November Twenty Seventh

BRRRRRRRRR… I’m freezing…. It’s 46 outside and 68 inside, but I’m shivering…. Love it though, better than roasting in the 100’s…

The four days of crazy Christmas shopping are over and only three more days to go til I get a day off…. I’m tired today… and I have a headache… We got tore up yesterday but didn’t make our day in sales… we made ten times as much as they expected us to on Thursday… Saturday morning after is usually pretty slow but we had a few customers first thing at 7am who were still mad from yesterday that they didn’t find what they wanted as we ran out… and by 11am we were getting busy and they were tearing up the store again and we hadn’t even recovered yet from Friday…

Son2 is playing a computer game, son3 is playing son2’s XBox, son1 should be getting off his part time job about now and hubby has been putting up the outside Christmas lights…

I have been eating…. I have noticed since I am not tracking what I eat for the blog that I am not as aware of what I am eating and just eating everything plus there are extra treats with Thanksgiving… I am heating leftovers up now and had to make more stuffing and mashed potatoes… So keeping track of what you eat actually works….

Pedometer steps: just sharing cause I was amazed…

Saturday: 0ver 12000

Black Friday: 19090-only 1000 of these were at home…

Thanksgiving: 11206

Wednesday: 7124

Last night we watched How to Train Your Dragon… so cute and funny… son3 watched it twice yesterday and then again today… we ended up watching the new Star Trek the other night instead of Narnia… We have Prince of Persia Sands of Time for tonight…

Son3 and I got all his paragraphs caught up yesterday for his Mission report, even the one he is supposed to write in class on Monday… just have his weekly reading to catch up on tomorrow… and then Monday is back to school for three weeks and then they have three weeks off for Christmas…

I’m off to switch the laundry around and eat dinner…

Happy Journaling…

November Twenty Fifth

I survived working on Thanksgiving Day… Worked 6-1pm… We were open 7-12pm… there were already people lined up outside waiting for the Electronic specials… We made 4x our predicted day in sales… It was 12:40pm when we had to stop taking more customers and ask them to leave and come back tomorrow at 4am… or they would have stayed and shopped all day…

Now I just have to get through tomorrow from 4am til noon and then it’s home to work on the mission board with son3… my next day off is next Wednesday…

Hubby made cookies yesterday using cake mix… they are yummy…

Hubby did all the cooking this Thanksgiving… The turkey… we also had yams, creamed corn, mixed veggies, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce with apples, beets, green bean casserole, rolls…

Son1 ate with us in between being with girlfriend at her dad’s and then going to her mom’s…

Danny stayed close by hoping for a bit of a taste… he did of course… Holly had a bit of turkey too… she is sleeping on the back of the couch now all toasty warm on her blanket…

Hubby did have a mishap or two… I came home and helped with the mashed potatoes as he was going to make four times as much as we needed… he was fine once I got them started as he finished the potatoes while I was on the phone… he then said he just had the beets to heat up… I was like WHAT… you don’t heat up the beets, I put them in the fridge to chill… he said the can said to heat them up… since I’m the only one who eats the beets, I voted no for the heating up… then I noticed that the toaster oven light was on… I asked what’s in there and I don’t see a timer set for it… it was the green bean casserole that he had forgot about… so I took them out realizing they had no onions, so put in the onions and put them back in… he had asked earlier if I used the water in the cans with the green beans or if they should be drained… I said lets check the can of onions for the recipe… three cans of green beans, drained… um that would be a yes to the draining… he said well they would be a little watery… so we had green bean soup, instead of casserole… although once I put the onions in and it cooled it was more like gravy and it was very good… I had three helpings…

Everything was yummy!! and we are so full….

Son2 made Monkey Bread yesterday… I’ve been nibbling on it…

And hubby made three pumpkin pies last night that we will be having in just a bit with a movie that hubby is picking… I think he is picking Narnia with Prince Caspian… Hubby taped the Macy’s Day Parade for me this morning too that I can watch this weekend…

Hubby also did all the dishes and washed all the pots and pans…

Happy Journaling…

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

From Our House To Yours……..

Happy Journaling…

November Twenty Fourth…

Two more hours and I gotta get ready for work… I knew my two days off would be spent mostly waiting around to get to work today so we can get these three days over with… work wise anyway… Got another message from work to not come in at 1:30 today but back to regular time of 3pm… So much for a plan of any kind… I will get all the signs together and start separating them for the next three days… I don’t know if we start putting them up when we get there or after we close tonight… then two sets of signs to go up on Friday… and tables to be stocked… and hopefully I can open some more boxes to find more shoes we need… I spent time yesterday going through my work clothes and shoes… my pants are too big and my shoes are too small… I dyed my jeans again black yesterday so will just wear them until I get some new work pants…

Hubby has been making pumpkin pancakes… we have had them three mornings now… they are so good… son3 loves them!

Thanksgiving cards I have received!! I have not been sending cards to save on stamps til hubby gets a job….

Here’s where son2 has been all week on his vacation… Playing Xbox on son1’s TV… He has a picture for art class he has to finish drawing… He also has an essay for English on a poem he is supposed to be writing that is due next Friday…

And son3 playing his computer games…

Who has a Mission Board due on January 14th on San Luis Obispo Mission that we are already two weeks behind on… He got a detention for the map and timeline above last week because he hadn’t done them yet… We got behind when he was out sick the two days and then they had four days off for Veteran's day… So last week since he got the detention and the teacher called me at work… so I finally got the project sent home so I could see what all needed to be done and we could get caught up… Did I mention that the project states that all research will be done in class… son3 doesn’t get his class work done to have time to do his AR reading tests never mind research his project… I’ve been yelling a lot the last few days… I even researched homeschooling since I spend so many hours doing homework I could probably home school and work full time… was too difficult in California with too many laws… we even mentioned to the teacher we still didn’t think he was mature enough to be in fourth grade but she said the parents aren’t allowed to hold the child back the school has to decide… while working on the mission project in between all the yelling, son2 and I realized we could let son3 fail the regular way and stop helping him do all his work…. anyway…

we finished labeling the map… he is arguing with me of what a time line is so I don’t think it is done but he said it is so we moved on… we spent an hour each yesterday and today answering a question sheet the teacher supplied with history print outs on son3’s mission so we could write the first two paragraphs… then we have to write a paragraph on physical features, info sheet also supplied by teacher… all of this was due last Friday… I couldn’t find some of the answers to the questions and was looking online… so far we have just answered the questions and still have to write the two paragraphs… which will be easy now that we have all the info… so on Friday after I get off work we will write the three paragraphs to get caught up to last Friday… then we are also going to write the paragraph on the soldiers, also supplied with an info sheet, that is due Tuesday when he gets back to school on Monday… the entire project has to be mostly done to be checked off Dec. 17th before they go on Christmas break… 11 more paragraphs to write, with pictures and such… then on Christmas break all need to be typed and put on mission board…

It rained all day yesterday… Hard to see the rain in this picture…

Hubby made sugar cookies… not what he planned though… so this was his practice batch…. he has plans to make more cookies today and pumpkin pies for tomorrow… I don’t feel I have done anything to help get ready for Thanksgiving… hubby has done everything…

The pans came yesterday that I ordered for my thirty years with Sears…

Hubby and I are watching Emergency… the boys are on their games… son1 is working both jobs today…

another hour and I can get ready for work… I don’t like working at night only for all the waiting to be time to go… hubby is going to tape the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for me tomorrow while I am at work in the morning…

What I ate and Pedometer steps will resume again next week… and yes Betty there is still candy left… no chocolate left but I have been eating the little sugar smarties leftover from the trick or treaters…

Happy Journaling…

November

I was off today and off again tomorrow… I worked yesterday (Sunday) 6-2pm, Wednesday 1:30-9 or 11pm, Thursday 7-1pm, Friday 4-12pm, and Saturday 6-2pm…

I had planned on writing this entry this morning and getting a lot done today but I knew today would go fast as will probably tomorrow so the work days will come sooner… I am so not ready for Friday…

Today I watched Grown Ups with the boys, Emergency with hubby, Oprah’s second day of her Favorite Things and we all watched The Chronicles of Riddick this evening… This morning hubby made pumpkin pancakes and gave me a haircut, in the afternoon hubby and I went for a walk and this evening I paid the bills and the house payment… I did laundry… and went through son3’s mission folder for his project that is due in January… and my entry for Thursday for The Motivation Station… I also added some pictures to my Not Just Roses blog…

I was hoping to get everything done today but still have more on my list to do tomorrow… Finish laundry, have son3 work on his mission project, read a book with son3, sort through my work clothes and shoes, change out my work apron, mend some pj’s that are not too big to make them smaller for me, start the Christmas cards, water/dust/rearrange the house plants, change out the kitchen curtains…hubby wants to make cookies with the boys tomorrow…

I still feel so disorganized at work… I am so far behind on opening boxes… which means all the Thanksgiving shoes are still in them… we never seem to be ahead of the game for Thanksgiving… I’ve been thinking a lot about applying for the shoe lead position… I almost have myself convinced… supervisor hears rumors that she probably has the position she applied for… she also hears others are interested in being the shoe lead… interesting…

Almost time for Hawaii Five O, so gotta get son3 settled in his room… son2 has been playing son1’s XBox game all day, the new Assassin’s Creed… son1 only worked his full time job today and is now out having dinner with friend A who we just found out is getting married in January…

Friday I ate: vitamins, water… lunch~chimichanga, yogurt, cola… after work: macaroni and cheese, cereal, candy, lemon lime soda… dinner~pasta, chicken, peas and carrots, corn bread, water… candy…

pedometer: 11234 steps

Saturday I ate: breakfast~scrambled eggs, ham, hash brown, English muffin w/jelly, hot chocolate… egg nog… cola… BBQ chips… candy… dinner~pork chop, corn bread, au gratin potatoes, stuffing, peas, carrots, water… candy…

pedometer: 1477 steps

Sunday I ate: vitamins, water… lunch~chimichanga, yogurt, cola… cookies… tortilla chips and bean dip… dinner~pork chop, onions, stuffing, au gratin potatoes, pasta, water… candy…

pedometer: 7774 steps

Monday I ate: breakfast~pumpkin pancakes, hot chocolate… vitamins, juice… tortilla chips… cola… dinner~turkey burgers, french fries, water… candy…

pedometer: over 7400 steps

Happy Journaling…

Thirty Years…

 

Thirty Years Ago Today I started working at Sears… I was seasonal Christmas help for $3.45 an hour…. I was a senior in high school… I’ve worked at five different stores in every department except for LP(security) and automotive(son1 worked there though so we got that covered)… I did quit once a couple of months before son1 was born and I had married his father… however when son1 was just three months old I decided to go back to work, even had an interview at JC Penney but Sears hired me back on the spot… and since I had only been gone five months, I kept my anniversary… Six years ago for my 40th birthday my supervisor position at the time was eliminated so technically I was fired/laid off… There were no other supervisor positions available at the time, however before the day was over they had placed me in shoes as a merchandiser still at my full time status… so I was rehired on the same day I was let go but of course with a five dollar pay cut… Six years later I am still in shoes with only about two dollars added back per hour… many times I wrestled with the idea of being a supervisor again, but never could decide if it was what I was supposed to do… The only time I have been out of work is the birth of each son and when I had my gall bladder out and I get five weeks of vacation a year…

 

Son1 is now working two jobs, a full time and a part time… I don’t understand why he is always saying he doesn’t have money or the money he has isn’t enough… I know he has bills to pay~cell phone and car insurance and storage but he doesn’t pay rent… and he chooses to eat fast food more times than he eats at home… he also has two credit cards to pay off and a friend that he owes a couple of thousand dollars to for when he bought his first car… but I tell him if he would have just paid so much to the three every month he would have had them all paid off in the last four years that he has been barely paying or not at all… hubby and I spent about $4ooo helping son1 when he moved back home over the last year getting his bills caught up and trying to teach him how to pay bills… What I really can’t understand however is that son1’s take home pay from his part time job is more than my take home at my full time job once medical insurance is taken out of my pay check… how am I paying my bills…….

 

Son2 wants to be a fireman/paramedic… son1 has always wanted to work with cars/motorcycles… son1 has worked at four jobs dealing with automotive including his part time job he has now… his full time job is a warehouse job dealing with large household appliances… son1 said a few months ago that he has always wanted to be a fireman and applied at the school son2 wants to go to… I never remember son1 saying he wanted to be a fireman…

 

Son1’s dad has had more jobs than I can count and has been on unemployment just as many… He is now unemployed once again…

 

Hubby wasn’t working when I met him but was going to school… His job before then he had worked at for 14 years… When we got married he got a job at the school he graduated from and worked there for 6 years… When we moved to Fresno we had sent out mass resumes that got him the job to move here, however the position did not work out and he was on unemployment… Of course I transferred to the Sears here, they were calling as we were still unloading the moving truck… Hubby got a job just as unemployment ran out and worked there for over 12 years… til just recently being let go for stupid reasons… what I don’t understand is why he got let go now… when I’m celebrating thirty years with Sears… I am more depressed today than when I turned 40 years old…

 

Of course I guess I was hoping for a bit more hoopla with my anniversary… I was given a pin and plaque at the morning store meeting a week ago but along with two others receiving their 20 year pins… and I got to pick a gift from the online catalog… I knew that was all I was getting, don’t know why I was expecting more… our store manager is very self centered… and everyone is very busy getting ready for Christmas… I just don’t feel career wise and pay wise I have much to show for my thirty years… but then I remember it got me through college, two marriages, one divorce, three sons and my house… but it’s still not enough with hubby not working…

 

I did have a good cry this morning that I have been holding in all week… I thought I was just upset about hubby not working and the holidays… but I have been having a mid life crisis about reaching my 30 year milestone at work and being a shoe stock person, not that I don’t like working in shoes… I also had a talk with hubby the other day about being a supervisor again… a store in the next town over was hiring a shoe lead and a softlines lead… but I decided it was not the right time with not knowing hubby’s new work schedule when he does find a job and having to commute twice as far as I do now, not that I commute, just that it is twice as far away… So I told hubby maybe if my shoe lead ever gets promoted I’ll apply for our store… The very next day I find out from my shoe lead that the person who had taken the jewelry lead position changed their mind and so our softline lead had taken the position instead opening the softline position at our store… which my shoe lead applied for… if she gets it she will move in January after the holidays are over… I was like how can I not see this sign hitting me in the face… didn’t I just tell hubby that if our shoe lead position opened I would apply… I know I could do the job just don’t know if I want the hastle… and would it exactly be much more money… I expected son2 to dispute it but he said he would help with son3 if I took the position… although hubby could get a job with hours to accommodate son3… we just don’t know what next year holds for us…

I know one thing…. only 20 more years and I can retire… assuming there will still be social security….

The picture below is the pans I picked as my prize…

Happy Journaling…

Eating and Pedometer steps…

 

The days got away from me again, so just posting my eating and pedometer steps so I can move on with a regular entry…

Sunday I ate: vitamins, green tea tablet, water… lunch~chimichanga, yogurt, cola… chips, cookies… dinner~ chilli dogs, french fries, lemon lime soda… candy…

pedometer: 7601 steps

Monday I ate: vitamins, water… lunch~chimichanga, yogurt, cola… cookies… cheese dog… dinner~black eyed peas, rice, corn bread, water… candy…

pedometer: 11664 steps

Tuesday I ate: vitamins, green tea tablet, water… lunch~chimichanga, yogurt, cola… cheese dog… dinner~chicken, teriyaki noodles, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, water… candy…

pedometer: 15998 steps

Wednesday I ate: breakfast~hot chocolate, yogurt on cereal… popcorn, cola… lunch: tuna sandwich, water… dinner~pasta, pizza, garlic bread, cream soda… candy…

pedometer: 10186teps

Thursday I ate: vitamins, green tea tablet, water… lunch~chimichanga, yogurt, cola… teriyaki noodles, water… dinner~pasta, macaroni and cheese, split pea soup, ham, water… candy…

pedometer: over 15000 steps

Happy Journaling…