Ok, Christmas is almost over.... thank the Goddess!!!! If you work retail you know what I mean. My Christmas day consisted of resting up for tomorrow which is back to work. Our holiday was quiet and spent with our fur babies. Hubby had to work tonight at the doggie hotel but we did manage to take our doggies to the local park... something we have not done for 2 weeks. My holiday wish... a better job with shorter hours and better or equal pay. Life lesson for me... be careful what you wish for.
Hope your holiday was fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUL0KCIc48

I hope Santa brings me this CD

When I feel better and get some free time before Christmas... or I can wait until the New Year... there is no rule that requires me to give gifts at Christmas... I will give to some special people these goodies. You can find the recipe here

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cranberry-nut-chocolate-bark-recipe

Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge

I love this movie and this scene!

My new job has caused me to reflect about who I am and where I am in life... mainly it has helped me realize some things I might not have thought about... like I am definitely not as young as I used to be. Who is really? We get older with each minute. I think of myself as still 20 something at times... ok... most of the time. I like to dress like the 20 year olds but then so does
Gloria Steinem... have you seen her in a mini skirt? That girl can still rock it in her late 60s! But so can Tina Turner and loads of other women.
For me though, I feel it most in the mornings. I stretch 99% of the time before I go to bed and 50% of the time in the mornings. I watch these young servers carry these very heavy trays of food all day... well 5 to 6 hours a day. But even so they still have lots of energy. My GM who is probably somewhere in his 40s requires only 4 hours of sleep a night and he is back in the game. I am sick and have been for a few days now... nothing earth shattering but a bad cold just the same. I can't keep up... There I said it and I hate to admit it. Those 10 hour days are taking its toll on me and I have only been doing this for a little over 3 months.
Let me back track a minute. I have a new GM. I was transferred a couple of weeks ago to another restaurant located inside a mall. This is my 4th store in 3 months and it's like starting a new job all over again. Each one operates differently even though they are part of the same restaurant chain. This also is an hour commute from home each way so I am gone 12 hours a day. Three days a week I work the closing shift and 2 days I open which means I have to be there 6 am... have I mentioned I am NOT a morning person. My GM tried to schedule me to work a closing shift ( 2pm - 11pm) and come back the next day at 6 am... who can do that ???? I cannot get maybe 4 hours sleep and be expected to be alert and run like mad for 10 hours. I just can't. I do know some people that can. Goddess bless them but I can't. We compromised and I will work the mid shift and leave at 8 pm... that still is not enough time for me to be rested and did I mention we are inside a mall? You know it's the holiday season and we are busier than hell. Hungry holiday shoppers... you can only imagine the type of mood these people are in! The movies they show on t.v. this time of year are quite accurate as far as how crazy and impatient people can get.
I am trying to hang on through the end of the year... it's only a few more weeks and then I have to look for another job. It really sucks because I had such high hopes for this job. Management... it sounds good and the pay is more than I ever got but the job really is about baby sitting, refereeing and lots of ass kissing to customers who really don't deserve it because they are only looking to get free stuff... have you heard of people complaining their food was terrible after they ate the whole thing and demanded to get the meal for free? It happens all the time at the restaurant and I have to give them the meal for free and sometimes throw in a free whole pie for them to take home because they threaten to contact the corporate office... that sounds a little like extortion to me. Oh well,like my hubby reminds me... they aren't taking money out of our checking account.

I'm off the next 2 days and plan to rest up. Hope your week and holiday experience is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud.

xoxo Inge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v20R8GytQSg

Since we are in the midst of the holiday season, I would like to showcase some shops on etsy.com that sell goodies for the animal lover and their pets. As you know I am an self proclaimed animal nut and proud of it! I also believe in buying from small businesses and individual artists, especially this time of year. Here are a few etsy shops I would like to give a shout out to...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PoochyCouture
http://www.etsy.com/shop/jenell1
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=33483945
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36213664&ref=sc_5
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34958440&ref=cat1_gallery_6
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36531113&ref=cat1_gallery_20
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8390664&ref=cat1_gallery_13
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29376606&ref=cat1_gallery_1
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36538448&ref=cat1_gallery_16
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36516024&ref=sr_gallery_19&&ga_search_query=dog+treats&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36504350&ref=sr_gallery_5&&ga_search_query=dog+treats&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=2&includes[]=tags&includes[]=titlehttp://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36517603&ref=sr_gallery_17&&ga_search_query=dog+treats&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=35669845&ref=sr_gallery_20&&ga_search_query=CAT+TREATS&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=2&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=36527931&ref=sr_gallery_3&&ga_search_query=bunny+TREATS&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title
Happy Holidays!

Calling All Animal Lovers!

I was looking at one of my fav blogs http://theqipapers.blogspot.com/2009/12/counting.html
and found another site who foster cares bunnies. http://renorabbits.blogspot.com/2009/12/foster-buns-need-your-help.html
This person needs help and since it is the holidays...
Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge

I am finishing up my 2nd day off... in a row! How delicious it was... even though I had to mop and wash the floors and dust. I also felt brave enough to color my own hair this month. I usually go to the local beauty school to give me my vibrant red hair color...but I am watching our budget and decided to color my own hair. It did not come out perfect but it's good enough and I don't look like Ronald McDonald... so I can honestly say it is a success!
I am back on the computer... looking at some of my fav blogs ... I ran into one that you might like to check out, especially if you have kids... called http://www.littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/
Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORzl5OD6cXE

Hello. My name is Olive and I decided to try my paw at this blogging thing. Mom is catching up with her favorite television shows so I asked her to let me do a guest blog. Mom and I follow Francesca and Sharkey at the Daily Wag blog and I have wondered what it would be like to have my own blog. I am a very busy Chihuahua though and I don't know if I have the time to blog regularly so I thought I would do a guest blog ... just to see what it is like.

Since mom had the day off and dad got home from work early we all got to go to our favorite dog park. The weather was great... especially for November! We met up with some regulars and even met some new friends.

The local "watering hole"

I am sharing some fashion tips with my new girl friends.

Another successful visit to the dog park.

Like my mom says... hope your day is good and don't forget to bark out loud!

Olive

It's 1 am and I have been home 30 minutes. John is asleep and so are most of the critters, except for Jinx my long hair kitty. He is laying next to me purring and hoping I will pet him while I blog and surf the net. I found an interesting blog you might be interested in
http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/heart-of-a-cowgirl. The author or is the correct term blogger? has a lifestyle that I would enjoy... she lives on a ranch with an assortment of critters and she makes beautiful western style jewelry. She has a shop on etsy too. I sure do miss making stuff and having that small booth in the antique mall last year. Running around that restaurant for 10 1/2 hours a day is not my dream job. It does pay the bills for now but I want to have my own business... I have trouble which route I want to go though... will it have something to do with critters? antiques? shabbly decor? handmade jewelry? a shop that features local artists? I think my indecision has to do with me being a libra... actually virgo/libra - depending on what is going on at the time... sometimes I am so grounded and other times I am a complete airhead. I do know that this restaurant thing ain't for me in the long term. I need to get to bed but I think I will surf the web a few more minutes.
Hope your weekend is fun and don't forget to laugh our loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKBIHcy9s7M

I just don't understand why some people will stay up all night to shop for Christmas gifts or wait outside all day and night to be first in line when the stores open on Black Friday. I just don't like crowds that much and the thought of possibly being crushed in the hopes of saving a few bucks does not interest me either. The older I get the more I want to enjoy my alone time. I am not a big fan of shopping malls either. Everything is so expensive now and the quality is crap but the prices are high. Maybe I am becoming Scrooge like but I watch so many (mainly women) get crazy at this time of year... they work all day and still feel the need to shop for the perfect gifts, decorate the house, cook for a million guests. I get exhausted just listening to them. This year I am giving the good old gift card that way the person gets to pick what they want... or maybe I will just give the gift everyone likes... cash. Either way I will be less bitchy by not buying into the Christmas hoopla and that's a gift everyone will enjoy!
Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpnYg2FKe-o

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. For me it is no big deal. I really do not understand the huge importance of this holiday except for grocery stores, gas stations and airlines. For them it is huge for the bottom line. As for me I have to work probably a 12 hour shift. Our restaurant is open and offering a Thanksgiving dinner. Really it is ok. I worked last year at the other restaurant in Chico. If someone works in restaurants or hotels working holidays are pretty much mandatory. What am I thankful for? Having the restraint not to stab anyone with a fork that pisses me off with their whining about having to work Thanksgiving!

Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a61m0bIqyv0

One of the things I like about post menopause...no more monthly periods! One of the things I don't like about post menopause...memory loss. I have trouble remembering names of people... names of things like... I forgot the word ... crap I can't remember now what I wanted to tell you I forgot! Now that's bad... oh, yeah... I was talking to a server at work and I was asking where the souffle cups were but I could not remember the name. I forget names of people alot too... not people I interact with everyday... people who are on t.v. or political names. It is frustrating even embarrassing at times. There are times I start blogging about something and remember half way through that I already blogged about that.
Hope your pre Thanksgiving days are fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
p.s. Another thing about my personality that has changed since menopause is my temper... I have a shorter fuse... check out this video. I engage in this kind of behavior in my head quite a bit these days.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4yjGiD3xOM

Have you noticed how many mega churches are springing up lately? Remember the small neighborhood church where everyone knew each other? I wonder if religion has become yet another big business swallowing up the small neighborhood church much like agri -business is taking the place of the family farm. This particular church is only a few miles from where I live. The huge steeple got my attention when I was driving the other day and you know my fascination with cemeteries... I also like to snoop around churches... mostly missions but I couldn't keep away from this one. I googled the church and found out they broadcast the sermons... I bet you have heard of these people... I recognized their picture from the "Hour of Power" t.v. show when I was flipping channels one Sunday morning. I just figured they were broadcasting from somewhere in the bible belt of the Carolinas. Back in the 70s I saw the compound where Tammy Faye and Jim Baker used to preach. Their property was big too but definitely not as elaborate as the Crystal Cathedral. http://www.crystalcathedral.org/

I arrived at the same time school was getting out so there were alot of parents sitting in their expensive cars waiting for their little ones. I just wonder how many of these people believe all this stuff or are they sending their kids to get a better education than what is available from the public schools. I find religion fascinating. I think ones religious views tell alot about a person. As for me... I would call myself pagan-buddhist... at least this week but next week who knows.

I find this sign amusing. Must people be able to do everything from their cars?

Great words to live by. Too bad alot of us have forgotten what it means.

I wonder what Jesus would think about all this extravagance.

This place is the size of Disneyland!

Religion seems to be a profitable business these days. Maybe taxing them would help us out of this debt crisis. Hope you weekend will be fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxo81Ok9Urk

Maybe I'm not as "emapthetic" as I thought. I found out today that I got 2 complaints from my staff the other day. One was from my cashier... she brought her mother in yesterday to tell my GM that I made her feel bad because I told her she needed to learn how to count back change the old fashioned way - using her head and not to rely on the computer cash register to tell her how much change she should give. Someone else was upset that I actually expect them to work.
These kids today have been coddled way too much!
Hope your workday is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge

Thank you d. moll for the comment responding to my question about being an empath ... aka field phenomenon. I looked that up and it had alot of scientific quantum mumbo jumbo. I do not have a scientific brain - never have but it did help me a bit. It made me decide to venture over to the spiritual paranormal sites and I found some articles about empathy and empaths. If you are so inclined venture over to this site and see if you could be an empath. http://healing.about.com/cs/empathic/a/uc_empathtraits_2.htm

When I was a massage therapist I had to ground myself over and over when I worked on clients because I would energetically pick up their aches and pains... they would leave feeling great and I would be a mess! There was one client I can clearly remember who I worked on early in my career... that had emotional pain and sadness and when they left they were happy and I had to go home because I was an emotional wreck. I thought I was over this but I can see I'm not and I have to remind myself that someone else's emotional shit is not mine.

Have a fun day and don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge

My first copy of Porch Magazine arrived today! Guess how I plan to spend my evening...

There are a few cemeteries within a 20 mile radius of my house. As you know I like to visit cemeteries, especially older ones because of the beautiful statuary. Newer ones are in my opinion boring because the head stones lay flat on the grass so the caretakers can easily mow over the headstones...are they even still called head stones? I did find an interesting cemetery located right on the busy street called Beach... Beach runs straight to the beach, Huntington Beach to be exact and the cemetery Olive and I visited is in the city of Huntington Beach. It is a pet cemetery. When I first arrived I think I felt the pain of loss and sadness the owners must have felt losing their beloved pets. I am beginning to think I am an empath... something I googled recently because I have this ability to pick up other peoples emotions... mostly from people who are living but I am experiencing similar feelings when I visit cemeteries... more on my experiences about being an empath later. I will appreciate any opinions about the subject of empaths to help me better understand the phenomenon and if I actually have this ability.

Remember the good old days when all we used were pencils with erasers? The worst thing that could happen was the lead woud break and we had to sharpen it again. Now we have all this modern technology which frankly pisses me off most of the time. It's the samething with customer service, technology has made it easy to give half assed service. Have a problem with something send them an email... it's the perfect way to avoid confrontation... no more 800 numbers to call a corporate office to complain about service.
My recent adventure in incompetence is with Time Warner Cable. We had cable, internet and phone service installed Oct 5th of this year and have had trouble ever since. They have had no problem sending me my bills but as for helping me get regular phone and internet service they give me the run around. It shuts off every 5 days. Today after going without service for the past 5 days I called their 800 service number to get the corporate phone number to complain and they told me to log onto their website and send corporate an email! I exploded... I understand why some people snap and resort to violence... I do not condone it but I understand it. Luckily, the person I was yelling at kept her composure and made sure someone would come out today and fix the problem once and for all. I am now blogging because Robert discovered the problem was with the original install not being done correctly and starting over to fix it... thank you Robert for getting me up and running so I can blog about how much Time Warner Cable sucks.
I can now enjoy the rest of my day off. Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSvdcMvPeMk

Yesterday one of my servers brought me a platter that was stacked with the clean platters. Right in the middle of it was a... dissected fly... not a smashed fly... a dissected one... there was one leg, a wing, part of the torso... do flies have torsos?... and one eye... I know it was an eye because it had a shiny green tint. What kind of place is this????

Hope your day is fun and check out the plates before you eat at a restaurant ... the rest of the fly body is out there somewhere! And don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge

A day off! Yay! I spent the day with my family and I am catching up on the blogs I could not read when I work...after I get home from work I am too tired to look at anything. There are so many interesting and creative women out there in blog land... many live in southern California. There was something called a Blissfest that was held somewhere in Arizona that caught my eye... Mary from http://sweetpeasandsnapshots.com/ blogged about it. I forget I live so close to Arizona now that I can drive there in a few hours... it will be something I have to add to my bucket list. As you know I have not been able to do any creating lately and I really miss it... I find myself daydreaming about it while I am at work... thank the goddess for blogs cause it gives me something to look at and enjoy while I am on hiatus of sorts.
Here is the link to Blissfest incase you want to earmark the event for next year!
http://blissfest2009.blogspot.com/2009/10/blissfest-blog-bling.html
Hope your day was fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge

The word is out... complain about our food, bring back a half eaten pie and say it sucks and we will give you lots of free stuff (food) ... really! This company has given the phrase "the customer is always right" a whole new meaning! Oh well, my husband reminds almost daily, it isn't my money...
Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4RNb3tt0LM

Now I want to start this post by saying I am grateful to have a job and a well paying job at that... but having said that I really miss being able to blog, go to the gym, spend more time with my critters and hubby, snoop in thrift shops, make stuff... the 10 hour days really take it out of me. I am no spring chicken and it takes me longer to recover from the long work day and my days off are not together, they are split. Life is too short to work for the sake of working to make money. My goal is to remain at this job until John gets settled into a job that he likes and then I plan to go part time so I can work on doing something that excites me... discussing food costs, labor costs and managing waiters that remind me of cats (have you ever tried to get cats to do something they don't want to do? Then you have a taste of managing waiters in a restaurant) And don't get me started with the customers. xoxo Inge

I had to buy new underwear today, actually some bras but I decided to look for some undies since I was there. Imagine my surprise when I came across undies with built in padded butts!These southern California people... Sooo I bought a pair... when in Rome!

Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh our loud!

xoxo Inge

We found a great place to eat that caters to dog lovers. It happens to be a chain of restaurants and we ate at the one in Huntington Beach. There is outdoor seating so dogs and their humans can partake in a fancy dining experience. Charlie, Cooper and Olive were very excited to be able to sit at the same table with us and munch on fries... something they never get to do. If you are in the area check them out. There is a full bar inside and the ambience is classy pooch.
http://www.lazydogcafe.com/home/about

Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!
xoxo Inge

Check out this fun dress form, I found it at the Gottchalks going out of business sale for only $25!

Finally a day off... I just came off a 7 day work week... 70 hours total. To be honest, this job is hard as hell... I run from the time I get in the door until I go home at night... take a break? Who has time? I mean really... I have to clock out to make the company happy that I am complying with the law but who are we kidding? If I am the only manager there... how can I enjoy the luxury of having 30 minutes to myself when there are constant things going on that need my attention. Anyone working in restaurants knows exactly what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have found a job in this economic climate... I just don't know if I can meet the physical and mental demands this job requires ... I find myself daydreaming of owning my own business again... We shall see.

I like the home we are living in... I just don't know about the wood floors. John and I talked about finding a place with wood floors thinking it would be easier to take care of with the critters... but so far it has to be dry mopped everyday. It's shocking to see how much fur accumaltes in just one day. I know the critters are shedding on a carpet too but the carpet hides the fur better. Be careful what you wish for sometimes it can be more work.

Here's some photos of my new place. I still have some boxes laying around but I am too tired to put them away for now. I just want to enjoy me day off...

Hope your day is fun and don't forget to laugh out loud!

xoxo Inge