Sisters, Sisters

There were never such devoted sisters. I apologize right now for the first photo. My mom said monkey faces and my sisters (obviously) don't obey very well.

Alicia , Rachel, and Me.

The two oldest girls.

The two youngest girls.

Yes, there are only three of us. Technically, Rachel is included in this picture because she took it. lol.

My crazy sisters. Imagine being born in between THESE two! Sooooo much fun!

The Work Monster

I really don't know that I want to write about work, but I just have to share with everyone a little bit of my pain. Hopefully, just writing about it will help the pain to ease. To start out I suppose I need to give a brief run down of my job. I process orders from the government for IT products. In order for me to send an order to a vendor (such as Dell) for a product, I first have to send it to our management company so that the order can be added to the "system". One girl, in particular, is in charge of adding the new order to the system. She is the work monster (WM). She does things on HER time. It does not make a difference to her if the government requires the products to be delivered next week or next month. She will still take her time. Those of us in order processing will mark an order Urgent if we need it as soon as possible. Seems to me, that those are the orders that tend to take the longest to be added. See, we expect a time delay of about one week for any particular order, but Urgent orders are supposed to be added within a matter of hours. WM MIGHT get to our Urgent orders in 24 hours. MIGHT. Not one hour after receiving the order...no...24 hours. Yeah, that's urgent alright! Anyway, I know this means nothing to any of ya'll, but I had to get this off my chest. i'm tired of deflecting questions from the sales reps and the customers about status updates just because someone REFUSES to do her job. The worst part...we can't do anything about it. Everyone has tried.

Okay, I can't say I feel alot better, but I do feel a little better.
Please don't think that my entire job is like this. There are days when WM is having a great day and we get order entered within minutes of sending them to her so this isn't an EVERYDAY occurence...just most days.

Anyway, I'm done complaining now. thanks for bearing with me. I'm still working on how I'm going to change my life when it come to WM. Will I confront her about her inconsideration of other people or will I continue to keep my mouth shut and let her continue to make our lives more difficult?

Family Reunion

This Saturday my mother's family got together for a reunion. I wasn't supposed to be able to go, but after a bit of debating, I finally told Joseph that I was going up to PA. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. My next thought was..."I need to take my camera. I just have to take tons of pictures because who knows when we'll all get together again." Oh I took my camera alright and ended up with about 220 pictures by the end of the night. Of course, Blogger only allows five pictures per post so I had to pick five that shows the highlights of the party from my perspective.

Clockwise from top left: David, Jenn, Uncle Bob, and Aunt Ann.

Aunt Ann was the brains behind the reunion from what I hear. Great job, Aunt Ann! It was a blast!

Again, clockwise from top left: Christy, Charlie Jr., Charlie's girlfriend, Aunt Janet, Tyler, and Uncle Charlie. As you can see, Uncle Charlie is the life of the party. Uncle Bob is U. Charlie's younger brother and he (U. Bob) was taking pictures of all the families that showed up. When U. Bob said that he was done with the actual pictures and that he was going to film a little now, U. Charlie said that he was going to pick his nose on camera. And he did. Had to get a picture of that!

This is my family that was at the reunion. From left: Isaiah, Aunt Theresa, Grandma, Uncle Gary, Dad, Rachel, Stephen, Mom, and me.

My Pap, Grandma's husband, was the oldest boy in the original family. In the family, I think my Pap was the best looking of the boys. (you'll see later)

This was my table of fun. Partly because it was where U. Charlie sat, but mostly because it was the table of "shine". Clockwise starting with my mother: Mom, Dad, Cousin Stewart, U. Charlie, Cousin Terry, U. Don, and U. Bob. Can you guess why I call this my table of "shine"?


This is (obviously) a photo of the original Phillips children. I'm afraid I don't ever remember the names correctly so I'm going to ask Aunt Ann to name everyone. I can say that the really good looking guy in the uniform is my Pap. ( You ARE going to have to click on the picture so you can actually see the family properly.)

Using What I've Learned

I called my mom today to get ask her to pray for a girl I know who has been having all kinds of problems for the past year. Anyway, as I talked to my mom, I heard, as I usually hear when my younger sister is home from college, about how Rachel isn't helping my mom out. Of course, this means that I then have to talk to Rachel about needing to help Mom. Rachel usually has some kind of excuse and today was no different. Except that she tried to turn it around on me and tried to tell me that I needed to stay out of it. I hung up on her. After a few minutes of thinking, considering what to say and how to say it, I called Rachel back. I got her voicemail and left a message. Not too long after I called again and actually got her. So, getting to the point...since I've been having problems with my supervisor at work, I've learned quite a bit about handling different issues. The issue that crosses from work into personal life right now is this...Rachel and I are typical of our family...therefore we both have slight problems with communication or miscommunication, as it were. See, we tend to act on what we know needs to be done, but fail to ask what the person in charge would like us to do. In Rachel's case, that would be Mom, in my case, my boss. I have been learning that the best way to deal with this in the workplace is to keep my boss in the loop. It's not so much that she needs to tell me what to do as much as she just needs to know that I am letting her know that I'm working on something. I shared this with Rachel this evening. Told her that if she goes to mom with something already in mind, then she just needs to tell Mom this and give Mom the option of what Mom wants Rachel to do. Basically, cover yourself by putting the ball into your boss's hands. Yes, it is, in essence, a cop-out, but if it keeps Rachel from getting in trouble and out of a lecture from Alicia or I again, then it has worked. We'll just have to wait and see whether or not Rachel will act on my advice.

What do you think? Is it too much of a cop-out or do you think it might work?

Doctor's Appointment

*For Girls eyes only*

Last month I visited my doctor to learn more about polycystic ovary syndrome. See I haven't had a 'problem' with PMS in over a year. Anyway, last month I was given an order for an ultrasound to check for cysts. I lost the order until this morning so i took it to work with me today. I called the appointment center just after they opened and made an appointment for 3:30 in the afternoon. I was told to go to the location in L-burg. Well, I went to L-burg, which, by the way...is incredibly cool. I had to drive through the historic section of the city. Beautiful.
So, I got to the medical center and a few minutes after signing in my name was called. As I stepped to the window, the receptionist told me that I had been set up for an appointment at the location that just happens to be quite literally around the corner from my house. I was a little upset, but was very relieved when she followed up with the offer of waiting 15 more minutes since someone else had canceled their appointment for 3:45pm. Of course, I took it. And ended up getting my very first ultrasound. I always thought that my first would be when I got pregnant, but apparently I need to find out if pregnancy is even possible first. My doctor has even gone so far as to recommend finding a fertility specialist already.

Crazy Boys

Joseph and Tres and Titus kept me well entertained yesterday so I figured I would share a few pictures to show you what they were doing. Joseph and Tres spent the day up on my roof hanging up Christmas lights.

Up close but not too close.

Further back shot.

Wait! a random boy climbing through my bathroom window?

Dropping the extension cord over the side of the house for Joseph.

Tossing the extension cord up to Joseph. Yes, I know this one is technically before the one above it, but that's okay.

I know my blog hasn't been really anything but pictures lately, but I haven't been doing anything aside from work, decorate, and wrap presents.

What do you get...

When you put one teenaged boy, one boxer puppy, and one dog crate together? Invasion of puppy privacy! Apparently, Titus wanted to know what it felt like to be in close quarters.

Giving the puppy some lovin'.
Invasion of puppy privacy and territory.

A little cramped, Titus?

Lazing around with the puppy in the dog crate.

Hmmmm. Maybe I should keep Titus in there. I wouldn't have to worry about his bedroom and bathroom needing to be cleaned.

Then again, I would have to listen to both Titus and Rocky whine about the lack of space all night since the dog crate is in my bedroom. Get out of the dog's space, Titus!

It is Finally Finished

Yes, that's right. My Christmas tree is done. However, it doesn't quite look like this anymore. Titus and I went out to Wal-Mart this morning to look for the last spool or two of ribbon that I needed to finish off my tree, but we couldn't find any anywhere in the store. So, we went to Michaels instead. And we looked. and we looked. and we looked. We found blue Christmas balls that couldn't be found anywhere else, then, just as I had finally given up all hope, Titus saw another long length of shelves jam packed with ribbon. Brilliant! But...they didn't have what I was looking for. Determined to have ribbon on my tree, I picked up a skinnier blue and a skinnier silver ribbon. These spools had 30ft. ea instead of the 9ft. on the Wal-Mart spools. I almost bought only one...Titus said it should be enough. Thankfully, common sense kicked in and I told Titus that I needed more because this ribbon wasn't as wide as what I already had on the tree. So I grabbed three spools of each color and let me tell you, I am soooo glad that I did! Behold! the finished tree with the Michaels ribbon!

I like this sooo much better!

So, is it better or worse than the original? (I'm asking your opinion, but it's staying like this cause I love it! lol)

Just for you, Alicia

But...I'm warning you it's not the same as seeing it for real. The pictures don't do it even the slightest justice.

The lights on the bushes are colored. The garland around the door is white and, of course, the Christmas tree in the window is blue and white.

My front yard and house so far. It's a good thing the sun is out today because Tres and Joseph have ALOT of lights to hang! LOL.

Of course, I had to play with the pictures to make the house and everything else visible, so some of the colors just aren't believable. I'll try to get better pics today. Oh. and don't forget that if you click on the pics themselves, you'll get a better view in the close up/ bigger pic.

We're Getting Closer

To Christmas, I mean. If you could see my house you would understand why I say this. Well, I guess if you scroll down you can see a few parts of my house.

Joseph was testing all the strands of Christmas lights and still hasn't picked them up.

More Christmas lights in the entry hallway.

Oh yeah, I finally got to start of my tree since Joseph finished up the lights on it. These are the left over decorations out of two boxes of 161 ornaments each.

The almost finished product. I need to get a few more spools of ribbon for the bottom of the tree.

A close up shot.

Do you like it? This is my very first tree of my very own. Please tell me what you think.

Been a while

Sorry I've been absent. I've been taking Rocky for a walk as soon as I get home from work since Tuesday. It's been great exercise and since we've been going over to the in-laws to get Max and Bailey to go with us. Max is a Bicha-poo and Bailey is a chihuahua. They don't really get along with Rocky so I'm trying to get the three dogs used to each other while I get my exercise.

Family Picture Time

The past two years we've had a full family picture taken of my mother-in-law's side of the family. (That's who Joseph and I have spent Thanksgiving with since we were married.) These are the before pictures...followed by the best full family pic from my camera.

Tiffany, Tiff's friend, Trey, and Liz. (Cousins)

Casey, Liz, Tiff, Tiff's friend. The oldest girl cousins...almost in age order. Casey's the oldest, then Tiff, and then Liz.


Liz, Trey, Mike, and Dad S.

Tiff's friend, Uncle Mark and Aunt Ann, PopPop, and Rachel. (I don't know who is behind the pillar.)

Left to Right: Rachel, me, Liz, Joseph, Aunt Pam, Uncle Tom, Charlie, Mom S., Dad S., Ashley, Gramma, Mike, PopPop, Aunt Ann, Uncle Mark, Tiffany, Trey, Uncle Sam, and Casey.

Thanksgiving Day Backwards

So, because I'm still trying to figure out which way blogger loads my pictures, these are backwards on the Thanksgiving day timeline.

Observe the Feast! That's Joseph's cousin, Trey, in the corner.

The whole table. We had 19 people in Aunt Ann's kitchen.

Casey, Uncle Sam's daughter, Tiffany, Aunt Ann's daughter, and Ashley...all cheesin' for the camera.

Triplets!

What a DEAL!!!
Aunt Pam and Mom S. planning their Black Friday attack on the NEX (Navy Exchange)

Christmas Pictures

Ashley, my brother-in-law's girlfriend, had the brilliant idea of having pictures of Joseph, Me, Mike and her framed for the boys' parents for Christmas. Joseph grew that idea and suggested doing the same for the boys' grandparents. These are what we got from MY camera. Ashley will compare my pics and the pics on her camera and will choose the best then frame them for the 'rents and grandparents. Don't tell Joseph that his picture is on the internet now.

Joseph, Me, Ashley, and Mike

This is actually take two. The pic below was first.

What!?! It was windy.

And THIS is my favorite. Me and my wonderful hubby, Joseph.

I'm Back and I've got lots and lots of pictures

But...I've too many to put up here. So...I'll just add a few in each of the next two or three posts. That's what I'll do.

Gonna miss writing!

I'm headed out of town for the rest of the week and I don't know that there is any internet connection (I think there is, but come on...it's Thanksgiving with family) so there probably won't be any posting going on until Sunday. I'll take lots and lots of pictures (if I remember) to share with ya'll.

Oh! I took Rocky to the vet today for his rabies vaccination, second distemper and first Lyme shots. He weighed in at 23.3lbs. That's four pounds in three weeks and I think it's all in length. That's my dog update.

So, ya'll have a Happy Thanksgiving and make sure to enjoy your time with whoever you spend the day with. Love ya'll!

More Decorating

Joseph started the big tree this evening. Here he is hiding his face while stringing up some of the lights. (He doesn't like his picture to be taken.)

My dining room. See the lights that Joseph has plugged in laying there on the floor. He's been keeping them plugged in to make sure none of the lights are bad before he puts them on the tree.
These are all of our tree decorations so far. I think we're going to be buying a few more since I want my tree to be blue and silver balls, blue and white lights, and blue and silver ribbon. (Go Rollers! LOL)

Once again, I'll add more pics as we get futher along with the decorating.

Changing a few things around

I haven't changed anything in my life so far for this post as much as Joseph has changed up our house. First is our Family room. The second blue recliner is no longer in the corner in front of the DVD shelves.


Next the morning room: Joseph turned the table sideways and added the chaise.



Oh! and we started decorating for Christmas. Yes, I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but we'll be out of town for Thanksgiving so that cuts back on our time to decorate. This is right inside our front door. Do you like the tree at the top? That was Titus' and my idea. The garland will light up too once we finish it up and get an extension cord.

Then, my front room. The chaise was moved out of the front window and the tree was put up there instead. And, of course, the blue recliner came out of the family room.

So, thanks, for joining me on a mini tour of a few rooms of my house. I'll post more pictures as we continue to decorate for Christmas.