La De Da

The other day I received an email regarding a community event. The person who sent the note signed their name and then under his name had 8 additional lines. They included items like "third runner up in the --- contest" "professional entertainer", "member of the Hoity-Toity Club" and various other lines which I assume were written to impress other people.

I thought it was a joke and asked a person who knows this man. They assured me it was written seriously because he wants people to know his many talents.

My oh my!

My Mom always used to tell us "don't brag and for heaven's sake don't act like your Uncle Ervin!" Uncle Ervin (who had a big belly and wore fake fur ties that came halfway down his shirt) drove a Caddy, smoked and would tell anyone within earshot just how oh so very important he was.

Recently I heard someone ask another person where they worked. The person simply answered "at Mayo" this person is a big shot, well-respected physician and yet a humble "at Mayo" was his answer. I like that.

It reminds me of Barney Fife in a way, always trying to be far more important than he was. Andy used to tell Opie "act like somebody" which is different that "impress somebody".

One of my favorite quotes is:

"You can wear your heart on your sleeve but
you wear your character on your face"

So today remember humility is a virtue and for heaven's sake
"Don't Act Like Uncle Ervin!"

Note to GmG: Yes, I know my use of comma's and quotation marks are probably incorrect. Thanks for overlooking the fact I am punctuation-challenged.

Elks

Last night I joined the Elks club. No, I am not an Elkette or a lady of the Elks but a certified Elk member. Why? The Elks do a lot of wonderful volunteer work in the community. They work with youth, Veterans and give back to this fine community in several ways.

Plus, during orientation last night I learned they even have an in-house theater group called the Jolly Corks. The people I met were friendly and I was pleasantly surprised to see Elk members at least 20 years younger than myself.

This Saturday I will be helping with the kids Halloween party

Thanks to CO for asking where the blog entry was today...I wrote it at 5:10 a.m. but it never posted correctly. She now gets to be the very first guest I take to the Elks!

Tomorrow: people who use way too
many self-important titles on their emails.

Rambling thoughts

Halloween:

Trick and Treaters will have to try another house this year...our house will be dark and no candy distributed from Old Lady Snyder's house this year. I will however by carrying treats in my purse for the rest of the week so just say "Trick or Treat" to me and hopefully you will get some candy and not just the wrappers!

H1N1:

My friend Mrs. P. caring and dedicated R.N. told me to be "hyper-vigilant" and wear gloves all the time in public to help ward off the flu.

Now I need a pair of stylish purple gloves to wear next week at an event with 125 seasoned adults in attendance. Any idea where to buy a pair?

Thank you to Di for reading the blog and saluting me at church instead of shaking my hand.

I did sit in the back of the room at the conference last week and some people thought I was being rude. No, just cautious and a lot closer to the exit.

Happy Wednesday!

Bugs

Blogging bugs have resulted in problems posting. Check back tomorrow...Hopefully the little creatures have gone away for good.

New way to burn calores

If boredom burns calories I should be a size 2 by now.

Three days of sitting in a blazing hot room with fluorescent lighting on a hard chair should have some benefits. I think it's a lesson in patience and keeping my mouth shut. It's a painful lesson.

Fun tomorrow!!

Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. my friend Bob and I are leading a workshop entitled "Lighten your Heart with Laughter" Come and join us in room 201 at Northrup Community Education. Didn't register? No problem, I will take small unmarked bills ($6.00) at the door.

After the interactive class come and join us at Vintage Light Coffee and Tea (across from Shopko North) for some tasty treats and amazing coffee.

Turtle - this invitation includes you too!

Have a great weekend.

Rueben Balls and Ghosts

Guten Tag from New Ulm, Minnestoa!

Yesterday some coworkers and I shared an order of Rueben balls. Delicious corn beef, sauerkraut and who knows what else deep fried balls of goodness dipped in a "secret recipe" thousand island sauce. No doubt healthy and low-fat too....combined with a cold mug of local tap beer it made for a wonderful way to wind down after sitting all afternoon at a conference.

The conference site is at Turner Hall which was built in 1876. The bartender assured us there are ghosts that roam the huge elevator-less facility but try as we might we didn't find any spooky creatures that wanted to buy us more beer or rueben balls.

Tonight's adventure? A tour of the Schell brewery!

Kirk and SDS - I will have a lite beer for you two

and see you back at the Y next week :- )

Busy, busy, busy

Busy working to get ready for a three day conference in New Ulm, Minnesota. Sure hope we find some free time to , take in some polka music or do a little bit of .


Please check back Thursday morning to learn about the highlights of this fine German community!

Nat'l Evaluate your Life Day

National Evaluate your Life Day
is an actual event listed on the "National Days" calendar.

I guess it means that instead of sipping your delicious cup of morning coffee you should spend time picking out your belly button lint and gaze off into space evaluating your life... Do you have friends? Do you have any candy in the house? Do you know what you are going to wear today? Do you have a purpose, a job or volunteer? Good, now stop playing with your belly button lint and be productive for goodness sakes!

Happy Evaluating

Swine Flu

Yes, the correct term is H1N1 but swine flu sounds mysterious. I went to the doctor (yes, again!) for continued asthma related nonsense and the doctor checked me for the swine flu.

I was sort of hoping he would offer me a toasted BLT sandwich, some bacon and eggs or serve me a toasted grilled ham and cheese sandwich then watch for my reaction to pork products but alas,no such luck.

Instead while I was in the office wheezing, hacking and gasping for breath Doctor Smiley took a 7 inch Q-tip and shoved it up one of my nostrils to check for the flu.

Right now I am not currently infected with swine flu however I am at "high risk" and should avoid large groups of people and little germy rugrats. Okay, I added the rugrat part. Since it is next to impossible for me to avoid crowds with my job, Doc suggested I wear those oh-so-attractive protective masks.

That's all this chubby chick needs to complete her fashion ensemble, eh? The masks only come in pale blue. Maybe that's so when you see a groggy, sleep-deprived, wheezing woman lumbering in your direction you can feel calm and peaceful looking at a pale blue mask. What you really want to do is try desperately not to make eye contact and move away as quickly as possible. Hey, I bet I could get to the front of the coffee line a lot faster though!

My plan is to paint a smiley face on the masks. Perhaps one wearing braces. Maybe one looking grouchy. Maybe one that says "what are you looking at?" ha ha ha.


I also decided awhile ago not to shake hands for the next few months. Instead I am going to just salute people instead.

Sadly, I have also decided skip appearing as Mrs.Claus this season and focus on my health instead.

So, blog readers - tell your friends, warn your colleagues, alert the troops and try not to stare when Guppy Girl Snyder and her colorful masks make their debut in public the next few weeks.

Winter Coats

Three years ago I found an amazing winter coat at a consignment shop in Belle Plain, Minnesota. It's a black and white hounds tooth check coat with a sort of cape effect in the back. Very stylish and a great bargain.

The next week my sister suggested I meet a friend of hers from Illinois who was going through the Mayo Clinic. I went to meet Miss Parks and was astounded when I saw she was wearing the exact same coat.

Hounds tooth twins! Miss Parks purchased her coat 18 years ago from Creeger Coat company (which used to be at Miracle Mile.) What are the odds? At 91 years old Miss Parks can still run circles around most people I know and looks smashing in her coat!

The next two days the United Way is giving away 3,000 coats to people in need. They still need volunteers to help with this huge project. So, if you have a few spare hours in the next few days please zip over to
903 W. Center Street and lend a land.



Kudos to United Way for spearheading this important project.

National Dessert Day

Today is National Dessert Day!

Enjoy a piece of carrot cake, cheesecake, have a brownie or better yet stop by Vintage Light Coffee and Tea across from Shopko and see what amazing treats Eve created today!



Then....eat it without guilt. Sure, you might have to spend an extra 6 or 7 hours on the treadmill but it's a holiday.



This blog message was not endorsed by Kick my K. Kirk at the Y

Worth 1,000 words

Councilman Snyder and our adorable friend Maddy
enjoying the RNeighbors Luau.

Call me Old-Fashioned

This weekend I became a facebook member. I am a clueless face booker (is that the right phase?) and know nothing about virtual farms, aquarium games or what it means to poke somebody or write on their wall.

When I think of poking somebody I recall sitting in the back seat of a blue beat-up station wagon. My siblings and I would start off giving dirty looks to each other and then start poking each other with a finger. Then of course you would soon hear "MOM, Mickey and Timmy poked me again"

Writing on the wall used to be considered a bad thing. Are they writing in crayon, dirt or using permanent magic markers?

My sister invited me to join so I did. Then I added three of my brothers, my daughter and then Lola and Melon to the list. I think that's about it.

So, if you are a facebook member and I refused your invitation to join please don't take it personally. The next time I see you in person I will poke you or write on your living room wall just so you know I care.

Cardboard boxes

Thanks to my mother, not a single cardboard box has found its way back into society. We receive gifts in boxes from stores
that went out
of business twenty years ago.

- Erma Bombeck

Compromise

One of us is always cold.

One of us is always hot.

Which person sets the thermostat? Which person adjusts the thermostat?

Given a choice I would take 20 degrees over 80 degrees any day. Even though it is chilly at least it isn't humid and I can breathe! My husband on the other hand thinks anything under 70 degrees is cold.

We have a set of sheets made by a friend that are half-flannel and half-cotton. We have dual control heated mattress pads. One of us has the ceiling fan on and one of us is bundled under 7 blankets.

When the heat is blasting I will cover the vents in the room I am. I often wear summer clothing in the middle of winter. In the meantime my sweetie is huddled under a double fleece blanket sipping hot chocolate.

Both of our vehicles have heated seats. I use mine about twice a year. Mr. Guppy Girl uses his in the summer. Okay, not really but that just sounded fun to say...

I don't wear turtlenecks and only own one sweatshirt. From now until May Mr. GG will be wearing turtlenecks, sweaters, and hats.

Years ago when I was a single Mom we had to pay for the heat in our apartment. My Mom would call and say "Vicki Lou, I am coming over to visit will you please o turn the heat up to at least 67 degrees" SIGH. Of course I did for my tiny little Mom. Then just for fun (and to hear her yell at me) I would wander over to the thermostat and pretend to turn it down.

ha ha ha

Whatever your weather preference is I hope you

-

Back to Blogging

Dear Blog Readers,

Thanks for checking back in. Last week a close friend passed away suddenly and that is why I haven't been blogging.

My friend John was a truly amazing man. Only he could jam pack two Catholic churches 4 hours apart in less than 24 hours!

I gave my first-ever eulogy and it was hands-down the hardest talk I ever had to give. Writing it was easy and I think the tears on the keyboard helped clean out some cookie crumbs... Some of the service attendees may have been surprised to hear me tell stories about wearing a hair piece and oiling the Pearly Gate doors but I got the go-ahead from sweet Mrs. John ahead of time.

A big thank you to my friend, Turtle for encouraging me to agree to give the eulogy. This means she has to give one for me when time comes.

Among his many talents, John was a musician. For several years he played drums in a band and was an energetic co-leader with me for our Kitchen Band. For over 6 years John and I had a terrific time every other week making music with our friends at Ability Building Center and the Salvation Army Caring Partners.

I can't imagine having the Kitchen Band Halloween concert without him this month but will have one in December in his honor (thanks for the great idea Kris and for not letting me be selfish and quit)

So, treasure your loved ones, update your will, settle grudges and live each day without regret.

Happier Posts resume tomorrow!

quote

I am fairly certain that given a Cape and a nice tiara,
I could save the world.
-Leigh Standley



Regular posts resume tomorrow

Break

Taking a few days off...please check back next week.