God is all around us. I know that. There are so many miracles in everyday life if we just take a few moments to notice. I know both J. and I saw a miracle the two times we brought a child into the world. There is no truer miracle than that - it is amazing and wondrous and so incredibly designed. Who else but God could figure out how to make BIRTH happen. It still boggles my mind when I think about those days - and how those two teeny zygotes are now 6 ft. tall.
Still, sometimes you wish for another miracle. For more 'tangible' proof of God's presence. Does he hear prayers? Does He really listen? Do we really make a difference in our lives or the lives of others when we pray fervently and prayerfully, begging for a miracle.
Yes, my friends. Yes. He really does listen. And He really does do miracles - everyday.
When you need convincing that God is with us, check out this blog for the story of Tricia and Gywneth. There are no two more tangible evidence of miracles in my book - breathing, living, thriving miracles. Both. I can't read any part of this story without feeling God. Really feeling God. He's jumping out at us from the pages of Nate's blog as he writes about the last few months. It's amazing. And a miracle.
http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/ There's a link on the right side bar that says 'start here' if you're new to the story. It will take you to a brief summary of all that has happened in the lives of these three people.
Read it with your heart. You'll never be the same. And you'll never doubt God's ability to listen and the existence of miracles ever, ever again. I know I won't.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Loaf
I will share with you a pic of my oldest son - who to me, is still the size of a loaf of bread. He has grown up into a sweet, thoughtul, albeit 'teenage' son and we are very proud of him. Doesn't he look fantastic? I think he's very handsome - though I am biased.
The prom was great fun - the limo/bus was a half hour late picking them up - so they cancelled their dinner reservations and instead, went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Ate dinner there, then walked the Boardwalk. Came back to Tracy and went to the actual prom - and then J. picked them up, he and B. took his date home and then B. went to a friends house for an all night party. He's been sleeping most of the day.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Road Trip
The wedding date has been set - October 18th. We are heading to Phoenix for the weekend. At the moment, we are thinking a road trip would be fun.
The airfare isn't that bad - but there's 4 of us. That right there makes a 'reasonable' fare close to $1,000. And it's really not the money - 'cuz if we wanted to do that, we certainly could. But it will take us 3 hours of 'time' to get to the airport - an hour on the road (if we're lucky - could be closer to 2 depending on the time of day), 2 hours ahead of our flight time. Then a two hour flight. That's already 5 hours and we could be 1/2 way there by then - or pretty close. The kids are older and will just listen to their iPods, play a video game, read, look at scenery or sleep. There's 3 drivers in the family now (though I doubt I'd be able to handle the lack of control with B. at the wheel - he's a great driver. I'm just too much of a control freak) so there's plenty of people to 'share' the driving. And a road trip sounds kind of fun. It's an excuse to drink slushies from 7-11. An excuse to map out every Starbucks on our route for potty breaks and refreshing iced tea. With J's hybrid car, we'll only need about 4 tanks of gas for the entire round-trip - even at $3.80/gallon (which is what I paid yesterday), we're only up to $300. Add in $100 (tops) for food along the way, drinks, etc. And we're still spending less than 1/2 what we'd pay to fly.
Flying was a pain. We wasted so much time waiting in lines. Checking bags. Picking up bags. Undoing everything going through security. Redoing everything after security. Tracy to Phoenix is probably around 11 hours. It's a long drive, but do-able.
We are planning to make it a 4 day weekend - taking the kids out of school Friday and Monday. We shouldn't do that but there's really no other way - even if we flew, it would be a whirlwind trip and we'd really like to have two full days there. So even flying, we'd still need Friday and Monday off.
When the kids were little, we took a couple road trips - drove once to Prescott, AZ for a week's vacation. I packed travel bags for them that I didn't let them see until we left for the trip. Little toys, paper, crayons, etc. Small 'easy' video travel games. We just recently rediscovered those bags up in H's closet and gave a lot of the contents to their cousins, who are younger and appreciate the distractions. It'll be kind of nice to have the boys old enough to entertain themselves. We'll still have the 'are we there yet?' or 'how much longer?' to deal with, but they can look at a map now and figure out where we are and about how much further we have to go.
I'm so looking forward to the wedding - and to the drive itself. It's a pretty time of year to be driving through California and Arizona. It'll be fun. I can't wait!
The airfare isn't that bad - but there's 4 of us. That right there makes a 'reasonable' fare close to $1,000. And it's really not the money - 'cuz if we wanted to do that, we certainly could. But it will take us 3 hours of 'time' to get to the airport - an hour on the road (if we're lucky - could be closer to 2 depending on the time of day), 2 hours ahead of our flight time. Then a two hour flight. That's already 5 hours and we could be 1/2 way there by then - or pretty close. The kids are older and will just listen to their iPods, play a video game, read, look at scenery or sleep. There's 3 drivers in the family now (though I doubt I'd be able to handle the lack of control with B. at the wheel - he's a great driver. I'm just too much of a control freak) so there's plenty of people to 'share' the driving. And a road trip sounds kind of fun. It's an excuse to drink slushies from 7-11. An excuse to map out every Starbucks on our route for potty breaks and refreshing iced tea. With J's hybrid car, we'll only need about 4 tanks of gas for the entire round-trip - even at $3.80/gallon (which is what I paid yesterday), we're only up to $300. Add in $100 (tops) for food along the way, drinks, etc. And we're still spending less than 1/2 what we'd pay to fly.
Flying was a pain. We wasted so much time waiting in lines. Checking bags. Picking up bags. Undoing everything going through security. Redoing everything after security. Tracy to Phoenix is probably around 11 hours. It's a long drive, but do-able.
We are planning to make it a 4 day weekend - taking the kids out of school Friday and Monday. We shouldn't do that but there's really no other way - even if we flew, it would be a whirlwind trip and we'd really like to have two full days there. So even flying, we'd still need Friday and Monday off.
When the kids were little, we took a couple road trips - drove once to Prescott, AZ for a week's vacation. I packed travel bags for them that I didn't let them see until we left for the trip. Little toys, paper, crayons, etc. Small 'easy' video travel games. We just recently rediscovered those bags up in H's closet and gave a lot of the contents to their cousins, who are younger and appreciate the distractions. It'll be kind of nice to have the boys old enough to entertain themselves. We'll still have the 'are we there yet?' or 'how much longer?' to deal with, but they can look at a map now and figure out where we are and about how much further we have to go.
I'm so looking forward to the wedding - and to the drive itself. It's a pretty time of year to be driving through California and Arizona. It'll be fun. I can't wait!
Friday, April 25, 2008
Spontaneity
Had a class today at our county office - 5 weeks from today, we will finish our training - 18 months. Like a master's program of school finance. Homework, group work, classwork and travel - it's been quite a ride. We are all looking forward to the 'end' though it will be kind of sad - we have become really close as friends and are a great team. The thing I love most about school finance as a career: we all help each other. These people, who I didn't know 16 months ago, have become the first people I call when I'm stuck. When I'm terrified. It's been an amazing experience getting to know them. And I've learned a ton.
We finished the class an hour early - a rare and wonderful thing. And I started to head home - south on the freeway - and then I realized 'hey, I'm 1/2 way to Jackson already'. So I called J. and said 'hey, honey, I know this is spur of the moment, but I need some R&R and I'm going to head up to Jackson for a bit'. He was fine with the plan. So I did. Felt so exhilarated - playing 'hooky' from my life and being so spontaneous about it. Didn't plan to go. Didn't have my players card with me. J. went online and helped me find a Wells Fargo on the way (so I wouldn't have to pay ATM fees). I got some cash from our 'fun money' account and headed up. The drive was beautiful - hills still green, with wildflowers everywhere - massive shades of purple, pink and orange just everywhere. Wished I had a camera - but even if it hadn't been so spontaneous, I wouldn't have brought one.
I got to the casino about an hour later. Dropped off the car at valet parking and headed in. Went straight to the players club window and got a replacement card. AND found out how their 'new' points system works - and I had $70 of play available - so yippee!! - free play.
The only 'down' to the afternoon was they have closed 1/2 the casino - their recent remodel resulted in some major issues and the building was deemed unsafe. This after thousands of people have played in that very building for almost a year. So most of the casino is closed and what's left are not nearly as many slots. Not as much variety as they usually have. No two coin 25 cent machines, which are my favorite. But I still had a good time. Lost, but had a good time. Didn't lose all I'd budgeted to lose - and that's great. Will put what's left back in the fun $$ account tomorrow for the next time.
It was a nice way to end another hectic, fun filled week [not]. It felt good to be Majah-centric for a little bit. Ignoring the 8 1/2" by 11" paper 'to do @ home' list that I made during the class - just jotted notes of things that need doing as they crossed my mind. I should have come home and done some of those things - but it felt good to not. Felt good to just turn the car around and take a little time to do something completely out of the ordinary for a Friday afternoon. Usually, by the time Friday rolls around, I'm so beat I can barely stay vertical for dinner, much less get myself motivated enough to GO somewhere. It felt great.
The boys are out and about this evening - one 'hanging' at a friends house [yes, we verified the parents are home - we always do that just to be 'safe'] and one hanging at the mall with friends. J. and I watched Survivor (OH MY GOSH, THIS IS A GREAT SEASON!!) and are now watching Michael Clayton. It's good.
Tomorrow, J. is going to Hayward to see his brother - he was released from the care center today but requires 24 hour care for the next week or so. Thankfully, his home health worker was available so she will stay with him round the clock. J. is going over tomorrow to take back his credit cards and check book to him - and to visit a bit. I plan to work on the list and spend sometime outside in the garden. I have an 'excuse' to go to Home Depot and get a few more flowers for the front beds and a few to 'fill in' the patio planters. And tons of other work to do at home. And then there's the pile of stuff at work - which I really do need to try to work on a bit this weekend, come heck or high water. Typical weekend. 6-8 loads of laundry, errands to run, church all Sunday morning (coffee kart duty again all morning), etc. Hoping for beautiful weather which we've had pretty much all week!
SPRING IS HERE! Finally! Weeds to pull. Shrubs to prune. Flowers to plant. I LOVE SPRING! It's my favorite time of year!
We finished the class an hour early - a rare and wonderful thing. And I started to head home - south on the freeway - and then I realized 'hey, I'm 1/2 way to Jackson already'. So I called J. and said 'hey, honey, I know this is spur of the moment, but I need some R&R and I'm going to head up to Jackson for a bit'. He was fine with the plan. So I did. Felt so exhilarated - playing 'hooky' from my life and being so spontaneous about it. Didn't plan to go. Didn't have my players card with me. J. went online and helped me find a Wells Fargo on the way (so I wouldn't have to pay ATM fees). I got some cash from our 'fun money' account and headed up. The drive was beautiful - hills still green, with wildflowers everywhere - massive shades of purple, pink and orange just everywhere. Wished I had a camera - but even if it hadn't been so spontaneous, I wouldn't have brought one.
I got to the casino about an hour later. Dropped off the car at valet parking and headed in. Went straight to the players club window and got a replacement card. AND found out how their 'new' points system works - and I had $70 of play available - so yippee!! - free play.
The only 'down' to the afternoon was they have closed 1/2 the casino - their recent remodel resulted in some major issues and the building was deemed unsafe. This after thousands of people have played in that very building for almost a year. So most of the casino is closed and what's left are not nearly as many slots. Not as much variety as they usually have. No two coin 25 cent machines, which are my favorite. But I still had a good time. Lost, but had a good time. Didn't lose all I'd budgeted to lose - and that's great. Will put what's left back in the fun $$ account tomorrow for the next time.
It was a nice way to end another hectic, fun filled week [not]. It felt good to be Majah-centric for a little bit. Ignoring the 8 1/2" by 11" paper 'to do @ home' list that I made during the class - just jotted notes of things that need doing as they crossed my mind. I should have come home and done some of those things - but it felt good to not. Felt good to just turn the car around and take a little time to do something completely out of the ordinary for a Friday afternoon. Usually, by the time Friday rolls around, I'm so beat I can barely stay vertical for dinner, much less get myself motivated enough to GO somewhere. It felt great.
The boys are out and about this evening - one 'hanging' at a friends house [yes, we verified the parents are home - we always do that just to be 'safe'] and one hanging at the mall with friends. J. and I watched Survivor (OH MY GOSH, THIS IS A GREAT SEASON!!) and are now watching Michael Clayton. It's good.
Tomorrow, J. is going to Hayward to see his brother - he was released from the care center today but requires 24 hour care for the next week or so. Thankfully, his home health worker was available so she will stay with him round the clock. J. is going over tomorrow to take back his credit cards and check book to him - and to visit a bit. I plan to work on the list and spend sometime outside in the garden. I have an 'excuse' to go to Home Depot and get a few more flowers for the front beds and a few to 'fill in' the patio planters. And tons of other work to do at home. And then there's the pile of stuff at work - which I really do need to try to work on a bit this weekend, come heck or high water. Typical weekend. 6-8 loads of laundry, errands to run, church all Sunday morning (coffee kart duty again all morning), etc. Hoping for beautiful weather which we've had pretty much all week!
SPRING IS HERE! Finally! Weeds to pull. Shrubs to prune. Flowers to plant. I LOVE SPRING! It's my favorite time of year!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Withdrawal
So, our neighborhood Starbucks shut down (since Starbucks didn't renew the licensing agreement with SaveMart (which is our store) and Lucky grocery chains). It's been quite an adjustment. They still served iced tea until they ran out of the tea bags. And I haven't been back there since - they are putting in some 'coffee shop' there but it is the 'store brand'. Still, all those people know me on a first name basis and had my drinks done many mornings before I even got to the register. So I'll try it again soon. In the mean time, I've been trying to grab a couple bottles of water and/or Propel or G-2 to take with me - and those keep me hydrated. But I MISS MY ICED TEA - miss it with a huge passion. I bought 2 cases of Te Java at Trader Joe's yesterday and those work, but I have to bring ice and haul around one or two glass bottles. So that's not really that feasible. And then I have to haul the empties home.
The past few days have had me starting my days at our County Office of Education in Stockton - and thankfully, there's a Starbucks just around the corner so I've been back to my two glasses a day routine. And I'm toying with the concept of adding in another 15 minutes to give me time to drive to the next closest Starbucks (which is sadly not a drive through). But that precious time is lost sleep. And that Starbucks is right next to a Jack in the Box, which also has really good iced tea at half the price. So there's a bit of a 'guilt' factor involved: a) using gas to drive across town to get iced tea and then b) getting the iced tea at a place that will charge me more than double what JitB would charge me. Can I justify that? Will I? Maybe. Maybe sometimes. Mondays? For sure. And the other days - it'll depend on how my morning goes and what's on my desk awaiting my attention.
I got my hair cut a couple days ago - just barely shoulder length. And I've been 'foofing' it more in the mornings - blowing it dry and curling it a bit. I'm kind of out of practice and the curling iron I have has that 'felt like' covering on it, which makes it really hard to use - getting the curls to release is a pain. But it looks nice and doesn't really take too much longer then doing nothing. I think I'll go a little bit shorter next month - and then may just surprise the heck out of everyone and go back to ultra-short in the summer. I plan to spend a lot of time in the pool this summer and short hair is just so much easier.
The nose is a tad bit better the past couple days. Thank goodness. Still not 'great' but much improved. Hard to tell what's 'working' since I'm doing so many things. I hope it's the antibiotic and the new antihistamine, which also has an added side effect of helping me sleep a little better. That's a great thing.
Work is work. As always, there's much I would love to share, but I won't. Same stuff, different day. It's been a particularly challenging week or two on the work front and my head is all 'twisted up' around the things that have happened lately. I will figure it out. The job itself is great - and I know I'm doing a really good job and am very, very good at what I do. I know that. But there's a lot to be said for being happy. And happy is not an adjective I'd use to describe how I feel about my job. Now true, many people aren't 'happy' about working. I would rather not work at all. Who wouldn't? That's why we play the lottery every week - for the chance to kiss it all goodbye. But I used to be happy - and now I'm not. And that's got to change. Something has to change. Whether those changes happen where I'm at and ease the situation there a bit; or whether I decide this isn't where I want to be, I don't know yet. But I'm getting there.
The only thing I know for sure is that God knows the plan. He's known it long before I ever even thought of being where I am. There's a reason for everything. It will all play out. I just have to be patient and trust Him. And I do. I most definitely do.
The past few days have had me starting my days at our County Office of Education in Stockton - and thankfully, there's a Starbucks just around the corner so I've been back to my two glasses a day routine. And I'm toying with the concept of adding in another 15 minutes to give me time to drive to the next closest Starbucks (which is sadly not a drive through). But that precious time is lost sleep. And that Starbucks is right next to a Jack in the Box, which also has really good iced tea at half the price. So there's a bit of a 'guilt' factor involved: a) using gas to drive across town to get iced tea and then b) getting the iced tea at a place that will charge me more than double what JitB would charge me. Can I justify that? Will I? Maybe. Maybe sometimes. Mondays? For sure. And the other days - it'll depend on how my morning goes and what's on my desk awaiting my attention.
I got my hair cut a couple days ago - just barely shoulder length. And I've been 'foofing' it more in the mornings - blowing it dry and curling it a bit. I'm kind of out of practice and the curling iron I have has that 'felt like' covering on it, which makes it really hard to use - getting the curls to release is a pain. But it looks nice and doesn't really take too much longer then doing nothing. I think I'll go a little bit shorter next month - and then may just surprise the heck out of everyone and go back to ultra-short in the summer. I plan to spend a lot of time in the pool this summer and short hair is just so much easier.
The nose is a tad bit better the past couple days. Thank goodness. Still not 'great' but much improved. Hard to tell what's 'working' since I'm doing so many things. I hope it's the antibiotic and the new antihistamine, which also has an added side effect of helping me sleep a little better. That's a great thing.
Work is work. As always, there's much I would love to share, but I won't. Same stuff, different day. It's been a particularly challenging week or two on the work front and my head is all 'twisted up' around the things that have happened lately. I will figure it out. The job itself is great - and I know I'm doing a really good job and am very, very good at what I do. I know that. But there's a lot to be said for being happy. And happy is not an adjective I'd use to describe how I feel about my job. Now true, many people aren't 'happy' about working. I would rather not work at all. Who wouldn't? That's why we play the lottery every week - for the chance to kiss it all goodbye. But I used to be happy - and now I'm not. And that's got to change. Something has to change. Whether those changes happen where I'm at and ease the situation there a bit; or whether I decide this isn't where I want to be, I don't know yet. But I'm getting there.
The only thing I know for sure is that God knows the plan. He's known it long before I ever even thought of being where I am. There's a reason for everything. It will all play out. I just have to be patient and trust Him. And I do. I most definitely do.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Nose
Oh, the horror that is my nose. As if the outside, red, peel-y soreness isn't bad enough (and let me assure you, it is quite enough already), the inside is just a wreck. So incredibly sore - I can barely blow my nose. It's awful. This sinus infection is unlike any other - it will NEVER end. And I won't gross you out by describing everything in great detail - but whatever the heck is in it that needs to come out simply WILL NOT. No amount of blowing, rinsing, etc. makes any difference. It's a wreck. A two-holed, peel-y, red, angry, pissed off wreck.
I was on my Farm 51 game for a bit and was chatting with a new 'friend' in Michigan - and she gave me a couple things to try - which involve meds that will undoubtedly leave me curled up in bed in a Benadryl (among other over the counter pharmaceuticals) induced fog. It's looking like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD weekend - that is my 'I'm in recuperation' mode viewing choice (remember the kidney stone episode a few months back?). Actually, an 'excuse' to stay curled up in bed all day and sleep off and on sounds heavenly, even if it weren't to cure a sinus issue.
I will have to rouse myself from bed long enough to get pics of B. in his cool tux - 2PM pictures, 4PM limo departure. It's a big group, hence the long time in between. 13 couples. That's a lot to get 'organized' into a cohesive unit. We will torture him the requisite amount to recoup the gillions of dollars in outgo we've made for this little 'event'. It's going to be a memorable day, that's for sure.
If I could, I would 'snake out' my sinuses. Seriously. I've tried everything else. Rinsing them out only seems to be making them worse.
OK, sorry. I've reached a new low in my blogdom - discussing a body cavity (or in this case cavities) in great length. I'll try to liven it up tomorrow. In between lavaging, sneezing, blowing and generally being miserable. I think my nose has created a new industrial strength bonding agent or something. Maybe I should patent it.
I was on my Farm 51 game for a bit and was chatting with a new 'friend' in Michigan - and she gave me a couple things to try - which involve meds that will undoubtedly leave me curled up in bed in a Benadryl (among other over the counter pharmaceuticals) induced fog. It's looking like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVD weekend - that is my 'I'm in recuperation' mode viewing choice (remember the kidney stone episode a few months back?). Actually, an 'excuse' to stay curled up in bed all day and sleep off and on sounds heavenly, even if it weren't to cure a sinus issue.
I will have to rouse myself from bed long enough to get pics of B. in his cool tux - 2PM pictures, 4PM limo departure. It's a big group, hence the long time in between. 13 couples. That's a lot to get 'organized' into a cohesive unit. We will torture him the requisite amount to recoup the gillions of dollars in outgo we've made for this little 'event'. It's going to be a memorable day, that's for sure.
If I could, I would 'snake out' my sinuses. Seriously. I've tried everything else. Rinsing them out only seems to be making them worse.
OK, sorry. I've reached a new low in my blogdom - discussing a body cavity (or in this case cavities) in great length. I'll try to liven it up tomorrow. In between lavaging, sneezing, blowing and generally being miserable. I think my nose has created a new industrial strength bonding agent or something. Maybe I should patent it.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Fire
There's a fire in the fireplace this evening. It is a bit chilly outside, though I personally didn't consider it as 'fire worthy'. H. loves a fire in the fireplace and since it was 'cloudy' outside, and bit chilly, (and he was cold because he has a tshirt and shorts on), he built a fire. It was odd to come home to that on a mid-April evening - but it's nice. Feels homey.
I finally got around to return the Doris Day show DVDs I've had since February - during the writer's strike, I was watching a season every week. But I sort of lost track and stopped watching them...and then Hawaii ....and I still didn't watch them. So I finally just mailed them back. We got the movies "Michael Clayton" and "Juno" this past weekend. And the movie "Once" is on it's way for delivery tomorrow. Juno is FANTASTIC - I just love it. I've watched it twice already and will still watch it again when J. wants to watch. It's great! Michael Clayton is good - we've started watching it and can't wait to find a couple hours of quiet time to finish. We'll hopefully get to watch them this weekend.
B. has prom this weekend - they are to be dressed and meet at a friends house at 2PM for pics. Then the bus picks them up and takes them to Santa Cruz for dinner. Then back to Tracy for the actual dance. I am glad they decided to go to the dance - there was talk of just going to a party and we weren't too keen on that. But the dance will be fine. We're still trying to get a few details out of B. (for example, like how they will get home? Will the limo be there at the end of the dance to take kids home? If not, we'll have to go pick him up, which means one of us (me or J.) have to remain awake enough to drive to the school. I can't wait to see him in his tux with his date. They picked out corsages today - I'll try to post a pic here on Saturday.
H. announced that he was measured today at school and he's 5'9" - he will be 15 in a month. And he's most definitely still growing. He's grown a full half foot in the past 6 months. He's like an amaryllis plant - keeps growing, and growing, and growing....amazing.
I went to the doctor yesterday to be diagnosed with another sinus infection. I'm actually not sure it's a 'new' infection - since I saw the doctor in February and was still having symptoms throughout our Hawaii trip. So it never really went away. Another round of antibiotics, a new antihistamine and a spray, and still washing them out with saline as often as I can. It's been pretty miserable the past few days. Hopefully, I'll feel better soon - it's 8PM and I'm going to (already) head up to bed. Pretty darn tired.
I also managed today to pick up my cool new sunglasses, get my regular glasses adjusted and get my hair done. A new 'more honey' color and a shorter, shoulder length cut. Little by little, I'm heading back to short hair. Not quite ready for a full cut but it's coming. This 'new' style requires some foofing but that's OK. I will give myself an extra 20 minutes in the morning to blow it dry and then it should just be a couple swipes with the curling iron, some hair spray and it should be good to go. I'm not one for a lot of 'foof' but I can do it when it's required. And this shorter look will need something other than 'wash and wear'.
I had two full days of 'open schedule' which was great. We have our annual 'shred' event - where a truck comes and shreds things we don't need anymore - so I have to clean out some binders, etc. It's a good time to just regroup and get some things organized. And I got a lot of 'paperwork' done. Sadly, tomorrow is back to days of meeting after meeting. But I did make a lot of progress. Am starting to work on the budget and preparing for year-end. It's a busy time of year - everyone scrambles to hit the deadlines - and frequently don't. We muddle through.
American Idol is on now so I'll sign off to watch it. I really have no clear favorite. It's funny that I even watch it 'cuz I don't really like it until the top 12 are picked - and then it's just interesting to see the talents unfold week after week as the pack is narrowed down. I know a lot of people love the auditions - especially the bad ones - but I just don't like to watch that. Guess I just don't want to watch train wrecks in process. But once they've narrowed it down, I really enjoy seeing them branch out and challenge themselves with what they're doing week after week. They are most definitely out of their comfort zone - and those challenges bring out some amazing talent.
Kind of like the way I feel about me and my job. There are challenges - and I am out of my comfort zone often. But I know I am really great at this job and that's something to be really thankful for.
I finally got around to return the Doris Day show DVDs I've had since February - during the writer's strike, I was watching a season every week. But I sort of lost track and stopped watching them...and then Hawaii ....and I still didn't watch them. So I finally just mailed them back. We got the movies "Michael Clayton" and "Juno" this past weekend. And the movie "Once" is on it's way for delivery tomorrow. Juno is FANTASTIC - I just love it. I've watched it twice already and will still watch it again when J. wants to watch. It's great! Michael Clayton is good - we've started watching it and can't wait to find a couple hours of quiet time to finish. We'll hopefully get to watch them this weekend.
B. has prom this weekend - they are to be dressed and meet at a friends house at 2PM for pics. Then the bus picks them up and takes them to Santa Cruz for dinner. Then back to Tracy for the actual dance. I am glad they decided to go to the dance - there was talk of just going to a party and we weren't too keen on that. But the dance will be fine. We're still trying to get a few details out of B. (for example, like how they will get home? Will the limo be there at the end of the dance to take kids home? If not, we'll have to go pick him up, which means one of us (me or J.) have to remain awake enough to drive to the school. I can't wait to see him in his tux with his date. They picked out corsages today - I'll try to post a pic here on Saturday.
H. announced that he was measured today at school and he's 5'9" - he will be 15 in a month. And he's most definitely still growing. He's grown a full half foot in the past 6 months. He's like an amaryllis plant - keeps growing, and growing, and growing....amazing.
I went to the doctor yesterday to be diagnosed with another sinus infection. I'm actually not sure it's a 'new' infection - since I saw the doctor in February and was still having symptoms throughout our Hawaii trip. So it never really went away. Another round of antibiotics, a new antihistamine and a spray, and still washing them out with saline as often as I can. It's been pretty miserable the past few days. Hopefully, I'll feel better soon - it's 8PM and I'm going to (already) head up to bed. Pretty darn tired.
I also managed today to pick up my cool new sunglasses, get my regular glasses adjusted and get my hair done. A new 'more honey' color and a shorter, shoulder length cut. Little by little, I'm heading back to short hair. Not quite ready for a full cut but it's coming. This 'new' style requires some foofing but that's OK. I will give myself an extra 20 minutes in the morning to blow it dry and then it should just be a couple swipes with the curling iron, some hair spray and it should be good to go. I'm not one for a lot of 'foof' but I can do it when it's required. And this shorter look will need something other than 'wash and wear'.
I had two full days of 'open schedule' which was great. We have our annual 'shred' event - where a truck comes and shreds things we don't need anymore - so I have to clean out some binders, etc. It's a good time to just regroup and get some things organized. And I got a lot of 'paperwork' done. Sadly, tomorrow is back to days of meeting after meeting. But I did make a lot of progress. Am starting to work on the budget and preparing for year-end. It's a busy time of year - everyone scrambles to hit the deadlines - and frequently don't. We muddle through.
American Idol is on now so I'll sign off to watch it. I really have no clear favorite. It's funny that I even watch it 'cuz I don't really like it until the top 12 are picked - and then it's just interesting to see the talents unfold week after week as the pack is narrowed down. I know a lot of people love the auditions - especially the bad ones - but I just don't like to watch that. Guess I just don't want to watch train wrecks in process. But once they've narrowed it down, I really enjoy seeing them branch out and challenge themselves with what they're doing week after week. They are most definitely out of their comfort zone - and those challenges bring out some amazing talent.
Kind of like the way I feel about me and my job. There are challenges - and I am out of my comfort zone often. But I know I am really great at this job and that's something to be really thankful for.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Wind
When we decided to move out 'to the valley' from Hayward, we heard from a lot of people 'oh, it's so windy out there in Tracy'. I remember thinking 'wind? What's so bad about some wind? Hayward has wind.'
Hayward has BREEZES. Tracy has WIND. Seemingly never-ending, typhoon class wind. Blows garbage cans over. Sends things flying. Puts water pots, empty flower pots, etc. into the pool on a fairly regular basis. Has even been known to send pool furniture, etc. skittering across the patio. It's crazy. At work this week, I was blasted by teeny tan bark chips on my way to and from the bathroom. Like a sandstorm, it HURT when they hit ankles, face, etc. THAT is the wind everyone was talking about when we decided to move here.
Today, it started as a warm, mild day and quickly changed to VERY windy and COLD. The sun was deceiving because you'd walk outside expecting to feel warmth and end up running back in to get a coat. And a hat, possibly. It was THAT cold. We still managed to work on the backyard a bit - pulled lots of weeds, etc. It's looking better, little by little. We went to Costco and I resisted buying any plants in the garden section - they had some really pretty flower flats but I knew we had no time to plant them this week, so I resisted. Good thing 'cuz it's too darn windy to plant them at the moment and tomorrow isn't supposed to be much better.
I don't mind the wind. You get kind of used to it - when it gets bad, you just 'batten down the hatches'. The pool will have various items floating in it tomorrow - and will most definitely need to be netted to keep the filter from being choked full first thing in the morning. All the little bits of our pruning and weeding that we missed will invariably end up in the pool. On a good note, the skies are crystal clear here usually - things get 'blown out' fairly regularly.
Church and coffee kart duty tomorrow. Then plan to go into work a bit in the afternoon. I left after 1/2 day yesterday (since I'd worked 40 hours by noon on Thursday and was exhausted) and left sort of 'in a hurry'. Once I decided to go, I just bailed. So my desk is a wreck and I have some things I need to 'undig' in preparation for next week.
B. is heading to the mall to go to the movies with a bunch of friends. H. is at a friends house, probably spending the night elsewhere again tonight. J. is on his computer behind me - he's been playing his Flight Simulator game, learning to 'fly' jets. It's been pretty funny to hear the 'warnings' - 'don't sink, don't sink' over and over. The voice kind of has an 'accent' that makes it sound like he's saying 'dunt sink, dunt sink'. Cracks us both up. He's trying to learn how to use 'autopilot' - at one point, he went to get some laundry out of the laundry room and I noticed the plane was just turning and turning and turning. So I let him know - there are apparently some kinks in the autopilot feature? And then when he tried to deactivate the autopilot to try to land, he was pretty close to crashing - but he made it. He didn't land on the runway, actually - but hey, he landed and the plane was fine and no one died - so that's a good flight in my book.
At Costco today, we looked at the Touch iPod for J. for Father's Day. He won't buy the 32G one - it's 'too expensive'. It's a couple hundred more than the smaller version - and to me, he should get the 'biggest' because he might wish he had the space someday. He really does use it a lot - he downloads pod casts, and music. And could even download audio books, movies, etc. But he's so darn 'thrifty' sometimes. I gave him my 'revised' philosophy on $$ : we save a lot. We are in general 'low maintenance' people (if you don't count the two teen leeches we feed, cloth, entertain, etc.). We both work stressful jobs that require a fair amount of skill and are paid very well for those jobs. So we should spend some of it. His 401K savings is maxed out - we're at the limit of what we can put in. But for what? We will retire comfortably as is - so we need to start enjoying some of it NOW. And like I told him - 'it's not like you're spending $1,000 more to have the 'biggest' one. You're spending just $200 more for the extra space'. He is 'thinking about it'. He's so much like his dad in that way. So silly.
Hayward has BREEZES. Tracy has WIND. Seemingly never-ending, typhoon class wind. Blows garbage cans over. Sends things flying. Puts water pots, empty flower pots, etc. into the pool on a fairly regular basis. Has even been known to send pool furniture, etc. skittering across the patio. It's crazy. At work this week, I was blasted by teeny tan bark chips on my way to and from the bathroom. Like a sandstorm, it HURT when they hit ankles, face, etc. THAT is the wind everyone was talking about when we decided to move here.
Today, it started as a warm, mild day and quickly changed to VERY windy and COLD. The sun was deceiving because you'd walk outside expecting to feel warmth and end up running back in to get a coat. And a hat, possibly. It was THAT cold. We still managed to work on the backyard a bit - pulled lots of weeds, etc. It's looking better, little by little. We went to Costco and I resisted buying any plants in the garden section - they had some really pretty flower flats but I knew we had no time to plant them this week, so I resisted. Good thing 'cuz it's too darn windy to plant them at the moment and tomorrow isn't supposed to be much better.
I don't mind the wind. You get kind of used to it - when it gets bad, you just 'batten down the hatches'. The pool will have various items floating in it tomorrow - and will most definitely need to be netted to keep the filter from being choked full first thing in the morning. All the little bits of our pruning and weeding that we missed will invariably end up in the pool. On a good note, the skies are crystal clear here usually - things get 'blown out' fairly regularly.
Church and coffee kart duty tomorrow. Then plan to go into work a bit in the afternoon. I left after 1/2 day yesterday (since I'd worked 40 hours by noon on Thursday and was exhausted) and left sort of 'in a hurry'. Once I decided to go, I just bailed. So my desk is a wreck and I have some things I need to 'undig' in preparation for next week.
B. is heading to the mall to go to the movies with a bunch of friends. H. is at a friends house, probably spending the night elsewhere again tonight. J. is on his computer behind me - he's been playing his Flight Simulator game, learning to 'fly' jets. It's been pretty funny to hear the 'warnings' - 'don't sink, don't sink' over and over. The voice kind of has an 'accent' that makes it sound like he's saying 'dunt sink, dunt sink'. Cracks us both up. He's trying to learn how to use 'autopilot' - at one point, he went to get some laundry out of the laundry room and I noticed the plane was just turning and turning and turning. So I let him know - there are apparently some kinks in the autopilot feature? And then when he tried to deactivate the autopilot to try to land, he was pretty close to crashing - but he made it. He didn't land on the runway, actually - but hey, he landed and the plane was fine and no one died - so that's a good flight in my book.
At Costco today, we looked at the Touch iPod for J. for Father's Day. He won't buy the 32G one - it's 'too expensive'. It's a couple hundred more than the smaller version - and to me, he should get the 'biggest' because he might wish he had the space someday. He really does use it a lot - he downloads pod casts, and music. And could even download audio books, movies, etc. But he's so darn 'thrifty' sometimes. I gave him my 'revised' philosophy on $$ : we save a lot. We are in general 'low maintenance' people (if you don't count the two teen leeches we feed, cloth, entertain, etc.). We both work stressful jobs that require a fair amount of skill and are paid very well for those jobs. So we should spend some of it. His 401K savings is maxed out - we're at the limit of what we can put in. But for what? We will retire comfortably as is - so we need to start enjoying some of it NOW. And like I told him - 'it's not like you're spending $1,000 more to have the 'biggest' one. You're spending just $200 more for the extra space'. He is 'thinking about it'. He's so much like his dad in that way. So silly.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Survivor
OH MY GOSH - tonight's episode was one of the all time BIGGEST blind sides EVER in the history of the show. It was phenomenal. And because J. had told me what the SF Chronicle about the episode, which led us to believe something completely and totally different was going to happen, we were just stunned - in that sort of pleasant 'wow, some weeks this show is back to being really fun to watch' - which it isn't always.
Now I'm watching Lost - and they've added 'subtitles' - kind of like the VH1 pop up videos - they're offering 'helpful hints' about the context of what's happening in the current scene. Perhaps they've realized that if you haven't watched this show from Day 1 (which I have) and haven't watched most episodes more than once (which I also have), you will have a very hard time figuring out what in the heck is happening. It is very hard for me to follow these days - with the constant switching back and forth to 'on island' and then 'off island' scenes. It's complex. But oh so good - it's just a fantastic adventure.
I am wishing for a 'commitment free' weekend but sadly, there is no such thing anymore. The best I can hope for is trying to sleep in until 7ish, hopefully. We hope to see a musical at LPC in Livermore and then we have church on Sunday morning and a church meeting Sunday afternoon.
The weather is supposed to be cooler and a bit windy. We are working on the yards little by little - lots of pruning, weeding and planting. I got brave with the Park Seed catalog a couple years ago and ordered some plants that are now threatening to unify into their own country. The butterfly bushes are beautiful and fragrant when they're in bloom - which isn't often. They grow like weeds - the 'trunks' are getting thicker and thicker to the point where pruning them involves using a saw. And they are incredibly tall - I try pulling a branch down to bend it down to prune the top but I can't get all the height off. So they are getting huge and tall and impossible to keep 'groomed'. Same with the potato bush tree which has grown incredibly the past few years - it's just too high to prune/trim without a ladder. So the gardener prunes the sides all the time but the top has these long, wispy branches that just get higher and higher. We're going to have to get the ladder out this weekend and try to trim it a bit.
We have a grafted Japanese Maple in a box - it's a BIG box - the kind that you can't lift. They'll have to cut the box off around the root ball. We will get it transplanted into the ground in the next few months and pray it survives. It is a really beautiful tree and it's not something we could find again if we wanted another one. We've had really good luck with Japanese Maples and have three in the front and two in the back. They get a little brown in the summer from the heat - but we try to remember to spritz Cloud Cover on them when it's really hot and they seem to do OK. We love them because they are beautiful and 'lighter' looking than regular trees. And, they don't have very complex root systems which is OK around pools.
B. is preparing for his Jr. Prom which is next weekend. He is wearing a black tux, with a purple vest, black shirt and black tie with a purple 'pocket' hanky. He will look smashing. His date is wearing a purple long dress. We don't know much more than that. We still don't really know where they're going - nor how much we will need to pay for the evenings activities. But we do know he seems excited about it. And that's a nice thing 'cuz he's a typical 17 year old and doesn't seem really 'happy' about much of anything.
That's it for now. More this weekend.
Now I'm watching Lost - and they've added 'subtitles' - kind of like the VH1 pop up videos - they're offering 'helpful hints' about the context of what's happening in the current scene. Perhaps they've realized that if you haven't watched this show from Day 1 (which I have) and haven't watched most episodes more than once (which I also have), you will have a very hard time figuring out what in the heck is happening. It is very hard for me to follow these days - with the constant switching back and forth to 'on island' and then 'off island' scenes. It's complex. But oh so good - it's just a fantastic adventure.
I am wishing for a 'commitment free' weekend but sadly, there is no such thing anymore. The best I can hope for is trying to sleep in until 7ish, hopefully. We hope to see a musical at LPC in Livermore and then we have church on Sunday morning and a church meeting Sunday afternoon.
The weather is supposed to be cooler and a bit windy. We are working on the yards little by little - lots of pruning, weeding and planting. I got brave with the Park Seed catalog a couple years ago and ordered some plants that are now threatening to unify into their own country. The butterfly bushes are beautiful and fragrant when they're in bloom - which isn't often. They grow like weeds - the 'trunks' are getting thicker and thicker to the point where pruning them involves using a saw. And they are incredibly tall - I try pulling a branch down to bend it down to prune the top but I can't get all the height off. So they are getting huge and tall and impossible to keep 'groomed'. Same with the potato bush tree which has grown incredibly the past few years - it's just too high to prune/trim without a ladder. So the gardener prunes the sides all the time but the top has these long, wispy branches that just get higher and higher. We're going to have to get the ladder out this weekend and try to trim it a bit.
We have a grafted Japanese Maple in a box - it's a BIG box - the kind that you can't lift. They'll have to cut the box off around the root ball. We will get it transplanted into the ground in the next few months and pray it survives. It is a really beautiful tree and it's not something we could find again if we wanted another one. We've had really good luck with Japanese Maples and have three in the front and two in the back. They get a little brown in the summer from the heat - but we try to remember to spritz Cloud Cover on them when it's really hot and they seem to do OK. We love them because they are beautiful and 'lighter' looking than regular trees. And, they don't have very complex root systems which is OK around pools.
B. is preparing for his Jr. Prom which is next weekend. He is wearing a black tux, with a purple vest, black shirt and black tie with a purple 'pocket' hanky. He will look smashing. His date is wearing a purple long dress. We don't know much more than that. We still don't really know where they're going - nor how much we will need to pay for the evenings activities. But we do know he seems excited about it. And that's a nice thing 'cuz he's a typical 17 year old and doesn't seem really 'happy' about much of anything.
That's it for now. More this weekend.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Mum
I am remaining mum at this point. So many things to say. To people. To particular people. And to no one in particular - but I just want to say it. But I won't. It won't resolve anything and it's all too complicated.
Drove to the lovely town of Woodland again today for my 2nd to the last Yolo County CBO class. Arrived early enough to stop at the local WalMart and get lotion, Kleenex, a notebook, some pretty 'folders' and a pen. Left the house totally unprepared and with itchy skin and runny nose. I really like that town. It's really pretty and it's growing a bit but still has that 'small farm community' feel. Grain silos everywhere. Trains everywhere, too - lots of agriculture there.
The drive is about 2 hours depending on traffic - and it's always longer getting there than coming home - Sacto traffic and the Hwy. 80 interchange are always 'a mess'. I'll be experiencing that mess again in a few weeks when I drive to Sparks, NV. for a conference/dinner where my boss is being honored. Our last class there is May 19th and I'm going to miss the catering. It is the best 'workshop' food any of us have EVER had - it is just delicious EVERY TIME. Today was some kind of cheesy, tortellini casserole - with pesto AND tomato sauce, plenty of mushrooms and roasted peppers. It was great! I will miss those lunches. But I won't miss departing the house at 5:30 and driving 2 hours and then sitting in class for 7+ hours and driving back home. These are some very long days. But the classes are almost over so I can make it - YEAH! And every class has been great!
I arrived home, caught up on emails and found myself 'anxious' and not sure why. So I put on Chloe's harness and leash and we went for a little walk. It got my blood going and helped me 'de-stress' a bit. Will try to make a habit of that.
It's only Wednesday and I've already worked 35 hours this week - in 3 days. That's bad, but not unusual for weeks when I have our monthly meeting - and much to prepare for that. It's always a marathon week and this week is no exception. Usually, Wednesdays after are 'wind-down' days but since I had the class today, there was no unwinding. Maybe tomorrow. When I wade through the stacks and stacks of stuff on my desk.
OK -time for dinner and I'm really hoping to get to bed early tonight and actually SLEEP.
Drove to the lovely town of Woodland again today for my 2nd to the last Yolo County CBO class. Arrived early enough to stop at the local WalMart and get lotion, Kleenex, a notebook, some pretty 'folders' and a pen. Left the house totally unprepared and with itchy skin and runny nose. I really like that town. It's really pretty and it's growing a bit but still has that 'small farm community' feel. Grain silos everywhere. Trains everywhere, too - lots of agriculture there.
The drive is about 2 hours depending on traffic - and it's always longer getting there than coming home - Sacto traffic and the Hwy. 80 interchange are always 'a mess'. I'll be experiencing that mess again in a few weeks when I drive to Sparks, NV. for a conference/dinner where my boss is being honored. Our last class there is May 19th and I'm going to miss the catering. It is the best 'workshop' food any of us have EVER had - it is just delicious EVERY TIME. Today was some kind of cheesy, tortellini casserole - with pesto AND tomato sauce, plenty of mushrooms and roasted peppers. It was great! I will miss those lunches. But I won't miss departing the house at 5:30 and driving 2 hours and then sitting in class for 7+ hours and driving back home. These are some very long days. But the classes are almost over so I can make it - YEAH! And every class has been great!
I arrived home, caught up on emails and found myself 'anxious' and not sure why. So I put on Chloe's harness and leash and we went for a little walk. It got my blood going and helped me 'de-stress' a bit. Will try to make a habit of that.
It's only Wednesday and I've already worked 35 hours this week - in 3 days. That's bad, but not unusual for weeks when I have our monthly meeting - and much to prepare for that. It's always a marathon week and this week is no exception. Usually, Wednesdays after are 'wind-down' days but since I had the class today, there was no unwinding. Maybe tomorrow. When I wade through the stacks and stacks of stuff on my desk.
OK -time for dinner and I'm really hoping to get to bed early tonight and actually SLEEP.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Finito
Finished our taxes on Sunday - filed and 'confirmed' received by both the Fed and State. Also filed J's brothers for him (that is a long story and I will not go into it at this point - it was a weekend unlike any weekend I've ever had nor hope to have anytime in the near future). Anyway, we're waiting for the confirm back from the Fed on his - but they are 'in'.
We had to pay just under $500 to the Feds and will get a whopping $69 back from State. And our 'tax rebate' to stimulate the economy is a whopping $237. I sort of already spent it on my Mothers' Day gift - a Dooney & Bourke wallet I've been coveting that went on clearance...and a matching coin purse because I have no place to store my change before I put it in the coin jar. Really. And Mother's Day is crossed off J's list 'cuz it's done. Isn't that great? I know - I'm really good to him (as he is to me). I was disappointed in the reduction (drastic, honestly) but acknowledge that it is adjusted that much because we make that much - so I can't complain. And I feel good about doing my part - promptly spending it 'in advance' of the government actually paying us.
There was a dead rat in the pool this morning - he was likely fleeing a cat and made a wrong turn. Took me awhile to figure out what it was as dawn was breaking - but once I made out something that looked 'tail-like' it was pretty clear it wasn't some kind of leaf or something. So I let J. know so he'd take care of it before he left. And before the pool vac tried to take care of it for us. That would be gross.
High winds here today - out of nowhere. The weekend weather was so beautiful that everyone dressed in Spring clothes - and we all were freezing to death as we made our way from our all day meeting to the bathroom. Cold, biting wind and blowing so hard that the little bits of 'tan bark' from the playgrounds were actually hurting as they hit arms, ankles, etc. Hopefully it will calm down soon.
J's youngest brother is expected here any minute - he spent the day visiting the middle brother who is in a 'care center' recovering from a kidney infection. He's been very 'unwell' this past weekend - and we are hoping he's turned a corner and doing better. Say a prayer. He needs them. I will attempt to be a congenial host, though I'm not good at it and most certainly don't really 'like' company on weeknights - and Mondays are particularly bad. But I'll cope. Lasagna, garlic bread and a nice salad will be cooking as soon as I push 'post'.
Not much new. I have more to say but it will have to wait for another post, another day.
We had to pay just under $500 to the Feds and will get a whopping $69 back from State. And our 'tax rebate' to stimulate the economy is a whopping $237. I sort of already spent it on my Mothers' Day gift - a Dooney & Bourke wallet I've been coveting that went on clearance...and a matching coin purse because I have no place to store my change before I put it in the coin jar. Really. And Mother's Day is crossed off J's list 'cuz it's done. Isn't that great? I know - I'm really good to him (as he is to me). I was disappointed in the reduction (drastic, honestly) but acknowledge that it is adjusted that much because we make that much - so I can't complain. And I feel good about doing my part - promptly spending it 'in advance' of the government actually paying us.
There was a dead rat in the pool this morning - he was likely fleeing a cat and made a wrong turn. Took me awhile to figure out what it was as dawn was breaking - but once I made out something that looked 'tail-like' it was pretty clear it wasn't some kind of leaf or something. So I let J. know so he'd take care of it before he left. And before the pool vac tried to take care of it for us. That would be gross.
High winds here today - out of nowhere. The weekend weather was so beautiful that everyone dressed in Spring clothes - and we all were freezing to death as we made our way from our all day meeting to the bathroom. Cold, biting wind and blowing so hard that the little bits of 'tan bark' from the playgrounds were actually hurting as they hit arms, ankles, etc. Hopefully it will calm down soon.
J's youngest brother is expected here any minute - he spent the day visiting the middle brother who is in a 'care center' recovering from a kidney infection. He's been very 'unwell' this past weekend - and we are hoping he's turned a corner and doing better. Say a prayer. He needs them. I will attempt to be a congenial host, though I'm not good at it and most certainly don't really 'like' company on weeknights - and Mondays are particularly bad. But I'll cope. Lasagna, garlic bread and a nice salad will be cooking as soon as I push 'post'.
Not much new. I have more to say but it will have to wait for another post, another day.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Otters vs. Slugs
On another note, B. is really thinking about colleges. He appears to be (at last report, which was a few hours ago so it could have all changed by now - it's changed so many times, I really should just stop giving any thought to his latest idea because it won't be the same tomorrow...or the next day. Or whenever). Anyway.....
He's still thinking it through and wants to go to a state school that's close enough that he can drive home in a day but not so close that we'll make him live at home and commute.
I'm a big fan of Cal State Univ. Monterey Bay. It's beautiful, it's a good school, AND it's a real bargain at just over $10K per year including room and board, tuition and fees. Books and 'incidentals' extra - but THAT is a really reasonable amount. And it's a beautiful campus with ocean views. Close to home and some place we would be happy to visit as often as he'll allow. We are really encouraging him to set up a visit and we'll go down on a Saturday for a tour.
He's not too sure now. And it's not that he wasn't thrilled with the price - he will have to borrow some of his college expenses (possibly) and he's realizing that it's expensive to live in a dorm, etc. No, it's not the school itself that's leading to his hesitation. It's the MASCOT of the college. They are the CSUMB Otters. I mean, what else could they be? The Monterey Bay Aquarium is nearby - and otters are EVERYWHERE in Monterey. So now he's rethinking the school. Because of the MASCOT.
He HAD been considering going to UC Santa Cruz until he realized that it's mathematically impossible for him to qualify for admission there. And THEIR mascot is the BANANA SLUG. That didn't seem to bother him - but being an OTTER does?
Kids. Choosing a college based on the mascot? I don't even remember WHAT my college mascot was (I'll have to look it up later and report back).
He's still thinking it through and wants to go to a state school that's close enough that he can drive home in a day but not so close that we'll make him live at home and commute.
I'm a big fan of Cal State Univ. Monterey Bay. It's beautiful, it's a good school, AND it's a real bargain at just over $10K per year including room and board, tuition and fees. Books and 'incidentals' extra - but THAT is a really reasonable amount. And it's a beautiful campus with ocean views. Close to home and some place we would be happy to visit as often as he'll allow. We are really encouraging him to set up a visit and we'll go down on a Saturday for a tour.
He's not too sure now. And it's not that he wasn't thrilled with the price - he will have to borrow some of his college expenses (possibly) and he's realizing that it's expensive to live in a dorm, etc. No, it's not the school itself that's leading to his hesitation. It's the MASCOT of the college. They are the CSUMB Otters. I mean, what else could they be? The Monterey Bay Aquarium is nearby - and otters are EVERYWHERE in Monterey. So now he's rethinking the school. Because of the MASCOT.
He HAD been considering going to UC Santa Cruz until he realized that it's mathematically impossible for him to qualify for admission there. And THEIR mascot is the BANANA SLUG. That didn't seem to bother him - but being an OTTER does?
Kids. Choosing a college based on the mascot? I don't even remember WHAT my college mascot was (I'll have to look it up later and report back).
Taxed
It's been a very looooonnnnngggg week. Like five 13 hour Mondays all in a row. Waking between 4 and 5 everyday. At my desk by 7 at the absolute latest - earlier usually. At work one night until 8. Never home before 6ish. Mind boggling amounts of work to be done. Meetings. Lots of meetings. A stream of mind-numbing 'oh my gosh' moments. Like most of my weeks. I am exhausted and cannot wait for two days of sleeping in - which will probably mean I'll be up between 6 and 7, but that's GOOD. 2 more hours sleep per day would be a nice change.
I arrived home and J., B., and I went to a 'new' restaurant for dinner (H. was at a friends house). It was terrific Italian and we cannot believe we've lived here 7 years and never discovered this place. It was fantastic!
I tootled around on the Internet for awhile and then decided 'hey, I'd really better get productive in some way'. So I started working on our taxes. I'd done the 'bulk' of the process already but still have donations to finalize, double checking things and entering a couple other items.
J. and I have a 'system' regarding our charitable donations. We bag things up and J. 'inventories' them. He makes Excel spreadsheets with descriptions of items donated and the 'condition'. He includes the charity name, address and the date he inventoried the bags as well as the date he actually took the donation (which is, of course, the date we use). It's a pretty detailed list. Impressive. He takes the lead on this part of the tax process and I handle the majority of the rest. It works for us.
But every year, pretty much the weekend before they're due (we always owe and there's no rush to doing them before the 'deadline' when you're sending in a check) I realize that because he doesn't actually DO the deductions on the tax program we use, he has absolutely no idea how to describe and categorize the items we have donated.
Here are some examples.
He lists 'boys trousers'. Now, I don't think boys have worn 'trousers' since Hoover was in office (Hoover's on my mind because our current President's approval rating is said to be the lowest since Hoover was in office. I wasn't alive then. My husband wasn't either. So this is our first experience at having a President with historically low approval ratings. It pains us....I could go on and on but I won't)...OK, back to taxes. So J. lists 'boys trousers'. Turbo Tax doesn't have 'trousers'. It has 'boys pants - cargo' or 'boys pants - chino' or 'boys pants - corduroy', etc. The list is varied. No plain old 'boys trousers' . I know what the kids wear and therefore, I can 'guess' - but it would sure streamline the process if J. would use the TurboTax categories of classification instead of his own. I'm going to make him a 'master list' this year so we won't go through this next year.
OK, here's another awe-inspiring example: 'boys foreign corresp. vest'. I kid you not. My husband apparently writes for a clothing catalog? What was the name of that catalog Elaine worked for on Seinfeld? Yeah, like that one. I asked him to tell me what he meant - what exactly was that item we donated? It stumped even him - for a minute or two - and then he said 'oh, I remember - it was one of those cargo type vests with all the pockets, like Dan Rather would wear'. Oh...yeah...that makes it clear. Sure. Um, OK. I put it down as the only kind of 'vest' the program includes for boys - 'sweater vest'. It isn't, but that's OK. It was $3 of donation and that's fine with me.
Still have a page of 8 pt. font donations to decipher. I'll work on it some more tomorrow. We are whittling down what we owe little by little and will have it in the mail on Monday, I hope.
I arrived home and J., B., and I went to a 'new' restaurant for dinner (H. was at a friends house). It was terrific Italian and we cannot believe we've lived here 7 years and never discovered this place. It was fantastic!
I tootled around on the Internet for awhile and then decided 'hey, I'd really better get productive in some way'. So I started working on our taxes. I'd done the 'bulk' of the process already but still have donations to finalize, double checking things and entering a couple other items.
J. and I have a 'system' regarding our charitable donations. We bag things up and J. 'inventories' them. He makes Excel spreadsheets with descriptions of items donated and the 'condition'. He includes the charity name, address and the date he inventoried the bags as well as the date he actually took the donation (which is, of course, the date we use). It's a pretty detailed list. Impressive. He takes the lead on this part of the tax process and I handle the majority of the rest. It works for us.
But every year, pretty much the weekend before they're due (we always owe and there's no rush to doing them before the 'deadline' when you're sending in a check) I realize that because he doesn't actually DO the deductions on the tax program we use, he has absolutely no idea how to describe and categorize the items we have donated.
Here are some examples.
He lists 'boys trousers'. Now, I don't think boys have worn 'trousers' since Hoover was in office (Hoover's on my mind because our current President's approval rating is said to be the lowest since Hoover was in office. I wasn't alive then. My husband wasn't either. So this is our first experience at having a President with historically low approval ratings. It pains us....I could go on and on but I won't)...OK, back to taxes. So J. lists 'boys trousers'. Turbo Tax doesn't have 'trousers'. It has 'boys pants - cargo' or 'boys pants - chino' or 'boys pants - corduroy', etc. The list is varied. No plain old 'boys trousers' . I know what the kids wear and therefore, I can 'guess' - but it would sure streamline the process if J. would use the TurboTax categories of classification instead of his own. I'm going to make him a 'master list' this year so we won't go through this next year.
OK, here's another awe-inspiring example: 'boys foreign corresp. vest'. I kid you not. My husband apparently writes for a clothing catalog? What was the name of that catalog Elaine worked for on Seinfeld? Yeah, like that one. I asked him to tell me what he meant - what exactly was that item we donated? It stumped even him - for a minute or two - and then he said 'oh, I remember - it was one of those cargo type vests with all the pockets, like Dan Rather would wear'. Oh...yeah...that makes it clear. Sure. Um, OK. I put it down as the only kind of 'vest' the program includes for boys - 'sweater vest'. It isn't, but that's OK. It was $3 of donation and that's fine with me.
Still have a page of 8 pt. font donations to decipher. I'll work on it some more tomorrow. We are whittling down what we owe little by little and will have it in the mail on Monday, I hope.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Taste
At church yesterday, I had a vanilla latte with extra vanilla - we are allowed one free drink for helping out and that was mine. That's the one thing about working at the cart - it costs us about $10 'extra' each week since the boys (and sometimes J.) will have a latte before or after the services. And the donuts - something we rarely every had are now a weekend thing. Oh well. It's for a good cause.
Anyway, at the first sip of my latte I thought 'hmmm, this tastes strange'. I couldn't really figure it out - just tasted a lot different than the lattes I order all the time at Starbucks or at church. It was good. I enjoyed it.
This morning, I grabbed a Vanilla Bean Yoplait and two tangerines for breakfast on my way out the door to work. When I started to eat the yogurt at my desk about an hour later, I noticed the amazingly strong taste of vanilla. And that's when it hit me: my latte tasted different BECAUSE I ACTUALLY TASTED THE VANILLA. Which I haven't done in a long, long time.
So perhaps this long, dragged out sinus thing - which has me lavaging out my sinuses with saline solution at every opportunity to attempt to help rinse the infection out - is actually a 'good' thing. Things are clearing up. Slowly. Veeerrryyy slowly. But it's getting better. I just keep rinsing and blowing. My nose is raw and red and at night, I slather Mentholatum on it and it's better the next morning - and then I do the entire routine over. It's been 3 weeks of this. But it appears to be 'worth it' since I'm tasting things I haven't tasted in a long, long time. Vanilla is yummy!
I declared today Black Monday upon arriving at the Starbucks in our SaveMart grocery store. Donna, the manager, was already making my teas for me. And she said 'so you've heard about our situation, right'? I said 'no, what's up?'. She advised that Starbucks has not renewed the licensing agreement with SaveMart, so as soon as they're out of product, they are closing. I was stunned. Shocked. If Starbucks does that with the other 'in-store' outlets they have, we'll lose 3 Starbucks. And I'll have to drive clear across town to get my morning tea - and if I'm going to drive that far, there's a Jack in the Box right across the parking lot from the closest Starbucks - so I'll just get my large brewed tea there and save $3. It totally bums me out. That morning stop has become a great way to start the day - the people are so friendly and nice. And I love 'treating' myself to that 'treat' everyday. Makes the hard work and stress somehow 'worth it' .
Our only hope is that there are still two small shopping complexes planned for our neighborhood - though Lord only knows when they'll open - we've been here 7 years and they've been planned since we moved in. But I'm praying that one of those centers has a drive-thru Starbucks included in the plan. That would be awesome and solve the problem AND those locations would be even closer than driving to the nearest grocery store.
Still, I made it through the day and got a lot done - though the panic at what is still left to do before next Tuesday is making me frantic. I came home and planted some pansies in the pots out back (remember the pansies I got at OSH a few weeks back? Yes, those pansies, which miraculously survived being left on the patio for 3+ weeks. I did lose a few plants to the darn snails. But most survived). Now, I've got to get something called dinner cooked. And feed the birthday dog. And do some more work that I brought home to try to make progress on this evening. I will be heading to bed early - not sleeping too well 'cuz my nose is such a stuffed up mess.
Anyway, at the first sip of my latte I thought 'hmmm, this tastes strange'. I couldn't really figure it out - just tasted a lot different than the lattes I order all the time at Starbucks or at church. It was good. I enjoyed it.
This morning, I grabbed a Vanilla Bean Yoplait and two tangerines for breakfast on my way out the door to work. When I started to eat the yogurt at my desk about an hour later, I noticed the amazingly strong taste of vanilla. And that's when it hit me: my latte tasted different BECAUSE I ACTUALLY TASTED THE VANILLA. Which I haven't done in a long, long time.
So perhaps this long, dragged out sinus thing - which has me lavaging out my sinuses with saline solution at every opportunity to attempt to help rinse the infection out - is actually a 'good' thing. Things are clearing up. Slowly. Veeerrryyy slowly. But it's getting better. I just keep rinsing and blowing. My nose is raw and red and at night, I slather Mentholatum on it and it's better the next morning - and then I do the entire routine over. It's been 3 weeks of this. But it appears to be 'worth it' since I'm tasting things I haven't tasted in a long, long time. Vanilla is yummy!
I declared today Black Monday upon arriving at the Starbucks in our SaveMart grocery store. Donna, the manager, was already making my teas for me. And she said 'so you've heard about our situation, right'? I said 'no, what's up?'. She advised that Starbucks has not renewed the licensing agreement with SaveMart, so as soon as they're out of product, they are closing. I was stunned. Shocked. If Starbucks does that with the other 'in-store' outlets they have, we'll lose 3 Starbucks. And I'll have to drive clear across town to get my morning tea - and if I'm going to drive that far, there's a Jack in the Box right across the parking lot from the closest Starbucks - so I'll just get my large brewed tea there and save $3. It totally bums me out. That morning stop has become a great way to start the day - the people are so friendly and nice. And I love 'treating' myself to that 'treat' everyday. Makes the hard work and stress somehow 'worth it' .
Our only hope is that there are still two small shopping complexes planned for our neighborhood - though Lord only knows when they'll open - we've been here 7 years and they've been planned since we moved in. But I'm praying that one of those centers has a drive-thru Starbucks included in the plan. That would be awesome and solve the problem AND those locations would be even closer than driving to the nearest grocery store.
Still, I made it through the day and got a lot done - though the panic at what is still left to do before next Tuesday is making me frantic. I came home and planted some pansies in the pots out back (remember the pansies I got at OSH a few weeks back? Yes, those pansies, which miraculously survived being left on the patio for 3+ weeks. I did lose a few plants to the darn snails. But most survived). Now, I've got to get something called dinner cooked. And feed the birthday dog. And do some more work that I brought home to try to make progress on this evening. I will be heading to bed early - not sleeping too well 'cuz my nose is such a stuffed up mess.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Marine Life
When I started college, I wanted to be a Marine Biologist. That had been my life long goal since I was a kid. Since I spent a lot of time at the beach as a kid, I've always been completely in love and fascinated by all sea creatures. I just love being on or near the ocean. LOVE IT.
Whenever we'd visit my sister K. and her family when they lived in Anaheim, one of my absolute favorite places to go was Marine World down south - before it moved up north. And I could (and would) spend hours at the dolphin 'tank' - they had the dolphins out in big pools and they'd swim around and if you were patient, you could touch them sometimes as they swam by. I would have stayed there all day if I could. And I learned that if I made a little noise, it attracted them and they'd come closer and I could have the joy of feeling their skin more often.
I did my thesis for my A.S. degree on dolphin echolocation - about how they talk to each other and how their hearing works. I wanted so badly to be working with dolphins. That was my dream. I moved to Southern California where I attended a J.C. for 1 1/2 years (did 1/2 a year in Phoenix) and majored in Life Sciences. I had the goal of transferring to a four year university to continue studying and majoring in Biology with an emphasis in Marine Biology.
Two things happened. First, I needed a job - I wanted my independence and that required money. So I started working at Mervyn's. And within 8 months, I was supervising people and that required working full time. Now, a Science major requires a lot of labs. A LOT OF LABS. You cannot be a science major and attend classes at night. These days, you might be able to do it because education has figured out that people who want to be educated also have to hold down jobs - so with online classes and Saturday labs, you might be able to manage it. That was not the case when I was in school. So I had to make the choice: stay as a Bio major and live with my brother and his wife indefinitely? Or continue moving up the ladder at Mervyn's and take the supervisory job and therefore, switch to a Business Major - something I could easily complete by attending classes at night - which would provide just enough income to allow me to live on my own. I was ready for that 'independence'. So, that's what I did.
Now this makes changing that life dream sound awfully easy - like it must not have been much of a real desire, given how easily I just tossed it to the curb. That wasn't true, really. But I'd come to the realization that what I really wanted to do was work with dolphins. And if you think about it, there aren't many jobs out there that lend themselves to that goal - true, there are Marine parks across the country. And if I was in the military, I'm sure that might be feasibly possible. But just getting a job with a Marine Biology degree that was hands on with dolphins would be pretty darn thin pickins'. And so I let go of that dream. I didn't want to end up with a degree in Science and find myself sitting in a white lab coat testing theories about dolphins - I wanted to WORK with them, all day everyday. What my dream really involved was to be the female Jacques Cousteau - to spend my time living with and sharing my love of dolphins with everyone on the planet. And Jacques was already doing a pretty darn good job of that (I still have ALL of the books in his series about Marine Life upstairs and no matter how much culling we do, I refuse to part with them. NEVER.) And when I realized that was not likely to happen, it made the 'letting go' of the dream a bit easier.
On our trip to Hawaii, we saw whales the very first night - they were not right in front of our balcony, but they were visible with the naked eye from our balcony. And we also saw sea turtles - they WERE just off the balcony and played in the waves every single night we were there. We became experts at spotting them - though they are pretty hard to capture in pictures since the blend in with the waves.
And then, on our sailing trip, we saw this:
and this:
These pictures were taken by just pointing the camera at the water and shooting. They were everywhere around the boat, at least for a short time - and my heart was so excited to see them, I could hardly stand it. It was magic. Pure magic. I wished I could just 'abandon ship' and jump in after them and just BE with them for as long as they'd tolerate a human presence. And someday, swimming with the dolphins is on my list of things I want to do before I die. MUST do before I die. I could spend day after day on a sail boat just 'following' them to wherever they want to lead. If I'd been the captain, I would have headed out to deeper water just to stay with them...and if I'm every independently wealthy, I would charter a sailboat for a day or two and give the Captain the order 'follow dolphins. That's all I want you do to'. It would be glorious.
More Hawaii pics soon!
Chloe
Tomorrow, (April 7th in case you're reading this now and it already IS tomorrow where you live) Chloe-Bear Punkin Head turns three years old. For her birthday dinner, she will have a teeny, tiny bit of bacon grease mixed in with her 1/3 cup kibble. She doesn't have any whiskers or a beard anymore since she's been trimmed - so at least she won't need her face scrubbed after the treat. She will also have a part of a tangerine for dessert. She LOVES them. This morning, as I was getting ready for church, I had one and she sat at my feet licking her 'lips' with her tongue, just hoping and patiently waiting for a nibble. I obliged her. Tangerines get more of a 'yippee' reaction from her than any other human food.
She found a teeny tiny 'tennis' ball toy and she's been running around with it in her mouth all day - and she chases it non-stop if I throw it for her. She loves it because her actions of trying to grab it in her mouth will usually result in it moving even MORE, so she can keep chasing it.
She is a sweetheart of a dog and we're glad she's part of the family. In honor of her special day (and in recognition that I've finally figured out how to include pictures), I give you Chloe-Bear:
She found a teeny tiny 'tennis' ball toy and she's been running around with it in her mouth all day - and she chases it non-stop if I throw it for her. She loves it because her actions of trying to grab it in her mouth will usually result in it moving even MORE, so she can keep chasing it.
She is a sweetheart of a dog and we're glad she's part of the family. In honor of her special day (and in recognition that I've finally figured out how to include pictures), I give you Chloe-Bear:
Community
We attended church this morning - in fact, all four of us were 'serving' in some way today. J. and B. played at the contemporary services (9:30 & 11) and rehearsed starting at 8. I helped out at the coffee kart from 10:15 until it was time to go to the 11AM service - we had to adjust my scheduled since it turned out H. was signed up to be the A/V guy up in the booth at the 11AM service. Until he's driving (oh my gosh - a little more than a year away) and IF we have a car for him (a BIG, HUGE "IF" at this point since we're not really planning to be a 4 car family though I have a feeling we will be), it's a bit challenging to get all of us where we need to be - thankfully, these rare 'we're all serving today' Sundays don't come around too often - usually more staggered.
Anyway, I've missed church a bit -busy at work, had some back issues that made me take a Sunday or two 'off' - then 2 Sundays missed for the Hawaii trip. And the thing I felt the most this morning - and it just felt so incredibly great - is the sense of 'community' we have at that this church. Friends greeted me like a long lost traveler. Hugs all around. A woman that was pregnant last time I saw her was carrying her 6 week old son. Another lady that was just 'sort of' pregnant last time I saw her is now within a few weeks of giving birth - not that I've missed (necessarily) months of Sundays - but maybe we attended different services sometimes. I usually attend the 9:30 and they attend the 11 - so seeing them today (and they are sisters, which is really cool) was so great.
It's just such a great place to be - to feel that sense of 'belonging' and to know that you are 'known' there and when you're not there, people do miss you. And to feel so 'welcomed back' - like old friends who are glad to see each other after a long absence. My coffee kart friends greeted me with such warmth and genuine 'oh, we're so glad to see you!' - and of course, part of that is the line was a mile long and they needed an extra set of working hands. It felt really good to have a 'place' in that ministry.
God is doing some amazing things in our church and I'm so grateful to Him for leading us there. It is a warm, inviting wonderful community of people who love God and who want to spread that joy. It's a great place to be.
We took all three cars to Costco for gas - $150 later, we were all full. J. headed into the store armed with a list and no wife. If he goes alone with a list, he will stick to the list - if he takes his wife, we will come home with a bunch of stuff we didn't know we needed until we [ I ] saw it. So one of my 'stick to a budget' and post-Hawaii expenses recovery plans is to send J. alone. We did a major stock up on last weekends trip (which I did accompany him on since we needed a lot of stuff) and so this week wasn't too bad. They sent us another coupon book and there are a couple things we will get because there's a coupon - but we can wait a few weeks for those items. We don't need them TODAY but we are buying them 'in advance' because the coupons are available - things like shampoo, conditioner, cases of Diet Dr. Pepper, etc.
I will attempt to work on taxes today and also brought work home and I need to make some headway on that as well. But I feel a brief nap on the horizon. And maybe a wee bit of time to enjoy a good book (that I didn't finish on vacation).
Anyway, I've missed church a bit -busy at work, had some back issues that made me take a Sunday or two 'off' - then 2 Sundays missed for the Hawaii trip. And the thing I felt the most this morning - and it just felt so incredibly great - is the sense of 'community' we have at that this church. Friends greeted me like a long lost traveler. Hugs all around. A woman that was pregnant last time I saw her was carrying her 6 week old son. Another lady that was just 'sort of' pregnant last time I saw her is now within a few weeks of giving birth - not that I've missed (necessarily) months of Sundays - but maybe we attended different services sometimes. I usually attend the 9:30 and they attend the 11 - so seeing them today (and they are sisters, which is really cool) was so great.
It's just such a great place to be - to feel that sense of 'belonging' and to know that you are 'known' there and when you're not there, people do miss you. And to feel so 'welcomed back' - like old friends who are glad to see each other after a long absence. My coffee kart friends greeted me with such warmth and genuine 'oh, we're so glad to see you!' - and of course, part of that is the line was a mile long and they needed an extra set of working hands. It felt really good to have a 'place' in that ministry.
God is doing some amazing things in our church and I'm so grateful to Him for leading us there. It is a warm, inviting wonderful community of people who love God and who want to spread that joy. It's a great place to be.
We took all three cars to Costco for gas - $150 later, we were all full. J. headed into the store armed with a list and no wife. If he goes alone with a list, he will stick to the list - if he takes his wife, we will come home with a bunch of stuff we didn't know we needed until we [ I ] saw it. So one of my 'stick to a budget' and post-Hawaii expenses recovery plans is to send J. alone. We did a major stock up on last weekends trip (which I did accompany him on since we needed a lot of stuff) and so this week wasn't too bad. They sent us another coupon book and there are a couple things we will get because there's a coupon - but we can wait a few weeks for those items. We don't need them TODAY but we are buying them 'in advance' because the coupons are available - things like shampoo, conditioner, cases of Diet Dr. Pepper, etc.
I will attempt to work on taxes today and also brought work home and I need to make some headway on that as well. But I feel a brief nap on the horizon. And maybe a wee bit of time to enjoy a good book (that I didn't finish on vacation).
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Activites
I enjoyed breakfast with Bug this morning at the 'new' Country Waffles in Livermore - saved me about 10 minutes drive to go to the newer location closer to Tracy. It was great to see her - and I'm always so in awe of how gorgeous she is. It never matters what time of the morning - she looks incredible. It must be the 'still on her honeymoon' glow. We had a nice time visiting and catching up, talking about her job (where I used to work) and my job. Sharing office 'news' from both places. I still miss her. And I still think about working there again someday...but we'll see.
I went straight to my office after breakfast, though the 'tug' to head home was strong. But I knew if I did that, I'd stay home and I feel 'behind' (and am) so I worked for 1/2 day. Did make progress on several things and also brought work home for tomorrow afternoon and evening. There is much to be done and I'm realizing that even though a day on my calendar appears 'empty' and thus should result in 8+ straight hours to just plug away on things, that frequently doesn't happen. I had virtually all last week 'open' - for post-vacation catch up. And yet, I didn't get to any of the really BIG things that I absolutely must complete - Board meeting just around the corner. So I will be working as much as I can at home tomorrow and quite possibly evenings next week as well. Ugh. Oh well.
J. and B. are playing at church tomorrow - I was scheduled to work the coffee kart most of the morning but when I mentioned that we would probably have to just leave H. behind (since he'd have to be there at 8 and stay until noon when someone would be available to bring him home), the coffee cart scheduler said 'well, just come to help out after the 9:30 service and then you and H. can just attend the 11AM service together'. PERFECT. I'm really happy about that because it gives me two morning hours where I can work...and then the afternoon open.
I worked on taxes a bit today - as did J. We hope to actually file on time this year vs. doing the panicked 'sending in a check and filing an extension' which we've done the past couple years. The trust for his dad is pretty much 'done' - this should be the last year we have any income to report and that will make the process a bit easier. We do J's brothers taxes for him also - he's disabled and it's hard for him to enter a lot of information into the PC - so we help out with that. I really don't mind - though it always seems to sneak up on us. I realize that's ridiculous - April 15th comes the same date every year. But we always end up feeling 'rushed'. Still, we're close to being done and I think we'll make it. Hope so, anyway.
H. is done being 'grounded' (we call it 'restricted' - not sure why we chose that) so he's hardly been home today. He's been 'hanging out' with his friends - which usually means sitting on the curb outside their house talking. B. attended a 'wake-a-thon' last night - the goal was to stay up all night. They paid $20 to participate - the money went to a charity (not sure which but it was through the Key Club at Tracy High). So he PAID to try to stay awake all night. At 6:30 this morning, I thought I heard our front door open - and I went and checked and he had just crawled into his bed. He didn't quite make it until 8:30 - he was just too tired. I expected him to sleep all day - but J. said he woke up on his own around noon.
They both want to change their earrings as soon as possible. The variety of 'things' they can put in those holes is a bit intimidating - and we are definitely trying to limit their selection to just basic studs. Nothing designed to create 'huge' holes in their ears - which apparently is the style. We are absolutely refusing to allow anything like that. They'll thank us when they're in their 30s and have a regular job and NORMAL ears. If they end up being rock stars and freaky ear accessories are the norm, then they can make that happen on their own. When we don't have to watch the mutilation taking place before our eyes on a daily basis.
We have tabled the return trip to Hawaii for Thanksgiving and/or next year. It feels like the entire airline industry is in turmoil and we're not willing to risk buying tickets on any airline a year in advance. We'll just have to wait and see where we're at in the fall and or winter and see what we think is do-able. It is making me a bit sad to think that maybe that really WAS our last family trip to Hawaii. But hopefully, I'm wrong.
I've also kind of started shopping for a new car for myself. What I want is the Toyota Highlander Hybrid - but at $40K, that's a bit much. I mean, it really isn't - it's not that we can't do it if that's what I really want. But there's just something about spending that much $$ for a car. I'm having a really hard time doing it - and it bugs me. Because that's the car I'd really like. And I feel like I'm 'settling' for something else. So I may just decide to wait another 6-9 months and see. Try to save some more money for a larger down payment which will help keep the payments low. Heck, the auto inducstry's going to be hurting badly if the economy doesn't turn around - so maybe they'll be more 'deals' in a few months. I hope so.
Since J. helped me figure out how to upload pictures here, I'll try to do a post tomorrow with some Hawaii photos. We have a few that are really great -
I went straight to my office after breakfast, though the 'tug' to head home was strong. But I knew if I did that, I'd stay home and I feel 'behind' (and am) so I worked for 1/2 day. Did make progress on several things and also brought work home for tomorrow afternoon and evening. There is much to be done and I'm realizing that even though a day on my calendar appears 'empty' and thus should result in 8+ straight hours to just plug away on things, that frequently doesn't happen. I had virtually all last week 'open' - for post-vacation catch up. And yet, I didn't get to any of the really BIG things that I absolutely must complete - Board meeting just around the corner. So I will be working as much as I can at home tomorrow and quite possibly evenings next week as well. Ugh. Oh well.
J. and B. are playing at church tomorrow - I was scheduled to work the coffee kart most of the morning but when I mentioned that we would probably have to just leave H. behind (since he'd have to be there at 8 and stay until noon when someone would be available to bring him home), the coffee cart scheduler said 'well, just come to help out after the 9:30 service and then you and H. can just attend the 11AM service together'. PERFECT. I'm really happy about that because it gives me two morning hours where I can work...and then the afternoon open.
I worked on taxes a bit today - as did J. We hope to actually file on time this year vs. doing the panicked 'sending in a check and filing an extension' which we've done the past couple years. The trust for his dad is pretty much 'done' - this should be the last year we have any income to report and that will make the process a bit easier. We do J's brothers taxes for him also - he's disabled and it's hard for him to enter a lot of information into the PC - so we help out with that. I really don't mind - though it always seems to sneak up on us. I realize that's ridiculous - April 15th comes the same date every year. But we always end up feeling 'rushed'. Still, we're close to being done and I think we'll make it. Hope so, anyway.
H. is done being 'grounded' (we call it 'restricted' - not sure why we chose that) so he's hardly been home today. He's been 'hanging out' with his friends - which usually means sitting on the curb outside their house talking. B. attended a 'wake-a-thon' last night - the goal was to stay up all night. They paid $20 to participate - the money went to a charity (not sure which but it was through the Key Club at Tracy High). So he PAID to try to stay awake all night. At 6:30 this morning, I thought I heard our front door open - and I went and checked and he had just crawled into his bed. He didn't quite make it until 8:30 - he was just too tired. I expected him to sleep all day - but J. said he woke up on his own around noon.
They both want to change their earrings as soon as possible. The variety of 'things' they can put in those holes is a bit intimidating - and we are definitely trying to limit their selection to just basic studs. Nothing designed to create 'huge' holes in their ears - which apparently is the style. We are absolutely refusing to allow anything like that. They'll thank us when they're in their 30s and have a regular job and NORMAL ears. If they end up being rock stars and freaky ear accessories are the norm, then they can make that happen on their own. When we don't have to watch the mutilation taking place before our eyes on a daily basis.
We have tabled the return trip to Hawaii for Thanksgiving and/or next year. It feels like the entire airline industry is in turmoil and we're not willing to risk buying tickets on any airline a year in advance. We'll just have to wait and see where we're at in the fall and or winter and see what we think is do-able. It is making me a bit sad to think that maybe that really WAS our last family trip to Hawaii. But hopefully, I'm wrong.
I've also kind of started shopping for a new car for myself. What I want is the Toyota Highlander Hybrid - but at $40K, that's a bit much. I mean, it really isn't - it's not that we can't do it if that's what I really want. But there's just something about spending that much $$ for a car. I'm having a really hard time doing it - and it bugs me. Because that's the car I'd really like. And I feel like I'm 'settling' for something else. So I may just decide to wait another 6-9 months and see. Try to save some more money for a larger down payment which will help keep the payments low. Heck, the auto inducstry's going to be hurting badly if the economy doesn't turn around - so maybe they'll be more 'deals' in a few months. I hope so.
Since J. helped me figure out how to upload pictures here, I'll try to do a post tomorrow with some Hawaii photos. We have a few that are really great -
Spring!
I have been meaning to post about the color appearing in our backyward. The patio pots are in full bloom as are the many plants around the yard perimeter. J's bulbs are coming up, offering surprises on a regular basis. We sort of forget about them until the flowers start appearing, hidden among shrubs. I've wanted to post but describing how beautiful they are and how happy the yard makes me during this time of year (my favorite - SPRING!) is hard to do.
I asked J. to please mow the backyard - because it takes Chloe FOREVER to decide where to piddle when she has to gingerly and oh-so-carefully navigate the 'high' lawn (when you're low to the ground, anything but 'just trimmed' is high). It took him all of 4 minutes - we don't have much lawn left since most of the yard is the pool.
He appeared after mowing with the greeting 'Happy Spring' - and this is what he delivered to me. These are ALL from our backyard. Aren't they absolutely lovely? I loved 'mixed' bouquets most of all - and especially this mixed bouquet because it was delivered by my love.
Happy Spring and enjoy the warmth and sunshine. If you live in an area where Spring has yet to arrive, hang in there. It won't be long!
I asked J. to please mow the backyard - because it takes Chloe FOREVER to decide where to piddle when she has to gingerly and oh-so-carefully navigate the 'high' lawn (when you're low to the ground, anything but 'just trimmed' is high). It took him all of 4 minutes - we don't have much lawn left since most of the yard is the pool.
He appeared after mowing with the greeting 'Happy Spring' - and this is what he delivered to me. These are ALL from our backyard. Aren't they absolutely lovely? I loved 'mixed' bouquets most of all - and especially this mixed bouquet because it was delivered by my love.
Happy Spring and enjoy the warmth and sunshine. If you live in an area where Spring has yet to arrive, hang in there. It won't be long!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Charmed
J. phoned me this morning to say 'hey, sweetie, we're leading a charmed life'. I was sort of caught 'off-guard' - I was in a meeting, and wasn't expecting him to call that early. It's not like I don't agree with him - we are very happy and content and crazily in love. So 'charmed life' is a good description. But I said 'oh, OK - what's up'? ('What's up' is kind of our signal for 'hey, I'm really swamped or with someone or on a call - code for 'make it snappy, sweets, 'cuz I've got to run). And he said 'the airline we flew to Hawaii on just shut down today'. I was so shocked - in that 'oh my gosh we are so lucky this happened THIS WEEK and not same time last week. Of course, we would have ended up having (possibly) a couple extra days in paradise. But we would have probably had to pay a lot more to get home.
I feel really bad they had to shut down. It's a shame that the 'no frills' airlines with fewer planes and fewer routes are finding it impossible to stay afloat. It's sad. And I feel horrible for all the stranded people.
I am very, VERY glad that I did NOT end up booking tickets for Hawaii next Spring or Thanksgiving - which I almost did. Really. Pretty darn close to clicking 'buy' more than once since we've been home. They also had something called ATA FlightBank which allowed you to purchase credits in advance and use the credits for tickets - it was about a 50% discount off published fares but you had to buy a minimum of credit per person - and the lowest level was $1650 each - so I'm REALLY glad I didn't do THAT. We'd be out a lot of money - though hopefully, our credit card company would have probably covered it for us.
Isn't that CRAZY? I can't get over it. And what I'm MOST glad about is that we didn't take their offer to stay another night for $300 credit on our next flight for all of us, plus hotel and meals. 'Cuz those credits are worthless now.
Guess we'll be back to paying through the nose and flying on United. Maybe I'll also check out Hawaiian Airlines.
I feel really bad they had to shut down. It's a shame that the 'no frills' airlines with fewer planes and fewer routes are finding it impossible to stay afloat. It's sad. And I feel horrible for all the stranded people.
I am very, VERY glad that I did NOT end up booking tickets for Hawaii next Spring or Thanksgiving - which I almost did. Really. Pretty darn close to clicking 'buy' more than once since we've been home. They also had something called ATA FlightBank which allowed you to purchase credits in advance and use the credits for tickets - it was about a 50% discount off published fares but you had to buy a minimum of credit per person - and the lowest level was $1650 each - so I'm REALLY glad I didn't do THAT. We'd be out a lot of money - though hopefully, our credit card company would have probably covered it for us.
Isn't that CRAZY? I can't get over it. And what I'm MOST glad about is that we didn't take their offer to stay another night for $300 credit on our next flight for all of us, plus hotel and meals. 'Cuz those credits are worthless now.
Guess we'll be back to paying through the nose and flying on United. Maybe I'll also check out Hawaiian Airlines.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Irony
My wonderful friend J. was 'laid off' from her job - so now we really have something in common - we are both 'former employees of the company formerly known as....'. Her last day was Monday. She's been handling the whole 'hey, I don't have a job and it wasn't my choice' situation very well - partly because while she didn't technically have a choice, she knew it was coming and sort of pretty much wanted it to happen. And it did.
I've been encouraging her to try to take some time OFF. She has a pretty darn fine severance package (much more generous than mine because I was laid off from the 'fomerly known as' part of the company and she's been laid off from the 'we are taking over/buying out that horrifically bad formerly known as' company) and she has enough 'salary' to survive for months.
She is determined and driven and incredibly motivated and smart - and she wants to be employed NOW. Which is entirely possible given that she's already got a couple of possibilities in the works. But I think she should enjoy some time OFF - time that she didn't have to have a baby to get - time that she deserves. And time that she needs - only she doesn't realize she needs it because she's never had a down moment in her life. Never a moment to just pause.
I was shocked and stunned and hurt and scared #$%^ less when I got laid off. And I was very, very fortunate that I did get some severance and thankfully, had enough savings to limp along for as long as I needed. I actually accepted a really low paying job with a hellish commute in desperation and panic 9 months after I left my employer - and then, like a miracle, the job I really wanted - the job at the college that I'd applied for months before and never heard a word about - happened. And that led me to working in education. And that's been a very good thing for me - it is a great fit and I really love what I do. And none of that would have happened if I had rushed into taking the first thing offered. I actually didn't really even look for a job for a good 2-3 months (again, very, VERY fortunate to be able to say that - I am blessed - I know that).
So J. is easing into her 'non-work' days. Today was her second day with no place to go, nothing to do [not really - she's got two kids and a house and a husband so it's not that she doesn't have anything to do, really,....you know what I mean]. And I called her this afternoon just to say 'hi' and let her know I was thinking of her. I reached her voicemail and left a message. She called me back. I said 'hey, how's it going? Where are you'? and she said 'I had to report to jury duty today. I had been summoned in October but I was traveling a lot that month for my job so I postponed until April - and wouldn't you know, they summoned me. AND, I have to show up again in person tomorrow AND it looks like I might be picked'.
We had some good laughs over this. She's doing her best to 'look mean' and inflexible, uncooperative, etc. because the irony of the entire situation - to spend her first days of 'unemployment' serving on a jury was not a part of the plan - is just too much. And please, friends, don't leave a zillion comments [all 5 of you that read daily] reminding me/us that jury duty is our civic duty. J. has served on a jury before that WAS a trial - a long, lengthy trial - so it's not like she's shirked her responsibilities.
She's showing up tomorrow dressed as non-professionally as possible and trying to 'act mean'. But I told her 'being smart shines through and they're going to know that about you'. So she'll probably get picked.
It was a good laugh in the mid-afternoon of a long day. It's fitting, somehow. She didn't want to take a break, and now she may not. She may be on a jury, in a trial and then start a new job. With no break.
And she'll be fine with that, 'cuz she does fine with whatever life throws at her.
I am, however, secretly still hoping that she won't be picked or it will be a very short trial and she'll give herself a few weeks of 'down time' - meaning being a 'stay at home mom' for a few weeks. And try to wedge in a matinee, alone, on a weekday. There's nothing better than getting the first serving of freshly popped movie popcorn. And watching George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Oceans 11, which is how I spent one of my first days as unemployed. I highly recommend it. And I hope it happens for her, too - even if she borrows my Oceans 11 DVD and sits at home and watches it. I'll make the popcorn. And I have all the sequels, too, so we can just watch the entire trio in an 'Oceans' marathon.
I've been encouraging her to try to take some time OFF. She has a pretty darn fine severance package (much more generous than mine because I was laid off from the 'fomerly known as' part of the company and she's been laid off from the 'we are taking over/buying out that horrifically bad formerly known as' company) and she has enough 'salary' to survive for months.
She is determined and driven and incredibly motivated and smart - and she wants to be employed NOW. Which is entirely possible given that she's already got a couple of possibilities in the works. But I think she should enjoy some time OFF - time that she didn't have to have a baby to get - time that she deserves. And time that she needs - only she doesn't realize she needs it because she's never had a down moment in her life. Never a moment to just pause.
I was shocked and stunned and hurt and scared #$%^ less when I got laid off. And I was very, very fortunate that I did get some severance and thankfully, had enough savings to limp along for as long as I needed. I actually accepted a really low paying job with a hellish commute in desperation and panic 9 months after I left my employer - and then, like a miracle, the job I really wanted - the job at the college that I'd applied for months before and never heard a word about - happened. And that led me to working in education. And that's been a very good thing for me - it is a great fit and I really love what I do. And none of that would have happened if I had rushed into taking the first thing offered. I actually didn't really even look for a job for a good 2-3 months (again, very, VERY fortunate to be able to say that - I am blessed - I know that).
So J. is easing into her 'non-work' days. Today was her second day with no place to go, nothing to do [not really - she's got two kids and a house and a husband so it's not that she doesn't have anything to do, really,....you know what I mean]. And I called her this afternoon just to say 'hi' and let her know I was thinking of her. I reached her voicemail and left a message. She called me back. I said 'hey, how's it going? Where are you'? and she said 'I had to report to jury duty today. I had been summoned in October but I was traveling a lot that month for my job so I postponed until April - and wouldn't you know, they summoned me. AND, I have to show up again in person tomorrow AND it looks like I might be picked'.
We had some good laughs over this. She's doing her best to 'look mean' and inflexible, uncooperative, etc. because the irony of the entire situation - to spend her first days of 'unemployment' serving on a jury was not a part of the plan - is just too much. And please, friends, don't leave a zillion comments [all 5 of you that read daily] reminding me/us that jury duty is our civic duty. J. has served on a jury before that WAS a trial - a long, lengthy trial - so it's not like she's shirked her responsibilities.
She's showing up tomorrow dressed as non-professionally as possible and trying to 'act mean'. But I told her 'being smart shines through and they're going to know that about you'. So she'll probably get picked.
It was a good laugh in the mid-afternoon of a long day. It's fitting, somehow. She didn't want to take a break, and now she may not. She may be on a jury, in a trial and then start a new job. With no break.
And she'll be fine with that, 'cuz she does fine with whatever life throws at her.
I am, however, secretly still hoping that she won't be picked or it will be a very short trial and she'll give herself a few weeks of 'down time' - meaning being a 'stay at home mom' for a few weeks. And try to wedge in a matinee, alone, on a weekday. There's nothing better than getting the first serving of freshly popped movie popcorn. And watching George Clooney and Brad Pitt in Oceans 11, which is how I spent one of my first days as unemployed. I highly recommend it. And I hope it happens for her, too - even if she borrows my Oceans 11 DVD and sits at home and watches it. I'll make the popcorn. And I have all the sequels, too, so we can just watch the entire trio in an 'Oceans' marathon.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Shnoz
I've had a sinus infection since before we left for Hawaii. I've actually had it since the last time I wrote 'I have a sinus infection'. This thing has literally not gone away. And it's weird - I know it's an infection because of the 'stuff' coming out of my nose - which I won't describe because that's just TMI, even for me. The 'discharge' started getting really, obviously 'gross' shortly before our Hawaii departure - but my schedule (both at home and at work) was far too jammed to wedge in a doctor's appointment. So I took my survival kit - saline solution, Mentholatum, Sudafed and various pain relievers (because yes, there is a major headache factor involved that should not be overlooked) and made it through the week.
But I'm not running a fever (not unusual for me - did I ever mention that I ended up with Scarlet Fever at 19 because I had strep throat only never knew it? Because when I had strep throat, I had a temperature of 99. That's it. Nothing more. Until I woke up after ignoring strep throat for several days and was REALLY sick). Anyway, and I don't really even feel that badly - I do feel exhausted most of the time but that's an everyday thing these days as well.
Guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go back to my doctor and say 'hey, let's try another round of 'broad spectrum' antibiotics 'cuz I really need to quit having stuff leave my nose all day long that is gross and disgusting'. Enough said.
What a difference a vacation makes, in so many ways. At least for the past couple days, anyway. My outlook is cheerier. My workload is still huge - nothing's changed - and yet, I'm fine with it. I have my 'stack' and I keep plugging away little by little. And I make progress on things and keep things moving and keep learning - and that's 1/2 the battle. I know enough now to know what needs to be done. And I've had some revelations the past couple days since returning from paradise that will hopefully see me through the long days ahead until the next vacation (which we're actually thinking might be the week of Thanksgiving and might just involve returning to the Surf Song condo on the beach in Kauai that we just left).
I try to not talk about work much - there's much I could say, and I don't. But an interesting revelation happened today - one that I've suspected for awhile but didn't really have enough information to form an opinion. But now I do. Items are being removed from my 'in' basket. I never see them. And yet the same person who is regularly removing these items from my in basket and into her world is apparently not doing anything with those removed items. She has no intention of taking care of them - she just 'keeps' the various items. And when she's been asked about these kind of items in the past, she has denied having any knowledge of them - until I eventually figure out the process (with the help of the people at our County Office of Ed who are WONDERFUL) and point out 'no, here's what you've been receiving (only today I realized they are not necessarily being sent to her - they are just somehow ending up from my tray in her possession) and this is what should be happening with them', she can't deny that she has them and needs to take care of them.
Now, before vacation, my instinct would be to pull her into my office tomorrow and point out the obvious: you can't take things out of my tray that are being put in my tray so I will SEE THEM and then bad mouth me to whomever will listen that I'm not 'doing' things that need to be done WHEN I'M NOT SEEING THEM. You think? So keep your hands off the stuff in my in basket. ' And please note: even before vacation, I would never take this approach with an employee. I'd WANT to take this approach, but I wouldn't. But I would be all worked up about the 'issue', the incident, the 'why is she doing this kind of stuff' way of thinking. But I'm not. No, I'm not. Because,
AFTER vacation, I'll talk to her in the morning, acknowledge that I'm sure her intent is to assist me and thank her for wanting to help me (I don't think that IS her intent but I'll just assume the best instead) and request that for the foreseeable future, I really need to see all the various notices, etc. coming from our county office so I can understand the kind of information we are receiving . And then, I would like her to allow ME to decide what things I will delegate to her and then we will both know who's doing what. And of course, if she's not sure what to do, we should work on it together and we'll learn what to do side by side. :-)
Pineapple. I'm sure the difference in my 'attitude' relates to pineapple somehow. Perhaps all the cocktails I had that had pineapple blended in? It could also be coconuts. Or rum. Or coconut flavored rum! with pineapple! Gotta stock up on that stuff this weekend to see if it keeps the 'improved' outlook going!
But I'm not running a fever (not unusual for me - did I ever mention that I ended up with Scarlet Fever at 19 because I had strep throat only never knew it? Because when I had strep throat, I had a temperature of 99. That's it. Nothing more. Until I woke up after ignoring strep throat for several days and was REALLY sick). Anyway, and I don't really even feel that badly - I do feel exhausted most of the time but that's an everyday thing these days as well.
Guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet and go back to my doctor and say 'hey, let's try another round of 'broad spectrum' antibiotics 'cuz I really need to quit having stuff leave my nose all day long that is gross and disgusting'. Enough said.
What a difference a vacation makes, in so many ways. At least for the past couple days, anyway. My outlook is cheerier. My workload is still huge - nothing's changed - and yet, I'm fine with it. I have my 'stack' and I keep plugging away little by little. And I make progress on things and keep things moving and keep learning - and that's 1/2 the battle. I know enough now to know what needs to be done. And I've had some revelations the past couple days since returning from paradise that will hopefully see me through the long days ahead until the next vacation (which we're actually thinking might be the week of Thanksgiving and might just involve returning to the Surf Song condo on the beach in Kauai that we just left).
I try to not talk about work much - there's much I could say, and I don't. But an interesting revelation happened today - one that I've suspected for awhile but didn't really have enough information to form an opinion. But now I do. Items are being removed from my 'in' basket. I never see them. And yet the same person who is regularly removing these items from my in basket and into her world is apparently not doing anything with those removed items. She has no intention of taking care of them - she just 'keeps' the various items. And when she's been asked about these kind of items in the past, she has denied having any knowledge of them - until I eventually figure out the process (with the help of the people at our County Office of Ed who are WONDERFUL) and point out 'no, here's what you've been receiving (only today I realized they are not necessarily being sent to her - they are just somehow ending up from my tray in her possession) and this is what should be happening with them', she can't deny that she has them and needs to take care of them.
Now, before vacation, my instinct would be to pull her into my office tomorrow and point out the obvious: you can't take things out of my tray that are being put in my tray so I will SEE THEM and then bad mouth me to whomever will listen that I'm not 'doing' things that need to be done WHEN I'M NOT SEEING THEM. You think? So keep your hands off the stuff in my in basket. ' And please note: even before vacation, I would never take this approach with an employee. I'd WANT to take this approach, but I wouldn't. But I would be all worked up about the 'issue', the incident, the 'why is she doing this kind of stuff' way of thinking. But I'm not. No, I'm not. Because,
AFTER vacation, I'll talk to her in the morning, acknowledge that I'm sure her intent is to assist me and thank her for wanting to help me (I don't think that IS her intent but I'll just assume the best instead) and request that for the foreseeable future, I really need to see all the various notices, etc. coming from our county office so I can understand the kind of information we are receiving . And then, I would like her to allow ME to decide what things I will delegate to her and then we will both know who's doing what. And of course, if she's not sure what to do, we should work on it together and we'll learn what to do side by side. :-)
Pineapple. I'm sure the difference in my 'attitude' relates to pineapple somehow. Perhaps all the cocktails I had that had pineapple blended in? It could also be coconuts. Or rum. Or coconut flavored rum! with pineapple! Gotta stock up on that stuff this weekend to see if it keeps the 'improved' outlook going!
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Tales of Helpers
Our cleaning lady D. is here today - she wears earbuds and chats on the phone while she works. She is the third cleaning 'person(s)'...
