Category Archives: Family Toads

Thanksgiving with Family -It Doesn’t Get Any Better

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This year, for the first time since Thanksgiving 2013, THE Toad and I had family visit for Thanksgiving. What a wonderful treat! I miss the days of my childhood when Grandparents, Aunts/Uncles, and Cousins gathered at our house for a huge Thanksgiving dinner – cooked by my Mom & Grandma. However, as I have ranged far from my birthplace due to THE Toad and my jobs, we have seldom been able to celebrate holidays with family.

This year my Sister and her boyfriend visited for the first time. We made turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, peas, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pies and dinner rolls – though not without some hiccups. First – the organic pumpkin used in the first set of pies had NO taste – we threw them away and made new ones, this time with the old standard – Libby’s pumpkin! Then I burned the first set of dinner rolls requiring the backup rolls to be used. The final result was a delicious dinner with pumpkin pie and whipped cream for desert. In the end everyone was stuffed and we adjourned to the family room to sit in front of the fireplace. Yes, it was finally cold enough to turn on the fireplace!

During the other days of their visit, we toured the little town where I live – doing some pre-Black Friday Christmas shopping at the small businesses downtown, touring the brewery, eating lunch at the deli, laughing our asses off, talking about growing up in the midwest, and seeing the  Christmas lights.  We had the best of times – making new memories and reminding ourselves of old ones. Nothing could have been better!

My Sister and I have become best friends as adults and have a great time together. She was always the adventurous, break all the rules one while I was the studious, follow the rules child. As children we never seemed to do much together – she was dolls and dresses and I was cowboy boots, cap pistols and jeans. But as adults, and thanks to modern technology, we are in contact every day even though we lives miles and several states apart.

I also talked to my Dad and to friends, IM’d with my brother and cousins, and said hi to friends on Facebook. While it definitely is not the same as the days of my childhood, we celebrate traditionally where possible and embrace the new ways to stay in touch with family & friends.

Rainy Days & Fridays Always Get Me ??

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Rainy Friday’s, especially those worked from home, come with mixed emotions. I want to curl up by the fireplace and read a book  But right now, it’s too warm to have the fireplace going. What kind of November in Wisconsin is this? Thanksgiving is upon us and we are in the low 50’s! Strange weather. AND, I have to work today. I am taking a short coffee break to make a few notes here. And then there is the excitement of the coming holiday tempered by the mountain of housework to be done before family arrives to celebrate with me. So it is with longing to curl up and read a book, I go back to work – but at least I am working from my recliner, in my sweats while I wait to sign for a FedEx delivery. The only way it could get better is if the house cleaning fairies showed up to do all my housework, all my projects were caught up for the day, and I were napping/reading that book! I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you?

Work Travel, Heart Attack, and Other Crazy Toads

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So many Toads; so little time! The Toads in my life are moving at Mach 2 these days. Since my last blog post the Work Travel Toad has returned full time. As have the Bitchy Customer Work Toads. Lord save me from female Project Managers who feel they have to act like the ultimate bitch to be successful. I guess they never heard the old saying “you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar!” Do they really think it makes them more successful? I have worked the Project Management game for 15+ years and have been very successful at it, but not once have I felt the need to act like an unmitigated bitch to be successful. Treating people respectfully and appreciating their contribution to the project goes a lot further.

Then there is the 5 AM phone call to your hotel room from your Daughter to say “Mom, Daddy had a heart attack last night, emergency surgery and no one can get you on your cell phone!” Talk about shifting into over drive! Immediate calls to the corporate travel agency for a plane home, speeding drives to / from airports, one way car rentals, mad cart rides through the airport to get to the next plane, and a lot of luck got me to the hospital 12 hours later. THE Toad, was fine. I will say that he seems to have a new outlook on life and is more amenable to helping me and spending time with me.

Miraculously, he had driven himself to the hospital, then was transferred to another hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to insert a stent into the main artery to the heart. Turns out I was right – the day before I left on travel, when he had arm and shoulder pain, he was indeed having heart attacks. Of course, being your typical hard headed male, he was certain it was shoulder pain due to his torn rotator cuff. When the doctor was taking him into surgery, he suggested to THE Toad that he should listen to his wife next time as she was obviously smarter than him! Score one for the wife!

In the aftermath of the heart attack THE Toad & I have made the decision to move to New Hampshire to live closer to our Daughter. Luckily my work allows me to work from anywhere so long as I have a major airport nearby and a high speed internet connection. So, instead of waiting until I retire to move near my Daughter, we are putting the house we purchased 2 years ago up for sale and making plans to move. I truly hope my next move is to the funeral home! I have an enough moves in my life! On the other hand, I am very much looking forward to living near my Daughter and being able to visit with her more frequently. We have not lived in the same town since she was 18 years old and went off to college. This will be a real treat. She is, and always has been, my Daughter and my best friend. My journey through life with her is my most cherished experience.

During this past week, while working at the customer site, I had a critical breakthrough with the Weight Toad! I managed to resist the temptation to indulge in the various donuts, muffins, cookies and snacks that are ever present during major installs at a customer site. I stuck to my clean eating plan – consuming fish, chicken, salads (without massive amounts of salad dressing), veggies, black coffee and water. I felt SO much better all week long. Today I did indulge in a pizza for dinner and I must say, I feel really crappy this evening. Back to the clean eating tomorrow. I felt SO much better all last week. That was a MAJOR accomplishment for me. I also lost 2 pounds. At least the Weight Toad is going in the right direction – down!

And today just happens to be the 34th anniversary for THE Toad and I! Proof positive that miracles do happen!

 

Family Toads

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Another family visit & some much needed down time! This time I am visiting my Uncle, Aunt & Cousins out west in Arizona. We celebrated my Uncle’s 80th birthday on Friday. He had no idea I was coming to town & was quite surprised when he walked into my cousin’s home & saw me. Big hugs all around! Wonderful. My cousin & I made him his favorite desert and meal for his birthday dinner. Chicken & dumplings the way my Grandma made them and pineapple upside-down cake. To say my Uncle was happy with his birthday would be an understatement. He also received a gift card for the local golf course from my Dad & I. My cousin gave him his fishing license and a Salt Blaster gun – it shoots tiny bursts of salt to kill insects. Interesting device.

Sunday Unc and I went to his local golf course & enjoyed 9 holes of golf on his gift card. We had a great time! I even scored my first birdie in all my times playing golf. Seeing as how I only play golf every few years or so, my Dad would chalk this up to “even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now & then!” So it is with some sort of blind, dumb luck I achieved a birdie and two pars on the 9 hole course. The remaining holes were boggies and then some! Like I said – luck. I did have lots of fun & so did Unc.

If you can’t tell, I adore my Unc! He was 16 years old when I was born & has always spoiled me. I spoil him too – there is no food I won’t fix if he wants it! Over the years he has given me many things, mostly his time but also some very cherished trinkets. I call them trinkets not to minimize their value, they are far from that – beautiful Native American jewelry (he knows how much I love it), a gold locket with engraved flowers on it, and gold, intricately carved pendants and matching earrings. He also gave me his time and experiences – driving a car at night when I was 16 & not normally allowed to do so, visits to Native American ruins, working in his t-shirt store in Durango, NM and at the big flea market in Denver, CO. He also gave his time to my daughter and allowed her to learn whether or not she wanted to be a photographer. She did!

And then there is Auntie – or my big Sister as I like to think of her! She is a scream. We have such fun together – mostly ganging up on my Uncle to get our way! Auntie has worked hard her entire life – running the various businesses she & Unc have had over the years – photography studios (yes, they are both photographers), t-shirt shops, and other ventures. She is tough, smart, savvy and wise.

This afternoon we are going over to my cousins for a Memorial Day cookout & visit. It will be my last night in town. I am looking forward to the chance to visit with my cousin again before I fly home tomorrow. This time spent with family is just so wonderful and so good for recharging my batteries! Nothing can beat it!

Tomorrow I fly home to MY Toad and the 3 little dog Toads.Then on Tuesday I start dealing with the Work Toad again. Oh Joy!

 

 

 

Family Visits

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Another month has passed since my last post. Things are considerably better than they were in my Toads Down the Rabbit Hole post – due in large part to medication and in small part to the THE Toad in MY Road straightening up his act somewhat. Visits to Family Toads over the past month have helped immensely! Long conversations with a close Girlfriend, my Daughter, and my Sister have been invaluable at retaining my sanity.

I spent a week with my Father – always interesting. He has SO many things to say – many of which I agree with; many which I don’t. It was a wonderful visit and I cherish each one. I know that as the years pass, my visits with him become more and more important – both to me and him. Father has reached the age & health conditions where time left is much shorter than time passed. Luckily his mind is clear and he is able to golf, mow his grass, and drive – all things that provide him with a sense of continued freedom and self-worth.

Today finds THE Toad & me winding up a week spent with our Daughter & her Boyfriend. They are a wonderful couple with a great relationship. I truly enjoy spending time with them – they are so thoughtful – showing me places & things they think would interest me. And, given that my Daughter and I are identical twins separated in age by 21 years, I love all the same things she does; so the places we go are just as interesting to me as they are to them. Tuesday we visited Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, NH – beautiful ocean views & relics of WWII coastal defenses. The day of hiking & sightseeing was topped off with a delicious lobster dinner! Wednesday we visited Woodstock Vermont, a Sugar Bush Cheese & Maple Farm (a family-owned & run cheese & maple syrup farm), the Quechee Gourge, and lots of beautiful Vermont scenery. We also had Mother’s Day Brunch and Friday dinner with the Boyfriend’s parents. AWESOME people & GREAT food! We went to a ballgame, visited with friends that own a winery, ate some great Paella, and drank some of their wine – ooh, la, la – good food, good friends, and good wine – what more can you ask for! My Daughter & I discussed our move to New Hampshire when I retire. Now, if the plane just had not been delayed today causing us to miss our connection home! Alas they are stuck with us another day. I don’t think they mind. I certainly am enjoying the extra visit time. Happy, Happy, Happy!

Coming up on Memorial weekend I am flying to Phoenix to visit my Uncle, Aunt & Cousin. That will be another adventure to tell. I am so looking forward to seeing my Uncle! To say that I have always idolized him would be an understatement!

The Work Toad is as frustrating as ever. The last 6 months of the year are shaping up to be pure hell – working 7 days a week for months on end. Not my idea of fun and the reason I have decided to retire in 2 years, 3 months & 1 week instead of in 5 years, 3 months & 1 week. And yes, I am counting!

In the mean time, I purchased a new long lens for my camera & am getting back into my photography big time! Got to develop some options for retirement that do not involve IT or Project Management! The time has come to sharpen old skills, develop new ones and move out on the next book of my life!