August is Over!

Thank heavens! My least favorite month of the year is finally gone. I fail to understand why this month seems to last for 4 months! I feel like it is just something to tolerate this year. But to end the month on a postive note, here are the highlights of my August, 2010.

• My husband's birthday on the 2nd. Love that man!
• Jacob got his drivers license. :o) Proud of him!
• I started working out this August in a gym, and have been committed to it for 4 days a week for 3 full weeks now! Woo hoo!
• My brother Danny and my nephew Dillon both have birthdays in August. They live in far away Northern Pennsylvania, so I don't get to celebrate with them. Danny is 47 (I think!)and Dillon is 14.
• My job is going well. I am super busy and the workdays are flying past.

I know there must be more, but that is all that comes to mind this evening. There, I finished the month on a positive note!

One more thought for the day....

Fudgilicious dark chocolate brownies anyone?

Gotta leave a little in the bowl to enjoy while they bake!

A little extra chocolate will make them perfect!

So happy that I can finally turn my oven on again without making the house too hot to sleep in it! I know it was pretty warm out today, but still, it was so nice to bake something!

Addiction

Suddenly I am addicted to the Caramel Frappe's from McDonalds. Like most junkies, I can't afford my habit. So I decided to try to make my own. It looked better than it tasted. It did not taste bad, I think I just got too much milk in it. I will have to work on perfecting my technique. I mostly blame my sister who talked me into trying it. They are so good when it is hot outside. I was blending and blending to get it nice and smooth, and I was reaching for a plastic cup to put it into when I found this in the cabinet! The happy leaf mug my dear friend Amy gave me! It looks tasty, doesn't it?

Leaf me alone while I sip my Frappe!

I also had a fun afternoon visiting a Homemade Gourmet sampling set up by my friend Cindy, who sells for them. I had never been to one before and the food was so delicious! Can't wait to try some of the tasty stuff!

A View From My Desk...

I was having a pretty awesome day today. I sold a good sized life policy in the morning after nearly a two month dry spell, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. Thursday is actually my second favorite day of the week. Friday being my favorite. Anyway, I digress...

I was at my desk, talking on the phone to a customer and I glanced to the side of my computer screen and saw the most amazing sight. OK, not exactly amazing, but awesome! I almost dropped the phone and the customer was saying, "Hello, are you still there....Lisa?" There was the most amazing car outside my window that I have ever seen. It was a Mini Cooper, which is pretty cool all on its own, but this was a wrapped Mini! From LOOPS ! My favorite yarn store!


Yes, you have heard me talk about and drool over the yarn, but is this not just the coolest little car EVER??? Even my boss was impressed and had to go outside to look at it up close. It is a sweater car or should we call it a scarf car?? OK, a knitted car! Love, love, love me a knitted car!

I can just hear both of you, Debbie and Amy, saying, "What you never saw that car before? I see it all the time!" Well, if that is true, why the heck did you never tell me!!


Amy, why did we not think of this and wrap your jeep in yarn???

Another Junky Day With Amy!

Today Amy and I met again for lunch in Skiatook, then shimmied over to Collinsville to visit one of our favorite junkiest junk shops. We were both a little pushed for time so we had to make a quick run through. That shop was so hot, we were both dripping sweat!



This caught my eye. I love the Maple leaf stamped on it! Leaves!!! Fall is almost here! Rejoice!



Amy found a Sock Horse. She would! I think she considered chasing me with it! Ugh, almost as bad as a Sock Monkey!

I didn't have any cash with me, intentionally, so I would not spend any and I found this little dish that I love. The leaves were just too much to resist. So Amy loaned me a dollar to buy it! Amy found some board games. Then she spilled a jar of marbles! So funny.

Back Together Again...

As promised, I rescued the duck this week. I finally remembered him on Thursday. I am sure all two of my readers will be relieved!

Have a ducky weekend! Sorry, I couldn't resist the pun!

Waiting...

Hello world! Don't you hate it when your life is in "limbo"? You are waiting for news that is slow in coming and everything in your life starts to circle around "the news"? That is such a bad feeling. I think it is best to set your eye on the prize, like it says somewhere in the Bible. Focus on that and move forward. However, when you have an obstacle that won't move you just have to function around it.


It is sort of like driving up a hill and knowing something is coming but not knowing exactly what it will be. I have to resist the urge to run ahead and try to look over the hill to see what is coming. There is no way to do that. I have to wait for it to happen.

That is what I seem to be doing these days and it is not so pleasant. I have to learn to trust God more to get me what I need. That is not easy for me either because I learned from a young age to depend on myself. I have to try to un-learn that stubborn independant streak and lean on God.


I Wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. Psalm 130:5

August Rain!

Today it poured and poured! I love heavy rain storms, especially in August. Some thunder would have been nice, but it was mostly just rain. It kept the temps down. I know it will get hot again, looks like back up to 100 next week, but I can't help but think that fall is sneaking in! That gave me a chill just thinking of it! Fall!!!

Our electricity went out at work twice today! Such a hassle to re-start my computer and try to re-capture my work in progress. Still no rescue of duck number two. I wish he would quack at me or something! Maybe that would help me remember.

Reunited!

Yesterday for the first time in about 14 years my Dad's side of the family (Hamil's) got together. Not all of us were able to come, but it was long over-due, and we decided to do it again before the end of the year. Maybe more people can join us for the next one. Of my siblings, Debbie was there, and my little brother Joe was there. Danny, Donnie and Christopher were not. It sure was nice to see everyone!

This picture is Bruce, my sister's hubby and Uncle Bud. Male bonding stuff.This is from left to right, My cousins Carrie Sue, and Sharon my baby brother Joe, my sister Debbie and me.

Jacob and Mattie Jane, my niece.

Adventures From My Desk...

So today I was at my desk, working diligently. Trying to get the pile of paper thinned out between walk in customers and phone calls. It is really hard to ever start and finish a task before you are interrupted. Especially when you are alone. Well, my boss was there, but honestly, he does his own thing. He only helps me with "overflow" phone calls. Anyway I have a tow bill to pay. I have learned to do this type of work quickly and I have a process for it that makes sense to me.

1. Check to make sure the customer has coverage. Check.


2. Find my checkbook. Check (literally!).


3. Make the check out to the customer or the towing company as the situation warrants. Check.


4. Pull apart the triplicate check. In this case, top copy to towing company, 2nd copy to State Farm, bottom copy for our file. Check.


5. Make copy of authorization to pay and tow bill for our file. Check.


6. Make copy of tow bill to enclose with payment for tow company. Check.


7. Put check with copy of tow bill in envelope, ready for mail. Check.


8. Put middle copy of check in with authorization and copy of tow bill into special mailing sleeve, then into envelope to mail to "the Farm". Check.


9. Staple our copies together and file. Check.


10. Postage two envelopes. Check. Done!

I can actually do this process pretty quickly, if I can do it uninterrupted. Today, I was hurrying so I could get it done before the phone rang. Between step 7 and 8 a problem arose. I was snatching the papers out of the copier at my desk when I dropped the authorization in the small space between my desk and the window! I have not looked into that space in a year or more.

Here is what I saw....

The authorization is on the left side of the first picture. The size of a half sheet of paper. The other picture has one of the rubber duckies Amy got me. The other ducky is still safely sitting on my desk. There is also a State Farm plastic cup, a tube of Bath and Body Works Japanese Cherry Blossom lotion, and various other missing paperwork, that got filed in my mystery "file cabinet-crevice" and about a gazillion dead bugs! I tried to reach the authorization form. No luck. I feel like I pulled my shoulder muscle trying to stretch too far! Crud! Can you say "workmans comp"????

I went on a mission to find something that would reach it. What I really need is one of those scissory extension reacher grabby thingys for old people to reach things on the top shelf. I found a long ruler. 18 inches. Maybe that will work. Turns out that 5 minutes later and about 100 failed attempts that it didn't. I am sweating and getting cranky. I could get it half way up the side of the desk and it fell, over and over. Crud, crud, crud!

Aha! put scotch tape on the end of it! Eureka!

Tune in next week for the rescue mission for the other rubber ducky. It is just so wrong that I forgot and left him down there so long! Apparently, he does not eat dead bugs. Maybe he killed them?

Just another day in the life of a State Farm Agency! Who said insurance is boring?

Pet Peeve...

Do you have one? I think most of us have more than one. The first thing that popped into my head when I thought of this is totally gross. Ick! But here it is.

You are talking to a friend or standing or sitting next to someone, child or adult and they turn their head so that you have an eye to ear straight line shot into their ear. Yuck! It's all waxy and nasty! Clean your ears! Clean your kids ears! Make your spouse clean their ears! But do it at home!!! Not with your car keys in public! Ewwww!

OK, so what is your pet peeve? Share please. No picture to post this time. Thank God I did not get a picture of anyone's waxy ear!

August Heat Wave

Here we are in the middle of August and it is just stinkin hot! The forcast for the next week has all triple didgets. This is just miserable! Not my favorite time of the year. A friend on Facebook pointed out that today is the opening of the football season, which indicates that fall is just around the corner. That made me feel better. Just a few more weeks of this misery and my favorite season will be here. God is good!

Tonight I am giving my yard a good soaking. Should have been doing this last week, too. Hopefully it will recover. Jacob was against it. For some reason he does not want the grass to grow. Whats up with that?

VBS the Finale!

Finished this morning. I guess I do need to undecorate, but I will probably do that in a few weeks. Or maybe someone at church will do it for me if I wait long enough. :o)

Finally got the house mostly cleaned up and it is so much more relaxing to relax in a clean house! My floors are swept and mopped, the house smells lemony fresh. I still need to dust, but I decided to wait till tomorrow. My back is hurting.

Walking starts again on Sunday. No ifs ands or "butts".... cuz mine is getting too big!

I took some more cloud pix this week. Here is one I enjoyed...

And my sister took this one, love it! It makes me so happy to look at it. I can't explain it. I would love to frame it and hang it. Maybe I would never have to look for a silver lining in my black cloud again!

Photo credit: Debbie Turrentine

VBS, Part 2

Finally finished decorating! I had some good help in the elementary hallway from my partner in crime, Mattie, her husband James, and my Auntie Mary. Thanks guys! VBS starts Weds. Hopefully we will have a lot of neighborhood kids! Lots of people put in many hours of work. I counted my hours, I was there about 16 hours in all and I know many others were there much longer, and probably still are! I guess they just do this once a year so you will have time to forget how much work it is! We made a volcano and some dinosaurs. Wish we had more time to work on that area. Couls have used some clouds and maybe some more lava!



Finally the finished Fish hall that was my favorite part, and we spent more time on it than the other part.

Love this funny fish!

Confession time... I have not walked in a solid week! I am so tired from VBS prep, I can't get it together. Next week, for sure!