Yee Haw

General observations from the past week:

It is easier to play in 95+ temperatures than it is to work in them.

Came to the following conclusions this week:  It is easier to lose the first 40 pounds than it is the last 4.  There are basically 3 types of people; those who talk, those who talk about doing, and those who do.  I will listen to you talk about something only so long before I say, "ok, let's do it".

Had a friend ask me one day this week how I was doing and my reply was, "I am above ground and vertical and have not been pronounced yet, so I am good."  That pretty well sums it up and helps put things in perspective.

Heard a very interesting quote:  "It is better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6."

Horse sale tomorrow and even though it will be a long day, I can't wait.  Love it, love it, love it.

With that being said, I am going to bed.  There is a good looking man in my bed tonight so I am calling it a night.  Shame on ya'll!!!!!  It is my brother and he is sharing it with his wife, I am going to the extra bed.  Had ya scared for a minute didn't I?  LMAO

Misc. Musings

Have been off-line for the better part of a week because of computer problems.  I had to get new virus protection which blocked everything online except for my e-mail.  (Thank God for small blessings)  Finally back on which leads me to an interesting question;  "Facebook, habit or hobby"?  Some may even argue obsession.  I had crops that went to waste for crying out loud!!  Also, had to resort to reading during those episodes of insomnia that I have talked about.  Oh well!

A good friend stopped by Sat. afternoon (I was out mowing) and visited for about 30 minutes.  I had a realization after he left that with the exception of a couple of women all of my close friends are men.  Not sure what that means but it is what it is.

I also had a for me very humbling experience this week.  I had someone with tears in their eyes tell me that I had no idea how much of a blessing that I had been to them.  Wow! 

Even with all the stress of life and damn if there ain't a ton, there are those moments when you have to stop and say in spite of everything life is good.

Peach Festival

I went to my very first ever Candor Peach Festival today.  This is an annual event but the first time that I have gone.  Enjoyed my morning tremendously.  It began by meeting Janelle, Kenneth, and the boys, well I actually had one of them with me, for breakfast.  Then on to the Peach Festival.  The parade was good and a great variety of entertainment and vendors.  Even getting popped on the finger by a yellow jacket did not take the enjoyment out of it.  One of Janelle's friends saved us a parking place and a good spot for parade watching.  It was especially nice to get home and have a Facebook message from this friend saying how glad she was to see me today.  It still is a wonderful oddity to me that Janelle's friends like having me around.  Thanks Janelle for the invitation, I am sure that though this was my first it won't be my last.

More On My Big Brothers

Just to expound a tad more about my big brothers.  At Sat.'s game it was  time of a bit of reflection for me.  We played at Albemarle where Bobby first started playing softball in Sr. Games.  As I was watching them play, there were 4 players on the other team that he played with when he played with Tri-County.  Three of those four were on the very first team and one came the next year.  As I sat there watching all these guys I realized that it had been 9 years and that 9 years ago this summer I was sitting at the same ballfield doing the same thing but the difference was I don't have a husband that plays anymore.  My big brothers and I joke about it but it seems like no matter who we play there is always somebody on the other team that I know.  That comes from 9 years of score keeping.  They also tease me some that when we go to Raleigh for the state games I am walking around talking to old guys from all over the state.  Bobby and I met a lot of neat people while he was playing and we went to a lot of great places.  I am thankful to count these old farts as friends.

My Big Brothers

I spent Sat. morning and had lunch with 11 of my big brothers.  These are not brothers by blood but my, yes my, senior men's softball team.  My husband's first love was baseball and after he "aged" out of baseball he started playing slow pitch softball.  He played (and loved) softball most of his adult life.  When he turned 55 years old he started playing senior softball in senior games (senior olympics).  He started on a team that was a combination of Montgomery and Stanly Counties and was one of the original players on the original team.  In 2006 he started playing with a team out of Moore Co. and was part of that team until his death in 2009.  Now why are they my team you might ask.  Because every year that he played I was the scorekeeper for whichever team he played on.  And at the risk of bragging I am very good at it.  When I have umpires no matter where we play come to me after games and thank me for the job that I do, then I can claim this.  This team of old guys (and most of them are 65 and over) asked me after his death if I was still going to help them.  And as I love the game almost as much as Bobby did I naturally said yes.  So on Sat. morning we had a double header in Albemarle and so there I am with 11 (there are about 15 of them total) of my  "big brothers".  We all kinda got a kick out of the looks we were getting at lunch as I was the only woman with this group of older men.  I guess they were wondering the same thing one of our new players this year when he asked me (after a couple of games), "just what is your connection with this ballteam."  They are my big brothers and my friends.  It was kinda cute last year when one of them asked to talk to me by myself.  He wanted to tell me that some of them had talked and they had decided that it was ok if I wanted to date but they wanted to reassure me that if anybody I dated hurt me they were "going to whip their ass".  Everybody should be blessed with protectors like that.

Lest I Forget

In my rantings about menopause the other day, I left out one of the things that is really driving me nuts.  Well, I didn't leave it out, I forgot it.  (oh yeah, that is another one, forgetting things).  Insomnia!  I have almost forgotten what a full night's sleep feels like.  I either am not sleepy so I stay awake until 12 -1 o'clock.  Or, and this is even worse, I fall asleep around 9 or 10 and then anywhere from 1-3 I am wide awake.  I have never in my life had trouble sleeping or going to sleep until about 7 - 8 months ago.  At first, I thought is was part of the grief process but began to notice that it kinda ran along with my "monthly's" (oh and that's a joke too).  So now I blame it on menopause oh but wait, I can't claim menopause yet.  We will just say that it is hormonal.  Oh for an uninterupted 7-12 hours of sleep.  Ah, but again, this too will pass.

Horrorscopes, I Mean Horoscopes

Ya'll ever read your horoscope?  Let me begin by saying that I don't put much faith in astrology.  It is however interesting to read the character traits for different signs and it is interesting how your sign normally fits pretty good.  Occassionally out of boredom I will look at my horoscope.  I must admit that they are usually good for a chuckle and sometimes it is even more interesting to read them a day late and see if it was at all close to how your day turned out.  I do find it interesting that there are those folks who will not do anything without consulting their horoscope.  Quite frankly, on some days if that were the case for me I would not even get out of the bed.

I also find birth order intruiging.  I am the oldest and the things that I have read about birth order to be brutally cold and honest come much closer to describing me than any horoscope ever has.  As I have been heard to say, "It is not my fault I was born first and am just naturally bossy."  Ah, such serious things to ponder.  Kinda helps take the mind off those things that have to be seriously pondered.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to the greatest country in the world.  No, the USA is not perfect but even with all the problems I don't know of any other country I would rather live in.

Today is a horse sale day and I am relaxing for a few minutes before hitting the shower and getting ready to start a long day.  I am not dreading it however.  For some strange reason I love working these sales.  I love the atmosphere, talking to people, and getting to meet new people.  I have told my brother (the auctioneer) that if I could make a living working these sales, I would do it in a heartbeat.

I know it is a dream but I would love to find someone who had a little farm in the country that would let me live there in exchange for taking care of their animals.  Would love to be able to have one or two horses of my own and be out away from town.  Don't get me wrong, I am somewhat content where I am now but a girl can dream.  Just still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up.