Big fat fun ol' Monday

Monday is not my favorite day of the week. I hold that place of honor for Saturday for all of the obvious reasons.
A typical Monday morning starts with me lying in my warm comfy bed talking to myself. Somehow during the night my subconscious has convinced the rest of my brain that the sky will probably fall on us as soon as we slip a foot out from under the covers. So I have to talk myself down off the ledge and out of the bed and into the shower. Usually by the time I'm scrubbed and dressed and have downed a cup of coffee I'm good to go and the feeling of impending doom has receded to the back of my head until next Monday morning.

Today started out better than the average Monday. Beautiful bright sunlight streamed into my house and I woke up feeling all chipper and - believe it or not -happy. I went about my getting ready for work routine and sat down at the computer to check email and visit the usual places that I like to visit while I drink another cup of coffee and then head out the door.
I bopped on over to my online banking to see if the money fairies loved me and had granted me good fortune and....
MAJOR FREEK OUT!!!
not only was the account empty... it was showing negative numbers. Oh. My. God.
Where did the money go?
I made a night drop deposit Friday night which was there Saturday morning when I checked. I'm paranoid - and evidently for good reason.
My fingers were a blur with my extreme dialing and I tried not to scream at the friendly woman who answered the phone after a ten minute wait in which I was hyperventilating...

Just as this friendly helpful lady picked up to aid me in my distress, I saw my evil escapee dogs run past the french doors on their way to wreak havoc on the neighbor's livestock. Evil damn dogs!
So the helpful lady agreed to wait for me to run out and yell something to the effect that I hope the evil damn dogs get what's comin' to 'em and I'm gonna kick their butts and, and, and...
It doesn't do any good to go outside and chase them because they think it's fun. They're evil, I tell ya.

Forget the stupid dogs they'll come home when they realize it's really not any more fun over there than over here.
The helpful lady dug right in and found that whoever ran the deposit Saturday noticed a 3 cent discrepancy, so deleted and redeposited, but to the wrong account. WTF?
Did I mention the $100 in overdraft fees? No? Well...
I was assured that would go away immediately. (it did)

Okay then. Calm has returned. So did the dogs. Happy and proud, and all I can do is tell them how good they are for coming home when I want to kick their butts up to their ears like I always promise to but never do.

So.... you thought I was done?  hah!

So I went to work. It's a happy morning once again.

Yay! the cute little lightly used wallet sized external hard drives I purchased on ebay have finally arrived.
I buy a lot of stuff on Ebay and have very good luck with it. This particular purchase was starting to make me anxious though.
I emailed a couple of days after paying and asked if the items had been shipped. It took the seller a while to get back to me, but the woman sent a tracking number and assured me my package had been shipped the day before.
Excellent! except for the fact that whatever she shipped under that tracking number was delivered next day air to Austin Texas. Far far away from me.
Hmmm... perhaps there's been a mistake somewhere there maybe perhaps, ya think?
I emailed to ask for a correct tracking number. No response. I emailed again the next day and expressed my concern. No response. I emailed AGAIN the next day. Same.
Today... a week later, the package arrived.  The drives seem to be okay despite the fact they were dumped into a padded envelope and sent first class mail with no cushiony wrapping and no tracking or insurance. (you've GOT to be kidding me, they were supposed to have shipped UPS)
I'm happy to have them. I'm happy they work. I called dibs on the cute red one.

Should have claimed the black one though, cuz it's the one with all the porn still on it.

Another email.
This time I got a response. It would seem that the woman had to leave town (evidently there is no internet access where she went)  and the husband was left in charge of sending out the package. He was supposed to delete everything from the hard drives.
He is a big huge FAIL.
She's very sorry. She offered me my money back and I can return the hard drives.
Fat chance lady. Your feedback is toast. "Seller doesn't communicate well, lied about shipping, sent porn."

It would be hilarious if the questionable content is actually a personal video that she would really REALLY like to get back.
Not to worry, lady, I have no interest in watching it to see if it's worth exploiting. Since she most likely doesn't read this blog and realize that it's harmless me who holds her future as a porn star in the palm of my hand... I'll let her sweat for a day or so.
I'm out of town where I can't respond to emails... yeah... that's it.

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.

When I was a little girl I remember part of a movie that I watched on a Saturday afternoon, back when there were only three channels and they showed old movies on Saturday afternoon.
I don't remember the name of the movie - seems like it was Hercules and the Mole People or something like that. The only part I really remember was when some girl wearing a scanty little loin cloth thing was shackled to a wall and left to wait there for the sun to come streaming through a cleft in the rock and fry her. Evidently the mole people spent so much time underground, the sun was their enemy and would burn them up, kind of like it does vampires. Only she wasn't a vampire, and I think she got rescued so there was no frying.

When I woke up this morning I felt just like one of those mole people. What was that scary brightness that was invading my house? It was creeping across the floor and almost got on my skin. God forbid that actual sunlight should touch my pasty whiteness...

Yes, it was the sun. It was gorgeous. It was wonderful! It was almost warm. I remember it well and hope that it comes back to visit me often.

In celebration I took its picture... just in case I don't see it for a while and forget what it looks like.

This is the view from my bedroom window. So when I am crying and whining about the snow you can see that it's legit, but don't feel too sorry for me... it's truly a lovely view.

Little simple things can make my heart so happy

Saturday morning.
7 am to be exact.
Dead asleep, face down in my pillow.
Strange beeping noises coming from my phone on the nightstand.
Someone is texting me.
Really? At seven in the morning on a Saturday, my day for guilt free sleeping in?
Yes.
It might be serious. Maybe someone is ill.
Or it might be someone sending to a wrong number.
Better take a look.
Maybe if I don't open my eyes all the way, I can go back to sleep.
It was:

From my dear friend Cyntea, whom I haven't talked to in AGES.
Opened both eyes all the way - the better to send an answer.
Definitely worth waking up too early for.
I love you too.

Even though this winter weather makes me want to hide in my bed until April, I do leave the house once in a while

My new 'puter is wonderful and we've been getting acquainted this past couple of weeks. I'd been hearing good things about Windows 7 and so far I have to agree.
It's zippy and fast and I kiss it on it's little monitor every night before I go to bed.

I found a new favorite place to eat last week. Actually, it's my new favorite place in Logan, because I still consider El Parral to be my go to place.
I needed to drive over the hill to the big city to The Home Depot and since we were there we went to The Walmart and the Deseret Industries and the Cheese Plant. It's a very good day if you can get to the DI and the cheese plant (home of super cheap cheese butts) all in the same trip.
After all of our adventures in spending, MSG - my passenger and fellow DI enthusiast - suggested that we try the new Barbecue place - Smokin' Blues - over on the other end of town.

I wasn't overjoyed at the thought of driving clear to the other end of town. That would take, like, fifteen minutes or so and it looks like it might start to snow again and it's dark, and these people don't know how to drive.... whine whine whine.
I was glad I sucked it up. The place is brand new and it was packed. But I am willing to wait for good bbq and LIVE MUSIC!
Yes indeed, they had a live blues band setting up just as we were being seated so we asked to be right up by the band. These guys were good.
The food was good. Beef ribs, pulled pork with Carolina sauce that's  good enough to eat with a spoon right out of the bottle, sweet potato fries, apple crisp and 99 different kinds of root beer.
That's why this is my new favorite place in Logan.

My favorite quote of the week:
Ben's little Dani looking out the window after getting up Monday morning said,
"Why is it always white when I wake up?"
Yeah... I guess she's a little tired of winter too.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Be very very quiet.

My computer will be here tomorrow.

I don't dare say it too loud, because that will put a curse on things and something will go wrong.

Like?

The Fedex truck could get hit by a train and catch fire and burn up my computer. I know there would be other people's packages on there, but I don't care about them.

MSG's computer will also be delivered tomorrow. Yeah, he's a copy cat. My PC is more awesome that his.

His computer is coming on UPS.

What if the UPS truck and the Fedex truck arrive at the same time and crash into each other and catch fire and burn up both of our computers?

It could happen.

A little Sunday random stream of thoughtlessness

There's lovely lovely sunlight streaming into my house today. Somehow, even though it's still hovering around the negative numbers out there the bright sunny day makes it seem warmer. Love it!

The downside to all this light inside my house...
I can see all the dog hair and dust. Crap. Now I have to do some cleaning. Yes, I've known all along that it's there, but if I can't see the dirt it doesn't really exist.
Guess I'll be spending some time with Mr. Dyson this afternoon.

If you heard the faint sound of a heavenly chorus singing last Thursday, then you already know that I found and purchased a new computer.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that I become obsessed when I am on the hunt. I check all the sale sites - dealnews.com is my fav - several times a day and I research everything TO DEATH to know exactly what I want and what it means when it has 2.6 GHz and 4G of ram and the difference between a dual core and a quad core and whether it has the updated or onboard video card and how much of any of that is really necessary for my needs. And if the evil Vista is on board - we hear the sound of the disqualification buzzer.
(JT even offered to help me build my own totally awesome system, but I only have a two dollar budget, so don't know if that was a possibility.)

I apologize in advance for the fact that you will still be subjected to reading about my computer anxiety for at least a few more days because it won't be here until Wednesday.
Wednesday, the glorious day that I will carry a NEW pc home in its wonderful sparkly NEW computer box and I won't have to schlep it back to the shop the next morning.

Nothing impresses a customer quite like having to tell them,
"Hi! you're a little bit early this morning, so if you can give me a minute to run out to my car and get my computer and hook it up and boot it up I'll be happy to process your credit card so that you can pay for your order."

It's funny how having set hours of business doesn't really matter to people. Maybe they don't realize that this ain't Walmart.
I don't officially open my doors to public abuse until 10 am. Those have been my hours of operation for the past 10 years. Sometimes if I need to accommodate someone I can be flexible. If you must pick it up at 9 I can be here for ya. That's just the kind of girl I am, donchaknow. I'll even stay past 6 to help ya out if need be. But don't call at 6 am and leave a message of surprise that I'm not at work at that ungodly time of the day. And don't show up at 9:00 and pace back and forth frothing at the mouth and muttering about banker's hours while you wait for me to unload my car and set down the armload of work that I took home to do at night in my off hours.
"Boy, maybe I should start my own business, then I can just work when I feel like it and come in when I feel like it and...." yeah, buddy... you do that.
Then I can call YOU and expect you to drop whatever you are doing and bump me to the top of the list and, oh yeah, I'm gonna need you to do that on Saturday because that's the only day that works for me.

That's right. I work banker's hours. And if you show up at my door before we open and you're silly enough to sit and wait for me to arrive... you better pray I've had some coffee at home before I came.

Unlike the folks at the bank, however, when I arrive half an hour before I open so that I can make some coffee and take a look at my to-do list, if you are sitting outside my door I will let you in. Even though I don't really have to. (and don't really want to)

The folks at the bank will totally ignore your sorry self. Not one MINUTE before opening, buster. Not one minute.
The kidnappers said to have the bag full O money at the dropoff by 9:00? Too freekin' bad. You never really liked that particular child all that much anyway.

The beginning of the year and all that happy stuff

As much as I love the holidays and the extended time off from work, I'm pretty darned happy when all the fa-la-la-la-la is over.
I like the start of the new year. I know that it's really not any different than any other time, not really, but in my little noggin I'm all primed for a clean new slate and filled with a sense of renewal.

I always choose a theme for the new year. Not so much a resolution as a direction that I want to go with my life. I'm still working on my theme for the year. I know what I want to do, just need to figure out the right verbiage. Kind of like writing my mission statement for the year. I'll report back when I get it figured out.

Me and the girls will be back to Game On at the end of the week. I can't wait. We took the month of December off so that we could indulge in holiday goodies and not stress about trying to stay on a fairly strict eating regimen. But now it's time to get back in the groove and start dropping some pounds and getting some exercise. And drinking water.
It's gonna be spring in a couple of months and if I sit here like a spud for all that time and don't do anything to be healthier and skinnier... well, I'm gonna be hatin' that. Best to get moving now.

Finally... FINALLY the mexican restaurant next door has re-opened and we are able to once again observe Cheese Day on Tuesday. No, it's not an official holiday, but it should be. It's the one day a week that I eat out and the food is hot and cheesy and completely wonderful.
Today's lunch was on the house because we have done alot of stuff for them during the remodel. New menus, a new logo, sign design, website... all of which has been marvelous fun, because the owner has the good sense to do what we have suggested.
Just in case you are curious enough to take a peek, you can see the new building and check out the menu on the still-in-progress website: ElParralUtah.com
We offered to write up an article to submit to the local paper announcing their re-opening, but they opted to keep it low-key and start out slow.
Hah! They opened their doors the morning of New Year's Eve and they have been packed every evening since. This is a dinky little town, so having a restaurant where people have to wait to be seated on a Monday night is pretty extraordinary. Yay for them!

I received in my mailbox the magical diskette that enables my PS3 to stream Netflix movies right there on my big tv. It's an awesome feeling of power. Now I can call the good folks at Comcast and tell them to get stuffed and take their overpriced television viewing packages and place them gently where...
On second thought, I'm still at their mercy for the local channels and my beloved high speed internet connection (which enables me to stream the movies), so I'll restrain myself and politely ask them to cut back my programming and therefore shrinkify my bill. Yay!
I'm mystified as to how I can have access to 20,000 television channels half of which are in Spanish and I still cannot find anything to watch.  And for those 20,000 television channels I am paying 40,000 dollars a month... I guess if there's more channels to flip through that makes it better...? Perhaps if I were to learn to speak Spanish I would feel more like I'm getting my money's worth. In the meantime, I'll just cut back a bit.

Another 4 day work week and I really couldn't be happier about that.

After a lovely weekend of doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, I dragged myself back to work this morning and realized that I was happy to be there.
Whoda thought?

The only downside to going back to work is it is so freeeeeeekin' cold at the shop.
I gotta tell you right now, I am already tired of being cold and I will continue to be tired of it until it's not cold anymore. I don't mind being a little chilly or even cool, but the cold just sucks the life out of you.
When I get home, the muscles in my back are sore from being all tensed up.

I suppose I could remedy part of this by getting up and moving around every so often. Do something moderately active like... oh, I don't know... clean, sweep the floor, put stuff away.... that would probably warm me up and keep me from turning into a nerd icicle.
I'm almost that desperate. May give it a try tomorrow.

Once again I give thanks for the electric mattress heater thingy - my bestest friend in the whole world.
After I mentioned it in my last post, a couple of comments indicated that some of you haven't heard of such a thing.
It's very much like an electric blanket, but it goes on the mattress under the sheet - in fact it has elastical corners just like a fitted sheet - and it heats and spreads it's wonderful warmth without feeling all smothery like an electric blanket. I found it at Shopko a couple of years ago.
Mine has two controls so I can keep the side of the bed where the cat sleeps a little warmer and stick my feet over there. He gets all cranky about getting pushed aside by my feet, but since he has yet to pay any of the bills around here, he can just deal with it.

I spent hours online this weekend combing the internets looking for a new pc. I expected that there might be some kickass-awesome after Christmas deals, but not so much. It seems that if I were in the market for a laptop or a netbook, my dreams would all come true.
But since I want to do a bit more than chat with my 'friends' and send them nekkid pitchurs of myself (okay, just cuz there's a camera in the screen I guess that doesn't really necessitate nekkid pictures) I need a computer with a little more under the hood.
I found a couple of promising candidates. I love the little tiny cute Dell Zino, but the shipping date is 3 weeks out (arghhhh!), or for a few dollars more and residing right down the road at my friendly neighborhood Walmart is a zippy-fast multi-tasking machine.
I'm trying not to obsess about this, but that's what I do. I make up my mind that I want something and I have to chew on it unceasingly until I finally just go and buy the thing. sheesh.

I suppose I could just build a carrying case for the 'puter that I've been carrying back and forth from work.
Yeah, it's handy carrying a 30 pound 'laptop' around.

Aside from my OCD concerning my computer, I had a lovely Christmas holiday.
Wendy and Jacky stopped to visit me and bring me an awesome candle warmer which I have been enjoying and then on Christmas day I visited the parents and went to spend the evening with Ben and Adrienne and their munchkins.  They gave me some Starbucks coffee and a mug that will hold almost an entire pot of coffee. It just can't get better than that. (not while it's so damn cold!)

The orders are filled, now maybe I can kick back and enjoy me some Christmas!

I shipped off the last of the Christmas orders this afternoon. Can I hear a "Halelujah!"

I like to think that I have grown and matured a bit in the past few years. I think this because I don't get all bent out of shape and angry because people have no sense and wait until the last possible, or impossible moment to order CUSTOM lettering and then act like it's my fault if I can't get it to them in time for Christmas morning.

Okay... maybe I do still get a little perturbed. I'll keep working on that.

I mostly try to listen to the little cash register bell that rings in my head (cha-ching!) when these poor desperate fools people call and offer just about any amount of money I want in order to have the perfect gift for Mom/Grandma/Daughter/Dad/Whoever delivered in time for the gift opening on Christmas day. 
Then I start to lose patience again when I agree that I can drop whatever it is that I'm doing in order to make their holiday better - and they start to get picky on me.

"Can I see that layed out in a couple of different fonts? Maybe a couple of different colors..."

NO. It has to ship this afternoon - no time for previewing. It's the price you pay for delay. It'll be gorgeous. I promise. She'll love it. Trust me. I'm a professional. Will that be Discover or Visa?

I'd like to appear to be a bit less materialistic, but in reality this is what I do to make my living. I love what I do, but I love to get paid for it too.
People - women in particular - are a little taken aback at times when I have to remind them that even though it may take me only a few minutes to create something for them, it has taken me many years to get to this skill level and I expect to be paid.
And the tinier and more miserable it is to make... well you know what that means. It means someone is terribly unhappy because I'm asking MORE for that tiny little item than for something bigger but easier to produce.
The cost of an item is directly related to how much I have to bitch and whine complain about it while I'm doing it.

But now the rush is over and I can turn my attention to fun things.
I have some cute little chalkboards in the works for Ben's kids for Christmas. Need to wrap some gifts and make some cookies.

I finally have the time to upload a whole boat-load of stuff to my website. I know that is work related, but it's fun.

I'm also working on the website for El Parral, our most favoritest restaurant that lives next door. They have  been closed for remodeling f.o.r.e.v.e.r and will be re-opening on New Year's Eve. YAY!!!
We've done a bunch of stuff for them such as: new menus, designed the new lighted sign on the front of the building, some etched glass on the inside and a  big ol' mural on the back wall that I have yet to design. Too much fun!

Now I am going to go and enjoy the best part of this freekin' cold thing they call winter... my electric mattress warmer. Oh yes.
I love it. The kitty loves it.
ahhhh.......


 

The problem with having things to blog about is you're too busy to blog.

Ahhhhh....
Sitting here with a lovely cup of coffee trying to decide which wonderful weirdness from my week I should share. If I were better organized, I'd have written about this stuff during the week as it occurred so that I wouldn't have to worry about writing a post so long that folks' eyeballs are glazing over or rolling back in their heads like mine were at the funeral.

That's right, there was a funeral this week. My Dad's older brother. He'd been in very poor health, so even though it was a solemn occasion, it was a relief both for him and his children.
First there was the opening prayer which lasted (I kid you not) 10 minutes. My cousin's little boy spoke up for all of us when he blurted out "Amen already!"  After that the funeral was okay as far as funerals go, even enjoyable as my cousin talked about experiences he'd had with his dad.
Then the officiating bishop got his hands on the pulpit and my attention span screeched to an abrupt end. I'm usually a very good listener, but this dude had me squirming like a 2 year old in church. Since we actually were in church I found myself wishing for a ziplock baggie full of Cheerios or a quiet book or SOMETHING to keep me entertained. (I'll have to figure out how to silence the keys on my phone so I can text Audrey next time I find myself in this type of situation.)
Afterward we all adjourned to the after-the-service meal of ham and funeral potatoes which were totally lovely. The woman who provided the red velvet cake deserves a special place in heaven.

The week at work was fairly busy what with everybody waiting until the last minute to get their order in for Christmas.
Ok folks, I ain't Walmart. This stuff is custom. That means I make it AFTER you place your order.
I'll be wearing my WonderWoman costume under my hoodie tomorrow because I'm gonna have to be performing feats of Super Collosal Awesomeness.
I'm not quite at the point yet where I laugh maniacally and say NO! you can't get that by Christmas. hahahahahaha! (but it's coming soon)

Went Christmas shopping yesterday afternoon - along with about 90 percent of the population. I had to keep reminding myself that I am NOT shopping for me.
But everything is already marked down...
I was weak and bought myself a couple of shirts and underwears. It's not Christmas without new underwear, you know. I felt very smug because I scored a couple of very expensive bras for 3 dollars each at TJ Maxx. Just thinking about my shopping triumph makes my heart flutter.

Standing in the checkout line at Walmart. All done, got everything on my list, no one had jammed me in the butt or ankles with a shopping cart. It was a good experience.
There was a young couple in line ahead of me. They kept looking over across the store searching for someone. Finally the guy turned to me and asked me if I had seen the kid who had come up to talk to them a few minutes before.
Although I didn't say as much, I immediately wondered if he had tried to take something or was shoplifting....
I just answered that, no, I hadn't seen him. Why do you ask?

He told me that this high school aged kid had walked up to him, said "Merry Christmas, Sir,"  handed him a 50 dollar bill, then turned around and walked back to join his friends and they disappeared into the store.
This guy had tears in his eyes. Said he didn't know what to say or do....

I said, "Have a merry Christmas."
His reply, "Oh I will, and we'll never forget this."

I don't know if it's so, but I like to think I witnessed someone's Christmas miracle.
It was very cool.

Now I'm off to bed. Gotta get up early and knit a carrying case for my computer. Since my home pc kicked the bucket, I've been hauling my work pc home to use at night and over the weekend.
I know. I'm pathetic. I can't help it.
It's genetic.