A Funny Thing Happened To Me On The Way To Writing A Blog Post...

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that it has been almost six months since I last wrote a post here.  I have no explanation for my lack of interest in writing, but it just happened.  I'm back--for now--and hope to write on a regular basis again.  We'll see what happens.  ;)

Now to catch everybody up with my life.  Nothing too exciting, but here are the highlights:

--I still am seeing my personal trainer at the gym.  It has been a year and I'm not tired of it yet.  However, I have gotten away from losing weight--which I'm not happy about--but I'm not gaining, either.  This is completely my own fault--I'm just not eating the way I should, but I'm not eating the way I used to, either.  I KNOW that I will start losing again, I just don't know when.

--We got a bit of news a couple of weeks ago and it has brought a lot of uncertainty into our lives.  K works at a power plant which supplies the power for the local iron mines, their biggest customer.  The mining company has decided that they will no longer buy power from the place K works, so the future of the power plant is uncertain.  No one knows if the plant will close down or be able to muddle through.  A couple of years ago it looked as if the place was going to shut down because of environmental regulations and the cost of bringing the place up to code, but another power company decided to step in and pay for the upgrade so that they could use the plant for power--crisis averted and the place would stay open.  This was when it still would have been profitable for the plant to run and provide power to the mines.  Now we have no idea--and it seems as if NO ONE has an idea--what is going to happen.  Luckily, K has decided he will retire in about two years, so he should be able to have a job until then.  At least we hope so...

We have had a few special events in our lives during these past months.  And here we go:

--One of K's nephew's daughters got married a couple of months ago.  We made a point of attending--something we haven't always done.  (Sometimes it is just easier to stay home...)  Anyway, it was a nice time and we got to see family that we don't see nearly often enough.  The only thing that I have a hard thing accepting--yes, I now my age is showing--is the fact that the girl and her now-husband had their child about two years before the wedding.  I always thought the wedding came BEFORE the children, but that isn't the way it is these days, is it?

--And when it comes to seeing family...
One of my cousins planned a family reunion/get together for the end of June and we actually went to it!  It would have been just as likely for me NOT to show up, as this was The Father's family, but this reunion was a bit special:  almost 2 dozen relatives from Finland were there!  And here is the story behind THAT:

Every year, a gathering of Finnish-Americans is held someplace in the US and this year it was held 'back home.'  (We have had Finn Fest here where we live two times--not sure when the next one will be here.)  A group of my Finland relatives decided to come over and attend the celebration this year and we had a family gathering so that we all could meet each other.  It was quite interesting but I really didn't get to interact with them as much as I would have liked.  The people who were of my generation didn't speak English very fluently and I speak no Finnish whatsoever, so communication was difficult.  (The generation that is younger than us was VERY fluent in English, however.)  It was good to finally put faces to names and I was happy to meet one of my Facebook friends.  I hope to be able to spend time with them in the future.

--And the weekend after the family reunion, K and I found ourselves in the Twin Cities so that we could go to a Tom Petty concert.  We had The Youngest and her husband with us and we all had a great time!  While Tom Petty really looks like ten miles of bad road--he is showing every one of his years, for sure--his voice is still great and he and the band put on one heck of a show.  This has been a bit of a slow year for us attending concerts, plays, etc, so it was good to get to see a show.  I'm hoping more performers that we like will swing in this direction, soon!  ;)

And on to news of my kids:

--While I'm sure I've mentioned this before, I will say it again:  my oldest has a lot on her plate and she continues to pile more on.  A recap:  she has seven children and home schools them.  She has a part time job as the assistant to the township clerk.  Her five youngest girls are in gymnastics and The Oldest helps the teacher in lieu of paying for the girls' lessons.  (I LOVE the fact that she can barter her time/talents in exchange for something that she/her kids need/want!)  The gymnastics work is equivalent to ANOTHER part time job.  She also does everything she can to save money, so she makes things that most of us just buy at the store--for example, laundry detergent!  This takes up even more of her time.  But this wasn't enough for her.  A couple of weeks ago, they welcomed a Japanese foreign exchange student into their home!  The girl will be with them for another couple of weeks, so they will be able to get back to 'normal' just before school starts for the new year.  I am in awe of my daughter--there is NO WAY I would take on everything she does.

--And the most exciting news:  The Youngest and her husband will be moving--SOON.  Our son-in-law just started a new job a couple of months ago.  He now is a repair tech for a company specializing in sterilization equipment, etc, for hospitals and other medical facilities.  He was hired to cover the territory from the east end of St Paul, Minnesota to the Wisconsin border.  The company was aware that they wanted to move closer to the UP at some point, so when the territory in Eau Claire, Wisconsin became available, it was offered to him.  This would have brought them about an hour closer to us than they are at the moment.  THEN, before he even got a chance to start with the Eau Claire territory, he was offered the Rhinelander, Wisconsin territory!  This means that they will be able to move so close to us that they will be only an hour away from us!  (This is the best case scenario, but very possible.)  I think the big move will be happening sometime in October, so we will be busy helping whenever K has time off.  I'm so excited for them--as well as for myself.  :)

So, this pretty much catches everyone up with my life--nothing too exciting, for sure, but it is my life and I am pretty happy with it.  Now all I have to do is try and keep up with posting what's happening, so I won't have to write another one of these any time soon.