A few days after I got back from my trip, Angie, Brian & Johnny came over for dinner. I put a roast with all the fixins in the crockpot before leaving for work so dinner would be ready when I got home. On my way to work I wondered to myself if I had forgotten to turn the crockpot on. I told myself that I definitely turned it on. Then on my way home from work I wondered to myself if I had forgotten to put the lid on the crockpot. When I got home the kids were already there and as soon as I walked in I saw the lid laying on the counter next to the crockpot. I immediately started cussing and when Angie walked in the kitchen she told me that her, Brian & Johnny had each asked the same question when they came in the house, "Is the lid supposed to be off the crockpot?" Well, I thought I could still serve the roast but soon found out that the vegetables were still hard. No problem, I'll throw the whole pot in the microwave and finish cooking in there. Didn't work. So my next plan was to order pizzas. I walked over to my little desk in the kitchen, opened the drawer to get my coupons out and just about fell over. There were NO coupons in the drawer. I was crushed! It seems Jim cleared the drawer of ALL coupons while I was gone. I couldn't believe that he acted proud of his deed. I cut him to the quick when I told him it ended up costing over $30 for 2 pizzas.
I scrambled to replenish my coupons before the Smiths came for the holidays and wanted to order pizza....
Monday, December 28, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Pictures from Tunisia & Italy
Widely-seen statue of Romulus & Remus the founders of Rome - kinda nasty, don't you think?
Ok, so I'm having the same problem with posting the pictures that everyone else has. I thought I put them in order of the trip but now they're all mixed up so let's just go with the flow.....
Colloseum - Rome
Pisa
Murano glass factory - Murano Island outside Venice
Venice
Verona - Shakespeare's setting of Romeo & Juliet
Cinque Terre - 5 small towns along the northwestern coast of Italy that they have turned into a National
Park (my favorite part of the trip).
St. Peter's Basilica - Rome
A ceiling in the Vatican
The Vatican - Rome
The lemon in the middle is our normal size - Sorento
The Amalfi Coast
Pompeii with Mount Vesuvius in the background
Trevi Fountain - Rome
Sidi Bou Said (City of blue doors) Mediterranean Sea in background - Tunisia
Roman Bath house with Mediterranean Sea in background - Tunisia
UNESCO World Heritage Site in Carthage - Tunisia
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Mysteries, Challenges & Poor Design
Some things I’ve found in my international travels:
In all three of the hotels I’ve stayed in while traveling in Italy there were mysterious cords hanging down in the shower. The first hotel in Rome had 2 cords and I pulled them both to see what they were for and nothing happened. When I came across cords in Florence & Venice, once again I pulled them and nothing happened. When I asked Jim what he thought they were for he said maybe they were for an emergency. If so, they sure don’t work because nobody came. There are also exhaust fans that mysteriously come on at any given time. Don’t know how to turn them on or off.
The toilets are also different. When I was in Tunisia, many of them didn’t have a visible tank. I guess they were inside the wall but what the heck happens if there’s trouble? How do you get to it if you need to stop it from running or if the chain gets stuck or falls off? In my various international travels, it’s sometimes a challenge to figure out how to flush. Sometimes, when there’s a tank, there’s a button that you push in, other times there’s a foot pedal that you step on, and still other times there’s a big panel on the wall that you push. Also in Tunisia, there was a coiled steel hose coming out from the wall for cleansing but luckily, most of the time (but not always) there was also toilet paper available. I personally think the hose is a bad & dangerous idea because almost all the time the floors in the stalls were wet & slippery. Before pulling my pants down, I’d have to roll up the bottoms so they wouldn’t drag the floor and get wet. One of my co-workers said she fell down in the stall when she slipped on her high heels. When we travelled to Cinque Terre & Jim and I had to go to the bathroom, a little shop said they had one and it was a hole in the floor. I also experienced this in Mexico & Japan. In Japan some of them have an actual toilet seat on the floor and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to actually sit on it or not. When you gotta go you gotta go but it sure is hard getting back up! And you better be careful that you don’t drop anything!
The showers are always a challenge, not just figuring out how to turn them on but trying to get the pressure right, the shower head in the right direction and the water to drain can be tricky. A lot of times, the floor ends up all wet in the process. Sometimes the showers are in the corner of the bathroom with no tub or lip on the tile and you’re lucky if there’s a shower curtain to keep the spray from going everywhere in the closet-sized room.
In my opinion, the toilets in a lot of places are very poorly designed. There’s only a little bit of water in them and most of the time they don’t flush all the way. So many times, I’ve been so grossed out at restaurants that I’ve gone to because there are such huge piles of toilet paper in the bowls that there’s no way they can be flushed. Even sometimes in the hotels, they don’t flush properly even if you try twice. And I won’t get into the skid marks. I feel sorry for the housekeepers at European hotels!
Excuse me, I have to pee --- (written on the train from Venice to Rome – use your imagination about the toilets on the trains) – to be posted when I get home Wednesday or Thursday….
In all three of the hotels I’ve stayed in while traveling in Italy there were mysterious cords hanging down in the shower. The first hotel in Rome had 2 cords and I pulled them both to see what they were for and nothing happened. When I came across cords in Florence & Venice, once again I pulled them and nothing happened. When I asked Jim what he thought they were for he said maybe they were for an emergency. If so, they sure don’t work because nobody came. There are also exhaust fans that mysteriously come on at any given time. Don’t know how to turn them on or off.
The toilets are also different. When I was in Tunisia, many of them didn’t have a visible tank. I guess they were inside the wall but what the heck happens if there’s trouble? How do you get to it if you need to stop it from running or if the chain gets stuck or falls off? In my various international travels, it’s sometimes a challenge to figure out how to flush. Sometimes, when there’s a tank, there’s a button that you push in, other times there’s a foot pedal that you step on, and still other times there’s a big panel on the wall that you push. Also in Tunisia, there was a coiled steel hose coming out from the wall for cleansing but luckily, most of the time (but not always) there was also toilet paper available. I personally think the hose is a bad & dangerous idea because almost all the time the floors in the stalls were wet & slippery. Before pulling my pants down, I’d have to roll up the bottoms so they wouldn’t drag the floor and get wet. One of my co-workers said she fell down in the stall when she slipped on her high heels. When we travelled to Cinque Terre & Jim and I had to go to the bathroom, a little shop said they had one and it was a hole in the floor. I also experienced this in Mexico & Japan. In Japan some of them have an actual toilet seat on the floor and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to actually sit on it or not. When you gotta go you gotta go but it sure is hard getting back up! And you better be careful that you don’t drop anything!
The showers are always a challenge, not just figuring out how to turn them on but trying to get the pressure right, the shower head in the right direction and the water to drain can be tricky. A lot of times, the floor ends up all wet in the process. Sometimes the showers are in the corner of the bathroom with no tub or lip on the tile and you’re lucky if there’s a shower curtain to keep the spray from going everywhere in the closet-sized room.
In my opinion, the toilets in a lot of places are very poorly designed. There’s only a little bit of water in them and most of the time they don’t flush all the way. So many times, I’ve been so grossed out at restaurants that I’ve gone to because there are such huge piles of toilet paper in the bowls that there’s no way they can be flushed. Even sometimes in the hotels, they don’t flush properly even if you try twice. And I won’t get into the skid marks. I feel sorry for the housekeepers at European hotels!
Excuse me, I have to pee --- (written on the train from Venice to Rome – use your imagination about the toilets on the trains) – to be posted when I get home Wednesday or Thursday….
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Oops, I did it again....
Cried, that is. Not boohooing or anything but tearing up so that I had to rush away to the restroom. Again it was while I was working in registration and here's the story:
Registration opened Monday morning and we were swamped with people all day long waiting in line. We were supposed to close at 5:00 in order to have time enough to make it to the opening ceremony. At about 4:45 some French members came to register who had tried registering on-line but there credit cards were not accepted by our Paypal system and I sent them e-mails to inform them that they would have to pay when they got to Hammamet. Well they came to the registration desk with the same credit cards that they tried using when they registered on-line and they wouldn't work. They got so pissed off and they were yelling at me & Mary. I tried to explain to them that there are some credit cards from Europe that have a chip in them for security reasons and they won't work in our U.S. Paypal system but they wouldn't listen. They stood there arguing & yelling for almost 30 minutes. I told them to use their credit cards at the ATM to get cash and they still wouldn't listen. They finally left when we told them there was nothing we could do for them, we weren't going to sit there and listen to them yell and we were closing.
The next morning here they come again to try the same credit cards. Once again, they wouldn't work. I guess some of them must've borrowed credit cards from others, some left, got cash and were able to complete their registration but this one guy got so mad I thought his head was going to pop. By this time I had Nikki, a co-worker who speaks French to help out and she told him that he should be nice to me because it wasn't my fault. When I finally completed his registration he said thanks to me. I looked at him and said, "Thanks? ---- You could apologize". Unfortunately, since he was French, he didn't think he was wrong and he walked away without saying another word.
Later that morning, a woman from Turkey got really mad because people were butting in line by coming around to the end of the counter to my right. I've learned over the years not to look at anybody but the person I'm registering because if I give anyone eye contact they will try to get me to wait on them. While I was registering her I said, "I apologize for the line-cutting, I know you've been waiting a long time and it would make me angry, too". That was when she started yelling at me and when I told her I couldn't control the people she said, "IT'S YOUR FAULT". I replied, "Yes, everything's my fault"! Then I got up & walked back to get her Congress bag and that's when I cracked. My eyes started to fill and I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold it back. I took extra-long getting the bag, asked Mary if she had a kleenex and when she saw that I was about to lose it she told me to go to the restroom which is what I did.
Call me a baby if you want, but I can only take so much! I guess I get emotional when I'm sleep-deprived. I didn't think I'd have a problem with jet lag because the time difference is only 7 hours but I haven't gotten to sleep before midnight the whole time I've been here. The first 5 days it took me well over an hour to fall asleep and part of the reason is that my room is on the corner of a building on the main walkway made of stone and the click-clack of high heels drove me crazy. I've slept good the past couple of nights and registration has slowed down so I'll be fine.
We always get a bonus after Congress for all the hard work we do. This year I'm going to tell Edson I deserve a double bonus......
Registration opened Monday morning and we were swamped with people all day long waiting in line. We were supposed to close at 5:00 in order to have time enough to make it to the opening ceremony. At about 4:45 some French members came to register who had tried registering on-line but there credit cards were not accepted by our Paypal system and I sent them e-mails to inform them that they would have to pay when they got to Hammamet. Well they came to the registration desk with the same credit cards that they tried using when they registered on-line and they wouldn't work. They got so pissed off and they were yelling at me & Mary. I tried to explain to them that there are some credit cards from Europe that have a chip in them for security reasons and they won't work in our U.S. Paypal system but they wouldn't listen. They stood there arguing & yelling for almost 30 minutes. I told them to use their credit cards at the ATM to get cash and they still wouldn't listen. They finally left when we told them there was nothing we could do for them, we weren't going to sit there and listen to them yell and we were closing.
The next morning here they come again to try the same credit cards. Once again, they wouldn't work. I guess some of them must've borrowed credit cards from others, some left, got cash and were able to complete their registration but this one guy got so mad I thought his head was going to pop. By this time I had Nikki, a co-worker who speaks French to help out and she told him that he should be nice to me because it wasn't my fault. When I finally completed his registration he said thanks to me. I looked at him and said, "Thanks? ---- You could apologize". Unfortunately, since he was French, he didn't think he was wrong and he walked away without saying another word.
Later that morning, a woman from Turkey got really mad because people were butting in line by coming around to the end of the counter to my right. I've learned over the years not to look at anybody but the person I'm registering because if I give anyone eye contact they will try to get me to wait on them. While I was registering her I said, "I apologize for the line-cutting, I know you've been waiting a long time and it would make me angry, too". That was when she started yelling at me and when I told her I couldn't control the people she said, "IT'S YOUR FAULT". I replied, "Yes, everything's my fault"! Then I got up & walked back to get her Congress bag and that's when I cracked. My eyes started to fill and I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold it back. I took extra-long getting the bag, asked Mary if she had a kleenex and when she saw that I was about to lose it she told me to go to the restroom which is what I did.
Call me a baby if you want, but I can only take so much! I guess I get emotional when I'm sleep-deprived. I didn't think I'd have a problem with jet lag because the time difference is only 7 hours but I haven't gotten to sleep before midnight the whole time I've been here. The first 5 days it took me well over an hour to fall asleep and part of the reason is that my room is on the corner of a building on the main walkway made of stone and the click-clack of high heels drove me crazy. I've slept good the past couple of nights and registration has slowed down so I'll be fine.
We always get a bonus after Congress for all the hard work we do. This year I'm going to tell Edson I deserve a double bonus......
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Pictures from Tunisia
olive & orange trees outside my room Pedro next to an ashtray/trash bin posed like the President's picture posted all over.
Me with the flower seller
The flower I bought from the guy. It's a rose with little individual flower-of-the-valley-like buds wrapped in a leaf and smells very good.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Someone get me outta here!
Remember my famous last words on my blog from India last year? “P.S. The Congress site is voted on two years before the actual date and last year in Turkey, Tunisia and Quebec were the contenders. Unfortunately, there are politics in JCI and “the family” instructed their National Organizations how to vote so next year it will be in Tunisia which is destined to be worse. Needless to say, I was rooting for Quebec….
There was a shouting match the other night between a few of our guys and Ikbal (Leandro, our Meetings Director who’s from Brazil pronounces his name Ickyball), the Tunisian Congress Director over several issues. The first was the registrations of the Tunisian members. He wanted JCI to accept post-dated checks and we have refused over and over again but he won’t take no for an answer. He has lied repeatedly to us about the number of his members that will be attending and we’ve tried to reason with him. Undoubtedly, he has already collected their money and his members will be screwed because we will not bend on the issue of cash or credit card only. The next thing was the fact that instead of holding the opening ceremony at the same expo center we’re at, they have arranged to hold it at a gymnasium (which is far more expensive) that has stadium-type seating with no backs on the seats & is a 30 minute drive so all the delegates must be shuttled by buses. Also, for the closing gala they signed a contract for almost 600 more dinners than necessary and are only serving fish. They weren’t going to even have water until Arrey went over there and negotiated to lower the dinner number and add water, soda & wine. The kicker is that the Tunisian organization assured us all along that they had all these sponsors, monetary help from their government & the Ministry of something or another. When it came right down to it, they had no help and no money so JCI is getting stuck with all the bills. Before we even left St. Louis we had already paid over $300,000 in expenses. It’ll probably end up costing us over a million dollars. We’ve had to cover our backs at every turn. Leandro has volunteers stamping the meal tickets for the registrants with a JCI stamp so the hotel can’t screw us by adding more to our bill.
For the first time in the 7 years I’ve worked for JCI the Congress is being held in a dictatorship. It’s quite evident since there are posters of the President plastered everywhere – reminds Pedro of Chavez & Venezuela. The food is not so good. There are these sandwiches called chawarmas that are like big pita pockets with chicken & cabbage & stuff that I thought wasn’t too bad but after I had two within 2 days, I’m done with them. There’s a buffet just like any other resort with the same stuff on it every day. I’ve been having 2 hard-boiled eggs & 2 slices of toast for breakfast every morning and chicken & (hopefully) potatoes for lunch. Once again, I’ve skipped dinner a few times and had cheese-peanut butter crackers that I brought along with me. We did go to an Italian restaurant here at the Medina which was pretty good but I ordered tortellini and it ended up being ravioli with nothing inside. I can’t wait to get to Italy for some good food………
There was a shouting match the other night between a few of our guys and Ikbal (Leandro, our Meetings Director who’s from Brazil pronounces his name Ickyball), the Tunisian Congress Director over several issues. The first was the registrations of the Tunisian members. He wanted JCI to accept post-dated checks and we have refused over and over again but he won’t take no for an answer. He has lied repeatedly to us about the number of his members that will be attending and we’ve tried to reason with him. Undoubtedly, he has already collected their money and his members will be screwed because we will not bend on the issue of cash or credit card only. The next thing was the fact that instead of holding the opening ceremony at the same expo center we’re at, they have arranged to hold it at a gymnasium (which is far more expensive) that has stadium-type seating with no backs on the seats & is a 30 minute drive so all the delegates must be shuttled by buses. Also, for the closing gala they signed a contract for almost 600 more dinners than necessary and are only serving fish. They weren’t going to even have water until Arrey went over there and negotiated to lower the dinner number and add water, soda & wine. The kicker is that the Tunisian organization assured us all along that they had all these sponsors, monetary help from their government & the Ministry of something or another. When it came right down to it, they had no help and no money so JCI is getting stuck with all the bills. Before we even left St. Louis we had already paid over $300,000 in expenses. It’ll probably end up costing us over a million dollars. We’ve had to cover our backs at every turn. Leandro has volunteers stamping the meal tickets for the registrants with a JCI stamp so the hotel can’t screw us by adding more to our bill.
For the first time in the 7 years I’ve worked for JCI the Congress is being held in a dictatorship. It’s quite evident since there are posters of the President plastered everywhere – reminds Pedro of Chavez & Venezuela. The food is not so good. There are these sandwiches called chawarmas that are like big pita pockets with chicken & cabbage & stuff that I thought wasn’t too bad but after I had two within 2 days, I’m done with them. There’s a buffet just like any other resort with the same stuff on it every day. I’ve been having 2 hard-boiled eggs & 2 slices of toast for breakfast every morning and chicken & (hopefully) potatoes for lunch. Once again, I’ve skipped dinner a few times and had cheese-peanut butter crackers that I brought along with me. We did go to an Italian restaurant here at the Medina which was pretty good but I ordered tortellini and it ended up being ravioli with nothing inside. I can’t wait to get to Italy for some good food………
Friday, November 13, 2009
Another Journey
I flew out of St. Louis at 8:15 AM Tuesday morning to Washington, DC where I had a 5 hour layover. I don’t mind having such a long layover because I’d rather not have to worry about missing my connecting flight. I left DC on a flight to Rome that was totally full. I chose a seat on the end of the middle section of seats hoping that the flight wouldn’t be full and I could move around & spread out. No such luck. I had planned on sleeping on the 8 hour flight but once again I failed. There was a 3-4 year old little boy with his mother sitting behind me talking very loud practically the whole time. They had their earphones on watching a movie and had to talk loud to hear each other. I couldn’t believe that the lady didn’t realize the lights were out and everyone was trying to sleep. At least there wasn’t a screaming baby! I won’t even embarrass myself by disclosing what happened at the Rome airport. Let’s just suffice it to say that had my connecting flight to Tunis been any sooner than 2 hours, I would’ve missed it. Upon arrival in Tunis I followed the herd to the shuttle that took us to the terminal. When I walked in the door, I saw our guy Materne from Togo standing at a counter to get a visa. I was never so happy to see someone I knew in all my life! I’ve made another decision and that is that I will not be flying alone anymore on these long flights where I have to catch connections.
Materne & I hooked up with the other girls who had arrived earlier & boarded the bus that would take us to the Hotel & Residence Diar Lemdina in Medina Mediterranea, Hammamet, Tunisia. It is in a resort area that is a huge complex. We are sharing rooms this year and they are 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living room & private patio-like an apartment. Very nice! Reminds me a lot of the resorts Jim & I have stayed at in Mexico, with the decorative tile and lush landscaping but there’s also a bazaar right in the resort. There are tons of olive trees & orange trees throughout. By the time I got to my room, I had been awake for over 24 hours, I was dead tired and slept very good.
More later....
Materne & I hooked up with the other girls who had arrived earlier & boarded the bus that would take us to the Hotel & Residence Diar Lemdina in Medina Mediterranea, Hammamet, Tunisia. It is in a resort area that is a huge complex. We are sharing rooms this year and they are 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, living room & private patio-like an apartment. Very nice! Reminds me a lot of the resorts Jim & I have stayed at in Mexico, with the decorative tile and lush landscaping but there’s also a bazaar right in the resort. There are tons of olive trees & orange trees throughout. By the time I got to my room, I had been awake for over 24 hours, I was dead tired and slept very good.
More later....
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Down by the river
DOWN BY THE RIVER
Jim & I had to take the boat out to make sure it was running okay after being fixed and HE didn't want to go all the way to Mark Twain Lake so we put it in the river for the VERY first time ever. I wasn't too happy with the plan but once again I was over-ruled. I could go into a long story about how it wouldn't start at first and it was pretty chilly and stuff, but the reason for this blog is to show you pictures of Steve Hoffmeyer's barge house and here it is.
Jim & I had to take the boat out to make sure it was running okay after being fixed and HE didn't want to go all the way to Mark Twain Lake so we put it in the river for the VERY first time ever. I wasn't too happy with the plan but once again I was over-ruled. I could go into a long story about how it wouldn't start at first and it was pretty chilly and stuff, but the reason for this blog is to show you pictures of Steve Hoffmeyer's barge house and here it is.
Friday, October 23, 2009
The Bird
We've had this female cardinal bird flying & pecking at the windows on our house for a long time now. I tried to figure out when she first started and I thought it was early spring this year but it could be as far back as last year early spring. When we're watching TV, we can here her flying into the windows with a thump. She doesn't fly hard enough to knock herself out or anything, just hard enough to annoy us and she poops all over the place. We think she sees herself in the glass and she's mentally challenged. We've tried to figure out ways to get her to stop. We moved the bistro table & chairs away from the atrium window downstairs. We moved the rocking chairs away from the windows on the deck. We placed fake birds on the railing of the deck. We moved things off of the windowsill. Jim has tried shooting it with his BB gun and, fortunately, hasn't shot any windows out. The bird seemed to go away for awhile but now it's back. When I came downstairs yesterday morning to go to work, I heard the bird flying into the window on the deck again. Jim shooed it away and we left. When I got home from work yesterday, sure enough the bird was flying into the window. I couldn't believe it and said (to the bird) "Have you been doing that all day, you stupid, bleeping bird?" Of course there was no answer & I felt like the mentally challenged one! So my questions are:
1. Does anyone know if cardinals fly south for the winter?
and
2. Does anyone know the lifespan of female cardinals?
We've had this female cardinal bird flying & pecking at the windows on our house for a long time now. I tried to figure out when she first started and I thought it was early spring this year but it could be as far back as last year early spring. When we're watching TV, we can here her flying into the windows with a thump. She doesn't fly hard enough to knock herself out or anything, just hard enough to annoy us and she poops all over the place. We think she sees herself in the glass and she's mentally challenged. We've tried to figure out ways to get her to stop. We moved the bistro table & chairs away from the atrium window downstairs. We moved the rocking chairs away from the windows on the deck. We placed fake birds on the railing of the deck. We moved things off of the windowsill. Jim has tried shooting it with his BB gun and, fortunately, hasn't shot any windows out. The bird seemed to go away for awhile but now it's back. When I came downstairs yesterday morning to go to work, I heard the bird flying into the window on the deck again. Jim shooed it away and we left. When I got home from work yesterday, sure enough the bird was flying into the window. I couldn't believe it and said (to the bird) "Have you been doing that all day, you stupid, bleeping bird?" Of course there was no answer & I felt like the mentally challenged one! So my questions are:
1. Does anyone know if cardinals fly south for the winter?
and
2. Does anyone know the lifespan of female cardinals?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Antique store finds & the Bee Gees
We went to the Red Door antique store in Eddyville, KY while on our cousins scrapbook weekend. I got some really good deals and I'm not complaining, but.....I bought a wooden shelf with 3 or 4 shelves on it that had been painted pink so I could put it in my girly room. It was marked $50 and I was proud of myself for only paying $30 for it. When I got it home, I wiped it down with a rag and noticed on the back in black magic market $2.00. I guess the antique store vendor got it at a garage sale and marked it up, uuummmm, how much is that percentage? I don't even want to try to figure it out!
I also bought 2 sets of small silver salt & pepper shakers for $3.00 a set to use in my dining room on the rare occasions we eat in the dining room. I just thought they were so cute. When I got them home & proceeded to wash them out I noticed that one shaker didn't have the rubber plug in the bottom. Darn! There were a couple of other sets at the antique store but I didn't think to check for the plugs while I was there. Oh well, live & learn, right?
While we were scrapbooking, Barb had her ipod playing and the Bee Gees came on too often for me so I commented to her that I really didn't like their singing. When we went to the antique store, we also stopped at a scrapbooking store and lo & behold, Barb had to point out to me that my favorites, the Bee Gees were playing. Then, yesterday I went to Michaels to buy some scrapbook page frames and I'll be darned if they weren't playing the Bee Gees when I walked in. I guess I'm being haunted because of my big mouth!
This is a layout I did on our cousins weekend. It's a title page for my travel album.
To all of you bloggers who've put the halloween background on your page, how do you do it?
Monday, September 28, 2009
Scaredy Cat
Jim left yesterday a little after 5PM to go over to pick up Meagan at college & go to a concert with her in Illinois so I was home alone. Whenever I will be downstairs working in my scrapbook room I ALWAYS make sure all the doors are locked, the garage doors are down and any windows that anyone could get in are closed & locked. So I worked downstairs for a couple of hours and then came up to watch the season premier of Desperate Housewives & Brothers & Sisters. Everything was fine for the first hour. During Brothers & Sisters, I heard a door slam upstairs. Oh, oh! I knew it had to be the wind because there were windows open in my bedroom and Jim's man room but I can really freak myself out. I tried to ignore my over-active imagination and reminded myself that the doors had been locked. After a little while I went out on the deck and that's when I saw the light on through the master bathroom window upstairs. I told myself that Jim had left a light on up there and tried to talk myself down. I went back inside, grabbed the biggest butcher knife we have & my cell phone before going upstairs. I just knew I had to check otherwise I'd be nervous when I went up to go to bed. I discovered that I was right and the door slammed because of the wind tunnel. I also discovered that I was right as Jim left our closet door open and the light was on. So everything's cool, I finish watching my shows, go upstairs & get ready for bed. I read for a while and then turned off the light. It was very windy and my curtains kept billowing in and I debated closing the windows but was too lazy. Right when I was dozing off, I heard a bang from downstairs. It freaked me out but there was no way I was going down there. I convinced myself it was something that blew off a windowsill somewhere & went to sleep. This morning I looked but couldn't see anything that had blown over. Luckily, Jim will be home tonight.....
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Weekend
Last weekend was the first time in a long time that Jim & I didn't have plans and boy was it nice to be at home for a change. Friday night we picked up some furniture I had lent to Akiko Ito, an employee JCI hired from Tokyo three years ago. When she came to the U.S., she was staying at the Homewood Suites before moving into an apartment and she didn't have anything but her clothes. It happened to be the same time Jim & I were moving so I offered some things because I felt sorry for her. Now her contract is up and she's moving back to Tokyo next month so she's ready to get rid of everything. She brought bags of clothes & miscellaneous stuff into the office to give to everyone, and, as she's very tiny (size 0), the only things I got was an umbrella & a purse. So Jim & I go over to her apartment and, sure enough when she opened the front door & we stepped in, I saw the slippers (2 pairs) sitting there. I kicked off my sandals & put a pair on while Jim ignored them & walked right past. She asked us to have a seat & served us some miniature cupcakes & fresh fruit cups she had prepared. We weren't really planning on staying but we were polite & ate the stuff & chit chatted for a little before I said - Okay, let's see what we have. Akiko took us into the first bedroom where the futon was and I knew it had been Johnny's and we actually need it for an extra bed. Then she takes us into the second bedroom where there was a desk & chair she said was mine. Jim & I looked at each other in puzzlement because neither one of us remembered them. I asked Akiko if she was sure they were mine and she said yes. So we loaded the stuff up and hightailed it outta there. On the way home we discussed the desk and tried to rack our brains and figure out whose it was. Jim said it was pretty sad that we couldn't remember something from three years ago.
Saturday at about 5:00 we decided to go down to Main Street as there was a Harley Davidson deal going on and Jim was antsy. So we get down there, park the car and start walking up Main Street where they had the streets blocked off for pedestrians only. There were a lot of bikers there, a stage with a band set up & drink carts on the sidewalks. Jim commented that it was like we were back in New Orleans but it wasn't even close! Most of the shops weren't even open. We don't get it. Wouldn't you think they'd want to make money? It amazes me that whenever we go down there, the shops are never open. I guess they have banker's hours. Anyway, we stuck out like a sore thump as we weren't dressed properly so we didn't stay long.
Sunday we did stuff around the house & yard. Jim power-washed the house because there was mold growing on the side. I painted the outside of the doors going out onto the deck because there was bare wood where spots had pealed. Unfortunately, I had taken a shower in the morning before going to Home Depot & Dierbergs and I got all sweaty outside from working & barbecuing so I had to take another shower before dinner. After we ate, we went back outside for some reason or another and I began doing some weeding and started getting sweaty again so I told Jim that I had to go inside because I refused to take 3 showers in one day! The weekend rounded out with me relaxing while Jim took Meagan back to college. Not a rip-roaring weekend, but very nice & quiet for a change. I just wish we could remember where that darn desk came from!
Saturday at about 5:00 we decided to go down to Main Street as there was a Harley Davidson deal going on and Jim was antsy. So we get down there, park the car and start walking up Main Street where they had the streets blocked off for pedestrians only. There were a lot of bikers there, a stage with a band set up & drink carts on the sidewalks. Jim commented that it was like we were back in New Orleans but it wasn't even close! Most of the shops weren't even open. We don't get it. Wouldn't you think they'd want to make money? It amazes me that whenever we go down there, the shops are never open. I guess they have banker's hours. Anyway, we stuck out like a sore thump as we weren't dressed properly so we didn't stay long.
Sunday we did stuff around the house & yard. Jim power-washed the house because there was mold growing on the side. I painted the outside of the doors going out onto the deck because there was bare wood where spots had pealed. Unfortunately, I had taken a shower in the morning before going to Home Depot & Dierbergs and I got all sweaty outside from working & barbecuing so I had to take another shower before dinner. After we ate, we went back outside for some reason or another and I began doing some weeding and started getting sweaty again so I told Jim that I had to go inside because I refused to take 3 showers in one day! The weekend rounded out with me relaxing while Jim took Meagan back to college. Not a rip-roaring weekend, but very nice & quiet for a change. I just wish we could remember where that darn desk came from!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Labor Day Weekend
Jim & I, Ron & Janet met the Smith family in Bloomington, IN for the weekend and I was going to write a big long story about our adventurous Labor Day holiday but decided to just point out a few observations instead.
1. Jim can be a real bullhead, so it's not just us Zimmermanns.
2. Janet would sometimes like to smack the sh-- out of Jim.
3. Devon is now taller than me even when I have my shoes on and she's barefoot.
4. Ronnie gets a good breakfast, when Ronnie wants a good breakfast.
5. Joyce is a loyal sister who will defend me to the end.
6. Madison is still shorter than me, but her legs are just as long as mine.
7. Scott is a funny, funny guy.
And finally,
8. I'm not a very good co-captain.
1. Jim can be a real bullhead, so it's not just us Zimmermanns.
2. Janet would sometimes like to smack the sh-- out of Jim.
3. Devon is now taller than me even when I have my shoes on and she's barefoot.
4. Ronnie gets a good breakfast, when Ronnie wants a good breakfast.
5. Joyce is a loyal sister who will defend me to the end.
6. Madison is still shorter than me, but her legs are just as long as mine.
7. Scott is a funny, funny guy.
And finally,
8. I'm not a very good co-captain.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
My "Girlie" Room
The scrapbook room is finished and Debbie came over last night for the big reveal and she loved it! Jim did a good job in taking the temporary wall down and he even surprised me (at Barb's suggestion) while I was gone for the weekend by taking the extra door out. I figure I spent around $300 for all the accessories, storage items, table, chair, lamps & window coverings. We already had the furniture & shelving units. Oh, make that $350 because I bought an Ott light yesterday. Thanks Barb, for all your help!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
S.L.A.C.K.E.R.S. (Sassy Ladies Aboard Canoes Keeping Everyone’s Rebellious Secrets)
Last Friday me & five of my girlfriends went on a float trip at Ozark Outdoors on the Courtouis River outside of Leasburg. We go every year and call it our skip day as we all take off work (by calling in sick) because we don’t want to go on Saturday or Sunday since the rivers are packed on weekends. Used to be we didn’t mind going on weekends because there were plenty of guys, but it seems the guys keep getting younger and it’s just not worth having to deal with the crowds. Besides, only one of us (and I’m not naming names) is a cougar. Also, we don’t really want to work too hard so we go for the shortest trip available. That way we can float at a leisurely pace without having to paddle too much because, after all, our arms might get sore. So we’re at the counter renting our canoes, telling the girl that we want to do a 4-mile float when she sort of glances over at the other girl working and gives her a look. Then she asks if we might consider going on a 5 mile float. We looked at each other and started whining because we didn’t understand why she was asking us this – can’t she see that we don’t want to be tortured? After discussing, we turned around to ask if maybe they have a one mile we could go on. When the other girl leaned over and whispered to us that they just dropped 200 Japanese boys in the river and maybe we would want them a mile ahead of us, we understood, and although we were a little worried about going five miles, we agreed.
We hauled our coolers, chairs and dry containers down to the beach where everything was loaded onto the bus for the trip up-river. We were the only six on the bus and the guy (Tim) had to give us the usual “rules” speech before heading out. We already know all the rules – no glass, no beer-bongs, no shots, no beads, no flashing, etc., etc., etc., - been there, done that, learned lessons and know how to get away with the rules we want to bend. Since I’m a bottle beer drinker, I was very proud of myself that I didn’t bring glass bottles this year, I brought aluminum bottles. Actually, I was bragging and gloating to my friends that I wouldn’t have to hide them and everyone knows that aluminum bottles stay colder than glass bottles. So Tim drives us up-river, talking & flirting the whole five miles. Those country boys go for anything that walks! I was going to have Pat in my canoe, so we loaded it up and got everything situated. I decided to have my first beer since the work was done and I was pretty hot & thirsty. So I grab one of the awesome aluminum bottles out of my cooler, eagerly anticipating my first drink of ice-cold Bud Select. All of a sudden it hit me! Woops – I forgot that aluminum bottles don’t have twist-off caps. I was devastated. I needed a bottle opener and nobody had one. How could I go on a float trip with no beer? Of course we had shots, but I could not imagine floating down the river for hours without a beer. Some of my friends had beer but they had cans and after all the gloating I had done over my aluminum bottles, I didn’t want to mooch off of them. I begged Tim to find me a bottle opener but unfortunately, he didn’t have one and we were on a gravel bar with nothing around. Tim proceeded to show me how to hold the bottle cap against the canoe & hit it downward to pop the cap off – only he couldn’t even do it! Besides that, I didn't want to bruise my hand! Next, he came up with a pocket knife and it took a while, but he finally pried the cap off. In the meantime, Debbie was able to get one off by using the chair mechanism; the only problem was that she lost half the beer in the process. So I had Tim pry off 4 more caps and stuck the opened bottles back into my cooler.
We pushed off & proceeded to have a great day floating down the river, catching a lot of rays, swimming, drinking, laughing and having a great time. We only saw a few fishermen and families along the way so there was no pressure to look like we knew what we were doing. We managed to complete the trip with nobody tipping and (besides a few bruises) getting hurt. We paddled a little more than we wanted but we made it.
One of the girls suggested that next year we just rent the canoes and float around by the gravel bar at the take-out point.
We hauled our coolers, chairs and dry containers down to the beach where everything was loaded onto the bus for the trip up-river. We were the only six on the bus and the guy (Tim) had to give us the usual “rules” speech before heading out. We already know all the rules – no glass, no beer-bongs, no shots, no beads, no flashing, etc., etc., etc., - been there, done that, learned lessons and know how to get away with the rules we want to bend. Since I’m a bottle beer drinker, I was very proud of myself that I didn’t bring glass bottles this year, I brought aluminum bottles. Actually, I was bragging and gloating to my friends that I wouldn’t have to hide them and everyone knows that aluminum bottles stay colder than glass bottles. So Tim drives us up-river, talking & flirting the whole five miles. Those country boys go for anything that walks! I was going to have Pat in my canoe, so we loaded it up and got everything situated. I decided to have my first beer since the work was done and I was pretty hot & thirsty. So I grab one of the awesome aluminum bottles out of my cooler, eagerly anticipating my first drink of ice-cold Bud Select. All of a sudden it hit me! Woops – I forgot that aluminum bottles don’t have twist-off caps. I was devastated. I needed a bottle opener and nobody had one. How could I go on a float trip with no beer? Of course we had shots, but I could not imagine floating down the river for hours without a beer. Some of my friends had beer but they had cans and after all the gloating I had done over my aluminum bottles, I didn’t want to mooch off of them. I begged Tim to find me a bottle opener but unfortunately, he didn’t have one and we were on a gravel bar with nothing around. Tim proceeded to show me how to hold the bottle cap against the canoe & hit it downward to pop the cap off – only he couldn’t even do it! Besides that, I didn't want to bruise my hand! Next, he came up with a pocket knife and it took a while, but he finally pried the cap off. In the meantime, Debbie was able to get one off by using the chair mechanism; the only problem was that she lost half the beer in the process. So I had Tim pry off 4 more caps and stuck the opened bottles back into my cooler.
We pushed off & proceeded to have a great day floating down the river, catching a lot of rays, swimming, drinking, laughing and having a great time. We only saw a few fishermen and families along the way so there was no pressure to look like we knew what we were doing. We managed to complete the trip with nobody tipping and (besides a few bruises) getting hurt. We paddled a little more than we wanted but we made it.
One of the girls suggested that next year we just rent the canoes and float around by the gravel bar at the take-out point.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Don't you wish you had one?
I've been gathering pink stuff to decorate and/or use as storage in my anticipated new scrapbook room. I don't want to sound cheap (but maybe I am), but in order to save money I've been haunting Goodwill stores in search of pink accessories. So far I've found 3 wood boxes covered in a pink-striped fabric, a couple of pink vases, a small pink pail for holding scissors and a couple of small wicker shelves.
I was at the Goodwill store near my house a couple of weeks ago when I heard them announce that all furniture was 50% off. Considering that Jim's son just moved out and is in need of a few pieces, I decided to take a look. There were a couple of kitchen sets but nothing I thought would fit Matt's taste, in other words, nothing with Cardinals, Rams or Blues colors and/or logos. As I was perusing the furniture I happened upon a couple of church pews marked $100 each. They weren't very fancy or anything but they were about 8 feet long, solid wood, very heavy & sturdy. One was in perfect shape and the other had some paint drips on the seat and paint smears on the end. Years ago, I don't even remember where, I saw a church pew in someone's house but it was beautifully carved and I loved it. When I saw the pews my mind started working on where I could use one. The basement, of course!
I went home and talked to Jim and he agreed to go take a look on our way out for the evening. When we got back to the Goodwill store and I took Jim back to see the pews, there was already a sign on the "perfect" one that it was sold. Damn! Well, Jim agreed that for $50 we could even use it outside so I proceeded to the checkout and bought it. We went back the next day to pick it up and I had a plan to hurry to the back of the store & try switching the sold signs so my name was on the "perfect" one. Unfortunately, it had already been picked up so my plan was foiled. Jim & I struggled and finally got the pew downstairs and it fit perfectly on the wall next to the pool table. As we were moving it I noticed there's a missile holder on the back and a hunk of gum under the seat. Perfect!
We had a birthday dinner for Jim the other night and when I told Angie & Brian to go downstairs and see what I got, Patrick said that he had already seen it and it scared him. When A & B came back up, Brian said, "Now I know you're crazy!" What, me? What's so crazy about it? I can't figure it out. To me, it's just a unique way to have extra seating. And it will come in handy for the Christmas games.
Anyway, I just wanted to brag a little and make everyone jealous.
I was at the Goodwill store near my house a couple of weeks ago when I heard them announce that all furniture was 50% off. Considering that Jim's son just moved out and is in need of a few pieces, I decided to take a look. There were a couple of kitchen sets but nothing I thought would fit Matt's taste, in other words, nothing with Cardinals, Rams or Blues colors and/or logos. As I was perusing the furniture I happened upon a couple of church pews marked $100 each. They weren't very fancy or anything but they were about 8 feet long, solid wood, very heavy & sturdy. One was in perfect shape and the other had some paint drips on the seat and paint smears on the end. Years ago, I don't even remember where, I saw a church pew in someone's house but it was beautifully carved and I loved it. When I saw the pews my mind started working on where I could use one. The basement, of course!
I went home and talked to Jim and he agreed to go take a look on our way out for the evening. When we got back to the Goodwill store and I took Jim back to see the pews, there was already a sign on the "perfect" one that it was sold. Damn! Well, Jim agreed that for $50 we could even use it outside so I proceeded to the checkout and bought it. We went back the next day to pick it up and I had a plan to hurry to the back of the store & try switching the sold signs so my name was on the "perfect" one. Unfortunately, it had already been picked up so my plan was foiled. Jim & I struggled and finally got the pew downstairs and it fit perfectly on the wall next to the pool table. As we were moving it I noticed there's a missile holder on the back and a hunk of gum under the seat. Perfect!
We had a birthday dinner for Jim the other night and when I told Angie & Brian to go downstairs and see what I got, Patrick said that he had already seen it and it scared him. When A & B came back up, Brian said, "Now I know you're crazy!" What, me? What's so crazy about it? I can't figure it out. To me, it's just a unique way to have extra seating. And it will come in handy for the Christmas games.
Anyway, I just wanted to brag a little and make everyone jealous.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
And the struggle begins.....
I was talking to Janet a week or so ago, telling her about the anticipated scrapbook room and the one thing I was concerned about. I told her that when Jim put up the temporary wall, he also put up 2 doors, one to separate one bedroom from another and the other to separate the bedroom from the bathroom. I told Janet that I thought the only problem I’d have with Jim was taking down the door that separates the bedroom from the bathroom. The reason I have a problem with this door is that there are 3 doors in a very tight area and it drives me nuts all these doors banging against each other. Originally, there was a door leading from the family room area into the “scrapbook” room and a door for the bathroom.
Last night I was downstairs making my Cricut key as instructed by Barb when Jim came down. He walked into the other rooms, looked around a little and proceeded to tell me that he would not take the door that separates the bedroom from the bathroom. Do I know this guy or what? I told him I didn’t want to talk about it at that time because we were not going to agree. When he started to say something else, I just cut him off and said that the door wasn’t there when we moved in and I wanted it back to the way it was originally and that having 3 doors in such a tight area drives me crazy! His protest was that when anyone would go to use the bathroom they’d see my scrapbook room. I told him I didn’t care. I’m sure this is not the end of our “door” battle….
Last night I was downstairs making my Cricut key as instructed by Barb when Jim came down. He walked into the other rooms, looked around a little and proceeded to tell me that he would not take the door that separates the bedroom from the bathroom. Do I know this guy or what? I told him I didn’t want to talk about it at that time because we were not going to agree. When he started to say something else, I just cut him off and said that the door wasn’t there when we moved in and I wanted it back to the way it was originally and that having 3 doors in such a tight area drives me crazy! His protest was that when anyone would go to use the bathroom they’d see my scrapbook room. I told him I didn’t care. I’m sure this is not the end of our “door” battle….
Friday, July 24, 2009
Giving in is so hard to do.....
I’m finally going to get my scrapbook room because we had two kids move out recently. Angie moved in with Brian (after asking my permission) a few weeks ago and Matt bought a condo and moved out this past week. Originally, I thought I would use Matt’s bedroom for my scrapbook room because it’s right next to my bedroom, there’s a pocket door separating the two and it also has a nice view out to the woods in back of the house. After thinking about it for a while, I changed my mind and decided I wanted “my” room downstairs in the lower level because it is much larger and more private. Jim had built a temporary wall when we first moved in to make two bedrooms so he will have to take that down first. He'll also have to move Johnny's bedroom furniture up to Angie's bedroom until we find a house suitable for Johnny to buy at which time he'll take the furniture. I figured we would use Angie’s & Matt’s upstairs rooms for guest rooms and of course the ideas started forming in my mind on how to decorate the rooms. I’ve been getting kind of excited and look forward to working on these rooms. Angie’s will not need to be painted but Matt’s will so I’ve been picturing different colors and anticipating the start of a new project.
Jim & I were looking around in Matt’s room the other night when I said that we’d need to paint. That’s when he informed me - maybe so, maybe not. When I asked what he meant, he said that it was going to be “his” room. When I objected and told him that he already had the garage (just like my big sister told me to say) he said that it wasn’t really his garage because I’m the only one that parks in it. I couldn’t really argue with that. Now he’s gloating and trying to be mysterious about what he’s going to do with "his" room. He knows it’s killing me not to have control over a redecorating project. Whatever, I guess I’m conceding Matt’s room to Jim but I’ll be sure that my scrapbook room gets started first!
Jim & I were looking around in Matt’s room the other night when I said that we’d need to paint. That’s when he informed me - maybe so, maybe not. When I asked what he meant, he said that it was going to be “his” room. When I objected and told him that he already had the garage (just like my big sister told me to say) he said that it wasn’t really his garage because I’m the only one that parks in it. I couldn’t really argue with that. Now he’s gloating and trying to be mysterious about what he’s going to do with "his" room. He knows it’s killing me not to have control over a redecorating project. Whatever, I guess I’m conceding Matt’s room to Jim but I’ll be sure that my scrapbook room gets started first!
Monday, July 20, 2009
It's been a very busy summer so far. Mom's operation & recovery consumed the months of May & June. Then we started hunting for a condo for Matt Miller and a house for Johnny. We were successful in finding a great deal on a condo for Matt and after a lot of painting and a few repairs he's ready to move in this week. We haven't had as good of luck with finding a DECENT house for Johnny. We've been looking at one foreclosed home after another and if you've never experienced it, let me tell you, it's shocking to see how people can live. Total trash! We realize that there will be a lot of work involved when buying a foreclosed home, but most of the places we've seen would need to be totally gutted. And every basement has been leaky - and we all remember my experiences with a leaky basement - a nightmare! Whenever our realtor sends over a new listing, we try to go see it right away because it's very competitive and if you find something that's halfway decent, you better be prepared to make an offer immediately. I've been telling Johnny not to get discouraged because I read in the Kiplinger Letter that the $8,000 or 10% purchase price incentive from the federal government will most likely be extended for another year.
I just got back yesterday from a visit with Barb in Nashville. Janet & I drove through torrential downpours Wednesday night and even though I haven't been down there for about five years, I had a sense of deja vu because I remember driving to Nashville many times in rain storms and even a snowstorm once. It was great to be back in big sister's neck of the woods and see how she's redecorated her house. She gave us a tour Thursday and she saved her "favorite" room for last. Needless to say, we ended up spending about 2 hours in her scrapbooking room looking at stuff, getting lessons and talking. The weather wasn't so great so we didn't spend any time at the pool on Thursday. We did get some pool time in Friday and decided to surprise Barb's friends and crash their pool party, too. It was fun. We did some scrapbooking at her dining room table because she didn't think her scrapbooking room would be comfortable for us since she has so much stuff and little room for working. Throughout the weekend we kept track of how many times we had to run upstairs to her scrapbooking room to get things. Between the three of us we climbed those stairs 42 (or so) times. Oh well, I guess we got some exercise! We also had fun playing Barb's new (antique) game Park and Shop. She said she remembered playing it at the Beckman's when she was a kid (hence the antiqueness) and it was always her favorite. Since I won both games (which really came down to the wire both times) I have to say it's my favorite game, too. Makes me feel a little better after all the times Barb creamed me in Scrabble! When I got home yesterday, my car was pretty dirty with bug guts from the trip. I had to take it in to the dealer this morning because there was a recall for something and when they got done they brought it out totally clean. They washed it! I was one happy camper.
The rest of the summer is going to be busy with a shower, bachelorette party, two weddings and a scrapbook retreat. Barb, Janet & me also have a cousins scrapbook retreat in October at Kentucky Lake. We went last year with cousin Judy and worked feverishly. I thought it was great because Barb had all the layouts planned and we finished a complete scrapbook. The only problem this year is that I've heard that the only "cousin" may not go. Come on Judy, please, please come along with us. We really enjoyed your company last year. Besides, if you don't come along we'll have to change the name to "cousinless scrapbook retreat".
I just got back yesterday from a visit with Barb in Nashville. Janet & I drove through torrential downpours Wednesday night and even though I haven't been down there for about five years, I had a sense of deja vu because I remember driving to Nashville many times in rain storms and even a snowstorm once. It was great to be back in big sister's neck of the woods and see how she's redecorated her house. She gave us a tour Thursday and she saved her "favorite" room for last. Needless to say, we ended up spending about 2 hours in her scrapbooking room looking at stuff, getting lessons and talking. The weather wasn't so great so we didn't spend any time at the pool on Thursday. We did get some pool time in Friday and decided to surprise Barb's friends and crash their pool party, too. It was fun. We did some scrapbooking at her dining room table because she didn't think her scrapbooking room would be comfortable for us since she has so much stuff and little room for working. Throughout the weekend we kept track of how many times we had to run upstairs to her scrapbooking room to get things. Between the three of us we climbed those stairs 42 (or so) times. Oh well, I guess we got some exercise! We also had fun playing Barb's new (antique) game Park and Shop. She said she remembered playing it at the Beckman's when she was a kid (hence the antiqueness) and it was always her favorite. Since I won both games (which really came down to the wire both times) I have to say it's my favorite game, too. Makes me feel a little better after all the times Barb creamed me in Scrabble! When I got home yesterday, my car was pretty dirty with bug guts from the trip. I had to take it in to the dealer this morning because there was a recall for something and when they got done they brought it out totally clean. They washed it! I was one happy camper.
The rest of the summer is going to be busy with a shower, bachelorette party, two weddings and a scrapbook retreat. Barb, Janet & me also have a cousins scrapbook retreat in October at Kentucky Lake. We went last year with cousin Judy and worked feverishly. I thought it was great because Barb had all the layouts planned and we finished a complete scrapbook. The only problem this year is that I've heard that the only "cousin" may not go. Come on Judy, please, please come along with us. We really enjoyed your company last year. Besides, if you don't come along we'll have to change the name to "cousinless scrapbook retreat".
Friday, June 12, 2009
Excitement at JCI!!!
The U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon visited JCI World Headquarters this afternoon. He had already visited Monsanto and will be giving a speech at SLU later today. JCI has had a relationship with the United Nations for over 50 years and in 2003 JCI adopted a resolution to support the U.N. Millennium Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty & hunger, to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, global compact and corporate social responsibility. JCI has since developed a program called “Nothing but Nets” which provides bed nets sprayed with insecticide to prevent malaria in Africa. We have many local member organizations in Africa who can distribute the nets in an efficient & effective manner.
Our 2009 President, Jun Sup Shin is from South Korea and has made climate change his priority this year. Ban Ki-moon is also from South Korea and he is in the St. Louis area to discuss the issue of climate change, so from what I hear he said he wanted to stop at one non-profit while in town and JCI was chosen. A man from the State Department came to check out the office Tuesday. A few more men came from U.N. Security yesterday to let us know the rules-no media, no unauthorized guests, no fast moves, etc., etc., etc. We were all very excited; especially Edson who has visited the U.N. many times and has a framed picture of himself with the former U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan in his office. He called this a historical event in JCI history and is very proud.
We hired a professional photographer who took many pictures and we were able to get a group shot but I don’t have access to it yet so here are some pictures I took.
Our 2009 President, Jun Sup Shin is from South Korea and has made climate change his priority this year. Ban Ki-moon is also from South Korea and he is in the St. Louis area to discuss the issue of climate change, so from what I hear he said he wanted to stop at one non-profit while in town and JCI was chosen. A man from the State Department came to check out the office Tuesday. A few more men came from U.N. Security yesterday to let us know the rules-no media, no unauthorized guests, no fast moves, etc., etc., etc. We were all very excited; especially Edson who has visited the U.N. many times and has a framed picture of himself with the former U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan in his office. He called this a historical event in JCI history and is very proud.
We hired a professional photographer who took many pictures and we were able to get a group shot but I don’t have access to it yet so here are some pictures I took.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
My Sister, The Traitor
(Encarta Dictionary – traitor – betrayer – somebody who is disloyal or treacherous)
I went by Mom’s after work yesterday to check on her, bring her some dinner and visit for a while. She is still somewhat insecure about taking a shower because she’s afraid she might fall or something as she still doesn’t have all her strength back. So while she was in the shower, I decided to check the plants on Mom’s porch to see if they needed watering. The plants that I potted were fine but when I checked the hanging plant that Barb bought for Mom, it was dry. It’s a beautiful plant. I think it’s called an angel-leaf begonia. It is lush and full with plenty of flowers. It’s so lush it looks like it should be at an exotic resort in the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera. Absolutely georgeous! In fact, it’s so full, I had a hard time getting the leaves out of the way to water it. As I was pushing the leaves aside I noticed the tag and decided to see where my ELDEST sister bought the beautiful plant. Lo & behold she bought it at Koenig’s Nursery!
Now, if you read my blog regularly, you should remember the problem I had with Koenig’s and reported on August 4, 2008 in “It’s the Principle”. The last sentence of my blog was, “I will NEVER go back to Koenig’s Nursery again and if you’re my family or friend, you won’t either!”
Just for that, Barb, I’m telling Ronnie & Matt that you shop at WalMart….
I went by Mom’s after work yesterday to check on her, bring her some dinner and visit for a while. She is still somewhat insecure about taking a shower because she’s afraid she might fall or something as she still doesn’t have all her strength back. So while she was in the shower, I decided to check the plants on Mom’s porch to see if they needed watering. The plants that I potted were fine but when I checked the hanging plant that Barb bought for Mom, it was dry. It’s a beautiful plant. I think it’s called an angel-leaf begonia. It is lush and full with plenty of flowers. It’s so lush it looks like it should be at an exotic resort in the Caribbean or Mexican Riviera. Absolutely georgeous! In fact, it’s so full, I had a hard time getting the leaves out of the way to water it. As I was pushing the leaves aside I noticed the tag and decided to see where my ELDEST sister bought the beautiful plant. Lo & behold she bought it at Koenig’s Nursery!
Now, if you read my blog regularly, you should remember the problem I had with Koenig’s and reported on August 4, 2008 in “It’s the Principle”. The last sentence of my blog was, “I will NEVER go back to Koenig’s Nursery again and if you’re my family or friend, you won’t either!”
Just for that, Barb, I’m telling Ronnie & Matt that you shop at WalMart….
Monday, May 11, 2009
A fun-filled, action-packed weekend!
Saturday, me and a few of my friends went to a huge garage sale on the parking lot of the Family Arena in St. Charles. They have it every year and there’s a $5 per car admission. We met at Waffle House for breakfast and all piled in my car so we only had to pay one admission fee. It was fun and I got $20 worth of other peoples’ cast-offs. I bought a bobble-head Pee Wee Herman to go along with my bobble-head Beetle Bailey I got last year. Then later on I had my Fun & Games party at the Adrenaline Zone. There were 10 of us who played demolition ball and laser tag. I’m proud to say that both teams I was on won in each game. Afterwards, we all came back to the house and played trivia. Everyone was told to bring 5 trivia questions and I stipulated that this was going to be a friendly game so the questions should be something that they thought at least one other person would know the answer to. Obviously, I’ll need to come up with a better plan next time because out of 50 questions, Maggie, who was the winner, only got 23 right.
Sunday we met Mom, Jennifer, Ron, Janet, Ranya & Johnny at Spiro’s for Mother’s Day brunch. And surprise!!!Mom didn’t like it.
My best news is that Friday night I bought a new car for the first time in my life. I got a 2009 Chevy Malibu, that’s dark blue with a sunroof and free On-Star for a year. As soon as I pressed the button to get it all set up, I got suckered into buying 100 minutes for the hands-free phone service. Oh well, it was only $15! I already used the turn-by-turn navigation system to get to Spiro’s just to check it out. I’m hoping it works better than the Garmin I bought Jim!
A great weekend before getting down to the seriousness of mom’s surgery….
Sunday we met Mom, Jennifer, Ron, Janet, Ranya & Johnny at Spiro’s for Mother’s Day brunch. And surprise!!!Mom didn’t like it.
My best news is that Friday night I bought a new car for the first time in my life. I got a 2009 Chevy Malibu, that’s dark blue with a sunroof and free On-Star for a year. As soon as I pressed the button to get it all set up, I got suckered into buying 100 minutes for the hands-free phone service. Oh well, it was only $15! I already used the turn-by-turn navigation system to get to Spiro’s just to check it out. I’m hoping it works better than the Garmin I bought Jim!
A great weekend before getting down to the seriousness of mom’s surgery….
Friday, April 17, 2009
Happy 50th Birthday Edson!
Last weekend was Edson’s 50th birthday and we celebrated Thursday at work. Since I’m the social director, we waited until he was gone and decorated his office with Over the Hill stuff that I bought at the dollar store. I also stuck an Over the Hill yard sign in front of his parking space outside. When he came into the building and saw me the first thing he said was “you’re fired!” We all went to the board room, sang happy birthday, ate cake and I think he fired me a few more times.
Edson gave himself a birthday party and invited everyone to his house Saturday. He thought it would be fun to have a sushi bar and we joked about “mole” sushi. He said I wouldn’t know it was mole because he’d slice it paper thin. He also joked that my sushi would look more like a giant burrito when I got done preparing it. I wonder how he came up with that idea.
Anyway, I went to Spencer’s Gifts and bought him a cane that has a caution sign on front and a horn that says different “old man” things when you squeeze it. Jim & I walked into the house, I took off my shoes, put on a pair of slippers he has in a basket by the front door & handed him his gift & he fired me again. Jim told him that he thought he saw one of his sushis run across the road on our way in.
There was a houseful of people and he had the sushi bar set up in the kitchen. When it came to our turn to make our sushi, Edson told us what was in each bowl and brought up the whole burrito thing again. So he made mine for me and he knows me well enough that he put cooked shrimp & crab on mine instead of the raw salmon. It was pretty good but I thought the seaweed it was wrapped in was a little tough, causing mine to fall apart. There was more singing happy birthday with very fancy cakes that Edson likes to buy from a Korean bakery near his house and then it was downstairs for everyone’s favorite activity at Edson’s house – karaoke. Jim & I didn’t stay too long because we had to get up early Easter morning to meet his dad & brother’s family for breakfast. When we got home Jim didn’t feel very well but he didn’t blame it on the sushi – he said he thought it was from drinking the sake out of the wooden box.
I was very shocked the other night when Jim went to Pet Mart to get food for the fish and he decided to buy them a special treat. Seaweed. It looked exactly like our sushi wrappers!
Edson gave himself a birthday party and invited everyone to his house Saturday. He thought it would be fun to have a sushi bar and we joked about “mole” sushi. He said I wouldn’t know it was mole because he’d slice it paper thin. He also joked that my sushi would look more like a giant burrito when I got done preparing it. I wonder how he came up with that idea.
Anyway, I went to Spencer’s Gifts and bought him a cane that has a caution sign on front and a horn that says different “old man” things when you squeeze it. Jim & I walked into the house, I took off my shoes, put on a pair of slippers he has in a basket by the front door & handed him his gift & he fired me again. Jim told him that he thought he saw one of his sushis run across the road on our way in.
There was a houseful of people and he had the sushi bar set up in the kitchen. When it came to our turn to make our sushi, Edson told us what was in each bowl and brought up the whole burrito thing again. So he made mine for me and he knows me well enough that he put cooked shrimp & crab on mine instead of the raw salmon. It was pretty good but I thought the seaweed it was wrapped in was a little tough, causing mine to fall apart. There was more singing happy birthday with very fancy cakes that Edson likes to buy from a Korean bakery near his house and then it was downstairs for everyone’s favorite activity at Edson’s house – karaoke. Jim & I didn’t stay too long because we had to get up early Easter morning to meet his dad & brother’s family for breakfast. When we got home Jim didn’t feel very well but he didn’t blame it on the sushi – he said he thought it was from drinking the sake out of the wooden box.
I was very shocked the other night when Jim went to Pet Mart to get food for the fish and he decided to buy them a special treat. Seaweed. It looked exactly like our sushi wrappers!
Monday, April 6, 2009
More Moles
I think everyone is aware of our continuous mole problem. When Jim & I went to the St. Charles Home Show last year, we went for the purpose of hearing “The Mole Hunter” give his expert opinion on how to battle moles. After spending $150 for supplies, and a bit of trial and error, Jim has been successful in killing 4 or 5 moles. It seems we will never be all-together rid of moles as we live by the woods. I thought we had a whole family, including grandparents tearing up our front yard recently. Jim set his traps and it took a few weeks but he texted me one day before I got home from work that he got a mole. He was so proud that he saved it to show me.
My boss, Edson has come to me asking for advice because he has a mole tearing up his yard. He’s so desperate that he wanted the name and phone number of the Mole Hunter. I gave him the information but told him it would be very expensive and he should set traps like Jim. He agreed and I told him to buy 4 steel traps. Edson and I talked about it and arranged a time on the weekend a few weeks ago that Jim & I would stop by to show him how to set the traps. Unfortunately, our plans changed and we went to his house earlier and he wasn’t able to be there. Edson had told me the mole was on the side of the house to the right and we couldn’t miss the torn up yard. So, Jim & I walked around the yard and when I pointed to an area of dead grass in the front right section, Jim said it was zoysia and that’s why it wasn’t green yet. So we went further back and found tracks where Jim set the traps. After he was done, we were walking through the front yard where the “zoysia” was and we felt more mole tunnels underfoot. At that point, we realized that this was the spot Edson was talking about but we didn’t have time to move & reset the traps because we were in a hurry to go someplace. Jim was mortified that Edson would think he was an idiot! I told him that I’d pretend we didn’t walk on the dead grass and feel the mole tunnels.
Edson called later in the day to thank us for helping and didn’t mention that the traps might not be in the right area. Of course he wouldn’t mention it – he’s Japanese! Anyway, he said he would invite us over for a barbecue when he catches the mole. A mole barbecue, that is!
My boss, Edson has come to me asking for advice because he has a mole tearing up his yard. He’s so desperate that he wanted the name and phone number of the Mole Hunter. I gave him the information but told him it would be very expensive and he should set traps like Jim. He agreed and I told him to buy 4 steel traps. Edson and I talked about it and arranged a time on the weekend a few weeks ago that Jim & I would stop by to show him how to set the traps. Unfortunately, our plans changed and we went to his house earlier and he wasn’t able to be there. Edson had told me the mole was on the side of the house to the right and we couldn’t miss the torn up yard. So, Jim & I walked around the yard and when I pointed to an area of dead grass in the front right section, Jim said it was zoysia and that’s why it wasn’t green yet. So we went further back and found tracks where Jim set the traps. After he was done, we were walking through the front yard where the “zoysia” was and we felt more mole tunnels underfoot. At that point, we realized that this was the spot Edson was talking about but we didn’t have time to move & reset the traps because we were in a hurry to go someplace. Jim was mortified that Edson would think he was an idiot! I told him that I’d pretend we didn’t walk on the dead grass and feel the mole tunnels.
Edson called later in the day to thank us for helping and didn’t mention that the traps might not be in the right area. Of course he wouldn’t mention it – he’s Japanese! Anyway, he said he would invite us over for a barbecue when he catches the mole. A mole barbecue, that is!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Bowling
Jim decided he wanted to go bowling Saturday night so he texted a few friends to see if anyone was interested in meeting us at the (fairly) new Brunswick Zone XL (don’t know what the XL stands for) and Debbie was the only one available. She called me in the afternoon and I told her to meet us at 7:00 and she told me that she wanted to eat a good hamburger at the bowling alley because everyone knows that bowling alleys have the best burgers.
Jim & I got there a little before 7:00 and were quite impressed with the “Dave and Buster’s” –like atmosphere. We went to the bowling counter and told the guy that we had 3 people wanting to bowl & rent shoes. He threw us off when he asked us how long we wanted to bowl and when we looked baffled, he said most people take an hour, so we said okay. He handed me a form to write the bowlers’ names on, rang us up and told us that someone would bring the shoes to us. We went to the lane he assigned us and that’s when I looked at the receipt. I said to Jim, “Holy shit, we haven’t even started bowling yet and we’ve spent almost $40”.
Debbie came, we all put our shoes on & started bowling. The waitress took our drink order and Jim wasn’t very happy that beers cost $4.25. The waitress came back and took our food order – 3 cheeseburgers with fries and, I must say, they were excellent. We continued to bowl in between bites of food as our time was ticking down. We all did terrible, not even breaking 100 points. I haven’t been bowling in a couple of years since JCI had a team-building event, and Jim & Debbie hadn’t bowled in longer than that. We got in 1 and 1/3 games in one hour. We left at a little after 8:00 and our bill was $82.91.
The breakdown:
1 hour bowling $25
3 shoe rentals $10.47
4 beers $17
2 Sprites $3.20 ($2.20 for the first & $1 for a refill)
3 cheeseburgers w/fries $22.47
So with tax & tip it cost the three of us $94.91 to speed-bowl for one hour, drink a couple of beers (luckily I thought ahead and brought my little flask with vodka to mix with my Sprites), and eat burgers & fries. It seemed expensive to us and we questioned how young people could go on bowling dates at those prices when we looked at the two young couples bowling next to us and noticed that they had no drinks, snacks or anything. They were just bowling. I guess that’s all they could afford at the Brunswick Zone XL.
Oh, I’ve come up with the meaning of XL -- Xpensive Lanes. I think we’ll stick with Wii bowling – we’re better at that anyway!
Jim & I got there a little before 7:00 and were quite impressed with the “Dave and Buster’s” –like atmosphere. We went to the bowling counter and told the guy that we had 3 people wanting to bowl & rent shoes. He threw us off when he asked us how long we wanted to bowl and when we looked baffled, he said most people take an hour, so we said okay. He handed me a form to write the bowlers’ names on, rang us up and told us that someone would bring the shoes to us. We went to the lane he assigned us and that’s when I looked at the receipt. I said to Jim, “Holy shit, we haven’t even started bowling yet and we’ve spent almost $40”.
Debbie came, we all put our shoes on & started bowling. The waitress took our drink order and Jim wasn’t very happy that beers cost $4.25. The waitress came back and took our food order – 3 cheeseburgers with fries and, I must say, they were excellent. We continued to bowl in between bites of food as our time was ticking down. We all did terrible, not even breaking 100 points. I haven’t been bowling in a couple of years since JCI had a team-building event, and Jim & Debbie hadn’t bowled in longer than that. We got in 1 and 1/3 games in one hour. We left at a little after 8:00 and our bill was $82.91.
The breakdown:
1 hour bowling $25
3 shoe rentals $10.47
4 beers $17
2 Sprites $3.20 ($2.20 for the first & $1 for a refill)
3 cheeseburgers w/fries $22.47
So with tax & tip it cost the three of us $94.91 to speed-bowl for one hour, drink a couple of beers (luckily I thought ahead and brought my little flask with vodka to mix with my Sprites), and eat burgers & fries. It seemed expensive to us and we questioned how young people could go on bowling dates at those prices when we looked at the two young couples bowling next to us and noticed that they had no drinks, snacks or anything. They were just bowling. I guess that’s all they could afford at the Brunswick Zone XL.
Oh, I’ve come up with the meaning of XL -- Xpensive Lanes. I think we’ll stick with Wii bowling – we’re better at that anyway!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Following big sister's orders
Barb asked me to post more layouts I've been working on so here you go.
This is the last page of my second completed album.
This is the first page of my third album "Life is a biography. Memories smooth out the edges".
This is probably my favorite so far--you can't read the full title is "LOBSTERFEST".
I love the black squiggly 3D stickers but I ran out and I don't remember where I bought them.
Album I started for John.
Album started for Angie.
Layout in second album.
This is the last page of my second completed album.
This is the first page of my third album "Life is a biography. Memories smooth out the edges".
This is probably my favorite so far--you can't read the full title is "LOBSTERFEST".
I love the black squiggly 3D stickers but I ran out and I don't remember where I bought them.
Album I started for John.
Album started for Angie.
Layout in second album.
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