I Work In A Movie

Sure, you think. How can that be? She just wants a catchy title for another post. No, no, no.... something is going on in the area in which I work. Today, I went to my office, got there on time, went on up to the 6th floor, entered the office and commenced working. Nothing unusual here - this is NORMAL.

At 11:00am I went to lunch with friend and upon returning. (Ok... I am going to stop here and set up the scene. My building is a six-story glass building. The front of the building faces a vacant lot and a post office directly across the street. The street has road bumps to keep people from driving too fast as there are schools further up the road. Okay, and behind the lot and post office is a large, well-maintained cemetery. Actually, it's the "happening" cemetery right now. You know how they wax and wane over the years, right? Alrighty...keep going further out past the cemetery, you have one of the most "happening" streets in Houston. Oh yeah, I am in the 4th largest city in America, so it's not like we just stepped into an episode of Northern Exposure)

Upon returning, I entered the building via the back entrance and walked to the elevators, which are right up front. Like I said, this is a glass building... immediately out the front doors, on the steps, is a woman, who looks incredibly like a man dancing. Not in a cute, Ellen Degeneres kind of way, just dancing. No iPod, nothing. Just dancing.

Okay, now on the edge of vacant lot across the street and facing the post office is a young man juggling three lime green juggling jugs - what do you call those bowling pin juggling things? He's really good!

Some sort of water line has broken and water is spewing out of the corner between the lot and post office (it was still flowing when I left at 5pm).

So, I looked to the right, and from up the street, comes a very large one-legged woman in a wheelchair scooting towards the post office. She was just going over a speed bump when I saw her. She wasn't wheeling the chair - she COULD - I saw her do it, but she was just pulling herself along with her whole leg.

What happened in that one hour?

A Bag In The Sauce

Those wonderful gals at The Secret Is In The Sauce (SITS) are running a contest for this fabulous Brighton bag - why not go on over there and remember to follow the rules!

Even if you're not interested in the bag, check out the site - it's worth the time.

Sex & The City

Yes, I know, I am way later than everyone else and am probably the last Sex & The City fan who has seen the motion picture, but I did. Today. I went with my best friend and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

There have been varying reviews and I can see the validity of those that weren't so favorable, but they weren't factoring in what made it good for me.

What is it, you wonder? If you don't want to know the ending, quit reading now. Ok, the factor for me is the ends got tied up even more nicely than they did at the end of the series. And for fans, we all want the happy endings....

...we want Dorothy to get home from OZ even though we loved her adventures while she was there.
...we want George Bailey to understand one "common" life has far-reaching meaning.
...we want Ebenezer Scrooge to realize that even he, Mr. Bah Humbug, has a heart and can find the Spirit of Christmas down inside it.
...and we want Forrest and Jenny to really be like "peas and carrots."

Yep, Charlotte had a baby, Miranda and Steve are truly happy (now), Samantha was true to herself, and Carrie is now Mrs. Big.

The Friday Feast

Here are my answers from this week's Friday Feast... you can play, too - just leave a comment at the Friday Feast blog:

Appetizer

If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose?
I would like to live in Europe - but don't pin me down to a specific country - I can't decide.

Soup
Which browser do you use to surf the Internet?
Currently using Internet Explorer although I have tried them all. Firefox is probably my favorite.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country? 9

Main Course
Finish this sentence: Love is…God

Dessert
Have you ever been in or near a tornado?
I have been near one - very near, but not in one. My great-grandmother was - she lost her thumb when the tornado picked up her house and put it in a tree.

And now it's Friday. Amen

Where I'm From....

I found this exercise at at Fragments From Floyd where he has the format posted to follow. You might enjoy this, too. If you choose to do this as well, please leave me a comment so I can read yours.

Here is my first draft. I may change this:

I am from the backyard clothesline, from cans of Gulfspray and Coke bottles with sprinkler heads for ironing.

I am from the only two-story home on our suburban block where birds built nests over the garage and banana trees grew so quickly, their large leaves scraped across my bedroom window. At this window, I would hear the tap of pebbles thrown by neighborhood friends asking me to come outside rather than knock on the door.

I am from the fragrant (and tasty) honeysuckle, the spring azaleas found in all our front yards, deadly oleander, and sand dollars gathered every single summer on the shores of the Gulf.

I am from homemade chicken and noodles at Christmas and high foreheads, from Fannie, who always wished her name was Mary Rebekah, and Winnie who lived life joyfully and from the Ebanks who value family above all else.

I am from the sailors of the Caribbean Sea and pioneers of Texas.

From where dogs are boys and cats are girls and Santa knows everything about me.

I am from a long line of Presbyterians who founded churches and taught Sunday school. From grandparents and parents who taught that we don’t “hate” anyone for we are all God’s children and that church is not just a building, it’s a home.

I’m from the coastal plains of Texas and the land of chocolate, Belgium, from seafood gumbo and my mom's cornbread stuffing made with hot sausage and pecans.

From the woman who adopted her nephew when his parents were killed in a car accident, the man who won a Soldier’s Medal of Bravery during World War II, and a woman who made sea turtle soup and cassava cakes for her eleven children.

I am from bookshelves in my parents homes where my school years and friends photos now sit either displayed or placed in albums. From the bracelet my grandfather gave my grandmother when she was sixteen and I wore at my wedding, and from family stories carefully handwritten by my other grandmother. From the small treasures of glass and jewelry or love letters and wedding certificates comes an accumulation of worth which cannot be tallied.

lynda (age 4)

Car Dealers - Ugh

I bought a new VW Beetle in May. Because I opted for a program called, "Driver's Option," it seems to be freaking out the dealer.

This plan is like a lease - I have 48 payments (under $300.00), then a balloon note. At the end of the term, I can turn in the car and walk away or refinance and keep it. But, it's NOT a lease. Well, my dealer hasn't done one of these in 2 years (so they say) and can't get my contract correct. This, in turn, means I don't have plates, which I need to get my toll tag so I can drive on the toll roads without having to carry around tons of quarters.

I have had to turn into mega-bitch (not too difficult) and I keep running into a "it is what it is" attitude.

On my way home I called VW Credit - they're going to get right on it - 'bout time!

Okay, enough about that. Want to hear a funny car dealer story?

When I was going to college I had a part time job on the switchboard at a car dealership. There were two of us working switchboard. Needless to say we were young, smart, and locked in a room with sophisticated (for the time) equipment.

Anyway, we managed to get on the same line and dial in like we were calling from outside and rang the service department.

In an Oriental accent, I asked for the service manager and told him my husband didn't speak English, but when he got home with our car, there was a raccoon in the trunk and we wanted them to come get it because it was loose in the garage and scaring the kids.

He kept asking our name and I would say something he couldn't understand. Then I would keep saying, "My husband says you have to come get it" and whenever they would answer, we'd start the cycle all over.

It was so funny afterwards - the whole service department was talking about it, paging people, etc...

Big fun in the switchboard.

The best prank was hooking up two Chinese restaurants - each thought the other called them, but they didn't. We would look for places named, East China and North China and let them at each other while we listened.... "You called me" "No, you called me"

We were easily amused. Can't really pull phone pranks these days. Did you have a favorite way back when?

Winner! and other ramblings...

Back on line for just a bit and I am a winner! Why not scoot on over to A Very Mary Design and take a peek at the earrings I won. Thanks, Mary!

I'm at work right now and no one is here but me, so look what I'm doing...sneaking in a post.

Wanted to take a moment and thank my Scrabble buddy, Kerrie, for the nice welcome. Why not drop in and meet my friend from down under. We've been playing online Scrabble for quite a while now. Well, it's not really playing for her - she pretty much whips my butt every time - I might just occupy some time. If you could see how many times I get all vowels, you would know I was truly under some kind of Vowel Monster spell. It's really unbelievable.

Anyway, if I have led you to believe that we're only friends via Scrabble, that would be wrong. Scrabble allowed us to develop a great friendship. Hopefully someday we'll get a chance to meet in person.

Hmm... yesterday I left off wondering when my child would come home. She did good - she was home in time for us to take her dad out to lunch. We went and had Mexican food and good time was had by all. She even stayed home for the rest of the day which is a big accomplishment for a 16 year old with a car.

Of course, all her friends were doing family stuff, so that kind of put a crimp in her style.

Oh well, we all get crimped from time to time.

When does school start????

Dad

(my dad)

I am so fortunate to still have my dad with me. He'll be 73 in November, but I just don't think he looks it.

He certainly doesn't ACT it - he's extremely active and always on the go. Since retiring, he's lived on Grand Cayman Island, started a new career on the island, retired again, remarried to a wonderful woman, and has traveled around the world (literally), has a house on a lake near Houston and a ranch (complete with longhorns and a horse) not far from the lake.

Oh, they just got a little place in Riudose, New Mexico to escape the heat.

He wears me out with all he's got going on as a retired person.

Oh, and on top of all that, he's always "there" for us. Dad isn't, to be truthful, the best communicator when it comes to feelings, but we know. And that's good enough.

Today will be Jerry's 3rd Father's Day. He's a really good dad to our daughter.

Our daughter, however, is spending the night at a friend's house... wonder when she'll come home to spend Father's Day with her dad?

I'll let ya' know.

(nicole's dad)

Starting Over

Well, what do you know? You CAN lose your blog. I had a blog that I maintained for over a year (same name) and left it unattended for about two. With a little inspiration (thanks, Kerrie) and reconstruction (thanks to free templates), you can reblog.

Why am I calling this Art On A Limb? You can read all that in my profile. I'll share some of my art at a later time.

Why did I abandon my first blog? Easy! We became parents... of a teenager! Our daughter came to us at age 13 and we adopted her ON her 14th birthday. She's 16 now and life is finally settling into some sort of routine. We have issues, lots of them, and we're all learning as we go, but we have some really good experiences as well. Over all, she's a fantastic kid and we feel blessed to have her. She is, however, a teenager, so we are discovering how much into the fire we jumped. Send good vibes, thoughts, and prayers our way.

If you've ever considered adopting an older child, I'd be happy to discuss it openly and honestly with you. Before you think I will be negative, let me assure you, I encourage it! I will, however, not sugar-coat the experience.

Since this is my second first blog, I'll share a little about myself and see where life takes these posts.

I was employed at a major auto finance company for (almost) 24 years when I got laid off this April. This meant losing a lot of perks - a decent salary, five weeks of vacation, and good friends acquired over a long time. The friends, of course, remain, but we just don't see each other on a daily basis anymore.

Anyway, my job was so industry specific (auditing car dealerships), I was afraid I would have to go into general administrative work. I wasn't against that, but loved what I was doing.

God is good - all the time! Before I was through at the first place, I was offered an amazing job by one of our contractors. This isn't a contract job - I am a full time employee doing similar work for what may be the best people to work for. They are headquartered in California and have no full time people working anywhere out of that state - until now! At the exact time I was being shoved out one door, my current employer was opening a satellite location right here in Houston. So, now I have my own office overlooking a beautiful parkway that I share with one other employee, the marketing manager. I couldn't be happier in my work situation.

Jerry and I will have our 19th anniversary in November. We've been together since 1981, so we've shared half our lives together and we're still best friends. That's a really good thing.

Our daughter, Nicole, will be a junior this year. Unfortunately, she thinks school is strictly a tool for socializing. We're hoping she'll buckle down a bit this year, but we'll have to wait and see on that one. She recently got her driver's license and now we don't see her too often.

One thing we've required of her is if she is to have a car (she has my old one), she is responsible for the gas. Gas is at $3.90 a gallon here in Houston as of today and that's a lot of money to a teen. She has a summer job babysitting for her aunt and uncle four days a week. She's making $120.00 each week - saving $30.00 to savings and $30.00 for the new Sprint Instinct phone she wants to buy, so that leaves about $20.00 for spending and $40.00 for gas. We're finding she's needing to do extra "work" around the house to earn more spending money, but that's good for her.

We have two dogs who are members of the family, Gordy and Georgi, so they may be mentioned from time to time as well. They're really very funny.

Nicole and I attend the local Unity church and Jerry is Catholic. We have a spiritually diverse home, but it works for us. I am certain I'll be writing more about this over time.

I intend to also include some lists of favorites - books, movies, etc.... later.

Yep, it feels good to be back and I look forward to cultivating regular reads.

Thanks for reading my first new post. I will return the visit.