Another Good Trip

This weekend held yet another good camping trip. Good friends, way to much food and good weather. We saw a little rain on Friday evening but not enough to put a damper on anything. We were bothered by mosquito's a little upon arrival, but it seemed that once you had repellent on they left you alone. Or so I thought until my ankles started itching like crazy and I found some bites. My husband overindulged in Ken & E's ribs and had a bit of a stomach ache going on. I think he ate for 1/2 hour non-stop. Poor guy can't hold what he used to. He's blaming it on the walk we took after dinner. Claiming it upset his stomach more.

Mom & Dad arrived safely from Arizona and have settled in. She's got the spaghetti dinner planned for Saturday night at my house. Last count 3o people. I'm hoping it's not 90 degrees out. Our air conditioner will be earning it's keep if it is. I can see her now standing in my kitchen stirring her sauce, with one hand on her hip, just bitching about how hot it is.

I spotted the cat walker again last night. There are two of them in the stroller and the woman pushing the stroller just prods along with this huge smile on her face. The foot soaking Arab has been replaced by a guy sitting on top of the pile of stones (no turban but of the same descent) . He may just be the look-out for the next water main break. With this heat, right about now it doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Maybe I'll get that pool yet.

The Sausage Race

The Brewers sausages made an appearance at Dylan's All-Star game tonight. It was a little humorous when the Brewers Van drove up with a tarp trying to cover the side of the van. The racing sausages appeared moments later and were trampled by kids. We didn't realize that they planned to play nine innings and around 10:30 they were in the bottom of the 8th and called the game due to lightening. It was a blow out anyway (20-9) and I think it boosted his moral to play on a team that won. He sat out 1 of the 8 innings and played 3rd, 2nd and right field for the rest of the game. He hates being in the outfield as there is no action. He didn't get to play catcher which I think bummed him out a little, but from the smile on his face you could tell he had a great time. Big mouth Grandpa kept pretty quiet. It may have been the warning glance his wife shot at him early on. I love that Dylan is into sports and is actually active and attentive when he's playing.
During the game I got a call from R & J who headed out for camping a day early. He said the Ranger had just rode by and warned them of a severe thunderstorm warning. R was partaking in the Jack & Coke as it was already raining. I called him back two hours later and got no answer so they either blew away, were sleeping or headed for shelter.
We'll be heading out early in the morning. I'm actually ready now but don't care to set up in the middle of the night. Now see, a nice hard side would be so convenient as we'd just have to pull in and save the rest for the morning. One can dream!
Work completly sucked this week. I need to find a girl job. It is supposed to be cool in our line but with all the machines running and heated units it gets pretty warm. Right now things are very disorganized and need to be taken care of. This would be possible if everyone wasn't torn in twenty directions. For the longest time we looked for work to do and had just enough operators..we suddenly grew and each need another few sets of arms & legs. I need this weekend because things have been so hetic. Besides, I need to rest up for Mom & Dad's upcomming visit.

People are Odd

Today must have been weird day. As we were leaving for Dylan's game tonight I saw this older woman pushing a baby stroller down the street. I noticed that in the stroller were two cats. I made a mental note to purchase a stroller for my sister-in-law J so she can take her girls for a walk every once in awhile.
About two blocks later we came upon a broken water main on 13th street and saw the Arab man standing in the water with his pants hiked up. I commented that I didn't think he was trying to stop the water with his toe. I think he was taking advantage of a foot soaking.

I finally made a game where Dylan playing the catcher position. I think he found a position that he likes to play and has fun. I just need to get his grandfather from his mom's side to shut up and let the kid play. About half way through the game I asked him if he'd feel better if he was out there. Dylan does a good job and I don't think he constantly needs to be told where the ball is. It's his job as a catcher to find it. I made the comment to the other Grandfather that all he hears out there is Charlie Brown's teachers voice. He did manage to change his tune and offer some encouragement. Dylan made the All-Star team and it's being played tomorrow night. It should be a good time. I just have to make sure I don't sit right in front of the heckling Grandpa.

The Annoying Fan

Last nights Brewers game was a good time. My husband gets good seats (10 rows behind the Brewers dugout) from a temp service he hires from. We've sat in these seats before and never really see the same people so I'm guessing they're all perk seats. The problem last night was the row in front of us. Those people just could not get their beer runs together. There was a group of about 6 men that must have been pretty cheap as they'd go get a beer and went they got back the next guy would go. The entire game was constant up and down for these guys. Then they'd bring a guest back with them and one would vacate for a few minutes while the guest remarked over the great seats. We had a family with two little boys next to us that got up once in 7 innings.
Then there was the annoying fan. You know, the guy who thinks he knows all the Brewers personally so he has to yell out to them. He then will cuss them out when they don't get to base or yell out "that's my man" when he does. Oh yes, he knows them all and spent the whole game bragging about knowing all their stats.
Apparently Milwaukee has no love for Barry Bonds. Big mouth fan pretty much had a handle on letting him know how the entire city felt about him. I didn't find any "failures to remove the hat during the National Anthem guys". I think they're finally feeling the pressure from others.
At any rate it was a good game. The tickets were free and we didn't get too wet running to the car after the game.

HorseShoe Ass

I have given my husband a new name. At the local festival yesterday he won on every paddle game he played. We raked in a grand total of 7 boxes of brats, 2 bottles of cheap brandy & whiskey, 4 bottles of wine (surely to be a White Elephant gift this year) and 4 summer sausages. I was one part in the total. I won three dollars on $10.00 worth of pull tabs. It was an okay time. The beer wasn't as cold as it should have been but it was a little warm outside also. The band was okay. We didn't see a lot of people we knew. As usual the highlight of the night was sitting on my mother in-law's front lawn watching people try to find their cars. We did see several young men get hauled away in cuffs. I'm sure they're just as innocent as Michael McGee.

The boarder brothers former room is now clean and not rentable. This also means the spare room that was housing all the stuff from that room is now clean and also not rentable. I have to say it was quite a chore, especially to be doing when it's so hot out.

I'm going to my first Brewer game of the year tomorrow. Being that I need to be at work at 4am tomorrow it may be a chore for me to stay awake. I think a short nap may be in order when I get home from work. I've been pretty tired all weekend so I'm thinking I need a good day of catch up sleep. My mind wants to go a million ways but my body is saying slow down! My parents are coming in town this weekend so that means a little extra TLC around the house. She's using my house to cook a spaghetti dinner for the entire family. Have to get that utensil drawer someone organized so she can find the necessary tools for her task. I was trying to talk her into a cookout instead as eating spaghetti and meatballs when it's so hot doesn't sound like fun to me. She didn't budge.

The Fat Lady Sang

I sang as I punched out at 3pm today. I can sum it up in one word...bad! This will describe my week at work. It started out shitty on Monday and by yesterday afternoon I thought there was hope. Upon arriving today I found that to be totally untrue. We attempted to run a line that hasn't been run in several weeks. Some people believe that starting up a dead line should be like flipping a switch. It takes a lot of work and is so frustrating. I also had a crew of people who have zero experience on this line. I did get maintenance support and "I feel bad for you looks " from some management persons. The sad thing is that 3rd shift started out Sunday night and we first ran product Thursday afternoon. The line was running good by 5pm and we thought it was safe to say that third shift could come in, fire the line up and go. Well if there wouldn't have been a small electrical fire that blew out a control panel they probably could have. I was met by the entrance door this morning by a few 3rd shifters and at that point I should have exited and just made believe I never came in.
The electrical mess was cleaned up and back on track around 1pm. So I spent my day prepping for Monday when we can start all over again. I heard the maintenance guy volunteer me to come in at 4am on Monday to assure the line is running by 5. By the look on my face I could tell he felt the pressure of my foot in is ass. After my initial shock I not so willingly agreed to this nutty plan of his and thought that since he was such a great help to me (that is his job) that I'd show up. Unless I forget to reset my alarm clock. An early trip to camping next weekend may just be in store.

Every Step I Take

Ouch....is the best way to describe it. The other night I stubbed my toe on the edge of my dresser. I cried... that's how bad it hurt. I woke up several times that night to a throbbing toe but never thought to look at it. The next morning the little guy was all sorts of pretty colors, and I couldn't move it. I've broken my toe before and know that the only thing the doctor's do is tape it to your next toe. I can do that myself. The problem is that if I have my work shoes on it doesn't hurt until around 1/2 through the day. When I get home and discard the shoes the thing is hurting like a bitch. The old Croc's are about the most comfortable things I can work. I don't think they make those in steel toes. So beside being super crabby at work this week so far due to not being able to run a line, my freaking toe is nagging at me. Today I just wanted to find the nearest wall and bang my head on it (thank goodness we wear protective head gear). Not to mention that weather-wise this happens to be the best stretch of good weather we've had in a long time. Who wants to be at work in a hot room with sweaty people when it's this nice outside? I tried to talk everyone into just chucking it in for the day and sitting around at some outside patio bar for a few hours, but I had no takers. I think I asked the wrong people.

Good Time

We had a very fun and relaxing weekend camping. Good friends, good food (the boys did a great job on the potato packs) and excellent weather. You can't ask for better sleeping weather either. No pesky mosquito's or bees and not a raccoon in site. The only thing missing was "What's his name" who opted for Vegas rather than camping. We did manage to have a stand-in although he wasn't good at tending the fire. I guess you could say he would have baked if doing so. Poor little fellow was tossed prior to us going home.

Once again Kim proved that she can beat all our butts at a game she claims she's never played before. Luckily she also had a good partner. The UV may have clouded her a little by about her 20th game.

A new introduction to the menu this time was corned beef hash. I find it to look a lot like Alpo and it appeared to bring on some gas issues with certain people. Nothing was less appetizing then seeing that blob of crap on a sheet of foil on the tripod sizzling away over the fire.

The award was once again won by "E" with A coming in close. I'm sure if Vegas boy would have been around he may have given him a run for his money. E looked so proud.

Momma Connie took it easy this weekend. She only downed one beer (by mistake) and went on to once again hog the bottle of Hot Sex. Seeing as she is such a nice wife she also woke before Richard and rushed out to make the morning coffee.

There must be a new ranger in the park as he stopped by our site on Saturday night and made the comment that if we became disruptive to others we'd have to get on our own sites by 11pm. We must be used to the newbies who want to flex their power as no one commented, however you could just look around and read everyone's facial expressions. Never heard of that rule before. Kind of like a curfew if you ask me.

All in all it was a good weekend. We all received a little sunburn and J seems to have welcomed a mother spider into her hair as once she removed it she found a baby. I'm sure by now they've all took off.

Without my dog home the rabbits wreaked havoc on my flowers in the back yard. Off I went yesterday afternoon to my local garden center to purchase some crap to keep the rabbits out. Our yard seems to have become the host of much wildlife. The possum is also back. I'm a little nervous leaving for work when it seems to be returning to it's sleeping quarters. They are one hell of an ugly animal. I don't think anything less then a pellet is going to get rid of that thing.

Water girl

Sometime in March my friend and I signed up for a Water Aerobics class at a local High School. The class's started tonight. Twice a week for one hour I am a slave to the water along with 10 other women. Beside on other girl, my friend and I are the youngest women in the class. She's taken a class before so this was all new to me. After walking around for 10 minutes trying to locate the pool we changed and headed out. The class is one full hour with 1/2 hour of it working with weights. The class had been recommended to me by my surgeon rather than the usual aerobics classes. He had said for the first two years after my surgery to try this as there's much less stress on the hip. The class turned out to be fun. Or should I say funny. It's always less tiring to exercise in water but there is some resistance there. Once the weights came into play there was a lot of splashing as ten women tried to stay balanced. I almost did a somersault while holding the weights under water and pulling my knees up to my chin. Thank goodness for shallow water. Once the class was over and we hit the locker room I could have sworn I was in some sub zero weather. Cold would be putting it mildly. It was like the shower at 9am on the first camping weekend. You kind of stand there and want to get in the water but you hesitate because you know it's going to be cold. The pool was warm and the joke was made about the toddler class that was right before ours. I made sure to keep my mouth out of the water. All in all it was fun and I'm glad we did the two times a week thing. No we did not stop for ice cream on the way home.
Our group camp set for this weekend has now turned into just camp. Several people have dropped out but it should still be a good time. The weather promises to be nice. Hopefully J will be at the Saturday night campfire. We'll have to raise a toast to S who opted for Vegas. We'll miss the sliced cheese but I'm thinking we don't have anything that calls for that item on the menu. Hopefully his blistered finger will not hamper his card playing.
A big welcome home to K & J. I thinkmy husband was lost without his friend. Maybe if he would have been home he could have put some dynomite under his ass to get him moving on some projects. Once again he has too many things started at one time. This makes him look busy but nothing gets completed. The boarder brothers vacant room still has the sander sitting in the middle of the floor where it's been since Saturday. I suppose having this room in shambles prevents anyone from moving in. Maybe he's got the ticket after all.

Greening Up

I drove to work last night in what you would have thought was the biggest snowstorm ever to hit Milwaukee. No kidding, people were driving 25 mph on the freeway in the rain. There was no standing water, the wind was mild, it was just raining. We did need the rain though. It's been awhile.
Coming down my street this morning I noticed how green everything is now. This is about my most favorite time of the year. When everything comes out of hibernation (even those freaking chipmunks). Right now all the trees and grass look so healthy. Hopefully the 2 days I spent weeding and planting stuff will pan out and not die out.
I am now banned from any of Dylan's baseball games. The first two I went to they lost. I missed last week and they won both games. I returned this week and they once again lost both games. At one point when he was next at bat he looked over at me and I said to my son " You think he wants me to go" He answered "No, but I do". Then the teasing began...other people sitting around us told me to leave. Their team never has practices. They're not together on anything. You have 5 or 6 kids that are really into the game and batting well and fielding well, and then you have the rest that just are out there like it's a chore. It's supposed to be fun. Last nite the 17 year old ref was having a hard time with the count. This angered the coach. I know pretty much about baseball so I'm pretty sure that if the pitch hits home plate on the way in that it is not a strike. The also play that after 4 balls it's a soft toss. I have mixed feelings on that. You deserve the base but you also deserve the chance to get further with the soft toss (if you can actually hit it). Anyway he's spending the night by us tonight, so I'm sure that I'll get the "Grandma, stay home from my games okay" talk.

This is It

Tonight will be my last night on yet another stint on 3rd shift. In fact as far as I'm concerned tonight will be my last night ever on 3rd shift. Like I said in previous posts, I am to old for this crap. Despite the fact that I have probably slept 3 hours a day for the past 4 days I am remaining cordial to everyone at work. I want to reason with that by saying they're all in the same boat as I am, but that's not true. They all want to work 3rd. This was true of me about 20 years ago when my kids were in school and finances were a little tight to pay day care. I worked mega overtime and had a very nice shift premium. Not so true where I am now. We receive a 35 cent premium. Not worth it to me.

Update on the chipmunks.....As I sit writing this post there just so happens to be a little varmint sitting on the window ledge. It is one of the front yard tenants. The backyard boys have not been in sight since Sadie scared them on Tuesday. I would like to thing that the crap I spent $16.00 on worked but I can't. Yes, our yard is chuck full of nature this summer. The cardinals are back, the rabbits have nested in the front yard and both my birdhouses have occupants. The possum was spotted coming up the driveway the other night also. I tend to think that the flowers I spent hours planting are not going to last very long. All I did was provide food for them. There may be a trip to Sam's Club today for the giant tub of Cayenne pepper.

Everyone enjoy their Friday night. I know where I'll be..