Well I Never.....

Maybe it's time for me to lay off the caffeine or whatever made my blood boil today. I know it wasn't a salt intake as I've been watching that. All I know is I could have just punched this woman at the bank. Instead I kept my cool and came home and hit the Wii. I don't mean hit it hit it...I mean worked out. It works wonders it getting the aggressions out.

The story begins when I was given a personal check for some money I loaned out. It was a trusted source but this person knows I don't visit the bank often. This is why I have direct deposit. To deposit it through an ATM makes no sense as it's connected to my bank. In the past when I've been given personal checks I've taken them to the bank name on the check if I just wanted cash. Bingo...no problem, just sign the back of the check. It's the person who wrote the checks bank. Not so in today's case. This person's bank was closer to home then mine so I pulled into the drive thur, signed the check and put it through the pipes. "Do you know your account number" came through the speaker. "I don't have an account here, but the check is from this bank". "You'll have to come inside to cash this" as the check comes back through the pipes. I should have just forgot it then and drove the extra two blocks to my bank. Instead I went inside with the check. The teller asked for my account number and I again had to repeat that I did not have an account there but the person writing the check did. "Well I need your right thumb print and some ID." "Huh???" It was then that the creepy blood boiling feeling started. I asked why I had to show ID when this check was from this bank. Her reply "Well if this check should bounce, then who do we go after"?. "Well, wouldn't you go after the person who wrote it"? What ever happened to insufficient funds?. She then looks me right in the eye and says "What if that person didn't write it?". To prove that I wasn't forging the check I blobbed my right thumb in the ink and smeared it down on the check. Face getting redder, I took my ID and showed it to her.

Now, I know that someone might think I got mad for no reason, but this is just something I've never heard of before. I wondered if it was just this banks policy so when I got home I called my bank asked their policy. I was told that they will cash their own customers check and only require an ID by the person cashing it if it is over $250.00. I guess each bank has their own set of rules.

Speaking of people getting angry about having to show their receipts at a local department store when exiting the store...One of the girls I work with must have felt I can really be trusted. She breaks into this story about her friend who shoplifts for a living. She has regular customers who call and order things for her to shoplift from one certain local department store. This girl will somehow get all this stuff and deliver it in store bags to her customers, charging them half price for everything. She's only been caught twice. So this girls goes on to tell me how she's never stolen anything in her life, but looked real shocked when I told her that every time she got a delivery she was stealing. The discussion went on as to how she can't afford to pay those prices for things, that's why she continues to order from her. "Well maybe the prices wouldn't be so high if people quit stealing everything". The girl was asking if I needed anything. She's either very trusting that I won't turn them in, or she's undercover. I wish it were the second choice as I really thought this girl was on the up and up.

If There's Going To Be Blatz....I'm Taking A Leave

Why is it that my husband will consume things that he knows will cause some after effects? I could see if what he was consuming tasted even remotely good and was well worth the feeling afterwards. Take for instance I will eat french onion soup because it's worth the effect it has on me. I will also make sure that I'm clear of others when the effects are released. I have walked around my house with a can of air freshener since last night. This would be the effects of my husband drinking several varieties of beer yesterday.

Let's start with the Budweiser which he had just so he could drink out of a bottle that looked like a bowling pin. It wasn't like he could keep the bottle. Even the bartender second guessed him when he ordered it. After two of those I saw him drinking a Pabst. That may have been the wiser choice of beer. He then got in a few Miller GD and Miller Lite. Good choice. Then came the downfall....Blatz. I did have to listen to the history of Blatz in his family. This is the beer that caused his issues. When leaving the tavern/bowling alley we were at he decided to drop butt in the foyer of the building and then when he saw a young lady entering the building took off and giggled about it.

Then there was the ride home. Being that I was driving I had control of the windows and they were open. Once at home he tried to blame the dog. Around 2am I was driven from the bedroom. I was woken up in a good sleep. After spraying about 1/4 can of air freshener I had the evil thought to open the window and let him freeze. I opted to sleep on the couch until I thought it would be safe. It's still not safe. The sad thing is....he looks so damn proud. That's on the outside but I know that on the inside he's sorry he did this to himself. Suffer in silence and suffer yourself buddy..I did not do this. (although I will admit I carried the first Blatz over to him)

Men Say the Darndest Things

I was having a conversation with Nannette this evening, discussing plans for Friday morning. Sometimes my husband likes to listen in on my conversations and make a comment here and there. We were discussing where to go for breakfast and who would be coming along. First he suggested a place close to our bank and home that wouldn't be out of any one's way. Then he asked the question "Is Hooters open for breakfast". I think he made the association of one of our friends and Hooters. Nannette and I continued the discussion wondering if this one certain friend had any real clout at Hooters. If so could he call and have the place open for us? Would we get first rate service because of him? We imagined the NR plated car pulling into the lot and the red carpet going down, the doors being opened for us, and our food being delivered hot and fast. All this time we were talking my husband was sitting at the kitchen table. I looked over and saw his chin resting on his hands and this far away look in his eyes. I think he was envisioning every man's dream. Red carpet service at his local Hooters. We scrapped the idea and are going elsewhere.

Today marked my 3rd full day on the QC job. As I walked through the lines I used to work on I noticed how none of the operators had a smile on their faces. (I had a smile) I stopped to talk to one of my co-worker/friend for a minute and she was a bit crabby. "Ask me why I didn't put in for the QC job" was what she said. Good thing she didn't because she has a bit more seniority then me. I hope I don't have to kick myself in the butt someday, but I'm so glad to be off the line. I'll admit I'm a little stressed with the new workload but it's all coming together. I'm tired, but I'm not crabby. I have 6 days to learn all the ropes and my trainer is gone. Then I'll get help from my newly appointed supervisor who knows nothing of the testing we do. This could be interesting and fun at the same time. He doesn't even know he's supposed to be wearing steel toed shoes!

Who Doesn't Love the Sunshine?

There's something about a day full of sun that makes my attitude just so much better. I think I woke up right around the time the sun did this morning. I made my way to the living room and plopped down on the couch to maybe catch a bit more sleep. This didn't happen as the sun fully hits the room and seemed to be telling me to get up and enjoy the day. As my husband was still snoring away I didn't think starting any noisy chores would be a welcome to him. So I putzed. Did a little fridge and kitchen cleaning, took care of the cats, cleaned up my desk and played a few rounds of Scramble. This consumed about two hours. There was still light snoring coming from the bedroom. I toyed around with the idea of going to the store, but I really didn't need anything. Thought about going for a pedicure, but opted to put that off for another week. So instead I started cleaning some more.

By 10:30 the man stirred. I think he may have over slept. He mumbled something about getting to his sister's house and he had slept longer than he wanted. I got kind of a look, but I don't wake him anymore as when I do I get a look also. His waking gave me the go ahead for the vacuum to be turned on. I am considerate in that way. However, if he sleeps longer than 11 and I do get the vacuum out, I get "the look" then too.

So now it's 4 pm and I feel pretty accomplished in what I've gotten done today. The sun is still shining so I think I may take my dog for a much needed walk. She's been outside several times today laying on the deck soaking up the sun. She looks so content. I'm jealous.

The Double Whammy

This house gets hit twice by the recent economic saga that goes on and on. When my hours were cut six weeks ago I was fortunate enough to sell myself out to another area of my work place that needed help. This Friday will be the last week of doing that as upon getting the new job in QC I now will be working 40 hours (for now). Even though I was asked to continue working, there is currently no o.t. allowed.

Yesterday my husband mentioned that there was an important meeting at his workplace today. All were required to attend. My first though was that his Friday's off were going to kick us in the ass somehow. Bingo! He is taking a 10% pay cut as of next week. This pretty much amounts to one unpaid day every two weeks. Even though this is going to hurt I'm finding it hard not to be angry about it. He does work 9 plus hours a day and has Fridays off, but went through the past two summers without a reduction in pay for those days off. But he's also gone 3 years without a raise. Although 3% would have been more likable, I guess this can be classified as "a long time coming". It's highly unlikely that my raise for this year (rumor has it we're still getting them) will make up for this so we'll just have to tighten the belt a little more.

What does this mean?

• If the manufactures of Marlboro would stop sending me coupons I'd stop buying their product. (What a piss poor excuse for still smoking). This will be stopping very soon.
• I need to get my husband to stop making a million trips to the store on weekends. Better planning on his errand running is in order.
• Switch to a cheaper brand of soda- can't happen. I'll just drink less of it and more water.
• Cut more coupons and then find one store that carries all the brands of the coupons I clipped.
• If we go out to eat...hit the early bird specials.
• Whip out my AARP card more
• Notice I haven't mentioned switching to Bud yet
• Stop going for my nails (with no longer being an operator this could be a reality soon)
• Plant a garden and can everything for the winter (do I look like Laura Ingalls)
• Use up everything in the cupboards before going shopping (tell Barney that one)
• Get a part time job
• still not switching to Bud
• Get my pets on my health insurance plan (it works for some people)
• Take in boarders (slap me now! I've gone nuts)

We'll try a few and see what happens. We may have to resort to taking spam camping vs. sausage links. Now I know I'm nuts.

Never On A Sunday

Just got to sit down after a rather busy Saturday and Sunday. I managed to get the kitchen painted yesterday. Only took 8 hours. I asked my husband to get one high corner I couldn't reach even on my step stool. Unfortunately I had to do it over again as he painted the right color on the wrong corner. Long story. It feels kind of nice to have this nice freshly painted, clean kitchen. The color could change. I'm a little bit of a freak when it comes to finding the right color.

I headed out the door at 10:30 this morning for shopping. To bad it was such a gloomy day. Oh, I should say good thing it was a gloomy day or I would have spent more money. Made a stop at Target ($83.00) and found some of their groceries to be a lot cheaper then the local grocery store. Made a stop at Kohl's with my 30% off coupon. Found a few birthday gifts for upcoming family birthdays. Then I made my biggest mistake. I went to Woodman's. In the past I've learned that a parking lot is not always a true picture of whats inside. First off when you go to Woodman's you must always remember where you parked your car and what door you came in. As I was sitting in my car taking a good look around I noticed quite a few people walking around the parking lot, getting soaked and looking for their cars. The confused looks on their faces told me this may have been their first trip there.

My note to self as walking in "Exit by the rack of green bags". The store was a mad house. I've been there once before, when they first opened. This was crazy. I'm convinced that the reason for this madness is they have 50 different types of whatever you're looking for. The bread area itself is 10 times more then Pick & Save carries. But...they had no Texas Toast. I came with a handful of coupons and was only able to use two as they did not have the brands of the other items I had coupons for. 45 minutes later and with a frustration level of 10 I made my way to the check out. I spotted the green bags for sale rack and went toward that check out area. Every line had people with at least two carts each. I picked out the most interesting person and got in line behind them. $421.00 later she was done. Didn't even bat an eye. They would have been calling 911 for me if that was my bill. Of course I didn't have 4 boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes and several cartons of ice cream. I opted for the more healthy week of shopping. Meat, veggies and fruit. My bill..$122.00. I had a few things that were cheaper then Pick & Save but not by much. This will probably be my last visit to Woodman's, especially on a Sunday.

P.S.- I located my car. It was right were I left it.

I Got You Chicken

Gotta love my husband. At least he tries hard (sometimes). Yes, as most of you have already heard he some what tried yesterday. He is now off on Friday's and he had mentioned the other day that he may just fire up the grill Friday. I didn't put much thought into it until 3:00 Friday when I got out of work. Here follows the phone conversation.

me: What are you doing
B: cleaning off "my" grill (he's very possessive)
me: Oh, what are you going to cook
B: Well, I got some steak (this is where I start thinking a Ribeye would taste really good) and I got you some chicken.
Me: a moment of silence. Chicken? What kind of steak did you get?
B: I got my (once again possessive) fillet that I usually get.
Me: So, I'm having chicken breasts.
B: Well yeah, the ones you like marinated in the sauce.
Me: silence, once again. "Um...I'll be home around 5. Did you get anything else to go with it?
B: Some salads.
Me: Oh, well I guess I'll see you around 5.
B: Let me know when you're on the way and I'll light the grill.
Me: still in shock...."Okay".

Shock...my God does he not know how much I could have went for a Ribeye? He knows that the one and only steak I like. Married 24 years and that's the only steak I ever order. I though maybe, just maybe he was joking around. I got home and sure as heck...chicken breasts and not one but two filet's. When he brought them in I said nothing, but I cut a nice sized piece off his steak and proceeded to eat it...with A1 sauce. Never touched the seafood salad he got as it's made with imation crab which I got sick on once. I haven't eaten fake crab in years.

The next time grilling is in order I will be getting a Ribeye and for him I will buy a veggie burger.
The funny thing is, he offered no explanation. I'm sure he really doesn't even know he did wrong. So, like when he gets paid back for flushing the toilet while I'm in the shower, he will get paid back for this. Of course, I will play the innocent just as he does.

One Pink Sock

After chuckling at Bannettes pink laundry story the other day, I have been paid back. It seems that one of my white socks got in with my husbands red sweatshirt and is now a pretty pink. Apparently I was careful enough that it wasn't his sock. Now the problem is what to do with the other sock. Should I throw it in the next time I wash his sweatshirt, or just don't worry about it as you can't see the sock under my pant leg anyway.

Have you ever noticed that one bad egg can spoil the whole bunch? Our bad egg had a vacation day today and everyone on the line was smiling and happy all day. I know she has a personal issue which is eating at her and for that I sympathize with her, but sometimes it's better to let it out. My boss approached me regarding her moodiness today stating that he was noticing it and wanted to know if it was affecting her work. Seeing as I'm the one who usually gets stuck working next to her, yes I have noticed and I can only cover the areas she zones out on for so long. I suggested he spend more time on the line to see if he can observe any issues. He suggested we take her out for a beer. I'm thinking that's not such a good idea. He also told me that he is 99.9999 % sure I got the QC job and is wondering why it's taking them so long to notify me. My new supervisor was supposed to get with HR and send a formal request offering me the job. Present boss was told to have me wrap up any projects I have going within the next week or so. I asked him if he wanted to join my pool.

This could very well be a painting weekend. This is why my husband is going to scatter on Saturday. The man hates painting. My kitchen is in need of a paint job. Tomorrow will be a trip to Menard's to view paint samples. I can bring some swatches home and hang them in the kitchen or I can just go for it. How bad can it be? It will not be pink, yellow, any shade of blue or green. I think I've tried them all so far. Has to be something that goes with dark cabinets. Oh and white is completely out of the picture. This could be an interesting weekend.

Did You Go Through A Snow Wash (Part 2)

Not actual pictures of today in the previous post, but it should give you a idea of the difference in weather conditions from one side of Milwaukee to another.
As other's have posted today, we didn't have much warning. At 10 last night we heard "a dusting". I let Sadie out at 4:45 am and was greeted by a stuck porch door due to a pile of snow. My ride to work was slow from my house until the Hale. It appeared that area received the dusting. As I neared work there was nothing. I could see grass. I had to chuckle as I got out of my truck and heard "Did you go through a snow wash or something?" from a co-worker. He lives on 84th and Cleveland. He then took notice that I still had snow on my shoes and bottom of my pants from my walk to my car this morning. I guess stranger things have happened.

My interview this morning took about 5 minutes. She had three questions for me. I answered what I figured she wanted to hear but in my head I really wanted to say "I want this job because I am sick and tired of being dirty all the time. I want this job because I don't want to crawl up a ladder or on the floor anymore. I want this job because I'm bored with what I'm doing now".
So now the slow process of making the decision between me and......wait...I'm the only one that applied, begins. Want to start a pool on how long it takes until they let me know?
The girl who's place I'm taking gave them a 6 week notice. If they were smart they'd get going now on replacing her. In past practice they wait until the last minute and then scramble to train someone. If it means one of the management or supervisors will have to do the work they might move a little faster.

My other shock of the day was seeing that my husband answered an email. I didn't even look to see what it said as I was so shocked. I asked him about it and was told that LMFA means leave my friend alone. LOL.

Do You Go Through A Snow Wash Or Something?