WOOHOO! Almost the weekend!

Too bad it's a working weekend - I'll survive and will look forward to Wednesday when I will be off. Tuesday night I have to drive down to Orangeburg to attend their Inventory. It's located on the same exit that I went to for 2 years while attending Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College; so it will be like driving back into my past a bit. I bet it's changed a lot in over 20 years. The part I dread is driving home at 2 AM. And then a week later repeating the same thing at my store... Late nights always drag me out as I am a morning person.

Clean-up in my sewing room is going well and I am hoping to actually sew next week and not just clean. I still have several swaps I have to sew for and time is running out to get them mailed out. SO they will have to be the first thing I work on.

I was going to take Nickie to the VET to have his injured foot looked at but I think he heard us talking about it as he asked to go out and then we didn't see him again even with calling him several times until it was well after the Vet's closing time. The rotten feline ! He is walking on it now and the swelling has gone down so I believe that he will be fine. We are still looking at it daily to be sure it's healing OK. Animals just know I guess. None of them are too fond of visiting the Vet even though she is a very loving and tender Vet and all her Tech's are AWESOME as well.

28*

WOW! It's just 28* here this morning. I got both the guys out the door and I don't have to be to work until 10 this morning. I have a Conference call at 10:30 and then I need to go over week one's Inventory Prep with the GM and Debbie (the merchandise handler). I'll be so glad when the Inventory is over!

Yesterday I spent the day organizing some of my hobby room stash and I can actually see the floor once more in places. I may work awhile in there before I go into work this morning and before long it will be to a point where I can actually USE the room once more and turn out some projects to share.

Poor Injured Kitty!

Greg's cat, Little Nickie came home day before yesterday with a badly injured toe. The soonest I can get him to the vet is Tuesday morning so I've been cleaning it with peroxide and keeping him inside most of the day and night. He is so pitiful right now and he is definitely playing it up for all it's worth. He will require an antibiotic I'm sure of that because of the swelling. It seems that the entire tip is gone from one of his toes and some hair and skin is gone from another. Not sure if this was caused by a cat fight or if he got up in someone's engine and they cut it on not knowing he was inside. I wish I could take him tomorrow but we all have to work. I'll be off Tuesday morning and I will take him then.

Clover Heart Yo-Yo Maker

I bought a yo-yo maker that makes heart shaped yo-yo's. It's pretty neat! I've made two little yo-yo's so far. I'm thinking about using them as balloons or flowers on a quilt block for a swap I am in.

I only worked 2 hours today as I just felt SO BAD! Then I've felt guilty all day for coming home but I needed to. Oh well I'll make up the hours the rest of the week I'm sure.

ZERO SLEEP!

Good Morning! Or at least thats the appearance I'm trying to pull off. I have apparently caught the latest lower intestinal crud going around and was up and down all night so it feels like I've had ZERO sleep! And I have to work 10 hours today! Not sure I will make it that long! I'm going to wait and go in at 10; I just called and let them know that I won't be in until then. I need to try to sleep an hour or two more.

DRAWER CAT!

Scott and I were working on putting clothes away and Tesla decided Scott's dresser would make an ideal cat bed.... This drawer is more than 36"s wide.

Owning UP to my fabric addiction

OK keep in mind I worked for Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts for 3 years and realize that a sale PLUS an employee discount is EXTRA hard to control.... These are pictures of what my sewing room looks like right now... as I clean and organize I will post progress pictures.

A day off at HOME!

YEAH! I'm off today and will be catching up on things around the house. I have no plans of going out all day. I will clean, do laundry and organize my sewing room. I also have some projects that MUST get done before the end of this month and there are bills that I have to pay.

I had a good day yesterday and am hoping it will continue as I'm only two positions away from being in the top third of the company. YEAH!

No Pictures

Last night when I finally got home I passed out on the sofa. I felt horrible most all day yesterday with a headache that just would not go away. I'm feeling a little bit better this morning but still congested; I took a Sudafed Sinus Headache tablet and hopefully that will get me through the day today. Scott has body aches this morning so I fear that we both have caught some crud thats going around. I just have to make it to Tuesday... then I'll be off and if I need to I will go to see our Dr.

It's looking like a nasty rainy day today so we may have a light day at the store even with it being a Saturday. BUT it is also a long weekend for a lot of people so we may see more traffic from people traveling; I'll just have to wait and see.

NO MORE SCHEDULED 10 hour days for me - next month there will only be 8-9 hour days scheduled. Anymore than that and I seem to feel dragged out and stressed out and thats not productive. Plus I will be going to Orangeburg to help with their Inventory and then I will be having mine done on the 12th - FUN!

Next month Christina turns one and I want to attend her birthday party on the 17th. I'm hoping to get a couple outfits made for her using seersucker - they will be summer play clothes. I also want to make another thermal set for now while we are still having cool weather. Hopefully tonight I won't be so totally wiped out so I can perhaps get at least the pattern pieces cut out.

Stomach Growls from across the room!

Scott's stomach is quite vocal this morning - I have to wonder what he ate yesterday!

It's right near 40*F here this morning with a hazy sky. I have to be to work at 9 this morning and I scheduled myself for a 10 hour day - I've got to stop doing that as soon as I find all my Ace's. I've got to have the right people in the building when I am not there to supervise so that the business grows and does not suffer. Hopefully after yesterday's meetings I will have more people opening up to me and letting me know what they enjoy doing and what time(s) of day they feel the most productive.

Time to get this day started. I'll post pictures tonight of my AWESOME craft table. It even has a strip to cut by using scissors just like at Jo-Ann's.

Chilly night tonight

Will be nearly freezing here tonight - 34*! BRRRRRRrrrr! Possible sleet tomorrow - YUCK! I just hope it's not bad when I have to drive into work or when I have to drive home from work.

Next Tuesday when I am off I plan to clean up the house and sew. I'm not going anywhere that day - just staying home in my own house. That sounds nearly heavenly right now. Work really hasn't been too bad this week I'm just ready for some quiet time at home.

Tuesday's visit

Yesterday I drove up to Spartanburg to visit family. Dougie and Christina about tackled me at the door. Christina is so close to walking now and her first birthday is next month. Plans are underway for Christina's birthday party on 2/17; it's to be a unicorn party. Nichole was saying how glad she was there is just one baby on the way and not twins like her Dr thought last month.

I'm going in early this morning to be sure cycle counts were done yesterday and to finish working on next weeks schedule. I need to go over the cash schedule with Steve if at all possible. I think I'm going to go ahead and start the car now so that it isn't freezing when I get ready to leave and the windows will be clear.

Another Monday!

UGH! I don't care much for Mondays - the only good thing about today is that I'm off tomorrow. Perhaps it won't be as bad as I am predicting.

It's chilly this morning with frost on the windshield so a little defrosting and scrapping may be in order before I leave the driveway this morning. It is actually a lot warmer than January normally is. In 1982 when I first moved down here we had colder winters and we saw a good bit of ice if my memory is correct. A lot has changed in 25+ years and I'm sure my perceptions have changed as well. Well another day has started lets just survive it!

Life under a bucket

Don't you hate having days where you feel like you need to have a bucket on your head or steel underwear to take all the bombs or a _ _ chewings. Today was one of those days for me; I seemed to have made my way onto everyones crap list and they were delighted to let me know just how bad I'd screwed up. THEN they stuck me in the middle and threw rocks... at least thats the way I felt leaving the building. I don't know who to trust or to rely upon. Just when I start feeling confident and start making changes... WHAM! I screw something up and have everyone down my throat. I really can't wait to retire!

Drive by gifting!

Today Scott and I did the last of Christmas with two drive by "gifting"s - My sister's, Robin and Ronda will find gifts when they get back to their homes. I could never connect with them to give the gifts to them and needed to complete Christmas. SO it's done now!~

Scott and I also went to 84-Lumber and Home Depot to check on kitchen cabinet pricing and to just look at building supplies to get a good idea of cost toward our cottage in the woods. We also went to The Flight Deck for lunch - food was GREAT service not so great but it's getting to where that it a problem is most restaurants.

I got a new craft table marked down at Jo-Ann's for only $99.97 today. I will be able to better organize my scrap-booking materials and will have a sturdier table to work on in my sewing room. They also had a quilter's workstation that I thought would be GREAT as well but don't want to push my space capability that far. I will have to get Greg to help me get it into the house as Scott's back is still killing him and I don't want him to hurt himself further helping me. I'll have to post some pictures of it later.

Rainy Friday

When the gardens needed all the rain this past summer we didn't see any and now we are getting it every few days- thankfully! But still it would be nice to have some rain when we are actually growing some vegetables in the backyard. I'm sure the garlic Scott planted is enjoying the rain.

Speaking of Scott he has hurt his back pretty good and is walking around wincing or sitting stiffly in a chair. I think he did it last week when he was mucking about in the attic doing some repairs to the den ceiling. He probably should go see Dr Griggs - but will he? I guess we'll find out eventually.

I got up and did two reviews this morning going strictly on what it says on the paper and neither were very good so I'm probably going to tick some people off straight off the bat but I have to go by my observations and not emotions. It's whats best for the company and the business. Nothing personal about it.

I'm looking forward to my day off tomorrow; of course most of it will be spent catching up laundry and doing housework but at least I'll be home.

Sewing Fairy

I sure hope I can get her to come visit tomorrow night so I'll find the urge to actually get into my sewing room and make something Saturday. I need to make a couple shirts at least as the weather has been so unseasonably warm lately that the sweaters I bought are about to kill me.

That 3 AM wake up is going to KILL ME!

I believe that getting up at 3 AM is going to make for a VERY long day today. Beth from the Orangeburg store is coming up today to help me with displays and operational stuff. Hopefully I will remain perky for the entire day. I know there are things that I still need to polish and improve on and I can only improve with time. I just don't want to take too much time and have them frustrated with me and start thinking I was a poor choice for a manager. I may go in a little earlier to get things cleaned up in the stockroom before she gets there. I need to go through the supplies and see what all I have on hand. Kevin (GM) asked that I watch what I order for the rest of the month. Gotta get a good working relationship going with the restaurant side.

I've changed my mind... I'm going to lay back down for about an hour or hour and a half.

Transcripts done!

I got up and pulled a transcript together for Greg this morning. Thankfully I kept all those old calendars with everything jotted down on them. I just need to add a picture of him to the page and he'll be set to go. I FOUND A PICTURE! He can turn it into the Navy recruiter today. He still needs two more referrals and will hopefully get those today. It's still looking like at the end of March he will be going to boot camp.

Woke up HOT!

I'm awake earlier than I'd planned to be as I woke up sweating like crazy with my hair curling to my head all along my neck - I HATE THAT! Always feels so creepy. Hopefully I will be able to cool off in time to get an hour or two more sleep and soon.

I've got to come up with a transcript for Greg's homeschooling and I can't find any of the documentation... I'm thinking it got thrown out in a cleaning frenzy. I do have old calendars though so I should be able to piece together a transcript for him. I figured with him taking the GED it wouldn't be necessary but it is turning out he still needs a transcript so we will do what we can.

I'm going to try to get some more sleep now.

SO TRUE!

Before I left NY and Grandma's I NEVER drank coffee - we had TEA AT THREE THIRTY... thankyou very much with a cookie or slice of homemade cinnamon bread, but NEVER COFFEE. NOW on the other hand I fear I'm much like this fat orange cat. I do think a lot about getting away from all the caffiene but the headaches that develop are horrendous!

Garden BEFORE cleanup and after

Thanks to my schedule at Jo-Ann's the past 1 1/2 years this is what our little garden turned into. We burned off the weeds last night and Scott tilled in some compost and shredded paper. Then he planted some garlic and potatoes. I may regret cutting the Rosemary so far back but it was just too out of control. The wind mill actually needs some sanding, painting and oiling. Some of the beds need to have their frames rebuilt and filled back up and the entire garden needs fresh mulch on the pathways. We have an eletric wire around the perimeter to keep Amelia from digging the garden completely up. I've brushed it a couple times and you definitely know about it after one run in with it... OUCH! We have to remind people that it is a "live wire" when they come to visit. If small children are here we unplug it so they won't get hurt. The trick is to turn it back on before Amelia realizes that it is off. She can completely dig out a bed in about 5 minutes flat.

Sewing

I definitely need to do more sewing! And it won't even involve spending any money to do it as I have an OUT OF CONTROL FABRIC STASH! Thanks to the 3 years I worked for Jo-Ann's. I'm going to start doing a project one by one until I've I got a stack of items to wear or give as gifts. I'll post pictures as I go along.

What my dessert choice says about me

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE -- Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Intuitively keen. Can be very emotional.

Mary Lou sent me a "game" and I had to choose my favorite dessert and then find out what it meant after I had made the choice. I'd say it's pretty accurate all in all.

Chilly Saturday morning

I woke up a few minutes ago and Greg's cat, Little Nickie wanted out so I obliged him but boy was that a chilly endeavor this morning. BRRRrrrr... the cars have frost all over them. I'm glad I'm not having to drive to North East Columbia this morning. Greg on the other hand has to be over that way to his job before 8; I'm keeping my finger crossed that he takes it easy as the bridges could be icy. As long as Genevieve doesn't go into labor I should be off all this weekend. She is going for a 3D ultrasound today and is quite excited about that. And she assured me that she would return to the store so that there would be a Retail Manager in the building most of the day. Sales have been GREAT! Bonus is looking a lot better. And Shannon will email me the audit she did with me yesterday and it will be my "starting point"... LOTS of room to improve. But I will get it to where it needs to be with a little more time.

Long Day Ahead

I have to get over to Cracker Barrel by 7 this morning to see what all still needs to be cleaned up before my DM arrives to do an audit on me. YIKES! Less than two weeks in and I'm getting audited... Keeping my fingers crossed. I'm there until 6 this evening. I'm going to need a shower to get awake this morning and LOTS of coffee.

My two days off I didn't do a whole lot mostly vegged trying to regroup. I did cut up some fabric into 1 1/2" strips for a new Mystery Quilt I'm planning to do. And I went to our new dentist for a cleaning yesterday.... YEAH NO CAVITIES! And I'm good to go until July's cleaning.

Yesterday was Uncle Bert's funeral. I received a confirmation email that the plant I sent was delivered. Funeral's always wipe me out and it was just too far to drive. I'm hoping the family understands.

Time for coffee!

Kitchen Cabinets

Scott and I went to Lowe's and worked with a "cabinet specialist" ; so far our estimate is at about $9500 not including counter tops. I keep telling myself - KITCHENS & BATHS... DON'T SKIMP! They will be beautiful and hopefully someone else will find them GREAT enough to pay us top dollar for this house. Fixing this place is also giving us a better idea of how much our little cottage will cost us to build on the 10 acres.

Greg's first day back at Jiffy Lube was today and hopefully he will keep it this time... at least long enough to get benefits so that if he gets sick he'll be able to go to see a doctor this year. For the Navy he needs to get 3 references before they will take him. He has the paperwork he just has to come up with three people willing to sign for him. I'm leaving it entirely up to him... he is 21 after all.

It feels a LOT more like winter tonight.

CHRISTMAS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!

YEAH! The tree is down and the decorations are put up until next year and I can get the house back in order. I'm off the next couple of days and I'm going to do some deep cleaning and hauling things to Good Will. I'm determined to get this house back in order TODAY so that tomorrow and then the weekend can be ALL play!

Moaning wind!

The wind is moaning at the dining room windows. I will be glad when we get replacement windows in the front of the house too. The two new windows in the den has really made a difference in that room all ready. Of course having insulation in the walls helps as well. Too bad we aren't taking paneling down in all of the house as we would be able to put insulation everywhere. The only thing we could do with the rest of the house is to have that blown in insulation done. We will see what we decide to do. I don't want to put so much money in this place that we don't recoup it at the selling time. It's extremely important we get a top price on the place. I want to walk away not owing a dime on anything. That way I can return home and become a sewing and quilting fiend! And have a wonderful garden with lots of fresh vegetables.

Crud going round

I think I'm coming down with the crud that seems to be plagueing the staff... just in time for a couple days off. I've got to work today but then I am off for two days and then work Friday and then off the weekend... it will be my only full weekend off this month. I will be glad to spend some time with Scott before he has to return to work on Monday. I just hope that this crud doesn't get any worse.

On my way home last night I could see fireworks going off everywhere and our neighborhood was full of smoke and the smell of sulfur... yuck! But the kids around here sure seemed to have a big time.

Greg got his job back at Jiffy Lube... YEAH! I'm not sure when he will start as he was just so happy to get the job back that he did not mention that part.