I realize some of you have been left in the dark...

I realize some of you have been left in the dark regarding what's going on with me right now so I thought I'd take the time to give you a brief rundown.

I haven't been "bailing" on my friends because I WANT to, but it's because I HAVE to....

1. Mom is okay. The test results came back that the spots and lesions she had on her organs are not, in fact, malignant. If you know my worrying mother, you know that this is a HUGE relief. For the past 10+ years, I have played Dr. to various family members and friends - mainly because I like it - but also because I have 3 years of medical training under my belt that rivals the best nursing schools.

2. Work is.....interesting. It's no shock that I work at a small company, and, through the months, it's been getting smaller. For the most part, we've been held, at bay, and only the sister companies have felt any hits from the economy. That has since changed. As of last week, we officially lost Megan (Purchasing/Inventory/General), Fred (Warehouse Manager/Shipping Manager), and Joe (Chemist/QA). We are now down to 4 plus 1. Darryl is in the warehouse, Vaughn and I are still in the office, and John is still the Manager. The "plus 1" is Rich, our outside salespersons for civil engineering products. We've also picked up more responsibilities, more work, and have taken a % pay decrease from our salaries. Added to that pay cut, my coworker and I will now be paying 1/2 of our medical insurance, and all of our dental and vision insurance provided to us.

3. Don't ask me to do anything on the upcoming weekends until after Morgenstern's wedding.
May 2nd: Albany, GA
May 9th: Work
May 16th: Amanda's Bachelorette party
May 23rd: Amanda's Wedding
Even Saturdays after that, I may be busy working :\

4. Our office has FINALLY gotten over the funky flu/whatever bug we all had. Mine started toward the beginning of the year and knocked me on my hiney. I missed Jen's baby shower because of it, but the way I ended up, I'm glad I did. The last thing I'd want is anyone to catch what I had!

5. Andrew and I planted....well....Andrew planted a garden at my place. I now have 3 tomato plants, 2 banana pepper plants, 1 strawberry plant, oregano, basil, and rosemary, and then I have marigolds, snapdragons, and a Lantana. It looks nice and definitely makes my patio "home-y."

6. Cash has allergies. We're assuming it's seasonal, but who knows with him. :\



I'm really not ignoring my friends or family. I'm just doing what I can to weather the economic storm and keep our business up and running. Don't take offense if I can't do things because I have to work, etc. I apologize in advance. Eventually, the storm will subside or at least weaken, but as it is now, it's more like a Category 1,000,000 Hurricane.