Don't Thumb Your Nose At The Waitress!!!!

                                          Do you dine out? I bet you do!

Most people aren't aware that wait staff and bartenders only make $4.86 an hour in North Dakota.  In Colorado that number is $2.19 an hour!

     Dealing with the public on a regular basis isn't the easiest way to earn a living.  And for four bucks an hour, it takes a special breed of person! So, Don't thumb your nose at the waitress!

   With the economy the way it is, your server feels it most of all. When you are pinched for cash you still eat/drink out. But the general population TIPS LESS than before. It seems that you still want the same service, same perky

friendly waitress you always get. But you are leaving less at the table!

       Then you actually wonder why the next time you are at that cafe, your waitress is not as friendly.

     

                Your server/waitress/bartender is just as stressed as you are about money. Probably more so. They are busting their rumps to make less. Sometimes, depending on where you work, tips and wages together are barely minimum wage. Try keeping a roof over your head on that!. Add that to the fact that 75% of restruants DO NOT offer health care, sick days or any other perks.

    These days, a great number of places are letting busboys, hostesses and cashiers go.  Add those chores to your regular duties. An employer is getting a heck of a lot of work out of a server for HALF PRICE!
         I am more than aware that some waitressess just suck. That aside, Most are working very hard to please you, and anticipate your wants and needs.
       You may have only had the buffet, but your server still brought and refilled your drinks, found you condiments, extra this and that, took your money, gave you directions to that store you can't find, bussed your table and more. Having the buffet doesn't mean you shouldn't tip at all.
     A waitress/bartender is many things. Some of their responsibilities include; accounts recievable & payable, marketing, quality control, janatorial , public relations and sales-along with what you 'see'. Your server is the front line of defense for the restruant. She/he is the first and last person you will generally have contact with.
       Please! Please! Please! Be considerate of your server! She makes LESS THAN YOU! And depends on tips to pay for the same things you do; a house payment, car, day-care, school etc.
      If you want to eat out that's great. But if you can't afford to leave something, DON'T EAT OUT! Maybe skip the pop at the table and leave your guy or gal a buck instead.
Katy

Only in North Dakota....

        I was at work today and we were talking amongst ourselves about current events in the UK. Thinking to 'test' one of the youngsters ...I sagely asked her "What does the UK stand for?" And she promptly said THE UKRAINE!....Only in North Dakota would that be an acceptable answer!
       Which brings us to my own son....We had quizzed him at the dinner table
                  Us:  Where do Germans live?
                  Him: Germany
                  Us: Where do the French live?
                  Him: France
                                                   and so on.......until.....
                 Us: Where do the polish live?
                               And bless his little heart- with all the disgust only a pre-teen can muster- he looked at me like I was born a mayonnaise farm and said-
                 Him: DDDDUUUUUHHHHH, the North Pole!
Katy

The Princess Diaries

    I am a colossal sucker!  Our neighboring farm also has cattle.....in the middle of the night they call over here and ask if we (meaning 'me') want a bottle baby. So, I said yes. And 'BULL-SHAVICH' came to live with us.
   Any one who really knows me, knows that nothing dies on my watch if it can be helped. This little calf really didn't stand a chance from the get-go, but  I babied, and cajoled this little calf anyway. But alas, to no avail.
   A couple days later the same farm calls again, would I like two more? Yes... Now we have the Princesses Sammy and Freddy. I am happy to report they are doing well. And they are SPOILED! They get 'mama' to talk to them, rub 'em and play with them like dogs. They follow me everywhere! It's like being the Pied-Piper....They even like to be read to. Mostly trashy romance and early American history......
   We keep a couple dozen cows here in the yard. Most of them are pets to me. Yes, I am aware we eat them. And I know they have to go to market if we're to make any money on them... We took some yearling to market in January. They all would come if you called them by name, and were very tame. After we had them at the livestock market, my husband unloaded them into a pen. I was in the cab of the truck and could hear my 'babies' crying and wondering 'what's happening????' I thought hubby was going to just die of embarrassment when I jumped out, and started talking to my babies and telling them it would all be OK and they were going to a new home with lot's of new friends and to be good Girlz and follow the nice man.
   They calmed right down and did what they were told. The yard man at the market was falling all over himself laughing, my hubby was bellowing for me to get in the truck.... I'm sure who was more traumatized, me or the Girlz!
      To be continued.......

Deer hunting with Elmer Fudd....

     If you're my age, you know who Elmer Fudd is and it doesn't need it's own explanation when you use the the name in a story....
     I was at a banquet the other night and the subject at our table turned to hunting stories. I told mine, at the end the youngest person at our table said "who's an Elmer Fudd?"   The rest of us really cracked up.
     Last year on Opening Day ( which is a school holiday in our area-no kidding!) of deer season, my husband thought it would be a swell idea to take me along. I don't hunt, but he seemed to think I cold be useful anyway.
     I dragged out my bibs and boots and proceeded to get myself ready. By the time I got my pants, extra socks, extra shirt, bibs, boots, huge buffalo coat and my babushka on, I had to go pee. Really bad! So...off it all comes, On it it all goes again.
   Looking back- I am actually surprised that by this point he hadn't already decided this was a bad idea.

    Off we go...We get to the section line and hop out of the truck. The snow is already three wires deep on the fence. My husband just steps right over the fence. (he's 6'4") I had to wiggle through it. (I'm 5'2 and a little on the fluffy side) The snow was really deep! Up to my thighs almost.

   Hubby was striding through the snow like no big deal. I was trying to use his foot prints to find my way. I was high stepping it with big exaggerated movements just like Elmer Fudd- He got up ahead of me about 20 yards, I lost may balance and went Whomp! in the snow face first! I had put my hands out to break my fall- bad move- the snow was really powdery and I went all the way down.

   So there I am wallowing around trying to get my feet back under me. I can't seem to get going because I have so many layers on. My husband turns around and glares at me...puts his finger to his lips and goes "SHHHHHHHH!"  Like I wanted to be face-planted in the snow????

    I managed to get up- then he looks and me and signals that I should walk around the other side of the field to scare the deer his way.
   There was definitely some signaling going on. I believe mine was more universal! I went back to the truck and waited for him..... Didn't take him long at that point to realize this was a bad idea.