Before you volunteer...know what you are getting into...

Remember Field Day?  Way back when we were in elementary school?  There were potato sack races, tug of war, the water balloon toss, etc.?  I loved Field Day.

Well, last year Man-Child - because he is the PE teacher at an elementary school - was in charge of Field Day.  At the last minute, he was in search of "potato sacks" (i.e., burlap sacks...because they were "more authentic").  Needless to say, in this day and age, one cannot just wander into any store today and buy potato sacks so I convinced him that pillow cases would fill the bill.  He so disheartened about having to use pillow cases that I offered to make him some potato sacks for this year's Field Day.  Classically, I figured, how hard could it be?  Buy some burlap, zip, zip on the sewing machine and DONE.

Let's not forget that a seamstress I am not.

So about two weeks ago, it dawned on me that if I were to fulfill my promise on these potato sacks then I needed to get started.  So I headed out to JoAnn's - and lucky me - the burlap was on sale!  As the lady was cutting the yardage I requested, it occurred to me to ask..."Can I use my sewing machine with this fabric?"  The short answer? No. (And if you tell me in the comments that I can, I will just keel over and die - but after working with this fabric, I'm thinking it wouldn't be the best idea for the machine as burlap sheds like crazy).

Nonplussed, I pressed on - I mean, honestly, how hard could it be to measure the fabric, fold it up, stitch up the two sides and call it done?  I should probably mention here that I've never actually worked with burlap.

My prototype went fairly quickly - took maybe an hour...until I realized that the prototype was unraveling at the seams as I was sewing.  I set the project aside for the following weekend - whereupon I made ANOTHER trip to JoAnn's after seeing on Google that I needed some kind of binding material.

The knowledgeable lady showed me the bias tape and explained how it worked.  I bought it and brought it home.  Where I then spent a good FIVE hours sewing, by hand, a new prototype.  And discovered that my handiwork is kinda sloppy but it seemed to work.

Today, I found myself with six hours to kill as I waited for the repairman to show up to fix the dryer (seriously?  For a dryer that's only THREE years old?  And, a SIX hour window?  And then didn't show up?!) I figured I'd repair the first prototype - which took me (yep, you guessed it! Another five hours - so ten hours later and I only have two potato sacks to show for it.  On the plus side, my handiwork is improving).  Somewhere in there, I realized that even if the binding works this material is kinda flimsy - and that I think I'm allergic to burlap seeing as my eyes have been leaking for hours and I've been sneezing non-stop.  So having kids, stuffed into it and jumping to a finish line is going to ruin all the work I am putting into them on the first go round - not to mention that surely some child out there would be as sensitive to this stuff as I seem to be...

So I texted Man-Child about the possibility of finding a fabric that looks like old flour sacks instead.  And he was fine with it...of course, he is.  Is it possible that I was the one that was over-thinking last year's Field Day?  Of course it is.

At least with flour sack-type fabric, I can literally zip, zip on the sewing machine, DONE and finish this project in one weekend...I think...

Oh hell, what do I know?

I do know this...know what you are getting into before you volunteer.  AND?  Know that maybe what you are volunteering isn't even a "requirement."

How to have fun in marriage...or, at least, in my marriage.

Almost a month ago, to the day, I posted that I'd cleaned out The Husband's closet - which between you and me was a total pigsty.

When I did so, The Husband was so very happy with the result that he swore he was a reformed man and that from that day forward things "would be different."  And then proceeded to ask me EVERY day, like a proud little boy, if I noticed how clean he was keeping his closet.

I would acknowledge that I had noticed and how pleased I was with his efforts.  And then, last night...as I was getting ready for bed, I saw that he had just left his sneakers in the middle of the closet floor.

I saw that he was snoozing on the couch, as is his wont at that time of night, and I just couldn't resist...so I left this tableau for him to find and went to bed.

And that's how the road to chaos starts. :-)

So this morning, as I was brushing my teeth, he casually tossed out that he had to laugh when he walked into his closet last night.  I nearly choked on my toothpaste!  But, I noticed, those shoes were put neatly away.

The Plague and Unfair Pricing Practices

So, way back in December I mentioned that The Husband had bronchitis.  What I've neglected to mention since, that he's been sick with a cold/virus off and on ever since.  He seems to be on the mend now...now that he has finally infected ME with whatever nastiness that he had.

And here I was, smugly thinking that I'd skate through this winter without getting something.  That's what I get for being smug, I suppose.

I feel awful and am hoping the Dayquil/Nyquil combo will get me through; while I shoot daggers from my eyes every time I see The Husband for subjecting me to this abject hell.

Today, we had lunch at a local chain.  This particular chain resides near a local college and we eat there on a fairly regular basis.  Today, when we went in, we were given dinner menus - which had a lunch menu that specified that lunch was ONLY available Monday through Friday.  This kind of flummoxed me as I KNOW we've eaten off the lunch menu on the weekend before - and seemed to remember that we usually were given a specific lunch menu.

We decided that maybe this location wasn't getting enough business on the weekends lately to justify lunch prices, and were only offering dinner menus now, so we ordered off the dinner menu.  As we were enjoying our entrees, two different sets of college students came in.

Both sets were given the lunch menus.  And both sets ordered from the lunch menus.

The Husband and I exchanged shocked looks.  As we discussed, under our breath, whether or not management had told their servers to give out different menus to different customers.

We like this restaurant, so it's not like we will be boycotting them - but the next time we go in on a weekend, I will be requesting a lunch menu.

That is, if I live long enough, to go back...

She just needs a little "seasoning"

I've mentioned before that as a company, we are trying to lure younger, hipper employees by having a more "fun" workplace.  Obviously, no one has bothered to look up the definition of "work" which is the exact opposite of "fun."  I digress...

Last Friday, in the run up to the Super Bowl (yawn), was "Wear Your Favorite Team Jersey" day.  I opted for a blue, tiny polka-dotted shirt...because who doesn't love polka-dots?  Hey, I'm all for Company Spirit until it crosses the line into something I have absolutely NO interest in - then?  I will go my own way.

At any rate, another co-worker, was charged with setting up Super Bowl "snack stations" in the common areas that morning, which I thought was a nice gesture from Human Resources, and I thank them for the peanuts that morning that held me over until lunch.

One of our newer, younger co-workers had a big meeting that day - probably her first ever, big meeting.  I watched as she walked them around the floor, pointing out each department (which these people had no interest in), but not actually introducing them to actual people.  And then, I heard later from someone else, she pointed out the potted plants that dot the Executive Management area and mentioned that we have "plant people" come in to care for them...ummm?  What was the purpose of this particular comment?

Not long after she ushered them into a conference room - with them most likely thinking that this can't be normal - my co-worker charged with setting up the Super Bowl "snack stations" came to me and asked, "Who the hell took that ENTIRE basket of snacks?!"  She came to me because the "snack station" was kinda sorta in my sight line.  I had no idea.  I had just walked by the area and saw the snacks and now they were gone.

Turned out, kind of like I suspected, the newer, younger co-worker scooped up the basket and took it with her to the conference room.  I think she must have thought it would be nice to have "goodies" for the meeting...not realizing that those "goodies" were not her's to take, and that, in fact if she wanted "goodies" she should have ordered them in beforehand.

Needless to say when this extraordinarily long meeting took a break, my co-worker walked into the conference room and took the basket out and put it back where it belonged and said, "I HOPE she asks me about it!"

This particular, new co-worker appears to be on the ball - in other areas - very nice, bubbly and competent...but she needs some "seasoning" to learn office environment etiquette...namely, you don't take something that is not yours to take without asking someone first.