Note To Self:

Do not update your Internet Explorer at 12am, especially when there are five critical updates to download and install. Be aware that if you do, you will be up until almost 2am, waiting on the system to go through all sorts of checks and scans before it will reboot so that you can turn it off.

And while you're waiting, be sure to have at least three complete catalogs to read, all of the junk mail from the past three days to sort through, and a layout that you need to sketch out and get together so all you have to do is print out the journaling when said computer is back up and running.

Oh, and make sure that you are really, really tired and ready for bed when you hit that "restart now" button. Grrrrrrrrr!

Yep, it's now 1:52am and I'm STILL not in bed. Oh, and I'm going to get three little girls between 7:30am and 8am tomorrow. AND the Salvation Army people are supposed to come and get all the junk out of our garage so we can walk through it again and the driver never bothered to call me as promised to schedule a pick-up time, so I have NO idea if or even when he's coming. Whaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

So can I PLEASE get some cheese and crackers to go with my whine???

And through it all, I'm still.....

*Smiling*

Good night!! :)

Grrr

There are a few drawbacks to living within yards of your next door neighbors. We haven't really gotten to know our neighbors, other than the girl across the street, but she's a totally different story... The past few days have caused me to contemplate the relative seclusion of buying a house in the country.

Anyway, we've got young folks living across the street and a sorta youngish couple who lives next door. Both of these houses have frequent visitors who like to torture everyone within a mile with their "music", which basically boils down to a thumping bass line that rattles my windows and vibrates my lovely wooden floors. It gives me a headache and the constant drone of the bass makes me actually get nauseated. Weird, I know, but it makes me physically ill if I have to listen to it for very long.

Anyway, I would like to know how many people agree with me about this subject. Do you feel like your privacy is being invaded if you're inside your house trying to do your thing and you're forced to listen to the constant thumping and bumping coming from some inconsiderate person's car stereo?? Not to mention the fact that if it were up to you in the first place, it's not the kind of music you'd listen to in a million years?

Well, that's how I feel. I have my windows closed, storm windows shut, doors closed, and yet, when I'm in the back rooms of my house, I can hear the thump-thump-thump and can just imagine (and hope) that the result of their inconsideration is that every bold, screw and nut in their vehicle will be shaken loose and their entire car will simply fall apart so they can't pull up in the street and torture me any more.

Today, I took a step to stop the madness. Well, to hopefully slow it to an every-once-in-a-while occurrence instead of a several-times-daily one. I put the HPD non-emergency number in my cell phone so I don't have to look it up each time they won't cease and desist. And I saved it on my SIM card. :)

Now, if the cop who lives 4 doors down would just speak up and ask them to please stop....

Reminscing

About the days back when music was music, not the junk on the airwaves these days. Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, Aretha Franklin, Lenny Williams, classic Motown - where The Funk Brothers reigned supreme, Otis Redding, Al Green, Sam Cooke. The songs about love - real love. People who put all their heart and soul into a song and made you FEEL what they were singing about. The songs that made you think. The songs that made you cry.

John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Etta James - the jazz greats!

There's so much more, in many more genres, but this is the music I'm in the mood for at the moment. Maybe tomorrow, I'll be looking for some early rock-n-roll, vintage country, good old bluegrass or maybe even some rockabilly! But for tonight, this is what I'm longing for. I miss listening to this quality of music. Thank goodness for CD's!

I believe I'll go put my jammies on, pop in my favorite CD and read for a while before I drift off to sleep...