Happy Hour Chatter

Another Christmas season done and memories made. It seems that we prepare for weeks, months even - and it's done in a matter of hours. The wrapping paper dots the floor, Christmas goodies eaten, the wine bottle(s) empty, and the guests have left for home. The build up is exciting and the winding down is bittersweet. T and I had a most enjoyable holiday (sort of). Christmas Eve was spent at my sister Peg's house - as has been tradition since I was 10-years (?) old. Her daughters Joan (with Matt in tow) and Karen were both there this year, which was wonderful. We had a delicious meal that was beautifully prepared, and of course, my personal favorite - wine! We managed to inilate 3 bottles again this year. After opening presents, Matt and Joan suggested that we play their Wii Fit. Now, I've never done video games in my life - I'm just not a fan of them. But, not wishing to be a spoil sport on Christmas Eve, I made the trek to the back room and commenced to play Wii...

I have a song in my head and I can't get rid of it! I keep hearing it, humming it, singing it, and it won't go away! I'm held captive by a song! What is it you inquire? "Start Me Up" by the Stones. Not the most soothing of songs to have playing in my head! ~LOL~ Which leads me to a question: If you had to have a song playing in your head - quietly in the background - for the rest of your life, what would you choose? Would you choose an instrumental, jazz, rock, classical, vocal? I've given it some thought and I think that I would choose an instrumental. I don't believe that I'd want to hear words or voices in my head (any more than I hear now! Hahahaha!). Seriously, that was a joke...I do NOT hear voices in my head! :-) I definitely think it would be an instrumental. Perhaps a by Jim Brickman or George Winston who I admire for their expertise at the ivory keys.

until Christmas and it is storming outside! Geeez! How am I supposed to get the rest of my shopping done? It's my own fault for procrastinating I guess. Those who know me know that I do my best work under pressure! (Some say that I pull it out of my a** quite well!) ~L~ Truthfully, I do not have all that much to get; a few things for my mother-in-law, and a house gift for my brother-in-law Bill and his wife. I don't buy for my side of the family anymore - although Peggy (my sister) will get a nice bottle of wine for our Christmas Eve dinner. That takes me back to a memory of Christmas of five or six years ago. My brother was living and working in Germany at the time. He came home at Christmas with bottles of a German wine that can be served warm or cold. He brought Peg and me each a bottle for Christmas Eve. Now, Peg already had a bottle of wine opened, so we drank that as we were preparing dinner. We then, of course, HAD to open a bottle of the wine Terry had brought us. We tr...

Today seemed to go on forever. I am so backlogged at work it isn't even funny. I am encouraged with that, however, as it surely means job security! (Fingers crossed!) ~L~ Seriously, the State would have to be in dire straights before they riffed anyone from our facility - hopefully. This day and age, one can never be too sure though. I try not to let the doom and gloom of the economy affect my psyche - after all, I AM a "glass 1/2 full" type of lady. But, I admit that it is hard to ignore the stories of hardship that hit the news every day. So...for as long as my day was, I'm thankful for it. I have a job to go to that puts food on the table, pays the bills and the little "extras" that come up. There are many who are not as fortunate. I'm thankful that I am healthy, fit and able to work - there are many who wish they could. My heart goes out to those that are experiencing difficulties this time of year - either with job, money, health or family issues. I...

-18 degrees for a high??? Wind chills in the -45 range?? Lows tonight expected to be -25 (without the wind chills factored in)?? Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!! Well, as you can see, my efforts to dig myself out didn't work real well. I got up, pulled on the layers of clothing and made the trek out to the garage to start the snow blower. Didn't go so well. Don't know why I thought I could start it when T has problems with it himself. So, I thought to myself, "well, if I can get the garage door open, I'll just grab the shovel and shovel the snowbank out in front of the door so I can drive out." Yeaaaaaahhh, right! I couldn't get the garage door open. It was frozen shut. I tried to pry it open but no matter how much I think I may resemble Superwoman, it wasn't moving! So, then I thought.... well, let's walk out to the driveway and see just how much snow there is anyway. (Insert snort here). Hello! I think all of the snow in the county ended up in my drive...

Goodness gracious! As the wind comes howling through plains, it brings with it cold Arctic air and snow! They predicted this one dead on and they were right for a change! It's 10:46 am and I'm looking out my window to the north and cannot see the garage (that is my visibility gage). When I cannot see that garage to the north, I make the migration to the south windows and look for the 1st line of trees in our yard. Nope, cannot see them either. It's official - we're in a blizzard! ~L~ Last night around 8:00pm, T bundled up and made the trip over to the main farm to stay with the cattle. Noooooooo, he isn't literally staying WITH the cattle, but in the main house. He and his brother do this during storms to make sure that everything goes OK; water fountains stay unfrozen, cattle stay in the feedlot (they tend to want to break out and travel with the wind in the storms - silly cows!) and that they are fed (cattle lose a lot of weight during storms and cold weather so i...

Heating fuel in the tank................................................check Gasoline in the snowblower..............................................check Animals fed and taken care of...........................................check Essentials (Tpaper, ketchup, milk, bread, sodapop, pretzels, peanutbutter, CHOCOLATE,).............................................................check Good book to read ......................................................check Feel good movie to watch (if taking break from good book)...............check Warm fuzzy slippers.....................................................check Electric blanket........................................................check Projects to do in case of boredome (Christmas Cards)....................check Jammin tunes and plenty of Mike's Lemonade for wee hour blizzard party (OK, it may only be a party of ONE, but that's beside the point,I'm prepared!!).....check Hangs on cuz it's gonna be a bumpy ride but da...

... and I don't mean the type from a poisonous snake. This is the human type of venom - and it wasn't pretty. My paths have crossed with this individual on more than one occassion and each time I walk away with a sense of remorse. He/she carries a grudge - a chip on their shoulder that has turned in to be a boulder. It's all about them, the wrongs done to them, and how the world is out to get them. They do not speak good of others, and they do not trust a soul. I can feel the hatred oozing from them the minute I get within 5 feet of them. They hate the world and they want you to hate the world with them. How sad. I don't pretend to know what kind of life this person has led, nor do I know of the injustices done to them that have made them feel such hatred toward the world. I do know that I limit my contact with this person whenever possible, as I never feel good after the encounter. I do understand the right to be independent and to look out for oneself. I, too,...

..take me away! Better yet - just give me a bottle of wine, some jammin tunes, and leave me alone to readjust my attitude! (Ha!). And you all have a nice day now, ya hear?! :-)

...that we need reasons to get together and visit, catch up, laugh, cry, or just feel companionship? I went to Buck's funeral today - a touching and sad event, with a lot of tears, remembrance, and a few chuckles at his "antics" throughout the years. I sat with co-workers of mine who work in different departments and later, went to the fellowship lunchon and again, sat with them and talked. We were a group of people who used to frequent "staff debriefings" or, in other words, "happy hour" after work and let our hair down. I heard a few people (co-workers and also Buck's family members) make the remark today, "it seems like we only get together for funerals and weddings" or "it's been so long since we have had a chance to sit down and catch up." I know from first hand experience that life can be busy, hectic, and just plain irrational at times. However, I've come to the realization that I'd rather sit dow...

Sadness It is with sadness that I write this post. Another of my friends has succumbed to his illness and passed on to a better life. “Buck” was a former co-worker of mine. He passed away Tuesday at the age of 50 – his 51st would have been this coming Saturday – which now is the day of his funeral. Buck and his wife Chris have had many battles to overcome in their lives – many of them would have made even those with the strongest of wills crumble. Buck’s health started to decline due to an incident at work from which he never really fully recovered. Heart issues, diabetes, PTSD, and other issues took their toll on him. I remember Buck for his humor and quick wit. Although I didn’t always agree with him on certain issues, I knew him to be a loving father and husband. Donna (close friend and co-worker) and I took a meal over to Chris, Alaina, and Otto and visited for a while. Chris is heartbroken as she just lost her best friend and husband. She’s trying to be strong, as she a...