We'll be having some fun this weekend

Yayyy.......it's one of the only FIVE days of the year that we are closed. Might not be such a big deal to you --- but to us it means one day of not having to worry if everyone showed up to work, if the stores are giving good service, and if the sales are good. Really......it's a stress free day for us.

Normally on 4th of July we have a company softball game, but this year I made the executive decision that we were not going to have it. It never feels like a day off for me. I have to plan the menu, make sure we have all the supplies for the game and for the picnic, haul all the supplies to the park, set everything up, takes loads of pictures, set all the food up, clean it all up, take it all home, and sweat my a** off. By the end of it all, I don't feel like I got any time off.

So this year Paul and I are having a quiet pool party at our own house all by ourselves. We'll be laying by the pool, reading books, cooking on the grill, and just generally enjoying a nice peaceful day off.

BUT WAIT>>>>>>>>> we added another wrinkle to that quiet and restful day off!!!!!

We've made the decision to move my office out of "the cave" and taking it back out to the old dining room. But before I move out to the new office, that room really has to be painted. It is about the only room left in this house that hasn't been painted since we moved here. And since I am already moving furniture in and out of the space -- it's the perfect opportunity to paint the room.

So here is the updated plan:
Friday night -- pack up all the books and start moving stuff out of the space. Rip down the ugly wallpaper border in that room and prepare for painting. All paint supplies will be purchased sometime during the day.

Saturday -- paint, paint, paint

Sunday -- if all goes well, we should be ready to start moving the stuff back into the room. If it doesn't go right, we'll be moving stuff back in the room on Monday.

Monday -- living the life of luxury and catching up on any of the stuff that will still need to be done to begin "real" life on Tuesday.

Will post pictures of the before, during, and after of the room remodeling on a future post.

Gestern haben wir aßen Deutsch

Well unless you are totally proficient in German, you have no clue as to what today's topic is.

Well I must confess I don't know German either, except for a few snippets (snippets is not a common word that you get to use everyday).

Okay well today's title is: Yesterday we ate German

And boy oh boy did we!

I sincerely wish that you could have your relatives backwards. What I mean is when you are little and don't have the ability to understand or appreciate your relatives you miss out on so much of their heritage, their stories, and their experiences.

I had a great-grandmother who was full-blooded German. I never got to hear stories about her growing up and I can't remember ever eating any German food (which I'm sure she must have made). When you are a little kid you're just not interested in that kind of stuff. But when you become an adult you want to soak up all that heritage and explore every little tidbit of information about where your family came from.

Since I've married this man.....he has introduced me to a whole new level of cuisine that I probably never would have tried on my own. Yesterday we ate German and OH HOW I LOVE GERMAN FOOD! Next to Mexican....it's probably one of my most favorites.



So what and where did we eat? Lunch was at the most famous German restaurant in Houston -- Rudi Lechner's. It's been here for over 35 years and is so authentic it has live German music at night and the waitress was also very German herself. We feasted on the Sausage Sampler Platter which was comprised of Bratwurst and Polish Sausage, Red Cabbage, and Austrian Potatoes. We also ordered the Beer Weinerschnitzel with a side of Spaetzle and some more Red Cabbage (we've discovered that we DO NOT like Spaetzle -- tasted like mushy pasta). Yummy, yummy, yummy!! The only thing that was missing was the German Potato Salad which is absolutely one of my favorite German dishes.



Okay.....after 45 minutes of scarfing down our wonderful lunch -- we walked out of there like stuffed sausages ourselves. But what a fantastic lunch it was!

Are we having fun yet?

Well I guess today I'm going to blow off work and hang out with my husband for the day.

The stacks of paperwork that I'm three weeks behind in and the bills I need to enter into Quickbooks that I'm only one and one-half months behind in will just have to wait......because today's IT'S FUN DAY!

And what do you do on a fun day?

Well our first stop is the post office to mail off the 465 flyers I printed the last couple of days (we're really trying to get the marketing out every single week and thus far we are doing an outstanding job of it).



Second stop would be the Solutions store. Gotta get something for the gnats and ants that we can't seem to get rid of at one of our stores.



Third stop the store to buy cameras. Not the fun kind kind of camera. No we are talking about the cameras to hook up to our monitoring system so we can spy on the employees when we're not there.



I'm sure that he's got some more special surprises up his sleeve, but he's saving them for later (stopping at the printer and going to the restaurant supply stores). If I am out having all this fun the least he can do is treat me to a special lunch.........so we'll probably hit up one of our favorite places to eat. I vote for Greek food!

And then of course it's Tuesday night so we'll finish the night off with a rousing game of trivia.



But all fun days must come to an end -- so tomorrow I'll be hitting the real work once again!

Happy Birthday Grams!

June 27th -- my Grandma's Birthday.

She's gone now, but there are still many hysterical memories within my head.

Not everyone can have a grandma as "cool" as she was.

Driving very fast along the roads to Old Tucson going fast in the dips as we all laughed hysterically......especially after she told us "not to tell our mother".



The time we went miniature golfing and no matter how hard she tried, her ball always flew 200 yards over the double humps and we kept having to go get her a new one!



The time we had a "ladies only" week visit to Seattle. She showed us around the town and we had such a fabulous time dining on seafood, taking boat tours, a trip to the top of the Space Needle, and so many laughs just hanging around her apartment.



I wish that I could have seen her more or spent more time with her the last few years -- but living in Texas didn't make that possible.

Love you Grandma (aka the Owl Lady) and Happy Birthday! You have shown me by your example how I want to be when I get to be a grandmother!

Hey.....it's not much, but it's therapeutic

This past week we made an exciting purchase.

We finally got a swimming pool. All the doctors have been telling me that I need to get out in the sun and it will help get rid of this crap called psoriasis.

Now first of all they say that psoriasis is hereditary. I don't know who in the heck gave me this skin crap, but when I find out.......*#&@*%&. I can't tell you how nice it would be to look down at nice soft hands, instead of worrying about them cracking and bleeding. It would be nice to walk around without all the cuts on the bottom of my feet that make walking difficult.

So, yesterday I managed a whole 40 minutes out laying by the pool! In fact, since Monday is a holiday (July 4th) and Pizza Zone is closed -- Paul and I have made the decision to really take a whole day off and do nothing but CHILL! So we're having a pool party! We're going to lay by the pool, read books, BBQ steaks and just enjoy a full day of doing nothing.

And by the way.......it's a private pool party -- we're not inviting company.

So are you ready to see the new pool?



Told ya.....it's not much -- BUT it's easy to take care of and it's therapeutic!

Good for the mouth and bad for the body

This was my lunch yesterday:



This was part of my dinner last night:



And then I have the nerve to ask why I'm a chubba wubba.



Oh well, sometimes you just gotta eat these guilty pleasures.......life is too short!

Mom's are there.......

....... for guidance, love, a soft heart, a sympathetic ear, and to be a friend.

....... to be the heartbeat of the family and the glue that keeps the family together.

....... to give the biggest sacrifices so that their kids have everything they need.

....... to always be the first one you run to when you've been hurt, need advice, have great news to share, or need to borrow money.

....... to referee the fights, stay up late waiting for you to come home, or being your chauffer when you needed those rides.

....... to be an example to you when it's time to raise your own children.

....... to have fun with, laugh with, and even shed a few tears with.

Happy Birthday Mom........you have been all these things to me and more!

Wordless Wednesday....A very welcome visitor

Without our Dads.....where would we be?

Happy Father's Day to a man who has earned the title of FATHER. I really wish I had written the words to the poem below, because the words that are written are exactly what I want to say:

Life Lessons

You may have thought I didn't see,
Or that I hadn't heard,
Life lessons that you taught to me,
But I got every word.

Perhaps you thought I missed it all,
And that we'd grow apart,
But Dad, I picked up everything,
It's written on my heart.

Without you, Dad, I wouldn't be
The woman I am today;
You built a strong foundation
No one can take away.

I've grown up with your values,
And I'm very glad I did;
So here's to you, dear father,
From your forever grateful kid.

By Joanna Fuchs
http://www.poemsource.com

Thank you dad -- you did an amazing job!

Expanding my Horizons

I've had lots of careers throughout my life.

Some I've really loved -- and some I've only tolerated.

Now my current career is being a small business owner.

BUT there are other opportunities that are knocking at my door and I think I'm ready to venture off onto a new trail.

I have been nominated by one of the schools in our local school district to serve on their advisory committee for the next two years. This committee meets once a month and is made up of teachers, administrators, and business owners in the community to develop curriculum for the students of the district. I am excited about the possible opportunity to serve on this committee and love it that they would consider our small business to represent our community on this committee.

I have also recently submitted an application to be a part of YELP's Small Business Advisory Board. YELP is an online company which allows members to post reviews of small businesses. Online reviews are a BIG part of gaining and retaining customers in our small business. I really feel I have a lot to offer and hope that I get a chance to be a part of this group. It would involve a trip to San Francisco to meet with all the "big wigs" and have monthly conference calls with the other members to discuss ways to improve the online rating company.

But the BIG grandaddy of them all is the International Pizza Expo held in Las Vegas every year. I really think that Paul and I are extremely creative in the marketing of our business. In this day and age it's important to be different and not do the same thing that every one else is doing. We were lucky enough to be featured in an article in PMQ Magazine and now I'm ready for the big time. The Pizza Expo holds seminars on topics interesting to other pizza operators around the world. My hope is that I get to host one of these seminars and share some of the innovative and creative marketing ideas that we have come up with.

So as you can see -- I am trying to branch my career out into more of an involved member of our community, be it the Pizza Community or our city community. I feel like I have lots to offer and hope for the opportunity to grow my wings and branch out.

I'll keep you posted!

Things you have to go through to grow up

I have two boys. Well actually they are men now, but I'll always think of them as my boys. I don't see them as grown men -- I look at their faces and still see those two cute little boys that I raised.

They each have had their ups and downs trying to make their way in life. It breaks your heart to see them struggle -- you just want to do whatever you can to make it easy for them.

But then you stop and remember the struggles that you went through to get where you are today. These are the things that shape and mold you. These are the things that you have to get through to make you a strong adult. Life isn't easy and you have to work your way through it -- step by step and day by day.

I wonder if my parents looked at me and felt the same way as I struggled with things throughout my life. I always felt like they were there to help if I needed it, but you always hated to ask because you want to be strong and be on your own.

Now as I watch these two men struggle along with their different issues, I hope that they know I always have their back and will help them any way I can. After all, isn't that what moms are for?

V - A - C - A - T - I - O - N

No, we're not going on one........but wishing we were.

No instead we're ramping up our marketing department and are on a whirlwhind path of creating the best mail pieces so that customers all over will be flocking to our stores and throwing their money at us.

If enough of these "money throwers" show up -- we actually might have a shot at taking a vacation.

We spent some time in a Post Office class last week learning how to do our own mailing for only 14.2 cents a piece. WOW>>>>>>>> only 14.2 cents a piece. That is an incredible deal. That means we can mail 500 advertising pieces for only $71.00 instead of $220.00!

So now we are pretending to be marketing geniuses and creating our mail flyers.

So until this new marketing promotion takes off......the only vacation we'll be seeing is maybe a day off that we can squeak out in the next couple of weeks. At this point in time I'd settle for a day spent at a local hotel with a nice pool and a good book. Sounds like heaven right now!

Praise to the Pizza King!

Okay.....if you don't like mushy love stuff --- turn your heads now and click on the little X in the upper right hand corner.


Love you Paul......



thank you for working so hard and taking care of me as well as you do!



I am the luckiest person in the world for finding you.



Can't wait until we can find some free time again and create some more memories.



Love ya baby......quit working so darn hard.

Okay....you can now return to your regular blogging viewing. However, there is nothing more to read today. Stay tuned...........

Farewell Miss Piggy

It's no secret -- just look at the pictures. I've really packed on some pounds lately.

I really don't know why because I truly don't eat that much.

But now we (Paul and myself) are on an all out war to lose weight and be healthy.

First thing was to buy a good book to help us along. We got Bob Green's new book. He's going to tell us how to lose weight, live and eat healthy. Ok Bob....we're listening.

So today -- we got up and took a nice brisk 40 minute walk around the neighborhood and attempting to eat good today.

And every good battle needs it's reward. Here's my first reward: lose 10 lbs and take a trip here:




So as we say goodbye to Miss Piggy......I sure am looking forward to:

MISS SKINNY ME!!

Wordless Wednesday....$50 and a 1st Place!

Champagne Wishes and Caviar Dreams

Seriously......life has become so "ho hum" lately.

Same old thing - day in and day out. I really feel I was meant to do more, but those things just aren't happening fast enough.

I so want a life of leisure. Maybe just one day a week where I can just enjoy a day without any pressures of having to get anything else done.

I so want a life of travel. There are just too many places I want to go visit, but no time or $$ to get to all of them.

I don't want to live in a fancy house, just one that is comfortable, non-cluttered, clean, and has a pool and a jacuzzi in the backyard. The pool is another part of my leisure plan.

Okay -- the year is half over. They say you need to have a vision to know where you want to go. I am officially posting my vision for the rest of this year. Let's revisit this in December and see how much has been accomplished.







P.S. Gotta go......going to check the Travel Channel's website and see if they have any job openings!

Today I felt like Superwoman!

I may be riding high and thinking I solved the world's problems today......and because of that -- I am now successfully not getting any of my work that needs done today!

1st mission: Work delayed because I needed to assist Cris in getting his mail and cleaning up some of the junk he left in his room when he moved. I can now begin cleaning up that extra room.




2nd mission: Work delayed because Aaron came over and I needed to assist him with trying to figure out his rent issue. Also assisted in sitting on porch and talking while he smoked a cigarette. I completed both of these missions with the utmost attention to detail.



3rd mission: Work delayed because husband needed background check done on employee he is thinking about hiring as shift-runner. Background check read like a crime novel -- so some time was wasted doing further research. Called husband with details......waiting for further instructions.



4th mission: Work delayed because Aaron called and was freaked out because the ATM didn't show his last paycheck and he needs to pay rent! Further investigation was needed on Aaron's part and he called back 5 minutes later for a request to set his online banking up on my computer. After 20 minutes of computer work, detective work, and psychological counseling for Aaron -- it was discovered that his check was in the bank and his account was funded for his transaction.



5th mission: Work delayed because Pizza Zone called and had a driver that wanted to drive a new vehicle for his shift tonight. PZ faxed over the necessary information and after sending an e-mail and faxing copies of the appropriate paperwork........we are waiting for approval from the insurance company to complete this mission.

*extra work on this mission to get a form approved from our insurance company prior to hiring a new driver.


(almost)

All is quiet now, except for the last two phone calls from my husband on the "Blow-by-Blow" commentary he was providing me as he was driving from the other side of town (I love you honey :) )

And then he wonders what I do all day????? But seriously, you saw my ideal "BEFORE" shot of me as Superwoman. Now feast your eyes on my reality "AFTER" shot!