What’s making me happy:
- I’m happy that the road to Timberline Lodge was freshly plowed so that my husband and I were able to avoid putting chains on the tires.
- I’m happy that the architects of Timberline Lodge included this little writing nook way back in the 1937, and that no one besides me wanted to claim it as their own in 2017.
- I’m happy that both my kids seem to be emerging as functional adults who know how to problem solve and take care of themselves. (This is prompted by my older son who figured out how to get himself to jury duty, despite it being in a different town than where he attends college. He successfully argued that he has classes he’s unable to miss, and then he figured out how to catch a bus back to campus. He didn’t even contact me once about the logistics, so I only heard about it afterwards!)
- I’m happy to have amazing neighbors who don’t bat an eye about keeping an eye on our cats while we’re out of town.
- I’m happy that I took the time to deep clean the house, so that we’ll come back to a fresh and inviting home. Nothing is more depressing than coming home from vacation to a stale smelling and messy house.
What’s pissing me off:
- An eBay buyer tried to scam my son by claiming that he’d sent the wrong size soccer jersey. Luckily the jersey that he returned had a different ID number on it, so I was able to definitely prove the deception. My son is not out any money, but I spent a fair amount of time and mental energy dealing with the return. However, I learned that you can block a buyer, which is a good skill to have.
Now your turn. What’s making you happy, and conversely what’s pissing you off?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
I hear ebay protection for sellers is almost non-existent… please keep us posted regarding how this dispute turns out (is it finalized?).
Yes, it’s finalized as the buyer reversed his return request when he realized the jig was up.
I had a similar issue to Katy’s son, and with persistence, I won. The seller said the phone I sent him didn’t work “after he tried to modify the software”, and that language was a sticking point, since my disclose stated existing issues, and he tried to return a modified item. After eBay said I owed him a refund, I kept with it, dealing with eBay directly, and eventually I think they refunded him, but I was not required to pay. I also blocked him. The process took about 3 months to settle.
Yay! for your boys and for thwarting the eBay scammer, Katy!
What’s making me happy:
1. My son loving his new job and being able to handle his own expenses.
2. A beautiful spring and the end to drought.
3. A week’s worth of new-to-me blouses, scooped up for pennies on the dollar from secondhand sources.
4. Delicious dinner leftovers. Present Me is so glad that Past Me had the gumption to cook the other night.
5. Our delightful trio of rescued dogs. They’re an expense, yes, but a constant delight: 24/7 of tail-wagging love!
And one thing that’s pissing me off: Work troubles, with the entire staff tired and worried. But we are all making an effort to be extra kind and supportive to each other.
Happy:
1. My garden is going really strong this year–edibles, flowers, and raingarden. Really seeing how fall preparation and cold-weather gardening are paying off as I focused on that in the past 6 months.
2. I have a work trip coming up and my husband gets to come along. And it will be 90 degrees in the desert! My favorite weather–dry heat.
3. My schedule is opening up starting May 1, due to one of my volunteering options finishing up. It’s a very busy spring for me since I take on 2 commitments, and I will be cutting down on one next year. I’ll have some time to put work into the house that’s just SITTING there, waiting to be done.
4. I live in a place with oceans, island, beaches, forest, rivers and mountains within an hour any which way.
5. I live in a city that is getting easier and easier to ditch car ownership.
Pissing me off:
1. The drivers in Seattle are eternally horrendous. I have witnessed so many awful things sitting at this cafe in the past few hours, one of which included calling 911. We need enforcement and stricter driving qualifications, and it’s only getting worse.
We have the same issues with drivers in Florida. It is not bike friendly or pedestrian friendly. However, the high concentration of elderly drivers make matters worse. I hope and pray that I will graciously surrender my keys when the time comes.
Bee, funny you say that. Florida is the only place I have driven I was more frightened for my safety than in Seattle 🙂 Even the Balkans were less intimidating.
A co-worker told me the same thing about Phoenix, AZ. He said you have to be super aware of other drivers, due to the amount of elderly people who pay no attention to other cars or pedestrians all around them.
I’d be willing to give up my keys if someone would drive me around all the time, once I turn 65!
Seattle drivers are terrible and there’s not enough being done to alleviate the crushing amount of traffic and painful commute times. We live on the Eastside and my husband’s daily commute to north Seattle is a huge source of daily stress.
Happy:
1) Some things at work are finally going well. Fingers are still crossed, but maybe, just maybe, there’s an advancement for me in view.
2) Two of five kids are doing so well and are so happy.
3) One unhappy kid is unhappy in only the way a shy girl at prom season can be, so while it is heartbreaking, it’s almost over. It does make me happy that we have fewer than 50 days until high school is over forever for that one – it has not been a joyous time for her. College will be better.
4) Hopeful time on the job front for hubs, as well.
5) Elderly cats are so snuggly and adorable. We’ve watched a lot more tv than is strictly necessary, but they curl up on laps and convince us to sit just awhile longer. At 17 and 18, it’s unlikely they’ll be around too much longer.
Pissing me off:
The weather. If you look at those long-term weather maps that show way above average temps all over the continent, I’m in one of the few deep blue “well below average” areas. We’ve turned off our oil furnace for frugal and environmental reasons and it is SO COLD in the house that we are all grouchy and the mess is overwhelming. Ugh. Ready for some sun.
Re your #5: I so miss watching TV with my old cat who died 2 years ago at age 16!
Re: your #3: Been there 45 years ago. Tell ShyD that things will get better after this. They certainly did for me.
Worse and worse all week. Lots of tears this weekend. We know it will get better, but sheesh! the 36 days of school that are left feel like a lifetime. Thanks for you encouragement.
I too was counting down the high school days for my shy son. High school was not kind to him. We directed him to a college in the mountains where things were so much better. And in 2 weeks he receives his doctorate in a field he loves.
So mom please know things will get better for her.
Are you from the 509? I’m guessing by your name…my family are orchardists and there are very few pollinators out due to the cold weather. It’s a bit crazy!
Yep 🙂
I’m worried about the fruit crops, actually – we’re in town, but even here there are trees blooming in a few yards but no bees, and it seems likely the blossoms will get blown off long before it’s warm enough for anything to pollinate. Stock up on apples now, folks!
I hope you have a great mini-vacation. I am also glad you thwarted the scammer. Hopefully, he won’t try that again.
These things are making me happy:
1) My husband does not have to travel for 2 weeks. Although he has work to do, It will be nice to spend time together. I get tired of eating alone.
2) I received a refund check in the mail for $35. This was totally unexpected.
3) My son is having a wonderful experience as he hikes the AT. He is currently in the Smokies, and I am enjoying the photos.
4) My daughter is coming for a visit at the end of the month. She is a busy grad student — classes, teaching and research — so this time is precious.
5) The weather has been spectacular. I know the oppressive summer heat is around the corner, so I am spending as much time as possible outside. Florida in August is not fit for man nor beast.
The one thing that is pissing me off…
No matter how hard I try. I can’t get my desk at home cleared off. This is through no fault of my own. Please tell me why people cannot do things right the first time? Why can’t they return phone calls in a timely manner? Why don’t they have any sense of urgency? Why am I not queen? Why oh why?
Bee, your PO remark has me laughing – but I am also pissed off about the fact that people won’t do their jobs. I have a bunch of stuff on my desk due to that, too, such as the insurance bills (two) that I have received for our camper that this same insurance company totaled last year and paid us a big, fat check. I have called and they are “researching it”. What??!! I had to send them copies of the check and of the letter they sent saying they were totaling it. Is that not crazy?!
I laughed, too, Bee. I have often wanted to be a benign dictator who could make people do their jobs right the first time! I get so very tired of having to follow up on insurance and so on…modern life can be very wonderful and also very frustrating. This week it is frustrating.
I agree with you both. I sent a payment online to a company and accidentally sent it to the old acct number–recently changed. They wanted to send me back the money and have me send it again with the right account number. I said NO! The woman stated that they could not transfer the payment from one account to another. I told her I was CERTAIN that someone there was able to do that, and I would just wait until they figured it out. They did just that.
It is nice to know that I am not alone. Sometimes these things just drive me crazy!!!!! However, today is another day.
So, so true, both of you (Patti & Bee). My insurance company (GEHA) is the bane of the getting-stuff-done part of my existence. Just a single example: one set of med issues is covered by a team of three persons, of which GEHA covers the services of one. Guess which person’s services GEHA consistently enters wrong? Or not at all? Somehow, it’s never the ones they don’t have to pay for!
GEHA has also
– lost submissions on the mail room floor (proven because they processed other items that I mailed in the same envelopes),
– lost papers that were stapled to papers they didn’t lose (proven by viewing the scan of the submission, which had the tell-tale ragged corner of a torn-off staple), and
– lied about whether they received a submission (proven because they’d already responded once about the claim).
The list goes on and on.
Glad to hear your son is in the Smokies! I actually smiled when i read your #3 and got goose bumps! I wish him good weather, good food, good health and gorgeous views! 🙂
I hate when an eBay sale goes wonky like that.
Last month I had a guy who claimed he never got a package from me delivered ($130 sale). I had a tracking number and all and it showed ‘Delivered’. I wanted to give him a benefit of a doubt and advised him possibly a neighbour ‘took’ it?
He got pretty nasty with emails to me. Well, it was not my fault and ebay honored the fact that the product got ‘delivered’ according to the tracking. Pretty annoying and very time consuming to deal with though. Ugh…
Happy because:
1. I finally have a part time job lined up while I attempt to train for a new career field.
2. Nice weather is upon us.
3. I get to see one of my favorite authors at a speaking engagement this week.
4. Making new friends through political involvement, which is great, because I live in a sea of opposite belief people and it gets overwhelming sometimes.
Pissing me off:
As a result of said political involvement a conversation I’m involved in online has some random commenter being pretty aggressive, which is both funny and annoying because I am making sure to be very non-aggressive and non- emotional and he hates that he can’t get me to espouse some random platitudes/talking points he thinks he can ‘win’ against. I think he’s also upset that he thought he’d win a ‘the Bible says’ battle, only to underestimate that he is dealing with a Bible quiz champ! lol
1- It has gotten warmer, so our heating bill should drop.
2- My 3 year old has gotten more verbal, so he’s more pleasant to be around.
3- My old work position just got filled, so I have relief in sight for my work overload. Doing two jobs for one paycheck isn’t a great way to celebrate a promotion.
4- Dreaming of going back for a graduate certificate program. It’s nice to have something to strive for that isn’t kid-related.
5- Enjoying working on the garden with my 6 year old. He’s actually at the point of being more helpful than hindering.
Pissing me off:
My husband got laid off, again, with no warning. So, back to one paycheck until he can find something that pays enough to pay for the daycare.
Good luck to your husband in the job hunt!
Thank you Beth! He might have a lead. . .
Making Me Happy:
1. Spring weather: the warmth, the light, the flowering things and leafing trees. I just feel so much better than I do in the winter.
2. My 20 yo daughter is very independent. She knows we’re there for her but wants to do it all on her own.
3. I scrounged together an outfit for a formal dinner that included a pair of hand-me-up pants (given to my daughter by a friend of hers). I din’t worry if I should be wearing a dress. I met a very nice couple that live not too far from us, she will retire soon, and mentioned getting together. Dinner was “free” so not a big deal that it was not delicious.
4. My husband agreed to hiring lawn mowing out this year. He does not have much free time and I want him to have time for other things. He is happy now that it has occurred.
5. I was able to get together with a group of friends this morning, for stitching and conversation.
Making Me Mad:
I have friends dealing with some very difficult circumstances, involving family members. It’s the kind of thing that there is not a lot I can do about but I do regularly check in with them and look for little things I can do to ease the burden a bit.
We started paying someone to mow our lawn last year. My husband was overjoyed by it every time he came, which makes it priceless to me.
I wish I could convince my husband to do the same. I get tired of wading through high grass until he gets time to do it and now our mower is broke down. He’s so stubborn!
1. I got to read 71 pages of a book while I was at the laundromat.
2. I made 2 loaves of french bread last night and had enough dough leftover to make some cinnamon rolls.
3. Found some canning jars on clearance today!
4. The exterior painters are totally done with our building.
5. Our dog has willingly been taking his allergy medicine. He’s allergic to the pollen of several trees, some flowers and most grasses (including wheat). In years past he fought taking it and would eat around it when I put it in food.
At the moment I can’t think of anything that’s pissing me off.
Boy can I relate to dog spitting out essential meds! Our Dane has to take six pills a day (old but hanging in there) and he is very stubborn. I have hidden them in peanut butter, sausage pieces, hot dog pieces, fruit pieces, bacon, tablespoons of mashed potatoes, squares of cheese, chunks of pumpkin pie…he will suck off or chew off the outside and spit out the pill. I keep trying new things and it works for about two days. Right now he will swallow them if I dampen the pill and roll it in sugar/cinnamon. The cinnamon seems to hid the smell and he likes the sugar. It is not the best thing for him but it is a very small amount…
We are cat people, rather than dog people. My husband has discovered that grinding a pill into a powder and mixing it in food when it’s very finely pulverized works quite well. Of course, if you’re giving capsules, that won’t help.
Hi–This is off Katy’s topic but I saw that you are trying to get pills into your Great Dane. I have 2 Great Pyrs and they are so stubborn and one of them is great at eating around the hot dog/Greenie/peanut butter/cheese and spitting the pill out. The best tip anyone ever gave me was to take a soft piece of bread and put the pill in it and squeeze it in your hand. You could even add a little peanut butter or meat inside. Best tip I have tried and a great way to use up those annoying bread ends!
#5 – I have to grind pills into powder and roll them in a slice of soft cheese in order to get our dogs to take pills. It’s a pain, but it’s the only thing that’s worked. Our dogs are as picky as toddlers!
All very good ideas thank you! Luckily the vet said that human allergy medicine would work and suggested we give him the children’s bubble gum flavored variety. Now he sits pretty for me when I call him for medicine.
Five things making me happy:
1) The fact that I have a job with very flexible hours as this has been a crazy week (close friends lost their child) and I have not been able to work my normal hours.
2) Have friends who drop everything to come help when needed. Besides the friends who have helped me house sit at the home of the family who lost their son, I am close to a person who is blind who tripped and fell today and required stitches. More friends took care of her by taking her to immediate care and to have a CAT scan. All is good, but whew! Too much going on.
3) Happy I have “emergency” freezer meals in my freezer just for times like this.
4) Happy I found a new thrift store that raises funds to provide housing for women in need. It is clean, decorated beautifully, and (best of all) has a great selection of items in very good condition.
5) Happy that our home stays cool when it is hot outside due to great shade trees So far, no air conditioning needed even though it is in the upper 80s today.
Making me mad (well, frustrated):
Having to be an “adult” when I really don’t want to. I have elderly parents, a son stepping out into the world, a husband retiring soon, and other things that are pulling me in many different directions at this stage in life. Nothing is dire, just a lot of change going on in all areas. Yoga is helping. ha!
Happy
1. Our first big family vacation was successful, and we now feel confident to take our daughter on a longer trip. We are planning overseas next time, which we have never been able to do with her. This trip was our test.
2. My garden survived while we were away and I’m looking forward to spending a whole day in it tomorrow. My favourite way to spend a day.
3. I’ve extended my leave so I still have ten glorious days off. Joy!!
4. I’m happy to be back home even though our holiday was lovely.
5. I read three books while I was away and I’m halfway through a fourth.
PMO:
Our Government has started down an ‘Australian values’ path that includes a new citizenship test and ditching a visa class in favour of “Australians first.” Sound familiar?
It’s like a disease that is catching around the world 🙁
I was in a museum last year and the newspaper headlines in the displays for WWII could have been written, verbatim, by right wing papers now. It was so sad.
It’s depressing as hell.
Ugh, sorry to hear about the eBay fiasco. Great job keeping an eagle eye on that. 🙂
I’m happy about:
1. Only staying at my current job for one more week. After that I’ve given myself a week off to enjoy!
2. I’ve gotten more freelance work, which will bring in some more great income.
3. I have a sleepy kitty sitting on my lap right now. 🙂
4. I remembered to work out today.
I’m pissed off about:
1. Eh, mostly just idiots at work, but what else is new?
#3 is a huge line item that I really hope we’ll be able to achieve like you have.
Happy: That though my family life is complicated and more on the side of sucky than not, my child has at least three sets of chosen grandparents to love and care about how ze is growing up. I just posted a handful of cards to those chosen loved ones today.
Mad: That my blood family is driving me bonkers and has me on pins and needles trying to resolve another crisis that hugely impacts my tiny family, caused by their poor decisions and my trying to help them. I can’t get into the details but it’s incredibly frustrating and I wish I’d taken firmer steps earlier to cut financial ties.
1. My mulberry tree has berries falling off and I have been gathering them and freezing them. I just ran out of last year’s crop so this is good. 2. My never ending insurance COBRA saga is that it is $446 a month, with dental, not $426..still better than the original 1100 quote. 3. I ate leftovers for lunch. 4. I did my own nails….it was passable,,.5. I gathered mulberries and trimmed my front bushes for free exercise today….what is pissing me off is that one of my grown children appears to be jealous of the attention that my sick child is getting…you are grown, get over yourself. You forget all the help I have given you when you were down and out….when you have four kids, there is always that one……rant over. Luckily, my other two children are very concerned about their sick brother. One is flying 2,000 miles to sqeeze in a day and a half visit with him before she has finals. So, I am seeing sibling jealousy and sibling love.
Your post is making me happy because we planted a mulberry tree last year and i am hopeful that our tree will also be productive like that!
Happy things:
1) Tomorrow is Friday
2) And it’s also our town’s “Spring Cleanup” day, which means lots of treasures will be out on the curb tomorrow for me to claim and keep out of the landfills
3) We have minimal weekend plans after a busy last weekend and busy upcoming weekend next weekend
4) The beauty of spring and everything getting all green and lush again!
Pissing me off?
1) The tree pollen allergies coming from said lush trees
2) A client who I’ve bent over backwards for in the past turning on me and both a) lying to my face and b) calling me unprofessional when I have been more than accommodating AND professional with them. Yeah, not going out of my way to help you out anymore, lady!
PS- and just hearing about your eBay issue and loads of other instances is mostly what’s kept me from getting around to selling some of my stuff on there. It seems like entirely MORE HASSLE than it’s worth. It’s just hard to part with things I know I could get some decent money from, but in the end, is it worth the time and effort? I’m guessing no.
A lot of ebay sellers have these security tags that they affix through a buttonhole or something. They don’t take returns if the tag is missing. One of you could join some of the facebook groups. Like SAHMSE I think it is Stay at Home Moms selling on Ebay not just moms. I’m in that one. Also the Thrifting Board is good, really good. What I know is that the end of the school year is the time to collect stuff. Students dump everything in their rooms in the dumpster, even textbooks. I was in a dumpster diving group just for laughs and one young woman was putting her husband through college from her dumpster diving at a college. Textbooks can be sold for up to $80 or something.
Is that Timberline Lodge where you live? I LOVE that little nook!
Happy: Spring is here and the flowers are blooming.
Unhappy: We get two days of nice weather and a week of terrible weather. I still haven’t planted flowers that came in the mail a full week ago–because today we had about 2 inches of rain and the lake (6 miles north) is being sandbagged as it will crest in about 3 weeks, and it’s already 12-18 inches higher than normal.
Happy: Daughter is getting to the end of tests for diarrhea which has been ongoing for 4.5 months. After tomorrow’s test she will wait about 2 weeks for biopsy results and hopefully have some kind of diagnosis. and TREATMENT. She has lost 40 lbs since the beginning of December.
Unhappy: Men annoy me. I wish I could make a composite man out of the best features of those whom I know. Luckily, my husband’s traits would make up at least 50% of such a man. He is the best of the lot, although he is not perfect. (Yes, I know, I’m not perfect either.)
Happy: I am retired, solvent, and can pretty much do what I want when I want. I have to remember this OFTEN. I really need to get out and see my girlfriends more often but my husband needs some looking after at home. He is “forgetful” and I like to keep my eye on him pretty closely. I think I need a few days vacation (with him) and I don’t mean the car weekend he has planned for next month!! We are already committed to that, but that’s not a VACATION to me. I need to keep looking at the big picture. I’m lucky to have a husband who is relatively healthy and HERE.
Hi. My son fought diarrhea for months (some days, he would be in the bathroom for 3 hours). at 16 he had an endoscopy and colonoscopy, 22 biopsies from that, and no issues. They did find that he was suddenly allergic to peanuts and sent him to a pediatric allergist. He had a test of 64 different items and he is allergic to 38 things! He tested positive (at such high rates) for peanuts, soy, carrots and green beans, he now needs an epi pen. Once we cut out soy (he wasn’t a big peanut, carrot or green bean person), his ‘episodes’ decreased immensely. He still has issues sometimes (usually based on what he eats) and does take a probiotic (Align) – when he remembers, but it was a long process to figure out what was causing his stomach distress.
I feel for you (and your daughter) and hope they have figured out what was causing the issue and she will be back to normal soon.
Already done the PO item, above, about my insurance company.
1. Eye dr convinced contact lens company to exchange the Contacts That Were Killing Me (the pain involved was some of the most excruciating of my life, and I am not exaggerating) for New Contacts That Maybe Won’t Kill Me. Keeping fingers crossed.
2. Smoked 1 very happy pork leg from my friends’ pasture, 2 happy chix from Whole Foods (on sale, natch), and some almonds tossed in smoked ham fat. Fridge is full of smokey goodness.
3. Combined errands and responsibilities yesterday: I met people, saw a Mandatory Fun event, had coffee with friends, went to the only good Asian grocery in my town (which is far away), went to the bank, went to eye dr. All in a relatively efficient manner.
4. Niece and nephew will be in town this weekend.
5. New book by my favorite author. Signed.
Hello everybody! Here are my 5…
1. SOOOO happy with my new-to-me car! it’s nice to drive something that has features I never thought I’d use (heated steering wheel) but find they are REALLY nice to have! 🙂
2. Happy i work for a strong company that allows me to work at home 2x a week. It is filled with good people.
3. Lost 10 pounds since DH passed! Woo Hoo! I’d like to lose another 10. Had to pull out old, smaller size, jeans since the others i had were too baggy. Glad I saved them!
4. Looking forward to my first real vacation in 12 years. Going to DC with my son for 5 days. Can’t wait! I know we are going to be in every art museum (he loves art) and definitely the spy museum (so excited to see that one!)
5. Spent 30 minutes on the phone yesterday with my niece who lives in Louisiana. We are only a few years apart and have had similiar experiences in life. I’m always happy when i hear from her.
I can’t think of anything that’s really pissing me off. I would appreciate some warm weather without rain so I can hang my laundry…
Nancy –
What a wonderful post – thank you for sharing it!
On the DC vacation front, my favorite Smithsonian is the Renwick Gallery – American Arts and Craft. It is a funky little museum a little bit outside of the fray of the Mall and may be worth a look. Enjoy your time there!
1) Warmer weather!
2) My teens are lovely, funny and interactive these days. We have hit a sweet spot.
3) Pleasant and meaningful work (diabetes research, NIH grant).
4) Sleeping in (see #2 above, toddlers and elementary school aged kids are such early risers).
5) Freezer meals! I hate cooking so this makes dinner less stressful.
1) Proposed NIH budget gutting pisses me off. It’s so shortsighted. I mean, healthy populations depend on the basic research that learns more about the best ways to treat chronic diseases.
Congratulations on grant! You are in a field that has the potential for helping out so many of us.
I hear you about the NIH budget gutting. My employer publishes a LOT of books by folks who rely on NIH funding.
Thanks! I love working in research. It’s not actually my grant, I should be clear. My PI and the whole team are wonderful people.
Happy:
1. It’s Friday!
2. My coffee
3. Productivity at work (and lots of work)
4. Planning my upcoming trip to a family reunion
5. Loving my wardrobe lately
Unhappy:
1. my grocery bill is so high now that I’ve been eating at home. And I’m not really saving money in a tangible way, because I was eating dollar-menu fast food items before. I’m going to have to be more creative, I guess.
YAY
1. when you sell something on kijiji!!
2. when you are almost going to sell a couple more things on kijiji!!
3. when you’ve got 7 huge bags and boxes of things to donate, sell, etc, to declutter
4. when you save $0.13/l on gas at costco!
5. When you realize that oatmeal at costco is less than $2/kg!
BOO
1. when you lock yourself out of your apartment and you have to pay an uber for your BF to come from across town to let you in 🙁
2. When you accidentally throw your dog’s favourite kong ball into the canal and it sinks like a stone…
All this was this week!
1. Today is Friday – looking forward to the weekend and staying home.
2. Spring weather – and all kinds of weather – thankful I live in an area with pronounced seasons – climate change making it warmer, but still wonderful seasonal changes to keep things interesting. Sun, snow, sleet, rain, beautiful moving clouds – an artist’s pallet right outside my door.
3. New rescue dog diagnosed with heartworm is taking medication without problems. This is the first dog we have ever had that easily swallows pills wrapped in a piece of meat! Fingers crossed that this continues.
4. Enthusiastic civic involvement of so many friends and neighbors – Democracy is not a spectator sport and they have embraced this belief.
5. Loving family.
What is pissing my off – can’t seem to detach and laugh about someone who continually tries emotional blackmail to convince us to join their religion. Jealous of husband who has this ability! Have tried explaining tolerance of other’s belief systems but no luck there,…
Best of luck with your new rescue baby….I hate to hear about the heartworms, but am glad he/she is easily taking the meds. The smartest thing we have ever done is to give our pups a taste of peanut butter off the tips of our fingers as a yummy treat and made a huge deal about how yummy it was and how good they were. It made giving pills SUPER easy, when needed (do not get reduced fat/sugar free Peanut butter…it contains a sugar substitute which can be toxic to canines). That leads to the DUMBEST thing we ever did ….since we do NOT buy commercially made dog food (due to ALL of the FREQUENT recalls even on the “good” brands such as Blue buffalo), we cook each evening for them (avoiding the food items that are can be toxic to canines such as onions and raisins). Well, because they are so used to either eating what we do for dinner or a variation of it (which is usually healthier and we should eat their variation….Ha!), I gave them a tiny taste of cookie butter from Trader Joe’s off of my finger….well they are now snobs and won’t take their pills with peanut butte anymore….they have their own jar of cookie butter specifically for taking meds. LOL
It’s always comforting when your kids prove they can handle things on their own. Kudos to his parents!
BTW – that wooden desk looks beautiful. I love reading nooks!
5 things that are making me happy:
1) I’m so thankful we are allowed to work remotely. It’s storming and flooding in our state today and I don’t have to get out in it.
2) The rain means our water well and all the plants and trees will be well watered.
3) I got everyone fed and the trash taken out before the storms hit.
4) Tomorrow I get to spend all day with my Wildcrafting group, foraging for plants and having fun in the woods!
5) I have a free night on my rewards card, so hubby and I are going to plan a night out in Bricktown in the next month.
One thing that’s pissing me off:
Our team is moving offices – again. Our department wastes way too much money moving people around. However, I’m hoping this is the last move I have to make before I retire.
1. We finally have a warm, sunny day in an endless stream of rainy weather!
2. I have some great friends, right here in my own neighborhood. And they share my frugal, preparedness values.
3. I love being retired and able to spend my time the way I choose, when I want.
4. My pets make me smile every day, whether it’s walking in the woods with my dog and watching him explore, playing fetch with my cats (wish they would teach my dog to do this, lol), or snuggling with my oldest kitty, senior citizen Annie, they bring a smile and warm my heart.
5. My youngest daughter is responsibly caring for the neighbors’ animals and earning a bit of money (she is an adult, but with some special needs issues), plus she seems pretty happy with her life right now.
Only thing that is annoying me is that I waited until the last second to file my 2013 (yes, 13) taxes, thinking they’d be difficult and I wouldn’t be due much of a refund, only to find that since I closed out my farm that year, it was a piece of cake do file, AND I am getting back over $4,600! Happy to be getting a lot of cash back, annoyed that I loaned it to the government for free for years!
LOVE the writing nook! 🙂
1) I’m so happy that business is going well. We’re considering making our third hire. The business is making more than ever. We’re saving like crazy.
2) It is Garden Week in Virginia. For fourteen years my mom, aunt, and I have picked a day to wander through homes and gardens well above our pay grade. I am sure I get more pleasure from the experience than if I actually owned one of these money pits.
3) For a year now my husband and I have been unable to decide if we are done with three kids or if we should go for four. I’m more on the four side than he is. But he is starting to lean my way! This could be the week.
4) I am done with comprehensive exams and done with finishing up all the things I put off while studying for exams. This is the week I dive into the archives, not to emerge before the end of the summer (unless I need to go to the ObGyn *wink*).
5) My husband and I organized and cleaned our weekend house on Saturday. I hate these tasks but doing it together made it so much easier. And it is nice have everything in its place.
1 thing that is pissing me off . . . hmmmm . . . it’s April now. Ask me in January.