HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MELORA......
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU.

My Granddaughter is one year old today... stop over at Blue Frog Hollow to wish her (via her mom) a happy day!

I walk in here (3 hours early) today with a To-Do list as long as my LEG, and before I make it down the hall to my office I get hit with not one but THREE urgent tasks that only I can do.....
.... do ... by tomorrow morning, no later.

OK like I promised, I'll start with Friday.
"Flower Power Day" at someone's school.
Now she has told her entire class "I'll have the best hippie outfit, because my mom is helping me, and she used to be a hippie!
OK, now the pressure's on ~ like I don't already have enough stress!!!
Starting early in the week, ....

A co-worker just walked into my office and shared this article.
In a nutshell: it's about Avoiding Burnout in the workplace. The best part is the list of how you recognize burnout in yourself or a co-worker (think she recognized something in me? ~ or herself?)

want to stress along with me?
I have 33 students to set up by Friday ~ it's Wednesday afternoon....

So far? 3 set up!

(I'll keep you posted as to my progress or lack thereof)
UPDATE: 4 ! ohhhh... look at me go!
~ make that 6 and it's only 3pm
~ HEY! 7 @ 3:15!

**note: husband just called to exclaim that HE TOO works with Turkeys! - and is frustrated beyond belief. Sorry for him ~ we'll share that Pinot Grigio tonight.

~ ~ Thursday now, 1 pm, I'm up to 9 and I'm stressin' big time!
~~ 13 ! (4:15 pm)

did I mention that I hate this place?
~ the tension here is like a piece of Saran Wrap on an upside-down bowl of spagetti sauce
~ look out

Busy day, busy place.
I really meant to catch you all up on my lost weekend ~ but there's just NO TIME!
So stop back and look for posts on:
* Flower-Power Friday (or ~ how to stress out a mom by telling the whole class thay you'll have the best hippie outfit in school because your mom used to be one)
* The return of Puppy to the Vet (or ~ when will she ever stop peeing?)
* A "Grown-Up" Night Out (or how your husband and the husband of your co-worker can spend an entire 4 hours bashing your boss)
* The Sunday I Just Wanted to Chill (or ~ what the H#$$ happened to the weekend??)

Ok, Sorry and thanks for all the concern. I really didn't know some of you would miss me so much.
The Dr did call back; (full story in the extended entry)
Took a walk this morning with the pup. Now I'm trying to blog a little to get back to "normal" (is this a normal thing?). Anyway, here's a photo from our early morning walk in the mist.

Nature always brings me back in touch with reality and the importance of the simple things in life. There is so much beauty all around us, how could life be anything but beautiful?
Again, thanks for all the thoughts and concerns! You guys are great!

Suppose you called the Suicide Hotline and they put you on hold.
OK, old joke but....
If your just havin' a crisis of sorts, and you see one doctor, and he tells you to call your other doctor, and you call your other doctor at noon time and they listen to your problem and say "he'll call you back"
OK gang ... at 3:00 I left home to come to work, I called the office with the new # I can be reached at ... Now it is 7:00 still no call ... maybe I'll just deal with this crisis and try again tomorrow.
Maybe I'll just leave work, go home and burrow under the covers until.........

edit 8:00 ~ {taps fingers on desk}
edit note #2 11:20 pm ~ {sigh} finally headin' home for those covers maybe the doc will appear to me in a dream

I am so emotionally fried today that I can not and will not speak of it here (or anywhere for that matter).
That said, I'll just waste your time and mine with a fun quiz from one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIES!

Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

Are you a loser if you lose weight?
Or a Loser if you don't.
Me? I can only say that I managed to find those two or three pounds I lost a few weeks back. The end of April is rapidly approaching and I still apparently have 5 lbs to go!
Other notes good and bad:
~ Puppy does have a urinary tract infection, and is on anitbiotics. Hopefully her symptoms will subside in 24 hours (before I run out of newspaper)
~ I have a friend at work who left work last night at 9pm because her teenage daughter who left track practice was not at home, not picked up by her Aunt and not with her grandparents. Now today I cannot reach my co-worker at her home # and she is not at work (her day job). Concerned, and hope to hear from her soon!
~ someone got a great report card yesterday - then disolved into tears when going to bed because "everything is so rushed - I never have time to do everything - it's so hard to keep up with everything the teacher says in school - I just get one book put away and she's on to something else and I'm lost - I try to get my homework done but I always get so distracted - I can't stand not having the things done that I need to get done." {sigh} ----So where do we go with this? I can say that I am right there with her, my life is much the same as this ... but M and I seem to disagree on the severity of the problem. The reason could be that she does not open up these flood-gates with her dad. She goes to him with other types of problems. He and I had a discussion on it last night but ... the discussion did not go all that well.
~ Why is it when you have all good intentions on making amends to your family for the awful hours you work and the way you seem to neglect them, you come home, the stress starts and then no amends are made - it just gets worse. You wake up in the morning and vow to try harder today... and I will, honest.

Think it's time to call the vet again.
Can a dog get a UTI?
If you've ever had one, she's got all the symptoms (although I never remember leaving numerous tiny puddles everywhere)
Been up for 1/2 hour. She's "piddled" about 8 times.
Whe should've just had another baby ~ seems like this is just as much work.

My focus has been pulled in many directions today.
Our choir sang ~ as church school superintendant I was in charge of implementing the "new" Sunday routine we are trying ~ my class of 5 girls sang also, so I had to settle them into their places ~
... someone had somefriend sleepover last night, and this ran right into another day after church.
M was still busy with the clearing of the rose bushes, and wanting me to help, but I was busy on the computer forging Golf Cart drivers licenses for Thelma and Louise.
~ trying to catch up on laundry ~ make lunch ~ clean up lunch ~ start dinner ~ and find some time to get outdoors on this incredible day!
So here are some photo replays of the day...

Too nice to stay inside. The property was begging for spring-cleaning!
While M worked at cutting down wild roses so that we can see more of the stream ... (I helped a little)

I found some Bloodroot that were lurking near the stream bed. I actually went down there to check to see if the Trout Lilys were in bloom. You can see the leaves of the trout lilys, they're the spotted single leaves, but no flowers yet. The Bloodroot were a surprise, I don't remember seeing them in previous years. All in all, about six plants here.

I overslept a little, missed puppy's 6 am walk ~ therefore was greeted with a puddle ~ but ~ once outside ... Wow! It is a glorious day ... sunny .... warm ... and best yet?
it's SATURDAY!!!!!!
... and I don't have a jam-packed day!
My sister is coming over this morning and we are going ot do a little shopping, and spending time with my sister!

You know how important the "view from my window" is to me - - -
well.
The view ~ from my office window is normally:
* large, noisy, green-rusty AC unit with mega-fan (also rusty)
* chain-link fence enclosing said AC unit
* two dumpsters
* cinder-block wall, rear of tile warehouse. (wish I had my digital camera to share this in all it's beauty)
Today, I must have won the "employee of the month" award, for I am getting a new improved view!
There is a dew-ragged HVAC employee (minus the plumbers crack) outside my window installing a BEAUTIFUL SHINEY-NEW, TAUPE, LOW-PROFILE AC UNIT
What have I done to deserve this 50% improvement of my view? I have so far invited 4 fellow employees in to admire the view, and they are all quite jealous.
I may even invite Mr. dew-rag in for a cuppa java!
more...

Meaning, don't rock the boat.
It's Friday, and I'm feelin' OK, and I'm thinkin' "one more day .... 7 more hours .... "
So I will remember the following rules, and just glide through my day.
1. Do not get in political discussions with ultra-conservative-red-neck boss.
2. Do not ask other managers "how is everything going in your department?".
3. Blog a little when I get the chance.
4. Close door, and catch up on paper work.
5. Get out of building (have a few students to visit).
6. Strive to leave by 4:30 (scheduled Friday quittin' time - that I never quite achieve)

Stop me ... I'm making lists!!!!!

OK, need to get some control of my life here. My life is running me ~ or it's running, and I'm trying to keep up with it. At any rate, I am not in control.
Deadlines are edging up, the laundry is piling, the papers on the desk are threatening a mutiny, my family is neglected, I have not exercised in weeks, there are dishes in the sink, stress is overwhelming me, and on ~ and on ~ and well, you know the routine, you’ve been there too. Right?
I am tired of feeling sorry for myself (not to mention, it doesn’t get me anywhere). I know I have no more stress that 10,000 other women out there. My physician says that the years between 30 and 50 are the most demanding and stressful in a woman's life (no &^%$ Sherlock).
So this feeling sorry for myself stuff has just GOT TO GO!
Now, that said, what do I do about it? How do I take control?
Oh, don't give practical advice either! I have been to all the "time management" seminars ~ and Fred Prior has preached all his organizational list-making, prioritizing strategies to me already.
I need advice from other over-stressed women who have some control over their lives. They’re out there, I know. I see them all over … or is it just that they appear to be in control. For that matter, do I appear to be in control. Is it all just about the illusion?

as a somewhat emotionally unstable woman ... I can relate and recommend this post:
Genuine ~ on ~ "Stayin' Alive"
After you read that ... hop on over to Ya Gotta Believe and offer her some chocolate... trust me, she needs it!

After raising two girls ~ my husband is in charge of the "when to tell them the truth" decisions.... like Santa, the tooth fairy and of course the Easter Bunny.
The Easter Bunny has been in question for a while, but this past winter was the time to visit the Santa issue.
So the father goes --- Santa Clause is a "state of mind" ~ (or "Yes, 'J', there is a Santa Clause ... he exists in .... blah - blah - blah")
So this past Saturday night, after arriving home late from a family birthday party, I say to someone "You'd better get to bed - the Easter Bunny should be here any time"
her response:
"Oh, right Mom, I have to get in bed before that "state of mind" overtakes you and dad ~ and you start hopping around the house, wiggling your noses and all. Umm... Dad, don't hop too hard, I might wake up" (smart-alek ehh?)
...and so tongue in cheek she goes off to bed and I am left to wonder
~ why am I up at 2 a.m. wrapping celophane around a basket full of sugar?
~ and when did my little girl grow up?

"No thank-you" = good-bye
"I'm sorry - I'm not interested" = good-bye
"HAVE A NICE DAY GOOD-BYE" = hold your ears I'm about to slam down the phone.

Stop the roller-coaster ... I want to get off. I mean it ~ I am frantically searching for the exit!
Today I am overwhelmed by the tasks before me. I have 3 hours before I leave for work and about 6 hours of stuff I have to do (not to mention the things I want to do).
The biggest urge is to just go back to bed. I'm tired, it is raining, I have a headache (no, Dr. P., I don't have time to write this one down in my "migriane headache diary") and I am just plain panicky from stress.
Am I the only one who experiences this "freeze-frame anxiety" (too much to do = can't seem to do anything) ?
I think it's the ADD. I don't know how that excuses it though - it's still there and no one is popping in to accomplish my work or help me get started just because the doctor says this is to be expected ~ "normal for Adult ADD". I am still panicky and stressed and completely ineffective as an "adult/parent/housewife/employee" today.
Maybe more coffee ~ maybe 1/2 hour of exercise ~ oh, maybe I should just go back to bed and say &^%$ it all!

Blogging for weight-loss Monday ~
EEEkkk....!
Who told me "Celebrate Easter and eat whatever-the-heck you want, until you can't even stand up to get away from the table!"
No, I will NOT be getting on the scale today.

. . . and it is a glorious day!
Who said "no sun today"? I saw it, I did.
I was out with the pup at 6:30 and I saw the Easter sunrise! Of course it quickly disappeared behind the clouds, but not before I could privately revel in the display and sing to myself (and the dog ~ why do they do that little cocked head thing when you sing? ..or is it when I sing?) every traditional Easter Hymn I could remember.
So, after eating our devilied eggs ~ we went to church and now we're home to continue to prepare the FEAST and head off to spend the day with family.

Don't like this day...
REALLY don't like THIS tradition...
(I know, I'm not fit to be a mother, but I really can't stand dying eggs)
I wonder sometimes if biofeedback therapy would lead to some traumatic event in my past involving dying Easter Eggs. Was I beaten by the PAAS Bunny? Ridiculed at age 4 for having the worst artistic imagination in my family?
I think the latter is the more likely. These feelings, however are perpetuated by the man I married. Too darn artistic and creative. All these feelings of inadequacy and defeat engulf me as soon as I open the vinegar! See what I mean? And even his our daughter picks up on it with pre-teen flair
Mine (the few I forced myself to do) would be the plain pink, or green eggs. Once in a while I get creative and double-dip, you know, half pink, half purple (hold the applause).
Now add to this that we are dying Eggs on Good Friday evening. One of, if not the most solemn day in the Christian faith. We have just returned from a church service and I am feeling reflective and repentant and just plain overwhelmed ... and voila out comes the vinegar and the PAAS bunny!

Got the idea from Genuine ~
and it sounds like a good one!
Blog It Forward is an idea that I can buy into.
Today's mention would be Blue Frog Hollow . She's new to blogging ~ she's spelling challenged (but she has a disclaimer there), she's a young mother of two with a great nature link on her site to the "bird of the day". Being a birder myself (yeah, binoculars, field guide and all) I am sorry I didn't think of this first! Go check her out and say hi (she's new and dosen't get a lot of love over there) ---
go now --- ummm ---- go, I said ....
Oh, and while you're at it, her site is hosted by and created by michelle who as the "Oh Great Blog Master" to us all (and writer par excellence) deserves a little notice herself.
That's all for now folks ~ you know where to go from here!

What have we come to?
The SWAN
Where will reality TV end?
Who do they think they are taking control of someone's life, and looks?
This is not a game folks!
This is your face, your buttocks, your psyche!
Oh, I know, "they asked to be a part of this".
Well then, I think as you've seen (if you watched last night) that the people who "ask for this" have more than their fair share of emotional problems ~ NOT all stemming from their looks.
OK, I confess, I did watch it. At many junctures I said aloud "oh, now they have gone too far" ~ and I won't watch again.
No, they are not "brave women" who are willing to expose their lives on TV. They are haunted, disturbed young ladies buying into this "reality TV" roller coaster for some reason I think even they are not sure of, turning their lives over to strangers who can "ply their craft on TV for fame" and the American public can live vicariously through this FAKE-MADE-FOR-TV-MELODRAMA.
OK, rant over ... we're taking puppy to the vet.
Hey! How about a reality show where 6 families let you into their homes to see who does the best job at raising thier pets? ~ or better yet! Their children! (well, no, that's been done. The Osborne's showed us how not to do that.)

Is your vacation day over when it is officially the time you would be getting home from work? ... Or does it actually last until the time you leave for work the next day?
I vote for the latter since tomorrow is Thursday and I don't have to leave the house until 1:30 pm. Of course, this too has it's down side, as my family will be attending Maundy Thursday communion service without me. ( I'll be fighting the smaller battles with students-with-attitude)
So ... on a llighter note. The day went reasonably well. The weather cooperated, someone got a page done in her puppy scrapbook, and M came home early. We took a golf-cart ride around the property with the pup. Took a few pics (OK, took a lot of pics)

if you want to see more look here:

10:30 and I am still in my jammies!!!!

I don't think I have yet come to the full realization that I have today off.
I DON'T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING ~
except make breakfast, wash the floors, laundry, pay some bills, make lunch, clean up from breakfast and lunch, make dinner ...
well, it sounded good at the start.
Someone and I will end up in an argument because she wants to have friends over, and play a game with me, and do some scrapbooking with me, and have me help her clean her room, and read Harry Potter together ... and I will have to slap the wet dishrag of reality in her face to say "We can't do evreything in one day, sweetie" then there will be tears.
Don't get me wrong however, a day like this at home is still far better than a day at work.

Interesting TIME article seen over at Mom in the Mirror causes me to wonder about all the talk. So much speculation goes on as to "why we blog"
I like what Genuine had to say about the connection with others. I have been on my own web log for only 4 1/2 months, and it has become an obsession important part of my daily life.
I need to check in with certain blogs to see if someones problem has been solved, or if anyone had great advice to leave for them. Who's hurting today, who's rejoicing some small family victory. Who created an incredible piece of writing ~ or an incredibly funny entry that makes my day.
And what about me? There seems to be so much I need to say, the things I need to get off my chest and the things that make you go "hmmm". Then, once said, the feedback becomes so very important.
I'm not a writer - but I love to write, and have dabbled with a journal all of my life. Here I have found an avenue to write (and play with my computer at the same time!) to express myself and to make some friends (and I honestly do feel a kinship of sorts)!
Charles Dickens says it all in the Thought of the Day on my page.
All in all, as Debra G claims "It's fun!" and isn't that enough?
So - Why do you do it?

OK -
Check-in time.
I think a few of you were doing this with me? 5lbs by April 30th? Remember?
Well, I lost 2 already. (I know water-weight - or maybe recent stress)
But I did it, I'm proud. How are you doing?

The "actual" view from my window at this moment is my daughter, her friend, my husband and Brandy - the pup - "romping" in the backyard.
I'll spare you the sappy "this is what I always wanted - happy-ever-after" stuff. The real joy here is to see Brandy up and around.
Yesterday this time we were in a real panic about her survival. She had another bad bout with the instestinal parasites, had violent stomach spasms and diarrhea ~ and we rushed her to the animal hospital.

and apparently this is the poem that I am:

... alright ... call me the Queen of Insecurity ~ but no one is saying much about the renaming of my blog.
Is it because:
a) no one cares?
b) no one likes it?
c) you can't see the marquee? (drop me a line if you still see the Cardinal)
d) you had an emotional attachment to "sunybank"?
Well, I like it! So it stays! *stomps foot with hands on hips*
Therefore if you blogroll me ~ you can officially change the name on your blogroll too.
And ~ next time you stop by ~~~ leave a comment!!
Yes ... I mean you!

In case you were wondering about the marquee...?

I have decided to change the name of my blog.
I'll still be at the same URL, just changing the title.
It will be "The View From My Window" ~ both figuratively and literally.
I think it aptly fits my purpose here.
The announcement is via this site (go make your own marquee) Thanks Busy Mom for this idea! It's just what I needed to announce my metamorphosis.
My perceptions of life, love and family as well as my actual view out my kitchen window (you know, the one over the sink where you're always standing).
the actual story goes ...