Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Almost done getting TAXES ready

Have I ever told you that I am a painter person.

I can add, subtract, multiply, divide and do fractions in my head, but I cannot do accounting!

That's the most illogical thing to me.

Double entries and thingamabobbers, and whatits, and all those other things that go along with accounting.

I can't even say statistician--I can spell it, I just can't SAY it.

So I do my best to get the tax stuff done. That's all I can do.

I came up with a complicated system of keeping the stuff posted, and it does what I need for it to do!!

Next year should be a lot easier.

The first year we were married when it came time to do taxes Jerry flat out refused to do it.

Mind you it was the EZ form.

To keep him out of jail, I did it and from then on it has been my THING to do the taxes and now get them ready for the CPA.

YUCK!!!

I'm READY for a flat tax. Twenty percent and forget it.

Man that would be easy.

It sure would put all those tax lawyers out of work, and the CPA and the IRS people.

More Later, Linda

 

Monday, February 25, 2013

It's WEATHERING!!

Last night we woke up to thunder. And then the nitelights flickered.

But they came right back on.

So, I have weather on my mind. It has quit raining and the streets are nearly dry---

and the SNOW is on the way.

They -- whoever THEY are -- are telling us that we will have from 1-5 inches of snow.

MOISTURE!!!

Then I got to thinking about the amount of water that is put back into the seas when the icebergs melt.

Not much!!

Even though I would love to have lots of moisture---I really DON'T want two feet of snow to get one inch of moisture.

Know what I mean??

I was looking in the archives and I found some pictures of Sarah and the hail we had last year around this time.

At this point it was still hailing!!

BIG hail clumps? drops? stones?

Whatever you call hails!
This is one clump of hail.

Clumps!! That's what they are!

And now we have Sarah's take on the advent of HAIL
Does that tell you how very much she was excited about hail!!

NOT!!!!

More later, Linda


 

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Wondering!!!

Sometimes I start to wondering...

this time about a sugarless way to get my CHOCOLATE!!

YUMMMOOOO!!

Chocolate WITHOUT the sugar.

So, I filled the coffee pot, put in the filter, put in 2 scoops of coffee for 6 cups AND

One tablespoon of cocoa and a half teaspoon of CINNAMON.

The pot JUST now got through brewing.

Will let you know what happened.

So-- this is what happened. Too, way too much cinnamon. Even with the half and half in it.

Tomorrow EXPERIMENT 2--less cinnamon--more chocolate a splash of half and half.

More later, Linda

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Have you EVER!!?????

One of the many things I wonder about is skinny dipping.

Not that I would, but I have wondered. I mean REALLY---take off all your clothes and jump into frigid water.

NOT!!!!

But then, what if the water is warm, like on a beach in the tropics.

That would be like sinking into warm salty water---

YUMMMM

Another thing I wonder about is skydiving. YES i do!!

Wonder that is. I would NEVER fall out of a completely perfect airplane. But I do wonder---

What does it feel like to have all that air rushing by your face. To look down and see the trees getting bigger and more defined.

To come to a sudden halt, and to find your feet back on Terra firma?? What does it feel like?

I have never and won't skydive!!

Have you ever wondered what your whole body would feel like if you put a habenro pepper into your mouth and crunched it up?

FIRE!! I would imagine. Never for me!

I would like to go and see the Great Wall of China and walk on it.

I would like to see and climb the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

I would like to go and pay my respects to all the fallen soldiers at the national cemeteries around the world. I've been to two. Made me cry for all the lost lives. For the families that would never be able to go see where their loved one was buried.

I would like to snuggle up with Killer and Mandy again. And I will someday.

I have ridden the Texas Giant at Six flags----ONCE!!

I have eaten horse meat---found out after the fact!

I have eaten calf fries----didn't like them.

I have climbed the ladder from the boat to an air craft carrier anchored off the coast of Los Angeles.
I was traumatized by the ladder---that you could see through to the water. The cook gave me two cookies because I was crying so hard.

I went to see Les Miserables and came out crying and still get tears in my eyes. When Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe have tears streaming from their red swollen eyes, it gets to you. I mean Wolverine and Commander in Chief CRY? How would you react.

That's just some of the things I will, have a won't do.

What about you?

More Later, Linda

 

Friday, February 22, 2013

Why did I EVER put a name like that on this BLOG????

Confessions of an old lady. Man--am I crazy or WHAT???

I don't want to confess-----

ANYTHING!!

I never slipped out the window to go see my boyfriend.

I never smoked.

I never cheated on a test.

I never told a real important lie.

I never forgot to pay a library fine.

I never kicked the cat.

Or forgot to feed the dog.

I just did what had to be done.

Now, I'm doing what I WANT to do.

 I'm talking to women about their futures.

And about their makeup.

I love it.

That's my confession!!!

Want to know a secret??

My life is full and satisfying!!

More Later, Linda

 

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Sarah and the Cell phone

Sarah doesn't really like to have her picture taken.

She is not a photo HOG! The flash must hurt her eyes.

Now I use the phone to take pictures of her whenever I can.

Of COURSE it took her a little time---just a little---to get used to no flash!

Or she could just be shy. NOT!!! Nevry EVERY!! Shy?? Not Sarah!


She is AVOIDING me now!!

Avoidance is NOT good.

We will have to try another way to get her to pose.


Yeah RIGHT!!

Well, this IS better. But she is still AVOIDING the camera.She obviously has decided that she does NOT want that THING pointed at her. Just like a model. One day she likes to have has photo taken and the next FORGET it.Sometimes I think she's a PRIMA DONA!!! You know -- she doesn't want her picture taken and then she does and then she doesn't know WHAT she wants.!!
She is too CUTE!!
 
More Later, Linda
 
 
 

 

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

THE Rodeo!!!!!

OMG!! Oh my goodness. It was a rodeo.
So there are three of the guys. Jerry in the light hat, Loyd in the black hat, and Mike in the jacket and white shirt. We knew Mike in Farmington. And he worked with our Dave for a while in California.

Lots of horses---cowboys---cowgirls---popcorn---and cotton candy!!

I didn't know it when I got the tickets, but it was the last day of the Stock Show AND the rodeo.
This is the guy who had the monkey strapped to the Border Collie and they penned the sheep. The money is the little red spot on top of the black and white spot.
But there were still LOTS of people there. The stands were full by the time the rodeo started.

The arena was built in 1935 by the WPA (what ever that means) and is in really good shape.

We saw the grand entry. It always makes me cry!! There is just something about the Star Spangled Banner that gets to me every time.

Did not get to see the animals this year. Well, since it was just Mary and me and 5 guys what could I expect. We did see a lot of tractors, four wheelers, and pretty girls in the booths.

The miniature horse and wagon run. I never have figured out how they know which way to go but it is fun to try to figure out who is the winner.
I just was trying out a special effect. This is the hat of the man in front of me.
Ad then came the BULL riding. There really wasn't much bull RIDING that day. Most of it was falling off the bull.

This clown had gotten a concussion the night before. But the show has to go on and he was there but staying WAY back from the action. I don't really blame him.

It was a good day. And in May I get to send off for the tickets for next January.

More Later, Linda


 

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Rainy and Frog---no Foggy! DUH!!!

For years we have mimicked our kids and grandkids.

David Ray used to say his cup was emmy when he wanted it filled.

Our daughter called a toothbrush a brushteeth.

Our son call an elbow a hicklebow.

Nonie called things as she saw them.

Andrew was very graphic. Once he was telling me about a movie he had seen. He didn't know who was in it. He did know what it was about, but the best was when he stood up real straight and lifted his right arm into the air and said , "It was one of those movies from that LADY" .

And Tyler was one of those kids who liked to keep things going. When they all came for lunch he would ask questions and go around the table until he got an answer from everyone.

And I have no idea which one of them call FOG -- FROG. Someone did and it stuck.

This year Andrew and Tyler will be 27. They are the youngest in their respective families and the youngest of our grandkids.

We are blessed to have 4 wonderful grandkids and 2 wonderful granddogs!!

More later, Linda

Monday, February 4, 2013

Maps

Used to be when you wanted to find your way, you had to get a map.

They were folded at least 100 times into these tiny little slips of paper.

They had all the little towns, communities, lakes, ponds, schools, hilly to mountainous areas and so on, on them.

Wonderful pieces of paper filled with ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!!

And if you had an imagination, you could go anywhere because you could find it.

I just got off of GOOGLE maps.

It is not the same thing. I have 1 -- that's ONE -- piece of paper. It shows me the road from my house to the place in OKC that we are going to tonight.

No drama, no fun, NOTHING but one place to another.

NOTHING for the imagination -- or to fire the inner spirit.  Not like maps of ten years ago.

They WILL come back- if for no other reason than kids need to FIRE their imaginations to new and exciting things.

When was the last time you had a surge, a spark, a NEED, a GUT wrenching NEED to go somewhere -- if only in your mind.

More later, Linda

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Finished Product

The other day I told you about the mural we did.

Well here it is.



It was so much fun doing this and everyone in my family who could volunteered to help paint,

I was son in law Keith that decided we needed the lights at the place where the actual lights are.

My friend Lynn painted the top part of the sky. Our Lynn painted part of the sky too.

Keith make the stands for the Masonite to stand on and Dave helped with the hauling of the panels to the church.

This is one of those projects that you look at and can't believe that it is actually done, for one thing!

And that it actually looks like what it's supposed to.

Thanks to Our Lynn for the pictures of the mural.

Well,it's 5.20 on February 3,2013.

Do you know what that means??

Are YOU ready for some FOOTBALL????

More later, Linda
 

Saturday, February 2, 2013

iPhones!!

I went over this morning to help my friend Betty with her iPhone.

We got some of her problems fixed and she is getting real GOOD with it.

I mean REALLY!!

Then I saw where the new update had been installed but not downloaded---so we had to do that.

And somewhere from when I got there and when we downloaded the update, the wifi got lost!!

I STILL don't know WHERE it went.

I could have gone down a black hole for all I know!!

We worked with it and got some other things installed. Got her weight watchers app installed and she still can't use it because somewhere in the etherworld of her computer she didn't get the weight watchers program used id and password  written down right.

She did put in an email to get them to get back with her and they sent an email back telling her they would  get back on Monday.

TUESDAY may be the prominent day in installing Weight Watchers program.

Then Jerry called and I had to go.

Monday I will tell you what happened to her wifi.

Monday seems to be the best day next week.

More later, Linda

Friday, February 1, 2013

Volunteering!!!

I seem to be a person who is always volunteering for SOMETHING!

I was the mom who was ALWAYS at the school -- helping with something.

I was a volunteer at the hospital.

I was the Girl Scout mom--let the brownies, worked with the cookie drive, took the girls to the summer camp.

All that-- and more.

When Lynn and Dave were in Junior High and High school, I was the mom who took all the kids to practice. All the girls to their practice. And anything else that they thought to do.

I was cheerleader mom for a year AND made their costumes.

I enjoyed every minute!

So, it was really not a surprise when Lynn called me one day," Mom, are you busy?"

I knew something was up!!

It didn't take long for her to tell me about my next volunteering event!!

At our Church this past October, we had a Jesus House walk through thing.

There were six rooms, each with a different scene. It told the story of  3 teens. Some of it even made me cry, and shrink into myself. It was AWESOME!!

Anyway, I digress, had volunteered to do the first room -- because her mom could paint murals. 

I finally remembered that the last one I had done was 15 years ago. I was a lot younger.

October of 2012 was HOT. So I had just a little time each day to paint.

I want to thank Lynn Dakour, Dave Gowan, Lynn Smith, Keith Smith and my wonderful husband for helping me. I couldn't have done it without all of you.

This is what I painted---from the East to the West.


Sorta crooked pictures!! I was too excited. I love doing things like this!!


 

Do I put in the grass in the foreground. I did a little grass.

The lady in the house behind us came out side to look us over!! OOPS! I forgot about all the perverts that take pictures of schools. YUCK--OO! Had to spend some time calming down her worries.!

The main entrance and the focal point of the painting!

More detail!

I dcided to end here at the west of the picture.

When we finished, We had a seven foot tall and 40 foot long painting.

BIG!!

Thanks to my training I was able to get the perspective pretty good. The kids from Duncan High thought it was good. That's high praise. And it all goes to God!!



More later, Linda