Make me!

Okay, so I have found it really hard to blog. Here is a quick update:

Had an interview at Brighthouse, the cable provider down here for a stats position. Haven't heard back yet. I am hoping that dad is right and they are not hiring until the first of the year. Too bad for me.

No other news of jobs or interviews, it is tough going here.

On the dating side of life, there are a few cuties, but more than a fair share look like serial killers in their photos. "Hopefully a polite, Not Interested, will suffice"

My old supervisor sent me an apology note because I got the ax. It was very random and awkward...

For Christmas my roomate and her family helped me to renew my Disney annual pass. It expired this month and now I have 12 more months of G rated fun!! (OM, I can come and hang with you in April!!)

That's really all. See you in NE in two days.

Laid off

I got the as yesterday. Sometime when I don't have my roomate to distract me, you shall get the whole tale.

Here is the posting about it:
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/the_revolving_door/houghton_mifflin_harcourt_breakdown_sad_day_in_orlando_102423.asp

You can also click on the first link in the article for more info.

Rumor Has It

I heard two rumors today:

They are laying off 400 people between the Orlando office and the Boston one today and tomorrow. Orlando employs less than 900 people. You do the math.

The second rumor was worse. They are speculating that 300 people are being laid off tomorrow and Thursday in just Orlando.

Tomorrow my 90 days is up. Until the end of they day, they can fire me at will.

I sure hope Will is hot and strong enough to catch me. *sigh*

bummer

I'm just not feeling it today. I wanted to shop on black friday, but was just sure that a shopping stint would be thrown back into my face by Murphy's law. I can't sleep for worrying that I will lose my job this week. Everyone says I am okay, but that makes me worry more.

I joined Match.com and have been bombarded by weird and way too serious guys. I have gone on one coffee date and was sure that he had a ring on standby at the end after bringing up kids, religion and settling down in one hour over coffee on a Sat morning. Yikes!

My stomach hurts from the stress and I am tired. Perhaps since the boss is out sick the girls will be up for a coffee run this afternoon.

Sorry for the downer coming off of the holiday weekend, but I wish I was back in bed (oh, and that my room would be magically cleaned.)

Wordless Wednesday

I'm so needy

I don't usually ask of this for myself, but if you could keep me in your prayers I would appreciate it. I'm so terrified that I am going to lose my job. They are doing another restructuring and I am pretty much the last person that the company hired.

Last hired is usually first fired. (Less of a chance of a lawsuit and most easily removed.)

I am freaking out. I have no idea what I will do if this happens...

I'll send an SOS to the world.

Okay, so captain is going back to court. They are having the deposition of his wife and his own deposition. (Disclosing everything you have done that may sway the courts decision basically.)

Please pray for him as he fights for his boys.

you know you are in Florida when:

They issue this windchill advisory:

.. WIND CHILL ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 9 AM EST WEDNESDAY...

A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH CENTRAL FLORIDA THIS AFTERNOON WILL USHER COLD DRY AIR ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT. LOWS WILL DROP INTO THE LOW TO MID 30S NORTH OF INTERSTATE 4... AND INTO UPPER 30S TO LOWER 40S ELSEWHERE. THE NEAR RECORD LOW TEMPERATURES WILL COMBINE WITH NORTHWEST WINDS OF 10 TO 15 MPH TO CREATE WIND CHILL READINGS IN THE MID 20S TO LOW 30S EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING.

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. THIS WILL RESULT IN FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS... MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.

yeah!

Mom and dad will be here in about 9 hours. I am sooooo excited! I don't even know what to say. I just can't wait until they get here. I got the day off today and I will be really cleaning the house. Not E's favorite thing to do, so I enjoy having the opportunity to really give it a scrubdown. I turn up the syrius radio station and rock out while I sweep out the dirt.

Probably won't be on for another few days, (things were super crazy as I worked about 55 hours a week for the last few weeks in addition to my AT hours--pretty sure I've already told this story.) But there will be many pictures of the Dangler's first official visit to Florida!

I still voted for pedro...

Funniest story EVER

Okay, so I have this pair of birkenstock-like-sandals that I wear when I am feeling particularly casual at work. The other day I knew I was going to be running around, so I wore them. The only problem is that they suction to my feet and about every fourth or fifth step they make that funny *pblttt!* noise.

So, I am walking around on the third floor (not mine, but the math editorial for the project I am working on) and this lady in front of me by a few steps drops some papers. As she bends over to pick them up, my shoes "farts". I thought nothing of it until she stood up, turned around and with downcast eyes said, "Excuse me!".

What do you say??!?!? "No no, it wasn't you, it was me"? At first I didn't even realize what she was apologizing for, then it hit me. Now, I simply can't stop giggling over the whole ordeal.

Long update

Okay, so here is what is going on in my life:

Work. At HMH, I have four studies converging into the same timeline. I am starting to freak out because I still don't know the ropes. My boss is out this week and I am supposed to order the student materials (counters and such) for three studies. However, each portion of hte book calls for an enormous amount of materials and the lady I usually order things through is out all week. Not to mention, budget cuts are killing us. So, when the editors call for literally dozens of counters for each student and we have over 800 students involved, how to I stick to an "as low as possible" budget? I have no idea who gets told "no" so I guess the are not going to be ordered this week. (yikes)

AT. Retails sucks. I mean it is really bad with the market and economy tanking right now. So, AT has decided that this has nothing to do with our sales. OBVIOUSLY, it is the one variable they can control: the associates. So, for my last two shifts we have had district managers and the like in the store. My managers are freaking out and I am getting lots of coachings on how I don't push people. Sorry, I'm not going to scam every individual into getting a credit card. (Hello!?! Bad economy = no more credit cards.) Also, the other day a girl came in with a return and I asked her if she wanted to look around first. Evidently, that was not pushing her enough to shop. I needed to convince her to look around. You're joking right? I give this high pressure sales thing about 2 more weeks and then I am outta here. This is supposed to be easy cash, not nightmare inducing.

House. E and I are frantically trying to get things done before her parents come in again next weekend. Painting baseboards, painting doors, painting walls, cleaning, cleaning cleaning.

However, E and I are going to the waterpark tomorrow. She has passes to use and they expire next weekend, so a day at Disney! Yeah!

A little story to leave you with: I called Angie to find out what size Celie is wearing. I wanted to send something (now an idea being held up as the children's place figures out how to get me a stupid discount card). She said that Celie could really use some 0-3 since everyone sent clothes for a Shafer sized baby. And she says that Celie is quite the fashionista. She wears multiple outfits a day, mainly due to the fact that she poops or throws up on everything...

Made me giggle.

Wordless Wednesday

It's official

"Good morning,

Stacey Dangler is moving on to a new job in Florida, so today will be her last official day with Talent Plus. We appreciate Stacey’s contributions to the in-depth and research areas of our company over the last few years and wish her the best of luck in her new endeavors. If you have any questions about what Stacey will be doing in her new role, we encourage you to get in touch with her directly.

Thanks,
Sarah"


What this really means:

Good morning,

Stacey Dangler was asked to leave us and finally let us know that she has a job in Florida. Since we got tired of waiting for her to quit, today will be her last official day with Talent Plus. We appreciate Stacey's ability to keep quiet about the crap we put her through, especially in regard to being asked to do borderline unethical things, working with girls who don't play nice in research and getting yelled at numerous times by a jerk of a CEO over the last few years. In an effort to look better we are saying we wish her the best of luck in her new endeavors. If you have any questions about what Stacey will be doing in her new role, we encourage you to get in touch with her directly because we treated her so poorly that she will not share with us where she is now working.

Thanks,
Her manager that sucks at developing people, but really is a nice person :)

life is funny. Here is proof.

Okay, so I have to share the love. A girl I work with sent this to me and I absolutely love it.

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

This one is my favorite. I laughed so hard the girls in the next cube came over to see what I was looking at:
http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/2008/07/02/i-asked-santa-for-a-baby-alive-and-all-i-got-was-this-stupid-dishwasher/


Mom, you may not enjoy it, but I thought many of the notes were witty and ironic.

I am also here to make fun of family. Well, I'm not so brave since no one from that side reads this, but here it is. My Aunt E sent out an email and here is a line.

"Dave had a goodtime at the Outdoor Women workshop. His sausage presentation went well."

I just could not help myself. I started to snicker...

Wordless Wednesday

Walk for the cure

I had mixed feelings the day of the walk (Sunday), so this will be a two parter:

#1. To go as a team (AT) we decided to meet at Celebration FL at 6:45. We were then heading off to Disney to make sure that we got parking. The lot was supposed to close at 7:40 and the walk started at 8:05. I was there at 6:40. Early?!! Crazy, I know. One girl decided that she did not need to grace us with her presence until 7:15, so we were running horribly late. Then, in the car, she asks if we signed her up. Uhhhh.... No. That's why there is a huge sign up in the back of the store that says "Don't forget to sign up." and a note was attached to your paycheck two weeks in a row. (All of this is occurring before I have had coffee, btw.) We wait in line in our cars for almost 45 minutes and then run to the shuttle stop from the car, where we wait in line. Then we run from the bus to the registration tent and then wait for 15 minutes while the other girls use the port-o-potties. Then we hustle to the start of the race, where they decided to delay the start. After the race, we have to wait 30 minutes for everyone to finish (It was only 3 miles!!!!). Then we wait for 20 minutes deciding if 50 of us can attend brunch that had a reservation of 12. I finally get back to my car and have just enough time to inhale two donuts and get ready for work.
At work, there were two other people, but the manager was behind on paperwork and the guy decided that he was going to change the outfits on all of the mannequins. So, basically, I ran the store by myself while he puttered around holding up belts against different sweaters. Rrrr.......



Now, forget all of that. #2. I spent the night before making buttons for my ladies: Jacque and Peg. I was so excited that I found the buttons and got them done. When I arrived to meet my coworkers, my friend Julie had a little poem taped to the leg of her shorts. She lost her aunt in 05 and they had passed out little cards in memory of her at the funeral reception with a poem that her uncle wrote *sniff*. We both got a little misty talking about our memorials on our tees.

At the race, it was overwhelming. Survivors got different colored number for their shirts and everyone was wearing a shirt promoting pink ribbon awareness. among them were "Fight like a girl.", "Do it for the ta-tas.", and "Real men wear pink." People also made shirts for their loved ones. Each individual also had the opportunity to make signs for their shirts celebrating survivors or in memory of those we have lost. Many people had multiple family members on one sign. That really hits you seeing "mom, aunt & nana" on one person's sign. *sniff, sniff*

Julie and I had a great time weaving through the people. We kept jogging around people when the crowd got too dense chanting "serpentine, serpentine". The tiny little 5 foot tall girls decided to run for a bit, but we easily caught up with them by walking fast. :)

As we walked, the two of us. We continued to read shirts and signs. The one that really got to us was a 65ish gentleman walking alone. His shirt read "my wife, my friend, my life" and had a photo of her beneath it with a small story. *tear* Julie and I started to cry and had to hustle around him before it became too much.

As we crossed the finish line, survivors were walking hand in hand with their daughters and husbands. The announcer would shout out their numbers and everyone would cheer. It was a very amazing experience.

My buttons (Jacque on the left, Peg Beck on the right. Notice Peg's pic? This is what you get when you call your dad in the middle of the husker game for a pic of his bf's wife. Her 1970 high school graduation picture.)


Waiting to start:




Walking:


All of Ann Taylor:

New hair

watcha think????

Celie Leighton Dangler

Celie Leighton Dangler (pronounced like Celia, but without the "a")
Born at 3:14 pm, 7lbs 14 oz, 18.5 long

Donating $ now

A lady I work with just came around collecting money for a fundraiser her son is participating in. It's called a fun run and it makes exercise fun as the kids run around the gym. Every few laps they change it up as they run while beating a drum, skip, run like monkeys, etc.

So, when she came to my desk I handed her a $20 bill. "Are you sure?"

umm...it's for your son's fun run, and it's just $20.

However, I did forget to ask what the money is going towards. (I didn't really care if it was St. Jude's or a pizza party.) Guess where it goes.

To get a school nurse. You have got to be joking?!?! People here voted against raising property taxes and now the are making drastic teacher cuts and can't have a full time nurse. Now, I know I did not have one either, but one class in the schools down here is the size of my whole high school. This is crazy! It amazes me how people don't think about these bills when they pass them. They are even making cuts in the fire and police departments.

It just goes to show, only stupid people vote on the important things.

blah day

I have just been off this week. Perhaps because E is now working the evening shift so I wait until I absolutely have to get up in the morning so as not to wake her when heading into the shower. However, I grouted my shower (finally) on Sunday so it is ready for me to use tomorrow. I also painted my headboard. You all might finally get to see a pic of my room or something if I get it all set up.

Nothing else really. Just sleep deprived and can't focus. I miss my afternoon naps when I worked from home. I think I might have to learn Spanish just so I can move to Spain and have siesta time!

Oh, and OM, could you remind me when you are going to be in town in April?

Charge it to my flight account please.

Okay, so I am super excited!

I have been working really hard to get my credit in shape and was totally rewarded yesterday. I got a new credit card! I know, I know, it is contrary to my purpose. But this is a Southwest Airlines Visa. Now, I am earning points toward a plane ticket. I will only be purchasing things I need (hellllooooo lappy) and will pay it off immediately. However, each $ spent earns me a point. Ater 1200 points, I get a credit. Sixteen credits is a free round trip flight. Not only that, but for every $ spent on a southwest ticket or car reservation, I get 2 points. I also get 2 points for each round trip I take.

With my travels last year, I already have 8 credits. That means that with a christmas flight, I will earn ~700 points and will get 2 credits for the round trip. If I charge a laptop this month, I will have earned 3 credits by Dec!

Unfortunately, I will still not be able to come home for thanksgiving. I have to work Black Friday at AT, and by not working to get out of it, I think I can finagle a few extra days at Christmas. I have four days vacation to spend and already have the 25th and 26th off! Nebraska, here I come!

Oh, and for the first time in 3 years, my limit is more than $200!

post #2

On a mission:

I am exploring the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) and would like reputable data. If you have any magazine articles or books that talk about this and reference research articles, I would like to read them.

I am tired of being informed by all natural/organic freaks (SIDE NOTE: not that all people that are all natural/organic are freaks, but I only get preached to by the nutjobs) and now the corn growers association is advertising on TV. I wanna know what science says, not advertisers after their own agendas.....

Don't be that guy part II

This weekend was the weirdest in regards to "that guy". Not the one from work, but all of them.
First of all, X is in CA. I thought I was going to get a little phone break. (Not that I mind talking to him, but he calls about twice a day.) Too bad he has a national calling plan because he still calls twice a day!! Good grief! When I go on vacay, I go on a phone vacay too. Seriously.

Guy #2. My last ex, Jeff. I picked up my phone to go to work on Sunday and had two texts. (No Nik, I still don't have texting.) The first was from Jeff. "What u up 2, hot stuff? :)" Um. Nothing at 2 am! Really, who thinks it is appropriate to text an ex at 2 am (especially if you have not spoken for almost two years...)

Guy #3, Text two. Steve. Nice guy, that's it. He sent me a Valentine's day package a year ago, but our 'relationship' can be very awkward... Everytime, and I mean EVERY time we talk, he says something to the effect of girls telling him that they wish he would have taken some initiative and made a move. Not me. I'm happy with him being a friend (just not my type in the looks department). Each time he says it, I can just see him waiting for me to say it too. Sorry Steve, you can practice your bad-boy-take-what-you-want moves on your other blasts from the past. This shop is closed.

I was just sure that it was a full moon, but my calendar says it is not due for another two weeks! Perhaps Venus is rising in my house, or whatever that astrology saying is... Stupid Venus.

Hair today, What hair tomorrow?

Last night while working at AT, I was chatting it up with a co-worker. She is also attending the Aveda Institute (cosmetology). She just started and will soon be looking for volunteers to practice on. Sign me up! Free haircuts and dye jobs? Hello? I change my hair like celebrities change boyfriends. And guess what...Surprise! She needs to practice a one color dye job on Saturday. She was hesitant at first, worried that she might screw up my hair, but I assured her that she could do nothing to my hair that I have not done myself.

So, Saturday I am going back to brunette. Fun!

Don't be that guy!

Everyday at lunch we all sit in a commons area and eat together. Some people bring lunches, others go to the cafeteria, and some bring in take out. The group consists of more marketing people and it is roughly 7 girls and 4 guys that usually partake in the festivities.

There is this one guy. I admit it. He's cute. Tall. Funny. I like him, but we had an issue the first few days I ate with the group. He stares. I kept catching his eye and he was just looking at me. What is the deal? My first thought is "What do I have on my face?" (Thank you social anxiety...) Followed quickly by, "Is there something hanging out of my nose." (Social anxiety really does take a bit of time to pass...)

I have finally settled on one of two conclusions: I look like someone he knows OR He thinks I'm cute.

I don't know what the final answer is, and I don't think I'll ever find out. But I do know one thing


He's married.

Donating too

So, since I do not have enough hair (or money for that matter) I am back to donating blood. They are having a blood drive here today, and I am set up for 1:30. But I'm worried. Here's why.


three years ago, I donated blood six times in one year. I religiously signed up every 56 days (or whatever that time limit is) and donated everytime it was at work. Two months after my second donation, I was diagnosed with mono. Except I was already over it, meaning that I had it when I donated blood. Not good. The year rolled over with no other mishaps, and then the next two times I tried to donate, I had low iron. Six times in a row and then rejected twice! Ack!

Lets hope my good night's sleep and crappy breakfast bar helps.

Go me!

Just got done. My iron count was great and they always let me know how much they appreciated having such nice veins to draw from! I even got a bow on my bandage!

Pardon me, but would you mind if I tear out your hair?

I feel so much like a girl this week. Don't get me wrong, this is not one of those: life sucks because I have a va jay-jay (hear, hear Oprah). I am just feeling like the epitome of all things stereotypically portrayed as crazy female things.

I am so crabby. Just the sound of the girl at the front desks voice sets me off. She is nice and very organized (perfect job for her), but her voice is that of a no-nonsense celebutant assistant. I just wanted to reach into the next cube and tear her hair out. It's rediculous, but there it is.

Every Monday is an update call with our sister team. One girl just can't seem to not talk all over everyone else during the call. I just want to reach through the line and poke her in the eye!

People can't drive fast enough, people drive too fast, people talk too loud, people talk too much....


Perhaps I just need sleep. Meh. So far, there have been no immediate casualties due to Tropical Storm Stacey. However, there may be collateral damage at TP. They assured me that I was no longer needed on that last research project. "No, if we have any questions, we can ask someone else who attended the meeting." Then I get the phone call yesterday afternoon. "I need help."

Yeah, well I'm busy with focus groups from 5-9 tonight, so I guess she gets an answer on Thursday. Hope it isn't urgent......

pictures!!

They are a little longer than usual.....Just so you know.

Cruise and such:

Atlantis Resort

Just so you know, in the hotel pics there appears to be a bridge. This is a two room suite. People like Michael Jackson, Shakira and Nicolas Cage have stayed there. Sweet.

All of the fish pics in the second slideshow are from the Atlantis Resort. They had private lagoons and pools full of them.

Too much to blog, but I'll try!

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY!!!!!!

Yeargh to all of you followers of the flying spaghetti monster. We are all touched by his noodley appendage today. rAMEN

TP called last night. First, she asked about my cruise, then she asked how my job search is going. I told her that I had one. Here is the fall out of the rest of the convo:
"That's so exciting. Where is it?"

"I'm not sharing that with TP right now."

"*uncomfortable giggle* Is it like a secret?"

"Nope. I'm just not sharing it."

"Oh, are you going to resign soon?"

"No"

"Do you have any intention of resigning?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Oh, well, keep us aware of your plans then."

THE END.

She didn't fire me! What is going on? Seriously, I am asked to leave and then they just wait for me to quit? WEIRD!

And finally, here is a pic of the dress. Notice anything different?


Yeah, that extra 18 inches of hair is a clip on piece. Brandy has one too and we had so much fun with those.

Rock the Boat!

I got home yesterday with the intention of cleaning and helping E get the house set up...finally. However, my cruise-ship-spidey-sense is still on. As I sat at my desk yesterday (or in the conference room, at the dinner table, on the toilet) I found myself swaying with the imaginary waters of my imagination.

Ever been on a cruise ship? Well, you get used to the rocking quickly, and most of the time you don't even notice it. Then you go back on land. Everything rocks: the shower, the bed, the starbucks counter. I ended up sleeping for almost 3 hours just to try and get my bearings. Ugh.

That means no pics yet, but I will persevere tonite!

I also called back TP, but there was no answer from my fantastically passive aggressive manager. She is on vacay and now she has the instructions to call me sometime after 4pm EDT. I am so not going out of my way to help her fire me. "Hey! Just calling because I noticed you have not fired me yet! Today? No? Okay, I'll call back tomorrow. You have a super day."

I'll super day her......

home again

I love being home. More so than I used to. It is exhausting to me to not be able to fully relax.

The cruise was great! we kayaked at coco cay, went to the atlantis resort in nassau and had a blast on the boat. I don't have any pics uploaded, but I will sent them out when I get a chance.

there are so many things, but I think the high point was during kayaking. halfway through the tour, we docked the kayaks and waded into the shallows. we noticed stingrays and one swam by me. It was only 18 inches away! how cool! At atlantis, they have huge aquariums and tunnels to walk through under them. There were huge stingrays, sharks and some fish that were so big they would not have fit in the trunk of my car. Wow!

Also, most people always say that they put on weight during their cruises. However, Brandy likes working out on her vacays. So, needless to say, I lost 7 pounds. Seriously. Who does that?

I'll give a blow by blow later, but I came back to craziness at work. Have a great day!

and I'm off!

See you all Wednesday!! I'm off for the bahamas/miami beach/everglades.

politics

Wow. I sure sparked some feelings with that last one. Perhaps I should continue the hot/cold feelings with a political point.

Nah. I can't muster up the brain power to care about the election yet. I have tried so hard to not get wrapped up in it until I should care. I heard one radio announcer say that politics should have the same guidelines as college sport recruiting. You get six months. That's it. No coloring outside of the lines. (though I'm sure the president of the US is slightly more important than the Husker's QB....perhaps less than slightly)

Got a lame email today from work. My supervisor wants to chat. I just can't muster up the feelings to care. Supposedly she was going to call me to "chat" aka fire me. Since she couldn't give me the courtesy of a phone call and I have a nice little office assistant option that fires back a message saying I am out of the office, I think she can wait until after my nice little vacay.

What do you do?

Brett's ex just requested to be my friend on facebook. What do you do? She's not my ex, but I still don't really like her. She was mean and also not so loving to me EVER. I thought about shunning her. YEAHhhhhh.... That'd show her. "Stace didn't approve me on facebook as a friend. I must be a horrible person. Why do I think I deserve any friends?"

I can just see her, sitting there. Rethinking her life with her hand hovering over her mouse.

Meh. I don't really care. I just checked to see who our "1 mutual friend" was and since it was actually Brett, I figured no big deal. My life as a facebook status ruiner is over and now I can just be happy that she is married to someone outside my family...

and did I mention fat......?


Dodged a bullet there Butter. (I'm sooooo mean)

Late Sunday

So, worked at AT. Things are going well. Also went to pleasure Island at Disney with E. This is the bars area and we hopped around each club, checking them out before they close. (Obviously, bars and drinking are not very Disney-esque, so they are closing for good at the end of the month.)

A good time was had by all. Well, except for E. She broke out into full body hives. No idea what caused them and they just seem to keep shifting around. We headed out in an effort to distract her, but her hands itched really bad.

Wish I could say that something exciting happened, but no such luck. Hope you all had great weekends.

Back in Black

Well, as you most likely know, no hurricanes have really hit yet. However, things have been crazy!! I was asked to leave my last job (the initials weren't the same as what you wipe you wipe your butt with for nothing.) I am now the newest employee at H0ught0n M!ffl!n H@rc0urt Textbooks! I am a market research analyst and so far things are great. No one has yelled at me, no one talk to me like I am an idiot and I already have a project.

Thursday eve I head to Miami(Hurricane willing) and Brandy and I head out for our cruise!! As hurricane Ike heads toward New Orleans (It's a category 4 kids...) I feel kinda guilty as I wished that it would miss Nassau and Miami. We stay at Miami beach and then head out to CoCoCay Friday (spend Saturday there) and spend Sunday at Nassau to dock back in Miami on Monday morning. Monday we head for the everglades and then back to Miami Beach where we are staying at a totally pimp Resort/Spa. (We got a huge deal given it is hurrican season.) I am super excited!!

The house is getting done. We laid the hardwood floors and tiled the kitchen. I have yet to download any pics, but I assure you they are coming!!

Hope that all is well with you.

Love from Florida!

Countdown Clocks at WishAFriend.com

It's coming!!!

Two things are headed my way. The first one is of course, Tropical Storm Fay. Now, I'm sure it is actually cause for alarm, but I just can't seem to get that excited about 65 mph winds. Sure, you get 15 inches of rain with it, but there is no basement to flood here so big deal?!?!

I'm trying to worry, but I just can't because......

I have a second interview tomorrow. Go me! Let's hope that all goes well. Keep me in your thoughts.

Finding the time

Okay, So it has been really hard to find time to blog. Right now, I am sitting in the condo that e's parents rented for the weekend. Her dad came down to join her mom and we had to remove all of the furniture to the lanai to put in hard wood floors. No office area, no bed, nothing. Soon all will be back to normal and the house will very nearly be done. Just my bathroom, finishing the kitchen and painting the lanai and e's bathroom. At least we can set up the house for good.

Pictures will be coming soon.

AT is going well. I went out on Friday with a coworker. We dance and had a great time. Aren't you all excited that I made a friend?! LOL

Had another interview. Went well. Should get call backs sometime this week or the next.

working away

As I work, I am eating my fruit dip with green apples. An old family fave.


Funny how brown sugar and cream cheese can make my day so much better. Plus, it's kinda fun making my keyboard sticky before it ends up going back to where it came from!

The lady called about the interview. It is set for next Tuesday at 1:30 pm. Go me!!

potential jinx vs. prayer...

Okay, I was afraid to blog this, but I think that the prayers of family and friends will outweigh the possibility that blogging about it may just jinx it:

I am going to get a call in the next few days to set up my first phone interview. I am not sharing details due to previously outline paranoia, but I am very excited and this one was higher up on my list of potential cool jobs. (Right below Disney and Rodrigo Santoro's escort/masseuse/stunt partner for makeout scenes. Yeah, just google him...)

I will take any method of prayer/wishful thinking/white voodoo that you have to offer.

that's what I get....

I posted the one pic I have of me in the dress here.

This shall have to suffice for the next two weeks. I am wearing it again to a wedding in NE on the 23rd, so you will have to wait.

I looked up blogging ideas online. They were all ridiculous attempts to get people to subscribe to your own ingenious rants. Among the ideas were political musings, a pros and cons list, top ten lists, and how tos.

I would really only go for the top ten, but here is my twist: My top moments with each reader of the blog (I don't know who still checks this, but here goes.)

Nikki:
oh Lord, how to pick just one... the hair day. You remember that? I stopped by on my way to JCPenneys where I was going to have my hair fixed to see if it was as bad as I thought. Oh Lord. Fire Engine Red. You could not stop laughing at my hair. We still laugh everytime we talk about it. I'm really gonna have to get that hair book together.

Mel,
One time when we were at the old Shafer farm, every time the clock would chime above the fireplace you would take off like a shot to count the rings. You let me know the secret that it would ring the number of hours on the hour and once at the half an hour point. Yet, you still ran like the dickens to count them as if it would somehow change..... I'm sure you don't remember, but the entertainment of little girls still makes me smile....

Ev-
Halloween of 2004. I wore the pregnancy belly to teach. I of course took it off for the rest of the day and proceeded to meet the gang downtown to opening night of the movie Saw. Fearing the repurcussions of going to see the movie as an eight month pregnant woman, I showed up out of costume. Well, "Jason" from friday the 13th and "jazzercise barbie" (Ev), made me go put the belly back on. There were about 15 people waiting outside of the theater to be let in. As I arrived, ev came up and socked me in the belly about 5 or 6 times, much to the horror of everyone waiting. We had to explain it, and laughed about it quite a bit.

KT-
(I should never have started this...)
Well, I suppose my favorite moment is this:


Mom-
After high school graduation, we decided to open the gifts right then: at 11 pm. We were up until almost 2 am opening all of those packages. Near the end we got some soap, the cool glycerin kind that has the colored shapes in them. We were trying to identify the scents and just kept sniffing them and passing them back and forth until we were both laughing until we started to cry. Oh man, those soaps...


Okay, so this was a bad idea. Too many memories to sort through. I hope you all enjoy your trip down memory lane.

nothing really new

Worked this morning at my newest venture. The Children's Place. Just a few hours every few weeks.

Perhaps I shall feel more entertaining tomorrow. Any blog ideas from the peanut gallery?

Shopping today

So, for the new venture I am getting new clothes. As a "welcome" gift at AT, I get half off of my first purchase. Away I go! No further prompting needed. I am all out of nice things to wear (where did they all go?)

Poor D@ve R@msey, his plan shall have to wait two more weeks. (Though I swear I am not going to set it back much....)

Off to AT I go!

ps

All apologies to OM. I discovered that I have over 500 photos in my photobucket account and am really tired of sifting through all of them. So, I am putting them into folders. This requires that I go back and adjust all photo links on my blog, so I will be popping up a couple thousand times on your google reader over the next few days......

Chi-town

So, here is the catch up blog. On July 10th, I headed to Chicago for my friend Glen's wedding. WE taught together in grad school and he was going to marry the loveliest girl! I stayed with Hannah and we had a grand time. Here are the highlights.

As soon as I got off the plane, I sat down to answer a work emergency. (they left a message on my phone while mid flight.) I then left my wallet at the gate and spent a good two hours in the baggage claim office waiting to see if someone would turn it in/cancelling my credit cards/ filing a police report. After bumming five dollars off of the nice policemen to get into the city on the L, I got halfway into town and they called to say that they found it (with EVERYTHING there, even the cash!) Needless to say, this was not a good start to the weekend.

Hannah and I both ended up working. I worked much of Thursday while she was at class and then she worked for a few hours on Friday. (She is a promo girl for Cointreau.) We decided that day that since she had not seen wicked yet, we were going to look for tickets. Got a few in the balcony for Saturday night. Oh, and while Hannah was working, her coworker also had some friends tag along. She told me that one was really nice but the other was a jerk. Guess which one talked to me for over 45 minutes? Oh yeah. We talked about movies and he mentioned that I have no taste in film and declared that I was on a point system for the night. If I made it to 10, I got his phone number (This is no joke.) It varied as we talked about films and then he decided to do a "magic" trick. I had to guess a number between 1 and 4. amazing. he knew I guessed 3. Then he said that he would do another and if he was right, I had to go hit on a guy on the dance floor. If he was wrong, he had to go try and pick up a chick. I agreed if we opened the range to 10 and I had to write it down. Sneaky stacey picked 3 again. He got really angry and accused me of changing the number. Idiot! He then declared that I got a -4 score, so poor stacey did not get his digits.....wah, wahh.

Saturday was the wedding. Once again, Hannah had to work, so I ventured out in her car to the burbs. The wedding was lovely and I was so happy for Glen and Jen. HOWEVER, remember my stories of the people that I no longer speak to from grad school? Well, one of the guys was an USHER. He said hi and that I looked good (of course I did. I saw to it.) His rude girlfriend was there with four other grad students (two I had class with) and not ONE of them would even make eye contact with me. The reception was not for another 4 hours, so I headed back and Hannah and I went to Wicked. It was awesome and I loved every minute of it...again!
A highlight from that day was also that I bought a new snazzy dress. while walking to the restaurant, a female jogger actually told me that I looked amazing while running by. How nice!


Sunday we hung around and I headed back to home. I love coming home now. It is very nice.

Mama's Meme

Here is mama's meme.

• My children became independent to the point I didn't have to think "I HAVE to leave so I can go pick up the kids (OR) I HAVE to get home to be with the kids." I've love being a mom!!!

• All four children graduated from college. I was so excited for them. (I don't use the word proud. I found this definition in the Am Heritage Dictionary- "Feeling pleasurable satisfaction over an act, possession, quality, or relationship by which one measures one's stature or self-worth: proud of one's child; proud to serve one's country." I didn't like that so much.) Life is such a grand adventure and they had a ticket to set sail. I've loved watching them evolve!!!

• I watched, at times in horror, as my children developed romantic relationships. K met J and when they decided to get married we had NO doubts. We loved J so much we worried that our other in-law children couldn't measure up. But then B found A and once again we loved our A just as we do J. With 2 children still looking for Mr/Ms Right I also realize it's not about us loving the partner it's about us loving the partner our children choose to love. I love my children's spouses!!! and spouses-to-be!!!

• We had our first grandchild. We love her so much. We want to be with her all the time. We don't want any errors made in her upbringing. We have to calm ourselves down because we become overzealous towards her upbringing. The circle of life continues with ALB........she's pure joy! Her parents are so good. Wow! And now we are expecting our second grandchild and I'm already sad because they live 6 hours away and I won't be able to see her almost every week of her life like I did A. I'll be brave. But already her mom and dad to-be are such good parents. Double WOW. I love my family!!!

• We have such wonderful families. D's has been wonderful. I have a mother-in-law that is so complementary to me and she tells me secret things she won't tell her 3 daughters. I am her favorite daughter-in-law (Her ONLY daughter-in-law!) and I love her. I want to be the same for my in-law children- a little annoying but they'll know I'm in their corner. My S family is so accepting. The kids come with studs or piercings and funky hair and everyone just loves them the way they are. The men are super-dads and the women are so talented and darling. My dad would be so smiley and my mom is so stoic but she loves all the kids, grandkids and great grandkids. She proudly announces the arrival of each one as if it were her who'd given birth. I love the examples of our families!!!

• We still have wonderful friends- from college and high school. They are so precious to us and always there. BFF!

• I started a kinda new career. Instead of teaching elementary school I went back to college and got my endorsement in Early Childhood Special Education. I teach children birth to age 5 with special needs. I was working 1/2 time, had four children in middle school and completed my classes in about 2 1/2 years- 30 hours! About 15 years ago I was asked to teach for our local ESU and then 10 years ago my high school superintendent called and asked me to come to his school and teach. He let me create a DREAM PROGRAM that I wanted to start at the ESU but couldn't get the support. Now we have a Cadillac program. I love my job!

• I continue to work at our small country church. My faith has been the center (and centering) of my whole life. I love my God, Jesus and Holy Spirit. I usually work with the children but have spent a lot of time with the women, too. I need to so on a spiritual journey, soon! I sense something new in the near future! I'm excited to find out what that will be. Jesus loves me this I know...........

• My D! I love him so much!!!!!!! I still get goose bumps when he walks in the door. We went out to a movie on Fri and he still holds my hand in the theater! Then as we walked down the street he took my hand and we walked hand-in-hand. I LOVE that man!!

Well, I think that sums up, oops I only have 9.................

• My home. As much as I stress out about it, it is my favorite place. I also love to travel but I think I love traveling so much because I know I have a home to come to. I love traveling so I can come HOME!

I still love life! My college friends got me a poster that said, "Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not." I am still a hopeless dreamer who believes everyone should be loved even if they are unlovable." The Bible says, "It's easy to love the loveable. I want you to love the unlovable." I will continue to love- all!

tagged

OM tagged me for a meme:

Think back on the last 15 years of your life. What would you tell someone that you hadn’t seen or talked to for 15 years? How would you sum up your life? You get 10 bullet points. A list of 10 things to summarize about you. At the end of your list, tag 5 more people and send on the love…

As she started it. It's 1993. I have just finished sixth grade at Trumbull High School.


Jr. High starts in the fall and so begins probably the most miserable phase of my life. Girls are mean, Jr. High girls may be the meanest. What do I say about my life? I don't have a lot of the nice landmarks that OM listed, and KT will certainly beat me out for them too, so here is what a single twenty-something girl has to say about her life.

1. Trumbull closed my junior year and I finished up high school at Doniphan. It was one of the best life learning experiences that prepared me for new beginnings yet to come.

2. I graduated as valedictorian from Trumbull High. My sister and I had a ceremony for the community to attend. It was important to our parents and to us that we acknowledge everyone who chipped in to raise us. It really did take a whole village to raise those Dangler kids!

3. My heart fell victim to a jerk my sophomore year in college and even though my reputation within Trumbull may never be the same, I sure learned the difference between a young girl's fanciful notion of love and the real thing.

4. If you have a friend that is going to be away from everything that they know, send them a note or call them at least every other day. Though they are striving for independence, they do not want to be lonely.

5. I graduated with a B.A. in psychology and was sure that I would cure the world's afflictions.

6. I got my M.A. in Counseling Psychology and learned that it is the people that make a program, not how they look on paper. Keep the people that have stood by you close.

7. Opportunities are always there. Take them and hope for the best. If it does not work out, look for the next open window.

8. Even though I live 1600 miles away, I am just as close to my sister as I was in Jr. High. Then again, perhaps we are closer now.....

9. Moving to Florida was the best experience I has ever had. It helped me to realize that even though my job had great perks and great coworkers, I had never been treated more like trash. I also learned that real friends keep calling or contacting you. The lame ones just wait to run into you or wait until they need something from you. Cherish what you have and if it is not worth cherishing, find something better to spend your time on.

10. I'd have to share my hair album with them. I have done some awful things to my hair (to be posted at a later date, I'm sure.)

Jr. High started out with a bang (or with bangs for that matter.) I never could get them as high as Cassandra could. But seriously, I had me some awesome chicken legs....


Well, OM tagged both Nikki and KT, so here is my plan. Mama: you have to write your bullets out. I know that Nikki and OM have been dying to hear more from you, so here is their chance. You email them to me, and I will post them in a blog. Come On! You have to do it!!!!!

Sad...

The Dangler family made the front page of the Lincoln Journal Star. It is not a happy story, but it is front page news. In 1977, Judy Dangler, the wife of my dad's cousin Bob, disappeared. There was no word from her for 11 months, until her killer was captured and he led local police to the burial site.

They did a follow up story on how the two families (another young mother was also taken by the same man) have survived and the lasting effects. I have heard of Judy a few times, but it is never really spoken of (you know us old school German/Midwest families and talking about our feelings....)

I don't know if you saw it, but if you don't want to read something hard, avoid the link. It just really hit me hard and makes me sad that there are such awful people out there.

http://www.lincolnjournalstar.com/news/local/doc48829041d2d4e553490156.txt#cancel

Looking and looking

So, I checked in on all of my applications today. Seems like three weeks is not the standard length of time one has to wait before hearing back. Who knew that it would take so long to hear back? Kind of makes the two weeks a job may give seem silly. Oh well. I'll just keep moving forward.

The more I think about it, the more I am thinking that a part time job in addition to a new job might be nice. I mean after all, I rarely do anything in the evenings other than watch my silly shows. I may as well make some extra bucks and pay off a little of my debt. I don't want some silly Canadian guy singing about how he wished he would have checked the credit of his girlfriend before they moved into her parent's basement on TV.

More drama is going down at work. You shall get the full story all in due time.....

Wordless Wednesday

Do or do not, there is no try

Okay. I'm back. KT has been buggin me and now I will not be coming back as often to placate the needs of my family.

My job has informed that I am not happy there. So, off I go looking for a new job. I am not fired, but basically been given a "terminal diagnosis" with the company. Apps are out and I am going to start follow up calls this week. Here are the potential new employers for me:

di$ney
Univer$al $tudio$
a law firm
2 local consulting firms
h0ughton m!fflin harc0urt publishing
UCF

A firm believer in the power of prayer, I ask for you to send up best wishes for me in this search.

We all know that I have been pretty miserable in my job for the last few months (years actually.) We can go into the gritty details once my sentence is over.

Over the next few days I will be updating you with my trip to chicago and will provide a few pics of the new house. I have not really been home since the move, being back in NE and then off to chicago. That's all for now!

moving

So, last weekend I got moved to Orlando. I am enjoying being in thne house with E, even if it is still a work in progress.

I found out that I had termites on Wednesday, so most of the afternoon was spent calling around to get it set up so my truck of stuff could be tented. It then took almost 24 hours until I oculd get it back. This meant that I had to load up all of my stuff that needed to be treated all by myself. While I was loading up the truck, Crazy Mary came out to say hi. While talking, she asked how I've been and I admitted that I was a little stressed. Her reply was "yeah, I noticed you were breaking out."

In what universe is that an acceptable statement?

Happy Papa Day

Even though he is not here to fix my car, mow my yard, or tell me the best way to drywall my bathroom, I wish he was.

I called to wish dad a happy father's day and then asked mom if she was going to stop and get him a dairy queen cake, starbucks drink or sonic slushy of some sort, but she didn't seem impressed with my suggestion.

I think he worries about me being so far away, but he never nags me about coming home. (Well, almost never.) Happy Father's Day!

This weekend

Happy Mother's day ladies! Hope you all had great days yesterday.

I went to Faith's wedding on Sat. It was a beautiful ceremony and Faith looked amazing. Beri rode down with me and I drove Brandon home since he was part of the wedding party. (He NEEDED a driver.) It was a good day, yet an awful day. Beri and I were pretty much the only people our age there other than the wedding party. After the wedding, we sat around for an hour and a half waiting for the food to be served. It was a fantastic meal, but Beri had to leave right after that, so I was left alone. Then came the toasts. They were awful! Three bridesmaids gave speeches and they were all of those little inside stories and no one from the crowd got them. The drunkest girl talked for nearly ten minutes just reminiscing. Brandon's started off bad and didn't really get better. I mean, I love the guy, but he started off with: "Fornication, I mean for an occasion...such as this."
You've got to be kidding me.

Then, we sat around for another hour waiting for the dance to start. About two and a half hours into it, I sprained my foot, BAD. I sat out and iced it for the next two hours and then we finally got to go home.

When things were going on, it was great, but the down time sucked. Well, we aren't all meant to be wedding planners and speech writers.

Sat around yesterday and tried to take it easy on the foot. I can walk on it, but I have a pretty bad limp. Katie laughed at my swollen toes. The highlight of yesterday was when I called Angie to wish her a happy mother's day. She said that she and Brett are calling it her Half Mother's Day. Alaina got on the phone and said "Hi Angie" and "Hi baby" to her. It was sweet.

Stacey, party of one

So, yesterday one of the social planning ladies asked me what "immediate family" meant to me. I said since I am single, I would include my parents, siblings and sig others. In response to this she said that she wanted to use a phrase that would imply only members of the employees household were invited.
"For example, John would only bring his wife, not his wife, kids and grandkids. You would only bring you."

You're kidding, right? So, I get an invitation for the family picnic that says "associate plus members of their household" and she wants me to come? I don't think so. No offense, but my coworkers are becoming less and less like family, so I am not going by myself.

Stupid women and their stupid "invite only" ideas...

busy ladies

Okay, so perhaps putting it as the final line of a long blog was not advisable. OM and Nik, what are your plans for next week and this weekend? I was thinking we could get together. I'm not doing anything for mother's day since mom and dad are out of town. And do you want to get together the kids or just the ladies??

Any ideas?

weekend with katie

I am getting used to a new keyboard, so if the spell check misses anything, it is my excuse. Had a good time with Katie. She arrived on Wed night and we headed out to a club. Danced and had a few drinks (while also avoided some creepy guy that didn't get the hint even when I said "I don't need to write it down, I'll remember it." for his phone number.

Thursday we got up early and headed to Disney. Too bad I got about 20 minutes into the drive and then realized that I forgot my phone, so we headed back to the apartment. As we drove, Katie kept saying my tagline of "I can't believe I'm in Florida." We started off the day with the Finding Nemo musical check out some of the puppets:


Next, we jumped onto the Everest roller coaster. You head through the mountain pass and then a yeti jumps out at you. He's huge! Walked the park, saw some exotic animals, and then ended with the "it's tough to be a bug" show. On the way out we stopped and got birthday buttons so every cast member would wish us a happy birthday and then got our pics taken with Pocahontas. I think Katie loved it.


Off to Epcot.

This was our favorite park. The guy a France wished us a happy birthday in French and at Morocco they printed out our names in Arabic. It was neat!!
We ran into Mulan and Mushu at China and then headed off for one of my favorite rides: Soarin.
Katie was a little disappointed since I had built it up so much, but it was still fun.


The evening ended with Hollywood Studios. We went on the Tower of Terror and a movie action ride (that was totally lame). Then, we ended with another fave: Fantasmics. This was followed by a good night's sleep and then off to Downtown Disney for some shopping. There are lots of fun photo ops there too.


Had lunch at my favorite restaurant, Seasons 52, and then did some shopping. We didn't really need anything, so it was cut short when E offered for us to come see her house! She closed on it today and it has so much potential! The lady that lived there must have gone to some sort of peach paint discount store because literally 3/4 of the house was the same peach color! Even the gutters matched! I'm excited to get to helping redo it, even though she thinks that it is going to be a chore.

We made it back in time to see the sun set over the water (actually, it set on the way there), but Katie got to dip her toes in the sand.


We headed off in the car and I found out that Jeff was leaving on Sunday at 1 pm, not Monday morning like I thought. So, we drove all night and got home at 5 am so Katie could see him a little before he headed out for Michigan for training. Mom and dad swung by too with Alaina. She's grown so much! I was also excited that when she saw me before mom, she knew I was SeeShee. Well, that's all for now.

OM and Nik, What are you doing for Mother's day? Do you think we could do coffee? We were going to go back to the farm, but Mom and dad have a graduation in McCook. Let me know what works for you. I'm not sure what schedules look like or if you want to get the kids together too. Heck, we could meet at a McDonald's playland for all I care. talk to you soon!