More than CoWorkers

Here's the deal. I know this blog does not have a huge fanship. I'm okay with that because this really is a quality versus quantity situation. And while I enjoy my life and our ongoing activities and letting everyone see "behind the curtain" of our daily ongoings and marriage, I know that it's not rivoting for all involved. So those that think it isn't....screw you and don't read. Anyway, on to my point. I am posting this letter to the women that I work with as I know they have become part of the loyal fanbase, further proving quality over quantity to its finest.

 

Dear Women of my Office:

I love you...yes, you've been there in so many places of my life and have seen some high highs and some lows which may have included tears and a bit of heartache. You've been there at my wedding and listened to my stories. I know you've had and may still offer prayers and when all things considered I couldn't think of any greater people to spend 8 hours of the day with. You've accepted me for who I am brassy, bullheaded, opinionated, and dry-humored. You've been there to offer insight, advice, and moral support. I don't know how I could have done the job without you there with me. Actually I do know what I would have done...quit. Ha!

 

Aimee, you moron, I appreciate your sassypants attitude and laughs. If it weren't for you and our talks, who would I vent to? Who would I message? Who would appreciate burps? WHO WOULD UNDERSTAND MY FRUSTRATIONS!! You want to know things still and I have a feeling (even though you don't have facebook) that you will. My only problem is you need to keep your blog up....you've been slacking!! Thank you for sharing sodas, coffee runs, and rolled eyes!

 

Chantel, your stories and laughs have always been appreciated. I will miss hearing your "WHAAAAAAAATTT?" from my office and the snickers on our message conversations. Keep an eye out for your scruffy men and beards too! I know you are jealous that I'm moving out of oil country but I know your day will come.

 

Jackie, I will miss you watching out for me and giving me crap. You are one of the most giving people I know and I appreciate that you've shared parts of your life with me. I look forward to seeing your hair up and look forward to attempting your rhubard pie recipe. Was glad you were there when I walked down the aisle, was even more glad that's all working out, HA! Thank you for your kindness.

 

Finally, Mary, you took a chance on me and I've never more glad that I reached out to you when I did find out that I was moving back. It was serendipitous that you did have an opening and glad that I fit some of what you were looking for. Your big-sisterly ear, tough love, and open door is something that I've not yet seen in manager and I've enjoyed working for and with you. Keep your head up when things get tough and I hope you aren't too jealous that I'll be spending my summer with a red riccar.

 

You ladies will not be forgotten nor easily replaced in any way. I will remember the quick conversations, the comparing notes, the rolled eyes, the day to day interactions and treasure the impact you've made on my life.

 

Thank you for being you.

Thank heaven we'll always continue to have messenger.

 

ALR

Sick of......

We had a bit of a scare this week. Matt started having back trouble on Tuesday night. I didn't think anything of it, maybe that he was avoiding moving boxes. I was a lot more concerned the next day as we sat in the walk-in clinic and they were admitting us to the ER. When it was all said and done, we'd spent from 6-11 at either the clinic or the hospital. The amount of pain that he'd had and the fidgeting that he was doing to ease his pain scared me as I know that it has to be significant for Matt to actually say something. They ruled our appendicitis, thought it may be kidney stones but eventually settled on maybe colitis or diverticulitis, which is a swelling, inflammation of the colon pouches. Noone seemed convinced of anything. Either way, it amazed me to see the pain he was in. He did end up feeling a lot better in the ER, which was when I managed to snap this pic. But the relief didn't last through the night. We did have a another clinic visit as it's been a slow recovery. I was glad on Saturday when he said he was feeling much better.

Matt hates being sick but it was even worse when he was sick when he was at that was when he planned the full exercise at the airport for training. He was working with rural fire, ambulance, ARF, airport, and more to simulate how to respond if there was ever an emergency situation at the airport. He'd been working on it for some time and I was disappointed that he had to miss it because the pain was so intense. It was also made official in the paper this week that he's leaving the airport and the support that he's gotten for his time at the airport and in the community is quite flattering to hear. It has begun to sink in that he's not only taking a new position but he's leaving the airport that he's watched grow and change with him. He's not sure how his baby will change but knows that no matter what, sometimes it's not easy to say good bye.

 

This weekend was a big one in terms of moving leaps in bounds in the moving process. Michele and Randy came over and were amazing life savers as they helped us load the trailer that we borrowed from my Scentsy Director, BettyJo. We took our first load over to our storage unit. Which was a bit sad and alarming. Sad because we have no clue when we'll ever see any of this stuff again and alarming because we began to debate on if we got a big enough storage unit. We did feel better on Monday when we took our second load over on Monday, on a whim. We got some bigger furniture pieces out and it felt good to see some of the progress. We figure we have a couple loads left...including some of the beast furniture (couches, my dresser, and the entertainment center).

 

The cats are NOT happy with the progress. At all. TonyDanza is stressing out because things are disappearing, boxes are out, he is not happy. Nike is irritated. They have been told what's going to happen but this made it more real for them. I hate stressing them out.  

So I questioned Nike's intelligence. Kay and I were moving boxes and I didn't want to worry about the escape artists. I put TonyDanza and Lola into the main bathroom and then I put Nike into the kiddie room. Kay says to me, "that has a kitty door on the front" My response: "Yeah but I don't know if she knows how to use it. If we come back and she's out, I guess I'll have my answer." We take a load up and when we come back Nike is sitting down there. Looking impressed at me. ALR: "I'm sorry Nike, I should never have questioned your mental abilities." She left and never did come back downstairs.

Best meal: The food could have been a toss up, but the company was the winning factor. Michele and Randy agreed that we'd have Texas Roadhouse to celebrate the start of the move. The other honorable mention meal was burgers we had a JL Beers to celebrate our second load, let's be honest, it wasn't a real celebration, more of Iwantagoodburger time.

ALR buys groceries. They are still sitting out when MJR comes home.

MJR: What is this?? Oatmeal Cream pies? Little Debbie pies? Is there something wrong? Are you dieing? Am I dieing?

ALR: (eye roll) I do do nice things for you.  
*this was 2 days before the ER visit. A little ironic.

Matt has had many friends in his life and have contributed and influenced him (good and bad).

This picture includes some of my favorites. I know I am dreading saying goodbye to some of the fire hall guys who call him on the carpet, remind him how good he has it, aspire him to smoke meat and grill more, and also provide him with some of the camaraderie that I know he needs. Those guys have been there for him and made Dickinson a home for the past years. I know I will miss them and I know he's dreading saying good-bye.

M is for Moving in May.

Well, the news has broke and reality is starting to sink in. We are moving. We are boxing everything up. We are living with my parents. We are getting a storage unit. We are saying goodbye to people who have been great parts of our lives. And I can handle everything else but that last one is tough.

This weekend was busy. And to make it more busy, we had Matt's friends, Brendan and Claudia with their little boy Jackson staying with us. I'm glad we are not packing a whole house with a little person because it was a lot with those two extra little hands who were very interested in "helping" and pushing buttons and dragging cords. He wasn't too sure about Matt and I, but I don't think I blame him. We're looking forward to when he grows out of his dramatics. The cats were interested and well behaved with everything going on. If Jackson wouldn't have been so insistent on making friends with Nike, it would have gone even smoother.

Bestie Kay and I picked up a Bountiful Basket and then hit up Menards to get going with the planting and potting season. We took Sissy along for the second half. When I got home, I put my plants in my planter and it looks so nice. Matt started working on the garage. We plan to haul these things over to the storage unit next weekend. Other areas that were packed up include the living room, the den, and the master bed. Not that these are finished, but each have a start. I also got stairs to the basement painted. I think I may be done with the paintbrushes in our house.

Matt had two fires that he participated in on Saturday. The first was on a loader tractor but the second was a local restaurant that he and I'd eaten at within the last month, Bogey's. It was known for it's old fashioned ice cream and burgers. It's unfortunate how bad the devastation was that Matt described to me. I loved their breadsticks.

This picture is not what you may think it is....TonyDanza got busted and got himself in trouble. He always knows when he is naughty and will run to avoid being in punished. Matt went after him and when he came downstairs, this is where he found him hiding. Matt couldn't even get after him because it was too funny.

Best meal: We did pizza and beer on Sunday night. It was nice and simple.

 

Talking on 2nd floor, ALR sits on rail

MJR: GET DOWN.

ALR: What? I'm just sitting.

MJR: You are going to fall and break your neck.

ALR: What if I do this? (leg over the edge with one foot still on floor)

MJR: Why you gotta?

ALR: Or this.
MJR: If you fall, I'm going to say I told you so.
ALR: OR this.

MJR: AHHHHHHHH.

ALR: Or this (slides down banister)

MJR: Just gotta push things.

My parents will celebrate 34 years of marriage on the 24th. I still get amazed at how they communicate while they work together. And I probably shouldn't smile when I can think back to all the times I've heard each other use the other's middle name and not to mention all the "Well, dear's" I've heard.

Moving More.

ALR: You know what? I feel like we’ve been here too long.
MJR: Yeah, probably. You haven’t moved in a whole year.
ALR: Yeah, that’s what we need. A good move.
Said NO ALR Ever.

But we are.

Yes, after buying our house last year on May 23^rd, we are already putting it back on the market and boxing all of our things up and moving. To Bismarck!

In January, Matt found out that there is going to be an opening in Bismarck at the airport. After a lot of long talks and thinking, we decided to apply. Bismarck had actually not been in our plan for longterm. He’s talked about Minot for a long time and recently we started considering Grand Forks if positions opened up there but Bismarck was a surprise.

Meanwhile, months later, I saw a position open up at the Department of Commerce. Based on the qualifications and the job description, which mirrored what I currently do at Job Service. Matt and I agreed that I’d apply and if he didn’t get the Bismarck position, I would retract my application.

Best laid plans.

Well a week after I applied. They called for an interview to be scheduled a week later. And not even a week later, I found out the job was mine. Meanwhile, all we’d known is Matt’s interview was done but Bismarck wouldn’t be done with interviews until mid-may. So there I sat with a job and not a clue if I could accept. Matt got the call on Tuesday day. And accepted on Wednesday.

The only problem is I’m starting my job on June 2. Matt won’t be starting until June 16^th. That means that he will have two weeks there without me. To pack. Alone. I think I’m requesting reinforcement and back up with Michele!

It’s exciting, overwhelming, scary, daunting, and the unknown of the coming months is a bit much….but I’m glad that my parents have agreed to let us stay there while we are transitioning. We’ll devise a plan for the cats, it’s one I won’t like but it’s only temporary.

I’m curious when it will all hit me. 

This would have been another good Mother's Day pic. To all those motherly figures in my life.

Branding for Both Sides.

One of my favorite things about being married is that I can have a weekend where I get to spend it with both of our sets of parents and it's wonderful. AND when it's Mother's Day weekend, it's even better. I honestly know that both of our mothers could work Matt and I under the table and the proof I have is this past weekend.

 

We started the weekend on a bit of a scare as we had to stop at the clinic to be with Alaina who has been sick for the past couple weeks with a couple trips to the clinic and a trip to the ER. It was a bit concerning that an additional trip to the clinic resulted in worsening conditions. We did find out that it was the worst storm of separate things that when mixed had devastating results. She had a severe urinary infection with a prolong sinus infection combined with (in layman's terms) a slipped vertebrae. The nausea combined with the puking and the rundown behavior and the dehydration was not good. Was glad to see her condition improve from Friday when we first saw her to Saturday, which was the last time we saw her before we left.

Saturday was a busy day. We woke up, glad to see no rain and headed out to work calves. Last year we worked with 6 Mosers, 3 Remynses, and 1 Elwein. This year it was 4 Remynses and 2 Mosers. And it all went pretty well. Was impressed with how quick and smooth it went and was also impressed with the size and quality of the calves and how good they looked from the last time that we saw them. We saw a couple of ours and were pretty happy with how big our heifers were.



After calves and lunch, we divided powers and the men worked in the shop to get the air compressor in (and the floor sweep was amazing) and the women worked inside to get Mom's desk in/organized and started working to organize for the new addition to be added on to the house. After 27ish years on the place and talk of a garage, it's finally happening. In order to do that they have to use the "other" front door for awhile. So on Sunday, we swapped the pergola from one door to the other. Was so glad that we were there to help.

 

Below is a the picture of Mom and Dad parking in their garage. Looking forward to seeing it get underway and complete. Happy that they have got it to work but will be a big change!

Best meal: We ate pretty well this week, especially this weekend. Between the cheeseburger bake and the pork roast with spinach dip, and Matt's pizza and breadsticks..I have no complaints but I honestly think my favorite was breakfast on Mother's Day. Michele makes egg frittatas and she did 2 versions this time. One was a bacon, hashbrown, cheese and the other is one I've had before with cherries and peaches and goat cheese. I really do enjoy them and then you add juice, coffee, fruit, and cinnamon twists...it was a perfect breakfast. And the best part about the weekend is we got to take leftovers home!

 This picture made me laugh. I could come up with so many captions.
"Sorry, Michele, there's a leg length requirement to step into our house"
"Do you need a boost?"
"Yes, in this door, I'll follow you in."
"Can we jump?"

On the home note...I did get the bathroom painted and am just putting it back together. All the help I had in the process was a bit "overwhelming".

Laying in bed.

ALR: Say it.

MJR: What?

ALR: The S word.

MJR: I said "I shouldn't have said that"

ALR: Did your parents not teach you how to apologize. That's not apologizing.

MJR: What is it?

ALR: It's admitting that you did something wrong.

MJR: It's like "My bad". Isn't that an apology?

ALR: No, it's just owning what you did.

ALR knees MJR in the stomach

ALR: My bad.

MJR: Ouch.
ALR: Yeah I probably shouldn't have done that.
MJR: (Staring)
ALR: See, what I did there?

MJR: Yes I do.

ALR: Say it.

MJR: I'm sorry for what I said.

My dad who fights with technology and sometimes life has a birthday on Friday. There are few things from this day that I will never forget...how good he looked in the tux, that Matt helped him with it, that he put the arbor up when it was so goshawful hot, that he called the weather 6 months out, and that he made a special trip and took the arbor down the next morning in the rain.

Date, Race, and Paint

Another week closer to summer….one can hope. I actually went out into the yard to search for signs of spring. I found a few. I was hopeful…that is until the next morning when I heard the icy/snow hitting the windows. I was just glad that I had got my plants brought in. My mom and I went specifically hunting for those plants to make my front deck more appealing and fun. I’m excited for spring and want it to actually happen so I can get the plants in and going.

Matt and I had an impromptu date night on Friday night. If we couldn’t sit on the patio and talk about life, we decided to go for a drink out and distress from the week. Once we heard the specials, we knew we were in trouble. I had the baked trout which has officially found its way into my top 5 fish list and Matt had the shark. My trout had just come from Scotland and it made me want to book the trip now. We had a few drinks and some great conversation to wind down a busy, stressful work week.

On Saturday we took things pretty slow. We had to prep for the Kentucky Derby. Next year we are hoping to do it right with a party, especially since we enjoyed the preliminary events that led up to it. Matt made mint juleps. I organized the betting. I didn’t do so hot. I bet on Danza with Wicked Strong and Candy Boy in my trifecta. Matt bet on California Chrome, Wicked Strong, and Danza. Matt’s bets paid off as he managed to get his all in the superfecta. Sigh. Maybe next year. Good thing the saving grace was the mint julep.

Matt also had a big day on Saturday as he caught the first Remynse fish of the year. I’m sure Randy and Michele will eventually outfish us…but as of right now, Matt’s got 1 up on them. His fish made the perfect appetizer for pizza.

Sunday was the day that I got busy…I finally got to painting the bathroom that I’ve been concentrating on since we were able to take the wallpaper down last June. I was really on a role until I ran out of paint. Then I had to watch the hockey playoffs, that seem to go on forever.

Best meal: Date night fish and shark. Not only was the food amazing but when you have some good conversation too, that just adds. We also cooked up some Elk steaks that had been given to us, that was a pleasant surprise and was much better than I expected.

MJR: (Looking outside at Patio) You are really getting desperate.
ALR Sadly: I am.

(Patio chairs and table have been returned to their respective place for summer time enjoyment)

 

ALR: watching Matt dig in the linen closet.
ALR: Hey, I'm leaving for Bismarck. What kind of bourbon do you want me to pick up?
MJR: (Gasps) You can't just ask a guy a question like that.
ALR: Serious?
MJR: It's not for making a snap decision.
ALR: Okay, I'm going to go make a coffee while you soak into the question.

In honor of two of the most important women in our lives....Happy Mother's Day. We don't want to even think of where we'd be without your guiding words and supportive thoughts. You've been there when we've wanted you and even when we didn't know we did...and that's the best part.