| 2014
It has been nearly 4 months since I\'ve done a journal entry...
So much has been going on in my life! My parents are in their late 80\'s now, and I\'ve been helping them out more and more. I\'m working about 25 hours a week now. I love my job, my only regret is not nearly as much time for Desktop Nexus.
In two weeks, my husband is going to be undergoing a total hip replacement! He\'s been holding out for at least 8 years, but it can\'t be put on hold any longer. Some of you on DN know him as "Woody"  I uploaded this photo of him a year ago last January:
You can see why he might need a hip replaced, can\'t you? 
On top of that, my son is getting married in July! About a week ago two wedding themed Abstracts found their way into my uploaded wallpapers... I named one Bridal Bouquet, and the other one Wedding Cake Abstract.
With this wedding and my husband\'s hip replacement coming up so quickly, I will probably have to battle even harder to find DN time... but that doesn\'t mean that I won\'t be trying! DN is one of my Happy Places.  I\'ve made many great friends here.
If you don\'t "see me around" as often as you\'d like to, give me a holler by PM. I\'ll do my best to answer any that I get.
Happy Springtime...
And once again, Have a Happy Easter!
CollieSmile
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| 2013
Hi Everybody,
I haven\'t had much time to make wallpapers lately. Last year I made 12 Christmas ones. It looks like this year it is going to be a grand total of 4! You\'ve probably seen at least 3 of them, because if you are reading this, you probably got my Christmas greeting on your profile!
I am working 25 hours a week now, and I\'ve been helping my parents out a lot too. I\'m sad that I have less time now for DN visiting and wallpaper making, because I love DN as much as ever.
The business I\'m working for, however, is my parent\'s business. I get to work with my daughter, and I find it very fulfilling and rewarding. I just wish that I could find more hours in the day somehow... there is so much that I would like to do!
I said that I\'d keep this short, and I will. I hope that all of you have a wonderful holiday season and have a chance to get some rest and rejuvenation!
CollieSmile/Elaine
PS. If I\'m not getting around to your profile often enough, try PMing me and I\'ll do my best to answer.
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| October 31, 2013
My daughter can be super in a crisis, and she came through with flying colors. She turned my van around so that the passenger door was as near to my chair as possible. Then she and Kurt grabbed my arms and got me to where I could climb in. Then Lydia drove me home.
She parked partway on our lawn so that I wouldn\'t have as far to go. Then she and her husband helped me to get into the house. It took longer and was harder this time because there were a porch step and a porch landing to get up on. If I lifted my right leg, the pain was excruciating.
My daughter finally worked out a system with wooden chairs that helped a lot. I could actually slide from chair to chair with minimal pain. At last I was in the house, in a very muddy denim skirt, with wet shoes and socks. My sweater, the only one that I own, had the whole arm on it wet and muddy.
My daughter and her husband raced back to work, because she remembered that my brother had stored crutches there. When she brought them home, I found out that I could drag myself around on them very slowly, without too much pain. In addition to that, she got hold of one of her friend\'s dads, who has a key to his small church. She was able to borrow a walker and a wheelchair from the church, thanks to him. Unfortunately, we discovered that the wheel chair is missing the foot supports, so I am not sure how much it is going to help me. But I am using the walker now, and I am surprised at how (relatively) easy it is for me to get around with.
She helped me to get into clean, dry, clothing, and then she stayed at the house until John got home. I laid on our couch after eating some soup and taking pain medication. My daughter passed out the Halloween candy to the Trick or Treaters. I was glad that she could do it, but I missed seeing the kids in their costumes. There weren\'t as many as usual though, because of the miserable rainy weather.
John googled what to do about a pulled hamstring. You are supposed to keep the leg elevated a lot, apply ice to it every couple of hours, and stay off of it as much as possible. I have probably been sitting too long at this computer already, and am going to get up and go lie down.
I don\'t know what is going to happen tomorrow. Will I be able to go to work? I have no idea. Will I be able to go with John and my parents to a dinner and a play tomorrow night? Maybe... I hope so. I\'ve been looking forward to this play for several weeks. The walker will help me, at least.
Whatever happens, I will probably have trouble being on line very much if at all for the next few days. I will try to be on in bits and snatches of time. I\'m sure glad I got my Halloween greetings out to all of you before this happened.
Part of me still can\'t believe this. Of all the crazy freaky things to happen.....!
Weirded out on Halloween night,
Elaine
PS. A wallpaper of the front of my van, after I slid down the front of it. My husband took the photo, and (of course) I edited it.... lol
(Link back to Part One in case you want to read this crazy but true story again:
http://my.desktopnexus.com/CollieSmile/journal/my-crazy-painful-unbelievable-halloween-... |
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October 31, 2013
Hi Everybody,
Well, here is the journal entry that I thought I didn\'t have time to write... This is actually a letter that I wrote to my family, modified so that you can understand everything a little better.
My tooth is much improved, by the way. It improved dramatically after the endodontist did his thing. I still have to eat soft foods until next Monday when the stitches come out. My mouth is feeling much, much better though!
But believe it or not, I now have another problem, and it is a very painful one.
I got off work at 4PM today. Instead of driving home right away, I drove to the service place that does most of our family\'s auto work. My family has done business with this place for more than 50 years. The son of the original owner runs it now. Kurt have known each other since we were kids, and we are good friends.
The reason I took my van over there was because my AM radio stations hadn\'t been working properly since they fixed the car last time. I thought perhaps Kurt had tuned the radio in funny or something and had forgotten to switch it back. I drove over in spite of the miserable drizzly rain, because I had been trying to get over for more than a week.
The service place was also a gas station many years ago. I drove the car up to the service shop door and under an old gas pumping overhead "shelter" so that Kurt wouldn\'t get wet when he checked out the radio. (It turned out that somebody had messed around with the antenna and possibly has wrecked it, and that Kurt had nothing to do with the radio getting weird.)
Kurt had just figured out that something was wrong with my antenna. He was just starting to examine it. It is located on the right front part of my van. I started to follow him over to look at it, when my feet started skidding. I couldn\'t stop! The front of my van prevented me from taking a hard fall, but my legs kept sliding downwards because of mud, oil, and slick wet pavement. I hollered in pain, because my right leg was going down at a nearly impossible angle. Down I went on the pavement, crying out in pain.
Kurt felt just terrible about it. He tried to help me up, but every time he did, I yelled with pain. I suddenly realized exactly what had happened. Because I work out a lot, I realized that the pain was coming from my right hamstring, which had gotten pulled to the max.
I called my husband on Kurt\'s cell phone (mine conveniently had decided to die as usual.) He could hardly believe it. I told him to call my daughter and her husband and to have them call me. My daughter said that she would come. She wisely suggested that maybe I could try to get onto a chair. Kurt brought a chair out, and a large rag. I managed to crawl onto the rag and drag myself into the chair. Shortly after that, my daughter and her husband showed up.
Link to Part II: http://my.desktopnexus.com/CollieSmile/journal/my-crazy-painful-unbelievable-halloween-... |
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2013
Hi Everybody,
There are so many of you that I haven\'t been in touch with for awhile... At this point it looks like journal posts will be my main way to stay in contact from now on. That being said, I can\'t believe how long it\'s been since I\'ve made a journal entry! Almost a month! I\'ll try to post more often.
My job is going very well. I\'m doing a lot more laser engraving than I thought I\'d be! I\'m doing okay with it, except that one of the lasers I have to run parts on sometimes aggravates my back. It\'s one of the oldest laser engravers in the shop, and it\'s hard to sit at. I think the people who designed it planned for someone to run it while standing up. My ornery back won\'t permit that. So my daughter tries to keep me off that one as much as she can.
It\'s really an "all hands on deck" sort of a job. You may have noticed that on my Profile, I now describe my occupation as "Homemaker, Office Administrator, Laser Engraver, etc. It\'s all true....lol It\'s the sort of job where you are constantly changing hats for whatever needs to be done! And I still have plenty to learn.
One thing that is really neat for me is that we have a shop cat! He\'s a grey-brown tabby with beautiful markings. He sleeps up at my desk most of the time-- because it used to be my daughter\'s desk. She still uses my desk sometimes, so for the time being, we are keeping his bed there.
It\'s great to be able to cuddle a kitty once in a while! I can\'t have a cat at my house because my husband is allergic to them. (Almost every time I come home from work, Katie, my smooth collie, sniffs me over very thoroughly. She knows all about the cat! lol)
Eventually I hope to upload a wallpaper of him. I\'ve had one "photo shoot" already, but haven\'t checked the pictures yet. He kept squinting when I used my flash. I have a feeling I\'ll need to be taking more pictures to get a good wall or two.
I am still working part time, but I\'ve actually been working about 25 hours a week rather than the 20 that I thought I\'d be. I don\'t work on weekends, but lately they\'ve also been busy.
Last weekend on Saturday, my family went to an all day Collie Picnic that we\'ve been going to for at least 18 years. It\'s put on by a Collie Rescue group and a Collie Club in my area. I\'ve always called it my 2nd Christmas. It\'s the one day of the year that I get to see all of the collies that I want to! We\'ve made great friends over the years. We all had a great time, and Katie loved visiting with her breeder.
Trying to cram everything that I used to do before I starting working into 25 less hours is not easy. I don\'t have as much time for DN now and I know many of you have noticed that. If you want to PM me, don\'t hesitate! I\'ll be glad to hear from you. I\'m pretty sure that I\'ve answered all of my PMs, and I\'ll keep doing so. (If I\'ve forgotten to answer any, give me a holler.)
One other thing. I know that some of you have become active on another wallpaper site, because several of you have invited me over to have a look around, and possibly join up. I\'ve been happy to do some exploring, but I need to stick with Desktop Nexus only. I have enough trouble keeping up on DN now without joining a 2nd wallpaper site. (Just ask Betsey Butler and a couple of other people who have been trying to get me to join Facebook for months... even before I started working, I felt I didn\'t have the time to spare.)
Thanks for inviting me over though. I\'m really glad that a bunch of you do have the time to be on two wallpaper sites. I am so glad that many of you are still active on DN, and that I\'ll be able to see you here sometimes. I am very thankful for that.
Till next time,
CollieSmile
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| 2013
Hi Everybody,
Not a lot has changed since I wrote my last journal, which is why this one is a shortie....
I\'m still enjoying my new part time job, and I am reaping the benefits of working out 3 days a week in spite of having to get up at the early hour of 6 AM. I\'ve lost 9 pounds and I\'ll probably be losing more. This life style is good for me!
It is kind of ironic, but now that I have less time than I used to on DN, I\'ve been getting better at saying hi to you all once in a while-- with Profile greetings! And here I thought I was too busy to do them... lol
My biggest goal on DN at the moment, besides posting Profile Greetings once in a while, is to make more wallpaper comments. So many of you guys upload the greatest walls! And if I haven\'t said it before... I\'ll say it now. I believe that cheery greetings and wallpaper comments make Desktop Nexus go \'round! Some time I hope to make a wallpaper that says that too.
Well, I\'d better quit here so that this really IS a short entry. lol
CollieSmile
PS. This is Cricket, my parent\'s kitty. You probably know that already-- or you will-- from the profile greetings that I am going to post soon.
There are many cat lovers on DN, and I am one of them. But since my husband is allergic to cats, I have to get my "cat fixes" by visiting with other people\'s kitties.
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| 
2013
Hi Everybody,
I\'ve talked with a few of you, but I\'ve missed a lot of you. I\'m still getting used to working 4 hours a day and still trying to fit in the same activities that I\'m used to doing! I consider my time on Desktop Nexus more special than ever now, because I don\'t have as much of it. If any of you want to get in touch with me sure fire, send me a PM, and I\'ll do my best to answer it.
By the way, I sincerely thank all of you who have been commenting on my wallpapers. I truly appreciate it. As for me, I have been going through wallpaper commenting withdrawal. I am hoping to remedy that with a couple of big doses of wallpaper comments sometime within the next week or so. I hope that as many of you as possible feel the side effects...
About my part time job... I really like it!
It\'s a lot different than I thought it would be. I am doing work on the computer and other clerical work, but, I am also doing a lot of Laser Engraving. It isn\'t hard, and I enjoy it, now that I\'m not worried about it anymore.
The reason I was worried is because I thought that too much of it would aggravate my back problems. Staying in one position for several hours at a time can bother anybody’s back, especially my ornery one. But there are a couple of reasons that running parts on the engraver is actually working out fairly well for me.
One is that I am working out at Planet Fitness. Each workout is like a physical therapy session! There is an excellent trainer on the staff. She\'s given me a great program that is safe to do. I go there 3 times a week before I go to work. (I still have trouble believing this, but I nowI get up at 6AM. My “Night Owlism” is on the endangered species list.)
When I first started laser engraving parts, I was getting very sore. I asked my trainer if there were any exercises that I could do to counteract what I was doing at work. She gave me a great tip, that I can share with all of you!
It isn\'t natural for the human body to stay in one position for hours at a time. Whether you are running machinery, sitting at a desk doing clerical work, or sitting for long hours on the computer at home, here is what you can do:
Stand up at least every hour and reach for the sky! In other words, do a full body stretch! (Or if you are wheelchair bound, stretch as much of yourself as you can.)
It feels wonderful, and I am hooked. I probably stretch at least 10 to 15 times a day now. The first day that I ran parts for 4 hours, I went home dangerously sore. I ran parts for 4 hours last Friday, and thanks to stretching, I went home a little stiff, but I felt okay.
If you walk away with only one thing from this journal post, make it this stretching tip! It has made such a great difference to me and I’m sure it will improve your life also. Try it. You won\'t regret it!
CollieSmile
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| 2013
I just wanted to say a quick hello to everybody....
I am so tired....
My new Job is going well. I\'m glad that it\'s only 4 hours a day.
I\'m tired today mainly because of car trouble. My husband\'s car wouldn\'t start... I went to the store he was at to give him a jump....the jump didn\'t work....had to call a tow truck. Much to my relief, my parents were able to loan me a car so that I can exercise and go to work tomorrow, while "Woody" borrows my van.
It took us about 3 hours to get our car problems solved. I have to hit the hay \'cause I have to get up at 6AM tomorrow...
I just wanted to let all of you know why I haven\'t been on DN as much lately. I hope to get on a little more often. This was my day to do it though, and I missed it because of all of our car problems.
It\'s past time for me to hit the hay, but at least I\'ve said hello! Now I\'m saying Good night....
CollieSmile
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| 2013
.......But I freely admit that I\'m glad it is only part time. As far as I know at least.
I wasn\'t really looking for a job, but this one came along and tapped me on the shoulder.
I mentioned in some previous journal entries that my family has a business. My Dad got it going in the mid 1960\'s. When it started out, He was a Manufacturer\'s Sales Representative. In fact, when I was in high school, I used to work for him during the summer times, and if I didn\'t, one of my other sister\'s did. There used to be about 4 other people in the company, and they got to take their vacations because of us.
This business has been going on for over 40 years, but it isn\'t the same as it used to be. Gradually it evolved into a laser engraving service. It\'s been into that business since the mid 1980\'s.
The shop manager who has been with the business for at least 15 years is retiring at the end of the month. My daughter is training to take over his position, and she asked me if I would like to learn her job.
She has done everything from running the engraving machines to doing all of the clerical work. They have someone to run the machines, so my job would just be clerical, as far as I know.
A lot of my job will entail working on a computer. It sure won\'t be the same as making wallpapers though!
I talked about this family business briefly at the top of my May 22nd Journal Entry. My parents had been trying to decide whether to keep this business going, sell it, or shut it down. For the time being, they are going to keep it running, and see how it does.
My daughter believes the business has the potential to do very well. I think it does also. Hopefully, I can be part of the solution.
My daughter and I are more concerned about my parents (her grandparents) than we are about hanging on to our jobs. If it is decided that it would be better for the business to be sold or closed, we are prepared for that. Both of us are very fortunate in that our husbands have good jobs. If the company does not continue, we will be okay.
But we are going to give it our best shot and see what happens. I\'ll keep you posted!
CollieSmile
June 4, 2013
PS. If you haven\'t done so already, I encourage you to read the story behind this very special wallpaper.
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| I hadn\'t thought of that! I guess that wallpaper group is helpful in calming me down! lol I need all of the help I can get these days.
I appreciate what you said about quiet moments. Now that I\'ve finally let everybody up here know what is going on with me, I feel a lot more at peace too.
Elaine
PS. That link to the Greek Dance is super! It reminds me of one of my favorite moves too... It\'s called My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Have you ever seen it? Very warm hearted and funny. |
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I uploaded this photo of him a year ago last January:
I\'ve made many great friends here. 
