A New Day

Let's try this again - that's what I said to myself as I approached the parking garage tonight and saw that the homeless man was in his usual spot - He asked for spare change and I politely told him I didn't have any  - he responded with . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Happy Holidays!  Guess maybe we were both just having bad days yesterday.

Tomorrow I have a Christmas Potluck to go to with my Issaquah 3rd Ward sisters.  I signed up to bring tarts - of course I signed up before my mojo took a holiday.  I was going to try the apple tarts again but then I said to myself - Self, why do something that's going to stress you out - make something that you feel comfortable baking.  So I listened to that voice and I made mini pumpkin pie tarts . . . . . and . . . . . .Success!  They turned out good, filling cooked all the way through, nothing bubbled and/or melted over the edges, the crust cooked all the way through!  I am a happy baker tonight!

We are doing a gift exchange too - you are supposed to bring something that is your favorite or represents you - $5 limit.  I couldn't think of anything at first to get and then I thought - you don't have to spend $5 - I have a lot of beads around the house - so I made a bracelet.  I hope the person I get likes it.

De

PTSD

Post Turkey Stuffing Disorder!

This is what happens after a 4 day weekend filled with a wonderful turkey dinner and lots of turkey leftovers!  Symptoms are gobbling, waddling, crankiness, and the voices in your head getting a little louder that people around you can hear them!

I have all of these symptoms - yes including the last one!!  How do I know this?!?!  Because I am sure that there is no way that I would talk back to a homeless person who is swearing and looks a little off balance.  There is a homeless man that has taken to parking is butt on the sidewalk right outside the entrance to where I have to pay for parking and ride the elevator to my car.  He has been there for the last few weeks - I have said no a few times and he gets a little snippy so lately I have just been walking right on by trying to ignore him.  Tonight as I passed by he piped up with "How F*?#@ng hard is it to just say F*?#@ng No.  Is it so F*?#@ng hard!"  The voices in my head answered back with "Maybe people don't say anything because you talk to them like that!"  Now, I know the voices must have been really loud because he answered back with a delightful string of "Shut the F*&# Up.  I wasn't talkin' to you Fat Ass.  Just shut your F*?#@ng Fat Ass.  You are such a Fat Ass."  I could hear him still jabbering away even with the door closed to the elevator room.  The voice in my head suddenly said Dumb Ass!!  I know that one was loud because it echoed!  Dang!  With everything that has happened in Seattle lately with crazy homeless people I need to keep those voices just a bit quieter. 

De

4 Day Vacation!

The Thanksgiving Four Day Weekend is coming to an end - sad sad sad.  I had such a good four days.

Thanksgiving Day was a little rushed in the morning - the desserts I had made the night before didn't really turn out how I wanted them too so I got up and tried again.  I had the ingredients for my Pumpkin Marble Bundt Cake and my Apple Tarts.  The cake actually turned out really well - the apple tarts, not so much.  I think I may have put too much butter in the crumble topping because they just kind of melted all over the place.  I left the house a bit later than I had planned on with all of the attempts at baking - got on the road to get L about 1230.  Had a really nice drive up to La Connor - L was chatty, the freeway wasn't snowy, there was no traffic.  Got to Mom and Dads at a decent time - walked in and the house smelled like turkey . . . yummmmmm!  Dinner was really good - all the favorites - turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries . . . . . . so so good!!  What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods?

Friday and Saturday were pretty much "slug" days - I did absolutely nothing!  Didn't go Black Friday shopping - just hung around the house catching up on some much needed sleep.  Today I started cleaning out my closet - lots of boxes and bags of paper that just need to be shredded and tossed.  I also did some Christmas Shopping online - ran some loads of laundry - cleaned the kitchen.  Now I am trying to get back into work mode - Month End starts again tomorrow.  I need to get lots done on Monday and Tuesday because I have a Relief Society Xmas Dinner Wednesday at 630 that I really want to go to. 

Miss Chrissy wasn't feeling very good today - silly pup got into my cereal milk yesterday - - let's just say that dairy is not her friend.  She is sleeping right next to me on the couch right now while I write.  She looks so comfy - I think it means that it's time to head in to bed.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Have a great week.

De

Snowmageddon

Well this has been a very interesting week and it is only Tuesday night!! 

Why is it that Seattle and surrounding areas are never prepared for when it snows - not like it never snows here - and they knew this storm was coming, the City of Seattle decided yesterday morning that their schools were going to be let out early to try and get the kids home before the real snow hit.  But once again they were caught with their pants down and people were stuck everywhere. 

Here is how my Monday went -

• Got up early to head out and catch a bus at 630.  It was Day 1 of Payroll and I wanted to make sure I got in early so I could get a jump on everything.  The news was talking about snow and schools being late or closed.  I looked outside and there was no snow up here.
•  Got to my PR and there was a HUGE LONG line of people!  A small metro bus pulled up - not our usual accordion bus - the driver said they were on snow schedule and that this was just the shuttle down to the Transit Center and we would have to catch a bus from there into Seattle.  I thought at that time - Wow - they are really getting a jump on things and planning ahead of time. This should be better than a couple years ago.
• Got to work about 830 - bus ride was slow because they had on chains.  Got started on Payroll - I could hear everyone giving snow reports - I tried not to stress out.  A few people headed out around noon.  I stayed until just about 4 -  most everything I needed to get done for Day 1 - I headed out to catch the 554.
• Got to 2nd and Pine and waited for about 15 minutes for the bus.  When it got there - the bus driver announced that he would not be going up to the Highlands - we would have to catch a shuttle at the Transit Center.
• It was a very slow trip to Issaquah - got dropped off at the Transit Center at 4:45.  The wind was blowing - it was snowing - I was not dressed close to as warm as I needed to be - there were about 50 of us waiting for a shuttle to show up.  We waited there for an hour before one showed up.  I literally was 5 minutes away from deciding that Chrissy was going to have to fend for herself in the kitchen because I was going to go see if I could get a room at the Hilton Garden Inn across the way. 
• The trip up to the Highlands - normally a 5 - 10 minute drive - took an hour!!  I was starting to get very nervous about how I was going to get from the PR to home.  I was not looking forward to the possibility of having to walk the 3 miles in the snow.  I decided to just try it and see how close I could get to home.  I said a prayer - started the car - and headed out at a slow and steady pace.  Repeating over and over - Get Me Home Safe.  It went pretty well until I got to the front entrance to Klahanie - the cars that had gone on ahead of me had drivers that must not have ever driven in snow before!!  They were all following too close to each other up the small hills at the entrance - when the first car slowed down a bit the ones behind put on their brakes, slid, and weren't able to start back up the hill.  There weren't any cars exiting so me and a few others turned up that side of the road - we went one at a time - slow and stead - had not problems!  I made it home in one piece!  Yay Me!  Yay Ford Focus! 

 Day 1 of Snow came to an end!  Day 2 went pretty well - I think the few people at work that came in were surprised that I made it in.  The road to the PR this morning was actually not that bad - the longest part was the waiting for buses and the actual bus rides.  Got to work - submitted payroll by the 530 deadline - everyone should get paid on payday!  Headed on home - buses were still not running on regular schedules so I ended up waiting for just about 45 minutes for a bus out of Seattle and then 30 minutes for a bus up to the Highlands.  I am not sitting in my comfy chair right in front of the fireplace thawing out my toes! 

I think I've had enough of the snow - although - it was rather beautiful on the way through Klahanie this evening - the trees were white, it was very quiet, the moon was bright and just about full!  Awesome!

De

Relax - Cupcakes - Decorations

Relaxed . . . . . . . . that's what I feel tonight . . . . . . . I think I've gotten a handle on everything that needs to be done at work.  Now I am baking two different kinds of cupcakes for tomorrow's contest . . . . I think it's a good thing I am going to compete in the prettiest category!  I think I filled the cupcake liners a little too full - they didn't stay all puffed up and pretty - they kinda went a little flat.  I made a dozen mini cupcakes in each flavor too - bite size for the judges! - they look a little flat too.  Hopefully once I put the frosting on them they will look better.  I got some Mint M&Ms to put on top of the Chocolate Mint Cupcakes.  Keep your fingers crossed for tomorrow!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . . . . . . . Not even Thanksgiving yet and there a Christmas Trees up and lights in the trees.  It's like Thanksgiving isn't even a holiday anymore - it's just a day where go through the Black Friday Ads planning your your strategy to get all the best deals.  The dinner - just a way to really fuel up and give yourself sustenance for the long day ahead of you.  I remember when stores didn't put up any decorations until the day after Thanksgiving.  My sister worked at Lamonts one year and had to go in Thanksgiving night to help decorate the store. 

Now - don't get me wrong - I like the decorations - the lights in Seattle are really really pretty - but by the time Christmas comes around I have had enough of it all.  Warm 106.9 has even started their all Christmas Songs All Day programming - they used to not start this until the day after Thanksgiving and this year they started it on Nov 1st. 

I just miss October Halloween - November Thanksgiving - December Christmas.  This country has become so fixated on the almighty dollar and trying to make money - get deals - spend - spend - spend! 

What do you think . . . . .

Breathing Easier

Ahhh . . . . much better today.  I got to work a bit before 700 and was able to knock out 2 hours of work with no interruptions - I had forgotten how nice it is to get to the office before everyone else -I can get so much accomplished.  Thank goodness too because my top lip hurts from all the chewing yesterday! 

Monday I baked 3 types of cupcakes and brought them in to work for taste testing - Chocolate/Orange, Chocolate Mint, and Turtle Fudge . . . The Chocolate/Orange was the least favorite, the orange flavor wasn't strong enough - Chocolate Mint and Turtle Fudge tied so I am thinking I might just make them both and enter them both into the contest.  Depends on what time I get home tomorrow and how much energy I have.  You know me though - love to bake so I am sure I will have more than enough energy to do both.

My luck for picking winning teams is so not with me this year - Fantasy Team is in last place and I am the only owner who has no chance what so ever to make it in to the playoffs - My pick to win Survivor was voted off last week - The team I picked for Amazing Race was eliminated from the race on Sunday - if you're a team and you want to win - better check with me first to see if I've chosen you to win anything.

Miss Chrissy is being so cute right now - she is sacked out on the arm of the couch - I am going to try and move stealthily so I can grab my phone and take a picture - Shhhh . . . . . Stretch . . . . Oops, she moved - picked her head up - hold still and maybe she's lay back down. Got It!!  Let me email it to myself and then I'll post it here.

 

Isn't She So Cute!!

OK - Time for bed so I can get an early start again tomorrow - Company meeting in the morning so I will lose about an hour and a half of work time.

De

Breathing Lessons

Breathe In  . . . . Breathe Out . . . . Repeat . . . . . .

Stress!!  I am so stressed just thinking about everything that needs to be done in the next week that I gave myself heartburn today.  Gotta get all of my AP stuff done this week because Monday and Tuesday next week will be all payroll . . . . then next Wednesday I need to get any AP received on Mon and Tues entered so I can cut checks and get them out before Thanksgiving . . . . . and oh yeah . . . . . . Month End starts up right after Thanksgiving too . . . .

Breathe In . . Breathe Out . . Breathe In . . Breathe Out . . . . Don't Hyperventilate!!

Whenever I think about it I start to panic that I'm not going to get everything done . . . . then I get snappy and frustrated . . . . . then the heartburn hits!  The urge to scream comes in to my head . . . . I've started an annoying habit of chewing on my top lip!

Breathe In . Breathe Out . Breathe In . Breathe Out . . . . . . Don't Pass Out!

Dear Lord - Give me strength . . . patience . . . . calming thoughts . . . . . to help me make it through this next month.

Yes - Month - because as soon as we close out November I am going to have another payroll to process and I need to make sure my desk is covered when I go on vacation . . . . . .Ahhhhhhh . . . . stress!!!!!

BREATHE!!!!!!!

De