July 5, 2012

Hot, Hot, Hot!

Our Fourth of July holiday was fun.  And HOT.  101 degrees of heat and humidity.  It’s 87 degrees this morning.  Yes, it’s 6:50 a.m.  I’m melting just sitting here.

I took the kids to Sunset Lake to go swimming yesterday.  What else is there to do on day like that?  Not much.  We skipped the annual Independence Day parade in Stevens Point because of the heat index warnings for our area.  I couldn’t bear the though of lugging two kids, a cooler full of water and lawn chairs to sit in the sun for an hour with a hundred other crazy people.  So beach day it was.

My dad came along with us and the boys built sand castles with him.  Owen was by Poppa’s side the entire day and wherever my dad went, Owen followed.

The water was super warm, which is surprising because Sunset is a spring-fed lake.  These bodies of water are typically colder than average.  I’m thinking that 101 degrees warmed it up just fine.

After working up an appetite swimming we grabbed a few pizzas on the way home and had dinner with my mom and dad at their house. We got home at 7:30 and the heat was still pretty irritating.  I had to go sleep in the basement just to stay cool.  I’m really thinking we need central air.

How was your Fourth?  What did you do?

January 1, 2012

The Dirty “R” Word

2011 was quite a year.  I’m actually glad it is over.  It’s difficult for me to describe all of the things I experienced because so much of 2011 was influenced by 2010.  And 2010 was mostly carryover from 2009 when my life changed so dramatically and I don’t think I ever really caught my breath.

I have had a rough road since October ’09.  I stopped working for BlogHer and weeks later gave birth to my little Owen.  Our finances took a nosedive and I was forced back to work in the “real world” which was very emotional.  I had a difficult time leaving my baby to work only part-time.

The job at Joerns sucked, but I did what needed to be done to support my family.  My dissatisfaction with that horrid company is what led me to go back to school in January 2011.  I was determined to do better for myself.  That determination — my ambition — is what helped me get the job I have now at Sentry.  I knew that I deserved better.

Here I am a year later, beginning my final semester in two weeks, with graduation  just around the corner.  I am darn proud of myself for managing to go to school, work full time and raise two wonderful boys with the help of my husband.  (If that’s not an amazing accomplishment…what is?)

This New Year’s Day I made a resolution not to make any resolutions.  I can’t help but laugh.  Insert FAIL here.  Now that THAT is out of the way…

The thing is, I could sit here and write down all the things I need or want to change in the New Year but I have realized that resolutions have expectations that weigh me down.  Resolutions make me feel like I “have to” do something and do it perfectly lest the New Year would be jinxed.   Resolution.  Ugh.  Makes me shudder just reading it.

Instead, I have decided to live life one day at a time with no great expectations or big dreams of perfection.  I would rather be present in my life, living day by day, embracing the good and the not so good, and learning from my experiences.

I think this New Year is already off on the right foot.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

May 27, 2011

Work, School and a Holiday Weekend

So, I’ve officially worked at my new job for six weeks. My first day feels like it happened so long ago, but as they say, “Time flies when you’re having fun.” I am really having fun. My favorite thing about working at Sentry is that I don’t have even a fraction of the stress I dealt with at Joerns. It is a huge sigh of relief to go to work, do my job, and go home — without worrying about expectations and unfinished work, and co-workers who don’t do a flipping thing all day (and constantly pass their share of the work to others). The fact that I took a $2 an hour pay cut is worth my sanity.

When I got home from work tonight my adoring husband actually said, “Do you realize you haven’t bitched about your job? You haven’t even had one complaint. I’m writing that in the history books.” I laughed so hard because it’s true. I have no complaints. I like what I do. It’s amazing how one change in my life has positively affected everything else.

Last week I got my grades from school and I was so proud to see my GPA of 3.705 (where does this darn .005 come from?). I’m a little miffed about not getting an A in Employment Law, but I did my best. It is so hard to memorize all the legislation we studied. I can’t imagine how lawyers do their jobs without constantly checking reference books or law reviews. Ugh.

Now my summer semester has begun and I’m aiming for the 4.0. Hopefully I can overcome the obstacles I’ll face with Macro/Micro Economics. I’m ready to get this semester done. I’ll graduate in December if I can crammed my last four classes in the fall semester. I’m not going to add any pressure. We’ll see how things go in a couple months. It won’t kill me to graduate next May.

Thank God for 3-day weekends. We don’t have any big Memorial Day plans, but I do hope to get a little yard work done and maybe plant some flowers. The weather hasn’t been the warmest which is sad with June approaching quickly. We’ve had a lot of rain this Spring and even some tornado weather. Bring on the sun and warmth already!

I’m looking forward to hanging out with the boys and having a family cookout. Here’s hoping time slows down just this once.

What are you up to this weekend?

April 4, 2010

Easter Reflections

I cannot believe that it is April already. I feel as though Easter has crept up on me. When I was young the season of Lent seemed so long. Now I realize that time is moving quickly; too quickly for me to grasp.

My babies are growing up! Dawson will be six years old in five months. Owen is six months old in two weeks. Each day is so special to me. I savor every moment I can with my boys.

We spend our mornings cuddling in “the big bed” and we often read stories while lounging there in the middle of the day. Dawson is learning how to recognize words in books. Yesterday he read the word “fox” without any prompting and spelled it out. I am so proud of him.

Owen is developing his personality each day. He smiles often, and he has learned how to use his hands; he now grabs for anything in sight. He is also eating solids twice daily now. He’s one hungry baby, too! Rice cereal is his breakfast favorite, and then later in the day we alternate between vegetables and fruits. His favorite is an apple-banana-pear concoction that Gerber makes.

We spent Easter at my parents’ house. Dawson was so excited to participate in an egg hunt that Grandma and Grandpa the Easter Bunny had set up just for him.  He loved hunting for eggs all around the lawn and in the woods by Papa’s house.  My mother was having a lot of fun just watching Dawson’s excitement.  I loved taking photos of the adventure.

My favorite part was when Dawson was running around, searching for the multi-colored eggs.  He went to the front yard near the ditch and yelled, “Look!  I think I see a blue one!”  When he realized it was not an egg after all he said, “Aww, man!  It’s just a beer can!”  The whole family burst into laughter.  It was the funnies thing I’ve heard in awhile.  I get such a kick out of the things that Dawson says.

Owen was the center of attention when he wasn’t sharing the limelight with his big brother.  Uncle Nathan and Aunt Becky took turns holding the little man.  He was so cute when wearing his bunny ears, too.

The best part of Easter (aside from the delicious food) was celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ with family.  I have come to appreciate these moments more and more as time goes by.

Last Monday I celebrated the Passover Seder with friends and had a wonderful time reading from the Mishnah (and the children asking the four questions), drinking the four cups of wine (mine was pure grape juice since I’m still nursing), and eating matza.  I especially loved the Charoset.  I don’t remember ever eating anything similar.  The Charoset was made of chopped apples, nuts and cinnamon (from what I tasted, that is, I don’t know the official recipe).

Another interesting part of the meal was bitter herbs or Maror (horse radish) and greens (we had green onions, parsley and celery) dipped in salt water and then eaten.  The horse radish was rather strong, I could feel it in my nostrils, but delicious just the same.

While I was raised Catholic, and still practice the religion today, I truly appreciated the Jewish customs.  I realized that aside from the differences in customs, there are many connections between the two faiths.  I was grateful to be able to connect to the heritage in this ritual.

Now a week later, celebrating Easter with my family truly completed the circle.  After dinner at my parents’ we watched a documentary on the History Channel about Jesus and the suffering he endured by being crucified.  It’s difficult for me to put it into words, but I truly felt His presence these last few weeks.  I have come to understand so much, and still yearn for more knowledge on Catholicism as well as Judaism.  I’m eager to learn more.

(I still can’t believe it’s April! Where has the time gone?)

Happy Easter to you all!