Whew! Go Live Day is Over!

Thank goodness this day is over! We have been actively planning this day for months. The migration team has been put many many hours, the agents have spent many many hours of training, and we are now working on a new computer system at work. Which brings me to my thoughts, there are two: 1) if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear and 2) miracles happen every day. First, the weekend was such a peaceful weekend, we had done everything we possibly could do (prior to go live), and it was amazing what peace I felt this weekend, knowing, even given more time, we could have done no more. We could do well to learn this principle in our lives. Plan, set goals, evaluate, keep on track, evaluate some more, complete deadlines then peace! and Second, God blesses us every day, Some blessings are noteworthy some are not (to other people) We only have to ask for these blessings and miracles. Most of these experiences are private, but the lesson I learned in this, is, it is important to recognize the miracles, then make sure you speak and show gratitude. It is easy to accept some things as just luck, but I truly feel God has his hand in our lives, if we invite him in.

A Sea of Orange

While driving home tonight, there is a road that was resurfaced 2-3 weeks ago. The Orange cones are still up, making a mess. Have you noticed recently, that road repairs take so long anymore. And like my example above they aren't in a hurray to clean up after themselves. Maybe they are trying to prolong the next job! Then the next grip I have is Freeway contruction. they have about 9 miles blocked off, rather than to break it up into smaller 1 mile sections and do the entire job and then move on to the next mile. I know they will say it saves money to do one job the entire 9 miles but it is taking soooooo long. My last complaint, the road in front of my brother and sister in law's house has been torn up since April. It was to be a 3 week job. We are now finishing up July, and they are not ready to resurface yet. Sounds like someone is going to have to pay big for budget shortages, and we all know who will foot the bill for that.
Other than that, Life is Great!

Sunday night blues

Earlier this evening I called my sister in law's house, her son Dan (23 yrs old) answered the phone, when asked what was new, he said, "Oh, nothing much, just coming to the end of a nice long weekend, and getting ready for work tomorrow morning" A couple of things came to mind, a memory of my mother every Sunday night of her life saying, "oh, what am I going to wear tomorrow?" and isn't it sad we have to grow up to responsible adults (well, some of us) and have to go to work tomorrow? Sooo what's your point? you say?! My point, I now know what my mom was talking about. After a weekend, sometimes I just wish I could be independently wealthy and work only because I want to, not because I need to. Am I the only one that thinks that way? I wonder if the people that work 4 day weeks, starting Tuesday through Saturday, do you think they feel the same way? only on Monday night? Do people really worry about what they are going to wear? I just worry about having something clean, and something that I didn't wear last Friday!!! Do people that work from home offices think? What fluffy slippers should I wear tomorrow - pink or purple? How about stay at home moms? They probably look forward to Monday mornings so things can get back to their normal! I have heard people say, If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. Phooey! I honestly love what I do, and it goes back to the idea, that if I could work because I wanted to, then I probably wouldn't have to worry about what I was going to wear! Maybe I need a vacation, one where I can be irresponsible, selfish in a very tame way. I'm thinking ........

The reason I was born . . .

is so I could be a Grandma. I am babysitting my 14 mo old granddaughter while Mom, Dad, and big brother Bradley are in So. California (Disneyland) but don't tell Brookie that! I am having so much fun just watching those beautiful blue eyes discover all there is to see in a day, and when our eyes meet - the eyes sparkle, and here comes that grin that makes shivers go throughout your body! Without a word she can tell me she is hungry, needs a new diaper, wants something to drink, and she can even tell me she misses her family! She has been spending most of her playtime in Bradley's room, I haven't figured out whether she's just happy to have the toys all to herself or if she doesn't feel complete without her brother. I am sure it is the latter. She is such a little shadow to her mother, that I thought I might have some tears - not yet, but I can tell she is feeling a little blue. In today's techno world, I have been prompted to take a picture of her several times to send to her family, but the display on my phone has a problem, so we have to just settle for the calls we can make any time we want without worrying that it is going to be too expensive! We were talking to my son Nick, Brookie's dad, he was telling me of all the new and exciting adventures Bradley was taking in. I said that I wished I could see his cute little smile. Nick told me he has been sending pictures all day long, I sure hope when my new phone comes Monday, that I will be able to get the pictures! I asked if Bradley had mentioned me, he said yes, at the Thunder Mountain Railroad, Bradley had mentioned me!!! Good Boy, he is 3 1/2 yrs old! I told him several days ago, that when he rides the train at Disneyland - remember Grandma! My goal is to plant so many anchors in my grandkids brains, that they will always remember me! Cuz the way my life is going, that is the only thing I will be remembered for. And you know, that is enough for me. There is nothing more important than the love we share with each other.

What can one man do?

I've listened to political promises for several decades, if we had received all that has been promised to us by the candidates that have won, we would living in heaven! I am convinced that not one man can do anything. We can only decide on the candidate based on his core values, then do our best to get more people into congress that share those same values. Sometimes it seems so hopeless, but even with that, This is the best country in the entire world. Two points I want to make 1)George W Bush is sacrificed to take the blame and 2)It takes a village, if you don't like it fortunately in this country you have the right to leave. George W. Bush has strong moral values, he has made the best possible decisions he knew how to make at the time (like we do as parents, sometimes they are right, and sometimes they are wrong). He was not alone. There were many around him that agreed, that counseled him, so why is it him that needs to be ridiculed or blamed? Why can't we stand behind our president and encourage and support him, if he does what we don't like, we can voice our opposition in a respectful way. And ultimately vote in a new President every 4 years. I am very proud to be an American, I am just a little embarrassed with the way some of my fellow Americans act and how harsh there words are. It's a little man or woman, that needs to put another person down, to prove a point or to make themselves more important in their view. Which leads to my next point, It takes a village. Hillary Clinton made that comment and so many disagreed, and I believe they are so wrong, if we have strong moral leaders, if we build strong moral families, if we build strong moral communities we will be better role models for your younger generation to learn from and to follow. And when people stand up and say terrible things about our leaders, our constitution, our freedoms, I would like to see them exercise their "unalienable right" of freedom, and choose to go somewhere else, where they can be happy, or is there such a place?

Signing off with one note, What can one man do? There are so many inspirational stories of great things accomplished by just one man. And you know where that happens the most? In America! God Bless America, God Bless us so we can make America proud of us.

I'm so tired of Gas

I've just spent a half hour reading about the Smart Car. I think they are so cute. Isn't that a good enough reason to buy it? Being that size it should get 60 mpg. It has an 8.7 gallon tank, gets about 40 mpg. My Altima was $35.00 to fill up, now I am putting $67.00 in the tank. How come when the price was going up, crude oil would go up $2.00 and our gas would go up 6 to 10 cents per gallon. Now crude oil is down approx $15.00 per barrel and I have not seen a change at all! Whats up with that? Who's making all the money? Oil companies? the Middle East? Columbia? Hey aren't they the ones that hate us? I just don't understand. I think we need to provide for ourselves, maybe we should stand up to the environmentalists and drill where we know there is Oil. Start today coming up with alternative energy, renewable energy and stop funding those people that hate us. And for me, it would do me good to get out on a bicycle. How would that look! An older woman riding a bicycle in a dress to work! Not! Hey this is a first, I have never referred to myself as an older woman!

Grandpa's Big Day

Today our family celebrates the birthday of my Father in law. Frank is 94 yrs old today. A man that age doesn't want or need anything, not even food! So I googled his birthday to find out what happened on his birthday throughout the years. Most noteable - The day he was born, was the incident in Serbia that lead to World War I. Doesn't surprise me, Frank has always been one to start a stir! He is a man that thought he was supposed to die at age 76 (like both his parents) and has been angry ever since! I told him years ago, that he needed to sweeten up " 'cuz you're too ornery, they don't want you up there!!" He has such a gentle heart! He is a man of little means and has been farming his 1/2 acre garden in the middle of a city for the last 60+ years. My son spent many hours learning all about why we have bees and how do leaves grow and then turn colors, but my most cherished memory is the burlap sack that Frank attached to his cultivator so my son could help plow the earth! What a wonderful childhood.

Same 'ol Day

Today began at 4:30am. Waking up and not being able to go back to sleep, so I rolled over and turned on my computer to start my day. I would like one day to go to work every day that way! But no - 6:00am comes around and so starts the ritual. Shower, Work, Sleep and repeat! Nick is in San Diego this week, and Allie has brothers and her sister in town, so poor me, I don't get to spend much time with the most perfect grandchildren in the world! With a lazy cat named Sly,in my lap, I will sign off for today.