January 1, 2009

Can you believe it is 2009!!!!!!  I'm in SHOCK!   Where does the time go?

Wishing you and those you love a blessed, prosperous, joyous and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

 January 11, 2009

Sorry it has been so long since I've written.  The cold, windy, gloomy days have kind of gotten to me.  We've had a day or two mixed in where there has been some sunshine and where it has warmed up a little, but overall, it's been fairly yucky.  I'm thankful we haven't had snow or ice...that would be unbearable to me!  Winter is so hard!  I can't imagine ever being warm again!!!

I've made some new jewelry I need to post, but with the economy being the way it is, there just doesn't seem to be any urgency to get it listed.  It's a scary time in our world.  So many people have lost their jobs, their homes, their hopes and dreams.  I'm very thankful to have a job at this time.  I feel for those who don't have that stability.  The stress and uncertainty can be overwhelming.  I've worried about our country for some time now...the way we have hemorrhaged jobs to other countries, the way investors have had such short term goals that they gutted the companies they purchased and then sold them when they looked good on paper, leaving little but a shell that could no longer function.  Those are just two of the things I have fretted over.  And now, it would seem, the impact of this kind of "way of doing business" is beginning to be felt.  I worry.  I pray.  I wonder if we will ever learn.  What will this year hold?  So much could happen...

That's kind of where my head has been.  Not real happy thoughts.  I've been hunkered down, shivering, thinking (brooding), worrying.  Not pleasant stuff to share.  Sorry!  I hope your new year is starting off on a much happier note!!!

January 17, 2009

Happy Birthday, Elaine!!!!

Boy, it has been REALLY COLD here...as in 11 to 14 degrees cold.  So cold it hurts.  We had some snow early Thursday, but it was just flurries that didn't stick, mainly because there was a lot of wind blowing and it blew most of it off the road.  And because it was so cold, everything kind of froze dry.  It did start warming up on Friday afternoon and we probably hit the high 40's to low 50's this afternoon, which is something like having a heat wave compared to where we have been.  I don't do winter well.  The warmer temperatures help, but winter is just very hard on me.  The short dark days, gloomy weather, cold, blustery, snowy, icy, windy, cloudy, ugly days really get to me. 

To top everything off, I had my credit card information stolen somehow in early December or late November.  That has been a big stressful event that has been made even more stressful because, once I received new cards, I've been unable to change my credit card information with MSN.  They have some kind of glitch with their system and it won't accept my new cards.  Their customer service is the worst I've even encountered...abysmal!  Non-existent!  Completely worthless!  They keep telling me they are elevating my case to the highest levels and that someone will call me back within 72 hours.  They have never called.  Nothing has been done.  And now they are threatening to cancel my account because I haven't updated my credit card information for billing purposes.  I wish I could sue them for all the stress they have caused me.  It's still not resolved and there is no resolution in sight.  At first, they wouldn't even admit they had a problem, but they are finally telling me they have had this issue with other account holders.  This is when I call, since, as I mentioned, they NEVER call me back.  I am frustrated beyond words...don't know how to get this fixed.  And that's just one of many things that have been going wrong lately.  I've got the winter blues and I've got them bad.   I need sunshine, warmth, beach!!!

January 27, 2009

We are in the midst of a huge ice storm.  It has been sleeting since noon yesterday and isn't showing any sign of stopping, though it might end sometime tomorrow morning, if the weather forecasters are correct and we get really lucky.  You can skate on the grass.  Everything is covered with a heavy crust of ice.  I left work early yesterday...around 1:30...and it took me almost 1-1/2 hours to get home.  It's normally a 35 to 45 minute drive, depending on the traffic.  There were two huge pileups on the expressway.  The first one I encountered looked horrible...smashed and demolished vehicles everywhere.  There were probably 5 involved.  The 2nd one, I saw from a distance and opted to exit the expressway for surface streets.  Every time I went under an expressway the rest of the way home, the traffic was at a dead stop due to some problem somewhere.  I opted to take a vacation day today rather than try to drive in.  I'm just too scared.  Call me wimpy if you want to, but it's so dangerous when it's like this and my nerves simply won't take it any more.  Guess I'm getting old!!!  The good news is, I still have electricity...and heat.  Last year, I spent 5 days in December without either and THAT was unbearable!  That storm nearly destroyed the trees too.  So far (knock on wood), the trees aren't being torn apart like they were last year.  I'm thankful for the warmth and the ability to turn on a light, get on the computer, cook, make phone calls, snuggle under an electric blanket.  It could be much worse.  I'm thankful it's not.