Fifty lashes ...

It's been almost a month since my last blog!! Oy! Unacceptable! I really *must* do better!!

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Let's see ... my birthday. Single Son, my folks and I went to Red Lobster for dinner. Yum!! My folks gave me the traditional birthday gift - my Christmas outfit. It was a pretty fuchsia top with a scarf. You'll see it below in the pic of me and my grandsons. And sadly it's the ONLY picture from Christmas (DIL took it and she's not big on taking more than a few pics). I forgot to bring my camera with me on Christmas!! How horrible is that?

Me with JJ, Butterball and Grandson.

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Christmas. Hmmm, it was alright. Dinner at Brother Deere's house again. He says this is the last year he's going to do it (but he's been saying that for three years now). He just stresses way too much about a lot of things. His house is always spotless. Always. Yet he spent two weeks prior to the holiday washing curtains and area rugs, shampooing the wall to wall carpeting, washed every wall in the house, and goodness knows what else. Why? Because he's like that. Mom and I agree that with so many little kids invading his spotless home he should not be bothering. That he needs to wait until we've all left. Oh! the messes the little ones made!! Someone gave my two small grandsons crackers to eat - in the carpeted family room no less!! Can we say smooshed cracker crumbs? Sippy cup drips. And the worse ... one of my cousins gave JJ (11 month old grandson) a chocolate candy! White walls, chocolate-covered fingers and an 11 month old. Too much stress for my Brother Deere.

Santa was good to me, as usual. A nice toasty warm blankie for the winter months, a new night shirt, a sweatshirt, a griddle, eating utensils, drinking glasses with the Beatles on them, a couple of checks ... and an aluminum walking cane from Married Son. Now I have something to hit him over the head with the next ol' lady crack he makes to me!!

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I had a good chuckle. Single Son is the hardest person to shop for. He buys what he wants or needs but forgets that in doing so, no one has gift ideas for him for the holiday. We were coming back from my birthday dinner and had stopped at the gas station. The station had a stack of remote controlled toy helicopters (police helicopters, no less) and he really took an interest in them. Remember, he's 32 years old!! Sooooo ... I waited for him to go back to the van, and bought him one!! Carried it out to the van and told him "don't peak" but I know he knew what it was. He acted surprised when he opened it on Christmas. He's been having a blast playing with that thing ever since. It's radio controlled, so there's no wires between the helicopter and remote controller ... it's totally free flying. He's getting good at flying that thing around the house. And buzzing ME with it, too. Nothing like sitting at the wireless printer in the living room waiting for my daily reports to come spitting out of the machine and dodging that "flying machine". I really need to move the printer to the safety of my desk!!

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Work ... work is going well. Haven't found the entire error, but I am slowly chipping away at making progress.

I've been told by Single Son that my hours will be quadrupling by the end of January. I don't mind as long as my paycheck reflects the change in hours (it will). LOL. I have no idea what the work will include, but as I told him "bring it". I'm ready ... or will be once I find the rest of this blasted error.

I pretty much spent this evening wanting to wrap my hands around Alien's throat. Not that that's an unusual feeling with all the errors I'm finding in her secretarial skills (or lack thereof).

No, tonight it started with a text.
Alien: Mom, I need my w-2 so that I can renew my state benefits (w-2 to my non-US friends is a United States federal tax form issued by employers and stating how much an employee was paid in a year).
Me: w-2s are not mailed out until the end of January.
Alien: But I need it!
Me: I can't help you. They'll have to take your last two pay stubs as proof of income.
Alien: Well, can you at least get me 2011s w-2?
Me: I already told you, they are not mailed out until the end of January. There's nothing I can do!!

She ended up calling me on the phone. Started the whole request thing all over again. Needing her w-2 statement from last year. "Well, can you get me the 2011 w-2 instead". HELLO? Last year WAS 2011.

What is she not understanding about this whole thing? I can't get her a statement that's mailed directly to her ... nor can I get her a paper that's not even printed up yet!! OY!!!!!

And she wonders why she ended up getting fired? How about not being able to comprehend what's being said (besides not knowing how to do the paperwork involved).

Oh and It's taken me three weeks to reorganize the countless stacks of paperwork she had "filed". And I'm not done yet!! 

One folder was even labeled "WTF" ... now, I ask you ... how's THAT for professionalism?

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Things on the Wrecking Crew end are normal. DIL barely spends any time here ... only long enough to abandon her undergarments in the bathroom ... fill (but not empty) the garbage ... dirty (but not clean) dishes ... and on and on. The fridge and freezer are filled with food she bought a month ago, but hasn't eaten. I wouldn't care, expect that there's NO room for the food I buy!!

Hearing me venting about her lack of consideration for anyone but herself Single Son opens the freezer and tells me "don't worry about my dinner tonight, Mom, I'm having this" ... as he holds up two frozen dinners that she bought. "If she complains tell her to see me" he says.

I figure a week of him eating her food I'll have room for MY groceries!! Well, our groceries ... Single Son and mine.

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That bottle of Michigan wine in my fridge is calling my name.

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Star Trek Alert!!

I've been fairly busy with Star Trek stuff, too. Making our meeting schedule for the year, coordinating it with other chapters for some of our activities ... like the Federation Bowl-a-thon ... or the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Star Wars vs. Star Trek event (with George Takei aka Sulu) ... and a few other events that should prove to be quite fun!!