This Weekend was INSANE!!
I love my wife, and I love the fact that she is detail oriented and anal about her job – it make me feel more comfortable having a Big Mac when I know she runs the show. I am proud of her for all her accomplishments since being promoted (an 85% on her last review, which is an excellent).

Part of being a McDonald’s franchise is living up to the McDonald’s standard, and to do that, each store receives an F.O.R. (Full Operations Review), which essentially is a top to bottom, inside and out, inspection. Part of the F.O.R. is making sure all the equipment is perfect and certified.

She was informed that her Clam-Shell Grill (the ones that come down like a George Foreman and grill top and bottom at the same time) needed to be certified. Okay, she said, and proceeded to clean the grill, for 1 ½ hours, 'til it was shiny. Her maintenance-man Chad came in and took the top off the grill to examine the inside components and there was seven years of carbon build up in the mechanisms (which is to be expected since no one bothered to certify the machine since the store opened in 1997). So, needless to say, it needed to be cleaned. But they only have one grill. So it needed to be cleaned after hours. And since the heating elements are sensitive, you can’t use any solutions, so it had to be scraped off by hand. With putty knives and flat head screwdrivers…

We headed into McDonalds at 11:30 on Saturday night (Sarah was spending the night with Grandma Jean) and scraped and chiseled and cleaned that damn grill until 3:30 in the morning. It was a horrid job, and it took us 4 hours, with 2 people… argh. But it’s clean and beautiful!

We finally got home Sunday morning, showered and into bed at 4:30 am. I couldn’t sleep, so I stayed awake until 6:30, Lindi woke up at about 10, Sarah called us at 10:30 and the next thing I know, we are out shopping for printer supplies for Lindi and scrapbooking at Lindi’s Mom’s house. Truly, it’s a blur… and my back was killing me, but I suffered through it…

We ended up collapsing at 9 last night and I slept through the night, we were so exhausted... and back to work today. My shoulder blades are really painful this morning, but I am mostly okay with just a little Tylenol. I need to get to the doctor at the spine center soon.

Another interesting development, our next door neighbors moved out… and Lindi’s ex-wife Karen and her partner Summer are moving in. We had mentioned it to them when they came over for dinner last week, and the price is great, the neighbors are… well… us…. and they signed a lease on Friday.

Honestly, I am not sure how I am feeling about it. I really do like Karen, with all her New Yorker charm, but she is the ex-wife. Lindi is so stressed out anyway with her F.O.R., I was not intending to voice concerns, but I did anyway, and Lindi tried to calm my fears. I am trying to look at the positives, the fact that we will have 2 other sets of eyes looking over Sarah, who also love her very much; the fact that Karen understands what I am going through as a Step-mother and “has my back” in that aspect; that I can cook for five again, which I love to do; that Summer and I can have girly days together and do hair and nails… but I still have the single shred of doubt in the back of my mind about Karen’s feelings for Lindi and I believe, if given the chance, Karen would be back with her. Lindi doesn’t think so, says she is obviously very happy with Summer (and who wouldn’t be – Summer’s fabulous), that Karen is very much over Lindi, but you know how a woman knows things about other women… well, there ya go.

Regardless, though, I know how Lindi feels about me, and that alone sets my mind at ease. She would never cheat on me, and I believe that with my whole heart.

So begins a new chapter – raising your daughter with your neighbors!

But on the upside, the U had the biggest cash month ever in December and I may qualify for a $150 bonus, since my 90 days were up on December 15th. Cross your fingers, it’s not set in stone. Plus, I hit an all time entry record for ME with 300 plus entries in one shift on Friday... my range is 175/day... I was a happy, happy girl...

And Lindi’s F.O.R. is on Wednesday – send all your energy to her to keep her spirits up… or email her (tiggerlindi@comcast.net) and let her know you are thinking of her… she would appreciate it, I am sure.

While you’re at it, be sure to sign my Guestmap. At this point, it looks like my sister is the only one who visits my blog, which I know is not true…

Drink of the Day: Vanilla Caramel Cafe'

CD in the Playa: Josh Groban Closer

SPAM of the day: From: lchlyg ulaaxa Re: Not freree agwo. ... WHAT??