Come ON June!

So, there is a JAD meet in June.  JAD is a community in which I feel like I'm an important part.  There are several meets per year.  We've made it to only one, in Chicago, a long time ago.

We were headed to "the big one" in TN, way back when.  Natalie broke her elbow in 4 places in the campground in Memphis, and we headed home.  *sigh*

So, imagine my delight when I found out that there was one coming up less than 8 hours from here!  Not only that, but several folks found they could fly into KC for $400 or so less than flying in direct.  We can rent a van, and drive down from here, saving folks some $$.

This is shaping up to be the best road trip ever!  I was worried about the girls, but my wonderful parents plan to take them on their own adventure, so we're good there.  I am also concerned about getting off work on that Friday.  Heck, if I can't, we'll leave later, but I REALLY want to go down early.

I think, next year, I'll try to have a meet.  I say "next year" because we're not ready, I'm not ready, and the house is not ready.  It WILL happen, though.  Be ready for the invite.

OK, back to dealing with pre-teen issues.  I'll be back tomorrow...maybe.

Friday night. *sigh*

I promise to keep the complaining to one sentence, then get on with happy things.

Ending a difficult week at work wasn't easy because  I was filling in for two people who were gone to convention, and I had three times the workload while knowing that on Monday I have to teach a class that isn't mine in addition to teaching my own class and training a customer on ordering software, because of bad planning and scheduling and then a couple of coworkers tried to dump messes on me but I wouldn't let them and most folks at work are sick and I just want them to stay the HECK away from me; however I made it through even though there was no recognition for what I accomplished because my immediate supervisor is out sick and big boss doesn't know what we're up against and I just took the whippin' like a bad pup and I'll get over it and move on.

I never said it would be a short sentence!  ROFL

So, Kevin is in Carthage again, for tonight only.  One of the firemen from the station that his brother worked at asked him to come down and help with a trivia challenge.  If you don't know Kevin, it might seem odd that they'd invite someone from 150 miles away.  Kevin doesn't know what he had for breakfast, but he can tell you the name of the wife of a producer of that one movie where the guy met that girl and her dad was the brother of the guy from....OK, you get the point.  Kevin is trivia king.  Anyway, he'll be home tomorrow.

The girls wanted friends to spend the night, but it's not coming into play tonight.  They can't reach said friends on the phone.  I'll be JUST fine if it's just the three of us tonight.  I have a cold drink, the laptop, and the TV.  That's the kind of night I want to have.

Tomorrow is supposed to be very warm.  I can't wait.  I may even get the chance to sit on the deck a bit.  Lordy, I hope I get to sit on the deck a bit.  I may go to Mom's to...never mind.  They'll be gone on the bike.  LOL

I have a rough, long week ahead of me, so I'm going to enjoy this weekend to the fullest.  I may post 5 times per day, or I might disappear for the whole weekend.  I'm not following an agenda.  I'm just hangin' with the family.

Know what?  I still love my job.  It's quite challenging most of the time, but I've added SO much to what I do, it has to look great for my review in May.  I can't wait.  I usually dread review time, even though it's always fine.  I never have anything to "improve."  Sometimes, there are suggestions as to what I should learn, but I always learn those things and more.

I'm in good shape for review, this year.  That's a good feeling.  Maybe I'll get a raise of a bazillion dollars a year?  Probably not.  But I know I've done all that's expected, and then some.  Probably three times what was expected. 

I deserve a weekend.  So do you.  Go and enjoy!

Radom, Rambling Thoughts

Why get a vanity plate for your car, if nobody can tell what it means?

Why drive 65 in a 70 if you're in the fast lane?

Why chit chat in line at Quik Trip when there are people behind you?

Trace Adkins is HOT without a shirt. (Celebrity Apprentice reference)

People are stupid. (Survivor reference...and real life, for that matter.)

We're getting ready to inherit another car.  Just wait until you see it.

Some Tuna Helper is pretty good.

I need a vacation.

Blankets are wonderful.  Cold sucks.

Vanilla candles are my favorite.

My pets shed...a LOT.

Yawn.  Good night.

Checking in, and checking out.

I didn't post yesterday, and this post doesn't count.  I have had two VERY frustrating days at work.  I may tell stories later, I may not.

I'm crabby and hard to be around.  I'll post tomorrow or the next day, when I can be nice. Or fun.  Or interesting.  I'm NONE of those things right now.

I'm OK.  I just need to pout, Sprout.

Shopping, Rachel style

I hate shopping, but had to do it, today.  I needed a more comfortable pair of "girls shoes" before the next convention.  Here we have, ladies and gentlemen, things I saw while shopping:

At the mall:
Cricket wireless kiosk had a guy tending the place, bored out of his mind.  He was leaning on the glass display case, cleaning out his fingernails with the corner of a credit card.

Sears H&R Block booth had three employees griping about the hours. "They won't give me hours when I need them, but load me down when I need a day off.  What the hell?  This place sucks."

The "fat chick" store keeps advertising jeans that fit fat chicks correctly.  I haven't had jeans that fit correctly in YEARS.  I found them today.  Yup, they weren't lying.  The funny part?  Yeah, I wear a size one today.  ROFL

At WalMart:
I had to return something.  The kid in front of me who was returning something had to teach the old "greeter" lady how to use her scanning gun.

A 2ish year old kid was running from isle to isle, with a parent glancing his way every 8 minutes or so.  That kid could have disappeared SO fast.

The expensive jackets that were bought for the female reps at work (me included) are now at WalMart...on clearance...$12.  ROFLMAO

On the way home:
Gas is hovering around $3 per gallon.  

My car rides like a REAL car, since Kevin had two front tires put on today.  I guess I was mere hours away from a blowout on the highway.

The huge storm that is hitting right now was tiny sprinkles on the windshield.  Nothing more.  *sigh*  Come on, Spring.

OK, I got the shoes.  They are boring and blocky, but they are black shoes, and they are comfortable. 

Lord, I hate shopping.

Stayin' up late tonight

Kevin is home!  He got here by 1 this afternoon.  Then he took a nap.  *sigh*  How dare he?  How can a person SLEEP so much?

Then, I took a nap.  ROFL

It's a good thing, too.  The Nascar race was rained out, but they're planning on starting back up soon.  I'm going to make it through as much as possible.  I'm wide awake now, but when I feel like I'm drifting, I'll go to bed.

While Kevin was in Carthage, he came across an incredible deal.  A store was closing out their supply of Gain laundry detergent.  He brought home 12 bottles!  LOL  The total cost was $6.  You just can NOT pass that kind of deal up.  I was so excited.

He also brought home a bunch of orange juice.  The last time his Mom got a good deal on OJ, we wound up throwing some out.  It's just too much.  I think I'll take some of it over to Mom's.  A couple of gallons, anyway.

The dog was as happy as the rest of us to see Kevin get home.  At one point, Kevin went into the bathroom without Hawkeye noticing, and the poor dog paced from room to room, whining.  It was as if he was thinking, "Oh jeez, woman, you lost him AGAIN!  He JUST got back!"  Too cute.  I finally made Kevin say something out loud so the hairball could relax.

There is a chat meet forming in June.  I'm excited at the prospect of going.  The plan is for a few of the East coast folks to fly into KC, then we'll all drive down together in one big vehicle (possibly rented) or in a couple of mid-sized cars.  I have to decide on a plan of action for the care of the girls, but there is a neighbor girl who, at 16, is VERY responsible.  Maybe Kevin's mom could come up?

Anyway, that would be so much fun, and if we all work together to split fuel costs, the 8 hour drive won't be that bad.  I also think that maybe I can do it with only taking 1/2 day vacation.  BONUS!

OK, time to change laundry over, and get settled in for at least part of the race.  I'd love to see the whole thing, but it could go pretty late.  Have a great week, my friends.

And Girlie week comes to an end

We've had a good time, but we're all three ready for Kevin to come home.  He'll be here before noon tomorrow.  Today, we had one last hoorah. 

Tara left around 1:30, and the girls finally showered.  (Yes, that was the smell coming from West Central Missouri.)  We decided to head to nearby Bates City BBQ for dinner, so I called my friend Missy to see if she wanted to go.  She met us there.

Bates City BBQ is extremely yummy, and not the least bit healthy.  Perfect.  We ordered, and they started handing food over the counter to us.  That's when I realized that I didn't have the checkbook, or enough cash.  Bates City BBQ doesn't take debit cards.

Fortunately, Missy had enough cash to cover our dinner.  We ate too much, then I told Missy I'd go get $$$ out of the ATM, and bring it to her house.  We did, after stopping at Quik Trip for a cappuccino.  Yummy.  The girls actually had hot chocolate.

At Missy's, we visited for a bit, and the girls played with her dogs.  She has a lot of dogs!  I finally announced that we had to get home and do some laundry.  The girls are out of underwear!  ACK!

Coming back into town, we saw that the school carnival was in full swing.  With the snow days Thursday and Friday, we had forgotten.  We went in and hung out for about an hour.  The girls had fun.  They got thrown into jail, and paid two tickets each to have friends thrown in.  You could bail yourself or someone else out with another two tickets.

Now, we're back home, each under a blanket in a different room, with three different TV shows going.  LOL  Natalie's watching "Suite Life of Zach and Cody", Monica's watching "Goosbumps" and I'm watching COPS, flipping occasionally to ESPN to see that it is STILL raining in Southern California, and the race isn't being run.

I hope it doesn't rain ou tomorrow's race.  Pam?  Is it going to rain there tomorrow?  LOL