October 13, 2007

• Debbie sighting

  I have not fallen off the face of the earth. My time has been extremely short the past three months.

  Immediately after we returned home from our vacation to Texas, where we had a wonderful time playing with our two granddaughters, I had to fire someone who didn't show up for work while we were gone and didn't bother to call in. On top of that, she was two hours late for work on her next scheduled day.

  I entered into a slew of activity, trying to catch up on work that got behind while we were on vacation (I'm STILL not caught up). We implemented some procedures to hold people accountable for the tasks they are supposed to be doing and one of my full-time employees quit. Apparently I expected too much of this person and was a major bitch because I asked them to do their job.

  Since, I've hired two more part-timers and had to take the time to train them. I promoted one of my full-timers to assistant manager. I'm still looking for more employees (at least three part-timers). Business has been good, and it's tough to run two busy stores (well, only one is REALLY busy) with short help. It's very hard to find people in this area who actually will work for what they are paid, or who have half a brain in their head.

  I have also visited the doctor to adjust my diabetes medicine. Trying to control it on my own without medication wasn't working. The medicine I was on didn't agree with me and the glucometer I had hurt too much. My doctor gave me a new glucometer that doesn't require as much blood (and I LOVE it) and put me on some different medication. We had to try a couple of things before we got something I was tolerating well. The stuff I'm on now has virtually no side effects for me, but it is expensive - over $200 a month just for one of the four pills I take daily. Luckily, the doctor has plenty of samples for now.

  This past week, I had a 3-month check-up with the doctor's office. The numbers are looking GREAT! There are a couple more that need to come down (like my A1C, which is almost within the range she'd like) and she's confident that sticking to the meds for another 3 months will help with that.

  This past week, both John and I went to the eye doctor for our annual check-ups there. We will both be receiving new glasses next week. Both of ours are very old and beat up. While trying on frames before my appointment, I put on a pair of horn-rimmed style. I quickly decided that made me look too much like my grandmother. I am told horn-rimmed spectacles are coming back into style. It wouldn't be the first time I wasn't up to date with the latest style.

  Church is going well. I joined the choir. Not singing any solos as yet. I was informed this church "isn't much on canned music," so not doing anything as yet. I prefer practicing with the CD backup at home A LOT before actually getting in front of the congregation to sing.

  Don't know how often I'll be back for a little while. Hopefully, I can check in at least once a week, but we'll see. Time is terribly precious at the moment.

  John and I did manage to take TWO Saturdays off in a row - COUNT THEM, TWO!!! Last Saturday we slept in and then went to the AAUW book sale at the mall. Saturday is the last day of their sale and you can buy books for $3 a paper grocery sack full. We got two sacks. Mine wasn't quite full, but John had no problem filling it up the rest of the way.

  Today, we drove to Ottumwa to buy programmable thermostats for the stores. We need four all together and they were on sale for $20 each at a store there. Even the cheapest of them are usually $40 each, and these are 7-day programs, so we can have it set at a different time and temp every day of the week. We then had lunch at a great little cafe we like to visit. We ate breakfast food (I was hungry for a pancake). These guys also make the BEST hash browns, so it was a heavy carb meal, but nice to spend alone-time with the hubby without talking about work. Then we came home and put a bunch of old furniture and stuff out on the curb for the city-wide clean up days that start next week. They city will come by and pick up bulky items like furniture and appliances that the garbage man won't haul away. There are a few rules like no construction materials and no leaves.

  I also bought a couple of bicycles at a garage sale. I got them for $10 each. They need a few minor adjustments, but I am looking forward to riding bikes around with my husband and getting in a little exercise. Not much time left this season to do that, but I'm sure we'll get at least one ride in before winter hits.

  • 7:09 pm
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