Under Control

Knock on wood, I think we are rid of our visitors. We are holding at 7 and haven't seen one or evidence of one since the 25th. I guess instead of coal, I got a family of Mickey's for Christmas.
There are enough traps around this joint to catch quite a few and either they all wised up or we got them all.

The other night when we first found them I mentioned that we should have a cat. I've had cat's before and they seem to take care of any mice or creepy things around the basement or house. My husband always claimed he was allergic to them. We go to K & J's and they can crawl all over him and he has not affects. He does have an issue with his Aunts cats, however they are long hairs. I browsed the Humane Society site and mentioned it to him and from the lack of an answer I got I figured it was water under the bridge. Saturday morning he woke me up to ask what time they opened. At that point I was then the negative one. I mentioned a place near the bar we go to that adopts out cats. At 2pm he was ready to go there. Nice place, and the cat's seem to be well cared for. We found one right away and threw the idea of two around. We decided it might be a good idea. Finding the second one was a chore. One made me itch and sneeze immediately and another one was just weird looking. I felt a little bad taking it back to it's cage we had it in a room with us for 15 minutes and the thing just hovered in a corner. The first one was very lively and friendly. Third times a charm as we found one (Carmine. The name will change) that was a little timid at first but then came around. So we made our choices and had to fill out some lengthy paperwork and are waiting to be accepted. We also mentioned that we needed a few days to think it over ourselves. Yesterday I made a negative comment and Mr. Tough Guys face looked a little sad. I may have him sign something stating that he wants them more than I do that I can pull out the first time they claw something. I'm more worried about Sadie feeling a little put out but I'm told that dogs don't have those feelings. Not quite convinced of that. What I am convinced of is that the boys will be getting fixed and de-clawed ASAP.

Eeeeekkkkkkk!

Things were a little amiss at this household today. I had shoveling in mind when I got home and found that we must have ticked off a snowplow driver enough that he would direct the entire blocks worth of snow into our driveway approach. I'm not kidding when I say it was up to my knees. I parked on the street and made my way up the driveway and into the house. Did the usual, checked the mail, checked my email, let the dog out and then ventured downstairs to retrieve the polish sausage from the fridge. As I rounded the bar I saw something out of the corner of my eye. At first glance I wondered why my husband would play such a cruel joke on me. I got the polish and turned when I realized that what I saw moved. This was no fake mouse! The little creature jumped off the bar onto the floor. I heard the little plop and then it started running in circles. My natural instinct was to scream and try to get away from it. I had no weapon except the box of polish sausage which I was not about to try to explain to my family tomorrow. It took off under the fridge. I took off up the stairs and slammed the basement door. WTF! How did we get a mouse in the house.

I made a quick phone call to my husband at work to pick up some traps. He seemed a little irritated when I said it was on the bar. "You know, the same place you were eating crackers and herring last night" was my explanation. I then made a hasty retreat outside to tackle the snow. I kept telling myself I was being silly, the stupid thing is only about 4 inches big. I kept shoveling until he got home an hour later. Like a scared ding bat I followed him into the house. He had brought home sticky paper instead of a trap. He neatly laid them down in a few places in the basement and then with broom in hand I got the rest of the things I needed. I kept looking at the laundry basket under the magic chute wondering in the little bastard crawled in there. I whacked the basket a few times and then moved it to the top of the washer. I looked for droppings in the area and found none. Hopefully this thing just got in.

My husbands feelings were not the same. He thinks they came in when we brought in some boxes from the garage. If this is true it's been shacking up down there for a month. Hopefully not in the motherly way at the time. He checked a few more areas and then went off to work.
I stayed clear of the basement. There was no way I was going down to "check the paper".
Also had to keep the dog upstairs lest she come up with sticky paper stuck to her nose.

He got home around 11 and we went down to investigate. The look on his face when he rounded the bar was priceless. He just let out this strained "Ohhhhh" and almost looked sad. "Did you get it I asked". "Got them" him...."Them"..me "Ahh, there's three". Then he was kind enough to tell me that I don't want to see the mess. He took off into the workshop and returned with a pliers and bucket. I figured he was just going to pick up the whole pad and toss it in the bucket. I asked if they were still alive and got a nod of the head. "Got to put them out of their misery" is what got me to fly back up the stairs.

As the count goes now....3. More paper is down and unless he checks it in the morning I'll be staying upstairs with a towel jambed under the door.

Brrrrr....Humbug

No big shocker here. It is cold outside! Snow, cold, repeat..seems to be the same old story over and over again. I ventured out of the house long enough today to put the peanut butter balls we had dipped in chocolate on the porch to set. Didn't take long. My compliments to my husband at the solid porch walls. I felt no breeze coming in, only frigid cold air. I don't hear my windows rattling any more so the wind must have died down a bit.

Last week we were given the option to have the entire week off. Seeing as I had only one vacation day left I pondered for the whole week on what to do. Thursday at 2:45 I gave them my answer. I would be in Monday & Tuesday. How do I feel about that now? Duh...how dumb could I be? Am I seriously going to want to get in my car at 4 am and go to work? Well, I have no choice now.

I though I was doing pretty good with all the Holiday things and I prided myself with starting early. Not feeling so much that way now. I just spent three days being quite busy. Right about now I could use a beer but I'm opting for a shot of cold medicine instead as I've developed a bit of a cold. That's par for the course though. I'm always sick on Christmas. The bad thing is feeling like yuck. The good thing is not being able to taste anything, therefore not eating much of it.

We received an envelope in the mail yesterday for "Cowboy's Fans". It was handed to me by my husband when I got home. He asked about the letter and then noted that he was wondering if that's why I made him put up all blue and white lights this year. He wondered if I was "turning". There was the one thing that I ordered off their web site earlier this year that has prompted these mailings. He doesn't check the mail to often, so is unaware of the fact that they come several times a week. I might just stop and pick up an ornament and hide it on the tree to see how long it takes him to spot it. Or maybe I could borrow one from my friend.

Holy Crap!

Remember not to long ago when it looked like this outside? I think that was back in October. Hard to imagine that we are on track to beat last years snowfall. To me this is not a contest we feel we need to win every year.

At 6 am this I asked my husband if he was going to work. They have a standard rule that if the public schools are closed they are also. I quoted this rule to him and he replied in his hero voice "That's just the production lines. I must go in". Then he has some dumb lady call him for a ride as she didn't want her husband to drive in this. That's just a point blank sign that she was calling his bluff. She wanted to stay home. I'm not sure I could ever call another guy for a ride in a snowstorm because my husband didn't want to drive. Her poor husband either didn't hear the call or is not feeling like the biggest wimp in the world.

For some reason I keep smiling at the image of my husband outside his work shoveling so the office people can get in. His beard covered in snow and his mustache icing up. I did notice that he had his shoes packed in a bag but left them by the door, so if he does decide to stay he'll be clunking around in his boots all day. He was nice enough to leave the shovel inside the porch today so I could shovel my way out.

Things were looking pretty upbeat yesterday. After work I went out with a few people for a Christmas drink. We were done within 2 hours as everyone wanted to get errands done last night before the big storm. I stopped at the mall to look into an air compressor for A. It was on sale but the added bonus was the man who handed me an additional $10.00 off a purchase of $100.00 or more. He was like a secret Santa, just walked past me and said "'Maybe you can use this". It was like finding a coupon at the grocery store right next to the item you are going to buy. So I bought it and then thought about how I was going to get it to my car. Suddenly this woman walks by with a cart from another store and asks if I need to use it. Double score! Got it into the truck and managed to get it into the house. I need to train my dog to help out a little more.

Here's wishing all of you a Happy Snow Day!

No Auditions

I made a mistake last night. I had stated that I was going to start taking auditions for a new friend. Of course our group joked about it and comments were made.."Randy would have never said that" or "Randy would have got me a beer". Things that seemed funny at the time.

After much thought about my audition comment, which I now blame on my emotional state over the past week, I am retracting that comment. You see, I feel that every one of my friends are unique in their own way. They are all special to me for different reasons. Randy was special for many reasons. I made the comment that his shoes would be hard one's to fill. That is true, but I don't compare my friends. I care about each and everyone of them and enjoy spending time with them. We've seen each other at our best and worst. Over the past week we've all been here for each other.

As I looked around last night I was over whelmed by the amount of people that came out with one purpose in mind. To provide support for each other. We shared stories, attempted to sing, and saw a few tears. We helped each other through a rough time. This, to me, is why all my friends are special to me.

It Has Been An Honor!

To My Friend Randy,

The initial shock of loosing you has finally hit me. I was gathering some pictures tonight to add to your picture board and broke down. It was then that I realized that you weren't going to make that next trip to South Dakota. I would never be able to prove to you that Custer State Park is chuck full of buffalo. Then I had to laugh when I thought about how much ribbing we got from you the past few years for dragging you all the way there with the promise of seeing them.
This is the person I will always remember. The good hearted, there for everybody person. The guy who's laugh you could hear clear across a bar, campsite or any activities we joined you in. The guy who would always cheer me up, make light of a situation and give the best hugs ever.

We became friends when stuck working 3rd shift together. But my first memory of you is when I worked 3rd and you worked 1st. You would be coming in early and had do buzz in. I'd walk the long hallway at 4am to let you in and I'd hear the same words every morning. "Good Day". After a few weeks of this I'd get Ahoy Mate in before you could utter a word.

Pretty soon we met each other's spouses and my husband took a liking to you immediately. Social activities came after that and we'd always get the evil eye from the spouses for talking about work. It seemed as if you knew everybody. You always had a friendly word and a funny story about someone. You became a friend that I could talk to and trust. You became my boss and although we didn't always see eye to eye, I respected that fact that you had a job to do and vice versa. Any indifference's we were always able to talk over. This is what is known as a true friendship.

When you left our current place of employment you were missed. There wasn't a day that went by that someone didn't ask about you. I missed you, not only as a boss, but as a friend. I missed your crazy comments, your stressful hand through the hair motion and bitching at you for not having your safety shoes on.

My heart sank on Saturday. It sank for J your wife, for your family, for all your friends and for myself. You were loved by many people and will be missed by many. Your circle of friends is bigger than you ever imagined. I am not at all shocked by it. This is the kind of person you were.

We will all miss you terribly. I will burn every glow stick I can find in your honor. I will shine my flashlight into the sky and try as hard as I can to search for Major Tom. One thing I don't think I'll be able to do is down 21 Mike's Hard Lemonade's in one night.

We will take care of Jo. We will never forget you. I have my memories.

Touching

Last night I picked up my grandson and headed off for the twins annual school Christmas concert. Their school really goes out of the way for these concerts and last nights was even better then the previous years. The principal is very involved and demands that the parent's and visitors stay through the entire concert and don't just get up and walk out when their child is done.

Each of the girls had a solo, one vocal and one on the violin. Last year she was still a bit squeaky but as nervous as she was last night I heard not one squeak. They do more of a culture orientated concert so each grade did one. When the Christmas Rap part came it was truly hilarious. This was a 3rd grade class and they wrote the song themselves. There were several groups of 3 or 4 that would break into rap for a few lines. We happened to be sitting in back of one of the parents whose son was very Opie Taylor looking but when his turn came he transformed into a rap King. His parents just cracked up and explained how he had been practicing at home. The father who looked strictly the business type , took credit for practicing with him. Of course besides the girls, this was the highlight of the concert.

I also scan the stage for the kid that looks the most uninterested or simply did not care to practice. I found several last night. One little guy was not singing at all, just standing at the end of his row looking up at the lights and waving his prop mittens around. The little girl next to him looked completely disgusted with him.

I then scanned the crowd as I like to see the looks on people's faces. I happened to be taking a drink of my water when I spotted the man with the worst beard ever. Needless to say it sent me into a choking fit and trying very hard to fight back laughter. My daughter looked over to see what was going on and I very discretely pointed it out to her. Broke her and my son-in-law up. This came at a time when we were able to cover it up as the little boy on the stage was dressed as a Sheppard and looked like Linus. Back to the beard thing. He had what looked like a Chi Pet on his chin. A very strawberry blond one. It almost appeared as if he just stuck it on there. Completely clean shaven with a nice hair cut and this crap on his chin. So you know how when you spot something your eyes always want to go back to this spot no matter how bad it is? Luckily I didn't spot it until 1/2 hour into the show. What made it worse is that he kept stroking it like he was proud. My son-in-law was attempting to get a shot of it but I tried to be the sensible one and stated that we should never laugh at others misfortunes. He stated that if it's out of your control it's wrong to poke fun...A purposely done thing is worth a laugh.

Recession...It's The Buzz

The front page of the Journal was the talk of the shop today. We have been in a recession since last December. Was this actually news to anyone? I got sick of hearing about it by about 10 am. When I went to lunch at noon I was soon wishing I could actually leave for lunch. Had it not been so cold I would have fled to my car to get away from the head of our Department. There were three of us in the lunch room just relaxing and chatting in between eating our lunches when in he walks with lunch in hand to "Eat with the workers". He went on to ask us all how we felt about the news. Then went on to explain it to us as if we had no clue of what was going on. As I left the lunchroom I commented to one of my co-workers that maybe he was preparing us for bad news. This is the same guy who comes in around 7, grabs the sports section and heads to the bathroom. I'm in tune to the fact that people read on the pooper, but do it at home not at work. Then don't bring the paper back and lay it down on the table when you're done. There is a mad scramble for the sports section prior to 7am. When he brings it back it literally lays untouched.
I am a little nervous about the next month or so because apparently what we're making right now is all inventory. You never want to see a warehouse full of finished product. Incoming raw materials is a good sign, but there's not much of that. May have to look into the library after all.

Through out the course of the past two weeks I have discovered that I now work with one of the moodiest people I have ever known. She's a former 3rd shift worker who made it through the last layoff. This girl doesn't utter a nice word until at least 10 am. She comes in with a scoll on her face every morning and answers in a grunt. By around noon she starts to chat. Yesterday I almost blew up at her, but couldn't lower myself to her level. I'm all about trying to get along with the people I work with. It makes for a shorter day when you can actually converse. Today after about an hour of grunty grunterson I decided to give her some of her own medicine. Yes, I actually went down a few pegs. Within fifteen minutes she was asking what was wrong. Tomorrow I think I'll try that right away.

On a lighter note, my mom's thyroid which was removed a few weeks ago is cancer free. She's still a little shakey as her meds are still being worked on. Now if I can just get them to move back here I'll be little more relaxed.

I Hate Wrapping

I've been putting this off for a while now. I keep walking in the spare bedroom looking at all the bags of gifts I started purchasing early in November. They need to be wrapped. For the past month or so that room has been a major dumping ground. I don't know why I hate it so much ,as once I get going it's really not that bad. Is it that every decent scissors I purchase seems to disappear? Could it be that the I cannot locate the 4 rolls of tape I purchased just for the wrapping?

I purposely got my shopping done early so I wouldn't have to fight the crowds and I would have plenty of time to get everything wrapped up. All I have left to purchase is gift cards. I think that way back in my mind I am upset because I do 99.9% of the shopping and then also need to wrap it. If I were to take "Mr. Stroller" along with me we would need to mortgage the house to pay for what he'd all buy. In the past we've had some fun shopping especially in the toy department. He wants to buy the kids everything. But then he wants to play with it all also.

Maybe this procrastination comes from the left over effects of the Turkey. It has become traditional that I would attempt the wrap session the day after Thanksgiving, but it somehow gets pushed out to the next weekend. Not this year. I intend to bite the bullet and get on with it. Unless of course something more interesting comes up in the meantime.

Thankful

A Happy Thanksgiving to all my family, friends and relatives! I'm thankful for all of you.
I'm thankful that I have a loving family, great friends and a good life. I'm thankful that my parents can't fool me when something is amiss.

My parent's were planning a trip to Laughlin this Holiday weekend so when I received an email from my dad stating they were opting to stay home as mom didn't have itchy palms, I felt the need to investigate. I made two phone calls to their home and although my husband tried to shush me by saying they were probably shopping, I knew better. My parent's shopping trips are done in the morning. There were no doctors appointments that I knew of and they rarely go out to eat. Their cell phone went unanswered as did their car phone. I went to trivia with this feeling that something was not right. Got home around 10pm to find a voice mail from my dad stating that "He'd be gone for a few hours and would call me later". "He'd be gone"??? what about mom? Could she not answer the phone?? Bingo!! something was wrong. After calling my dad back I found out that Mom was in the hospital. Two weeks ago she had her thyroid removed and was having some complications. Calcium levels were down. she was having major leg cramps and the final straw was her not being able to finish shopping due to being dizzy. He then takes her to the hospital, as instructed by her doctor, and while waiting for test results she has a major panic attack. She scared the crap out of my dad. To make a long story short, she'll be in the hospital for a few days and is doing fine. There's a chemical imbalance due to her medication and they need to get that all adjusted. I would wager to say they have her on some damn good happy pills as this woman cannot stand to be in a hospital. When speaking to her today she said she'll stay a few days. Either the pills have taken over or whatever happened woke her up a little and she's scared.

So I am thankful that they are both okay. I'd be more thankful if I could convince them to come back here. Phoenix is a little far away to just hop in a car and check things out. Either that or I have to do some heavy duty coaxing of my husband to get him to start packing.

Once again...a Happy Thanksgiving to you All.

Two 1/2 Men vs. Packers

I had a major dilemma last night. What should I watch, Two 1/2 Men or the Packer Game. I don't record or dvr anything as I will never watch it. In fact I don't watch much television except the news right after work or when I'm falling asleep. Last night I was torn. Do I watch the Packer game hoping to catch sight of one lonely Cowboys fan in the stands or tune into my favorite weekly show?

I decided to watch the game until 8 and then switch over. In the 1/2 hour I didn't miss much as my husband kept bouncing up the stairs to let me in on the latest. He actually scolded me for not watching the game. I tuned back in right before 1/2 time and was awake long enough to see that I'd won the pool for the 1st half at work. Score!! When I got up this morning I checked the final and had to chuckle a little. I was going to tell my friend (the lonely Cowboys fan) that he's not allowed to attend any further Packer games but it wasn't him. From reading the sports today he's not at fault.

I think I made the wiser choice in my television selection last night. Watching the game may have cost me a good night's sleep.

On a lighter note , we are working 8 hour days this week. 5a.m to 1 p.m. You would think the 8 hour day would fly by. By ten a.m. this morning I felt like I'd been there ten hours. Makes you think back to school days when the week before Christmas felt like years. It must be the anticipation of having a four day weekend or just plain wanting to get the hell out of there.

Who Will Be The Next To Go

If it wasn't such a shitty subject, I would start a pool at work to see who will be the next to go. It could have a benefit if we all decided that whoever won would give it to the person who is cut. I'm figuring it will be me as I am now the oldest operator on the floor and probably one of the higher paid.

Last week they were all about working some overtime in December which several people, including myself were notified of. Today I got an email stating that this overtime is no longer necessary as several big orders have been canceled. We have a warehouse full of incoming material which usually is a good sign. Once the news of the nixed orders got out the rumors began to fly. Hopefully we won't see the Human Resource woman in the office , as she's the bearer of the bad news.

The other thing that sends a bad signal out is how relaxed things are. In the past we were pushed to get up and running. It was all about numbers. Although the operators have kept on track we seem to be lacking the push we used to get. Of course we have an occasional appearance by an Engineer or management but not to the extent of a month or so ago. Then there's the finished product that has been sitting on the shipping dock for a few weeks. All these things add up to trouble in Production City.

We were conversing about this at work yesterday and came up with the plan that we should all make sure we say good-bye upon leaving each day. A joke was made about never knowing when you will be plucked from the floor. This is usually how it's done. Someone comes out and asks to have a moment with you and you never return. Maybe when asked it would be best to just say "No, now's not a good time". Hopefully things are just looking bad right now and within a few weeks will pick up again. As much as I'd like a vacation, it would be nice to assure I had a job to come back to.

It off the the annual Milwaukee Christmas Parade tomorrow morning. My family has been making the trek downtown for several years now to ring in Santa. As cold as it can be, it's always been a good time. The kids love it and the adults just manage to get into the spirit just watching the kids. My brother was pretty big on the parade and his girls had asked to go this year. I can't see there's is any way to bail out of this. Besides that we two celebrities in the family this year. Nanette and Ben will be assisting with the Journal's giant balloon. The kids haven't been told so I'm sure they'll get a big kick out of it. She just better have some good candy to throw our way as she's floating past us. I shall have the camera ready.

It's Soapbox Time

I just caught the woman on the news that turned in her 17 & 16 year old children for robbing a store. I applaud this woman. As I listened to her story and reasoning I thought about how hard that could be. She said she had spent some time in prison and didn't want her kids to go through what she did. She was trying to raise her six kids the right way. "You don't take what doesn't belong to you". She also said she had four younger kids at home and would have no tolerance for any of her kids committing such crimes. The woman closed her comments with saying she wished her parents would have turned her in the first time she did any wrong.

As a parent I've been blessed that my children have never gotten into any serious trouble. I received one call for a bailing out, to which I refused. His father ran down and bailed him out, but why wouldn't he...he had done the same thing years ago. I had warned my son, that if he wanted to play the big boy game to make sure he was careful. (I added that I don't bail foolish people out of jail). I can't imagine how I'd feel seeing one of my kids on captured by camera robbing a store. I know that first of all I'd be angry. Then a lot of questions would run through my mind. Would I harbor them? No. I'd urge them to turn themselves in. Then I'd refer them to my dad. This man has a way with words.

I was talking to him this afternoon regarding this woman. He gets the journal on-line and likes to keep up with the Milwaukee news. He then shared the story of the robber who attempted to steal the 70 year old woman's purse and was beat up by several people who came to her aide. Apparently people in Phoenix/Sun City areas have taken matters into their own hands. He said the police are warning people against it but they have continued to do some bodily injury to the would be robbers. Maybe this is something we should adopt around here. Be more aware of our surroundings and help people out. I'd be all for it except for not knowing if there was a gun involved.

I'm sure that we'll see a lot more of these crimes as the Holiday season approachs. It sucks when you have to be afraid to hit a mall past 6pm.

Heard It Through The Grapevine

It's official. The down spiraling economy has hit my family. Although my daughter has not told me yet...my son-in-law has lost his job. I did get a phone call from her the other night which was mostly regarding her being upset over my brother passing away. I had suspected there was a problem as he's been home a lot over the past few weeks. He did work from home a lot and they passed it off as him working from home to help out with her back surgery recovery. (Boy this is starting to sound like a Lifetime story now.) When him and I were sitting in the family surgery waiting area he was talking about how he had applied for several jobs, and I know he wasn't happy at his current job, and the thought had crossed my mind then but I didn't ask. There is a certain pride that prevents some people from stating the truth.

When I got this news this morning, at first I was upset that she didn't tell me. After a few hours of mulling it over, wondering if I should offer help and just wanting to talk to them and let them know things will work out, I had a flashback of twenty some years ago. My first husband and I were separated for a few weeks. The last thing I wanted to do was tell my parents. Not out of fright but more out of feeling like a failure. Here's some more Lifetime at your finger tips. I was 7 months pregnant and had a three year old. My husband opted for a single life verses the wife and kids. I didn't want to burden my parents with this as it wasn't their problem. I think it was my brother who finally let the cat out of the bag .

At first I was upset with him but also felt a bit of relief. A lot of my married life was hidden from my parents but I didn't have them fooled. They just butted out and figured when help or moral support was needed I'd call. The help they gave me will never be forgotten. I have to say, it was what changed my life. So as I sit here now pondering their situation I know that she'll tell me when she's ready. I have to many friends who had meddling parents and I swore I wouldn't do it. We'd only step in when asked or we felt someone was in harm's way. So far, so good.

Her and I just had a long talk the other day about how Christmas may be a little difficult this year. The sheltered family has never tragically lost a member before. In past week or so the same conversation has come up with other family members. I think we'll have some moments, but we'll be okay. I reminded her that as down on his luck as David was, he always had a sense of humor. He would tell me things that were going on, make a joke and state that life goes on. Christmas was always very special to him.

You know how they always say something will come up. Everything happens for a reason. He'll find a job and maybe it'll be a better one. At any rate, nothing comes without a little struggle.

Is There Stock In Wiper Blades

I've come to the conclusion that I have no luck with wiper blades. I was certain that the blades that were on my truck were purchased within the last 6 months. A complaint had been lodged with my husband that I couldn't see out the drivers side as there was always a huge streak right across my vision area. I recall that this was ignored until he drove my truck in the rain and had the same issue.

Yesterday on my way home in the rain this problem arose again. I looked over at the other wiper blade to find the window clear, but a nice piece torn away and flapping with each wipe. When I got home I mentioned it to Barney who replied "I just bought you new blades a few months ago". I figured it could wait until the weekend, so didn't press the issue. I forgot about it until this morning when I got to the corner and turned on the wipers only to watch the drivers side wiper take off into the unknown. There I was with one blade. Unfortunately I do not sit on that side to drive. Like a dork I got out and retrieved the blade. Threw it on the seat as it was to dark to see anything.

My ride to work was fine until the semi passed me. I was going about 15-20 over the limit just to stay in front of him to avoid the splatter that he would leave on my windshield. We all know that switching lanes does no good . After work one of the maintenance guys was kind enough to stop by my car as I was trying to get the thing back on. We came to the decision that it was screwed. The pin was broke and there was no attaching it. The nice guy just happened to have a new blade that he had picked up the night before. The agreement was made to "borrow" the blade and return it tomorrow. We both had a good chuckle as the borrowed blade was from a jeep so it was about 6 inches shorter than my blade. No problem, as long as I can see on the way home. I got in my car, turned on the wipers and just had a good laugh. Right in my vision area was none other than a large streak not being taken care of by the wipers.

This now prompted me to call my husband for a lead on the best wipers to get. Of course, Mr. I Don't Answer My Cell Phone, could not be reached. Finally after three calls he returned my call to let me know he was at Menard's purchasing wiper blades for my truck. Said he noticed they were bad when he moved my truck last night.

I must ask all of you...How often do you replace your wiper blades? How much do you pay for them? How many of you, no matter what blades you get , still have a streak? This whole wiper blade thing just seems like a gimmick to me.

Herbie Is a Crabby Old Man

Being off on Friday's has allowed me to see what the rest of the world does on a weekday. Most of my experiences with the general public have been either on the road or shopping. I'm all about getting up and out early to avoid any type of crowd. I think this has been the key to me noticing much more than I do in crowded after 5 or weekend shopping.

I'm finding that early morning shopping has been left to parent's with small children, seniors or the other few of us that are blessed with this day off. The day time parent's with small children seem to be very patient with the child that is starting to act up. There is usually a comment in a stern but patient voice asking the child to nicely sit down or stay right by me. It's not like the weekend Walmart shoppers that threaten to "bitch slap your little ass if you don't sit down right now". I've found that shopping in jeans and a sweater is not the style. I would fit in more if I had a lime green or bright pink nylon jogging suit and my hair was done up in a high pony tail and maybe bleached blond. Oh, and flip flops. Who the heck walks around in flip flops in 45 degree weather.

I've come to find that seniors are always in a hurry. The men folk are practically pushing down anyone who gets in their way. If they are in an aisle and blocking someone from getting around them, they will not budge. They act like you may get to the end of the aisle before them. This I do not understand as if you are retired then what the heck else do you have to do all day? I observed the impatience of one man at the deli counter as there were two other people before him. He huffed and puffed and rolled his eyes for each thing one customer ordered. Just to tick him off I thought about ordering two slices of about 10 different meats. I'm sure he would have kicked my butt on the spot.

Seniors in the parking lots are another story. First off the women usually cannot see over the steering wheel and they come in pairs. Two chatty little old ladies looking for the best spot, driving right down the middle of the aisle and damn you if you are coming with a cart. Just get out of the way as they can't see you. They can see a bingo number from across a bingo hall, but they won't see you. The men drivers will honk if you're in their way. Not just a little tap but a full blown honk and a fist waving just in case you didn't get the picture.

Let's talk about one of them being in the check out line behind you. My cart was not yet unloaded as I was waiting for Harriet in front of me to find her wallet, when Herbie who was behind me started putting his stuff on the belt. In trying to be polite I said "I still have things in my cart. I'm waiting for her to finish and move". I heard a grunt. He then made a comment that she needed to move as this wasn't a social hour here. Couldn't believe he turned on one of his own.

Cashier's are politer in the morning. They haven't had a full day of crap yet. Therefore they are nicer to your groceries and won't throw your bread down to be squished by can foods. Sometimes they even put the bread to the side. If you are lucky enough to have a bagger, they pack sensibly, meaning there will be more then one thing packed in a bag and your eggs will not be on the bottom of the 2 liter bottle of soda.

There is a whole different world out there on a weekday. After the holidays are over and the Christmas bargin shopping is out of the way, I'm going to work on having to go the the grocery store only once every two weeks.

So Burp Already

Since midnight Sunday I have been suffering the effects of some type of stomach ailment. Since both my husband woke up around the same time Sunday night with bad stomach pain we at first blamed it on the pizza we got on the way home. At first bite this pizza did not taste right to me. He commented on the sauce being a bit sweet. I quit after the first piece and proceeded to eat the deep fried mushrooms instead. He ate another slice and called it quits.

I was up from midnight until 3:30 am when I called in sick. There was no way this body was going in to work with the constant urge of having to up-chuck all day. As the day progressed so did the stomach pain along with some chills. I tried pepto-tums , Maalox and 7 Up. Nothing seemed to help. By Tuesday morning I still wasn't feeling any better but went in to work. I must say the 10 hours seemed like 40. 7 up was my only friend. It at least was working on what ever acid was gurgling around in my stomach. I was close to stopping for Alka Seltzer but if I wanted to throw up I had other ways to do that. Today brought on some relief. The sharp stabbing pains were down to a minimum and I could eat without thoughts of it coming back up.
I opted out of Trivia tonight to stay home and try and let whatever this is out of my system. Barney is still a little queasy but not as bad as me. He didn't seem to have any problems eating. As a joke yesterday I asked him if he wanted pizza. The problem is, the thought made my stomach curl more than it did his. I need to get this over with before Saturday where the promise of Bonnie and Dick's fish fry awaits.

I made a good investment this weekend. When one's Christmas shops they always need to pick up a little something for themselves also. While at Toys R Us I happened upon some boxing gloves for the Wii system. This just seemed like the obvious thing to purchase for myself. Since my husband accused me of boxing like a girl, I intend to prove him wrong. After messing around with getting the remote hooked into the gloves I was off. I had to stop once as the remote went flying out of the glove. This problem was quickly resolved and I was on my way . 1/2 hour later I had to call it quits. My arms were sore and I had mastered my stance and never went down. I'm telling you that this may be my release. I'm thinking of putting a punching bag and decent gloves on my Christmas list.

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

I've grown tired of the same old grocery store. Pick & Save is convenient, but it burns me that they carry the same old stuff and the prices keep going up. I was up for a change in shopping scenery so today I decided to try "The Pig". Besides they had diet coke on sale and I seem to be addicted to it. I had to make sure that I wasn't going out of my way to shop so I did this today when I had another errand to run in the same area.

I expected more than I actually saw. Immediately upon entering the store I grabbed a flyer and noticed that I needed a club card for many of the on sale items. This called for a detour to the courtesy counter. I waited in line as the woman at the counter finished her conversation with who appeared to be her neighbor. They chatted about another neighbor and a school function they were both going to on Monday. I think my sigh may have cut their conversation short. Got the card and went on my way. The store was clean enough but it lacked stock. It's a smaller store so I liked the fact that I didn't have to maneuver around to many people. About the time I hit the third aisle I realized that this store had the feeling of a small town store. People were walking by greeting each other by name. I waited at the deli while deli girl finished up her conversation with a friend. Yes, this was defiantly a friendly store with a gift of gab.

My normal time spent for weekly shopping from entrance to check-out is usually no longer than 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. I noted the time as I made my way to the check-out. I was under the wire. I spent 10 minutes at the check-out with only one person in front of me. Of course, the cashier knew the woman and they chatted. By this time I was finding this all very humorous and the want to sigh had disappeared from my mind. Finally it was my turn and things were going well until the bagger, an elderly man, was engrossed in conversation with a customer. I watched as my groceries started to pile up and he made no attempt to bag them. I stepped over and began to bag my own. It was like a clip from a horror movie when the entire place seemed to go silent. This must have been unheard of. I am now a marked woman. I think I will forever be remembered as the woman who tried to bag her own.

I will probably return to "The Pig" if I'm in the area. What the heck..I'm sure that I've made a few friends there, and I did make it out within my alloted time.

How Can She Be Two Mothers

To get away from the repetitive news each night I switch over to Lifetime and watch an hour of Reba while preparing my husband a lovely dinner. Last night I saw and episode I've never seen before. Brock's mother was in town. I heard the voice, as I was slaving over the stove and turned in time to notice that she is also Doug from King of Queens mother. This would be the one and only Jenny O'Hara. I feel the need to mention this as this could be a trivia question. Not that I'd be able to remember this when the question was asked. Of course I'd sit there holding my head and repeating over and over again "Shit, I know this...why can't I think of it?" I figure if I post it that at least one of us will remember.

Me thinks me has created a monster. Two weeks ago some people were let go at work. One of the girls I hadn't worked with to much until a month ago. She's a nice person and excellent worker. The day after she was let she called me at home to share the tidbits of her release. She has now called me at least every other day. The calls are getting better as she's not as depressed anymore, but she is bitter. The call usually comes around the same time every day so I have to yell to my husband to check the called ID. I think he takes joy in answering and then handing the phone over to me. The grin on his face is a dead giveaway.

Speaking of weird dreams (stb) I tried to wake myself up out of one last night. It was just so ridiculous. My friend "Andy" called me to say he had one Packer ticket and did I want to go with him and his friends. We had to meet at the Concertina Bar which he gave me wrong directions to, as we were driving in my van together. We finally found the bar and when walking in saw that it wasn't exactly what we thought. We walked into an old lady strip club. We're talking Old- like in their 80's. Andy was hesitant to go in as his girlfriend "Dodie" would be upset if she found out he was in a strip club. Huh? So I wanted to get to the Packer game and could not get several of our friends -Don, Ryan, Peven and Timmy to leave. They were whistling, and cheering away. I was then in shock as one of them took all the Packer tickets and stuffed them in this old ladies funky bra. I woke up! Maybe this is a result of going to bed earlier than usual.

I'm Stuck In Little People Land!

How does two turn into four? I started out with having two kids for the weekend and it multiplied into four. Three, 10 year old girlie girls and one 9 year old boy. All was going well until there was a major disbute over what movie to watch last night. That ended with no movie. They didn't really grasp the whole extent of Grandma puts up with nothing. They came very close to loosing the tv completly when the arguing continued over what tv show to watch. Around 10pm I was beat from a day of the girlie girls. I made sure they were all settled and warm and headed off to bed. I didn't hear a peep until 6:45 when I heard my neice jabbering away. My trip down the hallway was short and sweet. "I don't want to hear another word until 9am". The only thing I heard was a very soft voice stating that her stomach hurt really bad and she thought it was from hunger. That brought on a chuckle as I know what they all ate yesterday.
Right now as I am posting this they are getting ready for Trick or Treat. This brings back memories. I'm sure that my brothers and I drove my parents crazy for hours before we were set to leave. My kids drove me nuts also. This must just be so exciting for them. Yes, these are the same kids that gave up after an hour last year. I was in utter disbelief . I know we would go for what seemed like hours, usually heading home for a candy dump and heading back out. They half way filled bags last year and called it quits.
So far I've done the parental duties of fixing hair, painting nails black with crappy, cheap polish and put in earrings. Two of the four are hacking like crazy so they've received the proper medicine dropped off by their parents. I just now have fixed a zipper and last night I sewed up broken wings. (I am the best grandma ever). Suck it up kids.
My daughters surgery went well. Last report from son-in-law was that she was able to sleep pretty good last night and seems to have discomfort only from the incision. Her leg problems seems to be better which was caused by the screws in her back being placed to deep. It will take time for the damage to the muscle to repair itself, but the outcome is looking good.
Duty calls for me to now fix and spray hair black. We have two dark fairies,one witch and a racing sausage. (the last one is the cutest costume.)

He's Not Fond Of The Number

Until the official team photos are released to me by his mother, this is the only solo photo I have from this season. Funny how I picked out the packet I wanted, ordered it and it just happened to get mixed in with hers. She had to take them home to sort through them and figure out who's were who's. I bet my 8x10 is hanging on "the other grandmothers" wall. It seems a little weird not to have a game to go to this weekend. He did comment that he may go back to basketball and then through in a soccer comment just to get my attention. "I love you Dylan, and I would go to whatever event you were in but you'd really be pushing it with the soccer" was my reply. Can't help it, it's just not my thing.
So I posted this picture because I felt the need to show him off a little. Other people post boob pictures, pet pictures and just fun pictures. You guys can all suffer through my grandson's picture.
I seem to have contacted someones cold. I'm trying to keep it under control. Haven't hit the bottle yet as a suggested cure. There is a chilled bottle of very fine tasting Black Zambuca in the fridge downstairs that may become just a little lower in level this weekend. I have to be at the top of my game as I have my daughter's girls this weekend. She's going in for a second back surgery tomorrow which will hopefully give her good results. The twins can be a little trying at times and really try to pull things over on people. Yeah, I'm not going for it. There was mention of going to see High School Musical (not going to happen). We may just opt for baking some pies. Future homemaking skills are much more important than a movie that will be out on video within a week.

Damn Cowboys

It is the Cowboys curse! Dylan's team went undefeated the entire season, made it through the playoffs and lost to the Cowboys in their Championship game yesterday. The little guys put up a fight but it wasn't enough. They played the Cowboys early on in the season and shut them out so I don't know if there was a growth spurt or what over the next 7 weeks but they lost to them. Whatever the case both teams played well. One team played better.

We lost two employees at work this week. This is just the beginning. Our division doesn't have that many operators to begin with, but we have enough to run the lines we have. I'm sure what we're feeling right now is what a majority of companies are feeling. My wish is to make it to the end of the year at least. Not sure how well I'd take being let go before the Holidays. At any rate everything happens for a reason. Maybe there's another job out there calling my name. (not a library as they are cutting back also).

Not that I'm really big on the Hallmark holidays but I made an effort to get my husband a card and a little something for the date. Yesterday came and went without a little envelope for me. I'm sure he's waiting until tomorrow when he can get a card for 1/2 price. This is a little bothersome to me as in 24 years he's never missed getting a card for me. I made some good ribs yesterday. Had them in the oven cooking slowly for 6 hours. They came right off the bone. He made the comment that they were "quite tasty", ate them and retired to his chair for the evening. Granted the man has been working very hard on the porch. He woke up around 9:30, walked around, noticed I was still home and hit the sack again. Really exciting evening.

I start my getting up at the uncalled for hour of 3:30 am tomorrow. I keep trying to find the good in it by the fact that I will not be getting out of work at 3pm. Can't say I had any liking in the 5pm release hour. In our meeting the other day it was mentioned that those who were so flexible as to volunteer for the late shift may be called upon again in the future to do so. I may duck down at the next meeting. I'm a little tired of switching hours. There's usually a newspaper or magazine laying on the table I could easily pick up and hide my face behind.

It is twelve more days until I will turn on the heat. This could go longer if there is no need for it. What's a few more sweaters and a double layer of sweatpants? I'm noticing as the porch gets further along the house gets a little warmer. With brick, new windows and very sturdy storm doors on the porch we may be able to get another month without the heat. Ben has a goal to help my husband complete this project within the next few weeks. He claims he's eating his Thanksgiving dinner out there.

I Saw It First

It is 17 days until Halloween. The other day I put a few decorations on my front window and got out the Halloween candle and put it in the living room. It's pretty much the extent of my decorating. I do like the holiday and get a kick out of how far people have gone in decorating for Halloween. I tend to like the traditional scarecrow propped up in the yard and thing the witch flying into the tree is a little funny. The pumpkins on the porch are also an added touch.

On my way home from work today I did have a little bit of a shock. Now I know the stores have already decorated for Christmas and they have displays and decorations out for the home. On 43rd & Grange there is a town house all decked out for Christmas already. I took a second look thinking that just maybe it was last years stuff never taken down. No.. this looked fresh, and the lights were plugged in. At first I thought WTF..it's way to early. Then as I thought more about it I wondered if maybe the house was done up as someone wasn't going to be around at Christmas. Maybe they had parents who flew south or west for the winter. Maybe they had someone who was heading out to defend our country or coming home for a leave. There could be several reasons. In the past I would normally freak and rant about how it's to early. This time I tried to reason. Then I thought "What the heck" it's their house and they must have a reason for it. I'm sure ours won't go up until the traditional 10 days before Christmas. He usually intends to get things up before the snow flies but something always prevents this carefully thought out process. I must mention that my friend seems to have Santa already set up in his living room as we saw by his recent photos on his blog.

The good thing about today. I am half way through my work week. Tired as hell, but 1/2 way there.

I Smell Poop!

So maybe today just isn't my day. A famous quote from Ben Sr. "Don't let life get the best of you". I try to live by the words of Dad as I have the utmost respect for my father. At my age I guess one would have chosen a different path, but he always managed to see the brighter side of things rather than brood. Therefore , I see myself heeding his advice for years to come.

I was told by my husband not to mention this again but I feel the need to say, we should be camping this weekend. We opted out as there is work around the homestead to be done. There are things that have to be done before the blustery days of winter settle upon us. Ben Jr. wants to eat Thanksgiving Dinner on the new porch so we must get hopping on that. It's also a good day to get the yard cleaned up. I got a semi-early start as I wanted to get out before the bees started getting busy. This worked out until around noon. Husband came home for lunch and ate his McDonald's on the deck which drew every bee, wasp, hornet and their cousin for miles. After he returned to work I left the area for a bit to let them clear. Apparently they are not liking the fact that I am taking their food source away by pulling out any plant life left in the garden.

I made a haul from the backyard to the curb using my rummage sale purchased wagon. On the way back I notice a little trail of pooh on the driveway. I just figured I dragged the wagon through some pooh. On my second trip I noticed some foliage sticking to the bottom of my shoe and went to scrape it off on the edge of the deck. Whoa Nellie....stinky. I fear I had stepped in a nice pile of Sadie's pooh. Now the shit was embedded in the sole of my shoe. I seem to recall laughing at someone who suffered this misfortune a few weeks ago. Garden hoses come in handy in these situations. Guess I should have surveyed the back yard a little more carefully prior to getting to work. Checked the wagon wheels...they are spotless.

You Want Cheese With That?

I think my depression over the Brewers loss has come to an end. I had an appointment on Sunday and thought for sure she'd have the radio or a TV on. She asked me a few times what time the game was on but then noon came and went. Another customer walked in around 1:30 but claimed to not be listening to the game. She "forgot" it was on. By the time I got into my car and tuned in the radio I was a little taken back. 5-0. Got on the phone with Gambino to see if this was true. She happened to mention that the Packers were also loosing, but then threw in that "On a lighter note, The King and I is on." I can't complain, they gave us a good season.

My workplace often has luncheons that production employees are usually not allowed to go to. One of the nicer guys will sometimes go and bring back some tidbits for us. Today was a different story, as we were allowed to go. This was a "Get Moving" theme. Earlier this year they had a similar program with employees against management to see which group could log more steps in a given time. The employees won as several management personnel dropped out. I think this luncheon was to kick it off again. We were given one hour so the first 1/2 hour was spent in line for food. The second portion was spent eating and listening to two men from Comedy Sports put on a little show. We all got up and left after our allotted time was up. I warned my fellow co-workers about getting up in the middle of a skit. "Mark my words, you will be made fun of". Sure enough, as our little group of people headed for the door there were cracks made. I wish we could have stuck around for the rest of the show, but production called. Plus, none of us got to hear the newest "Get Moving" challenge. Although we all appreciated the chance to go, we found it odd that you would have a "Get Fit, Get Moving" theme and serve several pasta dishes and chicken breasts smothered with a thick mushroom gravy and for dessert cream puffs and chocolate eclairs. That's going to take more than a few laps around the parking lot to work off.

I have been volunteered by my son to work the concession stand on Sunday for the game prior to Dylan's game. If any of my friends want to get a real laugh, stop on down at 10:30 Sunday morning for some delicious pretzels with cheese or nachos. I was under the impression I just had to hand out candy, soda and coffee. Didn't know I had to actually heat up pretzels and cheese. This ought to be good.

TGIF ??

First of all let me start by saying I am very thankful that I now have Friday's off. I'm a little tired during the course of the 10 hour day, four days a week but very much look forward to the three day weekend. Today marks the third Friday off. The first one was spent preparing for and going camping. Last week Friday was spent on a day trip to Lake Geneva and then preparing for a family birthday party. Today was spent on appointments that had to be re-scheduled when we went to 10 hour days, and catching up on some chores and shopping.

For some reason that extra day off each week seems to be filled to the brim. I was up at 6:30 and think the only time I sat down all day was driving to appointments. I even had to stand at the Doctors Office. They have not yet invented the sit-down boob squash?? It's now 8:40 and I sure that if I went to bed I'd have no problem falling asleep.

I thought about catching a little cat nap this afternoon but when I got home I found a large cement mixer churning away in my driveway. I knew there was talk of laying some cement today but "Mr. Communication" just let's me know when to give him money. As I walked up the driveway to investigate I caught site of Dirty Ben. He looked as if he could really give Pig Pen a run for his money. Then I saw Rick. He wasn't quite as dirty and looked to be doing a good job on the mixing. As I glanced toward the work area I was glad that my husband at least had clean underwear on and that they weren't inside out. I don't know what it is with Mr. Droopy Drawers but he just shouldn't squat or be on his knees. I though for sure he was going to stand up and loose the pants completely. Yes I do know what the problem is....He has no ass. He didn't like the comment I made about buying him a body suit. Like I said, at least all you could see was underwear.

The guys called it quits around 6 (because they ran out of cement mix). The plan is for this to start all over again at 8am tomorrow morning. This was being discussed as they all sat down to eat some pizza. When the two younger ones got up after dinner the old bones must have been creaking. The macho men tried not to wince in pain in front of me but I caught it. I suggested taking a day off and was looked at as if I was some kind of freak. We'll see how well they're moving tomorrow. I do, however give them a lot of credit for the task they undertook. Real, genuine men.
In the words of Rick "That's what friends are for".

Here We Go

I'll start my post on a giant cheer for the Brewers! As we sat around watching the Packer game Sunday, we all seemed to be paying more attention to the Brewers game. At first it required a trip inside but soon our host's would bring out another tv for us to catch first the Brewer game then the Mets loss. It was a great end to a great day. We walked our little tootsies off for Gambino's & many others boobies. Nice day for a walk.

It's always crummy when a good weekend ends and a crummy work week starts. Things have been very hectic and frustrating in the work place the past few weeks. We're missing a key operator due to an illness and some of us are in unfamiliar territory right now. Things that the maintenance man should be doing are expected to be done by us. Found out today that the intent is that he should be doing them and there was a little anger in our current boss's voice when he found out differently. So after two days of trying to run a job that should have been simple, everyone in management decided to come out and help fix the problem. We're talking about people that need instruction on using a tape gun.

I've always had an issue with our company going out on a limb for new business, yet not trying to fix the lines that run the current customers jobs. For some reason we always manage to squeak by and make the shipments and the quality is good but sooner or later this is going to bite them in the ass. Enough about work. I think I have blown my steam for the day.

I came home today to find all the windows closed in the house. Poor husband must have had a chill when he got home from work. The heat is not turned on, but I know when he gets home later he will begin the layering of the clothes. The sweatshirts and sweatpants will come out of the drawer where they have been stored for 4 months. Within the next month or so I will begin to hear that we need to move to a warmer climate. I think this year I will call his bluff and start packing things up. I'll begin to purge unwanted items from the home. He will check every box and bag I am carting out of here for Goodwill. I may have taken some "needed" item. Maybe this strategy will work on ending the winter whining.

My Husband Is Hungry

For the past month or so my priorities have not been in the kitchen. My husband walks in there every once in a while to see if there's anything cooking. Then he checks the fridge to see if anyone put anything new in there. I've made a few things but not a down to earth good home cooked meal. I guess I can only expect him to go so long on things like taco's, sloppy joes or hamburgers. I think he may be looking for something more on the line of meat and taters with a vegetable on the side.

I'm on week two of the working until 5 shift and the last thing on my mind or list of things to do when I get home is break out the chef's gear and prepare a meal that won't be eaten until 7 or after. Yesterday after work I decided to visit the local food store. My main purpose was just for the things I needed for the weekend. I threw in a few other things but not much was needed as I have a kitchen full of food. It just needs to be cooked.

Today my daughter and I took a day trip to Lake Geneva. For the past several years it's been an annual thing we do for her birthday. It turned out to be a very relaxing mother daughter bonding day. When I got home it was time to hit the kitchen. My husband heard pans rattling around and came upstairs to investigate. "Could it be my wife has found the kitchen again". I felt a little bad and tried to figure out how to break the news to him that this commotion was not for him but for a birthday event tomorrow and a Packer Party on Sunday. My only way out was to look at him and ask "What's for dinner"? It was then that he heated up some left over tacos and pizza.

He came back about two hours later and saw the prepared items on the table and I swear I saw drool. Now in a way I feel bad but then I have to wonder what is wrong with him? Why can't he cook? He's home by 3:10 every day. All he has to do is tell me what he wants to make and I will buy it. Heck, as long as we're going this far, why can't he take a trip to the grocery store also? I suppose I shouldn't get to ahead of myself in this thinking as I know what we would have. Since he has no clue how to cook any type of meat other then grilling it or browning meat for taco's or Mexican dishes my guess is that we would be eating steak, burgers or Mexican every night. Chicken or pork chops would become nonexistent in our home. And I know for a fact that if he did the shopping it would be a daily run and along with whatever he needed for dinner there would be a tray of taco dip or a jar of garlic olives purchased.

Go Brewers!

Back To Reality

Weather wise this weekend could not have been better. I could have done without the flies and bees but when everything else is going for you why complain about the little things?

I packed for cool fall weather and used only one fleece jacket only after the sun went down. It was a little damp in the morning but the sun took care of that pretty quickly. Mick seemed to attract the largest wasp we've ever seen. We're pretty sure it was the head queen. Didn't take long for all the guys to get on it and make sure it no longer had life in it. Waking up to gun shots and knowing that it's not intended for you is always a plus. From the site we were on we used to be able to see the pond and if we were up early enough could catch a glimpse of the duck hunters. Everything is a little over grown now, but it's a plus in the privacy department.

As usual the food was good. If all goes as planned "D" and the boys should be making us a tad bit wealthy within the next few years with their invention. We spent sometime discussing every one's role in making this a success. This was before the beer took effect on "Ben" a.k.a. "Sweet Ben" a.k.a. "Stagger Lee" and his friend "Barney" a.k.a. "Don't sit by those girls...they'll take you down" a.k.a. "I'm not drunk..I just want to build a 6 foot fire". Ol' Barney even managed to make a drunken phone call to our friend Cleve to express his anger toward his wife putting the kibosh on his plan.

We did make a trip back toward town Saturday afternoon to catch Dylan's game. They are now 4-0. Could this turn bad as they play the Cowboys this week? Let's hope not.

So now back at home, the weekend things unpacked, laundry started, dinner made and showers taken, we await to Packer/Cowboys game. What's the worst that could happen?

It's All In Who You Know

My kids are paying off for me. After all the years of doing for them, it's kind of nice to receive some sort of gratis. Some day soon my bathroom will be tiled thanks to my son. My daughter has kept us in cell phones.

On my way out the door this morning my husband stopped me to show me an issue he was having with his phone. Removing the battery and Sim card did not solve the problem. After a call to my daughter I was told that the phone has a life span of about 3 years. That's just about how long it's lasted. He looked a little panicked when I told him I thought the phone was shot. This coming from a man who two years ago wanted nothing to do with a cell phone. He doesn't make a lot of calls, but he's always got it with him. After work I got a call from my daughter saying that they had two brand new phones at their house and I could pick which one we wanted. The one I chose is an upgraded version of my current phone. With her and her husband both working for cell phone companies there are some perks.

The other perk I have with her is I no longer need to board my dog when we are out of town. They have a small humane society at their home so one more dog isn't a bother to them. So tonight when I dropped Sadie off I was given the new phone and the money I offered was refused. Sometimes this bothers me a little, as I'm not real used to getting something for nothing. Hubbie now has the slightly used older phone (come on, you really didn't think I'd give him the new one). I was also kind enough to take the liberty of downloading a ring tone for him. He is now blessed with a snappy Elvis tune. I'm going to see how long it takes him to figure out how to switch it back to a plain ring.

Some how tonight I managed to get all packed for the weekend, clean my house, do laundry and drop off the dog. I'm a little amazed at myself considering I spent most Of the day at work ready to fall asleep at a moments notice. We had a meeting at 2pm today which I struggled to stay awake at. The only thing that kept me slightly alert was the comments from the girl sitting next to me. She spoke loud enough for my ears only and I was having trouble controlling my laughter. She will be paid back when I am a little more alert. I have to say we have some God awful boring meetings at my workplace.

Here's to everyone having an enjoyable yet safe weekend. I hope the sneezing fits I've been having all day are allergy related verses a cold coming on.

Who Is Ned Yost???

In keeping up with other manufacturing companies, we have now gone to a 4 day work week. This also meant having one shift. There is a little staggering of the hours but we're all in one big happy group now. Today I worked with a girl that I originally trained about two years ago. She's a nice person and works very well. We were chatting away and listening to the morning show on WKLH and I commented on the firing of Ned Yost. With this totally innocent face she turned to me and asked "Who Is Ned Yost"?.

Some people would laugh at this or think her a fool. I didn't. I just simply explained who he was. As I was doing so I hoped in my heart that she would not ask me who the Brewers were. She explained that she's just not that into any sports. No explanation necessary...some people just are not.

For me the change in hours hasn't been really that big of a deal. I now work until 5 which sucks as I can't say I enjoy the rush hour commute home. For the previous 3rd shift people switching from nights to days takes a little getting used to. They commented on being able to go home in the sunlight. That won't last long. Another month or so and I'll be going to work and coming home in the dark. The weekends will be for seeing the sun.

All in all it's kind of nice having enough people to run several lines. Hopefully they won't reduce the work force again. This may just be the chance to cross train some people so not just one or two operators have knowledge of a line. (that could be a dream come true)

I'm looking forward to camping this weekend. The weather outlook looks good. I'd like to see the wasps and bee's stay in their own homes for the weekend. I thought for sure my husband would opt to stay home and work on the porch, but he's set on going. This is a very needed weekend away. The roof is framed in and he's chomping at the bit to take a half day tomorrow and get some more work done. This really needs to get done before the snow flies. My porch serves as an excellent fridge especially around Christmas time. Keeps the Christmas cookies nice and cool.

Crunch

It's that time of the year again. Our yard is already pretty littered with fallen leaves. Not sure if it's because of the lack of rain and everything just dried up or if it's actually that close to the fall season. Funny how they make no sound at all when falling, but someone walking on the sidewalk that is spewn with leaves and it gives off quite a bit of noise. I can even hear the chipmunks running around my yard now. All this means to me is a lot of work. I feel like I just got done planting and now I'll be pulling it all up.

I am enjoying the coolness in the air. I wasn't to much a fan of the hot, muggy summer we had. We're camping next weekend so I'm sure that I won't appreciate the crisp evenings or the possibility of frost in the morning.

Dylan's team is now 2-0. They had a fantastic game the other night that didn't have a dull moment in it. I sat in my lawn chair for the first quarter but then was on my feet the rest of the game. Very exciting to say the least. Let's hope they can keep this up. There were two injuries on the opposing team. I applaud the sportsmanship shown by all in attendance and the concern for the boys well being. This is a very well run league.

Tomorrow marks my brother's 43rd birthday. It marks day 20 since he passed away. The family is celebrating his birthday at a local favorite park of his in the afternoon. And what would this families birthday celebration be with out a cake. Yes, although corny to some, I made a cake for my brother. I've done it for a lot of years and things just wouldn't seem right if I didn't. Of course my family will be over to help eat it. It may be a little bit of a difficult day.

UnSupported

I was called upon today for a Grandma duty. One would think it would be a chore, but I actually enjoy this type of duty. Both parent's working late..could I take Dylan to football practice? I think they both know by now that asking me to take him to any sporting event that he participates in is always a definite yes.

This is a typical 9 year old boy. Get dropped off at Grandma's house, check the fridge for goodies, have a meal, play with Grandma's Wii and watch some TV. Ten minutes before we had to leave I told him to go get ready. Five minutes later he comes out of the bathroom and announces he forgot to pack his cup. After some calls we came to the conclusion that going all the way back to his house and waiting for his step-father to get there would make him 1/2 hour late for practice. He got a bit of a lecture that I'm sure went in one ear and out the other. I told him we'd go anyway and if the coach had a problem he could sit out or run laps instead. He ended up participating in the entire practice. I'm not sure he ever told the coach but I noticed his was a little protective. At the break he came over to guzzle some water and revealed that he had "forgotten" to mention it. Like a dedicated grandmother I sat for the two hour practice and then took the sweaty little kid home. Lo and behold upon arriving at his house the cup was located..exactly where it was this morning when his mother told him to pack it. I think he needs to be a little more responsible, but I also think Mom could have taken a second look around before leaving, knowing that the boy is a boy, therefore scatter-brained.

The Walls Are Up

Last week construction began on the screen porch. The slab was poured with only two mishaps. They cut the electrical line to the garage and when the cement was poured the phone line was somewhat destroyed. That was finally fixed on Friday night.

Friday after work I came home to what appeared to be Menards Lumber Dept. in the back of my husband's truck. He was already pounding away. As of 7pm tonight him and my brother Ben managed to get the walls up (and they're pretty sturdy). At one point Friday night I thought to complain of all the pounding and sawing as I had a nasty headache but then I thought better.

Yesterday was my grandson's first football game of the season (very exciting). It's always a plus when there is a win. To me it was like opening day of football season. Last night we went to Indian Summer, one of the less crowded festivals of the year. We caught the group Burle on stage and as in the past it was a good show. I was a little disappointed in my fry bread taco this year as I opted for chicken instead of beef. I still say the best place to get an Indian Taco is in Badlands, South Dakota. A trip may be in the works.

Today was pretty low key. As I cleaned I could hear the sound of hammers and saws working in the backyard. I wandered out the front door to take a look at the condition of the yard and decided to save that for another day. More leaves and crap are going to clutter the yard, so why clean it all up now. Besides, in my eyes summer is not over yet.

I did catch a little football this afternoon. Had to see if Brett was doing okay. He looked a tad bit nervous during the last few minutes of the game. Watched a little of the Brewers loss. No further comment on that. And, I watched a bit of the Cowboys game (enough to see that Romo's chin was bleeding).

I have one more week of five-eight hour days and then it'd down to a four day work week. I have to keep telling myself that this will be all worth it for a 3 day weekend.

How Rude!

After 11 days I figured it was time to step on the board again. My little Wii person made sure they informed me that I hadn't been around for awhile. I felt good in knowing she missed me. As usual the boxing was right up my alley. I probably should have been boxing for the past 11 days as it does help any pent up anger and frustration that one may carry. In fact I'm trying to figure out how to transport the system to work and use it on my break.

I'm sitting here now waiting for the AT&T repair man to show up. Our phone has been messed up since Tuesday. My phone will ring once and go dead. No voice mail. The line is very static . I called right away Tuesday when I got home and discovered the problem. It's taking some people a while to figure out there's a problem before finally calling our cell phones. This can be annoying as some people have called back three or four times before giving up and trying the cell. So the repair man called about 1/2 hour ago and his call went through. Said he was on his way. He then called back about 10 minutes ago to let me know he was on 92nd & Good Hope and his van broke down. He is awaiting a tow truck. He noted that he didn't think he'd make it tonight and was trying to get someone else to take the job. Certainly there will be a credit applied to my bill for waiting for service. Of Course!

Things are getting somewhat back to normal. I'm still waiting to wake up from the horrible nightmare I had 12 days ago. I'm still trying to make some sense of this. Maybe in time I'll be able to justify the "He's in a better place" or "He's free now" statements, but for now I can't. I'm grateful to all my friends who have been so understanding and caring through all this.

On a lighter note...It's about time we got some rain. Although the day has been gloomy we did need some rain. My grass may not feel or look like a Brillo pad tomorrow.

Getting Back To Normal??

After over a week of taking care of business & sorting through my brother's things, it's back to work tomorrow. I don't think I'm ready. In my mind I know I have to get back to a normal life, but in my heart I don't want to let go. My parents head back to Arizona tomorrow morning and saying good-bye was difficult as usual. This is a time when I do not wish to trade places with them.

I've been told over and over again by many people that in time life will get better. I think what makes it so hard is seeing the girls. The younger one is hurting and showing it in ways a ten year old would. The 15 year old is hurting and shows it like we do. Little things set her off. Her mother sets her off. They have a strained relationship. She had an out with her father. They had an excellent relationship. I think the last time he had to yell at her she was probably around 5.

In two weeks we start a four day 10 hour day. I will now be back to having Fridays off. This will allow me to catch up on things around here. For over a year now I've been putting off organizing and cleaning up the spare rooms. Every time I tried to do it in the past David came to live with us. I think in the back of my mind I put if off thinking he'd be coming back. I may just have to hold that room for his daughter now. Maybe fixing it up in more of a girlie fashion is the answer. She would have a safe haven here. If she could cook that would be a free ticket in.

Getting Better

For a complete recap of the past weeks going's on you can visit Gambino's blog. She summed it up pretty good. The floor thing is pretty good. I'm not sure what's going on there but I have had to wash the thing every day this week. Part of the problem is the construction going on right outside the back door. It all gets dragged in the house.

I thought today would be the first day I could hold it together and I was doing pretty well. I noticed that my dad was very quiet tonight and the few times I inquired he just brushed it off. It must have finally gotten to him right before we were eating dinner as he told me he was upset over a dream he had. He thought it was odd as he never dreams. At first he didn't want to tell me as he didn't want to upset me. My first thought was to leave it alone, but being the caring (yet sometimes stupid) person I am I convinced him to talk about it. He dreamt that my husband and I were walking across a parking lot and feeling down when my brother, Dave came up to us and put his arms around me and told me that he's okay and not to worry. My pizza then became somewhat soggy.

It's been really good to have the family all around each other for the past week. Almost as if no one wants to let each other go. Tomorrow will be another day of sorting through things. I think the more personal items are almost all done. I have found that my brother did value little things in life. Yesterday I found a ton of birthday & Christmas cards. I also found letters that I had written to him in 1987 when he lived in Florida. The closing on my letter was "I miss you". Twenty-one years later I still feel the same.

What Would David Want?

My family made the dreaded trip to the funeral home today. We met outside and all walked in together. I keep trying to hold it together for my parents as they lost their child. They keep trying to comfort us. We managed to make it through all the arrangements without an argument. There were a few areas of disagreement about a certain thing but others were willing to listen in the end we were able to reason things out.

I found today that I've taken some things for granted. This is not the first funeral that I've been along for the arrangement part, but it is the first where I was actively involved. We all lost it a little when picking out prayer cards. I thought I could read it, but half way through thought that this could have been written specifically for my brother. I've picked them up and funerals before and have kept them for memories but I never really read the wording on the card. As I sat there reading it I found a new appreciation for anyone who has ever had to do this. I thought we'd make it through the flower selection without a tear being shed. Mom didn't do to well in this area, which in turn makes the rest of us shed a few.

Since my brother did not have any laid out plans we were forced to take matters into our own hands. This involved a trip to the basement. In the phase that some of us are going through now there were some comments made to "lighten " everyone up. This did help to keep the edge at bay for a few more minutes. Some day maybe I'll be able to write them all down.

We saw a minister in the afternoon to plan the service. We were prompted for good memories. This brought a lot of laughter and tears. We stressed the importance of him speaking to Dave's girls of how much their father loved them.

Tonight was picture board night. I think this helped some of us ease up a little. None of us knew that Dave had so many pictures. His pictures reflected a good life.

With everything we did today I feel that we all had one goal...to try and do what Dave would want.

Ode To Dave

I've had some sad days in my life but today will rate as the saddest.
My brother who had been in the hospital for two weeks passed away at 345 this afternoon. He went in about two weeks ago with difficulty breathing. He was diagnosed with ARDS. On Tuesday this week they induced a coma and put a trachea in so he would be in complete rest and his lungs would be able to oxygenate. There was a routine of turning him every six hours from his back to stomach to see where the better results were.
My other brother and I were at the hospital this afternoon for a visit. Even though he was heavily sedated we'd go visit and leave notes to him and each other. This past two weeks I've how much care and love my family has for each other. My parents should be proud!
We left the hospital around 315 and I went on my way. I decided to call my parents for the daily update and made a stop at Kohl's. I no sooner had a cart in hand when my phone rang. It was a call from the hospital saying he was coding. The nurse though we were still in the hospital. Panic set in to say the least. Not sure how many people I pushed through to get back to my car. I made 1 call to my husband and asked that he make calls to get my siblings up there. Upon entering the hospital I could hear them paging doctors to MRICU stat.
When I got to the floor and saw the nurse in tears I knew something was not good. I was allowed to stand outside his door and saw a group of people desperately trying to help him. By the time the rest of my siblings arrived they had been at it for over 15 minutes. My thanks to the Chaplin who stood by my side. A doctor then came and told us that he had had no pulse for 1/2 hour and even if they could revive him now he had been without oxygen to his brain for 1/2 hours. We had no option but to tell them to let him go.
As I sat in a room with my siblings, children, Gambino (who really is my sister) and my husband I couldn't help but feel all our pain. There was anger from some, which is a way to release sadness, there were questions, there was more crying when thinking about his girls who he loved so much. I made two calls..one to my parents which was hard and one to his ex.
There's a big blur for awhile as we were talked to by the doctor, we thanked the team that tried so hard and we were allowed to say goodbye to our brother. Then it was like everyone kicked it in. We removed his personal things from his room and big brother Ken started to make some arrangements.
The next hardest thing was to tell his girls. His ex did not want to do this alone so I asked her to meet at our house. They pulled in right after us and as I watched them walk up the driveway I was at a complete loss for words. All I could keep telling them was how much he loved them. Fifteen & ten are to young to loose their dad. The youngest one had to be reassured that they would still be coming to family functions.
This past 8 hours has been an emotional roller coaster. I've cried, been angry, tried to get my mind off it and completely lost it several times. My husband's tee shirt is sopping wet and there are not enough kleenex in this house to gather the tears shed by all of us.
I had to make calls to his two jobs and landlord. All three of these people expressed their sympathy and then went on to say that they'd never seen a man that loved his girls more.
I started to think about him a lot tonight. I remember the day he was born. I remember at 14 having to watch him all the time and as much as I whined about it, he was never a problem. He was a fun and silly little kid. He got in his share of trouble and my parent's dubbed him the problem child. My kids loved him. He was their babysitter for a long time and I never worried when he had them. He used to tell me that one goal in his life was to have a family. He tried hard to hold things together when his wife and him had problems, but things just didn't work.
Dave (aka boarder brother) did fun things with his girls. It wasn't a bother to him to take them places. The guy had a heart of gold and would always be there in times of need.
We lost our brother today and in my heart I truly want to believe that God had a bigger plan for him. I know in time the pain will subside but what do you do in the mean time?

Yikes!

This morning I was awoken by the sounds of digging. I didn't intend to sleep to late but this was around 8am. I'm an early riser even on the weekends so this just meant "Up and at 'em " for me. I have some (a lot) of errands to catch up on as the week has just been busy. One of the first things was to tackle the laundry. Second was to clean out the fridge. The fridge is not pretty damn empty, which means a trip to the grocery store is in order also. #3 was to visit my friend the Wii. I walked into the living room with every intention of a 45 minute work-out. I happened to sit down in the chair and look over a new program I had purchased. It was then that I glanced out the window and spotted "The squirrel". It was one of those nature scenes that you just can't look away from. Seems this guy was having a bit of a dilemma in crossing the street. Traffic is not that heavy on our street but between the walkers, joggers,cars and bikes he was having a problem.It got a bit funny as Iwatched him get 1/2 way across and high tail it back to the other side several times. I was almost ready to go out and block the flow so the poor little guy could make it across, when I thought "This is probably the little bugger that's been reeking havoc on my yard". Don't get me wrong, I didn't wish any ill fate on him but what's the worst that could happen?. He may have to take up residence in the yard on the other side.

This little scene went on for about 10 minutes. Run to curb, run to middle of street, yikes...here comes something..scurry back. Each time he would get a little further before heading back. I get the feeling that he had some coaching from the squirrels in the tree, because finally he let loose and really tore butt across the street and into the tree.

That was the end. Now I was going to flip on the Wii and get going. Phone rang which was another 5 minutes and then since I was on the phone sitting by my computer I decided to post. I am on my way!

Oh and here's to a victory by the Brewers, Packers & Cowboys (that's my plug for my friend) last night.

"We're Going To Heavily Sedate Your Brother"

I received the call at around 11am this morning from my brother's nurse. Last night there was talk of inducing a coma. After calling the hospital upon hearing this rumor it was well explained to me. My brother has ARDS. They cannot put their finger on the source of the infection and it's not something that happens overnight. At first they thought his leg wound was it, but after finding no infection there they moved on to internal organs. Nothing found there either. So it's a mystery now.

This afternoon they induced a coma. This will put his body completely at rest and they will be able to oxygenate his lungs and pump him full of antibiotics to see if they can clear the infection. They also moved him on to his stomach which is supposed to aid in filling his lungs. Apparently this is a common practice in very ill people. The only risk involved is that he won't be any better. They'll try this for 1-3 days depending on the results. My siblings and I have become very good at leaving notes. We've come to the conclusion that we all have crappy handwriting made worse with the wearing of gloves.

Yesterday they removed the tubing from his mouth and put a trachea in. The first thing he asked for was ice chips and then a sucker. Not just any sucker, he had to have a lemon-lime sucker , which his younger sister got him. All we can do is hope and pray for the best.

The Fun Continues

I have to say that this is the closest I've been in ages to throwing my hands up in the air and just screaming until nothing more will come out. I think the problem is, I haven't boxed yet today. I'm afraid I'll throw the remote right through the tv screen.

Work Sucks! All the guys who on Monday said they'd be out on the line helping us as we're short handed have drifted off into the sunset. Big talk..no action. It's not my problem anyway. We try to keep lines running but when you run out of supplies and the person you're supposed to call to stock you up is busy doing other tasks..well then you shut down. It's best that they stay in their offices anyway as all they do is whine about how boring or hot it is out on the lines.

Brother is still in the hospital with tubes running out of him all over. At least today he was able to communicate with me a little. He's got a pad of paper and purple crayon to write notes with. Today has been the first day that he's been awake long enough to write something to me. As of right now we know that he has ARDS (adult respiratory distress syndrome). His lungs are full of fluid and they come in to suction him once an hour. It is also possible that there is an issue with his gall bladder and pancreas. Still waiting on test results for that. I've made a ton of phone calls since I've gotten home to his supervisor, boss and other misc. places. Then to top it off I find out today that there is something medically going on with my mother. This is why they have to leave and come back. Nice...
I must just keep telling myself that everything happens for a reason and what don't kill us makes us stronger. Over and over again.

I think I hear my Wii boxing trainer calling...

The Storm After The Calm

I felt a little guilty about going camping this weekend, but after being assured by my siblings that Loria & Ben Sr. would be entertained and in good hands off we went.
I was a little out of sorts as this is probably the first trip in a long time where I had to work a full shift. I felt like I was robbed of a half day of camping. It was nice and very appreciated that things were all set up and basically all I had to do was put my stuff in the camper and settle into a chair for a nice cold one. The weather was great and the company was good also.

On the way home I decided to check my home voice mail. Much to my dismay I found a message from my father asking me to call his cell phone. I immediately knew there was something wrong. I opted to call right away rather than wait until I got home. There is a little history is this. My brother (a.k.a. boarder brother) had had an incident on Tuesday with his leg again. He ended up in the ER but was patched up and sent home. I talked to him on Thursday and he mentioned he was feeling a little faint and very tired. I told him to call his doctor and let him know. This he did but maybe didn't stress how bad it was. On Saturday afternoon he called my parents and asked them to take him to the hospital. He was then having problems breathing. He was taken in and through ER was admitted and procedures were being done to check him for several things. On Sunday morning when my parents went back they could not wake him. This turned into Loria calling for a nurse and a lot of commotion. By the time I called Ben he said they were still working on him and he was going into ICU. I got up there about 2 hours later to find him in ICU with an oxygen mask on and tubes all over. He had some type of infection they were beginning to treat. At this point he was awake and very scared. We left there around 9 Sunday night and he was resting but in some distress. At 5:30 this morning they introbated him. They said he was setting alarms off all night because of his inability to breath. As of 3pm today they put a feeding tube in, he had no clue what was going on, and he has a serious blood infection that has spread to his entire body including his lungs. He is not in good shape and they expect his stay to be at least 4 weeks. We now have to gown up to go see him.
I was there a few hours by myself yesterday and today and sat and thought about how all this happened. We can blame it on his weight, his procrastination of things he should take care of, his depression or whatever we want. The bottom line is he needs help. Whether this comes from his families urging or himself, it's needed. I thought about what a good hearted guy he's always been, as much as a pain in the ass he can be. He'd give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. I thought about the little kid that always tagged along behind me and even though I whined about having to babysit him, I never really minded that much as he was a good kid. I though about how excited my kids would be when he'd come around. I think all he ever wanted to do was have a family. He loves his girls and does everything he can for them. He hated that his marriage ended as it made him feel like a failure.
I could say it's crappy that it takes something like this to pull a family together, but that's not really true with my family. We are pretty close knit and kick it up a notch when there is trouble. I'm not at all shocked by anyone in my family's reaction to their brother being sick, as it's the same with any one of us.
This isn't going to be easy..he has a long, tough road ahead of him in healing. We have a long tough road ahead of us in helping him. In the words of Annette "Everything always works out in the end".