Mother's Day

My present early on Mother's Day? My DH actually got out of bed before I did to help with potty duty. Next present was a new little camera and a case for it. My original Sony T1 was the original in the series of slim, fast, large pixel size cameras - the commercial was the one where the girl whips it out of her pocket and gets a shot of Steven Tyler from Aerosmith while all her friends fumble for their cameras and cell phones. Now, several years later, it met with an unfortunate screen malfunction - big, nasty crack down the middle as a result of years of being hidden in a makeup case and tossed (yes, I mean tossed) in my purse - lovingly of course. So the new one is a great little camera. Better than hauling the big Digital SLR out for the most part - the SLR still gets some better shots but it's great for everyday.
I made pancakes for breakfast and unlike most weekend mornings this is attempted, this time they turned out great. Steve even ate some and he generally doesn't eat breakfast. Then we wrapped presents and got ready for the day.
First stop - Wake Forest for Taylor Anne's birthday party. It was rainy and a little cool but we had fun. Had to leave earlier than cake and presents but I know TA had a great day - her mom is like a sister (Thanks Em!!) and it was fun seeing how much of a mom she is!
Second stop - Nici and Richie's!!! (or Jan and Rich). We got to see Traci and Carl and wow - Traci's hair is awesome! It looks so good short - post-wedding haircuts always seem to be some of the best ones! Beca enjoyed hunting through the toy baskets, as she always does and came up with these goggles:
Isn't that hysterical?? She also found a bumble ball, which she loved. Eventually, we had to go - Beca never wants to leave there, though. Something about having another set of grandparents that spoil you with toys, oyster crackers and "em-uh-em's". She's never said it quite like that but I think that's the gist of it.
OK, so in the car - have to go run a dreaded errand. Figure out if the phone can be restored. Blah, blah, blah. took too long and I only sort of got what I wanted which was the new phone returned and the old one reactivated. Good thing was that they didn't charge me again. Beca falls asleep, head back, mouth open, etc. while Steve is driving around so I can complete this task. We get home and it has started pouring again. Beca, of course, wakes up.
Eventually, we have dinner (steaks and my favorite twice baked potatoes) with my parents and Beca gives her Oma a present and demands that my father roll over on his stomach so she can blow up her horsie. HAHAHAHAHA! Steve called his mom and the rest of us took a walk on the relatively new path behind our house - it's a great loop to walk unless Zoe spots a bunny, dog, kid or adult - misery only lasts a few seconds usually!

All over, a great day! Now, if I can just get some sleep! Oh wait, laundry...

Phone drama and a wonderful visit

OK, so there's an end to the phone story. Saturday, just a few hours before I got on my flight, my Dad got a call from Northwest that they found a phone and his number was in it under "Dad". Apparently, it was in a green duffle bag and they were sending it back on my flight. Kindly enough, they had packaged it in a box inside the empty duffle bag so it wouldn't get damaged and I picked up my suitcase, a new pink duffle bag (which I had to buy - details below), and dug the phone out of the bag. Left the bag - it had lotion or something poured all over it. OK, good news/bad news when I visited the Verizon store. They took the phone back but couldn't put it back on my card or give me cash because they didn't have enough in the store (what???). Weird but whatever. the new phone is back and my "old" phone reactivated so I actually have all my contacts and cell rings and all that. So, overall, yeah!

Minnesota turned out to be a wonderful visit. I had a brand-new PT cruiser to drive around - just over 300 miles on the car. The work part of the trip was good and I got to do a few things I do best. Then I headed towards St. Cloud to visit my old TEC friend, Anna, and her husband and daughter. Sylva, her daughter, had just gone to bed so we headed out to run an errand and so Anna could show me the campus she teaches at - St. John's University is an extremely interesting place and her office is in the old church - it looks like a European cathedral and is very beautiful with a lot of brick. The new church is beautiful but very modernistic. Oddly enough, it is the largest monastery in the world. Who knew? OK, probably plenty of people - just not me. We also went by the sister school, St. Benedict's but it had gotten quite dark. We stayed up for a long while talking and had the early wake up call of a 21 month old! Sylva was a little confused that I was there. Eventually, it was back into the city to pick up Anna's mom, Bruce. I had spent many weekends in high school and college with these two and it was wonderful to meet up in a city so far from home! Lunch and shopping, IKEA, MOA (second day in a row), and then an amazing night in a suite at a beautiful hotel. Walleye for dinner (yum, yum!) and watching ducks in the middle of the hotel. Crazy! Next morning, I slept in. It was so nice! Had to repack in order to fit in a baby shower present, birthday presents for a 6 year old, various items for Beca, and fun little things from IKEA. So lucky I don't have one closer by. Eventually, we had to go our separate ways - Anna had a graduation ceremony to attend and I had a plane to catch. But first, I had to get to Target and buy a duffle bag to put all the extra goodies in. Airport leaving was routine until I looked up and another engineer from work was sitting in the terminal. Neither of us knew we were flying that day - weird. OK, then more weird. I had switched my seat the day before from 6A to 9A, then noticed 10A, which is an exit seat, was open. 6A, was next to a bratty 4 year old who spent most of the flight yelling at his elder statesman dad - whew. 9A ended up being my work buddy's seat. And a couple walked up to me and asked if I would like to sit in first class so the man could sit with his girlfriend. Crazy!!! Totally nuts - the room was great - I actually worked and could spread my stuff out a little. It made the flight seem so much shorter. Then it was home to an excited Beca and an excited Zoe. Overall, a god trip but as always, falling asleep on my pillow, in my bed, felt better than anything!

A travel day misery

I can't believe what I did today. It actually started last week when I was told within the 7 day window that I had to go to Minnesota/Wisconsin to visit a build. On the flight up, I sat next to a couple who looked like they had a lot of fun together over the years and, oops, she got pregnant. Not married and they were kind of standoffish with each other. Odd, but they were nice. then there was the guy behind me who dropped his drink twice and countless other things. So when I was getting ready to get off the plane, I heard a thud, visually checked the floor, saw nothing, and got off the plane. I realized later, I could not find my phone. I didn't bother to freak out - I have to drive by the airport tomorrow. I can only hope that someone heard us call it repeatedly and turned it in.
Maybe the worst part - I waited 2 years to get a new phone (I hated my last one) and I just got this phone a month ago! Blasted!
And Northwest is the least helpful airline regarding anything. Unfortunately, there is no other airline that flies direct to the Twin Cities.
Good thing - there's a Verizon store somewhere.

long week

Ah, almost three. There's a level of frustration with Beca all the time right now. I think it's because all her friends are starting to move up to Children's House. She screamed the entire time I was in the house this morning (before I left to take Zoe to the groomer, go to the chiropractor, get my normal breakfast at Biscuitville and get to work) and then broke down on me during a walk (wagon and getting out and not in was involved) after dinner but before bath, continuing the pattern until we finally got her dressed. But she had helped me right after dinner to plant the first two geraniums in our yard - I decided she needed them close to the swing set. I have since recalled that geraniums love sun and having them under the playset wouldn't exactly work. Right now, they sit in a precarious position that Zoe will inevitably knock them over from. Well, at least not tonight. Zoe not only had her monthly-ish haircut (being a poodle means soooo much more "pampering" than most other breeds), she also went for her yearly check at the vet (random goo up the nose, blood drawn, too personal with the vet tech, and a shot) so she is beat - curled up in her ball. She actually fell asleep on Beca's bed while we were reading stories and Beca was repeatedly kicking at her and whining "I don't want Zoe on my bed".
Steve started on a project that we bought the wood for last week - it's one of my wishlist items from my birthday. He's building flower beds for me to better define the sad little beds in front of the house. I am not very good at landscaping but so far Steve has gotten a great big new drill bit, a new saw and a stand for the saw. He also got to pound things. Less landscaping and more carpentry. Hopefully we can get the camellias in (and ugly boxwood out) very soon. While planting the 2 geraniums for the back yard, Beca kept telling Steve "Look Daddy, we are gar-den-ers". She also watered her plants. She's so funny.
Work sucks but as Steve always reminds me "They don't call it happy fun time for a reason". Sadly, my biggest frustration is that I can't do what I really want to do, what I really feel needs to be done. Frustration all around.

Big thank yous...

I totally forgot to make thank yous to all those who sent me cards for my birthday. It was much appreciated. Why bring this up a week later? Because it's Tuesday and I'm still laughing at one of them. My aunt and godmother (one person, two roles - she's fabulous like that) got me a freakin' hysterical card. It's an Ellen DeGeneres card. Front - Ellen holding a martini saying "For you, your birthday is a celebration of the day you came into this world". Inside: "For me, it's just another reason to drink on a Tuesday!" HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
And last night, I ordered a bunch of fun stamping supplies - I am way past excited. I've decided to not work so hard at night since I'm doing it all day. So, I did a load of laundry tonight (amazing how that just doesn't stop piling up because there are too many other things to do - equally as amazing is that while I help with the dishes - my DH's main chore - I can't even get help separating or folding laundry unless I help.
Quote from my dayplanner for today

"Women are having to do way too much. They are multitasking, working long hours, and ghey are still responsible for most of what happens with the family; they are caregivers, best friends, listeners; they are amazing, amazing people." -Dawn Tarnofsky-Ostroff

12 hour work days should be considered like working in a sweat shop. I think I'm too punchy and I just need to stop for tonight.

i *heart* Sharpies

Ah, big prototype builds. In some ways I love them. For the hours, I hate them. The newness of the product is neat. Being able to watch something come together is so cool. And the office supplies that we find are needed at the very beginning makes it somewhat worth while. It's like starting school all over except now my school supplies are LOADS of Sharpies (thin, thick, chisel, metallic), paint pens, super sticky post-its, and lots of little paper flags. Plus the new binders and dividers. Yes, I love freshly sharpened pencils and new crayons. And I orders some stampers that we needed. If I pretend just a little, it's like my own craft project!

So, 31 is here. I had a good day. Birthday celebrating started over the weekend. It wasn't intended to totally be like that though - but it was. I had TEC meetings Friday and Saturday (we are going to have such an awesome team for #37!!) and then got a phone call - Mom had 2 tickets to box seats for Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban! I called my birthday month buddy Stephanie and after we ate dinner with our DH's and kids, we went on over to the concert. It was good and nice to just be able to sit and watch. I love seats at concerts and I really like when I can just clap and don't have to stand up. I'm just too old, picky, spoiled, whatever, to have to beg for my own space. I like a seat. We left early after hearing our favorite Keith Urban songs so Stephanie could get home to Baby Emily. Apparently after Beca and Elijah (who is 5) cleared the Horman house of the inevitable bears (and maybe wolves), Steve asked them to do something in another room. Beca answered with a defeated "Come on Elijah" and probably an eye-roll. She's getting disturbingly good at eye-rolls. And sarcastic commentary. no idea where that comes from. Oh, and my cousin's hair twirling pattern. I only do it in the car but Beca will start twirling just like Stacy does - I think they've only seen each other 2 or 3 times in Beca's whole life.
Sunday meant Sunday School - we talked about sheep and how Jesus is our shepherd. Now we have the necessary Cotton ball sheep on the fridge. Beca spent the rest of the day with Oma. Steve and I finally cleaned up the cardboard in the garage - sad to say the cardboard castle had to make its exit, all in little cut up pieces and then tossed into the cardboard recycling bin at the dump. While I slept (desperately needed napping), Steve took advantage of the boost of energy from some meds and did a bunch of work on the cars and put the last 2 shutters on the house. It has never had shutters by the smallest window on the house and now I can't imagine it without them! For dinner, we headed to an Italian event hosted by the Senior High Youth Group at church. It was a good dinner but the coolest part was leaving the building to a dark sky with sunshine and a double rainbow! Then we had cupcakes at my mom's - she and Beca had blown up balloons, decorated cards, and the princess herself put the sprinkles on the cupcakes. It was quite a busy day.
Monday was first build day - we'll be doing this for 10 weeks and I already feel like a new pair of shoes is in order. There are no chairs on the floor. We managed to build some small things so there was some level of victory.
My birthday was fun - Beca called me first thing in the morning to sing Happy Birthday - she was so sad I had already left for work and had to call me to sing! Such a sweet girl! Cynthia brought cupcakes and I brought the cupcakes from my mom for work! Plus, I had lunch at Cheesecake Factory with the other engineers who celebrate April birthdays. It was great - especially the lovely take home bag with a cheesecake and whipped cream tucked in that darling cheesecake case. Dinner was at the Loop, watching the sky fall out. Steve had gotten me a chocolate and vanilla birthday cake - perfect for those with complete indecision. Most importantly, it was a Blue Moon cake. YUM!! Beca ate the icing but not the cake. And since she had gone poopy in the potty, she had called Steve and left him a message that she had done so - now we have that little tid-bit saved for the eventual embarrassment that will be a late teens celebration of some sort! But that also meant a dress today. Usually, I leave a little later than this morning so Beca had to make another phone call today and that was to call Mommy to say that she had gotten out of bed and gotten Daddy so she could go poopy all on her own. Gotta love the phone for that kind of announcement. Sadly, this morning had our entire team in the facility before 7am. Ugh! Today did bring another storm through and one of the brightest rainbows I have ever seen - of course only while driving where it was not safe enough to take a picture.
So, that just means my 40 hours is up tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean I get to go home. It just means I get to find a new Sharpie color to love tomorrow.

I get to push the pram-a-lot...

An early birthday present to myself was tickets to see Spam-a-lot - it was so much fun! Steve and I went to see it Tuesday night, knowing that my work life is quickly taking over everything else. It was so hilarious! Makes a "Monty Python" watching night seem like a great idea! We had a good dinner too!

Beca has spent a lot of time on her playground and I am actually quite enjoying swinging on it with her. The green trees and blue sky are so pretty to watch while you fly back and forth! And when you can land that jump like you did when you were 8 - that's livin'! We love our backyard. Zoe's still thinking the mulch is like some sort of large dog litter box. And my butt is just a little too big for the slide - thankfully it is fast!!

Another birthday present request was fulfilled last Sunday - we got new shutters on the house!! Figured out the old ones were painted green and then they just faded over the years with the afternoon sun. Gotta love the latest technology in colored plastics though! The dark blue shutters make the house look so different (and the flower beds look sooooo bad). Dad came over to help and they actually tag teamed the shutters - Dad took down, Steve put up and I failed to take a picture of the final result yet.
Here's one of the only tulips to survive the weed killer. And Beca has gone around and opened all the good ones up so she can see the middle so we won't have the tulips very long...

I am finally exhausted so it is off to bed. I hope everyone is able to get outside during these beautiful spring days and just enjoy some sunshine and fresh air, if only for a few moments. And if you get a chance, maybe you can do something like you used to when you were little. I like the swing!

Movin' On Up (in the playhouse world)

OK, the cardboard box palace is no longer the favored hiding place! I had seen Heritage Playsets on my way to Youngsville during a couple of work projects last year. I loved checking out what they were doing every morning on my way past. Paul and his team are great and had the entire unit installed in one day! It was also a great deal - mulch and everything! Steve can even stand up inside the playhouse (but only in the very center). The best part of watching them put it up is that the team brought a microwave and cooked their lunch on their work surface. It was so cool! And watching the whole structure go up with 7 guys crawling all over the place was amazing! They were like a well choreographed dance group - but with power tools and lots of boards, then stain and mulch. Our only problem is that Zoe thinks it's a great place to leave her outside presents. View from the house

Beca and Pop-pop found you!

"Hey - I have my doors!"

2 swings, 1 super fast slide, 1 house, and a trapeze = a very happy Beca
(happy Mommy & Daddy, too)

Traci & Carl's wedding

Angela (wedding director), Beca (little princess), & Steve (videographer)

Yesterday was such a fun day at Traci and Carl's wedding! Yes, it rained off and on all day but it was still fun. At least for the Cottle family. Beca spent Friday night and most of the day on Saturday with Cynthia and Jason - they made princess jewelery. Except Jason - Beca said he wasn't a princess and therefore couldn't help with the crowns, necklace and bracelet! But she did rid their house of pirates so at least Jason won't have to do that now! She fell asleep 15 minutes before getting to the church, of course. But after she woke up and got on her pretty wedding dress, she went looking for Traci and Nici and was ready to party!
The wedding party was great and everyone looked wonderful! The 6 kids in the wedding did so good too! I didn't get a whole lot of good shots but I did get some. Beca had fun dancing around with her Oma, Pop-pop, Nici, Richie, and Traci. She was also was entertained by Whitney and Allie and a basket of fun stuff from Nici! She also amused the photographers quite a bit!

Richie, Beca, and Pop-pop

Beca & Oma - twirling

Traci & Beca

Traci & her "brother" Steve

Beca & Whitney (Traci's cousin) Carl & Traci Huffman

Zodiacs

I was amused by an email from my cousin with descriptions of Zodiac signs so I decided to post. It of course came with weird forwarding = amount of luck instructions which I removed. I added our names in.

CAPRICORN - The Go-Getter (Dec 22 - Jan 19) Patient and wise. Practical and rigid. Ambitious. Tends to be good-looking. Humorous and funny. Can be a bit shy and reserved. Often pessimistic. Capricorns tend to act before they think and can be unfriendly at times. Hold grudges. Like competition. Get what they want.

AQUARIUS - The Sweetheart (Jan 20 - Feb 18 - Steve) Optimistic and honest. Sweet personality. Very independent. Inventive and intelligent. Friendly and loyal. Can seem unemotional. Can be a bit rebellious. Very stubborn, but original and unique. Attractive on the inside and out. Eccentric personality.

PISCES - The Dreamer (Feb 19 - Mar 20) Generous, kind, and thoughtful. Very creative and imaginative. May become secretive and vague. Sensitive. Don't like details. Dreamy and unrealistic. Sympathetic and loving. Kind. Unselfish. Good kisser. Beautiful.

ARIES - The Daredevil (Mar 21 - April 19) Energetic. Adventurous and spontaneous. Confident and enthusiastic. Fun. Loves a challenge. EXTREMELY impatient. Sometimes selfish. Short fuse. Easily angered. Lively, passionate, and sharp wit. Outgoing. Lose interest quickly - easily bored. Egotistical. Courageous and assertive. Tends to be physical and athletic.

TAURUS - The Enduring One (April 20 - May 20 - Angela) Charming but aggressive. Can come off as boring, but they are not. Hard workers. Warm-hearted. Strong, has endurance. Solid beings that are stable and secure in their ways. Not looking for shortcuts. Take pride in their beauty. Patient and reliable. Make great friends and give good advice. Loving and kind. Loves hard - passionate. Express themselves emotionally. Prone to ferocious temper-tantrums. Determined. Indulge themselves often. Very generous.

GEMINI - The Chatterbox (May 21 - June 20 - Beca) Smart and witty. Outgoing, very chatty. Lively, energetic. Adaptable but needs to express themselves. Argumentative and outspoken. Like change. Versatile. Busy, sometimes nervous and tense. Gossips. May seem superficial or inconsistent. Beautiful physically and mentally.

CANCER - The Protector (June 21 - July 22) Moody, emotional. May be shy. Very loving and caring. Pretty/handsome. Excellent partners for life. Protective. Inventive and imaginative. Cautious. Touchy-feely kind of person. Needs love from others. Easily hurt, but sympathetic.

LEO - The Boss (July 23 - Aug 22) Very organized. Need order in their lives - like being in control. Like boundaries. Tend to take over everything. Bossy. Like to help Others. Social and Outgoing. Extroverted. Generous, warm-hearted. Sensitive. Creative energy. Full of themselves. Loving. Doing the right thing is important to Leos. Attractive.

VIRGO - The Perfectionist (Aug 23 - Sept 22 - Dawn & Keith) Dominant In relationships. Conservative. Always wants the last word. Argumentative. Worries. Very smart. Dislikes noise and chaos. Eager. Hardworking. Loyal. Beautiful. Easy to talk to. Hard to please. Harsh. Practical and very fussy. Often shy. Pessimistic.

LIBRA - The Harmonizer (Sept 23 - Oct 22) Nice to everyone they meet. Can't make up their mind. Have own unique appeal. Creative, energetic, and very social. Hates to be alone. Peaceful, generous. Very loving and beautiful. Flirtatious. Give in too easily. Procrastinators. Very gullible.

SCORPIO - The Intense One (Oct 23 - Nov 21) Very energetic. Intelligent. Can be jealous and/or possessive. Hardworking. Great kisser. Can become obsessive or secretive. Holds grudges. Attractive. Determined. Loves being in long Relationships. Talkative. Romantic. Can be self-centered at times. Passionate and Emotional.

SAGITTARIUS - The Happy-Go-Lucky One (Nov 22 - Dec 21) Good-natured optimist. Doesn't want to grow up (Peter Pan Syndrome) Indulges self . Boastful. Likes luxuries and gambling. Social and outgoing. Doesn't like responsibilities. Often fantasizes. Impatient. Fun to be around. Having lots of friends. Flirtatious. Doesn't like rules. Sometimes hypocritical. Dislikes being confined - tight spaces or even tight clothes. Doesn't like being doubted. Beautiful inside and out.