St. Patrick's Day

Ever since I was little I have always had a thing for anything Irish. I love St. Patty's day, enjoy reading books about Ireland, or that are set in Ireland, enjoy funny Irish blessings, and have just always been fascinated by all things Irish. I'm not really sure why. I think that at one point I even had it in my head that my biological parents were Irish, but I have no idea if that was true or not! Probably one of my greatest wishes is to one day visit Ireland. I love the pictures that I've seen of it! Looks amazing!

So here we are! It's March! Time for St . Patty's Day! In honor of that, I just thought that I'd share some of my very favorite Irish Blessings. Some are funny, some odd, and some just nice. Hope you enjoy!

For each petal on the Shamrock

This brings a wish your way-

Good Health, Good Luck, and Happiness

For today and every day

As you slide down the banister of life,
May the splinters never point in the wrong direction!

May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more

And nothing but happiness

Come through your door

May you have all the happiness

And luck that life can hold

And at the end of your rainbows

May you find a pot of gold

May your blessings outnumber
The Shamrocks that grow
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go

May the best day of your past
Be the worst day of your future

May your pockets be heavy-
Your heart be light.
And may good luck pursue you
Each morning and night.

I've got some other favorite Irish Blessings, but I'll save those for another day!

I can be so mean!

I can be really mean sometimes, but dang if it didn't make my day! So, as I mentioned in my last post, I've been extremely stressed lately! Tonight, I was driving home from work and something happened that normally would have made me even more mad. Instead, I had some fun!

Background, for those of you that have never driven in a car with me, I am not a slow driver. I hate to drive slow! Don't get me wrong! I'm not a huge speed demon either. I mean, I've been driving for almost 12 years and have only had 1 speeding ticket. But I always drive between 5-10 over the speed limit. I go crazy if I have to go too slow! But, one of my main pet peeves are drivers that tailgate. Usually when that happens, I just get mad. Tonight, I had a bit of fun.

Anyways, so I was driving home from work. I was on a regular street, one lane each direction, 35 mph speed limit. I was going 45. This girl pulls up RIGHT behind me. She was so close to me that I couldn't see her headlights! That's pretty dang close! For a minute, I was livid! I just wanted to yell at her to get off my ass! Then, I had a better idea. I slowed WAY down. In fact, I slowed down to 25 mph! She was getting so mad. Stayed right on my tail, starts swerving back and forth. I was laughing so hard! Then, when I got to the light where I should have turned left. I figured that I didn't want my fun to be over yet! So I went straight, and stayed right in front of her! She finally went taking off down a side street that I'm pretty sure wasn't her original destination.

I know, I shouldn't be mean to people. But sometimes it just feels really good! I needed a good laugh, and I got one tonight!

The Craziness of 2010

Wow! Has it really been over a month since I last updated my blog? I don't know why that surprises me. So far, 2010 has been an extremely crazy/busy/stressful year!

I'm sure most of you know (or at least could guess if you follow me on facebook), that my job with JetBlue has been a bit stressful right now. Ok, "a bit" is an understatement! Last summer they announced to all of us employees that we would be switching to a brand new computer/reservations system. At first, I was pretty excited. I love learning new things, and looked forward to the challenge. It was quite a long process to get all of the reservation agents trained on the new system, over 4 months! My two week training were the last two weeks of December. I finished on January 3rd. The new system was scheduled to come online January 30, so I figured that I had a month to relax before the cutover.

Nope! I was wrong. My trainer emailed me several times asking me to consider doing an advance training to help out with a specialized team, called RED (Refunds / Exchange Desk). That sounded like fun. So that was another 5 days of training. Next, I ended up being picked to cross-train on another specialty team IAD (a help desk for the rest of the reservation agents). Another 3 days of training. By this time, I had a few days off, and then cutover!

I had no idea how difficult things were going to get!!! Let me explain this the way that I try to tell our customers when they don't understand what's going on. On the day that we switched from one computer system to the other, the thousands and thousands of reservations that were in the old system all had to be moved over and converted to the new computer system. Well, those reservations aren't quite compatible with the new system. So, when a customer calls to change or cancel their reservation, it causes major issues! Not to mention that it took a couple of weeks to get some of the bugs out of the new system, plus we were still amateurs at this system. Not a good combo!!!

Those first few days of cutover were probably some of the most stressful days I've had. It took an average of an hour to just change a customer's flight! Very nerve wracking! Also, in one day I went from being extremely good at and confidant in my job, to feeling like I knew absolutely nothing! My mantra for that weekend was "I can't quit! I can't quit! I can't quit!" Believe me, I was tempted to! I think that I threatened to quit probably 20 times in that first weekend. Added to this stress was the mandatory Overtime that we all had to work. Because of that, in the first two days of cutover, I worked 23 hours! Still not quite sure how I survived!

Thankfully things have improved immensely! Part of that is because a lot of the glitches have been fixed. But also, now when I get those odd errors, I know how to fix them! Or at least most of them. I still have a reservation every once in a while that pops up and really gives me fits, but I can handle that. As long as it's not on every call!!!

Also, I have to say that this whole thing has just reminded me of why it is that I LOVE working from home! I had to work at the center for the first couple of weeks. I really missed working in my PJ's! Plus, when you work two jobs it's really nice to not have to worry about two separate commutes! So glad to be back home!

That has basically been all that I've done this entire year so far! Oh, one afternoon I had a great lunch with my cousin Amy. But other than that, I literally have done nothing but work for the last 6 weeks. Hopefully things will calm down a bit now!

BTW, I fell completely off the wagon with my New Year's Resolutions. Been a bit too stressed to be thinking about them! But it's time to get back on track! Wish me luck!

Happy Birthday Trinity!

It's Trinity's birthday today!  Ok, so honestly, I'm not really sure that it's her birthday.  When we got her, we were told that she was born mid-January.  So, we've just always said that her birthday is January 15th.  She is 10 years old!  That just doesn't seem right.  She's still just a puppy, right?

I swear, I think that is was just yesterday that Scott brought her home.  Mom had been saying for years that we would never have another pet.  We currently had a cat that was 14 years old, and that was supposed to be the last one.  Then one night, Scott shows up at the house carrying a box.  And in the box was Trinity!

She was just so dang cute!  I guess that one of Scott's friends had bought her for his girlfriend.  But the girlfriend's parents wouldn't let her keep it, and the friend lived in an apartment that didn't allow pets.  So, Scott brought her home!  He insisted that it was just until he could find another home for her.  My mom told him that he's supposed to show up on the doorstep with a dog when he's 10, not when he's 20!  For two weeks, supposedly Scott was trying to find her another home.  I'm not really sure if he actually was looking or not.  All that I know is that I was keeping my fingers crossed the whole time that he wouldn't find anyone and that Mom would let us keep her!  And guess what!  She did!

Trin is extremly spoiled, but she's also one of the sweetest, most loving, and smartest dogs I've ever seen.  I have no idea what we'd do without her!  Life would certainly be a whole lot more boring!  Trin is a complete daddy's girl.  She will sit for hours by the door just waiting for him to come home.  And the second that he pulls into the driveway, she will run and get whoever is home to open the door to let her outside.  She can't possibly wait until he comes in!  But that's fine, the feelings mutual.  I had an apartment for a while that I could take her to.  So, every once in a while we'd have a sleepover.  And every time, Dad would be calling me at 9am wondering when I was bringing Trin home!  She is certainly well loved!

Hope that you like some of the pictures that I've posted of her. Unfortunatly, for the life of me I couldn't find one of her doing her favorite trick - Going down the slide at the park. Maybe we'll have to go over there and play some time in the next few days so that I can take some new ones!

Resolutions Update - Week #1

Yeah, I know! I still haven't posted my pictures from Christmas. But for some reason my camera is having issues downloading the pics. I've got the ones that my mom took with her camera, but not mine. Maybe I'll be able to figure out the problem later tonight, but no guarantees!

Anyways, time for my first update on how I'm doing with my New Year's Resolutions!

#1 - Eating 3 Meals a Day - So far, so good! But this isn't as easy as it seems! I've had to really think ahead of time to what my schedule is for that particular day and then try to plan things out! Plus, several times this week I had to pretty much force myself to eat breakfast. But I'm sure that eventually it'll become habit.

#2 - Eating Healthy - So, so. Overall, I've eaten better than I typically do. But the one huge mistake I made was not throwing out all of the leftover Holiday goodies before the week started! They are all gone now, so next week should be better!

#3 - Exercise at least 4 times a week - Uh oh! I just remembered that I had meant to get up early today and exercise so that I would make this goal. And I didn't get up early! Well, I worked out 3 days this week. Next week I'll shoot for 4!

#4 - Finances - Staying on track! :)

Hopefully if I keep making myself accountable to post updates on here, I'll stick with these goals! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Off topic, I just have to thank my friend Chelsea! Yesterday, I emailed her with a problem that I was having on the format of my book reviews blog. She went above and beyond and fixed everything and designed a new template and it looks great! Thanks!

2010 - Update and New Year's Resolutions

Wow! It's been quite a while since I've posted anything! Life has been extremely crazy this last month what with working at the Post Office, training at JetBlue, Christmas activities, Christmas shopping, working on a project for my Grandma, and of course I had to try to squeeze in a little time to eat and sleep!

I took a ton of pictures at the family Christmas party, some of which I've posted on facebook, but a lot of which haven't made it on there yet. I have every intention of posting info about Christmas. Hopefully that'll happen within the next few days!

2010....really?....Are we sure?....Where in the world did the last ten years go!?! It seems like it was just yesterday that everyone was freaking out about Y2K and talking about how odd it'd be not to say 19..(whatever year). Now we've entered a whole new decade!

So, new decade, new year, seems like the perfect time for some New Years Resolutions! I don't think that I've ever once truly stuck with a New Year's resolution before. But it's a new decade! What better time to finally succeed?! So, here's the plan. Typically I don't share my resolutions with anyone. Maybe that's why I always fail. There isn't anyone that I feel accountable to besides myself. So, first step: Share my resolutions with all of you! Or at least share it with the two people that read my blog! :) Next step: For the first few months, I am going to post once a week with updates about how I am doing with my resolutions. Maybe if I feel accountable to someone else, I'll actually stick with it! After that, at least once a month I will again update you on how I'm doing! At the end of the year, we'll see how I did! Here goes!

#1 - EAT 3 MEALS A DAY - Yeah, I know that probably sounds like a REALLY odd resolution. But here's the thing. I want to work on losing weight, and one of my big problems is that I don't eat often enough. For at least the last 5 years, I have typically eaten only once, maybe twice a day. That's not a good thing! My body always thinks that I am starving it. It doesn't matter how good I start eating, or how much I exercise. If my body thinks that I'm starving it, I wont lose any weight!

#2 - EAT HEALTHY - Pretty self explanatory. I need to cut out most of the junk food and fast food. I wont say that I am going to cut it all out, because honestly that just wont happen. But instead of being an every day occurrence, it needs to become a rare treat!

#3 - EXERCISE AT LEAST 4 TIMES A WEEK - This is a big one for me! I really need to start exercising a lot more than I currently do. So, whether it's walking on the treadmill, Pilate's, balance ball, or playing on the Wii Fit, I need to start working out at least 4 times a week.

#4 - STAY ON TRACK FINANCIALLY - Not going to go into detail here, because honestly I don't understand when people share all of the details of their finances. I'll just say that a few months ago I set some goals for myself financially. So far I've done a pretty good job with sticking with them. So, I just want to keep on track with that!

So, there we go! Those are my New Year's Resolutions. Hopefully this year I can finally stick with them! This Saturday, I'll give you an update on how the first week's gone.

Happy New Year to everyone, and good luck with your own resolutions!

Update

I don't really have much to talk about this week. Work is getting busier, what with the Christmas season. I've just about finished my Christmas shopping. YEAH! We've had our first big snowstorm of the year. That would be great if I could just sit and look at it. But when you have to drive to and from work in the snow, not so much fun! For those of you who check out my other blog, the one with book reviews, sorry that I haven't added anything new lately! I have a bunch of books that I want to talk about, but just haven't had the time to write reviews. I think that's just about the extent of the current excitement in my life!

Oh! One other thing. For those of you who have blogs of your own, a couple of my friends just started a new website with blog backgrounds. Right now most of them are winter scenes, and a lot of fun! In fact, they designed the background that I'm currently using. Everyone should check it out! The address is: www.intothebackground.blogspot.com

Anyways, hope everyone's having a great December so far!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This month, on Facebook, someone challanged me to post one thing each day this month that I was Thankful for. Just a way to be thankful all month, instead of just one day. So, seeing as today is Thanksgiving, I just thought that it'd be fun to post a few of the things that I've mentioned being thankful for. Some are serious; some just fun.

* I am thankful for my parents always being there for me no matter what.

* Today I am grateful for a brother that I can look up to. I am extremely proud of him!

* Today I am Thankful that K-Bull 93 played the CMA awards on their station last night! I left for work very frustrated that I didn't get to watch the awards, and found out that it was being broadcast on the radio! It just made my night!

* Today, I am thankful for the chance to spend a fun day with my mom. We went to the Family Christmas Gift Show, a yearly tradition. And then out to lunch!

* Today I am thankful that I get to work in my pajamas! On a morning like this, it's so much better to just stay comfy in my p.j.'s!

* Today I am thankful for the fact that I have two good jobs. I have been pretty frustrated with things lately, but I just have to keep reminding myself that it could be LOTS worse! I could be jobless! So I have that to be greatful for!


* Today I am thankful for my very cute puppy dog! She entertains me quite a bit throughout the day!

* Today I am thankful for Caffeine. I'm going to need it tonight!

* Today I am thankful for long, hot showers! Perfect way to warm up on a cold day!

* I am thanful that my grandma is finally letting us interview her for her life history. I am learning so many things that I never knew before!

* I am thankful for computers. I really don't know how I would get by without one!

* Long "Thankful" today so bear with me! Today I am thankful that I live in this amazing country. I am thankful to live in a country where it's all right (sometimes even encouraged) to have a differing opinion! I am thankful that I don't have to agree with everything that my government does. I am thankful for every man and woman who has ever fought for our country. I'm thankful for both those that have served in the past to make our country what it is today, and those who are currently fighting to continue to keep us free. I am also thankful for every friend and family member of every service man and woman. Sometimes I feel like the sacrifices made by those left at home are at least as great, if not greater, than the sacrifices made by those in our military.

I am thankful that I was able to grow up in a place and time that encouraged me to think for myself, make my own decisions. And I'm thankful for family and very good friends who stand by me, even when the decisions I've made aren't things that they would necessarily agree with. And I am thankful for all of the blessings that I've had in my life. There are too many to even begin to name.

And lastly, I am beyond thankful for my family, for their love and support. I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they will always be there for me. Even when I've done things that I'm not proud of, I know that I can turn to them for help.

I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving and truly takes the time to think about all of the things that you are thankful for.

Friday the 13th

So, since there wont be another Friday the 13th until next August, I figured that I'd take a minute to mention the date! Traditionally, everyone always considers Friday the 13th to be an unlucky day. Some of the radio stations that I listen to even do whole segments of their shows for people to call in and say all of the bad things that have happened to them on Friday the 13th. But for me, I think the exact opposite is true! I LOVE Friday the 13th. I've always found it to be a lucky day for me. And even if nothing necessarily lucky happens, it's at least never a bad day. *Knock on Wood*

I don't know when it started, but ever since I was little I have always found 13 to be a lucky number for me. I've always loved that my lucky number is one that most people don't like. Even look at my email address, and my blog address: kas913. That is my initials and my two lucky numbers 9 and 13! So, I hope that this Friday the 13th, some of my luck will rub off on everyone else. Hope it's a fun one!

Hmmmm.....Sleep? or Read?

You would really think that after 27 years, I would have FINALLY learned my lesson! NEVER, NEVER, NEVER start reading a new book an hour before you need to go to sleep!!! Because if you do, instead of going to sleep in an hour, you continue to read, and read, and read. And then the next thing you know, you are looking at the clock and you have to be awake in 1 hour! I think that I would probably be shocked if I knew the exact number of nights that I didn't end up sleeping, all because I was too busy reading. I can think of MANY times even as a kid when on a weekend or summer night, I stayed up until 8am reading. Have I learned from all of those sleepless nights? Nope! Just yesterday, I was off at the Post Office, so it was a rare night when I could actually get a good amount of sleep. Considering that most days I survive on far too little sleep, you would think that I'd take advantage of this chance to catch up! Nope! I started reading a new book. 5 hours later, I finally forced myself to put the book down so that I could get at least a little bit of sleep. Will I never learn? It's a good thing that I've learned to function on very little sleep!

BTW, for those interested in knowing, the book was "The Summoning" by Kelley Armstrong. I'm a huge fan of her Otherworld series, and this book is the first book of her new Young Adult series. Look for a review of it on my other blog within the next few days!