My Vacation Starts Now!

My vacation has finally arrived and not a moment too soon. The last few weeks at work were very trying and frustrating, made worse when my request for a couple of extra days of unpaid leave was turned down. I’m hoping that the next 10 days restores my mindset to a better place.

Anyway, things got off to great start on Friday. Hubby met me in the driveway with a nice bottle of wine and I took it out to the back deck. It was a beautiful evening and we had some tasty BBQ chicken and corn-on-the-cob for dinner and just relaxed. It was a very peaceful way to start my holiday.


Saturday morning started off just brilliant. It was hot even at 8 o’clock although not as hot as our thermometer was showing. Take some advice; never put an outdoor thermometer where the sun can shine directly on it. You just can’t believe it until it gets back into the shade. I took my coffee down to the garden and planted some companion plants down the tomato rows. They really seem to appreciate having some marigolds mixed in amongst them. I’m not sure why, but it seems to be beneficial and it makes the garden look nicer, too.




Hubby has spent the first week of his vacation working on the gazebo. He was finishing up the base Friday afternoon by adding diagonal bracing to the posts and blocking between the joists. The whole thing is now very rigid and heavy. He may have over-engineered it a little (okay, maybe a lot!) but better to be safe than sorry. The roof is going to be heavy, too and we don’t want a strong wind to be able to flip the whole thing over.




He’s now ready to start adding the floor on top of the base unit and that meant that we had to decide what we were going to use. Last week we were at Home Depot down in the Big City buying more lumber when we spotted a pallet of cedar deck boards. The prices seemed pretty good but we were thinking that we were going to use pressure-treated spruce and that it would be the cheapest option. This week we went back to the Big City and checked around at all the local lumber yards for prices only to return to the Home Depot and those cedar boards. It turned out that the cedar was only a couple of cents more per board at the listed price but it was also on sale, reduced by 10%! The cedar was actually cheaper than the spruce! I was really happy because I would much rather walk on wood that hasn’t been treated with all those chemicals and the cedar smells so nice. Scratch the picture below and inhale; you’ll love the aroma, too.



It took us quite a while to select the nicest boards but nobody bothered us as we went through three big stacks of wood. It was stored outside their store in the bright sunshine and afterwards I realized that I had gotten a good sunburn. Not smart. In the end we bought 60 eight foot long boards and 8 twelve footers for a total of $275. After we got home we laid the boards out on top of the platform to see if we bought enough and we had plenty. In fact, we may have as many as 15 of the eight foot boards too many. We’re going to return any we don’t use… or maybe we’ll build a sauna!

Still got them November Blues....

Work has been very busy and challenging lately. Not that it hasn't always been so but this new position is even more intense. This is an industry which requires constant concentration and a keen eye to detail. The job must be perfect upon completion as people's lives could be at stake. So believe me when I say that it can get hard on your head some days. Then you have the annoying co-worker who just drives you nuts, right down to their school child laugh that an adult should have outgrown years ago. Really, grow-up!

Anyway, as you can tell, I have one of these coworkers hanging around me, though thankfully, not often enough to have driven me completely insane. A real "Klingon", and not the old Star Trek kind either. I just pity the poor guys who have to deal with him/her every day. YUK. Thanks, I just had to vent a little.

On the plus side I love seeing everyone around me wearing their poppies. Not just on their outside jackets but on their work clothes, too. With Rememberance Day just around the corner and Canadian troops on active duty overseas I think we all realize how much these men and women sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy so much today.

Expensive day on Saturday

One of Hubby's computer monitors died this week, just like that, without any warning. So off we went to spend our dough, the Dough-Nuts! I don't know where this saying came from (It came from a cartoon of some sort that tried to teach financial responsibilty to kids and it was from a long time ago. I think that the whole sequence went "Off they go, to spend their dough, without their common sense, The Dough-Nuts!" ed.) but I love it and thought it was the right space to incorporate it. Anyway, Hubby did find a monitor at a good price and seems happy as it is up and running. It's a substantial upgrade as he went from a 15" flat-screen to a 23 incher to partner the 19" he got a couple of years ago. He has dual monitors cause he is "special". Actually, he is very special to me and the dual monitors he needs for work purposes. (Yeah, right! ed.)

I also spent some money on myself as I needed a down-filled jacket for work. It can get very cold at my work station and it's not even winter yet. So after much searching I bought one, on sale of course, half price, but still $100.00. I didn't get down-filled, either, just fibre-filled. The down ones weren't on sale anywhere and were more like $300.00 and I just couldn't justify it. I did check my favourite boutique,Value Village, first but they didn't have anything suitable. The jacket I got is light weight so I can wear it while working away and it looks good on me so I guess it was worth the price.

As I said, it can get very cold in my work area and this chicky-poo doesn't plan on freezing her booty off. I also bought myself a small heater for under my work table. I can handle the heat in the summer but not the cold in the winter. So I'm as prepared as I can be.

I'm gearing up for Halloween. This Friday Hubby and I have the day booked off and we will begin to carve the pumpkins. I'll probably make some kind of cookie or cupcakes and roast some Devil Seeds (spicy pumpkin seeds). I love to bake near Halloween. Maybe it's just the cooler weather but for some reason it just brings out the creative side of me.



Oh, the IT Department finally got some sidebars up for me. I still haven't decided what they should show yet but at least they're working although only in a testing format.

Hope you like the pictures and I'll try to post again before Halloween.

Hot pink !!!!!!!!!!!!!

On Friday we had a fund-raiser at work for breast cancer research which turned out to be a huge success. You had to wear pink and then pay $2.00 to have your name entered in a draw for some cool prizes. Now here is the best part, I work with about 90% men and the rest is administration staff, who I don't see very often. When I came to work in the afternoon I was greeted by a wave of pink everywhere. The men looked great in pink.

I was so pleased that they all came through for such a great cause. I wish I could publish a picture but that might be more then my life is worth(just kidding)! I work with a great bunch of guys.

We also had a great 3rd quarter so our president wanted to thank everyone.Free pizza,pop and cake. Work just doesn't get any better than this, I'm one lucky girl.

Today at Work

I’m having an interesting time at work this week. I’m on a training course to re-certify for my current profession (one of many!). I’m sorry that I can't elaborate about the work I do, some things are better left to the imagination, but I think that I, and my co-workers, get paid very decently for our skills. That’s what brings me to the reason I'm posting tonight.

Like a lot of workplaces we usually deal with just a certain group of people on a day to day basis, but because of this training a lot of people from different departments have all been thrown together in one room and I have really been surprised how much they have been talking about money and their debts, which are huge! Some have had to take in boarders to help them pay the mortgage and utilities and to just to get by. These people make great money and are spending so far beyond their paychecks that they have actually become too far behind to catch up. SAD... but they are still spending like stupid fools. And it is on such frivolous things like football games away, at an expense they can't ever dream of paying off, giant wide screen T.V.'s to watch the games on, new trucks, the latest and greatest cell phones and some other techy stuff I'd never heard of. I wanted to scream at them “What are you thinking!!!” If I knew that Gail Vaz-Oxlade had a hot line I would have given them the number quickly before they racked up any more bills.

It sometimes makes me feel bad that I don't just go out there and splurge on all these luxuries. Man, I would love to see an NFL football game (I'm a Raiders fan) but then I realize I would never do it because I have responsibilities. When we pay off the mortgage we will have lots of time to enjoy football games, etc. And we won't need the newest and greatest cell phone because we will be retired. It’ll be just one less bill to pay. I do spend some money now and again at a fancy boutique shop, though. We call it Value Village.

Work and Retirement

It has been awhile since I have written about money and work.

I started this blog to help track my goals with money and motivate me to pay off the mortgage before I retire. My goal for both work retirement and mortgage retirement is less than 5 years. Yup, you read that statement right! Five years. I’ll bet that gets you to thinking “How old is the Witch, anyway”. I'll never tell; you'll just have to use your imagination for that one.

When I started things here I had a lot of information in public view in a series of sidebars. It was fun to keep them updated to watch them advance towards each goal. However, I took them down for privacy reasons, (my sister’s advice) and now I find it hard to blog about money anymore, which is a real bummer for me. So, in case you’ve been here from the start, here’s a little update.

I'm still paying extra every month on the mortgage as I have for the past two years. I wish we could continue in this vein, but it has come to the point now where we are probably going to have to buy another truck and that will eat up the money we are using to make the extra payments. That might mean that we will have the mortgage for longer than we planned and that may have an impact on my retirement date. Maybe we can still keep the vehicles going for awhile longer (one's 16 years old the other 10).

On a more positive note, I have met and even exceeded my emergency fund goal, it a real comfort to know that it is there as backup, and our modest little vacation was bought and paid for with money left over for next time. So, I guess I’m doing pretty well!

So I guess this is where the work part comes in. I work for a great company and have had a promotion to a new job for which I'm still training. It’s a very complex and difficult position but I really love the challenge. The individual who is my trainer is very knowledgeable and so far it has been fantastic to learn from him. I may be retired before he gets through teaching me, though. Anyway, I guess if the truck becomes a reality I might have to work some overtime to continue putting the extra down on the mortgage. At least I have the option of picking up the extra shifts. Hubby works a lot of overtime and we are both going to retire at the same time (hopefully).

As for the sidebars, I’m going to put a couple of them back up. That is, as soon as I can remember how to do it. I might have to call in my Tech Support Team. “Hey, Hubby! What’cha doing?”

New painting and other stuff...

I know it's been too long since the last time I blogged, but like I said before, I didn't sign a contract so you'll just have be brave and try to understand.
Hubby and I had a great lunch at a local Inn in the Big City. I want to go back again SO soon. God maybe we just haven't been out for so long but a simple soup and sandwich meal turned out to be almost a gourmet treat. The soup was some odd strange sounding brew of broccoli, peas and mint but it was very tasty! The sandwich was ham, tomato and lettuce on grilled homemade rye bread, mmmmm.We managed to spend lots of cash on Saturday.

I recently came into a small amount of money. A distant relative passed away last year and I received a small part of his estate. I didn’t know him and in fact I had only heard of him once or twice from my dad. The estate consisted mainly of his savings accounts which were divided amongst his nieces and nephews and their children. He really should have enjoyed the money himself but instead it went to people he didn't even know. I am curious now about what he was like. I've asked the lawyers for some pictures and information and I hope that they will be able to supply that for me. I feel so sad actually to have received the money under these circumstances so I wanted to do something meaningful with it. Hubby reminded me about a painting that we had looked at back in February. We were thinking of buying it when I received my Christmas bonus but we let it drop for other reasons. I guess we never really put that painting out of our minds. We bought it on Saturday and it now sits beautifully above the new couch. I feel I will remember Eric every time we look at this painting because honestly we probably would never have bought it, otherwise. So, I thank you, Eric.

We have enclosed pictures of some reasons why I haven't had time to blog lately. Gardening, gardening and more gardening. Plus, I got a new promotion at work and I have been in training for the past several weeks. I will be off in two days for a short holiday and I can hardly wait. Canada Day cannot come fast enough for me!

Update To My Goals For This Year

I thought that this would would be a good time to udate my resolution list for the year. I'm actually making pretty good progress for seven weeks! What do you think? How are you doing with your list?

1. Continue paying down that mortgage as fast as possible.
   We have decreased the tax portion of our bi-weekly payment by about $40 while increasing the total we are paying by $30 which means that we are paying about $150 extra per month on our principal.



2. Buy skates and use them.
   I bought a used pair from the old guy at the skate shop. I felt very sorry for him as it seems that he is not very well-off. I think that I will buy him a meal sometime as it looks like he may need it. As for the skates, now that I have them I'm afraid to use them in case I fall and break something.



3. Buy a Kayak and try and get over my fear of the water with a life jacket of course.
   No kayak yet and that water still looks scary.



4. Learn to play poker and get a good poker face.
   No poker yet either and I guess I'm sticking with the face I've got.



5. Smile more often (maybe that will be my poker face).
   I haven't been laughing too much lately because they have been "5 S"ing my shop at work. You'll know what I mean when the program comes your way.



6. Drink more water at work and home.
   This one has been easy and I'm loving it, even though I gurgle now when I walk.



7. Try new recipes.
   We have tried a few but no real winners yet.



8. Exercise more often, and use my hand weights.
   I am still just doing the walking thing, a couple of kilometers per day.



9. Lose 10 pounds (I have to weight myself first, so I may need to buy a scale).
   I haven't gotten around to getting the scale yet so I well on my way to achieving this goal (go ahead, prove me wrong!).



10. Open a TFSA account and try to max it out if the rates are worthwhile without those darling bank fees attached.
    I'm proud to say that I opened my TFSA two weeks ago and maxxed it out for the year. This will be our emergency fund for now.



11. Take a real vacation somewhere in the Maritimes.
    Vacation is still a long way away but it will happen.



12. Try to let go off the past and learn to live in the moment.
    This one is not so easy but I'm trying.



13. Make more time for myself.
    This one ain't easy either, always too much housework.



14. Read more books.
    I'm on my third book now.



15. Have more dinner parties and play some game boards.
    Not yet.



16. Get a complete physical.
    Coming soon to an examination room near me.



17. Learn more about my computer and what it can do for me besides surfing the internet.
    I'm sure it can do lots but right now it's too easy to ask Hubby.



18. Continue to declutter.
    This will be an on-going process.



19. Continue to work on our basement renovations.
    These are on hold for now, there's just too many other ways to spend the money,



20. Paint our t.v room and maybe buy some new furniture for it.
    The painting will happen soon and the search for new furniture continues.



21. Tweak the budget throughout the year.
    We have done some tweaking already and we will continue to maximize our savings where possible.

Raise

Yay, I did it!!!!

I bargained for my raise and got it. Three and a half percent and retro pay back to September. Sometimes a girl just has to stand up for what she believes in because it's all about the money when it comes to review time.

I was pretty happy about this raise, especially when you hear about all the people who are losing their jobs. It could've been me. The industry that I'm employed in can be touchy when the economy is down. I just have to hope for the best and not dwell on what might happen down the road. I've been through that cycle before. It gets you nowhere and can rob you of the good times that lay ahead.

I bought some used skates yesterday and I'm hoping to use them soon. I'm not used to boy's skates and I found them very stiff, so I will also have to overcome that, but I'm up for the challenge. I'll have to phone the rink tomorrow to see if they have any beginner's skate time. I'm very nervous of falling, I wouldn't want to break anything and be off work especially with what I went through last year with that awful insurance company. Be just my luck.

If this works out Hubby is also going to get a pair of skates, too and we can go together. How Sweet.

My scarf is really coming along great and I'm very proud of the look of it so far. Its 100 percent wool so it should be very warm also. You would need it today is is -20C and with the wind chill factor -30C, ugh. We are warm and toasty inside though and I'm not even thinking of going outside today so, yes, it will be another NO SPEND DAY!

We did the usual cleaning today and now we will have the rest of the day to relax. Later we are going to bake a chicken for supper and watch the wind swirl outside. Life is really good and we are very lucky.

We are also getting our funds in order to buy some RRSP's. We had a meeting on Friday to get some information on how best to proceed. I feel we got some good advice. We're going to put our money into retirement savings and put the tax refund down on the mortgage.

I also have a company X-mas bonus coming at the end of Feb. and my retro pay should be on this week's check along with my raise. I may use the X-mas bonus for something like a getaway weekend or I may just decide to be cheap and squirrel it away. What would you do if you won millions? I can't even decide what to do with $400.00. We bought a few tickets on the 649 lottery because the jackpot was $43 million, but we didn't even win a free ticket. Oh well, it saves me having to figure out how I would budget that amount. HA HA.

Here's a nice sunny picture from our holiday in 2007 just to keep reminding us that there is hope that winter will end!

Past the Middle of the Month Already???

Wow, January is flying by, and I'm glad because the quicker the months go the closer it is to Winter being over and the start of Spring. Yes, I know I'm jumping way ahead, but what the hell! Not everyone is into Winter. Believe me, I've tried to be positive about it but something about -20C temperatures and high winds just don't agree with me.


I've started to knit a scarf which I'm really pleased with so far. It is nice to be creative again with my hands. I wish I could go to community school this year but with the shifts I work I would miss every second week, so why bother. It's too bad because I went to community school for over 10 years and every year I learned a new skill. I also had alot of fun meeting new people. Man, I can hardly wait to retire to be able to do that again! I guess I didn't realize how much I missed it till now (ugh.)

Hubby and I cleaned the house from top to bottom today. All the floors were washed too. The place looks and smells great. Every Sunday is our cleaning day and then its just recreation time after that.

I made some brownies today which turned out very good. I was going to make bread but didn't have enough milk and I really didn't want to drive into town or spend any money today. I didn't get the bread done but I at least accomplished something!

This morning I wrote a response to the performance review from my job. I was happy with the overall review (much better than last year), now just SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!! (and lots of it would be nice). Anyway it will be what it is and with the times ahead I'll be happy with any amount I actually get. It will probably go towards the mortgage, anyway. It's all about getting that paid off in FIVE years so I can retire or move on to something I will enjoy working at more.

This week I'm training another person in our department and we are having a 5S revision done in our shop. Oh Joy!! You don't want me to start on that.

We went shopping in the Big City on Saturday I made a great haul at Value Village, thanks to my Christmas gift certificates. You just gotta love them. The spirit of Christmas just keeps going and going. I'm planning a day trip across the puddle sometime in Febuary and I'm reallly looking forward to it. Maybe I'll spend the rest of my stash then!

Lazy Sunday

Today has sort of been a real laid back day.

Laundry, ya thats always a given.

Gave hubby his hair cut.

Sorted out our closet so we can give away the clothes we haven't worn in a year. That has always been my rule of thumb going into the New Year. Really if you haven't even worn it in that time frame do you think you will next 12 months?

Started to learn to knit today, one of my many challenges for the New Year. Last year I learned how to play chess, which I really love though I must admit we haven't played in awhile.

Played crib the other night which I really enjoyed.

I love card and board games and as a kid we played lots of them. Monopoly was probably the most played game between us, and some times it went on for days with us hiding our money before the next play. Boy those were simpler times back then.
Last night's homemade pizza was delicious and is always a fun way to spend the evening.

I plan on having friends over soon to make it a snowman pizza night where you roll out the dough in three different sizes to represent the look of a snowman, and then do each circle with different toppings. Yum, I can hardly wait.

Tomorrow it is back to work and hopefully I will receive my performance review and maybe a raise. Boy that would set the new year off just right, especially if I get retro pay back to Sept. Keep your fingers crossed for me and I will hold on to my good luck charm (hubby).

Halloween Rocks!!!!!!!

I have been off work since Wednesday afternoon and I spent the time planning away for Halloween (did I mention that it's my very favorite of all days?). Hubby had Thursday and Friday off so he started gutting the pumpkins early, and then Friday our creative sides took over. Don't worry, we will post lots of our pumpkin pictures for all the world to see. We have been doing this for over 30 years so I guess you can say we are well experienced in this field. Any potential job openings out there for me, as I might need it soon. Work is trying very hard to push me out the door. I would say its pay back time for being off the 4 months on sick leave. But for now lets not even think of that piece of s--- place cause it's Halloween and Halloween weekend. Yes, Halloween lasts a few days at this house. I dressed up as a WITCH, of course, and had a blast even though we only had 8 kiddies come begging. Saturday, we had friends over for drinks and snacks, which allowed me to use all my Halloween bowls and decorations to the max for a great looking table setting. Everyone really liked our carved pumpkins and lots of pictures were taken. Hubby does some amazing pumpkin carving which I'm sure you will all agree. It was a great weekend and my pumpkins right now are still on the front steps in the snow!!! We had snow this morning and then some hail and then more snow. I'm not impressed with the change in the weather. Hubby is watching the last formula 1 race of the season and I'm just hoping the damn satellite doesn't crap out on him.

Why do weekends go by so fast?

Yikes, the weekend is gone again and here it is Monday morning all ready!
It started out nice. We went apple picking at a great little spot not too far from home. The orchard was beautiful, especially with all the fall colours as a backdrop. There were so many varieties of apples to pick from (Honey crisps, Cortland, Macs, and a few other varieties the names of which escapes me just now. Getting old and the memory is going, too.) Anyway the price per pound was also good, 50 cents for any variety you picked. We picked 9 and a half pounds. I usually eat 2 apples a day at work while I'm walking at breaks so they probably won't last all that long, and I know a few horses who would appreciate them also. We made a pot roast for supper which turned out very tasty and will last us till Wed. this week then I'll have to think of two days of meal planning and this weekend I would like to have pizza night on Saturday. It is always a little harder to plan when I'm working the evening shift, but we manage.
I'm going to sit down this week and see what my long term goals may be. I would like to save over $25,000 in the next five years and wonder if this will be possibly with our mortgage payments and other expenses. Eventually we are going to need another vehicle which maybe the money saved will have to go to this big ticket item.
I just don't know how things are going to go in the future, right now the markets look so gloomy and I have already lost over $10,000 in investments because of the stock exchange collapse. I know there is no sense in panicking because everyone else is in the same boat; it’s just hard to see that money disappear when it would have been nice going against the mortgage. It’s all about paying that off as quick as possible.
Well I guess I better start gearing myself up for work soon.
I had to do some tests to prove to the idiots above that I was still capable of doing the job. So, all the tests came back PERFECT and now they are happy. We still have co-workers who have failed the tests a few times and haven't even redone them yet for fear of failing again. Poor little babies. What, they never failed anything in their lives before? We are also going to have another new recruit starting next week so I guess there will be another trainee for me to teach. With all these new recruits maybe the writing is on the wall for me. It would be funny if I was training my replacement, wouldn’t it?. I just can't figure out why they won't let me move on to another area in the plant. Yes, I know I'm very good at my job but, let’s face it, after 5 years in the same dept. I'm bored to death. No challenges makes for a very unhappy worker, while I realize others are very happy just to do the same thing day after day. Which type are you?
Have a great day.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I'm really enjoying my 5 day weekend. YA HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Oh, did I scream that out loud.

Work has been busy and I'm back training a new recruit in the dept. Same old shit, just a different day.

Yesterday, the Better Half and I went for a drive around the neighbourhood and took some fall pictures. The weather was at least 70 degrees, which is a great Indian Summer day. The trees where pretty much picture perfect. All in all, it was a great day.

For Thanksgiving dinner I made an apple pie, 2 pumpkin pies and some butter tarts. Then we cooked a turkey with all the fixings and yes, all for just for 2 little piggies. There are lots of left-overs to freeze plus we will be eating turkey for the next couple of days. Gobble Gobble.

Its times like these that make me feel truly greatful. This is what I feel everyone needs to focus on. I'm so great full for certain things
1) My husband, he is my rock!!
2) Our family and friends
3) Our health
4) Our home
5) Our Financial situation, which is good right now.
6) Being Canadian and living on Witch Island.
7) Having a job, though this area needs improvement down the road.

Boy, when you sit back and read all this, we our truly blessed.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving Day and don't forget to vote tomorrow, your vote may just change the outcome of our great country.

Sunday Blues

Were did this week go???
I'm not even going to talk about work because I don't want to waste any of the positive energy I have today on that place. Pretty well sums up the kind of week I had.
Yesterday we did the annual food drive for my Better half's work place. We collected a huge amount of food which is then donated to the Salvation Army's food bank. It was nice, once again, to see the generosity of the community here in the Witch's Island's little city. The food banks have really been suffering this year as more and more people are being forced to rely on them. You just never know when you may be in that position.
I also made time for a few flea markets and really scored big on a few items. That really made my day. Did a little grocery shopping so I can meal plan for the week. We're having pot roast today with all the root veggies I can cram in. YUMMY!!!!
Later, I'll do some house cleaning, laundry and maybe I'll have time for a quick walk, then I might make some cupcakes. I have been craving them for some reason.I can hardly wait for Thanksgiving. My pie crusts are all made and just waiting to be filled with my pumpkin pie filling. Grocery shopping will take a big hit next month. Turkeys have really gone up in price, but really, what hasn't? And at $12.00 for a bag of flour, which I also need, and all the baking I do, its going to be an expensive holiday.
The outside of our house is all decorated with Pumpkins and I just love the way it looks. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, Pumpkins make me happy. In the next week I'll start decorating for Halloween "WITCH" is my favorite day of the year. I'm not a Christmas person, though I really love decorating our tree and all the good food that goes with the holiday. The present thing is frustrating, though. I only have a small family and my Mom would be so disappointed if I didn't do the exchange that it is not worth the aggravation to stop I guess. Oh, what you do for family.
Well I guess I better get my ass in gear if I'm going to get out for a walk later on before the high winds and hurricane Kyle arrive.

I'm Back and wishing I wasn't!!!!!

It was a hard day today. I felt very empty inside going back to work at a place that I have worked at for over 5 years. Yes, some of my co-workers were very happy to see me, with hugs all around, while others were just plan mean. The jerk supervisor , the one with no personality skills just comes in and says "Hello, if you want to continue your job your tests are due. Oh, and by the way, a new schedule is being worked on for the Fall". In other words, get ready to have us change your life again. Man, I really hate working in this department and mostly because of him. I would much rather work in any other department, even with no pay raise, just to be rid of him. That's pretty sad. The main supervisor passed me in the hall and surprizingly said hello and then asked if I had retained my job skills after being off for the summer. What is it with the stupid questions? They are so unprofessional at this company. I really wished that I had not returned today. Anyway it's one day at a time for now.

Pumpkins make me happy!!!!

Well, it's my last week of freedom because Monday I return to the HELL HOLE. The Human Resources department called this week to tell me that my shift, which was supposed to be evenings only, was being changed to days(because I've been "OFF FOR SO LONG", as they put it.) Ok, its not going to be a warm welcome back by that tone.

Anyway, the rest of my day was GREAT. I found the perfect pumpkins in our garden to decorate our house for Fall. Our sunflowers have done fantastic and I'll post some pictures soon. The weather is really getting cool in the evenings, and I know that frosty nights won't be too far away. Better Half is cutting the lawn right now and then we are going to make a Chicken stir fry with veggies from the garden and left-overs of the fried rice I made earlier in the week. YUM!!! It will likely be a hot dish as we both like spicy food and we planted a lest 12 hot pepper plants. They have started to turn very red so we have strung them up and are letting them dry for later use. This works very well, we are still using up last year's chilli peppers.

Tomorrow I'm going shopping, I haven't been outside of the house for 5 days. You certainly don't spend money this way. Actually, we have managed to still save money while I have been off, which is hard to believe, but it just shows us that we can survive on less than we think.

Gearing up to return to work.

Only 7 days left till I return to work. I don't know if at this point whether I'm happy or sad about this. The place is very stressful and I felt the majority of the work load was falling on my shoulders while the others walked around talking most of the day. It is a strange place at times because if you don't socialize you get criticized for it and if you do socialize too much you get reprimanded. Very hard to keep a happy balance. Too many supervisors who pawn their work off on other unskilled mini supervisors, so at times you don't know who's in charge. My yearly performance review will also be due when I return (can hardly wait to see that!). I'm really hoping that they will move me to another area in the plant. As I mentioned before, I have been asking for a transfer and really I feel that 5 years has been long enough in this shop. My start day back will be on afternoon shifts so my menu planning is more difficult to do and I don't get to see my Better Half till Friday night because he is in bed by the time I get home.UGH!!!! Makes for a long week. But I guess it pays the bills and I'm really looking forward to trying to squeeze the budget even more. The faster we pay off the mortgage the faster I'm outta this place.