Coffee Klatch

Aww Flav, that sucks about DH and his elbow. Is he going to need to be off work for a while? Wouldn't think he could do his job very well with an injured arm. Hope he heals real fast.

Sounds like business is booming. Another congrats and reminder to take care of yourself so you can take care of
others.

He is taking it easy but he will be ok

Glad to hear hubby will be ok. I bet he will really get on board with the soap business now!

300 molds is amazing...I think you have found a good niche for your market.

me too. I am working on dividers for the mold and I should get them next week. I have already sold some of them too

I am so happy to be doing what I love and actually making a living

Well the news keeps coming! My oldest daughter got engaged yesterday.

They had a crab boil party and he proposed in front of everyone, it was so cool!

What great news!

Today was a beautiful sunny day. The youngest and foster daughter came for dinner (and to pick up Easter Baskets lol), the foster daughter got a job! She will be working at the country club. I'm so happy for her. She is really making great strides. She has a 3.4 grade average and her art was featured in "The Best of the Best" in the regional High Schools. We are so proud. This is huge, her mom never went to anything at school - no conferences, open house, choir concerts, etc. We show up for everything and cheer her on. It's so nice to see her feel proud of herself. People have asked us why we took her in - this is it...just to see her succeed.

That's great! It is so nice to know that you helped a kid succeed to their true potential. Caring makes a big difference in a childs life.

She may have ended up on skid row but you showed her shes better than that and gave her a reason and the realization of what normal is. Kudo's to you and hubby for that. I am sure she will remember you forever, no matter how far away she may be

Thanks for sharing your news Flav. Since you didn't begin with, "Oh Dear God, you won't believe what happened," I'm going to guess daughter said yes, and it was a happy affair.
LOL.

May their happiness last a lifetime.

Pat on the back and a hug for you, SO.

LOL Yes she said yes and I have been bombarded by emails of wedding venues.

I better sell a lot of molds!

Lol, you will find the perfect spot in the budget you can live with. Fortunately you live in an outdoor area so you should be able to find a great space that isn't too expensive. We have several parks here with beautiful areas for weddings.

Mega molds. Hire semi trucks to deliver them. Make sure and tell DD you'll forgive her if they decide to elope.

^^Love your humor Nine's! Not a bad thought though...eloping can be good for the checkbook.

LOL. Ridiculous though if what I've been hearing about costs is right. Young couple could have a hefty down payment on a home or a new car for the cost of a wedding.

Maybe Flav can make them sign a contract. If they separate or divorce before 20 yrs. the wedding cost has to be repaid with 5 percent interest. Then, when one of them gets mad at the other, Flav can whip out her calculator and say, "XXXXXXX dollars at 5 percent. Works for me. Do whatever you want kids."

J/K. They should get married and have the reception at Flav's pool and they can visit the piggies afterward. What more could a person want?

Hope Flav mentions it to them......since I'm out of reach.

Eloping is gonna be a no go, she has dreamed of a big wedding since I can remember. Outside is a no go cause she wants to get married in summer and its do damn hot! We went to one a few yrs ago and we all looked like hell after the ceremony, its usually over 90 degrees and 100 % humidity, our clothes were stuck to our bodies! I figure we have time to find something and once I know the ins and outs of this wedding shit I am going to say heres what we have and whatever else you want, you pay

Think you mentioned a very hot wedding. Remember wondering what possessed someone to have an outdoor wedding in that heat.

Sure don't envy you having yet another thing added to your list, but knowing you, you'll master it with your usual style. Sounds like you're already one step ahead of things. Whenever, and wherever it is, I know it will be beautiful!

I forget about the humidity in your area, we just don't get that here.

Your lucky SO. I like some humidity but the summer humidity here is brutal. Its great for the skin but not when your dressed up!

Its all exciting except for the pricetag

Hi guys! I FINALLY have a few minutes to type. Wow, this really isn't what I signed up for. I don't even know how to explain what it's been like. Half the staff is great, the other half is being weeded out. It's hard to find good workers because the "owner" will only pay minimum wage. This is kind of a resort town, so that doesn't cut it. One of our front desk clerks has worked here for 3 years, never gotten a raise and her 16 yr. old just got his first job for the summer. He makes more than his mom does. It's just not right.

We've gotten really busy at spring break. Thankfully, we have a day or two to reset the place after the weekends. Weekends start around Wednesday or Thursday around here! I've been doing the hotel laundry, because the front desk peeps have been swamped, but I'm sidelined right now. My muscles need a LONG break. Sorting, treating, washing, drying and folding sheets, blankets, spreads, towels, etc. for over 70 rooms isn't what I had in mind. To make things worse, a couple of our not so great employees, refused to do ANY laundry. They pretended to not know how to fold. When I told them they had no choice, because I couldn't do it for quite awhile, they instantly knew exactly how to fold sheets. One lady acted like she couldn't even fold a washrag. Gee, it's just folded in half! And...no, I'm not on the payroll. It started out I was just helping. It ended up that no one else was doing it. The couple of lazy people we have, figured they didn't have to do it because I was. I was working 10 to 14 hour days sometimes, just so the housekeepers would have towels in the mornings. A couple of times, we would go to dinner and come back to find NOTHING had been done. Shame and peer pressure can work wonders. I folded a couple of times, until 2 am. The housekeepers let the lazies know what they thought. I LOVE our housekeepers!! Well....half of them! LOL

Anyway, I have to get OUR laundry started now. I just wanted to check in and say "hi". I try to read for a couple of minutes at night. I was just too tired and bummed out to talk. It'll get better....I hope! I won't even tell you what my house looks like with youngest living there! YIKES!!

Love y'all. Flav, can you send me the link to your website again? My computer crashed not long after I brought it here and I lost all my links.

So good to hear from you. Sorry to hear the extra worked was all piled on you. Good thing you are taking a break - no sense going past the point of no return with your health concerns.

Just know, you are thought of often and good wishes are being sent your way!

Good God TB. You shouldn't have to do all that and for no money no less! Anyone who says they don't know how to fold should be told they will spend the week doing nothing but that so they will learn. Bet that would be the one and only one who said that from then on. What ever happened with the archeology dig thing? Your son is now living there with you? Does that mean you found a house and are not living in the hotel anymore? So many questions but you know me :) It sounds like you are somewhat enjoying it and life isn't dull for a minute even with the problems, sounds like there is plenty of good going on too. The links to the website are www.gaianaturalsskincare.com and my new soap making supply website is www.americansoapsupplies.com that one doesn't have much on it yet but it will in about a month when all of my inventory arrives. Hope you can pop in more often and give us updates its always fun hearing the "day in the life of TB"

Wow, TB. My laundry should be finished within an hr. and I'd love to know how to fold properly.

Moving my recliner to the laundry room with a pen and pad to take notes while I watch you and learn.

Coffee will be on. Please hurry so they don't get musty.

Do you believe it!?! 2 mornings in a row! LOL Ok, Flav...let's see. I tried the doing just folding thing with our newest clerk. She just went home sick or called in. She "instantly" knew how we folded when I told her she HAD to get it or else, because my hands and arms were too swollen. They're getting better, btw. It seems her "memory" failed yesterday, though. Our afternoon clerk and I had to refold and restock the little bit morning clerk did. Flat sheets were folded 3 different ways! Newest clerk is on her way out. She already made a comment yesterday, as she was leaving, that she hopes she doesn't get sick on Friday. That's when she comes back in and we're full again. School kids, mostly, and she HATES kids. She hasn't said it, but it's obvious when you watch her. She can't handle the stress when we're slammed.

The dinosaur dig is over for now. It was just during spring break. We're hoping they'll be back during the summer, but they don't know yet. They were able to make the mold of the exposed tracks. Good thing too. The water table is just below and the limestone is crumbling from the top and the bottom. We uncovered it to show some German guests and the last couple of rains has made the top crumble a little bit more. I can't wait to see the casting. I hope we're still here when it's done. It could take over a year. It's going to hang on the wall in the lobby. We finally found a wall big enough to put it on!

Son is still at our house. I've got to back there soon for a couple of weeks. We've had some wind damage and it'll take both of us to fix it. It's not much, but a little too much for one person to do it alone.

We are still living in the hotel. Because this is a tourist area, rent is ridiculously high. We have a friend that owns a restaurant with efficiencies above and we might rent one from her. Right now, I'm not sure we can afford it. I'm sick of eating out every night. Our kitchen isn't really a kitchen. Breakfast is microwaved and there isn't a stove. I've tried cooking, but it's kind of like opening a can of tuna with cats around. EVERYBODY wants fed! LOL The cooking smells do go all through the building. I've only cooked when we were totally empty. That hasn't happened since winter.

It IS fun most of the time. I don't know what was up the last 2 weeks, but everyone was tense and snarky. Everywhere we went, people were barking at each other. It was like it was in the air or something.

I love meeting new people all the time and getting to visit with them. I've found that I really don't know as much about things as I thought I did though! When the dog show was here, I learned tons about different breeds I've never even heard of before! The rodeo...I don't deserve to even think about owning a horse. I know nothing! I've listened to breeders, master gardeners, nuke plant engineers, hunters and vets, people from all over the world, and dinosaur guys! Hi, Jerry!

Nine's, there isn't a darn thing I'm going to tell you about laundry, except we have been making our own stain spray lately. 2 parts peroxide and 1 part concentrated Dawn. Don't use the original blue, it breaks down overnight. You need to use the concentrated. It works pretty well, but not so much on make-up. Why are women so inconsiderate? So many of them use the washcloths as tissues to wipe off their make-up and we provide make-up wipes. Unbelievable the stuff you can tell about people, just from their dirty sheets and towels. I AM becoming an expert on that. 3 sets of parents could have a surprise in 9 months from now. Their little princesses aren't so pure anymore.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I've got to get going in a bit and I want to read for a few. I'm glad to read all the good news! Have fun with the wedding, Flav! I'll be thinking of you as I read all the "fun" you'll be having! At least, I know you won't have to make a bridesmaid dress the night before the wedding!! I could never get that girl over for a fitting and she got what she got. Thank God for safety pins! At least it looked good. No one knew what we did underneath!

Glad you are having fun TB Sounds like something to remember! I guess it would be interesting meeting all walks of life.

You should take one of the jobs there since you do the work you may as well get paid for it even if its part time. Your hubby is boss so you could get off when you wanted.

Hope that horrible flooding didn't reach you Flav. Pensacola got something like 23 inches. There were sinkholes in Ala. and Fla. Check out the depth of this one, just below the top pic or video. That would be horrifying!
[link to www.usatoday.com]

We are high and dry here, thank god for that! got your email and it was a spam thing, not me I tried to email back to tell you but it didn't go thru so posting here.
Thanks for the heads up

So glad to hear you didn't get it Flav. It sounds like it's such a horrid mess down there. Figured you'd have mentioned it if you'd gotten it, but just wanted to make sure.

Hubby finally built a garage door for our house - I love it!

We will finish the trim this weekend.