The Adventures of Being Me

Took my Mom shopping for Christmas presents and mailed her great-grandchildren gifts in the box I sent mine in. We had some warm temperatures at the beginning of the month, I saw people wearing shorts in December. Then it rained and overnight switched to winter snow. We got a few inches. Had to buy a couch cuase the springs in the old one broke to give me a bad back. Found out a coworker was getting laid off for 6 weeks so hurried up to finish my Christmas treats before their last day. Brought my homemade treats to work for coworkers to enjoy. I brought Almond Bark Pretzels, Fudge, Pink Champagne Cupckaes, Peanut Butter Cookies with a Hershey Kiss, Sugar Cookies, and Gingerbread People. 3 out of 5 containers I held the treats disappeared. Next year I will stop brining treats. I can't afford to keep buying new containers. Made my deliveries of a box of treats to my mechanic, chiropractor, postal carrier, and receptionist at my Mom's senior living center.The governor releas...

Twas the night before Christmas and I could hardly bare it Not a creature was stirring not even a ferret The stockings were hung on the bookcase with care In hopes that St. Nicholas would bring toys to share The ferrets were nestled all snug in their bedspreads While visions of red balls and feathers danced in their heads I Bilbo was curled up on Mama’s pillow With Misty on her feet like a fluffy marshmellow When out on the lawn I heard a dog bark I sprang from the bed after viewing a bright spark Away to the window we pounced in a flurry The ferrets jumped out of the sheets in a hurry The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow Covered up the leaves where raccoons like to go When what to my wandering cat eyes should appear But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer With a little old driver so bright red and quick I so badly wanted to give that toy a lick More rapid than ferret bites his coursers they came And he whistled and shouted and called them by name Now Sparkle, Now Snowb...

Merry Christmas to all my Friends and Family. 2020 started with me watching TV and kissing my cats at midnight. The next day I returned to work at the tax place. Killed my fish Achilles Jr while changing its water. I realized later his tank heater was turned off and holding tank water was too warm for him to handle. Heartbroken with a side of guilt. Soon after Leda Jr died. We had such cold temperatures outside that the ferrets and cats refused to go play in the snow. Soon, my lone Beta male fish Aeneas Jr started lying on the rocks. Thinking he was dying I got a male and female fish to put in my empty tanks named Perseus and Andromeda. Two days later, Aeneas Jr perked up watching a new female Beta next door. Amazing how one little fish can change another just by being there. Ordered the traditional Heart Pizza and brownies to be delivered to Mom on Valentine's Day since I had to work all day. Celebrated ferret Boromir's 3rd Birthday. Sister celebrated her 51st birthday witho...

Great-niece celebrated her Fifth Birthday via livestream at home. Next fall she will start Kindergarten. How fast kids grow up. Had to buy new icicle lights for my roof and a couple new lawn ornaments to replaced the old stuff no longer working properly. Worked on my tax classes once got all my decorations aroudn the house up. My Mom says I have too many decorations. Gotta take Mom shopping (for my sister's kids) and perhaps since I can't come up to her apartment and she is too crippled to haul out the boxes, I'll give her some of my decoartions in a sack she could easily put out. Then have to write my Christmas letter, send out cards, bake treats, and deliver treats. I think for Chritmas Day, I'll set out treat bags for my coworkers to gather what treats they want and hopefully won't steal my containers this time.

Election Day came and went to find a new president has been elected, even if the current president denies this declaring he is the only person allowed to win. Whatever. American people will not permit a dictatorship or a monarchy, we cherish our freedoms too much. Even more amazing, other countries were setting off fireworks celebrating who we elected president. I don't think that has ever happened before in history. Celebrated cat's Bilbo and Misty 2nd Birthday. Missed niece's 17th Birthday Party. I got off work at 7 AM and slept through the partyat home. Visited her the next day to give my gift to her. I gave her a journal with cats on the cover. Spent Thanksgiving Day at work to put up the hotel Christmas Tree in the lobby and brought dinner for the coworkers to eat since we can't have a potluck due to Covid. People enjoyed my homemade food and took home my containers, thus denied other coworkers the pleasure of eating it. Yes, 4 food containers I just bought went ...

Had a phone interview for a payroll job, but then they neever called back. Getting accustomed to an erratic schedule bouncing from morning, afternoo, and overnight shifts. One person works mornings, another afternoons, and another overnight. I work their days off. I hope that means I'm a valuable employee. Ceased putting the ferrets away in their room at night and let them run around the house while I'm not home. Got another interview at a car dealership registering license plates and they never contacted me again. Watched fashion shows on youtube. Just because I can't afford Chanel doesn't mean I don't like fashion. After 4 years of planting morning glory seeds, I finally got one to bloom. Won another instant win scratch card for $50. Went to pay bills. Celebrated ferret Eowyn 6th Birthday with cupcakes. Sent in my absentee ballot. I voted a straight Democrat ticket and I have never done that before. I can't have respect for politicians who kiss a president...

I walked outside to view marigolds blooming that my sister planted last year. They came back and a wonderful birthday present. Got $5 from an instant win scratch off card, even better presnet. City truck came by to take away fallen branches from the derecho, then 2 days later my sister offers yard help. Sorry, branch pile is gone, but you can visit for teatime and chat. Had family over to enjoy grilled food. They had a good time chatting while I spent most of the time in the kitchen. Finally got to eat my hamburger and it was cold. Got a call for an interview at a hotel as a desk clerk and got hired right before my birthday. Hopefully my luck is changing. Celebrated my 45th Birthday with family. The bad part of turning 45 is your time of the month stops meaning you have reached menopause. No children for me in this lifetime. People tell me to adopt, but being broke and in debt, How would I take care of a kid on my own? That is depressing. I wanted to be a mother since childhood, but Go...

One night had an interesting bedtime snack. Go into my cupboard for the last 3 chocolate chip cookies in the package. There are ants all over my cupboard and all over the cookies. Hold package under the kitchen sink to wash away the ants. Cookies dissolved until only the chocolate chips remained (which I tossed in the garbage can). Set out the ant traps before hosing it down in oily ant spray tomorrow. Rest of the cupboard food is on the stove in sealed packages. Discovered their trail to the nearby window. Have a great evening. Soon after ants were by the pet food so had to spray again and placed water on the pet food mats to help kill the ants. I don't mind ants crawling up trees outside, I just don't liek them in the house. Visited the local amusement park with sister's family to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. I overheated and feel sick from a migraine to go home early. I didn't want to be a party pooper. Migraine misery lasted a week. Celebrated my neph...

Last recipe to share: My Mom's Apple Salad 1 apple (she uses Red Delicious) 1 banana 1 bunch of red grapes (the purple kind and my Mom prefers the seedless kind) 1 container of Whipped Topping Cut fruit into bite size pieces and mix together in a bowl. Add whipped topping and stir around to your satisfaction. Viola! My Mom's Apple Salad my family loves to eat when we get together at holidays.

Today's Recipe: Chicken and Noodles (Not Chicken Noodle Soup) Mom's version feeds family of 6: Step 1: Place a whole chicken with skin (or several pieces of chicken with skin) in a pressure cooker and fill with water to cover chicken. Place on lid. Turn on stove top burner and boil chicken until cooked (stops being pink). Cooking time will depend on how much chicken you put in, but usually she boiled it for about an hour on medium heat. Checked the internet and a whole chicken take 90 minutes to boil and 6 chicken breasts take 30 minutes. Step 2: Remove chicken from water and place in a bowl. If any skin is left on chicken, remove it and put in the water (the fatty skin is needed for the broth otherwise you just have chicken water). Put in chicken flavor bouillon cubes that can be found at grocery stores in the water following directions on box. Chicken flavor cubes provide the onion, parsley, thyme, etc. to flavor the broth or it will be just chicken water. Step 3: Broth is co...

Today's recipe: Jordan's French toast. It's been approved by niece and nephew when they used to spend weekend nights with me. Weekends I cook fancy breakfasts. Makes 3-4 slices 1 egg (size doesn't matter but I used a medium egg today and got 3 slices, large egg might stretch it to 4 slices) 1/2 cup milk (whatever milk you put on cereal) 1/4 teaspoon vanilla Ground Cinnamon Sliced bread (whatever kind you eat) Step 1: Put a skillet (size doesn't matter) on stove top and turn on burner. This is called Preheating. Step 2: In a dish that is wide and flat, I use sandwich storage container, crack the egg and drop the yolk/white in dish, toss the shell. Remove any egg shells that fell in the dish (now you know why I crack eggs first before adding ingredients). Sure people like my mom use a separate bowl for cracking eggs into, but I hate doing dishes so my way dirties less dishes. Step 3: Put in milk, vanilla, and 2 dashes of cinnamon. If your cinnamon container doesn...

Today's recipe: Salmon Patties (makes 4 small patties or 2/3 large patties) 1 egg (white or brown or size doesn't really matter) 1 can of salmon (most are 5 oz.) Saltine crackers Step 1: Turn on stove top burner on medium and place a skillet (any size will do) on it. This is called Preheating the Skillet. Step 2: Open can of salmon (can opener may be required unless you get the cans with the pull tab). Place lid on top of meat and squeeze out the water into a bowl to feed the cat or drain it in the sink. Step 2: Scoop out salmon from can with a spoon into a bowl, add the egg. Stir around. Step 3: Take a few saltines at time and crush between fingers to drop in bowl, then stir. Keep adding saltines until the yellow yoke isn't viewed and still moist (if add too many, the patties will be dry and not stick together). Step 4: Scoop out small balls and mold in your hands like a snowball, place on skillet outer edge, and squish flat with your hand or spoon. (Yes, your hands will ...

Since everybody is sharing cook at home recipes, I will share some of mine. Tuna and Noodles (Serves 2, though if hungry I'll eat the whole thing) 2 Tablespoons Margarine/Butter 2 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour 1 cup milk (whatever milk you put on your cereal) 1 can of tuna (most cans are 5 ounces) Several handfuls of Medium Egg Noodles (Large egg noodles take longer to cook but can use instead) Step 1: Fill medium size pot half full of water and add at least 3 dashes (shakes of a salt shaker) of salt (salt alters the boiling point to heat water faster). Set on stove top burner under medium heat. Put on lid crooked so steam can escape. Step 2: Either wait for water to boil (bubbles) and then add noodles to cook for 20 minutes, or put in noodles right away and cook for 25 minutes. Noodles will expand as they cook so fill pot with noodles 3/4 of the water. Step 3: In a small sauce pan (lid to the side), pour in milk and add 2 dashes of salt. Also turn on stove top burner to medium he...

Sorry it's been a while since I have posted. Not much happening job ended in April 15. We also got powdered sugar snow that day after that melted once the sun came up. Welcome to Spring in Iowa. No damage to my tulips. I planted 6 tulips plants last spring and only one sprouted this year. Sigh. Got daffodils, hyacinths, roses, irises, lilies, and peonies planted in my yard. Got my stimulus check and it went straight to the credit crads. I owe $17,000 to my 4 credit cards so $1200 didn't mean much. Then it snowed agin Aril 16. Ferrets had a good time playing in the snow (ferrets love snow and dig tunnels when it gets deep enough). Signed up for unemployment. When the warmed up, I started eating breakfast on the patio. Watch the bird feeder with the cats who insist on sitting on my lap as I eat. I love you furbabies, but I can't pet you all day. Put away the Easter decorations and got the summer decorations out. Teenage Nephew was eager to make money mowing my lawn. He has is...

I am the master of weird dreams. Sorry for burdening you, but I wonder if they stop recurring when I write them down. Tonight's dream I just had and can't fall asleep now is me walking in the middle of a street surrounded by parked cars on both sides of the street. License plates look European. Trees have been planted on the sidewalks on both sides. A black iron fence is to the left and concrete buildings to the right. A cloud of smoke comes towards me taking up the whole street. Can't smell it so don't know what it is. I hear people screaming in the smoke and see people running away from the smoke. Next hear, boom, boom, boom, and more screaming as people lie on the ground and ducking near the cars. Next a burst of fire explodes upwards in the middle of the street almost reaching.the street lights. Silence. The smoke surrounds me so I can't see a thing. I hear a few scattered coughs and people mumbling to each other asking if they are alright. A child cries for m...

Sorry I have not kept up my blog the past 4 months. I've been busy being a tax preparer often working 45 hours a week, 6 days a week. Peak ended so hours went down to 40 hours, 5 days a week. Peak runs Jan-Feb when most people get their W-2's and people usually getting refunds come in. People who tend to owe or have a business wait until the last minute to file. January Killed a fish while changing water. Poor Achilles Jr was placed in dramatically warmer water than his tank and fluttered around. Not understanding the motions, I thought he was agitated by the male fish I set him next to. Then he sunk to the bottom and thought he was sleeping. He was boiling to death and I didn't realize it until I put him back in the clean fish tank and noticed he was dead. Even worse was his heater for his tank water had been turned off. Heartbroken with a side of guilt. Worked at the tax preparation company that felt more like the free info desk. Can you renew my ITIN? What do I do if ...

Year started with me watching TV and kissing my cats at midnight. The next day I returned to work at the tax place and had my Beta male Achilles Jr die while changing his tank water. Got the weekend off so enjoying it before working 2 weeks nonstop. My Christmas was good watching the new Star Wars movie in the theater and spending time with family. Days later had the extended family Christmas and got to adore my great-nieces. Worked for the tax place bouncing from site to site in preparation of Refund Advances. People seem to think we just give away money to whoever walks in the door. Not exactly. It is not like a bank loan where they check your income to see if you can pay back the loan. It is a cash advance on your potential refund so they guess your refund based on your pay stubs and determine if approved or not from that. I had people who were denied advances come into another location trying to reapply. Sorry, we use the same bank and if they say no advance then they don'...