Alpha, Bravo, Charlie

I'm on the phone, paying bills. NO! Trying ... to pay bills.

Phone conversation:

Recording: (sweetly) "Good morning. This is X-Y-Z company. What is it you would like to do today? You can say anything, like change my address or pay my bill. So. What would you like to do?

Me: "Pay my bill".

Recording: "All right, you want to pay your bill. Please say your account number."

Me: "AC one zero five five five one zero".

Recording: "All right, that was...HZ one zero nine five five one four. Is that correct?"

Me: "No".

Recording: "Okay, let's start again. Say your account number".

Me: "AC One zero five five five one zero".

Recording: "AZ One zero five five nine one zero". (He got it wrong four more times,) the fifth time . . .

Me: (Screaming at the phone ... losing all my composure. Talking loud, shouting as if to somebody three blocks away, ears burning, pulse racing, voice raising to a fever pitch) ...

"No!!! No!!! No, that's not what I said! No!! I said my number a hundred times already and... you - doggonit!!! I hate this stupid phone system!!!! This is stupid!Stupid, stupid, stupid!!! Darned x-y-z company, silly stupid automated system!!!!!"

Recording: (Calmly cooly unruffled ... sweet as you please)...

"All right, you said you want to speak to an agent. Okay, an agent will be with you shortly. Please hold for the next available agent".

Me: (Chewing paper, spitting fire, ears burning, cussing like a dirty-mouth sailor...finally breathing deeply... trying to get a grip on myself). Rating the system?! It S-U-C-K-S! Period!

That sent me in search of Police Call Letters/Police Letters Alphabet. I hope this will end some of the frustrations of being mis-understood as I read numbers and letters over the phone.

I found the following:

A=Alpha
B=Bravo
C=Charlie
D=Delta
E=Echo
F=Foxtrot
G=Golf
H=Hotel
I=India
J=Juliet
K=Kilo
L=Lima
M=Mike
N=November
O=Oscar
P=Papa
Q=Quebec
R=Romeo
S=Sierra
T=Tango
U=Uniform
V=Victor
W=Whisky
X=X-Ray
Y=Yankee
Z=Zulu

Now I can happily say, "Alpha-Charlie-one-zero-five-five-five-one-zero" and have a better chance of being understood than before.

Lawdy, lawdy, lawdy, talking about frustration!

Happy Thanksgiving

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,

May your potatoes and gravy
Have never a lump.

May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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10 Tips for Stress-Free Christmas Shopping

There are only twelve more days until December 1st and, most of our thoughts have turned to Christmas already. We have to buy presents for the children, our friends and family. Some of us might also have thoughts of the presents we will receive.

Now is the perfect time to get many things on your “to-do-list” completed. That way, you and your family can spend the last few days before Christmas enjoying family time. Now won’t that be fun!

For starters, the internet is an ideal place for gift shopping if you hate shopping in crowds. You can sit in the comfort of home and look for and find some truly unique gifts. Many have been released especially for this festive season and are reasonably priced. Some offer free shipping as an incentive to shop with them.

For those who plan to shop at brick & mortar stores, here are 10 Tips that will help make your Christmas shopping less stressful.

1. Stick to your pre-planned budget. Many of us don't want to spend too little, but at the same time, we certainly don't want to spend too much on Christmas gifts.
2. Shop during sales whenever possible, avoid huge overcrowded sales.
3. Have each member of the family buy for a different person, rather than everyone buying for everyone.
4. Do not try and make everything perfectly equal, just try to get things that are perfect for each person. One person's gift will naturally cost more than another, do not stress over this.
5. Get batteries for items that need them and save your self that Christmas day stress.
6. Wrap up some 'emergency presents' to have on hand when someone unexpectedly shows up with a gift for you. It can be as simple as a box of chocolates, personal care gift baskets, music or movie cds/dvds, etc. Attach a gift tag that reads: “To someone very special”.
7. Dollar stores and discount stores are great places to find all kinds of toys, books and clothes that won't break your budget. Kids don’t mind, they just want to open presents.
8. Wear comfortable shoes.
9. Take some time to pamper yourself. All the things that have not been finished yet or things you should be doing instead can wait.
10. Choose to be happy as you prepare and shop for this Holiday Season!

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I hope you find something helpful here.

Happy Holidays!

Flowers for you...

Hi there, friend! It's good to see you.

How are you? What have you been doing? How's the family?

Come on in, have a seat, and make yourself comfortable.

Coffee's ready, how do you like yours?

Have a donut while you're at it, they're only fattening if you eat them alone.

Let me know what's on your mind, leave a comment. Please? You can visit this page anytime -- as many times as you want --like sometimes when I go and get myself lost and can't find my way back to blogland.

Holler at me, I'll follow your voice and find my way back where I belong.

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How to Make a Text Box Directions

by Sojourn

at HTML Borders Backgrounds

I wanted to give you the directions for making a text box myself but, last week was another unbelievably busy week. There was a funeral on Saturday for hubby's aunt, company for the entire weekend, a Bible class project for Monday & Tuesday, Bible class today (Wednesday), and all the regular stuff I normally have to do. Wheeeew, what a week!

So, without further adieu, I'm sending you to visit the site where I found the borders. The directions are easy to understand and apply. Scroll down to Solid Borders-HTML examples, choose the one you want, then copy and paste the code into your compose new message box. Replace the words "Your Stuff Here" with whatever you want to go inside the text box.

To make your own text box go to Sojourn's HTML Borders Backgrounds.

Good luck!

How To Make a Text Box

This is a test. I'm trying to make a text box.

If this works, I will give credit where credit is due...after I figure out the dos and don'ts and all the details of how this thing comes out.


I'm headed to bed for now, will check this out in the morning, and if the box is here I'll finish up.

Negative Insecure People

Last week I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen for many years. We lost touch when we both married and moved. Excited happy and glad to have bumped into each other again, we took our re-union to the nearest restaurant to chat some more and catch up. Ten minutes into our meet-up, I realized why we hadn’t stayed in touch, why I hadn’t looked her up.

Every other sentence out of her mouth was a complaint or a negative comment. Her husband doesn’t treat her right, her kids don’t call and visit her as much as they should, her doctor doesn’t believe her when she says she’s sick, and on and on and on. Not one good thing spewed forth from her lips.

Twenty minutes later I glanced quickly at my watch, gasped for breath and, excused myself. I had to go. The whole encounter had me on the verge of a major depressive attack. It started me thinking about negative and insecure people.

I find that insecure and/or negative people are extremely needy and miserable people to be around. They are that way for a lot of reasons. Many insecure people may have been raised in a chaotic, unpredictable or volatile environment in which they were kept off balance, on guard or on edge. Some turn inward, becoming self-obsessed – “It’s all about me.” They typically have unrealistic expectations and sometimes unconsciously overcompensate for their poor self-image by thinking they're better than other people.

Negative/insecure people will often insult or bully others to make themselves feel better. They tend to be very defensive and cannot handle criticism. They usually find scapegoats for their problems, never realizing that they are causing the problems themselves. Also, they tend to point out the shortcomings of others, even if untrue, in order to cover up for their own perceived inadequacies.

In the end I concluded that “Not all insecure people are haters, but all haters are insecure people.”

What do you think happens to make them that way? Can anything be done for them? Do you know any negative or insecure people? How do you handle it/them?

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Bit Mo' and the Man in the Moon

There was an old saying that started with, "He don't bit-mo"...

and, it ended with, "than a man in the moon!"

The saying had words between bit-mo and the man in the moon. Sometimes a few, sometimes more. But, the meaning was unmistakable. I didn't wonder about that old saying back then, never thought much about its origin, that is...until lately.

A few months ago mister papa dellgirl began to tell me his plans for completing a project that has been in the works for a long while. I listened patiently, nodded appropriately, grunted or sighed whichever response his confused ramblings elicited from my flabbergasted brain. He had it all planned out down to the last detail, every meandering syllable. Oh, LAWDY!

When he finished, I reiterated; just to be sure he knew that I heard and understood him. He nodded in agreement as I did my reiterating. Whereby upon concluding my reiteration I asked sweetly, "What are we going to do with X if we do it that way, Honey?"

You would have thought I hit him up side the head. His impatience with my inability to see his logic beamed through loud and clear.

"Dang, dellgirl. You sure do know how to make it hard for me, you didn't listen to a word I said."

Then it dawned on me. "He don't bit-mo know what he's doing than the man in the moon!

I've revisited "Bit mo' and the man in the moon" several more times since papa's and my conversation. I find that a good many people "don't bit-mo' know what they're doing or saying than a man in the moon!"

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© 2009 by Leona G. Shankle

Dinner and a Movie

Saturday September 19th: The shrill sound of the phone interrupts my concentration, on the adorable commercial about the talking pot-hole. Dang, I love that commercial! Baby son on the phone, I have to take this. I love hearing from that kid. He promised earlier in the week to pick me up and take me to his house.

"Hey, ma. How are you, what are you doing?"

"Hey, yourself kiddo. I'm fine, not doing a thing. Just watching this cute little commercial. What's up?"

"I'll pick up in an hour if you're ready." He said.

I smile and respond, "I'm ready, see you in an hour."

Forty-five minutes later he rings the doorbell and I grab my purse and head for the door. The short trip to his house is shorter than usual as we chat, joke,and laugh the whole way. At his house, he opens the door to let me in while he gathers his packages from the car. I busy myself by looking around while he puts away his things. We finish at the same time and settle down to visit for a bit and talk some more.

"Ma, have you ever had shrimp tacos before?" he asked, springing to his feet.

"Ummm, don't think I have, why?" I questioned.

He's halfway to the kitchen before I finish answering, I follow wondering what he's up to. He removes foods from the fridge, places it on the counter and begins to prepare our dinner. While the shrimp boils, he chops and shreds lettuce, tomatoes, and onion. We talk a mile-a-minute as he works and in no time everything is ready. We take our food to eat and watch Twilight Zone movies. Naturally, we miss most of the movie - talking.

Wow, the shrimp tacos are really delicious, very tasty! They are also rather filling, just one has me as-full-as-a-tick. Now that we're full we get quiet to watch a little of the movie. Too much stillness and quietness has us both nodding and dozing so I suggest that he can take me home whenever he's ready. That way he can get back home himself and get some much-needed rest.

What a suprisingly wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon - making memories. Life doesn't get much better than this.

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An Unplanned Absence

Last week didn’t go quite the way I’d planned. It wasn’t the kick back and relax, blog hopping comment leaving week I had envisioned. It’s been a see-saw of nerve-tingling chaos and sleep provoking quiet around here. It has also been a gorgeously beautiful week; sunny, with mild temperatures mostly - - a very nice week indeed.

I’ve been on an unplanned break from blogging writing and everything else computer related. It’s good to be back but, the question is, what do I do after this unplanned absence? Update blogs and sites, visit friends’ blogs and chat with them? Write something profound? What? I have no idea.

Let’s hope I am not 50 miles behind like I was last time an unplanned break waylaid me. But then, what can I expect? Okay, I’m behind. I’ll either catch up or I won’t.

I have no desire to “THINK” right now so I might need to continue this break for several more days - - to get my mind back into it. Since I've been offline most of the week, I am starting to feel like I might never get the urge to blog again.

What a nice way to close out the week. I’m really looking forward to a more mellow and peaceful weekend ahead.

Okay, enough moaning and groaning! I have a lot of visiting and catching up to do. Keep the porch light on, I'm coming.

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