Happy (Belated) House-iversary!

Like the forgetful person I am, I once again neglected to commemorate the anniversary of the closing on the house. Here we are, almost a month past the 31st. Bad Martha.

This year was not as expensive as last year was - a furnace and water heater add up really quickly – but we did continue our slow and steady renovation pace. We replaced our gutters and downspouts earlier this spring with seamless versions to try and outsmart the ash tree out front that is bound and determined to clog things up. Not cheap, but hopefully they eliminate some of the maintenance issues. We also had a tree removed in the backyard last fall. It was dead and a potential playground for the ash bore that was all the rage. We had to replace our grill when someone stole it off our deck. We had the carpets cleaned throughout the house. (Not that you’d even notice now. Cats are dirty, dirty creatures.)

Those were the big hitters. We also replaced the fluorescent light fixture in the kitchen (it died), the range hood (it died), and the vent in Adam’s bathroom (yep, it died too. Seems to be a trend around here.) We also bought a Keurig coffee maker for no good reason at all except that we thought it was cool. We got a new entertainment center/TV mount system when Adam won a flat screen TV from work. We had to get carbon monoxide alarms because of some new law that went into effect. We replaced the utility sink downstairs and swapped out the faucet so it was easier to clean out litter boxes during the winter. We replaced our front door deadbolt with a version that locks on both sides for extra security after some “this neighborhood isn’t as safe as it looks” incidents (see grill-stealing comment above.)

Things are already in full swing with home improvement projects for year number four. Adam has put in a half bath down in the basement and is currently in the process of getting the drywall up. I’m not sure that anything else is planned, per se, but things always seem to crop up. Our major siding/deck project will probably have to wait another year or two.

Feline Shenanigans

You are getting sleepy...



Very sleepy...



The foot just kills me...



Bookends:



So typical...



JC literally watching ice melt:



And, in the interest of equality, here's Carly, plotting the demise of the remote:

Having a Blue Chip Attitude

Back in April I attended the Leadership Training Session (LTS) hosted by the regional IMA council (MAC = Mid-America Council). One of the speakers was James Schneider, a motivational speaker whose presentation revolves around a "Blue Chip Attitude."



He's a very energetic speaker. In addition to the bright red jacket he also wears a large white hat. His presentation involves jumping off chairs, throwing things, and a lot of manic yelling.

The first thing out of his mouth is that he finds the fact that he's labeled a "motivation speaker" to be laughable. No one can motivate anyone to do anything. The only person who can motivate you is you. All he can do is project a positive aura that might rub off on the people he comes in contact with.

The blue chip is a tangible object that is to be used to remind you of the steps toward the "Blue Chip Attitude."



The steps include:

Smile
Talk "Positive"
Use Music
Surround Yourself With Winners
Get a Hero
Dare to Win
Have Fun

His presentation was one of the best of the day and had a lot of food for thought.

Within the "talk 'positive'" step was the use of a Victory List. So often we beat ourselves up over our failures. All we see are the negative things in our lives. We neglect to give ourselves credit for all the things we've accomplished. The point of a Victory List is to take a time out from the negative, "my life sucks" thoughts, and consciously make a list of the things you've done that you're proud of: accomplishments, awards, times you helped others out or were appreciated. Everyone's got something they are proud of.

This was the one part of his entire presentation when he became very serious - almost to the point of tears. He said that too many people these days were losing perspective of the positive. He shared that too many young people he knew had just given up. The point of the Victory List is to pull you out of the "poor me" funk and back into a place where you can better contribute to your own life and the lives of others.

A powerful message. It's definitely hard to have a perpetually "positive" attitude. I know I've failed pretty miserably with this in the last few months. I guess every once in a while you've just got to take a step back to gain new perspective.

Oscar Update

Few more under my belt recently:

Sherlock Holmes: I was bored. They talked too fast. I was unimpressed by the special effects. And what the heck - there was no ending. I hate movies like that. (I'm looking at you, Woody Allen...)

The Lovely Bones: It was also hard to get into this one. I'd read the book a few years ago and was looking forward to this adaptation. But really, Peter Jackson should stick with hobbits. I get the "heaven" effect he was going for, but it was overblown and too drawn out. Stanley Tucci was wonderfully creepy though!

Avatar: I gave this one a B+. It could have been an A if it wasn't 2 1/2 hours long. 2:35 according to our DVD player. That's ridiculous. That said, it went by pretty quickly. I was distracted by the superfluous legs on all the animals (which reminded me of the creepy huge bugs in King Kong. *shudder*), the weird Pocahontas and Ferngully flashbacks I was having, and the complete unoriginality of it all. Yes, it was ground-breaking technology of some sort, but as good as the end result was, I don't know that it was all that everyone seemed to make it out to be. But still not terrible.

Brotherly Love

While You Were Out, or, Ramifications of a Week-Long Vacation

Here's what I was met with when I got to the office this morning:

Voicemails: surprisingly, none. Then again, this is the first time I actually remembered to change my voicemail greeting to tell people I was out of the office...

Emails: 152. Not too bad, all things considered (although I do admit I was semi-working on Monday and Tuesday while I was monitoring my email for IMA so there were a few more that I had already taken care of and deleted.) Unfortunately there weren't many that I could delete without addressing. Boo.

Inbox: Overflowing. All three of them. And two stacks on my desk. Paperless society be damned. I saw that and the three post-its on my computer screen and said I was going back home. Ha.

Other notable decisions that were made during my absence:

** The entire accounting department is relocating. Upstairs. In two weeks. Nice...

** Legacy Alcan employees are integrating with Milprint Corporate (hence the move) and with SAP complications it was decided that I'd take back some New London stuff temporarily (my previous position prior to jumping to Milprint North back in 2006.) Unfortunately it appears that the person I'll be taking this back from was not informed about the whole thing as she seemed quite surprised when I asked her about it. Aah, communication!

** A summer intern was hired and apparently I'll be responsible for keeping her busy (again - let's hope this one is more detail-oriented than the one last year!) She started this morning. (Suprise!) But the IT guy is so swamped with SAP and Alcan that he won't be able to get her set up with computer access until later this week. Really, what can one do in an accounting department without a computer these days? Shred and file, that's what. Hello, learning experience!

Oh, and Citrix crashed for four hours this morning, leaving the entire company without access to any financial, reporting, or production systems. Yay! Welcome back!

I'd say I'm about 1/3 of the way caught up with things. Inventory day is Friday, with the Memorial Day holiday royally screwing up my count in both timing and manpower. At least I now have an extra person in the new intern. (Her name is Jennifer. Doesn't quite have the same ring as "Mike the Intern" from last year, but it will do.)

Having a few days off was nice, but it always takes about as long as I was gone to catch things back up to normal. Things are looking to get pretty crazy this summer with SAP training, mocks, and go-live on August 1. Final EUT is mid-July, but it looks like I might be pulled in to some of the inventory dry runs. Woo. Now if only they'd give me access to SAP...

See it LIVE!

Rest of the photos from the trip are here.

Life

Adam's paternal grandmother passed away early this morning. While it was not really unexpected, it's still not something you want to get a call about. I suppose we all consider it somewhat of a blessing that it happened this week instead of next, when both Adam and I and his parents would have been out of town.

Confessions

This last month or so has been rough. Work-induced stress. Dental discomfort. An ill-timed cold. It all can make a girl pretty crabby.



Most times I'm wiped out by the end of the day.



Just want to sit and stare into space.



Or vent.



Ok. I feel better now.

Hence, the lack of posting here. I've been trying to keep up with my cooking blog, but there were a few weeks that the cooking here was minimal so even that was pretty sad.

Things are winding up for the season in most areas. The bells played for the last time this morning. Tomorrow we'll meet to clean the bells and put everything away for the summer. And then we'll go to Culver's for some post-season ice cream.

The last IMA meeting of the season is next Tuesday. I'll be in New York for Catherine's graduation so I've gotten a Martha substitute. I'll still be taking care of reservations and venue set-up so I'm hoping NYC has good wi-fi. :) I haven't heard anything about summer board meetings yet, but I'm sure that will come up sooner than I expect.

North's SAP go-live is still on for August 1. It's a mixed bag and I've still kind of got a mixed reaction to it. Hopefully it goes well.

So many other topics I might have written about have come and gone, lost with the passage of time. Who cares what I thought about the Project Runway finale since that was weeks ago? I don't know that I've even mentioned The Celebrity Apprentice at all this season. I've been reading through three different series of books but I haven't had time (or motivation) to talk about them here much.

It's difficult. Most days I don't want to come and sit here in front of a computer after I get home from work. Weekends are full of the things I can't get done during the week or shopping or spending time with Adam or taking a nap. It's times like these that I can't even imagine how people who have actual lives deal with it. I mean, I hardly do anything and I still find myself worn out at the end of the day.

That said, props to all the moms out there today, (and, of course especially my own mother).




I don't know how they do it.

Great "Time"-ing...

Well, this is awesome:

Police found a suspected car bomb in a parked sport utility vehicle Saturday evening in New York City’s Times Square, then evacuated buildings and cleared streets of thousands of tourists in the landmark known as the “Crossroads of the World.”

Now I'm REALLY looking forward to our NYC trip in two weeks! Request to terrorists: please take the days of May 17-19th off, ok? Thanks.

Oscar Update

I've finally updated my sidebar there. It's been a rough few weeks for movies. We had the Transformers movie on the end table for like two weeks. We just couldn't bring ourselves to watch it so we finally just returned it. Recent views include The Young Victoria (good), Paris 36 (great - like a combination of Mrs. Henderson Presents and a really toned down Moulin Rouge), Up in the Air (ok, never really been a Clooney fan, but I liked Anna Kendrick), and Precious (eh, ok, but not what I expected with all the Oprah-endorsed hullabaloo it generated.)

A lot of the movies on the list recently came out on DVD so I'm hoping to knock through them going forward.

Dentist Days

I had my first dental appoinment in about ten years on April 13th. At 7am. Yay for mornings. It was also my first time having X-rays taken, so that was an experience. I have a pretty small mouth and a terrible gag reflex, so it took awhile and totally sucked.

Things in dentistry have definitely changed since the last time I made a visit. They have this computer technology that allows them to look at the X-rays and see if any areas look sketchy. They can then use some analytical tool to see if the program thinks it might be a cavity or something. They pretty much map out what they think they'll see before I even open my mouth.

The exam itself wasn't too bad. I'm not a fan of being poked in the gums, but I'm tough. I learned that although I'd been away from professional care for ten years, I was looking ok. I had a few minor cavities, some plaque, and I need to floss. Not too bad.

I scheduled a deep cleaning appointment for the next day and went to work. And had a terrible headache all afternoon.

The deep cleaning was similar to what I remember from the last time I was at the dentist. They have this ultrasonic thing that blasts crap off your teeth. What was definitely new was the suction thing. No rinsing and spitting anymore. They suck the water out of your mouth with a hose. That took some getting used to.

I had my first of two filling appointments (one for each side of my mouth) last Tuesday. At 7 am. Once again, not too bad. My small mouth is a definite issue and most of the discomfort came from the streching and pinching rather than the drilling and filling. And Novocaine or whatever they shoot in my mouth to numb it? Weird. I'd never had that before either. Burns when you swallow though, so don't do that.

I took some tylenol as I went back to work and was ok for most of the day. Toward the end of the evening (I had an IMA meeting that night) I was starting to feel phantom vibrations from the drill and that was kind of painful, but by the next day it was pretty much gone.

I had the second appointment scheduled for Thursday but I took Wednesday off because I was sick and I still was sneezing and coughing too much on Thursday for me to be comfortable with someone sticking a drill in my face. So that's rescheduled for May 21st since I have vacation that whole week of Catherine's graduation anyway. Final step is a final cleaning in June.

Ok, that was a lie. Final step for the dentist is a cleaning in June.

I kind of omitted the whole oral surgeon part.

I knew going into this that the dentist was going to take one look at my mouth (or in this case, the X-rays) and say "out with the wisdom teeth!" (a la the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland.) The first thing out of his mouth when he looked at my full mouth X-ray was "you still have your wisdom teeth? How old are you?" Great. So, yeah, he referred me to an oral surgeon for a second opinion, but it's pretty much guaranteed that they'll want to take them all out. They're all in some state of decay and one or two are pretty close to nerves so it should be a good time. I have a consultation with the oral surgeon on Monday. Boo.

Jewelry Organization

A few weeks back I decided that I needed a new jewelry box. I had two - one for just earrings and another for necklaces, rings, everything else. My main problem was the box for necklaces opened on both sides, but I could only really use one because the other side opened into the wall. So I was left with three hooks for all my chains, which was annoying me.

I wasn't finding anything in the stores and Adam caught wind of my search. He went online, found some plans for a wood rack, consulted with his Dad, and a week later this is what he brought me:



The bottom has brass hooks for me to hang all my necklaces on:



The rest of the shelf is evenly spaced notches that are perfect to slip earrings into:





It's worked wonderfully and the cats don't seem to have gotten into it yet. The two issues have been that small studs get lost in the notches and hoops don't work with the notch system either so I've had to keep them in a separate container. Overall, though, a wonderful solution!

5ive

2005 was a big year for me. I (officially) graduated from college. I started my “real” job. I bought a new car. And then, five years ago today I posted a blog entry that inspired a phone call that resulted in a decision. We sure dragged our feet on this one, but April 13, 2005 was the day Adam and I decided that we were, indeed, dating. Each other, that is.



We sure got down to business after that though. By September we had taken a week long road trip to New York without killing each other and moved in together shortly thereafter. As in the night we got back. That totally sucked. But let’s not relive the bad times, eh?





Anyway, Adam has introduced a lot of things into my life. Camping (though we’ve never had much luck.) Mexican Food. Chopsticks (which I like to think I might have started to get the hang of after our last visit to Katsu Ya.)



We’re very different people. Adam’s impulsive. I like to sit on things for awhile before I act. (Or, in other words, I procrastinate. A lot.) Adam likes to watch men in spandex throw each other around. I like to watch E! Adam thinks crab legs are the cat’s pajamas (good lord, SATC flashback!) I prefer eating a pound of potatoes. With lots of black pepper.



Not that it was even a competition, considering the previous record for a relationship in my life was three whole months, but I’d have to say that all in all this record-breaking relationship has been a good five years. It’s amazing how time just flies by.



(We still miss you terribly, Fr Mike!)

Rarely in Real Life

No real reason for this post other than to show everyone this:



On Easter we were up at Adam's uncle's house playing the Wii with his cousins. He apparently got bitten by the Wii bug and promptly went out and bought one. We created our Miis and this is my first attempt at Wii bowling. I think I did pretty well.

Reminds me of that one time I beat Adam in actual bowling...



And yes, this kind of thing happens so rarely I do take pictures every time. So I can bring them out every once in a while to remind Adam that I do sometimes have game.

Also, is anyone else a little creeped out by how much Adam's Mii looks like him?

Cruelty

So this was April 4th. Yay for spring and bunnies!



Then this was April 8th...



"Spring?" said Mother Nature. "You must be crazy. This is Wisconsin! Bwahahahahahahaha!"



Well played, Mother Nature. Well played...

Weekly Update #7

Status Update:
Pounds lost this week: none - I actually gained .4 pounds
BP this week: 122/79

Recap of the week:
My stress level at work this week went way up and I didn't handle it well at all. I was in SAP training every day from 8am to 5pm. I also had to try and keep on top of my regular workload so I was putting in another hour before training and 30 to 60 minutes after training and checking me email at home in the evening. Long days don't go well with me. We were also having lunch brought in every day so I was eating like crap. Our grill was stolen on Tuesday so we had an impromtu shopping trip and meal out that evening. Carly was especially obnoxious this week with her nightly disturbances so I was also sleeping like crap. Add it all up, and it made for a not-so-great week. So I must say I was surprised to see I'd only gained .4 pounds since I hadn't even considered working out at all the entire week.

This coming week might not be much better, but hopefully I'll be equipped to deal with it more successfully. I have training Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday starts another month-end cycle. I'll have long days all this week again but I'm trying to get back in the swing of working out and eating better. I tried to plan easy, no-brainer meals for dinner this week since my brain tends to get fried after 9 hours of SAP talk.

In other health-related topics, I made my annual doctor appointment a few weeks back. I asked for the first appoinment of the day and was shocked when they came back with 7:15. That's awesome! I'm back with the NP instead of the OB/GYN so perhaps this will be a more pleasant experience. That's not until August though. Both Adam and I also have dentist appoinments coming up in the next couple weeks. I haven't seen a dentist since before I graduated from high school (you do the math) so I'm kind of afraid to know what they might find. I'm also afraid they'll tell me they have to take my wisdom teeth out. Ugh. We'll see how it goes. My appoinment is April 13th.

Photographic Memory #16

My younger sister turned 25 years old this past Friday so this Photograhic Memory post is dedicated to her.

Here we are in October of 1986:



We did theater together. Apparently I'm supposed to be a daisy and Catherine is "the wind":



Sometimes we dressed alike:





We both grew our hair out:



We acted silly for the camera:





But only she did a dance in the Office Max parking lot. I really have no clue what that was about...



We visited Niagara Falls when she graduated from college:



Danced like fools at my wedding:



And in a couple months we'll meet again to celebrate her graduation from medical school and her transition from student to resident, from NYC to Boston. She's accomplished a whole lot in just 25 years!

Happy Birthday, congrats and good luck, Catherine!

Photographic Memory #15

So, there was this time that a rabbit climbed up into my engine and decided it was a good place for a nap.

My check engine light came on when I started my car so I popped the hood to take a look. Not that I'd know what to look for... but whatever. This was the Saturn (ie, the car from hell... part 3, and I figured I needed to top the oil off.) At first I didn't see it, but then it moved and scared the living daylights out of me.



I took a picture because I knew no one would believe me. I'm just so glad it wasn't injured. I know I wouldn't have handled a "puree of rabbit" very well.

Then again, it did chew through some wires and cost me something like $500. So, I was not happy with the rabbit. But I understand its reasoning. I'm sure being up in my engine was warmer than under a bush or something...

Kitties in the Sunlight (and other pictures)

JC. I especially like the reflection in the glass table top:



Connor:



Ted:



And yes, even Carly:



Although she looks a little ticked because Connor was laying next to the table:



Other shenanigans...

Ted conked out on the couch next to me. Don't you just want to eat that paw up?



JC, Connor, and Ted hanging out on the bed:



The clasp on my necklace broke so we moved the barstools up to hunt for it. Carly saw this as a perfect opportunity to explore:



(And I realize he's not a kitty, but) Adam, the roofing man: