Did You Go Through A Snow Wash (Part 2)

Not actual pictures of today in the previous post, but it should give you a idea of the difference in weather conditions from one side of Milwaukee to another.
As other's have posted today, we didn't have much warning. At 10 last night we heard "a dusting". I let Sadie out at 4:45 am and was greeted by a stuck porch door due to a pile of snow. My ride to work was slow from my house until the Hale. It appeared that area received the dusting. As I neared work there was nothing. I could see grass. I had to chuckle as I got out of my truck and heard "Did you go through a snow wash or something?" from a co-worker. He lives on 84th and Cleveland. He then took notice that I still had snow on my shoes and bottom of my pants from my walk to my car this morning. I guess stranger things have happened.

My interview this morning took about 5 minutes. She had three questions for me. I answered what I figured she wanted to hear but in my head I really wanted to say "I want this job because I am sick and tired of being dirty all the time. I want this job because I don't want to crawl up a ladder or on the floor anymore. I want this job because I'm bored with what I'm doing now".
So now the slow process of making the decision between me and......wait...I'm the only one that applied, begins. Want to start a pool on how long it takes until they let me know?
The girl who's place I'm taking gave them a 6 week notice. If they were smart they'd get going now on replacing her. In past practice they wait until the last minute and then scramble to train someone. If it means one of the management or supervisors will have to do the work they might move a little faster.

My other shock of the day was seeing that my husband answered an email. I didn't even look to see what it said as I was so shocked. I asked him about it and was told that LMFA means leave my friend alone. LOL.

Do You Go Through A Snow Wash Or Something?

A Whole New World

Yesterday I did something I haven't had to do for eight years. I interview for a job. A job within the department I work in now. This is for a QC position. In the eight years I've been with the company I have done QC work. Not as extensive as what the full time position calls for but pretty close.

My interview was with the newly appointed QC manager and Supervisor. QC right now consists of 1 person. If she's busy the manager helps out or we help her. The position is open because she is leaving. I knew this interview was going to be odd when (let's call him Farley) started asking me questions from a formal interview instruction sheet. What is your experience here, What do you feel is your biggest accomplishment, biggest challenge and so on. I've been told he has a very dry personality and it showed. The manager who I've worked with for about 1 1/2 years now kept looking at him oddly and looking at me and smiling. I think it went well but there is another girl interviewing next week. She's pretty confident she's getting the job. She feels she's put her time in. Let's see, two years vs. eight years. And her schooling for a Para-Legal should land her the job. All we can do is wait and see.

The past few weeks I've been working in a QC Lab on the other side of the building. A world not seen by us production workers. This was my third week and I had a lot of visitors today. People coming in and introducing themselves and thanking me for helping out over there. I kept thinking to myself "they are thanking me yet they are getting me my 40 hours?". I got to go on a tour of the "other side". I was given a ten minute tour of the CSI Lab. Found it very interesting. The best part of the day was no stress. Zip...none what so ever. It was great. I came home in a great mood, I wasn't tired. I wasn't crabby and I actually enjoyed my day. This is the kind of work environment I could be very happy in. This is not where I will be if I get the QC job. I will still be in the same department.

I did get an interesting bit of information. The lab I'm helping out in is trying to justify the hiring of another person. They are about two weeks behind in testing. Their budget comes up in a month or so and they are pretty sure they will get approved for the hiring. I was told to put in for the job if it opens. This could actually make going to work somewhat enjoyable.

Sharing Is For The Birds

I felt it this morning as soon as I woke up. The nagging pain above my eyes. As the day went on I developed the "tickle" in my throat. I managed to keep the pain at bay with a few Dayquil tablets. Thought maybe I could beat this thing.

I have felt a little tired the past day or so and have had the chills. I didn't have the chills when it was in the teens outside but now that its in the 30's I have the chills. Could it be?? Yes, I think that I can now confirm that my husband has been so kind as to share his illness with me. Of course, mine won't be as full blown as his was. Because I won't let it.

I have the DayQuil and the Nyquil (Walgreens brand, same ingredients) my orange juice and just enough stubbornness to fight this thing.

Happy Valentine's Day

This is a note that my daughter made me years ago. I save the sentimental things in life.

My husband seems to be on the road to recovery. I think that fact that he slept about 16 hours straight may have something to do with it. He's at least up and moving now. He moved from the bed to the basement and then back to the bed to watch TV. He's currently chowing down the bag of Peppermint Patty mint hearts I got him. So fast that he didn't even notice the minty goodness on the inside is pink.

I'm almost certain this is going to turn into a lazy day. I've been up since 7 and haven't really accomplished to much yet. A few phone calls (received) and cleaning of the litter box. I'm currently smelling the goodness of two apple pies I'm baking to bring along to the Turkey Dinner at Ben & Nannettes house tomorrow. I'm sure they're not as good as Connie's but they should come in a close second place. (if I don't burn them). If I do I have enough apples for a do-over.

I received a recipe for Mac & cheese that I may make but it will require a visit to the grocery store. Seems we're lacking the cheese. Guess it just wouldn't taste right without it.

So am I the only person that is hungering for spring to arrive? I'm not asking for much, just some days with sunshine and temperatures around 65 for starters. Just enough to open some windows and maybe sit outside on the deck and soak up some sun. Winters are just way to long around here. Yes, the snow is pretty and I can deal with snow. I just want some warmth.

Got a little sad & bad news this morning. I'm not sure how this is all going to pan out so I'm trying not to go into any panic or deep depression about it. It seems my son-in-law has an urging to move to Denver. He has a brother there and they've been out to visit quite a few times. My daughter likes Denver, but isn't sure she wants to live there. Right now he's unemployed and can have a job in Denver if he wants. They are pondering him going and checking it out and her and the girls following if it works out. She was telling me via phone and I could hear him in the background "It's only 15 hours away". "Maybe your mom would move out there also". I had to explain to her that I would not freak out and although I would miss them, they're young enough to pull off a life there. It would give me a place to visit. Then I started to remember how I felt when my parent's moved to AZ. This should me that's moving....not her.

Random Bits of Un-Interesting Things

• Leave your crummy mood at home. Those you work with don't want to see your scowling face day after day.
• I can be stubborn, although it doesn't suit me.
• When you fight with your spouse and one of the things mentioned is leaving a TV or radio on when you vacate the area, it is sure to happen several times.
• When you fight with your spouse and mention that the dirty laundry does not have just one person's name on it, you can be rest assured that when they hear the washer start they suddenly throw down all their dirty clothes.
• My cat's love me because I am the one that feeds them, gives them water and cleans their litter box.
• My dog loves me because I am the one that think she deserves clean water several times a day.
• When you fight with your spouse about who should be the one to cook dinner, they will call you when you are on your way home to see if you want dinner from the China House.
• I realize that either I am mute or my spouse is deaf.
• The toothless shoe-shine man at Southridge must be good as he had a few people in line.
• When you get a male nail tech. they are a bit rough on your hands and then think they did the best job ever until you point out an imperfection.
• I hate left-overs and came very close to turning down the take out order just to prove a point.
• I may be stubborn, but I am not stupid.
• Silence is golden. It's very quiet here.

Happy Birthday Randy

Not a day goes by that we don't think about you!

One Brave (or stupid) Cat

Does this not have "Do you realize I could squash you like a bug" written all over it?
So far Sadie has put up with a lot and not made a stink. He's been found sleeping on her bed, eating her food and attempting to move her bone. Beside the one incident where she dropped her bone on him, she's been really calm about him invading her territory. The other one still will not come upstairs unless we hold him and I'm not starting that so I guess he stays put downstairs. He's probably glad to get rid of Mitchell for a while.

It was back to work today after 5 days off. Nothings changed. I did notice that a barrel of trash that was tagged was still sitting there. Yes, tagged. We are currently in the midst of starting "The 5 S" program. It's all about being clean and organized. At the end of each day a member of management goes around a tags anything that is out of place or dirty. Then in the morning we're supposed to fix the problem and remove the tag. So you would think that after getting tagged for the same thing 5 days in a row you'd have the sense to check it before you leave for the day. Not where I work. You just ignore it or wait for someone else to do it. Then the next day you claim you didn't have time, yet you stood around talking to someone for 10 minutes. Probably not a good thing to do in front of the person who is going to issue the tags. This is the mentality of some of the people I work with.

I had to chuckle today as I watched someone screw around with a stapler and attempt to use different staples for over 10 minutes. Twice I mentioned that the line could use his help and that there was another perfectly functional stapler sitting right on the desk. This guy actually left the line with the stapler and headed for the office. Once again, this is the mentality of some of the people I work with. He was pissed when he came back and I had stapled what he needed stapled. I just couldn't resist it.

Not a Sheet In Site

We arrived home today to find our house intact. I half expected to see my yard toilet papered and a line of food delivery people on my door step. Maybe someone really didn't know my address, or maybe it was the threat of sending Bible toter's to his home, or maybe he realized how expensive toilet paper is now days. At any rate it was a relief to see that he decided to leave well enough alone.

Once again a good time was had in Green Bay. We picked up these drifters along the way. We had stopped at Cruiser's for lunch and they suddenly decided to tag along. They were okay, they made the weekend fun. You may know them yourselves as they go by the names of Babbette and Benny. We tried to leave the hotel this morning without them but they were just to quick for us.

I had not one ounce of luck at the Casino. The closest I came to luck was when a woman sat down on the machine next to me and won $1200.00. As usual it was the machine I had thought about playing but it didn't look to interesting. After about 3 hours of rotten luck I went in search of my husband. Found him sitting at a Let It Ride table and after a few minutes got his attention. I mentioned that I was done and going to sit in the lobby. I got a nod and "Okay" out of him. For some strange reason I thought he'd offer me a few bucks. My luck this weekend wasn't entirely bad as I did win two pools. The game was good, but I'm going to have to catch a repeat of the commercials as I missed a few of them.

Poor Sadie must have had a exhausting weekend. We picked her up from my daughter's house and she's been sleeping ever since. The boy's did good. The basement wasn't torn apart. The most I could find that they did was dump their food bowls out. They seem to be healing nicely and have maintained the same pitch of their meowing.

Tomorrow will be another day off as I'm heading out to make some bucks doing a survey and then off to several appointments. Trying to get all the insurance related things in before I get my walking papers.

Sorry....In Advance

In a few hours we're heading out for a much anticipated, much needed weekend away. The chosen spot is once again Green Bay. I'm going with a positive attitude that I will leave the Casino with more money that I came with. Although I would like to repeat the fun I had last year, I don't want to repeat the ride home. Let's just say the boys got us drunk. Hence the drunk dialing. I will apologize in advance for any calls that may be made Sunday. Seeing as my parents don't read my blog I will have to deal with them on Monday.

I'm a little shocked that Sadie isn't on to us yet. There are bags and coolers sitting by the door which usually sparks something in her. As I'm typing she's laying next to my chair snoring away. This has me a bit concerned as normally she'd be pacing and wondering if she was going to her hotel or to my daughter's house. She has been slowing down a bit lately but I try not to think about that. She's only 9. It still seems like we just got her. Cute little puppy that peed on me on the ride home. You would think she is sensing the cats are not here and trying to get all the love and attention.

I hope the rest of you enjoy Superbowl weekend. I'm sure we'll be calling!

Big Day For The Boys Tomorrow

Yes, the mean lady is taking the cats in for a fixin and declawing. I walked downstairs after work today and found Barney talking to both of them. I figure he feel's their pain or something. Seeing as they are starting to scratch their claws on everything downstairs they will be taken care of.

We still keep them downstairs during the day so coming home is sometime humorous. I've found Mitchell in the laundry basket a few times trying to claw his way out. We find things out of place or moved. They kept getting this goofy troll doll so I hid it in a box. Came home and found it in their bed. The best one was trying to figure out how they got the chain that hangs about 5 inches down from the ceiling. It was no where near a chair or table.

Mitchell will venture upstairs when we're home and has been exploring a little bit more each day. He's gone from hiding under the dining room table to jumping up on it. The squirt gun seems to have become ineffective with him, but a loud bang on the table works fine. Today he went as far as to try to eat Sadie's food. "Hey, if it's in a bowl and on the floor it's free game".
I tried to get a picture of this little cat (I don't think he's going to grow) eating out of the 71 lb. lab's bowl. Sadie goes downstairs and can gulp their food down in one second flat. I left the room for a minute and came back to find Mitchell siting in Sadie's water bowl. Must have felt the need to take a bath. The big Ragu will come up the steps but go no further. He's still a bit of a wimp. I'm hoping that tomorrow doesn't throw him completely out of whack.

The best part about this is that Barney will be delivering them to the vet for the butchering....I will be picking them up, so I'll be like the savior.

All Is Quiet

We had the kids and grand kids over for dinner last night which actually turned out pretty good. I say good as there were enough left-overs for my husband tonight. Then the grand kids all stayed over last night. Most of the night was taken up by twin #1 & Barney working on a school project for her. She had to make a musical instrument, so they were occupied with that the whole night. Twin #2 , Dylan and I decided to play a Wii game he got. After about 1 hour of watching them create their Wii people & pets I went and found something else to do. I'm not sure if I'm okay with the fact that they don't need me to help them anymore.

This morning I stood back as they made breakfast (french toast & sausage) and only needed to ask me a few questions. I should be happy with this right?? Although I did find out I was needed when it was time to do the dishes. Barney & twin #1 used the excuse that they still had work to do. #2 & Dylan used the " Well, I cooked the food" excuse. I guess I'm okay with that.

The rest of the day was spent Wii bowling, boxing (I kicked butt) tennis and then we decided to ski. I'm the mean grandma that actually makes them get off the couch to bowl. When the phone rang and one of the parents wondered if they were ready to come home yet they answered that they'd be ready around 5 or so. What???? I softened and let it go at that. We managed to get a movie in and the project was finished by 5. Had to check twin #2's jacket as she was leaving to make sure my cat wasn't in there. He took to her and followed her around all day. I think she may have had some remnants of french toast or syrup on her.

So now it's quiet. Sadie is pooped out and both the cat's are sleeping. Having them here took the boredom out of a winter weekend.

Not The Silver

This, I feel is worthy of sharing. Last night after a good meal with good friends at BW3's we opted to head home rather than hit the bar for a beer or two. My husband claimed that is was because it was to cold outside, but deep down inside I think he didn't want to wash off the spray paint in minus zero weather again.

I was kind of surfing through eBay and came across a silverware pattern that matched a set that my mom handed down to me. Awhile back she found it funny that I had kept it and told me I should try to sell it. I joked with her and told her that I was going to hang on to it until her and dad hit the nursing home and needed the bill paid for one month. Cruel daughter.

When finding this on eBay I decided to look into it further. I'm not planning on selling it I just was wondering the worth. I had the silverware case out on the dining room table and was looking at what pieces I had when Barney came up from downstairs. He walked past it and into the computer room and with the funniest expression on his face says "No, not the silver". He then just shook his head and walked away. I could do nothing but burst out laughing. I told him that there are a lot of things in this house of value that we should think of getting rid of. I'm pretty sure that he has all his antique trains locked away now. This morning I had to reassure him that I did not plan on selling anything. I asked him if he even knew the set of silver existed as I've never used it . I find no joy in sitting and polishing a fork so I can use it. Our company silverware is in my kitchen drawer or obtained from Sam's Club in best plastic ware you can find.
He wanted to know if the china was going next. "What China"? I've been married twice and have not yet picked out a China pattern. I explained to him that China is something you invest in, not go to Kohls or Walmart and purchase. I guess the next question he asked was well deserved. "Well then why did we have to spend so much money on a China cabinet"? See, he's not just another pretty face after all.

Last of the 40's for awhile

I'm not talking about 40 ouncers...
The 40 hour work week. Today was the last 10 hour day for us for the (see able future)? I tried to find out what that meant and was not given the answer I wanted to hear. Last week we were told April at the earliest. Today we were told maybe July.

I've listened to the comments all week regarding my co-workers looking for jobs. Most of them are looking for full time jobs. I'm wondering if that is wise right now. We have excellent benefits which they have not touched yet. Most of us have 3 plus weeks of vacation and we make a decent wage. I'd like to pick up something part time to make up the wage loss and will be seriously looking. Then again, if several people leave it could mean more hours for the remaining few left. Or if the housing market would pick up we'd be back to 40.

When we were given our hours today I questioned if these would be permanent. If I'm going to work part-time I would prefer to start at 7am. My boss was either really confused or just plain doesn't get life. He asked why and I told him that most part-time jobs start around 4 and you're done by 9 or so. Getting off a second job at 9 and getting up at 3 for this job might be difficult. His answer to the worlds problem "Work Friday, Saturday and Sunday". Not that I'm above working weekends, but I'm certainly not wishing to work 7 days a week. I'm not as brave as a co-worker who asked "Just how long are you going to dick us around". I had to turn my head to keep from busting out laughing. It's so true though. All in all, you have to do what you have to do.

I've put plenty of though into how to budget things a little differently. Here's my list:

1). Quit smoking- big on the list
2). roll my own
3). Cut down the dining out-(we don't do that to often)
4). Switch from diet coke to Roundy's cola (not a chance)
5) Start to see Connie for haircuts (she does a good job with Ken)
6). Watch the clothing allowance (gift cards are great gifts to receive)
7). Use up all the food in my cupboards ("Hey dear, what do you want for dinner...we have a can of pineapple and some re fried beans left)
8). Screw all that crap and look for a part time job

Here was my husbands suggestion..."I'll buy you Budweiser".

Who dun It & Why???

We went to a 50th birthday party for a very good friend of ours last night. Had a good time. It was more like a gathering of friends for a good cause. He's been somewhat unable to attend a lot of functions due to his ailing father so it was good to see him, and to see him happy.

The night went well until....Some jackass decided to spray paint my truck. I hate parking in the lot down the street from the bar and would prefer to park in the bank lot, but hubbie thinks it's illegal and he was driving. It appeared that we were either the only one's tagged or other's who had been were gone already. The first thing Barney says to me "Who did you piss off"?. I didn't think that Cleve was that upset with me over throwing snow at him. Needless to say at 2am here's Barney outside scrubbing the paint off my truck. There still is a little residue on the windows and grill which he's out working on now.

So a good night ended like crap. I'm more ticked off that some jackass felt the need to deface something not belonging to them. I keep thinking it could have been worse.

Paper or Plastic???

Well the downhill economy has now hit home. At the very end of a meeting held at work yesterday, which was supposed to be our monthly production meeting, we were give the news. As of Jan. 26th we are cut to a 32 hour work week. This affects only the hourly production workers and shockingly maintenance.

The first part of the meeting was all about cutting costs and improving production. Then we had a little safety spoof on the safe use of electricity. I felt a little sorry for my boss as he stood up there and read the bad news from his notes. It hit me half way through that he's never really had to bring this kind of news to us. It had always been Randy who had to stand up there and do the dirty deeds. It sucked to because had it of been Randy I would have had a little hint.


When I called home after work and my opening line was "Do you want fries with that"?, it took Barney a second. At first he thought I was stopping at Kopps on my way home. He didn't seem to concerned about the loss of income, but I think he's all about helping me find a part time job. We were also given the option to work 5-1 or 7-3. As I am sick of getting up at 3am I chose the later hours. This way I'll have plenty of time to get home, change and get on over to Walmart.

This reduction in hours is predicted to last until at least April. My guess is there will be occasional weeks that we'll work 40 hours. In the mean time I'll stock up on Ramen noodles and start looking for something to fill the gap. I already have a lead for something. I don't see any tragic losses coming from this if it only lasts a few months.

On a lighter note...Crap! It's damn cold outside. Ol" Barney also has off work today and here I am at 7:30 a.m. wide awake and he's snoring away. I was the one who said last night I wanted to sleep in and he was going to get up early and get some things done. I'm not used to someone infringing on my lonely day off. I surely hope there's no breakfast expected.

Dirty Cat

With not being at home during the day I wondered what these cat's would be up to. I took a sick day today due to plain out being sick. I have contacted both the cold and stomach part of what ever is going around. Yesterday was no more than laying around with a box of Kleenex and my remedy of Day Quill (coupon at Walgreen's for $3.00 off). I went down at my usual time this morning at gave them water and food and had a few minutes of them crawling all over me. Went back to bed. Around 7am I heard some noise and decided to investigate. It seems as if Mitchell had gotten his toy stuck around the leg of a bar stool and was determined to get it off. I noticed that the water bowl was full of food for some reason, so I figured rather than let them learn a lesson I'd just clean it out and refill it. It was then that all hell broke loose. Barney has put doors on to the laundry room just to keep them out for a short while. We have some cleaning to do in there before they can be let loose. They have a habit of sitting by the door when I go in for water and usually a little nudge will make them move. This morning they both escaped when my hands were full with two water bowls.

After about twenty minutes of trying to get them I just sat down and waited for them to come to me. They have to get hungry sooner or later right? I got Mitchell and then rather than let him escape again while waiting for the big Ragu to appear I put him in the cat carrier. I think what drew the big Ragu out was Mitchell's crying. It only took about 2-3 minutes. Got the door closed and realized I'd left the water in the other room. Armed myself with the squirt gun and went back in. I required only one shot and they both scattered. Felt so proud I wanted to blow on the end of the gun like the movie stars do. No holster, and I didn't feel the fool as the gun still had water in it. The helpful hint on using the squirt gun is much appreciated. For the time being I will be bringing water from upstairs.

As for now, they seem to be spent after spending quite some time bathing themselves after their adventure.

Just Call Me Charlie Brown

Here's a little picture of the nightly meeting between Sadie and Mitchell. Mitchell actually pets Sadie's nose. No claws. All went well tonight until Sadie attempted to give Mitchell her rather huge bone she received for Christmas. (a dog bone). Kind of spooked the cat a little and we saw her hiss for the first time. I'm not sure I like the way he's eyeing up the house. You can just see the thoughts racing through his head. "I could do some damage up here". So for now when we're not home he'll be staying in the basement. We'll try the upper level this weekend.

I've been on this daily regiment of taking Sadie for a walk. Her and I both need the exercise plus I think it helps her to not feel slighted. We headed out tonight around 5. Most of the sidewalks were shoveled or had light snow on them. We were about a mile from home when we encountered a pretty snowy sidewalk. Had we not been on a busy street I would have headed for the road. Sadie did a complete Bambi on ice show for me and I managed to stay up right....for a moment. She gained her balance and we took a step and I did a very nice imitation of Charlie Brown kicking the football that Lucy just pulled away. Feet up in the air and down flat on my back and clunked the ol' noggin. "Damn that f***ing hurt". Sadie did exactly what she is supposed to do. Sat down next to me and didn't move. Then I go to get up and my feet are slipping all over. I was pretty close to walking up to their front door and ranting. This wasn't just a patch of ice, the entire sidewalk was like an ice rink. There ought to be a law. Oh, wait, there is. We continued on our way with no further mishaps. I have a nice bruise on my leg and a knot on my head. Good thing I had my hat on to shield my head from to much damage. I shall choose the other side of the street tomorrow.

She's Not Having It

We got our adopted kittens yesterday. The featured guy here is Mitchell. He settled right in. The other one let us hold him with no problem at first. Because of the dog we thought it would be best to get them used to us first and then gradually get them upstairs. Barney spent most of New Years Day (after he finally got up) putting doors on the other areas of the basement to keep them confined to the rec room. After about two hours of them being here we decided to bring Sadie down. It took her a minute or two to notice that something was amiss. Mitchell went right up to her and batted her in the nose. This forced a little growl out of timid Sadie. They probably would have been okay after a minute but then came the hiss out of the other one. Sadie's hair stood on end and the cats tail was about 10 times bigger. The cat (Carmine) took off for the only corner in the basement that he could hide in and immediately got stuck. Got him out of that jam and he took off again and headed for the air conditioner. Managed to get himself stuck in between the fan. Tool man had to take the thing apart to get him out. We then let him go back into the corner and figured he'd come out when he was ready. Mean while Mitchell was just having a good time.

We had to take a trip to Waukesha last night to visit Barney's aunt who had a heart attack New Years Eve Day. She's a talker and after about 1 1/2 hours of being there the nurse came in to check her vitals. We got a chuckle when she said her oxygen levels were low and Aunt D proclaims "Well that's because I've been talking non stop for almost two hours". The ending of the story she was telling was about South Dakota but I don't quite remember how it started. I have learned to just nod and not ask questions as it will throw her off. I though for sure I'd look over and see Barney nodding off but he was just staring at her in awe.

Upon our arrival back home I was happy to see that they are indeed litter trained. We had to search around for Carmine and found him in a box behind the bar. He may be the damage inflicter as some glasses and bottles were teetering. Some adjustments must be made to secure the safety of the cats and our sanity. I heard some commotion at 6 am and went down to check it out. Mitchell was in the playing mood so the laser light came out and he was tuckered out after a bit. The big Ragu made an appearance, walked by my leg, took a poop and went back to his corner. All in all day one went okay. Sadie knows I still love her more.

We Rang It In Good

I woke up late this morning and wandered into my kitchen and hit the fridge for some ice cold water. A chuckle escaped as I spotted the bowl of albino cashews in the fridge. It was way to early for me to make any sense of why they were in there. On my way back to bed I spotted my newly acquired Christmas quilt I had gotten in the White Elephant exchange. Although cute, it will probably look better in my mother-in-laws home then mine.

I laid in bed for awhile and thought about the crappy things that happened in 2008. Things that I try to block out of my head because I'm not all that ready to accept them. Things that have made me forget the good. I then started to think about the good. The everyday good that I guess I have taken for granted. The fact that I wake up everyday, I am healthy, I have a roof over my head, I have a job, I have an awesome family & husband and the best friends anyone could ask for. Friends that I spent New Years Eve with. What more can I say besides "These guys are the best". I just need to investigate the green and gold Christmas bows left on my front porch.

I have no New Years resolutions. Just can't set myself up to fail. What I do have are New Year's goals. Things I would like to change in the next year. Some of them are the normal...quit smoking...loose weight...look for a new job...blah...blah..blah. The smoking being the highest priority goal. The little bit of TV that I watched today must have had a weight loss gimmick commercial on every 3 minutes. Good marketing strategy. I watched them while shoving a Connie cookie in my mouth. I looked in the fridge for other food to eat and decided to skip the eating for today as all that's in there are things that contain BBQ sauce or dips. I think a trip to the grocery store is in order.

So, hopefully this year we will be able to hold onto the everyday good and hope that the bad isn't too bad. Maybe the bad can hold off until we'll able to heal from the last bad. Like my other friends have mentioned..we couldn't ask for a better support system. I must also take a second to apologize to someone for picking on his albino cashews. Never....ever....give a drunk a phone.

Under Control

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

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

Eeeeekkkkkkk!

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

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

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

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

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

Brrrrr....Humbug

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

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

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

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

Holy Crap!

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

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

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

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

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

No Auditions

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

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

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

It Has Been An Honor!

To My Friend Randy,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Touching

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

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

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

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

Recession...It's The Buzz

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

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

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

I Hate Wrapping

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

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

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

Thankful

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

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

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

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

Two 1/2 Men vs. Packers

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

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

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

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

Who Will Be The Next To Go

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

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

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

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

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

It's Soapbox Time

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

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

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

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

Heard It Through The Grapevine

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

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

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

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

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

Is There Stock In Wiper Blades

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

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

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

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

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

Herbie Is a Crabby Old Man

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So Burp Already

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

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

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

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

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

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

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

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

How Can She Be Two Mothers

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

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

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

I'm Stuck In Little People Land!

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

He's Not Fond Of The Number

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

Damn Cowboys

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

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

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

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

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

I Saw It First

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

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

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

I Smell Poop!

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

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

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

You Want Cheese With That?

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

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

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

TGIF ??

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

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

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

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