Colleen's Corner

Elementary School Graduate

2010-06-22T19:38:00.004-04:00

Here's our "final days in 5th grade, going to the Middle School" girl before her 5th grade dance. She rarely wears a dress these days so I was thrilled when she said she wanted to find one to match the luau theme. We found it quite easily at JCPenney and she said it was so comfy. So off to the dance she went (a few pictures I snapped while she was greeting friends) in her adorable outfit. When I went back 3 hours later, I was having a hard time finding her...the lights were dimmed, there were kids everywhere, etc. So I saw the back of this one girl and said to myself that looks like Katie's build, but she has shorts on, that's not her. Then I kept looking and panic was starting to settle in, when that girl turned around and sure enough, my beautiful little angel with the nice dress had it wadded up behind her tied with a hair tie, and she had shorts on under the dress the whole time. When I finally got her attention that it was time to go home, I asked her what the deal was. She said, "Well it was time to do the limbo and I couldn't spread far enough with my dress down, so I pulled it up and tied it." Simple as that Mom, why would I ever think that would happen?!

UPDATE ON NEW YEAR'S GOALS

2010-06-10T16:13:00.002-04:00

Well, it's taken me about 6 months to get ramping up but:

1. I am still backing up all of my photos on the computer! YAY Me!

2. Getting rid of some stuff... I have a beautiful scrapbook room but it's so cluttered I don't even enjoy working in here. I've started to clean off some shelves, took a bunch of rubber stamp sets off the shelves and will be selling them (no money on E-Bay anymore, will try locally), and I have two totes full of goodies I won't use anymore. Hoping to get a garage sale next year to make a little money on the stuff. I still have more to clean, but it's getting better. Unfortunately, Katie hasn't been very interested lately and giving her some of my stuff just keeps the clutter here, so better to box it and go!

3. Taking care of myself. I'm getting to bed no later than 10:45 on school nights - feeling better too. I've started a better eating routine, and have lost 17 lbs in 5 weeks. My clothes are just starting to feel baggy, but of course they were tight before I started so go figure! The exercise piece - ugh, not so much. I hate it, I hate thinking I have to do it, and I hate the people who enjoy doing it (well, that's a little strong, huh? OK, not really) So, I haven't started that yet - but soon, I'm working myself up to it.

On my way for 2010, I need to turn this year around for the good!

MEMORIAL DAY PARADE

2010-06-10T15:59:00.003-04:00

Well, I've never really been proud of my photo taking abilities, and this one ranks right up there! Katie was in the Colorguard for the Elementary School Band for the Memorial Day parade so I remembered to bring my camera to the event (step 1 - check!). Next, I should have asked her what side of the street she would be on, because she was on the opposite side from me. (step 2 - fail) With everyone dressed the same and flags a flyin', I couldn't find her until last minute. I think she purposely liked watching me look frantically, she was giggling at me as she walked by. So with the camera delay and my lack of skill, this is all I have to record the day. Other than Katie's giggles ringing in my ears!! :) She's the one on the far left in the picture.

I'M BACK TO BLOGGING

2010-05-24T18:16:00.009-04:00

Phew, the curveballs that life can throw you! Many of you know the hurdles my fam has faced in the last 3 months, 15 days and 18 hours...but I think I'm moving past it, or as far past as I can get to having a new normal life. It's taken me a while to get back to blogging after what happened with my Mom, I wasn't moving past the trauma or the fact that her life, my life, my family's life, will never be the same. BUT, I think I'm almost there and maybe this will push me the little bit farther towards acceptance.

But normal is the relative word -

- Family is all healthy, as healthy as we can believe

- We're all still working and keeping up with the economy

- Summer is upon us in a few short days

- Katie is playing softball in Honeoye for the season, she's really enjoying it. Not much practice and lots of games. Right up her alley

- School is winding down, with 6 field trips in the monthe of June, and only 16 days of classes, why bother calling it school?

- Our annual camping weekend for Memorial Day is days away (although we won't have a toilet, it's under repair, ugh!)

- I'm taking Mom to therapy every Thursday so I'm taking short work weeks

So, as you can see by this picture, even Millie is tired at the end of the day, but we're all together, safe and happy!

SOME CHILI FUN AT WORK!

2010-02-04T01:11:00.003-05:00

Mid winter and TWC's rate increase season can get to the very best of employees, so as a leader, what am I to do for them? I decided to hold 6 weeks of fun times! We kicked off this week with the Bowl of Super Chili Cookoff (can't say Super Bowl due to trademark), where each Supervisory team could enter 3 varieties of chili. Each Customer Care employee was able to select 5 samples and rated those from 1-5 in quality. A special score was provided to any that were deemed super spicy for a special prize.

It was a huge hit! The managers hosted and organized so the employees and Supervisors were able to come in for the fun. Winners are announced tomorrow (well, today since I'm up way to late) and the winning teams get to buy their team members lunch next week.

What's on the Fun Board for next week?! Bring your Pet's Picture to Work Week! I thought, what makes my employees happy at home? Well, if you have a pet, it's likely you really enjoy it, or it's a special member of your family, so why not bring a piece of your homelife joy into work?! We're putting the pet pictures on one side of my giant white board and the employee's name on the other side and we'll have a matching contest to see who can place the most correct pet with the employee matches. Dorky? Yeah, maybe, but you should hear the buzz that was going on today when I sent out the announcement!! I'll post it tomorrow, I impressed myself with my new PrintShop software at work!

Off to bed to get some more creative ideas in my noggin. Z Z Z z z z z . . . . .

...ONE WEEK'S TIME

2010-01-30T17:38:00.002-05:00

What a difference one week makes! Last Saturday we had fun in the sun with an over 40 degree day. And this week when Brian was called in this morning to salt the roads at 4am, it was -6 degrees - brrrr! And next Saturday we'll be spending at the hospital with Mom and Dad as she is recovering from her aortic valve surgery. I'm pretty sure I won't make it to the Crop Day at the elementary school, but I hope to pop in and see Mary, Lynn and whomever else is going.

I hope everyone is staying toasty warm and healthy today. I've heard this very cold weather is actually good for viruses, it helps keep people indoors and away from each other which slows the spread!

XOXO

FUN WEEKEND!

2010-01-24T17:47:00.004-05:00

We had a nice weekend, other than Brian's back still hurting and him stir crazy that he's not able to do everything he wants to. (He has an appt with Back Dr. on 2/2)

1. Woke up Saturday morning and Brian suggested we go out to breakfast. We used to do this all the time on Saturdays before Katie, and while she was an infant.

2. We went separate ways - me to Wegmans for groceries and Katie & Brian to Walmart for some small odds and ends.

3. Because we got up and out early, I was home from Wegs by 11 (usually after noon sometime) and we had the whole wonderful afternoon in the sunshine.

4. Katie rode her brand new bike from Christmas for about 30 mins. We sat on the front steps in just light sweatshirts and let the sun bake in on our bodies.

5. Made homemade pizza for dinner with help from Chef Katie, with all of the toppings placed ever so delicately...it took about 15 mins longer than normal to get baking :)

6. Sunday we had Church, and helped with the Hope for Haiti collection.

7. Katie and I ran some errands at Eastview - BJs and BonTon - While returning a dress she didn't wear at the Holiday Pageant, we saw some bras in the 7-16 department. She's been complaining that her light tshirt bras might not be concealing enough, so we tried on some new ones. How crazy is this...she's 10 and wearing nicer bras than me.

8. Nice cozy dinner of baked chicken, mashed taters and biscuits

Doesn't get any better than this. We have so much to be thankful for, it was an extra long grace before dinner tonight!

A FEW UPDATES ~

2010-01-20T22:30:00.005-05:00

1. Brian's back is manageable, but he still walks crooked and his body aches. He's putting so much extra weight on his hips and knees that they are now starting to hurt. He's going to a specialist on 2/3/10, hopefully he makes it until then without blowing anything else out. Fun times, poor guy.

2. Katie is sniffle free going on the 2nd week since Thanksgiving. It seems as though she wraps up a week or two of sniffles during the day and full blown coughing at night, is good for about 4 days and then it starts all over again. Certainly not bad enough to be home sick, but not sleeping well and grouchy. I'm keeping the vitamin C flowing fast and of course sanitizing everything with Lysol! I think I've washed the color out of her sheets and pillow cases!

3. Mom is going to have heart valve surgery in a few weeks. She's had a murmur for a few years, had a fainting/passing out scare this past summer and they determined she needs one of her four valves replaced. She's meeting with surgeons this week and we'll get more details soon. Sounds like she'll be out of commission for a good chunk of time while she recuperates.

4. Scrapbook day on 2/5/10 is just around the corner, and Scrapbook Weekend is just over 2 months away - can't wait! Bought a cool new book and love the samples so hopefully I'll be planning some very nice pages.

That's all for now!

OUR LITTLE SONGBIRD

2010-01-18T21:00:00.003-05:00

I can remember my Grandma Sullivan humming and singing as she worked in her kitchen. She didn't have a license so rarely left her house, and living just up the road from us, I often rode my bike to see her. She had a very old fashioned farmhouse kitchen with little to no counter space so everything was made at the table. She hummed and sang every step she took and then would beat her batter to the song's melody.

Well, our little Katherine Elizabeth is just like Grandma. She can be mad at me or frustrated with something and in little to no time at all, I hear her voice. She sings songs from school, from the radio, from church and sometimes makes up her own. I love to hear her voice echoing through our rooms.

This is a snapshot of her Holiday Concert. She's positioned right in front of her Chorus Teacher, Mrs. Warren, who is the most exuberant conductor you've ever seen. She's excellent for the kids, and I know Katie has more interest in Chorus because of her.

DOWN TIME

2010-01-17T10:39:00.003-05:00

Brian's back is getting better, but still not 100%...but he can't stand to be home any more, he's heading back to work tomorrow. We're all just kind of hanging out today, you can see love-bug Millie lazing with Daddy. This back problem has really knocked him for a loop. He used to be up and around within a week when it would happen, but this time it's been almost 12 days and he's not quite up to spec yet. He'll have to play a real foreman tomorrow and not work along side his crew, but give them direction from the sidelines so he doesn't injure it any further. Can he do that?!? I'm sure we'll know by tomorrow night! Good luck honey, be careful!

WOW, SO YOU THINK YOU'RE HAVING A BAD DAY?

2010-01-13T21:40:00.002-05:00

A horrible day going down in history - the poor Haitian people and what they are facing. As if their living conditions weren't bad enough, add thousands (100's of thousands actually), of deaths. And closer to home, two twenty-something daughters showed up at my company today, crying hysterically to the receptionist explaining they need to speak with their mom (one of the employees in my department). A safety officer took them into an empty office and one of them blurted out their brother was killed today in Afghanistan and they needed to tell their mom. The officer called me to explain and asked me to bring Lynn over to them. It was the most horrible few minutes that I can remember facing in a long time. As soon as I got her to the office, he and I left while they told her, but just standing outside the door and hearing them all moan in pain was devastating. I can't imagine what their poor family is going through. Her husband has terminal cancer and the 3 of them take turns caring for him at home. Who would have thought she needs to take care of her son's funeral arrangements before her husband's?

So if you are having a pity party for yourself...think about all of the others in the world that have it so much worse than we do today. And then say a prayer for them.

MY LATEST PROJECT

2010-01-11T21:04:00.008-05:00

Not that I'm interested in country style decor much anymore, but this very cool wall hanging caught my eye and tickled my fancy. It's all done in dyed wool and it's oh-so-easy! I have a dining room that's sierra colored, a foyer that is butter yellow and a sage green living room that all meet up. So to blend the colors I needed something on the foyer wall to pull them all together. This is just one of the 6 12x12 blocks that I'm doing, I have one more to do. Once I get them all done, I'll take a photo of the entire hanging. I've decided to place each individually in a 12x12 black frame so they don't take on the dust (as it's not a favorite job of mine), and hopefully I can the whole lot square enough to look a bit more modern to match other things in the house. Yes, if anyone is keeping track, this will be the 3rd thing I'm going to hang on my walls that I still consider freshly painted, yet are now two years old!

S-U-C-C-E-S-S

2010-01-10T12:49:00.003-05:00

That's the way you spell success! Pardon me as I revert back to my cheerleading days, but I'm so proud of my accomplishment I did a cheer in my head! I have mastered backing up my pictures and important stuff on my computer! Now, where to put this little thingy in order to have it when I need it. OK everyone, so you can help me find it (unlike my garage sale money), it's in my scrapbook desk drawer!

1st full accomplishment of my New Month Resolution! Also, have been better at sleep and eating practices. Not yet habits because I'm jonesin' to do it the old way, but hey...mind over matter is still working!

XOXO

MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR!

2010-01-09T14:09:00.003-05:00

Oh when this little bundle of excitement hits my mailbox at the end of a long, busy day, everything else melts away and I retreat into my favorite place! It's the Stampin' Up Sale-a-Bration catalog! Spend $50 and get a free set of stamps - usually I find a reason that I need all 4 free sets, or even 5 and 6! Last year I had the excuse of Brandi's wedding to buy the supplies. This year, not so much. Oh well...I can still rummage through the catalog a few hundred times, can't I?!

HE'S FLAT ON HIS BACK :(

2010-01-08T10:41:00.002-05:00

I got a call at work yesterday that Brian threw his back out. When I got home, he had made it upstairs through multiple muscle spasms, with the thought he'd be closer to the bathroom than in the living room. Well...let's just say the spasms took away any of the healthy muscle he had left and at that point couldn't even get from his back to his front while on the floor. It was a long night, trying to keep him comfortable, Advil'd and iced. Right now a Dr. or Chiro is out of the question, I can't even get him down the stairs. For all that matter, I couldn't get him to the bathroom a few times either, let's just say remember your marriage vows..for better or worse, in sickness and in helping urinate? Wow, he'd be so mad if he knew I shared that!! Let's hope for a quick recovery, my nursemaid personality is completely fake and difficult to keep up!!

MOMMY'S LITTLE HELPER

2010-01-06T21:04:00.002-05:00

When Daddy is at work...Mommy is the Wo-Man for Millie to follow. Anyone who has seen Millie in action with Brian knows she is his buddy and she will follow him to the ends of the Earth. BUT, when he's at work and she is stuck with me...she's really stuck with me. I'm sitting at the computer attempting my e-bay crusade and she is looking up at me with these puppy dog-yellow cat eyes that just melt my reserve to stay focused. She is the best dog, cuddly, happy, companion to all, and especially easy for all of us to love. Boy, it will be a hard day when she goes down hill. I really think Brian might take it harder than if I were going down hill!! :)`

STAMPS, STAMPS, EVERYWHERE

2010-01-03T21:50:00.002-05:00

Quick post today, gettting ready to get back to reality first thing tomorrow morning.

Here's my pile of stamps I'm going to put on E-Bay. A few at a time because I can't stay up on all of the correspondance if I don't space it out.

Good luck to everyone getting back to the real world this week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-01T11:03:00.004-05:00

Here's to a new year, new decade and hopefully new adventures and health, safety and fun for everyone I know.

I'm going to make myself a New Month Resolution List instead of New Year because I never get anything to last a year, unless it's a bad habit (like EZ Cheese from the Can)

1. Back up my computer with this outrageously expensive thumb drive thingy one of the tech geeks at work told me to get to make it so easy. (still haven't figured it out since Nov)

2. Scale back on my "stuff" and either donate, sell, or share. I have too much of it everywhere and need to streamline.

3. Take care of myself better. I've actually started with my sleep habits in the last 2 weeks (mainly because I've been home a lot more than normal). Eat better, get my body moving at least a little more and not try to live like a weirdo hermit lady who's up all night but wants to sleep all day on the weekends. If I set my sights on 4 weeks to start, it sounds so less drastic than a YEAR!!

4. Try really hard not to take any more pictures of myself like this...

Hope everyone has a wonderful end to their holiday season and a beautiful start to a new Month, Year or Decade...whatever works for you!

BUSY TIMES!

2009-12-26T22:36:00.008-05:00

WOW - how much can you pack into a few days?

1. Christmas Eve and Dad's Birthday - lunch, open house at Cheaps, Church

2. Christmas Day - breakfast with grandparents at our house, afternoon at Mom's with all the family.

3. Day after Christmas - Houston Family comes into town, dinner and catching up

4. 27th of December - church and lunch with mom for her birthday

5. 28th of December - back to work...

It was nice to be so prepared for the busy times, but geez, when does the slow down start?!

Here are a few pixs of our weekend. The smallest sweet boy is my nephew, Cormac and the bigger sweet boy is my cousin Caden. So much fun this year!

READY TO GO!

2009-12-19T21:00:00.004-05:00

Phew! It's December 18th and I'm officially done with shopping AND WRAPPING! I had a few helpers this year (the Internet and Brian) so everything seemed like a breeze. Which makes me worried...did I forget something important? Did I leave someone off the present list by mistake? Do I have the right names for our family gift exchange? Did I hide any presents earlier this year and can't find them (don't get me started on this one), do I put them out now or wait until Christmas - Katie said she's no longer a believer, but who doesn't want to wake up on Christmas morn to a tree full of presents? Do I have all of the ingredients for Christmas breakfast, did I get the oysters for our family gathering, did I, did I, did I????

OK, I need to get a grip. I'm done ahead of time, I need to bask in the delight instead of worry. AND, I can now get back to my wool wall hanging I've been putting aside each night while I've been preparing for Christmas. Ahhhhh, I'm done. I'm done. I'm done....sleep in heavenly peace!

XOXO

8 DAYS AWAY FROM GIRLTIME!

2009-11-04T22:14:00.005-05:00

The semi annual Scrapbook weekend is just 8 days away! We've all been communicating for the last few days with humorous countdown antics. Everyone is ready for a break from reality and a lot of laughs (talked to Jessica today on the phone and have already started our fun!)

BACK INTO BLOGGING

2009-10-31T13:55:00.004-04:00

Have completely gotten away from the blog for awhile, but ready to jump back in with some updates on our life!

1. Fall is here for sure, leaves are flying. We live in a windy spot so no raking here!

2. Katie is almost 10 and is always cracking us up with new phrases and a more mature outlook on life. She was telling us the other day about something that happened at recess and her comments were something like, "...the part that really sucked about it was...." Brian and I looked at each other over her head and raised eyebrows at the same time! I stopped her story and asked what she just said and she fully repeated the exact wording! I explained it wasn't something a little lady should be saying and it's more adult language than 5th grader. She kind of smiled and just moved on with her story...so what do you think will be her new fav word to say out of mom's earshot?! (better than most her dad could be caught saying out of her earshot!)

3. Brian is a hunting banshee with goose and deer season in full swing. He's really enjoying hunting with Millie and different buddies with all of his goose paraphenalia - smiling from ear to ear!

4. Work for both of us has been tense, but we're still employed and in today's economy, that's a good thing. But there are days...

5. Scrapbook weekend is just 12 days away, cannot wait! BUT - I am not yet prepared to go, so the pressure is about to start.

6. We have a sweet new nephew/cousin! Master Cormac was born in late Sept but Katie or I have been sick at opposite times enough that we've both only seen him twice so far. Don't want to spread any germs his way!

All else is good, buckling down for winter's approach. Oh, how that sounds yucky!

Here are a few back to school pixs of Katie and friends

SO PROUD OF HER!

2008-10-15T22:04:00.003-04:00

Miss Katie has been doing a great job at keeping up with her school work, cheerleading and now flute lessons. She's been a very good girl at home, making sure her bed is made, clothes are picked up and room is neat and tidy - OK, at least tidy. She decided to wear a new outfit to school last week and I told her we had a few minutes for a quick fashion shoot before we left the house. Here she is modeling and hamming it up for the camera! Ahhh, a scrapbookers dream! Love you little lady, you make me so proud!

STOP AND PUT SOME BOOM IN IT!

2008-09-23T19:02:00.006-04:00

Here's the girlie-girl cheerleader in all of her smiling glory! She loves cheerleading, although the 3 x week 2 hour long practices are beginning to wear on her (and Mom & Dad). She's doing a great job balancing the needs of homework, dinner and practice much better than I anticipated. She's found that she really appreciates the nights without practice! One drawback this year is that she is almost 9 and the other girls are all 7 or young 8's. She and one other girl are much more mature than the rest and it bothers them both to put up with the inattentiveness from the younger girls when Coach asks them to correct their behavior. Katie has been known once or twice to go up to the youngster and say, "You need to listen to Coach or we'll all be here forever!" No, the apple does not fall far from the tree...(bottom picture, Katie is in the center)

FIRST DAY OF 4TH GRADE

2008-09-12T06:45:00.006-04:00

The Bloomfield district went back to school on Tues, 9/2 so we were barely finished from the Labor Day weekend while getting the first day of school festivities prepared. Historically, Brian and I have taken the first day of school off so Katie can get on the bus at our house, take the appropriate photo ops, etc. With Grandma always affiliated with the bus garage and our favorite driver Mrs. B, it was never an issue. This year was a little different.

As normal, the weekend before school started I left a message at the bus garage explaining to the supervisor that Katie would be getting on the bus (same bus she always rides) at our house instead of at Cathy's, the fabulous child care provider we've had since Katie was 6 months old. So the morning comes, Katie has the anxious excitement of the first outfit selection, new backpack is heavy jitters and of course which shoes to wear. We are in the driveway taking photos with both Grandmas, Daddy, Mom and Millie, and we see the bus approaching the top of the hill about 1/3 mile from our house. We're all at the end of the driveway, camera is ready to snap that last step as she reaches for the handle and vvvrrrooooooommmmmm right on past our awaiting posse! Our new bus driver, Mr. Holcomb, didn't look at us, didn't see us and wasn't going to stop. The photo on the bottom is what Katie's face looked like as it was speeding past us, at least I was camera ready for something! So we jumped in the truck and headed to Cathy's house for the next opportunity. There were a bunch of kids, parents and grandparents there doing the same thing, so we joined the party and got some cute scrapbook shots to share later!

What a way to start the day....

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

2008-08-17T18:39:00.002-04:00

Can you believe school is back in session in just 16 days?? Our school goes back on Tues, 9/2 - holy cow! We attempted some school shopping this weekend, but had one of Katie's pals with us so that didn't get a whole lot accomplished. She's set with jeans now though, great sale at JCPenney if anyone has girlie-girls to shop for - tres chic! Next will be sneakers and shoes to match a few of the outfits Grandma splurged on at Limited 2 - oh the prices there :(

Hope everyone is hanging in there with their last two weeks of summertime fun! I caught up with Jessica today, she's been in hiding all summer I t hink! Gave her a good razzing about not keeping her blog up to speed, we'll see if it worked!

Enjoy your upcoming week!

SEE...SHE'S GOING TO DO GREAT THINGS!

2008-08-10T11:59:00.002-04:00

Many of you know that I've said for the last few years that my darling daughter will likely become a pole dancer based on her personality, flair for the dramatic and well, she's just darn good at it on the basement support poles. I found this article on CNN.com today so now I know she's actually just a little ahead of the curve and she'll do great things with her fine talent!

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/08/10/fortin.hm.pole.dancing.cnn

Swing it Kate!

SAVE THE DATE!

2008-08-06T19:35:00.002-04:00

THE BRISTOL FIRE DEPT FUNDRAISER CROP!
Who's in?? This is the announcement I received from Janet, be sure you get your entry in!
I'm in for at least the 2nd half of the day, maybe the whole day.

The next ALL DAY CROP is October 4th!
Here is the information you have all been waiting for........

WHAT: All Day Crop FUNDRAISER
WHERE: Bristol Volunteer Fire Department
4350 Route 64 South
Bristol, New York
WHEN: October 4th, 2008
TIME: 9:00AM- 11:00PM
COST: $30 Full Day or $25 Half Day- ADD $5 after Sept. 28th
Questions call Janet- 657-6694 or Becky- 396-1345

Make check payable to B.V.F.D., fill out Registration Form below and mail to:
Janet Clark
7863 Baptist Hill Road
Bloomfield, New York 14469

All proceeds go to the BVFD

Hope to see you all there for another fun filled day!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name:____________________________________________

Phone Number:____________________________________

Email:____________________________________________

Full Day_____($30) 1/2 Day AM________($25) 1/2 Day PM__________($25)
Would you like a Massage- $1 per minute ________YES __________NO

I would like to sit near____________________________________________________________

3 MONTHS!

2008-08-05T21:59:00.005-04:00

No, not 3 months pregnant...

Not 3 months until Christmas...

Tomorrow marks 3 months until our next retreat! I was in Target today for a few things and just had to walk through the scrapbook section. Although all of my scrappin' buddies heard me say in March that I didn't need another product, I thought I would take a little peek. I found some great buys, and one of my lucky Sweat Shoppe pals will be the recipient of my good shopping fortune...yup, I've already purchased my swap gift! Here's a little peek for your curiosity - I tried to mask the full view and just wet your whistle!

So with 90ish days away, you might want to pull out those pictures, grab your favorite papers and put together a few page layouts. Do it now in the lazy days of summer and you won't be stressed out once school starts, sports begin and the nights are dark so you're in bed early!

BOMBSHELL DROPS!

2008-07-09T19:32:00.005-04:00

Wow, have you had that feeling that a bombshell was just dropped on you and you're left reeling, disoriented and confused? That's me today...

The job that I love so much has just been changed due to a company merger. The Buffalo and Rochester offices are being combined and I am no longer the VP of Customer Care. I am now a Director in Rochester, reporting to the new VP who resides in Buffalo - ouch! But worst yet, my demotion made it necessary for my Director to have to leave the company. Does this story get any worse? Yes, it does...my former Director is a great guy, so very devoted to the company that it makes me physically sick to know he was let go. And he's still as gracious and professional about it as if it were a party he didn't get invited to. WTF, why him??!?!?!?!?

So tomorrow I have to put up a good front and plaster on my smile, answer all of the hundreds of questions I'll face from 275 employees, (who are mine now only as a Director), as to what happened and why they have a new boss. Plus begin answering to a new boss that might have his own agenda that differs from the one I've been building since November. And we've been making such great strides, performing at the top over all of our 25 divisions - including Buffalo!

Bruised ego aside, I knew I could get it off my chest on my blog and get the word out at the same time to my buddies. And to look at it from a different point of view that my very smart little girl told me tonight, "At least you still have a job Mommy"... you're right sweet Kate, you're right! Tomorrow is another day.

MY VERY OWN SANCHEZ!

2008-07-03T10:02:00.006-04:00

A few months ago, we were at our good friends the Hastings house and were playing cards. I don't recall how the whole conversation started, but our scrapbook weekend topic, Dirty Sanchez, came up. It was a band playing at the local pub, and as we found out that weekend, it's also a pretty gross intimate act (although I'm not sure who would enjoy such a thing). Penny and I had to educate Dave and Brian as to what it was and of course we all got a lot of chuckles out of it.

If you've ever been to Penny's, she is always a gracious host and frequently has chocolate goodies out to share. On this particular evening, she had the chocolate non-pariels, you know, the ones with the little white balls on one side?

Well, needless to say, hubby Brian was feeling no pain after a full night of beers and card playing (notice his red face and eyes!). So when Penny left the room at one point, Brian began licking the non-white ball side of a piece of candy to melt the chocolate and then proceeded to rub it all over his upper lip, in reseblance of a Dirty Sanchez. Dave and I could not stop laughing, or crying is a better description. Penny came back into the room to see this great big mug shot of Brian, sporting his version of a Dirty Sanchez!

Got to love this man, scary as it may seem!

One of My Loves

2008-06-30T16:38:00.006-04:00

When I say "one" of my loves, the other is sweet Miss Katie, but Brian was first. Here he is chillin' in Myrtle Beach after a motorcycle ride this past April. Can you see that grin on his face?

Brian is not a complicated man, rather a very real, down-to-earth kind of guy that has a devilish sense of humor. He likes to make people laugh and often does crazy stunts to get the results he's seeking. (In fact, I have few fun pictures to post later that my Sweatshoppe ladies will find hysterical.) But, he rarely really laughs himself. Something needs to really tickle his funny bone before you get a good belly laugh out of him. I often pick on him about his "12 years old sense of humor" because he giggles at passing gas, a dog burp, etc.

We're almost to our 17th wedding anniversary, and I wouldn't trade a day of that time - I love this man! (Well, OK, maybe a day or two...)

Momentos of Scrapping Weekends...

2008-06-26T21:22:00.000-04:00

In my attempt to branch into the digital era for scrapping, I was putting all of my pictures in folders and backing them up. I came across this series and couldn't help but giggle, then share!

It's amazing what a bunch of ladies away for the weekend will get excited about, huh?!

The truck that made our dreams come true and Jimmie!

First Time Blogger!

2008-06-25T22:57:00.000-04:00

Hi all -welcome to my attempt at blogging! I love to keep up with all of my blogger friend's lives with their blogs so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

What's new with me? Well, daughter Katie just completed third grade with an excellent report card. She was having a little difficulty with math again this year, but we pulled it off and she's very proud of herself. Brian and I have agreed to have a tutor work with her over the summer as she and I butt heads, and he's just not up to speed on some of that stuff. Hopefully she not only stays on track for 4th grade, but is ahead of the game when she starts back in September.

We're on the home stretch for our week of vacation starting June 30th, cannot wait to have a few days off to spend at home. But I'm afraid Brian has ulterior motives...fixing our sidewalk, digging up our flower bed (or shall I say Weed Bed) and washing windows. I was thinking more along the lines of sleeping late, going to the movies, a massage and mani/pedi. Oh well, maybe we can fit them all in. Hopefully I'll have lots of time to blog!