ilikefree

What great prizes! Hope I'm lucky enough to win one!

Is it just me or does anyone else find the thought of pumpkin spice anything disgusting? It's everywhere this time of year. I just don't get the whole pumpkin spice craze.

Happy September (already?!)! Hubby and I just got back from a couple days in Amish Country here in Ohio. It was a great getaway and the rain held off till we were almost home.

So, as always, the first day of school came and went with barely a hitch. My anxiety always gets me too worked up and I just can't seem to calm it. Thank you everyone for the thoughts and prayers for me to get through the first couple days. It really did help. As far as the cooler weather, I'm definitely NOT ready for that! For some reason when I'm hot, I can cool off faster than I can warm up when I'm cold. Does that make sense? When I get cold, I get cold to the bone and it takes me forever to warm up.

The 2019-2020 school year starts here tomorrow so that means back to work for me and my anxiety is off the charts. I work in the cafeteria at school and there are so many things there that trigger my anxiety. I don't really like it there, but I NEED the insurance (hubby's job doesn't offer it). I don't have the self-confidence I had when I was younger to start a new job. I'm 51 and am years from retiring but am afraid employers are looking for younger employees who will stay around longer. I'm not up to date on computer skills and there isn't really anywhere close for me to do that. I'm taking meds for depression and anxiety and they normally work pretty well, but right now I'm about at my breaking point. I'm not looking for sympathy, just some prayers or good thoughts to get me through this new school year.

August already! It's almost time for school to start again and I'm not done with summer yet! I don't want to go back to work!!!!!

Another hot, Hot, HOT day in Ohio today. Today is the day my dad chose, months ago, to have a family reunion at his house. Luckily he has air conditioning in his garage. Wish us luck!

Aloha from Hawaii! Tomorrow (or today if you're in my regular time zone) is my husband's 60th birthday so we're celebrating by going parasailing. We've been here since last Tuesday and will be leaving on Friday. He'll have to drag me kicking and screaming, but he'll get me home. lol It is hotter at our home in Ohio than it is here. Unbelievable!

June already! The warmer weather is finally here, for the most part, but so are the storms. I can't figure out how to post pictures here, but we had hail a little bigger than a quarter here this past week. Then today we were on Interstate 75 coming home from shopping in Toledo and got caught in several bad storms...thunder and lightening, heavy rain, wind and more hail. There were so many cars pulled off alongside the highway it was crazy! Luckily we didn't hit any flooded areas but looking at the radar, the storms keep building behind what we already had so there's more coming.

Last day of school for us was this past Friday but the staff had to go in for a work day today. What a year! I'm officially done for this school year! I don't know that I could have done anymore. We have a Relay for Life team and that is coming up in a little under 2 weeks. Then our pastor asked if my husband and I would cook brats and hot dogs on our propane griddles for the Firemen's Convention coming up the week after Relay. They're expecting more than 1000 firefighters (someone told us over 2000) to come in from all over Ohio. We have a busy next few weeks so I feel like I've earned the vacation we booked last week. We are spending a week and a half in Oahu! We'll be there for my husband's 60th birthday and over the 4th of July.

Checking in for May. Only 17 days of school left then I'm off till August! On another happy note, my oldest son left his job at a small-town police department and accepted a deputy position with the Hancock County, Ohio sheriff's department! The pride (and worry) I feel for this young man is unimaginable!

Happy April

Hugs and prayers, Stationchief, for a speedy and complete recovery.

Savings Catcher was the ONLY reason I started using Walmart pay, and then I've only used it like 2 or 3 times. Now I'm wondering if there's a way to get my card info out of their system. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before their system is compromised, just like the others.

I was hoping that with the beginning of March being here that we'd be done with the snow but no...they're calling for more on Sunday. I've had enough cold and snow, I'm ready for spring! Happy March everyone!

That makes me sad. That's about the only store where I can find shoes to fit my finicky feet.

Toys R Us plans second act by holiday season http://media.graytvinc.com/images/810*455/1280x720_80626P00-IWPBP.jpg Toys "R" Us, Photo Date: 4/19/14 / Photo: Mike Mozart / CC BY 2.0 / (MGN) By The Associated Press | Posted: Tue 10:32 AM, Feb 12, 2019 NEW YORK (AP) — Toys R Us fans in the U.S. should see the iconic brand re-emerge in some form by this holiday season. Richard Barry, a former Toys R Us executive and now CEO of the new company called Tru Kids Brands, told The Associated Press he and his team are still working on the details, but they're exploring various options including freestanding stores and shops within existing stores. He says that e-commerce will play a key role. Toys R Us, buckling under competition from Amazon and several billions of dollars of debt, filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in September 2017 and then liquidated its businesses last year in the U.S. as well as several other regions including the United Kingdom. In October, a group of investors won an auction for Toys R Us assets, believing they would do better by potentially reviving the toy chain, rather than selling it off for parts. Starting Jan. 20, Barry and several other former Toys R Us executives founded Tru Kids and are now managing the Toys R Us, Babies R Us and Geoffrey brands. Toys R Us generated $3 billion in global retail sales in 2018. Tru Kids estimates that 40 percent to 50 percent of Toys R Us market share is still up for grabs despite many retailers like Walmart and Target expanding their toy aisles. "These brands are beloved by customers," said Barry. He noted that the company will focus on experiences in the physical stores, which could be about 10,000 square feet. The original Toys R Us stores were roughly about 40,000 square feet. Barry said he and his team have been reaching out to toy makers and have received strong support. But he acknowledged that many had been burned by the Toys R Us liquidation. Tru Kids, based in Parsippany, New Jersey, about a 20 minute drive from Wayne, New Jersey, where Toys R Us was based, will work with licensing partners to open 70 stores this year in Asia, India and Europe. Outside the U.S., Toys R Us continues to operate about 800 stores.

Third day of no school this week and our water lines at home are still frozen. How long till summer?!

As we sit here with frozen water lines.

I, too, am in NW Ohio, also in a rural community. I work in our school's cafeteria and see kids who come in for breakfast almost frozen to death. We have several walkers but in this weather I think a lot of them are finding rides to school, but not all of them are fortunate enough to get rides. Although we are no longer required to go by 5 calamity days then start making up days, our superintendent still does this. It's just insane how cold it can get outside for the kids, yet we are still going to school at the regular time instead of delaying a couple hours to see if it warms up outside a little bit. The superintendent told us last week that the wind chill has to be 20 below zero for the district to delay or cancel! 20 below!!! I was freezing this morning just walking from my car to the building (it was cold and windy but the wind chill wasn't 20 below), I can't even imagine kids walking to school in that weather. Hopefully they come to their senses and cancel school later this week when the really cold air and wind are supposed to be here.

Snow is coming down really pretty here in NW Ohio right now. My area could see up to 2" tonight, clear tomorrow, then (the last amount I heard) 4-8" coming in for Saturday with wind coming on Sunday along with colder temps. We already have Monday off school for MLK Jr. day, but I wouldn't mind having at least another day or 2 off as well! I don't like the snow and cold weather, but if we have to have it, it might as well give us a good couple days off school (where I work)!

Happy New Year!

Wow, so glad you are ok! Hope your car is repairable.

I normally don't participate in the card exchange, but I'd be more than happy to send your mom one since she enjoys getting them so much!

Gosh, I wish I had your willpower! When mine came it sat looking at me, just daring me to open it, despite my good intentions of waiting till Christmas morning. I guiltily say that I gave in & opened it!