Kim's Thoughts
Just a few thoughts I feel worthy of jotting down!
Paris For President!!!
Unfortunately, the HTML didn’t work, so you’ll have to click on this link — but it is worth the effort – I promise!!!
They really are well behaved!!!
That’s my girls — they sit pretty for treats, they come when they are called (with some occasional exceptions), they lay down and be quiet when I ask them to, and on and on……but only when it is just “us”!!!! When there is any other human or animal within their depth of view, all bets are off!!! They just don’t listen – until they are done getting all the attention and things settle down!!!
Case in point — last night, the little girls from next door came with their school fundraiser brochures. I like to reward kids who actually get out there and beat the pavement in the safety of their neighborhoods to sell their stuff – rather than those who just give the brochures to Mom and Dad to sell for them at their work. Anyway, when I opened the door, the girls (my girls, not the neighbor girls – although there was some ooing and ahing from their side of the door, too) were so excited to see them and wanted so bad to play with them, I could barely keep them from rushing out the door! They never try to get out the front door when I open it to go out and no one is on the other side!!! So, I excused myself to put them out in the back yard. But — they can see in the back door straight through the living room to the front door, so they just kept jumping and barking at the back door trying to get our attention and let them play with the neighbor girls!!! We conducted our business and they went on to the next house, but I’m sure they left thinking that Katie, Megan, and Amy are uncontrollable little monsters and, well, they are correct – sometimes!!!! Ha-ha-ha-ha
Reflecting on the Weekend Activities
I went to the Arden sale on Saturday! Every time they advertise a sale, I plan to go and then forget to go – they only hold these overstock sales a couple times a year!!! I was going to go on Friday afternoon and forgot!!! Then, I almost forgot on Saturday, too!!! I was thinking about all the things I wanted to do on Saturday and suddenly realized I wasn’t working the Arden sale into the plans!!! So, I dropped the thought about going to see “Swing Vote” (moved it to the plans for Sunday) and put the Arden sale on the top of the list as my first priority. You see, I really needed to go!!! The girls have eaten all but a couple mis-matched cushions from all of my patio furniture!!! They shredded and strewed foam all over the back yard several times last season!!! Also at the end of last season – the table umbrella I have had for several seasons broke – it wouldn’t crank to open up anymore – it just served as a nice visual effect to tease me into thinking I might be able to create some shade!!! So, I needed cushions and an umbrella — but, I was not about to pay a fortune for them and have a heart attack if the girls take advantage of any time I may forget and leave them out when they are playing outside by themselves……….. I managed to get SEVEN sets of cushions and a 9′ umbrella and a pack of 15 great bar mop towels – all for only $77.00!!!! The umbrella was only $25.00 and the cushion sets were only $7.00 each and the pack of towels were only $3.00……..I was VERY happy!!!!! Here’s some pictures of what I got:
For dinner, I met some friends at the new Down Home Buffet place. I wasn’t very hungry, so I didn’t eat much, but it was very good and nice to sit and chat with my friends!
As for today — I had planned to go to see “Swing Vote”, but never got there! In fact, I didn’t do a darn thing all day long!!! I wasn’t feeling too good (probably cause I spent 3 hours in the hot sun with no protection — duh — what an idiot I can be sometimes!!!!), so I pretty much laid around and played with the girls.
I did fill their pool for them, though — I haven’t filled it in a while cause it’s been so hot, they don’t like to stay out too long and lose interest in the pool when the water gets warm so fast! So, I tend to keep it fresh and full in the early and late summer months, but not so much in the peak months – they just don’t usually get as much enjoyment out of it when it is too hot to stay out and run around as much. But, today I decided to fill it for them!!!! And they went NUTS!!! They ran around and leaped in and splashed all over the place and then ran around some more and rolled in the dirt to dry off and then leaped into the pool again!!! They had that water filthy in no time at all, but loved it just the same!!!! They all love the water and love to dunk their heads underwater and bite at the bugs or whatever is on the bottom of the pool!!!! I wish they made them bigger so they can all have more room to play in it together, but I have the biggest one I could find!!! Here they are having a blast all in there at the same time pushing each other around and playing away:
Amy likes to get in there and lay right down so that only her head is sticking up out of the water — then, she scooches all around on the bottom of the pool on her belly and it looks like she’s actually swimming — it is hysterical to watch — I laughed and laughed – here she is doing her thing:
So – that was my weekend!!!
Don’t forget to go Stuff The Bus!
Imagine how happy your kids will be to get that nice new back pack, pack of pencils, and box of crayons!!! Then, imagine all the kids who’s parents can’t afford to buy them the supplies they need to start the school year. Imagine their embarrassment and lack of feeling like they “belong”. YOU CAN HELP!!! And it won’t cost you much at all —- while you are out picking up school supplies for your own kids (or for yourself), pick up a couple extra items to donate to the School Stuff Campaign.
As sponsor, Office Max will have a Lee County school bus parked in the parking lot for generous shoppers to “STUFF” with school supplies! Local Girl Scouts will be there to help you stuff that bus! We will also have donation barrels and volunteers at WalMart and KMart – look for the Communities In Schools signs and barrels! OR – wherever you buy your schools supplies from – bring a few extra by any of the three locations and drop them off!!!
All donations are sorted out and given to counselors at all the Lee County Schools to be made available for Lee County children who need supplies! All donations stay in Lee County!!!
The campaign is:
Old Home Night at Myra’s Kitchen
I went to Myra’s a little later than I usually do so that I could just take my time and try to talk to her when things started to settle down for the night. I wanted to talk to her about participating in Communities In Schools’ upcoming Gala (more on that later)! I sat just inside the entrance door and “people watched”. Some ladies I know from when I used to be a BPW member were already there. Then, after a while, Amy Burns and her family came in (note to fellow Sanford bloggers — she was celebrating her BIRTHDAY – it was Tuesday!!!!)! Then I was surprised to see a friend from work and his wife, who I have not seen in AGES, and their 8 year old daughter, who was a BABY the last time I saw her!!!!
Aside from the friendly “hellos” when they arrived, I sat there and ate my dinner and let them all eat theirs (the meatloaf tonight was to die for!!!)! I spoke with Myra about the Gala and she gave me a verbal “YES, count us in”!!! YIPPEE!!!! I’m so glad she’s going to be part of our “Taste of Lee County” this year!!!
Then, I paid my bill and made my rounds to say goodbye to everyone! Each table I stopped at I ended up having a very nice conversation! I really enjoyed talking to Amy — I don’t typically see her outside dealings with her as “Amy’s Confection Company”, but hope to rectify that!!! She’s such a great person and so much fun!!! Next table stop was the ladies from BPW — I haven’t seen them since I decided to resign from BPW and miss seeing them a LOT!!!! Then, I actually sat down with the friend from work and his family so that I could catch up with the wife — she also used to work with us, but took another job in Raleigh quite some time ago. So, we had a LOT to talk about and catch up on! Their daughter is a precious 8 year old – going on 30 year old!!! She’s a HOOT!!!
So — I had the BEST time tonight and got a new restaurant to add to our “Taste of Lee County” feature at the Gala in October!!! WOO HOO!!!!
Live At 9, CIS Stuff The Bus, and More….
Speaking of the School Stuff Campaign……This weekend is the Tax Free Weekend and Communities In Schools will hold our annual School Stuff Campaign. What is this? Glad you asked……Office Max is working with CIS as the sponsor of this event. This weekend, Office Max is putting all their school supplies on sale – BIG sale – and they have brought in additional stock from a Raleigh store so that parents can buy their kid’s back to school supplies at great prices with NO tax added!!!! Imagine how happy your kids will be to get that nice new back pack, pack of pencils, and box of crayons!!! Then, imagine all the kids who’s parents can’t afford to buy them the supplies they need to start the school year. Imagine their embarrassment and lack of feeling like they “belong”. YOU CAN HELP!!! And it won’t cost you much at all —- while you are out picking up school supplies for your own kids (or for yourself), pick up a couple extra items to donate to the School Stuff Campaign. As sponsor, Office Max will have a Lee County school bus parked in the parking lot for generous shoppers to “STUFF” with school supplies! Local Girl Scouts will be there to help you stuff that bus! We will also have donation barrels and volunteers at WalMart and KMart – look for the Communities In Schools signs and barrels! OR – wherever you buy your schools supplies from – bring a few extra by any of the three locations and drop them off!!! All donations are sorted out and given to counselors at all the Lee County Schools to be made available for Lee County children who need supplies! All donations stay in Lee County!!! The campaign is from 9:00-6:00 on Saturday and from 1:00-5:00 on Sunday and, again, the locations are Office Max, WalMart, and KMart! Come out and support this great event!!! Also – this is the second year in a row that Office Max sponsored this event — their support by paying for the advertising, promoting the event at their store, and allowing us to park the bus at their store is greatly appreciated!!!
SPREAD THE WORD — we really want that bus stuffed to the rafters this weekend!!!
Other CIS news:
Our Executive Director, Alison Poole, had her baby this past Friday morning!!! Baby Aiden Poole arrived about 8:00 am and weighed in at a little over 8 pounds! Alison will be leaving CIS in the fall when she takes an exciting job at Lee County High School……we wish Alison the best of luck with her new baby and new job!
We are actively interviewing for two positions at CIS – Executive Director and Program Coordinator.
We are also busy working on plans for our 3rd Annual Gala Benefiting Children to be held on October 10th at the beautiful home of Mark and Ruth Stewart. Pentair Water Pool and Spa is our major sponsor for the second year in a row! Live entertainment will be provided by Jackie Gore Entertainment Group (formerly of The Embers). On of the most popular features of the gala each year is our “Taste of Lee County” with samples of signature dishes from many of our wonderful local chefs — so far, we have confirmed Amy’s Confection Company, Bella Bistro, Cafe 121, Chef Paul, El Rancho, Fresh Choice Cafe, and Smith’s Mountain Bottled Water. We also have a FABULOUS silent auction – the local businesses out-do themselves with great items for our guests to bid on! The income from the gala represents 50% of our annual operating budget, so it is an important fund raiser for us each year! Tickets are $100 each. Sponsorships range from $250 – $5000. Of course, any size donation is always welcome! If you are a Lee County restaurant and want to participate, if you want to reserve a ticket, or if you want to be a sponsor, please call the office at 919-718-5426 or you can leave a comment here with info on how I can reach you!
We are always looking for volunteers, too — you can volunteer to help in a wide variety of ways! Mentor or tutor a child, participate in our Careers At Lunch programs where you can speak to students in the high schools about your career during their lunch period, help out in the Teacher Resource Room, help out in the office, help us with our web site, proctor a test, assist a teacher in their classroom, or provide a variety of services that the schools may need.
Speaking of the Teacher Resource Room — this is a great program! Communities In Schools has a trailer located at Lee County High School that is FULL of great stuff that teachers can get free of charge to help them in their classrooms. Local businesses, industry, and individuals donate slightly used items that can be used to help teachers avoid paying for some of the things they need out of their own pockets. Things like slightly used file folders, binders, office furniture or equipment, scrap items that can be used for projects (carpet scraps, empty paper towel rolls, cloth, yarn, wall paper, etc – you name it, they can use it), little trinkets the teachers can give to students for incentives (stickers are extremely popular). You wouldn’t believe how creative and resourceful teachers can be with things that someone else might have thrown out, but are still usable!!! If you’re cleaning out that attic or switching out your files and want to donate to the Teacher Resource Room, call the office at 919-718-5426.
OK – I’ve plugged CIS enough for now —- but, you’ll hear a lot more about this as we get closer to the Gala!!!
Don’t forget this weekend’s School Stuff Campaign at Office Max, WalMart, or KMart!!!
Get Rid of the Pig!!!
I’m talking about that total eye sore humongous pink pig on Horner Blvd!!! I was happy to see they made them move it from where it was first located cause it violated a code for the way it was positioned. But, they just put it on a trailer and moved it to one of the busiest sections of Horner Blvd – now, apparently it meets code because it is on wheels and movable!
My issues with it are this:
-
It is an ugly, in your face, eye sore in an area that already needs some serious beautification efforts – this adds to the problem!
-
After the first few days, it lost its novelty factor and is now just something that is trashing the scenery along Horner Blvd.
-
You can’t read their message, anyway, unless you take your eyes off the road for much longer than you should on a busy street! I have no idea what the pig says cause a quick glance wasn’t enough time to read it and I won’t sacrifice safety to get their message!
-
Which brings me to my concern with safety – I witnessed a near accident at least twice since its been there where someone was gawking at the pig and almost rear ended the car in front of them!!! In one case, I believe if I hadn’t tooted at them, they might have plowed right into the back of the poor guy in front of them! Will it take an actual accident to get them to realize they aren’t creating a positive marketing opportunity? Or don’t they care about the safety of their fellow man? Maybe all they care about is the novelty of finding a freaky way to advertise!!!
I have no issue with their right to make a point – whatever that may be!
MY point is — its ugly, it doesn’t paint a pleasant picture of the people responsible, and it should be replaced with a more appropriate sign to get their message across — it might even be more effective advertising!!! And, don’t think “gee, must be working cause we have people talking about it” — its not a good reflection of what they want to accomplish! I think it is a ridiculous display of “we don’t care about making your city better, we only care about our message regardless of the consequences to public safety and city beautification efforts”!!!
Get rid of it!!!!
OK – I put my soap box back in the closet for now!
French Toast and more stuff to talk about….
I’m so excited this morning — I see in the Herald that the Yankees beat the Red Sox and the win put them just 2 games away from taking over the second place spot!!! I am disappointed that I missed seeing the game!!! I take pride in saying “I told you so” and “you heard it here first” — like I said in a post when they were struggling at the beginning of the season, they are truly the come back kings!!!!
If you haven’t read Billy Liggett’s editorial on page A6 of today’s Herald, go read it!!! But, have a box or two of tissues available – you’ll need them!!! His topic today was a wonderful letter from a man named Brad Miller who was on the scene of the accident that killed Barry Butzer. I won’t go into any details here so that I don’t ruin the experience of reading it for yourself! Suffice it to say that it is touching and should touch everyone deeply — it sure did me!!!!
Sunday Morning Thoughts – Bagels and More….
Here’s what is on my mind this morning:
-
Bagels ‘N Stuff — I did a post back in June about the new bagel shop in Sanford called Bagels ‘N Stuff located next to Cafe Vesuvio (click here to read the post and comments). At the time I hadn’t been able to get in to give it a try, but was excited about going!! I realized this morning that I never followed up on that post to talk about my experience! What made me realize it this morning? Well, I got a comment on that post from the owner – Lenny – saying that he found my blog and wondered how I liked his bagels! How cool was that? I decided I needed to fix my oversight right away!!! I have only been for lunch (so far), but the times I have popped in for lunch were VERY enjoyable!!! I was able to get my old standby – warm corned beef on an onion bagel with onions and mayo. They didn’t have horseradish the first time I went and I have forgotten to ask for it on subsequent visits. The macaroni salad and pickles are very good, too! They have a wide variety of NY Deli favorites – lots of flavored cream cheeses and lox for bagels, deli meats, rolls, salads, knish, pastries, and, of course, bagels – just about any kind of bagel you can imagine! It is a very friendly little shop – everyone is so nice and welcoming – and it is very bright and cheery – great service – and a very nice owner who obviously cares what his customers think (as evident not only from seeing him talk to his customers, but also from his comment on my post)!!! I had a couple other very positive comments on the post and have heard folks talking about their food! Check it out — you won’t be sorry — then, spread the word!!!
-
TJ Maxx – Believe it or not, I have never been to TJ Maxx before! I understand that might be bordering on shoppers blasphemy, but I just never went!! Until yesterday! I met some friends for breakfast at the Dairy Bar. Afterwards, Lisa wanted to go in to TJ Maxx to find a new purse for the fall/winter season – she said they have designer bags at discount prices! So, I decided to go with her to check it out! We spent quite some time there looking at purses – Lisa picked out 3 or 4 that caught her eye, but didn’t settle on any of them and ended up leaving without buying anything. I, on the other hand, did buy a new purse! I figured I would need one for while my very expensive Guess bag with the broken zipper is in getting fixed (when I find a place to fix it) and having an alternate is nice, too. So — the one who isn’t that interested in purses found a good buy, but the one who is actually quite the purse hound didn’t find anything she liked!!! Go figure! BUT — the one I got is really cool — it is a Linea Rosetti — red corduroy type cloth with alligator look vinyl accents — lots of good pouches outside and in — hobo style — and only $24.99!!! I thought I remembered it was less than that, but I looked at a couple and this one was $24.99! Can’t beat that with a stick!!! OMG – am I turning into a purse freak????? Here’s a shot of it:
-
We also went to Pet Smart while we were in Cary — I got some food, treats, and new toys for the girls! They were really happy when I got home! Lisa got a bunch of stuff for her crew there, too.
-
I rarely go in to Cary – I don’t like the traffic and crowds, but I have been to Cary THREE times just this week!!!! I went Weds evening for a dinner with a large group – we went to Mythos, a Greek restaurant on the corner of Cary Parkway and Trion Road. I had an amazing pork chop dinner and an incredible traditional Greek dessert that was like a lemon pie with roasted pie nuts on top! All the other meals looked scrumptious, too!!! It is a little pricey, but if you are looking for a really nice, yet different, dining experience for a special occasion, I recommend Mythos!
-
Yesterday was an incredible experience for me — not just cause I made my first visit to TJ Maxx and got a nice purse, but also because I was acutely aware of the significant progress I am making with my health issues!!!! I think that Peggy at the Family Doc has finally figured out what has been wrong with me! I say “finally”, only because I have been dealing with this problem since before Christmas – but not because Peggy has been trying to figure it out for a long time — she actually has only been working through tests and exams for about a month (I switched to the Family Doc in June because I felt I may be in need of someone who specializes in some of the problems I have been having and because they are located close to my home and work). In general, I have been experiencing severe joint pain. It started rather suddenly between Thanksgiving and Christmas and has progressively gotten worse ever since. If I stand or walk more than a few minutes without being able to sit down, all my joints – ALL my joints, start to ache and my back goes into cramping and spasms – sometimes just to the point of being extremely uncomfortable and sometimes to the point of excruciating, can’t breathe, can’t straighten up, can barely force myself to a place to sit, bring me to tears, pain!!!! And everywhere in between. I have good and bad days, so some days I can do more than others. But, I have gotten so that I don’t trust it and don’t know when a good day will turn into a bad day with no notice! So, I don’t stay very long anywhere that I may not be able to sit (hence the reason I didn’t stay at the Fourth of July and Children’s Carnival events very long) and I don’t go to the store unless I know exactly what I want and where it is so that I can get in and out quickly and ALWAYS push a cart to lean on even if I’m only getting one or two little things (a cart has saved me many a time when the check out line is long and slow)! Then, fighting the pain ends up being so exhausting that when I finally get home, I can barely get up the steps to get in the house and I collapse on the couch and fall asleep!!! Anyway — yesterday I went shopping with my friend Lisa and was beginning to get nervous when I realized she was going to look at every single purse at least once and some more than once and there were several racks of many, many purses!!!! But, we were there for quite some time – maybe close to an hour – and NO pain!!!! We went from there to Pet Smart and stood to watch the dogs playing in the day care area for a long time and then wandered all over the store – still NO pain!!! I took Lisa home and went to WalGreens and made a few more stops! When I got home, I carried all my bags into the house and put everything away, took care of the girls, and stood out on the back deck watching them play for 15-20 minutes or so!!!! STILL NO PAIN!!!! I have not had any one day since before Christmas that I didn’t have some level of pain and exhaustion and here I was with a VERY full and active day with NO pain at all!!!! Peggy has checked me for just about everything that can be checked for — rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus, heart problems, bone scans, etc………….she found some normal things that need some attention (I’m just getting old…), but finally found the one thing that “could” explain the pain problems — my uric acid level is very high — I found after doing some research that, among other things, this can be caused by taking low dose aspirin, diuretics, and some blood pressure meds!!! Since a point between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have been taking a low does aspirin every morning and have been on a blood pressure medicine that contains a diuretic – it looked to me like I was begging for trouble!!! About a week ago, I stopped taking the low dose aspirin and Peggy changed my blood pressure medicine. I started noticing little differences about 1/2 way through the week — and then there was yesterday!!!! I am not naive enough to think it is all over – I realize it may take a while to get my system back to normal, but I was so thrilled about yesterday that I felt like dancing in the streets — and I believe actually COULD have danced in the streets!!!! And I never got all tired out and in desprite need of a nap, either!!! WOO HOO!!!! I used to have so much energy and it has been very frustrating to have NO energy and to be in so much pain and tired all the time!!! I am really hopeful that this is the answer and that I will soon be able to do so much more!!! I’m relieved!!!! And I owe it all to Peggy – after I tearfully asked her “if all my test results are coming back so good, why do I still feel like this” and explained in more detail what has been going on, she did a full rheumatoid and autoimmune work up and found the uric acid level out of whack!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I know it is just one extremely good day, but I am convinced that it is the first of many extremely good days!!!!
-
Megan is a big fan of “Greatest American Dog” – the new reality show on CBS about dogs! I haven’t watched it – I know, you would think it would be my favorite show as much as I love dogs!!! But, I just haven’t remembered to check it out and haven’t gotten hooked on it. But, this past week, I was flipping around and caught part of it! The squeaking toys and dog sounds caught Megan’s ear and she sat up on the hassock and watched the TV with intense interest!!!! She sat there and stared at it and was mesmerized!!! When a commercial came on, she laid down and lost interest, but as soon as the show came back on, she sat up and watched and watched!!!! It was so funny — it really held her interest and attention like no other show I’ve ever seen her watch! They all like Animal Planet and watch some of the shows that catch their attention, but they don’t usually hold their attention long —- this one sure did!!!! Katie and Amy – not so much – they just slept through it all and didn’t pay it any mind at all……..
Well – guess that’s it for now — gonna go read the Sanford Herald and watch Sunday Morning on CBS! Happy Sunday!!!
Arms
I have a rough time, sometimes, when I am trying to get comfortable and fall asleep – it seems like everywhere I try to position my arms, they are “in the way” or get in a position that cuts off the circulation, causing discomfort and sometimes makes them “fall asleep” and go numb!!! It would be so nice if I could just remove the one that is causing the problems, lay it on the nightstand, get a comfortable night’s sleep, and put it back on in the morning when I wake all refreshed and ready to go!!!
Another time the thought crossed my mind was when I was a teenager, just starting to learn about the wonders of “necking”! OK, so here I was with all these thoughts running through my head — is my breath fresh?; eeww, I wish I had some gum to give him!; what if he tries to use his tongue?; where are his hands and what do I do if he tries to put them where they don’t belong?; does he think I’m a good kisser?; is this what all the fuss is about?; and – darn, my arm is falling asleep, how do I move it to be more comfortable without spoiling the moment?
As you can see, I’ve always had a problem with having a lot of useless info on my mind!!!!
Kim's Thoughts 
Recent Comments