Where I'd like to be...

Can you tell by my new background that I'd rather be at the beach than working the weekend after Thanksgiving in a retail store?

I don't understand how our deals are SO enticing that folks would get out of their warm bed...on their day off of work...to fight and climb over others (who let me remind you got up before Starbucks opens)...to get a toy/game/tv....for that someone who will not appreciate their efforts....because they will never know that it was bought on the cheap.

Anyhow, my day went really well. No one was trampled (Walmart, NY)...shot (ToysRUs, California) or treated poorly. We were complimented on our "cattling" of the shoppers to the registers; we had a plan and appeared very organized. We had plenty of toys...and we were still going strong at 4pm when I finally got to leave the salesfloor, take a drink of water and go meet my ride out front (I didn't drive b/c of parking).

Thanksgiving went well the day before for us too. No pictures to show for it...but two (14lbs/ea.) turkeys got fried...we had garlic mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, corn bread biscuits, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, brown rice, stuffing, garden salad, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie for dessert. There were plenty of options to meet everyone's wishes.
I think everyone was STUFFED!

Anyone get any good Black Friday deals?

31 days until Christmas

So...have you done your shopping yet? Friday...I'll be working in the toy department...please pray that I don't get trampled. :)

I finished most of my shopping over a month ago, but now I'm trying to wrap up those few individuals who seem to have everything, not have a hobby, or just are plain difficult to shop for. I found a really cool gift today for the kids that are in JMS's playgroup/daycare class...remember those view finders...well, I found some at a reasonable price and you actually can see the pictures without going cross-eyed.

I hope everyone who reads this has a blessed and safe Thanksgiving. We are having my parents and sister to the house for dinner. Then I have to be at work at 4am the next day...like I said before, I'll be in TOYS.

Four Days Away

We took a road trip to South Carolina and we got to see our newest nephew. I'll add some photos of the little guy. I'll post some of JMS and his cousin...JMS and his "mah" and "pop" as he calls them. It was nice to get away. Now I must dive into fourth quarter at the store. Speaking of work, we also were able to visit with some old folks from Lacey! Yep, Mark and Denise are now living in NC...so we ventured off course a wee bit and got to see some familiar and happy faces. Now for the pictures: Newest nephew, born on November 8th!

JMS fighting with Pop for his easy chair. Baby girl Cecily was taking notes. "Mah and Pop" below enjoying the cool fall air.

Cousins...Drew was a "big brother" to JMS.


Riding on Pop's tractor. We avoided the Sears Family Portrait Studio and did it ourselves this year.

Mark and Denise...glad we got to visit!

New Template

So...I am taking feedback that the contrast between the colors on my former template were too difficult to read for the over 55 crowd. So, I am using this template in the meantime until someone tells me how to make my own....anyone?

I avoid cold weather...can you tell? (A map of all the places I've been in the United States)

http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/map.php
Shelly...I love the things you find to post on your blog. They are fun and make me a copy cat!

Beautiful smiles

So...I was getting JMS dressed in the dark. I didn't realize what I had done until I set him down to stand for himself and he fell over. We laughed really hard! I'm sure he wet his diaper.
In this picture JMS was getting ice cream from DaDa.

A few days later...but here is the photo I took of JMS on election day. He was so proud of his sticker he wore it until it lost all of its stickiness.

I was awarded the "I love your blog award" by the ever creative Shelly.

Answer the following questions with single word responses, and pass the award on to other bloggers:

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? couch
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? creative
5. Your father? religious
6. Your favorite thing? sunshine
7. Your dream last night? none
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. The room you're in? kitchen
10. Your hobby? reading
11. Your fear? heights
12. Where do you want to be in six years? married
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? fat
15. One of your wish list items? promotion
16. Where you grew up? Cincinnati
17. The last thing you did? organized
18. What are you wearing? pajamas
19. Your T.V.? enormous
20. Your pets? lazy
21. Your computer? vista (need I say more)
22. Your mood? relaxed
23. Missing someone? Tanya
24. Your car? Chevy
25. Something you're not wearing? hat
26. Favorite store? Target
27. Your Summer? nonexistent
28. Love someone? definitely
29. Your favorite color? yellow
30. When is the last time you laughed? tonight
31. Last time you cried? dunno

Passing some love to:

Kim - Tripp Family Blog
Emily - Johnson's House Blog
Laura (blog's through myspace)

Garden of Life

I am a Daffodil What Flower Are You?

Click on the "What Flower Are You?" to find out about yourself. This was really neat; thank you Shelly for posting it on your blog.

Being a Daffodil means: You have a sunny disposition and are normally one of the first to show up for the party. You don't need too much attention from the host once you get there as you are more than capable of making yourself seen and heard.

Can someone please tell the folks interviewing me on Tuesday this? Yes, interviews for the next level are on Tuesday for me...and my only hint has been to SMILE. :) I need to woo them into thinking that I am not an intimidating meany who can actually run my own store. More to come.

Happy Veteran's Day to all my Veteran Friends and Family!

I voted.

So, we were walking into the polling station at 5:58am. There were three lines, and 11 electronic voting booths. We waited about 40 minutes. JMS was super good. But really...aren't we more advanced than this? I was drinking coffee by 7:08am and hoping for a nap.

Time Change and Voting Booths

So, did this affect anyone else? JMS is a pain in the butt at bedtime b/c he is up an hour later and oh, he is up an hour earlier than I'd prefer in the morning too. So much for "gaining" an hour of sleep. The person that coined that line apparently didn't have kids.

Just a reminder....get out and vote tomorrow. I'm sure I'll have a good story to tell b/c I'm taking JMS with me at 6am. I sure hope that the lines aren't too long. This should be interesting. Did I mention that since I turned 18 this is the first time that I actually have to go to a location, step into a booth and vote. When I turned 18 I was at WP, and I got an absentee ballot from Ohio...then same thing when I was in Georgia....and then in WA.....and in the state of WA after I became Ms. Civilian, they all voted by mail no matter who or where you were. Now that I am in KY...I have to go to a voting booth. This will be a good story, I'm sure.

53 Days until Christmas

So...I must apologize to my fan club because I have not posted an update in over a week. But, I am going to brag and say that I am nearly done with my Christmas shopping!!!

In the past week we celebrated Halloween....look at the lion, the good witch, and the dog.

We did not carve our pumpkins this year, we went with the plastic plug-in and glow kind. This was to save time...having a little one certainly changes things.

Initially we did not plan on taking JMS door to door. Then, we decided, ah well the dog needs a walk...and JMS is actually tolerating the costume, so let's give it a try. We started off slow...and the first neighbor put two pieces of candy in his Elmo bucket. JMS took each piece and put it back in her bowl. Then he said, "tank you!" It was super funny. The next house...he accepted the candy, and said "tank you!" Then, at the end of the drive way he gave me (mommy) the candy to put into my bag. This trick lasted for about ten houses...and then he got greedy and it turned into....2 for you, 1 for me. When we got home, all the candy went into the bowl of candy we were handing out ourselves. Besides the fit he pitched, he never knew that he had candy. I'm such a mean mommy. Are you kidding me...he isn't even 2 yet!

Our halloween was otherwise pretty lame. We had our doorbell pushed maybe 4 times. This is super different than when we lived in Olympia. Tanya (super neighbor) reports that they had 30o visitors this year! How did she know this, you ask? Because Miss Carol (our other super neighbor) bought 3 bags of 100 pieces, and only gave out one piece to each child (stingy, eh). But...you now can understand why I called our Halloween here in KY...."LAME."

Ok, on other fronts, my sister (firstie at WP) had branch night tonight. Drum roll please.....she was branched Medical Service Corps. This was her first choice, so thank you for your prayers.

My parents will be visiting my brother and his family this week in Hinesville GA. I look forward to posting photos of the family visit here in a week or two.

And, as far as work...holiday traffic has picked up. We have all of our holiday displays up and as far as the new products....I must say the glade scented oil - apple cinnamon is absolutely wonderful. (I'm smelling it as I type.) What are customers looking for...well, yesterday it was bamboo sheets(yeah 40% bamboo 60% cotton), vacuum cleaners, toothpaste, and trash bags. I think our toothpaste and trash bags are just in the wrong place in the store b/c folks always have a difficult time finding these two items. Oh, and if you go shopping...please "dummy cord" all of your significant others to you b/c again, folks are still losing each other in the store.

(for the non-Army types..."dummy cord" means to tie strings to everything and the other end to yourself so you don't lose the item)