Strawberries for Dinner!?

Ok, I just experienced something bizarre in my garden. I was checking out my strawberries and found a ripe one so I thought I would pick it. When I lifted it up, about 50 ants went scurrying out from under it and when I turned it over, the whole underside had been eaten. I realize that slugs like them and so do birds but I have never had a problem with ants eating my strawberries. They are now munching on Terro ant poison. Take that sweet stuff back to the nest and share it why don't ya!!!! Leave my strawberries alone dangit!

A whole year just flew by

I was looking at some of my posts from last year and one of them was from June 29th. It was titled "Aloha on my mind". It is interesting to see where I was then and where I am now. Then I was still reeling from being laid off and a trip to Hawaii was a much needed escape from the stress of trying to wrap my head around not working and the reason for my not working. It sure turned my world upside down. I had been laid off from a company once before back in 1988 but I was hired by another company who came looking for me immediately after. I was working again within a few weeks. That company laid me off about two years later and I was again immediately hired by another company that came looking for me. I had a very short time off between jobs and only collected a few unemployment checks in either case. Both of those layoffs could have spelled huge financial disaster for me had I not gone back to work right away. This last time it was more mentally and emotionally devastating to me than it was financially because I'm in a totally different place in my life. This time with the economy in the tank and the industry that is the only one I've ever really known doing horribly, and the unemployment rate at around 9%, people are not knocking on my door. I'm competing with hundreds of others out there for jobs that frankly I don't even want but have to apply for anyhow. Well, after all of that and having been out of work for more than a year now, it does still affect me somewhat from a mental standpoint but not as much as it did at first. I have found that having all of this free time has allowed me much more opportunity for introspection and self examination. I will elaborate more on my actual findings after I return from Maui. So, here I am almost a year after that post and I again have "Aloha on my mind". And what a thing to have on your mind. Last year the weather at the time was a consistant 85 and this year it seems to be hovering around 87. Oh schucks, I don't know how I'm going to deal with that warm temperature and tropical air after spending the last 5 months entrenched in a rainy, cold, and damp environment. Tough job but someone has to do it.

It's nifty being 50

Well, so far I'm not feeling any older or any different really. Aside from the fact that I think Menopause has finally hit. That is destined to be a "lovely" experience.

I started out my 50th year with a totally awesome birthday party put on by my baby girl and her friend Alena. I had some pretty great friends there and I feel extremely blessed.

Next was a visit to the doctor for a full physical. After being poked and prodded and examined from head to toe, I am so far in pretty good shape. The only exception that the doctor still has to figure out is why I'm not sleeping well at night which is making me very tired during the day. I seem to want to sleep alot. Anyhow, I still have to go through the ever pleasant colonoscopy. I also have to go to the dentist and the eye doctor for my changing eyesight. I'm starting to squint again. I've noticed since my forties and now at 50 that gravity is a force to be reckoned with. As you get older your metabolizm changes and slows down making it that much harder to lose weight. Combine the metabolizm with the gravity shift and soon the whole getting in shape thing becomes a full time job. At least in thought. I'm not going to work out for 12 hours a day to get in shape. I did get a Wii fit plus for my birthday and that has been really fun to use. It takes the "work" out of workout and makes getting in shape fun. I found an excercise that is a great aerobic workout as well as a way to work out any frustrations or whatever else might be bothering you. It's boxing. It totally rocks. I come away from that energized and ready to face the day. I did wear sweats the other day and see a reflection of my butt in the window and decided that was not a pretty sight. So, I will be working harder to scrape some inches off the 50 year old bod.

Still spending a fair amount of time looking for a job but the prospects are pretty slim. Even for ones that I don't want but would apply to anyhow, there just doesn't seem to be many out there that fall into my skill sets. Sure would be nice to find something that I could do from here and not have to leave the house.

Continuing work on the landscape and other projects around the house. There never seems to be an end to the list. It keeps us busy for sure. Trying to find a somewhat dry day to work outside lately has been a huge challenge. I was thinking the other day that we might have to build a boat just to get to town. I know I've lived here for most of my life but sometimes I just get sick of the rain. It's depressing at times.

I'm really looking forward to 87 degree weather for 9 days on our upcoming trip to Maui. It will make a world of difference in my attitude I think.

Off to clean up the kitchen then to bed. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Remember, every day is a gift.