Why is it that the person that bags my groceries always wants to put my toilet bowl cleaner in the same bag with my Mint Milanos? When I ask for it in a separate bag, they take offense. Does that ever happen to you? It happened to me tonight at Target. How would they like it if I sprayed Clorox on their lunch? I don't think they would.

I was talked into waiting 90 days to be displaced. My boss did not want to let me go without having a job. I decided that if I stay the 90 days, I will do such a great job that I will make all of the other assistants look bad, not really bad, but not quite as good as me. They may want to keep me, but I doubt it. If a good job comes along, I am not going to turn it down. The man that I will report to is such a nice guy, but his assistant is dead common. Her chest is surgically enhanced and she displays about 3/4 of it. She's really dumb. She thinks that her assets are all she needs in life. She's not a team player. She tries to delegate all of her duties to someone else. I'm afraid that she will do that to me. I'll have to wait and see.

Queenie's father passed away this morning. I felt so sorry for her. She is the one in the family that has to shoulder all the burdens. Her family really takes advantage of her. We decided that we would take up money to help her with some of her expenses, but we are afraid that it will go to her family. I guess we'll just have to take that chance.

I hope everyone has a good Tuesday.

Friday was a sad day at work. It was two of my bosses's last day. I cried off and on all afternoon. Queenie left early to go to Georgia to see her father. He had a heart attack several weeks ago, and Friday he took a turn for the worse. They didn't expect him to live. I cried for her, because I knew what she was going through. I got a call from a woman in HR. She told me who I would report to. She also told me that in 90 days, my position would be re-evaluated. If there was a vacant position, I will be moved to it. If not, I will be displaced. I don't want to wait 90 days. I think I am going to talk to our former Chairman of the Board and see if he can arrange for July 31 to be my last day. Everyone tells me that I should go ahead and leave. If I am displaced, I will get close to 8 months of severance, 9 days vacation pay, plus I can draw unemployment benefits. I just don't feel comfortable being out of a job.

Saturday, my mother and I went to Huntsville. I really was along for the ride. At Belk's, I bought a blue/green Lilly shirt dress for $49.50. I couldn't pass it up. I also bought a pair of faux tortoise Ray Ban Wayfarers. I spent a little more and got the polarized lenses.

I was outside a lot this weekend. My arms and legs are eat up with mosquito bites. I've coated them with Benedryl cream. I took a Benedryl tablet a few minutes ago. I think I may be asleep soon.

I hope everyone has a good Monday.

What a sad day. Two legendary celebrities passed away. First, I was saddened to hear about "Charlie's Angels" Farrah Fawcett, and then I was shocked by the news of Michael Jackson's death. I was big fans of both. I know that Michael Jackson had turned weird, but you can't deny that he was an extremely talented entertainer. His "Thriller" is the all time best selling album.

This morning as I was driving down my street, headed to work, I had a feeling that something good was going to happen today. About noon, this guy from another department came by my desk and told me that he saw a job posted on another bank's website that he thought that I would be interested in. I told my boss and he told me to post for it. He said that he knew several people in that particular department at the other bank. I emailed my resume, but haven't heard anything. I guess it's too early. I finally heard something from the bank where I interviewed a few weeks ago. The woman said that they are hosting a big conference the beginning of next week and have put interviewing and hiring on hold. She said that she hopes to get back with me next week.

I hope everyone has a good Friday.

I brought my table home tonight. Below is my $25 table. I think it is $25 well spent.

I finished watching The Shop Around the Corner. I think it was a cute movie. You've Got Mail is based on this movie.

I hope everyone has a good Thursday.

I'd like to thank everyone for the well wishes. I feel a lot better today. I had an interview this morning with a job search firm. It went really well, and they complimented me on my appearance. I wore a navy on cream Lilly shift, big pearl necklace, Fitz & Frannie navy silk knot earrings, and my navy Ferragamo Veras. I also found out that the bank across the street has a few positions that they want to talk to me about. Our former HR director called, and we discussed my job search. She said some encouraging things and gave me a little advice.

Tonight, I started watching The Shop Around the Corner on TCM, but I fell asleep. Luckily, I recorded it. I can watch it tomorrow night. I have always wanted to see that movie, but miss it every time it comes on. I have my VCR set to record The Group. It will be on next week. I tried to read the book, but I kept getting the characters mixed up. It's the book about the Vassar girls. I've read that if you like Mona Lisa Smile, you'll like The Group.

I hope everyone has a good Wednesday.

My feet were still swollen when I got up this morning. I drank a liter of lemon water before I went to work. After I got there, I drank 2 big cups of water. The swelling gradually went down. My feet didn't shrink. First the swelling left my toes, then it left the end of my foot. My foot looked deformed. When I got home from work, I propped my feet up on two thick pillows. Now the swelling is almost all gone. Maybe I can wear a pair of closed in shoes to my interview tomorrow. I have an interview with a job placement firm tomorrow morning. I'm not looking forward to it. As I've told you, I haven't looked for a job in 17 years. I am very intimidated by all of this.

Tonight when I got home, I tried on a skirt that I was thinking about wearing tomorrow. It was too tight. I just sat on the bed and started crying. I was really feeling sorry for myself. After a couple of minutes, I decided that the only person that can fix it is me. I was also crying because I am frustrated at my job search. I'm afraid that I only have from 1-3 weeks left at my job. My boss's last day is Friday. The sadness is starting to hit me, and the panic. My resume is out there, but no one is responding except the people that make me feel uncomfortable.

Maybe tomorrow will be better. No...tomorrow WILL be better.

Today was another hot day. My mother and I went to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. We always meet her half brothers' children and their families there. We don't get to see them very often, and it is always nice to catch up. They used to get on my nerves, but now I get along fine with them. I don't know who changed, me or them. Afterwards, we went to the cemetery where my father is buried to check on things.

When I left my mother's house, my feet were slightly swollen. Now they are really swollen. I tried to drink plenty of liquids today. The only thing that I can think of that caused it, is the extreme heat. I'm going to sleep with them propped up on a pillow. Hopefully, the swelling will go down during the night. I plan on drinking plenty of lemon water tomorrow while I get ready for work. I can't remember my feet ever being this swollen.

I hope everyone has a good Monday, if that is possible.

It is so hot here. My mother and I got up early and ran some errands so that we could get back home to the air conditioning. I think it is supposed to be a little cooler tomorrow. We'll see. There is a Scottish heritage event at Goosepond Colony today, but it is too hot to go. I would love to go, since I am descended from Scots, but I can't take the heat. I don't know what I'm going to do for the next three months.

I returned the calls from employment services yesterday. I have two appointments next week, but I think I am going to cancel one. I do not have a good feeling about it. I figure that I don't need to go if I feel uncomfortable.

I hope everyone enjoys the remainder of the weekend.

Tonight I watched Legally Blonde while I talked on the telephone to BFF MAB. That is one of the cutest movies.

My confidence level is up. I got contacted by four people for a job today. One I turned down because the pay was way too low and they did not offer benefits. I have to have insurance. Two left messages on my home voicemail and one was an email to my home. I will contact these people tomorrow. There's also a guy at work that is looking out for me. He used to be a bank examiner, and he still knows people at other banks. I think the people where I interviewed are really interested in me, but they have yet to contact me. I heard that someone else from the bank applied for the position, but she is in line for a promotion. Maybe she'll take her name out of the running. I've cleaned out a lot of stuff at work. That way, when I find out my work through date, I won't have so much to do. I've even made a list of everything that I do, so that a manager can find someone to take care of it after I'm gone.

I hope everyone has a good Friday. TGIF!!!

I just went outside to check something in my car. IT IS SO HOT OUTSIDE! And, it's 10:00 pm. I don't even want to know what August is going to be like.

Last night, I watched a good classic movie, Rear Window. It doesn't get any classier than Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart. Tonight, I watched Making the Grade. It doesn't get any cheesier than Judd Nelson and Andrew Dice Clay. I love all of the preppy clothes in Making the Grade. Pink and green, Gordon plaid, fair isle sweaters, OCBDs, tweed blazers, wool shorts with cable knit socks, penny loafers, pearls, Lacostes (or Izods as they were known back then) and madras. Brings back great memories.

As I've said before, I still own clothes like that...and I wear them. I remember a pair of kelly green chinos that I wore all of the time. The people that I worked with made fun of me because I was so preppy. There was only one other preppy girl at work and she was rather silly. After a while, everyone got used to me.

Today, when I got to work, Queenie was crying. Her boss called her this morning to let her know that he was let go. There were a lot of other unwelcome changes. It has changed a lot of people's attitudes. I'm afraid that something outrageous is going to happen in the next couple of weeks. Scary, scary times.

I hope everyone has a good Thursday. I'll have to think about what movie I want to watch tomorrow night. Will it be Legally Blonde, Charade, Trading Places or Nancy Drew?

I still have not heard an update on my job interview. I emailed the woman yesterday, but I never got a response. A former coworker said that she talked to her this afternoon and she was swamped. That makes me feel a little bit better. My boss is going to call and see what the status is. I'm going to stop obsessing over it. If I haven't heard from her tomorrow, I'm going to contact a friend of BFF MAB that is the HR Director at the bank across the street. Maybe she knows of someone that has a position. I think my boss is waiting on coworker and me to find a job before he leaves. I don't think he can leave knowing that we may be unemployed in a few weeks. Like a mother hen looking out after his chickens. (I know that expression doesn't make sense, since he is man) He's a very nice man and great to work for.

Since I have all my chores taken care of and there's really nothing on TV to watch, I'm going to watch Rear Window. It is one of my favorite movies. It is suppose to be showing at the Alabama Theatre on August 15. If I'm in town that weekend, I will be there. I love watching it on the big screen. Grace Kelly is dripping with class in this movie, as she is in all of her movies.

For the past few weeks, I have been exercising with Gilad. It's not really that difficult, but today he worked my butt off. I'm exhausted.

I hope everyone has a good Wednesday.

I am so glad that the weekend is here. I have my SUV back. Even though my sister's car is newer and nicer, I didn't like driving it. It sits so low down, plus she doesn't have satellite radio. I have Sirius and just love it. I put six classical CD's in the CD changer and listened to those. After a few days, they got old, so I replaced them with Duran Duran and Pink Martini. I needed a change.

I'm still in the dark about my job interview. They told me to contact them if I haven't heard anything by Monday. I am a nervous wreck. Thank you for all of your wishes of luck. I feel like I need it. My present employer still hasn't told me that I am losing my job, but the handwriting is on the wall. My boss and his boss are helping Coworker and I with our job situation. These guys have a lot of pull around town. I wish that they would get an awesome job and take us with them, but they are taking the summer off. I would love to be able to work at my present job until the middle of August, take 2 weeks of vacation and then start a new job the day after Labor Day, but I don't think the world works like that. I keep telling myself that I'm not going to worry about it. Things will work out for the best.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

If The Clique wasn't lame enough last night, tonight I started watching American Psycho. I had to change the channel after 45 minutes. That has to be one of the worst movie I've ever seen. Reese Witherspoon doesn't even redeem it.

I'm so glad that the weekend is almost here. This has been a stressful week. I was planning on relaxing this weekend, but my mother wants to go to Huntsville. She has a long list of errands. Sometimes shopping relaxes me.

Hopefully, I only have one more day to drive my sister's car. As I posted earlier, my SUV is being repaired, and I'm driving my sister's Volkswagen. I feel like I'm sitting on the road. That little VW can really go.

I hope everyone has a good Friday. TGIF!!!

For some lame reason, I have gotten caught up in the Lifetime movie, Clique. It's about a clique of mean girls in junior high. Not too sad. These girls look too old to be twelve.

I finally finished watching all the Season One episodes of Mad Men. I just love that show. I want to dress like Betty Draper. I think everybody does. I wish AMC would have a Season Two Mad Men marathon so that I can DVR it to watch later. I can't wait for Season Three.

I need something new to read. I'm thinking about starting the Rita Mae Brown fox hunt mystery series. Has anyone read these?

I hope everyone has a good Thursday.

A few months ago, I bought a scarred table from the bank. I paid $25 for it. Everyone thought that I paid too much. The money went into an employee relief fund. A coworker refinished it for me and would not charge me. She finally finished it and brought it to me. IT IS BEAUTIFUL! The table is about 25" high, 5' long, and 18" deep. It has Queen Anne legs. I am going to use it for a TV table. It matches most of my furniture. I have to leave it at work until next Monday. My SUV is being repaired this week, and I'm driving my sister's Volkswagen. The table won't fit in the VW. Since my coworker was so nice to do it for free, I got her a gift card from Lowe's, a bottle of Jack Daniels and a bottle of Grey Goose.

Have y'all seen the new summer tableware at Target? Tonight while I was there, I bought a plate and tumbler in the navy bandanna pattern. I always buy a fun plate and tumbler each summer. It makes watching my food intake fun, plus I love navy and white dishes. I also bought a green beverage cooler. I'm going to use it to organize and store cleaning supplies. I may tie a pink grosgrain ribbon on one of the handles, just for fun.

I hope everyone has a nice Wednesday.

Thanks for all the wishes of Good Luck. I had my interview this afternoon. All of these people are my former coworkers. One of the women met me outside the elevator and escorted me in. Another woman showed me around. When the guys saw me they all yelled "Hey Tammy" and waved. It seemed to go well. I was feeling really good, until the interviewer told me that she had some more people to interview. I thought, "What if she likes them better?" Coworker thinks that I have the job, but I don't want to get my hopes up. Coworker's boss told her that he was having lunch with one of the guys where I interviewed. She said that she told him about the interview and that he smiled a huge smile and gave her the thumbs up. Maybe he'll put in a good word for me. Coworker's boss was our former Chairman of the Board. He has a lot of pull. I'll find out for sure on Friday. I'm thinking about emailing my resume to the HR Director at the bank across the street. I have to find a job by the end of the month.

It's difficult watching everyone cleaning out the cabinets in their offices. I need to start boxing up the stuff in the filing cabinets behind my desk. The only problem is that I don't know what to do with it.

Yesterday when I got to work, I had an email from a former coworker asking if Coworker and I knew of someone that would be interested in an adm. asst. position. I immediately emailed her back and told her of Coworker's and my circumstance. I told her that I had a rough draft of my resume. She told me to send it to her. I have an interview on Monday!!! Wish me luck. Coworker is waiting about a month to look for a job, because she thinks her husband may be transferred to another state. I hope you don't think I went behind her back for this job. If we were both looking for a job, we would have sat down and discussed it. My boss told me that he would give me a good recommendation. I need to email my former boss. I know he will give me a recommendation. This is almost too good to be true. My only fear is the salary. Right now, I'm an executive administrative assistant. This job is at a company that is making a lot of money right now, so maybe they will be able to meet my present salary and benefits. I don't want to think about it or talk about it much, because I'm afraid that I may jinx myself. I asked my sister to look at my resume to see if the grammar is okay. She immediately sat down at the computer and completely redid it. I didn't think about sister having a master's degree in English, plus she does resumes for people.

I don't really have that many professional summer clothes. Our office has always been rather casual since we don't see very many people. I think I am going to wear my cream/navy nada print shirtdress, my Brooks Brothers' Wilma Flintstone pearls, my navy Fitz & Frannie silk knot earrings and my navy Ferragamo Veras. The office where I'm going is very casual, but I want them to think that I care about my appearance.

I'll keep y'all posted.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. Again, wish me luck!!

Thanks to all of you for your sweet comments. I felt better today. I decided that if I take another position in the bank, it will just be a band-aid. In a couple of months, that position will be gone. I have made a lot of progress on my resume. I am going to get my sister to read over it and make it sound wonderful. Probably, if I can find a job before the end of the month, my boss can arrange for me to be let go. That way, I will collect my severance. I really don't want to go one day without a job. I think finding a job before the end of the month may be a fantasy. I have a few places that I want to check out. My boss said that he would help me any way he could. The only problem is when I start to talk to him about it, I start crying. The only time that I've let him see me cry was at my father's funeral. My mother wants me to move back home. I don't know if I am ready.

I went to lunch with BFF MAB today. She went through something similar a few years ago. She gave me a bunch of pointers. Plus, she works in HR at a large bank and she knows the laws. I shared her pointers with my coworkers. Our conversation really helped.

I hope everyone has a good Friday.

Today was a horrible day. First thing this morning, my boss called me into his office for a talk. It turns out that he and 3 others have been let go. They will be gone at the end of the month. I was devastated. Not only that, but I worked for him and one of the others that was let go. So far, they don't know if I will be able to keep my job. My name will be put into the "pool" in case another position becomes available. He advised me to get my resume together. He has friends that are executives at other banks. I haven't done a resume in 17 years. I forgot how. I worked on it off and on all day. It needs a lot of work. BFF MAB has a friend that is the HR Director at the bank across the street. I may email my resume to her and have her keep her eyes and ears open. I heard that there is an assistant that may be let go. Maybe they will keep me in mind for that position. There are also 3 executives on our floor that do not have an assistant. Maybe I can be assigned to them. I'm not ready to look for another job. I do a lot of other things besides support my bosses. Some people think I am in charge of operations.

I'm hoping tomorrow will bring more answers.

When I was at Target on Sunday, I bought a Ped Egg. You know that thing that they advertise on TV to get rid of dry skin on your feet. I've heard that it really works. My feet must be worse than I thought. I've used it a couple of times and I really can't tell a difference. I've scraped off a lot of dead skin. (I know, GROSS!) I guess I need to keep it up. I'm determined to get my feet in good shape.

As most of you know, I'm a big Murder, She Wrote fan. I record it every night and watch it the following evening. IT'S NOT ON ANY MORE! Hallmark Channel can't do this to me. I'm going to email them and find out what happened. Not too sad.

BFF emailed me yesterday and said that one of her cats got run over and killed on a major highway near her home. She couldn't bear to get it and take it home to bury it. Her brother got it and buried it in her back yard. This morning, the cat that was supposedly killed, showed up on her door step, alive. She doesn't know who the cat is that is buried. At least she and her brother gave it a proper burial.

I hope everyone has a good Wednesday.

Muffy Martini is hosting another giveaway. This time she is giving away FIVE copies of Mating Rituals of the North American Wasp by Lauren Lipton. Again, I am not going to participate since I am 3/4 of the way through this book. You need to go to her blog to enter. This is a great book. It's easy to read and enjoyable.

Miss Janice is hosting a give away with some great Southern etiquette books. Hop over to her blog and read all about it. I'm not going to participate because I own all of those books, except What Southern Women Know by Ronda Rich, which is on my list. I have read them numerous times. If you don't win, you need to read these books. They are so enjoyable. You'll find out what makes us Southern Belles. If you are not a Southern Belle, you'll want to be one.