And I call myself a blogger....

Boy I tell ya...6 months between entries is not a very good track record, is it?? So much has happened since June I don't even know where to begin. Oh wait! Yes I do...My new car? It's a piece of crap! I have had nothing but trouble with it since I got it and I'm about ready to trade it in for a different one. I can't believe I let myself get ripped off like that. Just goes to show, sometimes you just can't trust people you think you know. *sigh*

So, aside from that, life has been a blur pretty much the whole time. My daughter, her friend, and I took another historic trip to GA to visit family. We had to rent a car, of course, because mine wouldn't freaking make it...cuss, cuss...*deep breath*....We had a great time and the beer flowed freely as usual. It was good to see everyone again. Good to see my mother, since she is getting so old I never know when will be the last time. She continues to surprise us, however, by hanging in there. 

When we came home, I started a part time job at the grocery store. The first week, I thought I was going to die, I was so tired. But when the extra money started coming in every week, I was happy to be exhausted with pain over my entire body.  Speaking of my entire body, however, by this time it was about 30 pounds smaller than what it had been. I began Dr Atkins new diet  on April 18 or thereabouts and by July I had lost 30 pounds. At this writing, I have lost 52. I am 1/3 of the way to where I want to be, but my next goal is to lose 10 more pounds to weigh less than I have had on my driver's license for roughly the last 20 years. Actually I weigh less now than I have for those past 20 years, cuz it probably wasn't correct then either. It's very exciting to be losing weight, but some days it's really hard. But I know it will be worth it. Holidays are coming up again too, so I need to really get my game face on!

Going through the empty nest again too. Well, 99% of the time anyway. My girl has moved out again, with the love of her life. She is happy and I'm so glad! It makes it a lot easier to be without her, although I still miss her intensely sometimes.

Ok, that's all the "news that's fit to print" at this time. Nothing funny, I guess. I'll try to write more often.
In between work and work and making Christmas presents...well, you know! If it gets to be more than a couple weeks, send cosmic vibes and I will write.

This is me after losing 50 pounds. My friends at work gave me roses to commemorate.

New Wheels=New Outlook?

So, finally the planets have aligned and the stars are in the correct position for me to get a new car. Here it is! It's not NEW, but new to me, of course. I love it so far! Looking forward to many years of good gas mileage, nothing falling off on the way to work, no duct tape, no coat hangers, and an actual working radio!  It is my Talisman, the thing that will be the pivotal point in my life for change. Or at least I'm hoping it will be. Just think, less money spent on gas and on fixing the car will mean more money to spend on utilities and rent and stuff! How exciting! Would love to be able to say that saving money on auto expenses would allow me to save money for a trip to Florida or to the west coast, but at this point I'm not sure how that will work out. Ever since bringing it home, I have been in a kind of melancholy mood. I thought I would be overjoyed and jumping up and down, opening the back door just to look out and see it. And I have been, to a point. But, as with all changes, there has come a sense of responsibility, a sense of longing for old habits dying hard, a certain trepidation about my ability to take care of something new. My shortcomings are all flashing in front of my eyes. The sense of wonder at how things worked out for me to be able to get the car, and wondering if I am worthy.  Am I worthy? The answer, definitely, is YES! I work hard and I deserve a nice car! Not only that, I'm 56 years old and need to drive something befitting my age. So,  I will walk (drive?) proudly and steadfastly into the future, with high hopes and a new outlook that this will make a difference in my life. No longer will I be afraid to drive anywhere. No longer will I be worried all the time about whether the car will make it another couple of years til I can afford another one. All those worries I used to have are gone now. This brings a new problem....WHAT WILL I WORRY ABOUT???  Just kidding, but you know what I mean. It is a load off my shoulders, and I'm thankful for that. So, as a new, proud Mama, with a not-so-great track record with cars, I'm showing off my baby. Say hello and keep your fingers crossed, for you are looking at the future!

I would like to add to this that the Kia didn't last more than 6 months. In fact, I barely drove it during that time. It was always breaking down. I am now the proud partial owner of a Toyota Corolla, and a car payment. I do love my car though. Had it for over a year now, and it's doing great!  (1/25/2013)

Spoiled Rotten....and Loving It!

When I was a girl growing up in GA, we never had air conditioning. We kept our windows open about 3 or 4 inches, and had a big ol' attic fan that sucked the hot summer air through those little spaces. Made lots of noise too. It was right by my bedroom, so I guess that's why I love to have a fan on when I go to sleep. We didn't know that we were missing. We didn't have air in the car, in school, pretty much anywhere we went.  As time went on, signs on stores used to shout, "COME IN! IT'S COOOOL INSIDE!". And they were cool, and it felt so good to walk in there on a hot day. I remember going to Sears and it would be so nice in there, and that little "bong bong" would be going off all the time on the overhead speakers. I guess it was some kind of paging system. (Gallagher, the comedian, said it was some kind of signal to women to shop. "Bong Bong, I'm shopping!" hilarious he is!) But the store I remember the most was McClellans. I would walk in and the fans overhead would stir the hot air around.  My shoes would clip-clop on the unvarnished hardwood floors. Everywhere there were bins filled with things not needed but so beautiful to a child. Five and ten cents. And you could smell the lunch at the counter. It was a wonderful place! I'm surprised I don't love to shop. But maybe that's why I like Dollar General so much. It's kind of the same thing..only cooler!
Anyway, to get to the point, my air conditioner went out one week ago tomorrow. It took 5 days for it to be fixed and during that time, I kept wondering how in the hell we ever survived in the GA heat without it. Of course, when I moved to Indiana and got married, we lived in a trailer with no air conditioning, but I don't remember it being so bad there either. Maybe it's because I'm older? Now when I get hot, I turn into a sweat-dripping, red-faced grouch who looks like a stroke waiting to happen. I have to admit, I didn't do diddly-squat during those five days except what I absolutely HAD to do. I looked forward to going to work because it was cooler there. I didn't sleep much. Getting old sucks! But now the AC is fixed, and I am happy to sit here and listen to it wind my electric meter up to oblivion! I will never take it for granted again! 
But sometimes, it would be nice to go back to the days where walking into McClellan's hot store on Marietta's square made me happy. And sometimes, you could just go in where it's cool. 

Confession of a Lazy Blogger

Bless me, Readers, for I have sinned. It has been 8 months since my last blog entry. In that time I have been on the computer every day and have ignored my blog as if it didn’t exist. I have no explanation for that. Is it because nothing has happened in my life that is blog-worthy? No…I’m sure plenty has happened, so that can’t be it…

Is it because some of the things are just too personal to write about in a blog? Well, maybe..some of them, but definitely not all!

I guess I will just have to confess that I am lazy, lazy, lazy when it comes to my blog. Please forgive me and I will try to do better!

So, what HAS happened since my last blog? Well, first, my house has been mostly clean..that’s a start! (see previous blog entry.) We’ve had Thanksgiving, Christmas, 2011, my 56th birthday, and several other birthdays and holidays. I guess considering the way the country is right now, I’m thankful to have a job and a house to live in. Maybe it’s just been a boring 8 months?

But as I’ve heard said many times, any day above ground is a good day, and it’s never too late to have a happy ending…All clichés, but definitely good thoughts.

Sending out only good thoughts to you, til next time!