The Rain Gauge

 

We’re from Wisconsin. We talk about the weather a lot. We start off conference calls by asking our coworkers in other parts of the country or world about the weather. Frankly, I thought everyone was as infatuated with the weather as we are. It turns out they are not.

One of my former managers was from California. She said she never understood why people from the Midwest talked about the weather so much. People in southern California don’t talk about the weather.   “How’s the weather today?  It’s 72 and sunny.  Just like every other day in southern California.” What’s the point in talking about it? 

And then she moved to Wisconsin and the reason for all the weather talk became very clear. You never know what’s going to happen.  It can be sunny and warm in the morning when you wake up and blizzard warnings can be out by the afternoon. Or tornado warnings. Or hurricane strength winds. Or wind chills below zero.  You can run the heat in your car on the way to work and need to run your air conditioning on the way home from work.  So the weather is always an interesting topic!

The meteorologists here earn their money. Or at least they give it their best shot.

This summer I bought a rain gauge. Somehow it made me feel very old. I’m not sure why but I have this belief that the only people who own rain gauges and are actually interested in how much rain we get are either farmers (I grew up on a farm) or old people. 

The funeral home in the town I grew up in gave out rain gauges as a gift one year.  So there are still people (probably old people) in my home town with little plastic gauges with the funeral home information on them.

I found my rain gauge when I was looking for something else of course. But there it was and it is decorative!!  The stand has scroll work and a red glass globe and the rain gauge itself is set nicely into the scroll work.

I was a bit embarrassed to put it out in my yard but I did and it looks great with the flowers and plants surrounding it.

Of course once I had the rain gauge out, we headed into a long drought period and I had no need for it!!

Sort of like last year when we finally broke down after 20+ years and bought a new snow blower.  We didn’t have a large enough snowfall to use it more than once during the season!

Makes me wonder what else we should buy to alter the state of nature! Ha ha!

But back to the rain gauge. I am now the person who can tell, with authority, how much it has rained in our neighborhood.  This weekend has been completely gray and gloomy and rainy.  We have already had 7 inches of rain with no end in sight.

I have to say, knowing exactly how much rain has come down is somehow more comforting to me than only knowing that it has rained steadily since Friday night!!

I’m sure I’ll keep talking about the weather no matter where I roam. Just like I keep taking pictures of sunsets and sunrises!

Keep on smiling!

The Times They Are A-Changin'

I've taken a bit of a break from my blog. It was a really busy summer with a crazy work schedule, high school graduation, a trip abroad for my daughter and all the prep work for her freshman year at college. It's the beginning of a new adventure for all of us!

A lot has changed since I was in college. This summer we found an old tuition bill from my freshman year. Tuition, room and board was about $1700 for the semester. Tuition is now about $7500 a semester at a state school. I hate to admit it but a lot of years have passed! :) And I still believe the benefits of a college education far outweigh the monetary investment.

I chatted with my daughter on the phone the other night. It was so nice to hear her voice! She was telling me about her science class and how she was planning to go back out online and review her professor’s presentation again. I was curious as to how she does this. She explained to me that he posts his PowerPoint slides online after the lecture so the students have access to them. 

I said, “Wow, that’s really nice! Our professors never did things like that when we were in college.” 

And then I realized it probably had something to do with the fact that PowerPoint hadn’t been invented yet.

And even if PowerPoint had already been invented, there was no “online” to post it to.

And even if “online” had existed, I wouldn’t have been able to access it from my typewriter!

It's amazing how much has changed from my experience to her experience. And amazing how much really hasn't!

What a great adventure!

Keep on smiling!

Workin' For the Weekend!

This morning started off on the wrong foot. I got all the way to work and realized I forgot my laptop at home. So I had to turn around and go all the way back home to get it. Not a great way to start the day. But…….

I got to drive into this spectacular sunrise!! So I pulled over and took this photo. Yes, I am one of THOSE people!

But now I’m heading back into work later than normal which throws everything off.  Normally I am here at least an hour before shift change so there aren’t a whole lot of people coming and going.  But just slightly behind schedule, the activity picks up significantly.

The driveway coming in to my place of employment is long and winding. I think it was designed that way so you have to drive slowly and think hard about the long day ahead.  Here is what I was following: Three large men on even larger Harley’s.  Behind them….. a guy on a scooter. Dressed is his North Face jacket and jaunty helmet.  Made me smile.  Made me laugh right out loud when they all pulled in to the motorcycle parking area together and the guys on the Harleys high fived the guy on the scooter as they walked by.

Then……… walking in from the other end of the parking lot, I saw not one but two guys carrying lunchboxes just like this….

No joke.  My guess is they are originals, not knockoffs, and they have been carried through these doors for 30+ years. The quality of lunchbox construction was obviously much higher back then!

And on my way back from the cafeteria, I saw…..

Well, not exactly this guy (since this is definitely not within the dress code policy) but I saw someone with a comb like this sticking out of his back pocket. The famous 70’s back pocket comb! I remember them well. I had a pastel pink one and another one that had orange and yellow and pink sort of melted together. An absolute necessity to keep feathered hairstyles looking super cool!

I have often said that working here has transported me back in time to the 70’s and I keep seeing things that support my theory!

And I'm also thinking it was a stroke of luck that I forgot my laptop at home this morning. Look at all the interesting things I saw, just by running a little bit late! :)

Happy Thursday to all! Thank you for stepping back in time with me and ENJOY the long holiday weekend!!

Keep on smiling!

Oh, To Be Young!!

Today we were in line to check out at a store in the mall. The young sales associate asked the woman in front of us, "Are you Colby's Mom?" Before the woman could answer she went on to tell about how she knew him from working somewhere else and how they have been out "clubbing" together a few times.

 The woman confirmed that yes, she was Colby's Mom.

 

The sales associate said, "I thought so! I saw you two together once and teased him that his Mom looked so young that she really looked more like his sister!"

 

Of course you can imagine that this woman looked really happy with that statement!

 

And the then the sales associate said, "Yeah, but I was really just joking; just giving him a hard time."
 

Ouch..
 

Reminds me of the time a hair stylist told me that she loved my hair style. And then followed up with, "When I get old, maybe I'll be brave enough to try that hairstyle too."
 

Double ouch!

 

But here's the deal. I still took the hairstyle comment as a compliment and the woman in line at the store really did look too young to have a son that was old enough to go out "clubbing"!  So it's all good!

Keep on smiling! 

God Loves Drunks Too!

Okay, this made me laugh so I had to share it!

A man and his wife were awakened at 3:00 am by a loud pounding on the door.

The man gets up and goes to the door where a drunken stranger, standing in the pouring rain, is asking for a push.

 "Not a chance," says the husband, "it is 3:00 in the morning!"

He slams the door and returns to bed.

"Who was that?" asked his wife.

"Just some drunk guy asking for a push," he answers.

"Did you help him?" she asks.

"No, I did not, it is 3:00 in the morning and it is pouring rain out there!"

"Well, you have a short memory," says his wife. "Can't you remember about three months ago when we broke down, and those two guys helped us? I think you should help him, and you should be ashamed of yourself! God loves drunk people too."

The man does as he is told, gets dressed, and goes out into the pounding rain.

He calls out into the dark, "Hello, are you still there?"

"Yes," comes back the answer.

"Do you still need a push?" calls out the husband.

"Yes, please!" comes the reply from the dark.

"Where are you?" asks the husband.

"Over here on the swing set," replied the drunk.

 

Keep on smiling! 

The Hot Pot of the 80's

No, I don't mean marijuana....

I went to college in the 80's. Just typing that sounds so bizarre, so very retro.  But it's true. I went to college in the 80's.

One of the appliance staples in a dorm room back then was the "hot pot".  You know what it is. It is one of those appliances that looks a bit like an old coffee percolator but it heats up hot water.  Those things were great.  You could boil noodles in them for macaroni and cheese, boil water for hot cocoa, etc. 

I'm not really even sure if ramen noodles had been invented yet in the 80's.  Or maybe their distribution channels had not reached as far as Wisconsin. Because I have to believe, if ramen noodles existed in the 80's, I would have been eating them in my little dorm room at UW-Whitewater! But I wasn't. So obviously they hadn't been invented yet, right?

My daughter is finishing up her senior year of high school and will be heading off to college herself this fall. I am so excited for her. I am also trying to prepare myself for life without her (my favorite person in the whole wide world) being here in this house everyday! 

We've been working on the prep stuff since summer; picking things up here and there on clearance, working through the list.  We have already purchased sheets and comforters that will fit the Twin XL beds in the dorms and are discussing the need for a refrigerator and microwave.  Today as I was wandering through Wal-Mart, I came across the "hot pot" appliance.  Ahhh, it brought back memories.

One of the memories that still makes me laugh pretty hard is starting up the "hot pot" one night to make macaroni and cheese while I studied. For some reason I had set it up on my roommate's dresser. I remember hearing this strange noise and I look over and water was shooting out of the spout of the "hot pot" and making a perfect arc directly into her closet!! Luckily, with some quick foot action and the grace of God, the macaroni-laden water didn't get on anything in her closet. Note to self, do NOT overfill the "hot pot" or the boiling water turns into a geyser of hot water and half-cooked macaroni.

So I see this similar device in Wal-Mart and picked it up to look at it. A cordless kettle. That's interesting. If there is no cord, does it run on batteries? That doesn't seem quite right. I read down a little bit further and it says, "Convenient Cord Storage". What? If it's cordless, why on earth do you need convenient cord storage? So I chuckled to myself and I took a couple of photos (see one below), put the "hot pot" back on the shelf and moved on. 

If my offspring, does indeed believe that a "hot pot" is something she would like to have in her dorm room, (I hope so!) we will do some comparison shopping and find a dandy one, fitting of the year 2012.

College...... it's funny the things you remember about those years!!  Wal-Mart..... it's funny what they sell!

Keep on smiling!

A Better Way To Keep Your New Year's Resolutions!

Keep on smiling!

A Very Boring New Year's Resolution Update!

It’s time for me to evaluate my progress on my New Year’s Resolutions! Let me warn you. The resolutions sound weird and random standing on their own so if you haven't read the original post on New Year's Resolutions already (Kari's New Year's Resolutions), you may want to go back and take a peek!

No Gluten: I would give myself a C. Better than I have been but I haven’t made it to “No Gluten” status! Baby steps!

Drink More Water: A!! I recently read an article that diet soda drinkers are 44% more likely to suffer a stroke, heart attack or heart disease. I read that article a week ago Friday and stopped my Diet Pepsi habit the following day. Just like that! So far so good!

Make a Dinner Menu: A! I have been making a menu almost every single week! Feels good!

Exercise: B. I had to take a slight diversion. Doctor #3 told me that perhaps I should consider biking or swimming instead of walking/running. So although I have fought it for a few years, I bought a stationary bike. Back on the road again!

Drink Coffee: A!! I drink a big mug of coffee on the way to work every morning! Lovin' it!

Bring My Lunch To Work: B. I have been pretty good but could be better!

Use My State Park Sticker: F. :( I haven’t been to a State Park yet…

Volunteer Less: C. Still volunteering but I did turn down an additional opportunity to volunteer!

Better Balance Between Work and Home: D. Long, long days but I have been able to use my flexible work arrangement a couple of times. My dreams are consumed with work. :(

Spend More Time With Friends: C. I can do better!

I’m looking back now thinking, “Was I crazy to put down 10 New Year’s Resolutions?”  Yes, I think I WAS!!  I must have been caught up in the moment!

All good things though so I’m going to keep on trying!!

Thought Number 2: I think this is the last New Year's Resolution update!!  BORING!!!!

For those of you who have your own New Year's Resolutions, I hope this finds you successful and beating the odds! :) Or simply being odd. Whatever makes you happiest!

Keep on smiling!

Nothing Says Love Like....

Last week I went Valentine’s Day shopping for my husband. I never know what to get him but I thought I would give it a valiant effort so I went to Gander Mountain.

My husband enjoys hunting. He’s not a crazy hunter that goes all the time. But he does participate in many seasons like turkey hunting, bow hunting, gun hunting and muzzle loader season.  And he has all the toys that go along with hunting.

So Gander Mountain seemed like a good place to go. Well actually, I was really close to Gander Mountain so it seemed efficient too!

I wandered through the clothing section, wondering if I could find something that seemed like a good gift. I couldn’t. So I decided to wander over to the camping section. Not because he likes camping per se. Just because it looked interesting.

On the way to the camping area of the store I wandered through an off shoot of the hunting department and something caught my eye.

One of the things my husband uses is Scent Lok clothing. He has special detergent to wash the Scent Lok clothing that takes any smells out and then he stores them in and a Scent Lok bag once they are washed. After all, no one wants to smell like a human when they are hunting!

And right there in the aisle, it jumped out at me. Dryer sheets that remove human scent. Wow! I didn’t even know they made scent sucking dryer sheets and I know he doesn’t have any!

So then I started looking at the other products and this one jumped out at me.

Scent Killer Liquid Clothing Wash for high efficiency washers. Read the label. “Autumn Formula – Washes Away Odors and Adds a Light Scent of Leaves and Dirt”.

 Sooooooo, you use this detergent to purposely smell like dirt. Nice.

Anyway, I found a gift for my husband!! A 6-pack of scent killer products from Bone Collector.

Because nothing says “I Love You” like products that make you smell like acorns, dirt, rotting leaves or simply smelling like nothing at all.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!!  I hope there is a moment today that uniquely says “I Love You” to you.

 
Keep on smiling!

Sealed With A Kiss

We have instant messaging capability at work, to communicate within the company. Today a fellow HR Manager asked me a question via IM. My response to him included information on the 401(k) plan. So I typed in 401(k) in the response and when I hit send, a funny thing happened. Big red kissy lips came up on the screen. Whaaaaat? There it was staring at me. 401 and then a big pair of red lips.

(In case you haven't figured this out yet, I'm not always wise to the ways of this newfangled technology.)

I quickly typed in, “Wow, I don’t know how that happened?” No response.

Then it hit me. The (k) must turn into the big red kissy lips. 

So, just me being me, I typed one line with just (k) on it and when I hit send, there were the lips again. (Brilliant, right?)  I quickly typed an IM that said the k in parentheses must be producing the big kissy lips. This whole time, my peer is not responding. I am starting to panic.

I typed, “Truly didn’t mean to harass you! I had no idea that would happen!!” 

He finally responded with, “OMG, I am laughing too hard to type!” 

Whew!!  

What am I thankful for today?  That I work with people who have a great sense of humor!

Keep on smiling!

A Better Way to Award Financial Aid

Thursday is my flexible work day in 2012. Technically it is my day off but I haven’t had a Thursday yet that I haven’t actually worked at least a few hours for my employer. Since they are generous enough to supply me with an iPhone and a laptop, the connection is always there. Nonetheless, I love my Thursdays. They become a marathon session of knocking things off the To Do list. I LOVE checking things off the To Do List.  Sometimes I add a few items in that I have already accomplished in the day, just to check them off. Hee Hee.

Today I checked a big one off the list by finishing up the FAFSA which, in case you’re not into this stage of your life, is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Basically, it is an online application where you divulge all of your financial information and educational background to the government in hopes of your student being awarded grants or work study or subsidized loans. The next step is for the government to almost immediately tell you that you make too much money to get any of these things. :)

Our daughter is a senior this year and has already been admitted to the college of her choice. :) But we spent the last 12 months touring campuses both large and small.

And I have come up with a better way of identifying which students should receive financial aid. It is very simple. The amount of the financial aid awarded should be based on the size of the diamond ring the mother is wearing. The larger the diamond ring, the lower the amount of financial aid awarded.  Because c’mon!! If you can afford a diamond the size of hard boiled egg, you can afford to pay your child’s tuition!!  In fact, you could take a loan out against that ring and pay for at least a year or two!!

Seriously! The larger the campus, the larger the diamonds seemed to be!

In case that method doesn’t work, I have a back-up plan. Financial aid should be based on the shoes worn by the mother. If you are going on a campus preview day which involves a walking tour of the campus (and it always does), and you are wearing 4 inch high, Christian Louboutin stilettos, your child does not need financial aid! Seriously, he/she doesn’t! 

The women who came in sensible casual, walking, hiking or running shoes; line up, toes to the line and now let’s take a look at those diamonds!

Seriously, it’s been a lot of fun. I’m happy to be part of this soon to be new adventure of our daughter’s!

Keep on smiling!

Dogs Are Smart

My dog, Truman, woke me up at 3:40 this morning. Why? I’ve blogged about this before. Because he knew what time it was and was afraid we had overslept. Normally, by 3:40 my husband has showered, dressed for work and is packing his lunch. And by 3:40, I’m in the shower, getting ready for my day too. But today is Saturday. And the last person to go to bed (not me) forgot to shut the bedroom door. So at 3:40 AM our big brown alarm clock was in the door, softly whining, “Get up! You are going to be late!” So I got up and let me tell you, he was very proud of himself. I checked to make sure he had water and didn’t need to go outside, patted him on the head and went back to sleep (shutting the door behind me).

When I woke up a couple hours later, everything was quiet, just like a Saturday morning should be.

I recently read an article that talked about dogs being able to read facial expressions and pick up on moods. I don’t think this is groundbreaking research for anyone who owns a dog. I wonder how much money they spent doing this research and I wonder if there had been a government grant involved. But mostly I just thought about my own dog.

My husband doesn’t believe our dog is not very smart. I completely disagree. He’s a genius. First of all, let’s look at the obvious. The dog sleeps all day, is always assured food and water without doing any type of work, and humans not only clean up all the hair he leaves behind, they also clean up his poop.

He knows how to manipulate people too. Big time. When I’m home or my daughter’s home, or we’re home together, Truman peacefully lounges around. As long as he has food and water and goes outside once in a while, he’s perfectly content. 

When my husband is home, it’s a different story. Truman whines. Why? Because he knows he will get all kinds of attention from my husband. He will get extra food, extra treats, extra belly rubs, back massages and a thousand walks a day if he really wanted to push it. Just by whining. I’m telling you, this dog is a genius.  

I don’t believe Truman whines because he actually needs to go for a walk. I think he whines because he believes my husband is the one who needs to go for a walk. And Truman is the one who is in charge of getting him out there.

My husband loves to watch sports and he loves to analyze Ebay. He could probably spend hours and hours, uninterrupted, sitting on the couch with his laptop on his lap, watching TV and searching Ebay and be really happy! And there are much worse things, right?

I believe Truman’s whining is not, “I need to go outside!” I think his whining is, “C’mon buddy. Time to get off the couch and go out and get some fresh air! Follow me and I’ll show you the way. And as a reward to you for getting some exercise and breathing some fresh air, I promise I will randomly poop in someone’s yard for you. That way you can go home and say, ‘See, he needed to poop. That’s why he was whining.’ It will totally look like YOU are doing ME a favor.

Along with that little triumph, the bending over to clean up after me will help keep your back stretched out and it’s a great way to re-use those plastic bags you keep bringing home from the grocery store. And by the way, your secret is safe with me. I know, that even though you complain loudly, you really enjoy me taking you for a walk. And I have also heard you say that if it wasn’t for you having to take me on so many walks (wink, wink) you’d probably weigh 300 pounds. So let me just say; you’re welcome. I’m there for you buddy!!”

Yes, Truman is incredible, caring and a genius!

What I can’t explain is why such a genius dog will sniff at bird poop, goose poop, road kill and any other gross thing along the road. Hmmmm. I guess we’re not supposed to understand everything. People probably didn’t completely understand Einstein either.

Keep on smiling!