The End

It's the end of NaBloPoMo, and I had a lot of fun doing it. I think I'll try again next year, but I guess it would all depend on if it snowed again next year!

We were so slow at work last night that I took one of my co-worker's pictures for her name tag. The last appointment of the night didn't even show up because of the threat of snow again. Instead of snow we got freezing rain which turned into normal rain after awhile. That's okay, I enjoyed my shift yesterday a lot more than I'll enjoy it tomorrow.

Next week is my last official week at school for this quarter. The week after that is full of study days and the finals. My kick-boxing final will be pretty easy, since it's going to be like any other day in class. My math final is a little more daunting. I should to pretty good on it though.

Well, I have to run some errands, so it's another short post today.

M

Short Snow Post

The sky overhead today is threatening to dump more snow on top of us tonight. A small part of me hopes that we get more snow tonight, but a larger part of me wants to go to class and find out how I did on that test from last week. I also really want to go to kick-boxing, although I'm still feeling really sore from pushing my truck into my parking space.

When I stepped into work this afternoon to drop off my stuff, it was empty of customers. One of my co-workers was getting her pictures taken with her niece or daughter, but other than that, there was no one in the store. I have a feeling that we're not going to have a very busy night tonight. The snow may even keep people away this weekend!

Well, that's about it for now. I made it to work in one piece (although it took me a little while to make a right turn onto a main road because of all the ice under my tires), and I'm sure I'll make it home the same way. I fully plan on telling the M.O.D tonight that if it snows again, I HAVE to go home right then or else I'll be sliding home at three in the morning again.

M

Good Excuse

I'm no longer in the running for NaBloPoMo, but I have a very good reason.

Yesterday afternoon I started seeming snow outside my window, so I called into work seeing if I could start an hour later than I was scheduled. My manager was happy to let me start later (mainly because it meant that I was going to show up in the first place. We've been having problems with people just not showing up for their shifts), so I started off for work a little after 2pm. The time before was full of snow-watch (I don't like driving in snow, and Baby Truck hates driving in snow almost more than I do) and watching the roads to make sure they stayed clear all day.

I arrived at work and all was well for a little while. One of my co-workers told me to look outside.

'Why?'
'Just do it.'
'How bad is it?'
'See for yourself.'

She's so helpful.

The M.O.D (manager on duty) moved her car a little closer to the entrance to the mall because she didn't want to walk in the snow after work. She drives some kind of Jeep-type car, and was sliding all over the place just moving her car a few spaces closer.

I told her I had to leave work now and get home before the roads got any worse. She asked me to stay until the last appointment on the books showed up (they called in a little later and said that there was no way they were going to make it in. They had to park a mile from their house simply because they couldn't get up the hill to get to my mall), I wish I hadn't because when I left the mall, it was about 7:45 pm. By the time I actually got home it was 3:11 am.

That's right. From 7:45 pm to 3:11 am, I was on the road.

Normally it takes me about 20 minutes to get from work to the Mini Manor (in heavy traffic). I didn't even get off at my usual exit, I got off the freeway at the exit just before my usual one! I was still on the off-ramp at midnight, and it took me three hours to get from the off-ramp to my apartment!

I slid around a little, and there were a few times I got stuck (by this time I've broken down in tears from exhaustion a couple of times already), but people would just drive right past me and look at me like I was blocking traffic on purpose. I broke my ice scraper trying to give my tires a little more traction, and I was hopping mad.

I WAS going to go home.

I started screaming at the people who just looked at me as they cruised past 'Yeah I'm stuck, stop looking at me!' In hindsight, this may not have been the best strategy, but it worked. After a little while a very nice gentleman offered to give me a push with his SUV until I wasn't stuck. I was very grateful and he pushed me for a little distance and I was able to angle my truck into the dryer spots. I was good go to as long as I didn't have to stop at all until I got home.

It didn't work.

I had to have two other people push me with their cars to get me unstuck again (by this time I was so determined to go home, I didn't even notice the time) before I slid into the apartment complex driveway and eased into a spot (that part was a lot harder than it sounds. I had to use the shingles in the back of Baby Truck to get the rest of the way into the space, but I was parked).

It took Himself three hours to get home.

I love the snow, and everything, but I like it even better when I don't have to drive in it.

Today I think I'm going to stay home and make some hot chocolate and pick up some dry wood at the store. I'm going to light a fire and drink my coco while watching movies (I also get to walk my friend's dogs in the snow!), and later on, I may have a snowball fight with my cousin.

M

Almost Over

Not only is NaBloPoMo almost over, but so is the weekend from Hades. Last night was by far the worst, but hopefully that will all change pretty soon. Photo Girl and I talked to the acting manager about one of the other 'managers' (she spends most of her shift in the lab texting on her cell phone and complaining about how we're never going to get out of the store at a decent hour), and she said that something will be done tomorrow. Photo Girl and I are pretty sure the 'manager' isn't going to get fired yet, but she certainly won't be asked to stay longer than the holidays. I also don't think we'll be asking her back if we ever need another manager.

Himself is at home again today, hopefully cleaning (he promised he would at least get a start on it) so I can start preparing for Yule. We're going to try to have a tree this year (I might try the whole living tree again, but I'm not sure yet), but we're not sure when we're going to get it. I really want to see Miss Thang's reaction to the tree (this will be her first Christmas with us) in the Mini Manor, so I think that'll be my main argument for the tree.

We had our first snow this morning. Himself woke me up from a very confusing dream (and a rather deep sleep), and told me to look out the window. I looked outside and saw a light dusting of snow on the roofline of the complex and in the grass. I think we had about an inch or so of snow, not much but certainly enough to make me think of Christmas. Himself was a little disappointed (we had a bet going on if it would snow or not. He lost), but was willing to drive me to work if the snow didn't melt (I don't like driving in it at all, and neither does my truck).

Well, that's about all for now. I have two more days of work before my next day off (not that I'm counting or anything)!!!

M

Black Friday Pt. 2

This whole weekend is one never-ending Black Friday. Yesterday wasn't so bad at work (we had a bunch of no-shows, and we even had time to take a walk-in right when they came in), but today was a zoo for the moment I walked in to drop off my stuff and tell people about the creepy woman at the store this morning. She walked up to me and told me to smile because I looked too serious with my 'beautiful red hair'. Then she leaned in and told me she was partial to redheads (this woman was older than my mom, but younger than my grandmother). This made me drop my energy drink (thank god it wasn't open) and blush like crazy.

Himself somehow got the whole weekend off, so he's at home relaxing. He had to work yesterday, but according to him, his store was pretty slow too.

Well, no time to write anything else. I have to be at work soon.

M

Black Friday

Today is the worst shopping day of the year, unless you're a customer. For some reason I thought I worked earlier today, so I was all set (and at work) just before 10 this morning. I don't actually work until 2 this afternoon. Oh well, it gave me time to get a new pair of work pants (I've already worn holes in the pair I got in July) and probably something to eat.

Thanksgiving with the in-laws was fun. We drew names for Christmas, and unlike my dad's side of the family, my in-laws don't keep the names a secret. I drew my brother-in-law (the one with a Masters in European Studies) this year, and from what I've heard, he's one of the hardest to shop for. At least I can give him a book or a gift card to a bookstore. That would probably make him happy.

The only time I braved the crowds today was going to the store because of the sock-sale they have every year. I stocked up on socks (although I over-bought, so I'm going to have to take some back today. I got socks for people before I even realized that I already got them stocking stuffers), a candle and some tree lights at the sale before the crowds drove me too nuts.

I just found out today that my manager also likes Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and she was hoping to go to the concert early next month. I told her the price of the tickets (they only have the nose-bleed sections left) and she sighed (she doesn't think she can afford them. Neither can Himself and I since we both had some pretty major truck-repairs done). There's always next year. Himself and I are still trying to get his parents to a TSO concert, but with money being so tight right around this time (and his dad having to go to work at 1:55 am), it's pretty hard.

Well, that's about it. Probably more later.

M

Happy Turkey Day!!

Just a short post to say 'happy turkey day!' to everyone. Right now we're waiting for Himself to finish his laundry so we can go to his grandmother's house for dinner.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll be sock shopping with Mom, I just need to figure out what time we're supposed to be meeting up. I know I have to work later that day, so it's going to be a long day (we're triple-booked, and as far as I know we still only two camera rooms.

Well, that's about all for today, I'll have more tomorrow!

M

Leaking Brain (More Brain-Droppings)

Work today wasn't as busy as I thought it would be, but then again, it's the day before Thanksgiving, so everyone is at home now getting ready for tomorrow.

One of the new people at work is a great person, and he's a pretty good salesman, but his photography isn't as good as it needs to be. Once the holidays are over we'll probably put him in sales and keep him away from the camera rooms, but then again, we'll have more time to train him. Who knows, he just might quit before then anyway. I hope he doesn't, mainly because he has a lot of potential, but if that's what he chooses, then so be it.

Himself and I are looking forward to a day off together where we get to sleep in and not have to worry about school or anything. Usually on Thursdays I have to wake up early to go to class, but I get to spend the rest of the day with him. Tomorrow all we have to do is a little more laundry (I did mine the other day, and now he's going to do his) and then go to his grandmother's house for dinner.

Well, that's about all for now. I'm hoping to get a few more pictures on here, but with my computer being the way it is (really old and slow), I'm probably going to have to somehow burn the pictures onto a cd (I say 'somehow' because I just remembered that my computer doesn't have a cd burner, so I'm going to have to get a Computer Guy to help me out with that) so I can put them on a different computer (one that actually has internet access and actually remembers how to get online. My computer will think long and hard about the website I want to see, then forget about halfway through the loading process. It forgets hard enough that I usually have to restart it).

M

Finally, A Picture of the Girls!

This is Little Princess, looking very Princess-like. She is very much the Lady of the Household, but she pretends to let me have that title. It makes me feel better. ;o)

This is Miss Thang (the top picture). Sometimes in the dark, she looks like an Ocelot. We also call her our Monkey-Meerkat (she's kind of odd). Since I'm not tech-savvy at all, the pictures aren't quite where I wanted them, but at least they're here! Thanks Mom for your help!

M

P.S They're only sweet when you don't live with them all the time.

Just a little something...

Click on the link for a version of Carol of the Bells you'll never forget (this is a good thing!)! Also it's a pretty nifty e-card too!

M

http://ecards.netmusicpromotions.com/tso/ecard.html

Coolest Mom

Yesterday my mom was elevated to The Coolest Mom at work. I'm the only person at work who has a mom who was pulled over for suspicion of armed robbery. A couple of the people thought that she had actually robbed the store, but I assured them that she didn't. They thought she was pretty cool after that. The only thing I'm even remotely worried about is the fact that I am a weirdo-magnet just like my mom. Does this mean I'll be a cop magnet too?

I tweaked my back so hard yesterday that I have a hard time bending at the waist. Normally I can avoid this position, but at work, we're constantly bending over to pick up the camera, move the child, pick up the prop being used, the list goes on. I can walk okay, but it really hurts to lie down on my back, and sitting up hurts a little too. Hopefully everything will be better by Friday, since that's going to be long day. Mom and I are going sock-shopping (we stock up for the year or so) since they're going to be on sale and everything. That's the only shopping I do on Black Friday.

I got a message from Himself last night saying that he would be home a little late because someone had asked him to stay at work a little later. He wasn't sure when he would be home, but since I was off work at 8pm, and he was supposed to be off at 7pm, I figured that we would be home at about the same time. Boy was I wrong! He didn't drag himself into bed until after 1am! He got off work shortly after he left the message on my phone, but he stayed and talked to a co-worker for the next five hours! He didn't even come directly to bed, he started watching his movie (he started re-watching The Return of the King the other night) until I told him to get his carcass in bed. Oh well, at least we'll be able to spend the day together on Thursday.

Well, I'm off to take my math test. I'm feeling a little more confident now that we've reviewed (I don't even have to go to class tomorrow, since the only thing that will be going on is the test for the people who didn't want to take it today) a little in class today.

M

Is Christmas Over Yet?

We got the truck back after much begging of the repair guy to take a post-dated check. Himself thinks he got shorted on hours for his vacation, so the check that was sent to us was a lot smaller than we both thought it would be. His truck runs, so everyone is happy. All we need now is get my truck an oil change and we should be pretty good for awhile.

Yesterday I thought I was working until 7pm, but as it turns out I worked until 8. Normally that would be fine, but we still had people in the store at 7:45 (I even had one group of customers ask if I could make an exception to the mall hours. Not only that, but they asked if we could speed the machine up so it would take less than 20 minutes to process the negatives. Sorry, not going to happen) picking their portraits. We finally got them out, and picked up the cleaning. Another girl and I had already scrubbed the white backdrops while the customers were still in the store, so all that was left was taking out the garbage and cleaning the floors. We couldn't clean the floors while people are still in the store, so as soon as they left, one of the new girls started sweeping and everything. We got everything done, but the manager still had to run a bunch of stuff on the computer, so she had us leave as soon as we were done with everything else. We were a mad house all day (hence the customers still in the store after we close), especially since we had a camera break and we were triple-booked pretty much all day. The last weekend before Thanksgiving. I can only imagine what the weekend after Thanksgiving will be like.

I have a math test tomorrow in class, and I don't think I'll do all that well. We've been doing the kind of math that only works when the moon and stars are in perfect alignment, and the he-goat has been sacrificed to the proper gods. You only multiply across when we have a large earthquake on the other side of the world, and the only time you add down is when we actually have peace in the middle-east. This is the kind of math I will probably never get, but I've been able to squeak by with some very lucky guesses.

Well, I have to study for that test now, and I start work pretty soon, so I must sign off here.

M

Himself pt. 2

Today I lent my truck to Himself so he could get to work on time today. This would have been a pretty good plan except for the fact that he works at 11am, and I work at 1pm. I have a couple more hours to kill before I start work, and then I have another hour or so to kill before I get to go home. I'm half tempted to call a friend of mine and see if she'll drive me home, then call Himself and let him know that he doesn't have to pick me up.

Today also marks a big day for gamers. The Nintendo Wii came out today, and the one gaming store here in the mall opened early for all the hardcore gamers. Everyone and their dog came into the mall to get their Wii. Actually, that's not far from the truth. I was walking down the line and I saw a couple holding their little dog while waiting in the line. People are so odd sometimes.

Thanksgiving this year will be spent with Himself's family (we didn't spend it with them last year because we had just gotten back from Poland, and my family claimed us for the holiday) at his grandmother's house. His grandmother is a wonderful, soft spoken lady, and I do enjoy spending time with her. We'll probably draw names for Christmas that night, and we'll probably talk about who has what day off (Himself has an aunt who is a nurse, so she doesn't always get Christmas off) so we can actually celebrate Christmas.

Well, since the day is still young, nothing much has happened.

M

Holiday blues

Work today was jam-packed with people. We had people calling in to get their holiday pictures done early. Early is usually good, but from what I've heard the weekends don't ever slow down until just after New Years. Then they pick up again just in time for Valentine's Day (probably not as busy as Father's Day or Christmas, but I've heard babies are popular for Valentine's Day), but then we're slow until about Easter. A small part of me is looking forward to Christmas, just so I can say I survived it, but another (somewhat larger) part is wishing Christmas would pass by without too much pulling of the hair.

Himself and I pick up his truck from the Truck Doctor on Monday, so he'll be able to drive himself (hee hee, Himself drives himself) to work next week. We just have to survive until then. The repairs weren't as bad as we thought they would be, but it still cost us a little more than $200. A good portion of that is towing, I think. The place Himself goes to get his truck fixed is pretty reasonably priced (except for their towing. That's where they get you), but I only know how to get home from there, and it's a pain in the butt to just retrace your path. There's a tricky left turn into the driveway of the repair shop, and to do it, you have to cross about three lanes of traffic.

A day like this at work makes me really not want kids that much, but at the same time I still want them a lot. I took the pictures of these two boys that reminded me a lot of the Minions when they were younger, but they were a lot worse. I suggested one of the birthday props (one of the boys had turned four in September, and they were just now getting to his pictures) for the youngest boy, but the mom said no. She thought the props looked too 'childish' (her 'children' were four and seven-ish. These kids were more like monsters in disguise), so we had to work with just the kids. Her oldest son was bored out of his gourd while the youngest had his birthday pictures done. He kept bringing the props into the room (we were in the smallest room in our store, so all the props in there were in the way), and I had to keep telling him to stop it, and then turn to the younger boy and tell him to stop moving and to stand like I had him.

I know four-year-olds have the attention span of--oh, look at the kitty, but crikey! I would put him in place and the second my fingers left his shoulders, he would move around!

It's days like this I want to look for a new job. I love photography, and I usually love people, but being stuck in a camera room all day and taking pictures of other people's monsters really takes it's toll. Yesterday I didn't even get my break (I worked about six hours straight)!

Okay, I'm done whining for now.

M

Himself

I really love my husband, but sometimes he can be a little 'tarded. Yesterday his truck broke down on the freeway on the way to his class. After much driving around, trying to figure out how to get to the car doctor (we still don't have an official cause of death. We've been watching a lot of CSI, can you tell?) from the exit I took to get back home, we dropped off the keys to the truck and went home. Since I had class today, Himself had to wait for me to get home before he could even think about getting to work (I was his ride today, and might be his ride tomorrow, unless we can figure out another way to get him to work). We're still trying to figure out what to do about tomorrow, since we have to be at work at the same time, but in opposite directions (I could drop him off really early, but I still don't know where the store he has to be at is, and I don't really feel like getting lost on my way to work).

And now for something a little different: Himself and I watchedV for Vendetta the other night. It was the first time I had seen it, and the second or third time he saw it. Extremely good movie, even though the masks kind of freaked me out. I have always had a slight fear of full-face masks (the expression never changes, and when they talk, the lips never move), and I told himself that I may have a problem with the mask thing in the movie. I did at first, but after awhile I didn't even notice the mask as a mask. I started seeing it as his face. I highly recommend this movie for pretty much anyone.

M

Day 16

Today was pretty slow, except for the fact that I slept through my alarm and didn't make it to class this morning. I'm going to talk to my Kick-Boxing instructor to see if there is anything I can do to make up the day. I still worked out at home, but nothing as tiring as Kick-Boxing.

Himself was on his way to his meat cutting class, and I was expecting a pretty quiet night in, that is until I heard my cell phone ring and he was calling me from a store not far from the Mini Manor. His truck died on the freeway (according to him, it just sputtered, lost speed and died) on his way to Seattle, so I had to pick him up and drive him to the truck-doctor to find out what was the cause of death. We both think his truck died of internal bleeding (there was an internal oil leak somewhere), and choking (the oil was dripping onto the air filter). Hopefully this will be a somewhat cheap fix, but probably not. The really ironic thing was Mom and I were talking about Himself and his truck maintenance (or actually, lack thereof) yesterday.

Well, I don't have much time left, so I must sign it off here.

M

The Half-way Point

We're half-way through the month, and it's just now proving interesting. Yesterday I dropped my truck off at the brake doctor, only to get a call about an hour later saying that it's going to cost me about $400 to replace my brakes. I know there is a lot to do when it comes to brakes and everything, but $400! Holy cow! Mom and I are going to take Baby Truck to another doctor to get a second opinion, but I think it's still going to cost about an arm and a leg (maybe only a wrist and an ankle).

My friend called me last night right around the time we were supposed to get together, telling me that his little brother had to take his car to school (his brother's truck is having some issues), so we didn't get together last night like I was hoping. We have plans on Thursday to get together (I have the day off, and he doesn't have school anymore, so it worked out nicely), and hopefully we do.

I think the cold weather we've been having has slowed Himself's brain a bit. Last night we were talking about his day, and it took him a really long time to get a joke I cracked about his work. It wasn't even a very subtle joke, either! I waited and stared at him until the light blinked on behind his eyes (I could actually see the light come on, it was kind of creepy) and the gears started moving again. He's been working so much these past couple of weeks, and the added stress of not getting paid for vacation has shut down part of his brain until everything blows over (at least we know what to do when he goes on vacation this summer).

This morning at the end of class, we did the student evaluation of the instructor. I gave him a mostly good review (I did have a couple of 'disagree's on there, but it was mostly for his delivery of the subject-matter), but I did comment on how he sometimes makes a dry subject even dryer. Whenever the evaluations come out, there are always one or two students who give an instructor a bad evaluation just because they can. I try to be as fair as possible although I have my favorite instructors, so whenever I have to give them an evaluation, I usually give them a glowing review. My last math instructor, my Myths instructor, and both my photo instructors are my current favorites, although I did enjoy my first math instructor too. He just moved at a slower pace than I'm used to. Granted the first day of class was 'this is a whole number. This is how you add two whole numbers together. Tomorrow we'll talk about subtracting whole numbers.', so it was a pretty slow pace (most of the students were either older than me, or not from this country, so I always felt like the smartest person in class). Thank god I only have two more math classes to take, then I'm done!!!

M

Are we There Yet?

Today I'm going to get my cartilage pierced again. A friend of mine is going with me so I can squeeze his arm (as much as I think the piercing looks cool, it hurts like nothing else), and then we're going to hang out for a little while. Sounds like a pretty boring day, but I'm just glad it's my day off. I'm also going to get my brakes fixed on my truck (I don't fancy going down the hill from school only to find out that my brakes don't work anymore), so I'll be walking everywhere I want to go for a little while. Hopefully the guy at the repair place has a truck mount available (last time he had a big repair job on the truck mount, so I had to wait, unfortunately I forgot to call him back to find out if the mount was ready for me) so I can drop off Baby Truck and be on my merry way.

I think I getting in better shape, because I don't feel as tired after Kick-Boxing as I used to. I still sweat a lot, but that's the whole point (not only that, but the gym is usually pretty warm in the morning). I got to work with my usual partner (she was in class today), so I feel like I got a better work-out than on Thursday. Himself still thinks that I can't beat him down (we spar sometimes. He wrestled for about seven years and he's teaching me some of the wrestling moves he remembers), but I think I could defend myself if the need arose.

All the days are blending. Is it day 13 or 14 of NaBloPoMo? As much as I'm enjoying posting everyday, I am looking forward to the end of the month. Once work gets really busy (from what I've heard, what we have on the weekends is just a taste of what December is going to be like. I guess the entire month of December feels like one big weekend) I probably wont have as much time to post everyday.

Well, that's all for today I guess.

M

Mostly Work

Yesterday at work wasn't so bad. There were a couple of moments where the lobby was so full of people I was starting to get a headache from the sheer noise of it, but then it would empty out and everything would be quiet again.

Shortly after I clocked on, one of the managers asked me to help out with a walk-in (a large group never showed up for their sitting, so we had a couple of free appointments). I was more than happy to, that is until I found out how many people were in that sitting.

Eight children. All two years old and younger. I can almost say that without screaming now.

At first only a couple of the kids were crying (their attention spans were--wait, what was that?), but that was all it took to start a nice chain-reaction. Pretty soon all the kids were either crying or staring up at nothing with a blank look on their faces. The photographer and I discovered what a wonderful thing the bubble machine is at work. We usually use the bubbles for birthday pictures and stuff like that, but this time we used it to get the kid's attention for longer than--wait, there it is again.

We got some really cute pictures, but a couple of the moms were being really picky about having all the kids looking at the camera at the same time. There was one that was really close (only two of the kids were looking away), but no one liked it. I'm pretty sure they left without getting a reshoot (in other words, they settled for what they got), and I'm almost positive they actually bought something (most of the time our walk-ins come in with a free sheet coupon, and that's all they want. Sometimes they come in with a couple of coupons and try to use both of them at the same time, which we can't do).

The day finished pretty good, but a little late. I didn't get home until about a quarter to nine, and I still had to eat dinner and talk to Himself about his day. It made for a very early morning this morning.

M

Day 12

I can't believe NaBloPoMo is almost half over! Today has been pretty nice, except for the drooling skies and the threat of wind. I guess the weather forecasts have been calling for lots of wind, but not much of that has hit us where I live.

I'm thinking of getting Santa pictures of the furry girls this year. There is a Santa right out in front of my store, and I think he has pet days so people who have furry children can have pictures too.

Again, my thoughts are kind of scattered today. I'm thinking about how I'm going to survive this holiday season at work. So far it's been only the weekends that are crazy, but from what I've heard, once Christmas looms closer, then the weekdays will be just as hellish. Goody. So far we've mostly had irate parents (usually moms) complain about how they've had to wait for a long time to take/see their pictures. What I don't think they realize is that we only have three camera rooms, and a district manager that requires us to book up those rooms completely. That way we can bring in as much money as possible. What this district manager doesn't realize is that sittings take longer than 20 minutes, especially when there is a 3 or 4 year old involved.

That's enough of my work rant. The holidays will be over soon enough, and we won't be crazy again until Valentine's day.

Well, that's about it for today. I don't have enough time to write more. The computer I'm on decided to freeze on me before I could even log on, so my time was cut much shorter than I would like.

M

Small revolution

Today as I was walking through my mall after work I realized that the mall is a lot like high school. People stand in the middle of the walk-way just talking and getting in people's way, and they give you really dirty looks when you push past. I remember when I was in school and people would gather around the lockers to talk, and it would make other people late for class. It was the subject of many a letter to the school newspaper.

I talked to an old friend today, and we're going to get together on Tuesday. That'll be a lot of fun, since I haven't seen them in quite awhile.

Work was a little crazy, but steady for the most part. The last 15 minutes or so of my shift was full of making animal balloons for the kids, since I didn't have enough time to do a sitting, and there were no sales ready for the customers. At one point I had a cluster of about five or so kids gathered around me and begging for a balloon. The most popular color was purple (this is a bad thing since it's really hard to find a purple balloon because they look like the black, blue, and green balloons before they're blown up), and for the most part everyone got a cat/dog/any other animal that has four legs and a tail. It's about the only thing I remember how to make (I am learning how to make a flower, but those are so hard to make without popping them), so when someone askes for an amimal with four legs and a tail, that's what I make.

Himself was able to walk to work today, which is really nice because that means he'll be home earlier than usual. He's working at the store just up the street from the Mini Manor, so I think I'll go visit him and walk home with him when he gets off.

A friend of mine who lives in the same complex and Himself and I got a new dog, so when I have the day off, I'll be walking both of them (the two dogs, not the friend and her dog). I can't wait, since this dog seems really sweet. Her other dog is a total lover (he loves to be petted and walked and looked at. He makes a great guard dog), and the two dogs seem to get along pretty well which surprises me since they're both (fixed) male dogs.

Pretty random post today. All my thoughts are totally scattered, and my brain fried at work today. I had a family sitting that waa really frustrating (the mom was really picky about the poses we had her kids do, and the kids whined the entire time (they were about 17 or 18, 16 or 15 and 14 or 13) we posed them). I was really tempted to tell the kids that the pose is cute and that they need to do it anyway. Then the two boys were playing around (they were the oldest ones, mind you) and getting weird when I told them to sit close to each other. They kind of reminded me of my brothers and I when we were about 13-3ish. That's pretty sad when kids that aren't that much younger than me remind me of when I was a lot younger than them. The mom was no help either, big surprise.

Well, that's it for today. I still have to check out my mom's blog and every thing.

M

P.S. CONGRATS MOM FOR OVER 30,000 WORDS FOR NANOWRIMO!!!!!!!!!!!

P.P.S. Spell check isn't working on this computer, so if there are any misspelled words, let me know and I can change them.

Ultra-fast post

I only have about 10 minutes before the internet cafe closes, so this will be a really fast post.

Today I had a day off from both work and school. This wasn't planned, and one of the girls tried calling me in to cover her shift, but I had to say no, since I was waiting to get my brakes fixed on my truck. Unfortunately the guy at the auto-repair place couldn't get me in right away, so I had to wait. With waiting comes forgetting, and forgetting brings no new brakes. I'll probably find out what time they close tomorrow and I'll drop my truck off after work. Either that or I'll just bring it in on Tuesday after school. Don't know yet.

Himself and I are probably going to go out to dinner (we have a gift card to one of our favorite restaurants, so we'll use that) to celebrate our anniversary tomorrow night. We didn't have the chance to do that yet, since we both have to work, and he still hasn't gotten paid for his vacation. We finally found out what happened, and we're hoping that he'll get paid either this next paycheck or the one after that. The person doing payroll posted his vacation hours after posting the rest of payroll, so it wasn't processed at the same time.

Well, that's about all I have time for today, I'll post more tomorrow.

M

Class registration

I've signed up for my classes, and I'm all set for next quarter. I'm signed up for the photo-lighting class and yet another math class. This next math class is the first one I actually get credit for, and it's the next to the last math class I have to take to be done with math for my degree. Just how many times can I say 'math' in one sentence?

Himself did not get paid for his vacation yet, so we have to put off our plans for a lunch or dinner together (to celebrate our anniversary) another week or so. Sucks, but that's the way it is. He's planning on going to his home-store and finding out what exactly happened today, so hopefully we'll have some good news soon.

This weekend is totally booked at work. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday totally filled up with people still trying to get in. When this happens, the only thing we can do is tell people to come in as a walk-in and hopefully we can get them in ASAP. Sometimes this works, the walk-ins understand that we're busy, sometimes though, the people get really agitated and storm away. That's okay. We don't need them anyway. ;o)

Hopefully I'll still find time to go Christmas shopping soon. I'm one of those people who like to get that sort of thing done as early as possible, since I hate shopping when there are huge crowds every where.

M

Sleepy Post

Today I did not want to wake up and go to school. Baby Truck doesn't have much gas in her tank, so I was trying to figure out a way to conserve gas and do my laundry all at the same time. Payday is still two days away for me (Himself gets paid tomorrow, so everything should be okay until then), and since my hours have been cut for some reason, my paychecks have been a little light. I plan on talking to the acting manager about maybe increasing my hours (I really can work more days, just not early morning since I'm in class, and I have to be out of the mall by about 8pm so I can eat dinner and go to bed before 10 or 11), or something so I can have more than 14 hours a week.

Speaking of work, we're seeing a bit of a slow spot (the calm before the storm) right now, but that will change pretty soon. Already the weekends are getting busier (actually they never really stopped being busy from the Halloween frenzy), but the weekdays have been blessedly slow (perfect for training new-hires on everything). I know that will all change after Thanksgiving, but I plan on enjoying it as much as possible now.

Math class is much as it always is: Really boring. I don't mind math so much, but I prefer it when the instructor has a little passion for the subject. Boring Math Teacher has loosened up a little bit, but I still find myself falling asleep in class.

Next quarter is going to be interesting with my class and work schedule. The lighting class I need for my photography certificate is only available from 1-2:30, but most of the other classes I need for either my AA or my photo certificate are morning classes. Since I'm not sure when the lighting class is going to be offered (I guess they didn't have it at all for the longest time, since there was no instructor to teach it) again, I should take it now. It will mean lots of closing shifts at work, which is fine, since they need more people who can work nights and weekends. I might take a late morning class and then the early afternoon class. That way I can close at work and not have to worry about getting to bed right away.

Well, that's it. Nothing very exciting has been happening lately.

M

Life in general

I found out yesterday that I'm only scheduled for 14 hours this week! That's a bad thing, since Himself and I may be relying more on my paycheck then on his. We're trying to put as much money into savings as possible before we buy a house, so this means that more of his paycheck will be used for rent and food, and my checks will be used for bills and food.

Himself and I had a wonderful visit with his parents the other day. My in-laws were so happy to see me, they started fighting over who gets to spend more time with me. Himself finally interjected when they started with the 'I got to her first' argument.

His response? 'I got to her first'.

We had a lovely chat about school (his mom is a teacher) and work, and Himself updated his parents on the cats latest antics. My father-in-law (a very large, slightly imposing man) loves his grand-kitties almost as much as if they were real children. Last year he asked Himself and I to bring Little Princess (we didn't have Miss Thang yet) over for Christmas Eve stockings and presents. We hadn't planned on packing her into her crate (she is not a big fan of traveling, seeing as the last time she went anywhere we put her down in an unfamiliar place and flashed a bright light in her face), but the look on my father-in-law's face made us change our minds. He was so happy to see her, he picked her up and cuddled with her almost all day. Quite a sight!

We've been working on actually having a target in kick-boxing. We partner up with someone, shove on gloves and hold a pad the covers most of the lower torso. My partner and I like to yell at each other, and she likes to try to knock me down. This is amusing because she's about three or four inches shorter than me (I have to hold the pad really low for her to hit the center when we're doing the kicks). I've lost about two inches on my waist since the class (I'm not going by weight since we're building muscle and muscle is heavier than fat), and I've noticed that my arms are a lot stronger. Yea me!


M

Holiday Brain-Droppings

Well, the Magical Night was fun, and despite my limited funds this year, I got a couple of gifts purchased, and I have ideas for other gifts. My father-in-law has an infatuation with elephants, and he has quite the collection. I usually try to get him something with an elephant on it every year (except the first year, since I didn't know about the collection). I balance that out with something with an iris on it for my mother-in-law (her favorite flower. She has iris decorations on the walls, and last year I gave her an iris tree decoration), so both in-laws are happy campers. This has also elevated me to favorite child in the family.

I still haven't purchased anything for Himself, but when you live in a very small manor, you learn that it's very hard to hide anything. Actually, if you want to forget that you bought a gift already, or forget where you hid the original gift, then hiding things in the Mini Manor is very easy, just not recommended. I'll probably put his gift off until the last minute (at least as last minute as I'm comfortable with), just to keep the location fresh in my mind.

Mom had a very successful shopping trip last night, but we both wish we could pull names for the extended family before the Magical Night so we can get that shopping over with. Tradition says we MUST pull names on Thanksgiving, and not a moment sooner. A few years ago, we pulled names on Christmas day for the next year, but people kept forgetting who they pulled. Mom and I didn't, but then again, we both shop throughout the year for Christmas gifts. It's also very hard to get that side of the family to stray from tradition at all. If we ever served a 'non-traditional' dish at either Thanksgiving or Christmas, it is met with raised eyebrows. People will eat it unless it has something 'disgusting' in it (like Mayo, cheese, onions, tomatoes, almost any green veggie...It's a family of picky eaters, what can I say. I still love them, though).

Well, again, that's all for today. I hope to get some more gifts in the next week or so, that way I only have to get the gifts for the extended family (when we get around to pulling names), and one for Himself's family (who also draws names on Thanksgiving. This should be interesting).

M

Day off

This is my first Sunday off in quite a long time. Himself actually has the day off with me, but he has some laundry to do (his work clothes are getting gross), so we won't be spending the whole day together like we had planned.

Apparently Himself has a bit of a death wish. He keeps looking over my shoulder and commenting on what I type (especially if I make a typo, which is pretty often. Thank god for spell check!).

We (Himself and I) keep joking about how I'm going to meet his parents today. I haven't seen them for about a month, so it's time to re-introduce myself. His parents have been complaining about how they always see Himself, but never me. At least that's what I'm told.

Anyway, that's it for today

M

Brain-droppings

Himself found out why he didn't get paid for his vacation (he had to call his home store and let them know that he was going on vacation), so we should be getting a really nice paycheck this coming week. The only problem is that rent is due tomorrow, and we only have a small part of it set aside (since we both thought that he would be getting paid). He is going to talk to the people at the office to see if we can pay the part we have, then give them the rest after payday.

Rain has been pouring down for the past two days, and people are starting to look a little water-logged. It's not even a warm rain, it's cold and wet and it makes me grumpy. I don't mind a day or two of soft rain, even mist, but I hate the cold, pouring rain that is so often happening here in the great northwest.

Tomorrow is the Magical Night of Giving, and Killer and The Hair will be joining Mom and I for the first time. Mom and I always look forward to this time of year, and we have our game plan all figured out. We go pick up Killer and The Hair, then we go to the mall where we secure a shopping cart and get some food. It's all great fun, but my first stop will be the shoe store, since my shoes have decided die. Water now leaks into them whenever I step into a deep puddle (which with this rain is pretty often).

Well, that's about it for today.

M

Oops!

Himself just found out today that someone goofed, and he didn't get paid for his vacation last week. He said he was going to look into it today, so hopefully we'll be receiving a really nice paycheck this next week. We renewed our lease the other day, so the Mini Manor is still ours for the next year. We had been thinking about moving into the apartment downstairs from us, but it would have been too expensive.

Work was fun yesterday, since it was mainly training. I feel weird saying that since I've been there for about 3 or 4 months, but our photography changed, so we have to go over the new stuff. We already did about half the training before Halloween, but since the higher-ups are not all there in the brains department (they hadn't developed or tested all the photography at the same time), we finished the training yesterday. At least we're done training until January. That's when we start training with digital cameras, and in February we go totally digital! That's going to be so cool, since now we can get down on the ground with the child and really get the cool shots.

Well, that's about it for today. I didn't do much today, so this is going to be a short post.

M

A depressing post. Sorry.

This time last year Himself, his parents, and myself were getting ready for our trip to Poland to visit (and eventually bring home) my brother-in-law. We spend 10 wonderful (very cold) days in Krakow, Poland, sometimes traveling out to other places.

My father-in-law and brother-in-law went to the salt mines just outside of Krakow, but I opted out, since the thought of being trapped under almost a mile of dirt and stone made me feel a little jittery. Auschwitz was bad enough when we went into block 11 (the jail block where prisoners were put into starvation cells and standing cells), mainly because of the press of people flooding the main hallway (a tour bus had just arrived, and I guess the most depressing block in the place was the first stop. Go figure).

Birkenau was worse. Before Himself and I went to Poland, I told him that I did not wish to go to Auschwitz simply because I had heard that it was beyond spooky. I am a fan of horror movies (not the hack'em/slash'em movies, but the ones that make you think), but I have my limits. I had heard from several people that Auschwitz was completely silent, and that you couldn't see any kind of life other than the tour groups. That's not completely true, I heard a couple of birds chirping once or twice, but that was it. When we arrived at Birkenau (also called Auschwitz 2), there was nothing. You can still see many of the buildings, a virtual forrest of chimneys, the train tracks, ect scattered throughout the grounds, but Birkenau is silent. Since most of it is outside, voices don't even carry very well, so the whole time I'm straining to hear my brother-in-law talk (he was explaining several things about some of the places in Birkenau).

Birkenau was the anti-Disneyland.

The rest of Poland was beautiful, and my father-in-law and I have both expressed a desire to go back and see some of the places we missed (or had to rush through due to closing times). I really want to go to the salt mines (I'll swallow my fear long enough to see the underground chapel) next time, since I saw some pictures of the inside. I also want to go to the St. Mary's Cathedral inside again to gawk at the beauty of the old art inside. I'm not traditionally religious, but I love really old cathedrals (the gothic-style ones are the best), and St. Mary's is rich with art and legend. There is a story about why one tower is taller than the other, which I may put on here sometime. I really want to find some of the pictures that my father-in-law took of the cathedral and put them on this blog, but that is going to require much digging in boxes of photographs (not all of them are from the trip, just most of them).

Well, not sure about the quality of this post, I'm too tired and hungry to proof-read it. If there are any mistakes, feel free to tell me, and I'll do my best to change them.

M

NaBloPoMo

So, I'm not sure if I'm an official participant of NaBloPoMo, but I think I'll do it anyway. This should prove interesting since I don't have daily access to a really fast computer. Right now I'm in the internet cafe at the Mini Manor complex, and the internet connection isn't really fast.

Himself and I are taking it pretty easy today, since we never have a full day off together. Usually I have to be in school, but today is some kind of inservice day, so no one is there except the teachers.

I'm probably going to pick out my classes for next quarter later today. I think I'm going to take the lighting class this coming quarter, and probably another math class. I would like to take another P.E class, but I don't need very many of those for my degree.

Well, really quick post today. Himself is tired, and we both want to go to his parent's house later to visit them.

M