Forgive me if my typing is a little shaky.....my teeth are still chattering from standing out in the cold and watching the Christmas Parade. 

After the week I've had, I was needing something normal to get my balance back, so Ice and I went out to eat Chinese food, then beat a path to Main Street to watch the parade.  There we stood out in the freezing cold, watching our fellow townspeople coming by on their various floats and it was wonderful.  These same people that we deal with every day and rarely have time to stop and chat with were all there waving back at us from their perches on floats, fire trucks, police cars, or even tractors.

I deal with so many by day that are all business, as I am, going about one task after another, bumping into each other at City Hall or various meetings around town, glancing at each other as we hurry through Wal Mart on our way home from work.  But then the sun went down today and we all gathered to pay tribute to each other as we were all focused on one thing.....Christmas!  And a community comes together to see the pretty lighted floats and listen to our neighbor's kids in the marching bands.

And as I huddled against the best looking man there, I was smiling inside for the first time in a while.  I got what I went for and now I'm ready to get back to business tomorrow with a lighter heart, knowing that through all the hard work and the frustration, the lights of the parade will stay with me.

Now where did I put that hot chocolate?  Ahhhh........

Pup

Twelve days, twelve hours, two minutes and counting down til the state recertification team hits the door and I hope they will overlook the babbling idiot that's supposed to be running the place when they get here, lol.

I'm absolutely loving our new offices and the fact that every tom, dick and harry from off the street isn't roaming up and down our hallways anymore.  We have a huge open area in the back of the building that we haven't quite figured out what to do with yet (we will, don't worry) and I was able to sit down on the love seat back there, prop my aching feet up on a chair (minus the shoes) and go over Policies and Procedures again for the thousandth time today.  Ahhhhh.....

I've barely looked up this week and I'm getting ready for a heap big pow wow (staff meeting) on Friday to distribute the ton of copies I've been making for two days.  Everybody gets new stuff for each location and office and I'm going over all of it with a fine tooth comb to make sure it's all just perfect for recertification.  But I'm gettin 'er done, by golly.

Ice is going to work with me on Friday to move smoke detectors and hang fire extinguishers, bulletin boards and the like.  The office assistant ran out to buy two new office chairs today and left them for him to assemble.  He's even offered to make the new "evacuation maps" that have to hang in every room, so kudos to my sweety!  He's my hero!

The move is still going on, although we have everything physically relocated (except the smoke detectors).  The phone and internet guy was there for three days and I thought he would NEVER get done.  Then there were problems and the internet wouldn't work, so here comes the computer guy with dollar signs shining cheerfully in his eyes.  At one point, I had both of them demanding my attention, a co-worker wanting her computer assembled from the move, the phone ringing from upstate, and a board member dropping by to "tour the new place".  Such is a typical day for me lately.  But it's coming together.....oh so slowly.

I'm tired, but don't have time to notice much.  I've walked a million miles the last week in the office and currently have three desks and two computers totally tied up with what all I'm doing for recertification.  Am I complaining?  Yes.  But as long as I'm accomplishing something, I'm happy.  It's the days that I can't get anything accomplished that get really frustrating.  If I'm moving forward, I'm in a much better mood.  Yesterday was the "nothing accomplished" kind of day and was a total bummer.  Today I only stopped long enough to throw my lunch in the microwave, but got tons of work done.  Hense the better mood, lol.

I"ve been trying to drop in on all of you as much as I can, but it's hit and miss lately, at best.  But don't give up on me, my friends.  I'm still around and will have much more time after this nightmare is over for another three years.  Oh, I can't wait! 

And, you guessed it....I brought work home with me, so I'm gonna shut up now and get to it.  Catch ya in a day or two.  Love to all!

Pup

Hi ya folks!  Just a lazy Sunday around here (so far), so I thought I'd let everybody know I'm still alive and kick.....uh, well maybe shufflin, lol.  The ole body doesn't take to kicking much any more. I have dogs to wash and a house to clean, but for now, I'm taking a breather and just doing what I want to.  The house is warm, the coffee is good and I just had a great breakfast. 

I've been wandering around on the internet and listening to a little music.  I was just watching Shania Twain's video of "You've Got A Way" which is a special song to me cuz it always makes me think of Ice.  So I was into the song and thinking of the great time we had yesterday, just being together at home and when it stopped, I could hear Ice's playlist going from the living room.   The song that was playing at that moment was "I Like My Women A Little On The Trashy Side".  Kinda blew the moment for me, ya know?  LOL 

If it weren't for the knee-deep oak leaves in the back yard, I'd swear it was spring around here.  The weather has been great, but I keep hearing the ominous weather forecast for next week which calls for a "Blue Norther" to blow in on Thursday and drop the nice 70 degrees by about thirty, so I'm thinkin I need to get the sweaters out of mothballs for the winter. 

Ice blew all the leaves off the roof with the blower last week and they all landed in the already covered back yard, so they are pretty deep out there.  He blew a bunch up in a big pile out by the kennel and I looked out later to see that Peanut had wallowed himself out a hole right in the middle of that huge pile of leaves and was curled up, sleeping like a baby.  It was the perfect Kodak moment, but he heard me on the back porch and promptly got up to see what I was up to, darn it.  So much for the perfect picture.

I didn't have to cook much for Thanksgiving.  I just made one of those very yummy and very rich lemon pies with all the eagle brand and cream cheese, which didn't take very long at all.  Ice's mom overdid it with all the food tho and although we didn't have a feast at home, we were loaded up with leftovers on the trip home, so we've been munching on those since we got back.  I do think that today is a good day to discard the rest of it and get down to some "regular" food again.  All that rich food is great for a day or two, but then I start craving a hamburger or a simple ham sandwich.

Anyway, I just wanted to check in on the stream before I hit the floor runn.....uh, I mean walking fast, lol.  Sally needs a bath and some attention and so does Peanut and Junior.  Then it's laundry and house cleaning.  Then I gotta tackle the stuff I brought home from the office.  So adios again for now and I'll leave you with my song to Ice.  Sing it, Shania......

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Love to All!

Pup

Looks like my song isn't going to work.  Oh well, you get the idea.  Later!   

It's bedtime, but I wanted to extend a very Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends here on the stream.  I think of you all every day as I try to keep up with the current demands of my life.  And this place and all the wonderful people here are one of the things I'm thankful for this year. 

I miss having the time to write about the things and people that I love, and sharing all my zany Schnauzer pictures and stories.  I will have more time after Christmas to do more of the things I love to do, such as blogging, and less of a demand to do the things that seem to have no reward at times. 

We've moved our offices during the last week and are still working at it, but our new space is much better for us and I am already enjoying my new office and the general setup.  It took the phone guy three days coming and going to get the phones and internet all set up, so I was getting pretty tired of him and his helper in the way all the time, but he finally finished on Saturday so that I could finish putting offices together and the computers set up. 

Ice and my family helped on Friday to get the heavy stuff moved and I took a crock pot full of home made soup and cornbread for all the helpers.  It went very well, but my poor feet were killing me after running all over the building all day.  At times, I could hear my name being called in three different directions and it was like running around through swiss cheese trying to find the sources, lol.  But all in all, I was so pleased with the progress and all the help we got. 

Ice's folks came for a visit on Friday and stayed until Monday morning.  I didn't get to spend much time with them since I spent almost the entire weekend at the office, but I did finally get off early Sunday so that we could all go to my folks' house for a visit. 

They brought Molly with them, so she and Sugar had the time of their lives running and playing and keeping us all entertained.  Tomorrow, Sugar is going to the beauty shop for our trip to the City for Thanksgiving and she can once again run and play with Molly. They are such a pair and we love them both.

I've had a lot of problems with my upper back and neck the last couple of months, so I was sent for an MRI.  Doc said my neck and upper spine were pretty "ragged", but nothing warranting surgery.  But he wants to send me back to the neurologist for his opinion.  And a nodule was spotted on my Thyroid gland during the MRI, so I had to go back today for a sonogram.  It seems to go on and on and I feel like they have me going in circles that never end, ya know?  I've come to the conclusion that I'm getting old and there's nothing they can do about it, but they're gonna get their two hundred bucks a visit while they can.  lol  Oh well, life may be a little painful once in a while, but it's good anyway!  Right?

Well, that's about all the drivel I know for now.  I think I'll go find my bear and see if he's ready to go snuggle up in that big ole bed.  Good night to all and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Pup

Yesterday was my son's birthday and I thought about him all day.  He is my firstborn and his sister came along ten months later (she was early).  I thought about when he was a baby and fought going to sleep constantly.  But he loved to have his ears cleaned with a Q-tip, so I learned to grab one and twist it just inside his ear and his eyes would get heavy and he would soon be off to sleep.  He was a climber as soon as he could crawl and always had to see inside everything he came across, so I was constantly getting out of the kitchen cabinets, where he would play with the pots and pans or a sack of beans.  Or getting the cornmeal or flour out and pouring it on top of Ginger's head while she giggled herself silly. 

He caught his first fish at age 3, when he caught a huge carp that would be hard for anyone to land.  He reeled and reeled til his arms got tired, then he just started backing up til the he literally dragged the fish out onto the bank.  That fish was definitely hooked, but not as hooked as Kevin was on fishing for that day on.  When most boys were coming home from school to watch T.V, Kevin was making a beeline for his bike and his rod and reel.  And off he would go to the creek or a nearby pond.

He's now grown and on his own.  And I'm so proud of the man he has become.  He's had some hard bumps in his adult life, but through it all, he is and has remained a good man, responsible, and has his priorities straight.  I used to feel so guilty for not being able to lavish him and Ginger with all the extras when they were growing up.  But one day I realized that maybe being poor, although not the best way to grow up, at least taught them to value what they had and realize the value of a dollar.  I know a lot of parents of grown children that wish every day that their kids would grow up and stop depending on them.  So I'm really proud of my kids and the adults they have become. 

Kevin grew up without a strong male role model, but yet he has become one.  So, hats off to my 32 year old "baby boy". 

I love you, son.

Pup