Oh goodness.....Santa and The Elves will be on display in my store tomorrow. Being in retail requires you to start celebrating Christmas much earlier than normal people. Last year I was Mr. Scrooge. I had no desire the really celebrate Christmas. I usually buy a fresh tree and get it all decorated, but last year was not my year. On Christmas Eve I got so mad at myself for not getting a tree. This year will be different. I am trying to figure out where the tree will go in the new apartment. Adam doesn't really like fresh Christmas trees, but he will just have to deal with it.
Tonight while everyone is handing out Halloween candy, I will be turning my store into a Winter Wonderland. I am not sure how many people will be at The Pier tonight. There were a few kids that came in last night in their costumes. We also had some guests come in to buy outfits for their bears so they could match and go trick-or-treating together.
Happy Halloween and save a snickers for me. :-)
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Adam
A lot of you have been asking about when Adam will be joining me in Chicago. I wish I had an easy answer to that question, but I don't. There are no openings for store managers in the Chicago market right now. The economy is too unstable for him to just quit his job and move to the city to find a new job. He store is doing well right now and he is not ready to leave it. This is hard on both of us, but this is what we need to do for the time being. It is stressful for both of us to be constantly explaining to everyone what is going on. I promise that when we have new information, we will share it with all of you. For the time being, Adam will be commuting back and forth from Indian. He will stay at my parents house a few nights a week. Hopefully after the holidays we will know more.
Exhausted
Exhausted is the best way to describe me right now. Every since I got home from St Louis last week, I have been on the go. There hasn't been a whole lot of time just to sit and do nothing. Adam and I did just that last night and it was much needed. I was in bed by 10pm and he came to bed shortly after that. Here is a recap of our last week.
Thursday I traveled to Indiana after work. Since Adam closed at Pier 1 that night, my friend Angie picked me up at the train station.
Friday Adam let me sleep in a little bit, but his stupid alarm kept going off so my dreams of a long morning of sleep were gone. After I got up we went to go vote early. Our first attempt was unsuccessful. We went the the court house in Elkhart and stood in line for 25 minutes and only moved 2 feet. The two ladies running this location were very confused. Adam and I ended up leaving and decided to go to the Goshen location instead. Before we did this, we had to go back to Pier 1 so Adam could do a little work. I sat in some different chairs in the store and entertained myself with my IPhone. After he got done working we went to vote in Goshen. We waited about 45 minutes, but this line was going much faster than the line in Elkhart. I did not mind waiting to vote. I was just so happy to see so many people voting. After we voted, we went back home. Adam and I should have spent the afternoon packing up the apartment, but I needed a nap. That evening we went to Lucchese's Italian Restaurant and had dinner with our friends Frank and Tonja and their kids. The food and atmosphere was great.
Saturday morning we went to the Farmers Market in Goshen and had breakfast with my old roommate Joel and his wife Terri. I had not seen them since I moved to the city, so it was great catching up with them. After breakfast it was time to clean again. We spent that next 6 hours cleaning and packing. Saturday night we had pizza with my extended family in Elkhart. It was great to see everyone.
Sunday I had to get up early and take Adam to work. I spent part of the day sleeping and part of the day cleaning. Sunday night I picked up Adam from work and we then loaded the car and drove back to Chicago.
Monday morning Adam dropped me off at work and he drove back to Indiana to get more stuff and do some stuff at work. He then drove back to Chicago and picked me up because we had opera tickets.
Tuesday morning we got up early and drove back to Indiana. We cleaned the carpets and packed up some more stuff. We then drove back to Chicago because we had to babysit for his god daughter McKenzie.
Wednesday morning Adam dropped me off at work and he came home and began to feel sick. I think all the running around has taken a toll on him. He picked me up from work around 5 and we got stuff to make soup and just bummed around.
He drove back to Indiana this morning because he has to work this afternoon. The apartment is almost empty. We just need to call the Salvation Army and get them to pick up some of the furniture that we no longer need.
Thursday I traveled to Indiana after work. Since Adam closed at Pier 1 that night, my friend Angie picked me up at the train station.
Friday Adam let me sleep in a little bit, but his stupid alarm kept going off so my dreams of a long morning of sleep were gone. After I got up we went to go vote early. Our first attempt was unsuccessful. We went the the court house in Elkhart and stood in line for 25 minutes and only moved 2 feet. The two ladies running this location were very confused. Adam and I ended up leaving and decided to go to the Goshen location instead. Before we did this, we had to go back to Pier 1 so Adam could do a little work. I sat in some different chairs in the store and entertained myself with my IPhone. After he got done working we went to vote in Goshen. We waited about 45 minutes, but this line was going much faster than the line in Elkhart. I did not mind waiting to vote. I was just so happy to see so many people voting. After we voted, we went back home. Adam and I should have spent the afternoon packing up the apartment, but I needed a nap. That evening we went to Lucchese's Italian Restaurant and had dinner with our friends Frank and Tonja and their kids. The food and atmosphere was great.
Saturday morning we went to the Farmers Market in Goshen and had breakfast with my old roommate Joel and his wife Terri. I had not seen them since I moved to the city, so it was great catching up with them. After breakfast it was time to clean again. We spent that next 6 hours cleaning and packing. Saturday night we had pizza with my extended family in Elkhart. It was great to see everyone.
Sunday I had to get up early and take Adam to work. I spent part of the day sleeping and part of the day cleaning. Sunday night I picked up Adam from work and we then loaded the car and drove back to Chicago.
Monday morning Adam dropped me off at work and he drove back to Indiana to get more stuff and do some stuff at work. He then drove back to Chicago and picked me up because we had opera tickets.
Tuesday morning we got up early and drove back to Indiana. We cleaned the carpets and packed up some more stuff. We then drove back to Chicago because we had to babysit for his god daughter McKenzie.
Wednesday morning Adam dropped me off at work and he came home and began to feel sick. I think all the running around has taken a toll on him. He picked me up from work around 5 and we got stuff to make soup and just bummed around.
He drove back to Indiana this morning because he has to work this afternoon. The apartment is almost empty. We just need to call the Salvation Army and get them to pick up some of the furniture that we no longer need.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Home
I am home!!!!!!
It was an exhausting, but uplifting weekend. I was reminded many times this weekend how lucky I am to work for a company that truly cares about their employees. As always, I came home from this meeting with many wonderful and generous gifts. I learned a lot about how this holiday season is going to different than any I have experienced before. Build-A-Bear Workshop is trying VERY hard to make sure the children of this country are not affected by the economy this holiday season by making it even more affordable to make a bear. We have many affordable and adorable options for people on a tight budget.
This week is going to be busy. I work tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday and then head to Indiana on Thursday night to begin the fun task of cleaning up our Indiana apartment.
It was an exhausting, but uplifting weekend. I was reminded many times this weekend how lucky I am to work for a company that truly cares about their employees. As always, I came home from this meeting with many wonderful and generous gifts. I learned a lot about how this holiday season is going to different than any I have experienced before. Build-A-Bear Workshop is trying VERY hard to make sure the children of this country are not affected by the economy this holiday season by making it even more affordable to make a bear. We have many affordable and adorable options for people on a tight budget.
This week is going to be busy. I work tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday and then head to Indiana on Thursday night to begin the fun task of cleaning up our Indiana apartment.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Almost Ready
I am almost ready to leave for St Louis. I always pack way too many clothes and I am trying not to do that this year. Since I usually bring so much stuff back (animals and gifts), I have to leave room in my suitcase. This year we are doing a volunteer project on Monday. I will be working at an emergency youth shelter with some of my fellow CWM's. It should be pretty neat.
Here is my schedule for the weekend:
Friday
-Fly to St Louis
-Have dinner with my Bearitory
-Hangout with BQ friends I only get to see once a year
Saturday
-Holiday Merchandise Preview
-Year in Review
-Time with Maxine, the founder of our company
-Teddy Awards
Sunday
-Breakout sessions of our choice (We registered for these two months ago. I can't remember what I picked)
-Pawty (Costume Contest)
Monday
-Volunteer
-Fly Home
I look forward to this meeting every year. My company is VERY good to me. I enjoy getting to see people I don't often see. I also get to make new friends. I will be EXHAUSTED when I come home on Monday, but it is worth it.
(Our company has it's own language. Let me know if you need any translations) :-)
Here is my schedule for the weekend:
Friday
-Fly to St Louis
-Have dinner with my Bearitory
-Hangout with BQ friends I only get to see once a year
Saturday
-Holiday Merchandise Preview
-Year in Review
-Time with Maxine, the founder of our company
-Teddy Awards
Sunday
-Breakout sessions of our choice (We registered for these two months ago. I can't remember what I picked)
-Pawty (Costume Contest)
Monday
-Volunteer
-Fly Home
I look forward to this meeting every year. My company is VERY good to me. I enjoy getting to see people I don't often see. I also get to make new friends. I will be EXHAUSTED when I come home on Monday, but it is worth it.
(Our company has it's own language. Let me know if you need any translations) :-)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Guess what I got back???
My laptop is back!!!! It is so nice to have it back.
Heading to St Louis tomorrow for the Annual Meeting.
Target is evil.
Heading to St Louis tomorrow for the Annual Meeting.
Target is evil.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Sleepy
I am so sleepy right now. Adam got up at 4am to head back to Indiana. He was in town this weekend for the wedding of a childhood friend. Adam was in the wedding. We had a great time on Sunday night and spent all of yesterday recovering from our fun evening. I should have spent the day doing laundry and cleaning the apartment.
On Friday morning I am flying to St Louis for Build-A-Bear Workshops Annual Chief's Meeting. This is always the highlight of my year at work. I get to see some awesome people that I only get to talk to through e-mail and I get to commiserate about crazy retail stuff with people who actually understand what I am saying. Our company has gotten so big that this will be our last meeting in St Louis.
I have got so much stuff to do before then. Laundry, cleaning, packing.....the list goes on and on.
On Friday morning I am flying to St Louis for Build-A-Bear Workshops Annual Chief's Meeting. This is always the highlight of my year at work. I get to see some awesome people that I only get to talk to through e-mail and I get to commiserate about crazy retail stuff with people who actually understand what I am saying. Our company has gotten so big that this will be our last meeting in St Louis.
I have got so much stuff to do before then. Laundry, cleaning, packing.....the list goes on and on.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Lazy Wednesday
Adam and I both have the day off today.
The opera on Monday night was great. There were a few strange things that happened. The opera house did a live feed for the radio so there was some sort of interference and during the entire performance we could hear a high pitched electronic buzz. It was so annoying. The guy sitting in front of Adam felt the need to bob his head to the music for the entire performance. It was kid of amusing to me, but not to Adam.
I am not really sure what are plans for today are. We need to take the recycling and I need to drop off a dress at the dry cleaner to wear to a wedding on Sunday night. Other than that I think we are just going to be lazy.
The opera on Monday night was great. There were a few strange things that happened. The opera house did a live feed for the radio so there was some sort of interference and during the entire performance we could hear a high pitched electronic buzz. It was so annoying. The guy sitting in front of Adam felt the need to bob his head to the music for the entire performance. It was kid of amusing to me, but not to Adam.
I am not really sure what are plans for today are. We need to take the recycling and I need to drop off a dress at the dry cleaner to wear to a wedding on Sunday night. Other than that I think we are just going to be lazy.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Opera Season Begins
Tonight I have a date with my boyfriend. Adam and I will be attending our first of eight opera's for this season. You are probably thinking to yourself "Who in their right mind would want to attend an opera"? It is actually really enjoyable. When I started dating Adam 4 years ago, he mentioned to me that his parent's have season tickets for the opera and he wanted to know if I might be interested in going some time. Being the nice girlfriend that I am, I said sure. I didn't think I would really enjoy it. It was awesome. The Chicago Lyric Opera House is BEAUTIFUL!!!!
Here are a few of my most memorable experiences from the opera's the last few years:
Here are a few of my most memorable experiences from the opera's the last few years:
- The Candy Lady-Since we have season tickets, we always sit in the same seats. A few people around us also have season tickets, so we generally sit with the same people. The Candy Lady sits a few seats to the left in front of us. At my very first opera the person sitting next to Adam was unwrapping some candy during the performance. It wasn't that loud that all. During the intermission, the Candy Lady turned around and demonstrated to the adult how she unwraps her candy before the performance beings. She was nice about it, but talked to this person like they were an idiot. She hasn't done it since, but she is now The Candy Lady to me.
- There have been numerous times that Adam and I changed our clothes on the way to the opera in the car. We would always leave Indiana after work and head to the city. I am very surprised we never walked in with clothes backwards or inside out. It is nice that I can get ready at home and just go to the opera now.
- The is only 1 opera we left in the middle of it because it was so boring. Dialogues des Carmelites is about some nuns who are having problems. Most of the sets for these operas are the most beautiful sight you will ever see. This opera had no set, just a black wall. Adam and I looked at each other during intermission and decided it was time to go.
- During one opera, the person sitting next to Adam was a little smelly. We think he fried about 50 onions in butter and then came to the opera. It was a little disgusting.
- If any of you have ever seen the movie Pretty Woman, then you will remember the scene where Richard Gere's character takes Julia Roberts character to the opera. I got to see that opera. It is called La Traviata. I was so excited when I realized during the opera that this is the opera that was in Pretty Woman. Adam probably thought I was crazy.
- The lady who sits directly in front of us has two adult children. It is always interesting to see which child comes to the opera with her and which one of them gets to bring their spouse. I think they are waiting for her to kick the bucket so that they can have the tickets all to themselves.
- The opera is very strict about being in your seat when the performance starts. They do not seat people once the curtain has gone up. You have to wait for intermission. Adam and I missed 1 performance because we were late. This was right around the time that I found out I would be moving to Chicago to run the Navy Pier store. I think we were consumed by being with our friends and lost track of time.
I am excited about this opera season. The two performances I am most excited about are Porgy and Bess and Madam Butterfly. Tonight we are seeing The Pearl Fishers. It is about 2 brothers fighting over the same girl. It should be fun.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Stupid Battery continued.....
Thank goodness I got the 3 year warranty for my laptop when I bought it 2 years ago. I have had two problems with my battery. The first time to power adaptor died. That was an easy fix. Now the connection in my computer that takes the power from the adaptor is dead. The Geek Squad is sending it in to get fixed. It will probably take about 3 weeks. Right now I am using Adam's stupid desktop computer. I like it much better when I can sit on the couch with the TV in the background blogging. Oh well....at least I don't have to pay to get my laptop fixed.
Yesterday Adam and I ran errands before I had to go to work. We went to Target/Starbucks, Best Buy and the grocery store. When we got home, Adam removed the A/C from our bedroom and installed a curtain rod. I like to sleep in a dark cave and it was way too bright. I made 2 big pots of soup so I could send Adam back to Indiana with something yummy to eat.
Adam got up at 4:30 this morning to head back to Indiana. Being the good girlfriend that I am, I packed up the cooler with his food and made sure the coffee maker went off like it was supposed to. Then I went back to bed.
I work today and tomorrow, then I have Monday off. Monday night Adam and I have tickets for the opera. I will tell you more about that in tomorrow's post.
Have a great weekend!!!!
Yesterday Adam and I ran errands before I had to go to work. We went to Target/Starbucks, Best Buy and the grocery store. When we got home, Adam removed the A/C from our bedroom and installed a curtain rod. I like to sleep in a dark cave and it was way too bright. I made 2 big pots of soup so I could send Adam back to Indiana with something yummy to eat.
Adam got up at 4:30 this morning to head back to Indiana. Being the good girlfriend that I am, I packed up the cooler with his food and made sure the coffee maker went off like it was supposed to. Then I went back to bed.
I work today and tomorrow, then I have Monday off. Monday night Adam and I have tickets for the opera. I will tell you more about that in tomorrow's post.
Have a great weekend!!!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Stupid Battery
Sorry for not posting anything yesterday. The stupid battery on my laptop decided it didn't want to work anymore. I need to go visit Best Buy. Luckily the battery is still under warrenty.
I am currently in Indiana visiting Adam. The train ride to South Bend went quickly last night because I downloaded some tv shows to my iPhone. It was great. After Adam picked me up we went to Granite City for dinner. While we had dinner, we watched the White Sox game. Many of you know that Adam and I are huge Cubs fans, but we felt the need to cheer for the Sox because they are from Chicago. How cool would it be to see the Cubs and the Sox in the World Series!!!!!
Tonight is going to be a busy evening. I'm getting my hair done, the Cubs are playing their first playoff game, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money are on and I have to pick up Adam from work because I have his car today. I don't think I will catch Private Practice, but I should be home in time for Dirty Sexy Money. Adam hates that show but he will just have to live.
Tomorrow we are heading back to Chicago. Adam has tomorrow and Friday off. We are going to see some friends tomorrow night and give them their wedding gift we forgot to give them at their wedding. Sorry Shaw and Kylee, we were having too much fun at your reception to venture out in the rain to Adam's car.
That's all for now. I am off to do some shopping with my mom.
I am currently in Indiana visiting Adam. The train ride to South Bend went quickly last night because I downloaded some tv shows to my iPhone. It was great. After Adam picked me up we went to Granite City for dinner. While we had dinner, we watched the White Sox game. Many of you know that Adam and I are huge Cubs fans, but we felt the need to cheer for the Sox because they are from Chicago. How cool would it be to see the Cubs and the Sox in the World Series!!!!!
Tonight is going to be a busy evening. I'm getting my hair done, the Cubs are playing their first playoff game, Private Practice and Dirty Sexy Money are on and I have to pick up Adam from work because I have his car today. I don't think I will catch Private Practice, but I should be home in time for Dirty Sexy Money. Adam hates that show but he will just have to live.
Tomorrow we are heading back to Chicago. Adam has tomorrow and Friday off. We are going to see some friends tomorrow night and give them their wedding gift we forgot to give them at their wedding. Sorry Shaw and Kylee, we were having too much fun at your reception to venture out in the rain to Adam's car.
That's all for now. I am off to do some shopping with my mom.
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