Some ramblings

Brent over at coptalk mentioned cars as money pits. I guess he's right. I just figured that my vehicle costing $30,000.00 will last me the rest of my driving life (30 years). I put in an average of $50.00 a month for fuel and carwash, and then figure in an average of $500.00 a year for maintenance preventative and otherwise. If you add it all up and put it in thirty years, I spend about $175.00 a month for my car!!

I am going to Leavenworth up in the Cascades Sunday for three days for an ADA (americans with disabilities act) conference. Dangit, I have all the luck, don't I? But we will be indoors all day learning how to deliver better service for person's with disabilities. But at night we will have to go eat german food in the quaint little cafe's in town!!

Well this is short. Gotta run back to work for an hour!!

TA TA

My sister said I needed to post something!

Well here it is almost Thursday and I haven't posted anything since this weekend. I have been working odd hours at work and have been too tired to think af anything wise to say. I train all the bus drivers and during their "rideshare" I need to be at the office when they come in off route. So I am there at 8:00 in the morning then sometimes I get home at 8:30 or 9:00 at night. I go home at 2 or 3 sometimes during the day and go back, but I get paid salary so I don't really punch a time card. I just try to average 40 hours a week. I love my job so there is no complaining from me!!

I think I made a biiiiig mistake!! I gave my blogsite address to a friend of mine to see the pictures of my yard. He is as disgusting as Dick, so if he figures out how to make comments on here I am in for big trouble!!
He calls me PhylUST because I send him dirty jokes via email. He and I love to hate each other, in other words we have this ongoing battle of the wits and people around us are shaking their heads.
Maybe he'll forget about my site. hehehehehe

I finally decided to take an aerobics class!! I bent, twisted gyrated and jumped up and down for an hour. But by the time I got my leotard on, the class was over!!

Well I am going to shower and go to bed. Later folks!

THis is the BEFORE picture



These are the AFTER pictures

Amazing stuff

Today is beautiful, sunny and expected to get to 75 degrees today. I will enjoy it playing in my new backyard!! I have nothing to blog, but would like to share these tidbits I received via email:

Who figures all this out???? (And on who's payroll??!!)

*If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee. (Hardly seems worth it.)

*If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is
produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb. (Hey, Mary Lou!!)

*The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet. (O.M.G.!)

*A pig's orgasm lasts 30 minutes. (In my next life, I want to be a pig.)

*A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to
death. (Creepy.)

(I'm still not over the pig.)

*Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.
(Do not try this at home...... No, Mary Lou!!)

*The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to
its body. The female initiates sex by ripping the male's head! off.
("Honey, I'm home. What the....?!")

*The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It's like a human jumping the length of a football field. (30 minutes... lucky pig... can you imagine??)

*The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds. (What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?)

*Some lions mate over 50 times a day.
(I still want to be a pig in my next life...quality over quantity)

*Butterflies taste with their feet. (Something I always wanted to know.)

*The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue. (Hmmmmm)

*Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer
than left-handed people. (If you're ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)

*Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump. (OK, so that would be a good thing....)

*A cat's urine glows under a black light. (I wonder who was paid to figure that out?)

*An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. (I know some people like that.)

*Starfish have no brains. (I know some people like that too.)

*Polar bears are left-handed. (How the heck do they know??)

*Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure. (What about that pig??)

Have a great Sunday!!

TGIF!!

Ahh, it has been a busy and hectic week. I am so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and getting the final touches done to my yard and relaxing!!
I washed my hair last night before I went to bed, and when I got up this morning my hair looked like gumby head!! It was sticking out all over and was all thick with dried gunk!! HUH??? What is up with this?? I was running late so I had to pull it back and put my wiglet on it and run to work. I realize now that I forgot to rinse out the cream rinse I put on it!! HAHAHAHAHA I am such a ditz!! I have been scratching my head all day!! Hope Y'all have a good Friday!!
'Til next time...

Earthday

Today is Earthday. How well do you know the Earth? Here is a quick quiz. I missed two!
Good luck!

Back to Reality...

Allrighty, now that Mary Lou had some fun giving us all a hint of what she wants for Christmas, I guess all I can say is.....HA!
She has 4 long haired cats, a dog, a long haired rabbit, and a bald fish. Sure, that's what she needs!! Another long haired cat!! NOT!!
But I know my sister. She will end up with one sooner or later. But those cats need more attention, so the less competition, the better.

I waved at the Space Needle for ya Wanda!! It was only a 2 1/2 hour trip one way. I never really think about the Needle being there, but I always look for it when I drive by. I see on Sunday May 2nd there will be a disaster movie about a 10.5 earthquake and the previews show the Space Needle falling!! I gotta see that movie!! I love disaster movies!! ok, so I'm a twisted person!! I always think I am the person with all the supplies and know-how on being the survivor!!

Everyone that knows me says they want to be with me if a big disaster ever happened, as I am always prepared!!
Well maybe not......I was on a passenger only ferry on a demonstration ride to Everett from Oak Harbor, when the 6.9 Nisqually earthquake hit!!
I didn't feel a thing, but a person behind me got a call from his wife in Seattle saying that they were in the middle of a huge earthquake!! We were all stunned, and looked to the shore and didn't see or feel a thing. All my supplies were home!! I didn't even have a cell phone with me. Great help that would be since all the airwaves were full and nobody could get their calls through!! The Mayors and County Commisioners were all on the boat and they all felt helpless!!

Well I have rambled enough!! Have a great tomorrow!

Mary Lou's Christmas Present!

SHHHHHH Don't tell her, but this is what I am getting Mary Lou for Christmas... She has wanted one for a looong time. And since I am such a wonderful caring sister, I thought I would get one for her.



Ragdoll Kittens

Aren't I a GREAT Sister?

Another week ahead..

Well this weekend sure flew right on by!! It is almost 8:00 Sunday night!! Time for the shower then bed. My sis came over for steak tonight grilled on my grill on my new "patio".
She took pictures and will post it later. It is just what I envisioined!! Now I have all summer to figure out what I want to plant in the whiskey barrels.
I am leaving for Seattle tomorrow after work for two days for a meeting, so I will be away from my blog. I do not have a laptop and refuse to get one!! I don't want to be that addicted yet. (give me time). I will be back Late Tuesday night. Then Wednesday I am going to Everett for a steering committee meeting at Boeing, so you probably won't hear from me until Thursday. Gee, I can hardly wait to see what my sis did to my blog!!! It is kinda scarey when she knows my secret password. If there is any weird postings between now and Fiday, it is her not me!! Now be nice, Mary Lou!! :-)
Later, folks!

Yard!

Well my yard was mostly finished today. They came and put the brick part in and the canopy is up. Now they need to finish along the side of the house and by the deck. I'm all excited!! I got a fresh cup of coffee tonight and went to sit in my rocker under the canopy and lasted 5 minutes!! I froze my ass off!! Oh well, in a few weeks I will enjoy it for sure!! I will get pictures when my computer is back to working right. Something is wrong with outlook express and I cannot receive email unless I use my server and get it through that. If I respond to sender, sometimes they get it, sometimes not. Hmmmm. I have XP update, but don't know if that is what I need to do yet. I think I will ask someone that knows what they are doing to come help me on this.
Later...

Good Morning!!

Well Good Morning!! All week long I have had to pull myself out of bed to make it to work on time. So this morning I have all day to sleep in and I wake up at 5:30!!! Go figure!!
I found this neat site for testing your color blindness. I only missed one.
Try it.
Have a great Saturday, folks!!

Bronchial crap!

I went to the doctor today and I still have a bit of a fever, and difficulty breathing. I have that bronchial crap that is going around, and it triggers my asthma which makes it hard to breathe!! Well FINE!
They are going to send me to respiratory therapy for a pulmonary rehab course to strengthen my lungs hopefully!! This time of year is horrible!! I came home about 3:30 and started visiting blogs. Blogspot was down so I was visiting others I had bookmarked and came acrossthis page a link to this funny dancing game!! I thought of Wanda!!! HAHAHAHA It makes a fun few minutes!!
Have fun!!
Blogger was down for a day, but I see it is back!!

No TV!!

I went to work today and came home exhausted!! My breathing is getting bad, and this cold/bronchitis/whatever, is making it really bad!!
I have this nagging almost dry hacking cough now, so I came home and laid down to "read". HA! I fell asleep about 6:30, and my sis called me about 7:00. I went right back to sleep to try and get back to the good part of my dream and was woken at 9:00 by my friend calling to tell me she is going to bed. well now I am wide awake of course. I am sitting here with NO TV on!! It is nice, actually. Real tv has turned me off of watching the stupid thing anymore!! I am going to enter this and go back to bed to read some more of my book!! I started reading the "Left Behind" series two years ago, and got hooked on them. The final (I hope) book came out last week, and I am reading it now. "The Glorious Appearing" is about the coming of Christ. Boy, I cannot believe I am reading fictional Christian books. 20 years ago I would've rolled my eyes if someone told me I would be who I am today. BUT I am glad I am who I am today and not that lost, miserably married, lonely, pathetic drunk I was!! Whew!!
Goodnight folks.

Age guage

I got this from Marti
Phyllis Brett
Today you are 55 years old and about:
32 years 3 months younger than Walter Cronkite, age 87
28 years 9 months younger than Pope John Paul II, age 83
24 years 8 months younger than George Herbert Bush, age 79
17 years 4 months younger than Barbara Walters, age 72
15 years 3 months younger than Larry King, age 70
9 years 0 months younger than Ted Koppel, age 63
5 years 7 months younger than Geraldo Rivera, age 60
2 years 7 months younger than George W. Bush, age 57
2 years 5 months older than Jesse Ventura, age 52
6 years 9 months older than Bill Gates, age 48
11 years 7 months older than Cal Ripken Jr., age 43
17 years 5 months older than Mike Tyson, age 37
21 years 6 months older than Jennifer Lopez, age 33
26 years 11 months older than Tiger Woods, age 28
33 years 5 months older than Prince William, age 21



This also means you were:
52 years old at the time of the 9-11 attack on America
50 years old on the first day of Y2K
48 years old when Princess Diana was killed in a car crash
46 years old at the time of Oklahoma City bombing
45 years old when O. J. Simpson was charged with murder
44 years old at the time of the 93 bombing of the World Trade Center
41 years old when Operation Desert Storm began
40 years old during the fall of the Berlin Wall
36 years old when the space shuttle Challenger exploded
34 years old when Apple introduced the Macintosh
34 years old during Sally Ride's travel in space
32 years old when Pres. Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.
30 years old at the time the Iran hostage crisis began
27 years old on the U.S.'s bicentennial Fourth of July
25 years old when President Nixon left office
23 years old when Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot
20 years old at the time the first man stepped on the moon
19 years old when Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated
16 years old during the Watts riot
14 years old at the time President Kennedy was assassinated
10 years old when Hawaii was admitted as 50th of the United States
8 years old when the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1 was launched
4 years old at the end of the Korean War

Yikes, does this make me feel old!! Time for bed!!
G'nite friends.

OOPS I'm LOST!!!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!





I must have left the wrong basket at the wrong place....

Easter Bunny

Ok, I'm sick (Really sick!) I was driving home today from Burlington and the traffic was horrendous!! 78 degrees and Holiday weekend, and Tulip festival!! And I decided I HAD to go to Burlington to Costco!! Well on the way I was watching the stupid idiots trying to drive like maniacs rudely on the road. I'd back off and someone squeezes in barely missing me!! I would back off again. I refuse to play their stupid stroke causing games. I was thinking funny thoughts. I then saw a dead bunny on the road and remember my father coming home on Easter eve telling us kids that he thinks he ran over the Easter Bunny!!! WAAAAAHH!!
I then thought of an e-mail from last year of a dead rabbitt and a squished easter basket nest to it with colored eggs laying around it!! I burst out laughing in the car all by myself!! If I had a basket and eggs, I guarantee you that I would've stopped and squished the basket and leave it next to the bunny on the side of the road!!! HAHAHAHA OH, and on Christmas Eve, I want to get one of those red flashing noses and put it on a dead deer laying on the side of the road!! (We get alot of dead deer here).
Ahhhh, I feel better now. Time for bed. I actually do have a horrid bronchial virus and need to get some sleep before sunrise services!!
Happy Easter all!!

Happy Easter

Tomorrow is Easter. The day Christians celebrate the "rising of Jesus".
He is risin!! I cannot imagine living in the times two thousand years ago. Jesus suffered ALL for us!! He died for our sins. I ask forgiveness nightly as I know I sin daily. I try not to, but cussing, thoughts, fibs, sexual jokes, lust are all sins. I read something and make assumptions.
The rant on one friends blog made me feel bad for him that someone upset him that much. Then I read another person's blog and heard that it wasn't really her that wrote what was sent. A friend of hers did it on her computer. Well this is getting rather confusing. First of all, shame on that "friend" for putting her in that position!! I personally like to hear other's opinions especially when they don't agree with each other and feel comfortable enough to be able to voice their opinions with each other. But that "friend" crossed the line by using her computer. I think the guy that was offended ranted rather loudly, but it is his blog, and he can post anything he pleases. Yes he has an anger problem, but posting it and getting it out on paper is VERY HEALTHY to get the frustrations out!! I'm sure it took the internal pressure out of him, and his family is thankful. Feelings were betrayed and hurt on both sides, and damage was done. I personally still like the both of them and feel bad for both of them. What the heck does this have to do with Easter? Probably nothing at all, but I hope they both can forgive each other and go on with the blogging!! They both are very caring people that can be hurt easily. I pray they both don't carry a resentment over this. Jesus forgives us. AMEN!

My yard

Ah, phase two of my yard is going on right as I type!!
I am having white gravel where the grass was and lava rock where the raised beds were. I am having brick laid in a 10x10 corner then put up a 10x10canopy. YAHOO!! No more allergies and no more mowing!!
If I want plants I will plant them in pots or whiskey barrels. I have three empty whiskey barrels and wondering what I want to plant in them. Maybe some roses. I want climbing roses along the back fence. I am so excited!!!
Next I need to work on getting my laminate floors put in!! Then in a few years I will get a central heater/airconditioner put in.
I want it all done and paid for before I retire so I can worry about putting all my money to the doctors instead!! :-}
Well I need to go supervise the work. tee hee

AURORA WATCH

I just received this message...

AURORA WATCH: A coronal mass ejection (CME) hurled into space by a solar
explosion on April 6th is heading in the general direction of Earth. Sky
watchers should be alert for auroras when it arrives, probably during the
early hours of April 8th UT (for North Americans, that means during the
night of April 7th).

Earth is already skirting through a solar wind stream flowing from a
coronal hole on the sun. Because of this, geomagnetic storms and auroras
are likely, off and on, for the next few days. The best displays will be
at high latitudes--e.g., Canada and Alaska. When the incoming CME arrives,
auroras could descend to lower latitudes, too.

Whooohooooo!! I'll be up all night looking for them!!

Spice Cabinet

I have no idea why I was inspired to clean out my spice cabinet, but last night I jumped up and did it!! Now what is the shelf life of the spices? I think I had some that were at least 20 years old!! What is tumeric??? And I wonder why I had 3 jars basil leaves?? I don't cook Italian and I have 2 of each of weird Italian seasonings! Cream of tartar=2. I think I buy pumpkin pie spice each year and use 1 tsp of it! Jamaican Jerk seasoning??? I don't even like the name of it!! I don't ever remember using that. And what I have glycerine for is beyond me!! Well I cleaned and tossed!!! I now have a cleaned out and pretty much updated spice cupboard!! Mary Lou, please do not let me buy any resataurant sized seaonings from Costco anymore!! Especially the Italian kind!! So what does your Spice cupboard look like?
Have a great day!!
>^..^< Phyllis >^..^<

Watch out guys!

I just have to share this little funny I got today!!

A man left work one Friday afternoon. But instead of going home, he
stayed out the entire weekend, hunting with the boys and spending
his entire paycheck.

When he finally appeared at home, Sunday night, he was confronted
by his very angry wife and was barraged for nearly 2 hours with a
tirade about his actions.

Finally his wife stopped the nagging and simply said to him "How
would you like it if you didn't see me for 2 or 3 days?"

To which he replied, "That would be fine with me."

Monday went by and he didn't see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday
came and went and he didn't see her.

On Thursday, the swelling went down just enough where he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye.

The frog Napping

I went to a retirement party for the Maintenance Manager at work. We have worked together for 15 years, and we have had our moments!! He would get grumpy and complain about the bus operators, and stomp around. I would ask him to get something for the buses, and he would tell me we don't need it. We went head to head alot. My boss told me to make an effort to get along with him, but it was really hard at times!!
He had a frog Beanie Baby on his computer. In early Spring 1998 I was in his office when a salesman came in and said "OMG, that is the first Beanie Baby ever made!! Will you sell it to me?" George said no, it was a gift. He was offered $300.00 for it. He said no.
Well.........my mind started working away!! George was grumpy, morale in the place was pretty poor. There was an initiative in the state to get rid of funds for transit, and we were all kinda wondering if we'd keep our jobs. I have always had a mischievious mind, and to get rid of stress I play stupid jokes on people. I went into the garage after closing and stole his frog.
About three days later I put a note in his mailbox saying his frog was frognapped, and more instructions will follow. I tied up and gagged the frog and placed him in front of a tire of a bus, and typed a note saying "help me daddy!! Help"
A few days later I took another picture of the frog sitting in a tupperware container floating in my toilet. The caption said "Please daddy help me, I can't swim!!"
Well George got into the fun and made a wanted poster with the notes on them and the photos. He posted them each few days in the office for everyone to see. Nobody had any idea who was behind this caper!! Everyone was looking forward to coming to work to see if there was a new note or poster!! The demand was for George to put out a notice that all Bus Operators are right, and Maintenance is wrong!! That Bus Operators rule!!
George was thinking it might be me or our boss. I wasn't ready to give the caper up. I had to go to Houston for a Training seminar, and told another Manager to take over the fun while I was away. If the pictures stopped while I was away he would know it was me!! Well I came back, and indeed the caper was still going strong!! There were pictures and notes everywhere!! It was hilarious!! This went on for a few months. We had a Company meeting, and George got up in front of the entire company and read a poem that more or less said he was forced to say this in order to get his beloved frog back, but all Operators are right, and Maintenance is wrong!
The Sunday following we were doing a trash pickup off the Highway. (We have a 2 mile stretch that we clean up every 3 months). I went out early in the morning with clues of where he could find his frog. I typed poemed clues on bright pink paper and placed about ten of them along the highway under rocks. We got back to the barn and he followed the clues and finally found his frog!! I made a casket about 4"x8" and lined it with red satin, placed the frog in it, and put a big straw through the top and buried it with the straw sticking out of the ground. Well someone else pulled everything off his desk and put it in the grave too!! We got pictures and all was happy!!
My boss made a scrapbook out of the notes and posters and pictures. We passed it around tonight at the retirement! Whew, little did we know it would become a legend at work!! It was soooooo much fun!!!

Remember...Growing old is inevitable, growing UP is optional.
>^..^< Phyllis >^..^<

Camping fun!

Txoceanlover said he doesn't like camping anymore because he had some bad experiences, and is too old!! Ha!!
The campgrounds are full of old people with their yapping Pomeranian fluffy doggies!!
The Monday before Memorial Day 1998 I was setting up camp and I heard a pop. I have a tent trailer, and the trailer was crooked. Someone said I broke a cable, so I found a 2x2 pole and used that to prop up the tailer. It worked!!
The next year again on the Monday before Memorial Day I drove up to the campsite alone. It was beginning to sprinkle. I was all alone in the entire campground. I was cranking up the trailer, and half way up I heard a series of pops and the whole thing collapsed!! So here I am 75 miles away from home and in the rain and cannot get into my trailer with all my supplies. I so love the solitude of relaxing in the campground all alone for two days before everyone else shows up. I sat down and started crying. Just then a ranger truck drove by and two young gals got out and asked if I needed help. I jumped with glee and said YES!! I had the mind to bring 4 2x2 poles in case I needed them for tarps or propping up one side of the trailer. We somehow (by the Grace of God) propped up the trailer and I camped out for 4 days like that! On the way home that Memorial Day I stopped by a trailer sales place and traded it in right there!! They had to have 4 people prop up and hold the roof up for me to clean out all my junk. They asked how in the heck I camped like that, and I told them the poles held it up. The guy said I was damned lucky it didn't collapse on me while I was sleeping. I have alot of guardian angels watching out for me that is for sure!!

The Labor Day weekend before that, I was again in that old camper and luckily heading to the campground on my Island here 15 miles away. I turned the corner and a car came zooming by and stopped me. They said they saw the crank from my trailer fall off a mile back. I thanked them profusely and took the trailer to the campground and headed back to retrieve the crank. It was getting dark, and I couldn't find it. I was exhausted and totally stressed out, so I headed home to shower and go to bed. The next morning I headed out looking for the crank again. I finally found it after an hour of walking the shoulder of the highway. I went to camp and set it up and enjoyed the rest of the weekend. I go camping alone, but friends show up and we all have a ball!!
It is usually raining and cold when I camp, and I have a great campfire going!! A friend of mine we call "tarpman" always sets up tarps and we sit around the campfire roasting marshmallows and talking and having a ball!! All of us sober!!
The best part of camping of course is the food and friends!! But then again I think the very best part is getting home and taking a long hot shower and wash the hair and crawl into clean sheets!!
I can't wait until Memorial Day weekend to go again!!
Yes, I am a glutton for punishment!! Life is an adventure, and every adventure brings good memories.
Does anyone else have some fun stories to share on camping?

WHAAAA???

Hey, where did that Chick come from???
I see my sister is bored again!! HAHAHAHA Thanks Mary Lou!!
It is hard to believe that Easter is only 2 weeks away! Whew. I looked at the calendar and decided I better make reservations for my campsite and they are all taken!! Bummer. I think I will try and get in the South Whidbey State Park. It is only 15 miles away. This is for Memorial Day weekend. I guess I waited too long darnit!! I love to camp. Actually I love the food while I camp!! I love sitting around doing NOTHING for three days and stoking the campfire and napping!!
There are alot of friends that join me for the night, and we all have a blast!!! One time we were sitting around the campfire and one person got up and went to the trees and came back. Then another one did the same. Next thing I knnow it got quiet and we heard the guy by the trees fart. Well that started the "Blazing Saddles" contest! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (all of us!!) What a bunch of crude, socially unacceptable misfits we are!!! Ya gotta love it!!