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Sunday, 06 December 2009

  • A friendly weekend

    It's been a great weekend...depending on fantasy football tomorrow, it might be an almost perfect weekend.  Friday night, Susie came for a visit, girltalk, wine, blue cheese on crackers with strawberry jam..mmmm  I picked Deb up this afternoon for our 2nd annual Jim McDonough Christmas concert at Hoyt Sherman.  He is an amazing musician and he is Iowa bread and born..can't beat that.  After dinner at Noah's Ark and good conversation, we went to Brett and Christa's house...the grandkids and Alyssa were there and that was very fun.  G'ma and G'pa were exhausted which made me snicker...it was a wonderful evening.

    Back in the saddle Sunday night...but only for 4 so I can do it.

    Have to get some ebay stuff packaged and ready to mail. 

    Until next time...

Thursday, 03 December 2009

  • Whew, I feel better

    From the comments I received on yesterday's blog about my intense curiosity...I was pleased to find out that there are a lot of us crazies walking the street.  When you are face to face talking to someone, you have no idea what they are thinking about..in that little curious recess of their mind...It tickles me.  Kissed by a dog hit on another one of my things that I figured I was the only one..she drives around and sees people and wonders about them..what do they do, etc.  That is one of the things I do when I travel..wow...there are people in that house that have the same problems I do (in general) what is going on in there right now...interesting.

    My other ebay cheerleader (Christa) told me that people buy the wierdest stuff and something you might think is ugly or you think no one would possibly want it, will sell easily.  She even pointed out a couple of things that I was about to inherit :) ...on the flipside..I have a beautiful blue bird that has been thru 2 auctions and I haven't even gotten a "watching" flag on.  When I was photographing it for ebay, I actually thought to myself..wow..this is really pretty, I wonder if I should keep it..but I just don't like birds that well.  Here it is.

    IMG_3101 IMG_3100 IMG_3099

    It is old..it has the label INARCO Japan on it, it is adorable but no one wants it...but someone wants 25 wooden spools of thread?  There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to this stuff.

    Birds...there have been times in my life when I've wanted to be locked in a room with someone so I could beat the holy crap out of them..I'm mostly talking about murderers and sex offenders but there have been some regular people too...but the thought of being locked in a room with a little flying bird that could peck me to death makes me sweat.  Several years ago, we took the kids to Disneyworld and Universal Studios,  we thought it would be fun to see a 3D movie..glasses and all...well they were showing the old
    Bird movie in 3D...I was laying in my seat screaming...the nightmare had become a reality..

    Anyway...I think I got off track there...I'm off to ebay...

    Until next time....

Wednesday, 02 December 2009

  • Almost a month

    For starters...I've found ebay...there are few things (at this age) quite so satisfying as seeing the stuff you are ready to give up be exchanged for cash.   I tend to have some addiction problems with stuff...kind of like a dog with a bone with lots of roast beef still attached...you can't get it away from me.

    Thoughts:

    Someone told me (Deb) not to throw away my wooden thread spools because someone will buy them..WHO IS GONNA BY THREAD SPOOLS. Well, I put 25 of them out there and I got more for them then I got for a 3 antique bowl set.

    I was sitting in the bank manager's office today doing some..banking...I was curious about the layout of her office compared to the tellers and wanted to turn around and check out her vantage point..and then I wondered if she has a little bank alarm button under her desk..and then I wondered if she frequently looks out the window that is partially "blinded" to see who/what is coming in..like you can tell a criminal from the rest of the public any more..and then I wondered if she was ever afraid to sit in the bank..I mean bank robberys are quite popular these days.  I wanted to ask her all of those questions..but I was afraid she would push the bank alarm button under her desk and pull out her 9 mm smith and wesson and blow my head off...

    When I left the bank, I was thinking about everything I had been thinking about and wondered...do people find me annoying because I'm so curious, because I ask a lot of questions...and I don't need ANYONE to say..No, Nina...that is not why we find you annoying.

    ..and then I wonder how much better off I am today due to privacy laws.  I'm a 50 something hick in smalltown Iowa and have tried to handle my mother and my aunts death and estate problems.  I couldn't even cancel the damn cable and Direct TV accounts without sending them a copy of the death certificate...you've gotta be kidding me.  The phone company didn't have a problem..but the cable company..There should be some healthy privacy rules to protect us...but the cable company.  I basically said...fine..she has no money, she has no estate..I'm offering to pay her last bill if you want to pencil in my address otherwise...she won't be watching TV anymore and you won't be receiving any money from her and they said NO..they had to have a death certificate..so...all you other cable subscribers out there just got screwed because you have to pay her last bill....

    In going thru stuff last night - I thru out the girls clay art projects from elementary school...one is 28 and the other is 22...it's probably time...but it was hard to do....

    That's all that is on my mind right now...I have to get back to ebay, people..it is calling.

    Until next time....

Thursday, 05 November 2009

  • Kind of an emotional day...

    First...the Ft Hood situation had a huge impact on me..please don't think I'm lame, but I watch Army Wives and I'm very emotionally attached to it...when the General gave his press conference tonight on CNN I felt sick because Army Wives has given me an idea what it is like on an army base...I know, I know fiction..but if you've never been on an army base, the show enhances the understanding and there has to be some aspects that are true.  I pictured Michael, the general, presenting the information and it made it so real for me.  I thought the General handed perspective to all of us when he said..no, we don't carry weapons..this is our home...I'm trying to just wait until all of the investigation is completed before I believe the worst...I'm feeling like this was not the act of terrorism, but unfortunately the act of a man whose positive and negative wires were fried.  Regardless, it is very painful in our already angry country.

    Tomorrow night is a benefit dance and silent auction for a girlfriend's brother who is battling cancer. He and I will be going early because he has to work.  I want to show my support and donate some money but selfishly dreading it because I don't want to deal with his condition and prognosis...this is where that NIKE slogan comes to mind..You don't have to like it, you just have to do it...

    Don't read the next paragraph if you have delicate ears to the F word... This is from my Xanga pal, Tracy..I just giggled and giggled because I always am very responsible when internet forms ask for my secret question and answer...and I had no idea that everyone didn't consider this detail to be sacred, but obviously not.........

    We are working on a large project.  Part of this process is moving a couple of tens of thousands of accounts from one platform to another.  Here's a request for all of you.  When filling out a sign up form and it asks for your Secret Question & Answer, please remember someone somewhere will probably have to read it...John, I  can't imagine the life you must have had if your childhood nickname was fucker.
    Michael - I just don't believe the city government in Augusta would allow the Hospital you were born in to be named Fuck Off.

    Just when I thought I had the most fun job on earth, I find out that Tracy gets to deal with this stuff .... and once I again I have giggled.

    My friend Rod had to put his dog down this week due to medical reasons...very sad...but tonight, he and his new little puppy found each other at the animal rescue league.  Obviously the little dog desperately needs love and it was so special to see Rod so happy and in love...he didn't think he would get another dog for a while after Warren...but that wonderful relationship between man and dog brought love back into his life.

    Until next time...



     

     

  • I'm skeered

    I have chuckled a couple of times in the last hour to keep me from screaming, running upstairs, closing myself in the bedroom under the comforter...I was nearly killed tonight from a chain reaction of 4 of the 8 animals in the house.  I went in to watch TV - the shows that I missed and DVR'd today...Marley...the 107 pound golden retriever was spread out on the couch...he looked so sweet and cute that I couldn't yell at him to get down..so I sat down and started rubbing his ears and he was giving me that "oh that feels good, ma" groan...ahhhhh, Baxter (the huge black cat) climbed up on my lap and assumed his position, ahhh, I love my kids...here comes Truman...he's sitting on the coffee table...oh he's going to be a good boy... what a good kitty...life is good....

    UNTIL>>>>

    Marley decided to turn over so I could rub his tummy...of course forgetting he was laying on the furniture, he rolled off the couch on to Frannie (the black lab) who was laying on the floor in front of the davenport...Frannie jumped up and yelped which caused Truman to FLY over onto my shoulder and start sliding down which scared Baxter who meowed with displeasure jumped up, I caught him in my armpit because my arm was coming down from trying to protect myself from Truman's flight and Baxter proceeded to use the girls (the God given girls in the rack) as a pushing off place, knocked down the gate that I use to keep Billly from escaping out the door with a WHAM...leaving black kittie hair under my arm and I look up to see Sierra running from wherever she was and I'm hoping she will be content to see that everyone is alive and she doesn't have to attempt to take Frannie out to protect me....

    It skeered me pretty bad.......there are times when the cats sit around and just stare at me...from all corners of the room...or you walk into a room and they are all sitting on the honches...I wonder if I've interrupted a meeting...are he and I and the dogs safe in the house with them?

  • Know what I'm doin'

    It is 12:47 in the morning, I'm at the computer and have the desk top stereo cranked..listening to oldies..93.3 KIOA...the station I listened to before the station and I were oldies...

    I worked 3 hours tonight...Alayna called in sick so 3 of us split up the time.  Working OT when you don't have to work an entire shift is painless for me.

    As I speak in generalities here, my intent is not to irritate..I'm merely presenting an observation....and my observations may be a bit skewed which I won't get into as anyone who has read me before should be able to understand why I qualify my thoughts. 

    The generation which belongs to my children, who have chosen to live life responsibly, really impresses me...in fact, I mentioned to one of them tonight that I wish I had been as squared away when I was that age.  They seem to know what they want and are going for it...Jenny asked me the other day if I had kids because I wanted them or because it was what I was supposed to do...zing...holy, Mother..they have us figured out.  Of course, I don't speak for every 50-60 year old woman here but..ladies out there..isn't it true...we carried around baby dolls and played house and barbies which taught us that we would get married and have children and probably get a job to help make money after the kids started school...perhaps we would be a teacher or a nurse...just like mom.  Some of us made our goal and some of us didn't.  Ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide that could keep me from you... Kids now have impressive career goals..that isn't to say that there aren't kids of this generation who have adhered to the values that we grew up with and are living their lives just the same...I remember how important it was for me to get out there in the job market with only a year of bible college under my belt, yet the most important thing was to raise my children and be there for their boo boos and their support.  I see so many girls today who are after a career..hold off on the kids until they get the base firmed up and feel they are ready to take on the incredible responsibility of children....and then.....

    Now that my kids have flown the coop, I'm so confused.  How did I do it all...especially being in this sandwich generation...is it any wonder the percentage of this generations that must rely on anti-depressants or one of the awful habits like drinking, smoking and/or overeating to get them out of bed and thru the day.  I never had my time...It never ocurred to me that these expectation I was living up to were of my own creating...I was my own worst enemy.

    I  do find fault with this constant structured life that children have now...but what are these kids going to grow into...Is this structured play time, constant movement spending every night at the ball field, music lessons, dance...is this healthy..will these kids grow up with an imagination ... will they know what to do with themselves without some type of structure...will they be creative or just programmed.  Every generation has their way...I raised my kids different than I was raised and I'm sure they will raise their children different than they were raised and so on.  Perhaps if a child knows that he/she is loved, truly loved and wanted, everything will be okay.... same with us parents of adults...we need to know that we are truly loved and wanted... I hope each generation returns the favor.

    Until next time....

Tuesday, 03 November 2009

  • I want to speak a moment about peace of mind...for me, it doesn't seem to be my favorite song playing in my head, floating on air or singing kumbaya...it's more a "piece" of mind that is no longer ransacked with fear....during one of my quiet times, I was thinking about how I actually think I used to have pressure in my head..oh it was all in my mind..but I constantly had pressure..constantly was consumed with fear..fear of the unknown, first it was fear that my parents were going to die, then it was fear that my life was about to be controlled, fear that I was going to have to do something else I didn't want to do, fear that I wouldn't be able to carry out plans because someone would be requiring me to do something for them, fear of the unknown is probably the best way to describe it...using an old analogy..waiting for the other shoe to drop....I knew I was under pressure but I didn't realize how much pressure until it was gone...gone like being in a room with really loud music and then the music stops....the quiet is deafening and you wonder if something is wrong and then you realize that it is nothing...absolutely nothing...this is the very first time in my life I feel totally free...I'm seriously going to have to adjust to it...I'm totally free...I'm totally free....
  • It's November

    What a whirlwind half of year...being with him at Mayo several times, mom's final antics and death, Jenny and Ryan moving away, Aunt Frances' final antics and death...sorting sorting sorting thru the 90+ years of their life from the "stuff" they left behind...I'm not really feeling overwhelmed anymore because time is not an element.  If I die before it is done, I have two daughters to complete the job.  I also adopted another cat in the middle of all of that...he was sort of adopted by Jenny before she moved..he was a stray..she couldn't leave him so we took him..they had named him Winston but I couldn't remember that name so he is now Truman..why that is easier, I have no clue.  Thank goodness he was the last cat because had he been the first cat, we would have just had him.  He's a gigantic kitten..clumsy, makes life hell for the other 4 cats and devil dog, runs like the wind and don't make the mistake of walking by him when he is spread out on the floor thinking he is asleep.  HE IS NOT ASLEEP...he loves to grab things as they go by....

    I've been busy sorting, pricing and hauling things into my antique store booth...I love this little job and I may make a little money too.  I've tried to analyze it..but screw that and just enjoy it.  I'm putting jewelry on e-bay now and loving that too...what is wrong with me..I'm enjoying things...

    We have an early January appointment scheduled at Mayo Clinic for the removal of his 1 adrenal gland and tumor.  Christmas is coming and I"m getting very excited about it.  Very excited.  I love to decorate for Christmas..I'm not dreading anything this Christmas and may envelope myself in the spirit.

    Life is good for me.  I wish it were as good for everyone else that I like and love...but everything in it's own time. 

    Until next time....

     

Thursday, 22 October 2009

  • Who needs enemies to stab you in the back when you have family.  I have never quite been so disappointed as I have with the dirty business I've been dealing with after 53 years of horse excrement.  There is an executor job open.  I quit.  She tried to get it changed but died first...hmmmm Ninasusan is a bitter ballerina

Saturday, 17 October 2009

  • A deep thought here...you really learn about life when you are dealing with death.  A few days ago, I was totally pissed off and bitter about my relationship with Aunt Frances..mainly I was having a pitty party because it seemed that the two maternal adults in my life made  no attempt to cuddle Nina Sue at the death of her parents...the things I have learned 1) we all think about life different and we all think about death different; 2) in their grief - I'm cleary speaking of my mother and my aunt, it was not possible for them to take care of anyone else; 3)Their mother died young - mom was 13 and Aunt Frances was 15 so they are possibly emotionally challenged by the death and who knows how death was dealt with in the 1930's; 4) we are so apart in generations...my parents and Aunt Frances are the age of grandparents to most of my friends; 5)the 4 of us grew as one unit.  Aunt Frances was in our unit..Mom, Dad, Aunt Frances and Nina Sue so I'm guessing no one even considered that I was the little girl in the mix.  6) I go to great lengths to not appear vulnerable, lonely and out of control...thus the thoughts of laying in a bed in my last days being vulnerable, lonely and out of control scares me...fast forward to death here...obviously mother and aunt frances didn't feel this way.  Jeff  aka ghog said the way to solve this problem is with a living will..that is what he did and he also said:

    In any case, the main imperative is to make it known what your choices are and where the lines are drawn while you are still healthy. That way, when your time comes, your wishes will be honored. Whether you choose to fight like Aunt Francis or set rules for ending it like I did, individual choice has to be preserved. No government, no family member, no doctor or caregiver should be allowed to make that choice for you. The choice should be yours.


     

    Your Aunt wants to fight. Leave her to it. 

    Thanks everyone for your comments, your support and your love.  I may find Peace yet...

    Until next time....


     

Ninasusan

  • Visit Ninasusan's Xanga Site
    • Name: Nina
    • Birthday: 3/9/1956
    • Gender: Female
    • Member Since: 9/4/2007
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