Tag Response...

Six things you may not know about me:

1. I'm afraid to put colored nail polish on my toes. When I was in high school I had the most amazing crush on this guy named Percy (don't laugh Melissa and Jennifer). He is Indian (not an American Indian, from India) and beautiful and I was crazy about him. Well one night my sophomore year (he was a senior) he told me that a girl should never put colored nail polish on her toes. I very rarely do anything a guy thinks I should or shouldn't do, but I was so into Percy that for some reason that statement stuck with me. I've never put colored polish on my toes and I'm sure I never will. Years later (last year to be exact) I found percy and we struck up an email romance and later an actual romance. I told him about how I remembered that and he thought it was so funny that I never paint my toes colors. He's an awesome guy and I'm so glad I got to get to know him deeper. Which leads me to my number 2...

2. I have, for some reason, been fortunate enough in my adult years to reconnect with my teenage crush's. See number 1. But Percy is not the only one. Every guy I really liked when I was a kid has asked me out as an adult. You see, when I was younger, I was pretty rough looking. I've definitley experienced the ugly duckling situation. It is no lie. I'm thankful that I've grown out of that phase, but I absolutley remember the pain of being made fun of over my looks. Anyways, the past several years I've ran into a lot of people I went to high school or junior high with. These guys who I was so interested in were suddenly interested in me. It's always a good feeling to be admired. And an even better feeling to turn someone down later in life when they wouldn't give you any attention earlier.

3. I'm afraid of large domesticated animals. Cows, sheep, even ducks, which aren't very big. I can't explain why. This is just the way I am. Some of those animals have really big teeth.

That's all I have time for right now! I will finish the other 3 ASAP!

I'm it?

Wow! I've been tagged...I've never been tagged before! It fills me with a strange and wonderful feeling...what will I say? Well you will all have to wait! My office is buzzing with complete craziness and I just happen to be the girl to calm people down. They do work for me, so I suppose it's my responsibility. I will complete the tag soon! Promise!

The Hiring

I hired a guy named Tristan last night to fill Lissa's position. I think he will do really well. And everyone is so excited that there is going to be some additional testosterone in the building. I think it's a great thing. And it was my decision! My intelligence scares me sometimes.
So tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for so many things. Especially the fact that I won't be coming to the office for 4 whole days. I am very happy about this.
I'm really glad that I'll get to see most of my family this week. It's neat to see how our family is growing so much every time we get together. More kids, pets, boyfriends/girlfriends/husbands/hopefully no wives any time soon.
I have nothing else to say, which is odd. I'm really so tired right now. I need a nap like you wouldn't believe.

The Firing

No, I did not get fired. But Lissa did! I know, it's not nice to rejoyce at the firing of another person, and I'm not rejoycing. I'm just glad. You see, Lissa had a very bad attitude, and she just couldn't get over me being her boss. There has been a little bit of misunderstanding since I've started in my 'Director of Operations' position about who actually works for who. Well, no one has misunderstood except Lissa, really. Well I tried to make it clear one last time a couple of weeks ago. I was having my weekly Thursday afternoon meeting with the girls who work for me and I reiterated the fact that 'you work for me, and I work for Aaron (our CEO)'. Well Lissa had just had enough. She started raising her voice and saying that she was ready to walk because she didn't think it was fair that someone so much younger than her was in a management position making more money than she does, when she's been with the company longer. And then she started saying that the way we run our business isn't the way a business should be ran, and that is what brought out the wrath of Aaron. Aaron is an amazing man to work with, but I wouldn't ever insult him. In fact, I try not to do too much insulting at all. But believe me, if the time is right...I can hold my own.
Anyway! She is gone and there is a much happier mood in the office in general. She just sucked the happiness out of having an amazing job like she did. But-listen to the saddest part. I'm not sad that she's gone at all, but when she left, she was carrying all her things out the door and about 30 seconds before she left it started raining harder than it has in months...and the the hail came...it was very interesting how all that happened at the exact moment she was terminated. I wonder what it means...

Seriousness...Seriously

It's getting serious. What, you may ask? Jimmy and Andrea. Andrea and Jimmy. Jimmy and Andrea and Rex and Murphy (those last two are the names of our dogs. Murphy is a girl, by the way). Rex is totally and completely in love with Jimmy. And Jimmy is falling deeply in love with my dad. They will be BFF before long I think.
Here are reasons why it is getting serious: First off, if you know anything about me you know that I need to back things up with facts. I've never been the type of person who 'goes with their heart'. That's just not me. If it makes sense in my mind, and I want it in my heart, then I'll go with it. Not otherwise. It's getting serious because I trust him. Totally. I know this is a risky thing to do, and I don't love feeling vulnerable, but it is the truth. The trust is strong. Secondly, I want him to meet my family. I've been dreaming up ways we can double date more with my parents (how corny is that?) and my big sister Melissa and her husband Heath. I invited Jimmy to my company's Christmas party. BIG step. I invited him to be my date at my little sisters wedding. About that...if you don't know, my sister Christina is getting married to her boyfriend Clifton on November 23. She picked this date because all of my family will be available. My brother Bryan will be home from college and Jennifer will be here from Utah. And everyone else lives close enough not to have to mention. So to make a long story short, I'm not having to try and include Jimmy in my life. He just fits. I think all those years of being single and learning to love me are now paying off in a different way than I imagined...I'm learning now that I am able to let someone in and it doesn't have to be scary. I can be AWESOME! And it is. Cheers!

Stolen Groceries...For Real

This past Monday night I left work and went on a little jog and then went to the grocery store. No, I did not win a cake, but something just as surprising did happen. I bought all my groceries and was really very excited that it didn't look like I'd forgotten anything I needed. So I take my things out to my car (in paper bags, of course...plastic never biodegrades) and put my three bags in the back seat and leave the door open while I took my cart to the cart keeping area. I can't explain to you why I left my door open. But I did. I turned back from the cart place to see a dark man (I'll say Latino) running from my car with two of my bags! It was unbelievable! I yelled at him and told him he was pathetic and then I couldn't stop laughing. I mean, he could have grabbed my wallet, my keys, my package of baby wipes I keep to wash my hands with when I'm feeling dirty. But he got the groceries. So I just went and bought some more. It is one of the strangest and funniest things I've ever experienced. And I hope it never happens again. I don't like having my food stolen.

PHEW!

It happened! Meet the Parents night was a success! I think that Jimmy is actually falling in love with my dad. It sounds strange but true. They got along immediately. Jimmy and Beverly, my step-mom (AKA Mums), also got along very well. However...the day leading up to dinner was not so perfect.
First off, we forgot everything. I do mean everything. Jimmy had dropped his truck off to be washed that morning and when we went to pick it up we realized that we didn't have the keys. He usually leaves them in the ignition but didn't this time. So we had to do a key search. And then we started out towards Little Rock (from Hot Springs) only to discover that 20 minutes into the drive we had forgotten our phones. We turned around. So now we're running a little late. We finally did make it to Little Rock to find out one more unbelievable event had taken place: I didn't have my keys! How would we ever get into my apt. without keys? Well I'll tell you, we wouldn't have. And then...I took a risk and called the apt. office. Oddly, there was someone there (why on a Saturday? I guess I really don't care, I'm just thankful) who helped me out. PHEW! So we took showers and got dressed (don't you love the play-by-play?) and I put on a dress that I was saving for a special night with Jimmy, and that I'm sure I'll hear about how short it was from my parents later on, and we found out that yet another thing was missing! It was wild! Jimmy had forgotten a sport coat. I told him not to worry, my parents would be able to survive without him being in a sport coat. And after I confirmed to Jimmy that my dad would most likely be wearing a jacket, it made everything worse. I will never say that again. To make a long story short, my dress was short, the lack of a jacket was perfect, and so was the conversation. And it was nice to be with my parents while they were celebrating their 6th anniversary.
On a sad note...I did something to my car this weekend. For those of you who know me, you may not be surprised. I've had my share of fender-benders (ok ok, "accidents"). But it has been over 1 calender year since my last occurrence. I have been very very proud of myself. Well, I actually rubbed up against the metal post holding up my covered parking space at my apt. There is just a small scratch, but it was disappointing to do that after such a period of non-accidents. I did feel down on myself about it for a while, and then I started to realize how minuscule the event really was. I mean, I have so much to be thankful for, I have no business being upset at the small stuff. I'm healthy, have an awesome family, amazingly beautiful nieces, an enviable career, friends that love me regardless of anything I do, and a very handsome man to adore. I can't imagine feeling more content. And the best part is...I know it'll only get better. And if there is a set back, I know I can handle it. So...who cares about a scratch or dent in my car? It's not a dent in my life...

Selfish?

So all this week my CEO and VP have been gone on a hunting trip to Colorado to catch some elk. I say catch because I don't want to say kill. I don't have a problem with hunting at all, I just don't like saying 'kill'. I've even hunted and killed in the past...some ducks to be exact. I did eat the meat, so please don't be angry. Duck is actually one of my favorite foods, to tell the truth. So the point is, the office has been very wonderfully quiet. Still lots of work to do and lots of employees to keep up with, but much calmer.
BUT! There is something that I'm not happy about. Our receptionist, Leigh, had emergency surgery to remove her appendix last week. She is doing very well, but I just don't like it when people aren't at work. I know that sounds cruel, and I've tried to change my way of thinking about the situation, but I just can't. I don't like when people put in vacation requests, because I want everyone here all the time. It's not that I'm afraid to do more work, I love my job and I love helping in other areas when I can. It just stresses me out to have less than my complete team here. Also, I'm starting to see that when you're in a management position, you may never get time off. I have more vacation time than anyone else, and more sick days and floater holidays as well. I just don't ever see a chance to be able to use them! Sure, I could leave tomorrow and stay out for the length of time I'm allotted, but that's just irresponsible. Before I do that I need to make sure everything is in place here before I go, so that it can be handled without me. Because believe me, when I leave for a break, I'm not going to be checking in. So I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm going to take off the last week in November and the whole month of December. Kidding! I couldn't do that. Well, I could, but I wouldn't. But I really like the idea of paid time off, and I want to take a break sometime... I know it sounds selfish. But it's how I feel...