Realized there was a new Sia album (how did I miss the release day??!!) so am happily downloaded and listening while also watching Apollo 13 - one of life's best 'feel good' movies ever! Confirmed our monthly deposits happened on schedule and am merrily working away at the monthly list of things that happen when I/we get paid. :-) Getting paid is good.
The week flew by - so busy, I can barely think. I didn't look at my calendar at all yesterday. We had a nice retirement lunch for the two retirees at the district office - it was fun and was a nice mid-day break. I could barely look at the Payroll person who left with basically no notice - and no cross training or even documentation of the myriad of things that she's done all by herself for decades. I don't begrudge her retiring but I do think she handled her departure very badly and basically lied to me about it for the months it was coming. That being said, I wished her well (sincerely) and we are firmly moving on.
Losing my best friend G. (now former by one day assistant to the Superintendent) was much harder and for her, I sincerely shared sentiments with her about the 9+ years she's been my rock. Our former sup gave her a Snuggie complete with our district logo embroidered on it - it was a running joke with them 'cuz she was always cold and he was always hot - and she bequeathed the Snuggie to me! It's safely hanging on the coat hook behind my office door and I will appreciate it on days when I can't get warm.
I will miss her but am grateful to have been blessed with a life long friend that I will see on a regular basis -
At the retirement lunch, G. mentioned that our boss was being honored by our city's Chamber of Commerce and it was then and only then that I realized "CRAP! I am going to that dinner tonight". From the moment I woke up yesterday, I kept saying 'just get to 4PM...just get to 4PM'...so realizing that I had a night obligation too - ugh! I headed home at 4 and had a couple of hours to decompress and in the end, the dinner was a nice evening with fun people. Most of our table were work friends and there was a really nice couple - they've lived in Tracy all their lives and the husband was a conductor for the railroad for 45 years - so lots of fascinating stories. Tracy started as a 'hub' for the railways - lots of history there. Sweetest couple ever - in their 80's and still having fun.
J. is working on updating my navigation maps in my car and from the looks of the instructions, I think he will be awhile. H. is heading to the bookstore to get his text books for this semester.
B. has phoned ME a couple times this week to check in on my eye situation - so sweet that he's been worried. The maneuvers in Louisiana are almost complete and they should be heading home to Fort Bliss soon. B. says 'I can't wait to get back to El Paso' and I said 'bet you never thought you'd hear yourself say that, right'? You miss your own bed no matter where it is. Sleeping night after night in a Humvee loses it's charm around night 3, I think. It's also been fun that a newspaper in El Paso is doing a series of articles on the maneuvers so at least we can read about them and see the pictures posted - no pics of B. yet but it's great to just see what they've been doing. LOTS of big equipment and even helicopters, etc. - it's a really big deal, this training - and it's neat to know B. and his unit are a part of it.
I purposefully brought down clothes to dress into 'cuz if I don't, I will likely stay in PJ's all day - and we should be making a grocery run and a Target run at this point in our errand cycle. So I'll force myself to get wet (I dread showering on cold days...) so I can go outside and do some stuff. It's a rare sunny day and there's lots of outdoor stuff to take care of as well as inside stuff to catch up on.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
The Joy of Amazon Prime
Every morning, Chloe does her business and is rewarded with 1/2 of a quinoa and butter squash dog biscuit - Canidae brand. She doesn't ever forget about this step in her morning routine, though she sometimes does forget to do her business. No business, no treat. That's the rule. She runs back into the house, heads over to the area rug by the hearth and twirls two or three times. It's her standard routine and if she doesn't do it? Something's wrong. She's a twirly, dancing dog when there's a treat involved.
This morning, I went to the container on the side table and realized there's only one biscuit left so today and tomorrow's treat are all we have. (I have a feeling she's been getting treats during the day as well - H. gives generously, I think and Chloe's lost waist line shows it).
I ordered the biscuits and some dog food from Amazon and it will be here in a couple days - free shipping! I love Amazon 'cuz that brand of dog food is hard to find and we don't have to drive all over the place looking for it. It will just magically arrive on our front porch, like so many other things magically arrive.
(Things frequently arrive the very next day and we credit the Amazon distribution center here in Tracy with those miracles).
Yesterday flew by 'cuz I spent the majority of the day processing payroll stuff in advance of a looming payroll deadline. I learned a lot and even realized that one of the school sites had failed to submit a good chunk of their payroll records - and my former assistant was so proud and amazed that I realized that 'cuz I don't actually do the nuts and bolts of payroll processing all that often. I've still got it, though - and am glad I figure it out 'cuz otherwise, dozens of people wouldn't have been paid.
By end of day yesterday, my eye was absolutely killing me. The eye doctor (I did get in to see my regular eye doctor in Livermore yesterday morning) pronounced the hemorrhage to be a 4+ on a scale of 1-4 and gave me some 'gel' drops to use - same as artificial tears but longer lasting. Before heading to bed last night (at 7:30!), I really was in a lot of pain - even after flooding my eye with liquid tears to try to moisten it up a bit. Pain pill and gel and I slept pretty great, all things considered. So it will be a gel kind of day. I save the pain pills for night 'cuz it's pretty manageable until around 3PM and then it's almost time to head home anyway.
Friends at work yesterday kept saying 'I can't believe you came in' and I thought 'well, it's going to be three weeks before this eye looks even remotely 'normal' and I can't miss three weeks of work'. I'm not vain - really, I'm not - and this is proof 'cuz I really do look pretty bad. Though from far away, it sort of looks like I have some kind of contact lens in - sort of a Goth, ghoulish look going.
Time to get ready for another massive payroll processing day - and hoping to wedge in some other activities as well. New staff starting soon and I've got to get some stuff ready for them as well.
This morning, I went to the container on the side table and realized there's only one biscuit left so today and tomorrow's treat are all we have. (I have a feeling she's been getting treats during the day as well - H. gives generously, I think and Chloe's lost waist line shows it).
I ordered the biscuits and some dog food from Amazon and it will be here in a couple days - free shipping! I love Amazon 'cuz that brand of dog food is hard to find and we don't have to drive all over the place looking for it. It will just magically arrive on our front porch, like so many other things magically arrive.
(Things frequently arrive the very next day and we credit the Amazon distribution center here in Tracy with those miracles).
Yesterday flew by 'cuz I spent the majority of the day processing payroll stuff in advance of a looming payroll deadline. I learned a lot and even realized that one of the school sites had failed to submit a good chunk of their payroll records - and my former assistant was so proud and amazed that I realized that 'cuz I don't actually do the nuts and bolts of payroll processing all that often. I've still got it, though - and am glad I figure it out 'cuz otherwise, dozens of people wouldn't have been paid.
By end of day yesterday, my eye was absolutely killing me. The eye doctor (I did get in to see my regular eye doctor in Livermore yesterday morning) pronounced the hemorrhage to be a 4+ on a scale of 1-4 and gave me some 'gel' drops to use - same as artificial tears but longer lasting. Before heading to bed last night (at 7:30!), I really was in a lot of pain - even after flooding my eye with liquid tears to try to moisten it up a bit. Pain pill and gel and I slept pretty great, all things considered. So it will be a gel kind of day. I save the pain pills for night 'cuz it's pretty manageable until around 3PM and then it's almost time to head home anyway.
Friends at work yesterday kept saying 'I can't believe you came in' and I thought 'well, it's going to be three weeks before this eye looks even remotely 'normal' and I can't miss three weeks of work'. I'm not vain - really, I'm not - and this is proof 'cuz I really do look pretty bad. Though from far away, it sort of looks like I have some kind of contact lens in - sort of a Goth, ghoulish look going.
Time to get ready for another massive payroll processing day - and hoping to wedge in some other activities as well. New staff starting soon and I've got to get some stuff ready for them as well.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Post Events
The re-dedication ceremony at our rebuilt school was a wonderful time. I was surprised when J. and I were directed to sit in 'reserved' seats at the front - and even more surprised when my boss publicly recognized and thanked me for the work I contributed to making the project happen. He joked that I kept him on budget (which was pretty hard). It's such a beautiful school.
My only 'uh oh' about it is: it's so much nicer than all our other schools now and there are newly created inequities in many areas....so we'll have a lot to do to bring our other schools up to the same speed.
I went to the office for a few hours post-event. Got a few things done. I had planned to stay most of the afternoon but just couldn't do it - and rationalized 'it's OK - I'll just work a longer day tomorrow'.
Around 3:15PM, I was home and taking off my eye makeup. (I rarely even bother with eye makeup most days - eyelashes are so thin, it's hardly worth the effort - but it was a special event so I did full makeup). I felt like my eye was very dry - and it felt 'strange'. Then I felt like something was in it and I said 'something's wrong with my eye'. And H. was in the room and said 'Mom! something's wrong'. It was a subconjunctival hemorrhage that quickly filled much of the white of my eye with blood. I've had broken capillaries before - but this? Not even remotely close to the same thing. It felt like something was in my eye - and upon racing upstairs to the makeup mirror in the bathroom, I realized that my eyeball was mis-shapen and that's what I was feeling. MY EYEBALL WAS OVER THE EDGE OF MY LOWER LID....
After back and forth re: what should we do? we headed to the ER. I didn't want to spend the money (new deductible in process now) but I was scared. The registration people took me right away (jumped the line) and then the triage people did the same. In the end, a doctor exclaimed 'wow, you poor thing', checked my retina ('beautiful') and sent me home with a pain pill and anti-nausea (because the pain meds could cause nausea) administered there and an Rx for more pain meds. The nurse also took a bunch of blood but it turns out he did that for no reason 'cuz the doctor never ordered that. (??).
J. had plans to attend a music concert here in town with his friend R. - and he made it to their dinner 'date' at 6:30PM as planned. I was home with H. trying to deal with the very uncomfortable sensations in my eye. Bed around 9 and not a lot of good sleep - I slept - but just 'surface' slept most of the night. The Rx was sent to a pharmacy that was already closed last night - and then this morning, J. went to pick it up to find that it was never sent. Long wait on the phone with the ER department and finally have the meds - which leave me feeling pleasantly sleepy. Takes the edge off the constant discomfort of blinking, etc. - heaven help me if I have to blow my nose or sneeze. It's painful and odd and more than irritating.
J. bought an eye patch but that won't work under my glasses. I look hideous. When you Google the condition, NONE of the pictures you will see look even remotely close to as bad as this is - it's seriously horrible. Deep, dark red blood - no white showing at all - and pooling blood at the base of the eye that has nowhere to go until it's reabsorbed. 2-3 weeks of this. Yeah me.
I gave up working today - I will just have to work longer days this week and it is what it is. :-)
I've got a zillion Law & Orders taped upstairs and plan to head there soon for the duration of the afternoon/evening. Hoping for some dozing here and there 'cuz I do feel really tired.
No real 'cause' other than dry eyes combined with the pressure of eye makeup removal, apparently.
I have managed to open a week's worth of mail..necessitated by long days that have me home for a couple of hours and then heading to bed. Nothing of great importance though the tax documents are pouring in. I'm just slotting those envelopes in the tax file next to my desk and moving on for now. We bought TurboTax at Costco already but I'm just not ready to go there yet.
Haven't heard from B. at all - poor guy had to miss any birthday greetings 'cuz their unit was prohibited from using their phones for a TBD length of time. Hoping to hear from him soon -
H. starts school again tomorrow and he's ready! He's enjoyed sleeping in but he's ready to get back at it and be one semester closer to finishing his Process Technology A.S.! Love his motivation! Go, H.!!
My only 'uh oh' about it is: it's so much nicer than all our other schools now and there are newly created inequities in many areas....so we'll have a lot to do to bring our other schools up to the same speed.
I went to the office for a few hours post-event. Got a few things done. I had planned to stay most of the afternoon but just couldn't do it - and rationalized 'it's OK - I'll just work a longer day tomorrow'.
Around 3:15PM, I was home and taking off my eye makeup. (I rarely even bother with eye makeup most days - eyelashes are so thin, it's hardly worth the effort - but it was a special event so I did full makeup). I felt like my eye was very dry - and it felt 'strange'. Then I felt like something was in it and I said 'something's wrong with my eye'. And H. was in the room and said 'Mom! something's wrong'. It was a subconjunctival hemorrhage that quickly filled much of the white of my eye with blood. I've had broken capillaries before - but this? Not even remotely close to the same thing. It felt like something was in my eye - and upon racing upstairs to the makeup mirror in the bathroom, I realized that my eyeball was mis-shapen and that's what I was feeling. MY EYEBALL WAS OVER THE EDGE OF MY LOWER LID....
After back and forth re: what should we do? we headed to the ER. I didn't want to spend the money (new deductible in process now) but I was scared. The registration people took me right away (jumped the line) and then the triage people did the same. In the end, a doctor exclaimed 'wow, you poor thing', checked my retina ('beautiful') and sent me home with a pain pill and anti-nausea (because the pain meds could cause nausea) administered there and an Rx for more pain meds. The nurse also took a bunch of blood but it turns out he did that for no reason 'cuz the doctor never ordered that. (??).
J. had plans to attend a music concert here in town with his friend R. - and he made it to their dinner 'date' at 6:30PM as planned. I was home with H. trying to deal with the very uncomfortable sensations in my eye. Bed around 9 and not a lot of good sleep - I slept - but just 'surface' slept most of the night. The Rx was sent to a pharmacy that was already closed last night - and then this morning, J. went to pick it up to find that it was never sent. Long wait on the phone with the ER department and finally have the meds - which leave me feeling pleasantly sleepy. Takes the edge off the constant discomfort of blinking, etc. - heaven help me if I have to blow my nose or sneeze. It's painful and odd and more than irritating.
J. bought an eye patch but that won't work under my glasses. I look hideous. When you Google the condition, NONE of the pictures you will see look even remotely close to as bad as this is - it's seriously horrible. Deep, dark red blood - no white showing at all - and pooling blood at the base of the eye that has nowhere to go until it's reabsorbed. 2-3 weeks of this. Yeah me.
I gave up working today - I will just have to work longer days this week and it is what it is. :-)
I've got a zillion Law & Orders taped upstairs and plan to head there soon for the duration of the afternoon/evening. Hoping for some dozing here and there 'cuz I do feel really tired.
No real 'cause' other than dry eyes combined with the pressure of eye makeup removal, apparently.
I have managed to open a week's worth of mail..necessitated by long days that have me home for a couple of hours and then heading to bed. Nothing of great importance though the tax documents are pouring in. I'm just slotting those envelopes in the tax file next to my desk and moving on for now. We bought TurboTax at Costco already but I'm just not ready to go there yet.
Haven't heard from B. at all - poor guy had to miss any birthday greetings 'cuz their unit was prohibited from using their phones for a TBD length of time. Hoping to hear from him soon -
H. starts school again tomorrow and he's ready! He's enjoyed sleeping in but he's ready to get back at it and be one semester closer to finishing his Process Technology A.S.! Love his motivation! Go, H.!!
Friday, January 22, 2016
A Quarter of a Century Ago
This time twenty five years ago, I was in labor. I didn't know it at the time but I was going to be in labor many more hours....all night long.
It's hard to imagine that I've been a mom for 25 years but as of tomorrow, I will be. B.'s birthday is tomorrow and I sort of have to keep reminding myself 'cuz I'm worried I won't remember. Then I remember that we can't reach him anyway so I shouldn't worry - but even though he has no phone and no way to reach out tomorrow, I still plan to send him a Facebook message first thing in the morning..and I might even do a quick Facebook post to send him good wishes. Turning a quarter of a century old is a milestone and I wish we could celebrate with him in person.
It's been two weeks since we last chatted and it's been crazy. I had a wonderfully fun weekend at the spa/casino - it was one of the best weekends on the slots I've had in awhile - and was a blast from start to finish. I was spoiled and pampered the entire weekend and it was a really nice break.
On the work front, it's been a wild two weeks...but today, I offered jobs to two people so my vacated positions are 'filled' - one starts on the 9th and the other on the 16th. I still have a couple weeks of being virtually 'solo' but at least I know we will have new team members soon. Not that it will be easy by any means - training new people is always a challenge - but I feel confident in the people and am hopeful.
I'm also exhausted - go to bed early and wake up early and do it all over gain day after day. I'm working a good chunk of this weekend and while it depresses me to think of it, I just have to. I can't get three people's 'stuff' done by myself - even going in early and staying late.
Tomorrow, our district celebrates the re-dedication of Jefferson School - newly rebuilt and modernized. The campus is absolutely beautiful and we are so, so proud of this project. It's been 5+ years (including the year we spent working on the general obligation bond campaign [all on our own time]). It's exciting to have it finished and we will have a long list of VIPs in attendance which is fun.
I just told J. 'my nose is a snot fest'. It really is. Just my usual sinus stuff that hits out of the blue.
It's 7PM and I'm trying hard to keep myself awake until 8PM 'cuz it just doesn't feel right to head up to bed this early. Though my body is arguing strongly to the contrary.
Happy Birthday to my first born. B., love you so, so much and miss you even more! I hope when maneuvers are over, you can have a fun time with your friends to celebrate. You are an amazing man and your future is so full of wonderful things to come. We are very proud of you!!
It's hard to imagine that I've been a mom for 25 years but as of tomorrow, I will be. B.'s birthday is tomorrow and I sort of have to keep reminding myself 'cuz I'm worried I won't remember. Then I remember that we can't reach him anyway so I shouldn't worry - but even though he has no phone and no way to reach out tomorrow, I still plan to send him a Facebook message first thing in the morning..and I might even do a quick Facebook post to send him good wishes. Turning a quarter of a century old is a milestone and I wish we could celebrate with him in person.
It's been two weeks since we last chatted and it's been crazy. I had a wonderfully fun weekend at the spa/casino - it was one of the best weekends on the slots I've had in awhile - and was a blast from start to finish. I was spoiled and pampered the entire weekend and it was a really nice break.
On the work front, it's been a wild two weeks...but today, I offered jobs to two people so my vacated positions are 'filled' - one starts on the 9th and the other on the 16th. I still have a couple weeks of being virtually 'solo' but at least I know we will have new team members soon. Not that it will be easy by any means - training new people is always a challenge - but I feel confident in the people and am hopeful.
I'm also exhausted - go to bed early and wake up early and do it all over gain day after day. I'm working a good chunk of this weekend and while it depresses me to think of it, I just have to. I can't get three people's 'stuff' done by myself - even going in early and staying late.
Tomorrow, our district celebrates the re-dedication of Jefferson School - newly rebuilt and modernized. The campus is absolutely beautiful and we are so, so proud of this project. It's been 5+ years (including the year we spent working on the general obligation bond campaign [all on our own time]). It's exciting to have it finished and we will have a long list of VIPs in attendance which is fun.
I just told J. 'my nose is a snot fest'. It really is. Just my usual sinus stuff that hits out of the blue.
It's 7PM and I'm trying hard to keep myself awake until 8PM 'cuz it just doesn't feel right to head up to bed this early. Though my body is arguing strongly to the contrary.
Happy Birthday to my first born. B., love you so, so much and miss you even more! I hope when maneuvers are over, you can have a fun time with your friends to celebrate. You are an amazing man and your future is so full of wonderful things to come. We are very proud of you!!
Friday, January 08, 2016
Maybe Never?
There are few times in a woman's life when she will acknowledge her husband called her a 'whale' and she loved him for it....
On a whim, I took a vacation day today and headed to Thunder Valley for a three night stay - the last junkets I will make for a long time 'cuz work is heading into the crazy busy time it always is this time of year AND I have no payroll person and no assistant at the moment, so to say the days are crazy is an understatement.
I was comped two nights and was able to get a special rate for the third night. When I checked in late yesterday, the room number was the usual floor I stay on, but it was all the way at the end of the hall. Upon realizing this, I gave a thought about going back downstairs to have them move me closer to the elevator but I figured 'oh well, it's exercise'.
And then I entered the room - they upgraded me to a suite and Holy Cow - it is awesome! Full living room separate from the bedroom. Little kitchen area. All sorts of 'new' amenities. When the guy brought my bags up (I have two computers with me 'cuz I have to be available for some work things that required a work connection - isn't it amazing that I can be 'at my desk' virtually anywhere in the world?), he asked if there was anything else I needed - and brought me tons of waters, extra coffee supplies (in-room Keurig!). Later that evening, two ladies arrived and offered me anything I wanted off the cart - 'all complimentary to our suite occupants' - tons of chocolates, full-size shampoos, bath gel, lotion, conditioner, more extra waters...
J. said 'you're a whale' when I told him! The shower is HUGE and so is the bathroom. There are two toilets - one in the huge bathroom (with a separate door) and another toilet room just inside the suite's front door. A TV in every room (including inset into the wall of the bathtub), phone in every room -
I left this morning to eat a good breakfast (also comped with my points) and they did my room right away - so now I'm back, preparing to go out briefly 'cuz my computer mouse is dead and I need to navigate some work things and while I'm getting used to the touch pad, it's not easy for me.
I'm proud of myself because I am not losing my shirt - saving most of my play time for the 'events' that drew me back here. I didn't come home broke from last time so that helped. It's not really 'new' budget - it's just leftover fun $ and while I hope not to lose it, this will be the last overnight visit for a long time - and likely not a lot of weekend jaunts for a day, either.
Work is turning crazy quickly - and I really feel it. Three days back of doing three people's jobs left me feeling bruised, frantic and exhausted...and there's still a long way to go to resolve all the things that are pending. I think the hardest thing for me has been realizing a long-time employee and someone I considered a friend has decided the best approach to retiring is to give as little notice as possible AND schedule a completely elective surgical procedure during her 'notice' - resulting in her not being available for any kind of pre-departure training. Thank goodness our County Office of Ed is full of totally stellar people who also support me as a CBO - 'cuz without them, I'd be doomed. In the three days back at work, dozens of things crossed my desk that were 'brand new' to me - and I've been a CBO in the district for nine years now (1/4 was my anniversary!) - it's like those early days of being brand new to being a CBO - it's all new and I know nothing.
I know I can do it - I've done it before. It's not the workload that's troubling me - it's the overwhelming feeling(s) of betrayal and trust that are crushing me. People make the decisions they make and there's really nothing to be done about it - and I know the ultimate answer to all things like this is 'the only thing you can control is your reaction to it' - but geez....sometimes controlling those emotional responses is very hard.
OK - time to get my car and find a store that has a computer mouse. I got a new one for Christmas but I can't wait three days for one. Work stuff beckons....and doing projects, etc. in the quiet of a hotel room has it's pluses.
On a whim, I took a vacation day today and headed to Thunder Valley for a three night stay - the last junkets I will make for a long time 'cuz work is heading into the crazy busy time it always is this time of year AND I have no payroll person and no assistant at the moment, so to say the days are crazy is an understatement.
I was comped two nights and was able to get a special rate for the third night. When I checked in late yesterday, the room number was the usual floor I stay on, but it was all the way at the end of the hall. Upon realizing this, I gave a thought about going back downstairs to have them move me closer to the elevator but I figured 'oh well, it's exercise'.
And then I entered the room - they upgraded me to a suite and Holy Cow - it is awesome! Full living room separate from the bedroom. Little kitchen area. All sorts of 'new' amenities. When the guy brought my bags up (I have two computers with me 'cuz I have to be available for some work things that required a work connection - isn't it amazing that I can be 'at my desk' virtually anywhere in the world?), he asked if there was anything else I needed - and brought me tons of waters, extra coffee supplies (in-room Keurig!). Later that evening, two ladies arrived and offered me anything I wanted off the cart - 'all complimentary to our suite occupants' - tons of chocolates, full-size shampoos, bath gel, lotion, conditioner, more extra waters...
J. said 'you're a whale' when I told him! The shower is HUGE and so is the bathroom. There are two toilets - one in the huge bathroom (with a separate door) and another toilet room just inside the suite's front door. A TV in every room (including inset into the wall of the bathtub), phone in every room -
I left this morning to eat a good breakfast (also comped with my points) and they did my room right away - so now I'm back, preparing to go out briefly 'cuz my computer mouse is dead and I need to navigate some work things and while I'm getting used to the touch pad, it's not easy for me.
I'm proud of myself because I am not losing my shirt - saving most of my play time for the 'events' that drew me back here. I didn't come home broke from last time so that helped. It's not really 'new' budget - it's just leftover fun $ and while I hope not to lose it, this will be the last overnight visit for a long time - and likely not a lot of weekend jaunts for a day, either.
Work is turning crazy quickly - and I really feel it. Three days back of doing three people's jobs left me feeling bruised, frantic and exhausted...and there's still a long way to go to resolve all the things that are pending. I think the hardest thing for me has been realizing a long-time employee and someone I considered a friend has decided the best approach to retiring is to give as little notice as possible AND schedule a completely elective surgical procedure during her 'notice' - resulting in her not being available for any kind of pre-departure training. Thank goodness our County Office of Ed is full of totally stellar people who also support me as a CBO - 'cuz without them, I'd be doomed. In the three days back at work, dozens of things crossed my desk that were 'brand new' to me - and I've been a CBO in the district for nine years now (1/4 was my anniversary!) - it's like those early days of being brand new to being a CBO - it's all new and I know nothing.
I know I can do it - I've done it before. It's not the workload that's troubling me - it's the overwhelming feeling(s) of betrayal and trust that are crushing me. People make the decisions they make and there's really nothing to be done about it - and I know the ultimate answer to all things like this is 'the only thing you can control is your reaction to it' - but geez....sometimes controlling those emotional responses is very hard.
OK - time to get my car and find a store that has a computer mouse. I got a new one for Christmas but I can't wait three days for one. Work stuff beckons....and doing projects, etc. in the quiet of a hotel room has it's pluses.
Friday, January 01, 2016
Annual Pajama Day
I sheepishly declare New Years Day to be a pajama day! I'm still in my slippers and the only change from when I came downstairs this morning is the coat that is on over top of my nightgown and sweat pants. I had great intentions this morning - but I conceded to a pajama day given that I really wanted to spend the day in bed sleeping. I didn't sleep all day - so staying in bed clothes seems like a positive in light of the urge I had to just be in bed. I felt groggy and sleepy all the day long and resisted.
I wasn't completely unproductive - I did go through the 1000s of emails in my personal home email and clean them out a bit. I don't check that email daily and it really built up over the break. I also culled through all the calendars we received and ensured we have a 2016 full year calendar up in the kitchen. I kept a spare just in case. I swear - just donate $10 to The Nature Conservancy and you will never need to purchase a calendar ever again. Same with address labels. And if you donate to Toys for Tots, you will also get flat wrapping paper annually which comes in handy.
J. was very productive hanging out in the living room taking down the Christmas tree while listening to the football games on TV in the family room. We did manage to toss a few things and I realized that J. used a gazillion 'round ball' ornaments on the tree and left a lot of other unique, beautiful ornaments off. Hopefully next year, we will have more special ornaments - though I have to say that J.'s tree decorating skills are the bomb and every year, I think 'that's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen'. Maybe it's all the love and care he puts into it - but it's really, really pretty.
We didn't make a last minute New Year's Eve trip to any donation site so we will start the year off with some donations that have missed the 2015 window. I'll be kicking myself in April when we do our taxes but oh well. We had a really fun family day away from the house and we all needed it - it was fun to get out as a group.
One of our favorite things to do with leftover beef is to hash it - chopped up an onion, boiled and chopped some potatoes, chopped up the prime rib leftover from Christmas dinner and cooked in a big skillet, letting it get crispy and yummy in the pan. We've also been using the roast for sandwiches but I had one for lunch today and the roast was getting to the 'too dry to enjoy' point - so time for hashing! Tomorrow, we'll add some scrambled eggs and make it a breakfast hash - and that will be the end of the prime rib.
Facebook keeps reminding me that three years ago today, B. was picked up by the Army recruiter and started his journey to life in our Armed Forces. Hard to believe it's been three years - but it has.
Tomorrow, I definitely plan to get dressed in the morning and get moving. Lots of things to do outside not to mention lots to do inside, too - still have the garlands on the stair banisters and they need to come down. Still have gifts in the living room that need to be moved up to bedrooms and put away. Did I tell you we found an unopened shirt of H.'s from last Christmas in the playroom? I could have wrapped it and put it under the tree again but I didn't have a comparable gift for B. and we keep things pretty 'even' at Christmas.
I'm heading up to bed in an hour or so and am going to do my best to get up earlier tomorrow - I fear Tuesday's 5:15AM alarm clock 'cuz it will have been 17 days of NO alarm clock and my body has adjusted to it's 'norm' - and that's waking up between 8-9 daily. I get my best sleep between 4AM and 8PM so to give that up again and go back to early mornings is something that I absolutely dread. Not that I dread it enough to keep waking up early on vacation - 'cuz I know I should and could do that. But no, I won't 'cuz that's not a vacation.
2016 is off to a calm, serene, low-activity start but that's just today. There's still 364 days ahead!
I wasn't completely unproductive - I did go through the 1000s of emails in my personal home email and clean them out a bit. I don't check that email daily and it really built up over the break. I also culled through all the calendars we received and ensured we have a 2016 full year calendar up in the kitchen. I kept a spare just in case. I swear - just donate $10 to The Nature Conservancy and you will never need to purchase a calendar ever again. Same with address labels. And if you donate to Toys for Tots, you will also get flat wrapping paper annually which comes in handy.
J. was very productive hanging out in the living room taking down the Christmas tree while listening to the football games on TV in the family room. We did manage to toss a few things and I realized that J. used a gazillion 'round ball' ornaments on the tree and left a lot of other unique, beautiful ornaments off. Hopefully next year, we will have more special ornaments - though I have to say that J.'s tree decorating skills are the bomb and every year, I think 'that's the most beautiful tree I've ever seen'. Maybe it's all the love and care he puts into it - but it's really, really pretty.
We didn't make a last minute New Year's Eve trip to any donation site so we will start the year off with some donations that have missed the 2015 window. I'll be kicking myself in April when we do our taxes but oh well. We had a really fun family day away from the house and we all needed it - it was fun to get out as a group.
One of our favorite things to do with leftover beef is to hash it - chopped up an onion, boiled and chopped some potatoes, chopped up the prime rib leftover from Christmas dinner and cooked in a big skillet, letting it get crispy and yummy in the pan. We've also been using the roast for sandwiches but I had one for lunch today and the roast was getting to the 'too dry to enjoy' point - so time for hashing! Tomorrow, we'll add some scrambled eggs and make it a breakfast hash - and that will be the end of the prime rib.
Facebook keeps reminding me that three years ago today, B. was picked up by the Army recruiter and started his journey to life in our Armed Forces. Hard to believe it's been three years - but it has.
Tomorrow, I definitely plan to get dressed in the morning and get moving. Lots of things to do outside not to mention lots to do inside, too - still have the garlands on the stair banisters and they need to come down. Still have gifts in the living room that need to be moved up to bedrooms and put away. Did I tell you we found an unopened shirt of H.'s from last Christmas in the playroom? I could have wrapped it and put it under the tree again but I didn't have a comparable gift for B. and we keep things pretty 'even' at Christmas.
I'm heading up to bed in an hour or so and am going to do my best to get up earlier tomorrow - I fear Tuesday's 5:15AM alarm clock 'cuz it will have been 17 days of NO alarm clock and my body has adjusted to it's 'norm' - and that's waking up between 8-9 daily. I get my best sleep between 4AM and 8PM so to give that up again and go back to early mornings is something that I absolutely dread. Not that I dread it enough to keep waking up early on vacation - 'cuz I know I should and could do that. But no, I won't 'cuz that's not a vacation.
2016 is off to a calm, serene, low-activity start but that's just today. There's still 364 days ahead!
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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)'...
