Is time really flying?

Is it me or is January just flying by? I seriously feel like it was last week that we were celebrating New Years. This weather certainly does not help the fact that I can't keep my mind straight on what month we are even in! Can you believe it was almost 60 yesterday in Pittsburgh? Hellllllo! It is January...when it is supposed to be blizzarding and icing, making my morning commute hell. Since when do we get thunderstorm warnings in January? Welcome to 2012 where all strange things are going to happen.

I swear come every Tuesday I am wishing it was Friday. Sure, we all do because Friday is much better than Tuesday. For me, there isn't any reason in particular that I wish it was Friday, besides the obvious, but I just feel like once I get to Wednesday that Monday and Tuesday are just a blur and Thursday just flies by so Friday can get here. Is time going faster than ever?

This year will actually be a longer year than normal thanks to Leap Year and the fact that the controllers of universal time are actually adding a second of time at the end of one of the months. Forgive me but I can't exactly remember which month and the Google machine isn't giving me anything, but I want to say that it is going to happen on the last day of May going into June. The world clock will basically be held for 1 second, so June will get here 1 second later than normal. No big deal for us. We won't even notice, but this is due to the rotation of the Earth and the sun, etc. etc. etc. space geeks.

The point is, do you remember when it felt like Christmas would never get here? When it was forever until your birthday or the last day of school? Now time just slips away when I want it to slow down the most. I want to enjoy this time in my life, when I am still young. I don't want to rush to 50 anytime soon even though I am halfway there. Actually, we will be lucky if we make it past 2012 since the world is supposed to end this year. So that explains all of the strange happenings...

Is your life just passing you on by these days like mine? How do we make it slow down? I don't know how to get out of my normal Monday through Friday routine to break the time-space-continum thingy since I wake up, go to work, get home, do a couple things around the house, have dinner, shower and go back to sleep to do it all over again. Thank God for the weekend. But can it get here faster, please?

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On the Twelfth Working Day of Christmas...

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....12 drummers drumming!

Yes- we are the blueman group! SURPRISE!! Not really...sorry for the holiday let down. Hope you dont have another one of those this year.
Drums make me think of a couple of things. First would be my sister-in-laws nephew who has been drumming since he could move his hands. In fact, this year for his birthday he got a whole drum set. I am calling it now...future rock star!
I also think of Phil Collins rocking it out on the drums, Katie could attest to the love for Ringo Starr of the Beatles, and I totally remember my middle school band director (don’t judge me) just putting us all into a trance whenever he played. He was really good.
Drums also make me think of heartbeats. It is that constant beat within us that keeps us moving throughout the day, accomplishing our goals and living our lives to the fullest. This holiday season may be crazy and hectic, but I am glad that I get to live my life to the fullest and share it with my family and friends.
So for all of you, I hope you survived the 12 working days of Christmas, because we know we almost didn’t, and were able to learn a bit more about the meanings behind each story to us.

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On the First Working Day...

"On the first working day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree."

I am not an expert on the Partridge family, partridges or pears, but I do love dessert. So in honor of the holiday season of baking, here is a recipe that includes pears, as well as gingerbread and a little bit of booze. Although I usually don't care for fruit desserts, this might be worth trying!

Enjoy!

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EXHAUSTED...That's How I Feel!

This time of year is hard for everyone.  Not only do you have work and family obligations but the holidays are rapidly approaching which means, cooking, gift buying, decorating and just going here, there and everywhere.  It’s difficult and I honestly don’t know how we all do it!

The last week was completely exhausting for me.  It started off with a quick three-day trip to Philadelphia which did wrap up my travel season for my “big girl” job.  Thank goodness…I really don’t think I could get on one more airplane this year.  I got back to the ‘burgh and worked my Wednesday night and Thursday day shift at our bar.  Friday I managed to almost finish my Christmas shopping and then it was back to work at the bar for the weekend and let me tell you, this weekend was tough!  It was the first weekend, in almost five years of ownership, where I had a mental break from dealing with the type of people you have deal with in a bar.  I now know, and completely understand, why people in the service industry are slightly "off" from the rest of the population.

Friday night I had the most ridiculous customers...EVER!  We had DJs and the music was great but I was dealing with complete asses and/or amateurs.  One woman, who I absolutely cannot stand (I’m desperately trying to figure out a way to get her ban for life) actually tipped me with a plastic, 2006 Steelers football!  Really?!  I had another guy that was buying shot after shot and wouldn’t leave a tip at all and then, to top it all off, I had these amateurs that would come up to me and say “can you make me a shot that doesn’t taste like it has alcohol in it?”  Or the classic, “do you have any beer?”  Seriously…it was enough to make me pluck my eye lashes out one by one and with all the kids coming home from college this week for the Turkey Day holiday, I’m sure I have a week full of fun to look forward too!

Saturday was slightly better.  I of course was up at the crack of dawn but I did manage to get all of the gifts I bought the day before wrapped.  As for down at the bar on Saturday night, it too was slightly better.  The customers were far better than the previous night but we were insanely busy.  I spent most of the night running up and down two flights of stairs (I worked our second floor bar) to get more beer, juice, lemons and limes.  The only real perk was I got an amazing ass workout! J

Don’t get me wrong, I was happy we were busy and making money but I’m EXHAUSTED!  I’m tired of smiling and being nice.  I’m tired of drunk people acting like idiots.  I’m tired of working seven days a week.  I’m tired of cooking, cleaning and grocery shopping.  I’m tired of not getting enough sleep and I’m tired of feeling like a little, old lady when I'm only 33.  I just want to go home, put my jammies on, watch really bad reality TV (perhaps a little Housewives) while drinking hot chocolate spiked with a little something, something until I pass out!  Is that too much to ask for?  I know I probably sound like a whinning, complaining bitch, and I swear I'm not.  I also totally get the motto...Work hard now, play hard later.  Today, I just wish it was later!

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Give a Gift That’s All the Gab!

I know it isn’t Thanksgiving yet, but Christmas is just around the corner and soon enough your company will be hosting its annual holiday party. Most people spend more time at their job than they do with their own families, how sad, but true! Holiday gift exchanges at work are a great way to build camaraderie and holiday spirit among coworkers. We have all probably been to gift exchanges where everyone draws a name and you end up with some stinky bath soap or pair of mittens. Most of the time, no one really knows what to get. People set gift limits such as $15, then when you take back the earrings you got because your ears aren't pierced, you find out they only cost $5, although you spent $17. It definitely ruins the spirit of the holidays when you end up with a crappy gift. At work we have a gift exchange coming up and I found some great ideas that I had to share.

1. Butt Station
This started off being just a gag gift for co-workers but everyone wants a butt station! A fun art deco desk accessory that includes a pen holder, tape dispenser, memo/card holder, paper clip holder and just a great conversation piece all in one! Stands... or sits... about 5" high and comes in a variety of colors including the ever popular neon green, neon orange and bright blue. You can order these on eBay or Amazon.com.

2. Chalkboard Wine Glasses
Why not do a plug for myself. Do you entertain? I saw this somewhere and thought it was a great idea. I have not yet made these but I plan to and I am going to start selling them just in time for the holidays (if you’re interested in purchasing, let me know.) With these glasses, you don’t need charms to keep glasses from getting mixed up - you can write with chalk on the glass. How cool is that? Write your guest’s name or leave a message - something to bring a smile to their face. These will make a great holiday gift!



3. Is your office cold?
Why not give an electric blanket. I have one at my desk and I use it all of the time, I lay it over my chair and use it to make a heated seat, call me crazy, but it is nice! Look at Walmart, Target or Big Lots, they usually have them reasonably priced.

4. Gift Baskets
Create a themed gift basket. Some examples would be a movie basket, a coffee or tea basket, candle basket, or include things from your local sports teams.

5. Edward Scissors
From traditional scissors found in workrooms and classrooms to those used in private kitchens and linen rooms, these scissors come with comical flair.


6. Sampler of different types of hot sauces. Click here, this website has a great selection. Or, try looking on Amazon.com.

7. Wine and lottery tickets
Who doesn’t like the chance to win money? Give a bottle of wine and attach a few lottery tickets, this was a hot item last year for our gift exchange.

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Am I Rambling?

So many things have happened in the last week that I’m not even sure what I should talk about.  So please forgive me if I’m rambling.

Thank You!  I want to personally thank everyone who voted for our bar in the The ‘Burgh’s Best Neighborhood Bar contest.  I still can’t believe we won and we’ve had so much fun talking about it and promoting it down at the bar! 

Welcome ‘Lil Bastard!  For those of you who don’t know me, let me give you a little bit of background before you read the rest of this story.  Last year in October, I was in Dallas, TX, for my “Big Girl Job.”  While there, I managed to be stung by a scorpion seven times on my foot.  Turns out I could have died and since having been stung, I’ve had to adjust to some permanent changes in my foot i.e. I sustained terrible nerve damage and it still swells.  Well, since the scorpion incident, I really wanted to get a tattoo on my foot of a scorpion and the number seven.  This would be my first tattoo and I really thought that this one actually had good meaning behind it and it was a worthy tattoo.  So as a one year anniversary gift to myself, I finally got the tattoo last week while I was in Phoenix.  I named him ‘Lil Bastard in honor of the ‘Lil Bastart that almost took me out!

Snow…really!  It’s already so cold here that we had our first snow over the weekend.  Although it didn’t last long and there are no remnants of it happening other than it’s colder than a “well-diggers behind” out there, I still can’t believe it snowed.  It especially stinks since I just got back from Phoenix where it was 100 degrees!  I suppose it’s time to face the fact that winter is officially here.  It’s time to bust out the snow gear and snowboards and embrace the season.

Happy Halloween!  Today is Halloween so…Happy Halloween!  I hope everyone has a great day especially if you’ll be out trick-or-treating with your little ones.  I also want to say Happy Birthday to my sweet little niece.  Today she turns three. 

I think I’ve done enough rambling for today.  Happy Halloween everyone and be safe!

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Bah, Humbug!

Some of you reading this may start to call me the Grinch, maybe even Scrooge, but I must admit, I am not ready to celebrate Christmas. I am still cursing old pine needles that have randomly found their way into my socks, am I alone? I am not even 100% ready for Halloween (costume ideas?) let alone Thanksgiving, Christmas music, creepy mall Santas and holiday decorations.

Yes, maybe I crossed the line calling mall Santas creepy, I am sure there are some good ones out there. I do not want to exploit my adorable niece so I will refrain from sharing her photo she had taken with Santa a year or so ago - that Santa was just disturbing. I still wonder why my sister thought it was a good idea to let her sit on his lap. For a good laugh, please enjoy these wonderful photos of other mall Santas - you can view them by clicking here.

Anyway, I hope I am not alone when I say that I am not happy about Santa’s early return. I have never enjoyed cold weather, the warm summer months are simply too short. Every year big corporations seem to sneak Christmas in earlier and earlier. I noticed the first holiday display this month while shopping at Target which already had a small corner dedicated to ornaments, stockings and wrapping paper. The over-exposure of all things green and red completely weakens the great feeling you’re supposed to have when the actual holiday arrives.

It is only a matter of time until Downtown Pittsburgh is covered with wreaths, ribbon and garland. Bell ringers will too soon be out in full force, making me feel guilty walking by not giving them some of my hard-earned change. Christmas, as merry as it can be, does not need to hog the entire fourth quarter of the year.

With all we have been through this year, can’t we make it until after Thanksgiving to break out the holiday guest towels? Perhaps I have no heart but I would not be opposed to holding off on the holiday spirit until at least the first of December. Don’t let me fool you, I am no scrooge, I do enjoy the holidays and one good snow storm, but I am willing to wait. I do not want to rush into Christmas so quickly that I forget to enjoy it. With that said, I encourage you to fight the urge of drinking spiked eggnog; after all, it is OK to not be the first one in your neighborhood to put up lights.

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