Merry Christmas!!!

I stumbled across this video a little while ago and can't stop watching it. I just love it... So enjoy. Hope everyone is having a very Happy Christmas and gets everything they asked Santa for!!

Watch "T-Mobile's Home For The Holidays Surprise" on YouTube

(I did this on my phone while laying in bed, watching the Oddities marathon, and trying to fall asleep. Unfortunately this meant that I couldn't embed it, but the link should work fine and it's definitely worth watching...)

Randomness

So... Yeah. The insane business has not subsided at all. I am still feeling like I am several steps behind. I absolutely have to send off two presents that are sitting on my kitchen table, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to bust out the wrapping paper and actually get them ready... I still have a couple people that we need to get presents for, need to pick up J’s See’s (we get each other a box of See’s chocolate for Christmas), and I haven’t gotten anything for my work friends. I thought about making something, but I am feeling like I really don’t want to do that anymore. It was either going to be cookies or black coal candy that I found a recipe for. I just know that if I messed up a batch, I would collapse into a ball under my table and refuse to come out until after the New Year. Since my brain is more than a little melted, this is just going to be some randoms to catch up...

- I have a project that I really want to do in my hallway... Currently I have a large picture of Marilyn Monroe up there that I have had for years, but now it kinda bugs me and I think I would rather have something more personal. I’ve seen tons of picture walls on Pinterest and I really want to do one... I’m thinking about hitting up Goodwill next week when I’m off for the holidays and looking for a bunch of unique frames that I can fill with all sorts of things. I don’t know if J would like it or if he wouldn’t even care...

- Flat tires seriously suck. We were about 40 miles into our trip home from Nevada when the tire pressure light came on. We pulled over, found a screw in my right rear tire, swapped out for the donut, and had to turn around to get to a dealership to get it fixed because the from road-side assistance that I had on the phone wouldn’t bring me a new tire no matter how much I begged. Luckily we got to the nearest dealership 20 minutes before the service department closed and they were able to patch the tire. I am now firmly against ever having another car that doesn’t have a full-size spare tire. If I had a full-size spare, we could have just swapped it out and kept going. It looks more and more likely that I’ll be getting a Highlander as my next car.

- My entire immediate family was in one place at the same time for the first time in over 6 years for Thanksgiving. It was nice to see everyone and we spent way too much time staying up too late talking and playing games. Good times :-)

- We had our Holiday Potluck at work Monday. I brought Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes again. So yummy. Unfortunately I have an entire dozen left over! And I did not drop them on my front walk in the rain like last year...

- I finally “decorated” for the holidays. This is about as good as it gets...

I guess that’s about it for now... This train of thought has derailed...

It's a Good Thing It's My Friday

Because I could not handle any more of this after the 50th time fixing it:

 "Who's the worst copier in the world? You are! Oh yes, you are!"

And after someone so kindly told me that they were pretty sure they saw one of the mice plaguing our office run under the cabinet behind me, I will now be sitting like this for the rest of the time that I work here...

And that makes my knees hurt...

But soon I will be on vacation for a few days. No rodents allowed....

Can Someone Get Superman to Fly Around the Planet and Slow Down the Rotation Already??

My brain has pretty much melted. I’ve started this post about 50 bazillion times and deleted it after the first few sentences. All I want to do is be able to get some words down and have a post to show for it. Even if it’s a terrible one...

I’ve been so busy when I’m at work and then busy when I come home and I feel like I’m constantly 10 steps behind. My house is a train wreck right now because cleaning up gets shoved to the bottom of my to-do list for the 50 other things that keep popping up on it.

It just seems like a constant stream of work events, errands, and craziness with trying to get some time to relax with friends thrown in... And that feels like it has barely happened. Even when I do find a minute to relax I feel like my brain is either so melted I’m a zombie or I can’t really relax because my brain is constantly thinking through the things that I still need to get done...

"HAVE to clean off the kitchen table... How long has it been since I washed our bedding? Sooo many dust bunnies – MUST VACUUM. Really need to go through the books on the bookshelves and clean them up. Why are there so many old magazines on the coffee table? How is EVERY SINGLE trash can lid in the kitchen broken?? Need to go through my closets again and get more crap out. My car is disgusting – need to do more than just drive through a crappy car wash... How is there so much trash in my car’s trunk??!! It’s getting really chilly in the morning – I really need to get a new jacket. I seriously need to go clothes shopping – must get new tops, can’t keep wearing the same crap every week to work... Do I want to put my order in for the Kindle Fire? Need to find new bras – stupid Target stopped carrying the ones I like... Gotta start getting everything organized for the camping trip next week. Definitely must get my car in for an oil change before we go to Vegas for Thanksgiving. Why hasn’t the stupid towel rack been fixed in the bathroom yet?! GO TO BED EARLY!! Stop forgetting that the white load of laundry is still sitting in the dryer! Still haven’t cleaned the rifles since the Appleseed event two weekends ago... Seriously need to go grocery shopping – wheat thins and cream cheese does not equal dinner... Don’t forget to put new registration sticker on your license plate! When are the cats going to learn to clean their own litter boxes???? Crap, they need food – how long has that been empty? HOW IS IT NOVEMBER ALREADY????????? Why haven’t we gotten our new windows yet? Or the new hot water heater?!?!”

And that’s just the HOME running list... Work has its own list.

“Gotta create the tracking report for the new incentive... Another new report to create for boss. Need to request payments from that incentive. Why haven’t I received the information I need for the payments from the other incentive?? Need to reconcile my purchasing card. Have to check to see if my AMEX charge has loaded in the expense system yet. Holy crap I let my vacation time MAX!! Gotta remember to request days off. Another new report to create for boss. Need to find out if there are pool cars that need to come back from the Dealership so that I don’t have to find a ride back from dropping my car off for its oil change. Need to do the ranking. Have to update my 15 different morning reports. Have to update the wall thing tracking our objective for the month. Need to organize. Need another storage box for paperwork. Another new report to create for boss. Why isn’t my neighbor at her desk – I hate having to answer her bosses’ phones when she’s not there! Need to go get the mail from downstairs. Can’t forget to go to lunch early this week because I have to cover the receptionist’s lunch break. Need to pull my weekly reports and e-mail out the reminders. Why didn’t he just give me the correct information for what he wanted – now I have to complete recreate the information because he’s terrible at his job. How can someone be SO bad at a job that they’ve done BEFORE?!?!?! Still haven’t heard on a handful of itineraries. Surprise – I get to create name badges for a trip coming up! Another new report to create for boss. Have to update a PowerPoint slide with the current info. Have to update all of my month-end reports. There’s a change to one of the codes – have to update every single one of my reports to reflect it.”

And that barely scratches the surface. Of THIS week only.

Time is FLYING. It feels like every time I blink, an entire month is gone.

How do we slow time down? The extra hour this weekend for Daylight Saving doesn’t count...

Things I Want

I have wanted a Tablet for quite a while now... I’ve talked about it a little bit on here... I see all these pretty shiny handheld computers and the green-eyed monster starts poking me in the back. But I just couldn’t justify spending so much money on one. Even the less expensive versions with less storage space are in the $400 up range.

Then there was the fire sale on the HP Touchpad that I missed out on... $150 is totally within my impulse buying range. But they went in a blink of an eye – and continue to! I keep missing them by seconds...

Today Amazon unveiled the new Kindle Fire. I. WANT.

It’s only $199 – not much above my impulse buying range... It’s full color, touch screen, has what they are saying is a super-fast browser, unlimited cloud storage for Amazon content... You can play with your Apps on it, watch shows/movies, browse the internet, check your e-mail... Oh, and it’s still a Kindle, so you can read on it too...

I have generally leaned more towards the slightly large Tablets – the 10.1 inch screens instead of the ones that are Kindle-sized – in my jealousies and pining. But for some reason because this is a Kindle on steroids, I don’t have a problem with it being smaller... In fact, it’s kind becoming a selling point because it will just take my Kindle’s current permanent place in my purse without taking any extra space...

I may be adding my name to the pre-order waiting list before the day is out...

Since I immediately titled this post “Things I Want” (that’s right, I recklessly title my posts before I write them... I like to live on the edge.), I feel compelled to list more things that I would like in my possession:

- The two new Limited Edition Harvey’s bags that are probably already sold out... (And this one because it's super cute...)

- The Hunger Games movie to be out – now that I have read the books (almost – I am more than halfway through the third one) I am slightly obsessed with seeing it come to life

- My new business cards

- A vacation – it’s been way too long. My last “real” vacation was the cruise we took for our honeymoon... 6 years ago. I would love to go back to Alaska.

- A new laptop. With the newest everything on it. In red, please.

- Cookie dough cupcakes – I realize that I am fully capable of making these at home and that is what I will have to do in order to have them, but I would like them to just magically appear. It would be awesome.

- A house closer to my Bestie. We’re there all the time anyway... Why not just live closer? Plus, their area has way more restaurants and shops... I really like it there.

- A new car. Don’t get me wrong – I still adore my IS250, but I still have another YEAR before I get to order a new car. This will be the longest I have ever had a car... (Boo-hoo first-world problems...) I think I might get a Highlander next...

- My Rifleman patch. We took a rifleman course a couple weekends ago and while I was able to secure the status of “Sharpshooter,” I didn’t make it up to “Rifleman.” It’s the elite. We are going to sign up again next month. I will get it this time. I fully plan on buying a jacket just so I have something to attach the patches to and I will wear it everywhere. For bragging rights.

 One of the phases of the test. I'm the one in white. My friend/coworker is the one next to me. And J is the gray edge of shirt on my other side...

- The weather to continue getting cooler. I am so not a summer person and it has been really nice not to have to crank the AC as much to be happy...

- Oh... and World Peace.

What are you wanting right now?

Four Years of Nagging is All it Takes – Keep Your Chin Up

From the moment that I was placed in the job I am currently in (I did not choose to be in this job – it was chosen for me...), I have been fighting to get my title changed. I didn’t like it.

Secretary.

It brought to mind images of tan pantyhose, big hair, shoulder pads, and taking dictation. None of which I have or do. When I got placed there, I took control of the job. I dug my claws in and I made it mine. And that word had nothing to do with anything that this job did anymore.

It grew into an obsession. I would no longer tell people my title. I cringed when someone would use it – out loud or in writing. I fought just to get that word that makes me crazy changed. “Assistant! That would be better! Why can’t we change that one word??”

Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with being a secretary. When you break things down, even the highest person in your office is just a paper-pusher like everyone else... My problem was with the way people say it. “Oh, she’s just a secretary.” Like I was somehow less, like I did less, like I was worth less. And I absolutely 100% was not less.

I took on everything that they threw my way, all the while thinking that they would eventually HAVE to agree with me... See how I was doing at least two people’s jobs worth of work and never refusing or throwing a fit (out loud...) when they added more to my daily tasks. But there was never a reaction. Instead it just started feeling like I was drowning – like I was being punished for being awesome...

And I can say that because I am awesome. I have no doubt about that. I am damn good at my job.

Finally the tiniest ray of hope – they promised to change the hateful word. A momentary spark... That was quickly snuffed out by the amount of time that passed without hearing a single mention of it. MONTHS went by.

I began daydreaming about how lost they would be if I deleted all of the reports that I created and update and disappeared... Wishing I would be able to see the looks on their faces as they began to truly realize everything that I did... All while knowing that I would never do that in a million years...

I began looking for other jobs – things where I would no longer be embarrassed to tell people my title. After either not having the guts to leave the company I’ve worked for for 12 years or not getting the position – the most recent because they ended up going with someone already in that office... I had pretty much resigned myself to going to work every day, kicking butt, and hating every second of it.

Until this week.

My boss asked me to come into our assistant general manager’s office. It was like when a cop pulls behind you and you start going over everything you’ve done while driving to think if he got behind you for a reason... Immediate thoughts of “Crap, what did I do?? I know I haven’t been as ‘sunny’ as I used to be, but that’s not worth talking to me about, right???”

Those immediate thoughts were crushed under the news.

My new title.

Analyst.

It may be a meaningless word to you, but to me, it is everything. It’s what I’ve been fighting for. It’s not about money for me – it’s about being able to hold my head up when people ask what I do. It’s about my job having a title that actually fits what it is instead of being locked in the past with what it was… When he said the word, my jaw dropped and there was a brief back of forth of “Wait… What?” and “Seriously?!” And the one that had them both laughing… “I would really like to hug both of you right now!”

There are still things that I would definitely like to change about my situation at work (and I still firmly believe that I was never meant to work...), but this is a big band-aid that I have been screaming for until I felt like everyone around me must be deaf. I feel like I’ve finally gotten the recognition that I’ve been jumping up and down like a hyperactive Jack Russell trying to get since they moved me in and I took over…

It’s a good feeling.

What Would I Save? (certainly not something as stupid as crackers...)

A while back I was laughing pretty hard at a post of Noa’s from www.ohnoa.com and was reminded of it when she posted something else that referred back to it. In the post she was talking about The Burning House project. To put it simply, people submit a photo of what they would save if their house happened to be on fire...

There are some that are full of sensible things like car keys, cell phones, laptops, epi-pens, etc. Some that were full of sentimental things like photos, signed first editions of books, childhood toys, etc. And then there are the ones that are just too ridiculous... The ones that made Noa crazy and I definitely felt the same way while scanning through the pictures.

I won’t deny that some are very beautifully arranged... But then I started really noticing the little things in them...

My list of things that do not need to be saved if your house happens to be on fire:

- Spray Paint

- Visine

- Tic Tacs

- Gum

- CD’s

- Normal, everyday Forks/spoons/knives

- A spork

- Plastic flowers

- Lip Balm (there was a lot of Burt’s Bees featured... You know they sell that at the gas station, right?)

- Deodorant (certainly can’t replace that...)

- Scissors

- A tiny jar of Nutella (while I do love Nutella – I know that I can buy more...) and peanut butter

- Drugs and alcohol

- Burritos

- Moleskine notebooks - mountains and mountains of them... (Well played, www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com, you called it...)

- A lemon

- A 2-hole punch

- CANDY BARS

- ROCKS!

- SALTINE CRACKERS!!

- CEREAL!!! A BAG OF CEREAL!!!!!!

And a personal favorite:

“A comically large comb.” (Unless that was given to you by Bozo himself... Wait, no... You’d still be wrong.)

Seriously, people?? SERIOUSLY?!?!

I officially do not like these people.

But it made me think... What would I grab on my way out?

My cats

My purse (which contains my wallet, keys, inhaler, etc.)

My cell phone (if it’s handy)

My collection of Harvey’s bags – I know this is kind of shallow, but I’ve put a lot of years and money into building the collection and a lot of the bags are not for sale anymore...

If that’s all I had time for, then that’s all that would come with me. If I had to abandon the purses, I would... Would it suck to lose everything else? Oh yeah... In a big way. Would I mourn the loss of my photos? Absolutely... But would I risk my life to get them out of my house? Nope.

My wedding dress can go... Sad, but true. I got an amazing deal on it, it was beautiful, and it served its purpose... I really have no plans of having it boxed and storing it forever...

I don’t really have any jewelry that I would be devastated to lose that I wouldn’t already be wearing... J, however... He would have to just grab the drawer that his cuff link collection is in... If for no other reason than to save his elephant ivory cuff-links and tie pin shaped like Buddha that his grandfather left him. There would be absolutely ZERO chance of hoping to replace those...

Any important paperwork is secure in the fire-proof gun safe... (Should really put the ivory cuff links in there........)

I would be beyond sad to lose all of my books, things I’ve hand-made, little keepsakes, clothing items that I love... But I’d be much sadder to lose myself... See, the thing is... I’m quite fond of myself.

What would you save??

Randomness

- My default response to “How are you doing?” is never “Fine.” It’s “FANTASTIC” or “Livin’ the dream!”

- I have often been accused of being sarcastic. See above default responses.

- J got a new faucet for our kitchen sink. It’s much taller and nicer and doesn’t leak. So it’s pretty awesome. Although getting it in was an adventure. As J said, “Who knew that something so simple could open a can of worms...” Apparently some part of all the chaos that is the plumbing under the sink (why do I need to know? He’ll take care of it...) was slowly leaking for no one knows how long... And he never would have found it if he hadn’t bought the pretty new faucet.

- They just moved an entire department-worth of people back into the upstairs portion of the office. This involved me losing my “buffer desk” next to me that stops me from having unwanted neighbors, having a group of VERY loud women get shifted much closer to me, and being way too near to a woman that eats tiny meals all day... While this may be a healthy way to eat, she tends to eat overly fragrant tiny meals and it makes me gaggy several times a day... (Hmm... Maybe it will help my diet plan too! **Silver Lining!!**) It also involved Jerky McFacepunch having to move out of his precious office into a cubicle. And all of his bitter pouting has been oh, so sweet.

- I’m hoping to catch a couple of the HP Touchpads when they get some more out there because I was really bummed that I missed the super crazy sale the first time around. And $99 - $150 is way more my impulse-buying speed than the price of an Ipad or even a Galaxy Tab.... And I really want one.......

- I FINALLY went to see the last Harry Potter! I am no longer a traitor to my inner nerd-girl... There just hadn’t been time until now for us to get to the movies... I’m so glad we made it. It was really well done and I may or may not have had something in my eye near the end......

- Banana Cream Pie ice cream from Ralph’s is delicious. It makes my mouth happy.

- I worked out for the first time in a couple weeks (J’s crazy work schedule was not very compatible with my workout schedule... At least not if I wanted to get to spend any time with him at all... Which I did...) and I am HURTING.

- My car had gotten so dirty that it was embarrassing... (and if you know me, that means it was FILTHY.) I had to give in and get it washed... It is ridiculous how much I love how it looks when it’s clean, but I just don’t have the time or patience to wash it or get it washed all the time...

- I want a new laptop really badly... Is there anything wrong with the one I have? Nope. Do I NEED a new laptop? Nope. Will I make myself crazy thinking about how I want a nice petite, portable mini-laptop that I can take with me everywhere until I break down and get one? Yup. I still regularly think about the laptop I originally wanted whenI started this little blog here... But they don’t make it anymore.

There is this little number that looks like oh, so much fun even though it is not NEARLY as sleek as a tablet.... And it comes in RED. 

(Sidenote- I generally do not like Dells. At. All. But this kinda makes me want to hug it....)

- There were two 9 – 10 year old boys at Bed, Bath, and Beyond the other day while I was there shopping... They were running up and down the aisles playing tag and screaming. I have no idea where their parents were and why this was being allowed to happen... Or why no one else seemed to even notice that it was happening! So when I heard them coming, I nonchalantly pushed my cart out the end of the aisle and one of them may or may not have run directly into it while I told him that he should really consider behaving like a normal human being when in public... I didn’t hear them running around after that...

I won’t lie - it felt really good.

- We bought new sheets for our bed... I had to go for the 1000 threadcount sheets that I love to pet when I’m at Bed, Bath, and Beyond... They’re just so soft... BUT being cheap thrifty... I waited until I found some at Tuesday Morning. I mean, why would I spend $249 (which is what the sheets I purchased were originally marked – as are the ones I love at BB&B) when I could be a little patient and get them for $89.99 instead? We got them in “Mineral” color which is kind of brown-ish... They are apparently single ply Egyptian cotton. None of that really means all the much to me... All I know is that they are REALLY nice. They need a few more washes because they are still pretty stiff right now, but they fit our extra deep mattress perfectly and are very soft to pet...

- We signed up for a rifleman course in a couple weeks. I’m very excited and hoping to qualify my first time going... My friend will be going for her third time and has not yet qualified... She says she will be pissed if I get it first try.

- We went to our friends’ house for a bbq last weekend and I really enjoyed getting to play with their baby more. He’s getting to the laughing out loud, lots of personality phase of baby-dom. I had him laughing really good for a while and took a video of it... I think I might have been laughing at him laughing more than he was laughing at me... Laughing laughing laughing. (It seemed like I didn’t quite write “laughing” enough times in that sentence...)