AND THE DECISION IS...

I AM STAYING WHERE I AM!

It has been an extremely difficult decision!! All of your comments and suggestions helped SO much more than you could ever imagine!

I ended up calling the secretary that I would be replacing and talked with her "frankly" about the position. "New" boss is a very nice man, however, he is a stickler about the time thing. Will not let you work through lunch to make up time for say a doctor's appointment or something for your child. Bonuses ~ Christmas only~ (I get approx four a year where I am now) ~ raises come in April and everyone gets the same amount, usually small ~ cost of living raise. This definitely gave me something to think AND pray about.

I made my list like you guys suggested: Pros and Cons!

Then , I called my "now" boss and asked him to meet me at the office on Saturday afternoon, that I needed to talk to him. He said okay, dropped what he was doing and came to the office. I could tell when I saw him that he was afraid that I was going to tell him I was leaving. I told him I had been offered another job and that I was honestly torn about what to do.....I told him I had lamented, cried and prayed over the right decision.

And then he said....please don't go! You are the best secretary I have ever had and you make working here so much more pleasant!! I will give you a raise, I will lighten your stress, I just really don't want you to go!!!

LORD HAVE MERCY!!! I said why in the cottin pickin world have you not told me any of this BEFORE??????

Him: I thought you knew!

TYPICAL MALE!!

I told him I would stay and his exact words were "I sincerely, sincerely, sincerely appreciate your staying with me."

That is THREE sincerely's!!

Then two of the other attorneys in my office called me and told me they didn't want me to go either!

I must be pretty darn good! WHO KNEW????
I told'em I wanted a BIG raise!! lol

Well alrighty then!! Decision made!

NEW DELIMA: Call "new" boss tomorrow and tell him I am not coming!

Could one of you call him for me and handle that "little" detail? I am sure he will understand...

Thanks!

And again, thank you all for being there for me during this! It was really HARD for me! I just love you guys!

Have a GREAT week!

The Winds of Change....They Are A'Blowin'

Those of you that read my blog know that I am a legal secretary, and that I work for a very "needy" type of attorney! On MOST days he makes me absolutely INSANE!! Then there are days when he is a dear! I told him one day we are like an unhappily married couple. We can just fuss and fuss at each other and then we are fine!

Well, I have threatened for months and months to look for another job. I have kept my eyes peeled for one, haven't seen anything I would be interested in and then....a friend called to tell me that he had heard that there was an attorney in town looking for a secretary.

I pondered it for a few minutes and thought well, I'll just call and check it out. Well, they set up an appointment for me to come in on Wednesday. I went, I interviewed, I left.

Thursday, another call, come back in. I went, I sat, we chatted, I got the job!! Now, I really never thought I would get it!! I mean, he has been interviewing for 2 weeks! I just thought I would go "see" about it! The pay is a little more, the stress level, WAY less!

I AM FREAKED OUT!!!! I do not know what to do!!!!! I mean TOTALLY FREAKED OUT!!!

I feel like I have had an affair or something. Like I have betrayed a trust, a friendship!! My boss walked in the office today and I just went to the bathroom and cried!! I am SICK!

I am an extremely loyal person....to a fault!! I mean, I told one of my coworkers today "I know he is an ass, but he is my ass"!! I have gone back and forth since yesterday!! I didn't sleep last night!! It feels like I am going to ask for a divorce!!

My sweetie pie Steve does not get it! He has heard me rant and rave and fuss and cuss for 3 years and here I am lamenting over whether or not to go!!

The FEAR of the unknown! I am OLD! Do I want to start over again in another office, new coworkers, new personalities, new rules????? I honestly don't know!

Our office here is really laid back! you need to go to the doctor, you go. Run to the bank, do it. A few minutes late from lunch, no problem. Do I want to give that up? Do I?

Dear Lord someone tell me what to do!!! THEN on the other hand, I feel like I am letting this attorney down that has offered me this job. I go and interview and get it and then, turn him down? That just seems rude! I am awful ~

I need therapy...

MY NEW PAGE!!

And how do you like my new page???? I just LOVE it!! I feel all brand new and shiny! Michelle at Shabby Creations did it for me and she is just wonderful! I am so illiterate when it comes to computer "stuff" and so I told her I don't know how to do much of anything, but she said not to worry she would handle it and she did!!! And so fast!! I told her a little bit about me and she created this and I so, so LOVE it!!

It's really all Stacey's fault at Poofing the Pillows ~ she got one and it was so pretty ~ I wanted one too!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day! Mine was, well....let me think. It RAINED Saturday, Sunday AND Monday!! I was just about stir crazy so I told my husband we had to get out of the house or I was going to go postal!! At one point I walked through the den and he was intently watching a BLACK and WHITE movie! Seriously...it was THAT old!! I said what is that??? He said "Remember the Alamo". I said, "don't you know what happens?" Remember Quint, the guy who was the captain in Jaws? He was in this movie, and he was about 17 years old!!

Then we had the marathon of Jon and Kate Plus Eight, and my most dreaded one that Steve LOVES ~ Modern Marvels and How is That Made?!! I don't care! Shoot me now!! Seriously.....go ahead and do it!! Make it fast and painless!!!

I HAD to get out of the house!!!!

So Steve suggested that we go to The Bass Pro Shop! Now, doesn't that sound just like something a man would suggest???!??? BUT, I relented and say okay! Not exactly what I had in mind, but......

The Bass Pro Shop.......that place is FULL of hunting stuff, and fishing stuff, and hiking and boating stuff! Nothing I would be interested in!! We were in there FOREVER!!!! I thought I would implode!

I peered out the window once to see if there might be a thrift store nearby, or a Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Good Will, or Home Goods ~ ANYTHING~

Nope! Nothing! I "tried" to be good, but when he asked me if I wanted to go upstairs, I looked at him and said UPSTAIRS???? There is MORE???

He said, "let's go."

Next time, I will send him alone.....

15 Cats and Counting...

Most of us girls at my office are cat lovers. We all have one, or two or three of our own! So it is nothing unusual when stray cats would wander up in our parking lot, we would feed them. You know, leftover scraps from lunch, french fries, chicken, that sort of thing.

Well, the numbers started to increase. What had started out as us feeding two or three cats a couple of times a week, turned into pulling up in the parking lot and 5 or 6 cats sitting there waiting on breakfast. So, we started bringing bags of cat food to the office and feeding the multitudes, literally!

Then, they took up residence UNDER our office, and sometimes the smell....not so good. There were complaints....we lit candles.

A few got pregnant, so we kicked up the feeding, prenatal care, if you will. I am usually the first one to the office, and I will pull up and there are cats EVERYWHERE! Good Lord it was overwhelming....still we feed them.

Then the kittens were born! We didn't see them at first, but now, now they are all over the parking lot! 8 of them~eight PLUS the mothers we are feeding and the tomcats! 15 cats give or take a couple at any given time just lying around in the parking lot.

Now you know I work for attorneys, and so the visual is, they pull up to work and the parking lot is FULL of cats! Kittens, mommies, daddy's, everywhere! For some reason, which I still do not understand, they hold me responsible. ME?? No way!

Attorney 1 will stick his head in my office everyday and say, Lou Cinda, there are cats everywhere out here! I say: "I don't know what your talking about. I haven't seen ANY cats."
(Always plead the 5th..never ADMIT anything)

Now, they won't let you touch them. No matter how hard we try or how sweet we talk, NO TOUCHING! They run!

Today I go outside, sneak around the steps that ALL eight kittens are playing on, I ease up on one and when she sees me, she just freezes! Poor thing is terrified! I reach out and GRAB her!

Well, honey, it wasn't pretty. That tiny little kitten looked at me and I at her, and she started hissing and screeching to beat the band! All of that noise out of a tiny baby kitten! I am looking at her, talking all sweet and trying to "tame her"(yeah right) when I hear more noise. I turn to look, not losing my grip on kitty baby and the mama cats are all hissing and screeching at me and they had planted themselves right behind me. Hair standing straight up on their backs showing their teeth! I have never seen anything like it! I feared for my life!

I quickly pondered what to do and decided I better put hissing screeching baby kitty down. If they had lept on me, it would NOT have been a pretty sight I can guarantee it! Me holding baby kitty firmly while twirling around trying to loosen the grip of the mama cats as they clawed the dickens out of me.

So down baby kitty went and they rushed over to make sure it was okay.....after all I have done for them, this is how they treat me! Ungrateful cats!

I need to stop at the store on the way to work in the morning.....we are low on cat food!


Update: Fast forward two days: NO CATS! I brought my camera to work cos' I was going to snap a photo of all of them so you could see. They haven't been here for 2 days! Maybe they "moved" after the altercation I had with one of the babies!!

That's just wrong....I am truly hurt...

I Have Done Something Besides Fret...

What is this you ask? This big ball of fur???



It is a Sissie!!

This is a soup tureen I found at a thrift shop for $7.00. It is a small one, probably for gravies or sauces, but I thought it was cute, so I snapped it up!

I loved the detail on it! The little lines on the lid and the scallops along the edge.

This was a great find! I have had my eye out for another coffee table. The one I had was just too, too BIG! It was big and heavy with a glass top and scrolly wrought iron legs. It was pretty but just didn't fit in the space. A friend of mine knew someone who was selling alot of her stuff because she was moving. Mandy knew I was looking for a coffee table so she asked if I wanted to go check out what the lady had. I did and found this!!! Of course, it didn't look like this.

I didn't take before pictures ~ what was I thinking??? It was kind of oaky looking and not in very good shape. It was DIRTY and smelled like cigarettes! I bought it for $20, took it home and scrubbed it down on the deck, sanded it and painted it black. And this as the end result!

I loved the roping that went around it and the legs :) And there is a little drawer which is perfect for the remote, my husband's cross word puzzles, pens that sort of clutter, tucked away!

Another shot of the roping....

I thought it turned out great and it fits so much better in the den! I had Steve put his feet up on it to see if it would work...he said yes! SCORE!

Well that is a little bit of what I have been up to, besides all of the "other" excitement that has been corrupting my life these last couple of weeks. Back to what I love!

Hope you have a great Memorial Day Weekend!!

Lou Cinda

And the Amount of the Damage Is......

TWO THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY FOUR DOLLARS and some odd cents.

Yessirree, $2,424.00!! And to think we thought that Cameron's car had just been knocked out of line! YEA RIGHT!! Knocked out of line alright. WAAAAAAAAY out, along with a bent frame, bent steering knuckle (whatever that is) something about bearings....in ain't even good!! Our mechanic, Hot Rod (yes, that is his nickname...Hot Rod....not exactly sure how I feel about that) called to tell me what all was wrong and when he got to steering knuckle I said hold up! Just hold up!! You are speaking Greek to me.....here is Steve's number....he speaks your language!

Don't we have insurance you ask? Oh yes, of course we do! With a $1,000.00 deductible! Cos' that is what you do when you have drivers in the house under the age of 25~you raise that ole' deductible up as high as you can so you can AFFORD to pay the insurance!!! Something about young drivers being a risk and all. Imagine that! Nonsense I say, pure nonsense!!

WHEW!! Yes, I am so thankful that everyone is okay! That is ALOT to be thankful for, and believe me I am!

Oh wait, what is that I see? Over there, flying away! That would be my new CAMERA I was FIXING to get BEFORE the accident!!! Before I realized I was going to have to pay $1,000.00 to get Cameron's car fixed!! There it goes.........bye bye little camera that would have allowed me to post beautiful, lovely and CLEAR photos of my various and a sundry endeavors. Pretty pictures that my wonderful blogging friends would not have to squint their eyes and crane their heads to try and figure out what it is a picture of!!! ~sigh~

And our trip to Gulf Shores.....questionable at this point.....oh how I NEEEEEEEED to go sit on the beach with my feet in the sand and just CHILL.......we shall see. Where there's a will there's a way!

Well......such is life. It is what it is......deal with it.....get over it......

Move on......

Anybody know of any part time jobs on the side???? I think I am going to need one to pay my insurance from now on :(

Hope you all are having a better week than me :) But I will be fine!! God is Good!

Lou Cinda

I AM STILL HERE...BUT BARELY!

It has been a crazy, crazy, couple of weeks! First, I was in a jury trial in another county for three days with my boss/attorney. I go with him to trial and keep things moving, organized, ready to submit, that sort of thing. I am also listening to the direct and cross examinations and making notes as to what to point out in an effort to make our client look good and the defendant to look BAD!! I have to be as familiar with the case as the attorney does and it is both mentally and physically exhausting! I just feel brain dead!

THEN Tuesday afternoon, after getting back in town, I get a call from Cameron a/k/a Cammie Pie telling me HE had just had an accident! And to make matters worse, he hit a guy on a motorcycle!! I quite nearly had a heart attack! I was not far from him at all so I get to the scene of the accident really quickly, before the police, fire trucks, paramedics and ambulance!

The man was lying in the street with "pieces" of motorcyle strewn everywhere! I run over and kneel down by him and ask him what hurts and are you alright and what can I do??? He was SO SWEET! He was actually cracking jokes and laughing and I was just floored! Turns out, Cameron did not actually hit him (which is a good thing) he jumped off the motorcycle when he saw that Cameron did not see him. They were both going very slow as Cam was turning left and this guy was coming to a stop on the road Cam was turning onto, and Cameron did not see him at all.

I am telling you I have just been feeling like I am having an out of body experience since this happened. I am reminded of how short life is and how things can change in an instant! I am always very mindful of this, but it just brought it all up to the surface andI have been so emotional!

The man was okay, no broken bones, and for that I am so THANKFUL to God for taking care of him.

He was, however, riding a brand new Harley Davidson that he had had for 2 months! UGH!

AND we thought that Cameron's car only had a flat and was knocked out of line and were not even going to turn in a claim on his car, however, after taking it yesterday to have it "aligned" we get a call telling us the frame is bent, all kinds of damage underneath the car so..........not good!

I just have visions of CANCELLATION of insurance and rates going through the ROOF! I just keep reminding myself that I am so thankful that neither one of them was hurt seriously and for that I am so blessed!

I am a worrier though, don't know why, I wish I wasn't, but I am! I have not slept well at all since it happened and I don't want to let either one of my boys out of my site! I have called and checked on the other guy several times to see how he is and he is good. Sore, but good.

I am sure I will get better as I calm down and destress..........I wish my boys were two again.....

Have a great weekend!

Lou Cinda

We Are Under a Tornado Warning ~ Please Go To the Center of the Store

After church every Sunday, we go and eat with friends. Today Jamie suggested we go to Cracker Barrel which is my favorite! I should have known something was up....but I just said "that sounds great". While we were eating Jamie asked what I was going to be doing for the rest of the day. Again.....I should have been waaaay smarter, however, I reply "nothin". She says....So, you can go to Birmingham shopping with me! OH NO!!!

Now, don't get me wrong, Jamie is one of my VERY best friends and I LOVE her dearly! BUT, everytime we go shopping she whips out her "list"! She has a "list" for everything she needs and everything she is looking for and it just goes on and on and on! This woman has an agenda! Always!! But, being the good friend I am, I agree to go with her. Steve looks at me and says, you know it is supposed to be really bad weather today. I told him I would keep my head down and he says well, if you get hit by a tornado, I don't want to know about it! I say okaaaay, somebody be sure they don't list my beloved husband in my obituary, cos' he doesn't know I am dead. He thinks I am still shopping...... and off we go!

Now, since we are going from church, and we have not been home yet, we are wearing dresses.

We drive to B'ham (about an hour away) and the sky is getting darker and darker. I keep looking up at it and all around, but Jamie is just happily chatting away, oblivious to the rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. First on her list, Southeastern Salvage in Irondale.

We get there and the weather sirens are going off, but we assume it is a thunderstorm "warning". We go in and start shopping and hunting "stuff". I tell her if I get killed, Steve is really gonna be made at her! We make our way back to the front of the store and Jamie starts digging in this bin of cabinet hardware, trying to find 6 of one thing and 5 of another. I start helping her dig when the sirens go off again. I crane my head around and look 0utside and it is AWFUL!! The rain and trees are horizontal the wind is blowing so hard!!! I look back at Jamie who is happily digging away in her bin and I say "this is no thunderstorm warning"!! About that time some man literally blows in the front door and tells us a funnel cloud has just been spotted heading our way! The manager announces that everyone should move to the center of the store and about that time the power goes out! Well, this is it, I think! I can't see my hand in front of my face so I flip open my phone and scream JAMIE!! Run to the light!! She comes running over and we sit down on some stools there and are just waiting it out. They have a popcorn machine there where we are sitting, so we start munching popcorn when I happen to look over and notice this girl is standing there with a throw pillow on her head!! A little throw pillow! I am thinking she should have grabbed one of the chaise lounge cushions, at least that would cover more of her body. I look at Jamie and say "does she really think that if a steel girder comes crashing down on us, that dinky little pillow is going to save her life? God bless her!

So anyway the storm blows over, literally, and the lights come back on, and we realize we have survived! I look at Jamie and tell her "if a tornado had hit this building, and they had to come and pull my dead body out of it with my dress all up over my head, I would be so pissed at you!! Plus the fact that your only purchase is 5 handles for $1.48 each that you could have gotten at Lowes at HOME for 1.60 each!! " She just thought that was hilarious, whips out her list and names off the other fifty-leven stops we have to make!

Lord help me!

Prayers for Bella Marie

Wonderful Debbie at Talking Trash and her husband "Cat Daddy" have a brand new sweet precious granddaughter named Bella Marie. (Don't you just love that name) Now Bella decided to make her grand entrance into this world just a wee bit early! She weighed in at a whopping 15 oz but she has been quite the fighter. You see, she has God on her side along with about a bazillion prayer warriors SO she continues to flourish daily, amazing her doctors with her progress!

Now, Amy at http://trailertrash.blogspot.com and Theresa at http://gardenantqs.blogspot.com have banded together to create this fundraiser to help with medical bills as a result of Bella's care.

Please go over and visit http://junksistas.blogspot.com and peruse all of the unbelievable things that have been donated by the wonderful people out here in the blog world!! Please buy as many raffle tickets as you possibly can (cos' your gonna want to win this stuff, it is FABULOUS) and know that you will be helping out a VERY deserving family!!! Raffle tickets go on sale today! So get on over there and check it out!!!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Lou Cinda :)