Silly Things at Work

I'm still very much the new Kid on the Block at work, but I am getting the hang of things pretty well! This the second week that I've been waitressing all by my lonesome, instead of trailing other waitresses to learn all their secrets. :-P And this means... tips! Hooray! It's so nice to actually be making money! Of course, now all the cashiers at Wal-Mart hate me because I pay in one-dollar bills these days, but I am thankful for every one of those George Washingtons. So, on to the silly things:

- Suffering a momentary lapse of intelligence, I asked a customer if they wanted sauerkraut on their burrito (should have been sour cream)

- Still having someone nearly every day ask why I'm named Maria

-Making flower pens (I should do a post on that sometime) to use at work. They are a big hit, and last night, one of my female customers went crazy over them and asked me all sorts of questions on how to make one, where to get the materials, etc. Oh, the bliss when a crafting soul meets another!

- Watching the 8-year-old girl (I'm guessing) handle the BIG responsibility of giving the money to the waitress (me), running back with the change, and then running right back with the tip, saying "Mommy wants you to have this!" Too cute.

- Me intensely concentrating on balancing something + my manager being so hyper for some reason that he inadvertently sneaked up behind me and yelled something = me screaming and providing the kitchen staff with something to laugh about all night

Somehow, I had three days off this week. I'm still scratching my head over that one, but I'm not going to question it. :-D Seeing that today is one of those free days, I'm going to get off and try to battle the household Clutter Monster. Later!

GladRags: possibly the best thing ever

Well, we still have power, but it has been precipitating all day. Classes are cancelled, and businesses are closed. As of now, at 3:45 p.m., there is not a single tire track in the apartment parking lot, because everyone is holing up in their apartments. And no wonder, because it's so nice and cozy inside! Ahhhh, where's my hot chocolate?

Now, for the topic of the day. I was going to wait a little longer to write this, but circumstances compel me to share the tidings sooner! Read on, read on! FOR THE MALE READERS: this post is all about feminine hygiene, so you probably don't want to read any further. Leave the computer, and go try to wash off all the cooties you have just gained from reading even this far.

About a year ago, I was really hating the whole disposable pad/tampon thing, for a variety of reasons. 

ENVIRONMENTAL- Pads are made out of plastic, so those used pads are going to be around till kingdom come. GROSS!!!!!!!! According to this pad calculator, I would probably use around 7700 more disposable products, starting today. I hate the thought of leaving that much trash behind me! And that's just little old me. According to this page, over 20 BILLION of these products are filling up landfills... EVERY YEAR. Ugh.

Not to mention, think of all the resources and energy expended in just manufacturing them. All that shipping and packaging. Pads are individually wrapped, (and tampons often have all those plastic inserts and stuff), then wrapped together in another plastic package, and then shipped to the store in a box. That's a lot of waste, and overpackaging doesn't necessarily mean sanitization. Read on...

HEALTH- Chlorine and plastic-related chemicals are used in the manufacturing process-- things I would rather not have in such close proximity to my body. And then there's the increased risk of TSS, especially with tampons. They tend to dry out tissue, which makes it easier for microscopic tears to develop, which provides an opportunity for evil bacteria to infect the body. Yikes!

COMFORT AND WELL-BEING- By the end of my period, I was always very raw and chafed from the plastic. I hated having to carry extra pads everywhere and feeling panicked if I ran out. Also, I hated creating more waste. Oh, and perpetually shelling out money for something I was just going to throw away kind of rankled me, too. And... THE DIAPER FEELING!! AAAAAA!!!

And then, last year, I found out about GladRags. And I bought this. And my life has never been the same again. Cloth pads are so amazing! I just wish more people knew about them! They are so comfortable, it's like wearing clothing. Since I use a menstrual cup, I never worry about being without protection when I'm out and about. Sometimes, though, I will carry an extra cloth pad in a Ziploc bag, just in case, but I rarely need it. And here's the best part: no more spending money! I am actually planning on buying a couple more, but that's more for convenience's sake. I'm tired of hand-washing and drying my three pads every day of my period. 

One nice thing about using cloth pads is that it has forced me to get real about menstruation. It's really sad for me to see women try to pretend like it's not happening, to talk about it in hush-hush tones like it's some sort of disease, and watch ads for pads that skirt around the whole issue of menstruation. My last roommate summed the mentality up perfectly when she said, "I don't want to see it [blood], handle it, or know it's there. I hate periods!" What a sad way to approach a perfectly natural and good phenomenon of life. Handling your own blood is not gross. if you think that is too gross to handle, then may I suggest that you not have babies or pets, because you will be dealing with far worse stuff.  Now that I use alternative products, I feel so much more positive about my period. Honestly, how can you not feel happy when you get to wear pretty floral pads?  I feel more feminine now that I feel more free to embrace this aspect of being a woman. And suddenly, leaking in public does not seem like a fate worse than death. Thankfully, this has not happened, but if it did, then I guess everyone would be surprised that I'm a woman or something. 

Sorry to talk you ear off. If there's one thing I would like for you to carry away, it would be this: GLADRAGS IS HAVING A GREAT SALE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY! You will get 20% off any order of anything when you type in "HappyNewYear09". No, they are not paying me to say this. I am just a very happy convert, spreading the gospel of better women's health.

Preparing for a storm

I live in Oklahoma, where everyone is currently holding their breath and waiting for an ice storm to hit this area. Last year, we had an ice storm, which broke many tree limbs, felled many power lines, and crippled my city for several weeks. My manager was telling me last night that he went three weeks without power! My husband and I are from the north, so we like to laugh at how panicked Southerners get when the temperature dips below 33 degrees. However, being without power for a few weeks is no laughing matter! So this is what I did today to prepare:

- Filled all available containers with water.

- Stocked up on shelf-stable food

- Did any laundry that NEEDS to be done

- Checked the flashlights and got extra batteries together

- Bought a few extra candles

- Thought about baking bread. Sandwiches would be good. Too bad I'm too lazy.

Am I forgetting anything?

Keeping my New Year's resolutions

As per my New Year's "Revolutions" (according to an eccentric older gentleman from my hometown), I will not be online till next Sunday. Don't do anything earth-shattering while I'm gone!

Life as a Working Wife

So, I am now working at a restaurant in walking distance from my place. This is good news! Also good news is that hubby has the car working again! Evidently, all it needed was radiator fixer-stuff, coolant, and other such things that Adam and his manfriends figured out. We're not going to drive much anyways, as the equation seems to be driving=spending, but it's nice to have the option!

The restaurant I'm working at is an authentic Mexican restaurant, which is almost entirely run by, well, Mexicans. I made the presently unfortunate choice of taking French in high school and college, so I have no clue what anybody's saying half the time. Meeting other waitstaff for the first time has been hilarious because this is what invariably happens:

ME: Hi, I'm Maria!

MEXICAN: Maria, eh?.... (insert string of questions in Spanish, stopping when he notices the really confused look on my face)... Well, why did your parents call you Maria if you're not Mexican??

I am working with four other Marias. This is pretty historic, as I have found people named Maria to be few and far between! I'm really enjoying working there, as the camaraderie there is unlike anything I've ever seen in a workplace. Some people have been there for fourteen years! Another waitress, a funny, outgoing soul, has been working for this restaurant for twenty-three years! You can tell that they feel almost like family, even with the bosses. 

I'm adjusting pretty well, but there are still a few bumps along the way. I've been a little heartsick lately about never being at ORU and seeing my "family". My dear Adam has also had to put up with more, since I work exactly during lunch and dinner times. :-P The poor guy has had to try to fend for himself at lunch, and then when I get off at 2 P.M. and have a break till 5, I try to throw something together for us to eat. There isn't a whole lot of food in the house right now and we are... broke. My poor, hungry husband!

However crazy life is now, things could definitely be worse, and I am appreciating the blessings that we enjoy right now. I'm sure I will have some great stories from work to share! Stay tuned!

Weekly Shopping Trip- 01/11/09

Since I now have a job, which will require me working at hours I don't know yet, I decided to get a head-start on the weekly grocery saga by shopping on Sunday. A couple blogs ago, I told the sad tale of how we currently do not have a working vehicle. Can we say, "professional pedestrian"?? 

Luckily, we live right across the street from a Super-Wal-Mart. I don't really like grocery shopping there because they rarely have any discounts, and their produce is usually inferior for a higher cost than elsewhere, but I'm going to make the best of it! Here's what $25 bought me this week (no picture, because I'm too lazy right now):

Bag of 6 Grapefruits-$2.00

Carrots-$1.44

1 Onion-$63

Brown sugar-$1.38

2 lb brown rice-$1.42

3 Ramen packets-$.52

1 can fake Rotel-$.68

1 can Ranch-style Beans-$.58

1 can black beans-$.64

Peanut butter-$2.08

1 box of pasta-$1.16

Vegetable oil-$2.32

Dozen eggs-$1.52

Half and half (pint)-$1.52

Butter-$2.54

Whole fryer chicken (3.5 lb)-$3.60

Total before taxes: $24.03

I am really having to rely on stuff that is already in the pantry, as a large chunk of this week's budget was spent on staples. I don't know if I like having to decide whether to get peanut butter or mayonnaise this week, or having to choose between getting flour or getting butter and stre-e-e-tching this week's flour. I may end up expanding the budget to $30, but I haven't quite given up on $25 yet. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Grapefruit

I'm going to try my hand at making breakfast cookies . We'll see how that goes.

Pancakes

Lunch

Tuna sandwiches

PB&J sandwiches

Leftovers

Dinner

Roast kosher chicken

Leftover Italian Chicken

Chili (unused from last week because we were unexpectedly invited to a friend's house to eat. Score!)

Chuck Wagon Dinner

Leftover Bread Meal

Busy Day Lo Mein (taken from Newlyweds blog)

Southwestern Bean Dish

This post is brought to you in part by The Grocery Cart Challenge. See you next week!

I have a job!

I was awakened today by my phone buzzing angrily at me. There is no church nearby, so there really was nothing for us unemployed, carless people to do but sleep in. ;-) It was the manager of a restaurant right behind our apartment, wanting to know if I could start work tomorrow! Praise God!

This has been a pretty dark week, with the car failure and financial worries. We had no idea where next month's rent would come from. but God didn't drop us. He never does! So be sure to tip your waitresses generously, because you never know when it could be me!

Transportation woes

So I had a job interview today for a job across town. It went very well, I thought. On the way back, the car started smoking. I must admit, it was kind of weird seeing it with a Marlboro sticking out the grill, but the way I see it, Wilbur (the car) is twenty years old, and emphysema is not too big of a worry at this point.

In reality, he was smoking. REALLY smoking. I probably looked like the Return of Christ as I pulled into the apartment complex in a Great Cloud of Smoke. Wilbur is now broken, and we can't afford to fix him. So yeah. We have no car now. And I MUST find a job within walking distance. Oh my dear Lord.

Weekly Shopping Trip

My inspiration for our $25-a-week food budget is brought to you courtesy of The Grocery Cart Challenge. Seems that there are a lot of people out there committed to saving money on groceries! The car has been having trouble this week (the battery likes to die when it gets really cold, really fast), so my gallant husband decided to accompany to the store. My husband is a lot of fun to be with, but this was not conducive to frugal shopping. My conversation the entire time was a cycle of, "Sorry, honey, that's not in the budget. No, love, we don't need root beer. Or chips. Or pizza. No, we are not spending the extra food money on Taco Bell." (what can I say, my guy LOVES junk food :-P) After we came in under budget, we actually did buy a dollar can of Pringles. Oh, joy in a can! Pringles are a rare treat in this house.

What $25 bought us this week:



Salsa-$2.19
1 lb Raisins-$1.89
4 lb sugar-$1.85
Chili-$1.19
Bag of coconut-$1.15
BBQ Sauce-$1.09
Angel Hair-$.88
Macaroni noodles-$.88
Chili beans-$.59
Diced tomatoes-$.55
Tomato sauce-$.50
Hot dogs-$.98
Sour Ceam-$1.50
2 lb onion-$1.86
3 lb baking potatoes-$1.72
2 avocados-$1.18
3/4 lb tomatoes-$.99
1/2 lb broccoli-$.93
Cabbage-$.70

Total: $22.62

Total after tax: $24.55

Yippee! I was so happy at the register to see it all come under budget, even with tax!


The dinner plan this week:
Homemade macaroni and cheese
Chili spaghetti
Baked potatoes
Rice with Goodies
Cream tuna
Tacos
Chili


Good luck to all with your grocery budgets!

My New Year's Resolution

Ah, new Year's Resolutions. Something I love to hate to love, and something I also hate to love to hate. Or something like that. Once my eyes straighten out, I'll let you know. Anyways, I'm really optimistic about this year's resolutions! I'm trying a different approach that I thought of all by myself *pats back*. There are four things I really wanted to try this year for a better new me!-

1. Read the Bible/pray consistently

2. Exercise consistently

3. No computer/Wii

4. No sugar

Some are a little impractical to implement all year long. The one I'm thinking about in particular is No Sugar- I would ask someone to please just shoot me right right now- so I thought of a better plan. Every week, I will take a different goal and do it every day that week-- even Sunday! I think it'll work. maybe I'll even get into the routine of doing all of them at the same time all the time! And pigs will fly! Of course, this gives me liberty to slack off from certain things for three weeks (although I will certainly try not to do so), but at this point, anything will be an improvement.

I wrote it all down in the calendar for the year, in the order I listed them above. That way, it alternates something good for the body with something good for the soul. And wouldn't you know, by some miracle, all my sugar-free weeks do NOT fall on any major holiday or birthday! That makes my cake-loving self happy. 

I'm still trying to formulate a game plan for executing the Bible and exercise portion. I'm always so overwhelmed when I think about actually doing some sort of systematic Bible study because, honestly, there is SO MUCH to read!!! Where do you start?? Oftentimes, I am so intimidated by the sheer volume of choice that I just close my eyes and open the Bible to some random spot. Not the best way to study the Bible.

So... do you have any recommendations? Currently, I'm really interested in this puppy. Some day, when I have barrels of money to burn...