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Oh, I forgot to mention HOW we got our new TV! We've been dying to get a big flat screen, but I keep putting it off because I don't want to put another big charge on a credit card, but I think Robert has been getting impatient about it...so, Saturday, Peter, one of my associates at work, comes running back to the training room where I am doing my paperwork to give me the department phone because Robert was calling. He says, "I'm looking at a 42" Samsung flat screen for $400. Can I get it?" I was like, "WHAT?!" He said, "It's the same one that your dad has, oh, and the surround sound is $175 do you want that too?" I couldn't exactly say no, right? That's a $1300 TV for $400 just because it was on display and had no remote! DAMN! So, we have a new TV and surround sound! It's awesome. I think I'll be able to use my treadmill and 
actually enjoy watching TV while doing it, now. Plus, the 5 disc DVD/CD changer makes it possible for me t
o listen to music throughout the whole house instead of trying to make my computer be loud enough.:)
So, Robert's surprise Christmas present was tickets to go see Cheech and Chong at the Beau Rivage Casino Theatre! He had mentioned wanting to see them, but there were no shows locally, so I thought I would check the casinos because they sometimes get unscheduled stops for some of these folks...and there they were at the Beau! AWESOME! The tickets weren't bad and the theatre is small, so the seats weren't bad. Robert was SO excited for the show and I was excited to see the Beau Rivage because I've never actually been there-even though rebuilding it was one of the first jobs that Robert had when we moved back.
The Beau is HUGE-more like a resort than a casino because we only saw one partial casino floor. Everything is guilded and the Christmas decorations were AMAZING! There were shops upon shops and 5 different restaurants 
(we went to "Coast", which had excellent, but normal
sounding food) and there is a spa, salon, and a pool on the 3rd floor...
We got there early, so we ate and played some slots with some of Robert's Christmas Bonus money...not very successful, really. I hit $130.00, but had played $45 by then, so I was feeling a bit guilty about the money I had lost, so I just decided to watch Robert play, which didn't help...anyway, right before the show started, I asked Robert for $20 to play one last machine-I like the "7"s play 3 credit machines for 25 cents-I sat down. Hit 3 credits twice and his $390!!! With the other $130 that I won I had practically paid for our TV that we hadn't expected to buy.:) It was awesome! Made my night.:)
I was ready to watch Cheech and Chong at that point and we laughed our asses off. They had some great jokes abou
t cats, which almost made me cry. Robert said that they didn't do as much of their really old stuff as he had hoped, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Here are some photos of the good old boys:
I would say that Christmas this year was the least stressful of Christmases since we came back to the South in 2005. It was nice to be able to spend the night at Middle Earth and not have to rush off in the morning. AND I actually helped with the food-even made some really excellent baked french toast. I Wish I had remembered to take a photo because it turned out really well for a first try.I Love watching the little girls open their presents and get so excited about giving out presents to everyone else. I wish that I could still get that feeling. I remember it when I was little and the entire Russell family would come over to the big house for Christmas...all the stockings lining the staircase and the big living room doors being closed until we all ate our breakfasts.:) I think this stopped when I was around 10 years old, but it's still my favorite kind of Christmas. That's why I love going to dad and Lisa's because we get to sit around and play cards and read books and try not to let Lisa get too stressed. And, unlike all those Christmases when I was a kid, Dad is there now.:)Oh, and I got some great gifts-nothing too fancy, but I Like it that way. Robert got me a book and DVD on how to play the piano, which is so great-now all we have to do is get the piano tuned! Robert's mother gave me a pearl necklace-all the Harris women have one-SO touching! Dad and Lisa got me this amazing pendant of the Galactic Butterfly, which is so beautiful. And mom sent us the wreath and Nissua that are so important to the holiday season.Overall, a perfect holiday.
So, I finally made my first trip over to see where Robert is living and working for now. I had to go to his business Christmas party and be the good little Southern Wifey, which I thought would be pretty hard, but I knew I had to do it. And, while I was there, I got see some interesting parts of Louisiana that I didn't really know about before. I'm not sure I can be logical in my thoughts on the last 36 hours, but I'll try. I took the more scenic route from New Orleans down to highway 90 West instead of trying to fight what I understand to be horrible traffic in Baton Rouge. I am SO glad I took this route because I got to see the agricultural side of Louisiana. It was really quite beautiful and it was really neat to see the cane fields in all different points in their growth process: from newly tilled to burning off the leftover stalks. I even got to see it being harvested and carried away in huge truckloads! It was so cool! I also had lots of fun driving over the swamps and rivers (or creeks?) along the way. It was just beautiful-even with all the mold
y trailers, beat up trucks, and randomly falling down houses along the way. When I reached Abbeville I met Robert "in town" which is basically Wal Mart, Chilis, Macdonalds, and a few gas stations. It's not bad, just ugly. Robert took me to his trailer by driving through the old Down Town, which was really cool because it reminded me of home (Maine) if it weren't a tourist town trying to be too pretty. It was rundown, but it had character and a very old, classic feel to it. Then, just outside of town, on the way to Robert's trailer and the Yard, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere...nowhere being rice fields during the summer and crawfish ponds during the winter! Apparently they pump water from the bayous into the spent rice fields and then grow crawfish in them! Isn't that neat? It is really odd to just come upon miles of ponds with a house every once in a while. Neato! And whenever there was a house there were beautiful Live Oaks...GORGEOUS!
When we finally got to Robert's trailer, which is down a road, through a field and around the corner from a tiny RV park, we were about 20 minutes out into the middle of nowhere, which I Find really funny considering
his Yard is 3 more miles further down the road.:) The trailer, which is, yes, covered in mold on the outside, isn't quite so bad inside. Aside from the turquoise walls in the majority of the house and the horribly ugly bathrooms and the lack of wall decorations it really isn't that bad. The trailer is very big with a great kitchen and living room (although it is very EMPTY) and an awesome TV and pretty good air conditioning system. Bud (Robert's former boss and roomate) has a bedroom and bathroom on one side of the trailer and Robert has a bedroom and bathroom on the other side of the trailer. The mattressses and furniture and towels are all new...but it's so hard for me to see Robert living in such an unhomey empty space! If Bud didn't do such a great job cooking dinners so Robert has something to eat when he comes home...I don't know what I would do. I am just going to have to get a few things to make the place a little better...even if it's just for my own sake on my few visits there.:0
The Christmas Party was so much better than I thought it would be. I was dressed in my best Pretty Southern Wife outfit with a very nice display of cleavage to live up to the image that I have apparently acquired by being Robert's 26 year old wife...yeah, apparently Robert is the Hero of the yard for having such a lovely young wife.:) I think it's hilarious! But, I figured I would play the part for the night and I was surprised at how well I did with the small talk and the circling of the room to make sure I spoke with everyone. I was a little thrown off by the first questions of "Are YOU French?" and the ridiculous showings of money by a few of the wives, but, once I was introduced to everyone and they all got to observe me for a few minutes they loosened up and I was surprised to find that, underneath the makeup, the expensive jewelery, and the "french" accents and last name pronounciations, these folks were crass and hilarious and major drinkers! Robert had been warning me all night about his boss Jason, who apparently has a bit of a dirty mouth and a love for embarrassing people. I was a little nervous because I'm not exactly good at being teased or being quick with a comeback, but I held my own and I guess he decided to behave because we just really had a lot of fun. It would have been a really awesome night if I hadn't been so tired from the 5 hour drive that I actually became physically shaky at about 10 o'clock and had to go home or who knows what would happen. BUT I made it through the whole night without spilling anything, dropping anything, tripping, or making any verbal mistakes! I really couldn't believe it! And all the people that Robert works with are really really nice, so I'm relieved to find that out. I also think they all really liked me, so that's a relief too. I felt super guilty about being the first to leave because I was trying so hard not to be my tired self, but Robert was okay with it because he had been up since 4am.:)
This morning we went to the Global Maritime Yar
d, which was really cool for me because I've never been in a pla
ce like that. Granted, it's not really a Shipyard, but it's still cool, small, but cool. Robert's building is the main focus of the yard, so, as soon as we walked in he had his guys pulling him aside to ask questions and give reports on progress...it was so great to see him as the Guy In Charge and to see how all the guys really respect him and everything. It was also cool to see what he does every day; they were putting some of the walls onto the building as I watched. They have to do so many different things to get these jobs done! WOW! And I got to see what Bud will be doing once Robert gets the structural stuff down: these marine living quarters are actually pretty cool-just a stripped down version of living quarters on a cruise ship. I am SO glad I got to see the yard and what Robert does every day! It makes me feel so much more a part of his life when he's gone.
After the yard we drove
down the road that Robert lives on and found an amazingly beautiful swamp and met a few armadillos, 
which was cool because I've never seen one ALIVE on the side of the road before.:) I wish I could have stayed another day, but I'm sure I'll get another chance to take a trip over there.
THINGS I THOUGHT WHILE IN LOUISIANA:
1) Southern LA is Big Truck Country...you haven't seen anything until you go there!
2) There is a heliport behind the walmart in Abbeville...WEIRD! But, I guess it's because there are lots of oil rigs off the coast.
3) I just cannot get over the weird accent that Cajuns have. It's indescribeable, really. It's almost like having a lisp, but not quite, and I swear that they do it just to be different. It's weird.
4) I really LOVED the drive on hwy 90-long, but really pretty! 5) They have these crazy drawbridges that go STRAIGHT UP! The first one I came to was so big that I thought I was coming up to an army fort entrance...freaked me OUT!
6) There are some awesome fallen down buildings, which are still half standing next to brand new houses which are next to gas stations...the houses in Abbeville were so oddly set: like tornadoes keep coming through and dropping houses from all over the country into these li
ttle LA towns.
7) They're opening a new Lowe's in Abbeville!
I'm sure there more, but I can't remember. I'll add more later.
Sorry for those of you have been waiting (im)patiently for me to give the word on whether or not I got my promotion (Janet!:). But, YES, I am now a Department Manager and I am Department Manager of Inside Lawn and Garden! Yeah! Lacey was brought back up to Department Manager also and is over Outside Garden as of Yesterday. We are very excited to be doing this together, but we've all ready been thrown under the bus: my first day as a Department Manager was my day off and I got called in to prepare the department for a visit from Trent (our DM). So, I worked and worked and it was fine until they came in the next day: THEY being Trent (DM), Debbie (REGIONAL VP), Frank (Regional Seasonal Manager), and our District Pricing Manager and HIS boss! Good LORD what a surprise. Lacey and I both walked our departments separately with Frank...which was good AND bad. He only walked Seasonal for 45 minutes and gave me a few big compliments, which was nice. He walked OSLG with Lacey for 2 HOURS and, since then, she has been completely driven to get her department going in the right direction before all the spring stuff comes in and fills her top stock. I understand this TOTALLY, but she is supposed to be coverage for me INSIDE until I can get a new Team Leader (and hopefully an extra associate since Lacey is heading Outside). Lacey's early move would have been fine if we hadn't sold out of Christmas last week and then had to start resets a month early! LORD it's been a week and I only got to see Robert for a day; PLUS I'm going through EMTP class still and that gets ME off the floor as well...so Seasonal is SO understaffed right now it's rediculous! Honestly, how is it that the department is MORE of a mess now that I'm ACTUALLY a department manager than when I wasn't?:)
Still, I'm glad to have the job and I am going to stand up for my department tomorrow when I go in to talk to Ryan. There isn't going to be any waiting for new employees. He's going to give me some people NOW. They tell us to treat our department like a store within a store, like our own store...well, I wouldn't let me own store run at this much of an understaffed level just cuz the owner didn't want to spend a little extra money for the holiday season.
Wish me luck!
Here's one of my random thoughts: WHEN did I get cheekbones? I remember, when I was younger, always being SO jealous of women (models especially) who had such beautiful cheekbones...I also laughed at the models who were obviously sucking in their cheeks to SHOW their cheekbones, but that's beside the point. SO, I have been looking at the photos I have been taking recently and wonderxing WHERE and HOW did I all of a sudden get them to start showing? Look at the last post and the photo of me...I really DO have prominent cheekbones when I smile. That's just WEIRD because I always have had such a round face and I've gained, like, 30 lbs this year, so how is it possible that my cheekbones are showing rather than hiding even more? I'm quite excited about it, actually.:) Another thing to like about my body!
BOY I'm getting bad at this. There really are SO MANY Things that I want to write down here and remember, but by the time I get home from work, take a shower, make dinner, feed the cats (well, actually, they get fed first!), and sit down to eat and watch whatever TV show I Have DVRd...I can't remember what it is I want to write about. I don't even want to pull the computer off the table and put it in my lap to write anymore. I guess we all go through phases. I am actually in a book reading phase right now, which I'm really excited about because I don't feel like I Read enough anymore. Unfortunately I have no bedside light, so I have to read with my book light which leaves me in a very dark room with almost complete silence which freaks me out a little bit. Still, I'm getting better at being alone and the neighbor's dog hasn't come over for a week now:).
I finally interviewed for the Department Manager position in my department-Seasonal. I also started EMTP on the same day. After I got through the interview (quite well, I thought, except for my Talking Hands) Ryan, my store manager, informed me that he is going to fill TWO positions from these interviews: Inside AND Outside Gardens! Which means I might not have a choice about which department I get! I kind of knew this was going to happen and it's not necessarily a bad thing because, since he has 2 positions open, he can't pull the "not done with EMTP" thing on me. I feel really confident that I will get one of the positions even though 3 of us interviewed and I feel like I really WILL get Inside Garden because no sane Store Manager would put someone as a manager in Outside Garden if they knew that person wasn't going to be there through the 100 days of hell, which I don't plan on doing-and Ryan knows that. Still, he also might feel that I should experience a new department. I see this point, but I don't really feel like that is something that needs to come into my life right now-unless he wants to give me a whole new OSLG staff and a LOT of overtime hours.:) Lacey and I both want to stay inside, but, the bright side is that whoever ends up out there will be fully supported by whoever ends up staying inside. We are going to try to run the departments as ONE department with TWO department managers. I'm not sure how this will work, but I'll let you know when I figure it out. Lacey and I have very different styles of managing, so I'm curious to see how it works. I wouldn't MIND being out there, but, damn it, I just don't want to have to lift rocks and sod and cut Christmas Trees! I'm sorry, that might sound silly, but it's just not something I enjoy...I enjoy it even less than pushing lawnmowers!:) We find out on Monday who ends up where. Wish me luck.
The cats and I are finding life without Robert pretty boring, but I find that I have some of the most awesome moments with them. I was laying on the couch with Jade on my stomach last night and she was doing that great thing where cats just stare at you from inches away from your face and she was just loving it when I rubbed her and the look of complete contentment in her eyes just made me so happy. I think I love my cats as much as a mother loves her children.:) Ah, time to take a shower! If I don't do it now it'll never happen.:)
actually enjoy watching TV while doing it, now. Plus, the 5 disc DVD/CD changer makes it possible for me t
o listen to music throughout the whole house instead of trying to make my computer be loud enough.:)
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