Metamora and dulcimers

Today was our GDO (Girl's Day Out) trip to Metamora. We really missed the presence of several female relatives. It's such a shame that Chris, Beth, Carrie, and Ashley wasn't there. However my mom, Aunt Carol, and I did have fun. Oh, and those of you that missed, well.... You didn't miss too much. I would say only a 1/3 of the stores were open.

We ate lunch at a restaurant/ice cream parlor/candy store. The lady acted more like a mom than a stranger. It was really ODD. She told us "I can make you....." Then she quoted her menu. We settled on BBQ sandwiches and a hot dog. She then said "I have chips if you'd like them. What would you like to drink? We have water, coke...." It felt exactly like being at someone's kitchen table. It was WEIRD. Then when we got up to pay, she said "Thank you, come back again." I guess she had forgotten that we hadn't PAID. It was an odd experience.

We arrived around 11, and even with a lot of sitting, we were heading home by 2. I'm not going to say it was a waste of time, because spending time with family is NEVER a waste of time. Oh, and I did manage to find the strangest picture ever. Aunt Carol told me that it looked like something Carrie would LOVE. Since there wasn't anyone around, I took a picture of it. I will post it soon. PROMISE...

We did stop by Dairy Queen on the way home. Carrie, remember the dripping ice cream from last year? Well, it happened again. Only this time there was a plastic "holder" so it didn't actually drip on me. :)

I went to Metamora thinking MAYBE I could find a dulcimer, but as I said most of the shops were closed. There wasn't a dulcimer in sight... HOWEVER, Sept 1, they are having a dulcimer workshop.

Anyway, I come home got on ebay, and found a reliable seller (100% feedback) who MAKES dulcimers. Since I'm a beginner, I didn't want to buy anything expensive,(saw one for over $500) and this was VERY reasonable. I liked the fact that I get to choose whether I want a teardrop or hourglass shaped dulcimer. Most importantly, the thing I like most is this person has an "upgrade" program. The one I bought I believe is a student dulcimer. It's very plain and not fancy at all. Which starting out, that's just fine with me. Then with your receipt, you can upgrade whenever you want a better one. I think that's amazing.

Now I'll be camping out at the post office. LOL. :)

Changes... and complaints..

As you probably heard, our factory has been sold to a private company. Found out that this company is also the owner of Burger King. Which makes me wonder if they will put Burger Kings in our factories. That would be awesome.

I would say there are a lot of worried and concerned employees. Everyone is wondering what's going to happen. There are so many rumors, and with contracts coming up in September, rumors are flying more than normal. I for one am not worried. I know that God will take care of me regardless what happens.

I for one am very upset on how the "OLD" company treated us. They took us over, took our money, fired our design teams, took the patent? copyright? for our best selling item, and just dumped us when we started to do badly. Yeah, they really did us dirty.
I know this is wrong, but I hope that someday they kick themselves for giving us up so quickly. I hope what happened to us, happens to them. In other words... "What goes around, comes around."

I've told people at work that since the three top companies are doing so poorly, we need to join forces, and build each other up back to our "glory days". Well, it looks like it's happening. This new company has the former big shots of all three top companies working together to bail each other out.

One good thing is... We are as of now an AMERICAN company again!!!!!!!

I am a Copycat, and proud of it.

I saw this on my cousin's blog, and thought.... Hmmm... If she's not afraid to put this out for the whole world to see, then why should I? So here's my answers..

Accent: Hoosier twang, realllly bad English accent (working on it) and pirate AARRR there matey.
Bible book I love: Proverbs. Can really pull me out of a bad mood.
Chore I don't care for: cleaning the litter box
Dog or Cat:cat. Don't have time to take care of a dog.
Essential Electronics: cell phone and Internet.
Gold or Silver: gold
Handbag I carry most: pink and gray one strap backpack with wallet, book(s), notebook, Bible,gum, and headache meds that I carry to work.
Insomnia: Uh.. YEAH... The joys of working 3-11PM. Usually up till AT LEAST 3. Sometimes 4 or 5AM.
Job Title: 2nd shift factory worker and Sunday school teacher.
Kids: UM..... NOT MARRIED DUH!!!!! ok, one cat, Tabby, and oodles of dust bunnies.
Living arrangements:3 bedroom, 1 bath, dining room, living room, kitchen, and a partial basement. I would KILL for a laundry room and sun room. I am so wanting to add on.
Most memorable moments: When I got the news of a new sister then brother. My Sr trip. Sure there are others.
Naughtiest childhood behavior: ONCE when I was babysitting Ashley and Austin, and they wouldn't stop arguing. I got annoyed with them, so I locked them outside. How was I supposed to know that it was lightning outside? They were traumatized...To this day I still hear about it.
Phobias: heights, mice and snakes (outside a cage), birds loose in the house, and enclosed areas.
Religion: Christian.
Siblings: 2 brothers, Aaron and Austin, 1 sister, Ashley, and 1 unofficially adopted big sister Lois.
Time I wake up: 11-11:30 work days (unless I have something I have to do), noon Sats (again, if I don't have anything to do), and 8:30 Sundays (can you see why I have a hard time staying awake during church?)
Unusual talent: Very good at quoting movies.... Oh, and I can look at a cover of a movie and tell you if I've seen it or not.
Vegetable I refuse to eat: plain raw tomatoes... Must be on something (taco/cheeseburger)
Worst habit: procrastinating
X-Rays: dental and had my finger X-rayed. Aaron broke it when he got mad when he was losing at baseball. Yes, he intentionally broke my finger. Oh, and he remembers it.
Yummy stuff I cook: Cabbage soup... Yum. Spicy.
Zoo animals I like the Most: Lions and dolphins.

Theory Disproved

I always thought that my sleepwalking/talking was always the cause of eating before bedtime.. Well, I proved myself wrong last night.

The dream I had was very comical, and of course I had to share it with Lois as we walked into work. I was VERY angry at Lois and was screaming at her in my dream. Which if you knew us, you'd know we never yell at each other. We don't even get mad. Might get annoyed or disappointed, but never angry. Which makes this dream even funnier.....

My dream started with Lois walking right into my house (How she had the key was beyond me.) She was standing in my living room yelling "Wake up poppet, let's watch Pirates of the Caribbean".
I sat up and yelled (I was VERY angry..) "Lois it's 4:30 AM GO HOME AND LET ME SLEEP." She said she was starting the movie. Now here's where my sleepwalking (or should I say sleep RUNNING comes in) I jumped out of bed and tried to run into the living room. I woke up when I fell down. I was also really dizzy. I do remember being really angry at Lois for coming into my house without calling first.

Lois and I had a good laugh over that stupid dream.

I love my boss....

Yes, you read that right. I am one of those people that love their bosses.

Stacy has been my boss since October, and she's fairly new at being a boss. She doesn't confront people (which I like) and she warns us about things. For example she told me recently... "The area manager is on the war path, he's looking to fire people talking/texting on cell phones and reading on their jobs. I thought I'd warn you since you're in direct view of his office." So of course I FRANTICALLY hide my newspapers and quickly finish the text message I was sending to Lois.

You see, all the offices are 20 feet above the floor. Bosses/ area managers can look out over their workers. Unfortunately MY job is directly by the area manager's office. I'm the first one he sees. So, I'm more likely to be noticed more than others. Also it doesn't help that I can look over my right shoulder and look up and see the area manager's bald head as he's on his computer. If he stands up, he would see me. Talk about direct view. The good thing is, I only have to be careful until 6 or 6:30... Sometimes 4 on Fridays, and usually not at all on Sat. That's when he leaves for the night.

Anyway back to Stacy. She sometimes (if we're chasing assembly, and about to drop them. Which means we're not running fast enough to keep the assembly departments in parts) sometimes she'll ask me if I would run another job during that person's breaks. There are times I want to refuse, but I never do. No, I'm not sucking up, I just think, there may be a time I need a favor. Sure enough I did.......

One time in Feb, my dad called me at work (on my cell) and told me that the roads were getting bad and to see if I could leave early. So, I found Stacy and asked if I could leave at 7. She told me, "I would, but everyone is asking to leave, and I can't let you and not anyone else." I told her that I understood, and went back to work. Around 8:30 this guy walks up to my job and said "Stacy told me to come over and run your job, so you can leave." I was surprised, and I didn't believe him. So, I found Stacy and asked her about it. She told me to go, that she found someone to cover my job, and to please don't tell anyone that she did that. Well, I grabbed my things and left after thanking her a million times over.
From then on whenever she asks me for a favor, I never hesistate to do whatever she needs. Oh, and it's paid off AGAIN....

I was hoping to work this Sat and next, so I get the 19th off. I'm wanting to go to my cousin's graduation. Well, I wasn't asked to work, so I asked Stacy if I could get a paid day that Sat. I explained why I needed it off, and that they live quite a ways away. She told me that she had to go check the book.

Two hours later I asked her if she checked it. I said, I'm just afraid it's going to be 100% (mandatory) that Sat. She said, "it is 100% next Sat AND the Sat you want off. Go ahead and take it off, and I'll take care of it." She laughed and waved me off when I told her that I owed her one.

So, I went from having one boss that played favorites, and those favorites were the ONLY ones that could get days off, to having a boss that treats us fairly. I really like Stacy, but I'm afraid she won't be there much longer. They're talking about getting rid of 1/3 of the management jobs. I sure hope they keep her. She plays fair.

Self Portraits

My cousin had this interesting idea about doing our own self portraits. Well, I do have a digital camera, but hadn't before now figured out how to actually upload pictures. However I played around with it, and I THINK I have it. So here goes, my self portraits.... I had FUN with these.