Sad News...and NIMBY's at work

I am sad to say that Jackie, the lady in my last post, passed away last Friday. My heart aches for her family and the challenges that they have in front of them.

On another note, I would just like to voice my frustration in the views of people and power. I am not talking political or financial power, I am talking about actual power. Big power, power that flows through lines in the air and underground, dangerous, high voltage power. Now I happen to be an electrical engineer (very happy to say a professional one at that), and I work in power and utilities. I enjoy and like to think I understand what I am doing, although I know there is much more to learn! Right now ATC (American Transmission Company) is trying to build a 345 kV line through Dane county, that is basically the highest voltage line that WI current has. You typically see them around power plants and heading to large substations. They are big and they are ugly (to the commoner, to a utility engineer they are a thing of beauty)...but they are VERY necessary, especially in a state like WI where there is MINIMAL transmission. Anyway, my point isn't to educate you on the need...my point is that every person of any power (Mayor Dave, township heads...) try to tell you this is not needed, put it somewhere else, or don't build it at all. Now how do these people get off saying whether or not it is needed...do you as a Doctor to show you every number in your lab results to prove something? No I didn't think so, you trust them, or you go to another doctor and between the two of them you come to some decision you trust. You don't study your lab results on your own.

Well the engineers that are saying that this line is needed have gone through intense studies to verify that it is needed, and have gone through alternatives to the line option also. Not only did they do their own exhaustive study, they have had outsiders come in and do another study to verify the results. These engineers are licensed or supervised by licensed professional engineers. Now I understand that nobody really wants this in their backyard, and they have every right to voice that opinion, but they don't have the means nor the expertise to say that it isn't needed! Leave that to the professionals in the area of work to determine that!! It is very frustrating and I understand that this is a very confusing topic and that is there are many state and federal agencies to insure that the right decision is being made about where these lines go. So if you want to make a statement in the paper or at an open house, make one on why you don't want them, not you sudo analysis on something you don't know anything about!

Prayers Needed Again...

Well it seemed to work the last time so I thought I would try again...A lady I used to babysit for and she and her family have many connections to my sister-in-law Tara's family, had a brain aneurysm earlier this week. She is in the hospital right now in Green Bay. She had surgery on Tuesday and had been doing pretty good, and the family was given the news that she had a very good chance of making close to a full recovery. But last night her blood pressure spiked and things aren't looking so good again. She and her husband have 3 kids (teens - preteens). I went to South Carolina with them to babysit on Vacation when I was in highschool. They are very nice people, and I can't imagine what they are going through. Once again if you have a few extra prayers send them their way. It is very surreal how fast life can change. It is times like this that I realize I don't need to spend so much time worrying about the little things!

Why We Love Kids

These are great! I thought I would share. Hope it is as sunny by you today as it is here!! It is wonderful!!

WHY WE LOVE KIDS!

1. NUDITY

I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, "Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt!"

2. HONESTY

My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he'd dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago."

3. OPINIONS

On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read,"The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."

4. KETCHUP

A woman was trying hard to get the ketchup out of the jar. During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. "It's the minister, Mommy," the child said. Then she added, Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you right now. She's hitting the bottle."

5. MORE NUDITY

A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, "What's the matter, haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"

6. POLICE #

1 While taking a routine vandalism report at an elementary school, I was interrupted by a little girl about 6 years old. Looking up and down at my uniform, she asked, "Are you a cop?"" Yes," I answered and continued writing the report."My mother said if I ever needed help I should ask the police. Is that right?""Yes, that's right," I told her."Well, then," she said as she extended her foot toward me, "would you please tie my shoe?"

7. POLICE # 2

It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me "Is that a dog you got back there?" he asked. "It sure is," I replied. Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van.Finally he said, "What'd he do?"

8. ELDERLY

While working for an organization that delivers lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old daughter on my afternoon rounds. She was unfailingly intrigued by the various appliances of old age, particularly the canes, walkers and wheelchairs. One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, "The tooth fairy will never believe this!"

9. DRESS-UP

A little girl was watching her parents dress for a party. When she saw her dad donning his tuxedo, she warned, "Daddy, you shouldn't wear that suit.""And why not, darling?" "You know that it always gives you a headache the next morning."

10. DEATH

While walking along the sidewalk in front of his church, our minister heard the intoning of a prayer that nearly made his collar wilt. Apparently, his 5-year-old son and his playmates had found a dead robin. Feeling that proper burial should be performed, they had secured a small box and cotton batting, then dug a hole and made ready for the disposal of the deceased.The minister's son was chosen to say the appropriate prayers and with sonorous dignity intoned his version of what he thought his father always said: "Glory be unto the Faaaather, and unto the Sonnn, and into the hole he gooooes."

11. SCHOOL

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!"

12. BIBLE

A little boy opened the big family bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible. He picked up the object and looked at it. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages "Mama, look what I found," the boy called out."What have you got there,dear?" With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear."------

Blue Sky!!!

I just saw a sliver of blue sky!!! I haven't seen that in over 5 days!!! Yeah...even though it is short lived as the big ugly grey clouds move in...I did see it! I guess there are some advantages to the big windows in my office :)

It didn't help last night as I froze my butt off at volleyball with a few sprinkles of rain to top off the night...but I thought I would bless my brother's with my presence and hung out at the bar with them...ok I was getting a ride home from them. But mom would be so proud :-)

Over and out!

Finally done...

Well we are done with the painting!!! Yeah!!! the only walls left to paint in our house are in the spare bedroom...and until there is another little Andrew on the way...not for a while for those of you wondering...there won't be anymore painting done! Luckily we like the colors, and it turned out good...with A LOT of work. We shipped Hunter off for the night on Friday so we could finish up. I already had 2+ coats of red on the 2 living room walls (remember I said 2 walls), which was a gallon of paint, plus some primer. I went to Sherwin Williams on Friday rather disgusted that I put an entire gallon of paint on two walls and it still looked streaky...it didn't look good to me and certainly not to my perfectionist husband...but who can blame him we do have to look at it every day. So...the Sherwin Williams guy apologized and said they should have told me that it was going to take FIVE coats...plus primer...to paint dark red...so he gave me a discount...still way to expensive for paint!! So away I went...task for the night, Josh paints the living room, I tear apart the kitchen, scrub the semigloss of the walls previously painted and paint the remainder of the kitchen...time started...6ish...time complete...1:30AM!!! But does it look good? Yes. Is my house still a mess? Yes! I will try to get some pictures when I have everything fully back together. At least I don't have to paint anymore for a long, long time!

I also went to a bachelorette party this weekend. Lots of fun per the occasion. We were in some VERY small towns with very nice people. I didn't really know anyone besides the bride but I think a good time was had by all, including me. (Especially because I felt fine today)!!! Yeah!!!

Today is also Mother's Day...which comes in a close third behind my birthday and Christmas :) My wonderful husband, son and kitty got me a mother's bracelet with two strands...one says Hunter and the other is for room to grow!! It is very pretty and I love looking at it!!

Other then that not much new. I have a feeling tomorrow might be a rough day for my little guy. He had some fairly late nights and a lot of freedom this weekend which he was enjoying greatly. But that is the fun of going to grandma and grandpa's...Unfortunately at his age he doesn't realize that he has to be whipped back into shape tomorrow at the sitters :{ Here's hoping he does well...

One final note...anyone looking to buy a lovely home in Deerfield WI...there is one listed on www.fsbomadison.com at 101 S Main Street...great old Victorian with BEAUTIFUL woodwork!!! I have an in with the family and can hook you up if interested :)

Well I best be getting to bed for a little wind down time. I have had a long weekend and I have to work a full week...something I don't do a whole lot of these days it seems :)

Over and out!

Life in the 1500's

Here are some interesting things you probably didn't know...

The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the1500s: Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof.When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh hold.

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and! did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a ....dead ringer..

Where have the weeks gone?

Well where have I been...you ask? I have had a couple weeks of complete chaos at both work and home which have left me exhausted!! There isn't one thing in particular that has made the weeks crazy but everything adds up I guess! There are some days that I just wish I could have 2 more hours...but the crazy thing in life is if you had 2 more hours, you would want 3 more. Same things with hands...if I had a third (which would have been nice many times in the last couple of weeks) I would want a fourth.

It seems that with each generation we want more...we want to own more, we want to do more, we want to work more, we want to play more...I hope for my kids that all of the "wanting" doesn't continue and they can be happy with what they have! It seems that there is always pressure to advance...why can't we just be happy with a 3 bedroom house, or 2 normal cars, or clothes from Shopko? I am.

In the day of "instant stimulation" we don't have time to just relax! My goal for this year...late resolution...is to stop running, and slow down. I have found with a little one, the more I try to cram into a day/weekend, the more tired, and stressed I am. And really who is this benefiting...me? Well I have already covered that...Hunter? Let's see he usually gets strapped into a stroller or car seat for the majority of the "adventure"...pretty sure that isn't always his first option for fun.

Oh well I guess I am just venting because I am tired and cranky. It also goes to show what it is like in the life of a full time working mom...I love my son, I love my husband, and I love my job...but there aren't enough hours to in the day to do everything! And I need to come to some sort of grips with that! And I think the best way to do that is to start saying no to some things...

A quick update on what has been going on in my world...I am about 1/2 way done with the painting...it looks good so far and Josh and I are finishing tomorrow night. Hunter has been hilarious, yet trying lately. He wants to entertain and get everyone's attention. But he also is having some napping issues, so we have seen our first little bout of melt downs. He and I went to the library a couple of weeks ago to get books and we got a Clifford one...which has quickly become his favorite! I am amazed everyday how much he absorbs...within a month he is pointing out animals, characters, and body parts. His talking is getting better and occasionally we hear a word or two. He sure has a lot to say, but we don't know quite what! :)

Well that's it for now...hopefully it won't be another 2 weeks before I am on!