Tamssmat

Summertime weather is gross.  I hate being hot and sweaty.  Mostly.  The air conditioner at our office broke late last week so we’ve been working in less than desirable conditions with portable air conditioners that don’t cool the entire area, fans that don’t really help, and hot, muggy air that is making everyone cranky.  Some of us have opted to go sit downstairs and try to work there but there aren’t really any desks so it’s difficult.  I’ve camped out down there the past two days on Lisa’s desk and I’m loving it.  It’s quieter, it’s cooler, I can sing with my iTunes and not have to care about if someone’s on the phone.  OH, and we just had the carpet pulled out so the acoustics down there are AWESOME!!  As Katie pointed out yesterday though, our fearless leader who just returned to the office this week and seems to be enjoying this, is viewing it as quite the adventure.  This is fun to him.  Sure, it’s an unfortunate set back, but it’s like going out into the wild to him.  Crazy.  I think it’s just plain ugly and it makes me wonder what I did to deserve such treatment.  I’m a good person.  Mostly.

But in general, during the summer is when I gain my winter weight.  I refuse to go outside - in fact, my yard hasn’t been mowed in about 3 weeks.  It’s just not fair in my opinion to make me go outdoors in these conditions.  I’m currently counting down the days until football starts.  That is the signal to my system that better weather is just around the corner and I can stop being all cranky and gross and that it’s OK to emerge from the safety of my air conditioning.  Get out and exercise off my winter weight.  And it’s football!!  I mean, come on now!!  I love spending my entire Sunday on the couch watching game after game after game.  And then proceeding to complain about various announcers and commercials to anyone that will listen.  Speaking of which, have you seen that creepy commercial for body wash or something where this half man half horse is talking about how he’s two things?  It’s weird.  It makes me uncomfortable in several ways.

So I spent almost all of my Sunday sitting around reading and it was glorious. I haven’t done that in quite some time. I usually spend about 2-3 days per book and then move on to the next one but lately I’ve been so distracted for some reason that all I feel like doing is laying around watching TV.  This has lead to a sick addiction to VH1 and I’m not proud of myself.  I’ve spent about the last 3 weeks working on the current book and finally finished it this weekend and started another.  Bliss.

I started the day with coffee and Target shopping with Katie.  Coffee on the weekends has turned into quite the sad affair.  We used to frequent our local LatteLand but found the staff to be very unfriendly.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t want the staff starting conversations with me.  I quite prefer to be left alone.  That being said, I do enjoy a friendly greeting and feeling recognized.  Who doesn’t?  That’s the place to go in the winter time because they have a fire place and cushy chairs but right now, they’re not it.  We moved to a place by my house called A Cup Above.  This place had good coffee and VERY friendly people.  I fell in love with them.  It’s a small, quaint place that would be quite enjoyable were it not for the clientel but it was the best there was around.  Then the owners sold.  Sad, sad day.  The new owner and new staff are annoying to me.  I’m too distracted with my annoyance and growing irritability when I’m there that I can’t read or focus on work.  SO, we’ve gone back to good old reliable Starbucks.

I digress as seems a frequent occurrence.  Refocus Tams.  Target.  I found the most beautiful pair of purple pumps!!!  They’re gorgeous!!  I’m gorgeous in them!!  I couldn’t wait until Monday to be able to wear them to work.  I did purchase some other items but everything pales in comparison.

Then later in the afternoon, I got a surprise call from an old friend that I haven’t seen in ages wanting to know if I was going to be around for a while.  Well yeah.  I’m just laying here reading.  Of course that’s not what I said.  Don’t want people that have chosen to not be in my life to know that I’ve got nothing else going on even if that is how I prefer it.  So I spent the next half hour running through the house with my big fat dog following me, trying to clean the place up and make it smell less like my big fat dog.  So my friend arrives on his motorcycle (breath Tams, breath) and we reacquaint and pet the James dog.  It really was a wonderful way to spend my Sunday evening.  I’ve really missed knowing him and felt very comfortable immediately upon his arrival.  You know how sometimes, when you’re around someone you haven’t talked to in over a year makes you uncomfortable?  No?  Is that just me?  Hell, people I talked to yesterday make me uncomfortable.  This wasn’t like that at all.  It was easy.  It was cozy.  It was gratifying.  Well, no.  That’s another blog for another time and for that matter, another reader group.

So then he offered to take me for a ride on his motorcycle but since I was wearing a dress I must change into jeans as they’re more protective.  So I bounded off to my room to change and what do I see?  My new purple pumps.  Yep!  I wore them for the ride.  It was awesome.  The only thing that could have been problematic was that I kept wanting to lean over and check out my pumps and that could have been fatal.  Poor driver.  I’ve been taught in my years of hopping on the back of bikes, proper riding etiquette and leaning one way or another is definitely against the rules.  So at a stop light I held them out and admired them appropriately.

It was a beautiful end to a weekend if there can be such a thing.

Katie understands…

So a few years ago (maybe 2?) a friend that worked with me suggested that we walk over to this fun crafty type store near our office for lunch. I of course jumped at the chance to walk somewhere at lunch probably to get away for a few minutes as that so rarely happens in the environment in which I work. We grabbed a couple other office girls and off we went. Thus begun my quest to become a knitter. I fell in love with the store (Urban Arts and Crafts) which has since moved away from the area in which my office resides much to the relief of my wallet. It just so happened that they provided knitting for beginners classes and all other sorts of classes one could desire. I called my sister to get her in on this wonderful new discovery and our knitting group was formed. We discovered a knitting book - Stitch ‘n Bitch - that became our way of discussing the topic. We even all had names.

Amanda - Head Bitch (since the trek to the store was her idea and we were all the take charge kind so we nominated her)
Katie - Raw Naked Katie (this stems from a search engine we played with at work)
April - Bossy Bitch (there’s some debate on this one, I thought she was Pretty Bitch and she thinks she never got a name)
Tara - Twitchy Bitch (she has this adorable tendency to twitch)
Jessica - Brave Bitch (we met her at class, she’s the outsider and we decided she was brave for joining our rag-tag clan)
Tammi - Stitchy Bitch (because at first, I couldn’t stop, I over-achieved and turned the humble little purse into a scarf)

We found the perfect centrally located spot for our meetings every Sunday. It was located so that we each had about the same travel time whether from KS or MO and they served coffee, food, booze and let us smoke. The Cup and Saucer. Pure bliss. After about 2 weeks Amanda stopped attending and it became a running joke amongst the rest of us that she would show up this time.

Eventually the Cup and Saucer closed thus leaving us without a centralized location and our group eventually went our separate ways. We tried having them at our homes with rotating responsibility but it just didn’t work out for one reason or another that I can’t recall. I miss my knitting group and the dumb jokes we’d make. We all did branch out into other areas. Jessica eventually quit returning our calls, Tara, Katie, April and I took up jewelry making in addition to our knitting projects and Amanda quit working with us.

I want to get my knitty group back together. Tara no longer works with us and hasn’t for quite some time so I don’t really get to talk to her much but I know she still works on her projects and has grown as a knitter more than myself. Katie and I still work together but she’s a freestyle knitter and only rarely and I seem to enjoy purchasing items and storing them. April has joined a knitting group up by her home in Weston and continues to make things I wouldn’t or couldn’t or both and inspires me to try harder. I propose that we all start meeting up on Saturday mornings at each others homes to reconnect and reknit.

What do you think girls!! We could even recruit some newbies!!

In no particular order:

1. Paid Time Off
2. Nap time
3. Coffee
4. A hot shower after a good sweat
5. Books
6. Arriving home on raining evenings
7. Rainy days at home
8. Snowy days at home
9. Arriving home on snowy evenings
10. A paycheck
11. A mortgage
12. The boy
13. Mom and Dad and Bill and April
14. Knitting
15. Crisp mornings on my deck
16. Pedicures and facials and massages and manicures
17. The fruit bowl on my dining room table
18. Friends (all 3 of them)
19. Air conditioning
20. Fresh cut grass

Cliche?? Sure, some of them are but they are all true and there are many more.

Time for a new look and feel to the old blog.  I tire of the old.  I also tire of this fat that seems to be very comfy hanging out on my belly but I seem to be too lazy to do anything about that.  I must get back into my exercising.  I must get back into eating healthier.  I must quit smoking.  I must lotion and smell lovely.  I must wear makeup and dress better than jeans, t-shirt and floppys to work.

These are my mid-year resolutions.  I will begin all of them tomorrow.  Or Monday.  See how resolved I am to getting these things done!!

I recently wanted to get my hair did.  I was going to get it straightened and colored and cut.  It’s fuzzy and graying and still a little bit crooked and I’m very tired of it.  I’m sick of throwing it up into a wad on my head every morning because there’s just nothing else to do with it.  I was SO ready for it to be better that I was willing to spend $400 on it.  This was the original quote I received from Beauty Brands when I called to make my appointment.  The nice lady asked if I could come in for a consultation that evening so they could make sure they had me scheduled appropriately for my appointment the following morning at 11:30 so I complied.  I of course wanted it to look fabulous.

My consultation was with a woman that spoke broken English and we had a very difficult time communicating.  What I got from it was that if I wanted my hair bone straight like hers, I’d have to do the chi treatment and it’s expensive.  I was determined so I said I’d do it.  The consultation ended quickly with both of us frustratedly trying to communicate and her telling me to just discuss it with my hairdresser the next day.  Then why again was I there??

I met Katie for coffee the next morning and we decided that it would be perfectly normal for her to go with me as my entourage and we arrived right at 11:30 and checked in.  After half an hour I went up to the desk and asked if maybe I had been forgotten.  They apologized profusely stating that yes, I had in fact been skipped as there was another Tammy (I spelled it that way on purpose.  I’m sure she doesn’t spell it the same way I do.  There can’t possibly be more mes out there.) scheduled with another hairdresser and they had checked her in.  They offered me 50% off of the work being done and could I come back at 1:15.  SURE!!  For 50% off of what I was having done??  I’ll come back whenever you ladies want me!!

So we left and went to Starbucks (the mornings coffee had already worn off and by this time, it was very close to nap time).  When I was in the parking lot, my hairdresser called to discuss what I was wanting to have done.  She said that there had been a misunderstanding (again?) and that I was now only scheduled for one of the treatments that I was looking to have done and by the way, the expensive straightener was expensive and she didn’t advise coloring at the same time because there could be breakage and maybe I should just do the relaxer that was less than 1/4 of the cost and color some other time.  At this point I’m feeling the frustration rise.  I sighed and said, I’d have to think about what I wanted to do and that I’d be back at 1:15.

While sitting at Starbucks with Katie trying to cheer me, I decided that I wanted to go back in and discuss the situation with the manager and see what she had to say.  I was feeling like they had offered me 50% off before they realized how much that was really going to add up to and were now scrambling to change my mind on what I wanted done.  This was not a possible feat at that precise time.  I don’t have that kind of money.  I can’t spend that kind of money.  I stressed all evening about it.  I decided that I wanted this THAT MUCH.  I was also feeling like I had been getting different stories on what I could and could not have done from everyone I talked to from the gal that scheduled it to the consultant to my hairdresser.  Keep in mind if you will that I don’t spend money on my hair.  I go to places like great clips because I’ve just never really cared that much but I’ve changed that recently and wanted fantastic hair.  I have fantastic hair!!  You just can’t tell because it’s fuzzy and thick and graying!!

Anyway, we went back and I calmly (and Katie is my witness to this because everyone that knows me knows that by this point, I’m about to start yelling) explained my concerns to the manager and asked her if there was a way that I could cut and color that day and then straighten some other time.  She assured me that it would not be a problem for my hair and scheduled me for a straightening appointment this Tuesday.  So again we sat down and awaited with renewed excitement.  At least I did.  I really don’t know what Katie was feeling.

The hairdresser came and got me and took me back to my chair.  She started to explain to me that she doesn’t do the straightening that I wanted done and that there was really only one person that does so what did I want to do.  I told her that I had already scheduled another appointment, everything was right with the world again and that I would like a cut and color.  She proceeded to do everything she could to talk me out of it.  She said that I’d want to straighten it first so that I didn’t loose any of the color etc. etc.  I said “I understand, but this is what I want done”.  She went into the back room for who knows what, came back out and again tried to talk me out of it.  I sighed and said “at this point, all I want is to not be here anymore” and that’s exactly how I felt.  My blood wasn’t really boiling anymore.  I felt like all of the air had been knocked out of my sails.  Some one on this earth REALLY did not want me to have fantastic hair and there was nothing more that I could do to fight it.  I was dejected, deflated and I just wanted out.  So we left.

Part of the arrangement with having the chi straightening treatment on my hair was that I’d come in the Thursday before and have a strand test done.  I agreed and confirmed when they called.  They said that the gal I had been scheduled with was pregnant and didn’t want to be around the chemicals (it’s a 4 hour process) so I was now with someone else.  (Thought they only had one person that did it??)  That someone else called me the evening before and left me a message stressing how very expensive the treatment was.  When I got that message I just gave up altogether.  I’m not going to continue fighting to spend my money there.  I flaked out on my strand test appointment and when she called me about it I tried to explain to her that I was feeling very let down by Beauty Brands and she said “OK thank you” and hung up.

I don’t know what I did.  I don’t understand why they wouldn’t want me.  I’ll eventually go somewhere else and have it done but I’m not sure when or where.

I took most of today off and spent the day shopping. It was great!! Mom, April, Katie and I started the morning at Linens N Things. They are having a going out of business sale. Or so they claim. Katie and I were there a few weeks ago and everything was marked down 20%. Today, weeks later, they’re at 30%. JC Penney’s on the other hand, had marked everything down 90% and was already closed by the time we got there. Who’s better at this I ask you?? What is LNTs game?? I’m told that all of the stores are closing so they can’t be planning to ship what doesn’t sell off to another location. Heck, JC Penney’s could have done that. Is it cost efficient to have staff, utility bills and rent while you take your time marking things down I ask??

I digress. We then picked up the boy for lunch at Red Robin (his choice) and headed to Cockrell Mercantile. Now I’m admittedly not much of a cook. This honestly is because by the time I get home from 12 hours of work each day, I don’t feel like doing ANYTHING. Back in the day, when I worked at Sugarloaf I could arrive at 7am so that I could leave by 3:30p (and take a half hour lunch) to get to the boy’s school in time to pick him up. I cooked. I tried new recipes. I spent time with the boy. I was less cranky. Again I seem to digress.

Anyway, Cockrell Mercantile is a great way to spend a Saturday morning/afternoon. Day trip to the country!!  (Katie actually yelled her hello’s to the ranchers from inside the safety of the air conditioned car. ) There are 4 buildings brimming with all things girly. Well, maybe not ALL things. I didn’t find any booze and that’s quite girly. I bought 4 delicious candles for me, 3 nice candles for the boy, a pink spatula, an avocado peeler that I can’t wait to use, a new tea ball and a morning brew tea blend and some spice bags so I can create my very own sachets. I feel very crafty. I feel very country with the glories of still living in the city. I also found a beautiful tea cup and saucer that I would have paid their prices for except that it had a peacock on it. Not a fan of peacocks.

It was extremely hot today and one of the buildings is not air conditioned. It’s also the pottery/discount building so fortunately I didn’t find much in there that interested me as I don’t plant things so I scurried on into the main building. OH!! I also bought some seedless black raspberry preserves. They have some very tasty salsas, salad dressings, preserves, and oils there. MMMM. In between buildings was a bit harsh because we all wanted to wait for the rest of the group before we ventured into the next one. It is also a fairly popular store so I did get to spend quality time avoiding the strangers that didn’t seem to mind bumping into me. It was worth it though. I only make it out to Cockrell’s about once every two years so it wasn’t too difficult to justify to myself the money spent today.

I did work for a while this morning though and I will be going in to the office to play catch up tomorrow so today’s time with the family (and Katie) was the only “life” balancing I’ll get to do this weekend. Sucks but what are you gonna do?? The job at Sugarloaf paid a lot less so I guess having a life is a fair exchange for getting to buy things. No??

Is that how you spell it?? I don’t even care.

Last Saturday was my boy’s 13th birthday!! He’s a teenager now!! I can’t believe how much he’s matured and grown and how soon I’ll be sending him to the store to get stuff for me. It was a good day. We started with my sister bringing him donuts and me some coffee (I love you April!!) and Mom and Dad popped over to give him a present. I finished cleaning and then we had a sudden change of plans on his gift. So he went off with my sister whilst my Dad and I ran to Best Buy and Sams Club to get him a laptop. We all gathered here for lunch (pizza as the boy so desired) then went off to the bowling alley. None of us are any good at this game. I’m not even sure it can be considered a game. It’s not fun. But that’s what the boy wanted and on his birthday, he gets what he wants. Oh who am I kidding. He always gets what he wants.

Today was day two of the work week (Tuesday - get it?  See the tie in there!) and it is a trying time. The hours are insanely long, the pay is, well, I get paid so I’m grateful…for now…give it a few days.  The Wednesday before the 4th of July (so that would make it the 2nd of July to those of you who are counting) it rained considerably. I drove home from work through it. It started right around the time I left. Anyway, a couple of hours later I start getting calls and text messages from the ones that still happened to be at the office letting me know that the first floor of our building was flooding. Now, we own the building (or we do until the sale goes through - nothing like timing) so it’s not just a mere inconvenience until things get taken care of. It is a major inconvenience in that I am now the one dealing with getting estimates to either clean or replace the carpet. We have all moved upstairs into the second floor space that was already occupied by half of the staff, so we’re all happily crammed in there together. I’m also being tasked with assisting with getting all of the paperwork together for the sale of the building, while cramped for space, with no phone because I have no desk. I am actually quite enjoying being upstairs. I can’t spend a whole lot of time complaining. It’s nice to get to be with the entire staff again. I actually get to see almost everyone daily and Stephanie has been so generous as to allow me to camp out at a table in her office and let me tell you, she’s a fun roommate! But with all of the extra bodies up there, the air conditioner just cannot keep up and it gets muggy. Tams gets very cranky when she’s hot. It’s a fact. It’s not pleasant for anyone that has to be around me. Angela and Brooke can attest to this. Oh, and did I mention that I’m in HR and I miss getting to do HR things because I am spending my time gathering estimates and leases et al??

We have a new Director of Operations but she just started last Thursday. I’m hopeful still that she will be soon taking some of the accounting and building duties that I’ve been dealing with so I can get back to what I do best. Wait, hating people is what I do best. But Human Resources is kind of the same.