As I was pouring a Diet Sunkist to go with my dinner tonight, I realized that three of us kids used to split a can of soda when we were kids (and not so little kids at that) and we enjoyed it. We didn't whine about how little we were getting, but were thrilled with the fact that we were getting soda at all.

When I was growing up, milk, water and Kool-Aid were the drinks at most meals. Soda was a special treat, something we did not have in the house very often. Candy was the same way. We rarely got candy unless it was a treat. Dad or Grandad used to give us a nickel to go to the corner store to buy penny candy. Occassionally Dad would give us a quarter and then we felt like little princes and princesses because that meant not only could we buy penny candy, but we could get a candy bar as well.

Nowadays, kids think they MUST have soda, at least most of the kids I've been around do. We have soda in the house quite frequently compared to when I was younger. Heck, even as a teen-ager, we used to easily split a 12-oz. can of soda between two of us. I do remember that a 12-oz. can also held what was then considered two servings. Since then, the FDA has made the beverage companies change most canned soda to a single can because the average consumer (including me) will drink an entire can in one sitting. I double-checked the can tonight, it is no longer considered 2 servings. Now it is one.

I hope all of my family and friends, online and in person, have a truly blessed Easter. May the peace and joy of God's grace be with you now and always.

I plan on attending the community Easter sunrise service tomorrow. There is something powerful about worshipping God as the sun comes up over the horizon. Unfortunately, that service here is always done inside the mall, but the center court ceiling is pretty much all sky lights, so it should still be lovely. The little church I was a member of in North Carolina had Easter sunrise service on the lawn of the church every year and it was awesome. I guess Iowa is still too far north and weather is too unpredictable at this time of year to plan one outdoors, but I think it would be awesome to have it at the park.

My most memorable Easter sunrise service, I think, is when I was in junior high school. We lived by my grandmother in Idaho for a year. Nampa is a bit on the edge of the desert and has lots of buttes and mesas. That year we attended service at the base of a butte that had three crosses on top of it. The sun came up over those crosses as the service went on. It was soooo powerful.

No special plans for tomorrow other than attending church a couple of times. As I mentioned last time, hubby's family does not do much for Easter.

Busy, busy, busy - that is my mantra. Are you guys sick of hearing it? I am. I long for a vacation. I want to go to my mother's house and kick back with her and my siblings for a little while. I want to be there for Easter dinner, with ham and mom's homemade corn yeast rolls and my sister's homemade pie crust.

Hubby was raised Mormon and his family does not celebrate Easter as we do. I miss that. I yearn for that. I wish I had the time and the money to drive down to my mom's for a few days.

I was away from Xanga for a whole week and did not manage to answer some of your questions about the dinner at the one church couple's house. Hubby did go along with me after I asked my friend what she was serving and explained how picky he was. She said she was not offended at all, and we actually ended up staying there a few hours. The food was fantastic. She called it "simple cooking" but it was fancy by my standards, LOL. Her husband had made a lovely pot roast with carrots and potatoes. The vegetables were glazed so nicely with the juices from the roast. There was a fresh lettuce salad made with a couple kinds of lettuce, not just iceberg like around my boring house, and cucumbers. The meat was tender and juicy and cut with a fork. Then, we had homemade angel food cake with strawberries and ice cream for dessert, and a fantastic blend of green and pomegranite tea. My friend owns a gift shop that sells exotic teas, so it was a treat to get to try something like that. It is not something that I would have ever thought of buying before I tasted it. The tea had a lovely pink color to it and was very aromatic. It also tasted great without having to add sweetener. I always add sweetener to my breakfast or Earl Grey teas (the standards around my house). All in all it was a great afternoon of fellowship. Religion barely came up and Hubby could see that they were nice people. I do hope they invite us back again.

I've got about 10 minutes before I need to close up shop. I'm here by myself this last hour of the day today. We are still trying to find another employee. The help we do have (who is working out great, I might add) got off a little after 4. Hubby went mushrooming this afternoon. I hope he found a bunch. We had a good rain last week and then it's been in the 70s here the past couple of days. My FIL said that he has heard people are finding them already. Morel mushrooms are the best and the sell for $10-30 a pound depending on what part of the country you are in. We will not sell ours. We will eat some, preserve some, and give some away. We have learned if we share the bounty in the years we do find them, someone else will share with us in the years we do not (like last year). Most often, we don't manage to get out into the woods until late in the season and they are either picked, eaten by the deer or dried up.

The year before last I learned how to freeze morels after they had been cleaned and breaded (breaded and friend is the best way to eat them, the only way in Hubby's mind). This year I found out how to dry them, so I'll be trying to preserve some that way (and maybe even send some down to my mom if we have enough).

UPDATE: No mushrooms. *pout*

 I made liver and onions for supper and I just cannot seem to get the aftertaste out of my mouth. It was delicious the first time going down, but I'm done and don't want to taste it anymore, thankyouverymuch.

It's been a busy week and looks to be another busy one coming up. I've got the historical society board meeting on Monday night, the quarterly church business meeting on Wednesday night (as well as a potluck meal beforehand), and Bible study on Thursday night. Plus we are still trying to hire a couple more people at work and get a new point of sale program into place. While it is a lot of work now, the POS will save us tons of time once it is all set up and running.

On top of all other things this past week, I managed to update two web sites that I designed and get a third one on the air. If you'd like to see some of my craftsmanship, check out The Stone Mansion and the historical society's web sites (both recently updated) as well as the newest one, DeJong Lawn & Landscape.

We had a great service today in church. Between the sermon, which compared Gethsamane to Calvary (inner and outer turmoil), and the songs, I was crying in service today thinking about the awesome things Jesus has done for me.

Time for Gray's Anatomy which mean cuddle time with the hubby, too.

In closing, I wanted to ask, does anyone else think Jackie Chan is sexy? Is it his sense of humor, his athelticism or his good looks that contribute to this?

I forgot to turn my clock ahead last night and nearly went back to bed thinking I had a couple extra hours to sleep. Luckily I remembered as I was going back to bed that the time changed last night. I don't recall seeing as many reminders this year as in years past, but then I've been pretty busy lately and have had my head down to the grindstone and not in the paper or the news.

We had a great open house on Friday. We didn't feed as many people hot dogs as we had anticipated. The morning was kind of slow but then it really picked up in the afternoon. We gave away lots of soda and door prizes and a few balloons. Some of those kids were so cute with their balloons. They would get the BIGGEST grins on their faces. The smallest thing made them so happy.

I got a kick out of watching John play with a little girl while her parents were getting a cell phone. She was three, and when you asked her her name, she just held up three fingers and said "free." But she knew her colors well, and they were counting. It was adorable and all I could do was think how he would be with our grandaughter if we lived closer to them.

I worked late yesterday listing some stuff on eBay and getting a client's web site polished up in hopes that it will be up by Monday. I should have printed off the paperwork for John and another of the directors to conduct another round of interviews on Monday. The girl we did get hired seems to be catching on well. Now we need a couple more with similar work ethics to fill out the staff and I can give up on some of this crazy overtime. I put in a few 14-hour days this past week trying to stay ahead of things.

Today we've been invited to have dinner (that's what they call lunch in Iowa) at another couple's house. I just love this couple from church. They are also business owners so I have a bit of a kinship with them. John was invited but won't go because he doesn't know what they are serving and is so picky. This lady is such a sensitive soul that I think she'll be offended by me asking what she is serving ahead of time, but then she might be offended that John isn't coming at all either. I'd like him to get to know these people. They are truly non-judgemental Christians and very open minded to other beliefs. I think it would be good for him to get to know them. But, he's a picky guy and is hard to get out and moving. Maybe I will ask her what she is serving when I see her in Sunday school, or maybe I will just give her a different reason for him not coming today. There are other things that have gotten him to this level where he is at, things that have set him back a little in his coming around to Christ. I hate to hurt her feelings, and I don't want to lie, either. I am not one who believes in telling white lies to spare someone's feelings. That has not made me the most popular person in the city, but it's how I was raised. A lie is a lie, just as a sin is a sin.

OK, I've gotten way off things now. Anyway, this couple owns a little cafe in town that serves the best tuna salad and chicken salad sandwiches. I have just loved everything I've eaten there and can't wait to sink my teeth into something delicious for dinner. Of course, things may end up being more simple at home than they are at the cafe, too. We'll see. This lady makes potato salad nearly exactly like my mom's. I've never tasted any potato salad even close to my mom's before, until I met this couple. The conversation will be good, too, because they understand how business goes and the talk won't center around computers as much as it will around the joys and woes of running a business.

Then I have to come home a do laundry so we have clean clothes to wear all next week. The good news is, I'm alive and healthy enough to handle this kind of work load in small doses. I do love the business. It is much harder work than working for someone else, but there is a lot of satisfaction that goes along with it.

I hope everyone has a great week. I've got to get dressed, do my quiet time and grab a bowl of cereal or something before Sunday school. God bless.

I woke up early this morning to watch the solar eclipse. The newsman said something last night about a total solar eclipse happening at 4:55 this morning. I was half asleep when they said it, but I haven't seen a solar eclipse for about 20 years and wanted to watch one again.

I jump right out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off, hoping to catch a glimpse. I'm standing at the window thinking, "How am I going to see an eclipse in the dark?" So, I get online to look up today's eclipse information. I was quite certain the newsman said 4:55 a.m. but maybe it was supposed to be 4:55 p.m.

Turns out we aren't evening going to be able to see the eclipse in the United States. Some people in Brazil will see it, and the Mediterranean and European countries will get a good glimpse, but not the U.S. Why did they even mention it on the stupid news if it isn't going to be visible here? Stupid newsman!

Today is the anniversary of when I found my lump five years ago. I am into my homeward slide of becoming a WISH (Wow, I'm Still Here) and can hardly believe it. I don't think the doctors will consider me at 5 years until the fall, after I've passed the 5-year mark from my last treatment.

I cannot believe how quickly time flies by.

Sunday is hubby's birthday. He's 45. I started to buy him a book that I thought he might like today, but then I put it back thinking, "I'll honor his wishes."

See, we got into a big fight over my birthday a couple months ago, as you may recall. I wanted to have a birthday party for my 40th. He thought it was childish and felt put out that I expected him to do anything about it when he thinks birthdays are just another day. He told me then that he didn't want me to EVER plan another birthday party for him because they didn't mean anything. He doesn't buy birthday presents or cards because it's just a gimmick from the card company and a waste of money for "a day like any other day."

So, I went down the card aisle at the grocery store today, and I even looked at a few cards, and picked on out that I thought expressed my feelings, but after a moment of thought, I put it back on the shelf, thinking, "No, I will honor HIS wishes. If he doesn't want a fuss on his birthday, then he gets no fuss."

His parents are taking us out for lunch tomorrow after church. It's their tradition that they take people out to eat for their birthday, and I'm ok with that.

I am trying to convince myself that it is ok that I didn't get him anything for his birthday because he doesn't WANT anything for his birthday, and he would just grumble about wasting the money that could have been spent to pay bills.

So, I may wish him verbally a happy birthday tomorrow, and he may get birthday sex (but only because I want it, too) but that's as far as I can go for his birthday, out of respect for his wishes.

If I expect him to honor my wishes of making me a queen on my birthday, then I shall honor his, but in the mean time, I'd like to say...

Happy birthday to my sweetheart,
my soulmate, my best friend
(even if he can be an insensitive jerk sometimes)

Happy 1st Birthday
to my beautiful granddaughter,
Leighann

It's been a crazy week, but that is beginning to feel like the norm anymore.

I managed to get an updated entry on the company blog this morning.

Last time I blogged I had mentioned that the mechanic couldn't find anything wrong with the vehicle. I picked it up the next morning, it started up from the shop just fine. I drove it back to the store with no problems. A few hours later, I went out to run errands and it wouldn't start from our parking lot. I missed a Lunch & Learn on time management that day because I couldn't get across town to the restaurant where they were holding it and didn't have the time to arrange a ride. I called the mechanic and he sent someone right over, who was able to figure out what was wrong now that it was acting up again. After an additional $180 (for a total of $250 after the shop charges for the previous days spent trying to find the problem) they replaced my ignition control module.

Only one of the two people we wanted to hire accepted the position. One of them never returned any of my numerous calls trying to reach him. I left messages on his voice mail. After 5 days of no returned calls, we decided he didn't want the job and didn't have the decency to tell us so. His loss as well as ours. The one gal started yesterday and she is a peach (at least so far).

I've got lots of work to do yet, so I'd better log off here and get to it before John sees me blogging on my personal blog and jumps on me for it.

Oh, in other good news this week, we found a great point of sale program (at least it appears to be) for a really reasonable cost. There is not commitment to it, so if we try it and decide we don't like it, we aren't out a ton of money like we would be if we had purchased QuickBooks POS like we were originally planning. We tested Cougar Mountain and Microsoft POS, but both of those proved to be much too costly. QuickBooks POS was looking like our only option until we stumbled across this other little gem. I'll let you know in the next few weeks just how much of a gem it really is. It is designed for the cell phone industry, but we can integrate our computer and service options into it as well.

God is good.

It's been a week of mixed blessings.

The good news: The mechanic is only charging me $65 for looking at the truck.
The bad news: He couldn't find anything wrong with it. It did not mess up for him.

The good news: My employee showed up on Tuesday.
The bad news: She gave me her two weeks notice.

The good news: I interviewed two great candidates yeseterday and today.
The bad news: I'm having a hard time figuring out a schedule where I can train them while the other employee is still there and not go over too many hours in the week.

The good news: The Chamber of Commerce has a Lunch & Learn tomorrow on time management that I'm excited about going to.
The bad news: I may not be able to schedule it into my day and depends on whether I manage to get a ride to pick up the truck early enough in the morning. The mechanic has some folks out sick or something and can't bring it to me like he usually does.