It's hot here. So hot. It starts out mild but by mid-afternoon, the walks to the restroom are just stifling.
Survived my first day back - plowed through my in box; voicemails; emails; signing stuff. And started on year-end which made me feel really accomplished until everything I touched became a 'oh, and then there's this and that and this and more of that' - stickies all over the place and a to-do list growing.
My boss said via email cheerily around 9AM 'I'll be over shortly to say hi in person and we can catch up'...and 4PM is when he finally made his way over. We did catch up and laughed ourselves silly over some things that went on during my absence...and laughed even harder when he said 'I think I said I'd be over sometime this morning and here I am hours and hours later'.
I soaked my toes after dinner and the warm water felt SO GOOD - they were pretty sore after a day in shoes. I figured out how to add more padding so will do that today and will probably also take off my shoes when I'm just sitting at my desk.
Tonight, I'm heading to Livermore to have dinner with my dear friend J. at Simply Fondue so all day today, I will be dreaming of melted cheese, melted chocolate and blackberry lemon drop martinis. :-) Makes me happy just thinking about it - and then you throw in time with one of the sweetest people on the planet and Holy Cow! - it's going to be such a nice evening.
I gave my team my schedule this week and one of them chuckled and said 'welcome back 'cuz you're out of the office this week' - pretty much! Interview committee this afternoon, an all day admin retreat tomorrow (we are retreating to the board room - but oh well - it's still going to be fun); leaving early Thursday to attend an event that day in a place that requires driving; and a CBO meeting Friday morning. Yikes! That's a lot of 'away' time.
OK - time to get moving. I need to get up even earlier to give myself 'toe time'.....getting them bandaged up and ready for the day adds about 10 minutes to my routine. I'll be glad when they are healed and won't require all the special attention....
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Vacation Twilight
Winding down a nice Sunday at home as I face the reality of going back to work tomorrow. Slept in until 9AM this morning (!!) - woke up at 7:30 but just went right back to sleep and the next thing I knew, it was mid-morning!
Thought of possibly going to Jackson but skipped it. Have plenty to do here. I've done really major things like consolidating the two very little left honey containers into the one semi-full one. Same with old shampoo bottles, etc. . Emptied two partially full water bottles that have been on the lazy- susan on the kitchen table for FOREVER - used them in the garden. I am considering writing to Home Depot and suggesting the produce a two or two and a half gallon bucket with lid as well - we rinsed dried beans yesterday and I wished I had a smaller bucket than the five gallon size we use in the showers. Plenty of other things we do that having a small holding bucket in the kitchen would come in handy for. And they could do a commercial in California showing all the ways you can gather and conserve water. It's amazing how much we've wasted without thinking - can't do that anymore.
Soaked my toes - they were slightly sore last night post shoes - couldn't wear my crazy Croc-like sandals to Mary Poppins. OH! Mary Poppins! It was spectacular. Put on by a student production group, YES Company. Wasn't sure what to expect but was completely blown away by the show. It was a completely professional quality production - and it was three full hours of non-stop action. Much different from the Disney movie version and the program notes explained so much of the history that I didn't know. Now, I'm very interested in the Saving Mr. Banks movie starring Tom Hanks - 'cuz I am curious about how the movie ended up being made. No dancing penguins in the stage version. It was just stellar and I'm so glad we went.
Made a pot of black beans yesterday and resisted the urge to double the recipe - so we had dinner last night, lunch today and maybe lunch for me tomorrow - with no massive amount of leftovers to deal with.
My cousin confirmed that she is approaching her last week of summer vacation and the JOLT I felt at the realization that MY summer is almost over hit me like a ton of bricks. I've got three books I'm to have read by the start of school (now three weeks away) and still have mountains of year-end stuff to also take care of. I know it will all get done and am psyching myself up for early mornings and late evenings with high hopes of avoiding too many weekends if at all possible.
Looking forward to B. being here in three weeks (for three weeks!) and the trip to Phoenix coming up over Labor Day weekend. Did a little menu planning with my cousin via Facebook chat this morning.
Our yard is becoming a bird, butterfly and hummingbird haven and it's so great to watch things start blooming. We've seen at least one house working on killing off their grass (tarp secured over the entire yard) and I'm thinking of doing the same. The plants we've purchased are blooming so beautifully and dealing with the limited water so much better than our half-dead-barely-surviving lawn. I'm trying to budget for a plant order every month and little by little, the beds around the grass will be filled with blooming, drought-resistant plants that attract all kinds of pretty butterflies and birds. We've got peanuts and suet cakes in the bird feeders and we put out a new hummingbird feeder today. I'm ordering another one of those and maybe another hanging bird watering unit.
It's been a fun break and sleeping in for ten days has been the best thing ever. Tomorrow's alarm will be hard to take but it's OK. Playa del Carmen in October is the next trip after Phoenix and I can't wait for that break. Then Thanksgiving week off, Christmas vacation - the breaks roll together and soon, we'll be planning for another summer off. Time goes so quickly -
Thought of possibly going to Jackson but skipped it. Have plenty to do here. I've done really major things like consolidating the two very little left honey containers into the one semi-full one. Same with old shampoo bottles, etc. . Emptied two partially full water bottles that have been on the lazy- susan on the kitchen table for FOREVER - used them in the garden. I am considering writing to Home Depot and suggesting the produce a two or two and a half gallon bucket with lid as well - we rinsed dried beans yesterday and I wished I had a smaller bucket than the five gallon size we use in the showers. Plenty of other things we do that having a small holding bucket in the kitchen would come in handy for. And they could do a commercial in California showing all the ways you can gather and conserve water. It's amazing how much we've wasted without thinking - can't do that anymore.
Soaked my toes - they were slightly sore last night post shoes - couldn't wear my crazy Croc-like sandals to Mary Poppins. OH! Mary Poppins! It was spectacular. Put on by a student production group, YES Company. Wasn't sure what to expect but was completely blown away by the show. It was a completely professional quality production - and it was three full hours of non-stop action. Much different from the Disney movie version and the program notes explained so much of the history that I didn't know. Now, I'm very interested in the Saving Mr. Banks movie starring Tom Hanks - 'cuz I am curious about how the movie ended up being made. No dancing penguins in the stage version. It was just stellar and I'm so glad we went.
Made a pot of black beans yesterday and resisted the urge to double the recipe - so we had dinner last night, lunch today and maybe lunch for me tomorrow - with no massive amount of leftovers to deal with.
My cousin confirmed that she is approaching her last week of summer vacation and the JOLT I felt at the realization that MY summer is almost over hit me like a ton of bricks. I've got three books I'm to have read by the start of school (now three weeks away) and still have mountains of year-end stuff to also take care of. I know it will all get done and am psyching myself up for early mornings and late evenings with high hopes of avoiding too many weekends if at all possible.
Looking forward to B. being here in three weeks (for three weeks!) and the trip to Phoenix coming up over Labor Day weekend. Did a little menu planning with my cousin via Facebook chat this morning.
Our yard is becoming a bird, butterfly and hummingbird haven and it's so great to watch things start blooming. We've seen at least one house working on killing off their grass (tarp secured over the entire yard) and I'm thinking of doing the same. The plants we've purchased are blooming so beautifully and dealing with the limited water so much better than our half-dead-barely-surviving lawn. I'm trying to budget for a plant order every month and little by little, the beds around the grass will be filled with blooming, drought-resistant plants that attract all kinds of pretty butterflies and birds. We've got peanuts and suet cakes in the bird feeders and we put out a new hummingbird feeder today. I'm ordering another one of those and maybe another hanging bird watering unit.
It's been a fun break and sleeping in for ten days has been the best thing ever. Tomorrow's alarm will be hard to take but it's OK. Playa del Carmen in October is the next trip after Phoenix and I can't wait for that break. Then Thanksgiving week off, Christmas vacation - the breaks roll together and soon, we'll be planning for another summer off. Time goes so quickly -
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Toes and Such
J. just left to take Chloe to the groomer who is working at the Petco in Livermore. Livermore seems like a long way to go to get her groomed but she is the shaggiest beast of a dog and needs to be pampered and cleaned up in the worst way. The groomer is also doing grooming at her home right around the corner from our house but she's booked into September for her Tracy clients that don't want to drive to Livermore. So my sweet, retired hubby will trek over the Altamont with her, spend some time doing a Trader Joe's shop and then trek back with a trimmed, sweet smelling dog. Chloe will be so happy to be trimmed - she spends a good chunk of the day lazing around panting at the 'heat', silently willing us to turn the thermostat down....but we won't. Less fur will be a help.
I had both sides of both big toenails 'surgically' removed yesterday and at the moment, the toes are bandaged with pressure wrap. They look like giant cake pops at the end of stubby sticks. At 3PM today, I can remove the huge bandages, do the first of many warm water Epsom salt soaks and then re-bandage with just good old large Bandaids. I'm thankfully not having too much pain and am hoping that's a good sign - though they are very protected at the moment from bumping and such so I'm not sure how it will be when they have no padding. And I haven't put on shoes yet - so...there's still that challenge.
Thankfully, I'm off work this week so nowhere to be or go for the most part. Just piddling around the casa with my guys. H. joined me on a trip to Jackson Monday and we had a blast. He's my lucky charm and while we didn't win 'big', I did arrive home with a bit more than I left with so that's good. We had fun and whenever he was near me, I'd hit something. It was a nice day though any hopes of pleasant conversation on the drive up and back was immediately dashed with the realization that he would just konk out on both drives - headphones over his ears and sound asleep within minutes. Oh well. It was still a lot of fun and he is great company - sleeping or not!
J. and I have tickets to see Mary Poppins at Gallo this Saturday - it will be a fun show, I'm sure - a professional touring company and in the big theater. Looking forward to it!
J. has been in touch with B. more than I - they catch up via texts most mornings. I don't think B. has phoned home since he was here - and he will be back in a few weeks for a three week vacation...of course, I am entering 'year-end madness' and will be putting in very long days in August to get stuff done - and all of it must be done a tad early due to my Arizona vacation. Should have thought it through a bit more - but perhaps not thinking it through is best 'cuz had I thought it through, I would have never done it. :-) Carpe diem! and all that -
Update: cake pop toes are gone. Undid the bandages (after the required 24 hours); took a shower (OK to get toes wet); 15 minute Epsom salt soak, carefully dried, Neosporin and fresh Bandaids applied. They feel pretty good all things considered - when H. saw them in the soak, he was completely grossed out. I don't think they look all that bad, really. :-)
J. went to get us take-out sushi for dinner - last of the Christmas gift cards. Chloe had a good trip to the groomer and looks so pretty - she is so proud of her sleek, thinner fur coat! I've paid some bills; gotten an Amazon return ready to ship and also created a treat box for my cousin's daughter - hopefully will mail both tomorrow (with J.'s help).
Lazy mid-week and still have four days left. I'm ready to go back sort of - but still glad to have more time off ahead. I bought some suet cakes for the bird feeder stand we've installed and want to do some things outside in the morning before the heat gets unbearable.
I had both sides of both big toenails 'surgically' removed yesterday and at the moment, the toes are bandaged with pressure wrap. They look like giant cake pops at the end of stubby sticks. At 3PM today, I can remove the huge bandages, do the first of many warm water Epsom salt soaks and then re-bandage with just good old large Bandaids. I'm thankfully not having too much pain and am hoping that's a good sign - though they are very protected at the moment from bumping and such so I'm not sure how it will be when they have no padding. And I haven't put on shoes yet - so...there's still that challenge.
Thankfully, I'm off work this week so nowhere to be or go for the most part. Just piddling around the casa with my guys. H. joined me on a trip to Jackson Monday and we had a blast. He's my lucky charm and while we didn't win 'big', I did arrive home with a bit more than I left with so that's good. We had fun and whenever he was near me, I'd hit something. It was a nice day though any hopes of pleasant conversation on the drive up and back was immediately dashed with the realization that he would just konk out on both drives - headphones over his ears and sound asleep within minutes. Oh well. It was still a lot of fun and he is great company - sleeping or not!
J. and I have tickets to see Mary Poppins at Gallo this Saturday - it will be a fun show, I'm sure - a professional touring company and in the big theater. Looking forward to it!
J. has been in touch with B. more than I - they catch up via texts most mornings. I don't think B. has phoned home since he was here - and he will be back in a few weeks for a three week vacation...of course, I am entering 'year-end madness' and will be putting in very long days in August to get stuff done - and all of it must be done a tad early due to my Arizona vacation. Should have thought it through a bit more - but perhaps not thinking it through is best 'cuz had I thought it through, I would have never done it. :-) Carpe diem! and all that -
Update: cake pop toes are gone. Undid the bandages (after the required 24 hours); took a shower (OK to get toes wet); 15 minute Epsom salt soak, carefully dried, Neosporin and fresh Bandaids applied. They feel pretty good all things considered - when H. saw them in the soak, he was completely grossed out. I don't think they look all that bad, really. :-)
J. went to get us take-out sushi for dinner - last of the Christmas gift cards. Chloe had a good trip to the groomer and looks so pretty - she is so proud of her sleek, thinner fur coat! I've paid some bills; gotten an Amazon return ready to ship and also created a treat box for my cousin's daughter - hopefully will mail both tomorrow (with J.'s help).
Lazy mid-week and still have four days left. I'm ready to go back sort of - but still glad to have more time off ahead. I bought some suet cakes for the bird feeder stand we've installed and want to do some things outside in the morning before the heat gets unbearable.
Sunday, July 12, 2015
It's Another Sunday
It's 5:12PM and I will shyly admit that I'm still in my PJ's. And it's not that I haven't been doing stuff - it's just the stuff I'm doing is dirty, messy stuff so I figured why get showered and dressed only to get completely gross?
Cleaning the oven and yard work. Not continuously but enough. My rings are off my fingers and I will need to do a repaint on my manicure when the oven is done - if it's ever done. It's coming clean beautifully but it takes so much time to wipe and rewipe to ensure all the cleaning spray is off every surface. Grrr. I always forget what a PITA this job is. Our oven is technically 'self-cleaning' but the self-cleaning mode gets the oven so incredibly hot, I just avoid using it - especially in the summer.
We are making plans for H.'s move to Houston. He has a CT scan planned and it should be scheduled in the next couple weeks - then another appointment with the oncologist the first week of August. H. has lost some weight (worrisome) but his blood work was fine - so assuming the scan doesn't show any changes, he will be good to go. The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is in Houston so it's a great city to move to if you are a cancer patient. We will find a doctor (hopefully one who specializes in Hodgink's) and our oncologist will make the referral so H. can have a primary oncologist in Houston when he gets there.
I keep reminding him how important it will be to keep up with scans, blood work, follow-up appointments. For a kid who struggles to make himself food when he's hungry, I have concerns about his looming independence, but oh well. It's time for him to fly.
J. and I are looking forward to trying out boxed wine (ready whenever you want a little wine) 'cuz we don't buy it now for fear it will be gone when we want some. Same story for good bottled wine which we enjoy so much but can't afford to have around lest bottle after bottle make it's way to a party somewhere. Or sometimes the party is here in our absence.
The garden plants we purchased from High Country Gardens are doing so beautifully and are holding up really well with the limited water we are able to provide. Our shower water is working - but it's still a scant amount compared to what they need. Once they get settled in their pot or in the garden, they seem to do absolutely fine with little water - it's just giving them enough to get them going.
Work is sort of quiet at the moment - many folks on vacation which is sort of nice. I've been cleaning out files like crazy and tomorrow, we will work on the storage room. The annual shred event will have tons of shred from the stuff in my office - been here almost nine years and am finally getting rid of stuff I've kept 'cuz I wasn't sure I'd need it - and now I know I don't.
I work Monday through Thursday this week and then (fingers crossed), I'm off until 7/27! No plans other than piddling around the house - and one trip to Jackson, most likely. Once that break is over, 'year-end madness' will officially ensue and it will be non-stop for the month of August. And then same for September. Cancun in October the dangling carrot that will hopefully make it all worth it. The grip to Prescott in September will also be fun - and B. is going to go with us!! He will take a shuttle from Prescott to the airport and fly home from Phoenix the Sunday before the holiday - he's excited to see the Grand Canyon (as am I) and seemed happy to come with us -
Time to work on the oven some more and then J. will fix orange chicken for dinner. OH - we tried a new (to me and J.) Mexican restaurant last night and it was FANTASTIC! H. has been going there for years and raves about it - so we got take out and it was super great! Can't wait to go again and it may be a weekly thing.
Cleaning the oven and yard work. Not continuously but enough. My rings are off my fingers and I will need to do a repaint on my manicure when the oven is done - if it's ever done. It's coming clean beautifully but it takes so much time to wipe and rewipe to ensure all the cleaning spray is off every surface. Grrr. I always forget what a PITA this job is. Our oven is technically 'self-cleaning' but the self-cleaning mode gets the oven so incredibly hot, I just avoid using it - especially in the summer.
We are making plans for H.'s move to Houston. He has a CT scan planned and it should be scheduled in the next couple weeks - then another appointment with the oncologist the first week of August. H. has lost some weight (worrisome) but his blood work was fine - so assuming the scan doesn't show any changes, he will be good to go. The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is in Houston so it's a great city to move to if you are a cancer patient. We will find a doctor (hopefully one who specializes in Hodgink's) and our oncologist will make the referral so H. can have a primary oncologist in Houston when he gets there.
I keep reminding him how important it will be to keep up with scans, blood work, follow-up appointments. For a kid who struggles to make himself food when he's hungry, I have concerns about his looming independence, but oh well. It's time for him to fly.
J. and I are looking forward to trying out boxed wine (ready whenever you want a little wine) 'cuz we don't buy it now for fear it will be gone when we want some. Same story for good bottled wine which we enjoy so much but can't afford to have around lest bottle after bottle make it's way to a party somewhere. Or sometimes the party is here in our absence.
The garden plants we purchased from High Country Gardens are doing so beautifully and are holding up really well with the limited water we are able to provide. Our shower water is working - but it's still a scant amount compared to what they need. Once they get settled in their pot or in the garden, they seem to do absolutely fine with little water - it's just giving them enough to get them going.
Work is sort of quiet at the moment - many folks on vacation which is sort of nice. I've been cleaning out files like crazy and tomorrow, we will work on the storage room. The annual shred event will have tons of shred from the stuff in my office - been here almost nine years and am finally getting rid of stuff I've kept 'cuz I wasn't sure I'd need it - and now I know I don't.
I work Monday through Thursday this week and then (fingers crossed), I'm off until 7/27! No plans other than piddling around the house - and one trip to Jackson, most likely. Once that break is over, 'year-end madness' will officially ensue and it will be non-stop for the month of August. And then same for September. Cancun in October the dangling carrot that will hopefully make it all worth it. The grip to Prescott in September will also be fun - and B. is going to go with us!! He will take a shuttle from Prescott to the airport and fly home from Phoenix the Sunday before the holiday - he's excited to see the Grand Canyon (as am I) and seemed happy to come with us -
Time to work on the oven some more and then J. will fix orange chicken for dinner. OH - we tried a new (to me and J.) Mexican restaurant last night and it was FANTASTIC! H. has been going there for years and raves about it - so we got take out and it was super great! Can't wait to go again and it may be a weekly thing.
Sunday, July 05, 2015
Girls Aren't the Only Ones
Who says the mom of boys can't enjoy a little mother-son pampering now and then? H. and I ventured to the local nail salon - he got a mani/pedi and I got a mani. On the way there, he tried to back out of the pedi saying 'I'm embarrassed 'cuz my toes are so bad' and I said 'that's exactly why you need a pedicure'. He loved it! But I'm sure he'll never admit it.
I said we could do that monthly and then said 'well, not if you're moving to Houston. But you could get mani/pedis there, I'm sure'. He said 'um, that won't be happening there'. So I suggested adding 'no pedicures' to the Con list of his move to Houston.
I'm not above guilting him into staying. I suggested he could be brave and bold and insist on getting pedicures to care for his feet if he moves - so we'll see. It's personal hygiene and to heck with 'macho' attitudes. He enjoyed it and he'd have nice looking nails if he did it regularly.
Why is it that nail salon staff think nothing of scolding their customers? I finished my manicure and sat at the drying table while they finished H.'s pedicure. Then he went over to the waiting area - and we waited. And we waited. I got up to pay (in advance of him being finished) so I could run my errand to the bank and then treating us to Starbucks and said 'he's waiting for a manicure'. The lady who did his toes said 'why didn't you say that before' and I replied sweetly 'we did say it when we came in - twice'. Grrr.
J. is visiting his brother in San Leandro today. I'm not sure why he decided to go today - given he has five days at home alone but it was today he had to take off. I feel distance creeping in to us and it's unsettling. Not helped by dreaming that he and I were traveling together and he kept missing the bus, getting left behind - and then when he'd get caught up and rejoin, he'd kiss another lady! Not me! The first time in the dream it happened, I was 'well, he was just happy to have found the group again' and felt it was sort of just an excited 'yay!' kind of kiss. But the second time? Not so sure.
Dreams....weird.
I said we could do that monthly and then said 'well, not if you're moving to Houston. But you could get mani/pedis there, I'm sure'. He said 'um, that won't be happening there'. So I suggested adding 'no pedicures' to the Con list of his move to Houston.
I'm not above guilting him into staying. I suggested he could be brave and bold and insist on getting pedicures to care for his feet if he moves - so we'll see. It's personal hygiene and to heck with 'macho' attitudes. He enjoyed it and he'd have nice looking nails if he did it regularly.
Why is it that nail salon staff think nothing of scolding their customers? I finished my manicure and sat at the drying table while they finished H.'s pedicure. Then he went over to the waiting area - and we waited. And we waited. I got up to pay (in advance of him being finished) so I could run my errand to the bank and then treating us to Starbucks and said 'he's waiting for a manicure'. The lady who did his toes said 'why didn't you say that before' and I replied sweetly 'we did say it when we came in - twice'. Grrr.
J. is visiting his brother in San Leandro today. I'm not sure why he decided to go today - given he has five days at home alone but it was today he had to take off. I feel distance creeping in to us and it's unsettling. Not helped by dreaming that he and I were traveling together and he kept missing the bus, getting left behind - and then when he'd get caught up and rejoin, he'd kiss another lady! Not me! The first time in the dream it happened, I was 'well, he was just happy to have found the group again' and felt it was sort of just an excited 'yay!' kind of kiss. But the second time? Not so sure.
Dreams....weird.
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Changes Afoot?
I am on vacation for a few days....technically unpaid non-work days using up carryover days...but any day I'm not in the office is a vacation day to my psyche. Not much planned and that's the way I want to keep it - though I do have a haircut this afternoon and then dinner with a friend on Thursday. Friday may be mani/pedi with H. (believe it or not - his toes need tending). And then a lot of yard stuff, pool time.
Last Friday, I took the two odd hours of vacation time I need to use to be off early - and of course, that was the day the crew arrived to prune the trees. While I guess the trees are 'pruned', they look no different on the outside - most of the trimming was done on the inside so when you look up, you see a much more open space still surrounded by the tree canopy. The blue jay family vacated the premises during the process (of course!) and I feared they wouldn't return - but they did. I put out shelled peanuts on the patio table and added a bird waterer to a nearby tree so they are hanging out. I will put peanuts in various feeders, too, so they will have plenty.
I went to Jackson yesterday and for the second time in two months, the person sitting next to me at a machine that I was just thinking 'I should play it' won $16,354!! She started the bonus round and I sort of held my breath but thought she would win the mini 'cuz she had two of every symbol and usually the final pic in that situation results in the mini or the minor (small wins)....but her final pick was the Grand! She was so excited - very young. There with her grandfather and so thrilled about winning. (She whispered 'I've lost $700 tonight and I'm so relieved to have this win!). As always, while I was 'dang it all to heck that it wasn't me', I was very happy for her. Someday, it will be me. Just not last night.
I returned home very late (the event that got me up there went until 10PM and I played an hour after that on a very hot machine, praying it would hit the $3.6M jackpot - it didn't). Slept in a bit this morning. I arrived home with more than I went with so that was good. Not hugely more but at least I didn't lose it all. That's a 'win' in my opinion.
H. has decided he wants to move to Houston to live with his best friend and his family. His best friend J. moved there a couple years ago and is now working as a fire fighter. J.'s dad has invited H. to come - there is a bedroom in their home that is "H's room" and according to both the friend and the dad, there are plenty of jobs there. H. has an oncology appointment next week so we will talk to his doctor about possibly doing a set of scans pre-move and then suggestions for how to go about finding an oncologist in Houston to work with for follow-up. H. can stay on our insurance until he's 26 so there shouldn't be any issue.
It will feel 'sad' to see him go but I do think this would be a good move for him. The friends he hangs out with here and folks that do things he doesn't want to do (smoking at the top of the list) and he's having a lot of issues finding work here. You'd think with Amazon in our town, it would be easy but this 'new' way of hiring is so challenging - online applications - how do you get noticed as one of thousands of online applications? He's ready for a fresh start - and honestly, I think J. and I are ready, too. It's hard wrangling H. constantly and I know the best friend's dad will be on H.'s ass constantly - and that's probably a good thing. Non-parental ass-whooping has way more effect than parental sameness.
H. was thinking he would sell his car but I think he could drive there. He won't need to really take furniture, etc. - just clothes, laptop, electronics, etc. - and some of it could be UPS'd there, too. Then J. could fly home. I think he should keep his car 'cuz it's paid for - and we can arrange to transport it there on a truck if he's worried about driving it. (It's not in bad shape so I'm not sure what his worries are but it's all manageable).
We saw a Groupon offer for a 16 day trip to Barcelona, Florence, Venice, Rome and Paris for a really great price - but I can't bring myself to do it. I told J. 'I came home so incredibly exhausted and sick from our last trip - and that was one city'. I don't have any recoup time on these jaunts - I arrive home, take one or two extra days off for jet-lag recovery and then BAM right back into my busiest work season...working seven days a week to get budget done. I still feel so exhausted by our last trip that the thought of another one is just a huge 'ugh'. Which led to conversations about J. maybe going places himself - and that would be fine, I think. He wants to see places that I'd love to see - like India - but can't imagine doing. (Then he found a guided trip with A/C coach to India and I can see myself doing that...so we'll see).
We've both got the travel bug but....
We are traveling to Phoenix over Labor Day weekend to visit my aunt. She's a persuasive 90 years old and we will visit her at the cabin in Prescott. We are looking forward to it but in hindsight, I should have looked at doing it the next weekend 'cuz I have a board meeting the Tuesday we fly home so that will be interesting. Board prep done days earlier to be available to get there and then getting home in time to be at the meeting by 5PMish. Should be do-able - but if I'd studied the calendar better, I would have chosen another weekend - it will be fine, though. Glad we are making the trip 'cuz the holiday does provide an extra day!
Update complete, for now. I will try to write more to be sure I keep y'all updated. It's looking like we could be empty nesters again by the end of summer -
Last Friday, I took the two odd hours of vacation time I need to use to be off early - and of course, that was the day the crew arrived to prune the trees. While I guess the trees are 'pruned', they look no different on the outside - most of the trimming was done on the inside so when you look up, you see a much more open space still surrounded by the tree canopy. The blue jay family vacated the premises during the process (of course!) and I feared they wouldn't return - but they did. I put out shelled peanuts on the patio table and added a bird waterer to a nearby tree so they are hanging out. I will put peanuts in various feeders, too, so they will have plenty.
I went to Jackson yesterday and for the second time in two months, the person sitting next to me at a machine that I was just thinking 'I should play it' won $16,354!! She started the bonus round and I sort of held my breath but thought she would win the mini 'cuz she had two of every symbol and usually the final pic in that situation results in the mini or the minor (small wins)....but her final pick was the Grand! She was so excited - very young. There with her grandfather and so thrilled about winning. (She whispered 'I've lost $700 tonight and I'm so relieved to have this win!). As always, while I was 'dang it all to heck that it wasn't me', I was very happy for her. Someday, it will be me. Just not last night.
I returned home very late (the event that got me up there went until 10PM and I played an hour after that on a very hot machine, praying it would hit the $3.6M jackpot - it didn't). Slept in a bit this morning. I arrived home with more than I went with so that was good. Not hugely more but at least I didn't lose it all. That's a 'win' in my opinion.
H. has decided he wants to move to Houston to live with his best friend and his family. His best friend J. moved there a couple years ago and is now working as a fire fighter. J.'s dad has invited H. to come - there is a bedroom in their home that is "H's room" and according to both the friend and the dad, there are plenty of jobs there. H. has an oncology appointment next week so we will talk to his doctor about possibly doing a set of scans pre-move and then suggestions for how to go about finding an oncologist in Houston to work with for follow-up. H. can stay on our insurance until he's 26 so there shouldn't be any issue.
It will feel 'sad' to see him go but I do think this would be a good move for him. The friends he hangs out with here and folks that do things he doesn't want to do (smoking at the top of the list) and he's having a lot of issues finding work here. You'd think with Amazon in our town, it would be easy but this 'new' way of hiring is so challenging - online applications - how do you get noticed as one of thousands of online applications? He's ready for a fresh start - and honestly, I think J. and I are ready, too. It's hard wrangling H. constantly and I know the best friend's dad will be on H.'s ass constantly - and that's probably a good thing. Non-parental ass-whooping has way more effect than parental sameness.
H. was thinking he would sell his car but I think he could drive there. He won't need to really take furniture, etc. - just clothes, laptop, electronics, etc. - and some of it could be UPS'd there, too. Then J. could fly home. I think he should keep his car 'cuz it's paid for - and we can arrange to transport it there on a truck if he's worried about driving it. (It's not in bad shape so I'm not sure what his worries are but it's all manageable).
We saw a Groupon offer for a 16 day trip to Barcelona, Florence, Venice, Rome and Paris for a really great price - but I can't bring myself to do it. I told J. 'I came home so incredibly exhausted and sick from our last trip - and that was one city'. I don't have any recoup time on these jaunts - I arrive home, take one or two extra days off for jet-lag recovery and then BAM right back into my busiest work season...working seven days a week to get budget done. I still feel so exhausted by our last trip that the thought of another one is just a huge 'ugh'. Which led to conversations about J. maybe going places himself - and that would be fine, I think. He wants to see places that I'd love to see - like India - but can't imagine doing. (Then he found a guided trip with A/C coach to India and I can see myself doing that...so we'll see).
We've both got the travel bug but....
We are traveling to Phoenix over Labor Day weekend to visit my aunt. She's a persuasive 90 years old and we will visit her at the cabin in Prescott. We are looking forward to it but in hindsight, I should have looked at doing it the next weekend 'cuz I have a board meeting the Tuesday we fly home so that will be interesting. Board prep done days earlier to be available to get there and then getting home in time to be at the meeting by 5PMish. Should be do-able - but if I'd studied the calendar better, I would have chosen another weekend - it will be fine, though. Glad we are making the trip 'cuz the holiday does provide an extra day!
Update complete, for now. I will try to write more to be sure I keep y'all updated. It's looking like we could be empty nesters again by the end of summer -
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