An Inside View of What I Do At Work

Some people would say that they don't like their job! Me...on the otherhand...I love my job when there are orders that need to be filled.
What do I do? Well...I make leather shields and keychains for Fire Trader Shields.
How did I land this position? I certainly did not apply for it. I was actually hired as an Administrative Assistant, which I still do when orders are few. Prior to last October, I was always interested how they got from the leather to the finished project. The shield person at the time...Kully...was very excited about showing me how to make the shields. Come mid-October of last year, Kully ended up in the hospital with a stroke. So, because I had learned somewhat how to make the shields, I got nominated for the fill-in position. I told Kully before this that I would help with everything except the sewing! I had to learn very quickly how to get from Point A to Point B because we had some rush orders that needed to go out! Later that week, we got the phone call that Kully passed away due to another series of strokes. Instead of calling one of our old Michigan employees, my supervisor told the owner that I was doing a good job!
Here's a sampling of what I do at work!

These are our most common shields. We customize them to the fire departments needs. They come in a variety of colors.

This is what we call our New York shield. These are a pain in the you know what to make!

Just a sampling of the keychains that we make. Numbers can be sewn on in the center to customize the customer's needs.

I just finished an order of 112 keychains. Around Christmas, we tend to get large orders. By January, I don't care to see another keychain for awhile.

These are our gold leaf keychains. The bottom set is our old design. I don't care for them. I hate the lettering. We also do gold leaf shields customized to the customer's needs.

These are another type of keychain that we make...our keyfobs. They come in standard or customized.

This is a customized shield as are the rest of them that I have pictured. This one was made for a little girl for decor. Not very many babies will have their birth annoucement on a leather shield! She's one lucky girl!

This shield was my first custom shield. The customer called and asked if we could do a wedding cake topper. Well, here it is! And yes, the helmet is a cake! This was the groom's cake! Everything was edible except the shield and the eagle!

My first Cowboys shield. Of course I had to give the customer a hard time for ordering this shield from Packers Country. I've since made two Cowboys shields. The other one has silver lettering with a black outline so that the letters would stick out more. If they would've ordered a Packers shield, we wouldn't have had problems with the lettering not showing up decent.

Yes....another rival...I know! This is also our Passport shield. I also gave this customer a hard time!

And, yes, I have made a Green Bay Packers shield. I just never thought of taking a picture! I've also made a Ryan Newman NASCAR shield.

So far this is my only special customized keychain! The customer wanted it for his new baby as a keepsake! I had to get creative with this one since we didn't have pink leather. It's actually white leather with pink shoe leather paint sprayed on!

And, last, a picture of me! This is what my shield room looks like from what you can see! My coworker took this picture of me after grinding down about 30 shields! Yes, I got very dirty! Why? Because nobody told me that I had to turn on the mini shop vac to suck up the grindings! Oh well....lesson learned!

Snow in October!!

This is unbelieveable....but then it's Wisconsin! Yesterday we received our first snowfall...yes, on October 12th! According to the weather guys, the last time we had snow on that day was 1909...100 years ago!

Last year or maybe the year before....I don't remember now....but it was 82 degrees! I would take the 82 over snow! A picture from my living room looking on the porch into the back yard! I know...disgusting for October! I guess it could be worse...some parts had even more snow than what is on my porch! One good thing...the sun is out and shining today...so bye bye snow! Please don't come again until mid-December or later!

Jelly on the Woodwork

Thanks Sharon for sharing this story with us in Relief Society last Sunday!

JELLY ON THE WOODWORK
By Margery Rutherford

Last night I quit my job. I walked right up to the boss, whose name is Jerry and who happens to be my husband, and I resigned. He had just come in the door, whistled his familiar whistle, and called out. "Anyone home?" I had a crying baby in one arm, one was in the kitchen wailing for a peanut butter sandwich and dinner only half an hour away, and the third was sitting in front of the T.V. set, howling because he wanted two mouse-cartoons instead of the usual one. Jerry kissed me dutifully on the cheek.
It was then that I gave my notice, "I quit," I said. "I've had it. If you can find anyone who will take this job on the salary I get, she's welcome to it."
Jerry took the toddler from my arms, gave her a hello kiss, and sent her scooting. Then he put both his arms around me tight and kissed me special--that tender kind of kiss that curls my toes and wilts my heart. "How about a movie tonight, Beautiful?" he whispered.
I must say, my husband knows how to handle the help around here. I shudder to think what would happen if the office got wind of his phenomenal success and put him in charge of female personnel. I mentally tore up my resignation and settled for a movie instead.
Not that I don't like my job. I really do. Even thought the hours are horrible, and the pay is--well, I guess I should say the pay just isn't. It's the future of my job that holds such tremendous possibilities, and the people I work for just can't be beat. I have a dream of a husband and three shining pink babies. No one could ask for more.
It's just that sometimes it seems like too much. Sometimes it all seems too overpowering for any one woman to handle.
It's not the daily routine tasks. It's not the washing and ironing and cooking and mending. It's life's little emergencies that keep cropping up to disrupt my busy schedule.
We just get over a bout with the measles, and suddenly the flu bug bites us. We just get the tonsils out, and somebody falls off the swing and has to have three stitches taken in his scalp.
It's the battle of the budget. It's one new pair of shoes after the other and the dentist calling to tell us the X-rays revealed more cavities, and the milkman subtly asking me if I got the bill or did it blow away.
It's never finding time to wash the windows. You know that hall window where baby kisses the mailman through the panes? Jerry passes it on his way out the door every morning and more than once has slyly suggested, "Better get with it." And I always say, "Yes, dear. I'll do it for sure." Notice I don't say when. What I mean is, soon as the baby gets off to college I intend to do a lot of things around here.
It's that permanent jelly on the woodwork. I no sooner get it scrubbed off than it takes root again. It's cookie crumbs on the floor and the cobwebs clinging to the ceiling. It's the mud pies that get tracked across the kitchen floor. It's our bottomless sandpile that never loses its sand despite all that seems to accumulate in front of the T.V. set and beside the bathtub.
And the bulging closets. Every December when Jerry takes down the Christmas decorations, I say with all good intentions, "Now I'll clean out that closet before we put them back." And along about March, after we've stumbled over the boxes in the hall for three months, Jerry puts them back again; and I say, "Next year for sure."
It's missing our vacation because we had a tiny tot, and missing the summer before because we we're expecting that tiny tot. Then the summer before that, we had a tiny tot, and before that, we were expecting a tiny tot. And the summer before that, more of the same, and the summer before that, still more of the same.
It's confining a squirming baby in the supermarket basket and at the same time keeping tract of the two who are wandering through the store putting articles in the baskets of unsuspecting housewives. It's standing in line and sorting out my purchases from the boxes of cookies and animal crackers that my little helpers may have seen fit to select.
It's kicking toys and jelly sandwiches under the couch when the boss' wife comes to call. What's more (and it never fails) she always asks for the bathroom before she leaves, and what can I say? The plumbing cannot be out of order every time she drops in.
It's a collection of assorted bruises, bumps, and skinned knees, and runny noses and untied shoestrings, and "I'm thirsty's."
Do you see why I threatened to quit my job last night? It was all these things rolled together that suddenly seems to overwhelm me.
But that was last night. Tonight will be different.
I discovered something today. I had some errands to do, so I took a dollar out of the milk to pay a sitter. While I was gone, I discovered exactly what happiness is. It's this very thing I have just come home to--the four walls of this happy home, the three faces smiling up at me, the six sticky hands around my neck, and the three little mouths all talking at the same time.
It's a hard job--this business of raising a family. And like all jobs sometimes its demands sweep over you with such unexpected force that it seems too much, too difficult, for you to manage. But even during these occasional discouraging days, I know it's a tender and rewarding job. These happy little people are part of me. They depend on me and need me.
And soon that wonderful man who chose me for his wife will be home with us. And he will put both his arms around me tight and kiss me special, that tender kind of kiss that curls my toes and wilts my heart. Because I have something to tell him, tonight.
The most wonderful thing has happened to us! You see, we're going to have another baby.

Spending Time With The Girls

This past Saturday, I decided to take Natters to visit Danica and Odin! Danica and Natalie play very well together....most of the time! Around 8 p.m. I went to find the girls and told Natalie...Come on Natters...it's time to go home! She replies back with a NO!!! Danica also replies with a NO!!! This goes on for about a half hour! Finally I say...Natters what if we take Danni home with us? She says NO!!! Danni says...I can come to your house June! I say...if your mom says yes! So after a quick bath, I'm taking Natters and Danni back to my house!

They watched 3 episodes of the Backyardigans before I told them that they needed to go to sleep! I woke up early to Danica having to go to the bathroom and being hungry! I was able to stall the feeding for awhile by putting Shrek on my laptop! Zach came in a little bit later and watched the ending of the movie with the girls. After that...the girls decided to use my bed as a trampoline and eventually me as a target for landing!

I enjoyed having them over! I'm just glad that doesn't happen every day in my house!

And to think...I thought I wasn't a cat person until....

Harley and Dave came into our home this past summer!

How did this come about you ask? Well, I was at work when my supervisor says, "June, do you want some cats?" My response thinking that it wouldn't be so was, "Only if they're fat cats!" Little did I know that they were indeed fat! Or at least Harley was! I agreed to take them and later that day, I went to Shawano to claim the two newest members of our family!

Harley is on the left. He has a white marking that goes all the way around his neck! He's our "Fatty" weighing in at 22 lbs. Just the other day, one of my coworkers said to my supervisor, "Does June know that one of her cats is pregnant?" Her response, "Highly doubt it, he's a male cat!" LOL

Dave is on the right. He has almost the same markings except his doesn't go all the way around the neck. He's our avid hunter and weighs in at 18 lbs. There was one time where I got scared by a mole in my laundry room and so we locked Dave in the bathroom and laundry room until his job of finding and killing this mole was completed. He did a job well done and even saved the prize for me to see when I got home from work!

This is Real, This is Me!

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Here I Go!

I guess I've decided to join this crazy thing called 'blogging.' It's my hopes that I can share with my loved ones what's going on in my life! I hope to share my dreams as well as my nightmares, my passions, my struggles....and simply what's on my mind! Oh, and I'll also share with you my children since they are a big part of my life!

My only hope is that I can keep up with this on a regular basis! I should just think of it as journaling and keeping memories of old alive!