Court date # 2

So much for bragging about having such a great day on Sunday, I guess! I woke up that night very sick with a stomach virus. Oh my gosh...I do not know if I have ever felt that bad or been that sick. I didn't go to work until 10:15 on Monday, then left at 12:15 to come back home to get on my couch. I have only been out of work 2 days in the 22 years I have been at my job, so you know I was feeling bad! I could tell about 10:00 on Monday night that I was turning the corner and I am still on the upswing, but still not 100%. I have learned that I don't think I've ever had a stomach virus before because I KNOW I wouldn't have forgotten! :-) My sympathies to anyone that gets it, I can definitely tell you that!

The bigger news though is that I had the second court date yesterday about the guy that broke into my car back in August. I was glad to be getting this handled, so imagine how thrilled I was when I got to court and they told me there was a bench warrant out for this guy because he was supposed to show up on Monday and didn't! So I left to go back to work, still no resolve. They will subpoena me again once they have him. I do still agree with my post here when all this happened, but at this point, I am ready to have it done and over with. I guess I don't understand how people are not afraid of the law! My subpoena said something like I would be fined $300 if I didn't show up...that would be my penalty for being a no-show and I didn't even do anything...I was the victim...(and I do use that term loosely since there was no damage and no one was hurt)...but my point is that I didn't do anything and just the threat of a fine scares me and this guy actually DID something and doesn't show. It is just weird. When I think about that, I realize that a part of me does not understand society. I also think that, unfortunately, not much surprises me anymore. I guess there may have been a small part of me that was surprised at this news yesterday, but for the most part, I just took it in stride because there is really nothing that can be done until they have this guy. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Some things are just funny

I've had a great day today. After working 6 day weeks and longer hours since early January, it's starting to catch up with me at times, but I had an afternoon today where I was able to just rest, wash clothes, hang out at home and get a Sunday afternoon nap and I LOVED it. I got home from church tonight, watched part of the Oscars, got my laptop and have been happily entertained for the last few hours. The last hour or so though, I have been watching recap videos on Ellen DeGeneres website. TOO funny! I've laughed out loud several times...something I do not do very often with TV shows. Here's the link:

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/galleries/videos/

It's easy to navigate and loaded with funny stuff if you have a few minutes to kill. And mostly, it's fun because it's all good, clean humor....a great thing in today's world!

Enjoy!

Church signs

I have been so stinkin' busy lately and I know no one wants to read about that because we are all busy, but by the time I get home and get everything done at night, I am just too tired and have absolutely nothing to write. Tax season does that to me mentally, but it's more and more noticable the older I get! I'm not posting much, not for lack of desire, but lack of thoughts that anyone would care to read....

Anyway, I passed one of those church signs tonight on the way home that I thought was great.....Few words, but very powerful.

"It's good to mark your Bible, but it's better to let your Bible mark you."

Just a thought.

'The Last Hurrah!'

Gorgeous, aren't they? These are among the last of the birthday remembrances I've gotten this week. They came at the end of the day yesterday from a dear friend in North GA who my family moved next door to in Morrow when I was only 9 or 10 years old. Debbie and Jack were just getting married and she was only 10 years older than me. I was the first babysitter their children had and Debbie and I struck up a wonderful friendship that has grown through so many phases of our lives....mine from childhood to adultood, hers from newlywed to grandmother! WOW! It would be impossible to recount the ways she has influenced my life spiritually, morally, and maybe even more than I realize, emotionally, but I can sit here and honestly say that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God Himself brought her into my life for specific reasons, especially at that young age, whether I knew it at the time or not. You can see a lot of things looking back over your life that you couldn't see or didn't realize at the time...those purposes where she is concerned are now crystal clear! Anyway, the flowers are just so bright and gorgeous that I had to share....they are a definite change from the cold windy weather right now!

I had the last of my birthday celebrations tonight. A movie and dinner with friends....the movie, 'Music and Lyrics' with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. A cute movie and especially for people like me who were fanatics about certain groups and musicians in the 70's and 80's. Definite memories! haha. I couldn't help but to giggle. It was a cute movie and definitely recommended if you like Drew and Hugh.

Anyway, this will be the last 'birthday' post, so thanks again for a fantastic week. I have been blessed, humbled and encouraged at so many turns in the road and you can rest assured that not one of the kindnesses extended has been overlooked or unappreciated. Without a doubt, I have the best friends in the world!

Just for fun...

I don't care how many times I read some of these church bulletin bloopers, I still giggle...

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The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.
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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
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Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
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Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
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At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.
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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
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This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
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The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours"

The 'sisterhood'...for real!

How lucky can a girl be? I met my friends Joan, Christy and Gwen for dinner last night…a little thing we’ve decided to do once a month or so just because it’s fun. They each gave me a birthday card when I got there and said this dinner was my birthday celebration, but they didn’t want to tell me beforehand. I was touched. They even used a gift card that Gwen and Christy had gotten as a thank you from someone and paid for all of our dinners! When we got through with dinner though, our waitress showed up with a box from Publix. Initially, I just looked at it and didn’t know what was going on, but then it hit me...”WOW….that’s a birthday cake!” I just have the coolest friends in the world! I wish I’d had my camera. I have known Joan for years, but Christy and Gwen are her sisters and they have become friends to me as well. They’ve let me give myself the title of ‘honorary sister’ and they make me feel like nothing less. God is good and I am thankful…I love being part of the ‘sisterhood’! :-)

Thanks girls....I had a blast last night!

MANY THANKS.

I just wanted to say thanks to those of you who have extended birthday greetings to me in one way or another these past several days. I have been overwhelmed and feel like I have had almost a full week to celebrate! The older I get, the more I realize how quickly time passes, but it only serves to drive home the realities of what is most important in life, with good friends being at the top of that list. I am more than blessed in that area and I am grateful to each of you for what you add to my life. I still have one or two more birthday events to celebrate, so by the time those are over, it will have been a little more than a week that I've been partying, but it is fun and I love it!

The picture above is of the candle that was on the cake at my Dad's tonight. I went over there for dinner with my Dad, his wife, my sister, nieces and brother-in-law, and as a surprise, my stepmom had also invited my favorite aunt and uncle. This aunt and uncle got married on my 5th birthday, so they were married 40 years today.....lots to celebrate for them too, but I was thrilled that they chose to join us at my Dad's. It was a fun night and even though I did manage to squeeze my Sunday afternoon nap in before I went to my Dad's, I am still tired! :-)

With that, I'm off to settle in for the night, but I didn't want today to get by without a word of thanks for all the fun and every kindness that has been extended in recent days....whether by card, call, e-mail, food and fellowship or whatever....my heart is full of thanks. Most of all though, I am grateful for the constancy and friendships that help get me through EVERY day. You can rest assured that you are loved and appreciated.

One awesome song

Good news...

The $300 was back in my account today. I love my bank. They are courteous and do fast work!

To blog or not to blog...

I almost used this title for my post on Sunday night, but chose not to...now it seems even more appropriate. My lack of posting lately has only come from a busy tax-season life right now, a few computer issues and nothing more. It had only been a week since I had posted my last entry....not a huge amount of time by any stretch of the imagination. I guess I should take it as a compliment that my posts had been missed, huh? The thing is that I post so many things that have '0 comments' that it makes me wonder who is even reading all this to begin with, you know? I know that sounds silly, but it just seems more fun when people agree, disagree and/or a constructive dialogue ensues.

My post today is a word about debit cards and banking. I got home last night to a letter from my bank saying that a merchant had reported information they had on record had been compromised. While my debit card was one of the ones involved, the letter assured me that the situation was being handled and that I would have a new debit card by February 12 which needed to be activated as soon as it was received. With this warning in mind, I checked my account this morning from work and saw that indeed $300 was deducted from my account yesterday that I have no idea about. I called customer service and was on the phone for about 20 minutes. The representative was very nice and helpful, but we came to the conclusion that I needed to go to my bank and fill out an affadavit saying that I had no knowledge of this debit and that it was not authorized by me. It only took me about 30 seconds to hang up the phone and explain to Judy (the CPA I work under) that I needed to go get this matter resolved. She agreed and I was back at work in 30 minutes or less. I got home today and my new debit card is already here, I am just debating now because I have a few things that are outstanding that I don't want to be rejected when they try to post. I asked the man at the bank about this today, before I knew my new card would be here tonight, and he said that if there is any other activity that I don't know about, I will have to fill out a new affadavit to have it turned over to be investigated as well. Although I know it's not the smartest thing to do, I am thinking I may watch and wait until this one specific debit comes through before I activate my new card. At any rate, it will be a few days before the $300 makes it back to my account. Stinks, huh? I love the convenience of having a debit card and I think the advantage definitely outweighs any disadvantage, I just hate that things like this happen in today's world.

The World vs. The Church

I don't really have anything to say, but I was told tonight that I needed to put something else on my blog. Our choir sang in church tonight and as we were going into the Worship Center, my friend Debra said, ".....and you need to put something else on your blog. I'm tired of reading about your computer!" We laughed, but there just hasn't been much worth posting about. With it being tax season, all I've been doing it working...getting W-2's and 1099's out and dealing with a January 31 deadline. Oh the world of taxes...always a deadline. January is my big push though, so now I just have long hours until April 17. I can deal with that. January was one of the smoothest I remember in a while, so for that I am thankful. There are usually numerous people calling once they get their W-2 to say they don't think they made that much money, etc, but I would have to say that I see their point sometimes because when I get my W-2, it never seems I've made that much money either because I certainly can't always see where it goes! The ever elusive dollar....where DOES it all go?

Anyway, knowing I didn't really have anything to say, I asked Debra what she thought I should write about and she said, "This." Church on Super Bowl Sunday Night. Hhhhmmm....that's a hard one! We always have church on Sunday night, but our Minister of Music told us at rehearsal on Wednesday that he scheduled the choir to sing tonight because it IS Super Bowl Sunday. He went on to say that he gets tired of the world dictating what the church is going to do and I have to say that I agree. We had great attendance as well as a full choir and orchestra. We sang three songs, one of our ensembles sang, then we had the sermon. I guess we got through by about 7:25 or so and I'm sure that everyone that wanted to watch the Super Bowl still got home in plenty of time to see the action. Personally, I have no idea who is even playing and it doesn't bother me in the least. I have nothing against the Super Bowl, I just agree that the world dictates what we are going to do at times and that's not good. I'm thankful to be part of a church that takes a stand!

Lastly, as a follow up to the prior post about my computer issues, my laptop came this past week and I love it so far. I am posting this propped up on my bed at home with my cat sound alseep beside me. She is just like a child and knows when things take my attention away, so a little while ago, she thought she was going to jump up here and walk on the keyboard and eventually lay down on it, I'm sure, like she does on paper or anything else when I'm at the table, but I put a screeching halt to that! The laptop is cool though and I can tell this is one toy I am going to enjoy having....