Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me.....

Well I did it. I accepted the new position. They offered me a 15% raise which is 5% more than the norm. They had to get approval for that. I didn't think it would fly when I asked for the amount, but they did it, so I accepted. I spoke with the current manager of the store and he helped dispell alot of the rumours about the area. He said during the day downtown Dallas is probably one of the safest places you can be, there are police officers everywhere and the place is flooded with business people. He said like any other place you live you just have to be careful in the evenings. I took a drive downtown to look for myself and it doesn't seem scary at all. Piggy and the kids were ok with the decision and said they would back me no matter what. Of course the kids liked the idea of mom getting more pay, that means more for them...those spoiled brats!

I start at the new store on August 14th.... I am actually pretty excited about it now, though a little nervous, because now that I got them to pay me what I asked for, I feel the pressure of having to perform. Look at me , stressing myself out already! the more things change, the more they stay the same!

Lovey-dovey, lovey-dovey all the time

We all need a laugh every once in a while.....

The Koala and the Little Lizard  
 
A koala is sitting up a gumtree smoking a joint when a little lizard walks past and looks up and says "Hey Koala ! what are you doing?"

 
The koala says: "Smoking a joint, come up and have some." 
 
So the little lizard climbs up and sits next to the koala and they have a few joints. 
 
After a while the little lizard says his mouth is 'dry' and is going to get a drink from the river. 
 
But the little lizard is so stoned that he leans too far over and falls into the river. 
 
A crocodile sees this and swims over to the little lizard and helps him to the side, then asks the little lizard: "What's the matter with you?" 
 
The little lizard explains to the crocodile that he was sitting smoking a joint with the koala in the tree, got too stoned and then fell into the river while taking a drink. 
 
The crocodile says he has to check this out and walks into the rain forest, finds the tree where the koala is sitting finishing a joint, and he looks up and says "Hey you!" 
 
 
So the koala looks down at him and says  
 
"Fuuuuuuuuuuccck dude.......how much water did you drink?!!"

She’s Miss America And I’m just the girl next door

 Now here's something for me to think about. I've pretty much been offered another store in our district.it's a bigger store than the one I have. It would mean a nice pay increase, but there are certain things to think about. This school happens to be in the heart Downtown Dallas. That means a lot of traffic and paying for parking , or I can always ride the train...which equates to 40 bucks a month. Definately not one of the safest places to be after dark...but I wouldn't be there after dark very often. Of course this means no panicky late nights when I know I'll be having some corporate hot shots visitng, and I don't know if I can handle that. Money isn't always everything.

Then on the other hand, there is no longer a challenge with my current store. I busted my ass for a year and a half to get the place to where it is now. The store was in shambles when I got there and I had to rebuild everything, customer service , campus relations, operations, you know the works and now that I fianlly have everything running like a well oiled machine, I find myself bored, yet I am so comfortable now and the people on campus love me. I know if I decide to leave, they will be so disappointed and they'll feel so let down. It took quite some time to regain everybodies trust in us. They have never had a manager in that store that they were happy with, untill I came along. But is it right to stay for that reason, shouldn't I be thinking about me and my family and what is best for us? See that has always be my problem...I am always concerned with letting other people down.

This is a good opportunity for me, another smart career move. 6 promotions in 5 years is unheard of in our company! Not only that  but lately my employees have been getting too comfortable at work and some of them have gotten kind of lazy, the problem is that my one weakness as a manager is that sometimes I am a pushover. I start out as an authrority figure but as time goes on I start to like my employees as people and somehow they see this and start to take advantage of things. Going to a new store would give me th opportunity to re-invent myself as a more authoritative manager. Somewhere where no one knows me. I have learned that it is my weakness and it is something I need to control. The problem with my current situation is that my realization has come a bit too late to have any affect on my employees now. But in a new store with this knowledge and the realization that I have to draw the line, things could run so smooth.

I know I'm babbling.....makes me wonder if I am even making any sense.  I figure I'll spend this weekend thinking about it and make a decision on Monday. Any advice would be appreciated~!

Here's your daily cookie!

~T

Ever since I was little,Ever since I was little it looked like fun

I think I've found my wedding dress. I just love it and they are actually selling it on ebay for 299.00! Whaddya all think?

it's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality

Don't ya just hate when you have a whole entry typed out and then you loose it? GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

So here's the jist of it. I suck when it comes to updates, time just flies and before you know it a weeks gone by!

Went to Piggy's youngest sisters wedding yesterday. It was very pretty and very structured. I was attacked like mosquitos since it was outside and now I look as if someone beat my legs with an ugly stick! Piggy's other sister will be getting married next month on August 9th. This got me thinking and now Piggy and I have decided to postpone our wedding for another year. I just don't want share my time with anyone, I know it sounds selfish and well maybe it is, but I don't want my wedding being compared to the others that have and will take place this year.

I have found a chapel in Austin that I want to get married at, just not sure if we can get everyone out there, but it's so beautiful and it has a great backstory. You can read all about it here http://www.chapeldulcinea.com/   I really like the idea of the place, it just seems so romantic...read about it and tell me what you think. I might just go ahread and donate the hundred bucks, reserve the date and if I find somewhere else , it'll be okay. Now to find someone to marry us.

I picked up my niece from California today. She will be visiting with us for a month. She is my ex husbands sisters daughter and even though he and I are no longer together I am glad I can still have a good relationship with his family. I want my kids to know that side of their family and we were together for 12 years, I love her like always...those are things that don't change. Now to keep her entertained. Thank heavens I have kids to do that for me.

Summer II classes start on Wednesday, so the store will be busy this week. I'll try and come back sometime, but no promises!

Have a great week peeps!

~T