first post of 2011

Good morning, and a Happy New Year to you all!
We finished Friday around 2pm. Went to Meijer's for our annual New Year's Eve pig-out purchases, and went home to relax and eat and drink.
We started out with a small bowl of kraut soup that a customer gave us for Christmas. I must say, I'll need to get that recipe. It was really good!
Next, it was mini cheddar sausages. So greasy and tasty!
After playing on the puter a while, it was guacamole and chips while we watched the news casts.
Then later, it was meat and cheese, as in bologna and swiss.
We also opened that bottle of Choco Vine a customer gave us. It didn't look to appetizing, but with the first taste, we were hooked! It tastes a lot like Baileys! But a hack of a lot cheaper! I have a new sipping drink!
We ended the evening with wings and the movie Terminator Salvation.
No, we didn't see the ball drop. We were in bed by 10:30pm. :-)
And with 2010 over, Craig now has an unbelievable amount of book work to do, so I'll lay low today, and stay out of his way. :-)
And after that obscene amount of food yesterday, (I'm still stuffed!)we'll have a home made cinnamon roll thingy a customer gave us for lunch, and dinner will be roast beef sandwiches, and the rest of that kraut soup!
Now I'm off to the Salon to take down the Christmas decorations while Craig gets his beauty rest. :-)

4th day of Christmas

Good morning.
Yesterday was another nice day.
But I became infected.
Infected with the cleaning bug!
I completely took apart everything in the bedroom. We have a king bed, and is it heavy! And I felt it was time to do a thorough cleaning. I took out the night stands, dresser, and took apart the bed. I vacuumed, cleaned the mini blinds, windows and wiped down everything. I can't tell you how long it's been since I vacuumed under the bed. I'm embarrassed to even guess. :-)
Other than that, it was our usual Monday. Went to the bank, post office, and meijer's.Came home, read the paper, and fixed a tasty breakfast/lunch. One of Craig's customers gave him a home made gift basket with assorted baked goods. One of them were whole wheat dinner rolls. I used 2 of them for sandwiches. They were very tasty!
Craig then did more paper work and laundry, besides helping me with the bedroom.
For dinner, we had those tasty pork cutlets I've become hooked on, and Craig made his new potato dish. It was really good!

We added broiled zucchini and had a very good dinner.
Topped that with our Monday sitcoms, and it was another nice day.
And today's our 4th day off before retuning to work for 3 days, and another 4 day weekend. I could get use to this schedule! Well, except for the money thingy. When your self-employed, no workey no money. And your probably saying, "what about all those other stylists? Don't' you make money from them?"
Well, yes, but that money mainly covers the salon overhead. We don't get that much extra profit from them. So our money mainly comes from our clientele.
And, I'm not sure what we're doing for today, maybe nothing. I'm not feeling the cleaning bug right now. :-)

3rd day of Christmas

Good morning.
Sunday was another nice day.
Craig got up around 8:30, (early for him) showered, then I fixed coffee and we read the paper, than it was out to do a little running around. Mainly to Menard's. They had AA batteries for 60% off. They were Rayovac, a decent brand. I won't by off brands anymore. I swear they last about 1/4 as long as name brands.
Anyway, I remove all the batteries from all the electronics in the mo-ho each year, and put in fresh each spring. Between detectors, clocks, remotes, flashlights, etc., it takes quite a few.
So this was a good deal. We also picked up a new bulb for our outdoor sodium light. It keeps going out, then coming back on. We replaced the sensor a few weeks ago, so Craig wanted to try a new bulb. I think it's the ballast going. We'll see if the bulb thing works.
And we also picked up some more air filters for the furnace. We have to intakes, and of course, they are to different sizes. We replaced them last week, and used up the last new ones.
Then, back home, I fixed us a late breakfast/early lunch, of an egg and Canadian bacon sandwich.
And while Craig did his usual laundry and bookwork, I managed to dust and vacuum between playin on the puter.
I also looked up current CD rates. Yuk! We have one maturing in April. Currently earning 5.5 %. The latest rates are running around 2.5%. Maybe I'll just hide it under the mattress instead. :-)
And after a very cold December, we appear to be getting a break. Temps are forecast to get above freezing later this week.
Then for dinner, we reheated some turkey, and the leftover sides. Craig is feeling much better, but wanted to eat up the leftovers, and will make his new potato dish today with pork cutlets.
And that was out 2nd day of Christmas. Now for our 3rd! I love long weekends!

the 2nd day of Christmas...

Good morning, and a happy holiday weekend to you all.
I've just returned from my usual Sunday morning routine, cleaning the Salon.
We had a very nice, low key Christmas. The turkey was delicious, as was the stuffing, potatoes and cauliflower. Craig's dinner plans didn't go as expected due to him being a bit under the weather. So I made the stuffing, and instead of the new potato and cauliflower dishes, I made steamed cauliflower and boxed potatoes. Still it was good. If he's feeling a bit better today, we'll try the new recipes with leftover turkey.
We watched several holiday DVD's, Craig took an afternoon nap, and I caught up on blog reading and playing on the puter.
I also managed to get a little ambition and scrubbed the entire bathroom. I needed to burn some calories from Christmas eve. :-)
And, a final tally of Christmas tips showed us a little ahead of last year. So we should have enough to pay for all our mo-ho trips this coming year. :-) Depending on where we decide to go.
And today I plan on a little more house work, and a lot more relaxation. I love long weekends!

Merry Christmas

Good morning.
And a very Merry Christmas to you all!
We ended a busy day at work on Christmas Eve. Getting done around 1pm.
We then ran over to Meijer's for some Christmas Eve treats.
The parking lot was packed! We found a cart and took it in with us. We knew from past experiences that there would probably be none in the store. We were right. :-)
The store was busy, but not terrible. Craig decided on a meat and cheese platter. Which meant Bologna and 5 types of cheese. Craig is a cheese-a-holic. And this is the only time of the year, I let him eat 'real' cheese. And the only time we eat bologna.
Then it was over to the freezer section for my speacial treat, chicken wings. :-)
A few more odds and ends for Christmas Day dinner, and then outta there.
Heading to the check-outs, they were all 5-7 deep. But we headed to the other end of the check-outs and managed to find a line with only 3 ahead of us. By time we got to the belt, our line was now 6 deep. Good timing on our part.
As the cashier was just about done ringing us up, I noticed the person behind me was putting a bunch of wine bottles on the belt up-right. As I was just about to mention that she might want to lay them done, the cashier hit the switch to move the belt and all the bottles tumbled over with one going right off on to the floor smashing into bits. Hasn't this person ever shopped before? You don't stand bottles upright on a moving belt! Oh well.
I took my change from the cashier, and as we left, I felt sorry for the people behind her. They'll have to wait until someone cleans up the broken glass and wine.
Despite the traffic, (we did see one accident) we made it home safe. It was a nice quiet afternoon/evening, stuffing our faces, and watching holiday DVDs.
Today, it's Turkey with White Castle stuffing, a new potato casserole Craig is trying, and also a new cauliflower dish.
And I really need to do some cleaning. We'll see how that goes......:-)

It's almost Christmas!

Good morning.
It's been a hectic week in the Salon. Very busy! I go in early today, (7:30) and I'll be there until around 1pm.
The Christmas tips are coming in nicely. Better than last year. We'll indulge with all the eatable/drinkable gifts. We get a wide range of things. Wine, liquors, candy, home made pastries, home made jams, gift cards, gift baskets, and even kraut soup(?).
All the monetary gifts go into our mo-ho gas fund. Which looks like it'll need a big boost as the gas prices seem to keep rising. :-(
Then after today, I'll get a 4 day weekend!
So with that, I'm off to get ready for my last work day.
Hope everyone has a nice Christmas!

tonight, life is good

Good afternoon.
Well, I just finished a very busy week in the Salon.
And after that, I foolishly went to Staples. Our cash register died a couple of days ago and I found on-line that Staples had the best deal. And, a $50 rebate! So I decide to go get it after work today.
OMG! The traffic was horrible! Why did I think of going anywhere the weekend before Christmas?
But I managed by saying to myself, "be patient, there's no hurry, I've got all afternoon,"
So, I got the new register and even stopped at Kroger's to stock up on 2 liter Coke for $1 each. Then my low gas light came on and stopped at Meijer for that.
And I made it home safe.
This will be a busy weekend with family get togethers and travel.
But tonight is cocktails, home made pizza and movies. Yes life is good.

An evening out

Good morning.
Yesterday afternoon, after work, we went downtown to the Harem lounge.

Yep! All they have on the front of the building, is a large h.

We were invited to a cocktail party being thrown by a customers law firm. Had a great time! Met some interesting people, had some good appetizers and tasty drinks.

On the way there, I snapped a few holiday pics.
A traffic circle intersecting the road to the capitol and the main shopping street.

They put lights on the roof lines of all the buildings. Looks very festive at night.

And the state Christmas tree that sits in front of the capitol. I don't know who actually decorates it, but i think it look horrible!
They just wrapped rows and rows of lights around it. Didn't even try to stagger them. And with led lights, from a distance, all you see is blue and red. I'm not sure I like led's on trees.

Sorry all these pics were from the car. It was way to cold for me to be out walking around any more than I needed to. :-)

Anyway, it was a fun evening. We don't get out much anymore. :-)

And now I gotta go and get ready for my last day at the Salon this week.

up to speed

Good morning.
Let's get us up to speed here since I've been gone a few days.
Tuesday was another one of those wash-outs. It was cold, windy, and the leaves aren't all down yet, so I didn't do a thing. Inside or out. I was a total slug!
Wednesday morning, I fired up the puter, turned on the modem, and nothing. No Internet. The Internet light on the modem wasn't lit. I thought maybe it didn't cycle right, so I turned it off, waited, and turned it back on again. Nothing. So I called tech support. They didn't say our area was one of the many experiencing problems so I waited for the next available tech. The recording said the estimated wait time was 25 minutes. Ugh! So I waited. Passing the time playing a game on the puter. After about 20 minutes, I got disconnected. Arg! So I redialed and waited some more. After another 35 minutes I finally get a live person. He apologises for the wait, (of course) and says our area is also experiencing problems and they are working on it. I hang up thinking why can't they keep their phone recording updated!
So after wasting all that time, and still no Internet, I get things ready for another work week. I clean and slice carrots and cucumbers to snack on during the day. And also some pineapple and cottage cheese. That's what I eat instead of going out to lunch. It's difficult to 'schedule' a lunch when you work with appointments that aren't always done in the time scheduled, so it's just easier this way.
The work day went pretty smooth, and I had Internet when I arrived home in the evening.
Thursday, work was busy.
We also received the light bulbs I got from E-Bay and they were exactly the ones I was expecting. We now have 3 boxes of lights to use to replace any burned out ones. These should last us quite a few years.
You can see from the second pic how large each bulb is.
Today and tomorrow are looking to be very busy in the Salon also. And I'm getting tired of customers coming in and wondering if we're going to be closing. This all started coming about when the management company decided to fix the mall up. They painted, mulched, and for some insane reason, decide to put white paper
on all the windows of all the empty store fronts.
Well, out of 22 storefronts in this mall, there are only 8 occupied right now, So that means a lot of white paper screaming how empty the mall really is. I personally thought it looked fine with just the empty spaces showing through the windows. I don't have a clue why they wanted to cover them all up, and especially with white paper. It would've look better if they had used brown paper.
Oh well....
We also haven't received the new chair mats we ordered on the 8th. They should have been here on Wed. or Thur. If they don't show up today, I'll have to call and see what's going on with them.
So now we're up to speed, and I need to hop in the shower and get to work!

Have a great weekend!

a day with Mom

Good morning.
I made it to the Salon, but didn't have time to try out the new wheels on the manicure table. Maybe I'll do that Wed. morning.
Instead, I dropped off checks, trash and picked up the paper on the way home. I showered, woke Craig up, fixed coffee while he showered, then we hopped in the car for a drive to Muskegon to spend the day with my Mom.
I put the cover over her air conditioner, and cut her hair. She also wanted me to take her to the bank. She went last Wed. to get some cash. After she left, she noticed on her receipt there was a lot more money in her account then there should be. I looked at the slip and saw my sister-in-law's name on it. I asked her why that was, and she said she hadn't noticed that. I said I think they took the money out of the wrong account. My brother Louie's name is on my Mom's account. I assume he and his wife have their account there also. Her name is Bonnie, and my Mom's name is Audrey. So before lunch, we stopped at the bank. Sure enough, they had taken it out of Bonnie's account. They were very apologetic. I imagine someone will probably get written up for this. Things like this happen quite a bit. Craig has to constantly watch his deposit slips because we have the business account and our personal account at the same place. They have sometimes deposited the money in the wrong account.
Anyway, with that fixed, we headed over to Applebee's for lunch. Mom had the portabella sirloin steak, while Craig had a burger and I had a club. They were all very good. We've eaten there many times, and the food is always tasty.
Then of course, we went to the VFW for cocktails and pull-tabs. She hadn't been there since I took her in August. The driving service she uses to get around, only does greater Muskegon and the VFW is in North Muskegon. It's only about a mile from her apartment, but not in the city.
Anyway, she was happy to see people she hadn't seen in a while. We ended up a little ahead on the pull-tabs since Craig won $70 on one ticket.
We then stopped at the store for some food supplies for Mom, and then back to her apartment.
We said our good-byes, and made it back to Lansing safely.

I got on-line to find my Christmas lights had been shipped,

and the seller even gave me a $1.60 refund because the

shipping was less than stated. I'll try to remember to take a pic of the tree so you can see these lights. With their large soft glow, they really look good on our 9ft tree.
Since we had a good size lunch, for dinner we had mini frozen pizzas. They were just right. And of course, our Monday night sitcoms.
And that's about all I got for now. Time for my shower.

a Thursday post

Good morning.
It's been unseasonably cold this week and looking to stay that way. It's a good thing I winterized the mo-ho when I did as it's been getting below freezing every night. And tonight is forecast to be down to 24.
I got my teeth cleaned yesterday morning before work. It went fast. I wish I would have know 30 years ago that a couple of more minutes brushing would make the cleanings go quicker. :-)
I had a few breaks at work yesterday, so I took Craig's Honda in for an oil change and picked up some salon supplies. I also added some money to an account I have at a different bank than our usual.
Let me explain. I have a pay pal account I use to buy thing on e-bay and such. I don't want my home and business accounts floating around in cyberspace, so I opened an account at a different bank that I use just for that and only put money in there when needed. That way I don't have to worry about my account info getting stolen.
Anyway, we have a 9ft Christmas tree we put up at work. Last year when I decorated it, I replaced the few burned out bulbs with my last extra ones. Last year we looked and looked for the brand and no one carries them anymore. I was able to find a box on e-bay.
They are only red, but with some adjusting, I should be able to replace any bad bulbs and still have the tree looking good. Now if any of you see these anywhere, I'll gladly buy them from you.
They are quite large, nearly 2 inches across and come in assorted colors.
Well, the rest of the work week looks quite busy including a very busy late Saturday, so time to jump in the shower and get going.

2 necks!

Good morning and a happy day after Christmas.
We had a nice quiet day. Craig made his usual Turkey with White Castle stuffing. Click the link if you want details on the recipe. Since Craig doesn't like them, I boil up the giblets, and snack on them while waiting for dinner. This year I got a bonus! 2 necks! Yummy!

Everyone knows I like gnawing on bones, and neck bones are really cool. I know, I'm a freak, get over it.

We also watched some Christmas specials, and I downloaded more games and loaded them on my new laptop, and played some games on my puter.
We were fortunate not to get any of the bad weather here. We ended up with just rain, which melted the little snow we had. We're expecting some snow today.
We did very well with Christmas tips. Even with business down over all, the customers were very generous. We save our Christmas tips for our mo-ho gas fund. We ended up with just over 2/3 of what we spent last year. With my spring plant sale, we should have more than enough to fund all of our trips this coming year.
And although most of you are having an extended holiday weekend, it's back to work this morning for us. I have a full schedule for today. Like Derek, we don't get paid when we don't work. So enjoy your weekend.

I'll be back later.

Merry Christmas

Christmas time

Just a quick post this morning.
I took a few pics on the way to and from the cocktail party we went to last night at Harem. It was fun. Food drinks and conversation. The main shopping district is one block from the capitol. They put a stupid round-a-bout in the intersection. But they decorate it nicely during the year. And for Christmas, they put these ginormous ornaments there. Looked nice. And they've got white lights lining the tops of all the buildings. Very festive.
And on the way home, I took a pic of the state Christmas tree.

You can see it in front of the capitol, and just past the ginormous ornaments.

Here's a closer pic. I don't care for led Christmas lights. The yellows don't show up as much as the blue. They just don't look right.

And now it's time to get ready for work. I've got to be there by 7am. Have a good day!

Christmas, bah humbug

Good morning from a snowy Mid Michigan.
Yep! We have our first substantial snow fall last night. Enough to completely cover the ground. And it looks to be a messy week. Rain today turning to sleet this afternoon, and then back to snow tonight. Should make driving home fun.
Yesterday, I put up our little tree in our TV room. That's about all the decorating we've been doing the last few years. We don't seem to have that 'Christmas spirit' we've had in the past. We use to decorate the whole house and lot's of lights outside. Now maybe a tree, that's it. Here's our tree. But we still decorate the Salon. Being a business, you kinda have to. And if your interested, here's the link to the Salon.
Other than that, I didn't do a whole lot. Mainly played some new games I downloaded. Children of the Nile, and Ports of Call deluxe. Craig did bookwork. Trying to figure out where the money will come from for all the stuff we've been doing. He says we'll be fine. I trust him. He's been doing the bills for 33 years and I still get to buy pretty much what I want. And we were so lazy, for dinner Craig made an easy quick Hamburger Helper.
And it looks to be a busy week at the Salon. So I need to hope in the shower and get going. Have a good rest of the week.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christrmas Eve

Here it is Christmas Eve.
I had a very busy day at the Salon. And since Craig is fixing dinner, (hamburgers and oven fries) I thought I'd update my day. Got up at my usual 5 am, and did my usual surfing and went out to clean the driveway. We had gotten another 3 inches of that f#$king white stuff. And as I went out, I discovered a large black object in the driveway. It was our mailbox! We live on a road that has a 45 mile per hour speed limit. And the snow plows go by at such a fast speed, they literally blow the mailbox off the post! So I pushed it into the snow bank, hoping we'd still get mail, which we did! And after we got home this afternoon. I fixed it.
Looking forward to tomorrow when we don't do anything!
Hoping all my readers have a wonderful holiday.

Wayne and Craig

A Salon Christmas

Well, yesterday was a total washout at the Salon. With a winter storm warning, and blowing snow,(a total of about 9 inches) we got cancellation after cancellation. Spent all day there for 3 customers. Of course, the last customer never cancels nor does the first. So in between, I did some cleaning, watching the blizzard, and read magazines.
And as promised, here's a few pics of
our Salon, decorated for Christmas.
And if you look closely,
you'll even see me!

Of course, you can click
the pics for a better view.

day after Christmas

Wow! Am I stuffed!
The Christmas weekend is finally over! Saturday at Craig's niece's house. Monday at Mom's in Muskegon, and Tuesday at home. Food, food, and more yummy food!
The pic below is our Christmas Dinner. Turkey, White Castle Stuffing, Scalloped Potatoes with Spinach, and Fiesta Scalloped Corn. Craig is a great cook! He made enough so we can have leftovers for Wed. and Thur. since it's back to work, and we work late those two days.

And if you've never had White Castle Stuffing, your in for a treat!
Here's the recipe....
One box(6) White castle hamburgers(thawed)
7 oz.(1/2 bag) of sage and onion cube stuffing.
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced onions
1 tsp ground thyme
1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper
1 tsp ground sage
1/2 cup chicken broth


Tear hamburgers into pieces-
add the rest and toss to blend
Bake and enjoy! It's Yummy!

And my last Christmas cartoon of the year...

Merry Christmas

Craig and I wish everyone, a very Merry Christmas!