Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

I should have taken two days vacation this week to join my brother and his wife Gambino on their trip to Arizona to visit my parents. I could have taken two days vacation to go along for $252.00 round trip but felt guilty leaving my husband (who does not wish to fly) home (although I think he would have welcomed the vacation also. I would have still attempted to go had the fare not gone up to $588.00 by Monday morning. Way back when they planned their trip I felt the twinge to go but was just getting over the hip surgery so I wasn't so sure on how I'd manage a 2 1/2 hour plane trip so I declined. The closer it got the better I felt but didn't want to suck up anymore vacation time. By Monday, I was ready to go and now I am kicking myself for not. Right now Gambino and I would be sitting in the casino in Laughlin with my mom playing some nickle slots just to bide the time and then graduating to the quarters. Mom would be on her triple play poker by then. Ken would be walking around with his cup of quarters looking for a bargin and my dad would have won at least two jackpots by now.
I don't know if anyone's ever been to Laughlin but it's a good time. A lot more low key than Vegas but the view is fantastic. Tomorrow morning I'd be out by the pool which is right on the Colorado River basking in the sun and drinking some kind of foofy drink. My mom would have made several trips to the Continental Breakfast to "stock up" and she'd at have at least 10 to 12 little bottles of shampoos, conditioners and lotions that just happened to fall into her purse on the way past the maids cart.
And at least 2 boxes of kleenex. She is a Casino Pack Rat. The medicine cabinet in her guest bathroom will show proof.
At some point tonight we'd be going to dinner on one of mom & dad's comps.There is an excellent Mexican place in one hotel and a SteakHouse that has Prime Rib that made even my husbands eyes bug out. But, no..I opted to stay home.

Ode to Dad

That's crap! (insert name here)
You talk like a man with a paper a**
Don't let the door knob hit you in the a**
I once knew a man...
If Little Susie jumps off a bridge are you going to jump also?
I don't give a rat's a**
I don't give a flying F**

Any of this sound familiar to anyone? Those are a few of the saying's my dad used to say to us as kids. I find that I use the bottom two quite often. I was reminded of that today by my husband. Apparently he doesn't realize what a great man my father is and that his children feel the need to carry on in his footsteps. Who else could have possibly raised 6 kids and managed to find some humor in any punishment he put upon us. I mean come on, after my older brother went on a drinking binge at the age of 16 or 17 he made him get up at 6am the next morning to help someone move. (poor guy spent half the night hanging over the utility tub puking his guts out). No need to ground him, just make his day miserable. If I did something my mom would pull the old "wait till your father get's home" I never worried. He'd come in my room and tell me to make noise while he smacked the belt on the bed. I don't know who had the smugger look on their face afterwards, my mom or me.
So I plan to continue the sayings pounded into my head from my dad. If someone doesn't like it I guess I just plain don't give a rat's a**! Anybody out there have a list of favorites?
If anyone cares...the garage is 99.5% complete. I have one area of trim left to do. would have gotten it done today but the Bud man did a number on me last night.

Some of My Best Laid Plans

The last couple of days have just put a damper on all my plans. I still have 1/2 my garage left to paint. Hard to do so in the rain. Tomorrow looks like the day. I have the wasp traps all set so I can paint in peace and not have to swat away the pesky suckers.

I found it funny the past couple days how the breaking weather reports kept coming through so often. We have a weather radio in our production room at work that kept going off every few minutes. After awhile it was like the boy who cried wolf. We just ignored it. Hard to hear over the machine noise anyway. But is it so boring in Milwaukee that we need to break in every few minutes for an update on the hail in Kenosha? And do we need to drive like a holes in the rain. It's not like we got 6 inches of snow out there.
My 7 year old grandson is now playing football on a league. He's pretty adaptable to different sports and has alway been in programs through the Y. This is a little bit more of a challange for him. My son works with him a lot with whatever his sports interest is at the time. The last few weeks we've been going to practices twice a week and just this past week they got their practice pants, pads and helmets.( and the little athletic supporters). I had a little bit of an emotional moment when he came running toward me all padded up with his helmet in his hand. I had his bottle of water ready. Am I wrong to be sucking up for future football tickets?

Can You Say Cheap?

This is totally my own fault as I went about something is the wrong way. A few weeks ago one of the guys I work with went out on leave for the birth of his child. About a week ago another girl and I thought it'd be nice if we passed around a card and got the baby a gift. So I sent out an email to all those in our department saying we'd have a card and were looking toward a gift certificate. Here's what I should have done: got two cards and went to each person and asked if they'd like to contribute and after receiving their money let them sign the card, if they just wanted to wish him well they could sign the other card. Here's what I did: put the card in the lunch room. I now have a card with about 15 signatures and $40.00 total in it. Now what's sad is one girl asked me if I had change for a $5.00. She could have signed the well-wisher card. We are not a large department and it's not like we're collecting for this type of thing very often. Five dollars a peice would have made a nice sized gift card.
This guy is probably one of the nicest people I've ever worked with and is very well liked.
What have I learned from this? Buy my own gifts if I choose to.
On a lighter note, I felt it was necessary to leave my boarder brother a check sheet of several things he should do before leaving the house. Like, lock the doors, let the dog in, turn off lights, fans and the tv. I got a reply from him correcting the order of things on the list. "If I already locked the door, should I go back in and let the dog in?" Someone might just find his key no longer works soon.
And that's all I got to say about that.....

I'm Trying to Paint Here!!

My work week started on Tuesday again this week which was good because I would have the entire day yesterday to paint the garage to match the new siding on the house. The night before I was instructed by A to put cardboard down so I wouldn't get any paint on the driveway. I followed my instructions. I started out at 9:00 a.m. With paint poured and paintbrush in hand I was going away on the garage door only to be bothered by some pesky wasps. After spending more time swatting and looking like a mime I went in search of our wasp traps. I scanned the garage(those of you who know my husband will see my misfortune there) I could not locate them. Off I went to Steins and spent $16.00 on what the stockboy said were the best traps they had. Went back home and assembled and poured the gunk in that came with the traps and went out to hang them up. While looking for string I came across the traps we had and filled them with juice and put them out also. So, if you guessed right you would guess that they went for the old traps. Not a single wasp is in the new ones.
After that ordeal I began to paint again only to have one fly up my shorts leg. In the process of trying to jar it out I knocked over the bucket of paint onto the cardboard, however it managed to flow onto the driveway. I scooped up what I could and got the hose and washed the rest of it away (there's a little outline). When all was said and done I remembered the wasp that flew up my shorts. I never got stung but I found the bugger squished against my leg. Stuck.
Four sides of garage to do..two sides done. I know what I'm doing Saturday.

Soap, The Packers & The Brewers

I do not use bar soap and I feel I have a good reason which I'll get to. This morning brother D came into the kitchen after his morning shower and inquired if we no longer had bar soap. He explained that he went to take a shower and could not locate the soap. He smelled a little fruity to me and then explained to me that he found some liquid soap in the cabinet that looked like it was man soap. I chuckled as I told him it was Jergens Floral something or other and it's mine. It was then that I made the discovery that him and my husband are using the same bar of soap and neither of them uses a washcloth. Apparently it didn't click with him but when I told A later he got a very strange look on his face. My story is that I have not used bar soap since when I discovered my ex-husband would take the soap in his hand and wash his complete body with it. Call me a freak but the first thing I wash is my face and I sure don't want to wash my face with a bar of soap that just came from someones the privates. A looked sick! Priceless! Note to all you single men...stock up on a small bottle of liquid soap in case you should have a lady guest some night.
I have a little more faith in the Packers after Saturday night's game then I did last week. They looked a little more like a team this week. The game was actually exciting.
A had his company picnic at the Staduim today so off we went to catch the Brewers. The weather was beautiful today. After some mushy half cooked brats and hockey puck hamburgers (provided by the company) we were on our way into the staduim. We had some crummy tickets in the nose bleed section and managed to run into someone selling some box seat tickets on the 3rd base side, so we scooped them up. Great seats, one minor problem. We were directly in the sun for the entire game. I listened to to guy in back of me complain about his back and crack sweat. We had another engagement today so left in the 8th inning. (sorry I never got you that beer STB, I'll catch you next time). I'm a little red but beet boy is suffering right now. He has a certain painful glow about him.

HouseGuests

A post today on Gambino's blog prompted me to write of the horror's and pleasures of houseguests. I have been both a guest and host. I was a return visitor at my parents house with my two kids during a hard time and I will forever be thankful for them helping us out. I was also a guest at my ex-sisterinlaws home for 6 months. That was kind of a mutual agreement as both of us were broke. I never felt comfortable there as I felt more as if we were taken so I could be the cleaning lady. Long story.
Since we purchased my parents home we have become somewhat like a hotel. My younger sister stayed with us for a year when my parents took off for Arizona so she could complete her last year of college. She was a pleasure as she organized my canned food cabinet and loved to clean the fridge. Then my older brother Ken relocated from Florida and had about a six month stop over here. He was also a pleasure. We nicknamed him Chico as he took on the yard work. We had a nicely manicured lawn and perfectly trimmed bushes. He cooked, did dishes and did his own laundry. I think for awhile he shared a room with my then teenage son.
Brother D and wife were next. They relocated from Florida and stayed about 6 weeks. They had these annoying birds they kept in their room and one died soon after it got here. She drove me nuts following me around all the time. Long six weeks.
Sister M and her two kids came next. this is the current houseguest of J & K. I've tried to wipe that memory from my mind. My livingroom became a scene from a bad buffet. No need to eat in there when we have a kitchen table toots. I think every glass we owned was in our livingroom.
Next came brother S home from the military. He stayed about a month until he moved to the vacant upper unit above previous sister houseguest. I think K returned for a month in between apartments. Once again the lawn was just about named lawn of the year.
Then disaster struck. Brother D going through a divorce returned. We began the daily ritual of closing the cupboard doors, reminding him that the dishwasher was not a garbage disposal and watching the daily parking tickets accumulate on his car. He's not to bright and once left a washcloth in the bathroom sink with the water running while he went to answer his phone and flooded my bathroom. This was on the day of my daughters wedding. I came home to all the bathroom drawers lined up in the hallway and a ton of ruined makeup. He made the remark that tampons do hold a lot of moisture. After about a year he got his own place.
My husband and I then made the decision that we would have no further guests beside our parents or our kids if in need. I completly redecorated the room. Had it looking nice and freshly painted. Kaboom...brother D is in financial trouble. I tried so hard to say no , but no one else would take him in. My own fault and I could kick myself daily. Once again the cupboard doors are open daily, the two alarm clocks go off at 7am everyday, and my dishwasher is once again thought of as a garbage disposal. He has some sort of artery problem with his legs and has bled all over my house once. Looked like a murder scene. Of course he couldn't be there to clean it up as he ended up in the hospital but Chico showed up to help. D moved in last August for a few months..We are now at one year and soon to be posting and eviction notice.
Let me also mention that he is no Chico! He did attempt to go out and cut the grass one time but couldn't find the lawnmower.
so if any of you that know us happen to drive past our house someday and notice it's a little odd shaped it's because we have removed the "guest" room from our home.

Welll I Never

After a somewhat stressful and just plain crummy week my plans for Friday were to paint the garage to match the new siding. When I woke up yesterday and turned on the news a Miller Lite commercial was on. Hmmmm, I thought that would be good tonight. Then on my way to work I was almost run off the road by a Miller Lite truck. This must be an omen I thought to myself. But no, I will go home after work and begin the painting of the garage as planned. On my way home it started to rain. I called the husband and inquired as to if I could take him out for a pizza and beer. No arm twisting was involved so the plan was made. Our job was to pick up my brother K on the way to meet his wife there. I have to think that he was also "ready" for a beer as he was standing on the corner of the main street by his house. Apparently he didn't want to waste any time. The local pub had it's few regulars but it was not necessary to call ahead for reservations as plenty of seats were open. Pizza was good, mushrooms were good, I could not find my nitche last night though. The beer did not taste as planned. The former owners ( gotta love them) kept their beer extremely cold, this guy must be on an energy savings plan. I deceided to try Absolute Mandarin Vodka with sour (not recommended) then with sweet ( to sticky) and switched to Mike's Cranberry (not doing a thing). I came to the conclusion that it was me and went to ice water. I don't think I was the only one in this situation as STB joined us later in the evening. For the first time ever he left before his 32 ouncer was gone. That's right folks, hang on to your chairs and steady yourselves the Captain abandoned the ship. (in his defense he said he wasn't feeling well) As J put it, he had a little burger belly.
It wasn't a total waste of an evening. My horseshoe husband won shake of the day within 5 minutes of being there. OMW finally got his leg lamp and got it home in one piece.
So my day is simple today: paint the garage.

The Map, The Map

Everymorning on my way to work at 4:15 I will cross course with at least one left over drunk. Traffice is pretty clear at that time in the morning except for some semi drivers , a small amount of people probably dumb enough to work an early shift like I do, and an occassional idioit who is trying to do several things at one time. Today was the clincher. I'm behind this car that is traveling through 2 lanes. My first though was they were drunk! Nearing the Hale he was in the far lane to take the Beloit way and at the last minute veered toward the Hale. He was nice enough not to sideswipe me. I managed to get what I thought was a safe distance ahead of him and wondered where all the State Patrol guys were because this was truely a case of drunken driver. As I found out a few minutes later as he was once again next to me he wasn't drunk, he had a freakin map spread out over his steering wheel!! He was trying to drive and was turning the map every which way. Clearly lost! I looked over at him and instantly Dora the Explorer popped into my head. "The Map" jingle was running rampid through my head. I thought to myself "doesn't this man know that one should somewhat have an idea of where they're going prior to getting on the road". Hasn't he ever watched Dora!! (FYI- plates were FIB).

A Dog's Life

I had the day off today as our boss has come up with a way to eliminate o.t. We have two people work Monday-Thursday and two work Tuesday -Friday (10 hrs per day). We're hoping this is a temporary thing as we're a bit behind. They put some glitz in it by talking up having Monday off. That didn't really impress me much, I'd rather be off on Friday a day ahead of everyone else. But being the flexible employee I am, I complied with their wishes.
The problem was is that I felt like an unwanted figure in my home today. Usually when I get up every morning I will hear our dog jump up onto my side of the bed. I"ll then return and remove her from the bed. This usually causes a glare. She's a yellow lab and I don't care to sleep with dog hair. Well today I slept in a little longer and I got the nudge around 7 a.m. I opened my eyes to see her face right in my face with a look that had "Get going lady, this is my territory" written all over it. I got up thinking that she needed to go out. Nope, she didn't budge. Food ? Water? Nope, she wasn't looking for that. She wanted me out. There was no "Oh goodie, Mom's home today" tail wagging thing. It was a pacing with a glare. I was in her space and she was not happy. I was embarking upon her daily routine of sleep here for an hour, move to the other room, walk around and patrol the area for a bit, go back to sleep. I took her outside to play some ball for a bit and threw the ball and she just sat and stared at it. She then proceeded to walk away and lay down and let out a sigh. Not time yet..that comes after 6pm.
I did leave for a few hours for a trip to the Zoo with my sister and her kids. Upon my return I got the head looking up and the "Now what" look out of her. Around 3:30 this afternoon she had come to life. It was then the time I was allowed to be home.

Should I Be Nervous??

My husband and I took a trip to Menards the other night to purchase new siding for our house. We purchased the house from my parents 14 years ago and have done several upgrades to the inside and outside since then. My father was very good about the maintenance of the house however left the color schemes up to Mom. ( we think she may be somewhat color-blind) The existing siding is a late 70's blue and I have always hated it. It also had a few dents in one corner from basketballs and I think someone at one time hit the corner of the house with their car or snowmobile.
My husband "A" has always been very handy at home projects and will do 99% of things himself . The problem is "there will be an injury" at some point in a project. Either a trip for stitches , a goose egg to the head or a minor cut. I made sure we were well stocked with first aide supplies. I can also assure you that at some point a tool will fly in anger or he will trip over something. I will then have to try as hard as I can to keep a straight face while inquiring about his well-being. I know for a fact that I am not the only person alive who will ask in laughter "Are you okay". My sister-in-law (gambino) is as bad as I am.
He started Saturday afternoon with the assistance of my brother and got two sides ripped off. By this afternoon they had on side resided. I am happy to say that there was only one minor injury. My brother has a small cut on his arm. I was gone most of the day so I can't report on any tools flying.
Although A does good work we have some things that he has started and not fully completed. They are minor and I can live with it but I don't think I can live with a house that is sided on 2 out of 3 sides. (the front is brick). Hopefully by the time the snow flies it'll be complete.
How about those Packers? I think there is a lot of work to be done there. I tried to stay awake for the whole game but got a little bored in the 3rd quarter and hit the sack.

Getting Started

I can sometimes be a little behind the times, so my first blog comes late. I have been inspired by many of my friends who have blogs and by reading the links to other blogs. Guess it can't hurt to have one. Either people read them or they don't.

It took me awhile to come up with a blog name and I owe that to my mother. My given name is a little unusual. As a child my mother was hooked on a name from a weekly series she read in the Sunday paper and decieded that her first born daughter would bear that name. Thanks Mom!

I hail from Milwaukee. Been there all my life except for a short period when I lived in Greenfield and one botched attempt years ago to relocate to Florida. I guess you could say Milwaukee is a good home base, because you are always open to visit other places and dream a little. The good thing is I live about as far south in Milwaukee that I can without being in another city. Knock on wood, we're in a quiet, crime free area.

So as a promise to my friend bloggers, I will try to post more than once a week, I will try not to delete and I will try to be somewhat interesting (stb).