A Kiss

Date went well. Good kisser. :-)

All the Things

I just worked two 12-hours days in a row, and I'm beat. But I met my deadline, damnit! I *think* I have a date tomorrow. I made plans with a guy I met online who lives about 3 minutes from here, but we keep playing email/phone tag so I don't know if it will be delayed or not. Should be interesting. A businessman, older than me, very direct (no BS). We'll see. I'm quite direct also and brutally honest about myself and what I want and don't want. I thought I scared him off and sent a "thanks and good luck" email, but a few days later he emailed back and said, "you aren't getting away that easily". Love that in a man!

The IT guy at work keeps saying how much he is looking forward to the OC fair and Disneyland. Too cute.

The remodeling is going well, but having the house torn apart all the time is maddening. The contractor is working on the guest bedroom now since I am having guests soon. I don't want to take pics until I have stuff put away in the rooms, so be patient with me. :-) My bedroom looks AWESOME, the office is painted now, and the crown molding is going in there tomorrow maybe. My bathroom is done except for cleaning and putting my excessive bath products away. I have a new air conditioner for my room, one with a hose instead of going in the window. The house air conditioning is being fixed, but it doesn't cool down the upstairs bedrooms very well so I need the extra one, so I don't die. I can't wait until I can have a balcony built with French doors and stairs going down to the pool from my bedroom. That is the plan, but it has to wait. That will be the last thing. But HOW COOL WILL THAT BE? My own private paradise.

The Crazy Place

I JUST got home from work. It is crazy there. Being that it is a brand new facility, there is much to do and I am in charge of a lot more than I used to be. It is a challenge. I do not WANT to be a workaholic, but I can't stand things not getting done right. One of these days I'm going to figure out a way to retire, but it IS nice making a bunch more mula. I guess SAVE SAVE SAVE then be done.

The IT guy is too young (31) and the Validation guy is moving back East when his contract is done. Oh well. Friends are good. Not the right time, not the right person(s).

Frozen pizza for dinner. LOL.

Only Me

I spilled coffee all down my white shirt today, then tried to wash the spots out in the bathroom sink. If you can visualize it, you will see my humiliation. The spots did not come out, and now I'm at work in a wet white shirt. Yeah. Didn't think that one all the way through.

The capper? The VP from Corporate is visiting, and I had to intro myself to the staff. Super day.

Ninja Mom

There are 3 flies in here and my mom is in ninja mode. I just felt the wind from her fly-swatting over my head. She is frigging dangerous with that thing! LOL. SMACK! SLAM! SWAT! SLAM! Now she has the garbage disposal going. Gross. It is very hard to concentrate. Now she's giggling. I live in a nut house. I'm surprised the dogs aren't barking.

Had a really good day at work. Why? Well, let's see. I have been invited by some new friends to the OC (Orange County) fair and when I stood up from my desk, put my hands on my hips and addressed the trailer, "Who wants to go to Disneyland with me?" I got a very enthusiastic IT (Information Technology) guy raise his hand and say, "ME!". So, it looks like I'm going to start having some fun. Then I had one of the Validation guys asking me how to treat his sunburn. Yes, it makes sense, no? A California guy raised in Arizona inquiring about sunburn care from someone who lived in Washington State for 33 years. Hmmm.

The Boy is Good!

Lou is OK! He has some issues, but after x-rays, an EKG and other tests, the vet was happy with his health overall. THANK YOU, GOD. It was hard waiting 3 hours to find out. This pic cracks me up, he knows to close his eyes now for when the flash goes off. LOL.

I caught up on work today (blah) and laid out for a bit. Had a tuna melt for dinner and now I'm alphabetizing my CDs and finally putting them away. Not an exciting day.

I'm worried about my Lou.

His tongue was pale grey yesterday and now today he is walking funny. I've been trying to carry him up and down the stairs because of his condition, but sometimes you just can't control a Cairn Terrier. I jumped online and found a new vet and had the records transferred. We have an appointment at 11 am. I'm beside myself. So worried. I can't lose my Lou. I CAN'T. Not now. He is like a child to me. I didn't know you could love a dog so much. I need a hug. I need someone to hold me and tell me it's going to be OK.

Selfies in the Car

Goofing off in the car on the way to lunch with friends at some place called "The Lone Star". Thermometer says 96 degrees. Yikes.

I Love This

A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like."

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.

There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, "I don't understand." The Lord said "It is simple. It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. The greedy think only of themselves."

When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you. Remember that. 

Good Things

Not only am I down 44 pounds total now, but I had acne issue on a particular part of my body that is almost completely gone now! Between the sun, a chlorinated pool and a really good dermatologist, bye, bye ugliness! I'm working on a great tan too! (It was 98 degrees today.) So, I'm happy about those things.

Had a steak sandwich for dinner that was SOOO good, but now it is really muggy, and if I had a raft, I would sleep in the pool.

3 Different Things

1. OK, I'll keep believing in love if you insist, someday I will dance on the beach with "The One".

2. Have you ever discovered that you have been lying to yourself? It is a bit of an epiphany, I guess. Over the years I have thought about and told myself why I write in this blog. A few different answers have come out. The actual truth of why hit me not so long ago, and there is only one real reason I still write here. The reason I started the blog differs from why I continue to write in it. Maybe someday I will reveal it, but for now it is just for me to know. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

3. I just bought a cute new blouse, necklace (see pic) and shoes. Time for my nightly swim before I turn in.

Mail Bag - Questions Answered

Q: "Why don't you believe in love anymore?"
A: I guess I should have written that better. I do believe love exists, and of course there are different kinds of love, Family/Kids/Pets/Friends vs. Romantic. I know true love is real, but what I was trying to say was that the kind of love that is supposed to happen in "romantic love" has somehow been (partly) destroyed in our society. It is a selfish, self-centered world hell-bent on instant gratification and the propensity to "bail" when one becomes "unhappy". There is a lack of commitment and sacrifice. I see it everywhere, and unless you live in a fantasy world, you know it's true. My problem is that me finding someone outside of this human condition in our present era is statistically very low, and the chances of heartbreak are very high. I haven't given up, but I know the odds are against me. I also don't want someone with me (and vice versa) just because they don't want to be lonely. People can be very deceiving and will sometimes go to great lengths to get what they want. I'm just being realistic, that's all. God can do anything though, so I'm just trusting in Him.

Q: "Why do you think all of these people are "looking for something" on your blog? Isn't that a little paranoid?"
A: Well, perhaps, but one of them is my ex-husband's buddy who was feeding my ex-husband info from my blog during our divorce (I know that for a fact out of the ex-husband's mouth), and now that all of that is over and my ex-husband is remarried, it is beyond me what he is going to my blog to find out. I actually have a suspicion, but I can't say publicly. I seriously doubt he "just wants to know what I'm up to." The others are old coworkers that I was not particularly close to and never even told about my blog. They obviously saw it up on my computer screen at work and started visiting, but I can tell you right now neither one of them give a rat's ass about my life, and I can't help but wonder if there is an ulterior motive, especially when one signs on from across one part of the country one minute, then the other minutes later from the opposite side of the country. Obviously, there is some talking (gossiping?) going on there. WEIRD. Sorry if that's offensive, guys, but it is weird to me. So, anyway, I thought I would say hello to them. :-) No answer of course.

Q: How do you know when someone goes to your blog?
A: That's my secret, sorry. ;-) Remember, the internet is NOT a secure place.

My Odd Posts

Some of you may be wondering about the odd posts of late that call out some names. Don't worry, for those of you who are my friends and those of you who just honestly enjoy my blog, those posts aren't for you. Blogs can be both a blessing and a curse. No matter where you go, there are twisted motherfuckers out there. So be it.

On a different note, it got really stuffy in here tonight. The air conditioner needs to be fixed, so once I got too hot, I went out for a nice swim. I could see the stars and it brought back sweet memories of when my grandpa and I used to float on our backs and he would point out the constellations to me. I miss those times. Times when life was so effortless and everything was new and exciting. I almost purchased an annual pass to Disneyland today. I will soon. I am trying to embrace my inner child again and forget about all the pain. I'm almost myself again. There are still some old demons clamoring about, but I'll beat them.

Stalker Ex-Coworkers.

Dave and Travis, hello! Do you guys email each other and say "Hey, have you been to Cheryl's blog lately?" LOL. One signs in, then the other. STRANGE.

Love Blows

Unfortunately, I don't really believe in love anymore. People just get what they need from you and leave. That or they just keep using you because they don't want to be alone. We are all guilty of it. I'm not just talking about my stupid past, I see it all around me. Talking to people, and observing. You may just think I'm jaded, but if you look around, even look deep inside yourself, you'll see it's just the human condition. If you are lucky enough to feel a real kind of love, are you strong enough to risk everything? Or do you not believe either? Tell me, do you see it anywhere?

MEAT

Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! BBQing tenderloins tonight with Romano cheese mashed potatoes and a garden salad.

What's the temp?

The new backyard thermometer. Isn't it cool? I thought so.

Too Much to Do

Well I was up until 4 am trying to straighten out my Quicken books (UG) then got up at 9 am and ran some errands. I'm sick of Home Depot! LOL. My bedroom is almost done along with the office and 1 bathroom. They have all been painted and now I'm having some white crown molding going in. Going to look great! I will do before and after pics, they will be quite entertaining. Had the "popcorn" ceilings taken out and put all new fixtures in the bathroom. This is why everything is still all over the place, plus the house was still furnished with all my grandparent's stuff still in it. So needless to say, it is quite a challenge and a crapload of work. Not to mention the expense. I'm laying out by the pool now getting sunburnt. Skin cancer, bah!!

Loving on my babies.

Playin' with the pups.

"Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened."

I'm never leaving the backyard!

My sundeck is done! Beautiful! I've been laying in the sun and swimming today. To hell with cleaning and unpacking! Who wants to join me?