Life In Lumber: Y6, W51

Day 199: Cold, snowy, teens; 55 t/a

Arrived and took over for Kem, who promptly pulled out the $20 bills, wrapped all but 5, then closed her drawer! Fortunately, HC Austin was there to open it back up.  Things were slow; did prelim duties at 4:30.  Customer asked for 'Mrs. Gonzales'....Pro Zach and I looked puzzled, then realized she meant Pro Kathy!  I paged her, and customer was taken care of. Did my AP4Me, LU, and Active Shooter training. Dawson sent me to lunch at 6:30, and when I returned, it was still slow.  Loader Vince and I brainstormed ideas for his speech tomorrow (settled on CPR) and talked amusement parks. Pulled trash at 8. Sanitized the coffee bar and locked the doors at 9. HC Austin cleaned me out; Loader Vince brought in the concrete and took the trash to the hopper; I returned items to Plumbing, Electrical; Fashion Bath; Paint; and Hardware. Put up my vest and clocked out at 9:20.  D took me to Denny's for a late snack.

From The Stupid Files.....

1) I asked customer for PO; couldn't understand if he said 'Mill' or 'Middle'....turned out to be 'Miller'.

2) Customer wore flip-flops (or slides) and no socks, in this snow. *eye roll*

3) Final customer was a Pro; he had nearly $1400. I told him to get another $150 so he'd qualify for VSP.  Forgot about the fact we'd discounted a vanity from $700 down to $300; VSP refused, and his total was over $1600.  Apologized and he went on his merry way.

Outfit:  Ash gray IN sweatshirt, new dark jeggings, fair isle leggings, small gold hoops

Day 200: Cold, snowy, teens; 65 t/a

Arrived and took over for Kem, then stood around for 2 hours and rang up maybe 10 customers at most. At 5, I did the prelim duties, my LU and my Data Safety training. Was busy until 6:15, then things slowed. Ivree sent me to break at 6:20, and when I returned, swept the floor, mucked the mats, and fronted the soda. Pulled trash at 7:30, and final customer left at closing. HC Austin cleaned me out; I locked the doors and took the trash to the hopper. Returned items to Electrical and Fashion Bath, then clocked out at 9:20.

From The Stupid Files....

1) Woman claimed she'd forgotten her iron elbow, and after getting it, I checked the receipt to make sure she'd gotten the correct one....only she hadn't paid for one. So she did, thanked me, and went on her merry way.

2) Loader Joe was a NCNS.  Hope he's all right.

3) Customer needed ME to call his office to do a phone sale.

4) Customer tried to use his LAR; turned out he went over his limit. So he paid the $200, then everything went through. Then he discovered he'd not been given his tub, so ended up returning the surround and a cabinet while Loader Vince got his correct tub.

Outfit:  Blue Cozy Sweater sweatshirt, white turtleneck, new dark jeggings, fair isle leggings, snowflakes.

Day 201:

Day 202:  Rare Sun

Saluki Con Recap

 Drove over in steady rain, and I'm VERY thankful this venue has a covered loading dock.  Sure, the hard part is putting everything on the dock, climbing the short stairs, then putting it all back in my wagon and navigating the antiquated elevator.  Thankfully, there was a cheerful volunteer who took me up and down, then showed me how to do it myself, since I had a 2nd trip.  Managed to park the car in a close parking space, then commenced setting up my table.

I was very close to my Con-Son, Todd, and right next to my friend and poet Jessica, and also right next to Katie and Matt, organizers of SI Con (who, very nicely are allowing me to pay the day I arrive, providing I have it by then!).

I also talked to the Burg Comics guy (blanking on name....Scott?) about Super Con during Superman Celebration, in case I don't get accepted to Artist Alley again, and he assured my I'd be welcome back, and to look for an email by the end of the month.

Saw Lonnie and Jessica Johnson, and was reacquainted with their daughter Tessa.  Lonnie even has a brand new Superman suit, and it looks great!

Chatted with the PA of another romance author, and was blown away by the fact her books were only $5. Tried to buy one, but kept missing her. I did leave my card at her table, and took one of hers. I'll have to reach out and see if we'll be at any upcoming events together.

Sales-wise, it was rather dismal. Sold one copy of Hotel Stories and another of the sample chapter one. Several were interested, but since the whole thing is due to release soon, they said they'd wait.  I also felt as if I was in another 'black hole'....people would talk to Jessica, bypass me and go either across the aisle to the keychains and dish towels or skip over me to visit Matt and Katie's booth.  Needless to say, I DID hand out a lot of cards, talk to everyone who asked about my books, and handed out a lot of the sneak peeks.

Began packing up at 4:15, since the Sean Astin speaking event was happening at 5:15, and I had to drive home. Got everything loaded into the car by 5, and kept trying to catch the other author, even going back upstairs after I had everything loaded in the car, but to no avail. I then plugged the Shyrock Auditorium into my GPS (was told it was north of where I was, with a gigantic red dome....not easy to miss, right?), and headed off.....but didn't find it. Not even a large arrangement of cars to tip me off I was in the correct place. I flagged down 2 girls and asked if they knew where it was, but they barely spoke English and said no.  So I proceeded to drive off......and got lost. Pulled over, punched in Arby's in Marion, and went on my merry, but grumpy way.

Ate dinner at Arby's in Marion, Il, then said a prayer for safety, and headed home.

From talking to other vendors, the main complaint was the rain and the fact the event was early in the year, and people were keeping a tight rein on their money, due to election and all the changes.  So hopefully in March, people will have their tax refunds and be in a spending mood again.

Life In Lumber: Y6, W50

 Day 195: Cold, mid 30s; 66 t/a

Arrived and took over for Kem. 1st customer had 3 carts, and took me 40 mins to ring it all up. Did the prelim duties. At 5, did my LU and AP4Me. HC Austin sent me to lunch at 6:30.  Returned and swept, pulled trash at 7:30. Mucked the mats, santized the coffee bar. Final customer had 2 carts. Locked the doors at 8:55; Loader Joe took my trash and brought in the concrete. Returned items to Aisle 50, Plumbing, and Electrical.  Put up my vest and clocked out at 9:20.

From the Stupid Files.....

-Customer A told me they were a Pro customer, and as we were trying to get them over the $1500 mark (only needed $120 more!), Pro Kathy pointed out he was a MLRW customer, not Pro.  Thankfully, he agreed to convert his account, so it all worked out.

-Customer B told me he had an LCA account, but the phone # didn't match.  So I clicked the LBA and it worked. Customer then looked confused as to why he didn't need to swipe his card!  "Ummm....you TOLD me you had the LCA, but it wasn't found, so I tried the LBA and there it was!"

Outfit:  Blue Whitehorse sweatshirt, dark jeggings, small textured gold hoops

Off tomorrow, unless I get called in.

Day 196: Rain, mid 30s; 66 t/a

Arrived and took over for Kem; was slow. Did my LU; prelim duties at 5; went to lunch at 6:50; pulled trash at 8; sanitized the coffee bar and the top of the Pepsi cooler; swept; mucked the mats; swept the concrete dust from the concrete boards; locked the doors at 8:55.  HC Kay cleaned me out; Loader Joe took the trash and Loader Jax brought in the concrete. Returned items to Electrical and Hardware. Clocked out at 9:20.

From the Stupid Files.....

1) Was having issues counting.  Customer had 6 2x4s; I counted 4, then 5, then 6.

2) Customer had three carts, and expanded to 4 by the time we were finished.  Did manage to save him 22% by running it through VSP.

Outfit:  Red turtleneck blouse, new dark jeggings, crystal teardrops

Day 197: Sunny, cold, 30s; 79 t/a

Arrived and took over for Kem, and was introduced to Sarah, a new trainee in LG. She was with me for 30 mins, and things were slow. ASM Ian gave me the last 3 macrons he'd brought back from Fla, then things picked up. At 5, Theresa sent me to lunch. When I returned, did the prelim duties and LU. Swept, sanitized the coffee bar and registers, mucked all the mats. At 7:30, pulled trash. At 8:30, sanitized the counters. Final customer left at 9. Loader Jax brought in the concrete and took my trash to the hopper. Returned items to Tools and Aisle 1.  Helped rearrange the wheeled carts and clocked out at 9:45.

From The Stupid Files.....

Loader Jax. While I'm proud of him for getting his forklift license and being more proactive with the Code 50s and helping customers, he asked me three times about the plywood thickness.

I also had a customer looking for Luan for their floors; I called Brent and asked him to help them out, which they did.

Outfit: Black baby cable sweater, white turtleneck, new dark jeggings, fair isle leggings, silver spirals

Off tomorrow and the weekend for Saluki Con!  Yearly meeting is Sunday at 6:30am....yuck.

Day 198:  Yearly Meeting:

5am:  D asks me, "What time is your meeting?  Be careful out there; thick fog."

5:45:  My alarm goes off; I look out the window. "Fog, my ass!  That's SNOW!"

Left the house around 6, started the car, cleared my windows, and took off carefully.  Was halfway to Hart St before I discovered I was actually driving right down the center of 2nd St.

Sat with Adrianne, and drank 2 cups of chocolate milk. Ate a few strawberries and 2 biscuits.  Matt honored the Million Dollar club (Matt T, the Pro Team, Brea); HC Kait received the 'Team Player' award, as did Brighton; Pro Jeremy got the top sales leader and credit award.  Discovered we WILL be getting our bonuses in March! (Gee, thank you so much Marvin, for handing those out....guess you or SOMEONE's been paying attention to the social media gripes???)  Our door prizes are delayed, due to shipping, so we'll get those later, though Mark made two tables. Nellie won the 1st one and (drum roll) I won the 2nd!  Just what I didn't need; another table.  But it's Ramsay-height, so eventually we'll bring it in and he can play with his toys on it.  Or eat snacks.  Same for Belle and Olivia.

Let's Talk Super Bowl IX

 Pregame Show:

Absolutely LOVED the 'Patman' commercial!

Travis Kelsie:  "My g/f says it's a brand new era, and put it on my friendship bracelet!" (holds up a T-Swift bracelet)....then later, two guys activate the 'Patman' light, then ask if he has any extra tickets!

According to reports, TS was 'booed' while POTUS was 'cheered'....I didn't see any evidence of either.

I don't know who Ledisi is, but I applauded the use of area HS choir student having the opportunity to sing on the Super Bowl stage!

Lady Gaga looked better than she did at the Grammy's, or even later in the stands.  Is it her makeup? Hair? Did she have a botched face lift?  Ugh.

When the marching band took the stage, why were some in the stands instead of on the field?  And when they showed the 'all girl brass line' (kudos, btw...), one of the trumpets looked as if she was faking it....or the camera just happened to catch her when her part was over, and she was taking a breath????

Still not sure how to pronounce Saquon's name.....Say-Con or Say-Quan?  Sometimes it sounds like both, though when I looked it up, it's the latter.

Jon Hamm introduced the Chiefs and Bradley Cooper and child introduced the 'E-A-G-L-E-S!" I joked I was glad he could spell!

A jazzy America The Beautiful by Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty.  Interesting, but then again, we ARE in NOLA!

I've NEVER seen a color guard out of step! Miscount?  Yes, it's noisy.....but YIKES!

John Baptiste and a jazzy Nat'l Anthem.....and NO ONE TOOK A KNEE!!!!!  (at least, they didn't show it on TV)

Coin Toss:  Won by Chiefs, who opted to receive:)  LOVED the Stitch On The Field commercial!!!

Was that Tom Cruise?  And they're already doing a live action How To Train Your Dragon???  Is Disney out of ideas already???

Loved the Cancer, We're Gonna Knock You Out!  Eugene Levy's eyebrows for Lil' Caesar's crazy puffs!  Brilliant!  Who was in the cruise one with Drew Barrymore?

Game:

Jalen Hurts and the Philly Eagles showed up and spanked Patrick Mahomes and the KC Chiefs.

Rather symbolic, if you think of their mascots, lol.....

Yes, each had controversial penalties...Philly had a face mask incident, while Chiefs had a blatent holding.....but Chiefs couldn't hardly get a 1st down!  The Philly defense shut 'em down! Then Chiefs couldn't stop Philly's offensive line.

Halftime Score:  24-0, Philly

Now Let's Talk About That Halftime Show.

Things I Liked:

-No cursing

-No obscenity

-SZA's voice was amazing!  That girl can sing!  And she was dressed appropriately, no skin showing.

-I DID appreciate the fact the dancers were in the shape of a flag, and I understood the imagery

-I also liked Samuel Jackson playing the part of Uncle Sam.

Things I Didn't Like:

-I couldn't understand a word he was saying

-I didn't understand Uncle Sam's part

-Therefore, it was a little boring, but then again, it's not 'my' music, and Kendrick Lamar is not on any playlist of mine.....but I did watch it.

And then I woke up to this explanation:

"The biggest protest in Super Bowl history happened on the Stage tonight and folk screaming it's boring or trash because it went over their head! This what you didn't see.

.

Then again the message is Blacks have always been here to entertain THEY (Who are not like us) so they aren't bored.

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They rather have Wayne up there high, who has backed Drake (The system) to push the agenda.

.

The messages Kendrick just sent to America could not use Wayne.

It even started with the American Flag being built out of black people as America being built on the backs of black people.

.

Before I mention how being cool in our culture has always been stolen, no matter how many people try to steal it, they not like us.

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WAS NOT ABOUT WHITE PEOPLE.. IT WAS ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO CONTROL THE MEDIA AND LABELS WHO CREATE DIVIDE. OK HERE GOES!

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It started with Dead Pres intro beat and flow "Bigger than Hiphop" I'll put the video in comments.

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First song: WHEN I HEAR MUSIC, IT MAKES ME DANCE (SQUABBLE UP). Puppet Strings of music making us dance vs pay attention.

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Uncle (Sam)uel L Jackson started it off with the rules of the game of historical White America America.

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Then Said when a bunch of blacks hanging out on the corner is too deep for the culture. Somebody gotta die. Deduct a life and create an environment to cancel each other out

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The Squid games start which symbolizes the rich killing the poor for entertainment. Hmm. Imagine rappers beefing and killing and the media benefitting from their deaths.

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The system allows Drake to push the Sexxxy Redd to taint the culture and empowers him

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The dancers in Red White & Blue representing the American flag. Been Dancing to the drums of the system. And we want entertainment and to be able to dance than be educated.

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The main Stage was a Playstation. Squid Game card and the system is a game designed to keep us dancing and imprisoned which is why it was in a prison yard.

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Protecting black women like Serena Williams after the disrespect from Drake

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Notice he brought out SZA as a black woman and she did not have to be half naked on display for the world letting her voice shine?

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And once again reminding the system of Drake and America "They (Plants) are Not Like Us" and can't infiltrate the culture.

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Game Over.. TV OFF. Been under their control. Revolution.

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Drake Been used to further sour the system and be a plant for the same system Malcolm X warned about from the music execs who own media and use it to divide us.

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This is bigger than rap! And women who feel disrespected should see it.

People who are tired of being divided should see it. Notice the American flag divided?

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But most of all, those who didn't have a lens to see it just shows the system has worked and you're the type it's been working on.

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Dude is the most creative genius in hiphop history.

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But go off. Maybe we can see more well respected entrepreeurs and family men leading for once.

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Here is the kicker: Look at your fb friends who say they wish it was more entertaining. Yeah, they were who it's been working on. The system rather keep you choosing entertainment over being educated

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Watch the first 10 secs of his rap. Dead Pres reference Bigger Than Hiphop. True Art!

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Rappers sent as plants to hurt us will no longer be tolerated. WE ARE WOKE. If you're mad at it please don't complain about being looked at a certain way.

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Because if you keep praising the entertainers who promote killing each other and degrading our women. I guess America will think it's OK too.

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Watch the comments fill up with "Nothing will change" from people who are ok waiting for it to change vs doing their part.

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The point he was making was... Come to this post in 24 hours and watch how many of us are fighting the message and messenger vs thinking of positive growth to move forward

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You don't expect shucking and jiving and twerking from an artist who was the only rapper ever to win a Pulitzer Prize. You appreciate ART. And Art is sometimes boring but changes cultures.

Them: We watch Super Bowl to be entertained

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Well it's 2025. The Super Bowl performance goes on Youtube and we can talk about it for weeks and hopefully lead to Unity and Change."

Second Half:

Chiefs didn't 'come alive' until the 3 min mark; it was 40-6 (the Chiefs DID manage to score a TD, but failed the 2-pt conversion); and Jalen and Co turned things over to the 2nd or 3rd string, so they could say they played. Chiefs scratched their way back to a score of 22, so the final wasn't a total blowout, losing 40-22.

But it begs the question.....were the Chiefs so arrogant they thought they'd just show up and win, or were they truly caught off guard by Philly doing their homework and being PREPARED to take down the Chiefs?

I don't blame Mahones and Kelsie feeling ashamed they could only break through the 2nd or 3rd string players. Patrick was spanked on Nat'l TV and humiliated in front of POTUS.

Commercials:

Doritos Tug of War....cute!

Didn't understand Cikul

Loved 'Seal' with Seal's face!

Wished I hadn't stepped away when they showed Eli beating Peyton at the Fandual game....loved the aftermath

Uber Eats: Football was invented to sell food! "Coach, do I really have to be called 'the refrigerator?"

Was that supposed to be Johnny Cash singing Personal Jesus? Ugh....

Loved the 3 Bears spoof for Dodge Ram!

Harry and Sally remake for mayo...cute!

Awwww....the colt for Budweiser!!

Lays!

Peyton and Bud Lite cul-de-sac!

Love the Meta ones....'you just ate a $2 million banana!"

Harrison Ford: "This Jeep makes me happy....even though my name is (whispers) Ford." Priceless!

News:

Since we no longer get the regular channels, I'll have to hope and pray they show us tomorrow about the aftermath, since all I'm seeing this morning are the Sunday speculations.

I was cheering on the Chiefs one last time (they're almost becoming the Tom Brady-era Pats), but at the same time, I LIKE Jalen Hurts. So wasn't mad about 'my team' losing....it was the WAY they lost. C'mon.....let them get a TD per quarter....you know you're going to score again, so throw them a bone?

I know.....that's not how the game is played.

February Goals

It's February!  I have a new laptop I'm getting used to again; after typing on an external, smaller keyboard, this takes some getting used to again.  How was my January?  Besides cold and snowy, I did get quite a bit accomplished, surprise, surprise:

-Lose 5 lbs (beginning 245) Will update this later; forgot to weigh in

-Send Christmas Cards Check:)

-Buy new toothbrush holder Check!,  

-Add words to Heart Song Check:)

-Send Future Unknown to editor Check! and pay editor Not yet; probably start next month

-Add words to new fairy story Check:)

-De-decorate house Check!

-Buy BP machine Not yet

-Pay for SI Con Still haven't received invoice

-Pay for Big River Comics Check! Pd 1/15

-Pay down CC Sort of....but need it for hotel stay 2/15 and start pecking away at med bills Not yet

-Read 6 books Check!  Read 9, lol

-Finish current e-book Check!

Books Read:  9

            Print:  8 

        E-book:  1

             DNF:  0

2025 Events:

Feb 7th:  Winter Market, 1972 Vincennes, 4-7pm Sold 4:)

Feb 15-16th:  Saluki Con, Carbondale, Il ($80 Pd 12/2)

March 14-15th:  Indy Comic Con, panelist

March 22nd:  SI Con, Benton, Il ($60-skip this year???)

March 29th:  Big River Comic Con, Hannibal, MO (Pd 1/15)

April 3-4th:  GSH Vendor Fair

April 26th: Indy Author Event (volunteer???)  French Club Craft Fair, Evansville North HS??

June 6-8th:  Superman Celebration, Metropolis, Il

June 21st:  Farmer's Market and Pride

July 20-22nd:  Imaginarium, Louisville, Ky (Pd 9/12)

Aug:  Watermelon Fest

Aug:  CCC

Aug:  Geek Con, Evansville Museum, Evansville, In

Sept 19-20th:  Cil-Con, Effingham, Il ($60 Pd 12/29)

Sept 27th:  Book Nook Book Fair, Peoria, Il ($75 Pd 12/27)

Nov 12-16th:  ICGAHS ($700-making payments)

2026 Events:

April 11th:  Dreaming Dirty In Michigan (Pd $60; still owe $120)

February Goals:

-Lose 5 lbs (beginning 245)

-Do well at Creative Market  Sold 3:)

-Take record player back to Brown House Check:)

-Do well at Saluki Con Sold 2.....rainy day

-Start getting Sara's room cleaned up

-Buy new soap dish and toilet roll holder for MBa 

-Finish trim, lights, medicine cabinet, and shower guard in MBa

-Make appt with foot dr about my right leg

-Add words to Heart Song

-Pay editor ($150)

-Add words to new fairy story

-Buy BP machine

-Pay for SI Con Link is posted!  Now to see if I can afford it, with the month's delay....

-Pay down CC and start pecking away at med bills 

-Read 6 books 

-Finish current e-book 

February Reading Schedule:

Burr-Gore Vidal DNF

Killers of the Flower Moon-David Graham Very good!  Now I'd like to go visit the town.

Older But Wilder-Elfie Leland Wilder Funny!

Get Jiro-Anthony Bourdain DNF

Shores-Tiare H Johnston Enjoyable!  Loved Bonfire Parties!

Sex and Vanity-Kevin Kwan Good!  All the pretentiousness of the schools following everyone's name seemed a bit much, as did the footnotes, but they worked.  Just shows how much some people can live inside their heads a bit much.

The Neopolitan Sisters-Margo Candela Good story!

I Am Sheffrou-Cami Michaels DNF....just wasn't holding my attention

Letters To Matthew-Amy Leigh McCorkle Good!  Interesting how her moods shifted

All Hail The Queen of the Freaks-T Harriman DNF

The Vermin Sleep-James M Watjen

Mom Jeans and Other Mistakes- Alexa Martin

Ms Demeanor-Elinor Lipton

Before We Were Wicked-Eric Jerome Dickey

Spare-Prince Harry

Down the Rabbit Hole of Narcissism-Natalie Mosely Klenotic

Loving Out Loud-Michael DeCamp

When My Heart Speaks-Steven Petty

Women of the Bible Speak-Shannon Bream

Yesterday's News-Katie Cawood

Wreck The Halls-Tessa Bailey

Someone Else's Shoes-Jojo Moyes

Same Time Next Summer-Annabel Monaghan

The Choice-Anne Greene (misplaced??)

Louise Penney book

A Quiet Strength-Janette Oke

Valley of the Shaman-Arlen Andrews

Joyful Poems For Children-James Whitcomb Riley

I Heard God Laugh-Matthew Kelly

Life Is Messy-Matthew Kelly

Franklin and Eleanor

-46

E-book:

Closer Home-Kerry Anne King RR!  Very enjoyable:)

Pine Grove Sampler-Jean Joachim Tease.....but then again, I own most of them:)

Group Therapy-BB Easton

Meet Me In Fantasyland-Mary Martinez

Secret Identity-Ava Cuvey, et al

The Scottish Play-Phoebe Alexander

Fisher Of Men-Phoebe Alexander

Switched-Cassie Mills

His Brother's Baby-Blanche Merriott

Hunted-Jill Kaelin

Isn't She Lovely-Lauren Layne

Logan's Lessons-Tonya Ramagos

Enemies On Tap-Avery Flynn

Fooling Around With Cinderella-Stacy Juba

A Game Of Gossip-Sandra Sookoo

TBB (on wish list-was tired of not finding them!)

The Stanhope Challenge-Cerise Deland (2014-$5)

Dark Side of Disney-Leonard Kinsey 

Romulus-Marilyn Campbell ($5)

Gaslight Chronicles-Cindy Spencer Pape ($8)

So Far Away-Dakota Madison, et al

Defending Devon-Shannon West

Love Realized-Melanie Codina

Love Resisted-Melanie Codina

Assumptions-Melanie Codina

One The Run-Jade C. Jamison

Decker-AD Ellis

Sawyer-AD Ellis

Twins-RG Miller

Saving Sarah-Nan Reinhart

Monster Among The Rose-Linda Kage

A Life Before-Julien Ayotta

Flower of Heaven-Julien Ayotta

Dangerous Bloodlines-Julien Ayotta

Dare To Love-Sandy Sullivan

If I Fall-Lydia Michaels ($5)

If You Want Me-Tara Mills

Tomorrow-Samantha Kane

Backdoor Billionaire's Bride-Roz Lee (2019-$5)

Life In Lumber: Y6, W49

 Day 192:  Cold, 40s, 87 t/a

Arrived and took over for Kem; was fairly busy until 6. Ran out of $1s and had to jump to #2, due to HC Austin leaving for lunch. He brought the $$ at 8, then sent me to lunch. Returned and pulled trash and sanitized the coffee bar.  Didn't have any returns; Loader Vince took my trash; locked the doors and went up front. Clocked out at 9:30.

From The Stupid Files....

I counted 4 boards when there was only 3, then 1 storage container when there were 2. Otherwise, the shift was a good one:)

Outfit:  Maroon blouse, gray vest, dark jeggings, silver spirals

Day 193: Cold, rain, high 30s; 78 t/a

Arrived and filled my lunchbox; took over for Kem, and huddled by the heater. Had periods of downtime and busy time. Had to close and lock the left door, as it wouldn't shut on its own. Swept, went to lunch at 6, pulled trash at 7:30, sanitized the coffee bar at 8, and locked the other door at 9. Loader Joe took my trash; HC Kait cleaned me out; returned an item to Flooring and put up my vest.  Clocked out at 9:20.

From the Stupid Files......

First I couldn't read the screen correctly; then I couldn't hear what a customer was trying to say; and finally, I completely missed a board on the bottom of a cart.

Outfit:  Bless This Mess sweatshirt, dark jeggings, small gold hoops

Day 194:  Cold, lower 40s; 85 t/a

Took a veggie tray and a fruit tray to the pitch-in, only not many participated.  I ate the last of Connie's pasta salad. Took over for Dawson (Kem was off at 2), and did the prelim duties. At 4, HC Austin brought down 3 pallets of soda. Dawson sent me to lunch at 5; I had the 1st pallet finished by 6. By 8 I was finished putting all the soda away and pulled trash, swept, and sanitized the coffee bar. Locked the doors at 9.  Loader Jax brought in the concrete; HC Austin cleaned me out while I took the trash to the hopper.  Returned items to Tools and clocked out at 9:30 after getting a Diet Pepsi and a Snickers for D.

From the Stupid Files......

As I mentioned, it took 4 hours to fill the coolers, due to the fact I had to figure out what we needed in the Monster cooler. Several times I had to sit on a bucket in order to reach the lower shelves, just as a customer would be ready to check out.  Really needed one person to handle the customers while the other stocked!

HC Austin opened #2 and found 4 checks:  $85K, $21K, and two each for $17K.  We joked about asking Mr. B if he could adopt us?  LOL!

Outfit:  Burgandy sweater, dark jeggings, silver spirals

Off tomorrow for the Creative Market and Sunday for Super Bowl!  Saturday is shopping day!

Life in Lumber: Y6, W48

 Day 189: Warmer; high 30s; 77 t/a

Arrived and took over for Kem; was busy for 2 hours. At one point, Pro Kim was operating the forrklift, carrying drywall, and accidently bumped against the lollipops, knocking them down. Lollies everywhere. A customer even ran over one.  I grabbed a bag and gathered them all up, then swept up the destroyed ones. Things slowed down after 5:30, so did my LU and AP4Me. Did the prelim duties; swept; fronted soda; sanitized the coffee bar and all registers, since Pro Kathy is sick. HC Kay sent me to lunch at 7:15; ate some pulled pork and chips. Returned and pulled trash; final customer left at 9. Locked the doors; HC Kam cleaned me out. Took the trash to the hopper and returned an item to RTM. Clocked out at 9:25

From the Stupid Files.....

A) Customer wanted 350 2x4x16s delivered, but our flat truck has finally returned from the shop and all deliveries are delayed by 2 weeks.  He wasn't happy and said he was going to Menards.  Okay:)

B) Customer wanted to know if a drill had a metal or plastic chuck. Opened it up; it's plastic. He didn't want it, even though Pro Kathy told him they all come plastic now.

C) Customer had bought a dremel for the sole use of the adapter, which he'd misplaced. Returned an hour later; the adapter was missing. Swapped it out; this one had one.

D) Final customer had a ladder, insulation, various other items, 20 2x4x16s, 20 80lbs bags of concrete....in a cargo van. Had to swap out 8 of the 2x4s, since the ones Loader Joe had picked were 'sketchy'. Surprisingly enough, it all fit.  They had to strap the doors to the lumber though.

Outfit:  Brown sweater, black l/s tee, faded jeggings, LJs, small gold hoops

Day 190: 40s, 90 t/a

Arrived and took over for Marilyn, and things were slower. Did the prelim duties, and Kim C sent me to lunch at 5:15. Returned and did my LU, then swept the place, sanitized the registers, coffee bar, and counters. Loader Jax brought in the concrete; Loader Joe took my trash to the hopper. HC Austin cleaned me out; returned an item to Plumbing; clocked out at 9:30.

From The Stupid Files.....

Lady bought 4 damaged concrete and 14 more. After I rang her up, she double-checked the receipt! Wanted so badly to tell her I did know what I was doing......*eye roll*

Another customer had 4 carts; he stood there and watched me unload his cart until I moved around the counter, then asked him to please finish unloading it.

Outfit:  Black vest, gray leapard stripe tee; black l/s tee, faded jeggings,LJs, sapphire hoops

Day 191: High 40s; 60 t/a

Arrived and took over for Kem; did the prelim duties. Was extremely slow all shift. Kam sent me to lunch at 6; returned an item to Electrical. After, rang up a few customers; pulled trash at 7:30 and swept. Sanitized the coffee bar, the registers, the counters, and mucked out the mats. Final customer left at 9; locked the doors and Loader Joe took the trash and brought in the concrete. HC Austin cleaned me out; put up my vest and clocked out at 9:30.

From The Stupid Files.....

The woman who bought 14 bags of concrete and double-checked the receipt? Returned 7 of them. And had us count to make sure SHE counted correctly.

Customer arrived to pick up his order, but discovered it wasn't ready yet.

We're still out of the flooring my DIL's brother is looking for.

Customer returned 11 water heaters from last summer, then turned around and bought $1700 more, between doors, insulation, and a lot of plumbing.

ASM Alex chastised me again for being too far away (I'd swept the aisle in front of the concrete board; yesterday he caught me at the front of Aisle 19). Told him I thought it was last year's rule, lol....then he came back, asked me if I was causing trouble, and dumped out the pen caddy.  I told him, "No soup for you!"

Outfit:  Palm tree sweatshirt, black l/s tee, faded jeggings, LJs, sea horses

Am off until next Tues!