five by five

that's faith-speak for "okay."  i'm okay today.  sad.  achy.  but okay.


it's been five years.  

i miss him.

i wish i could have seen leyton today.  and mom.  and - oh, wait, i did see phil.  *laugh*  and i saw mom yesterday and spent the day w/ leyton on saturday, so really i got them all in.  i even got to see anthony briefly on thursday, so that's all good!  


still, seeing them today would have been nice, as well.  


as it is, i didn't do anything i had planned or thought to have planned.  i stayed home all day.  i didn't sleep in too terribly late -just 9, i think?  i don't even remember.  whatever time phil came by w/ the weed wacker is about when i got up.  i watched buffy, and then summer school & elf for some comedy.  i finished One For The Money and started Two For The Dough.  gonna hafta see if beards still has the other books - tho i'm sure they've been long donated to a library or something!  lol  ah well, i'll just have to find them.  these books are quite hook-tastic.  they do use Jesus as a swear WAY TOO MUCH, tho.  :|  that's always disappointing to me.  i hate when something i love does that.  (Morning Glory, i'm looking at you!  *frowny face*)


anyway, idk what took me so long to read these books!  gette was raving about them forever, and i've had books one & two for years.  ah well, i guess it took katherine heigle to make me interested in them!  *laugh*  i will say, they remind me a little of sue grafton's alphabet books, tho.  i love kinsey milhone, the attitude & everything!  i think i read thru book M, and then aunt sharon stopped reading them or something, and i couldn't afford to buy hardbacks, so i sorta stopped.  A is for Alibi is still one of my favorite books, tho!!  : )  


so, it was nice spending the day lounging on the couch reading.  i made a pumpkin cake, too, but i think i should have added some pumpkin pie spices & such to it before baking.  it's a little too "canned pumpkin"-y.  ah well, at least it's moist!  if i remember, i'll bring it in to work tomorrow & see if anyone likes it.  


i hope your halloween was good.  tomorrow begins NOVEMBER, which in case you missed the memo, begins the let's celebrate carrie month!  : )  also, grammy will be 97 on november 8th.  and boo & bret both have november bdays, as well.  so it's not really ALL about me.  ; )  


ttfn.  

retro leyton as a vampire halloween picture to bring a smile.  

: ) 

time

today was pretty nice.  very blessed!  i didn't sleep late, but it was past 6:30, so it still counts as "sleeping in."  : )  i finished my light street book, read People, watched buffy, had apples w/ pb, cheese, & olives for breakfast.  not all together, just the apples & pb!  LOL  


for lunch, i met mom & PHIL at red robin.  it was so nice hanging out w/ phil - we hadn't all eaten together for a looooong time.  mom was thinking last thanksgiving... eep!  anyway, we had some nice talks & good hang-out time.  : )  and a delicious onion ring tower w/ lots of ranch.  i had my usual banzai burger (no bun).  


after lunch, mom & i went to see In Time.  oh my goodness, this was a gooooood movie!  one of the bf's that i share w/ marianne, matt bomer, was in the beginning.  : )  and justin timberlake is actually a pretty good actor.  he needs to work on his crying, but otherwise, thumbs up!  heh.  


when i got home, i watched an ellen page double feature, juno & whip it.  enjoyed!  worked on mom & phil's calendars - i think i'm done, so now i just have to order them.  : )  then back to buffy, and oh!  one of the previews at the movie was for One For The Money & it looks so good!  when katherine heigel was cast, i read a lot of comments that were upset at her being stephanie plum.  however, i haven't read the books yet, so i don't have any vision in my head of stephanie, and from that perspective, she looked like she was doing a good job of it!  heh.  well, then when i put my light street book in the library, i remembered that someone (beards?  maybe?) had given me a couple books, so i checked my shelves & sure enough, i have One For The Money!  woot!  so that's to be my next story.  : )  


now i think i'm off to bed... i'm thankful to have tomorrow off to rest.  the funny movie marathon is still an option, but idk if i want to leave the house at all tomorrow.  we'll see.  i might have to go out to get an rx refill, so if that's the case then i'll likely stop at the movie store as well.  


hope your weekend went well!  


ttfn!  

day out w/ leyton

i picked leyton up at 9:30 w/o a clear picture of what we were going to do today.  *laugh*  i figured he would want to go to HQ or the Pavilion, but wasn't sure.  when he got into the car, he said, "i know what we're gonna do today.  i have plans!"  LOL  so we went to the pavilion for awhile.  they don't open til 10 on saturdays, so we got there a little early.  unfortunately, leyton decided JUST at that time that he had to go to the loo.  RIGHTNOW!!  :(  i was able to distract him long enough for the doors to open, but i felt bad having to do so!  there's just not much around the pavilion that would be open!  

anywhoo, they're preparing for some new & exciting stuff coming in november - including the CAN DO project - donating over 300, 000 cans of food after they're made into a combine or tractor... which is going to be displayed center stage in the pavilion later in november.  i'll have pictures then.  LOL  so, because they're preparing, they have moved some stuff around, taken some stuff out, etc.  the gator was moved & after we visited the loo, that was where we spent most of our time!  we played cops & he wrote out some tickets to a classic tractor... 

while there, leyton made a new girlfriend, katie.  she was so cute & wanted leyton to hold her hand!  : )  he was too busy leading her from thing to thing, but they had fun for a bit.  : )  i talked w/ the lady w/ her - who turned out to be her grandmother.  oh. my. goodness.  this gal, kara, looked to be my age at the oldest.  NOT old enough to be a grandmother to a 4 year old!!  ya know how sometimes ppl tell you how old they are & you act shocked but really you were pretty spot on to their age?  yeah, this is one time it was nothing like that.  LOL  i was literally shocked when she said katie was her granddaugther!  

we didn't stay at the pavilion very long after they'd played on the last tractor, because leyton was ready to go to the JD Store & play w/ the toys there.  heh.  

we bought a couple things & then headed to the car.  he wanted to go to gramma's, but i knew she had plans before church today, so i told him he would have to call her & see if it was okay to go over there.  i also texted jen & phil to make sure that was *coughahemcough* kosher. 

everyone said sure & leyton was a happy guy!  : )  first, we went to WM & picked up some yogurt & meat & bread & TP & whatnots.  leyton normally doesn't ride in the cart for the whole time, but he did today!  *laugh*  

we saw a friend's mom in the pickle aisle & again at checkout.  leyton was excited!  oh, and we almost left w/o one of the main reasons i went in there - postcards!  yeesh!  i'd done that at the JD Store as well - i want to send a couple postcards along w/ my letter to the 2011 Letters Project, so i paid for the toys & then remembered about the cards!  heh.  all's good now, tho!  


next, we went over to IHOP for some pancake lunchings.  mmmm pancake!  the food was great, but it was like the restaurant was falling apart otherwise - they were out of lemons & tomatoes, there was no TP in the bathroom - and no hand towels, either!  :|  and they weren't that busy, but we had to wait for longer than is appropriate to be seated!  oye.  (i think it's cuz they were shortstaffed & one of the servers went on a break, at least that's partly the explanation!  LOL)  anyway, we had fun, so there ya go.  : )  AND there was an excavator & dump truck working RIGHT out the window...heh!!

after lunch, we stopped at home to put away the groceries.  leyton played w/ chloe & her friends while i did that.  chloe the little neighbor girl, not chloe my car.  LOL  in case you were confused... ; )  then it was off to gramma/dad's to play in the sandbox for 1/2 an hour before naptime!  

 leyton climbs on the porch.  aunt carrie tells him he probably shouldn't do that.  

dad comes along & explains WHY he shouldn't... : )  

while leyton napped, i chatted w/ mom - we decided to go see Matt Bomer & some other ppl in a little flick called In Time, tomorrow afternoon.  we're also going to do dinner at red robin cuz she has a gift card!  woot!  i also read some of my book & had a little nap of my own.  *laugh*  when i went in to get him up at 5, i laid down at the foot of the bed for a few minutes & then we were poking at each other for a few more.  *laugh*  he likes to poke at my glasses... silly!  


we took the Lionel Train catalogue w/ us for him to look at on the way back to marty's.  he likes us to read "stories" to him from it.  : )  i think it's the cutest thing!!  i think i'm going to get him a train magazine for christmas... anyway!  we stopped at mcd's for a quick dinner & then back to marty's.  *hugs* & see you laters & home for me.  


i finally remembered to get my mail!  People, a thinking of you card from aunt janie, and a bunch of postcards!  the one from juneau is from cousin jenni.  : )  i also got a card from a russian postcrosser, but it's a little to risque to share.  

i hope your saturday was beautiful & not too snowy!  yikes!  all that snow & it's not even halloween!  i am a little frightened for this winter... 


ttfn!

good

sleepy!  


today i ... 


had a good day at work.


made some tastefully simple sales.


ate a really good lunch of soup & deli meat & cheese.


went to the grocery store.


fixed a scrumptious new recipe of apple chicken w/ cream sauce for myself & erin.


chatted w/ erin over dinner & pandora.  : )  


did not get to chat w/ april.  *pout*


ate some M & M's.


watched & LOVED the first episode of Once Upon A Time.


emailed uncle terry.


wished i could email daddy.  


watched some clips of Dirty Soap.
wondered why i can't watch full episodes.
wished to be friends w/ the soap stars.  : )  


tomorrow i'm ... 


picking up leyton at 9:30-ish (was going to be 9 when jen said they'd be at the house, but now they're at marty's, so if i leave at 9, i won't get there til about 9:30.  and i am NOT waking up 1/2 an hour earlier because they're across the river! LOL).


hopefully going to IHOP for lunch.  i have a hankerin for pancakes & sausage!


going to try & remember to call aunt jan about going to a movie when i take leyton back to marty's.


*****
what's up for you this weekend?


ttfn!

chicken noodles

thanks to my dear friend trish for a wonderful thursday night!!  we chatted, we ate chicken & noodles - which WERE as good as grammy's!, we watched funny shows & then the main event!  no, not the world series, sorry. *laugh*  Secret Circle!!  i quite liked it, too, and was invited back for the show next week, too.  woot!  : )  


jen texed while i was over there, asking if i could take anthony to get something for a school project, because she's not feeling well.  i said sure, i'd pick him up when i came home.  we went down to the dollar store, but they were out of regular balloons.  bummer!  from there, we walked over to WM & they had balloons for less than a dollar, so, score!  : )  he said a proper thank you when i dropped him off, and was a happy teenager, which i always like to see... 


the work day was ... how to say?  interesting.  *laugh*  at one point i had about 5 conversations going at once, well not at ONCE but one after the other - i made 3 phone calls to follow up on a few things, and had to leave messages at 2.  then, while i was on the line w/ the third one, another call or returned my call, and before i could call back the other person returned my call!  plus ppl were coming up to me to drop off payment for their tastefully simple orders, ask what is going on w/ the boo grams (according to our calculations, everyone who wanted to participate has been boo'd), or IMing me about the new mailbox i'll be taking over next month!  


whew!  i wanted to read at lunch - started a new book, a 43 Light Street by Rebecca York.  however, there was a lady already in my reading nook, and i didn't want to plop on the ground, even tho my reading nook is cement stairs, so it's not really warmer than the ground.  lol  


when i got home tonight, i watched the latest pan am.  i really, really enjoy that show!!  and this ep had guest appearances by scott wolf (Wolf in the 10th Kingdom, Gilmore Girls...) and goran visnjic (sp?) from ER.  mmmm yes, please!   : )  


what else?  tomorrow, i'm taking my car back to the dealership & then heading in to work.  today i called around a bit to ask about gas caps.  a generic cap is only $12 or so, but it wouldn't be warrantied for a year, and it wouldn't be tethered to the car.  so, i'm going w/ the over-priced GM original replacement gas cap & paying the crazy-ridiculous price.  saves me the headache!  i also inquired around about the cruise control switch, and was quoted $400-500 for JUST that service.  so, i guess the dealership isn't quite as overpriced as everyone keeps telling me they are... or at least not for the switch/labor!  ?!  lol  


after work, erin's coming over to hang out & i'm making ... something ... for dinner.  *laugh*  might just be soup & chicken!  or meatballs... hmm.  idk, but i can tell you that i cannot WAIT for grocery day!!  *laugh*  


i hope your day went well!  ttfn!! 

the chair has been accepted

angel took over the chair the minute it came in... LOL  she explored it under & over & finally settled... 

i was boo'd today.  in a good way!  : )  

they're YUMMY!  chocolate & pecan in a pretzel.  nom nom nom!  


so, did i say that aunt jan called to say she MIGHT want me to go w/ her to peoria saturday for a casting crowns concert?  they have the title song in the movie Courageous.  have you seen it yet?  my dad was a man of courage.  he loved the Lord, his family, his friends, random ppl on the street, and was always there to lend a helping hand to any & all of them.  i remember sometimes feeling resentful - for brief, brief moments - of the "special" ppl he would help.  now, i see that he was teaching us by example.  and it's not that i didn't LIKE the "special" ppl.  i really did - they were all super nice, and i was glad that dad was there to help them w/ whatever it was they needed at a given time.  


he's my inspiration.  : ) 


anyway, that was a tangent!  the trip - idk if it's going to work out or not - leaving that up to God, as all things are!  i think i would like to go, tho... so we'll see.  


tried to watch some GH but the computer wasn't liking it today - tho i did watch terra nova.  : )  i'm too tired to deal w/ more, so i put in buffy because it's ... well, easier.  *laugh*  i love my buffy!!!  i got to chat w/ april again (yay!!) & even w/ joy a little on the FB (yay yay!).  now i think it's time to read a little & get to bed.  a little earlier than midnight maybe??  ; )  we'll see!  


ttfn!

holy gas cap, batman!

So, this morning I took my car to the dealership to find out what’s going on w/ my exhaust system, which OnStar generously informed me of.  My check engine light is on as well, and my cruise isn’t working.  Tho, truthfully, my cruise stopped working consistently a while ago, but whenever I’d mention it at a check up, they said it was working fine for them.  So idk what one is to take from that!  it’s not like I don’t know how to work the cruise… anyway!  I brought it in at 7, and the gal who did the intake said they’d call in a couple hours to let me know what they found & how much it would be, etc., etc.  9:30 came – no call.  11:30 came – no call.  So I called them, but she wasn’t at her desk, so I had to leave a message.  12:50 came – no call.  VERY ANNOYED at that point!  But I didn’t want to call AGAIN – it’s not like I want to be a difficult customer, but come on! 

finally, around 1, the call came.  with an apology about not getting back to me earlier, so that was nice.  : )  turns out my cruise control's not working because it needs a new switch.  and my "exhaust leak" issue - the seal on my gas cap is worn down.  LOL  well, pretty good for nearly 6 years, i guess!  so, the total bill for labor & parts will be over $300.  *shocky face*  i've got to call tomorrow & see what the difference in labor is if i just replace the gas cap (which is $28) & not the switch right now (which is $50).  i'm thinking the labor on replacing a gas cap shouldn't be too much... the switch is in the steering column, so i can see a more labor intensive job there.  still, i don't have an extra $300 this paycheck to dole out on something i don't absolutely need.  i've made several trips w/o the cruise - it's a luxury (like my remote start that doesn't work anymore, phhht) not a necessity.  i guess.  LOL 

Other than that frustration, today was nice! I actually took my ½ an hour break – still ate at my desk & worked, but after that I went outside & sat on a stoop & read my Betty Neels for ½ an hour.  Oh how I love her stories!  Her heroes are always professors, doctors, teachers and quite a bit older than the heroine, usually.  LOVE IT!  of course, I’M now quite a bit older than all her heroines, as they usually are in their early to mid twenties.  I guess in the 70’s in England/Holland ppl got married young.  (oh, wait, they still do!  LOL  and in the US, too – just not me.  phhhht)  Anyway, i got to read outside for a bit after work, also, because marty worked about 20 minutes longer than i did!  : )  

now i'm home & going to try to watch GH & read a bit before mom gets here.  she's giving me an old cushy chair of hers, which i THINK i will put in the living room, altho eventually when i get my library squared away i think it will live there.  : )  she's also bringing me SUBWAY!  what a nice mama i have!  ppl shouldn't be mean to her.  she is a giver & her attitude has improved 100% since the days when i thought she hated me... she still gets that tone in her voice sometimes, and i try to point it out to her now, to help her cuz she doesn't usually know she's doing it.  

anyway!  : )  how was YOUR day??  what'd you have for dinner?  do share!  

ttfn!

nail polish

i painted my nails w/ the sparkly polish erin sent me.  : ) the paint job's not pretty, but the color is!  


work was fun today!  we're doing a secret halloween gift swap - kinda like secret santa, only no drawing names & it's just a one-time thing.  i got to "boo" my ppl today.  and they liked their gifts!  yay!  : )  also, my wall-mate & i were on a roll at the end of the day.  LOL  lots of laughter, lots of fun - and lots of work got done, don't worry!  


AND today i set up the date for my turtle cake!  thanks, nicki!  i'll remember to take pictures for y'all.  *bounce*


when i got home, i curled up w/ my betty neels & texted back & forth w/ trish.  i'm going over there for dinner (she's making chicken & noodles, yay!!  another friend & i were just talking about how much i'm going to miss them this year at grammy's christmas, since we're not having it *cry*) & to watch my first official episode of secret circle.  i love the books so much... 


then april sent me a message & so i logged on & tried to chat w/ her.  but my computer froze.  twice.  baaah!  meanwhile, there was drama going on w/ ... well, other things.  oye.  i'm doing my best to stay out of it!  finally i was able to chat w/ april for a few minutes, but then my brother called & she had to go to bed, so... ah well.  


now, back to my book for a little bit, finish this episode of buffy, and then BED!  i feel like i need a mental health day, but i'm taking vacation on monday to honor dad, so there ya go.


i hope YOUR day was enjoyable!  : )  *HUGS*


ttfn!

Let's talk about swap, baby!

so, a little while ago, i entered kaileen's sparkle swap.  it sounded like a lot of fun - enter & send someone a package of something soothing, sweet, sparkly, and a surprise, and get one in return.  hello, have we met?  i LOVE sending (and receiving) pressies!  : )  so i shot off a comment or email to kaileen - after reading thru some of her blogs, because she was rec'd by micaela, but i still wanted to see what she was about before i sent out my address, ya know??  : )  she's got a really neat blog!  she's taking a refreshing break from blogging right now, but her past posts are still worth checking out.  kaileen's good ppl!  


also good ppl, nadine-adele, who was my giftee.  i know i already wrote about the trouble i had sending her gift, BUT am happy to report that after all that, it arrived to her in the UK after only a week of travel!  hooray!  and she enjoyed her gifties.  : )  that always makes me feel good!  


erin was my gifter of swap swag.  she did GREAT!  not in small part due to the fact that she & i must have the same taste in gifts!  : )  

my favorite tubey cookies, twinings tea, cocoa & mint cocoa mmmm!, sparkly nail polish & a cuuuuute bookmark that she made!  love love!  

THANK YOU, erin!  i've already painted my pinky w/ the lovely black diamond nail polish.  i may do the rest of the nails, even!  it was a very nice surprise for me at my door!  : ) 


now it's time for bed, i think.  maybe a chapter or two first... : )  the rest of my day in brief - work was pretty good, hectic, tho!  and a couple things irritated me, but whadda ya do?  smile & try not to stress out.  LOL  there was a scrumptious potato & leek soup from the cafe for lunch, and a baked potato for dinner.  mmmm, so good!  (apparently i was in the mood for potatoes today...)  i finished Holding the Baby & started a betty neels from back in the day - it was published the year i was born!  it's called  The Edge of Winter.  wanna know the cover price?  SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS!  ikr, amazing!  you could buy a book or a gallon of gas for that...interesting - now they will both cost you btwn $3-5 for the same kind of book/gas!  


anywhoo!  i have labs in the morning at 9, so i started the required 12 hour fast at 9 tonight.  i tried to stave off any hunger pains by eating a bowl of oatmeal w/ PB right at like 8:45, but alas, my tummy is hungry!  normally i would have had my PB w/ cheese right before bed, to fill my tummy while i slept.  i know some schools of thought say you shouldn't eat right before bed, but i've always had to have something in my stomach or i feel sick.  which is why i HATE fasting labs.  :(  i know i'm not going to starve or anything dire like that, but just the way my metabolism is, it's highly uncomfortable for me!  (listen to me whine - i'm very grateful it's only 12 hours & not days ppl have to go w/o food, i know how blessed i am!)


so, i watched The Death of The Incredible Hulk (why didn't i remember he actually DIES?  yeesh!) & Transformers, and now sleep really sounds divine!  hope your day was sparkly goodness!  : ) 


ttfn!