it's so much fun catching up with old friends.

When I heard that my friend J was coming into town for the Thanksgiving holiday, I suggested that we get together for drinks. I had not seen her since February, and prior to that, it had been many many years. As the holiday grew closer, the guest list to our night out grew larger in that the evening developed into a mini high school reunion. There were about 20 of us that met up last night and all had a wonderful time catching up and reminiscing about the past. I hadn't stayed in touch with a lot of people from high school (except the one I married), but I think I will be in contact with a few old friends that I reconnected with last night.

xoxo

-P-

I really don't want to be at work today...

I had really planned on getting up early this morning and going to Target (one of my favorite stores) for a few Black Friday deals before work. I set my alarm for 5:00a... or so I thought. The alarm time was set, but I didn't turn it on. So, around 8:00a this morning, I drug my ass out of bed and got ready for work. As I drove past stores and malls, I was starting to not feel well... I think it's shopping withdrawal.

I am getting a lot done today. I have a huge presentation next week that I am preparing for, and working on testing some enhancements to our recruitment software that we are implementing this month. Nothing exciting, but crap that needs to get done.

The majority of our department is closed today. Our main door is open, but no one is at the front desk to greet, so people keep walking in and wandering around until they find someone to help them. It's so annoying... so I decided to put a big sign on the front door that says...

CORPORATE HUMAN RESOURCES IS CLOSED TODAY

FRIDAY 11/28/08

SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE

Funny... people don't read. I have had 5 people in the last 1/2 hour come in and wander down to my office (or yell "helllllooooo" from the front). I think I am closing my office door and let the others fend for themselves!

Or better yet...maybe I can sneak out early and go shopping!

xoxo

-P-

Happy Turkey Day!

My mom-in-law is watching Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with my daughter. My hubby and his brother and dad have been gone for hours... went to go kick footballs @ the local HS football field. Tradition I guess... but I would rather be sitting on the couch with the dogs drinking a nice hot cup of coffee! My son is up in his room watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for the 127th time. He keeps rewinding it back to the part where Lucy pulls the football out from under Charlie Brown and he falls flat on his back. He has been laughing up there for over 20 minutes.

It's a night of Charlies and footballs around here!

Wishing you all a wonderful day of friends, family and fabulous food!

xoxo

-P-

I can't wait for Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Usually about this time I totally give up on my diet (which as in many years didn't not go so well since it's inception on January 1st) and look forward to the Feast. What I enjoy most is the preparation. Planning the meal. Shopping for food and drinks (this is where I have lots of fun planning out some new wines to taste... oh and luckily I am the only one in the family that appreciates wine. Actually, I am the only one that drinks wine. Still, it's fun, and I get to keep it all to myself!)

We always have my hubby's family over for Thanksgiving. My parents normally head to the casino and my bro is usually hung over from bar night on Wednesday. He is a Vegan, so the thought of a dead turkey carcass probably keeps him away more than the hangover does.

This year will be a little different though. My in-laws are bringing almost all the food. The turkey ready to drop into the deep-fryer. The green bean casserole (which is fine, because I totally hate it and only make it because they all love it) a pie, rolls, and her famous cheese ball (well, I love it so I would consider it famous!) At first I was a little like... "Gosh, there is nothing for me to do if Mom is bringing everything". But now I am totally loving it! I don't have to go crazy trying to do it all! So this is what cooperation is like?

My daughter and I will still make my grandma's rice pilaf (and Armenian tradition in our family... can't have a holiday without pilaf) and of course mashed potatoes and stuffing. Carbs are my speciality. Looks like I will have some extra time to enjoy that yummy wine!

- P -

when should you really start your holiday shopping?

I am a huge procrastinator. Huge. I will put off anything I really don't want to do. Cleaning, laundry, paying bills, making doctor's appointments for myself (but I will say that I am faithful in making my dentist appointments. One, because I love having clean white teeth. Two, because my dentist is so cute!)

One thing that I don't procrastinate on (but probably should) is my holiday shopping. I could by Christmas gifts all year round... primarily because I love to shop. What stops me is the lack of shopping funds, and my fear that I missed out on a good deal.

Black Friday is a tradition that I use to take part of every year. I would map out our shopping itinerary and my mom and I would get up at the crack of dawn to beat the crowds. After many hours, many cups of coffee and a trunk full of packages, we would head home.

Mom doesn't like to shop much anymore (retirement leaves limited funds for the casino and those 4:00p buffet dinners) so our tradition has died off, but not my quest to get the best deals on those "must have" gifts.

So far, my "must haves" that I am in search of the best deals are:

A really good quality portable DVD player with a 4hr + battery
iPod Touch
Craftsman tools (guess who for?)

The list will grow, but if you see a great deal... let me know! Happy shopping season everyone! xo

-P-

Reality TV has gone too far...

I am trying to remember when all this insane Reality TV started. I know there have always been game shows and some of the Late Night talk shows would involve audience members in small bits between guest, but today it seems like the Reality TV nightmare had taken over my Cable TV (I just realized that there is an entire cable network channel devoted to Reality shows, and I believe I heard something about an actual award show??? WTF!)

I have to confess that although I am bitching about it... I do watch a few shows. My daughter and I have a ritual each with that involves popcorn and Dancing With The Stars (but I would use the term "stars" lightly). She also likes watching The Biggest Loser (probably taking notes on diet tips for her mom). I have seen that show Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader (I am not...) And back in the day, I was a big Real World fan (way back in the day).

I remember watching the first season of American Idol. This was back when it was a real competition, not a huge infomercial for Ford. Before the "niche" was to bring on those people that have no singing ability and make fun of them on national television. Yes, I have not watched another season of AI since it's Kelly Clarkson days.

I read today that a former "contestant", who was obsessed with Paula Abdul (again, WTF?) was found dead in her car outside of Paula's house in Calli. On several websites and on a few high quality entertainment news shows (okay.. I can't even type that without laughing) this was a top story. Sadly, there didn't appear to be much sympathy for the person that died. No sympathy for any friends or family that are probably distraught over losing someone close to them. No, what we see is a clip from her AI audition, where she is obviously on TV only for "entertainment value". I know that some people do go out for those shows in hopes of getting that 15 minutes of fame (whether it's a good or bad 15 minutes), but obviously this woman had some issues. This is not entertainment, at least not to me.

Okay... I will get down from my soapbox... for now.

I should introduce myself...

Last night, as I was posting my blog, I was amazed (and excited) to see that I had my first "follower". I think everyone that keeps a blog hopes that someone is reading it, and that their words are not just left out in cyberspace, never to be appreciated. So I wanted to welcome my new fan (or critic... your choice) and feel it appropriate to share a little bit about myself...

I am from a mid-sized city just outside of Detroit. Lived in Michigan all my life. I like it here... although the economy sucks, the auto industry has left so many of my fellow "Michiganders" out of work, and there are more homes for sale or up for auction (due to foreclosure) than I have ever seen before. But yet, I call Michigan my home and I don't think I will ever leave.

I am married. My hubby and I actually went to High School together, but never dated back then (actually, he may be one of the few guys in HS that I didn't mess around with...) We have two really cool kids and besides never having enough money, we are all pretty happy.

If I were to describe my personality in three words, I would probably choose...

Spunky (even on very little sleep)
Authoritative (but I also take feedback very well... so please feel free to fire away)
Somewhat of a Smart Ass (okay... that's way more than three words, but whatever)

So, to my first follower... welcome and I hope you stick around. Feel free to invite your friends!

- P -

I need to ...

Pay bills... I am sure I have a ton of late fees (as always), but there's not much left in the checking account until payday.

Do the dishes... I so hate doing dishes. There are three other people in this house that use as many of them as I do, but it seems like I am the only one that ever gets stuck with this task.

Do some laundry... the kids and the hubby have clean clothes for tomorrow (I hope), but my wardrobe choice for tomorrow is a bit questionable at this point.

Make some dinner for hubby to take to work... I don't think he will appreciate my "make a ham sandwich" comment yet again tomorrow.

Straighten up the living room... our sitter must think I am a total slob. Luckily she has known me for years and knows how busy I am all the time.

So, instead of doing any of the above, I finished some work I needed to do for a huge meeting tomorrow, and then I slammed two huge Margaretta's while watching Gossip Girl (I set the DVR so I can FF past the commercials) and last weeks episode of Sons of Anarchy (yes, I am torn between two identities... yearning to be a socialite in NYC and dreams of being a sexy biker babe)

Now I am going to bed... sweet dreams xoxo

- P -

when I grow up, I want to be a...

One of the things I regret the most (and believe me, it's a long list) is not finishing college. I can blame my parents for not letting me move to Marquette after graduation and attend NMU. I can blame my "not so motivated" friends from high school that also stayed home to take those tough classes like bowling at the community college (I did get an A). I could blame my parents for not being strict with me and motivate me more to achieve what neither one of them did. But in the end, the only person I can blame is myself.

So, last year, I finally took the plunge and went back to school. My work schedule permitted it, and my hubby's schedule allowed for him to be with the kids the one night a week I was in class.

I figured the most logical degree to pursue would be my BBA with a concentration in Human Resource Management. I have been working in HR for a ton of years and have probably worked in every area of HR there is. I have been with my current employer for over 11 years, and I figured it should be easy to move up that Corporate ladder once I get my degree.... right?

Well, college is taking a lot longer that I thought. As I do more research, the program I am in is requiring me to take a lot of extra courses, and I have been getting the run-around in my pursuit of receiving "life credits" for my vast years in HR.

As my current position is in HR Technology, I ponder the question if my "ladder" should lean towards a HR management position, or lean it more towards the technology side. The IT field is growing by leaps and bounds, and as I could never be someone who sits behind a desk and write code all day, I do thrive off of projects and analysis and being challenged by implementing a new piece of software or technology. One other benefit to the IT field is that it's more focused on experience and knowledge, not just a degree.

Don't get me wrong... I totally intend on finishing college. But I really need to analyze what I want to do and not spend extra time and effort on classes that may not help me with my career goals.

I guess it's time for me to grow up and figure out what I want to do...

I should start a blog...

The popularity of blogs have grown enormously in the past few years. Some people read... others write...

I have been following a couple blogs for about a year now... I appreciate many of the ideas and stories being shared with their followers, and I have even posted a comment or two when the topic struck a cord (either positively or negatively)...

So, by jumping on the "blogging bandwagon", I hope to give friends and family (that I unfortunately don't call too often) a means to check up on me, and to give others hopefully something entertaining to read.

For me, this is my way to vent... celebrate... ponder... and gossip about anything (and everything) I want! This should be fun!

- P -