Saturday, May 24, 2008

One Great Day

Saturday I was lucky enough to have gotten out of work early. It was quiet at the Y, which was completely expected, since it was a holiday weekend.

I got out 2 hrs early and headed home. Determined to make the best of our unexpected family time.

Since Duner had to work at 4, I quickly gathered the family and headed out to High Cliff with our fishing gear. We had just enough time to get our hooks wormed up and set, Reece even caught a fish while Duner was still there.

After he left we went on to lose about 6 worms in a row to the fish. In a matter of minutes, Seriously...They were hungry buggers that day! I lost track of how many we caught, but I know 2 of them were large mouth bass. One of them was 15 inches long. (Of course I forgot about capturing it on the camera phone until we got a smaller one; see photo) Otherwise we caught lots of pan fish.

Reece was a LIFE SAVER for me since he played the role of Dad, by taking off all the fish from the hooks. Thankfully we only had one bullhead. We both hate those! We managed to get it off ourselves by laying it on the ground and using a needle nose pliers to pry the hook from it's mouth.

After 3 hours I let the kids play in the park and we headed home.
On the way home we stopped at Wal-mart for some items Reece needed for an upcoming school project. While we were there we got the movie Goonies. I loved that movie when I was a kid and I just had to buy it. We quickly went home and popped it in.
Reece was going to try and watch while he worked on his project but it took so much of his attention he decided to just join us on the couch. Zeb even said " I love this movie!" as it was finishing up.

Considering how little he sits still I really liked to hear he and the other boys liked it. They especially liked the statue part and Sloth.

P.S... The kids had so much fun the begged us to go out on Sunday and fish again at high cliff!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Hot off the press.

Today Brock was in a hurry and wanted me to grab a cap for him from his room.
He wasn't sure how to describe it.

He said "Just grab me any hat in my room with a beak or a duck."

????

"You mean bill?"


"Yeah, that."

Translator... just one of my side jobs.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

We want to be Losers

Today was to official start to our 'Biggest Loser Challenge' at work.

A group of us that are sick of our weight are doing something about it. We all put in money into a pot. There will be 2 winners. The one that loses the largest percentage of weight and the one that finishes a half marathon the fastest.
So, We are having weekly weigh ins, complete with "loser's of the week" and prizes for being such. I found a training schedule for the half marathon and we will begin that at the end of June. (By the way, Julie, I am still counting on you!) We are using the Marathon as a way to challenge ourselves as we progress with this challenge, so we don't get 'bored'.
I let myself go over the weekend. I ate all the wrong things at completely the wrong times and it showed on the scale. It was hard. I had to talk myself into it. I kept thinking, It may help me on the scale. (I hOped!!) Now back to the grind.
I guess only time will tell, but right now it's going to be tough! We have some GREAT competitors in our office.

The "Announcement" or not really....

To keep everyone up to speed, I thought I would post at quick note about the Job situation.

Hoffmaster, my husbands employer since 2002, announced this past week they were closing the plant my husband worked at. (Surprise!) Not really, since they had been so slow that they forced him on unemployment for 5 weeks.
Over 250 people, some of which have been there over 20 years are out of a job. They are welcome to apply at a plant in Oshkosh (20 miles away from Appleton) or Clintonville (38 miles from Appleton), but otherwise come April of 2009, they will be unemployed.

Duner started working at Coating Excellence yesterday, but was light headed all day. He has been fighting cold like symptoms all week, even after sleeping just about all day Sunday and from 5pm until 5 am, he is still light headed. It just doesn't let up. I made an appointment for him to see a dr today, hopefully it will get better soon, this is not the week to do this.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Funny things I heard this week.

"Only old people , Like LANCE ARMSTRONG, have low heart rates." as quoted by Reece.
"Are you sure you took it right?" Reece said to me after taking Duner's pulse for Reece's school project and find it was over 30 beats faster than mine.
"All the other kids parents were different than mine" Reece said about the results of that research was revealed that I was rare to have a lower heart rate than my husband.

After arguing with Brock, Reece asked me "Can a plant live without photosynthesis? I don't think it can but Brock does!". "Plants need carbon dioxide." "No they don't" and then the arguing began again... Those are REALLY large words that do not register well in my brain. Sorry kids.

"Argh! I really have to stop growing..." Brock said as he ran around on Monday morning frantically looking for pants to wear to school for that day. Apparently all of the ones in his drawers were too small.

"I was scheduled to work next week" Duner says to me after being LAID OFF from his employer for 5 weeks they finally decided they want him to work the VERY FIRST WEEK he is supposed to work at his NEW job!! OF COURSE!

"Why won't the garage door go up?" Duner says as we are pulling into the driveway on Mothers Day, only to realize that the power is out and we are unable to enter since my keys have the house key on it and they are on the kitchen counter. Thankfully after about 10 minutes it came back on. Our neighbors said it was off for over an hour. Just before noon! We live near a supper club. Can you imagine if they were also without power?? ON MOTHERS DAY? YIKES!

Monday, May 12, 2008

And Exhale...

Ok.
So after breaking down our mileage, insurance, union dues and our gut feeling... We came to a very long awaited decision. Thank God its over.

We decided to go with the closer job. Coating Excellence. Yes, at first we won't start out with a nice comfortable wage, right away, and it may even few years. We talked to someone that works there and he told us about the insurance, holiday parties, raises, and general info. This company really seems to be growing and they have the shift that Duner really likes. 12 hr rotation. He will be working 2 on, 2 off, 3 on, 3 off. He will have every other weekend off. More time with the kids.

If he has to work on a holiday they will cater in food.

For a Holiday party they give away trips! Last year was a 2 wk trip to Alaska. (Duner dream vacation) And a week long trip to Vegas. Not to mention quarterly bonuses they have been getting.

When it came down to it gas prices had a huge impact on this decision. Luvata (the other job option) had 2 locations, one in Appleton and the other in Kimberly. We didn't know for sure which location it was going to be. But we did our figuring for the Appleton Location and it came out to over $900 in a years time, compared to over $400 at the closer plant.

On Sunday, When we went out for Breakfast for Mothers Day, we did agree he would probably be more happy at Coding Excellence. The other one melted copper for shipping over seas for use in other products. That made me nervous. It wasn't like he had done that before.

Coding Excellence is more like what he has done in the past. Working with paper.

When Duner went into work today (at hoffmaster) they had sign ups for June. Last month they took them down. Now they are asking for volunteers? Geez. I am so glad to get out of there!

Lets hope they have him off from Hoffmaster next week because he begins the new job on MONDAY! That was when they had an orientation starting.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Decisions, Decisions...

After 3 interviews, this week has yielded us 2 job offers, and showed us Duner can not do shorthand. (?)

Job #1.

Is 9 miles away.
Is a dirty job.
Probation period of 90 calendar days.
Pay starts less, but then more than his current job after probation.
Health ins is $103 /month for family.
Dental is paid by employer.
75% of YMCA membership is paid by employer.
Union Job. Yuck.
Southern swing 8 hr shifts.
Good Overtime potential.

Job #2.
Non-Union job.
Is more like his current job. (operating a paper machine)
Is 7 miles away.
Probation period of 35 days.
Pay is about $3 less than his current job. But they have raises every 6 months in addition to annually. I don't know how much they are but we will ask on Monday.
Paid every 2 wks.
Rotating 12 hr shifts (2 on/ 3 off/ 3 on/ 2 off) May be a problem for BJ Clancy scheduling.
Some Overtime.
Health insurance is about $150 per month for family.

Both are closer than his current job.
Duner is worried about #1 being a union job and a longer probation period, especially after what happened last time. If anything, these last few months has taught us we may be able to live on less, so maybe #2 would be nice. Only 7 miles away. Very nice, especially with gas prices. He could BIKE to work easy! : ) - I just did for the first time this week. It went well, but I froze my fingers on the way too work, but the ride home was nice. My work is about 6 miles away. I really like the insurance premiums for #1 and I LOVE THE YMCA MEMBERSHIP part. We could get reimbursed for my family membership that I currently pay for.
Both have 401k and employer contributions.

Now I am going to try and sleep on it. Argh. I do miss my sleep.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Dog Run

So I went running with Amy on Sunday and she had a dog with and a retractable leash. It really worked well and so I thought "Hmm. I wonder if that will work with our dogs?" So I picked up a leash on Monday. Today I tried it out. With Lightning. Our GOOD dog.

Reasons why not to run with unruly dogs.

1. No. No. No..... run. run. No. No. run run. run. No. No NO!! That is the sound you will be hearing constantly.
2. Leash Burn. No matter how fast it retracts, it is never fast enough.
3. MP3 and leashes do not like each other.
4. Zig Zag pattern of walking. I actually found myself yelling "Pick a lane dog!"
5. You must perfect the run and spin maneuver first. Used at least 8 times.
6. Dog waste bags. I live in the country so at least I was able to pick it up and drop it off , next to a farmers field to come back and pick up later,but only after trying to tie it to the dog and step on it first. Eww.
7. Knee pain due to the sudden jerky movements of the dog.
8. Cows. Avoid Cows. Dogs like them but I don't think Cows like dogs. Very strange area.
9. No. run. No. Run. No! What are you doing?! (Dogs don't seem to understand)
10. Cars. You have to constantly be aware of the cars and dog ratio. very distracting = crappy pace.
11. Shoe laces mysteriously come undone?? What the ??
12. Did I mention leash burn? OUch!
13. Dogs can always stop FASTER than you! ???
14. A 40 minute run turns into a hour long run/ stop/ turn maneuver exercise. I can only imagine what the neighbors thought.

Reason to walk/run with unruly dogs on a retractable leash.

1. They help you , by pulling you the first mile or so.
but then that leads to #1 of reasons NOT to run with unruly dogs.

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Saturday was Healthy Kids day at the YMCA. It was in the 40's and rain threatened all day long. At the Y we had a School Bus, Fire truck, ambulance, army hummer and a Construction crane. Kids were able to operate the crane and explore the various vehicles.
In addition to the gymnastics's center and swimming pool open, we had a bicycle rodeo, music station (which was an entire half of the gymnasium) used for drums of all kinds, 3 different inflatables, crafts and freebies.
Duner spent the weekend fishing and I had to work at the Y, so Grandma came in with the boys. Zeb was supposed to have T-ball, but the rain (sprinkles) canceled it at the last minute. Brock went swimming and after Zeb got his brand new shiny red and spider bike helmet, then he went to the inflatables.
The next time I saw him he was bright red, and dripping with sweat. He had a BLAST in the inflatables. I bet he was in those a half an hour.
After grocery shopping and picking up the kids, I did bit of housework and headed to bed.

Sunday we had the plumber come over to work on the basement bathroom. We also got the faucet for the shower and bar from him. Along with a sink that we are going to use for the bar. Our plumber works for Kohler so, it was all from Kohler. He brought the PEX piping and everything he would need. The kids loved him, he even made them hula-a-hoops out of PEX piping and 'swords' from pvc.
I am so happy with have Water and drain pipe for the new bathroom and bar! Now we have to finish electrical and insulation then we are set to drywall.
We are getting the drywall delivered on Tuesday, thankfully the are dropping into our basement, so we won't have to carry it down.

After our plumber was done and I got Reece to Soccer practice, I went over to the plumber's house to go for a run with his wife, Amy. She had gotten into running but then got out of it, but now, she is signing up for a half marathon in September. I work with her at the Y, and this is totally new for her. I told her if my friend, J, didn't want to walk the half with me (which I am so glad she is!) I would run the half with her. Thankfully I will be walking it, but I told her I would run with her until J has her baby girl at the end of June. I hope Amy continues on with her training, if anything at least to walk it. We ran 3 miles tonight, I liked the pace, but she was beat. I felt bad for her. Towards the end I just wanted to go faster so we could make home quickly for her. When we got to her house, her husband said "I have got to hand it to you, that is the first time I have seen Amy come back winded."

I hope she doesn't give up. It's not always easy.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

What the ???

Ok.
just had to post this. How much do you think this little medieval baby goes for at Home Depot?
$40? $80?
$500?
Thank Goodness the sink is included because it goes for 2700... Y-E-S.
Twenty seven HUNDRED DOLLARS.
Gee. Only.
Or you can try this cheaper number...
Only $1233 for this cute thing.

Not for me. Mine must be SUCH bargain, they don't even post it on their website. It is a chocolate color called 'Espresso'. I just love that name. And it doesn't really look like either.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Line 'em up!

Duner has gotten THREE, yes, three interviews in the area.
Two of which are closer (yay! save gas!) but one is not. At this time A job is better than no job.

One is tomorrow, at a company in Wrightstown, five miles away. Tuesday he has an interview with a company that is in Kimberly, about 10 miles away. Then NEXT Friday he has an interview at a place near his current Job about 17 miles away.

When he was offered the last job he also had a 2nd interview. He was offered both jobs, but we had to pick one.

I don't need or want all three of the jobs to offer, but it would be nice if one or two. Duner seems to have a gift when it comes to talking, so lets hope we get something solid.

Keep your fingers crossed!