the quickest phone call Ive ever had with a government agency.....

I was doing a paper purge....and came upon a letter from the Dept of Education. They had taken nearly all my tax return a few years back....and told me I was free and clear on my student loans.....

well.....

every time I apply for financial aid I get denied because they report back I still owe....I called the number on the letter and in less than 10 minutes...including hold time...I got it cleared up...Im to receive a letter stating such and when I get where Im going and apply to school(s) they said its easy enough to fax the necessary form directly to the financial aid department.....

woohooooo!!!!!

Green. Everything is that fragile light soft green that you only see in the first few weeks of Spring. Just beautiful.

Elegance

Received an elegant birthday greeting DLS

From HuffPost:
 

We asked HuffPost editors which sayings bother them the most, and found that the common thread among the responses was uselessness.

Often, the phrases that we find off-putting are those that serve as conversational fillers, implying that the speaker is vapid or has little else to contribute to the conversation.

Business and Internet jargon ("There's no 'I' in team" and "This. So much this," respectively) are irritating in their own rights, but phrases said in day-to-day conversation can be the most grating.

Here are 22 common expressions people secretly hate. Let us know which sayings you dislike in the comments!:

"Everything happens for a reason."
... except when it doesn't.

"If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
"If fact #1 is true, then fact #1 is true." This falls under the "you actually just said nothing" category.

"I mean..."
This expression, like "let me think," is somewhat of a conversation hedge, so we can forgive it. Still, why call attention to the fact that you're saying what you mean? Do you normally not say what you mean?

"To be frank..."
"As opposed to the rest of the things I say, which are evasive..."

"Honestly..."
"Typically I'm lying, but in this case I'm being honest."

"Just sayin'."
Just sayin' what?! And why do you feel the need to alert people that you are, indeed, speaking? "Just sayin'" is often followed by a rude statement, in a feeble attempt to soften the blow.

"At the end of the day..."
The metaphorical version of the already trite, "when it's all said and done...". The best part? It's said at all hours of the day.

"Same difference."
So... is it the same? Or different? Are the differences between the two things that you're comparing the same?

"Do what you love."
This is a nice sentiment, but it oversimplifies the task of finding a vocation, hobby or path. Plus, it implies that everyone has the ability and funds to follow their hearts, whether their hearts desire terminal degrees, improv classes, or their very own Etsy shops.

"Let me tell you something."
Along the lines of, "Can I ask you something?" this phrase is completely needless.

"I apologize if I made you feel that way."
I.e. "I refuse to take responsibility for my actions."

"My bad."
This expression makes light of a mistake -- rather than a sincere apology, "my bad" is the verbal equivalent of a shrug.

"Sorry I'm not sorry."
Fine when used facetiously, but so irritating when said in earnest. It's a more straightforward version of the above.

"No worries."
This is fine when said to someone who had sincere worries, but is often used passive aggressively, as in: "I'm going to be a little late." "No worries!" Wait, should I have been worried?

"Chill out."
"Your concerns are not valid and are totally drowning out my Phish live stream."

"Sunday funday!"
Rhyming does not an acceptable phrase make.

"I've got a case of the Mondays."
Who wouldn't, after Sunday funday?

"Killing it."
Because what's success without severe aggression? Also, it may be physically impossible to say this phrase without simultaneously high-fiving someone.

"Work hard, play hard."
If you're really working that hard, wouldn't you need to sleep hard at some point?

"Give 110 percent."
Not possible.

"Yeah, no."
So... you mean "no"? If you mean no, just say "no"!

Uh oh,

"Just sayin'." guilty
"No worries." guilty

"Yeah no" is my most bothered of the group. Aaargh! It just sounds so sarcastic and smartassery to me. Even rude almost. This is a good list though, "at the end of the day" is very annoying to me as is "just sayin'". I was glad to see this so that I knew I wasn't the only one! =)

Oh how some of these grate my nerves.

Smiling, indeed.
 

5/4 away from work!

:)

Waking with her seeing her beautiful face sleeping with a smile

knowing that she is with me on the truck for today and then a 3 day weekend

phrases we secretly hate...
 

my favorite....


ummm....yeah...no.... :)

Beautiful women everywhere I went today. Each had their own distinguishing feature that caught my attention, and I couldn't help but smile. One had gorgeous eyes, another had a smile that would light up a runway, and another was just drop dead gorgeous from head to toe. Warm, soulful eyes and a sincere, beautiful smile are my two favorite features, but I check out the rest, too. Yeah, I can be a pig like that - don't judge!

The Universe was smiling on me today, and I was smiling right back!

So many things to smile about this morning....
 

Silence. The only discernible sound is that of softly rushing air currents created by the ceiling fan. It is so relaxing.

The aroma of freshly-brewed coffee.

A long weekend ahead.

A few new job opportunities that I may be interested in have suddenly been posted for bid.

And the best part of all is that a book which I have been really wanting to read but didn't have the extra money for is available in it's entirety online for free and it isn't a pirated copy!

I think today is shaping up to be a great day.

Alive!
 

I am alive for another day, and i am overwhelmed with the love i experienced from my church family while inthe Hospital.

Our priest (who feints at the sight of blood) sat with my Kasey and i in the emergency room while i vomited blood in 8 large plastic buckets, an inch deep, over the space of 2 hours. God bless her, she turned white a couple of times, but managed to look the other way just in time.

Then unexpectedly i was brought a prayer shawl handmade by my women's group, and a young man delivering magazines prayed with my daughter and i.

I am so very blessed in my life.

...
 

Actually a package...with Easter theme I got in mail and the thoughtfullness was....well it made me smile...really big...HUGE!

I found both pairs of my glasses and my missing pair of sneakers today!

a new to me path that led me to a lovely vista.... :)

Im watching public television with my client...as we do most weekends...

Its a show about tigers...and the film crew goes out on elephants to find tigers to film.

The lead elephant saw branches that were in its way...at eye level and pushed them aside with his trunk as he went...then...there were higher branches further along...and even though they were no concern to him ( they wouldve cleared him easily) he knew they would hit the people that were on his back....and he moved them aside as well.... :)
Elephants have long been a favorite animal of mine...for their intelligence...matriarchal tendencies and their close family bonds. Now I know they also have empathy.... :)

Early morning pictures via texts of grand kids with Easter baskets. Then of course, my phone starts ringing and I get the inventory of all the baskets. The excited little voices were so darn cute.

Having a birthday/Easter BBQ with the girls family.

Watching her grown kids hunt eggs I had hidden in the yard. All but 2 eggs were found upon further investigation we realized that the neighbors kids must have found the 2 that we couldnt. I hope they enjoyed the surprise in the egg.

Eating breakfast out on the patio. It was the first time we have been able to.

seeing the visitor msg this morning

So many things made me smile today: having a slightly off-key sing along to the radio, on the way to a fabulous dinner with a wonderful woman & her very charming and kind family. Flying massive cartoon-themed kites on the lake & playing with sidewalk chalk, like overgrown children. And a beautiful engagement ring...

I've had a lot of reasons to smile today. :)

Coming home to a happy, smiling girl who was practically dancing with excitement. What's the scoop? She found me the perfect Christmas present today. $5 says she can't keep the secret that long, espcially not under threat of tickling.

I never smile, cuz it makes people think I'm up to something. Naaa the gils meeting me at the end of the driveway made me smile today. They looked so funny running back up in the yard...waddle waddle waddle

Gils? *Shaking my head at my goof ball roommate*... we have a total of 21 critters here...some farm critters some pets...but I didn't know we had any gils unless you brought something new home? ...I hope I don't have to feed anything tomorrow that has gils???

I think my goofy roommate is talking about guinea birds??

Waddle waddle waddle :P

She did by calling.

I went down cellar to finish up my daughter's wash...and start my own....

She had found the sidewalk chalk I keep around for my niece and nephew...and drew a gorgeous picture on the cement wall at the bottom of the stairs...

She's so artistic...and wonderful. I'm so proud of my baby <3

He is so talented!
 

this story made me smile
 

I went hiking after work today. I was headed back to my car when I saw a couple coming up the trail towards me.
As I got closer, I heard them talking about how beautiful an old barn foundation was that they found on the trail. I got to talking to them ( and shared a secret in the stones of the long gone barn) and found out they were geocaching. :)
They invited me to look for a cache with them....we talked about history and archaeology. We never did find the cache. But I enjoyed my time with these lovely people....who,incidentally, were visiting from Florida... :)

This >> http://sftimes.co/?id=439http://sftimes.co/?id=439 because it reminded me of how it sounds to a butch when two femmes are talking.

The 90s station on Sirius!!

One of the most amazing thunderstorms. Having no electricity made it more intense, less distracting. I love em

ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!