Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday. I love everything about it; the candy, the kids all dressed up in their cute little costumes, the decorations, carving pumpkins and roasting pumpkin seeds.

And the music! This is quite possibly the only time of year you will hear "Time Warp" played on a regular radio station. "Thriller" is played over and over and songs like the Eagles "Witchy Woman" and "Dark Lady" by Cher get pulled out of the archives. Classics.

This particular Halloween is the last one before our one and only daughter goes off to college. I have told her that after this year, every Halloween, her Dad and I will sit in the house with the lights off and every time children come to our door to trick or treat we will yell out, "Get off our stoop you meddling kids!"  Really, we just might.

But since she is still at home this year, we spent the afternoon in the garage, carving pumpkins. It's always fun. Every year for the past several years, we carve a "puking pumpkin". I think we were creating puking pumpkins way before they were cool.

So here, for your enjoyment, is the famous puking pumpkin. At least this year he is hitting the garbage can. Thank goodness because I was really getting tired of cleaning up after him year after year!

Happy Halloween!

Keep on smiling!

Volunteering Is Not For Sissies!

My daughter and I volunteer for a local animal rescue organization.  We work primarily with the rescued kitties. This works out really well for our entire family because my husband, bless his heart, likes to pretend he is allergic to cats.  Volunteering gives my daughter and me an opportunity to spend time with cats without listening to grumbling and fake sniffling in the background.  :) 

One of our main responsibilities is to attend national pet adoption events at pet stores like Petsmart or Petco.  We bring a couple of kitties with us and all of our educational materials and talk to customers about the pets we have brought along, other available pets and the benefits of adoption. 

The rescue organization is run completely by volunteers and as such, there is a need to be self-directed and figure things out on your own.  For example, when we started, we had to figure out where the pet carriers are, where the crates are, the food, the bowls, etc.  But the biggest mystery is which kitties you should bring along to the adoption event.

Choosing a cat without direction is tricky. Some of the cats run free in the cat room.  If you choose one of those you need to figure out exactly which cat it is by looking at the list of adoptable pets.  Others are in their large cages.  The names are usually posted so at least you have a name and hopefully a little bit of history on the cat.  Sometimes it is just easiest to choose whichever cat wanders into the pet carrier when you set it down on the floor.

We ran into exactly this dilemma one Saturday, early in our volunteering career. We found all the materials and supplies we needed. And then it was just a matter of determining which cats to bring.

We have always believed that the purpose of going to these adoption events is to attract potential adopters to your table. And nothing attracts more people than cute, adorable kittens.  Adult cats are fine but your traffic is increased tenfold if you bring little fluffy kittens.

As luck would have it, there were two of the most darling kittens ever, in the cat room in their own big cage, playing together like the wild cats they were.  Friendly and curious, they were more than willing to be placed into the pet carriers so off we went to the store with the cutest kittens ever. This was going to be a great day.

We got to the store and set up everything we needed. Then we got out those beautiful kittens and placed them in the cage on the table so people could see them playing in their little hammock, frolicking with toys, etc.  And the people came. We talked to them about adoption. We showed them bios on the other cats and dogs that were available for adoption. We told them about our animal rescue. Big smiles all around. It was going great.

I noticed off in the distance, that the Dog Coordinator for the rescue was over in another part of the store processing adoption papers for someone who had adopted one of the dogs currently in the rescue.  A slight wave of acknowledgement passed between us.  We were feeling good about our day and good about being volunteers.

About two hours into our shift I noticed another woman approach the Dog Coordinator.  A conversation ensued and they both looked our way. This new person came walking towards us.

“Hi, I’m Jane and I’m the Cat Coordinator at the rescue.” Jane isn't her real name of course. Honestly, I don't remember what her name was. But I do remember that Jefferson Starship had a hit single with "Jane" in 1980 without Grace Slick on lead vocals. Great lyrics. But I digress. 

Back to the story. I was so excited! Obviously she was here to thank us for all the volunteer hours we have been putting in. That is SO nice!  And us so early in our volunteer careers, already being recognized.  Wow!

I extended my hand and enthusiastically introduced myself and my daughter.  Curiously, the cat coordinator did not seem excited to shake my hand.  And this is why…

“Yeah, nice to meet you. We think those kittens have ringworm.  You’ll need to take them back to the animal rescue right away and put them in the intake room. You can go ahead and bring other cats back here if you like.”

A look of sheer horror crossed our faces and a thousand thoughts were swirling in our brains. We don’t know anything about ringworm except it is contagious.  Just how much did we touch these kittens? Did we let any customers touch them?  If so, did they use the hand sanitizer afterwards? Yes, we were positive there was good use of the hand sanitizer. What if we get ringworm? What are the symptoms of ringworm?  Will our dog get ringworm from us?

All I managed to get out in response was, “Our shift is almost over so I think we’ll just take these kittens back and call it a day instead of bringing different cats back.”

We packed up our supplies, materials and the kittens in record time.  The drive back to the shelter was silent.  Just the sound of little mews from the pet carrier in the back seat and our panicked, shallow, breathing.

“Do you know anything about ringworm?” my daughter finally asked.

“Not a lot. I know it’s contagious. We’ll need to look it up online when we get home.” I responded in my most cheery voice.  I was doing my best to sound calm and nonchalant.

All the way back to the shelter I was thinking to myself. Have I ever seen ringworm? I grew up on a farm. Surely some animal, person, etc. has been infected with ringworm at some point in time.  I certainly don’t remember it if it happened.  I am totally in the dark on this one.

We got back to the rescue and put the kittens carefully in the intake room. In silence we scrubbed down the cage, the carrier and everything else we used and put it back.

Then we got back in the car for the long drive home.  All the while, I’m imagining germs and bacteria and fungus overtaking my car.

The drive home was very quiet. Except for me stating I was hungry. But now was not a time to go through the drive thru to get Chicken McNuggets.  Now was a time for action and decontamination.

As we got closer to home, I felt the need to start a conversation regarding Truman, our beloved chocolate lab. Could he get ringworm from us?  Is it on our clothes? How will we make sure we protect him from this dastardly disease we surely now possessed?  A plan was formed.

We pulled into the garage, immediately cut the engine and closed the garage door behind us. Then we completely disrobed down to our unmentionables.  We went on faith that this horrible thing they call ringworm would not be able to get through our outer layers of clothes so our underwear should be safe. A quick search of the garage produced towels that we use to dry off Truman after we go for a walk in the rain. Not exactly clean but adequate for wrapping up in. Drastic times call for drastic measures.

Next, we threw all of our contaminated laundry in a recycling bin. Why? Truman always sniffs us a LOT when we come home from working with the cats.  We were afraid he would inhale the ringworm fungus from the clothes we were carrying and immediately become infected. We weren't going to take that chance! Wrapped in somewhat questionable towels, with our contaminated laundry tucked securely in a recycling bin, we were ready to execute the rest of the plan.  

The next part of our plan would require us to make a run for it.  The object was to get through the house without Truman sniffing us… just in case any nasty ringworm virus/fungus/bacteria, whatever, was lingering on us.

Knowing he couldn’t follow both of us at once we decided to split up. My daughter took off to the left, flying through the kitchen, living room and up the stairs to her bathroom. Truman followed while she hooted and hollered for him to stay back.

I headed to the right to the laundry room, shut the door behind me and threw all of our potentially infected clothing from the recycling bin, into the washer and turned it on hot.

Then it was back out into the garage to quickly vacuum out the car with the shop vac, wipe all the surfaces with 409 and spray it with Lysol. Okay. Done. And still warm enough in the garage I didn’t freeze to death taking this extra step in fungus elimination.

Now it was my turn to burst back through the door, hightail it through the kitchen, living room and into my bedroom and bathroom before Truman had a chance to run back downstairs and head me off. 

We both showered for a very long time in our respective bathrooms, soaping and scrubbing and rinsing until all the hot water was gone.

Once we emerged, fully dressed and glowing from the excitement and adrenaline and scrubbing, I went directly to the laptop to Google ringworm.  I read everything I could find, looked at all the symptoms, read all the articles and looked into all the cures. Just reading the information made me feel itchy.  I even went out and bought some Lotrimin, just in case the telltale ring showed up on our skin in the middle of the night and needed to immediately be treated.

As it turns out, neither one of us got ringworm. And neither did Truman. And as I told this story to some of my friends, they laughed hysterically because apparently ringworm isn’t as big of a deal as we were making it out to be.  I mean it’s still a fungus and it is contagious.  But one of my friends assured me that she got it while she was a counselor at a summer camp and you use the appropriate lotion and it goes away just like that.

Even so, it took us a long time to volunteer again for another adoption event. Partly from embarrassment but partly from the sheer terror of potential fungus among us! Fortunately, we did get over it and have had a great time volunteering many hours, many weekends together, over the past few years.

I learned some valuable lessons from the experience.
 

1.   I learned a lot about ringworm and will totally be better prepared should it ever rear its ugly, fungus-like head in the future. That Lotrimin tube is still in my bathroom, at the ready.

2.   I learned that we all need to be cautious and not be blindly lured by the cute and cuddly of the world. Sometimes the cute ones are the most dangerous. Sometimes the cute ones pretend they are allergic to cats.

3.   I learned that volunteering is not for sissies or the faint of heart.

4.   I wash the towels in the garage a little more often now.

5.   And I learned I am very lucky to have a daughter to share these adventures with. We have had some really good laughs looking back at this one. I'm sure there are more to come! I hope so! And I look forward to her someday sharing stories with me about the adventures she and her own daughter or son are out there pursuing. Full circle.

Keep on smiling!

Good Advice for a Good Life

I’m a quote collector. Have I mentioned that before? The best thing about being a quote collector is when others send you a great quote that they know you will like. This one is courtesy of my daughter. And I really like it.

I wish I knew who actually created it so I could give them credit! Thank you whoever you are! Everything in this quote is so incredibly true. Right now I’m in the “and you’ll cry because time is flying by” stage.

Read, enjoy, and maybe even consider it words to live by.

“As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You'll have your heart broken and you'll break others' hearts. You'll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you'll cry because time is flying by. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you've never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. You just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off. Speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone's hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts. Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back.”

Enough said.

Keep on smiling!

Shout Out to the Halls Cough Drop Company for Your Inspiration!

I’d like to give a shout out to the Halls Cough Drop Company! 

I found myself in need of cough drops recently. It is amazing the variety that is available. And the flavors!  I have a bag of Mint Mocha cough drops at work and a bag of Apple Cider cough drops at home.  Makes it almost seem like eating candy! 

Of course that has now led me to reading the back of the package to see how many calories are in this “candy”.  Only 15 calories per drop!

“Temporary relieves: cough due to cold.”  If you read my info or if you know me well, you know that I get kind of crazy about song lyrics. My memory leaves a lot to be desired but some things, like song lyrics, stick in my head. Sometimes, I can get kind of crazy about movie quotes as well.  Forrest Gump is one of my all-time favorite movies. Tons of great quotes. One of the scenes that always cracks me up (although it probably shouldn’t) is the scene where Jenny and Forrest are sitting in the park shortly after reconnecting and they are watching little Forrest play. 

Jenny: Forrest, I’m sick.

Forrest: What, do you have a cough due to cold?

A serious and touching scene but quoting what he has heard on a commercial and of course Tom Hanks perfect delivery, makes me smile every time.  Maybe it’s because I remember little things like that too.

But the shout out is not because of the flavors (although maybe that deserves its own shout out). It’s not because the package led me down the random path of quoting Forrest Gump.  No doubt I’ll write about Forrest Gump again.

The shout out is because Halls has started printing inspirational messages on the wrappers of their cough drops!  What could be better, right?  You’re feeling a little under the weather.  You need a cough drop to quiet your “cough due to cold” and make your throat feel better and BAM!  A little inspiration right there on the wrapper.  They call it “A PEP TALK IN EVERY DROP”!  And indeed it is!

So I’m sharing some inspiration with you today, courtesy of Halls.

• Don’t waste a precious minute.
• Take charge and mean it.
• Don't give up on yourself.
• The show must go on. Or work.
• Nothing you can’t handle.
• Impress yourself today.
• Tough is your middle name.
• Elicit a few “wows” today.
• You’ve survived tougher.
• Get back in there champ!
• Be resilient.
• Go for it.

Thank you Halls cough drops!

I hope you found at least one phrase that inspires you today.

And if there’s nothing in the list that inspires you right now, my suggestion would be to sit down and watch Forrest Gump for the 175th time. You'll never find a character with a bigger heart.

Keep on smiling!

Best Text Ever..... So Far

I absolutely love being a Mom. Best job EVER! And I have been blessed with a daughter (now almost an adult) who possesses a great sense of humor. If I had a dime for every time we giggled so hard we cried, I'd be able to cover 100% of that college tuition bill coming up!

My work day starts pretty early so most of my early morning conversations with her take place via text.  Here was this morning's text.

"Aaaargh! I sprayed perfume in my eyes! Now I can't give anyone the stink eye because it will smell good!" 

I think we've all done the talented perfume in the eye move at one time or another in our rush to get ready in the morning.

But leave it to my daughter to come up with a classic one-liner that fits so perfectly with the experience!

I'm not sure I feel comfortable using the LOL reference. I'm simply not that cool. But this one really deserved an LOL!

OMG! LOL! U R 2 FUNNY!  :)  Yeah.... that was uncomfortable.  For me and probably for you the reader as well!

Thanks for the laugh my dear! If my coworkers don't think I'm crazy yet, you certainly helped in my pursuit of convincing them that indeed, I am!!

Keep on smiling!

Dear HR

Human Resources professionals fulfill many roles that they probably never dreamed of when the set off on their HR careers.  Depending on the day we may find ourselves posing as a counselor, a security advisor, a life coach, the fashion police, a party planner or in this case - a private investigator.

Thank you to my HR friends for sharing this email so we could flex our problem solving muscles and work together to find an appropriate resolution!  The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Dear HR,

I am really upset over stolen food items since Friday.  I had 7 dilly bars stolen between Friday, September 23^rd and Tuesday, September 27^th.  Yesterday afternoon I put a 6 inch sub in the refrig and now it’s gone.  That’s like $10.78 stolen in 3 work days.  It’s getting to the point a person can’t afford to bring food here.

There are many possible ways to handle this scenario.  Here are three:

1)      Rummage through the freezers and refrigerators in search of items that are not appropriately labeled with names. A Lean Cuisine, a half-eaten bowl of soup from home, leftovers from a local restaurant, a half full water bottle and a can of V8 should be fairly close to $10.78.  Bring it to the employee’s desk.  Apologize that this happened to her and let her know that HR fully believes in an eye for an eye approach to justice so you stole some items for her that you felt would be as close in value to $10.78 as you could possibly get.  Throwing in a penny you find in the parking lot would also be a nice gesture.

2)      Tell the employee that there are security cameras installed inside each refrigerator and freezer.  Upon receiving her complaint, you immediately reviewed the security tapes from September 23^rd through Tuesday September 27^th.  Share with her that due to the stop time technology used, sometimes entire faces were missed as they opened the door, searched through (apparently with the intent to steal food) and quickly closed the door. Sometimes all you could see on the tape was a glimpse of a suspicious looking hand reaching in and grabbing. Alarmingly, the security tape captured images of a couple of individuals wearing ski masks as they were accessing the refrigerators and freezers. These are obviously the leads you are pursuing first.  Also let her know that to help in the crime busting efforts going forward, you are requesting an upgrade to the security camera system in the refrigerators and freezers, including retina scan technology to ensure you are able to catch and prosecute these cold blooded felons in the future.  Although you were unable to retrieve her Subway sandwich or Dilly Bars, you are deeply committed to making sure no one else suffers the horror that she must be feeling. 

3)      Or sometimes a simple handwritten note is the best approach.

Dear Employee,

The food items you referenced have been removed for your protection.  As part of the company’s ongoing commitment to healthy living and employee wellness initiatives, we have removed all unhealthy items from company refrigerators.  Certain sub sandwiches may be allowed under our wellness program, however, yours was a Spicy Italian with extra mayonnaise – not conducive to a low fat diet.  We have replaced your Dilly Bars and fat-laden sandwich with an apple and a salad.  You’re welcome.

Sincerely,

Human Resources

Disclaimer: To those who have read this far without a sense of humor, please note that neither I nor any of my HR colleagues would actually respond to an employee in this manner. But it is fun to think about!

Thank you to my wonderful friends in HR departments across the country that also have a true appreciation for the humor in our everyday lives!! The camaraderie and the laughs inspire me.

Keep on smiling!

A Fun Policy Review

I have worked in the Human Resources field my entire adult life in a variety of different industries and roles. When a young HR wanna-be asks me what is the most important thing for them to learn, I always give the same answer. If you want to be successful and have longevity in this field, you absolutely MUST keep a sense of humor about you at all times. If you do not currently have a sense of humor; develop one.  Because you’re going to need it.  Seriously… you will.  Taking things too seriously will eventually wear you down and the big HR arena will chew you up and spit you out. In a very politically correct way of course.

My theory is that happiness isn't just about the glass being half full.  It’s about that little glimmer of funny that exists in everyday challenges.

So that’s my philosophy.  Here’s the latest and greatest that made me laugh.

I work for a big, Fortune 500 company and am so thankful to be here. I have recently moved to a new role within the company, so to me, everything is new and I am wide-eyed with all the learning.

Last week we were reviewing a policy that has been in existence for a LONG time. I’m sure people have looked at this policy for years but it was my first time reading through it and something immediately jumped out at me.

Pedestrians:
To assist in identifying pedestrians, high visibility, reflective vests must be worn by all individuals entering the warehouse.

I have a much simpler process for identifying pedestrians. And it doesn’t involve additional wardrobe items or additional rules. Here it is.  Are you ready for it?  The pedestrians are the ones WALKING.

But thank goodness there are policies like this in the interim, for those who haven’t had the opportunity to learn the identification process I have developed.  I’m working on scheduling a number of training sessions to share my groundbreaking technique. And then I think we will be ready to update the policy.  :)

It’s all in good fun!

Keep on smiling!

My Dog is a Con Artist

We have one of the best dogs in the whole wide world. His name is Truman and he’s a big, lovable chocolate lab.  Several years ago, when Truman was just 7 months old, his former owners tied him to a fence at an area Humane Society with a note saying they couldn’t take care of him anymore. And wouldn’t you know it?  There I was, looking for a chocolate lab. It was kismet. He was the one for us. Truman was pretty skinny when we adopted him but it was easy to tell he would become a very big boy.  And that he did!  He hovers around 95 pounds now and lives a pampered life of leisure.  But I digress. This story is about him being a con artist.  
 

Truman is quite possibly the only Labrador Retriever in history to absolutely HATE water. We tried throwing toys into the water, leading him into the water, and tricking him into the water. Nothing worked. We did get him to go out into a river by our home once. He got out there and then froze and couldn’t get back. My husband had to go out and carry him back to the shore. No, water and Truman are not friends. Heck, he doesn’t even like going out in the rain.  A few weeks ago, while we were on a walk, we got caught in a sudden downpour that snuck up out of nowhere.  The rain was coming down sideways in big sheets.  And where was my big 95 pound lab? He was huddled as close to my legs as he could get to keep the rain off from him.  Geez.

 “Something traumatic probably happened to him when he was a puppy”, people would tell us and that seemed like a really logical explanation! Even his vet agreed. So he’s the only lab in history that doesn’t like water. That’s okay. We have always accepted him for who he is!  

When we are traveling, Truman spends his time at a great boarding place.  The dogs roam free within a huge fenced in estate out in the country. They get to watch TV at night with the owner, go for jogs and swim!  This guy actually built a pond for the dogs to swim in, complete with a big fountain in the middle.  Simply incredible.  But as you can imagine, that really wasn’t an attraction for Truman.  I could just envision him when it was swim time.  All the other dogs yelling, “C’mon in Truman!  It’s great in here!”  And Truman flopping down by the edge saying, “No thanks. You go ahead. I’m just going to rest here for a while in the sun, work on my tan, and maybe catch up on some reading.”  Yes, that is exactly how I envisioned it.

Until…. this very incredible boarding place posted photos on Facebook from this past weekend. A weekend when Truman just happened to be there as a guest. I was flipping through photo after photo.  A few photos of Truman playing with the other dogs, Truman running, Truman looking intently off into the distance, etc. And then I saw it. A picture of Truman getting close to the swimming pond. No doubt just checking out what his friends were up to.  Another photo where Truman has his face towards the water.  Silly Truman.  He probably is trying to take a drink from the pond. A few photos more and BAM!  There is our water-phobic chocolate lab in the WATER! I could tell by the progression of the photos that he was NOT pushed.  He went in willingly! 

Unbelievable! All this time he’s been holding out on us! Maybe it was peer pressure. Or maybe he has grown. Maybe going off to the resort is a bit like going off to college – an opportunity to spread your wings, try new things and face your fears.

Or maybe this is just another in a long line of cautionary tales for you young people out there.  We live in a digital, on-line society. Don’t pose for photos doing something you don’t want the whole wide world to know about!  Because eventually, it will get posted on Facebook.

We still love you Truman!  But I’m not holding the umbrella for you next time we go out for a walk in the rain.  

Keep on smiling!

A Very Kari Life Has Launched!

Welcome! So here I am starting a blog! I am so excited to finally be doing this and I owe it all to my daughter! I always vowed I would never become one of “those people” who need to ask their kids to help them with technology.  But alas, I am dangerously close to becoming “one of them”.  Don’t get me wrong. I can stand my own against technology but sometimes it’s just easier and quicker to ask for help from my brilliant, wonderful, tech-savvy teenage daughter!  So thank you E!
I’ve got stories to tell! And, based on my lack of memory, if I don’t write them down somewhere, they will be lost forever! 
 
Thanks for finding my blog. I invite you to follow along as I find the interesting and funny in this simple, Very Kari Life.

Keep on smiling!