Once again, I can't believe it has been so long since I last posted.  A lot has happened!  In June Mildred passed away.  It seems like it went very fast!  She was the glue that held the Kruse family together.  We were all together for 5 days to grieve and remember.  It was only about 2 weeks before Kruse-a-palooza so I wasn't sure if everyone would come back for it or not.  Thankfully they all came back.  Kruse-a-palooza is such an important event for me.  In my job I have seen so many families go their separate ways and loose touch with each other.  I have also seen families torn apart.  I sure don't want that to happen.  In the end, family is all you have. 

Anyway, Kruse-a-palooza happened in July.  Nearly everyone was here.  It gets very hard to pull off Kruse-a-palooza as the years go on.  First of all we have a lot of special diets now.  We have a diabetic, a vegitarian, gluten free, peanut allergies, and those that don't eat pork.  That does limit the meals being made.  And there are so many different interests as far what do, so entertaining is getting more difficult as well.  I try to plan a few things, but sometimes it doesn't work.  In the end we all just want to be together and visit anyway.  Love it!

August was a blurr.  So much going on at work.  I went in early and stayed late most of the time.  I was pretty much in survival mode most of the time.  some of the most stressful times since the weeks following our merger. 

Also our daughter whos is 6 months pregnant is have problems.  Her blood pressure is out of control again.  This happened with her first pregnancy as well.  She is on total bed rest.  That is hard when you have 2 little ones at home.  I take the kids when I can and I made up a bunch of meals and froze them.  Then she can just pop something in the oven for a meal.  Along with that the garden produce is all needing to be tended to.  We were able to can our stuff together until the doctor put her on bed rest.  Since then I have canned ours as well as hers.  I think we have canned over 150 pints of salsa, tomato sauce and chili starter.  there will be more as well because the tomatoes are not all done yet.  it will be so tasty this winter!!!!!

And now I have a week of vacation!  Yay!!!!  I had a week earlier, but it was during Kruse-a-palooza.  That time is always spent either cleaning to get ready for Kruse-a-palooza, in the middle of Kruse-a-palooza, or cleaning up when it is done.  This vacation I hope will be for me.  Today I just putzed around.  Took the kids for awhile and did a few odd things around the house.  Tomorrow I am going to start cleaning out the attic spaces.  They have not been cleaned for 20 years.  Who know what I will find in there!!!!!!  Be afraid - be very afraid!!!!!!!

24 Day Challange

Okay, the 24 day challenge is done.  I guess I did pretty well.  So far I have lost 10 pounds.  I know that some of that was just water weight, but I am okay with how well I did.  Today should be a challenge however.  We having some friends over to grill out this afternoon.  I have made healthy foods, but I am not sure what everyone else is bringing.  I know I will be tempted to eat some of the less healthy foods.  I just need to muster up the will power!!!!  I am in this for the long haul so I need to stay focused. 

Day 21

Well, today is day 21.  Things have slowed down.  I have only lost 8 pounds so far.  I guess it is okay, but I am so impatient to lose weight.  I have a little concern about Memorial Day coming up this weekend.  We are having friends over for a picnic so I am a little concerned about eating junk food and drinking beer.  I really need to step it up.

Day 10

Today is the end of day 10.  I am still at a weight loss of 6 pounds.  Not what I was hoping for, but I am okay with it.  I met with the Advocare consultant and I have lost 6 inches.  They don't count pounds lost they count inches lost.  The program stresses healthy eating and fat loss, so that equates to inches not pounds.  Muscle is more dense than fat.  Anyway, tomorrow is the second stage in the program.  There are different things to do for stage 2.  I hope it works. 

Day 8

So, I am starting out on day 8 of my Advocare adventure.  So far my weight loss is 6 pounds.  I am very impatient.  You know, 6 pounds in 7 days is great weight loss.  Generally the rule of thumb is 1 - 2 pounds a week.  So I am ahead of the game I guess.  I am just so excited to be finally losing some weight that I want it to go faster.  I have 3 more days on the first part of the 24 day challenge.  Then on Saturday I go in for my next consultation.  They will measure me and give me instructions for the second part of the challenge.  I am very excited!!!!

Day 6

Well, I am getting to the end of day 6.  So far I have been successful.  I have been involved in the advocare program.  So far nearly 6 days down and I have lost 5 pounds.  YYYYEEESSSSSS!!!!  I know this kind of weight loss won't continue, but it is a good start.  I sure hope I can stay on task. 

Day 2

Okay, day 2 is done.  I am very proud of myself.  I did so well at the fireman's banquet last night.  My willpower was strong.  It helped that I have a friend helping me.  She keeps me strong and in tact.  We will see what today brings.

The beginning

Well I completed one day and I'm more than halfway done with day 2.  I expected it to be a little difficult, and it was a little bit.  I stayed on task however and have made it.  Tonight might be more difficult as we have the fireman's banquet.  My willpower might weaken.  I will post about that again later!

Well, I haven't posted for a very long time.  It has been pretty busy around here, but not with noteworthy stuff.  We went to Brookings to help Denver move the rest of his stuff out his house in Brookings and over to the house in Bruce.  The house is sold!!!!!!!!!  they are down to owning just one house!  We have also started the spring yard work.  We have mowed a few times, cleaned a few of the flower beds, and spaded over the vegetable garden.  We were going to get the veggie garden in this weekend, but it has rained the last few days and it is supposed to rain again tomorrow.  It is wonderful to be outside though.  We have even eaten out onthe patio several times this spring already!  Then this coming week starts band practice.  The first week in June starts the concert series.  I love band, but it does seem to consume a lot my time in the early part of summer. 

Tomorrow I am starting a new schedule.  Perhaps you could say a new chapter in my life.  I am excited to start this new journey.  I hope I am up to it. 

Spring in Minnesota

Wow! We have had beautiful weather the past couple of weeks. This past weekend was unbelievable! We spent the whole weekend outside picking up sticks, spading the garden, washing cars and stuff like that. We even grilled a couple of meals and ate out on the patio. It put everyone is such a good mood - including me. then yesterday and today it cooled off and is kind of rainy. That is good though too. We really need the moisture.

On another note . . . . .hummmm, how do I put this. I take pride in my job and service I provide to my customers. My goal is to always provide "over the top" customer service. Most of the time those customers love it and and it makes me feel so good. But then you have just one customer who makes you feel terrible. Most of the time it is about things I had nothing to do with, but I seem to be the "fireman" in the office. I am the one who puts out the fires that erupt on a daily basis. Well, this week I had one of those customers that made me feel terrible. I haven't slept well, I have cried - you name it. I know I shouldn't take it personally, but sometimes I just can't help it. Some customers make it personal. I try to tell myself they aren't mad at me, they are just mad and taking it out on me. Sometimes, at 3:00 a.m. I can't convince myself.

An Epiphany

This past week I kind of had an epiphany! I have been very stressed at work for the last few years. I wondered if it was time to find a new job. In fact I did send my resume out a couple of times. But this past week, the committee I am on at work "Advertising/Promotion Committee" decided we should check out some up and coming kinds of advertising. There are 8 people on the committee from all over the country and 4 of us went to a seminar in Sioux Falls called "Social Media Marketing 101". It was very, very interesting if not a little overwhelming. There was so much information in that seminar. So much for us to think about! As I drove home from the seminar I did a lot of thinking about how to get the ball rolling for our Senior Management to get on board with this new idea. The next day I visited with 2 of the other people that went to the seminar. When we were done one of the girls said to me "Lorie, I am so glad to have you on this committee, you have such great ideas". It was then that I had the epiphany! This is where my job is going with the bank!!!!!! I was meant to go through a time trial to get to this point. I hope it all works out as I am imagining in my mind. :)

This weekend has gone just as well. I got so much done, including finishing up our taxes. What a great feeling!!! I have tomorrow off. Since I got so much done this weekend, I plan to finish up the quilt I have been working so diligently on! I probably can't go shopping or anything anyway. We are under a Winter Storm Watch for tomorrow. Yuck! I can't complain though. We have had a wonderful winter so far. It has been incredibly warm and snow free up until now. The weather better be good next weekend though. I can't wait for Fun In The Sun with the Kruse's.

Time Flies

Why do the weekends go by so fast and weekdays go by so slowly? It seems like a flash and workweek is upon us again. I have gotten a lot done this weekend though. I cleaned and did laundry and worked on the quilt. I did not get a chance to work on any of the closets though. It was my goal to do one per week. Oh well, next week I will attack the closet in the guest bath and then head upstairs to start cleaning the closets up there. the last on the list will be the attic spaces. The reason that will be last is that it is cold in there in the winter and warm in the summer. I need to do those in the spring. It is a great feeling to gradually get these spaces cleaned out though. With every space that I clean out I feel the weight on my shoulders getting less and less. :)

But today I am going to Sioux Falls with a friend to do some shopping. I need get batting and one more piece of fabric for the quilt. I would also like to look for a couple of new tops. I am really looking forward to this, so I better get ready!!!!

Purging and Piecing

I sit here tonight with a feeling of contentment. It has been a very productive day off. I started the day cleaning out the hall closet. I filled 2 garbage bags full of "junk"! Wow, my garbage can was FULL to the brim tonight when I set it out. And the closet looks wonderful. Most of the stuff I threw away I had forgotten I even had. If that is the case, it is time for it to go. Then this afternoon I worked on the quilt. I got the squares all done and pieced together. Now I have to put the boarders on it and the back on it. That won't take nearly as long as the piecing did.

And now tomorrow it is back to work. :( Now that I am on a roll with the purging and piecing, I would like to keep going. Oh well, need to get a paycheck too I guess!

Well, I certainly was right about January 3rd being busy! Holy cow!!!!! In fact the whole week was incredibly busy - and we were short handed. By Friday night I was exhausted. I slept 10 hours straight. I never sleep that much! My body must have needed some recouperation time. I sure hope it gets back to normal soon!

Here at home I have been trying to do some things around the house. I have been cleaning some storage areas, purging, and working on the wedding quilt. I feel so much better when I work on those kind of things. I need to get the quilt done. Maybe I will have it done by their 2nd anniversary. :) But I have so much more cleaning and purging to do. What to do first? Hummmmm

A Great New Year

Things are finally starting to quiet down this holiday season. It seems to have been such a blurr. Don't get me wrong, it was all great! Watching Logan and Lauren open their gifts was wonderful. Each time they opened one, they were in awe. We got such wonderful gifts from everyone as well. But it isn't about the gifts, it is about being together with family. We had a wonderful time with my Mom and brothers. We had a such a great Christmas Eve with our kids and grandkids. And then another wonderful time with the Kruse side. I just love that feeling of being with the ones you love.

New Years was also very busy. There was a Kruse-a-palooza New Year's eve, but we didn't make it to that celebration. By the time that one got organized, we had already committed to another New Year's Eve celebration. I was very torn about the whole thing, we had a lot of fun.

And now on to the new year. I have posted seval times about my fight with depression. One of the things I am hoping for in the new year, is a new outlook on my life and my situation. If I can take a more positive slant on the things in my life, I hope to be able to eliminate or reduce the impact of depression. I need to focus, focus, focus on all of the great things in my life. I am truely blessed.

Back to work tomorrow. It will be extremely busy. Our other new accounts person is on leave so I will be trying to take on her responsibilities. It is also time for my end of year reports. Yipes!!!!!! Feeling a little overwhelmed already!!!!!