My day has officially tanked.

Guess what I just found out?!?!!

I have to work the day after New Years Day!!!

Yes, we are supposed to have an observed holiday for this day according to my handbook. But I asked BossLady today and she has informed me that we are working on Monday.

Not fair. I have both E and B off school and work that day and I lose that extra time with them. I could have done some major shopping.

Plus, to add insult to injury, we are having a 2006 year planning meeting on Saturday morning. So I have a day and a half of a weekend that is a holiday weekend.

Pray that it is quiet tomorrow. If so, we can either have our meeting then OR go home early.

Keep your fingers crossed.....

We may actually have the cruise!!!

BossLady secured 4 more policies yesterday, HB converted 2 policies, RS is getting 1 signature today and is supposed to have another 3 signatures today. Total amount on that alone is 10. We needed 9 apps to qualify. I have one and all I need is a signature. That is a back pocket one.

I am truly excited and nervous all at the same time. I want this so badly and I am so afraid something will happen to screw it up. I have wanted to take a cruise for as long as I can remember. I didn't even care where. Just to have the opportunity is more than enough for me.

Plus, this is an amazing gift that I can give to my husband. The chance to go on a cruise with all expenses paid. We wanted to take a cruise for our honeymoon. That got cut once I won our honeymoon at a bridal show. Let's see, free trip or pay for a cruise??? I think we could stand the free trip.

Also another good thing about it. I can have my parents come to town for a week to watch B. Something I know that they will both enjoy tremendously. I know that he will be in good hands that way and it gives them exclusive time with their grandson.

So please keep those fingers crossed!!!

Drink Up For A Worthy Cause

I have been meaning to post this for awhile and have not. Sorry for the delay on it but better late than never.

7-Eleven has my beloved Frozen Coke machine (AKA Slurpee). And they have plenty of cup sizes. On the one that is the second largest there is the Breast Cancer Ribbon symbol. For every Frozen Coke purchased that has the Breast Cancer logo on the cup a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Searching for a cure for Breast Cancer is very important to me. My beloved Executive Director in Ohio is a Breast Cancer survivor. I am blessed to have her in my life. My life has been changed by her being involved in my life and to think that she could not be here due to breast cancer is tragic.

I also have a policyholder who is nearing the end of her chemo for Breast Cancer. I hope and pray that she is taken care of and goes into remission quickly.

So have a Frozen Coke!! Enjoy!!!

I HATE END OF THE QUARTER!!!!

Whew. Now that I got that out I can go on.

I am stressed. Simply stressed. We have had these deadlines for I do not know how long. I have been pushing for them. And now we are down to the wire.

We need 9 more life and 9 more auto apps to go on the cruise.

And now we are at a crunch. I have been working hard to make sure this does not happen and now it is here and playing massive catch-up.

ARGH!!!

I have set my goals for next year. It does not inclue this last minute stuff. If all is good and I am on schedule I should have enough for all of us to go where we need to go on our respective trips next year.

Wish me luck that I do not lose my mind. I am about there.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

Hope that this post finds everyone well and enjoying the holiday spirit. We are certainly in it. Even with it being 75 degrees and sunny with gorgeous blue skies versus the cold and snow that we have also been used to. Here is a recap of my holiday weekend so far...

Friday we had our work holiday party. We were told at the beginning of the day that if it is slow (yeah right) we can leave early. We had a client in right before our lunch and were late for lunch due to it. We had agreed from early on that we would do lunch then exchange from a name that was pulled. We each had to spend at least $20 on our person. I selected BossLady and got her some air freshener refills from White Barn Candle Company. She loved it! RS had me and she gave me the hook up. I got a $20 gift card to JoAnn Etc. My FAVORITE craft store. I was giddy. Then for the next surprise. BossLady also got us gifts from our list. So I got a $10 gift card to Wal-Mart and a $10 gift card for Big Lots. I am in heaven!!

Went back to the office to a crazy afternoon but a very productive one. Everyone wanted to get their insurance stuff done on their day off and it was convenient that we were there. We ended the day at four apps total. That works. Left maybe 10 minutes early and got home to the boys. Had an easy night that night with the boys.

Saturday started out very crazy trying to catch up on the last minute stuff. E left for an hour and B and I did housework. Then when he returned B and I left to finish up last minute stuff. B was excellent in the store and that warranted a Frozen Coke. I did inform him that we were going to church and I asked him why. Hoping that he would say that we were going to celebrate Baby Jesus's birthday I was thrown for a loop. His response? "We need to get our God-On.". Proof that I say that WAY too often.

Got ready for the Children's Mass way too late and got to church at 3:50 PM for 4:00 PM mass. Definitely not enough time as I forgot about the 2x a year Catholics. It was standing room only and we stood. B looked darling as he was dressed in a suit. When I get pics on the computer I will post them.

Got home to Christmas Eve Pizza. We had too much to do and I wanted a quick and easy dinner. Finished dinner and made cookies for Santa, little cakes for Baby Jesus's birthday and reading T'was The Night Before Christmas before B went to bed. Then off to bed with all of us.

Christmas morning began easly for us. We were up at 5:45 AM due to the excitement. B finally came in at 6:25 AM to inform us that Santa drank all the milk. We went out to investigate and open our stockings and presents. Santa was very generous to my scrapbooking madness and hooked me up with plenty of good scrapbooking stuff. A new album, embossing templates and new letters for my Sizzix plus other little goodies. I was pleased. Then was taken good care of by my husband and son. My big gift was a ScanDisk MP3 player. I got E an iPod. Do you think we were on the same page this year? Now we have some tunes for when we work out. B got plenty of great presents but loved all of his Kid Connection items. He is very easy to please. His big gift came from my parents as they got him the V-Tech V-Smile. And the adapter cable is not in it. That is fine. We will hold off opening it until their other gift comes for him then get the cable and let him play. Or hold out for a rainy day. And since we barely get those it will be used more when there is a cloudy day.

This is the first holiday that we have to make our own meal. Usually we go to my parents house for dinner and help out. But have never had anything all on our own. The ham is in the oven and as the time gets closer we will make the rest of the side dishes. Here is hoping that we do not poison ourselves.

And to Flexigirl. Thanks for the purple maribou princess phone. But the caption is wrong. I am not a princess, I am the QUEEN!!! But you know that!! Love you!! And must bring up the Desperate Housewives book was very entertaining!!! Hope that Coachman, ALF and KaylaT like their presents. My boys did!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!

Am I the only one????

I seriously have many questions that I am wondering am I the only one. Here they are and if you have any solutions please comment and let me know.

Am I the only one...

Who is not completely sure what will be made for the holiday dinner?

Who does not have a recipe for something with green beans in it except for the standard Green Bean Casserole?

Who does not have all of the stocking stuffers purchased that is needed?

Feels guilty that I have not purchased a really big gift for my son and that is simply because he does not show an interest in any big thing?

Who is still dropping off my son at pre-school? My car was the only one there when I pulled in.

Who feels guilty for making calls to existing clients because of the holiday season?

Who is not sure how much the hubby is purchasing for them so they can try to balance out the amount of gifts under the tree? (It is a Libra thing most people do NOT understand)

Please let me know that I am not going crazy or I am really not this disorganized.

On a side note. Got a letter from the Witch-In-Law. Guilt scale from 1-10 was an 8.

She pulled the whole "life is short" game. That is not a game they play well as their longevity of living is twice my families alone. Small fact about me, in one year I attended 12 funerals. One for every month of the year. I should go into the business of being a professional mourner. I have had the practice. Most of the people were relatives with one or two friends.

Ho Hum Day

Yes, we are getting near the holidays.

The phones have stopped ringing, the Christmas carols have picked up on the radio, and I am scrambling to get everything accomplished before the end of the year.

Had lunch with HB today as a thanks for all of the loan referrals. A nice trip to Red Lobster and a yummy lunch later I am good. We had a good time and some good conversation.

I sent E to work yesterday with goodie boxes for his techs and today with gifts for the office staff. It is always nice to know that you are appreciated. Especially around the holidays. And they do an awful lot of hard work. They deserve to be recognized for that. They had their holiday lunch today. I have not heard much back about how it turned out. Maybe later.

B went to school with presents for each of his teachers and for the school owner. I only got to see one reaction. I let his main teacher know that hers was in her room. I will most likely pick him up tonight so I should see the rest of the reactions. Hopefully they will like their gifts.

Tonight we are off to the YMCA and to pick up the last remaining presents that I have been sent out on. This will be interesting. Love to see what the stores will look like tonight.

Catching Up...

Forgive the length of time to blog. A lot has happened and I have to catch up.

Starting with Wednesday night. We went and worked out for the first time together at the YMCA. I am extremely proud of E. He made it a half an hour on the treadmill and another ten minutes of random exercise on various machines. That is very big for him. To end out the evening we decided to pick up dinner. He wanted a Wendy's salad. I have not heard him ask for a salad in ages. This is a step in the right direction.

Thursday I had a great day. I had a performance review that went extremely well. And I sold another life insurance policy. I was tickled. Now if I can get nine more aps before the end of the year I will be in good shape.

Friday and the weekend we took it relatively easy. We had some family time and more workout time. B is loving the Kids Gym and E and I are working hard on improving our workouts. We tried to go to a Festival of Lights on Saturday night and struck out due to B falling asleep and not able to wake up and enjoy the lights. Oh well, maybe another day. We did get some Christmas shopping done. That is a small relief. Now to get the rest done and I will be happy.

Yesterday was very interesting. BossLady decided that she wanted four baskets to go to her VIP clients. I volunteered and spent the rest of the afternoon in Garden Ridge and in craft heaven. I do have to redo the baskets to make them more office friendly instead of individual friendly but that is okay by me. Went and worked out again last night and shopped afterwards. The energy I have just from a few workouts is amazing to me.

One last note. Congrats to the H family on the birth of their baby boy!! Geogette was in my wedding party and is like a sister to our family stemming back to E's relationship with the family. We are excited for the birth of their little miracle and wish them much happiness with little Gavin!!

Good things come to those who believe

It has taken a while for me to believe in myself in regards to selling life insurance. As I have never really done it before I moved to Texas I am slowly learning what works. I have been having some success lately and I am thrilled.

I had a late night appointment last night. Sometimes it does work to work with other peoples schedules. I stayed at the office until 7:45 PM and walked away with selling a $500K life policy. I am still in shock but yet very proud of myself. I have been really working hard to improve and I feel that with each appointment I am getting better.

Plus, the greatest benefit for me was learning that his workplace does not supply any life insurance. Everyone is on their own. I gave him a stack of my cards and asked for the referrals. I am always good at thanking clients for the business but never asking for the referral. Another step in the right direction.

We still need 11 more life apps for the cruise. Keep your fingers crossed that I can get this accomplished. I really need a vacation!!!

Prayers Needed and Change in Life

I will start for the ones who need it the most. If you believe in the power of prayer, please pray for the following:

Mom - my mother has been handed A LOT lately with a particular situation with my Mini-Me cousin. She is possibly in danger and needs help but there is no admittance or proof that needs to be there. If she is not given the help that is needed and fast she is headed down the road of destruction with future relationships in her life. This is a huge load for my mom to deal with and has been very hard with me gone and she feels that that I have enough nerve to say what needs to be said.

Martini - she is going through a really bad time now and needs all the prayers and positive support that can possibly be found.

My friends that have lost parents this year - this will be their first Christmas and holiday season without their loved ones. As the firsts are always difficult it will be much harder especially now.

MagicBoy - my lovely brother. There may be a light at the end of the divorce tunnel as the Jobless Wonder is just ready to have the divorce final already. He may be getting what he wants due to her urgency to have it done and over with. Here is praying that he gets what he needs.

E and I - as we are entering the new year I am worried about selling out house and conceiving another child. I am worried that since my body has been extrememly erratic with the cycles that we will have an extrememly difficult time in baby-making. I know that it is all in God's hands but any extra thoughts can help.

Now on to the turning point. We have done it. As a family, we have joined the YMCA to get on the road to better health. I have been dying for E to go on The Biggest Loser and he has been terrified that if he is accepted that he will lose his job. I am willing to take that risk if that means that he will be able to lead a better lifestyle. But he is not willing to.

We have been toying with the idea of joining a regular gym and even the Rec Center for months now and it just did not seem logical. Since I know that he would like us to work out together that would mean that we would need someone to watch B. Every gym and Rec Center offered babysitting service but with a fee. The cost of that plus the regular fees would easily take us to over $75 per month. Not an investment I want to do.

The YMCA here offers an amazing program for families. They offer:

Free 3 hours of babysitting per day in the Kids Gym which is like McDonalds Play Area times 5. COOL!!!
Free sports for B. Just pay for the jersey
Free babysitting for one Friday night per month if you should choose to take it.
Access to 3 YMCA's in the area.
Free classes for E and I.

And a ton of other stuff. Plus, with it being a Christian based area I felt very comfortable that their morals fit mine.

Here is hoping that in 2006 we have a fit family!!

You know you're a beauty queen when:

Okay, I promise that not ALL of this is me but most if it is. Enjoy as it gave me a great laugh for today.

You know the difference between a crown and a tiara
When you watch a coronation on television, you can guess the diameter and height of the crown.
You have 10 crowns collecting dust in your attic, and 30 more in a glass
showcase in your living room.
You own 2 pairs of taupe leather pumps.
You have won a swimsuit competition thanks to glue.
You think 5-inch acrylic heels go with everything.
You always stand in model stance.
Your coach has never caught a football.
Your body was designed by Mike.
You have every issue of Pageantry magazine, but have never bought a single copy.
Diet Coke is the breakfast of champions.
You watch a televised pageant and have the winner, and all four runner-ups
picked from introductions.
You have a platform, but have never stood on it.
You have practiced your "winning reaction" in the mirror.
You paid more for your evening gown than for your car.
You know the names and homestates of the last ten Miss Americas, Miss USAs,
Miss Teen USAs and Miss Universes.
You postponed your wedding due to a pageant.
You do your modeling routine in your sleep.
Your western wear doesn't include jeans.
You consider a week long pageant short.
Your wedding party consisted of fellow contestants.
You have been serenaded on stage by a gay man in a tuxedo.
Your headshot looks like an oil painting.
You have an oil painting... of yourself, in your sash and crown.
You have a runway in your garage.
Your teeth aren't just white, they are porcelin.
You have been winning photo contests since the age of 3.
Three suitcases for a vacation is considered "packing light."
You have perfected "elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist."
You have bought an entire competition wardrobe at a trunk show.
You have been in more parades than Mickey Mouse.
You have an entire scrapbook dedicated to each one of your titles.
You put your hands on top in the winner's circle.
You have seen every pageant movie ever made.
Your Christmas cards are autographed headshots of yourself.
Your hair stylist, dentist, trainer, and coach are on speed dial.
You consider RHINESTONES to be a girl's best friend.
You really do want world peace

And We Are Officially Out of Commission

Reports are back. Schools are closed all day. And my SUV is completely frozen over.

Yes that is right folks. I am totally out of commission along with B.

I knew that we were going to try to open the office at 9:30 AM. I went out to warm up the car and promptly slide on to my bottom. OUCH!!! Then pried the door open as it was frozen shut. Hopped from the ground to behind the wheel of the car. Started the car and set the defrost on high. After 5 minutes my car was still completely frozen over. I think it got a little babied by the weather here and is in serious shock.

I contacted one of my other co-workers and she is not moving. Her car is also frozen over and both kids are home from school. A recipe for trouble she is not willing to take either. I have left messages at the office and at BossLady's cell phone that if she wants me to work from the house that is fine. She can fax me any lists to call on and I will be happy to set up appointments. No problem. Have not heard anything back.

On to house cleaning. One advantage of the day. My house may look put together again.

Two Hour Delay

Yes folks, we are on a 2 hour delay. Why, you ask??

The answer is, all of Central Texas is frozen over. Yesterday it started with some freezing rain and continued last night. This morning just about every school district is on a 2 hour delay and some schools are even closed. My doors to my car were frozen shut yesterday by the little rain that we had. I wonder if I can even get into them today.

We woke up completely unaware of what to do. I knew the policy for B's school so that was no issue. E and I did not know our work policies. E tried calling the bosses and did not get an answer back. One tech called and said they were stuck on the freeway and not moving. None of E's techs were answering their phones and finally he called Hollaback Girl. She said that she didn't know what they were to do in this situation either. So he braved it and headed out.

And how do they remedy ice on the roads? Put down some sand and gravel. Yeah, that works.

On the phone with E now. He made it in safely and he is the only one in the office. I will be trekking it in at 9:30 unless I hear otherwise. Plus, I will have B with me for a little bit.

On to watch a movie with B. Shrek 2 is playing and he wants me to watch it with him. Stay warm!!!

Getting Into The Holiday Spirit

This week has been full of Christmas spirit. We have been decorating and getting ready for the upcoming holiday.

This year I have helped with putting lights on the house for decorating. I usually hide to avoid the snow and the cold but since the weather is decent I have helped with the nets on the bush and lights lining the sidewalk to the house. Our neighbors have been getting into the spirit too. Their houses look very festive and ready for the holidays.

We decorated the tree on Sunday. After much debate of where to put the tree we ended up putting it in the dining room in front of a window. E assembled it and strung the lights, I hung the beads (garland type) and B and I decorated. It looks very nice.

Yesterday a contest was put forward by BossLady. We were each to take one of the stockings from the office and decorate it by Friday. It will then be voted on by those who come into the office. The winner gets a $30 gift certificate. Bring it on. My glue gun is ready.

And we had a Staff Appreciation Lunch sponsored by our AFO. It was very nice. We also received presents from them. Mine was a stuffed Santa that my mother would take from me if she were here. She is a Santa freak.

The holidays are coming......

An Upsweep in the Weekend

The weekend did get better!!! And it happened after my ranting post.

I went into work and finished the Auto and Homeowners policy for my new insured. Then I offered a plan to protect the home. It includes Life Insurance and Mortgage Disability Income Insurance. I presented it and then shut up. Which is extremely difficult for me. After a minute of looking it over he decided that he wanted to do both policies. I was ecstatic. I have presented this option numerous times and I have had interest in one or the other but no policies written. This was a first for me and I was beside myself. I wrote the policies and headed home. But stopped first for a Frozen Coke. My downfall in life.

I went home to an apologetic E. He went and read my blog after I posted it and realized that he was being inconsiderate. I had him wait on the apology until I had told of my accomplishment. Then allowed the apology to begin. It was good. I accepted it.

We all went out later to JoAnn Fabrics to use my 50% coupon. I am happy with what I purchased. Then we decided to go out to dinner to a place that we have never been to. We ended up at Bennigan's. I recommend the Chicken Wrap as it was divine!! The waiter was fabulous and even started quoting Office Space with us. It was a hoot. And I recommend dessert too. YUM!!!

We spent Sunday relaxing with a sick kid. He has a cold and we are not sure but possibly a sinus infection. He is not complaining about a headache. He has complained once about his head and he said it was because my ring hit it accidentally. Sorry about that B. We got the Christmas tree up and finished more of the outside decorations. Had to go buy more lights and some more medicine.

We settled in to watch Desperate Housewives. I am definitely the Lynette of the show. I took the test online at ABC.com to see which Desperate Housewife I was the most like and it went back to Lynette. She is tricky but good. But I still admire Bre. Anyone who could smack their mother-in-law is a winner in my book. And deal with the stuff that she dished out. A total hero.

This week should prove to be good. I have a headache right now but I am sure that will get better. Have already taken two aspirin so I am good. Hope it improves before Storytime at the library. Storytime is always a good time for us.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Find out what it means to me!!!

Good ole musical lyrics that can sum up my morning.

It has been a rough morning. One that has driven me into the guest bedroom and forced me to close the door on everyone. Except the cat and the pesky three-year-old who just doesn't get it. That is okay. I will take him.

It started first thing this very early morning. B decided to climb into our bed for the third night in a row. I do not understand where this is coming from. E thinks it is because he is not feeling well. I think it is because he stayed in the same room with us at my parents house. Anyways, I was too tired to get him back to his own bed. So I just covered him up and endured being shoved completely to E's side of the bed. I was pretty much awake by 6 AM.

Riddle me this. Why can't a child wake up on time to go to school but are up bright and early on a day that we do not have to be anywhere right away?

I played with B for a bit and laid down again to watch SoapNet. I love SoapNet. That is the only good thing about having the robbery that we have called cable with a monopoly. Beverly Hills 90210 was on and I settled back to watch it. E could obviously see this. He decided that then would be a good time to start playing around with music. IN THE SAME ROOM!! No headphones, no lowering the volume, nothing!!!! To me, that is a form of disrespect. So I left the room and holed up in the guest room.

I emerge during the commercials as I cannot sit still during them and E asks me what is wrong. I inform him that I feel it is entirely rude to do something like that when he could obviously see that I was watching a show. Then I asked if he learned that by being raised by the hillbillies that he was raised by. He didn't answer. I assume so.

He then asks what we want to do about breakfast. I tell him that he can make muffins. He says that yes, we can do that. I go into the other room and figure that he will start to make the muffins. I emerge again at the next commercial and he is just sitting on the couch. I roll my eyes and start a load of laundry. He then asks if we are going to make the muffins. I told him again that he can make the muffins. So he proceeds to do so.

I finish watching my show and head into the bathroom to get a shower and get myself ready to go into the office for a few hours. E comes in and wants to start getting close. At this point I am focused on work and getting ready and I just want him to leave me alone. Plus, B is running around like a maniac. Not a good time for him to start with me.

I finish my shower and I figured he would get B ready for a bath. I come out of the shower stall and B is still in what he wore last night running around. E is sitting at his computer looking for techno crap music. I figure that he would be ready to have the water started the minute I get out of the tub. No such luck.

I am getting madder by the moment. And what does E want to do? Continue to try to feel me up and leach himself on to me. Not making me comfortable with him at all. I finally get away and start getting myself dressed. B finally gets into the tub and E disappears into the bedroom and I am there to keep an eye on him and make sure he is not getting water all over the place.

I come back into the bedroon and I make a comment to him about something personal trying to start a conversation. He blows it off and continues to try to get near to me. At this point, I leave the room and just outright avoid him.

I hate this. This morning just showed how selfish he can be when he wants to be. I cannot make up for that. Maybe it is the Only Child Syndrome. I do not know.

I have to head to the office now. I may try to figure this out later. Not sure if I want to waste the brain space.

The Cellblock Tango

The past few days have been very interesting.

B has developed a craving for the movie "Chicago". He loves Catherine Zeta-Jones and the role that she plays in the movie.

We were in Kohl's last Friday and he saw a picture of a woman on a box that looked like Catherine Zeta-Jones in the movie. Then insisted that we needed to go home and watch Chicago. I told him that once we are done with shopping he can watch the movie. With us close by to explain what needs explaining of course.

We get back to my mom and dad's house and pop in the movie. We get up to The Cellblock Tango and he was done watching the movie after that. Later that evening he wants to watch the movie again. We get to The Cellblock Tango again and he is done.

Then it dawned on us. It was just that section of the movie that he is interested in watching. Not the beginning or the end, just that section.

So now for the past few days we watch The Cellblock Tango at least once per day. Then he tries to sing it. That is hysterical. He does not know all the words and when he is singing the song, he is adding his own words. It is a hoot.

We shall see what words he adds today.