This year, I will not be doing my typical "hundreds of holiday cookies."
Instead, I am getting married.
I hope that is ok with everyone... because if it's not, I can send you some crappy store-bought cookies in a tin with a "Made from Scratch" sticker to make it look more authentic.
If it is ok with you, look forward to next year... when I shall resume the hundreds of holiday cookie making tradition. Oh, and cakes, too. :)
Maybe I will make a few cookies while I am in California...
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Randomness at its Best
I have a wedding countdown on the fridge. I update it every morning when I get up. :)
TWENTY DAYS.
It's the first time in a WEEK that our high temperature has been above freezing. I actually walked outside today in a t-shirt to get the newspaper. It felt fabulous.
The boys, and Whitney, are over playing D&D tonight. I am making meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and apple cinnamon compote for dinner. I also made banana bread. It smells delicious.
The Winter Festive Tree is up and decorated. The icicle lights are actually up this year and some of my candles are on display. Oh, and there are actually a few presents under the tree, despite this horrible economy.
Heard some of the BEST NEWS EVER. from my friend and former co-worker, Kirksey, today. I gave him a high-five, it was THAT awesome. :)
Bridesmaids all have their dresses... Groomsmen all know where to reserve their kilts/accessories from... All is well on that front. FINALLY. I pick up my dress on FRIDAY. TWENTY DAYS.
Oh, 20 days, like a 20-sided dice. Wow.
I'm a geek after all.
TWENTY DAYS.
It's the first time in a WEEK that our high temperature has been above freezing. I actually walked outside today in a t-shirt to get the newspaper. It felt fabulous.
The boys, and Whitney, are over playing D&D tonight. I am making meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and apple cinnamon compote for dinner. I also made banana bread. It smells delicious.
The Winter Festive Tree is up and decorated. The icicle lights are actually up this year and some of my candles are on display. Oh, and there are actually a few presents under the tree, despite this horrible economy.
Heard some of the BEST NEWS EVER. from my friend and former co-worker, Kirksey, today. I gave him a high-five, it was THAT awesome. :)
Bridesmaids all have their dresses... Groomsmen all know where to reserve their kilts/accessories from... All is well on that front. FINALLY. I pick up my dress on FRIDAY. TWENTY DAYS.
Oh, 20 days, like a 20-sided dice. Wow.
I'm a geek after all.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Random Thought of the Weekend
This weekend, I realized...
I've been a very quiet person when it comes to my "private" life. It became very apparent to me at my bridal shower this weekend when the most correct answers was 10/20 (not including my bridesmaids who threw the party and were ineligible to earn a prize). One of my family members suggested that I e-mail her weekly with something about me that she didn't already know. :)
So I wondered... What do people want to know about me? I mean, really...?
Here's your opportunity. Ask me a question, or two or three, that you'd like me to answer (I'm not going to answer anything too personal). I'll give it a week or so for all the questions... and then I'll post a response with all the answers.
Here's the answers to most of the questions I was asked this weekend, mainly at my 10 year high school reunion:
I'm not married (yet).
I don't have any kids.
I'm living in Portland.
I own a house.
I'm currently unemployed... but still looking.
Now it's your turn.
Ask away. :)
I've been a very quiet person when it comes to my "private" life. It became very apparent to me at my bridal shower this weekend when the most correct answers was 10/20 (not including my bridesmaids who threw the party and were ineligible to earn a prize). One of my family members suggested that I e-mail her weekly with something about me that she didn't already know. :)
So I wondered... What do people want to know about me? I mean, really...?
Here's your opportunity. Ask me a question, or two or three, that you'd like me to answer (I'm not going to answer anything too personal). I'll give it a week or so for all the questions... and then I'll post a response with all the answers.
Here's the answers to most of the questions I was asked this weekend, mainly at my 10 year high school reunion:
I'm not married (yet).
I don't have any kids.
I'm living in Portland.
I own a house.
I'm currently unemployed... but still looking.
Now it's your turn.
Ask away. :)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Bridal Shower Stress
For those of you reading this, either knowing my family or being a part of my family, I apologize in advance; but I need to get this off my chest.
Honestly, planning a bridal shower should NOT be stressful. In fact, it should be relatively easy, especially when a date has been set. When I threw my sister's bridal shower, we had a date, we had a place, and we had a time (about). Done. I bought some food and some decorations and Jenny and I set the thing up at my aunt's house one the day of. Done.
My original shower date was tentative, but it would be somewhere between November 6-8th. The reasoning behind that date was due to the fact that I would already be in town for a week filled with a birth, a birthday, and a baptism. Since I live in Portland and the shower would be in California, it would be ideal to have the shower while I was already planning on being in town. I want to have one bridal shower in California and one in Oregon. Done.
Granted, the timing of my original date wasn't the best, given the fact that my Matron of Honor (Jenny) is pregnant and due around the time I was planning my shower (Nov. 4th), but when the possibility of a cesarean surfaced, we all took a step back to ponder the situation. Some of us did more pondering than others, I think...
My mom, for example, decided that Jenny should not be on her feet, helping at the shower, no matter how she felt physically if we had my shower in November as planned. Even if Jen had the procedure done two weeks prior, my mom still did not feel comfortable asking Jenny to attend, let alone help out. She also did not want to burden Jenny with the task of driving wherever we may be with a newborn and possibly in pain, only to sit on an unfamiliar couch and have to breastfeed with strange people around. She also decided it was bad for the baby to be around all those people after just being born for such a long time. Basically, no matter what, Jenny should not be involved if we had a shower in November due to the newborn baby and possible cesarean.
My mom also thought in order to help with the amount of people around the newborn, I could have two showers; a family shower and a friend shower. That way, Jenny's baby is only around me, Jen, Shyleen, Megh, and Malia... My mom felt as though that would be best anyway since we've known each other for so long and for them to sit with my family (people they "don't know") would be uncomfortable for them.
When two of my bridesmaids were concerned that Jenny wouldn't be able to come and didn't want to exclude her, I decided it was best to proceed with caution and have the shower earlier as opposed to later (like, in December). They were also concerned with how busy my week in November was going to be, between helping Jen with the new baby and helping Shyleen with Colby's birthday/baptism extravaganza.
I was planning on being in town for our 10 year High School reunion on October 9th. My bought my plane tickets the other day; I fly in on October 8th and leave on October 12th. That gives me a weekend to do wedding related things... possibly the shower.
I consulted my bridesmaids and they all seemed okay with that idea, especially Saturday, October 10th. The two bridesmaids that stepped up to the plate to help out with planning/implementation were happy to hear of the date change. I talked it over with Jenny and she seemed happy (relieved, almost) that she would still be pregnant and able to help, if needed. I talked to my mom and she also liked that date. I told her I wanted an all-in-one bridal shower, family and friends, and she seemed okay with that as well, especially since there wouldn't be more than 20 people total (including children if they came). She was still a bit hesitant, but I told her that's how I wanted it; one big, happy bridal shower.
The last phone call ended sometime after 10pm last night... after a day full of phone calls and text messages regarding this whole ordeal.
Tonight, at 10pm, I get a phone call from my mom, informing me that my aunt has a "concert date" for the evening of October 10th. Basically, my mom was telling me that my aunt was not available on that date and that I needed to "reschedule;" either plan a family shower in November and keep the friend shower in October, or reschedule the all-in-one to another day. My initial thought: Too damn bad; this day works for everyone else and I'm not going to reschedule for one person, no matter how related we are.
My secondary thought: This is the same aunt, who, at my birthday dinner in June, left the restaurant while I was in the bathroom, without a word. When I came out of the bathroom, I asked where she was and my mom said she had gone home... and I didn't get the chance to thank her for my gift or give her a hug goodbye, since I hadn't seen her in a while. I love my aunt, don't get me wrong, but to leave a birthday dinner without telling the birthday girl goodbye... I think that's a little messed up. And now she can't come to my bridal shower because the concert is more important? But I digress.
My mom then proceeded to tell me that her former principal was planning her retirement party sometime in October and she was worried that it was on the 10th as well. She told me that both her and my aunt would be invited and therefore unable to attend my bridal shower, even if it was in the afternoon since the retirement party would most likely be in the afternoon as well. My mom then said it was probably best for me to plan a family party in November so that she and my aunt could be there with the other family members, since they may be uncomfortable around my friends without my mom and aunt there.
I told my mom that the idea of having a bridal shower was stressing me out and that this should NOT stress me out as much as it was at that moment. And I hung up. I couldn't take it anymore. Less than 24 hours after a date was settled, it was unsettled...
WHAT THE F*CK, PEOPLE?!!
This is FAMILY. Where are your priorities?
Not only that, but I am your DAUGHTER.
That, in my opinion, is FAR more important than your former principal. (Granted, this former principal is a *wonderful* woman, but I know she would understand... it's family.)
Don't worry; I will be calling my mom back tomorrow and letting her know that there will be ONE and only ONE bridal shower and that priorities need to be set. If I'm not a priority, fine; I can live with that, but I need to know where I stand.
My bridal shower WILL BE on October 10th in the afternoon. For those of you living in California who might be interested, let one of my California bridesmaids (Jenny, Malia, Megh, and Shyleen) know and they will hook you up with an invitation. For those of you in Portland who would like to attend my eventual bridal shower (date TBA), let my Portland bridesmaid (Felicia) know and she fill you in as soon as we decide on at date/time/etc.
Honestly, planning a bridal shower should NOT be stressful. In fact, it should be relatively easy, especially when a date has been set. When I threw my sister's bridal shower, we had a date, we had a place, and we had a time (about). Done. I bought some food and some decorations and Jenny and I set the thing up at my aunt's house one the day of. Done.
My original shower date was tentative, but it would be somewhere between November 6-8th. The reasoning behind that date was due to the fact that I would already be in town for a week filled with a birth, a birthday, and a baptism. Since I live in Portland and the shower would be in California, it would be ideal to have the shower while I was already planning on being in town. I want to have one bridal shower in California and one in Oregon. Done.
Granted, the timing of my original date wasn't the best, given the fact that my Matron of Honor (Jenny) is pregnant and due around the time I was planning my shower (Nov. 4th), but when the possibility of a cesarean surfaced, we all took a step back to ponder the situation. Some of us did more pondering than others, I think...
My mom, for example, decided that Jenny should not be on her feet, helping at the shower, no matter how she felt physically if we had my shower in November as planned. Even if Jen had the procedure done two weeks prior, my mom still did not feel comfortable asking Jenny to attend, let alone help out. She also did not want to burden Jenny with the task of driving wherever we may be with a newborn and possibly in pain, only to sit on an unfamiliar couch and have to breastfeed with strange people around. She also decided it was bad for the baby to be around all those people after just being born for such a long time. Basically, no matter what, Jenny should not be involved if we had a shower in November due to the newborn baby and possible cesarean.
My mom also thought in order to help with the amount of people around the newborn, I could have two showers; a family shower and a friend shower. That way, Jenny's baby is only around me, Jen, Shyleen, Megh, and Malia... My mom felt as though that would be best anyway since we've known each other for so long and for them to sit with my family (people they "don't know") would be uncomfortable for them.
When two of my bridesmaids were concerned that Jenny wouldn't be able to come and didn't want to exclude her, I decided it was best to proceed with caution and have the shower earlier as opposed to later (like, in December). They were also concerned with how busy my week in November was going to be, between helping Jen with the new baby and helping Shyleen with Colby's birthday/baptism extravaganza.
I was planning on being in town for our 10 year High School reunion on October 9th. My bought my plane tickets the other day; I fly in on October 8th and leave on October 12th. That gives me a weekend to do wedding related things... possibly the shower.
I consulted my bridesmaids and they all seemed okay with that idea, especially Saturday, October 10th. The two bridesmaids that stepped up to the plate to help out with planning/implementation were happy to hear of the date change. I talked it over with Jenny and she seemed happy (relieved, almost) that she would still be pregnant and able to help, if needed. I talked to my mom and she also liked that date. I told her I wanted an all-in-one bridal shower, family and friends, and she seemed okay with that as well, especially since there wouldn't be more than 20 people total (including children if they came). She was still a bit hesitant, but I told her that's how I wanted it; one big, happy bridal shower.
The last phone call ended sometime after 10pm last night... after a day full of phone calls and text messages regarding this whole ordeal.
Tonight, at 10pm, I get a phone call from my mom, informing me that my aunt has a "concert date" for the evening of October 10th. Basically, my mom was telling me that my aunt was not available on that date and that I needed to "reschedule;" either plan a family shower in November and keep the friend shower in October, or reschedule the all-in-one to another day. My initial thought: Too damn bad; this day works for everyone else and I'm not going to reschedule for one person, no matter how related we are.
My secondary thought: This is the same aunt, who, at my birthday dinner in June, left the restaurant while I was in the bathroom, without a word. When I came out of the bathroom, I asked where she was and my mom said she had gone home... and I didn't get the chance to thank her for my gift or give her a hug goodbye, since I hadn't seen her in a while. I love my aunt, don't get me wrong, but to leave a birthday dinner without telling the birthday girl goodbye... I think that's a little messed up. And now she can't come to my bridal shower because the concert is more important? But I digress.
My mom then proceeded to tell me that her former principal was planning her retirement party sometime in October and she was worried that it was on the 10th as well. She told me that both her and my aunt would be invited and therefore unable to attend my bridal shower, even if it was in the afternoon since the retirement party would most likely be in the afternoon as well. My mom then said it was probably best for me to plan a family party in November so that she and my aunt could be there with the other family members, since they may be uncomfortable around my friends without my mom and aunt there.
I told my mom that the idea of having a bridal shower was stressing me out and that this should NOT stress me out as much as it was at that moment. And I hung up. I couldn't take it anymore. Less than 24 hours after a date was settled, it was unsettled...
WHAT THE F*CK, PEOPLE?!!
This is FAMILY. Where are your priorities?
Not only that, but I am your DAUGHTER.
That, in my opinion, is FAR more important than your former principal. (Granted, this former principal is a *wonderful* woman, but I know she would understand... it's family.)
Don't worry; I will be calling my mom back tomorrow and letting her know that there will be ONE and only ONE bridal shower and that priorities need to be set. If I'm not a priority, fine; I can live with that, but I need to know where I stand.
My bridal shower WILL BE on October 10th in the afternoon. For those of you living in California who might be interested, let one of my California bridesmaids (Jenny, Malia, Megh, and Shyleen) know and they will hook you up with an invitation. For those of you in Portland who would like to attend my eventual bridal shower (date TBA), let my Portland bridesmaid (Felicia) know and she fill you in as soon as we decide on at date/time/etc.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Dinner!
The second Saturday of every month = Dinner at my place!
Which, by the way, I LOVE, because I get to cook yummy food and lots of it... enough to feed all of my hungry friends! Tonight, I made meatloaf, a turkey-loaf, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and garlic bread! For dessert, I made cupcakes... Confetti with Whipped Cream frosting, Yellow with Lemon frosting, and Chocolate with Chocolate frosting. And then...
I was so proud of my cupcake tower of tastiness. It looked great... until Yav ate one right from the front of the tower! haha!
If you're in Portland on the second Saturday of the month and you don't have any plans, you should swing by my house and see what's for dinner! I'd be glad to have you over!
... and if you enjoy a little RPG action, it seems as though Sam has added on a fascinating game of D&D after dinner. Fun for everyone! (Well, kinda...)
** October's dinner shall be postponed until Halloween... since I will be out of town for my 10 year high school reunion... hehe **
Which, by the way, I LOVE, because I get to cook yummy food and lots of it... enough to feed all of my hungry friends! Tonight, I made meatloaf, a turkey-loaf, garlic mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and garlic bread! For dessert, I made cupcakes... Confetti with Whipped Cream frosting, Yellow with Lemon frosting, and Chocolate with Chocolate frosting. And then...
I was so proud of my cupcake tower of tastiness. It looked great... until Yav ate one right from the front of the tower! haha!
If you're in Portland on the second Saturday of the month and you don't have any plans, you should swing by my house and see what's for dinner! I'd be glad to have you over!
... and if you enjoy a little RPG action, it seems as though Sam has added on a fascinating game of D&D after dinner. Fun for everyone! (Well, kinda...)
** October's dinner shall be postponed until Halloween... since I will be out of town for my 10 year high school reunion... hehe **
Saturday, August 01, 2009
Cake Topper Madness!
Alright everyone... The moment you've all been waiting for!
(Well, not really, but...)
We've narrowed it down to three options, in no particular order:
1. The Kiss
2. Infinite Love
3. Dancing Couple
Not that we're going to necessarily listen to your opinions when we make our final decision, I'm just curious as to which one you like!
(Well, not really, but...)
We've narrowed it down to three options, in no particular order:
1. The Kiss
2. Infinite Love
3. Dancing Couple
Not that we're going to necessarily listen to your opinions when we make our final decision, I'm just curious as to which one you like!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Random Thought of the Day
Note: This is not meant to offend anyone or rub you the wrong way; it is merely an observation.
As I approach the three year mark of me moving to Portland, I have realized one thing:
Only ONE person from California has come to visit me since I moved.
That one person was not a parent or family member.
I remember people complaining, worrying, and being afraid that I would never come back to California to visit... and I have... SEVERAL times. But has anyone, other than that one person, come to visit me? No. I have driven down to California, flown into LAX and Long Beach several times for different events and functions, but no one has returned the favor. Some have talked about coming up, but it never happened. Some have been close, but yet, understandably far enough away so they can't visit.
I only recently thought about it when the thought of getting pregnant and having a baby became more of a reality than a daydream. Would my parents actually, FINALLY, come up and visit me? Would my friends come up for the birth? Would I actually have someone other than X and Yav staying in the spare bedroom overnight?
I love visiting California and I love seeing and hanging out with my friends... but I would REALLY love to be able to show my California friends my house, my kitties, and have them meet my Portland friends! I just don't know when that's going to happen.
As I approach the three year mark of me moving to Portland, I have realized one thing:
Only ONE person from California has come to visit me since I moved.
That one person was not a parent or family member.
I remember people complaining, worrying, and being afraid that I would never come back to California to visit... and I have... SEVERAL times. But has anyone, other than that one person, come to visit me? No. I have driven down to California, flown into LAX and Long Beach several times for different events and functions, but no one has returned the favor. Some have talked about coming up, but it never happened. Some have been close, but yet, understandably far enough away so they can't visit.
I only recently thought about it when the thought of getting pregnant and having a baby became more of a reality than a daydream. Would my parents actually, FINALLY, come up and visit me? Would my friends come up for the birth? Would I actually have someone other than X and Yav staying in the spare bedroom overnight?
I love visiting California and I love seeing and hanging out with my friends... but I would REALLY love to be able to show my California friends my house, my kitties, and have them meet my Portland friends! I just don't know when that's going to happen.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Mathematics and YOU!
A lesson to all you boys and girls out there... Mathematics is a good thing to know! It will save you $50 in the long run... I promise!
My former employer sends me an e-mail, telling me that the $50.53 is supposed to come out of EVERY paycheck, and since this was my final paycheck, it was still a paycheck.
So I did the math and check this out:
I paid $50.53 every two weeks for my health insurance coverage, which comes out to $1313.78 a year. Per month, that comes out to $109.48. In January, February, March, April, and June, there were two pay periods and my total contributions came out to $101.06, which means I was short by $8.42 for those five months, which comes to a total of $42.10. In May, however, there were three pay periods in which I paid a total contribution of $151.59, which means I overpaid by $42.11.
If you take that overpayment in May and apply it to the underpayments for the other five months, I am paid in full for my health insurance for the year of 2009... all six months I was employed and paying.
Thanks for playing, stupid former employer... Now... PAY UP, SUCKA!
*evil grin*
My former employer sends me an e-mail, telling me that the $50.53 is supposed to come out of EVERY paycheck, and since this was my final paycheck, it was still a paycheck.
So I did the math and check this out:
I paid $50.53 every two weeks for my health insurance coverage, which comes out to $1313.78 a year. Per month, that comes out to $109.48. In January, February, March, April, and June, there were two pay periods and my total contributions came out to $101.06, which means I was short by $8.42 for those five months, which comes to a total of $42.10. In May, however, there were three pay periods in which I paid a total contribution of $151.59, which means I overpaid by $42.11.
If you take that overpayment in May and apply it to the underpayments for the other five months, I am paid in full for my health insurance for the year of 2009... all six months I was employed and paying.
Thanks for playing, stupid former employer... Now... PAY UP, SUCKA!
*evil grin*
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
The Office Blow-Out.
I am no longer employed. I have been officially unemployed since July 1, 2009. My boss fired me on the 30th of June, most likely saving her some cash and making it easier for her tax records. Nice, eh? Funny how my last blog post was on the day I was fired... yet, I've had so much more free time since then. HA!
Here's what's been happening:
June 19th:
She's driving me INSANE and overcharging patients and insurance companies. I put in my 6 week notice, as required by her office manual, due to my personal morals and ethics.
June 30th:
She fires me a week and a half later. She gave me NO alternatives; she watched me pack up my stuff and took my keys on the way out. No hug, no nothing. I send her an e-mail, telling her I want to work until my 6 weeks is complete OR she can give me a signed note, saying she terminated my employment before the end of my notice.
July 1st:
She replies that she will NOT be re-hiring me (at 10:30pm).
July 2nd:
I get my check IN THE MAIL 48 hours after she fires me. The check is short $30, by my calculations, but there is no pay stub included to show the math behind the final paycheck. I e-mail her, requesting the math.
July 6th:
I get the "stub" in the mail, showing that she deducted $50 for health insurance charges out of my final paycheck. I e-mail her, telling her I want my $50.
July 8th:
She replies that the $50 was my "final" June installment on my health insurance charges. I e-mail her, telling her I paid my two $50 installments in June, with the 12th and 26th paychecks.
I am just tired of this shit. By Oregon law, my boss was supposed to have my check ready to go within 24 hours of firing me, not in the mail. And to have my check SHORT by a certain a mount of money is ridiculous! At least get it right before you mail it out; don't come up with some lie that you've pulled out of your ass! I'm tired of sending e-mails and not getting replies. I don't think I should even have to send e-mails, but she won't return my calls and I know she'll get the e-mail if nothing else.
This is just petty, childish bullshit... and this is why I was planning on leaving before I originally intended. I was originally going to leave right before school started in September, but I couldn't put up with insurance fraud and being a bitch to me and Christy on a daily basis anymore; I don't know how or why Christy is still managing to work there... other than the fact that she got a nice raise once I left and complete control of the office.
I have been applying for jobs like crazy... Let's hope someone calls me back... or I don't know how the mortgage is going to get paid next month!
Here's what's been happening:
June 19th:
She's driving me INSANE and overcharging patients and insurance companies. I put in my 6 week notice, as required by her office manual, due to my personal morals and ethics.
June 30th:
She fires me a week and a half later. She gave me NO alternatives; she watched me pack up my stuff and took my keys on the way out. No hug, no nothing. I send her an e-mail, telling her I want to work until my 6 weeks is complete OR she can give me a signed note, saying she terminated my employment before the end of my notice.
July 1st:
She replies that she will NOT be re-hiring me (at 10:30pm).
July 2nd:
I get my check IN THE MAIL 48 hours after she fires me. The check is short $30, by my calculations, but there is no pay stub included to show the math behind the final paycheck. I e-mail her, requesting the math.
July 6th:
I get the "stub" in the mail, showing that she deducted $50 for health insurance charges out of my final paycheck. I e-mail her, telling her I want my $50.
July 8th:
She replies that the $50 was my "final" June installment on my health insurance charges. I e-mail her, telling her I paid my two $50 installments in June, with the 12th and 26th paychecks.
I am just tired of this shit. By Oregon law, my boss was supposed to have my check ready to go within 24 hours of firing me, not in the mail. And to have my check SHORT by a certain a mount of money is ridiculous! At least get it right before you mail it out; don't come up with some lie that you've pulled out of your ass! I'm tired of sending e-mails and not getting replies. I don't think I should even have to send e-mails, but she won't return my calls and I know she'll get the e-mail if nothing else.
This is just petty, childish bullshit... and this is why I was planning on leaving before I originally intended. I was originally going to leave right before school started in September, but I couldn't put up with insurance fraud and being a bitch to me and Christy on a daily basis anymore; I don't know how or why Christy is still managing to work there... other than the fact that she got a nice raise once I left and complete control of the office.
I have been applying for jobs like crazy... Let's hope someone calls me back... or I don't know how the mortgage is going to get paid next month!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Criticism.
As some of you know, I put in my "six week" notice to my current employer on June 19th, at the end of the day. I said I would be leaving within the six weeks... so if I was offered a job position during that waiting time, I would be able to leave when needed instead of waiting until the end of July to leave my current position. As it stands, I will be out of here on July 31st. I am looking forward to the end of July. As it stands, I have no current job offers, even though I've put my resume out there on numerous occasions. I'm optimistic, though. And if I still don't have a new job by the end of July, I can work with a staffing/temp. agency until September, when I can go back to substitute teaching. It's all part of my master plan... hehehehe....
Today, I decided to look back at the last 6 months in the appointment book and see why my boss was complaining about there being "lots of openings" in the schedule and "no full patient days," resulting in why I was scored so low on my annual review in April. As a reminder, I was given a 2 in scheduling out of a possible 5, meaning "needs improvement." (And somehow, my co-worker got a 5 out of 5 on scheduling on her recent review)
As I was looking through the schedule, I only counted openings of 3 spaces or more, since no appointment should be schedule for less than 30 minutes (30 minutes for acupuncture and 40 minutes for a visit). There were a few 10 and 20 minute openings here and there, but not too many. If there was a chunk of time, I split it into 30 and 40 minute appointments; I didn't count that as one opening. I was fair.
Here's what I got for the last six months:
January: 13 working days, 2 days full, 25 openings (some due to snow), and a total of 108 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
February: 12 working days, 6 days full, 10 openings (some due to snow), and a total of 113 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
March: 13 working days, 3 days full, 20 openings, and a total of 107 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
April: 13 working days, 6 days full, 11 openings, and a total of 117 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
May: 13 working days, 5 days full, 15 openings, and a total of 116 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
June: 13 working days, 6 days full, 8 openings, and a total of 128 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
My review was in the middle of April. I wonder if I would have gotten more of a raise if the review would have been done at the end of this month...? haha I'd just like to know where all the "openings" and "empty days" are.
Granted, there were a few days, looking back, that were absolutely horrible and empty, but, as another doctor put it, "That reflects poorly on the doctor, not on the staff."
When I went to my chiropractor a few weeks ago, he asked me, "Don't you hate it when people no show for their appointments?" (He knows I'm a receptionist) I agreed and said, "I feel bad for your receptionist." He asked why... I told him, "Doesn't it look poorly for her, seeing as how the schedule isn't full now?" And he replied, "No, it looks poorly on the patient- they are the one that didn't show up."
I wish *my* boss realized that.
I'm so glad I'm out at the end of July.
SO GLAD.
I will be a much happier, improved Dot.
It's a good thing.
Today, I decided to look back at the last 6 months in the appointment book and see why my boss was complaining about there being "lots of openings" in the schedule and "no full patient days," resulting in why I was scored so low on my annual review in April. As a reminder, I was given a 2 in scheduling out of a possible 5, meaning "needs improvement." (And somehow, my co-worker got a 5 out of 5 on scheduling on her recent review)
As I was looking through the schedule, I only counted openings of 3 spaces or more, since no appointment should be schedule for less than 30 minutes (30 minutes for acupuncture and 40 minutes for a visit). There were a few 10 and 20 minute openings here and there, but not too many. If there was a chunk of time, I split it into 30 and 40 minute appointments; I didn't count that as one opening. I was fair.
Here's what I got for the last six months:
January: 13 working days, 2 days full, 25 openings (some due to snow), and a total of 108 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
February: 12 working days, 6 days full, 10 openings (some due to snow), and a total of 113 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
March: 13 working days, 3 days full, 20 openings, and a total of 107 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
April: 13 working days, 6 days full, 11 openings, and a total of 117 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
May: 13 working days, 5 days full, 15 openings, and a total of 116 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
June: 13 working days, 6 days full, 8 openings, and a total of 128 patients seen/appointments scheduled.
My review was in the middle of April. I wonder if I would have gotten more of a raise if the review would have been done at the end of this month...? haha I'd just like to know where all the "openings" and "empty days" are.
Granted, there were a few days, looking back, that were absolutely horrible and empty, but, as another doctor put it, "That reflects poorly on the doctor, not on the staff."
When I went to my chiropractor a few weeks ago, he asked me, "Don't you hate it when people no show for their appointments?" (He knows I'm a receptionist) I agreed and said, "I feel bad for your receptionist." He asked why... I told him, "Doesn't it look poorly for her, seeing as how the schedule isn't full now?" And he replied, "No, it looks poorly on the patient- they are the one that didn't show up."
I wish *my* boss realized that.
I'm so glad I'm out at the end of July.
SO GLAD.
I will be a much happier, improved Dot.
It's a good thing.
Monday, June 22, 2009
At home...
So, here I am, sitting at home at 10am on a Monday morning.
I'm sure you're thinking, "Why aren't you at work, Sarah (Dot)?"
I'll tell you... My car is in the shop.
Yeah, gross.
On Friday, I drove home from work- no problems. On Saturday, I drove into Clackamas twice and then around town for a bit with a friend, running "errands." No problems with the car. On Sunday, I went to start the car and it had a hard time wanting to start. It was weird. I called my dad- he thought it might be the battery, since it's been a while since it was changed. I ran my errand and when I got in the car to start it up again, it had a VERY hard time starting up. I drove to Felicia's house and left it there and we ran a few more errands. When I tried to start it at her house to go home, it almost didn't want to start... it took a few times, but it finally did.
I got it home and Sam took a look at it. We thought it was the battery, but took it to AutoZone and they said it was the alternator. Apparently, the alternator is hard to get to on my car... so Sam and I took it to a shop this morning. The guy called me no more than 30 minutes after we dropped it off- "It's not the alternator."
Yeah, it's the battery.
Way to go AutoZone.
Long story short... I'm on my way to pick up my car to park it in front of the house, waiting for Sam to get home so we can buy a battery and he can install it for way less than a shop. Exciting.
Anyone want to come over and craft wedding invitations with me?? :) haha
I'm sure you're thinking, "Why aren't you at work, Sarah (Dot)?"
I'll tell you... My car is in the shop.
Yeah, gross.
On Friday, I drove home from work- no problems. On Saturday, I drove into Clackamas twice and then around town for a bit with a friend, running "errands." No problems with the car. On Sunday, I went to start the car and it had a hard time wanting to start. It was weird. I called my dad- he thought it might be the battery, since it's been a while since it was changed. I ran my errand and when I got in the car to start it up again, it had a VERY hard time starting up. I drove to Felicia's house and left it there and we ran a few more errands. When I tried to start it at her house to go home, it almost didn't want to start... it took a few times, but it finally did.
I got it home and Sam took a look at it. We thought it was the battery, but took it to AutoZone and they said it was the alternator. Apparently, the alternator is hard to get to on my car... so Sam and I took it to a shop this morning. The guy called me no more than 30 minutes after we dropped it off- "It's not the alternator."
Yeah, it's the battery.
Way to go AutoZone.
Long story short... I'm on my way to pick up my car to park it in front of the house, waiting for Sam to get home so we can buy a battery and he can install it for way less than a shop. Exciting.
Anyone want to come over and craft wedding invitations with me?? :) haha
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
My Work Ethic
I know, I always complain about where I work... and I know you're probably thinking I should just cut my losses and quit, and believe me when I say I'm seriously thinking about typing up my notice today, but I need to get this off my chest/conscious first.
First, a break down of my doctor's cash rates:
New Patient = $235
10 min = $64
20 min = $80
30 min = $96
40 min = $135
50 min = $185
"extended service code" = $144 (basically anything that runs over the first 50 minutes)
Now, the story:
About a month or two ago, we had a new patient come into the office who lives in another state. She is the mother of a good friend of my doctor. This woman came into our office and unfortunately did not have insurance coverage for her visits, so she agreed to pay cash. The lady came in twice before she had to go back home; both visits were a little longer than our usual visit time and the lady was charged accordingly.
Her first visit was $235, the usual charge, but then $50 worth of in-house lab fees on top of it. Total: $285
Her second visit was $285, which includes a $44 discount off of the extended service code, but had an additional $71 in pharmacy, $30 of in-house lab fees, and a (refundable) $10 thermometer. Total: $396
Her third visit is the one I'm having a personal issue with. And so did the patient when she saw her bill.
For her third visit, my doctor called her (which is "cash" anyway, since insurance won't cover phone consults, regardless) and talked to her for 40 minutes. At the end of that time, my doctor asked if it was ok for her to call the patient back after she was done with the next patient (who was waiting). The patient agreed; my doctor called her back for another 25 minutes. The total time of 65 minutes is documented in both the chart as well as on the patient's personal notes about the visit. The patient got charged $329 for the visit, $25 for a nutritional evaluation, $30 for another in-house lab, and $293 in pharmacy purchases. Total: $692, after her $10 thermometer refund and $25 in shipping charges to mail the pharmacy items to her home.
Wow, this patient must be rich by the way she's spending all this cash at our clinic, right?! WRONG.
The patient called on Monday, asking if I would re-check the bill I sent her for her most recent visit. She was concerned about the $354 charge for her office visit alone (about half of her total charges). I looked it over and checked her chart and realized something wasn't right. In the patient chart, there is a documentation for the initial call of 40 min, then the call back of 25 minutes, then a random 30 minutes, 10 minutes and then it says: "Write up = 10 min." at the end of the chart notes with a total below of 95 minutes... which, if you actually add up would equal 115 minutes in total.
I asked my doctor if there was any way we could reduce her fees and my doctor informed me that the phone consult from start to finish was 95 minutes- so what ISN'T documented is the additional "30 minutes" worth of time that my doctor is claiming to have spent writing chart notes, patient instructions, etc. after the phone call ended. Either way, I'm expected to relay this information to the patient and have everything be OK enough for the patient to actually want to schedule another phone consult with my doctor.
So, I call the patient back and explain our fees to her and let her know that the charge for up to 50 min = $185, but since she went over by 15 minutes, that's why there was an extended service fee of $144. The patient understood, since she had noted a call time of 65 minutes, but asked if my doctor could reduce the fee, since it was only 15 minutes over. When my doctor got that note, she was puzzled; my doctor had told me to explain to the patient that she was being charged for an additional 30 minutes worth of paperwork, chart notes, and other documentation at the end of the phone call. I told my doctor that I had a hard time explaining that to the patient and my doctor told me to say exactly what was on the note, word for word, so the patient would understand better. I said ok and just went on with my business.
So, here's my concern:
1. Wouldn't you expect chart notes/documentation to be "included" in your doctor's fees?
2. In the chart, it says 10 minutes for write-up... not 30 minutes. Even then, you shouldn't charge the patient because you write slow!
3. I should NOT have to be stuck in the middle of my doctor's greed.
I need to go to lunch before my head explodes. I'll write more later.
First, a break down of my doctor's cash rates:
New Patient = $235
10 min = $64
20 min = $80
30 min = $96
40 min = $135
50 min = $185
"extended service code" = $144 (basically anything that runs over the first 50 minutes)
Now, the story:
About a month or two ago, we had a new patient come into the office who lives in another state. She is the mother of a good friend of my doctor. This woman came into our office and unfortunately did not have insurance coverage for her visits, so she agreed to pay cash. The lady came in twice before she had to go back home; both visits were a little longer than our usual visit time and the lady was charged accordingly.
Her first visit was $235, the usual charge, but then $50 worth of in-house lab fees on top of it. Total: $285
Her second visit was $285, which includes a $44 discount off of the extended service code, but had an additional $71 in pharmacy, $30 of in-house lab fees, and a (refundable) $10 thermometer. Total: $396
Her third visit is the one I'm having a personal issue with. And so did the patient when she saw her bill.
For her third visit, my doctor called her (which is "cash" anyway, since insurance won't cover phone consults, regardless) and talked to her for 40 minutes. At the end of that time, my doctor asked if it was ok for her to call the patient back after she was done with the next patient (who was waiting). The patient agreed; my doctor called her back for another 25 minutes. The total time of 65 minutes is documented in both the chart as well as on the patient's personal notes about the visit. The patient got charged $329 for the visit, $25 for a nutritional evaluation, $30 for another in-house lab, and $293 in pharmacy purchases. Total: $692, after her $10 thermometer refund and $25 in shipping charges to mail the pharmacy items to her home.
Wow, this patient must be rich by the way she's spending all this cash at our clinic, right?! WRONG.
The patient called on Monday, asking if I would re-check the bill I sent her for her most recent visit. She was concerned about the $354 charge for her office visit alone (about half of her total charges). I looked it over and checked her chart and realized something wasn't right. In the patient chart, there is a documentation for the initial call of 40 min, then the call back of 25 minutes, then a random 30 minutes, 10 minutes and then it says: "Write up = 10 min." at the end of the chart notes with a total below of 95 minutes... which, if you actually add up would equal 115 minutes in total.
I asked my doctor if there was any way we could reduce her fees and my doctor informed me that the phone consult from start to finish was 95 minutes- so what ISN'T documented is the additional "30 minutes" worth of time that my doctor is claiming to have spent writing chart notes, patient instructions, etc. after the phone call ended. Either way, I'm expected to relay this information to the patient and have everything be OK enough for the patient to actually want to schedule another phone consult with my doctor.
So, I call the patient back and explain our fees to her and let her know that the charge for up to 50 min = $185, but since she went over by 15 minutes, that's why there was an extended service fee of $144. The patient understood, since she had noted a call time of 65 minutes, but asked if my doctor could reduce the fee, since it was only 15 minutes over. When my doctor got that note, she was puzzled; my doctor had told me to explain to the patient that she was being charged for an additional 30 minutes worth of paperwork, chart notes, and other documentation at the end of the phone call. I told my doctor that I had a hard time explaining that to the patient and my doctor told me to say exactly what was on the note, word for word, so the patient would understand better. I said ok and just went on with my business.
So, here's my concern:
1. Wouldn't you expect chart notes/documentation to be "included" in your doctor's fees?
2. In the chart, it says 10 minutes for write-up... not 30 minutes. Even then, you shouldn't charge the patient because you write slow!
3. I should NOT have to be stuck in the middle of my doctor's greed.
I need to go to lunch before my head explodes. I'll write more later.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Pill Poppin' Dot!
My doctor has me on the following pills... I know, because I refilled my pill box today, in order to "restart" my pill poppin' badness on Sunday:
Multivitamin 3/day
Fish Oil 2/day
Calcium 2/AM
ProEnt2 2/AM & 2/NOON (but I'm slowly working my way up to that dose)
Florastor/DigestaGuard 1/day
Feverfew 1/day (self-prescribed for headaches)
Biotin 1/day (recommended by my Kaiser doc from a LONG time ago)
And then at bedtime:
Calcium 2/PM
Seriphos 2/PM
In total, that's 18 pills a day, once I'm at my full dose of ProEnt2.
Damn.
That's a LOT of pills.
Then again, I could be on her amino acid dosing schedule, which calls for a MINIMUM of 14 pills a day. It only goes up from there. I'm grateful I'm not doing that, not only because it's over $150/month, but because I don't want to take all of those PLUS what I'm taking now! haha
Wish me luck!
Multivitamin 3/day
Fish Oil 2/day
Calcium 2/AM
ProEnt2 2/AM & 2/NOON (but I'm slowly working my way up to that dose)
Florastor/DigestaGuard 1/day
Feverfew 1/day (self-prescribed for headaches)
Biotin 1/day (recommended by my Kaiser doc from a LONG time ago)
And then at bedtime:
Calcium 2/PM
Seriphos 2/PM
In total, that's 18 pills a day, once I'm at my full dose of ProEnt2.
Damn.
That's a LOT of pills.
Then again, I could be on her amino acid dosing schedule, which calls for a MINIMUM of 14 pills a day. It only goes up from there. I'm grateful I'm not doing that, not only because it's over $150/month, but because I don't want to take all of those PLUS what I'm taking now! haha
Wish me luck!
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Napa Family
I'm on my cell phone... posting a blog... on vacation. How pathetic am I right now? lol
So here's the scoop: Sam and I left work early and drove down to Napa on Friday afternoon. We left at 3pm and arrived in Napa at 2am. His mom was already annoying him... and the dog was already whining and freaking out. The next morning, we got up and started driving around Napa. We ran a few errands and then went to Jackie's house, the girlfriend of Sam's Uncle Mark. At dinner, Sam's mom called him to her seat and told him to announce the good news. I was mortified! First of all, it's not her good news and we should decide when and how we want to tell people.
After dinner, we had cake. Justin, Sam's cousin, and his wife had a present for Grandma and Grandpa Henderson's anniversary. And the gift... a picture of the two of them in a cheesy, corn-ball pose. /gag How conceited can you get? The wife, Christina, then proceeded to tell me that they wanted to share a hobby so they took a community college course in photography. They have two super expensive digital cameras and a "special" computer program so they can edit their photos. And no, it's not Photoshop. Those two made me sick.
We're leaving this afternoon and hitting up In-N-Out on the way home for Felicia and Andrew... and us. haha
My favorite thing of the weekend: Sam's mom wants my cell phone number. I'm going to try NOT to give it to her... I'm hoping we can leave without her remembering. haha She's so annoying...!
So here's the scoop: Sam and I left work early and drove down to Napa on Friday afternoon. We left at 3pm and arrived in Napa at 2am. His mom was already annoying him... and the dog was already whining and freaking out. The next morning, we got up and started driving around Napa. We ran a few errands and then went to Jackie's house, the girlfriend of Sam's Uncle Mark. At dinner, Sam's mom called him to her seat and told him to announce the good news. I was mortified! First of all, it's not her good news and we should decide when and how we want to tell people.
After dinner, we had cake. Justin, Sam's cousin, and his wife had a present for Grandma and Grandpa Henderson's anniversary. And the gift... a picture of the two of them in a cheesy, corn-ball pose. /gag How conceited can you get? The wife, Christina, then proceeded to tell me that they wanted to share a hobby so they took a community college course in photography. They have two super expensive digital cameras and a "special" computer program so they can edit their photos. And no, it's not Photoshop. Those two made me sick.
We're leaving this afternoon and hitting up In-N-Out on the way home for Felicia and Andrew... and us. haha
My favorite thing of the weekend: Sam's mom wants my cell phone number. I'm going to try NOT to give it to her... I'm hoping we can leave without her remembering. haha She's so annoying...!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Work...
Work has hit yet another all-time low today. I didn't think it was possible, but I guess it was.
Now, not only do I have to write down EVERYTHING, including all patient contact, patient emotions/moods, and casual patient conversations, I apparently have to write down WHAT I SAY as well. How retarded is that?! I mean, really... should I buy a mini tape recorder and keep it under my desk and then transcribe everything I said at the end of the day? Will that work? Does she really want to know what I say/don't say to the patients that call me up on the phone?
I've had it. I'm done.
Here's what I plan on saying to Peggy at the end of today:
I will not continue to work under these conditions. When you hired me, did you trust that you made a good decision and that I would do a good job? If so, then PLEASE trust me to do my job. I’m not incompetent; but yet, you always make me feel as such and that is not the way I would like to feel on a daily basis. If you trust your own judgment in hiring me, then you need to demonstrate that by letting me do the job.
If you don’t trust me to be able to do the job without these babysitting tactics, then you should not have hired me. I am under no obligation to accept these conditions, so if the conditions aren’t going to change, then your only choice is to find someone that is willing to tolerate them.
Hopefully, I will find another job soon.
Now, not only do I have to write down EVERYTHING, including all patient contact, patient emotions/moods, and casual patient conversations, I apparently have to write down WHAT I SAY as well. How retarded is that?! I mean, really... should I buy a mini tape recorder and keep it under my desk and then transcribe everything I said at the end of the day? Will that work? Does she really want to know what I say/don't say to the patients that call me up on the phone?
I've had it. I'm done.
Here's what I plan on saying to Peggy at the end of today:
I will not continue to work under these conditions. When you hired me, did you trust that you made a good decision and that I would do a good job? If so, then PLEASE trust me to do my job. I’m not incompetent; but yet, you always make me feel as such and that is not the way I would like to feel on a daily basis. If you trust your own judgment in hiring me, then you need to demonstrate that by letting me do the job.
If you don’t trust me to be able to do the job without these babysitting tactics, then you should not have hired me. I am under no obligation to accept these conditions, so if the conditions aren’t going to change, then your only choice is to find someone that is willing to tolerate them.
Hopefully, I will find another job soon.
Wedding Venue Set!
I have finally decided on the wedding venue:
The Grand in Long Beach, CA!
I'm so excited! :)
This room has a private patio outside that connects to the wedding "tent!" That's so awesome! I can't wait!
Bridesmaid dresses have also been decided on, even though two of them aren't too sure about this dress. Funny thing, though, my cousin Emily taught me a mantra... *It's MY wedding.* She tells me to say it over and over, especially when someone doesn't like one of my ideas/decisions. haha Here's the dress:
I like it... and three of my bridesmaids like it, too. Jackets optional, but it might be a good idea, seeing as how I'm having an evening wedding on the 2nd of January. :)
The Grand in Long Beach, CA!
I'm so excited! :)
This room has a private patio outside that connects to the wedding "tent!" That's so awesome! I can't wait!
Bridesmaid dresses have also been decided on, even though two of them aren't too sure about this dress. Funny thing, though, my cousin Emily taught me a mantra... *It's MY wedding.* She tells me to say it over and over, especially when someone doesn't like one of my ideas/decisions. haha Here's the dress:
I like it... and three of my bridesmaids like it, too. Jackets optional, but it might be a good idea, seeing as how I'm having an evening wedding on the 2nd of January. :)
Wouldn't you like a homemade gift? :)
So... Shyleen posted this earlier this month and then Meghan and Malia posted it as well. Since I was the first person to respond to Shyleen's post way back when, I figured I should post this on my blog, as well. haha I'm a slacker, I know.
The first 3 people to comment here (on my BLOG, not Facebook) will get a hand/homemade gift from me. I don't know what it will be yet but it will be good! :) The catch? You have to comment here first, and then you HAVE to post this back on YOUR blog.
It'll be fun!
Besides, knowing me, it's most likely going to be edible. LOL
The first 3 people to comment here (on my BLOG, not Facebook) will get a hand/homemade gift from me. I don't know what it will be yet but it will be good! :) The catch? You have to comment here first, and then you HAVE to post this back on YOUR blog.
It'll be fun!
Besides, knowing me, it's most likely going to be edible. LOL
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wedding Update!
I went down to Southern CA this weekend (April 18-20) and I looked at a few places.
El Dorado Events Center: $6,800 out the door, including ceremony
Nice, but the wedding "spot" was on the grass within eyesight of the tent. No flowers, no pretty colors, just grass and a tree. Oh, and another tent to the side (where they store the wedding arch/gazebo).
Long Beach Petroleum Club: $5,300 out the door, including ceremony
I loved the inside (it's an indoor venue), but the wedding "spot" was a cement slab next to a pool outside. Not attractive to the eye. I'm just not a fan of boring cement slabs for a wedding location. haha
Queen Mary:
Let's just say there was an $8,000 MINIMUM on FOOD alone. It's out. lol
As we (Jenny, Malia, my mom, and I) were driving to El Dorado, Jenny pointed out The Grand, on Willow in Long Beach. I *totally* forgot about that place. I looked online when I got home that night and found that their prices are similar to that of El Dorado; they're managed by the same company. I think I'll send my parents that way this week and see what they think. If all is well, I'll see about booking the venue. They have an outside wedding "spot," but it has a tent over in (in case it rains) and there's inside places for receptions. I think it's the best idea yet... and Jenny had it! :) Yay for Jenny! Food would be beef for all, unless you'd like a vegetarian plate. Everything that the El Dorado includes, so does The Grand. It's awesome.
I'm coming down again in June... June 5th to be exact, unless I have another job by that time. Our friends have a gig at THE ROXY!! YAY! Anyone and everyone interested is more than welcome to come and see them live! :)
Again, you'll know more when I know more when it comes to the wedding. :)
El Dorado Events Center: $6,800 out the door, including ceremony
Nice, but the wedding "spot" was on the grass within eyesight of the tent. No flowers, no pretty colors, just grass and a tree. Oh, and another tent to the side (where they store the wedding arch/gazebo).
Long Beach Petroleum Club: $5,300 out the door, including ceremony
I loved the inside (it's an indoor venue), but the wedding "spot" was a cement slab next to a pool outside. Not attractive to the eye. I'm just not a fan of boring cement slabs for a wedding location. haha
Queen Mary:
Let's just say there was an $8,000 MINIMUM on FOOD alone. It's out. lol
As we (Jenny, Malia, my mom, and I) were driving to El Dorado, Jenny pointed out The Grand, on Willow in Long Beach. I *totally* forgot about that place. I looked online when I got home that night and found that their prices are similar to that of El Dorado; they're managed by the same company. I think I'll send my parents that way this week and see what they think. If all is well, I'll see about booking the venue. They have an outside wedding "spot," but it has a tent over in (in case it rains) and there's inside places for receptions. I think it's the best idea yet... and Jenny had it! :) Yay for Jenny! Food would be beef for all, unless you'd like a vegetarian plate. Everything that the El Dorado includes, so does The Grand. It's awesome.
I'm coming down again in June... June 5th to be exact, unless I have another job by that time. Our friends have a gig at THE ROXY!! YAY! Anyone and everyone interested is more than welcome to come and see them live! :)
Again, you'll know more when I know more when it comes to the wedding. :)
The Joy of Work...!
Times like these make me want to force Sam's boss into retirement... so his son's take over the business and give Sam a promotion and a BIG raise to go along with it. :) This means I can stay home and not have to worry about working unless I want to. But I'm a dreamer. And when there's tension at my office, I dream about that a lot.
On March 27th, Peggy had an interviewee do a "working interview." At the end of the day, Peggy pretty much hired her on as out part-time medical assistant. By the end of the following week, this girl was doing more than just being the medical assistant; she was printing out billing reports and figuring out patient balances and other billing things. I told her I wouldn't be surprised if Peggy fired our current biller and hired this girl on full time.
On April 9th, we had our first "official" office meeting. No talk of feelings this time, thank goodness. :) However, several of the things Peggy brought up really bothered me... to the point of wanting to walk out on my job and that's never a good thing. Peggy wasn't willing to compromise on anything. She didn't care what I had to day; everything had to be her way or the highway. I was getting ready to choose the highway, personally... Peggy's stance was this: "It's worked for me the last 20 years. I shouldn't have to change anything now. It's always worked in the past. The only thing that's different is the staff." I was under the impression that everything that was going wrong in the office was my fault; I wasn't reading the scripts, prompts, and dialogues correctly or at all, I wasn't scheduling people correctly, I wasn't making necessary call backs to patients, I wasn't collecting copayments and past due balances at the time of service, etc... you get the point. But at the same time, that was TWENTY (20) YEARS AGO. That's one heck of a long time ago... I was only 7 years old at the time. That's insane. Step up your game and get with the times! But Peggy wanted nothing to do with that; in fact, she even said she didn't want a website, since that's not how she looks for a provider. Funny thing though, that's how all of us here in the office look for one and when we told her that, she didn't seem to give a crap.
After Thursday's train wreck of an office meeting, I was feeling pretty low on Friday. Of course, there were patients to help cheer me up and the new girl, Christy, did her best as well, but nothing really seemed to help. Over the weekend, we had friends over for "Easter" and that really seemed to help. I got to cook out my anger and aggression and eat away at my emotions. haha!
Over the last two weeks, it just seems like things haven't improved since the meeting. To be honest, it seems like things have almost gotten worse. I have so much built up anger and resentment towards Peggy- it's not healthy. The things she says and does on a day to day basis are just another aggravation. My stress levels are going through the roof and my patience with Peggy is almost non-existent. I love her busy days because I hardly have any contact with her; it's great. Peggy's been asking me to do ridiculous tasks that are stupid and time consuming. Sure, it's brainless work, but if I wanted that, I would still be working at Target.
On another note, the biller (the other Sarah) was fired last week and the new girl (Christy) was promoted to full time salaried status with a starting pay of 50 cents less than what I currently make (which is after 2 "raises"). Christy claims she knows all about our billing program and she has said she will clean up our billing concerns within a day. She's been the biller for the last week and I haven't seen any billing clean-up going on. I watched her post claims last week and I noticed it took her 2x as long as it used to take Sarah to do. I just don't get it. Oddly enough, Sarah has reported back to me that Peggy did not check Christy's references. Somehow, Sarah got a hold of Christy's former employer and asked if she would hire Christy again. That doctor said, "No." It's weird how Peggy is insistent upon references and telling interviewees that she will be calling references, but yet, Peggy didn't call on Christy. Weird.
Tomorrow is office meeting #2. It's a follow-up on our previous meeting as well as discussing new topics... especially the topics we didn't get a chance to talk about at our previous meeting, since Peggy hogged the floor and took up over an hour and a half talking about what she wanted to talk about. Oh, yes, this should be a fun meeting. I have such high hopes for this meeting. I have already typed up an agenda and given it to Peggy; I'm almost positive that she won't want to touch on topics that she hasn't "completed" since the last meeting, but she'll want to stir up shit if the office hasn't done their part. Funny thing is, we HAVE done our part. She hasn't. Fun fun.
Today is Administrative Assistant/Secretary's Day. Do I think I'll get any appreciation for what I do? Nope, probably not. I'm willing to take a bet, even. I have a feeling that, if anything, I'll get told "Thank you for all you do," and that will be the end of it. No flowers, no card, not even a $5 gift card. It's just bullshit, I say, bullshit.
I'm currently looking for another job; I'm applying like crazy and getting no response. I don't want these other places to call Peggy, since I'm not telling her I'm looking for another job. When I give her my notice, then she'll know I'm looking... and that I most likely have one. If I don't have anything before August, I'm putting in my notice and going back to substitute teaching. At least bratty kids aren't as bad as a bitchy, menopausal boss. :)
And on that note...
Back to my non-working state.
On March 27th, Peggy had an interviewee do a "working interview." At the end of the day, Peggy pretty much hired her on as out part-time medical assistant. By the end of the following week, this girl was doing more than just being the medical assistant; she was printing out billing reports and figuring out patient balances and other billing things. I told her I wouldn't be surprised if Peggy fired our current biller and hired this girl on full time.
On April 9th, we had our first "official" office meeting. No talk of feelings this time, thank goodness. :) However, several of the things Peggy brought up really bothered me... to the point of wanting to walk out on my job and that's never a good thing. Peggy wasn't willing to compromise on anything. She didn't care what I had to day; everything had to be her way or the highway. I was getting ready to choose the highway, personally... Peggy's stance was this: "It's worked for me the last 20 years. I shouldn't have to change anything now. It's always worked in the past. The only thing that's different is the staff." I was under the impression that everything that was going wrong in the office was my fault; I wasn't reading the scripts, prompts, and dialogues correctly or at all, I wasn't scheduling people correctly, I wasn't making necessary call backs to patients, I wasn't collecting copayments and past due balances at the time of service, etc... you get the point. But at the same time, that was TWENTY (20) YEARS AGO. That's one heck of a long time ago... I was only 7 years old at the time. That's insane. Step up your game and get with the times! But Peggy wanted nothing to do with that; in fact, she even said she didn't want a website, since that's not how she looks for a provider. Funny thing though, that's how all of us here in the office look for one and when we told her that, she didn't seem to give a crap.
After Thursday's train wreck of an office meeting, I was feeling pretty low on Friday. Of course, there were patients to help cheer me up and the new girl, Christy, did her best as well, but nothing really seemed to help. Over the weekend, we had friends over for "Easter" and that really seemed to help. I got to cook out my anger and aggression and eat away at my emotions. haha!
Over the last two weeks, it just seems like things haven't improved since the meeting. To be honest, it seems like things have almost gotten worse. I have so much built up anger and resentment towards Peggy- it's not healthy. The things she says and does on a day to day basis are just another aggravation. My stress levels are going through the roof and my patience with Peggy is almost non-existent. I love her busy days because I hardly have any contact with her; it's great. Peggy's been asking me to do ridiculous tasks that are stupid and time consuming. Sure, it's brainless work, but if I wanted that, I would still be working at Target.
On another note, the biller (the other Sarah) was fired last week and the new girl (Christy) was promoted to full time salaried status with a starting pay of 50 cents less than what I currently make (which is after 2 "raises"). Christy claims she knows all about our billing program and she has said she will clean up our billing concerns within a day. She's been the biller for the last week and I haven't seen any billing clean-up going on. I watched her post claims last week and I noticed it took her 2x as long as it used to take Sarah to do. I just don't get it. Oddly enough, Sarah has reported back to me that Peggy did not check Christy's references. Somehow, Sarah got a hold of Christy's former employer and asked if she would hire Christy again. That doctor said, "No." It's weird how Peggy is insistent upon references and telling interviewees that she will be calling references, but yet, Peggy didn't call on Christy. Weird.
Tomorrow is office meeting #2. It's a follow-up on our previous meeting as well as discussing new topics... especially the topics we didn't get a chance to talk about at our previous meeting, since Peggy hogged the floor and took up over an hour and a half talking about what she wanted to talk about. Oh, yes, this should be a fun meeting. I have such high hopes for this meeting. I have already typed up an agenda and given it to Peggy; I'm almost positive that she won't want to touch on topics that she hasn't "completed" since the last meeting, but she'll want to stir up shit if the office hasn't done their part. Funny thing is, we HAVE done our part. She hasn't. Fun fun.
Today is Administrative Assistant/Secretary's Day. Do I think I'll get any appreciation for what I do? Nope, probably not. I'm willing to take a bet, even. I have a feeling that, if anything, I'll get told "Thank you for all you do," and that will be the end of it. No flowers, no card, not even a $5 gift card. It's just bullshit, I say, bullshit.
I'm currently looking for another job; I'm applying like crazy and getting no response. I don't want these other places to call Peggy, since I'm not telling her I'm looking for another job. When I give her my notice, then she'll know I'm looking... and that I most likely have one. If I don't have anything before August, I'm putting in my notice and going back to substitute teaching. At least bratty kids aren't as bad as a bitchy, menopausal boss. :)
And on that note...
Back to my non-working state.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Can't sleep...?
Sleep? What's sleep?
Oh, you mean that stuff you're supposed to get about 8 hours of a night? Yeah.
I wish.
Last night's topics to ponder when I should have been sleeping:
Oh, crap! Did I pay all of my bills last month?
Crap! I have to pay April's bills soon.
I need to turn in my taxes- do I have enough money to cover what I owe?
Did Sam pay the mortgage last month? I think so...?
As you can see, money is apparently a stressor for me. Yay.
But isn't it for everyone? I just want to get rid of ALL my bills and only have to worry about the mortgage. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. :(
I just need some rich relative to die and leave me hundreds of thousands of dollars... even just $100,000... so I can pay off all my cards and a chunk of the house. That would be awesome... but I have no rich relatives. LOL
Oh, you mean that stuff you're supposed to get about 8 hours of a night? Yeah.
I wish.
Last night's topics to ponder when I should have been sleeping:
Oh, crap! Did I pay all of my bills last month?
Crap! I have to pay April's bills soon.
I need to turn in my taxes- do I have enough money to cover what I owe?
Did Sam pay the mortgage last month? I think so...?
As you can see, money is apparently a stressor for me. Yay.
But isn't it for everyone? I just want to get rid of ALL my bills and only have to worry about the mortgage. But I don't see that happening anytime soon. :(
I just need some rich relative to die and leave me hundreds of thousands of dollars... even just $100,000... so I can pay off all my cards and a chunk of the house. That would be awesome... but I have no rich relatives. LOL
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
"Interactive" Wedding Plans
Basically, as I figure things out, you'll know, too.
Or, as I pick and choose, you'll know what I'm deciding between.
It's a way for me to get all my thoughts down somewhere "solid," even if it's not on actual paper... yet.
Possible Wedding Locations:
El Dorado Park ($5,000)
Includes:
- Gazebo/Wedding Arch/Aisle Runner
- Cake & Cutting/Serving
- Complimentary Champagne & Cider Toasts
- Linens & Dance Floor
- Inclusive &/or Custom Bar Service
- Venue Space for min. 4-5 hours
- Dinner served
- Complimentary Entrée for the Bride and Groom
- China, Flatware, and Glassware
- Skirted Head Table or Sweetheart Table
- Personalized Tiered Wedding Cake
- Customized Room Set Up
- Complimentary Guest Parking
Not Included:
- Groom’s Room (no big deal, right? haha)
- Photographer (Megh has connections)
- Decorations (Do I really need them? haha)
- Clergy (Blah)
- Music: No DJ Equipment at all. Not even speakers for my iPod.
On the Plus:
Most things included!
Ceremony + Reception = Cheaper!
On the Minus:
Reception *might* be outside in a tent.
Skylinks at Long Beach (No online quotes)
Included:
Not Included:
On the Plus:
Indoor reception area
Ceremony and Reception on site
On the Minus:
I looked up CSU, Long Beach's Japanese Garden for a possible wedding site... but it would only be for the ceremony and it would only be available for 2 hours total for $2,400. No thanks. As beautiful as it is, it's too expensive, even as an alumni.
My Dress:
David's Bridal Version
Alfred Angelo Version
Bridesmaid Dress:
Retro "Pinup" Dress
Strappy Fun Dress (Alfred Angelo)
More "Traditional" Dress (David's Bridal Mix & Match)
Or... There's always David's Bridal Mix & Match where everyone gets something they like (and look fabulous in), as long as it's Clover Green with Black accents!
Flower Girl:
I'd like Cassidy (Sam's Goddaughter) to be our flower girl. If that happens, here is her dress! It fits her personality perfectly!
Ring Bearer:
I'd like to request Colby for this position. :)
Generic "tux" or suit with a green tie.
Photographer:
Yet to be decided.
Music:
On the RSVP cards, you'll be asked to name ONE song (maybe two if you're a couple) you'd like to hear at the wedding. I'll download that onto my iPod and off we go. I'm thinking about an actual DJ though, so we can have a sound system and someone to announce things, like toasts or cake cutting.
Invitations:
My friend Whitney said she can make them! Yay!
I'm also looking into an online website that specializes in wedding stationary.
Honeymoon:
HAHAHAHA! We're going back home to Oregon! We'll travel to Ireland, Scotland, and England another time. But it is going to happen one day. :)
Anything else I missed?
I'm loving all the extra and added help from all of you!
Thank you!
You don't know how much it all means to me.
You're awesome.
*hugs*
Or, as I pick and choose, you'll know what I'm deciding between.
It's a way for me to get all my thoughts down somewhere "solid," even if it's not on actual paper... yet.
Possible Wedding Locations:
El Dorado Park ($5,000)
Includes:
- Gazebo/Wedding Arch/Aisle Runner
- Cake & Cutting/Serving
- Complimentary Champagne & Cider Toasts
- Linens & Dance Floor
- Inclusive &/or Custom Bar Service
- Venue Space for min. 4-5 hours
- Dinner served
- Complimentary Entrée for the Bride and Groom
- China, Flatware, and Glassware
- Skirted Head Table or Sweetheart Table
- Personalized Tiered Wedding Cake
- Customized Room Set Up
- Complimentary Guest Parking
Not Included:
- Groom’s Room (no big deal, right? haha)
- Photographer (Megh has connections)
- Decorations (Do I really need them? haha)
- Clergy (Blah)
- Music: No DJ Equipment at all. Not even speakers for my iPod.
On the Plus:
Most things included!
Ceremony + Reception = Cheaper!
On the Minus:
Reception *might* be outside in a tent.
Skylinks at Long Beach (No online quotes)
Included:
Not Included:
On the Plus:
Indoor reception area
Ceremony and Reception on site
On the Minus:
I looked up CSU, Long Beach's Japanese Garden for a possible wedding site... but it would only be for the ceremony and it would only be available for 2 hours total for $2,400. No thanks. As beautiful as it is, it's too expensive, even as an alumni.
My Dress:
David's Bridal Version
Alfred Angelo Version
Bridesmaid Dress:
Retro "Pinup" Dress
Strappy Fun Dress (Alfred Angelo)
More "Traditional" Dress (David's Bridal Mix & Match)
Or... There's always David's Bridal Mix & Match where everyone gets something they like (and look fabulous in), as long as it's Clover Green with Black accents!
Flower Girl:
I'd like Cassidy (Sam's Goddaughter) to be our flower girl. If that happens, here is her dress! It fits her personality perfectly!
Ring Bearer:
I'd like to request Colby for this position. :)
Generic "tux" or suit with a green tie.
Photographer:
Yet to be decided.
Music:
On the RSVP cards, you'll be asked to name ONE song (maybe two if you're a couple) you'd like to hear at the wedding. I'll download that onto my iPod and off we go. I'm thinking about an actual DJ though, so we can have a sound system and someone to announce things, like toasts or cake cutting.
Invitations:
My friend Whitney said she can make them! Yay!
I'm also looking into an online website that specializes in wedding stationary.
Honeymoon:
HAHAHAHA! We're going back home to Oregon! We'll travel to Ireland, Scotland, and England another time. But it is going to happen one day. :)
Anything else I missed?
I'm loving all the extra and added help from all of you!
Thank you!
You don't know how much it all means to me.
You're awesome.
*hugs*
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
May I have your attention please...?
After realizing two of my friends have been married now for SEVEN years, I decided it was time for Sam and I to have a serious talk about setting a date for our wedding.
And with that, we did. YAY!
January 2, 2010.
Think about it... 0102 2010
Awesome, eh? hehe
Oh, and it's a Saturday, too. haha!
It will be in Southern California, but the location is yet to be decided. I'm looking at the Long Beach Museum... It's beautiful and on the beach!
Colors: Green and Black (I win) HA!
And yes, it will still be a Masquerade Ball, no matter where it is. :)
More details as I get them...
This is so much fun!
And with that, we did. YAY!
January 2, 2010.
Think about it... 0102 2010
Awesome, eh? hehe
Oh, and it's a Saturday, too. haha!
It will be in Southern California, but the location is yet to be decided. I'm looking at the Long Beach Museum... It's beautiful and on the beach!
Colors: Green and Black (I win) HA!
And yes, it will still be a Masquerade Ball, no matter where it is. :)
More details as I get them...
This is so much fun!
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Beer Tasting!
All the boys are in town so I thought I'd buy a mixed 6-pack of beers to taste test... and then I also bought a 12-pack of mixed beers (three of each flavor). All together, we had 9 different beers to test.
Drop Top Ale
Fat Tire Ale
Honey Beer
McTarnahan's Amber Ale
Mac's Blackwatch (cream) Porter
Black Toad
Black Butte Porter
Oatmeal Stout
Oatmeal Blueberry Stout
Out of all of them, I preferred the Black Butte and the Black Toad. The Blackwatch wasn't bad; it had a light taste for a porter. Kinda nice.
Now... I'm onto my pineapple and Malibu.
Ahhh... I'm a happy lady.
hehe
Drop Top Ale
Fat Tire Ale
Honey Beer
McTarnahan's Amber Ale
Mac's Blackwatch (cream) Porter
Black Toad
Black Butte Porter
Oatmeal Stout
Oatmeal Blueberry Stout
Out of all of them, I preferred the Black Butte and the Black Toad. The Blackwatch wasn't bad; it had a light taste for a porter. Kinda nice.
Now... I'm onto my pineapple and Malibu.
Ahhh... I'm a happy lady.
hehe
Sunday, March 01, 2009
The Boys.
I haven't posted much about them lately, but I just cleaned off my camera and I thought I'd share.
Here's Grimm, looking oh so cute with his bag o' catnip. I gave this to him as a Christmas gift... He really liked it.
Here's Grimm attempting to get into the window. He doesn't like to jump onto the windowsill anymore because they're not as wide as they were at the apartment. He needs some help getting into windows now.
Odin... last night. We bought him a new scratcher because he destroyed his old one. This time, we got a taller one so he (and Grimm) can stretch while scratching. Apparently, Odin likes to climb it, too.
And somehow, he managed to turn around while on top of it. He's so funny!
Both of my boys. This is the cuteness that I woke up to this morning. They seem to like the new bed. But even though there's PLENTY of room (it's a king size bed), Odin still has to snuggle with someone... and it just happened to be Grimm.
Aren't my boys the cutest little dudes?! hehe
I know, I'm biased.
Here's Grimm, looking oh so cute with his bag o' catnip. I gave this to him as a Christmas gift... He really liked it.
Here's Grimm attempting to get into the window. He doesn't like to jump onto the windowsill anymore because they're not as wide as they were at the apartment. He needs some help getting into windows now.
Odin... last night. We bought him a new scratcher because he destroyed his old one. This time, we got a taller one so he (and Grimm) can stretch while scratching. Apparently, Odin likes to climb it, too.
And somehow, he managed to turn around while on top of it. He's so funny!
Both of my boys. This is the cuteness that I woke up to this morning. They seem to like the new bed. But even though there's PLENTY of room (it's a king size bed), Odin still has to snuggle with someone... and it just happened to be Grimm.
Aren't my boys the cutest little dudes?! hehe
I know, I'm biased.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Our Newest Addition...!
Sam's gas-guzzling 1990 Suburban is slowly dying... After the snow and all of the complications involved, we decided it was time to get him a "newer" used car.
Our tax return was pretty nice with the First Time Home Buyer credit... so we decided to put part of it down on a car for Sam.
Here it is:
It's a 1999 Dodge Durango SLT with a V8 Magnum engine.
They were asking $8,995. We got it out the door for $5,800.
Nice, eh?
Our tax return was pretty nice with the First Time Home Buyer credit... so we decided to put part of it down on a car for Sam.
Here it is:
It's a 1999 Dodge Durango SLT with a V8 Magnum engine.
They were asking $8,995. We got it out the door for $5,800.
Nice, eh?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Mee, lately.
An update... since I haven't been posting much, let alone have the time to post much.
I've been very busy at work these past few months, mainly because I'm picking up the slack of my new co-worker. It's been over two months now and she still can't seem to get it down. I've also, recently, acquired a new "job" within the office of maintaining the pharmacy (inventory, ordering products, researching new products, pricing, etc). The main reason why I acquired that task is because my co-worker can't seem to handle it. I now have two of the toughest, most demanding jobs in this office... and somehow, I'm still picking up my co-worker's slack. I don't know how that works, but somehow, it does... and for whatever reason, I still continue to do so. Good news though is that I'll be getting a nice pay raise in April if all works out well with me working these two jobs. Ans that will also mark my 1 year here at Peg's office.
I've been having horrible headaches, almost daily. Peggy has been working with me to pinpoint the trigger, if there is one. I've also been seeing her for acupuncture treatments every few weeks for both my headaches as well as for stress (thanks to my new co-worker). I've been taking two different homeopathic remedies, one for my headaches and the other for caffeine withdrawals (which I thought might be causing my headaches), but neither one of them have worked lately. Over the past week, I wrote down all the foods I ate and tracked my blood sugars, both before and after eating. My blood sugars weren't all that high (between 90-110), but two hours after eating dinner the other night, my blood sugar level was 140. It's weird. I have an "appointment" on Friday and I'm getting more acupuncture today at lunch (soon) to get rid of the nasty headache I woke up with.
On a happier note, life at home is good. The house is getting to be more and more like a home. Most of the painting is complete, now we just need to focus on one room at a time in order to "fix it" how we want it. The cats are good; Odin continues to run around the house like it's a race track and play slip and slide on the hardwood floors. However, he's also becoming more co-dependent. Odin has also found that sleeping on the heater vent keeps him warmer than sleeping on my lap or on the bed. Grimm is becoming more "social" and friendly as the days go by. It's nice to see him sleeping on the couch and following us into rooms again. Grimm has also started eating wet food. I grabbed some TUNA at Trader Joe's and he seems to really enjoy it; in fact, that's the only wet food he'll eat! But at least it's a step away from baby food...
On March 3rd, Sam and I will be having a few house guests from out of town. We're having a 40th birthday party for a good online (MMO) friend of ours. On the 3rd, two of the three people coming to the party are flying in. And then on the 6th, the other person will be flying into town and that night, we are going to see The Watchmen in the "living room" theater... which means NO KIDS ALLOWED! :) It's a 21 and over theater. It's nice. There's leather ottomans, reclining seats with super cup-holding arm rests... Oh, and they serve you food, drinks, and alcohol while you watch. It's the most amazing theater ever. EVER. We're going to have about 7 people at our house for a few nights... it should be fun. And now that I'm not working at Target anymore, the weekend should prove to be a LOT of fun. :)
On my last visit to California (the beginning of February), I got to see my two "kids," Colby and Gavin. Wow... they've seriously grown. It's crazy how kids grow up so fast. I miss them SOOO much already and it's only been a few weeks. I guess I'll just have to settle for pictures and blogs to keep me updated on how they're both doing.... and snuggle with Odin and talk to Grimm until I can actually have children of my own. haha!
So that's mee... in a nutshell. Well, kinda.
I'll post pictures again... one day...
I've been very busy at work these past few months, mainly because I'm picking up the slack of my new co-worker. It's been over two months now and she still can't seem to get it down. I've also, recently, acquired a new "job" within the office of maintaining the pharmacy (inventory, ordering products, researching new products, pricing, etc). The main reason why I acquired that task is because my co-worker can't seem to handle it. I now have two of the toughest, most demanding jobs in this office... and somehow, I'm still picking up my co-worker's slack. I don't know how that works, but somehow, it does... and for whatever reason, I still continue to do so. Good news though is that I'll be getting a nice pay raise in April if all works out well with me working these two jobs. Ans that will also mark my 1 year here at Peg's office.
I've been having horrible headaches, almost daily. Peggy has been working with me to pinpoint the trigger, if there is one. I've also been seeing her for acupuncture treatments every few weeks for both my headaches as well as for stress (thanks to my new co-worker). I've been taking two different homeopathic remedies, one for my headaches and the other for caffeine withdrawals (which I thought might be causing my headaches), but neither one of them have worked lately. Over the past week, I wrote down all the foods I ate and tracked my blood sugars, both before and after eating. My blood sugars weren't all that high (between 90-110), but two hours after eating dinner the other night, my blood sugar level was 140. It's weird. I have an "appointment" on Friday and I'm getting more acupuncture today at lunch (soon) to get rid of the nasty headache I woke up with.
On a happier note, life at home is good. The house is getting to be more and more like a home. Most of the painting is complete, now we just need to focus on one room at a time in order to "fix it" how we want it. The cats are good; Odin continues to run around the house like it's a race track and play slip and slide on the hardwood floors. However, he's also becoming more co-dependent. Odin has also found that sleeping on the heater vent keeps him warmer than sleeping on my lap or on the bed. Grimm is becoming more "social" and friendly as the days go by. It's nice to see him sleeping on the couch and following us into rooms again. Grimm has also started eating wet food. I grabbed some TUNA at Trader Joe's and he seems to really enjoy it; in fact, that's the only wet food he'll eat! But at least it's a step away from baby food...
On March 3rd, Sam and I will be having a few house guests from out of town. We're having a 40th birthday party for a good online (MMO) friend of ours. On the 3rd, two of the three people coming to the party are flying in. And then on the 6th, the other person will be flying into town and that night, we are going to see The Watchmen in the "living room" theater... which means NO KIDS ALLOWED! :) It's a 21 and over theater. It's nice. There's leather ottomans, reclining seats with super cup-holding arm rests... Oh, and they serve you food, drinks, and alcohol while you watch. It's the most amazing theater ever. EVER. We're going to have about 7 people at our house for a few nights... it should be fun. And now that I'm not working at Target anymore, the weekend should prove to be a LOT of fun. :)
On my last visit to California (the beginning of February), I got to see my two "kids," Colby and Gavin. Wow... they've seriously grown. It's crazy how kids grow up so fast. I miss them SOOO much already and it's only been a few weeks. I guess I'll just have to settle for pictures and blogs to keep me updated on how they're both doing.... and snuggle with Odin and talk to Grimm until I can actually have children of my own. haha!
So that's mee... in a nutshell. Well, kinda.
I'll post pictures again... one day...
Monday, January 19, 2009
New Year, New Mee.
With the start of the New Year, I decided to start my liver detox, which was recommended by my doctor to help with some of the "issues" my body was having. She recommended it for me back in December, but with the holidays coming up and all the foods I wouldn't be allowed to eat while on this detox, I decided to wait until the New Year and make it part of my resolution to be a better me.
I started on January 2nd, taking about 1 scoop a day. I finally made it up to two scoops, three times a day, by the following week. I mix it with 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice and a LOT of cinnamon... it helps. I've noticed that I have a bit more energy, I'm typically in a better mood, and my face has cleared up quite a bit. Since I've started, I've also dropped about 5 pounds, which isn't bad, considering I'm not really exercising. :) haha
Here's a brief list of what I cannot eat while on this detox:
Wheat/gluten
Meat (Beef, mainly)
Pig products
Oranges/Citrus
Corn
Soy/Tofu
Peanuts
Eggs
Shellfish
Dairy
Margarine, mayo, and hydrogenated oils
Soda, coffee, tea, and alcohol
Refined sugars, honey, and syrups
Let's just say this had severely limited my diet. LOL
I call myself a gluten-free vegan... that's how I feel, anyway.
I'm eating rice, rice cakes, rice pasta, rice bread, and using rice milk! I can't believe how many products are made with rice now! It's so awesome! I can still eat fish, turkey, chicken, and any and all veggies and fruits I want (other than corn and oranges). It's nice, in that respect. I've been shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's more than I usually do, which is making our food bills go up a bit, but it should all be over in another week or two...
I made vegan cupcakes this weekend. They weren't bad, but the batter could be improved upon by adding bananas and making it banana bread instead! LOL! I also found chocolate chips that were vegan! Not carob, chocolate! Yummy! I actually missed chocolate...
All I have to say is:
Yum... Rice!
I started on January 2nd, taking about 1 scoop a day. I finally made it up to two scoops, three times a day, by the following week. I mix it with 1/2 water and 1/2 apple juice and a LOT of cinnamon... it helps. I've noticed that I have a bit more energy, I'm typically in a better mood, and my face has cleared up quite a bit. Since I've started, I've also dropped about 5 pounds, which isn't bad, considering I'm not really exercising. :) haha
Here's a brief list of what I cannot eat while on this detox:
Wheat/gluten
Meat (Beef, mainly)
Pig products
Oranges/Citrus
Corn
Soy/Tofu
Peanuts
Eggs
Shellfish
Dairy
Margarine, mayo, and hydrogenated oils
Soda, coffee, tea, and alcohol
Refined sugars, honey, and syrups
Let's just say this had severely limited my diet. LOL
I call myself a gluten-free vegan... that's how I feel, anyway.
I'm eating rice, rice cakes, rice pasta, rice bread, and using rice milk! I can't believe how many products are made with rice now! It's so awesome! I can still eat fish, turkey, chicken, and any and all veggies and fruits I want (other than corn and oranges). It's nice, in that respect. I've been shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's more than I usually do, which is making our food bills go up a bit, but it should all be over in another week or two...
I made vegan cupcakes this weekend. They weren't bad, but the batter could be improved upon by adding bananas and making it banana bread instead! LOL! I also found chocolate chips that were vegan! Not carob, chocolate! Yummy! I actually missed chocolate...
All I have to say is:
Yum... Rice!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
I work with a retard.
Well, not really, but almost. She could probably pass as one.
/sigh
/roll eyes
I'm so tired of her and all of her complaints, issues, questions, and smells. I don't know how much more of it I can take. She complains about having to work later than 5pm. She complains about having a "12 hour day." She complains about all the work she has to do, but that she doesn't have time for. She complains that she's, "only one person." She even has the nerve to complain that I'm not helping her.
She asks me SO many questions on a day-to-day basis. Now, I know, she's new and I'm trying to go easy on her, but when you bombard me with so many questions everyday, I'm going to grow tired of answering them. And my favorite question to answer, "Can I ask you a question?" UGH! That's not even a valid question in my book! I should answer, "You just did. Now what?" but I'm good and refrain myself. This morning, I was on the phone and she came up to my desk and whispered, "Can I ask you something?" and I whispered back, "I'm on the phone...?" So she decided to call a representative for a Laboratory INSTEAD of waiting for me to get off the phone to ask. She wanted the lab to pick up a blood specimen from the office. I actually knew the answer to that question... I even knew the phone number to call for a pick up! But she couldn't wait. She asked the Lab Rep who gave her a new number to call and then she had to call that number. /sigh
Then, a patient comes into the office and I start talking to her. We're having a nice conversation when my co-worker says, "Excuse me, Sarah, I need to ask you something." First thing that popped into my head: Colby. That's what he says when he wants to ask his mom something and she's talking to me! LOL! I quickly turned my head, even though I thought it was being rude to the patient, and she asked away. She wanted to know how late "the office" was going to be open. Well, DUH! Until 5:30pm... when we CLOSE. Everyday. OMG. Hours don't magically change because she doesn't want to stay after 4pm.
I went back to talking to the patient. We were having another nice conversation (she said I need to go on a cruise! LOL!) when my co-worker does it again. This time, however, she didn't go away. In fact, she asked for my attention AGAIN. I had to use my finger as if to say, "Give me a minute..." but she still persisted. I cut it short with the patient and turned to her kinda rudely and was like, "Yes...?"
She asked me what to do next in regards to the lab requisition form. I told her she had to fill everything out. All she needed was the patient's chart and all the information would be inside. I told her what to put where, including insurance information, date/time of collection, and everything else. She asked, "Shouldn't you be doing that? Don't you do all the paperwork in the office?" And I said, "No, you take care of everything LAB related. You fill it in, you send it in." So what did she do? She went around my back and asked the doctor! UGH! And of course, what did the doctor say?
Yay. Yet ANOTHER task put in MY lap because dipshit doesn't know what she's doing. It took me all of 2 minutes to fill in all of the information. Two minutes. And then, my co-worker had the nerve to ask me, "Are you upset about this? You seem upset." Well, freakin' DUH! I told you how to do your job and then you made me do it. Like I don't have other things I need to be doing today. If you don't know how to do it or want me to do it, just ASK ME. Don't go behind my back and ask my boss to "make" me do it. Bitch. (Sorry, I'm a bit pissed off right now.)
And now she's telling me I obviously have time during the day to do things like that for her because I "type little e-mails to my friends" all day. Yay. Seriously. I can't take her crap anymore.
Somebody kill me, please.
/sigh
/roll eyes
I'm so tired of her and all of her complaints, issues, questions, and smells. I don't know how much more of it I can take. She complains about having to work later than 5pm. She complains about having a "12 hour day." She complains about all the work she has to do, but that she doesn't have time for. She complains that she's, "only one person." She even has the nerve to complain that I'm not helping her.
She asks me SO many questions on a day-to-day basis. Now, I know, she's new and I'm trying to go easy on her, but when you bombard me with so many questions everyday, I'm going to grow tired of answering them. And my favorite question to answer, "Can I ask you a question?" UGH! That's not even a valid question in my book! I should answer, "You just did. Now what?" but I'm good and refrain myself. This morning, I was on the phone and she came up to my desk and whispered, "Can I ask you something?" and I whispered back, "I'm on the phone...?" So she decided to call a representative for a Laboratory INSTEAD of waiting for me to get off the phone to ask. She wanted the lab to pick up a blood specimen from the office. I actually knew the answer to that question... I even knew the phone number to call for a pick up! But she couldn't wait. She asked the Lab Rep who gave her a new number to call and then she had to call that number. /sigh
Then, a patient comes into the office and I start talking to her. We're having a nice conversation when my co-worker says, "Excuse me, Sarah, I need to ask you something." First thing that popped into my head: Colby. That's what he says when he wants to ask his mom something and she's talking to me! LOL! I quickly turned my head, even though I thought it was being rude to the patient, and she asked away. She wanted to know how late "the office" was going to be open. Well, DUH! Until 5:30pm... when we CLOSE. Everyday. OMG. Hours don't magically change because she doesn't want to stay after 4pm.
I went back to talking to the patient. We were having another nice conversation (she said I need to go on a cruise! LOL!) when my co-worker does it again. This time, however, she didn't go away. In fact, she asked for my attention AGAIN. I had to use my finger as if to say, "Give me a minute..." but she still persisted. I cut it short with the patient and turned to her kinda rudely and was like, "Yes...?"
She asked me what to do next in regards to the lab requisition form. I told her she had to fill everything out. All she needed was the patient's chart and all the information would be inside. I told her what to put where, including insurance information, date/time of collection, and everything else. She asked, "Shouldn't you be doing that? Don't you do all the paperwork in the office?" And I said, "No, you take care of everything LAB related. You fill it in, you send it in." So what did she do? She went around my back and asked the doctor! UGH! And of course, what did the doctor say?
Yay. Yet ANOTHER task put in MY lap because dipshit doesn't know what she's doing. It took me all of 2 minutes to fill in all of the information. Two minutes. And then, my co-worker had the nerve to ask me, "Are you upset about this? You seem upset." Well, freakin' DUH! I told you how to do your job and then you made me do it. Like I don't have other things I need to be doing today. If you don't know how to do it or want me to do it, just ASK ME. Don't go behind my back and ask my boss to "make" me do it. Bitch. (Sorry, I'm a bit pissed off right now.)
And now she's telling me I obviously have time during the day to do things like that for her because I "type little e-mails to my friends" all day. Yay. Seriously. I can't take her crap anymore.
Somebody kill me, please.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Heard this today...
I heard this today on the radio... and I realized how right most of this stuff is. Weird.
Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)
~Baz Luhrmann
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99:
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind.
The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life... the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary... what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..
Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen...
Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)
~Baz Luhrmann
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99:
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.
You’re not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind.
The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life... the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary... what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can... don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..
Dance... even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen...
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