In This Case..Sharing Sucks

As a child I was always taught to share. "Share your toys" I really didn't have to share my toys to much as up until I was 14 I was the only girl. "Share food" ha, I never got a chance as my brother would grab it from me before I could get my own bite. "Share the last drop of milk" didn't matter, I never really liked milk. "Share the tv" Once again I was ousted on that as the boys usually got to watch whatever they wanted to while I was helping mom with dinner or something.

Sharing can be somewhat over-rated. Take for instance the sick management people at work. Some of them rarely come out to the floor, however last week it was like they all had to come out and show us just how miserable they were. Come out and hack all over us and blow you nose's in front of us and then touch everything. They would leave and I would spray down things with alcohol. I would wear gloves to empty the garbage so as not to touch their snot rags.

On Sunday I started feeling a little bit of a scratchy throat. Took the NyQuil and headed off to bed a little early. Yesterday I felt good but had developed a cough. Not a bad one, enough that I could slip a cough drop in my mouth and I was fine. All hell broke loose today. I have developed the cold I hate the worst. The hacking, my chest is going to explode, my head is pounding and I have to constantly have a cough drop in my mouth so I don't bust into this hacking, dry cough. I blame them all. For the past week I took my vitamins, drank plenty of water, got extra vitamin C and washed my hands after touching anything these sick people touched.

One boss was out on the line today and was nice enough to tell me I looked like crap and wondered what day I'd be calling in sick this week. I told him I was going to drag myself in on my elbows and cough all over the office just to give this back to them. He said he thought I should stay home one day rather then spread it any further. "Okay, I'll do that and you pay me and don't ding me for it. I'll put an end to what you guys started."

What irks me the most is that I can usually go all winter with one major cold. One that I have to actually purchase medication for. This is number 3 this season. I know some of it may have to be due to the crazy weather but I dress for that. I WILL NOT LET THIS TAKE OVER!!!!!

Slamming the Thong

I know I'm going to get crap for this but I'm sure there are some ground rules for wearing a thong. First of all aren't undergarments sort of a private thing? I know the boys wear the crotch riding pants with the boxers showing as it's the style. Should a girl/woman wear crotch riding pants with a thong that is exposed when she reaches up, squats or bends over? Should you not wear a shirt that's either tucked in or long enough to cover this?

I know that there are certain bodies that can wear a thong in this fashion and no one cares as they have the right body for the look. Does everyone feel that because it may be the fashion, whether they be 85 lbs or 200 lbs that it'll look good? Come on girls. Here is my case....there is a girl at work that subjects us to her thong on a daily basis. It's to the point that the men at work are also commenting on her need to cover herself. We work in a manufacturing plant. Wear the proper clothing for the job. Hip Hugging flight pants with the crotch half way down to your knees is not the proper attire for someone who will have the need to bend over, kneel down or squat several times a day. We know you are uncomfortable in this attire as you are constantly tugging at your pants. Time to invest in new clothing or find clothes that fit you.

We are required to have our shirts tucked in unless we are wearing a banded at the waist sweatshirt. Not in her case. The tee shirt can be flapping in the wind. If we call her out on it she'll remark that her pants are to tight to tuck her shirt in. If the correct size is worn you will not have the plumers crack show. A belt would help also. Who gives a rat's ass what you look like in the industry you are employed in. You want to expose the thong and crack then get a job that pays you to show that off. For all of you who may now think I am bitching without just cause..it is not a pretty site. I may invest in a hidden camera (maybe a spy pen camera) to get a shot of this display.

As this girl was bent over today with lime green thong in clear view one of the guys on our line yells out "It's showtime". She actually turned around and smiled as if she thought there was something about her butt crack to admire. Because we work in such a "protected" work place people are careful about what they say. I almost busted a gut when another guy walked past her and made the comment that "Maybe it's time for bigger pants".

This is just not right.

Happy Valentines Day!!

It's Sappy Movie Time

This just in....Milwaukee under yet another deep freeze. This comes as no shock to any of us (or it shouldn't) as we've had this pattern for the past month or so. Warm, snow, deep freeze. It's getting old. There is light at the end of the tunnel however as sooner or later (around mid-June) this should stop.

My weekend has now officially sucked. Friday morning I bent slightly to straighten out the quilt on our bed and felt this twinge go down my legs. Crap! As soon as I straightened back up I knew exactly what I was in for. I blew out the old back. This has not happened in years. I had gone through this period back some years where there was a constant pain in my lower back. I went through physical therapy, shots and finally was told nothing else would help except surgery. That wasn't going to happen. Then when the hip problem was discovered and the surgery finally done on that, the back issues went away. Granted I still have to be careful about lifting and back related things but I haven't had any problems.

The issue now seems to be that whenever I sit down for any lenght of time, getting up is a chore. I feel like I evolving from ape to man as I slowly straighten out. I did start doing some of the old stretching exercises from the past which are helping a little. Something as simple as a 10 minute car ride to Kohls yesterday turned into a little chore. Good thing I have a large truck and I can pop out and be somewhat hidded by the truck as I stand and try to adjust myself to a standing position. Sleeping has not been an issue and getting up from laying down has not been an issue. I just can't sit, which would be find except for the fact that I need to do that for several things.

Seeing that I can't really take any thing stronger than Aleve this may take a few days to cure. Funny how when an issue like this arises there are a lot of people I know who will offer out their prescription drugs. Some of my friends are walking medicine cabinets. Sure I have some stuff left over from my hip (I must remember to dispose of them) but the thing about hurting your back is that the pain meds will not make it go away. I need a stretching rack. Anyone have one of those.

The tv Gods must have predicted the deep freeze as every sappy movie is on this weekend. Sad thing is I've watched several of them. Half-hearted as I whipped through our taxes in a record 42 minutes. I did go back over them to assure they were done correctly.

Speaking of having problems getting up after being seated, I am done here. If this condition continues for very long I will have to ask my husband to rig up a stand so I can be more comfortable when on the computer. That will go over real well.

White Death

The radio station I listen to on the way to work every day labeled today "White Death". I left my house about 15 minutes earlier than I usually do and wondered what the big fuss was about. The further north I got the worse it got. I opted for Hgh 100 vs. the freeway and I think I made a good choice. I figured I'd get to work and find that a lot of people would have called in. 1 lonely person called in.

As the day progressed we kept an eye outside. Around 11 am the radio announcer said "Don't be fooled by the lull in action out there. The worst is yet to come". Around 1pm I opened the door on our line only to be slapped in the face by snow. "Whiteout"! I yelled out, which led everyone else on the line to fall for the same face slapping. We thought for sure they'd tell us to go home. Not so lucky. A lot of the office workers left but we stayed until 3. I think I half scared our Process Engineer by noting the fact that he lived the closest and we may all go to his house and hunker down for a few hours. He has a keg and did mention that he had about 15 boxed pizza's in his fridge.

The normal 20 minute ride home took 47 minutes. The farther south I got the worse it was. By 84th & Layton it was difficult to see. I did notice that on 76th & Layton the orange neon signs of Hooters were lit up. Called my friend to let him know that the city was still alive!

Now is the sit and wait for some of this to die down and go assist the husband (who has been home since 10:30 am) with the clean up. I'm not sure we'll be attending Trivia tonight. Although I hate to miss it.

Hope everyone made it home safely.

Never Give A Cell Phone To 2 Drunks

Of course it all seems funny when you're making the phone calls...until the next day when people start to remind you that you did it. Or in J's case they email you and ask you to please interput the message you left them. Or in my case my daughter called me to laugh about it. Or in my parents case I will be eating bread crumbs when I go to visit them. Haven't talked to former boarder brother yet but I'm sure he'll call soon to give me shit. Thank God for the ability to view calls made.
Yes we did make some calls. We can blame it on the Vodka & Cranberry juice drinks we were consuming along with the Cherry bombs which were on special. I think we may have been drowning our sorrows due to all of our loss's at the Casino on Saturday. I did manage to "only" loose $50.00. I haven't been to Oneida in awhile and probably won't go back on purpose.
Beside the fact that I woke up at 5am with one heck of a queazy stomach I didn't feel all that bad. No headache. I just could not fall back to sleep. It was then that I reviewed the nights events. Laughing to yourself is not the same as sharing with your fellow partner in drunkeness.

No Such Thing As Untrainable???

Let me start out by saying how smart my friends are. Three week in a row winners at Trivia. I do need to say I wasn't over joyed at the booing session. Jealous snobs!

I'm old so I've worked a lot of years already. I somehow always manage to end up in the position of training others. People either train well, or they don't. It's all in their willingness to learn. I can usually tell if someone is just going through the motions and really doesn't care. You have the one's that are nervous of every move they make. Then you have the "I got it, I don't need you" people. Some people just take a little longer to catch on but once they grasp it, then they do well. It's funny when I tell them to give it time and all of a sudden it will click. What we do isn't that hard but it can also be a chain reaction. The group I work with now all work well together, all help each other out. Between another girl and I we've trained everyone on the line in the past year.

We have now come to training who we refer to as Dorey (finding Nemo). She's a nice girl but it took a long time to train her in the other 3 areas of the line. In order for Dorey to get a wage increase she must now learn to operate the machine. A few weeks ago I was given that task. Now this girl has been on this line for 9 months so you would think she knows what's going on. Quite wrong. She's knows her own little world of her own little work area. Don't get me wrong, she is all about doing everything right. To the point that she will ask the same questions every day.
I worked with her on operating the machine for one week. Nothing sunk in. I asked another guy to work with her just to see if he could get through...one day. On to the next guy...4 hours and he was ready to pull his shiny thick Korean hair out of his head. In his broken English he told me " THis is shit...she can't learn, I think she is , how you say...untrainable." I almost peed my pants laughing so hard. This poor guy was a nervous wreck. I asked him if he could try again tomorrow and after rolling his eyes he said "She will forget everything by tomorrow". This is most likely true. She sure does put a lot of effort into not being able to remember things from day to day. That's the problem here...a lot of effort with no results. This girl went as far as putting a post-it note saying "Stop" on the stop button so she would remember where it was. Untrainable or not?

White Death

I was leaving work today when I was told to watch out for "White Death" tonight. I chuckled to the guy who said it to me and then had to listen to him for 5 minutes ,while almost in tears ,complaining how they canceled a basketball game he was going to attend. I need to learn to keep going when funky comments are made. I dislike the weather we've been given this winter just as much as the next guy but I'll be damned if it's going to ruin my life. This guy was upset. When I asked if it was a Bucks or Marquette game he replied that it was his son's High School Basketball game. Not that it wasn't an important event. He was upset because they rescheduled it for this weekend and he has other plans. Guess it's not that important than right?

Another chapter in the saga of brother-in-law has opened. He's been having some stomach pains for the past week or so. They spent 7 hours in the emergency room on Saturday just to be sent home with some medicine to clear his bowels. At 5am Monday they were back in the ER and at 7pm last night they removed his appendix. The guy is in some pain as there is infection from this all inside the cavities including the shunt they put in to drain his brain fluid. Now it's a waiting game again. They started him out on some hefty antiobiotics hoping this will clear the infection but the shunt is plastic which will probably need to be replaced. They want to clear the infection before changing it. Hopefully...yes the good doctor said hopefuly, the infection will not travel to his brain. When he said that my sister-in-law and I both looked at each other and must have had the same thought. This guy has had every issue they hoped wouldn't happen. It'll happen. The simple operation to remove the appendix which would have him home in a day has now been stretched out to 7-10 days.

On a lighter note, today was the first day in about a month that we actually ran a full day of production. Despite the fact that we had no boxes to put our produced rolls into we ran anyway. I think I will begin to follow the strict morale of "It's not my problem". Let's see how much of a raise that'll get me.

Mourning is Over

I took some good advice on Monday and did not watch the news or look at the newspaper. No one who called me Monday discussed the Packers. By the time I went back to work on Tuesday it was out of everyone's system. There is one guy who is still brooding over it. I think he may have lost some big money.

I have been in a football pool at work for several years now. I've always won a fair amount of times. This year sucked. I won 1 pre-season game, 1 instant and one regular season game total. I'm hoping the Superbowl is my last chance to recoupe my weekly contribution. This guy at work has made an excel sheet and I told him he should graph it out as I'm sure that my name would be way beyond in the red. On a lighter note I did win $$ from another pool several times so in the long run I am ahead.

Like our friend STB we make trips to my husbands mother's house to shovel. Why, you ask? Because my sister-in-laws lazy kids that live downstairs need a swift kick in the ass. This has been a problem for several years now. When we lived in the unit below her my kids who were much younger than her's would shovel, no problem. The next family that moved in took care of it. These kids are just plain lazy and uncaring. Mom-in-law walks with a cane and they will clear a path wide enough for a rabbit to get through. What is bothersome is that she carts one to school every day and the 19 year old boy to work. The other morning rather than get a free ride to work by shoveling so she could get to the garage he took a cab. This boy had $20.00 to blow on a cab for a job that would have taken him 15 mintues tops. We've all been over there and proded their lazy butts outside. Last Christmas I even purchased shovels for them (a sore subject on their part). At least this year they stopped calling to find out when Arnie would be over with the snowblower. We used to keep one at their house but it was destroyed when they left the dogs chain on the sidewalk and ran it over with the snowblower. No cost to them to repair. I'm just trying to figure out how these kids just have a plain lack of respect for their grandmother who does so much for them. I see a butt kicking coming on! Who's got my back?

He Needs To Move

Yes, it's cold outside. We live in Wisconsin where it's cold every winter. The last few years we've been robbed of a true fall season. It's hot and then all of a sudden it's frigid. This year I do believe we had our fall in late November and for a few days earlier in January.

Every year for the past five or so years I've listened to my husband complain about winter and how he needs to move to a warmer climate. I'm pretty sure he has a five year plan to move to Arizona. Then I know for sure that from May until October I'll have to listen to "It's fucking hot out there". I know the perfect plan would be to live there from November until late April and here for the summer months, but that's not in the cards unless we win the lottery. Like I said, that's not in the cards.
In the past we talked about moving there but I'm not sure that's what I want. My parents made the move about 15 years ago. They were going to give it a year. I know my dad would move back here in a heartbeat as he misses all of us. My mom is a person who cannot change from her routine. I can remember she had a cleaning schedule and to a tee washed the floors at the same time, on the same day forever.
She has a hard time adjusting whenever they come up to visit and I swear she's packing to go home as soon as she unpacks. It's nice out there but I'm not sure it's where I want to live. It's always nice to visit another place and I know we've all thought about moving elsewhere, but would that change once you set up house and possibly had to work?

We had an invite to my son's house for dinner tonight. A good time was had. He's quite the cook and made some great Mexican food. Gas boy is downstairs now wallowing in his fumes. While at my son's I opted to take on Dylan in Madden 08. I don't want to get picked on but I'm not real familiar with PS2 or We or any of the newer game systems. The last time I played any of that stuff was when the kids still lived at home. So this little snot thinks he's going to forget to show me a few things. I get sacked and this little voice says " oops Grandma I forgot to show you that". When we were leaving I told him to pack up the game and system and I would take it home over the weekend and practice my skills. This kids face turned green. His dad said get the stuff for your Grandma. I had to remind him of all the things he got from my house in the past 8 years. In the end I couldn't do it. By the time I got it down pat there would be a new system anyway.

Hope everyone stays warm this weekend. Dress well for the deep freeze!

We Rock!

First place in the Team Trivia! $50.00 richer. Thanks to the stainless steel answer by Ben and the dipstick help from my hubbie. Could use a little help with the sports but we managed to win. We won't talk about scratching Arthur from the answers and loosing a few points.
Got to sample a new snack sample which I have to say was mighty tasty. Fried mac & cheese squares.
What more can you ask for..bucket night, a trivia win and a tasty snack.

Boring, Boring, Boring

Our line at work has been down since last week. We've been unable to run due to:
#1- lack of materials
#2- technical work being done to our line
#3- lack of knowledge by the technician doing the work.

In the 7 years I've worked there it was normal to have a lull once or twice a year. This was the time they spent cleaning, painting and doing inventory. We've now run out of things to clean. My new job this week is to go over Work Instructions and safety items. The problem is that there is one computer out on the floor to be used by several people. I could use the one in the office but that would entail walking back and forth to the line a million times a day to review these work instructions with others. I don't mind an idle day once in a while but this is not going to end until maybe Monday. We were urged to take vacation days but who the hell is going to take a week off in January unless they have the money to go some where warm? I'm telling you, I am in the wrong industry.

Chef Arnie whipped up some yummy home made pizzas yesterday. In the midst of cooking one of them my brand new pizza stone broke in the oven. Thankfully the pizza was saved. The stone has been quickly replaced by Pampered Chef but I'm a little nervous about trying it again.

Although I appreciate when my husband cooks I chuckle at the mess he makes. I can cook a full meal and contain the mess. He's got shit spread out all over the place. It more so looks like a war zone when he's cooking. He also cannot be disturbed. There's a lot of thinking that goes into making a meal. So I left him alone yesterday. I proceeded to complete the painting project I started Sunday. He was home by 3:10 and started right in. At 515 I had to question the estimated time of delivery to the table. The downside being that I was hungry. My orange and jello I ate at 1130 wasn't holding me over. I just wanted one fricken slice of pizza. By 530 it was done. Although good, the crust was just a little to crispy for my liking.
He did also attempt a small pie pan sized stuffed pizza. He needs work with that. I look forward to his next attempt.

Things To Do When You Can't Sleep

Every once in awhile I can't sleep. I can't blame it on my husbands snoring as since he lost weight he is now pretty much a silent sleeper. I'm one of those people who can't have it completly quiet as then I hear every small noise in the house. So I usually have the tv or radio on. Once I fall asleep I'm good unless something wakes me up. I'm screwed then as I have a hard time falling back to sleep. Then I wander around. I get up get a drink of water, look outside, play a computer game, attempt to do something that will tire me out and get me back to sleep. Sometimes I just give up and stay awake. Tonight (or should I say ) this morning I flicked through tv programs. Watched a few paid programs and wondered how many of these people really used the so called product they're trying to sell. Then I got to True Life where I watched 3 poverty stricken teens. Half way through the show I was becomming irate with the stupidity of all 3 of them. Here's a clue..not one of them had a job!. One girl was living with a bunch of people who constantly stole what little money she had. Duh...bank. She had a waitress job but dropped a joint in front of her boss and he fired her. Duh...leave that shit at home, don't take it to work. Case #2- boy on probation trying to get into the Army. Parents are poor and being evicted. Boy really giving it a shot at studying for his GED to get into the army. Hello...you're on probation for 2 years. Get a job, study and try the army when you're off probation. I had enough of that show and flicked over to............Leave It To Beaver, where I learned the importance of telling the truth rather than sneaking around. That friend of his "Gilbert" tried to lead him toward a life of crime. Ward busted him out before he could get any further. June was proud and Wally tried to suck up to Ward as usual.
I shall now attempt to get back to sleep.

Enough Already

In my eyes a headach should not last longer than it takes the medication you took for it to work. Sometimes it's 10-15 minutes after I pop a few asprin or whatever. Last night while packing away Christmas items I had one come one. The one where you see spots. The "drop everything and run for the medicine cabinet one". Three hours later I still had it. By 11pm the spots went away but the dull ache was still there. That is how I woke up this morning. Re-medicated on went on my way. At least the spots were gone. This continued through out my day. Everytime I bent over or turned my head the dull ache was there. At lunch I popped a few asprin from the Company medicine chest and threw in a sinus tab for good measure. How bad could it be. By 2pm it was gone. It sucks working 7 of your 8 hour day with a nagging ache.

I've become so skilled as a painter that I can now phone paint. We took a little trip to Menards Sunday morning for a few things. Paint was not on the list. My husband should know better than to leave me alone to long at Menards. Ideas pop into my head. I roamed around the home decorating area and read a few brochures that were laying around. I bought 3 gallons of paint. He's lucky that he came along when he did or right now he'd be ripping up carpet and installing flooring. I was going to put off the painting but when I got home and felt a little bored I dragged out the stuff and began to paint my dining room. One stoke and the phone rang. Stupidly I did not look at the caller ID first. I winced when I heard the voice of my former roomie and good friend. This girl can talk! There is no cutting her off. So I listened, commented every once in awhile and proceeded to paint my entire dining room while on the phone. She was a little shocked when 2 1/2 hours later she said "I suppose I should let you go so you can paint" and I broke the news to her that I was already washing brushes. I have a hallway to paint...I may just call her this weekend.

Out With The Old

In With The New. Happy New Year Everyone!

2007 was a fairly good year. I was thinking back this morning to New Year's 2000 when everyone thought the world would come to an end. Our computers would crash, crazy things would happen and there was near panic. Life went on as it always does. We all somehow managed to make it to a new year. Good and bad things have happened. We lost loved ones and watched little ones have birthdays. We've gained friends and watched some go through difficult times. We've grown closer to some friends and lost contact with others.

In our own family we lost an icon. My husbands uncle passed away early this year at 87 years old. He was sticken with polio at the age of 10 and not expected to live past 12. This man over came every obstacle thrown at him. He lived a great life and was an inspriation to all.

My brother-in-law had brain surgery on October 19th for a brain tumor. Things were a little messy and we spent a lot of time at the hospital and rehab visiting him. He was sent home on Thursday and is doing well. A few hours of week of Therapy is about all he should need now. Thanks to all of you for your well wishes and prayers.

My sister-in-law J is now one year cancer free as well as my mother. We are thankful and looking forward to the up coming years free calls.

We also lost some friends this year. May they rest in peace and forever know we miss them and are thinking of them.

We had a good camping season this past year. The Brewers played well and the Packers are on their way to the playoffs. Looking forward to the next few weeks being exciting. I chuckle as every year when the football season ends we mull over what to do from mid Feburary to the end of May when camping starts. Some how we always manage to be busy. We have a vacation planned and I will hopefully be taking my annual trek to Arizona the end of April to visit my parents. This is like my jump start to summer. Whether I go solo or someone comes along this year is up in the air.

There's household repairs on the list this upcoming year also. Our enclosed porch is in need or repair, the driveway cracks are getting bigger and I still need to get the spare (not really spare J) room turned into my hobby room. Guess it would help to find a hobby first. And, the roof that is partially shingled will need to be finished. This may all make the summer go by pretty quick.

So let's all think good things this year. The best of luck to everyone and enjoy a safe and Happy New Year.

Tragic Short Cut

I had some errands to run after work today which involved going into stores. Not for returns mind you but for a few birthday gifts for people whose birthdays just happen to fall this week. I then had to make a run to Goodwill due to my cleaning frenzy yesterday. I opted for the short cut route from 35th & Layton to 27th and Rawson. I hate 27th Street between the hours of 330 and 6pm. So I did the little cut through on side streets to get there. Big mistake. First of all I had to go a block out of my way due to a water main break and when cutting back down another block had to pull over for an ambulance. I was going the same way and came upon where the ambulance was headed for. It appeared to be a body covered up laying by a driveway approach. There were 3 men standing around the body and one car close by with it's headlights on. At first glance (I wasn't gawking, I had to stop to let the ambulance pull up to the house)it appeared as though the car may have hit the person. Then I saw that it was a little icy in the driveway approach. May have been that the person slipped. These things make me sad. One could tell it wasn't the body size of a child so I'm guessing elderly person maybe.

As I drove away I thought if the person was hit this could explain the pulled over car. This person may have just taken responsibility rather than flee. I'm sure most of you read about or heard about the couple that was hit on Christmas Day while getting presents out of their car. The driver never stopped but has been located now. Even without hearing the entire story , there is no excuse. You will get caught eventually so going home and hoping you sober up isn't going to help you out.
We're taught not to pass judgement on people but how can you not in a case like that?

Going back to work today sucked! Although I may not have done much at home today it would have been nice to have another day. I might have tackeled the basement and then my husband would have really freaked. He didn't go through any of the boxes I had packed for Goodwill yesterday but he did ask what I did with the stuff on his dresser. I had to tell him that it just looked cleaner as the dust had been removed. I put everything back on it. He was growing some kind of dust farm up there. I do think he may have taken stock of the flannel as I heard no cussing when he went into his closet.

Stop This Insanity

For many years I have taken the week of Christmas off. Just this thing of relaxing after the holiday. This year I was lacking vacation time therefore only took today off. I had a plan. I was going to relax, maybe watch some movies, catch up on some laundry and take it easy. My head started ticking last night. I could really use to clean out some junk. I was going to do this a while back and put a stop to it as I thought maybe we could have a rummage sale and rid ourselves of some crap. Never got around to that.
It is now 12:30 and I am on the third bag of stuff to haul to Goodwill. This is only from two closets and part of the kitchen. Anything I haven't worn in the past two years is in the bag. As I stood in front on my husbands closet and viewed his collection of flannel shirts I used my better judgement and shut the closet door. My God what was I thinking? I would never be able to get even one out without him noticing. I did dig around a little and found two pair of gloves that he frantically searched for this season. Dare I tell him? No, then he would know I was in there. I just moved them to the top of the stack of crap in his closet with hope that he may notice them.
We have a program (5S) starting at work this year. I was given all the books to study up on it and will be one of the elected persons to start this program. It basically instructsyou on how to rid the workplace of un-needed items. There is a holding area for items you are not sure of or not ready to part with. At work we have begun tagging things to either hold or throw away. In the book it explains that usually the holding area turns into a big mess and you end up getting rid of everything in the end. It's just a safe zone for junk collectors. They also mention in the book that this program will rub off on people and they will begin to use it in their personal lives. Hello! Our safe zone items are in the bag. I also have several boxes that I need to haul up from the basement. I can assure you that someone will be digging through the boxes as he's loading them into my truck. I must be present to make sure none of this gets back in.
Must get back to work. I'm loosing valuable time. The desk I'm sitting at is the next thing on my list. (not the desk itself..just the crap piled up on it.)

Merry Christmas

Here's hoping everyone had a Merry Christmas. I always get that "whew" I got it all done feeling once all the gifts are open and the hub bub is just about over. We had the traditional breakfast with the kids, grandkids and mother-in-law this morning. The food was good as everyone was here on time this year. (no crispy, burnt offerings to be had).
My daughter has twins and although I try to get them different things I've found that they like the same things. They were the highlight of the day. They had asked for the set of Little House On The Prarie books and I was able to find them online. They'll watch to see what the other one got and get a little jealous so when the book opening came the one was almost in tears as she didn't think she got the same thing. Joking around I remarked that I figured they could share. It appears that she didn't really want to read them. She wanted to save the set unopened so she could someday give them to her kids. When I told her that the books were around since I was little the look on her face was priceless. I had to take her and show her that I still had them.
We also got each of the kids digital camera's and were subjected to a lot of posing for the rest of the day. All in all the day went well.
Last night was our family gathering and Ben & J's house. This was also a good time. No family fights, good food, and holiday cheer. My parents had bought each family a set of silverware which some of us were confused about. When I talked to my mom she said she did it so we'd always have something to remember them by. This cracked me up a bit as I said "Yeah Mom, I'm going to pick up my fork and burst into tears someday." It's a nice set and the thought was truely there.
So now we're off for our last stop of Christmas. Brother in law is home for the day and we're going to visit for a bit. He's been out the past 3 days on a day pass and is doing very well. He may only need a week or so more and he'll be able to come home. The doctors wants to make sure he doesn't take a step back after the holidays. It was great to see her so happy also.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas..

Woudolph The Wed Nosed Wiendeer

Two little bits of cuteness came to my door tonight. Door bell rang, dog went nuts and I didn't see anyone at the door. At first I thought it was prank but then thought I should open the door just in case UPS left a package. Upon opening the door I spotted two little girls who immeidatly started singing their carefully practiced Christmas Carol. They sang their little hearts out with no coaching from their mother, my sister. Dressed in pink they were the picture of all that is good. My crappy day was made brighter. I love that they didn't miss a beat. I love that the 4 year old Tori did not look at me but directly at the Christmas lights on my porch and Savannah the younger sister looked me right in the eye while singing. After a quick visit to check out my tree and get a cookie of their choice and one for dad who was waiting in the car they were off to their next stop. "Yet's dough Mom, Daddy's in da van" and they vanished.

Do people still go Christmas Caroling? This was big when I was young. The neighborhood parents would get all the kids together, bundle us up and we'd go to quite a few houses on the block and sing away. We'd get pennies, cookies and sometimes hot chocolate. I know we did this for a few years but when we moved it stopped. Of course when we moved it was also a little remote for the first 5 or so years. In my early teens a group of us went but that died off. I can only recall once in my adult life that carolers came to our door. Must be a thing of the past as I guess you never know who you may "offend" by appearing at their door. It seems as if it's left to school or church groups visiting nursing homes. This is good as they probably appreciate this much more then others do.

Today was the shortest day of the year. The first day of winter. Apparently we got a little head start on that with all the snow and cold. Of course now that it warmed up a tad we have a river running down our driveway. By this time tomorrow with the falling temperature we will have a nice ice rink. Hopefully my husband can get some of the snow off our porch roof before we get hit again. If not we may be shut in's when the roof caves in. I have the notion to bring in all my Christmas cookies just in case. Hate to be running out then during the cave in to save the cookies. I don't think I'd be able to explain the loss of the sacred peanut butter balls to my family.

Squeak, Squeak, Squeak

Ahh...Christmas. Time for shopping, wrapping, baking, decorating and Christmas Concerts. This year my grandchildren ( the twins) had a band concert at their school which was actually called a Christmas Concert. My daughter and I noticed while walking through the school hallways that they had various decorations up. Christmas trees, stars and Santa Claus. Last year it was called the "Holiday Concert". Not sure of the reasons for the change but I welcomed it.

I stopped at their house before the concert to see the new puppy. Bella is a 10 month old black lab that they adopted from the humane society. Actually all their current pets have been adopted. Cute little puppy and well behaved.

The girls were being preped for the concert. Hair combing, clothing check, shoes changed to match the outfits. They were nervous and of course admitted to not practicing their violins much. We assured them that they'd be fine and off we went.

I have many heart warming memories from seeing my kids in concerts. From my son nearly falling off the top step on the stage while goofing off to my daughter with her solo "Let's go Fly A Kite" slightly off key. Besides my brothers daughter who was somehow gifted with a beautiful singing voice no one in this family can carry a tune.

I now have another cherished memory to add. Four Christmas songs plus "Hot Crossed Buns" played by 6 children on violins with the band instructor playing along. There were more squeaks then one can fathom but it was heart warming none the less. They all looked so nervous but yet totally concentrated on their performance. This was better then some high class costly concert. Actually it did end up costing me as there was a trip to Culvers afterwards. I look forward to next years.

Brother in law is making progress in the rehab center. Not sure if he'll make it out by Christmas but happy that he's finally getting the help he needed. She went back to work this week, a break she really needed. Things may finally be on the up and up.

Looking forward to meeting some friend for a little Christmas get together this Saturday. I need a beer! It's been a while. I'm not supposed to be on the 12 step program. Just haven't had time lately.

Getting Things Done

This weekend was very productive for me. For some reason this year I was very behind in holiday "chores". The shopping is 98% done, the tree is up and decorated and I have lists laying around for the rest of the things I need to get done by next weekend.

For the past 10 or so years the woman folk in my family have gotten together the weekend before Christmas for cookie baking. We've pretty much gotten everything down to a basic science now. The cut-outs are all baked up prior to the day and several doughs are mixed up ahead of time and ready to go. My middle sister used to work for a bakery so she's all about the frosting and which one we should use. Of course you have a choice as one hardens quickly but doesn't taste very good but the other is quick to harden but tastey. We ususally let the kids decorate the cookies so unlike the pain stakingly decorated cookies, ours are more imaginative. Some how yesterday when I got around to decorating there was only one cookie left. Something tells me that my family knows my artistic talent therefore keeps me busy so I don't get near the table other than to clean it up.

I haven't been in to much of a Christmas mood up until yesterday. The cookie thing at my sisters and then my daughter and her girls coming back to my house to make a few other things may have finally gotten me in the mood. I hate when decorating or baking feels like a chore. One should do it because they are in the spirit, not because they feel they have to.

Like my friend Peve, I'm not really into wrapping presents. Maybe it's because I'm yet to find a scissors that cuts good. This year I ended up using the scissors that came with my set of knives. That thing rocked. Mental not to myself not to let my husband near it or it will then be in the same shape the rest of my scissors are in. I'm not quite sure what he cuts with them but after he uses a pair I may as well toss them. I bought a lot of gift bags and tissue paper this year. This cut down the wrapping a little. There are just some things that you can't stuff into a bag and pass off as not being lazy.

Pretty good Packer game today except for the last field goal which took the pool I was on the track to win, out of my reach. Not doing to good in that this year. I did catch pretty much of the last half of the Cowboy's game. I really though they'd pull it off in the final few minutes.

Well let's all hunker down for the longest work week of the year. Somehow to me the week prior to Christmas seems to drag on forever.

My brother-in-law is now out in Waterford in a speciality rehab center. He seems to be doing quite well except for still having some confusion.

He's Spent

I am often very amused by my husband. I should end this here but I feel I must share this particular story. It appears that he decided to do some shopping last night. He called me around 4:30 ish to let me know he was at Southridge and he'd be shopping for a bit. He figured he'd only be able to take about an hour or so. True to his word he was home by 6. It was then that I got to hear the perils of Christmas shopping. Apparently he's bothered by the crowds and as he puts it "stupid people". The first thought that came to my mind was "he's a stroller. I can't imagine him in a crowd moving fast" (unless of course it's to get on the bus to exit Summerfest). I could picture the sceniro in my head. The big guy strolling through the mall and people passing him. Maybe he got bumped into a few times. It gave me a little chuckle.
I then started to think about all the shopping I've done. I also hate crowds but you have to go with the flow. Keep the pace. Be prepared at the checkout so as not to hold up a line of people because you picked up the one thing without a price tag. The checkout line is not the time to haggle over getting a few bucks off something as it has a small spot to pull in it. Do that with the department person or go to Customer Service. Know where your check book or card are. Have your 15% off coupon readily accessible and know the location of your driver's liscense. Don't bitch at the cashier for asking for ID. This is for your own protection. Expect that the parking lot is going to be packed.
My husband spent 3 hours one Sunday evening Christmas shopping with me. This was probably 1/4 of our shopping. I mentioned when he called last night from the mall that his mother's birthday is next week and maybe he should look for something for her. He forgot. He'll think about what to get her. Funny, he has not purchased a gift for her on his own in 23 years. Sometimes I'm nice and tell him about it before she opens the gift. She always hugs him first. She's a bright woman and she knows damn well he was clueless.
Don't get me wrong, he is a thoughtful shopper and buys great gifts that are meaningful. He's not an impulse buyer and he is a bargin shopper. I'm not into driving 5 miles extra to save a buck when it cost me 2 to drive there. A lot of my stops are made on my way home from work. I'm a little route planner. Kind of like a junior Cruise Director. I urge all of you who read J's blog to apply for the assistant job. I hear she has great benefits.

Broker Than When I Left

They got it all....All my money. Despite the fact that there wasn't much to do but gamble, it could have been worse. I spent no more that I planned on. I did manage to hit on two different machines, but rather than pocket that it got sucked right back into another one. Unlike J I just couldn't find the right machine. I did play for over 2 hours on a nickle poker machine with a $10.00 investment. Although the outcome was bad I was amused for 2 hours. At this point I felt the need to remove myself from that area which was close to the stage where the band was. Not quite sure of their real name but J's dad had nicknamed them Booger Snots and the Hanker Chiefs.
Made the trek to the Farmin Inn with good food as usual. Saturday we were going to venture to another casino but the snow was coming down pretty good. We opted to not risk it and return to our place. I do need to find out for Kim and myself what the shiny stuff is that they spray on an omelet. It almost appears to be some type of wax or oil.
On my weekly listening to Leroy Butler the DJ's were talking about an interesting email they received analyzing the Packers loss to the Cowboys. This person apparently believes that the Packers lost on purpose. Kind of like tricked they Cowboys into thinking they are not a very good team. See, and then the plan is to kick butt in the playoffs. Leroy was asked if this was true. He never hesitated before saying a flat out "NO". I chuckled listening to the letter and conversation afterward. I find it interesting that some people cannot just accept the fact that the Packers did not play well and lost..rather than make up excuses or reasons for it. Did the coaching staff plan for Brett to get injured to make it even worse? This guy's email was also about Woodson sitting out when he looked perfectly fine to play. In his eyes this was part of the ultimate plan. Let's just take it one game at a time. Anything can happen.
Happy Shoveling out in the morning everyone!

Off To The Woods

We're taking a little "mid-winter" trip this weekend to visit the Indian Casino up north. Nice place, small and I usually do okay. As always it's fun to people watch. Let's see how many chain smoking little old ladies require my assistance in putting their money in. Can't figure out how to insert the money or card but these broads can push the buttons like there is not tomorrow. This day just happens to fall on our anniversary to so a big win would certainly help that celebration along.

Brother-in-law is still in the hospital. Last word yesterday is that the CAT scan showed almost normal. He wasn't quite as confused. Let's just home he continues on this road.

So, the Packers lost to the Cowboys. It was a good game to watch...until Brett was out. That made it more interesting as #12 hasn't played much. I got a kick out of sitting at a machine which happened to be near a table of younger folk. The comments that were coming out were keeping me quite amused. "The assholes been on the bench all season so far. You think he'd get out on the field and do something", as he scrambles for a first down. She was a hoot...that is until she glared at my friend the Cowboy fan.

In my special message to my friend..Congratulations to your boys. Let's breath a sigh of relief that tattoos aren't quite as bad as a body piercing.

Click....Done

In the past it was a huge deal for my two sister-in-laws and myself to wake at the crack of dawn on Black Friday and hit the stores. Over the past few years it has dwindled to hitting the stores later in the day to maybe not going at all. We never really came home with a lot. Just people watching was fun in itself.

After prodding my son for gift suggestions yesterday, of course he shows me something from Kohl's that he wants that is a good deal in the Early Bird special. I read the fine print. Some of these items are available on-line but only during these hours. Hell if I was getting up a 4am. So last night around midnight I logged on to find that it was in fact on sale then. With my 15% off and free shipping it was well worth the click of the finger verses the trip to the store.

My brother-in-law has managed to take another turn for the worse. He woke up yesterday confused and agitated. Sister-in-law D spent a good part of the day trying to convince herself that he was not himself and to not let what he was saying affect her. She's a strong girl and managed to make it until around 4pm before she chucked it in and went home. She unplugged his phone first to assure he wouldn't make any phone calls. Earlier in the day she had left him for a few minutes and he had phoned his mother begging her to come and get him. This set off a round of events that occurred when I should have been mashing the spuds.

Today will be another CT scan as the area in his head where the shunt was put in is swollen. This could be a possible build up of brain fluid again. She had 12 hours of him being somewhat back to normal. She's thankful for that little bit.

Our family Thanksgiving turned out well. Good food, no arguments..good company and my son directed the clean up. J (Annette) was a huge help. We won't mention my husband waited until the last dish was done and the kitchen cleaned up before showing up with his dirty plate. From the sinister grin on his face one would think he planned this out.

Happy Day

Although one should be thankful on a daily basis we sometimes look at Thanksgiving Day as the day we should give thanks. My brother-in-law had yet another surgery today and the call I got an hour ago was one of joy. I have been friends with my sister-in-law for 34 years. We've been through a lot together. Our weddings, the birth of our children, a loss of a child for them, my divorce, my marriage to A, the death of her parents, the list goes on. For some reason their life together has been somewhat of what I'd consider a test. A test of love and a test of faith. There were times when she'd be so discouraged but then buck up and deal with things. Yesterday when she told me he had to go back in she sounded so down. They found a kink in the shunt that the doctor had put in from his brain to his stomach. Luckily the kink was in the stomach area. They tested the shunt by injecting die through it after the surgery and found it to now be working properly. She did not know what to expect when he came to as he's been very confused for about a month now. The man woke up knowing things he has not been able to remember for a month. Her and I were bawling over the phone. We can only hope that he moves forward from here. For this glimmer of hope I thank God.
Of course this got me to thinking...this can sometimes be dangerous. But in this case it's all for the good. I compiled a list in my head of things I'm thankful for but I took a little different route:

I bitch about going to work everyday..but I'm thankful that I wake up each day and that I have a job.
I bitch about cooking..but I'm thankful that we have money to buy food and a home to cook it in.
I bitch about aches and pains..but I'm thankful that I can feel them.
I bitched about all our boarders but I'm thankful that I could help each and everyone of them out.
I bitch about the price of gas..but I'm thankful that I have a vehicle to drive
I bitch about my husband..but I'm thankful that I have someone to share my life with.
I bitch about my parents living so far away..but I'm thankful that they are still able to enjoy their lives.
I bitched about my ex-husband but I'm thankful that I married him as without doing so I would not have the children I do.
I bitch about snow-but thankful that it paints such a pretty picture.
I bitch about mosquitoes when camping-but thankful that we have such a great time with good friends.

Things I'm just plain thankful for:

For the most part my family is in good health. Those that have had illness's are with us today.
My children and grandchildren. What a joy! I'm thankful that I now get to hear my kids scold their kids for the same things they did and I can secretly chuckle.
My husband-there are no words to express how thankful I am.
I'm thankful that my brother was divorced twice otherwise I wouldn't have the wonderful sister-in-law I have now.
I'm thankful for my upbringing. My parents did right by us.
I am thankful for each and every one of my friends. You are all special to me.
I'm thankful that I have a family to share tomorrow with. (even though I get to cook)
I'm thankful that they eat my cooking and don't wince when I'm looking.

There was a time in my life when things were just plain rotten. The days I didn't want to get out of bed. I am thankful that my father gave me the lecture of my life as I truly believe that he put me on the right track.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your day.

Cause LeRoy Says So...

I'm a freak of listening to Leroy Butler on KLH on Monday mornings, which repeats on Tuesday morning. I didn't catch him yesterday, in fact I'm not quite sure of what I listened to on my way to work. Both my husband and I woke up feeling a little ill. Me, at 3am and him around 5. At first I though it may have been the Mac & Cheese we ate at Big Momma's but no one else was ill. So it remains a mystery.

Anyway, back to Leroy. I like listening to him as he shines hope upon the next weeks Packer win. Funny how he poo-pooed the game with Detroit and went right into talking about how the Packers can and will beat the Cowboys. Now, I said I don't talk smack as it's bad luck, but he did have some good points. I will leave it at that rather than get into any smack talking arguments. We all know that anything can happen.

One of the DJ's then asked the question I have wondered about for awhile. "Is the Mac & Cheese at Thanksgiving just an African American thing or what?". I used to work with a girl who told me that Mac & Cheese was the most important part of their Thanksgiving Dinner. He confirmed that. Not boxed Mac & Cheese, this stuff has to be home made with three cheese's and sour cream. So at work today I took a poll. The two AA women answered before I had the question out. Everyone else looked at me like I was nuts. The girls went into detail about how it has to be made and what the repercussions are if it's missing. I wondered what my families reaction would be if I pulled a large casserole dish of Mac & Cheese out at Thanksgiving. As if you need another food item to sit like a rock in your belly. But the solution for that from the girls and Leroy was that you do not eat, or eat very lightly the day before so you are near starving when the feast begins. (I'm getting the home made recipe tomorrow and will try it out some other time)

My brother-in-law is going for another surgery tomorrow. The shunt has a kink in it but luckily it's in the stomach area rather than the brain. He's still pretty confused and the doctors all though this would clear by now. The dye was shot into the shunt this morning and the kink discovered. He's supposed to be released Thursday morning but with his history of extended hospital stays who knows. We're hoping for the best.

Here's to my sister-in-law J who is in much better shape this year then she was last year at this time. I'm happy that she will be joining us for Thanksgiving this year rather than opting for the Meals on Wheels. No drinking blue slushies so you can pee blue again this year. Pull out the Pink Hat, all survivors eat first. (I'm not sure the hat will get you out of dishes though)

He's Not Real?

We hit the Milwaukee Christmas (oops Holiday) Parade today. This planning started back in mid-October when my two nieces hit me up about it. Apparently the childhood memories got to them and they felt the need to go. In the past we've had a good time watching the parade and have weathered rain, snow, very cold temperatures and as I can recall one year where it was 50 some degrees and we were all in sweatshirts. Yesterday when I heard how cold it was going to be I tried pulling a fast one and offered hot chocolate, chairs and our living room to watch the parade. This did not go over well. By 6pm last night the plan to go was in action.

The must haves at the parade are doughnuts (real, not Dunkin or Honey dip) and hot chocolate. There was no way I was getting up at 7am to secure the doughnuts. I was always in charge of the hot chocolate. Upon rising this morning A went off to Walgreen's for tape for the video camera. He arrived home with doughnuts. "gotta have em" were his words. I boiled the water, dug out the awesome air pot thermos and made the hot chocolate. Everyone arrived on schedule and off we went. We met my grandson Dylan and my son's girlfriend on 3rd and State and staked our claim. I then discovered that the hot chocolate was still sitting on the kitchen table. Starbucks was visited and all was well.

A lot of interesting things go on while waiting for the parade. Santa was spotted. As I pointed this out Dylan looked a little sheepish. I saw him say something to Laura and then he climbed in my lap and proceeded to tell me very secretly that he didn't think Santa was real. I was crushed. My baby was all grown up. What was I thinking? A boy that goes out and kicks butt in football is not going to huddle up with the guys and tell them what he wanted Santa to bring him this year. I give him credit for not yelling it out. He wasn't sure if the 15 & 17 year old still might believe. It was now up to me to explain this. I thought back to when I found out and tried to remember how my parents covered this all up. I'm trying to act fast on this one when all of a sudden he says " I can't believe you guys lied to me for 7 years". My comeback " no 8 years". "Grandma when I was 1 I didn't know what the heck was going on". "Did you guys really think that I wouldn't figure out that there is no way a 300 lb. man is going to fit down a chimney"

I did my best. I explained that there really was a Santa although refereed to as St. Nick, and he really did bring gifts to children. The story just grew from there. I remember my parents saying that Santa is the magic of Christmas and relayed that to him. We went through the list...tooth fairy-fake/ Easter Bunny-fake. Every costumed character that went past in the parade was a costume or real question and answer. And then Ronald McDonald appeared. I looked at Dylan and he looked a little puzzled. "I'm not quite sure on that one" he says. "I'm not real sure someone would dress up like that on purpose".

Boy Was I Wrong

I figured since I had such good luck with daytime shopping yesterday that I would venture out to do some daytime grocery shopping today. How bad could it be? A weekday, and mid-morning. What a joke!
As I pulled into the local P&S parking lot I noticed that it was quite empty. A good sign, I thought. First stop was the produce department. Not bad except for the cluster of carts of produce waiting to be put into place. On to the deli where beside myself there was one person waiting. I listened to the goof behind the counter describing why they call Vegas "Sin City". It was a funny conversation, only he could not work and talk at the same time. So the customers waiting started to grow as dork boy carried on his story. I think clearing my throat brought him back to reality.
Aisle after aisle I discovered that all stocking must be done during the day as every fricking aisle had crap in carts or on pallets to be put on the shelves. It was worse than Walmart. I was in search of the advertised Turkey and after looking myself for a few minutes I went to the meat service counter. Now, there is a window where I could see 3 men working away and I know they could see me. Rather than ring the service bell (because why in the hell would I be standing there) I waited a few minutes. Then after feeling really ignored I layed on the bell. A man with meat covered hands came out looking really angry and prior to asking me what I needed began to search for the missing meat counter person. " All I want to know is where the advertised Turkey's are". He points down an aisle with his meat juice covered hands and I nicely tell him that I looked there. Then he barks out that someone would bring them out. Needless to say, meat covered hand man brought me out a nice big 22 lb. Turkey. He did take the time to wipe off the outside of the Turkey where he left meat prints.
I thought this would be the end of a trip gone bad but I was mistaken. The check-out with the bagger was the shortest line so I opted to step into that line. If anyone is ever wondering why grocery prices are rising it's because they put one fricken thing in a bag. I swear that I had 18 plastic bags of groceries that could have been combined together into maybe 10. And my Turkey wasn't even in a bag.

The Only Good Thing..

Day 2 of the night shift is over. I have composed a list of the good side of working nights.

1) Shopping at a mall during the week, mid-day rocks. The stores are your own. If you can dodge the mall walkers and the jerks in the mall trying to persuade you to "try this hand lotion" or switch your cellphone service, then you're doing good.

2) I was able to get caught up on some phone calls to business's that are only open until 4pm.

3) There is no traffic on the freeway at 11pm at night. A 20 minute commute is knocked down to 12 minutes. (okay so I sped a little)

4) After 5 pm the management team has pretty much left the building. One can accomplish a good amount of work when not being bothered.

5) That's all I got!

Here's the bad:

1) 2pm traffic sucks

2) Daytime tv sucks

3) My body and brain want 1st shift

4) I have to be quiet when I get home so as not to disturb someone.

5) I have become accustomed to a 1st shift life and want to get up-go to work and get it over with.

Let's just quit the list as it could go on forever.

On a lighter note, I was almost taken out by an elderly woman at Southridge today. I'm not sure she could see over the steering wheel. I was walking from the parking lot to the store and she was coming right at me. It was a moment of chicken. Who was going to move first. In the end I did as she was coming right for my hip. The one I just had surgery on. I had this image of pain and going through all that again so I moved aside and let Mrs. Magoo continue on her way. I'm sure she didn't see me as I didn't see her fist shaking out the window as she drove on.

Yeah... I Was Wondering If You Could....

After watching Office Space the other night I came to the conclusion that the approach used by the boss is often used at my place of employment (minus the cup of coffee). This week I am "taking my turn" on the night shift to assist in training of fellow employees. As I've expressed before I am not a night shift person. I have grown used to getting up, doing the daily hygiene things, and shooting off to work. Start your day and get it over. I dislike waiting around all day to go to work. Not that I'm sitting here waiting because as I write the laundry is going and I am getting dinner ready for my husband. He may be the happy one in this situation. He'll get dinner and not be bothered all night. Just him and the dog bonding. I see it now, Sadie in the kitchen, maybe at the table, having dinner with dad.

I did manage to talk him into joining me in some Christmas shopping last night. I know, it's not even Thanksgiving yet but the opportunity was there. I asked, he made a face, I explained how I do this alone every year, he agreed. I did have to look for him a few times as he wandered, but for the most part he helped out. My lame excuse for wanting him to come..I didn't want to get mugged in the Walmart parking lot. I'm pretty brave, but I hate that parking lot. The little dork driving around in the security car is not going to save anyone.

I was able to watch the first half of the Packer game yesterday. My son's girlfriend had a Pampered Chef party at 2pm. She felt bad enough so I saw no need to inquire as to why one would schedule a demonstration on a Sunday afternoon. They had the game on so all was good. I caught the highlights. All was good.

It's Back...

I know I'm going to take a lot of "ribbing" for this but the only food I consider edible from McDonalds is back. Yes folks, back for the season is the McRib sandwich. Color me happy! My husband is currently on a McRib run. He loves me.

When Life Hands You Lemons.....

I truly wish I could find something good or funny to write about in my post. Racked my brain, nope, I got nothin.
My brother-in-law was discharged from the hospital today. Physically he's fine. Sister-in-law was under the assumption that he'd be going to the rehab floor for a week or two so they could work on his mental state. Their insurance will cover for him to go into a Nursing Home, but not stay at the hospital. The girl has exhausted what donated vacation time she has and is not able to leave him home unattended. He's a bit clouded yet. He had no psychiatric evaluation prior to leaving although all the nurse's could have been able to attest to his mental state.
A & I stopped in to see them after work today. He was sleeping when we got there but woke and came into the kitchen to chat with us. At first he made sense, asking A about work and talking about small things. He then went into the bathroom and after taking too long my sister-in-law D went to check things out. She found him taking the light fixture in the bathroom down. For what reason is beyond all of us. He then came into the kitchen, complained of a headach and proceeded to open up a pill bottle and self medicate himself. We then took any medications that were in the house and locked them up. Yeah, he's ready to go home alright. They live about a mile from us so I'm sure we'll get a call soon.
There is a slight chance of hope. Their insurance will pay for adult day care which happens to be at the same hospital she works at. She'll find out tomorrow if he can go. She then can at least go back to work. Not saying she'd be able to concentrate much, but more then she could if he was at home alone. Oh, there is another great thing...they may just be able to stream-line the hearing for Social Security that was applied for a year ago. This illness started more than 2 years ago. He quit his job in October of 2005. This is when things began to esclate. All we can do is be there for them. A winning lottery ticket would probably be welcome right about now.

Did I mention also that work once again sucks! Yes, my 1st shift job is rotating onto my most dreaded shift next week. 3pm to 11pm. I am going to this shift to train the untrainable person who will be running the line on 2nd shift. My co-worker /friend has been on 2nd for over a month now attempting to train him. She's not real patient and he's not to attentive. It's going to take more than a week but that's all I care to work it. There is a slight chance that there may just be a little good in starting at 3pm. When I figure it out I'll let you all know.

You're Almost Perfect????

I think my husband may have been a little on the tipsy side the other night. He's have a horrible couple of weeks at work, has worked some long hours and has been a little on edge between work and his brother being ill. Saturday night we ventured out after a visit to the hospital. After I saw him consume his first drink like it was water I knew I'd better take it easy as I would be the driver. As the night progressed I was handed the car keys and also watched the eyes grow glassier by the moment. I figured it was just about time to go when he sat down next to me and in somewhat of a slur proceeded to tell me that " I was almost perfect". Yep..time to hit the road buddy. But he wasn't quite ready yet. He would go on to put his 5 bucks into the slot machine and play for what seemed like an hour. Luckily he lost it all or I'm certain we'd still be there.

The best part was when we got home. Our dog is not allowed in our kitchen. I had gone into the other room for a moment and came back to find him standing in the kitchen staring at the floor. I then saw the dog, in the kitchen chowing on something. When I asked he told me he dropped his piece of lunch meat and cheese on the floor and she got it. Something tells me that I'm the only one that doesn't allow her in the kitchen. She probably loves when I work nights. No doubt the big guy has her eating at the table with him. He then went on to continue his "almost perfect" conversation. It appears that if it wasn't for me being " a little bit on the bitchy side" once in awhile that I'd be in that category. Hmm... I guess I'm bitchy When I wake him up prior to 11 am on the weekends. Maybe because the night before I'm told that he wants to be up early to get somewhere before it gets to crowded. Maybe because when I do wake him up at 11 or so he's pissed off because I "let him" sleep so late. Regardless of all that I guess he sees me much better than I see myself.

On a sad note I got news tonight that one of our friends that we know from the bar has passed away. He's been in poor health for a while now and suffered a stroke a few weeks back. He was a good guy who always had a hug and a smile for you. We'll miss you Pat!

Third Times A Charm?

My brother-in-law has been through hell. 15 days ago he went for surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. He is still in ICU. He has had two additional surgeries, one to insert a shunt and another to reposition the shunt. The doctor was hoping his natural valve in the brain would take over and drain fluid after being plugged by the tumor for who knows how long. This did not happen, hence the shunt. He was very cloudy, very confused and I know to himself he made perfect sense. The man put on a show for us everyday. His last surgery was Thursday and they just might have it right this time. He was still a little cloudy yesterday and was a little irate when told he'd been at the hospital for 14 days. I'll be heading up their shortly to see what today holds. My sister-in-law is holding up well. She just wants her husband back.

I haven't done to much of anything else the past two weeks. I hear Miller calling me and later on tonight I just may answer his call.

Change of Plans

I've changed my mind about wanting to be a tour guide at St. Luke's. I have seen so much of that hospital in the past 6 days that I now know many of the ICU nurse's by name. My brother-in-law is having a rough time. He came out of the surgery good but slipped into a rough 4 days with detox and cold turkey from all the medications they were giving him prior to the surgery. The past few days he's been pretty much sleeping until around 7 at night when he gets a little irritable and hard to control.
When I stopped there after work today I was happy to see him sitting up and awake. That was crushed when I saw the look of concern on his wife's face. He's very confused. He knew me but thought I was still married to my ex. He was convinced he was at the vet's office and his dog was injured. Our chore for an hour was to talk to him and remind him of where he was and why. He was giving me names of people he claimed came to see him that he hasn't seen in years. The man did always have a sense of humor about him and that's still there. At least today he remembered he was married for more than thirteen years. What is sad is seeing the strain on my friends face. She is at least going home at night now. I wasn't sure how long she would hole out there. So all this has caused a set back in his recovery. The doctor is assuring her that by tomorrow he should be regaining his memory clearer. We can only hope so.
My husband is still working some screwed up hours. Hence the holiday candy sales. I must say as tired as he looks he has managed to be pleasant at home. I just can't ask him to do anything. Then I get the "sigh". So for now I lay off and don't worry that the dryer takes 2 hours to dry a load. I'm just glad my clothes lines are still hanging outside. I figure if I get up an hour early I can chip the ice off the lines and "freeze dry" his skivvies outside.

Tour Guide Of St. Lukes

I have become way to familiar with St. Lukes Hospital. I know where the color coded diamonds on the floor lead to and the quickest and easiest way to enter the hospital. There are nurses that are familiar and I can tell you that I'll walk across the street for food rather than eat in their deli or cafeteria.

In the past year and a half I should have earned frequent visitor miles for the amount of times I have been there. Today my husband's brother had surgery to remove a tumor (non-cancerous) from his brain. This poor guy has been through a roller coaster for more than two years now. He's been to doctor's, therapy and through many tests only to have them continuously mess with medications. Finally about two weeks ago my sister-in-law took matters into her hands and went to see his doctor, begging him to do more tests. She knew her husband was out of character and knew he needed help. A CAT scan was done and the tumor was found. The surgery was scheduled fast. They're not sure how long the tumor was there but are leaning toward since birth. The doctor figures that it started to take a toll on his well being the past few years. This could or could not be the root of many of his recent problems. We're all praying that this could be the miracle that could put him back on track.

As I sat in his room with her tonight we had a lot of time to talk. He wasn't resting to comfortably at first, but after some pain medication and just plain exhaustion on his part he fell into a peaceful sleep. She of course has planted herself at his bedside for the night. The look of strain that I've seen on her face over the past few years seemed to be lifting. She's worried, but so hopeful. This emotional day has shown me a good picture of what "true love" is. She has not and never will give up on him. Sure she gets discouraged and angry at times but that's human nature. I admire her strength.. Now if God can see this and just throw them a little luck all our prayers will be answered.

On a different note there is sadness amongst the family of a good friend of ours. After a long struggle with cancer he has lost his mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family during this time. Although she will be missed, she's in peace and in good hands.

My final comment of the day is to my friend who painstakingly was trying to find a job that would suit me after my retirement from my current job. I'm pretty sure I could handle being a tour guide of some sort. The toll booth-parking lot attendant is out of the question. But thanks for your suggestions. Now I know how you see me even if it was the beer talking.

On My Way To Recovery

After a totally miserable Monday spent mostly sleeping, I managed to pull myself together enough to go to work on Tuesday morning. The biggest problem was that my ears were hurting pretty bad. I can count on 1 finger the number of times I've had an ear infection. Usually when my ears hurt it's because something else is coming on. By Tuesday it was just the ears and a sinus headache. Took some DayQuil tablets and vitamin C and still felt like crap all day. I had this hollow, echoing feeling in my head. Not much of what anyone said to me all day long made any sense, nor did I care. I know I had a fever as hot flash's don't last that long. Toward the end of the day and a few more cold tablets I felt well enough to stop at Menard's.

Our current kitchen faucet sucks. It's some cheap $40.00 faucet that for some stupid reason I picked out. You get what you pay for I guess. We've replaced the sprayer on it twice in the past year only to have it leak start to leak again. Every Sunday for the past few months I scan the ad's looking for a new one. A few times I've mentioned to the guy I live with that it'd be great if we could get a new faucet. This is the reply " Oh, crap...that's just more work for me". I then threaten to do it myself. Then I get " Well go pick out what you want". So yesterday I did. With ad in hand I wandered through Menard's but did I get the one in the ad? Absolutely not. I went up a few grades. Not the most expensive but I figured right smack dab in the middle should give me a faucet that lasts awhile.

While at Menard's I also happened upon some room area rugs that were "drastically reduced". I've been looking for a new one for the living room for awhile and the price was right. This little feat required me to go back for a rolling cart. I loaded this 8 X 10 1/2 rug on the cart, got through the checkout and out to my truck. This is where the problem arose. Duh! Dumb broad trying to load carpet into truck bed that is about two feet to small. There was no way it was going into the back seat. Hence the bungee cords that are always kept under the back seat. I managed to find two and bungee the cover down on the truck bed. As soon as I was done a kind man came over to ask if I needed help. I'm pretty sure he watched this whole show from his car and after having a good laugh thought he'd now come to the rescue. He noted that I seemed to have it all under control. Things went smooth until I got home. Now, I could have easily left the hauling in for the man I live with. Not my style. I got it in, pulled the other one up, moved some stuff around and liked the results.

The guy I live with got home around 8pm, noticed the faucet laying on the table and said " Oh crap, more work for me". Proceeded to walk into the living room , sit down on "his" chair and never notice the carpet until a few minutes later when I brought it up. I'm wondering what else I could do around here that could go un-noticed?

Stricken

I woke at 2:30 this morning in a bit of a sweat. Nope, not an old lady hot flash. This felt different. I got up for water and noticed a soreness in my throat and my head was feeling a little light. Didn't think much of it and popped a vitamin C tablet and returned to bed. Two hours later I woke again feeling worse. I feared I had become stricken with the illness that many people at work have been walking around with for a few weeks now. This angers me as I had been so careful. Like a dork I walked around with a bottle of alcohol for the past few weeks wiping off everything I see the ill touching. I've taken my vitamins faithfully and even added an extra boost with vitamin C.
At 5 a.m. I shut off the alarm and began the morning ritual. My throat felt as if it were closing up on me, I have a fever and my head feels more hollow than it normally does. My eyes (although cleaned out now) were crusty and my nose is plugged up. In general I feel like crap! I then did something that I normally don't do. I called in sick. And now I'm going to take some over the counter drugs and get back into my warm bed, because now I have developed the chills, and sleep this thing away.

A Soggy Win

Being the dedicated Grandparent's we are we headed out the door around noon today for the game. Not the Packer game, but Dylan's playoff game. I was prepared with my yellow rain coat and an umbrella. As we pulled into the lot we saw the mud soaked kids coming off the field from the last game. Not a sad look on their faces. Not even the parents.
Dylan's coaches had them off the field for their pre-game hype. I looked at the field and saw one giant mud pit in the middle. We stood in the continuous rain and watched as they scored three touch downs in the first half of the game. Dylan was mud from head to toe. Those boys were hungry for a win and not caring a bit about the mud that had consumed their once clean uniforms. The way I figured it was the muddier you got the harder you were playing. This game, standing wise meant nothing to them. There was no pressure but they won 20-6. You could just see it in the kids faces that they were having a blast. I was glad I opted for this game verses the Packer game. A Packer win means something but watching this game and how much fun they were having meant more than any Packer win. Besides you know your Grandma loves you when she'll hug you even when you're caked with mud.

We did make it home just into the 3rd quarter of the Packer game. I thought it would be a higher scoring game but I'll take the win and the $$ I won in the pool.

I went to my first Rugby game yesterday afternoon along with J & J. After a quick explanation of the game we hunkered down to watch my fellow co-worker in action. Within 10 minutes of playing time he was out with a rather large gash across his eyebrow and a lot of blood. He was a little angry at this happening as he wanted to play. He got fixed up on the sidelines and had a nice goose egg growing on his forehead. I knew it was a little tougher than football but didn't expect it to be quite as bloody, nor did I expect to see so much skin. I'd certainly go to another game in the future. Maybe it'll be somewhere where there are actually locker rooms so this one guy won't have to totally strip in the open to change his clothes.

Thursdays Should Be Girls Night

I don't usually stop for a liquid refreshment during the week, but yesterday I had the urge. After twisting Gambino's arm to meet me earlier than 5 she obliged and was partaking in her refreshment as I strolled in. Jo would soon join us after standing in line in not so comfortable shoes at the book signing. (She's on the good list now for sure).
Prior to going I had to promise myself that 7:30 was my curfew. 8 at the latest. The one thing I can no longer do at my age is function at work hung over. I also knew it wouldn't be a good day to take a sick day. Plus I wasn't going to stick around for the singing. Ben & Peve did, but accidentally. They though they had time for one more.
After a few hours of the company of good friends, a loss at Rock'em Sock'em and a really good chicken sandwich I hit the road. I was sure my dog would be crossing her legs by this time. Must have made it just in time as she made a bee-line for the door.
Jo made a comment last night that stuck in my head a little. She wants to start doing things she hasn't been able to do for some time. I was thinking about that comment today and thought about some things I want to do, but A raises his eyebrows about. He's not a movie goer...he snores through them. He's not a play goer (unless it's Grease or something from the 50's) but has gone in the past to things with me. Why should I continue to make this poor guy suffer through this stuff or be disappointed when he balks at going. He'd probably be quite happy to stay home and fix something or just enjoy the peace and quiet of his wife not being home. So let's go girls...let's start planning some "Things Girls like to do and Men Hate" outings. I think we'd all be happy then.

Oblivious

I found out today that I am oblivious to what goes on around me at work. Years ago I made a promise to myself to not give in to meaningless gossip in the work place. This is the result of being burned once.
My full time career started in a small office with a handful of employees. People were having affairs, getting divorces, in rehab and born agains right under my nose and I wouldn't know until months later. I concluded that it just didn't concern me. I would listen but not repeat. The last job I worked at was with a bunch of cackling hen's that did nothing more than gossip all day long. If they had nothing...they just made shit up. I was getting a divorce and didn't even know it. I stayed out of this stuff as most of it was hurtful. Once, I repeated something to someone else and had the source of the gossip in my face. That ended it. I went to the "I don't care" attitude and went to work to work.
I made it through 6 years where I am now hearing idle gossip. Keeping what people told me in confidence to myself and not offering much information about my own personal life. Either they think I am the most boring person in the world or they've figured it out by now.
I must have missed some specially marked day on the calendar today. Was it National Gossip Day? I checked but the day just say's October 10th. Nothing special besides my friends anniversary. Was it "Get it Off Your Chest Day". I wonder as if a line could have formed by me without interupting production it would have. A few things made me a little sad as one guy at work that I'm pretty close to is in the process of a divorce. They just bought a house. He had no clue they were even having problems. Another guy is pretty down on his luck. I'm not really concerned about him as he's one of those "I know everything" people and has his face in everyone's business. But there's more, and I had to act like I knew nothing. I was shocked at some of the crap I heard and am a little angry that some things are going on. I was trusted with some information awhile back and kept this all in confidence at work. It was no one's business. Now today I have four different people shoveling information that I just plain don't want to hear.
My special message : " Don't confide in me as a friend, explain that there are two sides to every story, and then think that everyone is so stupid that they'll never figure it out. That is a complete insult.

Tuesdays Generally Suck

I've come to the conclusion that for some reason Tuesday's at work suck for me. It's only worse when you are missing one person from the line and another has meetings to attend. Then you have one who has suddenly forgotten everything you trained him on, and another that does nothing but complain and forget what he's supposed to do. I walked into the line this morning only to once again find 3rd shift not running, granted they had issues but I think too many people get involved in a simple fix. In all my years in the manufacturing industry it was pounded into my head that when a problem arises that affects the quality or outcome of the product you change only one thing at a time. This will allow you to capture what the issue was and correct it. But no...let's change ten settings and then not be able to pinpoint which one actually corrected the issue. Hmmmm...then let's look around and discover that someone has brought the incorrect raw materials for the product into the room. When discovered this will then send up a red flag that perhaps the raw materials should have been labeled in the warehouse. Gee, I think that subject was raised in the last line meeting we had. Too many new employees wandering around in an unfamiliar warehouse trying to locate things. It's just easier for an old-timer (watch the cracks about this one) to go get these items. This ends my work rant....(for today).

On a lighter note, on my way home today I saw a dumb accident. On the corner of Highway 100 and Layton a compact car wasn't able to stop in time to avoid tapping the bumper of a small delivery truck (DHS I believe). You could clearly see there was no damage. This guy sits and waits until the light turns green and then exits his truck almost getting hit my little old me as he swings his door open. This prevented me from moving as he left his door open. I had a choice of going partway up on the curb or ripping his door off. I opted to sit and watch this incident. He got out, looked at the back of his company truck which had no damage, looked at the woman's car- no damage and told her to pull into the gas station to exchange information. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE. He was completely tying up traffic not only in the proceeding south lane but in the turning lane also. She must have refused citing no damage and he said then " I'll call the cops and we'll sit here until they come". I then rolled down my window and politely said " Excuse me, but could you please close your car door so this line of traffic that is not involved in this little incident can go". I expected some foul response, but he complied. Maybe it was the politeness of it.

Did Anyone Catch....

John Madden's totally asinine comment shortly into the 4th quarter in reference to Brian Griese " He's playing like a ten year veteran out there". Reaction in this household was complete shock, not to mention arguing with someone on TV that can't hear you.

More later...I am currently in mourning, although I will admit I don't think the Packers showed up for the 2nd half of the game.

Speaking Of Commercials...

Last night were were joined by K & J for a rather late dinner. The boys were roofing most of the day so the grill wasn't fired up until dark. We had a good dinner of steak (ribeye was the best I've had in a long time) spuds and veggies. After dinner we retired to the porch and after flipping through channels settled on Grease. Maybe because it's a upbeat movie, maybe because we can pretty much recite the movie, maybe because my husband things ONJ was hot.

This was on the Family channel, so things were cut. The commercials last night were also a little on the funny side. The unexpected, never seen by any of us before took us a little off guard. An always maxi-pad with wings is floating through the air and comes to land on a mechanical bull. The wings of course attach to the sides of the bull and the bull then starts to rock. "What the fuck, You gotta be kidding, that's just wrong, I thought the water tower one was bad" were some of the comments that I can remember. I though A was going to come unglued. I searched for the video of this to post but was unable to find it and share it with those who have not been able to see this yet. You get a lot of funky stuff when doing a search for "Always Maxi Pads" . If you add "with wings" to it you get a few things on buffalo wings. Interesting. "Always Maxi Pad with Wings in a narrowed search will bring up buffalo wings. Hmmmmm.

Winners For Effort

Dylan's game today was a complete blow out. They played the #1 team. Last year they played this undefeated team in their Superbowl and won. No such luck today. I have to give them a "A" for effort. It seemed in some cases they may have been intimidated by the size of these kids. This is a 3rd and 4th grade league. I'm almost positive that some of the opposing team members may have flunked a grade or two. The heat couldn't have been doing them much good either. At one point we were all under the impression that this was their last game. However they go on to the playoffs next weekend.

Sitting (or should I say pacing) out there brought back memories of last year when my parents were in town. My dad was able to make two games. I recall sitting there drinking hot chocolate and wearing a winter jacket. What a difference today. I was swatting at the bee's so much it must have looked like I had some uncontrollable jerking disease. Of course if one un-named husband of mine would have stood farther away from me while consuming his hamburger I may have avoided this issue. Thanks to Jodi for coming out and supporting the team.

In honor of Gambino's little ditty she posted yesterday I felt compelled to join my friends at the local watering hole. There is truth in Stb's statements that one can consume and not spend a whole heck of money. I have a collection of tickets in addition to not a big dent in my wallet. I'm still confused (?) at buying a round for 7 and getting $12.00 back from a $20.00. Once again and enjoyable time. Good company...good friends and plenty to chuckle about. I did come to the conclusion upon arriving home a little hungry and making a peanut butter sandwich that it was time to hit the grocery store.

While composing my blog I am currently listening to the sound of the nail gun that I purchased for my husband in Christmas of 05. It is being put to use on the roof right now. I pulled up from grocery shopping and saw my brother on the roof. I immediatly yelled for him to get off my roof as I cannot be responsible if he should fall. Of course the homeowners is paid but I would not be able to bear the guilt if something would happen. Now my husband is up there. I don't want to be out there, nor do I think I'm welcome out there. I guess as long as I hear the nails being fired that all is well. I did go check the color of the shingles just to assure myself that they were not some discounted funky color. They are black. That is about the extent of my involvement in this project.

Magnet For Rudeness

We started three shifts at work a few weeks ago and I was fortunate enough to stay on first shift. We also went back to 8 hours shifts, unless you want to stick around and help out the next shift. I've been exiting any where from 3:15 to 4. It just seems so weird. There should have been a gradual decrease from 10 plus hours down to 8. One's body and brain cannot comprehend this change. It's been nice though. I can now complete any errands I have and be home before I was usually leaving work. I finally feel somewhat normal. I'm sure this will change without much notice soon.

On my way home today I decided to stop at the local Walmart. I needed a few things that are less costly there then other stores. As I was walking in the cheaters door (lawn & garden doors rock) a middle aged couple must not have seen me and banged their cart into me. I managed to mumble an excuse me and went along my merry way. I would run into this couple several times more during my trip. Each time it would be that one of us was exiting an aisle and the other would nearly bump into them. I was polite enough to continue saying the thing that you say when you get in someones way. They opted for the rude person's way. Say nothing and carry on.

When my purchases were complete I headed for the cheater's check-out (once again Lawn & Garden area). Low and behold who should be right in front of me. It was my big chance...I could ram my cart right into rude lady's very large behind. By accident of course. They had 3 things in their cart. He argued every price with the cashier. The other check-out opened and I tried to get around her to get to that aisle. I said "excuse me" 3 or 4 times. Then I nudged her. She whipped around and gave me the glare that your mother would give if you cut up in church or something. I politely explained that I was trying to get to the other aisle and asked her several times. "hmmmmphft" was all I got from her. By the time she moved her fat ass the line had other customers. They were done by this time anyway. I did my thing, walked out to my car only to find they were parked right next to me. He tried to leave his cart in back of my truck until I pointed out to him where the cart coral was. I dared not make any more stops on my way home for fear of confirming the fact that I was being followed or tested.

Stowin Away The Weekend Home

This weekend marked the last camping trip of the season. Hard to believe 5 months went by so quickly. The camper is now parked in the driveway, soon to be cleaned out and necessary repairs made and it will retire to it's winter resting spot. Toward the end of April it will be pulled out and put into use for hopefully one more year. My husband promised that he'd so some work on it as it is starting to show it's age. Plans are in the works for a new camper but it may be postponed another year. Unless of course, we should happen upon some extra $$. We did have a pleasant, low key weekend. Some good friends were absent but we did manage to have a decent fire and the TiKi torches were filled. The food as always was good and provided one lovely woman with enough gas to just about propel her from her chair several times. A side trip to the Dog Track cost me more money then I won as usual.

It was back to work this morning only to walk into a mess, or I should say several mess's. Once I got one thing straightened out we tried to work on the second problem. I knew this was serious when our Engineer was out on the line pretty much all day. I left at 3:30 and the problem still was not resolved nor did we have any production for the day so far. I called around 6pm only to find out the issue was still not resolved and he was still there. A little "joke" was going around between him and another Engineer about sending out their resumes. This issue has been holding us up for several weeks now and should have been looked at long ago. Now that we didn't make a shipment it seems to become serious. This is not entirely any one's fault as we are a little short handed in Production Support and these guys are doing more than their share of work. They are constantly in meetings and trying to juggle around a heavy work load. As operators, we can only do so much on our own and it gets extremely frustrating for us to be at work for 8-10 hours and not come close to making a production goal. But enough of that.....

Too bad for the Brewers, however they did have a winning season and provided us all with 6 months of excitement. There's always next year.
Another great Packer game yesterday. 4-0. Next week it's bring on the Bears. This could be an exciting game also. I should start getting emails any day now from my nephew the one and only Bears fan that I know. He can talk all the smack he wants to. It's not my fault he was raised corrupt.