13 years, 13 years...

Happy Anniversary to me! I have worked for the County of Lancaster for 13 years. Things are looking up-the powers that may be are hiring a female PO to give me some much needed relief and I am presenting at a big conference in April at Penn State. So I am glad that I am still a lowly PO. Gonna keep crackin'!

Croppin' for a Cure.

Yesterday my Mom and I went to an all day crop in Lititz. Cindy W., my scrappin' buddy organized the event and it was sponsered by St. Paul's Team Hope which is a Relay for Life team. For anyone who doesn't know, Relay for Life raises money for Cancer research. I always support Relay for Life teams, so I donated Photography services for the silent auction. For lunch we had our pick from 9 different soups and the snacks they served were out of this world. There were give aways, a really cool goodie bag and a grand prize-which I won!!! On top of all this, I got a ton of pages completed in Cate and Alex's scrapbooks. Did I mention that this only cost $20 to go?? That is so reasonable. The next event is in May, if anyone is interested just call me and I will give your name to Cindy.



This is Cindy.

Grand Prize Winner!!

Oh Yes Its Ladies Nite....

To sum it up in one word...FUN! I love hanging out with my college women. We had a blast and stayed up way to late. Only one casualty of the night and that was Marci with the stomach flu, who had to leave early. There are some hilarious videos- Michelle telling us how much she wants a dog, Shelle getting hazed and Singing Happy Birthday to Barb, Janay, Michelle and Weber. Went to bed at 3am (Yikes!) In the morning Ted made waffles and bacon (and lots of coffee). Looking forward to the next event at Fishbones! Oh and a shout out to Jen Sartori, who we made sure was in the group picture--No worries Jen, we poured a little bit out for you.

Back on Scrap.

A friend of mine invited me to come over her house tonight to scrapbook and I can not wait!! With starting the business, I have really neglected scrapbooking and I miss it. One of my goals for 2006 is to finish Cate and Alex's first year scrapbook. Gotta get scrappin'!! On the 27th and 28th of this month I am going to be participating in Crops as well. Hopefully it will kick start me.

These are my MU Peeps:
I can not begin to tell you what these women mean to me. All of them had a huge impact on who I am today. If I needed a shoulder to cry on or a kick in the ass you could bet your bottom $ I would get it. College was a blast-mostly because I got to spend it with this nutty bunch. The best part-over the years I have: seen them fall in love, helped them move, celebrated with them when they got a new job, was there for their weddings, cried with them when things sucked and held their precious babies. You really can't ask for more than that. So what could top having all of them over my place next Saturday?? Not much. So ladies, be ready to raise a few! Can't wait to see you all!!

TGIF!

Whew! Made it through the first five day work week I have had in over a month. It was brutal. Lots of people needing jobs and very few jobs to get them. I have no worries though, since my other co-worker got the job as supervisor, they posted the open position. Which means I will be getting someone to help with the crazy number of females being referred to the Community Connections Program. That is the best news I heard all week. Not going to dwell that I work in the "Men Only" area of our office-it would just bum me out that office policy and CAs have isolated me a bit. Besides, why on God's green earth would I want to be a guy?? Bottom Line: Some of the burnt out feelings I have been having are fading slightly and I am hopeful for an exciting, fulfilling year at work.

I am no Picasso.

It all started when someone gave me a card by Sark. Sark said to let your inner critic go and paint away. My brother (who is on my side at all times) humored me and made me this GIANT canvas. He also gave me some brushes and paints. Granted it took me two years to finally get around to doing any painting, but once I did, I went nuts. I don't know why I was fixed on circles but as you can see I liked them- a lot. The painting dried and I bugged Ted for days to hang it in our bedroom. It is actually not finished. Cate and Alex's hand prints are not on the painting yet and I want to put two more quotes on it. Then my masterpiece will be complete. I call it "Life by Beth".

Just another day...

Not too much excitement today. Ted had to work all morning and is now getting some really well deserved time to hang out with his friends. The kids and I have had a pretty laid back day. Took down the Christmas ornaments and watched Spiderman. We did have a dance party with an eclectic mix of music from Veggie Tales to Gorillaz. Presently, Ben is honing his art skills in the studio with me and Cate and Alex are going through some books. I did get this pic of the kids right after Alex had to take a time out for eating the kid toothpaste (little turkey waited until I was indisposed in the ladies room). Other than gearing up for the first five day work week in over a month, I am hoping to scrounge some time tonight to scrapbook. We'll see.

Honey, Feeling a little...

Comment heard today-

While at work I heard someone say that "people are so wrapped up in their daily lives that they don't care about national or world wide problems".

Hmmm. I tend to agree with that to a certain extent. I have so much crap to remember on a daily basis to recall the name of the Israeli prime minister (although I do hope he recovers ok from the stroke he just had). Does that make me apathetic? I am sure some would be like "Heck yeah!". I try everyday to catch the local and worldwide headlines to keep me somewhat updated, but I know I would like to be more informed.

Now to stir things up a little bit- For all of those people out there who would say that they are really involved in political or social issues, how do you handle your everyday life?? Do you concentrate so much on what is going on out there that you are missing things right in front of you? Just asking (so don't get anything in a bunch). I think the key is balance-which I am still working on.

The Scotland Fund-

For the last 6 years I have been putting all of my loose change into this large glass water bottle in the hopes that when it is filled Ted and I will go to Scotland (Ireland & England). My poker winnings from the last year have gone in there as well and if you look really close you may notice some toys (Cate and Alex's contribution). You may wonder why I want to go to Scotland so bad. Well, I blame one too many romance novels based in Scotland & Ireland. It may take several more years to fill this beast, but the reward at the end will be worth all of the time and saving.

For anyone following...

After doing some serious thinking, I realized that the Supervisors job that I applied and interviewed for was not what I really wanted right now. Dropped myself from the running.

Happy Birthday Barb and Toni !!!!

Hope you both had a great day!

Holy Crap! It is 2006!

It is blowing my mind that 2006 is here!! On New Years Eve I was pondering how crazy and wonderful this life has been. I also reminded myself as I looked back to 2000 when I had a 2 week old baby in my arms, how much it has changed. I keep living my boring little life and loving most of it (can't say I like poopy diapers, snarky peeps or cold rainy days) I am glad my life, and I, are not perfect. It gives me things to work on.

Most of the time, I would like to think that I am a truly a unique individual who skips, dances and strolls to the beat of my own drum. However like most people, I thought of several things I would like to do to improve both myself and my life-you may call them resolutions if you would like. So here goes:

1. I will take a picture everyday.
2. I will embrace change- even it kicks me in the ass.
3. I will get Cate and Alex's Scrapbook done this year.
4. I will not waste too much time worrying.
5. I will, by all that is good and healthy, be able to run a mile in under 9 mins.
6. I will not watch American Idol (at home) this year.

Okay, there you have it. Started working on #5 today and I wish I had a video camera, cause I would have won "Americas funniest Home Videos" for certain. Additionally, I want to give a shout out to my husband who did not laugh or shake his head at the witnessing of my running on a treadmill.

Hope everyone reading this had a great Holiday and I hope 2006 holds all exciting and wonderful adventures for you!!