A Slow-Down...

This week is usually one of the hardest of the year in what I do for work. Not too many people have money, and the rest of those who do have money, or do the doling out, are on vacation until after the first of the year. It makes collecting a very hard thing to do. It doesn't help that I have a brand new location in our system... and that the in-house A/R person is also doing my work. Tuesday was really bad... as I worked through part of my aging report, she was also working the same section. It became a race to see who could contact the most customers... she was told that I would be handling all accounts from now on... and I will make certain that's the case at the beginning of the month. For now, I will take the help.

Anyway... because it was so slow, I did some training, and I got to leave work early because the phones were so quiet. My boss asked me if I was interested in taking today off... and I of course said Yes! So, I get to enjoy 4 days off... and it won't involve going to a hospital or having a medical procedure. Today... I tried to be lazy in the morning... and then I needed to run a few errands and needed to go north. So I packed Punky up in her pink Rock Star coat and took her with me... stopping into my office on the way, to introduce her to my office mates. She was a huge hit... everyone needs to have a little "puppy break" during the day. (Of course, everyone was leaving at noon today anyway due to mandatory shut-down. I told you, it's been slow!) It was fun for me to share my Punky with the people I work with... and everyone was so happy and smiling when I was done. How fun is that?

I am also beginning to take down my Christmas decorations. I am so going to miss our Christmas tree this year. We both have enjoyed it so much... watching it evolve as we shopped for new decorations and we now have our own family tree instead of just all my decorations from years past. It's been fun to collaborate with DH and get his ideas of what he likes... he really enjoys being able to have a say about things like that... he always tells me that the decision is up to me... but he has a pretty good eye for design! I think the tree will come down on Saturday... that's usually when my Mom did it. But it was always after we watched the Rose Parade and had a good breakfast.

Oh... and speaking of breakfast, I had breakfast for dinner last night. We stopped into Cracker Barrel, and I ordered the cinnamon french toast... and oh my! It was so delicious. I only ate half of it, and enjoyed the second half for breakfast this morning. I will be having that again soon!

Thanks for reading... Have a Happy New Year... and be blessed!
~Suzanne

Waiting for it!

We are waiting and watching... for the snow to begin. They are calling for between 10 and 15 inches to fall on us between this afternoon and tomorrow. And calling for high winds as well.

I managed to get up and out of the house fairly early for a Sunday morning... as I wanted to be sure we had everything we needed in the event we don't get out in the next day or two. It's not really a great thought as neither one of us has any personal time to use. DH has used all of his with my being in the hospital last week and I don't get any for another 9 months. Oh Well... as they say!

I have butter beans slow-cooking in the oven, and glazed ham from yesterday. We have yummy rolls from Christmas eve, and lots of other goodies to munch on when the need arises. We also went to the movies last night and had chinese food for dinner. (Yeah... we can be "heathens" like that! lol) It is something that I have always done since I was first married and living 3000 miles away from family. After getting divorced, I still did it... and it's something DH and I decided we wanted to continue... again, as we don't have family very close by. We loved having time away from home and just laughing... and we both ate sparingly on the chinese food as DH was rather full... and I didn't want the MSG headache. (I did get the headache later tho.)

Our Christmas has been quiet... we didn't really exchange gifts this year. We did adopt a family through work, and donated to give them a nice holiday. We did a few other charity things... and it was easy and not hectic to try and get all that shopping done, and have to get wrapping done. We did buy gifts for Nolli and Punky... it's always great fun to give gifts to Nolli as he understands presents and unwrapping things. He gets so excited and so happy about having a present. They got new collars, new bowls, each got a new toy, and DH splurged and bought them a new running fountain water dish. Nolli really likes it... Punky, I'm not too sure about. She doesn't understand presents and really just wanted to be in my arms through it all. She gets so shy and uncertain when there are new things introduced to the house.

There you have it... we had a wonderful day at home, a fun evening out at the movies and yummy chinese food... a peaceful and joyous holiday!
Thanks for reading... be blessed!
~Suzanne

A Fast Update...

Because I am suppose to be on my way to bed right now! My back is killing me... because I managed to get a huge burst of energy tonight! I stopped at the store on my way home for a couple of ingredients and then came home to get busy. Along with cooking dinner... I whipped up some peppermint bark (thanks to DH for getting the peppermint crushed!) and made chili cheese dip for work tomorrow. I bagged up the bark for gifts for a few of my coworkers (friends!) and baked some toll house cookies without chocolate chipd for another coworker that sits right next to me.

I've cleaned and loaded the dishwasher, and washed the rest of the stuff that won't fit into it.... and I'm more than a little tired. I also managed to write a few more Christmas cards. Whew..... that's enough for tonite... as I still need to lay out what I am wearing tomorrow. We do have an early release... but haven't been told what time we will be done. It makes for a long day... because I am pretty much done with my work for the week. I did have my weekly one on one with my regional manager... and she is very happy with my work. She loves that I have answers and have already been through my book twice since getting it on Friday. (I have lots and lots of issues... but I look forward to dealing with all those challenges and seeing good results.)

It's still bitter cold here and I just heard the wind rattling the windows facing the south. We're looking forward to some time off and just being home. We don't have any big Christmas surprises for each other... we decided that we want to do some electrical work in the kitchen so I can move a few things around and then add a small flat screen tv to one wall. That's my present and one I really wanted! lol

Thanks for reading... be blessed!
~Suzanne

He Bakes!

I just have to share with you that DH baked gingerbread cookies for me today to take to work tomorrow. We are having a cookie swap... and he knew that I wouldn't have to endurance to roll and cut out cookies. He did it for me... and they turned out perfect and yummy! I sat and frosted and decorated them. And I can't wait to take them in tomorrow!

He's been taking very good care of me... making sure that I don't over do things and being sure that I sit and rest when I feel dizzy and winded. We've had a great weekend, which included taking me to the eye doctor to get my eyes dilated and also pick up my new glasses, we did a little Christmas shopping, and had lunch out. We came home and worked on a few things around here and then went to the little pizza shop down on the highway... it was deserted for a Saturday night, but we had a fabulous pie! And I think I became a fan for life... they sprinkle the entire pie with fresh oregano... and it has such good flavor! Yummmmmmm! I think I gained 2 pounds from all the good food we had this weekend.

Thanks for reading... be blessed!
~Suzanne

Rock-and-Roll Kinda week...

Ok... here goes... I haven't been feeling good for over a week. We all know I have health "issues"... and we know that I really hate to go to the doctor. DH made an appointment to see my primary care physician on Tuesday to see about my "issues." I was having trouble breathing, having chest pain and pressure, dizziness and fatigue. I cannot carry anything upstairs... without having to rest. On Monday at work, I sounded like I was talking underwater. So, DH made the appointment... and I went.

While I was in the doctor's office, he observed my having one of those episodes... and call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. Once there, I stayed in the ER for about 2 hours and was then admitted. While there, I had another echo cardiogram and then had the "distinct joy" of having heart catheterization. Long story short... (I have aortic stenosis that has passed the 5 year mark) The cardiologist didn't see any blockages and that my aortic valve has dilated some, but that as a cardiac patient, I was is very good health... giving me a cardiac clearance.

I will still need to go see my primary care doctor, and I will have to go see my general surgeon to have another endoscope done. And I am thinking I need to see my endocrinologist as it could possibly be that my Vitamin D levels are too low and can cause some of the issues I am having. So... I still don't know too much other than my heart is ok... (which really is a huge deal!) So... I'm off to have a light snack and a nap... able to rest with the knowledge that even if my chest feels like it will explode, it's not my heart!

Thanks for reading....  and be blessed!

Grateful Times

We've just passed Thanksgiving... and we had a wonderful holiday. The weeks before that holiday, DH had medical testing, and had to go for a second test. We've held our breath and decided not to really talk about it until we knew. Yesterday the call was made... and DH got the final results... he does not have cancer as previously thought. We are quietly thankful and grateful that God has heard our prayers.(I only freaked out twice in the last month...)

We are both working very hard these days... and today I was awarded a free vacation day for all my hard work in the past month, bringing my collection percentage down over 8%... it's a good thing if you can move your aging report down 5%... and I am on my way to moving it another 5% this next month as well... and it's only the 3rd of the month. Work is getting easier for me... I am getting used to the routine and I am not stressed as I was in the beginning. Other people are seeing my value and how hard I work at what I do... I am lucky and blessed that I seem to get a response when I call and I'm not afraid to dig around for information or ask for someone else if need be to get what I want or need.

Tonite we are home after having a nice dinner out to celebrate. We stopped at the local Big Box store and finished purchasing the rest of our decorations for our tree. We've decided that we wanted a new look for our tree, something that we both liked that reflected who we are now. I hope to finish getting it decorated and post a picture here soon... that is if I am still posting. I'm still undecided on that issue. We have much to accomplish this weekend...  I hope I get all I want to do... done!

Thanks for reading...  be blessed!
~Suzanne