Always and Forever

How is 2012 going so far....

2012-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

We are now 22 days into the new year and how are things going? For the most part, pretty well. I have been at my job for 8 months now working less hours then at my last job and I somehow feel that I have less time to get things done outside of work then I had before. Thinking about it, I think it's because I get so much more done in my day at my current job then I ever did at my last job. There is so much more to do and more responsiblity at my current job then at my last job to squeeze into an 8-9 hour work day. Now when I came home, I am much more tired and don't want to do very much except to maybe settle in and relax for the evening. I am hoping that once winter weather starts to leave and we see spring arrive I will have more energy to want to do more. So for the most part except for being tired, nothing major has happened in the 1st 22 day of 2012.

Happy New Year 2012

2012-01-01T05:32:00.001-08:00

May this year bring great joy and happiness

Resolutions for 2012

2011-12-31T15:03:00.000-08:00

Lets see, what shall I make for my Resolutions for 20121-Since I am doing Weight Watchers TRACK TRACK TRACK what I consume and follow the plan better than I did in 20112-Similar to above excersise to help me succeed with #13-Again with #1 I have tons of healthy cookbooks and magazines so VOW to cook at least 1 healthy recipe a week.4-Take more pictures. As I look at 2011 I barely took pictures. I want to try and take a picture a day. That is a big order, but I am sure that there is always something going on that is picture worthy.5-Continue with the same attitude I started with at the job I started in May of 2011. Do your job and don't get involved or emotional about any of the BS that happens in the office. Go with the flow and accept any and all changes with little or no complaints.6-Tell my family members I love them often.7-Focus on Me and my spouse more. and finally 8- have the will power to accomplish all of the above.HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope if you have a resolution that you find the will power and mind set to stick with it.

Merry Christmas a day late

2011-12-26T17:08:00.000-08:00

I neglected to post a Merry Christmas here yesterday. Since we lost Dillinger on Christmas Eve, we have just been going through the motions of Christmas without really feeling the day. Hard to be happy when you lose a family member.So a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Sad Day Today

2011-12-24T12:26:00.000-08:00

Today is a very sad day at our home. We had to but our dog Dillinger down. He was sick a couple of weeks ago and we thought it was a sinus infection or a tooth that got infected and the infection got into his sinus cavity. The vet put him on an antibiotic and a pain killer and Dillinger bounced back to his old self. Yesterday he started up again with a bloody nose and reverse sneezing. This morning he wasn't any better barely moving and blood still coming out of his nose. I was sitting in the dining area when I heard a strange sound I looked and saw poor Dilly having a seizure. We called the vet and they told us to bring him in. It took quite a long time after his seizure for him to reconize any of us for us to get close to him but we were able to get him to the car and to the vet. Once the vet examined him we were told that by the looks of the swelling on the top of his head that he either had a brain tumor or he had sinus polyps that had encroached on his brain. Either way they said it would probably be best to put him down. We could have waited until after Christmas but after seeing how Dilly could barely stand up and discussing how if something were to happen Christmas eve night or Christmas day, we with very sad hearts decided to stop his suffering and have him put to sleep.I really didn't think I would take it as hard as I did. He was my pain in my butt in a good way, but such a loyal and good dog and protector. We will miss his playfulness and those sad eyes when he wanted to be petted. RIP DillingerDillinger Christmas 2010

2011-12-18T14:28:00.001-08:00

2011-12-15T18:49:00.001-08:00

2011-12-11T05:49:00.001-08:00

16 Days

2011-12-09T18:16:00.001-08:00

19 Days

2011-12-06T05:30:00.001-08:00

Back to Work

2011-11-27T16:37:00.001-08:00

After 2 weeks & 2 days off I return to work tomorrow. My body is physically ready to return but my mind isn't.I am so afraid of what will be waiting for me when I return. Before I went on leave I filled in for a co-worker that was off for 7 weeks, I know I did the best that I could while she was gone. I am wondering if she did the same for me.We will find out in a little over 12 hours. I will either come home happy or totally pissed off.

Black Friday....Not for me

2011-11-25T05:00:00.001-08:00

If you know me, you know I hate to shop. On Black Friday the only way you get me out there is if I think a deal is really really good. I can count the number of times I went out on Black Friday as an adult on one hand.So yes, this morning I got up for something that went on sale at 4am. I dragged my butt out of bed at 3am got dressed, brushed my teeth, put a baseball cap on and went to the store. OMG what a mad house. I asked people what their line was for and was happy when I found the line that I was there for only had 1 person in it. By the time 4am hit there were 4 of us in line for this item and guess what, the friggin store only had 5 of the item. So thank goodness I got one. The funny thing is there was a limit on this item 2 per person. Well HELLO stupid retailer. If you put a limit of 2 on something, you should have more than 5 available. What if there were more people in line or one of us in line wanted 2. DUMBASSES for not ordering more product per store. Anyway, now this item will be put away until Christmas.Oh, did I mention that it is a gift for me? LOL yes, I went out at 3am to get my own Christmas gift. Merry Christmas to me. LOL

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T12:28:00.001-08:00

To all who may read my blog:

One More Week Off

2011-11-19T13:05:00.001-08:00

I went to the doctor on Thursday to see how I am doing after the surgery.I am doing ok. My one incision isn't quit healed enough yet, I think because where it is that my pant rub against it.So I will be taking one more week off and return to work on Monday 11/28. That's OK. I guess I can get ready for Thanksgiving while I am recouperating.Looking forward to returning to work. Staying home all day gets a little boring.

bilateral laparoscopic salpingo oophorectomy

2011-11-13T09:15:00.001-08:00

Yep, that is what I went through on Thursday 11/10/11 at 10:00am. Well that's when it was scheduled for. I didn't get in surgery until closer to 11:30am because the assistant surgeon wasn't available until then.I was able to come home a little later in the day than anticpated on Thursday evening due to nausea from the anesthesea and I kept falling to sleep. But, by 5:00pm the nausea passed and I was home by 6:00pm and in bed by 7:00pm. Occasional pain getting up for a sitting position, but otherwise doing ok. So glad the surgery went as planned and wasn't more than anticipated. I will see the doctor on Thursday to see if I can return to work on Monday. I will work for 3 days than off for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.Thanks to everyone who sent prayers and positive thoughts!

And it's all down

2011-11-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

All the Halloween decorations are now all down and packed away until next year. So sad to see them go, it's one of my favorite holiday's.Todd had off of work today so when Jordan got home our Christmas lights got hung. Yes Christmas. We always hang them the weekend after Halloween because we never know how the weather will be Thanksgiving weekend, plus with putting up the tree and other decorations on Thanksgiving weekend it gets pretty exhausting. Mind you, we don't light them until after Thanksgiving, we just have them up and ready.This year we purchased new lights and clip for them to hang from the gutter. We purchased LED lights and they seem so much crisper and lighter. Can't wait to see what they look like in the dark. I was told they were so much easier to hang. If pictures turn out, I will post them here after the holiday officially begins.

Happy Halloweeeeeeeen!

2011-10-31T18:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Party 2011

2011-10-30T17:47:00.000-07:00

We had our Halloween party last night and I hope that everyone had a good time. We played Bunco and if you can believe it, I had 5 Buncos. WTF I hardly ever get Bunco's at the monthly Bunco group that I am in. LOLThere were prizes for best costume male, female and most creative. Prizes for Most Bunco's (I won that) Most Wins and 2nd Most Wins. Plus a booby prize for most losses.Here are a few pictures from last nights partyJordan as a pirate he won Best Male Costume

Todd as a tatooed biker and me as Olive Oyl

Raelynn as Minnie Mouse and Gary as a Oakland Raiders fan

Julie as a QVC return she won best female costume

Peggy made this unique costume a childrens book. She won for most original costumer

There were others that wore costumes but we didn't get pictures of them before they took them off. It was a fun time and will probably do it again next year.

Yep, changed the background

2011-10-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

Yep, as Halloween gets closer, I changed the background and I like it!

Annual Scrapbooking Weekend

2011-10-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

I have spent Friday evening through most of today at a scrapbooking retreat with my sister and her friend Jennifer.I have not had an opportunity to scrapbook since the retreat we did last year. We had to find a new place to have our retreat. The Bed and Breakfast that we did last year and really liked, closed down so we tried a retreat held at a hotel.It for the most part has been very pleasant. I took a 2 page class on Saturday and got 29 pages done. I still have to title some of the pages and journal them, but for they most part they are assembled. I am very pleased by this accomplishment because I really didn't have a chance to coordinate pictures with paper and embellishments. I brought what I thought I would need. I actually finished scrapbooking around 9:00pm Saturday night. I still had pictures that could be scrapbooked, but I didn't bring or have the right paper to go with the pictures. I brought along the gifts I am making to give to my stamp campers at my Christmas card camp that I did work on on Sunday morning, but I had to stop working on that also because I didn't bring everything I needed for that either. LOL So we scrapbook pictures correct? So what did we do, forget to take pictures of this event. Some scrapbookers we are. LOLThe retreat reminded me of an Archivers crop and I think we decided that we would so this retreat again in the future, maybe again next year.

Time for a new background and to decorate for Halloween

2011-09-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

For most holiday's I always decorate 1 month before the holiday, except for Christmas where we decorate the day/weekend after Thanksgiving.I changed my background to a Halloween theme, but I am not sure if I like it or not. I will leave it up for a day or 2 and then decide if I want to change it or now.

Arlo and Janis September 29, 2011

2011-09-30T18:24:00.000-07:00

Oh Janis if it was that simple I would be doing it all the time. Click on comic if you need to view it larger.

Farewell to 41 years

2011-09-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

I remember one of the things that I would do over the summer, over winter breaks and spring breaks and whenever I had a day off of school for a federal holiday, teachers inservice or if I was sick. The one thing I would do is watch All My Children. My mother watched the 4 ABC soaps. Ryans Hope, All My Children, One Life to Live and General Hospital from as long as I remember up until she passed in 1975. I remember her telling us to leave her alone during her soaps; but I also remember watching all 4 of them with her at times when I was able to and I was always able to catch up with what was going on. I remember Ryans Hope being change or replaced by LOVING which didn't last long. I remember Luke and Laura's wedding in 1981 on General Hospital; but I do also remember giving up on General Hospital when Luke and Laura were going to save the world from if I remember correctly the Ice Princess or something like that. I though that they were reaching for story lines that were quite unbelievable. I think when I graduated high school I stopped watching One Life to Live because I had my own life to live, but I continued watching All My Children. I would tape the episodes on the VCR and would record over old episodes until the tape wore out and I had to get a new VHS tape.When I 1st got married, I work for the village I grew up in. I was given an hour lunch from noon until 1:00pm and I would go to my father's house during my lunch and would watch All My Children. My dad was retired so he got hooked into watching All My Children with me. He loved the Nico and Cecilly story line and name 2 of his fish Nico and Cecilly. He too watched until his passing in 1991.When I had children I was a semi stay at home mom I would watch the episodes daily and tape them if I couldn't. This was me time while my boys were babies and toddlers. I returned to working full time once my children hit high school age and up until the last episode that aired yesterday I was DVRing All My Children and watching it after dinner. This is when my husband starting watching with me and that was for about the past 6 years.I will miss the story lines that dealt with current events, I will miss the humor that some of the characters brought to the show. I will miss how they focused around families. I will miss the holiday celebrations that they would have on the show along with the parties, wedding and tributes to characters that my have passed. I will miss the beautiful costumes/clothing some of the characters would wear. But must of all I will miss something that I dedicated a big part of my life to.

Farewell to 41 years All My Children, you WILL be missed.

Fall is almost here!

2011-09-18T12:04:00.001-07:00

Boy, where did summer go? I know mine was non existant because I started a new job at the end of Spring and had to for the most part, learn my job by doing. It has been a rough few months but I am finally feeling that I know my expectations at my new job and I am starting to feel comfortable with my surroundings. With that being said, my summer was gone in a blink of the eye. Now that I have some vacation time built up I can enjoy our soon to be here autumn season. Fall is probably my favorite season of them all and I am so happy with being able to take a brealth and enjoy it. I love the fall colors and all the pretty and scary decorations. There are so many different ways of decorating for this season and I try to enjoy it as much as I can. Plus we can pull out our hoodies, long sleeve t-shirts, crock pots and delicious soup recipes. YUMMY!I even changed the background on my blog for the season and will probably change it again in less than a month to celebrate Halloween.Happy almost fall y'all!

OT here we come

2011-08-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

My boss had a meeting with our group on Tuesday. She wants to focus on closing the month in AP a different way. So she drop hints about putting in as many extra hours as we could for the next week and a 1/2. I am already working 9 hours day so I think I will work 10 hour days toward the end of this week and until close is complete and then also work Saturday the 27th.

So OT here we come. That paycheck should be sweet.

The Tree

2011-08-02T17:01:00.001-07:00

Well we got the tree that we ordered from QVC yesterday. I sat in the big box for 24 hours.

Tonight the tree went up and the tree came down. LOL That quick.
Actually it took Todd longer to get it out of the box then it did to assemble it.
About 10 minutes to assemble and I only think it took that long was because he had to take the string that held each section of the tree off.

It is a pretty tree, full with a lot of light. We showed Ethan and Jordan and Jordan said the same thing I said. "Hey, we can actually put presents under the tree." Our old tree sat so low to the ground that you had to put presents in front of the tree.
Our old tree is still in good condition but it used to take a couple of hours to assemble including the lights.

If anyone need a tree, I give away our old one if you hall it. LOL Otherwise I am going to try and sell it at a garage sale. If it doesn't sell, then it will be sitting at the end of our driveway on amnesty day.

Christmas in July

2011-07-23T13:16:00.000-07:00

QVC this weekend is celebrating Christmas in July. I always like watching this yearly because I love to see what they are offering, how they have their set decorated and I love the Christmas season.
Anyway last year they had a prelit Christmas tree that I thought that next year I am going to get that. Our current tree is about 7 years old and we speed hours pulling each branch out of the box, shaping them and then Todd and Jordan work on the lights. By the time the tree is up no one wants to spend time on the decorating of it.

This morning I logged in to QVC and guess what the "Today's Special Value" was. The prelit tree. It isn't the same tree as last year but pretty close to what was offered last year. I told Todd that they are offering the tree on easy pay (monthly payments) and he told me to go for it.

Later in the day QVC showed the tree again and how easy it is to assemble. 3 steps and the tree is up and lit. This coming Christmas our tree will be up and lit in no time then all we will have to do is put the ornaments and decorations on it.

2011-07-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day! America's 235th Birthday!
We must always remember those who have fought and still fight today for what our fore fathers stood for.

Enjoy this beautiful day!

It's Been Awhile

2011-06-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

I just realized it's been about 2 months since I posted anything here. So let me catch you up on what's going on.
1st the good news. I was offered a job about a month ago I started on May 23rd and so far everything is going well. The people are so nice and friendly. The work atmophere so different from my last place of employment, I am still getting used to it.
I have attached some pictures of the building that I work at.

I enter from the parking garage from the back of this picture. This is what I get to enjoy looking at every morning on my way to the office.

Some of the plants on the 1st floor of the building I work in.

More plants

These are by the front enterance of the building.

The outdoor eating area

The indoor eating area

This is the waterfall on the 1st floor of the building that I work at. I see this everyday on my way to the elevators.

The front enterance of the building

The 5th floor elevator hallway. I work on the 5th floor.

The door to enter the company that I work for.

My desk. Long and narrow. It is nice and clean. Notice the 2 monitors and I have a scanner on my desk too.
So, that is my new home for 8 hours of the day.

Stamp Camp Project

2011-04-17T13:40:00.001-07:00

This is one of the projects we made at Stamp Camp this weekend. No stamping involved on this project but we did use the BIG SHOT to make it. You need a colorful aluminum can and a few other small accessories to make it. I got the idea from Dawn Griffith-thanks Dawn!

Where have I been?

2011-04-01T07:10:00.000-07:00

I am still around, not in much of a mood to blog right now. I thought that I would just do a little post today to let you know what is going on.
On March 17th I was let go from my job that I worked at for a total of almost 7 years. It came as a complete shock to me and in my opinion was unjust. I will not go into detail as to why I was let go, I have told those who I feel need to know, and I feel that posting this information would not be something wise for me to do at this time. I will say though that I was dedicated to what I did at my job and I stepped up when others didn't and was willing to learn everything I could to make my job as productive as I possibly could. I will also say that the reason I was let go had nothing to do with my job performance.

I have been involved in an investigation being done by unemployment to see if I will receive unemployment benefits and just this morning learned that the ruling on my case was that I will receive benefits. This is wonderful news. I just hope that my past employer doesn't dispute the ruling. If they do then I will probably have to testify, not something I really want to do.

So now to look for a job. If anyone knows of any Accounts Payable job openings in the Chicagoland area please send me an e-mail.

Tom Hanks on Jimmy Kimmel

2011-03-01T09:58:00.000-08:00

I posted this on my Facebook status today but had to post it here too.
This is so gosh darn funny, take a few minutes to watch it and enjoy the laugh.
Mute the music on my page in the left hand column 1st.

Blizzard 2011

2011-02-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

We were hit last night with a blizzard. The snow started here at about 2:00pm immediately with white out conditions. Work announced at 3:00pm that if we wanted to leave that we could (but you would have to make up your time if you were leaving early). Since I was already there at 6:00am I left at 3:00pm. What usually takes 20 to 30minutes to get home took approx 90 minutes to get home.
Ethan and Jordan plowed throughout the day and Todd plowed once in the evening.
Both colleges closed their facilities for Wednesday and I in anticipation took Wednesday off as a vacation day. We turned off all our alarms and decided we would get up when we got up.
We woke up to this, 16" of snow:

Here are a few pictures of my 3 men plowing us out.
Todd starting the process of plowing:

The small area that we dug out to get the front door open:

The path down the sidewalk, the snow is up to Jordan's knees:

Ethan helping dig us out:

Jordan helping dig us out:

This last picture was taken between the side of our house and the neighbors fence.
We call it Catch a Wave because it looks like an ocean wave.

The village's snow plows finally came by at about 11:30am so even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have made it to work anyway. The snow finally stopped right around noon and now we have a bright sunny winter day. Thank GOD we were all home safe during the major part of the snow storm.

2nd semester of college

2011-01-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

Jordan started his 2nd semester of his 1st year in college this week and his 1st day was very stressful.
Tuesdays and Thursdays are a full day for him so needless to say Thursday which was the 1st day of school he had major problems finding parking which stressed him out and made the rest of his day hard for him.
Monday, Wednesday and Fridays he has 1 class for an hour, kind of silly to go to school for 1 hour but with the problems we had with financial aid he had to register late and had to take classes that were open.
He also attends school on Saturday. BLAH He has a 3 hour business math class that he is taking on Saturdays. He could have opt to take Math on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays but he want to do the Saturday 3 hour class. So basically he goes to school Monday - Saturday's
I think he should be OK with his school load once he gets used to the hours and routine.

RIP Cousin Ed

2011-01-09T06:39:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the visitation for my cousin Ed. My memory is spending the summer when I was 15 babysitting him and his brother Doug. Ed was very personable and was able to approach anyone and have a conversation with them.
Ed you will be missed.

2010-12-31T18:26:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

Here is wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy 2011. May a smile be the 1st thing on your face when you wake up and the last thing on your face when you go to bed.

Merry day after Christmas

2010-12-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

Well another Christmas has come and gone. We had a very nice Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
On Christmas Eve we went to my sister Raelynn and Gary's house. Below are a few pics of the 3 boys/cousins. It is a blessing that the 3 of them get along so well considering the age difference between the cousins.

The cousins; Jordan, Nikolas & Ethan Christmas Eve:

One of the gifts we got Nik. I think the camera focused on the gift. LOL

Jordan opening his gifts:

Ethan opening his gifts. He had a feeling the Eickhoff's would get him this:

Christmas Morning:
Ok why did I take this picture? Because Jordan kept saying that he didn't hear this version of this song all season. The minute we sat down to open presents look what came on:

Ethan opening up his presents Christmas morning:

Jordan opening up his presents Christmas morning. Jordan thought for sure Raelynn was going to get him this:

Even though he has not been a good boy lately, Dilly/Dillinger received a couple of gifts:

Todd was able to take a break from work to open gifts:

And here I am opening gifts too:

As like every year our Christmas' are dominated by DVD's here is the pile of ones that we received minus a couple:

And this was the big gift to the family this year. I think I was the only one excited about it, because I was the one who wanted it. LOL

So now we wait a few more day for New Years Eve. Looking forward to it because I have 1 vacation day left for the year and I am using it for a 4 day weekend.
Merry day after Christmas!!!

Holiday Movies

2010-12-19T12:34:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to squeeze as many holiday movies as I can from Thanksgiving until Christmas.
Here are the ones I have watched so far:

Disney's A Christmas Carol. A lot of people are freaked out by the animation, for me no more than Polar Express (now that animation was freaky!) but I really liked this movie alot.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas. One of my favorites. Again another Jim Carrey, coincidence I promise.

I never get to watch all 3 of this so this year I made it a point to do it:

The Santa Clause really well written version that explains how Santa comes to be.

The Santa Clause 2 not my favorite, but The Santa Clause 3 wouldn't have been able to be made without this one. I notice that Peter Boyle play a duel role in this trilogy. He plays Scott Calvins boss in The Santa Clause and then he plays Father Time in The Santa Clause 2 and The Santa Clause 3 the Escape Clause.

The Santa Clause 3 The Escape Clause. My favorite of the 3 SANTA CLAUSE movies

There are 2 more I really want to see:

ELF this one just makes me laugh so much.
And our Christmas Eve tradition movie:

A Christmas Carol with Alastair Sim. All the presents are under the tree, we turn all the lights off, light candles and watch this movie.

Others I would love to squeeze in but just never have the time to do so. Holiday Inn, Miracle on 34th Street, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story and It's a Wonderful Life; which by the way I have never seen.
Nope, I have never see that movie. I know the jist of what the movie is about, but never have actually seen it.

Holiday Music

2010-11-27T10:35:00.000-08:00

Enjoy the Holiday music that I added to my blog.

Slacking in posting

2010-11-21T10:16:00.001-08:00

I have been slacking in posting here lately. Keeping busy as always with work and home. I had my 8th annual Christmas Card Stamp Camp in the beginnng of November which was a great success with my wonderful stamping friends. I cannot believe that this week will bring my son's 21st birthday and Thanksgiving. It is so hard to believe that my oldest will be turning 21. From what I gather Dad and his Uncle Gary will be taking him out for a Birthday Beer after dinner. Cheers.
I will post pics of this Birthday boy later in the week.

Halloween Bunco Party

2010-10-31T15:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!!!
Last night we held a Halloween Bunco party that turned out to be quite fun and I think a success. Ethan and Jordan even asked me this morning if I would do it again next year. Kind of cool when your 18 and 20 year old had fun.
I don't know how but we didn't take any pictures of the party. Great planning huh?
We did though take some pictures before the party. Here are the decorations that we put up this year and our costumes.
Guy falling off our roof

Coming out of the dead flowers

Our Crime Scene

Our Scarecrow Family

Carved Pumpkins. Ethan did Pacman and Jordan was an animation character

Ethan and Jordan in their costumes. Jordan was a Magician and Ethan was Night Stalker

This is the costumes that Todd and I wore. Todd was a Tavern Man and I was a Bar Wench. I forgot to put on what I call a "dusting hat" for the picture.

This last picture was a pumpkin I decorated for our departments pumpkin decorating contest at work. Didn't win but it was fun!

Lion King Broadway Production

2010-10-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday 10 ladies from work went to see the Broadway Production of the Lion King at the Cadillac Theatre in Chicago. The event was to celebrate Kim's 40th birthday.

I was only able to take 2 pictures, this one above is outside of the theatre and then the other was taken inside the theatre. The picture was the 10 of us in our chairs when I was immediately scolded for taking pictures in the theatre. I wasn't planning to take any pictures of the actual play, I know the rules, but for crying out load they won't even let you take picture before the play starts? Asinine.
The play was incredible, the costumes were amazing and so were the singing voices.
After we went to The Cheesecake Factory where we waited 1 1/2 hours for a table. Yep, it was sweetest day...LOL I have never been there before, you get a lot of food that is really good.

2010-09-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

RIP Tony Curtis

Ride for Autism 2010

2010-09-21T17:25:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday Todd and I participated our 1st/2nd Ride for Autism. The reason I say 1st/2nd is because we registered and paid all of our fees last year to participate and then found out Todd needed back surgery.
This year we were able to participate and it was such a great experience. The event had over 500 motorcycles that helped raise money for a cure. We hold this organization close to our hearts because both of our boys or should I say young men have been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome which is a mild form of Autism.
Below are some pictures from the event:
Todd's bike waiting to go:

Todd waiting to go:

Bikes were parked in front of the building, in the parking lot, on the street around the back of the building and on the street on the other side of the building:

We were in the 1st group to go out these are some of the bikes infront of us:

And some bikes behind us:

Self Portait of ME on the Bike. Too funny huh?

I came home so sore from sitting on a motorcycle for 110 miles; 85 of which was without a break, and the soreness continued for a couple of days. But you know what? I would do it again to help raise money for a cure for these kids who have to grow up with Autism.

Where were you today 9 yrs ago?

2010-09-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

A Facebook friend posted this on her page, I thought I would do the same and also here.

Where were you today 9 yrs ago: I was driving to work when I heard it on the radio, when I got to work no one had heard about it yet, I called my husband who was home after back surgery and he said that he saw the 2nd plane hit the building on the news. We shall Never Forget ! ♥

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Happy Labor Day

2010-09-06T13:02:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has a chance to enjoy Labor Day today.

Week of August 30th

2010-09-02T16:46:00.000-07:00

This is the 2nd week of my youngest being in college. He is taking 4 classes 2 general classes and 2 culinary courses. So far he seems to enjoy it and hasn't really complained about his new adventure. One of his classes is a pastry class. They jumped right in baking and started by making breads.
Here is what he brought home on Wednesday

This is the 3rd time he has brought home bread and oh my goodness it is good.
It makes me wonder what he will be making in the future and bringing home to share with us.

Tonight also is the end of preseason football. YEAH I can't wait for regular season to start so we can really see the players play full tilt. Only thing is the season flys by and before you know it the season is over.

A Week Worth Sharing

2010-08-25T17:24:00.000-07:00

A week worth sharing
My youngest son Jordan started college. I now officially have 2 children in college. Where has the time gone.
Work is still busy, still putting in OT and toward the end of this week, they will launch the last phase of SAP. In doing this no one can log into their computers on Friday. So a lot of us have decided to take Friday off as a long weekend.
This for me means not setting an alarm and getting up at 4:00am
So, tomorrow will be my Friday (insert smile)

Today there was a nice suprise that Jordan brought home from school.
One of his classes in a Pastry class on his 2nd day of class, be baked and brought home 3 loaves of bread. MMMMM. When I had a slice, I couldn't help myself. I gave him a hug and said "I Love You!" He just laughed.

This Saturday is Stamp Camp with my dedicated stampers, which is always a good time.

Lastly, I received this e-mail from my neighbor which I think is worth sharing so I posted it below:
WHAT HAPPENS IN HEAVEN WHEN WE PRAY?

This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen and is so true:

I dreamed that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for them." I noticed again how busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed." How is it that there is no work going on here? ' I asked.

"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back acknowledgments"

"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? " I asked..

"Simple," the angel answered. Just say, "Thank you, Lord. "

"What blessings should they acknowledge?" I asked.

"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. "

"And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."

"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness .. You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. "

"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... You are ahead of 700 million people in the world."

"If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world."

"If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare."

"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair......."

Ok, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and if you care to, pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept.
"Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me so many wonderful people with whom to share it. "

Unplanned Weekend

2010-08-13T14:49:00.000-07:00

Finally a weekend where I have no commitments, nothing on the calendar, a Free Weekend.
Well maybe not quite FREE. I have a few things I have to get done; getting Jordan shoes for school, grocery shopping, going to the bead store to see if I they have group bracelet making classes (don't ask LOL) and laundry.
So how else will I fill my weekend? Maybe some stamping, watching preseason football and maybe watching a movie or 2 that are on our DVR.
These weekends lately have been few and far between so I am looking forward to it.

24th Anniversary

2010-08-09T06:06:00.000-07:00

Today Todd and I are celebrating 24 years of marriage. Where did the time go?
I look at Ethan and Jordan and think yeah I guess it has been that long.
Here we our 24 years ago:

and today:

Chicago Bears Family Night

2010-08-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

Comcast and a few other corporations put together a Family Night where you can see the Chicago Bears practice at Soldier Field. It is usually done the weekend of the Hall of Fame preseason game. This is the 2nd opportunity that we were able to go.
Soldier Field

Jordan with Homer. He had his picture taken 2 years ago with Homer and wanted to do it again.

The only time we will ever see 2nd row at Soldier Field. LOL

Waiting for Practice to start

#4 Punter Brad Maynard

#6 QB Jay Cutler

#23 Devin Hester

#22 Matt Forte doing warm-ups

11 on 11 Scrimmage. #33 Charles "Peanut" Tillman, #54 Brian Urlacher, #6 Jay Cutler

After the Practice, Todd and I waiting for the fireworks to start

Cousins together on the 4th of July

2010-07-04T16:00:00.001-07:00

We had my sister and family over for the 4th. We grilled a turkey, played some bags and Apples to Apples. Ethan had to work most of the day, so once he got home and showered, we took a current pic of the cousins.

This one below was taken earlier in the day. These 2 always lay in weird postions to watch TV. Someday though they will not be able to do this anymore.

Happy Independence Day 2010

2010-07-04T05:19:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone has a Safe and Festive Independence Day!!

My Experiment Week 6

2010-06-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

I wanted to keep up with this weekly but didn't get a chance. But have a look at what week 6 looks like.

There are teeny tiny little tomatoes on the bushes too.
So exciting!!!

Day 2 of our Vacation

2010-06-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

I finally got the chance to post some more pictures of our vacation, here is day 2:
The ship as we head for Coco Cay, Royal Carribeans private island.

COCO CAY sign:

The drink of the day. I don't remember what it was called, but it was good and you got to keep the cup. $7.95 for the drink of the day. Wow what a deal. LOL

The boys spent a lot of time on the blow up slide, but also took a break and got some sun:

The island even has Iguanas and chickens

Todd got really burned here even using 30spf lotion but even so, we really enjoyed this island, it was hot, 91 degrees but there was no humidity so if there was an overcast of cloads, went in the shade or went in the water, you were easily cooled off. I think this was my favorite day of the trip.

Day 1 of our Vacation

2010-06-13T17:26:00.001-07:00

Here are a few highlights of the 1st day of our vacation this past week:
After dropping of our rental car we are headed for the cruise. Florida was HOT and HUMID couldn't wait to get on the boat.

Almost there!

The sign by the pool area: Monarch of the Sea

More of the ship

The men watching the ship leave.

Day 2 to be continued......

Back from Vacation

2010-06-12T05:31:00.000-07:00

We are back from a 4 night cruise to the BAHAMAS
What a fun and relaxing vacation it was. If you ever pick a Cruise line, pick Royal Carribean. This was my 2nd cruise that I have ever taken and by far Royal Carribean BEAT Carnival hands down.
I will post more pics once we get them all organized on the computer.

Graduation Day!!!!

2010-06-04T19:03:00.001-07:00

Well the day has finally come. Our youngest Graduated High School this evening.
I am very impressed that the school can get through graduation with over 500 kids in 75 mins. And they announce all the kids names.
Here are a few photos:
The Graduate:

Proud Parents with the Graduate:

Brothers waiting on dinner after graduation:

His Graduation Gift:

Testing his new toy:

Graduation Events

2010-05-31T05:25:00.001-07:00

A little over a week ago, we received an invitation to the Awards Ceremony from TCD. Jordan was to be rewarded with 2 awards. TCD is a vocational school where high school students spend 1/2 their day at school and 1/2 their day at vocational school. the vocational school teach, cosmetology, fire science, nursing and culinary among other thing. Each subject at TCD gave out 2 awards, Superior Senior and Effort Award. Jordan received the Effort Award and the received a $1000.00 scholarship.

We are so proud of his hard work that he had done this year, not just with TCD but also with his overall grades his senior year. He really took this year seriously.
Since this is a holiday weekend, we decided to have Jordan's graduation party this weekend a week before his actual graduation. It really worked out for the best, the the weather was awesome and we had a really good turnout. Jordan also received some really nice gifts.

Family and Friends

Cake!!!

Jordan with Grandma and Grandpa

Our Family

Ethan, Mary, Jordan, Grandma Phyllis, Grandpa Marvin & Todd

Graduation Party Today

2010-05-30T04:25:00.000-07:00

We are celebrating Jordan's Graduation with a Party today.
He doesn't actually graduate until Friday June 4th but since this is a nice LONG weekend we decided to do it today. The sun is just coming out so it should be a nice warm day today!

Another Session of Training Starts Today

2010-05-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

Today I started another session of training Temps that were brought in to help us catch up on work that we are behind on.
Training 5 temps to learn a system is not all that easy, but we will get through it.
Hopefully they will catch on quickly and won't need much supervision.

I now have 9 people that I over see their daily work. (Kind of makes me sound like a supervisor even though I'm not even close to having the title or pay of one).

My Experiment Week 1

2010-05-16T12:31:00.001-07:00

My experiment week 1. Ace Hardware Tomato Tower.
My tomato bushes grow great with hardly any production. Here is my $29.99 plus the cost of dirt and plants experiment.

I have one Big Boy tomato plant in the middle and one side I have a Cherry tomato plant and on the opposite side I have a Plum tomato plant. On the top of the planter I have 4 Geraniums and 1 Vicca plant. It looks kind a bare now but I am sure as the weeks pass by the plants will fill it out.
I will post as often as I can with updates.

Blog 3 Year Anniversary

2010-04-30T04:21:00.000-07:00

Kind of hard to believe that I have had this blog for 3 years now.
I have enjoyed sharing the little and big things going on in my life and I hope you enjoy reading it.
Below is my 1st posting. Kind of fun going back to some of the old posting and reading and remembering what I wrote.
ENJOY!

Saturday, April 28, 2007
Why the name?

You may wonder why I named my Blog space what I did.
I remember my father when he sent any type of card to my mother he would sign it
Always & Forever,
Ray

I look at that salutation 2 ways. One way was that he would always and forever love my mother or the other way was he would alway and forever be Ray. I choose to accept the salutation as the 1st listed. Kind of more romantic.

Closet

2010-04-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

I just did this about 2 weeks ago and thought the same exact thing.
Click on the comic to view larger.

Busy Times

2010-04-17T06:35:00.000-07:00

I haven't been keeping up with my blog much this year, and I knew this was going to happen at the end of last year because of all the training I am leading for the new system at work. This week we hired 6 temps to help us catch up on some of the work that IP is behind on along with some other issues that we are finding. Out of all the "super users" I was picked to train. Well let me go back a little; the Department head wanted to hire an AP supervior to come in and train the temps and over see their work. It was suggested by the 3 supervisors and 2 department managers that we had "super users" that could train the temps and watch over them to make sure what needs to get done, gets done. Early last week my supervisor came to me and told me that I was hand picked by the 5 to train the temps if I was interested. I am trying to step up when other don't and learn as much as I can about our new system, I feel I have hit the point in my life now that my kids our older and I can focus on my work more, plus I wanted to show my peers and upper management that I do have leadership ability. So as of Friday I started training 4 out of the 6 temps that are being hired.
Thus the reason for my slacking on blogging.

Happy Birthday to Me

2010-04-12T04:40:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. (I hear the guitar rif during the "Today is Your Birthday" song in my head)

and unfortunately it is on a Monday and I have to work. Thought about taking a 3 day weekend but figured I would save a vacation day for something else.
I had a nice pre-birthday weekend. My favorite kind accomplishing alot of little tasks which make me feel that the weekend wasn't wasted.

Here is hoping I have a smooth uncomplicated day.

The Ricky Gervais Show

2010-04-09T09:25:00.000-07:00

One of my new favorite shows besides Modern Family and The Middle is The Ricky Gervais Show on HBO. It's nothing really special just 3 friends sitting around talking about random everyday things. But the conversation is so funny that you get sucked into the show. They also animate the 3 participants so that also gives the show a little extra humor.

If you get a chance to watch it do so, you can also go to HBO.com and view some of
the episodes.

College Schedule

2010-04-06T10:11:00.001-07:00

Later this week my oldest registers for his Junior year in college that will start in early September. WOW time has flown. I remember helping him picking his 1st set of classes his Freshman year. Now last night we sat down and he picked the classes and then even thought about picking back up classes just in case the ones he wants are filled. Glad he is starting to think ahead and doesn't need mom or dad to tell him to do things like that anymore.
He really needs to take a class called Stop Motion Animation. He has tried twice now to register for it and both times both the sessions offered have be closed due to being filled. Now that he will be a Junior, he will get to register before some of the other students so we are hoping that he will 1st get in the morning class but if not then he will have to take the evening class which we are not to crazy about, but he will have to do it if needed.
We are keeping our fingers crossed in hoping on Thursday he gets in the classes he really wants and needs.

Fried Rye

2010-04-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

One of my memories around Easter time was Dad driving out to Chicago and stopping for 2 things to bring home for Easter Dinner. Lithuanian Sausage and Lithuanian Rye Bread
Mom would prepare Lithuanian Sausage along with Ham for part of our Easter Dinner.
We would also have to have died eggs and horseradish on the table too.
But one of the things Dad would do was take some of the Lithuanian Rye bread and some left over bacon greased that mom store in the refrig for him and make some Fried Rye.

All you had to do was melt the bacon grease and fry the bread in the grease until it was toasted.
I found out that my husband had never had fried rye before so since I had to pick up some groceries at a small grocery store in the area I would pick up a loaf of Lithuanian Rye Bread and fry up some rye.
Never having made it before, I never realized how much the bread absorbed the grease. WOW!
Anyway our Son tried it 1st and his reaction was "This is really delicious. Thank you Grandpa." Todd then tried some and said. "This is really good"
Unfortunatley we ran out of bacon grease really quick so I was only able to make 2 slice per person. But now that I know where to get the Lithuanian Rye bread I can always stop on the way home from work and get more.
Here is what Fried Rye looks like when it is "Fried"

Good Friday

2010-04-02T04:02:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone takes a few minutes today and remembers what today's meaning really is.

TCD Scholarship Dinner

2010-03-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we attended the TCD Culinary Scholarship Dinner. The students that are attending TCD hosted the banquet. The food was incredible!!! The evening started out with appetizers, students would come around and offered a variety of appetizers; mini quesadillas, dates wrapped in bacon, strip steak on a stick, stuffed mushrooms and fried crab rangoon. They also had an appetizer table along with 4 stations where students made appetizers while you waited. One station was a rice dish, another was a pretzel pulled pork sandwich which I tried, another station was sliders with a side of tortilla soup and the last station was an oyster poorboy sandwich with a side of clam chowder.
During the whole dinner they were showing live video on the wall of the students in the kitchen preparing the food. We found out that Jordan was making the crab rangoon and we did see the crab rangoon being made but only the chefs hands so we had no idea that it was Jordan on the screen until later. LOL
I was so stuffed from eating appetizers that I had to stop or I wouldn't be able to eat diner.
One of the Appetizer Tables. This one in the picture was my favorite. Not sure what it was called though.

In the middle of the Appetizer Table was Bread and Cheese. Need I say more?

One of the Appetizer Tables

Two of the Appetizers; Oyster Poor Boy Sandwich and Clam Chowder. This was one of the appetizers Todd picked

We stopped Jordan for a picture on his way to clean up the appetizer table

We were then served dinner, a chicken breast on top of mashed potatoes, with a Chardonnay sauce and root veggies on the side. I forgot to take a picture of it, but it was really good.
I didn't partake in any of the desserts. :0( because I gave sweets up for lent and I am sticking to my will to do this. Here is the chocolate fountain table. Once they turned on the chocolate fountain the lines for the desserts was CRAZY!!!

The Dessert Table

There were 2 stations set up where the students made the desserts while you waited one of the desserts they made while you waited was a Waffle Apple Dessert

The other desserts they made while you waited was the Cherry Crisp. Todd tried this one and it almost made me cheat on my commitment but I stood strong and didn't.

After dinner they introduced the student by years of attendance. Jordan was in the
2nd year students that were introduced.

This was a great event and we were so impressed and proud of all the students and the great job they did.

Abundant Hope/Easter Blessings

2010-03-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

This is one of the cards that we will be making at stamp camp this month.
The stamp set used is Abundant Hope by Stampin' Up!

The Blind Side

2010-03-13T08:43:00.000-08:00

We finally have the opportunity to see The Blind Side this weekend. I have been working OT at work since end of January and have not had the opportunity to go and see it.

I really like Sandra Bullock so I am looking forward to see this movie, I may post later in this blog a review of the movie.

Beautiful Wings Embosslits Card

2010-03-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

This is one of the cards we will be making at Stamp Camp this month. I used the Stampin' Up! Beautiful Wings Embosslit die to cut out the butterflies and a dots emboss sleeve from Sizzix for the actual card using my Big Shot. (I love that thing.)

Vacation is booked

2010-03-08T07:02:00.001-08:00

We were so excited this past weekend, we were finally able to book our 2010 vacation.
This vacation spot was picked by our son Jordan who graduates high school this year.
Per hubby's instructions I shouldn't post the destination or dates until after we return. But I have included a few pictures of where we will be that doesn't give away much information. LOL

The countdown begins!!!

One More Fix LOL

2010-03-03T04:06:00.000-08:00

Apolo one Jay Leno Tonight

Had to do it! LOL

Lent

2010-02-27T17:10:00.001-08:00

I usually don't recongnize the lenten season. No particular reason, as an adult I just never have. We were raised Catholic as children and we wouldn't eat meat on Fridays and Dad would take us to church on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and I remember one time attending a Mass focusing on the Stations of the Cross.

This year I decided to give up Cake, Cookies, Candy and Ice Cream during the lenten season. It has now been 1 week and 3 days and I can proudly say that haven't cheated.
The Cake and Ice Cream weren't that hard to give up, it's the Cookies and Candy that is. (Especially since I have Thin Mints stilling in my freezer right now). I have had 3 days (today being one of them) that I have CRAVED sweets but haven't given in.
Doing this hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be and a plus is that I have lost 3 lbs.

I am hoping I will last until Easter Sunday and that maybe even after Easter I won't have a craving for sweets.

2 More Races

2010-02-26T17:29:00.000-08:00

The 500m a very fast short skate race and the Men's team 5000m relay

My Baby Holding a Baby

2010-02-21T05:49:00.000-08:00

Last night was my monthly stamp camp and Jenny who just recently had a baby (2 weeks ago) brought her baby boy Samuel. He is so tiny, cute and a full head of dark hair.
I was able to hold and feed baby Sam which was so nice because I haven't held a baby in years. Todd took over at one point with burp duties and once the baby was all changed and cleaned up, Jordan got to hold him.
I love how Sam and Jordan are looking at each other in this picture.

Mens Short Track Olympic Speed Skating

2010-02-13T17:27:00.005-08:00

I started really enjoying Short Track Speed Skating during the 2002 winter olympics
This is why:

Need I say more? LOL
Apolo skates the 1500 meter short track tonight.

Emma

2010-02-07T12:11:00.000-08:00

I've mentioned before I love period movies so this afternoon Todd and I decided to watch a movie that has been in our DVR player for awhile.
Emma

This is a movie based on a Jane Austen novel. I have enjoyed other Jane Austen novel based movies and this one is just as enjoyable with quick wit and humor.

Work Update

2010-01-30T18:09:00.000-08:00

After all the training I have had, then turning around and teaching everything that I learned, we will find out on Monday what was actually comprehended.
I spent Thursday and Friday going over the parts that will be needed on Monday with those who asked to be shown 1 more time.

I had a confrontation with a co-worker that I will not go into here, but lets just say what happened could be taken to HR; not from my doing but from the co-workers.

I am anticipating that Monday I will need roller skates and will probably not get home until later in the evening, keeping fingers crossed that it won't be as bad as I envision, but just in case, I am a mentally preparing for the worse.

Laptop Decor

2010-01-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to dress up my laptop with the vinyl rub-ons and have been looking for one I really liked.
I ordered Dream from Stampin' Up, thought it was going to be a little bigger, but that's OK that it's not, this way I can eventually add another one.
Todd said I should look for the word "BIG"
I think this looks really AWESOME, I LIKE IT!

Palmer Cortlandt/James Mitchell

2010-01-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

James Mitchell who played Palmer Cortlandt on All My Children passed away last night of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, complicated by pneumonia. He was 89 years old.

He played a great character on All My Children and will be missed by fans.

Prayer for these past 2 weeks and beyond...

2010-01-20T03:56:00.001-08:00

This is what I keep repeating in my head during training these past 2 weeks: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; the courage to change the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.

My sister added this part when I posted this on facebook:
and the self-control to not slap anyone upside the head?

There have been times when I could have or should have...LOL

1st week of training completed

2010-01-15T17:11:00.000-08:00

Week 1 of training is complete. Whew! What a week. Tuesday was our 1st day, we were all a little anxious and in the beginning we had computers that weren't working and exercises that were supposed to be programmed in the system that weren't. We kind of expected flaws so we worked around it and it all was fine. Wednesday was the most chaotic day of the 3 training days this week. I will not going to go into details but lets just say it wasn't good. Thursday was not a training day but I was confronted about it what happened on Wednesday. But today was the best of the 3 training days that we had. For the most part everything went smooth and was on track. I wish all the training days were as good as today was.
Tomorrow I will go in for a 1/2 day and get ready for next weeks training.
Luckily I will not have to present next week but instead be a "helper" in the class. Ahhhhhh!

Garfield and Diets

2010-01-12T04:06:00.000-08:00

Saw this this morning and thought I would share it.
If you cannot read the comic, click on it to enlarge.

I {Love} Love Card

2010-01-10T16:28:00.000-08:00

This is one of the cards that we will be making a stamp camp in a few weeks
The heart was made with the BIG SHOT using the Scallop Heart of Hearts die cut. I am so glad I purchase the BIG SHOT, I have used it so much over the past month and can't wait to have my stamp campers use it. All the supplies used are from Stampin' Up!

Updating

2010-01-09T17:15:00.001-08:00

I haven't posted much here lastly due to work.
I am working 10 hour days to prepare for the training of our new system.
Next week I will probably have 11-12 hour days and then going in on Saturday for a 1/2 day to help prepare for the following weeks training.
In my personal opinion the whole process has been so disorganized and not enough time from the point of seeing and experimenting with the new system to learning and now training the new system. The company will "go live" with the new system on Feb 1.
That's approx 3 weeks away. 2 weeks of training and 1 week of employees practicing on a dummy system and then LIVE!
I see a flicker of a light at the end of this tunnel.

Wondering Words Valentines Card

2010-01-03T17:48:00.000-08:00

Here is a card I created to be made at stamp camp this month.

All supplies used are Stampin' Up!

Nintendo Wii

2010-01-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

The family room now has a Nintendo Wii attached to the television.
Both Ethan and Jordan have had a Wii for quite awhile now, but for Christmas we purchased one for the family room. We also purchased the Wii Fit Plus to go along with the Wii.
I am trying to do the Wii Fit Plus everyday. If my work schedule allows me to (alot of changes happening at work and our department is the center of it, so OT is happening almost everyday).
I can tell you my muscles really feel it. My right arm and both legs are quite sore.
Here is what I have been doing on the Wii Fit Plus:
I start with Balance and do at least 3-5 sets of each of these. Sometimes more if I am trying to beat my personal best.
Ski Jump
Ski solemn
Snowboarding
Then I head over to Training; I have just started this section on Thursday so I have only done 3 sections of the 18 offered so far.
Leg extensions
Abdominal Twists
Tricep Curls (this is where I think I am getting part of my arm pain and shoulder pain)
I then head on over to Aerobics
2 sets of Beginner steps
1 hula hoops
1 beginner boxing (this is where I think I am getting part of my arm pain and shoulder pain)

Yesterday for the 1st time I did what I think they call Free Step. They start you out with 800 steps in 10 mins. I thought the pace they start you at was slow, so I set the pace higher. I did over 900 steps in 10 mins, this also is what is giving my leg muscles some pain. I am planning to do this one everyday even if I can't do the other ones due to time restrictions.

So as of today that is my Wii Fit Plus activities.
I am also playing tennis, bowling and sometimes baseball on Wii sport when I have the time. Again, probably contributing to the arm soreness.
Am I enjoying it? Yes I am. With my work schedule this month, I am hoping to be able to continue to do some Wii activities everyday. Having these days off due to the holiday has helped but I know my time won't be as free to do everything that I would like to on the Wii.
So off I go in a few to do another round of Wii Fit Plus.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T07:08:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all my blog readers!

I have decided that I am not going to make any resolutions this year.
I have things in mind that I want to accomplish so I am going to set my mind to that and not "label" them as resolutions.

I hope everyone has a healthy and Happy New Year.

Training to Train

2009-12-29T18:10:00.001-08:00

This week has started the Training to Train sessions at work.
I am training to be a trainer for the new system that our company is installing and implementing February 1st. The frustrating part of the whole picture is that the training manuals haven't even been written yet; so it makes me wonder how I am supposed to train my peers on a system I haven't even had time to learn myself. The whole project has been disorganized from the beginning.

Here is to hoping the trainers have all the information needed when it comes time to train.

A few more random pictures from Christmas

2009-12-27T06:27:00.000-08:00

Here is Jordan and his new hat. He has wanted a hat for so long but could never find a size large enough for his head. (Big brains you know!) Anyway, Todd and I were on a quest to find him a hat for Christmas. Had to special order it from a Hat store. But it was worth it, he looks so good in it and with his new winter coat, he will look awesome (I will have to take a pic of that when he wears the two together.)

Check out the name of the wine. We purchased it for the name. Not being much of a wine drinker, I thought it was actually pretty good. Also purchased a red wine Middle Sister Mischief Maker LOL

Here is Nikolas, he got a Wii game, a DS game, a board game and a reindeer beanie baby from us; Along with a PEZ dispenser, something we always get for him.

Some Photos of our Christmas

2009-12-25T17:11:00.000-08:00

Here are some photo of our Christmas morning:
Looks like Santa came.

Jordan waiting to open gifts.

Ethan opening gifts.

A WII for the family room.

Mary got some jewelry.

Dilly got gifts too.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-25T16:06:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and was able to spend time with family and/or friends.

Well She Was Correct

2009-12-25T06:57:00.000-08:00

Back in November, I went and saw the psychic with a few friends from work. (see November postings)
Anyway she mentioned Christmas and how we were going to have a nice holiday, she also said:
Psychic: 2 unexpected gifts, one is really going to big. One is jewelry.
Me: Oh nice

She was correct:

I didn't ask for this for Christmas this year, but I did mention that I would eventually like to get either the Open Heart Necklace designed my Jane Seymour and/or the Shared Hearts Autism Necklace that Zales is promoting.
Todd and the boys really surprised me and got me the Open Heart Pendant for Christmas.
It's alway nice for a girl to get a little "Bling".

GOD Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen-Barenaked Ladies

2009-12-24T16:35:00.000-08:00

I really like this song this time of year especially this version featuring Sarah McLachlan. Audio Only..To hear it, make sure you pause my blog music located in the left column of my blog.

Christmas Eve 2009

2009-12-24T15:53:00.001-08:00

The early morning brought an ice storm to the area.
We had to go out in the mess and run some errands to make sure we had everything we needed for Christmas Day.
We then spent most of the day cleaning, some laundry and lounging around. We watched the movie ELF in the afternoon, I am so glad that I was able to watch it before Christmas.
I made Beef Stew for our Christmas Eve dinner which was really good and then took some these pictures.
These are the 4 lit trees that we have in our front yard. I took this picture from the front door. Because of the rain, I didn't step out and take pictures of the house lit.

It looks like the family will be getting some nice gifts this year. I'll post pics of the loot in a later post.

My 2 favorite ornaments on our tree.
Jordan's baby booty ornament

Ethan's baby booty ornament
Both given to me by my friend Dawn when my children were born.

Radio City Christmas Spectacular on PBS

2009-12-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Tonight they showed on PBS the 75th Anniversary of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. It was the same show that Todd and I went and saw 2 years ago in Chicago; but this broadcast was the actual New York show. Watching it I couldn't believe it had been 2 years already.
My favorite parts is the dance the Rockettes do to the 12 days of Christmas, the toy soldiers dance and the spectacular Nativity scene.
The sad part about the watching it on TV was the idiot who edited it did a crappy job. The camera angles kept changing every 3 to 5 seconds. (Todd actually counted it was more 1 to 3 seconds) So, it was hard to see the full Rockettes when they danced. Bummer!