Errands, Errands!

A day for running errands, even though it's hot.  And humid.  Hurry up and rain already!

So much I thought I would accomplish, but before I knew it, the hours had flown by!

By noon, I was finally ready to:

run over and get gas,
dash into Home Depot for some paint,
cruise into the bank for a deposit and withdrawal,
over to Sally's Beauty Supply for some stuff to do my hair,
then it was time to think about lunch.

Since I'll not be home for a couple of days,
I headed home to eat up the rest of the lettuce.
I tossed on some leftover pork roast,
dressing, tomato, cheese,
and a few spicy chips for crunch.

It was pretty tasty, but ....
wouldn't a big burger fries have tasted even better??  :)

Home again to clean the house, wash my jeans, vacuum the floors, load the dishwasher, which brought it to 4pm and time to make dinner!  Lucky me, I had hamburger all browned up and ready to pop into a pot for some spaghetti!

It's Thursday, and ION television plays a marathon of Blue Bloods for 8 hours .... and my antennae picks up feedback when my computer is on, so as soon as this is shut down, I'll be tuned in!

Sometimes I don't think I'd make it through a day without a TO DO list -- when I was 20 yrs younger, I never had to write it all down, I could keep it all in my organized brain easily -- and that was with 6 kids!  Now, a list is the only way I get things done.  Maybe it has to do with procrastination -- sometimes doing nothing is much easier than getting things done!  Only really responsible thing I need to do every day is feed Sadie!  hehehehe

Happy weekend, my friend :)

Birthdays

hehehe this made me chuckle.

Today is my birthday.

and  I'm not sure how I should be reacting to this little fact of life.  I certainly don't feel that old -- most of the time.  (Unless you count AFTER a workout. haha)  I know in my mind, I'm certainly not 56.  I still talk to people I knew in high school, and when that happens, it's like being 18 all over again!

There are times when in my mind, I'm still in my 30s and I have ... all the time in the world to do what I want to accomplish.  But then there are the other moments, the late night moments, when I realize that my mortality is something that needs to be considered.

This is a strange age.  It's a long time until retirement, and yet if one hasn't done any planning, it will sneak up so very faaaassst!

So, after birthday wishes from my family, my BFF, and even a few emails from companies who seem to know my birth date, my son sprung for Chipotle for dinner ... my fav meal, I even topped it with the guac!  Then a pretty hanger to hang a couple of pots on the wall for planting something ..... not sure where I'll hang it, but I have all weekend to come up with ideas!

W

hen it comes to birthday advice, I like this quote:

“You’ll learn, as you get older, that rules are made to be broken. Be bold enough to live life on your terms, and never, ever apologize for it. Go against the grain, refuse to conform, take the road less traveled instead of the well-beaten path. Laugh in the face of adversity, and leap before you look. Dance as though EVERYBODY is watching. March to the beat of your own drummer. And stubbornly refuse to fit in.”
― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass

Tooos-day!

Tuesdays are always one of those days that could go either way.  

When I got up this morning, I noticed the garbage can hadn't been put out, so I opened the garage door.... and found it was broken.   I dragged the trash to the curb and shut the door, knowing what I was coming home to.

Half mile from home on my way to work, a car had slammed into a minivan and rolled it.  I found myself being grateful my departure was delayed.  I might have ...... well, thank you, Universe. :)

Once at work, the day passed on as normal.  At lunch, I got involved in my story, and realized that I had been holding my e-reader in the same position for 45 minutes.  Now, I can barely move my left arm, and am typing one handed.

During my work day, I was watching co-workers pass by, when one caught my eye and I did a double-take -- what a good lookin' man!!  Yumm!!!!!  Then I heard giggling.... seems like I wasn't the only one checkin' out some eye candy!

Once I got home, it was ot to the garage to figure out the problem with the door.  In the end we found the main spring had come undone from the frame.  After some finagling, we finally got it back to rights.

Thank goodness none of today's issues ended up costing a repairman's wages to fix anything!!

Mortgages

I hate money issues!   OK, maybe it's more correct to say I hate issues that come up with the bill paying process!

I bought my home, and was mortgaged through Bank of America.  I thought things were going well; I have no idea what makes banks sell off mortgages to other companies -- except to say I'm certain that it's related to money and making a profit.

However.  I DO NOT like the company they sold my mortgage to.  Carrington Mortgage Services.  If you Google their rep, they get like 1.5 out of 5 stars.  That's a horrible indication as to what service will be like.  I didn't care read all the issues people have posted about, because I didn't want to become any more upset than I'm already feeling.

We started this process a few month's back, maybe 3 or 4.  I mailed my check on or about July 7th because of the holiday weekend.  It goes in their envelope, with their pre printed address form, to a PO Box in Phoenix.  That should have taken 2 days tops.   But they didn't process my payment until 7/21.... 2 weeks later!  Which of course resulted in a late fee of $22.86.   If this is going to be the norm, I plan on overnight'ing my payments, or setting up a payment from my bank's bill pay option.  Either will be some totally extra effort on my part with trips to the bank, or to the post office, but probably cheaper than wracking up late fees.

When I called to make an inquiry, I learned that they really aren't a mortgage company, they're debt collectors.  Technically, that's what a mortgage is -- but they say it in such a way that you feel like they're ..... doing some other kind of collecting.   And I don't like feeling that I owe monies to a company who regards their customers in such a way. *shudder*

As you can tell, I am NOT happy with this.
I am a good person, I have good credit, and I don't make late payments.
I refuse to work with second-rate companies such as this,
and will be looking into refinance options.
Even if it costs me a little money, I will be ahead of the game
by not losing sleep wondering if my account, my home, is secure and up to date.

TWO THUMBS DOWN!

Strange Bedfellows

Lately, I've taken to sleeping with a new 'bedfellow'.  It's so nice to wake up and be able to be comforted and soothed when I'm not feeling well.  But it's not my Sadie.  And, it's not another man (or a woman, for that matter!).  It's my Q-flex !!


"The Q-Flex is a self acupressure device designed and engineered to relieve stress and tension by applying pressure to specific pressure points on the body. It is lightweight, durable, and easy to use.

Nearly every person suffers from body pain or soreness. The Q-Flex is the perfect solution to help soothe sore, tired and tight muscles. It releases endorphins to help relieve pain and increases circulation to promote healing. Learn more about the science behind The Q-Flex."


Everyone suffers from sore muscles from time to time.  Everyone has stresses in their life that create muscular issues.  If you've never tried accupressure, I have to admit there's something to it.  When I wake up in the middle of the night with a sore shoulder, a twinge in my neck, or even a spasm in my foot, I can just grab my Q-flex and add a little pressure on the right spot, and relief comes within minutes!  And yes, I will admit that sometimes I even fall sleep with it in my hand after pressing on a sore spot, thinking I might need to press in a few other places, but the relief is so good, I fall back asleep!  hehehehe

"When you use the Q-Flex, it stimulates muscle tissue to release endorphins and promote circulation to achieve optimal pain, tension relief, and relaxation."



The back story:  My mom and I were watching Shark Tank and saw this item appear (Dec 12, 2014). Mom and I talked about how neat this looked, and said we should look for it in the future.  Me being an internet geek, I grabbed my netbook and looked for it on-line, and there it was! We immediately ordered one for each of us!


Well spent $$ for sure!
It's my favorite "bedfellow" (lol)

Work It!

24-Hour Fitness is where I go after work.  Lucky for me, it's in the same parking lot as my BigBox Store.  That means I can park my car in 24-Hour's parking lot, head into work, do my thing all day, and when day's done, I head to my car where I grab my gym bag and head in to get my workout.

Today it was 30 minutes on the treadmill.  I only made 1.88 miles, but I'm ok with that.  I ran for two one-minute sprints within my workout.  It means my stamina is improving and that makes me happy. It also means that next week, I'll have to kick it up a notch!

Get out there and DO IT!