Monday, August 31, 2009
Lake Caddo
Oh man! We had such a great time in the outdoors this past weekend.
We left for Uncertain TX Friday mid morning, and got there in just enough time to be hungry for lunch, so we quickly put together some lunch, and then after we had our energy back, we roamed around the little house where we were going to be staying the weekend. It was a really cute little place; with frogs and Lilly pads as the décor (I love frogs, so I felt right at home).
The lake was right outside the back door, and they had built a little pier so that you could walk all the way out onto the edge of the deepest part of the lake and watch wildlife. Make yourself a nice hot cup of tea and walk out onto the pier at dusk, or dawn and watch the lake come to life.
Or do what we did, and light a little candle, start the fan, and just sit on the bench in the screened in porch and have some dinner (which we did some great things with) and watch night come.
Can’t say that I am an early enough riser (without the help of an alarm clock) to be able to say I saw the day come!!
We went into the actual Lake Caddo National Park on Saturday, and took a few of the trails, saw some frogs and other critters (none that were really cool though like snakes or bears) and even saw some poor little dead opossums. We are not sure what happened there, because they were just wee babies.
It was peaceful, and relaxing, and so quiet. It was a great time.
Then came the time to head back home!
We packed up the car, and headed out.
First thing, we noticed one of the tires was low on air, so we checked them all, and they were all a bit low, so we decided to find a gas station and fill them up in the next town big enough to have a gas station that might have air.
So we find a town that has a few stations, and pull over to the first one that is on our side of the road, fill up with fuel, and notice that the air thing is broken.
So we ask the cashier where the nearest place would be that had air that worked, and she pointed us to a place real close to them, so we drive over there, and lo and behold, theirs is broken too. So we had passed a gas station on the other side of the road coming into town, so we head back that way. We finally hit the jackpot, and filled all the tires up with a bit more air.
So once again, we hit the road.
A little while later, we started seeing little ants crawling around in the car. So we just kept going thinking that a few must have transferred in with some of the bags.
Pretty soon, we realized that there may be a bigger issue at hand.
So we found a car wash a little ways off the road that had a vacuum thinking that we would find a few ants, and just suck them up.
Little did we know the true infestation that had happened!
We take out the bags, and see 100’s of ants, so we start up the vacuum, and really get them stirred up!
We vacuum and vacuum until we think we have them all, check all the bags, and Butch’s blankets, and such, and do not see any more ants, so we load back up, and take off. Not 10 minutes later, the little buggers that were left come out of where ever they were hiding and start to crawl all over us (ick!)
So we decided that maybe since the vacuum was sooo loud, that they all hid when it came out, so we found a Wal-Mart and I ran in to see if I could find any of those little glue type traps that you put around in your house. They did not have anything there that we could really use in a car driving down the road except some glue traps that were more meant for mice, but I figured they were only $2, I could get those and see if they worked.
We get them out of the package, and place four of them in the back where we had found most of the ants before, and get read to go again. I tell butch to get into the car, and open the door to realize too late that he had to jump right where I had put the traps to get onto the seat. (augh!) He jumped right into both traps, and got his paws all gluey. I could not help too much to stop him, because just putting the traps down had gotten my fingers a bit covered in glue, as well as I had also bought a can of ant spray that I had put down on the part of the door that we had thought they had run into, and then wiped it off the leather where I had accidentally sprayed. So I had glue, and ant poison on my hands, and really did not want to handle Butch…
We were about done with all this mess!!! LOL
So we got the glue traps off of Butch (and in doing so got more on me!!) and stopped at Wendy’s since it was time to eat if we were going to have to keep dealing with issues like these all day!!
I went into Wendy’s, and worked pretty hard to get the glue off of my hands the whole time thinking to myself how in the world am I going to get this stuff off of Butch’s paws???
I grabbed a whole handful of paper towels, got one group sudded up with soap, one group sopping wet with just water to rinse, and some dry ones, and took them out to start to work on Butch.
I got as much glue off as I could, and figured the rest would just have to wear off!
Went back into Wendy’s grabbed some grub, and asked if anyone there knew of a park we could sit down and eat our food at…they all kind of looked at each other and said “none of us live here, so we don’t know” (they commute to work at Wendy’s?)
Then one guy said “on my way to work this morning, I saw a picnic bench under some trees behind the hospital down the road…
I figured this was our best bet. I did not want to eat in an ant infested car with glue traps catching Butch, and poison fumes rolling around!
We found the table right were the guy said it was, and noticed little ant hills all around it (the ants are taking over our world at this point)
But it was a really nice day, and the bench was under some really nice shade trees, so we sat down and ate lunch!
Got bit by a fire ant, and then headed back to the car to once again try to make it home.
We were killing ants the whole way home, there are finger prints all over the windows with little ant voids in them where we were squashing them.
Man, was it good to get home!!!
Needless to say, both of us got bit a few times by the ever present ants!
I jumped in the shower as soon as I got home to get rid of the creepy crawly feeling that ants were still crawling on me!
This morning when I went to work, there were remnants of little ants killed by poison but I saw no living ants.
Thank heaven!!!
The trip was fantastic! And the ride home was very eventful, but I feel so blessed to have been able to go, and enjoy the weekend, and still get home safe and unharmed (except for those little bites!!!)
I will post some pictures later!
We left for Uncertain TX Friday mid morning, and got there in just enough time to be hungry for lunch, so we quickly put together some lunch, and then after we had our energy back, we roamed around the little house where we were going to be staying the weekend. It was a really cute little place; with frogs and Lilly pads as the décor (I love frogs, so I felt right at home).
The lake was right outside the back door, and they had built a little pier so that you could walk all the way out onto the edge of the deepest part of the lake and watch wildlife. Make yourself a nice hot cup of tea and walk out onto the pier at dusk, or dawn and watch the lake come to life.
Or do what we did, and light a little candle, start the fan, and just sit on the bench in the screened in porch and have some dinner (which we did some great things with) and watch night come.
Can’t say that I am an early enough riser (without the help of an alarm clock) to be able to say I saw the day come!!
We went into the actual Lake Caddo National Park on Saturday, and took a few of the trails, saw some frogs and other critters (none that were really cool though like snakes or bears) and even saw some poor little dead opossums. We are not sure what happened there, because they were just wee babies.
It was peaceful, and relaxing, and so quiet. It was a great time.
Then came the time to head back home!
We packed up the car, and headed out.
First thing, we noticed one of the tires was low on air, so we checked them all, and they were all a bit low, so we decided to find a gas station and fill them up in the next town big enough to have a gas station that might have air.
So we find a town that has a few stations, and pull over to the first one that is on our side of the road, fill up with fuel, and notice that the air thing is broken.
So we ask the cashier where the nearest place would be that had air that worked, and she pointed us to a place real close to them, so we drive over there, and lo and behold, theirs is broken too. So we had passed a gas station on the other side of the road coming into town, so we head back that way. We finally hit the jackpot, and filled all the tires up with a bit more air.
So once again, we hit the road.
A little while later, we started seeing little ants crawling around in the car. So we just kept going thinking that a few must have transferred in with some of the bags.
Pretty soon, we realized that there may be a bigger issue at hand.
So we found a car wash a little ways off the road that had a vacuum thinking that we would find a few ants, and just suck them up.
Little did we know the true infestation that had happened!
We take out the bags, and see 100’s of ants, so we start up the vacuum, and really get them stirred up!
We vacuum and vacuum until we think we have them all, check all the bags, and Butch’s blankets, and such, and do not see any more ants, so we load back up, and take off. Not 10 minutes later, the little buggers that were left come out of where ever they were hiding and start to crawl all over us (ick!)
So we decided that maybe since the vacuum was sooo loud, that they all hid when it came out, so we found a Wal-Mart and I ran in to see if I could find any of those little glue type traps that you put around in your house. They did not have anything there that we could really use in a car driving down the road except some glue traps that were more meant for mice, but I figured they were only $2, I could get those and see if they worked.
We get them out of the package, and place four of them in the back where we had found most of the ants before, and get read to go again. I tell butch to get into the car, and open the door to realize too late that he had to jump right where I had put the traps to get onto the seat. (augh!) He jumped right into both traps, and got his paws all gluey. I could not help too much to stop him, because just putting the traps down had gotten my fingers a bit covered in glue, as well as I had also bought a can of ant spray that I had put down on the part of the door that we had thought they had run into, and then wiped it off the leather where I had accidentally sprayed. So I had glue, and ant poison on my hands, and really did not want to handle Butch…
We were about done with all this mess!!! LOL
So we got the glue traps off of Butch (and in doing so got more on me!!) and stopped at Wendy’s since it was time to eat if we were going to have to keep dealing with issues like these all day!!
I went into Wendy’s, and worked pretty hard to get the glue off of my hands the whole time thinking to myself how in the world am I going to get this stuff off of Butch’s paws???
I grabbed a whole handful of paper towels, got one group sudded up with soap, one group sopping wet with just water to rinse, and some dry ones, and took them out to start to work on Butch.
I got as much glue off as I could, and figured the rest would just have to wear off!
Went back into Wendy’s grabbed some grub, and asked if anyone there knew of a park we could sit down and eat our food at…they all kind of looked at each other and said “none of us live here, so we don’t know” (they commute to work at Wendy’s?)
Then one guy said “on my way to work this morning, I saw a picnic bench under some trees behind the hospital down the road…
I figured this was our best bet. I did not want to eat in an ant infested car with glue traps catching Butch, and poison fumes rolling around!
We found the table right were the guy said it was, and noticed little ant hills all around it (the ants are taking over our world at this point)
But it was a really nice day, and the bench was under some really nice shade trees, so we sat down and ate lunch!
Got bit by a fire ant, and then headed back to the car to once again try to make it home.
We were killing ants the whole way home, there are finger prints all over the windows with little ant voids in them where we were squashing them.
Man, was it good to get home!!!
Needless to say, both of us got bit a few times by the ever present ants!
I jumped in the shower as soon as I got home to get rid of the creepy crawly feeling that ants were still crawling on me!
This morning when I went to work, there were remnants of little ants killed by poison but I saw no living ants.
Thank heaven!!!
The trip was fantastic! And the ride home was very eventful, but I feel so blessed to have been able to go, and enjoy the weekend, and still get home safe and unharmed (except for those little bites!!!)
I will post some pictures later!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Lawn mowing....Augh!
Yesterday was lawn mowing Day again…I so don’t look forward to Tuesdays as I know that I am going to need to go home and mow the lawn.
Last week due to my schedule with the Store, I was only able to get the front yard mowed before it got dark, so this week the back yard was pretty long! Plus when I got the Weed eater/edger out to do all the edges, it has passed on, and I am going to need to either see if I can find a new fuel tank I can order, or buy a completely new one. The Fuel tank leaks all over, and hence does not have pressure so I can’t even get it to start. So mowing the lawn in 100 degree weather yesterday was a joy!!! Love it, Love it, Love it!!
i am always pleased with the end results, so it is usually worth it! I do wish I had been able to edge as it always makes it look crisp and clean.
Last week due to my schedule with the Store, I was only able to get the front yard mowed before it got dark, so this week the back yard was pretty long! Plus when I got the Weed eater/edger out to do all the edges, it has passed on, and I am going to need to either see if I can find a new fuel tank I can order, or buy a completely new one. The Fuel tank leaks all over, and hence does not have pressure so I can’t even get it to start. So mowing the lawn in 100 degree weather yesterday was a joy!!! Love it, Love it, Love it!!
i am always pleased with the end results, so it is usually worth it! I do wish I had been able to edge as it always makes it look crisp and clean.
Training
Since I got this new position, I don’t feel like my feet have touched the ground! I have loved it! There have been a few moments with me fighting with Excel trying to get the darn formulas to work, but I love to be busy, and I love to learn and I have been almost overwhelmed with both!
My first official week in this new position, I actually spent in the store. The entire week. I was trying to learn everything I could about the business that we will be looking to improve.
I think I forgot how tired working in the stores makes you. I was beat everyday when I came home.
One crazy thing about the week: There are probably 6 stores within a 20 mile radius that I could have gone to, but they asked that I go to one in Fort Worth which is a 2 hour drive for me. So I was driving for 4 hours a day plus working 9 hours trying to learn everything that I could as fast as I could.
So needless to say, being up at 5am and out the door, and not getting home till past 7, I did not have time to hardly do anything!
It was a very good week though, and I learned tons! I just now hope that I can teach the rest of my team everything that I learned!
My first official week in this new position, I actually spent in the store. The entire week. I was trying to learn everything I could about the business that we will be looking to improve.
I think I forgot how tired working in the stores makes you. I was beat everyday when I came home.
One crazy thing about the week: There are probably 6 stores within a 20 mile radius that I could have gone to, but they asked that I go to one in Fort Worth which is a 2 hour drive for me. So I was driving for 4 hours a day plus working 9 hours trying to learn everything that I could as fast as I could.
So needless to say, being up at 5am and out the door, and not getting home till past 7, I did not have time to hardly do anything!
It was a very good week though, and I learned tons! I just now hope that I can teach the rest of my team everything that I learned!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Bosses
I guess it is time for another post. I have been asked to take another position at work. It is not a promotion, or a raise, just a different set of responsibilities, and a new Boss. It always makes me a bit nervous when I get a new boss, you are not sure what the expectations will be, or if they will be hard to work for, or too easy. It is not easy being the boss, I know, that is why I really do try to get along with all my managers, because even if they are terrible, they are still a person who was good enough at something to be promoted, so I try really hard to find that thing that someone saw in them, and bring it out to help myself!
That is not always easy, and also not always possible! Sometimes the wrong person is in a position of power, and you just have to grin and bear it until you get moved on, or they do!
I really have been very blessed in my life to have many great leaders, and managers. I have had a few rotten ones, and I just hoped that I could make it! It is really amazing the statistics on why people leave the job that they are in. The number 1 reason people look for new jobs, or leave their current job is due to management.
For those of you who have had a jerk boss, I am sure you completely understand!!
There is the misconception that is all about pay and everyone is always looking for more money, but the fact of the matter is, if you pay a fair wage, and you have a good work environment where you have good management, people want to stay and work for you.
I will get off my soap box now, I just know how important it is to have a manager who works with you, and allows you the ability to do your job, and get good results. I hope that with my new manager I get that!
That is not always easy, and also not always possible! Sometimes the wrong person is in a position of power, and you just have to grin and bear it until you get moved on, or they do!
I really have been very blessed in my life to have many great leaders, and managers. I have had a few rotten ones, and I just hoped that I could make it! It is really amazing the statistics on why people leave the job that they are in. The number 1 reason people look for new jobs, or leave their current job is due to management.
For those of you who have had a jerk boss, I am sure you completely understand!!
There is the misconception that is all about pay and everyone is always looking for more money, but the fact of the matter is, if you pay a fair wage, and you have a good work environment where you have good management, people want to stay and work for you.
I will get off my soap box now, I just know how important it is to have a manager who works with you, and allows you the ability to do your job, and get good results. I hope that with my new manager I get that!
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