Country Tea Party

In this picture of a Country Tea Party are my Mom and my Uncle Bud. The last time I visited her she told me about the lovely tea parties she used to have and the pretty white table where she had them. She still has the tea set to this day. She was the teacher's pet of her third grade teacher and that teacher is who bought the tea set for her.

Thank You to My Fruth Friends

After the Corporate Grinch decided to steal my Christmas, my fellow Fruth Employees were so enraged that they went together and bought me the George Foreman Grill that I was going to buy with part of my Christmas Bonus.

They also sign a lovely Happy Thanksgiving card to me.

People like my coworkers are the reason I keep working at Fruth.

Thursday Thoughts

1. No Christmas Bonus for me this year. They did away with them for part time employees. No notice whatsoever! SUCKS!

2. I did get a coupon for $12 to buy a turkey. The cheapest one is $18.

3. I bought a very large chicken. First time ever I won't have a turkey.

4. I could drive to my mom's house but her house is the most depressing place in the world for holidays. She hates holidays and she won't let anybody help her. So I visited her last week. I'll go see her again in a couple of weeks and call her on the actual holidays.

5. I am warm and happy and safe.

6. I am aggravated.

7. Should I keep Blockbuster or go back to Netflix?

8. Eddie and I renewed our friendship. We are aggravated with each other all ready. WE BOTH NEED SPACE.

9. I'm going to work a few extra hours tomorrow. I am broke because I didn't do it earlier in the month but I couldn't because I thought I was going to get a BIG BONUS!!!!

10. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

The Biggest Mistake I Ever Made

When I left my ex husband I shouldn't have come home to West Virginia. There was no doubt in my mind that I could succeed without him. I was a sucessful trainer in my own right. I could have started over any where that there was a dog track or a puppy farm and I would have been fine.

I should have been fine here too.

But somewhere along the way I lost track of the dog business because I was trying to keep my family happy. It was a big mistake because there was no way to juggle both of them. In trying to be successful at each one I ended up failing at both.

I should have ignored my family. I had done well on my own for my entire adult life. Once I had to factor in my family then I couldn't keep any of them happy. The dog business suffered. My relationship with my family suffered.

Even though I was on the verge of sucess in the dog business again, I didn't quite make it. When I didn't quite make it then there was no one to support me in my family. I keep reading about supportive families. I hear there is such a thing. I don't have one.

Will I Win?

Every week there are about 100 entry forms in our buildings lobby to win a truck at the local Tudor's Restaurant. They throw them away.

I have decided to enter all of them!!!

I fill out a few everyday and when I am out running errands and I pass by a Tudors I go inside and enter the contest. So far I have entered at 3 different restaurants. I am entering at different restaurants because they also give out a $100 gift certificate at each restaurant.

So, not only am I going to win a shiney red Ranger but I am also going to win several $100 gift ceritificates! I might as well dream big if I'm going to dream.

I guess I should add that I tried to win last year but on a much smaller scale.

I should also add that I am usually pretty lucky at these kinds of drawings. I have won a months worth of free gas and $100 twice and 3 bags of groceries once before. Hopefully I haven't used up all my luck.

I am due.

I Was Married to a Mountain Man

I was raised in Logan County basically with a white collar background. I married a Boone County boy. He was definitely a hard working, blue collar type of guy. The combination created some interesting situations over the years.

When we first moved to Frog's Creek in Kanawha County, I was leaving for work when a rabbit jumped in front of my car. It ran about fifty yards down the road and then hopped back into the field. This happened every morning for a week. I really enjoyed this little routine.

One evening when I came home from work. My husband, Bobby, excitedly met me at the door and proudly announced, "I shot a rabbit right out the front door." he was beaming as he directed me to a wonderful home cooked rabbit dinner complete with all the trimmings.

The smile quickly left his face when I sputterred, "You shot my rabbit!"

Since I had never mentioned my rabbit's daily morning ritual to him, he immediately denied any involvement in killing my bunny. As I stood there loudly proclaiming my dismay, Bobby demanded to know what in the world I was talking about.

I explained the situation to him and we promptly made a new rule. "No fair shooting anything in sight of the house." Needless to say I could not eat the rabbit dinner. Also even though I looked hopefully for my little furry friend the following morning, I never did see him again.

There was another time I decided that I wanted to go hunting with my husband. We drove to a remote area of Boone County. We started climbing straight up the side of a very steep and rugged mountain. Although we used to hike the trails in Chief Logan State Park on a regular basis, we had been on trails, not stumbling up a dry creek bed with rocks dislodging under our feet with every step.

I was ready to rest after only about a hundred feet up. At this point Bobby grabbed my wrist and unmercifully half-pulled and half-dragged me all the way to the top of that mountain. Completely exhausted I stood at the peak of that mountain and admired the beauty of the scenery while he decided which way we needed to go.

Then the thought dawned on me, "hey, he is going to shoot something." I could not bear the idea of witnessing the demise of a poor little squirrel or possibly a deer. I started to run and shout and even slide down the mountain on my rear in the leaves. I had a ball. Unfortunately Bobby was not thrilled about joining me.

When it became obvious that I had scared away any animals in the area we settled into a nice hike and I was able to adequately make up to him for running off the game. After our return home a friend asked him how it went. Bobby told him that I had a great time and we were never going hunting together again.

We made another pact that day. Bobby would hunt it and clean it. I would cook it and eat it. It worked out well.

We used to play a friendly poker game with friends. My hubby was a very good poker player and to say I do not really understand the game would be an understatement. I could tell he was irritated with me on the way home so I asked him what was wrong.

He said, "I am so tired of you losing every penny I make when we play cards. I'll make a deal with you. If you never play again, I will happily give you half of all my winnings."

The only thing I have to say about that is I took many happy shopping trips after that.

Another agreement that worked out well for us.