February 15th, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning. Because Mother Nature is pms-ing again, I’ sitting here in my pajamas, listening to the snow plough making colossal potholes, drinking a mega mug, and writing this blog, instead of being on the road to Vermont. This is the second year in a row this has happened, and as you can probably guess, I’M NOT HAPPY. So I have to do this hear…

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! In just a few short hours (10:58) you will no longer be a teenager. I’m so sorry we couldn’t be with you on your birthday again, but at least this year you have Tori there to celebrate with you. We’ll see you as soon as we can. We love you, and hope you have a fun day!

We’re not getting any significant snow, and neither is Lys, but the path between the two of us is getting slammed. Now if the kids didn’t have school on Monday, like pretty much the rest of the country, then I may have attempted the trek. We could have got there whenever, gotten a hotel for the night, and taken our time for the ride home on Monday, but we couldn’t.

Our kids lost President’s Day to the last snowstorm – you remember the one - Juno – the snowpocalypse that only ended up dumping 3” of snow, but they closed the schools the day before because of the 24”-36” predicted snow. Yeah, that one. Sorry MA readers, I know you got hammered during Juno, so your school closings were justified, but ours really weren’t.

Not seeing my kids on their birthday, does not sit well with me. The first time my mother didn’t see me on my birthday was my 24^th, because I was leaving for my honeymoon; and the next time was for my 40^th when Paulie and I were in New Mexico for our “why the heck did we get married?” weekend. Only twice in 48 years. I have now missed two in 20 years for Lys, and I don’t like it. We still have a perfect record for PJ and Dani…

I got home from the B&C early yesterday, around 3:30. The snow started around 1:30 and things slowed down in the shop after that – which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. When I left we had three mixed flower basket arrangements, two - three red roses and mixed flowers in a vase arrangements, one - six red roses in a vase arrangement, one six red/six white rose in a vase being hugged by a teddy bear arrangement, and two red and white dozen carnation wrapped bouquets left – and that was it. So only nine last minute shoppers would be able to get something beautiful, everyone else would have to make do with grocery store flowers.

Can you believe it, my feet are still aching this morning? Yesterday my back was a little sore, and so were my legs, but my feet actually hurt. I think I stood more in the past three days then I have in the past month – over 18 hours of standing. Think about it, unless you’re a hairdresser or a cashier, you get to sit down for part of your work day, and hairdressers sometimes get breaks between clients where they can sit. Not so much in a flower shop. I truly love going in and working for B&C when they need a hand, but there is no way I would be able to do it all the time. I guess I’m just too old, too fat and too out of shape to handle it. Lol.

After things settle down a little, I’m going to pop back into the shop and snap some pictures. I’ve been talking about B&C and the folks who work there so much, I thought it would be appropriate for y’all to “meet” them. The only one who I won’t be able to get is Nick, because he’s headed back up to school.

As much as I love flowers, I don’t want them purchased for me. Other than my wedding ring, I don’t wear jewelry often, so that’s not a good gift. I love chocolate, but I’m trying to lose weight. I don’t wear perfume. So, as you can see, my hubby doesn’t have it easy for Valentine’s. This year, my Valentine’s gift from my hubby was a nice dinner. He made filet mignon wrapped in bacon, sautéed mushrooms and onions, baked potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and candied carrots. It was very yummy, and the perfect gift.

Okay, off to tackle the 99+ Twitter notifications, then I think I might take a nap. I’m whooped. I hope you have a fantastic day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

Angry tears…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

February 14th, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! Short and sweet today because I only have half an hour to write and post (with links and pictures).

The staff at B&C are work horses! Holy Crow!! I literally stood from 9:00 am – 7:45 pm. My feet hurt. My back hurts. Cripes, even my hair hurts. I cannot even imagine how they do this 360 days out of the year.

A zillion more orders were taken, some made right on the spot. Several were so incredibly beautiful, I just had to take a moment to stop and admire them. In the midst of all the joyous Valentine’s frenzy, unfortunately there was some sorrow as well. There will be no rest for the weary once Valentine’s Day is over, because several funeral arrangements will need to be made. Luckily the viewing is not today or having flowers for it would have been a challenge.

I recall this happening during my previous flower shop experience. Folks don’t just give roses for Valentine’s Day, they give ALL flowers, and with the sales volume rising exponentially this time of year, come February 15^th most shops are completely out of ALL flowers, and anxiously awaiting a delivery. This shop is no different. We have red roses still, and a smattering of other flowers, but that’s about it.

Monday’s delivery is going to be massive because it will basically be restocking the entire store – flowers, greens, fillers (baby’s breath, waxflowers, etc), vases, boxes, cello wrap, you name it. I guess it’s a good problem to have. I’m just glad I’ll have time to recuperate before my services will be needed again.

Okay, I have to go get ready. I was seriously debating wearing roller-skates to work today, but I think I’ll just go with sneakers. I hope you have a Happy Valentine’s Day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

This is the gift I give to you…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

February 13th, 2015 Challenge

Hi, it’s Christina –

Good Morning! I had a blast yesterday at B & C. I was there for four hours and I took a boatload of orders, made up several dozen single rose packets so all the panicked teen boys who come in on Saturday and just grab-pay-and-go. I helped one “doe in the headlights” customer and even came up with something prolific for him to write on his card. I boxed, I wrapped, I chatted, I laughed. Yeah, it was a good day.

One of the cool things was seeing several of my friends names while boxing up orders for today’s deliveries. All I have to say ladies, is your significant other has great taste. The flowers are GORGEOUS! You’ll love them. And I was good, I didn’t read a single card – except for the one I wrote.

Today is going to be a challenge because it will be an eleven hour day, but I’m still looking forward to it. When I showed Ron (the owner) and Carly (one of the designers) yesterday’s blog post, they were thrilled. Carly laughed at me because I called the experience exhilarating. I told her if she only did it a few days a year, she would see it from a different perspective.

Carly is a phenomenal floral designer. She made up this one bouquet yesterday which was absolutely stunning. It consisted of various exotic flowers, and such a vibrant array of colors, it simply took your breath away. I won’t even bother praising Ron, his stuff is consistently picture perfect. He pairs things you would never expect, and the results are remarkable. Okay, so maybe just a little praise, but don’t tell him, he doesn’t need an ego boost. JUST TEASING, he’s a sweetheart and I love working with him.

Ron’s son Nick came home from college so he could lend a hand. This was great news for me, because it meant I didn’t have to de-thorn a single rose. This year my hands won’t look like they’ve broken up a cat fight. Nick’s a rose cleaning beast. He flies through the zillions of roses in nothing flat, but then again, he was brought up in the business, so I guess it’s to be expected.

I’m not sure if there will be a blog post tomorrow morning or not. I have to be in the shop around 8:30, and I’m sure today is going to whip my butt. I am going to try, but I’m not making any promises.

Now Sunday, I know there won’t be a post. We – Paulie, Dani and her boyfriend Randy, and I are leaving for Vermont at 5:00 am. That will get us up to Lys by roughly 11:30 (depending on the road conditions). We are going to take her out to lunch, give her her birthday presents and her cake, sing Happy Birthday, eat cake, then turn around and come back home. I’m hoping to get back by 10:00 pm.

Crazy, I know, but not seeing my baby on her birthday last year truly bothered me, and as long as Mother Nature cooperates this year, I not going to let it happen again. The real bear of it is going to be the high of -11° with wind chills in numbers I don’t even want to think about. It’s times like these I really wish she had accepted the invitation from Austen Peay in Clarksville, TN. LOL. Then again, if she was down there, I wouldn’t be seeing her on her birthday. Oh well…

Okay, I need to go get ready for work. I hope you have a fantastic Friday the 13^th, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

I love you to the moon and back…

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.