Hey Noah!

I had bad timing today. I turned on my niceness and stayed a little past 5 to help out our Process Engineer with something he wanted to run. I could hear the weather radio going off and figured I had time before the mess hit Wauwatosa. At 5:20 as I was walking toward the exit door I saw that is was very dark outside. For one moment I had a flashback of working 2nd shift. Of course today I was loaded down with not only my purse and lunch bag but a box with Kringles that came today. As I part-ran, part-swam across Bostik Lake to my car my only thought was to protect the $7.50 soccer (I hate soccer) fund raiser Kringles. To my fellow campers you will be happy to know they made it home safe and sound and not even soggy.

I opted to take Highway 100 home verses the freeway as I could see traffic was moving very slow. This is where driving a truck may have been a good thing. Many cars were having great difficulty in the lakes that had formed on H100. In some areas the water was up to the curb. The closer I got to home the less severe the weather was. As I pulled onto our street I was a little shocked to see tree branches laying in the road. Hubbie confirmed that our area got hit pretty hard in about a 10 minute span. According to weather man Vince...there is more to come and it may be worse. (why or why am I so responsible that I just put new batteries in my alarm clock in case of a power outage).

Saturday's weather looks good for camping. We're hoping that we miss Friday's rain. It sucks setting up camping gear in the rain. Although the nice little sports bar near by would make a good waiting area.

A Little to Much of The Boxer, Joe

We've had this college kid working with us for the summer. This is a fairly new program that was started this year in the production area. He's been with us since early June. Since early June I have seen his boxers hanging out of his pants every day. I could tell you that he has 4 different pair and hopefully duplicates or he does his laundry often. The boy is tall and needs to possible wear a tall size tee shirt. Today marked the first day that someone mentioned the showing of his drawers. One of the guys on the line mentioned that he may want to wear a belt or hoist up his pants as we were all getting tired of looking at his drawers. He turned a little red and actually came over and apologized to me. He has two more days of work left. I kept telling my female co-worker that it could be worse, it could be butt crack.

I've come to the conclusion that I hate working until 5pm. By the time I get home it's 530-545 depending on traffic. I'm usually hungry when I get out of work, and will plan out what to make for dinner. By the time I get home, it's all down the drain. I walk up the drive way in complete hope that maybe, just maybe my wonderful husband either took pity upon me or is so hungry that he made something. Tonight there is nothing. So I have consumed to a piece of salami and cheese. He is at his other job and probably ate something quick. I see no evidence of cooking.

I'm beginning to think that the first thing I may do when winning tomorrow night's Powerball is hire a cook.

Soggy Lambeau

The trip to Lambeau to see the Packers in preseason was actually quite fun. The nasty misting rain only lasted until the middle of the first quarter of the game. My trusty Totes raincoat kept me dry except for my arms. That I could not figure out and it was annoying as hell. I was warm except for the wet soggy arms on the shirt under my raincoat.

I find Lambeau very interesting. It doesn't matter how many times I go but when I walk into the stadium I still get the chills. Kind of like at Miller Park. It was my friend's first trip to Lambeau and she mentioned the same thing. We had some slight nose-bleed seats but had a great time. The ride back to Manitowoc was a little long and frustrating. I guess we haven't been there enough to know all the little short cuts yet. I do need to mention that when I got to the game my sub-sandwich was safe and sound in my cooler.

I don't want to steal anyone else's post but I need to second the motion that Milwaukee radio sucks. On my way home the other day I was switching between 3 stations at 5pm. This is when a lot of people are getting out of work and just don't want to hear 6-8 commercials in a row, then the weather, then the traffic and continuous promises of commercial free music. It was truly 12 minutes between songs and then one song and back to about 5 more minutes of commercials. We drove up to Green Bay and picked up radio station right before Sheboygan which had two commercial breaks for about 2 minutes in over two hours. They also played some good music. What is the problem in Milwaukee?

I forgot to mention the tailgaters we were next to. Two guys in their early 20's that were cooking these burgers that had to be 6 to 8 inches thick. One guy kept complaining that these things were taking forever to cook. He had to yell to the other guy over their blasting Iron Maiden music. Sweet!

Tis The Season

Yes, it is upon us again. In February it seemed so far off. We couldn't figure out what we were going to do on Sundays or Mondays nights for the next 6 1/2 to 7 months. Well my time was filled up pretty good but once again Football is upon us.

Dylan had his first practice last week. In fact he has 3-2 hour practices for the next several weeks. Tonight was the first practice in pads. Those boys just want to hit someone and hit them good. The coach was explaining that it's okay to do so as they're all padded up. There were a few skeptical kids but once they did the initial hit they were enjoying every second of it.
It may sound kind of goofy but this year again I get this feeling when he comes running over, helmet in hand for his 2 minute break. Little sweaty head and covered in muck and grass stains. He loves it and I'm glad for him. He will be in the full-back and rotating half-back position. The little tank should be able to carry the ball well. He did get signaled out for his half-assed pushups. There is a little practice needed in that area.

We're taking a trip to Green Bay tomorrow for a pre-season game. I was a little hesitant at first but figured that this may be our only chance for tickets this year. Hopefully we won't get to wet.

Kicked Out of The Club

I spent the last two weeks being just a little nervous. I received a phone call the day after my initial boob squashing asking me to return for more scans. Of course it took two weeks to get in as they wanted me to come when the doctor was there also so he could immediately review the new scans.

I had plenty of conversations with J during the past two weeks and believe me I tried to put the whole mess out of my head. Going away with the grandkids for a few days helped a lot but the issue was still in the back of my head. I must have been completely tired out from the camping trip as I can't say I lost any sleep over it last night. In fact I didn't really break down until this morning. Had my 5 second cry and went on my way.

"Don't be scared" must be the standard issue comment made by all screening personnel. Either that or I don't hide it well. After 3 very intense squashes I was told to have a seat and the doctor would be in. In what seemed to be eternity he came in and gave me the all clear. It appears that whatever they saw two weeks ago was either a shadow or now gone. This didn't convince me quite fully so I asked a lot of questions. I will now be returning in 6 months for another repeat flattening of the boob.

In my call after the results to J she sounded relieved that another Kasinski girl would not be honing in on her title. Guess my mom got the exclusive invite. I mentioned that I tried to have my own hip club but my brother butted in on that one. I can handle just being a non-member of any club for now. This was a big enough ordeal for me.

I do have to say that being nosey while J went through all this did give me some education on the subject of breast cancer. One just is never prepared for the outcome. J and I were discussing why all of a sudden it seems that almost everyone we know has had to go back for additional screenings. Is it because they are being so careful? Is it because so many of the films are bad? She wants answers....so do I.

Splash

We have survived the camping trip with the grandkids! They were very good and not to demanding. I was a little shocked at how afraid the girls were of a little spider, yet would crash through the woods to catch a frog.
Our fishing escapade proved to be a little scary for a moment. Dylan has no problem putting worms on a hook and was willing to do it for the girls. I let it be known that he could show them the first time and then if they wanted to fish they'd have to put their own worms on. One of the girls lost her worm on her first cast. We then had to have "casting " instruction. She was casting like she was throwing a football. After assuring that she was now doing okay I went back to fishing. Then there was a little tangling of the hook problem. I got that all fixed and adjusted her bober. I turned my back to pick up my rod and heard this giant splash. There she was in the water, arms thrashing around with a look of sheer panic on her face. I had to do a quick rescue. After a second of grabbing her arms, I reminded her that she was in 3 feet of water. She then was screaming about the fish that were going to bite her. I had to remind her that we weren't catching any fish. Gramps then came and aided in the rescue. It was then that we noticed my fishing rod floating away. She had enough time during her rescue to grab on to her pole and hand it to me, but mine was pretty much floating away. Dylan just simply jumped off the pier and grabbed it. The next hysterical scream was let out when it was discovered that her flip-flops were also floating away. They were to far for Dylan to save. I could do nothing at that point but sit on the pier and laugh. We all did, even "splash". A couple of people came over to see what all the commotion was about and she had no problem telling them she took a dive. The flip-flops were rescued by a couple on jet ski's and all was good. This ended our 1 hour fishing expedition.

The weather held up pretty good until 1am Tuesday morning. We got pounded pretty good. There wasn't much concern from the kids. I saw their heads pop up when a loud thunder boomer and lightening show lit up the sky. That was it, heads bob up, right back to sleep.

Let it be known that the farting contests are not just for the adult camping trips. Those kids were just as bad as the menfolk.

We were all ready to be kept up until at least midnight and woke up by 6am. These kids were sleeping by 10:30 and not awake until 9am. There was an attempt by Dylan to get up at 6am to go fishing. He made it as far as waking up, heading to the bathroom and coming back only to climb back in bed for another few hours.

In all the places we've camped I have to say that Kegonsa has the weirdest bugs. I saw them all this weekend. Those lime green grasshopper things were all over the bathroom door. Had it not been for my trusty flashlight and that I looked at the ground I may have stepped on a snake. Little bastard had teeth! I do believe it was a milk snake. Not one I want to encounter again. Not a single raccoon or skunk in site but a crane and babies walking through the campground. I'm pretty sure we were one of ten campsites that were occupied. Camping during the week could be a new option. No rangers, no shower lines, clean bathrooms and quiet.

We're Outta Here

Gramps and I are taking the 3 grand kids camping until Tuesday. I'm hoping their parents have somewhat "trained" them in this area. I think Dylan will be okay as he's a seasoned camper. The twins...well they may be girly girls, but that will come to an abrupt end. I think we planned this out pretty well so they won't remember this as being a horrible trip.
I got a list of food from all three of them which had me chuckle a bit. It was all snack foods with some pancakes thrown in. The drink choices were all soda which I know their parents don't let them drink. I had to change some things up a little or gramps and I would be awake all night trying to settle down the sugar rush kids.
The weather looks promising. The beach is open, water is not contaminated and we're hoping the bee's stay put for the weekend.
All in all I think it could be a good time. Gramps mentioned to me yesterday while getting things ready that he was leaving the "booze box" behind. Taking the bottle of rum though. That in itself should free up some space in the truck.

It's Days Are Numbered

I made a huge mistake. I'm thinking I may be able to plead temporary insanity. Back in the birthday month of my husband I had asked him what he wanted for his birthday. I had already purchased a grill for him which was already put together and used by his birthday. I just thought it would be nice if he had something to open on his birthday. "An alarm clock" was his reply. A few days later I stopped at the local Target and began the search for a new alarm clock. I'm pretty sure I wrote about this in a previous post, but let it be now noted that I didn't just purchase any old alarm clock. I went for top of the line complete with weather alert. I think the only thing it doesn't do is reach over and give you a nudge. Along with this clock came a user's manual that must be the size of a paperback book. It kept him busy for a few hours.

I am not that complicated of a person. I want to buy something, bring it home, plug it in and have it work. I hate that something requires hours of reading to figure out. Simplicity is the key to my heart and pocketbook. This is where my mistake comes into play. I don't think he can figure out how to turn the alarm off. Every morning at 5:10 am this annoying sounding alarm goes off. I can time myself in the bathroom every morning . First alarm...get in the shower/10 minutes later (snooze) be out and drying off/10 minutes later be dressed and exiting the bathroom. This has become a routine. After the 4th time hitting the snooze I calmly walk into the bedroom to sweetly say "time to get up love". (not in those exact words-I may be stretching it). The man does not work on Fridays so this morning when I left at 610 the snooze was once again hit. If I were a betting person I'd say this continued until 8 or 9 when he got up.

I'm done asking him if he knows how to reset the thing. I remarked about the annoying sound on the alarm (perhaps I should have checked that out before buying it) and he chuckled and told me that he was wrong when he thought his old alarm clock was broken. It was something that went haywire with the radio on it. I offered to take this one back and find a different one. Well no, he's getting used to it now. I'm not... God forbid I should touch it or try to figure the thing out for fear I'd screw it up more. It's rough to live in this high tech world and feel like an idiot.

Twelve Hours of Fair

My company picnic was held at the State Fair yesterday and I must say it was a wise choice. We arrived at the fairgrounds around 9:00 am after a nice tour of West Allis by my husband. Apparently his mission was to avoid the traffic lights on Greenfield Avenue. As we all know it was smoking hot Sunday and humid. My first beer was consumed around 10:30 a.m. It just wasn't sitting right. Too early or too hot was my reasoning. Water was going down great. We walked around a bit, went through the animal areas before it got to hot and headed for the air conditioned Expo building. We ran into P & K and I must say P is looking quite well for a man of shingles. As K put it "they were there to eat".
The company had some good food and door prizes (I have a big "L" as usual). After this was over we headed back out. Different foods were consumed. Deep fried cheese curds were yummy, R & J' s deep fried oreos were a little on the sweet side. By that time the beer started to go down a bit better. We found a spot inside the Miller Sports Bar to catch the end of the Brewers disaster and met up with another guy and his family from work. Couple more beers and we headed over to catch Pat McIplayateveryfairand festival. Quite a funny little number about South Dakota. Cream Puff was consumed, not recommended with beer.
Then it happenend...my husband vanished..I was afraid of what he'd come back with. We all look and see this man grinning from ear to ear carrying a little cardboard tray with something deep fried. I knew there was trouble when I heard R chortle. Fricken DEEP FRIED SAUERKRAUT!!! "This can't be happening" was my first thought. "Shit! We are so out of air freshener"
He ate it. He claims it was "quite tasty". The effects were taking place as we were walking to the car after our 12 hours at the fair. He was nice enough to not gas me out on the way home. Tonight he was telling my niece about it and explaining how it was made. There will be no making of the DFSK while camping. This is not something that our already gaseous group of friends should consume while camping. Open air or not!

Squish and Ouch

Today was the day for the annual squishing. My women friends will probably all agree with my comments. Actually when I arrived there I was a little shocked to find out it's been 1 1/2 years. I shamed myself for that one. For a woman, as much as this test can be life saving it is degrading. Not as much as an anal probe I'm sure but close.
My appointment was at 7pm and I arrived 15 minutes early as instructed. The place was empty. There was a note at the desk to have a seat and someone would be with me shortly. Shortly turned into 20 minutes. I read some article about Kristie Alley's weight loss. It did not really inspire me. I was half way through the "How to Tell If Your Spouse Is Cheating" article when the tech showed up and explained that she was all alone and would be right with me. Here's a robe, remove everything from the waist up and have a seat in this chair.
Ten minutes later I was being lead down the looonnnngggg hallway to doom. This woman talked more that anyone I know. It didn't take me long to figure out why she was so behind. When I'm nervous constant chatter does nothing to calm me down. So for the next 25 minutes I was "sweetie and honey". At least the flopping tray and her hands were warm. Her parting words after the ordeal were "Hopefully we won't see you until next year. If there's anything wrong we'll notify you by Friday". This is not true. I had to go back once before and it was over 10 days when they called. I thought I was in the clear that time. Enough said.

On my way home I made a stop at Walgreens as they had an item in the cosmetics department on sale I wished to purchase. This required me having to stand at the cosmetics counter and await help. The girl arrived, I asked about the item. Just then this crabby looking man walks up to the counter with a loaf of bread. I was one second away from asking the clerk to check him out first rather than look for my item when he says "Could I just pay for my loaf of bread before you start going through the entire store looking for what she wants". My first instinct was to reply "Duh...isn't that what the cosmetics counter is for" but I held my tongue and instead I turned toward him and smiled. She checked him out and as he was leaving he looked at me and said "I'm sorry miss, I didn't have to be that rude". I smiled again. He said " Don't smile, you're making me feel worse". I never uttered a word. Just smiled. Bet he thought I was some deaf mute. I prided myself in not lowering myself to combat his rudeness.

The Birthday Is Officially Over

I have called an end to the birthday month that my husband usually celebrates. We had the kids and grand kids over for dinner and cake for his birthday tonight. End.

The best part is that my son bought the main part of the dinner. I admire his knowledge of cooking and wonder where it came from. Granted I can cook but he is always trying new things. He made some rib eye's that were the best I've ever had. At first when he told me he marinated them in Italian dressing I was a little skeptical but they rocked. I love a good Rib eye and this is the way I'll be preparing them from now on. I think I may have mastered E's shrimp salad. Of course no one will ever be able to make it as well as E, but I'm close. I freaked my husband out by asking if E put pea's in his. The man hates peas!

It's always a blast to have the grand kids over. This is my turn to watch my kids reactions when they say or do certain things. It's pay back time in my eyes. I love the fact that these 3 are polite 95% of the time. I have to remind the parents that they are kids. We had a good game of ladder golf going and it got better when I told them about the heckling rule. Of course this didn't apply to me. Our dog has tennis balls that she plays with and she was a little confused about the two tied together for ladder golf. It was funny watching her chase our thrown balls until she got mine in mid-air. I'm pretty sure she took the winning point away from me.

It's hard to believe my weekend is over. I managed to get a lot done, but need another day to rest. I am not ready for another 50 hour week. I am sincerely hoping that the AC guy shows up tomorrow at work to get our AC working properly in our area. If not it will be a long hot week. One lousy fan doesn't do much. The weather outlook for the week has be a little scared. 91 by Thursday. I can only hope for a change.

The Perfect Shopper

I know I've said this before, but I hate shopping. The only thing worse is shopping with someone else. I wanted to make a quick run to the "Super Saturday Sale" at Kohls to purchase some much needed new pillows. I tried to make a hasty exit only to be asked where I'd be going. Maybe I should have lied and said to the nail salon or something, but I told the truth. I then had to wait for the garage to be closed up and the bathroom run to be made. I'm a freak about where I park in store parking lots. I know the store well. I go in a certain door and have my path planned way in advance. My husband becomes a little upset with me when I point out a spot that is convenient to the door I plan on going in. I'm not in to finding the closest spot. He was in search of new tennies and socks. We entered the store and I started out on my way. I then noticed him following. I nicely told him to go find his shoes and off he went. I'm pretty sure he felt somewhat relieved as this got him off the hook of going through the intimates area. Hint to women...want to loose the guy, take a hasty turn into that area.

After securing what I went for I went in search of shoe man. I found him walking along with new shoes tucked under his arm. I was in awe. Nice shoes and on sale. We then had the sock dilemma. He had checked them out already and needed my approval. It was actually a very legit question. He thought the price of the socks was a little high. I asked him when the last time he purchased his own socks was. I'm pretty sure it was prior to our marriage.

On to the grocery store. Rather than visit our usual P & S we went to one on our way home from Oak Creek. The atmosphere is totally different. I always feel like I'm in Stepford in this certain P&S. There are no rude people, there are no crying children and the cashiers and baggers are all smiling. This on a Saturday afternoon is frightening to me. Something is amiss at this store. Employees walk past you and ask if you're finding everything okay. They offer to take the groceries to your car. They are all either paid extremely well or all criminals on work release.

The trip was completed without any arguments. I stick with the fact that I just hate shopping. I especially don't like shopping with anyone that lolly gags along or follows me. I have a few friends who are the perfect shopping companions for me. We get to a store and don't see each other again until it's check-out time.

Meatloaf & Famly

After four days together and a 2 1/2 hour car ride both ways my husband meekly asked me around 3:30 yesterday if I'd heard from his sister. "Duh" I reply. "What about?". He then goes on to tell me that he talked to her a few days ago and she mentioned having a little get together for her daughter's 21st Birthday. In his eyes she said she was thinking about having something. I never heard a word from her. Around 5:30 I get a phone call inquiring as to our where abouts. They're waiting for us. I nicely explain to her that her brother does not pass on messages very well. This is a little known fact but they keep trying. I go on to explain that he said she told him "she was thinking about having something". I then tell her that he will call upon his arrival home from the gas station. He does, and declines.
I talked to my sister-in-law later in the evening and although I feel bad for his niece about not going I'm a little glad we didn't. There's a bit of a family feud going on. This may be why my husband declined. He has nothing to do with it, but avoids drama in any way. In my eyes, you go for the person and put your personal indifference's behind for an hour or so. I have learned my lesson and now stay out of any confrontations and no longer take sides. Life is just too short. Plus I will not be a hypocrite and talk about that person and then smile and be all good to them. Like the saying my dad stole from Thumper "If you can't say something nice, then say nothing at all.
Speaking of meatloaf......My husband prepared a yummy meatloaf tonight. Now I don't want you all to get the wrong idea. He received his training for the meatloaf via cell phone. My ride home consisted of walking him through it. (for all of you cell phone driver haters-I had my earpiece in). A hour or so after eating the meatloaf I came to the conclusion that there will be no meatloaf at camping. I understand that we are in open air, but some people can knock birds from trees with their flatulence. Plus I'm sure there would be some sort of contest and Richard may loose his title of most visits to the john. Sometimes I wonder what I'm thinking by serving these types of food to my husband. But then again I think air makes him gassy.

What Happens While Camping.......

We were fortunate to have yet another great weekend. The weather cooperated, the bugs (except for daddy long legs) were absent and we were not bothered by raccoons. Once again we had way to much food and the drink was plentiful. I may be on to something here...in the past my fellow campers have instituted the rule that the Jack comes out when the rain comes. They have become a little lax in this rule by going as far as saying they get credits when they are planning the trip and it rains. I have never joined in the drinking of the Jack, but this time said I would if it rained. Not a drop. Could this be the claim to future rain free weekends or will I need to grit my teeth and drink this in the future? We shall see in a month if this will work again.

I enjoy camping at few state parks. I'm prone to liking the ones that are not to crowded. Some state parks have up to 300 or so sites with half of them being very open. Somewhat like camping in an open field. We have found a few parks that we like and will return to. I think next year we'll be adding another one or two into the mix. We do tend to stay within an hour or two from home as no one likes to spend 4 to 5 hours driving to a park on a Friday night after work. When I was younger it was nothing to hop in the car on Friday and drive 5 hours, set up in the dark for just a weekend. Plus with the cost of gas now it takes away from other things you could be indulging in on the weekend.

So tomorrow it's back to work. Hopefully we'll still be cut back to 10 hours a day. This is still a long day but a little more manageable then 12.

Here's to a good week to all!

A Much Needed Vacation

On my way home from work last night I had to make a quick stop at Target to purchase a birthday gift for my husband. (it's his Birthday Month). Our south side Target is usually void of any riff-raff and a quick in and out. Last night must have been white trash night. First I see this woman who seemed to be in her 40's struggling to make her way to the check-out with two lawn chairs. The around 15 year old boy walking with her was trying to juggle some balls. I wondered why he would have such little respect for his mother. But then again he could have been an oaf and she feared he'd bump into everything therefore costing her more money.
In the card department I witnessed a woman with several children. She was looking at card, her kids were whipping out cards and throwing them on the floor. It was obvious that she was not paying attention to them. These kids were probably between the age of 6 and 10.
A few aisles down I came upon a family with two kids in the cart. The parents were looking at radios, the kids were just about falling out of the cart. Once again, not paying attention. As I walked past the little girl just about took a dive. I put my arm out and said "Careful there, you could fall". The mother glanced over at me and said nothing. Whatever lady...I suppose the kid would have received a smack if she fell.
Then I came upon something that made my heart melt. A little girl around 5 or 6 with her grandparents. Grandpa wandered off and the little girl was very shaken. She kept telling the Grandma that she thought maybe Grandpa was lost and they should go look for him. Grandma kept assuring her that Gramps wasn't lost. He'd find them. She then said "Grandma, he can't always be the hero. Sometimes we have to help him". She then told Grandma that her mother would be very upset if they lost her dad. This is what makes us forget the bad things we see.
I saw them at the check-out and she very proudly told me that they found Gramps.

I have started a much needed mini-vacation. Well, it doesn't seem like it right now as I'm waiting for the last load of laundry to dry and I've managed to pack. But just knowing that I don't have to drive to work in the morning makes it all seem worth it.

Aging

One more day of work this week and I will be on my merry little way to a long and very needed weekend. I don't even care if it rains. I may even partake in a Jack & Coke if it rains. I will do my best to put aside every thing else and just have a great time with my friends. My friend and I from work came very close to stopping off tonight but I had this fear that I would then over-indulge therefore becoming hung over. What could be worse than working 12 hours with a hangover. I'm not a young lass anymore and I'm not sure I could handle it.

I was thinking about that this morning...about how in my younger years it didn't even phase me to stay out until bar closing and make it to work by 7:30 am the next morning. I'm pretty sure there was a day in there that I just came home and plopped. I do remember pretty much going out every night. I worked for a Home Medical Supply Company and did office work. We didn't have to many customers that came to the office, mostly phone work and a lot of clerical. That was back in the day where data entry wasn't on a computer. I'm showing my age now for sure.

We hired some college kids for the summer and one in particular was coming in a 7am every morning obviously hung over. This kid could barely move throughout the day. He was trying to be impressive by telling us how he'd be out until 3am and get 2 to 3 hours of sleep. I have to hand it to him he was never late nor called in. He was just useless and I could tell that everything I tried to teach him was lost in his foggy hung over mind.

In my time at my current place of work I went to work once very severely hung over. It was one of the infamous drunken Sundays. I figured we'd go out for the noon game and be home by 6 or so. Wrong!! At 9:30 my husband reminded my that I had to work at 5am. I think we left around 11 pm (I had to catch the singing of Afternoon Delight). I got up with no problem and I remember it hit me on my way to work. I must admit I was in a fog until around noon. In the future I would make sure I was home early enough to sleep most of it off. Like I said...showing my age.

To Much Noise in the Hood

Our neighborhood is drastically spinning out of control. What was once a quiet, mind your own business place is now noisy and spews nosiness everywhere. This morning I woke up to some shrill barking dog and small child yelling. The child was next door, the dog across the street. This dog would continue to bark all day. It's a small dog that looks like if it grew would be a doberman. It just hasn't grown since they got it. They tie the poor thing up in the middle of the yard. It's fine if no one is outside. If the kids come out it starts and doesn't stop. I heard the wife tell the husband to quiet the dog down and he replied that it needs to learn.

At one time the neighborhood consisted of all families with kids and dogs. It was a little noisy, but in a good way. Kids playing in the yard, or in the pool. Fun noise that didn't annoy people. My kids were noisy but it was stuff like "Marco Polo, basketball games, swing set or playing in the pool noise. Not some kid standing in the middle of his yard screaming his fool head off while his parents ignore him hoping he'll stop. That is the child that you take in the house and let them know that when they can act civilized they may join the rest of the family.

After dinner tonight the hubbie and I were sitting on the porch and all was quiet. Within in 10 minutes it started up again. The Arab people next door have 4 children. They are under control. They play in their yard and may yell once in awhile but dad has control on the noise. The Mexican people across the street are the noisy ones. Trouble is going to brew as the man next to them who has been here for 40 years walked out and stood in his front yard just staring at this dog. I was watering my flowers and we exchanged glances. He shook his head and returned inside. He has got to be steaming mad. This guy is Archie Bunker times 10. I'm waiting for the wall to go up between the two houses or the dog to be let free.

Choices

I had a tough decision to make this morning. Which tee shirt to wear to work. I have plenty of just plain tee's but today I felt like making some kind of statement. At times we have upper management coming through our line so we have to be somewhat respectable about what we wear. I had already worn the "I'm really excited to be here shirt" and had some sarcastic comments on it. I figured the Betty Ford or I hear Voices shirts wouldn't be a good choice either. The newly purchased Bong shirt wasn't going to fly as I didn't want it getting all full of crap from work. I made my decision when I saw it hanging in the closet. I would wear my "Miller Lite" shirt. I'm already being accused of being an drinker so why not let more rumors fly. One of the first comments made by my co-worker friend was "Crap, you know we have to work 12 hours...what were you thinking dangling that in every one's face". From the departing 3rd shifters I heard "That's where we are headed". Through out the day as I looked in the mirror in the rest room I sighed when seeing the reflection of my shirt. I actually thought about calling home and having the hubbie meet me for a beer because I knew if I went home first I'd stay there. This plan seemed to be rolling until the last two hours of work when everything kind of went to hell. We were short one person and running a new part of the line.

The three of us took a break around 5 and headed out to the picnic table outside. Never has a picnic table bench looked so inviting to me. As we were sitting there I kept imagining myself just laying down on the bench and going to sleep. My body wanted to, but my stupid brain got the best of me and forced me back into an upright position chugging in for the last two hours.

The ride home was pretty smooth until the Hale where Mr. Sheriff was standing outside his car with his radar gun. Like STB's post, one should never hit the brakes, just take your foot off the gas. Well the chain reaction started with the first guy and caused a little bit of a traffic jam. I made a hasty exit one ramp early without incident.

Upon my arrival home I prayed I wouldn't enter the house and find my husband sleeping. That might have been the last straw in my week. Instead I found him watching tv on the porch and after a quick hello and a quick entrance to the house to get my shoes off I saw that the nice guy had actually cooked a dinner. Not a casserole or burger...but chicken breasts, potato's and corn. A real dinner. Either I am really loved or the poor guy was just plain sick of his wife not cooking. I think I shall now go join him on the porch with a beer.

Polish Festival

I have come to the conclusion that my husband is a festival junkie. We went to what is possibly the smallest church festival in Milwaukee tonight and this guy maybe sat with us for 5 minutes. The rest of the time was spent walking from one booth to another purchasing tickets for raffle's. It was freaking hot and we found a table with somewhat of a breeze. Had to drink the beer fast as it was getting warmer. I switched to wine coolers as at least they had ice and stayed cold.
My dad won a ham within minutes of arriving at the festival and then a cheap bottle of wine. I thought my mom was going to blow when my dad gave my brother the ticket for the ham. My brother is single and has no use for an 8 lb ham and gave the ticket back to dad. Then he won his own. Mom & Dad are taking the ham & 10 lb. salami home on the plane with them (she won that).
I think we may have seen the man with the biggest nose in history. He could have just about put Pinocchio to shame. There was a man with what appeared to be one single tooth in the front of his mouth and he must have been damn proud of it because he kept on smiling. Of course this was a Polka Fest so the mixture of people is weird. The older couples that know it's Polka Music only and are out there dancing, the people like us that just go because it's in the neighborhood and usually win stuff, and the people that look really shocked when they find out it's only one band and all Polka music.
The entire time we were there I kept seeing my husband just strolling around. He'd then come back to the table for a minute or two, look through his wallet for tickets he purchased and then head back out. Pretty soon my dad started following his pattern. I knew when he came back to the table and stayed that he was either broke, or won his fill. One ham, one large salami and one bottle of cheap ass wine.

Hot, Hot, Hot

The day was hot. Unlike my sunburned friends, I managed to just add a little touch of pink. I think my skin is done with sunburn for the year. I suggested to KM that she tan naked in her backyard so as not to glow every time she's out in the sun.
Taking the bus is great. We had a pretty empty bus on the way down and also on the way back. The little girl with the fake dog seemed to have taken a liking to STB, not to mention that she totally took my seat. I'm pretty sure it was so she could get closer to her man. I think Momma had a plan. We did however forget to stop for our Martini.
Spent the day with Mom & Dad & K&J yesterday at our local Casino. I've been there for Bingo and only partook in the slots once for as long as my $20.00 lasted. Yesterday was a different story. I couldn't loose. Mind you it was on a nickle machine but it kept paying me off. I walked out 225.00 ahead. At one point after cashing in Mom and I were debating moving to another area but then she hit and I stuck another $20.00 in and just went up from there. I quit before greed got the best of me.
The family is joining us again tonight for some Chinese food and maybe a fire if it's not to hot yet after dinner. We've decided to make use of our deck this year rather than let it sit idle.
Tomorrow will be a trip to K & J's with a walk over to their local church festival. It's small and they play only Polka music but we always manage to have a good time. Besides, I think my husband needs to stock up on beer and salami.

Sauce Saga

Yesterday the family descended upon our home for Mom's Spaghetti and Meatballs. The preparation for this began with mom making 52 meatballs at my house on Friday afternoon. I think she was a little nervous about leaving the giant bowl of meatballs unattended by her until Saturday when they would be placed into Mom's sauce. But they were all there.
Mom gets a little freaky about large meals and will always think she's not going to have enough. She came with 4 large jars of sauce and her other "special" added things and began brewing up this sauce around 230. I stepped away for a moment and returned to find Dad missing. She sent him for more sauce. As I opened my cupboard and showed her two jars I had and explained that she could have just used them she then remarked that she thought she had enough and would just send Dad back to the store to return the sauce. This was just plain silly to me. I assured her that I would be able to use the extra jar by it's expiration date. I could bet all of you money that she will inquire between now and Jul 08 if I have used that sauce yet.

When the sauce was complete and the water for the pasta ready I made the mistake of questioning why she was making 5 lbs. of pasta. I was shushed. I dropped the subject as I could see here sending my poor father back to the store with one box of pasta. Needless to say when all the troops were fed we had around 2 lbs. of pasta left and 3 lonely meatballs. We also had a side of J's Italian sausage & green peppers which has an abundance of left overs also. There's something I could use that sauce in.

It was nice to have the entire family (one missing) together and without fighting. The weather was great and I had a lot of help from dishpan hand J. Mom did put a damper on things by saying this was the last spaghetti dinner she was having. Later it came out that it was because of lack of room. For this delight I guess we can all make the effort to suck it in a little to make room for mom's dinner.

Another Good Trip

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

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

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

The Sausage Race

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

People are Odd

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

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

The Annoying Fan

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

HorseShoe Ass

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

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

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

The Fat Lady Sang

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

Every Step I Take

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

Good Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Water girl

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

Greening Up

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

This is It

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

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

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

Me & The Chipmunks

My battle continues with the little bastards. I read up on how to get rid of them and ended up being suckered into purchasing a container of "Shake Away" which contains the scent of fox urine which is supposed to scare them away. I shook this stuff around and plugged up all the holes they have nicely dug in my front yard and around our pond. Within 5 minutes I spotted them again. I read the bottle once again and found that I may need to apply a second application within a week and once a month afterwards. Now I have these little gray crystals around my yard and still have chipmunks.
Yesterday I took the dog by the collar and showed her the two chipmunks that were playing nicely around the rocks on the pond. I think she may have enjoyed the site. I could just imagine her sighing and thinking to herself how wonderful nature is. They continued to play while I said " get them Sadie....chase them out...this is your job...this is why I take care of you". Nothing.... I then hear this laughter coming from the house and my husband walks out in stiches. "You need to get over these things ...they're not hurting anything". Oh no, I say...it's okay that when I'm digging around in this area that they just pop their little heads out to say hello.
Low and behold, she sprung into action this morning. I had made a trip to the store and left her outside. Upon my arrival home I find her in the fenced in sandbox area barking her head off. She had two of them cornered. She was pissed off and the teeth were out and everything. So, what do I do? I call out her name because I had this one ounce feeling of dread. I didn't want her to kill them. For the first time she listened and backed off. This is probably a good thing as I'm not quite sure that I would have been able to watch the kill. Plus I probably would have freaked that she'd now have some disease. So that saga will continue.
If anyone out there has a safe way to get rid of these things please let me know. Apparently my conscience does not want to kill them.

Enough of The Bad

This has been a long two weeks for us. Long hours at work, helping out my daughter and trying to keep up with normal things. On top of all that my husband's Uncle passed away last Monday. We spent Saturday & Sunday with him at the hospital and then Nursing Home. Monday morning we got the call that he wasn't responding and was being taken back to the hospital.
I always knew he was a special man to A's family and a lot of others. He was stricken with polio at age 7 and wasn't expected to survive past age 10. He never let this disease get the best of him and went on to College and to become an Engineer for Allis Chamblers I remember meeting him around age 15 and he was then using crutches. He drove this blue Checker with hand controls. My husband and his siblings were especially close to him as he lived downstairs from them. He would take them places and was more like their big brother.
This may seem all mushy to some of you but I thought hard for a few days before even writing about this. I have never seen a family show so much respect and love for one person. No one had a single bad thought about him and everyone spoke of how they were inspired by him.
Over the past ten years he become more crippled and was unable to use the crutches any longer so he purchased a scooter. He now had some freedom again. He was truly a man who loved life and dealt with what God handed him. We'll all miss him.
On a lighter note, we missed the first Church Festival of the season. "A" had to work Friday night and yesterday just got away from us. Let the yard work begin! We are also battling some chipmunks that are pissing me off. Yesterday I tried to flood them out but apparently the little bugger wasn't home when I did that because as the water is running into the home I look and see him on my front porch. I laughed as I imagined the little creep with his chipmunk voice saying "hey lady, I'm over here". I didn't want to resort to actually killing them so I think I'm off to the store today to purchase some repellent that has a fox scent and will drive them away. It's that or a trap. I thought the dog would take care of them but they've located in the front yard.
In a few weeks I'll be the crazy lady sitting on the porch with the BB gun and a string of dead chipmunks hanging on my porch. Then I'm also sure I'll be in jail.

A Saturday

I am becoming all to familiar with hospitals. My daughter is now home and doing well. She's moving a little slow but in good spirits. Today we went to visit my husband's Uncle. His Uncle has polio and wasn't expected to live past 10 years of age. He is now 83. His lungs are suffering the effects of polio, his body is tired but his mind is so sharp. He was being moved to a Nursing Home today and is afraid of the type of care he will receive there, so the hunt is on for a full time Nurse at his home. He is now on a respirator full time and will probably need this the rest of his life. I was trying to be brave for my husband as Unk (his nickname) has been like a father to him and I could tell he was upset. It was a struggle for Unk to talk, due to the mask and also his breathing problems but he made light of it. I've known him for 35 years and he's always been the practical joker. Even during our visit he made some pretty good cracks. Humor is a good medicine.

On a lighter note, my husband is now the owner of a cell phone. He's been carrying it around with him and I made the comment to him today that unless it's a wrong number he's not going to get any calls. He hasn't given his phone number out to anyone. He's a pretty smart man but when it comes to computers and cell phones he's somewhat lost at first. Today we had a lesson on how to take a picture and store it. This may be the worst thing I could have done, as I can see some pictures coming. He hasn't figured out how to delete them yet so there is a pretty good mug shot I took of him during our lesson.

Our trip to the grocery store was once again more costly as I took him with me. It's the norm...more money and lingering in the store. I don't find it necessary to stop and look at everything. I know what I want and where it is. He has no clue on how much things cost , so paying $6.99 for a watermelon doesn't seem bad to him. I put it back and chose a smaller one. He does now seem to have the general understanding that I push the cart.

The boys are almost done with the camper repairs. Tigger was working side by side with A on it. It also required two trips to Menards. Personally I think that's a deviation from the chore. I'm pretty sure that had they now appeared there today that a search party would have been sent out.

Ouch

My daughter had back surgery (lumbar fusion) on Monday. We were at the hospital at 530 a.m. , her surgery was set for 7 a.m. They were pretty prompt with getting her ready and the surgery was on time. At 11 her doctor came out and said all went well and she'd be in her room within an hour. We were warned that because they did the surgery with her on her stomach that her face would be swollen. At 130 we were given her room number and made our way up. I've come to the conclusion that at no point is it funny to see your child #1- in pain and #2-high. She was pretty drugged up and I was told that she'd be dopey for awhile. I've got some stories to tell her when she's home and healing.
I remember what I liked about my hospital stay-nothing. First of all the hospital is short staffed so asking for anything will take at least 30 to 45 minutes. I must say they responded very fast when the finger pulse reader came off. The machine started beeping and they were in there stat (I'm picking up hospital lingo). I went up to see her Tuesday and she was walking around-slowly, but steady. Today she met me in the hallway. This girl is so ready to get out of there. There's a sign in her room stating checkout time is between 11-1230 and she says if her doctor is not there by 1105 she's leaving. I can't imagine where she gets her impatience from.
I've spent like zero time at home so far this week. There's some serious catching up to do around here. I have noticed that since boarder brother left there is not much mess. A is pretty good about picking up after himself. It must be the recent visit to his sister's house. It seems as if every time he goes there, he'll get on this neatness kick. I plan to spend some time this weekend in the jungle I call a yard. I have a date with about 4 hefty bags and a rake. Hopefully the weather will hold out.
Last night I was sitting here checking my email and suddenly felt something in my hair and a loud buzzing noise. My gut feeling was "June Bug", but why in my house. I went to knock it away and it was still buzzing. I got a little freaked at that point and started yelling. My gallant husband came to the rescue and knocked this huge bumblebee from my hair. How in the world this thing got in my house is beyond me. He's now swimming in Lake Michigan.

Things I've Learned

The camping outing this weekend proved to be fun. The weather was good, despite the fact that if you wandered to far from the campfire at night it was a bit chilly. The heater in our camper came in handy. There was not one drop of rain and beside a few pesty gnats there were no bugs and no pesty varmits. I did learn a few things this weekend :

Everyone claims to hate disco music, but no one got up to change the radio station
Trying to save a buck by buying inexpensive wine will allow you an early night and somewhere around 14 hours of sleep. (sorry Jo...it was out there)
Men should never wear "clam diggers"
No matter what you feed men they will have toxic gas.
The only way I can tell that my husband is drunk is that he talks non-stop.
State Park toilet paper isn't up to par.
You can't play Tigger and expect no damage to be done.
J wakes herself up every morning with some type of outburst.
No matter what type of hat you wear...you will get ribbed.
And the top thing I learned........
I have the best group of friends anyone could ask for.

Let's just hope for a continuation of good weather for the remainder of the trips.

This should be the start of a long week. My daugher is having lumbar fusion tomorrow and should be in the hospital for 3-5 days depending on how it goes. She's a little nervous, which is to be expected. We were going through some of her papers tonight and discovered that my hip surgery has now come in handy for two other people. It seems I have all the necessary accessories for helping at home. Got the walker, cane, sock puller and toilet riser. My brother made use of them and now she is going to need them also. When she's done these items will return to the attic for the next victim. I'll be helping out with her girls and I'm sure visiting her quite often. I may have to pass some will on to her as she sometimes tends to be a tad bit on the whimpy side. She had some back problems to begin with and then was in a car accident a few months ago that just made everything worse. Hopefully this will all go well and she'll be able to begin a less painful life.

Here's to the end of a great weekend and a hopeful start to a good week.

It's Over (for now)

I have completed my week on 3rd shift. I am tired. I am trying to figure out how I'm going to stay awake and have a few around the campfire tonight. Maybe I will get to the point where I get a second wind. I have been looking for a second wind all week. I'm not tired at work until around 5am. By 7 I'm ready to leave but can't seem to get out of there until 730 every morning. On the way home today I figured out what I hate the most...the drive home. When I worked the shift 6 years ago I lived 7 minutes from work. Staying awake on a 7 minute drive wasn't bad. Staying awake on a 24 minute ride sucks. This morning I was wondering if it was possible to take a minute long power nap at a stop light. Scary.

So it's off to camping in a few hours. When I was still coherent I made a list. This should prevent me from forgetting anything. The weather promises to be nice but I'm wondering where the wind suddenly came from. Should be fun...good friends, 1st trip of the year, some beer , my comfy chair and a hat. The useless June Bugs are out and about. I got hit in the head while standing outside having a smoke at work last night. The little buggers serve no purpose what-so-ever.

One More Night

Not the sappy song...My assignment to 3rd shift. I shouldn't get to excited as I know I'll be doing it again in a few weeks. But I'm excited because it's over for now. I'm not quite sure how I worked 3rd for 14 years a while back. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
If I had to pick between 2nd and 3rd my choice would be 3rd. Too much goes on to be stuck at work every night. In my single, younger years it was perfect. Not now.

I did manage to go to both Dylan's baseball games this week. He's out of the Cub Scout league and into Little League. He's in the 8-10 year old category and is one of the smallest one's on the team. I swear half the kids are a couple inches shorter then me .I was sitting there with my son the other night and he remarked how baseball can sometimes get a little boring. I don't see it that way. When you're watching a group of kids play from the first game on, you can see how they mold into a team. There's some peer pressure there. You can hear them rooting for their team mates from their little dugout and offering suggestions on batting stance and running bases. They cheer for each other and do their little high-five thing. As a parent, Grandparent, relative or just friend you feel nervous for them when it's looks as if a difficult play is coming their way. You feel proud when it's done and a little sad for them when they make a mistake. You are supportive and let them know that even if the game was lost, they made some good plays. I watched my son play for 3 years and was a little sad when he opted out of baseball as it just wasn't his sport. After I got all done giving him my views he remarked "I wasn't talking about Dylan's games...I was talking about going to games at the stadium. It's obvious he carries more of his father's genes then mine.

I baked my camping friends a mass of cookies last night. Boarder brother no longer lives here so I know the cookies are safe. I started packing and gave it up for when I'm a little bit more awake. I hate forgetting things.

I'm thinking I'm not going to get a lot of sleep today. One house across the street is currently having a patio/driveway poured and the cement truck is right in front of my house. The house next to it is having their basement mud-jacked and the bobcat is pretty noisey. I might just be the crazy lady that yells out the window.

Almost Half Way

Famous quote from R last night...Now I remember what I like about working 3rd shift...silence.
He looked as tired as I felt. This is definatly not for me. 20 years ago when I was a young spring chicken and first started 3rd shift it didn't phase me. It worked for me. Not now. I'm old and need some structure in my life. I don't even take naps during the day, let alone try to get 5-6 hours of sleep. Thankfully it's not summer yet and people around here don't mow their lawns until after work.

On a lighter note, my husband who I've seen for a total of 5 hours in the past 12 days is coming home tonight. Probably around the time I leave for work. I've had some good conversations with Sadie this week. I think she actually listens to me. It could be an act though. She's probably waiting for him to get home so she's off the hook. She may be missing out on some valuable sleep by pretending to pay attention to me. We did manage to get a game of catch in this morning. Acutally I throw the ball and she eventually brings it back.

I must promote the valuable lessons today on Gambino's blog. I now have the "Conjunction" song stuck in my head. It took me years to get that song out.

My goal before I go to work tonight is to watch the Soprano's . I've heard nothing but good regarding Sunday's episode. It may pump me up a little before work.

5-1=4

Day one on 3rd shift is over. It didn't take me long to figure out why I hate 3rd. Add the hours and problems together and it doubles my hatred. We had some type of glitch in our computer that prevented us from collecting data. It was something the company that's setting up our line did on Friday and never tested it. So I had a bunch of people standing around while the maintenance guy, my boss (bless his soul for showing up) and I tried our best to figure out what was wrong.

My biggest mistake was sitting down around 4am to work on some procedures and type them. I was all good until then. The maintenance guy joined my at the desk (not on it- at it) to help my fill out some dumb forms we have to do for every step of running. His boredom set in so he began to construct paper birds. Looking around at my co-workers I saw a lot of yawning and bloodshot eyes. The show should get better as the week progresses. There are two women that actually want the shift. One came in all perky last night. She was almost lynched.

I am now waiting for my dog to do her duty so I can try to get some sleep. My grandson's first baseball game of the season is tonight and I must try to attend. You guys all know I'm his biggest fan.

Home

After a slight delay in my flight I finally arrived home at 1:45 a.m. Saturday. It was a great trip and a good visit with Mom & Dad and once again I hated to leave. It's sad when you see your parents standing in their driveway waving as you pull away.

The crappy part about coming home is I walked in the door at 2am and my husband left for a four day Chicago work trip at 7am. Didn't have much time. The good part about coming home is that boarder brother has vacated!. The room isn't all that bad. Hubbie ripped the carpet out and is working on the hardwood floor which should be good with a sanding. Mean while everything is piled up in the other spare room. This is it...I promise myself that besides my parents or one of my kids we will have no other boarders. I'm purchasing an Aero bed for when the grand kids stay over or the most uncomfortable sofa sleeper I can find.

Tonight I start a week on 3rd shift. Should be a blast. I'm not sure what to expect as there are also a few new people starting. Hopefully it won't be a complete disaster. I'll be training the girl who will be running the 3rd shift in the future. God Bless her soul if she's a fast learner. By the end of the week I'm sure my sleep pattern will be completely screwed up. We're having our first camping trip Friday so with no sleep I'm sure I'll be the first puddle.

I have to say a quick work for everyone to keep our friend B in their prayers this week. He's having brain surgery on Tuesday. He wouldn't let us shave his head last night in preparation. He figured the hospital staff was better at it. Good luck to you B! We'll all be thinking of you.

Almost Over

This is my last full day in Arizona and the depression is starting to set in. Nothing is better then being on vacation, but nothing is worse then knowing you have to go back to reality. The weather here has been great (except for the 15 minute ha-boob). I felt like the lady on the old orange juice commercials, sitting outside drinking my oj and staring at the palm trees. I pondered taking one home but it won't happen.
You'll all be happy to know that while I was gone, boarder brother has moved. I've been told the room isn't to bad but will take some work. My husband seems to be surviving well without me. I think I woke him from his after-work nap everyday so far.
Mom and Dad are doing great here, except I just can't figure out why they're always in such a hurry. Everything is rush around. I got the finger gesture from my dad when I commented that for a man who doesn't have to ever be anywhere he sure is in a hurry all the time. The way he drives, he should be a Chicago cab driver.
Today, as in every other day will be pool day. Ahhhhh. Sad thing is it's the last day.

Countdown

I try not to start counting down time when I'm excited about going somewhere. I just try to block it from my head as thinking about it sometimes gets me depressed about where I am. Today I have started my countdown. 10 more hours of work left for the week. 36 Hours from now I will be sitting on a Midwest Express plane headed toward Phoenix, Arizona. All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go! (no taxi waiting, just getting a ride and probably a boot out of the truck and a "good riddens " from my husband. I wonder if it's possible for one to kick their heels up while driving. He will have 7 days of freedom. 7 days to not make the bed or clean up. If history repeats itself, on the day I come home he will do laundry and clean up a little. He deserves a break (did I say that out loud).

I'm trying not to think to hard about when I come back. Boarder brother should be moved out and I'm sure the room is trashed. I stupidly painted it about a month prior to his moving back in. I also have to do a week on 3rd shift when I come back. Hopefully I'll be well rested. I'm also sure I'll be walking into a workplace with new faces. We've been hiring about one person a week for the past month or so. I've been like the training queen. It gets old after awhile so I'm welcoming the break.

Someone suggested "buckets" tonight. I have to bail on that one. 3am comes early and with my state of mind and a few dollars I might just over-indulge therefore I'll stay home. If things would have gone as planned, I was going to take off tomorrow and start my vacation early. But I'll save the day and use it another time.

Asking For Trouble??

After a rather uneventful day at work today I stopped at the Mall to spend a gift card I received. I guess not to many people go to the mall in the afternoon as the parking lot was pretty empty. I thought about when I stopped around Christmas and left as I couldn't find a spot. I successfully spent my gift card and ventured on home. As I went to pull in my driveway I noticed first of all that my husband was not home yet...but wait, what's this?? My brothers oil leaking car in the driveway( Strike One) . I backed out and parked on the street. Upon entering my house I first of all found his keys in the back door and the screen door and back door wide open (Strike Two). I found the radio & TV in the kitchen on and loud, and walked to the living room and found the TV on and loud (this should be strike three but I have to combine the rest) and I found my brother sound asleep in the chair. I tried to wake him up by nicely calling out his name. Nothing...I started to get a little nervous and looked for blood. I did see him breathing and saw no signs of distress or injury so I smacked his arm and yelled. Now, a normal person would probably be startled out of their sleep..he slowly opened his eyes and I could see a look of complete confusion on his face. Apparently he dozed off around 1230 and was now late for work. I had to get my dig in about my electric bill, my house being wide open and the oil slick in the driveway. This is why the man must move.

Clean Smell

It's Saturday and the aroma of pea soup gas has left my house. I think he's done. There is no more pea soup left so any other smell would now be due to something else he ate. I want to thank my brother for (not) for his timing. In another week I will be gone so I wouldn't be home to try to seek clean air.

Boarder brother has set the moving date to next week Sunday. This week I'll be packing up his 6 boxes of cereal , junk food and several large coffee cups from my cupboards. Then I'll be gathering his 4 cans of half empty BO juice and several bottles of shampoo from my bathroom. I'll call it my care package to him. Something tells me that I'll miss our Friday morning conversations but not his weekend alarm clock that goes off at 7:15 am. He then proceeds to hit the snooze four or five times. Tonight I think I'll be setting his clock to the time he really is supposed to get up. That ought to freak him out a little.

Before my friend J posts about our conversation today I think I need to clear it up. No, I am not joining a carnival. I simply stated that I gave my husband $5.00 to buy me the winning Power Ball ticket today. We discussed what I'd do with my winnings and I stated I'd quit my current job for anything over 2 million. Then I'd get a fun job..like working at Summerfest and State Fair. By no means did I mean becomming a carnie. Of course if I packed on another 50 pounds and lost some teeth I'd probably get hired. I just thought it'd be fun to people watch at Summerfest by working at the Miller tent or something. Besides, I'd get in free everyday.

Enjoy your weekends everyone!!

Hump Day

I hate when I wake up in the morning one day ahead of myself. Thus was this morning. After a few minutes I realized what the correct day was. At least I didn't think it was Saturday and turn off the alarm clock. Or on Sunday, think it was Monday and get up and ready. I've never done that but it would have to suck.
I've sunken into this pattern lately. Monday I wake up about 5 minutes before the alarm clock (I can't be that anxious to get to work) . Tuesday it's about two minutes before (I guess just not as anxious) Wednesday- the alarm goes off for maybe 15 seconds (by this day the shit at work has sunk in) Thursday- the want to turn it off or hit the snooze (I think I'm trying to convince myself that we hit the lottery and there's no need to get up for work. We haven't worked a Friday in two weeks but that's usually like a Monday. I'm not fond of alarm clocks in the first place and I'm amazed that mine is still in one piece and not cracked in a million little pieces.

Looks like I'm going to win my own pool. Boarder Brother has a good excuse though. He was in Florida for a funeral last weekend. I'm going for May 15th.

So I know that some of you have tasted K's Pea Soup. I'm not a pea soup eater but he just so happened to drop some off for my husband. If I were mean I would have stuck it in the freezer until the 27th when I leave for Arizona. Being the nice wife I am I let him know it was in the fridge. Last night I came home and as soon as I walked in the door I could smell him. I started bitching to open a window or door and he giggled like a child. He was in the basement..I then walked into our bedroom and almost fell over. Thank GOD for Fe breeze! It took about 1/2 hour to clear the smell.

Walmart vs Target

I am not a big fan of Walmart. I will not go there after 4pm during the week and weekends are completely out. I go there only for the fact that the prices on cleaning supplies, paper products and laundry soap are less expensive then other stores. I find that going to Walmart is somewhat like a 3-ring circus. People are rude, rushing all over and the store is just plain noisy no matter what time you go. The toy department is like an unsupervised daycare. People just leave their children there and go on with shopping. Never mind that your kids are ripping open toys and playing with them while you shop.
I have always tried to figure out what it is about Target that every time I go there I will spend at least $75.00. This is even if I just run in for one thing. I know I'm not alone in this. There's some evil curse or something. The other night hubbie and I went to Target for birthday gifts to our granddaughters. After finding what we wanted and strolling a little it came to me: Target is like Stepford. People actually have their children under control at Target. People actually are polite. It's quiet in Target. Items are easy to find and the workers at Target actually smile. The atmosphere is the opposite of Walmart. It might also have something to do with all the red at Target, but I'm leaning toward the Stepford thing.

31 Days

It is 31 days until our first camping trip of the year, and there's snow in the forcast for tomorrow. That's a little scary. In the past we've lucked out with May camping trips. What's a little rain? What's a little frost? The days are at least warm as we've been known to get a little sunburnt on these trips. We have heat in the camper for the chilly nights.

People at work were all complaining about the weather still being cold. It's April. April is always crazy. We're just so sick of winter and want to get a start on all the warm weather activities that we tend to try to jump right from winter to summer. Mother Nature doesn't help with her teasing of giving us a few 60 plus degree days in March.

I've gone to Arizona almost every spring since my parents have moved there. I make it a point to go late in April or early May just for the simple fact that I can get a taste of summer two months before it hits up here. The best part is leaving Milwaukee and having the pilot say it's 80 some degrees in Phoenix. The worst part is leaving 80 degrees in Phoenix and having the pilot say it's 35 degrees in Milwaukee. Nothing like getting off a plane in your summer attire just to be scrambling for a sweatshirt when leaving the airport. This has backfired on me on one occassion. It was warmer here for an entire week. It was the "strangest thing" my mother told me. "We never have rain in April".

So I guess we all just have to hang tight. Spring is coming. We'll soon be camping, drinking for Jesus and taking in some baseball games complete with tailgating.

Hippety Flop

The Easter Family tradition with all the girls in our family has been to get together the day before Easter and bake Easter Bread and let the kids dye eggs. This year it was held at my house. The troups started arriving around 930 and I had the first batch of bread mixed up and ready to rise. We then mixed up the second batch and timed this out good so we could roll out one batch while the other was baking. My mom would always preach about how this bread was a little testy and you had to be careful. She would boot us all out of the kitchen while baking it. I always thought "How hard can it be". We've had two disasters in the 11 years that Moms been in Phoenix and not here for the bread making. One year we had some bad yeast and had to start all over again. This year I'm not quite sure what happened. One batch was good the second could pass for Jewish unleaven bread. Tastes okay but it's flat.

There was no usual Easter bustle around here today. We're going to my sister's house. My food assignments are done. My husband is sleeping off his Rum and coke from last night. We joined some friends last night for a few cocktails and had to make a Taco Bell stop on the way home. Did you know that they make Chili Chaloopo's. It was way to funny. At the drive thru window asking A what he wants and none of it making sense. He got some nacho's that he said he was going to take back today as they were really salty. I'm certain that they'll just be tossed in the garbage this morning.

Wishing everyone a blessed Easter. I'm pretty much under the assumption that I did not get an Easter Basket this year. Haven't seen any hint of one yet.

I Fear We Created A Monster

The planning had begun early at work this week. We were all off on Friday and 95% of us were out of work by 3 on Thursday. It was a good plan. Meet at the bar for a few after work. We had the usual people who said they were in and the few ho-hum people. We had the Asian guy who never comes as his wife works nights and he has two kids at home. Yesterday he made arrangements to have the in-laws take the kids. By 6p.m. he was well on his way to being totally drunk. I have laughed hard in my life but this had to be in the top 5. The drunker he got the more profound his accent became. Randy became "Big Guy, Boss Man". He did not stop talking for about 2 hours straight. We learned how he felt about everyone he worked with, we learned about Cambudians (they're the Asian's that are closer to Africa so they have big butts), we learned what goes into oriental food and we learned about "sticky rice". Around 8 pm there were 4 of us left. It was time to go and there came the problem of what to do about the drunken Asian. He tried to be assuring and tell us he was okay to drive. There was no way! I wasn't to keen on driving his car to 40th and Fondulac. So, soon there were 3 of us as R felt we had the situation under control and left. We ended up sitting with him for quite a while filling him with soda and food. The little Asian boy drove himself and I got a phone call assuring me that he made it safe. All I know is that on Monday he's in for some ribbing. He's got a lot of "splainin" to do.

Easter prep has begun around here. My brother had purchased some jello and jello egg molds. In my past experience with them, I chuckled and wished him luck. I came home last night and found the bowl of jello eggs in the fridge. This morning he relayed to me what a fricken pain they are and how he threw the mold out. The problem with this bowl of jello eggs is that no one in this house eats jello. I think he was just looking for something to do with his girls. The good intentions were there. (no word on the move date yet)

Boarder Update

I have been asked for an update on boarder brother. Seeing as he paid two weeks rent on Sunday, I'm guessing he'll be here until at least the 15th. I was going to be nice and tell him to let it go and put it toward getting out but I didn't. I don't usually see him until mid-week so I guess I'll be hitting him up for an answer then. Speaking of him, I pulled into my bank this afternoon and saw his ex-wife getting out of her car. I opted for the drive-thru window.
Speaking of ex-wives I had a very funny dream about J and my brother K and his ex-wife. I fell asleep watching COP's and the dream was built around it. All J kept saying was that she wanted to go home and take a bath. I woke myself up laughing.

We had our hours changed to 7-3 this week. It feels rather weird going home at 3. I'm not real fond of the ride in. Traffic was a little nuts this morning. It was rain...not snow. Usually when I'm driving in a 430 there is no traffic. We're just a little spoiled. I think this is a temporary thing for this week as we're off on Friday. It would be nice to have some stable hours though.

We were watching the news last night and heard the story about the 20 year old guy going into the High School and finding the person that stole his sisters I-Pod. I got a funny look from my husband when I said "Good"..I then added that waiting for the kid outside of the school may have been a better idea. Then this morning I heard a small bit of a news cast where some place on South 27th street was held up and one of the customers was able to catch one of the suspects. Did anyone hear where that was? I haven't heard anything more on it yet. I know the Police are going to warn everyone, and I'm aware of the risks involved in trying to be a hero, but I just feel that people have had enough! We may start seeing more of this. I just think people are going to start protecting what's theirs in their own way.

Sucker

The silence has been broken. Before getting suckered into another lame apology and having the tables turned on me, I did manage to speak my mind. At least he didn't totally play dumb.

As I sit here typing I am listening to the sounds of 7 to 9 year olds. There were 5 (yes I'm nuts) kids sleeping in our livingroom last night. I knew before and of two (brothers kids) and was asked about the twins Friday night (after I had a few beers) . Dylan was a late addition. We all plopped down around 10 last night to watch Happy Feet (ok movie). I was the only one who made it through the whole thing. At 815 am I got the little nudge from Dylan for breakfast. I think he drew the short straw. There was no way I was standing there making French toast or Pancakes for 8 people. McDonalds was my friend this morning. I should have just let them eat left-over birthday cake but then I figured I'd suffer as they weren't getting picked up until noon. So maybe around 11:45 they'll get a slab of cake and a mountain dew to wash it down.

I need to fill my afternoon and it's looking like a nice day. I have some money coming from my Friday night win that I may just see if the hubbie is interested in running some errands and swinging by there for one.

Everyone have a great Sunday!