I'm thankful for

Happy Thanksgiving
A friend sent this to me yesterday and I thought it was appropriate for today.

I AM THANKFUL

FOR THE WIFE WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT, BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME, AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND WHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO, BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES BECAUSE THAT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES THAT I PAY BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE.

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND THAT I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH THAT SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS BECAUSE IT MEANS THAT I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY...FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

jobs...

Today I read an article written by Katherine Yung for The Dallas Morning News, which appeared in the "career builder" section of the local Sunday Paper. Following is a link to the article. I hope you take the time to read it.
Job security hopes fading

Here is another article to read Outsourcing: What to do? written by Mark Gongloff for CNN Money.

This whole outsourcing issue disturbs me to no end. Who thought this would be a good idea for America, more importantly, for the masses of Americans who are now unemployed Americans? Maybe it is just a small facet of a larger problem, and maybe the suffering caused by these job losses will be short-term, but that doesn't make it bother me any less.

I think we, as Americans, can start to do something about this. Flood your state representatives in congress and the senate with letters telling, asking, pleading them to bring the jobs back to America - make sure to have your friends to the same. Second, if it wasn't made in the good ole U.S. of A. don't buy it. Find some local entrepreneur to help support. Stop supporting companies who have decided to lay off Americans in favor of lower labor costs by outsourcing those same jobs.

-->> unrelated, but not really. Yesterday C-Span showed back to back keynote speakers from this past weeks Democratic National Convention in Boston. I still think that the Reverend Al Sharpton is a nut job, but I could actually relate to some of what he was saying. I was extremely impressed by the way John Edwards presented himself and to a lesser extent by what he had to say. John Kerry's acceptance speech was moving at times, but I had to keep reminding myself that 1) this was nothing more than the Democratic pep rally 2) most politicians use "pretty words" and tell us what we want to hear. I will watch the upcoming Republican National Convention in New York and I'm sure I will have to keep reminding myself of those same two things. I can't wait until the debates begin! <<--

child support ponderings

Does anyone else think this is a "Catch-22"? In researching child support enforcement laws I found the February 2002 GAO office report to the Subcommittee on Human Resources, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives.

"The act also requires that states have laws requiring procedures to suspend, withhold, or restrict the driver’s licenses of non-custodial parents who are delinquent in their child support payments. In this report the term license suspension also includes withholding or restricting a driver’s license. Withholding a license includes not allowing a person to obtain an initial license. Restricting a license means limiting when a non-custodial parent may drive, such as only to and from work. All three of these procedures are permissible under the act."

It just seems illogical to me to take away that person's ability to get to and from work, or make it that much more difficult to find employment because so many employers require a valid drivers license now, and still expect them to be able to pay the delinquent child support... Then I came across this quote

"The time has come for someone to speak in defense of ‘dead-beat dads.’ Divorced or separated parents who do not pay support have been taking a beating from everyone, including the President.

1 have seen some parents who refuse to pay child support even though they have plenty of money to do so. . . . However, I have seen far more parents who are ordered to pay child support who pay some support but not all they are ordered to pay. Many of these parents are engaged in a financial struggle that they cannot win. These are the working poor."

-Hon. Anne Kass. Presiding Family Judge,

Albuquerque, New Mexico, District Court

Anyone who tries to tell me right now that economic outlook for America is looking up will likely get a long icy glare from me as I consider the consequences of punching them in the face. I agree that the non-custodial parent needs to help financially support his or her child, but it fry's me when I read things like:

I can't get by on what's left of my paycheck. How can I get my child support lowered?
and the answer...
You'll need to petition the court for a lower amount, and you'll need to be able to justify a reduction to the court. Unfortunately, the courts will not always agree that not being able to live on what's left of your paycheck is a valid reason for a reduction. Even making less money than you did before is often disallowed as a valid reason for a reduction; the court may instead rule that you are 'voluntarily under employed'.

Why is it so hard for the courts and government to understand that the 'voluntarily under employed' non-custodial parent may be just damned lucky that he or she has a job at all. How many jobs have been lost the past 4 years? Hundreds of thousands according to the news reports I heard this past week. Wages are no where nearly close to increasing at the same rate as the cost of living, the cost of health care, housing, food ... you know, living.

Which brings me to another topic of concern ... remember the nail fungus from last week? Well I went to pick up the prescription. The pharmacist handed me the pills and said "That comes to $50.00". I sighed and mumbled that my insurance must not have covered this prescription. I about fell over when she told me that it was covered and would have cost me $218.00 otherwise. Maybe it's a bad thing that I'm finally becoming outraged at the rising cost of things like this - I much preferred my little bubble of ignorance. I take back almost everything I said about Medicare previously (though I'm not going to edit it out for historical reference).

weight loss payoff

Yesterday I went to see the doctor about my toe-nail, after receiving several comments regarding how bad it looked. It doesn't hurt very often, so I don't usually worry about it, but Scott was insistent that I at least have it looked at. Was no surprise to me when the doctor looked at it and said "you have a nail fungus". We then started talking about my blood pressure and reviewing my medical history. He told me what my blood pressure reading was in November and then looked back to 2002 and was surprised by what my weight was in 2002 because he never saw me that year (I rarely visit the doctor for more than my annual visit to the OB/GYN doctor.) He really encouraged me to keep losing weight and was thrilled when I told him I've lost a total of 19 pounds since I started doing Weight Watchers 8 weeks ago. He also said that my goal should not be to reach the mythical ideal weight as each person's muscular and skeletal frame is different it's more of a guild line and trying to reach that ideal weight might only lead to disappointment and frustration. Since my blood pressure was really good back in 2002 he suggested that I try to get back to that weight and then maintain that weight. Over all it was a good visit and I'm actually glad that I went.

Social Security rant...

Scott did an awesome job with the floor in the den. He suffered through the primer/bonding agent (it even made me ill so the fumes were really really strong) last night and then today he finished painting the floor. I have got to say that gray was the right choice with the purple walls and white trim. It just looks great!!

Today I got my 401K statement along with the usual flier with various articles regarding retirement planning and investing and such. So I start reading the articles, starting with one about how presidential politics might affect my retirement where Medicare and Social Security are involved. I work hard, put in long hours for adequate pay and still find myself having to choose between paying bills and buying groceries. This epidemic is wide spread and is only getting worse. The Federal government takes approximately 20.773 percent of my paycheck, 13.3 for Federal withholding, 1.4 for Medicare and 6 for Social Security. The total withheld from me each month is roughly 78 percent my monthly house payment, but I digress. Because I tend to receive a refund for a portion of that Federal withholding my real problem is with the 7.4 percent that is being taken out of my pay to help provide for a program that appears to be destine to collapse. According to the articles that I’ve read, by the time I actually reach the age that I would receive some of these federal benefits there will be nothing left in the money pot. It may not sound like much to anyone else, but that 7.4 percent extra per month would mean I could both pay bills AND buy groceries. It’s like the ultimate charity for people my age to contribute too except we are not given the choice to not donate.

That astounded me, but then I started thinking about the loss of jobs for Americans that our country has experienced the past year and realized that because fewer Americans are working then it would follow that there would be fewer mandatory contributions to the charities known as Medicare and Social Security. When I read something about American companies outsourcing to foreign companies I was deeply troubled, then I read something about illegal immigrants being able to apply for American tax identification numbers so they can work here in America… NO, not just no, but HELL NO. Send the illegal immigrants back to their land of origin and bring the outsourced jobs back to AMERICANS.

Please understand that I know it is very hard for the senior population because of growing health care cost I think I read that health care cost has risen more than 9.6 percent above the rate of inflation and if that is true it is absolutely insane! I also have at least one friend who shared with me that her what both of her parents receive in social security benefits is about $500 a month - for both of them and out of that they need to pay insurance, housing, food - YIKES! What bothers me even more is that there are working class people faced with the same problems except the source of income for them is a underpaying job.

The banks and credit card companies don't help matters any either, offering loans ect. claiming that you can be debt free in 36 months if you borrow from them, so you buy into that promise only to find out the hard way, as I am learning, that you only get yourself deeper in debt and then suddenly the hole you are in is so deep you can't see the top of it anymore. (I'll save this topic for another day though).

The current Social Security program is a product of the Great Depression that followed the October 24, 1929 stock market crash and was signed into law by President Roosevelt on August 14, 1935. I could go on about the history of the program, but you can read more about it here if you would like. It has been amended several times, but I wonder if it was ever intended to last forever. I know that there are very valid reasons for having the Social Security program, but taxing the working class even more is not the solution. All I can see a tax increase doing is forcing more people to have to choose between paying bills and buying groceries...

Thus ends my tirade.

Last night I swept and mopped the floor of the room that will soon be Scott's office/den. I rather excited because we are just 3 steps (well, 4 if you include touching up the trim) about having that room finished. I don't know how long I will be able to live in this house (or will want to for that matter) but I really feel that it's important to start living in it rather than just staying in it... hope that makes sense to more people than just myself.

This past weekend I cleaned out another box of papers (actually two because I filled the same box up twice). What I wound up keeping fit in a bag smaller than a standard backpack. I felt so good about the whole thing. It all started sometime last week because I decided I just had to find a missing checkbook register. During that time I rediscovered, and admitted again, that I am such a packrat. A huge plus to the purging binge I've been on this past week is that I found the photo scrapbook I started of Micah & Sarah's wedding, so now I have a place to put the pictures I took at Katie & Brian's wedding.

reliving the day!

WOW, what a 4th of July! Scott and I were able to sit on the patio and watch the neighborhood across the road set off their aerial displays. It was really quite fun, that combined with our own fireworks made the night (at least for me). We didn't get any rain on the 4th, but it rained the entire next day and it's been rather cool and cloudy ever since then. Not much else going on really.

Today I took an online health assessment. Spent 15 minutes answering questions just to find out that I need to improve my health. WOW, what insight! Weight Watchers is going pretty good so far. Over all (as of last Friday) I've lost 8 pounds. I don't seem to be losing weight as quickly this time, but that is probably better than losing it too fast. My 20th Class reunion will be next year and I would like to have reached my goal weight and be in much better health by then, so that's my incentive right now.

I found a acreage in Alaska that is just AWESOME and I really wish that 1) I had the money 2) I had a job up there and 3) it wasn't so extremely far away from my family, because the pictures of both the house and the surrounding area were just BEAUTIFUL. Ok, back to real life...

4th of July!

Here's wishing everyone a happy and safe 4th of July! We plan to celebrate living in the land of the free by blowing up a small chuck of it. Have hot dogs & hamburgers? CHECK Have buns and condiments? CHECK Have soda and or beer? CHECK Have enough OFF to survive the night? CHECK Have explosives? CHECK ... Ok, ready for the 4th!

Remember

A co-worker of mine, who is currently undergoing stem cell replacement, sent us a thank you card and in the message of it she shared with us her favorite quote. "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming WOW--WHAT A RIDE!!!"

Another co-worker sent me the following message today:
I thought I would share this, so we can appreciate our true meaning of Independence Day.
REMEMBER:
IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE REPORTER, WHO HAS GIVEN US THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS.
IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE POET, WHO HAS GIVEN US THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
IT IS THE SOLDIER, NOT THE CAMPUS ORGANIZER, WHO GIVES US THE FREEDOM TO DEMONSTRATE.
IT IS THE SOLDIER WHO SALUTES THE FLAG, WHO SERVES BENEATH THE FLAG, AND WHOSE COFFIN IS DRAPED BY THE FLAG, WHO ALLOWS THE PROTESTER TO BURN THE FLAG.

back yard beautification!

Happy July everyone! Well, my month got off to a bit of a rocky start, well, more like Scott's did... Last night Scott had begun digging out a place to put a patio and wouldn't you know it, the last 3 foot section he had left to dig unearthed a poorly poured garage footing. He started laying the patio stones before I was even out of bed this morning (ambitious man, stubborn too, but I digress). While I was getting ready for work he came in and said that he was sorry he messed up the yard. That footing really messed up the way the patio stones lay and without either filling all the dirt back in or purchasing another 100 bags of sand, there was no way it would ever be level. I didn't really have much to say, totally not his fault and I had to get to work, but I knew he felt really bad about the whole thing.
While I was at work, I chatted with one of my co-workers about it and her idea made so much sense to me. Just finish setting the rest of the stones, remove the uneven corner and make either an herb or flower planter box in that corner instead. I could hardly wait to get home, but it was still early afternoon. Anyway, when I got home I found a very sore, very tired, very grumpy man sitting in the living room. After getting home from buying more sand we started laying the rest of the stones (went pretty quick with both of us working together. It reminded me of helping Dad build a retaining wall when I was a kid.
As we were moving stones from the driveway to the back yard Scott noticed a pile of edging stones that he had removed from the yard to dig the patio base and the thought came to him that we could use those edging stones to build tiny retaining wall in the uneven corner. Then, as I was moving the extra bags of sand into the garage, another idea came to me. Instead of building a planting box, I could just level off the lower end of the now empty corner and place a half barrel there, filled with annuals and maybe even try planting some tulips in it to see if they survive the winter. Scott suggested that we fill the rest of that corner with white rock to give the area a more finished look and I could fill it with smaller potted plants next year.

Overall, though the day started a little rough, it was a great start to July. The patio is done and just needs to be swept off to be ready for the 4th of July weekend!

purple walls

I finished painting the walls in the den tonight. Scott wasn't able to sleep Sunday night, so he decided to surprise me by getting the priming done! I started painting Tuesday night and got two walls done in about 3 hours... finished the last two walls tonight after another 2 hours. It looks really cool though, the walls have a marble type look to them. I'm really excited to get the floor done and then finish touching up the trim.

Today Scott spent most of the afternoon and all evening removing sod just outside the door to the back door. Home Depot delivered the patio stones and sand I invested in, so Scott plans on getting the rest of the sod removed and then filling with sand and leveling. I'm not sure if he will get the stones placed tomorrow as well because it is supposed to be hot again tomorrow. I was only outside helping level the exposed dirt for about 20 minutes and worked up a sweat, and that was after the sun had gone down, so I really appreciate that Scott is doing this. It will be nice to have a patio and should increase the value of the property a little bit too (maybe enough to offset that crack along the east wall).

Hlep, Hlep, there's a crack in my wall

Well, isn't this just perfect... I was going to start painting the den downstairs and decided to put off priming until tomorrow after work because I was tired. I walked into the family room and happened to glance at the east wall, the one that runs the expanse of the house. It looks to me like the foundation is settling, but I can't be sure and to top it all off I just don't know what to do... Should I call my insurance agent and have one of their people come and look at it and hope that the wall repair is covered under my insurance? I'll keep everyone posted as things develop.

and now I can't walk...

Wednesday's weeding event caught up with me this morning when I went to get out of bed. Straightening my legs felt similar to trying to stretch a really small rubber band around a really thick stack of paper.

watching grass grow

Tonight Scott and I ran to Home Depot and picked up paint for the empty room downstairs. I had brought home a handful of paint chips several weeks ago in the brown and red families, and from those we narrowed it down... well, tonight, while we were looking at the paint chips on that huge wall at Home Depot we both decided that we liked purple better. It just suits us better and we can always paint over it if I decide to sell further down the road.

It was still light out when we got home so I thought I would do a little weeding. Now for some that statement might conjure up visions of a tidy little garden/flower bed with tiny little weeds -- so for the record, it was like pulling small trees... and I only got about 1/3 of the way through before it got too dark for me to tell which was a flower and which was a weed. Now I'm all sweaty and smell like a giant can of Off. (Two huge advantages though - I got some much needed exercise and my flowers can breath and get a little sun again!)

It just recently dawned on me that over the past 3 months I have spent decidedly less time online and more time reading, talking and puttering around the house. Work is keeping me really busy and most of the time, but the end of the work day I would rather watch the grass grow than stare at another computer screen.

Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad

Today is my parents wedding anniversary, so happy anniversary to them and happy Father's day to my dad. Love you both very much!

The trip home and the wedding both were wonderful. I could use another vacation, but think I'll hold off until sometime next month. There are so many things about Wisconsin that I love and that make me homesick, but I was happy to get back to South Dakota too.

This past week Sioux Falls received between 3 and 8 inches of rain (depending on what part of town you were in) and the falls in Falls Park were amazing. Scott and I went to the park so I could take some pictures, though I don't think 35mil pictures will do it justice. The unfortunate thing is that many residents suffered extensive damage and property loss due to flooding and related problems.

the death of a president

I was deeply saddened to learn of former President Ronald Reagan's passing. He was president during most of my teenage years into early adulthood and I can't imagine what my life, and that of my family's, would have been like had he not won the presidency when he did.

On a different note, I'm off to Wisconsin for the week to visit family and attend my cousin's wedding. I'm pretty sure I have everything packed... hope Mom has an extra box for me to wrap the wedding present in. Have a super week.

the road to weight loss

Week one of the Weight Watchers & exercise routine went pretty good I think. It is a long, windy road I travel, but I lost my first 5 pounds for this go round. Maybe it doesn't sound like very much, but to me it is very special. Sometimes seeing some kind of result, even if it is only 5 pounds is very motivational and makes all the effort worth it. I know there are hard days ahead, days, weeks, even months where I don't lose anything, so today and future days like it are very special.

a time to remember those who fight for our freedoms

It's Memorial Day. Thank you to all those who died for the freedoms we enjoy today, and thank you to those who continue to fight to protect those freedoms.

On a completely unrelated note, I started following Weight Watchers again on Friday. I also started an exercise routine that I can do when I travel. We'll see how this week goes and just take it day by day. I'm also trying to not take myself so seriously. I'm not doing this to win a beauty pageant, I'm doing this for my health and general well being.

And the thunder rolls...

Yesterday Scott and I were bored, so decided to go to Barnes & Nobles to browse some books. While we were there the tornado warning siren went off in Sioux Falls so we were ushered into the back area (the employee's break room). Nothing came of it, but Scott decided that we should head home and get the cats into the basement "just in case". Lots of lightening to the west and north, but it looked like the storm was heading mostly north. We got home and I started dinner (single serve lasagna from Schawn's, YUMMY!) then went out into the back yard with Scott.

We were just watching the clouds and lightening in the distance when Scott noticed that there was a bank of clouds moving east and another bank of clouds moving north, right over Brandon. Before long those two banks converged and I've never seen anything like it. The clouds pitched and boiled together, we could see several places where the clouds were spinning, as if being swirled in a beaker. Black, angry clouds mixing with lighter gray clouds, spinning and rolling, but boiling still seems to describe it best. I started to get a little freaked out because it seemed to settle right over our back yard, so I headed back inside to get all of the animals down into the basement. Curiosity overcame my better judgment and I headed back outside to continue to watch the sky with Scott. He said that he saw two or three funnels develop, start to drop and then just as quickly dissipated. That cloud bank moved off without further incident, but then the sky opened up and it rained, and rained, for what seemed like hours it rained. It was an amazing thing to watch.

a weighty rant

It's not that I don't want to lose weight, but I get so tired of trying, of the constant struggle. I feel like I'm in quicksand, the more I struggle the worse things get - so I just sit here, doing nothing, all the while knowing that my situation is not improving. I know I have to do something because I'm in a very high-risk area for developing diabetes, and am in a high-risk area for a myriad of other health problems.

I remember the first time I knew I needed to do something about my weight. It was Easter weekend 2001, all of my family had come out to South Dakota to spend the holiday with me. My sister took digital pictures of my home,
animals and the family then sent them to all of us after she got back home. I cried when I opened that email and saw how big I looked on camera. My best friend kept after me about my weight. At first he made fun of me, thinking that if he used humor it wouldn't hurt as much, but soon found that making fun of me only served to deepen the depression I had fallen in. Then he started getting me to discuss my health, why my back hurt, why my knees
hurt. He just kept after me, held me accountable in some respects. When I committed myself to Weight Watchers I did well. I had lost 70 pounds, looked and felt fantastic, I could cross my legs, walk without feeling winded. It was great!

But then something happened, and I couldn't put my finger on it until now. I had blamed it all on my hitting a weight plateau and not being able to move past it, but that was only part of the problem. The WW meeting leader wasn't very helpful or supportive, the group sessions were also not very rewarding and then when my best friend moved out he took that support with him and I soon found myself slipping back into the same bad habits that I had worked so hard to overcome before. Now I find that I am in worse shape then I was back in 2001, I gained all the weight back plus packing on additional pounds. My depression is deep and dark. I can't seem to get past the thought that I failed myself.

I need help, but am afraid to ask for it. I'm afraid that people with look at me with pity and a level of contempt that I have allowed my physical state to deteriorate to the point it has. I'm afraid that I'll fail again, that I'll lose weight again only to put is all back on again.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all enjoy your special day!

TICKS :(

TICKS!!! Icky creatures and I had to pull one off my dog, Jessie, for the first time ever. It wasn't as difficult as I had expected it to be, but still pretty much creaped me out. Dad gave me some encouragement and I just did it. Not that I ever want to have to do it again, but at least I know I can now.

I MISSED APRIL!

So it appears that I disappeared for a little over a month... A little recap of last month. Lets see, the temperature here has fluctuated between lows of 30 degrees and highs of 90 degrees over the past month. My tulips are all up and in full bloom, we got a wild flower bed planted (well, Scott did pretty much all the work, all I did was help mix top soil with compost and then level the seed bed). Scott even had to mow the lawn once already. It smelled so good, so fresh, I'm just loving it.

On the work front, I'm still doing the same job, but they finally configured a space for me and moved me closer to the two teams. My office is pretty much centrally located in relation to both teams, and I can sure tell a difference. I used to get lots of phone calls because people just didn't want to walk back and chance me not being in my office, now they just stop by when they go to pick up their printing and faxes. There is a lot more to distract me now, but I'm getting used to it - albeit slowly, but surely.

Things on the home front are going pretty good as well. Along with the gardening type stuff I wrote about above, Scott has been trying to get me a little more physically active. We started walking after I got home from work, but I think the hike along the river and me wheezing and struggling to breath was an indicator that I need to start up on a smaller scale. It will never cease to amaze me how extremely easy it is to slip back into bad or lazy habits.

Scott got me to start reading for pleasure again. He picked out a book for me that he thought I would like. It's called The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auhl. I admit, I'm only on chapter 2, but she's a talented writer and I've already been drawn into several of the characters. Guess Scott is trying to get me to exercise my brain if I'm not going to exercise my body...

Love & hugs to everone!

HOCKEY!!!!!

WHEEEEE! Hockey game tonight!! I'm not sure why I enjoy hockey games so much, but I do. There is nothing quite like it. Oh yeah, and Happy Birthday to me :) No, I don't wish to discuss whether I feel older or not, but thank you just the same. The sun is shining in my window so I think I'm going to go outside to enjoy it for a while!

hmmm....

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING! Rejoice, the season of creepy crawlies and spiders is upon us! (Slow news day)

Seriously... is winter ever going to end this year?

Just 30 days left to tax day. Suppose I should start working on mine soon then. OH, guess what we woke up to this morning... SNOW! Seems that Old Man Winter just doesn't really want to let go this of this season but then there is only 5 days left until spring officially begins, or so the calendar says. I really don't have much to say today...

I love a good review

Monday I returned to work to find a brand new overhead shelf and two brand new two drawer filing cabinets! I know, most are like "ooh, you are such a freak, who would be excited over office furniture?" but I was just tickled to death! I have room to get all the ugly crap that was taking up visible, usable work surface stored away so my office is nice and organized again!

Today I got my review at work and actually blushed when my manager went over part of it. I can't remember receiving a review that made me smile as much as this did. I have been trying really hard this year to improve my attitude, interpersonal skills and leadership skills, and based on this review I'd say it all made a positive difference! I know better than to think I don't have much room for improvement, but I'm going to take a couple of days and revel in the feeling.

Is winter over yet???

Today was very windy, but spring temperatures are definitely on the way! Scott said he saw a robin in the back yard this morning and there were hundreds of Canadian Geese on the river between here and Sioux Falls. It really won't be long until flowers are blooming! Not much else going on right now... Oh, I found some St. Patty's Day stuff to add to the site! Hope you enjoy the change.

...in like a lion

March came in like a lion, to be sure... at least in my neck of the woods! It snowed, but it was really strange. The flakes were the big wet ones that usually stick to everything, but I guess the ground was just a touch too warm because none of the snow stuck. It was kind of like a really thick rain.

Hmmm, maybe I should start thinking about a St. Patrick Day theme for my site... Time to go surf! ** hugs to everyone **

Spring Fever!

What a beautiful day! The sun is shining brightly, the snow is melting slowly. A little bit warmer and it would be t-shirt weather! The other morning I heard birdies chirping as I was walking across the parking lot at work. It won't be long now and my tulips will be up and blooming!! I am really looking forward to that! Scott's mom sent him a bunch of seeds for his birthday, so he's looking forward to tearing up some of my weed bed to make a vegetable garden this spring. Guess we've both got a bad case of spring fever!

Life, explained

I hope everyone had a nice Valentines Day. We didn't do anything really, just spent some time together doing nothing (it's something we both excel at). Today Elton brought over a video of his little girls (twins born 11/21/2003, so just about 3 months old). They are ADORABLE!

I was going through my emails and came across one that explained life:

On the first day, God created the cow. God said, "You must go to field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of sixty years."
The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me have twenty years and I'll give back the other forty."
And God agreed.
On the second day, God created the dog. God said, "Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty years."
The dog said, "That's too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I'll give back the other ten."
So God agreed (sigh).
On the third day, God created the monkey. God said, entertain people, do monkey tricks, make them laugh. I'll give you a twenty year life span."
Monkey said, "How boring, monkey tricks for twenty years? I don't think so. Dog gave you back ten, so that's what I'll do too, okay?"
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day, God created man. God said, "Eat, sleep, play, have sex, enjoy doing nothing, just enjoy, enjoy. I'll give you twenty years."
Man said, "What? Only twenty years? No way, God. Tell you what, I'll take my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the dog gave back, and the ten the monkey gave back. That makes eighty, okay?"
"Okay," said God. "You've got a deal."

So that is why for the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, have sex, enjoy doing nothing. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do monkey tricks to entertain our grandchildren and for the last ten years, we sit around the house and bark at everybody.
Life has now been explained.

Hurray for 'normal' blood pressure!

Wednesday I took the time to go have my blood pressure rechecked and I'm really glad that I did. I've lost a little weight since November, I'm exercising a little more (not the 30 minutes a day thing, but still more than I was before) and I guess it all paid off because my blood pressure is "normal" still a little on the high side of safe, but still under the red flag numbers. So, I'm going to stick with the lower carbohydrate diet because it really seems to be pretty easy for me to follow - all the fruits and veggies I want, lean meats, 3 dairy & 5 starchy time carbohydrates a day - not hard at all.

The snow finally stopped falling sometime this past week, but then the winds picked up and blew it around. Wednesday I took the day off and was driving around in Sioux Falls and didn't really notice much in the way of visibility problems, but I heard the further north and east you went of the Sioux Falls area, the worse the visibility became. Today it was in the low to mid 30s and it started to feel a bit like spring, which is a welcomed change. I am very very ready for spring to come and my tulips to start blooming.

snow... snow... /sigh

Well, it has snowed pretty much all day, every day for the past 3 days - a very light, powdery snow, but enough to require using the snow blower a couple of times each day. In most spots in my yard there is well over 12 inches, but, there is a fence on both the west and south sides of my yard so it pretty much becomes the catch all for blowing snow. Anyway, I'm really glad that I have a 4-wheel drive pickup to get around in because one of the roads I take to work had not been plowed all weekend! WOOT, love being a trail blazer!! Even the mail was late today, was just delivering on my side of town when I arrived home. Scott knows what a "normal" South Dakota winter is like now.

spooky day at the office

And so January draws to a close. How did you spend the last day of January 2004? I decided to go into work so I could get some research done without the normal interruptions. It was amazingly quiet, almost spooky actually. I am so used to people just appearing in at my side to get their work questions answered, I spent most of the morning wondering when someone was going to interrupt me... very strange.

computer woes

If your computer ever just freezes or locks up for no apparent reason, do yourself the favor of checking to see if all the fans in your tower are working properly. I spent almost 8 hours in safe mode running scan disks and defragging my hard drive just to have my computer essentially stop just after booting in normal mode. It wasn't until I touched my tower that I discovered that there may be a problem with one of the fans because my tower was hot enough to burn my arm! No wonder the cat avoided my tower all day, opting for the cooler monitor to lay on instead. Anyway, it turns out that it was a problem with my power supply fan.

So, the month is half over ... do you know where your tree is?

The month is slipping away, isn't it. Already the middle of January and my Christmas tree is still up, gifts received are still in boxes under the tree and thank you cards are still waiting for me to write them up. Why is it that I never feel like doing anything about it until I'm either in bed or at work? 'Tis a puzzlement.

Oh, something interesting I read yesterday... there was a study done somewhere about weight loss and exercise. Did you know that most men can lose weight just by exercising, but women can't? Most women have to cut their caloric intake plus exercise to lose weight. On top of all that, when women are stressed their bodies are programmed to retain fat around the mid section and butt. All this focus on weight and why I'm having such a hard time with it is just adding to the stress, so I wonder how to get out of this trap... ARGH!!! It's not fair I tell you, just not fair!

a tinsy financial rant

Why is it, the harder I try to get out of debt the more debt I seem to be in? Is it just a totally vicious never ending cycle? I had such great expectations to be debt free (excluding mortgage) by 2005, but seriously, the harder I try the worse it gets. On top of all that I keep getting mailings from lenders and credit card companies asking me to dig myself deeper in the whole by borrowing even more money. Borrowing money to get out of debt caused more of a problem than just struggling through it would have been in the first place (this started in 2001). Things have only gotten worse, especially when I listened to that same lender who talked me into refinancing the loan again in 2003. Sure, the rate was much better, but adding the credit card debt I had accrued between 2001 & 2003, the loan payments are much higher than they had been and I find myself asking (over and over) why, oh why, didn't I just refinance what I still owed on the original loan at the lower interest rate and get that paid off??? I've been kicking myself in the rear-end ever since. Bottom line is, there is no easy way out of debt. Once you are in past your eyeballs it's time to get a second/third job (but that's not so easy either since everyone around here seems to be in a similar situation. Time to rethink my entire life strategy.

Oh, and since I'm talking about money I might as well crab about how expensive healthy food is. I'm trying to lose weight and every time I compare prices pasta is much cheaper and has a much longer shelf life than fresh vegetables and fruits. Face it, it is more expensive to eat healthy than to eat less healthy. All of this seems to just compound what I perceive to be problems right now. It's more practical to buy the 5/$1.00 boxes of Mac & Cheese or the &5/1.00 packages of Top Romain than it is to buy a head of lettuce for $1.59 and only get 2 meals out of it. The whole thing is depressing and, like I said before, never-ending.

Life sure seems bleak when you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know that things will work out, they always have, but that doesn't mean that it's easy to deal or cope with. Lately I've not been coping with things at all, instead I sleep. Sleep has always been my great escape. My mom and dad got into a fight, I'd go take a nap. Little sister got yelled at, I'd go take a nap. On the weekends I have great intentions of cleaning out a couple of boxes, but when I go to do it, I suddenly feel extremely fatigued and sit down for just a couple minutes and wake up 2 hours later. Some of my friends and family are afraid that all my sleeping and lack of energy is the result of depression, and I guess that's possible given all the financial stress that seems to be taking over my life... I just really don't want to go to a doctor just to have him/her tell me that I need to de-stress my life and give me no practical tools with which to do it.

WOW, I think this is the most I have typed in a long time. Maybe it will help to get it all written down?

New Year's resolution

What can I say. I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a safe New Year's Day. I didn't make any resolutions this year. I know myself all too well and know that I set too lofty and unattainable goals, so I countered this year by not setting any goals at all... How's that for logic?

Hope it's not too early for a Valentine's Day type theme... guess it's never to early to spread the love!