Twisted

We just finished off a pretzel bread from Trader Joe's. Good stuff; I love their breads. Oddly enough, most of the snacks we picked up today were pretzel by nature. We got the pretzel breads, two types of seasoned pretzel chips, candied pretzel nuggets and dark chocolate covered pretzels. Huh. Guess we like pretzels! I didn't realize that a lot of our purchases were in the same snack category until just now. Pretty exciting, isn't it?

A new home

Well, I've officially moved my office. I'm now at the other bldg... the one behind the old Menards, off the interstate. The company plan is to move everyone in spring after the new addition is built, but I decided to come early for a number of reasons. Plus, there was an open office ready for me right by the server room and my other IT colleague.

So far I'm liking it. I did lose my huge window with a view and the cell coverage in this metal building absolutely sucks, but other than that, there are plenty of perks. Blair and I are closer now to communicate and work on projects, it's very quiet back here (which I love) and it's easier access for driving. I won't have to deal with the construction and traffic in town. They recently shut down the main road that I take to work to build another roundabout, so I've been cruising alternate routes.

All right then. Off to lunch.

Stirrin' the pot

As surprised as I am to be saying this - I'm looking forward to the cooler weather. I miss my comfort foods. I'm no chef by any means, but I enjoy cooking in the colder months. Some of my favs are chili, lasagna, soups, stew... all things that warm me up and cook nice and slow to enhance the flavor. Let's not forget homemade bread or the ever popular casseroles that every midwestern family scoops into. Throw together whatever is left in the cupboards, add a can of cream of something soup, and wah lah.

I think we eat much better in winter. Definitely less fruit and veggies for obvious reasons, but also less take-out. Summer gets busy and we're always on the go, grabbing whatever food is available. Plus, I don't use the oven very often. In winter we spend more time in the house, which provides ample time to have an afternoon of cooking multiple meals, freezing half of everything. Then when we have busy weeks with school and activities, we can pop a dish out of the freezer and have quick meals. Sort of like when that kitchen place was in business here. I forget the name, and it didn't survive too long due to cost, but maybe you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway... just my food for thought today.

What's next?

Do you ever feel like you're always in a hurry? Not necessarily running places or having a busy day, but looking forward to the next thing. I do that constantly. I'm always looking ahead. I can't wait to finish these classes and plan for the next ones. And I complete certain projects around the house, anticipating the next ones coming up. I look at what's on the calendar weeks in advance. I'm always thinking about next year, or five years from now. As if everything will be fantastic when I get there.

I'm a planner by nature. It's what I do. I suppose there's a positive to that. It means that I'm putting thought into my future and prepping for where I want to be when that time comes. But I also wonder if there's a negative to it. If I'm always looking ahead, am I just floating through the now? Maybe a little spontaneity would be good for me.

Life in Smallville

Something that I was thinking about when I took a walk this weekend: It would be nice to live in a city that had open businesses on Sundays. I went through town on Sunday aft and it's like a ghost town. There are no people or cars on the streets. The only open businesses are The Pig and gas stations. It's depressing. It's as if the whole town shuts down for the day.

I'd like to take a walk and browse some cool shops or hit a market. Sit in a park and watch people. I don't even run into anyone that I can say hi to. It may be a great little city to raise kids because of the school system and low crime, but it sure isn't the place to teach my children any culture.

I feel so out of my element. This is why I encourage my children to move to a bigger city for college and their careers. Get out and see things, go places. Live in a trendy neighborhood and wear funky clothes. Buy produce on a street corner. Experience what life has to offer.

We all have a favorite

I sat on Ali's bed for the usual 'good morning' greeting. She looks up at me and says, "You look much younger than 40." Out of nowhere. How awesome is she??

A real comforting thought

People worried about the high cost of keeping warm this winter will draw little comfort from the Farmers' Almanac, which predicts below-average temperatures for most of the U.S. "Numb's the word," says the 192-year-old publication, which claims an accuracy rate of 80 to 85 percent for its forecasts that are prepared two years in advance.

The almanac's 2009 edition, which goes on sale Tuesday, says at least two-thirds of the country can expect colder-than-average temperatures this winter, with only the Far West and Southeast in line for near-normal readings. "This is going to be catastrophic for millions of people," said almanac editor Peter Geiger.

The almanac predicts above-normal snowfall for the Great Lakes and Midwest, especially during January and February, and above-normal precipitation for the Southwest in December and for the Southeast in January and February. The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions will likely have an unusually wet or snowy February, the almanac said. In contrast, the usually wet Pacific Northwest could be a bit drier than normal in February.

Back to the basics

Stopped at the little farmer's market outside of Woodlake on the way home. How nice is that?? It runs every Friday. I picked up some fresh veggies and corn on the cob. They also have gals that put together these large, beautiful bouquets of flowers for $6. They were gorgeous. I was getting ready to leave and noticed a man selling freshly baked bread. I sampled a few kinds and bought a loaf of tomato basil. It's fantastic. I had some with a nice salad when I got home.

Things like this make me happy. Buying quality produce from people that work hard to bring it to the table, so to speak. And I love those little cucs!

Just plain soggy

I'm not sure it's humid enough today. I want more! The HVAC system in our building is such a piece of crap, and if it were any more moist it would be raining in my office. For me, high humidity is right up there with strong winds. My favorite days!

Besides that, my day is just the same ole. Another depressing day at this company. I feel like I'm in some bad movie. One that goes on and on and on and really has no plot or meaning behind it. That's what working here is like.

Open up before we shoot

Here's something that I find odd. There is a nice, younger family living to the west of me. He's probably close to my age, she's a bit younger and their daughter must be around 3ish. Real nice people. I rarely see the wife or daughter outside, which is odd enough in itself, but not the topic here. I do see the husband on occasion when doing yard work. The setup of our yards also separates us because not only is there a fence between our back yards, but my yard and drive as a whole are open to the east.

Anyway, a whole lot of info there. Here's my point. They never open their windows. Ever. They actually have plastic on the inside of all their windows year round. When I look out my bathroom windows I see what I believe to be their bedrooms. And they have never been open... ever. I remember my neighbor making a comment about it once when we were talking about something. He said that they keep the air/furnace running all the time. The air just kicks in when it needs to in the summer and the furnace kicks in when it needs to in the winter. All other times in between they must just breathe stagnant air.

I don't recall what their reasoning behind this was. I think I found it so bizarre that I didn't know how to respond. To actually seal all your windows and live in a box like that can't be healthy. Think of the germs and mites floating around that never get a chance to escape. And wouldn't it start to smell like grandma's house after a while? We all know that smell...

Having my windows open is a complete treat for me. I live for that first day of spring when I can open everything up and let the outside in, minus the bugs. I only turn the air on when the humidity gets to its usual 95%. They seem like very normal people. I just don't get it.

Hey! You! Get off of my cloud!

It's no secret. This time of year is rough on everyone... the parents and the kids. Summer was fun, yet exhausting. Now it's time to get your little hindends back in school.

We did a lot of exciting things this summer. Little trips, parties, days at the beach or park. And through it all my girls were together most of the time. We spent a lot of time with friends, but Ali and Jules were pretty much side by side every day. Whether they went to Grandma's, by their dad or with me in the eves. And it shows. I don't blame them for getting sick of each other. Hey, I'm sick of them, too!

The fighting has escalated lately. It's graduated to snide comments out of nowhere, random "shut up"s and even a few scratches and pushes. I've muttered a few F-words under my breath, as well. They fight, I get sick of hearing it, so I snap. Their dad said it's the same at his house, so at least I know that I don't stand alone. The worst part is that they're with me in the mid afternoon thru the eve, so I get them when they're completely exhausted. That usually makes for some good cat fights.

I'm trying real hard to keep my cool, but a couple choice words slipped out this morn when Jules got all bitchy with Alison. I absolutely despise when they fight in the morn and get my day off to a bad start. Hate that. I'm chalking up today's potty mouth to PMS. It happens and it's real. They should know better than to screw with me this time each month.

So, yeah. Back to school you all I say!!

I got your back

Had a few odd dreams last night. One of them:

Anne and I were at the middle school. There was a pep rally taking place in the gym and everyone was in costumes of some sort. We walked in and ended up sitting right in front of Sara. Sara made a comment about not feeling well and as I was getting up off my chair to take cover she threw up all over my head and back. I was covered.

I walked through the gym, heading for the door. As the announcer guy was talking I stated that I was the costume winner... a big bag of vomit. (No clue where this is all coming from, it was a dream.) But, I was chuckling at the time.

I went down to the locker rooms to shower and ran into our middle school Phy Ed teacher, Mrs. Willers. (She was probably 60 at the time we had her, so I'm guessing she's not around anymore.) I explained that I needed to shower off and she told me that the showers were closed. She wouldn't let me in. I couldn't believe it.

The last thing I remember was bawling my eyes out. Can you imagine? I'm standing in the corner, covered in Sara's vomit and they won't let me clean up? I was mortified.

And then I woke up. I had this tight pit in my stomach. Probably because I was so tense and worked up from the crying in the dream. How awful. Now figure out the meaning behind that dream.

Cold day in hell

College presidents from about 100 of the best-known US universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus...

...Mothers Against Drunk Driving says lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes. It accuses the presidents of misrepresenting science and looking for an easy way out of an inconvenient problem. MADD officials are even urging parents to think carefully about the safety of colleges whose presidents have signed on.

...Both sides agree alcohol abuse by college students is a huge problem.

I highly doubt that lowering the age will reduce the number of kids getting inebriated. Seriously. We did it in high school, we did it right before we turned 21 and we did it when we were 25. Heck, we still have a few too many at times. People (adults and students) that want to get drunk, will. It's just that simple. How they handle themselves when they drink too much is the problem.

A lot of people feel that the colleges don't want to deal with the issue of carding students, since some are of age and some aren't. Making the legal age 18 is easier for everyone. And besides, the US has one of the highest drinking ages of all countries. The US, land of the free, the fast-paced land of opportunity. You can have anything you want when you come here, except a nice cold one.

I'm on the fence with this one. I remember what it was like having a job, my own car and apartment and not being able to go out for a beer (legally). It sucked. But I also remember some of those binge evenings and don't feel that 18 is an age of maturity. Even 20 for that matter. I have no answers, but I sure don't see legislation lowering the age. The chances of that happening are right up there with me having another baby.

Is it tomorrow yet?

I feel like the walls are closing in on me. Next week I start three new classes. I received packets of info in the mail from two teachers and the third teacher I will meet on Thursday. It's just a bit overwhelming for me. I read through the papers listing all the work that had to be done and wow. Summer is officially over.

I've also been busy working on a few personal projects. The resume I mentioned, a PTO website for the middle school and some other smaller research tasks. I feel like I'm on this damn pc all the time... which I am. I get home from work and find myself working on projects at night inbetween my time with the girls. I have to remind myself that it's all about the big picture.

Tomorrow is the big neighborhood block party, which will be the last big hoorah of the summer. It's something all three of us really look forward to. Then one of my favorite weekends comes up at the end of September. Bruiz and I go to Cranfest and hit Ho-Chunk after in the Dells. Each year we go is different and memorable in its own way.

I guess my life isn't completely over as I know it. Just feels that way at the moment.

Selling yourself

I've been brushing up the ole resume lately. It seems to be something that a lot of people struggle with. There are plenty of examples online to review, but of course each of our talents and experiences are different. It's all about the wording and capturing the future employer's attention. The resume is the tool to get you in the door for the interview. So, it's best to minimize the details, but list as many key points as possible without getting windy.

Of course it's always good to customize the resume based on the position you are applying for. I will have three different versions when I'm done, along with a few different cover letters. I do have a dream job and know somebody that works at that organization, but they aren't showing signs of hiring. My plan is to send this person a letter, explaining why I'd be the perfect, most fantastic person to work with and to keep me in mind if they see the need to bring extra help on. The worst thing that could happen is that they tell me they don't have positions available. I'm cool with that. You can't get what you don't ask for.

There's also an open position for a company in the area that I would be a pretty good fit for. There would definitely be a learning curve for some of the tasks, but that's typical for most new jobs. I'm a quick study and can adapt easily to new requirements and situations. A large majority of the skills I have now were developed on the job. I'm thinking about throwing the resume in for this one... we'll see.

A very insightful friend of mine once told me: It never hurts to explore your options; you never know when the door to opportunity may swing open.

I couldn't have said it better. This friend of mine, he inspires me.

I'm lovin it

I stayed up uber late last night watching the Olympics. I had to watch Michael get two more medals, break records and become the all time Olympian with 11 golds. My stomach was actually in knots during the relay... I'm such a gomer. I also had to watch the gal gymnasts. It was sad, the mistakes that were made, but they were stressed and under pressure. That little Shawn is quite the pistol, boy. It's like Mary Lou Retton all over again, but better. Anywho, they took the silver, and frankly, that's what they deserved.

(Random thought) - I made taco dip for dinner last night. What a mom.

Um, yeah

Today somebody in the warehouse asked me to make a change for them in our ERP software.
The email trail (note her lack of punctuation):

Her: Kristie could you please change the Trans Info on Trans # 209619

Me: Only if you spell my name correctly. (kidding)

Her: Sorry about that I should have used spell check

Me saying this out loud and sharing my thoughts with another friend: Because that would have corrected it???

I'm such a bitch. Or maybe "sassy" is a better word.

Baltimore Bullet

I've really been getting into the Olympic swimming. Maybe I'm so amazed by it because I was never the strongest swimmer and these athletes are downright impressive. They're complete machines. To swim with half the strength they have would satisfy me. And how about their bodies?

After years of dedication and life-consuming training, they sure deserve to look that fantastic.

Michael Phelps is the man. His 6-foot-7-inch wingspan is three inches longer than his height, providing him with unusual reach. His torso is long compared to his legs, enabling him to ride high on the water. And his flexible ankles, combined with size-14 feet, allow for a powerful kick. He's one of the fastest swimmers in history.

There's also something very natural and unassuming about him. He appears to be the nice guy with a sense of humor and charming wit. A real all-American boy that will do well in life. So far Michael has been kicking ass and I can't wait to see how the rest of the Games pan out for him.

U-S-A! U-S-A!

It's that time again. I love watching the Olympics, although I do have to admit that the opening ceremonies get a tad long. It's interesting to see how each country performs their history artistically when they host, but I get bored with it after a while. Just bring on the sports.

The Olympics flash me back to being a kid. We always watched them as a family when growing up. The Wide World of Sports on Sunday afternoons, too. Now that my girls are getting a bit older I'd like to get them interested, as well. This is history in the making.

Pretty crazy how we can get over 200 countries together in one place to not only compete in 38 different sports, but also to form some sort of unity, even if for only a few weeks. The whole thing is impressive. Putting it together, the money that's involved, the amazing talents of the athletes...

The summer games are by far my fav. The only thing I don't really like about them is that my BF Apolo Anton Ohno isn't present.

Close your pie hole

I've admitted in the past that I'm not the most patient person in the world. I think it all depends on what's going on in my environment at the time. Sometimes I can hang low and go with the flow pretty well.

And other times I get easily annoyed. People that do stupid things annoy me. And so do people that just won't shut up. Lately the lack of shutting up outside my office has been like fingernails on a chalkboard for me. I've mentioned a gal in the past that loves to hear herself talk. She tells stories about everything and laughs in a loud maniac manner. The story telling usually involves: "he's like and she's like, and he said and I'm like and she said". Eh.

She's not a bad person, she's actually quite nice. She just drives me up the flippin wall and I wish she's shut her trap. I have a terrible time concentrating on what I'm doing and have to keep my door shut most of the day. I'd prefer to keep my door open for air flow (it gets stuffy up here on the 3rd floor), plus I feel as if it tags me "unsocial". And we all know that THAT isn't the case.

I'll be moving over to the other building soon and then it'll all come to an end.

Beat it

What is wrong with these ice cream truck people? The last two Saturdays they cruised past my house at 8:30p, cranking that insane carnie music. One eve they actually sat right at the curb in front of my house. It was almost dark. Last night we were out for a walk, just heading home at 8:00p and the damn truck comes around the corner. Of course the kids know that obnoxious sound and gravitate towards it. But, I don't normally go for a walk with my wallet, so I win.

I know these people are just out to make a living, but what makes them think that kids will be standing out in the front yard at 8:30p? Unless we are having a gathering with friends, my girls are in the house showering and having quiet time around then. We still have somewhat of a schedule during the summer. And besides, how many parents are stuffing ice cream into their child's face that late at night?

I remember running out to the truck with a quarter or two when I was a kid, but that was during the day, or right after dinner. Now it's $2, for Pete's sake. I think the IC trucks are cute for nostalgia purposes and all that, but they can go away any time now. I'm surprised they haven't packed it up with the gas prices as they are.

The rock star that you are

We were hanging in Julia's room last night, jammin karaoke. Well, I wasn't... I was lying on the bed observing. The girls love to sing, dance and pretend they're professional performers. What kid doesn't? I remember "performing" to my 45s when I was young.

I have to say that it was quite the eye-opener. Jules is actually pretty talented for a little shrimp. She's got a good voice and stays in tune. She has a tough time keeping up with the words on the screen sometimes, but she's quite the rock star. Alison... not so much. The poor kid is tone deaf. She tries, and she does have some rhythm when it comes to dancing, but she needs to stick with her athletics. She'll never make it on Broadway.

It's cool to see where their talents are (or not). I wonder what my parents saw in me when I was that age. Besides trouble...

Rock Lobster

Boy, I really beat myself up good this weekend. Not just with the race, but with the sunshine, too. We spent most of yesterday at the beach and I fried my upper thighs. I was sitting in a chair soaking up sun and apparently the shorts I was wearing were a bit shorter than what I've had on the rest of the summer! Being down by the lake doesn't help, either. There's that nice cool breeze coming off the big pond, so it doesn't feel warm at all, where in reality the rays are pretty darn strong with the water.

Once we got home I wasn't feeling so well. Little warm, legs on fire, almost a sense of nausea. After showers I started to feel like my body temp had lowered and everything was coming back together again. I turned the AC on and had some dinner... took a little time to relax.

Sleep was a bit restless last night. Not only was I generating heat under the covers, but the storms had me up for a few hours. Plus I had a creepy dream that some kids were sitting on my roof and a dude with an ivy paperboy cap was sitting across the street watching my house. Weird stuff.

Anywho, you could fry an egg on my leg today. Little Seussism there for ya.

Shoot me now

Today I put my body through some serious turmoil. You'll probably say "what's the big deal?", but I'm wiped.

We had an Amazing Neighborhood Race party this afternoon. Each family was to create a team name and shirts/hats/theme to go with. We decorated white ball caps and put our names on with jewels. Added a blue butterfly patch and some color accents. Our team name was "Biederfly". The three of us wore denim shorts and pink tanks. It was cute. I'll share a pic when I get some from friends. (I'm the lame mom that always forgets the camera.)

So, this race is our friends' take on the TV show. The teams are given clues and as we went place to place we had to complete certain tasks and get the next clue. The whole race took about an hour to complete. Some of the tasks included making five baskets with the basketball, putting a puzzle together that included 5x the pieces, charades with play-doh, etc. It was fun. But it involved running all over a neighborhood, house to park to house. The majority of the teams brought bikes. We don't have a rack, so I thought I'd toss the girls' scooters in the CR-V and just run along side of them. What a mistake that was.

I don't run. Not unless I have to. I walk at a fast pace, but I only run if I'm being chased by something mean or having a dream where I can't get anywhere and just run in place. I just was never a runner. Have you ever tried to keep up with two little kids cruising on scooters?? It was painful. I tried and I ran, but they were always down the road. I'd just yell, "Get the next clue!" and they'd have it by the time I caught up. It may have helped a bit if I had tennies on instead of crocs, but not much. I didn't anticipate the race being that lengthy.

The last stretch was a killer. Up a hill then down a road to get back to point A. I stopped 2-3 times to walk and felt like I was going to let my girls down, so I stepped it back up and gave 'er as I heard my heart break skin and pop out of my chest. The girls were waiting for me in the driveway and I thought we could cross the finish line when I was informed that we had one more task to complete. Ugh! At least it involved water, which was a complete lifesaver.

Each team was timed from start to finish and when they recorded the times we completed the race in 49 minutes and WON!! We were shocked. Like I said... most of these teams had bikes. Some had more kids, most had dads. I thought the three of us would be sucking wind and we took the race. Amazing indeed.

It was all family fun and certainly not about the little medals that we wore around our necks, but that part didn't suck either. I was just happy for my girls. They really put their all into the event and had a blast doing it. That's what counts.

I can only imagine what I must've looked like running down those roads. Doh!
Next time... no crocs and definitely bikes. Oh, and kudos to Brenda's
"5 Under Par" for taking second place! Go team!

Diagnosis

I found some info on my tomato problem.

Blossom End Rot:
Blossom End Rot first appears on the bottom of the tomato as a large, brown or black sunken area. When this happens pull the affected tomatoes off and throw away. They will not get over it and are no good. They will sap the plant of energy in producing other tomatoes. It occurs when it is too cool, too hot, too much water or not enough water. It usually effects the first tomatoes as the plants are putting on some quick growth and then a hot spell hits. They suffer moisture stress and the roots aren't able to take up enough calcium to satisfy the needs of the fast-growing plants.

Apparently I may need calcium supplements? Here I thought throwing a few tomatoes in pots would be a no-brainer. I want things in my life to come easy. Guess I need to go through the plants and remove all the ugly toms. Then I have to water very thoroughly through this heat spell (which I've been trying to do).

Wish me luck.

Put out of their misery

Most of my flowers are taking a big crap. I didn't do many pots this year, just two on the front porch, geraniums by the door, one hanger and three pots of pansies in back. I've become a minimalist when it comes to summer flowers. I try to do more flowering perennials and have just enough potted annuals to add a little smile to the yard. This year, they all look like hell.

I didn't do anything different than normal. Just put the flowers in dirt and set them outside. They get watered as often as I think of it, which is often enough. Maybe they've just been through their life span and it's time to go, not sure. But, instead of trying to nurture these things back to a beautiful life, I'm tossing them. It may sound harsh, but if they can't survive on their own, they're toast... outta here. This is why I love perennials.

I wonder if the weather this summer had anything to do with their ragged appearance. They battled quite a few storms and enough rain in June to last them a lifetime. Now they're going through the heat period where they can't suck up enough water if their lives depended on it. And I guess their lives do... because they're all whithering away.

I never claimed to have the greenest thumb, but I normally do well enough with the landscaping. This year, my hands go up. Even my tomato plants are getting all funky. The bottom of every tomato is starting to rot before they get big enough. They're still green. Ugh. There too - if this keeps up I'll have to toss them all and hit the farmer's market to get my salsa tomatoes. It's frustrating. I really wanted to grow my own.