Holiday Haze

I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted an update. I thought about trying something new; just writing about my life, thoughts, & experiences. I am normally an open and honest person. I wrote it all down and then deleted it. I guess I am not ready to be so vulnerable yet. Instead I will just stick to the original stated purpose of this blog.

Really not much new or exciting has happened since my last update. With the massive flooding at the plant, Jim was put on rotating shift work over the summer. How it worked out is when he had time off, I was working and when I had time off he was working. Consequently, we did not do as much camping or boating as we would have liked. Summer is also my busiest time at work and this year it was especially brutal. Don't know how I am going to make it through next summer if some changes aren't made. So between these two things, you can see how the summer just breezed by and now we are well into fall!

All the overtime that Jim worked this summer helped us to purchase some new things that we needed. First of all, the vacuum cleaner broke. I have had so many vacuum cleaners that this time I wanted a really good one. After much research, we purchased a Sebo vacuum cleaner and I LOVE it. It does such a good job and is much easier to use. Then we fenced in our backyard. Why didn't I spend that money sooner? It would have saved me so much aggravation with our other dog! It is really nice to just open the door and let the girls out every time they ring the bell (and they love to ring the bell). The only thing that worries me is the hawks. They fly over and look at our dogs a little too intently. I guess they could be mistaken for a bunny to a hawk, so I still try and keep an eye on them out there! After that, Jim started pushing for a shed. I was ok with this because our garage is quite full. It is very hard to fit our vehicles in anymore. So we shopped around and bought a Tuff Shed, and we LOVE it. Very well made and lots of storage. We are still in process of moving stuff from the garage out to the shed, but I should finally be able to park in my garage this winter! Our washer broke (and I always hated that washer and dryer), so we were on the hunt for a new set. We finally purchased new front loaders and I now LOVE doing my laundry. Everything comes out so clean and fresh. I am not exaggerating-when I hang my things to dry (which takes much less time because the spin cycle is so efficient) it makes the whole room smell wonderful. Same detergent, same fabric softener. Hopefully, they will last and not have mechanical problems. Our most recent purchase has been a snow blower. We are getting old enough that we just can't shovel anymore. So far, no snow...... but at least we are ready!

Noah is in his last semester of school. He will graduate in December with a degree in finance. He lost his teller job of three years right before school started. He has been home for many interviews for "real" jobs. Recently, he has had some second and third interviews, so I am hopeful that he will soon be gainfully employed! We have been talking to him about a graduation party, which he just decided he wants (with only a month's notice and in prime office party season). So my holiday stress level just increased quite a bit! Now that we are part of the Big Ten, Nebraska played Michigan State at home last month. It took some doing, but we were finally able to secure some tickets and all go to the game. Unfortunately, State did not have a good day and NE had a great day. Still it was fun and it was also our last camping trip of the season-beautiful weather for the end of October!

Nate is still working at Jimmy Johns. He doesn't seem any closer to a real career, but we hardly see him, so it is hard to know for sure what is rumbling around in his head. He is being more responsible and doing what we ask, so we do see some progress toward maturity. He has been kind enough to dress up in costume for the kids at the library twice since summer. Once he was the character from Llama Llama and today he was Tacky the Penguin (which was one of his favorite stories growing up). It does my heart good to see him do something nice for others!

It was Bailey's birthday yesterday. She is now one! She loves her new toy and woofed down her pup cake! Holly will be two years old next month. Holly continues to struggle with urinary tract infections. We just had our carpets cleaned and now are giving her cranberry tablets to change her PH and hopefully prevent any more UTIs.

We are staying home for Thanksgiving. I have put out a few invites, but have not had any takers yet, so it may just be our family. Heck, it may not even be just our family, since I haven't heard from Nate yet if and when he is working that day. I am clueless about Christmas-no ideas whatsoever right now. Maybe some gift cards or a family trip are in order! Family trip.......more stress to plan that around schedules......maybe just gift cards!

Well I think I will sign off for the night and go read my book. It is really good, if I can just stay awake! Please leave comments if you read this post. It can be discouraging to think I am trying so hard to connect with my family and friends and it is all in vain.