Letting Go

So we've pretty much decided that we are tired of some of the things that have been cluttering our home and our lives. We have a LOT of stuff that is stuff we don't need anymore and is yard sale type stuff, but we don't really have a way to have a yard sale here. I've decided that it isn't worth it holding on to these things so we are going to be doing some major cleaning out and getting rid of a lot of things. I'm going to try and find a donation center that helps battered women/abandoned children/something of that sort. It's going to feel good to help others and to get rid of some things that we no longer need!

Work Stuff

So, I really love where I work, but I've been getting frustrated lately with an employee who seems to think she is everyone's boss (even though she isn't) and who has been unnecessarily rude to customers and fellow employees. Yesterday was the final straw and I reported her to our store manager today. I found out that he's also had customer complaints about her rudeness and that things are "going to be taken care of" (not really sure what that means). I have to put in writing my statements about what exactly she has done (believe me, THAT won't be hard!). I'm not a mean person and I'm not trying to get her fired or anything like that. This person just has some serious attitude problems and should not be lead of guest services (i.e. the person whose job is to make sure everyone leaves the store happy) if she can't be civil with customers.

Anyways. On a good note, I wasn't scheduled for 40 hours this week and I'm actually off on Friday and Saturday, so I asked if I could do one of the demos on Saturday so that I can get a few extra hours. Well, one of Saturday's demos is "Papercrafting with Cricut"!!! I get to spend two hours showing people all of the neat things you can do with a Cricut machine! And better yet, I get to go in for an extra two hours and "play" with the Cricut and practice using it. The best part? I can bring in my own scrapbook paper and make diecuts for my own scrapbooking use! Did I mention that I get to do all of this ON THE CLOCK!!! How awesome is that?!? I'm so excited! As long as I can make it through tomorrow (I have to work 8:30-5 with the aforementioned person), Friday and Saturday will be great!

20 Pounds Ago

So the picture below is of me on our trip to the beach at New Years. I had hit my top weight when we got home from that trip. It's been a difficult road, but I've FINALLY lost 20 pounds!
I am now setting my next goal of another 15 before Christmas! Overall, I want to lose another 35 pounds, but this next part is going to be difficult. I've hit that point where none of my "skinny" clothes fit yet, but all of my "fat" clothes are starting to get too big. Hopefully, I'll be able to push through and get so skinny that I'll have to buy new clothes because my "skinny" clothes won't fit anymore!

Here's a more recent picture of me (this is at about 15 pounds weight lost) :)

Cheaha is Beautiful!

So we got to spend a few days in Cheaha at the end of September. It was so wonderful! That was the first few days that it was actually cold and it was FrEEzInG up there! We had so much fun and are looking forward to going back when the leaves start changing! Here are some pictures from our trip:

This is us at Bald Rock. I can't believe they painted the rock!

The view from Rock Garden! We had never hiked out there, but it was a wonderful view!

Us at the top of the observation tower...very windy!

Yes, those are deer antler chandeliers!

Us at breakfast one morning...what a view!

Brakes...ugh

Well, I went to get an oil change in my car this morning. There is a place nearby that offers a $9.99 oil change with an 8-gallon fill-up, so we decided to take advantage of it...especially since my car was about 3,000 miles overdue. The brakes in my car have been grinding and not sounding very good for the past week or so. I haven't really noticed because Alan's been driving my car (since he has to drive farther and my car gets better gas mileage). I found out that the brakes are metal to metal and I'm going to need at least one new rotor. At least we are so blessed to have two vehicles! And luckily, Alan gets off work at 3 today and I don't have to be at work until 4, so he's going to take me to work. This just means one more thing for us to save up to pay for. The price quoted was equal to two weeks' of my pay. Thankfully, I have a job!

I'm also looking into other ways to save money. I recently ran out of eyeliner. I didn't really wear eyeliner much until the past few years and I thought I was going to die when I ran out! Well, I kept forgetting when I was at the grocery store and then when I remembered, I didn't have the right coupons. Anyways, all of this forgetting has caused me to experiment with "my look" and I've found a look that I actually like better and I think it is much more natural.

I've been somewhat frustrated with some things at work lately. I love my job, but the management isn't doing a very good job. Our District Team Leader was giving us a speech last week about the registers and cutting counter and he said that the MOD should never have to get on either and, if they do, that's a sign that the store isn't being managed properly. Well, the day before he gave the speech, the MOD was on the register AND was being called to help at cutting counter at the same time! Of course, the DTL didn't know about this until after his speech. Anyways, I think the biggest reason we are losing so many employees is because the pay is not very good and people don't have a regular schedule. I would love to have a job where I know what my schedule is going to be, but they change it almost daily! And I have to close tonight so I'll basically get home in time to see Alan for a few minutes before he goes to bed.