I'm One Lucky Girl!!!!

Today I returned to work after being on vacation since 2:47 PM July 3.
At approximately 2:18 PM today the power went out at JCI HQ.

Here's a rundown of my vacation time:

We started out Saturday with a poker party when the out-of-towners (Barb, Butch, Janice, Joyce, Scott, Devon & Madison) arrived. It was nice to have the whole family together. Before we started the poker game we had the competition I (and Barb, I guess) finally came up with. As you know, Barb & I found prom pictures of the "original 7" when we were looking in Mom's trunk. I displayed them on a dry-erase board with the categories of best dress, worst dress, best suit, worst suit, best hair (girl), worst hair (girl), best hair (boy) & worst hair (boy). I got in trouble because I included Jim and didn't think to ask the other in-laws for their pictures (sorry Janet, Sharon, Scott, Butch & Parvez). I didn't forget to include a banana sticker on Barb's dress! There were ballots that everyone filled out and Barb & I tallied the votes amidst a tremendously loud audience! I'm not sure who the winners (or should I say losers) were but I'm pretty sure Joyce got all the votes for worst hair! It was loud, chaotic, hilarious & fun - a perfect Zimmermann competition! The poker game started shortly after and Jennifer kept Matt in line with a few punches & chokes!

Sunday me, Jim, Joyce, Scott & the girls went to the Science Center to see Monsters Alive exhibit and Dinosaurs Omnimax. It didn't cost much which is lucky for Devon who felt dizzy & sick in the Omnimax. We went to Ronnie & Janet's afterward for a delicious Italian roast beef Janet prepared along with some excellent potato salad made by Ron. It wouldn't be a family vacation without a few descriptions of the food! Another poker game ensued and I ended up doing pretty good.

Monday morning we (me, Jim, Ron, Janet, Janice, Matt, Sharon, Scarlett, Jessica, Mike, Joyce, Scott, Devon & Madison) left for Lake of the Ozarks for 3 days. We had a great time and didn't even get kicked out! Although Janice went skiing and I went torpedoing nobody got seriously injured. Madison & Devon both got up on skis for the first time and did very well. There are many stories to be told about the trip to the Lake but I won't go into them or this blog would take forever. I'll include the ones I can remember in my travel journal if you'd care to read it sometime.

Thursday morning we checked out of our luxury penthouse suite & Matt & his gang went home while the rest of us went back out on the boat for a few hours. We got home early evening and ordered the pizza that Joyce & the girls had been longing for. Angie & Brian joined us and we had a good time.

Friday we had the Mandel party which turned out to be - you guessed it - LOUD! It was really loud before they got here but it's amazing how Celeste & Laurie can up the decibel by 50%. Another poker game ensued, along with some ping pong, shuffleboard & video games. It was another good time and a late one since I stayed up with Janice because she had a 6AM flight.

Saturday we went to Matt & Sharon's house for a scrumptious dinner of lasagna (Sharon makes it the best!), salad, garlic bread & ice cream cake. It rained for a short time which cooled the temperature down enough for Matt to fire up the pit. We were much more subdued as we sat around the fire pit and the week came to an end.

The Smiths left Sunday morning at 10AM but had to return to claim a couple of forgotten items. The vacation was great but our big sister & twin sister were missed.

I'm lucky to have a family that I enjoy being with (well, most of the time), that I get excited about seeing (well, most of the time) and that can get along (well, most of the time). I'm lucky to have a husband that I have fun with and love, that enjoys being around the family (well, most of the time) and who is a good sport when being teased by the family. But I'm really lucky that the power went out at JCI and I get to ease my way back into the whole office world again.....

When will I ever learn.....

This past weekend Jim & I had to go to Meagan's high school graduation ceremony at the St. Charles Convention Center. Everyone knows how boring graduations are and there were 600 seniors graduating! I passed some of the time by practicing my text-messaging skills and sent about 5 or 6 short messages to friends. As hard as I tried, I couldn't figure out where the punctuation marks were! I wanted a few !!!!! and still have no idea where to find them on my phone. I admit I'm a novice when it comes to text messaging and it was quite obvious when I observed the young girl in front of me typing her messages with lightning speed. I bet I could beat her on my computer keyboard though!

Anyway, I was anxious for the ceremony to be over because I had plans to go to Debbie's community pool with her and catch some rays. The only sun I've gotten so far this summer is when I'm outside gardening (which is a lot) and it's hardly noticeable. I finally got out of there and left for Debbie's around 1:00. I even made a sandwich to eat on the road so as not to waste valuable afternoon sun time. When I got to her place I was very impatient and kept telling her to hurry up because she was dawdling.

We got to the pool around 1:45 and it was hot. We found a couple of lounge chairs, spread our towels out and began basking. I decided to use an accelerator on my legs (because they take forever to tan), a sunblock 4 on my upper body & a 45 on my face. We had a very nice, relaxing time just talking and cooling off in the pool periodically. We had to sneak to drink our beers because we messed up and brought bottles and Debbie was paranoid we would get in trouble. We had only brought 4 beers and ran out so we made a quick run back to her place to get more which Debbie poured in plastic containers because she's such a chicken. When we got back (within 5-10 minutes, tops) I noticed I was getting a little red so I started using the 4 sunblock on my legs & 45 on top. We stayed until around 5:00 and I went back to Debbie's to sober up a little before driving home.

After I got home & cleaned up, Jim & I went to a school picnic to meet some friends. While we were sitting there talking I felt my legs begin to catch fire! I suffered until the picnic closed but as soon as we got home I ran a cold bath and laid in there soaking my poor, red legs. It felt so good! Needless to say, I had a miserable night's sleep. I had to sleep on my back (I'm usually a stomach-sleeper) because it was the tops of my legs & hips that were so sore. I woke up a few times and put soothing lotion on before trying to get back to sleep. I'm hoping I won't peel.....

Compromises, Challenges & Competition

St. Louis finally had beautiful weather last weekend (sorry Steph) which enabled Jim & me to do a lot of yard work & gardening. Last year we (he) labored tremendously to put in a stairway on the side of the house which slopes down to the “gravel pit” which held the previous owner’s swing/play set but is now our washers, Hoosier golf, bonfire and all-around play area. I had shown Jim a few pictures from magazines to give him a good idea of how I wanted the stairs to look. To make a long story short, he worked very hard, it didn’t look like any of the pictures; I was not happy with the end result and have learned to live with it.

Leading off from the stairway are numerous small flat stones that were not very stable. I told Jim a few weeks ago that they looked treacherous and people would be scared to walk on them (as Janet told me last year at the washers tournament) and we should do something about it. A few days ago Jim came up with his solution – he said he was going to cement the stepping stones in so they’d be like a sidewalk. I immediately disagreed and said I wanted it to look natural.

Yesterday we were doing errands and he said he had to stop at Home Depot before we went to World Outdoor Emporium to get a truckload of mulch. I started whining because it seems like we’re always at Home Depot and he said he had to get cement. When I realized what he intended to do with the cement I tried to stay calm and said, “So there’s no discussion? You’re just going to do what you want?” He then reminded me that I got my way about EVERYTHING in the dining room redecoration and this was outside and he should get his way when it comes to the yard. I didn’t remind him about the stairway he did the way he wanted. After more discussion we compromised and decided to buy large stepping stones when we went to buy the mulch. We picked out Tennessee flat rock that are set into the ground and very stable. It looks nice and everyone’s happy.

While Jim was working on the pathway, I potted some flowers & plants and while I was working I came across a pair of ice skates. They reminded me of a friendly competition Barb & I had some years back. The challenge was who could come up with the most unique and original container to plant in. Barb’s old time telephone was very nice but I took the prize (if there was one) with my children’s ice skates. I think Joyce might’ve entered but I can’t remember for sure.

This got me thinking of starting another competition since all of the “original 7” will be in town for the 4th of July weekend and we’ll be getting together for a poker party Saturday. I just thought of it yesterday and haven’t come up with a good idea yet but will continue pondering. So I’m throwing out a challenge. It’s a competition to see who can come up with the best competition for the family competition.

The Mole Killer

Most days when I come home from work I take a walk around the yard. Friday when I was making my usual round I noticed one of the mole traps looked to be sprung but I wasn’t sure so I didn’t say anything to Jim when I went inside to change. After we ate, we both went outside and when he saw the trap he said it had been sprung but since there’s been other ones sprung in the past, he didn’t get his hopes up. He stabbed the trap in the ground a little then pulled it out and lo & behold we scored ourselves a mole! Hallelujah!!!! It was about 6 inches long and Jim threw it down the bluff in the woods. He questioned whether there were more and I told him I didn't think so because I learned in the Mole Hunter seminar & DVD that they are territorial and don't share their runs with others. They even kick their babies out after a few weeks to go find their own yards to ruin. So I think we've finally gotten rid of the mole. The only problem is that I also learned that other moles will take over abandoned runs....

Gardens at the Miller home

I was told to post pictures of my garden by " big sister". Here are a few of the front showing the lilacs, azaleas, ajuga & forget-me-nots in bloom. I still have some annuals to plant for color when these perennials stop blooming. Take my advice---don't ever plant monkey grass unless you want to battle it spreading for years to come. It's very tough to pull and has runners that go on forever!