I Am A Chocolate Freak!

Keith and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory today. It is Ab-Fab! We laughed so much at the job Johnny Depp does as Willy Wonka. He's a kinda sarcastic, issue-ridden, Michael Jacksonesque person who is trying to keep his personal stuff in check but like the chocolate he manufactures, the issues keep oozing out of his every pore. The visuals are fabulous and all of the Oompa Loompa songs are done by Danny Elfman so we get a sampling of everything from a 60s Folk Song to one that sounds like a "La Vida Loca" rip off which shows those Oompa Loompas can really shake their money makers.

The family in the film is great too. The characters are really funny and we had many belly laughs. I encourage everyone to see this film.

I Made Dinner

So I did make it to work two days this week which was very nice to be able to do. So this morning I decided I was sick and tired of eating leftovers or throwing something together for myself for dinner and even though it was just going to be me, myself, and I for dinner, I was making dinner anyway.

So I looked in the freezer and spotted the Italian sausage and grabbed that and defrosted it. Then I sauted it and sliced it very thin. I then took some of my favorite marinara sauce and combined those two. Finally, I put them over some pre-made stuffed shells and baked them. It was great!

Keith got another contract for 2nd shift work at Zurich (an insurance and financial company) and now works there from 4p.m.-12 a.m. He didn't want to leave the other company in the lurch for the last two weeks of the month and so he is still working from 8a.m. to 3p.m. at the first company - CCH. So I wanted to also make sure that Keith had something to nibble on for a snack when he got in that was hot and there will be plenty of left overs too.

I am not happy at work right now. I used to get so much pleasure being there and it is just because I have a new manager who is making my life unpleasant. I really want to stay there until October though so I will have a year of experience in retail but I am not sure if I want to stay "that" bad. We will see how this all shakes out.

CASA blog on Xanga

Once the servers recover, I have a new blog page that is solely dedicated to educating people about CASA. I am linking people to the national webpage like I have here but I am also going to take time to go into depth about the training I got, the volunteer experiences you can have, where CASAs fit into the juvenile court system and anything else that comes to me.

The main reason is to try to engender interest in CASA either through donations of time or funds. Even if the person reading my blog isn't interested in volunteering, hopefully they will come away with enough information to share with someone else who may be interested in volunteering.

I am going to list it on the side so make sure when you visit this site you visit the sites listed here too. Thanks and maybe you'll be able to help a child or tell someone about CASA who will be able to help a child.

Two Thumbs Up!

So after viewing the film mentioned below, the verdict is two thumbs up. The RM is very funny! It is also realistic regarding how it feels when life "blesses" you with multiple challenges all at the same time. The film was realistic too when addressing friends who encourage you to take dangerous paths and the dilema of having to choose between old friends and what you believe is right for yourself.

Just a couple of examples, the lead character fantasizes of a triumphant homecoming greeting at the airport from his family. Instead he is not met at all and ends up taking a bus home because his family thinks he is coming home NEXT month. When he walks up to his home and rings the bell, no one answers so he goes to the back door. Again no one answers but he hears someone singing in the shower and spies a ladder which he climbs to ask to be let into the house. He shouts "Hello" into the room only to have a stranger pop his head around the shower curtain. It seems as if his family has moved to a new home and the letter announcing this has missed him while he traveled home from his misson in Evanston, Wyoming. He has other expectations too ~ a waiting girlfriend for whom he plans to use his BYU college funds to immediately buy an engagement ring and ask to marry him. Why? Because he was also told by his boss that he would hold his job for him so he assumes has instant income so why not get married AND go to school?

I'll let you rent the movie and find out what happens with all of that. Oh, and just let me plug in a Tongan exchange student and massive food storage too if you need anything else to let you know these people know what they are talking about when it comes to LDS life!

We really belly laughed so many times. It was a lot of fun and I really recommend both of the films we have seen so far.

I have gout again in my big toe in my right foot. My new doctor was trying to get my medicines as low as possible in order to save my tummy but obviously the dose I was at was too low so UP we went again and I'm in PAIN again. I am very tired of that. I am used to the chronic pain of the end-stage knee arthritis and the degenerative disk in the spine but when you add anything additional, it just pretty much pushes me past the DING, DING, DING place for pain.

Anyone who deals with daily chronic pain knows what I am talking about. You don't get used to it, you just push it to the back of your head and "get on with life". That is why I do have a threshold for pain but it is obviously high since I deal with a high level every day already. It's just a pain! LOL

Today is picking nits day. In a throwback ritual of some kind to ape days of yore, Keith is getting a hair cut, getting ears plucked, eyebrows trimmed, stache and other facial and neck hair trimmed and colored, and head hair colored. He also is doing the whole facial thing too - skin sloughing and moisturizing, etc. He takes really good care of himself and that is why NO ONE ever guesses his age.

I did my things yesterday - skin stuff that is. I am doing nails today and hair on the 16th I think. I really like preening - maybe it's the Leo in me.

That's our exciting life for today. Take care and go check out these films.

Hale, Hale The Gangs All Here!

Keith and I rented a movie last night produced by the HALESTORM ENTERTAINMENTcalled The Home Teachers. It's about, obviously, two guys who try to get their home teaching done in one night and all of the funny stuff that happens to them while they are doing it. The characters reminded us of Chris Farley and David Spade from Tommy Boy with the "Craig" character trying to do his best but basically having life blow up in his face and the "Nelson" character being obsessed only with numbers.

We also saw ads for other films we want to see like Sons of Provo about the making of the "boy band" Evercleen, The Best Two Years about the growing pains of missionaries in the mission field in the Netherlands, Baptists At Our Barbeque about an all community get together, and we have just put one in right now called The RM about what it was like for one young person to come home from the mission field.

All of the movies are funny and so far appear in good taste. Keith sent them an email saying he wanted to see a movie called The Road Show about the traveling road show plays wards used to do OR one called Pioneer Days where a group goes out to walk the trail into Salt Lake City using just pioneer equipment and is supposed to be back to their ward house by the Pioneer Day Celebration - maybe in time to help with the pancake breakfast. I had an idea for a film about a T.V. reality show called Do Unto Others where families compete to see who can be the best neighbor to the others in the neighborhood for cash and prizes. Of course it could get grossly out of hand with people spying on one another and being catty about someone "sneaking" a casserole over at midnight and leaving it on the porch when there is a death in some neighbor's family, fighting over fixing holes in some elderly person's roof, etc. I'm sure you can see how that could be funny. The moral would be that as the competing adults got weirder and weirder, the small children would be the only ones who continue to truly do random acts of kindness and practice what has been taught to them in Primary and ultimately teach the adults a lesson. Cool idea, huh?

Anyway, I will let you know how the film is tomorrow.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Back To Work I Go!

Exciting times, exciting times. I went to the rheumatologist today and she tweeked my medications today and released me back to work. I called Ren, my Sears manager, and told her I had a letter giving me permission to come back to work. She called back and told me HR said that because I was part-time I didn't need to turn in a letter of fitness, however when we went to orientation for work we were told to do it some I am bringing it in all the same. I believe I will just do what I was told to do at orientation, ya know?

Also, yesterday my boss from Art of Science, the editing firm I work for, contacted me and said she may have a paper for me to work on in the medical field. She wanted to make sure I could handle the medical terminology and I assured her that I could. She wants us to start doing work with these people so that we can start doing some of their grant writing which would be right up my alley!

It is very wonderful to have friends who try to take care of you.

A Mitford 4th of July for Two

I just finished mixing up Puny's Potato Salad and earlier today made Louella's Cole Slaw from Jan Karon's book Mitford Cookbook and Kitchen Reader. Everything tastes great so far and I will be putting a rub on the babyback ribs early tomorrow and putting them into the oven for a slow cook and then slathering them in our favorite sauce.

We splurged and got the ribs at a real butcher shop rather than at the grocery store or Costco or Sam's Club. We also watched the film 1776 last night which is another of our little family traditions. We know the songs so well in the film that we sing along. Another film we like to watch on the 4th is Yankee Doodle Dandy.

The big Chicago Fireworks are tonight and the Schaumburg fireworks are tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to see something. We got so spoiled living across from Grant Park for years and having front-row seats.

I am thankful to be living in the United States of America and for all of the sacrifices of the many people who have fought and died to keep it free. George, Keith's dad, fought at the Battle of the Bulge and recently visited the The National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. He sent us pictures and it is beautiful. He was also lucky enough to be able to revisit the beach in France where he landed back in 1944 (Utah) on D-Day plus 2. George was the company clerk for the medic evacuation hospital and basically the Radar O'Reilly of his unit. It has only been in the past 3 or 4 years that George has been able to talk to us about his experiences in the war and some of them were very awful. He was wounded under fire and offered a purple heart and turned it down because he felt guilty of the circumstances.

He and some other men were driving a jeep to get supplies or something and came under a shelling attack. One of the shells hit the jeep and George ended up with a broken leg with the bone sticking out. He would not take the Purple Heart even though it was enemy shelling because he had not been shot and he said he had seen so many other men so much worse off than him that he couldn't accept it for just a broken leg. If George is to ever get the award, he must do it soon because his company commander must sign off on it and he is very old. George was the youngest in his unit. I hope he will do this for himself or, I told him, for his grandchildren or great-grandchildren. We will see.

I am thankful that Gregory went to Iraq and that Rosie went to Iraq to show their committment to their country and that they are both home safe and sound! Rosie - if you ever should read this - I saw your lovely pictures with the rest of the family and you look like such a natural part of them already as does our Megan and Angie. It is so wonderful when a family comes together like that, you know?

I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th and celebrates like your freedom depends on it.

What's Old Is New Again

I think it is very cool that so many people, including myself, are now writing blogs. I feel it is a circular sociological phenomenon that has sprung naturally from email. Being the egocentric creatures we tend to be, telling our friends short snippets of our day just didn't satisfy any longer. We needed to express ourselves, connect our business and academic selves to our home lives, and even connect friends and family to the rest of the world.

Why a circular phenomenon? Because in previous eras writing was the preferred manner of communication between persons and was so important in one's life that letters were read and re-read and then sometimes wrapped with ribbon and saved for years. Postcards told of peoples' travels around the world and of family holidays and were kept as mementos in scrapbooks. Today postcards can fetch a pretty penny at auction if rare enough.

News came exclusively through the written word as well. Before telephones, deaths, births, marriages and business were conducted in written form. Telegrams, although crypticly written messages, got the job done well enough.

So once again, albeit in a slightly different venue, a bunch of folks are logging on and instead of quickly blurting out the first thing that comes into their head over the telephone, they are sitting and composing thoughtful and sometimes thoughtless blog entries. Even the latter are thought-provoking and that, after all is the point as far as I'm concerned. I love the written word and am thrilled at it's come back.

Happy Birthday Shout Outs!

Just a quick shout out to sister Peggy and almost sister Dawn to say Happy Birthday ~ even though it's late! Hope you both had wonderful days and lovely parties too!

I have been online most of the day doing research to look for jobs for Keith. Even though he is the one who ultimately sends the resumes and cover letters, I do a lot of research for him since I am off work with my foot. We make a good team. My mom called and David is out of the hospital and I am thankful for that. I am glad his lungs are healing after his open heart surgery a few weeks ago.

My big whoops for the day will be going water walking and that is ever so sad! I really hate being this bored. My brain is not used to the doldrums.

Post Script

I forgot to mention the fabulous care I received from all of the nurses and the PCTs (Patient Care Technicians) during my stay. They were very compassionate and patient, professional and competent, and were definately the best part of my hospital stay.

I Barely Escaped Alive

Finally getting to post after a week in the hospital and sick before that. I had a gout attack that kept spreading and staying around even though the doctor's were treating me with the normal treatments.

So I ended up at the emergency room (twice) and the second time they admitted me. While there I had the following fun things happen:

a) a rheumotologist who, after 3 days of the correct medication and subsequent reduction in swelling, came to consult and kneaded my gouty foot (extremely painful which I told him and he was ignored). He repeatedly asked me questions over and over (like 4 or 5 times) and was note taking which lead me to believe he either had a severe memory problem or he didn't believe me. The next morning, my gout medications were no longer given to me without talking to me about it and I was informed by the nurse that the rheumotologist decided I did NOT have gout and so my treatment was being discontinued. So my foot started getting bad again. I was then labeled "drug seeking" in my chart as my pain increased because this nutcase said I had no gout. I asked for a second rheumotologist because I felt this person was nuts.

b) I went to the x-ray department and specifically pointed out my injured foot. It didn't matter to them and I was repeatedly grabbed by that foot which they twisted and yanked over and over. I objected and told them if they would tell me what they needed, I could place my foot where ever they needed it. I was still ignored and in the end I had tears streaming down my face. When they were finished, the woman came up to my face and saw that I had tears streaming down my face and said, "Well, we are through torturing you now." When I got back to my room, my foot was killing me and I had to have more medicine for pain than I had ever had. When the pain had subsided, I called the patient relations number only to find out that position had been discontinued (probably being used WAY too much at this institution) and so someone from the administration and the head of the x-ray department was sent. They told me the x-ray personnel had been "talked to" and I said that I was not contacting them for myself but for some future elderly person who might get down there who might have just had a stroke with brittle bone disease and couldn't speak for themselves. If these x-ray technicians treated that person the way they treated me, they could end up breaking hips, ankles, or legs while this patient silently suffered. Also I said that talking wouldn't do anything but an inservice in listening to what patients communication and putting patient comfort at least equal to completion of task would be in order and would probably help with their risk management. When I mentioned "risk management", they both shot glances at each other so I know they have had problems there before!

c) I kept asking my assigned hospital primary care - Dr. Burke - to let me know my care plan. He never did even though I asked more than once and there were signs and mission statements all over the hospital about "patient partnership in their own care." The message has not gotten to the doctors yet. Examples of this were medications being started and stopped with me never knowing why, people showing up at 10 p.m. to take me for x-rays that I didn't know what were for, and lab technicians coming into the room for extra blood draws (after the usual morning draw) for unexplained tests. I talked to my GREAT 2nd rheumotologist whom I love about this and told her it was driving me crazy. I told her I had no expectation of telling my physician how to diagnose me or run my care plan but that I would greatly appreciate knowing what my care plan was and that I didn't appreciate a "surprise" care plan. While I was talking to her, the lab technician came in to draw blood for a "surprise" blood draw. I asked which doctor had ordered it and what tests had been ordered. She didn't know. This proved to Dr. Penchall exactly what I had been complaining about and she told the lab technician to wait there and said that she would be right back. She came back to me and told me that Dr. Burke had ordered the lab work and told the lab technician to do the blood draw with the normal draw in the morning. The technician started to argue with her and she cut her off in a hurry and for the first time I felt like someone was taking care of me. Also, Dr. Penchall said, "YOU DO HAVE GOUT AND WE WILL PUT YOU BACK ON THE MEDICATION THAT THE EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR PUT YOU ON ORIGINALLY BECAUSE HE GOT THE DIAGNOSIS CORRECT." She asked if I wanted to come and see her out here since my primary was in Chicago and I said yes. She said she likes to work very closely with the primary and got his name, address, phone, fax, and even email. Her specialty is arthritis and gout which are the issues in my face right now. She had already reviewed my C.T., bone scan, and x-rays. Also, she is multi-focused. By this I mean I started on a new NSAID at a high dose. She has me limiting the high dose for one week and then backing off because I mentioned my problem with upper G.I. and that I had had and ERCP. She is the only doctor I saw there who even mentioned this. When I left, she gave me great instructions and told me, for the first time, how much swelling weight is dangerous over how much time. All of my other doctors have told me if I swell too much to call but not over how much time. She was very specific and that in itself has been very helpful.

They set me free about 8 p.m. on Friday night and I couldn't wait to get home and take a bath and wash everything. I was glad to get into my own bed too with memory foam and some tofu to eat although the food there had some nutrious choices and I ate a lot of fresh fruit, turkey, and salads of all kinds. But now my "vowels" are in an uproar. So much so that I lost 2 lbs. in one day. So I am on pedialyte and sending "cultures" out to make sure I didn't pick up something nasty at the hospital. Never a dull moment at my house, huh?

Some GOOD news on the job front. Last week Keith started a short-term contract job at CCH publishing. It will only last a couple of weeks but it is double what unemployment is and will extend unemployment by whatever we don't use now. Pray that we find a permanent job NOW.

I am thankful to be home and to have survived the hospital ordeal. I am also thankful God put Dr. Penchall into my life. God is merciful!

I'm a Mermaid

I decided to take a quick quiz to see which mythological creature I am and my results are below. I think it fits pretty well. Take the test for yourself at QuizFarm.com.

I had a very crummy day at work yesterday and had to invoke the dreaded "ADA" (American's with Disabilities Act). Not that I dread the Act, I just hate having to use it as a truncheon to get my needs met at work. I will explain the entire long story in another post because there is blood and gore and pain and I'm just not up to it right now. ( A slight exageration but just slight).

You scored as Mermaid. Mermaids are also known as Sirens. These creatures were beautiful women who tricked sailors into becoming completely entranced by their haunting voices and found death soon after. Not all stories of Mermaids are about gentle loving sea people. They are mystical, magical, and extremely dangerous. They have a way about them that brings anyone they are around to seem enchanted. They are very mysterious creatures and to meet one... Would mean certain Death. Let the song of the Sea fill your soul, for you are a Mermaid. Mermaid 100% Faerie 67% WereWolf 58% Dragon 50% Angel 42% Demon 25%

Run Away! Run Away!

So Keith and I stopped off for a late lunch or early dinner the other day at La Magdalena. OMG, I am giving it a rating of 4 toilets!! First, the menus were soiled with food, grease and who knows what else. Second, the waiter had a short-term memory issue and so couldn't even remember the simplest thing like who got the diet or regular soft drink.

Third, the chicken gallina with mole (a traditional Mexican sauce that when prepared correctly has spices, chilies, and Mexican chocolate) tasted of lard and was bitter and gritty. I compare it to crank case oil although I haven't spent a lot of time tasting crank case oil. Fourth, the restaurant was not interested in being flexible in order to please me, the customer, at all. For example, I asked simply to have all white meat for my entree and was told I could not have it because the 1/2 chicken was served all together in one piece. When the 1/2 chicken was served, it had been chopped up in the kitchen so I guess I could have had white meat after all!

Fifth, after I sent back the Mole Monstrosity entree and I ordered a combo that had two chicken flautas and two pork tacos - at least that is what the menu said. The flautas were floating under 1/2 cup of sour cream and sauted onions and peppers and the pork tacos had been put through the de-flavorizing machine. The pork had been boiled and the only other ingredients in the tacos other than the floppy corn tortillas were chopped tomatoes and iceberg lettuce. All of this delicious goodness was served with an appetizer too. Water with shell pasta and something orange floating on top. I asked and was told it was chicken noodle soup but I am telling you it was H2O with the pasta and orange stuff!

What next you ask? Why dessert, of course. I had flan from "flan world" that had obviously been defrosted just minutes before. Keith had a strawberry chimichanga - a flour tortilla with frozen strawberries in it and on it and a scoop of ice cream. It was surrounded with splats of whipped cream (to bad they didn't try for an ounce of sophistication and use just a dusting of powdered sugar).

So if you should be looking for a place to eat and should see the La Magdalena sign, put the pedal to the metal and pass on by to a Chevy's of La Margarita or go home and make dinner for your self.

The Upson-Downs of Boston

Downs ~ So we go to the airport knowing that the weather in Boston is crummy. Kelly had already warned us about that. However, our plane left 3 1/2 hours late which meant Kelly ended up having to pick us up at Logan at 2:30 a.m. and I looked like the Pillsbury doughgirl from swelling (Pain? - let's not even go there).

The next morning we tried to eat an inedible breakfast at the Doubletree breakfast buffet. The eggs benedict had poached eggs that were hard boiled and sauce made from a "packet".

Ups ~ Then Kelly picked us up and we were off to see Revenge of the Sith (ROTS) which was really great, some great shopping at Macy's and a great lunch at Cheesecake Factory including cheesecake made with Splenda!!! Keith and I went waterwalking to try to get the swelling and pain down in me and then Kelly took off to pick up more folks from Logan. Vicki and Trevor came into the pool area to say hey while I was finishing exercising and Keith took off with Kelly for Trader Joe's to stock up on some food (much cheaper and better for us than room service).

Ups & Downs ~ The next day was graduation. First thing in the morning Keith and I waterwalked to try to keep swelling and pain down. Then Kelly arrived and she looked beautiful as you can see in this picture and the rest of us didn't look too bad either. The graduation ceremony was very nice although they had a fit because they had about 20 seats set aside for disabled people and their family members. We had 5 in our party and they only wanted us to use 3 seats. Keith offered the most reasonable solution ~ let our party sit together and if more people came to use the seats, then some of our party would move. But the uptight guard person would not go for that so Keith and I sat in one place and George, Vicki and Trevor ended up in another place. In the end NOT ANOTHER SOUL showed up to sit in that section and so our family could have sat with us. Two minutes before the graduates marched in, the guard came to us and told us to have the other 3 come down but there wasn't time for them to do that by then. STUPID PEOPLE!!

After graduation, there was a nice reception where we had food to nibble on and got to meet Kelly's dean and watch an elderly lady fall down and probably break a hip. We all piled into the cars to go over to Kelly's school for a school tour before we went to the restaurant for dinner.

We went to the law school and Kelly showed us the library, the room where she had the majority of her first year classes, and most importantly the Student Organization Office that she was voted into her first year and helped with throughout law school. Kelly said most of her papers and studying was done there too.

Then we got into 2 cars and drive 1.5 hours to a seafood restaurant called Perriwinkles. They had fabulous clams served with the bellies (for any of you clam experts out there), great chowder, wonderful bread, great sweet potato fries and lobster made of RUBBER. That was the down part. Then we drove 1.5 hours back to the hotel and I hobbled into the room and I was in very BAD shape! Way too much sitting and even with the waterwalking to try to mitigate it, my one poor kidney just couldn't handle it.

The next day we thought we would get to spend some time with George, Trevor, and Vicki since we really hadn't gotten to yet, but they got held up and we had to leave for the airport before they got back from their site seeing tour. Oh well, maybe next time. We flew home and we were so thankful for on time flights and an uneventful day.

I was hoping a night in my own bed with no pressure points would help the swelling and pain to lighten up. Unfortunately the next morning I was worse and couldn't walk at all without my walker and had a red streak across the top of my left foot. Since in my mind I should have been better, I thought I should get checked out to make sure my kidney was okay. Off to the Emergency Room we went and got to spend Sunday there. The doctor said he was very unhappy with level of my swelling and the fact that my pain was still so high even after lots of pain medication so he gave me two other prescriptions and told me to see my own doctor as soon as I could. I am going tomorrow.

As you can see, the trip was filled with Ups & Downs The joys of watching Kelly graduate after a job well done, a great movie, cheesecake with Splenda, "crack bread" (Kelly said it was so good it has to have an addictive ingredient in it) and, unfortunately, weird weather, odd hotel food, rubber lobster, long periods of sitting, swelling and pain.

I told Laurel this was my last airplane trip unless it was an emergency. She said to pray that the next event was a long time away or a drivable distance. I agree with that!!

I'm Melting, I'm Melting

I'm in a unique position at my job at a major corporate store I'll call Drears. Working in my lowly cashier position, which is dead easy and uses approximately 2% of my brain, allows the rest of my brain to sit back and observe the meltdown of a major business in corporate America. Basically, "they're doing it wrong!"

The managers in what is known as the "flagship" store are not given power over things that could make a real and significant difference in their bottom line numbers. As a matter of fact, they are given power over things that really reflect little over the bottom line of their stores and yet these managers are held responsible for store performance on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Let me give you a perfect example of a simple thing I was told the store manager has zero control over that effects his bottom line - store climate control. I was told by a supervisor that each store's temperature is determined not by the ambient weather outside nor is it within the store manager's control, but is rather a predetermined program of dates of running the heat and air conditioner regardless of the outside or inside temperature. So how does this translate to the store's bottom line? All winter long, no fans were running to circulate air within the store and with hundreds of kilowatts of display lights and many holiday shopper bodys in coats within the store, there were many complaints about how hot it was in the store. I had many customers tell me it was not hot at Marshall Field's, Penney's, Nordstrom's, etc.

I observed many customers I waited on dripping sweat and looking very pale from being over heated. Many customers, in frustration, slammed items on my counter and left without making purchases or came up to me and specifically asked me to tell the manager the reason they were leaving early without making purchases was because of the store temperature. Anyone who has ever tried on garments knows it is hard work and makes you hot too so that also adds to the problem. Now that summer is upon us, it is the same story only worse because in the winter an occasional cool breeze would come in through the door and that is no longer the case. So tally up all of the lost sales at the counter, those lost sales from customers who left the store, AND the lost sales of the customers who remembered how unpleasant it was last time and decided not to return to the store and you come up with a tidy some JUST FROM THE HEATING AND COOLING SYSTEM.

We have yet to address any important issues that are lacking in the store like ontime delivery of stock and stores, meaningful training of staff and inservicing, management training and inservicng, marketing coordination and delivery at the store level, low espree de corps within the work force leading to high turn over (high HR costs), up-to-date IT, and many more items which are key to making a retail business profitable in today's cut throat arena. There are other retailers who appear to have better profitability and I consistently hear from customers while they are waiting for something to be approved by a supervisor, "No wonder you were bought out by L-Mart!"

I am just a barnicle clinging to the bottom of the big ship Drears. However, it gives me a great position to take the time to watch as all the shipmates scurry about trying to keep the ship pointed in right direction and the sails filled with wind.

Lights, Camera, Action!

The filming is taking place tomorrow night after I get home from work. Originally both Sharon and I were going to be doing it on Thursday but ..Whoops.. I forgot that I was getting my hair cut that day at my place in downtown Chicago and I'm not canceling it because I don't want to look like a hag for the Boston trip. When I told Dan (the cable show man) that I had forgotten an appointment, he said that's okay. We don't need the other lady. You're the one who won the award and I want to interview you. HaHaHaHa. So I called Sharon and left a message giving her the bad news that the time had changed to Wednesday evening and that if she had anything in particular she wanted me to cover in the interview about CASA historically etc., she could email me something.

So just as I figured ~ SOUR GRAPES! She didn't email me a thing about CASA so being the uber smart research freak I am, I went and googled it and downloaded a bunch of stuff. Now I am all ready to take her place. :) (Tee Hee)

I also had a 2nd interview for a job I'm not sure I want. I work at Sears in a nice, non-stress job. They need a lead for the jewelry department (which I would love) and I {think} I would be great at BUT in my first interview the store manager stated that even with all my qualifications, I don't have the "exact retail" experience for this job as far as he is concerned but it is not solely his choice. The woman who would be directly over me was very excited that I applied and I interviewed with her this afternoon. She and I clicked well and we both take a problem-solving approach to things vs. a head-buried-in-the-sand approach which I think is the preferred method there. She worked at FAO Schwartz before and feels good about me in the position.

My concern is the chaos in general within the store - e.g., no one has bothered to give me a job description although I have asked for one, the department currently has no one running it which means I will be handed a sh-t burger to clean up, etc. Anyway it is interesting being considered. They haven't offered and even if they do, I don't know if I will say yes. Cara, the Cashier Lead they just let go, told me when they hired her they said they were offering her the job and then she had to say yes or no right then. Then they would send that answer into corporate who would then send back her "rate of pay".

There is no Huh-way I am entering into an oral employment contract until I know ALL the specifics of the contract. Do they think I'm nuts??? They have to make me a FULL offer and then I will say yes or no.

MAKE SURE YOU PLAY TRIVIA AGAINST ME! You can play once a day and it accumulates over the month. Let's see how big your brain pan is.

Watch Out For Random Sheep!

So yesterday started out pretty normal and then WHAM! Sheep Dip right in the face. What do I mean by this you may ask? I am talking about people who follow the "tail" in front of them, never looking up or from side to side thereby making life miserable for those of us who are conscious.

Keith and I took off to Costco to shop and pull into a handicapped parking spot. I happen to have a van that has a back-loading mobility chair but two carts were in the hashed-lined area of the handicapped space all because one lazy person had not wanted to walk the extra 17 steps to put the cart away and a "sheep" thought that looked like a good idea.

The problem with that idea, as any conscious person knows, is that many vans lower to the ground and have ramps that come out of the side using the hashed-lined area of the parking space and now since the parking space was filled with "sheep dip", it was not available for use. Keith put the carts away. I timed him and it took him 47 seconds. Puleez sheep, would 47 seconds have really ruined your day?

I am so thrilled that my nephew Greg is home from Iraq safe and sound from his tour of duty with the Marines. Welcome Home Greg!!

I am also excited to be celebrating two graduations in a very short time. First, Kelly's graduation from Boston College Law School and then Keith's graduation from Northwestern University. I am so proud of both of them and all of their hard work.

I found a place that has the funniest t-shirts and stuff. You should check it out. It's called http://www.cafepress.com/shop/humor Cafe Press. Have fun looking.

I'm Gonna Be On T.V.

So I'm gonna be on a cable show sometime soon for winning the Volunteer of the Year Award. A man named Dan McNulty called and asked if I would be on because he does a show for seniors and others in the community of Schaumburg showing points of interest or giving them ideas of things to do. Dan used to be a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) himself and when he saw that I had won the award, he was hoping to generate some interest in volunteering for the organization through the interview on his show.

When NeAngela called me from CASA to tell me Dan was looking to talk to me about being on the show, she broadly hinted (i.e., practically hitting me over the head with a baseball bat) that the Director of the local CASA chapter would love to be included in the interview invitation too. This is more than hilarious for one big reason. This same director helped black ball me for a paying job at CASA a few months ago over the objections of others at CASA who knew me and my work better. Her major objection was my disability (she couldn't see past it) whereas those in the organization knew my disability had never interfered with my volunteering at all. She was new to the group having just been hired the month before but she knew better! Of course NO ONE would ever admit to me directly that this was the reason but it was hinted at to me. Otherwise they would have not been living up to their EOE label.

Much to the director's chagrin, NeAngela and Renee (two others from the CASA office) nominated me for Volunteer of the Year and I won. Neither my CASA friends nor myself really thought the award was all that big of a deal until the day of the award when I found out most people get nominated for years before they win. I was written up in at least 2 newspapers, there were two press calls at CASA for comments from me that they had to forward and now they had to forward this request to be on this small show. It's not that the show is a big deal. It's that "me", the person who wasn't good enough to work for them is now getting CASA tons of free publicity and the director, who held me in the mildest of esteem, is having to treat me much, much better.

So I called the director and left her a message inviting her to be on the show with me and now we are going to try to work it out for everyone's schedule. The T.V. person said he and his camera man were pretty flexible about where they could go but I am making it convenient for me. I am making the director come from downtown Chicago out to Schaumburg to shoot the show if she wants to be on it. I told her I thought it would be great for her to offer the global CASA position and for me to be able to speak from my personal volunteer experience.

At the time of the award, I had just been assigned to a new case. Most people, having been black balled for a job for crummy reasons would have walked away from the organization but there was no way I was going to do that. The organization is about the kids, it isn't about one idiotic administrator who doesn't see the valuable employee she threw away like yesterday's garbage. It is like that in every organization you work in ~ there will be some people who "just don't get it" and who have their own personal prejudices that they let color their lives both personal and professional. I feel sorry for them. But it seems as if in this case WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND! The director is having to deal with me whether she wants to or not. NaNeeNaNeeBooBoo!! :P

Opening Day In The Blogging World

Today is my very first try at posting a blog. My daughter and husband do it and swear it is the only way to communicate in the new millineum so here I go.

It was a very mundane day consisting of exercising and stretching so that I could move, taking lots of pill so that I could move, and then going to work and moving. I thought I was 15 minutes early to work and found out I was a 1/2 hour late. Keith accidentally put the wrong starting time for today in my PDA so . . . whoops. Anywho, it was just a bunch of smiling and telling people what they wanted to hear and making crabby people happy. In other words, another day in paradise.

Then home with take out dinner and, of course since it is Friday the 13th, the order was all messed up. Oh well, I just cut my losses and started working on this instead. I figured it would be more productive. I have learned that sometimes you can continue to rage against the machine OR sometimes you can just let go and float to shore. Today I decided to float to shore. Never can tell what I'll decide tomorrow.

Well enough for one day. I promise I shall wax philosophic again soon.