Tis the Season

One of the reasons I love the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas are all of the sappy programs on TV that remind us about the spirit of the season. I'm so grateful for my family and all the blessings I have in my life--I love to spend this time of year giving to others and being reflective.

We started off our season of giving by holding one of the balloons in the Milwaukee holiday parade. We held the gingerbreadman balloon. Today my oldest daughter and I are going to decorate trees at a nursing home and serving holiday cookies with members from our parish this afternoon.

The snow is coming down in big fluffy flakes right now. The holiday season is upon us.

Take Me Away Calgon!

Sure could you use some money to be ahead a bit instead of pinching pennies all the time lately. That's what I get for buying a new car. The peace of mind the new car buys me though is worth the penny pushing I guess.

Only three weeks until the election and I can't make up my mind. I've always voted Republican but I want a president that can lead change for healthcare that won't cost me more money or leave me scrambling for insurance. I need to do some research because I can't say I trust what I hear in these numerous commercials.

I need a nice massage--manicure and pedicure and then a few days off somewhere away from it all. The closest thing I'll get to that is a bubble bath.

Mood Most Foul

It seems of late I've been having "bad" moods. It doesn't take much to get me this way and I can't say I like myself when I'm so bitchy. My team avoids me at work (thankfully) and my family leave me alone.

What causes this? What brings it on? To make this two-day funk mood go away, I plan on going for a long walk (alone) tonight in hopes of dissipating it. As a back-up, I also made some chocolate chip oatmeal cookies--either should do the trick I'm thinking. :-)

My hubbie had several polyps removed today surgically, saying a prayer that the tests come back negative next week. It was a gorgeous day weatherwise, and nice to be away from work!

Mood most foul--be gone!

16 and Driving.....

....driving me nuts! At every opportunity she feels the need to drive by herself with my new 2008 PT Cruiser like it is her God-given right. My parents only let me drive when I had a band concert or had to play at a football game. And even then, I had to come straight home. Perhaps if I didn't have a new car, I wouldn't feel this way but I do. I have to remember that it won't be long and she'll be off to college.

Brain Fuzz

Have you ever had the kind of day, week, month where your ability to remember important things dies a slow death? It seems to have snuck up on me this summer but I've noticed that my ability to remember is proportionate with the amount of work I have on my plate--both at work and at home.

We just finished a 7000+ employee acquisition at work this summer and I coin this summer as the "summer from hell." Right about the time of the acquisition, my star employee got promoted to another team, another employee went out on short term disability and my least favorite employee left the company. The timing was awful. That left one employee and myself to do the work of 5 employees (we still haven't replaced an employee who left last winter), not to mention all the added work. Despite all of that, we managed. We're still not back to 100% workwise but we're slowly getting there.

Now on the homefront, my lovely teenager is in her busy season. Multiple AP classes at school, marching band, 4H and varsity volleyball. We have no life from now until the end of October.

Today my darling husband writes about labwork tomorrow and how he cannot drink his frustrations over not getting a job and it occurs to me--what labwork....remote work? I had completely forgotten he had his annual physical tomorrow as well as the insulation guys are coming to blow more insulation all over our old house. (We live in a historic home that is 118 years old this year.

I'm convinced my forgetfulness is due to stress. I really need to take some time to discover what is important and then strive to obtain it.

Time.....what a commodity.

Randy Pausch passed away

I was so saddened to hear that Randy Pausch passed away on Friday, July 25th. His book "The Last Lecture," as well as his video are so inspirational. What a positive individual. I especially feel for his children. Here is a link to an obituary at the Carnegie Mellon website http://www.cmu.edu/news/archive/2008/July/july25_pausch.shtml

My mother called me with the sad news--it cast a shadow on this sunny day.

Off to Camp

My "little" girl went off to the big city of Madison, Wisconsin today for State 4H Congress. I believe she will learn about other cultures, leadership, volunteerism, organization, government--all the qualities you want your child to have. Other than volleyball camp last summer, this is the first time where she has gone off on her own. I really am not comfortable with this!

And to add to my stress, it is almost 10 p.m. and I still haven't received a call from her yet!

Holy Cow Batman - an entire day without rain!

Well not officially--it was sprinkling when we got up this a.m. But actually, it only wet the pavement and stayed dry the rest of the day today. First day in over a week. The height of the Fox River has gone down...hopefully things around Waukesha can get back to normal.

Father's Day today. We spent the morning with my parents, wishing my dady a happy Father's day. This afternoon I visited dad's best friend Jim in the Waukesha hospital. Also bought ladderball for us to play when camping. We played a few games this evening while preparing supper (steak, asparagus and potatoes--nummy!)

The weekends go by entirely too fast around here. blah.

The Last Lecture

Although I haven't fully watched the online video of Randy Pausch, I finished his book "The Last Lecture" this weekend in a little over a day. Very inspiring book about taking the positive side of life in all things. I have much to learn, and I certainly was inspired.

Do a Google search for "The Last Lecture" or Randy Pausch and you'll find dozens of links.

A month of no blogging....

It seemed like the month of April was here and gone in a heartbeat. Life does that sometimes to us no matter if we are stopping and smelling the flowers along the way. My attitude is trying to change--I'm attempting to be more positive on my outlook and for the most part I'm doing OK. I've never been a "glass half full" kinda gal, so it's definately an effort.

Spring is trying to arrive here in SE Wisconsin--the daffodils are in bloom, as are my hyacinth and crocus'. The early tulips are maturing--but my mid- and late-blooming tulips may not make an appearance this year with this crazy weather we've been having!

A Blissful Friday Night

Many people I know live for Friday nights. Party night--celebrate the end of a hellish week at work--visit with friends, seen and be seen. I'm an oddity--I live for Friday nights but in a different way--a night to celebrate the end of a hellish week--but not to see friends, not to be seen--sitting in my Lazy Boy chair, feet up, supper eaten, dishes done, laptop or book at the ready. Ah, beer? Oh yeah. I have little energy come Friday nights. Is my life exciting? Not to some of my friends, but for me, my life and Friday nights are just fine.

Growing Older

As I relax this Easter Sunday and ponder yet another birthday around the corner, I find I have much to look forward to. My youngest daughter just donated 10 1/2 inches of her lovely locks to the Locks of Love charity on her 4th birthday (the 18th of March), my oldest just celebrated her sweet 16 on St. Patrick's day, my 47th is tomorrow and our 8th wedding anniversary (2nd marriage) is in a week.

Discussions today centered around our new camper and items we have yet to purchase so it is properly outfitted. I need to get in gear and begin making reservations for our summer vacation. We're thinking of the Black Hills in South Dakota. I'm really looking forward to it! I hope my oldest is too. She's not into the history thing, but photo opportunities keep her happy.

Happy Easter Waukesha--despite the 13 inches of snow that dumped on us Friday night (March 21st), I feel like spring is right around the corner! Woo Hoo! (2nd snowiest winter in the history of SE Wisconsin!)

Life Comes to a Standstill in Wisconsin

Well, it is official. Brett Favre announced his retirement today. Life as we know it in Wisconsin came to a screeching halt. I purposely didn't watch the news because every other newsworthy item will pale in comparison. On the drive home, one station announced they would have special Brett coverage until 7 p.m., then come back to special coverage at 9 p.m. What the hell?!! I get it--he was a great player, but come on! They guy didn't die?! They keep calling him the best player in Packers history....hello - what about Bart Starr? Starr won more MVP titles and won more championships. OK Brett set records, but keep in mind, other QBs haven't played as many years either!

I tell you what. I'm a diehard Packer fan--my e-mail address begins with "iluvpackers" but this is too much!

My hat is off to you Mr. Favre. You made us all very proud to be a cheesehead. I don't remember the glory days of the 60's because I was too young, but I will remember the past decade with great fondness. I hope you enjoy your retirement and your time with Deanna and the girls. They've supported you all these years, now it is your turn to support them.

Work for Vacation

Why is it that you have to put in lots of overtime the entire week before a vacation just so you can go on vacation? Heck! I'm only going to be gone for one day and I just put in a 14-hour day today.

You finally get to a point where you just say "the heck with it!" which I did a few moments ago. Things will get done when they get done. I'm on vacation. There's always Monday....

So much to do, so little time...

My problem is I have too much clutter in my life and I need to get it all organized. I always seem to be behind schedule and when push comes to shove, I either have to compromise on the quality of the work, or I have to scrap that item from my list and it doesn't get done. It's been that way since I had my last daughter (and she is almost 4-years-old!

Tonight it will be another mad dash to get stuff done...drop off the oldest at driver's ed class at 6, get the fundraising forms from our band treasurer and get those organized, get supper made, get the downstairs picked up and the bathroom cleaned, pack for our weekend trip, pick up the oldest daughter from class, bake blueberry muffins.....*sigh*

Camper Owners

Hubby and I bit the bullet and bought a pop-up RV for our summer pleasure. We got a fantastic deal at Roskopf's RV Center in Menomonee Falls, WI. We worked with Keith at the Milwaukee RV show and he helped us cinch the deal yesterday. It is a high wall Rockwood and has many ammenitites. We're scared but excited! We plan on taking delivery sometime in May.

Creative Day

This morning I attended an advanced alcohol marker class at Creative Pals in Brookfield. Kathy is such a wonderful instructor--so artistic and so happy to pass along all of her secrets for making our cards so beautiful. I learned more in this class than any other I've taken over the years.

It sure was nice to be out and about on my own without the kids or my husband. I stopped at Brennan's for various things. Stopped off at Pick N Save for a few groceries, got a car wash and picked up my youngest who was at a birthday party for a classmate. Once I got her into bed for a nap, I spent the remainder of the afternoon in my craft room working on some greeting cards.

We're watching the movie Curous George with Will Ferrell. Megan is enjoying it and as long as it is keeping her quiet, I'm enjoying it too.

Funny or Die Blog

I finally made it to Will Ferrell's blog Funny or Die. Hilarious videos right on the first page....I haven't had the opportunity to explore it in depth...perhaps after the kiddies go to bed!

Check out the blog for yourself! http://www.funnyordie.com/

Et Tu Weatherman?

More freaking snow! I listen to the weather quite regularly, but wasn't expecting this latest batch. My husband and I have to drive downtown Milwaukee tonight for a Buck's game....I got us tickets to the company suite. If I wasn't tagged for signing off on the food and drinks I'd bag the trip and stay home. *sigh* When is this snow going to stop? We don't have room for anymore snow!

Winter Blahs

As I sit here contemplating what to write about, I can't get too excited about much of anything. I have so much to do--clean the house, organize files, clean up my craft room, pay bills--yet want to do nothing. I have an official case of the January blahs.

What I'd like is several days off of work (yet still get paid--heh, a girl can dream) and time in the house by myself. No one to bug me for a couple of days on end. I'll roll over and go back to my dreams....

Yeh Packers!

My team did me proud today....I have to admit I was worried early on...two touchdowns by Seattle so early in the game....but the weather got progressively worse (to our advantage) and the Pack came back! Final score was 42 - 20.

Now the question is, who will they play next week--the Giants or the dreaded Cowboys? I so hope we can play the Giants because I hate the arrogant Cowboys fans!

Football Picks Winner

As a follow-up to an earlier post, I actually won the final week of our football pool--and therefore I've recooped my entry fee into the pool +$5. Woo Hoo!

New Year's Resolutions

What is it about this time of year that we all make resolutions to get better in some way, shape or form? Along with the new year, new hopes to improve something "lacking" in our lives. I have several pointed new year's resolutions....I want to track them throughout the year to see if I keep them longer than just a few weeks!

1. I will apply for a night teaching position with Cardinal Stritch University or Ottawa University by the end of January.
2. Our bedroom will be picked up and organized by the end of January (you have no idea how HUGE this will be!)
3. I would like to knit a scarf to wear with my newest winter coat by the end of January.
4. I would like to complete a beaded loom bracelet by the end of May.
5. I will strive to pay all of bills on time this year!

Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfuss

May he rest in peace. He came into office when I was a senior in high school, so he was governor of our fair state while I was in college. I wish more politicians were like him. A genuinely caring man--wanting the best for his constituents. The last six years I've got reacquainted with him through his columns in the Waukesha Freeman newspaper.

He was best known for his signature red vest. The state of Wisconsin was blessed by having a man like him as a resident, as a leader and as a governor.

Back to Work Blahs

After having a four-day weekend for the new year, it sure was hard to trudge back into work yesterday! The weather didn't help--10 degrees above zero and quite windy yesterday too. Today it is a bit colder, only 6 degrees this morning on my drive in.

Over the holiday, we implemented a new form at work and the form went out with an explanatory e-mail. You wouldn't believe the idiotic messages I was getting yesterday with bizzare questions. Think people!

One of my employees took a day of vacation yesterday--today she called in "sick." I put sick in quotes because last year I believe she had almost two weeks of sick days....come on people! Something I need to put an end to--no one is that sick unless they are in the hospital.