Titles are tough!

For some reason I've always had troubles with blog titles!  

I guess it's because I have too many topics in each post.  

I worked from home on July 5 - the WFH supervisor was much more attentive to me than she is with the Spouse.  And of course I made sure to lock my keyboard whenever I got up and the one time I didn't is when she decided to get onto the keyboard and curl up into a kitty loaf.  It's like she knows!

And she's managed to unmute a zoom meeting before, too.

My SAR team was called out on a search recently to find a missing 9 year old non-verbal, autistic boy.  It was a slow law enforcement day, since the Macomb County Sheriff was there along with the county dive team, Oakland County sent over their helicopter,  Michigan State Police had a few troopers there, nearby town of Metamora sent over their drone team and then easily 12 of my team eventually ended up there.   

One of our K9s found the boy, safe & sound.  

So professional!

I ran home after work to change and then get to the scene as quick as I could.  I literally was just signing in at our staging area when I heard the call come in over the radio that he'd been found.  Go figure!  But I got to see the mom's reaction as she ran down the driveway and got to hear both her and the Sheriff say a few words of appreciation. 

We were invited to a county Board of Commissioners meeting to be recognized. 

The family had only moved to the area about 2 months prior and they were so appreciative to everyone who had volunteered time and resources to help look for their little boy. 

July 8 was mine & the Spouse's 18th wedding anniversary!

We look forward to going to get his & hers pedicures every year.

We're going to go again in the fall.  We like getting happy feets! 

He's so funny that he always gets me a "traditional" gift.  For 18, its actually porcelain, but looking deeper, the traditional gem is Tiger's Eye. 

He got me a Tiger's Eye skull - 

Because he knows me so well! 

He also always sends me flowers at work - the appropriate number of carnations (my favorites) and one red rose. 

In super good news - the Spawn is currently looking for a place of her own!  

It's really tough nowadays to find a place to live!  She's looking at mobile homes so the kids are less likely to bother neighbors - and just about any place around here costs $1400 per month to rent.  She could get away with a 2 bedroom right now but will need a 3 bedroom soon.  The kids are 4 1/2 & almost 3.  I went with her last weekend to look at a couple and the guy in the trailer park office asked her if she'd considered buying a place?  It brings the price down to well in her price range so that's a definite consideration, as long as she doesn't need a co-signer.  We have a couple more parks to go check out next weekend.  

Send thoughts & prayers & good wishes that everything works out! 

Mine & the Spouse's sanity depends on it! 

Speaking of the Spouse's sanity - last weekend he was leaving to go to Arkansas and some idiot in a box truck making a delivery missed their stop and instead of turning around like a smart person would - the idiot decided to stop and BACK UP down a main road!!!   Thankfully he was OK.   He limped his poor car home and got a rental.  This is a similar to the way I got a new car last year (except I was rear-ended and pushed into another vehicle), so we really didn't want to do this again!!  

LittleMan didn't even notice that this blanket on my bed was moving, until a paw stuck out! 

OMG, 100 days until Halloween! 

I seriously need intervention. 

I pre-ordered a 3' tall disco ball skeleton from Party City.

I also pre-ordered a racoon and unicorn skeleton from Oriental Trading- they're all due in the first week of August or so. 

I ordered Larry (below - on the right, now buddies with Chuck) from JoAnn Fabric's - which I was happy to find out that they offer a military discount!  So that + sale + coupon made him very reasonably priced (don't get me started on JoAnn's prices - they're insane!!)

I went to pick Larry up and of course had to look at the rest of their H'ween stuff. 

OMG - DONKEY!

Grab.

Then I saw on FB that Target had their H'ween stuff live.  

Such a quality packing job! 

I ordered this guy before I saw Larry at JoAnn's.  

He's only 2' tall. 

But they have penguins!!!!

The Spouse likes penguins so I don't feel guilty about ordering 3 (even if one got decapitated in the box)

And then I got a FB message from a cousin who I don't talk to very often - usually when I get random messages like that, it'll be something cheesy that I've seen 100 times already.  Not this time! 

Oooooooooo Tractor Supply!

I posted last year on my other blog about My Cow Quest and that was posted August 9.  So TSC is starting a lot earlier this year! 

I've already seen where they have a 6' tall chicken skeleton - and I already have a small flock of 1' chickens - I may have said "oh my!!" when I saw they have 2 different 3' chickens!

^ ^  This is a definite possibility. ^ ^ 

Anyhoo. I need to control myself since I've commented to myself the last couple years that I need to ease back on the skeletons since my cemetery is getting rather full.  Then I go buy more! 

At least I didn't get the otter from Target, too! 

Catching up....

Whew - it's not summer yet, but it sure feels like it!  

It was 96* and approximately 200% humidity when I left work yesterday.  

My delicate northern carcass can't handle this nonsense!  

I really hate to sweat but that's what chubby girls do!  Oh and to make it worse - I had to go grocery shopping (which I hate with a passion) and for some reason, the area by the registers at Meijers are always hot!  So I was sweating before I even left the building! 

🤬🤬🤬🤬

Wow - I do need to catch up.  

The grandkids "help" me pick up sticks in the yard. 

We had a yard cleanup day at work and we got done a lot quicker than expected, so I went out to breakfast with a couple girls in different departments that I don't usually get to visit with. 

I had this pile of deliciousness - there's a piece of rye toast & sauteed mushrooms & onions under those eggs.  MmMmMmMmMm

May 1 was Loyalty Day at the VFW.  

We had a nice ceremony & speakers

and we got to meet several people running for office. 

Kisses wants to remind everyone how pretty she is. 

And wants treats!

I was in Ohio last month and visited this beautiful little cemetery.

Taggarts Presbyterian Church Cemetery

I love this robin picture. 

We (me, Sis1, Sis2 & Mom) finally got to stop here!

We've had a hard time catching it open when we've gone by. 

LittleMan is done with Tball for the season.  Spawn thinks she's going to find another sport for him to try, since he gets bored standing out in the field and tends to play in the dirt (like any other 4 year old!)

On June 6, there was a 80th anniversary of Dday at the Packard Proving Grounds in Shelby Twp.  They stopped making cars during the war and made tanks instead, so here is one of the WWII Sherman tanks that may have been made here.  

I was almost run over right after I took this pic!  

This gentleman receiving the flag was in Normandy, thankfully on a ship and not on the beach.

This year, some of us from the VFW volunteered to work concessions at the Selfridge ANG base Air Show.   

In case its hard to see - the 6 Thunderbirds are lined up on the runway, getting ready to take off. 

I got to step out of my hotdog stand to watch the Thunderbirds fly. 

My SAR team had 2 call outs for missing people last week!  One had a good ending, one did not.  I went to the first one - of course I was checking in at staging just as the radio call came in that they'd found the little boy safe, after being missing most of the day.  So I didn't get to help look, but I did get to see the look on his mom's face as she ran down the driveway.  That makes it all worthwhile!  The other we all pretty much knew it was going to be a recovery, based on the situation we were told.  The people from our team that went to the scene found him before I could even get off work.  

Wooo!  100K on my car!

Last Wednesday was my 24th work anniversary!  

When I, a new civilian, started here as a temp worker in 2000, 

I never would have dreamed I'd still be here 24 years later. 

This is the first time anyone's made any kind of deal about it! 

The grandkids had been asking to play in the sprinkler and since we're having this heatwave this week, it was a good time to drag it out.  Except I couldn't find the sprinkler, so they got sprayed with the hose instead!  And they got to learn how to drink out of the hose, too. 

I guess I should do some work now - I've been enjoying the peace & quiet in my office, since yesterday there were workers using jackhammers on the sidewalk outside my office (literally just a few feet away) and it was awful.  I got some ear plugs from the shop guys but I could still feel the vibrations up thru the floor and into my body.  But new cement is down and no heavy equipment today!

Dude was not wearing hearing protection!  

None of them were. 

The heavy duty jackhammer. 

They poured cement over an empty water bottle, too!  

I wonder what else they bury? 

Oh crap - I have a meeting???  I better go!

Chow!

#AtoZChallenge - Zombies

Welcome to the last day of the April A to Z Blogging Challenge! 

My theme is things that entertain and/or inspire me. 

Why not?

Zombies!

This is one of my favorite monster trucks.

We just saw him last month in Toledo. 

I have a collection of Hot Wheels Monster trucks and they come out with Halloween editions every year. 

OMG - this is a locally bottled beverage - a hard cherry cider and it's SO GOOOD!

When my nephew and his wife were having their first child, everyone at the shower was invited to draw and color a picture so they could make an ABC book.  My nephew couldn't pronounce "Aunt Lisa" when he was little, so he called me Zaza.  I had to choose Z!  

#AtoZChallenge - Xanthophobia

 

Welcome to Day 24 of the April A to Z Blogging Challenge!

My theme is things that inspire and/or entertain me. 

But today's letter doesn't fall in either of those categories. 

Xanthophobia.

The fear of the color yellow. 

WHY IS THIS A THING?????