Just some thoughts

Getting Better

2009-06-27T14:27:00.001-07:00

We are headed to the lake. M called and is on his way home. He said grab some stuff, let's go to the lake. YEA!! I don't even care about the lake. I am still a little burned from last weekend but I will get to see M a lot at the lake. Plus I can be outside in 100 degree weather if I am standing in water, drinking cold beer. LOL!!

Weekend

2009-06-27T13:01:00.000-07:00

Weekend is not been very exciting. We were supposed to leave for lake as soon as work was over but M needed to work some Saturday to finish a house. Bummer but hey, work is work. We both worked late Friday but decided to go out to eat, just the two of us. I was looking forward to it. We were talking and chatting as we got ready. First time all week, we really had time to spend together.

We got to restaurant and got seated right away. An acquaintance was at the next table and we stopped to say hi. We just vaguely know him and not his new wife at all. Almost immediately, he moved over next to his wife and wanted us to join them. It was akward. We couldn't gracefully say no, but we really don't know them that well. His wife doesn't know us at all, not even our names. We spent about an hour with them, making small talk. It went okay but it was not the evening alone with M I was hoping for.

This morning, M got up and went to work. I just kind of moped around the house. I was pouty and just waiting for 11:00 when I was going to leave to get lunch and go meet M. I don't think I got anything done. I just flitted around. I left at 10:55, went by Quizno's and then to job M is working at. It is 100 outside today. Very hot. We ate lunch in garage where there were doors on both sides. Slight breeze. Tolerable.

However, I wanted to stay with him so I hung around watching him work. He was working in back master closet. No air. Very hot and stuffy. I got hotter and hotter. I went to garage for breeze a few times. I finally went outside where back porch will be and set in doorway opening with nice breeze whipping around.

I was not feeling well. M could tell and made me leave. I was mad. Not at him but at my heat intolerance. I don't do good in heat. I do better if I start out in it first thing in the morning and get slowly used to it. Arriving there at 11:30 didn't work. I was shaky and yucky feeling. Made me irritated. Now I am home again, bored, mopey, irritated, and whiney.

20

2009-06-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight is my 20th high school reunion party. I am not going. Only reason I even know about it is because of my facebook account. Only reason I even remembered it is because today is my nephew's 20th birthday.

It is hard to believe - - - 20 years. I did not enjoy high school. I didn't hate it but I have no desire to see any of the 900+ people I graduted with. I "talk" to the few I remember on facebook and it is nice to see what they are up to in that setting. However, I have no desire to make small talk with these people for a whole weekend of events.

Sounds cynical maybe. I don't mean it to. I graduated with so many people and I only went to three hours of class my senior year. I was working by noon every day. I was already dating M so I didn't hang out with many people my age.

I didn't get anything out of high school. I didn't learn anything. I was shy and quiet and not very rich since my mom supported us on her own. Rich was important in my school. Rich kids got a lot of attention from teachers. I never had anyone talk to me about taking college credits in high school or even about going to college after high school. I was smart. Too smart but not very applied. Because I was shy, I hid being smart. Sounds dumb, but it is very true.

M is the one that pushed me to go to college. It was almost like I hadn't even thought about it. He brought it up and I thought, "okay, I can do that." Now here I am with a masters and a great challenging job I love and lots of room to move up still. We got married when I was just 19 and M never complained about college costs or the fact that it took 10 years to finish as I started to work more hours.

I don't mean to imply my mom ignored me. Not at all. But she just didn't think about it. She was busy working and getting by and I realize now that was a lot more of a struggle than she ever let on. We can be a lot alike and I am sure she never even thought about encouraging me or pushing me to do better. It just never crossed her mind. Without M pushing for college, I probably would have got a job and done okay. I am a hard worker and take on more and more work without anyone even asking. I would have done good and I did do good even before I graduated with bachelors, but the degree helped and pushed me to another level.

Today was a hard day. It's hard to be at this other level and realize that you have to make decisions that affect people's lives. It is tough even when it is warranted. Even people that make bad choices or do bad things are people. They have families that depend on them.

Need this weekend. Actually need to work, getting stuff done is a big relief, but I will take weekend off. Maybe get more rest. I have been dreaming a lot. Dumb stuff but I think it is because there is so much on my mind. So many problems being worked on or avenues to explore. Mind doesn't have time to shut down. Weekends help. More time to spend with M. Love time with M.

Sweat

2009-06-19T17:30:00.000-07:00

It's a nasty topic but all I can think right now is . . . sweat. It is hot. Very hot. I worked 1.5 hours late, hot ride home, picked up my husband and shuttled him to friend's little airport hangar where the 182 got an oil change this morning. M is going to wash plane and head to home airport so I can pick him up and head to the lake. However, I had to leave M and get gas, go grocery shopping, load groceries in car, stop and cash in a few lottery tickets ($67 - YES!), buy another 10-drawing lottery ticket, unpack groceries, pack them back up in ice chest to go to lake, take trash can down from street, check the mail, check my email, clean out the car, gather his crap out of his car, pack for the lake, straighten some clutter so I don't come home to a mess Sunday and now I am finally taking a minute to get on my computer and the first thing I automatically do is log in and check my work email. AAAHHH!!! There wasn't anything major but needless to say I am hot and sweaty. I have about 30 minutes to change clothes and get ready to leave for Sundance. I thought I would vent my frustrations before I cooled off (or maybe as part of the cooling off process?)

Okay, I am already a little cooler. A/C just kicked on too, that helps. Just hearing it makes me feel better. I had a lovely working lunch today at Deep Deuce Grill near work. I had never even heard of it, but it was very good. Deep Deuce is an old, small, historically African-American community near downtown Oklahoma City that is getting some much needed renovations and new housing and economic base. It is a very nice area and close to work.

I'd better get moving again. Need to pay a few bills before I run upstairs to finish getting ready. (That was just a saying. I don't run upstairs. I tried a few weeks ago in flip-flops and fell. Injured my right shoulder because I was holding onto the handrail. No more attempts at running for D.)

Desk and other thngs

2009-06-17T15:00:00.000-07:00

I only had one goal today--work at my desk all day. It was a struggle but I did it. I can't say I got as much done as I planned but I did achieve my stay at my desk goal. YEA!! Baby steps.

It is hot today. Hottest day so far this year. 100 degrees according to my rearview mirror display in the car. Our rain chances are gone until September. Just hot is left. My dark blue car gets very hot during the day. I end up leaving the windows down until I get to about the state capital. Open window makes a mess of my hair but so does 100 degree weather. (insert profuse head sweating image here.)

I had a pepper jack cheese and Triscuit snack when I got home today. It hit the spot. I love cheese and crackers. M is working late so I put something out to thaw for dinner. I was hoping to go out, maybe for Chinese, but probably won't now if he is working late.

I am getting ready to head into the study to work on paperwork. I was lazy last evening and felt some guilt during the night. I'd better get to it. Tomorrow we are taking the 182 to friend's hangar for oil change. It will probably mess up the entire evening.

I counted up today that I am working only 11 days in July. Sounds wonderful on face value but since I still have to get 31 days worth of work done, it's not as great as it sounds. I am taking a 4-day weekend for the 4th of July holiday. Probably will spend all that time at the lake.

My clerk's husband is having a stem cell transplant in July. He has to be in hospital for 30 days. It is going to be hard on her wanting to be with him and wanting to be at work and make money too. I have told her to do what she needs to do. The hospital is close to work, just 3-4 blocks. However, by the time she parks and gets into ICU, it takes 25 minutes to get to his room. It's going to be a hard month for her but they are ready too. Been a long wait. I pray it goes well and has miraculous results.

Meetings and Committees

2009-06-16T19:22:00.001-07:00

Who invented meetings and committees? It was a bad, bad idea to invent such a creation. I spent last two days in meetings. Committee meetings, post-meeting meetings, post-post-meeting meetings, follow-up meetings, post-follow-up meetings, meetings to explain what I meant in the first meetings.

I have to say we have actually got some things done but goodness my desk is really piling up with mail and messages. I am in a super-duper keep everything caught up mode. I am starting to think ahead to the two weeks off work in July. It is going to take a lot of work to get ready for that absence. I will probably have to work each evening on things too.

I just wasted an entire evening. M had plans to go flying tonight with friends and I had big productive plans to work in the study but I didn't. I can't really say why, I just didn't. I've been reading, watching TV, piddling, not much of anything. Just wasting away the evening.

I forgot to wear make-up this morning. I didn't even realize until first time I went into bathroom. I thought my eyes looked really washed out and thought I might have forgotten mascara but then I realized I forgot all my makeup. Oh well, I survived.

Korea

2009-06-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

The whole Korea situation scares me. Our son D is stationed in South Korea just barely south of the North Korea border. He is only there until November but I don't like the situation over there.

D will be home for a month before new assignment in the Azores. We haven't seen him since Nov 2007. It will be great to see him but it is always a little odd to have him back in the house. That doesn't sound as cold and heartless as it sounds. It's just that you get used to no kids in the house and new routines and then here they are again.

He is a bit of a slob. (Military service does not break them of this once boot camp is over.) It's just odd to have someone here again. Last time he was here, he stayed with his mom part of the time and his cousin part of the time. We saw him a lot.

This time I am not sure. His mom is getting married in July and already lives south of us quite a bit. His cousin got married the last time D was home and has since had a new baby so that is not really an option. He is always welcome here but I wonder if he will stay with his sister. I think L would be thrilled to "host" him. She has an apartment she works very hard to pay for and would love having him to herself some of the time.

They always got along best when there was no parent to compete over. They would fight so horribly but then you could hear them in the other room when no one else was around just talking like best friends. It was hard having a boy and then a three-year younger girl. Not much in common after they were little.

Gotta go, I just remembered I was working on laundry. Never ending laundry.

Weekend Addendum

2009-06-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Weekend ended with spontaneous trip to Braum's for soft frozen yogurt twist in a waffle cone. Perfect ending.

Weekend

2009-06-14T18:09:00.000-07:00

Weekend is almost over and it was a busy one. A good weekend though. Friday night I had nothing planned but to wash our shirts for company picnic on Saturday. It was supposed to be hot and there is no way we could wear unwashed new shirts. One thing led to another and we ended up working late, running some errands, going by airport to drop off log books, grabbing a bite to eat, etc. I didn't put shirts in the dryer until 9:30!! I knew they would wrinkle so I had to stay up and wait for them. I finally hung them up slightly damp to dry about 10:00.
We got up early Saturday for trip to Davis. Since I am who I am in the company, we had to be extra early. We stopped for fuel and breakfast and got there about 7:45. It was last minute chaoticness but finally ended up coming together and I think it went great.
It got hot but everyone had a great time. There was all the water and pop you could stomach plus the caterers had lemonade and tea. We had a great time.
We drove straight home after picnic (95 minute trip) and went to bed. Slept for an hour or so. Then out for nice dinner, just M and I, then stopped at a friend's hangar and chatter for awhile.
This morning we went for a flight and to breakfast at local airport diner. Met up with some friends who were out flying too. We went straight home after lunch and took another nap (this is not like us.)
This evening we have just been messing around house, went out to Chili's with my mom and now M is mowing and I am doing some light clean up around house (and blogging.)
All and all a great weekend but I am still tired. Have a busy week at work but things are going good. M just mowed past the study windows. I think I am caught computering instead of choring. I am trying to concentrate and have a look on my face like I am hard at work concentrating on some financial problem. Hold on . . . . . I picked up a pen and checkbook for a minute to look hard-working. I think it worked. LOL!!

Thursday

2009-06-12T04:28:00.001-07:00

We saw The Drowsy Chaperone last night at the theatre. It was pretty good. Pretty funny. A little slow start but very better and better towards the end.
I am getting ready to head off to work. I have happy because my husband put gas in the car last night. The light came on on the way home and I said, "don't worry about it. I'll get it in the morning." I am a procrastinator. He ignored me and stopped anyway and now I am very happy. I don't like to stop anywhere in the morning. It takes me 25-30 minutes to get to work and I like to go straight there.
Most of my office is down in Davis today getting final stuff ready for company picnic. My boss had to go to another quarry to deal with a safety issue.
Me, I have lots of paperwork to deal with. Lots. See ya.

Rain

2009-06-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

Employees started spraypainting the outline for the picnic set up this mornin. Then it poured this afternoon in Davis. Poured. Thunderstorm warning, red on the radar rained. So sad. Inflatable ride people are supposed to be there first thing tomorrow to set up. We are working around it. Better rain on Wednesday than Saturday. :-)

Work

2009-06-09T20:02:00.001-07:00

Work has been hectic and this week is no better. Secretary is having more "emotional issues" and hasn't been in yet this week. Company picnic is this Saturday and everyone is working on last minute items. We are expecting 1800 people. It is held in the middle of a working quarry so there is a lot of preparation to do. It is coming together but this week is going to be crazy. No rain needed. Quarries don't do well in heavy rain.

Rolling On

2009-06-07T17:56:00.000-07:00

I just saw my last post was almost three months ago. I am no further along in setting up study than I was then. I can do all my day-to-day stuff down here now but upstairs still holds loads of stuff. This is a perfect example of my current situation.

I am behind. I am behind at work, behind at home, behind in car maintenance, yard maintenance, laundry, grocery shopping is done totally last minute, nothing else left to eat in the house got to go right now, my days are flying past and I am getting further and further behind. It has been terribly hectic.

It has gotten so bad that I am no longer sure if it is really bad or if I have slipped into a mode of anxiety and I am causing most of it. I feel behind and overwhelmed all the time then I get a little spare time and I don't use it effectively. Then I feel even more overwhelmed. I think it is a vicious cycle that I can't seem to stop.

I am trying to breathe deeply often, focus on getting something accomplished every day, just at least one thing totally done and over with. When I start to feel overwhelmed, I am trying to turn it around and go do something that will mark something off my list.

Part of it is just summer, work is busier, we are busier in the evenings, we have many lake weekends. I just need to keep breathing deeply.

Study

2009-04-12T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am finally moving back in to the study downstairs. It is going to be a long project. Right now I am just moving stuff down as I need it. I have been working on taxes and quarterly employment filings so all that stuff came down. Then I worked on plane stuff so all that paperwork came down, etc. I am going to try to avoid bringing down any 2008 receipts and stuff. Those can stay away.

I am making new filing system for 2009. It sounds industrious, but don't get your hopes up. I am very good at making filing systems; I am not so good at using them. However, it nags at me that everything is such as mess so this time I am trying. I have this wonderful new desk M made me with nice deep file drawers. I am going to leave yucky metal filing cabinets upstairs for overflow and long-term filing. Desk drawers will be for day-to-day stuff. More accessible that way. I thought I would get a basket or something for the study to store the filing that needs to go upstairs. I know I won't go file every time there is something to take up there but maybe, maybe I would eventually file an overflowing basket of stuff. Maybe.

It is a drizzly rainy Easter here which is a good day to work in the study. We haven't bought any blinds or drapes for study yet so room is wide open and I have been enjoying watching the squirrels play in the yard. They are so funny.

Bye for now. I'm going back to the paper piles.

Why?

2009-03-08T09:51:00.001-07:00

Why do I keep trying? You would think at 38 years of age that I would realize that I am never going to get what seems like it would be an automatic response from some people. I know better. Every time, I know better, but somehow I think that this time will be different. It never is. It annoys me but mostly at myself. I should know how this person is and not expect anything different but still I find myself burned again. It is such a let down and it shouldn't be.

I keep asking myself if maybe my continued expectations aren't okay. If I accept it will never happen different, maybe I would become bitter about this person, and I don't want that. They just don't have it in them to act the way I expect. My expectations aren't based on anything from the past. It has always been this way. My expectations are based on what I want or maybe how I think I would react. I don't know anymore.

But maybe my expectations are bad for me. It causes disappointment that could be avoided if I would prepare myself ahead of time for the lack of interest from this person. I don't know. I avoid and avoid contact with this person at times because I know it can't possibly be fulfilling to me or even comfortable. Then some time will pass, and I will try again, and it always leaves me feeling burned and wondering why I set myself up for it again.

I do of course internalize everything so I always see it as a personal thing when really I think this person is just extremely self-involved. It still hurts. M sees it too which leads to him having negative feelings about this person or seeing this person which leads to me feeling stuck in the middle and more uncomfortable. M doesn't ever try to stop me interacting with this person ever. He is open to having as much contact as I want or need, but he gets angry at the way he thinks I am treated and I can tell he is angry when we are with them.

It is getting worse too. Over the years, this person is more self-involved, more negative, more everything and then criticises me for not sharing more or seeing them more often. There is nothing I can do about it. I am just venting. It won't change and I can't avoid them. Thank goodness I have M to balance my life and let me feel important to someone.

Study

2009-02-22T14:36:00.001-08:00

I'm going to try to post some pictures of the new desk. It is still not finished yet. I think we are going to go with Red Mahogany stain. It is already sitting in the study though because M needed the space in the shop.

Procrastinating

2009-02-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

I am procrastinating. I point it out only because I feel that I should get some points for at least knowing and admitting it.
I came upstairs to work in the "office" which really isn't an office. It is L's old bedroom, piled high with boxes and stacks of paper. This is where my desktop computer is set up. If you remember, I moved out of my real study downstairs several months ago (MONTHS AGO!!) so we could work in there. We finished all the work but we haven't gotten the desk done and it has been so dusty downstairs from remodel, I haven't been crazy about moving computer and books back down there.
But this "room" gives me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I feel so overwhelmed up here with all the clutter that coming up here to check accounts online, pay bills, open mail, etc. just bogs me down and makes me feel icky. I lose sleep over it. I know because it is what I am thinking about when I realize I am awake in the middle of the night.
This is why I am procrastinating. I am actually up here and don't know where to start so instead I have been surfing around online. I can do that for hours if I let myself. It is bad, very bad. I don't want to lose sleep. I want to be good. I want to feel accomplished at the end of the day.
Here I go, I am making myself get started. I have been going to work up here four weekends in a row. "No matter what," I said. "I will work in the office this weekend. I will get everthing done even if I have to tell M to go away and leave me alone." Four weekends in a row I did not make it. Four Sunday nights in a row, I slept badly because of it. This is ridiculous. Why do I do this to myself. I have to start working on tax stuff soon and it is too disorganized up here to even think about it right now. I have L's taxes around here somewhere to work on, and she gets a refund so there is no reason to put it off. I have billing for the plane partnership to get out too. I have pictures I want to download off the cameras. I haven't even checked my lottery ticket in weeks. What if I am a multi-millionaire and I don't even know it because I am TOO LAZY TO WORK UPSTAIRS!
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Okay, okay, I just spent ten minutes thinking about what I would spend $125 million on. My wishes included someone to open my mail for me. That is true expert procrastinating. Here I go again; I am getting to work.

Circus

2009-02-22T08:18:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, we went to the India Shrine Circus last night. That's right, we went to the circus. No children to take so we were a little worried we would look like pervs, but there ended up being a lot of people there without children. We bought tickets there and ended up with front room floor tickets. It was great. We were just 15 or so feet from the tigers and elephants. It was a lot of fun.

The circus was at the state fairgrounds arena. I haven't been there in years and years. It is really looking old, especially compared to the two downtown centers.

M is out working in the shop. He has a large entertainment center to finish for the house he is working in right now. We accomplished nothing yesterday. NOTHING. We had both had big plans but instead we did nothing. M really needed a nothing day I think. We have been so busy. He fell asleep once yesterday and slept two hours in the living room.

We had planned to pay poker last night but plans fell through and we up and decided on the circus instead. We have a busy week ahead of us again. I have painting tomorrow night and M plans to finish cabinet. Tuesday we have tickets to Lord of the Dance show at Civic Center. I hope it is good.

Kidney stone update: Not going to blast kidney stone right now but will have to again soon. We are leaving stent in until second blast, so we don't have unlimited amount of time to wait but we have a few months. However, there is a concern that stones will form along the stent which would lead to real surgery instead of blasting procedure, so I have to go in for x-ray at least once a month to check stent. (sigh).

I felt so good about being done with medical problems. Chiropractor has helped so much I have no plans for any other doctors appointments anytime soon. Kidney stone blast was 31 Dec. I knew there would be a follow-up on it and a stent removal but then I thought I would be done. So depressing.

(sigh)

2009-02-20T14:58:00.000-08:00

I read over my last few update posts and I realized I was really putting a good face on. These posts did catch everyone up on my recent activities, but they did not reflect my true feelings over the last few months.

The economy is getting too me. It really has. Things are bad, very bad, and we all seem to be going on like nothing has changed. It scares me. M's work has been slow, very slow, and it is scary. It has finally picked up and now he is swamped, but it's different. He is swamped because he has no employees anymore. He wasn't busy enough to keep them busy and now he is working a lot and very hard to stay on top of things.

Don't get me wrong, we are thrilled there is work for him to do, and he does great work. His builders and homeowners love him because he takes care of things. He is a hard worker and very conscientious. However, he is not making money off his employees so even though he is busy, pay is lower. I know that sounds strange unless you have been self-employed yourself, but that is how it works. Your employees are supposed to be making you money, so if you are working by yourself, you don't make as much money even though there is no payroll to meet. We are doing okay. In no way are we destitute or about to lose it all or anything like that.

In reality, we know that the last few years, maybe even 10-15 years have been unbelievable. They were the odd years, not now. Things are shifting back to more normal after an incredible decade plus of boom years. Now, I am talking mostly construction and in our area. I know things are different in other places. Oklahoma has been spared a lot of the housing marking problems.

I just wanted to set the record straight that life isn't all rosy and cheery here. The economy is depressing and we all have to be careful it doesn't get to us. I don't check my 401k online anymore though I still can't stop checking the stock market throughout the day. I have lost more sleep and eaten more Tums than I have in a long time the last 5 or 6 months. I know there have been other recessions, but in a way, this is my first. I was too young or too naive before to be affected. Oh for the days when I didn't have anything so there was nothing to lose. LOL! That wouldn't be fun either, but it was a lot less stressful.

I just keep reminding myself that things will get better; they always have. I just can't help but wonder how much lower we will get before we start climbing back up again.

Remodel Update

2009-02-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

We worked quite a bit on remodel in Nov and Dec while M was slow at work. We got closet shelves and cabinets in, granite countertop, and granite tile. I will try to snap some pictures of it. We have two cabinets left to make in the bathroom (linen and head knocker) then we will be ready to paint in there.

We have the study walls and floor done but I haven't moved back in there yet. M is building me a new desk. It is great and exactly what I wanted. He finished it yesterday. We just need to get it stained and lacquered now.

The downstairs still has such a white dust problem from the exposed sheet rock in the master area. I haven't wanted to drag my books down there yet or my computer. I dusted everything yesterday. That white dust was everywhere. I think we are going to tape off the master area from the rest of the house. We'll just have to get in there through the exterior doors.

M just said he is bringing the desk into the study even though it isn't finished. He is getting ready to build a gigantic entertainment center for a job and he needs the room in the shop.

I'b better go get ready to help. (sigh) it is very heavy.

Medical Update

2009-02-15T12:05:00.001-08:00

I will keep this post short and sweet because no one wants to listen to whiney medical stuff. I am still going to chiropractor every two to three weeks. Still doing great and not taking all the medicine the medical doctors had me on.

I had to have a kidney stone blasted on 31 Dec. I have my third follow-up appt for it this week and so far the kidney stone is still there. I think he is going to want to blast it again and I am not happy about it. I don't mind the procedure; it is the cost! I just paid for one and managed to get it in on last year's insurance where I had already paid deductible and now I get to do it again?!?! I am not amused. I go Wednesday and I have not decided if I will let him blast it again now or wait.

We'll see . . .

Entertainment Update

2009-02-15T11:56:00.000-08:00

We have been busy with work and other household duties but on top of that have kept busy with extracurricular activities. We are still season ticket holders for local musical productions. We just saw The Color Purple. It was great. Wonderful music and dancing. We are to see Lord of the Dance next week, Lion King in April, and The Drowsy Chaperone in June I think. This has really been great experience for us. Some are excellent like The Color Purple and Mamma Mia! and others are good, only one was bad -- The Pajama Game. The actors were good but I didn't care for the story line or plot in general.

Next year's season was just announced. It is going to be Little House on the Prairie (with Melissa Gilbert), Legally Blonde, All Shook Up, Cirque Dreams, and Wizard of Oz. It sounds good too.

OKC is now an NBA town so we have been to a few Thunder games. The poor Thunder are not having a winning season but the games are great. We are going again this Tuesday to see them play NO Hornets (OKC's part-time team after Hurricane Katrina.) It will be great too.

On top of this, M and I plus our sister-in-law, her sister, and my sister took a pottery class. It was a wheel-throwing pottery class. Six weeks and it was a lot of fun. We each had rough areas and I think my sister completely gave up, but we all have a few pots we managed to make. M of course was great. The teacher kept complimenting him the first night on what a natural he was. We told her to shut up and not give him the big head. He had never done it before, but it doesn't matter with M. He is good at all things.

Throwing the clay on the wheel is harder than it looks. It is physically hard. You have to have good arm strength and control. I will post some pictures of my beautiful pots soon. We are glazing them this Thursday and then will be able to pick them up sometime the following week.

I also have been going to a painting class on Mondays with my sister-in-law C and her sister R. They have gone for awhile. C is pretty good. I am almost done with my first project, a small plaque. I am pretty happy with it. I will post it too when it is done.

We have our Oshkosh trip planned for July. Another five days in beautiful Wisconsin for the EAA air show. I am looking forward to it, though it will be a little harder since I am out of town for work the entire week before. We are also planning to go to a all-inclusive resort trip in Mexico in the fall hopefully. Some friends up and booked a May 4th Bahamas cruise out of Miami. I think they expected us to go with them, but I don't think we are going to. M needs to work now that several projects are ready, and I am being stingy with my vacation.

Work Update

2009-02-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

I know . . . I know. . . I haven't updated in forever. I'm going to try to hit the highlights of the big areas. It has been a hectic few months. First area work/career, etc.

I took PHR Certification through Human Resources Certification Institute in December and passed!! Yeah! I now have the letter PHR after my name on my business cards. It came with a nice reward from work which was good since I had to pay for it all myself. Let's just say, it was worth it.

I was also asked to be on the board of directors for the Oklahoma Safety Council. I had to meet with the Executive Director and current board President and prepare a resume (harder than it sounds) for review by the entire board. I was approve and had my first board meeting last Friday. I am looking forward to helping out. It is a great organization that is an affiliated chapter of the National Safety Council.

My boss also signed me up for a Workers Comp conference in July in Cape Cod, MA! So cool. The conference is going to be great in and of itself but the setting is great too. I have to fly into Providence, RI and drive about 80 miles to Hyannis. That will be a little nerve-racking but thank goodness for Alejandro (my GPS). He will help me get there. M could go with me for just the cost of the flight, but I am not sure if he will be able to. We are scheduled to be on vacation the following week in July too, so he might not be able to take off two weeks straight. We'll just have to see.

Work is going good. There has been a slow down, but still going strong. We stopped hiring drivers which hadn't happened in almost two years but we have the work to keep them busy if the weather would just cooperate. We have had some weather extremes here. Cold frigid temperatures, ice that lasted for several days, schools closed four days straight due to ice, then nice warm days in the 70s, thunderstorms and a couple of tornadoes. Crazy weather but that's Oklahoma.

M has definitely felt the slow down in work. Residential construction has slowed rapidly and actually came to a stand-still in the fall when people momentarily panicked over the stock market falls. Several projects came to a stop but they have all started again and he should be busy now for awhile.

All in all, work is going good. March will be my 16-year anniversary at this job and I still love it. It is interesting and varied enough to keep my interest and I work with a great group of people.

12 Days

2008-12-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

Go to link below for one of my favorite youtube videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Way Behind

2008-11-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe so much time has passed since I posted. Things have been going okay. I have been busy studying for 8 December test. This weekend I really feel like I am getting a jump on it. I hit panic-mode last week but that helped. It is part of my test preparation to panic at some point.

I feel wonderful. Started going to a chiropractor. I was scared but desperate. It has worked wonderful. I feel wonderful and I have been able to stop three medicines that medical doctors had said I would be on for life. That's right THREE MEDICINES - GONE!!!

Work has been busy but not terribly. Time is going by fast. Residential construction is still very slow but M has stayed busy. He is started a bank remodel next week that will take him through end of this year. He has a few houses lined up for next year already, and several recent homeowners have been taking advantage of his slow work time to get him to make some furniture.

Right now M and his brother and nephew are working on sheetrocking the master bath area of our house. It has been open to attic and heat just pours out of it. With winter finally making its presence know, I figured we'd better get it closed up. Remodel is going slow but we were prepared to do it as we have time and cash. We didn't want to go into debt for it. Mostly it is time. There is never enough time.

M flew to Indianapolis a few weeks ago for Colts-Patriots game. They had a great flight and a great game. Last weekend, he went with some family on a 4-wheeling trip. I was jealous. I haven't been in over two years thanks to arm problems. Now I finally feel like I will be able to go again maybe next year. We are talking about doing a Colorado mountain trip with 4-wheelers again. That has to be done during summer because of snow and ice considerations.

We had some people over for poker last night and Buffalo Wild Wings. It was fun. We watched OU football. #5 OU stomped #2 Texas Tech. However, in order to have a chance at championship game, OU fans have to root for Texas Tech next week. Don't you love the BCS!

L isn't working for M right. Things were slowing down and we didn't want to have to lay her off at some point with short notice, so we encouraged her to get a better job. It was time for her to get some health insurance and other benefits anyway. She got a good job working for 7-11. Sounds odd but very good pay and excellent benefits. I am proud of her. She is a hard worker.

L also kicked out boyfriend out. It was a hard decision, but I am glad and proud of her. She went through worrying about being alone, both in a relationship and just her fears of being in apartment alone. Her boyfriend had some serious issues that were not compatible with L's hard-work ethic, etc. It is a shame because I think he really learned some bad habits from his parents that will effect the rest of his life. His parents have nothing and no motivation and it has just carried over to him.

Needless to say the wedding in March is off. I am sad for L, but so very proud of her. This is a tough decision for anyone, let alone for her.

I am going back to studying now. I have one more book to cover of material then I have to start reviewing and taking more practice tests, flash cards, etc. Will I ever be done with study and class work!?!?!?!