Christmas behind us...

As much as the weather played a part in the holiday celebrations this year, it actually went pretty well. It was SO hectic getting Chuck home in time to celebrate at all, but it turned out to be a nice weekend. With Christmas eve canceled, the kids and I hung out waiting for Chuck to pull in. He finally rolled in around 8/8:30 on Thursday night and we were so relieved! We had a nice dinner and went to sleep pretty early. Friday we enjoyed lunch and many nice gifts with the Hartkopf side. Sam sure has succeeded in livening up that celebration! The first few years we celebrated with Chuck's family Alex and Marco were 7 and 6...they were pretty rambunctious, but it seems like they've calmed down, some, over the last 6 years. Adding an 18-month-old to the mix became a resemblance of a 3-ring circus! He a little nut, very busy....try keeping up with him 24/7! (exhausting - especially when he's awake almost all the time...he only sleeps 8 out of 24 hours!) Saturday was a beautiful day...nothing particular to do. I really appreciated Chuck home that day, so I could sleep in and he could hang out with the kids for awhile. It was GREAT to have a break, that day's rest will pull me through to the next home-time! Sunday the Johnsons,Nylands and Jedlickas were over...8 adults and 4 kids; I'm the only one with kids in my family, but they're fortunate to have so many people in their lives who care about them! (Thanks everyone for all of the nice gifts, if the kids didn't say so I know they were thinking it!) The best thing about Chuck being gone so much, is that when he's here, he's HERE, he's very focused on the family and every little thing is special. It really was a great weekend. This morning he left at 4:30 am (I hadn't even gone to bed, yet, because Sam was still up from 11:00 last night). He had to drive down to Inver Grove Heights to pick up the truck and bring his load of insulation up to Duluth and Superior. On his way up there he got to stop and have breakfast with my dad and Jean - he really enjoyed that...I hope you got some good pictures, Jean! (you'll have to share them with me) After a lengthy visit he had to tear himself away and get back to work. He got up to Superior and then to Duluth, then he got a pre-plan from Cloquet to Colorado. He would've LOVED to take that trip, but there was a reason why he didn't (and I can't remember what it is, right now...remember, only a few hours of sleep....20 hrs ago). So they sent him another plan taking him to Indiana. He's happy with that - it's about 740 miles I thought he said. He's expected to drop that load on Wednesday. For right now, that's the deal...I'm glad he's not headed southeast for once...to go into all that snow we've just had for the past 4 days! He set his next home time for January 15th, 16th and 17th. We're hoping some people who had contacted us, previously, might want to get some tattoos on Saturday of that week...that would be good. I have to get in touch with those people this week. So, another 18 days...sad to say goodbye...start counting the days when he's back! I have this week, yet, off from school and the older kids are with my mom this week, so Sam and I have plans to put all the Christmas stuff away. We'll be home partying for the new year...that's okay...I can't remember the last time I went out on New Year's eve. I can't remember the last time I went out....! Once school starts back up the time will go faster - I spend 20-30 hrs a week working on coursework...it's very heavy and intense. Thank goodness for breaks every 8 weeks (only 4 days, but still!) I start practicum hours in February, another 10-20 hrs a week, depending on the professor. I will need a set amount of hours by the end, so if I don't do them for this next class, I'll do them for another...it's a licensing requirement. Busy busy, we're at the heart of basketball season. Alex decided not to go out this year because her grades were suffering and Marco has practice on Thursdays and games on Saturdays (10-11 at Mississippi Heights elementary, if you're interested!). He didn't make a decision on time for traveling, but he's regretting it right now...probably next year. Alex really wants to switch to swimming next year - I think that's a good decision! Anyway, getting off track! You are getting a glimpse inside my head....too many things to think about! I realized how much I take Chuck for granted when all of that snow hit...thank goodness the kids are big enough to help! Doing everything when he's gone is really hard!! 'Course I was alone with Alex and Marco with my own house for 6 years before he came along (and they were only 2 and 4 when I bought that house and they couldn't help me at all!! ...I should remember this!! I've been spoiled! :)(it doesn't mean I have to like it!) I think this week I'm also going to try to wrap up all of the end-of-the-year stuff, if I get a chance, for taxes. It's that time, again! We are learning what kind of deductions he has a driver, too...that's something new! I was REALLY busy in 2009 with loan closings, so I have a lot of mileage to calculate!! Better get going...it seems like the projects are piling up as I write this!! Well, have a great night...I'll probably be updating next on Wed. unless something profound happens between now and then!! Good to catch up with everyone over Christmas!

Robin

Not sure how Christmas is going to work out....

Chuck is finally moving out of Chicago (it's 12:30 on Thursday morning)...he's not sure how to handle this. He's going to call his driver manager at 6 in the morning when he gets in and find out what to do. He was supposed to be home on the 24th, but his hours of service don't match what they want him to do. So, what if he gets all the way to Duluth with this load (4,000 lbs of insulation)....he has 2 stops at the Menard's in Superior and in Duluth. He will be there to unload it at 8pm on Christmas eve. Do you think anyone's going to be there to unload it? Then, he won't be able to move because his hours will be up. So, he'll be ready to move at 6 in the morning on Christmas Day, but who is going to be there on Christmas day to unload him? So, he would have to sit out the whole day until Saturday when someone's there to unload him...by then the entire holiday's gone....This is turning into a big mess - between that and the snow! I'm making sure the kids don't open any presents until he gets home, though...he doesn't want to miss that. We'll have to see what his driver manager says in the morning....I'll keep you posted. We switched our Thursday to Sunday, already, but if he doesn't get home until later he'll still get 3 days home because he's been on the road more than 18 days....he gets one for every 6. Alright, just thought I'd keep you updated...Merry Christmas!! Stay safe in this weather!

Christmas Eve is a no-go

Well, it looks like Chuck's driver manager poorly planned his route home...He was supposed to be home on the 23rd, originally....but they sent out a message that wouldn't let anyone get home sooner than the 24th. He'll be home on the 24th...at 10:30 at night....if the weather cooperates. He's in Chicago...he can start driving at 3:45. He has to go 1/2 hr away to pick up an empty trailer because there aren't any at the terminal in Gary. His load has to go up to Duluth...which will fill up almost his entire 11 hours (if the weather's good) he can add 2 hours if it's inclement, but it has to be bad...and we don't really want him to HAVE bad weather...remember what happened last time? So he'll get to Duluth but then he'll run out of hours. If he was just a little closer I'd consider going to pick him up, but that's pretty far, especially if the weather is the way they say it's going to be. So he won't be able to leave Duluth until 2:45 on Christmas Eve, but he has to take his truck down to Inver Grove Heights for his home time (which is ridiculous), they say it's for his own good - then if the truck doesn't start from the cold they have the techs right there, whereas if he's at home with the truck he'll have to pay the bill if he needs it jumped. So, he is going to be sitting in Duluth for the day and head back to Inver Grove Heights to drop off his truck, then back home in his little Dakota...hopefully the snow won't cover those little tires! As long as the snow doesn't keep him Christmas Day is still looking okay, but then the people that were coming for Christmas Eve...we've rescheduled for Sunday 12:30pm!! I would just keep things the way they were, but he wasn't home for Thanksgiving, either, and he's really broken up and homesick, so he deserves to be included in Christmas. I hope you understand! We're almost through the holidays...6 more months til June! :) Happy New year!
Robin

I ♥ NYC!.....but "I'll be home for Christmas...."......

Well, talked to Chuck a couple of times, today. He called first at 6:00 this morning. He was having trouble getting in touch with his shipper, so he thought he'd call me to make sure his signal was working....it was. So he said "hi" and said he had to go. He called again around 8:30 and he was in East Brunswick, New Jersey...he was delivering a load to the Kmart there, and then had to go up the road a piece to another Kmart and deliver the other 1/2 of the load there. While I was talking to him they kept sending him messages on the qualcom to pick up loads in NYC - he kept denying them, for one because his hours wouldn't accommodate the time frames and the other because he really didn't want to have to go back there. He finally talked to his driver manager and that's all they've got - so he's on his break right now - until 10:45 tonight, then at 11:00 he'll leave and head for New York City - he'll get there about 12:30 at JFK to pick up a load at the DHL dock at the airport and it's headed back to Illinois. His DM told him that his ticket home is to go through "Chicagoland"....meaning the greater-Chicago area - such as the terminal in Gary, Indiana. So, he'll be T-calling this load in Gary and they'll send him another shipment at that time to be able to head north to MN. Hopefully the weather will hold out - now WE're supposed to get a snow storm...yeay. He said out east they don't plow, really....they just put salt on everything because the temps don't get as low as they do, here. That's okay for 6-8 inches, but they got well over 14 inches of snow in that storm, so there's slushy messes everywhere. He's still got the piece of his truck strapped to the back of the cab, although he doubts they will even be able to use it, but if he didn't bring it they would be upset he didn't....so he's being proactive. It looks like as long as the weather holds out, now, and road conditions stay feasible, he'll be in Chicagoland on Wednesday and as long as he plans his hours right and there's freight, he'll be home on Thursday as planned. whew. Now everyone just say a little prayer and cross your fingers! Well, Sam's down for a nap, so I have to clean the house that he just spent the last 3 hours terrorizing and work on a couple of big projects that are due for class on Wed. I don't think my professor's human. My aunt Anita said to check for green blood, but I don't even think she bleeds...I think she's a robot! Well, Christmas eve is still on at my house - hopefully Chuck will be home by dinnertime - and Christmas day we'll see the Hartkopf side of the family! I'll keep you all posted if there are any changes! Happy Holidays!

Robin

He's staying put...!

Chuck finally got a tow at 1:30 to get him free of the guard rail...it took them 3 tries to winch him free of the rail. He's done much more damage to the truck than originally thought. He strapped the body piece that was in the ditch to the back of the truck...hopefully they'll be able to reattach it. He did also have a flat tire - behind the cab. He waited for a second tow to come and fix his tire so he could move forward. The tow truck pulled him to the next ramp, around 2:30 this afternoon. He is now sitting on the ramp somewhere near Cumberland, Maryland. Another driver pulled up behind him - that guy, unfortunately, was empty, so his trailer is blowing all over the road. That driver is from Maine. Chuck, luckily, has 40,000lbs of Ragu` spaghetti sauce behind him. So, he's heavy, otherwise he might have had a worse outcome earlier in the day. He was in touch with his claims department in Phoenix, luckily the woman he spoke to was originally from Salt Lake City, UT, so she knows about snow! She had him take some pictures of the truck so they can determine the damage, etc. before he gets to a terminal. I'm not sure what will happen, now. He will try to go forward, tomorrow, if there's a break in the storm. He's 30 miles from the next truck stop. He only had a 1/2 tank of gas and it had taken him 3 hours to get 40 miles this morning. He's had the truck on most of the day to stay warm. He does have food in the truck with him, and water...but no bathroom on board, obviously. He said if things got really bad he could see houses not TOO far away - probably 1/2 mile away or so. I think it's best if he stays put. He told me not to worry, that he's a "big boy"....but how can we not worry? Hopefully Swift will be forgiving when they complete their investigation....I'm not sure when we'll know that. He's just hoping to get home by Thursday. It's supposed to snow until Thursday, and I'm not sure, also, if they will have him keep driving the truck damaged or if they will want him to get it into service on Monday - that could hold things up, too. What a day! Hard to stay cheerful - thanks for all the support! I'll be in touch.

Robin

Don't know what will happen, next....

My second worst nightmare happened, today. Chuck's in Maryland stranded. He's in the middle of the biggest snow storm the east coast has seen in...."years" according to AFP news. He was 3 miles from a rest stop and his windshield wipers kept getting built up, so he pulled over to clear them off and when he went to go he crashed into the guard rail. He had sent me the picture above about 3 and 1/2 hours ago. When he first took off it was already snowing like crazy. Now I'm worried about several things....1. his safety, 2. whether or not he'll be home in time for Christmas, 3. if he's going to have a job after this. I'm thankful he's okay for the time being. He told me the right side of the cab is wrecked - the stairs were torn off. He's stuck in the snow and can't move. He went out to put chains on and 2 of them came off right away. He lost his bungee chords, so he doesn't have a way to put them on now, if he could. Hopefully they will be able to help him. He tried backing it up, but he has 40,000 lbs of Ragu` spaghetti sauce behind him, he just keeps grinding further into the guard rail. It's such a helpless feeling to talk to him from all these miles away and not be able to call someone or help in some way. He just got a message from the terminal, so I had to get off the phone with him so they could call him. I will keep this feed posted. Happy Holidays.

Robin

Going to Graceland....

I'm hoping Chuck will be able to get a photo similar to one of these with his own camera, but if not I was able to find these on photobucket.....If you haven't guessed it, Chuck's on his way to Memphis, Tennessee!! He left Michigan last night/early this morning and got through to Ohio....he got to go through Toledo, again...(I love that word!)and he is stopping tonight. Tomorrow he hopes to get through Kentucky, that was the goal for today, but it didn't quite work out. He's really happy that the weather is good - he's got temps in the mid to high 50s and NO SNOW!! Still 11 more days on the road before getting back home. I'm grateful to the holiday celebrations and activities with friends and family to keep me busy while this time passes. My classes go right up to the 24th of December, so I'll be really busy with that, too. I was up until 5:00 this morning doing homework, today, then had a house full of people for the cookie exchange....I can't believe I'm still up at midnight! ( I think I got my 2nd wind 3 hours ago!).Anyway...busy,busy...I told Chuck to drive through Elvis' neighborhood and snap a quick pic for me...he said it depends...it would be hard to turn around in that windy driveway!! :) He wouldn't stick out at all!! :) Well, just a quick update - spirits are still high - he was singing Christmas songs in my ear this morning...good thing he's got another job! :) But the sunshine and nice weather makes his day go MUCH better!! He was going to bed around 6:30 tonight so I'm guessing he's back on the road around 4 or 5 in the morning - he didn't want to get to Louisville in rush hour. Well, I'm going to hit the hay, myself! Have a great week, everybody! Robin

Chicago is Chuck's new BFF!

Hey everybody - It's been a really busy week! Everytime I talked to Chuck his location was different, but he kept going back and forth between the same places! He left here on Tuesday morning at 6am and headed down to Faribault to pick up a load. He took that load to Gary Indiana, then went from Gary, Indiana back to Chicago (they're very close together) then he went back to Mayfield, Wisconsin and back to Chicago and back to Appleton, WI and back to Gary, Indiana....then he was supposed to go to North Carolina, but that turned into Hershey, Pennsylvania, he was in Hershey this morning....but tonight he was on his way to Michigan...he had to travel 498 miles empty to pick up a load in Michigan (a town near Detroit)...and he'll have to wait there for freight traveling out! It's hard to keep up with him! And I probably got it wrong...but Gary, Indiana and Chicago are so close together, that it's like going to the same town. He's been pretty lucky weather-wise, but the first day, when he left to head for southern Minnesota we were having that blizzard and he spent the WHOLE day in the blizzard in Iowa. He got so sick of his wipers not working correctly that he pulled over before his hours were up. He was hoping the next day would be better. The wind didn't die down and it didn't get better...and a little colder. He heard on the radar that there were several trucks blowing off the road from the big wind gusts. He said it was a long, stressful day. He sent me this picture, today, near where he made a delivery in Hershey, PA for General Mills. It looks pleasant there, but he said it's right around 30 degrees...I notice no snow on the ground, though...so that's what I call nicer! :) the other picture was at sunrise... This week went REALLY slow....he's only been gone 4 days...8 more to go...ugh. Had some fun holiday things the last couple of weeks, though...choir concerts and tomorrow the cookie exchange...it gives me something else to think about. Although school's keeping me plenty busy, and we decided I need to look for a job. Next semester (which starts in February) I start practicum hours, so I need to find something flexible...we'll see. We're trying to make some changes to affect our situation. The cold's been a little rough, but we're still in Minnesota, we must not hate it THAT much (otherwise we'd change it!). Looking forward to Chuck coming home Christmas eve. Christmas eve is always at my house...it's open to anyone who doesn't have anything else to do! Food, visiting...Christmasing...We've had Christmases with friends, all different family - it's different every year - I love it! Christmas Day I'm assuming will be with Chuck's side - he has to be back on the road the 26th. It'll be a short holiday, that's for sure! We have to make it count! Happy Holidays...Robin

He's on the radar!!

Hey everyone - Just a head's up...Chuck's been out on the road since November 10th, I think....he's FINALLY getting closer to home. He's spending the night tonight near Chicago and dropping his trailer off, there. He has to T-call it, meaning he's not taking it to its final destination. If he is trying to get home but the load needs to get to California - he'll accept the load and then T-call it when he gets close to home so they can authorize him to drop it at the closest Swift terminal on the route and another driver will pick it up and continue the route. (we just learned about this, this week) :) So he doesn't have another load scheduled to pick up, so he'll be sitting there until they give him something so he can move forward. He's EXPECTING to get home sometime tomorrow late afternoon - his availability starts at 7am tomorrow, and he can drive until 5pm, but can work until 9pm if he has to sit to be loaded or anything. So hopefully he'll get home in time for Marco's choir concert tomorrow night. He's never seen one because in previous years he was always working....weird. I guess we're accustomed to that part! When he worked 2nd and 3rd shifts all the time he never saw any sports practices or concerts unless they were on Saturday! It would be really weird if he was home, tomorrow for that concert, after all this time. He's going to be home for 3 days, since he's been gone over 21 days. They won't count Saturday as a day, it'll be Friday, Saturday, Sunday, he'll be available on Sunday night at midnight (Monday morning)...until Christmas. We have a tattoo party on Saturday in Durand, Wisconsin - we'll leave around 7:30/8 in the morning and get home around 2 or 3 in the morning on Sunday....that's a long day, but we really need it right now! My 2nd class for grad school starts tomorrow, too-it's pretty tough - but they aren't just giving these degrees away, so you have to actually work for it! ;) I hope all the holidays are finding everyone happy and healthy and looking forward to a new year!!

Robin