True....So True

Happy Halloween!

Puppy Love

Oh - one more thing from today that I have to write about....

Chloe needed a bath...and so we bathed her at home. In hindsight, we should have tried the kitchen sink. Instead, we partially filled a plastic storage bin with warm water, placed her in it and scrubbed her clean. She was very good. A little shaky at first - we haven't bathed her at home very often so this was definitely 'new' to her. But she stayed still in the 'tub', didn't move and was very patient while we soaped her up. We rinsed and finished up and wrapped her in fluffy towels and quickly dried her off.

She was so proud of herself - and so excited - she ran around the house like a torpedo dog for a long time....strutting around all clean and fluffy! Her fur is very curly and because we didn't trim her (we usually do get her trimmed a bit at the groomer - but it's getting colder now so I'm letting her coat get thicker than usual), her fur is uber-thick and curly. She looks adorable - and she knew it!

The boys noticed 'cuz she smells pretty again.

So I think we'll make bathing her a regular thing. We can just get her nails done at the groomer during the winter....thus saving money.

I enjoyed her 'Princess Chloe' run-about too much to want to miss that again. She loved being all prettied up!

All Hallow's Eve Eve

Twas the night before Halloween...and all through the house...many frightening occurrences are occurring.

I have to head upstairs and confirm the outfit I plan to wear - not exactly a costume but still Halloween-ish - is ready for morning. Have to set my alarm for the first time in over two weeks. Frightening! How appropriate for the festivities tomorrow.

J. asked my schedule this week - drives to/from County Office or Sacramento? - sort of synchronizing our watches. And I had to tell him 'I have no idea what my calendar looks like'. And then I looked. Also frightening. There's a price to be paid when others have access to your calendar and can book away while you are not there to defend yourself.

I did take some time yesterday to put together an updated 'to do' list, including many items that are 'absolute highest priority'. How many of those items is 'reasonable'? Not many, after glancing at my schedule for tomorrow.

B. ran in an obstacle course 'race' of some kind today. He came home absolutely filthy dirty - 'it was a mud bath, mom. It was awesome!' - and exhausted. He headed straight upstairs to the shower and now I'm afraid to look in there....'cuz in 8 hours, I will be showering in that same shower. Another frightening thing....

H. got fired from his job today. I fired him. I transferred what we owed him - net a fraction of what he owes us - and then I fired him. I will spare you all the details...but I'm done managing him as a job. I'm done tracking his (sometimes) lackluster efforts at 'working'. He did less than 4 hours this week - and got all up in arms that his dad and I hadn't tracked it all down to the minute and documented same. So I decided 'screw this'. And I fired him. Shortly after firing him, I took back (again, yet again) his debit card and his Chevron card. The kid is on his own. And I also found the 'source' of why I think he never gets called back for anything - found his MySpace page on Google and I'm reasonably sure that once someone sees that very old page (a part of his former life), they decide not hiring him is the best option.

I am so glad I have only eight work days until a four day weekend. I need a vacation to recover from my vacation....

I already feel exhausted...

And tomorrow, I have to put on makeup for the first time in over two weeks - again, frightening. Not as scary as Paranormal 3, by any means....but still, spackling this aged visage is no walk in the park. I'm considering Botox. Yes, really.

It's Over

It's been a great two weeks (mostly) off and today was the last 'work day' off for awhile....well, until the Veteran's Day long weekend, then a week off at Thanksgiving and then two weeks off at Christmas. I know - it is awesome....but truthfully, I will be working much of those supposedly 'off' days 'cuz I got the crazy notion to take two weeks off.

I have remained fairly disconnected and when I read a work email about an hour ago, the familiar clenching in my stomach occurred to remind me that reality is looming. Oh well. It was a nice break and I really needed it.

The trip to Napa was tons of fun and thanks to an excellent salesperson at the winery, I bought more wine than I planned. Oh well. We had a bottle that night and it was delicious! And I slept like a rock!

Today, I had breakfast with a friend from my old corporate job - we were reflecting back that we've known each other over 20 years! Reminded us both of how long we've been friends when I mentioned that B. will be 21 in just 2 and 1/2 short months! Wow. That 21 years did go by really fast.

After breakfast, I headed over to N.'s house - my Napa trip included a stop at the Gymboree outlet which resulted in sweet PMan (the current nickname for her four and half month old doll) receiving two new outfits from his 'Auntie M'. We had a nice visit and it was so great to see her - I haven't seen her since the breakfast months ago right after PMan was born. We chatted briskly and Pman fell asleep with me holding him. He's such a little doll. So fun to remember how small they start out. So amazing.

This weekend, I will work on the pile of work I brought home - thinking that two glorious weeks stretched out before me and I would do a little each day and get stuff organized and 'done' long before I had to go back. And of course, as is my way, I have not done a blooming thing - and considering my schedule next week is jammed with all the meetings I postponed or skipped during the two off weeks, it's going to be a long week of long days attempting to keep up.

I'm so glad I took the time - I really needed it. And I'm glad that there will be upcoming additional 'breaks' that will help keep things more sane, at least until January.

So as bad as I feel tonight going back on Monday, I can only imagine how bad I will feel the Friday of the last week of Christmas break - 'cuz there will be no breaks from January forward through September, most likely. The system conversion is progressing and will be in full high gear swing as soon as we return from the Winter break.

My corporate friend reminded me that I am what I am - I have always been driven and work-oriented. I do love my job. I'm good at it and I enjoy it - so while it's hard to go back, it's also good to go back. My boss has missed me and so have other work friends. Work is my 'thing'. And I'm glad I have it.

Though honestly, I will never be bored when I stop working. I love being at home. Doing tons. Or doing nothing. Both suit me equally well.

A weekend of 'catch up' and stuff around the house is commencing soon....

Is it wrong to drink a small tumbler of red wine with McDonald's dinner?

Two and a Third

I just have to say that the new Two and a Half Men is incredibly stupid. It was borderline stupid when Charlie Sheen was on - but we'd had years of his shenanigans to warm to and we were 'used' to it. His off-screen meltdown was handled appropriately (my opinion) with his firing...and I suspect he will self implode eventually.

But Ashton Kuthcher's character is just really dumb. Not likable. Nor plausible. The entire story line is ridiculous.

And it probably doesn't help that he cheated on his wife in real life - so I just plain don't like him.

That's my only observation after a very busy Monday. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Napa for the day with a friend to shop and visit V. Sattui winery which I haven't visited in over 15 years. We are running very low on our V. stash and since the only place you can get the wine is at the winery, I'm really, hugely looking forward to the trip. To heck with the budget! We're buying wine!!

OH - big news! B. got a promotion! He is officially no longer a 'courtesy clerk' - he is now working in the meat department. 20% increase in pay and better hours - he will rarely work past 9PM and only do one or two nights a week. He is very excited and we are very proud of him - he wanted that position and he applied and interviewed and he got it. What a transformation from a kid who begrudged every minute he spent there to the young man who disliked what his job was, saw something else he'd rather do and made it happen. Way to go, B.!!

Inner Dizzy

I spent a chunk of the day in Modesto having various tests related to hearing and balance. I've been having frequent infections in my right ear - and there are mornings when I wake up and the entire room is spinning. Sometimes for many minutes. Sometimes just for a few. I usually just close my eyes and change positions and it resolves. Occasionally, it will take many minutes to stop and I end up sitting up and praying I don't keel over. So far, no keeling. Just dizzy.

I loved the 'metal box' within the room where the hearing test was done. It was soundproof. I'd love one of those in our home - a 'silent zone'. It was lovely. Challenging to know, though, if you are really hearing the beeps - or just think you're hearing the beeps. But she said I passed with flying colors so no hearing aid required. Thankfully that - 'cuz I'm only 51 for crying out loud!

The next set of tests was a bit more complicated. First, I had to wear a very incredible set of goggles that has tiny cameras inside - those cameras record your eye movements. First, the tests were following and tracking a red light. Picture one of those 'electronic signs' where you can type in your message and it scrolls across the screen. Then picture no words - just a red light. Follow it and hold. Follow it as it speeds up. It was 'easy' but a bit challenging because I wear glasses and without them, I immediately feel disoriented. I can't see too well without them - so it took a lot of concentration to follow the light without my vision correcting lenses. But we made it through.

The next round involved changing my body position rapidly - from a sitting up to a lying down and back again. Over and over. Then the same thing while lying on the right side, then the left.

When we finished those tests - the special chair helped but it felt like a work out and the crick in my neck this evening confirms that my muscles were 'used' in ways they aren't used to - the sweet young lady administering the test said 'now we'll start the last part of the tests. This is the part where most people experience extreme dizziness'. She explained that for one minute, I would have warm air blown into my ear canal. First the left. Then the right. She said that while the air is 'warm', she said most people find it feels very hot and are usually uncomfortable and within about 30 seconds, I will feel very dizzy.

She was right.

OH - I forgot to mention that other than the light test, I had a cover over the goggles that totally blocked all light. I could see nothing. No orientation to anything in the room.

So as she said, within 30 seconds of the warm air, it was clear I was very, very dizzy. Things were spinning - but there were no 'things' to see spin. Just the sensation of my entire head just swirling. Wild. Repeat with the right ear. About five minutes in between to let my body recover. She took the goggle covers off for those five minutes so I could 'see' when the spinning/dizziness stopped.

All in all, it wasn't horrible. It did make me feel dizzy and disoriented. I arrived with a fairly bad headache - no food and no caffeine does that to me...so after an hour and a half of the above, I most definitely had a horrifically bad headache and felt very 'off'. But I made it home (after stopping for a nice lunch). I slept for a few hours and it's now approaching 11PM and I'm ready to go to bed for the night.

Still one week to go of my vacation and that feels really great! H. is making great progress in the back yard and it's looking so much better! Tomorrow, we're going to finish up some sweeping and pre-winter tidying. Hard to believe November is already approaching. It's still shorts and t-shirt weather here so far.

J. and I plan to go shopping a bit tomorrow - he needs pants, I need a new winter jacket, the boys need socks and underwear. We'll have a nice lunch at Red Robin and call it a 'date'.

Double the Fun

H. continues to look for a job. So he says, anyway.

A couple weeks ago, I put my foot down and said that he will spend 16-20 hours per week working for us and/or looking for a job. The kid goes to school three times a week - T, W & Th evenings. Not a full schedule by any stretch of the imagination. He was sleeping until noonish, getting up, eating, heading out to 'chillax' with friends, going to school. Staying up until the wee hours of the morning and then repeating the same stuff the next day. I told him flat out that this life he is living is NOT an acceptable option for an eighteen year old adult living with his parents. He needs to work. He needs an income. He needs to be way busier than he currently is doing things that are far more productive than chillaxing. Sure, he can and should have a social life...but not 10-12 hours a day of social life.

So now, he works for us. And I work hard coming up with a task list. We pay him $9 an hour - and mostly, we accrue the amount he's earned against the amounts he owes us. Phone, car insurance, gasoline, etc. I give him some cash (limited) now and then. We took away his debit card a month ago 'cuz he kept using it without realizing he had absolutely no money in the account. He never checked his balance - just spent. I had been monitoring and moving money from his savings to his checking but realized that by doing that, he had no concept of how much he was spending. So now, we have the debit card. He has very, very little cash and he works for us.

It sucks for him. I know that. But he keeps busier with stuff around the house. One of his recent chores was cleaning the baseboards in the bathroom - and he did such an amazing job. Used an old toothbrush and scrubbed every inch of them. They look brand new! He works hard and he's very good at anything he does. He realizes that his work for us is paying his monthly 'bills' - so he keeps at it. He doesn't complain, doesn't whine. Gets up reasonably early and gets to work. He also does go out and look - he is hopeful about getting a seasonal job at the pumpkin patch in Lathrop - and hopefully being kept on for their Winter Wonderland, too.

This week, I have him working on the backyard. And in addition to paying him, I'm attempting to find money in our budget to buy stuff for outside. We've been wanting to clean out some of the flower beds, put down the weed guard mesh and then put down bark - realizing that our yard has become incredibly high maintenance and while I have visions of beautiful beds filled with fresh flowers and all kinds of blooms, it's usually weeds and grass and it takes hours and hours of time to keep up. Our gardener's idea of weeding is using the weed whacker and just chopping them back (vs. good old fashioned pulling them out by their roots). So we're using bark to fill in - should be much less maintenance. H. went with me to Orchard Supply and helped load and unload 10 bags of bark. We've started finishing up the weed/grass pulling, putting down the weed guard paper and putting the bark down. Only 8 more bags to go! Progress! (Sort of!).

He is picky about finding a job. He needs to give up his 'dream' job (warehouse work 'behind the scenes' is what he wants to do) and work wherever they are hiring. I'm getting pretty frustrated with him - because there are jobs in town. Kids ARE getting hired. They may be working at jobs they don't particularly enjoy - but they are working. H. needs to do the same. I told him yesterday that one of these days, I will pull the plug on the 'parental work program' and he will be SOL. He won't have any funds for gas; won't be able to pay his car insurance; and that will be that. He'll have to look for other options - or better yet - find any job. ANY JOB.

I know we are making it too easy on him. I know. I want him to be 'self-supporting' as soon as possible. He's got to do something. I'm running out of things for him to do - and the funds to do them with. And I'm running out of patience.

Taco Plato

Taco night! J. cooked! Yum!

The flat bottomed taco shells are brilliant....

But they lull you into a false sense of security. You load them up while standing - and the minute you move, they tip over onto their sides and you lose all your fixings. Just like 'regular' tacos.

Extreme Bravery

J. did something truly brave today. Not many men would have done it. Most would quake in fear at the thought. Not my husband. He was brave beyond words.

I went to Costco to gas up my car. I had to go into Costco because when J. shopped this weekend, we forgot to include ketchup on our list. We are ketchup-less. That cannot happen in this house where ketchup is practically a food group. So I ventured inside Costco alone. Unaccompanied. Armed with my Costco Amex card with very little balance since we just paid our monthly bill in full - as usual.

It's Christmas at Costco. Decorations everywhere. Gifts galore. Clothes out the yin yang. But it's Christmas that is the most beckoning to me - new decorations for hearth and home. Inside. Outside. Every surface of our home. All could be covered in glorious celebration. Lights! Ornaments! Wrapping paper! Yard decor! Swags and garlands! Bows! Manger scenes! Storage supplies! Tissue paper!

I sent him a text: 'Christmas!'.

He responded: 'Yes?'

Me: 'At Costco....lots of Christmas stuff!!!

Me: 'Dangerous for me to be unaccompanied'.

Him: 'Get out as fast as you can. Run! Forget the ketchup! :-)'

Me: (to myself) 'Heh....'

Me: 'Lol. Now u get it!'

Me: 'Ummmm....'

Him: 'Yes?'

Me: 'I'm going to need help unloading'

Him: 'Oh no!'

I stayed under $35. Did get the Ketchup. And teriyaki sauce, corned beef hash and the Kirkland brand of Splenda (way, WAY cheaper than Splenda). I did not buy a single Christmas item. I wanted to. Oh, yes, I really did....

But I didn't. We have plenty of festive 'stuff' already - and in fact, as we work on the garage, J. continues to insist we need to cull out Christmas.

You can't cull out Christmas. Sorry. It just can't be done. I have my limits.

Churchy

J. is playing music at church today - his once a month 'gig'. Two services. I seriously had hoped to be there. I always think I will go. But I was uber-lazy this morning and when I woke up at 7 (late for me), I went back to sleep and slept until after 8:30 (VERY late for me). Now I'm all groggy and drowsy and seriously feel like I could easily go back to sleep AGAIN for another round. But I won't. It's Sunday and there's stuff to do! I'm just not feeling churchy today. :-)

Son #1 left for work - after a quick perusal of his bank account. He insisted he had enough $ for something and so I said sweetly 'let's take a look at your account online together'. Sure enough, he appeared a bit shocked at how fast he went through his last paycheck. So we had a discussion about budgets and how it's easy to spend a ton of $ on fast food, eating out, beverages, etc. - and it does go very quickly when all you are doing is swiping your debit card and not really being aware of how much you are spending. This day and age of 'instant' everything makes it too easy - and guys don't carry checkbooks around so he doesn't really enter anything into a register. He just spends and occasionally (usually when I make him) takes a look at his bank account online.

Son #2 is still sleeping and I'm debating about waking him up. He works for us now...but he does get weekends off. Though this particular work week was pretty 'light' on any work. Sure, he did a few things. And we appreciated the help and paid him accordingly. But he put in as few hours as humanly possible. He is supposed to spend 16-20 hours a week either working for us or looking for a 'real' job. (Please note: I have no idea where our budget will 'find' 16-20 hours of 'pay' for him - but I don't have to worry too much about finding any actual 'cash' 'cuz he owes us for his monthly car insurance and cell phone on top of gasoline, so I may never have to actually come up with any cold hard cash. Poor kid - broke and working for your parents. And as J. said yesterday 'and he doesn't even get the family name displayed over the door or anything').

I am off work for not one - but TWO weeks. It is insane for me to do that. I will regret it a zillion different ways. And there are two days in those two weeks when I will be working because there are mandatory meetings that I don't want to miss. I just have so many carryover days to use up - so I wedged in time off. Which may end up just being secret code for 'working at home and not counting the days as work days'. Yesterday, I went in to finish up one big thing and packed up my entire desk into a rolling crate and brought it all home. Plan to spend at least an hour or two a day organizing, culling and getting some projects done on the remote 'work at home' system. We'll see. No plans other than some doctor appointments. I am going to the Napa outlet malls with a friend for a day the 2nd week of vacation - and there will be a visit to V. Satui winery! But other than that, it's pretty much a 'stay-cation' - working on home projects. Sleeping in. Yeah!

J. is doing a big Costco shop and I will be heading to Target shortly for some toiletries and a gift card for a cousin who's having a baby. It's a huge treat to go to Target - I so rarely shop there lately.

There are so many things happening on the work front that I would love to write about - but I won't. Let's just say that there are big changes afoot and change is always challenging for everyone. Even me. I know we will get through it all and end up stronger and better for it - but the drama to get there is just unbelievably stressful - even for me and I handle stress better than most. So maybe taking the two weeks away is a good survival strategy - just step off the treadmill for a couple weeks and let things 'play out' and simmer down. Here's hoping.

I'm going to head upstairs and get dressed for the day - and then head out to run my errands. Tomorrow, I hope to go with H. over the hill to get his Schwab account into his name - it reverted to him when he turned 18 and until he comes in personally to sign a bunch of papers, the account is frozen. My fear is when he sees the account balance, he will immediately want to 'sell everything'. And we are attempting to encourage him not to look at that account as 'liquid savings'. We'll see. If we go over the hill to do that, I'm going to visit friends at my old job while H. attends his one Monday class. So that will be a fun day! Could be, anyway...I haven't actually run that plan by H.. We'll see -

Running Away

I spent 40 minutes writing a post on the 99% movement - but it was lost - deleted accidentally when the palm of my hand hit my built in mouse pad and deleted - and then auto save kicked in at the same time and saved 'the blank'.

So I will recreate that post eventually - hopefully this weekend. I have a lot on my mind about our economy and I want to get some of it on paper.

Do you watch The Middle? We love it. This week, Frankie ran away from home. She got fed up with her family's demands and idiosyncrasies so she packed a bag and left. Spent a couple nights at her mom's, drinking too much. I'm not 'fed up' at all with the men in my life - love them all to pieces. I really do. I can't go to my mom's house and hide out. And we don't use chemicals to deal with issues in our home. I might have a Newcastle brown ale in a minute - but it's Friday and I'm winding down. One won't be an 'escape'. It will be a refreshing beverage. But I need a break. So....

I am running away from home tomorrow. Don't worry - J. and the boys know. I am heading to a casino a couple hours away and spending a night away from home. I was hesitant at first - we shouldn't spend the money, so much to do at home, etc. And then I started to get excited about it. So I'm going. J. and the boys will hold down the fort here - and I'm going to relax. Really relax!

I'm really looking forward to it. My boss asked me to 'add' something to the board meeting prep I had finished - and I kindly said 'of course; however, I won't get it done until Monday - so it won't be in the packets this afternoon'. And that was totally OK. It was a last minute 'add' and I said 'I am not working this weekend - I am not even home this weekend!' Yeah me!! I felt liberated just saying 'sure, but not today. And not this weekend'. Revolutionary, for me.

I can't wait. It's somewhere I've never been before so it makes the adventure even more fun - an adventure just for me.

More later - hopefully from my hotel room. And hopefully to announce that I've won a huge jackpot! Oh, to dream....

Fried

It's been a busy and relatively productive weekend here. We made more progress on The Great Garage Culling of 2011 and are pretty close to the place we usually end up: screw the garage sale! Yesterday, J. took a HUGE amount of stuff to Goodwill - stuff that we knew would sell. But we are just not garage sale people. I'd much rather just donate and deduct - true, cash in pocket would be lovely but the amount of work required for that is just not something we can do. Our weekends are booking up quickly and winter looms. If we wait for a 'good' weekend, it will be spring. There will be a lot more stuff in the garage sale bins if we wait until spring. So we are just going to donate and write off!

My biggest accomplishment this weekend is that thanks to The Pioneer Woman, I now can make a chicken fried steak that is better than any restaurant version on the planet! Chicken fried steak is my favorite 'eating out' meal - and homemade is so much better. Not as greasy. Delicious dinner early - B. works at 6:30 so we wanted to get him fed before he heads out. And I always prefer to eat early.

I've also been working at home today and love it when the 'remote-in' system is up and running. It's sometimes a crap shoot but today it worked like a charm and I got a lot of stuff done that's been on my to-do list for awhile. I have a busy week ahead and will work some very long days this week in preparation for the board meeting next week but I made a dent in some stuff at home and that's great!

Tonight is 60 Minutes and Andy Rooney's last segment. Then Amazing Race. And Good Wife! Good thing I made homemade Starbucks iced tea 'cuz if I'm staying up that late, I'm going to need the caffeine.

The only errand I didn't get to is going to WalMart for a few toiletries. B. and J. both need hair gel. I was so desperate, that I let B. use my Awahpui hair mousse from Paul Mitchell - the salon I go to. He loves it so much that he practically wants to bathe in it. Says it makes him look incredibly handsome - and it smells really good, too. Oh well. I can probably find it at Target and keep him supplied. And I use a pea size amount of the styling pomade for mine and that container will probably last me the rest of my life. I like to try new products and I like my stylist to get 'credit' for selling me product. And all in all, for a Paul Mitchell salon, their prices are incredibly reasonable.

J. has been walking down memory lane going through the bag of pictures from his parents. He's been scanning a good chunk of the day and posting on Facebook to torture his cousins with really old pictures of themselves! They all seem to be taking it good naturedly, so far.

Back to my homework before 60 Minutes starts.