I'm taking a chance here...I'm on the chaise on my deck with NO bug spray.

Here's a picture of what I spent hours on after I finished my first post of the day:

If any of you work in an office and spend your days doing paperwork, I salute you. It took so long to fill out the rebate forms. Can you tell that there's 13 envelopes there? Each one needed a copy of the receipt. With certain things circled. Some needed copies of bar codes, some needed originals. Some needed model and serial numbers. Some needed them all. They all went to different addresses. Some things, like the Berlitz Premium Spanish software, had 3 individual rebate forms: $10, $10 and $20, making the product free. I bought 6 things that had rebates attached, and I had to mail in 13! Geez...I'm going to think twice before I purchase anything else that's 'free after rebate.' I mean, did I really need the highlighters just because they were free? They weren't really free after the envelope, stamp, and ink used in making copies of everything. Will somebody remind me? The forms and all the copying took up a huge chunk of my day. Then I had to register my two extended warranties. Then, somehow, in July I agreed to join a Shopper's Advantage club and some other kind of club they were hawking on the phone. You know, free 60 day membership and you can cancel before then and not have a monthly bill? I called to cancel both, though they tried to get me to stay with incentives. So, all that 'stuff' kept me busy, and before I knew it it was 5:30.

To change the subject completely, Jamie from 'Grace,too' once asked her readers for their thoughts on replying to comments. Interesting subject. When I know a writer responds to comments, I always go back to see if they responded to mine. I love when they do. Some of Jamie's readers felt it was rude for an author to respond to some, but not all. I can see that too. I don't feel like I have the time to respond to all my comments (not that there's that many), and since I usually don't reply, I don't think people check back. If they do, I don't know it. If a specific question is asked, I'll go to their blog and reply. So what to do? I think I might just address questions in a regular post and see how that goes. I know, long winded. If I were in school, I'd probably get a 'C' for this paragraph.

Happyone asked me if I'm still walking. Darn, I've been outed. I've been a total wimp and I won't say how long it's been since I've strolled.

A few people asked me about Emily and her sports. She made a decision today to drop out of softball. As much as she loves it, it was just too much with starting high school and playing field hockey. Her dad and I support that. Field hockey is kicking her butt. She's running miles, doing sprints, and who knows what else. She is so sore. She looks especially cute in her uniform. I'll have to get a picture of that. Her first game is tomorrow.

I got a call from my doctor yesterday. She's the best. Everyone in this part of the county knows her, and if she's not their doctor, they wish she was. Her practice has been closed to new patients for years. I'm never giving her up. She looks you right in the eye when she's talking to you, and gives you all the time you want. She doesn't hesitate to order any tests that she feels are necessary. Anyway, she got my lab results, and even though I was taking the wrong dose of my medication, it was the right dose, because all my levels are correct. So I'll keep on taking it. I feel better because she didn't feel any nodules on my thyroid, but I'll feel much better after my sonogram. I took my vitamins an hour ago and I still feel like they're stuck in my throat.

Well, that's the end for now. It's been a good blogging day. And only one mosquito bite.