It was a fine 2009

It is that time again. Where I look back on the happenings of the year and look forward to the next year. Here are some things from 2009:

Nationally:

*Plane Lands in the Hudson

*First African American president

*Jon and Kate split up

*Ellen is the new Idol judge

*Oprah is leaving show

*Tiger is cheating on his wife

*Susan Boyle

*Another Brett Favre indecision

Personally:

*Another year in the house and more money spent on it.

*kitchen wallpaper finally came down and got painted

*Brian completed a year at Alta

*I had another year of subbing

*Attended he wedding of a friend

*Reconnected with several old friends-thanks to Facebook

*A family reunion was resurrected-and a god time was had by all!!

* Family and friends are all healthy

*Still have a job-even if it is part time!!

Hopes for 2010:

*Continued health

*a full time job

*continued reconnecting with friends

*a lower unemployment rate

*a better economy

*an end to a senseless war

May 2010 bring all of you exactly what you are hoping for, and even some things you are not!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Busy October, Slow November

I don't have anything exciting to share, but since it has been a while since I posted anything I figured it was time to check in!!!

I was very busy working during the month of October. Out of the 20 possible teaching days, I worked 15 of them. And that does not count the evenings that I also worked at Sylvan. I guess having 3 districts really paid off in October, even though most of my days were spent at the Menasha schools.

However, November has been very slow in terms of subbing. I have worked 2 days so far, out of 9. On a better note, I have added a few extra hours to my Sylvan schedule!! And I am tutoring my sister in law in her college math class, so that is a little extra money too.

I was hoping that November would be as productive as October, but I guess that was hoping too much. The down time has allowed me to catch up on things at home, but even that gets old sometimes.

Here's hoping that flu season is not over yet and there will be many more subbing jobs to come!!!

Kitchen Project-Part 3 COMPLETED!!!!

That's right, for those of you who don't follow me on Facebook (and those that do :)) the kitchen project is complete. It has been completely painted for 2 weeks now, and the appliances are finally moved back where they belong and things just got hung back on the walls this week.

I am so glad it is done, but I think it was worth it. The kitchen looks so much bigger and brighter now that the wallpaper is gone.

Thank you to Kurt and Joanna who came to help us rip the wallpaper down. And what a job that was!!

Thank you to dad for filling the cracks and holes so that the walls looked better.

Thank you to mom and Adam who helped wash the walls before painting.

Thank you to everyone who read about the frustrating and joyful moments of the kitchen project!!

Next painting project is the one wall in our bedroom!! This should be an easy one and I have learned to remove the oops painting as soon as possible after it is done!!!

Kitchen Project-Part 2

This Labor Day weekend, I definitely labored. Saturday was spent taking down the last little pieces of wallpaper and Brian went along the crown molding to get the pieces that were sticking out up there. Sunday we washed one wall, but had to go down to Fond du Lac to pick up an entertainment center that my aunt was giving us. Monday I washed the rest of the walls, my dad filled the cracks and we started priming!!! The whole kitchen is almost primed, we just have the area above the cabinets left-which will happen this weekend. Also, this weekend, we will be putting at least one coat of the final color on. I am hoping that we will be able to do both coats this weekend. I am ready to have my kitchen back in working order.

I could not imagine doing a complete kitchen remodel. I mean, I still have use of my sink, stove, and microwave-as well as access to all my cabinets and counter (which may not always be the cleanest) Of course, if we ever did a full kitchen remodel, I think I would have to leave the house-provided we were not doing the remodel ourselves!! Since I did most of the physical wallpaper removal with minimal help from Brian, I don't see a remodel in our future!!

Stay tuned for pictures of the final project, hopefully early next week!!!!

Have you ever...?

...been to a wedding where there was a rent-a-cop guarding the whole scene?? Well, I can now say that I have. And it was a little strange.

My cousin got married this past weekend, and her brother was not invited-or told about the event-so we are guessing that is why the cop was there. We don't know the whole story, but he was sent to St. John's Military Academy, which he went AWOL from a while ago. This child is not talked about at family gatherings, but his parents and we know better than to ask questions. A few of us cousins have contact with him on Facebook, but know better than to give him details about the wedding.

So we were standing outside talking after church and dad asked if we noticed the rent-a-cop at the back. None of us did, but we all had a feeling we knew why he was there. (if they didn't tell their son about the wedding, were they really expecting him to show up??) At the reception I noticed him, he was standing by the DJ, not far from where we were eating dinner. It was just a strange feeling, knowing that we are being watched all night. I can only imagine how the cop felt, just standing there monitoring things all night.

None of us have any idea what this kid did to make his parents hate him so much that they would not want him to attend his sisters wedding. It must have been something horrible if they felt that they needed to hire a guard to stay with them all day in case he showed up.

Now, part of me wanted him to show up to see what would happen. I mean, this guy has been through military school-what would the match up between him and a rent-a-cop be like? Guess we will never know.

I can now say that I have seen it all, when it comes to people "attending" a wedding!!

Kitchen project-Part 1

This past weekend, we started our kitchen project-with the help of a few friends!! If you remember, we have been wanting to tear down the apple/rooster/wheat wallpaper that was in there since we moved in. Last weekend Brian decided lets do it before it keeps getting put off some more.

So, we enlisted Kurt and Joanna's help (they had done 3 rooms in their house!!!) and rented a streamer from Home Depot. On Sunday morning, the kitchen turned into a work zone. There was scoring, applying DIF, streaming, scraping, washing, and paper sticking to everything but not the walls anymore!!! The only problem spot was the area that sticks out above the cabinets and Brian is trying to convince me to take those down anyway. We will have to see who wins that battle.

Now the kitchen is wallpaper free and looking like a kitchen again. The walls are a mess and need some patchwork before the painting can begin. Who knows when we will get to that, but at least the wallpaper is gone!!

More updates as we make more progress.

Chocolate covered bacon...

...on a stick!!

We went to the State Fair yesterday and the new item on a stick this year was chocolate covered bacon. I debated for a while, after hearing mixed reviews, if I was going to try this or not. I decided to be brave and give it a try. I mean, I like bacon and I like chocolate, how bad could it be?!?! It was actually quite delicious. The flavor was mostly chocolate, with a little salty kick from the bacon. I could hardly taste the bacon!! I just wish that I didn't have to eat it so fast to keep the chocolate from melting all over me. (it was a messy thing to eat when it is 90 degrees and humid!!) If it is there next year, I have to say that I will get me another piece!!!

If you are going to the Fair this week, or know someone who is, I recommend the chocolate covered bacon, on a stick!!

Club 30

That's right, today I have joined the 30 club. I am near the end of my group of friends to join that club, but I am not complaining. I have to say that I was not really freaked out to turn 30. I have been telling people that I am okay with turning 30 for the first time this year-how many times I will turn 30 is yet to be determined!! I have comfort in knowing that no matter how old I get, Brian will always be older.

I am hoping that my 30's will bring about great change:

*I will get a teaching job

*We will be able to start a family

*We will be able to move out of this house

along with many other not so large changes.

Here is to me turning 30 and many more 30's to come!!!

Happy 6 years!!!

That's right, on Sunday Brian and I celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss!!! We actually celebrated a little early, with a trip to Door County on Saturday. One of Brian's friends lives up there in the summer and owns an antique mall in Egg Harbor. So we met at the mall, got the full tour and went off for the afternoon of sight seeing. Bob took us around the scenic spots of Door County. While most of it was seen from the car, it was still a good time. It left us plotting our next trip to Door County, which would include a weekend stay this time to get everything done.

Sunday was church, shopping, and babysitting for friends while they stained their deck.

All in all, it was a great weekend with hopes of many more happy years to come!!

Summer School-Part 2

Summer School is over!!! As much as I enjoy teaching the little kids, this year was not as enjoyable due to the teaching staff I had to work with. Those of you who read Part 1 know that I was team teaching with 2 other teachers (P and A). I got along great with A, but P had a totally different teaching style, if you could even call it a style. It was more that she was downright lazy when it came to teaching. And she knew how to get the kids all riled up and excited, but really played no role in calming them down again.

So I am excited that summer school is over and hoping that P will not be teaching with A and I next year. We have voiced our frustrations to both the site coordinator and the summer school coordinator. The summer school coordinator was going to talk to P and let her know that there were some problems this year and that she will not be teaching at that school again, if she decides to return next year after their talk. I don't know what Gail is planned to tell her, but A and I are waiting for an e-mail from P expressing her anger at us!! We haven't got that yet, so I am not sure if Gail has talked to her or not.

Besides the teaching situation, I enjoyed the children once again this year. Most of the parents were not so bad either!! The children seemed to enjoy summer school and many of them are well adjusted to the kindergarten routine. Hopefully the kindergarten teachers will not have quite the problems at the beginning of the year that she has had in the past with kids from summer school. They usually ran around like they owned the room-which given P's teaching style is understandable. Hopefully A and I have provided enough structure for the kids to feel comfortable in the room and kindergarten, but not like the own the place. I feel that we did a nice job providing activities for them and letting them know what was off limits.

Now we just have to wait and see what next summer brings!!!

Wandering, Pooping Cocker

So, this is the latest in my neighborhood. A few houses down there is the Cocker, I believe his name is Patches from what i have heard. Well, Patches does not get leashed when he is outside and likes to roam into other peoples yards. A month ago, I caught him taking a poop on our front lawn and by the time I ran out there to scare him, he was done. Last week, we found more poop in the backyard. (Hmmm. wonder who it was from) yesterday I caught him in the back again, sniffing the trees. I yelled at the top of my lungs for him to go home, knowing that his owners were in their backyard, also knowing that they could care less. There have been other times where we have seen him wandering and had to shoo him home.

Well, Brian decided enough is enough and called the cops last night. They arrived at our house, talked to Brian about the situation and then went over to talk to Alice-the dog owner. Keep in mind, that other neighbors were outside and saw the cop talk to Brian and then walk to Alice's. I saw the 2 other them talking, then the cop left. Alice went to talk to some of the other neighbors that were also outside. I am pretty sure that none of it really phased Alice as she thinks she is "all that" anyway. But Brian decided that is was time to show her that she is not above the law and has to follow the same ones that the rest of us do.

I am not sure what is going to happen now or if any of the neighbors are still going to talk to us. I don't really care and figured it is about time that Alice gets taught a lesson.

Next time I see Patches in a yard that is not his, I plan to take pictures so the evidence is documented and Alice can not talk her way out of anything. The next time Brian sees Patches in our yard, he plans to trap it and call animal control. Hopefully there will not be a next time, but knowing Alice, there will be. Stay tuned!!!

Summer School-Part 1

Summer school is half over, and we now have a week break-due to the 4th of July.

What can I say? This team teaching thing has been nothing but interesting and a little stressful. There are 2 other teachers, besides me (A and P). There are also 2 aides and a therapist that comes in a few days a week to work with certain kids. It is one of the teachers that is causing the stress. I get along just fine with A and we are on the same page as far as routines and teaching styles. The problem is with P, and we both have a problem with P. The first week, A and I took turns with the projects, but I always did calendar because I had the songs that went along with it. The second week, P took over the teaching and did everything completely different. I had a days of the week and months of the year song-the kids were finally starting to learn them and sing along. P decided that she was going to do a different days of the week song, and a different one every day, and not do one at all on some days. Talk about messing with routine. Calendar time also got longer and louder when P was running it (Friday it lasted 35 minutes!!!!) And she kept changing the projects we had decided on before school started to put on the calendar we sent home to parents at the beginning. She seems to be taking an easy route and doing projects that don't involve cutting or gluing (which after a 35 minute calendar time is good or they would get no play time!!!)

Luckily, P has no projects or teaching time in the last 2 weeks, so A and I can get the kids back on track and into the routine. P has been teaching this for 3 years and is also a substitute teacher for a number of years. Makes you wonder what your classroom would look like if she was your sub for the day. As a teacher, you would think you understand the importance of routine, especially when the kids are 5!!!!

The kids are great!! We have 33 of them, and not all show up on any given day-which is nice. There are a few kids who like to cause problems, but with 5 adults it usually doesn't last long!!

So, I am having a good time this summer with the exception of having to work with P. A and I are both going to request that we not work with P next year. And the site coordinator seems to understand our frustrations. Are they that desperate for Kindergarten Readiness teachers that they will keep the ones that seem to have problems?? Even the teacher whose room we are in complained about the way things were left last year. I can see it, after what is going on this year.

Now I get to enjoy my week away from the chaos and remember that P has no more lead teaching to do for the rest of summer school!!! Routine, we are coming back to find you!!!!!!

Random Thoughts

It has been a while since I posted and while nothing interesting has happened, I will post some random thoughts about the last month or so. Forgive me for having no specific order to this!!

*Summer school starts next week. (And I am pretty sure that it is going to be blog worthy. 3 teachers, 2 aides, 32 kids, and a high school helper all in one room. I'll keep you posted on that one!!)

*4th year teaching summer school, 4th school. Still Kindergarten Readiness, and this year it was kinda up to me. I could have been at the same school as last year, but the teacher who's room I was in said that she would only teach if she could be in her own room. So, being the bigger person, I said that I would move to a new school, as long as it was still kindergarten. I am not so sure about this placement, so keep checking back for updates!!

*Glad I added the Kimberly School District to my subbing list this year, because they came through a lot more than Menasha.

*3 teachers left Sylvan-yeah for us, more hours!!! Wrong, they have hired a new girl who already has more hours than I do next week. (I have the most seniority of the teachers, but that means nothing at Sylvan) I could do a whole post on my frustrations with Sylvan, but I will not.

*With subbing for 3 years, I have been able to get a lot of reading done. In the past 3 years, I have read the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series, the newest V.C Andrews series, and several other random books that don't belong to a series. Yeah reading!!!

*Had 2 rummage sales, one with a friend and one where I just sent stuff with mom to grandma's. The 2nd one was more successful, but we still have stuff left that I have to decide what to do with. Thank goodness we have a house with a basement and don't live in the apartment anymore.

*My cousins youngest had his 1st birthday and got to go to IL to celebrate. Another 1 year party coming up next weekend.

*We got new living room carpet. Went from blue to "native clay" (light brown with flecks of other shades mixed in)

*Spent a lot of time with my godson and his sister (their parents too!!)

*Saw a hypnotist at a new comedy club in the valley. That was hilarious-one guy almost took off his pants, until the hypnotist noticed that he was not wearing underwear!!! I have never seen someone move quite that fast.

*Got 20 free tickets to the same comedy club for Friday and looking forward to hanging out with some friends and seeing a comedian.

I think that about covers what has been happening since my last post. Look for a new post next week as summer school starts and I will have more time as I have lost hours at Sylvan for next week!!!

Catholic Church

The Catholic church sure has me scratching my head lately.  I have been raised in the Catholic church, went to Catholic school all my life (even college), and still consider myself a practicing Catholic.  But lately there have been some things that make me wonder why I keep going to church.  I mean, I know what I believe and believe in, why must I go to a church to pray especially when they seem to be very hypocritical lately?!

I guess it all stems back to the priests molesting the altar boys and it being covered up and the priests still being allowed to keep their jobs.  Since this didn't apply to any of the priests that I knew in any of my parishes, so I didn't let it bother me too much.

A few years back, a teacher at the Catholic high school here in the valley (also part of the system were I used to teach) was fired for her decision to use in-vitro fertilization to get pregnant because they couldn't any other way.  I understand that in the contracts we sign, we are expected to live by way of the catholic values and obviously that would be to use no medical measures to have a child, but don't you think firing her is a little over the top??  I mean she probably would have been better off to LIE and not tell exactly how she became pregnant.  Is that the Catholic way??

Then I find out a few weeks ago that Archbishop Weakland, who was in charge of the Diocese where I grew up, is writing a book about his experiences and the molestation issue.  Also in the book, he apparently comes out that he is gay.  HELLO!!!!  Doesn't that totally go against the Catholic teaching of Adam and Eve.  I have nothing against homosexuality, you do what makes you happy, but to have such a high Catholic official admit that he is gay seems a little wrong.  And again, he covered it up for who knows how many years.  So he figures that since he had resigned after the molestation issues that now would be a safe time to come out of the closet?!?!

Finally, and most recently, another Catholic high school teacher has not been given a contract for next year due to the fact that he slept over at his girlfriends house instead of driving home drunk.  Again, so we are promoting drunk driving rather then safety.  Ok, so it was his girlfriend, but how do we know that he didn't sleep on the sofa??  I am just a little confused are we supposed to drive drunk rather than stay somewhere that may lead people to jump to the wrong conclusions??  The students are supporting the teacher in fighting this one and they also seem to feel that the school is then promoting drunk driving.

So, after all these things that have happened and some that have been covered up, how am I supposed to be expected to go to a Catholic place of worship and listen to these people that are involved preach about what Jesus would do??  Would Jesus get rid of someone for doing the only thing they thought possible to create a family??  Would Jesus want you working for him if you were hurting children, the very people he works so hard to protect??  Would Jesus want you to preach about something (marriage between a man and a women) if you didn't believe in that yourself??  Would Jesus want you to risk your life and the lives of others just so people didn't jump to incorrect conclusions when you stayed over at your girlfriends house?? (Wouldn't Jesus be more upset by you possibly killing innocent people??)

Thank you for reading.  Sorry it got so long!!  I just felt like this is something that has been on my mind for a few days and that I needed to get it off my chest.  Feel free to leave your comments on this issue.

Happy May!!!!

After quite a busy and rainy April, I am glad May is here.

April brought: 

*only 9 days of subbing (but Spring Break was also part of April)

*16 evenings at Sylvan

*2 Saturdays at Sylvan

*Easter celebrated at our house, with both my parents (and Adam) and Brian's, as well as my aunt.

*A dress fitting and alterations for a bridesmaid dress

*And the busiest weekend of all of April, the wedding of 2 great people and wonderful friends, last weekend.  While it was a wet weekend, the wedding and everything having to do with the wedding was wonderful.  It did contain a lot of driving as Brian and I stayed with my parents 40 minutes away from all the activities.

Both Brian and I were in the wedding, so that was nice.  Friday was rehearsal, and what a beautiful day it was.  The dinner was also nice and we were able to get to know the wedding party a little better, since there were a few people in it that Brian and I had never met.

Saturday began very early-the girls had hair appointments at 8:30.  I had to drop Brian off at the hotel with the guys first, so it was an early start to our day.  And of course, there was rain!!  That made getting into the church dry a little interesting.  Thank goodness the guys had gotten there first and met us with umbrellas and even parked the car for us.  (Thanks Mike!!)  The wedding went well, and the only "issue" was the blusher falling off the veil as the bride bowed at the altar.  It was handled beautifully!!  Then there were pictures and a short visit to a bar before heading to the reception.  Everything there went really well also.  So, despite the rain, the celebration was perfect.  Sunday brought church, as a group, and brunch followed by gift opening.  One last time to talk to the wedding party.

Boy, were we glad to be home!!  Then the laundry was calling my name.

Hopefully May will be a quieter month.  So far, we only have a dentist appointment, a rummage sale, and a carpet installation scheduled.  

I am glad I teach elementary school!!!

Otherwise, the monotony would kill me!!  I subbed in a music classroom today-elementary music.  I showed videos all day.  She had 12 sections of kids-30 minutes each.  Luckily there were 3 videos to choose from and I let the kids vote on the one they wanted to watch, but I ended up watching each one 3 times!!

I could not imagine being a middle or high school teacher who teaches the same lesson all day to many different sections.  That would drive me absolutely insane.  I definitely like doing something different all day long.  And not knowing what could happen to change those plans.

My kudos to any of you out there who teach middle or high school!!  I could never teach the same thing several times a day!!

Always know the accepted payment methods

When dropping something off for services that will be paid for at the time of pick up, it is a good idea to know what payment methods the store will accept.

I dropped off a bridesmaid dress 2 weeks ago for a few minor alterations.  They said it would be ready today, after 3.  So I went to pick it up today, gave the girl my claim ticket, and as she was getting the dress, noticed that they only take cash or check.  I had neither with me-the $3 I had wasn't going to cover it.  So I told her that I had to run to the bank.  I ended up going home to get the checkbook, since both were about the same distance away.  Came back, paid with my check, and all is well.

The moral of my story is to ask about payment methods when I drop something off-course if I go to Stitchs again, I will know they only take cash or check.   Also, when in doubt, don't leave home without the check book.  (Luckily gas it not overly expensive and Stitchs is close to home!!)

Hopefully someone out there will have learned from my mistake.  If I can save one person from the embarrassment that I had this afternoon, it will have been worth it!! :)

The sex talk

I got to listen to that today.  Well, it wasn't really the sex talk as they were only 4th graders-they called it a human growth and development presentation.  They talked about starting puberty and the body changes as well as starting the period.  I got to sit through the video and Q&A session with all of the 4th grade girls, the guidance counselor, and the other 4th grade teachers, and the nurse giving the presentation.

Some of the girls definitely had great, valid questions.  Others had some strange questions and many repeat questions.  I think the biggest one was will it hurt and what happens if they get their period in the middle of class.  I am not so sure they understood that it starts more like a dripping faucet, not a gush.  Tampons also had them a bit confused.  Oh well, it was an hour and a half of the afternoon that I did not have to teach.

Obviously the boys did not have as many questions because when we got back to the room we discovered that all the boys were in the gym playing kickball.  (The downside of having the gym teaching present the boys session!)

Oh well, they went right home after the presentations, so I didn't have to field any questions!!

Times sure have changed since I was in school.  I remember being separated as 5th graders, but don't remember much of what was presented to us.  I do remember that the teacher kept the girls in for a few minutes of recess to show what a tampon does in water-expands.  (That was not part of this presentation, but they did get to see how a pad a tampon work-as well as you can without actually showing it!!)

Oh, the lives of middle schoolers!!

Water

You don't realize how much you miss it until it is gone.  That is what happened her this afternoon.

I was subbing today-thankfully I didn't have to hear the jackhammering of the street that start at God knows what hour this morning.  I came home about 4 to the Kaukauna Utilities truck all over the street with a large hole in front of the house across the street.  There was dump truck

 full of dirt in front of my driveway.  So right away I am not happy about having to park a house away and walk through the mud they created to get home.   As soon as I walk int he door, Steve (the one with the hole in front of his house) comes over to tell me that they were fixing some problem that apparently happened a year ago when we had our pipes fixed.  Well, in the process they hit Steve's sewer pipe.  He left and my first thought was to quick us the bathroom while I still had the chance.

So, I let them do their work while I hid on the computer, away from the sound of yet more jackhammering.  When I finally decide to check out the progress, here is what I see:

And, where are the utility workers??  Standing 2 houses away watching the geyser in the street.  Eventually they came closer to watch.  Apparently they had to wait for the sewage to get out or something.  

They were just packing up when I came back here.  There is still a big hole in the street-hopefully marked as such- and there is mud all over the street.  I am assuming we have water again, but haven't tried it yet.

Happy Friday the 13th!!!

subbing, subbing, subbing

That's right, I have subbed for the last 3 days-in a row!!  (And my house is showing the signs!!)

Monday and Tuesday were in the intermediate school, and I was a little nervous to take it at first, but I figured you have to try at least once before you decide if you are going to like it or not.  It really wasn't that bad-She was the World Studies and Computer teacher.  She had lots of prep time on Monday and a little on Tuesday.  The classes were only 40 minutes long.  Who can't tolerate kids for 40 minutes?!?!  I mean they are 5th and 6th graders how tough can 40 minutes be?!?!  Those days actually went great, and I have to say that if asked again, I would probably try the intermediate school again.

Funny thing there was the teacher I was subbing for is named Mrs. Berndt (burnt).  So, Mrs. Burns was subbing for Mrs. Berndt!!  A few kids caught on to that and thought it was pretty funny!!  (I have to say I agree)

Wednesday I was in an Early Childhood classroom.  I didn't know when I got the call, but it was a Special Ed room.  Early Childhood Special Ed is definitely not as intimidating as elementary Special Ed, but still not something I would want to do every day!  There were 3 sessions of kids: 1-3 kids, 3 adults; 2-2 kids, 2 adults; 3-2 kids, 3 adults.  I can't say that it was a tough day.  I did a lot of one on one work with one little boy and helped where needed the other times.  There was a parapro in the classroom as well, so that defiantly helped out.

Today, I am going to attend to my neglected house.  The dishes are piling up and I am afraid they are going to walk out of the kitchen soon.  The laundry has been screaming "fold me" since Monday, so that is on the list too.  Then there is the daily maintenance that needs some catching up.  Thankfully there is no Sylvan for me tonight, so I should be able to get everything done!!

Ash Wednesday

I have fulfilled part of my Catholic duty today-I just got back from Ash Wednesday mass.  I figured since I wasn't subbing and would be at Sylvan during the evening mass I would go this afternoon.

Usually people talk about what they are going to "give up" for Lent.  I have tried that, but since I go right back to it after Easter, what am I really learning??  This year I have decided not to give anything up, but do things differently and find ways to add more God in my life.  I am going to try to be nicer to those around me and not get so annoyed at the little things.  (Ask Brian, this can happen quite a bit)  So, starting today I am not going to get annoyed at small things that don't really matter.

The second part of my Lenten plan is to add more prayer into my day.  I will try to find time, even if it is driving somewhere, to thank God for all the good in my life and ask for guidance where I need it the most.  I tried to pray before I went to bed every night, but the more tired I was from the day, I realized this didn't work.  And I know that I may not always make it in the morning, depending on how I wake up (on my own or by the phone).  Therefore, I have made it open.  Whenever I find that I have a few extra moments or need the most help getting through the day, that is when I will stop to have my conversation with God.

I am hoping that by choosing not to give something up this season, but change a lifestyle, that this is something I will be able to continue after Easter as well.  

I mean only good things could come from being a nicer person who has a stronger relationship with God, right?!

On to the other part of my Catholic duty-fasting and no meat.  So far so good.  I have only had breakfast-cereal-and it is already 1:30.  I will need to eat something more substantial before Sylvan, but nothing big.  Then it will be fish for dinner.

I think I am off to a good start this Lent.  Happy fasting to all you Christians out there!!

How many people does it take...

...to program a remote control for the satelite receiver box??

Just one, English speaking, technician.  Of course we had to wait 3 days for that.

We got a new receiver box on Saturday and Brian and Bill got that installed.  Then they had to call Dish Network so they could activate it.  While on the line, the lady was walking them through how to program the remote.  (She had broken English and I am not sure she was understanding what they were telling her was happening on our screen.)  So she transferred them to tech support, where they got another not so English speaker, but understood a little better about what we were seeing on the screen-he just didn't know why it was happening.  The guys tried a few things the tech guy was saying and nothing was working.  Our remote has different chips that go in it so that the receiver can recognize which TV it is for.  (We have 2 TV's that work off the same receiver and 4 different chips came with the new remote)  I am not sure the tech guy understood what chips needed to be placed in the remote.  

After about 20 minutes of working with him and trying a few different chips, he told us that he was going to need to send a technician out to the house.  We thought "How hard can it be to program a remote?"

This morning the technician came out to the house and within 10 minutes was gone again.  He quickly tried the remote with the chip we had in it and when that didn't work, knew the exact one that would make it work.  He even showed us how to program the remote-if we ever needed to do it again for some reason.  His steps were the same as the ones the tech guy told us on the phone on Saturday-just with the wrong chip.

This goes to show just how easy things can be when you are getting helped by someone who understands your language in order to understand your questions.

STOP OUTSOURCING CALLS TO INDIA OR OTHER COUNTRIES!!!!!!!

False Advertising

Today, with our utility bill, we got a note saying that they were implementing some Identity Theft Protection Plan and that we needed to return this form, in person, and bring a photo ID.  In return for taking the time to do that, they would give us an energy conservation kit.  How exciting!!

So I filled out the form and Brian and I went to the utility company-thinking that they might only have  limited numbers of the kits and we really wanted to make sure we got ours.  They verified all our information and then the receptionist said, "As a thank you for coming in and doing this, here are some light bulbs."

Okay, so they were the energy saving kind, but where is this kit that was mentioned in the letter!?!?!  We were definitely not expecting light bulbs.  Why couldn't they just put: for taking the time to return this form, we will give you a pack of light bulbs.?  

I am not REALLY complaining, because after all, they were FREE light bulbs and not much is free anymore.  But the false advertising made us hurry up and get everything filled out and turning in to the utility company before Brian left for work.

So, if a utility company ever says they are going to give you an energy conservation kit, ask yourself:  Could it just be light bulbs?

Got my wish!!!

For those of you who read yesterday's post, you remember that I wished for a little snow to cover up the dirty snow that is on the side of the streets.  Well, wish granted.  This morning we had a nice layer of snow on the ground!!  And that came complete with drifting snow.  But the dirty snow is mostly covered, for now!!!

However, since it was not enough snow to run the snow blower it meant that I was the one out there with the shovel to clear the sidewalk.  Why won't Brian clear snow when it doesn't involve the snow blower???  Who knows, but at least I got my work out for the day-and didn't have to pay anything for a gym membership!!!  Too bad it was a bit windy or it would have been a nice day to be outside shoveling.  I think I am finally starting to thaw!!!!

Happy Groundhog's Day!!!

From what I have seen on the internet, the groundhog has seen his shadow.  Therefore we have 6 more weeks of winter.  Really there would have been 6 more weeks of winter either way, but then we wouldn't have this fun tradition of seeing what the groundhog does every Feb 2nd.  So, 6 more weeks of winter, but I hear that it won't be as cold as the last few months have been. Yeah!!!!

I was thinking back to last few months-very cold and snowy, more cold than snow lately.  We hadn't used our snowblower very often in Jan, compared to Nov and Dec.  But, I could use a little snow to cover up the "dirty" snow that is on the side of the roads.  I am thankful that it was a beautiful weekend for the snow to start melting.  And that melting will continue for a while.  As long as the snow melts slowly I don't think the basement will have too many issues.  (Knock on wood!!)

Happy Groundhog's Day and enjoy the little warm-up!

I miss curbside recycling :(

Now, we have only been without it since the beginning of Jan. and it usually was only picked up every other week.  But it is true that you never appreciate something until it is gone.  First, let me explain why it is gone.  In a nutshell, the company went bankrupt and didn't tell the county until about a week before they were going to stop pick-up.  The contract with the company was set to expire Dec 31, but the county assumed that they would still go month to month until July, when the new company's contract was set to start.  No such luck-bankruptcy hit.  

There are several cites/towns/villages in Outagamie county that worked something out with other places or something to get interim  curbside recycling.  However, Kaukauna is not one of them.  So they have set up a recycling drop off center and the streets department (M-F 7:00-3:30 and Sat 8-12) for the convenience of those who still plan to recycle during the stoppage.  (I am sure that there are some not willing to drive there recyclables to a center.  And the county is worried about that as well.)

Well, we are willing to drive our recyclables, even if it is a slight inconvenience.  So that is what I did, for the first time today.  It was not bad.  The center is only about 5 minutes from the house.  But, you have the hassle of loading all the papers and plastics bins in the car and then driving to the center.  Then you have to unload and throw the items into the correct bins.  (The paper one was quite high I had to loft our bags in.)  Course as I was almost done, some guy came out to help unload the cars.  There were 3 others there besides me.  Then there is the drive home and bringing the bins back in the house.

Hopefully I will only have to do this until March, when they are hoping they can get the new company to start.  

Wonder what the mayor would say if we asked for a refund on taxes for the months that we are paying for a service we don't have?!?

An ice scraper shortage?!?!?!?

I am not talking the tiny ones for the cars, I am talking the long ones for the sidewalks and such.  It would appear that an ice storm, like the one we had over the weekend, tends to clear all hardware stores of these scrapers.  I called at least a dozen stores in our area this morning and only one store could confirm that they had any left-and another would be getting a shipment later on this evening.  Unfortunately, the store that had them was out by the mall-20 minutes away and a place I try to avoid until March.  

I drove to Home Depot, the only place that said they had any left.  Sure enough, they had 2 left.  So I grabbed one and headed to the register.  As I was walking a man asked me where I found that.  I told him to hurry because there was only one left!!

So all the stores in about a 20 mile radius of my house are sold out of sidewalk ice scrapers until about 6pm (When Ace told me they would be getting more in.)

Thankfully we now own one and I will not have to go on a hunt for one anytime in the near future.

I am also happy to report that it works great and the think layer of ice that was once my sidewalk can be called a sidewalk again.  It was fun to watch the ice chips slide down the snow banks as I added them to the heaping piles of snow in the front yard!!

We are ice free for the time being!!!