Warm Walk

Well, this morning was definitely a bit warmer for walking. As much as I hate wearing shorts and tank tops in public, I may start doing so on my morning walks. Capris and t-shirt were just too warm this morning. lol I got stood up by my walking partner but still walked 2 miles. They'll hear about it. hehe

There was a little lady who apparently had a bad experience with dogs because she veers way to one side when we meet. I do keep Dusty close and short-leashed when we go near people, but she still did that. She apologized, which she certainly didn't need to do. At least she's friendly about it. :-) There is also an elderly gentleman who I've met the last couple times who always has a smile and a hello. That makes it fun.

This time there were people with dogs, too. One had a dachshund and they picked it up and carried it past us. Again, my dog was short-leashed and on the opposite side of my body. Ah well. The other one was a terrier of some sort, very cute. Dusty wanted to play but this time I moved off the sidewalk on to the grass and let them walk past. They were very nice about it, and laughed when I said she wants to play she just forgets she's bigger than the other dogs are.

On both rounds of the lake I let Dusty jump in the water when we could. She loved that. She's really enjoying these walks too!

We had a long day in Sioux Falls yesterday. Well, just the day was long, but it was because we had to go there. Out of the house by 630 as he had an appointment at 9. Those ran until about 11. Then we met with his mother, sister and niece for lunch at Valentino's. Then his sister asked if we wanted to stay for our niece's t-ball game at 630. I said no because we had to get up early this morning (my son and I). I'm really glad since it looks like the worst of the storms were along what would have been the route we'd taken at that time! Not that hearing the weatherman say "If you live in (my town) you need to be in the basement now" was a lot better. Tornadoes freak me out. But we got all the critters down to the basement safely and hung out for awhile.

But all is well that ends well. We're all safe and we're a bit better prepared for next time (of which I hope there is not one! LOL).

~~Heather

Another beautiful day!

It's another beautiful day so far. It's still at 74 which is very ideal for me. Muggy as all get out, though!

I developed blisters Sunday so I bandaged the big one today and walked about a mile and a half around the lake. Not as quiet as normal. A water main had broken overnight and they were working on it. My doggy was so silly...she was torn between cringing away from the equipment and its noise and going "Oh look! A water puddle!" lol The redwinged blackbird was there again too. I did take a break and sit under a shelter with my walking partner. My left shin isn't too happy about this walking! While we were sitting there a pheasant came over from one of the large yards and popped out of the ditch. He was a very handsome boy, I'm sure he had a harem somewhere!

The gophers were a little more rambunctious today and didn't hide as we walked by. Dusty tried to get them, but darn that leash anyway! lol She also tried pulling me in to the lake today! Silly girl. But she is really enjoying the walks which is great. And we have plans to go again on Thursday.

It's so nice to have someone to talk to locally, though. Or just to sit with. Just to remind me that I'm real and I'm human. Tonight I'll be calling Dad to beg for money. Otherwise I lose the internet/phone and electricity and water...not good. I can live without hot water, but not the rest. (Well, technically I can live without the phone/internet but I can make a little bit with the odd jobs on those so I hate to lose them.)

On that note...I better grab some lunch and get ready for my interview at 3. It's for a Pharmacy Technician job. I think I'll enjoy it...but first I have to make a good impression and get hired! It's the ONLY nibble I've had on 9 resumes I've sent out....*sigh*

Country Walk

So today I took my doggy for a 2-mile walk along the country road today. And I was HOT afterwards. *whew* I also wanted to call a friend and didn't want the spousal unit to eavesdrop. It irritates the frack out of me. I don't listen in on HIS conversations. I try very hard to "mute" them. He ACTIVELY listens. Grrrrr.

We got to the edge of town where I normally let Dusty off her lead, and someone else was walking their dog. Without a leash. And it was one of those dogs Dusty just didn't care for. But the guy/kid (late teens early 20s maybe?) was really apologetic though. And soon I was able to let her off to run. We really enjoyed ourselves. Coming back we did start to get really warm (forgot the water bottle!) and so we stopped in the shade often. And once in the sun we stopped because I wanted to listen to the froggies singing. I think I need to get a froggy CD to listen to in the winter time.

And this friend that I called is willing to walk with me when I'm in town! So on days I drop my son off, my spousal unit off, or both off. Yay! And I might even grab shorts to wade in the lake afterwards to cool off a bit. And/or a book to read afterwards in the gazebo. It will be nice to have a local friend. I love my internet friends, I really really do (Vicky, that means you!!). Sometimes, I just need a hug. What can I say? :-) (And I know I will get hugs from Vicky when we meet!)

Yay!

We just won't mention all the other crud going on. :-)

Walking around the lake

So yesterday I had to drop the spousal unit off at work a 7 am. I decided it was a good time to check out Ravine Lake. I took the dog and walked around the lake. It was beautiful! The first thing I saw was:




It's kind of hard to see, but it's a red-winged blackbird that sang to me as I walked past. Dusty and I got almost all the way around and this little guy caught her eye:




I like frogs, I don't know why. :-)

And these caught my eye:




I could take nature pictures all day...lol

The sidewalk around the lake is actually an exercise path and it's marked off at the 1/2 mile and 3/4 mile (I don't remember seeing the 1/4 mile marker but it could be along the section where I park and walk across the parking lot instead). In fact, we enjoyed it so much we did it again today! I think that, for as long as I can, since I have to drop my son off at work on Tuesdays and Thursdays anyway, I may try to make this a habit to get in to.

My contract is not paying and has no idea when he will. Even after promising me he would pay even if it meant coming out of his own pocket! So I am pretty much done. I have a general transcription contract that I'm going to throw myself in to. At least I KNOW they pay on time! It's still a net 30, but the check is in the mail in 30 days. It's not my medical transcription, but I need to pay the bills, end of subject.

My son is still loving his job...and still really testing my ability to say no! LOL But he knows we just can't afford any more critters right now. He did sprain his wrist before going to camp and has a splint on it for a few days. I think starting tomorrow he can go from wearing it all day to wearing it "as needed for pain."

I haven't been keeping track of what I eat, but I have been listening to my body and making sure I have healthier foods on hand. I have gotten a lot better about eating only when I'm hungry. And so far that's equated to losing the 6 pounds I'd gained back earlier this year. Yay!! Adding in a walk 2-3 times a week will definitely help and I definitely want to add strength training again. I just need to ignore the depression that is trying to set in and do it. :-)

Let's see how the week plays out!

Minor rant on job service listings.

Ok, this is rather frustrating. Since spousal unit has been released to work, he has been looking for jobs, of course. My frustration is companies that list openings they don't have.

Of 4 applications, 1 said in their listing "now taking for future openings." The other 3? You fill out the application, usually set up an appointment, drive there, and then they simply take the application and say "We don't have any openings right now but we'll keep your application on file." Then why bother? Why waste your time and ours? Not to mention the cost of driving 20 miles to town. Or simply add to the listing "now taking for future openings." That way the applicant knows in advance and can make the choice to apply for a future opening or not. Because they certainly aren't actually looking for a job or anything. They're just killing time filling out applications and driving around to drop them off.

*sigh*

And then spousal unit gets a call from one of the companies offering a job. But no guaranteed hours and they don't know what the wages will be but can he start tomorrow? AND HE TOOK IT.

For me, my contract is simply not being forthcoming on pay. He told another MT that this check would be for March and April, but only March got deposited. So I'm going to look at other options. I dropped off my resume for an office position at one place and an application for a data entry position at another. I'm going to call a former coworker from the hospital and see if she can get me in touch with a lady she knows who started her own transcription company. My son's wrist is still bothering him so I will set up an appointment for him next week and while we're there see if they have any work to be done, overflow transcription work. I also have a general transcription contract in place I'm just very unsure of my skills at that. But if I don't try I will never know. I may practice this week on a radio show that asks volunteers to transcribe the broadcasts and offer myself up as overflow this upcoming week. I just need to kick it in gear. :-)

I have the paperwork for a pro se divorce. I will also need to spend some time going over that so I can fill it out and we can go over the finer points. I will be glad when that part of my life is over and I can move on.

My son is home from Byron Bible Camp and he had a wonderful week. I'm very glad he enjoyed himself. And back to work for him tomorrow. :-)

~~Heather

It IS June, isn't it??

It's June. And it's 55 degrees out. Brrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!! I refuse to turn the heat back on, so we've been dressing warmly and using blankets. Although I did turn the heater on then van when I took my son to work yesterday and Thursday. Friday we went to town because spousal unit had to get 2 job contacts for the week because he was finally cleared by the doc to go back to work and so he filed for unemployment right away (with no prompting...that has to be a miracle!). We ended up spending all day in town because 1 contact wasn't to be in until after 4 pm. Well, turns out they weren't in anyway. *sigh* Another day wasted.

In fact, this entire week has felt like a waste. Because of the interviews, I didn't work. I didn't want to be in the middle of a report when they called. Although I know I could have worked after they set up the time for the call, I just had no gumption. The client for the company I contract for sends out emails daily. All day. Begging for help. Quite a few of us in the Yahoo group feel that we really can't be bothered to work if they can't bother to pay. For sure we won't work more than when we offered to since, as independent contractors, they cannot dictate to us when we work. If they start doing that then we start falling into employee category. We did give them rough ideas of when we would be able to work, but we are not required to stick to that nor are we required to log in at all if we don't feel like it.

I will get back on track this week. I'm still searching for something else and will probably stop at Department of Labor to apply for a few jobs as well. At the very least I will need to ensure I can make the house payment on time. It will mean some adjusting for my son, in that he may have to walk in to the park or someplace to wait until I get off work. It depends on what I find, I suppose. In the meantime, my son is going to church camp and so it will be very quiet. The 14th-24th spousal unit will be in Sioux Falls for follow up doctor appointments (with no insurance anymore) and so we will have a very nice break from him. He will also look for jobs down there. He kind of mentioned that to his mother and said it was because of a lack of opportunities around here. He has yet to tell them we're separating and divorcing. *sigh* But honesty is such a good policy, right?

I have had issues with my hands again. The skin has dried out again and cracked a bit on the knuckle of my right pinky finger. I am so done with cold. lol I'm sure the cold water has nothing to do with it too, right? lol Hopefully that clears up.

My son is enjoying his job. And he's really testing my ability to say no! LOL One sad thing, though, is that a cat we did give up in 2007 is there again. Last year she showed up here at the house! after a year. She traveled 20+ miles to find us. It was heartwrenching to take her back to the Humane Society, but she was pregnant, had some facial injuries, and we just couldn't keep her. She's the sister to Fuzzy and Wuzzy. We had named her Runty because she was the smallest of the three. And now she's in the shelter again, pregnant again. That means 2 people have adopted her and NOT gotten her fixed. This may be the exception. I may have to bring her home and hope everyone gets along (the other 4 cats picked on her all the time). It breaks my heart to hear she's back, but I can't exactly provide her a good home either. *sigh*

I do have a general transcription contract that pays twice a month, on a net 30. Which means for the 1-15th of June I get a check in the mail July 15th. And I know they are good about it. I've contracted with them before. As much as I love MT work, I may have to branch out a bit.

Sooo....I think I'm going to find a way to make brownies in the microwave lol and work up a schedule for work and stick to it.

Or at least try. Self-motivation is pretty hard to come by these days. *smile*

~~Heather