Growing Old

We grow old filled with regrets for things not done, for words not said, for love not shown, for dreams not completed... Life is short. Act today! Do all that makes you happy. Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it. ~ Mary Pickford •♥•

Back to my Blog

Gosh I know it has been a long long time since I have been here. But I have been thinking about coming back for a long time. And now I am finally here. I am not sure how often I will blog but I really wanted to try to get back into some kind of routine. So here I am. My life isn't all that exciting but the blog is for me. It will have personal feelings, quotes, poems, pictures, and just anything I feel like sharing or hanging on too. I don't care if anyone comes here to read this or not. I am doing this for ME. It's my blog. My thoughts, my opinions. So here we go.

IowaLadyLovestheOcean

The first day of Autumn

Friendship: For my Bestest Friend Patti

Saturday

Happy Saturday!

I am so glad OD is still working. I really missed posting here and reading my favorites. Lets hope that doesn't happen again.
It's a beautiful day here in Iowa. The sun is shinning and the high is suppose to be 70. Awesome. Yesterday it got up to 90. So it will be a nice change. We did get some rain around 7pm. It was still raining when I fell asleep around 11 pm. Tomorrow is the first official day of Fall. I'm loving it.

Our high school game was away last night. West Branch played BMG. WB won so were are still undefeated. I don't remember what the score was. I hope WB goes all the way this year. They have made it to the play offs several years in a row now. But the first game in the playoffs is usually where it ends. So here's hoping they go all the way. The Iowa Hawkeyes play Wisconsin today. The game is televised on ABC @ 7pm. I hope Iowa plays better this week. I will watch the game later.
Work has really been tedious and stressful this week. We finally finished those Maryland Essays on Friday. Hopefully they won't find more. We will be working on ASE ( automotive service excellence) registrations next. That is one of the few jobs we do that is outside of the education area. It is registration for mechanics who have to take certain tests to stay certified. We do it twice a year. What we basically do is key in the information they provide on the form. So we have the paper form with their ssn, full name, dob, address, and what tests they need to sign up for, where they are testing and who is paying for the tests whether it be their employer or themselves.The biggest challenge with those forms is being able to read the handwriting. We key this information into a data base provided by the processor. We also have other work we do while working on this project. Mostly ACT, and SAT registration. And then a little later the responses to the SAT questions. That is one of my favorite projects. We used to have a lot more projects. It would be nothing to work on 20 different things in a day. And it used to be in the fall we would work 7 days a week nonstop all through fall. Not anymore. Scanning machines are slowly replacing data input. It makes me sad. I really do like my job. Especially when we have a variety of work.

I went to Super Walmart yesterday after work. I need to pick up a few things. And I also wanted to get a baby gift for a good friend (Diane) of mine. She is a former co worker. We have been friends for several years. And she had been trying for years to get pregnant. Finally it happened. She is almost 40. She had a baby girl on Tuesday Sept. 18th. she was 5 lbs 13ozs. Danielle Renee Byrn. I am so happy for her. It's always been her biggest wish to be a Mom. I will be seeing her on Sunday so I picked up some sleepers and little caps, and a stuffed bunny. While I was there I saw some things on sale that would fit Emma ( my good friend's grandbaby - that she is sharing with me. =) ). So I picked up a cute little shirt, and a cute shirt with winnie the pooh on it and little leggins with it. I also got her a precious moments stuffed little girl you press her tummy and she is saying her prayers. It is so cute. I was having a great time in the baby department. I hope I get to become a real grandma someday.

I am really rattling on here today. Anyone reading this has probably fallen asleep. I am not sure what I am going to do today until the game comes on. I have housework of course. But I really want to spend some time outside. So I will probably do some reading outside, and get a couple walks in with my IPOD on. What I really wish I could do is call up my bestest friend and go have coffee and browse the bookstores and then later have a late lunch. And just Chit chat. I miss her. We need to have a girls weekend real soon. Hint ..Hint... I will meet you half way. Pick the date.

I will stop here. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Enjoy.
Ciao for now.....
SHERI

Thursday - Still No OD

This is getting darn frustrating. Still no OD. I miss my OD friends. This is driving me nuts. I know there has to be a lot of others that are feeling the same way. The longer it's down the more I have to wonder if all the postings might be lost. I hope not.

I am really not looking forward to work today. We are still working on 5th Grade Essays. They are so hard to read. And the bad spelling, and terrible hand writing make it really tough at times. 7.5 hrs of transcribing can drive you crazy.

I wish everyone I knew at OD would come over here so I could catch up with them. If the site ever comes back up I may make a suggestion that people maybe cross post here so they have a back up. This not having contact with my favorites SUCKS big time. I know I am a total addict.

I am getting back into the hang of posting here. It's actually just as easy as OD if it keeps working. There were times before that I had become frustrated with problems here. And that is why I moved to OD. I guess I have come full circle. Nothing is perfect.

Great weather expected here today. Yesterday was awesome. It was cooler with lots of sunshine. I sat outside and read my book right after work while I waited for my hair appointment. It was so nice. I was sitting in the small park type area in the middle of our town. It was really strange because I could hear the kids from the school yard several blocks away. And then the bells chimed over by the birthplace. It was just so relaxing.

I better wrap this up and get my butt in the shower. I am sure I will be back soon. Ciao for now....

It has been a Loooooong Time ...

It has been well over a year since I posted here. I haven't forgotten my first blog. I have just been posting over at Open Diary for the last year or more. Thinking it was more user friendly. Yeah it was but in order to use it you have to be able to log on to it. The last two days have been a nightmare of not being able to even access the site. The url gives me no results today. It won't even change the page anymore. I am a self proclaimed OD addict so this has not been good for me. So I decided to come back over here and at least post something. and maybe read something else. Just to get a fix. I am going to have to get familar with this site again. I love to post pictures and posted alot in the past. But I have to remember how to do it again. So it might take me awhile to get comfortable again. I am going to try to post a pic or two before I sign off here. I may use this as a back up diary. Meaning I will cross post here. Just for kicks and Giggles. Hopefully I can get some of My OD friends to do the same so I won't have to be in complete withdrawal if OD crashes again. I just hope when it does come back up that I haven't lost any entries. That would really upset me. Fingers crossed here.

I will come back again soon I promise but for now... Ciao...

Saturday - July 29th, 2006

I know it's been awhile. Since right before vacation. I must express my disappointment. The vacation was just too damn short. It came and went so fast. I almost feel like it didn't happen. I made a huge mistake in including my sister and my niece. It changed the whole mood and I just feel totally cheated. My time with my best friend was great but I know it could have been so much better had I left my sister and niece at home. A hard lesson learned. The place we stayed at was great. The condo building itself was beach front. But our condo was street side. I thought I would be totally disappointed about that but I wasn't. The place was nice. And we only had to walk down the hall to the back of the building to the pool and the beach. I would stay there again. The draw backs were the weather. We had some long periods of rain. There was some construction just down from our building affecting the flow of traffic. And then my sister and my niece. Other than that I loved the time spent with my best friend. I just wish It had been longer and it would have been just her and I. We didn't have as much time to relax like last year because of trying to please the other two people. Big mistake. Ok enough dwelling on that we can't go back and redo. But I learned my lesson. And I do have some good memories from the trip.

My best friend gets married in less than a month. I am not sure what is going through her head right now. I am nervous for her. She is so much in love. It is going to be a big change for her. A change she didn't expect to be making at this time in her life. With her own two kids grown now and on their own. She is gaining a young stepson and a new way of life. But this is what she wants and I am happy for her. And she has basically been living with her man and his son for awhile now so she knows what is ahead. I can tell she has changed over the last year and is totally committed to her new life. I think this next year will be a total awakening for her in a lot of ways. And she is ready. I just don't want her to compromise herself for her new life. This is also her time in life to go for what she truly wants. Because she has a supportive man. She just needs to remember that she can now truly go for what she wants and still have a good life with J and C. I want the best of everything for her.

The wedding is going to be exciting. I think she is truly getting the wedding of her dreams. From the dress to the location ( aside from not being in Florida ) It will be beach front ( Lake front to be exact.) And I pray for a beautiful day weather wise. And I will be there standing beside her when she makes her new life commitment.

Change of subject. I didn't get my summer leave from work. Or haven't yet anyway. I had to go right back to work when I got back from vacation. It has not made me happy. I have been working my butt off on a new contract we were awarded. It is a two part deal. We are just about finished with the first part of it. That part is Due Friday August 4th. And I think we are going to finish it ahead of time. It's looking like maybe Wednesday at the latest. We have had a lot of good help from other departments. We are very grateful. The second part was due to start the middle to end of August. But the boss said they might push that up to start right after the delivery of the first part. Which would be GREAT for a couple reasons. We could finish it up long before the second due date and then we might be able to take some much needed time off the last few weeks of August. Before the next contract is due to start the first or second week of September. The second part isn't as big as the first part so should take much less time. We did the first part in around 16 or 17 working days. So I am praying the customer wants us to start right away so we can get it done and I can have some time off. And it will fall right before the wedding weekend. That will make it even better. And I might be able to go up there sooner than I have planned. OH wouldn't that be GREAT.

We have been fighting really extreme Heat here in Iowa. I know most of the country is having unusual heat waves. But this really sucks. You can't walk outside without it taking your breath away. The humidity is so high the heat index was 109 today. Temps were in the high 90's. It sucks. Florida was much cooler than here.

I am going to stop here I need to fix some dinner and then I can relax either in front of the TV or with my book after a cool shower. So ....

Ciao for now.
Diva in Iowa'

3 Days ... July 8th - 15th Vacation

Beach Time right around the corner. I can hardly stand it.

Monday - July 03, 2006

The Purple Hat ladies:

lft to rgt. TG, Sb, Me, and JK

Ok I am back... believe it or not and it hasn't even been a week. I am going to share a photo here. I didn't think I would ever do this - share a personal photo of myself here but somehow I feel ok doing it. This is a photo that was taken on Saturday. At my girlfriend Tammy's house. We relaxed in her pool after the movie at the IMAX. Crazy as we all are we decided to form a new group. We are going to call ourselves "The Purple Hat Ladies". I will tell you more about our little group in my future posts. We had a great time on Saturday. It was a gathering we had been talking about for a long time. So it was finally great to actually do it. We had a blast.

Countdown to Florida ... 5 Days. Excitement is mounting for all of us. Maybe I will get brave and add more personal photos when we get back. You never know. I don't think I have an abundance of readers here if I do they are hiding in the shadows.

I have to run and get some thing done around here. Is anyone that is reading this and posting in their own blogs here having trouble posting? It takes forever to get the post to go through. Let alone a photo attachment. What's up with that?

'Diva in Iowa'

Sunday -July 2nd, 2006

Next week at this time we will be on the beach in Florida. I am so excited. I did a trial run on packing yesterday. I am pretty sure I am going to get away with just 1 big suitcase for this trip. Other years I have taken 2 and come home with 3. Not this year. I vowed to not have to carry that much this time. Our condo has a washer and dryer so I am really not going to need that much for a weeks stay. I am taking 3 swim suits. I have 6 I found out yesterday. I didn't realize that. But I tried them all on and only 2 possibly 3 really look ok to wear since I have lost weight. I bought a new one just recently, a 2 piece. My very first ever 2 piece suit.

This will be a short week at work. We have Monday and Tuesday off for the 4th of July holiday. So I will be working Wed, Thurs., and half a day on Friday. I hope it goes fast. There will only be 3 out of 9 of us in the office so I hope we aren't overloaded. I am sure it will be quiet but busy. Busy will be good.

Yesterday was a great day. I spent the day with 3 girlfriends. We first went to the IMAX theater to see "Posiden" with Kurt Russell. It was awesome on that huge theater. Then we went back my girlfriend Tammy's house. We just hung around the pool and had fun talking and laughing for hours. And then about 7pm. Tammy's hubby went and got us some pizza and we ate that all up and laughed and talked some more. It was a great day. And the being in the pool felt great. I was very tired when I got home.

I don't really have any plans for today. I need to do housework. I have movies from Netflix to watch. I have a list of things I need to pick up for the trip. But I think I am going to wait until Thursday or Friday to do that. That might keep me from spending unnecessary money. I am going to try to stay on budget while on vacation. But I won't be extremely strict about it. I will just be careful. NO unnecessary purchases. And we can have food at the condo so that will cut the expense of eating out a lot. This is a vacation for relaxation.

I hope to be on Sanibel Island next week at this time looking for shells. I will update again before I leave if I have time.

Ciao for now.

Friday - June 16th, 2006

I should be ashamed it's been months since I have been here. I do have a good excuse. It's called WORK. I have been consumed with it. We have been working non stop 7 days a week for weeks now. So I haven't had much of a desire to even look at my computer when I get home in the evenings. I look it all day for 10 -15 hours. I am not complaining. The money has been great. But I am on the verge of burnout and I have at least two weeks left. Two weeks until the promise of at least two days off for the 4th of July. And it sounds like I won't be getting my summer leave. We were awarded the big New York Contract. And the boss thinks he needs all of us to get it done. Another good thing. Work for a department that was going to close. It's like a breath of fresh air for us that have worried for months now. And it brings the possibility of more overtime through the summer. It's great. I can live with it.

I still get my vacation which is set for July 8th - July 15th. Indian Rocks Beach, Florida here we come. I am so excited. It is much deserved this year. It's going to be a great time for a lot of reasons. My best friend and I are going together again reason # 1. I am taking my favorite niece and my sister too. We all so need this beach time. It will be great.

Not much really going on with my life other than work. And the anticipation of vacation. Health is on a steady flow. NO real bad problems lately. Manageable. Diabetes is in check. Keeping it under control. No weight gain or loss recently. Holding steady. Taking all my meds. So that is great. Just mainly very tired. Which is understandable with the hours I am working. I am taking my vitamins every day too. So all is cool in the health department.

Depressing is the LOVE, SEX, companion department. It is nonexistent there is just no time and no one at the moment. I wish it were different. I could have used a loving, caring person to come home to a few nights recently. And GOD could I use a GOOD Massage. Sex might rejuvenate me at this point. But not a chance of that. So just let that thought move on out of the brain. Hopefully I can update that department soon.

This weekend is my Class Reunion. I am busy. Busy working and sleeping and working and that is about it. I had a few phone calls from former classmates but I didn't respond. I don't have any desire to get in touch with the people left in my class. Years have passed with NO contact. Why jump at the chance now. The one and only reason to go back is gone. Kurt passed away a little over 3 years ago. I miss him. I wish things were different. But you can't go back. So forward I go. I like to think I have changed a lot over the years. In good ways.

I wish I could make time to see the New Sandra Bullock movie this weekend. "Lake House" looks really good from the previews. Most recently I have seen "The DaVinci Code" and "The Break Up" both major disappointments. So I am due for a good movie. If I can stay awake.

It's time to stop and get things ready for tomorrow morning. 4 am is just too darn early to think about working. Two or three cups of strong coffee and I might be awake around 7am.
I will be back again soon.

Ciao for now.
Diva'

Saturday -April 15th, 2006

I am back. It's been awhile again. Things have been busy with work. Getting some extra hours and the money is great. The department was downsized so there may be hope of keeping the job after all. I hope so. The benny's are very good. And I am so used to working only 9 months out of the year I am not sure I could go back to 12 months or a regular 8-4 or 9-5 job. I am so spoiled. I really like my job for a lot of reasons.

We have a beautiful day here today. After the bad storms of the week this is a nice change. We had temps in the 80's for 3 days straight. Very unusual for April in Iowa. And it stirred up some bad stuff and we had Tornados all around us on Thursday evening. The closest little town 15 mins. from me had 6 touch down there. Several buildings were destroyed. A lot of minor injuries. And only 1 death. Which was pretty unbelievable when you see the destruction that was left behind. Today lots of sunshine and its currently the 60's with a wonderful breeze coming in the windows. But a chance of rain later today. Welcome to Iowa.

Things are definite for Florida. Tickets are bought. We just need to reserve a place to stay. I will have that done in the next week. I am so excited. I am craving the beach so much. One of my co-workers in heading there next week. I told her I am so jealous. Gosh a whole week of the beach. It's going to be great.

Other good news.... I just got a call from a local realtor. There are two people interested in my dad's house. I am showing one of them Monday. This may be it. It has sat empty for over a year with paying bills on it all that time. It's time to let it go. I have thought about moving into it myself. If I didn't have my home I would be serious about it. But It's just not practical for me to do it. So I have to let it go. No matter how hard it's going to be. It's time to move forward and get on with Life. It would put me in a great position to get debt free. That is a big thing. And then if I wanted to make that actual move to Florida or anywhere else it would be a whole lot easier. Or even if I wanted to open that book store here I could. So it would be a very positive move. My fingers are crossed.

I am still reading but not as much. Currently reading "Savannah Breeze" by Mary Kay Andrews. I have several books checked out from the library. And several on hold. Also still buying them used. I need that book store.

My little boy had a birthday this week. GOD do I feel old. He turned 27. That's right I am an old lady. I can still the morning he was born. It took forever for him to come into this world. He has been my good luck charm. Being born on Friday the 13th. At 6:07am weighing 6lbs 7oz. My lucky numbers have been 7, 6, and 13. We are taking him out for dinner tomorrow as a late celebration. He will probably pick LoneStar Steak House.

I better stop here and post this and get some house work done. I am so enjoying the nice breeze blowing through here. So are the cats. Back again soon.

Ciao for now,
Diva in Iowa

Sunday ..The latest News

Here we are it's April already. Wow time flies and I am not even having fun. March was a stressful month for a lot of reasons. I am hoping April will be easier on me. I am getting extra time a work. I am sure that won't last. Every little bit helps. So for now I will go with the flow. We got our bonus checks on Friday. That was real nice. First time in the 11.5 years I have worked there that there has ever been a bonus given. I have put mine away to spend on myself later. I deserve it.

Speaking of deserving something. Vacation. Yes, Yes, Yes, we are going to Florida. I got my best friend committed to it. July 8th-15th back to the beach. I am so excited. It will be great. I have been dreaming of it since we left. I crave the Ocean. This time my sister and niece will be going with us. Hopefully it won't dampen our time. We can leave them in the room at night and go out and do whatever we want. I am taking my geritol already getting my old body ready for a GRAND Time. Tattoos are in the future. We are going to do it this time. I am not going to chicken out. Something small. We will do it asap on the first or second day. 4 short months and we will be soaking up the Sun, sand and the sea. I am so excited. We are definitely not taking as many bags this time. I will pack much lighter. We can always do laundry if we need to. Hauling those bags around last time SUCKED.

So now I have something to look forward to. I need to concentrate on keeping my eating on track so I don't have any problems when we are away. I could stand to lose another 30 lbs at least. It's a big target but the main goal will to be keeping things on track so I don't have any flare ups while we are away. Because that will ruin my time. I am still going to Curves so that has helped me tone up some. I am going to work hard the next few months.

I think Spring has finally sprung here in Iowa. We have started having thunderstorms. Twice this week it was heavy wind and rain. Lots of Lightening last night. The temps have been slowly rising. Yesterday it was in the 60's no sunshine but it was still sweet. Nice walking weather. I love it.

I have been reading but not as much as I did in January. Since I last posted I have finished "Lovers and Players by Jackie Collins and "Night Fever" by Diana Palmer. both were excellent. I am reading a few more right now. "Alone" by Lisa Gardner and "Terri" by Michael Shiavo. The book about Terri Shiavo really surprises me. I knew she had an eating disorder but I never dreamed her parents were the way they were. I know this is written by her husband but it can't all be a lie. It's shocking. I also have another book checked out about Scott Peterson. "A Deadly Game" by Catherine Crier. It's pretty shocking too. He is a true nut case.

I am going to stop here. I think I need to get out and get some fresh air. So I am going to go for a walk before it starts raining again.

Ciao for now,
Diva in Iowa

This Life is Yours

“This life is yours.

Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well.

Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly.

Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature.

Take the power to control your own life.

No one else can do it for you.

Take the power to make your life happy.”

Susan Polis Schutz

KENNY KENNY KENNY .....

OMG.... I did it. I got tickets to Kenny's concert. I am so pumped. I tried for hours this morning to get through online. ( The only way to get them through the fan club ) And finally around noon BINGO. The computer came up with 4 tickets for me. They are on the floor in back but hey we can work our way up. We are in the door. And I am so happy. The tickets were the same price as last year. And we were in the Nose bleed section. It sucked. So I am very happy with these. May 4th we will rockin' with Kenny. WOOOOO HOOOOO !!!!!!!!

Look out Kenny here we come.

Tuesday Morning... March 7th, 2006

Sunday - March 5th, 2006

Wow, what a difference a day makes. Yesterday it was 55 degrees. Today we have snow on the ground. And it's sleeting as I write this. Iowa weather sucks. One of the many reasons that moving to Florida sounds so good.

I went to Curves yesterday and did my work out. It felt so good. I think I am going to like it. Then I came back and did some housework. Including stripping my bed and putting on fresh clean sheets and adding some linen spray. I then jumped on line and checked my mail. And by that time I had the fever to get out and walk. The sun was shinning bright. It was nice and warm with a slight breeze. I put my head phones on and walked and walked and walked. Before I realized it I had been walking for almost 2 hours. And I wasn't even tired. The fresh air felt so damn good. I came back home and had a late lunch. Read some of my book and then put in one of my netflix movies "Just Like Heaven" with Reese Witherspoon. It was a cute little movie. After that I had the urge to get outside again. So I went out and picked up my yard. And I couldn't stand it anymore. I came back in and got my headphones and went out walking again. I was only about an hour this time. The sun was starting to go down and it was getting colder. But it still felt good. All the walking I have been doing helps me sleep better at night. I think it's the fresh air. I was drifting off to sleep in the chair early in the evening but I fought it and stayed up until around 10pm. And then I slept in this morning until around 830. That is late for me. My fresh clean sheets felt so darn good. Along with my 4 cuddling Cats. I don't have much on my agenda today. Since the weather isn't very good. At least right now. Who knows what the afternoon might bring. I would like to get out and walk for awhile at some point. I am definitely not going to be going shopping. I am trying to keep myself from spending any unnecessary money. So I am staying out of the stores. I will need to go to the grocery store at some point today. I am out of milk. And my son will be here this afternoon ( our usual every other Sunday thing ). So I need to get some ice cream and some cheese and extra stuff to add to the pizza. We have a pizza night every other Sunday night he has off. We watch movies and eat pizza and talk. Something I always look forward too.

I do hope to get time in for reading. I am still reading "Lovers and Players" by Jackie Collins. I have 10 books out from the library. I have to get busy. Several are due back on March 13th. I know I can't conquer all of them by then. I will give it a good effort.
I better get my day started. Wow two postings in row. Is that a record for me or what? I hope to keep it up.

Ciao for now.


~Diva in Iowa

Saturday - March 4th, 2006

I woke up to sunshine. We are supposed to have rain or snow today. I hope the weather man messed up. We have had a great last 4 days. Warm temps and sunshine most of the time. Can you say SPRING FEVER. Oh Yeah. I have been walking a lot lately. Trying to get two walks in a day. I walk on my lunch break for 15 minutes. And then again between 230 and 4 for a least an hour. I put my head phones on tune out the world and walk, walk, walk. I have decided after visiting Curves last week that I am going to join up. They are waving the membership fee ( $75 ) if you bring in a bag of food for donation. And then it's $30 a month for direct debt, or $39 cash, or $330 a year. So I think it is a real good deal. The only problem is their hours don't exactly work with my schedule. They close in the afternoon from 1-4 and open again from 4-7. And on Saturdays they are only open for a few hours in the am. I am going to make it work. I need some kind of work out. And this is a good place to start. I am signed up and ready to go. I am going to go this morning. And then I plan on going at least 3 days during the week. Wish me luck.

I am waiting to hear about the presale for the Kenny Chesney Concert tickets. They officially go on Sale next Saturday. So I hope they announce the sale soon. I want tickets so bad. It should be a great concert.

Work is going well. We were busy all week. Busy is good. I love when we are busy so I can turn on the CD Player and tune out the world. This week I was listening to books on tape from the library. Yesterday I stopped and picked up the new Bon Jovi CD so I might start off Monday by listening to music. I recently purchased the NEW Garth Brooks CD. It is really good. I listen to it daily along with Kenny's new one. A good way to start my drive to work.

Still dreaming of Florida. Hoping and Praying to be able to go in July. I need the beach. And I need pool time with my best friend. So we have to make it work out. I crave the smell, the feel of the sand between my toes, and the relaxation of being with my best friend. Pool therapy.

I am going to get my day started and head to Curves. Maybe I will get more time here later.
Ciao for Now .....


~ Diva in Iowa