What a Week & Other Mindless Wanderings

So, I missed posting last week, especially Wordless Wednesday, but it's been a crazy week. I'm so glad it's over! Let's hope this week and the next few weeks are better than this past week.

I woke up early Tuesday morning from a disturbing dream. I dreamed that I was beating my husband! I'm not a violent person by nature, so this really alarmed and upset me. (Not to mention, I DON'T hit my husband!!) After discussing things with him, I realized that I was mad at him for something really stupid, and it came out in my dream. This brought on lots of tears and crying which brought on a headache and dry eyes for the remainder of the day. Then, I realized that the reason I was so emotional was because I was PMS-ing Several years ago, my doctor diagnosed me with PMDD mainly because I cry easily, I get very angry and have really drastic & quick mood changes, insomnia, food cravings, and extreme tiredness. In addition to some diet changes & lifestyle changes, my doctor put me on a very low dose of Zoloft (25 mg) the week before my period. I generally don't need the meds the entire week, but most months I take them for at least part of the week. It makes all the difference in the world!! I can function and am pleasant to be around. The med doesn't totally take away all the symptoms; it just reduces the severity of them and takes "the edge" off. All of this to say, I've been "hormonal" and non-communicative this week. Also, if you think you suffer from PMDD, talk to you doctor. You don't have to live with "the monthly crazies".

On top of this, things at work picked up. That's a very good thing! I work in a Christian book store and the busiest time of the year is just ahead. The days go by quicker and it's just more fun. However, you do get some weird requests. This one was on Thursday. A customer came in and wanted to purchase a Bible. She found one that was about $70. She gets to the registers and was frustrated because she picked up the ONE color that wasn't on sale. She griped that the signs didn't mention colors or any kind of product number or anything. The associate went and pulled off the signs and showed the customer where the colors were listed and it was obvious that the one she chose was not on sale. (Oops! Guess it's too much to expect a customer to actually READ the sale signs.) They got that cleared up, then she tells the associate, "Well, my friend who's coming here to shop later this afternoon has a 30% off coupon. Can I get her discount on this purchase?" Ummmm...let's think about this for a minute....NO! The audacity of the woman! She was not happy that we wouldn't let her use her friend's discount. Seriously! Then, yesterday, a gentleman comes up with a flier that has the pictures of 4 or 5 DVDs that are on sale for $5. He has a huge stack of various DVDs, none of which are the ones shown, and wants them all for $5. Again, let's read the flier, folks!!

As you head out to do your Black Friday shopping and future Christmas shopping, please remember that the person behind the counter is a human being who is just trying to make a living. Please treat him or her with the respect and dignity any human deserves. Remember to treat him/her the way you would like to be treated. You wouldn't want to be called names, yelled at, cussed out, demoralized, or otherwise treated inappropriately, so please don't treat the associate that way. In most stores, store personnel are not in charge of product acquisition and stock levels. Most of that is handled through a corporate or regional buyer. Many times, manufacturers can't meet the stock orders of the customers due to delays in production or shortages of materials needed to make the item. Please remember these things before you take out your frustration on a store associate, store management, or even corporate management. Patience, humility, a smile, and a kind word will go much farther than a harsh word. I'm much more willing to bend over backwards to help a pleasant customer than to do anything for a grumpy, demanding customer.

I did bake a cake this week. This is my all-time favorite chocolate cake. It's sinfully delicious. I could eat the whole thing by myself and not feel guilty at all!! I grew up calling this simply, "Fudge Cake". It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I learned the real name of it is Texas Sheet Cake. I'm telling you, it's to die for!


We harvested more tomatoes this week, including our first Green Zebras! Pretty green tomatoes that are hard to tell when they're ripe. I had to keep squeezing them for ripeness! LOL We also decided to harvest Mr. Lumpy Pumpkin since his vine was pretty much dead from the recent cool nights. He's still a tad green, but he's enjoying the sunshine on my kitchen window sill. I don't think he'll be ripe enough to eat for Thanksgiving, but soon enough, he'll be ready.


Here's a close up of the Green Zebra tomatoes. There's also another large tomato there, but I don't know what variety it is. It's either a Ponderosa or Homestead.


We've probably got a dozen or so more Green Zebras on the vine and probably 6 or 8 regular large tomatoes. What ever will I do with them all?!? LOL

I have been stitching on my Brrrrr It's Cold exchange piece. I had it finished, then decided I didn't like one of the colors, so I ripped it out. Now I've just got to go back and re-stitch it in the new color, iron it, get it packed up and ready to be mailed off tomorrow!!