HELP PLEASE

Hi!

I hope someone can help me with this. I know I saw something last week and I may have pressed the wrong button. 

None of my comments went to my email. They are on the page of the post but I didn't received any, like I said, to my email. 

If you know what I have to do to fix this please email me at:

dpucci9972@gmail.com

Thank you,

Debby

I NEED HELP WITH SOMETHING

It may not be possible for anyone to help me with this issue that I recently starting having a few weeks ago with my emails. This is Gmail I am talking about. 

Normally when I would email with someone, the back and forth replies stay on the same page. Now for some reason my reply gets sent separately. So technically you can't really have a conversation when my response is over in sent and not on the same page. 

I have been trying everything in the Gmail settings. I have compared mine with Mark's a few times now. The only difference we see is that he has his conversation view checked. So I checked that and we emailed back and forth and it was fine. 

However, with that setting, every single comment from Wednesday Hodgepodge were all grouped together. It was pretty hard to reply and I didn't like it at all. It was extremely annoying. 

I had also heard from one blogger who said she got my response but it was in a different folder. So that can't work. So I have since turned it off but now my conversations went back to not being on the same email. 

Any suggestions that you may have would be greatly appreciated. I'm really bummed about this. The only other thing I could do is have it on and then turn it off on Wednesday's but that's not going to happen.

Thank you,

Debby

EXCUSE ME WHILE I POUT....

....and I try to put on my big girl panties.

I was spoiled as a child. I pretty much got what I wanted within reason. I didn't have to clean house or do the dishes. I barely kept my room clean. My mom was an awesome housekeeper and after I married I also kept an immaculate house. It's in our blood, the blood that flows with OCD. Then about 17 years ago I had gotten ill. With some stressful times I had a full blown asthma attack. Spent 8 days in the hospital while they were trying to get my lungs to function properly.

After coming home I wasn't able to do many things around the house. My husband did a lot to help out. Eventually little by little I got my strength back but I have never been the same. In some ways it was a good thing to let go of the obsession of cleaning. I use to be the type of person who moved the washing machine, dryer and furniture all the time to clean behind them. From the time the kids left for school until they came home I cleaned house!

So fast forward to today.  You have heard me say I want to be a Queen but I didn't realize that I was actually pretty fortunate the last few years. Isn't that something like "You can't see the forest through the trees." So we moved into our new home 5 1/2 years ago and it's almost twice the size of our last home. I was struggling to keep it clean. About three years ago Amber started coming out once a week and was helping to clean our home. She welcomed the extra money. Well when they moved in two years ago it became her job since they were given a very nice gift of living here with us.

Well as you know Amber has gotten her full time job at Hallmark which of course involves a 40 hour week. She was working about 20-25 hrs. before.  She truly does not have time to clean our home anymore. I get that, however I do not want to do it. I loathed it!  Since I do not want a stranger in my home I am not in the market for a housekeeper although maybe my mind will be changed quickly with time. Did you ever spend time talking yourself into something you didn't want to do? Yep, that's where I'm at while the house falls to the wayside.

Well I've had to bite the bullet and get my butt in gear.  I'm not liking it but I'm doing it. My plan is to do a room each day so it doesn't overwhelm me. Also with my COPD I can't manage to do a lot more than that. Well I have done a great job of putting those daily chores off. So a few weeks ago I spent a Saturday dusting and vacuuming 4 rooms. I DID IT! Not convinced that I like it but maybe with time the pride that I use to have in my home will come back. It's amazing how lazy we can become and how lazy breeds lazy. It takes strength to face our challenges. I know what your thinking, heck we all do this everyday what's the big deal......well it's a big deal to me!  

I still dream of being a Queen!

UPDATE: I cleaned house all day yesterday and did laundry. Absolutely no issues with my lungs. Still not using Primatene Mist which I couldn't live without before. I am also off of all steroids for about a month now. I don't know this woman! I actually think I might be able to do some hiking in Mammoth Lakes this year. So I thought I would show you my husbands office since I spent quite a bit of time dusting it yesterday. (I guess the house cleaning is a good workout for me too!)

I have my own office too which is bigger than his but certainly not as neat/clean. (I dusted that last weekend) I actually spend my entire day in my office. He has our older love seat in his office and I have the couch in mine, the chair and ottoman are in our bedroom. What I don't have is a really nice chair like he has! My office is where I do all of my blogging and TV watching too since Mark watches his shows in the family room. We each have our own DVR! (actually that is pretty sad because we don't spend our evenings together except on the weekends when we watch Netflix movies)

Have a nice weekend. We are celebrating Father's Day tomorrow since Mark has been out of town since last Sunday so I am looking forward to a nice meal out!  Sorry this came out so long :(

 

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY......

I have recently discovered that I cannot handle stress very well as I get older but I know that I have so much to be thankful for. I have had pain in my life but nothing compared to others pain. I know this yet it was my pain and it hurt. I have had experience in my life that drained me emotionally and I don't seem to have the patience to be strong.


This post isn't about pain but how I handle stress now. The littlest things get me overwhelmed and then I feel foolish for acting the way I did. I mentioned that I have felt tested lately. Life is always about tests I just don't like having them anymore. I do know that many of you would like to be in my shoes because you are drowning inside. ((HUGS))

Skye was having some issues with throwing up the last two weeks. Making this short we think we have figured it out. Either we did or what she had has passed. It really had me worried. She is never sick. She had an appointment for her shots and checked out wonderfully. (They said she has beautiful teeth and said she is a very pretty Cairn Terrier) Yes I am a proud mama. Did not show any signs of illness other then throwing up stomach acid. She played, ate, drank, peed and pooped like normal. She would vomit, collapse and then be herself for several days. She has been good for over a week now and it appears that if I put her in her kennel she is working herself into a stomach ache. So we are going to start leaving her loose or in the laundry room. She had me very worried. ~sigh~

Then we had the fires which really didn't scare me to much but it made me think how quickly you can lose everything you have. Then last Saturday afternoon my daughter and I took the dogs out. All of I sudden I saw a large swarm of bees. We grabbed the dogs and ran in the house. They flew around for about 20 minutes and then they landed on a very tiny palm tree. I didn't handle this well at all. Yelling at my husband to get rid of them, put the hose on them, call somebody to fix it, do something!!! (I apologize honey)

Click to enlarge the photo

For me it was all about Skye because that is here favorite corner of the yard. You let her out and that is where she runs to find the birds, lizards, etc. NOT BEES! So we knew at that point that Skye would have to be leashed. So we did a little research and found out that it is what they call a swarm. At Wikipedia we read "Swarm clusters, hanging off of a tree branch, will move on and find a suitable nesting location in a day or two." So I calmed down a little bit and within two days almost to the hour they were gone! My daughter forgot about the leash thing and Skye actually went up to them and barked. Two hours later they were gone, do you think she scared them away? ~sigh~

So my DH went in for a regular routine physical. All went well until they called him in to talk about his blood work results. See we have been seeing this doctor forever and he never calls you in. If your cholesterol is high they tell you over the phone, blood sugar high they tell you over the phone, hormones off balance he tells you over the phone, etc. So wanting him to come in had me very worried. So six days later we found out that his thyroid numbers are high. Like off the charts high. Nothing of real concern right now, running another test and most likely some pills to regulate it. ~sigh~

Then I banged my toe really bad and I am hurting. It has turned purple and I hope that it will feel better before I bowl in Vegas on the 5th! Actually saw the doctor, all is well just a very bad sprain. Speaking of that the day I leave they are turning our power off from 9am until 3pm so I have to get ready extra early that day. ~bummer~

I guess typing it out makes me sound kind of wimpy doesn't it! I was thinking I was living in my own little version of Revelations! (we even had a weird rain storm on Sunday) See I told you I can't handle the stress anymore and this a perfect example of "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff." But when it was happening it didn't feel small to me. I have to say thank you to God for always being there for me. I am thankful for all.

I am always thankful for all but here is something that has me pretty darn mad!!! After bowling on this league for something like 18 years, finally getting into first place and this year they are not giving out trophies :( (This is not going off without some letters from me to Bruns*ick!)

......COME BACK ANOTHER DAY!

I VALUE YOUR OPINION

I need your help. I adore blogging. It brings me great pleasure but it consumes my day. I should be cleaning the house. I should be reading a good book. I should be out shopping. I should be sitting at a machine at the casino. I should be outside playing with Skye or taking her for a walk. Yes I should be exercising too! I think about these things all the time but here I sit.

When we were in our twenties we played a game called Aggravation with our dear couple friends. It is a game where you have four marbles that must go around the board from your start position to home. We use to joke about overextending yourself. That would be putting all four of our marble out on the board at the same time. More chances of someone landing on your marble and sending back to start. I am feeling overextended with my blogging.

My finger is always ready to push that follow button. Obviously I can't follow everyone but God knows I am trying. Eventually I had issues with following in Google Friend Connect. My dear friend Headless Mom taught me how to use reader. Haven't had any restrictions in reader. So I don't actually push the button all the time but I do follow lots of people in reader. (like close to 600) So I can't read everyone, that would be impossible.

I started out by following everyone who follows me. I thought that was the kindest of gestures. I still believe in that plan. Now if those were the only people I followed I wouldn't be in the mess I am in. I have to say that I have allot of people I really enjoy reading. I comment wherever I go. I know some of the people I read have so many followers that there is no way they could read each of them. Heck they get so many comments each day that I don't even know how they handle that.

Do you? That is what I need to know. How do these people handle it? I have heard that some people only go over to visit the people who comment on their blog. I get that, I really do but I don't want to visit someone just because they left me a comment. So I only read them if they comment on my blog, that just doesn't seem right. It's like I'll scrub your back if you scrub mine. Now if that is common practice and how most people handle their blogs I want to know that from you. I would appreciate your input.

My regular commenter's are not the issue. I know who they are, we are now friends and I love reading them too. I visit them regularly even if they didn't comment on a particular day. What do you do when you enjoy reading other blogs but they never visit you, do you keep reading them or fly away?

I do not go over to meet new people because I want them to come over and follow me. That is not how I roll. I usually go over because someone mentions them in their post so I go and check them out. Don't we all do that? So how do I change my reading of blogs? I will often start reading blogs at 7am and I would be sitting here to 1pm. It isn't like that anymore, I can be here ALL DAY LONG. I will break and take a shower but it consumes my day.

How do you pick and choose? I don't want to hurt anyone along the way. As I go forward I am finding more friends. My regulars will always be my regulars so don't stop over and say "you don't have to read me", this isn't about you. Do I stop going to new blogs when I see them or someone recommends them?

I would appreciate you sharing your blog reading with me. How do you decide who to read, who to follow and who to let go of. I really need to get a handle on this so blogging doesn't get me down. I can't just turn it off after two hours, that doesn't work for me. I really need to limit my reading list. My blog roll use to consist of my followers. I had to stop doing that because listing 100 and something people on your page is hard. Actually I need to change mine. How do you decide who to list?

I see how the percentage seems to pan out. Not every follower is going to comment everyday. Some never comment. On a good day I will get about 30 something in comments. I love them, it's so much fun. Those women who have thousands of followers will get several hundred comments. How do you feel when you make a comment to someone and you know the only reason they came over is because you commented on their blog? Like I said earlier if this is how it works for most people then I will join in on that.

Okay I know this is too many questions. I'm just interested in hearing how you read blogs. Any advice you can give me would really be appreciated. I also want to know if you answer each comment. I do, I think it's the best part. For those of you who are NO-REPLY I wish you would change it. I understand your need for privacy and respect that. Just know that if I could reply to your comment I would each and every time! I don't want you to think that your comment doesn't mean something to me. It does but I just can't reply to it!

Thank you for listening, I appreciate the time you took to read this post. Debby

WOULDA COULDA SHOULDA

Seriously, I am a SAHMWAEN (stay at home mom with an empty nest) so why I can't I get anything done. The day is mine yet with each passing day I look back at yesterday with the woulda coulda shoulda regrets.

I am so in love with reading blogs and commenting that I sit here for hours on end. I am not getting any work done. I still have to pack up my Christmas things and I finally feel well enough to do that. But I'm not doing that! I think about, I finally get my butt up from the computer chair and take a shower so I can begin working on something. Then I am in the shower and these ideas start floating through my head for posts so when I get out I tell myself that I will just sit here for a minute so I don't forget this fabulous idea. Well you know how that goes! I need to find some clip art, I need to check emails and maybe a quick look at my reader..........

I am so afraid of missing some awesome post or being out of the loop that I glue myself here and I then tomorrow morning I will be doing the woulda coulda shoulda dance again. Pour Skye has been begging me to take her outside and I say to her "just let me finish reading this one" and before you know it she is nudging me again because I read the next one, next one and next one. (okay I left for awhile to take Skye outside, bet you didn't even know I was gone) Had some chocolate, thought maybe that would get me moving.

So why am I telling you this? I think I need to take a break for a few days. Usually if I miss just one day my reader will say I have 350 posts to read. Obviously I don't read all of those and that is when I have to stick to my A-List. Of course now I am thinking that I need to make a new folder of Must Read because my A-List is pretty large. I know that some of you won't even know that I am gone. When am I doing this? Excellent question which I don't have an answer for. But let's face it, I MUST GET MY CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS DOWN VERY SOON! I love them with all of my heart but enough is enough! (I might even go to Vegas this week for a day trip!)

I am going to leave you with a picture I just came across (while looking for some pictures of my son to post on his birthday) of a REAL Christmas tree that we had in our family room in Western Springs, IL back in 1981 the year our daughter was born. Those are the ornaments I had collected since we got married in 1972. (It doesn't look well balance, almost messy. What's up with that!)

P.S. So I was typing this on Friday afternoon. I took some pictures today of the things that arrived from my purchase at Tender Heart Treasures, got some gifts/cards ready for a party on Sunday, did a load of towels, showered, blogged, worked on several posts that came to me in the shower of course, read emails, responded/commented and now I look at the clock ~ it's 5:00 ~ when did that happen.

GOTTA GO, IT'S TIME FOR A GLASS OF WINE, MOVIE & PIZZA!

:( I'M TRYING :)

A frown (also known as a scowl) is a facial expression used to indicate displeasure or disapproval.

A smile is a facial expression formed by flexing those muscles most notably near both ends of the mouth.

So yesterday I woke up feeling a little better. I gave Skye her birthday gifts and felt good about the day. (thank you for all the warm wishes) My plan was this, I will do some light vacuuming because of the aftermath of hurricane Skye with her puffy toys. (yes we pick it up but there are still small lints lingering around) The other plan was to do some gathering. Gather: the act of gathering something. That means that I would be taking miscellaneous Christmas decorations and start to "gather" them at the dining room table. I do this every year, it is always the starting point.

So I gathered up all the Christmas throws first and took them to the laundry room to wash before I pack them away. ~INSERT FROWN~ I got so winded that I had to sit down. So how in the heck am I supposed to pack up Christmas 2009? So here is an idea ~INSERT SMILE~ we have 350 days until Christmas, I guess I'll just be ready early! It's not easy for me to turn my frown upside down today but I will give it my best shot. I seem to be playing musical chairs!

So I thought that I would show you what the bed looks like in one of our guest rooms. This is the after Christmas things that I bought. I have to sort through it (hopefully before spring), mark my Christmas list for next year with what I bought for who and then pack it away. I had fun shopping. (the toys are going to be used for charity gifts, why not get them half price now!)

Found these cute little frames at Coldwater Creek for like $5.00 each and these cute tins with Christmas wishes postcards inside for $6.99 at Potterybarn. These were both purchases online and will be gifts for next Christmas.

So I am sitting here at my computer and singing a song in my head from "Bye, Bye, Birdie" that goes:

Gray skies are gonna clear up
Put on a happy face
Wipe of the clouds and cheer up
Put on a happy face

Take off the gloomy mask of tragedy
It's not your style
You'll look so good that you'll be glad
That you decided to smile

Pick out a pleasant outlook
Stick out that nobel chin
Wipe off that full of doubt look
Snap on a happy grin

Spread sunshine all over the place
And just put on a happy
Put on a happy face