Thursday, September 30, 2010

Thinking about a major change.

Right now I work for a company that isn't doing well. The company filed chapter 11 (reorganization) bankruptcy and it is taking some time to go through. The chinese company that makes most of our furniture is supposed to be buying us out, but they won't be making any changes to upper level personnel, so they will just run it into the ground again.  A friend calls last night and says that there have been talks of shutting down all of the stores except upper NJ and NY. Good-bye Job.  I saw this coming, I have said since day one that there was no way we were going to come out on the other side of this ok, but I was trying to ignore the signs.  Well it is time to stop ignoring things.  I (of course) do not like change and will do a lot to avoid it, but I have to jump. I am working for the titanic and one half already went down....we are bobbing along waiting to go under.  I am scared, confused, and would much rather just pretend that everything is ok, but I can see it is time to take action.  I don't know what that action will be exactly yet.   I know I have one choice, but there have to be other choices out there.  I work in sales and I want away from sales.  I used to love my job. I used to enjoy people coming into the store, but now I don't know.  I have had to deal with so much crap and it's crap that if I worked for someone else I probably wouldn't have to deal with.  I want to find a place where I am treated as an employee should, a place where there is a chance that I will thrive.  I started to here, but then they fell apart, it is hard to make sales and do well when people aren't coming in to buy.  I think for now I will take some time to make the right decision.  I have a lot to think about and I am tired of failing.  I want to actually make a decision and have it turn out for the better.  I really want to stop floundering around and be somewhere where I can make a career for myself, something I can do well at a place where I am not treated as slave labor.  I have plenty of time today to think on it.....it is a rainy rainy day and NO ONE will be out and coming to see me, so while I am at work today I will think long and hard on this.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

It is decided!

I will be making pumpkin pie fudge to take on our get away weekend.  I wanted to take something warm and filling like a stew or something, but the logistics are just not working out. Also with the time constraints I am always under it is better that I make something I can prepare a good bit in advance and store until it's time to go.  Fall flavor and easy packing should be a winner. I think I may also make some pumpkin cookies. I found an awesome recipe for some glazed pumpkin cookies that have more of a cake tecture...with all of the moisture in them it will be easy to store those for a good amount of time before we go.
I have to get my shopping list together tonight, I am going grocery shopping Friday so I will pick up everything I need then and probably make a test batch of both that way I know how they will turn out and then as we get closer I will make the batches to take out there.  Oh, so excited.  I can't wait to get started. 
Well I spent my day here at work crocheting a pair of slippers, unfortunately with all of the interuptions I didn't get them done

Get away weekend...

As I am sitting here at work a few things keep running through my head...
1. how badly I need to do some cleaning at home and how much it's sucks I can't get anything done while I sit here at work.
2. the projects that I need to get finished.
3. what my plans are for getting things done on friday.
and last but not least.
4. OUR GROWN UPS ONLY GET AWAY WEEKEND/HIKING TRIP/FALL MAHHA
We are part of the Mid Atlantic Hammock Hangers Association and everyone is getting together for a camping weekend Oct 15-17.  I can't wait...I can't wait to get out there. Crankybear even said that this time (instead of taking the service trail) that we could take the AT in.  No electronics besides the camera, no kids, no dog, and most of all no worries.  Food, friends, hammocks, and nature.  Hopefully the weather holds out for us, I don't mind too much but rain will definately make for an icky weekend.  Last MAHHA hang I froze, it was in April, so awesome days and cool evenings and I think one of the nights it dropped down to 32 degrees, but it was still an awesome time and I am much better prepared this year.  One of the guys is going to make breakfast and there will be a potluck Saturday night.  I am thinking that for the potluck I will make something...I jsut don't know what to make. I want to make something with a fall flare, but it has to be something that will keep in a cooler and would be best if I didn't need to reheat it and something that won't cost me my left arm and right leg.  Hrrrmmmmmmmmm.....   I guess it is time to hit up the cook books and get the ideas rockin'.  Not much longer and I won't have much time for prep.  Anyone have any ideas add them in the comments, it would be great to have some input. 
Hammock Forums

What a day off!!!

This will be short for now.  I spent my day off running around like a busy little bee.  I took care of a few things and then proceeded to turn an old dresser into a desk for Toad.   I think it turned out pretty good.  Fits great in the room too.  I LOVE playing with power tools. I got out the circular saw and the sander and even the drill....it was a thing of beauty.
so here it is.....there is also a picture of my sander and my drill.  I will add a picture of my saw later...lol


Monday, September 27, 2010

The general problem.

So another day has passed and I did not get done everything I either need or wanted to do.  I worked and picked up the kids, we had dinner, and went to dance class, and now the kids are in bed.  I had hoped to work on a pair of slippers that I wanted to crochet, but didn't have the right hook with me at work. Instead I worked on a wallet for a friend, but didn't have my weaving needle to weave in the ends when I was done, so I couldn't give it to her today like I hoped.  I think I need a small white board with a "to do" list that I can just put up what I want to get done and then erase what does get done. Tomorrow is a new day with a laundry list of stuff to do.
1. Call verizon to find out why my home phone bill is $90! (can we say rip off?!!!)
2. Take apart dresser to save pieces I want to make the desk
3. Therapist appointment with Toad
4. Make windbreaker for Crankybear.
I think I will stop there, if I add too much more I will never get anything done tomorrow.  These are the big things I need to get done, and of these number 3 is at 10 am and number 4 HAS to get done tomorrow. Number 1 is also Highly important--well I know why the bill is so high....Verizon allows 3rd party billing--I could have swore I had it blocked, but there is some mess on here for EZOnlineDiet monthly service fee, and another one for MembersEdge Email service (this one I already have a confirmation # and that will be credited back to my bill).  I think when I call verizon tomorrow we will discuss my switch to Comcast, see if that doesn't get them to do something about this bill.  For what I pay for the phone I could get phone service and cable.  We shall see.
Oh, here is a picture of the wallet I made a while back....the one I made today(this isn't quite finished yet) looks almost identical...it has a different button.




This wallet is perfect for the basics--check card, ID, costco card, maybe even a little cash.  I wish I could remember exactly how I made it, I hate when I don't work from a pattern and can't remember what I did.
I also had a parent of a child in dance ask how much I would charge her for a pair of leg warmers for her daughter.  I need to do some research and make a test pair, but I told her $10, that will cover the yarn and it will give me something to do at work.
Well I am going to relax a bit and then head to bed.

I Love my Crockpot.

Just dropping a note to say how much I love my Crockpot.  With non-stop busy schedule it is nice to know that we will have an awesome dinner tonight in between school, work, dance, and homework.  Tonight's menu--Potroast, potatoes, celery, and carrots.  The kids are even excited.  On my quest of useless knowledge maybe today I will research the origins of the crock pot cooking system, and see if I can't find any awesome crock pot recipes.  If I find a good site I will post the link.

While sitting here bored at work I researched the crock pot origins.  Here is an awesome little hub with the info. Very interesting stuff---I thought the crock pot was older than it really is.  Crock Pot History
Here is also a neat site I found with a lot of different crock pot recipes.  Recipes  Well I am off to see what I can plan on cooking in my crock pot for another busy busy day. 

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Looking ahead at the week..

Of course being home, there are many reminders of the things that must be done.  The pile of craft stuff I need to put away, the kids' old dresser that I was going to take to the dumpster, but now I have decided to dismantle it to make a child size desk, the white board calender that runs my life, and the children talking about all of the fun things for the week.  I LOVE my white board calender, I actually have 2 up---one shows the month we are in and one with next month.  Work schedules, school functions, birthday parties, dance, swim, girl scout stuff, sleep overs.....everything gets written on the white board.  This week is no different than any other week, Crankybear works Monday (firefighter/paramedic--24 hour shift) I work Monday, dance class Monday night, Tuesday there is a therapist appointment and I HAVE to get a windbreaker done for Crankybear, Wed I work and both girls have girl scouts, Thur I work, Friday Crankybear works, I am off, it's grandparents day at school, and Saturday I work late and the kids have swim lessons.   We are busy peoples.  The week will fly by and by next week I will be wondering what happened to this week.  Should be a great week ahead.  I think I will pick up some more yarn and see if I can't get an afghan and a matching pair of slippers crocheted for my mom for christmas.   I have really got to buckle down and get started on gifts or I will never get done.    I like this afghan but I will use a nice soft yarn for it, I might also use some different colors----http://www.favecrafts.com/Crochet-Afghans/Retro-Circle-Afghan-from-Caron#     Then the slippers will just be some matching colored mary jane styled.   Should make her quite happy.

New to the world of blogging.

So, with being new to the world of blogging you will have to excuse the minor errors and scattered content. I am not a very organized person (although I would love to be) and am working diligently to find a way to organize my world and keep it that way.  Blogging, I hope, will be a way to share some of the funnier and maybe not so funny misadventures of life in my world.  I have 2 beautiful daughters--my oldest will be 9 October 30, 2010 and her nickname is Toad and my youngest is 5, her birthday is April 20th and her nickname is Monkey. They are amazing kids who have run me through the ringer. There is also my wonderful significant other who's trail name is CrankyBear. We have been together 4 and 1/2 years and he is awesomely supportive in all of my hair-brained ideas. He is also the voice of reason, he is great at pointing out all of the things I don't think of. 
I live in a zoo. We have a dog (Max), we have a cat (Squeaky), and we have 2 hermit crabs who's names change with the kid's mood.  Max is a mutt I got about a year and a half ago, he fits in well. Squeaky has been with us for about 4 years now, she is sweet and I doubt I could have a better cat.
Aside from being a mom, I also work full time in sales and am currently looking for a new job. I am not a fan of sales and am on the search for something that isn't so much in the sales area of occupations or at least not high pressure sales.  I do a lot of crafting and with all of that I started a facebook page and artfire account to sell items I have made, but with no luck.  It's ok though because I can use what I have made for gifts for friends.  I also LOVE to read. CrankyBear's mom got me a Barnes & Noble Nook for my birthday/christmas/every holiday til next birthday...lol  So from time to time you may see a book review pop up. 
Well I am at work and am going to go read for a bit and hope that time passes quickly so that I can go home, I promised the kids that I would help them get their room straightened out.  They recently got new beds and I haven't finished getting everything put back in order yet, but hopefully we can make a dent tonight. They also asked me to paint some pictures for the walls and I need to get those put up for them.