The office, the witch and...

My office was so nice last week, the office witch was out (if you didn’t know, the office witch is a 72 year old lady with the mouth that would make a sailor blush and as nasty as they come in every other aspect) Yesterday she was back cussng and complaining that there were piles of work on her desk and she didn’t want to do any of it, so 99% of the day she complained to everyone within earshot (except the attorneys, of course) hemmed and hawed and made us all miserable (if you’re out sick for a whole week it’s inevitable that work is going to pile up) .

I don’t care that she’s been here for 25 years, she makes over $25/hour for doing nothing but complaining or shopping online. She has been known to throw files, telephones, books, you name it, clear across her office. She’s been known to cuss at clients, defense attorneys and she says some really horrible stuff about the new guy here who gives her work to do. SHE is the reason that I’ve walked out of this office crying, threatening to quit more than once. She doesn’t put things away in the folders in files and makes 20 copies of everything she does (I’m guessing as an illusion that she does a lot of work) all of her files are a mess and nobody likes to work on the same stuff that she’s worked on before.

I won’t say that I hate my job.. Because most of the time I really do like it here, I have some really great attorneys that I work for, the ladies are great, with the exception of The Witch, I have great clients and have learned a LOT working here. Last week was a great week though, we all got a lot of work done and the environment here was actually calm, no screaming loudmouthed cussing woman was walking around in her too big sneakers (Imagine a toddler in his dad’s shoes shuffling around the house ALL DAY LONG) No screaming “where’s Scott” her butt buddy attorney who runs hot & cold all day long (and don’t even get me started on his neurotic wife who works here part time).

Word around here with the secretaries is that she’s planning to retire before the year is out, which I’m sorry if it sounds mean but I really can’t wait for her to go, maybe then we’ll all get some raises around here since it’s been almost 3 years since that’s happened. Maybe this will go back to being the great place we had last week.

Ding dong the witch is gone...

Because if I said Ding dong the witch is dead:

1. I would be a liar and

2. that’s not very nice nor very PC.

But regardless she’s GONE, Retired, out of the office For Good!

As of last Thursday the witch is Gone and my office shall be a nicer place to be from here on in. I shall have NO fond memories of how she was mean and nasty to all who she came into contact with, I shall not miss her hypocritical bullshit of wearing a HUGE wooden cross around her neck and cursing like a sailor and calling everyone she spoke to on the phone a F*ing A$$hole after she hung up and of course everyone was a complete moron because she knew everything. I will not miss her snide comments or how she would smile at you and say hi honey and then turn around and tell someone how much she hated you.. all while within earshot.

No, I will not miss the witch.

I will not miss her talking about the fungus on her hands or the way she wore latex gloves with the fingers cut off. I will no longer be worried about grabbing a utensil out of the box in the kitchen worrying if she touched it with her nasty, nasty hands. I won't arm myself with the can of Witch Be Gone (formerly a can of fresh scented Lysol) to attack my telephone and keyboard before I start working. There will be no more grease marks on the file folders from her Vaseline covered hands.

The office is no longer an infected petri dish of her germs.

I’m glad the old battleaxe finally retired so I don’t have to hear the 30 phone calls to her house while she baby talked into her answering machine leaving messages to HER DOG and the 50 calls a day from the daughter she lived with or how she would ask her daughter who had just called if she could talk to the dog.

Nope, I won’t miss it ONE FREAKING BIT.

Ding dong the witch is gone.

And for the first time in 5½ years my office is actually a nice place to be.

Happy New Year!

I would have loved to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but instead I spent Christmas Day sick. Since Christmas eve I'd been having trouble taking a deep breath and my left ear was killing me.  I managed to cook Christmas dinner and bake a birthday cake for my honey, but after sitting at the table with my family and not even being able to finish a slice of lasagna I passed out on the couch and woke up literally in ear splitting pain.  Friday morning my honey took me to urgent care (and it was SO packed there wasn't even a chair to sit in when we got there!)  After waiting for over an hour I finally got in to see a doctor.   After I got the usual work up by the nurse a bit later the dr came in, asked me a few questions and I was gasping for air when he asked me to take deep breaths to hear my lungs.

Not surprisingly he ordered a chest X-Ray to rule out Pneumonia, half an hour later... the diagnosis?

I've got freaking pneumonia.  I haven't had pneumonia since I was six years old and it sucks big time.

Remember my stories of the office witch? She's got competition...

Had it not been for a co worker coming in sick and not having the common decency to cover her mouth when she coughs I'd never have gotten sick at all.  I am a generally healthy person, I get the occasional cold but nothing that lasts more than a few days.  I had planned on taking the two weeks for Christmas and New Years off and spending them sick was not anywhere in my plans.  So instead of spending time with my family and friends I'm stuck at home in bed sick.  This is the first time in the ten years I've been working in this office to become sick like this and I'm seriously pissed about it.

I called this weeks ago when this lady came in sick, coughing her lungs out without covering her mouth.  I work in a fairly small office and she sits behind me to the right.  You'd think a grown woman would have the common sense to cover her mouth when she coughs, to not spread disease through the office or, ya know... stay home when you've got freaking Pneumonia and not come in hacking away and bring your breathing machine with you when you've got to administer meds every few hours to yourself! The boss had to send her home and then her Dr told her to stay home for a week.

I go back to work on Monday, the day after I finish my medication but the Dr says it could be 3-4 weeks until I feel like myself again.  Think I'm not gonna say anything to this woman?  I already told my boss last Friday.. I told him thanks to her coming in sick I've got pneumonia for the first time since I was a child. Last year it was brutally cold here and I walked over three miles every day back and forth in the cold and rain and snow to get the train to work until I got my new to me Jeep.

Whether or not anyone says anything to her before I get back to work is a mystery to me, but I'll be sure to say something for sure.

A few random thoughts and a poll...

Ever get to work and start browsing food porn? (like FoodGawker, TasteSpotting or PhotoGrazing) then kick yourself for not having breakfast or start daydreaming about what you're going to make for dinner or start planning your shopping list.. It happens to me all too often, lol. My office has been pretty slow this week, but sometimes I wish I had a StealthSwitch for when I sense The Witch in the back office approaching from behind me. I've got a nifty little button in my taskbar though that takes me right to the desktop for when I sense a disturbance in the force. We don't have cubicles around here, it's pretty just one big, open office with the exception of the Witch in the back (she used to be a very heavy smoker and up until 2 years ago smoked here in the office, but never closed her door) and the attorneys (who rightly have their own offices and the Big Guy who likes to slam his heavy door when we're making too much noise or is pissed or whenever he feels like it pretty much), so you can't gt away with too much being on the computer and Instant messaging is a total no no.. even though most of us don't even have computer speakers.. it's still too easy to get caught goofing off, lol.

I've been meaning to make baked apples or something apple-y for days.. an apple dessert or something, anything really.. but I just cant' seem to find a recipe that I'm happy with.. so I'm open to any and all suggestions here.

Now, as Halloween is fast approaching and the store shelves are amass with candy I've got a question for all my fellow bloggers and foodie friends out there..

What is your favorite Halloween Candy? I have a bad sweet tooth for the sour things... although I can't stand sour Skittles (they burn my tongue!) but gummy sour anything I'm pretty much game for. I'll never forget the first time I gave The kid a sour starburst.. the look on his face was so funny.. but he loved them.. he ate almost the whole bag, lol!! I don't like Candy corn though, It's too sweet and just.. eww.

HI!

HI!

I know,  y'all are probably thinking I've abandoned the blog.

But, if you follow the FB page you know that's not true.

I've had some stuff going on, keeping me busy busy, I'll make a quick rundown...

The Kid Turned TWENTY!! I love my kid, he's the sunshine in my every day no matter what, his school schedule drives me insane most of the time and last semester he had two insanely long days where he'd leave at 6:30 am and not get home until 1:30 the following morning with a break in between.  It was hell.  His new semester starts this coming week, it will be much better than the winter session, Thank God!

Also...   I quit my job!


It's no shock that I'd been unhappy there for some time and there is no denying that they're not going to make any changes. After being fed up with a toxic co worker who was supposed to be let go months ago, It was going to be her or me and since they are literally afraid to fire her it was ultimately an easy choice for me.


After eleven years it was hard..... BUT y'all ever have a co worker that just got on your last nerve every single day?  Well, if you've been following me since the beginning you remember the office witch... this lady was a thousand times worse.  She was obnoxious blasting music from her iPad every morning, then sitting with headphones on at her desk and not even paying attention to people talking to her or the phones ringing, her constant running commentary to herself and her disappearing act... not to mention she claimed to work more hours than she actually did, so she was paid for time she wasn't there... not as if she was actually working for most of the time she sat at her desk anyway since she spent most of her time texting and messaging and scrolling around Facebook, when I noticed she was watching TV and movies on her iPad and the boss acted like he didn't notice I'd had enough.. I'd never in my life worked with someone so lazy and entitled.

I got tired of complaining about her and my boss being too chickenshit to do anything about it, so when I got an offer for a new job I went and interviewed and was hired on the spot. It was not an easy decision because I honestly loved most of my co workers, but this lady... I had it with her and her BS every day.  When I went in and told my boss that I was offered a new position with better pay and benefits I initially thought he'd at the very least ask me what he could do to make me stay...  but nope, he wished me well and then a few days later asked me to write a guide book for the person who would be taking over my position.  That guide book ended being eighteen pages long and detailed everything from the businesses we ordered supplies from with all the passwords and links to how to check the voicemail in the office.  It was extremely detailed and they ended up getting Two people come in and interview and then hiring one literally 5:30 the night before my last day.  She came in for a few hours on my last day there and I trained her as best I could.

After eleven years it was weird leaving there, but my new job is so much better!  I went from working in a law office to working in education and it's so different but it's also kind of the same thing and I really like the people I work for and with, they're a great bunch and for the first time in a long time I don't dread going into work every day and rush my life away wishing for Friday anymore.

I'm still cooking.... every night.  My kid had requested a Rainbow cookie cake for his birthday and it came out amazing.

He ended up having class on his birthday and getting home really, really late so we went out to dinner the following day after work and then had cake after dinner (ie, Late!)  I made the cake on his birthday after coming home from work and  let the finished cake sit in the fridge overnight.  It came out really good and I'm going to make regular rainbow cookies with this same recipe today once the butter softens :)  I'll share it here, it's not my recipe, but it's good, really, really good.  I hadn't made a rainbow cookie cake before and while it came out kind of dense, that was my error and I know what I did wrong and how to remedy it.

So, that's what's been going on..... I'm sorry I haven't been around much, I will try to be here more often.  In the meantime check out the Facebook page and comment once in a while :)

Something really out of the ordinary happened this morning.

Extraordinary really.

I went to the new Italian bakery on my way in to the office that has the most exceptional cappuccino (I’ve finally broken free of my bad bad Dunkin Donuts Caramel Latté habit) and saw they had cupcakes. I wanted one.. I’ve seen the past few days they’ve had them of different varieties but stopped myself. I’ve never gotten a truly good cupcake from a bakery, let alone an Italian bakery since they put so much love into the specialty pastries what made me think the cupcakes would be more than just for show?

Today’s variety was Red Velvet and carrot cupcakes. I stood there admiring them while the girl made my cappuccino and finally decided to get a carrot one (who cares that it was 8am? Carrot is a vegetable, cream cheese is dairy, the cupcakes have eggs.. Anyway, lol) I got to my car, put the coffee in the cup holder and sat the cupcake in the bag on the seat next to me and made my way to the office.

Now, today is one of those days in my office when it’s just good to be here (so far, so good) The Witch is out so it’s peaceful and no screaming cussing wild woman walking around getting paid to do diddly.. But I digress, as I said the day is still young and there is still the possibility of the neurotic one to come in (sigh). The pleasures of getting here early is that there’s nobody to judge what you’re eating (I have the fat free sugar free low cal chemical laden mafia boss in my office also)

I sat down at my desk, turned on the computer and opened the bag with my little cupcake in it.. And at first it looked like any cupcake from a display case... that is until I took the first bite and O.M.G I was in heaven. It was moist and flavorful and Wow! This is totally NOT what I expected at.all. It was absolutely yummy and delicious and wow! Wow wow wow!! So now knowing that I can get a quality cupcake at Rosie’s has made my day. (Shoot, I was going to link to Rosie’s bakery, but they aren’t even listed yet since they just opened 2 weeks ago. I’ll update when it’s available though).

*Giveaway* Are you a coffee snob like me?

I love my morning coffee, it's a total ritual for me.

I'm not just gonna drink any coffee though, and I absolutely refuse to drink the sludge they make in my office. I will not drink Dunkin Donuts regular coffee, I think it's absolutely vile.  Milk and sugar please.  My mom drank Tasters Choice coffee, 2 spoonfuls to her cup of microwaved water.. with milk & no sugar.. Yuck... my dad didn't drink Coffee, he was a tea with sugar & milk kinda guy.. I like my tea like that too.

But I'm kind of a snob when it comes down to my morning coffee, I love to have a Latte in the morning and I have thankfully managed to break my Dunkin Donuts Latte habit and cut down my getting cappuccino at my beloved Rosie's bakery to just once in a while instead of 2-3 times a week. I buy 1 can of Lavazza Espresso for around $6.99 and it lasts me 2 weeks or so and it's totally worth it. Seriously.. the lack of funds for coffee can be a total bummer but if you can manage an awesome latte on your own, then that new pair of shoes or purse is that much easier to attain ;)  Sure I'll grab a cup of coffee at the deli once in a while and I will have coffee if you invite me to your house.. but I won't drink anything that's been sitting around for God knows how long... yuck.

Before the bestie left on her adventure she gave me a little tool to whip up my lattes.. and I love it and I use it every day.. but it's lacking the real frothing power I need to make a seriously good latte.. and since the frother on my espresso machine decided it doesn't want to work anymore I needed to upgrade to something a little more powerful. (By the way, anyone want me to test an espresso machine?  Just let me know.. I'm in the market for a new one)

So, I did what any sweet blogger like me would do.. I bought myself a new BonJour Cafe Latte Frother from CSN Stores and I bought one to share with one of you lovely readers too!  This thing packs a super strong motor and whips up milk in seconds!  It uses 4AA batteries that aren't included in the package, but I'm nice enough to throw in a pack for ya so you can get to using it right away.

This battery-operated frother whips milk into thick foam in seconds for creating a latte, cappuccino, or macchiato. It's also handy for sauces, hot chocolate, foamy cocktails, and even scrambles eggs. The soft-touch push down button and chrome stand make this easy to use and store. Powered by 4 "AA" batteries (not included).

Now, since I hate bloggy contests that want you to post the contest 37 times on twitter with a hashtag, subscribe to the reader, follow on facebook and add a video of yourself licking your elbow (which you all know is impossible) so.. all you have to do here is.. say hi.and tell me how you like your coffee or what your favorite coffee joint is (and I'm not talking starbucks here either.. there's a wicked little place on my way to work called Witch's brew that has the most amazing selection of coffee's and teas with really odd hours, but a really cool atmosphere). Also, if you like to add a little flavor to your coffee with Coffee-Mate let me know what your favorite flavor is and if you're the winner you'll get a little extra something special in your package too!

Y'all have a week to comment and then on Wednesday Feb 2nd I'll choose a winner using that handy dandy random number generator.

That's all there is to it :)

Looking forward to great comments from you guys!

Ash~

I just had to add this... my morning coffee today just milk, whipped up with the Cafe Latte Frother.  Yum yum yum!