And it begins! The week preceeding Mothers' Day is a crazy Hallmark one! After Seminary, I quickly changed, had devotional with my family, and headed northeast to Hobart to meet my boss there for my new assignment.
The Hobart Wal-mart not a supercenter, so it's not as big as the Altus store. There's still plenty to do, just in a smaller area. They don't have the storage, either, so we get what we need right when we need it, not in advance. I'm starting to see how each set up is different in each store according to the needs of the community. Each Hallmark set up is unique. So Wal-mart Altus is different from Walgreens Altus and it is different from Wal-mart Hobart which is in turn different from the others. And it's my job to keep it straight!
Still, I got home at a reasonable time, around 1:30. I had feared it would take up most of my day. Thankfully, no. Still, I will be back two more times this week to keep the Mothers's Day section in stock for all the last-minute shoppers. This time, yes, I will be working on a Saturday.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Glitter day at Walgreens. The Mothers' Day section is very busy. I think the thing I like the best about my job is helping people find the right card. Keeping everything neat and stocked is only a part of it.
I went to Wal-mart to do my grocery shopping afterwards. I saw my Wal-mart co-worker still working after four hours. It's a crazy week for all of us. I'll be helping her later this week, but today was rough for her.
The weather is not sure what it wants to be. It started out nice and sunny and the Weather Channel said nothing about rain. Things started clouding over around mid-day and when I got to Wal-mart it started sprinkling and evidentally kept going the whole time I was in the store. Not anything like real rain, but it has moistened everything.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Spring is trying to give way to summer. The sun was already trying to peek at the horizon when I left for Seminary. By the time class was over, it reigned in the sky. Driving to Hobart, I saw mockingbirds and scissortailed flycatchers...harbingers of summer. Also, a turkey vulture nearly flew into my windshield as it lifted off the road and its roadkill dinner.
After a short stint at the Hobart Wal-mart, I went to lunch with a lovely sister in my ward who lives in that town. She is truly the genteel, well-bred, sweet southern lady. She had great stories of her life; she really needs to write her life story, though she said her husband had the better stories.
She had said I looked tired, and I was. I've been busy and not necessarily sleeping well. I came home desiring to nap, but instead doing the needed chores and lessons studies.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
We were all so sleepy in Seminary today. Three out of the four of us said we'd had trouble sleeping. I don't know if it's because we're so close to the end or so much is going on or what...
I went early to Walgreens today to work (only!) on Mothers' Day stuff. I totally ignored anything else that was there for me on my shelf...it'll have to wait until Monday. After I got home, Ken took me and the kids to Lawton for a little pre-Mothers' Day celebrating. Both he and Jonathan will be working this weekend (I will on Saturday, too), so we figured today was the best day to do stuff.
Since this was for me, I asked if we could go to the reserve and try (again) to see buffalo.
We had lunch in town at a favorite - Santa Fe Cattle Company
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| Horseshoe rabbit |
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| Cowboy Armadillo |
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| Jonathan's motto |
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| She's only acting bored. |
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| He took the challenge...and ate it! |
Friday, May 6, 2016
I walked into the church building this morning, and I was confused at first. I saw a rug in the middle of the walkway, so I pulled it to the side. Don't want my kids tripping over it. Then, when I turned the corner to walk down the hall to our classroom, I saw the doors to our room open. That is odd, because I always close them.
The real shocker came when I walked into the room. Everything was cattywumpus! The piano was IN FRONT OF the blackboard. The kids' table was pushed to the way back of the room and the chairs were all stacked next the the wall with the windows. Apparently the carpets had been cleaned in the whole church. We worked around our room, there was no way I - or anyone else in class - was going to move that piano.
Oh, today was such a crazy day for work. I went to Walgreens, and managed to get all the Mothers' Day stuff out except for one bag set which I'll have to figure out tomorrow. Then I went to Wal-mart and worked with my co-worker since she'd been busy with Mothers' Day, too, and couldn't get to boxes yesterday (inventory was being done) and we got more today. Everyday stuff, but it had to be done on top of the other. Then I went back there AGAIN at 5 p.m. to clean up the Mothers' Day cards (while people were coming and going there) and try to put another box or two of cards out. It was insane and I am so tired I cannot hardly think. And tomorrow I have to do all three stores!
Saturday, May 7, 2016
SHOUTOUT TO MY BABY BROTHER, ANDY - Happy Birthday, old man! LOL
The day before Mothers' Day. Walgreens, Hobart, Altus Wal-mart. Hoo-rah (blah-blah-blah). I've cut my right thumb at the cuticle and it keeps getting caught on cards and is filled with dirt and glitter. Ouch.
Managed to get all the Mothers' Day product out. HOO-RAY! (That one is real.) But what terror I encounter at each store. Cards, cards, everywhere...on the floor, stuffed every which way, jammed into cracks between sections. Makes a girl want to cry.
Plus, I have to work around people. Now, generally, I like working with them and helping them find cards, but this is a deluge. Inconsiderate people put the cards anywhere, some people have kids with them who have to pull out every sparkly, shiny thing they see. Some people are sensitive enough to realize I am working there and try to put the cards back where they belong (A for effort, at least). Some people are irritated by my presence. Don't you realize I am there to make order out of chaos? How could you ever find a card in that mess?
I went to do the Altus Wal-mart shift at 8:00 p.m., on the recommendation of my boss. She/we hoped that the crowds would have thinned and I could actually get in there and do something. NOPE! I did the best I could, sneaking into sections during the ebb and flow of the people. But after two hours of battle, I was done.
The other issue today was Altus's Rock & Rumble, which they unfortunately always hold the weekend of Mothers' Day (great, a testosterone event on a women's weekend.) It's fascinating, all the fun cars, and people get out and barbecue, smoke (meat), listen to oldies music, etc. However, it does block of Main St. (wherein lies both Wal-mart and Walgreens) - the only time we have a real traffic jam in Altus - and brings droves of people to town (I saw an oldies car heading from Hobart to Altus this morning), which I suppose is the point, but it also brought droves of people into Wal-mart and Walgreens. Trust me, if you live in a tiny town in OK, visiting a "bigger" city like Altus and getting to go to those bigger stores is a treat! It made for a horrific mess for me, though!
ONE AMAZING, GREAT THING ABOUT TODAY: Has nothing to do with cars or cards. A sister/friend in my ward decided to help my husband figure out a gift for me for Mothers' Day. She likes to garden, too, so she coordinated with Ken, Jonathan, and my two VT sisters to finance and fill my boxes! I came home from Hobart that afternoon to see my box looking like a real garden box!
Sunday, May 8, 2016
HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY. First, to my Mommy, who is always the first and the best! Then, to my sister (Meri) and sister-in-laws (Julie, Jenna, Kathy) who strive so hard to keep their families going strong. Then, to my aunt (Nilas), my wonderful grandmother-in-law (Louise), and Ken's aunt and cousin (Laura & Laurie). And all my friends and ward sisters who are such good examples of motherhood to me. I can't name you all, but if you know me, I'm sending love to you!
Church was nice today. The Primary sang, of course. The Young Men handed out little bags of chocolate with a Mothers' Day message on it. The piano was still in front of the chalkboard when I got to church, so I asked the elders to move it for me. In return, they asked if they could Skype their families at our house this evening.
After church, I got changed, took Jonathan to Walgreens, and went to Wal-mart to work. I only stayed for an hour, straightening up, putting things away and then leaving. Could I have stayed longer? Sure, I could have followed around all the sad, crazy people who put off Mothers' Day until this afternoon, but it would be an exercise in futility. Besides, we're taking it all down tomorrow. That'll be another big job.
This afternoon, the weather got a little weird. Humid, then cooler, then warm. And the announcement came - Tornado Watch (That's not the bad one. That one is Tornado warning. I'm trying to keep the two straight.) Clouds like whipped cream (Ken say's it's like that, the air getting all whipped up with the two temperatures.) starting piling up,
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