Rainy Sunday

Well, at least this time it isn't the same old "been a long time" opening.

The rain continues. But, I always keep in mind "it isn't snowing."

This is my 3rd or 4th Sunday off in a row. I will definitely make up for it because, after Wednesday, I will work 7 days in a row. Then, I will have a day off, work a day and be off for 4 days. That is just how my rotation is working out--at least for this month. I also scheduled a day off because my youngest granddaughter will be graduating from kindergarten. I know---I'm a true grandmother. And, how crazy--a graduation ceremony? But, it makes the kids feel good. And how many chances do you get to feel really, really good?

We got another piece of good news about a week ago, too. My extended family is growing. Something I have been praying for for many months (almost a year, actually) will finally occur in about two weeks. The little girl that my daughter's sister and brother-in-law adopted from Uganda is finally coming home. Her name is Fiona. She is two days older than my youngest granddaughter Paige. We are VERY EXCITED! This has been a long journey, especially for her parents. It is truly God's Blessing that it is finally going to be over. I can't wait to meet her for the first time. I hope she will come to think of us as part of her family, too. We love her already. As far as I am concerned, blood ties are not the only thing that makes a family. Are we not all part of God's family? Yes--we are!

Well, on another note, I did get some things done today. Laundry--mostly put away. Another load in the washer ready to be dried. Chocolate ice cream done. Leftover hamburger to be made into sloppy joes for supper. Maybe some German potato salad along with it. And a salad, if the veggies in the fridge are still fresh. Sound good? Sure, it does. Just agree with me. Remember the correct answer is always--"Yes, dear". Okay, only for husbands and wives. But others should agree too. Just to make my day, right?

Hopefully, the weather will improve the rest of the week. And remember, it will be Summmertime eventually!

Naturally--been a long time

Well--why do I write the same thing when I start out. Been a long time since I last wrote, I know.

I suppose that since it is so easy to update on Facebook, this blog is just too much trouble to get to. But, I still feel like it is good for me to do. It helps clear the mind.

So--here's whats been happening. Made it through another Indiana winter--thank God! It seemed like it took forever, but then, it always does. Then, when it's over, it really doesn't seem to have at all. I still remember that it didn't snow in October and was really warm (I think) at some point just before the snow hit the fan (HA--you thought I was going to write something else, didn't you?). Then, of course, just like it always does, it snowed and snowed and snowed. We finally got it cleared away and then it just snowed again. The last time was at the beginning of Spring. When it started to snow, my Granddaughter Casi said, "I'm not shoveling"! I explained that it would probably be melted by the time she got home from school. Fortunately, I was right.

Now--in true Spring fashion--it just rains and rains and rains. We do have green grass, tho. And flowers and leaves on the trees. They blend in so nice with our puddles. We did have beautiful weather this past weekend and on Easter weekend. I actually mowed our lawn yesterday. Good thing, too, because it will probably rain the rest of the week.

I can't believe its been so long--again

Hey--just want to say, it's good to write. This is like writing a letter to my family, or best friend, or someone. I'm not a regular at this anymore, sad to say. I think it would be great if I was, but, something always gets in the way and then I decide it really isn't that important anymore.

Made it through the Christmas shopping season--again. Didn't think I would, but with the help of my co-workers (God Bless them--really!) I did. Then, the inevitable January of returns and inventory, etc. Every year I say never, never, NEVER, again and every year I do it. I don't know--my Mom was right, I guess. She always said what doesn't kill us makes us strong.

So now--I just want to make it through winter, which has been dragging on and on for us in the Midwest. Just like it does every year. How do we do it? I think its a combination of finding the humor when necessary, working through the anger we feel when it snows--again --and ruins any plans we may have had for the day (yes--I'm talking about now) and finding beauty in life anyway. I guess that's the "make lemonade" idea.

That and a lot of chocolate. And a little alcohol, possibly. Or hot tea. Or a hug. All of it works.

Once Again, over a month

So--try as I might to write something every day or at least every other day--I have failed and it's been over a month. I guess the truth is I'm just not that motivated to write something. Sometimes, I start to write in my mind, but never quite get around to actually writing.

So--what have I been up to? Nothing, really. Well, nothing unusual, that is. I finished off October with Halloween fun. We actually get to dress up at work. This year we got to dress up 2 days in a row. The first day, I dressed like a typical ND football fan (I know, what a stretch, right?) The second day, my co-worker and I dressed as Macy's Bridal Registry gifts--those are gift bags we give out to people who purchase gifts for couples who register at Macy's. We had a terrific time.

My granddaughters dressed as bags of JellyBelly jellybeans. I wish I had a pic of them to post. They were too cute! Of course, I am their Nana, so I'm very prejudiced.

This month, the shopping has commenced! It is great to be busy once again. Especially since it has been soooo sloww. I think people were just getting in gear for the upcoming season. Which brings up the belabored point of why wait? Why wait until it is so crowded and things are so crazy? Shop all year around instead of waiting. Then again, most of us have other things to shop for during the year--i.e. birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, mothers day, fathers day, etc. So, it really is difficult for us to just shop for Christmas too early. Then again, it probably wouldn't be half as much fun for some. There is the thrill of making it through "Black Friday" and the rest of the Holiday shopping. My daughter loves it. I actually do too, but for a different reason. Since I work retail, it provides me with a lot of stress and fun. That's right, I said fun.

For example, I took care of a very nice man who wanted to buy tablecloths for the diningroom table he and his wife are having built for his daughter. The table is finished and will be delivered this week. He wanted to buy 2 Lenox tablecloths because the table has leaves. We unfortunately didn't have the right sizes in stock. Neither did our warehouse. I was able to do a search and found that the Macy's in Chicago had the right sizes. They will be shipping them to him so he and his wife can present them to his daughter. Thank goodness for overnight shipping. It made me happy to see him so excited. They are doing this because it is his daughter's first Thanksgiving as a married woman and she is cooking her first turkey so the family will all be together.

Then there is the inevitable stress. I accidentally put a customer's coupon in my register drawer after using it. Naturally, the register picked that time to go crazy on me. Plus, it had been awhile since the customer had been in the department, so she was stressed. I was really ready to die. She was so mad. I tried to apologize, but I don't think she was really happy with me. I wasn't happy with me, either. She left without getting the coupon back because the register wouldn't open. It had to be re-booted and she definitely didn't want to wait.

Oh well. There's always the end of the shopping season to look forward to.

My "Zelig" Life

Well, it's been a month, as usual, so here is my monthly post. I really need to do this more often. It's a lot like my pledge to walk and exercise more. Not working out lately like I want it to, but improving slightly.

The thing is, I always seem to be composing these blogs in my head, but getting it down on "paper" is something else.

This past month has been eventful, if not for me, then friends and family members. Along with work, there have been a lot of events going on. Some fun--some not so fun.

A friend of mine had major surgery this month. I was really worried about her. She has been really sick for a long time now. However, the surgery has gone well and it seems she is well on the road to recovery (had to re-type--otherwise would really look like I can't spell at all). Thank God for the ability to pray and put things in his hands. It works.

Other friends are going thru some tough times right now, so I am once again praying that all goes well for them and all their troubles will soon be ending. They are part of my extended family, so it really is hard to watch them go through this. The fact that part of their originally troubles has ended makes it really hard to wait for the rest of this all to end.

Other than that, this month has just plain been fun. Big football fan that I am, I really loved this weekend. Spent it with my eldest Granddaughter doing the whole football weekend at our "local university" as my co-worker refers to it. Just a hint--GO IRISH! (Sorry, couldn't resist).

We loved the whole thing--especially the part about winning. I'm including a picture of her with a past coach. Sorry to say, I wasn't one of his biggest supporters during the time he coached--losing clouded my opinion then. However, he is apparently still a huge fan and came to the bookstore to sign copies of one of his books. Plus, he was really nice about just taking a picture without our buying any of his books (which I still intend to read). Thanks to Coach Faust--he made my Granddaughter's and my day!

Plus, bandmembers and other fans and great pep rally that really made it extra fun. The "zelig" ( I can only hope I'm spelling that right) part is that every time I go to any event at ND I somehow end up meeting with famous or locally famous people, i.e. Coach Faust, players, band members (America's First University Marching Band, by the way) or someone like that. I don't really plan it, it just happens.

Well, another end to another post. Till next time.

What not to do with spare time

O.K. I really like having the evening off and am looking forward to tomorrow when I will be off all day long. No having to get up early (I probably will anyway, tho.), no having to take kids to school, no having to get ready to go to work.

What I will do will probably be pretty boring, tho. My day off usually goes something like this--library, grocery shopping, Facebook, e-mail, cooking or baking something because I have time. Eat too much.

Enough, already! I WILL do SOMETHING different!! O.K.--maybe football. Who am I kidding? Maybe? Make that DEFINITELY! Even if only t.v.--not live. I did go to a high school football game tonight. I haven't done that in awhile. O.K--I admit it--my granddaughters were involved. I missed it tho, because nobody told me they were going to run on the field. If I wouldn't have gone on Facebook, I never would've known. Totally not a good thing. If I would've known, I would've gone. Of course, it could've been they didn't want me to know. That is a possibility. I just got the distinct impression that nobody told me on purpose. Maybe they thought I was working, though. Or, maybe (and this is ENTIRELY possible, trust me) I was told and just forgot about it. Knowing me, this is a distinct possibility.

That said, I did eat something different than a grilled cheese sandwich (my usual dinner when home alone). The pizza I picked up after work was still yummy. Plus, I have plenty left for dinners the rest of the weekend. The dessert I made--not as good as I wanted. Homemade chocolate almond ice cream got icy--yuck. I am leaving it out to thaw a little. Will find out if its as bad as I think it is.

Tomorrow, I also want to take a walk. I really need to start walking regularly again. It helps me clear my head and lose weight. Pants getting too tight--need to walk and walk often. The funny thing is, I almost walked to the game tonight. Next time its at Mishawaka, I will. It really isn't that far and would do me good. Maybe I'll walk to the high school tomorrow and see how long it takes me. Also, there is a great sale tomorrow for the Junior League. Maybe I'll go there.

Then--football. GO IRISH!

Just Some Thoughts

Here is another attempt to make this more of a journal. It probably won't happen, but this is my second post in three weeks, so I am getting better. Sort of.

I just think that if I wrote more, I would personally feel better. I mean, it is supposed to be a vent, right?

Right. So now, I'm venting a lot of pent up stuff. You can stop reading here right now, if you want to.

There is a reason I don't write more often tho. I have several blogs I read myself and I've decided that mine aren't nearly as interesting as the ones I read. Truly. I think they are just something I wouldn't personally read.

That said, here is my vent for today. I had the day off again and planned to go to the movies or do something different than what I usually do on my day off. Generally, my days off are about as interesting as watching grass grow. The routine is usually like this lately. First, stop granddaughters from fighting and attempting to kill each other before taking them to school. Oh, wait, no, actually--first is get up before anyone else--normally 6:15 a.m.--make coffee, read e-mail and check Facebook (naturally--who doesn't?). Then, take my husband a cup of coffee. Then, I go back downstairs, open my back door and turn on lights so my granddaughters can see. Then, I make sure my husband is awake by the time the girls get here. When the kids are here, I usually have a little time to drink my coffee and we decide what to have for breakfast. In the midst of this, I sometimes have to break up an argument or two between the girls and remind them to please, please, be quiet! Also, making sure my husband is definitely up and dressed and ready to go by about 7:30 is a must. He's generally a sleepyhead and has trouble waking up so early in the morning. After he leaves (and sometimes a little bit before) I start breakfast for the girls and myself. They usually like pancakes (Paige especially like chocolate chip ones) or oatmeal. Sometimes eggs. While we eat, we usually watch a movie or television. Or read a book. Or they play with dolls. Or do homework. During this time, another fight usually breaks out. Paige generally wants to talk to her Mom then. Sometimes, I call her, sometimes not. Those two can fight like crazy one minute and be quiet as mice the next.
After about an hour, I take them to school. If I have to go to the grocery store or need to be back home in a hurry, I drive them and then come back home or run the errand.

Today, though, I was off and had decided to go to the movies. I am such an idiot, I actually thought this was going to happen. I looked at the schedule and decided to do a little window shopping and birthday shopping before the movie. I did that, went to the theater. However, the movie that I thought started at 12:45 didn't start until 1:55. It wouldn't have ended until 4:30 and I really needed to be home by about 4:00 at the very latest. I was so disappointed. The only time I can go to a movie that I want to see is during the day, by myself. If I go to a movie with Steven, it's always something he wants to see. Sometimes I do too, so I don't mind. It's just that anything I really want to see, I have to see alone. This goes for any theater performance (unless its Shakespeare), too. We don't really go to a play together anymore. God forbid we should go to what he terms "chick flicks". I can't watch anything remotely "chick flicky" at home, either. I mean, how many times have I watched some ridiculous science fiction movie or opera just because he wants to? However, we do watch some shows together. Currently, we are (along with most teenage girls in America) on a vampire movie kick. Right now, for instance, he's watching (and I am listening to) "TrueBlood" Maybe it is the theme song, maybe the fact that it is both gory and funny or maybe I'm just crazy. I really love that show. And the books that inspired it.

Well--that's it. I gotta go--TrueBlood is on.