Another Lazy Day

This has not been my most productive day. I got off to a late start. I picked up one application. The most productive thing I did today was load the dishwasher, start it, and unload it when I was done.

I'm off to finish my catering "project" for Cafe World. One of my catering orders (which had gone away for a while for some reason) is back. I've got 75% of it done and 26% of the order I had been working on since Thursday done.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 14

Today's been busy with so much to do. I've been re-authorized to price stuff and put it out on the sales floor. Also, mistakes (some of which may have been mine) on the way clothes were hanging had to be corrected. (The manager has a certain way she wants it done, and she gets P.O.'d if the clothes/hangers don't face the right way. I don't blame her for it. I've come to the conclusion that life is too short for making mistakes, especially on  the job, and that is one of many things I absolutely will not tolerate from myself. I'm really tempted to seek permission to go in beyond my currently official schedule. Going in only three times a week isn't really cutting it for me as far as getting things done is concerned.)

There was at least one good thing that happened today. The manager brought her pitbull Dingo for the first time. He mostly just followed her around. I don't know if it was only for today or if he's going to be our new part time mascot.

Maybe we'll get more caught up when garage sale season is over.

Update On Cafe World "Project"

Yesterday, I posted about an "order" I had to fulfill for a virtual client named Wholesale Dale, consisting of 88704 servings of bacon cheesburgers. So far, I've sold him 17817 servings, amounting to roughly 20% of the order. I continued work on it this afternoon after I came home from church, changed into some "at home" clothes, and did some dishes. I did take occasional breaks though (including dinner and cleaning up after dinner). Right now, I'm taking a break from the order to make Jammin' Jelly Donuts for my virtual customers in order to keep my buzz rating from dropping to far down. After that, it's back to the burger order.

Were it not for this catering "project" I wouldn't be spending so much time on Cafe World in any one day. I'd simply fix enough dishes to fill my counters, visit my neighbors, and leave it at that.  I'll be working on this project probably every night until it's done. (I'm generally not home during the day, at least not on weekdays.) Since there's no particular time that I have to leave the house on Tuesday (job search stuff), I'll probably stay up extra late tomorrow night.  (Who knew that one web game would take up so much time?)

I better go now. I have to check on the donuts.

Been Playing A Facebook Game Almost All Day

Today, I've been playing the Facebook game Cafe World off and on throughout the day. It's basically where you have your own virtual cafe and you earn coins and cafe points by cooking and by visiting "neighbors". If you get enough points, you move onto the next level. (I'm on level 33 at this time.)

The latest feature is catering (which has some steps that are required before you can access it). This is where you have orders from clients to fulfill. My latest is from Wholesale Dale, which is to sell 88704 servings of a favorite dish. I had thought that it had to be the bacon cheeseburger, so that's what I've been fixing and selling to him. So far, I've sold him 10,835 servings.

I've been "working" on the order since Thursday night (the earliest I was able to access the catering feature). I was busy on Friday, so I had to wait until last night to work on the order some more. This morning, I did some more of the order but also had to have other dishes going for the sake of virtual customers coming in. There were times when I had to take a break from the game, though, as there were things in "real" life to take care of.  I'll probably be up until midnight tonight working on the order.

I have church on Sunday, so I'll probably do some more of it when I get home in the afternoon. I know it's a lot of trouble over a game, but it's kind of one of those things where once I start, I feel like I must finish however long it takes. If I don't finish, it'll come back to bite me in the butt.

After I'm done with that, I'm going to finally get started on my read-a-thon hours for Bookcrossing.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 13

Another day of mostly hanging up clothes and tagging them. As usual, I ran out of time before I got to everything. (At this rate, if going in on extra days was an option, I would. I'm lucky if I ever get caught up.) One of the more impressive donations was a formal black halter gown. Granted, I prefer cuts that are more conservative and concealing, and I don't currently have any cause to wear formal wear, but still....

If I was the one pricing the clothes, I'd probably start said dress out at $10 and see what happens. But that's just me. The decision on what it'll run at will be up to the manager.

One of the non-clothing donations was a small brown end table with a place for magazines at the bottom. The manager has decided to take that one home. Another donation was a small green trash can. I don't know whether it'll be put up for sale or not.

Such has been my day. Who knows what'll happen on Monday.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 12

Today's been yet another day of tagging clothes and hanging them up. (The manager has decided that she'd be more comfortable taking care of the pricing part from now on.) There was a basketful of them waiting for me when I had come in followed later by some donations. One of the shirts that came in today said, "What happens at school, stays at school. (no homework)". It reminded me of an episode of The Simpsons where Bart wore a shirt that said "Down with homework." I wonder if schools have a rule against anti-homework slogans. (I know a lot of them have rules against shirts that have beer ads, curse words, and the like on them.)

At some point in the day, one customer (and one of the more frequent ones at that) noticed that one of our windows was broken and asked the manager if the place had been broken in. The manager called someone to explain the situation (possibly the person who comes in to check on things). The manager asked said customer to leave their name and number in case they had to call the police and they needed to ask him about what he saw.

As usual, I ran out of time before I could get all of the clothes hung up and tagged. They may or may not all still be waiting for me when I go in on Friday.

New Blog

I've started a new blog called Project Whitespace which focuses on how I try to simplify my life by using up and wearing out what I have and even tossing stuff out since I tend to accumulate a lot of it at some point (though not to the point of the hoarders you hear about on TV).  I've attempted that stuff in the past, but I never blogged about it.

Something I didn't mention in my premiere post is that I'll also be looking into thinning out my email (which I've let get quite full over the years) and will cover that on the blog as well.

Be sure to check it out sometime.

First Round Of Applications Turned In

Today, I turned in the five applications that I had picked up on Thursday. After that I picked up four applications from other places. Two out of the six places I went in to request an application turned out to be places in which the only place to apply was online. (Some places do that for some reason, do away with paper applications in favor of the online version.)

So the search continues. I've got four applications to fill out and turn in on Thursday.  This may be the last week in which I turn only to the application method of looking for a job. I think either next week or the week after, I will look into a temp agency in town called Manpower and see if they can't help me out a bit.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 11

Most of my day was spent tagging and hanging up clothes and occasionally covering for the manager on the register.  There were a few donations (not all of it clothing) that came in today. There were some waiting at the front door when I had gotten there.

Once again, I ran out of time before I could get all of the clothes tagged and hung up (with most of it being little kids' clothing). I may be seeing even more clothing come in on Wednesday.

Excitement Last Night And Today

Last night, my mom and I went to see my stepdad and the band he was in perform at an old local theater.  Following this was a public showing of the movie Up. Mom didn't stay for that part as she had things she wanted to take care of, but I stayed. It was a fun movie.

Today, as my sister and her boyfriend have plans for here in town, Cosmo is over at my house as I write this. He's staying the night once again. Right now, he's laying down at my feet. He and Layla will probably play together later.

That's all the excitement going on over here. Maybe more stuff will happen later.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 10

I would've posted yesterday, but I was rather worn out when I go home yesterday, and I was out in the evening. So, I'll do it today.

Yesterday, most of my time was spent putting clothes on hangers and and tagging said clothes (thought there were times when the manager would step out for a smoke or something and thus, I'd cover for her on the register). I'm not in charge of pricing clothes or putting them on display anymore, just hanging them up and tagging them. 

Even though I was able to get everything in the back room had gotten hung up (part of which I did and part of which someone else did), I ran out of time before I was able to see to it that every single garment had a tag on it.  Oh well, whatever of it doesn't get done today I can always do on Monday.

First Round Of Applications Since My Return

Since I'm only needed at Doggie Bag on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I've decided that I'd use Tuesdays and Thursdays for my job search. I've started on it today.

Because I live on the North side of town, I've decided to start at businesses there and work my way south as far as getting applications is concerned. My goal is to get five applications per job search day which I fill out and then turn in on the next job search day and on that same day pick up five more and repeat the process.  This will go on until I have a (paid) job. I'll also look into some freelance work. I really need and want to get an income stream going for myself.

Today, I got applications from four hotel/motels and one convenience store. I haven't filled them out yet, but as long as I get it done by Tuesday, I should be good to go.

Tomorrow, I'll be putting in more hours at Doggie Bag. Who knows what'll be waiting for me there?

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 9

On the way over, the manager happened to see me walking and offered me a ride the rest of the way over. I accepted.

I was able to finish hanging some clothes today that I didn't have time to yesterday. There were also more clothes to hang up, price, and display.

There were some changes made today. Most, if not all shorts, were moved to the outside racks in which anything on those were 25 cents. So, the racks that had held the shorts would be used for some of the pants, as in jeans on one rack, and dress pants on another. (While these changes were being made, I had to hold off on putting anything out on the sales floor.) We've also started displaying long-sleeved stuff.

While I was dealing with the clothes, a couple of people reorganized the back room. It looks better than it had since I've been back. Later in the afternoon, someone from the recycling center came and took the rejected clothing and some empty boxes. That helped free up some space.

I ran out of time before I was able to get all the clothes hung up, priced, and out on display (if the item was eligible). Since I was told to only go in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from now on, whoever deals with the clothes in my place tomorrow (if anybody) will have their work cut out for them.

Since tomorrow's one of my days off from the Doggie Bag, I'll probably do laundry tomorrow and (time and weather permitting) resume my job search.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 8

I spent most of the day hanging up clothes. One of the bags of clothes had to be re-evaluated as there was some confusion as to whether the clothes in it were usable or not. Later, there were some more donations of clothes. I ran out of time before I was able to get all of them hung up.

The manager has declared today the last day that shirts would all be $1, kid's stuff 50 cents, and shoes 50 cents. As of tomorrow, everything's back to its regular price.

The original plan concerning my schedule was that the only official hours that I had were on Tuesday mornings and Saturday afternoons and that I could also come in at any other time I was willing and able to do so. However, it has been determined that the only days I would be needed at all would be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So, that'll leave Tuesdays and Thursdays free for my job search (weather permitting) and anything else I might need to do. (I was planning to cut back on my hours at Doggie Bag anyway as soon as the weather cooled down enough for me to do my job search.) I don't know what I'll do about my Saturdays, though. Maybe for those I could work out at the local Y so that my membership there won't go to waste. And also, my mom, who's usually off on the weekends, might want to do something with me.

That's where I'm at now. Of course, the situation could change on me again, but it's hard to say at this point.

Bad News

Over this past weekend, a longtime friend of my stepdad's passed away from a stroke. (When my stepdad found out about it, he took the news pretty hard.)

I had met said friend twice myself, but that was it. May he rest in peace.

In case anybody stops by here, I do ask for prayers, "get through it" vibes, etc. (according to your beliefs) for the person's family and friends. Thank you.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 7

We got more donations today: clothes, books, a coffee maker, and a few other things though I don't remember what. I don't know what it is the manager had decided on regarding the Snoopy books that had come in on Saturday.

I, along with the manager and at least one other person on duty, have been able to go through the bags of clothes that had come in today plus a big plastic box from the back room. Some of the clothes in the box were really little stuff. The manager had said to put it aside and let her deal with it. But then there were other things that could be hung up, so that was taken care of. I'll still have some clothes to hang up tomorrow if nothing else comes up.

At some point, someone on duty saw a few shirts that she thought might look good on me. I tried them on, and all but one fit me.

The manager let me go home early again. (Apparently, there wasn't really anything to do that couldn't wait until tomorrow.)  I paid for the shirts I had decided to get on my way out. Let's say it cost me less than I thought, and at least that'll be a little less to deal with when it gets closer to time to change the clothing displays.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 6

I'm sorry I didn't get this posted yesterday.

Yesterday morning was one of my "official" times to work (my other being Tuesday afternoons). In addition to myself, there was another staff member (whose boyfriend used to be roomates with my sister's boyfriend) plus someone doing community service via SRS on duty.  I ran the register most of the morning.

In the afternoon, the manager came in, and it was her turn on the register. (From my understanding, she was taking the place of someone who was schedule for Saturday afternoon but was unable to make it for family reasons.) So, I did some tagging and hanging stuff out. However, some other urgent matters came up. Some stuff outside needed thrown away, Christmas and Halloween stuff put in storage, and some non-clothing items put out.

One of the donations was a set of Snoopy books. Normally, our paperbacks run for 25 cents each. However, the manager thought that the books would be high in value as the person who wrote them was dead (and the Peanuts/Snoopy comic was a pretty famous one), so she decided to hold off on having them on the sales floor until she could figure out what a good price for them either individually or as a set would be. I don't blame her.

It got to a point where, to the manager's judgement, there wasn't really anything left to do that couldn't wait until Monday, so she let me go home early. There was less than an hour left before closing time by then.

I think I'm beginning to adjust to the changes made in the store itself as well as how the new manager does things compared to how the old manager did them. For instance, whereas the old manager would go in extra early, the new manager generally goes in right at time to open (or fairly close to it) on the days that she is scheduled for. To each their own, I say. Also, some of the older ways of doing things, such as colored tape on the hangers to distinguish what size clothing was on said hanger, has been scrapped. I'm sure I mentioned that one. Also, the 50% discount on Monday that applied only to certain people and only to clothes now applies to pretty much everything.

I may have made some mistakes this past week, but I hope I can start my second week on a clean slate.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 5

One of the top priorities today was to get all of the short-sleeved shirts that were left on reserve tagged, priced, and out on the floor.  As of today, all of our shirts are $1.

I'm starting to really not feel good about my post-haitus performance. Today, there were some clothes on a rack in the backroom that needed to be sacked for recycling. I thought the manager wanted everything from the whole rack sacked, but when I was working on it and the manager came into the backroom, it turned out that it was only one section of the rack, and I was doing the wrong section, so some stuff had to be hung back up. I took care of that to the best of my memory. (And while I was alone, I chastised myself for messing up once again on the job.)

Also, there was a shirt she had on the ground that she had planned on taking home. I don't remember what it had looked like, and she didn't know either. I don't remember what I did with it exactly, but I think I had mistaken it for just another shirt that fell on the ground. I REALLY need to stop doing anything wrong whatsoever when I'm on duty. Part of why I started volunteering there was to redeem myself within the context of a work setting, and I fear that any mistake I make will run counterproductive to it. At this rate, I'm hoping I don't get the axe anytime soon. If I do, not only will my work history look even worse than it did after my termination from Burger King, but I'm lucky if I'll be able to show my face in that store ever again. (If there were any kind of formal performace evaluations for this job, I'd be nervous. I'm also worried that the manager might not like me at a professional level or in general.)

There's still a ton of stuff to hang, tag, price, and (if applicable) put out on display. I hope I get at least a good chunk of that done tomorrow.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 4

I didn't make it in until sometime after eleven as I had laundry I needed to do. As it turns out, it would've been difficult to put a lot out without overcrowding the racks.

At some point in the back room, I went through some of the stuff that was sitting on the racks holding stuff for where there was either no room elsewhere or it couldn't be put out for seasonal reasons or whatever. I pulled stuff that was stained or that the current manager would not approve of due to style (i.e. she does not want us keeping any pleated pants that are not the Dockers brand nor does she want us keeping anything "ugly"; I'd say the latter is a matter of opinion, but I nonetheless pulled stuff that, as far as I knew, would likely fit that category) and put it into a bag to be recycled.  There were a couple of plastic bins of clothes, but I wasn't sure if it was stuff that had yet to be gone through or if it was on reserve for someone. If it was the latter, than my hanging it up and stuff like that would've caused problems.

Another thing I did was make the purse and lingerie sections neater. (I had been raised to believe that buying secondhand undergarments just wasn't done, but we've got a section that suggests otherwise.)I also tagged some stuff and was able to get a few things out but not a lot. There were some shirts that appeared to ride a fine line between kid and adult, so I wouldn't know where to put it.

Despite my best efforts, I keep feeling like there's something I could and/or should have done. I'd hate for the manager to be P.O.'d at me for not taking care of something. Maybe there will be more I can do tomorrow.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 3

Most of my time has been spent going through some bags and boxes of donated clothes, discarding what could not be put out on the sales floor, hanging up and tagging what could be put out (to the best of my knowledge), and then pricing and putting some stuff on display.

I don't know if this is the only time I have made this mistake, but today, I accidentally put shirts that fell under the category of "small" into the "medium" section. The manager caught making said mistake when she wanted to look at a shirt I was putting on display. I was somewhat chastised for this, especially when the sections were marked VERY clearly. (She asked me if that's what I had been doing all along--not checking what section I was putting stuff in. I don't remember if I have or not or even if I'm the only one that did it. At least she took my grossly pathetic error better than my conscience did.) I moved the shirts to the right section and moved any others that were in the wrong section. I still felt very angry with myself for what I had done.

First off, even though I'm not being paid, I do try to act professionally and in my head, making a mistake that I could have EASILY prevented had I properly engaged my brain at the time is anything but professional. (At this rate, if I had been in a position to put in applications and a prospective employer were to contact the manager about me, I'd be nervous about what she might say about me. It's bad enough I was fired from my hometown's then Burger King as my speed was not up to standards. Besides, I don't like to be on bad terms with anyone in my life, period.) 

Second, I'm 25 years old. Someone far younger than myself could've prevented such a mistake. I have failed to act my age (and "acting one's age" is a value that I know my father has and possibly my mother, though I don't think she puts as much emphasis on it as my dad has at times when I've made simple mistakes) so many times that it is just disgusting.

Third, what would my parents think if they had seen me make that mistake, ESPECIALLY my dad, since I'm still accountable to them? (Say what you will, but I consider my parents to be within their rights to hold me to whatever standards they will, and if one of said standards is to abstain from simple mistakes, so be it.) My mom would've maybe treated it as a mild annoyance, but I would've likely been lectured by my dad and/or asked why I did what I did versus what I should've done. That happened at various times when I was living with him, and if I return to him, I'll really need to make an extra effort not to mess up anything (and possibly pray like mad to God to help me stop making mistakes).

Fourth, how can I consider myself to be a well-behaved Christian woman if I'm doing stupid stuff like this? There's a church in Maine somewhere that believes that a real Christian does all the right things at the right time without fail. If such is the case, then I'm not a real Christian, as I've constantly messed up.

Fifth, once an action has happened, the fact that it happened will never go away, even if we "correct" it, make amends, etc. There's a lot of things I'd prevent if I could turn back time.

Finally, did I mention that the sections were CLEARLY printed, so there was no excuse for me not to do what I did? (I was getting tired, yes, but it didn't change the fact that I was doing something important and shouldn't mess up on anything when I'm doing something important, especially if it has anything to do with anyone else.)

In short, there are multiple reasons why it's very difficult not to be so P.O.'d with myself for such a mistake even after I've corrected it. I hope I'll be able to redeem myself.

Later on, someone came to pick up some stuff that needed to be recycled, namely clothes and boxes. That freed up some space in the back room. I was needed to help load up the truck for that. At least I didn't screw THAT up that I know of.

I might go in tomorrow, but I have laundry to do, so it might be closer to noon when I go in.  I do plan on going in on Friday, and I'm scheduled for Saturday.

Doggie Bag Days Season 2: Day 2

I found out that the locks to the store changed for some reason, and that only about two people have keys. I'm not one of them, and I was scheduled to close So, when it was time for me to close, the person that ranks above the manager had to come to lock up for me.

There were a lot of clothes to hang up, price, and put out.  I am finally authorized to price the clothes, and I've been advised to basically go with my best guesses on what to price it at. One thing I'd do is try to see the price of items similar to the one that needed priced.

Shifting gears for a moment, I think I had menitoned awhile back that I was going to resume my job search this week. Unfortunately, the particular temperatures we're having and will likely have this week would probably make it difficult, if not impossible, to dress in a way that is job-search appropriate without it putting my health in danger.  So, I might hold off this week and focus more on Doggie Bag and not to mention establishing myself with the new manager. (The manager I had before my haitus left while I was gone for some reason. I'm sure I mentioned that part, but from my understanding, his resignation was not on good terms.)

The day was disappointing sale-wise, but the heat may have contributed to that.

Barring anything unforseen, I'll likely go in to get more stuff caught up.

First Day Back At Doggie Bag

I returned from Doggie Bag for the first time since I had left in May. Little did I know of some changes that had been made while I was gone.

First, there's a new manager. It's someone who had been working there for a month (and probably around the same age as me). Apparently the manager I had from when I had started working there until I had gone on my haitus had quit at some point for some reason. I'll really need to prove myself to the new manager. (She's in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.)

Second, the room that was between the front of the store and the back room and had acted as the break room has been turned into an extension of the sales floor. It's where children's clothing and toys are displayed.

Third, we used to have a system where you could tell if a piece of clothing was small, medium, etc. by the color of the tape that was on the hanger. Apparently, that system has been scrapped.

Fourth, where the 50% discount on Mondays applied only to clothing, and only to senior citizens, students of the local university, disabled people, army veterans, and those with a vision card, it now applies to anything for anyone on Mondays.

My original plan was to plan on going in on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays by default. However, the days I'm supposedly needed the most are on Tuesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. The rest of it I can pretty much play by ear. I may go in on extra days for a while in order to increase the opportunities for the manager to see what I'm like on the job. (I wish the former manager the best wherever he is.)

Back In The Swing Of Things...Sort Of

This morning I got to go to church again. However, that required a ride because of the high temperature.

After I got home I changed clothes and had a sandwhich. After that, I did some Bible reading. (I'm in the book of Isaiah.) After that, I did some reading for RAB-PIA.

I don't know what else I will be doing today. I'll just have to wait and see.  All I know is that I plan on returning to the Doggie Bag tomorrow and resuming my job search on Tuesday.

Home Again, Home Again, or The Girl Is Back In Town

Well, I'm finally back home. However, I did end up babysitting tonight. My mom and stepdad had an outside commitment, so it was basically on me to look after my nephew and the dogs.

My nephew and I watched  SweetPea Beauty (a Veggietales movie) and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I also played fetch with Cosmo and Layla.

Oh, and I've finally been able to update my reading blog, RAB-PIA. I had to do it late into the night as I had my hands full this evening, but it's updated nonetheless.

I'm hoping to go to church tomorrow, but depending on what my mom wants to do about breakfast and/or how late in the day it is before my sister's family leaves town, I may have to wait on church for another week. My plan for the rest of the week (barring anything unforseen) is to resume my work at Doggie Bag on Monday and my job search on Tuesday.

In short, as a student returning to school after summer vacation, I'll be returning to my old routine after a summer outside of my hometown.

My Last Night In My Sister's Hometown

Tonight, I got to go with my nephew for one last swim before I go home. (I probably won't be doing any of that again anytime soon.) Later at the house, we had pizza for dinner.

I've been packing for when I go home, but I'm waiting for some laundry to be done.  When my sister and her boyfriend get home from walking the dogs, I believe all four of us (them, myself, and my nephew) will be eating ice cream and watching a movie called Where the Wild Things Are. 

Maybe for old time's sake, I'll even have a final beer. This isn't to say that my mom and stepdad never have beer in the house. It's just done to a lesser extent than my sister and her boyfriend.

Well, that's all I got for now. I might be in one last time before I go home tomorrow, if I'm lucky.

This Is My Last Full Day At My Sister's

This morning, my nephew had a counseling session that had been scheduled for yesterday but had gotten moved for some reason. The door wasn't unlocked yet when we had gotten there. Either the therapist was running late or the clock on my phone was fast. While the session was going on, I was in the waiting room where I read magazines off and on. (Speaking of reading, I'll need to do my daily Bible reading after I'm done with this.)

When we got home, I fixed us some Spaghetti-o's. (I don't remember the last time I've had that.) While I was doing that, the cats started fighting in the kitchen. Millie, the older of the two dogs, came in and growled at them. (Did I ever mention that Millie doesn't like it when any two of the other pets fight?)

It's been confirmed that I'll be going home tomorrow, but the time has yet to be determined. It turns out though, that Cosmo and my nephew will be spending the night at my house tomorrow night. (At least Layla will be around to help keep Cosmo busy. If the weather cooperates, maybe we could all play "Ultimate Fetch" in the backyard. It's in reference to the show My Gym Partner's a Monkey.)

I guess as of this weekend, it'll be back to normal for me: church on Sunday and the rest of the week divided (by default) between Doggie Bag and my job search. I'm not sure how I'll be spending what little time I have left here.

Last Night And Tonight

Last night had got better after the last time I had posted. When my sister got home, she, her kid, and I went to a fair in town and looked at animals. My nephew got a picture taken. On the way home, my sister got some funnel cake and my nephew and I got some snow cones.

He and I got to watch The Princess and the Frog last night after all. This was after we got home. Apparently the TV ban was in effect until his bedtime.

After dinner tonight, my sister and her boyfriend took their dogs for a walk. When they got home, my sister asked me to go buy her a jar of wild sand plum jelly from the farmer's market going on in town tonight.. (She would've had trouble carrying while walking her dog.) That's probably the most exciting thing I did all evening. My sister and her boyfriend have company (or they did and they left; I'm not sure), but I haven't been invited to join the group, so I am in "my" room for now. (I might go get a beer after I finish this post, though.)

 I'm kind of bored right now. I wish there was something for me to do besides computer stuff and watching TV, but we can't always get what we want, right? (That song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" is stuck in my head now.) So, as I'm writing this post, I'm also playing YoVille on Facebook.

Only 2-3 days left until I go home.

Things Are Getting A Little Rough Here

After my sister and nephew got home from taking the cats and dogs to the vet, my sister decided to take a nap. At one point, my nephew asked if I wanted to play fuseball. I tried to talk him out of it on account of his mom taking a nap, but he said it would be fine. Unfortunately, it ended up bothering her, so we stopped. As usual, I felt bad about this (especially since it's one of those areas where I should know better, and by having any part in doing something his mom did not approve of, I set a bad example for him; as the one babysitting him, that is one of the last things I should do). At my earliest available opportunity, I went into my room and started a Word document where I typed 100 times, "I will not do anything noisy that disturbs someone else's sleep." Why. can't. I. stop. making. stupid. mistakes? I just hope that my sister doesn't report this or any of the other mistakes I've made here to my mom. Maybe given the fact that I disturbed someone else's sleep today, I should cut my own sleeping time to five hours a night for the rest of my time here or at least make myself get up extra early in order to atone for my grossly idiotic infraction. (An eye for an eye, right?)

My nephew and I were going to watch The Princess and the Frog after dinner tonight, but he got grounded from the TV because of an argument that happened over the TV in the kitchen. So, it'll have to wait until tomorrow, if we're lucky enough to get that chance.

Yeah, this hasn't been the best afternoon or evening.

Another Slow Day

My nephew and I got off to a late start this morning, so not much has happened here at the house. 

My sister's day has had her in and out. She came home from and out-of-town engagement that she had last night. Late this morning, she took her kid to get registered. Now, she and her kid have taken the dogs and the cats to the vet for their routine checkups. She also has to work tonight.

My nephew and I have about 3 or 4 days left together. I asked him what we were going to do with what little of that time was left. He had suggested watching The Princess and the Frog together. Maybe we'll be able to do that tonight.

Is It P.S.S. Or P.P.S.?

Earlier today, I was helping my nephew with a birthday card he was making for his grandpa on his dad's side of the family. He drew the picture, and I wrote the message (though he came up with the words). We had the main message, and then we added a P.S. message. Then, he wanted to add what he called a "P.S.S." message. I told him it was called "P.P.S." (only for him to laugh over the "P.P." part).  To be sure, I looked it up. I was right. It is P.P.S. Not that I've had much cause to use it that I can recall.

Even earlier today, I did what will likely be my last load of laundry before I go home. Only four or five days left until then.

Going Home This Weekend (Maybe)

I just found out from my sister that I will likely be going home sometime this weekend. (My nephew will be out of town next week visiting his dad. The week after that, he will be starting school.) This, of course, could very well change.

If I do go home this weekend, that'll mean that next week, I can return to my usual routine of church on Sundays and the rest of my week divided between Doggie Bag and my job search. (Hopefully this time, I'll succeed with the latter.) In addition with the usual method of going out to request applications to fill out and turn in, I may be turning to a temp agency to help me get some work experience and income going. I also hope to look into some freelance proofreading. I'm sure my family is anxious for me to have an income stream going. I know I am. I've got student loans to pay off, my stepdad to pay back for my phone (which is on a family plan under his name), and a long list of personal needs that, in my head at least, I should take more responsibility for if I am going to end my dependency on either of my parents.  (If my mom and stepdad are not in a position to support me, my real dad is in even less of one.)

While I have enjoyed moments here at my sister's, I think I'm going to look forward to going home.

These Last Couple Of Days

Friday night, Vegas the therapy dog was at my sister's house overnight and was picked up the next morning. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with him myself. Cosmo might have, though. When my sister and her boyfriend took their dogs for a walk, they took Vegas with them. (At first, they couldn't agree whether or not to put the harness that Vegas supposedly wears to work on him, but then they ended up not messing with it.)

Last night, I watched a couple of Veggie Tales DVDs with my nephew. They were both Minnesota Cuke ones ( a parody of Indiana Jones). I don't think much of anything else happened.

Today, my nephew and I went to McDonald's for lunch. (My sister dropped us off.) After we ate, we ordered some cookies. They were 3 for $1. My nephew and I each had one and saved the third for in case my sister or her boyfriend wanted it.

My cold is letting up (I think). I'm currently taking cough syrup, Mucinex D, and the occasional cough drop. I also tried something called a "breathing treatment" (something my nephew had to do at one time). Hopefully, it'll be over before I go home.