Redhead for a day

I've always wanted to be a redhead. Tried it once in beauty school and the response from schoolmates, friends and family wasn't positive. So yesterday at work I was hit in the head with a pole that fell from a scissor lift (short version of a long story) and got a nice little hair color change, blood red. I wouldn't have been so bad but blood in the hair tends to be sticky at first then all matted and finally kind of gross as it dries and becomes red dandruff. The response to my color change from co-workers wasn't postive but that could be because I was bleeding like a stuck pig and everyone was trying to figure out if I needed to go get some stitches or not. I was going to trust everyone elses opinion as I really didn't want to look and see. A mirror was brought, I politely declined it's use. Finally the pharmacist gave his opinion, yes go to the Dr. and off I went. The Dr. was impressed at what a clean cut it was and promptly stapled me shut with four big daddies. This happened 45 minutes into my shift. After all the paperwork was done I was sent home at 5:30 and still got paid for my full shift.
I'm feeling pretty good today. A little sore and a slight headache but none the worse for wear. I was already scheduled to have today and tomorrow off for work. So have some extra recovery time.

Payback

As I walk past the dressing room door I spy some hangers on the floor and see the edge of a pair of jeans sitting on the seat inside. I inwardly cringe knowing what I'll find when I open the door. Yup! A pile of at least twenty (I stopped counting empty hangers at 20)pieces of clothing mounded in a tangled mess. I was inwardly cursing skinny teenagers, all clothes were size 3 from the juniors section, when I had a flash back. My mother walking by my room with a load of clothes to put in the washer and just standing in my doorway with a look of horror on her face seeing the pile of abandoned clothes spread all over my floor. This happened pretty much every day. Yes mom, it's payback time. I make my living placing clothes back on hangers, taking them out to the floor, really a giant closet right, and then doing it all again repeatedly each and every day. Apparently only three of us associates feel the need to check the dressing room. And we don't all work at the same time. Hmmmm, the younger ones tend to shy away from the magical rooms.
God has a sense of humor. I had 4 boys and now I work in a giant closet. When mom had reached the limit of her endurance of my smarty mouthed ways she would always say, "I hope you have 5 kids just like you". One of the great curses a mother can invoke on her children. I had the four boys, four teenage boys at one time for a few months. Payback!!! I'm sure at some point as she was wading through the flood of clothes on my floor she also muttered "Someday you will work in a giant closet and pick up after ungreatful teenage girls" as she spit on the floor and hooked her index finger. Payback!!!
Life is filled with payback. What goes around really does come around. That's not a bad thing. It involves the good (blessings) and the bad (irate mothers and thoughtless teenage daughters).
"Life is good" I mutter as I calmly fold the skinny butt jeans. Payback!

Rethinking

Contrary to popular belief I am sometimes wrong. I must admit this is mostly my belief and not something that is shared by those around me. Yes, I have a pretty high opinion of my opinions. I talked to my almost former boss yesterday and found that she really is concerned about what is happening at the restraunt. I 'believe' that part of our problem as employees is that we were so used to just running things on our own - the old boss was totally hands off - now that's changed and we're not all adjusting and playing well. Some of it still stinks but that's the way they want to do things and that's the way it will be. So I have duly chastised myself, slapped my hand, sat myself in the corner of my mind and decided that I have to live some of my life according to the wise words of Doris Day - whatever will be will be - at least in some parts of life and I have to let go and change my attitude.
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I HAVE to set up and take some pics of some of my current work, scrap pages, altered stuff and cards. Maybe this weekend I'll have some time - but I'm not holding my breath.
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We're going through a nice little cold snap. I'm sooooooo ready for summer, just skip spring and go right to July, hot, hot, hot. I really don't have an understanding of those that love cold weather and snow. Snow is just too cold to enjoy. But if it was always summer would I appreciate it so much? I wouldn't mind living through a couple years of endless summer to find out.

The new me or something along those lines

Well my love of Walmart has morphed into a full time job. Yes as of yesterday I am proud to be a Walmart associate. I will officially be working in boys apparel - I would say that as a mother of 4 sons I may be qualified for that position. I'm into week two of my two week notice at the embers, more on that later. This is the first full time out of the home job I've had since I had Ben (21+ years). WE all know that motherhood is a full time job as is homeschooling, and being secretary and bookeeper for our business involves a few hours too. What really pushed me into this decision is that as a small business owner we really can't find insurance that's affordable AND good. Yes the benefits pulled me into retail. I'll be working the 3-11 shift, pretty comparable to what I work now with a couple added nights and hours. Marty and I have been throwing the idea around for a year or so and with our Walmart doing really well and still hiring we thought might as well jump in now. So here is to hoping that working at Wally World (the store that time forgot) will be a good move. And yes, we do have to do the cheer.

Another thing that prompted my choice to move on was how things are going at my almost former waitress job. Basically it sucks!!! Now for me to say that means that it really stinks. I'm not sure if the new owners are trying to get rid of most the staff, but that seems to be what is happening. There is much unrest and dissatisfaction among the natives. So this new job opportunity came at a really good time...I had a good reason to quit. Will I be brave enough to say things to the new manager? Should I care what happens when I'm gone? (I wouldn't except for the staff taht is left). It is no longer our 'happy place', yes the wait staff really called it that. Customers have noticed the differnce in our attitudes. It's sad in a way but......the new owners have the right to take the restraunt in a new direction wherever that may be. I fell better now.

I must go shoot some pool with Wil, haved hear the clack of the balls for too long.

Oh yeah, I got to spend the day with my scrappin friends on Saturday, what a fun way to spend 8+ hours. And of course have some quality time with my paper.......it smells sooooo good and is sooooo smooth.

New things

Walmart....our store opened on Friday. I am unapologetic in my love of Walmart, I say that because when a Walmart opens in a small town there are some VERY strong anti-wallyworld feelings. Our store is one of the smallest super centers they build, but hey I was able to buy pool cues, a Razr-not to shave with to talk into, adorable yet cool baby boy clothes (only 10 more weeks till the newest Cozad joins the family), file folders and paper clips. AND got to see many people I know, don't know if that's good or bad. A trip to what I call 'the store that time forgot' because of the hours that I loose there already can take up a good chunk of the day without all the socializing that will happen.

Snow....it's freshly white outside, truly beautiful. I am enjoying the view from inside. Don't like the feel of snow, just the look of it.

A new appreciation of the inventor of Midol, I would hug said person if they were here today. I'm so glad I don't have to work or leave the house today, I've been spending quality time with my heating pad.

A wonderfully quiet day at home....I'm feeling blest about it. My to do list for tomorrow is l-o-n-g but I'm leaving it for tomorrow. My studio is calling, the pool table is calling, my heating pad is calling...there is time for all three.

Bonus day

It's snowing, a nice slow white snow. I was supposed to work and evening shift tonight. We had a party of 50 booked but because of the white snow they cancelled the party and I got a call that I didn't have to come in, one of the advantages or disadvantages of living out in the country. I wasn't too disappointed as I'm in creative mode so I get to spend more time in my studio, YEAH!
Speaking of the studio here's what my door/table looked like earlier. I finished the project I was working on so it's cleaned off now but this is how I create. I not only layer on my projects but also on my table.
I love my door/table. My friend Hollie asked if I'd be interested in the door and I jumped on it. It's the perfect door/table nice and deep. I like to have my supplies close to hand so it's deep enough that I can have that and have lots of room to create too. I spent less than $15 to get it set up. I already had a small thin cabinet for the right front, I used the bottom of an old kitchen hutch to hold up the back side. All I needed was something to hold up the left front corner.
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Another bonus of the day is that I get to watch the NFL playoff games. I've missed a lot of football this year so I'm appreciting today.
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There's a ton of testosterone floating around my house today. My brother is here for the weekend, Wil has a friend over and Ben is hanging out for the day. So that makes 6 males 14 and over. My studio is a place of escape, my oasis of femaleness (is that a word?) and creative tranquility. The men know how sacred it is so they don't venture in there much. BONUS!!!!!

Be blonde

Since BE is my word for the year I thought at least once a week I should spend some time blogging on what I want to be for the week.
So for this week I decided to BE BLONDE. It's not what you think (as I blink my eyes in an empty headed manner). I'm going back to my roots (HAH!!). I've been accentuating my blondeness for the past 7 years, highlighting, going lighter then darker. I subscribe to the magazine 'More', great mag for women in their 40s or 50s. A few of the contributors have let their hair go back to it's natural color. I'd been thinking of embracing my natural blondeness but hadn't worked myself up to it, if you've ever grown your hair out for any reason you'll know why I was putting it off. What pushed me over the edge was the fact that all of the coloring I'd been doing had made my hair like straw, no fun and not pretty.
Things I've noticed:
*My hair has darkened up some, it's more dark blonde than honey blonde. That could be cause it's winter and I don't get outside too much. Although I've lived in Nebraska all my life I don't enjoy winter at all.
*I'm seeing some grey, yes grey. I should have been expecting it, I'm plucking grey hairs out of my eyebrows and from my face (I hate peri-menopause)so why should I be surprised that it's on my head?
*It feels so healthy and smooth. Like this aspect.
*Since it's healthier I may be able to get it a little longer, the men in the family all agree, they like me with longer hair.
I try not to go down hair coloring aisle at all. Then I'm not tempted by the oh so blonde blondes on the boxes. If I were the new years resolution type I suppose that being a real blonde would be what I would resolve to BE.
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I've been surfing around flickr and having a blast. Wow there is soooooo much to look at. What groups do I join? Who do I want as contacts? What's the netiquette of the site? So many decisions so little time. Why oh why do I have to feed my family, do housework, go to work, pay the bills, spend time with my hubby???????? Being responsible is such a drag sometimes. I would love to spend days at a time in my studio or online. Wait....in my studio and online. Heaven!!!

Uniquely blonde

Seems that I've always been a little, well, different. Oh sure on the outside I seem to be a conformist but on the inside I'm a bit of a rebel. I've got some views about my relationship with my Lord that aren't what you would call 'mainstream', maybe I'll get brave and share more on that in a future post, said views have caused a few relationships to become chilly. I live easier with a little clutter, if I clean I loose my productivity cause I have to search for things. I've finally accepted and embraced the fact that I'm not a morning person (it's a miracle that I can type right now before 9 am) I don't get much accomplished before noon. My husband hasn't accepted this facet of me, he thinks the fact that I need 2 hours to wake up makes me weak and a sissy. I think the fact that he shuts down at 9 pm makes him a major party pooper and a grumpy gus. It's a good thing that I work at night, I'm pretty chipper as I serve hungry people. And some (okay most)people consider my sense of humor "quirky", I sure miss my sis Mel since she's move 600 miles away she's one of the few that get me. I like nothing better than watching a good pro football game on a Sunday afternoon unless it's watching a great Nascar race on a Sunday afternoon. Okay maybe curling up with a good historical romance comes in a close second. I've been creating some funky stuff lately not everyone sees the beauty in some of my art. Then there's my love of SciFi.......
So here's to being unique. I don't consider body piercings and tatoos to be evil. Han Solo is my hero, I know what a Cylon is do you? If I could afford it I might consider getting a tummy tuck.
I think that's as personal as I can get for today, it's still early morning in my own little world (9am, Marty has been up and productive for almost 3 hours (I'm experiencing a shiver of horror), it's hard to bare my soul so early in the day.
So here's to being unique even if it's mostly on the inside most days.

A word for the year

I was visiting another blog and the author suggested choosing a word for the coming year. One little word that I would chose to focus on this year. She encourages you to make something so your word is infront of you somewhere. A layout, altered letters, the word simply cut out of a magazine, just so it's where you can see it everyday. I've chosen BE. I used to be able to just BE. To enjoy the moment, to accept God's love, to accept others. I've kind of lost sight of that in the last couple of years. Life has gotten busy and intense. I need to BE again. What word would you chose for this year? Now I have to decide how to put this word in a physical in front of my face format. At least it's just two letters, I can make them BIG!!!
What word would you chose for 2007?

The (very)young blonde grandma and the pool hall.

So I didn't have to watch the babies today and have some extra time to do a little blogging. Although I love watching said babies they-wear-me-out! I'm getting old, this is why one should try not to have children after they turn 45. After they left on Tuesday I took a nap, and not just any kind of nap. The kind of nap where you wake yourself up snoring and then find you've drooled all over the couch, that kind of nap. Like I said OLD!!!
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Last time I blogged I decided to try out a new template, I thought I had saved all the settings from my old template, but no, they must be lost in template heaven, thus the boring layout. If I have any time over Christmas break I may play around. But that may not be possible because............
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We're getting a pool table for Christmas. I have visions of becoming a pool shark, going into pool halls looking like a (very)young grandma with no apparent skills and bilking millionaires out of their unhard earned cash. Well a (very)young grandma can dream right? I've ALWAYS wanted a pool table, the lucky kids I hung out with had pool tables. Said table could be in the worst pit of a basement in a very bad part of town and I would still think they were the richest of chums. Now ours can be the COOL place to hang out. We'll have pool cues hanging on the wall and holes in the wall where balls 'accidentaly' fly from the table and maybe someday those cool little stools to sit on. There won't be any nifty stained glass light fixture hanging over the table as our ceiling is too low (hmmmmm, I'm thinking there will probably be holes in the ceiling from pool cues raised in victory). So by tomorrow night we should have a pool hall in our basement, no millionaires in site but maybe I'll be able to talk my hunky hubby into.......something.

Duh Blonde

I've been fighting a cold for a couple of weeks. I feel loads better than I did last week but am still wanting to take naps and go to bed by 10:30 which is outrageously early for this old blonde.
Friday is my day to hit the stores and finish up the Christmas shopping. Had a friend 'hint' that she was going shopping on Friday too but fortunatly she was heading a different direction than I was so I was able to bow out gracefully. When I'm power Christmas shopping I like, no need, to go alone. I've studied ALL the adds, have my lists for each store I'll be going to and a map made out. I want to get it all done in that day so heaven help anyone who gets in my way. (I'm such a poet). A few years back I shopped with a broken toe and it took me three whole days to get it done. It's hard to powershop when you're hobbling along at a slow crawl. Fortunately it didn't snow that year till after I had gotten my shopping done. Would have been even harder with wearing an opened toe wooden shoe.
Speaking of snowing in December, I was wasn't I? It hasn't yet. In fact I drove through a thunderstorm and hail Monday night on the way home from work. In fact it's gonna be around 50 today. In fact it's supposed to get up to 58 on Friday, no coat while I shop. In fact I'll probably spend tooooooo much money. More room for shopping bags when there's not coat to lug around.
Whilst blog hopping, yes I know I should have been paying bills, I found some ladies blog and she had this on it.

Find the N.

MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMNMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMM

Now I know this isn't the best use of my time but my tired sinus clogged mind really enjoyed a few seconds of just looking for a N.

Okay, time to get back to the bill paying.

Kick the blonde's butt

Okay, okay, okay already, I've been a REALLY bad blogger for the last couple of months. I could say that I have some really good excuses but I actually have some really good REASONS.
1: life, yes life. It has just gotten in the way of my blogging and total internet surfing world. HOW DARE IT!!!!!! Good News!!!! I'm here so life has slowed a little bit. I'm pounding, not knocking on wood as I'm thinking this (not usally the superstitious type but I do resort to this when LIFE can change quickly and unexpectedly).
2: family, what more do I need to say? They don't mean to cut into my internet life but they can't help it.
3: work, maybe that should have been 2. I had been filling in quite a bit but am almost back to where I want to be, a couple nights a week and maybe a weekend day here and there. I won't count working on Thanksgiving cause working holidays are just a part of it all.
I can't say that housework has gotten in the way too much cause it's suffered as much as anything else. I'm getting caught up on that too though. My office was the beneficiary of all the extra time on Friday. Today was my bedroom, closet and all. I couldn't believe all the junk I threw out. Bags full of clothes and shoes that I wouldn't pass on to anyone. I can see the closet floor for the first time in at least 6 months. I'm thinking that the bathrooms will be the next recipients of my loving and cleansing touch.


Here's a pic of Gabby and Papa spending time looking at pics on the computer. Something they like to do when she comes over. She's getting sooooo big and is sooooo busy. How did I ever get anything done when my boys were that age? Oh that's right those were the years when Marty would come home from work and say "what did you do all day?" It took quite a few killing looks before he wouldn't ask that anymore.


So here's to hoping that I won't be on hiatus quite so long for quite some time. But we know how life can be, it just gets in the way.

Some interesting historical facts.

I was checking out some dude from England's blog, why? It was listed on some chic from California's blog as an interesting place to look. Anyway, he had some interesting things:

It's not so bad these days after all! The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things used to be. Here are some facts about the 1500s:


Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.

Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water..

Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs.

There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house.. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.

The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a thresh hold.

(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)

In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old..

Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat..

Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.

Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a .dead ringer..

And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

The blonde and the bookstore

I LOVE bookstores. Case in point......took a few minutes to visit our local bookstore, didn't want or need to buy anything, just wanted to go in and smell the books. That's right, just smell the books. It relaxes me, brings a little bit of peace into my chaotic heart. I'm easy to entertain just let me loose in Barnes and Noble for a couple of hours I'll walk out with the kind of relaxed look that many have to smoke something illegal to get. I not only enjoy inhaling new book smell but also to touch them. Not too long ago I checked a book out at the library that had never been checked out before. I was the first one to read the words in that particular book, to stretch the spine correctly so the pages will never fall out, the first one to become immersed in the characters the author brang to life for me. Mine was the first date due back stamped on the little sheet adhered inside the cover. I mentioned to the librarian my excitement at being the 'first' and she said she gets the same feeling. Only one that loves to read can share that excitement. There is something magical about getting lost in the characters of a well written book. I love finding the newest book written by one of my favorite authors on the shelf when I walk into a book store, I know that I will have hours of enjoyment escaping into another world. So today I walked into The Book Clinic, touched a few books, inhaled the scent of said books, talked to my friend behind the counter and walked out the door feeling just a little better for that fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes well spent.
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We had our fourth annual Garden Railroad get together this past weekend. I'll write about that at another time. I'm still enjoying my bookstore high.

One damp blonde

I'm typing this as I'm looking out the window of our local coffee shop. We live in a rural area where the only way we can have high speed internet access is by going via satellite internet. Usually not a problem unless it's raining or snowing, it's currently r-a-i-n-i-n-g cats and dogs, literally. I can hear the meows and rowfs as the rain hits the ground. It's supposed to rain all day and into the night, so that's why I made a trip into town and am enjoying the solitude of the coffee shop. Okay that's not the only reason, since it's raining all the guys are home from work today and I was starting to get a little testy, on the edge of screaming testy. I figured for the sake of my men I should go away for awhile and I feel much better.
I'm in major cleaning mode. This weekend is our annual train weekend. So I must clean the kitchen as other women will be using it, that means even cleaning the stove which isn't usually a prioity for me. That's another reason I'm testy, I don't enjoy major cleaning mode. I enjoy the results but not the process.
Reason number three for testyness......if I'm honest with myself (Iusually try to be)I'm feeling a little neglected. Yesterday was my birthday and I got - cards - now here's where I have to fight feeling like an ungrateful whiner but I admit it just didn't seem like enough. Between you and me I'll not tell my guys cause they're patting themselves on the back that they remembered the day and gave me - cards-I was even kind of expecting that the dishes would be done when I got home from work. I may stop at the store, buy an angel food cake (my favorite) stick some candles in it and sing to myself. Oh, the dishes were still in the sink when I woke up this morning, the magical dishwashing birthday fairy didn't even show up like I wished for as I went to bed.
Okay I will put away my pity party violin now, pack up the laptop and head home.
I purpose to enjoy my cleaning, knowing that after everyone is in bed tonight I'll be able to sit in the living room with a hot cup of tea, listening to my angel clock tick and feel GOOD cause my house is clean the night before company comes, not an hour before. I may just go to the library and get a nice little book to enjoy too. I feel better already.
By the way, it's good to blog again. Life has been wild! I look foward to cooler weather and the chance to get reaquainted with my friend the internet.

I've lost them ALLLLL!!!

For some reason every once-in-while I loose all my bookmarks. Now at first glance that may seem like a bad thing, I'll admit it I usually think some very unladylike words when it happens (I would never say them out loud, of course). But after it happened this weekend and I gave up trying retreiving them I decided that maybe it was a good thing. I'm forced to find new places on the internet. I have to really think about where I want to travel through cyberspace. The bookmark category that was hardest to loose though were my favorite blogs. I enjoy visiting those people every day. Those both famous and obscure. But I was forced to face the fact that I didn't know who some of them were, what their names were, or where I found their blog. I've lost them, maybe forever.
Who was the woman that ended every blog with a PBQOTD(Princess Bride Quote of the Day)?
Who was the scrapping homeshcooling mom that also loved science fiction?
Who was the lady that altered anything and everything? I loved her!!!
I didn't add them to my list of people on my blog, will I ever find them again?
I did remember how to find the musings of my favorite bistro waiter.
But.................here's the famous but, I'm now broadening my horizons, I really enjoyed the new blog written by the bouncer in DC, and the waitress in NYC. I am inspired by the scrapper with biting wit and beautiful sketches.
So I'm trying to be philisoph......trying to think deeply (it's late and I'm too lazy to do spell check). Sometimes you have to loose something to gain something else. Right????? I also think I'll start backing up my favorite places to visit because no matter how I try to convince myself it's a good thing, I will miss those people and places and hope I find them again.

Errrrrrrrr!!!!

Okay, no cute little 'blonde' title came to mind today, hence the 'errrrrr'. I would have put 'durrrrrrrr' cause that is a frame of mind I'm in a lot, but I've had to purge it from my vocabulary as one of the girls I waitress with has the last name of -Durr-it didn't go over too well with her when I would say it in a moment of frustration. We have many of those moments in our job.
Today I'm supposed to be cleaning, today I'm supposed to be scrapping, today I did do some office work but what I've spent a good chunk of time doing is blog hopping. Checking out blogs written by those like me in the food service industry, Wait staff. It has been an uplifting experience. I've found that those of us who serve food share much in common. It doesn't seem to matter what type of restraunt you work in, people are pretty much the same all over the world. There's the good, the bad, the ugly and the demanding.
The customers I have the hardest time with are those who act like the meal is fine but when asked by the host or hostess as they are going out the door how everything was they find much to complain about. During the time I spent at their table after serving the food nothing was mentioned about the overcooked steak or the catfish that was underdone. There are times when you know someone will try to get their meal comp'd on the way out. They just weren't happy no matter what, yet they ate and drank everything put before them. We usually warn the host so then they can be ready with a smile and comment card, wishing them a good night as they are ushered out the door.
Then there is the mother, father and four children that look like they're ready to kill each other when they're seated, but by the time they are half way through their meal they have been transformed into a loving family unit. They just needed a little food. (except for the teenage daughter, she can't outwardly show that she's happy you know).
Or the group of twenty five that comes in asking if we have some room for them, no they don't have a reservation. As we scramble to shuffle some tables around one of them stops me and tells how much they appreciate what we're doing as they've just buried the matriarch of their family. They had the service at a funeral home and didn't have anywhere to have a family meal when someone suggested our restraunt. We as a staff have an attitude change then.
And when I say 'ugly' I'm really refering to those ugly in spirit. You really can't judge a book by it's cover or a customer by the jewels they are wearing or the standing they have in the community.
So I am constantly challenged. Being a servant isn't one of my spiritual strong points. So what have I been doing for a part time job the last nine years? Yes, God does have a sense of humor and really does know what we need the most.

blogging blonde

I've been having some fun this evening. I have time to blog hop. Haven't had time to do that for quite awhile it's usually something I do in the winter, when I can't get outside (I hate the cold). Found one cool site. It's a scrapping dare challenge . I may have to do it. Just in case I don't get around to doing this past weeks dare was WHY DO YOU SCRAP? Okay, so I'm thinking 'of course it's to save the memories and photos for the generations that follow'. sounds so deep doesn't it? But, when I decided to be honest with myself I realized I scrap for ME!!!!! Yup it's only for me. Even if my family would never open an album in the future I'd still scrap. It's a total creative and grounding outlet for me. I also LOVE to shop at scrapping stores so I figure that it would be a good idea to put allllll that paper I compulsively buy to good use. It also gives me a good excuse to have a little room all to myself, how could I justify having a whole room for yarn or cross stitching? Now I always make sure to let the guys fell like they're welcome in 'my' room. They can come in when they want. Okay, okay I'm being honest with myself here, I like being able to kick them out whenever I want. I don't like them laying on the spare bed or sitting on my chairs or touching all my 'stuff' (Wil seems to like to test drive all my tools everytime he comes in here). If they come in and I'm crashed on said spare bed that means 'leave momma alone, to be in here you should be dying'. I love that they are all self sufficient now so I don't have to feel bad about hiding away in my happy place. Now if I could just find some curtains or material to make curtains for the windows it would be perfect, oh well it gives me something to shop for besides paper.
TTFN

Blonde ambition

I've been spending the last couple of days getting caught up in the office. That may seem like a lot of time to dedicate to that project....but it's not really dedicated time. Yesterday the Gabmiester was here (there's only so much you can do when an active one year old is around)then when she left I popped over to a friends house to help her clean a little as she's in the midst of closing on the sale of her house and her accelerated biological chemistry course, after that it was hop in the shower and off to work. Today I should be able to spend the whole morning on the computer and clearing off my desk.
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News flash, we're gonna be grandparents again. Tom and Jamie are expecting a little bundle of joy. Jamie goes to the Dr today so we should have a due date soon. They have received mixed reactions so far. Our parents are still dealing with the fact that they're living together, this will be a big pill for them to swallow and accept. I'm hoping that they can get to that point very quickly. A new life is always a reason to celebrate.
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One of the perks of having DirecTV is that we get a ton of XM radio stations. It's such good radio to work by, no commercials, stations that feature certain genres (love the 70s and jazz ones)and if everyone is gone I can crank the tv up in the livingroom which has stereo so sounds great.
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Aggie our 83 year old cook at the steak house has had to take a leave, with the heat we've been having working in the kitchen has been making her sick, like, 'it looks like I'm gonna keel over' sick. She's AMAZING!!! Can still cook circles around the youngsters and makes everything look and taste great too. I'm hoping that she'll be able to come back in the fall when it cools down. She's dropped down to 2 nights a week.
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Another hot one today. In the mid 90's with a good amount of humidity. We have a chance of showers so I'm holding out watering plants till a little later. Hoping ole mother nature does the work for me. We've been blessed with some good rain in the last couple of weeks so here's to a little more.
TTFN

The blonde is cleaning

Saturday it was the closet in the dining room. Today it was the living and dining rooms, yup I'm finally in spring cleaning mode. Okay I've never believed in spring cleaning I figure if I'm in the mood to clean I just better do it then, the cleaning mood doesn't visit that often. I also made lunch and did some prep for supper this afternoon, there is definately something wrong. I don't usually do domestic this much, hmmmmmm, I better stop so the guys don't expect it all the time. But I always feel so much better when the house is clean and orderly...it just isn't that way very much.

I had all this extra cleaning time today cause little Gabby is sick today with a fever so Jamie didn't go to school. Her Momma is worried cause she doesn't want her to end up in the hospital again so she' watching her very closely. I'm hoping and praying that doesn't happen too.

It's another hot one today so I'm gonna grill some steaks for supper, keep the heat outside. I found them in the freezer today, BONUS, didn't know we had any. So I'm getting ready to grab some hard lemonade the matches a good book and a spot in the shade. Yeah baby!!!