Last night I dreamt I had found the perfect blog.  It was like a world.  I was at peace there.  Others loved it.  It was a place of happiness and joy.  Everything went well there, everyone was content. 

When I woke up, I was disappointed it was over.

That dream really scared me.  I realized that I truly have an addiction.  One that can soon take over my life and cause serious damage if I let it.

Next thing you know, I will start to neglect my kids, my Hubby, my job, and myself.


The final kicker was this test.  It says I am 87% addicted to blogging.  It's worse than I previously thought...

So, I've vowed to stop blogging on weekends.  No matter what.

I will not post a blog, read a blog, or even write a blog for the entire weekend.  I'm already shaking at the thought...  I will not look up statistics.  I will not check my blog for trackbacks.   I will not research a topic.  No blog activity allowed. 

It's just two days, right?!  If I can't do this, I am really gonna have to consider getting help.

I was talking to a good friend about it today and she asked what it was about blogging that made it so appealing.  It is impossible to explain.  It's everything about it, isn't it?!

Take the test (here).  Tell me what your addiction level is... and don't be nasty cause I won't see it until Monday (I hope)!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Last night, I dreamt I was back in school (this is a recurring dream for me - but the events often vary).  It went back and forth between high school and college.  High school because I was in the band and college because it had a college feel to it.

I was in the band and I was in school.  So, I was hanging out with my friends.  My friends in my dream were no one I know... they were a version of what college people look like in my head.  Anyway, of course, I had no kids or Hubby. 

We were awake, in the middle of the night, watching movies and playing in the band (work with me here, it's a dream).  Then, I guess we got hungry so we went to the school cafeteria (mixing HS and college).  What do you know?  They were serving full blown dinners at two in the morning.  So, I had a huge piece of steak and mashed potatoes.  BTW, I was a vegetarian in college (I didn't know any better in HS).

As I was sitting there on the couch, eating this huge meal with my "friends" and watching TV, I considered the fact that if I continued to eat so late at night,  I would have to start working out.

Shortly thereafter, I woke up.

I looked up eating at this dreams website.  Here is what it said:

To dream that you are eating with others, denotes prosperous undertakings, personal gain, and joyous spirits.

To dream that you are overeating or not eating enough, signifies your need and lack of spirituality and fulfillment in your waking life.  Food can represent love, friendship, ambition, sex or pleasure in your life.  Thus, food is seen as a metaphor to fulfill and gratify our hunger of love and desires.

So, do I take the eating with others part and say it was a good dream?  Or is eating at two am considered overeating and therefore it means I lack in spirituality and fulfillment?  I don't actually recall whether the 'others' were also eating... but it was implied as we all went through the food line.  The dream was definitely about "me" eating.

Interesting huh?  Any dream interpreters out there wanna take a crack at my dream?

Post note:  Or, I could just have been hungry?

Wordless Wednesday

My other Wordless Wednesday contributions

...to bring you this alarming news!

I am procrastinating so I decided to head on over to the Dooce site to see what's happening over there.

I don't frequent her site often, but once in a while I like to see what's cookin'!

Well, she's having a contest.  And of as noon today she has nineteen thousand plus comments!  Yes, I said thousand!!  I did a double-take!  She's giving away a Wii Fit!

Wii's are sooo hard to come by that she's gotten almost twenty thousand comments just to win one.  The odds are probably no better than if you try to pay money for one I guess.  How sad is that?  I haven't found one yet...

Now, back to our regularly scheduled blog post.  Please, tell us about your Bling!

Post Note:

What a sucker.  I entered...  but I wasn't nearly as clever as this one:

another piggy rendition:

this little piggy went to market,
this little piggy stayed home,
this little piggy had NO WII FIT,
and that little piggy was giving away some,
and THIS LITTLE PIGGY tried to win wii wii wii all the way home

She definitely deserves it more than I do!  No, I didn't read all 24K plus of them...

PPS.  I always wondered how many comments these things could hold...

PPPS.  Final count, 42K comments!

I can't believe it's already July.  My how time flies doesn't it?

The other day, I was at Target buying important items like formula, paper towels, and chocolate.  The formula is in the "Baby Department," so I had to walk by the pacifiers on my way to the formula.  Lo and behold, I saw binkies with BLING!  What is the world coming to when Binky's can't be a plain solid color anymore?

Stuff you never imagined could have designs is now impossible to find plain.  Three ring binders for instance.  Remember when they used to be white, black or blue?  Well, now you can get them in all kinds of designs. 

Not that designs are bad; I'm all for personalization, but isn't design on a binky a bit of a stretch?  I mean, the kid doesn't even see the binky, so the bling is for the rest of us, NOT for the baby!

What have you seen lately that suddenly has bling and once was plain? 

Pay close attention Playtex, I want bling on my tampon wrapper.  Shoot, why not?!  At least next time I drop one in front of a male co-worker, he'll at least know I have style!

I was just complaining to myself today about how I have to drive all over God's creation to buy specific items for my family and what a pain that IS!

For instance, for Buddy, only one Target carries the baby food that doesn't give him gas or a rash.  Also for Buddy, only one store (not so nearby) carries the Beechnut Sweat Potato puffs he likes rather, that I like.  And only Target carries the formula we buy for him (because I'm too afraid to try giving him milk).  Again for Buddy, I drive ten extra minutes to a health food store that carries a particular brand of baby toothpaste (chemical and dye free). 

For myself, I don't like the soy products my grocery store carries, so I go to a specialty food store to get my soy yogurt and soy milk.  I also get canned dog food there for Super Dog because it's chemical free.  Hubby and BG are easy.  I can shop for them anywhere, but I prefer to shop at one store where they have the best fresh fruit and meat.  So, you see, all of this is essentially self-imposed, but still.

That said, I was driving to Target today to get formula when I saw fireworks over the store.  The local somebody or other does fireworks for the community the week before Independence Day.  In my rush, I still stopped to watch for a bit and to admire their splendor.

In that momentary stillness I realized that America truly is beautiful.  Beautiful BECAUSE I am free to drive all over tarnation to buy anything my or my family's little heart's desire.  Because I can worship my deity of choice freely and because I can write about it in my blog and not be persecuted (being that I'm a foreign woman and all), by the government anyway.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!  I am hoping to make it out to see Hancock this week.  Fourth of July would not be the same without my Will Smith fix!

PS.  I got a new toy!  I hope you like Ray Charles!  If not, well it only plays once... and only for this week.

It's hot today.  We went to the yard sales this morning but didn't find much.  I was disappointed.  I was hoping to find a trampoline for BG.  She's gonna ruin her bed if she keeps jumping on it the way she does. 

I was hoping to find some interactive, one-year-old boy's toys.  I was hoping to find some cool books, movies, or music CDs.

BG found a couple of airplanes and I found a cool magnetic truck building set for Buddy... but they were hard to come by.  That was it, for what felt like an hour's worth of driving.

There's so much going on today:  activities at church, a festival downtown, and stuff at the pool.  But it's too hot.  When it's hot like this, I don't want to go anywhere!  I hate schlepping the kids in and out of the car knowing they're just gonna get all sweaty and cranky.  And with gas prices being what they are, I don't like having to run the AC in the car, but you can't not run it.  It's simply too hot.

So, we're staying home.  But, BG wants to go somewhere, anywhere but be cooped up in the house. 

So, I told her, "It's too hot."

She said, "Too hot for what?  Too hot to play?"

Exactly!

Freecycle used to be good to me.  Now, all I seem to get is the hand.  I've gotten some really awesome stuff through Freecycle and I've gotten rid of some serious junk too.

But lately, the word has really gotten around in my community and there are tons of people now on our list-serve.  At a minimum, I see 200+ e-mails per day.  By the time I see something I might want, it's already been taken.

But, what's been catching my attention lately is the stuff that people offer up.

Offer:  Bananas

Offer:  Male Mannequin Torso

Offer: Food that is past it's expiration date

Wanted:  Breast pump

What's funnier is that these items eventually show up as taken or received.  I don't know which is worse, the fact that someone offered expired food or that someone else took it.

Anyway, I think Freecycle may have lost its value for me.  More often than not, there are way too many e-mails flying around so no one actually reads them anymore.  Who wants their inbox flooded with useless e-mails?  So, other members are doing what I do, just deleting them.

It may be time for our group to split (which apparently cannot be initiated by members!).  Or for Freecycle and me to part ways.  What a sad, sad day that will be.

Offer:  Broken heart.

BG and I enjoy going to the library to check out books.  I find this much cheaper than buying books that inevitably clutter up the house and get colored in (or eaten when Buddy gets hold of them).

The other day we checked out a book called "Diary of a Spider."  I thought it might be fun to read a book about bugs (I know, crazy, right?).  The book wasn't geared towards a three-year-old though.  She quickly lost interest before we were even halfway through.  The book went right back in the bag until we finished reading all the other books.  Then we returned it.

A couple of days later I got a call from the library.  It was a very nice message.  She wanted to know if I had "mis-placed" the CD for the book "Diary of a Spider."  And if I could just bring it in.

You'd have to know BG to understand this: my daughter has an "eye" for things.  She can spot things I would never see in a million years.  She is very detail oriented.  I know a CD would not have passed through her radar undetected.  A CD would have made her more interested in the book even.

Besides that, there are only two places where said CD could be and I had just scoured the house for CDs since we had checked out some music CDs as well.  That is how I know that "Diary of a Spider" did not enter my house with a CD in it's jacket.

So, as I called back I was ready to explain this and say that we did not have the CD at home.

A very pleasant librarian answered the phone.  After giving her my library card number, I told her "there was no CD in the book."  I took a breathe and was ready to explain that my keen daughter would have seen it.  But she put me on hold. 

When she came back she said, "The missing parts librarian has decided to take it off your account." 

And with that she dismissed me and hung up the phone.

She did not allow me the banter I had perfected while listening to the automated system - "dial zero to speak with a member of our staff" - and elevator music thereafter.  I didn't even get a chance to say thank you.  A day later, I received a letter in the mail reiterating the information about the missing CD.

So, while I think it was nice that they just "took it off my account" like that, I'm almost positive that she put a note on my account so when this happens for real, they won't be so lenient with me.

It's bad enough trying to keep track of all the library books we check out.  But now I have to make sure that before we leave the library none of the books are missing CDs or any other high tech media from the jacket pockets.

We actually did check out another book that had a CD in the jacket.  BG found it as soon as we opened the book.  And we tried to listen to it, but it didn't work.  Probably because she only has a boom box in her room, not some high def Bose stereo system.  But that's a story for another blog entry.

I feel like I got gypped on my "get out of jail free card."  I will not be a happy camper if this comes back to bite me.

Wordless Wednesday

My previous Wordless Wednesday contributions

It was a long weekend, but fun.  I spent all of Saturday with the kids as Hubby had to work and Sunday was much like our usual; church in the morning followed by naps in the afternoon (I slept too, yey!).

After dinner on Sunday I decided I wanted to treat myself.  I have no one to go out with last minute, nor did I really have the energy for that... so I decided to do a facial mask.

I know, it totally sounds lame.  It's like saying I don't want to go out on a date because I have to wash my hair.  But, hear me out.  Pre-kids I used to apply a face mask at least twice a month.  More often if I had an extra free night.

It's actually been on my mind all week so finally, I decided it was time.  First I had to find the face mask tube... lol.  I washed my face with the "pore cleanser," I rinsed and dried and I applied the green mask.

The tube says to wait 15 minutes before removing the mask.  If you've ever done one, you know that within two minutes your face hardens beyond flexibility and you can't even smile without cracking.  So, I waited.  And I got caught up in what I was doing while waiting.  Half and hour later my face started to itch.  So, I grabbed a wash cloth and started removing the mask from my face.  As I rinsed, it already felt cleaner; like more air was getting inside my pores.  The feeling is similar to when you get a hair cut... it just feels lighter.  When I finished taking off the mask with lukewarm water, I finished rinsing with cold water to close the pores back up.  Then I touched my face.  It felt like Buddy's bottom!  Well, all of him actually... not just his bottom.  It was smooth and clean and airy.  I stopped touching it so I wouldn't re-clog up the pores.

I had forgotten how nice that feels.  If you're having a stressful week and don't have a lot of time to spare or you're stuck at home like me, try the face mask.  I promise, you'll feel like a million bucks, at least for a little while.  Now, for the warnings.

If you're buying a store bought mask, versus making your own, make sure you read the label carefully.  You should make sure the mask is appropriate for your skin-type.  If your skin is ultra sensitive you need to be more careful.  Buying herbal or "green" masks is not necessarily better.  You could have an allergic reaction to one of the many herbs used.  If you are already comfortable with a particular make-up brand, check out their face mask line.  If that doesn't work, you can always try a test patch on your inner arm or your neck before applying the mask to your face.

Also, if you're trying a mask out for the first time, follow the time instructions.  I bought a Papaya face mask once and put it on my face.  When I took the mask off, my face was not smooth but it was orange!

It's not always easy finding the right face mask, but once you do, I guarantee it's worth it!

Last Saturday Hubby took BG to swimming lessons.  On their way there he saw a yard sale in the "Hispanic" section of town.  As he was turning the corner, he saw the sign for it.

It read "YAR CL."  Of course he didn't have the camera with him...

I thought that was funny, but it's nothing compared to IzzyMom's post, Lost in Translation. 

You will laugh out loud, so brace yourself!  In fact, I almost sauced myself I laughed so hard!

Have an awesome weekend!

I had a long day at work yesterday.  It wasn't a bad day, it just felt long.

Sitter's son is graduating from HS today so she asked for an early pick-up yesterday to greet the family coming into town.

I left work with plenty of time to spare.  I picked up Buddy and then we went to grab BG.  Usually I grab her first as she's on my way to getting him.

Buddy got in the car and looked over at BG's empty seat.  He made eye contact with me, made a little disgruntled noise and pointed to the seat as if to say, "Where's my sister?!"

I told him we were on our way to pick her up.  That seemed to satisfy him.

It took twenty extra minutes to pick her up because of Buddy.  Everyone wanted to "touch" him and "hold" him.  It was like a baby petting zoo.

By the time we were done it was time for Buddy to have his milk (during normal pick-up he gets this feeding from Sitter).  So went home.

I served up milk and snacks. 

While they ate, I made some daytime phone calls (these would be calls to places that have bankers hours - 9am - 3pm - I can't believe anyone is allowed to get away with these hours anymore!).  The phone calls proved effective - I solved a couple of mysteries.

Since it was still early, we piled back into the car to run an errand or two.

I didn't expect to be gone a long time so I didn't pack any food or drink (I should know better by now).

We went to the mac-daddy hardware store to buy refill filters for our kitchen faucet.  And to pay the bill while we were there.  Sounds easy enough right?

As we walked around, I was given two different whereabouts for the filters.  Finally, upon finding them, Buddy started getting anxious.  I looked at the time.  It was later than I thought.

I tried to rush out of there.  We got in a short line.  I was the next one up.  The guy in front of me was buying something that needed a warranty.  The cashier was having issues.  I looked around.  None of the other lines were short.  Duh!  Buddy fidgeted some more.

The guy in front of me walked out the door.  I was next.  I put my box of refill filters on the counter.  The guy zapped them with his scanner.  A window popped up on his screen.  He didn't read it.  He stood there, looking at it, confusion marring his face.  Then, he depressed a combination of keys which I can only surmise is their equivalent of control, alt, delete. 

It didn't work.  He stood there for two minutes staring at the screen, BUT NOT reading it!  Like an idiot, I stared at the screen with him.  Finally, he called someone.  A manager meandered over.  He showed her the screen. 

She said,  "Oh, you have to print out the warranty," and she pulled out a warranty form. 

She inserted it into the machine.  It printed the warranty and the window on the screen disappeared.

The cashier then said to the manager, "But the guy already left."

This statement caused the manager to get that "deer caught in headlights" look.  She stood there for a moment, speechless. 

Then, as if I didn't exist, she started talking to the cashier in Spanish.

"How many items did he purchase?"  She prattled as if she were speaking to a three-year-old.

Hello??!!  What about me?!

By this point I had had it.  But I wasn't going to waste this outing and not buy the filters.  I grabbed my box of filters and walked over to one of the self checkout machines clear across the store.  They didn't notice, of course!

The machine worked like a charm!

Finally, with filters legally in hand, we left the store.  As we were leaving, I noticed they were still at it, clueless of anyone else but themselves.  I love customer service!!

We got back in the car and started for home.

Realizing that a car ride was involved, Buddy pitched a fit.  No attempts at appeasement worked.  After a while, he stopped whining and just looked off into space.  He was tired.

I got in and pulled out of my space.  As I was pulling out, some lady decided to walk directly behind my car to hers, ever so slowly.  I waited.  I made it out into the main thoroughfare.  Suddenly, all matter of pedestrian traffic ensued.  All directly in front of us!  Again, I waited, not so patiently and with some eye rolling.

I made it out to the light.  Naturally, it was red.

At last, we were on the road.  Buddy started fussing loudly again - he was rearing to cry.

I tried my best to stay within the speed limit but I was in a hurry.  It wasn't that I thought he couldn't wait a few more minutes.  It was that I didn't want to experience the crying and screaming and the  "Mommy, make him stop" all the way home.

We were on a two way road that turns into one.  There are no stop signs on this road.  It's a clear shot until you have to turn.  I was behind a minivan, trying super hard NOT to tailgate.

Suddenly, said minivan slowed down - a lot!  I look around.  There is no place for a speed trap.  There were no cops around.  What was the problem?

The minivan stopped completely and signaled two pedestrians to jay-walk across the street in front of him. 

WHY?  I'll never know since behind me, there was no one!!

Jamming the brakes I muttered to myself, "Oh, sure, you have to be a freakin' Samaritan!"

But it wasn't to myself.  Without missing a beat,  she chimed in, "Who's a freakin' Samaritan?"  Perfectly!

I had to laugh.  I had to laugh because if she says that in front of Hubby he will know where she got it from.  And I had to laugh because she pronounced Samaritan so flawlessly.  And I had to laugh because these things only happen when you're in a hurry.

We finally made it home.  Buddy got his milk and the faucet got a new filter.  I was ready for bed. 

No more was said about freakin' Samaritans.  But the other shoe will drop when I least expect it.  And it will probably be in front of Hubby!

All work and no play makes Mommy Wizdom a crazy mommy.

Work has been busy lately.  I've been doing my normal job plus I've been helping with a project that had to get done last week.

I work, work all day at work and then I work, work at home too (except for right now - lol).  It's been so hectic I'm actually dreaming about uploading files!

Since my discovery that I may be lactose intolerant (I'm still in denial about it), I've been eating sherbet instead of ice cream when the urge strikes.  The other night, I pulled the sherbet out of the freezer, served myself some and put the sherbet back in the freezer.

The next morning I opened the fridge to pull out the milk.  Guess what was sitting on top of the butter?  Melted sherbet!  I think I need to start taking my crazy pills again!  Either that or Alzheimer's is kicking in!


On a happier note - BG has discovered the joys of Jazz.  Check out this great CD - you're guaranteed to love it!

Her favorite song?  Number three, "Here Comes the Rain Itsy."

We listen to it every night before bedtime.  She gets so riled up, it surprises me that she even goes to sleep at all.

Wordless Wednesday

My previous contributions

BG is a germaphobe and she doesn't even know what germs are yet!!!  I can't bring myself to tell her!

She likes things to be clean, ALL THE TIME!  And she has an absolute cow if it's not CLEANED right away!

I am hoping that it's a phase thing and not an "I'm gonna be OCD about it for the rest of my life" thing.

But I guess there are worse things, right?  She's been taking swimming lessons with Hubby on Saturday mornings so now at least she can tolerate water on her face.  I was beginning to think that fear was going to continue into her adulthood.

It rained today and Super Dog was outside.  He came inside like he owned the place and shook himself all over the kitchen!  Splashing mud everywhere.  Including all over BG's chair and space ship.  She stood over her chair contemplating it for a moment and then, in the most disgusted voice she could muster she said,

"What's that?!?!?"  Pointing to the mud on the chair.

She was horrified when I told her.  She demanded that I clean it right away!  And space ship too!

I don't know how she survives on a daily basis, my girl.

Perhaps you had to be there, but it was hilarious!!

I cleaned off the chair and had her dry it.  She was more than happy to oblige.  After that, Super Dog had to stay outside until after she went to bed.

I'd love to hear about any phobias you or your kids have outgrown. 

I don't know that it's a full-blown phobia, but I don't like bugs.  They wig me out.  Everything about them.  I really have to bite my tongue when I have to "remove" a bug from one of the kid's rooms.  Usually, if Hubby's around, I make him "handle" it.  Even if it's dead.  I can't stand the idea that they wiggle and move around and are all squirmy and buggy!  Blech!  It gives me goose bumps just describing it! *shiver*

It's been an interesting weekend to say the least.

I didn't realize that Friday was Friday the 13th until late Friday night.  I was watching TV and there was a commercial for a movie.  It was coming out on Friday the 13th of June.

This got me thinking.  "O, it's June now... so when does the 13th fall on a Friday?  O.  Today.  Duh."

What a dork.


I took some R&R on Saturday and went out with a friend.  We went shopping and then went to see SATC!

I found the most beautiful dress!  I wish I had thought to take a picture of it.  Anyway, it was maroon (my favorite color besides purple) and I was ready to buy it.  Until I put it on.  It was the right size (except for the fact that it was 2 feet too long - but that's normal with me) but the cleavage on this thing was down to my lowest rib!  No matter how I stood, no matter if I wore a bra or not, that dress wasn't working with my boobs.  The dress was so gorgeous, I couldn't bring myself to buy it knowing that no one would ever look beyond the cleavage.  I reluctantly put it back on the rack!  After that the shopping was all downhill.

I ended up buying PJ's for BG.  It's okay though, shopping was fun!


SATC was pretty good.  It was very true to the TV show, it was funny, and like my friend said, "It made you want to throw out your entire wardrobe and cry!"  The clothes were fabulous. particularly on the huge screen!!

I've never been much of a fashion B.  But, it seems that after having gone double wide with my pregnancies, I've come to appreciate my body better.  And now, I am very interested in getting clothes that make me look good, versus just getting clothes because they're cheap.

I only wish I had more time to shop!  And more money of course.

Anyway, the one thing I didn't like about SATC was that they totally bashed marriage.  Of course that's nothing new, since they did it on the TV show too.  But I think marriage gets enough of a bad rap without the added hype of TV and Hollywood.  Marriage isn't easy.  And it's certainly not fun all the time.  But, marriage is a commitment that you make to each other.  And no matter how you slice it, without marriage, a relationship is always missing the most important ingredient.  But, enough of my soap box.

Finally, if you managed to read this far.  I wanted to wish everyone, but particularly, my male readers, a Happy Father's Day!  In Spanish that's "feliz dia del padre."

We had a quiet Father's Day.  Spent the entire day with daddy.  It was a pleasant and enjoyable day.  I would personally vote to do this every weekend, or at least once a month.

I'll leave you with this little gem that I found on YouTube!

And your self esteem!

I went shopping yesterday and I bought myself some well-deserved clothes.  I went after the kids went to bed.  I left Hubby at home to watch them.

I spent two hours at my new favorite store, JcPenney!

I have always had a hard time shopping by myself.  I always like to take someone along for a second opinion.  But when you have two small kids that is next to impossible to do.

As I was trying stuff on, I couldn't decide on a couple of items.  So, I took pictures of myself with my new camera phone and sent them to friends I would normally take to the mall with me.  I was so proud of myself.

Unfortunately, they weren't by their phones at the time, so it didn't really work.  But, it was a good idea!

Today, I wore my new clothes to work.  I felt like a million bucks in my new, discount threads!

I miss shopping.  I used to take it for granted.  Two kids later, I've come to appreciate the small amounts of time I get to myself. 

I spent more money (and time) than I intended there, but I got some really good deals and great clothes!  Nothing for the kids, nothing for Hubby (even though Father's Day is coming up).  All clothes for me!

I got a top similar to this one, a couple of capris and some other shirts.  None of the stuff I bought is on the website though; go figure.

My next shopping spree, which I hope will be soon, will be dedicated to finding dresses.  Last weekend I bought  BG some really cute dresses; they were easy to find (Have I mentioned that Old Navy has the best clothes for kids?!).  She looks so grown-up in them.  And they've been great lately in the sweltering heat.  

I, on the other hand, always struggle with dress shopping.  The material is always wrong somehow; too patterny, too gauzy, too polyestery.  It's always something!  I almost need to improve my sewing skills and just make my own.  But, that 's certainly not going to happen overnight.  I think of the crazy outfits women had to wear in the 19th century (well, well-to-do women that is, not mere peasants like me).  I can't even fathom trying to make one of those...  The only useful things I've sewn so far are a cape for BG for Halloween and a shopping cart cover for the babies.  Everything else I've made has been pretty lame.

Anyway, I digress.

I had a fun time shopping; even though it felt like I had to sneak out in the middle of the night to do it.  My soul is satiated, for now.

Wordless Wednesday

I once read a statistic that said the average person changes careers three to four times in a lifetime.  If motherhood counts I am on number 2.5.

In my experience as an "employee" I have met many different types of bosses; some good and some that needed lots and lots of work.  Some of my jobs have been very different from each other.  And in others only the people and location have changed.  But what never seems to change is my opinion of the employee/boss relationship.

My mother was a very conservative woman.  She ingrained in me certain fundamental lessons, among them that you don't drink (alcohol) at work/during work functions.  I don't know exactly how you go about teaching this lesson.  I mean, is it one of those things you tell your kids while you're teaching them to clean behind both their ears and brush their teeth or is it a more subtle lesson?

Regardless, I have always had this knowledge in my head so at office parties and events I've always stuck with nursing my one glass of wine or drinking a beer or two.  This behavior never seemed to bother anyone when I was younger (or maybe I just didn't notice that it did).  But now, for some reason, it serves to drive the boss' nuts!

My former boss' mission at the "holiday party" was to see who would get the most drunk and the most disorderly.  He reveled at the idea of his employees losing total control at his party.  Similarly, he openly jeered at anyone who didn't keep up.

I've seen rave parties thrown by companies where everyone gets trashed and no one is left standing.  These parties last all night and are generally held at large hotels with fully paid rooms.  Every year they try to outdo the year before with booze and entertainment.

Happy hour is common-place.  Employers and employees alike frequent bars together to discuss work and leisure.

I guess I understand that employers want their employees to be happy.  And I guess alcohol is one way to accomplish that.  But, is that what society dictates?  How has this come to be?  And why does management get visibly upset when you don't drink and party-it-up with everyone else?

Is it so wrong to show restraint?  When did restraint equal uptight?

Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of sleeping next to the toilet after a night of drinking.  I've woken up and not remembered how I got there.  I've vowed never to drink again, ever!  I like to drink and get buzzed just like the next gal. (1)

I simply can't agree that it's not total bad news to drink with your employer. 

They say that an interview is similar to a date.  Each party is working towards a match.  And I know that employer/employee relationships have evolved from what they once were (throughout the decades).  But, I still can't get drunk in front of my boss.  I see that as a total lack of respect, both for him/her and for myself.  And the fact that they want me to do it, makes me want to do it even less.

This has been on my mind recently and I am struggling with it.  Lately, I've had marvelous excuses for not drinking at my current job.  First, I was pregnant.  And then, when the baby was born, I was nursing. 

I am out of excuses.  So, do I risk become a pariah during work functions or do I simply opt out of them because I don't wish to make a fool out of myself?

What say you, readers?  Do you drink and be merry with the boss or not?  And why do the bosses want everyone to drink so badly?

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End Notes:
(1)  I gotta add here that I haven't been drunk in a long time.  I think I'm just not at that place in my life right now.  I don't really have an interest in getting wasted.  I do enjoy a glass of wine or a beer once in a while though...