7/31 All the time there is

Many years ago I said, "I don't have enough time."

A friend said, "You have all the time there is."

How true. Ever since then, I never say I don't have time to do something or I didn't have time to finish a project.

I have all the time there is.

So I didn't make time, or I chose to do something else. Whatever. The time is there. How I use it is up to me.

With that being said (such an overused phrase nowadays), I have so much to do and time is limited. I have to pick and choose.

So I'm going to choose to work on my vacation. I'll take some days and not do anything, but other days I absolutely have to work. Things will pile up and then going back to work will be a horrible chore. I think it will be best to do it this way. We'll see.

7/30 Q's home!

I woke up at 4:30 this morning, and Gerri was heading home by 5. Her visit was wonderful from start to finish (even including the sunburn); but it's always nice to get your house back to normal.

Got to work by 7 and got some "stuff" done.

Had a meeting this afternoon with a representative of Habitat for Humanity International. On the way to the meeting Maria and I stopped at High Cotton for lunch. I had friend green tomatoes with remoulade sauce. Oh my it was an absolutely delicious meal! I could eat fried green tomatoes several times a week and not grow tired of them.

After the meeting I picked up Quincy. Boy oh boy, that little girl was happy to see me. And I felt the same way. She was gone for three nights, and I really missed her. Right now she's sleeping on my bed while I'm typing.

7/29 It's been great

Last night Gerri, Genia, Caroline, and I went to the Beau Rivage and Hard Rock Casinos. We had such a good time. Afterward we went to the Elks to a dance. Angie joined us there. I'd said I wanted to gamble and also dance with a stranger for my birthday. I did both--although Genia got the stranger to dance with me. :)

And today we all went to the beach. First of all, Gerri and I are both burned, but it's okay. When Caroline got there she brought a shade canopy that she just bought. We took it all apart and got out the directions to erect it. It turned into a big laugh. Finally several young men came over to help us. They are Navy Seabees (engineers) and putting things together is what they do. :) They did a great job of helping us, and were so friendly and kind.

Genia and I rented a jet ski for 40 minutes, and so we each got to ride for 20 minutes. It was freakin' amazing. I absolutely loved it. The Seabees said we were the coolest old ladies they'd ever met.

Gerri and I picked up a pizza on the way home. We finished up the salad fixin's at my house and had pizza. It was excellent. We're getting up at 4:30. So I'm in my room to type this, and to relax a bit. Will try to go to sleep around 9 or so. Ger will leave for Atlanta around 5 AM.

The visit has been superb. Hope she can come again. I'm sure going to visit her too.

7/27/ What fun

I worked from home this morning, and Gerri arrived around noon. It was absolutely wonderful to see her. And even though it's been 31 years since we've seen each other, it's been just like yesterday. She's still cute, funny, and klutzy, just like in college. What a joy!

We took a tour of some of the beautiful areas and some disaster areas. We went by our volunteer camps and also by my office. I introduced Gerri to everyone there. And was incredibly proud of the staff in the office. We're incredibly lucky to have them.

We took Q to the kennel, so I don't have to worry about her this weekend. I miss her already, but it's the smart thing to do.

Tonight we cut up tons of different vegetables and made a salad bar. Friends came over, we had beer and wine, ate the salad bar, and then played games--Catchphrase and Texas Poker. It's not Texas Hold'em but rather a game played with one card and one dollar. It's quite fun.

People just left.

Tomorrow Gerri and I are going traveling to Pass Christian and Bay St. Louis. Then tomorrow night we're going to a casino with Genia, Caroline, and Angie. It's for my birthday. I still have $200 from when we gambled before. So I said I'm giving each of my friends a $20 bill to gamble with.

It's my birthday party and I'll do what I want. Should be fun.

7/26 My surprise

Beata called me tonight. Said she had a birthday surprise for me and was going to send it next week. I said that I was leaving Thursday for a meeting in Jackson and from there it was off to Quincy. I also said she could ship whatever it was to my office because someone would always be there. She said she didn't think that would work.

The surprise was my son Rob. I can't believe it. He was going to come visit me for my birthday and I'm going to be gone. That really makes me mad.

I want it all...my vacation and my son. Is that too much to ask?

7/25 And so it goes

I dreamed Quincy said, "I think I'll just crawl into your bed and sleep." And she did. As she climbed over me, it woke me up. I thought, "Gee, I have a psychic connection with my dog." And went back to sleep.

On another front, I worked late at home. And had a nice long conversation with my boss in Austin. I'm feeling pretty good about things, except for trying to figure out the budget.

Had to buy a new vacuum. My old "electric broom" just wasn't picking up the dog hair. The Eureka made me shout Eureka!

Gerri will arrive Friday. I look forward to a fun weekend. It will be great to see her.

7/24 Got 'er done

So many things hanging over my head, but I got three important things done this afternoon. I got my license plates ordered, registered to vote, and got my drivers' license. Oh yeah, I feel so good.

Perhaps you noticed that all of the above are personal things and not related to my job. I noticed that too. Didn't accomplish anything at work--worked on the budget all day. Aaarrrggghhhh!

(Quincy is still sleeping all night. I love that puppy.)

7/23 Another rainy day

First of all the good news--Q slept through the night three nights in a row. I'm hoping for a fourth.

Drove to Bay St. Louis today for a meeting. The weather was beautiful, until I got home. Then the deluge began. Lots of thunder, lightning, and wet stuff. Weatherman said Beach Blvd. (Hwy 90) was flooded in spots.

Q hasn't been too anxious to go outside. :) It looks like it's slowed down, so I'll encourage her to go outside before it starts up again in earnest.

My grass is sure growing!

7/22 Hairspray and Charlotte

Genia and I went to see Hairspray last night. Wow, it was so good. I'd loved the original John Waters' movie, but it's a cult favorite and not for the faint-hearted. The musical is sweeter, lighter, and altogether wonderful.

A few years back I bought the Broadway soundtrack and fell in love with the music. Unfortunately I didn't get to see it on stage (yet). That's okay, though, because I'm thoroughly besotted with the movie and will probably see it again.

And Quincy didn't do anything wrong while I was gone. She did chew up one of her own toys but that is easily cleaned up.

Also, I am going to work on the Charlotte, NC Avon Breast Cancer Walk. I'll be the Operations Division Leader. The walk is in October. I'll drive to Sanford and leave Quincy with Rob and Beata while I work on the weekend. Then they'll drive to Charlotte and drop off Q so that will save me about three hours in my long drive. Can't wait. The walks are always awesome.

7/21 Weekend

Yes, last night was fun. And today I got some work done, waiting for the delivery guys. They brought 1/2 of my daybed...the trundle bed part. So Gerri will have a decent place to sleep next weekend.

Paula's husband Tommy is working in the yard, and Q and I are enjoying the air conditioning instead. Yep, I picked up Quincy around 12:30. She was thrilled to see me; and I echoed that emotion. Right now she's napping and I've been reading the new Harry Potter. Ordered it from Amazon and it was delivered today.

Later I'm going to see the movie Hairspray with a friend. Have been really looking forward to seeing it. Hope it lives up to my expectations. I've played the Broadway Soundtrack for a few years, so already know the songs, except for a few new ones that they always add for the movie.

(I'm so happy that Quincy is home....)

7/20 Lonely

I put Q in the kennel overnight because I went to a friend's for dinner and cards. Well, I got home around 10:45 and now I'm missing my Q-dog. It seems so empty in the house. Can't wait to pick her up tomorrow.

Dinner was fun and so were the card games. But I'm tired now, and will crash for a while. (Oh, Q slept all night last night. What a treat.)

7/19 The mighty have fallen

I've known it was coming. The old lady dance--shuffling around, have to walk slowly and carefully because I might fall, being cautious--all these things were far into the future, until yesterday morning. Quincy had gotten water all over the kitchen floor like she does every day. Only this time I didn't pay attention. The next thing I knew, I'd done a slide into third base but without the third base. My back hurts, my neck hurts, my wrists hurt, my hips hurt. But damn, it was a good slide.

There's nothing wrong with me other than the aches you get when your body does something alien. I didn't know my body could still move that way. So guess I'll wear slippers from now on. At least for a day or two. Then I'll go back to my bad habit of always being barefoot.

7/18 Brazilian crash

I got called last night to work crisis phones for the Brazilian airplane crash. It's a phone bank that handles making calls to families and receiving calls from them too. Then giving death notices if necessary. It's a sad, sad job to do, but very necessary.

Unfortunately the call center is located in a city I no longer live in. So it's off to my regular job. So much to do today that I'm almost feeling a bit paralyzed with "how am I going to get things done?" I worked at home until about 9 and did get a lot of emails taken care of.

When I get to work I'll only have a few minutes there before I have a meeting to go to. Yesterday was busy, but on the way home I managed to order the day bed and trundle bed for the guest room. The day bed wasn't in stock so won't be here in time for Gerri, but the pop-up portion is being delivered this Saturday. So at least there will be a bed and a mattress.

Got good news about Q. Her eColi infection is totally gone. Yay.

7/17 Lots of traveling

Drove over to Bay St. Louis today for a luncheon. Found out that the reason I was invited was because they wanted me to be on the Board of the Hancock County LTRC (Long Term Recovery Committee). After talking it over with my boss, I said yes.

Am also going to work with the Red Cross on developing two VOADs for Hancock and Harrison County. I'm on the state VOAD board, but we want to have local ones too. (VOAD=Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster).

I'll definitely be staying busy, but I just love this work. Today at the luncheon they talked about all the people who are still living in FEMA trailers two years after the storm. Their faces are haunting.

7/16 Happy birthday, Jan

Today is my sister Jan's 59th birthday. I've always loved her birthday because for about two weeks we are the same age. I was born 8/2/47 and she was born 7/16/48. Yup, we're Catholic. I think the term is "Irish twins." Although we're German, the shoe fits. Happy birthday, sis. Hope your day is special, and the kids and I will see you soon.

Re: the interview--it went well. I drove 40 minutes round trip for a five minute interview. And ultimately was on TV for a few seconds. But that's all right with me. The exposure is good for the work we do. There will be a longer interview tomorrow, but someone else will do it. It's all about Camp Noah, which really isn't my area of expertise, so it only makes sense for someone else to be interviewed.

All in all, it was a good experience. I taped it and will add it to our "Family TV Stars" tape. :)

7/15 Not laughing today

Quincy and Raven, the lab puppy next door, have decided to dig a tunnel to each other. Yes, it is funny to see this tiny black head trying to get under the fence. I thinkQ did most of the work, but Raven is benefiting the most because she'll fit through before Quincy will. Have heard of so many remedies for digging, but everyone says that none of them work, including putting chicken wire into the ground.

So Quincy got another bath today. And there's no sign that the mud will abate because it's storming again. The Mississippi Gulf Coast really needs the water, but if it could avoid the mud piles in my yard, I'd be most appreciative.

I'm supposed to meet the reporter at 1 outside. And I don't have his phone number because someone else took the call. She's in Minnesota currently, but I hope I can reach her. Sure don't want to wait in the rain.

Will let you know how it goes.

And does anyone have ideas for stopping dog-diggers? I will not beat her or kill her. Other than that, I'm open.

7/14 Q's antics

Q is throwing toys at me and they squeak when they hit me. Then she grabs them and does it again. Sure makes me laugh.

She slept most of the day. Me too. I am not feeling up to par, not really sick, but my stomach is yucky. Ditto my head.

Weather is really bad still. Earlier friends came by to cut my grass, but the storms came back, so they couldn't finish.

I keep beginning projects but can't finish anything. Just no energy at all. Wonder if it's got something to do with the barometer. Falling barometric pressure gives me horrible headaches, but meds are taking care of that.

Just a goofy day I guess. But I have so much work to do that I can't even rest easily, knowing that I'll pay for this tomorrow.

Also tomorrow I'm going to be on WLOX-TV, our local ABC affiliate. They're interviewing me at 1 PM. Just a tiny little blurb. But it means I have to study up on what they'll ask, plus clean up when I'll just want to be at home.

Ah well....

7/12 Quincy is a riot!

Q was outside for about 10 minutes while I made dinner. I called her in and immediately threw her back outside. This blonde-haired beauty was now a black-haired beauty. I swear she was smiling.

I looked outside and right next to the porch she'd dug a hole nearly to the center of the earth. No exaggeration.

How could she have done that in only ten minutes? Amazing. She must be gifted. It is such a nice deep hole that I'm going to plant a bush there.

I carried her back into the house. (Remember she's now 45 pounds. I feel like Superman.) And I placed her into the bathtub. While my dinner cooled, I gave her a helluva bath. Now she's fresh and sweet.

While I ate dinner, she got on my bed and now it's nice and wet. Will the fun never end?

7/11 The day flew by...

This morning I had a conference call with my old boss, and this afternoon a visit from my new boss. The time just flew by. I really enjoyed meeting with Heather. She's great. How lucky I am to be here only 4 months and have had two great supervisors.

My car was in the shop all day. Needed a new timing belt, plus there was a factory recall on a cooling fan. Got some other small things fixed. Car seems to be happy that I take good care of it. :)

7/10 A letter

I received a letter Saturday from someone I helped at the Avon Breast Cancer Walk. The letter made me cry, it was so beautiful. The situation was serious, and all I really did was sit and listen, with an occasional encouraging word.

We never know how we touch people. I'm just fortunate she told me.

What a blessing that letter was.

7/9 There's nothing to say

But you know I'll say it anyway.

Not too much excitement today. I had to leave work at noon because our internet was down, and I had a conference call and needed the internet at the same time. So I came home for that. Q was happy to get to go home early. She napped while I talked/listened, so it worked out well.

I have a new boss. David, already a Senior Vice President, was transferred to another position. Heather G is now my boss and although I'll miss David, Heather is great and I'm sure things will go well. Other changes in our larger company, all good.

Rob called a little while ago, so I'm smiling. It's always great to talk to your kids. He's great and I'm looking forward to seeing Beata and him in the near future.

More later about a great letter I received.

7/8 Lots of good stuff

Yesterday my friend Genia called and said, "Let's go to the Beau." That's the huge casino right at the end of I-110, with a great view. So Genia, Caroline, Cindy and I went and had a ball. In the beginning I complained because they just wanted to play the penny and nickel slots--not my thing. I said if I win big on the penny slots I'll just be pissed it wasn't on a dollar machine.

I sat down at a nickel slot and within 5 minutes won $400.

No more complaining about the cheap slots.

I put $300 of it away and proceeded to lose the other $100 but it took me four hours to do it. Not too bad.

We're going to take my friend Gerri there when she visits at the end of the month. (Hi, Gerri.)

Today Q and I went to the beach--a deserted spot where she could run until she dropped. We played fetch for quite a while and got in the water too. But it was quite hot in the sun so we only stayed for a little less than an hour. On the way home I stopped at Walmart and bought her a small plastic pool. She loves it, and it was a lot easier cleaning the sand off her this way, instead of carrying a 40-pound wiggling pack of puppy to the bathtub.

She's napping now after her big workout, and I think I'll join her soon.

It's been a good day. I'll end it by cleaning out my car after the sun goes down.

7/7 A good Saturday

I've actually accomplished some things today, and the day isn't even over yet. That's really something! As much as I hate housework, I've put away two boxes and cleaned the kitchen and dining room. Lots more to do, but... don't know if I'll get around to it or not.

Jill contacted me today, and it looks like they'll leave on August 4th. Since that's just two days after my birthday, that means I'll be able to celebrate with my family. Makes me smile. Can't wait to get confirmation from Jill, but it looks pretty sure. They changed their minds about their destination though. It looks like they're going to Whistler up in British Columbia instead of Italy. Things just worked out better for them.

It'll be a little more difficult for me since they won't be going through St. Louis. I could just go to LA and watch the kids there, but I want them to be able to visit with the whole family; so I'll probably fly out to get them. We'll decide soon.

I was pretty excited about the weather. For a while it looked like there were no thunderstorms for a change, but the sky is cloudy and ominous looking. At least it will keep me home. Quincy likes that.

7/6 Fun with puppies and future fun with grandkids

The next door neighbors got a black lab puppy. A tiny little thing maybe six weeks old. Name's Raven. They had a minor emergency this afternoon and Valerie asked if I Raven could play in my backyard while they were gone. Little Kayla brought her over. This Kayla is 7 just like our Kayla, and very sweet. She has a four year old brother, James.

Quincy is this huge giant next to Raven, but Raven kept up with her perfectly. They had such a good time and after about an hour they both just passed out. So cute.

But the big news is that in August Jill and Todd are going to take their vacation celebrating their 10th anniversary. Originally they were going to go in October, but found a good deal in August. They are going to fly to Barcelona and then take the cruise. Sounds delightful. BUT I GET THE KIDS--which is even better. Quincy and I are going to drive to St. Louis where Jill and Todd will drop off the kids at the airport. They're going to have a layover in St. Louis just so this will all work out. Then Q, the kids, and I will drive the two hours to Quincy. and stay several days. I am beyond thrilled.

Don't know the exact week yet, but I'll tell all the relatives as soon as I know.

Yay!

7/5 Poor poor Quincy redux

She's got an eColi infection in her bladder. Guess it's bad, but it responds to this certain medication. So I have to go pick it up after work. Sigh. You'd never know there's anything wrong with her. She's back to sleeping all night. Plus going out during the day every two hours or so. And acting like a darn fool puppy the rest of the time. She's got this routine. At night she sleeps on the cool tile in the master bathroom--from about 9 PM--5 AM. At 5 I take her out and go back to bed. She jumps in with me and sleeps another hour or so all cuddled up to me. Then about 6 she jumps down, gets a lot of her toys and wakes me up to play. This morning she brought her ball and wanted to play fetch in the house. So I threw the ball from my bed and she jumped down, chased it, and brought it back to bed. She sure used up a lot of energy, but it was so cute.

It makes me sad that she's got this damn pelvic bladder that causes all the fuss. Wish they'd just do the damn surgery now and get it over with. But they have to wait until she's fully grown--if they do it at all.

At least that'll give me time to save for it. (Yeah, right!)

7/4 A good, wet day

It rained a lot in Biloxi but not in Gulfport, so we went on our beach picnic. There were three Red Cross workers--Genia, Carolyn (or maybe Caroline), and Angie, along with Angie's daughter. Several people canceled because of the weather. I arrived around 4:15 and they were already there. It was great! We sat and chatted, played in the sand, then ate dinner around 5:30 or so. The people who were supposed to bring the utensils canceled, so we used potato chips as our forks. It was funny. Luckily they were Ripples and sturdier than regular chips.

Angie and her daughter have only been here two weeks, and Carolyn and Genia since October, so everyone is looking for friends. Perfect for me. :)

Because the weather was so crummy I'd taken Quincy out of the kennel, thinking that I wouldn't be going today. Since I left her at home I couldn't stay out real late. So I am missing the fireworks (start at 8:45), but that's okay. I got home 4 1/2 hours after I'd left, and there was a little puddle of pee in my room, but I quick got out the rug shampooer and took care of it. So no harm done.

I'm glad I came home early. People are shooting off fireworks everywhere, and it's bothering Q a bit, so it's good I'm here.

Back to work tomorrow.

(Just took her outside again and the neighbors are shooting off lots of firecrackers, bottle rockets, and even bigger stuff. It's legal in Mississippi. She got really scared. Guess it hurts dogs' ears.)

7/4 Happy Fourth

It stormed all day yesterday and last night but now it's okay. Just a lot of mud. So I'll make my salad and prepare to go to the picnic. If it gets canceled then I'll just bring the salad to work tomorrow.

This morning was fun. I sat on the back porch and played online poker with my brothers Joe and Jay, while Quincy played in the mud. I lost money but enjoyed myself.

Hope everyone has a great day. I wish I was with my family at Jan's house, but you can't have everything. Love to all.

7/3 What magnificent storms

The thunderstorms are magnificent and majestic. Lightning flashes and huge black clouds roll across the sky. I love thunderstorms.

ONLY...they're supposed to continue tomorrow. The one day I was supposed to do something with new friends, we have 60% chance of continued thunderstorms all day. So I'm praying the weatherman is wrong.

The plan is to meet people at one of the Gulfport beaches around 4 for a picnic and then stay for the fireworks at 9. Hope it all works out, but it doesn't look too good right now.

7/2 YES! Miracles do happen!

I got 8 hours of sleep last night. So this is what well-rested feels like...

7/1 It's July!

Q only woke up a few times during the night, so it was a decent night's sleep. Still not the best, but good.

Got a lot of work done yesterday. Only about five more boxes to unpack. The only problem is that, although the stuff gets unpacked it's difficult to find places to put it. But the good news is that it's happening.

It's sure been hot here, but when I sit outside on the back porch with the ceiling fan on, it feels pretty darn good.

Because of Q's recent health issues, we probably won't go to the beach today. Guess I'll have to find something else to do--maybe something exciting like going to PetsSmart. :)