WHAT I DID ON MY VACATION and my SURPRISE GIFT

Wednesday's are now my day off.
Last Wednesday morning I met a friend for breakfast.
It was kinda the official start of my vacation because
I had used the last of my vacation days and had taken Thursday through Saturday off
and I had Sunday off too!
So that made for a nice group of a few days to get things done
and to relax a little bit.
My throat had felt a little sore the night before so I stopped after breakfast and picked up
throat spray, cough drops and NyQuil so that I could nip it in the bud.

By Thursday I was sick.
Friday I was much worse.
Saturday I had the chills and was sweating and about to call for last rites.
Sunday I woke up still sick but mad
and determined to get some use out of the wasted days so I
made myself do some work around the house and then went outside to finish some yard work 
in an effort to sweat my cold away and get some things done before the cold weather set in for good.

Monday I returned to work and was tired, dizzy and coughing so bad that I left a little after 1:00.
Fortunately the new girl was able to come in and cover my shift. 
I finally got home and when I walked in the door I discovered that Dewey had gotten me a little something.

I'm assuming he thought it would cheer me up.
I feel bad for the little mouse.
The weather is quite cool now
and cold at night.
He probably squeezed his way into the basement
looking to get warm
not knowing what waited for him inside.

Today I went back at work.
Several co-workers urged me to go home.
They thought I sounded worse than I had been on Monday.
I know I was coughing more.
My voice was almost gone too.
Finally one of them, a friend, came back and said to me that she had decided
that I needed to go HOME!
I told her I would...
after I gave a bath to a dog that I had promised his owner that I would
and after I finish up a few things.

Of course there's the financial issue of it as
we only get 24 hours sick time and I burned that up at the beginning of the year.
And I obviously just used up the last of my vacation hours.

Finally I got what needed to be done, done and left.
Luckily almost all the boarders had left
and it would only be a couple of hours until my evening shift worker would be in.

I'm lucky that I have tomorrow off.
Another day to recover!
I'm just bummed because I had so many plans for the last few days.
One was a day trip with a friend to drive to a few cool places
but she had to cancel last minute, so I guess that worked out for the best
and at least I got the outside stuff almost done.
But I wanted to work on figuring out Etsy and set up my shop
and of course work on making Art for Etsy.

I also had several things I wanted to write about and share in blog posts.
Things that happened and I don't want to forget to share!

Yep...

Oh well!
Enough whining.
I need to stop planning out specific times
and just do things in little bits and it will get done.

Right now though, I think I will curl up in my big chair
with a cup of green tea
and let myself be covered up with my furry critters
and nap until it's time for bed and my Nyquil
but I mostly just wanted to pop in and let everyone know
why I haven't posted in a while.

XOXOXOXO

ONE MONTH from today!

I've been working on thinking positive

and sending my thoughts out to The Universe.

It has to be said: It's not easy.

But anything worthwhile isn't usually easy.

It's really been a real eye opener though,

on how quick I've been to think negatively.

I hope it's not human nature to be that way.

It's just little things.

Like at work when I encounter people who might not be so nice.

It still happens but instead, I'm letting it go and not giving it much thought

and focusing on the good people I talk to and know.

Instead of letting it build up and eat at me, I'm thinking about my future.

I'm feeling grateful for what I have now and what I WILL have.

What is coming towards me.

I'm believing it into being.

Last post I shared about my car.

How I had traded it for safety, security and happiness.

The next day on Sunday I went out to it to run some errands.

It wouldn't start.

I called my sister and she and my niece came over to jump it and still... no luck.

Since I have my warranty, I called and had it towed into the dealership.

Luckily they have a shuttle service that came to my house on Monday morning and drove me to work.

While making small talk in the Shuttle Van, I started to say to the guy that I hoped it wasn't anything major.

Then I stopped that train of thought and said 

"But I'm sure it will be something simple!"

The driver gave me a surprised look and said with a laugh

"That's a positive attitude!"

Later,  it turned out to be just the battery.

I got a new Honda one. One that lasts for 8 years

and they gave me my first (free) oil change and tire rotation.

Then the shuttle service came and got me on my lunch hour and took me to my car.

Car problems have never been this easy for me!

Then a few days later something else happened to me.

I needed to deposit a check that I had been keeping.

Full disclosure. I save all things paper.

Receipts, coupons, post-it notes, index cards with grand ideas scribbled on them.

I have bills, letters and well... you get the idea.

Important paper is kept in the top drawer of my desk,

or in my handbag,

or in the top drawer of the cabinet in the living room,

or in a book on the shelf

or....

OK, yes I have a problem.

And when it gets overwhelming, I will go around with a plastic bag and fill it with the papers

and tie the top and carry it upstairs and put the bag in a closet.

So, you see... it looks neat, but actually it's just hidden chaos.

So I desperately needed to deposit that check.

After all I had just bought that new battery.

And for the life of me, I could not find it.

I searched for it for quite a while until I gave up and went to bed.

I laid there thinking.. it's probably in the Other cabinet, top drawer....

In the morning I resumed my search.

I was starting to get teary eyed and so very mad at myself.

It was no where to be found.

Finally I made a promise to myself, to Glinda the Good Witch and to The Universe.

If I could only find it, I would once and for all get rid of all my paper clutter!

I took a deep breath, poured myself some coffee and sat down at my desk.

I pulled the top drawer open AGAIN.

There was a card laying on top and I flipped it open.

I know that I had looked inside that card before but

there was the check.

CHILLS.

Truly, I had goosebumps.

OK. so here's the plan.

I'm getting rid of the paper.

Burning it and putting what I MUST keep in one box.

One location.

But this has now also snowballed another thought into action.

It's a HUGE goal, (for me) but here it is;

In exactly FOUR weeks from today I will start a one week vacation.

Each weekend until then, I have off.

After my vacation I will start a six day workweek including Saturdays.

The upside being that I will be able to leave early on some days so it's really not as bad as it sounds.

and I will have Sundays off.

Now this is what I'm going to do.

In the past, every single block of time that I have taken vacation time

I have used to clean the house, sort through stuff and do yard work.

I've gotten up early still and worked until I was exhausted and although it was a good tired,  it's always how I've spent my vacation time.

Not this time.

Nope.

In the time leading up to my vacation I'm going into overdrive.

I'm PURGING everything.

Room by room.

And the yard too.

It's a lot to do but I'm focused.

And on my vacation?

I plan on just waking up when I do!

and not feeling like I MUST get up and get to work on my projects.

I plan on doing or not doing, whatever I want

and also sitting down and working on my Art without the nagging feeling of things not done hanging over my head.

Oh sure, I'll have walls that will need painting

and other projects but I can do that afterwards.

On following weekends...

but the STUFF will be gone.

Now this might sound silly but

it's kinda overwhelming and scary.

But having this deadline and putting it HERE

will make me do it.

AND having that  peace of mind will be priceless.

In the past I've held onto stuff because of the possibility of what I could make out of it

and/or the cash I spent on it or maybe someday sell it for.

But that's not believing in The Universe.

It's not believing that what I need will be there for me.

No, it's like seeing the negative and not the positive.

It's like the paper not being visible

but knowing it's there, crammed and jumbled and chaotic.

So that's the plan for the month.

Other News:

I gave Doc a letter asking for a raise.

A long letter, detailing my value and my reasons.

He will have to go over it with the HR vet.

But hopefully I will get the raise I deserve but here's the oddest part.

I'm not dwelling on it.

Either I will get it or I won't.

The decision they make will just be a piece of my life puzzle that I'm slowly putting together.

I won't know until it's all clicked together to see what the image is.

Although the piece they choose will definitely have an effect on how it all comes together!

OK, I best get busy!

I hope everyone is having happy positive things happening in their lives.

I always look forward to you sharing your comments, thoughts, ideas!

XOXOXOXOXO

Two VERY short videos of my ROADTRIP!

So I guess I took a blog break.

I didn't plan it, it just kinda happened.

I even have a lot to write about.

And lots of stuff not to write about.

By that I mean I went back to some of my old posts and read some
and I'm a broken record.

Yep, don't want to write the exact same thing I did last year

and the year before that and

Jeez. 

That's given me some pause.

Anyway...I had a birthday while I was gone.

Not really thrilled with getting older

but it's better than the alternative.

So, I can write about my thoughts on that...

but not today.

I also took a couple of days vacation...broken record again.

and then there's a dilemma of a dog needing a home, actually it's a pair of them

and I found a home for one but not the other.

I thought I had one but it fell through...

Another long sad story that I won't go into either.

Odd though, how it's breaking my heart

and the people that owned them just walked away.

Sigh.

But HEY! I went on a roadtrip!

Yep! the hermit climbed into a huge pick-up truck,

the kind you grab this handle thing and yank yourself into the air to get into

and rode along with a friend to Minnesota.

Illinois to Minnesota and back in a day.

To get a goat

or should I say a "kid".

My friend lives way out in the country and she recently adopted a baby billy goat

that had a broken leg (which she has been taking him to the vet for and he's almost 100% now)

and while acquiring this billy, a little white girl "doe" goat followed her husband around

and she came home with them too.

So apparently goats are like cats.

Once you get one, you need another

and another...

So now my friend owns 3 goats!

Working like a Dog?

So I worked like a dog yesterday.
I've completely cleared the ravine and started on terracing it.
I had a lot of brush and small trees to cut down.
I apparently cut one of the little trees at a sharp angle leaving it as a sort of "spear" jutting out of the ground.
Most of the brush was dried but had big clusters of round prickly burrs.

I was trying to weave in and under this stuff, cutting the branches without the burrs sticking to me and as I did this, I stepped on the "spear".
Luckily I had my thick old gardening Crocs on and the sole took much of it.
But still, it hurt and there was blood.
I figured I better go clean it out and bandage it up and as I was hobbled past my patio area and I suddenly realized that "dog" is not the proper word for my level of exertion!

I'M ON VACATION

for a few days.

I have a mental lists of things I'd like to get accomplished.

If I actually do them, I'll post about it later.

But on the very top of my list is:

Sleep until I just wake up

and drink blue drinks.