My Day in Snowy MO

This is what I emailed my cousin this morning.

My goals for today are paying the bills that HAVE to be paid, dusting if it ever gets light, giving the dog a bath, and cleaning the leftover Christmas mess off of the dining room table and dusting and sweeping in there.

Getting dressed is high on my list of priorities right now. We here in MO are supposed to get a bunch of snow this week and for added fun and enjoyment a wintry mix, this is what it looked like from my front door a few minutes ago, road looks better than it did. That's a state highway in the distance, snow and sleet seemed to be blowing off of it because it's so cold.
Ok I did the getting dressed thing. Also have to do a load or two of laundry, fold what I did Friday on my non day off and put anti freeze in the old pickup because from the weather forecast I'll be driving it to work probably. Car does fine but if pickup goes in the ditch or hits something else it might improve it's looks?

Had an evacuation @ the Wal Mart where I work, can't say too much but it was a bomb threat evidently, that much was on the local news so I guess I can say that. I wasn't there, all went fairly smoothly, they determined it was just a threat and no bomb was present and employees were back in the store in an hour or so. I knew about it when it was going on, had to be @ work early the next morning, I called to make sure they were there. I wasn't about to go in if the store wasn't open!

My daughter surprised me last Thursday, she lives in KS, I called her about noon and casually asked what she was doing later in the day, she said she was going to go somewhere, mama intuition kicked in and I asked if she was coming home. Point blank question, she can't lie, she was going to try to surprise me @ work. It didn't work, I got off work early that day anyway but she had to tell me what was going on, other daughter was supposed to evidently find out what was going on but was busy. We sat outside Thursday evening because it was WARM, like no coat could sit outside warm. Here's a picture of her and Dispatch the Bichon and Crusoe the orphaned cat, you can read about them in my other blog, animals that give pause, also a fine picture of the kids toys or grandpas toys kids left outside and the dead plants in the planter. January in MO 60 degrees isn't unheard of but felt we HAD to sit outside and enjoy it for a bit.
So she came for a SHORT visit, we went to KC on Friday on business and then my other daughter and kids came over for a bit. We visited an office I hadn't been to for like 3-4 years in KC, I told the guy there my daughter was in for a short visit and he asked if she was home from school. She is 33 years old, she will bless that baby face soon. Everyone else went to wrestling meet for two of the grandkids but I had to work (they lost, that doesn't happen very often, Zach has gone to state two years in a row, Jacob the little one was on his mamas lap and told her he had a temperature, he meant temper cuz he lost)! Then life returned to normal after younger daughter left and it started snowing, bah humbug.

Can you tell I'm not looking forward to whatever this week is bringing as far as the weather is concerned? My cousins are in law enforcement and live next door so we all keep each other informed as to local road conditions etc. and all work different shifts so it works out well but I almost totalled a lincoln continental in the ice one year, NOT a fun thing to do!

Husband has to drive through OK @ some point this week, last time I looked @ the forecast for Oklahoma City it was freezing rain straight through till Wednesday. Lets hope it doesn't materialize! Don't know if you can see the snow flurries in the picture here but it's definitely gotten thicker, @ least it's snow now. That's the house I was raised in and my dad was raised in and some of the other buildings are ones my great grandpa built or helped build. My brother owns it now and my cousin and her husband live in it.

Hope everyone pays attention to the weather and stays safe and warm, don't forget the pets, I give mine hot water several times a day, the ones that are banned from the house per my husband, also we have 6 cats, that would be a bit much in the house. Don't feel too sorry for them, there's a log cabin full of straw in the first picture across the driveway behind the cedar tree, they don't go there unless it gets really cold but when it is cold the dogs and cats have been known to forget animosity and huddle!!
Oh and I promised myself I would forget my pride and put a picture of my dining room table on here so I would be forced to show a clean picture later which means I'd be forced to actually clean it off today and admit the holidays are OVER. I keep telling myself laziness is a sign of depression and not real laziness, I read that someplace, sometime, too lazy to remember? I remembered where my cookie sheets are now, on the dining room table, kids used them to sort puzzle pieces, there's a completed puzzle too, daughter didn't take it with her this time either did she? Basket is a fruit basket, I love baskets, thanks Deanna, paper cups and plates do have a home and it's not there.
If this guilt cleaning by posting it on the internet works maybe I could put a picture of my supposed to be spare spare room that is like a glorified closet supposed to be a place for the books with a single bed in it? The books are there and the bed is there but you can't really see the bed, the dog and cat food is inside the door, that's about what it's used for daily a closet to store the dog and cat food.

Update, 7:30 pm, life is what happens when you aren't looking. Things were going well, then I decided to take a nap. Long story short, look @ my other blog http://animalsthatgivepause.blogspot.com/ for details of my day, I did get some bills paid and laundry done, not folded and the dog still has to be bathed but here's a picture of my oldest daughter holding him after brushing, isn't he cute?

I'm not the only one who took a BIG cut in pay.

Although this article here, talks about people going from 6 figures to $7 an hour and glad to get it, I wasn't making 6 figures. My husband and I together weren't making 6 figures. But we live where the cost of living was low and had no house payment or rent. I worked for him for years but the business grew and grew and due to the stressful nature we NEVER want to do that again. I actually got sick and had to quit (lyme) he went on to start another business but the demand for it went down the tubes so he's self employed again, I work @ Wally World. My daughter said if that hadn't happened we would have both been dead by now. But it was nice to be on the fast track and have the best of almost everything, not worry about the piddly things, even though the 24/7 work was a bit much, couldn't have any sort of family deal without having to answer the phone etc, I can't say how many meals I cooked while talking on the phone, or how many times I was awoken in the middle of the night by an emergency phone call from an employee, NOT FUN. On the other hand I, like these people in the link, am now VERY grateful for my little job although I think there are those who think I just work for the entertainment value. Doesn't make me feel so bad about my piddly little job and honest work?
I heard on the radio coming home tonight Barrack Obama said we should have the spirit of the American people during theRevolutionary War, not be depressed and downtrodden by the severe crisis that our country is in but concentrate on solving it. Think about it.

Downadup Virus, look out, get windows updated!!

I normally don't push windows updates, I love the ones that look for bogus windows os and applications but say they don't. What a bunch of proprietary gobbledygook!
But being as this was on CNN and it sends information back to the host computer and infects every computer in a network I think maybe we should take heed and make sure we have patch MS08-067. I'm going right now to look and see if I have it.
Complete story here.
From what I could tell this is where you go for the security update for xp..

Naming your child Adolf Hitler is abuse?

Think of it, someone named their kid Adolf Hitler? Think of all the abuse you have heaped on his head from that one simple act, seems Wal Mart did put the name on a cake after another bakery refused. I'll have to think on that for a bit, where WOULD you draw the line for putting names on a cake?
Anyway the children, one who was named Aryan Nation for her middle names were taken away from their parents for abuse, there's more to the story they say though. What do you think? Link
here. Wal Mart link over to the right side.

Wally World again

Today was a good day, big boss came by and said he was glad we had done what we had done with clearance, and then he said and we are glad you are here!! Yey!! You'd have to understand we do a wal mart cheer. And then I said I was glad to be there Yey, and did a little dance. Was good to be completely silly for a bit. Ok, it happens quite often but I try to control it.

Anyway was glad they'd noticed I'd been working le butt off.

Another girl worker came by and didn't want to put anything on my pretty shelves and mess it up. If you've ever seen Wal Mart clearance after a bad day you'd know the contrast between it and how I have it. Brushing fingernails on chest.

Have to make this short cuz husband has to get up @ 1 am to deliver some things to KC MO.

A day @ work

Ok, you all are just dying to hear about my day @ Wally World aren't ya??

Well here goes anyway.

It was good, got many compliments on how clearance is now organized, was one fellow worker back there wondering if sales had increased and I told him I kept having to move stuff around and go get more stuff to keep it full so surely it was going out the door. He said yeah, or they are just moving it around the store, it does happen. Anyway a cashier was there and she said no, she'd seen a steady increase in the number of clearance items coming through checkout!! Whoo hoo!!

Only bad thing that happened wasn't bad. One manager came by and took a clothes rack down in clearance and rearranged the others per the 2nd manager. 2nd manager asked me if I had put the clothes rack up, yes, did I move the others? Nope, she said why not??? I said cuz the first manager did it. I wasn't about to take credit for something I didn't do but not sure the first manager should have done it, she was probably just being nice since I was really busy @ the time. Oh well, got lots done, they wanted me to move clearance toys over and I moved clearance toys and clearance toys and clearance toys, hope it's all fine! Oh yeah, I get to work and my name is up on the screen above the time clock saying I'm in charge of organization in clearance, thanks guys, I needed more people wondering WHY I'm doing that? Was sort of nice to see it in black and white but..........

I have to go color my hair now, have about 1 inch of white and dark brown showing which wouldn't be so bad but the rest goes from really dark blonde to medium brown?? L'oreal here I come. My friend who works in deli whom I went to school with told me she had to dye hers and she couldn't stand it if hers got like mine, thanks alot Terri, I bought hair dye that night.

My job @ Wal Mart

Ok, I know there are forums for Wal Mart etc. I'm not going to whine, complain, or put them on a pedestal so I'm here talking about it.
It's a job. I've never worked @ a place with so many employees so it's a new experience. Also I either ran or helped my husband with his business endeavors for the past 17 years so working for someone else is different. I've been a commercial artist, a hostess, worked @ a day care, worked for the census bureau and was a real estate agent too so I've worn many hats, those are just the biggies, I had my emt license and did telemarketing too and was an ebay powerseller. I ran my husbands trucking business, that's the biggie, we farmed too, won't talk about that, and I helped him in FL and MS when he had a crew down there cleaning up after Wilma and Katrina. (I was the main errand runner, my job was going to towns with half the stores blown down, most of the others closed, with missing street signs and finding things we needed or scoping out the next property to be cleaned up, I LOVED it)
Right now I'm just glad to have the job, I would like to be able to do ebay and my freelance web work (see Pegysus.com, blatant plug, she gets enough business I get extra work) but Wal Mart has insurance and I do get to get out of the house, working in your pajamas is not all it's cracked up to be if you work over 12 hours a day! I could have gotten a job better suited to my talents probably but I didn't want a desk job and Wal Mart called so there I am. Be nice to your Wal Mart worker, they could write about it! One added benefit, I've lost weight, like 10 or 20 lb and still going!
Anyway my Wal Mart started a new experiment, we used to have a Mc Donalds, they've used it for displays and extra seasonal items, now it's clearance and it's "my" dept or it was when I left work, we've been working on it for about a week now. Not really a department because I'm a lowly cashier but I keep it neat and clean and stock it and try to make room for new items which makes it my department I guess? I've only worked there 7 months (previously in another department, I really don't cashier much, don't mind doing it @ all because the big store manager cashiers all the time when we are short handed) but I did manage a fairly large business for years. Nobody has said anything but I'm sure there are some who are going "how come SHE gets to do that?" Probably because I CARE how things look and work even when the managers aren't looking? Just had to get that off my chest.
Anyway the idea with the "new" clearance department is to get the clearance all together and make it neater and more accessible, so far it's been a big hit, I spend most of my day trying to decide what I need to move where to make more room for the next item.
I'll keep writing about it but I have to get up @ 5 am so better make this short.

Microsoft and Windows 7, Best Windows Version?

Here's the link that got this all started.

Windoze is putting out it's best version ever?? What happened to Vista? I acutally lost all respect for microsoft when they had me testing things for xp and I had them convinced I was an IT person. (Internet Technology not the it girl)

That said, I use firefox, I'd be on my apple right now if I still had a big one, just have an ibook and a BIG screen for my old HP which was like top of the line a couple years ago. OK, there's an emachine laptop and my husband has an averatec tablet with him and there's a gaming computer around here somewhere but the old HP with Windows XP on it is fine. I've had several HP's, I think the first one I put linux on was a pavillion which was a trip, then I got started with apples and some old thinkpads that I fixed and gave away to relatives. Anyway for a grandma I've had some computer experience. I think like 90% of fixing networks or computers is being mechanically inclined and the other 10% is thinking outside the box.

But we were talking about OS or operating systems for those who aren't linguistically geeky. I started with computers with windows 95, my daughter bought the computer. We had had an ancient apple when she was younger, 10 minutes of programming and you could play 1 minute of music, wow, I lost interest in computers. Basic and Dos were not my native tounge. I must say windows 95 turned me on. I'd had a computer class in college, suffice to say the computer was as big as a piano, that's how long ago it was. Windows 95 was simple, it must have been, the kids had had computer classes in school and when we got the first pc with windows 95 in 96 I was like sure I would be STUPID, the kids would show me up but it would be fun. In two weeks I had managed to mess up the sound on something on windows so I decided to uninstall it and reinstall, it was still under warranty, I had no qualms, someone could fix it if I screwed it up seriously. A piece of cake, kids were asking me how to do everything on computer, mama was queen once again. I took over payments on the computer, took almost a year of talking for my husband to let us have internet but the first time I saved him like $1000 on a truck part he was fine with it. I progressed to thinkpads and fixing them and installing linux, was in 7th heaven. Then I got into apples and wireless networking, we got the satellite internet connection and I sort of lost interest? Actually I had a business to run and didn't have time and then got sick with lyme and got involved with my husbands next business but I admit I haven't kept up with any of it lately.

But that is all beside the point, what is my point is Windows 95 was simple. Sure it was clunky and had security problems but I lost all confidence in Windows with the ME version. At least 95 would keep running without shutting down, and if it did shut down you could actually FIX IT? That's probably why I tested xp so early, I was sooooo very ready to get rid of Windows ME. XP was fine till the second update and it wouldn't install on some computers etc but you HAD to have the update, plus @ the time I could afford more memory which was GOOD because you needed LOTS of memory? Then they come out with Vista which I've worked with a little but if you aren't into doing things the weird way it just didn't seem to be worth the trouble of switching from XP? Now there is Windows 7? From what I read it seems to do some of the things that my lowly little ibook has done for years? PLUS my ibook runs cooler and longer and doesn't complain when I open lots of windows or shut down like the emachine or the other laptop or the gaming computer when they have had enough. Or do weird things like have a parallel universe running like the HP I'm on now which was one of the first 64's to come out. Which reminds me, WHY am I on this computer? Oh yeah, I can't afford to buy ANOTHER computer but soon, very soon I will get my hands on a sleek white new apple with a big screen.

Plumbing and a missing person.

Start my "new" job @ Wal Mart in clearance today, so I'm up early and couldn't sleep naturally.

I see that when I write about my plumbing I get google ads for plumbing services?

I found this article about Gail Parker who was murdered in 1993 interesting, partly because I like Tuscon and the people there, partly because CSI is one of my favorite shows, maybe someone knows something somewhere?

Here's the link.