I Met My Boss in Person!!

 It's 2024 -- we don't always have the privilege and honor of meeting the actual people who we work with; sometimes they are miles and miles away.  My good friend Lorna is in Texas, and I probably won't meet her in person. I'll have to wait until we both get to Heaven. She'll be there - and they may even let her have a little height when she crosses the threshold of the gates. I can't imagine God making her stay tiny for eternity!  (She and I knew each other virtually for over 6 months before she sprang it on me that she's just over 5 feet tall! WHAT?

    Today, and I guess it started yesterday, I decided since I actually do live really close to my one of my actual bosses, I would meet him in person.  I talked to him about it yesterday, and told him I'd swing by his house with a couple of my books so he could read them and figure out who the heck it was that he hired! He was all for it, so that's what I did.

    When I interviewed with him for the job he asked me what I did for fun or outside of work and I let him know I was an author. I directed him to Amazon so he could see it for himself. He found me, and found the 14-16 books that are for sale and he really was impressed by it. He wanted to know if I was so talented and why it was that I wanted to work for the company in the first place. Listen, just because you're talented and can write books doesn't mean they sell!

    He has been a real help to me in the journey I'm taking with this new company. The company isn't new, my journey with it is. The company has been around for about 40 years or so. I worked for them a very long time ago; but in a different capacity. This time around, I'm a licensed adjuster, and I do subrogation work for many (various) clients who want what is due to them when someone damages or destroys their power or communication facilities. I'd throw names of our clients out there, but I'm not going to do that. Suffice it to say they are all big big names in the power industry and communications.

    Meeting your boss in person is fun if they're worth their salt and this one is. I won't give his name, but he looks like and sounds like one of my oldest and dearest friends from church from about 30 years ago.  I told him so, I think maybe the two men are related. They have to be. The resemblance and the voice...it's too much.  He was super happy to take my two books and to introduce me to his elderly dog - a little fawn-colored fat pug that I just adored to the hilt. I had to give the dog a kiss, I couldn't stand myself if I didn't.

    It's really really, and I do mean REALLY good that I work from home and don't have to get up, get dressed, put make-up on, fight traffic to get to work, fight personalities once I get there, or put up with office politics. I will NOT leave this company. I will not, they'll have to pry me off the payroll. It is just too wonderful. The pay is good, the benefits are acceptable, but the people are over the top great. We don't have any bad eggs really - - when we have scuffles, which every company will have, we have an amazing HR that actually does their job. They don't side with the manager - - they listen to both sides and make good decisions.

    Meeting my boss was really fun, really cool, and now, after he reads my first blog book - - and one of the romance novels, he'll understand who it is that is behind the work monitor in Teams meetings making fun of him! He takes a joke as well as he gives, and that's too important in the world we live in where we don't see one another often.  I wouldn't argue if several of us got together now and again, but there are so many who work out of state and couldn't come to anything we planned.

    If you can, get to know the people who work with you. It makes a huge difference in the way you end up treating them, and the way they end up treating you -- I told the man he wasn't allowed to hate me for my opinions that he reads in the books  - he promised.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Something's Gotta Give (Watch Me)!

     Literally four years ago, less one day, I woke up (Aug. 3, 2020) and said to myself, "Jude, you're out of shape, something's gotta give". I weighed more than I wanted to, and I wasn't feeling happy about it. I wasn't really feeling that happy about a lot of things. If you remember, we were all locked down so tightly we couldn't move about freely without taking slack from the morons who actually believed we needed to be locked down, and because of all the political nonsense going on, most of the world felt defeated or at least deflated. I wasn't an exception - - that is until I made up my mind to do something about it.

    On August 3, 2020, I decided to stop wearing masks no matter where I went and decided to tell people the truth; that the masks were making me sick. I couldn't breathe correctly. Since I was working out more, walking more, eating better, and drinking a boatload of water every day, I needed all the breathing I could get - free of distractions, and free of restrictions of any kind. I wasn't popular, but I was right! 

    Now, four years later, I've gained back nearly all of the 48 pounds I lost in 2020 from August 3 to December 31. I went on to lose another 10-11 pounds from January 2021 to about March, but staying fit didn't last as long as I wanted it to. I can't pinpoint it, but I just sort of stopped really making a conscious effort to eat correctly, exercise, drink the water, lose the sugar and the salt, and be the glowing and often radiantly sarcastic person that I know I could be. I slipped back into the comfort zone in 2023; I can pinpoint that much.

    In 2023 I lost a job that kept the bills paid. It wasn't a good job, but I wasn't stressing either. I couldn't be bothered with diet, exercise, and being healthy, I had to find work, but the problem was, there was no work to be found. I found myself losing more than hope about it too. I found myself about to accept defeat when I put all of that negative energy into one big ball of concentrated effort and decided to live off my savings, what I could squeeze from the government legally, and let my kid pay her way and part of my way for a while. It was my turn. I decided to write! 

    When I decided to write, it was the same as when I had decided to diet. I put all of everything into it, and the result was way over-the-top productive. In 2023 I wrote and/or produced six books - - did you hear me? I wrote and/or produced six entirely new books that hadn't been written before. I created them out of thin air -- except for the 2nd Jude's Almost Daily Blog Book - - it had been written but not put together. I put it together, designed the cover, and published it...making it one of the books I produced in 2023.

    That makes my decision to lose weight and become healthy again all that much easier because I know what I'm capable of when I set my mind to it. This past month I moved from one place to the next, and it was done so over three days in scorching heat and muggy humidity. We actually clocked 68% humidity here in Oklahoma City that day, when our average is 35% or lower. It was about 90-95 degrees but felt so much hotter - - we did have a few breezes and I do thank God for that.  I walked more than 5 or 6 miles each day and climbed the stairs more than 20 times each of those three days. I was spent.

    I realized that my stubbornness to continue was stronger than my will to stop and rest. I nearly collapsed a couple of times, and my right knee did finally give it up; refusing to allow me to subject myself to more of it. Could it be that I just don't want to grow old? I have this thing about feeling younger inside my head therefore I must be younger, right? Nope...no, I am not. I am on the cusp of being considered old. If I get any older I may have to concede that I am actually getting older, but until then, I will cling to my dwindling hope. 

    Today, just about an hour or so ago, I took my new dog Kiah for a quick spin around to the apartment side of the complex to see folks I hadn't seen in almost two weeks. To say they were happy to see me would be an understatement! We had a wonderful reunion, but my heart hurt. My actual chest was hurting from the strain of holding the dog back, pacing myself, and doing so in 99-degree muggy weather! It was 6:50 p.m. and nearly 100 degrees outside  (the humidity today is hovering around 42%), making the heat index jump another six to eight degrees. I must be crazy!

    It's on. Tomorrow is the new August 3, 2020....only it's August 2, 2024. I'll work out slowly, do my stretching, eat correctly, drink water, keep most if not all sugars and salts out of reach, and I'll do what I can to stay cool and get the rest my body needs. I have about 40 of those pounds to lose and I will lose it. I also have two more books to write in 2024 - - and I will. I have written two this year and published both. I've also produced two books, from print to ebook, so that they can be read on tablets and phones. I don't think I'll do more than two more this year, both dramas, not the crime books. The two books I wrote this year are both Nick Posh Thrillers. I wrote "1211" and "Mesa". 

    When I say "go" I mean "go", and I'm the only one I have to impress. There isn't anyone else who comes to mind who I would do this for - - just me. I am the only me I'll ever have, and I'm going to treat myself as if I was the best version of myself already -- it's a game I play with my own head and heart to get my body to follow my orders when I need it to. Something's gotta give -- and it will. I know it will. 

Photo Credit: IStock.com

The Southern Belle in Me.

 A good now and again (excuse me, that was rather Southern of me) I say something rather Southern, and when I do, my friends from overseas tend to giggle just a little. They know this woman is from the Southwestern region of these United States. From time to time, whenever I'm asked, I will always tell a person that I'm from the Great State of Oklahoma.  Most of the time, however, depending on how they ask, I may say, "I'm from a place where we don't use prepositions at the end of our sentences"; however, that would be a lie. Oklahomans do, most certainly, use prepositions at the end of their sentences. Just so you know.

    Today, like just about any other day, when someone I'm speaking to, gets my goat up (another Southern idiom), I will go full South in my mouth! You'll hear it. You'll know it too. When a Southern woman speaks with intensity she tends to squint the corners of her eyes and draw her mouth up at the corners to bring in a bit of forced cordiality before...well, you know...before she tells you exactly what she's thinkin'. If she doesn't tell you exactly what she's thinkin' you may not live long enough to find a way to appease her and the whole situation.

    Today, while on the phone with a "damager", which is what we call folks in our business who go around damaging other folks' commercial property, I had to use a few breathing techniques to subdue my tongue long enough to force kinder than I wanted to use words. I wanted to let the whoop out of the can but decided my job meant a lot more to me than anything or anyone on the other end of the line. I had to remind myself I wasn't speaking to anyone with any common sense. I was talking to a man who had purposely and repeatedly chosen to not call 8-1-1 before he dug and you know what he did. I don't even have to tell you -- you already know.

    Now, before I say too much, I won't tell anyone who I work for. I won't say too many specifics about it, but what I do is adjust the liability factors when our clients bring a claim to our company seeking subrogation (third-party recovery) for said claim and for said liability.  John D'Nothing, the man on the other side of the line, had the gull to say that folks in "that part of the world" meaning the Southern states, wouldn't know how to read the laws let alone be expected to understand them or adjudicate terms of liability to him - - he was what my mother would call a "know-it-all" and what my daddy would call a "prick". You know my daddy didn't want me tellin' my mama what he said about people, you know that.

    As the boy continued to dig a hole too deep to crawl out of, I nearly asked him if he'd had the smarts to call 8-1-1 for that as well. He was digging and digging aimlessly, wantonly, and apparently with complete abandonment because there was just enough grace left in me by the time he finished wringing what was left of my last nerve, that I all but went dead silent on the man. The damn fool had no idea what that would mean, of course, he probably thought it meant he had the upper hand in the matter.

    Well, I paused, like I said, not saying a thing. I asked him politely if he was finished. He laughed and said he was. I then, in the sweetest drawl I could muster, told the gentleman that I had heard and recorded every word he had said; that most of what he was saying over the lines was both illegal and would be turned over to the legal department for review, but not only that, I had fully intended to make a copy of the recording for his employer (a major insurance carrier) allowing them to understand why it was that I would be bringing abuse charges against the man for his hostility toward me, and his false accusations of my person, not to mention the discriminatory remarks he chose to hide behind involving my race, gender, and age.

    When he exploded and told me I had no right to record him, I reminded him that the laws of the state of Oklahoma are not the same as the laws in the state of New York, (thank God) and that I was fully within my rights to expose him to his employer for who and what he was. I then, in the sweetest of Southern language, stated that I would be willing to negotiate with him regarding the potential charges if he would take another look at the damage report I had emailed him a week or two before; the one with supporting documents to prove my point...points.

    It was right about that time that the man on the other end of the phone became quite quiet...you could have heard his heart beating if you listened closely enough. I took that to mean I had the upper hand in the matter, so I politely closed the conversation with the following statement: "Living here in the South has its privileges. We may not be as sophisticated as you folks up that way, but we do know a good game of football, and we have the best BBQ to boot. You have yourself a good evening now and don't forget to call me next week when you've come to your senses about this claim. Good night now, and remember to kiss your mama when you see her!"

    I thank God EVERY DAY for the Great State of Oklahoma, and everything it ever meant to me.

Photo Credit: Way.com

Sore but Happy!

     Because Laura's bed hasn't arrived yet (Monday is only 2 days away) I have been sleeping with all three dogs on my full-sized bed. It's not that I'm complaining (much) but I can't turn over without disturbing at least one of them. If you know the rules you know the rules, and if you break the rules...well, it's not a good thing in our house. I wake up with dogs too -- usually before my alarm because one of them has decided to stick their nose into my eye socket. It's not Ginger. Ginger knows the rules. I don't disturb them, and they don't wake me up before the alarm!

    This makes a full week that we've slept in the house! We are simply too happy to be here. I downsized from a Queen to a Full and I love that fact. I'm sleeping on the same 17-18" that I had with the Queen, but for obvious reasons, it is now in the middle of the bed so that the two puppies (about 20 pounds each) can slumber quietly on either side of me, and my Ginger dog can trap my legs; holding me in place at all costs.

    When I woke up this morning I knew I didn't have to do anything regarding the move. We are 100% in our house and out of the apartment, but I also knew that sooner or later I'd have to tackle the unboxing. We knew this day would come, but it's nowhere near as daunting of a task or chore as it was last week when we were packing the same boxes and hauling them down the stairs, into the car, out of the car, and into the appropriate rooms of the house.  It is SO much easier to just reach into them, pull stuff out, and put it up or put it away. Let me just say I am grateful for the slowness of it all, and the stresslessness of it all. 

    I finally got the part of the kitchen unpacked and put away that has the coffee machine, coffee, and something for breakfast. Climbing over and around boxes was annoying, but when your body screams at you -- you have to listen. I wasn't about to unpack or unbox during the same week we were moving and cleaning the old place. We just had to live with the cardboard cubicles for a little longer, that's all. Now, and thank God, we can find the coffee!

    I still take the same two ibuprofen that I took all last week in the morning because I knew I'd be pushing the body a little bit, but that new shower is a miracle worker! I never knew I would be so happy to have a big walk-in shower. I really thought I'd be OK with the shower in the tub, but nope...I'm a new fan! I will single the endless praises of a good showerhead in a big stone shower with good water pressure and endless hot water -- we have a tankless system now. It's the first time I've ever seen one.  There is no tank, the water just runs through it and heats. In theory, I could stay in the shower all day, but I'm not going to try that; not yet.

    The ceilings in the house are over 9 feet high. They are something like 9 feet 2 inches. All of the windows are larger than the ones I had in the apartment so none of my curtains will fit. I'll need to donate those and get new ones. With the pretty framed boxes around each window, I may end up just leaving them bare in the office; the blinds are enough, but I will end up buying new wooden blinds soon...and the really good thing is, the maintenance guys will install them for me. This is good. I think I'm still pinching myself over this move.

    Today, we received fence liners that go around the areas of the fence that are over 2 inches off the ground. They stick into the ground and stop Ginger from rooting her way out of the fence. She hasn't had a backyard for 8.5 years (she's 10.5 years old).  She's beside herself with glee -- I can tell.  The puppies have no clue how much and how long Ginger has suffered. They have no idea that I took her downstairs 6-8 times a day to do her business and to walk her around a bit. Here, she can run, skip, hop, rest, root, and make as much noise as she wants. She's taking full advantage of it!

    Yes, I'm sore, but I'm happy. I'm willing to think about putting things away, which means I'll get around to it. I'll do one room a day, this way it will only take about a week to get it all done. I'll buy storage shelves for the storage room to get everything we decided to store up off the ground. Just knowing we won't trip over the things trying to get to our beds at night can make my dreams that much sweeter.

I think it's time to thank God, just one more time.

Photo Credit:  DZ Moving

Last of the Last.

     We are soooooo out of the old apartment!! Laura is literally turning in the keys now; dropping them into the night drop box.  She would have taken time to clean the place tonight, but the maintenance people went in without asking and pulled up all the carpet in the apartment - something they should have done before we moved in over eight years ago.  They spilled at least a half liter of Pine-Sol on the floor and mopped up all the tile and concrete areas. You can smell the Pine-Sol from outside the building. You know the neighbors will not be happy tonight trying to sleep with those chemicals floating around. Geez Louise!

    It feels good to say we stayed in one place for 8.5 years, but it wasn't the best of places. It was in a good building with good people, I will say that. We had a few bad neighbors over the years, but over the past five years or so, we've had good people next to and below us.  Now, we're looking forward to staying here until (or if) I get my own place. I may not do that because the maintenance takes care of the electricity, plumbing, etc, and they keep the lawns mowed. It's sort of a win-win. The cost is the same as if I bought a house of a similar size, but I am not responsible for the insurance or the upkeep. I literally pay the renter's insurance and the utilities, and I'm done.

    Anyway - - Laura is loading the vacuum cleaner, the steam cleaner and the very very very last of the boxes and those things that don't exactly fit into boxes, and she'll be back soon - - and we will no longer be a part of the apartment complex - - sort of. The complex owner's brother owns this house, so we are, but we aren't.  I didn't tell you this before, but while we were moving in, some of the people in the complex were moving out and they dumped their mattresses and box springs on our lawn since it's the corner! NO! I complained about it of course, and of course, they were removed, but I did ask the manager of the complex to send out emails and write notices to let the others know this is not their free space! We live here.

    At least with the dogs barking and romping around the backyard the neighbors know they can't poke their noses too far into the fence without being seen, heard, and smelled.  Ginger is the first to alert and then it's a dog-fest! We have three now.  I do hope we end up staying here a long time (that is unless I win the lottery or sell a lot of books, then I may feel the need to move). It's a good place - it's weird being downstairs, and it's weird being in a house again - - but it's a good weird. I could do without the street traffic being as loud as it is, but yeah, it's downstairs! We live with it.

    This weekend will be an unboxing weekend. I've been doing it as I can, and I'm actually starting to see most of the floor again. I've made a great dent in the laundry - - and believe me when I say that makes me smile. I'm washing things just to wash things now. It's a "because I can" thing!  I've never really felt that way about many things, but God only knows the joy I feel when I put a load into a machine that actually works, and I don't need a card to put into the machine to make it work....and I'm not waiting on someone else...and I'm not praying no one steals my clothes. Yeah, I'm pretty stoked about the new place.

Photo Credit: llco.com

My New Friends - Washer and Dryer.

 It's not every day I have the privilege of blogging -- it's Almost Daily, you know. I would blog ten times a day if I had it my way, but alas, I must work, earn a living, and do adult things most of the time. Blogging is a freedom, a fun passage, it is not a right. (It is a write, but not a right...there is a difference.)  So, today, yesterday, and the day before that, I have been waiting for my new friends to come to me and to be productive, useful, and efficient. I had two other "friends" on Saturday, but they weren't working out - - in that they weren't working. Well, that's not true. I should tell the truth.

    I found Will's Appliances OKC online - and I called him or maybe I texted, and I set up a time for him to bring out my new washer and dryer (a set) for just $350, which included the two machines, delivery, set up, and a 60-day warranty. That's amazing!! Will (last name unknown) was quite helpful, he was right there to bring me my appliances, and to set them up lickity-split...except there was a problem.  He thought he was doing me a big huge favor by bringing me a really cool digital Maytag, an upgrade he told me, from what he normally sells for the $350 price. It certainly was spiffy, I'll give you that -- but when he set it up there were a bunch of buttons and pushy things on the panel -- and I don't understand tech, so yeah, it wasn't gonna work.

    The next big fat red flag telling me that it wasn't going to work was the fact that after Will programmed it (yes, programmed) the lid locked and it wouldn't open! Yeah, that's not gonna work for me.  He needed to replace it, but wouldn't have another set until Monday (two days) and I had to wait patiently for him to be able to bring out a new set. Since he wanted the washer and the dryer to match, he waited until he found a working set that was in the right price range (and yeah, a little above it, he gave me a really good deal) and a set that wasn't fancy-schmancy because I don't want fancy- -- I want SIMPLE! I am a very very simple wash-woman!

    I told Will I wanted something I never had to dial after I dialed it the first time. Just set it, push the start button, and go.  He smiled.  He had a newer Amana set that he brought to me today - - after he had made about a half dozen other calls all over the city and even out of the county, to people I'm sure were less picky than I am... or maybe they're much more picky, because, like I said, I only want a single-action start button! I don't need all the temp settings, water gauging, balancing, and programming - - just dump the clothes, add the detergent, push the button, and go. I also don't want the machine rattling out of the laundry room - - which mine did the first time we ran a load.

    Will stayed later this evening and set up the washer by reinforcing the springs, and lowering or raising the legs to meet the uneven flooring in the laundry/storage room of my new (circa 1931) house. It only took an hour! LOL...the poor man had to put up with countless stories about Faith, my kids, and my strange little niche job that I have during my waking hours. He's probably ready to find customers he can drop appliances off to who won't require the dummied-down version -- who are willing to pay for it because they don't want to be bothered to be trained on how to download the PDF manual for the one he brought the first time. You should have seen my face when he suggested I do that - - I laugh just thinking about it.

    I looked the man in the eyes (he's pretty tall, so it was a challenge) and I told him I want a machine with one button - - the start button. I don't need to see that it's filling, washing, spinning, and complete....just go!  He said that the 1990s had been gone for a while, but he'd see what he could do for me. The compromise was an Amana set made in 2015 that was rebuilt by himself using new parts, and though it does have a locking lid, he said if I wanted him to, he'd disconnect it for me - - I may have him out to do that. 

    Because he had to put me off a few days and make arrangements to come out later in the evening than he had originally thought, he gave me a 120-day warranty on all things - - no questions asked. I loved that. I told him I'd call him anyway if it breaks. At that price it's affordable and I trust he'll keep his word. If you're in the OKC area, or even outside of it, he'd be a good guy to find for all of your major appliance needs...not just washers and dryers.  I'll leave his email so you can contact him. Just be sure to tell him I sent you so he can laugh.

    I am now washing my third load and I'm happy...so very very happy. I will say that the dryer doesn't heat up that much, but the clothes are dry. It's not one of those overpowering heated things -- which is good for the environment and my clothes, but you know the dogs will be incredibly disappointed. Ginger sort of looked at me when I brought the first load in and poured the basket onto the top of the bed...she knew. She's not stupid. What Ginger doesn't realize is that I didn't do the laundry downstairs and around the corner like I've done for 8.5 years!! I did it in my own storage room off the carport!  THAT...that is the difference I love the most.

    I went over the top with the detergent and softener as well. I use sheet detergent so there's that, but I bought the Downy Unstoppable blue beads for the washing and then the BLISS dryer sheets -- absolute overkill on the scents, but if it makes me smile a little -- let it be.

Photo Credit: Me.

Will's Appliances OKC:  willsappliancesokc@gmail.com

We Have Liftoff!! (...and the keys)

 A few hours ago I signed the lease for my new home! Laura and I have taken four loads over now and we'll do about two or three this evening. Tomorrow will be the back-and-forth day, the ants-all-in-a-line day.  We'll see if we can get all of it done, everything except the big pieces. The big pieces go on Sunday when we get the U-Haul.  I truly do believe we can get it all in one clean sweep. It's only a 10-foot truck, but we don't have as much as most people do in their two-bedroom apartments.  We're throwing out the sofa and the chair  -- but we did get that pretty ottoman that I know I can fit in the trunk if I have to.

    I haven't felt this good about something in a long time. It's hard (not gonna lie) to move things up and down the stairs, and try to lift, push, pull, and drag boxes in order to make them fit in the car. I'm not happy about that part of it, but with each box I'm that much closer to being in my place, and that much closer to having it all settled.  The maintenance guys changed our locks today - five doors. We have five doors! We went from having two keys, one for the main building, and one for our unit, to having one key - one that fits all five doors.

    I have been in and out of the place a number of times and I keep forgetting to measure the windows! That makes me laugh. I wanted to check to see if the new curtains I recently bought will fit or not. I think they may, but I don't know. I can tell you this, I will find out tonight when I take another load over. I've written it down on my hand to remind myself. It's something I've done since the 3rd grade. I put an X on my hand, and it jogs my memory when I see it.  My mom used to ask me..."What are you trying to remember?" She'd see my hand and know.

    I have a house!  I really really really have a house! I don't own it, and to be honest, that's preferred. I don't have to keep up with the maintenance or the lawn. You can't beat that. If the AC unit goes out, they have to replace it, not me. The fence is a really nice tall wooden fence too - - truly private. I know the dogs will love the yard, but I will love the privacy! I'm not thinking that I'll be outside all that much, but I will go out to work out with the ropes and I'll be out to relax now and again, so yeah; it's nice to have the security.

   Speaking of the maintenance people; one of them caught up with me today to say they were unable to fix the hood over my stove before we moved in. If they have to replace it he's going to do so in the Fall so he's not crawling up and around the attic in 100+ degree weather. I don't blame him. I can still cook so I'm not worried about it - it's just something that needs to be fixed. They painted the walls today and went over it again with the mops and brooms. We have a spick and span little house to call our own!  Thank God!

    The lease was for a year, but I know we'll stay for several years unless, as I decide to buy one on my own. You never know. I'd rather not, but if the economy does better in the next few months, I may consider it - - if I do I will 100% be sure to get one with a new HVAC unit - - and warranties for everything there is that goes in, on, or outside the house. EVERYTHING!

Photo Credit: Etsy

Dust! (...and Hidden Treasures)

 I'm not looking forward to what I will find when I break down my Queen-sized bed, throw out the mattress, and give away the frame. I know for a fact that several dogs have been under that bed over the last nine years, and God only knows what toys, and half-chewed rawhides will be found. I imagine the dogs I have now already know. They do spend quite a bit of time under the bed.  I know I have two half-chewed clothing bags under there. Hugo made it a point to take the corners and zippers out of both of them -- I will need to find a place for all the tee shirts that are currently in "rotation" packaging.

    I rotate my tee-shirts every year or so, this way I don't have to buy new ones. I have over 100 I'm sure. If I keep them rotating like I have, I'll always believe I have new clothes. I've been able to fool myself for a while now. I will admit to buying new tees, slipping them into the bags under the bed, and pretending I just bought them. It's a fun game I play with my own mind. It's been helpful over the past 792 years - - except back in the day I did the same thing with longer flowing loose-fitting garments and sashes.

    I'm in the middle of moving my room today. I'll get 90% of it done, then start on the dining room and pantry tomorrow. Laura's got the living room and 2nd hallway closet. I did the first closet earlier - I was too excited to sit still so it was first to be packed. Now, we can use the empty closet to store things we wish to give away to Goodwill. We'll take the stuff just after we take the U-Haul back on Sunday afternoon, and before we return to clean the old place.

    You NEVER realize how much dust you have until you move. You can keep up with it, but when you move you realize just how bad you suck at dusting. Not lying, I truly suck at it. I'm hoping to do a better job after today because I plan on buying those gizmos that take the dust out of the air! I have one for my room, but I was without a filter so I didn't use it. I found the filters finally online and ordered 4 so I would have them a while. I need to buy 4 more of these things for the rest of the house, and I'm going to get a little Roomba vacuum to just do its thing every weekend - - and scare the cats.

    I want to get to the bottom of my closet today so I can see if I can find a particular rock that I used to pray with. I've not seen it in nearly 6 months. I hope I didn't somehow manage to throw it away - that would make me really sad. I've owned the rock since about 1998.  It fit perfectly in my hand! I love that rock.  Here's hoping, and praying it turns up.  

    The new house doesn't have the same size closets, so I may end up not having a prayer closet, but I think I'll be OK. God knows me. He's good if I pray anywhere - - I just like the whole concept of a prayer closet. (I can still do it, but I'd have to move the chair in and out of the way and that can be annoying.)

    Sneezing is something I'm finding myself doing all day today, and I assume I will be doing it all day tomorrow and probably Sunday as well. Dang - - and dang again. This dust! It's everywhere and just moving things from one closet or from under the bed brings it into the air and directly into my nose! I'll use that washer and dryer I ordered. That's for sure! I'm holding off on a load now, just so I can use the new washer - - sad, huh? You know you're old when that sort of thing excites you.

    I took a wee break from blogging in order to clear out some of the bedroom closet. I'm using the clothes to top off most of the boxes so I don't overload them with heavier items.  I now realize I have 8 sets of Queen-sized sheets that will need to be washed, folded, and given away. I'm downsizing to a full-sized bed and looking forward to the extra space. My Queen frame is beautiful - - but I don't need it.  Funny, how you go through phases like that. I simply had to have it when I saw it, and in fact wanted one like it for years before I bought it. Now, I'm thinking I want a more subdued and simple style.

    I'll need to run by Sam's tomorrow to get another 12-15 boxes - I'll donate them too when I'm finished with them. I could have used hand-me-down boxes myself, but I just figured this move deserves the best - - it's probably my last move. I want it all to go so very neatly and smoothly. I don't mind donating 30-40 boxes to someone else who could use them. I'll set them in the laundry room  -- it's our catch-all. If no one takes them, I'll swing back and throw them away a week later. 

    I'm going to have lunch now - - today and tomorrow will be my last lunch in the apartment! I didn't eat as much food as I wanted to, but luckily I don't have far to drive the things currently left in the refrigerator - - we can throw out the 2/3 eaten Braum's ice cream - - we know where they sell more!!

    Photo Credit: CakeSpy.com 

First Boxes in the House!

 It has begun!  The first carload of boxes has been loaded into the car, driven to the house, and uploaded into the storage room. We will do that for now, and on Saturday we'll move everything from the storage room into the actual house. This way we have more control over it. The storage room door has been fitted with a new lock and knob so anyone who may have had the keys from previous times can be tempted to rush in and take things.

    I have to be 100% honest, the most anyone could get from me anyway would be used clothes, books, journals, more books, and maybe a book or two.  I gave away a lot of things and I threw out a lot of things - - we're down to the nearly bare essentials. (Jeannie would wholeheartedly disagree. I bet she could find many more things that I need to throw out!) I'm dead dog tired already, and it's literally just been one full trip and then loading up my car for a 2nd run sometime after I take a break. Moving is really hard on a body - - well, mine anyway.

    I decided to put my phone in my pocket to count the times I go up and down the stairs. It's only fair that I get to count those steps three times for the record!  If I had to be honest, moving is a helluva workout - - maybe I'll think about signing up to do it for someone else - - NOPE...I was joking. They can't make me. Not even if they double-dog dare me. I'm not doing this again! If I ever did it, I would not choose the middle of the summer to do it - - maybe I can count each stair 4 times to give me credit for the heat and humidity. That seems fair.

    I went to Big Lots to seal the deal on the delivery of my sofa. I bought it online, but the delivery will be done in person, so I can get 1/2 off!  I'm literally just paying the guy who delivers it and not the store. The guy is doing it using his own truck; they give him little side jobs to keep the customers happy and to be sure all the other deliveries get done in a timely manner.  If I don't mind if he comes after hours, I get it for $75 cash!  Love that. He drops it off, brings it into the house, moves it to where you want it, and since it needs to have the legs screwed in, he'll do that too! 

    While I was at Big Lots taking care of the delivery, I bought a 5x7 area rug to go under said sofa. I wanted one to bring the sofa and the ottoman's colors together. I bought a really nice pillow that I saw yesterday and hoped it would still be there today. It was. I bought it. I may go back tomorrow or Saturday to buy a few more throw pillows, but that one was a unique one, and there was only one left -- love it. 

    Getting the boxes out of my apartment and into my car takes much more strength and energy than I had anticipated. I haven't been this winded and physically challenged in years. I know I'm older, but I didn't realize how it would affect my breathing and my ability to balance while dragging, pulling, pushing, lifting, and carting around medium-sized boxes. I intentionally didn't buy bigger boxes, and I am intentionally not loading them to the point that I can't lift them. Still, this is a chore!

    I think my bottle of Aleve and I are going to become very close over the next few days. I sort of wish I drank wine, but I don't. I would if I did, but I don't, so I won't. I'm not opposed to anyone else doing it, but it's just not something I do. I save my sugar intake for chocolate. It's a good compromise.  I will have more fun tomorrow after I put in 4 hours of work. I anticipate going slowly, moving at the pace of a wounded snail so I can breathe, take things as they are, and not push either myself or my ego - - I tend to give myself impossible goals when I don't take the reins from myself.

    Saturday will be the big day -- we'll get a lot more serious then, and by Sunday, when I get the U-Haul, there will only be the heavy things remaining in the apartment - - which I've managed to dwindle down to the extreme bare essentials. I will say that the neighbors won't like me much; I'm throwing my old furniture into the dumpster rather than setting it on the side. I can't take the chance of someone not taking them - - I won't be that person who leaves trash outside the big dumpster never to be picked up again. Nope...not me.

    Sunday around 2:00 p.m. we will take the U-Haul back, go back to the apartment to clean it (maybe an hour or so, we're not getting the deposit back so we're not busting our backs on the cleaning.)  Around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, I hope to have most of my things unloaded into the new place, set up, and ready to go -- that includes the computers so we'll be up and running Monday for work.  Plans work.

    Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus, Thank you, Spirit. I am too very happy about all this....too very happy.

Photo Credit:  Lowes.com

    

    

Big Lots vs. Mathis! (I Made a Decision)

 I love window shopping, and I love browsing online for things.  I do a lot of both. This weekend and all this week so far, I've been fixated on which sofa to buy; knowing that it would need to be both economical and comfortable. It has to look good with dogs and cats all over it, and it has to be sturdy enough to take on those animals as well as my guests.  ( I say that as if I have guests! I have Jeannie and Robin! These are my two guests.)

    The sofa search was a good one. I started out in one of the more expensive stores, knowing the whole time I was there that I wouldn't end up buying one from those stores. I always fall back on either Big Lots or Mathis, and I usually fall back on either the Ashley brand or the Lane brand. It's just the way it is. Today, I decided to go with Big Lots and for the Ashley Tishen Pebble Sand Faux Leather sofa.

    You can Google it easily enough. This particular model is in the $500-600 range, give or take. It's a 3-seater with good material, and a good quality frame, and it has a warranty if you want to purchase that as well.  They have a 4.8-star rating and are good for just about any home with kids, animals, guests, and those that don't.  It's a neutral color and will be accented of course, with throws and pillows so that it ties in well with the new ottoman. I am very happy.

    The thing is - - in the store, it was $529.  Online it was $423. They expect you to buy the "Big Delivery" online for $149.00 so they lower the price. I know the delivery guy and he's going to do the delivery and set up for $75.  I was able to use my Big Rewards value card and get the sofa for $408 plus tax  -- so $435!  Done!  The same sofa at Mathis Outlet was $599.00 and though the delivery was free, they'd want $49 to bring it into the house. (Yeah..no. I did the math.)  My $435 + 75 = $510.  Sorry, Mathis  -- Big Lots wins.

    I ordered the sofa about an hour ago, and called the store to let them know so I can go back into the store tomorrow to pay the delivery guy - - he's going to bring it to the new place either Saturday or Sunday, and bring it in, and move it to the spot where we want it. I may end up getting a nice rug to put under it so it doesn't slide around and so that the dogs don't scratch it trying to get off the slick floors -- no carpet in the new house!

    Since the sofa is a pebble sand color and the ottoman is a medium slate grey, I'll get a rug to bring them together, and a few nice pillows for both the sofa and the ottoman. I'm not going to get a chair after all. I'm going to put the ottoman in the corner and add about 5 pillows...that should do it. I really can't wait  -- and it's only 3 more days. I still can't wait. I'm really super happy.  It feels really good to finally have the space we need. Since we're going through the things we own and are trying to downsize, it should be our corner of paradise.

    If you don't have a Big Lots you can still buy online. I use that store for just about everything except food - but you can still get some essentials there.  If it had a dairy and meat section I would consider living in the back, but as it is, I'm going to make do with my house  -- I wake up thanking God every day for it. He truly is to be praised. I did buy a little plaque for the wall that says "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord"...I think the house understands.

Photo Credit: BigLots.com