Bad Ump..Bad Call

"When you're playing Little League baseball you don't get the pro umps". This quote came from one of the "senior" umps at Tuesday nights game. No shocker there, but at least be fair.
They played a team they've played before. A team with coaches similar to Dylan's coaches. A group of guys who show respect for the kids and teach them the game. Theres some yelling once in a while, but they also give credit when credit is due.

After two innings there was some grumbling about the strike zone. This was coming from both teams so at least the ump was being fair in that case. The more senior ump was behind the plate but making a lot of calls that the field ump should have been making. He just so happened to not see the play where the first base kid blocked the runner from advancing to second. We're talking standing in front of him with his arms out. This happened several times and when the coach called it out they simply didn't see it. They did however see Dylan knock a kid out of his way and talked to the coach about it. The coach had previously asked the boys how many of them played football, and told them to use their shoulders to get through if they needed to. Then there was the play where one of Dylan's team was coming into home and the catcher missed the ball but blocked the plate. He was safe but the ump said not a word about the play.
Now we come to the final inning. The game is tied 2-2 and they have completed 7 innings. They decide to play one more inning as they are within the time limit. Dylan's team does not score. There are two outs and they get a base runner. She steals second and then on a hit takes off for 3rd base. The ball gets thrown to 3rd and the kid puts the tag on her before she reaches the base. The field ump calls her out. Final out, the team starts to leave the field and the home plate ump suddenly yells "Safe". What!! The coaches are in shock, the kids are in shock. He had the out. A little arguing goes on and senior ump tells them he had a better view. The other coach tells him that she was clearly out. He's not budging. The game continues and she ends up scoring.
Dylan's coach ended up filing a protest to have the game brought back to tie. The coach from the other team agreed. This is where I have some respect for him. They clearly did not win the game and I know had the tables been turned Dylan's coach would have acted the same as he did. The kids get a little talk after the game and we overheard their coach tell them that although the record shows they won, he didn't think the win was fair.
The kid that made the play at third usually bobbles the ball when thrown to him. He lets a lot of balls that should have been fielded by him go into left field. This was his first real play and the smile that broke out on his face when he put the tag on was more of a look of relief. Soon turned to a frown but he got some reassurance once the game was over.
So I'm not sure on what the rule is on one ump overturning a call by another ump but I guess we'll find that out tonight. Hopefully they'll have different umps tonight.

Idiots

As anticipated group camp went well. The weather although not as predicted was tolerable and we made due with it. When I had heard the forecast of 88 and humid I was a little worried that we would be quite uncomfortable in that heat. We ended up with cloudy and a high of 64. We were able to get a quick look at the sun Saturday around 7:30 pm. I have learned to pack for the unexpected so I was good. I did however, leave my winter jacket at home this time.

Within a few minutes of arriving at group camp we had a visit from the camp host. He was just letting us know where he was located in case of any issues. We got to chatting with him and he broke into a story about some recent destruction on the site we were on. It seems some college kids reserved the site. He said he knew there would be trouble when there were about 60 guys and 1 or 2 tents. The party was broken up and tickets were given when the kids decided to burn the picnic tables and fence for firewood. Did the story shock me? No, it immediatly made me angry. He went on to tell us that some of these guys lost scholarships & State grants for destruction of State property. "Good" was my first thought. I bet their parent's are damn proud of them. Idiots!

My tolerence for property damage is zero. I'm sure alcohol played into this but wouldn't you think that out of 60 or so people that some would have the sense to stop it. I asked that question this weekend and the peer pressure excuse came up. I don't buy it. Maybe it's my appreciation of State Parks. I feel very strongly about obeying the rules and not doing any damage. Maddening is also the writing in the bathrooms at the campgrounds. Just because a portion of your taxes may go toward State Parks & Forests doesn't mean you have the right to destroy them. I'm thankful to live in a State that has one of the best park systems. The small fee that I pay for an annual sticker and campsite is well worth it.

This is where I also have a strong appreciation for my family and friends. I know that I can go on an outing with them and will never, even if they over indulged, need to stop them from any type of property destruction. People need to start showing some pride.

The Pub Crawl

Can I blame it on the weather? We did not plan to attend the pub crawl but with the forecast of rain for Saturday afternoon and evening we opted to join Ben & Nannette to benefit Easter Seals.

It started out at a locally known Irish Pub. We enjoyed a few beers while watching the Brewers battle against the Cardinals. We thought maybe we could get a quick glimpse of two of our friends who ventured to St. Louis for the game. He said he'd be a blue shirt in a sea of red. There were quite a few blue shirts and maybe we weren't looking hard enough. There was the Brewer fan with the foam cheese on his head, but that wasn't either of them.
After the first tavern we ran through the downpour across the street to stop number two. We were given a free drink ticket. The tickets were only good for certain beers, non of them being Miller Lite. Call me anal but I have become accustomed to a certain taste of beer. I will try others but just don't like the bitter after taste that some dark beers have. To me they all taste like I'm drinking a cup of coffee and I am not a coffee drinker. But I drank two beers and don't recall the name of them. On to the 3rd pub. At this one we were ushered into the basement. I immediately knew this would be the one where people got crazy. Maybe it was the beer pong that was set up and people immediately flocked to. There was another game that Nannette got in to with drinking your beer and then tipping the cups on the table. Ben, Barney and I watched the beer pong and drank a few beers. Nannette introduced me to a guy who claimed to be one of the Brewers cousins. Had the same last name . On opening day a few years back we had sat behind one of his cousins but that is another story. I remarked that this Brewer must have a lot of cousins and was told that basically the entire city of Oconomowoc is flooded with them.

On to stop # 4. This is the one that I do believe did us in. This is the one where all the drama from the younger people unfolded. After about an hour of listening to sob stories and feeling like I was Oprah I found an open spot next to Nannette on the stage and sat down. This is when the texting began. Two women sitting on a slightly dark stage attempting to text. I can use the excuse that I didn't have my glass's for the misspelled words in one text. Our husbands were seated not far from us and kept wandering over to see if we were still there. I'm still not quite sure why they seemed ticked off. I was just happy that I could get Miller Lite there. Sorry, call me a wimp but I can't keep up with the Irish and their high alcohol content in their beer.

Back to the starting point. By this time we were all starving and decided to order food. As I was eating my soup I wondered if I was the only one who felt as if their lips were swelling from the saltiness, Nannette leaned over and asked if my soup was salty. I thought maybe my swollen lips gave it away but we all had the same issue. The food came and was good yet again overly salty. We came to the bright conclusion that salty food makes you order more beer. Ha! I outsmarted them and ordered water. (at that point it seemed I did) All in all it was a good time and for a good cause. And once again I blame it all on the Irish.
Oh, and I am hoping to get my key chain from MO.

Analyze This

I have some crazy dreams at times but last nights has me stumped and ready to go out and purchase the dream book.

In my dream I had a stomach ache that wouldn't quit. Arnie urged me to see a doctor. At the doctors office I was informed I was pregnant. I was confused and listened to the doctor explain to me that the fertilized eggs and sat dorment for over 30 years which (in my dream) they will do. The shock was the realization that this was my ex-husbands baby. Arnie didn't bat an eye. It turned out that I had twin boys. I had nothing for them. I took them home from the hospital in a box and was worried I would get caught. I had questioned the hospital about car seats and was told that because they were unsafe they were no longer required. We had no crib so we put the babies in Dylan's old pack n play. (funny because I just saw this in the attic the other day). My ex husband came to see the boys and identified them as his but said we'd get no help from him because he already had enough mouths to feed. Shocking! I asked him if he could at least go pick up some diapers so I could take them to the doctor and he brought over two diapers. (cheap as always). In my dream I was stressed over what I was going to do but was re-assured by my husband that it would all work out. I think he was just happy we had twin boys as now there would be someone to carry the coolers at camping.

Hurry Up Scrap Man

I though going back to work would give me a break from yard work. Once my alarm clock went off I felt differently. How nice it would have been to just shut it off, roll over and catch a few more hours of sleep. Then I'd get up and at some point wander back out into the yard and do a few things or just plop in a lawn chair for a few hours and relax. Dream over...back to reality.
I'm not alone in this as just about every one of my co-workers have expressed their opinion on being here today.

Between trips to hardware stores and a lot of pulling of weeds, planting and moving plants around my entire 4 day weekend was consumed. We took a few hours on Friday night and headed to a Brewers game.

There were a few times when the heat consumed me and I headed in for a cold drink and cooling off. Our AC should be back in action within the next week or so, but as much as I dislike AC I did feel the need for it this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love warm weather. Just could do without the 94 degrees with humidity.

Last night Barney and I were cleaning out behind the garage. This area seems to have become the heap of junk pile. I spotted the old and rusted out wheelbarrow parked back there with old leaves and a few pieces of wood in it. I thought he'd gotten rid of it last year. It was my grandpa's and then my fathers and when we bought the house it became ours. If I'm not mistaken I think it was my great-grandfathers. The thing has to be 80 or more years old. The bottom is rusted out. At one point my husband tried to repair and it worked for a year or so. Last night when I spotted it I immediately told him to take it to the curb. He said he was saving it for me in case I wanted it for flowers. Not a thing to say to someone who just finished digging in the dirt and planting for 4 days. I walked behind him as he wheeled it to the curb (mainly to ensure it made it there and not into the garage). I had to explain that you don't just hang on to something like that for sentimental reasons. I have many more things to remember my grandfather by.

As we walked away from the rusted wheelbarrow I hoped and prayed that the junk man would come before my husband had second thoughts.

Open Your Wallets

It's that time of the year again. The time that WKLH holds it's annual Miracle Marathon for Children's Hospital. We need to open our wallets and donate for the kids. You can wait for the power hour when a certain company will match donations, you can donate a lump sum or you can choose the $20.00 for 12 option. It that doesn't suit your fancy you may also partake in the live auction. I've viewed this and found several summer music packages that may appeal to some.

Then if you really need a push toward donating you can tune in and listen to some live interviews from those with good outcomes and those with not so good. They all have the same thing to say in the end, and wouldn't be taking time to share their stories if they didn't think Children's Hospital was an outstanding facility.

We as a family have made several trips to Children's. We've been blessed with having the outcome of each visit be good. Years ago my son was involved in a pretty bad car accident. As he was 16 years old he was taken to Children's. I have nothing but good to say about his continuous treatment over 2 years and the staff that took care of us. At 2 years old Dylan spent several days in Children's for a blood issue. Can't say anything but good about the care and concern given at the hospital.

Bottom line is..we all know someone who's child has visited Children's Hospital and I'm sure in the future will know of more. Donate...It's the right thing to do.

Choices

Another trip to Menard's is in order. This time to return the ceiling fan purchased the day before. It appears the fan only runs with a remote. I commend my husband for telling me before he installed it. I just don't think we need to search the house for yet another remote to turn a fan on. Apparently we should have read the foreign language on the box a little better prior to purchasing it. I picked up one that would more fit our needs at my local WalMart last night. Problem solved.

On to baseball. A good majority of Dylan's games are at a later time this year. When I saw the 7:45 start last night I had second thoughts on going. I have an early start this week and was really beat due to lack of sleep the past few days. The time rolled around and my final decision was to go. Barney told me to go and if I got tired I could leave early. I knew that wouldn't happen.

The game started out bad. The first inning had them down 4-0. They were hitting but the Sox were quick and accurate in fielding. The A's (Dylan's team) stranded a few in the first 3 innings. As all the kids are given a chance to play Dylan sat out the first two innings. He came on in the 3rd and hit a double and two batters later was driven in. 3-1 end of 3rd inning. Sox score 1 run in the 4th and manage to get out of a bases loaded situation with a 2nd to home double play that had the stands on their feet. 5th inning- A's have bases loaded and 2 outs. Dylan hits to the outfield and 3 runs score. He ends up on 2nd and then on a wild pitch gets to 3rd and then is driven home. They held them the rest of the game. Final score 5-4.

In the end I made the right decision by going and staying for the entire game. So what if Grandma's a little tired today. The game was played well and the game ball went to Dylan. I admire his modesty in saying his coaches should receive the ball for their coaching, hard work and patience with all of the kids on the team. "But I'll just take it".

The Wanderer

Ever wonder why when one thing you own breaks and requires repair that other things will soon follow suite? It started with my truck making a noise for the past few weeks. It would only happen once in a while and therefore was hard to diagnosis. Well of course it decided to act up when we left for camping. My plan was to take it in Monday morning. My husband had other plans and after talking to our neighbor (a service manager) found the problem and fixed it for $10.00 and a few hours under the truck. My hero..he save us at least $100.00. Well we all know when you save on one thing that something else will break. In our case it was the ceiling fan in our dining room. I went to turn it on after work yesterday and it had one speed-super slow. Then it began to make a grinding noise and just stopped dead. Once again Mr. Fix-It to the rescue only this was a lost cause. This would require a trip to our local Menard's as the light also went out.

Menard's wasn't exactly on my list of things to do last night, but I we decided to kill two birds with one stone and get some other things needed for the yard and repairs. Once there we went right to the ceiling fans which took about two minutes to irk me. I had no problem finding a fan from the tons they have on display, but apparently we should have brought along someone able to read another language. Every box we looked had the Spanish side of the box facing out, requiring us to turn each box in order to read it. Now to be fair, maybe they could have turned 1/2 the boxes with the English language facing out. I saw this as not only a huge inconvenience to a customer, but also a safety hazard. There was an elderly couple also looking at fans and he was having a problem lifting and turning the box so he could read it. I realize a company wants to appeal to all customers (money is money) but is it to much to ask that they appeal to the natural origin customers also? BTW the ceiling fan ended up costing as much as the savings on the truck.

We then went along our way, picking up a few things and then it was on to the paint department. I suggested I wait for the paint while he went to get the last thing on the list. I told him that I would come over by him after waiting for the paint. As he walked away I knew I had made a mistake...again. From where I was standing I had a clear view of him walking toward the window area. I saw him take two detours then I lost sight of him. After securing the paint I started off toward the window area. I did not detour, but rather stayed in the main aisle and glanced down each window aisle. Not a sight of him. I ran into a neighbor , a former co-worker and the Dillers. Staying in the main aisle I chatted with them for a moment while still keeping my eye out for him. As they walked away they promised to send him my way if they spotted him.

I continued to look around in the area and then I pulled out my cellphone. I'd had enough at that point. As I was making the call I spotted the Dillers once again and saw that they were sending my lost husband toward me. He was on the complete opposite side of the store. Back by the paint. I saw he was carrying a roll of tape and wondered if he had ever gotten over to the windows at all. Turns out he had no luck in that area and rather than coming back to the paint area right away he stopped to look at a few things. As we were walking toward the check-out I lost him two more times. You would think by now I would learn my lesson in going to the store with my husband. I think I go with him because I fear that if he goes alone he may not come home for a few days and I would really miss him.

That Was Just What I Needed

It had been 8 months since we had been camping. Last season we ended up canceling the last two trips due to weather and changes in plans, so I had been looking forward to this trip. When I woke up Friday morning to rain and fog I didn't even care. But luck was on our side as by the time we left it had cleared up.
Once we got to our destination everyone went about their own little duties of setting up camp. One by one others arrived and within no time things were set up and people were relaxing with a beverage of choice. The rest of the weekend went well. Beside one or two useless June bugs we weren't bothered by bugs unless you want to count the few ticks that were found on shoes or socks. The only critter we saw was a chipmunk that took an interest to the peanut shells that didn't make it into the fire pit.
The weather was great. A little toasty on Saturday afternoon but those who did not care for the sun were able to find shade. As usual the food was good and the silly songs made up about the food drew plenty of laughter.
The most enjoyable part of the weekend was my ability to sleep straight through the night. Both nights I heard or woke to nothing until 7 hours later when the sun hit the camper. There were no trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I slept through someones car alarm, barking dogs and others getting up. I woke up well rested and feeling pretty good. My hubbie also noted how well he slept. We discussed this on the way home and I suggested he set up the camper in the driveway and we'll just sleep out there. Who would think that sleeping on a piece of plywood with a thin mattress would give you such comfort?

Her Momma Is a Hooker

Ah the knowledge and innocence of 12 year olds. Since my daughter has returned home we see the girls more often and have become involved in their every day lives. The highlight of dinner usually starts out with the daily gossip but I try to turn it into what they may have learned in school that day. In the past eight months I've come to know some of their friends and listen to the frustrations that 12 year old girls have. I now know the boys they have secret crushes on and although I continuously tell them they are much to young to think of boyfriends yet, I still listen to "just how cute he is" and "he ate lunch at my table" or "he asked so and so about me". Come on, we all have to remember back to that stage of life.

Yesterday I picked the girls up after school and in route I spotted this girl about their age walking down the street. I had to do a double take. This girl was a little chubby and had on some short shorts with a belly top. May have needed a size or two bigger because she was hanging out all over. The jean shorts were barely covering her butt and the bright yellow shirt exposed quite a tummy roll. What made me really look was the bright orange spike heeled shoes. Both the girls expressed shock at what she was wearing and then both looked back and said "Hey, she didn't have that on at school". They said she was dressed normal at school and had flat shoes on. They commented that she must have changed her clothes after school. Then one of them says " You know they say her momma is a hooker". Grandma double take. Should they know what a hooker is at this age? Well they don't because the "Grandma, what is a hooker? question came next. I did my best to explain and added that they would never hold that profession. I also commented that if I was ever driving by and saw them dressed in that way that they would be in the car so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. I was told I'd never have to worry about that. Let's just hope so.

29 hours from now I should be in the car in route to the campground. I'm really looking forward to a relaxing weekend. The weather is still looking promising. If not, I don't really think it will be a problem. I'm just looking forward to a good weekend.

FT 9005

Yes, that is you. Mr. Litterbug. I had the pleasure of driving behind you on the freeway this morning and discovered that you must either be quite the chain smoker or felt the need to empty your ashtray along the way. The three or four cigarette butts that came out your window and toward my truck irked me a tad. I'm not a butt flicker so I have no tolerance for people that do. Use an empty water bottle or ashtray and then take the time to empty it in the proper place. So if that wasn't enough you felt the need to toss your empty coffee cup right out your window. WTF! Carry a small trash bag in your car for these things. Good thing you exited because Lord knows what was going to come flying out next. Our city streets & freeways are not a giant garbage can and should not be used as such. Do you think you have people for that?
Done with that soapbox and on to the next...

Let's talk rude people for a minute. I'm at the local WalMart and walking in the entrance. Guy is coming out with his cart. First off I am going in the door clearly marked "Enter". He is coming out the "Enter" door. He's not moving to the side, just walking right through the middle. I figure he's not going to move so I move to the side. As he walks past I politely say "excuse me" to which he answers "F You". I was a little floored and wondered what I had did wrong and my moment of confusion turned to anger and I nicely replied " F You Too Asshat". Didn't feel any better after I did so. I wasted words on a jerk. Apparently I wasn't the only confused one because Mr. Cart Giver-outer had the same confused look that I did.

On a lighter note...3 more days until the first camping trip of the season. It's been a long 8 months. I think making a list may be in order to ensure nothing is left behind. First non-drinkable item on the list will be my shiny new flashlight. Then of course come the other essential items- cold cup, Lawn chair, some clothes, blanket, pillow, shower shoes, notice there is no rain gear in this list, that's because there is not rain in the forecast (for now), I guess some food would be a good item to pack also, a book, some rag magazines, toothbrush, comb, a hat, and that's all I have for now. Three days.

Call In The Family?

In any failed relationship there are two sides to the story. When my first marriage failed my parents were instant on my moving back home. There I went with two kids in tow. I appreciated it then and to this day still do. I didn't tell my parents all the details of the marriage because I -#1 didn't want my father to do injury to the father of my children and I felt I was old enough to handle my own problems. He pulled some pretty nasty crap after I moved back home and I often wondered why my father didn't go nuts on him. Instead he kept his cool and later I realized that he did so to not badmouth him in front of his children. Believe me, he voices his opinion now.
We have a similar situation now. My daughter has moved back home. She shares custody of the twins. I have tried to remain neutral in the situation siting the "two sides to every story" theme. He's pulled some crap like loosing their tax return to a student loan he swore he paid off, not telling her about the state refund (swearing it never went in the account) and promising her money and having some bullshit excuse when he can't pay her. Problem is he likes to spend money. He likes to go to Cigar bars and buy expensive booze. The final straw came this weekend. In lieu of some money she had borrowed him last year he made the agreement to continue to cover her car insurance for 1 year. On Saturday she found out he hasn't paid it in 6 months. 6 months she's been driving around with her kids and no insurance. To some people this is no big deal but to me it is. Her car is parked now until her doctor releases her to drive but we are now in the scramble to insure her car. But of course there is a road block as Mr. Responsible cannot locate the title so we can have his name removed, switch it to our name and insure her car (much cheaper rate) which now means a mess at the DMV. Not my favorite place to go but it is what it is. My problem is having the will power to not open my mouth in front of the kids, so I found my latest release is working outside. This could be a long summer and I could have a beautifully landscaped yard when all is said and done. I think it might be less stress on me to call in the family. Ooops, did I say that out loud.

Who Opened The Flood Gates?

We really do need this rain so I really shouldn't complain. Right now it doesn't bother me because I'm at work and can't do much outside anyway. Just wondering if Dylan's first baseball game of the season will be rained out tonight. I just heard the rain is to diminish early this evening with a high of 47 degrees. I foresee one large mud puddle of a baseball field. To the boys it might be fun. To the observers it could be a little uncomfortable.
Sounds a little silly seeing as I stand outside and watch him play football in the rain and cold. My logic in that is it is later in the season and I expect it to be cold and rainy. I guess only time will tell today whether or not I will be sitting on the bleachers in the cold and rain cheering his team on.
I was going to write about our fridge at work today but I see my friend Super Steve has already written a blurb on his work fridge. I just have to say that ours is nasty. It's been said that it was cleaned out last Friday but I have my doubts. We are told that on cleaning day "all containers, bags, and leftover food will be thrown away". The same cottage cheese container from a month ago is in there. There is a bag of cantaloupe cut up that has turned to mostly all juice. Our fridge is now used by more than 15 people. Some office personnel have just moved to our area and with it came their lunches, water bottles and bags of food. Plus, when a fridge is cleaned out wouldn't someone wipe the shelves clean of the ketchup goobers. I'll just keep my little lunch tote on top of the fridge as always.

Headache Gone

I woke up this morning to the birds chirping and a nice breeze blowing in my window. It was almost as if the morning went out of its way to greet me. As I went about my morning rituals I found myself it a very good mood. Packed my lunch which included a Jell-O pudding (one of many that I received as a birthday gift), fed the dogs and off I went.
The ride in was good as there isn't much traffic at 5 am. I found myself singing along with the radio and didn't even have the dreaded Monday morning feeling. Got to work, did a few things and at 7 went out to the line for the daily production meeting. My mood was great! My headache was gone! Yes, the headache in the form of a person has been transferred from our department. No longer will I need to listen to her complaining or witness her mood swings. It could be better noted as the thorn in my side has been removed. See, good things do come to those who wait!.

The Plan

Yesterday I made a plan for today. It was simple. Go to Dylan's baseball game, come home and lay out on the deck in the new lawn chair my husband purchased for me for my birthday. This is what really happened:
Got up at 7:30. Phone call a little bit later that mother in law was having issues with her lawn mower. My husband said he'd stop in the afternoon and check it out. Got to Dylan's game by 9. Throughout the game I made note of the weather. By the time I would get home the air would be warmer and the conditions would be perfect for an hour or so on the deck with good book and maybe a nap. Left the game at 10:45 and mentioned to my husband that he should stop at his mother' s house on the way home instead of making another trip. My first mistake. We pull up and see his niece and sister by the garage with the hood open on the niece's truck. Didn't pass emissions and they were trying to replace a part. Of course Barney got right in there. During the stop I received a phone call from my grand daughters who had a tragic story. It appeared that their friends were all going to the mall and the friends mother was suppose to pick them up however got called into work. She was willing to pick them up but wouldn't be staying with them. Of course my daughter would not be able to take them as she can't drive nor walk around the mall and didn't want them going without parental supervision. Some sucking up was done to get me to go. Figured I could kill two birds with one stone and do the mall walk and return an item . This could delay the original plan. An hour later we left the mother in laws house with the lawn mower in the back of the truck. The impatient girls were waiting and we took off for the mall. I walked the mall they walked around with their friends. I gave them one hour and them were good with it. Upon leaving the mall I noticed some clouds forming. My plan was starting to fizzle out. Got a call to please stop and pick something up on the way home. Another 10 minute delay.
Turning the corner of my street I saw there could still be some hope for my plan. Parked and got out of the truck and walking up the driveway I hear the neighbor call out my name. Damn!
1/2 hour long driveway conversation. Made it into the house with one thing on my mind. Here it is now 3 hours later and my plan has been completely wiped out. "what time is dinner" I think if I get up early enough tomorrow I can pack my chair in my trunk and find a nice secluded spot somewhere. The phone will be accidentally left behind.

Someone's Been....

Ever get that feeling that someone has been in your stuff? That eerie yet maddening feeling. Came in to work this morning to find my favorite pen missing, gum wrappers on my desk and a notebook that I keep track of my hours in open on the desk. Could it be that someone felt the need to go into my drawer to find a pen & piece of paper rather than using the ones right on the desk? Hmmmm. I smell snooping here.
I'm to tired to investigate. I may rig my stuff tonight.

Long Day

My daughter had her 3rd and hopefully final back surgery yesterday. This has been a long, dragged out ordeal that we're praying will come to an end and she can be on her way to a less painful life. The doctor seemed very positive, but then again they usually are. I remember 3 years ago speaking to him before and after the surgery and yesterday it was pretty much the same conversation.
We arrived at the hospital at 7am and they whisked her off. We were directed to the waiting room. I realized then that we were at the smaller hospital without all the fringe benefits. The last two surgeries were at a larger hospital which has some perks. But you pay for perks. There was a coffee pot but no coffee brewing. No problem for me but some of those older ladies were complaining. We made a pot of coffee. One of the perks of being at the hospital is that is was a walk across the street to the best doughnuts in the city. Of course we waited until after we said our goodbyes as they took her to surgery, and then took a walk. Picked up a paper and magazine on the way back and settled down for the wait.
After about an hour Barney started to nod off. I was wondering how he could even be remotely comfortable enough to sleep as the chairs were not at all designed for comfort. I felt like I was sitting on a rock. Out of boredom I began to study the people around me. It seemed that a lot of people knew each other. Must have been neighborhood surgery day at the local hospital. One lady was volunteering her kids to cut the lady whose husband was in having surgery's grass. Another guy was discussing recent garage break-ins in with another woman in his neighborhood. I felt a little left out but found entertainment in listening.
I also discovered that I was not the only one in discomfort. One lady began to doze off and nearly slid off her chair. The TV was placed in a pretty awkward place and there were maybe 8 local channels. Its funny how a Soap Opera can be on and although most of the people most likely ever watch the soap..all eyes were tuned in (including my husbands).
They were kind enough to give us updates every hour or so but it was 5 1/2 hours until the doctor came to talk to us. It was another 2 hours after that when we got the call that she was going up to a room. I did get to see her and although relieved I had to chuckle. Her lips were very swollen and upon inquiring the nurse told me that because the airway tubes were in so long that once removed it is sometimes a reaction for a patient to bite their lips. Well she did a good job on her lips. She has a little Jolie action going on. As requested prior to the surgery I was there with the Chap Stick and once it was applied she was happy. In fact I was there with the Chap Stick for a few hours.
As of 9 last night she was pretty much in and out of sleep. They have an epidural going right into her back for pain. This is supposed to be a 4-5 day stay and then home with a back brace for 6-8 weeks. No lifting, no driving, no bending..pretty much all she can do is walk, lay down or sit. I think we have our work cut out for us.

Gimme Back My Fence!

NyQuil gives me horrible nightmares. I was having a hard time sleeping Saturday night and was still a bit stuffy and had a pretty sore throat. After some tossing and turning I gave in and took some thinking I would be able to get some needed sleep.
The first dream that I recall is Dylan getting his baseball stuck between the deck and the fence. I didn't want him to reach back there because I was afraid he'd get hurt so I did. I felt something hairy and I pulled my hand back only to have a skunk in it. The funny part of this is I woke up scared and holding on to a stuffed animal that was left on my bed.
The next dream has me a little concerned. I walked outside on my deck and our fence was gone. The Arab lady next day was running around saying (in broken English) that she didn't know who took the fence or why, but she wanted it back to keep her kids in the yard. I was angry and demanding to know who took my fence. I saw a truck parked on the street and a guy loading pieces of our fence in. I saw a lady standing with him and began to yell at her. She claimed the fence was an eyesore (kinda is) and she was sick of telling us to fix it. I kept telling her we never talked to her and to give my back my fence. In my sleep I could feel this anger. When asking her who the hell she was, she claimed to live on the corner. I told her she couldn't even see my fence from where she lived so wtf did she care. Arnie came home and was totally unconcerned about the fence. I then was so angry I picked up a screwdriver and began to stab this lady's big fat fleshy white arm. It didn't phase her so I said I was going in my house to call the police and a lawyer. I pretty much woke up then. The part that had me a little nervous was the stabbing part. I must feel very strongly about my fence.

On another note, my Sunday afternoon shopping at my local PnS was nasty. Either I missed the after church people or they all ran home and changed. I saw way to many tube tops and shorts that were being worn by woman who should have bought them at least 2 sizes larger or not worn them at all. I say if you want to wear one and it looks that bad then wear a light blouse over the top. When it's rolling up from the bottom or rolling down from the top it is to small. I understand that men like to see a little butt cheek at times but they don't want to see cottage cheese. It was also dirty wife beater tee shirt day. One of my biggest peaves. Once again I vow to get my shopping done during the week to avoid this.

The Friday Doughnut

Why is it that the Friday doughnut is more exciting then doughnuts any other day of the week? I've pondered that for a while. People bring doughnuts on Monday...not thrilling. Same for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but bring in doughnuts on a Friday and you are every body's hero for the day. It's the talk of the shop. And news travels fast. I got the call a little after 8 that there were doughnuts in the lunchroom. And of course there is usually a reason (around here) for the doughnuts. Birthdays being the number one reason. This is funny because the production people haven't worked on Fridays for a year now and this seems to be when management or salaried people bring in the doughnuts. Of course because it's 8 less that you need to buy. Even though you see these people every day and eat lunch with them.
If you're a production person and bring doughnuts in on your birthday you need at least 2 dozen and that being if everyone just takes one. That is not the case around here. I'm a one doughnut eater. Usually half at break and the other half at lunch. The doughnuts that people bring in here are usually National Bakery or Grebes,so they're pretty big. None of those Krispy Kreme nightmares.
Is there a rule for one only? If you walk in the lunchroom and see the person delivering them does it give you freedom to sit down and eat 2 or 3 or does the politeness bell ring in your head. Around here the call that there are doughnuts will go out and people will break each other out so they can run and nab a doughnut. Some will chow them down right away and others will wrap one up and put it in their lunch bag for later. Some will chow 2 down right away, and then you have those that will ask you to save one for them. Yea, right. Not around here.
So like I said, I got the call around 8. I went to the lunchroom at 9:00 and there were two doughnuts left of 18. I should have went earlier because all that was left was the puss filled chocolate doughnuts. You snooze...you lose.

The Repercussions

Despite missing Opening Day, I feel pretty lucky that I got to go to a Brewers game during their first home series of the season. I wish I could say I can't complain about the weather, but then again it's Wisconsin and it's early in the season.
There was no set plan for this excursion which made me a little nervous. I got spoiled going to the games with my husband and friends. We always have a plan. This was a different group and I did not know what to expect. We parked by Wongs and I was just about ready to spring for the stadium parking when I found out there was a shuttle. On a normal, dry day maybe the walk wouldn't have been so bad but it was miserable out. I thought tickets were in hand but found out we'd be standing outside while my boss stood in line to claim his vouchers for the Upper Terrace Reserved Obstructed View Seats. The story was unfolding on the way to the game. He got these vouchers at BP for filling up his tank. I never knew until yesterday that there were obstructed view seats at Miller Park. I know now because I sat in one. The railing on the steps blocked my view of home plate. No problem as the 3 seats next to me were empty so I simply moved over and was lucky enough that no one showed up claiming the seat.
The game was good. A little nerve racking in the 1st inning but things settled down and the boys proceeded to win. Throughout the entire game I had some blast of cold air blowing down on me. I was freezing and had my jacket on during the entire game. I had to look around to see if I was the only one being hit by it and noticed the guy in front of me. His comb over was blowing around a little.
The problem with taking a shuttle is that after the game you need to find it and hope to get a seat. Seeing as you don't need a ticket for the return, just about anyone can get on. Of course the sky managed to open up right at the end of the game so we were soaked. We did manage to spot the Wongs van and got on. Had a pretty crabby driver until a conversation started about the Stadium charging for the shuttles. Mr. Shuttle Driver was upset because this year they put traffic directors in the shuttle area which he said were making a mess of things. He lightened up after a bit and had some stories.
I felt a little bit of a cold coming on yesterday and I guess sitting in damp clothes with cold air blowing on me didn't help the situation any. Today I am full blown snot nose, sore throat and ear ache. I'm returning my vitamins to the store as they have done nothing for me this season at all. I'm done with shots and antibiotics. I've wiped down things in my house with Lysol so many times this season that I should have stock in the product. Nothing is helping. Not even Stb's cure.

Here We Go Brewers...

Here I go. Off to the game today. After some arrangements were made to cover my duties it was confirmed that I would be going. It has been named a field trip.
It's odd when you attend a game outside of your normal circle of friends. I'm used to getting to the parking lot, kicking back for a few and taking in the sites around me. I asked if we were bringing anything along and was told by my boss that he doubted we'd be tailgating due to the weather. Hey, I've stood out there in worse weather. That's what jackets and gloves are for. So as of right now I'm not sure what to expect. I did somewhat prepare and purchased a bag of Brewers peanuts to munch on during the game. I'm trying to be a positive thinker and make it a fun time. I must remember to make note of where the vehicle is parked so I do not lose my ride back to work for my car. I'm horrible at being the one to remember where we parked.

So as if my body wasn't completely over my last illness I seem to have been blessed with a sore throat and cold. Started the extra dose of vitamins and cold tablets last night. I'm sure I got this one from my daughter as she was sick all weekend. No matter how much I tried to stay away from her and wiped everything down, it still got through to me. I'm wondering now if it was even worth it to get the flu shots I got. I know what I have this time isn't the flu, but this is ridiculous how many times I have been sick in the past 6 months. I'll need to make sure the cold tablets are taken before the game so I don't need to bring 7 boxes of Kleenex with me.

Go Brewers!

Keeping My Fingers Crossed

Last week I was notified by my Manager that I would be going along with him and 3 other QC employees to a Brewer game tomorrow. He informed my boss that he needed to find someone to take my place. I had this little bit of guilt going on(for a second or so) because I figured they'd find an operator to take my place. These are people I used to work right next to and here I was going off to a game while they did my job. That didn't last to long because I knew none of them would hesitate if the tables were turned.
So here it is the day before we're to go and my boss has yet to work on finding someone. I had a few suggestions but he claims he's on it. Yesterday when I had asked he cursed and said he'd forgotten about it. I have this feeling that at 10:00 tomorrow when we're supposed to leave that I'll be watching them pull away without me. Picture me running after their vehicle. I had some doubts about going with the three men but really all that matters to me is I'm going to the game. It will be interesting to see how this all works out.
On another note today is officially known as "The day after Opening Day". I've heard 3 different radio stations use the phrase so far today.

Stupid Is As Stupid Does

On a daily basis I encounter a few bicyclists on my way to work. They are easy to spot. Most of them wear reflective clothing or have flashers on their bikes. They tend to stay over in the parking lane and some ride on the sidewalks. It's still dark when I'm driving in. This morning was the worst exception of a cyclist I have ever seen. This guy is riding in the right lane and wearing pretty much all black except for the white on his shoes. No helmet, no reflectors and just tooling along like he owns the road. He's heading west on Watertown Plank Road and crosses over Highway 100 through the light. Am I wrong or are cyclists supposed to obey traffic signals? He almost gets clipped at that point. I happen to turn onto Watertown Plank and end up right behind him. I think I may have been the only driver that saw him. Guy on the left whipped by as I slowed down and attempted to change lanes to pass cycle man. Car in back of me slows down and as I change lanes just about clips the guy. I moved around him and back into the right lane and see another car just about clip him. Drivers were changing lanes at the last minute to avoid hitting him. It's one thing to drive in the parking lane and have drivers move over a little, but don't bike in the right lane if there is a parking lane. I wonder if he ever made it to his destination.
I saw buds this morning. On the trees. This is the beginning of my favorite season. Baseball and when everything starts to turn green. Not that green is my favorite color but it is a true sign that the long dreary winter may soon be over. It is a sign of outdoor activities beginning to take hold and a sure sign that camping is right around the corner. I also saw a fly, which I can do without. I know we have a few weeks to go yet but I sure am ready for the warmer weather and all that it brings with it.

7

Still a bit queasy and it's now day 7. I'm not quite sure if I've kicked the diet coke habit because I am craving one. Sprite has become my new friend. Sprite and Tums.
The good thing is my food is staying put but with the queasy feeling I have a feeling it's putting up a fight. The thought of certain foods can cause some nausea yet. My husbands offer to fry up some eggs Sunday morning sent me running and I tried to throw out the Swedish meatballs yesterday but he had a fit. They better be gone today by the time I get home or they're hitting the garbage.

Day 5 & Things I've Learned

As I enter day 5 of having this wonderful virus I starting to wonder when this little visitor of mine will decide to leave me. I've spent a lot of time laying either in bed or on the couch. This is not a norm for me therefore I felt my mind wandering to a zillion other things. Maybe I was trying the mind over matter method of healing. At this point I think the matter is winning. I have not been out of the house since Wednesday night and quite frankly I don't think I'm ready to head out anywhere as of yet.
This laying around has given me a lot of time to discover things and to think a lot.
Things I've discovered :

• I do not like the tile on my bathroom floor.
• My shower curtain does not match my bathroom
• The screw that is missing on the cabinet door handle has been missing for nearly 5 years. I know I asked my husband to fix it.
• My daughters cat loves hiding in the bathtub.
• Sprite has become my savior. 7 up just didn't work as well.
• A saltine cracker as small and dry as it may be can taste mighty good after 3 days of not eating.
• A bagel is not made to be eaten dry.
• When you have a stomach flu the thought of the last thing you ate will make you want to hurl all over again.
• The smell of someone heating up that certain food will send you running.
• The Urgent Care Nurses at the local hospital are all males.
• An IV can make you feel a little better.
• I think I'm going to need a refill on the anti-nausea medicine
• A baked potato with no butter is tolerable. I must really be sick.
• A sick person should not cook dinner for the rest of the family. What's wrong with that picture.
• My husband has done a fairly good job of making sure I'm ok, but I don't think he could ever be a full time caregiver.
• If there are 6 commercials on tv-at least 4 of them will be about food.
• Of the 4 food commercials shown only 1 may be of a remotely healthy food.
• Hunger will subside after 2 days. I'm wondering how long I can rely upon my stored up fat because I now have no urge to eat. (you don't have to answer this one, I already know it would be a long time)
• My stomach flu hit full cramping force on my son's birthday. If it was labor pains they'd be over by now and I'd have something wonderful to show for it.
• I'm almost out of bathroom cleaner.
• The Golden Girls can be funny when you are bored.
• Lifetime movies are all basically the same.
• I wonder how much of the Judy Garland movie was true.
• There sure are some goofy cartoons on now days.
• My left over cat loves me.
• I'm glad I had those coupons for the cushy toilet paper.

Thanks for Sharing?

Some things are just not meant to share. Take for example the stomach flu. Last week one of the twins had a two day bout with the stomach flu. I tried to keep my distance but living in the same house as a sick one can be a little tricky. I had the Lysol out and really tried to stay away. Then Dylan had it last week but was over Saturday & Sunday. On Sunday my stomach was feeling a bit queasy but I was still doing okay. Monday same thing. I took a couple of Tums through out the day and was careful to stay away from any dairy products.
It hit about mid-day Tuesday. Just a very sick feeling and a nice headache to accompany it. I was a good wife and went home and made dinner. Swedish meatballs and egg noodles. I took a few bites and then called it quits. Headed to bed early just to be interrupted by the effects of the flu. Never got much sleep and called in to work. It just wasn't going to happen. The work thing was out of the question.
I spent the next 24 hours very close to the toilet. Couldn't seem to find anything that would stop the pain in my stomach. Tums and 7 up were not doing it. I thought I was done with the bulk of it by yesterday afternoon and ate a cracker. Not so lucky there.
Around 9 last night the pain was just too bad and I opted to make a trip to Urgent Care. I had called my doctor and she suggested doing this rather than waiting until the next day to come in.
Several anti-nausea shots later and an IV for fluids I was on my way home. Scripts were written for more medicine. This is a type of stomach virus that has been going around.
Here we are a day later now. The pills are helping the pain but I'm still a little gurgly. The dry toast I ate an hour ago seems to be raising a ruckus. Right now I'm so hungry I could spit and I just go a whiff of the leftover meatballs my husband is heating up. Instant nausea feeling. Two days of work down the chute. This better clear up soon. I don't think Stb's cure will work for this. Haven't had a diet coke since Tuesday.

Not Working For Free

Time flies when you're having fun? It's been a year since I took the QC job and yes, I'll admit the time has gone by fast. The position keeps me busy which can make for a fast paced day. There are the days that drag by but something always comes up to keep things rolling along. I don't miss the days as an operator and can only hope that I will never need to take a position as one again.
So, as I said one year in this position. At my final interview when we went over all the terms and conditions of the position I was told that I was moving into a salaried position. The terms were I would be making the same amount of money but paid twice a month. I would no longer have a paid lunch and would need to work 1/2 hour extra a day. I was also told that if I worked in excess of 40 hours a week I would be compensated by either comp time off or over-time pay. I had accumulated 10 hours of comp time over the past few weeks and took some hours last week. I turned in my slip Thursday. Yesterday my boss tells me that word of the comp time has hit his boss and he needed to tell me that I was in a salaried position therefore do not receive comp time. I jogged his memory back to the final interview which he sat in on and he did seem to recall the conversation. Conversations went back and forth yesterday, but only between him & I and him and his boss (who is the one who set the conditions in the first place). I asked what I'm supposed to do when I'm in excess of 40 hours. I was told that as a salaried person I am expected to sometimes work in excess. Really?? because my salary is based upon a 40 hour week. So does that mean if I work 45 hours one week that the following week I can work 35? No answer.
The next subject that came up was lunch. I seem to be the only salaried person working 1/2 hour more per day for a lunch. I watch other salaried people walk in the door at 7 and are leaving at 3. I see them in the lunch room. Today we have a meeting. One I'm sure I'm not going to enjoy. I asked for the meeting so I know what I'm supposed to be doing. If my salary is based upon a 45 hour week am I wrong to ask to be paid for 45 hours. All they did when the change was made was take my prior years salary and spread it out over 24 pay periods.
I'm finding this all so very unorganized and having the feeling that this did not come about by him getting my comp time slip. I'm pretty certain that one of the cry babies I work with whose salary is based upon 45 hours a week and sits in a bar with this guy has whined.
I'm going into this meeting with a throbbing jaw from a root canal yesterday. I have the "bring it on attitude" going on right now.

The Cracker Girl

On my way home from work yesterday I decided to stop and return some items of clothing that I had purchased at a local Strip Mall Store. I was given an in-store credit for the items. I was able to find a few things but was about $20.00 short of the credit. I had the nagging feeling to spend it but couldn't find any further clothing items I wanted, and I didn't want to carry the credit around with me for another two months. I ventured over to the intimate apparel area and began to browse. It was then that I noticed three AA women enter the store. Hard not to notice as they were a little loud. "Oh, look at those yellow shoes. I need to get those". Not my style, but to each his own.
I was sifting through a pile of underwear which were on sale for 5 for 19.00. This was exactly what I needed to fill the credit. Minding my own business I proceeded to dig around for my size and the colors weren't exactly of my choice but they'd do. I must have been giving off the "help me" vibe because all of a sudden one woman walks over to me and loudly announces "Girl, why you gonna buy those bland ol' panties? Y'all need to look over here at these colorful ones. That's what's wrong with you crackers, y''all don't spice it up enough for your men". I immediately started to laugh. "Cracker???" Seriously??
She went as far as to pick some out for me. Nice purple lacy, cut to high heaven ones. This is not what I was looking for at this store. Then with them hanging from her hand goes over to find a matching bra. She hold up this bra and then looks at my chest and says "Maybe you need to go to a petite section for your bra. I don't think they carry your size here". I nicely told her that those panties were not what I was looking for today. She huffs and tells me she's just trying to help me out , gives me a little pat on the arm and goes back to join her friends.
This ordeal had caught the attention of the cashier who came over very shyly and asked if I was okay. I was still laughing at the "cracker" label I had been given. Should I have been offended? Not to long ago I watched a comedian who had a whole little blurb on a white person being labeled a cracker is equal to an AA being labeled the N word. Something I've never refered to anyone by. I found my new label quite funny.

The Circle

I credit my parents with putting a lot of time and effort into raising their children to work hard, have good morals, stand up for themselves and see the good in people. Of course in my teen years I thought they were a bunch of fuddy duds but eventually what they taught me kicked in.
In fact I can't think of much I would change about the way I was raised. My mom tended to yell a lot but with working full time and raising a bunch of kids I can see why. Dad was the logical "let's talk about this" guy and still is. I've seen him snap a few times but now understand why.
I had friends who's father's were at the local tap every night after work and Mom was expected to hold down the fort and make sure the dinner was warm when he decided to make an appearance. I chuckle when I think of my Mother keeping Dad's dinner warm while he was out tipping a few with his buds. Oh Lord, she would have put us all in the car and went to fetch him right out of there. My Mom had balls.
One of my parents favorite quotes was "YGY" (you'll get yours). Whenever we did something wrong they would curse us. Little did I know that these curses would carry over into my life of raising kids. As my kids grew up I found myself using some of their tatics. I would often try to remember my feelings toward my punishments and what was the most effective. Grounding wasn't always the best thing, plus they'd let me off early because I think I drove them nuts. Writing..that was always the most dreaded. I think I hit the nail on the head when that became my favorite punishment to give out. My son would just cringe. To this day we still hear about the camping trip where he was forced to sit and write 500 sentences. Was it effective? I think so because I don't remember him having to do it after that. Both my kids said we were the rottenest parents in the world for the writing punishment and vowed they would never, ever pass this punishment on to their kids. That is until...the other day when I heard my son tell Dylan that if he kept it up he would be sitting down and writing. My head snapped around so fast and I was able to catch the look on my son's face that said "Don't say anything Mom". But see this didn't just happen once in the past week, it also happened with the twins. I came upon them sitting at my kitchen table writing. It was then that I also noticed the Ipods and phones had been taken away. She must be the rottenest mother in the world.

Peaceful

I left work a little after 3 yesterday. It was snowing but the roads were just wet and traffic was moving along normally. This is until I hit Layton Avenue and headed east. It was like I turned the corner into a whole new world. Traffic was slowed and the streets were a little bit slick. I had plans to make a few stops but with the way things were going I took the safe route and headed home. I saw two little fender benders on my way home, one of which could have easily been prevented by waiting until traffic was clear before pulling out. Some things just take a little bit of common sense.
When arriving home it appeared as if we had quite a bit more snow than the western part of the county. I switched on the TV to catch the latest weather report. The stuff was really coming down and I one point I could barely make out the house across the street. The little kid inside me got a little excited. Could it be the big one? Could we be snowed in? When is the last time Milwaukee had a full blown blizzard? Could it last long enough to have my work called off? And then it was done. According to storm tracker tracker it's heading out east. They shall once again have snow days and everything shall just shut down. I know deep down inside all of you are hoping for a full blown snow day. I'm good with it as long as it doesn't impact any Brewer games.
Because of production needs this week I've been coming in early to catch up on the prior days testing. I have been able to do what would normally take me 3-4 hours in half the time. It is a wonder how much you can accomplish without interuption. My boss had mentioned staying later rather then getting up so early. Not a chance. There are certain people that once they notice I'm here late will suddenly have a need to ask me questions or just chat. Early mornings at work are peaceful and productive.

Rudeness

I'm going to look back at my postings and find how many times I've written about rudeness. I am sure that no matter how many times I write about it, not much will change. I like friendly people. You can be having the crummiest day and run into one person who will smile or do something nice and they can change your outlook on the day. There's the person you walk past in a hallway at work and give you the "Hey, how's it going". Not much, but they took the time to acknowledge you. The person who will hold the door open for you rather than let it slam, the person who will take your grocery cart back because they are going that way and the fellow driver who will let you out of a business lot.

I don't think it takes much to be that kind of person. I've never know an act of kindness to take away from your time. How much time does it take to smile? Where are you going in such a hurry that you can't let that one person out of a business lot? And how hard is it to take a cart back for someone when you are heading that way?

What prompts this is a trip to the grocery store yesterday. I thought I was safe as it was a Tuesday. Wednesday are usually rude days. I got behind some High & Mighty lady that felt she was to good to bag her own groceries. You must then get on a full service line. Hats off to the cashier for not losing it as Ms. H&M was giving orders on how she wanted they bagged.

I try to be friendly toward others. I'll take a cart back, I'll hold a door and I will let other drivers out. Your act of kindness is acknowledged by the friendly nod, wave or smile. Better than a glare, snide remark or the infamous salute.

Slush Anyone?

So the little guy that is my profile picture is no longer with us. The picture truly represents his attitude. It was a rough decision but in my heart I know we did the right thing. Little guy gave us a lot of laughs and joy.

Woke up this morning to some pretty heavy snow. Heavy meaning I could have used a firmer snow brush to get it all off my car. The roads were quite slushy when I left for work and had to slow it down a little. I scored and got the prime parking spot at work as it was the only one plowed out. Nice plow guy saw me pull in and plowed it out for me. One of the perks of getting here early. Once again we're not getting as much as the hype predicted yesterday. It is some good packing snow though so be careful of the mysterious snowballs today. I think the fine packing snow brings out the little kid in all of us.

Just listening to the story on the radio about how some group wants to ban the Betty White mud commercial claiming it shows violence. Really?? Someone needs to get a handle on these crying groups. Next thing you know the backwards horse commercial will be banned.

Good Times

My ride in today was a bit slow. I wondered if the cities of Milwaukee & Greenfield had woken up their plow drivers yet. Our street not being plowed was understandable but when I got to the main roads I began to wonder what was up. I found the same mess on the freeway. Along Highway 100 I saw dozens of private plows doing parking lots and such but still no sign of a city plow. The scene was to follow the ruts from the cars before you. A bit like in the pioneer days..follow the wagon trail ruts. I come in a hour or so before the beginning of rush hour. I can tell you there is a lot of work to do before then. My "spot" at work was plowed out and the two plow guys were working really hard to clear the entire lot. With the additional 8 inches to come during the day today it should be a nice ride home. Today I can't blame the fellow drivers for slowing down, it was pretty slick out there.

Had a great Superbowl Sunday with great friends. Once again way to much good food! Those of us on diets are now working extra hard to make up for the day of indulging. K & J did a great job hosting. I wasn't keeping an eye on my husband and didn't notice until the end of the game that he had become a bit snicked. It was right after one of our friends came upstairs and announced "I don't want you guys to be shocked or anything but my wife is drunk". We weren't' shocked! Her voice raises up a pitch for every drink she has. Dead give a way every time. He was sitting with her so I figured he must be getting there also. I went downstairs to find him complaining that someone had made him a drink and it was way to strong. Sitting next to him was the bottle of coke to add if needed. Never saw him add any coke. Once everyone else had left I figured it was time to go. Well he got his gab on, which he does when he's had a few. There was no shutting him up. Thanks to Ben for lending his ear. After the fourth "Are you ready to go" he finally gave in.
It's always nice to have a person who is unable to drive give you instructions on the way home. After 5 minutes I made the comment that it's a wonder I can get to work every day without him sitting next to me. That didn't shut him up either. Once home he was able to carry in our loot without dumping it, and then announce that the burritos were his midnight snack. Within 5 minutes I found him on the bed and out. I'm not sure he moved at all the entire night.
I had an early appointment and when I had come back in the room prior to leaving I noticed a cartoon channel was on. He wasn't awake but mumbling something. Dora was on TV and he was either singing along with the song or just calling her name. Of course he's denying that now.
I got home around noon and he was lounging and didn't seem to be moving to fast. He was fine though (according to him). He doesn't do this to often so I kept the ribbing at bay. Needless to say not a lot got done yesterday and he had big plans for his day off.

Move It To Lose It

While I was doing my routine walking on the Wii Fit last night my mind began to wander. Of course I was able to continue walking at the set pace, daydream and manage not to fall off the board. I started to think about how many times in my life I had attempted to lose weight. How many exercise routines I started and followed, how many diets (healthy and fad) I had been on and the results I've had.
Thinking back I tried to remember the first weight loss kick I did. Funny how weight loss commercials have been around forever. I remember my mom taking Ayds. The little chocolate tasting candy that was supposed to suppress your appetite. She had a box hidden in her night stand. I think I was around 12 and was called fat by one of those gangely boys at school. As luck would have it he was the one boy I had a crush on so I was devastated. I recall asking my mom for help and her telling me I wasn't fat, a typical mom answer. So I took matters into my own hands and "borrowed" a few of her candies. I also went on a diet of jello and hot dogs. My summer vacation was spent eating as little as possible and riding on this rickety old exercise bike my dad picked up from a rummage sale. Success had me at about a 40 lb. weight loss. My mom was a little ticked that I needed all new school clothes. I somehow managed to keep this under control for several years. I'd gain a few pounds and work it off.
Then came the marriage and the first baby. Whoa momma! Whoever told me it was okay to eat for two needs a swift kick. By my eighth month I had the gain under control. I was also so naive that I thought the rest would melt away when the baby was born. Another routine of losing weight. This time it was some stupid fad drink twice a day. Once again worked, but once I started eating again I had to watch it. Stuff creeps back on you.
Over the years I tried other drinks which are off my list now. Of course they work, you're not eating anything. Once you go back to eating it's all over. Weight Watchers was the single most successful thing I've ever done. Years back I met my goal and felt I didn't need to go to their meetings any longer. Thought I learned enough to continue on my own. This is where the neglectful part comes in. I knew exactly when I was eating more than I should. I knew exactly when I needed to exercise more. So now I will once again take my punishment and will once again tell myself that I need to keep this in control.

Hermits

We were pretty busy leading up to and through out the Holidays. It seemed like there wasn't enough time in a weekend as it was taken up in some type of social event. Then there was the few weekends after that were also quite busy. The past couple weeks have been quiet. Beside two dinners with friends we have gone into a social slump. If it wasn't for basketball on Saturday mornings we may not have even left the house. It is a sad day when grocery shopping gives you a little rush. Not at all for the shopping part, just the fact that I left the house.

Barney has been using the time somewhat wisely. He has begun to tackle his workshop. I ventured downstairs Saturday evening to see what he was up to. Laid out on a table were assorted tools. I could hear him moving things around and noticed a few bags of garbage stacked up. No need to stop a man in motion so I made a hasty retreat back upstairs.

This lull in social activities has given me more than enough time to begin a work-out routine. Maybe to much time. I've gone into the stage of working out for at least an hour a day, but then find myself walking on the balance board for another 1/2 hour or so while watching tv. I think it may be more out of boredom. Over the weekend I purchased the 3 inch height extension for the balance board. This investment really makes a difference. The old calves haven't seen this much action in a while and they were screaming at me a few hours after that workout. It's a good thing!

This lull in social activities have also forced me to cook dinner more often. That and the fact that with 3 more people in the house (on various days) there are no left-overs. I've been forced to become more creative in dinner planning. Healthy yet stretchable. The cobwebs have come off the slowcooker and the meals are being planned out.

As much as this lull can be a good thing I'm getting itchy for some social activities. Good thing I have something to look forward to this weekend.

Day 3

Squats! Gotta love them. A squat has got to be the one exercise that will make you mad that you ever stopped doing them in the first place. They are a reminder that you will be punished if you ignore them. My first indication of pain was Monday morning when I went to sit down for the morning business. I could have probably used a Life Alert or done a commercial "Help I've sat down and can't get up". It's a good thing that we have a counter right next to the toilet otherwise I may have been stuck there for some time.
As the day went on the pain lessened. I actually did a few half squats at work to try and loosen things up a bit. Monday night was right back at it and though the pain was less, it was still there. Tuesday morning was an easier morning and I went right back at it Tuesday night. Now there is just a slight presence of pain. It's a good pain. It means I moved some muscles that haven't been used so intensely in a while. I think it's now time to increase the reps.

All in all I have to say I am pleased with the EA Active so far. I may be looking into the expansion pack soon.

Way To Go

In true form Brett came out and lost the game for the Vikings. At my house there were some doubts whether he'd come back in the game after being helped off the field. I knew he'd come back out. I felt a little bad for him at that point because he was getting beat up and you could see the pain in his face. The ever present smile was gone. I was pulling for the Saints and received some lectures from in-laws about it but it was never for resentment toward Favre, it was all for dislike of the Vikings. It was a good game and I'm sure within the next week or so when Brett heals he will make his announcement for next years plan, and will change his mind several times. The question is...who will he play for?
I felt a little like Brett this morning. Over the weekend I started a new workout routine and with the amount of squats I did I knew I'd be feeling it. It's a good pain (I keep telling myself that). Getting out of bed this morning was a little painful but it's easing up the more I walk around. I may have hit it a little strong but it felt good while I was working out. I broke down and purchased the EA Fitness program for the Wii. The personal trainer is no where near as annoying as the Fitness Coach program. The EA allows you to set up your own program and mix up sports, cardio and fitness. I tend to enjoy boxing a lot. A great stress reliever. The only problem I had was getting the controller into the leg band the right way and getting the leg band positioned correctly. That would be part of the reason I had to do so many squats because until I got it positioned right it wasn't counting the squats. There were a few words to my trainer until I got things set up and reading right.
I probably should not have sold off our second Wii because all of a sudden everyone wants to play something. I can't discourage it as they're on the Wii fit or programs where they're moving around. I am using my seniority and getting my hour a day in. Once I'm done they can play away. In the future we may be purchasing one for the basement. I'm not about having an audience while I work out. I'm nice enough now to do my walking while my husband enjoys his nightly viewing of Wheel of Fortune. I walk, we watch the Wheel. Good bonding time. Then I kick him out of the living room.

It's Performance Review Time

Our company has implemented a new system for performance reviews. We now have to complete our assessment of our performance for the past year and set goals toward the following year. New to us is assessing our direct supervisor. This system was in place when I started here and then dropped off for a few years. Granted there are only 2 questions. "What do I do to support your job" and "What can I do to assist you in obtaining your goals". Seeing that QC in our department consists of my boss and myself my only answer is "help me out as needed". There are some days that I do have to call on him for help but they are few and far between. The most he does is cover for me over lunch on occasion and cover for me when I have a day off.
So in 10 minutes I am off to a meeting to discuss my performance over the past year and come to terms on obtainable goals for the next year. We receive these reviews now, with no indication of a pay increase until maybe May. Should be fun. The meeting is scheduled for one hour. I give it 15-20 minutes at the most.

Lazy Girls

Yesterday was a lazy day at our house. That is for everyone except for my grandson and I. We were all up pretty late Saturday night but him and I were still up by mid morning. He's like his Grandma..hates to waste a day.
By the time the rest of the family decided to greet the day we had already played a few games, made some breakfast and had a few discussions. By noon when the game started my sore throat hit. A little scratchy at first but progressively worse through out the day. I curled up on the couch with my warm blanket and settled down to watch the Cowboys kick some butt. That didn't happen. I'm not quite sure what happened. I thought they could take the Vikings. Romo looked scared every time he had the ball. I'll admit I dozed off a few times but I blame that on the medicine I took, not the nightmare of the game.
After dinner I decided it was time to work out. The twins were all pumped to work along with me. I didn't know it was possible to do Yoga while laying on the couch. I explained the lack of benefit by not doing the exercise correctly and finally got them on the floor, but then a incoming text message prevented one of them from going on. So tonight we shall have no interruption. We are getting dropped off 2 miles from home and walking. No phone, no couch, no snacks, just us and the open road.

Hoarders

Last week I was given the task of cleaning up the 2 labs I work in. This is all part of a new program which hit the lines last year. I was a part if the initial start up of this program and remain on the "team" so I had a good idea of what had to be done in the labs.
Now I will admit that I am a pen hoarder. I need to have one at each area I work in and have taken to carrying one in my pocket so I am never without pen. I lose a lot of pens to people who come in the lab for a quick test and take off with pens. That and post-its. I have a stock of each in a drawer (hidden). My little pen hoarding is nothing compared to what I have thrown out or returned to the supply cabinet this week. Tablets of paper, two full boxes of print paper (why?) rulers (12) scissors (10 or more) enough tape to probably get to the moon and back and 4 hole punches to name a few.
At one time there were up to 4 people per shift in the lab so they must have felt the need to stock up. Did I mention the supply cabinet is very close to the lab? Part of this program is to only keep what you need on hand. To rid the excess or not used items. This is going to take a while. I just need to find a good place to hide my pens.
My husband has taken up his hobby since leaving his part time job. He has spent the past few nights going through all our family videos and transferring them to DVD and doing a lot of editing. I think he is now perfectly happy in his man cave. Got the big screen down there and his sound system working well and a stocked fridge. My only problem now is that I do not need to fall asleep every night to the sound of Elvis.

That's All Folks

Silence..mouths hanging open..utter disbelief..That's what happened at the end of the Packers/Cardinals game yesterday. Bottom line is..the Packers should have played better. They should have never been in the position they were in. My thought is they totally under estimated Arizona. Why did some people think they were going to breeze through this game? I knew it would be a tough one to win and the Packers would have to step it up.
It was a good game. They managed to come back and tie the game. There was the missed face mask penalty that everyone is talking about today. We saw it, but the ref's didn't and that's what matters in football. I give them a lot of credit for fighting back, but there were once again missed opportunities. Thanks to the Packers for an exciting season. On to next week when I will cheer on the Cowboys against the Vikings and see how the Cards do.

The Tailgator

I expected to see a lot more snow this morning. From the newscasts last night it appeared that we would be buried. Knowing I had to put in four hours at work today I slept in a little longer and then volunteered to take the girls to school so my daughter wouldn't have to dig out her car. I took a different route which put me on the city streets rather than the freeway. Traffic was moving along pretty good despite rush hour and the slightly snow covered roads.
I took the road toward Miller Park (gee I miss baseball) and turned up Greenfield Avenue. Made the drop off and proceeded. I noticed the guy in the station wagon in front of me seemed to be tailgating the truck in front of him. He was taking up two lanes by driving down the middle of the road looking for a chance to pass. I stayed back a little ways because he looked like an accident ready to happen.
This went on for a good mile or so when he must of thought he could make a break for it and pass on the right. I saw the car turning into the right lane just as he made his break. Needless to say, he is now probably waiting for the tow truck to get him out of the snow bank he ended up in. Stupid is as Stupid does. I was already past him and watched from my rear view mirror. If he was hoping to not be late for work in the first place then he's later now. BTW, he appeared to be uninjured as he did get out of his car. Didn't hit that hard, just skidded into it.

Earl & Merle

My husband quit his part time job right after Christmas. This was supposed to be a temporary job when he started almost 9 years ago. He used to like going there until they changed hands and things got a little unorganized. Another winter season of being on the cold docks was just not to his liking, so quitting was prompted by me also. I just didn't want to go through another season of him complaining. His time was up there and his "to do" list was growing.
What was I thinking?? It's been almost three weeks now and I'm ready for him to go back. I need to compile a list of things he may enjoy doing. The new TV kept him busy for a few days and moving the other one downstairs (a separate post in its own) has kept him occupied for a day or so.
Tuesday and Thursday nights were my time to catch up on chores and just have some peace and quiet. It's not to much fun having someone "watch" you work out. I offered to get another Wii fit so he could actually join in rather than sit on the couch and watch. He's good at telling me I'm doing something wrong. You think he'd actually answer the phone when I'm working out?
The other night he decided to do laundry. This consisted of throwing a load of towels in. That was the extent of it. The nice part of him being home is that he's now here to carry in groceries as I usually shop on Thursdays. He also has to have a break after dinner to watch "his show". I thought it was something really interesting at first and then discovered it was Wheel of Fortune, when I heard him yelling out answers and telling the contestants they were wasting their money. Maybe he'll try out for the show.
Tonight I was talking to Nanette, who was also a little fed up with her Ben. We were discussing the tearing up of their carpeting. She suggested that she may tear up the carpet and roll Ben and Barney in it. From the back ground Ben says "Who, Earl and Merle". Perfect nicknames for the two buddies.
Ben wants to know what I'm going to do when we're both retired. Well as much as I'm looking forward to the day I don't have to work again, I figure I'll have three years of time to myself for 8 hours a day. By the second week I'll probably be waiting at the door for him to get home.
I think the problem is that he has so much that he wants to do and just doesn't know where to start. He's enjoying the freedom of not having to rush home, eat and leave. I'm sure in a month or so we'll settle in to this change. I just need to hold on that long.

Responsibility

I am on a rant again about responsibility. The production hours at work changed today. A normal start time of 7am was moved to 5am so the operators could get out at 1 and rest up for their New Years celebrations. Very nice on the part of their boss who usually won't allow this to happen. In the past there have been communication issues when hours have changed. Forgetting to notify QC or maintenance of the change and operators forgetting to set timers for the change. I was notified of the change two days ago and wasn't to happy. I only had to work 3.5 hours in the first place and would have liked the extra two hours of sleep, but I complied with the operators wishes.
The four operators that were to work today were the one's that pushed for the time change. When I got in this morning they were all sitting in the lunch room as usual. For the past year or so I've been in earlier then them and have gone and turned on some melters to allow them to start up on time. I told them yesterday that I wouldn't be in until 5, therefore they would have to turn the glue on. No one did. They all forgot. As I went out to turn it on I noticed that the major melters were not running. They are on a clock which should have been changed yesterday to reflect the starting time change. No one did it. This glue takes 1 1/2 hours to heat up from cold. This caused a 1 1/2 hour delay in their start up time. The acting Production Supervisor took the fall for this. I say it wasn't his fault. He notified them that their wishes for an earlier time change had been granted. It is not up to him to make sure the line is ready to start up. These people work on a line every day and know their start times. They tried to lay it on the operator who isn't here today. I say no! One of them should have taken the initiative to make sure the timers were set. He could care less, he's off today. He probably could have looked into it but in the long run these operators should take the fall. This is why their boss doesn't allow different start times. This is why I am no longer a boss...I cannot stand when people cannot take the blame for their own mistakes. Sad thing is that I know come Monday when the Production Supervisor is going through the numbers from today he will announce the delay and stand there and take the fall. Not one of them will speak up and claim responsibility.

Happy New Year to all! May you all have a safe and fun evening.

9

That is what my car told me the temperature was at 5:45 this morning. "9". By the time I hit Highway 100 it was 11. The creaking of the frozen porch door told me it was cold. The crackling of my car door when I opened it seconded that motion. Funny how it didn't really feel that cold. Maybe I've become used to the cold. The perk was that it was cold without wind so the coldness just kind of sat there.
When I got to work I noticed the abundance of salt in the parking lot and on the walkways. I think our service overdid it a tad. It may be a good idea for them to spread it out a little more evenly. There are literally piles of salt in some areas that if you're not careful could trip you. I'm sure that at some point this winter someone will be writing up an incident report for unsure footing on the salt.
The birds got me this morning again. There is an evergreen tree close to the side of the building that one has to walk by to get to the door. A flock of birds has made this there evening resting place. Usually they fly out around 7 am. This morning it was still dark when I walked past and I saw the tree branches moving a bit. Out they came. I stopped while they began their flight into morning. I felt a little like Tippy for a minute or so. I'm not quite sure how all those birds fit into that tree but can picture them all huddled together to stay warm. Their path out was not all on the same course so I think some of them were a bit shocked to see me in their way. I'm just glad that I was alone at the moment and no one got to see the show. I see this as being a pay back for my laughter last week when one of the guys I work with was walking past at the time of their departure from the tree. I happened to be outside and got a good laugh at him dropping his lunch bag and taking off with some not so nice words coming from his mouth. A good idea to solve this problem might be taken from Steel Magnolias. Get a gun!

My Shadow

It's a tough transition from being very busy to being idle. There doesn't seem to be a happy medium. I went from going non -stop the few days before Christmas and right up to Christmas morning then it was like all of a sudden someone slammed on the brakes. It was over just like that.
We did have one social event the day after Christmas but it was very low key and was only a few hours. It involved snacks which I avoided and cake which had the yucky whipped cream frosting, so that didn't interest me either.
I am beginning to see the inside of the fridge again. The hash brown casserole is gone, finally. I couldn't eat it again. There's still some dips, polish sausage and cheese & sausage. I need to get rid of some cookies and pretzels and then things will be good. Yesterday I did make another batch of peanut butter balls as they went fast and I'll need them for New Years.
So in all total I had 5 days off. Two were pretty busy. The remaining three were a bit boring. Apparently my husband was also bored as he took to following me around. He assisted with setting up the new printer he bought me and it was then I discovered the poor guy got no toys for Christmas. He received clothes and gift cards. I don't think he knew what to do with himself. That and the fact that the kids didn't get any toys so he had nothing to put together.
This is quite unusual as he usually gets something to putz with. Last night I told him to dig out the beer making kit he got at least 5 years ago and hasn't touched. It was on his list.
I may make a "to do" list for all the idle time he will have.

Taking A Lesson

There was drama this weekend. Some of it started in the middle of my Friday afternoon chocolate dipping. The drama was on my husband's side of the family this time. Things are a mess over at the family homestead and we were called to action. Arnie went first to try to sort things out and make sure that his mother was okay. She's been doing so much better since her hip surgery and this was just a kick in the butt for her. Arnie has a way of keeping his cool and assessing a situation prior to flying off the handle. He's a talker, not a screamer. Because I was in the middle of something I waited until later to take the trip over. This was good as it gave me time to cool down and take a look at the problem at hand.
It appears that one of the kids was dipping into Mom's emergency cash. I feel bad because at first we questioned the amount of money she had. With the surgery and meds she had been on we wanted to make sure she did in fact have the cash. There was enough evidence supporting that she did. The guilty one also fessed up to the crime. My heart went out to my mother-in-law as she's always been there to help the kids. She's borrowed money, charged things and paid for certain things for them , all while being on a limited income herself. This was money she had put away for a trip she wanted to take and just little things for herself. I cannot fathom the hurt she was feeling. The trust that has been lost. This of course affected my sister-in-law also who has just recently had surgery and is in frail health herself. She's right in the middle. Trying to find a reason for this and yet feeling the hurt also.
The story filtered through the family and some first reactions were to pounce on the guilty one. Call the police! I didn't see her the first day but upon my return the second day she was home. We had a talk. I never once raised my voice. I told her that she had to make it right with her grandmother and not just by paying her back. She needed to earn her trust back. She told me she intended to pay her back before she discovered it was gone, but she just got caught up in things. There's no admission of drugs or any addictions. It's just car problems and the fact that she likes to hang out in the bar. She likes to buy drinks for people. This is where Arnie stepped in and talked to her about priorities in life. He had my full attention also. All done without raising his voice. Reminding me so much of when my kids would be in trouble and he'd wait awhile and then talk it out.
On the other hand, we have the brother and sister-in-law that went marching over there the next day and totally screamed their fool heads off at all the kids and the sister-in-law. Threatened to have them evicted and flat out told them they were all losers. We were again called to pick up the pieces. When I talked to the screamer she told me that they needed it. She feels no remorse in freaking out my mother in law, and has now written the family off. Good way to handle life...you don't like it..just write them all off. She was at one time one of my closest friends and I have seen this change in the way she deals with life coming for years now. I will give her the benefit of doubt as her husband has had some medical issues for the past three years. This, I would think, would make her a little sympathetic to the health issues of others. You just don't raise hell in a house with two people who's blood pressure is already being monitored.
I tried to not bawl my eyes out when I got there and found my mother in law in tears huddled up in her bed with no intentions of ever coming out. She had already begun to find a way to begin patching things up with the niece , and although still hurt was defending her. The "take control, and scream at everyone tactics" didn't quite work.
I am guilty of bashing my niece at first. My first reaction. I need to take a good lesson from my husband and take the step back before opening my mouth. You think after 25 years I'd have that downpat.

Stay Tuned

Our "Holiday" Party is being held today. This is an on site party complete with Wii bowling and some game show activities. I would venture to guess that the reason for the on-site location is the budget cuts. Rumor has it that another reason is low attendance at the past Holiday functions. They're usually held at Country Clubs or the ICC and are held on a weekend two weeks prior to Christmas. In 9 years, I've never made one. The company picnic on the other hand is usually more populated. Hence location and it's summer and it's not two weeks before a Holiday. I just choose not to go for my own reasons and don't fault anyone involved in the preparation and planning. I know what goes in to planning a party and trying to make everyone happy.

Yesterday we received a memo with details of the party. One thing that struck a lot of people was the raffle ticket rules. In the past when you attended a function you received a raffle ticket toward one of many prizes they were giving out. This year you may purchase raffle tickets, with proceeds going to a local charity. You must also be present to win with the drawing being at 4:15. There was a lot of barking about that. Quite a few people in our department planned on attending the party until 3 and then cutting out. I have decided to stay. There are some good things at stake here. A 32 inch Sony flat screen HD tv, a Bose home music center, Ipods, Brewer tickets and various gift certificates. For the cost of $3.00 per ticket or 2 for $5.00 you really can't go wrong. Spend $20.00 on tickets for a charity cause and have a chance to go home with one of these things. No, wine glasses are not a prize this time. Even the chance of paying $20.00 for a vacation day is appealing to me. So, I will attend until the end and hopefully go home with something. We'll see.

Charlie Brown Ain't Got Nothin

this is the tree that my husband worked so hard on Sunday afternoon. After positioning it where he wanted it I made him move it to right under the front window. I was afraid that all that hard work would go to waste if some hoodlum should decide to steal it. Here it stands in all it's glory. I may add a decoration or two as Christmas Day draws nearer.