Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies everywhere!

I think that I'm getting back to who i used to be again! It's only been 22 months. I made two batches of cookies tonight. Of course it wasn't issue free, life never is, but the wonderful thing is that i'm getting to do the things that make me happy again. I was watching baseball playoffs and getting nervous because it was a close game and it was also a deciding game 5. So if anyone knows me when i'm watching sports and it's a close game with something on the line, i need to keep myself busy either with baking or cleaning. Tonight it happened to be baking cookies! I've been wanting to make snickerdoodles for awhile now, so i made a batch of those. And one of Jason's co-workers birthday was last week and no one made him a cake or really do anything to celebrate his birthday (he didn't tell anyone that it was his day...) So today when i was dropping Jason off at work i wished him a happy birthday and asked him what was his favorite kind of cookie. He said he likes chocolate chip cookies so i made a batch of those as well. I baked the chocolate chip cookies first and since i'm a little out of practice i didn't catch that the dough didn't have enough flour, so they were a little flat and turned out a little crispy on the edges. So i added more flour to the batter and the next batch was perfect. They look picture perfect. The snickerdoodles turned out pretty well. I've only made one other batch of these kind before so i didn't really have a lot of experience of how the dough is supposed to feel. Although i like to have a more cake like cookie with the snickerdoodle than a crisper one. They look almost like puffball mushrooms they are so pillowy. Anyways it feels good to be baking again. I bought a kitchen aid hand mixer a few weeks back and it is a wonder of a little machine. Not as good as the traditional bowl mixer that Jason had to take to work for pasta making, but for a hand mixer it does me just great. It handled creamed my sugar and butter like a dream.... I'm such a dork. I can't believe that i just wrote a big ol paragraph on cookie baking and a chunk of that paragraph was about how wonderful my new hand mixer is...
I finally got my Thanksgiving pictures downloaded and uploaded on bebo and a few here on my little blog. I took my favorite pictures of Jason from the trip here and a amazing sunset and a great pic of the Lake. It was such a beautiful trip, I'm so glad that i have pictures to remind me. I think that we will be sticking around home this holiday season since Jason most likely won't want to take the time off work. I don't blame the man, when it's got your name on it you want to make sure it's up to your standards. Maybe we will be able to take a trip after the holidays when we see how much we ended up spending on the presents this year. I think that the HF takes the annual spring break in March this year. Brunie has also mentioned a Super Bowl weekend in Vegas for this Winter as well, that is an option maybe. Geez, speaking of all this money spending makes me want to work more so that i can afford it all! Too bad i love the time off.

It's so great waking up on a monday morning and know that I have that day off, the next day and even the following day after!! It's so relaxing to just have that in my mind. I was thinking of work today, but it was a little exciting because i'm thinkng of developing a detailed prep-list for what i do day to day. It would make my job a little easier for anyone that filled in for me. It's not that my job is hard at all, but it just seems like there are so many little things that i do that as a whole make my day full. People look at my little to do list on the prep sheet for the dining room and it doesn't look at all detailed, but if i actually make my own list of what it entails, maybe people can see what goes into keeping the dining room sparkling. I was trying to think of what i do as i walk in the door and as my day flows. There aren't too many days that go by that there isn't something that always needs to be looked after and needs to be on a list so we don't forget to do it. A few weeks ago i got a scrap of paper and started jotting down the little things that i do but aren't on any list, but if i'm taking a day off and i have a fill in, it would be nice to know that it is done. Not that i don't think that my co-workers don't notice these things, but sometimes it seems they can overlook it because someone else always does it. I'm being a dork about my job again, anal i know, but i like my job. I like lists too. I just wish i had word or excel on this computer so that i could work on it at home instead of at work where i don't want to be sitting because i get so sleepy when i sit down there! I had the idea that i could make my little list and have 4 identical lists per page, or basically a week of service on one page so i could save some paper as well. The servers prep-list could be more detailed as well with all of my items off the page. I could add all of my picky nagging things that don't always need to be done, but would be so nice if someone took responsibilty for on some days. These are the things i think about as my day at work goes by, LISTS. I seriously think i must have some sort or some degree of OCD.
Last week was good everyday though. Prep-day was good because i had a new guy as my helper and he seems like a good worker, takes direction well and has been in the industry long enough to know some of the things to look for. So anyways, i got to focus on projects that i've been needing to do. I put bowling alley wax on the coffee cup hutch, which it needed so bad. I don't know why Ron and Carrie don't want a finish put on it or some sort of stain, but they like the natural wood. It gets looking so dry and splinters. It was sanded down over the spring break months ago, which helped so much, but it still looks better when there is polish on it. It turns out that the stuff they had me using before was just soaking into the wood and ruining it, so Bob started having me use the bowling alley wax, which he said will put a protective coating on and a little shine, but won't soak in like the other stuff. I put two coats on this past week and buffed it pretty well and so it looks snazzy now. Another project that i took on (i don't think i will do this again for maybe a year or two) is dusting the chairs. They were getting a little gross, but since i had already polished the founders room table, the coffee hutch, the silverware cabinet and the flower arrangement table, my hands were feeling a little tired. It has effected my right hand all weekend long. I really need to be more careful and know my limits on prep-days. That day was also weird because we had service for 26 people, but it was two parties, one in the founders (14) and 12 people in the main, on one long table. So basically the entire main room needed to be set to some degree for just the twelve people. And since it was my prep-day with a new employee i didn't really have time to do much of the setting by the time the servers that were working that evening arrived. So at 4 when Jessica showed up I had nothing set and Carrie hadn't really let anyone know who was doing what. So i started doing the menu napkins and replacments and let Jess know that i didn't really know what the plan was and I would help out but i was already over the hours that i was schedueld for that day. I helped her set out glasses in the founders room and some little things until they were caught up and Dani was done with the wine work for the week and on for his shift. It just seemed so unorganized... big surprise for that place, huh? That one day slowed the rest of my week down, but overall it was a good week. I had a good attitude and tried to be agreeable with the powers that be. On sunday i think i was a little on edge because i got there so late. Carrie asked me if i had renewed my food handlers permit yet, and no i havn't because the only reason i got one two years ago is because i wanted to get a job at a coffee shop and thought i should have one in hand if i decided to leave my set-up job. But all the stuff with my right wrist/hand happened and never really developed. So i sorta told her that i didn't really need one because i don't work with food, and she reminded me that i package teas and well apparently that counts.... So i said in a very unhappy tone "okay" like a little bitch. And when she was going out to train the pigs she told me that she was going and i could come observe if i wanted to, but she didn't notice that i was rushing trying to get the dining room set before the servers came and i started holding them up by not being done. The little things she doesn't notice sometimes amazes me.... Like hmmm, dining room needs to be set so that the guests have something to enjoy their evenings with. Since she asked me to be her partner in pig care and training it's been something i consider a big commitment, i don't think she thinks it is. I'm not sure what to think of that. I think that if i do agree to this that it would be a pay increase because it means a long term commitment to the company and a commitment to these precious little babies that i'm trying so hard not to get attached to. On Saturday she also asked me to add even more things to my dining room shopping list. Normally wouldn't be a issue and who knows maybe it won't be, but i don't really want to add a costco trip to my job duties. Seems like Costco always gets a LIST of things for lots of people. It's a fucking hastle to go to costco, i'd rather not go, yet she makes it seem like i get to go out for a treat by going for the HF. I guess that if i could get everything that i normally shop for at costco and it would save time overall i would be all for it, but it's for ONE thing. I don't know, i'm just making drama out of nothing really. I like to complain, it makes me feel like i have more of a life or something. I just like to have someone to pick on. I was asking Jason today why i make the money that i make. Is it a difference in pay from the servers because i don't actually interact with each guest personally? He told me that is the reason given for the pay difference between front of the house and back of the house. Servers bitch that they have to "deal" with the customers and they DESERVE more. But it hurts to hear them cry poor and that they have to get a second job because they don't make enough. Well, baby, I make DOLLARS less than you do and somehow i am making it. Barely, but somehow i survive. It is pretty funny that just about all of the people that aren't on salary at the HF have to have some sort of second job to suplement their income. The people that are on salary either don't have the time to have a second job because they are there for 70-80 hours a week already or are work on their days off or just don't sleep much. So here is my argument for wanting more money from the herbfarm, i've worked many YEARS for the herbfarm, i'm a utility player knowing MANY departments of the herbfarm, and damn, I'm just over all good. Does it not matter that i'm family too? Should i take less or expect less because i share the last name with one of the owners? I do a good job, i'm loyal, i'm stable, why? why? why? Why should i accept more responsibilty if i'm still not getting a equal output from the other end? I can only take it for so long before I'm just a dope for taking it? Right? And usually i would be really angry as I talk about this, but honestly right now i'm not. I would just like to know why. Is it something holding me back still? Since my last review i've missed only one day for my wrist hurting and the infection. But I take care of my things the best i can to make it as easy as possible for who ever may be doing my job. What more do they want from me? I find out that people that are just hired are making 5 dollars more than me TO START! they haven't showed her anything but they have a donger, and i really hoped they haven't "showed" her and ron, but gender is still an issue. Damn GLASS CEILING! (hehe, i just used a phrase that i learned in college) So this is the way that i'm seeing it as of right now. I'm being held back from a better income because 1. I'm disabled 2. I'm female 3. I don't "deal" with guests on a personal basis daily 4. I'm family 5. I try to get all of the departments of the company to communicate and work together "be on the same page" 6. I have a bad attitude. These are the things that jump to my mind off hand. I don't know if my supervisor realizes it, but those 6 reasons i just stated are very true. Number one on my list was the reason why i didn't get the raise i deserved 6 months ago. number 2, i seriously think she doesn't realize that she counts this in at all. number 4, why the hell does it matter, i do a great job, above and beyond. They take me for granted! Number 5 just plain pisses her off because it makes the greed card so visible to everyone. Number 6, yes, some days i do have a bad attitude, i'm stubborn and think that i need to fight back, i'm still young and i'm still learning. Maybe if i was compensated well enough i would feel better about adding the additional 6 people at the end of my day when i'm nearly ready to head out the door. But do i see anything as far as a thank you for making changes or a bonus in my paycheck when things get stressful? No, but the servers do, because when they get overworked they need to be babied because the guests can see when the smiles disappear. They don't ever see my smile or frustration. I want these people to have a night they will never forget, i want the guests to tell their friends of what a wonderful place it is to spend an evening and how good the food is. But i also know that they think that all of the employees are well taken care of. I want them to know that when we are at work that it is a great place with a great crew taking care of them that night. We are, but if you want that great crew to stick around, show us that you care as well mr and mrs boss people. There is a reason why people come back, give us a reason to stay.

Annie

Brunie and Jim hired a photographer to come and get some family shots of the Thanksgiving holiday, and although this isn't a pro picture we were all gussied up (hehe can't you tell?) I had had a few too many drinks the night before playing cards and wasn't my usual perky self. I still couldn't resist a picture with Jason with a backdrop like we had that day. The snow had fallen the day before and was just so pretty. If you notice my jacket, Jason had gotten me with a few snowballs just before the shot was taken, isn't he a sweetheart? :)


Stunning picture of Lake Tahoe November 2004
I still can't get over how beautiful it is there. It was such a pretty morning when we went up on the Gondola, the view was amazing.


Thanksgiving in Lake Tahoe
This picture doesn't look real, but it is! As the sun began to go down mist formed over the medow against the tree line. It was sooooo soooo pretty. I keep saying that but Tahoe is a lovely place, i can see why the ski resort there is called Heavenly.


Jason in Tahoe over Thanksgiving 04. The kids were sledding on the slope beside the house we were staying in and Jason thought it was a great idea to peg them with snowballs as they were whizzing by. Silly man.

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Saturday Night



I'm trying my hardest to stay awake until at least 10 tonight so i can actually get a good night of sleep. All week long i have been taking 3 hour naps, then not being sleepy when i need to be sleeping. The rain has been making me pretty fatigued as well. We were busy at work today, and it didn't help that I woke up 15 minutes after i wanted to be at work. I got there at nearly ten this morning to find that the Founders Room wasn't pre-set by the servers the night before. It wasn't a big deal, it just took me back and made the morning feel a little rushed. But some days i swear that is a good thing to get me going. I was in a good mood just about all day today, which is SOOOO nice, and such a good change for all of the people around me. I have to owe my much improved mood to much rest and fewer hours at the office the past couple of weeks. The fewers hours only sucks when payday comes around. I got my paycheck this past prep-day and it was so small! It was the size that it was when i was recovering from surgeries. I guess it's a good thing that next week the powers that be added a day of service. Luckily, i have been too tired to go out and do anything to actually spend these small paychecks, so it is all working out. It has been worth it to just be home and in bed most of these days, i must admit.

I got home for the end of the Chicago vs. Boston game 3 yesterday, and too bad for the Red Sox, they were swept by chicago in the ALDS. After the storied year they had last year it was sort of a whimpy end this year. But they were just plain beat by chicago. Out pitched, hit, and played all around. In the other American League series, the Angels vs. New York, Anaheim leads the Yankees 2 games to 1 with game 4 to be played on Sunday evening at New York. It was postponed due to rain today. In yesterdays game the Angels looked pretty damn good against the Yankees, they were stringing together hits and taking advantage of New Yorks mistakes. If the Angels can close it out on Sunday I will be looking forward to watching Chicago and Anaheim play for the ALCS.
In the National League the Braves and Astros played this evening in Houston and the Astros pulled out that victory to take a 2-1 lead in that series. The Padres and Cardnials are playing as I type. St. Louis has taken an early 5-0 lead early. The Cards are looking to sweep San Diego and wait for the winner of the Houston/Atlanta series. As if you couldn't tell by my telling of the series, i'm more into the American League series a lot more than the NL, but hey i watch AL Ball all the time and I am more familiar with those teams, can ya blame me?

On a sad note I think that the goby in the salt water fish tank is dying. He has been looking pretty skinny lately. I don't think it's from lack of food because ever since i took over feeding the fish i see him eating every other day (that's their feeding schedule). The goby must be pretty old, he is huge compared to any goby that you see in the fish stores. We bought him from Below Sea Level where they had gotten him from a long time customer. And I think we've had him for a year and a half. I didn't see him when i fed them yesterday and not today when i went down to check the water level and see how everything was doing... I gotta call J cause the Xenia didn't look good either and it has been so healthy ever since we moved everything into the small tank with the different lighting. I think the tank needs some good ol' Jason time. Like we all do from time to time.

I cooked! and it actually tastes good! I went shopping at the grocery store earlier this week and wanted to try my hand (finally!) at cooking chicken. So i found the smallest package of chicken breast that i could. Picked out some veggies that sounded tastey, and decided that i could cook it and put it on some rice. So when i get home i discover that i really don't know how to cook all this stuff together. Sure i may be able to cook the veggies individually, and i could grill the chicken if i wanted to, but actually put a dish together? nope... So i wait for J to get home and he writes me out directions on exactly what to do. Of course i talk to him when i'm having one of my drug induced talk athons. The next day i look at the directions and get nervous all over again and put it off. So when Jason gets home from work I'm already asleep. He comes and wakes me up and informs me that i forgot to cook and how much he was looking forward to coming home and eating some of the chicken and rice. After a little talking, and again I'm in a drug induced stuper, we decide that it's a good idea if i go downstairs and cook it then, so that if i have any questions that he'll be there to lend a hand. It's 3 am... I only half remember cooking... But i did it and it actually tastes good. I had a little when we finished cooking last night, and i had some when i got home from work, and it's still good! Jason pretty much finished the cooking, but i cooked the chicken and made the rice and prepped all of the veggies. The directions he made for me had cream to finish the dish, but we didn't have any so he worked his magic and "made" cream. Basically a mixture of butter, a little water and wondra. I don't really know what wondra is or why we have it in our pantry, but i don't care cause i (we) made a yummy dinner. It wouldn't of tasted nearly as good without his touch, but i have a little experience now and maybe a little confidence to go beyond pasta! I would also love to get back into the cookie baking passion. I've been wanting to make snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies. If i have energy in the next few days i'll have to do that.

At work today carrie asked me if i wanted to be her partner in pig care and training. I told her i would think about it. I don't think that i really want to starting this fall because of the weather, and i most likely won't agree to it just for that reason alone. But also i don't know if i still think that we should have them out there. THey are SO cute though. And i would love to have a relationship with them, but i just don't know if i can commit myself to them. I just don't know yet, i should talk with carrie more about it before i say no for sure. I would like to have my review, maybe i should incorperate that into my "goals". Another work note that happened today is about my tea production. Thomas and Ron have been working on new color tea lables for the herbal teas that i package and we put in the retail hutch. Today was the day that Thomas delivered em! I'm going in early tomorrow morning to stick the new lables over the old ones and possibly package up some new teas too. It's going to look so much better than the plain text, black and white lables that we have been using. Ron isn't happy with the sniffle tea lable, so that is the only one that is missing, but i can live with that :)

Looks like i will make it to ten o'clock tonight! I'm going to prepare myself for bed now. St Louis is still leading 5-0 now in the 5th inning, unless the Padres get something going they will be swept this post season.

Sweet Dreams, Annie

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Ah! Two days off

Okay, i usually get two days off a week, but i got lots of rest and didn't even have to take a nap today. Jason has had the last two days off as well which has been nice to see him sleeping in FINALLY!
ok, wait, i have to watch Neopolitan Dynomite..... he's dancing for Pedro.... Man that guy has some MOVES!Love the boots.... hip action! a little moon walking.... spinning, yeah baby yeah! more hips.... ahhh it's over...

Vote for Pedro!

that was fun.... anyways, last week at work was better. I need the shorter service weeks for October, i think that will do me wonders. I have inventory tomorrow afternoon, but that isn't really work, it's just showing up and counting stuff. I should do ironing tomorrow as well, but i think i might just make cookies instead and watch baseball playoffs.

Speaking of baseball playoffs, it was a disappointing day for the teams i'm rooting for. Red Sox lost as well as the Angels. I just hate the yankees. I don't really dislike the white sox but i'd rather see the red sox win than them. We watched the end of the Saint Louis/ San Diego game this morning, but i don't think that series will be much of a series since St Louis is going to slaughter the Padres. The Angels weren't looking too hot today against the yankers, but in the 9th they made alittle run for it getting the tying run up to the dish, but they ending it by hitting into a double play and sending the yankees home field advantage with the road win. The Red Sox were punished by Chicago 14-2. The Chi Sox scores runs in bunches hitting something like 4 home runs just being bastards to Boston pitching. They'll rebound tomorrow and kick a little pale hose ass tomorrow.

JRA update- I've dropped to 16mg of prednisone as of yesterday. I'm feeling a little headache but i'm not sure if that is directly related or not. I am a little sore, but i certinly expect that for the first few days. I know i have to take it a little slower and be good to my bones. I gotta keep warm too. We got out the down comforter a few days back and i have been keeping my little warmers that my mommy got me in good use. We are discovering that the house we live in doesn't have the best insulation. Although, it could be so much worse. At least we can keep warm if we just add a layer or two and keep a little blankey around. I like the hot cocoa and tea as well. J is so funny the past two days, since it's his days off he is insisting on wearing shorts, but he also is wearing his jacket. It looks so funny cause he has his shorts on with white sox pulled up and then he's wearing a jacket that he wore skiing in Tahoe this past Thanksgiving. It's not like it's a huge heavy one, but it's the waterproof shell with a little warmth as well. It just looks cute. And at some points throughout the day he would put up the hood and pull the strings tight... silly man. Anyways it looks like it's soup and sandwich days again!

The started pouring the concrete for our side of the street today! It was actually a little quiet out there, it was nice to not have the tractors and machines going at 7 in the morning. It looks like they should finish pouring tomorrow on our side and then i suppose it has to set and all of that groovy stuff before we can actually park in our driveway again. It's been pretty annoying walking a block to my car every morning, especially when i bring folding or ironing home with me. It could be worse i suppose, i shouldn't complain about a block walk it's good for me. I was reading the little notice that they gave us about the work that they are doing and they won't be completely finished until sometime in December! I was thinking of having a housewarming party in October, but if people can't park close by i may have to put it off even further. Seems as though some of my family may never see my humble abode. In time I suppose. Thinking of all of this family get together stuff, i think that i need to reinstate the get together with family at least once a month for dinner or brunch. I've been looking for a reason to take a sunday off of work at least once a month and i'm thinking that i would love to take the first or last sunday off and have a family brunch or something like that. In the summers it could be BBQ's and in the colder months it could be late breakfast or early dinner. I think i should promote that family tradition back as i did about two years ago. I hope that i would have the energy to do that if i took one sunday off a month and had a meal with my loved ones. It just may keep me sane. I feel like this summer has nearly disconnected me from my family. I've missed birthday parties because i'm afraid that i might fall asleep at the wheel driving out there. I was so tired all summer long i need to recharge and get back to seeing the ones i love. My family makes me happy (most of the time, i like em, they are a good group of people) I think that i'm not too much of a burden anymore since i'm out of their hair most of the time. Of course i still do complain a lot, but that's just my nature most of the time.

I came to a realization this past week when i was talking to Jason half asleep. I'm a whinney little bitch at work. I guess i always kinda knew, but it was confirmed. J was talking about a situation he ran across and how annoying it was, and i started to think about it, well, it's me at work sometimes. And i was telling Joe about it on Sunday about how i came across the realization and how i was determinded to change it, and he said that it was a common thing, he thought, that when you are at a job long enough you get expectations on how your day should go and when i bump comes up that you are more comfortable letting people around you know that you are annoyed by the bump. He said that it was a sign of comfort and that it was expected. But i see his point in a way and i agree in many ways, but i don't want it to become ok. I want to be a good employee. I want to be the best at my job, and to do that it means being coopertive when changes happen. WHen i huff and puff and complain about what i don't like I'm not being the best i can be. I want to be a team player. But i think there are limits to being a Yes Man too, the HF way is to always think of the guests, and when some changes are made i think that it effects the guests' experience. The level of service and quality of their evening can be jepordized if there are too many changes and all of the employees can't keep up with what we are supposed to do to maximize their night. I try to explain that to my boss sometimes, but i don't think it gets through. I understand that there are certain circumstances can be made, but sometimes i also can see the dollar signs get in the way of judgement. When someone comes down and says "it's so hard to turn down 500 bucks" i understand that, but when it's 500 bucks over and over and over, is it worth it to make all of the people coming that night not get the smiles from the staff because there is just too much to do and too few people to do it? There just has to be the line where enough is enough and you must think of all the guests, the staff and the evening as a whole and not the "it's 500 bucks"
At the last meeting we were all reminded to have our "Thursday -aka first day of the service week- attitudes on Sunday, because the guests don't know that it's our last day before the weekend and they deserve our best because it's their night." We got that speech and a day later all i could think is how much that rule needed to be instilled back to the reservation taking when we are full or understaffed for how many people are booked, when they try to add people last minute. It's not fair to the guests that booked weeks in advance to have more people come than we are staffed for. When the quality is compromised because we can't serve them the HF way we simply shouldn't book their reservation.
Maybe it's all just crazy talk on my end, i don't know. It's past 4 in the morning now and i wanted to write something in my little journal here and i was thinking that i didn't really have much to say... silly me, i think i don't have anything to say and that's when it all comes pouring out! I could go on about nothing and everything for ages.
LIKE how HBO is sucking out my life the past few days. We have started watching the series Rome. It's one of the shows that we can get on HBO On Demand, which is cool cause i can catch up from when J was watching last week and i fell asleep. I have all of the episodes a little jumbled, so i need to go back and get them in order so i'm a little more clear on exactly what's happening. I'm not sure i like this whole watching TV shows again. We got sucked into Lost and now Rome. I don't like having to be there on a night and a time so that i can follow the story. I like it all on my time when i want! Now that we are caught up with Lost i have a day and a time that is dedicated to TV and it's so precictable. I like dedicating my tv time to sports, that's real reality tv. I like that. Now that Mariners are done for the season i don't have a nightly family to watch until the sonics start up next month. I have playoffs for a while, but it's not MY boys, it's other cities boys and their excitment. Oh well, i can take naps and not feel guilty about missing the game. I can stay late at work ironing or doing whatever and not feel as guilty when i come home and fall asleep. Basically it's all about the sleeping and sports watching. A little work here and there, but mostly the sleeping. Oh i like eating too. Now i also have to find ways to stay warm. We have a fireplace and i shall buy a duralog tomorrow for the test of it to make sure that our bedroom doesn't get overly hot by having a fire down stairs or whatever the case may be. Also we just want to see what the sucker does to the heat of the house because all we have are electric baseboard heaters and that will get expensive REALLY fast if we turn those things on. I think that we will end up getting space heaters for the bedrooms, and just layer clothes during the waking hours. I may have to find a warmer place for my orchids. Or i may have to create a warming tray for them for the winter. I was reading in my orchid book that i can get a soil warmer strip and create a cute little thing that should keep the roots a good temp and as long as they remain getting good light they should be good. I may also have to get a new plant light for the winter months since we are getting fewer hours of daylight for my precious little babies.
Oh my goodness, i havn't talked about what happened to my newest! There was a party here about two weeks ago maybe ten days ago, anyways a few days after i was checking out my babies and noticed that the one that i keep in the east window that the clay pot that surrounds the little plastic one was broken and positioned in a way that was trying to conceal the fact that in was indeed broken. The terracota pot i don't really care about, those are a dime a dozen, but i think that the incident that broke the pot shocked my little guy because now a few of the blossoms are dying! And they aren't like the normal aging and wilting of the blossoms. They are lower on the flower spike, but they aren't the oldest blossoms which is odd for them to die first. I was reading a post on the orchid group that i'm on and someone else had one of their plants fall when she was vacuuming and was asking if the fall could have stressed the plant enough to drop blossoms prematurely. And sure enough, apparently orchids can be so delicate that i fall can shock them and they can die! I was so sad to read that, and a little upset that my poor plant had been through a trauma. Now i have to baby it even more and try to find a very secure place in the house for it. I'll also need to go to the store and buy a new surrounding pot for it to try to make it feel better. The stresses i have to deal with.... I never knew that being a mother of three orchids would be so stressful. I better get myself a little baggie of m&ms to calm myself while i'm getting the new pot as well. what to do what to do??!! :)

Now that i've been rambling on and on about things that i will probably kick myself for later, i'm going to continue, because basically i'm not ready to go to sleep yet.
To try and solve the algae problem that i've been having in my fish tank i found some window treatment fabric that was my grandmothers that i got last year. I actually found it in my walkin closet when i was looking for the vcr remote last week. Anyways there was also two hook like things that came with the fabric and i got the brillant idea to hang it in the sky light to keep the natural light from getting to the fish tank. I read that a cause for the algae to grow is too much daylight, one of the causes at least. So i hung this maroon sheer fabric on one side of the sky light, which looks sort of odd when you come into the bedroom, but luckily for me the only people that really come up to the bedroom are Jason and I, although when my mom came over she saw it, but she liked it... I don't know where i'm going with this at all, but now i have a sun shield for my tank and i HOPE that it will help with the algae control! They tell me that i should be able to control it with regular water changes and not overfeeding, and since i don't really have the option of moving the tank from where it is because the house is so unlevel, i hope that the sheer maroon window "treatment" will help me with controling the SLIME that has invaded my poor pets home. I already had to throw out all of the plants i had in there because the damn slime choked them to death. I should get some new ones and if they die in a few months, so be it, at least they will have something to decorate the little tank.

Alright, i don't think i have anything else to type about.... even though it is fun to have fingers not hurting like a ..... hurting bunch of fingers....... i just have run out of things to say. I would have said interesting things to say, but that hasn't happened this entire post! Except when i was talking about Jason and his shorts and long jacket. That was funny, i should have taken a picture.

OH! I did my laundry today. I have things to wear that are clean! :)

We had lunch at Greatful Bread today, sandwiches were good, but extreamly overpriced. It was 7 dollars for a whole sandwich and all it came with was a quarter of a pickle, and cheese was an additional .50 I thought it was a good sandwich until Jason told me it was 17 dollars for two sandwiches and a coffee. I don't think that i'll be going back anytime soon for a sandwich, but they do have cafe vita coffee and the pastries are looking kinda tastey. I have a cinnamon roll about 6 weeks ago when Rach gave me a ride to work and we stopped for coffee on the way in. They have large cookies there that loooked good. I wanted a snickerdoodle, but i am determinded to make it myself!

Ok, battery on computer almost gone... goodnight!

Annie