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Thursday, December 23, 2010

My Christmas News letter this year

Some people are annoyed by the annual Christmas news letter, the one that lists all the apparently awesome things that happened to that family this year...the "my Billy excelled at Harvard" or, "my little Amanda took number one in the fire eating contest..." OK, I never got a Christmas letter that started out like that but fire eating contest! Wouldn't that be awesome? Anyway, put me down as a fan in the I love the annual Christmas news letters...

Look, there's so much bad happening all over the country, the fact that at least someone's family had a good time this year gives me hope! Although, at my house, all my kids were awesome! So here is my Christmas News letter this year, feel free to share with all your loser friends...; ) ...I'm kidding of course, don't share!!!

My oldest son finally realized his passion this year...growing pot, I'm thinking bible school wasn't the right fit for him...BUT...there IS a school for growing pot...Oaksterdam University in Oakland, California, where they have the highest quality training for cannibis-according to the brochure and yes, I couldn't be prouder...sadder yet, this is probably the son I'm gonna have to borrow money from in my old age.

I turned 50 this year...what? Shut up, really?

I'd like to moan and complain about that but while I was busy getting older, my girlfriend was busy battling cancer for her life. She lost her battle shortly after I hit my milestone. Her sister dedicated a facebook page for all her friends to reminisce, and yesterday I read the nicest story about my Sue from Angelia Diaz;

I remember my first meeting with her. It was my interview as prep cook for "let's dish catering" I sat at this long table near the kitchen. Sick too, I was coming down with a cold. I was so scared that she was going to turn me away because I was feeling under the weather and I wasn't thinking clearly to show her the best side of me. Instead, she gave me soup. Chicken noodle soup. It was the best thing I ate that day. I never expected her call a few days later. I was so excited.


That, totally sums up my friend Sue.

Also this year, I lost my job, quit smoking and started up again about a hundred times, was hired at an awesome "classic country station," ended up with a new dog, found out I'm gonna be a grandma again and learned my cholesterol is 296. That's for another newsletter, another day.

Merry Christmas and much love,

Cindy Huber

Monday, November 29, 2010

My brush with greatness, and how I screwed it up

Leslie Nielsen passed away yesterday, he was 84.

I had a chance to interview him for my college newspaper (before Airplane came out). He was playing Harry Truman in a one man play at the Paramount in Aurora, Illinois...either 1979 or 1980. I had never heard of him but my mom was super excited because she loved him as the villain in her favorite soap (that's soap operas to you kids under 30), and my college Spanish teacher was excited because Leslie was his favorite bad guy in a lot of television shows. Stupid kid that I was (college freshman-like that's an excuse, I was a not very bright college freshman), I sat down with him, turned on my cassette recorder, and interviewed him-lots of (now very embarrassing) interview 101 questions;

Hi Leslie, do you like playing bad guys?
Are you married?
How many kids do you have?


Leslie was so kind, he gave me very generous answers-because, perhaps, I was a sweet little 19 year old blond wearing a skirt with a slit in it (disco wasn't dead yet) OR because he realized there was no way I was asking him anything I could use for my newspaper article and he was a very kind man with daughters my age.

Then, at the end of the interview, I thanked him for his time and asked, "Now, do you have any questions you want to ask me?" I remember he gave me a very quizzical look, and said "No," and then preceded to invite me to his play. If he meant anything in his invitation I was too stupid to pick up on it; I told him I had to work that night, but then asked him for his autograph (which I gave to my Spanish teacher! because he had begged me to get one for him), turned off my little cassette tape recorder and went back to school where I typed up my article. The next week I taped over his interview on some stupid new interview I did. When my mom heard I did that she was LIVID!!! She told me I would regret it, yeah, sure, whatever mom.

Then, a few months later, there was that actor I interviewed on the big screen, AIRPLANE!

My mom was right.

Monday, October 04, 2010

I Miss my friend

My girlfriend Sue is in big trouble. She's been fighting cancer since April and up until this week, we thought she was going to beat it. Today, we're not so sure. This comes as a complete shock to her friends and family, all who know Sue to be a fighter and a winner. When I first found out she had this cancer (via her facebook entry), I wasn't worried at all because she had already beaten cancer once before, and that was seven years ago. Plus, maybe it's the way she broke the news..."hey everyone I'm going to lose weight..."

Sue's a chef who had her own catering business "Let's Dish (ttp://www.lets-dish.com/)." I say "had" because her family recently contacted her clients to tell them that she was in rough shape.

Sue is the kind of friend...how do I put this...tough, tender, sweet, sassy, strong, demanding, hardcore left of left Democrat, incredibly loyal and funnier then heck...OK, hell...yeah, that's Sue. If I had even half of Sue's personality, I'd be incredibly rich and famous with a couple of Oscars under my belt. You see, Sue's the kind of person that didn't sit around and wish...she just...did. Want to live in Chicago next to Wrigley field? She did. Want to take cooking lessons in France, Sue did. Want to drive through the Alps, Sue did, although she told me she was so scared she promised God if she survived she would go back to church...she did, at Christmas time.

Seven years ago she beat sarcoma, although the radiation and chemo she got was so strong she was warned that she could possibly develop leukemia, although the chances were rare. When I saw her at her sister's 50th this past February, she was telling me that the doctors told her she was cured because it was over seven years. She was the picture of health, she had broiled several (over 30 at least) of filet mignons with a delicious dipping sauce and a ton of other stuff that she had prepared. (This was not unusual for Sue, who not only catered her sister's wedding, but her own as well!) Then April...now this. Her sister emailed me today to tell me that things are bad, her blood pressure and lung capacity is dropping, and the doctors have called a family conference for tomorrow to "make some decisions."

Everything is reminding of Sue today. Tonight, I saw a flock of geese heading south, and then another goose (solo)heading North and I teared up. I played Vince Gill's "Go Rest High on that Mountain" and darn near lost it on the air. Last Thursday I took part in an amazing prayer group...Sue's sister Sandie asked everyone to pray for Sue at exactly 10:30pm...and I truly felt God's presence, and I knew for sure Sue would be cured. Well...that didn't happen. I'm at a loss, because I know God heard us...

Earlier this year I read Alannah Hamilton's book about Farrah Fawcett's fight against her cancer, and about something Ryan O'Neal said when Farrah's fight was near the end, and that was how he wouldn't mind if Farrah stayed like that forever, just so she wouldn't leave. At the time I was like what, why would anyone want someone to stay in that condition, who would want to live like that...although today I totally understand what he meant. The thought of Sue leaving is worse then the thought of Sue being in her present condition, non-responsive and on a ventilator.

I miss my friend.


ps...Susan Spring Cotch passed away this morning, October 5, 2010.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

If the kids are deaf...blame Sun chips!

I don't know if you saw the recent report where hearing loss is becoming more common in teenagers...according to what I saw on Headline News, one in five teenagers NOW have a hearing loss..I told this to my kids last night but they just said WHAT?

I said hearing loss...

What?

I said you can't hear!

What?

But now I think I know why! SUN CHIPS!

For real, the bags are too noisy. This is how crazy this is...scientist have actually done studies on the sound the bag makes when you open it (because scientist don't have any cancer to cure or whatever)...they studied the big Sun Chip bags, because the small snack bags aren't made with the same ingredients. The problem has something to do with the fact the bag is made from plant based materials...they're biodegradable...and apparently biodegradable is noisy...A problem I don't have when I open my Pringles canister.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

A Father's love, a son's legacy


A couple of weeks ago I had the joy of touring the Kettle Moraine Ranch, and I just had to share this story with you...

This is Al Gagliano. He created this ranch back in 1967 with his son Jeff as a place where disabled and disadvantaged kids could enjoy hayrides, horse back riding, and picnics.

Then Al's son Jeff was killed in an airplane accident, and insurance rates skyrocketed making it impossible to host the children on the ranch. But Al refused to give up, and continues his ranch as a living legacy for his son.

Everyone knows about the tornado that hit Eagle, but it also affected Al as well, as he was caught in the middle of the storm, and barely survived. But this past Labor Day, he opened up his ranch to raise money for disadvantaged veterans. He has a huge heart, he really does, and so I'm going to try to do my part, and pass on info about his ranch, just in case you'd like to do some horseback riding, or take the kids on a hayride, or pony ride. He has general store, petting zoo, and mine shaft for the kiddies, and on the weekend, a saloon for the parents.

Here is his phone number: 262-594-2122 or you can check out the ranch at www.kettlemoraineranch.com email him at heavenjeff@netzero.net.

A thought about "Sin taxes."

I just saw where New York city raised the price of cigarettes to eleven dollars...Yes! Eleven dollars for a pack of cigarettes in New York...they're calling it a "sin tax."

Forgive me if I sound cynical here, but of course these politicians are doing this because they have a passion for saving lives...and not because the state has a huge budget shortfall.

I have an idea for a "sin tax."

Let's apply it for all politicians who pass laws all over this country...If the politician "sin's"...he/she gets taxed!

Think about this for a second...a politician lies, steals, cheats on his/her spouse, promises something but does something else...SIN TAX!

We'd have the budget balanced in no time!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

This just in...the moon is shrinking...


These are my dog's; Brutus (black) and Max (white), and they could care less...


The moon is shrinking...how do I know...some scientist said so, that's how. (Scientists at the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum calculate that the moon has shrunk 328 feet in the past 328 billion years)...but don't you worry about it disappearing in our lifetime...no, we'll be looooong gone by that time thanks to the astroid that's gonna wipe us out in 2182. (This killer astroid even has a R 2 D 2 sorta name...1999 RQ 36...isn't that cute...how could a sweet little ol' 1999 RQ 36 hurt us...puleeze!)

But why worry about astroids and shrinkage when you have rattle snakes in Wisconsin! For real...I found this out when a rattle snake-who apparently caught a ride from Texas on a train-found it's way into the backyard of some poor woman from Sheyboygan who proceeded to kill it with an ice chopper...what was shocking to me was that we have rattle snakes in Wisconsin...the massasauga rattlesnake which "Drop for drop, the massasauga's venom is more toxic than the"...well, I digress since according to the website I found, no one has been killed since 1900...probably because the snakes like to hang out in swamps, and most people like to hang out in their homes and watch the Brewers.

By now you've heard there's a salmonella outbreak in eggs...the good news is as long as you "cook" the eggs or they're baked in something, they're safe...and honestly, "eggs over easy" are gross!!! I've always been a "eggs fried rock solid in bacon grease" sort of cook, so you could say salmonella is going to be the least of my worries.

ps...This just in...first we have salmonella in eggs...NOW it's in frozen mice...for real...there's a company called MICE DIRECT...they sell frozen mice as pet food for reptiles...this may not be a big deal to you...but then again you don't own a turtle.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Off the Beach!

I can't even begin to tell you how nice it is to be back to work!!!
But you know me soooo, here goes...

1. I no longer hate Monday's...because after 5 months "on the beach," every day was a Sunday, except everyone else was at work, and I was still in my pajamas.

(Look mom, I have a job...I'm serving up barbeque at Steinhafels in Waukesha)

2.True boredom is being able to take your smoking break whenever you want.



(It's so good to see you again...at work and not on the unemployment line.)

3. It's always nice to have a reason to get out of your pajamas before noon!

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

On the beach...waiting out the storm.

When you're unemployed, being short cash is always an issue...but being without cable is non-negotiable, anyway that's what I told my husband last week when he asked. Life is too short to be without the Weather Channel during storm season, at least that's my belief...that and the fact that we never got around to picking up one of those special boxes that enable you to pick up all the free channels. So the cable bill is one of those bills that always get paid well, almost on time. Plus HGTV is always on, which is a welcome diversion from the oil spill, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and unemployment.

Recently I had an interview where I got very excited, sure that I was the perfect candidate they were looking for. I had everything they were looking for, I was cheap, I was available to work immediately, and I had personally met Garth Brooks. My husband, well, I can't even begin to tell you how excited he was for me! The day of my interview I woke up to see him reading the bible...that's when I got a little nervous. He was reading the from the Old Testament...Psalms...ok, I can't remember which chapter, I believe it's the one that starts "I raise up my arms crying out to the Lord, please give my wife a job..." (I think that's how it reads, it's not in the King James version, I think it's the newly edited version from Readers Digest)...but anyway, he certainly made his point...it was time for me to nail an interview...And I believed I was ready, having spent an entire spring reading all the latest Monster.com tips on how to dress and prepare for the interview...unfortunately when I came out from my interview, I noticed the next candidate had also read the same articles. I was dressed in a suit, so was he...in fact, he was a friend of mine from another radio station but we didn't recognize each other at first, probably because we had never seen each other in anything but jeans!

So the day came when they were suppose to make their decision, they were going to call me if I got it. I jumped every time the phone rang but each time it was only my husband, asking if they had called yet. By the end of the night, total despair. The "heck with it, I give up..." I put the phone back in the recharger and pulled out the popcorn popper...(and it's not an AIR popper either!), melted half a stick of real butter and totally sabotaged my diet! Then the EAS (emergency alert system) started blaring underneath House Hunter's International so I moved my bowl of total diet disruption out to the porch to watch the coming storm...And what a storm, sirens blaring, thunder blasting!!! Then it rolled over the lake, recharging itself for it's march into lower Michigan, and it was time for me to go to bed.

I dreamed about my nephew last night, two weeks ago I helped with his high school graduation party and I met one of his friends. Two years ago on Memorial Day weekend his family was involved in a head on crash that killed his sister and father. He was in a coma for months, no one knew if he would survive. He did, but will carry the scars of this tragedy for his entire lifetime; his vision is screwed up, his speech is slurred, and he has trouble walking. If anyone should be bitter, it should be him, but he's not. He's all excited about going to college this September, excited about his upcoming new life, grateful to be alive.

I woke up ashamed of myself. And the storm was over.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Update...On the "diet" beach

My sweet little daughter posted this on her facebook page;

Okay, a diet is called a diet so that you don't eat food that's bad for you...so taking other people's Taco Bell food is not a part of that DANG DIET! -__-


And everyone who replied correctly guessed she was talking about ME!

Hey! If I had any willpower, I wouldn't have to be on a diet!

And why the heck is she posting about my stealing her taco bell food?! Here's how I look at it, if you stand next to a hungry giant bear in a bear cage eating a soft shell taco supreme, don't be too surprised if the bear reaches out and tries to grab your taco...and in our house, I'm not in a cage.

I think I've been out of work too long because as the 24-7 dog walker in our home since January 23rd, I now know waaay to much about my dog's bowel habits. On the plus side, that's still more entertaining then anything else on the tube!

I just took what's called a Myers-Briggs career assessment-which included two days of testings to find-and I quote-"specific occupations and career fields I might enjoy" and here's the "career fields and occupations" suggested by my results;
1. Announcer.
2. Radio disc jockey.
3. Automobile salesperson.
4. Elected public official.

Starting tomorrow I'll be taking campaign donations at the Honey dip donuts on South 27th to fund my run for Wisconsin governor this fall...OR I'll be using the donations to buy more donuts...or tacos.

Monday, April 19, 2010

On the beach AND on the diet!

Just because I'm out of work doesn't mean I'm always sitting next to the phone waiting for it to ring...oh no...sometimes I take a nap too...and walk the dog...change out of my pajamas...take a nap...load the dishwasher...watch some Weather Channel...walk the dog, AND take another nap...busy, busy, busy. Then, because I don't want to waste this wonderful opportunity, I've also taken this opportunity to change and enrich my life...No, I'm not selling AMWAY...I'm on ANOTHER DIET!

My mom (bless her) signed me up for Nutrisystems and like Marie Osmond, I'm now changing my life with weight loss, and in three days I've already lost THREE POUNDS! I've already tripled my weight loss from my last diet ALLI-in which I spent three days in the bathroom, BUT STILL didn't lose ONE POUND! Nutrisystems is one of those diet plans where they send you all the food you should eat, and as long as you don't cheat on it...you will lose weight. And the food is delicious, for breakfast I had a blue berry muffin, for lunch, chicken noodle soup, and supper was a buffalo chicken wrap...unfortunately, it is now 10:30 am and I have already eaten my entire meal plan for THE DAY. I'm now wondering, if I go to bed now, and sleep for eight hours, does that mean it qualifies as tomorrow and I can start eating again?

I also read over the weekend that the health Nazis have targeted hot dogs as unsafe for human consumption, arguing that hot dogs should have warning labels on their packaging! As you know, warning labels work...just look what they've done for cigarettes! Honestly, you could put a warning label on hot dogs that show the "dog" holding a gun while smoking a cigarette, and I'd still be looking for the ketchup and mustard.

More later...it's time for my nap.

Monday, April 12, 2010

On the beach update...part two

Since I was laid-off at B93.3fm, I've been asked if I ever listen to my old show and truthfully...NO...but not because I'm hurt, bitter or angry. I loved my afternoon show and how do I explain this...getting laid off in radio is alot like getting dumped in real life. It's like, I want my ex-husband to be happy, I just don't want to hear him with his new girlfriend.

I haven't got a new job yet but I'm hopeful...you may not realize this but when you're on unemployment in Wisconsin you're required to apply for two jobs a week...and as of April 1st, Wisconsin is using a lottery system to randomly call people in to prove that they've been doing just that. Not a problem for me, in fact, the highlight of my day is going online to see who gets my resume this week and drum roll please...it's NASA!!! Congratulations NASA!

I just sent them some information and you won't believe this but I have an interview!!! I've always wanted to be a space cadet. I'll let you know how that goes.

The good thing about all this new free time is I now have time to hang with the girls! Last Friday I went to this "pampering" party for Arbonne and my girlfriend served several bottles of red wine and...weeeellll...I did something bad...real bad...

Get wasted and spend all night in the bathroom?
Worse.

Drink too much and insult the hostess?
Worse.

When I came to the next morning I realized I had signed up to host a party...hey, you got any plans two Friday's from now...want a free facial?

My long suffering better half just recovered from pneumonia last week and I, the smoker have been giving him a lot of grief over it like..."hey, you're always on my case about smoking BUT YOU HAVE PNEUMONIA!" Not me-3 cigs a day Huber! My lungs are clear! Of course it's probably because of all those carcinogens in my Marlboro smooths fighting off the pneumonia bacteria. Man, I hope karma doesn't come back and bite me in the butt for that.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

On the beach update


RIP Big Dave!

Yeah, on one hand, I still don't have a full time job, but thanks to the fine folks at the Wisconsin Hire Center...I have leads, and interviews. A couple of weeks ago I interviewed with a nice lady for a job outside of radio but with benefits you don't normally get in radio (at least anymore)...things like weekends and holidays off, a decent wage, a future with a company, hope in the future, 401k's and dental. Now I'm a firm believer in honesty so I didn't flinch when she said there was no smoking on the premises...but then she asked me if I had ever smoked.

I quit smoking.
When?
About 30 minutes ago.

I'm still waiting for a call back on that one.

Still, this forced time off hasn't been all that bad. I've had plenty of time to watch Oprah AND Ellen, and one of them, I don't remember who, interviewed Wynonna. (Judd-former country singer superstar-and darn-it, I still play her music!) Now Wynonna has either an album or book out-I don't remember-because all I remember was Wynonna was talking about some new diet PILL she was on, and I'm all about (DIET) pills! It's called Alli, and it's suppose to prevent your body from absorbing fat from your food, so I put down the bag of fritos I was consuming and speeded down to Walgreens to buy this new miracle product. It looked simple enough, take a blue pill before you stick something in your mouth and try to keep the fat grams down to 12 grams...easy, right? There was also something in the fine print about exploding diarrea and such, but it said the side effects would show up anytime in the next 12 to 48 hours, so that night when I served the family pizza I wasn't too concerned. And 12 hours later when nothing happened I was elated! I did it, I found the magic pill! Unfortunately, when the side effects showed up a good 48 hours later...well...let's just say it's a good thing I'm unemployed. And, I have plenty of things I can read while holed up in the bathroom...like the newspaper, or bible, or that fine print that came with my Alli bottle.

I lost a good friend in radio last week. His name was "big Dave" Niles, and although I hadn't talked to him in years, it says something about how special this man was that I was shocked, and devastated when I heard he had passed. It also prompted me to have "that discussion" with my family for what I wanted played at my funeral when I died...Old Rugged Cross, God knows when the sparrow falls, and Radar Love, by Golden Earring...

Radar Love was the song I played when I use to work for KRIB in Mason City, Iowa back in 85-87, when the cops were running radar in front of our studio...oh yeah, it was ok with the police, it was one of the cops that told me. They'd pull up outside the studio and tap on the door, I'd put the song on, and they'd run radar and some unsuspecting listener-with some other radio station on would cruise by, and bam!...another radar lover gone!!! Then the cop, as he handed out the ticket would tell the speeder "if you'd had KRIB on, you'd know we were running radar!"

Monday, March 08, 2010

Too much me time on the beach...

The only bad thing about being stranded on the beach this time of year is that i have too much ME time! Honestly, I've just spent the last, well, seven weeks with Me, and honestly, it's not all it's cracked up to be...for instance, I just gave up smoking and I'm seriously having a hard time, and do you think Me has been supportive...heck no! I'm sick to my stomach, frustrated, depressed, argumentative and all Me had to say was "you only gave it up 30 minutes ago, take a ambien and go to bed!" Unfortunately, it's not just Me I've had to deal with...my Gut had to jump into the action and Gut reminded me that there was still half a Reese's in the fridge...i kept waiting for Willpower to show up but he's across the street at the neighbors house...I'm guessing he's just not that into me!

On the plus side, all this "free time" has given "me" time to empty out 15 years of old radio logs, notes and celebrity trivia I've never been able to dispose of because i just might need it someday. Someday showed up occasionally, but, of course, I couldn't find it because it was buried under 15 years of paper. Yeah, paper kids...trust me, there were no flashdrives in 1995 and even if there were, odds are i would have lost it. Paper-on the other hand-lasts forever in a landfill unless you recycle it.

Which brings me to the added bonus of discovering long (and not so long) ago emails from some of my former bosses...now, keep in mind that I'm paraphrasing the notes to some extent to protect the innocent...ME!; Cindy, we're thrilled to have you work here and look forward to a long and prosperous time with you...(four months later)...Cindy, i'm very sorry to have to lay you off but I thought when corporate allowed me to hire you, we had enough money to keep you...would you like to work part-time for us, and when the economy gets better we can hire you back?...Cindy, you just don't have the sound we're looking for...what SOUND are we looking for?...not your sound...Yes, I know you're number one in your time slot but ratings aren't everything...Cindy, if you honestly think Michael Bolten is good what drugs are you on and where can I get some...Cindy, how many times do i have to tell you to please check the request list to see if the song is approved...even if the song IS approved it doesn't mean it's approved, check with me on all songs and if I don't get back to you on it, don't play it...just because it says request show doesn't mean it is...Cindy, I can't believe I heard you say douchebag on the air...do you even know what a douchebag is?"

The great thing about recycling is I can have the visual of it being turned into toilet paper and someone wiping their butt with it...after all, even douchebags need to wipe.


p.s... I saw the first bud of spring this morning...it was a Budweiser can sticking out of the snow next door and my neighbor yelling "hey Huber, get your beer can out of my yard!"

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

On the beach-Clean house

So i decided to do something productive with my time since i was blessed with all this free time, and because i simply couldn't tolerate one more minute of my husband asking "so what did YOU do today?"
(Answer: Everyone Loves Raymond, House Hunters International and Clean House...)
And maybe because the last show i watched before i hurried into the bedroom to change out of my pajamas before my husband came home WAS Clean House, i got this bright idea to clean my house...no really...it's a no brainer really. Every "on the beach jock" knows this drill, pull out all the station tee-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies, wash them and then try to figure out who to give them too...it's a way of wiping the slate clean, start over, move ahead...it's part of the five stages of grieving;
1.Denial
2.Anger
3.Bargaining
4.Depression
5.Acceptance...although we in radio have our own special five stages we call the five stages of job loss;
1.Is this some kind of a joke?
2.Moron
3.Howabout if i promise never to say douchebag on the air again?
4.I'm never gonna find a job with free coffee again.
5.Look for new job/career

I'm now in the "looking for new career" part of a job loss...and it's more productive then the "never gonna find a job with free coffee again stage" I've been stuck in for a better part of a week. Then i moved on to the front room, packing up clothes and books, found the vacuum cleaner and then discovered a very unsettling fact about myself...I'm seriously one item away from appearing in a reality show about pack-rat interventions.

On the bright side, i can take my smoke break whenever i want.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

On the beach...again...update

Hi again...been on the beach for the last three weeks (on the beach-code for unemployed jock) and let me tell you how enlightening this has been to me. For starters I've been to Iowa and seen my parents and it was wonderful. I've spent the last ten years asking God for more time with my folks and He answered my prayers. We fed the ducks, looked at the deers, and watched Murder She Wrote; seasons one, two AND three...one hint...the old lady didn't do it.

I'm back in Milwaukee now, just in time for the snow storm...and just time enough for the kids to get sick of me. For starters, there's a weird smell coming out of my son's room, but I'm afraid to go in without dropping breadcrumbs to find my way out. I've told the boys for years not to leave food in their bedrooms or it'll turn to mold so that smell better be a dead body or they'll be in trouble!

And I've been trying to quit smoking...really trying...or at least throw off the family by hiding it better...we have a dog that won't do it's duty unless it's hooked to a leash and paraded up and down the neighborhood. In the past I've had to spell the words "leash, and walk, and outside"...just recently though, since I've been on the beach, I've had to spell a new word...cigarettes...as in "just a second doggie, where are my cigs." It's amazing how quick a dog can pick up a word you don't want him to understand, just like kids. The only problem now is, the dog's on to me. The other day I was ignoring him because I had already taken him out 5 times and darn it, the Real Housewives of Orange County were on. The little demon went over to my coat, pulled it off the hook, and fished my cigarettes out. A few minutes later when I went to check on the dog-since he had suddenly become so quiet-I found my seven dollar pack of cool, refreshing Camel #9's tore up all over the back room...my husband, accessing the situation, felt the dog was only trying to send me a message on how bad smoking is on my health. I looked into my devil dog's eyes and I got his message alright!

It's gonna be a long winter on the beach.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

On the beach...again

So, a funny thing happened on the way to work yesterday...

Um, there's no easy way to get laid off...no matter how nice they are about it, it's still a loss, a breakup, a "it's not you, it's the budget..."

Worse, i was sitting on the couch when my son came home from college and i didn't even have to say a word, i could see it on his face..."oh no, i'm not gonna be able to borrow money from mom...again."
My daughter took it harder, unknown to me she posted my loss on her facebook page so last night when i was wandering around Barnes and Noble one of her friends parents came up to me and said "we hear you lost your job."

I didn't lose my job...i know exactly where it is...it's in the last place i left it...it's just that it's not mine anymore although i have every intention of continuing my 3p-7p show coming soon to a McDonalds near you. And as an extra benefit i will supersize your fries for you...free, just don't tell my boss.


Three summers ago i was working in the basement of a local corporation for a temp agency calling up factory managers to tell them that a piece of equipment they had, well, let me read from the script..."Sir, the problem is the wire is terminated incorrectly on the heat trace wire." Now i didn't know what the heck i was saying but the guy on the other end would get really excited...especially the guy working at the chemical plant...one day in the middle of all this fun i was checking my emails-ON MY BREAK-wasn't misusing company time-when i got an email from Stan Atkinson asking me if i was interested in an interview...Was i?...Was i ever! Granted, it would be hard to leave my job at the temp agency (they had an ice cream VENDING machine-how cool was that!) But then Stan pointed out that they had an expresso machine...and it was free...and i have spent the last almost two and a half years being extremely grateful for this job, and free expresso!

I love B93.3fm, and quite honestly i'm excited for Jane and CV's show, i really am. Jane Matenear has been a true and dear friend of mine since 1996 and i would trust her with my life...although hopefully that will never be an issue.

I know this sounds so cliche typing this and yet it's true...i have made lifelong friends at MRA (and i hope they remember me when i call and ask them for a loan.)

Now i have to turn my attention to more pressing issues like "why hasn't Starbucks called me back."

Love,

Cindy

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Lily the bear




It's not that you need another reason to log on to the internet, but i'm hooked on a new site called bear.org...someone had the bright idea to stick a camera in a bear den with the thought that maybe a bear might wander by and hibernate, and by God-that's EXACTLY what happened! Even better, Lily had a bear cub Friday afternoon, and since then i've been hooked to the site...it's a live camera 24-7 (with sound!)which means, last night, 3 am, i wake up, can't get back to sleep, let's check on Lily...an hour later my husband wakes up and goes "what in the heck are you doing, are you kidding me?! This is what you've been doing all night?!"

But there's something comforting about watching Lily comforting and cuddling her baby tucked away in a den in Ely, Minnesota while the snow flies that makes the uncertainty of surviving another day, another dollar, another job, "bearable."

(ps...you can check out the site yourself, www.bear.org and once there click on Lily live cam-on the left of the site.)

Friday, January 15, 2010

My Bra for the Cause...

Introducing, the Ginny Electric Boa Bra!

Dedicated to the memory of my bff's Nancy and Sue's sister Ginny who passed away after a nine month battle with breast cancer. Ginny had a huge heart and had a electric personality so i attached a heart, and of course lights...which really was hard to do.

I tried to string battery operated Christmas lights but they kept shorting out on the bra...as God is my witness if i ever design another bra it won't be a padded one! But i was extremely blessed to be working with an awesome engineer by the name of John Church who saudered in some special lights just for the bra, and then, yes, they shorted out too...the problem was the wires kept touching so my husband came up with a plan, that included a glue gun...he worked it so the wires no longer touched and so the Ginny Electric truly is electric!

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Welcome back Texans...


My Texan cousin Mark posted this picture of a sign he took while strolling across the border into Mexico...Margaritas AND free parking?! We live in the wrong place!

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Bras for a Cause

Bras for a Cause, as if bras didn't have enough to do, this year B93.3 fm needs your help to create a bra, and bring attention to the awesome group ABCD-after breast cancer diagnosis-the group the late Melodie Wilson created after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

What ABCD does is after someone (MALE or female) is diagnosed with breast cancer, they match them up with someone who has been through what they've been through; someone who has walked the walk to support someone who is just beginning their journey.

Our Julie Davidson is going to be one of the judges, and i'm going to do my breast, opps, best, to create a bra in the memory of my bff's sister Ginny, who passed away in 1997 after a 9 month battle with breast cancer. So think something with a feather boa and lights...really, lights...i'm looking for battery operated lights that i'm going to somehow magically attach to the bra because i don't know how to sew, but i've watched several episodes of Project Runway to get psyched up and honestly how hard could this be?

ps...So far i've invented a bra that you have to stand next to an electrical outlet to wear.

Resolutions-2010

This year i resolve to lose weight, give up smoking for good, and try to wear grown up clothes instead of the jeans and tee-shirts that has been my uniform for the last 20 years.

2010 is really gonna suck!

Christmas 2009-part 2


(My cousin Mardi, me, my brother Paul circa 1960-something...check out the 50 inch plasma screen tv in the background...)

My favorite Christmas memory involves my dad's layoff back in the 70's and my mom's sad "sorry kids, no presents for Christmas this year." And it's one of my favorite Christmas memories...go figure!

But here's the deal, my mom said we could vote on what we wanted for dinner and...well, we were kids, screw ham, we voted pizza, AND I had my entire family together that night-something that hasn't happened in almost 7 years since half my family isn't talking to the other half-and the night was so special, that the next year, when my dad had a new job, we didn't do presents, and a new tradition was born...the Christmas pizza...of course when i told my kids about my favorite Christmas memories they got all weirded out and wanted to know if i had gotten laid off!