Because I'm bored and a few of you asked...

I know that I should be thankful that I work for a company that gives so much to it's staff and sales people by sending us on a luxurious cruise, and I am.  But honestly these trips are not fun, it's work and I have to be "ON" at all times and the 4-5 day trips are hard enough, but at least we've never been stuck on a boat together before.  I have gone on a 4 day cruise before with my BFF, by day TWO I had enough of the boat (and the BFF) and barely made it to the end without jumping overboard.  SEVEN DAYS and SEVEN NIGHTS is a LONG TIME.  I was happy to have learned this week that I will have both internet and cell phone access during this time so it is possible that I might surprise myself and not kill anyone.  Lucky you, I am sure I will be spending an inordinate amount of time blogging about the great adventure...

So a few of you asked about the outfit for the SHOES...  Actually there wasn't an outfit, but a really cute shirt that I found at Target of all places:

My original thought was to get a pair of black slacks to wear with this shirt but then I discovered the SHOES, and they matched so well but had brown in them, not black, that I am rethinking this and now need white pants.  See how well these match:

 

So before going shopping again, I went through my closet to see what all I had to take on the cruise and I discovered that the SHOES also match these outfits:

Brown Strapless Dress

and dress bought and never worn...

So since I am bored I thought I'd also share one of my 'formal' dresses that I am actually really impressed with, mainly because I got it for $49!  The extremely cute and MATCHING shoes cost more than that I am ashamed to say...

 

This dress is a little bit out of my comfort zone and I will have to pull out the spanx, but the matching shoes were too cool to pass up.

See what boredom does for me?

Where does the time go?

I can't believe that it has been 10 days since I had time to blog or go blog walking, where did the time go? I could say that time flies when you're having fun but I don't really recall having a whole lot of fun lately...


Work is overwhelming at the moment which given the current economy, is a good thing for me, right? Got caught up on a bunch of stuff yesterday since we had a snow day. Well a snow day for Texas is more like an ice day and pretty sure that nowhere else in America stops for such things, but we are Texans and we don't actually know what to do with such stuff. I enjoyed HALF of my snow day until the Big Guy called and really needed me to do some things at the office...


Nothing much else is happening, that I can recall at least. C1 had the grand opening and ribbon cutting at his gym last week. I was a very proud mama at that event. C2 still struggles with some issues but has been released for 'light duty' and against my deepest wishes, has returned to working for his father giving up the opportunity and the golden ticket of a college education. C3 keeps growing and is probably the tallest member of the family - weird. He has begun working out in anticipation of football season foregoing basketball and track this year and he has 'guns.' For those of you not surrounded on a daily basis with the male species, these are muscular arms...


I've been shopping like a mad dog looking for stupid 'formal' attire for the stupid cruise that I am being forced to go on for seven days in a couple of weeks. Doesn't being forced to spend 7 days and 7 nights stuck on a ship with your fellow employees and agents sound like a good time? NOT. I am dreading this on multiple levels. I will say that I have found some really great deals and some really cool shoes. Here is my favorite pair...


That, my friends, is all I've got...

Pride

Over at Jane!'s she asked an interesting question, "How do you feel today?"

Thought I'd share my comment because this is really how I am feeling today:

"PROUD. A part of history in action. Years down the road when people ask where I was I will remember this day along with countless others, including but not limited to, the end of the V war, Elvis' death, the Challenger exploding, 9-11 and now this, the first black President of the United States. PROUD."

Even if that meant I had to secretly watch as much as I could online while my assistant was my watchdog. I hope my dvr worked at home...

Is today Monday?

I'm not usually a person that succumbs to the Monday blues or wishes that we could just skip this particular day of the week. But today, today I needed a do-over.

We started the day with a little, shall we say, constitution issue. Okay, so I made fried catfish for dinner last night and we don't generally eat fried food so I could understand this, however it was a little inconvenient and frankly uncomfortable.

My first phone call of the work day was from the Big Guy, my boss, whom happened to be in a foul mood, and subsequently ended with him getting, shall we say pissy, with me because I didn't think we could fit 27 people in a room with the capacity of, say 10 people, for a big meeting on Friday. The end result was him telling me he would come in and figure it out himself...

So as any good employee would do, I went about trying to PROVE that I could not fit 27 people in that room by moving every chair in the building, with the exception of the chairs that had actual people sitting in, into said room and discovered that I COULD fit 28 chairs into that room although there was no room to sit in said chairs nor walk into said room...

It was really turning into a wonderful day when said boss man's wife came in and decided to share her displeasure with my "trying to prove a point" and actually frightening my assistant into a stupor (which, sadly, is actually as easy as saying BOO!, but...). Technically I guess boss man's wife is also technically my boss, so like any good employee would do, I kept my mouth shut. Even the second time she came back to voice her displeasure, I held my tongue.

So after that fun part of the morning AND getting said boss man to agree with me that we needed to secure a meeting room of proportional size, I left for lunch and to practice some breathing exercises and drove to Taco Bell for some comfort food.

Drive all the way over there, wait in line, give the girl $20.32 for my $4.32 taco meal. She announces to nobody in particular (as far as I could tell) that she has no one's and I sit there looking at my tea thinking, "It would be nice if you just hand me the tea, I’d like a drink', as she counts the coins in her cash drawer. Finally, she has pity on me and hands me my tea. She walks away and yells at the manager that she owes me $1 and he then proceeds to walk to the window and hands me $1. I say no, she actually owes me $16 because I gave her $20.32 and after a long discussion I get my additional $15.

Driving back to the office said boss man's wife calls and asks if I’ll pick up something for the Big Guy since she had to leave to run errands. Call the office tell the receptionist to tell the Big Guy that I just went through Taco Bell but could go back or anywhere else he’d like. While holding on the phone and getting close to the office I pull in a parking lot to avoid driving all the way back when she comes back on the line and tells me that he does not want me to worry about it.

Drive back to the office, park my car, grab my purse, my drink and discover THEY DIDN'T GIVE ME ANY DAMN FOOD!

To keep from boring you with my MONDAY SUCKED story in further detail, I believe that it's suffice to say that my MONDAY SUCKED and end this sad tale now...

There is a good reason for hiring contractors

My bedroom is ALMOST completed, actually it SHOULD have been completed Wednesday but the countertop guys didn't show up until yesterday. Was SO excited to have the 'last' piece in place so that I could reveal the results, but needless to say they screwed up some stuff and I have to fix it to my satisfaction. That and the fact that Hubby said he "could handle the plumbing and shower door installation."

The shower door came in last Friday and we picked it up on Saturday. Really looking forward to trying out the new shower, this is what was done on Sunday:

Then he was too 'tired' to finish it and said the glue had to dry. So on Monday, he got this accomplished:

THAT, my friends, is a drilled hole for the shower door brace. A drilled hole, as in ONE hole, when 7 more are needed. Then he got 'tired' again. So since then, this is what my shower looks like:

So no showering in the new shower one week later... AND no water in the sinks since yesterday. That would be because they had to turn the water off and take the old sinks out to install the new countertop and sinks and Hubby said it was no problem hooking it back up "that will only take a minute or two to do..."

Of course he didn't have all the 'parts' he needed so no water last night. Went tonight to get the 'parts' and came home and guess what? He was too 'tired' to do it and went to bed. So yes we are washing the dishes, our faces and brushing our teeth in the kitchen like a bunch of hicks from Hicksville.

There is a GOOD reason why I hire contractors to do my home improvement projects...

I am a total slacker and other reasons I suck...

The New Year is supposed to bring new changes to one's life and one is supposed to make resolutions to become a better person in the New Year, etc., so forth and bullshit...

In my annual "I don't do resolutions, but will work on being a better person" evaluation of myself, I have decided that I am just plain and simple a total slacker and I suck. Don't try to argue with me nor give me any pep talks, I'm really not looking for that. I am just simply telling the truth as only a true blue slacker can.

I've been slacking in many areas, not just posting insightful and meaningful blogs (like THAT ever happens) or keeping up with all of my blog buddies, but in all sorts of ways. Actually I don't know if SLACKER is the proper term her, maybe it's more of I AM A MIDDLE-AGED, TURNING FRUMPING, LAZY ASS WHITE WOMAN, however slacker is much shorter to type, yet another example of my laziness...

I really wish that I could say that I am totally overwhelmed with life and that I just have so much on my plate that I have shut down mentally, but honestly life is really easy right now. Yes, I'm knocking on wood and crossing myself and all of that crap because I said this out loud. I keep hoping that this is God's little way of rewarding me for all the hell and crap that I have gone through in my life or maybe it is just I have finally become 'settled.'

With my track record I know this may not (okay it WON'T) last forever and one would think that I should be savoring the calm between the storms and just go with it. But no, instead of enjoying this time I have begun internally fretting over why if life is so good right now then why am I not taking the bull by the horns and enjoying it? Why instead have I become a slacker and decided to sit on the sidelines instead of rejoicing in the freedom? Because I suck.

I suck at enjoying the good things in life. Even though we still have one child at home, he is the easiet (and sweetest) child we have and I'm not constantly running here or there helping him chase his dreams. Work is good, things are running fairly smoothly and I have the ability to pretty much set my own hours and once I leave at 5:00 I turn my 'work brain' off and I don't think about it until the following morning when I come in again. I've climbed the ladder to that spot I've always dreamed of and I feel secure and safe. After years and years of financial struggles, we are finally in a place where we have what we need and want and still have some left over to use for enjoyment instead of living in fear of how we are going to make it another day or week. Hubby and I have settled into that perfect harmony of two souls destined to be together forever. Sure we still have our squabbles, that's part of our schtick, but we are finally on the same page at the same time.

So why all this internal discontent? Why can't I get up off my lazy, slacking ass? Why can't I accomplish the simple day to day goals I set for myself? I wanted to begin this New Year with a healthy attitude, a healthy mind, body and spirit, but I just find myself sitting on the sidelines and watching it go by, well actually I find myself sitting on the couch watching The Biggest Loser, crying, eating eskimo pies and thinking that I am such a slacker and I suck...

Enough Awards Already

Catching up on a whole week worth of blog reading I discovered that I got a damn award from the wonderful Mrs. K! and apparently I must share it and pass it on...so here goes:

For this award I must list five addictions (Please NOTE I have given this MUCH thought):

1. Eskimo Pies
2. The Biggest Loser (Yes I was watching and yes I was saying HOLY SHIT!)

3. Diamonds

4. 800 count sheets

5. Tylenol PM

Ok so now I must pass it on...since Mrs. K didn't share the rules because SHE FORGOT THEM, I guess I am supposed to share this SO, I give this to the following women:

Hawkeye Chick

Sarah

Jane!

June Cleaver Clone

and anyone else that wants a damn award...

Quick Update

Yes I have been MIA and no, I don't really have a good excuse except maybe, well life. Here's a quick update to keep you on your toes:

• NYE - began cleaning up the mess from the construction that is 90% complete. Watched 'The Women' - loved it! Highly recommend it. Never realized that the new year had started until C3 came out of his room at around 12:15 and told me "Happy New Year."
• New Year's Day - continued cleaning up the mess.
• Friday - carpet was installed, men folk went to Cotton Bowl, spent blissful afternoon alone shopping for accessories for new bathroom.
• Saturday - continued cleaning up mess and installing stuff. Painted OLD, UGLY mirrors from bathroom and was pretty impressed with my handy work (ignore ugly countertops, still waitng on those to be replaced):

• Sunday - more cleanup of mess...
• Monday - WORK - begin playing catch up after missing practically two weeks.
• Tuesday - WORK - beginning to KICK MY ASS. Watch Biggest Loser - not so sure I am happy with the little turn of events in this season premiere...
• Wednesday - MORE WORK - received RAISE - does this mean I have to now WORK HARDER?
• Thursday - WORK REALLY HARD - try to squash feelings of becoming serial killer and eliminating entire staff...
• Friday - TGIF, bring on 1:30 so I can have a break...

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