Monday, Monday

Mondays really aren't so bad.  It is starting off a busy week, but a normal busy.  I can deal with that.  Work has been busy, too - that I like as well - that means I don't have to try to find things to do to keep myself busy at work.  Which happened a lot last fall and time goes so very, very slow when you're not busy with things to do. 

We did find a dress for Alexa's musical theater solo - one HUGE thing off my list.  If we don't find a dress ready to go, then I have to find one that I can alter or change to make work AND I only have until the 12th to get it done.  The costumes for 'Wicked' are not available to rent because the musical is still in production.  Gotta love shopping online to find one suitable for the song.  :)  It isn't exact, but it will work very well and was very reasonable in price.  I figure the cost to buy it was about what I could have rented it once for.  Then I have the dress and can re-sell it online when we are all done with it.  Being able to do so much online is truly a wonderful marvel of the age we live in.  Who'd a thought of all these posibilities 25 years ago?

Our cheerleaders did well at State competition Saturday.  They did not place as high as they had hoped, but they have worked hard all season and the parents are very proud of them - they made it to State!  Next year is another opportunity to do it again!  The girls are very energetic and talented, I know they can make it back to State competition.

The first picture is the team at regionals.  The second picture is the final pose of their state performance.  you see the judges tables in the foreground and the spectators sit in the seats behind them.  All the seats in the background is where the teams put all their stuff.  It was a long day, but you get to see some really awesome routines.

Have an awesome week and may you find something to 'cheer' about every day!!!!
Love ya,
Bren

I don't have to wonder 'why?' any longer

Alright, here goes everything!  I wonder why I can't loose weight, why I can't exercise, why I sleep like a rock - at the drop of a hat, why my brain doesn't want to ever shut off, why I can never seem to get around to scrapbooking all those great photos and TONS of other things I can never seem to get to. 

    I am so busy with everything!!!!! ArrrrgggHHHHH! That's why I needed a 4 hour nap on a snow day.  Tuesday after work was Meg's piano lesson, cooking supper and some paperwork.  Wednesday was Scott's trumpet lesson, making rice crispy treats for the court of honor, his Scout Court of Honor at church, Young Women at church and supper in there somewhere.  Thursday was making supper, a scout committee meeting for the local troop.  Friday was getting my nails done, a visit from my visiting teachers, business paperwork.  Saturday (today) State Cheer competition 8am-4pm, going grocery shopping, getting a pattern for the prom dress straps and fabric to match it, finding shoes for the prom dress, looking for another dress for Alexa's musical theater solo, doing Tim's taxes and updating my checkbook.  This doesn't even count the seminary class I teach every school day morning from 6-6:45am.  I honestly can't believe I am not crazy - maybe I am . . .  and no one will tell me.

Not every week goes like this, but many do.  I am not complaining, but grateful to have an answer.  That will help me not be so hard on myself, but allow me to work with it instead of trying to fight it.  I do take multi-vitamins and cleaning isn't high on my list.  Our home is clean enough and I do have children old enough to pick up after themselves, with a little reminding, and also do some of the cleaning.  It's not like I have 6 small kids in the house who won't put things away.  Although, I can still tell who's been where by the trail left behind.  :)

I honestly wouldn't know what to do with myself if I had more time or fewer things to do.  Some day the kids at home will be out on their own and I will have the time for scrapbooking, family history and my flower beds.   Then I might have more fun going to visit all of them!

Ok, enough of all that.
Have a great week ahead and we got another inch or so of snow today!!!
Bren

Snow Days!!!

I really like snow days.  It can be a day to do anything. (get lots accomplished IF you are in that mindset)  We actually had two snow days in a row!  Sunday the storm was coming and they didn't want church members on the roads in the heavy snow and strong winds, so a day off.  I did manage to get some pictures put into albums.  Doesn't sound like much, but you can't do that until a few things are put away from the front of the book shelves and it wasn't just one album.  It was into 6 albums.  I have a set of albums for each child.  Yup, lots of albums and even more photos.  I went to Europe with Gwen and the Wisconsin Ambassadors of Musicians (WAM) in 2006.  Guess how any pictures I took?  Here's a little help, we were gone 16 days and in 10 countries.  I know, tough to guess and I love to take pictures.  The total was just over 1200 - AFTER I deleted the bad ones.  With all of those there were two that I didn't get.  The first one was in Paris.  We were on a tour boat on the Seinne River, the sun setting behind Notre Dame Cathedral - pretty much the most perfect picture I could have taken and my camera batteries were dead.  I had left the spare batteries on the bus.  UGH!!!!  The second picture I missed?  In Switzerland we went to go see the Matterhorn, well the day we were there it was covered by a cloud - never did see the big hunk of rock.  However, the morning we were leaving, I went out onto the hotel room balcony and looked to the left and thought I saw what might have been the Matterhornin the skyline of the Alps.  I did not take that photo.  I really, really wish I had.  I may never get to go back.

Now back to the kids' albums.  I haven't done much in the way of recording their lives growing up, except for photos.  I always loved to look at our family pics as I was growing up and I knew my kids would, too.  Some families trail off a little more with each child.  Not me, I just took more and made more copies of them.  We have lots of classic photos of the kids.  The expressions and the antics are so much fun.  Fred even used one of those classics at Gwen's wedding ceremony this summer.  Priceless.

The second snow day, Monday, I just took a 4 hour nap, which I never get to do.  It felt so good.  I did a little bit around the house, but not much.  Just slacked.  We need those days, too!

I love snow! It is awesome to think we could still get snow for two more months, maybe three!!!!


Love ya,
Bren

What a Show!!!!

Went to see the musical 'Wicked' last night.  AMAZING!!!!  If you get a chance to go, do it.  Well worth the money to go.  Awesome story, keeps you into it the entire time.  It was fun to go with some of my kids, Gwen, Megan and Scott.  Alexa saw it at the end of January.   I had originally planned to go with only Gwen, for a birthday present.  Then as I thought about it, the other kids would be sad if they weren't at least asked.   Meg sings and plays piano.  Scott sings, plays piano and trumpet.  They were excited to go, too!!!!  And loved it!!!!!   We haven't done many things like this over the years and I wish we would have. 

Click on this link to learn more about it . . . .
http://www.wickedthemusical.com/#

With 6 kids, money was always a reason not to and then there was the behavior possibilities.  You just never knew how the kids would behave.  Most of the time the kids behaved like good, but normal kids.  An issue would come up somewhere and dealing with it would leave us parents asking, 'Why did we bother?'  Kinda hard to look past some of those moments to try other things.  One time in particular comes to mind.  Tim was in Jazz Band and they were performing their State Solo & Ensemble songs at an area high school.  Fred & I went and took Megan with, can't remember if another child went too, but not all of us went.  We go into the auditorium early enough to be ready when it was Tim's group's turn to perform.  Meg threw one of her benders, she was only 4 or 5 and had some issues.  We thought Tim's group was to play after the next group, so we left the auditorium to settle her down and not disturb the next group.  Well, we did not know that the group scheduled next did not show up.  Tim's group went next and we missed the whole thing.  Now one of the reasons to take Megan was to try to encourage an interest in music, we felt it could begin at any age.  I decided on the way home, she was just too young and we would not be taking her again anytime soon.  Meg has matured and loves music, so who knows?  Maybe she did get something from that night anyway.


May you find happiness and realize that things aren't always what they seem!!!!

Love ya,
Bren

Tomorrow is Friday !!!!!

 I am so glad tomorrow is Friday!  Last day of work for the week and we go see the musical 'Wicked' tomorrow night!  It promises to be a great show.  It will be a long day at work, just because I have better things to do when it is over.

So far, the life-style changes are working out.  I cannot do a complete 'diet' change, but cutting back on eating is a big help.  Did you know that one chocolate kiss is about 20 calories?  One wouldn't be bad, but who can stop at one?  The little chocolate 'Treasures' taste wonderful, but those are more calories : 40-45 in each one - yup just one.  Can't stop at one of those either.  Eating more fruits and veges and smaller portions for lunch and supper plus more water.  You don't get so tired and hit the 2 o'clock wall if you eat a little less at lunch.  Exercising also helps us feel better and putting in the effort to exercise makes it more meaningful to eat better.  I don't feel like I am sabotaging myself and both efforts work together and reinforce the other.  So far, so good; but it's only been 3 days.  I usually struggle keeping it going for a much longer time.  This blog, I think, will help me be more accountable.  I started a list on the left.  If I list each day what I did, then I can see it for myself.

Time to go exercise.  Maybe the balance ball tonight, or walking or this other aerobic DVD that I bought for $2.50.  It is awesome!  It has 10 min workouts and the lady in it even sweats!  I can do one or 6 of them, whatever I feel like.  It is so not like the balance ball DVD where the lady goes on for over an hour and not one drop of sweat can be found.

Happy Exercising!
Love Ya,
Bren

Time for change!!!!!!

Why time for change?  OK, on our vacation I had used a waterproof disposable camera for some pictures at Xcaret.  I wanted to take pics along the underground river, so we bought one.  I had my digital camera in the locker and when we were done with the river swim we had to walk back to get the rest of our stuff.  Thank goodness for towels that can cover.  Anyway, along the way back we walked along part of the seashore and there was this really pretty scenic view.  In my ignorance, I sat upon this nice big rock and had Fred take a picture of me.  I get my photos printed by Snapfish.com (great company) and sent in my single use camera for developing the prints.  One of the many nice things about Snapfish is that I can see my photos before I get the actual prints back in the mail.  Back to the photo of me on the rock.  Well,  it was way less than flattering.  I look like an over-plump, chubby marshmallow. 

I am printing out that picture and sticking it on the refrigerator.  It is now my motivation to get busy exercising and eating better.  This is not going to be a diet.  It is a change of life habits.  I will eat, but will eat good things and my goal is to exercise 6 days a week. (taking Sunday as a day of rest - good for the body and soul)  I will also put a copy of the picture in my desk drawer at work. We eat very poorly there and sitting at a desk all day is not good for weight loss.

Good luck to all those who are working to improve themselves in any way, physically, mentally, spiritually, or dietarily.

have an awesome day!
Love ya,
Bren       and no I won't post that picture until it can be a very good 'before' picture.  :)

Our Gwennie's home!!!!

Gwen got home a little after 9 am this morning.  This amazes me - she began her trek north at about 1:30 pm yesterday, drove straight through the night with the 3 cats.  A few stops for food or potty breaks, but kept on driving.  I am trying to remember the last time I had the ability to stay up all night, probably about that age. Early 20's.  So glad I don't have to do that now.  Body is a little old for that.

With that said and she being home, please keep Greg in your prayers.  He will be gone 3-6 months.  There is never anything really firm with the Military, so the plans may change and that is the window of possibility for his return.

So how are the cats and dog doing?  Not well.  I think Allie just wants to play with them, but the dog is bigger than they are and the cats don't realize Allie would like to play with them.  For now the dog has the upstairs (main floor) and the cats have the downstairs (walk-out basement).  There is a door at the bottom of the stairs with a doorknob the dog can't open.  The cats should be happy enough with this arrangement.  They will have their own space and room to move.  The dog will hopefully be able to deal with cats in the house.

Have an awesome Monday to begin the week!
Happy Valentines day for anyone with a sweetheart!

Love Ya,
Bren

A Week gone by already????

    Amazing!  The week went by so fast.  I was busy at work, which was good.  Some days I run out of things to do and end up doing a lot of filing.  That isn't hard as we learn the alphabet by age 5, just not very mind awakening.  Now the tax season has begun.  I don't mind doing taxes.  Weird, huh?  I am a numbers person.  I like LOVE puzzles and getting numbers to balance is like a puzzle.  Numbers are not like English, where sometimes there is no right or wrong answer, and if your opinion doesn't match the teacher's, you get down graded for it.  Numbers always have an answer.  It is either right or wrong.

One hard thing about numbers, though, are surveys.  I detest them.  I won't do surveys any more.  why?  Because if you listen carefully to the question, it is usually asked in such a way to elicit a specific response.  The response they want you to give - they really don't want my opinion.  They want me to answer to support their opinion.  Hence, the survey is biased.  They really don't like it when you tell them that, either.  But it is the truth and sometimes the truth is hard to hear.

I also do Sudoku puzzles every day.  I absolutely love them.  I did lots in Mexico on vacation.  I can do them and not think of anything else.  If you know me, then you know that I have a hard time just thinking of one thing at a time.  I can sit at work matching up POs, packing slips and invoices while listening to the radio and stating who is singing the song, what the song name is, and any other trivia I know about the song, the movie it was played in, or the artist.  Which then leads to good movie quotes or other mindless info rolling around in my head at the time.  I have solved many solutions while in the shower, while I sleep or even eating dinner.  It's fun, some days I wake up just knowing how to fix or correct something.  Not sure how it happens, but it makes me feel invigorated and energized.

We are looking forward to having Gwen home, but we also know that means her husband is away for a while.  We are expecting her home this week.  It will be exciting and she is bringing her 3 cats home, too!  We will see how Allie (our full size Collie above) does with them.  The house is big enough so there is enough room for the dog and the cats to have their own space.  The best part about her coming home is that next Friday the 18th, we are going to see the musical 'Wicked'!  


That's enough rambling for now.  Our busy schedule works with my brain - never a dull moment and always something to think about!  :)

Love ya,
Bren

What a game!!!!!!! Oh, Happy Day!!!!!

What a great football game!  Packers' Nation will sleep well tonight.  :)  World Champs, what a nice title!

Have a great week everyone - we will in Green Bay!!!

Bren

Getting a little older, Hmmmmm . . . .

Ok, so first picture is of my Green and Gold outfit for Sunday.  Didn't realize I looked so plump in it, but it's what I have and I will wear it tomorrow to church.  I wore it Friday to work.  Comfort works! 

Now the 'getting a little older'.  What you have below on the left is my first pair of glasses at age 12 in 1976.  This picture was taken just a week before or the week of my broken left leg. (I broke it skateboarding at my birthday party and it was only a fracture of the tibia in my lower leg)  The outfit in the picture was one of my favorites.  I loved the lacelike edging and it was a very soft t-shirt knit.  The necklace was also a favorite.  As you can see in the photos, I've had some dental work done and am even on my second set of caps.  Yup, just aged me plenty.   The photo on the right was taken this evening and is my new pair of glasses.  I got a 2nd pair in the 7th grade, a 3rd pair when I was pregnant with Gwen and now these.  Didn't even have my eyes tested for 20 years.  I had them tested about 2 years ago and was borderline.  Now these old eyeballs just get tired in the afternoons from looking at so much fine print on invoices and statements.  Can anyone tell me why 6 or 8 pt font is allowed anywhere except an eye test?

Well, we have all the food for the game tomorrow.  Should be good eats even if the game doesn't pan out.  I must say that I am glad to be at home.  Traveling to Texas sure seems like an ordeal.  If the weather in Wisconsin wasn't enough this week, the weather in Texas has been even worse with ice and how ill prepared they are to deal with it.  Just so you know, the hotels in Green Bay are filled to capacity.  Many fans traveled to Green Bay to watch the game and celebrate in Packer Country.  I am pretty sure that is cheaper than going to Dallas.  :)

Have a great weekend!  Enjoy the game!  GO PACK GO!!!!

Love ya,

Bren

Waiting for the Game!!!

The talk all week (other than the snow storm that went south) is about the Super Bowl on Sunday.  Some people are sick of all the hype and are anxious for the game to be over with.  How sad, the Pack doesn't go to the Super Bowl every year and this is fun, the excitement, the get togethers. Oh, and then there's the food!  We already have the brats, plans for wings, vege trays, dips, salsa, chips, shrimp.  I even found a dark green lightweight sweater to wear over my packer yellow top on Sunday to church.  :)  All set.

One more day of work and then a pretty low key weekend - up to the game anyway.

I got a call last week from an aunt Joyce on my dad's side.  I have 3 aunt Joyces.  He has one sister named Joyce and two of his brothers married  women named Joyce.  2 aunt Ruths, too.  Crazy, but that happens in a large family of 16.  Anyway, she asked about family history and if I could send her information about my kids and my sister's family.  I told her I would send her all the family group sheets for Dad's family, the pedigree chart (which goes back into the 1500's), and a descendancy chart for Grandpa and Grandma.  Took a little bit, but I got it all done tonight.  I wish I had more time to get back into researching family history.  Maybe this spring I can do some when it is too yucky to be outside much and things have quieted down with other activities.  Another thing to add to the perpetual "ToDo" list.

Enjoy the Game!  Go Pack!!!!

Love Ya and keep smiling!
Bren

Waiting out the Snow Storm

 Ok, so these are the baskets I donated for the silent auction at the Boy Scouts Spaghetti dinner on Sunday.  It was a very successful fundraiser and now I am so glad it is over.  The scouts do a lot of good things and it was fun putting them all together.

Now here are the re-done nails.  It is a change from the square-tipped pink ones.  This length and shape is more manageable and much easier to type with.  I do a lot of work on a computer so that is a huge plus.  The biggest drawback is that as I have been working, I have caught glimpses of my mother's hands.  Sorry, Mom. No denying my genetics any longer; I am a pretty good replica of Mom. I just got about 4 extra inches of height.  Mom has kept her youth pretty well, so I'll take that, too.  :)

It is sort of a quieter week.  We are north of the big snow storm that is hitting Wisconsin right now.  We do have lots of wind and it is blowing around the 3" of snow we got last night.  Really cold!  As of right now, we do have school tomorrow, but lots of schools are closed already.  We aren't supposed to get any more snow - the wind may be a problem, though. 

Have an awesome day and keep smiling!!!!

Love Ya,
Bren