For instance, I've had plenty of 12-13 hour work days the last couple of weeks, and I'm still not remotely keeping up at the office. It's too complicated to explain the issues going on with my division, but basically it's a newer service line of my company and there are a lot of growing pains. My supervisor is no longer there, and I was already struggling to keep up with my case load prior to that. Now I have even more piled on. Ehhh!
I don't know if it's just me, but it seems like everything has been going haywire lately as far as work, my friends and their life stress and health issues, Snickers dying, etc. I'm kind of waiting for the sun to come out... which I know it will. And I'm trying to keep my attitude on the up-side. I have realized I need to take care of my mental health when things hit the fan, so I have been trying to say "no" to things and spend some time painting... which is like taking a Valium for me.
Now that I've vented (thanks guys!), I have managed to do some fun things lately too. I was somewhat nominated at my office as the person who most deserved 4 up-close-and-personal Twins tickets, so we went to the game with Seth and Michele.
We also had 8 people staying last weekend for the PGA. (My Dad/Mikey/Matt, Gina/Adam/Gabe, Dale/Tommy)... oh, and two extra dogs. I don't understand how guys can smell so bad... I seriously am still trying to air the smell of sweat and farts from our house.
The dogs got into two full bags of dog chews, which Izzy doesn't actually chew on but hides around the house. So, she spent three days pacing trying to find places to bury her biscuits. I'm finding them everywhere... blankets, behind pillows, in my shoes.
Here's some pics of our doggy fashion show.
Trust me, it's never dull.
I kind of missed blogging about this (it was the same weekend that Snickers died), but we had a weekend camping at Afton State Park. Beautiful! We didn't really realize how much work it would be... we had to haul all of our stuff up and down miles of huge hills. It was gorgeous but not relaxing in the least. Hauling a heavy cooler and 50 pound bag looks easy until you do it up and down miles of hills and unpaved roads. (I don't work out, remember??!) I tried my best to "be one" with nature...
Funny moments...
Izzy's high school pictures... (summer and winter looks)...
One of the craziest events of the weekend was when I went to bed, and left some unopened bags of chips on the picnic table. I figured bears and other animals couldn't smell that right?!... Wrong! We woke up to some animal(s) in our camp ripping open bags of chips. We could hear them crunching on them. I was terrified! Especially since big ol' Rambo was in the next tent over... it sounded like a bear out there, and Rambo was going to wake up and freak! What a fight we'd have on our hands. It turns out Rambo was awake the whole time and was scared, and it was a couple of fat racoons eating our chips.
We were back in the Fergus Falls area a few weekends ago for a guys golf weekend. Mark was out with my Dad, Uncles, brothers, cousins, and the gang. They were split in two teams, and the winners got to drink a nice cold glass of milk. It doesn't sound like a wonderful thing to win,... until you realize the losers have to drink a warm glass of milk (that was sitting in the truck for the afternoon).
Mark and my Dad were on the losing team...
The idea of the milk thang was based on my late Uncle Brad; he was always the big golfer and facilitator of these events, so I know when the guys are out there playing their golf game they're all thinking of him.
That weekend I was able to hang out with Gina quite a bit. And my favorite long, time gal (PREGNANT!) gal, Heidi Ho, came to visit...
I also got to hang with the guys after their golf days....
Gina and I picked up our Grandma Geri, and we went out to see Grandpa Jim and Uncle Brad's grave sites. They're right next to each other in the graveyard near my Grandparent's home, and it's interesting how they do that... there is a spot in between my Grandpa and Uncle for my Grandma. I can't imagine how hard and bizarre that is for her to visit. The headstone is combined with my Grandpa's, which is the way it should be. It says her name and the date is empty. I try to wrap my head around what it means to be married for that many years, and to go through a loss like that and see something like that.
I have some truly amazing Grandparents. That's one thing that I've always known I'm very blessed and rich with in this world.
Here is my latest painting. It's called "The Perfect Day".
