Mint Cookies!

Lately I've had a craving for chocolate mint cookies. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the Girl Guide cookies I polished off? Anyways it took me three shopping trips to find mint extract (my grocery store was out but I found it at another one) and I even bought green food colouring. Actually I bought a whole box of food colouring. It's Christmas. You never know when you need food colouring.

So I had the food colouring and the extract. Next I needed a recipe. I checked all my cookbooks. Nothing. I searched online. Nothing inspiring. I mentioned it to my mom. She didn't know of any off the top of her head but she said she'd keep her eyes opened.

Re-wind a few weeks to when I had a craving for cherry chip almond muffins. Mom is a subscriber to Taste of Home's "Cooking for 2". I had flipped through one of her issues and saw this recipe. I didn't write it down and then when I wanted to make it, I couldn't find it online. Within our conversation I ended up signing up for the Taste of Home "Light Desserts" email blast. I've gotten a handful of recipes so far and none of them have been appealing. On Wednesday I was actually considering unsubscribing because it was just email clutter.

Yesterday I got the email from ToH and it was a recipe for "Chocolate Mint Whoopie Pies" I admit I'm not totally sure what a Whoopie Pie is but they looked good so, on the way home I stopped by the grocery store and picked up cocoa powder. When I got home I checked my email and Mom had forwarded me the recipe!

Long story short? Last night I finally made choclate mint cookies :) They're really good too. The second batch is bigger than the first batch because I wasn't sure how much they'd spread so I didn't flatten them very much. I have a bunch of icing left over too so I may make another batch of cookies today. Aren't they pretty though?

I hate keeping secrets

I'm no good at it. Especially when it's good news. Bad news I can keep in. I just let it sit and I can ache for someone. Good news though? I want to tell the world!

I was going to post this a few hours ago. I was talking to a friend who is, shall we say "moving forward in a relationship" and just sounds so HAPPY. On Sunday I found out that another friend is pregnant and just now, I found out about ANOTHER one!!! That's five babies for certain in the next year. SO exciting.

My life is boring on this front so I am stoked when I hear about others who have happy news :)

How cool is that?!

I just called the doctor's office because I need to renew my prescription. The receptionist informed me that I DON'T have to come in and see the doctor (yahoo!). All I have to do is call the pharmacy and they can call the doctor for a renewal. Sweet! That makes my life MUCH easier. Now to figure out when I can get down to the pharmacy...

Duh

I was commenting to my boss yesterday about how cold my bedroom is. On my bed I currently have my sheets, two comforters, a fleece blanket and another fleecy blanket. Plus I've taken to wearing socks and sweat pants to bed to keep me warm. She was making all sorts of helpful suggestions like getting an electric blanket or thicker blinds for my window that actually keep the heat in. The second suggestion was because I told her that I knew the reason I was cold is because my bed is right under the window which is really thin.

Last night I figured out a better way to stay warm. Better than extra clothes or blankets. JUST TURN THE HEAT UP! Duh! Sometimes I think my brain is frozen. I have electric heat. The heater was ON but not UP. It wasn't even in the "comfort zone". Last night I turned it up and I was toasty warm. It's rather sad that I had to actually freeze before I decided to turn the heat up. I mean there was snow on the ground. You need heat inside when it's zero outside.

Rain, rain go away

Actually, you can stay as long as you promise to not turn in to snow. Yesterday was pretty nice. It's almost like nature was appologizing for being so crappy on Monday. There was some sunlight breaking through the clouds yesterday and a pretty pink sunset (which I saw through my office window. The sun get's off before I do. It's not fair LOL) Today it's back to being grey and miserable but at least it's not snowing!!!

Anyways, I'm not actually here to talk about the weather. I have a much more insightful bit of info to share with you. It started with my Stampin' Up class that I held last night. We did a "Stamp-a-Stack". 10 cards for $15 (two each of ten designs). I placed an order too and I'm getting the SU slot punch. You have NO idea how excited I am. I've been coveting that one for years!!! :D

As a thank you for holding the class my demonstrator gave me a personalized day planner. It's really cute and EXACTLY the kind I like. A month at a glance with nice big spaces for writing in. I had actually bought one from Walmart but this one is nicer. This one starts in September 2007 and goes right through to December 2009. My current one started in August 2005 and goes through to December 2007. I've been meaning to switch over since I bought the calendar from Walmart but I hadn't gotten around to it. Last night I wrote my name in the new planner and looked at the nice clean pages and tried to decide what I should transfer over. It's bitter sweet though. I realized I'm not ready to say good by to my old planner yet. It represents over two years of my life.

• The first entry on August 1, 2005 was the last day that we saw Seth & Tamara together.
• It also has the retreat I went on in September 2005 which ended up being my last even as a Creative Memories Consultant.
• It has four Dierks Bentley concerts
• Both of my trips to Pennsylvania
• Veronica's Visit
• Over a dozen SSWA/Darrcie events
• Countless coffee and dinner dates

and so much more. It's my life! In time it will all get translated to my scrapbook albums. Even if I don't have pictures I copy the details of my daily life into calendar pages so none of it will get lost. Still, that's a lot of living that's happend in two + years.

My new day planner goes to December 2009. I wonder what I'll be looking back on by then!

Snow-more snow

Well, in true SW BC fashion, the snow is mostly melted. Good thing! I was getting nervous :)

I have to share this email. As previously mentioned Dad in in Alberta for work for two weeks. He doesn't want to run up his long distance bill on his cell phone so he's taken to emailing Mom from the library on his way home from work. He's cc'd me now too. This is yesterday's message:

Hi Hon, I have forgotten how cold this place can get, I left for work this morn, after a shower and breakfast, and just about froze my wet hair to my skull. We have a high of about -15. Whooppee!! You can have it. Everybody was teasing me about how wet B.C. is, well it is dry here, I'll grant them that, but no-one told me about being it being freeze-dried!! The wind is COLD. Oh well, 3 more sleeps and I'm outtahere. Mind you, I hear home is +3 with possible snow, maybe we should consider Arizona. Anyway, doing allright, talk to you soon...Love Ted.

It just makes me giggle every time I read it!

Hee hee

In case the small print doesn't show up, it says "I'll find a picture for it later."

Snow ja vu?

I guess it's good that I keep a blog. One year and one day ago I posted this It's Snowing!

I could basically write that word for word again tonight (minus the bit about my dad). It's snowing again. What's with the end of November anyways?!?! They predicted it this morning. It was a cold grey the-street-lights-never-turned-off kind of day. It was POURING when I drove home. Now it's SNOWING. SNOW!

I shouldn't be so surprised but, contrary to what you read, we don't actually get that much snow here. Or we never used to at least. I don't expect this to stick around very long but it IS sticking right now.

Yes I've seen an LP before

My boss is nine years older than me. A bonna fide child of the eighties. It bothers her to no end that I don't recognize certain artists who she loved. And that I've never actually seen any episode of "Miami Vice". Don Johnson is was...and still is...her teen idol.

She's moving right now and while she was unpacking boxes she found a stack of records and brought them in to the office to show me.

- Platinum Blonde (her all time favourite, that was a 45)
- George Michael
- U2 - Joshua Tree
- Brian Adams - Reckless
- Paula Abdul
- Whitney Houston

and a few more. Now, contrary to popular belief, aside from Platinum Blonde, I've heard of all of those artists. I could probably even name a song by each of them (except George Michael) There are other groups that I couldn't say the same thing about though. Glass Tiger anyone?!?!

Anyways, I have seen and played LP's. We even used to have a record player. The only record I actually remember was the Golden Book "The Happy Man and His Dump Truck" Seth especially would listen to that record over and over and over.

It was cool to see the LP's though. A little slice of history ;) What was your favourite? Do you still have it?

Well, those guys did that but the other guys didn't like it...

I generally watch two football games a year. The CFL Grey Cup and the NFL Superbowl. Today was the Grey Cup. Traditionally the Grey Cup is when I start making my Christmas cards. I'm having a Stampin' Up class on Tuesday though so instead of making a mess, I cleaned mine up.

I talked to Robert during the third period...no, they're called quarters. Sorry. Anyways, I told him I missed him. He usually watches the games with me and explains everything. I told him I needed him there to explain the difference between turn overs and pop tarts :)

He and Seth had driven up to Edmonton to see Dad and watch the game at my Uncle Doug's house. They left early so Robert asked me to keep him up to date on the score. I told him "well, the guys in green scored because the other guys tried to knock him down but they didn't get to him soon enough" That made him laugh and say "I like your commentary" :)

Now I'm watching hockey. A sport I actually care about!

~Heidi

Reason #2

When I don't blog for a few days it's usually for one of two reasons.
1. Nothing has happened
2. Something has happend
It's rarely the first one because if nothing is happening I can usually find something inane to blog about [[i'll wait while my loyal readers nod in agreement]] If something has happened and I haven't blogged it's usually because I don't know how to word it or I'm waiting for a resolution of some sort. This time something happened on Wednesday and I got my resolution tonight so I'm ready to blog.

I worked at the store on Wednesday. I had read on the schedule that I was supposed to do "calls". We have a big sale coming up this weekend (30% off on everything in the store Friday and Saturday) I knew I was down for "calls" but I didn't know what that entailed or what I'd be doing. I got to work on Wednesday and our assistant manager was in. I asked her what I should do and mentioned the call thing. She didn't know what that meant, what script I should use or where the phone numbers were. We placed a quick call to our manager, no answer. Fine. I kept busy doing regular stuff. Helping customers. Straightening the store, etc.

Our manager called at about 8:30 (the mall closes at 9). When she found out I hadn't been doing the calls she was LIVID. I passed the call to my assistant manager though because I take direction from her. After the call we managed to find the phone number list but we still didn't have the script so we didn't bother.

This whole thing made me really nervous. Through no fault of my own (other than I suppose I COULD have looked harder for the info I needed) I hadn't done my job. Tonight (Friday) I was "on call" during this sale. I actually took the day off from my day job (that's another story all together). I got up at my regular time and went and got my brakes done (another story). Then I went to Mom's and had breakfast and then Christmas shopping with Jenna. I did stop in at the store to check my schedule for next week. I work tomorrow (Saturday) as scheduled and then NOTHING until next Saturday.

That was weird and made me even more nervous. "No hours? Did I screw up that bad? Is this punishment?" And on and on. The manager wasn't in so I couldn't talk to her. Around 2pm I got a call from the manager saying "yes I need you tonight" (I had been instructed to call closer to 3:30 to find out.) So tonight I went in, nervous but knowing that it really wasn't my fault that I hadn't done my job.

Within a few minutes of my shift starting I found out that the assistant manager had been let go. No comment on Wednesday whatsoever other than "we did get all the calls made".

Phew. I'm safe.

This isn't a huge surprise. I liked our assistant manager well enough but she didn't like working at the store and she had an incredibly negative attitude. The Wednesday thing wasn't want got her fired but it probably was "the straw that broke the camels back" so to speak. My boss's exact words were "we're moving forward". Works for me!

She then told me that she might be looking to train me as a closer and a key holder. We discussed this in my initial interview and it looks like it may be time. She wants me to think about it.

We also had a stellar night tonight. Again, we're not commission but our sales are tracked to encourage performance. We have some contests going on right now. I forget the details but I won BOTH of todays!!! That means I get two $10 gift certificates for product. Sweet!!! Now to decide what to buy :)

So there you go. That's what's been going on in my life. When I took this job I said I wanted to experience retail and by golly I am!!!!

~Heidi

Finally this information in my head is useful!

I love maps. Always have. I find geography fascinating. My mom has a puzzle of the USA. Each piece is shaped like a state and they all lock together (except for New England. There are a few states on each piece up there) I can put that map together pretty fast. Basic knowledge of where which states are in relation to others is good to have. Today it was very useful.

My co-worker and I had to compare two lists. Her's was organized by name, mine was organized by ZIP CODE. Not state. Not city. Zip Code. Luckily I know that zip codes start in the North East and run down the coast and then across the country. It took most of the afternoon and gave us a lot of laughs but man, my basic knowledge of geography, and state abbreviations for that matter, definitely came in handy.

Too much like my dad

I figured out what my biggest problem is. I'm way too much like my dad. That's why I don't do well with Aaron around. I worry too much.

The day we took Meredith to the airport I was updating her parents on my brothers and their big move. Her mom kept asking "Well, what does your mom think? Is she okay with them moving so far away? Doesn't she worry?" During the course of our conversation I realized that in their family, the roles are reversed. Mrs. K is the worrier. In my family, my dad is the worrier. He gets it from his mom. She was the queen of worrying. Down to the end. She didn't want to die because she was worried about her family. (I think she'd be pretty happy with how we turned out but I know she'd prefer to be her to worry about us herself)

I get that from my dad. If I stop and just breathe I can be like my mom who does worry but doesn't show it or let it affect her mood. My inclination is to get all worked up about stuff though. To the point that it can keep me from sleeping at night. Just like Dad.

The good news is that I did get some great traits from my dad too. Things that have served me well in business and in life. Not the worrying part though. That's never good.

~Heidi

How do they do it?

I was tired last night. We did another mini layout in the store which means we only switched half of it around. It was a lot of climbing ladders and lifting and hanging product though. By the time I got off around eight I was exausted.

Because Mom and Dad are both gone, Aaron is supposed to be staying with me. I talked to him after church and he said he'd either stop by the store in the afternoon (since he hangs out at the mall anyways) or call me. I got off at eight and I hadn't heard from him. HE doesn't have a cell phone so I couldn't call him. I stopped at my place just in case he was there. He wasn't. Then I drove over to Mom and Dad's. He wasn't there.

I called Grandpa's (gotta use their phone. They have cheap long distance LOL) Aaron arrived while I was on the phone with Mom. He's lucky. I would NOT have been happy if I had to chase him all over creation. Especially since I was tired.

I don't know how my parents do it. I'm half their age and he exhausts me. Remind me again why I think I want children???

~Heidi

PS Once I found him, I brought him back to my place and everything was good. I made cookies and hot chocolate, he played on the computer, read and then we both went to bed. He got up without a fight this morning too. Mom's back tomorrow. She can have him!

That scared me

Okay, I'm all super freaky ready for Christmas and stuff but I am SO not ready for the cold weather that accompanies it. This morning the weather man said it was minus one. MINUS?!?! Nooooo. Made getting dressed easy though. Warm fuzzy sweater? Check. Nice tall fuzzy boots? Check. Cute not so fuzzy skirt? Check...hey, I've still got to look good LOL

Hey V, I just realized that my store sells fleece lined jeans for you. I'd like you to know that I use you as an example on a regular basis "When my friend from Australia was here, she wore those the whole time!" LOL Not that Canadians don't wear fleece lined jeans. It's more that those of us in the lower mainland don't usually bother.

Unless it's minus one.

~Heidi

I feel left out

As I mentioned, Mom is in Alberta this weekend for my cousins wedding. I talked to the boys yesterday and they were on their way up to Grandpa's to join the family. They didn't go to the wedding but they will get to see everyone.

As an aside they've made it a personal mission to rid the world of all excess VHS. They found a video store that was going out of business and was selling their VHS for a buck a piece. Between the two boys they walked out of there with ONE HUNDRED videos!!! Psychos. Seth has at least 50 here already. Crazy.

Anyways, so Mom is in Alberta, the boys are joining her and this morning I took Dad to the airport. Turns out he's going there for a business trip too. He called this afternoon and he had arrived safely. He was at Grandpa's with Mom, the boys and at least three of my aunts, uncles and their families.

I feel left out.

I'm here and technically responsible for Aaron but I work today from 3:30-7:30 and I have dance tomorrow night so I won't see him very much anyways...aside from the fact that he's apparently sleeping here.

I want to see family though!

Next year. That's the plan. I'm going next summer no matter what.

~Heidi

Well, that was interesting

Tonight I bailed out my boss by accompanying her to a political fundraising dinner. She didn't have anyone to go with and she was dreading going alone so I agreed to go with her. It was interesting. As a general rule I avoid politics. I know it would be good to pay more attention but I just don't care. This event was a lot of pandering and rah-rah stuff from and for an elected official that we haven't had much success working with but it was interesting to see what people get excited about. It was a decent sized crowd too. And hey, I got free dinner out of it :)

I'm trying to complete my collection

My company was started in 1915. The current Bylaws were written in 1963. Why then can I not find copies from before 2000??? That's 37 years of missing Bylaws. I realize they don't apply any more but for historical "the way we were" purposes, they're good to have.

I really want to read the ones from 1997. It's been driving me NUTS that I can't find these stupid papers. I've looked all over my office (the logical place for this kind of information to be stored) in the storage room, down in the cold scary storage bin and hassled accounting for them.

I finally broke down and emailed our lawyer. He only has Bylaws from 1993 and some undated ones. ARRGH!

I gave up on ever finding them after putting out the broadcast to all my co-workers so it could drive them nuts too.

BINGO! Accounting found the 1997 ones. Sweet! Is it sad that I was so excited to read them? They contained exactly what I was looking for too.

Now I want to complete my collection though. 1963 and up. Think ebay would have them? LOL

I feel naked!

My mom went to my cousin's wedding this weekend. I let her borrow my camera. I feel naked without it. It's not that I use it all that often but I carry it with me e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. My purse is lighter than normal and it's just weird. I don't like this feeling!
~Heidi

Santa has got the coolest new house!

Okay, I'll admit. My Christmas cheer is a direct result from working in the mall. You can't escape it. The excitement is tangible! You know what? I'm totally okay with that :) I was in the store yesterday because we have a head office visit today and we had to make it all pretty. The elves were running around like mad outside setting up Santa's awesome new "Whoville" inspired house. On Saturday it was all in crates. Yesterday about half of it was set up and things were starting to whir and spin. Santa himself arrives on Saturday. I can't wait! I'll get pictures as soon as it's all ready to go. Who knows. I may even get a picture with Santa myself this year!
~Heidi

O Tannenbaum

Last year I had a really hard time with Christmas. I never did get "in to the Christmas spirit". In fact I was pretty much the opposite of that for the whole season. This year, for some reason, I am very excited for Christmas. Maybe it's because I'm working retail. Maybe it's because I didn't get "in to" it last year so I'm ready for it. Whatever is causing it though, I'm not arguing. Even if it is only mid November!!! I bought a tree on Sunday and set it up with lights and what ornaments I have today. BTW, ornament donations are gladly accepted. My tree is only 4 feet tall but it's still kind of bare.

I'm drinking egg nog, baking cookies, listening to all my Christmas cd's and generally just feeling good about the season.

Only 43 days left!

~Heidi

Wow, wind!!!

There is a MAJOR windstorm going on right now. In fact it's been blowing all night and woke me up a lot. Everytime the wind blows like this it reminds me of one of my favourite movies "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day" When Piglet gets blown away and his shirt unravels. I loved that movie.

Winnie the Pooh: Happy "Winds-day", Piglet.
Piglet: [being blown away] Well... it isn't... very happy... f-for me.
Winnie the Pooh: Where are you going, Piglet?
Piglet: That's what I'm asking myself, where? W-Whoops! P-P-P-Pooh!
Winnie the Pooh: And what do you think you will answer yourself?

I'm not loving the wind so much...although it is playing nicely into my Christmas spirit. More on that later :)

~Heidi

Lest We Forget

One of the biggest honours I had in highschool was in grade twelve when I was chosen to read "Flanders Fields" at the Remembrance Day assembly. I always loved the Remembrance Day. The assemblies were always very formal and somber. I was in choir for grade 11 and 12. I forget the songs we sung but I know one year whe had an awesome arrangement of "Amazing Grace" and I think another year we may have sung "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables. We had twin girls in our school that were bagpipe players too. In grade 10 the princpal cried after their performance. Very touching.

Here's the poem. It still gives me chills to read it.

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD Doctor and Teacher (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Word of the day #27: meme

Ashley tagged me to do a "book meme". I think I've done it before but I don't even know what a "meme" is. So, I looked it up:

meme /mim/ –noun
a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.

So, I still can't say that I really get it but I'll do the exercise anyways.

Here is what you have to do:
You have to open the book you’re currently reading on page 161 and read the fifth sentence on the page, then think of 5 bloggers to tag with.

I am currently reading the oh so edifying "Cordina's Royal Family: Bennet & Camilla" by Nora Roberts. The fifth sentence of page 161 reads: "We can't always choose what we feel, but there are other choices."

There. Now, I tag anyone who knows what "meme" is and can properly explain it to me LOL

~Heidi

Hey, I know him!!!

One of our local tv stations likes to profile different programs and "local heros". I tend to listen to them but not watch them. Tonight they were profiling an employment service. The speaker was one of my ex-coworkers!!! That was cool. Now I know where he went when our contract ended :)

CMA 2007 Outcomes

Today, I'm glad I live in the Pacific Time Zone. I was able to start watching the live broadcast at 5pm (8pm Eastern) like everyone else. I went out at seven, came back just past nine and didn't miss a thing because the show is now being broadcast in the Pacific Time Zone. Sweet!

So, how did I do with my predictions? (and I know I was a bit loose with exactly who would win but work with me here)

Entertainer of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Correct, mostly. I'm happy :)

Male Vocalist of the Year
Brad Paisley
Wrong on the "Think Will Win" but right on the "Want" Sweet!!! WTG Brad. You totally deserve it. Great speech too. Very heartfelt.

Female Vocalist of the Year
Carrie Underwood
Correct. And wasn't Dierks a wonderful presenter? Even if he couldn't say "CMA Female Vocalist of the Year" LOL I loved the bit about having a crush on Alison Kraus :)

Vocal Group of the Year
Rascal Flatts
Correct. Surprise. Boring.

Vocal Duo of the Year
Sugarland
Okay, that previous surprise was sarcastic. This one really WAS a surprise. A good one, even if I'm not a fan of Jennifer Nettles' voice. They do have good songs. Note that they were my second choice so I'm saying I got it right :D

Horizon Award
Taylor Swift
Wrong. Cool. I like Taylor. I didn't think she could pull it off though. Loved her comment "this is the best thing about my senior year" LOL

Musical Event
"Find Out Who Your Friends Are" -- Tracy Lawrence Featuring Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney
Wrong. Definitely didn't see that coming. Especially since it's Tracy's first CMA, Tim McGraw wasn't even there (I don't think), and the label fought having the collaboration version released. I'd say this song was an underdog from the get go. It's nice to see it triumph. It makes me sad that I didn't go see Tracy at Billy Bob's in April though. Oh well.

Song of the Year
"Give It Away" -- Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon and Jamey Johnson
Wrong on the Think, right on the Want.
I still remember the first time I heard this song. I was fighting traffic on my way in to Vancouver for the writing course I took in June of 2006. I had grabbed Burger King for dinner and I tuned in to KMPS out of Seattle for "Tony Thomas' 5 o'clock Test Track". This was the song they played. I loved it from the opening bar and it made me smile for the rest of the evening. It's one strong song off a fantastic album and I'm glad it won.

Jamey Johnson's speech was hysterical too. Thanking his ex-wife was genius LOL

Single of the Year
"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood
Correct. Without looking it up, I'm pretty sure this song totally embodies what a "single" of year is supposed to be.

Album of the Year
It Just Comes Natural -- George Strait
Correct. I called it. As much as I wanted Dierks to win (and I admit, I was nervous because I think he had a chance) George really did put out an exceptional album.

Video of the Year
"Online" -- Brad Paisley
Second choice again. Close enough. This is his third win in this category. Well done. His wife (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) was a brilliant presenter too. Definitely the highlight of the evening.

So 7 out of 11. I didn't post about Musician of the Year but it's no surprise that Jerry Douglas took it again.

Final comments?
The last Eagles album was released before I was born!!! Loved their performance tonight though. Very well done.

Rascal Flatts? Painful. Especially with Jamie Foxx. Wrong on so many levels.

Reba and LeAnn? Very nice. Not sure about the first outfit LeAnn had on though. You're fit. We get it. :P

Ummm Brad, absolutely brilliant. The marching band, Kellie and Taylor were awesome.

Kenny, not too sure about the pants.

Taylor and Carrie both looked very uncomfortable on stage. Rodney was the exact opposite.

Interesting show though. It's over for another year and now we can update the titled "Three time winner and current reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, KENNY CHESNEY" LOL

A new meaning for "layout"

Monday we did a "layout" at the store. For me "layout" is a scrapbooking term. At the store, layout means changing every. single. piece. of product on the floor!!! Changing how all the wall fixtures are arranged, changing what pieces are hung where, changing the position of floor fixtures. E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. It's a huge job and it's like a brand new store now! We had all but one staff member in and even with all the prep work we had done on the weekend, it still took over four hours. LOTS of folding, lots of hanging, and my first introduction to the steamer machine! It was fun for about .25 seconds. Seriously. When you steam one shirt three times and it's still not "right", the novelty wears off.

I also got to play with snow!!! Cool fake plastic stuff. I steamed all the clothes for the window display and my boss dressed the manequins. Then I got to do all the decorating. Placing the boxes and the teddy bear *exactly* as shown in the picture and then sprinkling snow all over everything. I happen to think it looks pretty darn good :D It had better, it's going to be like that for the next three months!!!

CMA Predictions

Last year I got eight out of eleven right. I think it's a closer race this year so it will be interesting to see the results.

Entertainer of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Rascal Flatts
George Strait
Keith Urban
Who I think will win: I think Kenny, Keith and Brad are front runners. Kenny scooped it from Keith last year but Keith has been on a successful tour this year. Any of them could take it.
Who I want to win: Anyone but Rascal Flatts LOL I'd love to see Brad walk away with it.

Male Vocalist of the Year
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Josh Turner
Keith Urban
Who I think will win: Keith Urban
Who I want to win: I'd love to see Brad or Josh take it but Josh is too new and I don't know if Brad can trump Keith

Female Vocalist of the Year
Alison Krauss
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Reba McEntire
Carrie Underwood
Who I think will win: Carrie Underwood
Who I want to win: I wouldn't be heartbroken if she took it. Anyone notice that Faith Hill isn't even nominated this year?

Vocal Group of the Year
Alison Krauss & Union Station Featuring Jerry Douglas
Dixie Chicks
Emerson Drive
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Who I think will win: Rascal Flats
Who I want to win: Emerson Drive. Gotta stay loyal to the Canadian boys :)

Vocal Duo of the Year
Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland
The Wreckers
Who I think will win: Either Brooks & Dunn like normal, or Sugarland who are HOT this year
Who I want to win: Weird as they are, I'd like to see Big & Rich take it. Or The Wreckers but I don't think the later have a chance considering they've announced that they're splitting up following this tour.

Horizon Award
Jason Aldean
Rodney Atkins
Little Big Town
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Swift
Who I think will win: Jason Aldean although Rodney Atkins could scoop it on the strength of his singles.
Who I want to win: Jason Aldean

Musical Event
"Because of You" -- Reba McEntire With Kelly Clarkson
"Find Out Who Your Friends Are" -- Tracy Lawrence Featuring Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney
"Hey Good Lookin'" -- Jimmy Buffett With George Strait and Alan Jackson
"Missing You" -- Alison Krauss and John Waite
"The Reason Why" -- Vince Gill With Guest Vocalist Alison Krauss
Who I think will win: Because of You
Who I want to win: Because of You

Song of the Year
"Anyway" -- Martina McBride, Brad Warren and Brett Warren
"Before He Cheats" -- Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins
"Give It Away" -- Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon and Jamey Johnson
"Lost in This Moment" -- John Rich, Keith Anderson and Rodney Clawson
"Stupid Boy" -- Dave Berg, Deanna Bryant and Sarah Buxton
Who I think will win: These are all strong songs. I'm going to say Stupid Boy or Anyway but I'm really not sure
Who I want to win: I'd like to see Anyway or Give it Away win

Single of the Year
"Anyway" -- Martina McBride
"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood
"Lost in This Moment" -- Big & Rich
"Ticks" -- Brad Paisley
"Wrapped" -- George Strait
Who I think will win: Before He Cheats
Who I want to win: Before He Cheats. The cross over appeal of this song has been good for country music in general.

Album of the Year
5th Gear -- Brad Paisley
It Just Comes Natural -- George Strait
Long Trip Alone -- Dierks Bentley
Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing -- Keith Urban
These Days -- Vince Gill
Who I think will win: Keith or George
Who I want to win: DIERKS!

Video of the Year
"Anyway" -- Martina McBride
"Before He Cheats" -- Carrie Underwood
"Moments" -- Emerson Drive
"Online" -- Brad Paisley
"You Save Me" -- Kenny Chesney
Who I think will win: Before He Cheats...or Online
Who I want to win: You Save Me :)

When you're perpetually late...

change the clocks!

I'm a punctual person. Baring difficulties in traffic or other issues, I will always be right on time. Not early, but on time. The digital clock on the phones in our office is about three minutes fast. Fast according to my cell phone and car radio clock, the latter which is synced to the radio. Other staff here agree. So this morning, when we had to change the clock on the phone to compensate for daylight savings anyways, we also took the opportunity to fix the minutes. Now I won't be late...or if I am I can't blame it on the clock LOL

Where have I been?

I'm stealing this blog format from Menjiness.

10/29 Back at dance after basically a month. We don't dance on holidays (Thanksgiving) and if we have a Friday dance there isn't one the following Monday. Because I had to miss 10/15 due to training I haven't been at dance since 10/1! It was nice to be back.

10/30 Dinner with Mom & Dad. I've been craving Mom's lasanga for WEEKS. I brought most of the ingredients and had her walk me through the process of making it so I can try it on my own. I also took most of the leftovers to stock my freezer :D

10/31 Halloween but I got called in to work. Our mall hosts trick-or-treating. My store was out of candy by the time I got there but I still saw lots of little princesses, ninja's and spiderman's (men's?)

11/1 Board meeting in Vancouver. Pretty intense but it went well. We went out for dinner afterwards as one of our members is retiring. Late night but really nice.

11/2 Finished the board meeting. Left the hotel around 1:30. Got back to the office, unloaded and went and got my brakes checked. Dad says he can probably do a lot of the work. God bless Dad.

Took a nap and then went to a "fall party" with friends.

11/3 Worked from 10-2:30. Wednesday I had exactly $0 for sales. Today I hit my goal (whatever it was) by halfway through my shift. Yeah me! My boss was pretty impressed :)

I went grocery shopping after work and then came home for another quick nap before going to bible study.

Tomorrow we have a potluck after church to break in the new kitchen (hopefully we don't actually break it!) Then I have a mandatory, potluck, staff meeting for work. Food, food, food! Tis the season :)

~Heidi