Oops, forgot this!

I forgot to mention this, and this is actually kind of funny!   As I mentioned, I recently paid off my truck (finally!).  Today, I received in the mail a letter from the bank. 

The letter wants me to complete a form explaining why I "choose to pay off" my loan and gives these options:

• Moved and/or Sold Property
• Lower Rate
• Lower Payment
• Change to Fixed Rate
• Service
• Traded in Vehicle

Now, I could understand the letter if this was an "early" payoff, but this was a normal final payment on a loan.  You would think that FIVE YEARS of payments on a vehicle would be enough of a clue that the vehicle is simply PAID OFF!  DOH!!!!!!!!!!       I'll have to think about what kind of response I'm going to give them!   I'm thinking that some sort of letter is in order!    


Oh, and for those that are wondering, here's our family chili recipe . . . it's nothing fancy and not in any way HOT or SPICY, but that's what we like:

Mik Chili

2 lbs. hamburger
2 (BIG) cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1 can water
2 G. Washington Seasonings (any flavor)
2 chicken bullion cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp. seasoning salt (Lawry's, etc.)


Brown hamburger with onions and garlic; drain.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 30 minutes.   Serve with shell noodles.   We sometimes garnish with diced raw onion and shredded cheese.    Simple and easy! 

Enjoy!

Julie

Still cold!

When I woke up this morning at 6:30 (no alarm, mind you!), I turned on the TV to watch for the closings.  FINALLY, Abbotsford had closed their schools.  OK, cool!  Back to bed I went.   I woke up about 9 a.m. from the bright sunshine coming through the window and decided it was time to get up.   I wasn't going to go in today, but then I remembered that we may have a truck coming with a bunch of stuff from our trade show, so after checking my e-mail, I called our distributor to find out if I had a truck coming today.  Sure enough!  On the coldest day of the year, I had a truck coming!   They gave the driver my number so he could call me when he was about 1/2 an hour away, so I had some time to get ready.  

When I got to the store, the driver had just pulled into the parking lot, so I led him around to the back of our store and the loading/unloading area.   We had two pallets of goods to unload by hand on the coldest day of the year.  Even with gloves on, my hands were numb by the time we were done.  When we build our own store, we WILL have a loading dock!  

It took us 15 minutes to unload the truck, which wasn't too bad.  However, the furnace in the store refused to go on, so having the door open for that long did not help the temperature inside!   Oh well.  I had plenty of work to do to help keep me warm, and not much time to get it done.

I had to close early, as Erica had to go to the doctor at 3:20.  She's been having problems with her left knee, and the kneecap seems to be "popping" out of it's socket.  (I know, eww).   They took a bunch of x-rays and every looks good (we DID find out that based on her "growth plates" she's not going to grow much taller, so she's stuck at about 5'4" or so).   They're not sure exactly what's going on in there, and it could be something that can be fixed with physical therapy, or it could end up requiring surgery.  We have an appointment on February 19th with an orthopedic doctor to examine things further.    She did come away from the appointment with a brace that she can wear during gym class and basketball, so that should help for the remainder of basketball season.    

That's about it!   Nothing much else happening.   I'm enjoying American Idol right now and have a bit pot of chili cooking on the stove. Everyone is safe and relatively healthy, and my truck comes home soon!   Life is good!    

Hope all's well with everyone else!

Julie

Cccccold!

It's been a few interesting days here.   To start with, I'll let everyone know that I'm doing fine.  My back and neck are still a little sore, but they're getting better.  I really only notice it when I have to do some heavy lifting at the store.  I'm still considering a chiropractor, but, frankly, I don't have time, and like i said, it's not so bad.  If it doesn't get better, I'll be sure to go in and see someone.

On to more important things -- My baby is going to be done tomorrow!   I can't wait to get my truck back!  Unfortunately, we have to wait until Friday to pick it up, as our schedules just aren't working right to pick it up tomorrow.   I will be VERY happy to have it back.  

I drove mom's Blazer to the store on Monday, and I must say, I wasn't very happy with it.  Obviously, I'm a tad nervous about driving now, and especially when it's below freezing outside.   I'm sure it's just because I'm not used to it, but mom's Blazer just seemed kind of "squirrelly."  That's really the only word I can come up with to describe how it handles.  It just seems to have a lot more play in it than my truck, and seemed to "move around" on the road a lot more.  It always felt like it was going to start spinning . . . and that's the LAST thing I needed!  Tuesday night, I called Greg at work and asked him if I could PLEASE take his Santa Fe and he could drive the Blazer.  He knows I don't like his Santa Fe, so I'm sure he knew I was REALLY uncomfortable with mom's.  Of course, he said no problem, and he's been driving the Blazer ever since.   His Santa Fe is all wheel drive, so I do feel secure driving it.  Plus, it's not anywhere near as tall as my truck or the Blazer, so it doesn't get rocked by the wind as much as my truck or the Blazer.  

Tuesday brought in the storm that had been predicted for almost a week.  We only got about 4 inches of snow, but from the winds that were 25-35 mph (sustained) and gusts up to 45 mph, it was NOT a good day!   The day started out with our high temperature of 30-some degrees and rapidly dropped as the storm front approached.   We thought for sure school would be canceled, as wind chills were expected to get well below zero.  Nope, school was not canceled, even though schools all around us were closed.   Finally about 11 a.m., I saw on the local TV website that Abbotsford closed their schools and would be letting the kids go at 12:30.  

I ended up closing the store at 3:30, after the UPS man came to pick up that day's orders.   The winds were horrible on Highway 29 and visibility was only about 1/4 mile.  There was a LOT of blowing and drifting as that part of 29 is ALL farm fields on either side, so lots of open space.  I was driving much slower than most folks, as the roads weren't good, and of course, I'm still a tad gunshy . . . BUT, I made it home safe and sound!   Every time I drive back and forth in this weather I rebuild my confidence a bit.  

The news was already reporting closings for today on Tuesday night.  They were predicting temps of 17 below zero and more, and wind chills of -35 to -45.   At 9 p.m., when they hadn't listed Abbotsford yet, I told the kids that they were NOT going to school, no matter what.   There was no way I was going to have them outside waiting for the bus in those temps if they were dumb enough to have school open.   So, I told the kids not to even bother setting their alarms, and that I wasn't either.  I probably wasn't going to go to work due to the weather.    

I was quite worried about the animals outside, though.   There's not much we can do for them when the temps get this low.   I told Aaron that he had to go out to the chicken coop and add more straw, etc., to help keep them warm.   We've had chickens get frostbite on their feet in the past, and I don't want a repeat of that.  His words to me where "mom, all the straw in the world isn't going to help if they're too STUPID to sit on their legs!"   OK, so he's got a point . . .  Still, I was worried, as we always end up losing one or two when temps get this cold in the winter.  Fortunately, we didn't lose any last night, but we did lose one a couple weeks ago.  Not sure why . . .  We also may have one roo with frostbite on his feet, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens.   The geese stay outside all year round, and I was concerned about them, too, with all the blowing and drifting.   They managed to find a spot that was out of the wind, behind our house.  We always get a big drift back there (out the living room window), and there's a space of about 2-1/2 feet with little or no snow between the house and where the drift forms.   The dryer vent is also back there, and they've learned that there is some nice warm air coming from that vent!  I checked out the window this morning and they were all tucked into themselves staying nice and cozy!  So, it appears that everyone made it through the cold.   Tonight's going to be cold, too, but not as bad as last night.  I think it's only supposed to be about 30 below!  

Hope everyone's surviving the cold!

Julie

Not the Best Week . . .

OK, so the Packers lost.   It was a bummer, but hey, it was a great ride and they went further than expected.   Looks like I'll be watching the Superbowl for the commercials!   

Tuesday morning, it was VERY cold outside.  By VERY cold, we're talking below zero temps and wind chills even lower.  I was driving west on Highway 29 about a mile from my exit, when I hit a patch of black ice and my back tires just slid out from underneath me!  There wasn't much I could say or do.  I tried steering into it, but that did nothing.  I screamed the only words that could come out of my mouth "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD"   I must have said it at least four times in the three or four seconds it took for my truck to finally spin around and, with the left front fender, hit a wooden 4x4 signpost (snapped that baby like a toothpick!), and ended up about three feet from the sign post with my rear tires firmly implanted in a snowbank!     

Fortunately, there was a Good Samaritan behind me who immediately stopped to make sure I was OK.  Joe Miller was on his way to work at Freedom Homes in Dorchester, WI.   He got in my truck with me and "rocked" it back and forth to get it out of the snowbank.   It only took about 10 minutes to do that -- as he had to be watchful of traffic on the highway.  I hope they know what a great employee they have in Joe!   I'm planning on sending a thank you gift to him because he really was my hero that morning!  

In this first picture, taken with my cell phone, you can see the ruts left by my truck after we drove it out of the snowbank.



By the grace of God, I was not really hurt in the accident.   I did notice a sore back and neck, but that seems to be going away.  As everyone knows how much I love my truck, the truck can rather easily be fixed -- not so with me.  I'm eternally grateful that I wasn't hurt, but I can't help but be bummed about my truck.  So far, the damage doesn't seem to be too bad, all things considered.  

Here's a picture -- again, taken with my cell phone, so it's kind of small:



Now what you don't really see is that the hood has a nice crinkle in it, and there's a big dent on top of the hood, where the sign must have hit it.  The bumper is also messed up so that will be replaced as well.     It's also pulling quite hard when I brake, so it's going into the frame and alignment shop, first.  They'll put it on a machine that will not only check the alignment, but the suspension and everything else, too.  I told the body shop manager that I'm concerned because of the heavy towing we do and I want to make sure that everything is fixed properly.  The truck is going to a GM dealer as the only folks who have EVER worked on my truck besides me have been GM dealers with certified technicians.  Even my oil changes are done that way.   I take VERY good care of my truck and considering the cost of a new one, I want to make sure that everything is done according to what GM says needs to be done and by having everything done at the dealer, they have accurate and complete records of everything, should something go wrong.

We've come to the conclusion that had I not hit that sign and had there not been a snowbank there, I most likely would have gone "a$$ over teakettle" into the BIG ditch and not been anywhere near as lucky as I was!  The thought of that just scares the hell out of me, so I try VERY hard not to think about it.   I spent Tuesday night chatting with some friends on the phone and having one or two too many cocktails.  Not surprising, considering the way the day started!  

We're dropping my truck off on Sunday so the alignment shop can look at it on Monday.  On Tuesday, they'll start the body work.   They've already ordered the parts, based on the estimate from the adjuster that came to look at my truck yesterday.  They figure it will be done by Friday.  It's going to be a LONG week without my baby!   

OK, on to other news.  Yesterday, I got home about 5:30 p.m., after stopping at the grocery store and as I was unloading the truck, I saw two young men walking up the road . . . usually, that means car troubles.   I looked, and sure enough, just down the road a bit, was their car on the side of the road.  I asked if they were OK and they said they ran out of gas.  I had a 5 gal. gas can that had maybe a gallon of unleaded in it (from our lawnmower) and offered it to them.   They tried to give me a handful of change and even insisted -- "Gas is $3.00 a gallon!" -- but I said no, just bring the gas can back.  

A few minutes later, they pulled into the drive.  I guess it was enough to get their car going (they said they only had a mile or two to go to get home).  When they handed me the gas can, again, they tried to pay me, and of course, I told them no.  I told them to just "pay it forward."   It felt good to be able to help someone else out so quickly after I was helped, even if it was just giving someone a gallon of gas.  

I must say, I couldn't help what I said next:

As a mom, I'm going to holler at you.   It's below zero outside and you're walking up the road in SWEATSHIRTS with no jackets, hats or gloves!   What's the matter with you!  You need to at least keep some coats and gloves in the car.  Next, in this kind of weather, you should NEVER let your car get below half full!  Of course, I'm saying that as a mom and that's exactly what I tell my OWN kids.  Please be careful and get home safe.

I certainly didn't "holler," but you get the picture.  I'm sure those boys went home and told their parents what I said.  I can only imagine their own mom saying "SHE'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!  Good for her!"     It brings a smile to my face, because the boys really looked quite chagrined when I said that!   I'm sure it's not something they'll soon forget and hopefully a lesson learned.

Now, it's Friday and I'm off to my parents' house tomorrow to do some painting.  With dad's gout, he just can't climb up and down the extension ladder to paint the very high parts of the walls in their great room.   So, lucky me, I get to do that!      I don't really mind, though.  They do a lot to help us out and mom comes and works in the store whenever we need her, so it's the least I can do, and it will make them very happy to have their room finished.  

Mom called me this morning to tell me that dad had an epiphany!   They have two cars and a Chevy Blazer.   They kept the Blazer when mom got her new car because it's the only vehicle they have that can tow their boat.  Well, obviously, they're not using the boat in the winter, so they said we can take the Blazer tomorrow for me to drive while my truck's in the shop!   We'll get it back to them at some point when we go there to visit, or they'll get it when they come here.  How awesome is that!   It will really make life easier, I'll tell you that!   Course, that means that Greg is coming with me tomorrow, and we don't have a lot of time because he has to work at County Market at 4, but there's not a lot I have to paint, so we shouldn't have a problem.  

So, things are going well.  It's funny how when you have an accident, one of the first things you do is thank God that you're not hurt (or not hurt bad) and that it's not as bad as it "could have" been.   Here's hoping no one else has to say that kind of prayer!

Julie

GO PACKERS!

OK, so I'm not a HUGE football fan  . . .  I don't understand a lot of the game, and have never really "gotten into" it, probably because I don't understand it all.  BUT . . . .  I still watch the Packer games and always cheer them on, and when it comes to the Packers getting into the Superbowl, well . . . geez, I can't believe I've been anticipating this game all day!   Right now, at halftime, the score is 10-6 Packers.  GO PACK!  

Just to clarify -- we have about the same temps here as they have in Green Bay.  We ran into the store this morning before the mall opened so we could get some cleaning and stuff done.  The temp, according to my truck, was -11.  My truck doesn't register wind chills, so that was the ACTUAL temperature.  Yea . . . that's cold . . . and because my truck had not been plugged in, it started by spitting and sputtering and blowing out all kinds of black smoke!  LOL   Erica even started laughing, because the truck itself was actually shuddering!       Plugged in or not, I've NEVER had my truck NOT start, even in the coldest temps.  In fact, prior to buying it, we had almost a week of below zero temps when I went into the dealership and told them I wanted to start it up and take it for a drive.  Looking at the mileage, and knowing what it was last time I drove it, I know no one else drove it since I did last.  It took a couple tries (not being used to a diesel), but it fired up and again, was spitting and sputtering and blowing black smoke (just like one would expect from a VERY cold diesel engine)!   These Duramax diesels are just amazing, to say the least!  

Anyway, we spent about 1-1/2 hours in the store, organizing my box room and general cleaning.  The mall doesn't open until noon, so we went in prior to that so no one would see us working in there.   Erica took the Christmas tree down (finally) and Greg vacuumed the entire store.  Mind you, we have about 5,000 square feet, so that's a LOT of carpet to vacuum!   It needed it, though and I just don't have time to do it during normal days.  Having this time "off" on the weekends has really helped us get things done that we don't always have time for.   Next Sunday, we'll go in there and do some dusting on the shelves as they really need it.  We have some of our trade show products coming in soon, so we need to get everything cleaned up and ready to go.  

Once we came home, I just didn't have any energy to do anything so pretty much farted around for a while.   I wanted to do some baking for our neighbors as a thank you for plowing, but just couldn't get motivated.  Finally, at about 3 p.m., I got started.  I made a Super Simple Cheesecake for us, and then made a Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake for one neighbor and finally, made a Chocolate Bundt Pound Cake for the other neighbors.  For those that don't know -- our neighbors are dairy farmers (brothers) who run the dairy farm across the street.  When they plow their yards, they also plow ours.  Each brother takes turns, depending on who has time, so I bake for each of them -- whoever plows.  It's just a small something, but I want them to know how much we appreciate their plowing us out all winter long.   Of course, they say we don't have to do that, but I know their wives are busy and have full-time jobs, and you know, it just makes me feel good to give them something that I baked, rather than just say "thank you."  

Not much else happening here.   Greg is working 4-midnight, so he's missing today's game, but everyone is calling him with updates.  Unfortunately, because of the design of the store, all the electronics, etc., they can't get the game on the radio, or everyone would be listening to it, for sure!    

OK, the score is now 13-10, Giants . . . the Packers just had THREE penalties on the last three Giants' plays!  Come on, Pack!!  Get your heads out of your butts and take control of this game, damnit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    (Not bad for someone who knows very little about football, eh?   

Julie

THIEF!!!!!

Ohhhhhhhhh, someone's in a heap of trouble!   Did I post a couple weeks ago the fact that the extendable brush and scraper I have for my truck seemed to have disappeared?  Yes, indeed . . . and shortly after Aaron got his own car!  Hmmmmmmm, makes one wonder, doesn't it!   I didn't notice it until I had to brush my truck off one day after work, and lo and behold, it was GONE!  Fortunately, it was a dry snow, so I was able to use the broom we have in the store to brush off my truck.   I asked Aaron and Greg if they took my brush and both denied it . . .

Today, we had a rather large snowstorm coming in and I knew I'd need my brush and more importantly, the scraper.   Before leaving, I decided to check Aaron's car.  What do you suppose I found in there!  You bet, MY BRUSH!        Yep, Aaron was the sneaky little thief!  I should make him wash my truck every week for the whole summer for stealing my brush!  Nah . . . maybe just one wash and wax will do it!   

Oh, and a red letter day, today!   I paid my truck off!  Yep, after a LONG 5 years, my truck (and the two previous ones that I bought one year after the other) are all paid off!  Yehaw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!     This will be the first time in SEVEN years that we don't have a car payment!  How awesome is that!   Doing the happy dance!       What a great feeling it is to not have that payment any more!  

Not much else going on, except for the snow and cold.  It snowed almost all day today and we ended up with about 5 inches.  That wouldn't be so bad, except for the fact that we have a MAJOR bitter cold front coming in.   Tomorrow is going to be cold, but Saturday will be even colder.  I think the *high* is something like -2 and the overnight lows of -20 or more!    

Yea, that's COLD!  

Hope everyone stays warm!  

Julie

New Printer -- Yehaw!

My new printer came in yesterday.  It's absolutely AWESOME!  I'm soooooooooo pleased with it!  Everything I print is just crystal clear -- you'd think it was a laser printer!   And FAST!  WOW!   I can't believe how much faster this printer is than my old one (not the Lexmark piece of garbage I just bought but the "other" old printer).   Even when it copies, it's fast!    I'm so very happy and from reading the reviews on it, everyone else is, too!   

Abby stayed home from school on Friday with a sore throat.  Greg had to work, so she had to come into the store with me.  Poor thing spent most of the time sleeping.   

Apparently, there is a plague on the Mik Household when it comes to being sick! 

Greg has spent the last couple of days in bed.  It started with a head cold that he graciously decided to "share" with me . . .       On Monday, he called to tell me that he had the stomach flu . . . I don't think I need to go into detail on that . . .

I started taking some over the counter stuff, trying to ward off the worst of it.  I'm not sure if it's working or not, because my head is completely stuffed up right now and my ears are plugged a bit.    Hopefully this is as bad as it will get . . .

Weather is starting to change.  It's been mild here -- in the 20's or so.  Tonight, snow is going to start after midnight.  We're forecast to get 3-6" by the time it's all done sometime tomorrow.  I doubt there will be enough in the morning to cancel school, but you never know.  The forecasters rarely get it right, so who knows how much we'll really get.   After the snow is done, the COLD front is going to move in . . . and I DO mean cold!   Saturday night's low is supposed to be somewhere in the area of 20 below zero (without the wind chill!).  Certainly, the coldest night of the year!  I told Aaron he needs to put the geese back in the barn.   It's not really warmer in there, but at least they're out of the wind and have some straw to lay down on, instead of the cold ground.  The geese are really amazing creatures when it comes to the cold.  They literally tuck their legs up underneath their wings and warm downy feathers, so the only thing on the ground is their bellies and with all that fat and down.  They tuck their heads into their feathers as well, so they're nice and toasty!     You still feel bad for them, though!   He also has to go to the feed store and buy another heat bulb for the chicken coop.  We have two heat lamps in there and one of them burnt out.   The chickens will need that little bit of extra heat with this cold weather coming!

Erica's basketball team is doing better.  Last night, they only lost by 8 points!  LOL  That's pretty good, considering they were slaughtered the other day!  They're getting better and it's obvious that they're working hard! 

The Dutch Oven University website is coming along nicely.  My webmaster has been working hard on it and I've been busy typing up articles and recipes to put on there.  I can't wait to start uploading the information, but that has to wait until my webmaster has his end of it completed.   It's very exciting to have all of this coming together so well! 

So, that's about it.  Not much happening . . . just a couple of normal days!  Isn't that nice!   

Julie

Weekend Off? Not Hardly!

This weekend was the first weekend the store was closed for our "winter hours" and we were actually home.   Greg had to work at County Market all weekend, so we weren't "all" off.  BUT, we still managed to get a LOT of work done.

We FINALLY took our Christmas tree down.  Thank goodness!   I didn't have time to put up any other Christmas decorations, and the tree was done by the kids, so the kids were the ones to take it down, as well.  

When the tree was down, I decided to "spring clean" the living room, so had all the furniture moved to vacuum above and below it, dusted everything, cleaned all the glass in the entertainment centers, got rid of all the cobwebs, etc.  The dining room is "attached" to the living room, so we did that room as well.  

The kids had a bunch of other work to do, as well, including each of them cleaning a room downstairs.   Erica had our office, Abby had the family room and Aaron had the kids' computer room.  Each of those rooms were straightened up, everything put in it's place, vacuumed and dusted.  

Greg took on the hazardous duty of cleaning out the refrigerator!      Not a fun job by any stretch of the imagination!  If you've seen the commercial where the couple put on lab coats, gas masks and gloves, that's almost what one wants to do  when cleaning out our fridge!   Some things in there could have started a great batch of penicillin!     We also cleaned out and organized my pantry in the kitchen.  Kids seem to just put anything, anywhere they want, rather than where it goes.    

The rest of the weekend, I spent typing up Dutch oven recipes for our new sister site:  http://www.dutchovenuniversity.com.  The site's not up yet, but I'm preparing for when my webmaster is ready for me to upload my stuff.

Anyone that has a Dutch oven recipe they'd like to share, feel free to e-mail it to me for inclusion in the new cookbook!!  

You may remember that my printer died the other day.  Well, I had to go to Pamida (a very cheap K-mart type store that managed to raise their prices on everything last month, just in time for Christmas!) to pick up a new one.  Pamida is the kind of store that is ONLY located in the "middle of nowhere."  As one friend said to me . . . "You have a 'Pamida'!"  Wow, you must REALLY be in the sticks!"   Yes we are!  As it's the only "department" store in Abbotsford, I had no choice but to run there (they're in the same mall we are) to grab a new printer to tide me over until I could buy a "real" printer that would actually be useful for the store.  Well, 50 bucks later, I had a printer that had already used up all it's ink in three days.  OK, so this is NOT going to work for long term, in any way, shape or form. . . . but in a pinch, what can you do?  

I happened to be talking to my sister the day after picking up the printer from Pamida.  Last year, her company sent me two cases of paper to help us out.  She wanted me to let her know what printer I was looking at as their office manager always manages to find smoking deals on office products.   I e-mailed her a link to the printer I wanted and her office manager managed to get it for me for $50 less and I will have it on Tuesday!  How cool is that!  I'm so excited.  I can't wait to have a "REAL" printer again!  The printer I just bought will be stored as a "backup" for the store in case the worst happens.  Eventually, I'll probably have to get a laser printer, but for now a good laserjet will work just fine.  

That's about it for now!   Tomorrow is shaping up to be a "normal" Monday, so I'll be busy . . . . but that's a GOOD thing!  

Hope all's well with everyone!

Julie

Trade Show!

This past Sunday, Monday, Tuesday marked our THIRD annual trade show with our RV parts, supplies & accessories distributor.   This year's show, as in the past, was the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells.  The resort is a fabulous place, with one of the largest indoor water parks in the country, which the kids took full advantage of!    They had a BLAST in the park, especially considering it's January in Wisconsin!  

When we left on Sunday, we stopped at my parents' house to drop off Maddie.  Mom and dad have taken her in for the last couple of years, rather than us having to kennel her.  Maddie's a good girl, but she misses us when we're gone, and spent most of the time with my parents following my mother around and staring at her!   Mom couldn't even sit on the couch without Maddie right there and watching her!  It was a bit frustrating for mom, but she managed.   They have the world's most spoiled basset hound, Bentley, so they have no problem with dogs.  It's just that Maddie has "separation anxiety" and gets a touch goofy when she's not with us.

The weather was not great for driving, as we had a LOT of fog.  Visibility was about 1/4 of a mile.   It wouldn't have been too bad, if only people had actually TURNED ON THEIR LIGHTS!  I am absolutely amazed at the number of complete and total IDIOTS out on the road who didn't have their lights on!  If you're one of the folks who think that they're daytime running lights are enough, YOU'RE AN IDIOT!   DRL only turn on HEADLIGHTS.  You have NO taillights, which is what you NEED even more so when driving in fog!  If you haven't bothered to turn on your lights, I can't see your back end in the pea soup fog we've been having here until I'm darn near on top of you!   Please, people, TURN ON YOUR LIGHTS when it's foggy outside!   It can not only save YOUR life, but the lives of others, as well!

We started out on Sunday with everyone going to the water park.  The kids spent almost all their time there, and Greg and I managed to find some time to head to the park as well.  We had a blast going down the "Master Blaster" water slide!  OMG!   Two adults on that should NOT be allowed!   We SOARED down that slide, around corners, etc.  When we came to the bottom, the raft we were on (kind of like a blow-up boat) actually slammed into the wall!  OMG!  It was FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!     

OK, back to the show.   We had a GREAT time and did a LOT of buying.  We'll be getting a bunch of new items at the store in the coming months and already have some of them on-line at http://www.rvingoutpost.com.  

One of the really fun things that was completely new was "casino night" at the show.  No, we didn't all board a bus for the local casino, they brought the casino to us!          A company called It's Your Party came in and set up all the gaming tables, etc. and we gambled for a few hours with "play" money!  Each adult was given $1,500 in chips to play with.   Now, Greg and I are NOT gamblers, and truth be told, I can't even play Texas Hold 'em, much less poker or any of the other games.  I figured I'd have to try my hand at the roulette table, as that seems to be easy enough to do.  

Welllllllllll, when I walked into the "casino," Aaron called me over to the craps table.  He couldn't play because he's not 18, but he had been watching for about 15 minutes.  He told me what to do, based on what a couple of the other players were doing.  It worked out quite well!  After two hours, when the gambling was all over, I had turned that $3,000 into $10,500!  That meant was had SEVEN raffle tickets for the prizes, instead of two.  

What a hoot the casino night was!  I even got to shake the dice, and actually made quite a bit of "money" for folks at the table!  Many of us at our table were learners, so when a "real" gambler was rolling the dice and we didn't respond to a good roll, he gave us some "crap" about it.  I told him next time, he has to tell us so we know when to cheer!   

All in all, it was a lot of fun, but also a LOT of work.  We did a lot of buying, and that takes time and research to get it all done.  We're learning though, and this trade show was a tad easier than past shows.  

I'm looking forward to getting all the new products in the store!

Julie

Rotten Day!

I'm going to post about today, and then, if I have time, backtrack to the weekend and our annual trade show with our main RV parts distributor.

Today started out in a BAD way, and it was all my fault!  

RANT #1:  I was going to order boxes to ship our Sausage Casings in on Tuesday, and I FORGOT!  Sooooooo, that meant that today, I had NO boxes to ship them in!   I managed a workaround, eventually, but that's not a good way to start the day!  

RANT #2:  I had to find a dentist to take care of Greg.  He broke a tooth over the weekend, and there was no dentist available.  He suffered it out through our show, but now, today, I had to find someone to help him.  The broken tooth was causing problems with his tongue -- it was cutting into it.   Because of the insurance we have (read:  NOT good!), no one wanted to take us!   I was darn near in tears as I was talking with some of these dental offices.  You see, the problem is that Greg's teeth are in really bad shape, and it's not because he doesn't take care of them.  Ten years ago, he had a bone marrow transplant.  Part of the preparation for that transplant is Total Body Radiation (TBI).  Unfortunately, TBI has a habit of destroying a person's teeth and Greg's teeth are paying the price.  After finally finding someone to see him, and spending 40 minutes on hold with the insurance company, he went in, only to find out that he needs to see an oral surgeon to have some teeth pulled.   We'll get a call in a week from the oral surgeon, and if we don't we should call them (based on the list the dentist gave us).  In the meantime, Greg was given a prescription for a month's worth of antibiotics (why so much?) to take care of the infection in the tooth and/or his tongue.  

RANT #3:  As I was dealing with Greg's issues, I was trying to print orders, etc., and my printer DIED!   Literally, DIED.   I've been having issues with it in the past, and was always able to get it running again.  This time, not so!  

I had to go over to Pamida, in our mall, to buy a new "temporary" printer because NOTHING available there was suitable for a business.   I have to say that I've decided to BOYCOTT Pamida.  I've met the manager on numerous occasions, including at Chamber meetings and other such "professional" gatherings, but he has NO CLUE who I am!   NO ONE from that store has EVER been in ours and we're just down the hall!  I see them all the time when they walk past our store to go to the dollar store next door, but they've NEVER stepped foot in our store.  I absolutely REFUSE to spend money in a store where the managers and employees don't bother to patronize shops in their own town.    The lack of "local" shopping is what hurts small towns, and I absolutely REFUSE to patronize a store with employees and managers that refuse to even shop, much less VISIT the stores in the small communities they live in!  

RANT #4:  The OLD printer was a multi-function printer/scanner/copier/fax machine.  When I disconnected it, I also pulled out the fax cord.  After doing that, we had NO PHONES!    Mind you, I have the phones, credit card machine, fax and DSL all hooked up to ONE line.  We had NO IDEA which one had to be reconnected or fixed.  At this point, I had had enough, and seeing as Greg had come to the store while I was off buying the printer at the local "could-care-less" department store, I simply told him to "fix it" and left for the back room to take a few minutes to calm down.   Five minutes later, Greg had it all fixed and we had phones again.  

Greg left and headed off to the dentist.  I'm not going to go into all that, as it'll just get my blood pressure up again and there's really nothing more to say.  

Is four rants enough for one day?   I think so! BUT, that was NOT the end of my day today . . . I had to take Abby to the doctor for an appointment I made a couple weeks ago.   Abby was having some problems at gym class, where she had problems breathing and had to go to the nurse's office.  Today's appointment revealed that she has "exercise induced asthma."  She now has an inhaler that she needs to use half an hour before gym class and prior to any hard running or playing outside.    

So, that's today's rants . . . I'm starting to wonder where it's even worth it to take a couple days off . . . I'd have much rather had one of these things happen a day, rather than all in one day!  

Hope ya'all had a better day than I did!

Julie

Pea Soup . . . Fog, that is!

Fog is as thick as I've ever seen it.   Temps are in the high 40's, so the fog has lasted all day and of course, we had a road trip to take!   Right now, we're at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells for our annual trade show, where we will find out about all the latest and greatest RV products, together with ordering some new Camp Chef items, etc.   It's a LOT of fun, and of course, the kids already had a blast in the water park.  Greg and I also spent some time in the park and hit the Master Blaster first.  OMG!  What an AMAZING water slide!   Yehaw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because of the warm weather and the amount of snow on the ground, we had a LOT of fog.  Visibility was about 1/4 of a mile most of the time we were on I-39.  Once we got off the interstate onto County Highway 23, it was WORSE!  Once again, we had to endure occasional white-out conditions, only this time from the fog.    

Of course, there were a TON of idiots out there without their lights on!  What a bunch of MORONS!  I flashed my lights at many of them, but even then, they didn't bother to turn them on!   I guess folks don't just understand that it's not for THEM to be able to see, but for other cars to see THEM!  

It's because of those kinds of idiots that there was a HUGE accident just south of where we are.  

[quote]Posted Sunday, January 6, 2008 --- Updated at 9:50pm

- Interstate I39/I90 remains closed from the Beltline south to County Highway N. Investigators hope to have it re-opened by the morning commute.

- Two separate crashes were reported at about 2:30 Sunday afternoon in a Three-mile stretch between the Beltline and Highway "N".

- Two people are now confirmed dead.

- At last three people have suffered life-threatening injuries.

- Officers at the scene describe it as a "war-zone."

- Earlier, UW Hospital was in "Emergency Mode" due to this crash. St. Mary's Hospital had instituted its Disaster Plan. At last check, UW Hospital treated 8 patients, St. Mary's Hospital treated between 20 and 25 people. Meriter Hospital treated 11 patients.

-Eleven people were transported to Stoughton Hospital. Three will stay the night. Stoughton Hospital implemented its disaster plan and called in 40 extra staff including physicians, nurses, a surgical team and various ancillary staff.

- The Salvation Army Canteen is at the scene, assisting victims.

- The Red Cross has set-up an operation at the Wingate Hotel. As of 7:45pm, they have already assisted more than 50-people.

- Earlier, a Metro Bus was on the scene to keep crash victims warm.

If you have pictures from the scene, e-mail them to NBC15 at news@nbc15.com.

Stay tuned to NBC-15 and NBC15.com for more information as it becomes available.

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NBC15 Reporter Erin Koskovich filed this report from the scene:

Julia Wagner avoided hitting another car but got out to see the crash scene for herself. "There was a huge amount of fog and everyone in front of us just stopped short and we didn't even see it. And then we just slammed on the brakes and pulled into the shoulder here and luckily we didn't hit anyone, a lot of people did" said Wagner.

Mother Nature wasn't kind to travelers: patchy areas of thick fog caused drivers to slam on their brakes.

"All the sudden it was white out conditions. It got horrible. A split second after that all I saw were red lights from the car stopped in front of me" said Sam Hillier.

As traffic came to a stand still, cars and semis started piling-up on the interstate, the medians, and the ditches.

"When I got out I looked behind me and two semi trucks were basically barreling down the road taking out the cars in front of them" said Hillier.

"Next thing you know we just got caught up in it. Seeing the semi behind us hit the Trailblazer behind us and then they hit us and our window busted out" said Christopher Nawrot.

It's a scene of mass chaos, with multiple accidents, multiple injuries, and many people wandering the interstate on foot.

"It was just horrible. People's cars were flipped over and had to be pried out. It was bad" said Hillier.

"There's a couple people they pulled out from the car in front of us. In front of that semi, they actually had to pull a kid out of there" said Nawrot.

"We saw a woman who was bleeding and shaking and a firefighter was holding her child" said Wagner.

While crews worked to save lives, the cars backed-up and victims did anything they could to keep even the littlest of their family members alive and search for answers.

"It was pretty much so quick it was hard to tell exactly what went on" said Nawrot.

"A bunch of us were talking and after we came down off the initial high of the accident... a bunch of us we pretty happy to just be okay and not hurt" said Hillier.

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From the Associated Press - Posted Sunday at 8:22pm
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Two people are dead after dozens of cars were involved in two separate pileups this afternoon on a foggy stretch of highway just east of Madison.

The Wisconsin State Patrol shut down Interstate 90 in both directions, causing a traffic backup for miles.

Flares lining the interstate's lanes cut through the fog as traffic crawled north of the accident sites. Visibility was about 100 yards. Squad cars and tow trucks streamed toward the accidents as law enforcement agents directed drivers off the interstate.

The identities of the two people killed have not been released.

The Red Cross has set up a hotline so people can call in to check on their family members. That number is 608-233-9300.

Many of the people involved in the crashes are being taken to area hotels so authorities can assess them.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz released the following statement related to today's traffic injuries:

"Today's accidents were a terrible tragedy, and our thoughts are with the victims and their families," said Mayor Cieslewicz. "I am grateful for the bravery and professionalism of our first responders and other city workers who answered the call to help those in need."

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Statement from the Dane Co. Emergency Management:
(Posted 7:55pm Sunday)

The multi-car accident that included approximately 35 vehicles has resulted in a reported 50 persons being transported to local hospitals.
Individual wishing to inquire about the well-being of family members believed to be involved in the crash are urged to contact the American Red Cross at 233-9300.

The interstate from the intersection of US Highways 12-18 south to Highway N remains closed until further notice while crews continue to remove debris and clean-up the crash scene.

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Statement from the Badger Chapter American Red Cross:
(Posted 7:00pm Sunday)

The local American Red Cross Badger Chapter responded at approximately 6:00 p.m. Sunday to assist victims and family members in a multiple car pile-up on the Interstate on the east side of Madison. Victims who are not injured have been transported by bus to the Wingate Hotel where food and other assistance will be provided by Badger Chapter volunteers. An Emergency Response Vehicle has been dispatched from the Badger Chapter to the hotel. Disaster mental health workers are on call to assist victims if needed.

The Dane County Emergency Operations Center has been activated and the Red Cross will assist by opening a phone line for inquiries about possible victims involved in the accidents. Inquires will be directed to the Badger Chapter office number where the calls will be answered by volunteers. The number to call is: 608-233-9300.[/quote]

Link:  http://www.nbc15.com...s/13486922.html   -- There's video at the link, if anyone's interested.  








Tomorrow, the kids will spend the day in the water park, while we walk around and talk to vendors and see what we need and can't live without in the store for the coming season.   It's always fun, and with this being our third year at the show, we feel very comfortable talking to the vendors and are coming to know many of them, and many of the other dealers.      

I'll try and post again tomorrow about some of the new items we discovered!  

Hope everyone stays safe out there!

Julie


Hope everyone stays safe out there!

Julie