At Last...

Today was the day, I finally brought home my KitchenAid Bowl-Lift Professional Heavy Duty mixer that I have been wanting, well, forever but badly since a year ago last Christmas.

As always, there is a story. Andrew was 27 when we got married, he was (and is) quite a cook and baker, he actually used to decorate cakes for some of the other associate's showers, special occasions, etc. Anyway, when we got married, he had a very nice, Sunbeam stand mixer. It was very truly a great stand mixer, it's only problem was...it wasn't a KitchenAid. When I worked at Richard's Farm, we had a KitchenAid Bowl-Lift mixer, and I loved it and I wanted one, even back then.

A year ago last Christmas Eve, Robert and I were making homemade marshmallows, I had JUST made the statement (in front of Andrew) that if we could ever kill the old Sunbeam (at the time going on 20 years old), I would buy me a KitchenAid. Well, Andrew went to bed because he had worked all night and Robert and I proceeded with the marshmallows. All of a sudden, the marshmallows got huge and before I knew it, they had ran up the beaters into the actual housing of the mixer--I had successful put old Sunbeam to it's death. Robert just HAD to run in our bedroom and tell Andrew I killed his mixer--his sleepy reply--"she did it on purpose". Premeditated wasn't really the word I would have used, any way it wasn't "consciously premeditated".

From that point forward it was "I want a KitchenAid" but I couldn't handle just getting the $189 special at Walmart, no, the more I thought about it, the more I knew this was my one chance to get THE very mixer I had wanted all my life. My mom pulled an old antique mixer out of her closet and I have used it for the past year and a half, counting my pennies and waiting patiently.

The only problem with me counting my pennies is everytime I would have a good grip on saving for the mixer, something came along that needed my savings worse. So, Andrew's bonus came yesterday, he told me I had sacrificed long enough and we were going to get my mixer. Funny, how I took the day off on the very day that bonus came, huh??

So, last night at 8:30, my new mixer found it's home, hopefully, for the rest of my life. It is actually 3 and a half inches taller than a regular KitchenAid tilt-head so I have to move my shelves up just a bit, that's okay, they needed a good cleaning anyway.

Just glad it's home and I can't wait until tonight when I actually get to use it (I beat water with it last night just so I could watch it work). Andrew said I was worse than a little kid getting a new bike at Christmas, eventhough there is snow on the ground, the kid is going to find a way to ride.

Anyone need a job?

Hey, if you know of anybody that is looking for work, they might want to check out our website:
http://www.erbainc.org and go to Job Openings on the left hand side, we currently have NINE openings, all full time and with benefits. Please pass it on!

The Big Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

It is 3 A.M. and here I sit, I have laid in bed for a half hour and finally decided it was time to bite the bullet and get up. I am a little aggravated at myself, or at my body at least for thinking too much-- too many things running through my mind and too many things going on.

I start another set of classes tonight. I always get so nervous on this day. Who will my students be? Where are they at in the world of computers? Will we all get along? Will I truly be able to teach them anything that they can walk away with and make a better life for themselves? Am I going to be ready?

See what I mean? No room for sleep in there.

There are so many things going on at work right now, a lot of excitement, but a lot of stress at the same time. This class is just one of the many things.

Ameren will start shutting off again on April 1, you have no idea how many of our clients this affects. I am trying to come up with the best way to make the transition so we can try to keep them from being shut off. I was trying to get my work done yesterday (my helper made it in for half the day at least) and field questions about the shut offs and I may have made an unwise decision--that is floating around in the back of my mind too (and is probably, if I would admit it, the real reason for my sleeplessness), eventhough I have said I would worry about a retraction on Wednesday, I am worrying about that too. ARGH!!!

Then there is the laundry....I am STILL playing catch-up from being gone last week. My weekend was just as crazy as the week. Friday, Mom and I went to do some grocery shopping, Saturday was the Grand Prix at our church, which Andrew and I have ran since the very first race, Sunday was our day to go to Simple Blessings at Casey and sing, so our evening services basically started at 3 for me and the choir because as soon as we got back to Hidalgo, we practiced for the cantata until 6.

To top it off, I have promised myself a day off since Christmas--the day is supposed to be Thursday, but only if I can get everything done by then which makes Wednesday more like a Friday.

I am truly not complaining, just trying to get to the root of the frustrations. I honestly think if, in the next 4 hours, I can get the laundry completely finished and my kitchen floor mopped, life will be better. Is that crazy? Don't know but I probably better stop writing and start doing.

Again, Happy St. Patrick's Day (I think that means I will need to change my blog layout tonight-let's see if THAT happens!)

Maybe I'm a grown up

I was one of those kids that could never be put in anything white and expect it to stay that way more than 20 minutes. I bit the bullet though a few weeks ago and bought a pair of beautiful winter white slacks. Today was the first time I have had the nerve to where them--my main thought was, more than likely, I wouldn't be leaving the building today which at least increased my odds (a little) of them not getting muddy.

I tried to chicken out two or three times, knowing that if I didn't wear them today, I would have to put them on tomorrow and I WOULD be leaving the building, so after much debate with myself, I put them on. I went and got a cup of coffee, almost, but didn't slop it on me. Then came lunch, I was doing great, made sure my pants were safely under my napkin as well as the table cloth. THEN, Ed, one of our weatherization guys, was sitting next to me and dropped a fork. He leaned over to pick it up and almost fell out of his chair, I had just put my hand on a freshly poured cup of coffee, I would have been the target had Ed completely slid out of his chair. We were listening to a speaker so I had already scooted away from the table a bit, my pants exposed. Ed said, "I had visions of me pulling the whole table down!" I said, "Ed, I only had visions of me pouring the coffee on my pants when you hit me on your way down".

Then to finish off the evening, we are at a "networking" reception, where they are serving
hor'dourves, egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce and chicken strips with honey mustard sauce.
This is one of those cash bar situations and since I don't drink, I usually get some kind of juice, tonight, I got cranberry juice. Would you believe the bartender bumped the glass as she was putting it on the counter and it went all over the counter- but it didn't touch the pants! I ate an egg roll and a chicken strip, with sauce on both and successfully protected the pants.

Then my boss and two of the other ladies that we are with decided to go across the street to Bennigan's for dinner--we were leaving the building, it was 7:00 and my white pants were still spotless, I would call it a good day even if I got something on them there.

Deal is, I just got "home" and changed into my pj's. After careful inspection I am thoroughly convinced...my white pants are still white, not one drip of anything.....I am almost 42 years old and will honestly tell you, this is the first time in my life that has ever happened.

As the title says: Maybe, just maybe, I'm finally a grown up!


Disclaimer: sorry if this post bored you to tears--I am at that point myself, Idol is on, I am homesick and decided telling the world that I am a klutz at heart was just the perfect thing to do to kill time.

My Surreal Life

A friend of mine sent me an email the other day about thanking God for the thorns in life, in part of it, it stated "isn't it funny that when everything is going right in your life, you don't say "Why me, God?" Well, I am at the point.

10 years ago, I was a stay-at-home Mom whose world revolved around my husband and my son. When Robert was in first grade, he would come home and tell me how great his day was, then Andrew would come home and tell me how great his day was, then I would proceed to tell them how many loads of laundry I had done. That was when I knew, I needed to get a life.

Last Thursday, I was sitting in a conference room with these 2 guys from the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies, the one that always dresses like a million bucks would look at me and say, "If that's okay with you". I was giggling to myself...I find it funny that it mattered if it was okay with me, I even laughed outloud a little one time when he said it.

Yesterday, the Governor was standing within 5 feet of me, and I was where I was supposed to be and deeply excited about what he was doing there.

This morning, I get a message on my cellphone from one of our field offices, "PLEASE CALL ME!!" I told my boss, "there is exclamation points, I think she means NOW!"

When I started back to working outside the home, I told Andrew, my main goal was to do something that could make a difference in more lives than just mine. Today, I am totally over-the-top emotional about the fact that I get to do just that--Why me God? and while I am at it, THANK YOU Lord for letting me have this job!

O Happy Day!!!!

Okay, you all remember just how excited I was about our new Governor, Pat Quinn, well take a look at this...

The Governor came to lunch today with glorious news! He signed an executive order moving LIHEAP and WEATHERIZATION back to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, where we were before the Blago days.

We have so many exciting times ahead and Governor Quinn supporting what we want is just a wonderful way to start! You have had to live under a rock not to hear that Weatherization has lots of money, I mean LOTS of money earmarked in the stimulus and LIHEAP has more money on the way also. It is also in the works to raise the income guidelines so that more two-income family who are really trying but can't keep up with the demands of the utility bills, groceries, gas to work, etc, can get some help to dig themselves out and make better lives for themselves. I am so excited that I get to be a part of this. I think whether you are Democrat or Republican you will appreciate what the Governor told us he expected of us: if you are abled-bodied and can breathe and you live in Illinois, we want you working! That is our goal and I feel like we were just given a better position to make it happen. It was really great to get to be up close and personal to the Governor, I may not agree with him on every topic, but I was definately proud of what he did today.

The pictures are in: 1. The Governor when he first entered. 2. The Governor addressing us. 3. The Governor actually signing our order (he really had to do it 4 times, but I stood right there and watched every single one). 4. The press conference outside the ballroom after the signing.

My newest gadget

I am totally in love with my new pocket pc. My 5 year old Palm Pilot bit the dust and though I was sick at the thought of having to learn a new OS, this one is so incredably easy! It has a transcriber even in Word, which means I can write in cursive on the screen and it types what I write. My palm wasn't that simple, it had a program called grafiti, and if you were lucky, you could make the shapes of each letter correctly to get the Palm to realize what you are saying- one letter at a time, this one, you write an entire sentance and it just pops it up already typed.

It also has Wi-fi, my Palm missed that by about 6 months, oh and it has bluetooth, which so does my printer at work, which means once I type up all my notes from the conference I am going to this week, I can print it right from my handheld, with no wires! And loading pictures??? Totally easy!! I am hooked!