Things I've never done, but want to do this year

1- Spend an afternoon sitting in a trendy coffee shop writing on my  laptop
 (I'm the only one on the face of the earth who hasn't done this yet)

2- Go to Sedona Arizona, it seems like a pretty cool place

3- Knit legwarmers

4- Become a downtown ambassador

5- Take free online classes through WEBEX ( already enrolled begins March 3rd ) Critical thinking course!        Whoo Hoo

6- Learn how to make Pho and Boeuf Bourguignon a La Julia Child

Good things 2014

I read on Pinterest, or was it Facebook?? (I don't recall) a great idea I've yet to implement.  You get a jar, tie a ribbon around the neck with a sign of some sort.  The idea is to write on a piece of paper any good thing that happens to you that year.  At the end of the year you pull out all the pieces of paper and read it off.   Since I have not done that yet, I thought I'd write it in my blog, so when I do get around finding a jar and a ribbon I won't forget my good things.

Good things 1-  I finally got  a decent raise!
                  2-  Learned to knit super cute beanie hats after 2 months of trial and error using circular needles
                 3- Baby's 18 just landed a job, more money more hours!  YEAH!  This is exciting for me as I was acting like his own personal recruiter/secretary filling out applications, and my email box was flooded with job openings finally the madness will stop!
               4- Boomerang kiddo got a job beginning this week  2/22!  Whew! Finally, my Mom's savings and loan has closed it's purse!
              5- Larger that usual tax return $1,300 back BABY, and I don't have to pay state taxes for the first time in like YEARS!
             6- Baby's 18 and his GF are still hot and heavy, so I get some free time!
            7- Made it into the top 5 sales professionals in the office (no monetary reward for this but that's typical)  
            8- Brock moved out!  Yeah!  (Blaine moved back in)
           9-The Subaru is all mine!  Payments & repairs, I'm grateful!
          10- Brock and Blaine spoke on the phone for the first time in over a year since their falling out, apparent Brock's forgiven and forgotten!
          11- Sold my butchers block for $45 today!  I got it free, and invested a whopping $1.80 for a drawer pull, took it from bad to fab, used it for 5 years then sold it!
          12- Got a really large bonus $1,200 big ones, landed #5 out of 70 sales agents
          13-Landed a better job, more money, cheaper benefits, and no call center! WHOO HOO
         

I know there is another one but I forgot, as soon as I remember I'll up date this blog this is the lamest post thus far!  I'm tired, and worked 12 hours a day for 2 weeks straight...so forgive my, as my brain is fried!

Call People Out

A lot of people say stupid stuff in an effort to one up you, or put you down, or sometimes just to act like they know more that you.  These individuals have very small minds and aren't nearly as smart as they try to be.  Remember that kids!  They have a huge chip on their shoulder, don't take it personally! 

Example:  I had a customer from Ohio call in, of course he was over 60 hard of hearing and not pleasant to speak with. He basically gave me a good deal of grief every time I opened my mouth.  He was trying very hard to  prove he's the older wiser man, by telling me where we were located in his town somewhere in Ohio, and laughing at me each time I said something in an effort to mock and belittle me.... I wasn't having it!   

Now I've never encountered a kind customer from Ohio yet, so I'm more than prepared to deal with this rude old man and Ohio truly isn't someplace I'd move or visit anytime soon... but I digress.   Anyway, this old timer needed storage and kept asking me stupid questions, then of course I'd be quiet while he asked me the questions, then I'd go to answer and he'd interrupt me. 

 Apparently using a telephone isn't a skill he's mastered yet in his 60 plus years on earth! 

Finally I called him out on his shit.... I said to him:  "apparently I irritate and annoy you because you don't like anything I'm telling you about my company or our storage units"  Since he's a customer I did this in the sweetest tone I could muster up.  Then I said "try to have a nice day"  instead of my usual closing line
 "have a great day!"

 By the end of the call he apologized to me for giving me so much grief, and basically acting like an ass hole!  

I accepted his apology and said that renting storage was very stressful ( it's really not but I had to be nice)  he went on about how he didn't mean to make me feel bad, and ya da ya da ya..... I couldn't have cared less about what he said....I got his storage reservation, and I was more than finished with his cantankerous ass!  I'll get my commission, and be on my way thank-you! 

 After speaking with may Ohioans, I won't be visiting here anytime soon! 

Grumpy Old Men

The other day my friend Terri and I were sitting in a movie theater, and the pre-views were showing, we  chatting during this time.  The movie starts and the first face on the screen was Kevin Klein.  I whispered to her "who's that? " and she said "oh... I can't remember...'  Then I said in a hushed whisper     "It's Kevin Klein'   " oh... yeah, she whispers back".   Then out of no where this bald fatty looks at us from the row in front of us,  he was over to the side and he literally yelled " WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP?" 
He literally scared the crap out of us, we were seriously afraid to laugh at the funny parts of the movie for the first half of the show!

I bring this up, because lately I've been yelled at a couple times by angry old men.  Now, I'm 48 years old, so why these older than 55+ men feel the need to yell at me is really beyond my comprehension!  I'm just a happy-go-lucky gal, live and let live, type.... yet for some reason, these angry old timers feel like I deserve to be yelled at.

If we were bothering him so much, all he had to do is lean over, and say " Hey, could you please keep it down, the movie has started?"  in a normal tone of voice.  We would have apologized and stopped whispering and that would be that.
But NOOOOOO!  He had to be a jerk off about it!  We literally sat frozen stiff afraid to even laugh at the funny parts of the movie for at least the first half of it anyway.  Why do grown men feel it's OK to YELL at women who are innocently minding their own business?  Can someone explain this to me?

If you are a man, and reading this, please, please, please don't yell at women, it's scary, and your false teeth my fly out!

Put Yur Head Back in the Sand!

There are people out there who grew up in a bubble.  They can't see what's around them because they have no experience with anything but their own little group.    These are the folks who only hang with their kind because "others" make them uncomfortable.  This is a danger to yourself, as there are a lot of very diverse people in this world, and if you only like your type then you are really missing out.  Everything I've learned about people usually comes from friends, or acquaintances that are vastly different from me.  In fact, I find them quite interesting and I can learn from them.  I enjoy learning about other cultures, and how other families operate and function.

I bring this up in light of the gay marriage ban being lifted in Utah recently.  There really are people out there in la, la land who just don't realize every family isn't the Brady Bunch, or Leave it to Beaver!  My advise to you is get out there and get some diversity in your life so your not a stale Stanley.....or head-in-the-sand Helen!  Not every family has a Mom who stays home baking cookies, and a Dad who wears a suit and carries his brief case off to work in his convertible!   It takes all types of folks to make up this crazy world we live in, and the more crazy diverse folks you know, the better you'll become!

It does not mean you need to go out and copy cat them.... which in my opinion these head-in-the-sand folks fear.....which is why they stick together and don't diversify because oh the horror of hanging around with gay folks then becoming gay ourselves!  YES there are idiots who think this way! Know who you are, and be comfortable with yourself and your life, then you can pursue friendship with others, and take the good things you learn about them and apply them to your life, and discard the negative stuff.  Life isn't about keeping to yourself, and staying in your comfort zone, it's about experiencing new ideas, concepts, and experiencing all types of diverse people.

I truly believe the more diverse your friends are, the better you become.

Launch Baby Launch!

Sigh..... What's going on with our 20 somethings?  I can tell you so many of them are not leaving home, or boomeranging back home!  I have a kid who bounces from Dad's to Mom's and back and forth.  It's terribly frustrating and must be stopped. True to form I got the email last night "May I move back in with you?"   The answer was "HELL NO!!!"

Don't get me wrong, I love my son dearly, but he's very lazy and will mooch off of who ever lets him. He's full of excuses, but no solutions.  This has been going on for over 6 years, back and forth since he was 19.   He has had some really good jobs, lived with his GF for a while, has had several apartments, but never stays put!  He gets bored and quits his job, sleeps all day and gets very lazy, then scratches his head and calls us all psycho angry people!   Really?
Name one person who would put up with a lazy 25 year old man sleeping all day, and eating you out of house and home, and leaving messes everywhere?   I'm sure I'm not the only angry psycho who will go medieval on your ass for doing that to me.  I put up with it all last summer and I'm done.  Surprisingly I'm not the only one, I have several friends who are at their wits end with grown up kids.

My message is a very simple one:  If you're a parent of a 20, 30, or good Hell even 40 something kid who won't leave home.... kick their sorry ass out already!  You are not doing them any favors what-so-ever!
If they work, go to school and contribute to the betterment of the family, then by all means keep them as long as you're getting a benefit from the living arrangement.  If not get rid of them!  NOW!

If you are the 20, 30, or older living at home sucking up your parent's retirement, and savings:
 "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"  Get a job, become a member of society, and get a place to live, it isn't a picnic for your parents, and I'm sure as soon as you leave they'll be jumping for JOY!

Shame on you for adding to your parents stress level, and aging them beyond belief!  Get a job NOW! 

 YOU ARE DRIVING YOUR PARENTS CRAZY!  

Just BREATHE!

Almost 2 weeks ago I underwent nasal polyp surgery, as well as fixing a deviated septum, and shaving off a bone spur!  WHEW!  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Painful for the first day or two, lots of discharge coming out the nose, but I was off pain med's by the 2nd day...they made me overly emotional, and flat out Cray Cray!

For years I sounded like I had a cold, allergies, or sinus infections.  I was always plugged up, and could only breathe through one nostril most of the time.  At night I became a mouth breather, and I was always tired, and everything seemed like a chore.  I was a "loud" breather too, and had to always be aware of how loud I was breathing especially in quite places. Now I'm all clean and cleared out and quite as a mouse!  I sleep like a baby, and in 3 more days will be able to get back to the gym, and doing strenuous things which I'm super excited for.

I took almost 2-weeks off work, and slept in as late as I wanted to, actually gave my body permission to rest, and nap if needed, and boy did I need it!  I finished all my holiday shopping, and really enjoyed my time off, all in the mist of a typically busy stressful time of year, I'm chilling and relaxing!  I can't recall except maternity leave, being off work for 2 solid weeks!   WOW everyone should do that yearly!

I'm so glad I did it, and it's too bad I didn't do it earlier, but no regrets, my doctor was capable, and kind, and the new hospital was fantastic!   Since nasal polyps typically return in 70% of the cases, I need to be diligent in keeping my nose clean literally!  I use saline spray each and every day, Ocean is a great brand, also Nasonex 2 sprays per nostril, morning and evening everyday for life to keep the crap at bay.   Eating and exercising and just being overall healthy doesn't hurt either.  I'll be sure to wear protective face masks when sweeping out the garage, sanding furniture pieces, or just using cleaning products to clean the house, as I don't want anything going up my nose that could cause any issues.

 I feel great, and can't wait to being 2014 with lots of health energy finally I can

BREATHE!