President Ford

President Gerald Ford was one of the first presidents I remember being aware of in school. Sure, I watched President Kennedy's funeral, and watched Tricky Dick's "I am not a crook" speech--but with President Ford, I was old enough to take an interest and follow his years in office.

I remember my shock when I heard he had pardoned Richard Nixon....now I see what a wise decision that was for him to make. He set the wheels in motion to calm a nation hell-bent to think the worst of the presidency and the Federal government.

And who can forget Chevy Chase imitating him on Saturday Night Live?

May Gerald Ford rest in peace.

Proud Mother

We attended a bandquet (that is the way they spelled it) the other night at school. The marching band season is over and the kids got to celebrate their talents with a catered dinner and awards.

What an awesome group of kids. Responsiblity, supportiveness, and good comeraderie were evident all evening long. Their band reminds me of the childhood book called "The Little Engine That Could." Only 80 members strong, competing against bands of 200 or more. They did a super job!

Time Crunch

It's been two weeks since I last blogged. I'm entering the busiest time of year at work and am starting to feel the pinch. Because of that, I want to remind myself of what I am thankful for:

(1) My health. Despite being Type 1 diabetic for 18 years, I enjoy good eye sight, all my limbs and only minor issues that most 45-year-olds experience.
(2) My family. I have a wonderfully supportive and loving husband, a superb 14-year-old daughter who makes me so proud to be her mom and a very eclectic and cute 2 1/2-year-old that has as many fun moments as the exasperating ones! Not to mention my extended family who will be babysitting this weekend so my hubby and I can get away by ourselves. :-)
(3) Supportive friends. From my friend Liz who understands when I have to again blow her off for lunch due to work obligations; to my beading buddies (Jeanne, Hope, and Pam) who are always there for me in good times and bad every lunch hour; to my friend Jennie who is always good for a quick lunch, venting and a few laughs.

Marching Band Competition

This afternoon was my daughter's second to last performance this year for marching band. It was a competition in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Their band took last in their class (AAAA). The class is determined by the number of students in the school...unfortunately, there are only 80 kids in this band, compared to 300 to 330 in the other two bands in town. Their performance was great and outstanding....it is just that with only 76 kids...their sound gets sucked out in the wide open spaces of the stadium. Very discouraging for the kids.

Homecoming

My "little" girl went to her first homecoming today. The football game was last night and the dance is this evening. She got together with friends to get dressed and prep, all the parents showed up for photos before they went out to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner before going to the dance. She wore a black halter dress and she looked so grown up and beautiful. I'm a very proud mama. :-)

Winter Here We Come!

It sure was nippy outside today...woke up to the high 30s and with the wind, it didn't warm up much. It is hard to believe it was so warm this past weekend and then the weather switches up and we've had snow flurries twice this week already. Only in Wisconsin!

There is nothing more pleasurable than being a mother to an outstanding young lady. My 14-year-old continues to do well in school while juggling marching band and volleyball. Tonight was her last meet at another high school in town and after the meet, the varsity coach told us she will move her up to the varsity team for the last week of practice! It will help her improve her skills as a middle, let her compete with players who are more talented than her and give the varsity players experience working with someone as tall as her. She has 2 inches on their tallest player. I'm very proud of her!

Fall Blunder

As warm and lovely as yesterday was, today was alternately grey & cloudy with occasional bits of sun. The wind picked up and I believe today's high was around 60* Farenheit (compared to yesterday's 80*F). What a difference a day can make!

Speaking of a different day - it was so refreshing to spend a day at work without a coworker getting under my skin. It was quiet (she was a talker) and productive for all of us who sit nearby. Friday was her last day before moving into a new job somewhere else. Good bye, good luck, good riddance! :-)

It is nice to have the family unit as one again. Sarah got home from an all-weekend trip up north late last night...she found her phone somewhere (after going the weekend without it) and all is right with the world!

Fall Spendor

What a wonderful weekend in Wisconsin! This is what I came back to Wisconsin for back in 1992....crisp, fall days--apple cider vendors, long walks, farmer's market and no need for a jacket.

Yesterday we began our day downtown at Metro Market...purchased some chicken breasts for supper as well as some eggplants. Also visited with our friend Bill Palmer who sells honey outside at the farmer's market. He's good by the way--easy to strike up a conversation with and his product is delicious! We bought blueberry and raspberry flavored honey dip and he gave us some pecan dip....all very nummy. After wandering around in the Third Ward for a while, we decided to stop at the new Palermo's pizza villa for lunch, only to find it is only open Monday - Friday. So we opted for a Greek restaurant on the south side. I enjoyed my spinach feta omelette but it could have used more feta. Corey's chicken sandwich was a bit on the greasy side as was Megan's grilled cheese sandwich. Because the day was so nice, we decided to drive up to Holy Hill.

The drive was perfect....sunny and clear--the leaves on the trees were brilliant shades of red, orange, yellow and green. Very scenic. We saw a sign for the new Cabella's store and decided to visit there as well. It was their grand opening and there were cops all over. I think the cops directing traffic was a bit overkill for the time we were there. They had a man demonstrating carving logs into bears etc. He used small chainsaws. They had a kettle corn vendor, boating vendors, a race car...quite the grand opening. Mr. & Mrs. Cabella and their son were there signing post card pictures and I had one signed for my dad.

Holy Hill was breathtaking. The winding, curvy drive was very scenic, but the location is just fantasic for open vistas and enjoying the brilliant day. Because Megan isn't the quietest person, we opted to skip visiting the chapel and decided to stay outdoors. We followed the stations of the cross, but we followed them backwards. We had missed a turn off on the main road that would have allowed us to follow them in order. So we started with 12 and worked our way down. It was a workout for us because Megan is 35 lbs. now in the stroller and most of it was up hill.

It sure has been nice to spend the weekend doing relaxing things with the family. Too bad Sarah had to be up north for her marching band competition. Hopefully we'll have warm weather next Saturday when she has off from volleyball and marching band so we can perhaps go for a hike at Lapham Peak and shop in Delafield.

Nora Roberts

Something woke me this morning...actually it was exactly 11:09 pm. Usually when I wake it might be due to a low blood sugar. But tonight it wasn't that....I tossed and turned for a while before giving in and picking up my current read--Nora Robert's Morrigan's Cross. I finished the book...it sure ended unexpectedly...I expected the "big" fight to happen but she's a smart cookie and leaves us hanging for another book. Despite that, it ended well enough and you can be sure I'll be in line to buy the next book in the series this October Dance of the Gods.

Since I am typing this around 3 a.m. (because I still can't seem to sleep), I had to look up the spelling of the book's name. What better website to check but Nora's very own? There is a photo of her tossing out the first pitch at a ballgame earlier this year and she looks nothing like her jacket covers.

It's Not Geometry--It's Volleyball

Part of the reason I’m tired all the time is thanks to my daughter’s schedule. She is a freshman this year and seems to be involved in everything. Marching band alone is quite the time commitment. I don’t know how she does it! They do have one hour each day during school, and 3 hours each Monday evening from 6 – 9. Every other week they also have a practice on Wednesday from 6 – 9 p.m. THEN she made the JV volleyball team….they practice every day after school from 3 – 5. Meets tend to be Tuesday’s and Thursday’s beginning at 5:30 and because they are required to support the Varsity squad…she rarely gets home before 9:15 p.m. Some weeks there is a meet on Saturday morning as well. And she is in 4H…this year she is an officer which adds one additional meeting (besides the regular club meeting). Now. Do I need to go to all of her games? No. Do I need to go to each performance for marching band? No. Do I need to be a 4H leader? No. But I do—my parents rarely supported me with my school activities (just 4H) and I don’t want that for my daughter.

Combine that with a VERY rambunctious 2-year-old and you begin to understand. Add to that a commute to work that is 35-40 minutes in the morning and 45 – 60 minutes at night coming home…..I’m tired. Excited at times, but tired. By the end of the week, I have no energy for anything domestic.

Tonight they have a meet at home which is against three other teams. One team showed up unexpectedly (it was supposed to be a triangular meet—not a quad), so they shortened the games to 21 and are only playing 2 games against each team. It’s 8:29 pm as I type my rough draft (to copy and paste into my blog when I get home.) I need to continue making wise use of my time at these many activities.

So in the meantime…until I work this out, I’ll continue taking my vitamins, getting as much rest as I can and continue to blog my frustrations until they all work themselves out.

p.s. Her team tied for first place! It was worth it!

Hump Day

What a difference a day can make! Although my day was hectic, it didn't have the stress and drama yesterday did. Whew! I read it as a sign, but in the mailroom, on the bulletin board was a poster about depression....I answered "yes" to many of the questions...perhaps I take my OB-GYN up on her recommendation I try some meds.

We were able to get in a walk this evening after supper and I'm hoping the fresh air and extra bit of exercise will help me sleep the night through. My youngest (2 1/2) has come to expect a walk to the park after supper. Not only is it getting colder, but it is also getting darker earlier...we'll have to come up with something creative for when the Wisconsin weather sets in. It was 51 degress tonight (one of those clear, crisp evenings)...not bad when you're walking and keeping yourself warm...but for her sitting in a stroller...brrrr.

I read a post earlier today from Tamara (My Pre-Midlife Crisis) who listed 25 accomplishments for the past year. It was very motivational for her to see how much she had done in 12 months time. I'm thinking I'll need to do it as well....but I'm nervous because I don't think I've accomplished that much. This weekend...when I have more time.

Procrastination is one of my things to get better at. The weekend will be here before I know it!

Apology Not Accepted

Did you ever have one of those days when anything that could happen, did? Problem after problem surfaces, one employee is out sick, another is running late due to a court appointment.... Today has been one of those days for me. I spent the entire morning troubleshooting problems that surfaced (and unfortunately, one employee was responsible for all of them) when she calls on the phone to let me know she was running late....I guess I had too many *sighs* over the phone but when she got to the office, she accused me of being rude to her and I didn't have to like her but I could afford a simple professional courtesy, blah blah blah. She went off on me and it took me totally off guard. I had come to her to apologize for sounding so scatter-brained over the phone and she blasted me for everything under the sun. BLAM - I get it from all directions. (OK, that she was in court getting a divorce probably played a big factor in her anger...and lucky me for getting the brunt of it!)

I'm a big girl, I can take it. I would have appreciated it if the entire cube farm had not heard her ripping me a new one....but it just wasn't what I needed--today or any other day.

So now if I go back and mention the 4 corrections I processed for her this morning--she'll look at it as retaliation....I can't win!

Got a new pedometer yesterday in the mail. By the same company as the one I had for years but recently broke. I'm happy it came because I'm obsessive about knowing how many steps I've walked on a given day....lately it isn't enough. :-)

After work I need to run home to change--my oldest has a volleyball tournament....another night of running. I'll close today with a quote I found today on Beliefnet.com: "When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to resemble a nail." -Abraham Maslow

Measurements

Just measured myself and THAT was a wake up call. Sort of like seeing yourself in the 360 degree mirror with a bathing suit wake-up call. I new my ass was big but HOLY SMOKES! I recorded it in my handy spreadsheet and will measure myself from time-to-time.

New Beginnings

Today is my husband's 41st birthday....and I'm the one bumming and depressed. I took the day off from work by calling in sick and, I decided that I need the day to get better--mentally. Not to say that Corey has to be depressed because he is another year older, but don't we all cringe as another birthday approaches? So not only do I go inward and depressed when my birthday rolls around in March, but also when his birthday rolls around 6 months later.

I've attempted to start a written diary too many times to count over the years, so perhaps having an online blog will be different and allow me the freedom to journal the things that keep me up at night and cause me to gain 25 pounds in the last 1 1/2 years and over 50 pounds in the last ten years.

This morning was a treat. I can't remember the last time where I got to watch the Today show, read the newspaper and enjoy an entire pot of coffee doing things I really enjoy. Drove the oldest daughter to school, did a bit of grocery shopping, started laundry and generally relaxed. One of the segments on the Today show was how fatigue can cause weight gain. I don't sleep well and gee, I've gained a boatload of weight.

How does one get motivated enough to make a difference with their eating and exercise habits AND stay at it long enough to see it all melt off? I fluctuate between not giving a rip to caring, but not enough to watch what I eat for more than a day or so. I'm at my all-time heaviest (other than being pregnant) and it really is noticeable. My size 18 pants are too tight, my chin has doubled, my face is puffy and my thighs rub. (OK my thighs have always rubbed!) but I'm really noticing it now when I walk. Like my diabetes, I have to take it a day at a time. Perhaps this blog will make me more accountable to my myself. It seems like nothing else has done the trick lately and I feel like I've really let myself go to hell.

So today is the first day of my crisis intervention. Time to measure myself, take stock and make changes. Stay posted!