All About Maggie

Such a Tease

2007-03-14T20:50:00.000-05:00

I should expect the worst in weather since I live in Wisconsin. While I do expect the cold and the snow, I don't expect a 70 degree day in the middle of March...and then 24 hours later, back to 40s. Yesterday was such a beautiful day - such a tease. Luckily I got to go outside and enjoy it a little bit with a run by the lake! I forgot what a difference running outside makes as opposed to on the treadmill. I have to get used to it fast though - half marathon in 31 days and a triathlon in 46 days!!!

Deliquent

2007-03-14T20:42:00.000-05:00

It's been awhile. My birthday party was a TON of fun. All my closest friends were there at a very important time for me. Though I did hear someone say yesterday that "nothing good happens after midnight" - that's probably the theme of my life these days - and definitely that night! Here are some pictures from the party:

Adjusting & Moving On

2007-02-05T19:27:00.000-06:00

After the initial shock of the break-up wore off and I stopped crying, the healing process began. I learned just how many wonderful people I have in my life - both family and friends - who have been willing to do anything and everything to help make me feel better. I also know that he and I are going to do our best to maintain a strong friendship - I realize this won't be without some awkward moments, but as there is no anger involved in this break-up, I am confident we can do it.

While I know that there are still many tough situations to come (actually moving out for good), I also know that I can call on many different people any time I need them and for that I am so very thankful. In the meantime....it's time to celebrate my 25TH BIRTHDAY!!!!! Tomorrow night should be fun and I have five days off after that - that may be the greatest birthday gift EVER!!!

I'm old, I know! ;)

Change

2007-01-22T10:28:00.000-06:00

There is a lot of change going on in my life right now - and I've decided I don't like change. Change is hard - change hurts. Change makes a girl cry - more than I ever thought was possible. I sure am hoping I run out of tears soon.

Some of the change is good - taking control of my future as far as my career goes.

Some of the change is bad - starting over in almost all aspects of life two weeks away from my 25th birthday.

I HATE CHANGE

Office Politics

2006-11-15T15:02:00.000-06:00

I'm not one for hiding how I feel and sucking up to people. I typically say how I feel. Because of that I'm not a big fan of office politics. Face time...ass kissing...not my deal. In the department I work on, we are at the bottom of the food chain because we aren't visibly contributing to the bottom line. We don't make or sell anything in the finance department. As a result, other departments walk all over us. And unless you can get the VP or SVP on your side on an issue, you are screwed. Because of one situation in particular, I am being forced to spend about 4-6 hours fixing something another department screwed up. We tell them not to do something, they do it anyway, there are no consequences. This is the second time it has happened in the last two weeks. No one is going to do anything about it and the situation will never improve since we won't stand up to them.

I have remained much more calm about the issue than I did last time, which is keeping me in line with my goal to be more relaxed, more positive, but it's still irritating beyond belief.

Progress

2006-11-14T09:42:00.000-06:00

The ultimate test of my ability to remain calm/relaxed already occurred today. Health care issues. When I went to get a prescription filled last night they told me that my medical card was not adequate for prescription coverage. I needed a prescription card. The kind lady at the pharmacy informed me that I must have lost my card and I should go home and find it. Since my medical insurance has only been effective for 13 days now, I knew I didn't lose my card, but let her make her comment.

The true test was today when I had to call our HR people to find out my employee ID number that should have been on the employee ID card I never got. I needed this ID number to get through to the prescription people to get that card that was never sent to me. After ten-twenty minutes of listening to the automated voice tell me there was still no one to help me, I was surprisingly calm. This is major progress for me. Usually this situation would make me want to scream about the stupidity of some people and how rude some people can be. But I didn't....and I should be getting a prescription card in the mail any day now! :)

Making a Change

2006-11-13T12:54:00.000-06:00

It's time for me to make some changes in my life. I was reminded on three different occasions this weekend that I need to be more positive and less uptight/more relaxed. The first was an intentional reminder from the person who bears the most as a result of my negativity, the second reminder was by watching someone I don't want to end up like and the third was when I snapped at a health club front desk person because of something stupid someone else did, but no one would take responsibility for.

I need to start looking at the glass as half full, not half empty. Lots of things have been irritating me lately with work, family, etc and I need to start controlling how I react much better. A friend of mine last week told me that she can control two things related to her job...one was the quality of her work and the other was her attitude. My first thought was that I can't control my attitude, it just happens, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized just how important learning to control my attitude is. Especially the little things in life.

I'm in good health and have a wonderful boyfriend and fabulous friends. I'm actively searching out career paths that may lead to more happiness. I am more aware of how my actions affect other people. Even if it's only been a very short time that I've been doing this, it's a good start. Hopefully this change in attitude/hope sticks for a very very long time.

From One Extreme to Another

2006-10-23T16:01:00.000-05:00

It was no secret that I hated my last job because I had NOTHING to do. The current job has kept me busy and last week was the first of our " fall busy season". I was told last week that I needed to maintain 55 hour work weeks. The entire team was irritated....not that we had more work to do, but that we were being told how long it should take us. Towards the end of last week and now definitely this week, I am getting slammed. I could probably stay until Friday at 5pm, never going home, and not run out of work to do. 55 hours will be no problem. Been here since 6:15 and only leaving before 6pm because I HAVE to. I'm glad to have lots of work to do, but I definitely needed a break from looking at spreadsheets. Off to another meeting....

A new year

2006-10-03T12:45:00.000-05:00

In terms of my fitness life, yesterday marked the beginning of a new year. I have various goals for the year...many of which are to beat times from this past summer. I am not planning on taking on any new distances or events, just fine tuning to improve. This involves strength training and endurance. To motivate myself, I will be treating myself to manicures/pedicures/massages after each 4 weeks in a row that I meet all my goals. While I didn't work out yesterday due to sheer exhaustion, I did eat better. I did also get my lazy ass out of bed before 5:15 this morning to do spin and weights. Hopefully that's a sign of many more successful mornings to come! I enjoyed my two weeks of no working out and eating whatever I want, but it was definitely starting to make me feel gross. Being back on a plan with lots of goals is very exciting right now! :)

BIRDIE!!!

2006-09-25T12:27:00.000-05:00

This weekend was our anniversary trip to Kohler. We had big plans of golfing, eating, drinking, enjoying the spa...and just having a great time together. The weather interrupted some of our plans, but the weekend turned out better than we could have planned. We got to nap on Saturday afternoon because of the weather. While we would have enjoyed being able to golf, a nap, room service, and a bottle of champagne turned out just fine. Sunday was beautiful weather, so after breakfast in bed we went golfing. Now, I hadn't golfed in over a month, so I knew it would be ugly...and we were golfing at Whistling Straits on the Straits course, so even on my best day, I'm not good enough for that course, but wanted to get out there and have fun. While I played horribly for most of the day, I GOT MY FIRST BIRDIE...EVER!!! It was AWESOME!!! I've never even gotten a par...went straight for the birdie. A co-worker of Alf's told me to just quit golfing now...it doesn't get any better than at birdie at Whistling Straits! Today is back to work and back to only seeing Alfredo in passing! :( At least we had the wonderful weekend!! Now we get to look forward to Mexico....only 2+ months away!!!

Update

2006-09-19T12:54:00.000-05:00

At my new job, which I LOVE, I am blocked from sites such as this, hence the long break without a post. Lots of fun stuff has happened though. First, I met my final summer goal....a fifth event. I did the Dousman Duathlon on Sunday and it was AWESOME! It was a 2 mile run, 20 mile bike, 2 mile run. I was hoping for a time of 1:45 - 2:00 and I finished in 1:40!!!! My first 2 miles were under 15 minutes...I was THRILLED! I think my brother may even do it with me next year. Pictures can be found at www.imagebyfuad.com, going to public galleries, Dousman Duathlon, and searcing for Bib 424.

We got our new furniture, so we have a completely furnished apartment! Now all we need are pictures, some tables, and GOLDEN TEE!!! We're not sure when, but we will be getting a Golden Tee for our place. Alfredo and I got to hang out on Sunday....an unplanned date night. Drinks, Golden Tee & Dinner together are so much fun when we haven't had a ton of time to hang out together.

Yesterday was our 3 year anniversary! We can hardly believe it's been that long. This weekend we are heading up to Kohler to celebrate. Golf, spa, breakfast in bed...it will be WONDERFUL!!!

I DID IT!!!

2006-09-03T20:28:00.000-05:00

My last major goal for the summer was to finish a half-marathon. I want to complete five events total for the summer so I still have one more thing to go, but today was the summer's major goal. 13.1 miles and I FINISHED!!! I didn't walk and I even did it in a good time. I was hoping to average no more than 10 minutes miles and I finished in 2 hours 1 minutes. My legs hurt like nothing I've ever experienced before, but seeing that sign that said mile 13 and then Alfredo waiting with the camera...it was AWESOME!!! I'm probably going to be sore for a few days, but it was totally worth it. I'm so happy I achieved this and even did it in less time than I hoped. Hopefully some day he'll be running with me...but until then, having a cheerleader is wonderful as well!

Light at the end of the tunnel

2006-08-17T16:06:00.000-05:00

The day is almost done and my time here is almost done. In 24 hours I should be a free woman. I say should, because there is a chance it will be 25 hours, but hopefully a greater chance it will be 23 or less. My boss is leaving early tomorrow (he hopes 1pm which means closer to 3pm) and he thinks I will have to turn my computer in to him. A big part of me is hoping that the HR lady takes my computer at my exit interview (10am), but that might be wishful thinking.

There is only one person I will miss here and we went out to lunch today and will probably keep in touch, at least a little, via email. It was a mistake for me to ever come here and I've dealt with that for 5 months. I'm ready to move on to bigger and better things. And it's SO CLOSE I can almost taste it!

New Levels of Boredom

2006-08-16T12:48:00.000-05:00

I knew this last week was going to be a struggle. I don't want to be here....my supervisor doesn't really need me to be here and his manager doesn't want me to be here. Luckily, my supervisor has found some tasks for me to do. Generally really boring things like typing numbers into a spreadsheet (instead of giving me the original document to cut and paste), etc. Even though it was tedious and stupid, it passed the time. Well, today, time has stopped. A pointless task occupied me from 8-11:30 and now I am sitting. I've read the news, I've read blogs, I've balanced my checkbook, I've made appointments for next week, I've done Alfredo's requests...and I've got absolutely nothing left. For about 5 minutes I was just staring. Looking at a clear spot on my desk...almost as if I was willing some work to show up. Luckily I have a dentist appointment so I will be leaving in less than two hours, but using the words dentist and lucky in the same sentence should illustrate just how bored I am.

A friend that I have here knows how bored I am. She helps me out when she can and this morning that meant walking to the cafeteria together. THAT is how bored I am. Hopefully she will take another walk this afternoon because I'm fresh out of ANYTHING to do. Two more days of this?!?!?!

The Decision Part

2006-08-14T11:43:00.000-05:00

Wow...I should stick to one topic per blog at a time because when I try to do multiple, it just doesn't work. The Decision part of blog "Decisions, Wedding and Bike Lesson" was that I decided my next career move. I accepted the position with Kohls this morning. I will be a financial analyst in the financial and capital planning group. I'm really excited about this position. I am confident I will be busy a lot and really enjoy the people I am working with. My future boss even called this morning to congratulate me and let me know how excited they are to have me! AWESOME!!!

Next week I am taking off to enjoy the last part of summer and I will start there on August 28.

Bike Picture

2006-08-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

He's going to really love me for this

Decisions, Weddings & Bike Lessons

2006-08-14T11:19:00.000-05:00

This weekend flew by, as most of them do. Friday was spent celebrating my job offers and Alfredo's being in town for three nights. We went out for Indian food AND Ice cream. It was really yummy and really nice just spending some time together after a messy car rental return and luggage not fitting in my bug. Saturday we went to a wedding for a family friend's daughter where my brother was definitely THE drunk guest. He went from seeming fine to being crazy drunk in less than 5 minutes. It was unbelieveable. Luckily, for the most part he's a funny drunk and amused most of the guests. We also did a lot of dancing and in general just had a really good time:
Me & Mom

Me & Alf

Me & VERY drunk brother

Me & Father of the Bride

On Sunday, after Alfredo went golfing, he decided it was finally time for another bike lesson. About a year and a half ago we made a deal that if I learned how to golf, he would learn how to ride a bike. He never learned as a kid because his mom told him he'd have to wear a helmet and he refused. Now, I've learned how to golf (still have a lot to learn, but I'm getting out there and trying). So, he realized he was going to have to give the bike riding stuff a shot. My dad gave him his first lesson a few years back on my brother's old bike (from when he was like 10). We took the bike home with us and it has sat in the garage ever since. After a whole golfing vacation Alfredo realized he really should hold up his end of the bargain so here are pictures from lesson #2:

When It Rains, It Pours

2006-08-10T16:58:00.000-05:00

I did receive another offer today. It's better than I expected, but now I have a very tough decision to make. When it rains good news, it pours!!! I'm definitely not complaining! :)

6 and 3/4 business days

2006-08-10T10:22:00.000-05:00

6 and 3/4 business days is all I have left here!!! WOO HOO!! I'm so excited about my new job and excited to be done with this place as well. The biggest problem at this point....surviving these 6.75 days. I've decided that the best way to do that is to have a lot to look forward to. So....I'm trying to schedule a lot of lunches and fun stuff to do after work. Alfredo is out of town next week, so I can't make him take me out to lunch, but I do have two lunches planned so far and a bunch of stuff for after work next week, including...PEDICURES with Deanna! It's going to be an AWESOME week.

Super Day

2006-08-09T14:26:00.000-05:00

It's been no secret that my current job has caused me to be bored to tears...sometimes literally. Today I found out that one of the positions I was interviewing for, I got! I got the offer at 7:40 this morning on my way to work! What a way to start the day. I officially gave my notice today, and while I have not confirmed my start date, I am very excited to move on to this next stage in my life. I had narrowed the search down to two possbilities. Both amazing opportunities with amazing companies. The second company has been stringing me along a bit. They did finally call me back today, so maybe I will have two offers this week, but I am VERY happy with the one that is currently on the table. I think it will be a great opportunity and I will be much happier than I have been the last 20 weeks (yes, I counted...because I have THAT much extra time on my hands).

I also found out that all the arguing with the Cingular people was worth it...they are waiving a termination fee of $175 and even APOLOGIZED?!?! IT'S BEEN A GREAT DAY!!!

Well on my way

2006-08-08T08:55:00.000-05:00

One of my goals for the summer was to complete a half-marathon. My deadline is quickly approaching - the half-marathon is on Sunday, September 3. I've been following my training plan - sort of. Bad weather and being on vacation have hurt my long runs. Last week's long run was a 9 miler. Sunday is my long run day and it was raining all morning, so I tried to go at night. After about 2 miles I learned why I usually do my runs before eating a full day's worth of food. I got nauseous, dizzy and had to walk home - WALK, couldn't even fun the 2 miles back home.

Last night I went out again, determined to finish the run. Armed with a bottle full of gatorade to avoid dehydration I headed out. Nine miles and less than 90 minutes later, I was home! I did it! I could have probably even gone further. It was awesome. I was so excited to hit the turnaround point, I jumped up and hit the stop sign! When I got home, my legs quickly revolted and I had about an hour to shower, eat and clean up before I pretty much lost the ability to walk! :) Luckily today they feel fine and I know I am well on my way to being able to cross that finish line after 13.2 miles. YAY Me!

Such a Tease

2006-08-04T13:28:00.000-05:00

Going out for lunch on a beautiful day is such a tease. I met a good friend for lunch since he is moving away soon and since he was easily convinced! We enjoyed the warm summer breeze and chit chatting...and neither of us wanted to go back to work! Now that we are both back at work, we decided we're both morons for not just sitting outside and drinking the afternoon away! It sounds much more appealing than sitting in front of my computer...that's for sure! Oh well, at least we got to enjoy the weather for a little while.

Being A Kid Again

2006-08-01T14:18:00.000-05:00

Vacation was absolutely wonderful! While I enjoyed every minute of it, my favorite part, by far, was Noah's Ark. For the seven hours we were there, we got to be kids again. Our biggest concerns were when the wave pool started the next set of waves and which ride we were going to go on next. It was awesome. I don't think the two of us have giggled, squealed or really felt like we were 8 years old in a very long time. It was probably the most fun we've ever had together.

The rest of the trip was golfing and the spa which were all so relaxing. We planned well and were home in time to spend two days laying around. All this fun made Monday a very bad, reality sucks, sort of day...but it was all worth it. We've already got our next trip to Kohler booked and should have our December vacation booked soon as well!!! Hopefully there will be some acting like 8 year olds again in the near future.

Patience Being Tested

2006-07-21T14:12:00.000-05:00

Quite frequently not being a very patient person comes right up behind me and bites me in the ass. Today is one of those times. I was hoping to have an answer to something today. I was told the decision would hopefully be made by the end of this week. However, I just found out that it will be 1-4 weeks before the final decision is made. It's looking positive as far as a favorable outcome for me (I hope, I pray), but 1-4 WEEKS?!?!?! How am I supposed to survive? They said they are very hopeful that I don't give up on them, which leads me to believe good things, but give a girl a break. Luckily, I will be on vacation starting in less than 3 hours. The vacation is 9 days long, which I know will fly by. The following two weeks will be crazy at work so they will also fly by. However, if they extend this to the 4th week...I could be in trouble. That will be a slow, boring week at work. Wish me luck!

What a Year Can Do

2006-07-21T08:32:00.000-05:00

Last night while I was running I came to a realization. A year ago if someone had asked me to go run three miles, I would have laughed at them, turned around, and walked away. If...by some chance there was a reward - yummy food, money, etc - I would have run those three miles at about a 12 minute mile pace. Working out for me was simply a way to be able to eat all the crap food I enjoy without feeling too guilty or having to buy new pants. About ten months ago, when I started getting serious about attempting a triathlon this summer, I talked to my trainer about how to start running without hurting myself. I didn't know where I should start, how much or fast to increase, etc. She gave me a plan to follow - she told me to start at 100 minutes a week (broken up however I wanted) and increase by 10% a week. I laughed at her. I told her there was no way I could run 100 minutes in a week. At the time I was trying to run three days a week and this would have required me to run more than 30 minutes each time, and that, to me, was insane. Slowly but surely I worked my way up in endurance and then she started helping me with my speed. Last night, I ran 4.5 miles in 36:10. I couldn't believe it. It's an accomplishment that I doubt I'll ever be able to do again. Afterall, adding another mile and a half without adding any time would require 6 minute miles and I really just don't see that as being realistic. But...who knows what the next year will bring! :)

A year ago I also had Alfredo picking on me because he could run further than me and he could spin better/longer than me. About a month ago, he was working with his personal trainer. I was also in the gym doing some stuff and Al (trainer) caught Alfredo watching me do something. He giggled and said, don't even try to keep up with her...just isn't going to happen! :) Alfredo did remind me last night that if we were sprinting, he could definitely take me, but had to admit that if we were going longer, I'd take him! Amazing what a year can do! Maybe next year Alfredo will be out there biking with me...on a real bike! Challenge!

More Waiting

2006-07-20T09:11:00.000-05:00

As I've mentioned before, I hate to wait. This week has brought about a lot of waiting. Most importantly I'm waiting for a very important email/phone call. Each day I've been waiting for 5pm to come much more quickly than it actually did. Now that it's Thursday, I'm waiting for the end of the week so I can enjoy my vacation next week (CAN'T WAIT...SOOO EXCITED). Currently I'm waiting for 930 to come so that I can go to my meeting and have something to do. These last two days are going to be a struggle, marked by trying to make 1 hour projects take about 5 hours each. Sounds like fun doesn't it???

Time Flies

2006-07-17T09:37:00.000-05:00

As Craig has pointed out at least five times....I'm overdue for an update. Last week at work was busy...gasp....but not to worry, this week is back to normal. I probably won't have anything to do all week long. The weekend also flew by, as we had more things to do than time in which to do it. Sunday was my first real triathlon. By real...I mean the swim was outside as opposed to my last triathlon where it was laps indoor. I intended to have a few open water swim practices under my belt before race day, but it just didn't happen and I paid dearly for it. I had plans of practicing last Thursday...but didn't get out of work until it was almost dark. I then planned on going out Saturday morning, but when I got there...the children's triathlon was going on and we had a wedding to go to Saturday afternoon, so I was out of luck.

The triathlon was a sprint distance (.25 mile swim, 15+ mile bike and 3.1 mile run). The swim took me about nine minutes according to my watch (12 according to the website, but they didn't time the transition) and was nine minutes of hell. The fact that I finished was actually a surprise to me because the sun was right in my face and I couldn't actually see the beach. Suddenly the person next to me stood up and it was at that point I realized that I survived. The rest of the traithlon was a lot of fun. There were definitely scary parts though. About .25 miles into the bike there was someone passed out with an ambulance coming to get them and closer to the end, a guy right in front of me flipped over his bike after hitting the railroad tracks at a bad angle. That was scary. But there were people in the neighborhoods all over cheering us on and spraying us down with their hoses...and that was awesome. The run was probably the hardest because it was so hot outside. But I still did it in 27 minutes which I was thrilled with. Overall it took 1hr 37 minutes. I'm pretty sure it's going to be my last triathlon of the season as I obviously really need swim practice before doing this again. My goal for the next year is to really focus on strengthening all of my muscles and getting my time under 90 minutes. Here are some pictures:

Waiting for my wave to start:

Standing up and realizing I survived the swim:

Taking off on the bike ride (passed out guy #1 was just right of that stop sign):

Such a lovely form on my run! ;)

And last, but most important, my cheerers:

Overall, it was a really fun experience - I can't wait to go back next year and kick some ass!

Happy Friday

2006-07-07T16:43:00.000-05:00

Twenty minutes to go. The week flew by because I had so much going on, which was nice. However, even though I didn't work long hours, I had a lot to accomplish in the time I was here. I feel beaten down and exhausted and it was only a three day workweek. We had planned a date night, but Alf is exhausted and for the first time I don't mind cancelling a date night. Ordering in Indian food and having some drinks is just what we both need. 19 minutes to go...what will I do with these last few minutes?!?!?!

Only Me

2006-07-05T12:39:00.003-05:00

Only I manage to get sick or hurt myself on every vacation, extended weekend, special event, etc. This four day weekend was no exception. Monday morning I woke up and noticed two very large bug bites on my legs. One behind my knee, one on the opposite thigh. It's not uncommon for my bug bites to turn into welts so I didn't think anything of it. I go on my bike ride, where I get bad sunburn, and then head to my aunt's later for a family gathering. As I"m getting dressed I notice that my quarter size bug bites now appear to be more the size of a lime. At the family gathering there are two nurses so I have them take a look. Panic follows. One says I might have Tics crawling on me, another says it may be a brown recluse spider bite and my uncle tells me if I don't take care of it, it may start eating my flesh. Fabulous. One look from Alfredo and it's clear he thinks they are overreacting. I let them mark the edges and go on with the evening. By the time we get home from summerfest it's the size of an orange and instead of a bullseye like appearance, it looks like a massive bruise. We decide to mark the edges again...and I let Alfredo have the marker. Two circles, a smiley face and another inappropriate picture on my leg later I go to bed. The next morning it's taken over most of my calf...and the ink is everywhere...my sheets, my other leg, my hand. FABULOUS. The outer color has begun to fade though so we enjoy our day of him golfing, me reading a magazine trying to stay in the golf cart...crazy ass driver. Today I go to the health services center at work where a nurse practitioner made the following comment, "Hmmm...I wonder if it could be West Nile. Let me look. (She now opens a palm pilot to look up symptoms). Nope...you'd have a headache or stiff neck. Keep an eye on it". THANKS LADY...I feel sooo much better now. It's still fading so I"m giving it one more day before I go to my real doctor. Only me...only me.

Other than that, the weekend was a huge success. We got to go to summerfest twice (love the new martini lounge) and saw the fireworks on the 3rd. I'm such a kid...I love fireworks. We could even see two shows from our balcony last night! It was a great weekend followed by only a three day work week. Can't get much better than that!

Ready for the Weekend

2006-06-30T16:21:00.000-05:00

Surprisingly, my day flew by. Right up until now...4:15. I've run out of things to do and don't have the authority to make the decision to leave. The bosses boss left early, but no chance of the boss himself leaving early or sending us home. So...I have to sit here for 45 minutes, just thinking about the four days of freedom I'm about to have. I CAN'T WAIT!!! It's going to be so wonderful. If only he'd let us leave just a half hour early. At least I didn't run out of stuff to do at noon!

HUH?

2006-06-29T14:29:00.000-05:00

On my lunch hour I ran a couple of errands. It was nice to get outside even for a little bit on such a beautiful, warm summer day. The warm part is key in trying to understand what I saw. As I was passing this minivan I noticed that the woman's hand was up against her window with a glove on?!?! A black, fleece, winter glove. As I got closer I saw that she was smoking. I also saw that only one of her hands was gloved. HUH?

Finally Feeling Better

2006-06-29T10:04:00.000-05:00

So this morning Alfredo commented that I was in a good mood (not a usual occurence for me until I've been up at least 30 minutes). I told him that it must have had something to do with the fact that his alarm went off at at least 20 different times (starting almost two hours before I had to get up and ending ten minutes before I had to get up) and I had basically been up for quite a while. While I'm sure that had something to do with it, I just realized that today is the first day since last Friday that I haven't felt sick when I woke up. Since the stomach flu first reared it's ugly head, I've woken up nauseous and dizzy every morning...not a great way to start the day. Today...I feel great. Don't get me wrong...it will be quite some time before I eat anything that I ate the day I first got sick, but I'm happy to no longer be nauseous!

Motivation Dip

2006-06-29T08:53:00.000-05:00

The first three days of the week went pretty quickly. My work to-do list was adequately long and the 9 hours between 8 and 5 went by fairly quickly. Today however, the to-do list is nearing its end and what's left is not going to take me very long to accomplish. This has resulted in a motivation dip. Since I don't have a lot of motivation here to begin with, a dip is trouble. I'm trying to amuse myself for as long as possible so that the list lasts me all day. What will I do tomorrow...who knows. I've had a lot of fun stuff going on after work this week and the rest of the week is no different. Tonight I have a massage scheduled (WOO HOO!!!). Alf and I talked about going to Summerfest for fireworks, but I think that plan has since disappeared. Hopefully we catch some fireworks somewhere this weekend. Either way, it's going to be a long day today and probably even longer tomorrow with the thought of a 4 day weekend being hours away. Oh well....3 busy days out of 5 is great improvement when compared to the last couple of weeks! :)

Tough Day for Extended Family

2006-06-28T10:36:00.000-05:00

In a matter of one hour I received two calls from my mom. Getting a call from my mom while she is at work doesn't happen often, so when it does I know I better answer my phone. The first call was to tell me that while my uncle was working on his construction site he shot himself in the knee with something and had to be rushed in to surgery. Broken patella, out of work for 12 weeks and they aren't sure how he will recover...if he will have normal walking function again. This is devastating to his family as he just quit teaching in May to pursue his dream of owning his own construction company. The company was created and this is his 4th or 5th house, but he's a one man team for the majority of the work. Lots of prayers to him for a quick and full recovery.

The second call was to inform me that my uncle's mother-in-law died in her sleep. This was expected as she has been very sick for quite some time, but still not easy for her family. May she rest in peace.

Hopefully there will be no more calls of this kind today.

Date Nights

2006-06-27T08:22:00.000-05:00

At the end of Alfredo's school year, we decided we were going to take advantage of him not being in school during the summer. We agreed that any week he is in town, we would have at least one date night during the week. We've held to that except for the week of Angela's wedding since we both had a bunch of stuff going on. Well, this week we have FOUR date nights planned and I am loving it. Last night we went to the driving range where I received another golf lesson followed by a driving lesson for Alf and then to the movies. We went and saw The Break-Up. The first 45 minutes were absolutely hilarious...tears in the eyes funny. After that it got pretty serious with bouts of funny, but the ending was a little too real. We like our movies to end with the happily ever after, and this one didn't. Tonight's date night may be another movie and golf lesson or it may be working out, grocery shopping and cooking together...only time will tell.

Either way, one work day down and four to go before the nice long four day weekend!!!!

What Weekend?

2006-06-26T13:26:00.000-05:00

I'd like my weekend back, please. I got hit with a stomach flu on Thursday night that pretty much destroyed the weekend. Slept whenever I could on Friday and Saturday and had to miss a triathlon on Sunday due to pure exhaustion and dehydration. Sunday did involve teaching Alfredo stick shift on my little bug! :) He did very well yesterday...unless you talk to people who live on the street with a hill we practiced on! :)

This week holds the promise of three date nights and a four day weekend to follow! Assuming I'm back to 100% healthy by the end of the week, it will be AWESOME!

The Wedding

2006-06-22T09:25:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was one of my good friend from high school's wedding. I, along with the girl who set her and her husband up were bride's attendants. Code for...work horse! :) At the rehearsal Alfredo was minding his own business when Angela's family needed someone to hold the sleeping three year old. So...they plopped her in Alfredo's lap. Having never held a child before he did well...she woke up and just stared at him...and he stared right back. It was quite amusing and Angela's mom couldn't believe he had never held a child. Even went so far as to call him a freak. After the rehearsal dinner we took her out to celebrate her last night as a single chick! Nothing too crazy..just nachos and margaritas at the local Tumbleweed.

The morning of the wedding was a whirl of decorating, shopping for flowers, pinning flowers onto people and moving chairs. After the ceremony the attendants were released from their duties for the most part and were able to relax.

The reception ended up being quite fun! We danced, Alfredo caught the garter (well, if you count someone throwing it at him as having been caught) and my favorite part:

Mrs. Dietrich felt it was time for Alfredo to hold more children (she was quite intoxicated at this point). So, while Mr. Dietrich and I snapped pictures, she ran around finding children for him to hold. Above he is holding Angela's cousin's 4 month old and her 1 year old nephew. There were no tears...though I think Alfredo was close. In the end, a good time was had by all.

MSN

2006-06-21T15:26:00.000-05:00

MSN has abandoned me in my time of need. It's quickly approaching 3:30 which is the time it becomes especially difficult to stay focused. This is the time Craig and I entertain one another the most and begin the countdown to the day's end and for whatever reason...THE SERVICE IS TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE!!! How can they do this to me?!?! If only they understood!

Pictures from the wedding are coming soon. I had hopes of putting them up today, but grabbed the wrong cord this morning. They will be highly entertaining though...Alfredo holding children!!! Hehehe...the Dietrich's are awesome!

PINK!!!

2006-06-16T13:05:00.000-05:00

Ask anyone who knows me and they can tell you how much I love the color pink. Typically the more vibrant the better. My boyfriend is especially amused by my love of pink and typically will buy anything fun he can find in the color. Last year I started to learn how to golf so I'm not a "golf-widow" all summer. This hobby has turned into a pink adventure. How much golf stuff can he find for me in pink??? It started with golf shirts. Whenever he would go to the Nike outlet he'd pick up a pink golf top. After that we found hot pink golf balls (awesome for someone who's ball rarely ends up in the fairway). Then for our anniversary he bought me a pink sweatshirt from the pro shop in Kohler. Before our trip to Vegas where I played my first official 18 holes he got pink head covers. So far this year, I've gotten a new round of pink golfballs - not as hot of a hot pink, but equally fun. I also got white/pink golf shoes when we were in Lake Geneva. The newest addition is this super fun, very practical with backpack straps and a stand, HOT PINK GOLF BAG!!! It's awesome. I should have it in a week or so. While my bag is only a year old, it does not have the strap or the stand, and being the gentleman that Alfredo is, he feels bad when I'm carrying my clubs. So, this really benefits both of us. I also have my eye on a pink golf glove! :)

No one to entertain me!

2006-06-16T12:54:00.000-05:00

Since I don't usually have a lot of work to do, Friday's can be especially difficult because I'm beyond ready for the weekend. Usually, this antsiness is calmed by im conversations with Craig and Alfredo. However, Craig is in Dallas and Alfredo is off running errands, so I am left with NO ONE to entertain me and very little work to do. Chances are I will not be doing the one project I have today so that I can ensure I have SOMETHING to do on Monday! I'M BORED

Busy Busy Week

2006-06-16T10:37:00.000-05:00

This week has been a bit busy. Went to a friend from high school's bachelorette party on Monday night, which was pretty low key. Her wedding is tomorrow and we are heading up tonight to go to the rehearsal dinner (I'm an attendant) and then tomorrow Alf gets to golf while I am working hard doing whatever is needed to set up for the wedding. Sunday will be spent doing father's day stuff and then getting Alf off to the airport for his week in Detroit. A week from Sunday is another triathlon...totally not ready! It really has snuck up on me. I am always good with my workout plan at the beginning of the week, but slip towards the end. Couldn't get up yesterday morning or this morning and my night time schedule hasn't allowed for making up for it. Hopefully I can get some workouts in this weekend...but we'll see. Nothing planned next week, so it will be nice to be able to workout at night if I want...or just sit on my ass not worrying about anything! :) Hmm...that sounds like a much better idea! A low key week is going to be just what I need!

So Sweet

2006-06-14T08:34:00.000-05:00

With Alfredo out of school for the summer, we have been able to spend more time together and it has been wonderful. He's been so sweet...making dinner, picking up flowers. I got pink roses last night and the last batch of flowers wasn't even thrown out yet! He's also been watching Emeril a lot and I am benefiting quite a bit from the inspiration he gets! :) I am loving this!

Bad Dates

2006-06-09T12:59:00.000-05:00

When I went to yahoo.com today to check my email, I happened to see in Yahoo! Pulse, "The first date isn't going well and you want to escape so you:" 70% of people say sit through it till the bitter end so as not to hurt their feelings. This seems crazy! It seems to me that if a date is going that poorly, it would be two sided. Why waste your time? Just get up and walk away! Luckily, I don't have to deal with this as I am in a happy, serious, long term relationship. However, just last night, Alfredo, for whatever reason, was telling me about his worst date ever. He was going out with some chick and it basically boiled down to the fact that after ten minutes, they had nothing to talk about at dinner and just stared at each other. And yet, they still went out for drinks afterwards. They had to both be hating it...why not just cut it off after dinner?

This reminded me of my worst date ever...of which Alfredo's doesn't even scratch the surface. It was with one of my TA's from an accounting class. We were in an organization together and had hung out at an event a few weeks prior. He called and asked me to go out to dinner and maybe a movie. I hadn't ever thought of him as dating material, but had no reason to say no, so what the hell...it could have been fun. As it turned out, Marquette went to the final four that year and they happened to be playing on the day we had picked out for our date. So, instead of rescheduling our date we decided to just change the plan. He picked me up at 1, with a friend, and we went to subway where he ate lunch (I had already eaten). Then we headed to the lakefront brewery for a tour and a couple of drinks - the glass you get when you purchase the tour will forever be my reward for surviving this day. This took a few hours. I'm not a fan of beer, so I wasn't drinking much, but he didn't let that stop him. Now we head to Rosie's on Water street (I will never go back) to watch the game. If I recall correctly the game started early evening/late afternoon. At this point we have joined a large group of his friends, none of which I had ever met and he is sitting by some other girl. Appetizers were ordered and the waitress dumped a container of parmesean cheese on me. I was smelling mighty nice at this point. He repeatedly told me throughout the night how badly I smelled. We watch the game...Marquette looses and he is drinking heavily the WHOLE time. Now the group is going to another bar to play darts. After this we go back to his apartment (the whole group) to watch some stupid movie. By the time this is done, it's about midnight and I haven't eaten. We all leave his apartment and he slaps me on the back and says, it's been fun...see ya later, I'm going to go get dinner. And I walked home. He did call again, but I did not ever go out with him again. Hindsight is 20/20...I should have gone home after the cheese dumping!

TGIF

2006-06-09T12:39:00.000-05:00

It's FRIDAY!!! :) This week has absolutely flown by. Unfortunately, I think the next 4.5 hours are going to go quite slowly. Work was actually good this week. I was very busy which helped time fly and had lots of things to look forward to. Alfredo and I went to a Brewer game on Wednesday night which was fun...brats, peanuts - what's not to love? Tonight we are heading to Lake Park Bistro (my fav) for a date night. I can't wait! While I haven't worked out as much as I was hoping (just under 4 hours so far instead of the goal of just under 7), I did get up to workout three mornings this week. Albeit I had personal training, but I still got up! The weekend also holds lots of promise. Besides our date night, we have another Brewer game tomorrow, hopefully tailgating beforehand and a Sunday of hanging out. Maybe a little golfing if it's nice...it's going to be AWESOME!!! Next week is going to be very busy, so enjoying our Sunday together will be very very nice!

Wonderful Time of Year

2006-06-06T14:39:00.000-05:00

Spring has to be the best time of the year in Wisconsin, when we actually get it. Usually we skip right from snow to 90 degree days with air conditioning, but the last couple of days have been wonderful. Alfredo and I got to enjoy the wonderful weather last night. We were at the driving range until a little after 8 - and it was STILL light out! Perfect weather, perfect company...great night! I hope we get to enjoy many more nights like it in the weeks to come.

Bummer

2006-06-05T12:59:00.000-05:00

They finally made their decision. It wasn't what I was hoping for. Happy Monday

Awesome Weekend

2006-06-05T11:20:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was as close to a perfect weekend as it gets. The weather was great all weekend and we just had fun. Friday night I got to enjoy the weather by going for a bike ride. Then Alfredo made me a wonderful dinner of different kinds of fish, different sauces, etc. It was yummy. After dinner we watched the Heat win. Saturday morning I got to go on another bike ride, have lunch with a good friend, sit on the balcony sipping a margarita while reading a book after I cleaned, and Saturday night hung out with Cat & Craig, playing games and just having a good time. Yesterday we got to sleep in, golf, and have a cookout. It was very sad at 9pm when the weekend was wrapping up. But, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I hope many more weekends to follow are this enjoyable.

Officially Delayed, AGAIN

2006-06-01T15:16:00.000-05:00

The decision has been officially delayed until the end of the week (yes, I know it's THURSDAY)....so based on their "beggining" and "end", I'll probably know mid-September.

Morning workouts

2006-06-01T13:54:00.000-05:00

I have been trying to get back in the habit of working out in the morning. I definitely eat better when I workout in the morning because I don't want to spoil the efforts of getting out of bed at 5am. I've also been looking for more people to workout with who have schedules and abilities similar to mine. Through health magazine I found excercisefriends.com which is a place to find people in your area with similar interests. Today I met one of the girls for a 5:30am run! I then got home at 6:15 (should have gone to do strength training...but one step at a time) and had over an hour to shower, eat, make my lunch, etc. It was a great start to this day and it was fun to meet someone new with a common interest! I highly recommend checking it out.

Trying

2006-06-01T13:51:00.000-05:00

I am trying so hard to be patient. I am also trying to stay positive. We are clearly passed the "beginning of the week" and still...I HAVE NO ANSWER. I wish I could be more patient...I wish I could stop checking my email every five minutes, just in case. I wish I could stop annoying Craig and Alfredo...I WISH THEY WOULD JUST MAKE THEIR DECISION!!!!!

BLECH

2006-05-31T09:15:00.000-05:00

What a dreary day back to work. Rainy and gross outside, my head is pounding, my stomach feels like there is a drummer inside trying to pound his way out and I STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN THE ANSWER to the question I've been waiting on for two and a half weeks now. Is it time to go home yet?

59 Minutes to Go

2006-05-26T10:33:00.000-05:00

And NOTHING to do. This may be the longest 59 minutes ever....

So Close, But Still So Far Away

2006-05-26T08:50:00.000-05:00

At 11:30 am I will be walking out the door of this building that I love so much, not to return for just less than 4 days!!! I CAN'T WAIT. As I have discussed before, I hate waiting...so this is torture on a whole different level. It doesn't help that Alfredo and I are going to the Grand Geneva this weekend for a spa/golf weekend. AT 2 pm today I will either be getting a facial, pedicure or manicure...by 5 pm I will have had all of thes things. I CAN'T WAIT.

When I got to work today, my boss informed me that I would be giving all my projects to the intern that we don't need so she can stay busy. This translates to me having very little to do today and nothing to do Tuesday morning when I get back. I didn't need that irritation at 8am today. So, the countdown is on...only 157 minutes before I walk out the door!

The Mystery of Ikea...REVEALED

2006-05-25T14:41:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Alfredo and I went to IKEA. We had a list of things we wanted for our new place and thought this would be a good place to start. I realized that much of the furniture required assembly, but was of a good quality for a good price. The furniture that you can get there is nicer than what you would find at Target, but much cheaper which is always a bonus. Last night my dad and brother came over to put together the things we bought...no small feat since we went a little crazy shopping - 4 stools, table for the balcony, shelving unit for living room, nightstand-ish thing, table, desk, chair, lamp, file holder thing and I think that's it. We quickly discovered why IKEA can charge less....they save money on printing costs - THERE ARE NO WORDS ON THE ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS!!! We had to put things together (yes, I helped) based on the pictures alone. I learned that you should turn the page before completing the task because even though it shows screwing in the nuts/bolts....you can't do the next stuff if you have already done that. I haven't heard the f-bomb dropped that many times in one night in quite some time. Near the end of the adventure my dad looked at me and said, "When you and your lawyer boyfriend get married and get rich, please promise you won't buy any furniture that requires assembly!" I promised!!! :)

MY FIRST TRIATHLON!!!

2006-05-24T15:33:00.000-05:00

Eight months ago I decided to attempt to work out on a regular basis. I had moved back to Milwaukee, was going to be in town on a regular basis and had joined a club. Alfredo kept giving me shit about how he was taking all these spin classes and could run all these miles...well, the competitive side came out and said I had to get in shape to keep up! The personal trainer I was working with to tone up, learn how to do weights, etc, challenged me to train for a triathlon. The first time she mentioned it I looked at her and laughed. About five sessions later, I gave in. Why not? I can swim...I can bike...I could sort of run at the time...it couldn't be that hard. Silly me. Prior to this, the longest I had ever worked out on a regular basis was three months...and that was just during swim season in high school. Typically I am motivated for about two weeks, find something else more entertaining, and two or three months later start working out again for a few weeks. That made the concept of training a bit more challenging than it should have been. There have definitely been days...ok weeks...since September when I have not wanted to go within 10 miles of the gym. Sometimes my brain won, sometimes the lazy side won. But, three and a half weeks ago, I accomplished the goal. I completed my first triathlon...and was even pretty happy with my time. 20-30 mile an hour winds, rain and 50 degree weather tried to stop me, but I finished.

I have four more triathlons scheduled for this summer and a goal of finishing a half marathon in September...so hopefully there will be lots more happy stories to come. In the meantime, I'm working on making a habit of getting up early to get a workout in before work. This week...I'm one for three attempts. The goal for the week was three morning sessions, so I still have a chance! :)

I DON'T LIKE TO WAIT

2006-05-24T15:24:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking about creating a blog of my own for quite some time. I like to read the blogs of friends for entertainment when I am bored (most of the 9 hours between 8 and 5). I also like to hassle a certain friend when he doesn't post often enough because it is his job to keep me entertained. Anyway...I've always known I'm a fairly impatient person. I don't like traffic, I don't like lines in stores and in general just don't like to wait. I didn't realize just how deep my impatience went until the last week or so. I am waiting for an answer to a very important question. A question that was supposed to be answered by the end of last week...then the beginning of this week...and now has been pushed off until the beginning of next week. I don't know when I will actually find out and it is DRIVING ME (and those I talk to on a daily basis) CRAZY. So...in an effort to save my relationships with those I talk to on a regular basis, I will use my blog to vent to and hopefully they will just get what's let over...pleasant, smiling, happy Maggie who doesn't mind waiting...or something in between! ;)