Mom's Musings

Hmmmm

2011-11-14T11:51:00.000-05:00

I'm afraid I am becoming stuck in a rut..... maybe I'm just getting old. We are back from a quick trip to Utah for Melissa and Shane's wedding. I'm glad to be back home. Glad to be back to my routine, it's a lame routine, but it's mine. Glad to have my bed back. Glad to be back in my house with my things. Maybe I'm just getting more possessive.

Anyway, congrats to Shane and Melissa. It was good to be there with them and with family all around. I am very relieved that Rod was not called to be stake president, I didn't think he was going to be, but you never know. I had a nice detailed conversation with Adam last night and it was very good to touch base with him. Now I am alternately trying to brow beat myself into clearing off the treadmill and forcing myself to start using it, and saying for get about it -- you're entitled to some rest and relaxation. I think I will end up somewhere in the middle. I will most likely clear off the treadmill and think about getting on it tomorrow...........

Spring in WNY

2011-03-23T18:38:00.000-04:00

That's all I can say..............

Almost Spring

2011-03-20T15:00:00.000-04:00

Offically, at 7:21pm EDT, spring will make an appearance in WNY. I have to say that this last week has given me some hope. It seems to have quit snowing. As we all know, anything can happen here and I'm sure we have not seen the last of the snow, but it isn't snowing. Also, all the flowers that Dad planted along the sides if the creek appear to be as tired of the snow as we are, because they have leaped out of the ground this week. Some of them already have flower buds on them. So, it's time for the annual spring clean up. I've already picked up 2 big sacks of dog poop in the back yard -- much more to be done. Leaves that are left over need to be raked up, bushes trimmed, lawn to be fertilized, etc, etc, etc. Where are the Lawn Saergents when you need them?

You might know....

2011-01-11T11:20:00.000-05:00

Almost as soon as I learned that Susan had been taken to the Huntsman Institute, I knew that I would be asked to speak at her memorial service. I incorrectly assumed that President Free would be doing the asking, and I knew I would have no problem telling him no and sticking to it. I was going to suggest that he ask his wife, Maureen, to speak. Last night Merril called and asked me to speak at her memorial. How can you tell a grieving spouse no, you simply will not speak at his late wife's services? This is not going to be easy. I may just stand and cry for 8 of the 10 minutes he wants me to speak. What can you do?

The last goodbye

2011-01-01T07:26:00.000-05:00

I had a dear friend pass away this week. It has been a particularly rough week. She was only 59 years old -- a year and a half older than me. Sometimes I feel really old, but most of the time, I just feel like me. Having life remind me that I am mortal doesn't really frighten me, just a sober reminder. Having said that, can I just say that cancer sucks? They call it the loving disease because you have time to say goodbye. For those of us who witness the progression of this insidious malady, I think we have a different view of it. To watch someone literally wither away is devastating. Susan was a force of nature. I have never met anyone with so much energy, ability to get big things done, or positive influence on so many lives. There was no task too big or complicated for her to tackle. Except cancer. I already miss her and my heart is literally broken. The last time I saw her I was concerned about her condition, but I thought we had more time. I was pretty casual with my goodbye that day. You couldn't really hug her, she was just too fragile. She was leaving in 2 days for a cruise that I thought would re-juvinate her. The next day I was at her home doing some things she couldn't do for herself, but she was off at the outpatient lab getting a dose of chemo before her trip. I left a note with a smiley face letting her know I had gotten everything done, telling her to have a wonderful trip, and that I would see her when she got back. Now I know that that was to be the last goodbye. Would I have changed anything if I had known? Probably. But I would have been just as sad as I am now and most likely could not have been able to express what was in my heart. Susan knew I loved her by the things I did for her. Making sure she had flowers to brighten her day from time to time, bringing her things I thought would entice her to eat, being the person she could say anything to and it not be repeated or criticized, doing what she needed to have done. And, possibly that is the real lesson here. Everytime we perform an act of kindness, and all help -- big or small is an act of kindness, we are putting our stamp on our goodbye. It doesn't have to be big, it doesn't have to be eloquent, it just has to be from the heart, and we who are left behind need to remember that our crystal balls are a little cloudy and we did the best we could with the information we had. Cancer still sucks. I am still sad. I still miss Susan. But a smiley face on a yellow pad was probably OK for our last goodbye.

Really?

2010-11-01T10:02:00.000-04:00

Is it really November 1st? I can not believe how fast this year has gone. And, I am behind on Christmas already. I get these big ideas thinking I have plenty of time to complete them. And, really, I do when I think them up. But then all kinds of crazy things happen and I end up not having any time to complete them. I haven't even gotten the fall decorations up from the basement yet! So, yesterday Brother Dayton issued a new calling -- activities committee chairperson. I need to know what your most successful activities and maybe even some not so successful activities have been.

Genealogy Workshop

2010-10-23T14:54:00.000-04:00

I taught a class in the Genealogy Seminar this morning at the stake center. The seminar was mainly geared towards the public, but church members weren't excluded. Anyway, I taught a beginning genealogy workshop. This is a subject I can basically "wing" for 50 minutes, but since it was geared towards the public, I thought I should prepare a little. So, I put together a really nice power point presentation complete with pictures, transitions, little bits of glitz and motion. It was fun! I haven't really worked on a power point since.... I think it was Shelton Wills funeral. Anyway, it turned out really good, maybe even impressive. It was entertaining and people learned a little something too. Mostly I wanted just to whet their appetites and then refer them over to FamilySearch.org, or Ancestry.com, or the local FHL for further help. And, it gave a new audience for my family history adventures. I learned a few new things along the way and enjoyed the experience. I guess that's all you can ask.

This and that

2010-10-13T12:20:00.000-04:00

Yesterday some one flipped the switch. All the fatigue I had had and the general malaise was just gone. Vanished. I feel great once again. And, to top it off, my stitches came out this morning. Pathology report says just a benign cyst and no sign of MRSA. I am good to go!

Napping

2010-09-26T13:10:00.000-04:00

It's a little hard to see, but Maddie is using Rumples rump as a pillow. Some dogs are everyone's dog, and some dog's attach themselves to one person. Rumples loves everyone and is always glad to see them come, but he is attached to Maddie. He tolerates her hugs around the neck with goofy grins. He lets her pat, and rub, and scratch him. And, he will even serve as a pillow for her. Even I could not be allowed to use him for a pillow, but apparently, Maddie can do no wrong as far as he is concerned.

Go figure...

2010-09-20T19:17:00.000-04:00

I thought I was soooo clever making my own lotions that were solving all my skin problems. Then, reality check! Turns out I am allergic to beeswax. How do I know? Terrible, horrible, itchy, raised rash everywhere. And, I do mean everywhere I was using the lotion. Hopefully 6 days on steroids and steroid cream will calm it down.... if not, more serious treatment will be needed. Great. Go figure....

Always a circus.........

2010-09-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

Just when I thought life might settle down into a routine..... I'm thinking now it might never happen.

We're back

2010-08-30T09:06:00.000-04:00

We had an unexpected trip to Utah. This time for a happy occasion, well, happy for us, sobering for John. Anyway, it was a good trip. The weather was really good except for one day. We made good time going out and coming home. We had a good visit with everyone but Missy.... where were you Missy? I even got to spend some time with Coreen. It was much too short as always, but it was very good. Now back to working on the retreat, my class, taking care of the dog.... he's got a new problem with his leg, and feeding missionaries. It doesn't take long to come crashing back in.....

School

2010-06-29T16:53:00.000-04:00

Yes, after being away from school 37 years, I decided it was time to finish that degree. I took the plunge, ordered a class and it got here on Saturday. I opened up the syllabus yesterday morning and nearly had a panic attack! 16 lessons, 8 speedback assignments (quizzes for those from the prehistoric era), 8 papers, 1 book response, a proctored midcourse exam, and finally a proctored final exam. After a few minutes of hyperventilation, I finally peeled myself off the ceiling and started the positive self talk, "I can do this. I can manage my time and fit this in. This is something I am doing for me. This is doable." Yeah, right. Anyway, I gave myself 1 week to do the first lesson and paper. They are now done on day 2. The paper doesn't get turned in until the very end of the class, but I did get all the questions right on the quiz for an A. OK, OK, it was an open book quiz, but still......

Vacations

2010-06-27T08:54:00.001-04:00

I love vacations. You get to see things you may not have seen before. You get to eat great food and don't have to do the cooking.. Someone else makes your bed, cleans your room, picks up after you. You get to talk to your spouse about mutual experiences. I think we should get to be on vacation all the time......, oh, wait. I think that's called retirement. Hopefully, we'll have enough money to do some of this kind of thing then......

New Computer Monitor

2010-05-28T11:13:00.000-04:00

My nice 19" computer monitor died this week. Dad had some time this morning, so we went shopping. It was interesting to see who has monitors and who doesn't. Who want to sell you something and who doesn't. Anyway, we ended up at Best Buy and got a 22" monitor. All I can say is WOW! It's like working on the TV in the living room. Dad can sit and enter stuff in and I can see it from the sewing center. Some of the programs don't quite know what to do with all the real estate. It's NIIIIICE!

Displaying quilt photos

2010-05-26T09:28:00.000-04:00

I never thought of displaying quilt photos on the blog until I read Tara's blog this morning. I bet I have made close to 500 quilts over time and I have very few pictures of them. This is certainly something to think about. Usually I am late getting the quilts to someone for some event, and I'm pretty much sick of them by the time they are ready to go out. But, I do wish I had taken photos of them if only to see how my style, technique, and preferences have changed over time. Well, maybe I will start with Ruthie's quilt. It's nearly basted and quilting will most likely start tomorrow. And, then on to the next one..... there are two more ready to quilt, one being cut, one that is all planned out in my head, and 2 more that I'm still thinking about for this year. That's about it, unless someone comes up with a baby I don't know anything about yet, or get's married..... it would be OK if some of the children want to get married......

Ugly, Bad Trend

2010-05-25T11:34:00.000-04:00

I am really hoping that this isn't the way our lives are going to be from now on, but you have to admit, it is a bad trend. Monday morning, 3:00. The phone rings, Dad is on call, they've been paging him, but we haven't heard it. Big problems at Kaleida. Big problems. He is basically up the rest of the night and I don't get much sleep either. Then this morning. Even earlier. 2:30 the phone rings, I know he's not on call, so I assume something with Church. (For the 1st time in a long time, I don't assume it's any of the kids. Am I a bad mother, or is this a new stage in my life?) Well, it is something at church. Church headquarters are calling from SLC to inform him that the door alarms and motion detectors are going off in the building. They will turn off the alarms, but it's up to Dad if he wants to call the police. We're 18 minutes away. So, we call the police on the way down. They finally show up, and there has been a break in. Not much damage because the alarms scared the stuffing out of them. They left behind a broken window, glass in one of the the classrooms and blood here and there. The police aren't going to do much -- they say it was probably a bum. I don't blame them really. What are they going to do? The chances of catching someone from the forensics in a building where nearly 200 people come to church is next to none. So, back home by 4:30ish. Dad is hungry so I fix breakfast and we are off for a walk before 6. Finally back in bed by 6:30, but the sun is up and shining through the window. The crazy robin is back fighting phantom predators, the baby squirrels think everyone should be up, and Rumples is at our door crying because his world has turned upside down. We gave up on sleeping shortly after 10.

Sunburn?

2010-05-21T17:09:00.001-04:00

Does anyone know if you can get a sunburn through your clothes? I was wearing a t-shirt and I swear I got sunburn on my upper arm.

Rest now? Probably not....

2010-05-19T20:09:00.000-04:00

Stake conference of over. Whew! I really don't mind all that much speaking in stake conference, but I would like to get assigned a subject, especially when we are having a general authority. I'm not really hopeful things will quiet down, it's just wishful thinking.

Mother's Day

2010-05-12T09:39:00.000-04:00

Thank you for all the phone calls, cards, gifts, and dinner. They were all muchly appreciated. And, may I also say, snow for mother's day, however little it is, is not amusing.

In Honor of National Hamburger and Pickle month

2010-03-06T19:27:00.000-05:00

I just want to say that in honor of national hamburger and pickle month, we went to Fuddrucker's for lunch and had the 1/3 pound bacon cheese burger with dill pickles. It was mighty tasty. I'm sure the doctor would be highly disturbed -- not conducive to weight loss, not conducive to lowering cholesterol, not within the guidelines of a diabetic diet. But it was mighty tasty!

Birthday Over

2010-03-01T09:46:00.000-05:00

Whew! Another birthday come and gone. Lisa invited us over for dinner on Friday to celebrate Maddie's, Dave;s and my birthdays. She fixed chicken parm and made lots of really cute cupcakes. Thanks Lisa! She also got me a gift card to JoAnn Fabrics, very nice. Mom sent a beautiful planter basket. The plants are really pretty and the basket will be a nice addition to my collection. I heard from most of the kids -- thanks for the birthday wishes! I still haven't heard from a couple of them and quite frankly, I'm disappointed. I try to support them from far away and always remember them at birthdays and Christmas. It shouldn't be so hard to remember to call your Mom on her birthday. On the flip side, I got to hear from several friends and that was really nice. Rod let me buy a new sewing machine.... and not just any sewing machine. It's a Baby Lock Espire. It has an onboard computer, it's updatable via a USB cable on the internet. You wouldn't believe the things it can do. It will probably take me the rest of the week just to read the manual that comes with it.

Now I remember...

2009-05-28T09:12:00.002-04:00

Now I remember why I waited 23 years to visit the dentist. I had a check up in December and was pronounced "fit as a fiddle". No cavities, no gum problems, no nothing. Come March, I had a broken tooth. After another x-ray in mid-April, the dentist declares it has to come out. And, of course he has to comment that it has the longest roots he has ever seen and it won't be easy to get out. Thanks Dr. Rhoads! So, yesterday I went to our friendly neighborhood oral surgeon -- I think they have seen everyone except Dave -- to have the tooth out. He gave me a few shots of novacaine, goes out, takes a look at the x-rays, and comes back and gives me a few more shots -- one right in the roof of my mouth... he nearly got kicked. Anyway, doesn't he say -- that tooth has the longest roots I've seen in a long while. Thanks. Anyway, now I remember why I don't go to the dentist.....

Winter

2008-12-22T22:03:00.005-05:00

Lovely, isn't it? Between Friday morning and this morning, we got 2 feet of snow.... another 4 - 7" is forcasted for tonight.

Notice Al Gardner's car parked on the street. It's not a huge car, but you have to admit it would be tough to get in on the passenger side. We did a good job of clearing out the driveway though, don't you think?

The fence is 5 feet tall. That "bottom" rail is really the middle one. After the first day Rumples was running and jumping through the snow. After the second storm, he gave up. There's yellow snow all around the patio.....

April is how far away?

Memory Tag

2008-07-14T18:35:00.001-04:00

I saw a post on a friend's blog and thought it would be fun to remember some good times. Here are the memory tag rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.Thanks!

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm

2008-05-24T13:15:00.001-04:00

Your results:
You are Apocalypse

Apocalypse		55%
Magneto		51%
Lex Luthor		48%
Dr. Doom		48%
The Joker		47%
Juggernaut		46%
Green Goblin		46%
Kingpin		45%
Mr. Freeze		40%
Venom		35%
Catwoman		31%
Dark Phoenix		27%
Mystique		26%
Riddler		26%
Poison Ivy		24%
Two-Face		22%

You believe in survival of the fittest and you believe that you are the fittest.

Click here to take the "Which Super Villain are you?" quiz...

School?

2008-05-06T16:52:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I'm thinking of maybe trying to finish up my degree at BYU. I need 8 credits before I can be accepted into the Bachelor of General Studies Program and then I'm not sure of how much or how long it will take. My guess is 3-4 years doing it part time. By then I will be 58-59. Now I am of the mind that education is never a bad thing, but what about the effort and expense as compared to any real monetary benefit in the future. If this were 10 years ago, I would definitely go for it. But, as it is, I really hope to not be working in 3-4 years. It's a quandry.

2007-09-19T13:55:00.001-04:00

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick.

You're always willing to lend a helping hand.

In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going.

"15 seconds to showtime!"

The Muppet Personality Test

Just as I figured

2007-09-02T09:00:00.000-04:00

OK, so now I've tried it and I hope it copies over OK

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English
15% Upper Midwestern
10% Dixie
10% Midwestern
10% Yankee

Can't figure out how to get the picture to come over....

Now I'm in the dog house...

2007-07-03T15:57:00.000-04:00

Missy and Dad left yesterday morning on their great adventure. Rumples is absolutely convinced that it is all my fault that they left. He doesn't meet me at the door after work, won't talk to me when I am home, and hasn't eaten anything since they left. He just won't listen to reason. He did however go on a walk with me this morning, so maybe all is not lost.

How could it be?

2007-05-25T14:09:00.000-04:00

How in the world could it be Memorial Day weekend already? I know it has been an especially busy year, but, WOW! Anyway, I made my annual trek up to Hi-Way Produce to get the flowers for around the house today. When we were loading the flowers into Missy's truck, I was sure I had been over charged for some stuff, so I went back in and pulled a very nice cashier out to check my receipt. After going over it with her, there was no mistake. I spent more than $100 more this year than last. I couldn't figure it out, because in all honesty, I probably got less this year than last. After I got home I realized that the flats of flowers were the same price each this year that we got 2 for last year. Add flowers to the list of things going up in price.

OOPS!

2007-03-21T19:48:00.000-04:00

Now that I have quit whining, I remembered what else I was going to talk about. What a wonderful opportunity I had to be with Andy (Drew) and Kay and Anson and Lorin. I really appreciate Andy and Kay letting me come out and pretend that they needed me to be there to "help out" . Anson was a blast and I think he started thinking of me as someone who might be OK to have around there near the end. Lorin is amazing. I can not believe how fast she is growing and how alert and engaged she is in what is going on around her. The added bonus was that I got to see John and Tara and their girls several times. It's good to be able to make frequent contact even if you really don't do anything at all. By the way, when I first got there, Lily was about 3 times the size of Lorin.... I think she's only about twice her size now. And, for those keeping score -- Lily looks alot like Kate did when she was a baby -- except she has blue eyes!

I know, I sound like a broken record...

2007-03-21T19:43:00.000-04:00

but, the last 2 weeks in Utah it was sunny and 70 nearly every day. I got warm, I got to see the mountains every day, I got to see some configuration of the grandchildren every day, no snow, no coats, and people for the most part are very nice. Tell me again why we are living in Buffalo? It is so beautiful there, there were days I was wondering just why we ever left. Ok, enough whining even if it was 21 degrees when I landed in Buffalo.

This just isn't right...

2007-02-09T11:25:00.000-05:00

Do you know how hard it is to come home to Buffalo after being in Utah? We went out for Lily's blessing and had a wonderful time. We got to spend a lot of time with everyone out there and couldn't have been happier. Andy and Kay let us stay at their place even though KayLynn was so close to her due date. We really enjoyed ourselves. Then it came time to go home. We had heard the weather was bad here in Buffalo.... but when it's sunny and 50 in Utah, you kinda don't care. IT WAS AWFUL!!! 6 degrees and snowing like crazy. It's cold everywhere, even in the house. When you go outside, the cold wind rips your breath away. The longest flight home was fairly miserable with a very crowed flight and someone bigger than me sitting next to me taking up her seat and half of mine. Dad and I were squeezed into 1 1/2 seats for 3 hours. Yesterday I took a container of soup out to a family that is going through some really rough medical trials right now and slipped on the sidewalk leaving and had a spectacular fall. And, KayLynn had the baby the day after we left. Now, I'm not mad at Kay. There is no control over these things. But couldn't something be pleasant about coming back to Buffalo? I've vented and I feel better now. Congrats Andy and Kay!!!

2006-11-30T16:53:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's been quite awhile, but then it's kind of been same old, same old around here. Except of course for going down to Amy's, having Amy & Co here for Thanksgiving, working 12-14 hour shifts 6-7 days a week trying to get this new registration system working right, still trying to get the yard cleaned up after the October storm... you see what I mean? However, things are going well. We seem to be surviving the work load and Dad has developed a real talent for house work. I appreciate all the support he's been giving while I have been working my tail off for Kaleida. I had today off and while I was gone to lunch with some friends, Erie Co Water Authority dug a great big hole in our front yard...........

No heat, part 2

2006-10-25T23:20:00.000-04:00

It was a little cold in the house on Monday night, but I didn't think too much about it... it is fall after all. Then yesterday I didn't have to work, so I was in the house all day. I kept hearing this sound like an electrical motor trying to start and not being able too..... it was the furnace. Dad has pulled the blower motor tonight and he is going to try to find a place to buy one tomorrow. In the meantime, it's getting pretty cold. The Marriott is starting to look pretty good to me.

We have Light!

2006-10-15T22:45:00.000-04:00

The juice came back on at 7:45 this evening. We had 62+ hours of no electricity and no heat.... Now that may not sound all that bad to you, and maybe it isn't. But it was darned inconvienent. It's the little things that get you. Dad kept putting things in the microwave and punching the buttons. Everytime I went into the bathroom on the 1st floor, I flipped that stupid switch for the light. Everytime my eyes popped open at night I raised my head up to see what time it was... I have now gone 3 days without blow drying my hair and I am afraid some of the interesting shapes it has take may be permanent. All in all, we made out pretty good. No damage to the house that we can see. We had plenty of help on Saturday and got the lion's share of the yard cleaned up. And I broke out the cast iron turkey roaster and cooked with it a couple of times. It cooks frozen ham baked potatoes really nicely and I baked corn bread in it tonight. Thanks to the Hatzenbuhler's generator we didn't even loose anything really important in the freezers. Alas, it's back to work tomorrow.

Oh, all right...........

2006-10-11T19:36:00.000-04:00

I know, I know, I haven't written anything for awhile. Between Relief Society's lice-a-thon #2, working nearly full time again, and things around here, I hardly have time to run to the bathroom. Enough said about lice-a-thon #2. At work the powers that be decided to scrap the two registration systems that the hospitals use and bring in a brand new to put everyone on. Now, I'm all for this. I think all the hospitals ought to be using the same registration system and the new one is much more up to date than anything anyone was using before. I'm not, however in the majority with this opinion at work. This new system is more complicated, more detail oriented, and anyone doing an audit will know immediately who is doing what they are supposed to be doing and who isn't. Some of the secretaries don't think this is such a good thing. I figure is I'm doing my job correctly, I've got no problems. Anyway, there are several components to the training and I took the 1st one over the weekend. That means I worked last Monday, Tuesday, went in for a couple of hours on Wednesday and then drove to Bath NY for a funeral, then went to work on Thursday, Friday, trained Saturday, Sunday and back to work on Monday for another full week. Needless to say, I'm getting a little tired. I'm looking forward to the weekend just to do something other than work. The only consolation is that I will be getting a couple of good checks and will be able to pay off one of the credit cards and start hammering on another.

Updates

2006-09-26T10:25:00.000-04:00

OK, we made it through Dave's surgery, Andy and Kay's quilt is finished and on their bed (yipee! yahoo! OK! alright! FINALLY!), and I had a great visit with Kate, Mary, Emma, Ruth, and Anson. All and all not a bad couple of weeks. Now for a little rest before Darren, Amy, Evan and Madelyn get here on Thursday.........

It doesn't take much...

2006-09-02T10:33:00.000-04:00

It doesn't take much to throw me off my diet. I thought I had done so well last week. Stayed on program and drank all my water. And when I weighed in I had lost a great big 2/10 of a pound..... needless to say I was upset. Now I know that last week I weighed in in the morning and this one was at the end of the day, so, I really was likely to have lost nearly 2# more than that, but I was not in the mood for thinking rationally. So, we went to dinner at Smokey Bones and I had pulled pork, smoked sausage, and french fries and ate every morsel..... Today I am very sorry for having binged and will try to get back on program.......

In spite of being very non-compliant...

2006-08-26T13:35:00.000-04:00

I managed to loose another 1.4# this week. Up to 10.8# lost so far. Hopefully, this will be a better week. I only have to work 2 days....... YAHOO!

Now that I am off the soapbox...

2006-08-19T10:12:00.000-04:00

I also weighed in yesterday. Drumroll please! Another 2.4 # gone. That's up to 9.4.... not great, but I'll take it.

Dodge Dealerships

2006-08-19T10:00:00.000-04:00

For anyone out there considering the move to a Dodge Caravan -- think carefully. It's actually not a bad little car but it does have some annoying problems and the Dodge dealerships aren't particularly helpful. We've had a lot of suspension problems with this car (and apparently so has everyone else who owns one judging by what I learned on the net). Now so far everything has fallen under the extended warrenty and we have had to shell out very little for repairs. However, the dealership has never been able to do the work in one day and frequently I have been without a car for up to 3 days. They also seem to always be able to find at least $400 worth of work that isn't covered under the warrenty that absolutely must be done. According to what I read from others who have owned this car, Dodge acknowledges the problems, but just refers everyone back to the dealership where they purchased it. What has happened to standing by the product you produce. Dodge isn't paying for the repairs on this car -- our extended warrenty company is. If they know that this model has these many problems you would think they would take responsiblity for them wouldn't you? And, you would think that once a problem is fixed, that you wouldn't have to fix it again. Wrong! We've had the bushings replaced on the front end at least twice. Power steering has been completely overhauled twice. I drove that last Ford van 167,000 miles and never replaced bushings or sway bars. I did have to have the power steering system completely replaced while it was still under warrenty (only up to 36,000 miles) and never had another problem with it. Needless to say, I will not buy another Caravan.

Success raising like a phoenix....

2006-08-12T14:29:00.000-04:00

It's been a bad couple of weeks at work.... too many patients, too many docs, working too many hours, so the diet has not gone well. Last week I didn't even get to go to a meeting. However, I forced my self to go last night after work and much to my amazement, I had lost another 1.4 #. That is a total of 7 altogether. It is very slow to be sure, but something is working......

Otherwise, it has cooled off here and we are loving this weather. Days like this remind us why we haven't left Buffalo yet. When it's nice, it is darn near perfect.

Nearing the completion of Drew and Kay's quilt.... 5 1/2 years is a long time to be working on one quilt.... Sorry guys!

Cats and Dogs

2006-07-29T10:56:00.000-04:00

That's what it's been raining here, cats and dogs. I will refer you to Dave's post from yesterday..... it wasn't very fun to come into work with no phones and no computers. It did make for an interesting day however. I weighed in last night before we went to Red Lobster and was down another 3#..... of course this morning tells another story. But, I'm sticking with another 3# loss!

Another week down

2006-07-22T17:44:00.000-04:00

Let's suffice it to say it was a wild one at work this week. But good news, I was down 2.6# this week.... almost back to where I started.......

Went to pagent last night. They have made changes in presentation and costuming... it was pretty good. The anti-Mormons are better organized and infinitely more annoying than ever. They now have bull horns, professionally made signs and are quite aggressive in persecuting us. It was very tough to ignore. We were parked up front right by the fence so we had to walk right past them to get to our car. Next year I think we are going to take Rumples and tie him to the front bumper of the car with a 25 foot lead and make sure we get parked right up front. See if they can tolerate a little persecution right back. Hope they have their track shoes on!

Garden

2006-07-18T18:09:00.000-04:00

Ok, since John bragged about his pear tomato -- we ate the first cucumber and the first zucchini out of the garden last night. Both were wonderful! I was amazed to find out how many web sites there are out there with Zucchini recipes.... We may get to try many of them judging how large the plants are getting....

Update

2006-07-15T12:09:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I haven't posted for 2 months.... it's been a little busy here. We really enjoyed having everyone here this summer. We're almost back to normal. I'm going to leave the outside toys out for a little while longer to see if anyone decided to come back for another visit, hint, hint, hint. And, the diet isn't going well -- I think I'm going to have to go back to weight watchers meetings. If I can find a session that is convienent.... Since the first of this month I have had to replace my education counselor, enrichment counselor and leader, welfare services counselor and compassionate service leader..... don't you think it would be just as easy for the bishop to replace me too? Anyway I have 4 more weeks of full time work and then I think things will settle down to a dull roar again. Rumor has it that they are close to hiring another part time med sec and then I can go back to part time. I'll miss the full time money, but need to be at home more.

Weigh in #2

2006-05-14T13:26:00.000-04:00

Saturday is weigh-in for me. I was down 2# this week. Not spectacular, but, better than nothing.

Problems

2006-05-09T16:55:00.000-04:00

I need suggestions.... if you've got any. 2 weeks ago Titan bit my visiting teacher in the face. Now, he was provoked, he didn't tear, she didn't need any stitches, and as of right now they haven't mentioned anything about suing us. But, Titan has to go. No one here is very happy about it, but, we can't have a dog that bites. Gordon Setter rescue responded today and will not take him because they won't take a dog that bites either. I really don't want to surrender him to the SPCA -- any thoughts?

Biting the bullet

2006-05-06T13:24:00.000-04:00

Ok, since John and Amy are brave enough to put their weight loss goals on the blogs, I guess I will too. Although, I will not be telling you what I weigh.... let me keep a little dignity. Anyway, my weight loss goals are the following:

30# by August 31

15# more by October 31

15# more by Christmas

That's a total of 60# by Christmas. I know it's rather ambitious. I know that I have never been this successful before. I know that basically I am a slug and hate dieting. But, I gotta start somewhere. Hopefully we can positively reinforce each other.

She got me!

2006-04-24T19:40:00.000-04:00

Yup, Melissa got me good! It's been awhile since one of you has put one over on me like that -- she is the current champ!

Another week down

2006-04-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

Well, I survived this week and I think I did it pretty well. Work is getting easier to survive. I got quite a bit done in the house. And we went to a regional auxillary training meeting last night in Rochester and it was worth going to. I also had to re-arrange my presidency this week, due to my Education counselor being snatched for Primary President.

I am starting to get to know the docs at the new site. It is a family practice with Drs. Thomas, Schenk, Berger, Morelli, Kowalski Sellers, and Newberger as attendings. We also have 3 3rd year residents, and some 2nd year and 1st year residents I'm not paying any attention to at this point. Dr. Berger is the only female attending and seems a bit dis-engaged. I don't think I really know who Dr. Morelli is yet and apparently he and Dr. Berger are married.... at least that's what I think I figured out this week. Dr. Newberger is very quite and doesn't say much. Dr. Kowalski is very nice and went out of his way to welcome me to the site and introduced himself as "Pete". Dr. Sellers is pretty elderly, and will only see his very own patients. He is only there one afternoon a week and only sees about 6 patients. He's a little crotchity, but generally well liked. Dr. Thomas is the director of the facility, and Dr. Schenk is the character of the bunch.

Two stories. I met Dr. Thomas last week, but he pretty much ignored me until yesterday. I over heard him talking to one of the residents telling him about being an officer in the air force. I piped up and told him about Adam being a sargent in the army and getting ready to go back to Iraq for a 2nd tour. All of a sudden I had value! I'm an army mom! He went out of his way 2-3 times then yesterday to talk to me. Thanks Adam!

I also met Dr. Schenk this week. Now keep in mind that he must be at least 6'3". He has a full beard that is graying sort of unattractively and he has his thick curly hair tied back into a pony tail that hangs down to his mid back. I was looking for a chart on Tuesday around his desk when he came into the library. He growled at me. I kinda smiled and kept looking for what I needed. and he growled again. It wasn't a cough, or clearing of the throat, it was a growl. I thought, is he nuts? or is he messing with me? So I took what I thought was a safe route and chuckled a little bit. Darn if he didn't growl louder and meaner again. I turned around, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Hi, I'm Pam Payne the new medical secretary. I've raised 5 boys and I carry a great big old stick!" He howled! He thought that was about the funniest thing he had heard in a long time. Now he's my buddy... thanks boys!

Progress

2006-04-19T09:54:00.000-04:00

I'm beginning to make a little progress in getting ready for everyone being home soon. The step down room is definitely beginning to look like a room. We had estimates on building a fence around the back yard.... why didn't someone tell me it was going to be so expensive?!? For a nice vinyl fence like John and /or Drew's, it was going to be $8,000. But the estimate for a 6' high wood fence was $4300. Even the cheap 4' chain link which we didn't think could really keep the dogs in was $2700. So, no fence. I guess we will just have to keep a closer eye on the kids and get switching dogs on the cable.

Spring -- maybe

2006-04-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

I think Spring may have finally arrived. I've seen daffodils, forsythia bushes, tulips, etc. I even saw a Robin today. How do you spell relief? SPRING! Work is going well, although I feel more tired working at the new place than at the old one. Don't know why, maybe I'm just getting old.

April 2, 2006

2006-04-02T15:14:00.000-04:00

We got through April 1st this year with no torment, no craziness, no tricks, no fibs, no swearing, no adreneline rushes. It was nice and boring. I do have to admit though, I did check the caller ID every time the phone rang just to see if it was one of you lying in wait to torture me. I did answer a call from John -- he got me on the way to an early meeting and I figured that it was actually too early for him to have thought up anything really awful. Then at 9:30 this morning -- no early meetings, no work to get up for, no dogs barking, Ed Stull called.......

Good and Bad News

2006-03-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

The good news is.... I have a new job. The bad news is.... I have a new job. I am grateful that I've been hired. It's a very busy family practice clinic that sits behind Millard Suburban. I'll be making the same money I made at the pain center and everyone there seems really nice. Just when I was getting good and lazy again......

Short & Sweet

2006-03-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday after church, Dad asked me if I knew that there was a Stake High Priest meeting at 7:00 and that wives were invited. I thought, great, another long winded meeting, making me miss "West Wing", etc, etc, etc,. We got there about 5 minutes late and Brother Bunker was speaking. I thought, I really like to hear Doug speak, so maybe this won't be too bad, but I'm still gonna miss "West Wing". Doug wound up about 7:45 and President Free went up to the stand, and instead of introducing the next speaker, he announced the closing song and prayer. I was stunned. A 45 minute stake high priest meeting. Go figure. And, best of all, Dave had taped "West Wing".

Argh..........

2006-03-22T09:12:00.001-05:00

Just so everyone knows, it snowed today. It's going to continue snowing today, and tonight, and tomorrow too. They don't expect to get too much out of it, but the fact remains that it is snowing. Yesterday was wonderful, and today it is snowing. I have a lot to do today as we are putting on a dinner in connection with Enrichment Meeting tonight, and it's snowing. Did I neglect to tell you it's snowing here?

Yes!

2006-03-16T14:26:00.000-05:00

Today is about as beautiful a day as we ever get in March. It's about 40 degrees, bright sunshine and no wind-- really couldn't ask for much better. It's got me hopeful again that winter will soon be over. Anyway, when winter is over, everyone one will be coming home for a visit. There is much to do before they get here. Currently, I am cleaning out the step down room, again. I have never seen a room that could get so cluttered so quickly. It's as if it grows it's own clutter. But, when I start cleaning, I recognize nearly everything there. I have a plan though and I'm hoping that I can stop some of the "dumping" that occurs in that room. We're going to turn it into a TV/rec/craft room. I have a vision. I'm not sure that Dad completely shares my vision, but he has been very co-operative so far. I think though that he's not really interested in replacing the carpet because everytime I stopped to look at carpet the other night at HomeDepot and Lowe's he would keep right on walking.....

I Would Have to be Completely Nuts

2006-03-15T11:01:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a job interview at the Millard Suburban ER. I would have to be completely nuts to accept that job! Double the stress of working at the Pain Center and you might be approaching the stress the medical secretary is under at the ER. I sat with her for about 3 nano seconds before I decided that that wasn't the place for me. They were prepared to offer me the job and have me start on Monday -- had to disappoint them.

Hopes Dashed

2006-03-14T10:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we had thunderstorms and 62 degrees..... today it's snowing. There is just something fundamentaly wrong with that! Fortunately, I really don't have to go anywhere today. Yesterday I had an appointment @ corporate to take a typing and Microsoft Word skills assessment. Wouldn't you think that since I am a registrar I wouldn't have to do things like this? Anyway, they now know I don't follow directions. I started off with a bang by jumping right to the test instead of the warm up and of course I typed the wrong script. So, they had to start me over again. I did redeem myself though by scoring 50wpm with no errors. Then I took the MS Word test.... I didn't know there was so much I didn't know about Word! Anyway, I know how the program works, so I bluffed my way through to a very high composite score. They think I'm extremely employable......

No will power...

2006-03-10T09:47:00.000-05:00

I was just going to take Angie up to Pine Grove because she needed material for a quilt she was making and just couldn't find what she wanted anywhere else. I wasn't going to spend any money, maybe look around, but definitely not spend money. $60 later I had some great stuff, could have spent at least $100 more, fortunately some reason prevailed. But I did get some great stuff!

The job search

2006-03-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

I got a call from human resources at the hospital yesterday.... let's say they are worse than useless. The union guidelines say they are supposed to see that we are placed in a comperable position to the one we lost.... These people do not know and don't care to know what they are doing. Basically they went through the job postings from Kaleida -- which I had already done. Told me what was available -- which I already knew, and told me I could apply for any of them -- which I had already done. Thank you human resourses! Anyway, one of the jobs I applied for was a non-union job -- it would be nice to be able to tell the union to take a hike. Other than that I haven't really put much effort into finding a job. I guesss I want to exhaust my Kaleida options before venturing out into the real world.

Is spring ever going to come?

2006-03-06T10:15:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, it's only March 6th, but I am really tired of winter. After spending a few days at Amy's where spring is literally coming in a few days, it was hard to come back to snow on the ground in Buffalo. Anyway, it was great to be in Maryland to welcome little Madelyn to the family. Everyone is delighted with her except Evan..... let's say he's not quite smitten with his new sister yet. The Beck's and Hatzenbuhler's came for dinner yesterday and brought birthday presents.... can't wait to spend the gift certificate at Pine Grove. Should hear from human resources at DeGraff today. Hopefully they are going to do something to get me employed....

More Craziness

2006-02-16T15:30:00.000-05:00

So, Dr. Bansal comes in this morning and right off I here her for yelling for me.... she just wanted to let me know she missed me and was glad I was back.... OK, so who took our Dr. Bansal and what did you do with her? Anyway, she wanted to chit chat and eventually she got around to asking me why I wasn't going with them to the new office. Not wanting to ruin a perfectly lovely morning, I told her it was because no one had made me a serious offer yet. She seemed a little confused, so I told her that just because I was making $12.75/hour at Kaleida didn't mean that that was all I was worth. I also told her that I had skills that none of her current employees had and she was going to need them in the new office. So, I might have just set myself up.... but, I really don't think they are going to want to afford me, so doesn't hurt to tell her.

Valentine's Day

2006-02-15T15:14:00.000-05:00

Valentine's day was nice. I didn't have to work, Dad got me some nice flowers, Missy got me some nice flowers, we had a good meal (which I cooked, but that seemed Ok this year). I want to know what Tara, Amy, & Kay got though.... are you boys doing right by your girls?

Extended Warranties

2006-02-14T12:04:00.000-05:00

In general, I am not a believer of purchasing extended warranties -- you hardly ever use them and then you've spent all this money for nothing. However, when we bought the Caravan, we did purchase an extended warranty for up to 100,000 miles. Well, we're almost there folks.... and that warranty has paid for itself a couple of times over. I took the car in yesterday for a power steering problem and came away with a few power steering pump, a new water pump and a new transmission selenoid package (whatever that is). This is the second power steering pump they have put on the car, makes you wonder if Dodge put the wrong pump in this model. Anyway, she's up and running and ready to go again.... just in time to make a run to Indiana hopefully before Miss Krieger makes an appearance.

Part time, Yeah!

2006-02-01T19:02:00.000-05:00

Yes, I believe that part time work is the way to go.... I can escape the asylum before the inmates can have too much effect on me. Dr. B. asked me yesterday how my mental health was now, like she gives a rip! But I told her I was a happy girl, skipping all the way home every day. Dr. W asked me today why it was that I wasn't going to the new office with them. I told him that no one had made me a serious offer yet. He was a little confused until I told him that the morons he had left the hiring to had screwed up bad.... I think he got that.

TGIF

2006-01-27T15:50:00.000-05:00

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! Relatively warm (42), sunny, birds are singing, a promise of spring in the air..... not bad for January. Today is Rod's birthday. I asked him last night what he wanted for his birthday dinner tonight and he said bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches..... he must really have a craving. I got him some socks, a pair of jeans, some dress pants and a GC to Gander Mountain. He should be pretty happy with those things.

Yahoo!

2006-01-26T17:24:00.000-05:00

I think yesterday was the last day I have to work full time. I informed the powers that be on Wednesday that I wanted to go down to part time as of this coming Monday and when I got my work done this morning, they said I could go home. I went shopping, had lunch, put the groceries away, and got on line all before I would have left the torture chamber. This is going to be a very good thing.