Work Weekend

Well, the snow and wind are done - for now. We got about 4 - 5 inches of new snow yesterday and then the wind came up. Just enough to make travel miserable. Leon headed for Curt & Jayne's and what usually takes a little over 3 hours, took 6 1/2 hours. He took off this morning on a flight for Nashville. The weather was fine this morning so his flight should have been on time. He will be back Sunday night. Randi worked last night and Travis had a difficult time getting home, so I kept the kids overnight. Logan actually slept all night!!!!! I took them to daycare this morning and then picked them up after work. Travis came after work tonight and blew out the driveway. What a sweet thing for him to do. So after he was done we all went out for supper. We had perhaps the worst waitress EVER!!! Anyway, after I got home, I started working on the kitchen again. I taped and mudded for 2 hours. Tomorrow it should be dry so I can do some sanding and then paint. Hopefully the cabinets are delivered in the next couple of days. But, they aren't going to put the cabinets in until the new window is installed. The window is not installed yet, but it must have come in at the lumber yard because I got the bill for it already!! Well, I really tired, so I better go to bed.

Winter Storm

Not much going on right now, but we have a winter storm warning for this area for today. It is starting to sleet in Sioux Falls right now, but nothing here yet. By the time the system gets through here we could have 8" of new snow. It all depends on how much comes as sleet and freezing rain and how much comes as snow. The worst part of it is that Leon is suppose to head to Mpls this afternoon. He is going to stay with Curt & Jayne tonight and then fly out to Nashville early in the morning. They have their trade fair there this year. I think he should head out early today so that he makes it up there. The system is suppose to be out of here by 10:00 so the flight tomorrow should be fine. I also told Randi to pack extra clothes for the kids. Just in case Travis doesn't get home after work tonight, I can get the kids from daycare and keep them overnight and then back to daycare in the morning.

New Work Week

Once again the weekend has flown by. Most of the weekend was spent working on the kitchen. We put a new electrical box in along with a new box for a light. Then filled in some nail holes and did a ton of sanding. My shoulders can really tell it today. Yesterday we had to go to Marshall for some things we can't find in Slayton. It was nice just to sit in the car for a little while and get out of town. When we got back I was refreshed and ready to get back to the project. It wasn't all work though. Friday night we went to the basketball game and Saturday we went to the 50th birthday party of one of the guys on the fire department. Now today it will be back to work! Ho hum!!!!!

Good to be Home

I feels good to be home. On Wednesday afternoon myself and 2 co-workers from the Fulda office headed to Mpls for classes. The classes were on a new update that is going on our processing program at work. A lot of it was over my head. They talked about setting up specs for different capaabilities. Since I am not the person in our group that sets up or changes specs, I didn't understand some of it. We also learned a bunch of changes coming for the deposit side and the loan side. That stuff I did understand. The thing is, this update isn't going on until about the 18th of April. Plenty of time for me to forget everything I learned. We got home last night about 7:30. Just in time to watch Grey's Anatomy!!!!

I did very well with my diet while I was gone. I ate green salads and chicken and stuff like that. Believe it or not, they had cheesecake for desert at lunch yesterday and I passed it up! I weighed in before I left on Wednesday and I only lost 1 pound last week. I guess I was hoping for more, but I should be happy that I lost weight and didn't gain.

Well, I better go get ready for work!!!!:(

A time to tear down

Well, it was a day of destruction. I worked the morning shift at work. Since it is President's day, we only have the drive up open and 2 of us split the day. We each work 4 hours. Once I got home Randi was here to help me and we started emptying the kitchen cupboards. All of the uppers were empty and only one of the lower ones still had stuff in them. As soon as Leon and Travis got here, we started tearing down the uppers. They are all out. YIPEEEEE!!!!! We are not going to take the bottom ones out until the new ones come in. I don't want to be without a kitchen sink for any longer than I have to be. I am exhausted tonight, but it is a good feeling. Hopefully by this time next week I will be putting the new ones in.

Valentine's Day Weekend

What a great weekend. Yesterday I spent cleaning house, doing laundry and grocery shopping. Instead of going out for a Valentine Supper, we grilled steaks here at home. Pretty good to be grilling in February in Minnesota. They turned out great! It was a very relaxing day. Then today we went to church (we picked up Lauren from Sunday School, Leon had to sing in choir and I was one of the communion assistants). We left for Sioux Falls right after church and met Travis and Randi at Menards. I got my new kitchen cabinets ordered as well as the patio pavers for the new patio! I can't believe I talked Leon into getting both!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whoot. Now I just have to wait for them to be delivered. Anyway, as soon as we were done with that we headed to Brookings to see Denver. We all went out to eat together and celebrated his birthday. I had 2 beers with supper and we had birthday cake afterwards. Yipes. That isn't so good for the ole' diet!!!! I am going to have to work out twice as hard tomorrow. That is okay, it was worth it.

Denver is 30 Today

A nice end to the week. It was fairly busy at work today, but not so busy that we couldn't take a breath now and then. Then tonight we went out for supper with friends. I love it when I don't have to cook! I can't believe Denver is 30 years old today! Boy does that make me feel old! We are going to up to Brookings on Sunday to have supper with him and maybe his new girlfriend. Another meal I don't have to cook! I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow will be the regular Saturday stuff - grocery shopping, cleaning vacuming, etc. I don't mind cleaning, I just wish I had more time to do other things as well on Saturdays. Oh well!

Another Hectic Day

Wow what a hectic couple of days we have had. Yesterday we received another list of compromised debit cards. The difference this time is that there were hundreds of cards on the list! We (the 3 of us in the office) spent all day calling all of the card holders to explain the situation and get permission to status those cards and re-order new cards. It was a horrible day. We got in touch with a majority of the customers yesterday. Those that we didn't get in touch with, we left a message to call the office. Most of them called back today. There are 12 people left to talk to. Then came the big job of statusing the compromised cards and ordering new ones. I was exhausted when I left work today. Then tonight I had Lifestyle Management class. I actually looked forward to that class. I have only had 2 classes, but I have learned so much. This week we started learning about super foods. The first super food is beans. It can be kidney beans, baked beans, green beens - what ever. Beans are high in protien, but more important, high in fiber. Also whole grains - whole grain bread, cereal, crackers, pasta - anything that is whole grain. Most foods that are whole grain are high in fiber. We need to have about 25 grams of fiber per day to keep our digestive system working the way it should be. I guess the nest shopping trip I take will be looking at lables for whole grain and fiber. The best news of all though was our weigh in - I have lost 5.5 pounds in the last 2 weeks. I know it doesn't sound like much, but it is a start and I need it so bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And even better yet - tomorrow is Friday. YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Humm, it is Tuesday and nothing noteworthy to talk about. The weather is pretty nice. We got rain last night, but it did not freeze so all it did was get rid of some of the snow pack. We have auditors at work (they come every year) so we are busy getting stuff for them all day long. Our carpenter was her tonight with the final plans for the new kitchen cabinets. I am pretty excited about that. I will be more excited when the cabinets are actually ordered and get here. He said it will take about 3 weeks after they are ordered before they get delivered. Then I will be excited!!!!!!! Leon is at the basketball game so I have a short time do laundry and get ready for tomorrow's workday. I always figure out what I am going to wear and get it ironed or what ever needs to be done. That way I am not rushed in the morning. I go work out at 5:15, get home at 6:00, then shower, read my emails, do my hair, eat breakfast and take the kids to daycare so that I am to work shortly after 7:30. Hummm, makes me tired just thinking about it.

Another Weekend Ends

I can't believe how fast the weekends go by. It seems like I just left work a couple of hours ago, and now I am planning what to wear to work tomorrow. Yesterday was so nice. Leon had to work in the morning and he spent the afternoon down at the fire hall changing oil on the fire trucks. That gave me most of the day to myself. I really enjoy time to myself as I don't get that much of it. I love just rambling around the house getting laundry and cleaning done all by myself. Last night I cranked up the fire place and we sat in the basement and watched TV after supper. That was nice and relaxing as well. Today we had a baked potato diner at church after the service was over. I helped with the clean up. It wasn't too bad. We served about 150 people, but we used paper plates and stuff so we only really had serving bowls, roasters and coffee pots to wash and then clean tables etc. I was home by 1:15. This afternoon we decided that we would head to Marshall and do a little shopping. I have not been out of town for many weeks so it was nice just to get out of town. We bought a few thing that we cannot get in town. Then we ate at Arby's on the way home. Once again I did not have to cook! YIPEEE!!! And now that I am home, I am feeling sad that I have to go back to work tomorrow. I wish banking wasn't such a stressful occupation. :( Oh well, I think I need a glass of wine to help me sleep!!

Let the weekend begin!

Well, I finally got the taxes done. It really wasn't a big job as we don't have enough expenses to itemize. It is just a matter of working through all of the little worksheets they have for you to do before you can get to the end. Anyhoo, we won't be getting much back, but that is okay. At least we don't have to pay in either. I went to weigh in yesterday for my Lifestyle Management class. I am so excited. I have lost another 3 pounds!!! I have to keep up this momentum. I have been working out every morning and really watching what I eat. I have to journal everything - "you bite it, you write it". I don't want to go to the next meeting with my journal saying that I ate a whole pizza or anything. There are 8 other people in the class and I hope I am keeping up with what they are doing. I won't know until next Thursday. Tonight we went to the boys basketball game. They were celebrating the 50th anniversary of the "New" gymn. One of the fellows who played on the team that year got a big thing together and they had members of the basketball teams from 1957 to 1963 there. They made a pretty big deal out of it. It was pretty fun! Then since First National Bank is a sponsor of the basketball programs I helped with the flag presentation. They have this huge flag that is 8' by 16' that they use at special games. All of the business who support the athletic teams were invited to have someone help with the flag. There were about 25 of us who helped. that was very emotional. Plus the MCC Chamber Choir sang the national anthem acapella. WOW! That was so impressive. Now I am relaxing with a glass of wine. My favorite!!!! Yummmmm, it is heart healthy - plus it really helps me sleep. I might even have another.

Mid week break!

Well, it is Wednesday - half way through the work week. And the best part is that I have the day off. Lauren has her first dentist appointment today so I am going to watch Logan when Lauren and Randi go see Dr. Platz. This afternoon the kids may nap here when Randi gets the oil changed on her car. That will be nice as well. After that I start the big job of doing our taxes. I shouldn't say "big job" because we don't have that much. We don't have enough to itemize so we just do the 1040A form. After the 1040A is done, it is a breeze to do the state forms. I don't understand something though. We both claim "0" dependents all year long. When it comes to tax time, we still end up paying more federal taxes. It doesn't make sense to me. Anyway, I should be able to get all of the taxes done today. That will be a good feeling. Once that is done I have vowed to start my attic clean out project. Every week I will fill our little dumpster to the top. I am in the mood to purge - part of the "simplify my life" new year's resolutions. When I am done with that, I hope the carpenter is ready to tear into my kitchen. I hope that having my kitchen done will be the thing that brings me out of this overwhelming feeling of . . . .

Post Super Bowl

Yesterday was a fun day. Had our friends over for Super Bowl as well as Travis and the kids. Randi had to work. Of course I was cheering for the Cardinals since they were the underdogs. They almost pulled it out in the end!!!!! At least it was a close game. So many of the Super Bowl games are blow outs. And wearing the 3-D glasses for the half time commercials was pretty fun as well. And now for the all important update on the diet. I actually didn't do too bad on the diet. I had 3 light beers, and a few muchies. I didn't eat any supper so I got to have those calories for munchies. I had a lot of raw veggies so that helps. I thought I might really blow it, but because I knew I had to write everything in the journal, I didn't eat nearly as much. I also did very well on the diet today. The down side of today is that I started working on our taxes. Not fun!!!!!! I think I have the federal form done - for the most part. Tomorrow I will have to do the state! :(