Boulder of Ice
You will not believe what happened. On December 22nd I let my dogs outside and when I looked into the backyard there was a HUGE hole in our cedar fence!! We live in a subdivision, however we are the first house and the yard faces Lilly Road, which is a rather busy street. My heart just sank because it would have been devastating if my dogs had found their way out of the yard and onto the street.
The fence looked like it had been kicked in from the outside, but with the snow we'd see footprints if that was the case. There was a big boulder of ice (like 2' long and 40 lbs. heavy boulder of ice) right inside the fence --- it took us a while to piece it together that the snowplow had passed the house and in doing so shot the ice right through the fence. I figured we had nothing to lose, so I left a voicemail with the person in charge of the snowplowing with the Village of Menomonee Falls. He returned my call later to let me know that he came out, looked at the fence, and would have it repaired this spring. In the meantime, my husband covered the hole with three 6" wide planks of wood. That's how big that hole is!!!
Menomonee Falls Spring Election
It is official!
We are having a contest for a position on the Village Board to be determined in the April election.
Once again, I urge that all candidates prove that they can properly add up a column of 20 numbers and come up with the correct result.
So Now You Have a Choice
Well, the recent signing of AB207 by the Governor introduced the deregulation of the video provider industry to Wisconsin residents. In a nutshell this is what it will mean to Menomonee Falls residents. The Village is no longer able to deal directly with the cable company on it's franchise agreements for use of the right of ways and roads. Any video provider meeting minimal requirements will sign a franchise agreement with the state. We will no longer be able to negotiate any extra perks for the village or school districts, no free Internet for schools or library, and no system for enforcement of customer service.
The Senate and Assembly did try to enforce the addition of Major Sports networks like NFL Network and Big Ten Network to all providers, (Sounds regulatory to me) but they will lose a long legal battle on that one. The Governor however did make some changes. He did not allow for lifetime franchise agreements, as the bill was written and did give some ability to the governing body to enforce some quality control. Providers will no longer have to show they are providing service to everyone in the village as the cable companies have for 25 years. It is apparent already as they are targeting the more affluent areas of the state and ignoring low income and hard to reach places. The bill was introduced to give people a choice but I will guarantee that the guy living in Some Place Little, Wisconsin will still only have one choice years from now. The only difference is he won't be able to talk to a customer service rep here in state they will be talking to Bob in Pakistan.
“Christmas Special Delivery” Production
There was a “Christmas Special Delivery” recently in the Activity Center here at St. Mary’s. 117 boys and girls in K5, 1st and 2nd grade delighted a packed house with their singing and dancing.What amazing talents these young children shared! Mrs. Joyner and Fr. Greg began the evening with prayer and what followed was a true testimony that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.”
We did have a scare early in the morning when one of our families was involved in a car accident on the way to school. Thankfully, there were no injuries but, just in case, an ambulance was called to transport everyone to the hospital. Well not everyone…. Zach, who was playing ‘Elvis’ and singing “Blue Christmas” in the program - he really exemplified the motto, ‘the show must go on,’ because he pleaded and convinced his Mom and the ambulance driver to drop him off at St. Mary’s on the way because he simply couldn’t miss play practice! Now, that’s dedication!
Yet another example of dedication was the group that represented us by singing Christmas carols at the Maude Shunk Library on Saturday morning. These 2nd graders and their parents came out early on a snowy day and shared their time and talents with others.
And, THANKS TO YOU FAMILIES, I used some of Thursday night’s donations to purchase a wonderful Memorex Karaoke Machine. It really helped showcase our kid’s poise, personality and ability!
I could go on, I often do, but there are not enough words to thank you for your continued support of the music and drama program. And there’s more to come!
Christmas Blessings to you and yours!
Marie Green MakalSt. Mary’s Music and Drama Teacher
Something You'll Never Hear Me Say
Recently I was at Panera Bread for lunch. There was a guy at the counter: hands in the pockets of his jeans, one of those beanie stocking hats pulled down tight on his head, and Chucks on his feet. He looked to be an early 20’s college dude.
Clearly he’d not been to Panera before, which to me is shocking because Panera is my satellite kitchen for when my fridge is empty. I eat there all the time. I always order one of two things: chicken noodle soup, or a ceasar salad with no caesar dressing and balsamic vinagrette on the side. I’m not really a sandwich kinda girl. I love grilled cheese, but that’s about it.
"Reconfiguration" 9 thru 12 MF High School
Here is an event that all parents can and should attend. Please attend and give us your thoughts.
Just Try Walking Halfway Through The Mall In My Shoes
On Saturday I got a call from LensCrafters telling me that my new glasses were ready to be picked up. And so while the state of Wisconsin watched the Green Bay Packer game, I went to the mall and picked them up. I then went to the ladies room, which is located in the food court, then walked halfway through the mall, down the elevator, where the T-Mobile guy smiled at me and said, “Hello miss.” I then went into Teavana, where I purchased 2 oz. of tea for my husband, and I was on my way out when I was stopped at the door by a clerk who grabbed me by the arm, pointed downward and said, “excuse me, but you have toilet paper on your shoe.”
Lovely.
Three Cheers For Our Hometown Airline
Two separate "vacations" caused me to miss regular postings on this blog since Christmas. One week we spent some time with good friends in the State of Washington, and the other found us in Florida near NASA's launch facility.
In each case we flew on Midwest Express. What a joy! The six inches more legroom than airline U provides was sweet. Wow, no cramps from sitting in a fetal position. The food was ok - average. It's been a while since my last trip on Midwest, so I was a bit surprised to find that cash is no longer accepted for food or drink purchases aboard the plane. Credit cards only.
Girl Scout Cookies
It’s Girl Scout Cookie time, and my husband has just informed me that he ordered six boxes from one of Zoe’s friend’s from the neighborhood. My first question for him was this: How many boxes of Thin Mints did you order? His response: Three.
Three boxes of Thin Mints, and they are all for me!
Caesar Salads
I was at my satellite kitchen the other day (you know, Panera) when I ordered a caesar salad a la my way (i.e. no chicken, hold the caesar dressing, balsamic vinagrette on the side thank you).
Now, the caesar salad (less the dressing) has the following ingredients: romaine lettuce, croutons, Parmesan cheese. I order it mainly because I like romaine lettuce, and I do not like field greens, which is what many other salads are. I didn’t always like the cheese, however I got it by mistake one day and it turns out that I do like it after all.
-6
Today is the Samson Stomp 5k, my husband is supposed to run it, but it's way too cold for me. We woke up this morning and my husband asked me to check online for the weather, so I connected to The Weather Channel on my cellphone and it said: Menomonee Falls Current Temp: -6. Today's Hi: 3, Lo: 1.
I gave up math long ago, however even I can figure out off the top of my head that -6 is not between 3 and 1.
Destination: Riviera Maya
In a couple of weeks I'm going to Mexico for the first time, my destination is Riviera Maya which is on the Caribbean Sea. I'm very excited! My husband, not so much. He's excited to be going on vacation, but it's the getting there and the coming home that's he's not looking forward to. While I'm edgy when I fly, he's absolutely terrified, and is having anxiety attacks over the thought of getting on the airplane. Twice.
The last time we were on a plane was in September of 2000 and we went to Nassau, Florida on a Disney Cruise. It was the only time we flew together as a couple, and as he's gotten older, and of course now that he's a father, it's harder for him to face this. The time is coming soon though, and we'll both have to face the fear together. Do you have any suggestions on how to subside the anxiety and panic?
Bag of Dreams
My family spends an awful lot at the grocery store. It's crazy how much I have to write a check for each Sunday as we do our shopping --- and I usually have about $10-$20 worth of coupons too.
I never make out on the promotions that Pick N Save runs though. The one over the summer got me a $25 coupon for my next grocery visit of $250 or more. Yeah, I had about 4 of those coupons, and about 3 of the $18 coupons which I could use on my purchase over $180. I'm telling you this right now, I can try to spend $50 at the grocery store and end up spending $250 without a problem. However, every time I tried to spend $180 so I could use my $18 coupon, I came up short. You may have seen me in line the day that I finally was able to use that damn coupon. It was monumental! There was celebrating!!
For Children Lost ~ An Appeal to Mothers
The following is a special request that is written by a friend of mine. I've put a lot of thought into the words I should use to introduce her project properly, but to be honest, I know that I would not be able to give it the delicacy that it truly deserves. If you are able to help Julie, please do. If you feel that you need more information, please do not hesitate to contact Julie (her email address is below). Thank you!
The Promotion Was A Bad Dream At Our House
My wife Meg came home somewhat grumpy the other day after the weekly grocery shopping. It seems that she run into some of the same issues reported by Kimberly in another blog on this website.
It's the last day of the grocery store rebate promotion and with just one more point there would be a step-up to the next level. Drat! There's no way in the world to get it in time. The frustration builds and the time for checkout comes followed by moments of sputtering and muttering. Unlike Kimberly's experience there was no kindly checkout fairy to supply the missing point in this case. "$@*+!^&" Of course, one way to relieve the inner tension is to tell hubby all about it - a kind of catharsis for a harried shopper.
Reading 101
Frozen Doors
The only access I have to my backyard from my house is my sliding glass doors. I have no idea why I don't have a back door, or a door to the yard from the garage. My best guess is that the guy who built this house thought it would be too much of a security issue. Yes. Right here in Menomonee Falls. I can't understand it either. All I know is that my house is wired up the wazoo for just about everything. I've got a security system, overhead sprinklers in the hallways, motion detectors, and my phone lines are located in the house -- you know just in case my life turned into a suspense thriller movie and I dunno, the bad guy came and cut my phone lines. Now you know that you have to invite yourself into my basement to cut my phone lines. Good luck with that. Have you seen my Boxer?
As I was saying, I can only get to my back yard via the sliding glass doors in my dining room. My dogs use that door on a regular basis to go outside, the backyard is completely fenced in so we just open the door and let them run around. The problem is that the doors keep freezing shut. How do I keep that from happening? Any suggestions?
VOLUNTEER
Watching too many soaps? Bored? Need a reason to get out of bed in the morning? VOLUNTEER!
The Menomonee Falls Community Education and Recreation Department has a program called VOICE(Volunteers In Community Education) and you can be a part of it by simply filling out an application. Your application will tell us what you enjoy doing and the type of opportunity you are seeking. It will, also, give us the hours you are available each week. Only want to help once in a while. We can arrange that too!
Reconfiguration: This Thursday January 31st
How Will Reconfiguration Change Our Schools?
JANUARY 31, 2008 6:30 – 8:30pm
Community Center, Rm #102W152 N8645 Margaret Rd.
Sponsored by the Menomonee Falls PTA/PTSA Council & School District
An Uncomfortable Feeling
I don't know why.
There is no immediately apparent reason for my feelings - but something is putting me on edge.
No, I'm not hearing the voices. I'm much better now.
