People are Odd

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

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

The Annoying Fan

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

HorseShoe Ass

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

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

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

The Fat Lady Sang

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

Every Step I Take

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

Good Time

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Water girl

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

Greening Up

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

This is It

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

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

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

Me & The Chipmunks

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

Enough of The Bad

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

A Saturday

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

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

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

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

Ouch

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

Things I've Learned

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

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

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

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

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

It's Over (for now)

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

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

One More Night

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

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

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

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

Almost Half Way

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

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

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

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

5-1=4

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

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

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

Home

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

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

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

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

Almost Over

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