What do you do when after 10 years ... 20 years ... 30 years ... you are suddenly asked to pack up your belongings in a box and leave the building? And, by the way, we've already shut off your email, and can you hand over your parking pass as your being escorted out of the building?
I didn't have to ask when I came in what was going on. The silence and shell-shocked look on everyone's face told the story. People sad about the dismissal of their colleagues and some possibly wondering, "Will I be the next one to be called into the editor's office?"
A now former colleague said, "At least I know it had nothing to do with my performance." At least he was able to look at the bright side.
I am saddened today. A lot of talent walked out the door of my newspaper yesterday. Layoffs happen to good people. And they suck.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
64 crayons and counting
Blake started second grade today. I can't believe he's that old already. At his school this year, he's "Big Man on Campus" because it's kindergarten through second grade. He said his teacher was "very, very, very, very, very, very nice." So I guess he liked her :) Let's hope he feels that way next week after she's gotten to know him! I was also informed that everyone at his table except for one had the 64-pack crayons. You remember those -- the ones with the cool sharpner! Awww, burnt sienna and sky blue how I loved thee. The supply list had a choice between 48- or 64-pack crayons, and of course, Blake wanted 64. The neighbor told me her son who hates coloring also insisted on the 64-pack. And there must a be a shortage because my other neighbor told me she went to five stores before she found one box that had a few broken ones in it. She bought it and taped the tips back on the broken ones. Ha! So if you want a 64-pack crayon box, you're out of luck! Blake was excited because his was a limited edition "50th anniversary" box. It included eight new colors which gave you no clue to actually what color they were. See if you can guess what colors these are: Super Happy, Fun in the Sun, Giving Tree, Bear Hug, Awesome, Happy Ever After, Famous and Best Friends. Answers below the picture.
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Super Happy (yellow)
Fun in the Sun (orange)
Giving Tree (green)
Bear Hug (brown)
Awesome (dusty pink)
Happy Ever After (blue)
Famous (hot pink)
Best Friends (purple)
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Super Happy (yellow)
Fun in the Sun (orange)
Giving Tree (green)
Bear Hug (brown)
Awesome (dusty pink)
Happy Ever After (blue)
Famous (hot pink)
Best Friends (purple)
Monday, August 04, 2008
4-year-olds are funny
OH, REALLY
Last week, my 4-year-old walked in the kitchen with his head down, and says, "Did you notice?"
My husband's like, "What?"
4-year-old: "I'm NOT wearing my happy face."
My husband: "Uhhh. Whhhhy?"
Allegedly I told him Dad would take him to the toy store to buy this expensive playmobile castle he had been saving up for. I did not promise him this nor did he have enough money.
POLITICAL ADS CAN BE FUNNY
Today we were in the car and one of the never-ending Missouri political ads was on the radio station. This one was for Peter Kinder who is running for Lt. Gov. His opponent is Sam Page. In the radio clip, Kinder compares Page to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — dubbing him "Mr. Hide" while asserting Page missed 284 House votes and backed some Medicaid cuts while supporting an increase in the Medicaid reimbursements paid to doctors. It keep saying over and over "Sam Page is hiding ...."
My 4-year-old wanted to know, "Mommy, why is Sam Page hiding?" I told him, "It's just a political ad." He says, "But WHY is Sam Page hiding?"
Last week, my 4-year-old walked in the kitchen with his head down, and says, "Did you notice?"
My husband's like, "What?"
4-year-old: "I'm NOT wearing my happy face."
My husband: "Uhhh. Whhhhy?"
Allegedly I told him Dad would take him to the toy store to buy this expensive playmobile castle he had been saving up for. I did not promise him this nor did he have enough money.
POLITICAL ADS CAN BE FUNNY
Today we were in the car and one of the never-ending Missouri political ads was on the radio station. This one was for Peter Kinder who is running for Lt. Gov. His opponent is Sam Page. In the radio clip, Kinder compares Page to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — dubbing him "Mr. Hide" while asserting Page missed 284 House votes and backed some Medicaid cuts while supporting an increase in the Medicaid reimbursements paid to doctors. It keep saying over and over "Sam Page is hiding ...."
My 4-year-old wanted to know, "Mommy, why is Sam Page hiding?" I told him, "It's just a political ad." He says, "But WHY is Sam Page hiding?"
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Vacation: Part II
After a couple of days in Disney World, we spent the rest of our vacation at St. Augustine Beach. We stayed in a great hotel: The La Fiesta Ocean Inn and Suites. Here's the link: http://www.lafiestainn.com/
Very nice and right on the beach. We spent two full days just hanging out at the beach. Blake loved body surfing the waves, and Drew loved playing in the water and the sand. Here are some of my favorite pics.
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Very nice and right on the beach. We spent two full days just hanging out at the beach. Blake loved body surfing the waves, and Drew loved playing in the water and the sand. Here are some of my favorite pics.
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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
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Sunday, July 20, 2008
"If you only knew the power of the Dark Side"
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We spent the first part of our vacation at Disney World. I wrote previously how I felt about Disney World http://klingsick.blogspot.com/2008/06/disney-world-is-it-really-vacation.html
But we only spent two days there, so it was tolerable. I overheard someone say they were on the first of 10 days at Disney World. CRAZZZZZZY PEOPLE! Blake favorite ride was "Expedition Everest" But the highlight for Blake was when he got picked to train as a Jedi. Here he is fighting Darth Vader. That's right. He fought Darth Vader! How cool is that?
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We spent the last day of our vacation at Seaworld. It may be awhile before we visit again because I think A-B is probably gonna end that free ticket thing for its employees. One of the kids favorite shows was the Odyssea Nautical Circus. Drew especially liked the penguins (that's the person with the blue hair in the photo below).
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Fashion on the river
It always makes me laugh the shirts and other accessories people where when floating on the rivers. In case you can't read it, this guy's shirt says "Sex is better when it's BARELY LEGAL"
In the same group I saw a guy with a shirt that said "Show me your shamrocks" and another with an arrow pointing to his nether regions that offered "lotion" in case you needed some.
So just in case you're wondering what to wear on your next float trip, just pull something out of your "Shirts You Can't Wear To Work" Drawer.
In the same group I saw a guy with a shirt that said "Show me your shamrocks" and another with an arrow pointing to his nether regions that offered "lotion" in case you needed some.
So just in case you're wondering what to wear on your next float trip, just pull something out of your "Shirts You Can't Wear To Work" Drawer.
Fade to black ...
I guess I'm in the market for a new camera because these are the pictures my camera's now taking. We went floating this weekend, and for the first time in 16 years of canoeing together, we sunk the canoe. Unfortunately, my camera went under, too. Ugg!
This one's going to be trouble ...
While taking the kids to their camps the other morning, the youngest son told me he wanted a motorcycle and a Monster Truck when he "got bigger." He also said, "I want to do flips on my motorcycle." We don't watch motorcross at home, but while eating out at Buffalo Wild Wings over the weekend, it was on TV. Apparently, it made an impression. My older son (the voice of reason) said, "That's really dangerous, Drew."
Drew's friend who I was also taking to camp decided that he too wanted a motorcycle and said, "And my mom's not going to beat my butt for it!" The two of them also decided they were going to race cars "like Speed Racer and Racer X" when they got older.
Two years ago, Drew wanted to be a Tiger when he grew up. Not exactly a great career choice ... but at least he wasn't doing flips on motorcycles!
Drew's friend who I was also taking to camp decided that he too wanted a motorcycle and said, "And my mom's not going to beat my butt for it!" The two of them also decided they were going to race cars "like Speed Racer and Racer X" when they got older.
Two years ago, Drew wanted to be a Tiger when he grew up. Not exactly a great career choice ... but at least he wasn't doing flips on motorcycles!
Monday, June 16, 2008
Disney World ... is it really a vacation
A friend of mine recently went to Disney with her two kids. When she got back, I asked her how her trip went.
Her: It was horrible. We fought the whole time. The kids wanted to go back to the HOTEL POOL! after riding two rides the first day ...
Me: You actually thought going to Disney was going to be a vacation. I could have told you otherwise.
When we went to Disney for the first time, my oldest son was around 3. We were waiting in line for the Dumbo ride. My son was actually behaving -- for the moment -- while waiting in line for 45 minutes in the scorching heat to go on a ride that last around 1.2 seconds. I looked behind me and sasw some 10-year-old kid having a major temper-tantrum meltdown. I looked ahead of me and saw a young child having a major meltdown. I looked at my husband and said, "The happiest place on earth!" We both just laughed.
Don't get me wrong there have been some "magic" moments. After my oldest son rode Space Mountain for the first time, he said, "Mom, were we really flying?" He seriously thought we had left the roller coaster and were flying. Too cute!
And the look on their face when they see some of the characters walking around, is pretty priceless. Though that leads me to one of my other pet peeves about Disney. What is with the autograph books! Is it really that important to get "Mickey's" autograph. Hello, it's a guy dressed in a mouse suit! Some advice: The lines would move much faster if you just took your picture and moved on.
Her: It was horrible. We fought the whole time. The kids wanted to go back to the HOTEL POOL! after riding two rides the first day ...
Me: You actually thought going to Disney was going to be a vacation. I could have told you otherwise.
When we went to Disney for the first time, my oldest son was around 3. We were waiting in line for the Dumbo ride. My son was actually behaving -- for the moment -- while waiting in line for 45 minutes in the scorching heat to go on a ride that last around 1.2 seconds. I looked behind me and sasw some 10-year-old kid having a major temper-tantrum meltdown. I looked ahead of me and saw a young child having a major meltdown. I looked at my husband and said, "The happiest place on earth!" We both just laughed.
Don't get me wrong there have been some "magic" moments. After my oldest son rode Space Mountain for the first time, he said, "Mom, were we really flying?" He seriously thought we had left the roller coaster and were flying. Too cute!
And the look on their face when they see some of the characters walking around, is pretty priceless. Though that leads me to one of my other pet peeves about Disney. What is with the autograph books! Is it really that important to get "Mickey's" autograph. Hello, it's a guy dressed in a mouse suit! Some advice: The lines would move much faster if you just took your picture and moved on.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
What we did in April and May ...
I was a slacker in posting during the months of April and May ... just too busy. So here's some of what we were up to.
In early April, Drew starred as a strongman in his preschool circus.
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Scott and I checked out the wineries in Southern Illinois and a little bar called Fuzzy's in Cobden, Illinois. Fuzzy's is definately a stop on next year's tour.
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Scott and stayed at the Giant City Lodge in Makanda. Did you know that TVs with turn knobs (NO REMOTE!) and rabbit-ears still existed?
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Our friends stayed in the "upgraded cabin." What did $10 buy them? Cable TV, a separate bedroom and a lounge area. Next year, we're paying the extra $10.
Blake performed in "Only in America." Real drama as only 1st and 2nd graders can perform.
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Blake had his second piano recital. He performed "Bingo" and Beethoven.
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Drew competed in his first season of soccer.
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In early April, Drew starred as a strongman in his preschool circus.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Scott and I checked out the wineries in Southern Illinois and a little bar called Fuzzy's in Cobden, Illinois. Fuzzy's is definately a stop on next year's tour.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Scott and stayed at the Giant City Lodge in Makanda. Did you know that TVs with turn knobs (NO REMOTE!) and rabbit-ears still existed?
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Our friends stayed in the "upgraded cabin." What did $10 buy them? Cable TV, a separate bedroom and a lounge area. Next year, we're paying the extra $10.
Blake performed in "Only in America." Real drama as only 1st and 2nd graders can perform.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books
Blake had his second piano recital. He performed "Bingo" and Beethoven.
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Drew competed in his first season of soccer.
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Remodel
We've been remodeling our first floor since January. First, we remodeled the bedroom. Ripped out the disgusting carpet and painted ... then the hallway ... and finally the great room. Here's some before and after shots.
BEFORE
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NEW FIREPLACE
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BEFORE
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AFTER
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BEFORE
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AFTER
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Here's an overview: No more dog-piss smelling carpet. Yeah!
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BEFORE
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NEW FIREPLACE
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BEFORE
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AFTER
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BEFORE
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AFTER
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Here's an overview: No more dog-piss smelling carpet. Yeah!
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Check out Niki
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The Missouri Botanical Garden is displaying the pop art of Niki this summer. The kids loved the mosaic statues, and even loved discovering them "in order, so we wouldn't miss any." That was Dad not me by the way who insisted on this.
Some of the sculptures were just to look at while others you could touch and others you could (to Drew's great excitement) climb on! A sign by each sculpture let you know whether it was OK to touch or climb or not. The first thing Drew would do is run up to the sign to let Blake know what wasn't and was OK.
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Click on the photos to see the whole take
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