CARP Reunion!

I missed all my Carpenter peeps, so we decided to have a reunion.  Many of us have scattered since I left Carpenter in March.  Dorian and Steve went to Oak Point and Tommie moved to Liberty.  We all met at the new Chuy's in West Plano.  At first they said it was an hour and a half wait!  But just as we were going to leave, they called our group.  It was really nice to have the gang back together.

Coffy, Jodi, & Sandy

Me and my girls!

Dorian with the meat plate, Stephanie won't stop eating for anyone, and Steve.

Tommie

Deuces!

Me and my boo, Bryan.

Group Pic with Sorority squat!

Good times!

We're so cute!

Farewell Carpenter!

After 8 years, it is time to move on from Carpenter. I transferred to the aquatics department of the Tom Muehlenbeck Center on 3/29/10. My fav coworkers threw me a party at the Texas Roadhouse in The Colony. The service of the Texas Roadhouse sucked and they ended up giving us all coupons for free meals. But that doesn’t matter to me. I had a great time hanging out with my work fam one more time. John Finley made me a “1st Aid Kit” full of stuff to remind me of Carpenter: English Muffins, crosswords, peanut butter, and toothpaste. And a nugget of poop for something to look forward to at the pool. Just kidding, it was Baby Ruth. Yummy!

I am very sad to leave. I always said that just seeing Jodi and Sandy was the best part of my day. John’s little songs, like “We’re having a heat wave” and “…Walked into Carpenter and lost my mind” still play in my head. I will miss Patrick spending a whole day throwing a racquetball through the hole in the wall. Thursdays won’t be the same without Super, Steve, and Bryan. And, more than I care to admit, Cindy taught me everything I know about Plano (well, almost). I feel like my friends there have been through so much with me. They helped me up when I have been beaten down, laughed with me, and celebrated milestones with me. Even if we lose touch somehow, I will never forget you all.

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. ~Dr. Seuss

Steve and Bryan make my Thursdays pervy.

Table Uno!

Table 2.

Cindy & Jon.

John's 1st Aid Kit.

Crosswords!

Peanut Butter for my sandwhich.

Toothbrush and tootpaste, in case I forget.

Poop!

Yummy!

The Crew.

Gotta love them!

Sandy says, "Deuces!"

I made a crossword as a farewell gift.  This is the easy one.

This one is harder.  It included everyone I have worked with at Carpenter except for one person.  Who is it?

My Favorite Holiday

I love Halloween! It's a holiday based around candy and scary movies. What more could you ask for? At work we had a little pizza party for lunch. Janet won our costume contest. She went as our supervisor, Cindy. Halloween night, I went over to Sandy's sister, Becky's, house. The neighborhood was alive with children. I haven't seen anything like it since I was their age. Kids were in costumes running all over the place. People were sitting outside handing out candy. Everyone had their houses decorated. Eight of us escorted Blythe around the neighborhood. David was a pirate and I was a baby. A lost dog ran out in front of a car and David saved her. He called the number on the collar and held her until the owners came. He was the hero of night! And one of the best parts was we got to sleep in an extra hour the next day due to daylight savings time.

Me and Pocahontas, Blythe.

Me and Captain David Morgan.

The Burley Family.

Count Gordon and Alien Sandy.

Our pumpkin.

Super Scary Dave.

Joey is el fuego!

The afternoon crew.

Wearing PJs at work. That's how I roll!

Ghoulish John.

Me-ow!

Prize winner, Janet Owen!

The morning crew.

Dick Russell 11/7/38 - 7/22/09

Dick Russell was a coworker of mine for the last 4 - 5 years. Recently, he has been having health problems that lead him to reduce his hours, then finally resign a week ago. He was supposed to have surgery this past Wednesday to improve the circulation in his legs. However, he passed away Wednesday morning from congestive heart failure. He was 71. His memorial service is today at 4 PM at Turrentine, Jackson, Morrow in Allen.

I liked Dick. He was a nice guy. Before he worked at Carpenter, he was a patron. He would walk everyday. He would hang out by the counter and talk. When he got the job, we all got to know him better. He went to Penn State and has a Master's from Harvard. He was a football player, a soldier, and a CEO. There were many interesting things about him. Dick always played (and won!) in the Carpenter Football Pool. And this year, during "Mary Gate," Dick continued to play the Football Pool with me and Stephanie after everyone else quit.

Dick and I clashed about work stuff every once in a while. Sometimes the kids at the center got on his nerves and he wasn't afraid to show it. The computer work we do was a little confusing for him too. I now regret how mean I was to him. I would get so frustrated sometimes. I'm sorry Dick.

He are some of the pictures I could find of him. I have one at work that I really wanted to scan. Hopefully I will remember on Monday.

Dick at Steve's Going Away Party 2007.

Halloween 2006

Dick is former Cowboy coach, Bill Parcells.

Always in character.

Christmas 2006

Wedding Work Day

Saturday, I had a wonderful group of people over at my house to help David and I will our wedding tasks. Actually, this is the first time we have had anyone in our house for more than a few minutes. Sandy, Jan, John, Melissa, Tommie, and Leah helped us put together the invitations, champagne glasses, gift bags, favor boxes, and wedding wish cards. It was a very productive day! I will have to have another work day closer to the wessing date to put some more stuff together. I hope you all can join us again.

A completed invitation.

David was a good boy during the work day.

The group! It couldn't have been done without them!

Leah working the Cricut.

Jan lining up a wedding wish card.

I am showing Leah how to work the Cricut.

Go, go, gadget Cricut!

John can't see a thing! Maybe paper cutting wasn't he best job for him.

Showing John how to use the paper cutter.

Lanterns and favor boxes.

Sandy and Melissa did a great job with the champagne glasses.

Sandy and Tommie are the bow masters!

Hot Texas magnets for the out-of-towners.

Leah assembling the gift bags.

Completed invitations and favor boxes.

Sandy is working the bows.

John and Jan sticking stickers and stamps.

I did all the calligraphy by hand.

The invite.