January

January is over! It went by quickly and although I am not one to wish time away, in Michigan that is what you have to do with January.

My son is in playoffs for hockey. His team has done well this year and we are hoping to make it to the state tournament. He did not do to well in school this past semester. He missed 14 days due to illness and I think that is what set him behind. He seems to have the right mind set for this new semester.

My oldest daughter is busy with her boyfriend and playing with her club soccer team. There have been college scouts at her practices and games and hopefully if she stays focused on her school and her game she can get some help with college. To me she has not been focused enough on her future. I know it is hard for teenagers to see past next week. Our family has invested a lot of time and money into her soccer and she definitely has the talent but advancing to play in college has to be her motivation.

My second oldest is in training for high school soccer. She is in the high school band and they are going to Florida in February. Unfortunately she is not going and I am sad about that. She also has a boyfriend. They seem to have a nice relationship. They only see each other occasionally and go to a movie or out for coffee. They don't have to spend every minute together which is good because friends and other activities are important.

My husband and I are still hanging on at our jobs. I hope things improve soon with the economy. I am seeing more houses become empty in our subdivision and frankly, it is quite scary.

Tomorrow is super bowl Sunday. Looking forward to the commercials!

The Bailout

I have to tell you that living in Michigan is not fun right now. The whole country has been watching to see if the Big 3 is going to get their bailout. The executives of these companies have been made to look so foolish. There was even a spoof on Saturday Night Live where they were portrayed to look stupid. I must have missed the spoof on the banking industry. I have been very torn over this issue. Having lived in the Detroit area virtually my whole life where if you have a job within the auto industry you can make a decent living, it is impossible to imagine them gone. I know people that have worked and currently work for the Big 3. Many of them have been making a lot of money over the years and have never been afraid to tell me how much they get away with. They are afraid now. I also know many that have worked very hard and have not taken advantage of their employers. My job is directly related to the automotive industry and our sales have decreased by 40%. If that doesn't pick up soon my company will have to make cuts. The average time in service where I work is 10 years. None of the people there will get $75,000 buyouts or $25,000 car vouchers to leave. We will just get unemployment for a year amounting to horrible credit ratings and lost homes. All the Big 3 is asking for is a loan. If they are not given the money the money will have to be given to the people of this area to survive so either way the money will have to come. The ironic thing is that the money was easily handed over to the banking management when in that case it should have been given to the people that were in trouble in their homes. Had they done that people could have made their mortgage payments and the banks ultimately would have gotten their money. Now the banks got their money and the people are still in trouble. What the hell were they thinking? This year my family has gone through some tough times. My husband was off work due to an injury where his disability pay was less than half of what he normally brought home. Then when he went back to work he was permanently laid off without any type of severance package. Fortunately he was able to find a new job albeit at 18% less than he was making before. Also a result of our circumstances I have changed my status from part time to full time. Thank God I was able to do that. It is still a fact that if either of us lose our jobs now when we are so close to getting things back to "normal" then you can put a fork in us!

Am I that Desperate?

I went to the grocery store last night and on the way out there was a lottery machine. After hearing on the news of a guy that won $100,000 on a scratch off ticket, I thought 'Why not?' and put a $20 bill in the machine. I chose a $1 ticket and waited for my change....and waited, .......and waited. Then I noticed in small print where I inserted the $20, that the machine does not give change and also a little message that stated 'do not bet more than you can afford'. I was so ticked because typically I don't buy lottery tickets and anything is more than I can afford. I proceeded to choose $20 worth of tickets so I could hurry out of there before someone I knew saw me. Once I got home, my husband and I scratched all the tickets. To our surprise we won exactly $20.00. What a relief to get my money back. I think I'll go buy another ticket!

October, Already?!!!

Things have been pretty interesting since July. My husband returned to work only to be permanently laid off at the end of July. We went on a little camping vacation up north right after that and slept in a tent. That was not very relaxing at all. My husband applied for unemployment and did not get a check for 5 weeks. He was so ticked since he has been working since he was 14 years old, served his country, and never collected before.

Next at the end of August, even though we were broke, we took a trip to Chicago for our oldest daughter's soccer tournament. The whole family went which was actually a good time. My two younger kids and I took a trip into the city on the Metra train to see the sights. We had a nice time walking the streets of Chicago. We stayed 3 nights at the Sheraton in Schaumburg, a very nice suburb.

Because my husband was not working I was able to transfer my status at work from part-time to full-time. Not only did this increase my salary by nearly 50%, they also allowed me to get full benefits effective the date of my status transfer. They also gave me one week vacation this year and 3 full weeks next year. They allowed me to keep my time in service at 11 years even though seven of them were part time. They have been a wonderful employer. They did this because of my situation not necessarily because they needed another full time employee. This is an automotive supplier in the Detroit area and we all know how the economy is. Thank God For them! Anyway, my husband found a new job, too. His new job is only 4 miles from home as opposed to his old one that was 48 miles one way! The gas savings alone is about $4,000 a year, not to mention the time he was wasting making that drive. The pay is not as much as his previous job but you take the good with the bad. And as I said at least he was only off work for about 5 weeks. That is a miracle in this area of the country. Thank God!

My daughter Chelsea has a boyfriend that she has had for about 3 months. We thought it was just a summer thing because he goes to a different school and lives about 15 min away. But they are still seeing each other. I cannot believe that she will be 17 years old in December. Wow! She is busy with soccer. My daughter, Amanda is busy with soccer and marching band. My son started his hockey season and was on his school football team for a couple of weeks. He got a throat infection, followed by the flu and missed 6 days of school and 2 weeks of football so he decided to give the football up. No complaints from me on that!

Happy Birthday!

Should, Would, Could.......

Ten years ago:
I should have kept my weight under control

Five things on today’s “to do” list:
Get ready for work
book club meeting
pick up kids
meeting at township hall
walk

Things I’d do if I was a billionaire:
Pay off all my debt
Help my family and friends out
Make sure all my kids complete college
Give to charity
Buy a winter home in Florida and a summer home in northern Michigan.


Three bad habits:
Procrastinate
Try to accomplish too much
Complain too much

Five places I’ve lived:
Old Bridge NJ
Detroit, MI
Taylor, MI
Yokosuka, Japan
Hayashi, Japan


Five jobs I’ve had:
Can a Gift
Umpire
Bank Teller
Sales Clerk
Sales Manager

Long 2 Months

My husband is still down with his ankle injury. He will have the cast removed in about a week and ten days after that he goes back for surgery to have the screws removed. (ouch) Then ten days after that he can begin to start putting weight on it. What a long haul this has been. His disability pay sucks and I have twice as much to do. Hopefully it will all heal up well and he will be back to work in a few weeks. After that, I am taking a vacation! None of the blogs that I read are being updated. I never update mine but that's no excuse for anyone else! This computer has taken over my workout time so now my focus is going to shift. I will give this morning routine a break and start walking instead. That's where I'm off to now......

Our Anniversary

Today is our 24th wedding anniversary. I can't believe how quickly the years have passed. We have been a good team! Next year will be 25 and I am planning something big. My daughter said we should go to Hawaii! As for today, I think we will just go out to dinner if we can or we may have to order in. My hubby tripped over a pair of shoes going out to the garage and broke his leg. He had surgery last week on his ankle and has not gotten out of the house yet. We will see how he feels tonight. It has been hard on him and this is just the beginning. He has to stay completely off his leg, no weight at all including no driving for 12 weeks. Did I mention they were my shoes he tripped over? And we still made it to the 24 year mark!

Vacation and Barney

Back in September we booked a flight to Florida. My hubby's parents had a place rented from January til the end of March. They asked us to come down and rather than drive we thought we would live it up and fly down. Well, after I booked by flight they told us that the place the were staying in is "no pets allowed" and they have a dog. Of course they got caught with the dog and lawyers got involved and now they have to be out of the place by March 7th. We were due to leave on the 18th. I hate their dog!! Now I have to decide whether to spend the additional $1000 to rent a place for the week or cancel our "non-refundable" flights. I hate their dog! My kids are disappointed. My older girls were even staying a few extra days with them so their flight is different than mine and my hubby's. I hate their dog!

I am not a normal dog hater but this dog has been an issue since day one. This dog is a Maltese named Barney. We call him "Chuckie" because he is possessed. My father in law is deathly allergic to dogs. When they got this dog 6 years ago, he has been on some very strong drugs to keep from having a reaction. The dog barks constantly. He bites anyone and everyone that is not part of the family. He has bitten at least 10 people. This dog is not charming at all. I hate their dog even more now that he has ruined my vacation!

Time to Turn in the Car

I have a lease vehicle. This was the first time we leased and we did it because we could not find a vehicle that we would love to have for 10 years. The lease would suffice for 2 years so that we could decide what would be best for our family. My hubby had wanted a truck to pull the trailer (once a year) and I wanted a van so we could all fit comfortably when we went places. Well I won and my decision was stupid because now that my kids are older we hardly ever all go anywhere together. What we used that car for was to travel all over this state, other states, and even other countries to play hockey and soccer. Now what I have is a lease that has exceeded the mileage by 20,000! I know, I know, what were we thinking? We have to turn it in on Monday and our options are to buy a new car or drop off the lease vehicle on Monday and go home and wait for the bill. Oh well, I'm off to the dealer.

The last of the good guys

My uncle passed away yesterday. He was my godfather. He was my mother's baby brother. He found out that he had colon cancer last may. He had stomach problems for a very long time before he finally went to the doctor and when he did it was too late. He and my aunt were married for 39 years and he was 60 years old. They had 3 children and they were a very close family. During my childhood we spent a lot of time with him and his family. I have so many wonderful memories. He and my dad were buddies. I went to the hospital where the family was holding vigil. So many people loved him. He put up a good fight. He lived a good life. Rest in peace Uncle Eugene, you will be missed.

My Daughter

My oldest daughter turned 16 right before Christmas. She has grown up so fast I can hardly believe it. She is beautiful. I have such a hard time with her though. It is not that she gets into trouble because she doesn't. She does pretty good in school and has alot of friends. She goes out with her friends to dinner and the movies and to high school games. She plays soccer at a pretty high level so that is very time consuming as well. The problem is that I miss her! When I drive her to soccer practice and games, she either has the radio blaring because her friend is with us or she is texting on her phone. When she comes home she is on the computer or in her room getting things ready for school or doing homework. I get angry with her because I feel like I do not know her anymore. My husband feels the same way. It seems like we never get to talk to her and when we do she seems too busy for us. She is very independent but also still seems so young and naive. I really miss her. How do I get her back?

Happy New Year!!

Welcome 2008. Goodbye 2007!

Last Thursday when my husband was coming home from work, our 1997 Mountaineer decided to go crazy. We are pretty sure it is the transmission because it will not move. On the other hand, we have had that car for 11 years and I cannot accept that it is anything serious, so it has to got to the shop. Yesterday, I took our 2000 Ranger to my daughter's soccer tournament and guess what? It was acting crazy and we are pretty sure that is the transmission. Now we have one car left to get both of us to work tomorrow. All I can say is I could only expect something like that to end the year. 2007 was the pits! I am so looking forward to 2008. I have big plans for a great 08!

After taking an hour and a half to get home from a usual 35 minute drive, my husband, son and his friend, and I went to watch the Plymouth Whalers hockey game. They lost 4-2 but it was a fun game. We got excellent seats, and each got a hot dog and a pop for a total of $60 for four people. You can't even get one Red Wing ticket for that price. After that we came home and ordered Mexican food for dinner. We stayed in and watched the Red Wings and MTV. It was a nice evening. My younger daughter was home at 11:45 to ring in the new year with us and my oldest daughter was home by 12:30.

Here is my list of resolutions for the year:

1. Lose weight - I am serious this time! I have been going to weight watchers at work so I am getting serious. The real thing here is that I have vowed to exercise at least 20 minutes everyday. Even if it means going outside and walking ten minutes in one direction, turning around and coming home!

2. Stop swearing. I hate it, of course my kids hate it. My mother never, ever swore. I have no business doing it either. I am really going to work on this one!

3. Get on a budget. I am not a big spender when it comes to buying myself things. I'm just really bad at keeping track. This is important especially in this Michigan economy. I need to build up an emergency fund so that I am prepared for emergencies.

4. Make my kids do more around the house. I really need to start teaching them how to be self sufficient and responsible. They are not horrible but they could do more dishes and laundry. Especially my oldest and youngest. I do enough for all of them, it's time they help me! How can I do this without swearing? There's the challenge!

5. I am also looking for more down time in 2008. My husband and I both plan to devote more time to each other. This year will be our 24th wedding anniversary and I am happy to still be in love! Gotta keep that fire burning!

Well here's to 2008....

Love, Health, and Happiness!

Happy Holidays?!!

Sunday my oldest daughter turned sweet 16! We spent the day with her playing in two soccer games. We got home at about 6 pm and she headed out with her friends for dinner. Last night we had my family over for Christmas eve. We had my 3 brothers, 2 sisters, aunt and mother along with a couple spouses and 15 kids. Add that to my family of five and you can just imagine the fun! We had our annual ham, sausage and pierogi dinner and exchanged gifts. It was fun but not without a few annoying antics. We tolerate each other and for the most part get along well, but what a long night! We all love each other and are always there for each other but kind of get on each others nerves a little. This morning my hubby, kids and I woke up early and exchanged gifts and are headed out to my husband's side of the family for the day. We sure wish we could just stay home and chill! Merry Christmas!

Christmas meme (stole from catch)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Wrapped, always!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored, Kids prefer them

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, I used to but haven't in years.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Lately my kids do it. We moved into our first house in Dec with a mess and my oldest daughter was born in Dec so I always procrastinate with decorations.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? pierogi

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Going to Grandmas and going to midnight mass.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember but I tell my kids if they don't believe they don't get anything!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I cook a big dinner for my family which includes 15 nieces and nephews and 2 sisters and spouses, 3 brothers, my mom, my aunt, and one sister in law. We eat and open gifts and have fun!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? It's halfway done now with ornaments and lights.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it on the weekends and Christmas!

12. Can you ice skate? Yes! That used to be my husband and my favorite thing to do when we were dating. We got our kids started early. My son and hubby play hockey!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Favorite ever was white figure skates from my grandma.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family, Down time, Mass

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? cheesecake and cookies

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Making pierogi's from scratch and eating them up!

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Definitely giving!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? All of them!

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yuck! I buy them and have them here forever!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.......

Can you believe that I am expected to go out into this today for soccer! My daughter has two soccer games about an hour away; one at 9:15 am and the other at 11:00. I let them know that we would not make it and got a call from the manager asking me if we could come to the 11:00 am game. Hell no! I am so nervous driving in this stuff. You would think that I would be used to it by now. Yesterday my husband, son and I were in Columbus, when the snow began falling. It took us two and a half hours to get there and five to get home so today my daughter will not be going to soccer! I, however, will be going shopping!

If I had seen this, I might have thought twice!

PARENT - Job Description

This is hysterical. If it had been presented this
way, perhaps none of us would have done it!!!!

POSITION :
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging
permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication
and organizational skills and be willing to work
variable hours, which will include evenings and
weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips
to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends
and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
Travel expenses not reimbursed.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

The rest of your life.
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily,
until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite
tongue repeatedly.
Also, must possess the physical stamina of a
pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph
in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams
from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical
challenges, such as small gadget repair,
mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.

Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and
coordinate production of multiple homework
projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social
gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an
embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of
a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery
operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for
the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for the
quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and
janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years,
without complaining, constantly retraining and
updating your skills, so that those in your charge
can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually
exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

Get this! You pay them!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18
because of the assumption that college will help
them become financially independent.

When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme
is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only
do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance, no pension,
no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and
no stock options are offered; this job supplies
limitless opportunities for personal growth,
unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for
life if you play your cards right.

AND A FOOTNOTE
** THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!! **

If you are fortunate enough you will become Grandparents!

Let the fun begin!

We got some snow today. All you hear on the radio is how many accidents there are. I hate driving in the snow. Here in the Detroit area, even if it rains the freeway is full of uptight drivers. So many people with road rage. I don't get road rage........I cause it!

Weekend in Canada

My family spent the weekend in Canada for a hockey tournament. After driving 4 hours we arrived at the Ice arena for my son's first game. They won the game and we headed to the hotel to check in. I packed a ton of groceries for two reasons, first because our American dollar is worth less in Canada, and second because I have once again started weight watchers and I intend to stick to it this time. Needless to say, my family was not thrilled about making lunch in the hotel room! Part of the fun of tournaments is going out to eat. Anyway, we scarfed down lunch and I informed everyone to get ready so we could head downtown to Toronto. After they all complained I still insisted that we go.

We drove to the subway station and parked the car. It took about 20 minutes just to get to the station due to traffic. We then had to figure out how to use the machine in the lot to buy our parking ticket. Next we headed across the street and down the stairs. Being from the Detroit area, my kids have never experienced any type of public transportation, especially a subway. We bought our tickets and got on the subway and headed toward the city. Once we arrived at our stop, we came out of the station and practically ran to the CN Tower, which was a couple blocks away. It was raining slightly and we only had about 2 hours to see the tower and get back to the hotel so that we could make it to the next hockey game.

We got to the tower, we bought our tickets and headed on to the elevator. We took a glass elevator all the way to the Look out Level which is 1136 feet above the ground. My husband rode the elevator with his back to the window because he cannot handle heights at all. My kids thought that was hilarious! We exited the elevator and walked around that level enjoying the view of the city. It was amazing. We even went outside and walked around. After that we headed to the Glass floor which is a view directly down to the ground. The kids were jumping and laying on the glass floor and have been teasing my husband endlessly for not walking on it.

After that we headed down the elevator and back to the subway station. I was really proud of Jake for remembering the way back through the subway station. Everyone just followed him. We got to the hotel and loaded up his bag to head to the game. Once again our team won! They ended up doing very well. They won 5 games and lost in the semi finals. We got home Sunday at 7 pm which gave us a little time to relax before heading back to school and work. The trip to the tower ended up being the most fun for them. We go to interesting cities with their sports teams but never have time to enjoy it. I'm glad I insisted we go to the tower because now they can say they have been in the World's tallest building.

Summer is over!

I can't believe that summer is officially over. This Labor day weekend has been quite a bore. My kids were all in different states. Oldest in Illinois for soccer, Middle up north in Michigan with at friend, and youngest in Ohio at Cedar Point. My husband and I had a much needed break from kids. My oldest daughters soccer team has done quite well. They have won all their games and will be in the championship today at noon. Hope they win. I'll follow up later on that!