i'm ok

I'll be ok. Right now, I'm in a haze. I'm at work, having been off since Wednesday afternoon. My co-workers have been so supportive.

Joe's been working too much, and has been sleeping poorly. I don't know whether he's told his work. I hope so.

Maddy's been talking about Uncle Steven dying again - her way of dealing with death. This morning, as we were getting ready for our day, I said I was still pretty sad. She said she was too. I told her that it's always ok to talk about feelings. We talked a little bit about the two babies who died and I told her that we really didn't know why they died. She looked at me and smiled and said "Isn't it great that I didn't die!" .

Wow. She hit it on the head. She is such a special kid. She is definitely someone who is helping me keep it together.

me me me, and us :)

Well, after my moaning session, we found out that we are indeed expecting. :) Very cautious - still so very early - but we are pregnant. Due July 2, 2009, at the height of summer. Wow.

Feeling ok and only nauseous once a day so far. Hormone levels are good. On extra progesterone to help little bean out. Maddy is excited. Joe is excited. We're all cautiously optimistic.

:) 32 more weeks to go.

life

Frankly, I'm surprised I'm not a bit more insane. Life has been hectic. Our summer is nearly over. Maddy will be going to 4-year kindergarten starting next TUESDAY, and we're tired. However, we ARE alive and fairly sane.

nothing like a half-assed apology

It was a horrible end of a wonderful place. There were a lot of hard feelings. More than a few accusations. And still after 2 years, it hurts like hell.

And the one man who (some have argued) could have helped the Weidner Center from drowning is finally leaving town. Many are celebrating.

In Sunday's (June 8, 2008) Green Bay Press Gazette, he might have finally apologized; he may have admitted he was wrong. Can it be true?

There've been tough decisions, but I think they were absolutely necessary ones. The Weidner Center — I feel very good that it's on a financially sustainable basis now, but my biggest mistake was listening to the "experts" about the Weidner Center, instead of the very clear signals the marketplace was sending.

The model of bringing in Broadway shows to cover the overhead was no longer working — every week of Broadway we put out there, we lost a quarter of a million dollars, so as a consequence over a course of about three years, we had $5 million in red ink trying to keep that going under the old model. If I'd done a better job and had more experience, I'd have gone to the new model earlier.

I can only hope that he doesn't screw up lives at the Western Washington University where he is headed.

Good riddance.

We're ok

It's amazing how much one's body and mind can recover from such loss as we've experienced lately. That's not to say we're 100%, but we're ok.

Every once in a while, Maddy will look at me with such emotion and say how sad she is that the baby died. There's been a lot of hugging and a lot of downtime for the three of us as a family. Maddy's taken to sleeping on the floor and wanting us to sleep with her. We do what we can, but it's been a bit frustrating, especially if we have work to do. I've ordered some books to hopefully assist her (and us) in this phase.

We'll be honoring Steven's life this coming Saturday. It will be a small gathering in Oconto.

We're ok. Spring is here. The seeds have been started for the vegetable garden and have begun to sprout under the grow-lights in the basement. We're planning the patio. Joe's dug a trench between the house and garage.

It's all going to be ok. :)

Crazy

It's been crazy here lately. The quarter here at the college started on the 7th, and we've expanded to over 100 students. I won't bore you with details, but I'm looking forward to spending some quality time with Maddy and Joe this weekend, especially watching the BIG GAME on Sunday night. :)



Yes, this is Joe, working on the sidelines at last Saturday's snowy game. He is an NFL Instant Replay Technician, which means he helps with the replays. He got about 10 sec. of airtime last game! There are lots more pictures of the game on our Flickr.com page!

Go Pack Go!

Updates

• I'm tired. Busy - crazy busy. Happy
• I'm playing my cello tonight for the first time since The Year of the Elbow. Looking forward to it!
  
• Again, I'm feeling Brett's pain from last night's game. It was horrible that they lost, to that team, but it's not the end of the world, and it was fantastic to see that Aaron Rodgers could actually step it up!
  
• It was Joe's birthday last night - fun night had by all!
  
• It's going to snow a lot tomorrow night. Actually looking forward to it! We're under a winter storm watch with up to 7 inches expected. Let the Holidays begin!
  
• Joe gave me an early Christmas present: an HP laptop with Vista and Office 2007 installed. So far, I love it!
• Maddy is doing great and her 4th b'day will be on the 23rd. Oh my stars! How did she get so old?!
  

And for your goofy pleasure:

Recap Week #1

Wow. What a week! Here's a brief rundown as to how the first week went.

• Updated and modified the canned syllabus and assignment sheet.
• Taught two sections of class.
• Installed software on computer.
  
• Put together dictionary stand.
  
• Created signs for library.
• Converged Google calendar and Outlook calendar into one calendar and uploaded all to my PocketPC.
• Made arrangements for this week's trip to Lake Elmo for library training.
• Made arrangements for next week's WLA conference here in GB.
  
• Went to Civic Symphony practice for sectionals. MUST practice!
• Sent first email out to all staff about circulation of materials. Online catalog isn't yet available - oh well. Little at a time.
• Figuring out slowly how to balance the 3 different parts of my job.
  
• Took pictures of my new library.
  

There is a grand total of one wall of shelving. I must remember to measure the length of this wall. Lots of room for collection expansion. Other librarians in the system (about 15 total) assisted in making lists of must-have items for the courses being offered thus far. My library boss came in a few days to catalog those on the shelves thus far.


Yep - two walls of windows! I face the entrance - not at all stuck in the back of the college like some other colleges.


Everyone entering the college has to go down the hallway on the otherside of this window/wall.


Very modern feel. The lights are green. The lights in the hallway are amber. How very Green Bay of them. :)


Lots of tables and chairs.


This is the entrance to the library. Everyone has to see me when they enter. :)


On to week #2.

• Hopefully Maddy will get to bed before I get home tonight (which is around 9:45pm). We have a VERY early morning on Tuesdays (I get to get to school before 7:30am). Unfortunately there aren't many morning people in my T/T class. ugh.
  
• I am looking forward to meeting my library boss on Thursday! I'm not looking forward to spending 2 nights away and driving for about 4 hours to get there, but it's not for a long time.
  
• The weather is going to be cooling down after today's crazy humid hot day (thankfully) so Halloween IS coming!
  

Thanks for all of your encouragement and virtual hugs! So far, I am glad I took the leap and took this path. It's damn scary, but it's all good.

The wedding of the summer

WOW.

Maddy, Joe and I hopped in the car early Saturday morning for Schaumburg, Illinois. The car ride was actually quite ok. Maddy and I sat in the backseat, watched movies on the laptop, colored, read books, and generally kept ourselves entertained.



The reason for the trip was to witness our very good friend Larry get married.


I hadn't a clue that he was serious about anyone until a little while back. It's not every day, nor everyone, who can go to their friends' wedding when that friend used to be an former boyfriend! Larry and I met 16 years ago during the Oregon Straw Hat Players show "South Pacific". We dated for a year, and have always remained friends. The funniest part of the story happened after I started dating Joe, 11 years ago. I was on the phone, telling Larry about my new boyfriend and described what he had done at the University. Larry paused and asked what Joe's last name was. I told him and asked why. Larry laughed and immediately asked to speak with Joe. Soon, the two of them were on the phone, giggling like school girls. Finally, after they hung up, Joe told me that he and Larry knew each other in college and had hung out. The craziest thing was: This was before I knew Larry!

So we hiked down to Chicago and were treated to one heck of a party! The reception was at the Chicago Marriott in Schaumburg. Very nice. There was close to 49 tables - 9 people per table plus the head table, so about 500 people. The table we were at was already full when we arrived. It was wonderful of Larry and Carolyn to think of the details. Here was our companions for the night:

The Daniels family: I remember Jeff. Here are he, his wife Vicki, and their two children, Lukas & Holly.


Maddy and Holly had a fun time together coloring.



The other two at our table were Jace & Pat. I knew he would be there, but it took me a "hi, my name is..." for either of us to recognize each other. He went to school with my sister Amy - his sister was in my grade. Pat has been a part of the Oregon Straw Hat Players for many years. Larry, Pat, Jace and I were all a part of the South Pacific show.


So, it was a nice reunion of sorts! Then came the FOOD. Oh. My. Stars. As Pat said, one usually goes away hungry from a wedding. Not so for this wedding. First of all, the menu.


Yes, folks, you saw correctly. There were 4 courses. That's not including the cake. (note, that's a little blue-lit waterfall)



In fact, we never got a piece of the cake. We were too full! The meal was delicious. We didn't need to stop anywhere for any food. We were delightfully satiated. It was so good, we took pictures of all the food. Enjoy. (Make sure you clean up your drool ;) )

Appetizer:
Tri-Color Ravioli, served with a Basil Tomato Concasse / Saffron Cream Sauce.



Salad:
Tossed Romaine Garden Salad topped with Shredded Parmesan Cheese and Garlic Roasted Croutons and Tossed Tableside with our homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing.



Entree:
Filet Mignon topped with a Peppercorn Cognac Sauce coupled with Breast of Chicken Florentine, Dauphonoise Potato and Steamed Bundle of Asparagus.



Dessert:
Vanilla Mousse topped with mango chunk and shredded coconut and coffee.



The presentation of the food was so good, we took pictures of the bread and the butter too!




The children at the table were all served a different kid-friendly food!

Appetizer:
Chicken Noodle soup

Salad:
Fresh Fruit


Entree:
Chicken Fingers & Fries


Dessert:
Vanilla Ice Cream with topping of strawberries.



So, all in all, we danced, we laughed, and we had a fantastic time.

Alive and well

Joe is back today, after being off of work for nearly 2 weeks. He's starting a new job at the same place as a manager. He will do well. :) The surgery went well, and his recuperation went smoothly. It helped having so many women telling him to STOP LIFTING: his mother, his grandmother, his daughter and his wife.

Maddy had the week off too, and the two of them spent 4 days up at the cottage. I had to work the 2nd & 3rd but went up in the evenings to say "howdy". They were ready to come home on the 4th. Maddy LOVED being able to stay up late for the fireworks one night, a concert in the park another, and a bonfire over the weekend. It's been a challenge getting her back on schedule but it's working out ok. Oy- is she ever cranky when she doesn't get good sleep!

Men!

Why can't men be more like women?

Joe's surgery went well - better than we had hoped. It was a minor one, but a long 7 hours in the hospital. grrrr..... Now for the recuperation. That's the hard part, especially for dear husband. He doesn't just sit - he has to be doing something. So when the doctor says, "No lifting anything heavier than a fork or spoon for 2 weeks", and Joe says this morning, "I feel fine - I'll do the dishes," I just want to SCREAM!

It will be good for him though, I think, in the long run. He has the Godfather trilogy on stand-by, it's a beautiful day, and he has many books to choose from the Eck library. Maybe he'll learn what it means to RELAX!

life

• Joe's in Anaheim at InfoComm.
• I'm on steroid inhalers to get rid of this stupid cough (which I still have!). ***(update) DUH! I have bronchitis! It all makes sense now. I met my new primary care physician and he mentioned that "my case of bronchitis" takes time to recover from. I must have had it when I was pregnant (similar issues) and over the years. Wow. ****
  

• Maddy woke up last night to go to the bathroom (omg - my baby is growing up!) and doesn't have to wear pull-ups for naptime!
  
• She has taken to sitting by her window and reading, especially in the morning before we leave for the day. This morning, however, I found her IN the window sill (like the cats do) talking to the neighbor! LOL
  

a new year

The Year of the Elbow is over. Long live the New Year.

Joe and I spent the evening with great friends, and brought in the new year the best way possible - via hot tub. :D Of course, it would have been better if it wasn't rainy or windy, but it was a lot of fun and very relaxing.

On the list of things I'd like to accomplish this year:

• For the first time in my life, I'm going to put fitness as a priority.
  

My cholesterol is way too high. I'd like to lose weight. I want Maddy to know how important fitness is and to set a good example. I'm going to join the YWCA, attend yoga classes, swim at least once a week. My elbow is doing well, and it feels fantastic being able to swim!

• Eat and help plan the family meals more efficiently / effectively.

We've been so amazingly busy trying to live day to day and by the end of the day, we usually stare into the refrigerator or the freezer or the cupboard, waiting for the dinner fairy to delight us with healthy, yummy cuisine. For some reason, that's not working.

• Work towards being able to plan a real vacation for sometime this year.

We haven't had a real, go-anywhere vacation in a long time and Maddy's never had a vacation. I don't count last February in Ohio to visit family - any trip when you end up in the emergency room does NOT count!

:) Happy New Years to you and yours! What's on your list?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOVE

Today, my husband turns the same age as I am. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOE!