2009 in review... 2010 in daydreams

It was about this time last year that a friend asked what my new years resolution was going to be. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves in regards to resolutions. To get a better job, better apartment, quit smoking or the ever popular, lose weight. When we don't achieve these goals we feel like a failure. Normally I'd have been in the "lose weight" group but the gastric bypass surgery a few months prior kinda took care of that. LOL No, instead, without thinking I said "to do more." When she asked what it means, I said it's simply to do something each month I'd never done before. So that's what I did and I'm here to share the highlights.

January - made Do More resolution, got notebook to keep track

February - installed as VP & Secretary of River Road VFC Ladies Aux

March - went to new Burchfield-Penney; met famous artist Simon Griffis and toured his studio; started UW Board Governance class; drove to the gym on the thruway (those who know me know why this made the list. lol)

April - attended Lew-Port AFJROTC military ball; drove the Grand Island bridge; bought first set at Fredericks; had date with Joel (we're rockin it as friends which is much better. lol)

May -became Jeff's "official" girlfriend lol; drove to Orchard Park alone via the skyway (a two time first!)

June - ran an aux meeting; joined Town of Tonawanda & Erie County Aux; took part in memorial service with the fire co.

July - went to GA alone to see Jeff - sailed the Savannah river, saw a dragonfly, toured Savannah, went to the beach, swam in the ocean, Jeff said he was In Love with me, drove to Alabama (mistake but I did it! lol), toured Ft. Stewart, saw famous Saddam statue, ended 11yr dry spell. also celebrated 1yr since surgery with a weight loss of 134lbs!!!

August - had lunch at Panos with Tony M to celebrate my 29th birthday.

September - took 400 high school students up to tour NFARB.

October - flew in a C-130H piloted by 2 full bird col's to Baltimore where I toured the Maryland Air National Guard base and the US Secret Service Training Center; also got to see Ravens Stadium! Rode on the USSS test track at about 90mph!!! Got accepted to DeVry University.

November - bought my 1st lap top; got my 1st call from Mosul, Iraq - Jeff 11/20

December - made all my own Christmas cards; attended a Pentacostal church; completed my 1st college course.

With all that's happened in 2009..... I can hardly wait for 2010!!!

A more recent update

It's been quite a while since my last update and for those of you who actually follow my blog (both of you lol) I'm sorry.

I'm back to work at the school and things are sort of settling into a routine. We're getting ready for an extended weekend and before we know it Christmas will be here. Hard to believe, I feel like I was just walking the beach and celebrating the 4th of July.

Jeff and I hit a rough patch in September and while we still love each other, I wasn't there for his deployment. No, we haven't broken up but some well-meaning family & friends didn't help. Now he's in Iraq and I KNOW he'll be ok, I still worry. He's settling in and was able to make the first phone call to me on Friday morning. Unfortunately I was in a meeting and missed it, damn it. He said he'd call back and I know he will. He is truly the love of my life and while the first 2 months of his deployment are over, the next 10 months will be so many things. We got to a very important point in our relationship very quickly and we both got scared. Now we've got 10 months to slow things down again, get to relearn things about each other and learn new things.

On a good note, Katrina's boyfriend Shay (also in Mosul) will be home in less than a month! YAY!! We're all really excited and she's already making plans to meet him at Ft. Campbell when he gets home on the 19th. I can't wait to meet him. :-)

Just so you don't think anything's wrong - or that I'm cheating lol - the picture is of me and my friend Kevin during the Celebration of Reading at work. I'm just showing off my new haircut & figure folks. Jeff's still my guy.

Jeff

(Tybee Island Pier July 2, 2009)

So you might wonder - or maybe not - why I've got a post up on my blog about a base in Georgia. You might not wonder because if you've followed my blog at all you know I'm a huge supporter of our troops. Well, I'm especially proud to follow one troop.

Of all the great things that have happened to me since surgery this troop is without a doubt the best thing to come into my life. I've lost 130lbs and it's been just over a year (13mos to be exact). I can now fit into a booth at a restaurant, am wearing a size 12 pair of pants (formerly a size 28). I've got my own office at a job that, well it pays the bills and I'm grateful to be working in this economy. I still have my Lincoln and having my own car is amazing. LOL I can't say I miss mass transit and unless I move to NYC I won't go back.

No, as great as all those things are Jeff is by far the icing on my cake. We've been together about 5 months and I got to visit him at Ft. Stewart over the July 4th holiday. Since I'd never been to the beach or seen the ocean, we spent 2 great mornings on Tybee Island, toured Savannah on 2 hot afternoons, he showed me all over the post, and I met some of his friends. For 4 nights my pillow had a heartbeat and my blanket made me feel safe. For the first time in my life I was just Jenn. I wasn't "Bob & Marlene's granddaughter the dancer." "Debi's twin", "Don and Kari's older sister." Nope, I was just me and it felt AMAZING. It was a feeling I can't put into words. When he asked if this was the best weekend I told him it was the best weekend of my life and that I wished it could go on forever. I was worried how he'd react to my scar or the extra me that's still there. We were floating in the pool when he looked down at me and said "I'm in love with you Jennifer (last name)". I saw fireworks and my heart flipped like it was in the Olympics! I wanted him to say it over and over again. Instead I fell back on my old habits and joked "It's abut time you came around to my way of thinking" LOL I can't wait for him to get here. I know it means he's that much closer to deployment but I miss him in my arms and his heartbeat under my head. Is there a better lullaby to fall asleep to?

Ladies & gentlemen............. I am IN love!!

3rd ID getting ready to come home

(Tanks lined up at Ft. Irwin - Jeff maintains these)


FORT IRWIN, Calif. - It isn't easy moving a brigade, and all its stuff, from one place to another.
In the case of the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team and a handful of units attached to the brigade, there were 4,695 soldiers at Fort Irwin's National Training Center.
The unit's first main body personnel flights began Monday morning and will continue every day until the last flight out on Sunday.
But it isn't just about moving people.
There are Abrams tanks and Bradley armored vehicles and big cargo trucks; cases of meals-ready-to-eat and other food supplies; and all kinds of weaponry.
Then there's the matter of cleaning and returning hundreds of Humvees and other vehicles the brigade borrowed from the training center while deployed "in the box."
It's a massive production.
And it's all done inside a large, unpaved parking lot at Fort Irwin that the soldiers call "the dustbowl."
Car wash: Army-style
Under gloomy skies on Saturday, hundreds of vehicles underwent power-washing in an attempt to remove layers of sand and dust from a month inside NTC's "box," a nickname for the 1,200-square-mile training facility located in the Mojave Desert.
"It's really best to take the time and do it right the first time than to have to do it over again," said Spc. Rafael Ornelas, a 2nd HBCT soldier with Echo Co., 1st Battalion, 64th Armor.
Ornelas should know. He's been to the box before.
And when it comes to inspecting the equipment, the soldier said the slightest speck of dust on the undercarriage will result in a "do over."
So this time, he and 1st Lt. Erik Rastello were laboring over every crevice of their Humvee.
With pressure washers in hand, the two attacked dirty bumpers, headlights, taillights and tire wells.
Brownish water sprayed everywhere.
A thick sediment of sand clung to the cement cleaning bay's floor.
A yard away, Pvt. Travis Weyant of HHC, 2-3rd Brigade Troops Battalion was a little more cavalier about scrubbing his heavy expanded-mobility tactical truck.
"Ah, this should take about 10 minutes," he said confidently, as he attacked dirt on the large vehicle with a power-wash wand.
But Staff Sgt. Mark Samuel said it was unlikely.
"You can do it in 10 minutes if you want, but nine out of 10 times, you'll end up going back through the line," Samuel said, as he observed his men at work.
He estimated some 250 vehicles from the 1-64th Forward Support Company alone would have to be cleaned, checked for any mechanical issues and then handed over to either NTC or for transport via railroad back to Fort Stewart.
"We have to make sure everything is ... fully mission capable," Samuel said. "It has to be spotless. No dust. No problems. If there are, we fix it."
A big job
A day later, Sgt. Juan Hidalgo watched closely as three of his soldiers worked to secure a blown engine.
A few feet away, a large Army-green cargo box contained a shiny new engine block.
Behind the soldiers' work station was a greasy, gaping hole in the front of a mammoth Abrams tank.
"It blew the engine out there," Hidalgo said. "With the terrain up and down the trails so rough it causes a lot of wear and tear on the vehicles."
The non-commissioned officer said his crew went into NTC with the expectation of having to replace as many as five tank engines during the month-long training. They hauled new engines to NTC just in case.
This was the only tank engine to blow during their time in the box.
And it's a 24-hour job to replace.
It's also something the crew has to complete before they can ship the tank back to Fort Stewart - and before they, themselves, can go home.
"As soon as the sun goes down, there's no other option but to stop," Hidalgo said.
That's when the soldiers start daydreaming and planning what they will do once they get back home.
"I'm just ready to get home and sleep good the first few days," he said. "And we're talking about having a platoon barbecue to celebrate."

Fun & Friends

I love hanging out with my friends. Aside from the fact that it's always fun, I always walk away from our gatherings with new ideas.

While planning my upcoming roadtrip to Georgia, I came across a site that is tailor made for organized nuts like me! LOL www.independenttraveler.com. It's so great because you just select your type of trip, click on all of the things you'll need (broken down by category) then you can print or email your list! I made 2 copies (one for me & one for Cheryl) then highlighted what we'll each take care of, what we both need to do and left blank the things we can figure out for ourselves! It's taken a lot of worry off missing anything. :-)

Another site I came across was http://citybration.com/buff which gives a list of all the things going on during Old Home Week here in Buffalo. There's a few things I didn't even know about and am going to try and make a real effort to see.

I'm supposed to be taking a multivitamin since surgery. The problem is that they are all high in iron and well, lets just say that it's not such a good thing. So my friend April's pointed me to www.freedavitamin.com which I plan to check out soon. You can get low iron multivitamins! Yeah!! My belly will really thank her. LOL

Now that our friend Chris has welcomed baby Myra into the world, our attention is turned to April who's due in September. We're all starting to be pretty earth conscience so April was telling us about this eco-friendly diapers she heard about. You can check them out on www.gdiapers.com which I've currently got up on the next tab. Blogging & research.... so multitasking! lol

Today was some friend time with Cherrie & her kids. We have 2 major things in common - well, in our present day lives - baking & scrapbooking. We're TOTALLY hooked! She showed me a great site with lots of baking ideas that everyone will love. Check them out at www.bakearella.blogspot.com. She even shows you HOW to do things!!

Since we're both doing our best in the currently sucky economy, she's been great at finding deals. Scrapbooking can be really expensive but leave it to Cheryl to find bargains even there. Check out www.buffalostamps.com or www.dollarscrapbooking.net for some neat, cheap ideas! I left her house totally in the mood to scrapbook so I think that's what I'll do. Or maybe I'll organize things more............ hmmm........ what's a girl to do?? LOL

ENJOY!!

Celebrating Baby Nelson

This Saturday I got to spend time with some of my best friends and celebrate a future neice. Chris had her baby shower and there were about 30 of us on hand to help her celebrate the upcoming birth of her daughter...........who I've already named Babette, despite whatever her parents name her. LOL Mom Nancy & Sister Theresa made a wonderful salad, put out a lovely buffet and I was honored to be asked to make the dessert. Laughter rang out as stories flowed like strawberry punch and old friends were reunited. We had such a great time celebrating the baby now, I can hardly wait for her to get here!! LOL

Congrats Chris & Steve!!

Bariatric Update

Hey everyone! I know it's been ages but I wanted to let you all know of my latest accomplishment on my gastric bypass journey. Today I met with a doctor for my 8 month post op visit and got some great news. I'm officially down 103lbs!! Yeah!!

I'm going to the gym and have even hired a trainer. I'm hoping to be in a bathing suit this summer. Wow! Can't believe I'm even thinking that. LOL

Thank you all for the love and support you've given me over these last months. It's sure made all of this easier to get through. :-)

Tea Party 2009... now this looks interesting!

Voluminous Laws
February 20, 2009 by Agrippa
“It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood; if they be repealed or revised before they are promulgated, or undergo such incessant changes that no man, who knows what the law is to-day, can guess what it will be to-morrow. Law is defined to be a rule of action; but how can that be a rule, which is little known, and less fixed?”
Publius wrote this in Federalist #62 on Wednesday, February 27, 1788. This time James Madison, Father of the Constitution and the fourth President of the United States was taking Publius. At this time in our history, it is vital that we lean on the wisdom of the Founding Fathers.
President Obama’s stimulus bill stands at over 1,000 pages. In fact, politicians admitted to that nobody read the entire bill before voting on it.
This is not what our Republic is about. We live in a representative democracy. We elect our officials with an unspoken pact that they will act in our best interests. With no chance to even read a bill, there is no time to act with any interests. The only honorable vote is “no.” Even if you are pro-stimulus package, the only honorable vote is “no” to uphold their end of the bargain.
We urge you to let your Senators and Representative know that they did not live up to their end of the unwritten contract. In closing, we leave you with more words of wisdom from President Madison:
“In Republics, the great danger is, that the majority may not sufficiently respect the rights of the minority”
Just because the Democrats are in the majority in the Executive and Legislative Branches, does not mean democracy goes out the window.
As always, go to our ABOUT section to learn what action you can take. Thanks to AmusedCynic for the inspired quote.
-Agrippa

New things, new adventures

So many things are still going on and cropping up in my world. Uncle Billy's still living with us, I've lost nearly 100 lbs, work is crazy busy. I've helped to start Dale Carnegie for our students, we're working on to get driver's ed, and I'm pushing really hard to have an Air Force JROTC program started for next year. Today we had the 914th in and made all the right connections. Now it's a matter of getting it started. Oh! And I'm going to the Lew-Port JROTC's first military ball next weekend. Folks this is hardly anything, I just can't type it all.

Exploring a new me

I've been blessed that I haven't had trouble with my gastric bypass. The new found freedom I have from losing almost 100lbs over these past 8mos is that I can explore me. I'm taking a stand in and for myself. One love I'm learning to embrace and explore is art and all things arty. I've been fortunate enough to meet Simon Griffis of the Essex St Studio and can't wait to go to his Sculpture Park.

Last Saturday, my most arty friend and I took a trip to the new Burchfield Penney Art Gallery. What a total treat. We got to see the art, bounce off ideas on what we liked / didn't like and why. Basically we got to catch up. It's so great to see her blossoming and embracing her future as a mom. She looks so cute preggers to!! LOL

So Sad

Yesterday was an emotional roller coaster. I found out a friend was being falsely accused of something and sent home. Only to find out that afternoon that they were fired. I hope this friend fights back, I hope those around him who know the truth step forward. I hope I find a job with a company who has morals.

I cheated

I know I said I would only get on the scale at the doctor's office but everyone's been asking lately how much I'm down. I went shopping last night and got to buy pants in a size 18 and shirts in an XL (notice the lack of a number before that XL). So just now I cheated. I got on the scale and have discovered a milestone. I'm down 88 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doing More

In an effort to clean up at home and get more organized, I cut out coupons from the phone book I knew we'd use and then recycled the book. Like I ever use it anyway. I came across a list of Things to Do and See. Well, now doesn't that just fit into my new year's resolution to do more?!?!? Yup!! So I'll be crossing off each thing on the list (some are seasonal so will have to wait) and will chronicle it here on my blog. I'll also be tracking my adventures in my family newsletter that last year was monthly but due to budge will become quarterly in 2009. Hopefully it'll be even better this way!
Off we go!!!!!

RIP Todd's Youth

Todd, beloved principal at mom's school turned 40 today. As we had off from school we'll be celebrating the demise of his youth tomorrow. Above is the celebration cake. Damn cute if I do say so myself. hehehe

Bandits 2009

(Kari & Denise)

The Bandits are off to a GREAT start winning the season opener this past weekend. We all got together at Pearl Street for the pre-game party then headed over. Since we'd stuffed ourselves on the buffet, we didn't need to get anything at the arena and saved ourselves a ton of money. I can't wait for the next game!!

So long!

I hate to see anyone lose their job, but from experience, she wasn't the right person for this job.

J

Kaukus steps down as United Way chief
Board names an interim president as national search for leader begins
By Jay Tokasz
NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Arlene F. Kaukus, who steered the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County through dramatic changes and worked to overcome waning donor interest in its annual campaign, is leaving the organization she has headed since 2001.
Kaukus will be succeeded by an interim chief executive officer until a search for a new president is completed.
James Tilley, former president of Evans Bank, will begin Friday as interim United Way president. A national search is expected to take three to six months.
“It was Arlene’s decision to step down, and the board respects it,” said Robert Zak, chairman-elect of the United Way board. “We’re going to miss her.”
The board has been discussing the transition with Kaukus for several weeks, and Zak added that it was “probably as good a time as any for change in the organization.”
Kaukus, 55, started with United Way 29 years ago and was promoted to president following the retirement of Robert M. Bennett, who now serves as chancellor of the state Board of Regents.
Her tenure was marked by major shifts in the way the United Way operates and the launching of several initiatives, including 211 Western New York, a regional call center for questions about human services, and the Family Justice Center, a one-stop shop for legal, financial and counseling aid for victims of domestic violence and their families.
“She’s the one who got the Family Justice Center going, and she was the push behind 211. It wouldn’t have happened without Arlene,” said Trudy Mollenberg, current chairwoman of the board.
The United Way moved ahead with those efforts despite disappointing returns for its annual campaign, which peaked in Kaukus’ first year as president, with $19.7 million in donations.
Campaign tallies fell each year after that, to $14.78 million last year. The current campaign is still short of its $14.8 million goal with three months remaining in the organization’s fiscal year.
Donor participation has fallen even more dramatically, from about 100,000 in 2002 to fewer than 50,000 so far in the current campaign.
As fewer campaign gifts come in, the United Way had to cut back on its grants for area human service programs, and, in 2008, the organization laid off eight employees.
Kaukus, who was paid $160,417 in 2007, according to United Way tax returns, was known for her optimism and for her responsiveness to donors and social service providers. She also was lauded for pursuing collaborative opportunities with other organizations in pushing projects to fruition.
In an interview Wednesday, she said she had accomplished what she could and was ready to move on.
“I’m proud of my 29-year career and my eight years as CEO. I believe the organization is well positioned to be even more successful now than ever before,” she said. “I believe this organization has the right people doing the right things in the right ways. So Jim’s going to have great support.”
Tilley, 66, is a former United Way board member and was president of Evans Bank from 2001 to 2007. He will not be a candidate for the permanent job but plans to stay in an interim capacity “as long as it takes,” he said. “The projection right now is five to six months.”
Kaukus’ departure was viewed as a surprise among local nonprofit agency leaders.
“She has demonstrated really thoughtful leadership in turbulent times,” said Bonnie Glazer, executive director of Child & Adolescent Treatment Services, which receives about $260,000 in United Way funding.
Sylvia Nadler, executive director of Compass House, a home for runaway teens, said Kaukus “did a good job with what she had.”
“When you hit times like these, the job is unbelievable,” Nadler said. “Arlene deserves a break. She’s worked hard, and she’s had to make very difficult decisions.”

2009, A YEAR OF HOPE

So we're about 14hrs into the new year and I've already got my hopes and dream. Normally I'd say I want to lose weight but I think I got that covered in 2008. LOL
No, in 2009 I want to travel more, spend more time with family & friends in FUN settings and I want my bakery to become a reality. I know someone who's agreed to do my books, I know someone to head my cake division, I have a location, I just need to do it. So when asked my new year's resolution, here's what it is:

I resove to do more and be happier, whatever form that takes.

HAPPY 2009!!!!!!!!!

2008, a year in review

Well, 2008 was quite a year my fellow bloggers. I worked at United Way and loved my job. I went through all of the rigermoral and finally got approved for gastric bypass surgery which took place on July 30th. Yeah!! I had some serious troubles as far as I was concerned because you see I couldn't have anything cold. Yup, it was hot tea for me in the hot August air and we don't have central a/c. I also couldn't tolerate sweet things which I still can't really do now. Mom was also approved for surgery and it was during her nutrition class that I had a follow up with Dr. Caruana.... this is also when I got a call saying I'd been laid off. No, I hadn't been back to work yet and the only words I heard from my HR director was "We don't have anything for you." No 'I'm sorry, I wish there was more I could do.' just "We don't have anything for you." Oh well, I did the 7 stages or however many there are and thought F-you. When one door closes another opens and that's how it worked. Mom had surgery the middle of September and followed me when it comes to hot vs cold. She went back to work and not long after I was offered a job on her campus high school as the Business Relations Manager. Since COBRA was going to cost me $400 a month I took the job knowing I would be replacing someone but also under the assumption that this person knew. I also thought this was more of a special events / fundraising position. Wrong.
The Saturday after I started there was a fire at my uncle Billy's house. Jess - my ex-aunt - told him that he needed to find a place to live for now and so he came home with us. Like it was really a question. He's still here. I love my uncle Billy but he's mentally challenged and has a gas problem. We have to drive him to work in N.T. and then pick him up again which is killing us in gas - of the petrol variety. He also eats like crazy and goes through groceries faster than any of us. We love him though and he's still here.
Through all the ups and downs the best thing happened and that's Travis coming back into my life. He disappeared for a while but that was thanks to the military. He's safely resurfaced in Germany and hasn't changed a bit.
Thanksgiving was at my aunt & uncle's house and we got to meet my cousin Rob's new girlfriend. This has happened before but as it turns out, they're living together!! Now THIS is news. We love Wendy because she's so not like the past girlfriends. When he gets smart she gives it right back to him.
December came and gramps turned 77. Donald stopped to check out an accident one more and ended up getting hit twice. Once bya woman who didn't know to slow down in freezing rain and the other who couldn't swirve fast enough. His truck is going to be totaled and he is just waiting for the adjusters from lady #1's insurance company. Her little plastic Saturn no longer has a front end after raming into my brothers steel truck. She took out both of his back lights and ruined the panel which costs $1,000 each. Oh, did I mention she took out his electrica system? We didn't have snow so it wasn't feeling like Christmas yet. The job hasn't gotten better and the holiday spirit just wasn't there. We had Christmas dinner at our house and my grandparents joined us this year. Wendy also stopped by after dinner with her family. We had our secret santa exchange and I got 1/2 sheet cake pans which totally excited me.
New Year's Eve finally came and I was happy for more than one reason. First 2008 was coming to a close (thank God), my friend Jen was coming home to get married on NYE and her birthday was new year's day AND I was going to hang out with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. It was the first time in ages I'd worn a dress to. The ceremony was beautiful, the reception rocked and everyone had a blast. Jen looked amazing to in her antique lace dress. I'm waiting for Smithy to upload the pix she took as my camera took a crapper.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!