I'm driving to Augusta, GA this morning

What a day off - going to a training session in Augusta, GA. OH well... I think that Scott is going to tag along and find something to occupy himself while I am in the training. And then we will have the afternoon together at least perhaps we will find a bit of fun on our way back home.

I'm most likely going to be working a LOT of open to close days as I belive my other two managers are planning to leave me now. I've got my "NOW HIRING" sign in the window with a side message of what I am looking for. Perhaps 2 GREAT managers will come my way that are both excellent at Operations and Merchandising. I need diligent, organized, focused, reliable people in those two positions so that I can focus more on my job and less on covering theirs. I can't keep doing everything so often.

Better get going!

CAUTION - RANT AHEAD!

People NEVER cease to amaze me! One of THE rudest women in the world was in our store yesterday - there was no satisfying her at all and she was NASTY to us all. I had to keep from saying something like, "Wake up in the liter box this morning did we?" or "Who PISSED in your cheerios?" I walked with her and showed her our linings and then on to other things that she could use for linings if she wanted but we didn't have the color that she needed and she got pissed off because I didn't know exactly where to find the EXACT color she needed.... HELLO THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF BOLTS IN HERE AND I AM NOT A COMPUTER!" And what she had was an unusual nasty pink colored thing that we were trying to match. I finally told her I was sorry that I couldn't make that color appear for her and walked off. There is absolutely NO REASON to have to put up with THAT kind of treatment from anyone; she was angry and nasty when she walked through the door and I believe that is how she always acts so I AM HOPING that she never comes back in my store! I'm sorry but she was just abusive!

NEXT RANT! If everyone is so dammed concerned about how our house and lawn looks perhaps they shouldn't look at it! Scott is trying to find a job 99% of his awake time and HELLO I'm working 45 to 55 hours a week and I am DOG tired when I get home from working my rear-end off all day! We don't believe in spending money we don't have to make a lawn that is NOT meant to be deep green green - DEEP GREEN - and if we are lucky enough to get food to our table and the laundry done we believe we are surviving! I don't hold a-lot to what other people think about how we live and I am not interested in living in a SHOWCASE for the sake of what other people think. I do like a clean house but I'm busy working my life away making other people wealthy. BORING people live in pristine houses anyway!

"AH POOR THING"

Someone actually said, "AH POOR THING" to me yesterday while I was trying to rise from a kneeling position. And it was said like she was looking at a bird that just flew into a window and was laying on the ground. No... "may I help you" or "are you all right".... just "AH POOR THING". My legs were absolutely KILLING me yesterday and I hardly got any sleep last night so today promises to be more of the same. UGH!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and being off. Scott and I may be going to Greenville tomorrow; his Uncle wants to give him a lawnmower. Perhaps we will even be able to swing by Spartanburg to see my folks; that would be nice.

Well I better grab something for breakfast and get out the door.

UGH... no breakfast this morning!

I've been sick to my stomach all night long so I'm avoiding breakfast this morning. Especially since this day is starting so early. Hopefully by lunch time I will be feeling a bit better.

JOBS - What all I've done since high school

Let's see...
Sold Avon
Worked in a RIPPYMART - LOTS of scarey stories on that one.
A Baked Potato restaurant.
A Fork Lift Parts Company.
Carters-children's wear
BEST JOB FOR nearly 18 of those years - MOM! - still a great job but now he drives himself around!
A bread company.
Cracker Barrel - SHORT stay couldn't handle the 3 ring circus environment.
A fabric and crafts store - twice.
And my favorite job - WIFE! since 1985!

Is it really Wednesday all ready?!

This week is just flying by for me and there is still so much to get done at work. I need to find and hire a fabric person - someone that LOVES working with fabric and understands color and fabric content. My store is one of the smallest in the District but a major fabric shift still takes time and it would be so helpful to have someone that understands how shifts need to occur to get the job done quickly. Yesterday we got the quilting department done and it looks so lovely. Today I am hoping to get another 1/3 done AND get all the remaining freight out of the stock room. I'm supposed to be off tomorrow but that will all depend on how much we get done today.

Yesterday Scott went to Greenville with his Mom as his Aunt is in the hospital and is very ill. Her heart is failing and she has a major infection in her digestive tract. It does not look good right now. They also visited the cemetery and a lawyer that specializes in final issues - like planning for your end. It was a grueling day for Scott and he was exhausted as I last night.

Greg got a friend into detox yesterday. It was hard for him to see but I think he is learning more and more about the dangers of alcohol - at least I am hoping he is.

I ordered a baby sweater kit and enough additional yarn to make two more sweaters and the yarn arrived yesterday but the kit is on back order. I sure hope they get more in and that I get the kit or this extra yarn will not have a purpose. I've never used anything like this stuff - it's very stretchy; should be interesting to work with. The kit is supposed to come in by August 13th.

Tesla had another "hissy fit" the other day and Scott got to witness it. Tesla was asleep on the buffet in the window and woke up and scratched and then fell back asleep and then woke up and scratched himself again and then let out a deep hiss like - "DANG IT! I want to sleep here."

Nicholas has been sticking to me like glue anytime I'm home you'd think he was my cat and not Greg's anymore.

THANKFULLY Amelia was quiet last night. The night before she and the black dog that lives behind our garage barked and barked... ALL NIGHT!

Harry Potter

Greg and I went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last night. It was really good but VERY long and we didn't get home until a little after 11 last night so I am DRAGGING this morning. I wish the coffee would hurry up too! The movie was so good and we had a good time together as well. Greg needed the pick-me-up as he has been feeling down the past few days.

Our Little Dress up doll

This is my little niece Abby in a dress I couldn't resist at Hammricks the other week. I also got her some "big girl" panties with My Pretty Ponies on them. She is such a cutie!

In search of....

100% cotton LARGE floral prints! I saw a quilt in a catalog that I'd LOVE to make but am having trouble finding LARGE florals in 100% cotton. I'm thinking about adding 1/4 yard or 1/2 yard pieces of this to my Christmas list this year. I never thought it would be so hard to find them.

Control Center at home...

I got my desk all cleaned up this morning.... a start to cleaning up the entire front rooms. BABY STEPS....

Greg with his Great-Uncle Jesse

Scott and Greg went up to Greenville to get his truck that Adele gave him for his boot camp graduation. Jesse shared his discharge papers with Greg and Scott; he was also a Sailor.

Food Supply

I've been thinking a lot about our current situation and I think I should be buying up food to have on hand "in case". The talk about this years round of the swine flu is not good, they are saying that it will be even more deadly than it was last year and that we all should be watching our health more closely. Don't go to work if you have any symptoms at all - fever being the main one. I'm going to tell my employees to use hand sanitizer anytime they have touched money thats for sure. Money is such a nasty thing - just think about all the places it has touched and the people that have illnesses passing it hand to hand. Strip clubs - ICK - don't EVEN want to think about that one. BUT working in retail we handle cash daily and it could be deadly if someone hands you a swine flu laden gem. YUCK!

My reasoning behind buying up food is that if we have to quarantine for the swine flu to keep it from spreading we would not have to go to the grocery store for food we could just live off our own stock pile of food. If we buy it on sale it will also save us a lot of money. I'm going to start really watching the sale papers and buy what we can of the items we use regularly.

How I spend my after work time....

NOT EVERY afternoon but nearly all! And it's not my fault it's the dreaded cat nap that is waiting for me when I walk through the door. Sometimes it's a double feature and both cats will attack with this dreaded cat nap fever. This is Nicholas holding me down this time. Greg snapped this picture yesterday.

Welcome Little Austin!

My brother, Charles and his wife, Alina with daughter, Kayla and new baby boy - Austin.

A new day....

I am hoping to get through today with absolutely no problems or at least a little less stress. I am SO ready for some time off and perhaps something fun to do like go on a hike somewhere. I'm wanting to go back to the Congaree Swamp National Park with Scott. There are pristine lakes there that take your breath away. I would love some pictures of them to add to our "adventure" album.

Better get rolling - a new nephew should arrive today - Congrats to Charles and Alina!

Updates - Cardiologist and more

The appointment with the Cardiologist went well; I don't have to go back again until 2011 unless I start having problems. He was concerned that the Nurse Practioner had doubled my Metformin and said that he would be thrilled with a patient with an A1C of 6.3% and wondered why she had doubled it from 500 MG to 1000 MG twice a day. I'm going to cut these tablets in half and see if my vision improves any. For the past couple weeks it's been difficult to read as my vision blurs; very annoying. If I had time I would make an appointment with my GP to ask him about it.


Yesterday at work I smashed my index finger between two shelves trying to install the tulle circle fixture in Bridal thats been sitting just inside the stock-room door since March. I thought I was going to pass out it hurt so bad and for the rest of the day anytime I bumped it and thought I would scream. I put ice on it when I got home and that helped some and this morning it's not throbbing much. If I can keep from smashing it today I'll be good... not likely since the jewelry aisle has to be completely revamped but it's a thought.

Scott is taking Greg to drill this morning as the windshield in his car is broken and they haven't been able to go get the truck from Jesse and Mary Etta's yet. Perhaps we will be able to get it one day this week or perhaps next weekend as I am off all next weekend.

Cardiologist Appt. Today

I'm going in to see the Cardiologist today for a check-up. Hopefully my heart health has imporved; just got to get a handle on the stress again. Things are heating up at work and I find myself struggling with a lot of anxiety these days and it's only going to get worse with Christmas just around the corner.

Yesterday's Sharp Dressed Man

All dressed up for his first job interview! Scott said that it seemed to go quite well and is hoping to hear back from them soon.

Griddle - BEST wedding gift!

We received this wedding gift from my co-workers at Spear Equipment Company nearly 25 years ago; it's been a trusted stand-by for us. Many a pancake has been cooked in this skillet over the years not to mention - French Toast, Hamburgers, homemade English muffins and countless other meals.

Reflections

When you take the time to look at yourself through your past you find how much you've changed and how much you miss of who you were when you were younger. "Pure joy".... why is this so hard to feel anymore. I have pictures of me laughing and expressing pure joy when I was 12 and under.. after that the pictures seem to take on a more serious face. Was my childhood so short? Are worries I have now so bad that I can't push them aside to feel joy in my heart and soul. I trust few people and have few friends and enjoy solitude more than those around me. Will I become a complete hermit? Questions for a soul to ponder....

I'm choosing not to remember this day!

WOW! Nuff said!

Tomorrow I am going to do a deep clean on this front room. And perhaps get some sewing done as well. Christmas is now just 5 months away... can you believe that?

Sleepy head morning!

I'm having a hard time getting awake this morning and Greg is up and very talkative this morning - bad combination.

Scott and I went over to his Mother's for supper last night. Everything was so good - roast beef and gravy, biscuits, lima beans, corn on the cob, peaches with Cool Whip, and a shrimp and pasta salad. It was nice to catch up with her again. Tuesday Scott is going to ride up to Greenville with his Mother to get Adele's truck for Greg. I'm off but am going to stay home and try to find our house again. Perhaps I will be able to get it presentable enough for company once more. It's ruff when you are remodeling with no set schedule as things hit stopping points and then don't get picked back up for great amounts of time.

Wednesday Scott has a job interview.... YEAH! He said the phone screening went very well and is looking forward to the interview.

Tesla looking for me....

Scott snapped this shot after I had left for work one day. Tesla loves to be close to me when I am sewing... I guess he was hoping that if he laid here that I would some how appear here for him.

More 4th of July pictures

Our day will be a quiet one - the neighbors have bought enough fireworks for us to enjoy and all we will end up having to do is clean up from where their's land in our yard.

HAPPY 4TH of July!

I hope that everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July! Here is a picture of our Seabee! So handsome standing by the flag.