Black Friday

No, I am not referring to the Friday after Thanksgiving. Black is how I would describe this past Friday.

I was having a great day at work, that is until I got back from my lunch break. My boss told me he wanted to talk to me about a few things. The way he said it had me thinking "Oh no, what did I do?". Well, I didn't do anything wrong, but I am still going to be without a job very soon. So, now do you see why I have dubbed last Friday as Black? What a bombshell to have dropped right before the holidays!!

I work for a real estate company and the market has not been good. The owners have decided to consolidate two offices into one and go from three office staff down to only one. I was hoping that they would take seniority into account, but they have not. I can understand the reasoning behind consolidating, but not their staffing choices.

I have never been fired or laid off from any job before, so this is pretty hard for me to handle. I have basically come to terms with the situation, until someone asks how I'm doing or talks about how inconvenient it will be for them to drive to the other office. It's at these times that I want to cry or scream. When they talk about the inconvenience, I say "At least you have a job." I know that they work on commission, but they are not losing a steady income that they depend on. They also do not have family of 5 to take care of. I will be able to draw unemployment, but it will not be what I make now. I wanted to be able to spend more time at home with the kids and to be able to have some extra time to craft, but this is not the way I wanted to get that time!

Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho it's off to search for work I go.

What Is a Calorie?

I received an interesting email yesterday with "What Is A Calorie?" as the title. I enjoyed it so much I just had to share.


What is a calorie?

Calories are the little bastards that get into your wardrobe at night and sew your clothes tighter.

MY CLOSET IS INFESTED WITH THE LITTLE SHITS!

Girl Scouts

The cookies are finally in! Tonight I will be sorting them & getting them ready for distribution tomorrow.

Makenzie has a meeting tomorrow & I get to be a parent helper. I was informed that we will be doing a project with duct tape. If the girls get out of hand, do we get to us the duct tape on them??? Just kidding. It should be fun. Makenzie is enjoying it so much. I hope that I can convince her to stay with this troop next year when I start a new one for Samantha. This troop is full, so it is very unlikely that they will have an opening for Sammy next year when she starts Kindergarten.

I have little to no time for myself these days and yes I am crazy enough to volunteer to take on a Daisy troop next year. I have another mom who wants to be co-leader, so it's not like I have to do everything myself.

Me? A Mom?: CSN Winner!

Me? A Mom?: CSN Winner!: "Happy Monday! The winner of the $35 gift certificate to CSN Stores is..... #58 - Amy who said: The kids would love the doggie salt & pep..."

WOW!! I CANNOT believe that I won! Now the fun begins... choosing what to get with it.

Take Your Daughter to Work Day... Are You NUTS???

That's how I was feeling yesterday by about 11:30.

Makenzie has not been herself & was complaining about a sore throat. She had been exposed to strep, so I thought I'd keep her home from school and take her to the doctor. I ended up taking her to work with me. She usually goes downstairs to our conference room where we have a large table as well as a TV & DVD player. I brought her a few DVDs & lots of books.

She decided it was better to stay upstairs by me. I always brag about how good she is when she's at work with me. She usually keeps herself busy & doesn't bother me. Well, this time she DROVE ME NUTS. I don't think I will be repeating this any time soon.

Twilight Saga: Book vs. Movie

I took the kids to the library on the 30th. As I went to look for a book that has quilting projects in it, I walked past the young adult fiction section. I saw Twilight on the shelf. I have heard all the hype about the books and movies, so I thought I'd give it a chance. I haven't read a series of books since Harry Potter.

Once I got started I couldn't quit. You have to understand that I am a reader. I LOVE to read. I worked at a library when I was in high school & it was like I was in heaven. Anyway back to Twilight.. I finished the book this past Saturday, so I just had to go back to the library on Sunday as soon as they opened to see if New Moon was available.

I ended up with New Moon and also Twilight on DVD. I often watch the movie after reading a book. I try not to do it in reverse. In my opinion it's better to get all the details from the book then watch the movie. I was very disappointed this time around, which shouldn't surprise me. That is how I often feel about movie adaptations. So I moved on to reading New Moon.

I took the book to the bowling alley with me. I was subbing for one of Brian's teammates on their Sunday night mixed league. I read between frames and finished about a third of it. I stayed up until about 2 am to finish all but about 100 pages. At work on Monday I went to our library's website & searched for Eclipse, book 3 in the series. I found it at the library that is closest to my work, as well as New Moon on DVD. I spent my lunch hour running to get these 2 items as well as reading part of New Moon. After I finished the book later shortly after the kids went to bed, so I sat & watched the DVD. I have to admit that the 2nd movie was better than the first.

I understand that not every detail can be used in the time that is allotted, but this was a better adaptation of the book than the first. It flowed so much better.

I reading Eclipse now and I am currently on page 332 of 629. I can't wait for my lunch break to start, so I can get back to the story. I guess I'll have to wait until December to see how the movie compares to this book.

What is your favorite & least favorite book/movie adaptation? Would you rather read the book or watch the movie?

Fabric Has Arrived, Let's Get Crafting

I went crazy the other day on Ebay. I have flannel fabric that I bought last spring to make quilts for the girls. I needed some additional accent pieces. I also have some baby shower gifts that I want to make & decided that flannel would be a prefect choice for these projects. I was looking at things on Ebay and found a seller who was getting rid of several lots of coordinating flannel remnants. I ended up with 6 of these lots which totaled about 18 yards of fabric for less than $1.75 a yard, including shipping!!! Now I can't wait to get started! Once I have projects going, I'll post pics.

1/4 School Year Finished-- Will We Survive The Rest?

School is officially 1/4 finished. We got 1st quarter report cards a few weeks ago. Makenzie is doing GREAT in 1st grade. She is about 1/2 a year ahead in her reading level & is doing great in math & grammar.

Jordan on the other hand is not doing so well in high school. He is grounded until he gets his grades up. There is a tutoring program that he qualifies for, we are just waiting to see if there is enough room for him. There is limited funds, so they take the kids with the greatest needs first. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he gets in. I am at a loss with what to do with him. He's not a dumb kid, he just does not apply himself. He uses the excuse "I forgot" all the time. He always "forgets" to bring home his notes, etc to study for tests. He "forgets" to bring home his homework. I'm scared that he is going to become a high school drop-out like his dad. Although his dad did go back and get his diploma through a correspondence program & graduated about 6 months after he should have, if he had finished going to regular high school. Like most parents, I want better for him. I want him to succeed in school and life. Any suggestions are welcome.

Fall Is Here

After a VERY HOT summer, Fall is officially here. I finally broke down and turned the furnace on last week when it was registering 55 in the house. I hate having to turn the furnace on for several reasons: the cost, it dries out the air in the house, and admitting that cold weather is on it's way. I would love to have temps between 60-70 all year long. Here in the St. Louis area it is very humid all year long. We have hot summers and cold winters. I have a fiend who moved about 300 miles south of here and she says the summers there are not as hot as they are here.

Halloween was fun. The kids and I were in 2 parades with my work. They had a BLAST dressing up and throwing candy to the crowds. I'll post some pics later. We went Trick-or-Treating and came home with way TOO MUCH candy. Sammy has been bugging us about every 10 minutes for candy. "Just one tiny piece?" or "Just one more?"