Tomorrow NYC

I am taking one of the trips that you never forget...I hope.  Tomorrow we are, GG, Amanda, Jillian and me -joining up in the big apple to spend three days on Broadway seeing shows.  We aren't going shopping or sight seeing, just spending time together, the three generations and enjoying stories and making memories.  I know GG has a ticker strong a steel, but time marches on and I see how busy Amanda is managing her job, family and education.  Jillian is so out of reach living in Utah - its not like it used to be when we all lived together in FDL, or Fremont.  So I am taking advantage of a couple days off from work and I am looking forward to seeing Wiked again, The Book of Mormon which for obvious reasons will be enjoyable and then Nice Work if You Can Get It.  Each show has a tour or meet and mingle.  We will of course sip, eat and laugh.  Photos to come.  Bon Voyage.

presentations

I love what I do at work.  I talk and engage people and coach them on marketing.  I market providers, services, events and education.  I like to talk with people.  I like to solve problems.  Our team worked on a presentation today and I think we rocked it.  It looks simple but ask my husband, 11 hour days all week and then me practicing my part in the mirror last night so that the words came out slowly.  Smooth sailing for the rest of the day until....the next presentation!


Enjoy your Friday and remember to love your husband, hug your children and do something good for yourself.  There is only one you.

It is better to love and cherish.

They say its better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.  I am not sure.  Love is to be cherished and taken care of like a fine gift.   If I lost the love of my husband, kids, grand kids life would not be good for me.

We polish our boats, and collect our china, some adore clothes and shoe or fine houses.  We start to feel entitled to these objects.  They don't need to be nurtured.  They are possessions.  But what is your most valuable possession? 

We had an event full week celebrating Lucy's birthday and Jillian being home.  My dear family of in-laws were over and we are unique and lucky to have our best friend living on our "compound".  My husband always in the middle making sure that glasses are filled with favorite drinks, and the lawn is green and cut to the perfect length.  Windows are clean to enjoy the view and the a/c is set just right so all are comfortable.  Good times.  But it doesn't just happen. 

We work to pay for the house, we cultivate the relationships with friends and family.  Then we hit the bed at night EXHAUSTED. 

I love that my husband is my best friend and we share the same room.  We breath the same air.  Have the same goals.  Some times I love him like a possession.  But he is not.  He is a gift.  He is good to me because he loves me and he shows that love to me in so many ways.  Every single day.  

It is not better to have loved and lost.  It is better to love and not take for granted or loose.  But to cherish, endure and enjoy to the end - with love!

Vacation

Aruba 2010

I love having vacations planned.  We have some good destination adventures on the calendar in 2012.  Having scheduled time off give you something to look forward to.  Gets you through the work week.  I shouldn't brag but everyday is a vacation ~ being married to Tim.  He makes my life enjoyable, easy and fun.  I couldn't ask for more, but the mileage builds up on the credit card and the travel bug bites.  So we are headed to Jamaica for a bit then to Boston Harbor.  We leave our house on the lake for a hut ocean side and then a yacht in the harbor.  Not sure this makes much sense.  I am excited to see Boston.  I have never been.  I am excited to empty my head from events, and return on investment figures, and projected marketing plans....  Most of all, I am excited to get away from the ipad, the iphone, focus on Tim and give back to him some of what he gives to me every single day.  Buckle up honey.  Vacation time!

Why not be happy

Life isn't hard, but sometimes we make it that way.  My family is healthy and we are all capable to live independent.  We have been blessed with much, so much is expected.  Finding happiness in the day, no matter how difficult it might seem ~ is so important.  My father was a constant happy man.  To the grocery clerk, the people at church, the random neighbor, the people he worked with, my friends, my kids friends....  His philosophy was "Make the best of everything"   "Why not be happy"  "I am not going to let "that" get me down" and boy did I send some stuff his way to let him down!!!  He never let me know it.  He always was happy to see me.  A hug and a smile.  You get more flies with honey than vinegar.  I miss him so much but I know his spirit lives on through me and my kids.  I feel his philosophy in my words as I coach my interns at work, or my own children, even my mom.

I am taking my dad's advise today. "Why not be happy" I hope you do too.  For additional Haack family insight on happiness - read Amanda's blog.

My job

Plastic and Derm infomercial take ONE!

I just finished this project.  It was fun and I really enjoyed working with the providers.  I have a great job. 

Easter

Lunch or Dinner?  Ham or Lamb?  China or disposable?  Big table or in front of the television?  I am hosting the Haack Family feast this year.  I love having the holiday celebrations at our home.  The view is great.  We have the space.  Tim is a great cook and I like to fuss with the table scape and napkins.  Now the Lucy is older she will enjoy an Easter Egg hunt and I will put Uncle Cody in charge of hiding items in the yard and delight in her squeals as she finds things.  Brand new.  Exciting.  I love Easter.  Celebrating rebirth in life and nature is a gift.  The flowers are blooming, the trees are green with new growth, the grass is green, the lake is full of swans and pelicans...I am truly blessed.  I have had the opportunity to "repent" and "start over" many times in my life and as Christians we celebrate the gift of Christ. We leave our mistakes in the past and move forward with new conviction, goals and course correction.  I love my husband and the bond we have and the gift he is in my life.  I love him for the guidance he has given me through the years to be a better me and to do the right thing.  My life's journey changed when I met him and I celebrate that new beginning this Easter.

Hudson my STUDson

A grandchild fills spaces in your heart like nothing else.  This kids has been happy since November 29, 2010.  I have never seen him in a bad mood.  Smiling, happy, playful.  He reminds me so much of Cody when he was a baby....They even look a bit alike.

So he likes to play hoops. Nothing would make his Uncle or Boppa more proud.  The smell of concrete on your hands from hours of free throws in the drive way.  What an adventure ahead we have.  Thank you Garth and Amanda for such a beautiful boy!

My Boy

Anyone who has a son knows that a mother son relationship is unique.  Cody was my baby and I did and still do baby him.  He will be 21 next month and I am proud of who he is and the path he is walking.  As a young boy he loved horses and swimming and cowboy boots.  He was brown all the time from being in the sun and by the pool.  Jumping in the deep end with out fear at two years old.

I am certain growing up or surviving as he recalls in a house full of women wasn't easy.  Cody is compassionate, caring, considerate.  He is polite and respectful and would like to be treated the same.  He isn't a BAD BOY.  He is a decent young man.  I wish him love.  I wish him success at the things he attempts.  He makes me smile and I enjoy our dates at lunch. He loves Lucy and Hudson and he is good to Harper our neighbors daughter.  He is tall and handsome.  I love you Cody.

From here to there...

So when did this happen?  I got from there to here?  I still feel like that. But look like this. I enjoy where I am but it just seems I was there.  I was a child with parents that took care of me, now I am a child taking care of a parents.  I was a parent taking care of children but now I enjoy my children and the adults they have become.  I used to ask my dad for $20 on Friday and it would fill the car with gas and get me to the movie with Rhonda.  Now $20 wont get you out of Taco Bell.  I went to church. I made the clothes my kids wore, drove a van and spent the days at the delta or in our back yard baking in the sun. I haven't been to church in 10 years and drive a yellow corvette.  I ride sleds on the lake in my back yard and and  I sleep in a bed with my best friend and my favorite animal.  I work at a job that I enjoy most of the time and have two beautiful grandchildren that melt my heart.  My children make me smile and I am proud of each of them for who they are and what they are working toward.  There was good.  Here is better.  That was a memory but I choose to live in today and for tomorrow. What will be, not what was.  No one cares what you did, just what you are doing!

Don't talk to Meme like that!

So I was at Amanda's on Saturday helping her shovel out the basement full of toys, DVD's, fire engines, candy wrappers, broken crayons.......... (by the way, how many fire engines are enough?)  any way, I come across some photos of Garth doing his fire stuff and we decide to make a FDLFD wall with all his clippings and photos.  It's cool.  I told Amanda to pick up a dust rag about 13 times, she still tries to boss me around...I am the Mommy Amanda! (how old are you now?)  So she starts cussing at me (see "OH MY HECK" Mama Schuey ) and my sweet Lucy says, "Don't talk to Meme like that!"

You don't want to mess me Meme in the first place, but specially when Lucy is watching.  So clean up your mouth Amanda.  And grab a dust rag.

It's a deal breaker. Free agency is a must.

I am not good at deciphering the political rhetoric.  I rely on Morning Joe and my husband to clarify subject matter.  I do know that I have a few deal breakers.  I am pro choice and I think that the right to prevent pregnancy is very important. I am not going to go into what is going on in countries where women are abused and the children of this abuse aren't cared for.  I will try and keep this light. So I will refer you to the Seinfeld episode "what is his stand "  Elaine is darling and looses her mind when she finds out that her love might not see eye to eye with her.  It's a deal breaker.  You might think that situations like this can be over looked, but they always rear their ugly heads.  So currently we are in a political discussion in our nation on birth control. I am quoting this from the Planned Parenthood site.

"The rule guarantees coverage for contraception, not abortion services. When you say differently, you're not telling the truth about women's health, and you should stop. Nearly all sexually active women rely on birth control. Large majorities of Americans support the new birth control coverage requirement. That's because we know the truth: Birth control is basic health care. It shouldn't be attacked. It shouldn't be politicized. And it shouldn't be lied about."

I don't think I need Tim's help on this one.  I believe that birth control is a basic health need and should be discuss between a woman and her care provider and if needed options should be available to every woman.  It helps when her partner and she see eye to eye.  Like I said...it's a deal breaker for me.  Choice to Choose.  Glad Tim and I are on the same team.

Remember Lots Wife....

So I listened to an amazing morning devotional as I soaked in the steaming tub ~ It was from Jeffrey Holland who was the President of BYU when I was a student there in the early 80's.  A recommendation I found on another blog...videosbyjillian.wordpress.com.....visit her blog.  Its an easy read.

Tim and I have many songs but  "I'm movin' on"  by Rascal Flatts typifies our movemnt back in 2001.  In the song it clearly says, I cant believe home would end up where I don't belong... I'm movin on.....this departure from Fremont was good and bad, hard and difficult, an adventure and the opening and closing of many wounds.  As Jeffrey Holland mentions in his devotional, the past is to be learned from, but we should live in the now, the tomorrow, the today and the future.  This message gave me such a good feeling today, since there is so much of the past I would like to forget.  I feel that I have "repented"  but there are many around be who want resolution and explainations to things that may remain broken forever.  We can only change ourselves and the way we react to what has happened and how we have been treated. Clearly forgiveness is the answer.  Hate doesn't work.  Digging up the past, or looking back ~ as Lots wife did isn't what we should be spending our energy on.  When the Lord has given us a new day, we honor him by living it the fullest of our ability.  We should embrace that, learn from yesterday and do better....Here is the quote from the talk.  I hope you enjoy it and make today a great day!


"When something is over and done with, when it has been repented of as fully as it can be repented of, when life has moved on as it should and a lot of other wonderfully good things have happened since then, it is not right to go back and open up some ancient wound which the Son of God Himself died trying to heal. Let people repent. Let people grow. Believe that people can change, and improve. Is that faith? Yes! Is it hope? Yes! Is it charity? Yes! Above all it is charity, the pure love of Christ. If something is buried in the past, leave it buried. Don't keep going back with your little sand pail and beach shovel to dig it up, wave it around, and then throw it at someone saying, "Hey! Do you remember this?"

My bar family

In some ways the people we hang out with in our neighborhood are like family.  We welcome each other, talk about the day, the weather, where the fish are biting.  Its nice and I like it.  They don't expect anything or ask for much, but if you need any thing, a wager on a game or a pier to be built, plumbing, an ice hole cut or a jump, someone at the Mart will have it or know who will.  We are a resourceful bunch.  I so don't fit into the group that I fit it.  My diamonds and pearls and business clothes straight from work (see photo)....slowing walking in with my high heels on, trying not to slip in the shots on the floor...sharing a beverage with Annie or Jay-Bar & Jenny, drinking Miller High Life and NA,  Psyco & Cudahay, with her battery pack Christmas sweater so the lights on the tree blink, Heather and Dougie, planning their wedding in May and our friendly bar staff, Allison barely 21, Alex with his warm beer, B who loves her dogs and Beth, well you cant see Beth cause she's wearing camouflage!
Any season, sturgeon spearing, or the fishery, walleye weekend or EAA, where else can you find pizza, beer, a bar, minnows, fishing license, deer tags, lottery ticket, greeting cards, milk, tampons, helgermights and out-door gear?  Don't forget your pull tabs on the way out.  Some people might not think the "gas hole" is a classy place to hang out, but I love my bar!  When I am there I am with family and that's good.

Howard

Those who knew Howard loved him.  If you didn't like my dad, there was something wrong with you.  He was as kind as they come and was an example of Christ's love.  Always. I don't remember a bad thing about him.  That is a blessing.

I was at BYU and dad was helping me move in and there was a lady out of gas.  Howard gave her a $10 bill and said don't worry about paying me back.  Just pass it on if you get the chance. We were driving down Mission Blvd and there was a guy with a baby and he had a sign that said, "will work for formula."  Howard and I drove to Lucky's bought a case of similac, went and picked the guy up, and the baby (no car seat) and took them to their apartment.   As a bishop, I know of countless times that families would approach the church for assistance through his calling and Howard would often just help himself.  He loved to help.  He was hopeful that people would learn from their mistakes and make better decisions moving forward.  He never walked passed a Salvation Army kettle with out dropping in all his change....I know that Cody still does this, drops in change ~ and he is broke.  It is Cody's way of remembering Howard and honoring his memory.  What a lesson of love.  Howard has a birthday on March 2. He would have been 82.  He left us 4 years ago and I miss him everyday.  I miss that he isn't here to see Lucy and Hudson.  He would adore them.  I miss him cause he would be so proud of Amanda, working on her graduate degree.  He would be proud of Garth and the father and husband he is to Amanda.  I miss that he isn't there to give Cody guidance.  Howard was Cody's father.  I know Cody has a void that is large....He would be proud that Cody is working everyday.  He would be happy that Jillian was enjoying BYU and Provo and has a return missionary boyfriend who plays for the Cougars!  Howard would have loved Wisconsin. Big deer and good fish.  Fishing off our doc on the lake and taking naps in a cozy chair by the window with the sun shining in.  "Be nice.  It matters and doesn't cost a thing."  "You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar." "swearing is ugly on a lady. Don't say that."  "Krissy, Don't slam the door."  I love you Howard. 

A house is not a home ~ until you are there

I believe Luther sings this song.  In fact I know he does.  It is so true.  The structure that we live in is just that until we fill it with love and loved ones.  In our family Packer games, birthday celebrations, boating, bon fires...are all cause to come together, eat, share a drink, laugh and feel the love.  I feel so fortunate to have a loving family around me.  I am glad that my mom lives near by.  I feel incredible when Cody comes to visit but has his independance.  Tim and I get to have our grand children over to spend the night, watch them grow and be a part of their world.  Having Amanda and Garth in Fond du Lac is wonderful.  Working in the same building on occasion with Amanda is even better!  I miss having Jillian near but technology keeps us connected.  Time has brought my children in and out of my life.  Those who know me, would you expect any different?  I have moved four times since 2002.  Change isn't new to me.  I can adapt to about everything.  I can make anywhere Tim and my kids are, home.

Actually....

Actually is Lucy's new word.  Actually nothing puts life into better perspective than spending 13 hours straight with an active one year old and a diva 3.5 year old....whom I love dearly.  Lucy didn't want the fun to end and continued the frenzy into the evening arguing with me about watching the Kardashian's.  I had actually had it with cartoon version Broadway musicals and it was actually my turn to pic a show.

Lucy loves her boppa most.  He took her out on the snow mobiles and they went to monkey island and went into the duck hunter blinds.  Very interesting stuff.  She didn't have any mittens or gloves so we used socks on her little paws.  Actually it worked well.  Hudsun and I joined the fun in the sleigh as Lucy and granpa pulled us along the ice and snow covered lake...until our bums were frozen and actually the glare of the bright sun on the snow made it hard to see.

Of course this wasn't enough fun for Lucy she had Tim take her out on the snowmobile again so she could drive.  This makes me nervous but the faster, the higher the better for Lucy....and Hudson.  They finally all got cold and actually this was best...my stomach was in knots.  I am a worrier.

Cody came by for ham sandwiches and Hudson wanted to fly through the air and into the trees via Cody and his 6'4" frame.  It's nice to have Uncle Cody close by for drop in fun.  Actually, I had a nice time with them all.  

Love is a wonderful thing

There are a few movies that every time I see them on the television... I have to watch them to completion.  The Natural, The Bird Cage, Funny Girl, Meet Joe Black, The Notebook and The Ref.  There are others.

A River Runs Through It is a great story about family and the love they have for one another.  For who they are.  Family.  You can't pick your family.  You didn't ask to be born.  Some family's are full of success and some are full of sorrow.  Some have a bit of both and there fore can appreciate the good times because they have endured the bad times together.  The Brad Pitt character in this movie is the most likable, fun loving young man.  He had a monkey on his back.  Not sure he even cared.  Others did though.  They wanted him to live differently, stop drinking, stop gambling, settle down.  Change.  Be more like the rest of the family.

The more I live the more I learn that you can't fool mother nature.  We are who we are.  Some are smart, some are very smart, some are sneaky and deceptive, telling half truths to avoid confrontation and being compared.  Having honest conversation with your loved ones is the best gesture of love.  Find out what it is that they want and help them be successful at that. 

At the end of the movie, the dad, who is a preacher, gives his final sermon.  I cry even writing this because his words have been in my head at so many points in my life.

"It is true we can seldom help those closest to us.  Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give, or more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted.  But we can still love them.  We can love completely without complete understanding."

Password are 3 enough? Are 5 too many?

So it seems you need a password for everything.  The library, the ATM, fb, blogspot, work computer, home computer, the bank, insurance...then you start managing your mothers accounts.  More passwords to remember.  I understand it but OMG.  I can't remember them all....then you get the e-mail, "it's time to update your password."

I don't have that many words in my vocabulary.  Rhonda taught me a trick on how to keep track of them.  I forgot what she told me.

I want a thumb print or a cornea scan.  I have not enough brain space to keep track of the passwords.

you should be jealous

I just finished working for the past thirteen days straight. you should be jealous. not because of my work schedule...but because I have a great job that I love... and today, at 12:30 p.m. when I was done with this working streak. today I came home to honey,Tim, and he said he had the grocery shopping done. he normally does this. he said go up stairs. I have the room dark for you. I know you want to sleep. he had the whirlpool full of HOT water, candles were lit. sweet merlot was poured, a plate of casa Anna cheese and crackers and my favorite green olive spread was tub side. this says I love you in so many ways. i love this man. I am passionate about him. his honesty. integrity. his work ethics. his care for my children and my mother. his love for his family. his zest for life. the fact that he buys a round of shots for the whole bar and Then another if he is in the mood. he makes the best grilled chicken bar NONE and picked me out of any one in the whole world to have fun with and enjoy life. you should be jealous. ken belongs to Barbie. Barbie is happy.