Muffin Monday

Mondays suck and that's all there is to it. I'm always exhausted on Mondays and lately, that's been my longest day at work. Muffin agrees, check out her yawns!

Ya'll try to have a good one, ok?

posted from Bloggeroid

Spring Blossoms

Although our weather has been a bit psycho, my rose bushes seem to LOVE it.  The knock out roses have gone bonkers, my "normal" rose bushes are heavy with blooms, quite literally covered with up to 20 blooms or buds. I walk outside and the smell of roses is thick and sweet - just perfect. Love it.

After the rain this weekend, I went out to take a few pictures. They are a bit dark, but I don't have a photo program, so you'll have to imagine them a little lighter. :)  Enjoy!

Update on Meanie Usher Woman.

***** update to the update!!! I've received ANOTHER letter from the big dog in charge who is handling this issue!  This poor volunteer, she just doesn't know what's coming, does she? *****

I must give props to the company that meanie usher woman works for because they did what they could to make this right.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, visit the original post here. 

So, while I was still fired up, I typed up a letter and sent it to the parent company that owns the theater we were at when the incident happened. I went to their website and found the Operations Director, smacked a stamp on it and into the Postal System the letter went. 

After I sent it, I figured I might hear back, but I surely wasn't banking on it. Imagine my surprise to receive a phone call at about 6:30 p.m. the day the letter was received ... from the Operations Director herself!

She was SO nice, so incredibly apologetic, asking if there was anything she could do to make the situation right.  I wanted to make a point:  I'm not doing this for freebies, I want to see rude volunteers removed or retrained, so I didn't ask for any kind of reimbursement or whatnot. We laughed a lot and she apologized again before saying she would take this letter to her training manager, who had classes coming up very soon. 

It changed my entire attitude towards the company. She is a gem - I hope they work to keep her. I wish I could have found a manager that night because I believe that would have changed my attitude, too. And probably have gotten the rude lady removed from standing behind us, but it wasn't meant to be. And that's ok, too, because hopefully it will draw attention to an area that needs attention. :) 

YAY! I'm very much happier now that this is over and I've said my piece. *sigh*

Muffin Monday

Muffin found immense joy in this empty box this weekend. Watching her have so much fun made me happy, too. :)  Happy last week of April!  Holy cow, how did this month zoom by so quickly?

posted from Bloggeroid

Meanie Usher Woman

I don't typically complain too much on this blog. I figure you hear enough about it in your everyday life. However, I will mention this issue here, mainly because I'm still fired up about it and I can.

Donna and I went to see "Bring It On" the musical. Loved it! So much energy - how on earth can these people sing while being flipped in the air is beyond me, but that's another story. 

Donna and I arrive early to the theater, hanging out int he lobby until the doors opened to the theater. We head in and find our seats - awesome balcony box seats with only six seats - and four of them weren't sold. SCORE! We have the box to ourselves. 

I pull out my phone, begin taking pictures, uploading them to Facebook, emailing my mom, typical "I'M-SO-EXCITED-AND-WANT-TO-TELL-EVERYONE" kind of stuff. We weren't being loud or disruptive. The lights were up and everyone was just milling about, finding their seats or doing like me. 

Someone grabs my shoulder from behind (volunteer usher) and says in my ear, "You ARE going to turn that phone off when the play begins, right?" I look over my shoulder and say - "Yes ma'am." "And you WILL NOT take pictures when the play begins, RIGHT?"  "No ma'am, of course not." 

Ok, I'm not sure what caused her to single me out for a schooling on proper theater etiquette, however, she didn't feel the need to teach this lesson to anyone else in the theater that night. Why am I getting lectured on what to do when it begins? We are stilling in a fully-lighted room waiting for it to begin. 

The more we thought about this, the madder we got. Oh. My. Gosh. I was pissed by the time the lights did go down. I won't mention the second lady who grabbed my shoulder in an effort to prepare me for the beginning of the show.  UM... THE SHOW HASN'T STARTED.  And get your dang hands off of me! I don't even know what I said to her through the red fury that was shooting from the top of my head. Which I do regret losing my temper. :(  OH well. 

I did try to find a manager, but he couldn't be found by another volunteer usher... so I sent my letter of frustration to the company today. I'll let you know if they contact me for more information. 

Here is the thing: what was it about me that made me set alarms off in her mind? Was it that I didn't have expensive clothes on? I don't wear make up? I have a Southern accent? I'm not polished?  I don't know but whatever it is, she quickly identified me as a problem student and she cast herself in the role of disciplinarian teacher.  She literally stood within touching distance of us anytime the lights were up. It was bizarre. 

But I'm still SOOOOO glad I got to go, see the theater, see BRING IT ON! And have an adventure with Donna. I miss Donna adventures. When you grow up, adventures seem to decrease. so truly, meanie usher can't make our adventure any less wonderfully special. :) 

++++++++  Read the update to this blog entry here!!! +++++++++++
http://whiskeytangohello.blogspot.com/2012/04/update-on-meanie-usher-woman.html

Muffin Monday

Muffin understands Mondays can be blah. To battle the Monday Woes, she chows down on treats.  Hopefully you have a but of chocolate left from Easter you can use to help you survive Monday!
I'm off to teach classes to poll workers so we can get ready for our June election! Have a great week!

Bright lights and big adventure

I rarely go into large cities if I can help it. The traffic, the ability to get lost and the people will usually keep me away. So tonight was even more of a treat because it involved the big city of Charlotte.
It started with a text from Donna that "Bring It On" the musical was playing in Charlotte. When I got done teaching classes, we had tickets.

Dining in Gastonia is a story for another day.

The drive into Charlotte lets you see the city from a distance...leaving tonight it was beautiful.  We found parking and headed to the theater. It was beautiful! Our seats were balcony box seats that we had to ourselves. The musical was high energy and full of awesome dance moves.  I don't know how they did it, dancing, cheering, singing, all at once.

So excited to have gotten to go!  It was such a great time but now, bedtime!

Peek at the Nursery!

So I finally took a decent camera into Macy's nursery for some pics.  Yes, I know it isn't a designer nursery, but Katie agreed it was very "Katie like" and mom and I are thrilled with the results.  The walls are a light khaki, the bedding is Bunny Meadow, which is sage green, khaki and brown on a white/creamy background. Adorable!  Since we finally found out Macy is a MACY, we added lots of pink to girl it up!

 Love the paper lanterns! Mom's idea, from the birthday party aisle at Hobby Lobby - great addition. :)

We had the curtains in there already from years ago when I lived there. I think they came from a yard sale! haha! The bunnies are too heavy on the mobile and they all face down with their butts up in the air, but it's kinda funny to watch.

AH's "Macy" banner that she made is over the book shelves.  Those are Beatrix Potter stacking boxes, super cute.  The registry book I made for the showers is the pink book in the middle shelf.  Cute? I think so!

The Macy lovee I bought the night we found out she was having a girl is on the changing table. :)

Peeking inside the crib, the big brown dog on the left is actually a backpack! AH bought that for the baby this Christmas.  The bunny is a lovee, the Cabbage Patch doll is Katie's from years ago.

Look at that adorable Sleep Sheep! Wendy got that for Macy, it plays soft sounds to help the baby sleep. It's so cute!  And the owl lovee - owls are all the rage, so now we know Macy will be on top of the trends.

On the far right, you'll see we removed the closet door. It was covered in stickers we couldn't remove, so we replaced it with this really girlie curtain.  Sheer white, with an overlay of pale colored ribbon streamers in pink, blue, yellow, and purple, with little flowers attached to the ribbons.  This also eliminated the problem of having two doors opening into each other.

OK OK, no more nursery photos! I'm sorry, I'm excited. :)  Katie went to the doctor yesterday and everything is looking good. Macy is growing at the appropriate rate, Katie is at a healthy weight and isn't as sick (although this week has been rough for some reason).  I hope things are going to level out and she'll have a good find trimester.

Thanks for the prayers, thanks for the support!  :)

Muffin Monday

Good morning all you Muffin fans!  My kitten is happy, she has her chair back,  which allows her to jump up on her bed easier. Cuz Dale brought it to her, so he is her new hero.

You can clearly see why this is her favorite spot...sunlight streams in and birds dance outside the window. Kitty heaven.

Ya'll have a great week!

Sorry for the disappearing act.

I know I've been missing this week.  It's been a week of excitement as my mom and I completed the nursery for Macy while Katie, Roger and AH were out of town! :)   We also did some redecorating/painting throughout the house, in preparation for the guests that are sure to follow the addition of a newborn baby.  The living room and bathroom received fresh paint and the nursery was painted and decorated up adorably. We switched out curtains in the living room, rearranged and added wall decor, including a great section of family photos for them.  The bathroom received one addition and their bedroom two decor additions. It's really awesome, if I do say so myself.

But the shining star is the nursery!!! Love it! It's all pink and green and ready for a new baby girl's arrival!

The beautiful "Macy" banner that AH made for her little sister! She gave it to Katie at the recent baby shower.  It is the cutest addition - we just love it!

These adorable plaques over the crib are very lightweight and cute! A duck, bunny and puppy.  To the right is the growth chart in pink and white polka dot.  The bunny mobile is having issues as all the bunnies are head down, butt up.  We are going to worry about that later. 

A close up view of the plaque.  Love the polka dots!! The picture on the right shows the new shelves and the Beatrix Potter blocks stacked up in the corner.  Love it!

Yes, I realize it's a little silly to get this excited over a clock, but mom and I took a $3 Wal-Mart clock and made it cute! We used left over punch-outs from the American Girl banner set AH used to make Macy's banner.  So they'll match! Yeah!

One of my favorite parts - the paper lanterns dangling from the ceiling above the rocking chair.  It is just so girlie and precious.

Can you tell I'm excited about this baby girl? Hanging in there for June/July so I can meet my newest niece!

(I know these pics are kinda crappy quality. I'll work on getting some better pictures soon!)

Late Muffin Monday, and a guest!

While all the teachers and kids are out for Spring Break, I am sipping into my vacation time to help in Katie and Roger's house. Macy will have the cutest nursery ever once we are done. :)  AND we have plans to do the living room and bathroom. Wish us luck, I only asked for three days!

Which brings me to Muffin Monday and my guest, Ali!  Ali is my furry niece and is keeping us company as we destroy her house and re create it. :) 

I'll post more pics as we finish, but for now enjoy Ali and a sneak peek!