A Prairie View

Organizing The Office

One of the things I want to do this spring is to get into my office and really do some deep cleaning. Decluttering, going through boxes and drawers, and getting rid of anything that we don’t use anymore. One thing I won’t be getting rid of, though, is my rubber stamps. I will always hang on to them, as well as my scrapbooking supplies. I just need to get everything reorganized and a better work area, and then maybe I would have the interest and passion to get back to doing it. Even Ethan had gotten into scrapbooking and rubber stamping, and would love to go to the scarpbook store with me. So, yes, this is definately something we need to get done this spring.

Down For The Count

I wasn’t needing any weight loss pills this weekend. I had very little desire to eat anything. It started with a scratchy throat on Thursday, and a full fledge chest cold complete with a fever by Friday night. I haven’t eaten much more than a few popcicles, which soothed the throat, and drank lots of water. Its been a long time since I’ve been sick, so I guess I was due. And, I didn’t really stand a chance not picking up the bug. Ethan had it a couple of weeks ago, and David and our boss had it last week. It was only a matter of time before I was going to get it. And sure enough, just like clockwork, the symptoms set in and I was down for the count. At least most of it was over the weekend, and hopefully, I’ll feel up to going to work tomorrow. Ethan was out for a week of school, and David, who has never missed a day of work, regardless of how he has felt, didn’t go to work one day. He does have to keep 15 trucks rolling down the road, so he didn’t stay in bed — he did what he had to do from his computer here at home. But, he was also able to sleep and just feel as miserable as he wanted to between phone calls and finding loads. Its a nasty bug, but does seem to run its course fairly quickly.

Work Comes First

I knew it was bound to happen. Its been a long time since I have been sick. Ethan gets sick quite often. David catches the cold bug at least once a year, if not a couple times. But I have stayed relatively healthy and not caught whatever illnesses ailed them. I think my luck has run out. Ethan missed a week of school last week. David actually missed a day of work, which is totally unheard of. He doesn’t miss work for anything. But. He felt that bad. Misery loves company. I have a scratchy throat. Chest hurt. Pressure behind my eyes. I am hoping I can just cruise through what needs to be done at work, and come back home. We didn’t do Ethan’s birthday supper Wednesday because David was feeling so lousy. I have to stay in the game and not whimp out by staying home. We need to go do this supper. Its already after the fact, and he doesn’t have to work tonight, so we are going. No matter how bad I feel. I just have to get through a day of work first.

Running Out Of Time

Ethan has his choice of colleges narrowed down to 3 — Coffeyville, Allen County, and ESU. He’s also thought about Manhattan Christian College, which would be awesome if he went there. Our church supports that college, and several of our youth have attended. If he did attend MCC, I know several people he could contact to help him with his search for employment. Manhattan jobs, from what I hear, are there, you just have to get out there and put your applications in early, with it being a college town and all. I have an aunt and uncle that live there as well, so it wouldn’t be like he would be totally on his own while he attended college there. He’s running out of time though. He needs to decide where he is going and what he wants to do.

Rolling Down The Road

For the first time in a long time, David didn’t work all weekend. He worked on our carport yesterday, and on his truck today. He did leave around 3:00 this afternoon and did some trucking company stuff — but a normal weekend, he goes out and pays the drivers Saturday morning (which he did this weekend as well), and then works on trucks the rest of the morning, afternoon, and evening. And then does it all over again Sunday afternoon. And it was starting to get to him, and he was getting frustrated (read: mad) about it. I told him he just needs to take a step back and just say “guys — I’m not working this weekend”. His boss doesn’t make him workends, but its one of those deals where David is the dispatcher, plus he does some mechanic work on them. When the trucks are only home on the weekends, he didn’t see any other choice but to work the weekends.

But, he found that he could NOT work and the world didn’t get to an end. And as far as I know, all his drivers will be driving tomorrow. I know we were at the point where extended stay hotels might have been an option to get him away for awhile. He truly was at exploding point. I really hope this weekend made a difference, and that he learned that he can take some time for him, and he company continues to roll.

Checking Our Policy

As David and I move into our 50’s, and Ethan turns 18, we need to check into term life insurance rates online and see where we stand with life insurance. We took out a life insurancy policy whe Ethan was just a baby. And it basically would give David, or myself, depending on which one of us dies, a decent amount of money that show tide us over our remaining years. We also left a small sum (I’m thinking $10,000) to each of the kids, except for Ethan. The amount he would receive was substantially more, to go into a trust fund, and go to the person would raise him, if both of us died at the same time. But, that was based on when he was a young child. He’ll be 18 next week. So, we really need to look at the policy and make the necessary changes that puts him at the same level the rest of his siblings are at. I know that sounds cold and callous, but now that he is (or will be) legally an adult, he is no longer the “baby” of the family, and in this instance, he will be treated just like his brothers and sisters.

Finding A Comfortable Writing Pen

I think I have David talked into ordering more promotional pens for the trucking company. We ordered some last year, and have gone through most of them. We also ordered some at the church, only they were bigger, and I really like those alot better. I’m having problems with my thumb these days, and holding a thinner pen and writing with it is almost painful. The bigger pens are much better. I need to check the prices and see how they compare just ordering cold. I know what all the literature says when we get the samples and the special offer. If we need to wait until we get a sample, we might have to do that, but I’m going to look anyway, and get my facts before approaching David with the idea again. When I asked him last week, he gave me the go ahead, but at the sample price, which I understand. We might check out a few other companies as see what their prices are as well. But one way or the other, I’m ordering new pens!