Coupons: wonderful, or evil?

I have a co-worker* who is nuts for coupons. She had them in boxes, bags, storage containers and binders. She loves to tell us how much she saved, and was at one time considering framing a receipt where she saved over $100 dollars!

I have nothing against coupons. Honestly, I don't. But I've spent a few minutes lately looking though her cache of coupons, and found, maybe, 20 that I MIGHT use. That is if I even rememebr I have a coupon for it.

As a single gal with NO storage space, does stockpiling shampoo make sense? Do I really need 10 cases of water? How long will it take me to eat 17 jars of peanut butter?
I have a few that I'll TRY to use this weekend. Maybe I'll save a few bucks, or maybe I'll buy stuff I don't need and won't use. We'll see.

*I dearly love this co-worker and in no way am I making fun of her. I just love how excited she gets when she "stacks" her coupons and gets a great deal!

Animal Magnetism?

Buddy, my dog of 9 years, has learned to dig this summer. Yes, he's a bit slow. So with this new and exciting skill, he has managed to escape the confines of my backyard 6 times since June, including one escape from my parents' fence. I have spent many hours driving around town looking for him, many dollars purchasing chains and locks, fencing, and bricks. Now, after the backyard is semi-Buddy-proof, the little mongrel...ahem...darling dog has decided he prefers to stay in the house. MY house!
While my dog can't wait to run away from me, I have had 2 cats find me in the past 2 months.

I had a darling kitten, whom I named Babykins, wander into my neighbor's yard, decide she wasn't home, then cry until I HAD to find her and rescue her. (Can't take crying from human or beast.) She was so tiny, so trusting, and so hungry. Below is Babykins in my first plan for housing the first night I had her.

Awww, isn't she sweet? I had her for 2 days, took her around the neighborhood but no one claimed her. I finally took her to the local animal shelter. I pray someone found her and loves her!

So last night, I go outside to water my Lazarus plant (not it's name, but I swear I've killed it at least 5 times this summer!) and there's a cat. I have had cats camp out on my front porch before, but this guy was different, something almost human about him. I said "That's ok Kitty, I won't hurt you." He lays back down and watches me drown my plant. I got him some food, which he snarfed down, and scratched his head, which he loved! He's been declawed and is obviously some one's baby. I looked this morning, and was more than a little disappointed when he wasn't on the porch. I've looked for him tonight too-- no sign of him yet.

Buddy didn't care for either of my house guests, but I felt a strange but special connection to each one, like I was there for them when they needed me most. I may be reading WAY too much into it, but I don't care, it makes me feel special too!

And how could I forget to post a picture of Buddy, who will be the topic of many posts to come, I'm sure!

This is the stuff...

Ok. Once is a coincidence. Twice is just plain crazy.

Last week I sang Francesca Battistelli's song "This Is The Stuff" for my church's offertory special. It went ok, but after the song, I started to go back to my seat (front row, woot woot!) and heard painful silence. Yup, I had forgotten Steve the piano-player had taken the service off and I was supposed to play the doxology (Give Thanks).

So I hop back up to the Clavinova to play it, and realize I don't even have the stupid music laid out! Thank God I had just alphabetized my music folder that morning, or I would have been leafing through hundreds of pages for the next half-hour. After I get the music out, I can't play it worth crap! Never could. Hate the song. But anyway, we stumble through it, and I count it all to my stupidity and lack of fore-thought.

Scene 2: tonight I sang the song again for a cluster ice cream social. (The three United Methodist churches in Olney get together once a year to gorge themselves on homemade ice cream, Texas sheet cake...it's a beautiful thing.) I sang the song, only messed up one line (I don't think anyone noticed) then took my place at the keyboard to play for the Hymn Sing. I start playing the first song, and the keyboard power goes out. Kinda. There's still power, lights are flashing, but no sound. I keep playing just in case it comes back mid-song. Nope. They turn it completely off, then have to wait for it to reboot.

Is it just me, or is it the song?

It's me, stuff like this happens to me all the time.

But here's the song, since I'll not be singing it again. Enjoy!

Welcome Back!

This blog was unread and un-updated for 6 years. Well folks, I'm back. Or rather, I'm here. Finally.

I've been thinking about getting back into the blogopshere for a while now. I have thoughts that need to escape the dark corners of my mind, but are usually too long to put on Facebook.

I have no rules for this blog, but I do promise not to use it as a complaint board. I sometimes have cute stories about Buddy the Super Pup, about my job and about life in general. I also promise never to name a post "Randomness."