Tomorrow is our 20th wedding anniversary.  We both have to work but have Friday off, so we are going out for a nice dinner to a place we go only for special occasions. 

   On July 4th, we will go to Hubby`s parents.  They have a heart shaped, man made pond that you can ride paddle boats on, fish or swim if you like to swim with fish and mud.  I don`t know how to swim and I wouldn`t like other things swimming with me anyway!  We have lots of good stuff to eat, and play volleyball and just visit with friends and relatives we may not have seen since last year.

   Our vacation starts July 3 till the 20th.  We have some kitchen work to do,  I want to paint the cupboard doors, and we want to paint the bottom part of the living room walls below the boarder white.  I just love to make small changes, it makes such a big difference.

  We will also be taking curtains down and washing the windows in the whole house, an every year thing.  We do summer cleaning, not spring because it`s when we have time.

  I got a new to me reconditioned dryer on Monday.  Our old one broke during the winter.  I will still hang things outside if it ever stops raining, but it`s so nice to be able to dry the small stuff and everything if I need to.  I had forgotten how nice and soft they get and how nice they smell.

   I hope I relax and unwind enough to be able to sleep better while we are off.  I usually only sleep 5 hours or so, and wake up at least 3 times a night, and sometimes it`s hard to get back to sleep.  Then I count the time I have left if I could get to sleep right NOW!  But, it doesn`t happen.  Then I feel like my feet  are stuck in the mud all day, and I have to walk and move quick at my job.

   It is getting late and I am cutting myself short on sleep time again.

   Have a wonderful July 4th, everyone!

                  That Girl

It was really hot and humid today.  I didn`t realise it because I was in air conditioning all day at work.  I got in the car to come home and put the back windows down about halfway.  The AC in my car does not work and the driver`s side window sometimes won`t go up, so this is the best way to get air in a hot car that`s been sitting in a parking lot all day.  I guess there were some storm warnings out because I heard some one talking about it at work.  On my way home, the wind was really blowing, about 60 mph the news said.  It was very hard to keep the car steady on the road.  I thought maybe the wind was catching and going through the back windows so I put them up.  It still was difficult to stay put on the road.  Dirt and dust and branches were flying all around.  I got home and found the tree in our circle driveway broken, a large, fat branch that was half the tree was down.  The neighbor said he was in his garage and heard a big CRACK sound.  I`m not sure if Hubby can save the tree, he hasn`t seen it yet.  They will probably work on it this weekend.  We had just a few sprinkles of rain, some lightening, a couple rumbles of thunder, and 60 mph wind.  I don`t like storms unless someone is with me.  My cat is not a good protecter, he`s a big chicken!

   Well, must get busy, the evening is going by fast!

             That Girl

Just wanted to take a minute to tell you about my lunch with my friends at work. Three of us that work together, me, one guy and another girl, met another girl that used to work there for lunch at the chicken house down the street from work.  We talked and laughed so much that my cheeks hurt!  I don`t even remember eating it was so much fun, but I must have because my plate was empty.  We took a little longer lunch than usual, and it just flew by.  We promised not to let so much time go by again, and decided to have a cookout at her house some time this summer, she lives an hour away.  I hope we do.

   It has been raining and cool here.  I wonder wher summer is?

   My DD has her car back now, it`s fixed and I can park in the garage again.  She still needs brakes,  has a power steering fluid leak, and needs her seat belt fixed.  I was going to go to the award banquet tonight for the little league that DD coachs,  but I`m tired from laughing and  I was out in the rain a lot today and I have a frizzy hair problem, so I`m home.  Glad tomorrow is Friday!

  Thank you all for your comments,  I love it!

            That Girl

   There is a relaxing, gentle rain falling this evening.  It makes me even more tired after a full day of work but it is a nice tired.  Work has been rough for the past few days, but it is better now.  Because of the low morale and the people with attitude, work has given me an attitude that I don`t like.  I am not that kind of person.  The attitude is only about work.  I don`t want to be like any of them.  I am praying to not let work get to me.  I only have a little time left before I take early retirement.  After I am home again, the stress will go away, I will have more time to get back to my Bible, and can concentrate on being the wife God wants me to be.  I am always saying I don`t have time for what ever it may be, and I`m tired of that.  I will have time.  I want to take good care of my Hubby and home, and put God first where He should be.

   My DD got a new to her car on Saturday, and it is now in our garage torn apart.  It quit on her Saturday night.  I needs a new alternator, all new brakes, and has a power steering leak.  Hubby and his best friend are waiting for the alternator to come in to at least get it running.  DD is so dissappointed.  She got it from her boss who wants her to start second shift on Monday. so we thought it was reliable.  It is a nice little car so once we get the kinks out it should be okay.

   Tomorrow 3 of my friends from out in the lab where I work (I got moved to customer service) are meeting a girl that used to work there for lunch.  We haven`t seen her in almost 2 years.  I think it will be so fun.

   Sunday Hubby`s parents will be here for Father`s day.  I will post our very simple menu soon.

                 That Girl

   My knees have been hurting for the last 2 days more than usual.  Every time I step I get a sharp pain in one or the other.  My left ankle is also swollen.  This is what you get for standing and walking on a hard floor for 9 hours at work.  It feels so good to sit down and relax right now!

  Work was way too busy today.  If they want to shove so  much at us they should hire more people to do it not expect us to just go faster when you`re going at top speed now.  THEN I get yelled at for something that someone else didn`t do.  It`s not my job and I don`t get paid the big bucks to do it like the person that is supposed to be doing it.  I`m so glad I`m getting out of there soon.

  Tomorrow we are going to go shopping for a blind for our kitchen window.  We are tired of the neighbors checking us out every time they walk out their door and down their driveway.  Trouble is it`s a big window,  63 1/2 x36 and I checked online in a few places and that is not a size that I find.  Maybe someplace will cut one to size for us.  I really don`t want to be watched cooking or having my morning coffee in my jammies!

   I got a curling iron for my new haircut because the hairdresser said it will smooth my hair and be less damaging than a flatiron because it won`t get as hot.  My hair is fine and thin so it damages easily.  I can`t work the thing!  I keep wanting to slide it down my hair because that is what I did with the flatiron.  And I can`t even figure out how to do the back!  I guess I just need practice, but I don`t want to burn my hair off!

   I need to go get a snack (just what I don`t need!) and a book to keep me off my ankle and knees.

     That Girl

  It has been an amazingly good 2 days at work for a change.  I think it`s because they aren`t pushing the work on us quite as much.  But as the week goes on, it will get worse.

   Today I got my hair trimmed after work.  It was past my shoulders but kept getting caught in my collar and driving me crazy!  And the humidity was terrible today and every time I looked in the mirror, my hair seemed a little shorter but a lot bushier!  I frizzed to the limit!  So, she cut it to just above my shoulders and now it is straight and sleek and swingy again!  I really wanted to grow it a bit, but it is so thin that I probably would end up with one strand by the time it reached halfway down my back!  HAHA!!  I like it, it feels really good!

   We had thunderstorms last night and this morning and lots of rain.  My herbs are really coming up now.  I didn`t check the tomatoes and peppers tonight because the neighbors won`t leave me alone when I`m outside and that drives me crazy.

   Well, Hubby will be home for lunch in a few.

   That Girl

  It was a really busy weekend as usual.  We took Hubby`s best friend to Friday`s for dinner for his birthday.  I managed to get some laundry done, and a bunch of odd and end things.  There was a good movie on last night and I never sit still for a movie, but it was good and held my attention.

   Today I made homemade bread, my homemade spaghetti sauce, and a batch of cinnamon doughnuts to try out my new snack fryer with.  I liked them, but the batter wasn`t thick enough and sometimes ran down through the holes in the fryer basket.  I am going to look for another recipe that works better, but these were still good.  I do like my snack fryer.  Now I want to make potato chips but that won`t  till next weekend because I have to work all week.  I also did more laundry and managed to hang it all outside in between the raindrops.

   I am really tired, so I`m going to relax now.

  Blessings,

         That Girl

  It was a pretty good week.  Work was uneventful, but busy.  I still don`t sleep well, as usual.  Last night I was finally sleeping so good, and at 2:00 Hubby came in to go to bed and it woke me up, then I couldn`t get back to sleep, so 5:00 came fast.  I decided to get to bed a little early last night, and the phone rang twice.  It seems like people know when I try to sneak in a little extra rest.

   Tomorrow we are going to the thrift store for jeans and summer shirts.  Then we will take Hubby`s best friend out for dinner for his birthday.  Hopefully we get home fairly early so I can get some reading time.  I only get to read in the evenings on weekends, mostly.  I have a world of things I want to read, but my Bible is first on my list.

   On Sunday,  I`d like to get my homemade spaghetti sauce made.  I make a big batch and freeze it in meal size portions so I only have to make it every third time or so.  I use a lot because Hubby loves the leftovers for lunch.

  I`d also like to play around with my new snack fryer I ordered from QVC.  It arrived today. I`d like to make some cinnamon doughnuts, and a bunch of chicken nuggets or bread some mushrooms or califlower.  I have big plans, don`t I?  And little time.  My little snack fryer is so cute.  It is just a quart size, just right for 2 people.

   I am hoping to stretch the weekend and get all I can out of it, and relax some too.

   Have a great weekend!

                  That Girl

Hello!  I hope you all had a nice Memorial Day!  We were in a parade so we spent the day before decorating our friends truck.  DD coaches a T-ball team and we put all the kids in the back of the truck.  This is the second year we did this but last year we walked the route.  It was fun.

   We have been helping DD clean and keep up house because she works so many hours and has quite a drive to work.  I got to be too much after 3 weeks for us.  We cleaned and scrubbed, did all the laundry and even cooked supper.  So yesterday we just vacuumed and picked up and I did dishes and made supper.  Then we went home to our own crock-pot supper.  We also in between this, took  the cat to the groomers and then picked him up when he was done, that was a half hour drive.  I love helping her out, but we both work full time and this took up all day every Saturday, so we told her maybe we`d do it every other weekend.  I still had my house to clean and errands to run.  This leaves only Sunday, and that turns out to not be a day of rest.  I wish I could do more, but I get so tired!  Hubby gets tired and achey and my knees kill me.  I hate to be a quitter.  I still will bake and cook occasionally for her, though.  I`d rather cook than anything.

   I guess I better get ready for the work week now.  Thanks for stopping by!

                  That Girl

Hello, at last!  I finally have a moment to post a quick update.  So many things happening here.  The biggie....my DS is getting married Oct. 3!  He is 34 years old and has had his heart broken a few times.  When he falls, he falls hard!  This means that I will have to get on a plane for the very first time to fly to Texas.  I am terrified!  I always said I would walk anywhere before I got on a plane.  Well, I`d have to start now to get there on time, and I don`t know the way anyway.  But I love my son so I will do it for him.  I just hope we get the $$$ to go, that is the big problem.

  We are working very hard to be as debt free as possible so that I can be home!  YES!!!!  Hubby finally said I can retire early when we get the credit cards paid down.  Only 2 more to go!  Hopefully his job will hold out, also.  So,  my Dear Lord has heard my fondest prayer, and I will be able to be home when things get paid off.  I am so happy!

   That`s all I can do for now, sorry it took so long to post.  I do check in with all of you, though.  I love it here.

               Blessings,  That Girl

I feel like I`m running so fast and my feet are behind me, not keeping up.  I am trying to do my workouts after work, but a lot of the time I`m still too tired.  I am eating much better, but I keep getting shakey and sick and hungry either a couple hours after lunch or a bit before it`s time to go home.  I was busy this afternoon and didn`t get to take my afternoon break.  At 4:30 I got really dizzy and grabbed my banana that I should have had at 2:45.  It helped and I finished up and went home.  I don`t think it`s fair that I am the only one who gets so busy and can`t take break.  It`s not that I couldn`t, but it would put me so far behind that I would get home later than usual, and I don`t have enough time in the evening as it is.  So, needless to say, I missed another workout tonight because I`m not feeling well.  My doctor is not going to be happy with me!

   That Girl

   I had a doctor appointment today.  I was diagnosed with high cholestrol, it was 265.  I didn`t want to go on any meds for it so she said I have six months to control it with diet and exercise.  No, my standing and walking for 9 hours every day at work doesn`t count as exercise.  I still need to do more.  I have no energy left after work, but I guess I`m going to have to find some, somehow.

   As for what I eat, what am I going to eat?  I can cut portion size, but Hubby has to have meat every meal and got upset when I said I didn`t want to eat much meat.  If I don`t get some encouragement, I`m going to fail.  And what can I eat at work in the afternoon when I get hungry and shakey and sick and there`s no time to eat?  What can I stash in my purse?  I need help, any suggestions would be appreciated!!

   Did you hear about the shootings in Binghamton, NY. at the civic center?  The gunman killed 13 people and then himself and wounded a bunch more.  Binghamton is only an hour from me.  We need to pray for these people and their familes.  What a tradgedy!

   Well, I am going to rest now, my eyes are only half open.  ( or half shut!)

                      That Girl

   Oh, I forgot, tomorrow I am putting on a fancy dinner for my in-law`s anniversary.  I do it every year.  I hope all the food is really outstanding!

Today is my Dad`s birthday.  He would have been 87.  This is his first birthday in Heaven.  He has been gone seven months. I miss him so much.  He suffered so much, he was so sick.  Happy Birthday, Daddy, I love you!

          That Girl

  Dad used to call me Vicki.com

I do not want to sound like I am complaining, so I will just tell it like it is.....Work has about doubled and we are still just individuals trying to do it.  In these hard financial times, the place I work at is just thriving.  We each have a job to do, but it is getting too much for one person to handle.  There are people napping in the locker room on the chairs, in their cars on break, in the break room.  We are all TIRED!  I have been so tired for the past few weeks that I have no desire to do anything.  All the things I used to enjoy don`t even appeal to me anymore.  I just want to sit, or sleep.  The stress is amazing.  I got so upset one day last week because I couldn`t keep up I almost threw up!  I try so hard to do my best, but when they keep pushing more and more on you,you only can do so much so fast.  The next morning when I got to work, someone asked me what happened to my eye.  I didn`t have any idea.  I went and looked and the white part was all red!  I since found out that it was caused  by a spike in blood pressure from stress.  That explains why someone said that my face was really red that day when I got upset.  I am fasting tonight because I have to have blood work done in the morning.  I`m so afraid of what they are going to find!  I have been eating a lot of sweet junk because it seems that`s what I crave.  I try to be good, but I say I`m stress eating or I get shakey and need it to get me through the day.  I`m afraid there is something terribly wrong with me.  My doc appt. is April3.  I will find out results then.

   That Girl

Hello....I finally got a chance to write a little bit!  It has been so busy at work that I have all I can do when I get home to eat supper, make my lunch and get my clothes ready for the next day.  I just can`t understand why the place is booming...it defies all the bad economics going on right now.  I think they should put a part time second shift on because it pushes too much on us.  I have to have everything out at the end of the day, and it sometimes is more than 500 jobs.  I am not as young as I used to be, and I am feeling it.  I do pretty good getting things done at work ( and around the house ) but my knees start to hurt after 9 hours of walking and standing.

   Hubby was unemployed this week, plant shutdown because of lack of work, so he has been the Little Homemaker.  He made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies, a chocolate pie, wonderful suppers all week and I am stuffed!  I took most of the cookies to work and gave them away, we gave the pie to the neighbors, and had the leftovers one night.  I told him it`s a good thing he works for the next 2 weeks, I probably put on 20 pounds!  I need to take them off for the next plant shutdown in 2 weeks. 

   I need to go upstairs now, my eyes are telling me it`s time to shut them!

              That Girl

Well, it`s gotten worse.  First Hubby`s job went to 4 day weeks.  Friday they had a meeting and now they work for 2 weeks and then have 1 week off.  It will last for at least the next year.  He usually gets the maxium unemployment,but got a letter in the mail that said he won`t be getting the full amount because he was on disability for 3 months when he broke his leg a year ago.  Just add insult to injury, huh?  We are now trying to live cheaper than ever!  We have canceled the newspaper a while ago, we don`t go out to eat we don`t really go anywhere anymore unless necessary, only to work and home and the grocery store store and the bank.  We keep everything turned off when not using.  Our dryer is broken so we hang all the laundry outside.  What else can we do?  I`m open to all suggestions!

   For supper tonight I made curry chicken and rice casserole.  It was so good, I just love curry!

   Hubby is upstairs watching the race but it is just about over, and I need to get things around for work tomorrow.  My work is thriving, and I only make minimum wage.  I should be the one with the cut hours.

               That Girl

Our Sweetheart Ice Cream Party went fantastic!  Everyone had a terrific time!  We had vanilla ice cream, chocolate peanut butter ice cream,with an assortment of toppings,  party sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, brownies, cream cheese stuffed celery, coffee and tea.  It lasted for about 3 and a half hours.  The family got to talking about old times and all kinds of things.  I told them it will be a yearly event, with other events in between because it was way too fun to wait a whole year for!

I am absolutly exausted...work has been so busy, and today being the end of the month, it was terrible!

This weekend`s menu....Saturday, chicken legs with Frank`s hot sauce mixed with butter  (soooo good)))  macaroni and cheese, veggie and fruit.

 Sunday possibly spaghetti, I haven`t decided yet.

 I`m going to go crash now!

                 That Girl

   Just another quick update....today was a great day!  My headache is gone finally and work went nice and smooth.  We were really busy at work too, they were really pushing, especially this morning, but I like the rushing to be early because usually it`s hurry hurry hurry in the afternoon and I`m tired by then.  Everyone was saying how they were piled with so much work they couldn`t belive it, and one girl even had a meltdown.  She just got overwhelmed with too much to do and just broke down in a crumpled heap and cried!  I`ve come close to doing that, but haven`t yet.

   Saturday evening we are hosting an ice cream party.  Hubby`s family (most of them)  will be here and  maybe Hubby`s best friend and maybe my DD.  We will make ham salad  finger sandwiches, celery sticks stuffed with cream cheese,and peanut butter chocolate ice cream.  His Mom is bringing cookies and his sis is making vanilla ice cream.  We decided this would be a nice way to brighten up mid-winter blahs.  The next day anyone gets off from work isn`t till Memorial Day.  It`s too long of a stretch.  I`ll let you know how it goes.

  I better get myself to bed, even though I`m not a bit tired.  (where did I get energy from today?)  5:00 a.m. comes so fast!

    That Girl

I know I haven`t posted in awhile or put up my weekend menu, but here is the reason, I think.....I have been battling a whopper headache for almost 2 weeks.  I get up with it in the morning and I think it`s going to be manageable, but it gets worse as the day goes on.  I get stressed at work sometimes, especially at the end of the day when they are pushing to get all the work out.  Sometimes I even feel sick, I know it`s migraines.  AllI can do is take Tylenol because of other health problems. and sometimes it just doesn`t work.  I think I`m ready for the time change, too.  I just don`t have any energy to do my workouts or anything.  I come home from work and have a little supper, do what I need to, and go to bed.  The weather has been so dark and dreary and tonight it is snowing again. 

   I am going to go make a phone call that I need to make, then go to bed.  I will update again soon.

                            That Girl

  We had a great time hair shopping.  There was 2 places that sold hairpieces and wigs.  The first one was quite expensive and I didn`t even get to try any on, I had to schedule a consultation, so I did for Thursday evening.  But the second place had what I wanted.  I got a full wig for around $150 less that the first place wanted.  It is synthetic and quite light on top with darker hair underneath and long, past my shoulders.  It is so light on the top and I said I would never be a blonde but with the dark it looked really good.  When I put it on all the people in the store ohhhed and ahhhed!  They said that DD and me looked like twins, so it went home with me.  Now, everyone who knows me will know it is a wig because I couldn`t sprout that long light color hair overnight, but like I said, I want to have fun with this.  I have another one on order that is a little darker.  Now I just need to get up the nerve to wear it to work!  Oh, and Hubby`s reaction?  Well, that`s X-rated!  He loved it!

   Today I have a whopper headache.  I did some laundry, ironed and made supper.  I needed to do some cleaning but didn`t finish.  I laid on the couch for awhile, but the headache is still here. 

   I am going to read a few blogs and go to bed.

                 That Girl