I'm Unusual???

I don't know, you think I'm unusual?? LOL!! I'd like to think I'm unique rather than unusual. I would have to agree though, my blog is uncensored cause I just don't care what others think (in a negative sense that is)! ;O)

I would like to hear what you think about this though. Do you agree with this and my blog style?

Your Blogging Type is Unique and Avant-Garde

You're a bit ... unusual. And so is your blog. You're impulsive, and you'll often post the first thing that pops in your head. Completely uncensored, you blog tends to shock... even though that's not your intent. You tend to change your blog often, experimenting with new designs and content.

What's" Your Blogging Personality?

My Weekly Assignment

This weeks assignment, I have to choose one of the four prompts and write about it.

1.) Lost? How come?
2.) If I could take tomorrow off work I'd...
3.) Write a letter to someone you miss greatly
4.) 10 things I believe in...

I choose #4.....

10 things I believe in:

1. God and that Jesus died for my sins
2. My family and friends
3. Love
4. My child's love, which happens to be the best thing in the whole world!!!
5. Freedom of speech
6. Spankings
7. The death penalty
8. You will be treated by the way you act
9. Global Warming is man made
10. Myself

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

It was today, 94 years ago that my grandma was born. What a long life she has lived. She was an Avon lady, someone who loves dancing and being with her friends and family. With the fact that she has dementia, I can't imagine her telling this day any different from yesterday. All I can say is....WOW! 94 years!!

As a child, my brother and I used to go up to her condo in Auburn, CA and stay the night there. She had a roll away couch and my brother and I would sleep underneth it rather than on top. LOL! I remember she would take us to the community swimming pool too and how much Bobby and I loved going there. So many things reminds me of her. From her red Dodge Dart she had to the sound of the news on the AM channels of the radio to her troll doll she had sitting on the dash of her car. Even when my dad divorced our step-mom, my grandma would drive out to Antioch every week to take care of us while my dad was at work and then drive back home for the weekend. This was until my mom and dad got back together when I was 6 years old.

Yesterday I went with my mom to Target to get some stuff for my grandma's birthday. I picked up a card for her also. My parents are taking the gifts to her today. I keep debating on going over there after work today. I know, that sounds terrible. I love my grandma very much!! However, I have a hard time dealing with old people. I'm not sure if it's the fact that getting old scares me or what, but now that my grandma has dementia, she doesn't remember who I am which makes it even harder for me to go and visit her. I have told my parents this and have asked my mom to go with me so that I can visit her. She said that she would but things keep coming up that I haven't made my way over to see her in months. I constantly think of her and hoping my procrastination doesn't get in the way before it's too late. I'm the type of person that always thinks "If only I had". I don't want that burden lurking over me the rest of my life.

My grandma lives in an assisted living home in Antioch. We moved her out here a couple years ago from her home in Auburn. She was just not capable of living on her own anymore. Over these last couple years, my mom and dad have said she is just getting worse. I just talked to my dad a couple days ago and he said that my grandma has to more or less be forced out of bed. She'll stay in there all day if she could. That's just not good and it saddens me to know that I may not have much longer with her.

I know I need to get over my fear of being around old people and just take my family to go see her. I want Sabrina to remember her and I don't want to be the blame for not taking her to see her great-grandma. As I am typing this, I keep thinking to myself "I can do this. Go visit her today, for her birthday." It's just so heartbreaking to see her this way. I know I need to just put those feelings aside and see her before it IS to late.

I Hate The Phone!

I'm currently on the phone with Dell for my job. It seems as though none of these companies can ever give a simple answer to a simple question and it's just so annoying. I had called them an hour ago for my boss, to cancel one item from an order. That call consisted of 3 transfers and a half hour on the phone. Now, because we never received a confirmation of that change, I'm back on the phone. I'm only asking for them to resubmit a confirmation email. Not too much to ask, right? Well, lets see.....I've now been on the phone for 10 min., as I continue to sit here on hold, that time continues to increase. Aww...a voice speaks.

My boss has me do these sorts of calls all the time. Trying to fix credit card errors or his personal utility bills incorrectly charged. It never fails, these calls aways seem to be 30-60 minute calls. I used to like being on the phone, until this job! I love my job, don't get me wrong. It's only me and the boss and a couple other sub-tenants. There is NO gossip!! That in itself is why I love this job!! It's so nice to come to work and leave not feeling like "OMG, they were talking about me" or "what did they say? Was that about me?" Who gives a shit!!! That's just unnecessary stress that no one needs!!

So here I am, finally off the phone. Heck, I guess I should look at it like this.....I get paid (a decent wage) for yapping on the phone. The only thing though is, I come home and have my husband telling me to do the same thing...UGH! I'm not at work and I don't want to have to do "work" stuff at home!! This has created a "anti-phone" attitude with me. Sure, on my days off I will chitty-chat with my BFF for an hour or more, but besides that, I avoid the phone. I'll check it and if it's not for me, I'll hand it to Paul or Sabrina. If it's a 1-800 #, I'll pick it up sometimes and hang up on them. Don't call my house!! Oh, and what is it with the telemarketing calls to the cell phone?? And the car warranty calls?? What's that?? QUIT CALLING!!!!! I put my number in the "Do Not Call" list online but that thing doesn't work. I'm almost convinced entering our numbers on there is just recycling our numbers to these stupid companies. Hmmm??

Anticipation For The End Of Hiatus

Raise your hand if you're excited for your shows to come back on!! Mine has already started with Kitchen Nightmares. I really like that Chef Ramsey! The first time I saw him on Hells Kitchen, I thought he was bit of an ass but as I've watched him on Kitchen Nightmares, the guy really has a passion for what he does. He just tries to get others to have that same passion. Some people just need a real ass kicking to "get it". There are a lot of people out there with egos that get the best of them and think they are good at what they do when they're not and don't like to hear criticism but at that point, they need to hear it to better themselves. Great show!! Love it!!

Next up......Ghost Whisperer! I love this show on so many different levels. It has a spookiness about it that you don't usually get from most shows. I wasn't much of a Jennifer Love Hewitt Fan before this show but now, I love her!! With the fact that I'm a huge fan of horror movies, this show hits the right spot for me. I love my weekly dose of ghost and spooks! Since having my daughter though, I've noticed I have become a little bit of a woos with the horror and gore cause I keep picturing the characters as being "someones child". The way they hacked up and tortured leaves an uneasy feeling with me. Maybe it's me? Maybe it's the mommy in me? Who knows. I just know this show hits the spot for me!

And lastly.....Desperate Housewives!! I'm not sure what to expect with this new years season. With the story line moving us 5 years forward, will it be good or will it be the breaking point for the show? The previews look good but they always show us the best and juiciest parts. I'm always a hopeful one for my shows! I always see the best in them while others dissect it and rip it apart. I've watched it from day one and hope to see it another few years.

So, with 8 days left for Desperate Housewives and 13 days for Ghost Whisperer, the countdown begins..............

A-Mazing Fun

I am one of those people who love to get lost in corn mazes or just any maze for that matter. I have searched the internet for local mazes for some weekend fun but I haven't had such luck. I remembered the Wooz in Vacaville many years ago. In fact, our only trip there (right before they closed it), I had my 280Z and just as we were getting ready to leave, my car broke down. Nice! Oh, the fond memories of a run-down and sad little amusement park and my beloved car. The two went hand-in-hand. Although, my car lasted a lot longer than the park.

So, as we were driving to Disneyland last weekend, along side I-5, or was it 580? Anyway, there was a sign that read: MazePlay.com. I was so excited that I had to jot down the information. Once we returned back home, I wasted no time in checking the website out. The mazes alone are spectacular and I wonder how the heck they accomplish the designs when they are as big as they are. There are two here in California, one in Patterson and the other in Modesto. I still haven't decided which one to go to. Unfortunately. it's only for the Halloween season. The one in Patterson sounds pretty cool cause they have it as a Haunted House Maze at night time and flashlights are required. Ooooooh the spookiness!!! I love a good scare once in awhile! :O)

Since I love the holidays and all the fun things that go with them, from Haunted Houses to seeing Santa to even going to Apple Hill and getting holiday yummies, I try to look for all these fun things to do in our area. If anyone knows of any fun things like this during the holidays, perhaps I may have missed, I would love to hear them!

My Weekly Assignment

One of my friends started doing a weekly assignment that she got from another blogger. I read it and thought it would be fun to participate in with them!

This week we had four choices but I'm going to choose the same as my friend. It's requiring me to open a dictionary and close my eyes, point to a word and then write about if it means something to me or not. Sounds different but fun! Although I don't have a dictionary (Is this normal? lol!!), I will emphasize. Let's see....oh I know, I'll call my friend and have her get the word for me. :O)

OK, my word is...

Hatch [hach] - noun

Definition: a small door or opening (as in an airplane or spaceship)

Um, OK.....I don't think this is relevant to me one bit. It's quite an easy word but really not relevant. Maybe I should of had her get something a little harder but would that be cheating? The only thing that keeps coming to mind is Disneyland..lol! I keep thinking about the little house right next to the Alice in Wonderland ride. It has this teenie door that I would seriously have to bend down just to get through it, although it doesn't open. Below is a picture of it. Since I'm taller than this door, I would consider it a "hatch". lol! To give you an idea of the size of this door (I'm sure most of you have seen this before, but for those who haven't), Sabrina is 3 yrs old here.

So, I guess that pretty much sums it up for that word. Since we have Disneyland on our minds, I have to share...

This last trip we took this past weekend, us mom's like to talk about the many milestones our children are experiencing, right?! Well, my baby girl isn't such a baby girl anymore cause she got to ride on her very first UPSIDE DOWN ride!!! It was California Screamin, the only upside down one there at California Adventure! It's making me sad but excited for her. I don't want my baby girl to grow up too fast.

We had such a great time but isn't that to be expected? On Sat night, we rode the Grizzly Rapids ride at California Adventure 8 times in a row. It was so much fun and a lot better riding it at night too! We cheated though. We had ponchos!! hehehe, the guy working there kept calling us "The Ponchos"..LOL!! Anyway, here are a couple pictures....

This was taking right before Sabrina went on it the first time!

This is the picture taken from the ride! Silly girl, making a silly face but look, she has her hands up!! My brave little girl!! :O) That's me and Nancy (Paul's sister) in the back.

Yah For Movies!!

Isn't it true for some? I'm the type of person that when I'm down and need a "pick me up", I always revert to the video store. Movies always allow me to "escape" from reality when I'm down. Sometimes a good comedy helps but even a suspense thriller will do for that matter.

Yesterday I decided to hit the movie theatres with my mom, feeling that need for a "pick me up". It had been a while since I went to see a movie with my mom and felt this would be a good time to have some mom and daughter time. When I was younger and still living at home, you would always find my mom and I at the movies. We love going!!!

We wanted to see "Mama Mia" but that started too late and since I had to be at Sabrina's school at 2pm to pick her up, I needed something early enough to allow me to do both so we went and saw "Righteous Kill" with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. What a great movie it was too!! I highly recommend it! Next on the list of movies to see......"Women".

During the previews, they have so many movies coming out that look like they're gonna be good. I can't wait however, they're really aren't too many "family type" movies coming out. I'm sure they wouldn't be showing "family type" previews at a rated R movie but even the posters along the walls aren't geared toward Sabrina's age. Bummer! I do know that I will be taking her to see "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" when she's on her fall break which I'm excited about..LOL!!! It looks cute! I just love those cutsie type movies.

BTW...an update on my car, it wasn't as bad as we originally thought. Thinking it was the starter turned out to be just the battery...LOL! We even had it towed to the car place to have fixed not knowing it was just that. Good thing for AAA and free towing!

A Little About Me...

Ok, I was tagged to do this from a friend's blog so I don't want to let her down. Plus, it sounds like a cute idea and another thing to get my mind off of things for maybe a couple minutes!

1. Where were you 10 years ago?
Lets see, it was 1998. I was 24 years old. I lived in Antioch at the Summerwood Apts on Buchanan and worked at A Children's World in Walnut Creek. Paul and I were engaged, no surprise since we were engaged 8 years and we basically did our own thing cause we didn't have a child yet.

2. What is on today's To Do List?
Well, today is just about over but I went to work, picked Sabrina up from my parent's house, then I picked Paul up cause he was car-less (he dropped the rental car off today). We went to dinner, then to AutoZone and Kragen's to find a car manual for my car. We came home, I blogged, watched the rest of Baby Mama and now blogging again. Almost bedtime now.

3. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Boy, what I could do if I were a billionaire!! I would pay off bills and then move to Carmel for one. I would help family and close friends out. I would also set up a trust fund and college fund for my baby girl! I'm a big animal lover so I would definitely donate to many animal charities. Also, to abused women and children and homeless shelters.

4. Name 5 places you have lived:
- Hayward, CA
- Union City, CA (for a short time when my parent's divorced back when I was 1 yrs old)
- Antioch, CA
- Oakley, CA
- No 5th place

5. Name 3 of your bad habits:
- Curse
- Drive fast
- Bite my nails

6. What are your favorite snacks?
I love chips and dip!! I love chocolate chip cookies and German chocolate cake (I just won't by them cause I'll get myself into too much trouble!!) I also love popcorn, watermelon and beef jerky.

7. Who will you tag for this?
Please don't disappoint me fellow bloggers!
I am tagging Trish ~ her blog
Missy is also being tagged ~ her blog
France is also being tagged ~ her blog
& Michelle is being tagged ~ her blog

Monday rant

Ok, can I just rant for a few minutes??? I am seriously stressed beyond stressed right now and I just need to let off some steam.

One, sure we went to Disneyland this past weekend and I was able to enter into the world of fantasy for all of a day and a half but reality came back too quick. On Friday, just before we left on our 6 hour journey to "The Happiest Place on Earth", I arrived at home from work. I knew that Paul had parked the rental car into the garage cause we don't like people to see up packing to go away. The garage give us that privacy. So, when I arrived home from work, I parked my car in the driveway. I went into the house to grab the last minute essentials, change my clothes from work and last potty call. I go outside so that I can pull my car off the driveway so we can get the rental car out of the garage and then I can pull my car into the garage. Well, it didn't go that smoothly. I get into my car, put the key into the ignition and turn it over......click, click is all I fricken got. The damn starter went out in my car. SHIT! More money! We ended up just putting it into neutral to get it off the driveway and then got the rental car out of the garage and pushed my car into the garage. Paul was hoping to be able to change the starter himself but he just got done looking to see where it was and he would have to take things apart and he doesn't want to mess with it, which is fine by me cause I've been stressing about him going under my car anyway. Afraid the car would fall on him while he was under it.

Second, I know not everyone will agree with me on this issue but again, this is my blog and I don't want to feel like I have to censor myself. I have a right to voice my opinion and I will do it here to the full extent if need be. (NOTE: Skip this part if you don't want to hear what I have to say). It's this damn election business. I'm so stressed out about it. It just seriously irritates the living daylights out of me to think that there are people out there voting for McCain/Palin after the last 8 years we've had with Bush. Bush has put us 10 trillion dollars in debt. Meanwhile, today McCain made a comment about the economy being a little bad but it will end up being fine. The last person that made a similar comment was President Hoover right before the country went into a great depression. Right on! The fricken guy is CLUELESS! Also, I'm hearing people like Palin because she funny? Who gives a shit if she's funny. That's not gonna run this country. Plus she kills animals for sport. I'm an animal lover and that don't fly with me ONE BIT! Also, if she's gonna cut the special needs funds for Alaska by 65%, can you imagine what she's gonna do for our country. Looks like she paid for that one herself. Hell, she doesn't even know what the Bush Doctrine is or knows anything about foreign affairs. Boy, that's what we want in the White House, yeah right! Can you imagine if McCain kills over cause he's old and SHE's left to run this country??? HOLY SHIT!! This country is headed for another depression and I don't want to be homeless because people don't want to vote for a black man or because his name is Obama (lame!). He is the only real hope for this country right now. I'm looking for the best choice for my daughter's future and McCain has NOTHING to offer my child. We can't take another 4 more years of this. It also doesn't make sense that "middle class" people would even vote Republican. Democrats are clearly for the middle class. Republicans are for the "upper class". My sister-in-law complains that she can't afford to move out of mommy and daddy's house. She's 38 years old. Thank the Republicans for that one!!!! They don't give a shit about us "little people". That's a proven fact!

And last but surely not the least, Paul's job. We can't seem to get any hits right now on his resume. That's how bad the economy is. There really aren't that many jobs out there. I'm getting worried. Paul is the bread winner in the family and I don't know how much time "T" is gonna give Paul. It's already been 2 weeks. I know these things take time but the clock is ticking for us right now. It's just a good thing we have some money saved but it's not gonna last that long. We've even been asking friends to keep their eyes open for us, meanwhile I've been checking online for jobs and what not. A year ago I would have never thought that "T" would have betrayed Paul like this. I can care less about his friendship now. It's sad to say but it's the fact. I've basically washed my hands of him. I don't even go there anymore cause I don't want to see his face. *sigh*

Ok, enough of the ranting....my next blog will be on a brighter note. I promise!!

Sunday excitement!

This past Sunday we went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (it will always be Marine World to me though). We went with my in-laws because my sister-in-law had free passes for Paul, Sabrina & I. Plus, my father-in-law really wanted to have a day with the grandkids because he's gonna be leaving for 6 weeks to spend in Palo Alto for a program that helps the blind or almost blind learn how to live. Paul's dad is considered legally blind. He can only see limited objects or shadows. He recently started getting like this in the last few years cause when he was in Vietnam, he was hit with Agent Orange which has caused him to go blind.

So, while at Six Flags, Sabrina and I had the opportunity to play with the dolphins. We were so excited!! Below are the pictures from it. Sorry for the bad quality but I had to take a picture of the pictures we got.


















We also went on Tony Hawk's Big Spin which we were able to get a video of and how dorky I looked on the ride! LOL What is it with dorky pictures or videos lately of me???!!! I would share but I don't need to humiliate myself! :O)

We even went in and looked at all the pretty butterflies but I couldn't bear to be in there that long cause the humidity was unbearable that I was sweating like a pig.

Towards the end of the day, while Sabrina was on the water ride with Grandpa, Paul and I went walking off a little and noticed that they had the SkyCoaster. In the past when I have seen this ride, I was always scared away telling Paul that "I will never go on that ride." To be honest, I'm afraid of heights but I can still handle roller coasters, but when I saw this ride this time, I told Paul that I would like to go on it. What the heck has come over me?? Paul was surprised too that I said I would. He told me "We can go on it if you want." So, once we got back with the family and started walking, we told them we were going to go on it. Sabrina even said she wanted to go on it............so we all did!! This ride is a kind of like bungee jumping in a way except you swing like your flying like Superman. They take you up 100 ft in the air and once the lady counts "3, 2, 1" I had to pull the lever and it released us. It was so scary at first but exhilarating! I still can't believe that I got up the nerve to go on this! People gathered around just to see a little 6 year old on it. It was so cool! Here are a couple pictures right before we were lifted up the 100 scary feet. My sister-in-law took more pics and a video but I haven't received them yet. I will post them once I get them.

Saying goodbye to a bad picture?

This year was the year that I was FINALLY able to update my horrible drivers license picture. The picture that was the most embarrassing because it was the picture that was taken right after I had Sabrina.

So, the end of July I went down to DMV in Concord with my brother (because Pittsburg is horrible and takes longer). I made sure before I left to check in the mirror just how my hair should be, whether it should be behind my shoulder or in front. Checked my smile out. Made sure my makeup looked good. OK....I was ready!! I was feeling good too! A new picture AND I was getting rid of the old weight..LOL! I had both things haunting me for the last 5 years and I was anticipating the fact that I didn't have to live with it any longer.

I went up to the counter, had all my information updated, proofed the paper to make sure all was correct and the DMV lady said to go to the right to take my picture. YAH, the time has come. I take it and a part of me wanted to ask the guy if I could check just to make sure it looked ok cause I didn't want to go another 5 more years with a crappy picture. I chickened out! Like he would have let me check it anyways.

Four weeks go by and still no driver's license. I called to make sure it didn't get lost in the mail. The guy asked what my address was and I told him. He said that it had the correct street address but that the city was listed as Antioch, CA. I checked that too! Damn DMV!! (They even screwed Paul's up by putting a Lake Tahoe zip code on his. We didn't notice until one of the casino dealers in Lake Tahoe, pointed it out.) I went ahead and corrected the address and was once again, waiting.....the suspense was killing me!

Well, a month and a half later......IT'S HERE!!! I opened it and..................................................WHAT?? Not again!! Ewwwww, I don't like it!!! I don't like my smile ONE BIT! My hair didn't even look good. I'm so disappointed! And just when I thought I was done with one bad photo, I'm back to another bad photo. I think DMV should let us preview our pictures before they send us on our way. Heck, they should let me retake my photo just for the fact that they screwed up my address and made me wait so long. Damn it! *sigh*

Sooner than we thought

A few days ago Paul asked me to put together a resume for him. OK, I can do that.....with his help! I think he thought I knew exactly what he does at work. Sure, I know a lot of what he does but I'm not there everyday with him to be able to jot down all the little things or even the big things in great detail. With Paul being at this job for 17 years, it makes his resume look a bit vacuous. I keep telling him that I need also an objective and well, just more details! He keeps putting it off. We don't have time to put it off anymore.

Yesterday we got word that "T" is going to take over Paul's position cause how the business is doing. With the economy, it's just getting bad. Paul has told "T" how to handle it but since "T" won't take Paul's advise and thinks he can do it on his own, Paul is the one to suffer because he makes the most money. We were so angry yesterday. "T" is being good about it though, giving Paul time to look for a job. How much time? That is to be left unknown. "T" just said "we'll work something out" if it gets to be a month or so. It's just scary.

So, I don't know what to do. I know a resume is basically selling someone. Telling the potential employer to "Hire Me!!" I want it to look good for Paul so he doesn't have to deal with this employment search too long. It's become quite stressful but I'm just continuing to try to think of the positives.

A Blessing in Disguise?

While I'm writing this, I'm feeling such frustration. I'm feeling this for a number of reasons and it all pertains to Paul's job. We are at a crossroads, I guess you can say. We feel it's time we do something now before the bottom falls out.

Paul has worked at his current job for the last 17 years. He started at the bottom and has worked his way up to management. Before, when the location he was working at was with the corporation, he worked so hard trying to become the District Manager for our area and the position was so promising. He was excited and wanting to move on to the next best thing making more money. Well, since the "Big Man" (the owner of the corporation) who lives in New York City and 3 of his 4 sons live out here in the Bay Area, he offered 2 of them ("T" and "V") a job with the company. The other son, "J" was going to Pepperdine for business at the time. "J" had no intentions of working for the family company.

Meanwhile, Paul was doing all this work traveling to LA, Reno, Tracy, Fairfield, Sacramento. His work at these locations was to more or less train the Manager and the employees to do the job "right". Clean the restaurant up and improve the overall profitability of that particular location, at the time. Well, once "J" completed his college schooling at Pepperdine, he decided that the family business was the easiest thing to get into at the time and who do you think got that District Manager position Paul was working so hard for???? Not Paul.......fricken "J" did. This is where my frustration started with this company. This was probably about 9 years ago or so.

During this whole time, "T", "V" and now "J" were District Managers for different areas. "T" was covering the East Bay. So, about 4 or 5 years ago the Big Man" (the dad) decided to sell the company. Before doing so, he decided to give a couple of the locations out here to his 3 sons. "V" got the Sun Valley Mall location, "T" got the Antioch location and "J" got the Tracy location. Paul continued to be Manager for "T". Paul used to work at the Sun Valley location until a few months before I gave birth to Sabrina. He then came to the Antioch location to be closer to home. At that point he was still working under "T" until "T" took over the Antioch location as a franchise when his dad gave it to him.

Now that Paul has been working for "T" the last 10 years or so, we have learned that "T" doesn't know shit about running a business. I have to give it to Paul, the guy is business savvy and if we had the money, I wish Paul would have been able to buy "T" out. Paul knows everything about how to run a business. When "T" had to remodel/move the Antioch location, Paul did most of the work from making sure the work was done right, to making all the necessary calls to contractors and dealing with city codes, etc. "T" was completely clueless as to what the next step would be during this remodel/move. The guy is smart and I'm not just saying this cause he's my husband.

So, frustration #2 is because "T" is our friend, and he told Paul at the beginning that he wanted Paul to be co-owner. Even "T"'s dad said that Paul would be a great asset to him ("T"'s dad really likes Paul.) I told Paul to get that in writing. He didn't and the outcome was what I had expected. "T" saw the money he could make doing a-b-s-o-l-u-t-e-l-y NOTHING! Then Paul had been telling "T" for the last couple years what he needs to do in order to keep the business going now that the mall is going down. I'm sure any of you that have been to the County East Mall, or as they call it now the Somersville Town Center, the fricken place is not doing good. You get homeless people in there begging for money. You have "choice" people causing problems and it's just not busy. Stores are closing and who the heck wants to go there when we can go to Sun Valley Mall or Slatten Ranch?!

Paul being the Manager, he doesn't feel like he can make the decisions he needs to. He keeps telling "T" that the money is going and "T" continues to buy personal shit with the business money and because "T" hired his step-dad (who does what the hell he wants to. Comes in to work earlier than he is scheduled and will only work in the back making food.) Paul used to make the food and now that "T" won't say anything, Paul has to work in the fricken front serving and shit. Meanwhile, "T" comes in for all of 4 hours a day, a few days a week cause he has to go to the gym. The fricken gym is more important than his business. Or he'll make a dentist appointment at noon so that he doesn't have to come in at all. "T" doesn't know what it is like to work. The nerve of it is, he complained to Paul telling him that there is no way Paul could run a business. WTF????? Are you kidding me? The fuck he can't. What the hell has he been doing all these years? Keeping "T"'s business afloat while "T" goes to the gym, buys boats and trucks on the business money when the business is going down.

Frustration #3, Paul and I have to pay for our own medical insurance out of pocket cause "T" wouldn't provide it. Well, about a year or two ago Paul got "T" to start helping in paying for it for us. Mind you, our insurance is SHIT!! We have Blue Cross, 5,000 deductible. It is almost $400 a month. Yesterday Paul asked for the insurance money for the month and "T" said, "Oh, this may be the last month that I can pay for it. We're not doing good." YA THINK????? Paul's been telling "T" that, telling him that "T" and him needs to work open to close and cut a couple people to make it work but "T"'s too damn lazy to get in there and get his hands dirty.

I'm pissed!!!! I know Paul can find another job making more money with benefits, but "T" was supposed to be our friend and all he is doing is thinking about his self. His wife has even been crying about this. "T" just won't listen to Paul and take his advise. Paul has been telling "T" what he thinks will happen and he has been right. Paul just feel like his hands are tied right now. If Paul leaves, "T"'s business will not survive. He doesn't know the first thing about his own company.

So, now I am in the process of preparing a resume for Paul. I'm trying to think of the positive of this change to come. Perhaps this will be a blessing in disguise. Perhaps we will be able to better our own situation if Paul gets a new job. I just want him to be able to utilize his skills in a more productive way and be rewarded for it. He is so smart and business savvy and I know there is a job out there waiting for him. I'm just saddened cause just talking to him on the phone today, you can just hear it in his voice, all the frustration he is feeling.

Please, wish us luck and if you pray, please pray for us! Thanks!!

Anticipation for the holidays

I'm not sure why but this year I am ready to say goodbye to the hot weather and sweaty nights. It's so out of the norm for me too, being the "summer girl" that I am. I don't know what it is. I keep daydreaming of the foggy mornings and cozy-ing up with a blanket next to my babe at night watching movies. Taking early morning drives up to Apple Hill for the oh so anticipated apple goodness. I keep thinking of all the good photos I can capture during that time of year, hoping to make my own portfolio one day.

I can't wait for our 2nd annual Haunted House we put on. We had such a good turn out last year that I can only imagine this year will be better. It's such hard work and takes a week to put together but the end result is so satisfying!

I don't normally like the rain, but I'm ready for the holiday season. I can't wait for Thanksgiving and just spending time together with family. Eating the most delicious turkey dinner that we share once or twice a year that I look so forward to! Just the atmosphere of the holidays is simply the best!

I'm also ready to cut down our Christmas tree this year rather than using our packed away annual tree. Ready to watch my yearly dose of A Christmas Story! Ready to hit the mall to do my "last minute" Christmas shopping. I've never been one to plan ahead when it comes to Christmas but I don't mind the crowded Christmas rush. OK, so maybe when people start to get rude is when I get frustrated but overall, I just love the holidays and the feeling it brings. It's also the best to see all the Christmas lights on peoples houses and know that there are so many people in the same holiday spirit. I love to hit Starbucks and grab my usual, Tazo Chai Latte and then make our way to Antioch's Shannondale Dr. for their annual Christmas decorations.

Time passes quickly enough as it is, I shouldn't rush it cause it will come soon enough.

"Spur of the moment" at its worst

Most of you know, Paul and I are such "spur of the moment" type of people. So "spur of the moment" that on Saturday after Paul got home from work and starting to think of what the heck to do (which was around 2pm), we got a hair up our ass you know what that we thought, "Hey, let's rent a car and drive to Vegas!!" We were so serious that we started looking up rental cars and called my sister/brother-in-law to see if they wanted to come with us (cause it would be cheaper to split the cost). We were so excited about our "last minute trip" idea! However, we didn't take into consideration that the rental places may be closed. Every place we looked up...CLOSED! (You may be wondering "Why not drive your own car?", right??!! Well, for the fact that my car now has over 101k miles and Paul's is almost to 100k is why we rent cars all the time.) So, I'm sure you can imagine how bummed we were and Paul kept saying the rest of the day "We would be in Vegas right now if only I thought about this last night".

So later that night, I told Paul that we had better start figuring out what we would do for Sunday. I didn't want another "Vegas bust" trip idea again. So Sunday morning came and we were back to looking on the internet for ideas. Nothing seemed to appeal to Paul. I mentioned Tilden Park, Monterey, Mendocino. Heck, we even almost went to Reno for the BBQ cook-off but no one had hotels available at a reasonable price. Gee, I wonder why?! Why the heck do we have to be so spur of the moment?? It sometimes works against us. We need to start planning ahead for holiday weekends like this so we don't spend it twiddling our thumbs.

So anyway, we decided to just jump in the car and drive. We attempted Tilden Park but because we've never been there and didn't look for directions, just in case, we didn't find our way there. So we jumped back onto the freeway and found ourselves at Jack London Square to take the ferry to Pier 39. It was a nice trip! We didn't even hit a sailboat this time (That happened the last time we took the ferry about 4-1/2 yrs ago. What a pain that was cause we had to wait for the coast guard and having a 1-1/2 yr old, she was getting very restless, as I'm sure you can imagine.)

Once at Pier 39, we just did the normal "tourist" thing. How lame for us, but I love going to the city. Paul can't stand S.F. though. As he put it yesterday, "It doesn't impress me one bit". LOL!

For dinner we ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe. Short wait, good food and relaxing. What more can you ask for?! After dinner, I was having a major craving for a piece of chocolate so we fought through the Labor Day crowds just to find my one piece of chocolate. YAH! Once I got it I was happy and then was ready to head back home. Here are a few pics from the day.

Today we just decided to stay in the area and went miniature golfing. I'll tell you though, it's no fun playing with Paul and Sabrina cause you should hear the two of them. If they screw up, I have to constantly hear "I'm not playing anymore!" or "UGH" or I get the two of them either slamming the golf club on the ground or trying to bend it to break it. Gee, I wonder where Sabrina gets that from.....NOT ME!!!!!! LOL!!