Snowing

It's finally warm enough to snow, and people in this city are driving as if they've never seen the white stuff before. It just took me 15 minutes to get to work when it normally takes me 5. Traffic was backed up through multiple lights! I can't believe it. It's as if these people haven't been living in an ice palace since November or something.

It's a little slick, but it's been worse for many days in a row. So I really don't see what the problem is.

In other news. There is someone in my office who DJ and I have decided is kissing my ass because I have the word "supervisor" in my title. I had been telling DJ about this person for a couple weeks, and it dawned on us the other night that that might be the reason. Then, today when I came in to my office, one of my subordinates mentioned that this person is either in my office or in my bosses office. So that sort of solidifies my suspicions. Lucky me eh?

Wednesday, February 27th.

Today would have been Jax's 9th birthday. :o( sniff sniff.

I still miss her tons and I think I'll stick with my fish Tredwell as my only pet for a while.

I'm Fucking Ben Affleck!

Remember my post about Fucking Matt Damon?

Well, Jimmy Kimmel has retaliated with something not as funny, but still worth sharing.
Enjoy!

Happy Valentines Day!

Does anyone have any fun plans? DJ and I don't "do" Valentines Day. A long time ago we decided that our Vday would consist of simply spending the day together with no on else. We don't go to dinner, or buy presents or anything like that. We also don't do the flower thing. I told him it's too expensive during the holidays, and I'd much rather get them from him on some random day when he was thinking of me then on some forced holiday. So my plans are to spend the day in with my man.

We have been slightly cheating this "no gift" rule for the past couple years. But it's been something cute and little. Last year he left a card and candy under my car seat and called me when I got to work to go look for it. And I bought him an M&M candy jar. This year, I bought him a pink onesie that says, "I heart daddy". This morning, when he came home, he had a bouquet of flowers for me. It was really sweet, since he works the overnight shift right now. And the card said something really sweet. I started to cry before I even read the card. I was just surprised that he'd even remembered what day it was. Stupid prego hormones. He even bought me the kind of roses I like. Pink. Red roses are so cliche.

Check it Out F**ker!

Ok. That's a work inside joke, but it's super funny! I'll have to tell each of you in person so you can get the full comedy of it.

Anyway... Check out this site. At first I was like, "Whatever! Stupid." But then I watched more, and now they are frickin' hilarious! I didn't watch them all, but I like "Number Two" followed up by "Scientist" the best. I did not know these facts. Thanks Jackie Moon, for schooling me.

And then there is this one from the Super Bowl.

A Malaysian Proverb

When the great lord passes, the wise peasant bows deeply and silently farts.

My friend sent me this proverb that she read in her Organizational Communication textbook. I didn't even know there was a class called that

Macy's to close Minneapolis headquarters, lay off 950

 

Macy's to close Minneapolis headquarters, lay off 950 CHRIS SERRES, JACKIE CROSBY, H.J. CUMMINS, Star Tribune

As Macy's was being hailed at the Minneapolis Hilton Wednesday by downtown boosters for its many contributions to the city, blocks away the company was telling a stunned staff that it would close its Minneapolis division headquarters, laying off 950 employees. The Cincinnati-based retailer, hurt by slowing sales in recent months, Wednesday announced a $150 million consolidation that would eliminate 2,300 jobs nationwide, including folding the Minneapolis-based Macy's North headquarters on Nicollet Mall into New York-based Macy's East. Although no stores are expected to close, the cuts are some of the biggest to hit the region in recent years, comparable to closing of the Ford plant in St. Paul. The jobs are disappearing at a time the state has had the worst six-month stretch of job loss since the recession of 2001. And the longer-term effect of losing the department store division, which has roots in downtown Minneapolis stretching back more than 100 years, remains to be seen. Macy's and its predecessor companies were some of the city's biggest boosters and civic supporters. In an interview Wednesday, Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren said he would leave to new regional managers decisions about whether to maintain traditions. Such traditions include the spring flower show and sponsoring of the Holidazzle parade, as Macy's did last year. Beginning in spring, Macy's plans to hire about 40 district and regional positions locally, part of about 250 such jobs around the country that are designed to better tailor its products to specific regions. "They'll be in the best position to tell us what are the best places to donate, because these are the places where our customers and employees are attached to," Lundgren said. "We think community events are extremely important; we think that donating and giving back to community is extremely important. All of that will continue." But many retail observers were skeptical. Without a regional division in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities market will have less significance to Macy's senior management, some analysts said. And the downtown Minneapolis store would be seen as little different from the rest, some argued. Some civic boosters were dismayed by news that Macy's North Chairman Frank Guzzetta would retire in the spring. Guzzetta, 62, has aggressively promoted the downtown Macy's store, and was widely credited with persuading Macy's management to undertake a $15 million renovation of the store two years ago. Guzzetta also has a close relationship with Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak, and the two worked together to recruit other retailers downtown. On Wednesday, Rybak said he had a 30-minute conversation with Guzzetta, in which the Macy's executive assured him that the downtown store was "very strong" and would continue its special events. The annual holiday auditorium display at the Nicollet Mall store is said to cost more than $1 million and attracts a half-million visitors between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Eve. Guzzetta did not return calls Wednesday from the Star Tribune. "This community has been very loyal to Macy's, but the jury is out on whether Macy's can keep that loyalty," Rybak said. "That loyalty will depend on how loyal Macy's is to the community." Gwen Pappas, spokeswoman for the Minnesota Orchestra, which holds a Macy's Day of Music each summer that attracts some 20,000 people, said Macy's called Wednesday "to assure us that we would have continued support from Macy's in 2008." Some downtown businesses also were worried about the loss of Guzzetta. Said Scott Kuhlman, owner of the Kuhlman Co. clothing stores: "I don't know who'll step into his shoes. As leader of that massive space downtown, he had a lot of clout." Although rumors that Macy's might close its Minneapolis division had surfaced before, Wednesday's announcement seemed to take nearly everyone by surprise. Employees got about an hour's notice to gather in the eighth-floor auditorium at the Macy's store on Nicollet Mall, home of the annual winter holiday and spring flower shows. Macy's vice chairman Tom Cole got right to the point. "We have news. It's not good for Macy's North," employees recalled him saying. He then read a company press release. He took no questions. Meanwhile, a very different scene was unfolding several blocks away at the Minneapolis Hilton, where the Minneapolis Downtown Council, which promotes downtown businesses, was holding its annual meeting, and apparently no one was aware of Macy's announcement. A small cheer erupted in the ballroom when images of the Macy's Holidazzle parade flashed on the big screens behind the stage. "Macy's was a one-company entertainment bonanza last year," declared Sam Grabarski, president and CEO of the council. Yet at the center of the ballroom, a table reserved for Macy's executives was conspicuously empty. Plates of bib lettuce salad and chocolate raspberry cake lay untouched next to a "Macy's North" sign. Grabarski said later he was "optimistic" that many of the displaced workers would find new jobs downtown. He noted that the 15 largest employers downtown hired 1,800 more people last year, an increase of 4 percent over the previous year. State economist Tom Stinson was more pessimistic. Economically, the closing will take a toll at least as big as the initial round of layoffs at the Ford plant, he said. "This is really sad news for the Minnesota economy, but it's even worse for the people who are affected," he said. "There's never a good time to lose your job, but this is a weakening economy and these people are being laid off in a very difficult time." Tyler Rosengren, 26, an advertising account executive from Minneapolis who frequently buys lunches at the downtown Macy's, said the loss of the headquarters represented "the final stage of a downward spiral away from the Dayton's days." "It's been a long time since this store felt special," he said.

It's Heeeeeeeeere!

My new phone came last night! I'm so excited! Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything with it because I had a minor work crisis to work on last night. It's great! It's a 3.0 megapixel camera phone! Did I mention how awesome it's gonna be? Oh yeah. It is.

Tonight it's all about setting up my bran new fancy phone! Whoo hoo!



So... Who will my first phone call be to? Will it be you? or will it be someone else? I can tell you, that whoever it turns out to be, it is a person who reads my blog. I have a few people I have been meaning to call, so it could just be you! Could it be my friend who's kid I'm buying Girl Scout cookies from? Could it be one of my prego friends whom I have been meaning to call and ask all kinds of groatie prego questions to (to see if I'm normal)? Could it be one of my gay boyfriends to chit chat about lovers? Could it be my single friends, whom I'm jealous of because they aren't knocked-up? You just don't know until you get the call! So if I were you, you had better be standing by tonight! Because you don't want to miss my call if it's you!

My Ears! My Ears! (In my best Pheobe Phoebe Buffet Voice)

...you know, when she sees Monica and Chandler making out from Ross's apartment and yells, "My eyes! My eyes!"...

Anyway. I heard the worst thing ever on the radio just now. (OK, maybe a tish of an exaggeration.) I heard this terrible beat and terrible lyrics and looked at my radio to see what the hell I was listening to. It as Jordan Knight. And he was singing about "giving it to me". It was weird and stupid. It sounded all later Nsync, with nasty lyrics. I swear in there I heard him say he'd "keep me wet", and "hold me to the bed", and some other stupid crap like that.
Who the heck encouraged him to come out with a new album? He better get Timberland to work with him, if he doesn't want to suck, because that song was terrible. It was so bad; I've had to make up a new tag to assign it to.

Annoying Husband, or Hormones?

I noticed my husband is developing an annoying habit. He seems to think he has to cut me off while I speak, and talk over me. AND, AND, I also noticed in our last two meetings with other people, that he asks a question, and then keeps talking/answering the question before the person can even get in there to answer the question. Yesterday, with our loan officer, I noticed this annoying "habit" about 5-7 times. I started counting late.

Here is my attempt at an example,

Him: "What is an FHA loan? That's where you borrow money at a % and then you have to pay it back right? Because that's what's really confusing for me.... Is I really don't understand the FHA loan."

Lender: "Well, the FHA loan"

Him: "That's where they cut you a break on different things, and give you discounts right? Because I'm not really sure what it's for, and I'd really like to get a better handle on it."

OK. That's not the best example, but I think you might get my point. I wanted to scream at him, "JUST ASK THE QUESTION AND SHUT UP SO SHE CAN ANSWER IT!!!!!"

This weekend, his sister's car was hit by some douche bag. So we pick her up to take her to the farm to get another car. (Yes, you see, the farm is this magical place that every car these people has ever purchased, stays around and never dies.) While out there, she asked my thoughts on how the insurance agency will handle her car claim. So I start to tell her what happened when mine was totaled right before the wedding. Note: DJ has never had a totaled car. This means, he doesn't know for sure/fact what happens in this scenario. But that didn't stop him from interrupting me a HUNDRED times to tell his sister what is GOING to happen. So finally I looked at him and said, "Jeez! Are you ever going to let me finish my sentence again?!" Then he shut up for about 2 seconds for me to start another sentence and then be cut off again.

That night when we got home, I brought it up to him. I told him it was irritating for him to interrupt me like that. Especially when someone specifically is asking me something. And when he interrupts, it leads me to believe what I have to offer to the conversation is irrelevant. He actually did say he was sorry, and he thought it was rude. He EVEN said that he thought what I had to say was relevant and he didn't know for sure what he was talking about, it was just his opinion. But that hasn't stopped him from continuing to interrupt me. I bet I'm fixin' to have another blow out with him. Last night, I was talking to him and he did it again, and I said, "Are you ever going to let me finish a FUCKING SENTENCE!!!!" Then I just finished cooking dinner and stopped talking to him for the night. I might have had to kill him.

PS. Is anyone having trouble with their spell check? Mine seems to not be working anymore.

Funniest Clip of the Year

This clip made me laugh so hard I cried. If I ever get divorced, this is how I'm doing it.

If you can't view the clip, click here

Seriously.

Why didn't they ever do something like this when I lived there? It's totally up my alley. My friend FWMama sent me an email with this info on it. Totally something I could win, or at least come in at the top. I used to make Barbie clothes all the time with my moms quilt squares and stuff. I also used to steel her crochet thread and crochet Barbie clothes. I even made a couple outfits out of electrical tape and scotch tape when I couldn't find anything else to make stuff out of. My Barbies were always very on trend and fashion forward. :o)

And don't worry. All that is saved in a box to share with any little girl who may be interested. Even though the other night I was thinking, I may not be able to bring myself to share them with her. I wouldn't want them to get messed up. She might have to have her own collection. I got a new Barbie almost every year for Christmas. Until my mom thought I was too old. But I still want them. I look through the collector's dolls and tell DJ he has to buy me certain ones, but he never does.

Are you one of those people who watches Bravo's Project Runway and thinks, "Seriously, Ricky. I could definitely do better than that"?

Yes, you say? Then we invite you to take the Star-Telegram's own Project Runway-inspired challenge. Our twist? You'll design for a Barbie (or any 14-inch doll) using a packet of materials that we'll provide.

Send your name and address to ewhite@star-telegram.com with "Runway Challenge" in the subject line by noon Feb. 7. We'll mail out the packets, and you'll have until 6 p.m. Feb. 22 to get a photo of your doll in her complete outfit to us. E-mail your photo to ewhite@star-telegram.com or send it to Runway Challenge, Features Department, Star-Telegram, Box 1870, Fort Worth, TX 76101.

Finalists will need to set aside March 1 for photos with their dolls and more challenges. The winner gets a $100 gift card to a crafts store. So make it work!

It Has Been Done

Yep. You heard me. I ordered my new phone this morning over the internet. I will have it in my hot little hands in 2-5 business days. Then, all I have to do is bring it in sometime and have them change my phone number.

Woo hoo! I'm so excited!