Halloween..... for Relay for Life

My employer raises money for Relay for Life. One of the fundraisers was wearing a Halloween costume for fellow employees to judge in 3 categories - Scariest, Funniest and Most Original.

I wore my costume and paid my entry fee, made me feel good to donate that money to Relay.

Now I don't know if I won anything, that will be announced tomorrow but if I don't it doesn't matter....

This was a quick and easy, out of the closet costume. I used to do something like this in college, only thing missing is my jug of "moonshine"..... in fact, I used to wear these bibs over 30 years ago. Thanks to my recent weight loss, I CAN wear them again :)



Dad if you see this.....

Do you recognize the jacket?????

:)

Edited 11/11/07: No, I didn't win a prize but then again, I didn't expect to!

T-Minus 12 Hours.....

Until I leave for the 2007 Ohio Fall Retreat!

I've never been to Holmes County, Ohio, also known as Amish Country so I'm excited about that. I'm also excited about seeing old friends and meeting new.

But, I do hate the packing!!! Got the scrapping stuff packed, now to pack the clothes.

Best of all, 4 straight days off work. I need it so much after the last 2 months.

And, yes I do have my pictures packed :)

Look-Alike???

This interesting website was posted on SS. Of course, I had to try it :)



This was my 2nd try. My first try had me as looking like my mom by 7%..... I used different pictures of both Dad & I but the same pic of Mom.

May have to find some pictures of me as a child and my parents as young adults to see what it says....

Cleveland State University Vikings Volleyball

My cousin's daughter, Jordan, is a junior on the CSU volleyball team. She has played all 3 years and has been a starter the past 2 years. Last year I was able to see them play in the league tournament since it was only an hour from me at Wright State.

Earlier this season I was going to go to Toledo to see them play in an invitational unfortunately, I attended a funeral instead on that day. Friday night was my only other opportunity to see her play. They were at Wright State again for a league match.

Of course, my cousin, Sue, and her husband, Ed, were there and it was good to see them. Sue's dad, Uncle Bill, was there as well with his sister, "Aunt Betty" that I've known forever. But I was really surprised to see Becky and Nathan. Becky is actually a cousin to my mom and Sue's mom. We had a super time catching up with each other as well as watching the volleyball.

Needless to say, these 2 teams made it exciting. They went to 5 games with the score of the final game being 16-14. Unfortunately, CSU was on the losing end of that score.

Of course, I took lots of pictures (over 60) and I'm pretty happy with them. Here are several of them. First 2 are Jordan during introductions, she plays libero so is always in a different colored shirt than the rest of the team.... Makes it easier to pick her out!







And, here is an action shot.




I'm so proud of her!

Update on Work-Hell

Today was a very bad day. The project I was working on that was due on Monday just wasn't coming together like it normally does. That'll happen when people change procedures without thinking about them. I was so frustrated with it by lunch time that I had a mini-meltdown during lunch. I just sat here and cried for 5 minutes. Didn't even eat lunch, just drank a slim-fast shake.

I told the HR gal after lunch about it. She told me to be strong and not let it get to me. In fact, just before she went to lunch, she met with my boss and they had decided that she might possibly have to find a temp to help out. They were going to wait and see what she could find out tomorrow. She also said that she would ask co-worker to make up a list of some of the monthly stuff she does so that we don't miss anything. Small things like writing up a voucher for postage....

Later on, I saw the co-worker's daughter come in to see the HR gal. A little while later she called me back to her office to meet with her and my boss.....

My co-worker is officially on FMLA leave for an undetermined amount of time. Her diagnosis is some type of vertigo. She has to have some rehab and these sessions totally wipe her out.

And, with that they wanted to know what skills a temp should have. We discussed it and there are a few things that a temp could do to help me out that wouldn't take that much to learn especially since I would be available to answer questions. Hopefully, they can find someone and get them in place next week. They are thinking part-time for now with the possibility of more hours if my co-worker is off for awhile.

In the long run, I will still be working some long hours for the unforeseen future, but if I get help, maybe I can cut it back to 50 hours or less....

Until a temp actually happens, I guess I better plan on working 12 hours a day...

It has been a long 3 1/2 weeks.....

Dad & Martha came to visit for a little over a week. Love having them here. But unfortunately, the payroll clerk was on vacation that week so I was working 10 hour days. And, add to that, Dad's brother Mike passed away while they were here. Thankfully, the funeral was on Saturday so I didn't have to miss work for the funeral or miss the funeral for work. I'll blog about Mike later. Worked 48.5 hours that week.

Week 2 of the payroll clerk's vacation was the following week. Had month end stuff as well as all the payroll stuff. Worked 50.5 hours that week. Thankfully, it was a holiday weekend and I had 3 whole days to relax. I looked forward to her return from vacation on the next Tuesday. I knew I'd be working long hours trying to catch up on my work and doing all the beginning of month stuff (bank reconciliations, etc) that would need to be done by today.

At 6:45 Tuesday (9/4), her daughter called and said she was in the hospital in Illinois! OK, I'm back to payroll mode. As the week goes on, it is not looking good for her to come back even though we heard she was admitted for dehydration. We find out on Thursday that she is back in Ohio and in a hospital here having all kinds of tests run on her to determine why she has the dizziness. On Friday, we find out a little more and that it looks like she won't be back to work for at least another week. So in 4 days, I actually worked 45.5 hours.

She called in today and she is out of the hospital. She has a couple more tests at the end of the week but has gotten a probable diagnosis. In the meantime, she is not allowed to drive. She is hoping to be back next Monday, but in my gut, I highly doubt it.

Today was the 4th week that I did payroll.... it was only supposed to be 2. The work that needed to be done for my boss isn't even half done although that was my priority last Friday. The only good thing to come out of this is that my boss and the HR gal now believe me that I need to have a backup for MY job..... Yeah, I don't have one. If I'm not there the work doesn't get done. You know what.... I have been telling them this for a couple of years.

It boils down to this. In the last 3 weeks, I have worked 144.5 hours. I probably spent no more than 40-50 hours on my work. If these were normal weeks, there would have been 112 hours of work that I would have doing for my job. In other words, I'm about 60-70 hours behind..... Did I tell you that I have to have ALL my billing done by 9/28? Yep, it is fiscal year end and all uniforms purchased and "sold" have to be done before the physical inventory is taken 9/28.

Needless to say, even if the payroll clerk comes back next week, I will still be working 10-12 hour days. I usually do in September/October but so far this year is the worst it has ever been.

On top of all of that.... I've been have "twinges" in the heart area all day today. I know it is the stress but they have not gone away tonight. I may have to leave work and go to the doctor tomorrow for an EKG just to make sure everything is all right.

I keep telling myself though, that the paychecks are gonna be mighty nice :) So nice that I've decided to treat myself to a scrapping retreat the end of October! At least this one is in OHIO!

Senior Moments..... 1973/1974

The latest Scrapshare blog challenge.

In honor of the new school year, think back to your senior year of high school, and answer these questions accordingly:

1. Who was your best friend?
Had 2, we were always together. Pam and Cindy.

2. Did you play any sports?
No

3. What kind of car did you drive?
1964 Ford Falcon



4. It’s Friday night. Where were you?
High School Football Game in the fall. Basketball during the winter. Or just out with Pam and Cindy.

5. Were you a party animal?
No

6. Were you considered a flirt?
No

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir?
Band--loved it! Also choir but I'd rather forget that.

8. Were you a nerd?
No

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled?
No

10. Can you sing the fight song?
In my head, absolutely. Out loud, no way would I ever subject anyone to my voice!

11. Who was your favorite teacher?
Tie between band director and bookkeeping teacher.

12. What was your school mascot?
You mean someone dressed as a mascot? We didn't have one. Our nickname was (and still is) Redskins.

13. Did you go to the Prom?
Yes with Gary.



14. If you could go back, would you?
While I thoroughly enjoy looking back on those years, I'd rather not live them again. Now if you would be talking college and my 20's, just maybe ;)

15. What do you remember most about graduation?
Walking in next to Marjean. She had her baby 9 days later.

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day?
We didn't have one.

17. Did you have a job your senior year?
Started working at McDonald's the end of April a few hours a week.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch?
School cafeteria. We were not allowed to leave the school grounds. However, instead of senior skip day, some of the seniors did skip lunch one day the last week of school. My friends and I didn't but some others did. One girl told us in English class right after lunch that the Asst Principal stopped them and asked them to pick up some cigarettes for him while they were out.....

19. Have you gained weight since then?
Of course.

20. What did you do after high school?
Got a college education and have been working since 1978.

171 miles or 288 miles?

Which one would you rather travel to meet someone?

I'd rather drive 171 miles.

However, I drove 288 miles....

all the way to Ingersoll, ON Canada to meet Loridear from SS.

We laughed all weekend about "Indiana" and "Ohio" having to go to Canada to meet! Now that we have met, we hope to see each other either in Indiana or Ohio soon. Lori and I did talk about maybe making a run to Sonic in Fort Wayne and having emmylou drive down from Michigan to join us.

Here we are....

Diet/Exercise -- 6 Month Progress Report

I had a meeting with my trainer today and I later realized that I first met with her 6 months ago on Jan 23. I actually started working out at the gym 1 1/2 weeks before that. On Jan 3 I had a doctor visit and I was weighed at my all-time high of 145 pounds. On Jan 23 I weighed in at 140.6.

So Jan 23 is when I started changing my eating habits. I had of course been eating all the wrong things and not enough. She stressed that I needed to eat more, not less because I was starving my body and that's why I was gaining weight. My 2nd weigh-in with her I gained 2 pounds but since then I've always lost.

Now, today I was a little worried about my weight because of the weekend at SWON and not doing any cardio exercise. I actually hadn't done heavy-duty cardio since last Tuesday, just walked the dogs on Wed/Thurs/Sun. I knew what I had weighed on the gym scales last Tuesday. I was amazed today that I had only gone up 1 pound!

She also took measurements today and we calculated how many inches total I have lost. She is extremely pleased with my progress and is going to design a program to now focus on the firming up of the upper arms, abs and thigh areas. I'm to keep up with the cardio I have been doing but we'll add some more strenuous strength exercises.

Of my original goals I gave her, I have already met one goal -- the loss of 15 pounds. I have also gone down 1 size in clothes. So now my goals are to go down 5-6 more pounds and 1 more size. I'm extremely close to the size goal but my pooch of a belly is the stumbling block. Hence, the need to firm that area. I will never have "6-pack abs" -- never have, but the pooch could be smaller!

We also talked about the health concerns I had when I started with her. I told her I'd be getting my cholesterol tested in Oct again and hopefully it will be as low as it was in March after working out for just 2 months.

So as of today, from Jan 3 I have lost almost 20 pounds. I have also lost 13.5 inches! 8.75 of those inches have been in the waist, hips and thighs.

The lifestyle changes I have made are so worth the end results!

SWON!!!!

I made it in one piece.....

Took an hour to get across the border but otherwise the trip was uneventful.

I've met a lot of very nice women and spent quite a few hours scrapping. I have even used my CraftRobo to do some titles..... I've taken a few pictures but with 34 other women with cameras, I haven't worried too much about 'em. I hope they will share :)

We took our group picture today and I borrowed this for the blog.

Here we are..... SWON 2007!















That's me in the middle of the front row....

SWON...... here I come!

Here we go again!

Another SS retreat. This time I'm driving about 5 hours to Ingersoll, Ontario, Canada. The retreat is at ElmHurst Inn. Looks pretty neat from what I've seen on the website.

Last time I had only met Diane before the retreat. This time I'll only know Christy.... I met her in Michigan. There are going to be 35 of us from Canada and the USA. I'm the only one from Ohio. I know of 1 going from Indianapolis, 1 from New Jersey and 1 from New York for sure. There might be 1 or 2 from Michigan. And, a whole lot of Canadians :)

I think I need to get back to packing..... especially this laptop!

See ya tomorrow girls!!!!

Someone Actually Noticed!!!

I went to the gym and did a little over 30 minutes of elliptical and treadmill and I was all by myself -- no one else there at all. I saw a car pull in as I was getting off the treadmill so knew someone else was coming in.

It was a girl who is there quite often with her boyfriend. They are probably in their late 30's/early 40's and she is in pretty good shape. You know the type, she can wear the workout tops with the real thin straps and her belly showing.... But she is a very nice girl and we always at least say hi.

She pointedly said to me "You've lost a lot of weight" and I said that it was close to 20 pounds. She then told me that she had mentioned it to her bf last week. She asked how I felt and I said good but there was still work to do. I told her about my cholesterol going down and she mentioned how her bf's triglycerides have really gone down since they have been going to the gym.

She then told me that I look great and to keep up the good work!

Dang if I wasn't walking on air going out the door

Summertiiiiiiiiiiiime

This week's SS Blog Challenge:

Summertiiiiiiiiiiiime, and the living is EEEeeezzzzzzy.

Tell us how you feel about summer. This summer, a childhood summer, summer traditions, random summer memories, summer sights and smells and sounds. Whatever. Wax poetic about summertime!

Can I just say that I LOVE SUMMER!!!!!

I love warm (or even hot) weather... I love being able to be outside... I love to people watch...

I inherited my love for summer I'm sure. My dad always loved being outside, he still does. That's probably why he and mom spent 4 months every winter in Florida... And, I always loved visiting them down there. And, I'm sure that had a lot to do with his decision to move to NC. He still goes to FL during the winter but spends the other 9 months where he can be outside. He'd be miserable in OH.... I know I am during the winter!

As a child I loved to go to the community pool. It is walking distance from my house. On Sunday mornings, they had "Family Day". Families could get in at 11:00. The actual hours were 2:00 to 7:00. We would go quite often. I loved to watch my Dad swim. He could dive into the shallow end and swim under water the length of the pool and back. And, it isn't a short pool. It is a regulation size pool and is used for swim meets. He would play with me in the pool and we always had fun.

And, during my college years, 20's and early 30's I will admit that I was a sun worshiper. I laid out to get a tan every chance I could. I tan easily... so does Dad and even Mom. But we always used lotion (even back in the days before SPF) although it was usually oil since we tanned easily. I love the smell of suntanned skin, can I say that is a very sexy smell to me?!?!?!

As I grew older I did stop the laying out, thank goodness for bottled tans :) I can still look good without the risk. One problem for summer though is my allergies. I've always had hay fever and as I've grown older, I've become allergic to more stuff. Very mild allergies, but allergies all the same.

But, my love for summer outweighs the allergies.

Just got back from taking the dogs for a walk and it was great even with the 86 degree temps. The sun is out and I'm a very happy person.

Pepper's Turn....

And, then there's Pepper. Because he is a black dog it is very hard to get a good picture of his face without "redeye". Instead I get such cute shots of him just being adorable....

He loves to lay in the garage and watch the cars go by on the street....















Looking out the windows on the screened in porch from the dining room...
















He loves to watch the neighbor's dogs from this vantage point....
















Scoping out the neighborhood....
















Guarding his pool......
















And, his favorite spot for a nap in the house.....
















Here's my all time favorite picture of him from October 2004....
















He makes me laugh.....

Can't help but love him :)

Paige the Photogenic.....

I finally took the time to download a bunch of pics from the digi camera and go thru them....

I now have a new favorite of Paige.

















Then there is this one....
















and this one....
















and this one....
















Dang.....

She's cute!

Rene-ology

This week's SS blog challenge:

ARCHAEOLOGY: the study of material remains
What's the oldest article of clothing you still wear? ummmm, too many to name that are 20+ years old although they are mostly 'around the house' wear
What's the oldest article of clothing you won't get rid of? might have to say that U of Toledo football jersey my cousin gave me in 1973 - it was a practice jersey
When was the house/building you live in built? 1964
What in your fridge needs to be thrown out? for once.... not a thing

BIBLIOLOGY: the study of publication
What are you reading? The Total Money Makeover and The Five Love Languages
Do you have a favorite quote? nope
What's the most recent music you purchased? Aerosmith Greatest Hits 1973-1988 and Aerosmith Classics Live (2 cd set)
What book could you read again without being bored? The Total Money Makeover

CARDIOLOGY: the study of the heart
How old were you the first time you fell in love? I thought I was in love at age 18
What charities do you have a heart for? ACS Relay for Life
What's the best way someone can show their love for you? listen when I talk and care about what I'm saying
Name five things you "love": Pepper, Paige, oldie music, the internet, and my Dad

PHYSIOLOGY: the study of physical function
Are you right-handed or left-handed? right-handed
Do you like your smile? yes
What's your best feature? my sexy legs
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? tonsils as a child, gallbladder as an adult, wisdom teeth....
Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? taste

OMNOLOGY: the study of everything
What color do you think looks best on you? black
Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? not that I remember
What's your favorite flavor of gum? none, can't chew gum
Where's the first place you went today? back door to let the dogs out
Do you stand or sit in the shower? stand

AXIOLOGY: the study of the nature of values and value judgments
Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? no
Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? no
Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? no
What value is of utmost importance to you in a friend? to accept me as I am, faults and all
Would you accept an indecent proposal for $1,000,000? yep!

TECHNOLOGY: usage and knowledge of tools
What's the last movie you saw? Netflix - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
What's the first website you visit when you log on? BrightSite, a portal page by my ISP
What's your ring tone? default, I don't use the cell phone except for emergencies
Would you quit blogging for $25,000? yep
What piece of equipment do you wish you owned? nothing comes to mind at this moment

GENEALOGY: the study of relationships within families
Is there a specific family member you're really missing right now? my mother....
Who is your oldest living relative? Aunt Belle (my Dad's aunt) just turned 100 on June 1. Dad's oldest brother will be 86 in 9 days.
Are you named after anyone? supposedly after my Dad's French girlfriend.... Mom always told the story and Dad never denied it!
Is there anyone really famous in your family tree? Paul Harvey is a 5th or 6th cousin of mine....

7 Years Sure Went By Fast!

Seven years ago today I was lucky enough to be blessed with Pepper coming to live with me. He has been the light of my life and is such a joy. You can tell that he just adores me (as much as I adore him!).

I fell in love with him from seeing a picture. Actually, I saw his picture in April and thought that little guy was so cute. Little did I know that 6 weeks later he would be mine.

Here's the pic.....


See that little guy on the right.... That's my Pepper. I fell in love with that face from this pic.

Here's the pics Kim sent to me so I could decide if I wanted him :) How could I not fall in love all over again.....

Scrapshare Blog Challenge: Mosaic

This week, I was inspired by Ali Edwards' blog for our weekly challenge.
Choose a set of photos and make a mosaic with this EASY PEASY (and free!) mosaic maker!

I uploaded my photos to Flickr and created a set there. But it looks like you can upload to the photo maker directly from your own computer files, too.

If you don't take digital photos, you can still participate. Just choose a sampling of Flickr photos that inspire you, and go from there. (That's what Ali did!)

My favorite photographic subjects during 2007....



I uploaded the pics to my photobucket.com site and used those links to create the mosaic.

Lots of fun choosing the pics! That darn Paige is so photogenic.... There were so many more good ones of her that I had to leave out!

love/hate with the 5 senses

SS Blog Challenge:

LOVE:
the SIGHT of Pepper and Paige waiting for me at the back door -- Pepper always dancing and Paige wagging her tail like there is no tomorrow.
the SMELL of pizza.
the TASTE of Dr Pepper.
the SOUND of the river flowing over the dam when I take my walks.
the FEEL of the sun on my skin (with suntan lotion, of course!)

HATE:
the SIGHT of dogs being neglected and/or dogs in cages 24/7.
the SMELL of freshly mown grass, allergy alert.
the TASTE of any burnt food, especially popcorn.
the SOUND of a dentist's drill.
the FEEL of stones underneath my bare feet.

Relay for Life - Mardi Gras 2007

This weekend was the annual Relay For Life in my county. It started at 6:00 p.m. Friday and ended at 1:00 p.m. Saturday.

This year I purchased luminaria. One for my dad, a cancer survivor. And, one for his brother, who is in the midst of battling cancer. I had watched the luminaria lighting ceremony in previous years, but had never participated. A whole new experience. As I listened to the words being spoken over the loud speaker and watching the progress of the torch around the track being carried by survivors, I was moved to tears.

Here's the luminaria before lighting.




























And, immediately after lighting before the stadium lights were turned back on.















During my hour of laps at 2:00 a.m.





















And, to my dear sweet Laraine, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in NYC in 2002.... know that my prayers are with you in your upcoming battle. Some of my tears during the luminaria ceremony were for you, my friend....