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57 Responses to What’s Up ?
Hello everyone! Hope your summer is going well. What has everyone been up to? Probably the biggest thing that has happened to me personally this summer is that I retired. Turned 55 and retired. So right now I am just trying to figure things out. Trying to get myself into some type of routine and figure out the things I want to do first. Maybe down the road, I will write a little bit about it.
I am looking forward to hearing what is going on with you this summer.
And a happy retirement to you, Pam!
I’ve vacationed at the Jersey shore, a favorite spot. I started working at a camp for special needs children, another favorite. I am still driving my girls to various sports activities, camps, pools, parks, friends’ houses. Both girls have another week of vacation to look forward to because they have been invited as guests of their friends’ families. We are looking for a few more local-ish things to do in August for fun. Maybe we’ll go to museums in Washington, Philadelphia, or NYC. We have been thinking of the Baltimore area, too. I have never stayed in Baltimore, just passed through.
Congrats on your retirement Pam. My dad retired at age 53 and when asked what he is doing with all his free time he replies that he doesn’t know but it takes him all day long to do it!
We vacationed in Fl, with my parents & niece & nephew.We were there for the grand opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter @ Universal Studios. While my parents took all the children to Sea World one day hubby and I spent some quality time , and I do mean quality. Quality time=pregnant!!!!! Quality time=all day sickness a mere 3-4 weeks later, ugh, even a drink of water is iffy. OB appt is 1st wk in Aug but no confirmation is needed as the early test strips are all positive.
School starts 2nd wk in Aug and my 3′s(almost 4) will be starting Jr Kindergarten and my 5′s(almost 6) will be starting 1st grade so I’ve been busy prepping for that coming event along with trying to decide if we should continue pursuing adoption process or put it off until we find out what is in store with this pregnancy. There is a very small chance that my egg won’t split this time but we will of course be delighted with whatever we deliver.
It is extremely hot here so we put a cover over our pool for shade and are thoroughly enjoying going in the pool and not having to apply sunscreen.
Oh, I sound so boring, don’t I?
Congratulations on your retirement Pam!! We women are constantly reinventing ourselves aren’t we?
Thanks Lindsey and pattypie!
I won’t try reinventing myself for a couple of months. I like Lindsey’s father’s saying and I will be using that.
Lindsey again congrats and I didn’t realize that your good news was connected with your great vacation. At least you little ones will be starting school soon and you will have some time to yourself. Or do you work? Are your three year olds in an all day program? Your life does not sound boring to me. Anything but!
Pattypie, you did not tell us what you have been up to. Anything you want to share?
Ann’s vacation sounded wonderful and it sounds like Ann will have some time without kids coming up soon also.
Pam,
I am very fortunate to be a SAHM with lots of help. My hubby works 48hrs on/48hrs off so my kids are lucky to have a parent or grandparent with them at all times.
The little girls will be in junior kindergarten 3 days a week from 9-12 for 6 wks and then we have the option to change their schedule depending on how they do. Oh, one thing we are anticipating reactions from is that on Wednesdays the girls will go to seperate classes. My girls insist on dressing alike so I’m already planting suggestions that on Wednesday’s they dress themselves differently to express their own personalities and taste. We are having an at home trial next Wed.
Congratulations, Pam! I think I remember you saying you are a nurse. Once a nurse, always a nurse
. You will still get medical advice calls. My brother’s wife is a nurse. On their answering machine, he says, ” If this is a medical emergency, hang up and call 911.” Hope you enjoy many years of your new life. Have fun.
Hi Wendy!
Thanks and yes I am a nurse. You are right, once a nurse always a nurse. I probably will be doing some part time work down the road in my field to keep up to date. In the process right now of finishing my CEUs and just had my Live Scan fingerprints done to renew my license. However, I am very excited about trying new and different things and having the time to do so!
Congratulations Lindsey! What a great souvenier you brought back from Florida for yourselves.
Lindsey, are you also adopting a child? Double congratulations. You hardly sound boring, far from it, very exciting!
Ann, we are in the process of application for adoption through a church related agency. The agency has already vetted our home environment and also our personal histories and finances. So we have been approved to apply and with the application we have to have 10 letters of recommendation with one of them being our current or a past clergyman. Since we are preggers we are currently taking a wait and see stance before applying. This at the suggestion of our clergyman. Sooooooooooooo?????
Wow, Lindsey. You have the two sets of twins? Maybe this is God’s way of ensuring that you are always raising two-at-a-time! Best of luck, I can’t wait to hear how it all works out!
Congrats pam on your retirement. Take some time to smell the roses and enjoy your kids!! The days do go by fast. I love mornings with a cup of coffee, the newspaper or some reading to catch up on. My bucket list is over flowing, but dreaming of doing something special will always keep me going. Enjoy!!
Thank you justpoor,
That is what I plan on doing. Taking my time to figure things out and just enjoying myself.
Pam-I retired effective the close of business on June 5. I originally planned to wait until my 60th birthday in November but it just got to be too much a hassle to drag my aching lumbar spine through the work day. I ran the numbers with the State Employees Retirement System and there was only a very tiny, insignificant difference in what I’d get by going earlier. I am midway through a project that i’d wanted to do for a while: do an inventory of my books and reorganize them (I’m at over 1,000 inventoried already and still have a ways to go). It’s a lot of work but it’s coming together and I’ve found a bookstore that will take any ones I want to get rid of. It’s also something I can do indoors with the AC on. I’m enjoying having a calmer, less stressful life and I think I’ll like my reorganized library when I’m done.
Peggy P,
Congratulations on your retirement! I retired on July 5th! My 55th birthday. It is going to be great, right? LOL
I also retired from a State Retirement System and I am telling you the paper work was like buying a house.
Wow! You have a lot of books. That is a big project. Obviously you are a reader. Maybe you could lend us a hand in our Book Nook. Please feel free to write a review on any book that you think would be interesting to our group.
We haven’t done a Book Club selection in quite awhile. I, for one, will have a lot more time to read now. Maybe we can see if anyone will be interested in doing another selection.
Congrats to Peggy also. It’s too bad so many of us live so far apart, we could enjoy a morning cup of coffee or tea, brag on our grandchildre, share some laughs and act like girls again for just a little bit. Wow, Peggy, you have a personal library!!! Wishing you the best.
Congratulations on your retirement PeggyP. As a contributing member of PSERS, thank you for everything you have done for us. I’m a PA teacher.
Thanks, all. Ann, I’m a former Commonwealth employee so I’m under SERS, although my parents were both educators.
Pam-I’ll look in the Book Nook to see what interests people. My own collection may be a little too taste specific for a book club since my interests are primarily in non-fiction, particulary history (mainly, but not exclusively, Revolutionary War, early federal period, and the Civil War and the events leading up to it and its aftermath_. When I discovered the Civil War, I came to realize that the results can be rather mindboggling when you combine an intense interest in books with a focus for collecting. I’m part way through Bruce Levine’s Confederate Emancipation.
We’ve been spending some time at my moms, she lives on the lake. We took the girls on a holiday to Toronto(during the heat wave) the Gosselin kids were not the only ones, touring a city in the heat. The next round of holidays I’ve been trying to convince Mr.M to go camping, no luck yet. He’s worried that we would literaly have to tie our 23mth old to a tree & have a little spot for her to play. She’s very, very busy..so we’ll probably just stick to day trips, we have swimming lessons starting in August for two weeks.
Mr.M did just last night plan a night away for the two of us, we are going to Toronto to see Rock Of Ages at the end of the week. Maybe if it’s another heat wave, I’ll get to do some shopping…that seems to be the only way I can justify to myself & Mr.M, spending time indoors when there are so many other things to experience. When we go to Toronto in the winter though, I take all the shopping opportunities I can…when you live in the sticks you have too!
I would be in for a book club..we moved last fall, I really miss my old one.
Happy retirement Pam! My mom retired last fall she was worried she would be bored. That SO did not happen, she’s been enjoying it to the fullest.
Thanks Momsby,
You sound like you are having a great summer although quite busy. A busy 23 month old must keep you busy also, LOL. I can remember those days. Yikes!
We have done a couple of Book Club reads in the past year and I have enjoyed them. Let me connect with Anya and Jennie and see if we can get another one together so that maybe we can start in September when maybe people will have more time.
I think I will post in the Book Nook and ask for suggestions or maybe people can just discuss it her.
PeggyP, I am looking for another Alan Eckhart fan? Any chance you’ve read his fictionalized accounts of the settling of the Ohio River Valley? My younger brother told me there are some problems with his books when we vacationed together. I still have to google it.
Momsby, I looked across the Lake Ontario to Toronto through one of those touristy magnifiers (put in a quarter…) once. I would LOVE to visit there, even during a heat wave. We vacation at the Jersey shore most summers, but my husband requested that I look to the north for a cabin for next summer. He would love to go sailing in upstate New York or Canada.
is this where we are looking for Book nook suggestions for our upcoming Book club? I checked Book Nook, and Jennie has a post there about being nagged to read The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo. I just Netflixed this movie (the foreign film with subtitles. I don’t think they have started filming the US version.) I loved the movies though it had scenes that were tough for me to watch (rape, dead bodies.) Is anyone interested in this?
Momsby, please let us know how you like “Rock of Ages.”
I was on vacation last week and we saw “The Lion King” on Broadway. It was a very impressive production, but I have the feeling I would have liked “Rock of Ages” better. (80′s girl that I am).
I would love to see it one of these days.
Pam, happy retirement. I hope you are enjoying your days! Congrats!
And, congratulations to you too PeggyP on your retirement. Hope your back gets better.
Theresa-Thanks. I am enjoying retirement. The back is not going to get better; the problems are structural in the spine, but, for now, it seems to be stable and not getting worse, and that’s a blessing. It’s a lot easier to deal with now that I can lie down and rest when I need to.
Thanks Theresa!
So far, so good!
Pam if I might suggest have you thought about applying for disability? I did earlier this year and I’m in my mid 50′s but I have so many severe medical problems I was told it would take at least two years before I might even get it and it’s real tough to get it. To my surprise when I went to see the social security doctor he took one look at me without even an exam yet and he said he was going to probably ok my claim for disability. Gee I didn’t know I walked that bad! I have lumbar problems too and I try like crazy to walk normal but I guess I must not be hiding it from anyone if he came to a conclusion that quick. Within 3 weeks of applying I got it thank heavens. They actually told me I should have applied for it five years ago and I probably would have been ok’d at that time because that’s when it started. So it’s worth a try. Since I had been a stay at home mom I got in from my husband’s social security. I didn’t even know that was possible. It sure helps during these tough times too.
Pam I forgot! Happy Retirement. You might even find yourself busier now as time goes on then even when you worked. My sister retired some years back and I swear she is ten times busier than when she was working.
@Anya…if your an 8o’s girl you will love Rock of Ages, we really enjoyed it! I’ve been to quite a few & it was right up there for me.
The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo got rave reviews from my husband, although he forgot to tell me he was enjoying it until after he’d returned it to the library…grrr he does that alot!
Although, these days he reads more than me because I seem to be on the computer more in the evenings:)
Ann…We used to live 10 minutes from Lake Huron, my husband has always said he’d love to sail to places unknown someday, I’m not as convinced! He’d have to learn how first, I’m actually not even sure if he’s ever been on a boat like that(lol) I think he just likes to imagine the adventure, his favourite child hood books were Pippi Longstalking & it had pirates;0
Has anyone ever read Bitch magazine? (Feminist Response to Pop Culture) I’ve always seen it on the magazine stand but never bought one until recently. It has some good articles-one about the word MILF, another about feminism in hip hop music (I thought of that after reading about that horribly misogynistic and annoying song about Kate) and some book recommendations and reviews.
What does everyone make of that new show on TLC called Sister Wives? I’m curious as I am a Big Love fan. One of the wives seems to have a good sense of humour. I will definitely check it out.
Anya told me about Sister Wives over the weekend and I have to admit that that’ll be must-see TV for me, at least at first. I love Big Love, and I find the concept of a reality show about polygamists intriguing.
I’ve never read Bitch, though I’ve heard of it. I should see if any of the articles are online. I hate the phrase MILF almost as much as I hate the word cougar. Yuck.
Count me in for Sister Wives too. In addition to being a huge Big Love fan, I have read a couple of memoirs recently about polygamist families. I am thinking if the family agreed to do this show, they must be relatively normal by polygamist standards. I can’t imagine a real life Roman Grant!
Teresa, I’m not a big mag reader, but a friend gave me a couple of the Bitch mags some time ago. I really enjoyed the articles.
I am in for Sister Wives too. Yes, I have to watch. I remember back when I thought J&K shouldn’t be on the air. I have gotten used to it and it’s up to to these families how they wish to live their lives. I will def be taking a look as curiosity calls.
I am really out of the loop. I will have to watch Sister Wives also. I had not even heard about it. Should be interesting and maybe we can put up a thread to discuss it. When does it start?
Until I read the article in Bitch I had never contemplated a feminist analogy of the word MILF but it is interesting and sort of sad. When people think of the word MILF, they imagine a woman who possesses certain physical attributes like a smooth stomach and firm, perky breasts neither of which is consistent with birthing and nursing a child. And now there is cosmetic surgery marketed to moms with packages that include breast lifts and tummy tucks all in pursuit of MILFdom. And how did it even evolve into that in the first place since the word MILF started with the movie American Pie and Jennifer Coolidges character of Stifler’s mom. She looked good but she had a normal mom shape-not thin, curvy. Why can’t MILF denote a good mother with saggy boobs and a stretched mark tummy? Well, maybe some men like that sort of thing but I’m talking about how the word is portayed in mainstream media.
Congratulations Pam I see you did it! Retirement is great. It took me awhile to figure things out, especially since my daughter was in high school at the time, but it works itself out.
I am in for Sister Wives also. I find it facsinating. Anya did you read The 19th Wife?
As for MILF…… UGH! Can’t I just grow old gracefully.
Thanks Paula,
So far, so good. I see there is a big push to stop public employees from retiring in their 50s so I guess I am glad I did it now. I still plan on eventually doing some type of work but I am taking my time with that. I actually do not really feel retired yet because of the summer. I always have worked in the summer but only part time. I think it will hit me come September.
I see Sister Wives is not on until in September but we will have a thread to discuss it then.
Does anyone have an iPhone? What apps do you have? I’m totally addicted to Jumbline. I’m cheap so I only get the free ones.
I have a number of free apps on my iPhone; I like Whirly Word, Scramble 2, Sudoku and Mahjong. All great time wasters. I also downloaded the Stanza book app and have been downloading public domain books to read for free (current read is Jude the Obscure…sigh).
Ehem…I love Thomas Hardy, Jennie. You should try that book!
Really, Ann? I am trying. I find Hardy trying, unfortunately.
Eh, I’m not *that* far in, and I may be predisposed to complain because everyone told me how grim Hardy was. But so far the writing is kind of 19th century “blah blah blah”, and the story is indeed depressing. But I will perservere.
Teresa, I will have to check out Jumbline. I am not a big “game” person, but overall, I like word puzzles the best. They are also good for the brain, I hear!
I have an i-Phone and I can’t remember the last time I bought an app. Most are .99 cents, but it is something I am cheap about and I don’t think I will change. (I waste enough $$$ in other areas of my life).
Sad to say, but a lot of my apps help me stay connected to the internet — Facebook, Twitter and a couple of news sites. I say “sad” because it can become a little obsessive if one isn’t careful.
I do love the public domain books Jennie mentioned. I finally read “Little Women” which is something I just never got around to in my youth. My late mom would be so proud. She loved that book!
There was an interesting (IMO) article in the paper yesterday. The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, will be the first PM to take paternity leave. My husband took six weeks of parental leave after each one of our four kids were born. Up until recently, he had been the only dad we know to do this. I am not sure why more dads don’t take this opportunity. True, you don’t get paid as much but with a little planning and penny pinching it can be done. I was so thankful and grateful that we were able to do that. I think it would be great if more dads did this.
It is so fantastic that your husband could do that. I think more and more men are doing that . We should do a poll with a post about this topic. My kids are in there mid to late twenties and I don’t think that law existed back then but I doubt in my husband would have do so. He was brand new in a company and that would of not been tolerated if you wanted to climb the ladder. That is sad.
I think it is wonderful that men can do that now and I really wonder how many have taken advantage of it.
I’m wondering if you’re getting any feedback about extremely slow response time on IW, starting yesterday and continuing today? It could be my internet security, but I’m not having trouble on other sites. Usually I eventually get the page I requested, but a few times there has been an internal server error message. Happy Friday!
Hi
We are working on it. I have spoken to both our service provider and our IT guy both yesterday and today. I thought we were able to fix a few things yesterday but some of it has to do with traffic periods.
I think we might need to upgrade our server because our traffic and page requests have increased. I am hoping to have this resolved soon but with the holiday weekend coming up I am not sure.
Sorry.
It’s ok, Pam. I just multi-task. I have mainly noticed it on the comment feature today.
Thanks for letting everyone know, however.
Anyone have special plans for the 3-day weekend???
Teresa and Pam, I agree that this is a wonderful news and a very positive sign.
I work in HR and we are starting to see more dads do this. It helps that California introduced “Paid Family Leave” a few years back. In addition to other benefits of the program, new dads are eligible for up to six weeks of wage replacment benefits from the state – typically about 55% of their salary. Many times, employers will make up the difference with vacation or sick leave.
And I know what you are thinking – isn’t California broke? Well, the nice thing is it funded from employee payroll contributions (a very nominal % of salary).
It was slow for me in the beginning of last week, but it’s been better yesterday and today, Pam. Lots of lurkers, I guess!
I have LABOR to do over the holiday, Anya. I am cleaning out my section of the garage, and condensing it to my assigned corner. My 100s of children’s books are encroaching on valuable real estate that belongs to my husband and is needed for cars, car parts and other dirty hunks of metal.
everyone told me how grim Hardy was.
Yes, he’s grim. Yes, it’s a depressing story. Almost all of Hardy is depressing. I love his tragic stories and I love his writing. His descriptions are so beautiful.
I’m thinking of two with happier endings. Try Far From the Madding Crowd. I have no idea what the title means, but I do love the story. Then rent the Masterpiece version on DVD (must star Nathaniel Parker.) I like his heroines. They are Imperfect Women. They make mistakes but they defy expectations. They are strong-willed or want justice.
Here is Bathsheba Everdeen announcing to her workers that she will not be needing a man to run the farm. (Scroll the video to 45 seconds) It’s about one minute of one of my favorite scenes in that book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpXhWNU27lU&feature=related
Thanks for the info Pam. Since I returned this afternoon the response time has been great.
I started reposting here in the past couple of days because of the Jon Gosselin/Rabbi story…it just pulled me right back in. However, I guess I have been one of the “lurkers” mentioned in post 50 for quite a few months now. I generally feel that my feelings are usually much better worded by others on this site, Anya in particular. I imagine the large majority of this sites’ traffic is the same as me. I realize post 50 was not about me, but I will admit I had such a negative gut reaction to the word lurker, I looked it up (online of course). Wikipedia focuses on the internet definition for the most part, and I honestly never knew this “modern” definition. You learn something new every day.
I imagine I will continue to do more reading than posting here, but I do appreciate the existence of this site.
My husband just started his last six weeks of parental leave ever. This is our last kid. He was on parental leave during the whole month of July as well. One of his other coworkers is going to be starting his parental leave soon too. As far as I know, they are the only two at his work who have done it. My husband told me that the guy who approves the requests for leave is annoyed and said the next person who asks for it, he will reject. What? That’s not even legal. My husband says, “What a jerk, huh?” LOL! But that it too bad. That is probably one of the reasons men don’t take leave. They are concerned about their job status even though they are legally protected from any negative results of taking parental leave.
I am fortunate to have a son-in-law who is very hands on parent to my soon to be 15 month old grandson. I can’t believe over a year has gone by since he was born. He and my daughter are both teachers so they were both able to be home last summer when he was born and again this summer. In fact, my daughter teaches autistic children and her district has a summer program which she runs. SIL actually did all the care giving over the summer. My husband was also very hands on – he worked midnight to 8:30 and I worked part-time in the afternoons so we both had a big part in raising our three kids. It’s great that the role of fathers is finally getting some equal time with employers. Congrats to those who are fortunate to be able to retire and those having babies!
Rhonda
Teresa E. Congratulations. I just saw the comment about your husband starting his last parental leave. I’m not sure where you’re at in timing, and if this one is your 4th, but good luck and congratulations! What nice news to hear.
Hey Rhonda! I can’t believe it’s been over a year since he was born. I bet he’s sweet as can be. How is the photography going? Are dark rooms a thing of the past?
Thanks Rhonda and it is good to see you! I can not believe your grandson is going to be 15 months. Wow! It sounds like all of your children are employed now and doing well?
Hope you keep in touch.
Rhonda, I’m sorry. I got you crossed w/Sue on the photography. It just clicked that I had my wires crossed on that. You should pop in more often.