Girl's Trip Only 4 days away!

I still can't believe that Maria and I are driving to North Carolina on Sunday to spend quality time with our boys Saturday nite!  I'm just so freakin excited that I can't stand myself.  Good thing Mark isn't home this week because I'm literally just jumping up and down with joy.  Maria, say goodbye to your family 'cause we're becoming groupies this weekend.  I got some awesome new concert outfits because no matter where you are sitting, you must look amazing just in case the band wants to Runaway with you....LOL!  And, yes I meant the pun on Runaway!

It's a busy time around the Harris household with yet more training for me.  Wahoo!  More changes happening almost daily so I'm just trying to keep my head down and my mouth shut right now.  And you know that last one is very difficult for me.  Today the new President for Georgia, Mark noticed I was setting up dummy loans during training (because he was standing looking over my shoulder almost the whole freakin day) for Mickey Mouse Cheese Shop which he was quick to point out to everyone because I was thinking outside the box making up my own customers.  Not sure if that was meant to be flatteringor not.  Oh well, only time will tell.  This is a funny side note on conversion day My Mark sent this huge, huge bouquet of flowers to me to share with all the girls at work and I was reading the card out loud to everyone....Just Push The Button...Conversion Day Baby....Love Mark.  The ladies helping us from Mississippi thought my President sent them to me and signed it Love Mark.  It gets confusing so now we say My Mark and the Other Mark at work.

My Mark decided that this past weekend would be a great time to finish all the touch up painting in the tv room.  Oh joy and by we should finish it really meant Donna should finish it.  We still had the drapery brackets up because I hadn't really decided if I wanted to put drapes back up and the tie back knobs were still screwed into the window woodwork but he wanted it finished already.  So I spackled and filled but still haven't painted because it's too dark by the time I get home at nite.  I've got to find the time tomorrow to get er done since he'll be home on Friday to check my results.  I want it done but I just hate dragging all the paint back out, trying to blend the touch ups so they don't show as bad and most importantly I hate washing paint brushes.  Ugh!   But I owe him because I made him drive into Atlanta to a great estate sale that I saw on Craigs List and it was full of all things prim.  Well not so much after we got there!  The guy had sold all his prim stuff so basically I left with nothing and pouted all the way home.  Poor guy had to drive all that way then listen to me all the way home kicking myself for not going Friday when I got off work. 

Well Clarice is driving me nuts laying all over the key board trying to get me to play so I'm off to play hide and go seek as well as a little laser tag.  Have a great weekend and think of me screaming my lungs out at the concert!

Damn forgot to add the pics

Rachel's Snow Day

Her puppy, Brody

We painted the room back in August and it's gray not green which is what it looks like in this lite.

Craig's List Pottery Barn Sofa $300

My new chair TJ Maxx/Homegoods $249

Mark's old leather chair which he loves!

Seating arrangement

memory/low stress travel wall

His new tv and console

Antique Pulley that we had made into a table and his lamp that he made from his Halloween Trick or Beer mini keg.  He loves it and the colors go great with the room so I'm ok with it.

Mid week slump

I should be bouncing off the walls because I'm almost thru the work week, Mark's gone again and we're suppose to get a little snow tonight but just can't seem to get the energy to do it.  Seriously, the systems change at work has been challenging but we've survived!  We also bought another local bank last Friday and they will be coming on board really soon.  They actually only have 3 branches and we already share a lot of customers so we've been busy answering questions, ect for customers.  Been fun and it's made me learn more about the systems since I'm constantly looking up info.  Life is never boring!

Actually life is good!  My Jovi lovin, best friend got us.....oh wait for the scream.....4th row pit tickets for the concert in May here in Atlanta.  OMG!  I'm still just bouncing off the walls and can't believe that we got this lucky!  We've never been this close before....7th row was as close as I had been but 4th freakin row......watch out David, I'm coming for ya.  Poor boy just doesn't know how afraid he should really be!

Mark's "living" in Tennessee for the next couple of months leading a turn around of a new company they just bought.  Those of you that know us well know that this is just a part of our life...living apart is the norm but I sure do miss him and Clarice really does.  She about sniffed him to death all last weekend and he won't even be home this weekend so her little heart will be broken.  I'm going to try to go see him for the weekend but if snow moves in like they are saying then I'm staying at home.  Got a new little car and wouldn't want to hurt it before I've even made the first payment.

Speaking of Mark being gone last week, I did a major overhaul on the tv room.  I had planned on doing it when he was in Korea but was just too sick to get that accomplished.  It looks really good if I do say so myself.  It's not prim like the rest of the house because it is "his room" as he likes to tell me all the time.  I'm trying to get some pics posted but the room is painted a dark gray and it's nite so they're turning out quite dark.....oh well such is life.

Heard from my folks this morning and they've got like 20 inches of snow.  WTF!  Did someone forget that Arkansas is a southern state?  My cutie pie niece posted a few pics on her facebook and I'm just shocked at that much snow.  There are times I'm really happy to be living in Atlanta and this is one of them!

Did we ever get snow!

Wow, I should wish for a million dollars because my snow wish paid off.  For those of you that get snow on a regular basis it is a curse but in Atlanta it's a real treat.  We got about 7 inches at our house and were snowed in!  I puttered around cooking roast, making a cake and stitching away while watching the flakes fly.  It was heavenly but then reality set in because we needed to go to work on Tuesday.  Mark dropped me off at the bank at 8:30 and I was the only person that could make it to work so I opened the drive thru by myself.  I just sat there with my stitching from 8:30 to 1:30 and only had 4 customers total.  I still can't believe that 4 people managed to get out of their homes much less to the bank.  The entire metro Atlanta area was at a standstill and everyone worked reduced hours for the remainder of the week.  It was so pretty but I have to admit, I'm done with snow for this year.

We went thru bank conversion on Monday and I have to say that it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be.  Now we still have 3 people in the branch helping us but things have gone much smoother than I thought but ask me next week when I have no help how things are going!  

I'm suffering from a horrible head cold and cough.  I felt so bad Thursday that I thought I'd just crawl under my desk and sleep for a few hours if I thought I could have gotten away with it.  My sinus' are killing me so guess I'll be off to see the dr tomorrow.  My ribs hurt from all the coughing and Clarice has given up sleeping with me because I keep waking her up with my cough.  She's bedded down in a cardboard box that Mark's shoes were shipped in last week.  She's just snuggled in so guess that's where she'll sleep for the next few days.  This will tell you how bad I feel, Mark's in Korea and I had all these plans on re-arranging the tv room and shopping and I haven't done ANYTHING!  I haven't even watched tv in the tv room just piled up in the bedroom every night.  I so wanted to tea dye the living room and bedroom curtains while he was gone but guess that'll have to wait.  He'll be home Tuesday so all my far fetched ideas will be put on hold until his next business trip.

I did finally finish my Clara Ellen Blackbird Design for my SAL.  As you know I did mine to honor my Great Aunt Flo and it turned out gorgeous if I do say so myself.  I'll try to post some pics later this week.  I ran out of thread so had to wait on the mailman to get my delivery here on Friday so I could finish it.  I'm almost done with my Evergreen and not sure what I want to start next.  I'm thinking since I'm obsessed with the Anniversary series that I'll do Farm House but haven't committed to that yet.  Gotta keep my options open at least for a couple more days until my head clears up.  I did spend a little of my Christmas money a couple of weeks ago so here's a few of my treasures.

Look at this cool, iron  floor lamp that I got at the flea market for $40.  It looks great sitting next to the prim chair in the living room.  Also the basket is a thrift store find for $2 and holds all Clarice's downstairs toys.

This great iron rush candle holder looks great on the dining room drysink

My pewter collection from thrift store finds...3 plates and 2 mugs less than $15 total

Already owned the creamer, sugar plate, cone and nippers and those 2 plates but found the coffee pot and bowl at a thrift store for less than $8

My winter mantle for 2011.....I've had these ice cream collectibles for years but don't they mix perfectly with the snowmen

Living room table

Last pic of the table in the entrance hall

Have a great week everyone and hope you like the glimpse into my winter decor

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I'm sitting here on Sunday nite praying for snow just like I did as a kid so I didn't have to go to school.  They are predicting 5 to 7 inches for us tonight along with freezing sleet and rain. The schools are already starting to cancel classes for tomorrow and not a flake has fallen yet.  I hope we get snowed in for at least 1 day because I just love puttering around the house with snow falling, something yummy and hot simmering on the stove and something baking in the oven like cake.  So everyone cross their fingers and wish for snow right along with me!

We're gearing up for conversion at the bank next week so life is about to turn again.  New policies, procedures and operating systems...gee sounds like a fun party....anyone else want to attend in my place?  LOL!  Thank goodness I've actually used the operating system before so it won't be completely greek to me or maybe it will be because it's been almost 7 years since I used it.  Not to mention that my CRS is getting worse by the day...heck, let's me honest by the minute.

My little brother lost his cat, Grady last night and my heart is just breaking for him.  I called him last night and we had a good, long cry together.  I sure wish I could reach out and hug him because he's hurting so bad.  Times like these make it hard to be away from my family.  I understand how he feels and it did bring back all my feelings about losing Maggie again.  I spent most of the night tossing and turning before finally just giving up at 5:00am to stitch.  There is nothing that calms me quite like stitching.  I used to love to read so much but now it's like I can't clear my mind long enough to read.

And speaking of stitching, I'm working on a special sampler by Blackbird Designs for a SAL which is in honor of my great aunt Flo.  She was such a special part of my life that the minute I saw this sampler for a "Dear Sister" that I had to make this for her.  She passed away in March 1987 which is the same year that Mark and I got married such a long time ago.  She really wanted to see me in my wedding dress so I quickly found one and had my portraits made so she could see it.  But that wasn't the dress that I actually wore because the wedding shop screwed up the alterations so I was scrambling to find a new dress. 

I spent a few hours yesterday going to my favorite primitive country store, flea market and thrift stores.  I found several great items and I didn't spend a fortune so Mark's happy as well.  I need to find a place for everything and take some new pictures of the house to post.  Maybe tomorrow when I'm snowed in will be a good time for that to happen.

Well, enough for now because I've got to watch the weather channel to make sure it's gonna snow before I call it a night and hit the sack.  After last nights emotional toll, I'd like to go to bed early.  Remember everyone wish for lots of snow tonight in Georgia!

Happy New Year 2011

As a kid, I just couldn't wait for another year to pass so I'd be one year older and more "grown up" but dang it, now someone needs to stop the time from flying by so fast!  My momma always said don't wish your life away because it goes by fast enough on it's own but I thought she was just an "old lady" because come on, a year is 12 months every year!  What could she possibly know?  Well now I admit, ALOT!!!!!!  It seems like I just blinked and the year had passed.  I also realized that my baby niece will be 13 in March so no more little ones in my family.   We've also been gone from home for over 10 years now and it truly doesn't feel like "home" now.  Don't get me wrong, seeing all my family is home but driving thru the town things have changed so I don't always recognize landmarks any longer.

We finally got news on what's been plaguing my momma's health and it wasn't good news.  She's got a rare kidney disease so we're waiting to hear that her dr was able to get her into a specialist in New York.  I'm worried, she's scared and daddy's just determined that we can "fix" everything....I pray that he's right.  I can't lose my momma....she's my sunshine on my darkest days, my cheerleader when I'm feeling overwhelmed, she's my laughter when I honestly can't think of anything to laugh at and best of all, she's my momma! 

I've got to take my Christmas stuff down and pack it away today.  I've got to get it all done before the week starts or it'll still be up a month from now.  We start conversion in a week so I'll be busy, busy for a few weeks not to mention that I'll be going to New York whenever momma gets an appointment.  Mark was going to fly out Tuesday morning for Korea but that trip has been postponed until the week I start conversion.....smart man!  You'd think he's been thru a couple of these before with me....LOL!

Well he just woke up and wants pancakes for breakfast so I''m off to cheer him on while he cooks.  Gotta love a man that cooks breakfast.

One of those Grinchy Moods

Don't you just hate when you get into the bah humbug frame of mind this time of year?  I swear some days I should just pull the covers over my head and not subject everyone to my moods.  I don't know why but today everyone that spoke to me was in danger of losing their heads!  Clarice has been thrown out of the tv room twice tonight and now she's rattling the doors trying to get back in but she's used her Get Out Of Jail Free card today.  She's taken to clawing Mark's chair when she thinks we're not playing enough with her and I've just reached the end of my rope.  We've fought a lot about declawing her for months but if she keeps this up I might lose the battle.  Last night she slipped past Mark when he went outside to feed the boys and we didn't miss her for about 10 minutes then we started tearing the house apart trying to find her.  I kept asking Mark if he was sure she didn't get out but he insisted there was no way!  I went outside called her but no Clarice.  At that point Mark was starting to panic when he saw her hiding in the planters down below the deck.  She's gonna be the death of me yet!  She's never been outside unless she was on a leash so it was a moment of terror when we were trying to catch her.  Two overweight adults running thru the yard in the rain in the pitch black trying to catch a black cat was quite a humorous scene...too bad there wasn't a video camera catching it because we'd probably won America's Funniest Video show.

We're shorthanded and the super brite powers that be sent out packets (and I do mean packets) of account information to customers and they are freaking out!  This is worse than when we failed and I honestly didn't think it could get much worse than that.  And this is priceless.....but one of the disclosures states that we'll be charging "dormant" fees if you don't use your account or maintain a certain balance and guess what.....no one bothered to check Georgia State Banking laws and we can't do what they told customers that we'd be doing.  Last week in class when they reviewed the disclosures with us, I asked if anyone checked the law because I didn't think that was correct.  Still no one checked so I did a quick google search and there it was!  WTF!  I brought it to senior management's attention yesterday and still no one has acknowledged it.

We've still got to finish some last minute shopping tomorrow so I certainly hope my mood improves.  We're still pondering what to get the dads and just can't think of anything.  I'm usually full of ideas but drawing a complete blank for this year.  Maybe something will pop into my head tonight in my dreams.  Hope all your shopping is done and if not that you don't cross my path tomorrow...LOL!