October 9

The weekend was fun. What I most enjoyed was the lack of structure. The only time there was anything scheduled was meal time. And the food was phenomenal. We had scrambled eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, ham, pancakes, French toast, homemade syrup, jam and honey. For lunch we had the best tomato bisque and ham and cheese croissants. For supper we had chicken fajitas with home made salsa and pico di gala. And we had tea time on Saturday afternoon with yummy apple bars and other bars and quick breads.
I arrived about 7:45 on Friday night. Most people had crafts to work on and they were all working on their crafts and chatting. It was nice to just sit there and listen and participate in the conversations. And everyone was very nice. I enjoyed the company.
On Saturday morning I went for a bike ride, but it was soooo windy that I was only gone about an hour. I had hoped to be gone longer. Later in the afternoon I went for a walk with a few of the ladies.
Most of the women (there were 11 of us) were older and extremely out of shape and over weight. They were not very mobile. In fact one of the women fell and dislocated her knee and I was the only one near who was mobile enough to try to help her. I was going to take her to the hospital, but we couldn’t move her so we had to call an ambulance. It really makes me want to get back in shape and lose the weight I have gained. I don’t want to be like them, ever. Getting up from the sitting position was a struggle for many of them. Very sad.
One woman was working on hardinger. Very beautiful work. I would never have the patience to do it. Another was making a braided rug. I talked to her for quite a while and I’m going to make one for Mom for Christmas. I think one for the kitchen for her to put in front of the stove or sink. I know she wants to redo the kitchen so I will need to find out if she is going to keep the same color schemes so I know what fabric colors to get. I would like to make one for Eleanor too, but I don’t know if she would like it or not. She had braided rugs in her kitchen so she might like it if I made one for her to place in front of the sink. I guess I’ll ask Rob what he thinks about it.
So anyway, I think I would go back next year. And Pat was talking about organizing something for January or February.
Tomorrow I’m getting the prep work done for my bridge. I’m excited to get the bridge and have a full set of teeth I can use to smile.
Rob took apart the mattress and put our old one back on the bed yesterday. I really slept poorly last night. I was stiff every where. I guess we’ll have to spend the weekend shopping for a new mattress again. We’re also thinking about going to Taylors Falls for the day and hiking around and possibly take our Christmas photo. Melinda is going to be in Blaine this weekend as well, so I should contact her to see if she plans to stop by our house.
Let’s root for a great week.

October 5

I went over to Jessa’s last night and had a nice chat. Tomorrow I leave for the weekend. I’m sort of looking forward to it. And part of me is trying to find an excuse not to go. I’m planning to leave after the Twins game, so probably around 5 or 6. And I want to leave right after breakfast on Sunday. I’m planning to take my bike because it’s supposed to be really nice on Saturday. I’m also going to take my laptop and work on scrapbook ideas and/or lessons from my online class.

Today has been a good day at work. The one person who didn’t seem to like me because I was a contractor sent an e-mail about me and the good work I’m doing. And I had a meeting today with my assignment boss and she is going to be on PTO for 7 days and I’m going to be one of her back ups. So I guess that means she has a lot of confidence in me. I’m busier now than I have been since I’ve started, which is good. They are paying me too much to not be busy.

It’s a beautiful fall day today. In the 50’s and sunny and the leaves are all changing. It’s a beautiful time to be in Minnesota. I should take a picture and send it to Scott to remind him of what he is missing.

Speaking of Scott, I should check for flights to see if there are any at a reasonable price to go to Arizona to see him when they are on the ‘mainland’ on the way to Mexico.

Rob wants to go to a wedding in Evansville in November. I think we should be formally invited though. It was just a myspace e-mail that said he was welcome to come. And if he wants to have time to visit with his friends, it may be better to go when there isn’t a wedding and everyone is busy with wedding events.

I haven’t heard anything from Carla or Jane about the events of a couple weeks ago. Last I heard was Carla was pulling the council account, but she was waiting to hear from the city manager. I’m still expecting to do the planning committee meeting on Tuesday.

October 4

This weekend is the girl's only retreat. Part of me wants to get out of it and stay home. The other part says go so Rob can have some alone time. He doesn't really get any alone time and I think it would be good for him to have it more often.

I signed up for on-line computer classes at North Hennepin Community College. I signed up for advanced excel and intro to access. I've done the first class. The excel class wasn't that informative, but I learned a lot from the access class. Knowing access will really help me out.

Good grief, I just noticed that I'm wearing navy socks with black pants and shoes.

I'm starting to get excited about Christmas. I'm looking forward to shopping and finding the perfect gifts. I would like the house to be decorated this year, but I don't like to do the decorating or the un-decorating. I've made a couple of prototypes for Christmas cards. Last year I had Lisa, T, Elizabeth and Mom up for a weekend of crafts, baking and Christmas movies. I hope it becomes a tradition and someone does it this year. Or I guess I could do it again. I have the biggest kitchen for baking and the craft room.

I'm very sleepy today. I'm trying to work longer hours this week and next so I don't have to go to work next Friday, which is the 13th. But because I'm so sleepy now, it may be hard to stay until 4:30 or 4:45 today. I'm also supposed to go over to Jessa's after supper tonight for a visit. And tomorrow I have a dentist appointment at 7pm and then I'll be gone all weekend, so I'll probably be tired all next week too. And it will be TOM and that sometimes disrupts my sleeping habits.

My goals for this week have not been met. I'm lazy and have no will power. I need to start going to WW meetings again or maybe found out about LA WL.

October 2

My neck pain has gone away. It’s still a little tight from too little movement. I don’t really know what was causing it.

The weekend was pretty dull. We didn’t do anything but watch football. Not that I wanted to do anything. I didn’t walk with Pat. She never contacted me and I didn’t contact her either.

My plans to get the house cleaned up didn’t materialize either. I did do the dishes, clean the table and desk. But SOOOO much more needs to be done.

We decided to return the bed. I called today for a return authorization and had no problems. Now we just need to pack it up and take it to Plymouth. And then start the bed shopping process over again.

I’ve contacted Nellie a couple of times to see if she wanted to get together. She was so gung-ho before I left to get together once a month, but she hasn’t responded either time. I’m going over to Jessa’s on Wednesday after supper for a short visit. It will be nice to catch up with her.

I signed up for on-line advance excel and intro to access classes at North Hennepin College. They actually started on September 20th so I need to do some quick catch up. 2 new lessons are released each week and you have 2 weeks to complete them. So I will need to do the first weeks lessons by this Wednesday.

I’m supposed to go on the Women’s retreat this weekend, but I think it might be that time of the month and if it is, I don’t want to go. I don’t know if this will be a bad month or not, but I don’t want to risk it being away from home. I should really talk to the doctor about going on the pill again.

I have a dentist appt on Thursday to discuss my options for the missing teeth. I decided against implants because of the oral surgeon saying my jaw bone was at the minimum thickness and that my sinus would need to be moved. NO WAY! I’m actually okay with false teeth, but Rob isn’t and I guess it would be a hassle, but they are cheaper. So I guess I’ll go with a bridge. I hope it can be done quickly.

My goal for the week is to use my spin bike 4 times and count points.

September 28, 2006

Today I feel weird. I feel antsy, unfocused, bored, wiggly, tingley. Rob said it was menopause. I don’t know what it is, but I feel dissatisfied. I want to get away from everything. I’m tired, but I feel wired at the same time. Actually none of my feelings make sense with one another.

My neck is still sore. Last night was the more sore it has felt. I had trouble getting comfortable while watching TV and trying to sleep.

September 27, 2006

Carla pulled the account for city council meetings. I will continue to do the other meetings unless the city says all or nothing. Part of me feels bad that I reacted to this because now Carla has lost some business. I do give her credit for being willing to pull the account and lose business to stand up for her employees. She has a lot of integrity.

I received more work at my consulting job. I’m learning lots of new things which will hopefully make me more marketable for future assignments. I really want to find a class for Access and for advanced Excel. I think that would really help.

I decided to go on the women’s retreat next weekend. There are 11 people going including me and I only know 3 of them and not very well. I hope its fun. And hopefully the weather will be nice. The leaves should near peak and a hay ride and bonfire is planned. I think I will get a facial as my choice for a spa treatment.

The bed is starting to feel better again. I have had a sore neck/shoulder the past few days. I don’t think it is from the bed. I usually get this type of pain when I’m really stressed. I don’t know what I’m stressed about though.

I decided to start using the spinning bike after work instead of trying to get up early. Tonight will be my first day doing it. I will just shower in the evening instead of morning. I’ve been counting points and trying to eat better this week, which so far has been mostly successful. I have been eating bagels with butter for breakfast, which isn’t the best option.

Meg from Talent stopped by work today. She is such a nice person. She wants to take me to lunch some day next week. I asked if she has received any feedback about me from ESI, but she said they usually don’t get feedback unless there is a problem. So no news is good news.

September 25, 2006

Things are crazy with the city clerk’s office after what happened on Thursday night. I went to the clerk’s office Friday afternoon to pick up a tape and Jane said that she had been on the phone with Carla for about an hour discussing this. And she is planning to talk to the city manager about it. Then the Mayor came by and he apologized for what happened and said he talked with a few of the other councilmembers after the meeting about it. The councilmember that caused all problems is very disliked among the staff and even the Mayor. And I found out it isn’t the first time that he caused someone to quit. Jane said that he could be sanctioned publicly, but that is really all that can be done. I said I would be willing to do the other city meetings but not the City Council meetings. Jane also said she was livid about it all. It made her look bad too since she is in charge of meeting minutes. I never thought about how it affected her. I spent about 45 minutes talking to Jane, the Mayor and other clerk staff and NO ONE likes the councilmember. It was basically a bash councilmember session. After I talked to Jane and the Mayor I called Carla. She was very upset that this happened. It happened before and she thought the city had taken care to make sure it didn’t happen again. She was so upset that she told the city she was going to pull the account. Meaning the city wouldn’t have anyone to take minutes. I don’t know what will happen. I will probably hear from Jane or Carla this week as they try to work things out. I know that even if the councilmember apologizes to me or publicly I won’t go back the council meetings.

I went to Taylor’s cross country meeting on Saturday. It was rainy, windy and chilly. Not ideal weather, but I’m glad I went. It was nice to see her. She is growing up so quickly. She did great too. I would like to go to more meets, but most are too far away.

Our bed isn’t getting any better. We put a board over the box spring for more support and I’ve slept worse since then. It’s only been 2 days, so maybe it will get better. I hope so, but I’m thinking it’s not going to work out the way we had hoped.

Our house is such a mess. I really need to work on it. I should make a point to clean up one small part each night after work. I’ll try to, but I’m usually so tired after work that I don’t want to do anything when I get home. Sleeping poorly and getting used to working again are taking its toll on me. Exercise would help.

Work is still going good. I need more work to keep me busy, but it will come soon I hope. I should have all my accesses this week. I have a project management tool training today and a couple of meetings that should give me more work to do. I’m hoping to work longer hours during week (only 30-45 minutes) so I can leave early on Friday. Although I’m a contractor so I could leave early if wanted to anyway. I thought about working only 36 hours, but 4 hours of time is $147 which over time will add up so I don’t want to lose that. I want to be able to save as much as I can so that the time in between assignments won’t be a hardship.