Well, ~insert expletive here~ !

I am currently unemployed. 

The who, what, were and why are truly unimportant and cannot be changed. I'm not sure what I'm going to do next - stay in the same field I've been in for the last 20+ years or expand my horizons and try something new.  Unfortunately, there isn't a job that allows you to listen to music, drink wine and get paid - or is there?  Well if there is, I'm sure it entails something else that I don't want to do like shoveling something smelly.  Maybe I could join a landscaping crew, or maybe I can contract out to play practical jokes on people. OOOOh, or train my cat to not sleep in the kitchen cabinets -oh wait, I'm already doing that one. Needless to say, I'm open to suggestions, and wine handouts.  Need my address?

January 1st, the 1st day of 2013

2013 - the year of change.  The year I'm going not going to make resolutions and the year I'm going to make a few changes in my life.  What kind of changes?  Hmm, that's a good questions.  I would like to make better use of my time.  I'd like to lose a few pounds, get healthier, finish a few projects that I've been working on.  I want to plan a really cool vacation for the summer.  You know - I pretty much want the world.

I'm making a to-do list.  We can all accomplish a to-do list.  RIGHT?

1. Eat Healthier & Exercise More.  
2. Plan the perfect summer vacation.
3. Clean out the clutter.  (Sounds better than get organized right?)
4. Design & implement a landscape plan for the backyard.
5. Set aside time for me and my projects.  (It can't all be about the kids & the husband right?)

Well, that's my putting it on paper - and out there.  Maybe someone out there can keep me to task.

Oh and for the record - I walked/ran 4 miles today.

~xoxo

Me

2012: So Far, So Good

Sounds kind of ~meh~ doesn't it?  Well, it's not, it is what it is so far - it's pretty good.   This year started with a bang.  I started a new job.  Not as stressful as one might think, as I didn't really leave the company.  I am now working exclusively for one Real Estate Agent and not a 150 and in a different capacity.  I'm absolutely loving it.  I got to keep all my old work friends!  I'm still learning but it's fun, and much lower stress.  I can't wait to see what this year brings on the work front.  I'm sure that will pop up here from time to time.  The only thing I haven't quite gotten used to is the amount of time I've lost with my children.  They are only this age once, but at the same time, they are old enough that they need to experience a little of me time.  I hope they use it wisely.

When I write this you will probably think I'm a lunatic, but here it goes:  I went to a Middle School Reunion.  Well, not exactly Middle School, but close enough.  Those of us that were there went to school from about 3rd grade to 9th grade together before splitting up and going to different high schools.  There were probably about 16 or 17 of us and it was truly a blast to see all of them.  They had such influence on the way I turned out.  I can't wait to get together again.

2012 Photo Challenge

I wanted so badly to complete another 365 project in 2011, but it just didn't work out between life & school it was too much for me.  Well, I've finished school -  YEA!!!! -and I'm ready for my next challenge.  I've also started a new job, so my time is somewhat limited.  But between me and my friend Ingrid we came up with a great idea.  If you haven't been there  - check out my photo blog.  

We are going to complete a photo challenge for the year 2012.  We post 2 photos a week, any day of the week and post the link to your photos on Twitter with the has tag #POTW52.  Each month will have a different theme so that we can work on some of the things that we feel can always be improved on.  There is also a flickr group - "Friends Photo a day challenge"  If you don't have a twitter account leave us a message with your flickr name & we will add you to the group.

The Challenge starts January 1, 2012 and will go through the whole year.  January's theme is Black & White images.

Hope you can join us!

The Corner of Glory & Freedom

Today is Veteran's day and for me it deserves a little more than a 140 character remark on Twitter or a few sentences on Facebook.  We as Americans owe our Veterans.  They have protected us, they have fought for us and more importantly they have sacrificed themselves in various ways for our country.

Those of you that know me, know I've been researching my family tree, in conjunction with other members of the family who are all working on different branches.  What has struck me more than anything is the number of people in my family that not only served their country, but fought in wars.  I have family in Germany that fought in the Napoleonic wars, and then served as border guards in what is now Serbia, before they emigrated to the US.  Just last night I was reading the Revolutionary War Pension files for two of my relatives and found that all four of the brothers in that family fought in the Revolutionary War - one under George Washington's command according to the writing.  My great-great-great grandfather fought in the Seminole War.  I know of 4 that fought in the Civil War.  I can't even begin to give you the numbers for WWI and WWII, but one of the cousins was killed in action in Saipan.  My uncle fought in Vietnam.  My dad, was overseas as a Medic in the Army, thankfully not in any combat.  He spent 2 years active duty and 4 years in the Reserves.

I find when I walk through a cemetery and I always bend down and clean the headstone of a veteran.  Yesterday while walking through my favorite cemetery I stopped by the War of 1812 veteran to show my respect.  I found a gentleman who fought in the 14th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War who hadn't been listed in the databases so I placed him up online.  Maybe someone in his family will find out where he's buried now.

It shouldn't take a holiday to remind you that our veterans are special, remember them year around.

I feel blah

Today was one of those days I wanted to stay in bed and let pass by me, but I have carpool duty this week so I had to get out of bed.  I will say that I drove the kids to school in my pajamas and a robe - my rebellion for the day.  When I got home I jumped back into bed and stayed there until the phone got me up.  Even then I decided the cat that was curled up next to me needed some "extra" love so I stayed in bed for him.

I did accomplish a few things today.  I went to Target.  I needed a few of the important things, but not important enough that I had to go full-fledge grocery store.  I also managed to not look like a complete dump at pick-up.  It is a rare day that I pick up in anything other than "work-out" garb.  ( I put quotations around work-out because they are rarely used for that purpose.)  I also accomplished cooking dinner today, which usually falls to my most fabulous husband, mainly because he likes hot food and I lack imagination most days.

I got in a fight with my mom.  I get to go to a middle school meet & greet.  Woo Hoo!  Hopefully I won't wake up at 2 AM in a cold sweat remembering 7th grade.

Before & After Great-Great-Grandpa

Here's great-great grandpa before & after.  I'm totally impressed with my tie!  

Before and After

This week, we had a cousins reunion to work on our family tree.  The most wonderful gift of all was a large portrait of my great-great grandmother.  She was quite beat up when I first got her, but with a few hours of work, I think I've fixed her up nicely.  Can't wait to share it with everyone.  I can't wait to see what my mother said about my work.  

Thinking on a Thursday.

I so am going to start writing here more.  It has been at least 6 weeks - I've missed my blog therapy.  

To bring you up on what I am doing, well the easy answer is sliding slowly into oblivion.  Between school, my children, my husband - baseball, no basketball, hockey, dead people (ancestry) and work my life is pretty much insane.  My school is busy and almost finish - well at least this part of it.  The kids & my husband are a constant so that really isn't out of the ordinary, except that my husband is working constantly on influencing their sense of humor in ways that can only be described as LOUD.  Baseball - can't I just say TEXAS RANGERS and leave it at that?  No basketball, ugh.....hockey, I feel weird that it is hockey season without flipping channels to watch basketball during the commercials.  Work - well work is work.  I've been there 16 years so it really isn't that bad, just different.  The company has reorganized a bit and with the death of one of the founders.....sigh.....its sad to go in sometimes.

I still get out and take pictures on a regular basis, but I find that I have less and less time to be creative.  I'm looking forward to a break in school so that I can concentrate on all I have gathered in my brain and do something with it.  Hopefully, I haven't worn my brain out or burned up too many brain cells stressing about stuff that won't matter tomorrow.

Humor Fail.

I have this lovely lovely person in my office - oh and by the way she's lost 3 inches in her waist - me I ate all the candy that my friend G left in my drawer at work, so I've basically screwed myself of all the calories that I worked of on Thursday during my walk.  Any way this awesomely wonderful girl, calls me today and says she's been reading my blog and tells me I'm so funny.

You realize that I have to post something funny - the problem is when you try to fail.  Miserably.  So in honor of me failing to be funny I'm going to post a link to the funniest blog post in the history of the universe (well, at least July).  Jan - read this......

Diet & Exercise Fail

I'm calling myself out - the kids went back to school and I'm still not exercising.  I'm still carrying the pregnancy weight from my youngest child and since he's hit 3rd grade, I probably need to get off my butt and quit talking about it.  The problem?

• carbs
• wine
• i'm on the wrong side of 40
• chocolate

I could go on and on and on, but that's not really an excuse.  I'm sucking it up and I'm off to walk at least 4 miles.  Well, as soon as I finish my coffee.

Things to do when the high is 110.

No that is not a typo - it was 110 degrees here today.  It was 109 yesterday and tomorrow it is going to be 111.  So if you don't live in a place that sees this kind of weather let me tell you what you should do.

STAY INSIDE AND READ, POST TOO MUCH RIDICULOUS THINGS ON FACEBOOK INCLUDING THE 7 DAY WEATHER OUTLOOK OR WATCH TOO MUCH BAD TV.

Well, I've done 2 of the 3, I will start #3 as soon as I'm done here.  Unfortunately this is NOT what I did today.  Here's what I did and whether it was smart or not.

• Drank hot coffee with breakfast even though it was already 95 degrees outside.  SMART, see caffeine.
• Took a shower & washed my hair.  NOT SMART, drying your hair causes you to sweat and need another shower.
• Take your child to the eye doctor & spend 3 hours in the office.  BOTH.  Smart, because H2 needs his eyes checked, Not-smart because when we got into the car it read 119 degrees.
• Going to a cemetery to take pictures of tombstones for find-a-grave at 4:45 in 109 degree weather.  You can figure this out, but the kids behaved pretty darn good in the funeral home & luckily the graves were in an air-conditioned mausoleum so not to bad.
• Water the yard.  NOT SMART.  See moving the water & the yard is already hay.

What did you do today?  And did you post a picture of your 7 day weather outlook?  Oh and notice the time on the iPhone when this was taken.

I'm so confused and I think I might be my own cousin.

I've been singing that song "I'm my own grandpa" all day.  Do you remember it? Well its stuck in my head.  Why you ask?  Well, I'm doing my family tree.  My mother did some work on my grandfather and then started on her own family tree with her cousin.  I got left my grandmother's family tree.  Well as you know when you are doing detective work - and trust me this is detective work - you hit dead ends and you turn around and go another direction.

So between the three main families that I'm researching - they intermarried 8 times, that I've found so far.  I realize back in the day you didn't travel far, but I mean spread out the gene pool.  Get some new blood.  I recently found a cousin who's descended from my great-grandfather's sister.  And I found that these families intermarried even more.  Granted when you have 8 or 9 kids it's not as bad as I make it out to be, but I think the family tree is kind of loopy.  I mean how do I show that one person's brother married that person's niece and her brother married that person's sister--in-law who is at the same time the first person's sister - or something along those lines.

I'm so confused I think I'd get lost in the lines traveling from one branch to the other.  I think I need an assistant or my mommy or something.  "Calgon, take me away!"

Everyday can't be a winner

Today has not been my day.  I can't win, I'd been thinking of some kind of phrase to start this off but I could decide between:

"Damn it all to hell!"

"Crap!"

or

"Well, shit."

So instead I'll say today has not been my day and leave it at that.  It's really more lady-like.  If you have a better idea, I'm happy to take suggestions.