Today is good Friday and we only work a half day today. Yeah!!!!

Can you guess that this first one was drawn on my birthday?

 I have been so uninspired since Christmas when it comes to decorating. I usually do something for every holiday. This year I skipped, Valentines day, St. Patrick's day and looks like Easter too. Maybe I'll decorate for summer. I usually just do a patriotic theme until fall.

I did however do a little decorating at work. I used what they already had there.

I thought this was really cute

There was a few other things I put out but apparently I didn't take pictures of them. I did find a few things at Hobby Lobby that I took in to put near my computer. After Easter I'll take them back home.

This is two separate decorations. The books are one and the bunny is another.

 Starting April 1st, I’m taking up a new hobby: responding to every question with “That’s not in my job description.”

Coworker: “Can you hand me that pen?” Me: “Not in my job description.”

Family: “What do you want for dinner?” Me: “Not in my job description.”

Dog: exists Me: “Buddy, I don’t make the rules.”

I’ll keep this up until someone files a complaint or I forget, whichever comes first.

Happy April Fools’ Day to everyone with more energy than me.

 I can't believe I forgot to post what Amanda got me while we were out on my birthday. At the first hsop she bought me 2 candles. One was honeysuckle (I think) and the other was coconut lime. The Ann cave was smelling very coconutty while this one was burning.

She also bought me a table runner which would be perfect for the Ann cave. Of course I don't currently have a coffee table there. I do however have one in my cart on Amazon.

Not the best picture of this but you can get the idea. It's on the coffee table in my living room right now. I should probably change out that pine greenery in the centerpiece.

 Who knew that one day could produce so many posts? I know I dragged this out a bit but I didn't want to put all the pictures in one post. Plus I needed blog material so it worked well for me.

Once back in Pennsylvania, Amanda and I were both hungry so our first stop was lunch. We went to Cracker Barrel. I got the honey butter chicken with mashed potatoes and coleslaw. It was so delicious. I couldn't help digging in before I remembered to take the picture.

I saw a couple things out in the gift shop that made me laugh. I didn't buy them but I did take pictures.Apparently I forgot to take a picture of the other one and I can't remember what it even said. Darn!!

No trip with Amanda is ever complete without stopping at Hobby Lobby

I did pick up a few things here to take to work and decorate my desk. That will be another post though. We did also stop at Michaels and then we headed home. 

 I can't remember the name of this place and I suppose I could look it up but I'm too lazy.

We both loved those wood snowflakes that are sitting just inside. There was no price on them though so we didn't know if they were for sale or if they were decorations that they had recently taken down.

I just walked through and took pictures of a few of the different areas. 

This was a bit odd but I'm sure someone would like it

Who wouldn't want to shop in a place called Main Street General Store? I don't know if any of these were antiques. These all look like Rae Dunn inspired items.This one caught my eye because of the bunniesI'll end this tomorrow with the last few stops we made once we were back in Pennsylvania.

 A walk across the street took us to the other store. And there was even more to see in there. The front porch had lots of yard art

Inside was filled with so many wonderful things. The prices here were a little bit higher but still they had some bargains. I thought this lamp would have been perfect for my Ann cave but it was a bit too pricey.My son has a fascination with bigfoot for some reason and they had this lamp. It was $72 but I didn't buy it. I took a picture to send him though.

And here's one that Amanda took in that store.

I thought I took more pictures in this store but apparently not. Tomorrow I'll show you pictures from the antique store we browsed through.

 So where was it that we were headed to on Saturday? We went to Our Own Candle Company. There are actually 2 stores. This one and another across the street. This first one had amazing prices. 

Lets go inside. They make all their candles there.So many cute things to seeAmanda was actually shopping for my birthday while we were there so she bought me two candles. She also found a cute turkey that was on clearance that she couldn't pass up and a tree of life wall hanging that she wanted for her living room wall.Tomorrow I show you the other store.

 It started off slow, in front of my computer with a cup of coffee. Just a typical morning really. To be perfectly honest, birthdays are just that anymore, just a typical day. The thrill is definitely gone. But I am thrilled that I'm still here to celebrate them.

Around 9:00 I picked up Amanda and we headed for Findley Lake NY. It's a cute little town and as the name suggests, there is a lake

Across the street from our destination and the reason we went there was this cute little house with ladybugs on it

Since I've put enough pictures in this post, I will continue this tomorrow.

 I don't know if I mentioned or not that I had taken a four day weekend last week for my birthday. My birthday was on Saturday so I took the Thursday and Friday before off. I didn't do a whole lot but it was nice not having to get up and go to work.

Thursday I stayed home all day. I did some cleaning, played on the computer and worked on some craft projects.

Friday I ran to Walmart for my weekly shopping. When I got back home the desk chair I bought myself for my birthday was sitting on the front porch. Please pay no attention to the peeling paint around my front door. I really should take care of that.

I dragged the box inside, opened it up and put it together. Out with old and in with the newThe other chair was ok but it had definitely seen better days. I rather like my new one. Just have to sit in it a while to break the seat in.

 One of the Pennsylvania traditions I could do without is the annual St. Patrick's Day snow storm. Looking back I don't know if we've had snow that day every year or not but this we did.

It started the day before and although it wasn't a lot of snow, it was enough to say we got covered again.

The next day we had a little more but it still didn't amount to much. Just enough to say, "I thought we were finally moving into spring and this comes along."

 I stopped in around five yesterday to pick up a prescription. Simple errand. In and out. I grabbed a few other things and headed to the front to check out.

There was one register open. One young man cashing, another bagging. The lane next to them had the light on, but no one was there. So I got in line behind the person already checking out. Someone else lined up behind me.

Then a third person walked right up to the empty lane, unloaded his stuff, and—like magic—the bagger suddenly became a cashier. He walked over, rang that man up, and never once looked at me or said, “I can take you over here.” Nothing. Just… poof, new lane for someone else.

While I was still waiting, the cashier in my lane pulled out his phone and fired off a quick text. Right in the middle of the transaction. No attempt to hide it.

My turn finally came. He had an earbud in, singing along to whatever he was listening to. No hello. No eye contact. No acknowledgment that I was an actual customer standing there paying for my things. Just scanning and humming like he was in his own world.

By the time I walked out, I was grumpy enough to bite through steel. And all I could think was: this is exactly why I hate Walmart.

But the universe must’ve decided I needed a reset, because as I was leaving—still grumbling to myself—I saw a duck herding her little ducklings away from the road and back toward the pond. Just this determined mama waddling her babies to safety. And I’ll be honest: it made me smile in spite of myself. A tiny reminder that the world isn’t all earbuds and bad customer service.