Happy Friday!

Tim's been working 7-3 this week, so we got used to waking up later. Today, he had to be in at 6. I woke up at 4 and showered, then stumbled into the kitchen. Kevin was making some breakfast (since I was out of bagels, my usual fare) and I reached for the coffee. We are OUT of coffee! There ought to be a LAW against that.

I had to get fuel this morning, anyway, so we grabbed a mocha. I'm better now. I've got a ton to do today, which means the day will go fast, and then I get to pick up Kami on the way home. We don't have any real plans for the weekend, other than relaxing and playing with her.

Tonight is our homecoming football game. It's supposed to be fairly cool, so I'm not sure if I'll go or not. If it's not too chilly, we will, but we have Kameron to think about. The girls will definitely go, and then the dance is after. It's Natalie's first homecoming dance. First dance of junior high, for that matter. They're excited.

Next weekend, Brooke is coming to visit. We'd like to go to Renaissance Festival, but the tickets are pretty pricey. I'm trying to win some on the radio, and I have some $4 off coupons, so we shall see. We may decide against it, but I sure have a good time when we go.

I hope everyone has a super fantastic weekend!

Employee Appreciation Day

My employer has frequent Employee Appreciation Days in which they have a caterer feed us lunch. Sometimes it's burgers and dogs on the grill with all the fixins. Other times it is a potato bar, or tacos, etc. Today we're having another, and it's BBQ. I think they said beef or chicken sandwiches to choose from. I'm excited!

They don't have to do this, yet they do it several times a year. Today's event has a bonus, too! We get to spin a wheel to win cash! Everyone wins a little green, but there are a couple of sweet slots on the wheel. Last time they did this, someone won $100! It's a lot of fun, and I feel blessed to work for a company that does things like this.

Kevin got a steak dinner from his job one day last week. That was pretty cool, too, but I didn't get any. LOL Dad's worked for that company for a long time, and I think they do that occasionally. I'm not sure when or why they do it, but it's nice to get a little something extra sometimes. The way things have been, though, I'm just thankful to have a job! Kevin was unemployed long enough to make me really appreciate being employed.

I'll let you know if I win big $$. No I won't. I'll be busy spending it.

Go Chiefs! Go Hawkeye!

I made the mistake of staying up until 10:40 to watch the first half of the Chiefs game. Mistake because I get up at 4. I'm doing pretty well, considering. The QT mocha doesn't hurt anything. I hadn't planned on watching any of the game, though. I just sat down to watch a few minutes and we were really doing good!

I don't mean to sound surprised, but, well, I'm surprised! I hope this is a sign of the season to come. We haven't had a good season in some time. The game made it apparent that there is a lot to work on, but a win's a win. And I got to see the awesome 94 yard punt return by Dexter McCluster for a TD. That was impressive.

It stormed last night, and is still raining this morning. I think it's supposed to rain today and tomorrow. I've NEVER seen our yard this green in September. Usually, by mid-August, it's brown and crunchy. It's nice to arrive home to that pretty yard.

We made it so the dogs can get onto the back porch. Brooke and Tim's dogs are used to being inside dogs, so we didn't want to just turn them out into the elements. Besides, we've been looking for a solution for Hawkeye during weather events, too. So they have a way onto the back porch now, but Hawkeye wasn't having any of it.

He thinks that Rayne and Ame have cooties, and he'd rather stay out in the elements than to be near them. Phooey on girls. Until last night, that is. I happened to be back there when I heard big fat raindrops hitting the deck, so I called him. He came in! He kept his distance from those horrible woman dogs, but he stayed in all night. It's so funny to watch him. He acts like Mom's dog does to him. Iris thinks Hawkeye has cooties, too.

OK, time to get back to it. I have an hour before the Tuesday meeting, and I can get a lot done in an hour!

Getting to Work Early

I always get to work early. I arrive at least 30 minutes early, and usually closer to 1 hour. I just feel better if I can get here and get things caught up before the door opens and the phones come on. Now that I'm ride-sharing with Tim, I get here 2 hours early, to get him here in time. I get SO much done in the quiet early hours.

There are a lot of folks that I work with that don't mind getting here at the last minute. That would make me nutty. I'd be in a full-on panic until I arrived, worried about traffic and such. Thinking about this today, I posed the following question on a message board that I frequent:

How early do YOU get to work? I know that some of you don't work, so when did you prefer to arrive when you did? Some of you have to be in so early anyway, I can't imagine you giving yourself too much extra time (right Sonya?) 3am? Wow.

Anyway, how early do you arrive?

Melon Belly

There's something you need to know if you ever visit this house. Anything you say can and WILL be used against you. If you mis-pronounce something? You'll be mocked repeatedly. Make a comment before you realize it made no sense? Too late. It's ammunition for the smart alecks on this house.

Today, we were eating the last of the Israeli melon, because I needed the bowl that it was in. I kept telling the kids to eat a piece when they walked by. I had more than I wanted, and I announced, "Wow, I have a belly full of melon." That's all it took.

Kevin said, "Oh, is that your blues name? Melon Belly?" Everyone laughed. Pretty soon, everyone was making reference to it. If I was going to pick a nick name for myself, I'm quite certain it wouldn't be Melon Belly.

I'm just sayin'.

Happy Friday!

It's been a long short week! I know it was only 4 days, but I'm ready to sleep in tomorrow. I'll sleep until at least 6 if I have anything to say about it. We're going to try to cram a lot of fun (with very little expense) into this weekend.

Tonight, the high school football game. Mom? If you want to go, email me. We'll come get you.

Tomorrow morning, we are going to Bass Pro and then to a little place that Kevin and Tim are itching to visit. I'll likely get a haircut at some point, and Monica wants one, too. We may grill Saturday evening. Gotta see what my aunt and her husband have going on at Mom's.


Well, there's a meeting in 5 minutes that I'm supposed to attend, so I'd better get in there!


Happy Friday!

Chuggin' Along

We had a great weekend. Brooke came to visit and brought one of Tim's friends with her. He was surprised and I think it really made him happy. She also left his dog, Rayne, up here, and we decided that her sister should stay as well. Ame has been bitten by rattle snakes twice in her life, and September is a bad time for that. Also, since they've been together since infancy, I hated to see them split up.

They're great dogs. We were wondering about the food situation, since they don't eat the same kind, but Brooke said that, if Hawkeye would change (he will...hers is better food) then she'll just buy it all. She has more dogs eating it! LOL Works for me. We made the back porch accessible to them, which will make it easier for Hawkeye to escape the weather, too. They are all getting along fine, after a day or two of posturing.

Kevin's doing well on his job, and so is Tim. It's interesting to have 3 people getting ready for work in the morning, when it was just me for so long. The girls are adjusting to getting themselves up and around. Yesterday, after Kevin woke them up and left for work, they both fell back to sleep. I spent 45 minutes calling one, and then the other, to no avail. Finally, Natalie answered. They got to school in time. Phew!

We made it pretty clear last night that they would need to mature about setting and hearing alarms, or they could go back to the bedtime from elementary school years. They did NOT want to do that. This morning, I tried to call Monica...no answer. Then I dialed Natalie...no answer. GREAT! Then, I get an email that Monica had tagged me in a photo on FB. LOL They were awake, but not near the phones. Good for them!

Since Tim has to be at work at 6 most days, I get up at 4 and we're gone a few minutes after 5. It's crazy early for my normal shift, but I get SO much done when nobody is here and the phones are off. It's nice to start the day without feeling like I'm behind. I can answer emails, check voicemails, move orders and take care of the work blog. It still allows time for me to do some "me stuff," too. LOL

When Brooke was here over the weekend, she brought some Israeli melons. I'd never had them, and the appear to be similar to cantaloupe. She said they're "gross," which made me really want to try them. I finally cut into one last night, and they're pretty good! I have some in my lunch today. There is one whole melon left, and it's for Mom. Brooke asked specifically that I get one to her. I'll take it by tonight or in the morning, since they really need to be consumed soon. Maybe I can take down her mini blinds while I'm there.

OK, back to work. This weekend will find us at Bass Pro, the ninja store, and possibly me getting a hair cut. Lots of fun stuff! This leftover hurricane rain should be gone by then. Today though? Rain all day. Green grass is lasting longer than I've ever seen this year. Sweet!

Friday Eve

It's Friday Eve!

Tim is doing great at work, but going from not working to 10-hour days is wearing him out. His job demands that he stand and walk all day, so it's kicking his butt. Kevin started his new job yesterday, and he stood all day, too. That kicked *his* butt. I had a very busy day, although I sat through most of it, but it kicked *my* butt. We were all pretty beat last night, to say the least.

Still, it's awesome to have three incomes in the house. It's going to help SO much. Kevin said that his job is not difficult, and the people are great, so as soon as his body is used to standing all day, he'll be fine. He got to see Dad yesterday afternoon, too, so I think that made him happy. He also found out that he gets to work Saturday. Bonus!

Coming in early has been interesting. Driving in the dark (and twice this week in the rain) is something I'm not used to. That usually doesn't happen until winter. Also, spending 11 hours here makes me pretty beat when I get home. However, I can get SO much done in those couple of hours! By the time my coworkers show up, I've gotten over several of the hurdles that would have been difficult once the front doors are open.

I don't work the entire time, though. I use about 30 minutes to catch up on blogs and update my own. I can check my message boards and see how the morning is going for my FB friends. When busy season hits hard, I probably won't be able to do that, but for now, it's working out great.

Tomorrow is Friday, which always puts me in a good mood. It's going to be busy, but good. After work, I'll drive home and we'll all head to the high-school football game. I'll have to leave a bit early, since I'm driving someone to Union Station to catch a train. Kevin was going to do it, but he gets to work Saturday now, and I can sleep in. LOL

After the game, Natalie is having a few girls over to spend the night for a belated B-day sleepover. Saturday, I'm taking her to buy some boots (a belated B-day gift from us) and Sunday, Brooke will arrive for a visit. Monday? L.A.Z.Y. if I get my way.

Have a great Thursday!

Sleeping Through the Storm

With my new schedule requiring a 4 a.m. wake up, I was pretty tired last night. I knew there was supposed to be a storm or two, so I set my cell phone alarm as a backup. We also let Hawkeye in, since he hates storms so much. The regular alarm went off as usual, so I woke up and showered, not thinking anything about the weather.

After I got dressed, I took the dog out and saw that the grill was lying on it's face again. *sigh* Oh yeah, storms. There was a limb from the neighbor's tree in our yard, and between our fence and the highway. Wow, it must have blown pretty hard.

Before we left this morning, Kevin woke up (to start his new job, yeah!) and I told him about the grill. He explained that the power had been off most of the night, but that he had reset the alarm. The storm window in our room was also making all kinds of racket, due to the high winds, so he had gotten up, found some masking tape, and done a quick-fix to shut it up.

Apparently, I can sleep through anything. I feel GREAT!