Good Week

Well it has been a good week.  I have been doing alot of relaxing this week, which has been good for me.  I have been working on overdrive for way to long and some down time is needed.
I am still adjusting to the new things that life has thrown my way but I am getting there and learning to adjust to these new things. I need to work on "Linda" now.
I know that most of you who read my journal know that my husband worked out of state for a long time.  He worked for 9 months in Ohio, where he was able to come home almost every weekend, and then he was sent to North Carolina.  That was much more challenging since he was unable to commute with any regulararity. He was there for 15 months.  We did alot of traveling in those months.  I know there are women out there ( and men too) who have spouses in the service who have it much harder than I did (not able to see thier spouse at all, but it was difficult.  At some point in all of this my boss was asked to step down from his position at work.  I was aksed to serve as the "interim mananger" at that point.  I was unsure that I was qualified for this position but I thought it would be short term so I agreed. I held that position for two years............yes two years.  In that time I recieved two reviews that were excellent.  I am not saying this to pat myself on the back, just simply that they were excellent reviews and it made it difficult for me to understand what was to follow.
I was told that they were going to be posting for a new manager but not told when they were going to do it and when they did post for the position I was not told by any superior of mine. I was told by others though.  The position was posted in such a fashion that I was unable to apply for it due to the fact that they made a degree higher than I obtained a requirement of the job.  Never mind the fact that I had been doing the job, without the degree, for two years, and doing it with a perfect evaluatlion for two years.  A new person was appointed to the position.  I really do like this person, she has the degree that was required, but she does not have the experience in the department I work in, in fact she has never done the job of the staff that reports to her.  I have struggled with watching the staff that I managed for two years become angry and bitter with the changes that are being made.  There have been more grievances in the past 6 months then there have been in years.  I know changes need to be made but feel that they are being forced on the staff to quickly.  At this point they seem to be just rebelling and not being productive.  I am struggling with what I know the staff is feeling and what management is feeling and want change but know that forcing it on them to quickly and forcefully is not the way to go about it either.  I am trying to stay in my boundaries of supervisor and let her be manager but it is hard.  I feel as if I am abandoning the staff when they have had so much faith in me.  They have told thier union that they want me back in the position but I know that I am not qualified, degree wise, to be in that position.  So I am focusing on me.  Trying to give myself the time  need to think about how to fix this situation.  I know I have skimmed over alot and I am sure that many have seen this type of thing happen alot.   I just don't know how to be the person that is in the middle that can bring it all together, I want to,  I just don't know how.  Any advice?
So the men are all home working in areas they can commute to daily and I am thankful for that.  We are all on shifts that do not seem to connect but we are all here at the house at some point, daily. I speak to my husband on the phone every morning and every afternoon, he is on is way home and I am on my way to work or I am on my way to work and he is on his way home but............lol we are both driving!!  Life is difficult.
On a brighter note, Aiden is  here staying the night with Grandma and I love it.  Tomorrow we must go find hin a suit.  His Daddy (my son) is getting married on December 1st, and we are all traveling to Vegas for the wedding.  Aiden is so excited.  So am I. 
The next thing on my agenda is getting to the gym and losing 40 pounds.  Any words of inspiration?

Good day and a good night

Long time

Well it has been a really long time since I have written.  Lots of changes have been had in this house since I last wrote.
Mark came home from North Carolina in February.  My son soon followed in April. I now have all my children and grand children back in Michigan.
My son and my husband have both been working full time since their return.
My oldest son has gotten engaged and is will be getting married December 1st in Las Vegas.  My husband, myself, Kristen (daugther), and Aiden (grandson, son of son that is getting married!)  will all be traveling to Las Vegas together along with the bride and groom.  My oldest daugther, Amanda and her Zac will be coming the day before the wedding.  The brides parents and some of her family members will be going also.  It is going to be a wonderful time.
Amanda and Zac just moved into a new place that is much closer to me.  I now pick my grand daugther (Layla) up several nights a week after work and take her back to my house until Mom or Dad gets off work and comes to pick her up.  We are both enjoying this time together. 
Sometimes I wonder why I never seem to have the time to write here like I used to.  I  enjoyed it so much when I did it regularly.  I waste so much time on other things that I really don't enjoy doing as much.  I am going to start doing some things that I have stopped doing as much as I used to (as long as it was something I enjoyed and now miss) and give up the things that have taken the place as fillers, that I do not enjoy as much. 
I need to make some changes to get back to where I was when I was happiest.

Well my vacation was very good. We had a wonderful time. I wish he was home though. He is saying he may be home soon. His portion of the job is close to done so hopefully it will be over soon!
I just finished a book called "True Colors" It was a really good book. I had not read this author before, Kristen Hannah, but I will be getting more of her books in the future. I started reading "Water for Elephants" while I was in NC and am going to finish that one now. I have heard very good reviews on that one also.
I have been trying to lose weight again also, (what else is new!) I am taking it in baby steps this time though! I am doing much better this way. I started by just keeping a log for a few weeks to see where my problem areas were. I did learn alot about my self and my eating habits with just that little thing! I have cleaned up some of those areas and have lost a few pounds. Now I will tackle another area and see how that helps. One of these days (soon) I will get myself back into exercise. Not all out at first but baby steps.........
Well I am off to work. Have a great day!

This is the last pictrue of Mark and his parents and his brother and sister. It was taken at Layla's 2nd bday party. Such awesome people!

The last few days at work have been slow. The week between Christmas and New Years usually is. It is a nice break from what we normally have going on! I am enjoying getting caught up on paperwork that has been sitting around for far to long. I know it won't last. As soon as the New Year rolls in they will be up and at it again!

I do however have that week off work. I leave on Friday night to go to NC to stay with Mark for a week. Johnny is going with me. Along with his girlfriend and another friend of theirs. I am going to throughly enjoy that week off. I will sleep in every day and just relax and enjoy it! I am looking forward to it. Only two more days of work and I gone!

Tonight on the way home from work I had to stop and get some face make up that I had run out of. I also stopped and dropped off several bags of clothes that have been in the backseat of my truck for months to the Salvation Army. Now the truck is all empty and ready for the drive to NC. When I got home Johnny and I fisnished taking down the tree and put away the rest of the Christmas decorations. I am now in the process of packing clothes for the trip. Hopefully I will be all ready by the time I go to bed so I won't have to worry about the rush pack job tomorrow night. I must be all done by the time I leave for work on Friday since we will be leaving as soon as I arrive home from work on Friday. Keep your fingers crossed that I get out early and can begin the drive a few hours earlier than anticipated!

Well the dryer just signaled me that it is done so I am off to do more packing. Talk soon!

So very odd coming back here and reading the last entry I made. Very bittersweet. We lost my father-in-law, on October 25th. It was very sudden. I am very thankful that I had been going over there as much as possible to visit. I got the call at 3:00am. You always know when your phone rings at that hour that it is not going to be good news but I wasn't ready for that news. Is anyone ever ready for that? I don't think so. I had to call my husband in NC to tell him the news. What a difficult 12 hour ride home that was for him and my son. My father in law was a wonderful man and I miss him dearly. This Christmas season has been difficult to say the least. My Mother in law is struggling. She is a very strong woman but I have to say that in all the years we have been a family I had only seen one of my inlaws without the other one time. They were always together. 55 years of marraige. Please keep her in your prayers.
I have missed journaling. It is funny how other things can take over your time so quickly if you let them. I am not even really sure what it is that has taken up so much of my time. I just seem to not think about journaling or if I do think about it I am not near my computer and I say, oh I will do that when I get home and then I don't do it.
Mark is still living in NC and working on building the hospital there. It has been almost 14 months that he has been there. My youngest son, one of the twins, is now living there in NC with him and working on the job with him. He is in the apprenticeship program (plumbing) and is finishing up his bachlors in construction management. The other twin is still at college here in Mi and is finishing up his degree in sports management. They are busy boys.
Layla and Aiden are both doing wonderful. They had a wonderful Christmas! They are 2 and 7 now. I just love having them around me!
We did have family pics done this year. I will have to post a few soon so you can all see how big they have gotten.
Well I am off to bed. I will write more soon I promise!

I sure am going to miss summer when it is gone. I can already fill the chill in the air in the mornings when I get up for work. Sunday night I spent the night at the camper and it was pretty chilly when I woke up for work. I actually thought about turning the heat on in the camper for a few minutes to get the chill out. It was just a thought though, I didn't actually do it!

Last night I did go to the camper for a little while but came home to spend the night. Tonight I am gonig to stay at the camper. I sleep better there.............not sure why. I woke up at 3:45 a.m and was not able to go back to sleep for the last 45 minutes of my night so I got up and got ready. So I had a few extra minutes and decided to get on here!

Tonight I am picking up Kristen after work and taking her to see her grand parents. (My in-laws). With Mark being gone she does not see them enough so I like to make the time to take her over to visit. They love seeing her and I know from experience that you always regret the time you didn't spend with them when they are gone. She does not complain though. She likes to visit them. I like spending time with them also. They are getting up there in age and have had alot of health issues lately.

Lots of meetings at work today. One of those days I don't look forward to. Meetings are probably my least favorite part of my job. And there are four of them today. I like to be out on the floor and be busy. Makes the day go by much faster. Hopefully the time will go by quickly even with the meetings.

Well I guess I better get going. I have to stop for gas this morning. I hope you all have a wonderful day.