WORK HARD -- PLAY HARD

Today has been a very busy day and that is good, because when it is all over you know you have accomplished something. Nailbenders had their monthly community work day today and we ended up at the church painting for Jesus again....there are lots of rooms that apparently need to be painted at Saxe Gotha. Came home and helped Kathy with the housework ... not much help just mopped all the floors. Then it was outside for yard work like weed eating, edging, and mowing....I will be glad when Mr. Frost shows up and puts this grass in a dormant stage for the winter. We will be going over to Nathan & Wendy's this afternoon around 6:00pm for Joshua's 5th Birthday Party. They sure do grow up in a hurry.

Now for the Play Hard part. Kathy and I will be sailing out of Jacksonville, FL Monday on a 5 day cruise to Key West and Nassau. I plan on doing absolutely nothing except resting, eating and having a great time. To all of our friends that will be working this coming week we hope you have a great time, because we certainly will not be thinking about you. Love everyone anyway!

MONKEY SEE MONKEY DO!

Next week I will be on a mandatory unpaid leave from work due to budget cuts at SCDC, and after putting much thought into what I should do with my "unpaid" week off the decision was made to go on a cruise. This is what I call the "Federal Government Thought Process" -- the less money you have coming in the more you spend. I think I can get used to this kind of living.

BIRTHDAY Number 65

My 65th birthday was yesterday, and what a wonderful day it was. Our friends Evan & Audrey Eusey from Emporia, Kansas, were in town and they spoke to our Sunday School class about their upcoming mission trip to Japan. Nathan and Wendy joined us for Sunday School to meet Evan & Audrey and hear what they had to share with us. After SS we all went out to eat at Copper River Grill and had a wonderful meal and fellowship.
Sunday afternoon I had my usual nap and the older I get the longer the naps are. I wonder why that is?
Sunday evening we went over to Nathan & Wendy's and had a great meal and visit. Nathan and Wendy are great cooks!
Back to reality this morning as it is just another work day.

UPDATE

There is a lot going on in our lives at the present time, and I am very thankful that I am here to deal with it and enjoy it all. God is good in everything that he does.
This coming Sunday Evan & Audrey Eusey will be in town and we have invited them to come to Saxe Gotha and speak to our SS Class to share their hearts concerning their upcoming mission trip to Japan. I am sure that God is going to use them to touch the hearts of everyone there.
This past Sunday at Saxe Gotha they had a Faith Fair....I had never heard of one of these, but let me tell you it is something that all churches should have. There were booths set up everywhere with all the things that will be taking place this coming year at Saxe Gotha, and real live people there to discuss what they had to offer. I might also say that I enjoyed all of the refreshments they had.
The Nailbenders started painting SS rooms this past week and are going to continue this week starting tomorrow night. I am excited because I was just given a T-shirt with the Nailbenders logo on it so I guess I am now a member of a group that does things for others to help them out.
Kathy, her sister Carole, and mother (Mrs. Garren) flew out of Charlotte this morning headed to Naples, Fla to visit Mrs. Garren's brother. They arrived safe an sound, but had some interesting driving through heavy rain storms on the way from Fort Lauderdale to Naples. They will be flying back into Charlotte, NC this coming Thursday...then I will be going to Charlotte to pick Kathy up.
I guess that is it for tonight, but our daughter Wendy has to proof read this in the morning and make sure that I did not make too many mistakes....She has her work cut out for her.

A Few Random Sayings

1. I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place.
2. Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over?
3. Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?
4. Wouldn't you know it...brains cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever.
5. Why do we have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed outside.
6. Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
7. Marriage changes passion. Suddenly you're in bed with a relative.

"BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING" or someone is

The old saying about the thermos bottle that will keep cold stuff cold or hot stuff hot....how do it know.
My question is how does everyone in the free world know that I am getting older...or politely should I say a senior with some aging challenges. My point is as follows:
Several years ago I started receiving emails about joining AARP, which I think you can become a charter member at the age of 50. How did they know.
Then a few years later I started receiving mail and email about such unmentionable things as Metamucil, Preparation H, etc. How did they know.
Then along came all of the emails about Viagra, Cialis, oysters and the other potency drugs that are on the market. No comment.
Then I get an application in the mail for my life time hunting and fishing license which you can get at the age of 64. How did they know.
I am really getting concerned now because today I got an email from Orbit Power Wheelchairs saying that I may qualify for an electric wheelchair at little or not cost. I am just wondering how they know I don't have any money.
I think it is wonderful to get old!!!!

THIS IS SO SAD!!!

My heart goes out to the former Chairman and CEO of the former General Motors Corp. "Rick Wagoner". I don't really know how they expect Rick to live on the just announced pension and benefit package that he will be receiving. He is only going to get $1.64 million in annual benefits for the next five years plus an annual pension of $74,030 for the rest of his life. He also has the option of cashing out his company-provided life insurance policy for the small amount of 2.6 million. I think Rick certainly deserves a much better severance package for bankrupting GM. I really feel sorry for this guy!

FACEBOOK

When I signed on to Facebook about a year ago I did not do anything with it for a couple of months because there was no one on it that I knew or maybe I should say I did not know how to find anyone. I finally received a friend request from someone I had known several years ago, and that got me started using Facebook on a regular basis. I am convinced that Facebook is the best thing since sliced bread. It is a way to find old friends, keep abreast of what people are up to, keep informed about what is going on at church, and of course reading a good bit of foolishness. Just this weekend I found out that the daughter of a girl I went to high school with in Asheville went to high school here in Columbia with the son of some of our friends from Northside Baptist. If you are not on Facebook I would recommend that you join and begin to find out how small the world really is.

MASS CONFUSION

I wrote a blog on May 4, 2009 entitled "The Simplicity of Medicare" which detailed my search for the proper medicare supplement policy. I have been covered by Kathy's medical insurance from the county for years, but she was told by someone from the county (who I will not name) in April that once I turned 65 I would no longer be covered by her policy. Therefore that is the reason I was researching all the options outlined in the blog. Well I finally figured out what I was going to do with Medicare and the supplement policies after much studying of all the confusing information and having two insurance agents come to the house explaining what I needed. I signed up with United Health Care and already have my ID card and the policy goes in effect 8/1/09.

GUESS WHAT??? Kathy checked today with payroll to make sure they would not be taking anymore money out of her check for my coverage, and they wanted to know why she was dropping me from her insurance. It just happens that the nameless person misinformed Kathy and I am still eligible for coverage as long as she is employed by the county.

Now that I am still going to be covered by the same good insurance that I have had for years it means I don't need all this stuff that I have just committed to. There has been several phone calls made today and there will have to be a couple of letters written to cancel the supplement policy and part B of Medicare. In 4.5 years when Kathy retires I will have to do all the research all over, because you can bet Medicare benefits will not be the same.

I spent a bunch of hours working on this due to the nameless and clueless person that works for the county, but hey I don't have anything better to do than waste my time.

"TMI"

Could it be possible that the news media has inundated us with TMI concerning Michael Jackson and Mark Sanford?

I really liked some of Michael's music and enjoyed seeing him perform, but his life was a total wreck. I would go as far to say that he was a very, very sick puppy. I am sorry for Michael's family that they have lost a love one, but I don't care to hear anymore of the details. OKAY! Our governor is short several bricks of a full load, and the news media is making sure all of us know it. It would be nice to watch, listen or read the news without hearing or seeing anything else about our gov's escapades or his "soul mate".

Of course the news media's TMI gave me something to blog about - which is probably also TMI.