A Time of Thanks

In this season of Thanksgiving I have been thinking about all I have to be thankful for. First and foremost I am thankful for my family. I have a husband who loves me and 2 fabulous children. Both of the children have married wonderful, loving, caring people. I also have 2 wonderful grandchildren who are the absolute love of my life! Then there is our extended family. There are so many families that don't get along, but this family is so incredibly close. They love me unconditionally for who I am and not what I am.

I also have good health. Over the years I have heard the quote "well, at least you have your health". It means more to me every year. Every time I hear about someone who has been diagnosed with a disease or has had a heart attack or stroke, I think about how lucky I am to be healthy.

I am so thankful for my friends. They are always there for me - to pick me up when I am down and celebrate with me when I do well. they always bring me back to center.I have the best friends and I love them!

There are also many other "things" in my life that I am thankful for . . . . . . a good job, a warm, cozy house, food on the table and clothes on my back. Some days we overlook all of these blessings. We tend to focus on the things we don't have or what ever is going on in our life that test us or don't go the way we think it should.

God has been so good to me. I give him all of the credit. I am sooooo blessed!

Another Day Off

Today is the last day of my days off. It makes me sad. I have gotten a lot done, but not everything I wanted to do. I could really get used to this being at home thing. If it weren't for the little issue of needing the income. It's not that I hate my job neccessarily, I am just tired of the drama and stress of my job. Banking is a very stressful profession.

I love being cacooned here in my little house. (Sometimes I wonder if I am a little "agoraphobic") But it makes me feel safe and happy. All of my "stuff" is around me. When I see other people's large beautiful homes, I feel a little jealous. I have thoughts like "why can't I afford a house like that"? Then I remember - it is just a house. I have everything I need here. Plus our kids live close and that is probably the most important thing.

Anyway, I have to remember my 6 year plan. If I work 6 more years, I will be able to access my 401k plan for income, the house will be paid off, we will likely buy a different car and that will also be paid off. The only issue at that point will be insurance. If we go with a high deductible policy, I think we could make it until I/we are eligible for medicare. It will all depend on what happens with the markets. Right now I am bullish on the markets going forward so I am quite aggressive with my 401k plan.

Okay, back to enjoying my last day off. My quilting is calling me.

Another Day Another Dollar

Oh, what a day. Today I took the VIP group to Larchwood Iowa to the new casino. It was a nice day and a nice trip. It was also my last official trip in control of the VIP Club. It was both a great feeling and a little nastalgia. I have done VIP Club for 14 years. I have been feeling very burned out after that amount of time. I felt like it was time for young blood with new ideas.

When I got back to the office I had a meeting with my boss and his boss. It wasn't a bad meeting. More like a plan for the new year. What ever responsibilities I got rid of with VIP Club, just got added more on to it - only in a different way. Now I have to figure out how to accomplish this new responsibility. It really wasn't a promotion - not really anyway. More of a lateral move with a little upward momentum.

I also have to figure out how to get 10 more vacation days in before the end of the year. I can take a few days next week, but then the following week is crazy busy. And I know that any time I take time back, it takes me days to get caught up again. For the most part nobody does my stuff when I am gone, I just do it when I get back. I am looking really forward to some days off though. Maybe I can some of those things done that didn't get done on my last couple of days off.

Back to Work

Well, my days of being on vacation are done. I got a lot done while I was at home though. The fridge and freezer are clean and organized. The closet in our bedroom is clean and organized - I purged a lot of old clothes I haven't worn for awhile. I got bathrooms cleaned, floors scrubbed and laundry caught up on. I even found time to make Lauren a Halloween costume! It was very healing just to be away from the office for awhile.

It was back to work this morning. I was a little stressed about getting caught up again, and then my boss called in sick! More stress! I will probably be there late today trying to get the essential things caught up on as I will be gone again tomorrow. This time I will be at an all day meeting out of town. Always something!!!!!

A Little Less Stress

Well, the Deadwood trip is done. It went very well!!!! Many of the comment sheets have come back and it appears everyone had a great time. That makes me feel like all the stress was worth it. I went back to work for one day - today. i tried to get caught up on the piles on my desk and the 50 emails that were waiting for me. I think after 11 hours I got most of it done. Now I have 4 days off. Ahhhhhh it feels good. I am going to clean house, organize closets, clean out the freezer and few other wonderfully exciting things. It will be great just to get away from the office for awhile. Actually I am rather excited about cleaning and reorganizing! Imagine that!! I just feel like I don't have enough time at home. so now when I do have time at home, I am really going to relish it.

LIfe is Stressful

This time of the year is very stressful. Management likes to have us do everything this time of year. Performance reviews were due to management yesterday for review before we do them with the staff. Our tactical plan is also due right now. It is the end of the quarter so all of my monthly and quarterly reports are due by Wednesday. And to top it off, the VIP Club person in Fulda scheduled our travel show for Tuesday and then decided to schedule her doctor's appointment for that day. I am suppose to handle it for her. I am not even suppose to be a VIP Club rep anymore!!! Well, the performance reviews are done, the tactical plan is nearly done, and I have some of the work done on my reports. Calgon take me away!!!!! I will be so glad when next week is over. I don't like to wish my life away, but when I am under a lot of stress like this, I don't sleep at night. Last night I slept okay until about 2:30 - then I was wide awake! I end up coming out and laying on the couch and watching TV until I can turn my brain off. Well, after Wednesday I should be able to sleep. Then the week after that I have to take the VIP group out to Deadwood. I wasn't suppose to have to do this trip, but the person we hired to take over VIP Club quit already! We just hired someone new, but she just started, so it isn't fair to send her out on a 4 day trip right now.

Speaking of performance reviews, I wonder how mine will turn out. I am curious as to what they are going to say on mine. I'm not nervous, just curious. I have worked my a@@ off since the merger nearly 2 years ago. I hope they recognize how hard I have worked since then! Oh well . . .

After the Deadwood trip I finally get to take some time off. I get back from Deadwood on a Friday, work Saturday and Monday then I am taking 4 days off. I have so much planned for that time off. Cleaning, purging, etc. I hope I can get it all done. I probably won't though. I will probably do stuff with friends and the grandbabies. I guess that is more important anyway. Cleaning house etc can wait. Counting the days until I can sleep.

I think my SAD is kicking in again. The last 2 days have been very cloudy and cool. So today I am feeling kind of down and depressed. It might be a reaction to everything going on around here. This past week has been a blur. Work has been just crazy busy. Trying to get the strategic plan for 2012 done, getting performance reviews done, had 2 days of continuing education and getting ready for an audit. The only thing left is the audit. Whew!!!!! I feel better that most of that stuff is behind me. Once the audit is done, then I have to focus on the Deadwood trip and the casino trip for the VIP club. I wasn't suppose to be doing VIP Club, but the person we hired to take my place with VIP club decided to go back to her old job. So that means VIP Club is back in my lap again. At least until we get someone else up to speed.

We have also been busy outside. It froze on Wednesday night so we decided to clean out most of the garden and cut down the peonies, rhubarb and asparagus. It took most of the afternoon to get that all done. I can't say I am sorry that we got the garden cleaned out. I am so tired of eating beans!!!!!! I am also tired of canning vegetables!!!! They will be very tasty this winter however.

Now I need to get busy quilting. I am still working on the wedding quilt! I hope to get it done this winter. Maybe I can give it to them for their 2nd anniversary!!!!!

Well, I better get the house cleaned. It is a real pit right now. Yipes.

Where did summer go?

I can't believe this weekend it Labor Day weekend already! Where did the summer go? I do love fall, but not so much winter. At least I don't like winters like we had the last 2 years. It does make me appreciate spring and summer though.

I am ready to be done in my garden. I have frozen lots of green beans and corn. I have also canned lots and lots of tomatoes. I have chopped tons of peppers and onions. Now I think it is time to be done. But it will taste wonderful this winter.

The thing I will miss most when summer is over is sitting out on the patio and sitting out by the fire pit. Nothing better than having an adult beverage out on the patio on a Friday or Saturday night.

But with fall comes football. I love going to the high school football games. There is such a sense of excitement, even when it is cold out. It won't be so bad after all.

A great Day Off

The past three weeks have been a blurrrrrrrr. Between catching up on my work and hiring a new employee I have been putting in a lot of hours at the bank. I am still not caught up! I haven't been feeling very well either. I've had a back ache, a headache and feel just yucky! This has been going on for about 2 weeks. I finally went to the doctor yesterdayand I have a bladder infection. I kind of suspected something like that. I originally thought kidney infection because of the backache, but it was just a bladder infection/UTI. Hope I feel better soon. It is even affecting my work. I have been making minor mistakes lately and I hate that.

Today I had the day off. It was fabulous. I slept in until 8:00 and just putzed for awhile. Then I called a friend and we went to Marshall. We had lunch there and hit most of the stores in town looking for a "mother of the groom" small silver purse for another friend. It was a lot of fun. When we got back we went to water aerobics. That was great. I can't get to it most of the time because it starts at 5:15 and I generally don't get home from work until 5:30. :(

Tonight I took all of my tomatoes and skinned them. Tomorrow Randi and I are going to be canning some tomato sauce. That will be delicious this winter!!!!!!!

Weekend

The week is finally over. It was a really long week. Getting back into the swing of things took a couple of days. It was really hectic at work too. Besides everything else I am trying to hire a new teller so I had to do interviews this week.

I think the house is back to normal after Kruse-a-palooza. I have cleaned and scrubbed and washed sheets and put them back on the beds an put away an array of stray things. Now I need to get out in the gardens and weed and pick beans. Maybe tomorrow morning and Sunday. It seems very quiet around here now! I miss everyone so much. On the other hand my brother from Vegas is here now. My nephew gets married tomorrow so he came home for the wedding. That should be a good time tomorrow at the wedding. The reception is at a very swanky place in Marshall.

And now I think it is time for a beverage or two!

4th of July

Well, we are coming to the end of a great weekend. Friday we spent just cleaning house and doing laundry and the boring things that have to be done. Saturday we go up and headed to Marshall to get a few things we can't get here in town. I haven't been out of town shopping in months so it felt really good. Leon is not a good shopper, but he made the best of it. Saturday night Bryan came over and we grilled steaks for supper and sat around the fire pit with a few adult beverages. It was great. We hadn't seen Bryan for quite awhile. Sunday we had church then Travis and the kids stopped for lunch afterward. We grilled hot dogs and the kids loved it. Later in the afternoon a few of our friends came over and again we grilled and had a picnic. Then sat around the fire pit and talked smart. We laughed so hard it brough tears to my eyes!!!! It was so much fun. Today we just putzed. After lunch Leon worked on cleaning out his "man shed" and I weeded gardens. Doesn't seem like much, but it is great therapy for me to just be home doing things I don't have time to do during the week. And now that great weekend is coming to an end. It is sad in a way because I have to go back to work. But on the other hand, we are that much closer to the start of Kruse-a-palooza . . . . . . . . :)

Minnesota Summer

It has been quite a week here. Monday and Tuesday the temps topped 100 degrees. Wednesday and Thursday were cold and rainy. Friday and today were beautiful. I had to work this morning, but when I got home I sure enjoyed the weather. We got the bandwagon out and washed it up since we have a parade next weekend. Then while Leon washed the vehicles, I cleaned house. Then it was time to sit on the patio and enjoy an adult beverage. Yummmm. Tomorrow it will be back outside to weed the gardens. I really don't mind weeding. I like having a reason to be outside. It is those little black gnats that are driving me crazy. They fly in your nose and eyes and even your mouth if it is open. They are really bad this year.

Randi and Travis have settled into there house. We have not been there for a couple of weeks, but the painting is done and most of the boxes were unpacked and things put away. They also had a good start on the deferred maintenance that needed to be done. There are still a few things that need some attention, but now they can take their time.

We haven't seen Denver and Danielle for a couple of weeks either. They have been busy with house warmings and weddings and things like that. Maybe they will come home next weekend for Father's Day. I hope so.

Well, back outside to enjoy some Minnesota Summer!!!!

A Quiet House

Well, after much hoopla, Randi and Travis were able to close on their house last Friday - the 29th. Saturday and Sunday we spent painting, stripping wallpaper and cleaning. Monday after work we went back over there and scrubbed the bathrooms. Tuesday the moving van came with all of their posessions, so after work we headed over there again to help them unpack the boxes. We found the things they needed to make the beds, take showers and eat meals. That was only the beginning so we headed over again after work on Wednesday to help unpack more boxes. Boy they have a lot of stuff. But then they have a very big house - 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2 full kitchens and lots of living space. It is huge!!!!! You know I really like my little house - well at least most of the time. But I can't help but be a little jealous of their house. Our whole house could fit in their basement. Oh well. . . . . .

Now for me I need to start cleaning. It was very hard to clean when we had all of their stuff packed in our house. We still have a lot of their stuff here, but they are gradually getting it out. As they bring things to their house, I clean. This house needs to be cleaned so badly!!!!!!! We also need to get the lawn mowed, the garden tilled and sticks picked up (we have had a few days of high winds that blew some branches down). So much to do, so little time!!!!

Spring Ha Sprung

Wow, what a beautiful day. The high was around 70 and the sun was out. the snow is completely gone and the grass is turning green. I did a "crop tour" when I got home from work today and it looks like the perennials are all popping. Work is the same. It is IRA season so I have been very busy opening IRA's. Between that and everyone taking days off, I still can't get caught up. I have to schedule my continuing education plus my proctor testing. It's always something!!! Randi and Travis are getting very close to closing on their house. The loan is at the underwriters right now so they should know in a day or so when they can close. Right now the tenative date for closing is April 29th. I know they are anxious to get into their own place. It has to be hard living here in this small house. We got Millies apartment pretty much cleaned out. Boy there was more stuff in that apartment than I thought. Anything that we thought should stay in the family is going to be stored until Kruse-a-palooza and everyone can check them out. We threw some stuff away and brought some food to the food shelf. Some of the furniture is being given to the college kids. I had the "pleasure" of cleaning the bathroom. EEEeeewwwww!!!!!!!! I don't even like cleaning my own bathroom let alone someone else's.

Wow, I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since I have blogged. Life sure is fast paced around here. Between getting kids to school and daycare, work, meals and laundry, every day is just a blurr. It is working well with Randi, Travis and the kids here though. At least I think so. The kids have run in to a glitch with the sale of the house in Michigan which could affect the purchase of the house here. Yipes, it's always something. For us it just means they could be staying with us until maybe the end of May. To add to that, we have been dealing with Millie and her stay at the nursing home. She has finally agreed that it is best for her to stay at the nursing home and not try to go back to her apartment. I totally understand that she would like to be in her own space, but it is just not good. Now the task is to empty and clean her apartment. I think if we all go down there we can get it done in a weekend.

Work is an all together different story. I am very frustrated right now. I kind of feel caught between different members of the management team. some of them have different ideas of how things should be done. It seems I can't please "both sides of the fence". I just feel this weight of so many demands on me and my time. Some days I think I am going to explode!!!!

Weather is good. The snow is melting and I can actually see some grass. The weatherman is talking about a little more snow tonight and perhaps Tuesday, but nothing major. I guess spring is on the way!

Busy, busy, busy

Things continue to go well with Randi (and sometimes Travis) and the kids living here. It is very busy around here, but everything is working. Not a lot of room for their stuff, but we make do. Lauren has started kindergarten connection and both kids go to ECFE. Randi has started work at the hospital in Marshall.

The issues with Mildred have made life interesting however. The physical therapist at the nursing home said she was able to go home, so last Friday they moved her back to apartment. It was not a good idea. On Saturday we checked onher and she couldn't even get herself up out of bed. Randi got her up and dressed and to the bathroom, then got her pills and breakfast and to her recliner. Later we brought her lunch. She was not able to get to a standing position even from her lift chair. So we got her up and to the table to eat. Later we went to check on her again. She was again not able to get up so I got her up and to the bathroom. what a mess! To make a long story short, we had to go over there 3 or 4 times a day to get up and fed and to the bathroom. she has relented and is going back to the nursing home today. I am so glad. Was so afraid she was going to fall or something and get hurt again.

Work is going fine. We got a new person hired to replace an employee who is retiring. I think the new person will be a great addition. I do need to get caught up on some projects though. Whew! Management has piled lots of projects on us at one time.

Well, keep an eye on the weather! Another storm front coming through next week. :(

Melting and More

Well, the weather has made a turn for the better. We have had several days of sunny warm weather so a lot of the snow has melted. Now, When I say a lot, I don't mean the snow is almost gone. I mean the snowbanks have gone from 6 feet tall to 5 feet tall. We have a long way to go. I really hope it doesn't melt too fast though. We could see a lot of flooding if it does. This weekend we are supposed to get more snow as well. This time they are predicting 6 inches of heavy wet snow that will start as rain. Hummmm!!! The bright sunny days have had another side affect. It is helping me with my depression. The more sun we have, the better I feel. I can tell that with my customers too. Everyone is just in a better mood. I sure hope we have an early spring.

We seem to have settled into a routine with the kids here. Lauren started Kindergarden Connection and both kids go to ECFE. Randi and Travis have done some house hunting. They can't do too much though until the house in Michigan get's sold. The realtor showed their house a couple of days ago but they haven't heard anything from that yet. Randi will start working at the hospital in a couple of weeks so that will be another adjustment for all of us. Getting kids to daycare and school before I go to work could be challenging. We will see how it goes.

Snow . . . . Snow . . . . . Snow . . . .

Okay, so enough snow already. We have had another 11 - 12 inches in the past 2 days. There is just no more room for it. The snowbanks are so big that it is hard to back out of the garage. You have to go very slowly because you cannot see any traffic coming from either direction. Now tonight we are suppose to have gusty winds and bitter cold. This will put all the snow right back where we just blew it out of. We are also expecting -40 wind chills tonight. Yuck! Today we worked with only the people who live in town, and I expect we will tomorrow too. I am always amazed though. No matter how bad the weather is, it seems like everyone wants to come to the bank. I am not going anywhere tonight in this weather though. I will stay home and get laundry done and clean the house. Then I need to start on our taxes. I want to be done with the taxes by the time Randi and the kids get here on Saturday. I will be busy enough after that. I hope I have everything I need to get started!

Biggest Loser

Whew - I think I am done cleaning the house. I haven't done such an intense cleaning job in a long time. I even cleaned the laundry room in the basement. I feel so much better!!!! All of the bedding is clean and I cleaned the refrigerators. I steam cleaned the floors, vacuumed and scrubbed toilets. I guess the only thing I didn't do was wash down walls. Now I am tired. It has been too cold out at 5:00 in the morning to go work out so this was good exercise for me. Next week I start the Biggest Loser so I needed a little jump start. I am actually excited to start the Biggest Loser. It gives me responsibility and reportability to my weight loss. It should be fun as well. If I could get a few more people on my team it would be even more fun.

Travis is on his way here right now. He has a pickup load of stuff to leave with us. Then tomorrow he is going to be heading to Omaha so he can start his new job first thing Monday morning. I am very excited for him. I hope it all works out.

A New Year

Well, we are more than a week into the new year. I am doing pretty well with my "resolutions". I have done well with my meals and eating. I am also coming right along with my faith walk and becoming a better person. It is just baby steps, but at least I am gettting some where. Work is going better. Things are changing - for the better I hope. The lack of sunlight is definately affecting me though. I tend to get down very easily this time of year when the daylight is so limited.

Randi and the kids are preparing to move in with us. They will be here around the 5th of February. Travis will stay back and try to get the house sold quickly. With his new job, he can work at home. He does have to go to Omaha around the 24th of January for training. On his way to Omaha he is going to be bringing us a pickup load of things that Randi and the kids will need when they are living with us. He may spend a couple of days with us as well. Randi has already gotten a job back at the hospital in Marshall where she worked before they moved. She can start working as soon as she gets here.

All is well with the world - I think.