So, I still love my job. It's been almost 2 months now. Our executive director is going to be leaving us.....his last day is November 7th. He's re-enlisted in the ARMY....he's a retired "Major" who has been retired for like 13+ years! He will be going to Afghanistan at the end of November for one year. He is also my BFF, Beth, father-in-law. I'm sad to see him go, as I think he's an excellent boss, and very flexible and understanding (though I haven't had any major incidents thus far!). You never know what you're going to get for a new boss. I've been told that the hiring process could take months, which hopefully means that I'll be a little more busy here at work with just JoAnn and I in the office. Things have been VERY slow here, and I find myself sitting at my desk with absolutely NOTHING to do! To some, this would sound like a great deal....but I find it to be very boring! I am scheduled to take a Client Casework class in Syracuse next week. That should be interesting. I am up for learning anything new that will help me as I build my "career". I do see myself making a career at the Red Cross. JoAnn will be retiring in a year and a half (she's been here 22 years!)....and I'm not sure what the pre-requiste's are....but I'd be interested in taking her position as Director of Programs and Services.

I'm finding that routine is everything now that I have a job....even if I do only work 4 hours a day. You'd be surprised with what a difference NOT having those 4 hours makes! I get up with the kids at 6:30, and I'm on a dead run 'till 7:30 pm when I get Lukas in bed for the night. Before I leave for work, I make the beds, clean the kitchen, throw in laundry, pick up the house, and usually throw dinner in the crockpot. When I get home, it's more laundry, homework, finishing up cooking dinner, cleaning UP after dinner, then getting Lukas ready for bed (which is a major act in itself!). I am exhausted by nightfall, and I'm usually in bed by 9:30. Oddly enough though, I do enjoy it. I do, however, miss my naps! LOL! I have also found that I honestly believe that my bout of "depression" was caused by the fact that I wasn't working....as much as I enjoyed being home. I find myself now to be very upbeat....without my medication. I rarely have headaches anymore, and my body aches and pains are few and far between. Big improvement from just a few months ago. And the best part....I have some money coming in! Mike and I have not had even one fight over money or bills since I started working!

Tomorrow is Lukas' Halloween party and parade at school. The parade is at 1:30, but they are starting to get the kids ready around 12:30. I have been fortunate enough to find a job and boss that are allowing me to leave work early to attend. I always had the luxury of being there for EVERY SINGLE one of Jake's parties (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's, etc.).....every single one. I have been concerned for sometime now that when the time came for me to go back to work, if I'd be lucky enough to have that luxury again. I am....and I am so thankful. Tonight we have to make cookies for him to take in for his party. I chintzed out though...and I bought those chocolate chip break and bake cookies by NESTLE. LOL. HEY.....I'M A WORKING MOM NOW!

Lukas is going to be a "police officer", I think. Either that or he'll wear the wicked cute "cowboy" costume that I bought him for his birthday party. I wish he'd wear that. Jake won't be dressing up this year :( He does have an orange t-shirt that I bought him that says "THIS IS my costume!"...I'm sure he'll wear that tomorrow. I think I am going to take the kids to Copenhagen trick-or-treating this year....which will be a first. We've always gone to Watertown, with the exception of last year when I took them to Tylerville. Jake has a Halloween party to go to at 9 pm tomorrow night. Odd time, don't you think? It's 'till midnight! It's at my friend Char's house (her daughter is Jake's "girlfriend"), so I supposed I'll let it slide. Not quite sure how I am going to keep Lukas up 'till then.....I'll have to take him with me to go get him seeing as though Mike will be working.

Well, enough rambling I guess. Here is a pic of my office at work:

The Big "Nor'Easter"

So....we got the snow that I talked about yesterday....a SHITLOAD of it! We woke up to about 2 foot of snow at our house. Luckily we didn't lose power, but getting out of the house proved to be tricky. The drifts outside the back door were probably 4 1/2 feet deep. My poor Terra had to do her business on the porch this morning! You all know how I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the winter months....but this is a bit ridiculous! It's only October for God's sake! There was no way I was getting to work on time today....I had to wait for Mike to get home and plow out the driveway with the big tractor. Besides, the town didn't come up through with the plow until well after 9. I did end up getting to work around 10:30, but it was a hairy ride in. The roads were slippery as hell. But I made it, and I guess that's what counts! Gotta love life in the North Country.....I know I do!

Here are some pics. The first one is a picture of our house as the snow was first starting to fall. The second pic was taken from my back door, looking down the stairs at the drift that surrounded my car this morning!

Our 7th Anniversary

Yesterday was our 7th Anniversary, as well as Mike's 37th birthday. Seems so hard to believe that it's only been 7 years, when in reality, it seems like an eternity (not in a bad way!). I looked through our wedding photos yesterday. It's always a bittersweet experience. So many people that were at our wedding have since passed away.....my Grandfather Hunt, Mike's dad, and my good friend Heather, just to name a few. The kids have all gotten so big....Jake, my little brother and sister, my nephew Ryan, Heather's daughter Genny, and Beth's daughter Marisa....they were all sooooo little back then! We've seen alot of good times since then, sprinkled with a few bad. But all in all, I think it's safe to say that we're both just as happy, if not happier, now, then we were then.

We celebrated Saturday night by going out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse....our favorite! This was a big deal for me because we NEVER go out! Mike's mom made dinner for us on Sunday night. Last night I picked up some pizza and made a salad. I also got an ice cream cake. Mike had to rush through the whole thing because the idiots from the woodstove place were there AGAIN trying to get the damn thing working right, and they didn't leave til well after 6 o'clock. I bought Mike some RED WING work boots for his birthday. He was thrilled, to say the least. He sent me flowers at work. They are my favorite: carnations....and in my favorite fall colors! Here is a picture:

This weekend is going to be another busy one for us. At least Friday and Saturday are! Friday, of course, is Halloween. My boss is letting me get out of work early on Friday so I can go to Lukas' parade and party at school. Then we have to go trick-or-treating. Then....at 9 pm on Friday, Jake has a Halloween party to go to at his "girlfriends" house 'til midnight of all times! Not quite sure how I am going to swing that....I'll either have to keep Lukas up 'til then, or have Jake try to find a ride home with a friend. Then on Saturday, we have 2 parties to go to....one is a surprise 40th b-day party for our friend Rusty....and then Rachel is having a "hide and seek tournament" which is basically going to be a big drunk fest...lol.

We're supposed to get SNOW today!! WOO HOO!! I love winter, love the snow....and I can't wait!

Nothing Ever Goes The Way It Should....

Today is the day that we are FINALLY getting the damn outdoor wood furnace installed. Mike has been antsy all month waiting for today....lol. We both knew this morning, before they even showed up with the stove, that things would not run smoothly....simply because that's our luck. Plain and simple. Sure enough. I get a call at work from a very unhappy Mike, telling me that because we have a central air unit, they need to install antifreeze in the heating lines so that the a/c lines don't freeze the heater lines this summer (or something to that effect). To summarize: it's going to cost us ANOTHER $700! Woo-fucking-hoo! Was I shocked? Nope. Not one bit, because as I said, THIS, my friends, is our luck.

My New Vehicle (I wish!)

Just thought I'd post this picture! It's a picture of the SUV I have decided that I want! It's called a CHRYSLER ASPEN....and I think I am in love ;-) I would want it in Black, of course. Hey....a girl can dream, can't she?!?

Autumn Adventure Weekend

Again...we couldn't have asked for a better weekend! The weather was gorgeous.....a tad cold....but at least it didn't rain!! In all, there were 5 campers and a total of 19 people. We didn't even place in our costume category...we went as OLD FORGE CAMPING RESORT STAFF...all of us having matching sweathshirts, rakes, garbage bags, etc. I even rented a bear costume which Jake was going to wear. When I went to take it out of the bag, there was no head! Needless to say, I was LIVID. I called Party Rentals immediately. They appologized up and down and told me that they'd reimburse my money. DAMN STRAIGHT they will!! I am proud to say that my precious girl, Terra, placed 3rd in the Dog Costume Category!! She was a skunk. Here is a picture of her in her costume, and one of her certificate and prize they gave her (a bone!):

I think the kids had a great time...though they were both exhausted beyond belief. I have been sick since arriving in Old Forge on Friday. Lost my voice, coughing, congested, etc. I'm still sick, but at work today. Hope that I am on the tail-end of this cold.

The Slate's 2nd Annual Camper Jam!

The weather was super for our 2nd Annual Camper Jam! We couldn't have asked for it to be any nicer, that's for sure. We had 5 campers (inluding us), and a total of 21 people, with a few more popping in and out over the weekend. We did the "garbage can turkey" thing again, but with not as much luck as last year. LONG story made short, it came time to eat, and not even one of the 3 turkeys that we had were done. None. 60 pounds of turkey in all, and not even a bite of it was ready to eat. We ran out of charcoal for the cans, so couldn't finish cooking them that way....so on the grills they went. Wen ate at about 9:15....which was so late that people ate, then pooped out. Moral of the story for next year....smaller turkeys, or PIZZA both nights!! I worked my ass off all weekend....way too much time in the kitchen with that much company.

We're off to OLD FORGE CAMPING RESORT this weekend for their AUTUMN ADVENTURE WEEKEND. Again, there'll be 5 campers and the same amount of people.....our camping "posse" you could say. I am really looking forward to this! I love it in Old Forge, especially at this time of year. This will also be our last camping excursion until Spring, which saddens me a bit. It saddens me even more that we have to make payments on the camper all winter, and not be able to use it....lol!!

I am working late today. I came in early too. I am working 8:30 to 4 today to help out as we are short staffed this week. My boss did give me Friday off, which is awesome, and come to find out, I get paid for not working on Monday (Columbus Day)! I have also been asked to take a class in Syracuse next weekend which will help me to assist when a person or family is misplaced after a disaster such as a fire (I get paid for this too, as well as mileage!).

Well, suppose I had better wrap this up and get my desk cleaned off. Can't wait to see what kind of mess the kids have for me when I get home.....Jake and Lukas are off today, and have been home by themselves all day (well, Mike is in bed sleeping). Ugggggh.

WOW...have I been BUSY!!

OK....so it's been well over a month since I have had time to update this blog. Actually, it's not that I don't have the TIME....it's that I can't stomach the friggin' dial-up at my house now that I have high-speed at work! So, here I am at work, and I am the only one in the office for the entire day, so I figured I would update this damn thing and get you people off my back...lol!!



So I love my job! Yup....I said it! It feels good to be back in the swing of things, and it feels good to have a routine again. Yes, I do miss my naps like hell....but if I come home right after work, I still have time to get one in ;-) There are only 3 of us in our office, my boss, myself and another lady...so that's nice. No cattiness or bitching. I have my own office too! A real office, not like my office at Standard that was on the main fairway to the shitter. There are days that I find it hard to get everything done that needs to be doneat home, but somehow, I do it! I am exhausted at night, and find that I am in bed most nights by 9 or 9:30. I have a new respect for working moms. I only work part-time and have a hard time juggling everything....how do moms that work full-time do it?? Routine is everything, so I try to stick to one as much as possible. I get up in the morning and hit the floor running.....laundry, making beds, making lunches, giving Lukas his bath, getting him dressed, ironing, picking up the house. I like to have things done before I go to work so that when I get home, I can just relax....which doesn't happen too often, unfortunately, because when I get home, there's homework, more laundry, dinner to make, and Lukas to get in bed.



On top of everything else, I was recently elected as PTO President! And if THAT weren't enough, I also got to keep my position as PTO Secretary. Not because I wanted to....but because with only 4 members and 5 officer positions....someone had to take 2 positions. I also recently joined the Tylerville Volunteer Fire Dept. Ladies Auxilliary. That doesn't require too much of a committment though, thank God. The PTO thing will prove to be challenging. You would think that in a tight knit community like Copenhagen, people would love to volunteer their time to help out organizations like the PTO. Not the case. Even our Booster Club is struggling with membership. People either don't have the time, or their just too wrapped up in their own lives. We have a major fundraiser coming up....our SYSCO pie sale....and I'm trying to get that going quickly as we got a very late start. Would like to have them here in time for Thanksgiving....that's the whole point of having the sale now. Uggggggggh.



This weekend is our annual "Camper Jam" at our house. We are expecting a few more people than last year. I am really looking forward to having some toddies, let me tell you what!! Tomorrow we cook our "garbage can turkeys"....yummmmmm!! The weather is supposed to be gorgeous, so that's just wonderful!!



Hunting season is in full-tilt at my house. Jake is legal to hunt big-game this year! He and Grandpa Shawn are all about hunting anymore. The sun rises and sets around hunting and preparing to hunt. Lukas' nose was a little bent out of shape because Jake and Papa had camoflage clothes and stuff....so Mommy had to go buy him some too! He LOVES them! Of course, Lukas loves any kind of "dress-up".

Well, suppose I had better get some work done. I am bored out of my skull...but I'm getting paid, so that's great! I'll try to post more regularly.