Boy, do I feel old!!

Jennifer, my cousin, came down to Houston for a visit. Jennifer and her 2 friends, Kathy and Brianna, decided to spend some time in Austin, with a stop over here in Houston. I feel old, I used to baby-sit Jennifer and her sister Stacy when they were little!!! Now she is a college graduate, working in New York City, and Stacy is in her last year of college! We had a nice dinner and Jordana charmed them all! Jennifer brought her a puzzle which she LOVED!! Once she unwrapped it, she held it up screaming "Open!! Open!!" Then she started reciting the shapes. I was not surprised when she said 'circle, square, star" but I think we were all a little shocked when she said "oval"! Rectangle was hard to say, but when she said it, I could hear a bit of it! The puzzle was a hit!!

We didn't leave until almost 9 pm, Jordana didn't make it to bed until almost 10pm. She fell asleep in the car snuggling with her teddy bear. It was a good day!!

Thanksgiving and...worms...

No! not my worms. I can say that I have seen it all. I have been a pharmacist for almost 9 years now and I thought I had seen it all. The nasty athletes foot that some guy put on my counter, the heat rash under a woman's saggy breasts, open wounds that need stitches but the owner of the wound refuses medical care and wants an OTC remedy. Yesterday, I was introduced to a customers worms. Yes, worms. Not pinworms...long stringy tapeworms (probably) fished out of the toilet and put in a tupperware container. Guy said this is the third one his wife had over the past few days. If I had ONE of those come out of my ass I would be in the ER faster than you could SAY worm!!

Other than the worms, Turkey day was stressful. Jordana cried while we got her ready and cried the whole trip there. Jordana does not usually cry for no reason. She cries when she is hurt, doesn't get what she wants, is dirty or tired. So when she cries for no apparent reason, it stresses me out. I think it stresses Randy too. He changed his shirt 3 times before we left. She fussed and whined the whole way to the Payne's. Of course, once she saw Grandaddy, she was fine. Needless to say I was so irritated and stressed, My camera stayed in my purse untouched. Not a Thanksgiving to remember.

First time ever...

I have worked for Walgreens for 9 ½ years and been a pharmacist for 8 ½. I have never messed up my schedule. I have been late twice (a few minutes) due to traffic (when I worked in Baytown) and oversleeping (dang alarm) but today was a first. Chanel and I switched shifts...but I forgot!! At 8 am, the phone rang. Randy, Jordana and I were still in our beds. Janet was wondering where I was. I had completely forgotten that Chanel had a dr's appointment!! I flew to the sink, brushed my teeth and went to the closet. I was trying to decide what to wear. I don't dress well under presure!! I finally got dressed and drove like mad to get to work. Why is it that when you're in a hurry, everyone drives really slow!!! I got to work at 8:30, no shower, no makeup. I keep a little bit of makeup in my purse so I managed to get some eyeshadow, eyeliner and lipstick on. By the time my shift was over, my scalp was itching. After dinner, instead of giving Jordana a bath, we took a shower together. She loves the shower!! I even gave her a special treat and used my salt scrup gently on her feet and elbows. Nice way to end a day that started so bad!! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The days slip by..

I am finding it harder and harder to keep up with daily tasks. It's only November 14th and I am already stressed about the holidays. This time of year is crazy! 3 birthdays before Christmas, Hanukah showing up in December, but never on the same day every year, then Jordana's birthday a month later. Squeeze Thanksgiving in there, along with weekends alone while Randy is off hunting, and it is amazing I even have time to pay the bills!! I still have no idea what I am going to do for hoilday cards this year!!! (Randy wants to do a pets and Jordana pix at the mall with Santa...I think he's nuts)
Hopefully, my outing with mom tomorrow will be fun. We are going to the "So you think you can dance?" tour that is coming to Houston. We are big fans. Granddaddy Randy is going to babysit because Randy will be at the deer lease.
I hope you are all surviving the pre holiday craziness. Check out my friend Kelly's blog to keep up with the foster kids stories, apparently the birth mom is fighting for custody. Let's all hope that she loses. These kids need stability and Kelly and Ryan are just the couple to provide a stable and loving home to raise these kids. (I admit, I read her blog every day..following their journey. I'm a little addicted) I admire their strength and their faith. I hope it pays off for them!!

Our marriage is more resilient...

.....than the hotel we were married in. Today, the Crown Plaza where Randy and I said our vows and celebrated our fantastic wedding with our family in 2002, was imploded. Being right across the street from the Children's hospital, and with another hotel location downtown, the hotel closed its doors on Dec 18th, 2005, after it was sold to Baylor. Along with other properties bought around the site, there will be a new Texas Children's maternity ward, to be completed around 2010.
Here is a link to the video:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=9f0_1194803235
Although it is sad that it is now gone, where we got married is not as important as our marriage itself. 5 years later, Randy and I are still going strong, living in a great house, Randy with his new career, and a beautiful and amazing little girl, Jordana, we will be together much longer than any building.

The joy of children...

.....even if they didn't come from your womb. Check out the link to Kelly's blog for a tear jerker quote from her foster daughter. Love every child in your life, even if they aren't your own. I know my days at Walgreens would not be as fun if my girls and I didn't share stories about our children. I love hearing about them and seeing them when they visit. They all fawn over Jordana when she stops by and when I show them pictures (lord knows I take a ton of them). Hope you are all enjoying the fall weather and not stressing about the upcoming holidays!!!

Good news...at the end of a bad day!!

So I overslept this morning, woke up at 7:21. If Jordana hadn't started fussing, I would have kept on sleeping. Got to work at 7:55 withy dirty hair (clean body) and walked into a nightmare. The main verification computer was down, which knocked out the main printer and one of the Zebra printers (the one the bottle labes comes out of). This prevented us from using the second scale. When I left at 4:45, they were still down. We struggled thru the day like we do every Thursday (all my part timers go to school on Thursday, leaving me with a skeleton crew), with me stepping out for an hour for a conference call. As I am walking out the door, I get a phone call from the store that is training my new tech, and find out that she is just not going to work out....this information comes 3 days before she is to start at my store and 1 day before Rayanne moves to Indiana. I also get a phone call from a nasty customer bitching about something that was not worth my time. So I blow her off ( I know I will pay for it later) and go get Jordana. She is great, until I put her in her car seat and she starts screaming. It got so bad we had to have a talk about her attitude. I finally get her settled and she amuses herself on the way home by taking apart her shoes. Whatever, at least she wasn't screaming anymore!! After dinner, I was watching TV and my toe started hurting. I have no idea why, but it feels like it is badly bruised and I don't remember injuring it. Not good for someone who stands on her feet all day. After Jordana's bath and bedtime, I check my email and there it is...good news from Phil Burgess, director of Pharmacy Affairs for Walgreens. Yesterday, Walgreens went to the state board again to convince them to amend a rule regarding final verification. As many of you remember, I have been wrongly accused of misfilling a prescription. According to Mr. Burgess, they were successful! What this means for my case, I don't know yet, but it is a huge victory!! I will have more details soon, but I think I can sleep soundly tonight, regardless of my super crappy day.