I've decided I'm in love with Zak Bagans of Ghost Adventures.  I'm not usually into extremely muscley dudes, but this guy makes me purr.


That is all.

I have a touch of the flu.  Not THE flu, mind you, but the flu nonetheless.  Which is ironic, because I was just telling a coworker that I noticed that I haven't had the flu since another coworker (Kim) transferred to another store.  Kim prided herself in never calling in sick, even though we all would have appreciated it if she did.  People shouldn't feel rewarded when the go into work sick.  Those people get people like me sick, and the flu is the last thing I want getting in my lungs.  I don't like sitting in the emergency room holding a nebulizer to my face for a couple of hours.

Anywho,  I started getting a little cough yesterday, and this morning when I woke up I noticed it was a little deeper in my chest.  Also, I fluctuated all day between sweaty and hot, and cold chills.  So since I had a doctor's appointment today anyway, for my skin, I told her I was worried about the cold.  She didn't like the sound of it, and put me on Tamiflu (and two new creams/ointments for my freaky skin thing...which is still a tad sensitive and sometimes itchy, but better).  She also told me, that with my asthma/sensitivity toward bronchitis (upon getting the flu) that although the H1N1 vaccine is a little hard to come by right now, she wants me to get it the second it's available.  And if my flu gets ANY worse, I have to call them immediately.

Oh, and the skin looks like it might be an eczema issue.  My mom remembered that my grandpa, Daddy Joe, had it all over his arms.  Lucky me.  Makes sense, though.  Sweat bothers my skin like crazy, too.

I don't want to cough anymore.  It tastes icky.  I'm glad I got the meds today.  I want to go to sleep, but 7:30 seems too early.  Well, technically it's almost 8.  I could take another flu med thing, and some Tylenol PM and maybe I can sleep straight through until 4 (that's when my body tells me it's time to pee.  LOL.)  It would be really cool to sleep a full 8 hours.  Or even a full 6 hours.  I came pretty close last night!  I didn't wake up scratching and stuff.  I'm sure glad I have medical benefits.  I'm also glad that I don't have big financial issues anymore to stress me out while I'm worrying about my health and stuff.

I really don't want to cough anymore.  :(

Literally.

The random itchy/scratching until it bleeds and looks like a burn thing is happening again.  So I cover the area with gauze, but then the adhesive from the tape irritates my skin worse, so the scratching spreads further out...let's just say that I've wrapped my arms so much that at work, I look like I'm wearing white 3/4 sleeves under my short-sleeve work shirt.  I made an appointment with my doctor, but she couldn't see me until November.  Then I asked the chick making the appointment what I should do in the meantime, since it itches so much that I scratch it until it bleeds, then I have raw sking that weeps for almost two days.  If I can manage to leave it alone during that time, until it dries out, then it gets itchy during the drying/flaking process.  I cannot express how good it feels to scratch it, but afterward it hurts so much and I hate that I can't make myself stop.  The nurse on the phone was literally not much help at all.  Putting hydrocortizone on it burns, and I can't put neosporin on my skin for extended periods of time...which I discovered last year with my gimp toe issue...neosporin = flesh comes off.  She bumped my appointment a week earlier.  Still doesn't help me now.

Well, the last two days have been pure hell.  I've started literally itching all over.  My cheeks, boobs, back, ears, legs, the wonderfully healed gimp toe, everywhere.  Also I've been feeling run down, like I'm fighting an infection.  So finally today I couldn't take it anymore.  I asked Edna if she knew of any Urgentcare places in Puyallup (where I work) and she sent me to a family practice doctor right around the corner from my work that takes walk-ins and is open on Sundays for a while. 

I finally had medical personnel to whine to, and it felt so good to be talking to people who wanted to help me and were ready to do it right then.  They prescribed me prednisone for the itching, a sulfur-based atibiotic for infection, and this wonderful ointment that takes away all sensitivity and dryness on the rash called triamcinolone.  My arms don't feel like they're on fire anymore, thanks to the ointment.  By this time tomorrow the swelling should be down, I'll be able to see the tendons when I bend my wrists again, and I should have my old energy back thanks to the antibiotic.  And about a half hour ago I got really really warm, then suddenly cool (like a fever had broken, but I didn't have a fever) and the itchiness in my cheeks is turning to a slight tingle...hopefully that'll be gone when I wake up in the morning for work.  Then tomorrow will probably be the most productive day in about 4 days.  My back still itches, though...which frustrates me because I can't reach it.  So that's probably a good thing.  Ooops, nevermind...I just managed to get my hands on a plastic knife.

Now, the only thing that really itches on my arms is where the tape is touching, but hopefully in about a day or two I can stop taping the gauze pads, then wrapping it...and just wrap it.  I'm just happy that I put medicine on my arms, and wrapped them, without stinging, burning, itching, and no itchy or painful side effects.

I'm thanking Edna tomorrow for sending me to that doctor, and I think I'm switching from my old doctor to this new one.  I'm not saying my old doctor should be at my beck-and-call, but this new place is close to my work, and takes walk-ins.  Mostly, it means a lot to me that they helped me when I needed it.

Man, I hope the itching is completely gone by the time I wake up.

Pilfered from i 's LJ:

In 2005, a woman named Jamie Leigh Jones was working for US defense contractor KBR (which at the time was owned by Halliburton). She was sent to Iraq, where she shared a barracks with 400 men. Over the course of her stay, she was drugged and gang-raped. When she attempted to report the crime, she was, under the orders of KBR employees, imprisoned in a shipping container where she was denied food, water, and medical treatment. She was only released due to the efforts of her father back in America.

When she was finally returned to the United States, she attempted to bring a lawsuit against KBR. She found that she could not do so because her contract specifically stipulated that any allegations of sexual assault had to be heard in private arbitration. This was apparently a frequent enough problem that it was, staggeringly enough, actually a standard boilerplate in their contracts.

Yesterday, Senator Al Franken introduced an amendment to the FY2010 Defense Appropriations Bill. Put simply, the amendment would prevent federal money from going to any company that had such a clause in their employee contracts.

This amendment would seem to be a no-brainer. It says nothing about taking any action against KBR or Halliburton; it says only that if a company attempts to conceal allegations of rape, our country will not respond by giving them money. Indeed, the amendment passed handily. However, the following 30 men voted against it:

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
John Barrasso (R-WY)
Kit Bond (R-MO)
Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
John Ensign (R-NV)
Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
James Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
John McCain (R-AZ)   <~~~~~ And he could have been our president!
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
James Risch (R-ID)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Thune (R-SD)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Roger Wicker (R-MS)

Of these 30 men, the following are up for reelection in 2010:

Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John McCain (R-AZ)
John Thune (R-SD)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Richard Burr (R-NC)

Hmm...Republicans.

I'm feeling Christmasy tonight, and I don't know why.

I think it started with Sarah McLachlan's Song For A Winter's Night.  It got stuck in my head this morning, and so now I'm listening to my Chrimmus playlist...also, it's cold here.  And I had to scrape my car yesterday morning.

I found this on AOL.com when I was checking my email.  (My responses/thoughts are in red.)


1. I could care less
What you think it means: "I couldn't care less."  <~~~  I say this one.
What it actually means: You actually do care. 

2. It begs the question
Would you think it means: To ask or raise a question  <~~~  I always figured it meant this, but it's not a phrase I use.
What it actually means: To use an argument that assumes as proved the very thing one is trying to prove.

3. Let's table this
What you think it means: To discuss something later  <~~~  I never thought about it, I thought the saying was, "Let's shelve this."  LOL
What it actually means: This is tricky, because in the United States, it means what you think it does. But it means the exact opposite -- "let's discuss this right now" -- in most of the rest of the English-speaking world. Best not to be used in any international setting.

4. I did a 360  
What you think it means: Completely changing your opinion.
What it actually means: Your opinion changed, but then changed back to your original opinion.  <~~~ This makes me giggle.

5. PIN number
What you think it means: A non-repetitive way to refer to your personal identification number
What it actually means: That you're being redundant. Especially when you use your PIN number at the ATM machine.  (Duh.)

6. Lion's share 
What you think it means: The greatest of multiple shares  <~~~Also not a phrase I use...I don't recall ever hearing it, actually.
What it actually means: You're not technically incorrect, because, over time this has become one of the phrase's definitions. But the phrase originally comes from an Aesop's Fable in which the lion took all -- not the largest -- of the shares. Because that's what lions tend to do.

7. The exception that proves the rule
What you think it means: Any counterexample to a rule proves the rule. For example, if you said you only date blondes, but somebody pointed out the time you dated a brunette, you might say that it is "the exception that proves the rule." This popular usage makes no sense at all.
What it actually means: The idiom actually does make sense -- but you have to think about it along the lines of the exception proves that a rule exists. For example," No parking on Saturdays" would mean that you can park in the spot any other day of the week.  <~~~  I agree that the idiom actually makes sense the way it is, and that it's just used wrong, like in the blond example.  I think if someone states that they only dates blondes, and then they dated a brunette, they should say the brunette is the exception to the rule, not the exception that proves the rule.

8. I am nauseous.   <~~~I totally say this, fully aware of what it technically means.  On rare occasions I've said "I feel nauseated" but it's not a phrase I grew up hearing.
What you think it means: I have a sick feeling in my stomach.
What it actually means: It depends. Prior to World War II, you'd have been clearly saying, "I make other people sick," and the correct term would have been "I am nauseated." However, over time, the usage has shifted to the point that many language experts have deemed "I am nauseous" as an acceptable explanation of your own queasiness. Just be careful using that term around the old folks' home.

I'm going to Texas.  I woke up Thursday at 1 am, crying, thinking, "I have her name, I should be there."  So I'm going.  It doesn't make sense not to.  I can move money around, since I have money to move around now, and just go.  I'm glad I'm going.

Jey (boss) stressed me out almost immediately.  He was off Thursday morning, so I called Lake Tapps to see if they had anyone interested in covering for me, and I called Kent to see if they had anyone.  Basically, Kent can cover Sunday, and Lake Tapps can cover Tuesday and Wednesday. So I called Jey and let him know that I'm going to Texas on Sunday for the funeral on Monday, flying back Tuesday, and that I wanted Wednesday off to sleep, etc.  I let him know who was available when, and that he needed to call them ASAP because they needed to get their schedules turned in, too.  He said he'd be in later that day to do it, but by 2 pm he hadn't shown up.  I went home and got plane tickets anyway, contacted my insurance company to make sure my car insurance covered rental cars (which it does) and let the vet know I'd be dropping Elliott off Saturday (in a couple of hours, as a matter of fact) to be boarded.

I went in Friday morning to find him doing the schedule, he said he'd had a bad day the day before and he came in early to do the scedule.  It gets frustrating, his lack of planning...but to be fair, he lost his uncle that day =( 

Yesterday was interesting.  Gloria shows up for work, and Deb goes on lunch.  Gloria came over to me and asked me if I'd seen the small donut signs she made for the ad, since they weren't in the case. 

I replied, "You know Deb doesn't put those out.  She thinks that the '12 for $6' sign is enough to tell the customer that individually they're 50 cents each.  I even had a lady ask me what the donut prices were, and I told her they're 50 cents each and then after she left Deb went off about how obvious it should be, and I told her that just because something is priced per dozen doesn't mean that individually they're on ad, too.  So actually it isn't obvious at all.  Then Deb told me that she wasn't going to put a bunch of signs out just so they'd get messy and dirty."

And Gloria said, "I wasted 45 minutes making friggin signs just so they could be thrown away?"  I understand her frustration.

Later, Gloria asked Deb about the signs [I swear, this is so stupid] and Deb told Gloria that the 12 for $6 signs are obvious enough.  And Gloria asked if Deb knew what happened to the smaller signs that she made, and Deb lied to Glo and actually told her that Dave Sehome came through and threw all the signs away, saying they looked trashy.  I shit you not, she actually tried to play the district manager card.  Then Deb proceeded to make Glo feel horrible, say mean things to her, all with this friggin lie "backing her up". 

I told Glo, "I swear to God.  Those signs were never put out.  You know how she is about those signs, and Dave never speaks to us anyway."  Deb spent the next hour or so making Glo feel horrible by saying mean things to her and making snide comments, and even made some backstabbing comment at one point, which didn't make any sense to me.  So later on, Jey asked Glo what was wrong and Glo tried to explain that she wasted her time making signs, but I don't think she mentioned what Deb was doing.  So I went around the corner, and told Jey that Deb was going to go to him and tell him that Dave didn't want the signs out there, but that it was total bullshit, the signs never went out and Deb just didn't want them out there.  So, Deb did just that...she went to Jey telling him that Dave didn't want the signs out in the case.  Well, funny thing, right about that time, Dave and Ron come walking by...and just as Jey was standing near me, and Deb was telling Jey all about it, I said, "Hey, they're here now, just ask him and resolve it once and for all!"  Deb turned white and walked away.

So Jey followed Dave and Ron to the front of the store, asked them about the signs, called Gloria back and told her that Ron said Dave never said anything about any donut signs and to go ahead and make them and he'd put them out.  Glo gets off the phone, I happened to be standing right there, Deb came over and Glo said, "Okay, Jey said that Dave never said anything about signs, and that they do want the small donut signs in the case as well."  And Deb started to state that Dave and Ron were lying, and that's not what they told her, when I lost my shit and finally said, "Deb!  The signs were never put in the case!  Dave never said anything aobut the signs, because they were never even put out!"  She stopped talking and walked away.

I thought for sure she wouldn't talk to me anymore, but she was actually super nice after that.  My car wasn't keyed when I got off work or anything.  I sort of feel bad for blurting it out, but I got pissed.  Why couldn't she just say that she doesn't like them?  They're just stupid signs, for crying out loud!  I don't understand why she lies the way she does.  I think she does it to make people like her or something.  I like her, but I don't trust her.  She reminds me of that saying, "A person who would gossip to you, would gossip about you."  She said such mean things to Gloria, made her feel terrible, and it was all so that she wouldn't have to tell the truth about stupid-ass donut signs.

I'm totally not spellchecking this.

My gum must have clotted well, 'cause there was no blood this morning (I didn't even drool blood on the pillow like everyone said I would).  My face hurts, though...and I've had a headache most of the day.  I can't open my mouth very wide, which I think is because of having to keep it open for so long while they worked on it.  Tongue is still sore, and my lip is swollen from it splitting.  My jaw isn't so swollen, though.


My Aunt Nancy died this morning.  My mom is leaving for Texas in the morning, and my Aunt Dana will join her shortly thereafter.  I'm opting to stay home, cause after the cost of a $600 plane ticket, boarding my cat, and other expenses, I'd be looking at upwards of about $1000.  Which I can't afford.  I have upcoming dental work to pay for, and other medical stuff.  I'm really glad I got to see her this summer.  I'd rather my last memories of her being of her talking and joking rather than a funeral.  I despise funerals. 

I wonder if the world can feel when it's lost someone so special.

Vicodin: good.  Nicked tounge: annoying.

Tooth came out in a couple of pieces, and i have 2 sutures.  I have a dull pain in the tooth area, probably would be worse if I didn't have the vicodin.  I'm also on amoxicillin, just in case.

I've been diligent about flossing since my cleaning/check-up/x-rays/filling repair last Thursday.  I figure, with minimal effort on my part, I woulnd't have had the issue with the tooth being pulled now, so I floss a couple times a day now.  This morning, there was no blood after flossing, yay!

I don't want to whine about the tooth, or pain, or worry about making sure i don't screw up the clot...so I'll just remind myself that having dental insurance, and the financial means to be able to pay for it makes me lucky.  And I'm grateful.

Anywho, back to my cold compress and foraging for something liquid to eat.

I have to get a tooth pulled in 2 hours.  I'm hoping they'll prescribe me some really good pain meds, cause all I want to do is sleep until Wednesday.

I'm so unhappy these days.  I don't even feel like blog/whining about it.

A product that has a baby bib snapping onto the onesie, eliminating the need to tie a bib around a baby's neck.  I think this is actually super cool...though there are occasions where you'll need a bib anyway, in case baby isn't wearing one of the onesies that snap onto the bib.  But I still like the idea: 



~~~~~

Plush microbes, anyone?  I originally found this in yourradiogeek 's blog, but needed to post it here:

 

Aww, come on...who wouldn't want a stuffed mange for baby to play with???

~~~~~

Cool baby clothes, anybody?

   


Okay...I need to go find something constructive to do with my time.

Sheer Cover:

I'm a sucker for those infomercials you see on tv, advertising things nobody really ever needs.  Usually I can withstand the temptation, but I've been wanting to try mineral makeup for a while now, so I caved in.  I paid $30 for a makeup kit, and got this tiny little amount of makeup I was not at all impressed with.  I mean, there was a nice variety, but the amounts were so not worth $30...so I've been meaning to close the account before they sent me another shipment of makeup.  I hardly ever wear makeup anyway, except on 1st dates, if I know I'm going to get my picture taken, or at a fancy event. 

Flash forward to today, when I hop on line to pay my credit card balance and I see that there was a $97 charge from Sheer Cover!  What the what?!?!?  I get on the customer service hotline, where I'm greeted with an automated service that tells me to tell them what I'm calling about so they can better assist me.  I say, "close my account," and the machine-woman says, "okay, please hold while I transfer you to an agent,"  Then after a couple of seconds, machine-woman says, "I'm sorry, we're unable to assist you at this time." And promptly hangs up on me. 

I didn't get an email or anything about any additional charge, and can't imagine what the extra $97 is for, so I call the 800 number again, and this time just press '0' when machine-woman starts her speal.  She asks me to state why I'm calling again, and I just say, "representative" and so it transfers me.  The representative I talked to was nice, she asked the usual questions; why did I wish to close my account, can we better assist you by expanding your delivery dates, etc.  I learned that the original makeup sent to me was a trial offer, and that the $97 makeup was the real kit.  I swear, I don't recall seeing that anywhere on the web site.  It stated the whole fancy schmancy kit was $30.  I would never spend $100 on makeup...not all at once anyway!  The fact is, I don't wear a lot of makeup so I don't want a continuous supply being sent to me(I haven't even tried what they originally sent me).  And frankly, I was pissed about the additional charge for the "real" kit.  It just came off as so shady that I didn't want to give them my money.  Also, the card I used for the makeup was the card I maxed-out going back to Texas, and although it has a small limit, the makeup put it over and I just don't appreciate not knowing in advance that was going to happen. 

So I canceled the account, and got a return number for when the makeup gets here, so I can just return it right away and get that money credited back to my card.  In all fairness, the customer service person was plenty helpful and not pushy, but I would have appreciated an email telling me about the additional charge, I would appreciate that they state on the website, before you spend any money, that the $30 kit isn't the real kit and be prepared to spend $100 more, and they seriously need to make sure machine-woman doesn't hang up on people.

Oh, and I did call my credit card company to make sure that wouldn't effect my interest rate, and it won't.


Okay, next rant:

Alaska Airlines:

On August 3rd, we (my parents and I) took off for the airport with our final destination being the Lockett Family Reunion in Vernon, Texas.  But first, we had to check our luggage in SeaTac.  So we went through the baggage thingy, checked our luggage, discussed with the lady in line in front of us how ridiculous it is that they're charging $15 per bag for checked luggage.  I mean honestly, a person should be allowed at least one checked bag free of charge, OF COURSE we're going to travel with luggage, and some of us aren't on a business trip that will require a small bag that will work as a carry on.  The lady in front of us commented on how you have to put things like your hairspray in checked luggage, so you can't have a carry-on even if you could have fit all your stuff in it, and she stated that one time she just bought hairspray in California, and left it in the hotel 'cause it was cheaper than paying $15 to check her bag for just hairspray.  Anywho, we're talking amongst ourselves about the ridiculousness of the situation, but nothing too bitchy, and we're not complaining to the guy checking our luggage because it's not his fault-he just works there.  We pay the $45 total, and go about the business of the metal detectors, which always take us a little longer because my mom has had knee replacement and her knee always sets off the detectors.  So we know in advance that she's going to get searched and we have no issues with it.  Safety first and all that.  We get to the airport well in advance and don't stress about it.  We even have a system, she goes first because she's going to get wanded, and we follow up and gather her things so they're ready for her when she's done.  Also, my mom over packs her backpack every  time so they usually search that by hand.  We get ourselves together, and get on our way.  We have a wonderful time visiting family and are sad when our vacation must come to an end. 

At the airport in Dallas, we go to check our luggage when we're told by the lady working there that because we booked our flights in February, before Alaska Airlines enacted their paying for checked luggage policy, that there was no charge for our checked luggage.  So we told her that in Seattle they charged us, and she told us to go to baggage customer service for Alaska when we get back to Seattle and let them know so they can refund us.  We thanked her kindly and were on our way.

Back in Seattle, Dad and I go to retrieve our luggage, and my mom takes our luggage tag thingies and heads to customer service.  Come to find out, the guy that checked our luggage made a note on our  account that there was no charge.  When my mom initially asked about a receipt, he stated that the bar code on the back of our luggage tag was the receipt and had all the information.  So basically, he charged us, made a note that there was no charge, and pocketed the $45.  I can't help but wonder how many other people he had done that to.  We talked to the customer service manager, basically let them know what was going on, that we didn't care about the $45 so much as making sure that person would never do that again, and that his actions really made Alaska look bad.  They were really very understanding and we got the impression that they knew who the person was.  I remember exactly what he looked like, but I didn't get his name and he wasn't working the day we got back to Seattle.  The manager gave us a number to call about the situation, and when my mother got home she called it immediately...they gave her $150 in Alaska Airlines credit for the $45 stolen from us.  Which was really cool, considering my mother will have to travel back to Texas soon as it is. 

Okay, so my ranting wasn't so much a rant as it was a recount of frustrating situations that changed for the better.

I don't usually go to cake wrecks very often. 

But today I checked it out...actually, I was looking for kitten clipart or kitten figure piping to use as a reference for a cake for tomorrow, and I managed to stumble across cakewrecks and was quickly reminded of something:

I'm a good cake decorator.

:)

She is a harsh mistress.  Today she wanted me to sleep all afternoon, and I acquiesced...at least until 5:30 when she wanted me to wake up and eat a dinner that included a mashed potato side dish.  Then she wanted Ding Dongs.  Always with the Ding Dongs.  Now she wants to enjoy a Snickers bar (fun size!) while watching the Medusa thing on the History channel that starts in a half hour. 

I still wish I had wine.

Oh!  While I was getting Ding Dongs at QFC, I saw reusable Seahawks shopping bags!  I'm gonna get Edna one, she'll love that.

...but I managed to keep control over my work irritation.  The floor was gutted today when I went in, which didn't really surprise me, but it did make me wish I'd worked harder yesterday.  D was back, and coincidentally so were copious amounts of samples.  I forget how G hates putting out samples and only puts them out when she's told to by management.

I was swamped with work today, but stayed in a surprisingly good mood.  Could be partly due to my recent windfall...which I may blog about in a FO post, or I may not.  I think it's also due to a nice email I got this morning. 

So I went into work at 5:30, pulled cakes from the freezer, pulled single-serve and backstock cakes, too.  Did inventory, spent way to much time on the computer because after I changed the page breaks to what works best for the cake decorator's PMG, I hit print, got up to switch over the paper cartridge to legal and then the printer jammed.  So I opened the back of the printer (I've never messed with the inner workings of the printer before, but I refuse to let a machine confuse me) and removed the jammed paper.  Hit print again, and the paper was also jammed in the front area too.  So I opened up the front, took out something that I think holds ink and stuff and removed that paper.  Hit print again and it would only accept letter paper, and would only partially print my PMG on what would fit on the smaller paper.  LOL.  Heavy sigh, and I was back at the computer again, in the properties thingy and changing it in there to print on legal (it's usually automatic) and went ahead and had it print from the legal-sized paper cartridge so I wouldn't have to switch anything around and finally got my darned PMG printed. 

Went back to the bakery, finished putting out the freezer stuff that had to be cut up and decorated, did some (but not all that I wanted or needed) of the cake slices and finally had no choice but to start my cake orders 'cause it was 8 am and my first order was due at 9.  But first I ran to the coffee shop and got coffee.  I did 9 cake orders, some brownies, some table 8" cakes and a quarter sheet and I finally had to stop myself so I'd have time to clean.  There was not a chance in hell I was going to leave J all of those bags to clean.  I just wish I'd gotten more done, at least the carrot/germans, chocolate cream pies and strawberry bostons.  I'd feel better about today if I had gotten those done, too.  I got a 1/4 sheet order for tomorrow done, but I just realized that there's a little cupcake order due at 8:30 am and I meant to do that one, too.  Not that J can't do it, but she's so close to making baby happen that one never can be too prepared!

I get frustrated with days where every second is filled up like that, I kept telling myself I was off at 1...then at 12:30 I realized that I didn't get the chance to take lunch and I was technically off.  I cleaned bags, dumped the icing, and stuff...but got frustrated (my only frustration of the day!) when almost immediately after I realized that I was off, and I told G about it, she left the bakery to walk D out for about 10-12 minutes.  Now, I know it's just 10 minutes, but when you're already cutting into your own personal time and rushing to get your job done, it's just irritating.  I got over it, though, so I'm hoping she couldn't sense my irritation.  I may not appreciate her planning, but my planning interfered there, too.

Oh...I forgot, that wasn't my only irritation.  I was also irritated to see that the orders for copyrighted cake kits taken by A all have their backgrounds changed.  I need to ask if someone told her it was okay to do that, before I remind her that it's not okay to do that.  I think I'll change everyone's names to letters real quick...

Now I'm patiently waiting for Dad to go to bed, so I can get my True Blood on.  I'm also totally craving wine. 

The Starkenberger beer pool.  You can rent one of their old fermenting pools for two hours, and swim in beer!  I think that's awesome!  If you choose the Plus package, it includes beer (to drink) and crackers and some kind of meat spread. 




I just think swimming in beer in a castle in Austria would rock. 

Okay, I love the show...but anyone who says they have a "budget" of $400,000 to $450,000 shouldn't be able to call it a "budget". 

I swear, any time my mother wants to organize the grandkids, it ends up being a circus.  I was sorting through photos today, to put on a cd to take to Texas and came across this gem from the 4th of July:

( Pic behind the cut... )

Um...we reached record highs today...and air conditioners aren't standard in cars/homes in Western Washington.  Everyone is sold out of air conditioners, and everyone who bought those air conditioners took them home and turned them on.  Long story short:  we lost power today.  On the hottest day EVER in Western Washington, we lost power.  A grid must have gone out, 'cause the outage lasted clear into Lakewood.  Mom and I decided to go to the movies, but the Regal had lost power, so we drove to Lakewood.  It was looking like we might be out of luck, but right around Lakewood Town Center the streetlights were on.

So we went and saw The Proposal, frigging hilarious, I especially liked the part where Sandra Bullock was singing/dancing "Get Low" by Lil John and the Eastside Boys.

The power was back on by the time we got home, so I'm currently waiting for my sheets to get done going through the rinse cycle, 'cause at least sleeping with damp sheets and a fan on me will cool me down.

If I ever win the lottery, know what one of my intended indulgences would be?

Buying every book I ever loved in hardback. 

=)