Whatcha Doin'?

Well the long weekend is finally here! I've been looking forward to this weekend since, oh, probably early January. It's the first long weekend after the Christmas and New Years holidays. And it's the first paid holiday! Yippee!!

They say this is the "official" start of summer. If they're talking about the temperature, they're most definitely correct! It has been sultry here the last couple of days and according to weather.com the heat is going to continue. Some will probably laugh at sultry, but for us in Northern WI it's down right HOT! High 80s the last couple of days and tomorrow is suppose to be in the mid-90s, and then 80s the rest of next week. I don't care for the heat whatsoever.

Another reason that people say it's the start of summer is because this is the first long weekend for people to hook up the campers and boats and head out to the campgrounds and lakes. That is everyone but us! We're not so much the outdoorsy type. We would prefer to take in a ball game at the Metrodome or visit a mall. Or just stay home, like we're doing this weekend.

Today I've been doing laundry all day. I told myself that when Jason went to work at 3 I would clean house. Nope. I've learned that if I'm going to clean house I have to get up, eat breakfast and CLEAN. Sometimes I even skip the breakfast part. I don't like to just clean here and there. I have a system that goes like this: my bedroom, upstairs bath, living room, downstairs bath, and finally, kitchen.I do it all at once...it generally takes about 3 hours--depending on if I mop floors or scrub floors on my hands and knees. I prefer to scrub because I feel like the floor gets cleaner that way. The only thing I don't do in this usually-every-other-week ritual is clean Cait's room. I let her get it good and dirty and then make HER clean it, like she did today. :) Sometimes when she isn't home I go in and clean it like I want it cleaned. This usually ends with a couple of kitchen garbage bags full of "stuff". IMPORTANT stuff, you know. (According to a 9 year old who doesn't ever know it's missing). And so tomorrow is my cleaning day.

Monday all 3 of us will be home from work or school so it will be nice to hang out together. I'm not sure what we'll do. Maybe a picnic or a movie? We'll have to see.

Have a nice long weekend everybody!

Blogger Traffic

Does anyone know how to increase traffic to my blog? Do I need more interests, etc. in my profile? Do people search those when trying to find blogs to read? These questions are directed at you, Karen, since I believe you are my only loyal reader at this time. :) Or maybe I'm just booooring...but I don't think that's it. I just need to develop a fan base, right? Network network network. It'd be a lot more fun if more people left comments (hint, to those of you who may read but don't comment).

The "W" Word

That would be "wedding". I told myself that when I started this blog it wasn't going to be all about the upcoming event, but tonight I'm feeling the need to share.

First of all, WOW! I never imagined it would be this difficult planning a wedding. I told myself, and everyone who would listen, that this is going to be a simple wedding, not a big fancy to do. And I still believe it is a simple wedding, but every wedding has to have certain elements, be it big or small. So far I've got my dress and had an initial fitting. Bridesmaids dresses arrived on Saturday. The flowers (we're going artificial) have been purchased. The invitations are addressed and waiting for stamps. About 1/2 of the men have been measured for tuxes (c'mon guys!). The rehearsal dinner, church and reception site have been reserved. On Saturday we had our first pre-marital session with Pastor Jeff. The photographer has been reserved. (?) Do you reserve people? :) Our rings are almost purchased...Jason's is still on layaway at the jewelry store. I am burned out and there is still so much to do!

We have to get the ceremony music lined up, put the ceremony and program together, figure out who is doing what and when to help out with the details, get the flower girl basket and ring bearer pillow, get jewelry for the big day, get gifts for our parents and attendants. There are a lot of "gets" above, which mean $$. What an industry to be in--the bridal industry. These people know that us gals NEED these things, and so they price the items like we've all got wads of cash just laying around.

And the big day is exactly 89 days away!! (Thank you to theknot.com for the count down.) I was feeling pretty good about being organized in the first few months, but now that it's only 3 months away the pressure is on! I am feeling completely frazzled. Every time I think about it I don't know where to start now or what to do next. Whew! Does anyone have any good, sound wedding planning advice?

Cap'n Crunch...Berries, or No Berries...That is the Question

So. How about you? Do you like Cap'n Crunch cereal? Do you like Crunch Berries? Or Peanut Butter Crunch (or whatever it is)? I just got home from work and was looking for a snack, and that's what I decided on. A bowl of Crunch Berries. Deeeelish! I like cereal in general, just about any kind of cereal. I don't, however, like any cereal with nuts in it or bran cereals, with the exception of Raisin Bran (two scoops!). As a kid I remember we always had Cheerios, Kix, and Rice Krispies. None of those "sugar" cereals. I also remember that Granny always had Lucky Charms in the cupboard underneath the counter top. I liked to eat breakfast at her house! :) We tend to have a variety of cereals around...anything from Corn Flakes to Fruity Pebbles. As a grown-up doing my own grocery shopping and deciding what kind of cereal to buy for the family, I've found that in general, those "sugar" cereals aren't as horrible as our parents made us to believe. This is backed up by my one or two (or twelve) takes on the Weight Watchers program, where Crunch Berries and Lucky Charms are pretty close in points to Cheerios and Corn Flakes. Not much difference in nutritional values, but some. Anways, that's my rambling for today. Not much of anything, if I do say so myself.

Happy Birthday, Crit!!

HE'S 30 TODAY!!! I CAN'T EVEN BELIEVE IT!! MAKES ME FEEL OLD... :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR CRITTER JOHN JOHNNY CURTIS METCALF, II, JR., HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

I know he probably won't read this, but his wife might, so she can tell him what a wonderful sister I am!

Have a super day, Critter! Love ya!

I'm Back

I've been summoned to return to blogging...

Hot Air Balloons

If you had the chance, would you take a ride in a hot air balloon? If the opportunity presented itself to me, I think I'd have to pass. I'm not afraid of heights, I'm just afraid! I would not feel safe or secure floating around above the ground in a basket hanging from a big balloon--which gets around by the use of FIRE. Uh uh. Not cool.

This subject comes up because every now and again we see a hot air balloon drifting by. I have seen 2 different ones so far, right overhead in our neighborhood. One is dark oranges and yellows with silhouettes of what makes me think of a safari. There is a giraffe and an elephant. Another is just very brightly colored stripes of blues, purples, pinks, reds and yellows. And it seems that the days we see them are always the same--not a cloud in the bright blue sky. I'm always in awe as I watch them. They look so beautiful and peaceful floating along. Almost magical. Just the other day, a week or so ago, Cait and I saw the striped one as we were driving home. Luckily I didn't crash the car. I just wanted to sit and watch it as it drifted by. And I always feel slightly jealous of the people that are in the basket. What an awesome experience! Could there be a better bird's eye view from anywhere else? Neat. Just plain neat.

Nice People

I was at Sam's Club today with Caitlin checking some prices on some things. Caitlin was standing in line at one of the sampler stations waiting for a mini taco and from behind me I hear "I like your blouse". I didn't really think much of it, but then I looked in front of me and there was Caitlin in a t-shirt, a man, and the sampler lady in a white shirt and white apron, and no one else in the near vicinity. And then I figured that whoever said that must be talking to me! So, I turned around and sure enough there was an older woman smiling and she said "It's really pretty". I smiled and said thank you. What really struck me about this is that it's not too often that a stranger pays you a compliment these days. Or says "thank you" when you hold the door for them, or just a simple "hello" or even a smile when you pass by. I almost didn't know how to react to this nice woman telling me that I had a pretty blouse on. Yikes! Maybe it was because my blouse really isn't that pretty? :) It's pink and black and white diagonal stripes. Nothing special. Anways, today's lesson is: When you pass a stranger on the street, pay them a compliment or give them a smile, it might make their day. "Hello, Friend."

Oh NO!

I think Cait is sideways! Anyways, isn't she cute? This was at a MN Twins game last year. I just figured out how to get these pics on here and all I have down in the basement with me are old picture CDs. I'm having too much fun to go up and dig out the more recent ones, but I will soon!

Heeerrrre's Caitlin!

This is a picture of Jason and I at one of our favorite places in the whole wide world--Lake Superior in Duluth, MN. It's old...I think it's from October of 2004.

Oops...

I was trying to use a new template, or background or whatever it is, and none of them looked good with all of the colorful posts. So then I scanned all the way down and realized that this one really doesn't look too pretty either. I thought in the beginning a little variety would be nice, changing colors of text, you know, but it's bad. It's not pretty, it's pukey. Yikes!

Bike Rides

Last night we went for a bike ride. I honestly don't remember the last time I went on a "bike ride". I used to bike a lot when I was younger. I biked all over the place. To town, to work, to friends' houses. After I moved to Eau Claire (9 years ago...wow!) I got rid of my bike. I think I may have had it for a couple years after I was here because I remember having one of those pull behind carts for Cait. Anyways, it's been a long time. Jason bought me a new bike for Christmas this year. I've been wanting one, but up until the past year or so we didn't really have anywhere to store it since we lived in a puny apartment, but now we have the room and now I have a bike! I rode it once before--on one of the first really nice spring-like days before spring was actually here I took it up to the gas station to put air in the tires. I walked it there though, and rode back the whole 4 blocks so that doesn't really count. Last night we rode for some time. I'm not sure how far it was, but we were gone 45 mins. to and hour. And our neighborhood is ideal for riding bikes. There are nice sidewalks on most of the streets and we're near a bike trail, so it was great. Although I'm not sure its proper to ride bike on the sidewalks, is it? Well we did it anyways. As we were riding we passed many many other people. Some walking or running. Some biking and some rollerblading. Some couples, some families, some kids. It was a gorgeous evening too. Perfect. And it was quite peaceful. Other than the fact that I had to stop and walk every now and then (my bike seat is a little too small for my BIG seat, so a tad uncomfortable after a while) it was a lot of fun and I'm anxious to get out there again. Caitlin was thrilled that we went on a bike ride together, and that made me feel good. Even though it's exercise, it doesn't feel like it, so all the better!

COOKIES!!

Did you order any Girl Scout cookies this year? I know that different parts of the country, even different areas in each state sell at different times, but it's our time now! Cookies are here! YUM! I'm not sure, but I'd have to say that the cookie sale is probably one of the biggest fundraising efforts around. On the 6:00 news tonight they said that our area girls sold over 720,000 boxes. That's a lot of cookies! I generally don't mind fundraisers--except when schools are raising $$ for $25,000 playground improvements. Yes, they need to have a safe place for kids to play and exercise, but $25,000? That could save a teacher from losing a job! But that's another story. Although this cookie deal might seem like a headache at first, going around, asking people if they want cookies, delivering all 300+ boxes of them, collecting and counting the $$, it really is a good cause. But in the end it's not all that bad. The cookies really sell themselves. I think that the majority of the proceeds, with the exception of what they pay the cookie bakers, stays within the organization and I truly think that Girl Scouts is a great organization. It seems that they have good values that they try to impress upon our girls. They offer tons of programs and all girls are welcome. It has been a privilege for Caitlin to have been in Girl Scouts since 1st grade. So, to anyone out there who has a hand in scouting, thanks!

Just some food for thought...Thin Mint, anyone?

Daylight Savings Time

What exactly is the point of daylight savings? Isn't it so we have more daylight at the end of the day? Makes sense, I suppose. But wouldn't we eventually gain that extra time as the summer goes on anyways because of the solstice or whatever it's called? Right now it's 7:25 p.m. and it's still light outside, which is nice. It would be even nicer if it was warmer and we could take advantage of the extra time! The thing that I don't like about daylight savings is that my internal clock gets messed up. I have a hard time understanding why this happens. I'm not the type of person that always goes to bed at a certain time or always wakes up at a certain time. My normal bed time is anywhere between 9:00 p.m. and midnight, and I generally wake up between 6:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., depending on what the day has in store for me. Unless of course it's Saturday morning, in which case I try to sleep in, but not usually. It would be easier for me to understand why I feel so sleep deprived if I did have a regular sleeping schedule, say from 10:00 p.m. until 6:00 a.m., but I don't. Maybe it has to do with the environment itself, with the "daylight", or lack thereof. And the same happens in the fall when daylight savings time ends and it suddenly is dark before I leave work at 5:00 p.m. One would think that your body would like that change, the extra hour of sleep that one Sunday morning. But nope, it doesn't. All I know is that it takes over a week to get regulated again. And who determines if daylight savings time is even the way to go? I saw on t.v. once that there in one county in Indiana somewhere that doesn't set the clocks back and forth, but the rest of the state does. I don't remember if for that part of the year that county is one hour ahead or one hour behind, ahead, I believe. Either way it seems like it'd cause confusion and chaos! I wonder what the majority of people think...do they like daylight savings or do they dislike it? I'm undecided.

Bunk Beds

This weekend we made a change that struck me in a way that one wouldn't necessarily think.

About 3 years ago we bought Caitlin a new bed for Christmas--it was one of those metal futon bunk beds. Cool huh? Well, not so cool when we ended up moving 2 times since buying it--putting it up, taking it down, putting it up, taking it down...you get the picture. We recently decided to get rid of it and move on, so to speak. Last week our local Shopko store had a "lowest price of the season sale" on their mate's bed and headboard. So, for the regular price of the bed, we got the headboard and the bed. Thursday and Friday evenings Caitlin and I (yes!) put the headboard together. Yesterday the woman that was taking the old bed came and picked it up and last night and this morning Jason and I put the new bed together. And, finally, this afternoon Cait and I whipped that room into shape and everything's fine and dandy. Until mom starts thinking about it!

When your baby moves from a crib to a toddler bed, it's a big deal. When your toddler moves from the toddler bed to a twin bed, it's a big deal. Twin bed to bunk bed? Not such a big deal. Now replacing the bunk bed with a more "grown-up" bed is a big deal! As we cleaned and rearragned her room today, I noticed something that I don't usually notice during this particular task. Her coloring books and crayons have been replaced by scrap books and supplies. Her dolls and blankies have been replaced by just a select few stuffed animals that are "special". Her Dr. Suess collection has been replaced with the likes of Judy Moody and CSI: 4 Minute Mysteries (geared at kids, of course, not like T.V.! She has pictures of friends and other memorabilia scattered and posted about. Wow!

Now I know that kids grow up, but when I think about it I just want to cry! When did my little girl in the denim jumper and sandals get replaced with the pre-teen in size 7 softball cleats? Time sure flies.

And everywhere I look I see babies! When I look at them I'm not sure if I look at them the way I do because I long for another baby, or I long for Cait to be a baby again. I think the latter of the two better describes my feelings.

Does anyone else with big kids share these kind of thoughts?

Getting to Know You

Something that I've noticed from perusing the blogs of others--you really learn a lot about them! I'm fairly new to this blogging concept, but I've visited a couple of blogs that were linked to a blog that I read regularly. You learn about families and friends of the blogger as well as their day to day activities. Sometimes you'll see what they had for dinner or what they did yesterday. And other times they will post upcoming events or just plain pictures of kids or pets. They offer tips, ideas and advice, or things to ponder. They describe situations that can often be related to by the reader. What an interesting way to communicate and explore! Thanks, Karen, for the little push to get this started. I'm looking forward to a long blogging career! ;)

Here I am!

Well, well, well...my very own blog! Thanks, Karen. This will be a bit generic at first as I learn the ropes of this blogging deal. Stay tuned...