Pic A Day #31 Driving

This was my view all day. I worked a long day finishing up some stores for the end of the month. I drove 250 miles today. Ho hum

Pic A Day #30 Blogging

I don't really have a picture for today - I worked my patootie off all day in Kmart resetting the Maybelline and Loreal makeup sections, but since I was thinking about my blogs today I thought I would just share a couple with you.

I started couponing about 6 yrs ago. I created a blog about couponing and getting lots of stuff for free but due to my work schedule I am unable to keep that one up anymore. If it wasn't for my daughter, who I taught to coupon, then I would never know about the great deals! Now she has started a blog to share her knowledge.  Anyway, if you would like help or more information about couponing, check out our blogs!
Mine is Addicted To Savings and hers is Southwest Georgia Couponing.

Public Toilets

I have a pet peeve with public toilets...want to hear about it? Too bad, you're going to anyway.  Due to my job as a merchandiser I get to see lots of public restrooms. What do you want from me? When ya gotta go, ya gotta go! :-)  Anyway, I would love to know who decides where to place the toilet paper dispenser on the wall in these restrooms.  It either has to be a man or a vertically challenged individual!

In every bathroom I go into with the exception of Publix grocery stores, and convenience stores (since I don't use their bathrooms) the dispenser is placed below waist level, when sitting down.  Okay, so what you say? Well the big deal is that the dispenser is probably 6" to 12" in height so a woman has to reach way down and up under the dispenser to find the toilet paper and then try to pull some off.  Heaven help us if it's a brand new roll thereby not wanting to "roll" and we are then able to only pull off one broken piece at a time.  Oh this really does irritate me!

Kudos to Publix (and whoever designs/places their dispensers) because they are actually placed above a woman's shoulders...while she is sitting of course.  Great job Publix!

Pic A Day #29 Blessings come in many forms

My husband started working as a merchandiser back in July. This was a long-answered prayer. His last job was so stressful and demanding...it was taking a toll on him physically and on us as a family. As soon as he left that job, this next one fell in his lap.  He is a Wrigley's rep with a route of 200 - 250 stores.  We are so thankful for the easy transition from one job to the next. There are so many people unemployed out there and the fact that he didn't skip a beat between jobs is a God-send!

Not only did he get a job so quick but he got THIS job.  He is sent so much candy every month! This picture is our bedroom...this is just the deliveries for the last couple of weeks. We have to rent a storage shed because we have so much candy.  Greg has started swapping out candy for produce at a vegetable stand, deer meat with a local hunter and coffee at his favorite coffee shop.  Good old fashioned trading of products! 

Pic A Day #28 Happy Birthday Kab

This is my goofy younger brother, Kab (his nickname.)  His birthday is today.  Happy birthday dear!

Pic A Day #27 Date Night

I sure am in love with this man...my hun bun! We have a date night tonight and I am so excited...as excited as when we first started dating 17 yrs ago.

Pic A Day #26 Fibromyalgia

I woke up this morning and before my feet hit the floor I could tell what the weather was going to be like for the day. We are under tornado warnings and expecting lots and lots of rain throughout the day. I can tell all of this without turning on the TV.  I can do this because I have fibromyalgia and arthritis in all my joints and when the weather is like this I am in an amazing amount of pain.

I tried working...I drove to my first store and sat in my car for 15 mins trying to summon up the strength to actually get out and walk inside.  My body won - I am now back home in my PJ's laying in the recliner.

Pic A Day #25 My grandbaby

This is my youngest grandson, Brayden...isn't he a cutie!?

Pic A Day #24 Hallmark greeting cards reset

I worked overnight from 9-5 last night in Walmart.  A team of us were putting up new fixtures/cards in the Hallmark section. I LOVE the new displays!  Today I am tired though! A good day to chill out at home.

When you are in Walmart next time, go check out the new displays and think of me! :-)

Pic A Day #23 American Idol

I am so excited! I love American Idol! What I like about it is how everyday kids/young adults get to showcase their talent and the top 10 get their dreams realized.  Some of these people are so incredibly talented!  It's American Idol time!

Pic A Day #22 Crossing Jordan

Today is a lazy day...nothing but peace and relaxing on the couch.  I'll be catching up with one of my favorite shows - Crossing Jordan. I am addicted to this show! It's an oldie that comes on the Crime & Investigation network and I like to DVR it for days like this.

Pic A Day #21 MARS candy

This is what I have been doing all week...putting out MARS chocolates at Walmart. I can't get over the amount of chocolate Walmart sells in a day!

Pic A Day #20 Funeral

This is my youngest son, Dakota. One of his good friend's had a relative pass away this week. Dakota's youth pastor asked him to accompany him to the funeral.  Dakota borrowed his dad's suit to wear to this funeral  - it fit him perfectly and he looked so nice!

Pic-A-Day #19 Happy Birthday Greg!

This is my wonderful husband - he is 51 today!! I love this man so much!!

Pic-A-Day #18 Motorola Droid

My name is Elisa and I am totally addicted to my phone! I have had a Droid for several years now. I rely on my phone for so many things - I think I would literally fall off the planet if I lost my phone! 

For fellow Droid users - what are your favorite apps?

ROMNEYSANTORUMPAULPERRYGINGRICH - omania

YES I purposefully did my post title that way...that's the way I feel about this election and ALL elections in general - all the names run together.  I can appreciate our right to vote, so I vote.  Praise God for Democracy and our freedom to vote.  With that said though...I hate trying to pick a candidate to vote for.  I think every one of them say whatever they think is going to get them to the White House and once there they change their tune.

I also detest the bashing they do of one another.  Grow up you idiots! This isn't elementary school! 

So tell me? Who are you backing?

Pic-A-Day #17

SO VERY EXCITED!! My son (in the front wearing green shirt/black jacket) is coming home in a little bit from his youth ski trip! I sure love this kid! :-)

Pic-A-Day #16

Hmmm, what is that you say? Glad you asked! Neither Greg nor I like too many knick-knacks around the house (hate dusting everything!) but this is something we both liked and purchased together while on vacation a couple of months ago.  We were in Helen, GA and went into a glass-blowing shop.  This is jellyfish inside a globe and the entire thing is blown glass.  We thought it was pretty cool!

Written words

I am on the computer a lot during the week. Between, emails, my job boards, facebook, and games I play I spend way too much time online.  Yes I am ADDICTED!

One thing I try very hard to do is watch how I "say" things online.  The written word is so easy to misinterpret due to the fact the reader can't see my facial expressions or hear my tone.  I am a joker...sarcastic person by nature so I have to try even harder to get my message across without offending the reader. 

Recently there was an instance on Facebook where someone misinterpreted my words and went ballistic on me. I sat there reading their response and shock/anger filled me.  I got my fingers ready to fire a quick retort back at them - then praise the Lord - I stopped and walked away.  After thinking about it for a few hours I just went back and deleted my part of the entire conversation and thought to myself  "LOL, when other people read THAT person's words they are going to think that person is a kook!" 

I know, I know it wasn't the right thought for me to have...but it made me laugh nonetheless!

Pic-A-Day #15

This is my best friend, Vickie.  We used to be sister-in-laws 20+ yrs ago. My ex-husband and her husband are brothers.  Vickie and I worked closely together the last 2 yrs after I got her into merchandising with me.  She has since decided to go back into insurance and she only does merchandising on the side for extra cash.  Tomorrow I will start my spring cosmetic resets...something she and I have done together the last yr - I am going to miss working side-by-side with her! Sniff, sniff

Pic-A-Day #14

My husband went fishing at my dad's lake. He was walking along the shoreline and happened to see this critter on a tree...he took this with  his cell phone. I love this picture.

Pic-A-Day #13

This is my youngest son, Dakota. He is 15 yrs old. This picture was from Christmas 2010 in Gatlinburg, TN.  I am sending my sweet boy off with our church youth group tomorrow morning for the annual ski trip - they are going to Gatlinburg.  The only difference about this trip and all the others he has gone on is there is a no cell phone policy.  After much discussion, prayers and God's quiet whisper assuring me this is a good idea...we gave in to this decision.  I can honestly say I am okay and at peace with this. I will pray that the entire group has a wonderful "unplugged" 4 days!

Pic-A-Day #12

Another reason I sign up for reward cards/customer appreciation cards at stores...got this one in my email today (yellow papers are blotting out personal info.)  During December Staples always has really good deals where you purchase something and get 100% back in "staples rewards."  Every year I stock up on ink, batteries and whatever else they are offering money back on so I can get a nice big reward check like these in January.  Staples also offers $2.00 back for recycled ink cartridges up to 10/month.  If you hold on to those cartridges they will offer special weeks where you can get double cash back.  Anyway, I now have $97.10 I can spend at Staples on whatever I want.

This is Not Where I Belong...

Pic A Day #11

My new diet book came in the mail today! I am so excited - I just read the 1st 100 pages! I know 3 people who have done this diet and they all lost weight so here goes....

Pic-A-Day #10

My husband (the blonde in black jacket) turned 50 last year. Our dear friends, Lee and Susan turned 50 today 1/10/12. They are married and share a birthday. Happy birthday my sweet friends!

Pic-A-Day #9

Here's what I'm talking about (in a previous post) - my old man, Jet (with the red collar) is laying on his bed sleeping soundly and the little brat, Raven just has to lay on THAT bed so she scoots her self onto the edge and will slowly move her way completely on to the bed and Jet will get off and lay down on the hard floor.  What a baby!

Addictions come in all forms

My husband and I have been discussing our addictions.  His is smoking - mine is eating.  Completely different but the same as well.  An addiction is defined as a compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal.  Food can be just as addicting as smoking or alcohol or drugs.  Especially SUGAR! 


I kicked the sugar/soda habit once before about 6 yrs ago.  In doing so, I lost 50 lbs. Unfortunately, in the last year or two I have hit menopause and had some meds adjusted by my doctor, all contributing factors to a 40 lb weight gain. I am okay with the way I look but I have arthritis in my knees and hips and the more weight I gain the more I can feel it in these areas.  For this reason I decided to watch what I eat and exercise a little more to lose some weight.


My husband challenged me - when I lose 20 lbs, he will kick his smoking.  Now THIS is my type of challenge! Bring it on baby!

Pic-A-Day #8

Stolen from Facebook, but I love it and it's appropriate for the way I am feeling right now, so here ya go!

Why do people care?

Okay seriously...why do people feel the need to stick their nose in other's business??  I LOVE LOVE LOVE the block feature on Facebook! My husband doesn't like Facebook. He thinks it is evil...lol, a little extreme but that's what he thinks.  I, on the other hand, absolutely love Facebook.  Most of our kids live out of town - it's a way to stay connected.  Yes I am a Facebook stalker - I love looking at my friends' photos and how their kids are doing, etc. I don't comment too often but hit the "like" button a lot!

Enough of that and back to the point of this post - since my husband hates Facebook so much I HATE when somebody says to him "why did your wife say this"  or "why did she write that" because he goes into a tirade about how much he hates Facebook and he doesn't know what I put on there and what I don't put on there...blah blah blah.  Get where I'm going with this?!

The latest thing is I offered to help somebody with something and another somebody didn't think it was my place to offer to help and mentioned it to my husband.  Really?! Are you kidding me?! I offered a helping hand!!  Guess what "friend"?  You don't have to worry about reading any of my posts anymore....to the block list baby!

Pic-A-Day #7

Do you have a TGI Friday's rewards card? I love free things! I will take any store's reward card.  Greg and I had a date night tonight. We went to TGI Friday's and had a full platter of baby back ribs with 2 sides completely free because of the rewards I earned on previous visits.  Oh yeah, gotta love it!

Pic-A-Day #6

Since Greg and I both work as merchandisers, we get deliveries every single day from UPS and FedEx.  Praise God our daily deliveries are not THIS big!  Yeah we got home from work to find this on our doorstep...nice huh? 

Pic A Day #5

Yet another game I am completely addicted to! On days like today when I have to drive 150-200 miles to work at different stores this game makes it more enjoyable. I normally have 3-5 games going at a time. I can play either on the computer on Facebook or on my smartphone.  By the time I drive to my next store my opponent has taken their turn so I can sit in the parking lot and take my turn real quick. FYI - NO I don't play while driving!

Pic A Day #4

My husband loves to throw winter rye seed every winter, thus giving us a bright green lawn...and grass for him to cut all winter long.

Pic-A-Day #3

You might wonder why I am taking a photo of our thermostat?? Hahaha - well it's because we live in Florida and we very rarely turn our heat on. Today, 1/3/12 is the first time we have had to turn the heat on since last winter. Brrrrrr, it's fweezin' outside!

Death Unexpected

I used to work at a Dialysis Center. I have a Medical Assistant's degree.  I absolutely loved the years I worked there because the staff was like family and I got to know a lot of my patients very well since they had to come in three times a week for 2-4 hour shifts.  For some reason lately a lot of my favorite patients have been coming to my mind quite often...unfortunately they have all died.

I was pregnant with my youngest child, Dakota when my most favorite patient died.  I was only 29 yrs old at the time and Jim was in his 30's.  Most of our patients were elderly so anytime there was a young one it really touched our hearts.  Jim was a stand-up comic.  I remember the excitement in his eyes/voice when he was able to meet CarrotTop when he came to perform in our city.

Jim was working on new material for his own comedy show - and he was using the dialysis center as his source.  We were constantly laughing at the stuff he came up with!  I came into work one morning and made my rounds within the center then told the Head Nurse I was going to dash over to the hospital to visit Jim who had had knee surgery the day before.  She pulled me to the side and informed me that Jim had sleep apnea and that combined with the pain meds they had given him after surgery caused him to die during the night.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing...I was absolutely devastated!  I am thankful for the memories I have of Jim and the constant chuckles he provided.

My job evolved into many different functions/responsibilities the longer I worked at the Clinic. One of my responsibilities was interviewing new patients, getting a history put together, and going over the process of dialysis and what to expect, etc.  I normally saw new patients when they were feeling at their very worst and thinking their life was about to end...once they had a few treatments they started feeling better and realized how important their treatments were.  I remember one elderly couple who came to see me the morning before the husband was to begin his treatments.  He was sick as a dog and she was so quiet and fearful of what this next chapter in their lives was going to bring.  I went through the entire interview as usual and explained how he would probably be feeling better after a couple of treatments and I can remember the sadness in their eyes. He had been sick for so long and she was hurting for him.  That afternoon she watched him get hooked up to the machine and once he was comfortable she decided to go to the hospital cafeteria to grab some lunch while she waited.  Shortly after she left, her husband coded on the machine and died right there in the unit.  It still brings tears to my eyes now when I remember the look of sadness in his wife's eyes as she came back to the unit and was taken away to be told her husband had just died.  I can't imagine the grief and despair she must have been going through.

The last patient was a woman, Marie, who was a feisty old woman...and an atheist.  She and her husband were really the nicest couple but she ruled him with an iron fist. He was a little scrawny man, quiet but funny! He used to come in my office and sit and chat while she was getting her treatments. The reason I bring up the fact that she was an atheist is because that was a huge part of her being - she would talk to anybody who would listen about her beliefs and she got into many a discussion with those of us who were Christians.  What I remember most about her is the day she died.  She died in the unit, hooked up to the machine and as she was dying/fighting for every last breath she had a look of sheer terror on her face and she kept reaching out in front of her.  I had seen lots of people die and nobody had reacted like that before...I didn't understand it.  Later after things had calmed down and gotten back to business as usual I asked one of our nurses why Marie had reacted like that when she was dying...her response "that woman was being pulled to hell as she died and she realied what a mistake she had made."  I will never forget that look of terror!

Pic-a-day #2

I am so addicted to this game on Facebook!

PIC A Day - Day 1

A friend on Facebook posted that she was going to chronicle her life this year in photos...I like that! Instead of doing it on Facebook, I am going to post my pics here.  I'm not the best at updating daily, so I may do 3-4 pics/week instead.

My first pic is our youngest lab, Raven. She is a spoiled, jealous brat...literally! Very, very smart but she annoys me easily. I have a 12 yr old lab that is MY baby and Raven is so jealous of Jet. She takes whatever he has and constantly dashes in and out around him...knocking him off his feet. My poor old man just tolerates her craziness like she's a pesky baby. :-)

We purchased this bed for our old man, Jet but Raven can't stand not laying on it. She is allowed to lay on any bed in the house or several other pet mats, but she wants THIS one - because it is Jet's.

Moving Forward

After giving it lots of thought, I decided to start a new blog. My other one didn't really apply anymore since we now have a home and our journey is not beginning, but continuing.  It's really hard trying to pick a title for a blog!  I finally chose F.R.O.G (Fully Relying On God) because that is exactly how I live my life.

My favorite passage of scripture is
Matthew 6:25-26 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they."

Faith is my number one spiritual gift. I praise God for this gift because I am able to get through the highs and lows, trials and triumphs of life knowing that God is in complete control and I can look to Him to guide my path - therein Fully Relying On God is a perfect title for this next chapter of life.  Hope you'll stick with me and feel free to leave comments - I'll always respond!