Don't cry over burned pulled pork!

Its been a week... Very busy at work, I had a meltdown with my boss on Wednesday, and seemed to be reduced to tears the entire day. I'm not usually like that, I can take most things in stride, but Wednesday was like the perfect storm, and I just lost it. Thursday was a better day, and Friday... I'm off - for the next 5 days. Friday night we were honoring my niece Sarah with a bridal shower. Not a big event, just getting the girls of our family together for some good food, good drink, and to pamper Sarah a few weeks before her wedding. The weather on Friday was absolutely beautiful. I leisurely spent my time getting ready, and started my day out with a pedicure. I then drove to Byron Center to the jewelery store to get my Pandora bracelet fixed as my clasp had broken. Instead of fixing it, they just gave me a new bracelet. I also treated myself to two new charms. The sun was shinning, my top was down, and I was loving the fact that I was not at work, and having the day to myself. I needed to stop at Meijers to finish up the last minute things I needed for the shower. Meijers was packed. I had to park out in the backy forty, and knew it was going to be very busy inside as well. I quickly picked up the items I needed, but every check-out was full. So I took my place in line and waited. While I was standing there waiting.. I start to get irritated. This Meijers is always busy, yet they never have very many lanes open. Its very rare you can just walk up to the cashier and pay for your purchases... you usually have to wait your turn. As I was standing there.... I remembered the pulled pork I had put in the roaster... several hours earlier. I had only meant to be away for a couple of hours... but that was now 4+ hours ago... and now I got this panicky feeling that I may have overcooked the pulled pork. I finally got through the check-out lane... and back to the parking lot, that was still very busy. Just trying to back up, and get out of the parking lot was a challenge. I drive onto Kalamazoo Ave, and the traffic there was bumper to bumper. My irritability has now been elevated to new levels. I just wanted to yell... get the **** out of my way! As I drove into my garage and opened the door to the kitchen... I knew... the pork was burned. The house smelled, I took the top of the roaster off, and the meat was black. I was SO MAD.... at myself for not thinking about meat while I was gone. I guess in my mind I was thinking I had put the pork in a crock pot, not the roaster, and the roaster definitely cooks alot hotter than the crock pot. $20.00... down the drain. Well, sort of ... that's another story. I picked up the roaster pan to pry the burned pork out of the pan and was feeding it down the garbage disposal. Not the smartest Idea, but I was upset and mad and not thinking. During this time too I called Gordie... he was busy at work and asked me to hold on just a minute. When he came back to the phone and started to tell him what had happened... I was upset, and all I wanted to hear him say was "I'm sorry" instead, he responded with... "Did you just call to yell at me?" Okay... now that really made me mad, so I hung on him. Now I am really ticked, and not proud to say every bad word that could come out of my mouth spewed all over the now disaster in my kitchen. Then to top things off... I had been cramming so much in the garbage disposal, it stopped working. Now I have standing water, burned pork, and a huge mess my hands. It's 3:30pm, and I have nothing for the shower to eat, so I head back to my car, and the packed grocery store to now buy stuff for sloppy joes.

Katie wanted to have Sarah's shower at her house, and because I was bringing the majority of the food, drinks, cake, etc... I had tons of stuff to pack and take over to Katie's. I was still upset with my husband, exhausted, hot, sweaty, and overall not a happy camper. Of course when you are in a hurry, everyone and their brother pulls out in front of you, or is just in your way.

I got to Katie's, we got everything up to her apartment, set up, and I finally sat down for a few minutes to just relax and cool down. The shower really went nice, Katie's apartment was very cute with all the decorations and things we had done, and it was great to get our family together for just a nice, fun evening. Sarah loved all of her gifts, and was thankful we took the time to have a bridal shower for her.

As the evening went on, and I had a couple of Sangrias in me, I finally mellowed out. The sloppy joes were fine, and we really did have a nice time. My husband was able to fix the garbage dispoal, and he cleaned up the huge mess I had left, so when I came home, the kitchen was all put back together. Sometimes life just hands you burned pulled pork... next time I will reach for the wine first, and then deal with mess. I know one thing... I won't do that again, and I am not going to let it ruin the rest of my weekend.

Work!

In today's economy... anyone with a job does not take their job for granted. I'm thankful every day I go to work that I have a great job. That being said though... its been an overwhelming year. Every day I think the next day won't be as busy... and before I know it, its 3:00 in the afternoon, I have not eaten lunch, and can't believe the day is almost over and I still have so many things to do. I really thought I would have all this time on my hands once my supervisor came back, but so far... its crazy busy. I have employee evaluations hanging over my head... these have to be done by September 15.... and I'm thinking... when in the world and I going to complete all of these. Even if I just do one a day... there are not enough days left. Guess I know how I am spending my Labor day weekend... laboring over employee evals! One thing is for sure... I'm never bored at work. Somehow I have to find a balance... take a break for lunch... or just take a break. Otherwise, I am going to drive myself crazy. So now we are going to open up another site... hopefully the beginning of October... which will take our total up to 6 sites! I needed more on my plate!!! You would think I would burn more calories all the running around I do! Okay... enough whinning. Thank you Lord for never giving me more than I can handle!!!

My Girls

I had a great weekend... I got to spend time with both my girls - My daughter-in-law Lindsey and I went out to lunch on Saturday and then spent time at SummerFest. My daughter Katie and I talked on the phone for over an hour on Saturday night and then on Sunday helped her to rearrange her living room and plan on what we were going to do for our niece/cousin Sarah's shower on Friday. I am so blessed to have two outstanding, kind hearted, smart women in my life. I'm so glad they both live close by and we can spend time together. I look forward to one day being a grandma, having a son-in-law, and watching our family grow. My son is pretty terrific too... but really enjoyed my time with just the girls this weekend.

Lauren and Patterson

Today was my first day back to work after vacation. I was actually excited to go back today... mainly because Lauren came back to work... finally after being off since May on maternity leave. Lauren is like my lifesaver at work. I have two great supervisors who help me... Michelle takes care of the clinical side, and Lauren takes care of the clerical side. As a manager, my job is mainly administrative, so, having my clerical supervisor off for three months really added to my work load. Now that Lauren is back, I can concentrate more of my time on special projects and marketing our practice.

I was also excited because Patterson - between 28th Street and Burton which has been closed since the beginning of April is finally open. I hate having to drive on East Paris and 28th Street because it is so busy and there are a ton of stop lights... and the road is full of holes. I was happily driving home on the new Patterson... until I got close to airport when I saw the "Recovery Project" road sign - and the orange barrells... meaning they are now going to be working on the other end of Patterson...aauugghh!!! So... guess it means I will be back on the East Paris/28th Street route... again! At least I don't have to drive all the way to Hastings!!

Rough time of things

I turn 50 this year. I am a healthy, vibrant woman with a successful career. I have a wonderful husband, great kids, good friends, and a great church family. I have never had a problem going into that next decade, and actually looked forward to my 20's, 30's and 40's. For some reason, turning 50 is making me face my mortality. I look at myself in the mirror, and I am not liking what I see. Its not so much the fact that I am carrying around extra weight... I have done that my entire life... but now I am seeing more wrinkles, sagging around my eyes, and I just look...well... old. I look in the mirror and more than ever... I see my mom staring back. I have always been told I look like my mom, but truthfully.. I never really saw it until now. My mother was a wonderful person, and if my life in any way shape or form resembles her, then that is a blessing... I'm just not ready to be old or to look old. My clothes even look old. I have to dress up for my job... and I HATE going clothes shopping. I will go with credit card in hand, ready and able to spend whatever it takes... and I can't find anything I like. I either look like a frumpy old woman, or look like I am dressing to go out for a night on the town... not a day in the office. I guess I need to do a couple of things. One... stop feeling sorry myself. I am what I am... I can't turn back the clock. Two... piss or get off the pot. I have been trying to lose weight my entire life. For every two pounds I lose, I gain one back... I exercise like crazy for a few weeks, then miss going for a week. I need to be consistent in my weight loss, my exercise, and my attitude. Lastly... I need to hire a personal shopper... someone who will help me pick out clothes that actually fit me, look good on me, and be brutally honest as to how they really look on me... not how I "wish" they looked on me. Gordie suggested I ask the sales ladies in the store... but like I told him... they are out to make sales... they will tell me whatever I want to hear. Two of my staff are professional shoppers. Those girls eat, breathe and drink going shopping... they love it. When I tell them I will spend hours walking aimlessly from store to store, and never purchase anything... they can't believe it. They would never dream of leaving a store without making a purchase. Of course... when you are a size 6.... shopping is much easier. So this afternoon, Gordie and I are going to spend our last afternoon in California, driving through the mountains and down the coast admiring the beautiful landscape of Southern California, and stopping at a few outlet malls along the way. I'm not real hopeful I will find anything, but I am going to look. Who knows... maybe I will get lucky!

Changing your e-mail account!

We have had Comcast everysince we moved to Grand Rapids. We have been having issues with internet, went through buying a new router that we did not need, and endless nights where the internet kept going down. So we finally had enough and made the decision to switch to ATT U-Verse. We actually have the package that has every channel available, and its still cheaper than what we were paying for our Comcast. The speed of the internet is faster, and the picture on the TV is awesome. We are very happy with making the switch to ATT... but having to change our e-mail addresses has been a pain. We pay tons of stuff on line and our e-mail addresses are attached to tons of stuff. All of our addresses had to be added to our new account, but I think I finally have everything in our new ATT account. If I don't have it... I can always get just about everyone's e-mail on Facebook. So... tomorrow... we are going to call Comcast and tell them they can keep their stupid service. I think we will be very happy with our new service!

I hate shopping for clothes!

I have been working really hard to lose weight and tone my body over the past few months. Its coming, slower than I would like... but little by little, clothes that used to be skin tight are now loose on me. The problem is... I am in between sizes... women's sizes are too big, regular sizes are too small. I have gone shopping three times in the past week, and I cannot find anything I like...or if I do ... my size is sold out. I went shopping on Saturday, credit card in hand, with money not even being an object for me... and I came home 4 hours later empty handed and very grumpy. I have to dress in business casual in my profession, and I am so sick and tired of wearing black! Yet every time I look at clothes, the only thing that even remotely catches my eye ... is black! I feel like a frumpy old woman most of the time, and cannot wait until the day that I can walk in a regular clothing store and buy anything off the rack. I wish they would make more clothes in my size that actually look nice on you... instead of making you look like an elephant! It just gives me even more incentive to get another 10 pounds off this body... then maybe I can find something that fits and I like!

Health care in coming years

I am very fortunate in this economy to have a job and health insurance. Many people in this world are not as fortunate. Health care and prescription coverage costs have gone through the roof. Our President wants the congress to have a resolution on his desk ready to sign by August. I have heard it said many times that doctors make way too much money... and charge way too much for their services. Working in the healthcare industry however, I have a much different view. Yes, doctors make a decent living, and I will never make what they make... but I also did not invest up to 15 years of life learning and training to be a physician. I am not on call all through the night, and I don't work the 70-80 hours that I have seen my physicians work. I do not have the student loans to repay that could be astronomical. I do not have to face the high malpractice premiums that physicians have to pay. Being a manager, I see the overhead costs, the decrease in reimbursement, and the many hoops insurance companies make us jump through to get authorization for services we provide. The company that I work for is meeting tonight to decide whether or not to merge with a local hospital. One thing is for certain... things are going to change. I wish I had the answer to our healthcare issues. I would love to see everyone in this world have the same opportunities at healthcare, but with that comes a price tag. I don't think the answer is socialized medicine. I believe the quality of our healthcare would definitely suffer. Its going to take a lot of give and take... our physicians are already seeing decreased reimbursement and increases in the cost of doing business, and like I've heard many times before... there are no new dollars in healthcare. I believe that each of us are going to have to take a more proactive approach to our healthcare. We are going to have to pay more for our medical care, and we need to take better care of ourselves to prevent future disease and costly prescriptions. Just like technology is constantly changing... we are going to be seeing many changes in healthcare. Lets just hope we go in the right direction. Some of the alternatives could be very scary!!

Today's Chapter of my Life

I heard a song this morning about the living the legacy I will leave, and how I live my life each day writes the chapters of my life. This song really touched my heart. I can sweat the small stuff, let work drive me crazy, or get upset and mad over things that really will not make in a difference in the next day, week, month or years of life... or I can embrace each day and make a difference in the lives of those I come in touch with each and every day.

I am going to remind myself each day that I am writing the chapters of life. I cannot even recall what I might have been upset about at work last week, or the things I worried about... each day brings with itself a whole new set of problems... but how I handle myself will speak volumes about how I lived my life.

So.. tomorrow is a new chapter... I wonder what wonderful adventure awaits me.

Great Weekend!

I had a great weekend. Its seems like most weekends fly by and and not much gets accomplished... but this weekend was fun from start to finish. Since I worked something like 50 hours this week, I left work at 1:30 on Friday afternoon, came home and watched a movie with the house to myself. Friday night we went to a coffee house with friends to hear the Brian Criner Band. Brian is one of the most talented guitar players I have ever heard, and he has the most awesome voice. I'm convinced one day they will be discovered and be famous. It was lots of fun packing out the coffee house and watching them play. After that we went to San Marcos for amazing nachos with some great friends. On the way home Friday night it was storming like crazy, got home to no power, so we lit some candles and listened to the radio. A little rough sleeping, but the power came on around 2:00am, so the whole night was not wasted. Saturday I tackled my clothes closet. I have so many clothes that are either too big, or I just don't wear. 5 garbage bags later, my closet is organized and I found lots of clothes I forgot I had, and feel like I have a new wardrobe. I had clothes I had outgrown, but since I have lost some of weight, I can fit in them again, so yay... bonus. I have lots of clothes and some shoes to take to Goodwill. Saturday night Katie took us out for dinner for Father's day, and then after that we went to Glen and Jenn's for drinks and bonfire. The night was perfect for a bonfire. Sunday Katie left for North Carolina for training, Gordie went golfing with Joe, and I rode my scooter to church. When Gordie got home from golfing, we took the scooters and rode to Sonic for lunch, then went for a long ride around Gun Lake and out in the country. It was a beautiful day. We stopped at my brother Jim's house and visited with Jim and Pat for awhile, then rode home. It was just a great weekend all around. Now... I'm heading to the kitchen for Hudsonville Ice Cream - Grand Traverse Cherry Fudge. Yum... life is good!

Interesting Lab Results

I saw my OB/GYN doc a few weeks ago for my annual exam. I actually call it my "open house". Anyway... the doc I went to is absolutely fabulous. This was the first time I had gone to her, but I knew her from mmpc, and the stellar reputation she had, so decided to go to see her. Everything was fine from a gynecological point of view, but as she was taking my history of when I had my hysterectomy, and started asking me questions, she became concerned about the fact that I may be developing adult onset diabetes. This is the one disease that I never wanted to hear I could have. My grandmother had diabetes, my brother has diabetes, and I am an all time carboholic...a big no-no for someone with diabetes. What triggered my doctor's concerns were a few things. When I was 30 I had a hysterectomy with both ovaries removed. My ovaries were removed because of "polycystic Ovaries".... several cysts covering my ovaries. Apparently polycystic ovary disease is related to diabetes. She also noticed a darkening of my skin around my neck, in my arm pits, and few other places, which is also a sign of diabetes. I shared with her my struggle with my weight and the fact that I really do try to eat well, I do go to the gym, and I work really hard, but just do not see the results, get discouraged and just chuck the whole diet thing... and then I will get motivated again, and start this crazy process all over... each time losing and gaining. Her thoughts on the matter were instead of my body turning the food into energy, it was storing it and turning it into fat, something to do with being "insulin resistant". So... she wanted me to have a 2 hour fasting glucose tolerance test. I did the test a few days later, and that was wierd. I had labs drawn, and then had to drink a glass of this really sweet stuff. Since my office is right next to our lab, I just told the lab gals I was going to my office to work. the first 30 minutes or so, I was running all over the place... quite the sugar high, and then I crashed. I decided I had better sit down and behave myself. I then had to have my labs drawn again, two more times. It had been a week or so since my labs, and I have been so busy at work, I kind of forgot about things until yesterday. I had been out of my office most of the day in meetings, so when I was checking my phone messages, there was a message from my doctor. She said, I have your lab results, and they are "interesting". I thought to myself... I don't know if I like interesting. She wanted me to page her when I got in. So I paged her and waited for her call. Basically my fasting blood sugar was normal, but on the high side of normal, my 2 hour blood sugar, while still normal, was 127, and they consider 140 as diabetic. What was interesting was the fact that my insulin resistance level was 23, the normal was 0-17. With my history, and the all the things we talked about at my gyn exam, this points to me being pre-diabetic. Wonderful. That one disease I never wanted to hear I have, is knocking on my door. So now I have to make an appt to see my PCP about what to do about this. A couple good things... I know about this early so I can do something about it, and the fact that she really feels treating this with medication will help me to get my weight off. I know diabetes effects your heart, your eyes, your circulation, and just about every organ in your body, so I definitely want to get things under control now before it becomes full blown diabetes. Guess I should count myself lucky that I had an awesome physician who had the forsight to check this now.

The IT Factor

Tonight I attended a dinner meeting for In-Forum, and professional women's group in Grand Rapids. The women there were very nice, but they all had one thing in common... they are climbing the corporate ladder, and had what I call, "its all about ME syndrome". The facilitator for our table lead a discussion about how important the way we dress portrays our "IT" factor. I was probably one of the oldest at our table of 8, but as I listed to these 20-30 somethings talk about how to dress "two levels up" of where you want to be, how to rub shoulders with the "important" people in your company, and how to present yourself to get ahead and stand out above your peers. I do agree, how you present yourself at work is important, and that you should always look your best, but nothing beats working hard and being a trustworthy employee. I know I do not have the most contemporary, or nicest wardrobe, I may not rub elbows with the "important - elite" of my coporation, but I did not get where I am today by "butt kissing" or spending big $$$ on my wardrobe. I achieved where I am by working hard, being honest, and truly caring about my co-workers. Its not about ME, but what I can do to make my office and mmpc successful. Its all about our patients, and care and customer service they receive. As I listened to the conversation around me, I admit I could be more confident in my appearance, and I strive to do that, but to me, at the end of the day what counts is not how high I have climbed that ladder, but that I gave my best and cared about those around me.

Crazy Busy Life!

I just got back from a brisk morning walk - 50 degrees out at 6:00am, but the cold air felt good. My life at work is so busy. My supervisor had her baby, a beautiful, healthy baby girl named Gray. I am so happy that mom and baby are doing well. Lauren will not be back to work until August 3rd... its going to be a LONG summer for sure! I am rather stressed at work right now, which is not good. I do love my job, and can't imagine myself doing anything else. My other supervisor has been doing a great job helping me... but she still has to do her job as an echo tech, and I am really feeling stretched right now. We have our next phase of Epic coming - and I'm not sure we are ready, or if the Epic team is even ready for this to happen. On top of everything, we are having issues with the Radiant portion of our EMR - between transcription issues, charges not dropping or going to the insurance properly, and just taking care of the many, many day to day issues that come across a manager's desk... its enough to make a grown woman cry. I worked 12 hours yesterday, but plan to leave by 3:30 today. Thank goodness for the weekends. But... enough bellyaching about my job.. I have one, which in this day and age, is a good thing. I am very thankful for everything I have, and I never take my job for granted. Hopefully next week will be a better week.

Its been awhile!

Boy... its been awhile since I posted anything on my blog. Guess my life has been very busy... not much exciting has been happening in my life other than work. So, I have not been to the Y for almost a month. The week before vacation was crazy busy, then we were gone a week, the week after we got back Gordie was in LA, so I had to get home to let our dog out, and this past week was crazy busy again with meetings every night. My clerical supervisor is almost ready to have her baby, and me getting to the gym AFTER work is getting to be ridiculous, so I spent the money and joined a gym near my house. As a matter of fact, I can walk there it is so close. I had my first workout this morning at 6:00am. I am very excited about this. I really want to get in shape.... lose weight and feel fabulous.... but working out after working 10-11 hour days, in the summertime.... well lets just say, I doubt I was going to be able to stick with it. I can easily go in a little later in the morning, unless I have early morning meetings - which do happen at least once a week, but for the most part - I can work out at 6:00, come home shower, eat some breakfast, and still get to work by around 8:30ish. So here we go again. One of these days I will get it right!

There's no place like home!

I love my home! Its fun to go away, but its always so nice to come home too. Katie picked us up at the airport this afternoon and when we pulled into our driveway said she had a surprise for me... she had my VW Beetle detailed while I was gone. There is sat with the top down, all shinny and clean in the sun. Of course vacations are more fun when you don't get sick... but regardless, there is just something about coming home to what is yours, what is comfortable, and to people and animals that love you. Gordie has to leave tomorrow morning for LA. I am somewhat jealous as I would love to spend a week in sunny warm LA, but I am also glad to be home, and back in my own bed. This week will go by really fast, and I know that Gordie will be saying the same thing in another week... Its so good to be home!

Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun????

I am currently on vacation... sort of. Actually I am accompanying my husband on a business trip to Atlantic City. He has a two day conference that we decided to make into a week trip. Two cities to explore... we flew into Philadelphia, spent some time there seeing the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, historic Philadelphia, etc. We then drove to our Marriott Villa resort in Atlantic City. Our villa is huge - 2 big bedrooms, two big bathrooms, a jacuzzi built for two (something I know now we should have avoided), two pools, seems like everything this trip is doubled in size. We were wishing we had brought another couple with us to enjoy this huge villa we had to ourselves. We pretty much decided we would not even use the 2nd bathroom or bedroom so the cleaning staff would not have to clean both rooms.

Well, we had a great day on Saturday. The weather is amazing - record highs for this time of year, and the next four days promise to be the same. Gordie's conference didn't start until Tuesday - so when we went to bed on Saturday night - we had lots of plans for the next few days. Middle of the night Saturday night - Gordie woke me up... he did not feel well... next thing I know... he is in the bathroom throwing up... over and over and over. Not good! Sunday we spent in our room - he felt terrible. I turn on the TV and the headlines of the day... Swine Flu outbreak! Every channel we turn to, that seems to be all anyone wants to talk about. When you have the flu... you don't want to think about other people being sick, food, or especially... swine! Monday Gordie felt alot better... enough that we drove into Atlantic City and got to walk on the boardwalk, see the ocean, look at some of the shops, etc.. really cool place to visit. I could tell Gordie was fading fast, so we only spent a few hours and headed back to the resort. Gordie was feeling bad again. His diarrhea will just not leave him, and the nausea is back. Poor guy. He decided to sleep, so I decided to head out to the pool for awhile to at least get some sun. I came back an hour later, he is still feeling pretty bad. I made a bowl of soup and watched some TV... still feeling pretty good, just sorry that my husband was so sick. We decided to just go to bed when I started feeling a little queasy. I wasn't sure if it was what I ate, being around a sick person, or all of this talk about the swine flu. I was SURE I was going to be fine. I tried to convince myself all the way to the bathroom as I was getting ready to throw up that this stomachache would pass quickly. Well it passed alright... I started vomiting around 10:00pm and continued to vomit until 5:00am. I moved myself into the 2nd bedroom and bathroom. Now I am thinking I am so glad we didn't have another couple with us, and was really wishing we had not enjoyed that 2 person Jacuzzi! I cannot remember ever throwing up so many times in a row... and then of course... the diarrhea, that is a treat as well. I am thinking about asking for a refund on my flu shot I received last fall! So Tuesday was spent basically in bed all day. Feverish... cannot get warm... at least the vomiting had stopped. Today is Wednesday. I am feeling better finally, but afraid to eat or drink anything in fear it may come back up again. I did have a popsickle which tasted good and seems to agree with my stomach.

Gordie and I share and do everything together ... why should sharing the flu be any different? Was it the swine flu? I have no idea. We never went to the doctor to have it checked out. We do know that on the plane from Ohio to Philadelphia the person sitting behind us was sneezing alot. We made a comment to each other then that we hoped they had covered their mouth. Hopefully today will be a better day. The great weather they were having unfortunately has turned to a cold rain, but maybe tomorrow will be better. At least we will have two more days to try to salvage some vacation time before we fly back home. Just the thought of flying is a little scary considering the germs. Gordie leaves on Sunday for LA. He is really not looking forward to that either. Lets hope whatever is out there is not this pandemic flu they are predicting. It certainly is not fun when you are going through it.

Skate the day away!

It was an absolute beautiful day outside today. Our first 80 degree day of the season. Fortunately, Gordie and I had taken the day off to just have a day to relax, clean the house and pack before we leave for our vacation. Of course, such warm weather was too inviting to just stay indoors, so we took off on our scooters to go eat lunch and enjoy the sunshine. We have a new Sonic Drive-In that is going to be opening soon, so we decided to ride the scooters over to see how the Sonic was progressing. As we drove by, we saw several people in bright neon green shirts roller skaing around the drive-in. There was a guy outside taking pictures of them. I assume part of it was a photo op for Sonic, but we also figured the staff were practicing their skating skills so once the Drive-In opens and they have carry a tray of food to a car, they don't dump the food in your lap or wipe out on their skates. Regardless, it was a beautiful sunny day, and what a way to get paid for a day's work... roller skating the day away out in the beautiful warm sunshine. Sure beats sitting in office all day!

Songs and Smells

Have you ever smelled a scent that reminded you of something special, or just brought back a memory... good or bad? A song can be like that too. This week Gordie and I went to hear Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman in concert. We have enjoyed and been blessed by their music for over 25 years. At this concert, they sang alot of their old songs, and just hearing them again... brought back so many memories... old friends, our kids growing up, situations we have faced in our marriage, and I have to tell you... there were many times I fought the tears back. These songs did not conjure up bad memories, but touched at my heartstrings and took me back several years. When Michael sang the song Friends... I remembered Gordie and I sang this song at my graduation from MA school. I remembered our good friends Carl and Cheri Lee who moved to Montana, and dear old friends, Sherry Roscoe and Dick VanEngen who long ago were called to Heaven. I can see Dick and my dad chewing the fat and talking about the trucking and Shell Oil up in Heaven. We are so blessed to have this music in our lives.

Security

We recently had a software upgrade on a product I use at work. The upgrade required I change my password, which I did last week. I had to answer three different security questions. It wasn't just three simple questions though... each question had a drop down box where you could choose several different options. I finally got my password reset, was able to use the application and all was well. I went to log in today, put what I thought was my user name and password, except the two didn't match. I was SURE the password I used was correct, but it would not work, so I e-mailed our administrator to see if she could help. She called me later to tell me that she had reset my password, but while talking to her I realized I had the correct password, but the incorrect user name. However, since she had reset my password, I had to go back through the whole process all over again. Not so easy. Now I have to remember out of the three security questions I had answered last week, which of the options I had actually answered, and since the answers are all case sensitive, try to remember if I used any upper or lower case letters. Bottom line is I tried everything I could think of and nothing worked. I really hate to have to admit to our administrator that I STILL cannot get into this RIDICULOUS system. And just think... once I finally do get it right... in 180 days I will have to change my password again. If I can't remember from last week the questions I answered.... I will never remember 180 days from now. This system is more secure than Fort Knox!

Clean House

If I really want my house cleaned...I invite people over. Its not that my house is usually all that dirty, but its amazing how much cleaning you do when you know others are coming over. We hosted our first small group meeting tonight with friends from our church. We washed windows, cleaned the oven, cleaned the fireplace glass, and even vacuumed out the coat closet. Really... these were just spring cleaning items that we needed to do anyway... but expecting up to 13 people coming to our house, just expedited all of these spring cleaning "to-do" chores. We had a great time tonight, and I am now sitting in my very clean house, and feeling like we really accomplished alot this weekend. I'm sure no one looked in my oven, and I doubt anyone looked at the floor in my coat closet... but I know how clean they are... and that is enough satisfaction for me.

Round 2, Day 1

I am sitting here watching the Biggest Loser and totally inspired by how much weight the contestants have lost, and how great they are looking. I decided at the beginning of the year - this was going to be my year to get healthy. I have lost 20 pounds since the beginning of the year, have been working out and really feeling good. I "fell off the wagon" last week. I allowed myself to eat food in quantities that I should not have eaten, and devoured chocolate and candy in the spirit of the Easter Bunny! But... I am back on track. I went to the gym and feel good about the food I consumed today. I sometimes wish I could go on the Biggest Loser. My weight is coming off, but OH so SLOWLY! Its so much more fun putting weight on that taking it off. Its amazing how much weight the contestants on Biggest Loser have lost in such a short time... but would I be willing to put on spandex shorts, a sports bra and stand on a scale in front of all America to see? Not on your life! So... I will keep plugging away. One of these days I will get there.

Bunco Baby!

Once a month I get together with a group of friends and we play Bunco. Its really just a mindless game but I think that is what makes it so much fun. You can sit there all night and talk and play and you don't have to think about what you are doing... other than remembering what number you are rolling. If you are really lucky and roll a Bunco, you get to wear a crazy hat and score 50 points. We each pay $5.00 and depending on how well, or how badly you do... you hopefully at least win your money back. I didn't win anything tonight, but had a great time. It was well worth the $5.00 I paid to spend a fun night with some amazing women.

BS Thursdays

Its not what you think... its the night of my Bible Study group. We have a delightful group of ladies who meet on Thursday nights who share in each others struggles and blessings. We pray for each other, laugh together, and grow together. Many of us are on Facebook, so its fun to keep up with each other's lives. We are currently doing a study on the Book of Esther. Its always interesting hearing everyone's comments on what we are reading. We all agree women have come a long way since Esther's time, and none of us would want to live the way the women did back then. Anyway... I love each of these women and appreciate the friendships we have made. I will miss BS when we break for the summer!

That was easy!

I love my job, but I have one of those jobs that you can't predict your day. I start my day out thinking that I am going to accomplish certain projects, and then my day ends up going into twenty different directions. Today was one of those days. My day was going great until a meeting notice popped up on my calendar that I had totally forgotten about. Forty Five minutes later I was back in my office with several voice mails, e-mails waiting for me, and a desk that looked like a tornado had hit while I was gone. How my day can get so crazy always amazes me. The next thing I know staff are walking by door telling me to have a good night as they are leaving for the day. I left my office for a few minutes and when I came back, someone had left an easy button on my desk... the red one from Staples that says... "That was Easy" when you press it. I looked up and Lauren, my clerical supervisor was standing there with a smile and said "I thought you might like some help!". Lauren is my lifesaver... she is due to have her first baby May 24, and I am so going to miss her during her maternity leave. Every day that it gets closer to her due date I realize just how much she supports me as a manager. At least I now have an Easy button!

Red Lights!

Some days I swear I get every red light in Grand Rapids! The city is working on Patterson which is the road I take every day to and from work. So, I am forced to drive up the Beltline to 28th Street to get to work. I think I counted once and driving this way I go through something like 15 stoplights. I don't think there are 15 stoplights in Hastings where I grew up. Gordie calls stoplights, "The Equalizer"... all of those people who take off like wild fire as soon as the light turns green and drive 100mph... and usually end up altogether at the next stoplight. Tonight after work, I went to the YMCA to work out. On my way home I was starving, and just wanted to get home... and of course... I took off, drove 100mph... only to be "equalized" at the next stoplight. I was starting to get angry at these stupid red lights, and then looked in rear view mirror... only to find the car I just passed coming to a stop behind me, and had to chuckle. Some things in life are just not worth getting all mad about... and red lights though a huge waste of our time... are one of those.

My Inspiration

Writing seems to run in my family. My mom loved to write poems and stories which were hilarious. My aunt has written many stories about her family, and most recently, my niece Heather started writing in her own blog. I have really loved following Heather's blog. I have learned alot about Heather, and know what a very talented woman she is. I have always thought it would be great to write a book someday, and who knows... maybe one day I will. Heather has inspired me to start my own blog. I may be the only one who ever reads it, but I am going to try it and see where it goes.