s every child should have. That’s not to say I didn’t ever hug them, but they were few and far between.

This went on for 8 years. At 13 & 15 when they hit that mouthy, teenage, know it all stage I had reached my limit. Back to their mom they went. I should have never done that and I’ll take full responsibility, for it was my decision and my ultimatum to my husband. She was much more interested in being their friend rather than a parent. Neither one ever attended school again.

I need to get past this. I need to forgive myself for not loving those little boys. Today, they are grown men with families of their own. I honestly think they have forgiven me. In fact, when they were 20 & 22 they came to the house one day and thanked me. When I asked what for they said for all I did for them when they lived with us. They told me they were sorry they talked back and worked at making my life miserable because they could see now that they would have been better off had they stayed. They would have at least graduated from high school better prepared for the world ahead of them.

I should have worked harder at loving them. I could have opened my heart instead of being resentful of the time and money it took to take care of them. I would do it differently if I had the chance. Shoulda, coulda, woulda.

Snookie, it’s 23 years later, they are fine, responsible men. You did what you were capable of, its ok, let it go.

10/19/2010 Yet ANOTHER Trip to Town.

Do you remember a few days ago I told you that Bob and I decided we were going to cut waaayyyy down on our trips to town? Well, we went again today. We’ve gone EVERYDAY so far. At least one of us has made a trip every single day. And we’re not done yet. We have to go pick out the stone for our landscaping, we have to pick out flooring materials, we have to pick out paint and we have to go furniture shopping. Today’s trip got flower planting out of the way,,,well, at least a start.

Bob chopped up the Organ Pipe cactus that we lost and got it tied up so that it can be carted away.

After our trip into town we got busy planting plants.

Now I can’t take credit for the hanging planter, I didn’t plant that, but see that scrawny little plant in the pot on top of the railing? THAT’S MINE!

Here’s another horticultural masterpiece.

The wind kicked up pretty good so we had to put everything away to finish up tomorrow. I can’t wait to get this planted!

We had stuffed peppers for dinner, something we haven’t had for quite awhile.

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings….a trip to town perhaps?

30 Days of Truth - Day 2 - Something You Love About Yourself

Hate. Love. Both very strong emotions and not something I’m comfortable talking about when it pertains to a way I feel about myself. I am hardly an egocentric or a narcissist so this is difficult at best.

But I have to pick something because it’s how the challenge goes.

Ok, I LOVE that I’m a good friend. Loyal to a fault sometimes. I’ve heard someone say about me…..”If Snookie is your friend, you have a friend for life.” That’s true. Susan and I have been friends for 51 years. Lourie and I go back forty three. I have high school girlfriends I still keep in touch with and childhood friends that I still call on their birthdays every year.

I’m the kind of friend that if you are going to make a mistake I do my best to stop you. If you need encouragement I’m the one there beatin’ the drum and waving the flag. If you’re in trouble, call me and I’ll be there in a flash. If someone hurts you, point them out and I’ll go kick them in the shin. You need a shoulder, use mine.

Am I the perfect friend? Heavens no. Sometimes I miss a sign that a friend needs a good listener and I’m running my mouth instead. Those are the times that “I” need a friend I guess.

They say if when you die, you have five true friends, then you have lived a rich life. To have good friends. you have to be a good friend. If I die tomorrow, I’ll die wealthy. Very wealthy.

10/18/2010 We’ve Added a Whole Lot to the Workload

The 5th wheel was put in storage this morning, everything has found a place in the park model with the exception of one bag of little stuff. So that’s done.

Bob made yet another trip into town to pick up some parts he ordered and to stop in at the VFW to say hello to his friends there.

I took a bunch of books over to the library here in the park because frankly, I had so many I couldn’t find homes for them all. I’m sure some of them will still be on the shelves when I’m ready to read them. If not, I saw dozens more that I would like to read.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Arizona. I think our high was 88 degrees with no humidity to speak of. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

The winter residents are really starting to come in now. More everyday are arriving. It won’t be long now and we’ll all be singing, “Hail, Hail the Gang’s All Here'”

This afternoon Bob and I sat down and worked out a plan of improvements we want to make to the park model in the next two months. We’ll put new flooring in throughout, paint the interior with the exception of the ceilings and work on the landscaping. Quite a lot on our plate, wouldn’t you say? This will probably call for a trip to town tomorrow!

30 Days of Truth - Day 1 - Something You Hate About Yourself

Whoo boy! HATE is such a strong word, isn’t it? I have several things I don’t like about myself,,,,but HATE? I gave this a lot of thought and here’s what I came up with. I just know I’m going to get some emails on this one. Friends, save your keystrokes, anything you’ll tell me, I’ve already told myself, dozens hundreds of times.

I don’t take care of myself, medically speaking. What this means is that I don’t do what I’m supposed to do. I don’t get a physical every year, maybe once every five and that’s a big maybe. The doctor always wants blood work and that involves needles and I don’t do needles! Mammograms. Nope. Did one at 50 because my sister-in-law found out she had breast cancer. Did one again at 52 because a certain forever friend in lower, slower Delaware wouldn’t get off my ass about it. I haven’t been back and I have a reason for that. I won’t ever, EVER do chemotherapy. No way, no how, I just won’t do it and that seems to be the fixit drug for this. So why bother?

A GYN visit…..my folder in that office surely has cobwebs on it. Let’s just say I’m coming up on the 20th anniversary since my presence has graced that doorway.

I don’t take the pills I’m supposed to take. I should be on Lipitor but they make my joints ache and hurt so I stopped that.

Yes, its a conscious decision on my part. I was never a doctor person. I wasn’t taken to the doctor for every little sniffle and scrapped knee as a kid and with the exception of getting my tonsils out at 16 and my appendix out at 32 I have not been in the hospital.

Why this aversion to doctors? I can only relate it to a bad experience I had as a kid with a bout of tonsillitis and a rough and gruff family doctor that made a house call one night. Evidently he didn’t appreciate getting called out and took it out on my butt when he gave me that shot of penicillin. I will avoid a needle at all costs today because of that.

Am I sorry I don’t do the check-up things that I should? Today, no. A couple of years from now,,,perhaps. Fifteen years from now? Probably. Am I shaving years off my life? Most likely. Am I going to change? Uh-uh. Am I happy or proud of this? Nope.

But its my truth. After reading this through, I can now say, I HATE this about myself. I can also say it won’t change.

10/17/2010 Thirty Days Of Truth

Well the rig is all cleaned and ready to be put away. Well, almost. We have to drape the furniture and counters with sheets to keep any dust off but other than that its ready for the storage lot. You can bet this year we’ll button her up tight, we don’t want to have to go through what we did last year! Remember this?

After spending an hour and half in the laundry room doing 5 loads of clothes/towels/sheets, we had a nice Sunday dinner and then settled in to watch our Phillies. THEY WON!

The following seems to be the latest craze in the world of blogging. In addition to your regular post you answer one question per day for the next 30 days. Thought provoking questions, some that will make you dig deep.

I’m asking all of you, men and women, to join me in this 30 Days of Truth. If you write a blog and want to do it there, fine and if you don’t write a blog write your answer in a comment here on this blog. You can sign in as an anonymous commenter and your identity doesn’t have to be known if you prefer it that way. Of course, this IS all about TRUTH. So join me, and we’ll take this journey into our hearts and minds together. (If for some reason you can’t comment send me your answer in an email and I’ll post it just as it is for you. Send to Snookie Q at America On Line dot com.

Your answer can be one sentence, several sentences or a bunch of paragraphs. There is no right way or wrong way to do this, just your way.

Are you up for the challenge? We start tomorrow!

30 Days of Truth:

Day 1: Something you hate about yourself
Day 2: Something you love about yourself
Day 3:Something you have to forgive yourself for
Day 4: Something you have to forgive someone else for
Day 5: Something you hope to do in your life
Day 6: Something you hope you never have to do
Day 7: Someone who has made your life worth living
Day 8: Someone who has made your life hell or treated you badly
Day 9: Someone you didn't want to let go, but who drifted
Day 10: Someone you need to let go, or wish you didn't know
Day 11: Something people seem to compliment you the most on
Day 12: Something you never get compliments on
Day 13: A band or artist that has gotten you through some tough times
Day 14: A hero that has let you down
Day 15: Something or someone you couldn't live without
Day 16: Something or someone you could definitely live without
Day 17: A book you've read that changed your view on something
Day 18: Your views on gay marriage
Day 19: What is your opinion of religion?
Day 20: Your views on drugs and alcohol.
Day 21: (Scenario) Your best friend is in a car accident and you got into a fight a couple of hours before. What do you do?
Day 22: Something you wish you hadn't done in your life
Day 23: Something you wish you had done in your life
Day 24: Make a playlist to someone and explain why you chose those songs
Day 25: The reason you believe you're still alive today
Day 26: Have you ever thought about giving up on life?
Day 27: What's the best thing you've got going for you right now?
Day 28: What would you do if you got pregnant (or got someone pregnant) right now?
Day 29: Something you hope to change about yourself
Day 30: A letter to yourself

10/16/2010 We’re Done!

Everything that is going to be moved to the Park Model is there. And mostly put away. I think I have one bag of “stuff” that needs to find a home.

Boy, are we beat! Doing all this in the heat we’ve had this week really takes it out of you.

Tomorrow we’ll spend a few hours thoroughly cleaning the 5th wheel and getting it ready for its ten weeks in storage. Now that I think about it, it will probably be 9 weeks because we’ll need to bring the rig back here to fill it again. One good thing, there will be a lot less food the next time around.

After dinner, our first in the park model, we watched the Phillies play. This Phillies phan was really disappointed. Hopefully, they’ll come back strong and take the rest of the games. We are really hoping they go to the World Series.

10/12 – 10/15/2010 Purge, Purge, Purge

The Great Purge of 2010! We are going full steam ahead clearing out unwanted items.

I started with kitchen cabinets and cleaned out more than half of the dishes for which I had a lot of one of a kinds. Gone! Serving bowls made of metal. Gone! Serving platter with Easter eggs painted on it. Gone! I have so much room now! That’s really a good thing because I’ve been dragging Corning Ware serving pieces around the country that I don’t use anywhere but here when I have to make something for a large group. They now have a permanent home which gives me more room in the 5th wheel.

Bob cleaned out the shed. There was so much room in there now it wasn’t even funny! Of course it was quickly filled again with things we’ve been carrying with us in the 5th wheel. Things you don’t use often and if the truth be told, things we don’t use anymore but we paid good money for and we just can’t bear to part with it yet. Maybe this spring he’ll go through the shed again and make a decision to let go.

Clothes that we left here. I went through them and was able to pick out some that I know we aren’t going to wear again. They are now bagged up and ready for Goodwill.

We started bringing things over from the 5th wheel that will stay permanently in the park model and then the rest of the stuff that we’ll need for the next 10 weeks. We played it smart and didn’t bring all of our clothes over because in two and a half months we’ll have to take them back.

We made so many trips with just food.

This is what I started with …..

….and when I was done I had this!

And it was packed in there!

I told you there were some things left here by the previous owners. Well, one particular item caught my eye. Coffee creamer. Bob likes his coffee black and i wondered why I was hanging on to this. I looked at the date on it.

Yes, that sell by date is Oct 2008! Of course it found its way to the garbage can.

In fact I can do one better than that! I’ve been carrying these dried beans around since,,,,well, look for yourself.

I must have packed these from the HOUSE back in 06! You guessed it, GONE!

There are two cans of Mandarin Oranges in my cupboard. I didn’t buy them. They were left here by the previous owners. I tried to throw them out last spring because the use by date was 09. Bob insisted they are still good and that he would eat them. I still have them. If they aren’t gone by December 31st….GONE!

We’ve made trips to town nearly every day since we’ve gotten here. A new hose was needed one day. Some new locks for an outside compartment on the park model was needed another day. We went to look at carpeting on another because we are putting new carpet in the park model. A trip to Goodwill was another day and we were loaded! I bring this up because we decided on the way here that we were going to make as few trips as possible to town. So much for those plans, huh?

On one of the trips I got this for you LaVon!

10/11/2010 Ahhhh,,,Quail Run at Last

We had an easy run this morning, a little more than a hundred miles. Interstate all the way. On the road after the major Monday morning traffic. A good ride. An easy ride. Now at this point you are expecting me to tell you what went wrong aren’t you? If you answered yes, then I have only one thing to say to you. GOTCHA! It was a smooth ride!

We both said at the same time, “There’s Picacho Peak.”

Then we saw our first Saguaro Cactus. However, it does look like this one is ailing and needs some help standing up.

Ahhh….back in our winter playground.

The cotton is ready for picking.

We pulled into Quail Run around noon and made arrangements for a site for a week. We usually would be given a site to park our rig in for three days to off load our belongings into the park model but we need a full week for all we have to do.

We got the closest site to our park model that there is. That will make it so much easier when we start taking our stuff over.

I had a question from a reader asking about the park model and what we will do with our new rig. We bought the park model in ‘09, you can see a picture of it in our sidebar and if you want to see inside of it CLICK HERE. We’ll store our 5th wheel about a mile away in a walled, camera patrolled, live in resident manager, storage lot.

We wanted the extra time because we want to really clean the park model out of stuff we just don’t use. Everyone told us not to get rid of anything the first year because we didn’t know what we would use and what we wouldn’t. Remember, it was fully furnished. So we listened and now we know what has to go. A lot.

There is another reason for the great purge of 2010. We’re only going to be in our park model for about 10 weeks. Starting January 1st it is rented out until March 31st. Our neighbors sent out an email wanting to know if anyone wanted to rent their park model to their family members and Bob and I decided we would. For one thing, it will cover our land rental fee for the year and this will give us an opportunity to live in the new 5th wheel while under warranty. If something is going to go wrong with it we’d rather know sooner than later.

I took a walk around to see who was here already and was very happy to see several of our friends. Every day now more will arrive.

Over the summer we lost an “Organ Pipe” cactus in our yard.

Oranges are just starting to turn.

Inside we were happy to find that the jugs of water we left all around still had at least a quarter of the water left.

One of the first jobs was to take sheets off everything.

Table for two?

We were very happy to find that there was no dust on the counters and the windowsills were clean.

Bob had lots of leaves to clean up outside.

But at 5 p.m. it was still very hot, even in the shade, so not a whole lot got done.

There’s always tomorrow…..