Suzanne Calling

Uh, sign up to blog every day the month of December at Holidailies? You know, the blogging thing has gone well for the month. I posted every day, sometimes more than once, and I barely reached into the back of tricks (or word file of topics). The original plan had me seeing how many days I could go without taking a day off, anyway. Oh, you were wondering about my leg? I went in search of leg specific posts, since I'm rounding up on a year of when the hell began. There were 45 specific posts and about a dozen more that mention the leg peripherally. When my blog grows up, I will be tagging posts, thank you very much. It doesn't make much sense to tag them now and then do it again when I jump ship down the road (does Santa give Typepad accounts? Wordpress software?) The leg is doing well, thanks for asking. It doesn't look great, but it never will again. There's some dry, flaky skin and constant swelling. The atrophy in the calf has gotten worse in the past few ...

had eight people at a table and five of them were left handed? Had eight people at a table and seven of them could roll their tongues? Had those same eight people at a table and they all knew what Disney movie Chick appeared in and who Jimmie Johnson is and what was important to him this week? Had a child who is severely allergic to seafood saying that he wanted to eat all the (pretend) shellfish in his backpack, just because his cousin said the backpack was filled with HIS favorite food in the world, shellfish? Driven to visit family an hour away and lamented the fact that you only got to spend two hours with them? Watched a lousy mime routine (with really bad music) and been cracking up, because the relative pulled out on to perform decided that he had to make crazy faces to get through the experience? Really felt bad for your sibling, who discovered that she's severely allergic to CHOCOLATE? (Doesn't that suck?!) Gotten off Disney property spending less than fifty bucks? FT...

For many years, I was beholden to the nondescript handbag. Big and black was my preferred. Slung over my shoulder meant a bag would stick around until it fell apart. The bags typically were blah, boring, and very similar to my wardrobe. When I moved to Florida, a transformation happened. My wardrobe gained color. I found a handbag (bah, not a shoulder bag) at the Disney store and a matching cosmetics bag. One of my favorite colors AND a Mickey pattern? Sign me up. So, these two pieces started me down the path. The bag didn't have a zip top, so that was one strike. However, the cosmetics bag makes a great iPod case, so I didn't have to worry about losing parts. The handbag didn't make it into long term use mainly because it was not park touring friendly. You could say that these bag purchases softened me up for THIS: I started out thinking the Vera bags were fugly. Really fugly. What didn't help matters is that they came in colors I do not like and at the time...

Once again, Mary has tagged me. I'll take it, but I'm going to be nice and skip the tagging this time, lol. Today's foray is into the alphabet as it relates to me. You can skip if you're tired of the memes. A is for analytical. Yes, this is a good thing (shut up, Ed) B is for Black Forest Cherry cake, my favorite. (but I don't like cherries all that much, go figure) C is for creative. I am a frustrated artist, I can't draw well at all. I use graphics programs, scrapping goodies and my camera to get the creative urge out. For some reason, the calligraphy I learned in 7th grade is a coveted skill! D is for dog, as in I want one. Lab, to be precise. You notice the impasse-Ed wants a cat. E is for enthusiastic. I'll drive you crazy with my love for things! F is for foodie. There is no reason to consume boring foods. Foodies love Fondue, yum. G is for genial. You'll find me in a good mood most of the time. H is for Hawaii. It's at the top ...

Yes, I did promise these pictures last week, but I'm pleading flu, headache and retail insanity. It seems that Gameboy had more fun riding the bumper cars than his brother. He was laughing and smiling the whole time. I think it was the theme for the day, as Chef had refused to go on the swings, then he wanted to go on them over and over! Of course, no carnival is complete without some sort of sugary snack. Chef Jr chose a sno cone, Gameboy a Pina Colada, Ed an ice cream and I got a brownie sundae later on. Here, Chef Jr is trying to show off his red tongue, but there's no dye on it! Chef Jr was very pleased here-he got his favorite driver's car. Yes, I know Richard Petty retired in '92, seven years before the child was born. He doesn't care. Tonight, cross your fingers that we get some pictures suitable for using on Christmas cards!

Remember how I said if you do something for 21 days, it becomes a habit? This blogging thing has become one. I'm in the routine of writing every day. It's not all great writing, but even the best have bad days. My list of topics has been mostly untouched, but tomorrow I may actually use one (or two) of them. I also need to take some pictures to verify that my nifty new Nikon camera friendly USB plug works. The class I led went well, and the feedback I got netted an 8.2 out of a possible 10. The common comment is that the customers much preferred my unscripted tips to me telling them the info from the scripts. Interesting. That was nearly identical to the last class. Everything I customized was better received than the document sent from corporate. Next week's group will get unscripted product information! Teaching when you have a passion for the product is so easy. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll head over to WDW to see Giggles and her family. They're there u...

Yesterday, I found one of my old shirts in the closet. It was red, which means I can wear it to work for the next five weeks. Last year, it was too tight in the chest (what else is new?). Now, it's a perfect fit. I know I'd lost about 10 pounds since I last put this thing on, but the flu probably took another five pounds off. I broke down and took the shot of Imitrex yesterday. It was 2pm and there was no way I could function at work in the state I was in. Unfortunately, it only worked for about an hour. Lesson learned, don't use 20 bucks worth of meds if you know it isn't a migraine. This morning, I'm teaching a class and had to be functional. CVS gave me some items that worked last night, and I've got some vitamin water to battle dehydration. Oh, how I'd love to have some coffee-but I don't think it's a good idea.

I've been dealing with an off and on headache for a week now. Last night, it got bad and it's still got hold of my head this morning. No amount of Aleve has made a dent in it, though. Any ideas? It's not a migraine, so I am not even going to use some of the Imitrex on it. I'll be back later when I can think properly. Nothing worthwhile is able to come out of the brain this morning.

I'm on my break from working the 'busiest shopping day of the year'* As is normal, my store is experiencing Saturday business. It is NOTHING like I've ever experienced in retail before. Last year it freaked me out, but this year, I'm enjoying having ten people on the sales floor. Even if we did double the business, I wouldn't be running ragged. On that note, I feel like me again. I'm back to my quick pace and snap business decisions. I've missed feeling sharp and in control. I couldn't have a better day to feel like the old Suzanne. I even made some sloppy joes for the staff, to make sure there was something warm to have for lunch. Yesterday's meal was delicious. The decision to go at 1:30 was perfect, as we were seated immediately. The boys ate well, we adults stuffed ourselves and then headed over to Lakeland with the in laws. Chef Jr asked to watch "Meet the Robinsons." We had skipped getting this one because it didn...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I am not in the proper mindset to be thankful this year. It's been hectic, stressful, and crazy lately. To help myself get back into the groove, here's a list of things I am thankful for and perhaps it will get me out of the crabby mood I've been in lately. * My kids. I've got two great kids and a friend was right, they are the best thing that can happen to you. * My health. It took a long time to be able to look at the leg and not see the nasty stuff * My job. It's a good company, I like my coworkers and the products we sell. They're on board with my plans to go back to school. * Cub Scouts. They give Chef such joy, help Gameboy to make strides in socialization and gives Ed and I an hour a week of adult conversation! * My friends. The phone directory will never be as vast, but what I lack in quantity is more than made up in the intelligence factor. You all are fun, smart people. * Selected relations. Those who don't ...

Today is like being on the roller coaster, at the top of the ascent, before all heck breaks loose. I go in tonight for five hours to prepare my department for the insanity of Friday morning. We've never had Black Friday specials before, but this year we have one. Thankfully, I don't really have to deal with it. I do, however, want to make sure my department is stocked, signed, cleaned and ready to go for opening. I've been graced with the early shift Friday this year. This year, I've got a Black Friday under my belt. I know how to prepare for this company's traffic patterns. They are so very different from what I am accustomed to. I know the product lines and can answer questions (I hate not knowing the answers). I know all the resources I can rely on if we don't have it-and how to get it in to the customer's hands in time for the holiday. I am prepared for the people who will want every item wrapped separately and will think that 10 minutes to wait ...

It's great when you find old favorites on you tube. Here's one of mine. We had it on laserdisc at the stores and without fail, every one of the CMs would drop everything to watch the "Magic Happens" commercials. We all adored this one and thought it was so sweet. A few months later, one of my coworkers comes in to work and says "She doesn't marry him". NO! We were all in shock. She said "She's having a baby with some guy in the GE 4D Ultrasound commercial." This was all reported in deadpan. A very funny memory, as if there's some sort of commercial world relationship stuff going on!

I'm still feeling like crud, but at least I had the day off to vegemetate on the couch. Lucky me had a brand new book to read. Fortunately, I had something good. I finished the book in less than 24 hours, nearly 500 pages. Now I've got to look on eBay for more books on my list. Ed thought I was ticked at him because I hardly spoke. That's something he's never noticed about me getting sick-I get very quiet. I'm one of those people that as soon as I stop talking, people think there's something wrong. Well, there IS, but it's physical. Okay, anyone of the newfound friends from the blogosphere can help me out here? I was wondering if type pad or word press or any of those blogging sites have the ability for private entries. I need to vent about stuff sometimes, and can't, because the party(ies) involved get all offended that I write about things that bother me. I started this blog to be able to vent from time to time and I'm getting tired of no...

This three days of feeling like crud must be the flu. I waver between sore back, fever (to the point that everyone tells me I look very flushed) and headache. It's a sign that I came back to insanity. Tomorrow, I will load up on vitamins and make sure I take them every day for the remainder of the holiday season. The 21st is my one year anniversary with this employer, so I didn't think the week preceding Thanksgiving would be busier than my first week on the job last year. Then, it was oppressively slow and I wondered if I would again quit a job because there wasn't enough to do (College bookstore-I lasted two months, then quit because I felt guilty about reading books on the clock. They said it was fine, but I didn't agree.) Bedtime last night was extremely early for me, 9:30! My wonderful hubby put up with my crabby ways yesterday. He reheated my leftover burger and brought it to me. One bite and I knew I couldn't eat any of it. Then he brought me a glass of schiz...

Remember a few weeks ago when I blogged about writing off a friendship? I was tired of being hurt and felt that I was only worth having as a friend if I entered the gates of a Disney park with this person. Never mind the fact that there are hundreds of things to do on WDW property and thousands more in the greater Orlando area without entering the parks. I poured my heart and soul into an email. In it, I explained how much it hurt and I didn't want to get the BCCs that just pointed out how much I wasn't a part of her life anymore. I left off with the comment that if she couldn't be bothered sending real emails or calling me, then to just stop-it was too painful otherwise. The inbox today had yet another one of those damn BCCs. I've had enough, I sent a one word reply "Unsubscribe". How would you have handled this? Some off you have the unabridged version and if you care to comment, go right ahead. Am I over reacting? Yeah, this sucks.

People Envy Your Compassion You have a kind heart and an unusual empathy for all living creatures. You tend to absorb others' happiness and pain. People envy your compassion, and more importantly, the connections it helps you build. And compassionate as you are, you feel for them. What Do People Envy About You? Oh, and the crankiness yesterday that I thought was from my body hating my return to work? No, it was the beginnings of a bug. Ugh. We're going to the carnival in an hour or so to hopefully gather some more pictures for me to participate in the Weekly Winners on Lotus' site

How I got 17 days into NaBloMoHos without getting tagged yet defies explanation. My peeps love me, or maybe they realize I've got my secret arsenal of blog topics (now up to 12, since I'm saving the 'things I hate' that was the topic du jour) or perhaps they have noticed that I am already long winded and want me to shut up already. Grandy , my kindred spirit on the health/out on disability/and go camping anyway is no longer a virgin to the MeMe. Ooooh, ahhhh, ooooooooooooo! I suggest you go back and read Grandy's page today, since she saved you from a long bitchfest from a cranky and sore Suzanne. It's probably better for a retail professional to post this kind of griping during the holidays, anyway. ;) (pssst, dee? If you made it over here...the Jerry Garcia doily is MINE!) Without further ado, 5 Things about Suzanne (that you may not know, then again most of you do!) 1. When I was a kid, I was the family bookworm. I was what they call a 'spontan...

Looking forward to getting the cable for my camera that I won on eBay last week. It will remove the following steps when uploading pictures to the computer. 1. Take card out of camera. 2. Put card in HP All in One printer. 3. Schlep HP laptop that has a card reader EXCEPT for my format across the house to all in one. (Note to HP-there are lots of people who have compact flash cards!) 4. Find stupid USB cord to printer in among all the other black cords under the desk. (Note to self: It *might* be a good idea to put some of the colored nail polish on the end of it to differentiate from all the other black cords) 5. Pray the laptop battery doesn't die during the conversion because I forgot the cord was too lazy to bring the cord along with me. This sucky battery lasts 20 minutes tops and I’m far too cheap to buy another one. (Hmmm, I’m saying why I love eBay…) 6. Look like a flamingo while I stand there going through the process of uploading because I'm...

Ok, the cord I won on Ebay is taking its time getting here, so I'll tell of the trip and add the pictures later. BTW, Donna is having a great time touring the vineyards and villas in Napa for work. Mr. MacMahon, I implore you to reroute the prize patrol to my house. I want to go! Since we had to make sure that Gameboy was at the church for departure promptly at 6:30pm, Ed and I decided to go set up camp while the kids were in school to avoid putting up a tent in the dark. We did that last year at one of the campsites, and it wasn't too bad, but not what you want to do. The campsite had wooden poles around it and we were unsure if we were to set up inside or outside the poles. We were the first there, and chose to set up outside the poles. Fifty fifty odds and it ends up we were wrong. However, we weren't asked to move it later, and others set up outside as well. Where were we? At a nice group campsite at Edward Medard Park. The facilities were immaculate and the w...

Tuesday brought me the short straw on the store meeting front. I was the unlucky manager that came in for the weekly management meeting, then back at 2pm to do the closing shift. We all find that the worst proposition, because none of us lives close enough to the store to make it worth going home, then coming back. Instead, I drove over to USF and took some more steps down the college admissions path. I met with one of the admissions counselors. He gave me some information and a list of the prerequisites for entry into the College of Education. Thankfully, when we reviewed the list, it appears that I only need three Pre Education classes in order to officially be enrolled into the Elementary Education area of concentration. That was a big relief. After last week's visit to the BoE, I worried if I had a full 128 credits to complete before finishing that Bachelor's degree. Now it's looking like somewhere between 70 and 80. I may be over estimating somewhat, but I'...

With no small amount of trepidation, I returned to work yesterday. More details when I go to plug the laptop in somewhere. Finally, someone left a table with the coveted plug. I'm back and ready to tell the tale. The return worried me on several different fronts. Am I crazy for returning at the holiday time? Maybe. I'll be standing a lot and it's obvious that eight or ten hours on my feet cannot be the way for me to earn a living for much longer. My District Manager has never been thrilled with me. I'm not fashion plate. Makeup is something that I have to put on, I don't have a drawer full of it. To expect me to come in with the trendiest clothes (in the dress code, mind you) and makeup that looks like Max Factor applied it, well, that's not me. My fear was that because I'm just tolerated by the DM, perhaps I would be passed off to one of our divisions. The company only had to guarantee the same salary and hours, not the same position. For the las...

You're here, so you must have some idea what a blog is. Blogger is run by Google, and if you have a G Mail account, it defaults to the last email address that logged in to sign you into your account. I've got two G Mail accounts, because you know, sometimes you don't need the whole world to know who your favorite Disney character is! This morning, when I went to log in, it had the "last name at gmail dot come" as the default. I don't have a blog with that account, so the screen that pops up says "What is a blog?" with a nifty tutorial. BTW, Blog is a conjunction of the words "WeB log". Simply, it's an online journal. (and a source of entertainment). No, I did not keep a diary as a kid, folks. I'll tell more about the trio camping trip after I upload the pictures. I fully cop to being a lazy butt, because I am conserving energy for going back to work. However, I will report what I know about Gameboy's weekend. Friday ni...

Even though some of the movie is horribly dated, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is still a heart pumping movie. I came home tonight to find Ed about twenty minutes into watching. Watching as an adult, each of us now finds holes in the screenplay. Yet, it still is a gripping story. So much so, that I'm making this minimal post today so I can finish watching the movie. How they got a 3 year old to do his scenes is just incredible. Spielberg is a genius on many leve.s Tomorrow, more details of two camping trips and a return to work...

Originally, I wondered if this would be the day I fell out of the NaBloMoHo's 30 day posting spree. We have been camping and it wouldn't have made much sense to leave the campsite just to make a blog entry. However, one thing has helped keep me on track. I helped organize an online baby shower for one of my friends. There are a group of about 20 of us that have a little group amidst a big message board. These ladies (and a couple of gents, too) have been like my family on the web. We rally around each other in good and bad times, so when one of our ranks was expecting, we were so thrilled for her. So, I left Ed and Chef Jr at the campsite (only 15 miles from home) and came home. I would have just gone up the road to McDonald's to log in to the chat. However, in my haste to pack for everyone else, I forgot to pack shirts! Oops. Since I'm home, I'm popping in the shower and grabbing some totes toasties and hot cocoa for the morning. What a difference three w...

This quiz is put out by a democratic alliance, so it may lean more towards liberal issues. However, I found it interesting and useful. http://glassbooth.org/ (at least Mitt Romney didn't show up as one of my top contenders this time. That certainly made me go WTF?)

Gameboy's educational path may appear to be the same as other kids. However, there's a lot that goes on to ensure his academic needs are met that the average person does not see. As a result of his diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome, he is classified as an "Exceptional Student" by the state of Florida. We entered into the state, comfortable in the knowledge of how the IEP (Individual Education Plan) process worked and what we, as parents, needed to bring to the table when the IEP team met. We came from a relatively average size school district in Maryland. The participants at the school level were always the same, but the participants from the BOE offices would always be different. Let me explain: the typical IEP has your child's classroom teacher; a teacher (or three) that provide any special services (speech, reading or other specialty); the principal or assistant principal; a facilitator from the Board of Ed and sometimes the school psychologist. In Mary...

Ed and I ran a few errands earlier. I was insistent on a visit to the mall . Seems that now that I don't work in it, one of my credit card payments slips my mind every now and again. By heading to the mall, I ensure that it gets paid on time. There were mall security guards shooing cars out of the area where I went to park. Weird. One of the guards came over and told me there were more spots on the other side. "Handicapped?" I asked, and he said yes. (We started where he was pointing and there were none). Another guard comes over and says I could stay, that they'll allow the placards, but nothing beyond it. There would be a helicopter landing there. Looking around, there were a bunch of suits in front of Books A Million . Definitely not normal. Once inside the mall, the concierge informs us that the hullabaloo is because Jenna Bush will be signing books today. Ed, the concierge and I debate whether she is the first (or second) daughter, as none of us are ...

I was reading Newton's Knitting blog, and went to a link at OK Cupid to find out if I was a Nerd, Geek or a Dork. The results have been tabulated and here are their findings: Your Score : Modern, Cool Nerd 65 % Nerd, 60% Geek, 39% Dork For The Record: A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia. A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one. A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions. You scored better than half in Nerd and Geek, earning you the title of: Modern, Cool Nerd . Nerds didn't use to be cool, but in the 90's that all changed. It used to be that, if you were a computer expert, you had to wear plaid or a pocket protector or suspenders or something that announced to the world that you couldn't quite fit in. Not anymore. Now, the intelligent and geeky have eked out for themselves a modicum of respect at ...

With the announcement that I'd be returning to work came the panic. "OMG, my wacky sleep schedule? I've been going to bed between 4 and 6 and waking up around 10am." The two nights of about three hours sleep due to the time change actually played in my favor. Monday night, I got to bed at midnight. This is pretty normal for me. Last night, I think I made it until 10:30pm. Cross your fingers that the rest of the week is similarly slumbered. It would suck to return to work on 3 hours sleep. Just wanted to share that. Are you all yawning now?

As noted in yesterday's update, I'm returning to work Monday. To prepare for this, I attended a management meeting this morning. (Getting up at 6:30am? Major Suckage) Apparently, they had no meetings while I was gone. I walked up to the front door, and unlocked it. The stock manager immediately comes up and gives me a bear hug and tells me he's really missed me. He's not an overly demonstrative person, so this really was a nice gesture. (We talk music, media, travel and all sorts of stuff-he's a very cool guy). Two of the other managers comment that I've really lost some more weight. I have to admit, the last time I wore these pants was the week before I went on leave and they fit just right-now they are pretty loose. The meeting got me back into the loop rather quickly and there was no shortage of things for me to do. We have a staff meeting Sunday night and I'll be presenting one part. There's that customer class I'm teaching at the end o...

It's funny how you look at things when you don't have the whole story. For instance, when I was younger, I'd look at seemingly able bodied people alighting from the car parked in the handicapped stall in front of a business and roll my eyes. That person didn't seem like they needed the space and my perception was that they were borrowing someone else's car and decided to take the parking perk along with it. In a case of cruel irony, at 29 years old, I developed a DVT and earned a 9 day hospital stay. The pain was horrible. My doctor suggested that I get a handicapped tag. He warned me that there would be days where I would not want to walk the short walk from my car to work. "You should make it shorter." This was after he was incredulous that I wanted to return to work in retail. Apparently, you just don't do that with a huge clot in your body that puts you on a year of nasty blood thinners. Seeing the other patients he had sitting in the w...

This one came from CajunVegan, and it's got more questions (and more of the interesting kind, too). 1. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed? Closed. The bedroom closet holds kitchen electrics and I don't want to look at them. 2. Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotel? Sometimes, and always at WDW. A few years ago, they were useful for making Christmas stockings for women at homeless shelters. 3. Have you ever 'done it' in a hotel room? Yes, hasn't every adult on their honeymoon? 4. Have you ever stolen a street sign before? No, but I really want someone to steal the street sign with my maiden name in Massapequa (off of 107) 5. Do you like to use post-it notes? I use them at work all the time. I prefer unusual colors, especially neon, so they stand out. 6. Do you cut out coupons but then never use them? Far too often. 7. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of a bees? Bees. Hands down. 8. Do you have freck...