I was waxing poetic....really I was....when my blog disappeared....I don't like starting over.....not one little bit.... So here goes.....yesterday.....a day off.....husband out of town....no time constraints....eat what I want....when I want.....what to do..... So, I headed into the city and met up with a couple of friends. We wanted to check out the local used bookstore's new location.  It was every bit as packed and busy as the previous location....and this place is bigger.....and a new release hardback was $13....I could find it cheaper else where and it would be brand new......oh well....I did find a paperback for my keeper room.....after a little more meandering....salvage place.....Big Lots.....I headed back home....but I was hunger....it was dinner time.....and yes there were left overs in the fridge....good leftovers....but I didn't want them.....what to do.....and there it was.....a deli with a drive through.....and they make reubens..... Now I am not a sandwich person....so why am I even thinking about this sandwich? Because I love it....and I don't have the opportunity to eat it very often.....so I drove up and placed my order......one reuben to go....no fries....just the sandwich.....deli heaven.... Now I live about 40 minutes away from this place....so I unwrapped the warm sandwich.....dark bun....pile of meat....sauerkraut...swiss cheese....and yellow mustard.....yummm......and started driving.....and savored the sandwich....bite by bite.....and yes I was driving and eating....it was so good...still enjoying the memory...will have to do that again soon. And what made the whole experience even better....my daughter posted a blog about her dinner yesterday....reuben sandwich....oh yes.....she is so my child.....I absolutely love that....I think I need another reuben.....so how am I going to work that......hmmm.....

I'm feeling really human today....that is compared to times when I feel more in control of my mouth and my emotions..... I hate it when people blame stuff on hormones....I really do...maybe it isn't hormones...just as I age...I'm finding myself less able to control stuff...and I really like to be in control of stuff.....maybe it's because......for decades really....people have always considered me the one who stays "cool, calm and collected"....and I pretty much did.....I just always carried on these great conversations in my head....and didn't verbalize them.....kinda scary when you think about it because I could carry on each side of the conversation.....hmmmm....guess you can make them say whatever you want to ....when you do that....but anyway....my feelings haven't changed....I just have a harder time keeping my opinions to myself now ....as I get older...so I have to try and find a new way to keep from them from coming out of my mouth,......cause they are just that...opinions...and everyone has them....and I probably don't really want to hear someone else's   ..... and I need to leave them in the hands of Someone else much bigger than me.......... actually if I had done that to begin with....I wouldn't be feeling quite so human....hmmm

So, today is the beginning of a new week....one that will be pretty busy in my world....with two part time jobs filling my days..... that is a good thing! I appreciate the extra cash....but my schedule for several months has involved just two days of work and so the idea of another two days on top of that.....well...that means I need to schedule my days.....they will not be quite as open as they normally are.... And this upcoming weekend is a holiday weekend.....and usually that involves some kind of get-together....here....there.....everywhere.....boy I'll need a vacation....oh that's right....when you work part time...you don't get vacations.....I'm still adjusting to that one..... But it will all be good.....two different jobs.....life is never boring.....husband taking a few days off....chilling with friends.....works for me....

So...our blueberry crop this year is pitiful.... Out of five blueberry bushes, only one is producing. I picked blueberries for the second time yesterday...and hardly had enough to cover the bottom of my container....and I had a helper.... his name is Oreo....he is a cat....and both times that I have picked blueberries he has joined me.... he helps by throwing his weight against the bush.....just like he is trying to shake the fruit off of it...and of course any dead ripe berries fall down....it is really hilarious....he is a strange cat...but very entertaining.... so what to do with the miniscule harvest....they taste great....but there are not enough for a cobbler....or a crisp..... It will need to be something with blueberries as an accent....  So I am thinking about making a crumb cake....the berries would be sprinkled through it....and we would have little bursts of flavor....that would work....and since it looks like that will be the extent of this years harvest...we will enjoy every bite!! Sounds good to me....

a day off.....

...play on the computer

...stick chicken in the crock pot on high....

...pick up check at the library, go to the bank, have the oil changed, go to the grocery store

...put away groceries....turn down the heat in the crock pot

...take leftover red pepper hummus to daughter's house and visit while eating lunch

...go home and jump in pool

...lay down in husband's new hammock and take a nap

...catch up on day with husband

...realize that crock pot was turned down to "keep warm" instead of "low" earlier in the day and the chicken is not anywhere near done....turn crock pot to high

...move from first seating area outside to second seating area

...after an hour....cut up potatoes to roast in oven while chicken finishes cooking

..relax outside some more...

...take meat off bones of chicken (yes it finished cooking), take potatoes out of oven and add feta cheese to them, heat up green beans with a can of diced tomatoes...

...eat at the table on the deck....

...wash dishes and crash for the evening....

...it was a really nice day off....

random musings from the road.....

...the more you drink....the more you have to stop

...breakfast is the best choice at Cracker Barrel....any time of day

...one should always wear a seat belt...especially when the driver turns a corner while driving very fast.....otherwise one slides across the seat into the other door...while laughing hysterically

...it is more fun to spend time with siblings when you are adults...then it was when you were kids

....twizzlers are great road trip munchies

....one should always be flexible....you never know when something will change your plans....like a quick trip to another airport...to catch a plane

....people "up north" were friendlier than people "down south" on this trip

...it was an amazing sight when my brother walked through two lines of American flags at the airport....they were welcoming a soldier returning from Iraq...and they had never met the kid...it was incredibly touching...

I really worry sometimes about my learning style...at least I think it is my learning style....since it seems to involve lots of repetition! It I haven't worked with  something in awhile (like several months) then I have to try and remember all the little steps to the process...and I just have to tell you that the brain doesn't work like it used to.....nope it sure doesn't.... I subbed at the library last night....which I love doing....but it had been several months....and of course there are always a few changes in proceedures.... this password has changed.... and stuff has moved slightly.....and you get the idea....but I only made a $4 mistake on the cash register...not like a $300 one I made the first day I worked....that's improvement right! And I do love working with books...and magazines....and movies....it's all good.....and most of the little kids had already been in and out.....(summer reading program which involves massive amounts of books) so it was a nicely paced evening....and since it was only a four hour shift it went pretty quickly.....and we didn't have to fuss at anyone....and only one table of people left books.....of course they were in the reference room....big books left in stacks on the table....what is it with people that will not clean up their messes.....but there are many other kinds of messes I could have had to deal with and in relation to those...this was easy....and much cleaner!!! So in a couple of weeks I will do it again...and this time the memories will be fresher....and it will be a piece of cake....oh yeah...I forgot to mention that 1/2 hour after I got to work....I was left on my own while my co worker went to dinner...scary huh....

It's a Monday.....yep....it really is.....time to jump into work mode....or swim through coffee to work mode...almost there....yep....another cup of coffee ought to do it....yep.... swimming...swimming.....gotta keep the head above water..... It is going to be a busy week...so I really have to remember what is happening each day.....work this place one day....work that place one day.....hang with family....do a little cleaning....work first place again....pack for trip....it all has it's place in the week.....and hopefully get a little lap time in the pool....cause my muscles are talking to me big time after I did some lap and stretching time a couple of days ago....yep....they are all talking to me this morning....stretch me....stretch me..... So that is the game plan....take each day as it comes and remember what all I have to do that day....simple....yep..simple.... Think I need that third cup of coffee....stimulates the brain you know.....John Tesh's  "Intelligence for Living' said so....and I need all the intelligence I can get.......yep.....

It is way too early in my world for the sound of power tools....really it is... not that I don't appreciate what they are doing....cause I do....really I do....but that screw removal thingie...sounds like jack brakes.....at least to my ears....and I am only on my second cup of coffee....not enough caffeine to deal with this yet.... Originally, my daughter and her kids were going to come over and hang out in the pool....not happening when there are guys working at the house....even though one of those guys is her husband....because the other one isn't.....yea....we have issues with who sees us in our swimsuits..... When a bunch of people come over to the house and go swimming....I will not be one of them.....not happening......I love our pool.....love it.....and love spending time floating on it's surface....and I will float with my daughter, my sister, my husband....a very few select friends....and that is it.....yep ....yep...yep... So I am hoping for a cloudy day....then I won't feel as if I am missing pool time.....and it will be cooler for the guys....see....I'm thinking of them....working hard outside on this summer day.....yep....it's all about them....really.....

My week is just a tad off balance....usually I work on Monday and Thursday....and this week I don't work until Wednesday....then Thursday..... A change in routine is a good thing.....makes it feel like a mini vacation....even though it isn't! Change knocks us out of complacancy..........and I have to remind myself of my to do list for the day.... and I always have this feeling in the back of my head that I've forgotten something....somewhere.....on that little list.... but I've had my coffee.....all three cups...(used to be two ...now it is three....to start the day) and I'm ready ...to get ready for the first event of the day....taking my mom to an eye appointment.....and I think I need to get a move on.....cause this computer is a time eating thing....before you know it ....half the day is gone.....