Give Away by Suburban Retreat

Hey! Anybody following my blog hop on over to http://suburban-retreatblogspot.com and enter Lisa's giveaway, you can read about her and what she is giving away on her blog. Hope you enjoy her site, I love stopping by and looking it is so homey and inviting.
If you look on the list of those blogs that I am following you will see her address to enter,,, just in case I messed up her address here.... she is worth looking at!

First Day on the Deck!

Snow is almost gone!

What a great SUNNY day!

I am so excited! It was warm enough with the sun shinning to sit out on our deck for the first time this year.... I love it. I had forgotten how wonderful it can be. I didn't even look to see what the temperature is, we just put our coats on, cushions on the chairs and grabbed a drink. The sun felt wonderful on our faces.
We managed to stay out about a half an hour, enjoyed every moment of it too.

Baxter and his shadow were catching my eye, I love shadows and could not pass up a photo opportunity.

Joe was talking to Baxter and I just laughed when I saw the way Baxter was looking and listening to Joe, too funny. Wish Bax would listen when I talk like that, but then I am always talking to the dog..

The job is going alright, just have tired, sore legs from standing all day, other than that it is fun... I know I am jumping the gun but I have corned beef in the crock pot today, had a new recipe to try and now that I am "working" I wanted to have some leftovers in the frig. I also made some stuffed pepper soup for lunch, it was the first time I tried making the soup and it was great. We love stuffed peppers but the soup is a lot quicker and just as good.

Wine Tasting Trip

Saturday Joe and I took off and went on a little road trip. We went to Clinton, Iowa to visit a local winery there.

The winery was having a dog contest for the cutest costume. Of course my dog is the cutest, so we had to enter.

We drove up there and presented our photos of the cutest dog ever, no matter what he is wearing. We had a blast. We arrived a little early so we could get back home before dark. There were not to many people there while we were, but that made it even nicer for us.

The girl working was so much fun, and I am sorry to say I do not remember her name for sure, and she even gave me her card so we could contact each other, but sadly I lost it. I intend to call and get her information again, so we can keep in touch.





I really would love to have her come our way and sit on our deck and have a glass or two of wine.

We had such a good time, while we were there we didn't see any other dog lovers with pictures come in. I was really hoping to see some of the others photos. But when you think about it, that could be good. Win because we were the only ones.. Naaa,

The name of the winery is Wide River Winery, and we love the wines. It is a good road trip and everyone is so nice when you get there.

It is a little out of the way but well worth the drive. Right now the road to get to it is a little ruff, so if you have a ruff riding vehicle, bring a pillow to sit on. It didn't bother me, but my husband Joe, yelled every time I hit a pothole. It is a dirt road and some sections were so bumpy you just could not avoid hitting a hole. Like I said it didn't bother me, there was wine at the end of the road, so onward hooooe

A Work Day!

Yesterday was my first day of work for over a year and a half. As I sat down in the car after 7 hours of standing on my feet I thought, Now I remember why they call it work. I had had nothing but a cup of coffee from 6:30 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. I chose not to take a break because we were so busy, so yes, I was working. I got a temp job at a new Kohl's in Sterling. I greet the customers and then ask if they would like to sign up for a Kohl's card. I had a good time with it and the day went very fast. It was the first day open for the new store. I had someone ask me where the restrooms were and I thought, mmm I don't even know that. I got in on this job at the last moment and not a lot of training. I made sure I found out where the bathroom was, and it was a learn as you go type of day. I really like the feeling of being so busy. Forgot how good it feels to be so tired but happy that you made it through the day.

A friend fixed dinner for us that night for us and it was perfect. Wonderful food, good wine, nice fire in the fireplace and last but not least great company. It was the end of a long, busy day for me. Wednesday is the grand opening for this store and I am scared! I am glad I will have two days of practice before that, but, who knows.... it is learn as you go... and I usually do well in situations like that. The weather was great, and I enjoyed my drive to work and home. I always liked that little bit of time to unwind before getting home. Oh, can you believe next Saturday night we change the clocks again... wow, can't wait to have it stay light longer.... spring is coming!

Update on outing...

I got a call back, so now I am on to the next level.... movie and training.. Kohl's did mention that they are team people and encourage teamwork. I do like that, with teamwork you have communication, good, bad, whatever and that helps eliminate a lot of problems. So, on the the next step..

At least it was an outing

Today I had a job interview in Sterling, IL at the new Kohl's. I arrived a little too early and sat in the car for a while. People just kept coming, and the store has not opened yet so you knew all those people were there for an interview. It was one of the strangest ones yet, 3 of us sat together with an interviewer, she asked all of us the same question and then would flip through the apps and write down comments as we sat there. Of course the other two there with me were like babies, maybe in their 20's, not even to sure about that. I should have licked my thumb and went to wipe something off their face. Like moms do, or maybe like GRANDMA's do. While I was standing outside waiting for my time I saw lots of old ladies come out... gees I was just one more.
The funny thing about this whole job app was I had tried a while back to get on line and apply at this new Kohl's but all the interview times were taken. I tried off and on for a couple of weeks and quit. On a whim one day I tried again and got farther than I had ever gotten before, well, I was so excited about getting to apply that I whizzed on by what I was applying for so fast that I didn't know what I had applied for. When I was done applying I tried to go back and see what I had applied for but of course it would not let me. I was so relieved when someone called to confirm my appointment yesterday and they mentioned that I had applied for the Credit Card Greeter. All this time I have put off applying at WalMart because I was afraid I would be the old lady greeter. Oh well, I went to the interview. Good thing is that if they don't call me by late afternoon Thursday I will know I didn't make the cut. How shameful, I can't even make the grade as a credit card greeter, oh well, you know what, I am sooooo much more than that,I am Sandy, able to leap small puddles, eat an entire pizza by myself, cook steak on the grill and get the table set, taters baked, veggie in the microwave, and still have time to sit for a few minutes. I can do anything.

I love this picture, I just caught some rainbow before my interview! Nice way to start a day....

Prize Delivered

Sunday my husband and I took the giveaway and delivered it to Carney Farms. Cindy invited us to stay and eat lunch with them and we did. Everything was wonderful, we had a chicken salad, cheesy garlic bread and to top it off, some great margaritas.

She and her husband, Bruce, live outside of town like us, and it is so nice when you have company. Even her dogs were glad to see us and welcomed us. Don't you just love the pink ears! I wish I could deliver any giveaway that I do like this, we had a great afternoon and enjoyed ourselves. It would be nice to hand deliver all of them, but I know that won't happen. Sure was nice for my first drawing, made it extra special.