Thankful

Well it's that time of year again, time to reflect on what we are thankful for. I think this story will make all who read it thankful for their health, their family, their friends, and every small moment that we may all take for granted.
This summer I got news via FB that Tyler, the son of a classmate from high school, had Batten's Disease. Like most, I had never heard of the disease and learned about it through the Caring Bridge website and the information the family posted on FB. Batten's Disease is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder that begins in childhood. Batten's Disease is extremely rare, there are only 450 reported cases of it in the U.S. and Canada. Doctors say getting Batten's Disease is like lightning striking because both parents have to carry the gene, the child has to inherit the gene from both parents, and even then he has a 1 in 4 chance of getting Batten's. With Batten's disease, Tyler will lose his vision, experience seizures, his behavior and personality will change, and he will have a loss of motor skills. Tyler's mom, Heather, has said some call Batten's "children's Alzheimer's, because it's the long good-bye, come way too soon."
This past Saturday, friends of Tyler and his family held a FUNdraiser to help the family with medical and travel costs. People baked cookies by the hundreds for the bake sale, some donated their time, while others donated items to be auctioned off during the live and silent auctions. The FUNdraiser was a huge success for not only Tyler and his family, but I believe for the community and people's faith in others. One classmate said this about the event, "(I am) REALLY grateful to have been able to attend the fundraiser and be a part of something so important. The unity of so many people coming together to show their love and support for Tyler and his family was awesome. My faith in the human spirit and of a God at work has personally been renewed."
Although I couldn't attend the event, I am proud of my friends and the community I come from for rallying around Tyler and his family and putting on such an awesome event.
Take the time to be thankful everyday for your wonderful lives. Don't just do it once a year, who knows what can happen to you or someone you love in the time between. And remember to always pay it forward.

I Hate Change

I'm a Virgo and like most Virgo's I despise change. I'm a planner, like to have all my ducks in a row. I'm that annoying person who needs an itinerary for vacation, including meal time, sleep time, beach time, shopping time....you get the picture. So being a Virgo-planner, my world was turned upside down when I was told I would be going to another store to work through the holidays. Notice the word "told" and that it is not "asked." I was angry, nervous, sad, shocked, you name it. Probably the biggest reason why I didn't want to leave my safe little store, is I will miss my staff, tremendously. Working with all women can be difficult at times, but I love them all. They are like my family. Working in retail during the holidays, I very rarely get to make the three hour trek to my parents house, so these people are my family during the holidays. So I am counting down the days until Christmas, not because I expect lots of gifts from Santa, but Christmas marks the return to my store, my friends, my family.

You May Not, But I Find Myself Funny

Yes, on occasion, I find myself funny. I was visiting a blog-friend today and came across a comment I made about her "100 things."

"It's hard to think of 100 Things, I tried for my blog when I first started it, and gave up. So I did an "About Me, useless information" page. I am in the process of completing my 100 Things. I keep re-reading the list and will probably never publish it, since 75% are food related. The 3 people that read my blog will think I'm a 400 pound woman, confined to her bed, who has hired a "helper" to wash her ass and bring her french fries and chocolate cake, oh and wings and a cold beer, and some chocolate chip cookies and some key lime pie, oh and..."

I'm sorry but it made me laugh.

Another thing that really made me laugh today was a comment a friend made about a post on Facebook. We were going back and forth about Halloween cartoons. A classmate from high school (referencing Charlie Brown specials) asked which movie was the one "when they were rafting down the river." Another friend answered her with, "Deliverance." He wasn't being stupid, just a smart ass. I giggled about that one all day.

Vacation

Yes I am on vacation for a week. I will be going to Indiana to see my parents. My mom has lots planned for the short time I'm there. She had shoulder surgery at the beginning of the month and has a touch of cabin fever.
I can't believe it's been 20 days since my last update! Such a bad blogger. I'll try to keep up while I'm away. If I'm not back before, Have a Spooky Halloween!!!!

On the Sly

Recently I was talking with a co-worker about texting and leaving voice mail messages on people's cell phones. I was shocked to find out you can be immediately connected to a person's voicemail without dialing them directly. I think this is the best service in the world. Going to be out a little later than expected and don't want to have to deal with your significant other pissing and moaning? Need to give your boss some important information, but you haven't quite finished the big presentation? Your mother-in-law keeps calling and calling, but you don't want to be on the phone for hours? Just leave them a voicemail and play dumb as to why they missed your call. Genius I tell you, genius! I'd tell you all the secret, but then I'd wonder why I have all these voicemails, but my phone never rang.

Guilt

Linda made me feel bad that I haven't updated in awhile, so here I am. Linda, consider this a post just for you.

Yes, I have been neglecting my blog lately, and no that doesn't mean I've had any whirlwind adventures. It does mean I've been working and pretty much being lazy. As a fellow blogger, tweeter, and FBer (that's facebook Linda, sorry. I'm not a pretent) said recently I have a 100 things to do literally. Here's a short list: clean out car, get an oil change, laundry, dust, vacuum, yard work,.....

Some of you know I work in retail and yes we are a store that requests your phone number and email. No I won't write to you or call you, but our numbers are tracked and we have "expectations" as to how many of each we need to be collecting. Most of the time I am not offended when someone says no before I've finished my sentence, when the say in a nasty tone that their number is unlisted, or when they ask in a snotty way why I need either. There is one customer that is a semi-regular customer that I seriously will never ask for her email again. (Hope I don't get a reprimand for that.) This woman has got to be at least 65 and is not nasty until you ask for her email. It's like you've asked for her fucking first born...here comes the lecture I really didn't need today. I feel safe writing this, not because there are only four people that read this, but because this women acts as if using a computer for communicating with the world is the eighth deadly sin, so she will never come across this post. You see, this woman is a retired English teacher and doesn't use email. She said to me, and I quote, "You can't tell me people have so little time that they have to send an email. Email is a bunch of misspellings, and bad grammar!" Apparently, writing letters is a lost art, that she thinks everyone has time to do (probably in cursive writing). I wonder what she thinks of Twitter! Biz Stone watch out this lady might send you a nasty-gram chastising you for creating the devil's technology. Again, she will not hear me ask for her email EVER again.

We also have a nice little mouse running around the office at work. I discovered this when I saw my trail mix bag had a hole in it and some of my nuts were missing. Mice don't scare me, but they are so dirty and nasty. I can't believe some people have these rodents are pets. I would never want a pet that will stand on a desk and eat half of an apple, and while doing so is letting out some turds.

On the subject of turds, I laugh every time I see a truck that has "Super Duty" on it. You know I had to get in some juvenile humor!

Boring Week and Too Much Information

Yes as you can see by my lack of posts, this has been an extremely boring week. Work, work, work and to top it off a doctor's appointment on Thursday. It was the "not-fun" appointment that we all dread. Let me tell you, she was in and out of there so fast it was not as horrible as I always anticipate. The worst part of the whole thing was sitting in my gown waiting for her to come in. If anyone needs or wants a new doctor, I highly recommend mine, she is awesome.

This Saturday I will actually be doing something fun. I will be at the U of M game. The Big House baby. Watch for me on TV. I usually hate crowds, but I put up with them for any sort of sporting event. Go Blue!

I am once again addicted to The Biggest Loser. With every Biggest Loser season, I tell myself I will stop being a big fatty and lose some weight, keep exercising, quit smoking, and eat better. To fulfill that I now want to buy a step, for the step aerobics I taped off FitTV, and an Ab Circle Pro. I'm sure the neighbors will love to see me on that thing, especially with the Bun and Thigh workout. The only bad thing is the $14.95 plus shipping and handling turns into a total of $234.25 after the 30 day trial is over. WTF! There is no way I'd spend $234 on a hunk of metal!!!!