The Stone Age

I've always said I like shopping online. One more advantage to shopping that way is that instead of cutting coupons and stuffing your purse full of stray bits of paper that get crumpled and torn, and soon take over the entire thing, all you have to do to take advantage of a great online deal is type in coupon codes. The Internet is taking over our lives in more ways than most people even comprehend as they rush through their lives now. It isn't until you stop and think of all the wonderful advantages there are now in the high-speed information age that it begins to hit you. Going back even twenty years to the way it was in the early ninties would feel like traveling back to the stone ages. It's almost like the times I grew up in the 60's and 70's were the 'old west' frontier type days. We were pioneers and didn't even know it. Instead of traveling into unknown terriroties and wildernesses, we traveled into cyber space. It's a new frontier that has no limits. It really makes me wonder what life will be like in twenty more years, and if our lives today will seem like the stone ages.

What To Wear

I love jewelry but I don't wear much on a daily basis because of the chores I do everyday. Chores that involve water, mud, and, well less savory aspects that living on a farm around a lot of farm animals involves. It creates a less than friendly environment for fancy jewelry. There are times I day dream of having a job that would allow me to get all dressed up every morning and don beautiful baubles. Then I wake up and realize I wouldn't be all that happy having to get all dressed up everyday. It's nice once in a while, but I like my job that allows me to go to work in my office down the hall in my pj's and slippers if I like, and go out and do the chores in a t-shirt and shorts (in the summer of course) or sweats. I could use a good Technomarine watch though. Something that can stand up to the rigors of life when water, mud, and other wet mushy things seek to destroy it. A watch that can withstand deep oceans can certainly handle a little water.

That Sinking Feeling

If you've ever watched the movie 'The Money Pit' and you own a home, you can definately identify with the feelings in that movie. I think all homeowners have that 'money pit' feeling at times. Some more than others, and certainly the older your home, the more likely you'll experience the feeling more than someone with a newer home. When we bought our current home it was 30 some years old. Fairly 'new' when you consider our previous home was over 100 years old. Over the last 10 years though, it seems our 'newer' home has begun to settle and that's putting it mildly. I don't mind shopping for new, beautiful Danze faucets, or redecorating rooms now that the kids are gone and the house is 'ours' for real. But when the really big things start needing repairs or replacing, like roofs, it starts to get old. They say roofs last about 10 years so I guess it's about time to need a new one, but it's not like going out and picking up a new nick-nack, or faucet. It's not even like needing a new appliance although that can be aggravating as well like the oven that just decided it didn't want to work anymore exactly on Christmas day. This is a BIG thing. The kind of big thing that can mean needing to refinance just to afford it. That's when you really start to get that sinking feeling of living in a money pit. After all these years, in both homes, during my 25 year marriage I should be getting used to it, but sometimes you just want to yell STOP. This is one of those days for sure.

More Room

Well it's official, I now have to redecorate yet another room. One that has housed my husband's office for several years. It used to be my son's bedroom. Now it will be my mother-in-law's room. She is battling cancer and dealing with chemo treatments. One of the biggest hurdles is getting her to eat. She's lived alone for over 25 years now and been very, almost fiercly independant so depending on others isn't her style, but lately she can't do for herself. Even making meals is a terrific struggle, and one she more often than not decides isn't worth the effort. So she's going to be coming down here to stay so I can help get her eatting right. I'm going to be hitting the stores soon again. It might be time to get a directbuy membership. It seems I'm never finished remodeling, redecorating, or repairing some room in this house. Maybe I just need more rooms, then I wouldn't have to redecorate I could just start from scratch.

Getting It Moving Again

For four months I had been dieting and losing really well, and rather quickly considering I wasn't using any drugs, and that after two months in I injured myself to the point where I couldn't exercise much. Then it hit the breaks. Nothing I did seemed to make any difference. Finally I decided to try a colon cleanse. I don't know about you, but in my mind, (a lot of folks I think) the focus is on the stomach and what it 'holds' but the stomach really doesn't 'hold' food, the intestines do. It's kind of an icky subject, but the amount of stuff that can be left inside there is amazing. Doing the cleanse really helped get things moving along again (pardon the pun) and I've once again started losing weight each week and feeling good about it again. I think the reason this isn't addressed so much is it's not a 'cool' thing to talk about, but it's an important part of health, and especially for those who need to lose weight, diet.

The Joys Of Winter

Bah, there haven't been any joys of winter since I was a kid. I think you really start to lose any joy over snow and cold when you get into your teens, maybe a little later if you don't have to go out and work in the cold. After the winter we've had the Branson lots that are available in the beautiful Mountains down south are more and more appealing. I have a lot of friends that live down in that area, and one sister-in-law that lives in Missouri so we wouldn't be moving into an area where we didn't know anyone. I'm getting tired of the flat terrain here in Illinois anyway. On an up note, three of my goats are getting ready to kid. On the downside, it's been a balmy 30ish here these last two days, but tonight there's heavy winds blowing in an artic cold front, guess when they'll decide to have the babies? Yep, I'm betting tonight too.

Spit and Polish

If my hubby had his way he'd get every 'cool' gadget and kit available for our truck. There's something about a farm truck that doesn't exactly scream out for rear spoilers but guys and their toys, you just have to accept them for what they are. I have to admit that while it may not be necessary, it is kind of cool looking. It's even more fun watching him do the work to put the extras on. Nothing wrong with a little spit and polish, even for an old workhorse (I'm talking about the truck, not the hubby).

A New Kind of Bed

Talking to a friend of mine yesterday about beds I actually had a moment to think about how old our current mattress set is. It's 13 years old and is really starting to sag in all the wrong places. I've seen ads for memory foam mattresses on TV and really think that's the way to go. You can even get memory foam platform beds shipped to you in a box that looks impossibly small to hold a bed mattress. I like that they sit on platform rather than using box springs. I've always had the typical box spring bed type mattress set and the box springs usually get bad before even the mattress does, well, except for once, when I first got married we had a king sized waterbed.. But with box springs it's just one more thing to replace when they do go bad. I think that's going to be my next type of bed.