Patrick has moved out! He bought a house about 10 miles away from us in O'Fallon. In the weeks leading up to the closing, I assured Jim that I would help with painting but I refused to do any cleaning. Considering all the times we had to harp on Patrick to clean the bathroom downstairs, there was no way I was going to voluntarily clean anything in his house. As it turned out, I wasn't able to help much because the JCI January Board meeting was taking place and I put in a lot of hours (teambuilding, of course) and wasn't available. I painted one night and planned on helping the next night, but lo & behold, someone died & I had to go to the funeral parlor instead. Then the following morning, I had my carpal tunnel surgery (January 18) and there you go - no more help from me! I would be off work for a week and I had a project I could work on. I bought two 5X7 photo albums and organized all my recipes (most I haven't even made) into the books. Barb, you'd be proud - it took me hours! When Monday morning came around, I confessed to Jim that I was feeling guilty because I really could go to work. I was feeling fine but the problem was that I could only type or use my mouse with my left hand because I had a cast on the right. It didn't take me long to get out of the guilt-ridden mode after I told Jim that although I couldn't paint or lift heavy things, I was more than happy to shop for items Patrick needed. I confronted Patrick to ask if he was planning on decorating or just leaving everything plain and boring. He said he'd probably decorate a little. So, I took over. I assured him that I wouldn't use any flowers or anything that might possibly be misconstrued as "gay". My "Barb" mode kicked in and I was practically in a frenzy going from Aldi's (yes, I got a nice shower curtain with matching rings for $10!) to Old Time Pottery to Target to Home Goods (you'd be surprised how easy it is to drive left-handed!). I also got a great deal on clearance pleated shades from Domestications in which he's getting 9 various size shades for $112! After spending another $300 on decorations & a few necessities, Patrick's house looks like a home. There's still more work for Jim & him to do, but it really is a nice house and I had a great week off.
I went to my hand surgeon last Friday and after he freaked me out by saying that the cast would have to stay on for another 6 weeks, he cut it off. The incision really looks awful and is longer than I imagined, with alot of bruising up my arm. I enjoy showing people & grossing them out!
So I went back to work Monday and told Pedro (JCI IT guy) that I was having problems with my laptop. I had brought it home with me and after only a couple of days the screen went blank. Pedro went right to work on trying to figure out the problem and then the electricity went off. No problem, he used the wireless and continued working on it. Turns out that when I received an e-mail from the IRS and tried to open the attachment, my computer got a virus. In my defense, it looked official with their logo and all and I was freaking out because it said they were going to audit JCI (not that we have anything to hide) and I've never been audited at anyplace I've worked. This is the first time I've gotten a virus on my computer and let me tell you that EVERYONE else at JCI has had at least one in the past. We have the privilege of receiving them from all over the world and passing them around the office! Pedro fixed my computer and then the electricity went out again. Needless to say, it was not a good first-day back!
I'm going back to the doctor to get the stitches out this Friday. I guess I'll have to wait until I'm healed all the way before I can start my next project - the dining room.....
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
The holidays in a nutshell
It was a great holiday season for us. The Smith Family came in Thursday evening, Dec 20th and the party began!
We started off by playing poker. Ronnie came over since he was off work Friday and Angie & Patrick joined the table. I was sitting next to Ronnie and had to reprimand him a few times for his constant chatter. I know it's hard to believe but he was talking so much that it was annoying. I got so fed up that I had to echo his own words from the past, "Are we playing cards here or what?"
I was off work Friday and we went to the Science Center to see Body Worlds 3. It was pretty neat and somewhat creepy seeing bodies with no skin on them. I had sent the website to Joyce & Scott to make sure they thought it would be appropriate for Devon & Madison and they said okay. I don't think the girls liked it too much but, hey, I pride myself in trying to shock them. We also went to the Hill so Joyce could buy the blocks of provel cheese and salami that she likes to take back to South Bend. That night Ron & Janet came up and we went to see a light display that was synchronized to music in the O'Fallon area. It was really cool but we had to cut it short since Scott had to use the restroom and Ronnie whined about being hungry. Another night of poker rounded out Friday.
Saturday was the only day we planned on staying home but managed to go visit Mom for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The girls got the opportunity to see my & Jim's handiwork as we had decorated Mom's front porch. There was a competition in her complex and Mom wanted to beat the lady who won last year. Imagine that, competitive at age 76! I went over there to take the decorations down the other day and she told me that she won and she's got more ideas for next year. I can't wait!
Sunday we went to Matt & Sharon's house and played more poker.
Monday, Christmas Eve, Jim & I went to his dad's for the Miller celebration. While we were there I got a telephone call from Jennifer as she was supposed to pick up Mom and there was no answer at her door or on her phone. I won't get into the details but suffice it to say that Mom gave us all a scare. It seems she's getting forgetful these days. By the time Jim & I got back to the house, the party was in full swing. We played rob your neighbor and the number game and everyone had a good time. Uncle Tony was absolutely delighted with the GM jacket Matt had contributed and Greg was thrilled with the purse he ended up with. He even posed for pictures! It was a great time with family, food & drink.
Christmas Day we went to Ron & Janet's for an open house. It was fun visiting with her brother, sister-in-law, nephews and Gene & Maggie Schuermann. We played more poker and I ended up winning back what I had lost (sorry Mike) on previous nights.
The Smiths left Wednesday after breakfast. All-in-all, it was a great holiday season but I did miss my big sister & her gang.
We started off by playing poker. Ronnie came over since he was off work Friday and Angie & Patrick joined the table. I was sitting next to Ronnie and had to reprimand him a few times for his constant chatter. I know it's hard to believe but he was talking so much that it was annoying. I got so fed up that I had to echo his own words from the past, "Are we playing cards here or what?"
I was off work Friday and we went to the Science Center to see Body Worlds 3. It was pretty neat and somewhat creepy seeing bodies with no skin on them. I had sent the website to Joyce & Scott to make sure they thought it would be appropriate for Devon & Madison and they said okay. I don't think the girls liked it too much but, hey, I pride myself in trying to shock them. We also went to the Hill so Joyce could buy the blocks of provel cheese and salami that she likes to take back to South Bend. That night Ron & Janet came up and we went to see a light display that was synchronized to music in the O'Fallon area. It was really cool but we had to cut it short since Scott had to use the restroom and Ronnie whined about being hungry. Another night of poker rounded out Friday.
Saturday was the only day we planned on staying home but managed to go visit Mom for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The girls got the opportunity to see my & Jim's handiwork as we had decorated Mom's front porch. There was a competition in her complex and Mom wanted to beat the lady who won last year. Imagine that, competitive at age 76! I went over there to take the decorations down the other day and she told me that she won and she's got more ideas for next year. I can't wait!
Sunday we went to Matt & Sharon's house and played more poker.
Monday, Christmas Eve, Jim & I went to his dad's for the Miller celebration. While we were there I got a telephone call from Jennifer as she was supposed to pick up Mom and there was no answer at her door or on her phone. I won't get into the details but suffice it to say that Mom gave us all a scare. It seems she's getting forgetful these days. By the time Jim & I got back to the house, the party was in full swing. We played rob your neighbor and the number game and everyone had a good time. Uncle Tony was absolutely delighted with the GM jacket Matt had contributed and Greg was thrilled with the purse he ended up with. He even posed for pictures! It was a great time with family, food & drink.
Christmas Day we went to Ron & Janet's for an open house. It was fun visiting with her brother, sister-in-law, nephews and Gene & Maggie Schuermann. We played more poker and I ended up winning back what I had lost (sorry Mike) on previous nights.
The Smiths left Wednesday after breakfast. All-in-all, it was a great holiday season but I did miss my big sister & her gang.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Signs of the season
I was only back from Turkey for 2 weeks when winter hit us with an ice storm. It wasn't as bad as the one we had last year that devastated numerous trees, already weakened by a strange wind storm which occurred the previous summer. Some of my friends said they could hear trees cracking & breaking under the weight of the ice last year but luckily, we heard no such action from the trees in our yard or on the bluff behind. We did lose a small flowering tree in the front yard but I don't think the ice or wind storm was to blame.
The ice came on a weekend and some of the kids had to get to work which caused Jim to begin the search for the ice scrapers. We had already been up in the attic getting the Christmas decorations down and he couldn't remember seeing them up there. You see, ever since we moved into the house in June, 2006, Jim has been "reorganizing" the garage. The problem is that since he won't part with his 4-wheelers, they take up a car's worth of room and you can imagine the amount of "stuff" we have after combining our households with accumulations of years in the making!
Patrick had to leave for work and Jim's years of being Mr. Mom kicked in. He went up in the attic to check and the ice scrapers were not to be found. Thus, the mad dash began. When I suggested that Patrick just start his car, turn on the defrost & let it warm & defrost naturally, Jim said he still needed an ice scraper to keep in his car. I also suggested that Patrick buy one on his way to work but Jim searched the garage, the two storage rooms in the basement, the closet in the entry hallway, the entry cabinet and God knows where else. He was like a madman driving himself crazy over where he could've put the ice scrapers! It finally dawned on me that this was our second winter in the house and perhaps he had given out the ice scrapers last year. I told Jim that I had an ice scraper in my trunk and he probably gave them out last year. You could see the relief on his face. He admitted that I "might" be right and proceeded to check with each kid as he saw them. Lo & behold, everyone had an ice scraper except Patrick!
This past weekend was our first big snowstorm for the winter. We were having a Christmas party Saturday night so Jim decided to keep up on cleaning the snow off the sidewalk for our guests. Thus, the search for the snow shovels began. Last year we had a big snowstorm and Angie & I (snow day for JCI!) were the ones to get out and shovel the driveway while the boys slept in and Jim went to work. The shovels were all bent and crappy and probably 10 years old. We didn't get the whole driveway (parking lot) cleared, it would've taken us 8 hours and why should the females do all the work! When I talked to Jim later and complained that we girls did all the work, he said that he doesn't shovel snow, he waits until it melts on it's own, but if we were having guests, he'd clear it off. When I commented that maybe he should consider shoveling so I didn't fall on it, he laughed.
I won't get into the frantic search for the snow shovels, you get the idea. He never found them and proceeded to go outside every 1/2 hour to sweep the snow off the front walk with the broom. The only thing I can think is that the shovels were so crappy we threw them away. Guess what someone's getting for Christmas?
Last week Jim & I started working on the Christmas cards. The deal was that I'd address them and he would sign, seal & mail them. I did my part in one night. The only thing I was missing were the last names of two of his recently-married nieces and their addresses. So Jim's assignment was to get this info and we'd be done. He was happy to report that he got the names the next day, but unfortunately, he didn't write them down so when I asked him last night, he couldn't remember and had to call his dad to find out again. They are now in our address book so we shouldn't have this problem next year.
I woke up this morning with a cold. Welcome winter....
The ice came on a weekend and some of the kids had to get to work which caused Jim to begin the search for the ice scrapers. We had already been up in the attic getting the Christmas decorations down and he couldn't remember seeing them up there. You see, ever since we moved into the house in June, 2006, Jim has been "reorganizing" the garage. The problem is that since he won't part with his 4-wheelers, they take up a car's worth of room and you can imagine the amount of "stuff" we have after combining our households with accumulations of years in the making!
Patrick had to leave for work and Jim's years of being Mr. Mom kicked in. He went up in the attic to check and the ice scrapers were not to be found. Thus, the mad dash began. When I suggested that Patrick just start his car, turn on the defrost & let it warm & defrost naturally, Jim said he still needed an ice scraper to keep in his car. I also suggested that Patrick buy one on his way to work but Jim searched the garage, the two storage rooms in the basement, the closet in the entry hallway, the entry cabinet and God knows where else. He was like a madman driving himself crazy over where he could've put the ice scrapers! It finally dawned on me that this was our second winter in the house and perhaps he had given out the ice scrapers last year. I told Jim that I had an ice scraper in my trunk and he probably gave them out last year. You could see the relief on his face. He admitted that I "might" be right and proceeded to check with each kid as he saw them. Lo & behold, everyone had an ice scraper except Patrick!
This past weekend was our first big snowstorm for the winter. We were having a Christmas party Saturday night so Jim decided to keep up on cleaning the snow off the sidewalk for our guests. Thus, the search for the snow shovels began. Last year we had a big snowstorm and Angie & I (snow day for JCI!) were the ones to get out and shovel the driveway while the boys slept in and Jim went to work. The shovels were all bent and crappy and probably 10 years old. We didn't get the whole driveway (parking lot) cleared, it would've taken us 8 hours and why should the females do all the work! When I talked to Jim later and complained that we girls did all the work, he said that he doesn't shovel snow, he waits until it melts on it's own, but if we were having guests, he'd clear it off. When I commented that maybe he should consider shoveling so I didn't fall on it, he laughed.
I won't get into the frantic search for the snow shovels, you get the idea. He never found them and proceeded to go outside every 1/2 hour to sweep the snow off the front walk with the broom. The only thing I can think is that the shovels were so crappy we threw them away. Guess what someone's getting for Christmas?
Last week Jim & I started working on the Christmas cards. The deal was that I'd address them and he would sign, seal & mail them. I did my part in one night. The only thing I was missing were the last names of two of his recently-married nieces and their addresses. So Jim's assignment was to get this info and we'd be done. He was happy to report that he got the names the next day, but unfortunately, he didn't write them down so when I asked him last night, he couldn't remember and had to call his dad to find out again. They are now in our address book so we shouldn't have this problem next year.
I woke up this morning with a cold. Welcome winter....
Monday, November 26, 2007
I Won't be Outdone by Big Sister!
Although the work began on Thanksgiving Day with Jim & I bringing all the boxes down from our pull-the-stairs-down attic (yes, I'm the one on the bottom 2nd or 3rd tread with arms up in the air to catch the boxes), I didn't actually start my decorating until the day after Thanksgiving. I have so much stuff that I decided it's not even worth putting up unless I do it early enough to be able to enjoy it for at least a month before the chore of packing it back up. And yes, I loathe packing up the everyday decor in order to make room for the festive! Every year I tell myself that I'll get rid of some of the older decorations to make up for the inevitable day-after-Christmas 1/2 price bargains but I don't want to hurt Jim's feelings by singling out the few decorations he brought into the marriage!
Speaking of Jim, he has taken it upon himself to be the outside decorator. So every year, "Sparky" stresses about the lights and how they're going to work. This year there were houses in our neighborhood that had their lights up the week before Thanksgiving and Jim was appalled! Are they crazy? The biggest question he had was how they put up all those lights without the problems he has with the fuses blowing or the bulbs going out or the whole strands not working. And how many strands do they connect together? He asked me these questions repeatedly until I told him to go ask one of the neighbors. His reply was, "I'm not going to ask them, I don't want to talk to them!"
As we were enjoying our Saturday morning coffee & tea, we were looking at the store ads in the newspaper when Jim saw a buy one get one 1/2 price ad at Walgreens for lights. I told him I didn't like buying anything before Christmas because I could get everything for 1/2 price after Christmas and besides that, he told me not to buy any lights last year after Christmas because we had plenty. He said, "but the ad says they're HEAVY DUTY and you can CONNECT SIX STRANDS!" I figured it would be easier on him to buy them. So we went to Walgreens and while I was looking for a few things on my list, Jim found his lights. Now, I like it when everything matches or is coordinated. I looked at the lights Jim had in the cart and there were 2 boxes of multi-colored, 2 boxes of blue, 1 box of red and 1 box of clear. When I asked why he got all different types, he said he likes to "mix it up & be different". Whatever...it's not worth fighting over because I've learned that in certain things, I will not get my way.
We came home, I continued decorating inside and Jim got to work outside. Everything went well, I finished up the inside and for once all the lights outside worked perfectly! I have to admit they look good even if they're not what I would've chosen. For Jim's sake, I hope they last!
I want a Christmas closet...
Speaking of Jim, he has taken it upon himself to be the outside decorator. So every year, "Sparky" stresses about the lights and how they're going to work. This year there were houses in our neighborhood that had their lights up the week before Thanksgiving and Jim was appalled! Are they crazy? The biggest question he had was how they put up all those lights without the problems he has with the fuses blowing or the bulbs going out or the whole strands not working. And how many strands do they connect together? He asked me these questions repeatedly until I told him to go ask one of the neighbors. His reply was, "I'm not going to ask them, I don't want to talk to them!"
As we were enjoying our Saturday morning coffee & tea, we were looking at the store ads in the newspaper when Jim saw a buy one get one 1/2 price ad at Walgreens for lights. I told him I didn't like buying anything before Christmas because I could get everything for 1/2 price after Christmas and besides that, he told me not to buy any lights last year after Christmas because we had plenty. He said, "but the ad says they're HEAVY DUTY and you can CONNECT SIX STRANDS!" I figured it would be easier on him to buy them. So we went to Walgreens and while I was looking for a few things on my list, Jim found his lights. Now, I like it when everything matches or is coordinated. I looked at the lights Jim had in the cart and there were 2 boxes of multi-colored, 2 boxes of blue, 1 box of red and 1 box of clear. When I asked why he got all different types, he said he likes to "mix it up & be different". Whatever...it's not worth fighting over because I've learned that in certain things, I will not get my way.
We came home, I continued decorating inside and Jim got to work outside. Everything went well, I finished up the inside and for once all the lights outside worked perfectly! I have to admit they look good even if they're not what I would've chosen. For Jim's sake, I hope they last!
I want a Christmas closet...
Saturday, November 17, 2007
The renewed vow
The last time I traveled alone with a co-worker after Congress was in 2004 after Fukuoka, Japan when I went to Tokyo with Jessica since Jim wasn’t meeting me. Jessica, (who is from Nicaragua) and I spent 3 days in Tokyo and I told Jim when I got home that in the future if he wasn’t going to meet up with me, I would be coming straight home after Congress. You really learn a lot about a person when you spend a few days of 24-hour-straight-time with them. I learned that Jessica was very spoiled and decided I didn’t like her that much. Before the alone time, we were semi-friends but we didn’t really hang out outside of work Besides her being 20 years younger than me, our backgrounds and upbringings are quite different. We didn’t fight or anything but I did have to bite my tongue quite a bit. After all, we did have to go back to the reality of work at JCI together when we got home.
Since then, Jim & I have traveled with some of my co-workers, but we were together in our own hotel rooms which enabled me to escape and be alone with him. Well, although I didn’t forget my vow, I did it again. The lure of seeing historical sites in foreign countries got the best of me. Congress ended and I traveled with Earl, a man from my office and his wife, Mary. Originally, there were supposed to be a bunch of us taking a post-Congress tour for five days. We were going to travel in a private van or mini-bus with an English-speaking guide to see Ephesus which is where the Virgin Mary lived out her life after the crucifixion of Jesus, Pamukkale which is an area with limestone deposits that look like a bunch of waterfalls and some other sites before ending in Istanbul to see the Hagia Sophia which was a Byzantine church turned into a mosque by the Ottomans dating back to the 5th century BC and the Grand Bazaar, among a few other things. Well, the trip was planned, people backed out and then the situation in Turkey got a little bumpy with the USA. Needless to say, that side trip was cancelled.
Earl suggested we go to Istanbul for a couple of days and then to Athens for a couple more. There was going to be me and another girl from the office along with him and his wife but the other girl ended up backing out so I was the third wheel. So now you have a little background information.
Earl and I get along real well at the office and are sort of confidants. I like his wife, Mary real well, too. We left Antalya Sunday the 11th and flew to Istanbul, arriving at our hotel in the early evening. We took the suggestion of the hotel manager where we stayed and went to a dinner-show at The Orient House. It was pretty neat with a whirling dervish, belly dancers, singers and other weird stuff I’ve never seen. We got back to our room a little after midnight. Yes, we shared a triple room (I was trying to go cheap, Barb!). Well, we were getting ready for bed when I noticed a contraption Earl was plugging in. Lo & behold, a breathing machine! It seems he has sleep apnea. Unfortunately, I have sleep menopausea! I haven’t been able to sleep a full night straight through in months! Although he assured me that it wasn’t loud, it totally made my already torturous sleep even worse. Not only that, but I was also unfortunate enough to hear the unmistakable sound of flatulence during my perpetual sleeplessness. I would say the only good thing about the face mask he had to wear was that he couldn’t snore with it on but his wife made up for that. So, I had a horrible week of sleep. I was actually looking forward to the flight back to St. Louis if you can believe that. I awoke at 4:30 AM and started from Istanbul to London to Chicago and I arrived Lambert at 6:15 PM. I usually can’t sleep on planes no matter how long the flight is but I figured as sleep-deprived as I was, I’d take my little “helpers” and zonk out. I decided to wait until the longest leg of the flight from London to Chicago which was 8 hours before taking my cheaters. I didn’t realize I had a seat smack-dab in front of the toilet….
So, I'm renewing my vow to Jim.
Since then, Jim & I have traveled with some of my co-workers, but we were together in our own hotel rooms which enabled me to escape and be alone with him. Well, although I didn’t forget my vow, I did it again. The lure of seeing historical sites in foreign countries got the best of me. Congress ended and I traveled with Earl, a man from my office and his wife, Mary. Originally, there were supposed to be a bunch of us taking a post-Congress tour for five days. We were going to travel in a private van or mini-bus with an English-speaking guide to see Ephesus which is where the Virgin Mary lived out her life after the crucifixion of Jesus, Pamukkale which is an area with limestone deposits that look like a bunch of waterfalls and some other sites before ending in Istanbul to see the Hagia Sophia which was a Byzantine church turned into a mosque by the Ottomans dating back to the 5th century BC and the Grand Bazaar, among a few other things. Well, the trip was planned, people backed out and then the situation in Turkey got a little bumpy with the USA. Needless to say, that side trip was cancelled.
Earl suggested we go to Istanbul for a couple of days and then to Athens for a couple more. There was going to be me and another girl from the office along with him and his wife but the other girl ended up backing out so I was the third wheel. So now you have a little background information.
Earl and I get along real well at the office and are sort of confidants. I like his wife, Mary real well, too. We left Antalya Sunday the 11th and flew to Istanbul, arriving at our hotel in the early evening. We took the suggestion of the hotel manager where we stayed and went to a dinner-show at The Orient House. It was pretty neat with a whirling dervish, belly dancers, singers and other weird stuff I’ve never seen. We got back to our room a little after midnight. Yes, we shared a triple room (I was trying to go cheap, Barb!). Well, we were getting ready for bed when I noticed a contraption Earl was plugging in. Lo & behold, a breathing machine! It seems he has sleep apnea. Unfortunately, I have sleep menopausea! I haven’t been able to sleep a full night straight through in months! Although he assured me that it wasn’t loud, it totally made my already torturous sleep even worse. Not only that, but I was also unfortunate enough to hear the unmistakable sound of flatulence during my perpetual sleeplessness. I would say the only good thing about the face mask he had to wear was that he couldn’t snore with it on but his wife made up for that. So, I had a horrible week of sleep. I was actually looking forward to the flight back to St. Louis if you can believe that. I awoke at 4:30 AM and started from Istanbul to London to Chicago and I arrived Lambert at 6:15 PM. I usually can’t sleep on planes no matter how long the flight is but I figured as sleep-deprived as I was, I’d take my little “helpers” and zonk out. I decided to wait until the longest leg of the flight from London to Chicago which was 8 hours before taking my cheaters. I didn’t realize I had a seat smack-dab in front of the toilet….
So, I'm renewing my vow to Jim.
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