The New Water Cooler

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  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    So glad it's Friday eve. Tomorrow Russ is going to help Rory buy his first used car (Rory's first car loan). I plan to do paperwork and clean the bathrooms, vacuum, and relax. I hope to get to the fitness room tomorrow and give it a go.

    I hope you get what you need to do done this weekend. Is your party next weekend?

    Jenny
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    Yes. Next Saturday. I am cautiously optimistic. The garage is shaping up. Working inside and on my big grocery list (pork and most beverages already bought). Shop decorating and cooking. Woo!
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    My last day at work this week. I refuse to call it vacation since I will be working very hard at home, but I am still looking forward to being away from work for a few days.

    Caleb had his last choir concert last night and Zach has his final high school concert tonight. Sniff.

    District golf was also yesterday. One member of the team placed fifth individually so he will advance to the state tourney - the team overall placed fourth and are done. Top three teams are allowed to play as a team at state. Zach had another less than stellar round and he is disappointed he never played his best in tourney play this year, but as long as he still loves golf and plays recreationally it's a win. I am proud of him for grinding it out even though he took a lot of grief for sub-par play.

    Last official day for seniors is tomorrow, but Zach may need the extra day to finish - we'll see. Grad practice is Friday, party Saturday, ceremony Sunday. Work Monday.

    I am a little concerned about the forecast. This morning they announced an enhanced risk for severe weather saturday. Sigh. Even though we will be in the garage - I sure hope it's not storming. That won't be fun. Do I set up in the house? Ugh.

    Are you camping this weekend again?

    How was the fitness room?
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    I never made it to fitness room. Haven't gotten a routine yet.
    Lots of paperwork weighing me down at work.
    We were suppose to drive north to Russ' brother's this weekend for Saturday night. We had a reservation at a hotel and were going to spend time with him and his wife. His white blood cell counts are low and he doesn't feel well and is undergoing tests and meds so we cancelled. We are going to drive a couple hours west to check out some used trucks Russ is eyeing. We need a bigger more powerful truck that tows the camper with less stress. We are buying used but want the mileage to be under 100,000 and the year to be within the last 4-5 years.

    We will be camping up north Memorial Day through the friday of that week.

    Good luck with your party and grad ceremony. Rory's party was a monsoon but I kept it in the garage. We didn't have as many attendees as hoped due to weather though.

    Glad you could take off work. Nice to have the time to get things done and not feel as stressed due to lack of time.

    Jenny
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    Two days of prep work done. One more to go!!!
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    I did 4 pounds of bacon in the oven. It did take longer than I thought it would. But way less messy
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    Good luck this weekend! Hope your weather cooperates. We drive up to Alexandria tomorrow rain or shine to look at trucks.

    Congratulations to Zach!

    Jenny
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    Tried to insert a pic of the garage. I’m really happy with it
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    Very nice and so organized. How did it go? You must feel some relief now.
    We bought a new truck "used" yesterday. It's a big one but powerful and will pull the camper and even a bigger one if we decide to upgrade camper size. Very comfortable too.

    I'm going over to the fitness room in a little bit. I have paperwork to do this afternoon. Raining cats and dogs and will be all day. Cold too! Northern MN may get snow.

    Stay warm,
    Jenny
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    Successful (in my opinion) party? Check. Graduation ceremony? Check? Back to work tomorrow (and starting tomorrow for Zach)? Check.

    Five days away from work but only one felt relaxing. Little nervous about Zach starting work tomorrow. I hope it goes well.

    Twenty degrees cooler here today. Crazy weather
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    This weather! So it's back to the grind and the beginning of the grind for Zach. He had 'orientation' yesterday which was three hours of paperwork. Today he hits the floor. I could tell he was super nervous this morning. Me too. I packed him a lunch and drove him to work (they didn't give him a badge yet - so I had to fob him in).

    Most of the stuff is taken down and we have finished up the leftovers of everything except still have pork. The food was delicious and the people that came ate a lot of food! I ended up making twenty pounds of mashed potatoes and I had only about a 9-inch pan left. So I'm guessing they ate about 18-ish pounds (of course a lot of that was my boys and their friends!), four dozen deviled eggs, over 100 tortilla roll ups(just bite size), two pans of scotch-a-roos, five dozen slider buns, LOTS of pork,and I don't know how to count the fruit and broccoli salad. I am extremely please with how things went and I was hoping for 50 and I think we met that. I am once again hurt for Zach that not a single one of Bernie's siblings came (he has three). They were supposedly all coming and then suddenly couldn't. The only Paden's that came were one uncle and one cousin. Whatever. I could say, their loss and it doesn't matter. But it did matter. It bothered him.

    Anywhoooo - did you get snow? Just a couple days of settling in and then off to Wayne Thursday for orientation and class registration. Exciting! My sister and niece leave for Italy tomorrow! I couldn't have done the party without them. My brother-in-law smoked all the pork, my sister cut up countless pounds of fruit and planted pots and kept them beautiful (because I am a killer), and then spent the whole day keeping the food filled so I could host. I tried to do the same thing for Josh and Caitlin at their events, but still it makes such a big difference knowing she has it all under control. How different the families are.

    Zach hasn't even opened his cards yet - I think he is putting it off because the stack is pretty big and then he has to start the thank yous! (I had made him do the ones that had come early so at least a few are done).

    Have a great day!
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    Wonderful that all went well. Now Z can experience a taste of adult life working. Will he be full time this summer? Enjoy orientation.

    Cold and rainy here. Yesterday was our one nice day for this week. I saw my hand doctor for my last check up. No more OT or appointments with him. One more doctor appointment with primary doctor on 6/3 and I need to schedule a dentist appointment. What a year!

    I counted number of work days until retirement. 199! Not many when I just count days reporting to work.

    We camp next week.

    Jenny
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    Wow!!! Only 199. That's amazing. I hope you are pleased with the results of your surgery and you feel better.

    Zach will be at 40 hours or over most weeks. This week and next with the holiday he will have short weeks - and then when he goes on his mission trip. But I think even after only a day, he is seeing the appeal of college.
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    Is he working an assembly line and manual labor? He'll be glad to get to college!

    Jury still out on my surgery. It will take months to heal completely. It is always achy at night after keyboarding, writing and carrying my bag during the day. Ask me in 6 months.

    Rainy again today. Russ said heard on the news or read somewhere that this summer will be cool and rainy like it is now. I like cool but too much rain is gloomy.

    I am not eating well and feel awful. I need to get on track.

    Jenny
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    Yes - it's on the line, very intensive. Yikes.

    We were off to Wayne yesterday for orientation and class registration. He's registered! Three 'major' classes and two gen eds. So different from when we went, it was almost two years of gen eds and then your majors. I like this much better. He is very excited about his classes, including one of his gen eds he picked something Fictional Writing. He spent the entire trip home telling me all his ideas because he is tired of people writing the same antagonists over and over and he's making a whole series about antagonists you want to root for or something. He hasn't said so many words to me in years!!

    Looking forward to the weekend. A couple of parties to stop by, but hoping for a few good sleeps for sure!

    Yay
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    See it's already happening. Z is growing up. You will enjoy the college years so much more. It's so cool to see how they mature and what their passions are. Have fun and enjoy!

    We leave tomorrow for our camping trip up north. No idea if I will have a signal and be able to check in. If you don't hear from me I will catch up with you next weekend. We will be back on Friday afternoon. It is suppose to be nice up there 65-70 and partly sunny to sunny. I love that kind of weather with no bugs. Our friends are coming to our campsite on Tuesday to hang out around the fire and have dinner with us. I'm looking forward to catching up with them.

    I also like that they start the major classes right away. I don't know if the big Universities do that now or not. I'm glad for Z that Wayne does because it will keep his interest and passion going.

    So exciting for all of you! How will C do with Z being gone?

    Jenny
  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    Started filling my amazon cart with dorm stuff!

    Having a calm weekend (knock on wood). Bernie is cleaning cars. Weird but ok. I told him I hope we can continue working on the house.

    I packed up Zach’s high school stuff and threw away some of Caleb’s early years stuff trying to get some organizing done.

    Bernie travels this week and Zach has to work four ten hour shifts bc of the holiday. Weights will start for Caleb so we’ll see if I’m ready for him to drive. He is legal to drive to school since passing drivers course. Not sure I’m ready but this week is crazy with sis still gone

    Woo one more day off!!
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    Up north camping. Beautiful weather. Best we've had camping. Friends came over yesterday for social and dinner. Nice visit. Many campers left today so only a few sites (8 sites) inhabited. So peaceful. Just heard the loons calling.

    Sounds like you are getting a lot done. Feels good doesn't it?

    Enjoy your week.

    Jenny


  • mizpaden74
    mizpaden74 Posts: 3,800 Member
    Oof the ten hour days are looong! Poor guy. I hope they are back on eights next week.
  • jrbanta
    jrbanta Posts: 4,344 Member
    Home and upper 80's here. Ugh! Mosquitos got really bad at campground. I was eaten alive.

    Nice to be in AC. Grad parties to attend this weekend.

    Jenny