Black Friday

I know that most of everybody is on break from blogging today, but I have something I need to say. 

Black Friday is today. It conjures many emotions in myself. Before I start, I just want to say I don't care if you attend black Friday or not. I'm not out to attack or criticize anybody for any of their choices. This is just how I feel.

Since I was little kid I've gone shopping on black Friday (now referred to as bf because I'm lazy and shit). However, when I first started this shopping really didn't take place until Friday. As the years have gone on, the shopping has gotten earlier and earlier. I've gone for two years in a row where the deals start at 8 instead of 12 or later on the actual day of bf. 

At first, I didn't really care. I just thought whatever. I mean it did suck to leave my family earlier than planned but I really wanted to go out and shop. Then, the year before last my anxiety started to kick in. I lost my mom at one point in time and really started to freak out. I couldn't get ahold of her for some reason. I knew we were in the same store but I just couldn't control my anxiety. I blew it off and then went again with my Wife, Blake, and Momma. I mean who doesn't love shopping! 

And then this year rolled around. My Momma works at not one, but two retail stores. One of them being Toys R Us. She had to go to work at 430 pm yesterday. On Thanksgiving. She has to leave her family so that people can buy stuff. We'll get to that in a second. Anyway...this really upset me. I understand that people can choose what jobs they get and she knew that she would work bf when she took the job. But ya know, she has to pay the bills somehow and this is one way she could do it. At this time, how could anybody turn down a job, when so many people are desperate for one? 

This has really impacted me. It's made me sit back and think. And maybe it's my more mature way of thinking, maybe not, but I really don't understand why people feel the need to leave a day of being grateful and enjoying good food, family, and booze (ok, booze on my end). I don't really want to have to leave my family to go out and get things. 

Because that's exactly what I've done. I've racked up credit card debt on just stuff. I've bought three things that I really appreciate within the past two years. My wonderful crockpot, our firepit, and my dad and I's seasons of True Blood. Everything else I've gotten is just because I thought I needed it because it was on sale. I still have movies I haven't opened, let alone watched, pajamas that I definitely don't need, a pair of slippers I had to have only to find out they weren't even on sale! I bought all of this stuff because I couldn't differentiate between my needs and my wants. Not once did I buy anything for Teagan, honestly because bitches be crazy about their toys. 

This year, Target has a great sale on a camera I really want. I don't have the money for the camera. But part of me really wants to go get it. I want to go get more True Blood and more Sons on DVD. I want to go buy that $4 copy of Great Gatsby because it was an awesome movie - and Leo, duh. But I just remind myself that I don't need that stuff. Blake just bought me a new camera for our anniversary. No, it's not a DSLR, but it's a camera that works. I have my dad's HBOGo password, I can watch TrueBlood whenever I feel like it. And yeah, Sons is expensive but I do have Christmas and a birthday coming up. If I wanted it that bad I would ask for it. But it's not enough of a priority to put on my list. 

So honestly, do I really need any of these things? No, I don't. And I wish I would have asked myself this before I ever went and bought it. Because I know that these poor people working on Thanksgiving don't want to be at work. They want to be home with their families. They want to be able to eat all the leftover even though their yoga pants are already stretched to capacity. They wanna get drunk with their friends and make memories they'll have forever - well what they'll remember of them the next day. 

I'm not against the actual day of bf. I'm against black Thanksgiving. If I didn't work on Friday I would loooove to go shopping. Maybe I could actually find some things to gift as presents. Maybe I wouldn't. I'm all for shopping when you feel like it. But from now on, I'll try and not go on Thanksgiving night. I will wait until Midnight. I may even do a little shopping online on thanksgiving night. At least I'll still be with my family. I haven't decided yet. 

I just want people to realize what we have going on. Most people go out on Thanksgiving because they just want more stuff. Remember, that that "stuff" will still be there later. It may not be as good of a sale as it was, but if you really want it that bad, you'll buy it. Let's not turn Thanksgiving into an extinct holiday. I don't want to look back on these years in 20 years and tell my grandchildren (please I hope not) that Black Thursday used to be a day called Thanksgiving where people got together with their loved ones and enjoyed great food. It's not always been a day where people trample each other for stuff. That's what Black Friday was for. Let's all stay home until Friday. Then buy all the stuff you want.

Thankfulness

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. And I know that all month long people have been posting what they're thankful for on facebook. And while yes, it's nice to know that these people are happy about something, quite frankly, I'm sick of it.

But here I am showing up to class to be a cliche and talk about what I'm thankful for today. But there's a twist. I'm not going to post the usual "my family, friends, job...etc." Nope. I'm doing weird shit that I'm thankful for.

I'm Thankful for...

- leggings, yoga pants, and sweats for how else would I be able to pull off eating my body weight in mashed potatoes and gravy?

- couches, for that nice afternoon nap to let my food settle

- the dallas cowboys, to fall asleep to because our games have gotten boring

- all the mashed potatoes a girl could want

That's all I've got. What weird things are you thankful for? 

Christmas Cards

I love sending mail. I love getting mail. I think its a blogger thing. I've been debating on how to ask this question and I've decided that my personal platform is the best. I don't have enough traction on twitter and too many personal follows on instagram.

What I'm asking is who would love a Christmas card from me to arrive in your mailbox?!? Hopefully I get a few takers!

Just leave me a comment if you do. Please don't include your address in the comments. I'll get it when I respond to your comment.

Hope to hear from you all soon!

19 Cents

Happy last day of work for all you real jobbers out there. I get Thanksgiving off though, so I'm not too bitter about it.

Yesterday I closed the lunch shift at work. It was terrible. I don't understand people. I understand that lunch is cheaper than dinner so tips won't be as much, but I don't understand why expecting 10 percent is expecting too much. I think only tipping 10 percent is cheap, but at least it's 10 percent. Most people have the deceny to do this.

Except ofr yesterday. I worked my ass off the last 3 hours I was at work because we got a rush. And for working from 11 until 430 I only made $42. Yes, technically that's around $7 an hour however, it could have, no scratch that, it should have been more.

You see, yesterday I was stiffed twice. Normally, I understand why I get stiffed. My service wasn't up to par, the food sucked, they waited too long, or they just like to complain about everything. None of this stuff happened to these two gentleman though. We laughed a little bit, I was aware of their drinks, bread, and salad the whole time. None of that stuff was ever low. However, when they left, neither one of them tipped me.

Let me tell you something...In Missouri servers DO NOT make minimum wage. If you think that is the case, than please ask your server how they get paid. Yes, they'll look at you funny, but if you explain to them why you're curious, they'll feel better. My guess is that these gentleman thought I made a wage. I really hope that's what it was.

Getting stiffed is tough, but there are worse things out there. What could they be..well how about a 19 cent tip. Yes, I had an awful table have the audacity to tip me 19 fucking cents. They wrote out 19 cents on their credit card slip. It wasn't even just a keep the change kind of thing. They had to think about it.

See, I've had this table before. I didn't like them the first time and I sure as shit don't like them now. Next time they're seated in my section I will refuse to take it. I don't know if I can give good service to somebody who can be low enough to act like that. Grown fucking adults. It's bad enough we expect it out of teenagers, but I shouldn't be fucked by an adult. Their service wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible. I forgot to bring their bread refill one time. And they snapped at me about it. I'd love to see them do my job.

If you can't/don't want to/won't tip, then please please don't go out to a restaurant. This is how we pay our bills. It sucks having other people decide whether or not my bills are going to be paid. I know that a lot of people feel like servers and wait staff are scum of the earth, illiterate, high school dropouts, but that's not the case. We're single moms, we're kids going to college, we're somebody with a degree who couldn't find a job. There are many reasons why people choose to work in a restaurant. And just because we work in one doesn't mean you're any better than us. We have more compassion in our left pinkies than many people have in their hearts because of this job. We enjoy making people happy, because if we didn't, we sure as hell wouldn't work our asses off doing what we're doing.

Just remember me next time you go eat. Maybe the service isn't up to par, maybe the food sucked. But before you don't tip, take a second and look around you. Look at how much work your server is doing. Look at their faces. Are their eyes blood shot and baggy? Maybe, just maybe they have a reason. Mayve they couldn't sleep last night, maybe they had to go work their second or third job, maybe they're just having a bad day. Servers are allowed to have bad days. Because we're people too. We try not to show that we're having bad days, but some people's faces show it more than others.

Just remember the golden rule, always treat people how you want to be treated. And treat your server that way. You could be the one table to make their shift. The table that sends them home with a smile on their face and a happy heart.

Tagged

Oh look, it's Friday. Womp womp. I work all weekend and most of the time I host so I won't get as much $$ as I want. I had to be at work at 9 yesterday, 10 today, and 8 tomorrow. In the morning. All three of those days. I picked to not work at places that serve breakfast because I don't want to get up early. And look at this. Let's skip to next week please! 

Anyway...I'm joining 5 on Friday. I was also tagged by Jordan to answer 5 questions she selected. Here we go!

1. What artist/song/album do you have on repeat right now? 

(Jacked from an old school MySpace bulletin)

This is always hard for me.  I have a couple of songs that I'm in love with right now.

2. If you could see one artist/band perform before you die, who would it be?

Hands down Britney Spears. I will see her before I die. I've been a Britney fan since day 1. I'll probably cry when the day comes. I mean, I was gonna say Luke Bryan but I've seen him. And almost every other country music artist I love this year so she seemed like the best pick!

3. What is one thing you have worked towards this year? Would you say it was a success?
Wow, shit's about to get real. I worked at the beginning of the year to lose weight and get in better shape. Unfortunately, I didn't keep it up, I didn't eat better or even go to the gym often. It wasn't a success and I'm not very proud of myself for it. My body is a huge self esteem thing. I've posted about it before but I've never actually said everything I needed to say. Maybe someday.

4. If you could go back in time, which age would you want to repeat? Why?
I'd like to be 13 again. Even though it's a terrible age, there are things, a lot of things, I would do differently. I made some shitty choices, dated some shitty people, and was a shitty person all around. I would go back and not date the shitty people, and be less shitty to my mom. But my ass wouldn't go back to jr. high. Thanks but no thanks.

5. If money weren't an issue, would you live somewhere else? Where?

In my crazy fantasy world I'd like to move to Dallas or Nashville. I love Dallas even though I haven't seen that much of it. Nashville is the home of country music so yeah...duh.
Sometimes Blake and I talk about moving to Tulsa. It's only tow hours away. Or Springfield, it's only an hour away. I don't think it would happen but who really knows!

Linking Up!

At The Rock Show

If ya'll remember, Halloween was mine and Blake's 4 year anniversary. We didn't really celebrate on the day because it's Halloween and you know...trick-or-treating.

One of his most favorite bands in the whole world is Korn. I think he knows every song by heart and can sing them backwards if he had to. I was scrolling through my fb feed one day in October and one of my friends had shared that they were touring with Rob Zombie. And they were stopping an hour away from us. So that's what Blake got for our anniversary.

And Wednesday night was the night he'd been waiting for. I'm not gonna lie, I thought I was gonna die. I'm a glitter loving, country music listening, blogger girl. I couldn't imagine what the hell it would be like.

There are some things that you see at rock concerts that you don't see at country music or pop concert. I thought I'd fill you in on some of this.

- Girls dressed like ladies of the night. For real. I just wanted to say "Does your mama know your dressed like that?" But I didn't because they might beat me up.

- Mosh pits. I've been to a rock concert before, but it was years ago. Like before Teagan. I know what a mosh pit is about and the one I saw last night sucked. People were more interested in listening to the bands but some idiot college kids wouldn't give it up.

- Dreads. Lots and lots of dreads. Holy shit I didn't realize how many people had dreads. And ya know, they're kinda hot. I told you that I like dirty looking guys and dreads fit that mold.

- Shirtless dudes. I don't get it. They all got so amped up that they needed to take their shirts off? Really? It was weird.

and last, but certainly not least,

- Boobs. Girls love to flash rockstars. I find it hilarious. There's one girl in particular who had her shirt up for half of the concert. Her tatas were just hanging out and she didn't seem to mind. I mean I don't even think that the rockers care. They see 'em all the time. But you go Boobie Coco. Do you girl.

On a different note though, we had a great time.

My family has decided that I love concerts regardless of what kind of music it is. I get into it. And I enjoyed myself so much more than I thought I would. I've always liked both bands but after last night I like them even more. Both bands had so much energy. I was amazed. Rob kept jumping off the stage and looked like he was having so much fun. And Jonathan Davis, the lead singer of Korn, has an excellent stage presence. He doesn't smile very often but when he did it was so cute! And he played the bag pipes!

Blake was so happy. I've been to 6 cocnerts with him, including this one, and this was him element. I'm glad that I got him a present he could really enjoy. I'm ready to take him to another rock concert. Country just isn't his thing. He goes to support me but this is him.

I'm ready for another one.

Cheers Not Jeers

Well, look who showed up to class. Albeit, a little late but I'm still here. I had a fun night with Blake last night and you get to hear about it tomorrow. Today is all about showing love to some bloggers.

I was scrolling through my blogger feed the other day when I saw a tweet that caught my eye. I don't remember what the exact tweet was but it was for a link up celebrating bloggers. Casey from Aslan's Auspicious Albany Adventures is hosting a link up every Wednesday called Cheers, Not Jeers. It's all about celebrating bloggers. I knew that I was going to have to link up because everybody needs some love every now and then. =)

plus, it's a fun button!
I didn't know how I wanted to do this. I thought about listing some of my favorite bloggers, I thought about just choosing a couple to feature. But today, I think I'm going to focus on one blogger in particular.
 Jordan from Musings of a Twenty Something. 

I love this girl. We quickly became blog besties when we interacted. I was going to tell you when, but I don't really know. It feels like I've known her forever. 
We've bonded over our love of Luke Bryan, our man friends' families personal choices that are a little whack to us, our love for food, our shared Valentine's Day birthday, and all kinds of other things. Even though we cheer for different Texas football teams, we get along great. 
She's an inspiration to me too. She works her ass off to keep that figure she has. I told you that we both love food, so she works out hard. And I love it. I want to get myself in shape because of her. 
And there's her encouragement. That girl encourages me so much. Whether it's getting in shape, meeting my goals, or getting my adult drink on, she's always there telling me I can do it. And I appreciate that more than she knows. 
I can't wait until we get to blate someday. Hopefully that day is sooner rather than later. I should be in Texas in June girl!